I would like to introduce you to my husband Dick (red shirt on the left) and his brother Donn on the right. They are two great guys. Ellen Parson did a fine job raising her two boys. Donn is a retired professor from the University of Kansas and a national expert in communications and debate. He was the KU debate coach for years. I met Donn about 35 years ago when Dick and I were dating and immediately felt welcome to the family. Donn is a master gardener and funny man. He cracks me up.

This is an afghan I made out of the beautiful Nashua for Donn and Andi a few years ago. Even though it was for both of them, Donn staked his claim as soon as they opened the Christmas gift. I can clearly see them opening the box and Donn rubbing the soft alpaca on his face and smiling. I hear that he has taken many naps under the warmth of of this throw.

This picture shows a little better the color spectrum of the yarn. I had so much fun finding the perfect colors to blend from gold through blue. I started with eight stitches and ended with over 1,100. Those last few rows took almost an hour each.

This is a scrumptious cashmire and silk yarn that I bought from those wonderful women from Knit Purl in Portland. They sent me one of those emails I can't resist showcasing Ensemble Lite. I saw it and fell in love. I bought a skein, touched and fell deeper in love. We were struggling with what to get Donn for Christmas, when I thought, "Ta Da! Ensemble Lite in teal in a vest! Perfect!" Dick agreed.

This is Ensemble Lite in copper. Donn loved the vest. When we were at the 50th Anniversary Celebration, one woman I had never met said,"I know you. You knit the vest." I love to knit for Donn because he is so appreciative. I also love to talk to Donn. From politics to current events to our MSU/KU rivalry, it's all fun, lively and spirited. I would love to live closer to Donn and Andi so we could get together more than once or sometimes twice a year. Next post will be about my fabulous niece Erin.

We are home from our fabulous trip to Lawrence, Kansas. My kitchen was gutted yesterday for a major kitchen rennovation. We are living in chaos but life is better than good it's great. Jocelynn Brown who does the "Handmade" column in the Friday Homestyle magazine for the Detroit News called on Tuesday. She was reading Knitting: A Love Story and wants to do a column on it! She set up a time Thursday for a phone interview and will send a photographer on September 17 to take pictures for a column in October. My feet haven't touched terraferma since. I have gone from 5'4" to 5'7" by simply floating above ground. More to come in the future!

Our trip to Lawrence was great. The driving was longer than I anticipated so I had 26 instead of 22 hours of car knitting. I got one and a half strips completed of the afghan. With our trip to Traverse City in September, it should be done. A Christmas gift for somebody! Yea!

The vest is one I made for my sister-in-law Andi for Christmas a couple of years ago. While I was in Lawrence, I took pictures of the things I have knit for Andi, Donn and Erin. The only problem was I couldn't take Lydia with me. Lydia is my dress form I use to showcase my garments in pictures. I didn't realize what a great job Lydia does until I had to do it without her.

This is the beautiful Nashua Sitar that I used for the vest. I first saw this georgous yarn in the Yarn Barn, of course. Another first in the Yarn Barn. Andi saw it and said,"This is the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen." I knew right then it would be her's. I treasure the 33 years Andi has been my sister-in-law. She is a kind intelligent person who shares the love of handmade (Andi is a master quilter) and good books with me.

I love this shawl! Originally, it was going to be my Sunset Beach project January of 2013. I started it so I could test the three colors I had chosen. I don't think you can tell, but each color (green, purple and black) has the other two colors in it. I started it and knit one pattern section then the next then the next and it was finished before we ever got to Sunset Beach. I gave it to Andi for her birthday in 2013. It was so much fun that I have plans to make it in sock weight for a scarf. Plans! Plans! Plans! So many plans so little time.

I love this so much that I took way too many pictures!

Andi was my partner in pain for the infamous weaving class. To say we had fun wouldn't exactly be accurate but I loved spending two full days with Andi. Besides, we have great stories about the experience.

Andi was also the recipient of a Jan Bag. Maybe I will be able to track all of them down and get pictures. The history of the Jan Bag! Interesting!

My trip to Lawrence was great in all ways. The 50th anniversary party was wonderful and inspired a post all of its own. My next post will showcase things I have knit for Donn.

It's pretty unassuming looking, but behind those windows is a land of magic, The Yarn Barn of Lawrence, Kansas. Some of you may know it as a catalogue yarn store, some of you may know it as an online yarn store but I know it as a LYS. It is a magical wonderland of fiber. The Yarn Barn grants the wishes of knitters, weavers and spinners (well, yes crocheters, too). I first stepped into The Yarn Barn the day after Christmas 30 years ago on my first visit to Lawrence as a member of the Parson family. This significance of the day after Christmas is the most fabulous annual sale on the planet. It doesn't matter what time you get there, the store is packed. Young and old, male and female, new and experienced, daring and careful, we all make our way to our Crystal Cave of yarns to soak up the magic of possibilities. It doesn't matter if you buy one skein of yarn, yarn for a project or yarn for the year, everyone is treated with the same enthusiasm. The Yarn Barn has definitely been a co-conspirator to the growth of my yarn stash. It maybe at the Yarn Barn I coined the term UDY (undesignated yarn).

I have had many firsts at the Yarn Barn. It was at the Yarn Barn that I first saw Interweave Knits. I bought my first copy and the next week I subscribed. It was in an Interweave Knits at the Yarn Barn I first discovered the design of Valentina Devine. I couldn't believe what I saw. How could she do that? How could she knit in different directions and come up with a beautiful garment? Needless to say I was smitten, curious and intrigued. Until that moment in time, all of my thinking, pondering and dreaming about knitting had been linear and horizontal. Now it was spinning and changing and limitless. WOW! What a paradigm shift! Yarn in all colors in every directions! It was me and I never knew it.

It was at the Yarn Barn I first discover the design of Hanne Falkenberg. I bought my first beautiful kit and I was on my way. I will bring it out sometime and surprise you. It was my first introduction to and my descent into using yarns that required less than a 9 needle. Now it is my favorite knitting 2's, 3's and 4's needles, beautifully small stitches. I love it! I have to remind myself of all of my TBFL (To Be Finished Later) every time I go into the Yarn Barn so I don't load up on Hanne.

I knit this great sweater for "my friend Barb" after I saw the pattern and the made up sample (I am a sucker for that every time) on display at the Yarn Barn. It was so different (have you noticed I am also a sucker for different and unusual?) that I had to make it.

Not only is the Yarn Barn a wonderland for knitters, it is also a candy store for weavers. Every year the day after Christmas, I would would drool over the woven fabric and say, "some day I'm going to take a weaving class." I had this great idea that I would make garments which incorporated knitting and weaving. I was geeked! I was ready to shell out upwards of $2,000 to purchase a loom. I was ready to not only start designing but start a business. Christmas of 2011, Donn and Andi (brother-in-law and sister-in-law) gave me weaving lessons at the Yarn Barn for May of 2012. I was so excited! Finally, I was going to live my dream! Dick and I flew to Kansas and the adventure began. It was a two day class and to make it more fun, Andi was taking it, too. We each had our very own loom to string and weave on. Big. Wooden. Beautiful. WOW!!! I couldn't wait to start. In no time at all I'd have my own loom and be making knitted-woven garments. I could picture them and they were stunning. Then my dreams were dashed! Weaving is grueling. It killed my back. It is also a very solitary activity. Not much chance of weaving and talking or weaving and watching TV. I couldn't take the loom with me like I could knitting needles. I was devastated. It was really a boo-yea. I would never be a weaver and make knitted-woven garments, but I learned BEFORE I bought a loom. I still love the looks of weaving but it will never be a skill I acquire. 😥

I hope you enjoyed your trip through the the Yarn Barn and will visit if you are ever in Lawrence.

Dick and I are leaving Thursday on a much anticipated road trip. We are driving to Lawrence, Kansas for the 50th anniversary of Donn and Andi Parson, Dick's older brother and his wife. I am excited for many reasons. First, I will get to spend time with two of my favorite people who I don't see often enough. Next, I will get to take pictures of all of the things I have knit for both of them over the years to do a post. I have sent some of my best work to Lawrence. Next, I will take you on a field trip to one of my very favorite LYS The Yarn Barn. I been introduced to so many things about knitting in that wonderful place. Last but certainly not least, I will get to work on a travel project for 11 hours from Adrian to Lawrence and 11 hours from Lawrence to Adrian. I ought to get some serious knitting done. We are driving because I'm having some back issues and don't want to torture myself with airplane seats. Because of my back, I am sure Dick won't let me drive (😜) so I will have at least 22 hours of car knitting then whatever I can squeeze in while we're there.

Remember this? I love it. Maybe I will use this as my travel project. Maybe I will finish something. Maybe something will move from TBFL to finished. It is the perfect project. Small. Easy pattern to remember. Great yarn. Something you can put down and pick up without being confused. Oh, happy day! I think I just found my project.

I'd like to introduce you to Evie Elliott my oldest friend. By oldest I don't mean in age, I mean in years of friendship. We've been friends since Wonders Hall at Michigan State University. We have been through the excitement of graduating and getting our first jobs and apartments, dating and marrying, raising children, surgeries, taking care of elderly parents and pretty much anything else you can think of. Through it all I think we have laughed more than any other two people on earth. When we first started teaching, Ann Arbor was half way between us. We would meet for lunch at Weber's and spend hours laughing. One time we each had a salad and our bill approached $100. I guess we had a few drinks. One time we were sitting near a pantyhose salesmen and got free pantyhose. (Oh, by the way I was shocked when I learned that young women don't wear them any more. I learned that when such a big deal was made about Kate Middleton wearing stockings and maybe she would bring them back.) When we got married, our husbands wanted to be included in our Weber's adventures and we began spending the night and playing cards by the pool.

I made this shawl for Evie out of my favorite Noro Kureyon. It was so much fun to make because it was my first attempt at knitting in different directions. I love patterns like that. It started with a little square then picked up stitches to make it bigger then picked up stitches along an edge to make it bigger then picked up stitches, well you get the idea. It was so much fun and I was working with the beautiful colors of Noro.

Evie are her husband Butch are the most generous people I know. They open their home to friends and family, give willingly when others are in need and are always there to provide emotional support. They are givers of their time, talent and treasure. When I need an emotional boost, Evie is the person I call. If there is a Hall of Fame for givers who go above and beyond, they are the first residents. If it wasn't 9:30 in the morning I would raise a glass of wine to toast their generosity.

Evie was also the recipient of a Jan Bag. It is her go to carry on for trips. I asked my friends to send me pictures of things I have knit for them. It has been fun to see all of the different colors of Jan Bags. I remember the first felted bag I saw at Crafty Lady one of my favorite LYS. I immediately loved it. Crafty Lady is only a few miles from Evie's so I have combined a trip to Crafty Lady with a visit with Evie. I have spent the night with Evie to attend a morning class at Crafty Lady. Isn't it amazing how things just fit together.

Last but not least, I just gave Evie a Lucy Neatby Bubble Scarf for her birthday. I think I've knit 5 of these. I just love it.

What is better than having a group of dear friends to knit for? I can't think of much. I have several more to introduce you to in future posts. Friends and knitting! Throw in a glass of wine and that's what life is all about. By the way, have you seen the knitter's wine glass? I will dig mine out for a future post as I continue to knit a love story.

OMG! We just got back from a road trip along the beautiful west coast of Michigan with it's tranquil sand dunes, beautiful beaches and unique towns. We started in New Buffalo and ended in Petoskey with lots of sight seeing, shopping and eating along the way. My plan was to pick out LYSs along the way and post about them. Some were old favorites and some were new. The first shop was in downtown St Joe. I couldn't find it and when I ask, I was told it was closed. I was a little bummed but knew I had one of my favorites Lizzie Anne's coming up in Holland. Lizzie Anne's would definitely be in my top five LYSs. When we got to Holland, I was geeked. We parked and I walked to the shop only to find that Lizzie Anne's was no longer in business. OMG! What's happening!

I started to reflect on LYSs I love that have closed. I realized that one of my goals has been to single handedly keep all my favorite LYSs in business by buying all the yarn I could, ergo my enormous yarn stash. When I realized I had failed, I was very sad. Fiberworks Knitting and Weaving in Toledo, Knit A Round in Ann Arbor, Yarn Paradise in Ashville and now Lizzie Anne's just to name a few. There are many reasons why LYSs close. It's obvious that owning a LYS is a labor of love. It's a tenuous, balancing act. It is a risk which must not only offer yummy, gorgeous yarn but pay the bills.

I have always dreamed of having my own LYS. I even have a name--In Stitches! In my head I always thought about spending every day amid scrumptious yarn and yarn lovers. What could be better?!?! I never thought about the pressure.

In Petoskey I discovered Cynthia's Fine Yarns thanks to my yarn buddy Linda. I must admit I was very down when we got to Petoskey. What if Cynthia's was also closed? Well, it wasn't and it was worth the wait.

Cynthia's Fine yarn is filled with the glorious high end yarns I love with projects knit to show the wonderful possibilities. When I first walked in, I saw gifts and not yarn and thought, "Wow! This isn't what I wanted." Then I turned the corner and saw the yarn. The young, friendly women working said they include the gift shop because many LYSs can't make it on yarn alone so they diversified. Smart!

I bought yarn for the adorable hat in the picture that looks like a cupcake. Isn't it a fabulous! I will knit it and post it soon.

Every where I looked there were treasures. I was immediately disappointed that I live so far from Petoskey. I would like to visit Cynthia's often.

I left with a bag full and my spirit lifted. Now my goal is to uncover and support wonderful LYS like Cynthia's Fine Yarn. I would like you to reflect on LYSs you love that have had to close and honor their memory. Then thank and support those LSYs that are still in business.