Threaded Bliss

miscellany

First, baby panda has a name (he got it last week on his 100th day birthday).  He is Tai Shan and that means "peaceful mountain."  Well, Tai Shan is now definitely WALKING and it's adorable to watch.  He gets steadier on his feet every day.  Here's what he looked like at his latest exam:

Next topic - my semi-silence lately.  I don't know about you guys but every now and then I figure that I have nothing to say so I'll skip a week of blogging.  Usually that works, this time though, we'll see.

As for my knitting - I am in yet another knitting SLUMP.  Last time this happened I started to finish things I'd made and I've also dealt with slumps by starting new knitting projects.  Well - that led to some trouble.  I no longer know exactly how many and what projects are actually "in progress" at the moment.

BUT

I've finally started to really crochet.  Project one - a truly hideous yellow hat made with La Gran mohair and using all double crochet.  Well, having finished that in one night and used it to learn ALOT about following a crochet pattern I became inspired to continue hooking.  Project number two:  the adorable poncho from Candi Jensen's Candy Tots book.  It's basically two rectangles using thin mohair on a fairly large hook and all done in double crochet.  Then you make 16 flowers and attach those.  The flower pattern in the book has mistakes so instead I'm making the 3-Tier Irish Lace flower from the Crochet School book.  I'm didn't bring home enough of one color I used for the flowers but I've only got 9 more to make and then there's blocking and seaming.  It really is very adorable.

That's not it though - I have to admit - I think I'm HOOKed (groan at will - I can't stop the puns anymore than I could stop breathing!).  Now, I'm hooking the Flapjack Throw from Colinette's Toast & Marmalade book using 7 colors of Prism (one of my top five favorite yarns).  This is also cool.  My buddy Rob made it and it was gorgeous.  My chosen colors aren't as contrasty as his partly because I used what we had in stock and have ordered more Prism colors but they aren't getting delivered for several more weeks.

What else is new or different?  Hmmmm....look out in Davidson county on Wednesdays and Fridays for our ads in the Tennessean's Davidson A.M. section.  Along with Paul from the Tennessean, we always produced them ourselves and I've always written the copy.  Now,  I even take the photos too.  Not to be cocky BUT this week's ad may be my very favorite one ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Who ever knew that my undergrad degree in journalism with a concentration in advertising would every become useful?  (I did work in advertising on Madison Avenue for about one year after college but HATED it!).  I suppose I may finally have to open the tube my undergrad degree was mailed in and hang that in the bathroom of the shop too!

Sorry that there are no pictures in this post.  I'll try to take and post some new ones this week.

As always, thank you so much for stopping by and checking out the blog.  Thanks as well to all of the folks who leave such nice comments or send such nice emails to me about the blog, the shop, the staff and all that.  I may not always find the time to respond to everyone but do know that your kindness and encouragement mean the WORLD to me.

Why?

24 Oct, Mon, 15:53:47 AskJeeves: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT WHETHER I CAN BE CERTAIN THAT I AM NOT DREAMING RIGHT NOW?

It was a search engine query! 

Birth Announcement

The Threaded Bliss Blog Family is pleased to announce the birth of a new member.  Meet the blog of Tyna, Emily, Phyliss, Bronwyn, David and Eli:  aka

The Crew.  (if you click on "the crew" it will take you to the blog!)

Pop on over and welcome them to the family!

Have I Lost My Mind?

Well, it's a distinct possibility. 

All Debbie Bliss yarns and pattern booklets (not hardback) are now in the Buy 2, Get 1 Free section.

Don't miss out because you never know when I'll decide to change up the yarns again!

The Cub Is Mobile!

I think.  Yesterday I watched Panda Cam for just a few minutes and that little guy was walking/crawling/scooting all over the den!  It was very cute.  He also had another exam yesterday and is up to 12.7 pounds.  Here's the latest photo of him:

Although yesterday was my day off, of course I was at the shop for a couple of meetings.  As it turned out, yesterday was the very first "Perfect-Knitting/Crocheting-In-A-Rocking-Chair-Weather-Day."  I am so looking forward to more and more days like that!

Lucia,Kay, Emily and Terri made the most of the afternoon.

Since Lucia has her back to this picture, I got another one!  It just wouldn't be right to leave her out (she is the uber-adorable William's grandmother, after all!)

Yesterday, we presented our customer Leslie with a special purse for this weekend.  She is about to be the Mother of the Bride.  I did the knitting and Tyna sewed the lining and handles and bead/button.   I used two different colors of Fiesta La Boheme held together on size 9s.  The Slip-Stitch Honeycomb pattern I used came from Barbara Walker's books and is a great stitch pattern.  If I may say so myself, I really was so very happy with the way it came out.  What do you think?

Lastly, I leave you with a picture from yesterday that just makes me giggle.  I love that almost every picture I get of Emily shows her laughing!

You Know You Saw This Coming . . .

. . . from miles and miles away, even.

Really, it's not that scary in person.

I promise! 

Trust me, I am laughing with ya!

It IS a hat, I knitted it and the bottom picture is my attempt to take a self-portrait in the mirror of me wearing it.

How To Knit A Simple Pink Ribbon

Make an i-cord and fold into the shape of the pink Breast Cancer Awareness ribbon.  Get creative with yarns too -- just make it pink.

You can also do the same thing with a scarf - make a short, narrowish rectangle with a big buttonhole when the scarf is roughly 2/3rds of the total length you want it to be.  Wrap the ribbon/scarf around your neck one end tucked through the buttonhole.  When you take it off without slipping the end back out, it looks just like an awareness ribon!

Think about it - the options are endless for knitted and crocheted pink ribbons.  Make some and give them to people you love, to a cancer center near you or make miniatures and affix them to cardstock for Breast Cancer Awareness Pink Ribbon notecards.

Go forth and create awareness and while you are at it - make sure you and your loved ones get a mammogram.   Early detection is the best protection.

If you'd like to share your pink ribbon creations, please feel free to email them to me and I'll post them on the blog!  Use the "email me" link near the top of the page.

Thanks for stopping by the blog!!!

"I Love You Too"

Those are the very words my nephew said to me for the very first time.  Suffice it to say, there were "joy tears" involved.

Simon then:

Ah, true love.  Okay then, should the cashmere sweater I must knit for Simon be v-neck or crew?  Aunt-hood rocks.  :-)

Baby Panda Update

I admit it, I'm still fascinated (okay, slightly obsessed!) with Panda Cam.  The cub gets bigger every day and in the past four days, he gained four ounces.  He is very desperately trying to walk and it's funny to watch sometimes but I think he'll "get it" very soon.  Oh My!!!  As I wrote the last sentence, the little guy did it.  He just managed several steps in a crawl/walk and then collapsed in exhaustion.  But, not only  does he get bigger and more coordinated, I swear, he even gets cuter!  See...

I still love owning my own yarn shop and living in Nashville BUT I also still want this lucky lady's job...

 

Alright, enough about Pandas.  Here's some knitting content - I'm at the half way mark with my Ab Fab Colinette afghan and it's only been 6 days.  I'm not working on anything else until it's finished.

Yesterday was an AWESOME day at the shop.  I knew it would be when I woke up in the morning and went to take Rudy for a walk.  I was COLD!  YEA!!!!  Our buddies from Huntsville came to visit and shop and those ladies are always a blast to have around.  The cold weather also brought several seasonal knitters back out of hiding and there was lots and lots of catching up to do on what everyone's been up to.

Speaking of cold . . . I don't know about you guys but I'm a tad concerned with what they say it's going to cost to heat my home this winter.  That said, I'm adopting the Boy Scout motto:  Be Prepared.  Of course,  I have to add my own spin to that so here goes my new motto:

Be Prepared For High Home Heating Costs

KNIT WOOL
KNIT IT NOW
AND KNIT LOTS OF IT!

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  I hope everyone has a GREAT weekend.  I intend to do just that.

The Endless Stream of WIP*

Startitis
Pronunciation: "star-'tI-tis"
Function: noun
: condition in which a Knitter continually starts new projects without finishing any of them

Suffice it to say, I've got it BAD!  Here's a photo essay of the latest.

Colinette Absolutely Fabulous Afghan Kit.  Colorway: Antique #11; Selected Pattern (of the six provided with the kit): Blocks

This is going to be a gift for a friend and is the first of these afghan kits I've made.  Normally, I don't like to make afghans since they seem to take forever.  This particular design is 5 rows of 4 squares each and is going FAST.  I am loving knitting this since you pick-up stitches and simply knit one 10x10 mitered square at a time.  Easy, peasy and Absolutely Beautiful.  I'm going to make more of these ASAP.  That said, if you're interested in choosing a particular colorway, let me know soon as I'm going to be ordering more of these kits.  To see the options, click this link.

Next we have my "foray into the final frontier of fair isle!"  This is take two on my socks - during take one I was stranding the colors a bit tightly and it wouldn't even go over my toes!  Oops.  The pair are being knit out of Dale Falk using an adorable pattern from my new favorite sock book:  Knit Socks.  The other socks will say RELAX, (in case you can't tell, this one says BREATHE).  By the way, I'm really digging fair isle - who knew?

I just simply can't wait to finish and deal with all of these ends!!!! (Of course, if you believe that statement, I've got a nice, big, orange bridge to sell ya!)

Here's a project shamefully long in coming . . . this is the Constant Companion Bag from the book Knitter's Stash.  I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky, Debbie Bliss Soho and for the pocket I'm subbing Trendsetter Sorbet for the Soho.  I started this so long ago that I don't even remember.  For almost a year it's needed only a pocket and felting.  Sad, huh?

Here's my Twisted Float Cardigan from the cover of the current Vogue Knitting.  I'm using Lorna's Laces in Lakeview and Cascade 220 for the solid teal.  For my edging, I'm going to be using Schaefer's Mohair Boucle (the name escapes me at the moment) in the Peter colorway.  This is going to be awesome - if I ever finish it!

Also from the Fall/Winter Vogue is this pullover and I'm using K1C2 Temptation.  I've lost some interest in it given the fact that when I finished the back, it looks a bit funky and so the jury is still out on whether to move forward with this one or not.

Last (or last that I'm showing you!) is my Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina Swing Coat kit.  There are no words for this one. :-)

You'd think with a pile of UFOs (UnFinished Objects) that the last thing I should do would be think ahead to my next projects but I'm a Knitter.  That said, the Artyarns Regal Silk and Supermerino as well as the Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Purple Club already have patterns chosen and are relegated to the PIW list (Projects In Waiting)!

LUCKILY . . . we do have AWESOME customers who DO finish some really AMAZING projects.  Case in point - this is Jennifer, a very happy Rudy and one of the most unbelievable knitted blankets I have ever seen.

I'll leave you with yet another picture of the Fish Blanket . . . that Jennifer has one very lucky 3 year old daughter!

*WIP = Works In Progess (for those new to knitblogs!)