sheep in the city

Quick catch-up!

So, I've been busy the last few days...doing what you ask? I'm going to sum it up in pictures.

Saturday night, I knit over at Cynthia's apartment, or should I say Cosmo's apartment...because it was clear who ruled that house! :) He has a sidekick named Danger, but the picture didn't come out, but how cute are those names? Cosmo and Danger?!

Sunday was spent finishing up my backtack project...busting out my Grandma's sewing machine. I think I see a lot of sewing projects in my future!

Monday was a blur and Tuesday was spent playing with Alice and taking her to the library for storybox time! So fun! She is such a cutie...of course I took pictures! I have to brag a little and say that the librarian was very impressed that she listened so well and paid attention to the story since she is still less than a year. Yep, she's a baby genius.

Tuesday night I met up with some lovely ladies at The Tattered Cover bookstore to knit. Unfortunely we didn't find the comfy chairs until more than half way through the evening. But seriously, does this look like a comfortable way to knit with your friends or what?!

We all had recliners!! Recliners, knitting, friends, beverages at the ready, and being surrounded by books is the perfect way to spend the evening before a root canal.

Wish me luck...I'm headed for the dentist at noon tomorrow. Hopefully you'll hear from me sometime tomorrow evening...if I make it:)

Amoxicillin sandwich

Guess what I get to do on Wednesday morning? Have a root canal. I woke up this last Wednesday morning and the left side of my face felt swollen...and sure enough when I got to work, my Dad and sister thought so too. They both strongly urged me to go to my dentist right then before it got any worse. You have to understand though...I have the sweetest dentist. He is this little old man that is soft spoken, gentle, and encouraging, but I despise going. I 9 times out of 10 have to have something done...and by the time I'm ready to leave I'm either crying or about to have a panic attack. Seriously. It seems so stupid, but a lot of times you just get left to "wait" in the chair with all that stuff in your mouth, and the drilling, and the burning smell. I have a long list of complaints, but I don't need to air those out. Luckily, on wednesday he just took an x-ray and saw that I did need a root canal, and I made the appointment. We'll see how it goes, I've had one before and it didn't hurt at all...everyone cross your fingers that this one will goes as well. Until then, this is what I get to take 3 times a day:) I'm off right now to clean out my garage. I have no idea how it got so filled with "stuff"! Then tonight I'm going to Cynthia's to knit. Have a great weekend everyone!

Bucket 'O Rogue

I finally got the yarn that I am going to knit Rogue with, it's Peace Fleece Worsted in a color called "Georgia Rose". I think I'm in love!

Click here to see a closeup!
It is a really pretty mauvey/purplely/pink and it has little flecks of orange. I have been wanting to use their yarn for a long time and I think that this is the perfect project for it! There are a whole bunch of us here in Denver that are going to knit this sweater at the same time...probably starting August 1. So, if you want to join us...feel free! I'm thinking of making a list on my sidebar of participants, so let me know if you are want to knit with us. So far, it's Michelle, Cathi, Cynthia, and I think Jenifer. (plus I think that I've convinced my friend Genia to start one too:) !! With the heat of the summer, I've not really wanted to start this anytime soon...but now that I have the yarn in my hands, I may just have to "swatch" a little! It's awfully tempting! We'll see how long I can hold out!

Last of the birthday goodies...

So, I keep meaning to post a picture of the cutest little bag (from Genia...she totally gets me!!) that I got for my birthday!

Can you guess what my favorite color is from the contents
of this bag?! Ha! As if you all didn't know already! Plus I've been meaning to give a huge shout out to my secret pal, who for my birthday gave me a gift certificate to iTunes!! Thanks a ton, you rock...now I just have to decide if I want to get the new Coldplay, the new Foo Fighters, or the soundtrack to Sisterhood of the Travelling pants! Decisions, decisions!

An actual finished project!!

First, go vote for Jesse! He's in the semi-finals of the Puuurrfect Kitty contest, and he really wants to win! :)

Now for the finished project:
I started my One Skein Wonder on Thursday, and try as I might, I didn't have it done for Estes, but it's done now!! I love it! Here are the pictures of me debuting it yesterday!!

Here's a picture of the right front side, so that you can see the beauty that is this yarn!

And for those that want to see the back, here it is!

Project stats:
I used 2 skeins (they were only 107 yds) of Araucania Patagonia Nature cotton. I am lovin this yarn, it's beautifully dyed and super soft! I used US 8 to knit it up and when it called for a smaller needle, I used a US 6. Otherwise I followed the pattern exactly! I am already planning on making a few more of these!! It's so nice to have a fun summery instant gratification project! Thanks Stephanie for designing such a fun little project!

Estes or bust!

Before anyone is completely shocked by the fact that I bought NO YARN at the wool festival, let me show you how my week ended last week:

I went slightly crazy when I read that Tuesday Morning was carrying CottonEase at their stores. I blame Lauren and Brynne for letting the public know. But I have to say that Brynne gets the prize for buying the most CE...she bought 163 skeins!!! Holy crap, that's a lot of cotton! I didn't buy nearly that much...and wouldn't you like to know how much?! Ha!

So, now that you know that information, maybe you'll understand my lack of purchasing at the festival, but I'm getting ahead of myself! Friday night Michelle invited the group over to knit and sleepover so that we could all get up in the morning and head to Estes Park. I haven't been to a sleepover in...oh...about 12 years or so. The food was good, I amazingly enough, kept knitting all evening, much to the amazement of my friends! And I was actually the last knitter standing, or sitting rather, at 1:45 AM when the party ended! I headed home at that point because I needed to pick up my mom, so I got home around 2:15AM, was too wired to sleep, kept knitting, and finally went to sleep around 4:00AM. My alarm went off way too soon at 6:20! Sheesh, what I do for knitting! We all convened at Starbucks and drove up together...then we were finally there! The time had arrived...we had all been talking about this for months!!

What follows is a lot of pictures of us being silly, and lots 'o fibery goodness! Read more at your own risk!!

First, the funniest thing happened to me! I was recognized by a reader of Sheep in the City! She came up and asked if my name was Stacey, and if I had a blog?! And she told me that she doesn't have a blog, but that she reads mine! How fun is that?! Click
to see the evidence! I did manage to take a picture with her...but I can't remember her name! I think I was so shocked that anyone would recognize me that it just went in one ear and out the other! Sorry! If you read this, leave me a comment so that I can put your name in here!

Can you see the love that we have for all things yarn?

Cathi lovin' the Koigu and Interlacements. Cathi...you can love the Koigu...you just can't loooovvee the Koigu?! :)

This is the yarn that I "almost" bought, damn! I kind of wish that I had it...oh well, there will always be more yarn on another day. But isn't it fun colors?! (Amy I totally thought of you when I saw this! It's totally Stacey/Amy colors!)

Libby loves to mug it up in front of the camera!! She is a crack up! Michaele is next to her, and Wanda was still doing some serious shopping in the background:)

We did take a break for lunch, but upon finding this sign:

We decided to shop more, and eat less, and just grab something on our way home.

Here's the whole gang, right before we left, everyone's holding there second round purchases since the first round had already been taken to the car!

In the back it's Wanda, Libby, Michelle, Cathi, Lesley, and in the front with the shorties is me, Cynthia, and Michaele. Make the rounds to these blogs when you get the chance to read about and see their pictures and interpretations of the day! One girl was even inspired to write poetry about it!:) And the day wouldn't have been complete without a Llama picture! Here's Michelle who was very excited that she got to touch a llama!!

Here's the one purchase that I did make:

It's a gadget that will keep your cast on tail nice and neat, plus it's pretty! You can view some of the other knitterly jewelry that Mary Snyder designs here. Enjoy!

I did finish my OSW on Saturday night, after all the festivities! So, I'll be posting an actual finished project soon! Can you believe it?!

Lounging around...

It's amazing what you can do with a day off. I took Wednesday off from work. #1 because I have a ridiculous amount of time vacation days (that I'm very grateful for) but no where to really go. #2 because my friend Genia and I have been meaning to finish off this season of Alias (she wanted to watch them in order, so we've been watching the dvds. Of course I couldn't wait for her, sorry Genia, so I'm watching them for a second time!! Anyway, she stayed over after the big cheese fest that was my birthday, and we basically vegged...the entire day!! It was awesome! I got to look at this all day, not too bad! Nice. We took one small break to go out for reinforcements of the yarny variety. She had never been to Colorful Yarns, so we headed there, and look what I found:

Yarn to make my very own One Skein Wonder! And yes...that is two skeins you see in the picture, that's just a technicality ladies. All of the cool girls are knitting them:) We'll see if I like the way mine turns out, I can't decide if I can pull it off or not. Even if it doesn't work, I am diggin' the whole top down thing!! Here's my progress so far: (and of course all day today at work, my knitting has been taunting me from under my desk, saying "knit me, knit me!", but I restrained myself!) This little project is addictive!!

The colors look horrible in this picture, so here's a closeup. Just my colors!! I hope to finish and wear my OSW to knitting on Friday...or at least to the Wool Festival this weekend!!!

My Birthday: part 2

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday...it really made this birthday a special one! I had a great time hanging out with my knitting buddies!! What better way to spend your birthday than knitting with a bunch of women who love knitting just as much as I do! We met at our usual hangout, the cafe at Barnes and Noble. (if you are in the area and want to join us...please do! Just join the yahoo group!) Of course I was too preoccupied with talking to everyone, and opening presents :) that I didn't take any pictures of the group! Sheesh!

Here's the gifties though:

Strawberry Parfait Sugar Scrub and Body Butter! A pink Frida project bag/purse!! and the cutest handmade Sheep Knitting Needles...the needles are a 10.5, made from dowels and the sheep are made from Fimo!! Do my friends know me, or what?

Aren't these the cutest things you have ever seen?! I love them!! After knitting for a bit, some of us headed over to The Melting Pot for a little Wine, a lot of melted cheese, and some flaming chocolate! It was delicious. This is only the second time that I've had fondue, and I have decided that everything tastes better when dipped in cheese or chocolate. Cauliflower, not usually my favorite raw vegetable, could quickly move to the top of my list if it always came doused in cheese. Here's the group photo that our waiter kindly took for us!

All the usual suspects were in attendance:
clockwise...RayLynn, Cathi, Amy, Libby, Wanda, Genia, ME, and my sister Whitney.

I haven't laughed that hard in a really long time! Wow, laughter makes me feel good. What a great birthday.

They say it's your birthday...

Yes indeed...I am 28 years old today. These are the glasses that my mom gave me the other night at dinner, aren't they fun? Yes, I am going to wear them tonight! Big glasses are in style you know, just go ask Wendy at Knit and Tonic, she's my new fashion guru! So yesterday, I went to work and it seemed like the longest Monday ever...although there was a highlight in the middle of the day when we broke for lunch and had Chinese brought in for my birthday!! Mmmm...crab cheese wonton's....mmmm. So, back to the long day, when I finally got home I went by the mailbox...and I have friends that are so good about mailing stuff at just the right time that it arrives on or the day before your birthday...it's an amazing talent. I can never do that! One of my friends, Julie, sent me a postcard all the way from Ireland and it still arrived right on time! That is amazing to me, and check out the card...it has really "sexy" Irish men on it!

In the spirit of sharing, I thought that I would share with you, oh loyal readers, the bounty that has already been my birthday. I am very loved...and I know it. It feels good to not just get presents (although I do love them, who doesn't?), but know that people are thinking about me and wishing me well! Thanks to all of you who have already sent me birthday wishes!! Now, for the pictures...

This was the gift from my parents. I have needed a new phone for a while now, so my Dad, out of the blue, drops this phone off the other day! It's my Jem phone:) It's truly, truly, truly outrageous! It's from Sprint if anyone needs to go out and get there own pink phone! I love mine! The bracelet is made by Pandora jewelry and it's kind of like a charm bracelet, but the charms are screwed on and then can rotate around. My Dad had bought one for my mom last year and I really loved hers, and now I have one! My parents bought me two charms, the little silver bead with the gold crown on top and the bead on the far right that stops them from coming off. My brother and Jackee gave me the dice because we always play games together, adn my grandparents gave me the heart charm and the flowery charm! It's so fun, I am a huge fan of chunky, funky jewelry!

In the mailbox yesterday was a box from good to be girl, and she is so fun the way she color coordinates her gifts, here's the package when I opened it:

Click on the picture to see what's inside!! It's Margarita smelling Philosophy bath wash...yummy! And all the candy was turquoise or green, to match of course!! Thank you Amy! I hope to be planning a trip soon!!

Last, but not least was an envelope of goodies from Renee of A Good Yarn! She sent me the cutest little card with a "Jesse" on it! (I love when people send me yellow cat cards that look like my cat!!) Some S-shaped stickie notes, a little pink photo album that I'm supposed to put pictures of Alice in (awwwww!), a tiny glow in the dark sheep, and a couple of stitchmarkers that she made!! Click here for a sheepy close up!! This is going on my inspiration shelf!! Thanks Renee, I really appreciate your kind words!!

Today is my day with Alice, so we're going to spend the afternoon at the pool, and then tonight it's knit group and fondue!!! Thanks everyone for all the birthday wishes...it really has made this birthday a special one!

I have cast on for a new pink project...so stay tuned!

Stitchmarkers abound!

Many of you may be sick of the stitchmarker posts and wondering just how many stitchmarkers a girl needs...but they just keep coming!! I received 2 packages in the mail last week, one from my Bead it 2 partner Gina, and the other from Amy.

Amy and I set up a little swap of our own awhile ago. She sent me a Japanese book on making beaded food and desserts that she picked up in SanFransisco, some Hello Kitty skinny pencils (totally 80's), some Cheetos lip balm (very strange stuff...it tastes like Cheetos after you've been wearing it for a while. (And then you wonder why you are crazing snacks a couple hours later:), and of course the "custom made" Amyville stitchmarkers!! When she approached me and offered to custom make some different foods...I jumped all over that! Here's a close up of what I chose, and yes this is going to make me look very strange!

•The hotdog of my dreams...that only has cheese on it! (a weird little quirk of mine...I don't like any condiments! My family is used to it, but they still think that I'm weird!)
•Reeses Peanut butter Cups...have any of you seen the Big Cup? Now that's good candy!
•Snickers bar
•A taco....mmmm...tacoes!!
•A Dill pickle
•and the pièce de résistance...my own little chicken nuggets. I love chicken nuggets and chicken tenders. It's my stand by that I order at a restaurant when nothing else appeals...I love them! I even thought about starting my own blog about my pursuit of the perfect chicken tender. I know, it's weird, but hey I've ordered them from just about every restaurant in town...I'm an expert!
Thanks Amy!!

Gina's markers have these cute little charms hanging off them that she said she got at Michael's. They are just perfect! Thanks Gina!!!

Click the picture for a closeup!

Tomorrow is the big day...the big 28! I had a dinner over the weekend with my family since my parents are out of town this week. (of course the pictures are on the same camera, that is currently cordless!!) So, I'll be sure to post pictures of the festivities...and the fun that is coming tomorrow. It's our usual night to knit together...so we are going to knit and then go have Fondue!!! Knitting followed by melted cheese and chocolate...it doesn't get better than that!

Sick,and tired...but not too tired.

Yesterday I stayed home from work because I've had some kind of funky cold/nasty stuff this week. I am not a good sick person, seriously! I get grouchy and irritable...and if you know me, you know that is not the kind of person I usually am. So, my mom came over with some medicine and groceries (have I mentioned that she is the greatest mom, as well as being one of the most kind and gentle women I know) and hung out with me the whole day. And then my sister walks in with this:

They were flowers from her little garden and mine. So beautiful and professional looking! Thanks Whit! If you want to see some more pictures of the arrangements at her house, plus a ton of Alice photos, go check out Alice's Blog. (scroll down on yesterdays entry)

Since I had stayed home from work I contemplated not going to my knitting group that evening, but I just didn't want to miss out on any of the fun! So I headed to St. Mark's coffee house and knit a bit with the usual group...my pictures turned out like crap, so go check out Libby's or Cathi's pictures...I hate it when my camera craps out on me. Oh well. Fun was had by all, and knitting plans were hatched by Libby and I. Mwwaahaahaa! I love secret knitting plans.

Ok, I've been sitting here for 10 minutes starring at my computer screen trying to think of something else to write, but it's no use. After being at work today for the whole day I'm exhausted...the only good thing was that my day went better than it started out. I went to McDonalds on my way to work and getting out of my car with my large oj, the lid came off and I spilled it...in...my...knitting...bag(as well as in my car, on some papers for work, and my check book! I had one of those panic moments, I didn't know what to do! I grabbed my Harry Potter scarf and shook it off. Luckily it didn't have a chance to soak in, and the felted bag kind of naturally repelled the water, a bizarre but much appreciated bonus that I was unaware of. Nothing was ruined, everything was able to be washed off or wiped down. Although I did feel slightly citrusy all day:) And the day went by quickly. I think it's time to head to bed though...my brain is starting to quit on me...nighty, night!

Finished and Felted!

Here's the pictures you all have been waiting so patiently for!! Of course, silly me I didn't take a picture of them all together, so I only have shots of a couple of them.

Here's mine:

The fiesta teacup is there for scale, just like the original bags that my roommate and I knit back in February. I love, love, love my pink and brown buttonhole! The size is perfect for a knitting bag, it fits my Harry Potter POA scarf perfectly, see?! Because of the modifications that I made, the top of the bag is much wider than the first bag that I made. So it's much easier to get in and out of. Have I mentioned that I love this bag? Here's a question that I have for you though: should I add this ribbon around the middle of my bag...it's really what inspired me to knit the pink and brown in the first place.

Just so everyone is clear, I thought I'd post my modifications again:
On the base, I cast on three and increased to 11 instead of 9 stitches and I knit until I had 30 ridges. When I picked up the stitches around the edges, I had 40 on each side of the markers. During the increase rounds, I just increased until I had 100 stitches on my needles. I didn't count the number of rows I knit up, I just striped it until I thought it looked tall enough. (that's a really scientific method, I know) Then for the decreases, I just followed the instructions and ended up with 17 stitches on either side of the buttonhole and 12 in the middle...making a grand total of 92 stitches around the top.

Here's my Grandma's felted buttonhole, and since it was the first one that she's made, she just straight up followed the pattern.

Didn't she pick out great colors? I have the coolest grandma! She's so hip!! I'm going to try and snag pictures of the rest of the bags in the days to come. Have a great weekend everybody!!

One year down...

...many more to go! Wow! I can't believe that I've been writing here at Sheep in the City for a year! I started it as a lark, wanting to keep track of my knitting projects, start journaling again, there were many reasons. But, I had no idea the impact that this community of knitters would have on my life. Seriously, not to get all sappy...oh who cares, I can be sappy...I have met some of the greatest people. Through my blog I have met a group of girls that I knit with usually once a week, and they are some of the funnest, most creative, most encouraging knitters around! I love my knitting crew!! Then there are the knit-bloggers that I have never met in person, but I still consider to be my friends...you know who you are!! Thanks for enriching my life ladies...here's to another year of knitting and blogging!

What's to come in the next year? I hope to continue to knit from my stash and not be such a greedy yarn purchaser. I want to go through the design and submission process just because I think that it will stretch me and make me push the limits. Travel to meet some of my online knitting buddies?! Roadtrip anyone? You heard them here...those are the goals, I can't wait to get started!

**ps...if someone wants to knit me this birthday cake, feel free...I love it! What knitter wouldn't want to get a knitted cake?!**
*pps...this little cake is pictured on the back of a Rebecca magazine, I think in celebration of some anniversary of the magazine, as far as I can tell, there is no pattern, bummer!*

Whatever happened to knitalong Tuesdays?

I'll tell you...I sort of stopped working on most of them. I finished my Clapotis, so I can cross that one off the list. There's the FBS Shawl, and the Flower Basket bag. Neither one of which is on the needles. The Poetry in Stitches sweater needs to be started over...I only have, maybe, 6 inches of a sleeve done. My thrum mittens...well, I'm not feelin' the love for them, and I just can't knit wool mittens in the summer. It's not going to happen. Then there's my Fry-Up bag. I'm so disappointed that I haven't finished it yet! I started it in February, there's no good excuse for why it's not done. It's going back in the knitting bag so that I'll have it there to work on. If they are in the knitting bag, then they will get worked on!

What am I working on right now you ask? Well, I've had the Prisoner of Azkaban Gryffendor scarf on the needles for a while, and I really want to be able to wear it to the next movie!

I'm using Brown Sheep Nature Spun worsted in Brick and Gold, it's a really easy pattern, plain old stockinette in the round...easy enough that I'm going to bring it with me when I go see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants tonight with my sister and mom. I'm also going to start on a project for Alice's birthday in August. That about sums it up...that's really surprising to me...I guess I can go rummage through the stash and get a few new projects lined up! It really is freeing to get a couple of projects done...ha! Alright...back to baby watching duties (Tuesdays are my day with Alice:) and then it's off to a girly movie with my two favorite girls!! Stay tuned for the Felted buttonhole pics in the next few days!!!

Lookie what I found!!

**So I feel bad...I've received a couple emails asking where I got a copy of the book...I don't have one, it's not being published until September, I just found it while I was cruising Amazon. Sorry to cause a ruckus**

Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen...the Yarn Harlot has done it again! I can't wait!

It's Good to be Girl...and it's good to be me!

Amy of Good to be Girl is one of the coolest bloggers I know...last week she sent out gifts to some of her readers, on her blog anniversary! What?! I thought that we were supposed to be sending her stuff! (oh Amy...just you wait, I have an appointment at the post office tomorrow morning, where a little somethin' somethin' is heading your way!) I don't think that I've ever received a cuter package in the mail...the whole thing was so her, just too cute! I, of course, ripped right into it, and look what I found!

My own little Good to be Girl mascot! It's going onto my special shelf in my studio, where she'll cheer me on to finish my projects and creatively start new ones! But that's not all, there were special Dark M&M's, a G.T.B.G. magnet, a bath fizz in the shape of a cupcake, and the sweetest little pink snowman stitchmarker! You are too generous Amy! If you haven't checked out her blog yet, go do it! The fun thing about Amy and I is that we've discovered that we have all these funny things in common. My 1 year blog anniversary is on Thursday June 9th, her's was on May 28th, her birthday is June 11th, mine is June 14th, we've randomly started the same projects...it's sounds like I'm a stalker, but really I'm not, we just like a lot of the same things!! Go over and visit her, look at all the fun pink stuff, and the sushi made out of candy, and wish her a happy birthday on Saturday! Thanks again Amy, it has been fun sharing ideas and crafty stuff with you this past year!

I'd like my buttonhole on the rocks please!

As soon as we found out that my Aunt and Uncle and grandparents were all going to spend the weekend with us in Vail over Memorial Day, my mom wanted us girls to all knit a project together. Buttonhole bag to the rescue! This is a great project that is quick and easy for all different skill levels! The first step was choosing yarn. My grandma and sister and I went to our LYS and found some Brown Sheep Bulky (I of course didn't have to get any because I have a large stash of leftovers and a ton from my trip to Brown Sheep last year!). I brought my tub-o-brown sheep up to Vail just in case anyone wanted a different color...my mom proceeded to dump the whole thing on my sisters head, and that's what we were doing in this picture! Silly mom.

We all got started Saturday evening, and continued knitting throughout the day (it was beautiful weather!) outside on the back patio where we could see the golf course and the little mountain stream that flows through the yard. It was so relaxing. Here's my mom,contemplating color choices for the side of the bag. She chose an all pink color scheme (that's my kind of girl), but really took her time choosing the order that the colors would be in...I love the way her bag turned out! (shhh, don't tell, it's my favorite!)

Of course, Alice even managed to get in on the action. My sisters Chibi and measuring tape have become her constant companions while we were knitting. That girl is so cute!! She's standing in the buttonhole bag that I made a few months ago.

This is here for pure "awwwww" factor. She sat on my lap for probably 5 minutes with her hands on mine while I was knitting. She was concentrating so hard as I told her (in a sing songy voice of course) each step that I was doing. So even Alice knit a part of a buttonhole bag!

The fun thing about knitting this project all together was that everyone's bag turned out so different! Everyone chose pretty distinct and different colors, which makes all the difference in the way they turn out. We were knitting all day on Sunday and most of the day on Monday (with only one quick trip to the yarn shop!)...seriously, if the guys hadn't been playing golf, we could have had one of them take a picture of us all sitting around, talking, knitting, occasionally watching a movie, but knitting all the while. I had that line from Finding Nemo in my head that Dory keeps chanting..."just keep swimming, swimming, swimming, just keep swimming.", but I changed the line to "just keep knitting, knitting, knitting, just keep knitting." It became my mantra.
I made some modifications on my bag so that it would be larger, since I had already made the regular sized Buttonhole. So, I felt like I wasn't knitting as fast as the other girls (because I tend to make these things a competition!), and that my bag was taking forever to knit up...but I kept at it! I was done with mine in the wee hours on Tuesday morning. I woke up and came upstairs to tell my dad that my pointer finger on my right hand was hot and sore. To which he told me that was a sign of too much knitting! I of course think that there can never be too much knitting! The soreness was due to pushing the needle through with my finger, and having so many stitches on my needle that it got a little tight and I had to use my finger more than usual. I think it's like a badge of honor, my knitting wound, I'm building up tolerance...someday I'll have thicker skin and a little marathon knitting session won't even faze these fingers! Right before my aunt and uncle left, (RayLynn was already gone) we took a picture all together with our bags:)

Parting shot: All the bags, unfelted, on the rocks! Enjoy!

Who were these lovely bags knit by, you ask? Well, let me tell ya! (clockwise from the top left)
1-Whitney, my sister, who I'm so proud of! She finished this project in just a few days! Way to go Whit!
2-Me...my monster brown and pink buttonhole...it's like the buttonhole that ate Manhatten...it's huge! I love it!
3-Grandma Sue, she decided to add those couple rows of Limeade, and it really made her bag pop! I'm proud of her too...she sure was glad to get this bag done because my Grandpa thought all of us girls were crazy for knitting so much!
4-RayLynn, who made her pretty purple bag for her mom...and was the first one done! That's because she concentrates and doesn't talk as much as me:)!
5-My mom's Pretty in Pink bag...I love it!
6-and last, my Aunt Roxanne's brown and red bag.
Everyone's bag has such personality, what a fun time we had...and great memories! Thanks ladies!!

*the felting pictures are coming...in the days to come...they are in the washing machine as I type!*

Here are the modifications that I made:
I cast on 3 like the pattern says, but I increased the bottom to 11 or 13 stitches (should have written it down!) and then I lengthened the bottom. I ended up picking up 80 stitches around the edge, increasing until I had 100 stitches on each side, and then following the pattern for the rest of the bag. When I made my handles, I had 17 stitches on each side of the buttonhole and 12 in the handle. 46 stitches on each side...for a total of 92 stitches around the bag in the final few rows. Let me know if this doesn't make sense.

More Clapotis shots

Here are the promised pictures of RayLynn and I wearing our Clapotis. My Dad was taking the pictures and having us "pose" with serious faces...and I just couldn't do it, I kept laughing. My mom is almost done with her Clapotis, she's in the decrease rounds. I'll be sure to post a picture of hers because she's using the same yarn as I am, just in a different colorway, it looks beautiful! Thanks for all the great comments everyone! It's so encouraging after a long project to hear that it was a job well done!

RayLynn's Clapotis: 4 skeins of Artful Yarns Fable...and she's decided to keep it for herself...which is a very big thing since she gives most of the stuff she knits away. It is a very heavy scarf/shawl...so beware of that before knitting it. I love the way it drapes though!!