the winner! and more club sign-ups

I am excited to announce that, as the 2nd commenter, Michelle is the winner of 3 Skeins or Less (from a random.org number generation)! Michelle - just pm me your snail mail address address on Ravelry and I will send the book off to you. Congratulations!

Also, today is the second round of sign-ups for my Pins & Lace Club! Hop on over to my site at 2 pm PST today; there aren't many spaces left! I hope you can join us for 2015. :)

monday's musing

"Bloom where you're planted." - Mary Engelbreit

One of my very favorite quotes, and one I am working hard on!

Now to answer some questions about my club that I didn't realize I had until just this moment!

Elizabeth asked: "Could you elaborate on the payment plan options? I'd love to try to fit this into my budget! Thanks!"
Answer: PayPal has a payment plan option that used to be called "Bill Me Later" and is now called PayPal credit. For now, that is the one payment plan I am able to offer. I am already planning 2016's club, however, and will work extra hard on making payment plans come true.

Donna asked: "I'm unfamiliar with your club. What would be a reason for ordering double yarn? Are the patterns shawlette a which could be made larger with the extra yarn?"
Answer: Yes! The extra yarn is to make the shawl larger. Each shawl is a full sized shawl (rather than a shawlette size) in itself, but some people like to make a larger option. Both regular and tall sizes are included in each pattern.

Hev asked: "I am looking forward to P&L 2015, but have I missed the area to get just the patterns? As much as I would love to get the yarn & pins, I can't. I have too many projects on my plate. This way I can hold the patterns & add them to my que. Thanks."
Answer: Do not fear! The pattern only option will go up for sale when the yarn and pin options are sold out. You didn't miss a thing. :)

going clubbing with me?

Another year has flown by, and wow! Did that one ever go fast?! It's high time again for Pins and Lace Club sign-ups. 2015 will be the sixth year of my club. Can you believe it? I have so enjoyed having you all with me. :)

Like the past two years, 2015 includes a pattern only option, and, for those of you with too many shawl pins, it also includes a yarn and pattern only option. In response to those of you who have had trouble getting to the computer on time due to work, I am opening sign-ups in the morning this time and in the afternoon for the second period.

Here's how it will work. Current club members (excepting pattern only) will be able to get a little jump on next year's club, with sign-ups opening Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 4 pm (16:00 hours) Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7). Watch for an email containing a link to the sign-up site with your password. In this pre-signup period, there will be no $20 charge added for the pattern eBook; the 2015 eBook will be a little thank-you gift. This discount remains in effect until the public sign-ups on the morning of October 17. After that, there will be two sign up periods on my site (please note that the site has not yet been updated to reflect info for the 2015 club) beginning Friday October 17, 2014 at 10 am Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7) and another Saturday November 8, 2014 at 2 pm (14:00 hours), Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7).

In the 2015 club, there will be 4 shipments of 100 shawl pins and 200 skeins of yarn available overall. After current club members have had a chance to purchase in the pre-signup period, half of the remaining packages will go up for sale October 17 and half on November 8. Those include a pattern, as well, of course. :) Because of the different options and the need to plan in advance in ordering yarn, club sign-ups will be for the full year only - no half year options will be available. After all of those are sold, I will open pattern only club sales on Ravelry. If you have already bought one of the pin and/or yarn options, do not buy the pattern only option until you receive your coupon code for a free copy of the Ravelry club eBook. Financing (the payment plan) will be available through PayPal when you check out. The 2015 patterns will all be delivered via Ravelry as an eBook - much like my eBook subscriptions, and pattern only sales will remain open throughout the year. Clear as mud? Don't worry; if you don't quite get it ordered the way you want it, just write to me romiATdesignsbyromiDOTcom and we'll get it all sorted out! The idea is to make you happy, so no stress!

Note that yarn weights will vary! It may not all be lace weight. For planning purposes, here are the options and prices! Please note that there will be a pattern fee of $20 added to your total in addition to the option price chosen below (except for the current club member's pre-sign-up period at 4pm October 15 through 10am October 17). The pattern only option will be priced at $36 for the year, and the single patterns will not be released to the public until 2016. (There will be a fun little extra too, btw!) Package prices are the same as last year.

Romi's Choice: $340

Each shipment includes yarn from a different indie dyer, a shawl pin (copper, sterling, red brass and nickel for the year) and an original pattern.

Romi's Choice, 2x yarn: $540

Each shipment includes double yarn from a different indie dyer, a shawl pin (copper, sterling, red brass and nickel for the year) and an original pattern.

Pin and pattern only:

Romi's Choice of Metal: $160

Copper only: $140

Nickel only: $145
Red Brass only: $145

Sterling only: $210

Yarn and pattern only:

Romi's Choice - Yarn only: 4 shipments - $200

2x Yarn and pattern only:

Romi's Choice - double yarn only: 4 shipments - $400

Whichever option(s) you choose, please note that there will be a $20 pattern fee added to the total (this needed to be separated out to make the options possible; if you end up paying it twice for some reason, please let me know!). Regular shipping to the US is included in prices. International shipping (including Canada now, I'm afraid - prices have gone up to ship to you, our neighbors) and priority mail shipping will cost extra.

I do hope this all makes sense! If I am not making sense, please let me know! And remember: you have another chance in November.

Note that I have added red brass to the metals line-up this year! It is really a lovely metal that experimented with last year. It has a warmth to it that goes beautifully with gold jewelry. I think you'll love it!

Please note that I am in the midst of updating my website with all of the 2015 info, but added to my crazy year, I also had a catastrophic hard disk failure, had to buy a new desktop computer, and now need to find the software to re-install everything on my new computer (in the boxes still left unpacked after my move!). This will take a little while, and until then, please bear with me! I will have it up and running in time for the sign-ups and there will also be time to look over everything. :)

monday's musing and a new pattern!

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it." - Lou Holtz
---------------------------------------------
And...introducing 

Copperwood!

This over-sized scarf/stole is a mashup of my Pins & Lace Club 2013 patterns. It's knit in Wagtail yarns 100% mohair fingering weight yarn (2 ply), and uses size 6/0 seed beads on the bind off edges.

It's big enough for a stole, but I love wearing it as an over-sized scarf.

Mohair is light, fluffy and warm, and it squeezes down perfectly into a bag for those chilly moments of the day or evening.

It can be dressed down with jeans and a corduroy shirt,

or up as a shoulder wrap.

Like all of my patterns, Copperwood includes both full written and charted instructions. A diagram shows the construction from the provisional cast-on through the first end, and then from the cast-on point to the second end.

The sample shown is worked in Wagtail's 2 ply yarn, and uses approximately 750 yards of a skein. The mohair is grown in Australia by the producers and features a very long staple length with more strength than is usually seen in mohair yarns. Because of the nature of the yarn (no bounce-back/memory), the pattern uses a smaller sized needle (US 5) than might normally be used to achieve gauge; the yarn behaves similarly to a baby alpaca or a silk. If a different yarn with more memory were to be substituted, a larger needle would almost certainly be needed to achieve the gauge given. It is particularly important to swatch with the Wagtail yarn before beginning your project, and wash and block the swatch. It will serve as a reminder of how beautiful the finished product will be, as the project will look particularly rough and uneven in this yarn before blocking. When knitting this project, I found it helpful to weight the provisional cast-on edge so that the yarn would not bunch up at the beginning, and I could easily avoid knitting into the row below.

Copperwood uses motifs from Winter's Moon, Song of Spring, Fuchsia Nouveau, and StarDance, all of which are now available as single patterns as well as in the eBook collection!

monday's musing

I was feeling kind of whiny today because I caught the kids' creeping crud. When I read this, it made me laugh out loud!

"Life is not fair; get used to it." - Charles J. Sykes (formerly misattributed to Bill Gates)

Still chuckling. And feeling better because of it. :)

Don't forget that there are still spots left in next year's Pins & Lace Club!

bit of a loose end

I didn't post this before I took off to Atlanta, so before I fly back, here goes! Noliegirl on Ravelry has won my monthly give-away (at the end of September) for her gorgeous Meadowberry (my pattern Meadowgold). Isn't her version lovely?

I think the color is stunning!

Congrats to you! Just PM me and let me know what pattern you would like!

answering a few clubbing questions

A few answers to your Pins & Lace Club questions! :)

First of all, I've been asked about the double yarn option and how large the project will be using a single skein of yarn. The double yarn option will enable you to make a very large shawl. The single skeins of yarn for last year's club ranged in yardage from 765 to 1050, and each pattern came with the regular sized shawl directions (as pictured) plus an option to knit a larger sized shawl. All the shawls that you see on Ravelry for my clubs - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 (this one is currently incomplete) - are similar in size to the regular-sized shawls that will be presented for 2014 as requiring one skein of club yarn.

Second, payment options! I've had a few questions about the payment plan on my 2014 Pins & Lace Club, so here goes! I am using PayPal's "Bill Me Later" option, so - if you elect to use that plan - you will be selecting the option during checkout. I just checked the terms it provides and read that there are no interest charges when a balance of $99 or more is paid in full over a 6 month period of time. The offer is subject to credit approval. I think PayPal is really wanting to make this option more popular, and so it seems to be a really great deal! That all being said, if you experience problems with it, please do let me know and we will see what we can do to work things out. As with anything new to me, there's the possibility of it going a bit awry! I'm really excited about this plan though, because it seems to offer a terrific service now integrated with PayPal, and I do love PayPal. Additionally, you can pay with a credit card without opening a PayPal account if you would prefer that, and I have also had club members who have requested to send a check or pay via credit card over the phone. This is totally fine, so if you would like to do that, just let me know!

Third, there are some who have contacted me and are unable to get to their computers for various reasons when the sign-up periods go live. Remember that there are two, but if neither of those works for you, I do try to help enable you all! If you are expecting difficulties, please let me know and we will try to work it all out!

There are four shipments in the club year and I have started adding a little extra surprise pattern for fun - the surprise will not have an associated yarn and shawl pin shipment.

And if you have any other questions that are unanswered, please let me know; I will answer as best I can!

I hope you'll join me for 2014!

going clubbing with me?

Another year has flown by! It's time again for Pins and Lace Club sign-ups! 2014 will be the fifth year of my club. So difficult to believe!

Like last year, 2014 includes a pattern only option, and, for those of you with too many shawl pins, it also includes a yarn and pattern only option. :) In response to those of you who have had trouble getting to the computer on time due to work (really - work? It cuts into knitting time!), I am opening sign-ups in the morning this time and in the afternoon for the second period. Here's how it will work. Current club members (excepting pattern only) will be able to get a little jump on next year's club, with sign-ups opening Thursday, September 26 at 4 pm (16:00 hours) Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7). Watch for an email containing a link to the sign-up site with your password. After that, there will be two sign up periods on my site beginning Saturday September 28, 2012 at 10 am Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7) and another Saturday October 26, 2013 at 2 pm (14:00 hours), Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7). There will be 4 shipments of 100 shawl pins and 200 skeins of yarn available overall. (I had to limit the pins - I can only handle so much!) Half will go on sale in September and half in October. Those include a pattern, as well, of course. :) After all of those are sold, I will open pattern only club sales on Ravelry. Because of the different options and the need to plan in advance in ordering yarn, club sign-ups will be for the full year only - no half year options will be available. After all of those are sold, I will open pattern only club sales on Ravelry. If you have already bought one of the pin and/or yarn options, do not buy the pattern only option until you receive your coupon code for a free copy of the Ravelry club eBook. Because of the different options and the need to plan in advance while ordering yarn, club sign-ups will be for the full year only - no half year options will be available. Financing (the payment plan) will be available through PayPal when you check out. The 2014 patterns will all be delivered via Ravelry as an eBook - much like my eBook subscriptions, and pattern only sales will remain open throughout the year. Clear as mud? Don't worry; if you don't quite get it ordered the way you want it, just write to me (romiATdesignsbyromiDOTcom and we'll get it all sorted out! The idea is to make you happy, so no stress!

Note that yarn weights will vary! It will not all be lace weight. For planning purposes, here are the options and prices! Please note that there will be a pattern fee of $20 added to your total in addition to the option price chosen below. The pattern only option will be priced at $36 for the year, and the single patterns will not be released to the public until 2014. (There will be a fun little extra too, btw!)

Romi's Choice: $340

Each shipment includes yarn from a different indie dyer, a shawl pin (copper, sterling and 2 nickel for the year) and an original pattern.

Romi's Choice, 2x yarn: $540

Each shipment includes double yarn from a different indie dyer, a shawl pin (copper, sterling and 2 nickel for the year) and an original pattern.

Pin and pattern only:

Romi's Choice of Metal: $160

Copper only: $140

Nickel only: $145

Sterling only: $210

Yarn and pattern only:

Romi's Choice - Yarn only: 4 shipments - $200

2x Yarn and pattern only:

Romi's Choice - double yarn only: 4 shipments - $400

Whichever option(s) you choose, please note that there will be a $20 pattern fee added to the total (this needed to be separated out to make the options possible; if you end up paying it twice for some reason, please let me know!). Regular shipping to the US is included in prices. International shipping (including Canada now, I'm afraid - prices have gone up to ship to you, our neighbors) and priority mail shipping will cost extra.

I do hope this all makes sense! If I am not making sense, please let me know! And remember: you have another chance in October. :)

potpourri

It's been a long time since I've written, but I'm popping in with some catch-up!

I released my October Pins & Lace Club pattern yesterday. (Don't miss the sign-ups for 2013!)

I've called it Firebird, in thanks to the amazingly brave and wonderful firefighters who saved us over the summer fire season.

The full club kit came with a nickel shawl pin (an impressionistic take on wings), a sample of my favorite wool wash Kookaburra, and Spark lace yarn from Little Red Bicycle. It was a special color called Scarlet Sentinel in wool, silk and stellina metallic, which adds just a subtle sparkle to the yarn. 

The sample shown here is knit in The Grinning Gargoyle's lovely Divine Lace in Signature Red, as the mail gods conspired against my receiving Didi's yarn on time.

The shawl starts in the center (in the round) and is divided later

as part of it is bound off

and the two sides are worked into wings.

I used Rosemarie's belly button start for the center, which I love love love. But I am admitting here - to all of you who have similar troubles - I always have to start several times when I knit laceweight yarn in the round. Usually, I start and rip about 4 or 5 times, sometimes more. One of these days, I'll post a video of me starting and having all the needles fall out, just so you can all have a laugh!

A couple weekends ago, at the Carson City pool complex (indoor; Olympic-sized), Reno/Sparks teams hosted a meet and my little one, The Bear, got two JO times! This means he qualifies for a championship meet (Junior Olympics) and he cannot wait to go!

We are super excited for him. He is one positive little guy. (I wish that we could move his elder brother in the positive direction, but he seems determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Someone please tell me I am not alone here. It's so painful to watch him defeat himself.)

Last Friday, it was Nevada Day, which meant no school. It was also our 16th wedding anniversary. We all piled in the car to go up to Granlibakken and pick up a Clemes & Clemes wheel that had traveled down to SOAR via Tracy and Tom from Diane in Eugene, OR. What nice people! Spinners and knitters are truly the kindest people. Here she is. (I am sure she is a she, but I'm not sure why I think so.)

While I was at SOAR - only for about an hour total - I made a whirlwind tour of the market tent (yes - tent - and apparently not bear-proof) and stopped by the Verb for Keeping Warm booth to see two shivering friends (Kristine and Aday) from the California Bay Area. I will admit to having made some good-natured fun of them. And I had to snap a pic.

I stopped by Karen's booth and she insisted I take some of her lovely yarn. I couldn't refuse. So I chose two skeins for a new two color design.

I got a much needed niddy noddy from Clemes and Clemes.
I had wanted to replace the orifice hook on my new wheel,

but they hadn't brought any hooks with them. So this past weekend, Mr. Romi and I did a tandem project.

I love it.

In other news, Otto the Dog has a new necklace. (He can take it off, as well as put it on all by himself.)

We finally installed our new doorbell.

And...look at the splash of color up on the mountain!

There must be a seep or a running spring up there, and look at the lovely grove of aspens. We've been watching them change color as fall progresses.

a little clubbing, anyone?

Another year has flown by! It's time again for Pins and Lace Club sign-ups! 2013 will be the fourth year of my club. So difficult to believe!

It's a little different every year, and this one is no exception, though it is very similar to last year. I'm afraid I am discontinuing the fuzz-free yarn option. I found that it really limited my ability to choose some new and interesting yarns because I couldn't find a silk, cotton or bamboo version that was comparable. This will free me up for some fun! Like last year, 2013 includes a pattern only option, and, for those of you with too many shawl pins, it also includes a yarn and pattern only option. :) In response to those of you who have had trouble getting to the computer on time due to work (really - work? It cuts into knitting time!), I am opening sign-ups in the evening this time and at noon for the second period. Here's how it will work. There will be two sign up periods on my site beginning Thursday September 20, 2012 at 8 pm Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7) and another Saturday October 20 27 (changed so that Rhinebeck visitors can participate!), 2012 at noon, Pacific Daylight Time (GMT -7). There will be 4 shipments of 100 shawl pins and 300 skeins of yarn available overall. (I had to limit the pins - I can only handle so much!) Half will go on sale in September and half in October. Those include a pattern, as well, of course. :) After all of those are sold, I will open pattern only club sales on Ravelry. Because of the different options and the need to plan in advance in ordering yarn, club sign-ups will be for the full year only - no half year options will be available. The 2013 patterns will all be delivered via Ravelry as an eBook - much like my subscriptions. Pattern only sales will close at a time to be determined. Clear as mud? Don't worry; if you don't quite get it ordered the way you want it, just write to me and we'll get it all sorted out! The idea is to make you happy, so no stress!

Note that yarn weights will vary! It will not all be lace weight. For planning purposes, here are the options and prices! Please note that there will be a pattern fee of $20 added to your total in addition to the option price chosen below. The pattern only option will be priced at $36 for the year, and the patterns will not be released to the public until 2014. (There will be a fun little extra too, btw!) I will try to put up an option so that you are able to pay in two installments. If I fail (very possible!), I can do that by special arrangement. Just contact me!

Romi's Choice: $320

Each shipment includes yarn from a different indie dyer, a shawl pin (copper, sterling and 2 nickel for the year) and an original pattern.

Pin and pattern only:

Romi's Choice of Metal: $160

Copper only: $140

Nickel only: $145

Sterling only: $210

Yarn and pattern only:

Romi's Choice - Yarn only: 4 shipments - $180

Whichever option(s) you choose, please note that there will be a $20 pattern fee added to the total. Regular shipping to the US or Canada is included in prices. International shipping and priority mail shipping will cost extra.

I do hope this all makes sense! If I am not making sense, please let me know! And remember: you have another chance in October. :)

Little White Boxes

And you all know what that means. Right? April's installment of the Pins & Lace Club is shipping out this week!

Coming soon to a mailbox near you. :)

Whew

I am always always nervous when I do a club pattern and then send out the packages. I keep thinking "what if no one likes it?!"

Well, I am over-the-moon thrilled to say that when the pattern hit and the boxes started getting to their destinations, people reported love! I feel a little like Sally Field, but I am just super happy. :) I can't show you the pattern here, because there are still people who haven't gotten theirs yet and aren't peeking, and in case they read this, I mustn't post pictures just yet. But here's a blurry picture that caught my fancy. Don't worry! It's not the right color. :)

Now go look here and you can see the whole thing. And if you want to join my little club, the pattern only subscription is still available through the end of the month! You can find it on Ravelry or on my site! And then you can knit along with everyone in my Ravelry forum. It's party time over there!

Feeling good this evening. Planning for Stitches West (I'm sharing a booth with Kristine from A Verb for Keeping Warm!) and relaxing just a little teensy bit. But not too much. :)

Hopping along

First of all: news on the bunny front. Diva - aka Bunny #3, the Diva-licious Bunny-girl - is, so far, doing very well. With no trace of the Myxomatosis that Pepper had. Whew! We are keeping lots of fingers and toes crossed. I will be thrilled when we make it through this weekend. And then, I am going to search down a vet who can vaccinate for that awful disease, because apparently, though bunnies are the absolute best, I haven't yet found a vet around here that knows much of anything about them. Wish me luck!

And :drumroll: Katanya is released! Simple and lovely, she was a Pins & Lace Club (still one more pin and yarn/pattern options left for 2012!) summer pattern now available to everyone. Katanya is a variety of heirloom watermelon, and the shawl was designed to echo the shape of a melon wedge. The funny thing is I had been looking at her smaller parts so long, trying to show the different patterns in her, that this picture from Brandy in a darker color completely took my breath away when I saw it.

I often don't take blocking pictures, but Brandy's pic shows Katanya so much better than my close-ups like this one:

and this one.

And the yarn! Wow. I am in love again.

And better yet? The muse is upon me once more! After a time when I couldn't seem to complete anything, I am now flying along. Log jams have shaken apart, ice has been broken. Onward and upward! Here she is, almost finished; the muse that has cleared my mind and gotten me going.

She's almost finished, and I love love love the texture. I probably could have finished her sooner, but I keep stopping to admire the way the yarn makes the stitches pop.

Alisha is amazing. And I predict great and wonderful things for her.

I've started another, too, using Colourmart cashmere in a fingering weight. It feels like string because of the spinning oil still on the coned yarn. I can't wait to wash it! Isn't it amazing how different the muse looks in this yarn?

I can't wait to wear it!

And now? Back to work with me! I want to block the small version and finish up a little something else!

My cheatin' heart

...is at it again. I had to cast on another Muse. That makes three I am working on at once. Plus my second Buttonwillow. This latest muse is all about elegant texture. And is fitting my mood of late.

The color is incredible. It's from Alisha Goes Around, but she told me once that the color name marked on the skein was incorrect. I have to find out from her again what it is because everyone who sees it wants to steal it!

Love the stitch definition.

It's going to be perfect to take to the swim meet this weekend.

Yep. Swim meet weekend and I will be trying something new! Tomorrow morning (October 15th) at 9 a.m., the rest of my Pins & Lace Club spots open up. I have everything all set up to take it live on my iPhone! How cool is that?! I have an ftp app. I'm hoping it works properly and I won't have to run to the nearest Starbucks. :)

But probably what you really want to see is...the winners! Right? The randomly chosen winners of the two digital copies of Bambeanies are Marlie and Megan, and the winner of the signed hard copy is Fara! Congratulations! Please email me with your contact info at romi(at)designsbyromi(dot)com.

Today was a very sad day at Chez Romi. We lost #1 Son's bunny a little over a week ago and then The Bear's bunny became ill a couple of days ago. We had to have him put down today. Pepper's eyes were swollen, and at first I was so hoping it was sunburn or allergy, or something of the sort. Those of you with bunnies are now saying to yourselves: "Oh, no. It's not sunburn!" No, it wasn't. Between the two of us, Mr. Romi and I determined it was Myxomatosis. We don't usually diagnose our critters, but I have to say the vet was really not qualified to look at a rabbit. Our bunny was presenting classic symptoms and the vet had absolutely no clue when she looked at him Tuesday. Lesson learned. If you are going to have rabbits, you need a vet who knows how to treat them. In the case of Myxomatosis, treatment is almost completely futile, and we didn't want our poor little bunny to go through the end stages of the disease. So now we are watching our little Diva bunny very very closely. If she gets through next week without swollen eyes, I think we will be ok. Fingers are crossed.

This, that and the other

I have something embarrassing to admit. I have fallen out of love with Muse #2 and have put her aside for the moment while I work out her border again in my mind's eye. I need to love her again, and right now I'm not. Meanwhile, though, I have been working on Muse #3 and my sekrit project. I am nowhere close to being monogamous with my design projects these days, which is fairly unusual. Whereas I am not at all monogamous when I knit other designers' pieces, I rarely ever cheat on my own design. But there you go. I can't seem to do one thing at a time!

I'm also getting ready for the next Pins & Lace Club shipment. It might surprise you how much prep time goes into those! But I always have fun putting them together. :)

Also? I've gotten out some lovely mohair/silk from Habu. The color is one of my very very favorites.

A lovely mossy green. Yum. Wait until you see what I'm doing with it! :giggle:

Well, my Buttonwillow Wrap seems to have had a great time at Vogue Knitting Live, though it hasn't written lately. I did see a few pics of it hanging around the KnitCulture booth, though, and it's still visiting down there. KnitCulture plans to have Buttonwillow Kits up on their site Friday, by the way. So, if you are having a difficult time waiting, well...all I'm saying is...they'll be there for you. Meanwhile, since finishing my own Buttonwillow, I've missed knitting on it and I'm doing another out of some Mohair/Polwarth from Rovings, that I got at Yarnover in Minneapolis a couple of years ago. The color is stunnning.

Sort of a brilliant raspberry that is insanely difficult to capture on camera.

I've been trying to stretch it out a lot to see how the stitch definition is.

Not bad, eh? This is one of those yarns that needs to be blocked before it shows its full glory

But it is soft soft soft! I am going to love it around my shoulders this winter. :)

It's in the Air

Have you noticed? Fall is here! My very very favorite time of year. Lovely blue skies, a hint of chill during sunny days, smells of dry grasses and dropping temperatures at night. And acorns.

They're such pretty little signs of autumn.

I can't get enough of fall colors now. There's the Persimmon yarn from Alisha that I absolutely had to hold, and once I picked it up I had to wind it and knit with it. I simply could not resist any longer. And I did try.

And the lovely skein of dk weight yarn that Wendee of Hazelknits sent me.

It's called Equinox.

Here's a more intimate view.

Sigh. Lovely!

The club sign-ups went well yesterday evening, and I hope you all were able to get the spot you wanted! The options including pins were sold out in the first 25 minutes or so, but there are still yarn/pattern options available on my site. If you didn't get what you wanted, do not fear! Sign-ups will open again October 15th when another 50 pins and 100 skeins of yarn will be available. This time, sign-ups will be in the morning (and I will announce the time). After those are sold out, I will open pattern only sales! I hope that you all will join me for club fun next year. :)