What a difference knitting and crocheting can make

I just looked at the date of my last post.... Yikes!! I had no idea it had been this long.

So many things have happened and are happening that time gets away from me. One of the many things that have inspired me this summer is Michelle Yung's blog 6° 18' N 10° 48' W
http://livinlavidaliberia.blogspot.com/

I challenge you to read the musings and reposts from this young woman who serves on a Mercy Ship in Liberia and uses her knitting talents to help others. There have been others who have crossed paths with me, who inspire me as well with the way they use their talents to brighten someone else's life. Email me, if you would please, if you use your talents in any way to help others. Do you knit or crochet for charity? Tell me about it. gaby@yarnlady.com

As Michelle put's it: And then again, it is not about knitting. Knitting is just an excuse to be able to sit with them, talk to them, encourage them and love them. It opens them up, stirs up excitement and builds a bridge between languages, continents, oceans and lands. It is a very simple way to tell them a very simple truth:You are valuable. You are unique and one of a kind. You have a purpose. You are no accident.You have a Creator who loves you very much.

FREE pattern

So I decided the other day in honor of Earth Day to come up with an "idea" of sorts. Then I remembered that when I was growing up in Germany we used a thing called a "Netz" to carry groceries in. I looked it up online to see if they still existed, and sure enough they do.....

Of course I wanted mine to be knitted and use lots of yarn since I am in the yarn selling business. There is so much talk about being eco- friendly and I wanted it to be just that. Of course there is also much talk about how much energy being eco- friendly might use in some cases. So I used a yarn that we and many of our customers have lots of: Eros by Plymouth. The result was my version of a Netz. We had lots and lots of inquiries for the pattern, so I expect to see a finished version of it in a grocery store near you soon! If you are making one, please send me a picture of it at gaby@yarnlady.com and I'll share it here.

You know how one design often inspires another? Well when I looked at this bag, I turned it just a bit and mentally took off a portion of it and there it was: a tank top!! (If this was going to be a tanktop, I would do more solid rows on top so the line wouldn't come you-know-where...) I couldn't wait to get to work on it, only this time I did use an eco -friendly yarn. I used 3 hanks of Pakucho by Trendsetter. Because of the amount of stitches that I used, it became a very SMALL tank top or a beautiful dress for a little girl. All it needs now is a ribbon and a small flower and it would be darling on a little girl.

If you would like the pattern, please write to me and I will e-mail it to you free. Please give me credit if you use it and pass it on. Enjoy!

Work in Progress

If you look at the mess in the picture, you will see my "work station". So many projects, so little time and so little space!! My granddaughter was telling a friend the other day: "My nana has yarn EVERYWHERE!" And so it is. Perhaps I mentioned before that I am working on a sweater for my husband (finally!!) and he loved a purse that our Jan was making and said the he would LOVE a sweater in just those colors! Well I picked a bunch of different Noro yarns and just started. He is a 3x size, so there was a lot of chance to let colors "play". My challenge is to actually finish it! I tend to get distraceted by yet another project on the horizon and have to discipline myself to actually finish.

I thought you would also like to see a scarf that Jenny is making in Entrelac. Now I'll have to ask her which yarn she used, but you can see all of the wonderful color changes.

Jan and Jenny also taught a summer- T workshop and here is one of her students working on it. Very simple, very stylish, using a ribbon and a component. She used Charm and Dolcino.

So what are YOU working on?

Another PJ Party at Yarn Lady

OK, so the text is not in the right sequence, because I keep adding more pictures of our slumber party last Saturday night. Here are just some of the lucky winners who gave the correct answers to questions Jan and Jenny had prepared about general information regarding knitting and crocheting. Lots and lots of prizes were given and proudly received.

So we had another PJ party last Saturday night. What fun we had! I am putting together a page to show all of the pictures. Jan and Jenny hosted a get together of over 30 participants who all came to knit and hang out together and eat!! Pizza was served and everyone brought a desert and I don't think that anyone went home hungry!
At the beginning of the evening, Jan announced that those who wanted to could try to complete a 5 hour baby sweater. As you probably know, we are all making these sweaters to be given to charity and we have a contest. For each sweater you donate, your name will be entered into a drawing for a $100 gift certificate at Yarn Lady. So if you're interested, get KNITTING or CROCHETING!!
We called Keely the Lady In Pink! Keely had on this gorgeous sweater made out of a variety of Prism yarns and she was working on a new one again. It was so striking that the folks at the next table asked her to come over and model.

Stay tuned for more pictures!

Pssssst: Jan and Jenny are planning for another party later this year. Make sure you get your name in early since this was was sold out!