We finally had our 1st open knit night and it was SO much FUN!!! We have been working on getting this going for a while and now that it's rolling I am very excited! I am sure it will develop into something big as we go along. It will be held on the 3rd Thursday of every month and the next one will be on March 19th, from 6:00 to 8:00. There is a slight cover charge and we will be having prizes for that cover charge, oooohhhh you too could win! More importantly is the friendship, ideas and just plain good fun that will be going on!Above, is Cate (a newbie knitter), Vicky to the left, Roz, Sally (who used to work for us), and Judy. Cate picked up double points like you wouldn't believe and is knitting her first armwarmers for her Aunt. Vicky cast on socks in the Lorna's Laces sock yarn, Red...

So much has been happening that I just don't know where to begin. Ashley and I were just commenting on the lack of good blogging material and then this last week happened! It was a silly kind of week around the shop, what with the new Noro and Debbie Bliss coming in and so much of it on sale too!It all began on Tuesday when Jerome (our UPS driver) pulled up loaded to the roof of his truck with our shipment of Noro and Debbie Bliss yarns, books and patterns. It was better than Christmas!! Here Ashley and Sandy are just a twitter with anticipation!Come on Jerome, open the truck already! I think the final box count was a mere 39 (?), but whatever it was; it was amazing!!!addthis_pub = 'laurazander';addthis_brand = 'Jimmy Beans Wool'; addthis_logo = 'http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/images/headerlogoSmall.gif';addthis_options...

Have you ever had a surprise party thrown for you, but didn't understand what the party was intended to celebrate?? Me neither... until now.Let me explain:Earlier this week, I picked doug up at the airport after a weekend skiing trip with buddies in Canada. I had promised Jeanne that we would both stop by the shop on the way home, as the girls said that they missed Doug and wanted to say hi (he typically works at home and only makes it to Reno once or twice a month).Well, can you imagine my surprise when we walked into an empty shop? We started calling out names, only to have Jeanne stick her head into the shop and quietly summon us into the newly acquired back room. The girls (jeanne, ashley, amber, sandy, kristen) were all in there (with cider, candles, and a homemade coffee cake - yum)...

So this last Friday, Serge, who represents Noro and Debbie Bliss came to the shop and we played with all his fun stuff! Oh my goodness, it was like yarn overload and guess what? We will be getting Noro Silk Garden Sock, Noro Silk Garden, Noro Kureyon and an amazing new cotton/silk blend that is so soft, Sandy, cast on right away! Of course we both got a taste of the Noro Silk Garden Sock and decided to work on a scarf from Victorian Lace on page 90. I decided I would get going right away on Friday and had 1 and 1/2 repeats done and then made a fatal error! UGH! Hippity, hoppity, froggy came a long and as you can see Sandy (hers is the green one and mine has the teal edge) is farther along than I am. This is such amazing yarn that I can't wait to get going on some socks, baby sweaters, hats,...

Only 1 tie left to go...and then it's ready to wrap and ship (the tie will go where the little white marker is - right above the other ties). Thanks to everyone that helped me pick out this project for Allison's impending arrival - and thanks for voting and convincing me to knit this sweater instead of the poncho!!I included both photos so you could get an idea of colors. The pic on the left was taken without a flash, but shows off the green i-cords and embroidered flowers a bit better. The photo on the right/below shows off the true colors of the yarn a bit better (the colors aren't quite as dull as they look on the left). Anyway, the embroidery part was fun.... i made 4 flowers on the front and 3 on the back - all spaced evenly (i even used a tape measure!). I took the lazy daisy flower...

Naturally I want to knit, EVERYTHING!! Oh my goodness, what am I going to do? Well, knit of course and think about knitting, lust after knitting, dream about knitting; well you get the idea. I read Laura's blog about starting a new project before the current one is finished; you mean there is another way to go? I can't believe that some of you actually finish your projects, who would have ever guessed? Certainly not me (miss at least 15 projects in various stages), as I can't just knit one thing and if it doesn't capture me right away, well, I cast on something new. I do eventually finish some of my projects and so does Sandy. Here is her amazing Icarus Shawl that she knit for her mother. I can't get over how lovely it turned out and of course I already told you I have it cast on in some...

Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm the slowest knitter in the world. Remember that Team Beanie I started just over two weeks ago? Well I finished it....last night. Fifteen days for one beanie is pretty darn sad for someone who works in a yarn shop, I'd say. But you know, I have such a hard time finding spare time to knit lately, it's no wonder nothing is getting done. I've even considered staying up when my cat wakes me up in the middle of the night just to sneak in a few rows...but then I wouldn't be very pleasant by the time I got to work six or seven hours later (haha). So anyway, here it is:I think for any 'normal' knitter it would be a really quick knit--all total I think I spent about 2.5 hours on it (and that includes getting up and down taking things out of the oven, etc).The shop has been...