It Must Be the Mountain Air

Nice interview with Diane Soucy in the latest edition of Patternfish.  Diane is the owner of
 Knitting Pure and Simple and lives in the Lake Tahoe area which is known for having more than it's fair share of Olympic medal winners in skiing and is also home to some talented people in the knitting world.  There is a great little variety store in the Historic District of Truckee and once upon a time Diane was it's manager.  An avid knitter, she started bringing in some interesting yarn and then, in answer to a need, starting designing patterns that would be easy for knitters to follow,  thus lowering the frustration level and increasing the enjoyment of  spending a lovely weekend in the mountains knitting by the fire.

In the Patternfish interview, Diane said that the Top Down Swing Pullover was her most popular women's pattern.  Here it is modeled by Kelly from Lake Tahoe Yarn Company:

                                                                

                                                                    

 It's made with Royal Lama Silk from Plymouth in  size 9 needles  to give it a softer drape.  Speaking of Kelly,  I couldn't resist this picture of her at Harvey Sheep Ranch, just north of Truckee:

                                                                            

Have a sports team that you passionately follow and want to knit a scarf or socks in their colors?  Contact Kelly and she will hand dye yarn in your favorite colors so you can knit along while cheering on your team.  Here is a skein dyed for a SF Giants Fan:

  

Here's one of Kelly's designs called Petal Soft Hooded Cowl:

                                                                                    

Another talented knitter from our neck of the woods is Elizabeth Doherty.  Elizabeth is a graphic arts designer who is now designing her own knitwear patterns and you may have seen her Litchfield hat in
Twist Collective, Fall 2011:

                          

I also like her sock pattern called Plowshares made with madeline tosh sock yarn:

Laura Zander, the owner of Jimmy Beans Wool, started out in Truckee in a tiny shop in the train station:

                                                                                    
At the time, she barely knew how to knit, but with help and encouragement from Lorna (of Lorna's Laces) and Diane Soucy, along with her own tech and marketing skills,  she and her husband have turned Jimmy Beans into one of the fastest growing small retail businesses in the country, according to
Inc. Magazine.  Jimmy Beans has since moved on to a much bigger spot in Reno but her web site makes it easy (too easy!) to keep in touch.

Lots of talented people up here in the mountains!


Can't resist including this photo from a walk in the woods - enjoying these last warm days of summer!