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.

Congratulations "Bo" on your new home!

Today is the day that Portuguese Water Dog, "Bo", makes his official debut at the White House and becomes the First Family's dog. This six month old puppy, who was returned to his breeder, has now found a permanent home with a family that will love him. We hope he enjoys his new home.

The Portuguese Water Dog is a wonderful, playful, sporting breed that makes an excellent family pet. Their curly water-repellent coat softens the head and body that is classic to the sporting style. At Kanine Knits, the design is in the puppy or pet style rather than the Lion Cut that is used for adults in the show ring.

To view this pattern and those of over 100 other breeds, as well as the Crafty Dog Knits book series come to www.kanineknits.com.

Meet a Friend & Fellow Author/Designer
Donna Druchunas

Donna and I recently got together to talk about her new book Ethnic Knitting Exploration - Lithuaina, Iceland and Ireland. I thought I'd share some of that conversation with you. Since I work in Intarsia and Donna works in Fairisle, I thought that you would enjoy the variety.

Peggy - " You call the book Ethnic Knitting Exploration. Why did you choose to use the term Exploration? "

Donna - "This is a three book series. The first book was called Discovery because it was a introduction into the world of ethnic knitting. The second book is Exploration because it provides more techniques for the knitter to go further and explore different sweater constructions and shapes. The last book will be Adventure, because it will go beyond traditional techniques into the adventure of modern ethnic knitting in different countries and it is my hopes that each knitter will depart on their own knitting adventures. "

Peggy - "How do patterns from Lithuania, Iceland and Ireland differ from those in other parts of the world such as South America and Asia? "

Donna - "In Iceland and Ireland, interesting shapes of sweaters have been made. The Icelandic yoke sweater is a seamless design that flows and drapes over the shoulders with no seam-lines to break up the patterning that is knitted on the yoke. It's a flattering design for many figure types, although it may not be appropriate for women with narrow shoulders. My favorite part of knitting yoke sweaters is that when knitted from the bottom up (as they are in Ethnic Knitting Exploration), you start with a large number of stitches after joining the front, back, and sleeves into one piece, and then you decrease several times, so you have fewer and fewer stitches and your knitting goes faster and faster until all that's left to knit is the neckband.

In Ireland, the Aran sweater developed as a variation of the Gansey that was knitted in the round with shoulder straps that separated the front and back of the body and added depth to the neckline. After time, knitters started working these designs back and forth in pieces, with saddles instead of straps. The saddle extends from the top of the sleeve to the neckline. The effect is similar to that of a strap, but the construction is completely different. This design works particularly well on Aran sweaters, because a cable panel that is worked up the center of the sleeve can be extended to the neckband, creating a very striking design feature.

In Lithuania sweaters were not knitted as part of the traditional costume, but they became popular, as they did in Western Europe and America, in the twentieth century. Raglan sweaters are similar, except the decreases are lined up so they create phony "seams" that break up the patterning. This can be used to advantage by those with narrow shoulders. By placing a horizontal band of patterning around the yoke on a raglan sweater, it can create the illusion that one's shoulders are wider. Normally the raglan design is the least flattering on those with narrow shoulders. The raglan shape was popular for Aran sweaters knitted in Ireland in the mid-twentieth century because the shape was easy and fast to make for production knitting. These Aran raglans were knitted flat in pieces and sewn together. The raglan shaping also became popular in Lithuania in the mid-twentieth century, although it is not tied to traditional pattern or texture stitches in that country.

I don't really know much about traditional sweater designs from Asia or South America, actually. In Japan, most knitting books tend to have modern, tailored sweater designs with shaped armholes and set-in sleeves. "

Peggy - "How did you decide which sweater shapes you would choose to teach your approach?"

Donna - "In the series, many shapes will be covered. But I started simple and each book gets a little more complicated. Discovery featured only drop shoulder and modified drop shoulder designs, so newer knitters could focus on the circular knitting and the basic construction of the garments. Exploration includes yoke, raglan, and saddle shoulder designs that result in sweaters that drape more naturally around the shoulders and that can be made with a more customized fit than a drop shoulder design. The third book will talk about more fitted garments. "

Peggy - "The book seems to go way beyond simple instructions to complete a sweater and more into empowering the knitter to use this information to create their own styles. Do you like to encourage designing in knitters? "

Donna - "I think it's empowering to be able to create your own designs. Not that we always have to do that! I enjoy knitting from other people's patterns as much as anyone. But even if you never plan to design your own garments, knowing about how garments should fit, how different types of stitches behave, how garment construction works gives you the ability to alter patterns to suit your own needs and to fit you perfectly. "

Peggy - " You recommend smooth yarn to show off the pattern designs, but do you have any favorites with which you like to work? "

Donna - "It's so hard to pick a favorite yarn! For fine-weight projects, I am currently in love with Koigu Painter's Palette Premium Merino. For medium-weight, there are so many yarns that I love. Here are a few classics that I've used over and over again:

Plymouth Suri Merino for it's soft hand and wonderful drape. Alpaca is not as springy as wool and texture patterns don't "pop" as much as with a more tightly spun yarn, but the results are still fabulous. And colorwork is just gorgeous.

Mission Falls 18/24 Wool is a great superwash alternative for colorwork. Superwash wool opens up a LOT when knitted in cable designs, so wash your swatch to see how the fabric reacts.

Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted because it's an inexpensive, basic yarn. It's a single, so the stitches look differently than they do when knitted with a plied yarn. I love this yarn for textured knitting. It's not as soft as merino or alpaca, however.

I hate to lists favorites though, because there are so many wonderful yarns on the market these days. I just love to swatch and try them all out! Trying new yarns is one of my favorite parts of the Exploration. "

View a slide show of Kanine Knits Patterns!
and then visit the website to see them all.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Soundview Knitting Guild

What a wonderful time I had last evening when I traveled to Trumbull, Connecticut to speak to the Soundview Knitting Guild. This is a large group of knitters who gather monthly to work on their own projects and to do knitting for charity. They are very enthusiastic and were welcoming to me.

My talk, of course, was on how I create my portraits of dogs in knitting using intarsia. I was impressed by all the questions and the interest in the subject. There are a lot of dog lovers in this group.

One of the interesting parts of the evening was the fact that they arranged for my talked to be taped to be broadcast on Channel 17 in Trumbull and then for the video recording to be housed in the Trumbull Public Library to be viewed by members of the community who were unable to attend the meeting.

Soundview is quite a large group of dedicated members. I was made to feel very welcome and enjoyed sharing my love for designing and knitting. Many were interested in my books and patterns that I brought to the meeting and there was a push to have a knitting book for Pug lovers done quickly.

I hope to place a copy of the recording up on my website soon.

I want to thank all the members of the guild for making me feel so welcome.

Peggy at The Big E

It has been a while since I posted but lots has been happening at Kanine Knits. I have been writing multiple books, getting patterns converted to pdf's, working the booth at the Big E, which for people who are not in New England, is a six state fair held for 17 days in September, and generally being busy but happy.

When I got back from my trip to California for Book Expo America, I began working on more ways to let people know about my books and patterns. As I mentioned in my last post, I set up multiple blogs with information appropriate to each breed, and I worked on making specific patterns into downloadable pdf files so that people could get them quickly without having to wait for the patterns to arrive in the mail. So now each Kanine Knit Pattern is available in either form.

Then came the push to get the booth ready at the Big E. This fair is huge, and I was on a committee to put together a large booth withing the Connecticut Building where authors from the state could exhibit their books. Needless to say, this took time and planning, but it was a complete success and on the days that I worked the booth, I met knitter from all over the eastern US. Even the governor of Connecticut, Jodi Rell, came to see my books and talk about her son's Labrador Retriever.

Of course when I wasn't at the Big E or elsewhere marketing my books, I was gathering materials for the ones that I'm writing now. The one nearing completion is the Corgi book. It has taken a while to gather photos of these wonderful Pembrokes and Cardigans at work and having fun, but that book should be out soon.

At the same time, the Poodle book is coming along, though it is waiting for me to gather more photos from poodle owners who want to show off their dogs.

There is much to come, but I have to get back to my knitting. I'll try to post more soon.

New Teaching Blogs for the Crafty Dog Knits Books

It has been a while since I've posted with demands of getting out new books and creating a support system for all the books. I get many questions from knitters when they approach the intarsia patterns for the first time. They feel somewhat intimidated with all the colors. So what I've done is set up an instructional blog for each book. This way, knitters working on patterns from the book can go to the "comments" section on the page and pose a question which I'll try to answer. This way we can work through the designs together.

These blogs are also a place to come to brag about your work. You can send me jpegs and I'll happily post them. The creativity of knitters is boundless when given a blank canvas of a sweater design and a dog to inspire them. How they work these designs and create one-of-a-kind garments is wonderful.

Check out the blog for the book you own:
http://newfoundlandscraftydogsknit.wordpress.com/
http://samoyedscraftydogsknit.wordpress.com/
http://labradorretrieverscraftydogsknit.wordpress.com/
http://goldenretrievercraftydogsknit.wordpress.com/
http://bernesemtdogcraftydogsknit.wordpress.com/

Though each of these has basically the same information to start, once you get involved, each will develop its own uniqueness.

At present I am working on books for Corgis, Boxers, Bichon, German Shepherds and at the request of a friend, Australian Shepherds. If you own one of these breeds and wish to be part of the project, just email me at gaffney@kanineknits.com.

The beginning of May was busy because I was speaking at CAPA-U the annual writers conference put on by The Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. My workshop was based on what I do creating The Crafty Dog Knits series. It was a wonderful experience where I met many authors, publishers and agents and hopefully inspired writers to produce their own books.

The end of May was busy when I traveled to Los Angeles for PMA-U, a publishing conference and Book Expo America. It was four exhausting days, but I felt at the end that I had earned an MBA in publishing. I made many new friends, reconnected with old friends, especially Debbie Macomber who is so wonderful and whose books keep me grounded; and managed to feel humbled and empowered at the same time. It was an experience and was my first trip to LA in 33 years. There were palm trees, mission bells and much less smog.

So enjoy knitting and let me know what breeds you'd like to see as books.

Peggy

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.

New Book from Kanine Knits

The Crafty Bernese Mountain Dog Knits has gone to press and will debut at Berner U, part of the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America National Specialty on April 23 where I will be teaching knitting to all those who want to learn how to create these dog portrait designs.

This is the fourth book in the Crafty Dog Knits Series along with those about Samoyeds, Labs and Goldens. It has been a lot of work but made very pleasant by the wonderful participation of a number of Berner breeders especially Linda Seaver who was invaluable in collecting photos of the dogs and giving me the benefit of her experience in the breed and Cindy Forlenzo and her dog Burt who posed for the covers.

Check out the web page dedicated to the book which is available for order at a special pre-publication discount till April 15. Go to the Kanine Knits page about the new book http://www.kanineknits.com/Kanine_Knits_Crafty_Bernese_Mt_Dog_Book.htm and take a look.

Saying Goodbye to Ria

I had to say goodbye to my beautiful Samoyed bitch Ria. For a dozen years she has been a constant source of joy, whether in the show ring which was her favorite place or visiting all the children at obedience class.

Ria was special. She made me look so good in the ring. I didn’t have to do anything; she could and did show herself. One judge asked me if I didn’t feel redundant since she was quite capable of winning with no help from anyone. Her signature biscuit ears were always on alert and her movement was flawless. She knew the ring so well that I could have shown .her off lead and not missed a step.

A number of years ago she was injured with a terrible blow to the head from, what we think but couldn’t prove, was a slingshot. She ended up having both her eyes removed. However, nothing changed for her. She stayed the same Ria, beloved by the other dogs and bossing them around. The only difference came when someone tried to stare her down and discovered that didn’t work since she couldn’t see. She would blithely walk up and steal a bone right out of their mouth. Right up to the last, if you said to her “show dog”, she’d trot to a perfect stack in front of you, staring at bait that only she could see and hold the pose till released.

She was my inspiration, my shadow, my loving friend and I will miss her.

More New Patterns from Kanine Knits

I am getting more and more patterns out to knitters with a love of dogs, four more have been added to the collection of Portraits of Dogs in Knitting. They are, the Parson Jack Russell Terrier, the Belgian Sheepdog, the Lakeland Terrier and the American Eskimo. These plus many more are available at the website www.kanineknits.com.

These will be up on the pattern page ready for knitters to order today. Ten more breeds are in the stack waiting to be knit and will debut soon.

Stitches West – Goes to the Dogs! Feb. 21-24, 2008.

Is there a special dog in your life?

Would you love to knit his portrait using his own hair?

Then now is the time to visit VIP at booths 725 & 727 at Stitches West.

Victoria Pettigrew from VIP FIBERS will show you how you can take all the hair that your favorite pooch is shedding all over the house, get it spun into lovely soft yarn, and then knit your own dog’s portrait using his hair and a KANINE KNITS dog portrait pattern.

Come see how KANINE KNITS celebrates dogs at the VIP FIBERS booth at Stitches West in California at the

Santa Clara Convention Center. See the sample sweaters, look at the books and check out all the portrait patterns for the different breeds. Talk with Victoria about how you can create a one-of-a-kind sweater, afghan, pillow or other accessory with your own dog portrayed in his own hair.

The Crafty Dog Book Series will be for sale, plus if you order a pattern using the special code available at the booth, you’ll receive a special extra pattern FREE created just for this show.

So come visit the world of dogs at the VIP FIBERS booth and see the knitted dog portraits from KANINE KNITS.

"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.

Design! Design! Design!

New from Kanine Knits

I am always so happy when my knitting clients take the designs I create an run with them. Suellen Grunn Aniskiewicz did this with the pattern for the Weimaraner. She took the chart and worked it into a wonderful bag. Here it is displayed in all its glory being worn by Nali. She even lined it appropriately.

I am knitting up a storm trying to get samples knit of all my new designs. Just a few of them are here but there will be more coming. To begin with there is the Japanese Akita. Now Akita's come in a variety of colors and marking and if you get this pattern you will have to adjust the coloring to match your dog, however, the hard work will already be done for you.

Next came the Bouvier des Flandres. These beautiful and gentle herding dogs give the impression of quiet strength. They are wonderfully loyal to their owners.



Going alphabetically, the next design would be the Cairn. This wonderful little terrier who came to American's notice as Toto in the Wizard of Oz, is a scrappy terrier, not tall but with substance and strength.



Well now taking the long and the short of my design, we have the Smooth Dachshund who is both long and short. I've had the longhaired version of this breed designed and available for a while, but have just completed the smooth.

And the last for today, though tomorrow I shall be knitting more, is the Pomeranian. This pint sized handful was once much larger, about the size of a Spitz, but has been bred down to the size where they can be carried by those who love them. They are a ball of hair on four tiny feet.

And so I knit and design and write. The new knitting books are progressing and I am also working on a book about my style of publishing. So there is never a dull moment. The dogs are enjoying the cold weather, finally cold enough for Samoyeds. They are full of spit and vinegar and raring to go each morning. We had some light snows but nothing worthy of a shovel. However, I think that we are going to have a classic winter this year - COLD!

If you have photos of your knitting projects from Kanine Knits designs, send them to me. I'm collecting them to show during a TV interview I have scheduled next month.

Knitting With Dog Hair

It had been a long time since I had knit with dog hair. At the National, I began again and the joy of working with this fiber has come back. The yarn I'm using is a Samoyed/Merino blend that is so light and soft that it seems to float. Since it takes dye beautifully (as anyone who has tried to get red berry stains out of a coat prior to going into the ring would know) and the raspberry color that I was working on for the scarf was lovely. I am now working on mittens to match. If you'd like to try some of this yarn, go to the Kanine Knits - Yarn page

The beauty of this yarn is in the bloom, that halo of fiber hair that appears when the stitch is completed. Though it doesn't show when the yarn is in a ball, it suddenly fills your knitting as you work and fills in any space within or between stitches. Rather than working on #US8 needles, I decided to jump up to #US15. This should have produced a scarf full of holes. Instead, the bloom filled every space and the result was a lovely soft as cashmere scarf which weighed almost nothing and was warm as toast. Since dog hair is eight times warmer than wool, the scarf will be perfect for chasing away the January chill.

Speaking of dog hair, I have been working with Victoria Pettigrew of VIP Fibers lately to see how Kanine Knits patterns look worked up in the hair of the dog. When she knit a sweater from one of the patterns in The Crafty Samoyed Knits, she worked the Samoyed portrait in Samoyed yarn spun from her own dog. The result, as you can see, is wonderful with Victoria showing how dog hair can be used in a sweater without having the garment be too hot. Plus this now serves as a source of pride that her Samoyed Bon Bien is a part of this beautiful creation.

Now this works very well with any double coated dog, that is to say one that has a softer undercoat that sheds out easily. Any of the arctic breeds as well as many, many other breeds qualify. How can you tell? If you are brushing dog hair off yourself every time you leave your home, you dog probably qualifies.

As you see with the Kanine Knits Chow Chow Pattern that Victoria knit, the fact that the dog graphic is knit with spun Chow hair, just ads to the authenticity of the design.

The Chow Chow is only one of many new patterns that will be added to the Kanine Knits web page over the next few weeks. As people request knitted portraits of their breeds, I try to get them designed quickly.

The Newfoundland and Bernese Mountain Dog books are taking shape and the books for the Corgis, Poodles, and Bichon are also coming along. Many people have been generous in offering me stories and photos of their dogs. I love it that they are willing to share them with me and I am happy to include them in the books. I am always looking for more examples of the breed to include. Anyone wishing to share photos of their dogs with me should just go to my website and email me. I love hearing from you.

Adventures at the
Big E

For those of you not in New England, the Big E is the Eastern States Exposition which is technically a state fair for all the six New England states in one place. It takes place over 17 days in September and is both fun and exhausting.

This was the first year that the Connecticut Authors & Publishers Association had a booth which they located in the Connecticut Building (logical). Each state has a building all in a row. I worked on the committee to get it set up and then in stints over the run of the fair put in 24 hours telling people about my knitting books for dog lovers.

One of the enthusiastic visitors who stopped to chat with me and look at my books was Connecticut's Governor Jody Rell. Also visiting was Miss Connecticut who attracted an enthusiastic male following.

I learned a lot and had fun meeting a ton of people who watched me knit with Samoyed hair. This was hot work though since I was wearing a wool sweater to show off my work and had this beautiful Samoyed/Merino blend yarn in a beautiful raspberry color I was knitting. The temperature in the building was about 95 degrees. How we suffer for our art.

The 2007 Samoyed National Specialty: The Show

For six days the world of Samoyed show dogs congregated in Lancaster, PA for their national specialty show. This is a wonderful time to get together with friends that you only get to see once a year, see all the dogs, shop with the vendors, take classes, and generally have a good time.

For those of us who are vendors at the national, it means setting up a booth, getting with old friends and clients, and getting to work. For me this year, it meant showing my new designs, setting up my patterns and books for people to see, displaying my newly designed knitting bag that celebrated the dogs, displayed the bear kit designed for the show, unpacking all the beautiful yarn, especially the Samoyed/Marino blend that is so beautiful, and getting ready to teach my seminar.

This year I offered the class 'Knitting at the National" for those who wanted to learn the craft in hopes of eventually being able to knit some of the beautiful spun Samoyed hair that our dogs constantly donate to the cause. With the class and follow-up sessions during the week, 17 people learned to knit the Kanine Knits way. They varied in age from the young to the young at heart and it didn't matter the skill level, all went away with the knowledge of how to knit and purl and create a simple garment. The hardest part of teaching is to convince the students that they can do it. Once they got over the idea that it was hard, they cruised along and were knitting up a storm. It did my heart good when my youngest student Hogan was working away and her father called her to get ready for Jr. Showmanship competition. "I just have to finish this row," she answered in the tradition of all good knitters down through the centuries.

My friend Sandy McDonough's puppy bitch Flurry had fun spending time in the booth with all the knitters, but she also did well in the ring by winning Best of Opposite Sex in Puppy Sweepstakes and then, since at nine months she's already a champion, going on to win an Award of Merit in the Best of Breed competition.

My booth faced the obedience ring with breed not far away so I was able to visit with customers and watch the judging at the same time. I made many new friends, and talked with old ones. It was an exhausting week, but definitely worth the trip.