Good Times With Friends

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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

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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 Castaldo, 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

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.