as Veronica would say…Couldn’t you just eat this color up?!

As you might have guessed, I had another sweater on needles before I even had the buttons sewn onto the last one. It took a lot of searching to find something suitable for this new Rock Creek Park colorway from Neighborhood Fiber Company. It is the most amazing jewel green color (you really have to see it in person). After much debating, I decided to knit the Lauren pattern from Ann Weaver. The pattern is a $6 download on Ravelry. Because it is a raglan, I am modifying it to a top down yoke construction. Raglans and my shoulders just don’t work.  I am also knitting off gauge.

So..there was a lot of math here. Luckily it appears to have worked. If anyone wants to modify this as well, come in and chat with me. I can help you change it up. I did use the Wendy Bernard Custom Knits book for guidance on the percentages to increase in the yoke and at what point. If customizing this project scares you, just use an aran weight yarn and knit it as its written! This is a wonderfully written pattern.  You will need to get 16st to four inches for gauge. Malabrigo worsted, twist, Cascade Eco Wool, Louisa Harding Aran and a few others will work nicely. I am hoping to knock this out quickly before the yarn for my next project arrives in the mail…which is going to be any day now.

Tonight is our regular Thursday night Stitch in Space. Stop by and hang out with us! Our crochet coral reef is continuing through out the month of August. We have several amazing pieces in the shop already and the window display should be done any day now (ahem, Kel!) If you haven’t started a piece of coral yet, do come in on Thursday nights and we will get you started. It is amazing simple and has been a wonderful way to get the knitters started on crochet.

The birthday came and went and we had a great celebration on Friday! It was wonderful to see so many finished objects made from yarn purchased at the shop. That means that most of you actually knit with the yarn you buy..good for you! Uploading this photo reminded me that we actually still have some cake in the fridge, which I didn’t eat on Friday…must go find cake and eat! (It is from Buzz and I hear tale that there is some sort of chocolate goo in the middle)

Now that our anniversary is over, I am finalizing the class schedule for the fall as well as all of our workshops and retreats…we have an amazing line up and I hope to have it all ready in the next few days. A few names you will see: Miss Babs, Kirsten Kapur, Shirley Paden, Stefanie Japel….

Over the weekend, I had an entire day off, which was kinda exciting. I spent most of that day weaving in tails on the Henley Perfected by Connie Chang Chinchio. But it is finally finished!  I can’t seem to knit enough of Connie’s patterns. They are amazing. This one is done in Madelinetosh Pashmina, the Composition Book Grey colorway. Because I finished this before the next shipment of Pashmina arrives, I think that means that I can acquire more when the new colors get here…right?

This week we celebrate our one year birthday, something that seems to have come up way too fast. My head is still spinning from it all. This has been an unbelievable year for us, so much more than I had ever planned for.  It has taken until just recently for this all to set in! Thank you so much for your feedback, encouragement and business this past year. And as always, let us know what you want to see at the shop, what you wish were different (or what you like!)

To thank you, we are hosting a birthday sale all week, ending with a big birthday party on Friday. Read more here.

Trudy sent me this note this week and I just had to share:

The first day that fibre space was open I bought Mini Mochi and, a couple of weeks later, took it on a tour of China. Here I am knitting a sock with it at the site of the terra cotta army! Later I sent these socks, marked “made in China,” to a friend for her 50th birthday.

You and your staff and store are a fabulous community resource. I wish you continued success in your business endeavors.

trudy

So the “yarn bombing” of July 2010 made the front page of Alexandria Gazette today. Here is the full story. That poor hot horse….

Kathleen, Susan and Veronica’s mom sent along photos of the fibre space™ tote traveling the earth…be sure to send us your photos. At the end of August, we will have everyone vote on their favorite. Winner will get a gift certificate for the shop!

Veronica’s mom took these wonderful photos of the bag with some famous people in Naperville, IL and Milwaukee, WI:

Kathleen took her bag on a tour of Europe. You can see the entire tour here.

Yesterday Veronica and I made a road trip to Chester, PA to the racetrack to see my Dad and his horse race. My father races trotters, and I rarely get to see him race. The drive was two hours, which wasn’t so bad. Dad’s horse came in second, which was awesome! Veronica and I were starving so we decided to head over to the casino for lunch. I have been known to spend hours on the coin pushing machines at Dave & Busters so I knew that I couldn’t sit in front of a slot machine. I budgeted $5. It took about 2.5 minutes to make the $5 turn into $13. So then Veronica made me put the five back in my pocket and only allowed me to gamble with what I made. We switched to another annoying and completely bizarre machine and I lost $5. So I was up $3. We decided it was time to go home. In all, we spent about 7 minutes spending $5 – $10. I figure that $5-10 in yarn will last quite a bit longer and in the end, I might have something to show for the expenditure, right? This is how I justify my yarn problem.

On top of all of the ATM machines in the casino is this handy brochure, provided by Harrah’s. It is their public service announcement, I suppose. Like a liquor store handing out AA brochures with every purchase. Over dinner, we decided that the lessons in this brochure could be applied to yarn, even when not grammatically correct. Since I won’t be making a fibre space version of this sucker, here is what I can offer:

When might yarn be a problem?

1. Do you lose time from work due to yarn?

2. Is yarn making your home life unhappy?

3. Is yarn affecting your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after purchasing yarn?

5. Does yarn cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

6. Do you often buy yarn until your last dollar is gone?

7. Do you ever borrow to finance your yarn?

8. Have you ever sold any real or personal property to finance yarn? (um, this includes de-stashing in order to re-stash!)

9. Are you reluctant to use “yarn money” for normal expenditures?

10. Does yarn make you careless of the welfare of your family?

11. Do you ever yarn longer than you had planned?

12. Do you ever yarn to escape worry or trouble?

13. Have you ever committed or considered committing an illegal act to finance yarn?

14. Does yarn cause you difficulty in sleeping?

15. Do arguments, disappointments or frustration create an urge to yarn?

16. Do you have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of yarn?

Ok, so while the Harrah’s brochure explains that they offer ways to help a customer restrict their gambling….we don’t have that service. So if you have answered yes to most of the questions above, we actually can’t help you at all. You are an addict and can not be saved. Enjoy it!

If you are a runner, biker or anything else involving lots of sweat, this little guy could be for you. In honor of our half marathon team, who has been training very hard every week, we are ordering technical shirts next week for anyone who wants one. We are selling these at cost but they must be pre-ordered by Tuesday, July 13th. The shirt is a royal blue Augusta Sportswear women’s cap sleeve shirt with our logo on the front and “team fibre space” on the back. The cost is $14. The finished size of the chest of the top:

Small: 35″

Medium: 37

Large: 40″

XL: 43.5″

2XL: 47.5″

To get a shirt on order, please call the shop at 703-664-0344 in the next few days!

Some terrible bandits have yarn bombed the happy horse at Hard Times. I was tipped off by Meanlouise on fb last night. This afternoon, I stopped by to take photos and the horse was gone! When asked, the staff at Hard Times reported that he had been vandalized and was on the move. Then this evening, another customer again reported seeing the horse back in his happy home, complete with some extra warmth.  We here at fibre space™ are concerned that his temperature may rise to a melting level now that his little ears and legs are all covered in cozies.