Speggtacular Season! April/2010
Spring Greetings From Playing With Yarn
Greetings!

   We really can't believe it but we have had temperatures in the 70's! Now this may not seem like a big deal to those of you who don't live in Northern Minnesota but it is unbelievable for us! While the grass isn't as green as the grass in this photo of Emma jumping, it is almost there. We can have an outdoor Easter egg hunt - with no snow! The Yorkie Girl's agility equipment is out in their yard and they have been working out on it already. Except for Winnie, who is recovering from hernia surgery. She is fine but she is also milking it for all it is worth.
   While my Butterfly Super 10 Tee sweater is not quite done, it will be ready for me to wear this year - maybe even at the MN Knitter's Guild Yarn Over on on the 17th. This will be their 24 year of putting on this knitting even. Two years ago, I couldn't get out of the driveway to go as we had a blizzard. Now THAT is normal April weather for us.

    Be aware ahead of time, we will be closed for Easter Sunday! This is one of those rare occasions when our family gets together. We don't close many days in the year, except for Tuesdays, but this is one. I hope that everyone gets to have a splendid time with their families while we enjoy this wonderful weather with our family.  
 
Itty Bitty Baby Project!
   Our outreach project of creating wardrobes for the itty bitty Babies has been a source of great fun for many of our customers and we have been told that next week we should have 20 more of the babies in stock, naked and ready for adoption. It is interesting how many people have decided to adopt a second doll, to keep for themselves! We have started to collect photos of the babies dressed in new clothes on our web page www.playingwithyarn.com/outreach.htm and on our FaceBook page Playing With Yarn In Knife River MN. Here is a photo of Gail Mather's baby in a purple dress. Gail said that knitting these baby outfits - she has 2 of the itty babies and one middi baby - has taught her how to knit outside the box and feel free to become more creative in her knitting. She is learning to use the pattern as a guide and let her creativity take over. The itty bitty babies have done something that The Monday Night Group hasn't been able to do, free Gail from having to follow a pattern exactly.
    Check with us often to hear what else this project is doing for us as knitters, long before the dolls and their wardrobes go out to make some little child happy!
Some New Books!
     Some new books came into the shop today right before I started this newsletter. Circular Knitting Redefined has 40+ patterns covering a huge subject range from adult sweaters - both women & men, sweaters for babies and children and accessories using different techniques all using circular needles. Not only does this book give you lots of new ideas but the sweaters are very good looking. All for $19.95.

   For those looking for something a little more frivolous, we have this cute new book called Amigurumi Animal Friends - Knitting. The book has 9 different animals and clothes to make them look fashionable. They are knit in small amounts of worsted weight yarn. I can't decide what animals I like best Stinky Skunk, Nutty Squirrel or Frankie Frog. And then there are the farm yard friends, Cheepy Chick and Precious Pig.  And there are Happy Dog, Oliver Owl, Teddy Bear and Curious Cat. All this fun for $8.95.
 Since Spring really did come this year, warm weather and all, I am not quite sure how to approach the coming warm season. I haven't seen a 'real' Spring since we moved to Duluth in 1968. For that matter, I didn't really understand what Spring was until we lived in New Jersey and I discovered that it was a real season and not just something on the calendar that happened between hard winter and hot summer - I grew up in Minneapolis. But real Spring happens slowly and each day brings new discoveries of green and flowers and it does last for three months. So I don't know what to expect this year. Will we have a long, slow awakening or will we suddenly get very hot weather. And then being in Northern Minnesota, this maybe summer and we will have snow in July! The only month of the year that it hasn't snowed in the Duluth area in August and I remember a couple of 4th of Julys when we had snow flurries. One thing that we can say is that the weather is never boring!
  
   But what ever happens in a month or two, I am going to enjoy an Easter with no snow on the ground and the possibility of having an Easter egg hunt outdoors! And maybe that is what Easter is all about a miracle, something that is unexpected. And if this weather keeps up, I am going to enjoy each bright, warm and sunny day. And if it doesn't, I will enjoy looking for pictures in the clouds and a hot cup of coffee and good friends joining me to knit and spin. And whatever the weather, the Yorkie Girls and I will be running agility and trying to act obedient - at least in the ring.
   Keep those needles clicking and hooks bobbing. Enjoy each day and remember that stash of yarn is not just sitting there doing nothing, it is acting as insulation and keeping your house warm.

Unraveling yours,

Judy, Bo and the Yorkie Girls
 

Judy Casserberg
Playing With Yarn
judycass@playingwithyarn.com
Playing With Yarn
276 Scenic Drive, Knife River, MN 55609
218 834 5967 877 693 2221