Finds at the Fiber Festival …

We always enjoy the Middle Tennessee Fiber Festival, held this past Friday and Saturday at the Dickson County Fairgrounds.  The festival offers a wide variety of classes, critters and fiber-related vendor … and just a whole big bunch of nice folks!

We’d like to share just a few snaps of wonderful goodies we snagged from new and returning vendors that we’ll be offering in the shop …

‘Whimsical’ from TrickyKnits‘ Colorful Nest line.  We’ve been sold out of Tricia’s yarns for a while and are so glad to be able to handpick through her stash of lovelies.  And it is always a pleasure to catch up with Tricia!

Yarn bowls from Russellville, KY ~ love having product from our neighbors in Kentucky, and thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Daniel (and a special thank you for schlepping them to the ‘slug bug’ for me)!

We found some lovely hand-dyed sock yarn (‘Glammy’) from LunabudKnits from Kentucky and purchased a small initial stocking order … come in and check it out!  It is a soft and tonally dyed wool/bamboo/nylon blend that we think you will love … and it is local!

Apparently we have aspirations of spinning (maybe while we sleep???) … we always come home with absolutely lovely rovings.

And this year we also snagged a few lovely pre-drafted artyarn braids.  Abella Prieto is located in Nashville, TN (YAY!) and her booth is always full of surprises … banana fiber, Sari silks, beaded yarns, cashmeres, silks, bamboo  … and she has an Etsy shop … jahtsemer.esty.com

Just for fun … glamorous wool handspun with teeny-tiny peacock feathers and a bit of sparkle!  These little lovelies come from Galyna Batewell of Ethridge, TN ~ an absolutely wonderful lady to chat with!

Special Holiday Hours ….

Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday — 11 a.m. until 6 p.m.; Thursday — 1 until 8 p.m.; Saturday — 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Sunday — noon until 4 p.m.

Breakfast at Red Tree Coffee on Saturday, December 17 … about 8:30.  Please join us, bring your friends, your knitting/fiber projects … or just come for breakfast and coffee!!

Keep on truckin’ … and knittin’

No, knitting is not just for the ladies.  Just about all women will admit they love a man that cooks, how much better if he also knits!  Ran across this very interesting article ~ according to the Wall Street Journal archives (this was published in 2010), over-the-road drivers are picking up knitting and other needle arts – click here for the WSJ story … would love some comments from male knitters.

Why I Knit: Dawn Gusty

It’s in my nature to create. With life the way it is for me right now, it’s not an option anymore to start big projects.  I need something I can pick up and do five minutes here, an hour there, with no clean-up. Knitting!  What a perfect idea.  So I went to Ewe & Company and Glenna got me started.  I love carrying my knitting around with me, and any time I have a few spare minutes or a good bit of time to myself, I get lost in the rhythmic, almost meditative action of knitting.  Even if I have no idea what my creation is or if it’s full of flaws, I love the activity.  And it’s the perfect way to spend time with girlfriends.  Once you get started, the conversation comes and is always a memorable, very sweet time to share.  Thanks, Glenna! What a gift.  Now I may be ready to knit something recognizable!

Visit Dawn’s blog.  Why do you knit?  Email us your story to eweandcompany@yahoo.com or comment here.

Cook up some extra knitting time.

January is National Soup Month.
Winter-time is soup time, and a great time to knit.  Put on a pot of soup, enough for a couple of days, and suddenly you have more time to knit.  Here are some recipes for knitting on a warm, cozy winter day.

Free Pattern ~ Quick and preciously cute hat on Ravelry.  Sign up (it’s free) then search on Sarah Shepherd.

Elaine’s Creamy Tomato Soup
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes, with juice
1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream warmed (or low-fat milk)
Salt and pepper to taste

Warm oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 1 min. Add tomatoes with juice and broth to saucepan, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Whisk constantly until slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. Working in batches, carefully transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. (An immersion blender would be great for this if you have one.) When all soup is pureed, return to saucepan, stir in warmed cream or milk and cook over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through. Do not boil. Season with salt and pepper. Just a few slivers of fresh basil add a lot of flavor. Makes 8 servings at 123 calories per serving. Quick and yummy!  NOTE:  If you’re going to need to hold this soup for a bit, put your ovenproof soup pot in a warm oven to keep it heated and prevent the soup from sticking.  Thanks to Elaine Blaine for the recipe idea on Facebook.

Need some knitting help?  We can set you up with a private session ~ just email eweandcompany@yahoo.com ~ or register for a class; we have an all-new class schedule.

Please share your favorite soup and knitting recipes and questions by posting them here.  We are especially interested in a good White Chili recipe; it would go really well with the Great American Aran Afghan project scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks. Call us 615.952.0110 or e-mail to participate.

And let us know what you’re knitting, we love hearing from you!

Why I Knit: Glenna Butts

Mother taught herself to knit; when I was about 8, she taught me.  In the fourth grade, my teacher and the librarian would help a few of us girls with our knitting, and they taught us to crochet.  I don’t remember very many finished pieces, but I did crochet the classic ripple afghan for my Barbies.  When I was a senior in high school, my mother gave me a bag of tangled-up superfine wool.  I made a glorious pair of cable-knit socks for my boyfriend.  I think he wore them once; his mother threw them in the washing machine and did an excellent job of felting them.  It broke my heart.  Thus began my relationship with my first mother-in-law.

I flip-flopped between wanting to be a cartoonist and a fiber designer, so anything with cloth and fiber I fiddled with.  My senior art project was a big piece of burlap with a purple bull embroidered on it, other knitted and crocheted embellishments and a crocheted edging.  It won some sort of prize in the school art show but I have no idea what for or what happened to the piece.  In college, I made a few scarves as gifts, principally because knitting was so economical.

Later, I got really busy with work and parenting, but there was always a knitting project going on… baby things for Sarah, other children of family and friends.  But there was always a knitting project going on.  Knitting has always been my ‘go-to’ activity when stressed.

In 2008, my husband Sam had heart surgery that ended up with some major complications.  During that very stressful time, it seemed the only thing I could concentrate on (besides all the medical information) was knitting.  I had a 1-1/2 year old granddaughter and another grandchild on the way; knitting for them offered a perfect solution for keeping me occupied as well as productive.  A large part of my thinking was, ‘when Sam wakes up today and I’m here knitting he’ll know everything is going good.’  Lots of days, my mom would come and knit with me.  As Sam’s healing progressed, my knitting continued.  The only place (outside of home and hospital) I felt comfortable was at local yarn shops.  I had no patience for malls, shopping, strangers or idle conversation.  Trite as it may sound, knitting gave me the structure and the comfort I needed during a very trying time.  Everyone got knitted Christmas presents that year.

Why do you knit? What does knitting give back to you?  What are you knitting now?  What would you like to learn about knitting?  We invite you to post your comments here, or come by the shop and chat with us.

Now in the shop: fabulous gift ideas.

In addition to the fiberlicious yarns, we have an amazing selection of gift items for knitters and anyone on your list who appreciates fine, hand-crafted items.

Stop by to see us at 407 North Main Street in historic downtown Kingston Springs, one exit west of Nashville, just off I-40.