What's New: 1.27.10

It's the middle of winter in Minnesota and a few of us are suffering from SAD (NO SUNSHINE) and others of us are just plain tired of the cold and snow. We all know that in the next six weeks the temperature will begin to creep warmer and the sun will shine a bit longer each day, and Spring will be just around the corner if we can get through February and into March. Thank goodness for knitting.

Not sure if it is the weather or what, but my body hit the wall last week and I needed a day to sit around and do only what I wanted to do. I slept in, crawed into comfy sweats, had a few cups of coffee and read the paper. Now, I needed to do something just for me. First I tried channel sufing with the remote, but that was not entertaining, Then I tried to read, but that didn't keep me entertained either. I picked up my kniting and stitched a few rows but nothing seemed to be just right. I think I had goldilocks syndrome as I tried lots of activities before I found something that was "just right."

What finally gave me the most pleasure included yarn, of course. It was time to do some planning and and prioritizing of knitting projects to start and or finish. After a couple of hours of "plyaing with my yarn and patterns," I was left with a great feeling of accomplishment and was energized to enjoy my passion.

I prioritized using only a couple of rules. 1. I gave myself included permisson to discard projects or yarn that I knew I would never finish or no longer wanted to knit. For me the process of knitting is almsot more important than the product. We have lots of knitters who call our shop home that love to knit for those in need and the Minnesot Kntters Guild also takes donations. I know someone else will treasure my yarn and "wanna be projects" and create something beautiful. 2. I decided to order projects by what I want and like, no matter what season I am in.

Now for the next week or two, I have an organized plan for my kniting. The plan will only last as long as there isn't any new yarn, patterns, books, or magazines arriving at the shop.

We are expecting big spring yarn shipments to start arriving this week. I may need to prioritize again in a month or so but planning is a great part of the process of knitting.

Watch the shop for great new Valentine's Day project ideas.

What's New?

Finally, got the Spinster gadget in to twist yarn. Great for making cording.

New patterns from Fibertrends & Knitting Pure and Simple.

Leg Warmers from Dovetail.

Looking for the yarn and pattern for this Oblique Invernal Shawl featured in Vogue Knitting Magazine. Check out this great pattern and angora blend yarn at the shop.

Check out this great tank to knit now for the summer we are expecting in Minnesota. Proceeds from the purchase of this pattern on Patternfish.com are being donated to Haitian Relife. The pattern was originally provided by Classic Elite.