May 29, 2008

A lovely surprise for my birthday: Our son Scott “secretly” planted over 200 daffodils and tulips at our log home in Pennsylvania, last October, timing it so that they would beautifully bloom in time for my May birthday. It was amazing, and the deer will probably have a fine meal on the tulips. A friend in Seattle also sent me several dozen tulips from a tulip farm near her, so I had a beautiful, flowery birthday.

The Sixth&Spring staff and I are working away to complete my next and very ambitious book Knitting On Top Of The World, to be released in October of this year. I’ll tell you lots more about it in the near future. My two newest books Signature Scarves and Crochet On The Edge have just been released and will soon be in the stores, and we are trying to get the trunk shows for them organized now.

Just received some exciting news. My book Knitting Never Felt Better has just won the Gold Medal IPPY (Independent Book Publishers) Award as Best Craft Book of the Year. The IPPYs are the world’s largest international and regional awards competition. I’m very grateful and humble, especially since my book Knits For Barbie Doll won the same award a few years ago. My gratitude extends to my art director at that time, Chi Ling Moy, and to everyone who worked on the book.

I’ll be off to the big TNNA (The National Needlecraft Association) show in Columbus, Ohio, next week and look forward to seeing lots of new yarns and knitting products, and old and new friends. I’ll report to you how things went and about any great new products I see. While there, I also hope to take a few days and visit my wonderful Aunt Angie and Uncle Anthony in nearby Lancaster, Ohio, and enjoy their always gracious hospitality, their adorable grandchildren and newest grandson Drake (only 3 weeks old).

Got to run. Keep those needles clicking—Nicky