The Finished Poncho.

Which is really the story of how this

became this!

I finished the knitting on Sunday night (stockinette is great for World Cup matches!) I had a big rectangle of linen that looked kind of like a mess (that's the top photo above).

Monday morning I wove in the ends - there were just a couple that happened mid-row. I always join yarn mid-row if the edge will show. It's so much easier to hide the ends that way. I split the linen into 3 pieces and threaded each piece onto a sharp needle and buried that end into the wrong-side purl bumps.

Then I gave the piece a soak in cool water for about 30 minutes, patted out some of the water and proceeded to block it. I threaded wires through all four sides of the piece, stretched it into a rectangle and pinned the wires to hold it all in place.

I was delighted that the stitches really did even out!

It took just a few hours to dry. Then onto the seaming. For once I wasn't putting that part off - it is only 13 inches! I laid the piece out with the cast-on edge to my right and the bind-off edge to my left. I used a one-stitch seam allowance on the right edge and a 1-1/2 stitch allowance on the left edge.

See how the V's line up!

I had a few more ends to bury in the seam and then it was done. I am thrilled with the finished piece! The linen is so light and airy it's almost transparent.

And the drape is perfect.

Note that I didn't use that fifth skein and I had about half of the fourth leftover. For more details, check out my project page on Ravelry.

An Itty-bitty Baby Doll.

We are long-time fans of Susan B. Anderson - she designs many of the patterns for the wonderful Spud&Chloe yarns and she writes their blog and a blog of her own...and she has published several pattern books for baby and children toys and accessories. Itty Bitty Toys was the first (I think?!) one,  published in 2009. (side note - I first heard about the book on Never Not Knitting, one of the podcasts I mentioned a few weeks back; Alana interviewed Susan in this episode - it's a great listen!)

The book includes 27 patterns for stuffed toys in all shapes and sizes - some are knitted, some are crocheted and all are 100% adorable.  See what I mean?

This is the Baby Doll Set  knit by our very own Patty M. for her granddaughter. She completed the ensemble with the matching child's hat... even down to those yellow braids!

LOVE the detail - the belly button, the fingers and toes...and the lace edging on the bloomers

here's the back view

...and a close-up of the ruffle. see what I mean about details?!

Patty used the suggested Rowan Organic Purelife Cotton DK and it worked up beautifully - the finished pieces are soft ... completely lovable!

Thank you for sharing the finished objects with us, Patty - they're truly special!

Juliet in Triplicate.

Our first Juliet class finished up on Sunday. It what was - I think - a record for the Sunday Seamless Sweater classes:  four students had finished theirs. And three of them had their sweaters to model!

Karen, Sharon and Sandy modeling their finished Juliet sweaters

Sandy was actually still working on the 3rd button loop when we stopped to take the photo, but that's really (really!!!) close to being done - close enough to get into the photo anyway.

So everyone agrees this is a great sweater because you can finish it. It's also great because you can use different yarns and get different looks - four seasons worth, which is great for Atlanta. These ladies all chose fall/winter versions: Karen used Karabella Aurora bulky; Sharon used Araucania Azapa; and Sandy used Rowan Cocoon. The Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed chunky would be lovely, too. For spring/summer, we have the chunky Venezia (I used this for the version I knit in May). Or any of the worsted weight yarns held double - or maybe just knit loosely for a lot of drape (like Liesl, knit in Rowan Summer Tweed).

If you'd like to knit Juliet, there is still room in the class that starts on Sunday, October 24. Call the shop (770.998.3483) to sign up.

FO Friday.

This is a favorite topic for many of the knitting blogs I read and I'm happy to be able to use it! (not to mention it helps me feel better about the fact I took the photos two days ago...but what "beautiful finished object" word goes with Wednesday?)

Shirley was in the shop - yes, on Wednesday - wearing her lovely new sweater.

It's Blossom, knit up in Hempathy.

...and she was shopping for yarn for another Linen Stitch Scarf, but was happy to let me photograph the one she'd finished.  Wow!

(apologies to Shirley - this scarf really deserves a Jared Flood style photoshoot!)

Finally, if you haven't found our new location yet, it's even easier now. The last two new signs have been installed. This one is above the front door.

And there's an even bigger one on the Marietta Highway side. I think we're pretty hard to miss!

Student Successes.

You know we love showing off our customers' FO's. And it's extra fun to show off projects that our students finish. Something about that "first success" is just. plain. special. 

First, here's Joanna modeling her February Lady Sweater. She used Araucania Toconao.

And Debra knit a hat using Ann Norling's basic ribbed hat pattern and Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.

And Ginny finished this vest for her nephew. The pattern is from the Purl website and she used Sublime Organic Cotton DK.

Beautiful work! Congratulations, Ladies!!

Another FO Modeled.

This is Janice*, modeling her just finished Lily Chin Convertible Coat (M002), knit with Rowan Cocoon. Janice said this was a fun project to knit - cool construction with flat panels of garter stitch and many (many!) picked up stitches. And it is definitely a wearable piece - you can wear it long (like the first two shots) or turn it upside down and it's a swingy short coat.

Ooops for the blurry 3rd shot, but we were having so much fun with the photos that it was hard to focus!

*and Janice, apologies in advance if I've misspelled your name - I can't find my notes and my memory isn't what it needs to be!

Smile!

We love seeing our customers showing off their knitwear. And of course I love sharing the pieces with you. Which means I need pictures!  I'm sure it's just my imagination (right?!) but sometimes I get the feeling customers are hoping my camera and I aren't there or maybe that we're too busy to take pictures when they stop by.

Except for yesterday. Carol and Greer were great sports about playing along with me.  And the photos show it!

Here they are together -Carol modeling her summer shawl (a shop pattern staple) and Greer with her Miley Tee (after seeing how cute this is, we're looking into carrying c2knits patterns in the shop - the designs are topdown seamless - my favorite!!), knit with Debbie Bliss' Amalfi.

And this one shows off the side detail of Greer's top.

Thank you both for your lovely smiles!!

Guilt-free Desserts.

Who doesn't love dessert. Especially pretty cakes. And when they're guilt-free, even better!

These pieces were stitched our long-time super-talented customer Mark (who also knits!!)

Knitting in Public.

Yes, happy to report we had a few ladies brave Saturday's heat and humidity to amuse the passers by on Canton Street! It was actually not too hot in the shade and there was an occasional cooling breeze. But (like always) it was the company, sharing ideas & expertise, planning projects, and simply being together that made it all worthwhile!

And we have new photos!

Love that everyone wore something knitted. My special favorite is Virginia modeling her gorgeous Zia from French Girl Knits (it's the 3rd one down on the left, raveled here).

Thank you to everyone who stopped by!

Little and Big.

This is my favorite kind of post for a Monday morning (really, for just about any morning!) - showing off a few of the FOs (finished objects) that have paraded through the shop in the past few weeks. We love to see what you create with the yarn; please keep bringing those finished projects in!

First up, the little. Cecile Rosenburg's darling Fiona's Top (more details on her ravelry project page here).

Cecile used 4 skeins of Rowan Organic Cotton DK (3 for the main color and one for the contrast). Love the pretty lace and the stripes of color on the yoke!

Second up, the big. Stormy Falso's Rowling Wrap. Stormy used Araucania Toconao held double to get that "super chunky" gauge.

Those cables really pop! in that yarn!

...GREAT work ladies - thank you so much for sharing!!

Views from the Weekend.

First, Saturday. Hollie Wood modeling her finished Selbu from our 2nd KAL. Hollie used Fresco for both the main and contrasting colors. Very cute!

and then on Sunday, Reba Pearson's adorable pug, Weezer, "helping" Theresa with the computer.

Liesl. Finished.

Virginia Maike wore her newly-finished Liesl to the shop yesterday. She did a great job with it and I loved seeing a finished sweater from one of our project classes*.

Project specs: Liesl, by Ysolda Teague, knit in Rowan Summer Tweed on size 11 needles. Virginia made the 34" size.

*if you've finished the February Lady Sweater or the Liesl (from classes in February, March, April), we'd LOVE to see it!

Getting Ready.

This past Friday was the "official last day" of our first KAL, the Traveling Woman. To mark the occasion, Jane and I modeled our finished shawls.

Mary on the left and Jane on the right

Lynn DiCristina modeled her finished Springtime Bandit, knit from four balls of the lovely soft Debbie Bliss Donagal Luxury Tweed Aran. (and note that the designer of this shawl is the same Kate Gagnon Osborn who designed our 2nd KAL project, the Selbu Modern beret!)

And Karen Cicio selected and wound yarn for her Selbu Modern.

Are you ready to cast on this Friday? 2pm at the shop. If you can't join us in person, please feel free to participate virtually. The more the merrier for sure!

On Parade.

Finished Objects to celebrate Spring!

First up, Susie McGannon and her Wrap Me Up shawl.

Project specs - Susie used this pattern and Louisa Harding's Grace (both solid and hand dyed). Many have knit this in Noro, but I didn't find any others in Grace. Congratulations to Susie for being a trailblazer. and for finishing a stunning piece!

Next up, Lou's finished Traveling Woman. Similar to Jean, she made two repeats of the A chart and used just a tiny bit of that second skein of Ruca.

We're not keeping score, and this KAL is certainly not a race, but I do think Lou wins the prize for the first Finished Object!

And last but not least, a lovely bouquet of tulips (thank you Barbara!) gracing our front desk.

(right, this is not a finished object, but just too pretty not to share!)

Knit Night.

Thursday evenings, the shop is open til 9 for "knit night", and the fun usually starts around 4 (but "knit late afternoon" just doesn't sound right, does it?). I usually don't get to stay for the night part, but the late afternoon time is still plenty of fun. Yesterday being no exception.

Jean shared her just-off-the-needles traveling woman.

Jean knit two repeats of pattern A and had to break into the second skein of ruca just to finish the last few rows of pattern B and the bind-off. If you're participating in the KAL, we think we can get four repeats of A (and maybe one more lace section - that's the math part of the pattern) out of two skeins.

Then Sally's finished another piece for Piper's ensemble.

This pattern is also in Debbie Bliss' 9 to 5 book; Sally knit it pretty much as written, except for the flowers which she tweaked a bit to fit with the scale of the finished bag.

There was also lots of talk about Sally's next project (maybe this?)... and that kind of talk always leaves me thinking about my next project. This is just the way I like to get my knitting inspiration!

Piper's Coat and Beret.

Sally and Piper* wearing the finished ensemble

Sally Smith brought the finished ensemble to the shop yesterday. She knit the Bell-Sleeved Coat from Debbie Bliss' 9 to 5, along with a matching beret. The lucky recipient is her grand-daughter Piper. In the photo above, Piper's self-portrait* is modeling; I know the "real" Piper is going to be thrilled to wear it!

Project Specs: Sally used slightly less than 12 balls of the Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran to knit both pieces. She knit the 8-10 size for the coat and lengthened the body and the sleeves. The finished fit looks great!

*Piper provided the picture, traced to size and decorated, and Sally mounted it on foam board and cut it out. This is a great way to size knitwear for those folks who live far away...and a fun way for grandchildren to get into the process even if they live close-by!

Knitting lace with Rowan Felted Tweed.

Jane and Mary modeling their lacy Rowan Felted Tweed

I wore my just-finished Jane Eyre shawl (knit from the Wandering the Moor pattern) to the shop last week and Jane told me she'd also used Rowan Felted Tweed for her Sampler Scarf (not a great link - but we have the pattern in the shop)... and Lydia told me she's queue'd Springtime Bandit to use a leftover 1-1/2 balls of Rowan Felted Tweed.

Do you see the trend here?

Rowan Felted Tweed makes lovely lacey shawls and scarves! I know we're not the first ones to figure this out. Ravelry shows 19 pages of "shawl/wraps" knit from Rowan Felted Tweed.

The yardage is generous (191 yards per ball), so many of these projects would take just two or three balls. Ishbel is especially nice - and a very fun knit! - and the small version takes only two balls.

We have all the (more than 12!!) colors of Rowan Felted Tweed in stock.  Many of those colors were shy about posing for a photo (maybe because I had them all laid out on the floor?)

...but these few, they cooperated...once I had them back on the shelf!