My favorite yarn store in Liverpool, England

When my husband and I visited family in England, we took the train into Liverpool one of the days.
Some sightseeing and shopping ( at the LFC) was done in time to also take the chance to visit my favorite wool shop on Stafford Street, Abakhan.

The bombed out church and 

Christmas truce football statue

And Liverpool cathedral

View from Liverpool cathedral, river Mersey

More sightseeing

Liverpool Library 

And shopping

I love that Slogan ⚽️

You have two floors of wool, notions, fabric, anything you can possibly think of!  They also give classes.  I am thinking to check them out during one of my next visits.

Thousands of different buttons

I choose some gifts

And some yarn 

And this is what I knitted from the yarn.  This is an incredible pattern for fingerless mitts written by Sylil Ra .  It is a free pattern on ravelry, called U-Turn mitts.  It is done all in one piece, with twists and turns.  I just finished one mitt today 😍

♥️ Pattern:  U-Turn mitts

Fiber Arts in Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year and not just because the weather is still mild and without the humidity and not only because the leaves are turning the most beautiful colors, especially here in the Hudson Valley, but also there is a little chill in the air, just enough to get out your sweaters and keep warm with all that woolen loveliness.

The area where I live is most famous among knitters and other fiber artists for its annual Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY, often referred to simply as RHINEBECK.

This year one local library, the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff (right on the Hudson) organized an early kick-off to get into the swing of things with a Fiber Arts Show with knitted, crocheted, woven, quilted , felted, embroidered, cross stitched,...you name it, it's there....pieces from library patrons.  

Yours truly dropped off a shawl.

So, hurry on over to get inspired.  the show will last until the end of the month.

For those of you who are not living in or planning to visit this area, I also started a seven day challenge of sharing your creations on-line on my facebook page.  I started by sharing a different sweater and shawl each day and I hope others will join in with the fun and share any fiber creation.

Dropping off a shawl with Sandy at the Morton Memorial Library in Rhinecliff

Someone else dropping off a beautiful sweater

You are greeted by two felted cats at the library

Check out my facebook page Knit With Doris/ Discover Your Inner Knitter and join in the fun of sharing your creations.

My ( almost) Rhinebeck Sweater

It all started so well:  

• I fell in love with this pattern, Helenium by Amanda Scheuzger, and bought the yarn, Kenzie by Hikoo Skacel, which just happened to be in the clearance bin at the yarn shop where I work, The Knitting Garage in Rhinebeck.

And it got better:  

• There was not enough yarn in the color I liked best from what was there, but I was able to buy more yarn off a fellow knitter on ravelry ( Juliemustknit).  And it turned out that the yarn I bought from her although bought in North Carolina rather than NY is the EXACT SAME dye lot!!!  What were the chances of that??

I started the sweater on January 16, 2019  and had so much fun that I finished the sleeves and body all the way to the point when I start knitting the brioche yoke by February 9.

I was looking forward to come back from a two week vacation in Costa Rica and finish the sweater.

BUT I broke my wrist while away and was not able to continue until a little 

over four months later, July 17, at which point I very gingerly knitted a little bit at a time

August 13, almost a month later, I finished and absolutely love this sweater.

It fits well and who knew that orange looks so good on me?!

I am really looking forward to the cooler weather when I will start wearing it.  There have been a few cool mornings already and I enjoy slipping into this sweater.

Now you may wonder why I said “almost Rhinebeck sweater”.

That’s simple :  it turns out that I will be away this year during the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.  I will be visiting family in England, but I will be sure to wear my Helenium pullover there...

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