Wool in Broadway

I have finally had some time to look over all the pictures from England, and I have located a particular one that I wanted to post. While in the beautiful village of Broadway we literally walked right into a yarn shop. Actually, in England, if you want yarn, you must call it wool. So we literally walked right into a WOOL shop. The owner, Pat, was lovely in every way, and I came out of the store with 6 skeins of Debbie Bliss Rialto 4-ply merino wool in a beautiful hue of coral. I talked with Pat about what's hot in knitting in the UK, and while socks are knit there, they are not the huge hit that they are here in the states. Here is a picture of the two of us in the shop.

Pat's shop is perfect in every way....a great selection of quality yarn, friendly advise, and she even had needlepoint for sale. Are you getting the drift of this needlepoint thing with me? I am in love with needlepoint!!! I love the finished product, and I love doing it. It's the perfect way to calm down while enjoying colors and wool.

Tomorrow I am flying off to Chicago for Stitches Midwest, which is always a good time. I will be teaching Knitting Backwards, Thumbing the Purl, Tradition!, Kumihimo, and The Ripple Effect.

I am hoping to score a few of the Signature circular needles which are just out.

For Stitches East, which will be in Hartford, CT on Oct 28-31, I will be teaching a new class called Double Dare. It is double knitting with double colors using two hands.

I will be teaching at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival on Oct 14-17. I LOVE sheep and wool festivals, because not only is there yarn there, but also all things dealing with yarn....rovings, fleeces, spinning wheels and spindles, etc. It's an amazing array of color and texture.

Home Sweet Home?

I'm home. I'm not necessarily happy about it, but all good things must come to an end. If it weren't for everyday life, a vacation would be meaningless. We had three glorious weeks of vacation; now we are faced with the sometimes mundane things in life, like getting your own meals! Also, here in CT it is hot and humid, totally unlike England. It is hard to get used to that humidity again. OK, I'm done with complaining.

I am excited about the new things connected with my work. One of the great things to look forward to is the brand new VogueKnittingLive, which will be in NYC on Jan 21-23. It is a huge and impressive line-up of teachers, classes, and market, and is in mid-town Manhattan. I am off to Chicago on Wed for Stitches Midwest, which is always a great venue. Then in October there is Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival to look forward to. And of course, there are always those new designs lurking in my head that are just begging to be tried out with needles and yarn.

Back to the vacation.....when the Queen Mary pulled into NY harbor at 5 AM, the entire ship was up and out on deck to see the view. It was impressive to see Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty all lit up in the pre-dawn hours of the morning. People were even drinking champagne at that hour. Here are a few more pictures of England and our trip, and I promise, this is the last of it!!

Chocolate covered strawberries and champagne awaited us in our cabin onboard the ship.

Hiking through the Cotswolds always took you straight through sheep meadows. Here's my little sheep friends who seem to have the idyllic life.

This is the architecture of a typical Cotswold town. Most of the buildings were built out of the local limestone, which has turned a honey-color as it aged.

I promise I will not speak of my vacation again. It is time to buckle down to work and stop mooning over how delicious it was to NOT work!!