October 2005

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Breast cancer awareness month

Today is October 1, the beginning of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For those who have visited our site before, you may have read in the blog about my personal experience with breast cancer. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 BC 3 years ago, and thankfully, I am doing very well. In many ways, it is my experience as a survivor that prompted me to open The Knitting Experience. For me, knitting became my escape from the big "C", my way to relax, and slow down.

But, knitting has another wonderful property - it produces something that you can give another to bring them warmth and comfort. That is why The Knitting Experience is going to be sponsoring knitting for chemotherapy patients. We are going to have free patterns for chemo caps available at the store, along with recommendations for appropriate yarns (for example, a pure wool is too rough for someone undergoing treatment), and we will serve as a drop off point for items made for chemotherapy patients and will distribute them to the local American Cancer Society office and oncology units. If you are interested in participating, feel free to give us a call for ideas. We are looking for hats, scarves, mittens, socks, etc... be creative! While hats are very important because of the hair loss many experience, some chemo treatments cause circulation problems in the hands and feet so mittens and socks are very welcome. As we develop our program, we are going to ask people to donate random yarns from their personal stashes to be used for these projects. We are also looking for ideas and good patterns so please feel free to share any that you feel will work for this purpose.

On October 16, the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk will be held on the town mall. I will be walking (visit my site here) and encourage anyone who will be in the area to come out and support this great event!

Saturday, October 1, 2005

Many things!!

Wow! I definitely need to find time to blog more often. I have so many things to talk about today. First - the big news is that the Malibrigo yarn is on the way. Evidently it got stuck in customs in Florida, but that is all straightened out now, and DHL reports that it should be here today -- yeah!!!

Knit at Night is going strong. You would not believe what an amazing knitter David has become in just 2 weeks. He has made 2 hats, just finished a scarf, and is working on a sweater. He promises that I can post a picture once the outfit is complete.

Speaking of pictures, I have finished a few projects as well. Most importantly is the little sweater pictured above for my niece. She turns two in February so no one spoil the surprise! This is knit in Debbie Bliss' Soho and cashmerino. Isn't it adorable? I want one for myself!

I also have been trying out some of the new yarns such as Cascade's Tuscany Grande. This is a pure wool in a thick and thin and makes the coolest swirl pattern on the hat as it knits up. One ball is more than enough for an adult hat.

Yesterday I finished this fantastic belt out of Louisa Harding's Sari Ribbon. I wore it with grey pants to dress them up a bit, but I think you could use it to add a little flair to a pair of jeans as well. The pattern couldn't be simpler - use US 13 needles, cast on 8 stitches and knit in St st until you get the length you want. One skein was more than enough for this belt, and I have a bunch left over.

Speaking of the Louisa Harding yarns, Becka has been very busy getting them on the shelves:

Aren't the colors amazing??

In other news, we have more of De Austin's beautiful bags in:

And... the books from Interweave arrived! So, we have more copies of Wrap Style, Scarf Style, and Felted Knits - all three had sold out! We also got two new books - The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook, and Knitted Babes:

How adorable is Knitted Babes? Becka and I are dying to make one of these dolls. They have patterns for the dolls, as well as all their outfits. You create the personality by adding your own creativity. This would make the perfect gift for a young knitter. Heck - any knitter!

I need to brag a little bit. Connor and I have been having nightly "knitting time" and he is doing an amazing job. He is quite proud that he has already passed Peter in knitting skills. He has made the most beautiful bookmark and has his eye on a scarf next.

Before I sign off to go check in some new Cascade Fixation yarn, I have to share pictures that Anne from NJ sent in of two Baby Bobbi Bears that she made for her sons. She was in Maine right after we opened and got the materials to make the bear out of the organic cotton for one of her sons, and another bear out of Cascade's fixation for her youngest son. Look how adorable they are:

Friday, October 7, 2005

The Malabrigo is here!!!

That's right - at long last, the Malabrigo yarns are here! For those who haven't heard about this fabulous yarn, it is 100% merino wool from Uruguay. It is kettle dyed by a women's co-op and the colors are gorgeous! Take a peek. Here they are when they arrived. I couldn't wait to get my hands on them and tore open all the bags. Here they are on the shelves:

To make life even better, we also got a delivery of the most beautiful locally spun and dyed wool. These skeins are from a local fiber artist and her creations are amazing. You would not believe how soft this yarn is! Each skein is unique. Just think of what you could create.

In other news, we finally got Debbie Bliss' cashmere collection book in today. These designs use her cashmerino yarns (of which, we have a very wide selection.)

Check out these designs:

Finally, I am very excited about the upcoming socks on two circular needles class. This is the sample sock I am working on for the class.

Aren't the stripes cool?? Luckily, these socks just happen to be my size. Hee, hee.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Thank you!

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk was held this past Sunday. Thank you to everyone who supported this wonderful cause. It wasn't the best day for walking - rain and wind. In fact, Peter took the boys home after we took this picture so they wouldn't catch a cold. That's me, Alec, Peter, and Connor. Mom was taking the picture and bravely walked in the rain with me. We raised over $500! Thank you!!!!!

That night there was a great interview with Melissa Etheridge on Dateline about her experience with breast cancer. She has the most amazing song out - "I run for life". She hits the emotion of a survivor perfectly. And she is donating the proceeds of sales from the single to bc research and advocacy. Peter and I bought a copy from iTunes last night.

Ok, enough bc stuff. Back to the knitting!! I am VERY excited to announce that we are now offering a class in knitting Lopi sweaters. It is a four week class, held from 10am to 11:30am every tuesday in November. Watch our classes page for more information soon.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Denise interchangeable needles

We just sold out of our Denise Interchangeable Needle Kits!! Not to worry, I have more on order. If you haven't seen these, you must come in and check them out. For anyone who uses circular needles, this kit is a must have. Mom gave me a kit for Christmas and I rarely use anything else. I even do most of my straight knitting on circulars now. The kit runs from US 5 to US 15 and have a variety of cord lengths. You switch the needle ends with the various cords to get the exact size needle and length that you want. It comes with attachments that allow you to hold one project on a cord, while you use the same needles on another cord for another project. I usually have 3 + projects going with this kit. It is amazing! The cost is only $47.95. I think it is the best kit out there and I know some others can run close to $100. When you consider the savings from buying all those circular needles individually, it is a huge savings! (and a great present for any knitter!)

In other news it is business tax time! I am a bit cranky this morning as I am trying to figure out all this bookkeeping stuff. It is manageable, but reading through all the IRS instructions is giving me a headache! Luckily, after I get through it the first time it should be easier. Right? Peter was awesome and took care of the sales tax filing for me with one of his great database reports. But, as a new business owner, I really want to know exactly how everything works and do as much of it myself as possible. It is quite an education. Back to work...

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Sunny day!

The sun is back!! It is such a beautiful fall day - just a touch of chill in the air and the leaves are falling everywhere you look. I just got a wonderful surprise. My father's cousins, who I haven't seen in about 8 years, saw an article about me and the shop in the paper and stopped by to say hello. They completely made my day. And they only live one town away! Isn't it terrible how easily we lose touch by getting so busy in our own lives? It just isn't worth it. Take a minute today to call, or even send an email, to someone you have been meaning to contact but somehow just never find the time.

As everyone on our email newsletter list now knows, Saturday is our first big sale! We're participating in Brunswick's Early Bird Sale. I am ashamed to say that I have lived here for four years and knew nothing of these early bird sales. That just shows how much I am NOT a morning person. But, I think it is the coolest idea. Many of the downtown shops open up at 6am and offer great discounts to those hearty souls who can drag themselves out of bed that early on a Saturday. We will be here (in our pjs!!) at 6am. Join us for a cup of coffee and some great deals.

Forgive me for bragging a moment on behalf of my mom. She just finished the most gorgeous felted bag.

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The pattern is in Interweave's book Felted Knits - which, thanks to Mom's beautiful bag, we have sold out of twice! More are on the

way and I hope to see UPS today.

Many people have been asking for the pattern for the little baby hat made out of Cascade's Fixation yarn. We now have the pattern available at the shop, so stop in to check it out!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The Knitting Experience Café

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