Some people have all the taste.

Some people get the looks, some people the taste.

And some people get both a'plenty. Like this young lady here:

This girl is adorable and has an armful of eye candy. Looks and taste. (I am now officially old enough to start calling other adults young lady. Just wait until you get to be as old as me -- you'll see.)

And this shop here? Looks and taste. Beauty and brains. It's hard to find both. The world seems to be full of Pamela Andersons and Janet Renos. But when someone is both gorgeous and smart, people take notice.

That's the case with A Good Yarn in Sarasota, FL.

First of all, let's just set the scene, shall we?

Those are palm trees reflected in the window. A rare and wonderful sight to this native northerner. Yes, we have two million acres of forest here in Minnesota. But palm trees we ain't got.

And you can see the post right below this one for ideas on what the beach in Sarasota looks like. Yeah, terrible isn't it? Boy, did I hate spending time there. What a dreadful place.

Just kidding.

Some people can't tell when I'm kidding. So I have to say just kidding. I was just kidding there, folks. The beaches in Sarasota are awesome.

This shop has a truly lovely selection of yarn. It is packed full of goodies -- every book, every notion, every fabulous fiber you could want is here. Plus lots of knitted samples are sprinkled liberally throughout.

Hello, Octopus's Garden. Mama loves you.

The beautiful things don't just stop with yarn. The people that work there are amazing too.

You know the restaurant chain that uses the phrase, "When you're here, you're family"? That's the way Susan Post and her staff make their customers feel.

That's what makes people drive hours or fly from the midwest to shop here. It's not just the yarn -- which is wonderful. It's not just the Signature Knitting Needles or the custom colorways -- which are equally wonderful. It's the way shopping there makes you feel. People are happy to see you. They're happy to help you. You feel like your visit means something to them. There's a camaraderie among the staff and customers that is fun to see.

In addition to the custom colorways, I managed to bring some one of a kind colorways as well.  Like Cream Colored Ponies and Crisp Apple Strudel.

And In A Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Liquid Sunshine, meet Sea Flower.

She Sells Seashells, say hello to Bellini.

Royal Wedding, meet your new friends Eilis and Mairin.

I was so enamored with Octopus's Garden that I had to start making something with it.

Pattern: Virginia Shawl, modified for larger gauge.

Yarn: Octopus's Garden on Springvale Worsted.

Needles: US 10.5

Sharon: Happy.

I've been to many a yarn shop. A Good Yarn is one of the good ones. You can visit them on the web at A Good Yarn Sarasota, or in person at

7668 S Tamiami Trail

Sarasota, Fl 34231

Given how gracious and friendly everyone at A Good Yarn is, I know they'd be happy to send you just about any item they have in the store, if you can't make it to Florida in person.

Just sayin'.

What a difference a plane makes

In just a few short hours, using the miracle of flight, you can go from this:

To this:

 Of course, most people would prefer to do the reverse.

When I checked in for my flight in Sarasota, FL, the ticket agent said, "So, you're headed for Duluth?" I answered yes. He said, "Are you sure you want to go there?"

Florida, you've got us beat on the balmy winter weather, no question.

But we get a white Christmas. So take that.

More on my visit to A Good Yarn in Sarasota coming up!

Up, up and away

That's me, today. Up, up and away to Florida to visit my friends at A Good Yarn in Sarasota.

Note to self: schedule trips to warm climates in the winter more often.

Note to Minnesota: Nine degrees below zero this morning? Really? On December 3rd? Really?

I'll be hosting a workshop tomorrow (Saturday) from 1-4 at A Good Yarn, with a trunk show to follow from 6-8.

Note to you: You want to come to this.

I'm bringing with me a new colorway exclusive to A Good Yarn called Octopus's Garden.

I love it.

It's vibrant and exciting and speckly and...

...and yummy.

Some of Octopus's Garden has already arrived at the shop, and I'm bringing Adorn Sock, Springvale Sock, and Springvale Bulky with me. (Oh my. Octopus's Garden on Springvale Bulky. I had a hard time sending it with Mr. FedEx Man. I wanted to keep it for me.)

As of this writing, there are a couple of spots left in the workshop, and plenty of space for everyone at the trunk show.

But I didn't just bring Octopus's Garden. There's a plethora of one of a kind colorways, with names like Later, Gator.

Little Pink Houses.

She Sells Seashells.

Liquid Sunshine.

If you can't make it to the trunk show because you live in, say, Norway, you can still get our exclusive colorways directly from A Good Yarn -- they are happy to do mail order, and even have an online cart set up here.

If you have any questions, A Good Yarn is a friendly store. You can contact them via email or phone, and they can send you whatever you like!

Wish me (and my luggage) luck as I make three plane connections today.

Note to self: talk to airlines about scheduling direct flights from Duluth to Sarasota...

See you tomorrow at A Good Yarn!

it ain't my fault!

I don't know what "it" refers to, I just know that whatever it is, I didn't do it. Neither did my children. It wasn't them. It never is. It could not be them, and it is silly of me to even think that the person who sneaks the miniature Butterfingers and hides the wrappers in my eight year old's sock drawer is my eight year old.

It was not him.

Sure as shootin'.

You betcha.

This is unrelated, but I thought it should be addressed.

1. The woman on the cover of the Lookbook is my sister. She's married, and she has four children. (Which means, gentleman callers, she is unavailable.) Yes, we look like sisters. No, we are not twins. The wheels in your mind can stop spinning now.

2. I am on printed page 1 of the Lookbook. In the upper right. See, me? Blonde hair, skeins of yarn?

Sister? Brown hair. Cuter. She's on the cover, not me.

Read Lookbook 2010

I don't think I would put myself on the cover of my own Lookbook. That seems a little...self important? Arrogant? High falutin'?

Would you put yourself on the cover of your own Lookbook? I don't mean as a "Here's our family portrait" kind of picture, I mean in a, "I am a MODEL. A model who sits on a vintage SUITCASE next to my leather JACKET in my swanky SWEATER with my pink STILETTOS" kind of way. Would you do that? Really?

Would I do that? No.

3. You can see the places where the Lookbook photos were taken on the very very last page of the Lookbook. Click past the How to Order page. It's there. All of the models are also there. Note that I did not include myself as a model. Note also that I did not include the names of the children in the book, because they are adorable, and they should have their privacy respected.

I did, however, give myself a photography credit. (I am so generous with myself! How can I ever thank myself enough?!) Me = not a model. Me = other side of the camera. So, what you see is this stunning woman on the front cover. But what you don't see is schlumpy me with two cameras and two bags of camera gear around my shoulders in my dirty jeans and my tennis shoes leaning backwards, all precarious-like, bracing myself against the small concrete wall separating me from the deep, cold ship pier. There were times when I was lying on the ground in a puddle to take some of these pictures.

And let me tell you: two tall women who are obviously related, one looking homeless except for the expensive camera gear and one looking svelte and radiant, traipsing to various locales to get the pictures we needed? No, that didn't draw any attention whatsoever. Nobody even noticed. At all. Because the upper Midwest is just like Hollywood, with all the flash bulbs and the paparazzi and the spray tans and the lip injections. It's just second nature to us here, we're used to it.

4. Here is what I am willing to do for my Lookbook:

a. Get dirty (a given)

b. Look semi-homeless (also a given)

c. Spend one million hours taking and editing photos

d. Spend two million hours lamenting my own lack of photographic skill

e. Lie in a puddle.

f. Take a picture of our Winter Muteds Collection, because I like it. (L-R: Dorian Gray, Heathered Lilac, Carey, Sea Glass, Brighton, Brown Eyed Girl, Bellini, Winter Birch.)

5. Here is what I am not willing to do for my Lookbook: (simultaneously. I may be willing to do letter A, for example, but not A-F all at the same time.)

a. Do my hair and makeup so I look dishy.

b. Put on the sweater that Trisha Paetsch knit, along with my pencil skirt and stilettos.

c. Perch atop a vintage suitcase I scouted at a flea market with the original luggage tag attached.

d. Set up a camera near the pier, perched precarious-like next to the water.

e. Take pictures of myself in public while I stare out into the water and the freezing breeze gently blows the hair I dyed dark brown just for this photoshoot.

f. Put myself on the cover of my own Lookbook under the above conditions.

Going back to the original theme of this post, which has apparently veered far, far afield: whatever is going wrong with the universe today, I forbid it to have anything to do with me.

You betcha.

The moment you've been waiting for.

Go ahead and click! And let me know what you think.