On My Needles Today...

 I am working on a little Pinky ornament today.

It has been crazy busy here this month
and I hope to do
a "catch up" post this weekend. 

Happy knitting!

Our fight continues.

You can read Pinky's story here.

Making "Pinky"



This is "Pinky."

You can read her story here.

I recently received a shop order for some "Pinky" kits.

The first step in filling the order is printing the pattern.

Next  I wind many little balls of yarn.

First, pink...

...then the gray for Pinky's head and legs.

Each kit also contains pink ribbons,

one thin length for hanging the model,

and another for Pinky's iconic pink ribbon.

Assembling all the components in bags is the final step.



All the finished kits, soon to be on their way,

and hopefully in the hands of many knitters,

who with their knitting of "Pinky"

will help spread the word.

Pinkie Workshop Today!

Fun day for me today!



I taught a workshop this morning

at The Carriage House,

a great local shop,

which specializes in custom framing.

About three years ago, the owner, Terri

decided she wanted to add yarn.

Did she ever!

It's now an outstanding yarn shop as well!

Terri carries my bags and needle cases,

so I asked if she'd be interested in me teaching

a Pinky workshop during October for

Breast Cancer Awareness month.

In no time, she had a full class organized for me!

I'm sorry I didn't take the time to take

more pictures of this wonderful shop,

but the class kept me on my toes!

You can read more about Pinky here.

Happy weekend everyone!

Introducing "Pinky" and a Fundraiser

Priscilla, the woman who is the sales rep for my

wholesale bag business, was in town a few weeks ago.

She is on the road with her work a good part of the year.

So, when she's in my area, she often comes and

stays the night at Buttermilk Cottage.

I usually make a home cooked meal and we

spend a nice evening visiting.

Priscilla has been my mentor

since the very beginning of my wholesale business.

As she usually does,

she  asked me if I had any new sheep designs.

My usual reply is/was that I have some ideas in my head,

but nothing to show her.

This time, she off handily said,

"you should design one for breast cancer awareness."

I have to tell you that Priscilla dealt with

breast cancer five years ago.

This incident happened about the same time

one of my "knitting buddies," Karen

had announced to our group she had

been diagnosed with breast cancer.

This was a hard blow to our group.

We've all known each other for

twenty years or longer, and have gotten

together weekly to knit with one another for

nearly ten years.

Luckily Karen was diagnosed very early

and her prognosis is excellent.

If you're a woman, you are impacted

by breast cancer.

Granted, we don't all personally get it.

But, we all have mothers, sisters, daughters,

and dear friends.

And somewhere, someone in our life is dealing with it.

So, with Priscilla's casual suggestion, suddenly came

my realization that here are two

very special women in my life,

who are both dealing with

breast cancer.

That was all the motivation I needed.

This is "Pinky" Pretty Pink Ewe.

She's my newest little lamb

and she's my personal contribution to

breast cancer awareness.

Buttermilk Cottage is partnering with

The National Breast Cancer Foundation

and pledging 15% of all its sales

of "Pinky" ornaments, kits and patterns will

be donated to the foundation.

"Pinky" is available as a finished

(hand knitted by me)

 ornament at my Etsy Shop here.

Or, if you're a knitter and would like the kit,

it's  available here.

 I also have the PDF patterns for "Pinky"

available at my etsy site

or from Ravelry

Not a knitter, and no need for a little

sheep ornament?

Not a problem.

I have set up a personal fundraising page here

where you can make a direct contribution to

this cause.

You can find out more about this foundation here

My ray of sunshine to share with all of you -

Priscilla has been cancer free for five years

and

Karen's last radiation treatment is tomorrow!

I'm in awe of both of these dear friends

and wonderful women.

Happy weekend everyone!