- Teresa. Can't forget her!!! We had so much fun and I'm so glad she could come with me!
- Memories. SO. MANY. MEMORIES!!!!
- Education. I learned so much about Ashford and what an incredible company they have built. I'm so proud that we are an Ashford dealer!
- Sparkly fiber in my belly button. Not even a joke. I carded some fiber with sparkles in it and I'm still finding it EVERYWHERE!
- The need need for tea time every day. We had tea time twice a day while at Ashford. I need my tea and biscuit please! (and a "biscuit" was really a cookie!!!!)
- The use of the word wee. New Zealanders like to say "wee" a lot. A wee bit of tea, or a wee little yarn...I love it!
- A small piece of a pretty scarf. One day we hand felted scarves and it was really fun! We will for sure be adding this to the summer class schedule!!
- A wonky little weaving. On weaving day I created a wee little scarf that might not be the cutest thing...but I did it!!
- A pesky possum yarn. At one of the yarn shops I purchased possum yarn. It is SOOO soft. I did learn that possums in New Zealand (not our opossums that live here!) are a huge pest...I had no clue!
- A kiwi (despite never seeing one). The kiwi bird is ALLLLL over the merchandise sold in souvenir shops. Like seriously, it's a sheep or a kiwi on EVERYTHING (even got a tea towel with sheep AND kiwi). But I soon discovered that I would not see a kiwi in real life because they are nocturnal and rarely seen. Talk about false advertising!!! There was a wildlife place that had a 100% guarantee that you would see one...but we didn't end up going there. So the bird felt a little like bigfoot to me! ;)
- One finished hat. I finished a Musselburgh hat while I was in New Zealand. I knit most of it in classes learned about Ashford. It was nice to have my hands busy so my mind would stay on task!!
- Almost finished projects. I tried SOOO hard to finish my Color Riot Shawl, but was a few rows shy of finishing it on the plane. I just needed one more nap on the last leg of our travels...sometimes sleep wins out over knitting! I did finish it once I arrived home and will share a photo after it's done blocking!
- New projects. Yup, you will be shocked to find that we visited a few yarn shops! I got some souvenir yarn and even picked up a cross stitch kit!
- A new ear piercing. We decided to go poke holes in our bodies to commemorate our trip...and it was SO FUN!!!!
- An Ashford order on its way to the states...they ship so fast I thought it might beat me home...but I arrived first!!!
- Appreciation for my team keeping things running. Hilde, Kris, Sherri and Elena were ROCKSTARS and I so appreciate them holding down the fort while I was gone. I would normally not run away this time of year (hello, busy season) but they did a fantastic job. Thanks to all of the customers who played along with our "while the cat's away the mice will play" game!! It was so fun to see the photos the girls would send me (I am pretty sure I missed posting a few because sometimes by phone was behaving badly!)
I had someone ask me about the Karen Chemo Cap Fan Stitch and I decided the video and pattern were both in need of a make-over! Especially when I noticed this year is the 5th anniversary of publishing this pattern. When my mom had chemo I made her a few different hats because honestly it felt like the only thing I could do. I designed this one just for her, and was super excited when it was her favorite! After she passed I wasn't sure I wanted to release the design, but with a little time...it felt like the right thing to do! You can download the pattern for free here (please give it a favorite over on Ravelry so that it gets a little Ravelry love!!!): Ravelry: Karen Chemo Cap pattern by A Little Knitty Designs You can purchase the yarn we used here: Cumulus by Juniper Moon Farm (alittleknitty.com) Here is the video if you need help with the fan stitch!
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