sheep in the city

I've been RAOKed!

Yippee! I received some knitterly mail (I'm not sure that is a real word, but I like it) from Jenanne! Thank you, thank you Jenanne, you made my day!!

...the day after, it has begun!

When I went to The Recyled Lamb on Wednesday, I found out that they were having a sale on Friday. What, a yarn sale? So Anne and I decided to meet up on Black Friday and support our local yarn shop economy...it was our duty as knitters you know! So I brought a little bit of cash so that I wouldn't spend over my budgeted amount. I have to say I'm so proud of myself (pat on the back). I knew that I wanted to make a Latifa scarf...so here are the colors I decided on. It's Elsebeth Lavold's 'Silky Wool'. It's 65% wool and 35% silk...yummy stuff. I wasn't able to find the Garn Studio Silk Tweed that it called for, but I think I like the feel of this even better. I chose green (014), light pink (012), a deep red (24), and a deep purple (23). The Koigu is from my stash...I bought it on a trip to Kansas City, it's KPPPM P627. This is going to have to wait for the New Year though...got to get the Christmas stuff done first. But I will make this scarf to wear this winter! It should be a good mindless knitting project since it is all garter stitch 'til you get to the ruffles.

So I shouldn't admit it, but my Christmas tree has been up for about a week and a half already! I love Christmas so much, I couldn't wait to put it up. I leave you with a picture of my "Christmas yarn"! Enjoy! Have a great weekend everybody! I'm headed over to my parents house to help my mom with decorations...she's called me about 4 times in the last few hours asking when I'm coming over. Enough blogging, gotta go!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving was such a fun time this year! We all gathered at my parents house, me, my brother and his wife Jackee, my grandparents, and Anne. Since she had no where to be, she was an honorary member of my family this Thanksgiving! My mom is the most amazing hostess. She is so good at finding the perfect way to present the most simple of things, and make it beautiful. The table was amazing...everyone had little candles my their plates, and that was just the beginning. Well done mom! You are truly amazing!
After dinner, Ann and I retired to the living room to knit. I was trying not to think about how much food I had just eaten. But it was soooo gooood! Mmmmm...I love Thanksgiving!

This is the knitting that I brought with me...am I crazy?

Did I think that I was going to be moving in? I have a problem...I can never decide what project to bring with me, so I bring them all. I love having options, but I this is getting a little rediculous! I need to learn to pack lighter, seriously!

So after everything was cleaned up, we decided to watch a movie. My parents had never seen The Last Castle with Robert Redford, so I brought it with me. You know my dad likes a movie when he stays awake for the whole thing! My brother, who had already gone home, called after the movie was over and wanted to go see a movie at the theater. So off to see National Treasure...it was actually alot better than I thought it would be. Nick Cage has some funky lookin' hair though...it's some bad plugs, or whatever you call it when men get hair transplanted. Dude, let it go. You're losing your hair, deal with it. Anyway, that was my Thanksgiving in a nutshell. I hope everyone had a great day with their loved ones! I sure did!

Visits from near and far

About a month ago I got an email from Ann. We are both hosted through prettyposies and she knew that I lived in Denver. She wanted to know about which knitting shops to visit here in town while she was out visiting family. Since I'm always reading about the fun get togethers that take place in NYC and Chicago between knitting bloggers I decided to meet up with her and bring along another knitting/blogging Anne. We decided to meet up on Wednesday afternoon at a local shop that claims to be the "Worlds Largest Yarn Shop". I leave work early, with my roomate and mom, get down there by 2:45, and there is a handwritten note on the door that says they are closing at 3pm that day. The doors are locked and we aren't able to go in. There were about 7 people/potential customers that they turned away. Very disappointing! So, we decided to go to the nearest shop, The Recyled Lamb. They were still open, so were able to get a little shopping in. I knew that Ann had made the Latifa scarf from the Fall '03 Knitty, so I asked her to bring it with her...and she did! Thanks Ann! I went back Friday to get the yarn for it! Pics later.

Here we are,Ann all the way from Washington D.C.,Anne who is a new resident here in Denver, and me! Thanks ladies for taking the time to meet up!

My only purchase was this to-die-for pink roving...I just had to buy some. Ann found it first, then my mom and I bought the rest of what they had. Into the stash it goes! The book and magazine I bought last week. I bought the new Stitch 'n Bitch on Amazon...it was 9.95, and with shipping it was still less than the cover price if I had bought it at a bookstore. I am lovin' some of the patterns. I know that I will be making at least a few of these patterns in the coming months. I love the sweater called "Baby's first tattoo". Too cute.

My mom got to try on a knit up sample of the Lara sweater that everyone has been making lately out of the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk She was able to resist temptation, but I now know what everyone has been fussing over...that yarn is like butta'. It is incredibly soft and the sweater looked great on my mom!

Colinette is A callin'

I keep meaning to show everyone a picture of the colinette/rowan kidsilk haze scarf/shawl. (Yes mom, I have been working on it! This is a gift for her that she already knows about. I won't mention how overdue it is...oops!) This should be a quick knit, but I have had too many other things going on lately, excuses, excuses, I know. The cool thing about this project is that it only takes one ball of Colinette Point 5 and one ball of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. I looked for a really long time to find a project that uses only one skein of Point 5. I couldn't find much...so this is what I decided on. I love that yarn, but it's a little pricey for me. I can totally justify buying one skein though, ha! There is no pattern, just cast on as many stitches as you want it wide. Every fifth row, you add in the Point 5. You can squish it up and use it as a scarf, or spread it out and voila, a shawl!

Secret Knitting and Thrums

This is what my week has consisted of...that makes for a somewhat boring blog entry. Can't really talk about and show you the secret stuff, then it wouldn't be a secret!! I'm knitting something for my Secret Pal III, it's almost done!! I am in a scarf swap, just got the yarn for my gal in the mail yesterday...still trying to figure out what stitch pattern I want to use...hmmm? Any suggestions? It's a worsted weight, kind of tweedy yarn, that's all I can say;-) See...it's hard to talk about! And the third secret gift is the Flower Swap...I've been working on it a little bit this weekend, not as much as I had hoped, but some.

Notice the look of total concentration on my face? Thrum mittens...oh how I love thee and hate thee. On the one hand, I am lovin' knitting on these mittens. The color is really pretty, oranges and pinks are sooo yummy together. On the other hand, I did realize very quickly the importance of making up some of the thrums before I sit down to knit. The rounds that I added the thrum into the mix was taking me forever. I am still a little bit in awe at how quickly some of the other ladies in this knitalong have finished their mittens.

This is mine so far...a little bit of the cuff on the first mitten, whoo hoo:-)

My heart is so full!

Whitney and I standing in front of about 225 hats.

So, the other exciting thing that happened over the weekend was the Fanconi Anemia fund raiser that 'Kaps for Kendall' was involved in! WOW! The girls had wanted to collect about 100 hats, that was their goal. So in the end, guess how many they received?! Just over 400 hats!! (they got 90 in the mail on the day of the auction from a woman on the east coast) Can you believe it?! Well, you know what, I can! That's the kind of community that we have here. Knitters are great people, they take time out of their busy schedule to knit a hat for a total stranger, they make Afghans, they make kittybeds, and I know that there are so many other great charity knitting projects out there. I strongly urge you to find the one that fits for you. Maybe it's children, or animals, or cancer survivors, or men and women in the service...find one though. You'll never know how rewarding it is until you try. I was blown away when I saw this table overflowing with hats that had been collected by Whitney and Allison, Kendall's sisters. Kendall would have loved seeing this, she talked to me about a time when she was away from home, working with people at the Denver Rescue Mission, she loved that place. Her heart was for people who were going through hard times...yeah, she would have loved this.

Art Show at Andenken

Many of you have asked me to post pictures from the gallery and wine tasting on Saturday night. It was WILD! I got there a little bit after 8:00pm and it was wall to wall people. I asked a friend of mine the total number of people that came and he thought it was about 160 or so. I had so many people come up to me and say, "wow, I didn't know you did this kind of stuff." I'm mostly known as "the knitter" at my church...so people don't see this side of me very often. The highlight of my night was when I was told that someone wanted to use one of my pieces on their new album cover!! (He liked my "Americana" piece)

This is the oldest picture that I submitted...it's titled "Actually..." It's one of my favorites. It hung at my sister's house for a long time, until I reclaimed it and hung it at mine!

This is a linoleum print that I printed on a street sign. (no I didn't steal it, it was "given" to me in the name of art;-) I have a fascination for all things old and forgotten, that's why I called this "Americana". I plan on doing a whole series like this...old drive-in movie screens, hotel signs, and trailers...things that have been discarded by the rest of society.

(sorry for the crappy picture...I'll try to take a better one later)
This piece was about AIDS orphans in Africa. I feel very strongly for these innocent children. I have a friend who started an orphange in Kenya and I am seriously contemplating going and helping her out for a year. The number 25,000,000 is the expected number of children that will have been orphaned by AIDS in the next decade. How do you convey the enormity of this situation? I know that I don't have the words...

This piece is so far untitled...

This is the wall where all my painting were hung. The space was really open, with cement floors, and brick walls. I think that it used to be a warehouse of some sort.

And here's a pic of my sister, me and my mom...awww, they love me and support me so well!! There you have it folks!! Ask and you shall receive.

Klaralund and cats don't mix

So there I was...with a finished back piece, and working on the first sleeve, attempting to knit both sleeves at once...when who comes to visit? Jesse. He lays down right in my lap so that knitting anything is next to impossible.

What's up with knitting the two sleeves at once...yeah....that didn't work out so well for me! I had a tangled mess by the time I had knit a little bit of one, and then some on the other. Sheesh! Has anyone done this before? What technique did you use? I think that this is a great idea in theory, but I'm having a bit of trouble figuring out the legistic's of it?! Help!! Suggestions please! Here's a picture of Jesse where you can really see what a big boy he is! Check out those paws. No wonder I don't get much knitting done at home! Who can kick someone that cute off thier lap? He loves to cuddle!

The new me...

Warning: No knitting content!

Last week, on Tuesday, I couldn't stand it any longer! I had been growing my hair out for about 6 to 9 months. It was past the really ugly stage when all the layers growing out made me look like I had a mullet. Anyone who has had short hair knows what I'm talking about...it's hell growing out your hair. So, why did I decide to cut it? Everyday I had two choices...one pony tail, or two? I was constantly pulling it back and that can be fun...but not on an everyday basis! So here it is...the old cut...still growing out, but getting longer:

And the newer shorter hair do! I love it! I feel fun and sassy. Short hair makes me feel better about my self! I love it!!

Flowers on the brain...

I recently joined the Flower Swap that Pinku is hosting. I got paired up with someone...they'll make me one, and I'll make her one! It's a swap baby! I'm really looking forward to knitting some flower pins...even though it's super trendy right now to wear flowers, I love them, and I'm going to wear them anyway! Ha!

Check out the site that Kat set up for all of us flower swappers! This is going to be fun...be sure to check back often and check the side bar for cool links to sites selling or showing you how to make flower pins!

Do I know you...?!

I feel like I know you...you look familiar. The following is a true story of what happens when the blogging/knitting world and the real world collide.

We had our first Littleton Meetup on Tuesday, and it was so fun to be around other knitters that are as excited about knitting and TV as I am! There were four of us out of the 6 that came that had blogs...me, Libby, Cathi, and Anne. Tamara reads knitting blogs...and Joy is a newbie, but we gave her a list of sites that she can get free patterns from and some of our favorite sites...so by next month she'll be hooked too!
It really is good for my soul to be around other knitters. There is something special about it...gathering together for a common interest, sharing ideas, telling stories, laughing, knitting...it all goes hand in hand. I am so glad that I started this group! I'm already looking forward to the next time we meet. It's not too late to join in the fun if you are in the Denver area. You can sign up at Meetup.com.

The other fun thing about getting together is sharing what everyone was working on...being able to touch it, and not just look at it on a computer screen. I'm still plugging away on my Klaralund, I haven't been paying enough attention to her. Libby was finished with her My So Called Scarf and she's started on a hat based on the stitch pattern of the scarf! Cathi was working on a Harry Potter POA scarf...which reminds me...I need to finish mine!! Anne was in the beginning stages of a top down raglan sweater using Stefanie's pattern. I'm very curious about that sweater...I have had it in the back of my head for a long time so I am interested to see the progression of this one. Yes Anne, I will be watching and waiting for progress, but no pressure! Tamara was crocheting away and telling us lots of the knitting adventures she has had over the years, and Joy kept working away on her black scarf...you can do it Joy!! You now have 5 crazy knitting cheerleaders cheering you on!!!

Before Tuesday I didn't know any of these women really, some I had read about...but knitting brought us together...wow...I never would have thought two years ago when I learned just how much it would enrich my life! Thanks ladies!

It's only Monday...

...and I'm already thinking about the weekend! I have some really exciting plans though! My church is such a cool place...they are having a Wine Tasting and Art Show in a gallery in LoDo this Saturday night (LoDo is Denver speak for Lower Downtown). It is at the Andenken Gallery, you can check out the space here...and what a beautiful space it is. So...I submitted some of my work and they took FOUR pieces! This is the first time that I have had anything hung in a real gallery!
So I guess some of you might be wondering what I'm talking about. Well...since usually all I do is yammer on and on about knitting on this blog (since it is a knitting blog after all), many of you might not know that I also paint. A bit of watercolor, mixed media collage, dabble in printmaking, and at times oils. I'll let everyone know how it goes!

SP3 Strikes again!

WARNING: Lots of gushing and excited rambling ahead...but hey, this is my blog and I'll gush if I want to!

My Secret Pal rocks! Does she know what I like or what?!! I was having a bum day on Friday...it had been a long week, I had a weird situation/confrontation with someone that I thought I had a better relationship with...when what do I pull out of my mail box? A flowered package with secret pal 3 in the return address. Yippee!! Ever since she left a comment earlier in the week I've been anxiously awaiting something in the mail...boy did it exceed all expectation! 4, yes count 'em, four skeins of KOIGU, in colorway P116. Here's a closeup! It is a pink/orange/brown mix of colors, beautiful! The crazy thing is, is that I had one skein of this exact colorway in my stash, so now I have enough of this color to make a Charlotte's Web Poncho...just like Stephanie's, Crayonbrain's, and SequinK's. These ladies will inspire you all to do a little "Ponchofication" to the Charlotte's Web pattern. I love how different everybody's shawl/poncho turns out because of the amazing colorway's that Koigu puts out!

And let's not forget the little box of yummies from See's Candies. I had to hide them when I came back to the office after my lunch break. Yes...I went home over my break to check the mail, I have no shame. I told you I was excited, and anxiously awaiting, right?!

I know that my lady secret pal is from LA...hmmm...that's about all I know. I can't wait until the big reveal next month! Thank you, thank you Secret Pal!

Finished Kittybeds!!

My roommate and I finally finished and felted our kittybed's for the KittyBed-Along that Wendy helped put together along with PetFinder.com. What a fun group of ladies...making beds for senior pets, since this month is 'Adopt a Senior Pet Month'. This subject is close to my heart since I adopted my cat at a shelter here in Denver 8 years ago. Wow! I can hardly believe that it has been 8 years since I brought him home!!

This was a great quick project to knit...the pattern is one that Wendy designed and you can find on her website. I plan on making one for my cat...but I haven't decided if I will felt it or not...he wouldn't actually get inside the felted version, but I couldn't keep him out of it when I was knitting it and when I was waiting to felt it. Plus, I may want to make the one for him a little bit bigger. As you can see from the above picture, he's a big boy. I alway's tell people that he's not fat, he's just big boned...hee hee. Awwww, isn't he cute though!?!

I used left over Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in a variety of warm colors...I think I used eight different colors and a few eyelash rounds at the top. You can see the inside if you want to! If I had to guess, it probably took about 6 hours total to knit...maybe a tidge bit longer. I was very happy with the results and I know that I'll probably be knitting more for the other cats in my extended family!!

Kaps for Kendall

I have been meaning to talk about this for a long time now...really, ever since I started my blog. But everytime that I start to blog about it, something stops me...I am overwhelmed with sadness and can't seem to put my thoughts down. I am going to do it this time though. Here goes...

This is a picture of my friend Kendall and I on the morning she left for Minneapolis to have a bone marrow transplant last February. Fanconi Anemia is the name of the disease she had, and she was just 20 years old when she passed away from complications of the transplant. A few months earlier she had learned to knit, and we sat around knitting and just being quiet together a few times (not nearly enough) in the weeks before she left town. She would really talk your ear off if you got her alone and talking, about something she was passionate about, like children, starting an orphanage, her music, her hair, or her unique hands. She knew that she was going to lose her hair, and that was upsetting, but that didn't stop her...she just learned to knit fun and funky hats! We had an interesting relationship, I really felt connected to her and like our friendship was just beginning...and then she was gone. I have the assurance that she is in a better place and that I will see her in heaven someday...that was and is still a huge comfort to me.

I am friends with her sisters Allison and Whitney as well, and they have started a foundation in honor of Kendall. Kaps for Kendall is what they are calling it. On November 13th, 2004 there will be a fundraiser to benefit the Fanconi Anemia Research fund and handknit kaps are being collected in memory of Kendall. After the benefit, the hats will be donated to children and adult cancer treatment centers here in Denver and the hospital that treated Kendall in Minnesota.

Here are a few of the hats that I have collected from various knitting groups that I belong to here in Denver. Even though the event is in a couple of weeks, they are going to continue to gather hats and donate them in Kendall's honor year round. I would love to have some of my blogging buddies join in this worthy cause!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

I have the world's greatest, most beautiful, talented, humble, creative, and fun Mom!! She's the best...and is one of my best friends! Happy Birthday Mom, I love you and hope you have a great day!

Here she is (on the left) with my Aunt Roxanne...where are they pictured?...where else, a knitting store!

Goodbye Halloween, Hello Winter!