sheep in the city

It is finished!!!!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen...my Clapotis is finely finished!! It took me three months to finish, which seems like a ridiculous amount of time, but it's done! It's going to be nice and warm this fall...but sad, for now it's being put away to wait for colder weather. While we were in Vail I decided to try and take some "scenic" pictures:) None of the ones that had me in them made the cut, but I plan on taking some pictures with RayLynn tomorrow of both of us wearing our Clapotis!! Stay tuned for the buttonhole knitting adventure pictures in the days to come, as well as fun mail pics!! Because you know, I love me some fun mail!!!

Final Stats:
Yarn-1 1/4 skeins of Interlacements Texas (those skeins are huge! They are 490 yds!!!)
Started- March 10th
Finished-May 30th
As much as I complained, I can see myself (in a while...I need a break first) knitting a lighter weight Clapotis. I love Cynthia's so much that I already have the Bamboo yarn to make another one!

Sushi Cupcakes anyone?

It doesn't get much better than this...knitting, friends, homemade Melon Sangria, and Sushi cupcakes!! I'm thinking that Cathi needs to post the reciepe...they were the cutest things, and yummy too! I was knitting at her place until 1:00am on Friday night, which means I got home about 2:00am! Next time, I'm just bringing my sleeping bag!Cathi told me not to eat the ones without little candies on top, because Jr. Pink had eaten the tops off earlier:) Seriously though...Cathi is the greatest hostess, she always has the best treats!!

Secret Pal 5...a little get to know me questionaire!

Yep, it's that time of year again! Secret Pal question and answer time! Here ya go, and for those that don't want to read the answers don't, but for the rest of you, read on!!!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high-end/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
•I don't like to think of myself as a yarn snob, but I kind of am:) I learned to knit using natural fibers and anything else just doesn't feel right! I do use acrylic on occasion...like with the knitalong that I started last February where nothing else would do, it had to be acrylic!

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
•Nope! Aside from decorative edges, I don't really have a desire to learn to crochet...I'm fascinated with people who spin, but I still don't know if I really want to learn or not.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
•no, but I really don't like the smell of smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?
•It was 3 years this past March!

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
•yes, amazon is my friend. See the link on my sidebar under the Little Me. It says Wishlist with a little Hello Kitty face...awww! I just updated it, since my brother has been asking me to do it before my birthday, which is coming up in June!

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
•I am super picky about smelly stuff, but I love anything with a citrus scent, especially grapefruit.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
•Not just tooth...sweet teeth!! I love candy! It's really, really bad. You can't go wrong with Haribo Gummi Bears or Grapefruit Slices, Peanut M &M's, twizzlers, anything with Peanut Butter. Have you seen the new 'Big Cup' that Reeses put out? They are awesome!!! They are my new obsession since they are a "limited edition". Do you see the trend? My name is Stacey...and I'm a candyaholic!My brother-in-law and I even want to start a candy blog. We're dorks.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
•I've tried just about everything, but knitting and painting are the two that have seemed to stick! I love painting with mixed media and watercolor. Since I started knitting it's been fun to try and incorporate fiber into my paintings. I am asking my parents for a sewing machine for my birthday, so I hope to start sewing soon!! Yes, the fabric stash is growing!!

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s?
• I listen to just about everything, except country and rap. I have been on a big Ben Lee kick lately. On the subject of MP3 players, I got an iPod mini for Christmas...Yipee! iTunes is a wonderful and yet dangerous place for me;-)

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
•in one word PINK!! Ever since I was 5 years old and got to pick out my carpet and wallpaper at our new house and I had floor to ceiling pink!! I can't have too much. My friends can testify, the longer they hang out with me, the more pink creeps into their wardrobe. It's catching!
•Looking at my finished projects will show you that I love bright colors...red, orange, and pink especially

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
•single, never married
•I have the world's greatest cat named Jesse, he thinks he's a dog.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
•When I grow up, I want to own my own yarn store with my friend RayLynn, I could handle being able to support myself by doing the things that I love...creating things with my hands, be it with paint or fiber. I'm also considering moving to Kenya, Africa for a year to work at an orphanage that a friend of mine recently opened!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
•My all time favorites are Koigu, Noro, Manos del Uruguay, Interlacements, Lorna's Laces, and Black Water Abbey Yarn. I love trying new yarns though...so if you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear it!!

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
•I don't like "Splash" yarn. It's a furry, hairy yarn that is so soft it feels greasy. It kinda creeps me out. I'm also not a big fan of acrylics, or plastic feeling yarns. I don't think there have been many yarns that I can't find some kind of use for for...I'm really not that picky.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
•Besides buying yarn:) I have been looking for vintage knitting images, in art, cards, books, postcards, etc. I love old knitting needles too, it's fun hunting for the old bright plastic needles. I have them all in a big vase on my kitchen table.
*KOIGU...I can't stop buying it! I allow myself to buy a skein or two at out-of-town stores when I am visiting differnet cities. As of today, I want to learn to make mittens. You know, the really complicated carrying 3 to 4 yarns variety. I have the instruction books, now I just need to find the yarn.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
•Felted clogs are what I have made the most of (12 pairs), currently socks and items that make me laugh...like the Fry-Up! bag.

17. What are you knitting right now?
•Koigu wristlets (fingerless gloves), Tank sweater for a friends birthday out of Rowan Summer Tweed, Fry-Up bag, Clapotis, baby blanket for my niece and a friends baby, socks out of Interlacements, and some others that are on indefinite hold!

18. What do you think about ponchos? (this is really a curiousity question for us)
•I like them, I just don't know if they like me. I keep seeing photos of myself in them and the verdict is still out on them for me. But, there is a great pattern over at MagKnits called Frida...is it coincidence that Frida Kahlo is one of my favorite artists?! I think not! Someday I'm going to knit Frida!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
•Circulars, but sometimes I just love using straight metal needles, Inox makes great metal needles! I'm a big fan of vintage too!

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
•Mostly Aluminum Addi Turbos, sometimes Bamboo (straights), never plastic because I don't like how the yarn sticks to plastic.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
•I'm starting to be! There are so many great sock yarns out there...I want to try them all! Ha! I recently read about a yarn called "The Socks that Rock", now that sounds like my kinda yarn!!

22. How did you learn to knit?
•I took a class at a local shop in Littleton called A Knitted Peace with my mom, sister, brother, roommate, and a couple other friends. I've been hooked ever since!

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
•Ummm...how long have I been knitting...about 3 years...soooo, I guess my oldest UFO is about 3 years!

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
•I love cartoons...I'm just a big kid really. I love things that remind me of my childhood, like Strawberry Shortcake (have you seen the updated version? What they have done is a tragedy...I'm old school all the way), Jem, The Power Puff Girls, Rainbow Bright, Pinky and the Brain, Smurfs...I love Smurfs!, Dexter, and the list could go on and on, but I'll stop there!

25. What is your favorite holiday?
•Christmas, definitely Christmas, and of course my birthday! which is on Flag Day...the most obscure holiday ever.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
•Apart from knitting related items, I collect stuff from Paris or Paris-themed, like miniature metal eiffel towers (preferably older ones, but I have some new ones) I also collect children's books, both new and old. I want to start collecting old Nancy Drew books. Probably the largest collection I have is of baby plates. They are primarily from the early to mid 1900's and are made from heavy china (so that the baby can't move them that much) and have bright pictures and stories on the face of the plate. I am also big on vintage knitting needles...you know the bright colored plastic/metal/wooden, it doesn't matter as long as it's older. I have found a lot of needles at thrift stores or garage sales!

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None! Which I find hard to believe. I usually end up buying Interweave Knits, that is the one that seems to consistently have things that I'd like to knit in it. Someday I'll get a subscription.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
I love, love, love books. Check out my wishlist to see the current ones I'm obsessing over, many of which have yet to be put out. There are some great ones coming out, Oddball knitting and Nicky Epsteins Knitted Flower are two that I hope are goodies, not baddies.

That's all I've got, hope this list helped. If you have any specific questions, feel free to email me!! This is going to be fun!!!!

Jesse Wins!!!

Jesse is the winner!! He wanted to thank a few people, so I am letting him write this entry:

I want to thank all the people who voted for me, my friends and family, and people who read this blog. I am privileged to be nominated in a catagory with so many other cute cats. I'm still in shock right now. So, I can't remember all the people that I wanted to thank. Ummm, I want to thank God and the members of the acadamy, the many people who have cared for me over the years, my owners parents while she lived out of state and left me behind, her friend Genia who would watch me when my owner had to travel, Jordy...my best cat friend (owner's moms cat), I wouldn't be half the cat I am today if I hadn't lived with Jordy all those years and ate most, if not all of his food. And last, but not least...wait, where is that music coming from...I'm not done yet...son of a...wait, I still need to thank Stacey, the best owner ever!! Damn music. I'm not done yet! Oh, forget it! Thanks everyone! I had 50 votes!!!

Knit the Classics

A few weeks ago I joined a knitting/reading-along called Knit the Classics. The girls running it, Amanda and Stephanie, are so organized! The whole idea is that we are going to be reading the same classic book together, and knitting different projects from around that era. Or at least look, or sound like they are from that era:) Amanda has already posted a HUGE list of both free and for purchase patterns that fit with the theme. We voted last week, and Middlemarch is going to be the first book that we read, starting June 1st! Come join us if you love to read the classics!! The girls have all kinds of links to free sources of the book...so if you don't want to purchase the book, you don't have to! Aww the wonders of the internet! When and if we ever read a book by Jane Austen....I'm going to have to knit the Pemberley Shawl. I think that this is going to be a really fun group. I love the idea of knitting things that the characters in the book that I'm reading might have knit!!

Here are some buttons that I designed for the group...if you take them, you know the drill, save them to your own server! Enjoy!!

Barrettes, Books, and Buttonholes

Let's start with the barrettes. Mine came all the way from Australia!! I've never received any mail from down under. I was able to participate in the latest Pinku swap...this time it was hair accessories. Check them out! I immediately had to wear them of course...do here's the head shot. Aren't they so fun?! (please just ignore the crazy hair:) Thanks Lucy! (if you have a blog and/or email, let me know because I want to see what other crafty stuff you are up to!)

Now for books...many of my knitting crew can attest to the fact that I love knitting books. I love books in general, someday I'm going to have my own library, oh yes, I will. So when I heard that they were having a silent auction to benefit Sidna Farley, a beloved Denver knitter, who taught many people around town to knit, and who is suffering from Parkinson's, I knew that I had to go and show my support. She loved to knit all kinds of things, but one of the things she really loved was colorwork, so there were lots of books that I was interested in. Here are the ones that I got:

•Latvian Mittens
•Latvian Dreams
•Magnificent Mittens
•Folk Mittens
•Flying Geese and Partridge Feet
•The Complete Book of Progressive Knitting
•and the last one I can't remember the name of, but it has a lot of history and photos...I'll look it up at home and add it later.

The Latvian mitten book is one that I have been searching for ever since a certain Yarn Harlot introduced me to it...I've been drooling over all the beautiful mittens and socks that she knits. Now I can too! Expect some mittens in my future, probably not until late summer...but I'm ready!

Last but not least Buttonholes. It's that time again. My mom wanted an easy felted bag pattern that all of us girls could knit this weekend while we are back up in Vail. So I suggested Kay's wonderful pattern. Yep there are going to be 6 of us knitting buttonholes. Of course, I'll have to photo the whole process so that no one misses out on the fun. My whole family, minus the baby brother in Indiana, are going to be there, along with an aunt and uncle and my grandparents...lots 'o family fun!! The Clapotis really, really, really is almost done. I'm planning on watching 3 hours of Lost and Alias tonight...and if it's still not done then I'm going to watch the 2 hour season finale of One Tree Hill. I am going to finish this bad boy!

Vote for Jesse!

So, Jesse is in the Puuuurfect Kitty contest this week. Go vote for him!!! Many of you that have met him know that he is the Puuurfect kitty, so go show your support. Click on the picture below to go vote.

He really wants to win...this is the first contest he has ever been in, so he's a little nervous:) Be kind and Vote for Jesse!! The voting will go through Thursday night!!

So long Dr. Carter, Hello Darth Vader.

So, last night was the season finale of E.R., and Noah Wyle's last night on the show. Did you see last nights episode...holy crap! Cynthia and I were squealing at all the bloody protruding body part shots, sitting on the edge of our seats, knitting set aside and forgotten. Wanda just laughed at us. What a fun evening though.

This is the chocolate cake that Cynthia made. The one that I even now have waiting for me in my fridge. It was beyond excellent. Cynthia may have found her calling, that cake was to die for! After stuffing our faces and watching ER (by the way both girls were wowed by the TiVo. I may have swayed a few more people over to the dark side...they couldn't get enough of the rewinding and pausing Live TV!) we stopped for a little sock lessons. Cynthia has been wanting to make socks and learn to use Double Pointed needles, so I obliged her. Then I wrangled in Wanda, and made her show Cynthia how to join in the round! I'm not sure how that happened, but all of a sudden I was working on my Clapotis (almost done!!) and Wanda was doing all the teaching. *I'm so sneaky, sneaky*

Speaking of the Dark side...yeah baby! I'm seeing Star Wars tonight!! I can't wait! I'm heading downtown on the Light Rail with my friend Emilie and we're seeing an 8:00pm showing. I saw all the previous episodes with my brother, sister, and brother in law at the Thursday night midnight showings. Part of me is kind of bummed that I'm not seeing it with my brother...have I mentioned that he moved to Indianapolis? At times like this, when I'm doing something that I would have previously done with him, I really miss my buddy! One of the guys that I work with here came in today and told me that Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader...what? I can't believe that he ruined the end for me:)!!! Ha! That was a joke folks...and for all my friends that haven't watched any of the Star Wars movies (i pity you your childhood)...oh yeah, Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader. Sorry if I spoiled it:)

Ok, we all know that I've got the sense of humor of a 12 year old...but this is too funny. At my grocery store, in the pet aisle, they sell fat cat toys. One of the lines they carry is called AppeTeasers, and they have a little dog that is a cocktail weiner. So, of course I had to get it for Jesse. Now, it gives me a reason to say that Jesse's playing with his weiner! That cracks me up everytime! Cynthia went out and bought one for her two cats...So funny. And on that note, have a great weekend, I really am just rows away from finishing my Clapotis, so you'll see finished pictures soon! I promise!

Mail call!

I received my Bead It! Stitchmarkers yesterday in the mail...all the way from Canada! Thanks so much Elizabeth, I admired them when you posted about them on your blog not knowing that they were for me! I especially love the detail of the little glass Frog! So cute!
And included in the package was a printed card from a still life painting that she painted of yarn and needles!! I love it...I've been meaning to get out my easel and paint something for weeks now. Seeing this card makes me long to leave work right now, and go home to pick up my brushes. Painting makes me feel alive...there's nothing like it. I want to finally try and incorporate my love of fiber into my paintings...I'm not really sure what that will look like, but I love the creative process. Now I can only think of swirling paint and wooly fiber...hmmm, this should be interesting:)

So that's not all I got in the mail...my knitting buddy Michelle made me the cutest Hello Kitty stitchmarkers. What's really funny is that in an email from Elizabeth yesterday she asked me if I knew where to get Hello Kitty stitchmarkers, so now I have the answer! Thanks Michelle!

I'm on the home stretch with my Clapotis/Bonopotis. Cynthia, who is a die hard ER/Noah Wyle fan just like me, is coming over tonight to watch the season finale. It's goodbye Dr. John Carter. Sad...I love that guy. So, I should have lots of knitting time in between winding down skeins of sock yarn (she's getting a DPN/Sock lesson tonight!) and stuffing my face with remnants of the chocolate cake that she made last night. You have to see it to believe it. Go, look, now...it's the most beautiful cake I've ever seen. I should be able to almost finish my Clap! I've decided not to show anymore boring dropped stitches pictures...you'll just have to wait for the final unveiling! Alright, I need to work...I can't go home and paint, so I might as well get some work done! :)

Back to life, back to reality

My time up in the montains was so nice...I think I didn't really want to come back. I had such great plans to knit, read, and then knit some more. But...how could I get anything done when these two cuties are around?!

I knit a little...but didn't get anything finished...oh well. My mom and I managed to get into Minturn and visit the cute little knit shop there. It's called The Yarn Studio and it is just about the cutest place, it's situated in the bend of a little mountain road right next to a stream. You couldn't get much more picturesque! I highly recommend it to anyone traveling in or through the Rocky Mountains.

They have a great selection of quality yarns...Koigu, Noro, Rowan, you name it they have it. One thing that I am highly coveting right now are the Offhand Design bags that they had. If I could figure out a way to justify $150 to $180 for a bag I would be all over it! They are made with vintage looking tapestry/velvet material. I love them...here's a shot of the needle cases. Maybe I should start that Cafe Press shop so that I can indulge myself in all the knitterly pricey things that I want. I do love knitterly things. I think that this bag is even out of the question for my birthday that's coming up...it's over that invisible line that I have between what I will spend on something and what is too much. Ok, enough about things that aren't going to happen.

I managed to leave the shop with nothing...just couldn't justify it...damn it! So where did I buy yarn then? Well, no mocking...but some of the girls that were with me wanted to learn to knit at 9:00pm one night. So off to the local Super Wal-Mart! I just got a little bit. Ha! The girls are now all happily knitting away on dishcloths...gotta love that $1.27 Peaches and Cream! I am on the decrease rounds of my Clapotis/Bonopotis, the end end is finally in sight. I love that you get to drop two stitches per round, that rocks! Seriously though, my Clap is a beast! It's so big and wooly. It is getting heavy to lug around and hot to work on as the weather warms up. I'm going to be glad to be done with it, and move on to something lighter and more summery.

Alright, my friends and sister are waiting on me to leave and they're bugging me to get off the computer...so bye! Here's a parting shot of the cutest niece ever!

When in doubt...

...post a picture of your cat! Ha! Here's Jesse, the wondercat, doing what he does best...getting into whatever I am doing! He sure loves my Clapotis, and the new needles I got a couple days ago.

No new progress pics here, but I'm spending the weekend with my family up in Vail so I should get lots of knitting done! I'm bringing my Clapotis to finish, a pair of Koigu glovelets that are about 1 to 2 inches from being done, a purse that just needs to be seamed up, and maybe a new project to start! Am I a little ambitious in my packing? Of course! But a girls got to have options!! If I have internet access, I may post from the mountains...otherwise, have a great weekend, and I'll have lots of fun pictures on Sunday or Monday!!

Clapotis, revisited.

Here it is...almost done with one 490 yard skein, I'm on the 11th dropped stitch of 13. It's getting close to where I can start the decreases. I am determined to get my Clapotis finished this weekend! On Tuesday the girls were very encouraging about it...they kept telling me that it looked like I had knit a bunch on it, and that it looked almost done. I don't know about all that, but their comments did make me want to keep going and finish this bad boy! My family is going to spend the weekend in the mountains in Vail, so I should have lots of uninterrupted knitting time. My mom and I may even sneak down to the little local yarn shop for a short visit:) RayLynn came over to hang out last night so I was finally able to take a picture of her Clap...she's really close to being done. Look how long it is. It's also really heavy since it's knit out of Artful Yarns Fable, which is a cotton yarn. RayLynn is holding mine up in the picture and it comes up roughly to her waist, her's on the other hand comes up almost from her head to her feet, crazy!

As we discussed the fact that both of us want a "lighter" version of this scarf, I decided that I am going to knit one out of Bamboo yarn...because I want to be just like Cynthia. Her bamboo clapotis is gorgeous, and just the right weight! So, again, here I am planning the next project when I'm not even done with this one...oh well. What's new? I had one skein in my stash that I bought when they first came out with this yarn, I just wanted to play with it, I never had specific plans. So, knowing that Cynthia used three skeins, I went back to my LYS and lo and behold...they had two skeins left. It was meant to be...I was supposed to knit this scarf with Bamboo! (ok, maybe that's a little dramatic) Here's the yarn...isn't it so pretty...all pink and purple yumminess. But, I'll finish the first before I start the second one.

On a different note, I should be getting my Bead it stitchmarkers in the mail any day now, I'm getting so excited! Seeing all the stitchmarkers that have been made in the last week has been so fun! If you didn't make it in the first round, Cara has started a round 2 that will be starting in June...go over and sign up, you know you want to!!!

What was old...is new again.

First let me say that I love hanging out with my knitting friends, I know, I say this all the time. But what makes it even more fun...unexpected presents. That might sound silly and immature, but I'm not ashamed to admit that I love fun little presents. It's not like it has to be some million dollar thing, it could be a gumball, but it means that you saw something and thought of me. Why am I talking about presents? Is it my birthday? No, not yet:) But at our little get together on Tuesday, Cathi gave me the funniest bag of goodies! She gave me some of her leftover, and now discontinued LB CottonEase in Bubblegum, a cd, some "Candy bling, for Miss Thing" (as Cathi put it) Hello Kitty shoe charms that you can use for stitchmarkers, and a little kitty zippered pouch. So fun! Thanks Cathi!
Now...check out my find of the week...no make that month! It's a vintage circular needle. Could the colors be any cooler?! It's very Lily Pulitzer, don't you think? I am thinking about framing it and hanging it in my studio for inspiration! They just don't package needles like this anymore!

Those weren't the only vintage needles that I bought. I scored big time at one of the newer stores here in town. It's called Colorful Yarns. I enjoyed talking with the owner, and I love that they are selling vintage needles...and for almost nothing! I have a great collection of old needles that just makes me happy looking at it. Jesse really liked the needles too! He came right over to sniff them out and investigate, silly cat!

Knitting in Margaritaville

Around the table it's: Libby, Cathi, me, my mom, Tamara, Ellie, Amy, and Anne. Cynthia was the one taking the picture.

Man, I love the group of knitters that I get to hang out with. I couldn't have hand picked a better group, and the fact that we all met through a thing as random as Meetup is amazing to me. Last night we met up at the local Barnes and Noble and then headed down to the Hacienda for knitting and Margarita's!! How fun is that?! I don't know many groups that are daring enough to combine the knitting and the drinking, but we did. Not much knitting was done as we gobbled up the fresh homemade chips and salsa and queso, not to mention the food. Mmmm...I love me some tacos. After we left the restaurant, we headed back to B&N. But as Cynthia put it, the "carb coma" was setting in, so not much knitting got done there either. My mom and I are slowly but surely moving along on our Clapotis, Cathi was knitting on her "just beachy", Libby is in between design projects, so she's actually working on something for herself!! Cynthia was working on her Tempting, Amy, who was visiting us for the first time last night (and was wearing a great sweater, I think it was Bad Penny, knit up in the Bamboo yarn) was casting on for her version of the Calpotis, which is going to be striped! It should be really fun to watch and see how it turns out.

Sadly, it was Brynne's last night because she is moving to Texas today!! So, any of you readers that live in the Houston area...go say "hi and welcome" to Brynne, the Knitlet! She is an amazing mommy and knitter and all around fun girl! She is going to be missed!! Go check out the Keri shawl that she knit in just 6 days! It's gorgeous!

Tomorrow I'm going to post some pictures of what I have been knitting on the last little bit since I haven't actually posted a knitting picture in a while! It has been all about the beads lately, but oh yes, the knitting is coming back.

Mmmm...breakfast food...

Amy has done it again. Another round of creative genius! This woman can make anything out of clay, oh yes, she can! She just released the latest and greatest stitch markers in her growing collection over at her shop Amyville...and you'll never guess which ones I'm coveting?! Come on...I hosted the Fry-Up knitalong for pete's sake, what did you expect?!

Oh yes...it's breakfast stitchmarkers. My stitchmarker collection is complete. Thank you Amy...you complete me.

Go check them out though, there's pie, and cake, and cherries, and mmmm...did I mention that I love cheese more than chocolate. She has cheese. Ok...time to go find some real food before I start eating my stitch markers.

**and Cynthia, this is the third time that I've posted today, I don't know what got into me, but I decided it's all for you...did your computer ding alot today...I hope so!**

Adventures in knitting

So, Friday night after not feeling so hot for a couple days, I went to knit with some friends down at at Stella's, a local coffee joint. It was just what I needed. Cathi, Cynthia, Katie and Lacey were all there...they didn't mind that I spent most of the time sniffling and wiping my nose. What friends! We were there a couple of hours and then we all simultaneously got hungry, so Lacey and Katie went home and the three of us remaining went to Jerusalem Restaurant. For those of you who live in Denver, I highly recommend visiting this restaurant. On friday and Saturday nights they are open 24 hours, but diring the rest of the week they are only open until 4:00...A.M!!! This was one little tidbit that I didn't know, but I'm glad that I know now. Anyway, we sat there and talked and ate, and talked and ate. It was great conversation and great food. Falafel, Hommoss, Chicken Kabob, and Baba Ghanouj all served with pitas and rice...mmmm, it was good! Here's a peek at the dessert case:

And check out these cookies. Hmmm...interesting. While we were there Cynthia, who is actively trying to develop her stash right now, and I decided to go out in search of yarn the next day. Fast forward to Saturday afternoon. Cynthia had never been to the world's largest "self proclaimed" yarn store, so we headed to Showers of Flowers first. I'm no longer that impressed with their store though. I'm not sure if it's because

A) I have enough yarn, or
B) It just seems like they have too much backstock, and that it seems like a waste.

I walked out with nothing, and Cynthia bought a pair of DPN's. (I'm going to help her start some socks soon) Next we headed to Strawberry Tree. We arrived at 3:59...they closed at 4:00. So we headed to The Aurora Yarn Supply, this was the one remaining store that I hadn't visited, they closed at 4:00 too. Foiled again. As a last ditch effort, and because I wanted Cynthia to have plenty of opportunity to enlarge her stash, I broke down and visited Knitty Cat after an 8 month break. All is well. I even bought a skein of yarn, which I have dubbed Fuax-gu. It is the same type of yarn as Koigu. (which we saw 3 skeins of the whole day) It's Cherry Tree Hill, which will make a pair of socks with one skein. One pricey skein...but one skein none the less. Cynthia has some pictures posted of what she purchased, she bought some Manos and Cherry Tree Hill as well, so go check them out. They are very Cynthia colors! So, in the end, we were able to find yarn, but it wasn't as easy as we thought when we headed out in the first place! It was fun, but we definitely had to work to find some yarn in this city!! Note to self...when yarn shopping on a Saturday...most stores in Denver close at 4:00. Why? I have no idea. It seems silly to close that early on the weekend. At least Cynthia found a little bit of yarn for the stash, that was the goal of the day...so in a round about way, mission accomplished!

And the award goes to...

...my secret pal Lynette, of Chocolate and Yarn. How about that name? Two of my all time favorite things, yarn and chocolate! So, I received my final package from my secret pal on Saturday...and boy, did she go out with a bang! Here's the contents of the huge box that was in my mailbox:

First of all, she made me a Sophie bag! Can you believe it?! She knit me something...I can't stop saying it, she knit for me. Wow! (Click for a closeup of the yarn she used...let me know what yarn it is because I've never seen anything like it) I think that she could have stopped there and I would have been completely satisfied. It is knit out of a subtle varigated pink and orange (does she know me or what?) yarn...it's beautiful!!! That's not all though, oh no, she didn't stop there! She sent me 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces shepherd sock in the Bittersweet colorway, pretty stationary, a travel size grapefruit kit from Trader Joe's "Trader Zen" line, a tub of salt scrub from the same line, a cute little kitty tape measure, some Grapefruit jelly belly's, and the cutest little silver stitch markers!! I am one happy camper...I have had so much fun sending stuff to Lu and receiving things from Lynette. If you are interested in participating in the next round of the Secret Pal program that runs through the summer, you have until May 29th, so...head over and sign up!

Thank you, thank you, thank you Lynette!!

I've been busy!

I've been on a roll making stitch markers these past few days. I am sending out 4 to my Bead it partner, and 4 to a local friend, and 8 to a buddy up in Washington...and a few of them are for me!! :) I've had a sore throat the past few days, so I haven't felt like doing much, but tonight I'm knitting down at Stella's with some friends...that's just what I need. A little hang out time with my knitting crew! This weekend the forcast is for sunny weather, so I'm planning on cleaning off my porch and planting some flowers. Have a great weekend everyone, and I hope it's filled with lots of knitting time!!

Her future's so bright...

...she's gotta wear shades!! I couldn't resist, I had to share this picture with the world. I have the cutest niece ever!!! No knitting content today folks, come back another day for that. Although I did do something today that was knitting related, but I can't talk about it yet. It's a secret for now...what is the dream of every knitter though? Think on that tonight! I'm such a tease!

***And holy crap! I just topped 1000 comments over the weekend when I was up in the mountains! So, Dani is the lucky 1000th commenter...her blog is so fun, it's called Knit, Stitch, Click. Go check it out! And Dani, email me and I'll send you a fun little prize...I'll bet you never guess what it's going to be!!

A weekend getaway

What a great weekend in the mountains! I had a great time with my friends and I got a little knitting in too! My sister and I drove up on Friday night, we thought that the whole weekend mght get cancelled because it had been snowing in the mountains. We had to cross over Berthoud Pass to get to where we were staying in Granby, but we made it! There were probably 25 people total on the retreat, there were 6 people in my condo. It was nice, but the funniest thing about the place was that there was a hot tub in condo...not on the deck, but in the condo. It seemed a little odd to me that my room had french doors that led right to a hot tub, right next to the living room. I played alot of games (i love Phase10 and SkipBo!!) and my Clapotis is coming along...I'm on the 10th dropped stitch. That's what my life has become, counting the time in dropped stitches!

So Secret Pal 4 was over this past weekend...and I had so much fun spoiling Lu, from Maglia!. I loved hearing her write about the packages I sent, and she took the greatest pictures! I don't know who was sending stuff to me yet...she remains a mystery! I do need to tell her again how much I enjoyed her packages...the pink package with the yummy grapefruit stuff in it, including a gift for my cat Jesse! The orange Koigu and peanut butter goodness was awesome, the iTunes gift certificate! Wow! You really spoiled me!!! Thanks so much...whoever you are!

Speaking of being spoiled, last Wednesday was Secretary's day...and my boss asks me if I would want a gift certificate at a local eating establishment, or a knit shop?! What do you think I chose? Ummm, let me think about that for a sec....ummm, the knit shop!!! So now I have some fun money to spend on a rainy day in between pay checks:) Yippee! Plus, it's at my favorite local shop, A Knitted Peace, where everybody knows your name...and they're always glad you came! Ha! That song keeps running through my head:)

I made some stitch markers over the weekend, and they are so fun, if I do say so myself! I found these little plastic charms, that are totally kitschy, but I love it! The chinese lantern is really too heavy for a stitch marker, but I may turn it into a little thing that I hook onto my scissors so that I can find them when I'm digging in my knitting goodie bag. I'm gearing up and investigating what kind of stitch markers my Bead it pal would want, I need to figure out what here favorite colors are and what kind of stuff she likes!! Sneaky, sneaky! So, there are going to be more stitch markers on display here in the next few days!

I just got the info on Back Tack, and who I'm sending stuff to! ( i love exchanges like this!!) It's time to break out the fabric stash!