Spread Your Wings

How was your New Year's celebration? Mine was fantastic. I spent part of it getting this ready:

As promised, I present my 2015 exclusive design, "Butterflies". 

Butterflies is worked in two colorways of Kauni Effektgarn in a large circle, then cut at its steek to form a rectangle. Applied knitted cord finishes all four edges, and can be knotted or tied at the corners. Finished size is approximately 12 1/2" X 82"; it's almost a stole.

The kit, which includes the pattern and four (4!) whopping skeins of Kauni Effektgarn is available for purchase to attendees of the Madrona Winter Retreat. It works like this:

Students in my Eeek! Steeks! class will receive their kits via US Mail (shipping later this week), so you can begin knitting your homework.  Remember: you don't have to actually finish the entire project to have a great time in class and learn all you need to know. But if you are a maniac (and I know you are, because you signed up), you can actually leave class with this finished project if you knit to the specified point in the pattern before we meet.

01-06-15, Breaking News: 2 slots have opened up in class! Click HERE to sign up, and get your kit right away!

Everyone else, If you are attending the retreat, (or have a friend who is), you can order a kit from me and pick it up at the retreat. Kits for non-students this year are $75. If you'd like to purchase a kit, please send me an e-mail using the contact tab above, and I'll let you know how to proceed. While there is no limit to the number of kits I can provide, I won't have any extras for sale at the event, so let me know as soon as you can if you'd like to reserve one.

And non-Madrona-attendees, you know I love you too, so if you wait for a year, I'll make the pattern available to the whole wide world. Can't wait that long? Check out Wisteria, Violets, Thistle and Dragons, from prior years, available now.

I Wish You a Mary Christmas

My Dear Gentle Readers,

Thank you so much for sharing another year with me. As we say farewell to 2014, my wish for you you is that you receive the same blessings I have:

That you get to do work you love, and which gives joy to others.

The unwavering support of your family and friends.

The courage to dream big dreams.

An occasional reminder that you aren't perfect; because you don't need to be.

All the yarn you need, and the time to enjoy playing with it.

I am so grateful for you, my knitting friends.  Mary Christmas!

Here; Let Me Help

Gentle Readers, 

Today's post is an open letter to everyone who loves a knitter, whether you are also a knitter or not.

At this time of year, I'm often asked (on the sly, and with some hesitation) by the spouses and families of knitters, what sort of something would make a good present. There certainly is no shortage of great, knitterly things out there, but knowing the magical hearts desire of your very own knitter can be a challenge.

So, for those of you who love a knitter (or maybe a whole flock of them), here are a few special things I know I could never do without, and I think every knitter deserves:

We knitters think this should be obvious, but it might not be, if you don't knit.  Our craft takes a long time to create. That's one of the many things we love about it: this one thing in our lives doesn't require us to hurry. And we love doing it so much that we feel sorry for ourselves when we don't get to. You can tell this is happening when we start to act snappish and twitchy: You might think we forgot to take our medicine, and you are right. But the medicine we need is a chance to just sit still and knit. If you love a knitter, the best gift you can give them is time to play with string. Promise to do the dishes/laundry/goat-milking at some regular interval that will provide meaningful, reliable knitting time for the one you love. Then really follow through: when it's time for the chore you've chosen, be there to do it with a smile on your face, reminding your knitter that you meant every word of your promise.

Where does your knitter like to knit? If you're not sure, look around the cozy spots in your house (fireplace, TV, bathtub) for stray needles. See if a chair is nearby, and look for other traces of knitting activity: open knitting books, stray charts, stitch markers, empty coffee cups. If these elements are present, you've probably located the knitting lair. Now take an objective look, and ask yourself, could anything be done to improve this area for your knitter? Is the view of the TV unobstructed? Is there a table nearby to rest that pattern on? How is the light - might a bright new floor lamp make things nicer? You don't have to build an art studio for your knitter (though if you want to, that would be really nice). Vacuum the seat cushions (check for spare needles first!), fluff the pillows, dust the tabletop and add a little vase of flowers. Then put on some music your knitter loves, maybe light a candle, and then GO AWAY. Great Present. Don't wait for Christmas to try this one.

Now this one is hard to get your head around, if you don't knit, but trust me: it's really crucial to your knitter's well-being. Knitters need Other Knitters.  Your knitter needs to attend events where new friends can be made, knitted projects shown off, and general communing with string happens. No matter how much your knitter loves spending time with you, unless you can wax poetic on the virtues of the short-row sock heel, your knitter still needs other people who speak the language. CLICK HERE for a listing of many, many wonderful knitting events that your knitter would love to attend, then arrange to send them. It's a big deal, I know, which is why your knitter might be inclined not to do it for themselves. You'll be thanked in ways you cannot imagine, if you encourage and support your knitter's interaction with their community. And you'll be spared from learning more about sock heels than you need to. Win. Win.

Indian Lake Artisan Needles: Yes, please.

This might have been what you thought of first, when considering the possibilities for knitting gifts. Good Job: You're Right! The hard part for non-knitters can be understanding what these things even are, never mind how many and what sizes are on the wish list. If you want to get it right, you have two choices:

1. Secretly ask one of your knitter's cronies what their dream tools are or

2. Stealthily ask your knitter what things are and what they do, *and this is important* don't wait until holiday shopping time. In order to really knock your knitter's handmade socks off, you'll have to show a little interest when they aren't expecting it.

If neither of those options will work this time, don't worry.  Take a stack of bills, and stuff them into an envelope labeled "For Knitting". Your knitter will take it from there, and you will have triumphed.

Everywhere I take my knitting collection, I'm asked where I got my fabulous labels. Which always causes me to launch into the following sermon:

"If I could ask one gift for every knitter, it would be that everyone have their very own personal label to sew into each of their finished projects. In addition to identifying the maker for posterity, there is something really wonderful about the act of officially taking credit for your hard work. Knitting is the one craft which offers true mastery at every level of expertise, and all knitters should proudly sign their names to their masterpieces."

CLICK HERE to design custom knitting labels, either yourself, or with help from the pros.

The only thing knitters love more than yarn is knitting books. If you don't believe me, take a look around the places where they like to relax: A quick study of my own environment revealed knitting books in the following locations (I swear I am not making this up):

Stacks covering both ends of my desk

On, around, and under the living room sofa

Filling 4 full-height bookcases

Piled on both nightstands in my bedroom, in addition to the bookcase at the foot of the bed, and all over the floor around it.

Several rogue volumes arranged on the kitchen island, where I was (allegedly) stirring something, and reading at the same time.

Disclaimer: I didn't check any of the bathrooms, because neither of us want to know about that.

The point is, your knitter has a wishlist of books as long as both our arms; I guarantee it. If you're lucky, an official inventory has been created at some big online bookselling website, and all you have to do is ask.  If not, refer to the envelope-of-cash technique explained under "Tools", above. Your knitter will know just what to do.

I hope these ideas will help you find the perfect surprise for the knitter(s) you love. Feel free to forward, link and post this list wherever you think it might help a soul in need. And please, leave a comment if you know of any I forgot!