Yarn, Glorious Yarn!

I have some truly amazing fiber friends that I've made at my two weekly knit/crochet gatherings. I love that fiber arts brings people together who may not have met otherwise. Today I want to talk to you about my friend Toni, her talents, and her amazingly kind and generous heart.

Here is beautiful Toni standing by several of her adorable knitted bears. Toni is an accomplished knitter and an avid collector of yarn. She's also a wonderful friend who I have a lot in common with.

 Look at her well-stocked fiber library! Toni can both knit and crochet but generally prefers knitting, especially socks. In this picture you can see her knitted clowns, juggling balls, and lizards. 

She really is serious about her sock knitting. She's put years of work into perfecting her techniques, and as you can see the results are well worth it.

Just look at this cute stack of foot outlines! What lucky family members she has.

Here is the great view from the apartment that Toni lives in with her husband and two dogs.

Toni isn't just a yarn collector, she's a yarn connoisseur. She has excellent taste and buys only beautiful, special yarn.

This past Thursday I was invited to Toni's home for a special reason... she wanted me to help her de-stash! She felt like she had reached STABLE (stash above and beyond life expectancy) so she wanted to share the love with me and support my design career. She let me pick from each box! I know right?! It's like the clouds opened up and the yarn gods rained their joy upon me. I still feel like I can't possibly deserve such kindness. Thank you so very much, Toni! The yarn will be well used. Just take a look at this...

Wow. WOW! Look at all of this gorgeous yarn! Doesn't it just make you want to cry? The design gears are already turning in my brain as I think about what patterns to write with my new wealth of materials. I may also review the yarns for you as I use them.

Thank you times a billion, Toni! And yes, one day I will pay it forward. Yay, yarn!

Fiber Friends Are The Best!

I looooove my fiber groups. It is such a joy to create alongside fun, friendly, and talented people. If you aren't a member of any fiber groups yet, you should totally check them out! There are many opportunities through local yarn stores, Crochet Guild of America, and Meetup.

I attend two weekly fiber groups. On Tuesday nights a bunch of folks who live in my apartment complex get together to crochet and knit. Most of them do both. I have made some good friends in that group! We have so much fun chatting and sharing our projects. It's a fabulous beginning to my week. Then on Sunday afternoons I chill at Uptown Espresso in South Lake Union with the Rainy Sunday Knitters. I am the most avid crocheter there, though a few of them crochet now and again. These ladies are so talented and have many years of experience. They've totally adopted me into their circle and I'm so pleased about it!

My fiber friends are everything awesome I mentioned above -- and generous, too! Take a look at the things they've given me. I promise I'm not bragging, it's just important for me to recognize others when they give me gifts. My yarn drawers are certainly satisfied...

Katie from my Tuesday night group recently spent a few weeks traveling Europe with her husband. I watched her kitty while they were gone. To thank me they brought me some Lettlopi! I'm really excited to use it on Sonja van der Wijk's patterns. They also gave me some soap and a fun kitchen towel.

My friend Toni from the Rainy Sunday Knitters gave me some luxury yarn that she acquired at Vogue Knitting Live. As you can see, I've already been playing with the Rowan. She also got a gift certificate for books that she shared with the whole group. Isn't that kind of her? I can't wait to get my two books, one on scarves and another on Noro yarn.

Vicki, also from Rainy Sunday Knitters, came in the other day and set this huge bag of bulky weight yarns next to me. Whoa! That's a lot of yarn. She wasn't using it and wanted to share the love. I'm still trying to pick a pattern or two for it. Have any suggestions?

Thank you so much Katie, Toni, and Vicki!

Cozy Crochet with a Friend

The holiday season is in full swing here in the city. If you've never been in a big city during the holidays, I highly encourage you to visit one sometime. The excitement is buzzing and there are lights and decorations high and low.

It's been unusually cold outside lately, but that doesn't bother me. I've been spending my time indoors being roasty-toasty. Once a week I get together with my friend Katie, the manager of our complex, to spend the evening crocheting and chatting in the comfy clubroom. It's been so fun to watch her work on her project. She just recently finished the large blanket she's been working on, Ellen Gormley's Sunny Spread. It looks amazing!

Having finished her blanket, Katie spent our last meeting putting together classic popcorn and cranberry garlands for her Christmas tree. Her project smelled so good!

It's so fun having friends who share my love of crochet. Katie and I are hoping to expand our crochet circle. In fact, another resident recently gifted Katie a beautiful scarf that she made following a pattern in a Japanese-style crochet book.

I hope that you are all enjoying winter as much as I am and spending time with friends and family. Happy hooking!