Simply Fabulous

Via Knitter's Review:
What we all know about wool in 36 seconds

And the how-to in case you want to do it yourself is
HERE.

Genius, I must say.

Saving Henry, Saving Lambs

Last week I was listening to Bob Edwards on the radio in my car after dropping Julia off at school. Working by myself all day, sometimes the only voice I hear is that of the one coming from the radio. Bob Edwards with his soothing tone and great interviewing skills has been a favorite voice for many years. I don’t always have interest in his guests but I usually listen, none the less. Last week’s guest was Laurie Strongin, the author of a new book called Saving Henry. Henry was Laurie’s son who was born with Fanconi anemia, an almost always fatal illness. I don’t always listen to stories like this but this one woman’s conversation which was about the life and death of her child at the age of seven had so much joy mixed in with what I initially thought would be pure sadness. Like Laurie, my family and I spent many, many days in the NICU at Tufts NEMC and on the Pediatric Surgery Recovery Floor in the three years after Julia was born with hydrocephalus. Luckily, Julia’s brain condition was operable and except for some things that are very difficult for her, she appears a normal child.

Henry and his family were not as lucky as we were and he died at the age of seven after multiple surgeries, an unsuccessful bone marrow transplant, and his mother Laurie and father Allen Goldberg’s nine attempts to produce an embryo that would be a match for him to have a successful bone marrow transplant. Many times, I almost turned the radio off because the conversation was hitting too close to home and was making my heart ache. But I kept listening because Henry’s mom kept talking about what a great kid Henry was, how he was bigger than life, and how he continues to live on in her family’s life, eight years later.

I can’t imagine the grief that overcomes a mother and father when their child dies. I read stories in the paper and my heart skips a beat and goes out to the family – the families I do not know. Every child, every person is a child of someone, a son or a daughter who is loved by family and friends, no matter their problems and quirks. Before I had Julia, I do not think I felt quite the same - not as compassionate as I am now.

And so Henry and his family, people I do not know, became the focus of my thoughts for the day and this past week. I marveled at how his family has started a Foundation called Hope for Henry to help to make their lives happy while being in the hospital. What a great thing to do for others who are in similar situations. When Julia was hospitalized frequently in the first few years of her life, I know how we all looked forward to the moments of the day when the Child Life Specialist at Tufts/NEMC came down to her room, bringing videos, books, and toys to entertain her. Those people were so supportive and caring and helpful to all of us (as were the doctors and nurses too) as we struggled through surgery and recovery. They have seen it all before but for us, it was new. We were so lucky to be able to get care for Julia at such a caring hospital.

Later in the day, after I had resumed my "mommy detail" Julia and I arrived home after dark to the smell of the wood burning in the woodstove and the welcoming baaahhhh of our newest bottle lamb. This little twin ewe lamb was born during the last big snowstorm. The Farmer found her in the snowbank, not being attended to by her mother. She was pretty much frozen and barely breathing. He brought her home and she lay in front of the woodstove as we watched the Olympics. Slowly, the little lamb thawed out and came to life, lifting its head after a couple of hours. When the lamb was strong enough to go back to its mother after she was fed, The Farmer took her back to the barn to see if the mama would accept the lamb. Alas, the mother still did not want her. Perhaps the mother sensed that there was something wrong with the lamb. We do not know.

The lamb returned to the house for further nursing from her humans. For the next few days, the little lamb lay in front of the woodstove keeping warm. She became stronger and stronger but couldn’t stand or walk. She had such spunk and personality and a rather loud baaaaaahhhhhh that we decided she could have a name. As she was born during the Olympics, we gave her the rather regal name Olympia. Naming a sheep is a huge decision for us. When a lamb gets a name, it gets harder for us because they become close to us, almost pets. When something happens to a sheep with a name, we take it harder. Not everything here on the farm is sad but so many things are out of our control. It is easier emotionally to keep our distance from all the personalities of the animals and only have them be numbered, not named.


As the week progressed, Olympia became stronger and stronger. If we pulled her up on her feet, she was able to balance and walk but her legs kept slipping out from under her and she would become splayed with all 4 legs pointing out. We massaged her legs and ankles and after six days, she was able to stand on her own. Olympia has become one of our lambing successes. It makes us feel good.

I can’t imagine how great a research doctor must feel after they spend years developing a technology that can save a child’s life. Henry and his family endured many years of tests and surgeries. As Laurie was speaking, I thought to myself, would I put my child through experimental procedures, only to be disappointed and grief stricken because my child did not survive? Laurie was positive that she and her husband had made the right choices. Although Henry did not survive his fatal condition, children now are able to survive when born with Fanconi anemia. Through Henry's life and his doctors, he continues to live on.

It is easy to be judgmental about a person or situation you are not close to. Would I have strived so hard to keep my child alive? I don’t know that answer. As the day and week wore on, I kept thinking about Henry and his family. My mind wandered and I began to think about the children who were born with hydrocephalus over 50 years ago when there was not a cure for it – before shunts were invented and the excess fluid on the brain continued to grow. Infants with hydrocephalus did not survive and grow into young girls and boys who laugh and sing, who love chocolate ice cream, who need help with their homework, and stay up too late at night. I am so thankful for the families like Henry’s who came before Julia. I am thankful for the doctors who developed the amazing shunt technology that has made Julia’s life possible.

When we have our little farming successes, it makes us feel good. Probably not as good as a doctor feels who has spent his or her life working on a new surgery technique, but good none the less. But lambs are sheep and they keep growing. Olympia is still in the house, running around with the dogs close behind. She’s got to make the transition to being a real sheep this weekend. We are putting it off because it’s difficult – not as difficult as seeing your child go to college – but heart-wrenchingly difficult none the less because things happen to sheep as they live out their lives on a farm. It is the reality of raising farm animals and even though we have been doing it for years and years, it isn’t easy to lose a sheep or lamb. It is real life though and farming is the process by which people eat meat, even though most people don't think about the source as they pull their shrink-wrapped beef or chicken from the grocer’s refrigerated case.

p.s. When Olympia finally moves to the Great Outdoors, I've really got to start scrubbing those walls!

Spreading the Creativity at Nancy O's

I'm back from my adventure to Nancy O's in Ridgefield, CT! It was a rainy, miserable weekend and driving was less than good but the staff at Nancy O's and all the knitters I taught made my weekend memorable. Nancy O's store is on side street of the incredibly cute town of Ridgefield. The store may be tucked away but that doesn't stop her place from being a destination. March is the 5th Anniversary of the store and that's why I was invited to teach. I was the first "away" teacher Nancy has invited. What an honor to be a first! I taught a morning class of Creative Embroidery on Knits and in the afternoon, I tested out a new class on Knitting Fair Isle and Steeking. I had a great group of students and I'm hoping they go home and practice some of the stuff they learned! Nancy supplied them all with skeins of my Julia for the class and the homework and knitting with it sure did hook them into the quality and the hand of my wonderful yarn. Once you too knit with it, you will see why I love it so much.

I brought many, many samples with me which always end up being a hit. It's much easier to teach this kind of thing if you have finished work with you. After I ate a quick lunch, I got a chance to sign some books and meet some blog readers who came to meet me and say hi. It was quite fun - I must say. Lucy brought me some marinade for our lamb to make a favorite sandwich of hers called "The Spiedie." It is called "Original State Fair Spiedie Sauce". She says she buys the marinade by the case! I am going to try it this week. Thanks Lucy! What a nice and thoughtful gift. Now that I'm home and checking it out, it seems that The Spiedie Sandwich is quite the thing!

These women stopped by at lunch time to say hi. The class sold out so quickly that they couldn't get in. We had a real laugh about this adventure.

But here's the real thing about this weekend. When I was introduced by Jess Oas, Westminster's New England Sales Rep to Nancy O a couple years ago in Ohio at TNNA, we started chatting as you do at those shows. We went round and round and figured out we were both from NJ. We chatted a little more and then discovered that we both grew up in the SAME TOWN of DOVER, NJ. How amazing is that? Two women, a decade apart, in the same business, loving the yarn and the business of yarn. The circle is very small. So Nancy and I chatted and then lost touch. This year, we got back in touch and I told her I would come teach at her store to help her celebrate her 5th anniversary (quite a milestone in these times, wouldn't you say?).

And then Nancy told her sister Doris (she has two sisters) about me and my love of color. Evidently all the sisters are very into knitting and color. Doris was intrigued and said, boy, that name sounds familiar. Well, get this..... Doris lived across the street from my grandmother Frieda when she was first married. Soon I got this e-mail from Doris:

"After speaking to my sister Nancy yesterday and realizing our connection I have been spending many hours taking a stroll down memory lane! I have such wonderful memories of the time I spent with your Gram.

What an incredible lady, friend and teacher. I was in awe of her gardens and at age 25 had no gardening skills. She patiently spent so many hours sharing her knowledge with me and telling me that she wasn't really "that good." If I close my eyes I can still see her tending her iris. I believe that was her favorite flower. They were right in the middle of the garden that separated her yard from that of the Drexels. She had a wonderful sense of color placement. When I am placing a new plant in my garden I often think - Where would Mrs Nicholas or Gertrude Jekyll put this? Yes, I do put her the same league as Gertrude. Sometimes I get it right and sometimes I don't. Your Gram was so proud of your father's garden. She brought me to see it one beautiful summer day. I remember how your dad had bordered the entire bed with impatiens that he had started from seed. I was so impressed and always wanted a garden that would be so beautiful.
I have a retail store in Chatham, N.J. that sells women's clothing and accessories. We own the building and am fortunate to have a huge yard that gets full sun in the back of the store. If you visit my web site at www.djcrater.com you will find an icon for viewing my wonderful flowers. I owe my love of gardening to your Gram. What a wonderful gift to give another person. I try to pass my love and knowledge of gardening to others as she did for me."

I passed this note onto Mom, my sisters, and cousins and we all had a big "wow, cry, and sure do miss Gram" moment or two. Gram was an immigrant from Germany in 1911 and never got past the 8th grade but that didn't stop her from learning all her life. You can see photos of Doris's increidble garden on her website here.

And now I'll close with a photo of Missy's pillow she is making from my Color by Kristin.

Missy took my Fair Isle and Steeking class, went home and started. She is one of Nancy's teachers and also a rug hooker. And she is one talented knitter! But get this..... We discovered at dinner that she too grew up near Dover, NJ and her Dad was a doctor. And guess whose doctor he was???? My Gram's and my Dad's. Wow ----- what a really small world it is!

As my Dad always said "Kristin, never forget where you came from." Oh, I think about that quote all the time and this weekend it was impossible to forget. They were all around me. Thank you Nancy for inviting me.

Betsy's Adventure and One Cute Pup

Check out Betsy McCarthy's new blog. Here she tells about her adventure knitting with Jane Pauley. Looks like her classic sock book is being re-issued by Storey soon. I wonder if they are using the shape of the sock. I think this is the first in that fun series they did with die-cut, shaped covers. Betsy finished the socks knit with my Best Foot Forward and they look lovely!

The Farmer wants you to know about a new show that is almost finished airing in Great Britain on BBC2. It is called Lambing Live. Doesn't look like it will play in the States (at least not on my computer) but maybe someone can find out how we all can watch it. Here are some clips that you should be able to watch on YouTube.

Linda M. sent me a photo of her adorable Llasa Apso Oscar in his Dog in Sheep's Clothing she made for him.

She wrote me this.....

"I was so happy it turned out so well.  My mother is a master knitter, but I
struggle.  It's nice to have a success. We keep him clipped pretty short
and our temps are still hitting single digits, so he definitely likes his
sweaters and shivers when we take them off."

Great job Linda - you should be proud. You can purchase the pattern here on my website.

I'm off to teach at Nancy O's this weekend. Can't wait because I have heard so much about this store. 

Bet You Were Surprised? So Am I.....

Kelly P. just alerted me to the fact that the post I put up yesterday with a Decorated Chain Stitch Video was not what I posted. Oh my goodness everyone. I am so sorry. I uploaded the video onto Blogger yesterday at the library and I guess whatever got onto my blog was not my Decorated Chain Stitch Video but something she called "a very explicit porn video." I can't check from here (dial-up) but I'm just believing her and I took the post down.

YIKES! How did this happen and how come noone else told me????? I'm so sorry if you got the shock of your lifetime. Here you are coming to a nice little stitching blog and what do you get???? Wow. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.

Come to think of it, I got a couple odd e-mail notifications and subscribers. Mystery.... Sorry again.

My Sock Yarn on The Today Show + Class Updates

My friend Linda just sent me this link. Jane Pauley of Jane Pauley fame interviews Betsy McCarthy on The Today Show knitting and speaking about changing her life and re-inventing herself. Nice interview and look hard at the sock yarn she is knitting....

Yes, it's my Best Foot Forward sock yarn. What a thrill. Thanks for the heads-up Linda and Sandy. I've never met Betsy so it was really nice to see her on the t.v. and hear her voice.

My talk and book signing down in Madison, CT at RJ Julia was a huge success. Thanks to all of you blog readers who came. It was nice to meet you all and share the color. What a totally fabulous bookstore! Go if you haven't been. Julia and I were treated like queens - a nice quick dinner in their RJ Cafe, a book to take home as a gift (I picked up Sophie Dahl's Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights strictly because I had about 1 minute to choose and I was attracted to the cover), and two hostesses to set up, get the projector working, take care of the door prizes, and keep me on a time schedule.

A heads-up about upcoming Kristin events......
The classes this weekend in Ridgefield CT are sold-out. The classes in Harvard, MA (March 20th) are close to sold out. See the sidebar for more information.

I'm doing an event called The Knit-A-Thon at The Wellesley Booksmith in Wellesley, MA on March 27th along with a group of other authors. I did this day a couple years ago and it was great fun. Here's the link. It is free, I think.


Update on the "Getting Stitched Classes at The Farm" -- There are only 3 spaces left in the July 31/August 1 class. If you are on the fence and thinking about it, I suggest signing up soon to avoid disappointment. Here's the link. These classes are small and intimate and like no other knitting class you have taken. You can read comments from last year's students here.


My phone line for my modem is out again. I think that is the third time so far in 2010. Thank goodness for WIFI at the library. If you are trying to get a hold of me by e-mail, please be patient.

Waiting for Spring and Anticipating Summer

Subliminally, I must be tiring of winter. It's almost over here. We still have a fair bit of snow in our fields but every day it is warm, a little bit seeps into the earth. The sap is running and maple farmers are harvesting sap. The sugar houses that dot the countryside were all boiling sap this weekend and we took the ubiquitous trip to one this weekend where we all enjoyed a bit of the super sweet. Pancakes have never done it much for me and the syrup wreaks havoc with Julia's diabetes. But it's once a year that we go and then it is over until the next year. No matter how hard I try, I usually guess wrong with the amount of carbs to plug into the insulin pump.

For the past few weeks I've been playing with Lesley Stansfield's 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet. Man, is this a lot of fun. This book is so well done - lovely straight forward, simple photos where you can really see what you are knitting or crocheting. The instructions are fine and there is a lovely selection of all kinds of flowers. I have tried a few of them. I can't get real excited about knitting the flowers. The crocheted ones go so much faster and I think crochet naturally is a better medium for making flowers. I'm trying to stay open about knitted flowers but they just take longer! I'm an impatient person, I must say.

Here's a crocheted (sort-of) sunflower.


Makes me pine for these.


With the days getting longer, it's not going to be long before we have more than we can handle doing outside. I know in some parts of the northern hemisphere, things are growing like nuts but we're still a couple months off.

I have decided that I prefer a lot of the crocheted flowers I make to be felted. It just makes them softer looking. I love how the stitches disappear into the mass of fibers that develop in the washing machine. To me, the process of felting is very similar to loading up a kiln full of ceramics, turning the heat on and then waiting to see what the finished pots look like. There is such anticipation in waiting for that buzzer on the washing machine to ring.

Here's what the above pseudo sunflower looks like felted.


I think it would be great with a little embroidery added to the brown colored disc.

Have you tried crocheting flowers yet? If you are a knitter, is this something you might like to learn crochet for? I'm just wondering because as I develop patterns for my website, I worry about turning people off with added crochet bits to the patterns. Any help you can give me in this market research is very appreciated.

Yearlings are Lambing

At this time of year, most of our adult ewes have already had their lambs. Although it is rather anti-climatic here on the blog, the barn is busier than ever. The older lambs are eating more hay although they are still nursing from their mamas. The Farmer has set up a "creep" which is basically an enclosed area of the barn with a metal gate with closely set bars. The lambs can sneak through but the openings are not large enough for the adults to get in. Inside the creep, there are buckets set up with protein enriched grain. The lambs eat this and it helps them grow. They all love to hang out inside the creep together. I always think that they look like a bunch of teenagers hanging out smoking cigarettes. It's a funny thought but I just can't help it. Once the pastures kick in (which is hopefully only about six weeks away), there will be no more grain for the sheep and lambs.

The barn is extra busy now because some of last year's ewe lambs are beginning ot have babies. This creates all kinds of extra work because they are first time mothers. Just like with people, some sheep have the "mothering gene" and some don't. The barn is full of nursery pens and we're dealing with holding uninterested mothers still while one of us attaches the lamb to the teat and gets it to suck. It reminds me of being in the NICU at NEMC with Julia and the breast feeding specialists who came in to help Julia learn to breast feed. We were a horrible failure - I never got any breast milk (too much stress, I suppose) and Julia thought a bottle with easy flowing milk was much easier. I doubt the sheep who never have any milk angst over the situation as much as I did. They must have my mom's attitude. Live and let live. I can still remember my mother saying to me as I was pumping away with that strange looking breast pump my sister gave me. She looked at me and said "Kristin, I never breast fed you and you turned out alright." That's all it took for me to stop trying and concentrate on Julia's real problems. The next time those breast feeding specialists came in the NICU, I told them to leave me alone. The formula would be fine. Thank you Mom. You are the BEST!


Who knew raising sheep would bring so many parallels to child-rearing. Here's one of my favorite black Border Leicester cross black ewes from last year and her new little girl. This yealing luckily is doing a great job with her baby and the lamb is thriving! What a brightie.


Happy weekend everyone and I hope to see some of you at RJ Julia tonight. I'm bringing some door prizes!

Have you seen this? It's a trend - knitting sweaters for animals but this time it is poultry.

And the Winner Is.......

And the winner of Gail Callahan's Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece is.......
Laurie of Tying Holes Together. She has until Monday to get back to me with her shipping address. My e-mail link is at left.

Thanks to all who have entered! What a great turn-out. Gail is thrilled so many knitters are interested in dyeing too! I am too - what great fun it is!

Out-Takes of Sheep in Sweaters and More

Just want to let you all know that the Sheep in Sweaters Cards are back in stock. You can order them on my website here. I'll be working on the back-orders this weekend.

Like I said before, getting the 4 photos that I deemed printable was a long challenging process. Although I have deleted most of the rejects because they take up so much space on my hard-drive, I did find these few that I thought I would share with you today.

Don't these two look like they are having a conversation? I'm thinking it goes something like this?

Black Lamb: "Who made your sweater?"
White Lamb: "The woman over there with the big black thing she is pointing at us?"
Black Lamb: "Oh yeah, me too? I think she has lost it. What about you?"
White Lamb: "Definitely. I hope spring comes soon so I can take this thing off."


Here's Number 10 modeling the little striped sweater. Sort of puts the whole thing into silly perspective, don't you think?


Has anyone finished The Dog in Sheep's Clothing Sweater yet for their 4 footed friend? If you send me a 72 dpi photo, I would love to post it here on the blog. I'll give you credit, of course.

For those wanting to knit their pooch a sweater, here's the link to purchase the PDF downloadable pattern.

The Giveaway for Gail's book "Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece" ends today at 3 p.m. so if you haven't had a chance to sign up, click on this link.

This Friday (as in tomorrow!) I'll be at RJ Julia in Madison CT for a talk called "The Joy of Color". You can check that out here. Guess what I'll be doing tonight? Hope to see some of you there.

I'll be back later on today with the name of the winner of Gail's book!

Looking for Color? Start Hand Dyeing with My Creative Friend Gail Callahan’s New Book Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece

I am lucky to live in an area of the country where it seems to be over-run with creative types of people. I landed here because The Farmer, my husband, was lucky to be born here and I married him. Although we spent the first 15 years of our marriage in eastern Massachusetts, we both yearned to move to “The Happy Valley” where our sheep have always lived. It’s been almost eleven years since we have lived here full-time and I can’t imagine living anywhere else now. The funny thing about living here though is that because so many creative types work by themselves and for themselves, they tend to hide amongst the hills and valleys of all the little tiny towns in this incredibly naturally beautiful area. I know. I’m one of them, hiding out in my own little world doing my own thing in my little cocoon. It makes for decent productivity but can also be stifling. It’s one reason I write this blog – so that I can feel a part of some kind of world since I no longer frequent a watercooler.

So where do I find and meet new friends, you wonder? First off, I have a daughter named Julia and through her I have met many parents, doctors, nurses, librarians, and all those other people who work at the places we frequent. And then there are the many independently owned places of business we shop at, like Foster’s Supermarket. Oh, how I love this store. It is little gem in the land of overly big, buy everything you don’t need, world of giant supermarkets. I can pretty much find whatever I need there at a fair price. It was at Foster’s that I first met Gail Callahan. I was at the deli and I saw a woman looking at me kind of funny. I thought to myself, “Must be a knitter,” because once in a great while a knitter will recognize me. The tell-tale clue is usually a handknit scarf or hat and that tips me off right away. So there was this attractive woman and her husband shopping and she stopped me and asked me if I was “Kristin Nicholas.” I answered “Yes, I was” and we then went into the normal knitterly chat. She was very nice and I found out she worked part-time at Webs and she also did some hand dyeing. What I didn’t realize is that this woman was “The Kangaroo Dyer” and that she was a bit of a cult icon in the world of hand dyed knitting yarns.

Fast forward a couple years and Gail and I have become friends through knitting and color. Gail has been working on a book on hand dyeing edited by Gwen Steege at Storey who was also my editor for Colorful Stitchery and Kristin Knits. We now meet up for coffee with a mutual friend Lisa Newman and try to support each other in our various creative pursuits. And so that leads me, finally, to the purpose of this post. I want to tell you all about Gail’s just released fabulous new book Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece.

Storey Publishing kindly sent me Gail’s new book and I have spent the past couple days reading through it. First off, I want to say, if you have ever wanted to learn to dye yarn or fleece, BUY THIS BOOK. I learned to dye fabrics and yarn in college from my different art professors and so I have never been fearful of taking some old yarn and turning it another shade. It is very easy, believe me. One thing I do knowh though is that most people have the fear of the unknown and even though a project may be easy, it is just the fear of not knowing how to do something that stops them from trying it. If that is your personality, just know that it is human to fear the unknown and try to work your way through it. A good how-to book always helps!


So, here’s my question? Are you just crazy nutty over the beautifully seductive hand dyed yarn you see in your local yarnstore but you just can’t afford to purchase any? Do you have a large stash of yarn in colors that you just can’t fathom knitting anymore? Then you need Gail’s book. In Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece, she breaks down hand dyeing into small, easy to manage steps. She tells you how to set up a safe, temporary dye studio in your own kitchen, and she teaches you how to dye yarn and fiber in a very easy to understand way. She even teaches you how to use a microwave and a crock pot to set the color.


Besides all the fabulous technical how-to, Gail also includes a very useful chapter on learning about Color Theory. She teaches several whimsical methods of easy dyeing including hand painting, dip dyeing, dyeing fleece and roving, dyeing cones of yarn and balls of yarn, immersion dyeing, tie-dyeing, and many more creative methods of dyeing yarn (including one she calls Mozzarella Dyeing and another she calls Parking Meter Yarn).


Gail discusses the different kinds of acid dyes you can purchase (sources given in the appendix too) and how to use them safely. She starts it off simple with dyeing paper towels with food coloring and then leads you through all the other more technical but not too difficult stuff. At the back of the book, there are several knitting and crochet patterns which use the hand dyed yarns in projects including socks, scarves, mittens, and a baby sweater.


You can purchase a signed copy of Hand Dyeing Yarn And Fleece directly from Gail on her website here. It's always good to support a hard-working author. Or look for it at your local yarn or bookstore. You can see more photos from her book on Gail's blog here.

For all you yarnstores reading, I have an idea for you. Teach a class on hand dyeing using Gail’s book. You can turn some of those odd skeins of light and medium colors of wool and other protein fibers you can’t get rid of into something fun and fanciful and stimulate your customer’s desire for creativity.

And if you did finally get to the end of this long winded post today, I have a reward for you. Storey Publishing has kindly donated a copy of Gail’s book as a Giveaway on my blog. To enter, leave a comment about your favorite color or your experience dyeing in my comments section with an easy way to get a hold of you. PLEASE, make this easy for me! The giveaway ends Thursday March 4th at 3 p.m. I will announce the winner here on my blog Friday morning and you’ll have until Tuesday March 9th to get a hold of me.

Reminder - R.J. Julia Booksellers - This coming Friday evening at 7 p.m. in Madison, CT, I'm giving a talk called "The Joy of Color." Please spread the word! I tried to contact knitting guilds in CT but 6 or the 8 e-mails bounced back!