The Knitting Experience Café

The sweater fits! The little sweater I made for Maddie actually fits!

Could she be any more precious? A huge thanks to Dan and Becky for sending the photos.  I want to just reach through the screen and hug her.  

The sweater is my design, and my first sweater knit entirely from my own hand spun yarn. (Definitely easier to accomplish when knitting for the wee ones.)

I also sent Maddie a few other knitted things to keep her cozy. 

Maddie isn't the only one modeling knits lately.  Here's Becka in her finished Selbu Modern tam:

The piece is simply gorgeous.  She used Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca and Silk and the stranding work is incredible.  Fabulous sister that she is, I am able to borrow it as a store sample for awhile. Everyone who sees it is rendered speechless. Truly, you need to see it in person to get the full effect. It reminds me of tapestries or intricate gowns from ancient royal courts.

Then, on Saturday, these Fiddlehead mitts came in...

Kate knit them in alpaca, and used a quiviut blend for the lining. I suggested that she somehow attach them to her person to reduce any chance of losing them. 

Donna had her completed lace scarf ready to share. She used 100% alpaca from Blue Sky Alpacas.

It is heavenly soft. 

And Jayne came in to claim her booby prize.  Through our summer Boob-a-Thon, she won a skein of Spunky Eclectic hand spun.  Lucky, lucky!

Today, Christy, Taylor, and Ava shared a little spooky spirit with us. The costumes were awesome.  Please note that Taylor is the wicked witch who won.  What you can't see in the picture is that she has on the ruby red slippers.  

UPS gave us a thrill today:

That would be Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn. I am totally in love with the Gothic Rose and November Muse. 

We also got a new color in Cascade's Chunky Baby Alpaca:

And 2 new books:

On the left we have our very own Maine designer, Jill Eaton's latest children's collection.  The patterns are adorable.  I have my eye on a couple to knit.  And, Pam, one of our Knit at Nighters is a sample knitter for the book! Yay, Pam!!

On the right is the much anticipated cartoon collection from Franklin.  We were laughing hysterically over these cartoons.  Honestly, you need this if you knit. Or you need this for any knitter you might know. Because they will know.  They will recognize themselves, or life as a knitter in this crazy world, in each one. 

Before I post this and go find dinner, I leave you with very poor photos of my latest hand spun.  Due to the weather, the lighting stinks, so better pictures will come soon.

This is a 3 - ply merino/silk/alpaca creation that I loves.  I still have another skein to ply and should end up with between 400-400 yds.  No idea what I'm going to make, and I don't care. I just like looking at it. 

October is here and you know what that means.  The much anticipated Brunswick Downtown Early Bird Sale is this Saturday, October 25th from 6am-9am!

For those who may not be familiar with this fun and exciting tradition, let me explain.

In the wee early hours of the morning on the last Saturday in October, many of the shops in downtown Brunswick (check the papers this week for a complete listing of who is participating) open their doors and offer incredible discounts to those shoppers who awake early (or who perhaps never went to sleep the night before) to enjoy tremendous deals and a festive morning.  The earlier your arrive, the better the deal.  To make it that much easier for you to get there by 6am, come in your pjs and slippers.  We'll be wearing ours!

Now for the important information - the discounts! This is our fourth year participating, and to celebrate, the savings are fantastic!

From 6am to 7am save 30% off ALL in-stock yarn, needles, books, patterns, and accessories

From 7am to 8am save 20% off ALL in-stock yarn, needles, books, patterns, and accessories

From 8am to 9am save 15% off ALL in-stock yarn, needles, books, patterns, and accessories

You must be present to receive the discount -the Early Bird Sale is only available in the shop, not online- and no other specials or promotions apply during the Early Bird Sale.

Starting catching up on your sleep now, get your coolest pjs ready, and we'll see you at 6am on Saturday!

By this time on Friday, I'll be at Rhinebeck, NY for the Sheep and Wool Festival. (Don't worry, the shop will still be open and Becka is in charge - drop in and say hello to her.)  

I can't wait! I've been planning my knitting all day. First, you've got the long car trip.  Then you got the knitting with fellow fiber enthusiasts.  There's lots of potential knitting time.  

Of course, the Central Park Hoodie is going. But, I need to count rows, do cables, and shape things a bit.  That's ok for the car trip. Not so good for walking around and chatting. Hmmm...

Then Becka came up with the perfect idea - a Knitting Pure and SImple Baby Rollneck in DIC Classy!  What color? Punky Fuschia! That will be one cool little baby sweater. 

I had a few things to finished before packing up. Weather reports say that the nights and early mornings will be a bit chilly so I am trying to get my Dashing mitts done to keep my hands warm.

Almost there.

And I couldn't go away without making sure Madelyn's sweater was really and truly done and in the mail.

The buttons went on yesterday and the package was sent this morning.

I am so thrilled with the way it turned out. And I adore the ruffles. 

Every little girl needs a few ruffles in her life, right?  Hee hee.  I just wish I could see her in it.  My brother is going to have to exercise his photography talents and get me some pictures.  

And yes, I will be writing up the pattern - I just don't know when. 

I'm not the only one knitting baby things.  Check out the lovely blanket Susie made out of Dream in Color Peach.

Penny - who is a relatively new knitter - made a gorgeous pair of felted mitts out of Noro Kochoran.  

She is going to gift them and make more! Two skeins of Kochoran will make 3 pairs of mittens.  And these babies whip up in an afternoon - so for those of you thinking of holiday knitting - this is a quick, fun option.

It took me a few days to get the pictures loaded, but the Spunky Color of the Month is now available online! As always, the color of the momth is 15% OFF. 

Amy worked her magic and came up with Rhubarb in Super Nova.  One skein makes a lovely pair of socks - and we only have 4 skeins left for this month! 

The shop has been full of all kinds of beautiful knits this week.

Diana came to show us the progress on her gift knitting. I'm falling a bit behind on my personal goals, so it was inspiring to see all that she has been accomplishing.

A lovely baby sweater out of Ella Rae Amity, with a matching hat in Panda Cotton.  The hat will have a cool entrelac pattern on the top.  I can't wait to see the finished product.

A market bag out of Reynolds Garden Tweed:

And a sweater for her father out of Cascade 220 is almost done - just needs the collar.

Knit at Night brought out more of those Central Park Hoodies.

And many other knits around the room:

Oh, and Karen (pictured above the the gorgeous lace) happened to catch a review of Heidi's book and brought it in to share.  Congrats Heidi!!

The official kick-off for our fall 2008 KAL isn't until tomorrow at 4pm, but that hasn't stopped many of our knitters from getting a head start.  I think the colder temps have people itching to knit those cables!

Knit at Night saw a number of CPHs in progress around the room.

Terri selected a brilliant blue in Amity:

Mindy is working on a gorgeous Cascade Heather:

Diane was well into the rib using a maroon Cascade Tweed:

Cheryl's CPH is in a yummy brown Donegal Tweed from Debbie Bliss:

Barbara cast on as KAN progressed:

Peggy almost had the back finished when she came to that awful realization that hits every knitter at one point or another - the size wasn't right.  She's going to frog it.  We're here for ya Peggy!

Lesley decided to go with a deep green in the Donegal Tweed, but was knitting on Lily's cardigan:

The yarn is Spunky Eclectic - don't you love the color combo?

There were many other fabulous knits around the room.  Kim finished her very first large project - and it was LACE!

I am always awed by those knitters who tackle lace in the beginning of their knitting careers.  Wow!

She and Jerri had just finished this stole for a friend - so I believe that makes 2 lace projects for her.

Scott had some beautiful crochet to share.  Check out this baby sweater.  The combination of color and texture is beautiful.

Donna was in the midst of creating a stunning fingerless mitten/scarf set:

AND Sara finished her Seascape Shawl from our summer KAL.  It is light and fluffy like a cloud.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.  We'll be gathering at the shop from 4-5pm for the CPH kickoff, and then heading out to dinner. 

The Roll Call has been updated below: Let me know if I missed anyone!

Adrienne - Cascade 200 Tweed - maroon

Barbara - ??

Bridget - yarn undecided

Chesley - Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran - dark purple

Cheryl B. - Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran - dark brown

Christy - Cascade 220 Heather

Diana - ???

Diane - Cascade 200 Tweed - maroon

Jayne - yarn undecided

Jennifer - yarn undecided

Katie - undecided

Lesley - Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran - green

Lizzie - yarn undecided

Mary Ellen - knitting alongside us with the Suzie hoodie - Cascade 220

Meg - Dream in Color Classy

Michelle - Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran

Mindy - Cascade 220 Heather

Nancy -  knitting alongside us with the Suzie hoodie - Cascade 220

Pam - undecided

Peggy - Cascade 220 Heather

Sandy - Cascade 220 Heather in wine red

Terri - Ella Rae Amity