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I’m krazy for Kirkwood

You probably heard me talking about my teaching trip to Kirkwood Knittery, outside of St. Louis, MO. Kirkwood Knittery is owned by my friends Brooke Nico and Robyn Schrager, and is an absolutely delightful place to spend a weekend.

kirkwood shop

Although I grumbled a bit about having to be at the airport early enough to make a 7:00 a.m. flight on Friday, the upside was that we had plenty of time to play before the first formal event at the shop (which didn’t start until 5). So I got to have lunch with Brooke and her mom; check in to the hotel and rest a little bit; and then wander around the shop looking at all the lovely yarns, patterns, books and projects. I especially loved the antique spinning wheel and swift that were displayed atop the cabinets, as well as the terrific oil painting of a man shearing a sheep — how cool is that?

oil painting

I did bring some yarn with me,

yarnz

including a special batch of some laceweight yarn that I dyed with Missouri native plants in mind, since Joan, who works at the shop, is such an amazing gardener. I’m pretty sure she created the display in this planter outside the shop.

plants

See?

IMG_0057

I never take enough photos, and Friday night’s wine tasting/knit-in was so much fun, I completely forgot! Many kind people asked me to sign my book, and we had a terrific time getting to know each other.

Saturday was a whirlwind of activity: First thing in the morning, I taught a class, then in the afternoon, we did a hands-on dyeing tutorial. I talked a little bit about the process of dyeing and the nature of handpainted yarns, and then, because Kirkwood Knittery is big enough to have sinks and dedicated classroom space, everyone who signed up was able to handdye one or two skeins of sock yarn, with me coaching.

dyeing 2

All my students had great success with their skeins:

betsy

including Brooke’s adorable daughter, who assisted us and dyed her own gorgeous blue skein.

peytion

I loved hanging out at the Knittery and spending time with the great people who are part of its community of crafters, and I hope I get to schedule another trip there in the spring. Brooke and I also had some time to catch up, and to plot some future projects (we’ll be vending at VK Live in Chicago in late October)….

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