Good News! I've passed Level 1 of the TGKA's Master Hand Knitter Program, and I'm on to level 2. You can peruse my submissions and the committee's comments in the shop.

The economy has hit Michigan particularly hard--so I've been looking for patterns and ideas that can help you use up your stashes. And what I've discovered is that these patterns are really very interesting to knit, stimulate your creativity, and produce an item that is "art".

One of the patterns was introduced to me by a customer, called the "Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf". It is a free pattern on line at http://douma.net/Karen/knitting/Accessory-Scarves/Multidirectional_Diagonal_Scarf.htm. I knit this scarf with the left overs of three different colorways of Noro's Silk Garden Lite. I knit a little swatch with a solid colored yarn, and it is also quite attractive, although the stitch pattern isn't as striking. The scarf can be knit with any weight or texture of yarn, so a little bit of novelty yarn might add some whimsy!

"Carol's Clever Little Shawl" is a pattern that was e-mailed to me by a rep. It was made available to her at a knitting group, and we have permission to distribute it. I knit the model on Noro's Yuzen, because I needed a model, and because I wanted to play with it! The yarn has its good points and bad. As always, the Noro colorways are fabulous, but the striping may detract from the lace pattern a little bit. Also, as I wore the shawl, the yarn tended to stretch some, leading me to believe that it needs to be knit into a firmer fabric than this pattern creates. The shawl is quite simple to knit, a series of short-row wedges. The ends of the shawl become the ties, which are drawn through a tube that is knitted in. It can be knit with sport weight or worsted weight yarn. I believe it would be great to knit this with your own patterning of stripes, using remnants or small amounts of yarns in your stashes. Again, a little bit of novelty would add some whimsy. The shawl is very comfortable to wear, because of its closures. We may offer this as a class in spring/summer.

Cottage Creations has a (fairly) new pattern: "Kyler's Kardigan". It is a top-down, in-the-round cardigan version of the wallaby. It provides a different treatment to the edge of the optional hood. You can choose a button or a zipper closure. Fun and fast to knit on worsted weight yarn.

As I complete inventory, I decided to place several yarns on sale--so watch for the notices in the near future.

I'm hoping that you all have a wonderful winter, be safe and healthy and have fun! Keep on knittin"!!!! Watch for our new class schedule, which will be published in February.