Road Trip!

Next week Bunny Gail and Celia Bedelia are loading up the truck to move to Beverly (well, maybe just to Portland). Why? It's time for the Knit & Crochet Show, sponsored by The Knitting Guild Association and The Crochet Guild of America, and The Purl District is gonna be there.

We've got a booth, yarn, and attitude. Starting Thursday night, September 11, from 7-9 PM and then all day Friday through Sunday, Gail, Celia, and our special guest star, Nita Porter, will be selling their little hearts out at the Portland Convention Center. And we want you to be there, too.

All of Gail's special angora yarn will be there -- hand-dyed and spun from Gail's own rabbits.

There will be lots of sock yarn, too, good for socks (yeah, duh), but also good for KnotSoPlainJane's hoodie sweater for kids. As the photo shows, self-striping is not just for feet.

The Purl District's very own brand of circular needles also get to make a trip up I-5. Made of bamboo, with smooth joins and ultra-flexible cables, these needles are just what your knitting bag has been missing. And at the crazy low price of $5 a pair, you can stock up and up and up...

And since it wouldn't be the Purl District without some sass, we saw Celia packing up pins, bags, and t-shirts with some smart-sass sayings (how's that for alliteration?) to take along for your consumer enjoyment.

We know that you are going to go to the show just to shop at our booth, but don't forget all the classes! The powers that be wanted us to tell you that while it's too late to sign up for classes online, you can still register for them when you get to the Convention Center.

Patricia Goes to the Fair, Doesn't Bring Us Any Cotton Candy...

but she did bring in her prize-winning sweaters for us to show you.

At left, Patricia Henderson, of Silverton, is wearing the sweater from Interweave Knits Magazine that she knitted and entered in the Oregon State Fair. It took third prize. 

And below, Patricia is modeling her vest (made from a Berrocco pattern) that earned her a 2nd place ribbon.

Disclaimer: Patricia wants you all to know she didn't know we were going to make her put on the sweaters, and she "wouldn't have worn these pants" with them. Patricia, you should know by now: prize-ribbons go with everything! Congratulations on your wins.

Celia got the Gold

We forgot to update you on Celia's hat marathon. Drum roll...... She did it! Celia won gold! Twenty-six hats in 17 days. Whew.

Celia's next goal: sell 20 hats in 17 days. Hmm. There must be a connection here.

We Don't All Have to Fit In This Tent

Don't pack away that tent and gear after Labor Day; you have one more camping trip this year! Clear your calendar for Friday, September 19th; it's time for The Purl District Camp Out. From 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, you are going have some fun roughing it surrounded by some of the best yarn in the world.

Twenty bucks gets you an indoor campsite (aka a chair) -- no worries about skeeters or rain -- and a chance to mosey up to our chuckwagon-- not just beenie weenies and smores-- AND a 20% discount on whatever you buy that night. (The discount is good at both The Purl District and Snippets, 'cause we're all camping together that night.) Bring in a pop-up tent or camping equipment and we'll bump up that discount to 30%. Wow! What more could you want? It's an excuse to knit and laugh and eat and pretend that summer isn't over. But since autumn really is just around the corner, there will be hourly door prizes to jumpstart your autumn knitting.

Be sure to come in and sign up by September 11th. We're not sure that we can build a campfire, but we can't wait to hear you tell us scary knitting stories around the big red table.

Barbara designed these beautiful socks with viscachas (a small South American animal somewhere between a squirrel and a chinchilla) on them, but she found a mistake, we believe some ripping was involved, and now she wants nothing to do with them.

We're going to nag her here in the blog to try to guilt trip her into finishing these gorgeous bits of footwear. I mean, check out the 3D edging at the top of the socks. 

So, Barbara, you know who you are, we want to see you at the big red table on Friday with these puppies in hand. Pleeeease. (We're also not above begging.)

Has She Hit the Wall?

It's been said that a marathon can be divided into two equal halves -- the first 20 miles and the last six. All marathoners know that there's a point -- different for each runner, every race -- where it seems that you can go on no longer. It could be in the 18th mile, maybe it doesn't happen till the 21st, but sooner or later you hit the wall.

In crochet, the wall is made out of yarn.

Celia's crocheting a hat marathon. She set herself a goal during the Olympics: 26 hats in 17 days. Here in the basket you see 20 hats. There is sworn testimony that there are two more hats at her house, and a couple of our mannequins are wearing some pretty warm headgear for August, so that brings us to 24 completed objects with only a couple of days left to go. It looks like she's going to make it, BUT it's possible that she's hit the wall. Those last two skeins of Cascade 220 Superwash could be the equivalent of six miles of grueling road.

Check in next week to see if she won the gold...

Yarn Dreams

It could be a yarn shop. It could be a small, well-organized fiber warehouse. Or it could be the headboard of Jane's bed. Take a guess.

Our Jane, The Purl District yarn slave and incredi-knitter, lives for fiber -- and not in an All-Bran sort of way--which explains why, when she needs a respite from a hard day of being surrounded by skeins of wool, alpaca, and bamboo at the shop, goes home to this. Last thing she sees at night? Yarn. First thing she sees in the morning? You get the idea. Just in case you didn't feel that Jane is fully committed (and feel free to think of the word 'committed' as you like) to the fiber lifestyle, you should know that she is here in the shop right now -- on her day off!  Some people are crazy like that.

<><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>