Posted by Stitchy McYarnpants On January - 23 - 2005   ShareThis

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And snowed. And snowed some more. I don’t have any pictures because I’m in sweats and don’t feel like putting shoes on. So there. What I can tell you is that the 2-foot-tall stone wall across the street is no longer visible. This was a good one. I just can’t believe that local TV stations are so happy to forgo all other programming to have people yap on about the fact that it’s snowy here in New England. From what they were saying over and over, Plymouth got hit really hard. I hope Melanie and her mister are ok and have a full supply of hot cocoa! Cuddle up and keep warm, kids!

So, last Sunday was my mom’s birthday and I took her to Patternworks to pick out some fancy shmancy stuff to get her stash going. She just started knitting again, so she’s stashless at the moment. That won’t last for long, not if I have anything to say about it. It turns out that my parents live just a half an hour away from Patternworks. This is dangerous news. They may see an increase in visits from now on. Jon, my dad, and my brother were also with us. Like at Christmas, my dad drove and we kids were in the back. The men did quite well in the store. Jon didn’t try to run away (he was securely fasted to the door with some lovely Rowan Plaid), my sister-in-law is a new knitter so my bro got her some stuff, and my dad thought it was pretty interesting and even picked out some Plymouth Encore for an impending scarf.

And then he said it. I was innocently looking at some Debbie Bliss something-or-other and my dad was purchasing his yarn at the front counter. Then, I kid you not, the following words came out of his mouth: “Do you have any kind of senior citizen discount?” ok, that’s not so bad, the guy has been waiting his whole life to be old enough for an occasional 10% discount. But then he laughed and said “Well, I guess pretty much everyone who knits is a senior citizen, huh?”

~gasp~

I immediately asked if he had just said what I thought he said and whether he was trying to get us kicked out. The friendly women at the front counter laughed good-naturedly, for which I was grateful. Sheesh. I mean, is Justine Bateman a senior citizen? Huh? Is Russell Crowe* popping Geritol by the handful?? Pffft.

But we did get some great stuff. My mom got some gorgeous bulky chenille in garnet (it’s dark red/pink/purple), a couple of skeins of Odyssey yarn in Sherbert with some fuzzy pink Berocco yarn to go with it, a fuzzy sheep tape measure, and some assorted notions (I love the notions!). I got some on-sale Koigu in deep reds, Eucalan wool wash, and Knitters Little Helper hand balm. I cannot express strongly enough how much you need this hand balm. Jennie introduced me to it, and it’s amazing. It smells good, it feels good. It. Is. Good.

Also, as promised, here is a picture of the finished shawl. It’s hard to photograph an entire shawl, so I did what I could. Note the local news is on in the background with the spiffy “BLIZZARD” graphic at the bottom.

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And here are some pictures of my new snowy day project. It’s an as-of-yet unnamed needle felted bear. Cute, huh? I’m think he looks like a Bailey, but I’m not sure.

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I got the kit from Marr Haven Wool Farm I really wanted the white one, but they were out of stock and won’t have more for another month. I think the tan one turned out pretty well, considering it’s my first try. This little bear has enough of my DNA in it to clone me some day. Those felting needles are sharp! I’m definitely going to make more of these. It took 4 or 5 hours from start to finish and I really liked the instant gratification after spending so much time on that lace shawl.

I decided to try making one after seeing the work done by Norm over at Kim’s blog. She makes amazing bears as well, but those are way too ambitious for me. I’m not a very good seamstress, but poking things with sharp objects is my kind of fun! Give it a try!

*yes, I know he doesn’t really knit, and I also know that Justine Bateman’s knitted underwear is a little impractical.

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12 Responses

  1. Elisa says:

    Ack! Ack! Ack! Your needle felted bear is the cutest thing. Ever. If I ever get a chance to see that bear in person, I may well try and run off with it. I’m just giving you fair warning…

  2. Dani says:

    That bear is so cute I can’t stand it! My goal for this year is to knit afghans, but I’ve been getting this weird desire to make animals. My kids are almost too old for that sort of thing, so I don’t know why I’m getting that urge now.

  3. Katy says:

    Wow, that bear is so cute! I have done some needle felting, but mostly flat pieces; I haven’t tried anything that complicated. I’m impressed. 😉
    I would love to get to Patternworks one of these days, it’s probably about a 3 hr drive for me. sigh.

  4. Akkk, tell the cat to slowly step away from the fiber bear. I fear for its life.

    It is so damn cute I want to eat it. And the shawl, it’s fabulous. I think I’m realizing that I need a good sedative. I could NEVER concentrate on something for that long.

  5. Jessica says:

    That bear is so expressive. So cute.

  6. maryse says:

    i’m relieved to find out that justine bateman is working — even if she’s designing wool knit underpants.

    very nice work on the bear and the shawl by the way

  7. maryse says:

    i’m relieved to find out that justine bateman is working — even if she’s designing wool knit underpants.

    very nice work on the bear and the shawl by the way

  8. Anonymous says:

    You did a great job on that cute bear, the expression is priceless!
    Living in southern NH, I spent a part of yesterday watching (heckling) the local news programs. The endless stories of hardware stores, long lines, sold out shovels and snowblowers, batteries, flashlights. The woman in 40mph winds yelling “here comes a snowplow!” My favorite was watching one of the channel 5 correspondants running, microphone in hand and followed by his cameraman (who had to love running through the snow with that camera on his shoulder), chasing down what must have been the only human they had seen all day. “Wait, there is a woman getting in her car! Where could she be going? What (pant) is making her leave in this! (pant) Let’s catch her (pant) and ask! (pant, pant).” It was hysterical. Especially to a family that makes it sport to heckle the local news programs. Yep, they were right. It snowed. Alot.

  9. Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Your dad’s comment is hysterical! And your little bear is so cute – I can’t believe you knit that! Happy knitting to the best name in blogland!

  10. Anonymous says:

    That bear just rocked my world. That is the cutest. thing. ever.

    Must. make. one. now!

    Love yer blog btw….

  11. jenifleur says:

    Question #1: Can I have your bear?
    Question #2: Will you make me a monkey like that?

  12. jeanne says:

    What a sweet, sweet face! How in the world can wool and sharp-sharp needles make a face like that?! So cute – great job!

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