Knit Cafe Bulletin Board

Exercises for knitters

all photos and illustrations are owned by Knit Cafe, Inc.

Ouch! 

My neck, elbows and wrists are absolutely throbbing!!  I'm sure the fact that I knit a blanket, fair isle vest and am now 7 skeins into and alpaca shawl all in the last 2 months has everything to do with it.....not to mention the hours of mouse clicking on the computer.

These are a few of the illustrations for exercises featured in Greetings from Knit Cafe. I collaborated with Maria Leone, the owner of Bodyline Pilates Studio and LA artist Peter Tigler to create a section dedicated to exercises for the aches and pains to our bodies caused by repetitive movement.

In the illustration above:
Neck Stretch
Start seated upright with feet firmly planted on the ground.  Without bending your torso or tilting your shoulders, allow your head to lower to one side as if wearing a very heavy earring.  Keep the opposite shoulder pulling down towards the floor.  With gentle pressure, use one hand to increase the stretch.  Hold 30 seconds.  Repeat on other side.

all photos and illustrations are owned by Knit Cafe, Inc.

Shoulder Opener
Start seated upright with feet firmly planted on the ground.  Clasp your hands together and bring them behind your head.  Open your elbows and pull your shoulder blades tight together.  Hold for 5 seconds and repeat 5 times. 






all photos and illustrations are owned by Knit Cafe, Inc. 

Yarn Winder
Start seated upright with feet firmly planted on the ground.  Allow your upper arm to hang free by your trunk.  Bend your elbows so that your forearm is now parallel to the ground.  Make fists with your hands and circle your wrists 5 times each direction.   

Remember to breathe slowly with each of these exercises.

I also have been putting my arms under cold water and then sitting back with some great music a summer candle and my eyes closed.

Aaaahhhhhhhhhh......mmmmmmmm.

Greetings from Knit Cafe notecard SALE

 

Melanie Falick called the other day to let me know that Abrams Books,
the publishing company where she edits her gorgeous books, is having a sale
on the notecards from Greetings from Knit Cafe.  They are on sale for $5.00 a box!!
Click here to order and click here to read Melanie's blog.

I have always been so happy with the way these cards turned out.  They are beautiful
and colorful and the blank interior allows for them to be used for any occasion ......
thanks you's, miss you's, love you's. We do so much communicating
these days with email and texting ..... it feels special to receive a handwritten
note in the mail.

       

   

My daughter has always loved these cards.....last summer she even took them to camp
and used them as her official "summer camp letter-writing card".  Here she is
writing a note to her Grandma....and she tells me the empty boxes are great for holding
ponty tail bands etc.

 

Anyone want to join me for a storytelling GrandSLAM?

You may or may not know that I am crazy about storytelling!  I listen to whatever I can... BBC stories, NPR stories, Prarie Home Companion, The Moth....it's a form that has always made me feel relaxed and peaceful AND  it allows me to knit while listening...2 birds with 1 stone, right?

This past weekend I attended The Storytelling Festival in Ojai, CA.  It was two days and nights of non stop stories at the bandshell in the park surrounded by orange blossoms and lavender. It was the best.

This Monday The Moth is having a GrandSLAM.  If you are around that night you should really try to attend it.  If you can't, check out their website.

Monday, May 11th

LA GrandSLAM

Feast or Famine

Stories told by:
Josh Cereghino
Sam Feirstein
Sylia Francis
Anthony Griffith
Maranatha Hay
Kelley Caleb Hunt
Seth Pierson
Dove Pressnall
Bill Ratner
Riley Ray Robbin

Host:
Brian Finkelstein

Vibraphonist:
Alexander Burke

Featuring Special Guest Judges:
Jason Bentley (KCRW's Music Director and host of Morning Becomes Eclectic)
Moon Unit Zappa (author, actress, humorist and mom. Unit is her middle name)
Jackie Clarke (writer and performer whose work has been seen at The UCB Theater and on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, VH1 and Oxygen)

7:00 pm Doors Open
8:00 pm Stories Start on Stage

at King King
6555 Hollywood Boulevard

$15 general admission tickets available at www.ticketweb.com

Book signing this weekend!

 

                                                                             victoria pearson photography

        Book signing & knitting:

        Saturday, April 18th
        11a - 1p

 

        Compatto Yarn Salon
        2112 Wilshire Boulevard
        Santa Monica  90403

    

                     

Something to talk about.....

 

I'm pleased to let you know that Greetings from Knit Cafe is now available in paperback!  It feels so good knowing that a completely updated and more economical version can now be purchased.  The patterns and stories are the same but all corrections have been made.

AND I must say, I enjoy being able to stash the book in my bag and not have to worry about it so much! There are a few patterns that I find myself making over and over using different yarns and working up different sizes....like: The Slouchy Cardigan, The Lala Scarf, The Pompom Awning Shawl and the Computer Keyboard Cover.  I'll share various versions with you in the future.  I would love to see your versions of projects you have made.  I have received pictures from many of you and I've also seen many finished projects on Ravelry.

 

Compatto Yarn Salon is a very sweet little yarn shop in Santa Monica that reached out to me almost immediately after Knit Cafe closed offering me a welcome place to knit.  I have my little knitting group that gets together on Wednesday nights so I don't make it there often but I have always been grateful for their friendship. A few months back they graciously asked me to do a booksigning at their shop in the spring when the book came out.  I am so looking forward to it and hope that I get to see many of you whom I haven't seen for a while.  I will bring most of the projects from the book along with some of the spinoffs! 

            Book signing: 

            Saturday April 18th 
            11a - 1p

            Compatto Yarn Salon
            2112 Wilshire Boulevard
            Santa Monica  90403

 

Gosh it will be great to see you!

xx,
Suzan

Check this out!

 

I was browsing through my weekly blogs and noticed a fun  Holiday giveaway on Melanie Falicks

blog.  She has a few questions for us to answer including one that asks which of the STC

books we would most want for the holidays.  A random drawing on December 12 will present

5 luckies with the book they wished for.  How cool is that?!  I put down Leigh Radford's AlterKnits Felt.

I was also excited to see the image above which she used for their upcoming 2009 catalog.  The picture

 was taken by Victoria Pearson for Greetings from Knit Cafe which will be released in paperback

 in the spring!

Good luck on the drawing!

Make someone happy

 

My daughter Lilly, is a musician....she has played the piano almost everyday since she was 8.  She's never told or asked to play the piano....she just plays....and plays and plays.....she gets lost in it.....it makes her happy.  She composes pieces which she performs solo in front of her school every year,...she plays back up to others singing....she plays in a rock band that she started with her friends....she plays in our family performances with her brother on drums, her dad on guitar, her big sister on lead vocal and her other big sister and I on vocal backup.....her music consumes most of her time.

The piano that she plays belonged to her step sisters, Jenny and Heather, when they were little girls.  Twelve or thirteen years ago, they were moving into a new house which didn't have room for the piano and asked if we would like to have it.  Of course we said yes.  Aside from being banged on from time to time by both of our kids, who were toddlers at the time, the piano sat in the living room  quietly.  It was just a  matter of time before Charlie found the drums and Lilly found the piano.

Everyday, she plays something when she wakes up, plays something when she gets home from school and plays something before she goes to bed...always with her cat, Kiddy plopped on top of the piano.

 

 

The other day, while she was at school and the house was still, I was sitting on the stairs looking at the old family piano and thinking about how much happiness it brings her and how much happiness she brings us with her music.  I decided to give a little something back by making these leg warmers out of leftover Kureyon for her bench.  As many of you know, I am a very slow knitter so it took me about an hour for each one.  When she walked through the door and saw the legs of her beat up bench all snuggled up in the colorful warmers, she absolutely squealed with happiness!!

 

....which made me so happy.

We exhaled in Paris............

I haven't updated this blog since April and yet, every week people sign onto the mailing list and send me emails asking how I am and what are the future plans for Knit Cafe.  It blows me away that there are so many who care. Thank you so much.

Well first, I want to show you that my family and I are well and in tact.  This is us in "you know where" after traveling through Greece, the Greek Isles, Italy and France.  In fact, I think it was almost on the very day that this photo was taken that we each exhaled in a way that took the weight of the preceding months off of our shoulders.  I don't really want to go into details other than to say, my step daughters lost their beloved mother to a devastating cancer in her brain, my son began driving, took the entire side of his dads car off and ultimately persevered and got his drivers license...my daughter became a teenager...both my husband and I are grappling with the painful pulling away of our 17 year old, and I had to let go of my deep anger and sadness in having to close my store.....Yet here we are, at the end of summer...kids back in school and planning my step-daughters wedding in our back yard in just 3 weeks...life goes on!

I haven't decided when and where to re-open Knit Cafe.  I have been looking at a space close to The Grove but haven't made any move on it yet. 

A lot of my time has been spent reclaiming my home....rearranging the kitchen, the pantry, where the soup cans sit versus the pasta.  I rearranged the dining room...cleaned out drawers...cleaned and ironed every table cloth and napkin I own ( it's a lot!).  I cleaned out all of the drawers in every bathroom....sorted through my kids drawers and closets, set up a new file system in my office, rifled through my closet and shortened many many skirts and pants.  I even got my sewing machine out and have completed a few simple projects. I got all of the photos framed that had been stacking up for months/years.   Most important, I completely reorganized my home stash of yarn....sometimes when I am really missing my shop, I sit down and just stare at the yarn......(I really do know how pathetic that sounds, but it's true).

To be honest, while I always have something on my needles, my summer projects were all pretty mindless....lots of stripes!  (I will share them with you another time). 

I will begin to update the blog more often now. I look forward to hearing how you all are doing and what rearranging you have been up to this summer!

xx

Breathe

SALE AND UPDATE

Hey there!

Before I go into the details of what's going on with the shop, I

want to encourage you to take advantage of the sale.  Our

economy is tough right now and you deserve to have some

good bargains.  The sale will include yarns, needles, books,

magazines, notions and even some of the beautiful samples

that have been hand knit by the talented staff I've had over the

past 6 years.  This is also a good time to use your gift certificates

and store credit.

April 6th will be the final day of the sale and the final day of business

in the Melrose shop, so PLEASE be sure to stop by, confirm we

have your updated email info and give me a hug.

Moving from this beloved spot in West Hollywood where so many

friendships have emerged is sad but I'm sure the story won't end

here.  I've been working on a few "things" and hope to share them

with you this fall.  I have also been searching high and low for a

new space for the shop but, as of yet, have had no luck.  It's so

weird, there are "for lease" signs everywhere but the rents have

been raised to levels that just don't jive with what's happening in

the economy.  (what's that all about?!)

In the meantime, you can stay in touch via our blog, Knit Cafe Bulletin Board

and visit the on line shop which will be built out further after a long

vacation with my family in June.

Lastly, thank you so much for the many wonderful notes and calls.

I am deeply touched.

To be continued.....

Suzan

13 going on #!% something!

This year my daughter turned 13.

Not only did she become a teenager, she also put all of her beloved dolls up on the shelf in her closet.  The milestone was a huge thrill for her but oh so sad for me.  She has officially moved on from her American Girl dolls to her iPOD.

BUT...her loss was our gain.......

 

Always trying to look on the bright side, I realized that if she didn't want to play with her dolls anymore, we could!  She has given us permission to keep these 2 dolls at the shop where we LOVE to create fun outfits.

Helene designed this Chanel suit complete with black bag (not shown), black boots and black undies (also not shown).

      

         

I did the mohair sweater, tweed skirt and headband ensemble.The little pin was a keychain thingie that I found in Lilly's closet.  It is SO much fun knitting for dolls.  You can use your stash and literally make an entire outfit during Grey's Anatomy.

So McFun!

                                  

I have something to tell you.

For almost 4 years Knit Cafe was one of the very few retail shops in our little neighborhood in West Hollywood. Our block was occupied with interior design showrooms, restaurants, schools, and salons.

But in the last 2 years the neighborhood has become an exclusive fashion couture enclave.  Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenburg, Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta, Chloe, Marni, Monique L'hullier, Catharine Malandrino, Alexander McQueen, Paul Smith and others have all moved in.

Along with these very expensive stores have come very expensive rents, and now, after 6 years, I find myself at the end of my lease and confronted with a rent increase that is almost 4 times what it has been.

I'm sure you can see where this is going.

It's taken me a few months to process having to give up my little space and move somewhere else but now I'm focused and busy trying to find  a new gem of a spot for us to call "home".

The move is due to happen in late Spring. If any of you know of a spot in the West Hollywood area (about 1,000 sf) with a reasonable rent, PLEASE let me know.

Of course I will keep you all informed via  the Bulletin Board or email.

To be continued.....Suzan

Candy Heart Pillow class at Knit Cafe

Something 'sweet' for the Valentine in your life!

Join us this Wednesday evening and we will show you how to

make this super cute and simple little pillow.

Wednesday, February 6

6-30p - 8:30p

$25 plus materials

Call and reserve your space!

323-658-5648

Six Degrees of Separation

photograph by Alicia Paulson, Posie Gets Cozy

Back in December I was reading Posie Gets Cozy  and I came across this charming crochet

"scarflette" that she had just finished.  I really liked the cheerfulness of the peice and wasted no

time following Posie's links which took me to the pattern on Etsy.



photograph by fablehandmadegoods

I went ahead and bought and downloaded the pattern.  I had a question and contacted its' author.

She wrote me back and the first thing she said was, "Is this Suzan from Knit Cafe?"

I was floored!  Long story short.....it turns out that she lives about 2 blocks from

Knit Cafe and is a customer !!!!   How crazy is that?!

That night,  I worked up her scarflette in about 2 hours with some Misti chunky alpaca

that I had in my home stash.  It was a fun and quick crochet.  Enjoy!

WINTER SALE!

40% - 60% off

This Friday, Saturday & Sunday ONLY

(January 25, 26 & 27)

   

photo by judith gigliotti

My Needles

I keep a knitting basket next to my chair at Knit Cafe and almost daily, when I am not

sitting, someone will poke through it to see what's in there. (usually a few

wip's).  My needles seem to always get a lot of comments.  They all have different

colored tips.

A few years ago, I began painting them with nail polish as a way to tell the different sizes apart.

I ultimately became obsessed with how cute they look and how much I love looking at them while

working on my various projects.  Sometimes I even pick out a yarn in a certain color

just because I know it will look great with the needles!

At first, I focused mainly on orange (my favorite color) and pinks and then I found that

between my daughter and me, we have some really fun colors. I also have a

stash of polishes that go under the category of "what was I thinking?", that are perfect

for this use......yellow, brown, blue, green.....

I enjoy knitting with Crystal Palace bamboo needles and their polka dot tops are perfect

for painting.....as are Clovers.  Be sure to use at least 2 coats of polish and it doesn't

hurt to finish off with a clear top coat!  Have fun!

Holiday Lollygaggers (like me!)

If you are like me (and I have a feeling many of you are) you are STILL behind in your holiday shopping.

I'm not exactly sure why this seems to happen every year, but it does.  For you kindred spirits, here are some suggestions for your last minute gift shopping.  Each are handmade and one-of-a-kind.

   

These Felted Brooches measure 4 to 5 inches and would be so pretty on a bag, lapel, or shawl.

This hunter green cuff is felted and then impeccably ebellished with cinnamon crochet,
beads and buttons.  They are from Nottingham, England.  Mine is dusty pink with
gold and I get compliments every time I wear it!

   

I love Betz White's journals. Her work is alway creative and meticulous. 



Do you need something for a little one?

Jerry's Granny Square afghan

A few weeks ago, Jerry Fox came into the shop needing help.  He was clean shaven...
pressed slacks...shirt tucked in...blazer...polished shoes, hair combed, and a hint
of after shave...but more than that, he was full of life and stories and anectdotes.
He said he is 75 but I would swear he's not a year older than 65.  He was just
so delightful...he charmed us all for at least 30 minutes.

He brought in 2 afghans that have been with him for many many years.
This one was waiting for him when he returned from service in WWII.
It was lovingly made for him by his buddies' mom who
was like a second mother to him.


He is clearly devoted to the memory of this woman and the impact she had on his
life.  His blanket gets lots of use and needs some gentle repair, which I am very
happy to do.

He had another blanket to be repaired.  This one made by another family member.

We talked for a bit about the workmanship and the colors and eventually Jerry
went on his way leaving me the blankets to work on.  The room felt a little empty
after he left...he had so much energy.

Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time studying these blankets and it led me to thinking
about Granny Squares and how much I love them.  I have been collecting them
for years and never tire of their colorful bliss.  .

I began wondering about where Granny
Squares came from.  I stumbled on this fascinating piece written by Carol
Alexander.  I won't plagiarise her article but she explains that the early
European immigrants came to America with amazing delicate crochet lace
techniques.  Time was not in abundance and the dainty lacework was not practical for the hardworking settlers so they began to experiment.... adapting crochet to heavy homespun wools                           
and slowly this treasured style of crochet became widely used.





Here is a blanket that I am working on for my bed.  I am using Noro Kochoran
and it is so beautiful in person.

.

A Reminder

                                                                                       

Kat Coyle will be at Knit Cafe this Sunday to sign her new book!

A 25% discount will be applied towards yarn purchased along with a copy her book.  This offer only applies to the book signing event.

If you are out out town and would like a signed copy of Boho Baby Knits, call the shop and we will be happy to send you one in time for the holidays.

SAVE THE DATES

I am really excited to announce 2 major Book Signing events scheduled for this coming December!

First.......

On Sunday December 2 at 12 noon, designer Kat Coyle will be signing her very first
book, Boho Baby Knits.  It is no secret that Kat is one of my very favorite designers.  I have
long adored her gorgeous lace concoctions.

Kat has created pieces for me personally and for Greetings from Knit Cafe and her designs have been
published in Interweave, Knit Scene, Knit 1 and Knitty.com to name only a few.

In her new book, she features "groovy patterns for cool tots" some of which were designed
by Knit Cafe alum Beth Abaravich, Julia Trice and Mary-Heather Cogar.

Kat will be bringing a few of the charming pieces featured in Boho Baby Knits and will
be signing her book between noon and 2.  Be sure not to miss her!

You may call us at 323-658-5648 to reserve your copy.

Second........

Thursday evening from 6:30 - 8:30, Sabrina Gschwandtner author of KNITKNIT Profiles + Projects
from Knitting's New Wave.

"All over North America and Europe, a brand-new generation has taken up knitting - and is transforming the venerable needlecraft by blurring the boundary between craft and art...........Five years ago, Sabrina Gschwandtner founded a zine to tackle the blurry edge between craft
and fine art to chronicle the trend.  Now, her book KnitKnit brings together profiles of 27 of the most talented artist-crafters knitting today."

Sabrina has been on a whirlwind book tour speaking at museums, galleries, art schools, and a handful of knit shops around the US and UK signing her book.  Knit Cafe is her only Southern California stop. She will be joined by featured artists Lisa Anne Auerbach, Bridget Marrin, Tina Marrin & Eugene Ong
to sign her newly released book.  (Some of you may remember the AMAZING knitted boots made by Tina Marrin that were on display in Knit Cafe when it opened in July 2002).

DON'T miss this rare opportunity to meet Sabrina and her collegues!

You may call us at 323-658-5648 to reserve your copy.

Lots of "New" around here

I always love this time of year.  Yes, the kids are back in school.  Yes, people are back to their normal

routines again.  Yes, the shop is all a-flutter....BUT it's also the time for new faces, new yarns, new classes

and new stories!

Pia, who started working at Knit Cafe when she was 16, left for college.  I check on her regularly and I can

report to all who adore her as much as I do, that she is settled in and loving Reed College and will be back to

help around the shop during the Christmas holidays.

Meanwhile, Olia, has come to us.  She is a lovely young woman originally from the Ukraine with lots and

lots of knitting knowledge and experience under her belt.  She recently finished Raspberry the Bunny and

this beautiful Infant Fisherman Sweater for the shop.

Olia will be teaching a Beginner Mitten class on Wednesday evenings Oct. 24 & 31.

She will teach you all of the techniques needed to complete these adorable

mittens.

What else....oh yes....YARNS!!!!  Lots and lots of new yarns have arrived!

Alchemy, Aracaunia, Blue Sky Alpaca, Brown Sheep, Classic Elite, Colinette, Debbie Bliss,

Manos del Uruguay, Aracaunia, Noro, Kaffe Fassett Sock yarn, K1C2, Misti Alpaca,

Rowan, Phildar, Sublime, Vermont Fiber Company....to name a few....  I must say, the yarns

are getting more and more gorgeous.....I just can't keep my hands off!

See you soon.

My Serape Tote

Last winter Vicky made a wonderful serape jacket from a pattern in an old knitting

magazine that really caught my attention.  I just loved how the stitch pattern looked like

a hand-woven fabric and how her choice of Manos del Uruguay, the gorgeous kettle dyed wool,

enhanced the southwestern rustic feel.  I've seen her wear her jacket several

times and each time I have thought that it would make a great tote bag!

I finally designed this bag which is on it's way to be assembled as we speak and will be featured in

my Sunday Workshop on October 21 and 28. I chose Manos in chocolate, carmel, coffee and teal.

It will be lined in a dark brown denim fabric to add stability and, lastly,these rich dark brown leather

handles will be attached.  I'm liking the way it is looking so far...can't wait to see the finished bag.  Call

us at Knit Cafe if you would like to sign up for the workshop!

.

What does Knit Cafe have to do with these 3 pieces?

Rodarte is the super hot high fashion team of Laura & Kate Mulleavy.

Their beautiful work caught the eye of fashion sophisticates

in 2005. You may have seen their exquisite pieces on the pages of

Vogue, Bazarr, and Elle or worn by Cameron Diaz and Kate Blanchett.

Laura and Kate needed assistance in engingeering and intepreting 3 of their designs into

garments and guess what......yep....we did it! 

These 3 knitted pieces are in their FALL 2007 collection!  I agreed

that we would keep it low key and all but I really have to crow a little.

We ultimately also produced the subsequent orders for them.  It was a wonderful

experience.  I'm still pinching my cheeks?

So if any of you happen to see these pieces in Barneys or Neimans or

a very chic French boutique, you will know where they were made! shh

Look who the July winners are!

On Wenlan Chia's website Twinkle by Wenlan, she asks her viewers to send photos

of  completed projects from her book Twinkle's Big City Knits.  Each month a

winner is picked and presented with a small gift. The July winners are

our very own Carrie Brenner and her sister Alison Kronenberg!!!!!  They each knit

the Hampton Halter in Rowan Soft Bamboo purchased at Knit Cafe.  Wenlan added a personal

comment under their photo that read, "Great colors for both of these sisters!  Both of them look different

but equally fabulous."

Congratulations Carrie and Alison.

Quilt of Notecards

When I was designing Knit Cafe, designer Sasha Emerson introduced me to

Judith Gigliotti.  Judy is one of those people that is creative to the core.  She

paints, she draws, she creates pottery,owned a pottery studio, taught pottery, 

she raised SEVEN  children, she knits and she is a wonderful photographer. (phew)

She sees everything through color and flowers.  I asked Judy if she would create

some images for me to hang in the store.  I expected 1 maybe 2 photos......I got a gallery!

She put together the most beautiful collection of photos of flowers with knitting needles.

I framed them, hung them in the store and, of course they sold like crazy.

While I was working on Greetings from Knit Cafe, I showed some of the photos

to my editor, Melanie Falick who loved them as much as I did and suggested that

we produce notecards using Judy's photographs. I think they came out so beautiful!

My goal was that even if you aren't a knitter, you can't deny the pleasure that Judy's

work brings.  She has a website of her beautiful work at judithgigliotti.com

A whole new look

One of our favorite things to do is dress the mannequins

in the window.  Kiki (seen in these photos) has been wearing the Lacy

Skirt with Bows from Greetings from Knit Cafe.  It's the beigy skirt shown on the

book cover.  Her Lacy Skirt was made in black and paired with Helene's Felix

the Cat T-shirt.  It was a fun outfit that seemed to bring lots of smiles to

those walking by.

Sunday we decided it was time for a change and while lifting the skirt up and over

Kiki's head, realized how great the skirt would look as a cool summer top!

The bottom lace border was positioned at her waist, the ribbon was pulled into a

bow in the front, a matching ribbon was attached through the front waist eyelet and

tied in a bow at the back of her neck.  Brought out some old cutoffs and

voila......a whole new look!  Alas, Kiki and the Lacy Skirt with Bows are back in

the window for a few more weeks!

Look Mom.....more Carpet Bags!

Rachel finished her bag from our Carpet Bag class. The pattern is
in Hankdknit Holidays by Melanie Falick.  She made it in a
cheerful color of apple green Araucania hand dyed cotton.

She chose these beautiful leather and wood handles that she then stitched
onto the top of the bag.

The retro fabric for the lining and pocket along with the inside brass clasp attachment,
make her bag look beautiful and professional.

She was so jazzed at how the first bag turned out, that she quickly whipped up
another one in ecru!

Granny Squares with Habu cotton gima

Cotton gima is a 100% cotton ribbon that looks and feels a lot like paper.  When first handled,

it's hard to imagine the delicate fiber not breaking in an instant...but it is surprisingly strong.

It can be used as a finger weight/lace yarn and worked on a size 1 - 2 needle or it

can also be worked on a size 4 needle for projects like washcloths. 

At Knit Cafe, we have been crocheting Granny Squares.....lots and lots of Granny Squares.

Linked together they make beautiful belts, table runners and bags.

Our friends at Habu have put together the most irresistable pallette of colors.

If you would like to try out this beautiful fiber, you can buy it through

the shop at 323-658-KNIT.

The Carpet Bag

We just finished Carrie Brenners' class today.  She designed this fab bag that can be found

in Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick.  Carrie is a big snowball of energy which made this class

a blast to take.  The bag incorporates a scallop stitch pattern made out of 14 row repeats that

she found in an old vintage book. Once you get yourself settled in and focused, it goes pretty quickly.

I used Rowan Summer Tweed for my bag and lined it with some batik fabric that I had stashed away.  I

actually pulled out my sewing machine to make the lining and assemble the bag!

Kathi used Sheep Shop Merino in a really pretty variegated pallette on size 6 needles.  Her bag

will be smaller than some of the others since she is working with a smaller gauge yarn.

Rachael chose Araucania Nature Cotton in a sunny apple green and some really cool leather

and wood handles. 

Carrie used a colorful Noro cord to make more of an evening size bag.

The others in the class were a little more shy about sharing their work but there were some

really pretty peices being worked up in everything from Scottish Tweed to Colinette Giotto to another Summer Tweed.

I can't wait to fill this bag up with my wallet, datebook and cellphone.  I have a feeling I will be using it a lot

this summer!

Happy 4th of July!

Wimbeldon, knitting, getting some sun, knitting, Law & Order, knitting, cooking,

knitting.......ahh, the perfect day!

Enjoy!