One Great Design; Two Great Awards!

Everyone who see's Amanda's lovely Claire's Shawl on display at River Knits admires its intricacy and beauty.

They are even more impressed when I tell them it was designed by one of our teachers for a River Knits class. (And if they are Diana Gabaldon fans, from whence comes the inspiration for the name of this design, we talk a bit about how we are not sure we'll make it even 28 more days until the new Outlander book comes out. But I digress...)

Now I can also tell them that this design won not only one but TWO prizes in two separate fairs this season!

Sheryl Krohne entered two pieces in the Tippecanoe County fair and won prizes for both. Her Claire's Shawl won a Blue Ribbon in its own category and also got the Sweepstakes Award, in the entire hand knitting group, which means it got the award for "best of the best" in hand knitting. Way to go, Sheryl!

Peggy Favorite also entered 4 items in the State Fair in Indianapolis. All four pieces won ribbons!

Her Claire's Shawl received an "Honorable Mention in Lace, Knitting" and I believe was displayed in a special case for fair goers' admiration. Congratulations, Peggy!

And big congratulations to Amanda for creating this lovely design that has been so well received in many venues!

We can all be so proud of everyone who is so nicely spreading the joy of knitting by sharing their talent in this way.

Visitation from Beyond?

Yesterday I happened to look through the caller i.d. list on my home phone. Imagine my surprise when I saw that I had just missed a call from

E. Zimmerman



Oh my goodness! Was Elizabeth Zimmermann making a truly long distance call from beyond? Perhaps she had heard my recent plea to be adopted and wanted to tell me that I had been accepted?!

Perhaps she just wanted to say "It's about time!" in response to the fact that I finally made a Baby Surprise Jacket.

Or maybe she wanted to tell me that if I'd read the "thinking knitter's" instructions on the Ganomey hat I wouldn't have had to rip half of it out.

Imagine how you would feel to be getting not only a call from a greatly admired person but also from another dimension!

Alas, the call was really from a realtor named "Elaine" Zimmerman. So my temporary joy at being contacted from the other world was replaced with more mundane concerns about home ownership and making sound financial decisions. But it was fun to think, just for a moment, that maybe it was a brush with something really, really big!

Oldies but Goodies

When the new shipment of Asland Trends Kettle Dyed Collection came in, I was shuffling lots of yarn around at River Knits! While I was rearranging & making room for the Los Andes (super bulky merino) I came across a shop model that I made the first year River Knits was in the old house. I was tempted to just throw it in a heap int he back room because it was looking kind of forlorn and shop worn. But I took it home and gave it a long soak in some Lavender wool mix, set it out on my deck to dry in the sunshine,

and now it is back at River Knits good as new!

This is a QUICK pattern but not boring with the chunky cable running right up the scarf. The prototype is done in one skein of Brown Sheep Co.'s Burlyspun. If you've never done cables but want to try, this might be a great way to start. Or if you just need a quick gift, this is a great project to keep in mind. River Knits has many superbulky yarns that you might choose, including the original Burlyspun as well as the new Los Andes from Aslan Trends, as well as several other choices. The pattern is a freebie on the River Knits website.

I also had the fun of experiening another "oldie but goodie" for the first time. I just finished my very first Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm not sure how this much time has elapsed before adding this unique creation to my life list. But I'm glad I finally tried it so I could see what all the fuss was about. It is hard to have faith in a strangely shaped piece of knitting that looks for all the world like a misshapen dishcloth. But if you press on it really does become a jaunty little jacket.


This really could start a trend if I'm not careful; I already have a growing list of yarns in mind. This particular one was knit in Mirasol Chirapa and some leftover 220 Superwash that I had in my stash.

I also started Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Ganomey Hat" from the current issue of Vogue Knitting, but I am clearly not "perspicacious" enough to be adopted by the Swansen/Zimmermann family as I was my recent longing. I'm not sure why but my numbers ended up all wonky and my sections were not equal. I will have to rip back to the section right above the garter stitch edging and become a thinking knitter indeed.