Ripplerock

This is Ripplerock, Allison LoCicero's design in the latest Twist Collective. Right now, Ravelry tells me it's the second most popular design from this issue. Not too bad if I do say so myself.

I have the privilege of seeing a lot of designs. I mean tons. Every day several come across my desk. And every so often, one makes me stop and take a closer look. This picture by Crissy Jarvis made me pause. It's a showstopper.

The photo did its job. I wanted to take a closer look. And the closer look didn't disappoint.

I'm a sucker for a picot edge.

And upon further inspection of the pattern, I see that it's worked top down and the edging gets added as you go along. I like that too. 

At the end of the day, I call this a stunner. It's made from our Shepherd Sport, so it's substantial, but not bulky. That also means that it's going to knit up pretty darn quickly. Maybe not in time for Christmas quickly, but if you are so inclined, this could certainly be your New Year's Eve wrap. 

Brava Allison LoCicero! Beautiful work! 

Thanksgiving

Things are winding down around here for the long weekend. Amanda is off to visit Derek's family, Grace hit the road for Detroit about an hour ago. The rest of us are finishing the day. 

For whatever reason we are quiet. The radio isn't on and people seem content in their own thoughts. You can hear the sound of the tape dispenser cutting tape and the tap tap tap of the rubber stamp putting dye lot numbers of labels. From time to time a timer dings and yarn is pulled from the dye pots.

It's nice this time of year. We gather with friends and family new and old, connect with loved ones near and far and to raise a glass to those who we can only hold in our hearts. It's a time to remember those less fortunate than ourselves and to open our hearts and minds to new beginnings.

And sleeping in your favorite chair, yes, sleeping in your favorite chair.

To you and yours, cheers. 

Hi! Remember Me?

Yeah, I know. I haven't blogged in months. I'm not sure why. It's not for lack of stuff going on around here to tell you about. It's been super busy and we've been having a ton of fun. I think maybe it's as simple as getting out of the habit. Then so much time had gone by that it felt like I had to have some momentous news to share. Then more time went by and I started feeling guilty. Silly, right?

Then a couple of weeks ago, Mason-Dixon Knitting got their blog back on after a hiatus. And Mercedes Tarasovich  started her newsletter back up. I was delighted to hear from them again. I have to imagine that people would be happy to hear from me again too. So, here we are. 

I'm not going to promise you X posts a week or a month. But I'm going to get back in the groove. 

There have been a couple of changes in the crew around here since we last chatted. Let me introduce you to Grace. She's been with us since last Spring and has turned into an ace dyer.

Girl is busy too. When she's not making pretty string with us she's working on her master's degree in Aquatic Biology. And if that's not enough, she teaches classes at Windy Knitty. I know, right? It makes me tired just thinking about all she's got going on.

Grace has Timber Bay by Melissa Schaschwary on her needles right now. I can't tell you about the color quite yet, so it's in grey scale here.

Dang, that's kinda boring, isn't it? Oh well. Click on over to the pattern, it's pretty cool. And be patient with us on the colors. We're working on it.

Tenuous Connections

I got news last week that a woman named Meghan Galbraith died. I had just reached my seat and was settling in at the theatre when I got the text. I was able to get some of the details before the curtain went up but the first act was a bit of a blur.

I was surprised the news hit me as hard as it did. You see, Meghan and I weren't what I'd describe as friends. We'd never stayed up late laughing over a bottle of wine. We never went out to dinner or took a walk. We weren't "friends" on Facebook. I didn't even know her last name until she was gone.

Meghan worked at the coffee shop right up the street from the studio for the first few years that I owned Lorna's Laces. She was the dynamo that made the shop tick. She probably moved on sometime in 2006 or 2007, so it had been a  long time since I'd seen her.

I'm sure part of my reaction is because I saw her every day for several years. Just for a few minutes, but almost every day. We said hello and sometimes shared a little something about our lives.

In the very early days of Lorna's Laces, I worked ridiculous hours. Fifteen hours days were pretty common. Seven day work weeks too. I often strolled up the street in the late afternoon or early evening for a little pick me up. Looking back, I realize sometimes it was as much for the smile as the coffee. Meghan was that person. The one who brought a little sunshine into your life just by being Meghan.

This death is tragic. Thirty-five year old women should be making music and living life in the largest possible way.

My takeaway from this is to remember that you might not realize the impact you can have on someone's life. Small interactions can touch hearts in big ways.

New Colors

It's that time of  year again. New color time! We launched 7 new colors at TNNA earlier in the month and they are shipping out to your local yarn shop.

This season, we named colors after women one of the crew holds dear. A mother, a grandmother, a friend. I'd like to bring your attention to one in particular, Go, Sandy, Go.This color honors our friend Sandy who is fighting uterine cancer right now. We'll donate 10% of the proceeds from the yarn we dye that color to cancer charities. If you have a particular charity in mind, let us know. We always like your input.


 Without further ado: