When my mind drifts back to May of 2014 it is filled with frolicking lambs, large waves, a guild meeting with new friends, plus my first visit to Jamieson & Smith in Lerwick, Shetland. Our typical travel luggage for international vacations is one backpack and one small daypack each. This accommodates the essential clothing for…
STITCHES Expo at Home offers people access to the best teachers and vendors, and I am teaching two classes in June. STITCHES is known for their top-notch events, and these virtual shows allow access to everyone, regardless of location. I’m teaching Take Flight – Knitting Your First Lace Shawl as well as Shetland Sky, Sea,…
We’re quite excited to let our customers know that we are now including Einband, the laceweight Icelandic wool, along with Plotulopi and Lettlopi in our offerings! This is a great little yarn in a wide range of colors. The yarn is a single (that means it’s not plied), but that single has a nice firm…
I’m aware that crazy skinny yarn isn’t for everyone, but since March we’ve noticed an uptick in purchases of skinny yarn. Maybe it’s the weather. As temperatures rise some knitters prefer not to have a big lapful of heavy wool. It may also be that with less time spent commuting and being social,…
We’ve been quiet lately, but busy. As a follow-up to Ultima Thule- Patterns Inspired by the Shetland Islands we have turned our attention to the vast tallgrass prairie of central Kansas. For two years we have been making trips to Chase County, Kansas, finding inspiration, getting to know the people who live there, and knitting a lot.…
One can get to the Applecross peninsula of western Scotland two ways — over the Bealach Pass with its 20% grades and tight switchbacks, or around the Coward’s Way, which winds through coastal villages but has its share of tight turns and narrow passages, too. Either way is a delight. Once to the shore, wander…
In May of 2014 Denise and I took a trip to the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Denise, as she is wont to do, saw potential for patterns everywhere. In the year and a half that followed she designed five patterns that were inspired by Shetland. I returned to Shetland in the fall of 2015 to…
I awoke one morning this winter with a vivid dream still in my head of a fabulous formal garden in the pasture outside our house on the farm. Don’t get me wrong — the pasture is beautiful, but it’s full of native grasses and, to be honest, some weeds and thistles. It will never be…