How now knit cowl

Cowls are the new scarf. No fussy tying maneuvers, no worrying about whether it's long enough or too long - just pull it on over your head and go. There have been many offerings from lots of sources; some are nice, others not so much. while I was surfing Ravelry this morning, I came across this cowl pattern that I think is utterly fabulous. Worked on a size 8 needle, it would be perfect in Elsebeth Lavold's super-soft Baby Llama. Llama's produce a hollow fiber, so it is both lighter and warmer than wool. Another benefit of llama fiber is that it contains no lanolin, so it's excellent for anyone sensitive to wool.

This is a free pattern available here. Come pick out 5 skeins Baby Llama and we'll help you get started.

Mirasol Cardigan

I didn't pay too much attention to this cardigan when I first saw the picture in the book. It's nice, but
this is really what caught my eye. The scarf, that is. ;-)

When the model garment arrived, I couldn't believe how cute it was. Shelly and Ginni were in the shop, and we all just loved it. It somehow manages to be cozy and sexy and chic all at once. It looks great on our mannequin,

but it's especially attractive on a real person, like the lovely Robinette.


It's really flattering on everyone, and it just so snuggle to wear. It's easy as pie, and it knits on a size 10 needle, so it's really quick to make. We're having a free project class the first week of December - join us.

Like many of you, there have to be at least three patterns in a book before I'll buy it. In this one, there's the cardigan, the guy scarf above, and this one. I may never knit this sweater, but I sure will enjoy studying the pattern!

Phyllis' pottery open house

Phyllis has been knitting with us in La Plata since we opened. One Wednesday evening she brought some goodies in on an absolutely gorgeous platter. I asked her about it, and she said that she had made it. WHAT? It was incredible. It was painted with a brush that must have been thinner than a hair. The colors were just beautiful.

Here's a tiny vase that Phyllis did. Isn't it beautiful!


Can you see the tiny bees on the base and in the bowl? Phyllis's stuff sells for big bucks at the Greenbrier and other chic boutiques, but you can get it for much less right here in beautiful Southern Maryland. Phyllis is hosting a lovely open house Saturday and Sunday, November 21st and 22nd at her home. The address is 8285 Verne Place, which is just off Rt. 6 in La Plata. Click on the invitation below for more detailed directions and info. Better get there early - at least before I do!

Leonardtown beautification

It was a mess on the square yesterday, as they layed asphalt right in front of the shop. It was noisy, bumpy, and nearly impossible to get in or out. It's much better today - promise. If you come by (and I hope you will) the best way out is down Fenwick Street. Then you can go north or south on Route 5.

This will all be finished eventually, and Leonardtown will be even nicer. If you've never been all the way down Washington Street to the newly renovated wharf area, take a few minutes and drive or walk down there. It's just beautiful. Here's a shot from a recent event on the water.

I really do love this town.

Bleaklow Cabled Vest

our upcoming Knit and Finish Class...

Isn't this a beauty! I've started mine in a beautiful aqua shade of the Thistle. Paula, Amy, and I all commented on how much we love the Thistle - it's nice in the skein, but when you knit it up, it's so much more lovely and soft--just a joy to work with.

Several customers said that they would prefer a slightly rounded neckline on this garment, so in the class, we'll be show each student a modification to the neckline. In the photo, the armholes seem a bit small for the model, so we'll be looking at how to ensure that the armhole depth is correct for each of us. Also, if you would like to make a size larger than the sizes given in the pattern, we'll help you make that adjustment as well.

This is a great class for beginners, as you can opt out of the cable and just make the vest in plain pattern. It reminds me very much of the vest that was my first project when I started knitting 25 years ago! I bet you can't guess what color it is!

The class begins this Saturday in La Plata at 1:30. In Leonardtown, we'll begin the class next Tuesday, the 10th at 2:00. Three sessions is $60

Thistle lace wrap

Here's my start on the Pikenaze wrap we're doing as a class this Thursday afternoon in La Plata. The fabric feels a little scrunched up while you're knitting it, but you can see how a bit of blocking stretches out the yarn-overs and really shows off the pattern. For someone new to lace, the design looks complicated, but it's actually quite easy - just a 6-row repeat. I'm finding it very addictive, and I seem to choose to work the lace when I need a stress reliever. Somehow focusing on a pattern in which each stitch takes a bit more of my attention seems to get me into a happy zone. The magnet board helps a great deal as well.

This little gem keeps the pattern upright and magnifies the row I'm working so that I never lose track of where I am. I'm also finding it to be very helpful on the Bleaklow cabled vest we're doing for our next Knit and Finish.

My pink self

Here is a rare photo of the ever-elegant Paula wearing, gasp, a tie-dyed t-shirt,

and me wearing an attractive middle school gym uniform t-shirt. Good heavens, what has gotten in to us? Or should I say, on to us? Well, duct tape, to be precise.

We were giving the body-form-making effort a trial run. First you cross your heart - just like an 18-hour commercial. Then round and round and round and round...

until finally, viola! I am a shiny pink mummy.

Paula cut the whole thing off me, and it's already amazingly sturdy - even without the stuffing. This was a great chance to work out some of the kinks (no pun intended) before we do the class next month. We'll have another go at it next week I get to wrap Paula in duct tape and make her a shiny pink mummy too.

If you would like to make your own dress form with us next month, call the La Plata shop at 240-349-2583. The class is Saturday, November 21st in the afternoon.

Della Q is in

We just received our order of beautiful silk bags and accessories from Della Q. In addition to these gorgeous totes, we have matching needle cases, notions bags, and beautiful silk project bags. Treat yourself to a little luxury.

Tweedy goodness

These two models arrived from the beautiful new book from the Queensland Collection - you know, the one with the fabulous tweed waistcoat in it. Here are two more reasons to love this book! This first one is in the Kathmandu Aran Tweed.

This one is in the chunky tweed. Both are just gorgeous and look even better on a person than on the mannequin. They're living in La Plata right now, so come see them. I've also just re-ordered the pattern book (again).

Trick or Treat Saturday

We had tons of trick-or-treaters on the square yesterday. They had feared a rain-out and had officially canceled the event, but the word never got out to the masses, so we went through 5 bags of candy. I suspect there will be another host trick-or-treaters next week too, so we're ready for them too!

Inside the shop, Karen brought in the gorgeous Aran sweater she'd knit for her son. Excellent work, Karen.
In the afternoon, Nicole finished up the three-session sock class, and Janice (isn't she lovely) had her first knitting lesson with Amy. Janice has chosen a beautiful shade of Texas Bighorn to knit a Faith Jacket. I am looking forward to posting photos of her progress.

The Waistcoats are coming...

We had the last of our classes on the beautiful tweed waistcoats Saturday. Barbara, Conni, Donna, and Judy had all finished the knitting and were working on seaming the shoulders and picking up stitches. The instructions say to pick up the stitches for the fronts bands and collar before seaming the shoulder, but I find that you have a neater pick-up when you've already established the shoulder line. Here's a photo of mine which I've already enjoyed wearing!

Better than Ice Cream

How much do I love Berroco's Sundae yarn? Well, the title of this post should tell you, because I never met a flavor of ice cream that I didn't love. What makes it so wonderful? Well, for one, it's hard to argue with a yarn that knits up on a size 15 needle. As one knitter said, "Just add water and stir - the thing practically knits itself". Not exactly, but as far as return on time knitted, it's pretty hard to beat. This Rayanne cardigan took only about two days worth of actual knitting time, and was very easy to do. The pattern has sizing from 32"-52"and is very flattering. I knit the 36" size which took just 8 skeins.

The second reason I love Sundae is the colors. Each colorway is a subtle blend of several coordinating shades. For instance, the burgundy I used has shades of rose and brown and red. There is even a very beautiful blue and green one that reminds me of Black Watch plaid. Here's a close-up of the colors. You can see that the yarn has a really nice sheen as well.


Berroco's pattern book for Sundae has several of great designs for quick-knit jackets as well as fun hats, scarves, and cowls. Come by the shop and treat yourself to a calorie-free Sundae.

Fun Friday Extra

I hope you all checked your email today and found out about our little promotion of 10 % off Noro and a free patten when you buy Silk Garden.

We'll be doing these from time to time when we run across something that we think you'll enjoy. I had planned something different for today, but I realized that I can't release that one until next Friday, so we'll have another goodie for you then. In the mean time, come in and get to know Noro.

Beatrix

Beatrix was found on a wild coast of Oregon, looking for a home in Maryland. Paula thought the lush lawns at Crazy for Ewe would be a perfect spot, and asked if she might stay. But of course, Paula dear. How we love her! Thank you, so much, Paula, Norma, Robinette, Lynne, and Martha. She is a beautiful addition to the shop.

E=mc2

Susan's finished Einstein coat with the Kureyon accent.
Brilliant!

Stratavarious

Not a violin, but definitely a masterpiece. Sigrid graciously loaned us her completed Stratavarious jacket for a few weeks until the weather cools enough to wear it. It looks almost exactly like the sample Chris Bylsma knit herself - same palette of purple and soft greens. This long version looks great on Sigrid, bit I think I want one of the cropped versions.

I have had to rip out my second Crayon Box Jacket because somehow I'd knit the wrong size, but now I'm picturing those shades of redviolet and burnt orange in a short version of Stratavarious like Chris was wearing when she taught the design class here. I love this cardigan.


While I was going through my old photos trying to find this one of the Stratavarious, I came across this other one that I totally loved too.

It's called Lakeside, and Chris worked it in a blue palette with a combination of fibers and textures. I want to do this in every color in the rainbow. Doesn't it look fabulous! How about creams and golds...or maybe purples...no aquas...wait - I've got it - how about pink?

My little black book

from XRX, is every bit as fabulous as you would expect a little black book to be, and infinitely more valuable than a list of guys' phone numbers (unless they happen to be repairement who work for free). Anyway, this book contains absolutely everything you will ever need to know in knitting, and I mean everything. There's detailed guidance on 7 different cast-ons, every increase and decrease imaginable, cables, charts, seams, short row shaping, buttonholes, zippers, and even crochet stitches. It's all tucked in a handy, hard-backed book that's just the right size to slip into your knitting bag - which you should do because you never want to be without it.

We just received a giant shipment of these fabulous little black books, so come get one! You will be so glad you did.

Hospice tree knitting

I was surprised and delighted at the number of knitters who came out to knit for the hospice tree! We had an absolutely full house. Deborah brought the most adorable sheep sugar cookies with pink sparkles (of course). They were delicious.


My Elizabeth made a batch of her famous chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, and there were lots of other goodies as well, except, despite my hope no egg nog. Do you know that it is absolutely impossible to find egg nog in the stores before November? I had no idea. So we had mulled cider instead.

As you can see, this was a very fun day. We worked hard, but we had a good time!

We got lots of little sheep made - about a third of what I think we'll need for our 4 1/2 foot tree.

Thank you so much to all the knitters who came and helped. It was a pleasure to see you, and we really appreciate you donating your Sunday afternoon for a worthy cause. Our next Hospice knitting event is Sunday October 25th from 1:30 -4:00. Come join the fun - maybe there will be egg nog available by then!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

After moving into that fab new space in La Plata, I was a little down about the Leonardtown shop. I was having gridwall envy - the silks and sparklies in La Plata are gorgeous hanging up on the wall where you can really see and appreciate their beauty. In Leonardtown we have them in the glass cubes, which had originally seemed like an elegant place to put them, but now it just seems blah.

Also, La Plata seemed more open and inviting with that low bookcase at the front. In Leonardtown we have a nearly 5 foot tall wall of glass cubes accosting you when you walk in the door. I was whining about all this a couple weeks ago when Carrie and Christine were in, so we brainstormed a bit and came up with a plan. First, I got rid of that behemoth of a rack that dominated the front corner of the shop. Thank you, Carrie, for taking that home. I'm sure it's much happier now, in your home studio.

I had ordered a bunch of extra gridwall when we moved, as we just weren't sure exactly what we'd need in the new space, so I had the gridwall but no place to put it - the front of the shop is all windows, and there's an 8-inch ledge beneath the windows. There seemed to be no way to mount the gridwall there.

Ginni was in the following Tuesday, and we brainstormed some more and decided that we could stand the gridwall on the window ledge as long as we braced it somehow to keep it from tipping over and killing some unsuspecting soul. I ordered some hardware and roped my DH into some manual labor, and we now have a three-panel display in front of the left window.

But what to do with the glass cubes that make the shop look so closed in? After we hung the yarn, Ginni and I decided to just take down the top tier of the cubes. Now when someone comes in the door, they can see the whole shop and we can greet them more easily.

You wouldn't necessarily even notice the specific changes, but there is definitely a new feel to the Leonardtown shop. Come see.

Cookie A class

What a great day this was! We started off with a fabulous lunch at Cafe des Artistes. I had the chicken and vegetable crepes, which were delicious (no calories there, I'm sure). The croque monsieur looked equally decadent, as did the quiche. I think the eggplant napoleon was probably the healthiest choice, even with layers of melted cheese. It's important to be well-nourished before an intense knitting class, don't you think...


After lunch we started the class. Cookie was every bit as amazing an instructor as I had heard. She packed so much information into that class, you just wouldn't believe it. She really addressed all the things about charts that intimidate many knitters. She gave us all a clear understanding of how to work from a chart without being a slave to the key - that was huge, as knitting moves so much more quickly when you don't have to stop and look up what every little symbol means.

What a sweetie Cookie is too. She was really genuine and friendly. She brought a virtual trunk show of stuff from her new book

And posed for pictures with a bunch of us.

She even freed us from DSSS (deadly second sock syndrome) when she reminded us that there's no law that says you have to knit the second sock just like the first - why not try a different pattern. Why didn't I think of that? Well, probably because I don't knit that many socks anyway. But after Cookie's class, I just might.

Knitting Class at the College of Southern Maryland

is not, despite how it sounds in the flyer, being taught by me, (Ellen Lewis). Nor did I learn to knit at one of their classes. I learned to knit 25 years ago in a beautiful little knitting shop in Charlottesville, VA while I was at college.

Regarding the class at the community college, I really don't know anything about it, but I can tell you that our classes at Crazy for Ewe are fabulous! Our instructors are actual, award-winning knitting experts each with more than 20 years knitting experience. In our beginning knitting classes you will receive individual, personalized attention in the technical aspects of knitting. You will emerge from your beginning knitting classes at Crazy for Ewe not simply with the ability to make the stitches, but with an understanding of the fabric and how the stitches relate to one another. Our classes are taught in a warm, inspirational, shop setting, so you will be exposed to literally hundreds of different yarns with dozens of different fiber compositions at a wide variety price points. We have extremely affordable, durable, easy-care yarns as well as lavish luxury yarns for precious projects. We encourage you to to choose, not the most expensive, but the most appropriate and best quality yarn for your project. Your finished project represents a substantial amount of your time and effort - when it's all said and done, you want something that reflects the best you have to give. When you purchase your yarns at Crazy for Ewe, you have access to our helpful and knowledgeable staff to ensure that you select the right yarn and needles for your project and to guide you through the knitting process. At Crazy for Ewe, we really care about you and your project.

If you are considering knitting lessons, please call either the Leonardtown shop (301-475-2744) or the beautiful new location in La Plata (240-349-2853) to schedule a class. We offer lessons at whatever time is convenient for you.