We’ve Got Talent! Yes We Do!
I started this blog to keep you all in the loop about the knittings and other crafty things we are making here at the shop because there is always so much going on!! This week I am putting the spotlight on our Monday night Sit and Knit Group. They meet upstairs in our classroom every Monday night from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and have been for a long time. They are a very talented group and certainly very busy….
When I got going on my Einstein Coat, Beth wasted no time casting hers on in an equally beautiful Noro yarn and word of our Noro versions got out to the Sit and Knit Group. They were very interested because not too long ago, they did an Einstein Coat knit-along of their own. So when Beth and I finished 
our coats, she sent out an email to the Group telling them to bring their coats on Monday night so we could all have a show and tell. Here is a small representation of the finished coats. 4 coats couldn’t make it, mostly due to being out of town on the backs of lucky recipients. (that’s how generous this Group is – knitting Einstein Coats for gi
fts…)
While I was there, I snapped some pics of other projects they had on tap. This vest came from the book Folk Style and Debbie knit it out of two colors of Malabrigo Worsted. She is known in the group for her tendency to knit complicated color work sweaters, to keep from getting bored!
These slippers 
were made by Dottie who is usually busy filling up a chest with baby articles for as yet unborn babies. Seems like she has started a trend; there are now more than a few knitters in the group manifesting grandchildren with hand knits!
This last pic is an in-progress hand punched rug that Tammy 
is making out of our Halcyon Yarn Rug Wool. Tammy made her Einstein Coat out of Lambs Pride Bulky and is on her way to becoming an intrepid knitter with the help of her knitting group.
So here’s to the many talented and kind-hearted knitters we are lucky to host here on Monday nights. If you are a local, please come by and meet them first hand for some time on the needles!
work which amazed my co-workers. The amazement didn’t have anything to do with the beauty of the mitten (ha!) or how quickly I made it. It was the fact that I made a mitten at all. I do not knit mittens. Socks, sweaters, shawls, scarfs, hats by the dozen, but never mittens. I even knit lace. But not mittens. I have tried them and never quite gotten the knack. I don’t understand it but I have a severe mental block where mittens are concerned. They never look right or feel right or fit. Ridiculous, I know. But there you have it. Do I have a mitten phobia?
Peru. I brought home the orange that just came in and I am casting on this weekend to make the Yankee Knitter 
atagonia and I had to find a current yarn. 
giving a more classic impression. Several of the women in our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group knit this coat through the winter in varying shades of 
f our Monday night ‘Sit and Knit’ group came in with a pattern saying, “You should do this!” and went on to suggest that we gather several of our pink yarns and make a display for October, I didn’t hesitate. She reminded me that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Several of us here at Halcyon, as well as many of our customers, are survivors. The pattern is a free downloadable 
Make one for a survivor you know!
Meredith is my reminder to be grateful and aware. Go hug someone you love!
e it was quickly on the umbrella swift and promptly made into knittable balls. (I just love it when that happens!) I knew right away that I wanted to make the 
that I have never knit with Bartlett before and she relayed her Bartlett story to me. Lori grew up with a knitting Mom and as she herself started to pick up the craft, her Mom always told her to ‘Stay Away From Wool. It Itches and It Shrinks.’ As a result Lori grew up knitting with acrylic yarns. Lots and lots of only acrylic yarn. When she finally decided to discard the ‘No Wool’ tenet of her upbringing (only after her Mama passed away), she brought herself over the bridge from Woolwich and into Halcyon Yarn. After the familiar first-time customer ‘Wave of Overwhelm’ she found herself in front of the Bartlett Yarn. The color palette and its local origin was all it took to hook her. She recalls feeling that she was in the lap of luxury holding onto her very own Bartlett Yarn. Remember, she was an all-acrylic all-the-time girl. She wanted hard core 100% wool and Bartlett fit the bill perfectly. Everyone got a warm winter hat that Christmas and Lori has never looked back. In fact, her son Matt treasures his Bartlett hat so much he refuses to wear it. He doesn’t want anything to happen to it.
Purple People Eater impenetrable snow shoveling sweater!
Take a moment and envision diving right in (you know you want to). I will state for the record that I am naming this 
my ‘Happy Basket’. (this is the 
s to say ‘lifting’ because what me and my girl are going through is hard. I’ve said it before in the last few weeks – parenting is hard. I am single momming it and have been since Meredith was 5 months old. (that’s when her Dad died.) Doing double duty when I don’t have a double portion of patience is trying to say the least. I do realize under the exhaustion (deep under the exhaustion) that she is worth it. Even given my mothering woes, I would choose this again. But knowing that doesn’t make me any less tired or frustrated or low on patience. Hence the Happy Basket! This amazing coat and my fall television shows coming back on track will certainly go a long way toward further funk-lifting. What are you guys watching? Are there any Grey’s Anatomy fans among you? I am a brand new convert since just this summer. I don’t know what took me so long – except that I don’t usually go in for hospital dramas. Anyway, I’m on board now, with a vengeance. There will be much happy TV knitting tonight.
of what I am sure will be many power struggles. She is in the height of new found independence and confidence. Which is such a mixed bag. In fact, all of mothering is a mixed bag. Every moment and every decision is fraught with all the emotions on the spectrum; add the exhaustion of a transition to kindergarten and the mix quickly becomes volatile. Or at the very least, weepy. We did some crying last night then had a good dinner and all was well. (For a minute or two at least.)
summer and I have had a very specific project on tap. (You know how you put projects in your mental queue?) Well, this week my light bulb went on when I saw bags of this colorway out on Lori’s receiving pile. I snapped some up on Monday and promptly cast on that evening. Here is my progress so far 
on my very own Einstein Coat. I have wanted to make and wear an Einstein Coat for a long time but could never get excited about yarn choice
s. It is a heck of a lot of knitting, to put it mildly, and I wanted something exciting. I found it!! This pattern is in our favorite 
I promised Kendra I would finish the ‘Favorite Summer Sweater’ from Sally Melville’s “
announced that we had to have an ad for ‘
nd, “Oh, by the way, what are you having for dinner and do you mind if I bring Jess and Alex?” So another late start Monday night and weaving ’til midnight. Tuesday I was ever mindful that I HAD to finish, but things were not going well–sock yarn stretches more than silk and I had no experienced way to compensate! So I just kept adjusting tension and kept weaving until 3 AM. I then got up at 8 to finish, knowing I had to be at Halcyon for work at 9:00. (I wasn’t– giving Gwynn the opportunity to ask if the ‘weaving diva’ was ever coming to work.) The discouraging part was that the finished product didn’t turn out as I hoped, or good enough to justify the beautiful yarns. (here is a pic of it drying in the courtyard) But it will be artfully draped as background in the ad and I am determined to do 
another with more time, thought and tips from Halcyon and Michael. Maybe even enter the contest! Meanwhile, I am returning to the lap of luxury and the Swans Island yarn–better, if no longer cheaper than therapy!
