With Hat tips to Evelyn Waugh

Fair Isle Revisited. First we saw the fantastic multi-color knits of the Russian Doll in Rowan's astounding Fall Magazine. Now, you can join the Bliss bandwagon for a sporty jaunt through the English countryside and make a journey to re-discover more fantastic color (maybe not in that floral skirt, Sebastian, but, hey, the sweater's fabu!). Next time you're at VBYC, pick up your copy of the fall/winter edition of Debbie Bliss Magazine. You'll find some lovely fashions there, and as expected from Bliss, several wonderful designs for children.

Unless you look great on a white horse....

Sure, sometimes you need a button just to do what buttons do: close things up in order to keep you from sporting the Lady Godiva look in public. Sometimes, you need a button that does a little more. To keep things fastened together, but also to look terrific. Then there are the times you just need something that looks terrific, adds a bit of zip, sparkle, pizzazz. Here's the good news: Vermilion Bay Yarn has buttons that do all these things, and in a good selection of materials too: wood, metal, wire, clay, glass, shell, stone, bone. Also, there are many vintage buttons and button sets in various colors and sizes. If your garment requires buttons, you know where to come.

Highly Groovy and Extremely Practical

If you haven't yet seen the Namaste Messenger bags, come on in and take a look. I'll be getting one of these for myself for sure. It was either a lime green Laguna or this black Messenger bag. For me, the messenger is just the thing. The heavy duty fabric is just plain cool -- and the thing has loads of pockets and zip compartments. I don't use a laptop, but if I did, it would find a comfortable home right next to the knitting. The closure is magnetic, so no snaps to fuss with. Just slap it closed and it's closed. What's more, the magic closures are hidden inside the bag, so completely invisible. More than just the plain swellness of this new item from Namaste is that it doesn't scream "Welcome to my knitting bag....LOOK, my KNITTING bag! I'm carrying a KNITTING bag". It just says "I'm a Namaste Messenger and I'm as groovy, cool, friendly, and generally personable as the one carrying me. And you'll love me even more when you see that I'm carrying some fabulous sweater pieces, 25 Chiagoo needles, yarn, and a fabulous Rowan pattern book. And when you see my owner knitting, you'll want to knit too, mostly because then you'll get to carry a Messenger Bag just like me." So, ok. Maybe the bag isn't as verbose as that, but folks who see you with one sure will have plenty good to say! Thumbs up on the messenger. If you're not a messenger type of guy or gal, then try out the Hip Holster. Small, pert and a bit sassy. Light-weight too. Wear the Hipster on your belt, strap it around you with the belt (that's included) or use it with the shoulder strap (also included). It's big enough for a small project or portion of a larger project, has closed compartments on the front, and ample storage inside. Both new designs from Namaste are getting rave reviews from everyone who's experienced them. And one last thing: the picture here shows a guy with the Messenger (at least I think it's a guy....unless the circus was in town, and the bearded lady was available to pose with the bag). It's usable and wearable by either guys or gals, men or ladies. If it seems masculine to you, madame, tie a scarf around the strap.

New Hair Cut, No Beard

At least not a full beard anymore. My hair has of late enjoyed much celebrity. When most of you met me, I had it very short. Buzzed, actually, and I wore a full beard. Then, I was in "Social Security" at Abbey Players, playing a Long Island accountant in the 1980's. No buzz back then. In fact, back then -- and y'all remember -- the hair motto was "the bigger, the better", so I let it grow and grow, and grow, and grow until it became a Mozart coiffure. Beard too. This is when my hair really won great notariety, and even applied for its own zip code. I heard that there was a petition for a court order to lower my ears, and if that failed, I would be visited at midnight by an angry, short-haired posse of conservative hair advocates (known as the "Burger King Hair Police": they want your hair their way) who would shine a light in my eyes, bind my limbs and shave off my offending locks! I had already scheduled a soiree for a dramatic reading of Alexander Pope's mock epic The Rape of the Lock. But alas, sigh. Mandate, Schmandate! My hair is my hair. It's attached to my head, after all. All the hoopla about my heaping tresses suddenly awoke a tiny bit of defiance. I hauled out my vinyl (yes, I am that old to have a vinyl copy of it) recording of "Hair". There's something devilishly fun about watching people quibble about something that's really none of their concern and which, ultimately, they have no control over: sort of like my worrying that ants might invade the picnic basket of the young couple on the other side of the park. It's their basket, their potato salad, their ants, their problem. My head, my hair, my Aussie Super Hold Gel. So, instead of cutting it all off again, I just kept it. Under control, but I kept it. And it gets wavy when it's long. Wavy and curly. But now, enough of wavy and curly. Last week, I went to my friend Blaine and told him to work his magic, take a look at my hair, and fix it the way it needs to be fixed. And he did. And I like it. There's a bit of length, but it's as easy to maintain as a buzz cut. I hate using a comb. And with this, I don't need a comb. In fact, when I had my 1980's hair back for a while, I had to search my bathroom cabinets for a comb, finally locating one in a long-forgotton men's toiletry kit I received probably sometime in the mid 1980's. The following morning, admiring my new easy-care doo, I scorned my full beard, pulled out my Wahl "Peanut" (yes, that's what it's really called) and transformed the scruffy beard into a neat goatee. So there. Like it or not, new hair cut and new goatee.

New from Namaste!

They're here!

So Darned Cute!

And nifty too. Dumpling pouches with markers! And look at this one. It looks like New Orleans Saints colors! What luck, huh? The colors they send are always random, so this one is the only of its kind in this batch. Pretty neat! Hurry in and get yours today (I can't of course guarantee that the NOLA Saints one will still be there, when you come, but there are plenty of others that are equally as cool).

What do you get when...

...you cross adorableness with practicality and add color? SNIP-TASTIC-NESS! Puppy Snips in multiple colors are here! Finally! Match your snips 1) to your pumps, 2) to your projects, 3) to your knitting bags, 4) to your project bags, 5) to your purse, 6) to your mood, 7) to your eye shadow, 8) to your outfit! (Well, ok, maybe not to your eyeshadow).

London Calling...

..

...and she's wearing a chapeau claque. Haul out your old vinyl recording of Queen's "Night at the Opera" and flip through this nifty fall edition.

Make it a Christmas in August!

What a fantastic morning, this morning. It was rainy and stormy earlier, but I came to the shop, gathered up a large shopping bag of nifty knitted models, a few hanks of yarn, some giant needles, and two felt Christmas cards I had made earlier in the week, copied my handouts, and headed over to the Oil Center to meet the ladies meeting at A La Carte for the monthly gathering of Women's Connection, an afflilate Christian Women's group of Stonecroft International. My presentation topic: Christmas gift ideas. I had all the dresses, bags, scarves, clogs, socks and such laid out on the table and talked about each one: what yarns/fibers were used, the way the projects were made, etc. For those in the group who did not knit or crochet, I included a fun project that can be done alone, or done with the help of children, with knitting or crochet, or without needing to know how. Felt Christmas cards. The option here is to use prepared felt, or to make felt yourself by knitting or crocheting swatches in the colors you need, then washing the swatches in the machine. A parent can cut out the patterns and the felt pieces, and a child can assemble them and glue them onto the burlap background. If a child is just learning to knit or crochet, it would be fun for him/her to felt the swatches too! Thank you, Women's Connection, for your valuable and important ministry to the community, and thank you for inviting me to be among you all this morning! Many Blessings to you all!

New and Nifty!

Finally available is this groovy book from Canadian designer Veronik Avery! Loads of knittable and most importantly WEARABLE designs! You'll love this little booklet of items perfect for us down here in the Louisiana humidity. Also, if you missed out on it last time, VBYC has a fresh supply of Jared Flood's fabu collection "Made in Brooklyn". Y'all all remember Jared. He's the brilliant guy who took the 1940's doily pattern and transformed it with large needles and worsted weight/chunky yarn into the most fantastic throw.

100% Louisiana grown and spun!

What did I do in the shop this morning? Connecting with Louisiana history and heritage, actually -- and having a load of fun doing it! You see, the Spanish explorers who came through in the 16th century are the ones responsible (in a way) for my early morning adventure. Back when they were seeing what there was to see, they brought with them some Spanish sheep. And, as things go, and as nature determined, the sheep moved in, just like the people. And just like the people, the sheep adapted to our gulf coast climate. Down here, we tend to wear shorts year round. These Spanish sheep came upon that idea first, it seems, since their descendents now have no wool at all on their legs and faces. Neat, huh? These lovely woolies are what we've come to know as "Gulf Coast Sheep". They have quite nice wool perfect for spinning. Some friends raise these particular sheep associated through history with our area. The sheep were born here and are related to those first Spanish tourist sheep. If they were people, they'd be able to make a roux. Above, there is a picture of one of the sheep from the flock. I'm not sure whether the fleece I have came from this sheep or not (pictured here as a lamb), but he or she more than likely did look just as adorable when he was lamb-sized. For those who think wool is "picky" and hot, think of these fluffy creatures who go around happy and content in their woolens year round. You don't see these fine fury fellows complaining about their picky coats! And let me tell you, when I carded this delightful wool, it was nothing but soft and cushy! Just like a cloud! There's still some lanoline in the wool too, which will make my hands comfortable-soft all day!

Chiaogoo Stainless Steel Needles: 50% Off

Chiaogoo Stainless Steel circulars are on sale while supplies last. Stock up on smaller gauged Chiaogoo metal needles in 16, 24, 32, and 40 inch lengths. There are a few larger gauged sizes available also.

New Fiber for You!

The new fall/winter Rowan yarns arrived yesterday afternoon at VBYC! A host of new colors in many of the yarns you love, including Handknit Cotton, Milk Cotton, Kid Silk Haze, Felted Tweed, Summer Tweed, Big Wool and a few others. Brand new this year is Drift, the fabulous colortwist chunky yarn and the amazing Lima, the perfect blend of Alpaca and Merino in a braided yarn -- exactly the weight and feel for our South Louisiana Winters. In addition to the yarns, several Rowan pattern books are here -- children's wear, adult fashions in Lima, Classic sweater patterns, as well as the coveted Rowan Magazine 48. You'll also be interested in a beautiful anthology of designs from Kim Hargreave. The wondrous yarns of Rowan, available at The Vermilion Bay Yarn Company!

Fall/Winter Rowan

It all just arrived, y'all! Come help me unpack it!

The Vermilion Bay Light

Preparing the newsletter is never a little task. It takes a while to write the articles, piece them all together on the page, update the mailing list, prepare the emails, and then to send them out. Writing is always a fun and adventurous process, regardless how time consuming it might be. I am always happy to hear the tremendous response each month as soon as the new edition starts hitting inboxes around the world. Thanks very much for all your outstanding feedback! One long-time reader of the "Light" emailed me just moments ago, saying that this month's edition is the "most entertaining and informative yet". Another commented: "I receive many newsletters, but yours is the only one I actually read entirely." Again, many thanks to each of you for your kind words regarding The Vermilion Bay Light. I truly enjoy writing it each month -- to keep you connected to VBYC and keep you informed with what all's going on here, regardless whether you're in Lafayette, North Louisiana, out-of-state, or on an island in the South Pacific. If you've not yet received your copy, sit tight. It's on its way!