I went to a shearing Saturday… in Middleburg, just a few back roads from the shop. 

With mixed emotions, I watched the men flip the first llama.   He didn’t want to stay down and fought hard, it must have hurt, kicking and such on that concrete.  Although, once they had been sheared they seemed lighter on their feet and much cooler.

I watched  a total of seven alpacas and 5 llamas get a hair cut.  It was a fairly breezy day and little puffs of fleece blew about the pen, finally reaching it’s destination just outside, alongside the road.  Brown, white, black…a needlefelter would have made great use of what was just lying in the road.

The owner of the llamas had his first animal sheared and they were starting to bring in the 2nd…the fleece from the first was still just lying there in a pile on the floor. Someone asked what he was going to do with it…”I don’t care, I don’t want it, do you want it?”  The alpaca breeder responds “I don”t want it”.  It took about 1/2 a second before I blurted “I’ll take it!” 

So…once fiber poor, I am now fiber rich!  I have bags and bags of llama which…gives me a great excuse to have a play day! 

We just received in everything you might need to make this: 

Which is Jojoland’s Swirl Shawl.  You can find the pattern (Swirl Shawl) and the yarn (Melody) at www.LocalNeedle.com.

Jojoland yarns are “long”-striping where one color fades into the next, making a really unique garment.

We currently have Melody, which is a superwash wool perfect for the shawl pictured here, or for socks.

And then we have Harmony, which is Jojoland’s lace-weight or cobweb yarn. 

Which you can use for something like this: 

Mema as we knew her, most others knew her as Opal, passed away 2/15/08.  She was my husband’s mother, my daughters’ grandmother. 

Opal was a very stylish woman, and unlike most of her time, even tho she had a son she had a full time job just about all of her adult life.  She loved leopard prints and proved that when she wore her scarves/jackets/belts/jewelry and even boots.   She had a lot of scarves, a lot of costume jewelry and lots and lots of shoes.   

After she passed, the girls wanted to go thru her jewelry, which we did, and we grew a new appreciation for costume necklaces, broaches and clip-on earrings.  It has generated a new craft of “spying the jewelry” she was wearing in each picture of her past.  

Opal could find a bargain and wear it like no other, she could wear a $4.00 K-Mart tee and make it look extraordinary.

She retired from the IRS, and had the perfect job there, cashier.  I knew what it was like to be an upcoming professional in the 80’s, I can’t imagine what it was like in the 60’s, even more the man’s world then.

Pa or Papa or Willis Carl to most, was her husband of over 50 years, my husband’s father and my daughters’ grandfather.  He passed away on March 27, just 5 weeks after Opal.

He had a way of wearing a hat that I just loved.  He was always the first in line for food, generally would be wearing some of it when he was done, but no one cared…because he was a very honorable man.

After just 6 weeks of being overseas during WWII, at the age of 22, he lost his left leg by stepping on a land mine.  I never heard him complain about it or about anything else, ever. 

He was a judge in Washington Cty, FL in the 50’s and retired from Sears selling appliances, I believe. 

What most remember about him was the dry jokes that could make anyone laugh…for him, the joke was in the telling.

He called Opal, Sugar. They were so sweet together, she’d get mad at him (not really) because he couldn’t hear and she had to keep repeating herself, then when he finally understood… he’d nod in agreement and follow it with a joke.   

They both loved the Lord and there’s no doubt that they are now with Him. 

She no longer has asthma, he can now hear and walk on two legs. 

It was a blessing to know them both, I thank them for Carl and for what they taught me in life.  They will be forever missed, and never forgotten.

Overhearing a class that was being conducted in the shop, I kept hearing…tulips…tulips…two loops!

It was just Master Jeff (ravelry link) doing what he does best, teaching others to crochet.  March is National Crochet month and in celebrating, we had a few wonderful crochet classes at The Local Needle. 

Jeff has created the perfect beginner class.  Using single crochet, students learn how to make a rolled brim hat.  They work around and around and about a week later, ta-da!…they have a great hat to wear.  

Nobody really knows where crochet originated, a writer/researcher, Lis Paludan mentions a few theories: a primitive South American tribe was said to have used crochet adornments in rites of puberty and in China, early examples were known of 3-dimensional dolls worked in crochet.  Amigurumi?  Perhaps.

A great many sources state that crochet has been known as far back as the 1500s in Italy under the name of ‘nun’s work’ or ‘nun’s lace,’ where it was worked by nuns for church textiles.

Regardless of it’s origins, I personally have learned a new respect for the craft.  Jeff has shown me and other Local Needle customers that crochet does not have to look…for want of a better word, tacky.    I can only assume that most of the crochet I have seen in my lifetime was made by a beginner and also made with poor quality yarn.  I have now been exposed to expert workmanship and use of lovely yarns, the difference is unbelievable.  

To show you what I mean, here is a dresser scarf made from JaggerSpun Zephyr laceweight, and Jeff’s favorite…the pineapple stitch.  It’s simply gorgeous.

So thank you Jeff for sharing your knowledge and expertise with us at The Local Needle, we are now a Retail member of The Crochet Guild Of America and cheers to National Crochet Month, may this craft continue to grow in popularity and technique! 

Today was a day that most of us dream of..not a cloud in the sky, a cool breeze in the air, and butterflies. 

The yellow ones. 

Butterflies are something that I just don’t know by name as I do birds so…they are named by color.  At one time there were 6 in view…bouncing this way and that, looking for that special flower to rest on (I tried to capture two, on left.)

 There’s a smell of mud flats in the air, the river out back is just now back within it’s banks.  Reminds me of my childhood, down Dion Ave in Kittery, Maine.  When the tide was out we’d walk out as far as we could… barefoot, and come back with mud up to our knees. Mud…the smell of spring.

I finished the Dream In Color Tulip Cardigan the other day, it is as fun to make as it looks! 

After placing it on Savannah (yes, we have named her), we decided she was a little too bald and needed something on her head as well.  So here you have the Tulip Hat complimenting the ensemble (thank you…Mistress Stash Enhancer).

THIS is Dream In Color, isn’t it just yummy?

You can check back later this week for the sweater kits for this cardigan; several sizes for the Tulip Cardigan (girls) and the Rocketry (boy’s) pattern as well.  In addition, you can download both patterns, as well as other Dream In Color patterns, from here.

Here’s to Spring 08 and all it’s beautiful blossoms!

I don’t remember where I saw this, most likely on another blog a year or more ago.

I used regular clothespins from Wally World, printed out some old-timey pictures from the web, cut them to size, and then applied Modge Pod over all of it.

Next time I’ll  use some better quality clothespins, but these are great for displaying things at the shop, a pattern, a sock…I think there’s even a few on the orchid stem.

We have had this yarn for a month or so  now, but I have never “introduced” it here on the blog.  So…blogging community, here is Lacey Lamb, Lacey Lamb…blogging community.  For those that love to knit lace, Lacey Lamb is an absolute wonderful yarn to use. 

It’s 100% extrafine lambswool, 825 yds per ball and believe it or not, machine washable…lace? 

Lacey Lamb was featured several times in the very popular lace knitting book, Victorian Lace Today.

When people are in that corner of the shop, it reminds me of that old Charmin toiletpaper commercial…”stop  squeezing the Charmin Lacey Lamb”.

We have already sold a lot of what you see here, but we have more on the way!  If we don’t have the color you want, we’re more than happy to order it for you.

OH MY!

I can’t believe it has been so long since my last blog entry.  I often feel like that magician on “Frosty The Snowman” that is trying to steal Frosty’s hat.  He runs around yelling “Busy, busy, busy!”.

We’ve had so much come in the door this last month…

Classic Elite:  Wool Bam Boo, Alpaca Sox, Lush  and Twinkle Soft Chunky - all have been posted to our “click and mortar“.

Schaefer Yarns -  Elaine, Kathleen, and Sandra (which is the one shown below). 

The Elaine and Kathleen are no-names , or as I prefer to call them, “one-of-a-kinds” (the colorways are not offered by Schaefer for ordering).  Sandra is a cotton/rayon blend and is shown above in colorways: Frida Kahlo, Isabella of Castille and Empress Wu Zhao.

For the alpaca lover:

 Alpaca With A Twist - my shelves runneth over!  Highlander on the left, Jumbo Baby Twist on the right.  Fino, who resides in the upperclass lace-weight area of the shop, is also in great abundance.

and more underneath the shipping table.

We also have yarns from Crystal Springs Alpacas, based in Zephyrhills, Florida.  All natural colors and like no other.

Pagewood Farms- this sock yarn is a hot seller! We carry 100% superwash, 80/20 superwash/nylon, and 70/20/10 superwash/bamboo/nylon.

We’ve also received in Jade Sapphire Cashmere/silk 2 ply as well as Lacey Lamb

Oh, and more sizes of HiyaHiya bamboo circulars, although the sizes over US 10 have not yet arrived.

Patterns, patterns, patterns…mostly lace patterns - my personal passion.

And if it’s not been coming in…it’s been going out… 

Getting started on the day's shipping  

So that sums up the product activity at the store.  Coming up in the next day or so….OMG - part 2: catchup on life at The Local.

Glad you found us!

The Local Needle carries a rather large inventory of all colors available in Alpaca With A Twist Fino and Highlander.  

Please follow the link and visit us at http://www.localneedle.com/AlpacaWithATwist.html or email joan@localneedle.com for more information.

Enjoy your knitting!

Joan

Just a quick entry to document a finished object…

 The Urban Vest by Norah Gaughan, Knitter’s Magazine - Fall 2007.

Yarn:  hemp for knitting - hempwol at The Local Needle.  65% Italian Wool and 35% hemp, 250 yards/skein; worsted weight; Retails for $12.00. 

I made a large and used not quite 3 skeins.

Started it in October and finished it yesterday.