Well, here's the thing.  I am packing our basement in preparation for workmen to fix our flood, planning what to take for a trip to the Coastal Condo with Kay, Barb and Sally (we leave tomorrow morning), trying to clean for the cleaning ladies who will be here while I'm gone and I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES OF THE "PREVENTING AND FIXING MISTAKES CLASS."  I am overwhelmed and stressed.  A field trip to Knit 'N Purl is planned with the ladies.  I know you'll understand if I sign off until November. Thank you so much for understanding.

October in Michigan means beautiful colors.  Michigan's autumn and spring make Michigan's winter worth the effort.  Fall is a glorious color palette of reds, oranges and yellows.  Spring is vivid green glass and blue skies.  I love both.  October also means Breast Cancer Awareness Month. At Ann's By Design it means knitting Survivor Shawls for breast cancer survivors.  October has also come to mean Yarn Tasting at Ann's By Design.  This past Tuesday and Thursday flocks of loyal customers and new friends came into the shop to experience our new yarns from Plymouth.  ABD added something new to Yarn Tasting this year, we offered a mini-class on Preventing and Fixing Mistakes.  

Guests were provided cards with samples of the yarn being "tasted" and a description of the yarn.  ABD knitters and Plymouth Yarns provided samples of each yarn knitted to better appreciate the drape and feel of the fiber.  Yarn Tasting is like a family reunion with relatives you see every day mixing with those you haven't seen for a while.  It was great to see our friends who have been very busy over the summer unable to squeeze in the time for knitting and a visit to Ann's.  I've told you before,  knitting is a 365 day a year experience for me.  I knit something every day.  Sometimes a little and sometimes a lot but always something.  I was so excited to see faces I hadn't seen in a while and hear laughs I hadn't heard in a while.  

We offered two sessions so we could keep everyone in one room in a more intimate setting.  There were no participants hidden in the tucked away classroom.  Ann provided a light dinner and wine and we "Let the games begin!"

There was much visiting and laughter.  I was so nervous about teaching the Preventing and Fixing Mistakes class I forgot to take pictures on Tuesday.  My plan was to take pictures Tuesday and post on Wednesday but about 9:00 pm Tuesday night I realized that wasn't going to be possible.  Forgive me good friends who came to the Tuesday night Yarn Tasting, I don't have your pictures!

An event at Ann's By Design wouldn't be complete without my dear friend and knitting buddy Thea Chambers.  Thea is wearing her beautiful Sampler Shawl made out of Plymouth Pendenza.  Let's look at (or taste!) some yarn!

Remember the scarf I finished while Dick and I were at the Coastal Condo?  Well, here it is. . . 

May I introduce Mizutama by olgajazzy made from Reserve Sport.  Reserve Sport is a wool , silk and bamboo mix that has the yummiest feel.  I loved knitting this.   

I love this pattern just as I love all olgajazzy patterns.  The stitch is very interesting but not for the faint of heart.  Even though it becomes very easy, there is a confusing complexness about it that could flummox new, inexperienced or unconfident knitters.  I played with 3 different needles before I got the look I wanted.  It becomes a four row pattern with trickiness on two of the rows.  I loved it!  If you love it too, try it.  If you have problems, please feel free to email ([email protected]) me and I'll see if I can help from afar.  The only thing wrong with my description of Mizutama is no picture of Lydia wearing it. 

This is the versatile and gorgeous Happy Feet a sock yarn that is so much more.  It is perfect for sweaters, scarfs and shawls.  

This is Hot Cakes a self-striping worsted weight yarn that comes in many beautiful color ways.  There is just something magical about a self-striping yarn.  I say that as I think of Linda's Christmas gift that I can't show you yet that has 100+ color changes along the side.  When I can finally show it to you, you are going to say "Jan, this is the neatest thing you have ever knit."  Or at least that is what I think.  (Just a little teaser for Linda.)

This is the beautiful Pendenza in its amazing colors.  The color on the second shelf left is the one Thea used for her Sampler Shawl.  It is also the color I used for this. . . 

EEK!  I either can't find the picture I took of Caprino made out of Pendenza or I didn't take one.  I'll have to remedy that. 

This is Gina, a yarn that looks like, feels like and knits like Noro Kureyon.  My mind just slipped away to the tubs of Kureyon I have in the Stash Studio.  I can see knitting a "Jan Bag" in my future.

This is Tweed made into a Seafarer's Scarf.  A couple of years ago Seafarer's Scarf was HOT, HOT, HOT at Ann's By Design.  It is a great gift for a guy. 

Nako is a beautiful yarn perfect for baby things.

See how this knits up.  Perfect for a baby.

Well, Ann's By Design showcased several more Plymouth yarns but I didn't get pictures!  What a slacker!  The last 45 minutes of Yarn Tasting were spent with "the dynamic duo of teaching", Jan and Linda Schwam introducing Preventing and Fixing Mistakes.  We realized you don't learn anything having somebody tell you how to do it, so on October 22 we will have a practice session on "fixing dropped stitches" and on November 15 on to "to frog or to tink?"  I will post on Wednesday about Preventing and Fixing Mistakes.

Yes, we're back.  Back from checking out the damage to the Coastal Condo from Hurricane Florence.  I must say, I have a very hard time saying "Hurricane Florence" because my Mom had a very good friend at Grand Court named Florence who was the sweetest lady who ever took a breath.  Thank goodness, Hurricane Florence turned out to be not the monster storm at Sunset Beach as she was in other areas.

This is the 4 Seasons Room, AKA Linda and Jan's Knitting Room.  It has nary a blemish.  Our most serious issue was nasty fish in our freezer after 4 days without electricity.  ICK!  The refrigerator is disinfected, everything thrown out and all is well.

Of course, I had to choose travel knitting for our quick trip.  We traveled the Spirit Experience from Detroit to Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach to Detroit.  It was Dick's first time.  I picked a piece of knitting which will be on display for Ann's By Design for Yarn Tasting October 16 and 18.  All new yarns needed to have a knitting sample and I chose the beautiful Reserve Sport from Plymouth yarns.  

That's all you get to see.  I will talk more when I write about Yarn Tasting in its entirety.  I did finish this about Saturday and needed something to knit.  I hadn't brought any thing else with me because 1) I didn't think I would finish the Yarn Tasting project and 2) everything I took needed to fit into a Spirit "personal bag" because I didn't want to pay for a checked bag or a carry-on.  For a woman, a "personal bag" is basically your purse. 

Fortunately, I have a knitting basket at the Coastal Condo AND Linda and I made a visit to Knit 'N Purl at the end of July at which time I bought several exquisite yarns.  I searched through the basket and found this. . . 

Remember this gorgeous yarn set from Wonderland Yarns?  I thought it was just two beautiful yarns that looked yummy together, but no!  On the inside of the label is a pattern for a scarf using these two scrumptious yarns.  No picture, just a pattern!!!!  I couldn't resist.  I began knitting not knowing where the directions would take me.  I guess I could have googled the pattern to get a picture but I chose to be surprised.  Well, this is where I am. . .

I am finding this accidental knit-a-long is amazingly exciting.  I don't know what it's going to look like.  I only know that I have two beautiful yarns taking me on a journey to somewhere over the rainbow.  Every person I've showed this to loves it.  I thought it was going to be easy to decide who would get this for Christmas, but I think it is going to be very difficult.  I would participate in an accidental knit-a-long again in a heart beat.  It is so fun.

I have started something absolutely over the moon for Linda for Christmas but I can't write about it.  I want Linda to be totally surprised and I have ruined more than one surprise by prematurely disclosing Christmas secrets on Knitting: A Love Story.  Some day you will see my finished knit-a-long and Linda's Christmas gift.