Meet Nestor the Knitting Elf!

I have been working on my own monster in preparation for our Monster Birthday Bash Contest. I finished him last week just in time to kick off the contest on Friday at our Friday Night Knit Club (FNKC) in the shop. My creation is a compilation and adaptation of pieces from patterns in The Big Book of Monsters by Rebecca Danger and several of her other downloadable patterns. To make him my own I added my own special pattern for pointy ears, two eye patches of differing sizes, and hair. I decided to turn my monster into an elf, since he "lives" in our shop. I thought a knitting elf in our shop would be more fun. (I think he could be responsible for some of the chaos that occurs there!) One of the things I really like about Rebecca's patterns is that each of her monsters has a story. I decided to write a story about my new little friend. I hope you enjoy it! 

Nestor the Knitting Elf 

Nestor lives in a warn and cozy yarn shop where he loves to hide in the yarn bins and under the tables and chairs. For his own entertainment, Nestor sometimes tosses a ball or two of yarn out of a yarn bin which scares the owners and customers. At night when Nestor tidies up the shop, he finds small balls of leftover yarn rolling around on the floor, misplaced knitting needles that rarely match, and runaway stitch markers that have lost their places. He stores his stash of special finds in his favorite hiding spot --- under the cushions of the overstuffed couch in the center of the shop. After years of living in the shop, Nestor learned to knit while hiding under the table during the beginning knitting classes. With a little bit of practice Nestor has knitted himself a somewhat holey sweater to wear when it's cold.


Keep on knitting!

P.S. So far we have quite a few people that have registered to make monsters for our contest. You can still join in on the fun! Just follow the links in the previous POST to get all the important information. Be sure to read the rules for making a monster and voting ... as well as winning!

Join us for the Monster Birthday Bash

Watch the video of Nancy and Megan and find out all about our Monster Birthday Bash Contest. Then be sure to follow all their directions for an adventure of fun!

We hope you enjoyed the message ... now click on the picture of the monster to get all the details and a set of rules for the "Monster Birthday Bash Contest". We've got a bunch of fun lined up for you, so keep checking the blog and read those Knitted Together Webmails.

You're Invited to a Ravelry Party!

This Friday, February 25th we are having a Ravelry party for our Friday Night Knit Club. Meet other Knitted Together customers and learn their Ravelry persona. The following particulars detail our party.

• When: It starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 8 p.m.
• At Knitted Together. If you don't know how to find our shop click here for directions.
  
• Bring: An appetizer or dessert to share.
• Project: Our special guest that evening is heyjenrenee, a local designer and fellow Knitted Together customer, who has designed something special for our customers. (If you want to start the project that night, you will need a Size 19, 24-inch-long circular needle... we have some 29-inch-long 19s for sale at the shop.)
  
• More: We will be discussing Ravelry as a tool for knitters, so if you have questions, special tips, favorite patterns, favorite designers, or bones of contention, come prepared to share!

We can't wait to see you. We'll have Ravelry buttons for everyone to wear (as long as our supply lasts).

Happy knitting! Nancy

Relax, stretch, and knit!

On our January Friday Night Knit Club (FNKC) our theme was all about rest, relax, and renew. We had a spa night and partnered with Salon Bliss who is our neighbor, two doors down from our shop. They did paraffin hand waxing on everyone and showed them all of the wonderful amenities of their salon. Then everyone came back to our shop and one of our customers, Carrie Cavanaugh, who is a licensed massage therapist, kindly gave the ladies hand and forearm massages. Need I tell you how heavenly it was?

Carrie also shared some great tips and stretches for knitters who are having hand and arm pain while knitting. I've decided to include Carrie's tips and stretches (minus the actual demonstration that she showed us). Thank you, Carrie!

Tips

• If a pain arises, take a short break to do some stretches, clean, run errands, make a phone call, etc.
• If pain becomes chronic, take a few days off to allow your hands, wrists, etc. to heal.
• Make a point of taking breaks to prevent pain from occurring.
• Use circular needles instead of straight needles whenever you can! Circulars bring your work closer to the middle of your body, reducing the torque placed on your arms and shoulders.
• Watch your posture! Do your best to keep your back in a relaxed, but not slouched position. (Boy did this speak volumes to me!)
• Sit up as straight as you can. Your neck should be straight, elbows should be at your sides, and wrists straight or slightly flexed in.
• Taking breaks helps to keep your posture by allowing your muscles to rest.

Stretching
It's very important to understand how a stretch should feel. A good, effective stretch shouldn't hurt. As you go into a stretch you should feel tension building up until you feel the stretch begin. The beginning of the stretch is where you want to hold it. If you strengthen a stretch too much you lose the relaxing feeling you get from it. When muscles are over-stretched, they have a tendency to contract or spasm, causing the potential for injury.

Gently hold stretches for 8-10 seconds.

Warm up muscles before stretching by shaking your hands and rolling your joints (wrists and shoulders), to get the blood moving.

The Stretches

• Extensors (the tops of the forearms) - With your hand face up, wrap your finders around your thumb into a fist and brind your hand towards you with your opposite hand, bending at the wrist.
• Flexors (the bottom of your forearms) - With your hand face down and flat, use your opposite hand to lift your hand and fingers backwards, bending at the wrist.
• Biceps Brachii (front of your upper arm) - Find a wall, and while standing, place the backside of your hand against the wall. Turn your body away while keeping your arm close to the wall.
• Pectoralis Major (chest) - Use the same technique for biceps, but place your palm on the wall instead.

If pain persists even after trying Carrie's tips and stretches, SPEAK WITH YOUR DOCTOR to rule out any serious conditions. They can offer options such as physical therapy or massage therapy, medication suggestions or prescriptions, or additional home care tips you might not have tried.

If you're interested in getting a massage, visit Carrie's website for more information! She left a corporate massage business and just opened her own business, so we'd like to help her get started.

Keep on knitting (after stretching occasionally)!

My Husband Really is a Knitter!

Tim has finally become a real knitter. He gets it! He really does! At least four years ago a woman that worked for us at the shop, taught him how to knit. Tension was his problem from the beginning. I remember that on New Year's Eve of that same year, we actually sat around and watched movies and knitted together (hmmm ... that's a great name for a yarn store). That is until he started sweating in our really cold family room and took off his sweatshirt. I noticed he had a white knuckle grip on his knitting needles. I helped him relax his grip and soon he was ready to put his sweatshirt on again. Well, that part of his knitting career didn't last. As soon as spring came, he was back on the golf course. End of story (at least at that time).

Two weeks ago Tim decided he wanted to try to knit again. He pulled out his old sample which was still on the needles and he picked it back up right away. Within minutes he committed to knitting a seed stitch scarf and a hat. We picked out Cascade 128 Superwash in a beautiful nearly-black color called Jet. That night after we went home and finished dinner, he cast on 21 stitches and started knitting a seed stitch scarf. He made a few mistakes that night and because our big-boy cat, Louie was on his lap, I kept having to get up and fix his mistakes. For about a week he knitted on his scarf before he went to bed. Rarely did he have a problem, but every time I looked at it I could tell his tension was becoming very regular. Then this past Sunday he spent 5 hours knitting. The next morning he woke up and told me his left elbow had a knitting injury! The injury is related to an old golf injury... sort of a tendinitis issue. He's taken this week off, so hopefully it will heal soon. Half a scarf won't keep him too warm this winter! With his knowledge of the yarns we carry and his new knitting knowledge, Tim has become a great salesperson in our shop!

Last Friday when we had the Friday Night Knit Club, one of our customers brought in the most addictive snack mix. She sent me the recipe and her changes. I'm passing them on to you now. Watch out though, you might need to make a double batch, just because you can't stop snacking!

Addictive Crunch

• 2 sticks of butter
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 6 Tablespoons corn syrup

In a sauce pan, bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes. Pour over the following and mix gently, stirring until the mix is well covered:

• 1 large box of Rice Chex cereal
• 4 cups small pretzels

Spread mix out on a large cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 15 minutes. Allow to cool on wax paper. Gently break into small pieces. Store in a cool airtight container.

Here are the variations that Jo made for us: She used a gluten-free rice chex cereal, gluten free pretzels, and coconut. She also added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to the coating mixture. You can also add nuts of any kind. Jo said she has also added 1-2 cups of miniature marshmallows to the cooked mixture.

What inspires you to knit?

I'm taking a poll among readers. If you respond to this post and my poll question you will be entered in the drawing for one of the coffee cozy kits that I created for the last Friday Night Knit Club when our theme was coffee. (Starbucks came and took us on an amazing coffee tasting adventure.) The kit has yarn for two cozies included as well as two simple patterns.

My poll questions:
I'd like to know what inspires you to knit! What are you knitting, or what will you soon be knitting? Did the yarn, the pattern, or something else inspire you? Tell me what the pattern is and what yarn you're using. Also be sure to include your email address, so I know how to get in touch with you if you are the winner of the kit.

On Friday afternoons in the shop we have had the Wrap Group which has taken on a new life since Carol left us. Today the women that were here talked about getting more knitters to join them at the shop from 1-3 on Fridays. We are currently mulling over some names for this group and will post it on the calendar on our website. I'm inviting you to join us on Fridays from 1-3 pm for knitting, conversation, friendship, and FUN!

Becky (one of the Friday afternoon gals) asked Tim for his salmon salad recipe. It was in our newsletter last year, but I decided that putting it into the blog makes it easier for everyone to get. This is really good and deserves to be here!

Tim's Grilled Salmon Salad
Ingredients

• Salmon, grilled (we usually buy ours fresh from Waterfront Seafood Market)
• Organic baby mixed greens
• Thinly sliced sweet red onion
• Thinly sliced sweet red or yellow bell peppers
• Feta or blue cheese crumbles
  
• Cherry tomatoes, halved
• Avocado slices
• Asparagus, grilled (optional)
• Shoestring potatoes
• Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette or Brasswell's Creamy Vidalia Onion dressing

Make a bed of the baby mixed greens. Add onion, peppers, cheese, avocado, tomatoes, and asparagus (if desired). Top with grilled salmon; then add a small pile of shoestring potatoes. Drizzle on dressing. Yum!

The Wrap Group -- July/August #4

Hi Wrappers!

I've been really busy working on the kit for tonight's Friday Night Knit Club (FKNC), so I'm going to tell you a little about it just in case you want to come get one. I think it would make a great closure for one of your wraps. I designed a flower pin that you can felt or not felt out of lovely Cascade Cloud 9 (50% merino, 50% angora).

Here's my short list of some of the uses for a felted or knitted flower: make it into a pin as I have, wear it on a knitted hat, attach it to a felted purse, wear it on your winter coat, attach it to a shawl or wrap as a closure, or tie it onto a gift bag for a friend.

Since we chose a "fiesta" theme for tonight's FNKC, I'm making a couple of Mexican dip recipes that use one of my favorite canned tomato products, Ro-Tel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies. I use it in my homemade soups and chili all winter!

The recipe I'm sharing with you came on the back of the large box we picked up at Costco. It's delicious!

Black Bean Salsa

Makes 12 servings (1/4 cup each)

• 1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (10 oz.) Ro-Tel Original diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, drained
  
• 1/2 cup whole kernel corn, frozen or canned
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon lime
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve with tortilla chips, tacos or burritos, if desired.

Happy knitting!