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 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 for Newfoundlands coming out
June 1

Well again I'm launching a new book. They are coming fast and furious with all the help I'm getting from the dog fanciers world wide. This time it is The Crafty Newfoundland Knits and it has 25 patterns for sweaters, hats mittens, afghans, etc. plus stories about all the things the breed does and 25 charted graphic designs of these activities to be worked into the patterns.

I had tons of fun with this book since my dear friend Kathy has had Newfs for years and these dogs are friends with my Samoyeds. I had some help from talented photographers, Ruby Silver here in Connecticut, Carole Bernard in France and Donna Overman in Canada. The book is truly an international effort.

Newf fanciers who want to check out the book or order the book at a pre-publication discount, just go to http://www.kanineknits.com/kanine_knits_Crafty_Newfoundland_Knits_Book.htm

This week I'm off to Rhode Island to teach knitting at Berner University as part of the Bernese Mt. Dog Club of America National Specialty. I look forward to spending the day surrounded by hundreds of these beautiful dogs and sharing my designs with knitters at the show.

Then the following week I'm back to Rhode Island for the Newfoundland Club of America National Specialty, visiting friends and telling people about the new book that will be coming out.

On May 10, I get to change hats a little since I will be presenting a workshop at Connecticut Authors and Publishers University writers conference in Hartford, CT. This will be fun sharing how I create my books with others who are interested in writing and publishing non-fiction.
Also the end of the month I'll be off to LA to attend PMA-U on publishing and marketing and Book Expo America.

So it is busy all the time here, but the dogs keep me grounded. Harry Potter does his editing with his chin in the keyboard. I get so wrapped up in my work that I'm always astounded when suddenly there are a row of z's running through my sentence. The other two haven't developed a writing bent yet, but they lend moral support and keep my feet warm.

Lots of new books in the works for Corgis, Poodles, Boxers, Bichon, German Shepherds, Sheties and more to come. I'm having a ball creating these designs and writing the books. Anyone who'd like to see their dog's photo in one of these books just contact me.

At last spring is here and my garden is coming to life. It's so good to work with the windows open. I hope everyone enjoys the lovely weather.

"Pet Talk"

with Lauren Collier
News Ch. 12 TV
Norwalk, Connecticut
interviews Peggy

Watch Interview Below

Peggy enjoyed visiting with old friends when she was interviewed by Lauren Collier on her Pet Talk segment of News Ch. 12 TV. Lauren is holding one of Peggy's designs for a Bouvier des Flandres. Peggy was there talking about her three books, The Crafty Samoyed knits, The Crafty Labrador Retriever Knits, and The Crafty Golden Retriever Knits and about the two new books that will be coming out soon, The Crafty Bernese Mt. Dog Knits and The Crafty Newfoundland Knits. They also talked about the over 100 different breed design pattern leaflets Kanine Knits has available including the Bouvier, Lauren's favorite breed.
Peggy demonstrated how to knit with dog hair that had been spun and dyed. Though the segment was over too soon for all the fun going on, everyone had a good time. The broadcast can be viewed by people in south western Connecticut, south eastern New York and on the western part of Long Island. The segment will be shown several times during this week Jan 20-25, 2008 by those able to tune in the News 12 Pet Talk show.

Ravelry - How to find knitting friends on-line.

One of the wonders of this virtual world in which we move from day to day is that you can make good friends, find mentors, exchange ideas and expertise, and just have a good time without ever leaving your home. Social Networking is the new way of visiting friends, sharing our lives and interests, and communicating with people from around the world as though they lived next door.

For knitters and crocheters, this is Ravelry a new social network that began in mid-2007 and by the end of the year it is near 100,000 in membership. That's a lot of knitters and crocheters no matter how you look at it.

So what do you do on Ravelry? Well, you make friends and see what everyone else is doing. You talk about your likes and dislikes, about your challenges with a technique, about skills you do well and skills you can't do but would like to try.

You find a specific group within the Ravelry community that shares your interest (and there are hundreds) and you join. Those with wide interests will join many groups. All of a sudden you have people looking over your shoulder helping as though they were in the room.

Since I do intarsia in all my Kanine Knits designs, I've started a Ravelry group called Knit Intarsia Pictures, where members are of any skill level, from those who can knit sweaters what have scenes that circle the entire garment to beginners who have been frightened to try what to them seems so hard. When you join a group, you suddenly get people who care about you and what you want to do, who will help you along the way and who will share your successes.

If you are a knitter, this is the place to make friends and learn and it is only as far away as your computer.