Well, here it is.  Christmas is over and my little beauties are safe and sound in their new homes.  It was a struggle this year since I didn't have much accumulated.  I gave away a couple of things I was sure would never leave my house.  They both said, "Come on Jan! You know Carmen/Ann would really love this."  Since I loved making both, I knew it was not out of the realm of possibilities for me to knit them again.  Let's get on with the stories.  

Treasure #1 went to Linda.  It's the hysterical Anemone Hat designed by Cat Bordhi made from the Noro yarn I rescued from the Yokohama Jacket I made years ago.  Linda and I knit our Yokohama jackets together.  My plan is to make another Anemone Hat for me (I could make many. many from the left over yarn) so I can feel closer to Linda with her far away.  She wears it when she takes Chip her chocolate lab for a walk.  I can't wait until she gets her first smile or laugh when somebody realizes what a fun hat it is.  Every time I put the sample on at Ann's By Design, I get many broad smiles and chuckles.  It is the perfect gift for Linda.  

Treasure #2 the Beacon Scarf went to Carmen Wigman, the beautiful magician who keeps my hair looking fabulous.  I really didn't think this would ever leave my house, but one look at it said, "CARMEN!"  She loved it.  This was so much fun to knit that I will make another.  

Treasure #3 went to Ann.  It is my Knit The Day scarf where I knit two rows of the high and low temperature in Adrian each day  from July 1 to November 30.  I thought this was mine but realized it was Ann's.  She is Adrian's biggest supporter.  Besides, I've already started making another which will go from December 1 to April 30.  I've Knit The Sky and Knit The Day for so long (since January 1, 2016 that I can't imagine a day that doesn't end with recording the day in yarn.  I am toying with Knit The Day for Andi with temperatures in Lawrence, Kansas.  

Treasure #4  a Bandito scarf went to Kathy Tripp the quilter extraordinaire I met through Ann's By Design.  She is so creative and talented.  I love to work at Ann's By Design with Kathy because we cover all bases.  She knows everything about quilting, I know lots about knitting and I don't have to cut fabric.  I love making things for Kathy because she gets the time commitment to something handmade.  We are going to work on a project together this year where she's interprets a concept to quilting and I interpret it to knitting.  I can't wait.  I think it will be over the moon.

Treasure #5 another Bandito scarf went to Erin.  I wasn't sure if Erin would like this so for our Christmas dinner, I wore this with all black.  It looked stunning if I do say so myself.  Erin said, "I love that scarf."  That was all I needed to hear.  I whipped it off and said, "It's your's!"  It's made out of the fabulous Cascade Melilla.  I love the popping colors.  I know there are many more Bandito scarfs in my future.

Treasure #6 Bulky Bliss made with Gusto will go to Evie.  We were supposed to meet in Ann Arbor at Weber's for lunch and Christmas tomorrow but Evie has the crud.  As I was knitting this, it just screamed "EVIE! EVIE!"  I love the delicate color and the invisible cables.  I still can't believe I am in love with this bulky yarn.  Go figure.  I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.  

Treasure #7 became a White Elephant gift at Ann's By Design Christmas party.  This isn't the scarf that became the White Elephant but I don't have a picture of that scarf. Let me tell you the story about the White Elephant Bubbles scarf. "One day I was searching for the next, great knitting pattern.  Eureka! I found the fabulous Bubbles, a double-knit, Lucy Neatby creation.  It was love at first sight.  It was a double WOW because Lucy knit the fabulous scarf in Kauni, one of my very favorite yarns.  I began knitting and I loved it.  Somewhere along the line, it became obvious this was  perfect for my knitting buddy Linda Kaufman.  It was knit in the fabulous Kauni EQ which is a rainbow yarn with a very, very long color change on one side and Kauni in cream and tan on the other.  It was fabuous, it was perfect and I couldn't wait to give it to Linda for Christmas. One night we were knitting together and I was working hard to get Bubbles done for Christmas.  Linda looked at it and said, "That's a cool scarf but if I was doing it, I would knit color on both sides."  WOW! What was I going to do!?!?!?!  I decided to knit Linda the scarf she really wanted and give the first scarf to my Mom.  Soon after, Mom moved into Grand Court now Brookdale and never wore it because she doesn't go outside if it's cold.  So this wonderful Bubbles scarf is my White Elephant to you.  Merry Christmas."  I love White Elephant gifts, I love knitting stories and I love Bubbles.  This was the perfect gift for Ann's By Design Christmas party.

I will write next from Sunset Beach, NC with my knitting goals for the year.  I am busy packing and trying to cut down on the number of knitting projects I'm taking.  Maybe the next blog won't be from Sunset Beach but before we leave introducing you to my vacation knitting projects.  Who knows?!?!?!  I hope you all had a Merry Christmas.

We just got back from our Christmas in Kansas or Christmas in Cansas or Khristmas in Kansas.  On our trip from the Kansas City airport (MCI), Donn informed us that a storm was on the way.  Over night we would be socked with snow, sleet and freezing rain.  Was he right!  We were pretty much house bound for two days.  The sad part is Eric, our nephew from Chicago, was going to come for a Sunday Christmas with Nathaniel, his 16 year old son and Emmie, one of the twins.  Needless to say, driving from Chicago to Lawrence, Kansas was not recommeded.  We had a fabulous Christmas with Donn, Andi and Erin but missed seeing Eric and the kids.  

When Donn and Andi asked Dick what I wanted for Christmas, I made a statement I didn't believe I'd ever say.  I said, "I don't need yarn."  My philosophy has always been "Need has nothing to do with it."  We got into Lawrence late in the afternoon on Friday.  On Saturday and Sunday, we couldn't leave the house.  On Monday, we had to leave for the airport about 11:00 a.m.  Do you know where this is going?  It is the first time ever, I've been in Lawrence and not visited The Yarn Barn of Kansas.  If you've read Knitting: A Love Story for a while you know how much I love The Yarn Barn of Kansas.  If you have ever visited or received their catalogue you understand why I love it so much.  I have gotten some of my most memorable yarns, magazines and books there.  I always come away with something I totally love and can't live without.  Have you noticed the word "need" has never come up in reference to The Yarn Barn of Kansas.  On Sunday, I mentioned this was the first time I've come to Lawrence without visiting the Yarn Barn.  Andi said we could squeeze in a trip Monday morning.  I hope you're sitting down, because then I said, "I really don't need any yarn."  I couldn't believe I said it twice.  I even may have uttered the blasphamas phrase, "I really have enough yarn."  I can't believe I said that especially within hearing of Dick.   I got two beautiful pair of earrings and said the most amazing, unJanlike statement.  It went something like, "You can have enough yarn and enough books but you can never have enough earrings."  Can you believe I even considered I might have enough yarn or I don't need more yarn.  I am still amazed those words even left my mouth.  I didn't get yarn but I did get the best button ever from Donn.  I love it.  It is something I've always wanted to say.

I love it.  We are getting ready for Christmas.  I am almost ready to announce who my treasures wanted to go home with.  In the midst of Christmas choas, I still find time to knit every day.  I almost have my knitting for Sunset Beach picked out.  I hope you are enjoying the season and are finding time to knit every day.  Season Greetings from Knitting: A Love Story to you.

Is there such a thing as too much knitting?  What a silly question! Of course not!  Over the past week, I have had four days which were just made for knitting.  On Thursday, December 8, Ann's By Design had it's first Knitting Marathon.  From 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., knitters were invited to work on projects which absolutely must be done by Christmas.  It was great to see so many of Ann's loyal customers come in to spend some time knitting, chatting and laughing.  I must admist that my back was crying for the comfort of a sofa by the time we were done.  Weather was not our friend and kept many away.  Thea and I stayed until the bitter end (the weather was bitter but never the knitting or the company.)  I desperately needed a night like this as Linda (2 cars, 1 Chocolate Lab, 4 cats and husband) left on Tuesday, December 6 for their drive to Stevenson, Washington.  Some day I may write a tribute to Linda, but not today.  I still get teary when I think about her leaving.   

Sunday, December 11, we woke up to our first real snow of the year.  After having lunch with my Mom at her independent lilving facility, I couldn't think of anything better than a day of knitting.  I needed to finish my bulky scarf and cowl, but put that aside to do some more relaxing and enjoyable knitting.  I also needed to find travel knitting for our trip to Lawrence, Kansas.  Sunday was a day of putzing.  It kept snowing and we watched one closing after another on TV.  On Monday, we woke up to this.

All schools were closed, 11 inches of snow and it was still snowing.  We were snowed in.  Monday was a day of Christmas music (with a little Phantom of the Opera thrown in because we saw the production Wednesday night.  I love it! It makes me cry it is so beautiful), coffee, knitting, candles burning and knitting.  Does it get any better than this!?!?!  The only thing that could have made it better would be doing all of this with Linda. Not only did I have to stay in because of the snow, Monday was prep day for a Tuesday colonoscopy.   

Remember this, my Bulky Bliss scarf with the tubular cast-on?  Well, tubublar cast-on means tubular cast-off.  Because this is all knit in K1P1 ribbing to make it two sided, the cast-off was no easy task.  I watched  several (and by several I mean more than I wish to count or remember) U-Tube videos telling  how to do a "Tubulary Cast-off in K1P1 Ribbing."  Let me tell you all U-Tube vidoes are not created equal!  Finally I found one!  This woman not only understood and could do the process, she knew how to teach.  Not true for all of the vidoes.  I finally got that done and decided to go to relaxing, zen knitting rather than tackling the grafting for the cowl.  

Isn't it beautiful.  Beauty can be cruel and deceiving!  Tuesday, I had to be at the hospital by 8:15 and was home by 10:30 but in no shape to tackle the grafting for the cowl.  So I spent another day of zen knitting.  OMG! I love zen knitting so much.  Wednesday, I finally tried to tackle "grafting K1P1 Ribbing."  I am sorry to say, it is still on the needles.  I think of myself as a fairly advanced knitter (maybe I have to rethink that) but I just can't get the hang of it.  I think I will leave it until we get back from Kansas or after Christmas or after Sunset Beach whenever I finally figure it out. We leave tomorrow for Kansas and I still haven't discovered what my travel knitting will be.  I have nothing on the needles which qualifies.  I don't have time to start something new.  Could this be the first time ever I leave without travel knitting?  I think not.  

Four glorious days dedicated to knitting!  It has been wonderful, but I still have much to do.  And miles to go before I sleep.  And miles to go before I sleep.  

I'll be back on Tuesday; maybe with something from the Yarn Barn of Kansas maybe not.

I will admit: I AM A YARN SNOB! I would rather have a basket of exquisite, expensive yarn than a carful of cheap yarn.  Cheap yarn is like plastic canvas.  (If you use plastic canvas please don't hate me.)  It's like the difference between art and craft or professional and amature.  I love to touch, look at and knit with beautiful, high end yarn.  I prefer animal fiber to plant (except when a little silk is mixed with animal fiber.  That is absolutely the best!)  I prefer fine yarns to bulky or super bulky.  I've always thought that bulky and super bulky were the plastic canvas of yarn.  I love to knit with worsted weight and below with worsted being my least favorite.  Dk/sport makes my heart race and fingering takes my breath away.  I've always felt 13, 15 and 17 needles were only useful for things you were going to felt.  Now that I've shown you how uppity and obnoxious I can be, let me tell you I was wrong (about bulky yarn not about plastic canvas.) 

I've told you I didn't have many treasures knit to give away for Christmas.  I knit too many things that didn't contribute to my treasure box.  I was really getting nervous.  Then those people at Noble Knits sent me their daily email.  This time it was about Berroco Gusto.  

I really didn't understand when I ordered it (5 different colorways) how bulky it was.  When I got my package I thought it was surprisingly nice.  When I got anxious about not having treasures for Christmas gifts, I thought of Gusto.  I went on line and found a great pattern for a cowl/scarf.  Let me show you what I finally made.

Isn't it fabulous!?!?!?  I must say I love it.  See that great, subtle cable running up the right side?  In addition, I learned two new techniques.  

This is a tubular cast-on.  Believe it or not, I've never used a tubular cast-on before.  I love the way the cast-on looks.  This scarf is done with a k1p1 across the row.  This makes it two sided.  No wrong side! I love it.  I went to U-Tube and watched a great video on tubular cast-on.  I think you can learn anything on U-Tube but it's not nearly as much fun as the social aspect of taking a class.  Then I didn't want to go all of the way up to the Stash Studio to get a cable needle, so I used a crochet hook in place of a cable needle.  What a great idea!  It worked like a charm.  

You take the stitches which are going to be moving to create the cable, put them on your crochet hook than hold it in the front or back according to the patten.  When you are ready to knit these stitches you just knit from the handle end.  It works like a charm.  Better than a cable needle  because stitches don't slip off.  

Well, you know that I'm a little obsessive.  If one is good, then two must be better and three must be great.  I found some yarn I purchased when Fiber and Friends, one of my favorite LYS in Toledo, went out of business and it was bulky.  I loved the color but never wanted to knit with it until now.  So, I decided to make a cowl using the same pattern.

Thea likes this because the cable shows better.  I love this pattern.  Then I found some Malabrigo yarn I think will make a great cowl.

You may wonder why I have so much bulky yarn in my stash if I looked down my nose on bulky yarn.  I wondered that myself.  Well, when I buy yarn online, particularly in a big sale, I am not as careful as I should be about paying attention to things like weight, needle size and gage.  I go by beautiful, amazing color.  I see a color and think, "Love it. Got to have it!" When I get the package I often think, "WOW! The color is beautiful but I didn't think it would look like this."  

Once again, I was wrong.  Bulky yarn is not the pastic canvas of yarns.  It still isn't my favorite weight but it can be beautiful and have a place in my knitting life.  WOW! I wonder how many other things I have been wrong about in my yarn snobery.  I know I haven't been wrong about plastic canvas.  

This all started on August 8, 2015.  That was the day FedEx delivered my copy of Knit The Sky by Lea Redmond. I did Knit The Sky.  

Remember?  I studied the sky every day, decided what colors of yarn best represented it then I knit 3 rows.  I started January 1, 2016 and ended June 30.  I have a scarf that represents six months of the sky where ever I happened to be.  January it was Sunset Beach, North Carolina and the last two weeks in February it was Hawaii.  It was fun but I realized when I was done, I didn't want to be done.  I loved that Knit The Sky made me more aware of my environment.  I REALLY looked at the sky every day.  I still REALLY look at the sky every day.  I pay attention to the color and what that color says to me.  I wanted to continue the concept only with something different.  I came up with the idea of Knit The Day.

Using the same philosophy I learned from studying Lea Redmond, I decided to Knit The Day. It was more than reading a book for me.  I read it, reread it, contemplated, dreamed and studied the amazing writing of Lea Redmond.  Then I went to the Spring Fiber Expo and discovered Why Knot Fibers and their faulous Starlit yarn. 

I decided using this Roy G Biv (I love saying that!) collection of fiber, I would Knit The Day.  I assigned colors in the following manner: over 96 would be black; 95-86 would be red; 85-76 would be orange; 75-66 would be yellow; 65-56 would be yellow-green; 55-46 would be green; 45-36 would b teal; 35-26 would be blue; 25-16 would be lite purple; 15-6 would be dark purple; and under 5 would be black.  Then I decided to knit two rows of the high and low temperature each day.  I started July 1 and I ended November 30.  Ta-Da!  Let me introduce you to Knit The Day. 

I can't tell you how much fun this was.  I loved it!  For just a few minutes of knitting, I have a totally unique, one-of-a-kind (a little redundant there. I guess unique means one-of-a-kind), beautiful scarf.  I know people will stop me and asked about it every time I wear it.  

I love the randomness.  See that black stripe?  That was a day the high temperature was over 96.  We didn't have many of those this summer.  Two, I think but I will always remember we had two because Knit The Day is proof.  

isn't it beautiful!  I am so excited!  It is steamed and perfect.  It is the high and low temperatures in Adrian, MI from July 1 to November 30.  Wait a minute!  Maybe this isn't mine.  There is only one person I know that totally loves Adrian with all of her heart and would appreciate Knit The Sky.  That would be the incredible Ann of Ann's By Design.  SHHHHHH!  Don't tell her but this is her Christmas gift.  I think it's perfect.