Oh what a lovely afghan

This is one beautiful Great American Aran Afghan. A picture can't do it justice but we had the privledge of having Nancy bring it down to the shop to show us. We remember when she started it 2 years ago and of course all of us said we wanted to knit one at the time. But only Nancy perservered and it is well worth it. It has gotten me inspired again and I hope that in the the not to distant future I will start. As you can see Sasha likes it too. She just had to lay on it. She circled the table several times and we wouldnt let her on it, but when we had our back turned she slipped in and hunkered down. Needless to say she was very disappointed when Nancy took it home. It is wonderful to see what some of our local knitters have done and as I said inspirational. We hope that all of you our there don't get discouraged on any of your projects and give them up. Sometimes just putting them aside for a bit can give you the perspective you need to get back to it.

Now that I'm done waxing philosophically I will celebrate Spring. Finally it seems we are there. The dogwoods are beautiful and the recent freeze hasn't seemed to cause too much damage. We had a great day at the shop Sunday knitting our market bags and though it was pretty chilly that day and the next, I can see all of us on the Square soon with them at the Farmers Market.

Speaking of the Square I want to remind everyone to come to the 2nd annual Knitout on the Square on May 10th. We had such a great time last year and I'm sure it will be just as much fun this year. Just bring your knitting and a chair and meet us in front of the town center at 10am.

We are so pleased to have others adding to our blog. It's great to have customers who have become knitting friends and are willing to add their voice to our own in promoting this wonder ful craft. It's amazing how diverse the group is. We even taught our UPS man to knit with his wife last week. There's always something to learn in knitting! So jump right in and start that new project and come see us.

brave and bold knitters

So I'm a knitter, as one might expect. I learned the basics in high school from my mother, and then kind of let it slip through most of college. I did a scarf or two and a hat my first year, and then would pick it up sporadically thereafter, but I was too lazy and intimidated to get past marking thumb stitches on a mitten.

Then I graduated, went to France to teach English, and found myself with a lot of time on my hands to sit in the teacher's lounge between classes. So I started knitting again. Just easy little ribbed hats, because I had a limited stash of needles and yarn (the yarn shop near my house had mostly acrylics and novelty yarns). When I got back to the States, I was itching to knit for real, and fortunately, Mom had discovered the Monday night knitting at Handheld. The pink shrug above was my first big project. I'd never knitted lace before, but I thought, okay, I'll try it; after all, I loved the sample that was hanging up in the shop. Instead of the suggested yarn, I used some anonymous fuzzy pink stuff that I'd inherited from my grandmother's sizable stash of weaving yarn. The other knitters at Handheld were immensely helpful, cheering me on through the whole process. Even as they're trying patterns I'm still only dreaming of, they make me feel accomplished and brave. Monday night knitting is now permanently written into my schedule; more than once, I've turned down other engagements because I can't miss it.

Hooray for the knitters of Handheld! And, of course, the yarncat.

Introducing Sarah Jo

Hi! This Sarah Jo! Hmm... about me? Well, i love to knit! i learned at Hand Held 4 years ago and i've been exploring the wonderful world of knitting ever since.
The photo is of me in my latest big project (which i normally don't do - i like little stuff): a formal dress for a dance in May. i sort of made it up because i couldn't find a pattern i liked. Thankfully, it worked out.
i am willing to try anything once, as far as knitting goes, and i'll usually follow the pattern the first time, but i'm big on modifying to taste.
i inherited a monthly Teen Knitting Group at the Fayetteville Public Library (third Thursday of every month from 5-6:30pm, beginners welcome) where novices are taught, intermidiates can expand their skill, and all the experts pitch in and confuse the first two groups with good advice and lots of "help".
Oh, i can also crochet (my great grandmother taught me) but i prefer knitting. Unless it's a coaster or some other round, flat object - then i prefer crochet.
So now i work at Hand Held two days a week and love it! i'm learning everything i can and getting lots of practice and good advice.
And that's me. But not the end.