Those nasty detours!

Alpaca With a Twist is on the move!

After spending the last fifteen years of my life sequestered in a couple of small businesses, I now find myself trekking over roads and highways visiting yarn shops in all corners of the country.  We determined that I will stay within Indiana to begin with, to get my feet wet, so to speak.   Needless to say, my navigation skills within a yarn shop are a bit more fine-tuned than my road skills.  But hey, just another life chapter, right?

So now I get to do the fun stuff...take this wonderful fiber to shops who host these events. I love the excitement that each guest brings, and I can't wait!  The car is packed, the tank is full, and I am ready to roll.

After four weeks of "retirement," I began my first adventure of taking the Alpaca With A Twist Cash and Carry Trunk Show to a yarn shop located about 40 minutes away from my home.  That would be 40 minutes if  the roads are all open, the  google map is updated, and I wouldn't have to bypass a bridge that is under construction.  Of course, those were the exact complications of my journey!

You know even that would not have been too bad, had it not been for my "quick stop" to my bank prior to leaving town.  As I am sitting at the drive thru I hear then see a firetruck racing into the bank's parking lot followed by an ambulance.  I'm not sure what the trouble was, and I didn't ask.  As you can imagine, this was not a quick stop, but no worries, I just made a quick call to let the shop owner to let her know that I may be a few minutes late.
No time for that breakfast stop...but that banana and water I tucked away for lunch would tide me over.  I gobbled it up before I left town.  Michael Buble's latest CD was playing loudly and I'm thinking..."now this, it is good."  (You know those kind of moments when the sun is shining brightly and things look really fine.)

And then it happens.  Only 14 minutes later I have no idea where I am going, as the road is closed.  The bridge is out, and I have a choice: left or right.  I choose left.  I should have known by the way my morning began that could be a wrong call. 
I saw places and burgs that I didn't know existed.  I followed a tractor that was in no hurry.  I was getting nervous and I had to make a pit stop...but there were no pits to stop.  Needless to say, I wasn't making very good time.  However, as you might have guessed, I finally made it to my destination and jumped out of my car.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear but two familiar faces who had come to support the trunk show and to say "hi".  As they helped me unpack we caught up on what they had been working on and  we began planning their next project. 
I met with many fine folks that day and left feeling happy to have spent the afternoon inside a world of color, fiber and creativity.  Every yarn shop has a different feel, created by the vision of it's owner. That is what makes each visit seem like an adventure.  That is why we knitters and crocheters scout shops all through our travels.

So why do I tell this tale?  It just goes to prove these truths that I have known for many years.
They are: 
1) You never know what is just around the bend.
2) Always be ready for a change in plans.
3) Friendly faces and places can make our days seem A-OK.

The new chapter has begun.

Cathi

Yarn Bombing

OK So we are a little late in posting these pictures but we really wanted to share.   Alpaca With A Twist participated in their first yarn bombing ever this year.  With the help of our friends at Silver In The City and the Project School we did a decent job in what was a quick turn around.   We'll do something even more spectacular next year.

IRELAND



Kinsale, Ireland

Ireland was beautiful and what I consider to be storybook perfect.   I stayed in Kinsale and we (my friend Michelle and I) traveled the southern part of the country.   We toured old churches, and old homes, and old castles.  I was really excited to learn more about wool and the knitting industry in Ireland.   We even stopped to visit a sheep farm and watch a herding dog demonstration but what I learned was most of the sheep in Ireland are meat sheep and not used for their fiber.   Even though all of the beautiful tweeds (including the tweed in Highlander) come from Donegal Ireland and the Aran sweater is from The Aran Islands, there isn't a lot of wool or knitting.   I have to admit I was not in the northern part of the country where you find Donegal or the Aran Islands but I thought I would see more of it in the country as a whole.  There were a lot of knit items in the tourist shops and we did see several examples of weaving.   But I came across a really interesting label so I took a picture just to share here.

Has anyone else ever seen a chart of what a specific stitch or cable means?

Knitting Weather?

I can't tell if it's Spring or not. Weather in Indiana is crazy during a "normal" year- we can have Summer in February or snow in May and most Hoosiers just shrug and add/remove a layer.

This year has been unseasonably warm and extra unusual, even for Indiana. My daffodils bloomed the first week of February, and crocuses after that. Those have come and gone and the tulips are on the way out. In late January, I was going to rugby practice in a T-shirt and shorts. I'm sure that we're going to pay for this prematurely wonderful weather sometime, but until then I'm just going to enjoy it.

I'm absolutely loving my warm evenings, sitting on the back porch, knitting with my glass of Chardonnay. I'm just having a hard time deciding what it is I should be knitting. Not having a winter has really messed with my knitting- I only managed to sneak in one cardigan this year before the weather changed in to what is clearly NOT sweater-knitting weather. I am one of those year-round fiber crafters, I just move my crafting outside when the weather is pleasant and opt for smaller projects on light weight yarns. But as I sit outside and listen to the birds chirp while my needles are clicking away on my new deep red lace tablecloth that *fingers crossed* I'd like to put in the State Fair, I can't help but feel a little remorse for the winter sweater that wasn't.

So I will share my musings and ideas for warm weather knitting with you with a few little tidbits from the Alpaca With A Twist office.

Elizabeth Zimmerman thought that Summer was the perfect time to make mittens. Come to think of it, she had a point- you aren't rushing to get mittens done in May when the weather is warm. Knit or crochet that extra inch to keep your wrists warm, add a cable motif- take your time. May I suggest the Chinook Mittens knitted in Baby Twist? The Mojito Mittens in (surprise!) Mojito? Bella's Mittens in Big Baby? (Those would go really fast!) There are also some fantastic fingering-weight glove ideas out there- and Socrates is always a favorite of mine. If you were wanting to try out some of our limited-edition kettle dyed colors, we've still got a few hanks of the blue hanging around, as well as 4 hanks of our very first limited-edition Socrates, Fruit Smoothie.

I am a Summer sock knitter. And the heathered shades of Socrates are my favorites- they add depth to a project without overwhelming the lace or cabled pattern like some hand-dyed colors might. There's also thousands of lace patterns made for fingering weight yarns if you're wanting to try a tangy project but aren't as comfortable knitting with lace-weight.

And there's always lace! If you are a lace knitter, then you will love our five new colors of Fino. If you aren't a lace knitter (or crocheter) then what's holding you back? We have a really awesome intro to lace course that's a hefty packet loaded with tips on everything from life-lines to blocking. It even comes with a pattern for a sampler scarf that will gently introduce you to the wonderful world of lace.

If you would like to share your thoughts on fiber crafting through the seasons, have questions about anything mentioned here or want to share a project, let us know! We're all ears for our friends. Shoot me a message at paige@alpacawithatwist.com and I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Mojito's Big News

We have decided to give our line "Mojito" (100% baby alpaca, worsted weight, yummy) a facelift. And since we dearly love our devoted readers, we thought we would let you know so that you have a chance to stock up on your favorite colors before they are gone for good and bring in new ones. **All colors are in stock but as a reminder- you have to order our products through your local retailer.
And since nothing inspires me like seeing what other people have done with Mojito- there are some really creative people out there on Ravelry! So here's a huge THANK YOU you to all of the wonderful fiber crafters that have given me permission to share their beautiful projects with you as the kick-off to our goodbye to the Mojito colors.

Here is a beautiful shrug by HopeForHoneybees made in the Pink Impression colorway. So pretty! I just love these pictures! No touch-ups, nothing from a magazine, just plain old knitting and snapping a picture. I love a yarn that doesn't need proper backlighting to look fabulous! Here is a scarf from KZooErica, also in Pink Impression. Pattern is called "Edgar". Here's a lovely cardi from our friend BonnieBeth in the Hugs & Kisses colorway. Pattern is called Off-Rib cardigan from Stephanie Japel. Here's KZooErica again in her gorgeous "Anne" in the Fall Into Me colorway.I just want to curl up in this reversible cabled scarf by KKD48! Isn't it yummy?I absolutely LOVE how the colors worked out in Maryzona's Drunken Ruffle scarf! I might need one of these- here's a Clapotis by Maus in Hugs & KissesMsLynn, will you make me one too? I love this Star Crossed hat in Bountiful! And here's the mittens I made a few months ago (I'm Booknutty in case you were wondering). They're also in Bountiful, but it looks like the lighting was quite different!


Do you have a project you'd like to share with us? We'd love to see it! Email me at paige@alpacawithatwist.com or send me a link on Ravelry to booknutty.

Cooties

It's February, which means that everyone in the warehouse has been passing around the seasonal sniffles. So far it hasn't been overly serious, but we would like you to know that we have been taking precautions so that Jennifer (the sneezy one right now) keeps her germs to herself. We've even sent her home from Knit-Night so she doesn't get anyone else sick- she is quite upset about missing Show and Tell though.
And yes, we have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle working here. The economy is tough, and pizza is expensive.

*Hat made from Touchdown in the colors Grassy Knoll and Mango

Moving Knit-Night to Next Week

If you haven't seen it on the facebook page or ravelry group, we have moved knit-night to next Wendesday so you don't have to fight Superbowl traffic to get here. Email me at paige@alpacawithatwist.com for more info or directions.

Until then, here's a nice lookin' cowboy with some yarn.