Mwaaaaaaaaahhhh!! Look how cute these turned out!! These are the hedgehogs the students made in the Huggable Hedgehog class. I love how they're all different sizes. Great job, all!!

Okay, PHEW! Lucia found her sweater.

GO PHILLIES!!

Have You Seen My Sweater?

I have experienced a knitting disaster. We’ve all had them of course. The cable sweater where you forget to cable on a few rows. The lace scarf that has a few too many yarnovers; you want to call them eyelets, but you know that they are holes.

Yes, I’ve done those things, but my most recent disaster seems to be beyond reclamation.

I have lost the almost completed front of my husband’s birthday sweater.

I knit him a sweater every birthday. This year it is an argyle vest. I have taken meticulous care with all the bobbins hanging and dangling and getting in the way. As is my way, I enlarged the color chart to poster size to give me half a chance of keeping my colorwork on target. It is a slow knit and I have been working stop-start since June.

It was that stop-start knitting that made me realize I had to pick up the pace. So instead of knitting it at home following supper and evening household chores, I began taking it along with me during the day. I worked on it while my car was being washed. I took it to a doctor’s appointment for the inevitable wait. And I took it to a rehab center where I volunteer in the knitting therapy program.

And that is where it seems to have vanished. On this particular day, it stayed unworked on as residents of the facility were having a lot of knitting problems that required my eyes and hands. At the end of the session, I put my notion bag in my knitting bag where I thought my argyle safely resided. But when I got home, the pattern was in my bag but not actual knitting. No bobbins, no yarn, no needles.

The air was sucked out of my chest. I turned the bag inside out. I looked under the seats of my car. I called the center, but the director had left for the weekend. No one had seen my knitting.

I can’t believe that it’s gone. I have gotten forgetful in my old age; as my hormones retreat with middle age they seems to have taken my memory with them. I have forgotten my jacket, my purse, my grocery list, forgotten to buy things on my list when I had it in my hand.

But I have never lost a knitting project. I am bereft. I don’t know what to do; the notion that I will have to start all over makes me distracted and slightly nauseous. I’m even more forgetful. I keep expecting to find the sweater in some off place -- like under my bed. I check every day.

It looks like it is gone. It looks like I’ll be starting again although that idea makes me weep. Worse I won’t have a sweater by Nov. 18. I can’t knit that fast -- and color changing really slows me down. I guess the sweater will be a Christmas gift.

But I can’t get over the absence of my work. Feels like I lost a finger. Very unsettling. I’ve been told to ask Anthony, patron saint of lost objects, to help. So far, it seems he wants me to continue looking under my bed.

So I’m asking for your good thoughts. Maybe if I get going a good knitting vibe, my sweater will find its way home.

Thanks in advance. And keep an eye on your own project!

What we're crazy about today..... This!!



















This is the Jojoland Swirl Shawl (we have a sample of the scarf size). It's one of those great patterns where interesting technique and gorgeous yarn meet in a really wonderful way. The shawl is composed of multiple hexagons joined as you go along. And the yarn, Jojoland Melody, is bee-yoo-tiful!! It's fingering weight, superwash 100% wool, in gorgeous variegated colorways.














I, for one, can't wait to get started. (I already have my yarn picked out!) If you're hankering for a interesting shawl pattern come on down! We have 4 other scarf patterns from the company, and the yarn in 11 different colorways.

And The Winners Are...

Here are the winners of the $20.00 gift card drawing from the September 20th Grand Re-Opening celebration!

Congratulations.

Beige Berryman
Jessica Berwind
Sandy Capps
Toni Clark
Hilda Cohen
Michelle Conners
Marilyn Dyson
Barbara Eckel
Martha Fuller
Gayle Gates
Jennifer Giles
Alison Ginn
Kiely Hall
Karen Hart
E. Ann Hemmerich
Jeannine Hendricks
Elaine Hills
Megan Hollinger
Jane Huang
Gaille Hunter
Monique Johnson
Joan Kronick
Kesha Lynch
R.T. Mail
Heather McCready
Jennifer McChristy
Maria McGarry
Mia McGuire
Annie Merritt
Miyo Moriuchi
Teresa Navon
Pamela
Christine Pape
Mary Rocke
Diana Rosenstein
Sharon Rouse
Katie Sarachan
Jane Schuster
Sally Schuster
Anita Scott
Toni Sharp
Constance Smits
Liz Snowdon
Gwen Sperling
Wendy Stirling
Kate Tiedeken
Liz Walker
Krystjna Wieruoch
Tawana Winters
Sonya Yeck

Many Many Thank You's

The last five months have been incredibly challenging but I think we are finally settled in our new home. They (whoever they are) say that moving is one of the most stressful situations to be in and they (whoever they are) are very wise indeed. All of us here at the Web have had our ups and downs over the last five months. Nothing went as it should. Phones didn't work. Lights didn't work. There was water in the basement. The internet was on then the internet was off. Where are the pens? Have you seen the crochet hooks? What special order? There were a lot of tears and a lot of take out. But somehow we got through it and it was all worth it.

For me it was a very humbling experience. I have been overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends, my staff and all of you. I have so many people to thank that the list of names would eventually bore you into leaving the blog and then you would not get to see all the great pictures from the party. So I will be brief. I would like to thank my husband Chris who put in many, many hours doing construction and remodeling. He made my vision come to life. My girls, Liv and Lauren who I watched carry shelf after shelf from one location to the next and were happy to help. The dear, dear women that I work with, side by side, every day for their endurance and tolerance. Anne, Lucia, Diana, Carole, Stacey, Cheryl and Debbie you know how I feel about you. My sister, Peggy, who flew up from Texas during her summer break to help me get organized. My old friend, Joanna, and my new friends, Susan and Catherine, who helped me put together the best party the hill as seen in quite some time. I tip my hat. And to all of you who lent your support and encouragement and forgave all of our short comings during this trying and difficult and exciting time. I can never thank you enough.

Now to the pictures

What a party!

September always seems like the beginning of the year to me. After the slower pace of summer, the renewed energy is a welcome change. Coupled with the drop in temperature we’re ready to pick up our needles and yarn and get back to work on projects.

And in the case of the Tangled Web, it’s time to celebrate our move to bigger digs. The official opening was September 20 and what a day! The shop looked great -- bright and airy, fully stocked with yarn. Coming to work that day reminded me of being a third grader preparing for the school play. Excited, nervous, ready to go, scared to get started. Would people really come? Would they like the store? Would they appreciate all the the hard work and hours the entire staff had put into making this new site a real beauty.

We needn’t have worried. People poured into the store. Everyone seemed happy to be there; happy to join in the specialness of the day. What a great mix of food, drink and great yarn. People were happy to participate in the afternoon’s festivities. People showed up with babies in tow, children. Even husbands seemed happy to be there. Several people wore clothing they knit. A big hit were our stylish black t-shirts. (On sale by the way).

The day was very long and yet, over too soon. All the staff -- Anne, Diana, Cheryl, Stacey, Deb and me, colleague Carole was out of town -- made two things are priorities. Making sure that everyone who came in felt welcomed and happy was the first order of the day. The second was to make sure that our boss, Mary, was relieved of responsibility for the day. We wanted her to enjoy the day and the fruits of all her labor. We all appreciate her vision for the new store and her energy in making that vision a reality. I think it is safe to say that we were all proud to be a part of the day and even more to be part of the Tangled Web crew. It is a privilege and a responsibility to make the Web a real destination for needlesmiths. At day’s end we gathered to get ready to close, tears in our eyes.

“Great job, everyone,” Mary said. “Thank you.”

“And thank you for the Web,” said Deb.

We all felt the same way and we hope all our knitters and crocheters feel the same sense of community and camaraderie.

Come check us out. You’ll see what we mean