Dragonfly Fibers Visit

I was lucky enough to find myself at Dragonfly Fibers earlier this week in Kensington, MD!

It's always interesting visiting hand dyers… They all have their own methods, their own colors, own bases, different set ups and different vibes. I've long admired Dragonfly and getting invited up was a great way to spend an afternoon. Embracing local yarn companies creates such a great sense of camaraderie in the small world of knitting. Dragonfly has some of the loveliest color ways and Kate and Nancye are pretty fantastic ladies.

After watching Kate work the dye baths for a bit, I got the grand tour. Pots of hot yarn and dye boiling away, doing their thing? Walls of gorgeous yarn in bright colors you want to roll around in and drool on? Awesome women running a company and doing a great job? Check, check and check. A few photos from my trip:

I can't say much about it now, dear readers, but there's an exciting adventure coming up with the wonderful women of Dragonfly. I'm looking forward to working with them on a big project and to telling you about it soon!

Check out all the gorgeousness Dragonfly has to offer here!

Columbus Recap

If you're like me and you're a lover of architecture, you must go visit Columbus, Indiana. I was thrilled to teach my first solo travel workshop and was hosted by the wonderful Nyra Miller at Knitters Nook. Indiana is so different from DC. I've been living in cities for so long, I forget what it's like to drive everywhere, to live near people you grew up with and to know everyone. I don't even know my neighbors (which is pretty typical for city living)!

The wonderful customers and students of Knitters Nook made me feel like a knitting rock star and were so warm and welcoming that I'm hoping I'll get to visit them again soon. I taught them knitted lace (lace on both sides), slipped stitches, beading and knitting, cabling, turned picot hems and chart reading. As always, when you get a bunch of knitters together, there's a special feeling of camaraderie and sharing of tips and tricks that firms up my belief that knitting is one of the best things in the world. I enjoyed getting to know them all over the weekend and left feeling like a member of the family. They truly embraced me and the weekend was even better than I anticipated.

And the architecture!!!!  Columbus is a city known for its architecture and that is a title well deserved. J. Irwin Miller, 2nd CEO and a nephew of a Co-Founder of Cummins Inc., the Columbus-headquartered diesel engine manufacturer, instituted a program in which the Cummins company paid the architects' fee, provided the client selected a firm from a list compiled by Miller. The plan was initiated with public schools and was so successful that Miller decided to defray the design costs of fire stations, public housing, and other community structures. The high number of notable public buildings and sculptures in the Columbus area, designed by such individuals as Eero Saarinen, I.M. Pei, Robert Venturi, Cesar Pelli, and Richard Meier have led to Columbus earning the nickname "Athens of the Prairie." Six buildings, built between 1942 and 1965, are National Historic Landmarks, and approximately 60 other buildings sustain the Bartholomew County seat's reputation as a showcase of modern architecture. National Geographic Magazine once devoted an entire article to the town's architecture. I wish I had more time to explore, but here are a few highlights from my camera...

Thank you, Nyra and Columbus! I had so much fun knitting with you, teaching, learning about your city and immersing myself in your beautiful architecture! Hope to see you soon.

No Longer A Chrysalis

There's a really interesting window at the Museum of Natural History. We're frequent guests there, roaming around the dinosaur bones, the giant (fake) Wooly Mammoth, the artifacts, bugs and (a favorite of my son's) the huge, creepy octopus. I prefer the room with all the sparkly gems, with the guard who nervously watches the small children running around the Hope Diamond.

The window I'm talking about is the butterfly window. Tucked in a corner behind the bug exhibit, this small area has butterflies in various states of their life cycle. Eggs, caterpillars, pupas (or chrysalis) and finally butterflies. Butterflies are a big deal in our house… Ever read "A Very Hunger Caterpillar" by Eric Carle? We always shout out "a beautiful butterfly!" when we get to the last page (I could recite that book for you, dear readers, we've read it so many times). We also have a butterfly bush in the backyard, whose big, purl flowers attract butterflies of all colors. Sometimes there are so many on the branches that it seems to vibrate.

I recently got my hands on a hank of The Knitting Boutique's Sassafras Worsted, a lovely blend of bamboo and merino, and a hank of Shibui's Silk Cloud, a mohair and silk blend. Held together, you get a beautiful luxury combination of sheen with a slight halo. Yes, please.

Inspired by this stunning yarn combination and the butterflies in our backyard and at the museum, I designed the No Longer A Chrysalis Cowl. With one hank of each yarn held together, the background of reverse stockinette truly makes those butterflies pop. A fun knit with wrapped stitches, pulled up stitches, increases and decreases makes this a great knit for anyone who loves butterflies.

Fly away, friends and get knitting!

Download the No Longer A Chrysalis Cowl pattern here.

Come Away With Me...

I'm pretty excited to announce my first travel workshop!

If you find yourself in the Indiana/Ohio area, I hope you'll come join me at The Knitter's Nook in Columbus, Indiana!

They say…"July 19^th & 20^th, 2014 We would like to invite you to attend our Architecture Knitting Retreat. We are excited to welcome designer Tanis Gray and her books Knitting Architecture and Capitol Knits to our shop and Columbus, Indiana. This retreat features classes taught by Tanis, a retreat-exclusive pattern inspired by Columbus, two guided tours (Columbus, Indiana Architecture and the Miller House and Gardens), an amazing dinner party with book signings and more. This inspirational weekend will be “unexpected and unforgettable!”

I'll be teaching the E Pluribus Unum Cowl from Capitol Knits, Featherbelle and my Bird's Nest Shrug from Knitting Architecture.

What I'm most excited about this workshop is the marriage between knitting and architecture, two things I am very passionate about. Columbus is a HUGE treasure trove of architectural gems! Did you know that  the American Institute of Architects rank Columbus 6th in the nation in architectural innovation and design? How inspiring is that?!

My brain is already overflowing with inspiration just looking at images from this beautiful city!

Oh, Fair Isle inspiration!

Leave me here with a good book, good music and good knitting!

Stop by The Knitter's Nook to sign up at 3623 25th Street, Columbus, IN 47203, call 812-657-7669 or visit their website here.

Inspire….Learn…. Create…. Knitters Nook in Columbus, Indiana is the place to be! Hope to see you there!