I've written about Alexandra Walters before, because I am a huge fan of her work. Alexandra is a needlepoint artist who hand dyes her own thread to stitch cultural icons, reflections on mental illness, and images of the American military. Alexandra posesses the rare abillity to encourage viewers to re-examine the everyday without having to shock them. The offset placement of her portraits within the frame juxtaposed against their fabric backgrounds lead me to consider my place in the world and how objects and icons shape my perception of myself. My favorite thing about Alexandra's work is how personal it is, how intimate it is while at the same time exploring conflicts that affect humans universally.

The group blog that she takes charge of: "Meet Me in the Day Room" is well worth following. It's a great place to get updates on Alexandra's work and to learn more about innovative needlecrafters. Please visit her blog to see all of Alexandra's work, her latest pieces featuring Batman and Wonder Woman are not to be missed.

Here are my favorite art works by Alexandra Walters:

There are many more pieces that I love, but if I post them all here, you have no reason to visit Alexandra's blog, which I strongly encourage you to do.

That was fast. Just a few weeks ago, we had the Interweave Knits Holiday Issue Preview up and without much of a wait, we have the Interweave Knits Winter 2010 Preview up. This might be a strategic thing in that a lot of people get issues of Interweave for Christmas, or even Interweave Knits Subscriptions (hint, hint Mr. KnitLuck).

Here's my review of the preview:

1) The cover rocks:

2) Awesome sweaters:

3) Awesome socks:

4) And two fabulous hats:

What do you think of this Winter preview? Is it looking like a big winner to you?
(all photos are from the Interweave Knits preview page)

Some of you may know that I'm addicted to tweed. I've really got to knit some from my stash before I can justify indulging in Webs's latest Deal of the Day. On 11/8 you can get Berroco's Blackstone Tweed for $6.75/ball instead of the usual $9.50. Simply use code FBBLACKTCH when you check out and the discount will be applied.

You can follow Webs on twitter and get regular updates about their sales. You never know what's going to turn up!

Let me tempt you with some tweed photos, courtesy of the Webs Blackstone Tweed page!

See, aren't you tempted? Is tweed not your thing? Let me know what your favorite yarn is to hoard in the comments.

In the last two weeks, I've noticed a surge in specialty online yarn shops. A few months ago, we featured feralknitter.com, which specialized in providing yarn and patterns for knitter who liked Fair Isle projects. Now there's mryarn.com, an online yarn shop that specializes in selling Malabrigo Yarns. They carry Chunky, Lace, Merino Worsted, Rios, Silky Merino, Sock and Twist.

Here are a few images of the Merino Worsted available from mryarn.com to make you drool:

I have been a very bad girl and have added yarn to my already too large stash, but with a yarn sale and visiting Llama Llama Knit in Novato, I couldn't say no to new knitting yarn and notions. Skip to the end for my review of Llama Llama Knit. I admit I have a problem and will probably check in with the yarn equivalent of Dr. Drew. Somebody let me know when you find him/her.

I stumbled upon this Katia yarn in a sale bin outside my local yarn shop. I can't walk by the yarn store because there's always something I have to buy there and it's only three blocks from home. Anyhoo, it's destined to be a hat and some fingerless gloves.

This is one of the skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Potluck that I bought at the sale a couple of weeks ago. I'm a little worried because the yarn is extra soft that the socks will not hold up. I'll let you know once I knit them.

This is the other skein of yarn I bought in the Cherry Tree Hill sale. I really like the colors of both these skeins.

I got this needle gauge and stitch markers at Llama Llama Knit.  I was sorely tempted by the large selection of Malabrigo and Dream in Color, but managed to restrain myself to the notions section. Llama Llama Knit is a fantastic yarn shop in Novato, CA and honestly, in an area where there's already so many fabulous yarn shops (Knitterly in Petaluma and Bluebird in Sausalito come to mind), this one is one of the best. I would not hesitate to say that they have the most comfortable couches in a yarn shop this side of the Mississippi.

The design of this shop is clearly about creating community. The couches are in the center of the store, placed around a large coffee table. The staff/owners are as welcoming as the store layout. When I visited last week, Marie played with my 10-month-old son while I perused the shelves and got to know Andy, the person behind the Fornicating Mooses I featured last week as a "Finished Object Made of Awesome". Eventhough I live more than 45 minutes away, I am more than tempted to visit their Tuesday night open knitting, an not just because many of my old favorites from my San Rafael knit night are there. If you're looking for a warm place to knit in Northern California, definitely stop by Llama Llama Knit. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I was wondering are there other yarn stores with fabulous couches that make you want to sit and knit all day long?