When Bill and I first met some 18 years ago, Bill had never heard of garlic potatoes. Neither had I. But on special occasions—very special occasions—Bill would treat me to an Italian restaurant down the street. The little hole-in-the-wall place was a favorite of Bill’s, and so he was fairly grumpy when a chef named David transformed the restaurant a French-style eatery, David’s Bistro.

I always thought it an odd place, as it sat underneath a consignment shop and wore shag carpet on the ceiling. But the food…ah, the food at David’s was grand. We’d go there for New Year’s Eve, and that was where Bill gave me my blue-stone ring, his first promise of more than “just dating.”

One night, Bill ordered garlic potatoes with his…well, I can’t remember his main course, but it didn’t matter. He couldn’t stop talking about the potatoes. So enthused was Bill, he determined he’d recreate David’s garlic potatoes.

No, he didn’t ask David for the recipe.

No, he didn’t look the recipe up in a cookbook.

What he did was find his own way.

And, boy, his own way was something.

I never learned Bill’s recipe. Never thought I’d need to.

So today, our first Thanksgiving apart in many, many years, I celebrate Bill’s garlic potatoes. Like the man, they were unique and will never be served again.

Jimmy Beans Wool, a large LYS and Web presence, and Vogue Knitting have teamed up to create five $800 Beans for Brains scholarships. According to the Web site, “the Beans for Brains scholarship is a merit-based scholarship open to all students attending an accredited institution in the fall of 2010. Applicants must know how to knit or crochet, must provide an original pattern or a photo of a recent project from Vogue Knitting, and must be okay with Vogue publishing their photo in a future issue of Vogue Knitting Magazine.

The scholarships will be awarded for the 2010-2011 year. One award is guaranteed to go to a Reno/Tahoe area applicant, which is the location of Jimmy Beans Wool bricks-and-mortar store. The remaining four awards will go to an applicant in each of the four U.S. regions.

BTW – March 31, 2010 is the cutoff date for applications.

For more information on the scholarships, as well as an application, Click Here. There you can download the Beans for Brains application.

Be Sweet Magic Balls

Cottage industries make a big difference around the world. Be Sweet gives South African artisans (mostly women) “the confidence and the means to support themselves and their families in an otherwise economically depressed region.”

Be Sweet Shoppers

Be Sweet crafts marvelous bags and yarns to produce income for their families.

The MINKA cooperative is a micro industry composed of indigenous Bolivian Quechua and Aymara Indian woman. Organized by a group of Canadian volunteers, the Bolivian women knit beautiful sweaters to support their families and improve their quality of life.

Knitting a MINKA sweater

Now, Kim Cheeley has started Itty Bitty Witty Knitties, a wonderful line of cards with knitting and quilting swatches on the front of each card. A cottage industry, the swatches on the cards are “handmade by a group of about a dozen [Chinese] deaf women who participate in the vocational training programs of Bless China International (formerly known as Asia Project Grace) in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province in south-central China. The deaf women, “heretofore denied access to any education and unemployable due to their handicap, are now being taught Chinese sign language, live in comfortable apartments, make a living wage, and are provided with retirement funds and health insurance.” This is all through crafting the tiny swatches on these marvelous greeting cards.

The cards, which not only contain swatches, but either tiny clothespins or knitting needles, also offer funny and heartfelt sentiments.

Tell me, do you know any cottage industries or giving back involving knitting or crocheting? I’d love to hear and add it to this post.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and kind and joy-filled Holiday Season.

Delicious would be a word I’d use for some of the new and favorite yarns I brought home.  After all these years, I finally purchased a skein of Quiviut from Windy Valley Muskox. Along with the Smoke Rings cowl pattern, the grey/violet Quiviut made my day. Lisa Souza’s booth was a symphony of color and texture and wonderfulness. Her Poiple Baby Alpaca, with the most delightful bloom, was impossible to pass up. Over the years, I’ve purchased often from Lisa. She’s one of the most accomplished spinners and dyers out there. Her yarns always light my fire.

A new custom dyer and shop that sent me over the moon was StringTheory. I had to have two skeins of their Caper Sock, a mix of Cashmere, Superwash Merino and Nylon. The colors and blends shimmered and the quality of the yarn was exceptional. These gals know what they’re doing, and they do it well. Based in Blue Hill, Maine (a former stomping ground of mine), StringTheory happens to be Clara Parkes local yarn store. Lucky Clara.

Seriously, I felt as if I was on some Danish excursion as I drooled over the colors and quality of Isager yarns. In fact, I got an education in several other Danish designers and yarn companies. These included Vivian Hoxbro, imported by Harrisville Designs, and Kauni. Many of these yarns and designs were new to me, although they’re not new to the U.S.

For a $10 donation, I got a great knitting bag from Warm Up America. The organization really needs blankets. It’s such a worthy cause.

I love the Handknit Heroes (http://comicknits.com/) comic, which has marvelous knitting and crocheting superheroes. I also discovered The Knit Princess (http://www.knitprincess.com/)with her own comic.

A button from JustJul (the work is fantastic). Check out the store locator to find stores or online. I also got a set of square circulars from Stacy at The Fine Needle, and the Queenie Sisters‘ Prudence scarf added to my finds.

Speaking of Knitter’s Review’s Clara Parkes… Clara was signing her new book, The Knitter’s Book of Wool. A giant line formed, with Clara smiling and signing and chatting and signing some more. The book is getting much well-deserved attention. It’s quite fantastic, as are the patterns within it. I particularly covet Sivia Harding’s luscious shawl. Actually, I might have drooled on Clara, who was wearing it.

I’m always looking for unusual and interesting fibers. Why? I have no idea. I just love all the various fibers, particularly the natural ones.

I also stopped by the wonderful Bijou Basin Ranch booth home of wondrous yak fibers and yak people, Ellen and Carl Koop. I’ve knit with their yak/cormo and loved it. I keep trying to have them send me a yak. So far, no luck.

Seeing Ellen and Carl made me think of my friends at Buffalo Gold. Several yarn shops at Stitches sold their gorgeous buffalo yarn, but Cecil and Ron Miskin weren’t there. I missed them.

I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff. There was a lot to see and do and (especially) feel. I confess I longed for the critters, and I’m looking forward to another fiber festival soon so I can pet the goats and sheep and bunnies and lamas and more.

I also got this little fella, made out of a ball of string, at The Fine Needle. Isn’t he cute?

Bill and Vicki

Vicki’s husband, Bill Tapply, just lost his two-year battle with leukemia. During those two years, and for many previous years, they shared wonderful times and a great love.

Vicki will be back writing her blog in a week or so.

Couple things—This is merely a listing, an assortment, a whatever, not a review. All comments are mine, and no company or person has paid me to do this, nor given me a bag to be listed. I just thought it would be fun.

(Photos of bags mentioned at bottom of post.)

BTW – If you’d like me to add a bag or comment on a bag, just use the comments spot on my blog or Tweet me at @knittingnews.

Here goes:

Atenti Bags – These look wonderful. I drool. (Only wholesale only on their Web site, so the link is for retail.)

Bagsmith bags. Highly functional

Be Sweet Bags – gorgeous-looking bags, to aid the South African women who make them.

Della Q: pretty, pretty

Green Mountain: Exquisite, hand-crafted bags. (I own one.)

Jordanna Paige: Knitter-friendly beauty

Knitter’s Carry All, Knit Picks: Useful, colorful

Lantern Moon: Huge array, woven, silk, more, to aid the Viet Namese women who make them.

Lexie Barnes bags: Her newest line of forward-thinking bags.

Namaste Bags: Incredibly popular, handsome, well designed.

Nantucket Ditty Bag: Very clever and useful.

Offhand Designs: I confess, I lust after these bags. My heart belongs to Zhivago.

Sweet Life, by Amy Butler: pretty, pretty

Terra Totes: While not conventional knitting bags, these totes come highly recommended by several Twitter friends.

Tom Bihn Knitting Bags: They look very knitter friendly.

Two Stix: Cute, fun bags.

Wooly Bully: Do these look fun, or what.

Finally – Etsy has a huge array of hand-crafted knitting bags. Here’s a sampling: Etsy Knitting Bags.

Sweet Life looks like just that.

“I chose to illustrate this image of two girls knitting (in a Rush Arts Education program) because I think it really captures the idea that learning art in schools is about more than crayon drawings — it’s about creativity, something that transcends all class and race boundaries. I think the joy of making something is universal, and it’s an opportunity that every kid should have.”

Isn’t it great that he sees knitting as creative and artistic? I sure do.

Fairey has created this piece for the Art for Life Auction. I can’t quite afford the painting, but perhaps you can. It looks like a great cause.

"Close Knit"

Scary dinosaur atop a human.

Oh, dear… This reminds me of a creature in Jurassic Park. I think it spit.

Oh, NO! It's eaten the human!

Read more about her tragic end here, at Craftastrophe.

Not a poem, but a very cute porcupine.

It’s all about a poem, one to be knit by You. Just imagine – knitters around the world, click, clacking away as they contribute to the world’s first giant knitted poem. Plus, ArtYarn has launched a new social networking site for contemporary knitting and crochet called Subversive Yarn. England’s Poetry Society is celebrating its centenary year. Picture working on a humungeous poem, one letter at a time, and not knowing what the poem will say. That’s what it’s all about. Have they chosen a sonnet by Shakespeare? One by Byron, Shelley or Keats? Elizabeth Barrett Browning? Or a modern and cutting edge poet?

Time to pick up the sticks and knit some poetry!

From Art Yarn’s blog:

To celebrate, knitters everywhere are invited to knit a poem one letter at a time. The final poem, in all its knitted glory will be revealed at the end of the centenary year.

Packs will be available soon, featuring knitting templates, and instructions. There will be opportunities for experienced knitters and beginners alike.

To register your interest, send your contact details to:

Rebecka Mustajarvi
Email: officeassistant AT poetrysociety.org.uk
(please use @ instead of AT when sending your email). Or (if you don’t have email)

Post: PLEASE INCLUDE AN SAE
Rebecka Mustajarvi
Knit a Poem
The Poetry Society
22 Betterton Street
London
WC2H 9BX

P.S. – You might like to join ArtYarns new social networking site: Subversive Yarn. It’s all about contemporary knitting and crocheting. Cool stuff. Join in the fun.

Only a small part of the whole, hideous picture.

I just discovered this marvelous Web site, Craftastrophe. The site has all sorts of creepy-funny crafts gone bad. And I mean bad. But, really, KnittingNews is all about knitting, right? Would I let you down? Naw. Here’s a small preview. Just click through to see the Praying Tampon. (Craftastrophe’s utterly apt phrase.)

Here it is, an alleged wedding gown. To quote another Twitterite, @knitthecity, it sure looks more like a straightjacket! You be the judge. To read more, go here.

"Knit Together," Renwick award winner

I just discovered this marvelous artist, who combines her passion for knitting in an innovative and exciting way. Her blog is entertaining, and she’s got some neat stuff in her Etsy shop for purchase. (Check out her moleskin notebooks. I love “Knit Buddies,” but others are terrific, too.) But her art is simply ohlala.

Some other samples:

How cool is this?

Love that pink yarn!

I'm fascinated.