Small World (I am Lucky to Work in Yarn.)

Every summer I join a few friends for a weekend of fun and games up in Spring Green, Wi. There's a wonderful place up there called American Players Theater. They do a half dozen plays in rep every summer.

We've been going once or twice a year for 15 years or more. This year we're going to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Too Many Husbands. No Shakespeare. I am not a fan. (I know, I'm a heathen.) But I do love Shaw and his ilk. That drawing room comedy sucks me in every time.

Up until the last couple of years, there was only one, outdoor, stage. That means you're at the mercy of the weather. We saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof wearing long johns and shivering under blankets. We've also melted under 95 degree sun. Part of the fun is never being sure what you'll get. Nowadays, they have an indoor stage too which makes things a little easier to plan. Of course you can never predict rain, but you have a better shot of being comfortable during that August matinee if you are indoors.

This morning, I needed to call the box office to get a few details of our upcoming trip straightened up.

Me: Hello, my name is Beth Casey. I have some questions about our upcoming visit.
Her: Sure thing, how can I help?
Me: We'll be there during open house weekend. How should we make arrangements for the Inside Out Tour.
Her: Lengthy explanation.
Me: Super, got it! Thanks for everything. We love coming to visit.
Her: Thank you too! You know, I'm a big fan, I love your yarn.
Me: Thanks! (Blush)

I'm not naive enough to think that this person knew my name without the help of caller ID flashing "Lorna's Laces".  But still, how cool is it that? How often do you make a random customer service call and have the person on the other end know your work?

I can't say it too often. I am lucky to work in yarn.

Cover Girl!

  We just heard from Vogue Knitting and we're on the cover of the Fall issue!! Yowsa! 

This incredible Deborah Newton design features an applied cable. I saw it myself at market and it took my breath away. I really love how it's styled here with the red lipstick. Great job! 

It's knit in Haymarket and shown here in 51ns Island Blue. 

I'd like to throw down a gauntlet on this one. Actually two. I'll give the  first person who sends me a photo of their finished Applied Cable Fisherman's Rib Top  (that's a mouthful) up to a sweater's worth of yarn for their next project. And the first person who comes up to me at Rhinebeck wearing one will get the same. 

Somehow this one just screams Rhinebeck sweater to me. What do you think? 

My Stitches Midwest Haul

I snuck out of work early on Friday and spent the afternoon at Stitches Midwest. Don't tell my boss. ;-)

I picked up an orange yarn bowl from Pawley Studios. Now I have an orange Jennie the Potter bowl and this one.  I wonder who should be next?

I stopped by to talk with Ron and Theresa from the Buffalo Wool Company and mentioned that I was signed up for a drop spindle class at Rhinebeck and somehow a bundle of beautiful silk/bison fiber ended up in my bag. So did a pair of these cute little bird nesting balls. And yes, we giggled like a bunch of teenagers.

I saw so many friends! If I tell you about it all, I'll just sound like a tedious name dropper, so I'll let your imagination go wild.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am lucky to work in yarn.

Fall Colors

I thought  you might like to see the new fall colors. They were in the newsletter I sent out yesterday, but figured I should post them here too. Did I hear someone say that they don't get the newsletter? Well you can sign up here. No need to worry about your email box getting inundated, I'm not nearly as good at spreading the news as I should be.

We moved a little away from our usual Chicago based naming scheme this season. We thought it would be fun for us each of us to tell you a piece of our story through the colors. So, without further ado:

My parents met in Arlington, VA. 

Michael started school in Flushing, NY.

Amanda was born in Louisville, KY

Mento hails from Monrovia, Liberia. 

Casey went to high school in Reno, NV. 

Bettie met her beau in Rippey, IA. 

Tito had his first kiss in Rockaway, NY.

Tony's fiirst date was in Worcester, MA. 

    (We have 8 colors and only 7 people, so we added the story of my friend Tony who works in the studio right next door.) I didn't think you'd mind.

    We've also got some cute models that we'll be posting over to Facebook and Twitter and the like. Here's one that Amanda created in Reno called The Biggest Little City Cowl. It's a freebie over on Ravelry. 

As always, we'll dye any of our yarns in any of the colors. Including our newest yarn, Haymarket. I have Jaywalkers in Arlington on the needles right now. What are you thinking about? 

Queen Street Cardigan

We're back from market and getting settled back into what masquerades as routine around here. We've got some new things that I'll be sharing with you over the next little bit. Mostly this season is about new colors for us. And the stunning things some of our favorite designers have been doing with them.

The first one I want to show you is Andi Smith's Queen Street Cardigan. It's shown here in Louisville, one of our newest colors. It's a real show stopper! Here's what Andi says about her design process:

I love shawls! I love knitting them, the romance of them and the way they look on people. Sadly, I can't wear them to save my life. I'm round-shouldered and they just slither off and look a bit silly on me. 

Planning for our national trade show, I really wanted to be able to wear a knitted garment, however, Columbus in June can be a bit on the hot side, so whatever I chose needed to be lace-weight. I searched for patterns, and didn't find anything that suited my body type, so, with some rather luscious Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace, I designed something new. 

For a few weeks, I was calling it the shawligan, all the good parts of a shawl, but applied to a cardigan. I dropped the name, but love that it has the basic aesthetics of a shawl. Stunning lace-weight yarn, lace panels that flow into each other and details that pop once blocked like the fan-stitch edging along the bottom and cuffs. 

Unlike a shawl, however, the Queen Street Cardigan, hugs your figure, and is highly customizable, from sleeve length to waist ease, and length. It is designed to be worked as a top-down raglan to give you the opportunity to try on frequently and modify as you go along.

Two versions of it came to market, one long, one short. (More pix to come.The models are in transit.) I tried them both on and they both worked but for different reasons. The long one has that big "wow" factor that a only a mid thigh lace extravaganza will deliver. The gorgeous gold of Louisville didn't hurt either. There was something Downton-esque about it that made me happy. It'd look darling over a pair of leggings or skinnies. 

The shorter version was a little more versatile without losing any of the fun. I hate hot weather but still find myself needing a little something in the air conditioned world we live in. This would fit the bill perfectly without the fiddling that sometimes comes with a shawl. 

I've never been an exclusively cold weather knitter. I knit whatever I want all year long. But, I do understand why some people might not want a lap full of worsted weight wool in their lap when the thermometer hits triple digits.(I'm feeling for all of you out West.) Or maybe you aren't a sock knitter. (You should learn.) This is where a airy lace knit seems to make perfect sense. And this one is exceptional. 

Interweave Crochet Summer

We're pleased as can be to be gracing the cover of Interweave's Summer Crochet issue!

This is the Love is a Rose Shawl by Kathryn White. It's stitched from our Helen's Lace in 412 Campbell. This design was awarded first place n the 2012 Crochet Guild of America's Design contest. I can see why, it's super cute!

The close up here shows how the row of roses defines a swath of lover's knots. I think my favorite feature is the shamrock dangles. Could they be any more fun?! They speak to my Irish.

The whole issue is nice. There's a California theme going on throughout with stories that include Malibu Garden, LA Times and California Dreamin'. 

There was also a super feature on the Yarnover Truck. Have you heard of it? Think of a food truck, only with yarn based in southern CA. They always get the great stuff first. ;-)

What could be more fun than a yarn store on wheels? Think of the possibilities....

My MDSW Haul

It's weird for me when I go somewhere like Stitches or MDSW. I mean, I already have a ton of yarn. Seriously, a ton. As in 2000 pounds. And it's yarn I really like. Yarn that I can make any color I want. So I don't need to buy more. On the other hand, like any red blooded American, I love to shop. And there were more than 200 booths with wonderful goods for me to choose from. It's kind of dilemma.

Generally, I stay away from yarn vendors. Especially other hand dyed yarns. There are a couple of reasons for that. Mostly it's because I have a lot of yarn. (See above.) But there's also the piece of me that doesn't want to inadvertently copy someone else's work. I make a conscious effort not to look too closely at what others are doing. Sure, I'll read blogs and take a quick peek but not much more than that. It doesn't seem right somehow. 

That said, I don't worry so much about going into booths that are showing undyed wool from different breeds and that kind of thing. I find real inspiration from smelling and feeling up yarns that are from breeds that I'm not familiar with. Or checking out blends that I don't see every day. There are so many things I can learn from people who are on the front lines, raising sheep, milling yarn and doing the real work that gives me such joy every day. 

So, I end up being drawn to booths that have something other than yarn. I bought a few things.

The first thing I picked up were these darling note cards from an artist named Clare Margaret. She's got a great shop over on Etsy. 

I might have a little bit of non-buyers remorse. She had a couple of full sized laser cut posters that I really liked and I'm wondering if I should have picked one up. 

My next purchase was from this guy who makes brooms by hand. His name is Bob Haffly and his company is called Lone Oak Brooms. He was doing demos all day long and we wandered over a couple of different times to watch. I looked for a website and it doesn't look like he has one. The best I could do is this video. 

I bought a broom cake tester from him. I thought it was a genius idea. The biggest mistake I made was only buying one. I gave it to my sister and I wish I had one for myself too . (Maybe he'll be at Rhinebeck.) I forgot to take a picture of it, but this picture from Williams-Sonoma will give you an idea of what it's all about.  Bob's was way cooler than this. The handle was irregular and you could tell a person made it. 

The other booth I made a big effort to see was Jennie the Potter. She's pretty legendary in our little corner of the world. I was on a mission for a yarn bowl, but couldn't resist a set of stitch markers as well. 

I did get a yarn bowl, an orange one! In case you couldn't tell, orange is my favorite color. It was the last one. Another woman had it in her hands and I kinda watched her until she put it down and then trampled over her casually sauntered over and picked it up. 

Unfortunately, it ran into a little, ahem, mishap, in the airport on the way home. I carried that yarn bowl through MDSW, four states, three airports and this happened 100 yards from the car. I'm not embarrassed to tell you I wept. More than a little bit. 

Through the miracle of modern science and a handy husband, all was not lost. He was able to put all the king's horses together again. And we all did the dance of joy.

So, my inaugural MDSW was a huge success! I can't wait until next time.