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Blissful Balls

One of the best things about my job is my crew of knitting coworkers. We meet in the cafeteria at lunchtime, as often as we can, to knit together. It’s wonderful to have a break in the day and to think about things entirely unrelated to work, and I never fail to be inspired by the beautiful items my friends…

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MPLS MINN: You rock!

We saw no evidence of those scary Minnesota winters last weekend, when the temperature soared to 70 degrees. It was a beautiful start to VK’s first-ever Minneapolis show. There’s been so much rancor in the intervening few days, and it’s something I don’t feel ready to talk about at length. So instead, let’s take a look at some of the…

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Book Review: 21 Crocheted Tanks and Tunics by Sandi Rosner

I really wish that there were more hours in the day, because I’d love to become a better crocheter. One reason I yearn to wield my hook with more skill is that there are so many great patterns coming out these days. Take a look at Sandi Rosner’s new book, 21 Crocheted Tanks and Tunics (Stackpole Books; available at the…

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Giveaway winner — and yakking it up (plus coupon code)

Congratulations to SusanfromStatenIsland — you are the lucky winner of a copy of Self-Striping Yarn Studio. I already heard back from Susan and her enthusiastic response was a joy to behold! Coming up soon: book reviews….I’ve got several lovely books to review now that we’re getting closer to autumn. In the meantime, enjoy this Hellenic-inspired coupon code at my Artfire…

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The very very first giveaway of Self-Striping Yarn Studio

I am thrilled beyond words to announce that my brand-new book, Self-Striping Yarn Studio, is beginning to appear in the great wide world even as we speak. This week, I got a report of a Barnes & Noble bricks-and-mortar sighting, and it began shipping from the BN.com website. Now it’s also in stock here and I hope at your favorite…

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Retreat Recap

Oh. My. Lord. We had so much fun at the first-ever Sip Sip Knit Retreat. So much fun, I was afraid we’d get arrested. (Especially when we pretty much got thrown out of the hotel lobby at 10 pm for being too raucous. Although the bartender did ask the security guard to take a group photo of us because she…

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Podcast, anyone?

If you’re in the mood for some podcast listening, might I humbly suggest you take a listen to two podcasts, both created and hosted by consummate professionals in the industry. I was recently interviewed by these excellent podcasters, and we had a great time and discussed some very interesting topics. First up is Kara Gott Warner’s Power Purls podcast (link…

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TNNA recap + so much more

TNNA Update A few weekends ago, I attended the industry trade show TNNA, which stands for The National Needlearts Association. The summer show is scheduled before the big push for fall hits local yarn shops, and is a chance for shopowners to see the newest products from yarn companies, publishers, distributors of books and notions, and so on. Believe it…

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