Gnorm Back In Michigan

Gnorm landed back in his birthplace of Lansing, Michigan - he was a little homesick and needed to come back to his roots for a little fun before he leaves on his next destination. Thanks Marsha for all the goodies. We're off for a day of fun in the Capital City!

Gnorm hangs out with some gnitters

Freed from the confines of his traveling box--and liberated from the clutches of a two-year-old--Gnorm accompanied me to the (nearly) weekly get-together of my local knitting group. Last night's location: the cafe at Barnes and Noble. (Coffee, tasty desserts, and a place that stays open until 11 p.m.--a great combination!) First, he surveyed some of the treats arrayed on the table.


Then he helped Katie count rows. She's in the homestretch of a Wonderful Wallaby hooded pullover sweater for her daughter, and Gnorm shouted some encouraging words: "It's placket time! You can do it! This is going to look great!" After that, there's just the hood to knit and two little underarm seams to graft, and then the sweater will be all done--just in time for autumn.


All of that cheerleading wore him out, though. Fortunately, Linda has been knitting ball-band washcloths like crazy since she discovered them a month ago. She brought a stack of ten of them (each in a different color combination!) to show everyone, and they provided the perfect place for a quick snooze. We thought about seeing if "the princess and the pea" was also applicable to "the gnome and the pea," but he woke up before we could put something under his bed to test the theory.

Rejuvenated after that catnap, he stopped by Beth's end of the table to examine the moebius scarf she'd just started. She's using Rowan Kid Silk Haze, the absolutely luscious stuff that the Yarn Harlot famously nicknamed Crack Silk Haze. And for good reason: once you touch this yarn, you don't want to put it down. Just look at Gnorm here. We had a hard time peeling him away from this skein of it...


A new knitter, Aimee, joined us for the first time last night. Gnorm offered lots of encouragement as she cast on for a gauge swatch: "Lookin' good!" He started to warn her about the dangers of becoming a knitter and developing serious Stash Enhancement Tendencies, but the rest of us shushed him and whisked him away...


...down to Ruth, who's working on an adorable baby sweater. "Very nice pattern," Gnorm said approvingly, as he looked it over. "That's one lucky baby who'll be wearing that!"

Gnorm had a great time meeting everyone and playing with their yarn, but by the end of the evening he was pretty tuckered out.

He enjoyed his stay here, but he's been traveling for several months now and is eager to get back on the road to get home eventually. So this morning I bid him a fond farewell, packed some luggage for him, and sent him off to his next destination!

Gnorm arrives in Exton, Pennsylvania

After a long journey, Gnorm has arrived in Exton, Pennsylvania, which is about forty-five minutes west of Philadelphia. (Technically, we are part of the Philly suburbs. But if you go another forty-five minutes west, you're right smack in the middle of Amish country. So, to be fair, I should say we are part of those suburbs, too!) He arrived in style, in a lovely purple box that looks like it's seen a few miles but is still doing a great job keeping him and his luggage safe.

Crammed into the box with him were lots of wonderful goodies from Lia, who did a fabulous job of choosing items that were just right for me. (Chocolate? Check! Yarns made from interesting natural fibers--in this case, bamboo and corn? Check! Sock-knitting accessories? Check!) Thanks, Lia!

He spent the day at my home. As you can see, my two-year-old daughter has taken quite a shine to him (in this case, "shine" is defined as "toddler death-grip on the knitted gnome").

"Can I keep him?" she asked. I explained that I was going to send him to someone else in a few days, and she was rather bummed about that. But then I added that I could knit one for her soon, and that cheered her up. The first order of business: stuffing the gnome into the "trunk" of her toy car. She was rather annoyed when the lid wouldn't close (Gnome is a bit too stout to fit comfortably in this vehicle)...

...so she transferred him to the "trunk" of her tricyle. "So he can watch me ride my car," she explained. And so he did.

Tomorrow evening, Gnorm gets to meet my local knitting group!

[NOTE: I've moved my blog since this swap started. My old blog links to the new one, but if you want to get there directly go here.]

Gnews of Gnorm

Hi, everyone! Gnorm has just arrived at my house! I'll show him around for a few days, then will send him on his merry way.

(Will post more later--just wanted to send a quick note, since I know we've all been worried about him!)

Calling All Gnomes!

Looks like our gnome friends are still MIA. Can we get the ball rolling again? I would love to show Gnorm or Gnuman around Chicago in the fall and I have a package of goodies ready to send to my pal.

If people are having a hard time putting a parcel together, could you maybe just send the gnome on to your swap partner? Sometimes things come up, and we all understand that. I would be more than happy to put together an extra package for your pal.