Love Bob's New Digs!

Updated - 7 pm......scroll down

Whew! Hunt Country Yarns has moved from Middleburg to "The Plains". I do not think I've ever seen a faster move! Bob (the owner and resident fiber artist) closed the old shop on Sunday Aug. 26, moved on Monday and Tuesday, and re-opened on Wednesday at the new place! Yesterday, Lisa and I took a trek out to "The plains" to check out "Bob's New Digs". The new shop looks great! I LOVE IT! I think my favorite feature is the wrap-around porch where I picture myself knitting and chatting on the pleasant days with a few friends as we compare purchases.

There is much more space inside and that layout is very nice....lots of little yarn nooks to get lost in! I even discovered some items that I'd never seen before...I think it's because there's more room to display everything! A wonderful feature now is the beautiful wooden table in the front of the store where you can sit and peruse patterns and a separate room in the back with a table for classes. (I couldn't resist getting a quick shot of a skein of yarn on the table - in honor of my friend Amy, I'm dubbing this, "Ground up Clown".) By the way, he's still got several luscious items on sale....I picked up some Alchemy silk yarn and some Alchemy 50/50 Silk Wool at half price! I also picked up some incredibly soft "Lacie Lamb" in a deep, rich, blue red.

The community in "The Plains" seems to be more arts related, so this is a perfect fit for Bob and his fiber groupies! Lisa and I visited a couple of the galleries while we were there. One has very interesting wrought iron and forged metal lamps, decorations, and candle stands, but you'd better hurry....they're closing Sept. 30. My big "gallery" purchase was a cute little book about a sheep, "Selma". (I'm a sucker for "sheepie" things!)

I've managed to get a number of things accomplished this weekend. I finished one of the Wildfoote Purple Splendor socks and have started the second one - no "second sock syndrome" for me! I only hope that I finish this sock a bit faster than the first one...the first took just over 2 months to complete - but I had been sidetracked by other "knitty" projects....like Mystery Stole 3. (I'm up to row 240 on Chart E now!)

I've felted the Cascading Fuchsias Noni bag (Central Market size) and it's currently drying. It did shrink quite a bit and I'm very glad that I added 10 rows to the bag height and 6 rows to the strap. I've started on the flowers, but so far, only have the stem and "bulbous" portion completed. Later today I hope to start on the actual flower petals. I need to decide how many flowers I want per stem and how many stems I want adorning the bag. Oh the decisions!

Felted size:
Height: 10 1/2"
Width: 13"
Depth: 4"
Strap: 16"
Pre-felted:
Height: 17"
Width: 16"
Depth: 6"
Strap: 22"

The only thing I'm not fond of is the edging on the bottom of the bag. The instructions have you garter stitch the last row of the base, and then pick up stitches around the remaining 3 sides. Therefore, the 4th side's edge is a bit different than the other 3. Next time, I'll go ahead and cast off on the base and pick up on all 4 sides for consistency. I definitely like the final size of my bag, so I'm glad I added the extra rows!

On Saturday, I make a whirlwind trip over to Uniquities in Vienna to pick up a pattern book she'd been holding for me - Tahki Stacy Charles Fall/Winter 2006. There's a very cute button front jacket on the back cover that I really want to make! Of course, I got sidetracked a bit by yarn and patterns while I was there, but I didn't do too much damage. I did however find some adorable buttons for purses.

Update...the Knitting Get Together at la Madeleine

What a fabulous way to celebrate Labor Day! Forget the traditional "cook-outs" - a bunch of us (ten to be exact) decided to celebrate in a non-traditional fashion. We met at la Madeleine in Reston for lunch and knitting. Gretchen came up with the idea yesterday, and Lisa recommended la Madeleine - great food and great company! Elizabeth made it up from Culpeper and Deb from Alexandria. Tiffany and Lynn made it from nearby towns as well. The rest of us are pretty local (Pam, Charlotte, Lisa, Catherine, Gretchen, and me). The staff was intrigued by what we were doing - one even put in his order for a neck scarf and mittens since the cold weather is just around the corner!

We were all busy knitting on something, but here are the highlights - the finished objects or nearly finished objects. I've seen some of these since the beginning, so it was great to see the final objects. I somehow managed to miss getting a photo of Elizabeth's latest felted bag - another of the Octagon bags - it was made from different yarn than the first one and didn't felt down quite as small.

I saw Charlotte's "Artisan Vest" at the very beginning stage and was very anxious to see how it turned out. It's lovely! The yarn created a very intriguing color combination that goes well with almost anything! I love how it turned out! Tiffany's scarf is made from Tilli Tomas Silk - it's lovely to the touch and drapes well. The pattern is the "Diamond and Lace Dress-It-Up" pattern by Heartstrings.

Gretchen's Lavender Garden Shawl is wonderful in the hand-dyed yarn...and the lace pattern was fairly easy to follow. Catherine's Walking Stole from Victorian Lace Today is nearly done...the edging is complete on 3 of the 4 sides...only 1 more to go! The Haiku yarn makes it light and airy as it "floats" onto your shoulders.