Tomorrow between 8am and 9am PST, Betsy McCarthy, my mentor, very close friend and StitchCraft knitting instructor, is going to appear on the Today Show. Please watch! Betsy talks with Jane Pauley about her career change from hospital administrator to knitting instructor. The segment that Jane is doing right now is called Your Life Calling. It's about people making career changes and following their passions, later in life. Very applicable to our job market today. The complete interview with Jane will be available on the AARP website.

Here is the AARP "trailer" for the interview with Betsy and Jane.

http://www.aarp.org/money/work/your_life_calling/

And, Betsy has a new website:

http://betsymccarthyknits.com/

Betsy's book Knit Socks is going to be re-published in this summer. If you would like to reserve a copy of her updated book, please let us know. We're going to host a book signing too!

How exciting to have a knitter in the spotlight! I hope it inspires others to take up the art of handwork.

This basket is stuffed with knitterly goodness:

• Three books, two of them new from publisher Stewart, Tabori and Chang. They are Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans, Knitted Socks East and West, and Knits Men Want.
• Copy of Knitting Traditions Magazine
• Imperial Stock Ranch Kit
• 8 balls of yarn
• Takki Yarns Kit
• Lantern Moon Circular Needle
• Lantern Moon Basket
• Lantern Moon Needle Case
• Berroco Kit
• Unicorn Wool Wash
• Pocket Pals Pattern Booklet

Happy crawling (or running!) to the shops!

This stunning hat is the creation of Maya J. She designed the hat based on the colors she sees on her morning walks with her dog. I especially love the tassels representing lichen, pine cones and pine needles. Fair Isle is beautiful isn't it?

Next, a couple of hats by Kathy B. She calls them "hats for the family". They're done in Spud and Chloe sweater. I love the color combination.

And, there is a lot of new colors, patterns and new yarns from Blue Sky Alpaca and Spud and Chloe.

Above left, we're restocked with Blue Sky Bulky. Above left, new to the shop, Blue Sky Melange. Below left are new colors in Blue Sky Dyed Cotton and below right is Blue Sky Multi Cotton - a new yarn.

New colors came in Spud and Chloe Fine - how about a bright pair of socks for spring? And, new colors in Blue Sky Skinny Dyed Cotton.

These are the latest, special edition travel patterns from Blue Sky Alpacas. We received all the latest patterns for spring by Blue Sky and Spud and Chloe. So come on in and check them out.

Lastly, a new yarn by Knit One Crochet Too. It's Ty Dy Dots. It's just begging to become a baby sweater. It's 100% cotton and in ice cream colors.

There's nothing like a knitting retreat to help you remember why you opened up a yarn shop. The people, the students, the teachers, the yarn; the amount of information at Madrona Fiber Arts retreat is absolutely astounding. This year, I was told from one organizer, that there were 700 students. This number doesn't include the amount of people that came only for the fiber market. 700!!!!

And if you're wondering where the retreat got its name, the Madrona tree grows on the Pacific Coast of the US and Canada. It's the symbol of the retreat and boy...the branches have grown many times from it's early beginnings. Here is a picture of the banquet room on Saturday night. There are just as many fiber arts enthusiasts behind me as you see in this picture which was taken from where I sat.

I took two classes this year, both on intarsia with Jane Slicer-Smith. I've taken workshops on intarsia with Kaffe Fassett and Sasha Kagan, and I really liked Jane's class as she explained her methods of design. Each teacher has their own way of looking at intarsia and I'm happy to take great things from each of them. You can expect an intarsia class taught here in the Fall. We'll start with something simple. I'll get my gears turning. Here are my swatches from class:

Every Saturday night at Madrona, there is a banquet with a lecturer, on an interesting topic. This year it was presented by Linda Cortright, publisher and editor of Wild Fibers Magazine. Linda is the representative of the United Nations mission to protect the world's natural fiber industry. The UN mission is called Keep The Fleece. Check the website for more information on natural fibers and to raise your awareness from where these fibers come. Linda told us of her adventures to New Zealand (merino wool) and Tibet (cashmere goats).

Here's a picture of us taking photos at dinner. From left to right Betsy McCarthy, Evelyn Clark, Mary, Charlene Schurch and April.

This year was my first year teaching at Madrona. I had a blast. The students were so sweet and a good time was had by all. I learned to weave too!  Here is my first woven swatch thanks to Syne Mitchell, who brought her 8 harness loom with her and gave demonstrations all day on Saturday. She said I had good selvedges.

So, I'm completely hooked on weaving now. I'll be purchasing a Rigid Heddle Loom soon and I will set it up in the shop so you can all try it. If you read the newsletter, my interest in weaving sparked last summer when I had the opportunity to see some beautiful looms in a weaver's studio. A few of you have expressed interest. Let's see where this takes us.

So this was the scene at the shop this week...

What is that behind the counter?  Yup, a sick child. First, child #2 got the virus and now, child #1. But, I am fortunate that I can bring my children to work and take care of them when they're sick.

My husband can work from home too, so he got the sick one on Tuesday, which was really nice because it was our Groundhog Day sale and we were very busy. To top it all off, I feel like I'm getting something too. Not good since I'm teaching at Madrona next week. Let's see if I can fend it off.

On a happier note; there are some new books in the shop. Nature's Wrapture is a nice little book dedicated to the garment called a wrap. Keep yourself warm on cool nights with some of these really nice patterns.

This book is GREAT! Knitting Brioche is really the first really technical book with beautiful patterns for this interesting stitch.

And yet another sock book. I especially like the patterns in this one.

Candy P. Made this beautiful chapeau from Louisa Harding's new book Little Cake. The hat uses Thistle; a luscious blend of merino wool and baby suri alpaca.

And, Leah has more spaces available for her Lace Fingerless Glove class. You'll learn how to knit lace in the round and make these lovely gloves for spring.

Details:

Tuesdays 2/9, 2/16
6:30pm - 8:30pm
$45
Prerequisites: Know how to knit, purl, cast on, bind off.

Patti C. brought in her finished Fair Isle tam last week. It's stunning. Patti designed the tam with the help of our fantastic Fair Isle instructor, Charlene Sabin.

And there are a bunch of new books and magazines in the shop. The latest Vogue Knitting, Interweave Crochet, Piece Work and Knit Scene.

New books that arrived are:

And we just got the most spectacular shawl pins and shawl lollipop sticks. When I was on vacation in Florida, I naturally visited the local yarn shop and the ladies behind the counter kindly gave me the name of their local artist that makes these lovely pins. They're made of unbreakable clay and fired with beautiful metallic foils and color. Just look at the detail. Each one is one-of-a-kind.

We're participating in the Portland Yarn Crawl. It's going to be the biggest crawl to come to the area. Mark your calendars for March 5th, 6th, and 7th. Here's the description, including a fabulous raffle. If you participate in the crawl, you can win one of 15 prize baskets put together by yarn company sponsors. Here's more information:

How it Works

     We do everything possible to make people aware of the Yarn Crawl that is conducted in their city. This web site contains all the information you need.  Information is also available at the stores, on Ravelry.com,  Facebook and  local media.   Please share your knowledge of the crawl with any of your yarn buddies.  The best information always comes from sharing and  networking.

SIGN IN

In Portland, there are l5 stores participating in the Yarn Crawl, which will run  from Friday, March 5 through Sunday, March 7th.  During  their normal  business hours, you can begin at any one of the 15 stores.  Each customer is asked to "sign-in" at every store they visit.  These sign in sheets are retained by the stores and producers of the crawl.  You will be able to let them know if you wish to be added to their mailing lists via an opt-in box on the sheet.  No one will be added to any list without permission, of course.  Beginning in February, stores will also have a quantity of maps and list of stores and sponsors.  The same information can be found on line if you want  to plan in advance.  Either way, you are covered. 

RAFFLE

     As soon as you sign in you will be given a raffle ticket which will allow you to enter to win one of the 15 identical raffle baskets you will see at each store.  Please know that no purchase is ever required for entry into the raffle - it is a free raffle open to every person on the crawl.  Since there are 15 stores, there are 15 raffle baskets.  If you visit all 15 stores, you will get 15 chances to win, but we ask that you only enter once at each store you visit over the course of the weekend.  This is requested in order to give everyone an equal chance to win. Raffle tickets  should be filled out with name, address and contact information.  You do not have to be present to win a basket.  All winners will be notified within 48 hours of the close of the weekend and told where to pick up their basket.

SCAVENGER HUNT

     To encourage participation in the Crawl, we also conduct a Scavenger Hunt. The theme of the hunt will be identified prior to the event. The theme for Portland will be "Local Designers". (More on this to come). This is done by placing 15 recognizable designs - one for each store - in plain sight within the store.  As people visit each store, they can look for the item, which will be identified with a numbered tag.  The first person who emails the correct placement of each item to us will win the Grand Prize of a beautiful basket containing enough Blue Sky Alpacas Yarn to make this lovely afghan. (Picture and prize courtesy of Blue Sky Alpacas, one of the sponsors of the Portland Yarn Crawl.)

More questions?  Please go to the contact page and we'll be back to you ASAP, we promise!

I'm going to make one for every member of my family when she posts the pattern. It's a Spud and Chloe's Heart on a Strung hat. Did you know Spud and Chloe's has a great blog with MANY cute, free patterns? I'll post a link and let you know when the pattern is up. What a cute, fast pattern for Valentines Day.

Here's the link to the blog.

We have swifts and nostepinne's! Nostepinne means "nest stick", a handy tool to wind a center-pull ball of yarn without changing the twist of the yarn. It's portable and easy to use. It comes with instructions.

The swifts are table-top swifts made of hardwood. The pegs are adjustable to fit your hanks. The best thing about these swifts is that they're very affordable at $40 each.

Take a look at the "porcelain" blue needles in sizes US 7 and US8. They're so pretty and functional and make a great gift for a special knitter.

And lastly, we received double-pointed needle cases (or small accessory cases). Use them to store your needles, tapestry needles or stitch markers. In 6 different metallic colors.

All of these items make great gifts!