Good Times With Friends

Monday evening I had fun visiting with author friends Debbie Macomber and Marie Bostwick. Debbie was on a book tour for her new book One Simple Act and we got to share what is going on with our lives and books. Both Debbie and Marie have books on the NYT bestseller list now.

I got to catch them up on what has been going on here. October was extremely busy here at Kanine Knits. It started with book signings at the Big E in Massachusetts. It was great meeting all the people who made a point to find all the authors in the Connecticut Authors & Publishers Assoc. booth in the Connecticut Building.

Next I was off to Torrington to be part of the WOW Forum celebrating the women of the world. It was a great chance to meet business women from all over Connecticut and connect as they discover the books and pattens. The speakers were excellent but it was the attendees that made the event more fun.

Then it was Stitches East in Hartford and three wonderful days meeting knitters from all over the east coast. Of course, not only did I meet all the dog lovers who enjoyed my books and

patterns but I also met with people who have cats who wanted to know when their book will be coming out. I am collecting photos from fanciers around the country that show off these cats and hopefully The Crafty Cats Knit will be out soon after Christmas

.

However, people who love cats weren’t the only ones looking for a book. When you raise llamas and alpacas, the beautiful soft yarn that comes from them gives knitters some wonderful colors. These colors need designs so, to gain inspiration, I went to photograph a herd of llamas last week and this week I’m off to do the same with alpacas. Then it will be constant designing.

I will also be bring out more dog breed patterns. I have created about 30 more but they all need the samples knit, so as each is finished, I will upload them to the Kanine Knits webpage

pattern list.

I am delighted that the newest book from Kanine Knits, The Crafty Poodle Knits has met with enthusiasm not only from visitors to Stitches East but from fanciers around the world.

Carol Burgers, Cape Town, South Africa commented

"This book is highly recommended ........ excellent, accurate and exciting poodle patterns for poodle lovers all over the world!!!! Thank you Peggy!!!!!!! :-)"

It's adorable! I love the pictures and designs. Thank you for a lovely book.
Jackie Castadalo, New York

Peggy
I am really enjoying your book. I do not have time to knit a sweater but am going to do pockets and appliqué then on a store bought one. I have shown poodles for 30 years. I think your poodles are the most accurate/realistic poodles that that I have ever seen .Thank you for doing them. Pat Aloe-Stauber

Stitches Is Coming, Stitches Is Coming

VISIT WITH ME AT
"STITCHES EAST"
in Hartford, CT
I'll be at my LYS's booth
The Yarn Garden LLC
booth #1014

Stitches East is only a little over a week away and I am really looking forward to it. I will be signing my books all three days in booth 1014 which belongs to my local yarn shop THE YARN GARDEN, LLC. in Meriden, Connecticut. I am looking forward to meeting all the dog lovers and talking about the books and patterns that I have as well as getting suggestions for what you want next.


I am working to add a bunch of new breeds to the collection of "Portraits of Dogs in Knitting" before Stitches. The designs are done but the samples have to be knit and photographed. So I am madly knitting.


Now that the Poodle book has joined the Samoyed, Lab, Golden, Berner, Newf and Corgi books, the next books that are being written are those for German Shepherds, Pugs, Shelties & Collies, Bichon and Boxers. The many designs for these are growing. However, I am taking a few weeks to get out and meet knitters before I disappear into my world of books again. If you have a favorite breed that you don't see on the Kanine Knits site, let me know.



So if you are going to be at Stitches East, come by the booth and say hello.

New Poodle Book to join
the Crafty Dog Knits series.

The Crafty Poodle Knits:

Knitting Projects for Dog Lovers
This is the latest book in
The Crafty Dog Knits
books series.

It is due out September 25, 2009.
20% OFF
SPECIAL PRE-PUBLICATION ORDER PRICE
ONLY UNTIL SEPT. 10, 2009
click here to order

What do you get with this special knitting book? You get stories about Poodles including all the wonderful activities, such as retrieving, herding, agility, flyball, and much more. You also get 25 charted pictorial knitting designs of these Poodles doing all their favorite activities and you are not done because you also get 25 Knitting Patterns which include sweaters, hats, mittens, scarves, afghans and more.

It's a Poodle Extravaganza!

I want to thank all the wonderful Poodle Fanciers who so generously shared photos of their dogs with me to add to the beauty of the book. These people who live all over the world have one thing in common and that is their love for Poodles.

A beautiful Afghan
will be auctioned off at the

Leo Fall Ball.

The Leonberger Club of Ontario will be holding their Leo Fall Ball. As part of this fundraiser they are auctioning off a very special afghan.

We are honored that the club has used the Kanine Knits' Leonberger Pattern from our "Portraits of Dogs in Knitting" series as the centerpiece for this absolutely beautiful piece of knitting.

The Leo Fall Ball Fundraiser will be held on September 26, 2009 from 10 am to 6 pm. at the Dogz Canine Sports Center, 3859 Carling Ave., Ottawa, Ontario CANADA. The afghan is part of a silent auction to help raise money for Leonberger Rescue Ontario. This is a great cause. I hope everyone in the area that can, will participate. For more information, click the link above.

July post is a little late

I spent most of July having, what my surgeon referred to, as my first vacation in twenty years. But I can't kick because, in spite of the fact that I am still walking around still like an old lady, I found that I don't have cancer and that's a great thing.

So, I am back at work finishing up the Poodle book which will go on pre-sale in a couple of weeks. I have had fun making friends with Poodle owners around the world. These are very smart and versatile dogs that inspire design. The fact that they come in three sizes and a variety of both color and coat cut, made it fun.

Last week, I received in the mail, a video of a lecture I gave to the Soundview Knitting Guild in Trumbull, Connecticut. I spoke to them last January about how Kanine Knits got started, how the books began, how to read the patterns and about intarsia knitting. This is a wonderful group that is very large and active.

Since the video was 37 minutes long, I chopped it up into bite sized You Tube segments and put it on my webpage. So if you want to learn more about working these designs, my approach to intarsia and some finishing techniques, just click here and go to the page.

I love speaking to groups (it's the teacher in me) and when I meet one that is so interested and enthusiastic, it is a real treat. I hope you enjoy the talk.

A Busy Week - Full of Books
"Autograph Anyone?"

The week has been filled with lots of exciting adventures as well as the day to day routines. To begin with, I approved the printing of The Crafty Welsh Corgi Knits - Pembroke and Cardigan. I had a lot of fun creating this book and it is dedicated to my late friend John Lang who was a longtime obedience club member and who had a amazing bond with his Pembroke Welsh Corgis over the years. John was always interested in forwarding the interest of the breed.

On Thursday, I stood in line with hundreds of others for the chance to meet Martha Stewart at the book signing for her new book Cupcakes at RJ Julia Bookstore. This is a wonderful shop in Madison, Connecticut. The line stretched the length of the block which gave me a chance to chat with those around me. I entertained my new friend, Joanne, by telling her all about Kanine Knits and the Crafty Dog Knits book series that I write. When I got to the front of the line, she took these photos. Martha autographed her book Cupcakes and then I showed her two of my Kanine Knits: Portraits of Dogs in Knitting patterns that showed her breeds. One pattern showed the Chow design I created that had been knit by Victoria Pettigrew of VIP Fibers using the hair spun from her own Paw Paw. She then checked out the Crafty Bernese Mt Dog Knits book of the series. She enjoyed it and was delighted with my concept of single breed knitting portrait books.

Saturday I was off to Greenwich Kennel Club to sign some autographs myself. It was fun sharing the tent with a bunch of very talented authors. I got to talk about my books and patterns, autograph and talk to exhibitors about future books. The Portuguese Water Dog group decided they definitely need a knitting book and some Poodle exhibitors said they would like to send me photos of their dogs for the book I'm working on now. It was a perfect day for showing with temperatures cool enough for the dogs and the sun out. This was a great place to show off my books as well as "talk the talk if not walk the walk" of showing that has been such a large part of my life for more than forty years.

Just to finish the weekend on a theme, I drove over to the Fabric Bug in Thomaston, CT to attend my friend Marie Bostwick's autograph session for her new novel The Thread of Truth. This is the second in her wonderful series that is based around a quilt shop in Connecticut so it was appropriate that she'd be signing books as quilters worked merrily away around her. The first book in the series, A Single Thread, introduced us to these strong interesting women and the challenges they face.

It was a wonderfully busy week with old friends and new. I look forward to what next week will hold.

New Book from Kanine Knits!

The Crafty Welsh Corgi Knits
Pembroke and Cardigan

Due out on June 10, 2009

20% Pre-publication Discount Available till June 1st.

This book, like the others in the Crafty Dog Knits series, contains stories about the Welsh Corgis which inspired the 25 charted intarsia knitting designs which can be worked into 25 different patterns for sweaters, hats, scarves, afghans, etc. in sizes from infant to mens 2x. The book is filled with wonderful photographs of these dogs in action.

To learn more about the book and take advantage of the pre-publication discount that is ONLY good till June 1st, just click on the webpage http://www.kanineknits.com/crafty_welsh_corgi_knits.htm.

For those of you who might be attending, I'll be autographing my books at the
Greenwich Kennel Club Show on June 6th at
Taylor Farm Park, Canfield Ave. & Calf Pasture Beach Blvd.
East Norwalk, CT
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Judging starts at 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Rain or Shine.
Come and say hi.