On And Off My Needles

I have recently completed 22 Little Clouds.  This is the second of this pattern that I have done.  I added repeats to my second one so as to give it a bit more length. Completed in Malabrigo Silky Merino.

Last time, I blocked the entire shawl, and lost a bit of the ruffle as a result.  This time I will only block the top in order to eliminate the roll-over.  I love the little ruffles!

Now on my needles is a Top Down Icelandic Sweater.  I have never knit color-work before and am excited for this project.  It is a Craftsy class, and I'm sure that the online component of it will be very helpful.  My main color is still on back-order, so for the time being I have cast on (German Twisted Cast-On, which I have never done, but seemed to master), and I have knit the ribbing rows.  I have also watched many of the episodes so that I have a clearer understanding of reading the chart and how to incorporated the other colors. I suspect that I will have some time before my other yarn arrives, so I plan to do some practice knitting following the chart.  I should be ready when it gets here! 

 I'll keep you posted!

"A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle." ~ James Keller

http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc48744.php

The day after our trip to WEBS, we headed about 20 minutes north to spend some time in the Yankee Candle Flagship Store.  This place is amazing - not just candles, but a destination for the whole family.  If you find yourself near South Deerfield, MA, it is worth a stop to see it!

I'm ready for another trip!

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." ~ Bo Derek

This past week, I had the wonderful good fortune of meeting up with three of my knitting friends from Florida. We gathered together to go to WEBS, America's Yarn Store, located in Northampton, MA!  Two of them came from spots in Massachusetts, one from New Hampshire, and myself from Central New York.  We stayed at the beautiful Amherst Bed and Breakfast in Amherst (what a great town!)

I admit that I could barely contain my excitement when we arrived at the store.  It was absolutely amazing! WEBS offers a tremendous discount on purchases over $60, and again over $120.  We had no trouble meeting those goals.  The staff was just wonderful - helpful, cheerful - just great!  I somehow did not get any pictures of the huge room devoted to looms and spinning wheels - but they have it all.

The warehouse in back of the store front - with further deep discounts.

We finally needed to take a break and compare what we were going to purchase.

My basket is not as full as it could have been!  10 skeins that I needed of the same dye lot were out of stock and back-ordered - they will be shipped to my house.

Make no mistake however, the very best part of the trip was getting together with my dear friends - laughing, eating, sharing book recommendations, drinking wine, and planning for another trip.  It was, as they say, "priceless".

A couple of tips if you should plan a trip to WEBS:

1.  Look over their website thoroughly - you can see all of the yarns available and can even order ahead of time and they will have it waiting for you when you arrive.

2.  Go with projects in mind.  I did this - as did the others.  It is really overwhelming and you could easily leave without purchasing anything, or leave with more than you will know what to do with.

3.  Feel free to ask for their help - the staff is amazing.  We had the help of a young man, whose name tag said "Young Man", because that is what most of the older shoppers called him anyhow!

If you want to know more about how WEBS came about, you can read their story.

Also - order a catalog if you'd like.

What a trip!  Thank you ladies!!