See You at Madrona?

If you're planning to attend the Madrona Winter Retreat this year, something special is available to you in the  Marketplace:

It's my exclusive design for 2016, "Chinese Garden". Available only in the Madrona Marketplace during the winter retreat, you can purchase the kit with my pattern and all the gorgeous yarn to make the scarf at the Dicentra Designs booth!

Measuring a luxurious 16 x 76 inches, this year's design was inspired by antique Willow ware and waterlilies. It's your very own Zen garden. The exquisite yarn is 100% BFL sport, hand painted just for this design by the incomparable Lisa Millman, of Dicentra Designs.

If you'd like to have a kit reserved in your name, just send me an e-mail, and I'll out your name on the list. Can't make it to Madrona this year? Send me your name for the list and ask a friend who is attending to pick up your kit for you.

Oh Knitting; how very very dear you are to me. Oh Knitters, how much even more so...

To the End of the World (and Back)

I spent most of November aboard the MS Zaandam, sailing from Buenos Aires, south to Montevideo, Uruguay, further south to the Falklands, even further south to Punta Arenas, Chile, and still further south to Ushuia, Argentina: the southernmost inhabited land on the planet. Any further south and you're in Antarctica. Then around Cape Horn, and back up North to Puerto Montt, and finally to Vailparaiso and Santiago, where I caught the first of three planes which would take me back home again. Won't you join me on my adventure? I promise there will be yarn.

Part One: Buenos Aires

If you leave in Portland, Oregon, stop in Los Angeles, then continue to Lima,Peru, and then to Buenos Aires, you can do it all in around 17 hours. Whew!

At the hotel in Buenos Aires, the knitters began to converge. I found Sally Melville; the other teacher on the trip, and the only person in the group whom I'd met before. Later we were joined by Joji Locatelli, who stayed to knit with us, even though the hotel experienced a power outage that night. I was amazed at how long the knitters kept on, chatting and laughing and knitting, as it got darker and darker with the setting sun. After we finally gave up, I ate pizza Margherita by the light of my i-phone.

In the morning the power was back on, but we had too much to do to hang around. Buenos Aires has its very own yarn district (I swear, I am not making this up) which covers several city blocks, and is chock full of yarn stores:

Moussa Lanas, the oldest yarn store in the district

Color much? Yes, please!

Most of the yarn stores also sell swimwear. Obviously, these people understand how sexy knitters are.

The next day we visited the famous La Recoleta Cemetary, where Eva Peron is buried:

Not Evita's tomb; just one I liked.

After that was a city tour:

Town Square, Buenos Aires

And a fantastic public handicrafts market:

Of COURSE you can walk and knit at the same time!

Next Time: Anchors Aweigh!

Golden Delicious

A little surprise has just been added to the Knitty.com Deep Fall issue:

A little while ago I boldly contacted the very clever Jill Draper , and asked if she'd like collaborate with me on a special yarn, just for this design. 

Wow, did she ever come through! The color is even called "Golden Delicious"! She lives in Apple country on the East coast, as do I, on the West coast. Isn't that fabulous?

Download the pattern for free, in all seven glorious sizes HERE.

Tart, crisp and Delicious!