Creative Knitting January 2010, contains a design of mine, the Cable Swirl Tam & Mittens. I haven't seen it in print yet, but the digital version is now online. Creative Knitting is now offering digital subscriptions with access to 2 years of back issues. It is a very cool idea, and I am a subscriber, but I am anxious to see the real thing and to get some type of feedback on my design. ....or maybe I won't want to hear the feedback. I hope that is not the case.

As a side note, good year CKS Tiger Cadet Football team. We love you all.

Patterns available from Scarlet Fleece!

Just wanted to announce that Scarlet Fleece is now selling downloadable patterns directly from the website. You can purchase several of my designs and those from several other talented designers in your home and at your leisure!

It is fall in Indiana. The leaves are bright, football has moved from the regular seasons to the playoffs, high school and CYO, that is, and I am busy submitting design proposals to yarn companies and magazines. I love the design process, but I wish I was better at drawing! What I see in my mind is always better than what comes out in my sketching - I always hope the people looking at the sketches have a good imagination and read the descriptions. My sketching skills have improved, if only marginally, over the last couple of years. Nowhere to go but up, Ha!

Here are some pictures of Brown County Indiana in the fall. Come and visit sometime

Knitting Pattern A Day

Get yourself a Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar....then skip to November 19,20 and 21st. You will see my pattern for the Green Market Bag. I guess you don't have to make it in a day, you get the entire weekend!!

I haven't looked through the rest of the calendar yet, but there are always some fun, quick things to knit. They have to be pretty short patterns, because you don't get much space for instructions, but that can be a good thing. Especially after (or during) a complicated, high concentration project.

Here is a picture of the Green Market Bag....now go buy a calendar.

Summer Fun

My family and I recently returned from our annual trip to Holland Michigan. This has become an annual trip for our extended family. We camp, ride our bikes to the beach, eat Hudsonville ice cream from the Ottowa Beach General store, ride back to the campground, go back to the general store for more ice cream, on and on it goes!

This year we were minus one kid, as our oldest son was on a trip to Philmont with scouts. He missed the ice cream, but not to worry...we brought him a gallon of Deer Traxx. It worked out well, because he was really, really hungry after backpacking for 2 weeks carrying 50-60 lbs and climbing mountains. I must tell you though, it was extremely strange not having him on vacation. Even weirder because we didn't hear from him for 11 days. In this world of cell phones, you can usually always talk to your kids, even if you are away from them. Not so on this trip.

RJ at Philmont



We couldn't take RJ, so we took all 3 dogs. I must say, they loved it!! One of our dogs, Toby, had to have his leg amputated last fall. He was the hit (novelty) of the campground. My husband kept telling little kids that he got bit by a grizzly bear (or a shark) protecting his family.

Morel eating ice cream

I didn't get much knitting time, yarn and sand on windy days are not a great mix, but I did manage to use up my yarn with just a little bit left on my sweater. I can't believe I did that. The other skein was just laying there waiting for me when I got home

New Site

I have bitten the bullet and created a website dedicated to my knitting patterns. it is cherylbeckerichknits.com

The site is still under construction, but I am adding all the patterns as quickly as I can. Just a few are up now, but more are on the way.

I am also heading to TNNA this week to help my friend Kathy in the Scarlet Fleece booth and to do a bit of networking for my design business. It is really fun to see all the new yarn and products, as well as many of the knitting "celebrities." I am confident that the trip will be fun and beneficial.

I know, I rarely post. My goal is to at least post once a month. Baby steps....

5th (for me) annual Boy Scout Ski Trip

Here I am with our little bunch from the Boy Scout Ski Trip at Winter Park Colorado. A few small injuries and illnesses, but for the most part, a great trip. Only 2 mom's and 46 men and boys, so we got our own room at the Silver Sage lodge at Snow Mountain Ranch. My roommate was my cousin, and she is also a knitter. The rooms are made to hold 6 people, so with 2, we had plenty of room to hold our yarn, and to stretch out and knit!

The men were in charge of the kids in their rooms, and since our sons were in those rooms the trip was really a vacation for us Moms. Bonus! and.... we didn't have to do any cooking or cleaning up after anyone except ourselves. It is a YMCA camp, and not the Hilton, but considering everything I mentioned in the previous sentences, I am not complaining one bit. OK, I did complain about my ski boots. Sometimes they are my friend, sometimes not.