Wendy knits - and visits, too

Wendy Johnson of wendyknits.net visited us last Saturday afternoon. Local fans filled the store to meet her and to hear her read from her book, Wendy Knits.



After the reading, everyone got their book signed and enjoyed talking to Wendy about her, and their, knitting. There was time for a quick group shot before Wendy was off for home.



From the left that's Kathy, Wendy, Rachel, and Laura. You'll notice that Craig and Grace are missing. Grace was on vacation - and we're told had a wonderful time! - and Craig was in Indianapolis at the Summer Market. Both were sorry to miss Wendy; maybe she'll come again! Until then, we have her wonderful book - there's a few left if you haven't picked up a copy yet.

k is for kersti

I couldn't wait to get some Kersti on my needles. Made by the wonderful folks at Koigu Wool Designs, Kersti is a 100% merino crepe that knits at 5.5 stitches to the inch. It's the big sister of the popular KPM and KPPPM, which knits at 7 stitches to the inch.

Twenty colors arrived in our first order and another 13 followed a few days later. This created a dilemma - where to start! Because Kersti is so great for kids' clothes, decided to knit a little dress. I picked the brightest multi-color I could find for the main color and a bright yellow for the edging.

Kersti is a joy to knit. It's soft and slightly squishy. I began eyeing the colors for something for myself. The knitting went quickly (aahhh - the joy of knitting for kids!) and soon I was done.



It'll be a few days before all of the colors are on the website. For now, those of you who are nearby can see them in the store. If you haven't tried Kersti, we highly recommend it.

crazy for koigu

Who can resist the lure of the Koigu?



The fineness, the twist.



The glorious palette.

For socks and shawls, tops and even pants! The first 8 colors arrived last week. Much more to come!

baby, baby

I'm sure it's because of the birth of my first nephew in April, but I've become very taken with knitting for babies. I like how quickly baby clothes can be knit and I love seeing him in something I've made.

I recently finished the Baby Surprise Jacket in Artyarn's Supermerino. The pattern was written by Elizabeth Zimmerman and must be one of the most popular knitting patterns of the 20th, and now 21st, century. It's knit flat with lots of increasing and decreasing and some picking up of stitches, and just when you think it's the oddest looking thing you've ever knit it becomes a jacket.



There're no sizes. Zimmerman suggests fingering weight yarn for a newborn and DK for a 1-year old. I chose the worsted weight Supermerino and knit it on a 6 instead of the usual 7. I used almost all of three skeins. My nephew is only 7 weeks old, but I'm taking it to him tonight to see how it fits.

Now that I pay more attention to babies, I know there's a broad range of sizes and growth rates, so it's hard to know what size sweaters to make. I think the next time someone I know tells me they're pregnant, I'll just pick a yarn I like and knit them a Baby Surprise Jacket. It'll surely fit at some point!