sheep in the city

Quickie

Things are crazy at work this week for me, so I'm putting off the stash sale until later this week or next Monday. I did get to knit this past weekend...I had a great dinner and knit-night on Friday with my girlfriends, went to a Nuggets game on Saturday with my family and roommate Jenny, then taught 6 new people how to knit on Sunday! It was a full weekend for sure!

I brought my knitting to the game, but because we were so close to the court I didn't pull mine out. My Mom on the other hand was not at all ashamed to bust out the knitting. Go Mom!

Actual knitting content...wow!

Yes, indeed...there is actual knitting content today, with pictures even! I know that I was singing the praises of the 2 sleeves at once thing last week, but the progress is slowing down so much as I get more stitches on the needle. What does that mean? Boring. I'm not quitting though. I can see the end in sight for this sweater. After the sleeves are done, I just have the left front to knit. Of course there is the finishing work to think about. At that point though, I think that I'll be so excited to get it done and wear it that it won't be that big of deal, right?

Anytime I see the light at the end of a project, I start thinking about what's next in the lineup. Hmmm...I have so many pretty yarns. The ones pictured below are the ones that have been on my mind and in my knitting bag lately. Yes, I carry them around with me. For one, I like to look at them. For two, usually this helps me bond with the yarn, therefore helping me decide which yarn to choose. I just reread that sentence...and I sound like a bit of a weirdo. Bonding with yarn...but you guys get it, don't you? I'm not a total freak am I?

The two yarns in the back are both Malabrigo. The orange one is called Rhodesian and the green one is called Lettuce. I have a sweaters worth or more of each of them, since these skeins are huge at 216 yards/skein, and I have 10 skeins of each color. I'm thinking maybe Wicked with the orange and Starsky with the green? I've watched Jeni knit her Starsky over the last few months, and now Cynthia is knitting one too! We all are big fans of the Malabrigo. The yarn in the front of the picture is Cascade Quatro in color #9433. I'm thinking of knitting Ariann.I mean, all the cool people are knitting it. Plus, it's so darn classy. Has anybody tried to upsize it a bit? I'm worried about it fitting in the bust...so I'm hesitating. I loathe trying to mess with numbers in patterns. But, this is the knit that I'm leaning towards, so I may have to bite the bullet and figure it out. (as you can tell...I've already used the ball winder, and I'm ready to swatch) Do you want to see a close-up? Alrighty...click away to see the yummy wine and pink colored yarn!

Last, but not least, a little show and tell. My mom bought me some new Vera Bradley bags while she and my Dad were in Arizona. A ditty bag (which I think of as the perfect project bag) in pink elephant, and a laptop case and zip ID case in Capri Melon. Thanks Mom! That's all for now...got to get to work!

The flight home...

Who did I end up sitting by on my flight home? Well, her name is Amy Barickman, and she recently wrote a book all about needlefelting called, Indygo Junction's Needle Felting. It looks like a really fun book...and when I arrived back in Denver, I realized that we already had her book in the shop! The picture below is the bracelet that she had on, and she assures me that it will be in her next book!

I can't believe that it snowed again yesterday...I'm getting a little tired of it. We must be setting some kind of record here in Denver, sheesh. My weekend was so nice, I celebrated my brother's birthday on Friday night...Happy Belated (on the blog at least!) Birthday Chad! I went to see three movies, 2 on Saturday night, and one on Sunday night. I saw Pan's Labyrinth, The Queen, and Stomp the Yard. All very different from each other, and good in their own ways. Pan's Labyrinth was not exactly what I had pictured...it was a little more violent than I thought it would be...but it was still an entertaining movie. I also had lots of time to knit over the weekend, but no new pictures. Overcast and snowy weather doesn't make for very good pictures.

I'm planning a little stash sale over here at Sheep in the City...be expecting news about that later this week. I'm waiting to have some good lighting to take photos of the stash that will be going up for sale, and if all goes well, I can do that this weekend and the sale would start next monday morning. Be watching for it!

I came, I saw, I got blisters.

TNNA was awesome. Let me start out by saying that. It was so much fun to see all that yarn in one place...and know that the vendors were all there to sell themselves to us. And the knitting celebrities were everywhere. I got to meet Lexie Barnes, Larisa of Offhand Designs, Norah Gaughan, Stephanie Japel, Nicky Epstein, Erika Knight, Mel Clark, Teva Durham, Annie Modesitt, and Brandon Mably. That'a just the beginning of it though...they were everywhere!

So, the trip started with Tiffany and I leaving Denver in the afternoon on Friday...leaving behind snow and 1 degree weather. Seriously. It was 1 degree out when we took off. Crazy. Needless to say, we were excited to get to California. I managed to cast on for a sock on the plane, but soon enough, turbulance and yucky feelings overwhelmed me and the sock got put away. Once we arrived, checked into our amazing accomodations, (we had a corner room from which we could see the marina and all of downtown...amazing!) and registered at the convention center, Tiffany and I explored the GasLamp district.

Saturday is all a blur to me. I woke up super early, headed downstairs to the Starbucks in the lobby and knit while I ate breakfast and chatted with my Mom via cellphone. Have I mentioned that there was a Starbucks in the lobby? I love that! Since we thought the show started at 9:00am and it actually started at 10:00am, we had some time to burn. Who happened to be sitting next to us...it was Mim! From Mim Knits, and she was wearing her Icarus Shawl. I got to touch and feel it...and now I need to make one, but that will have to wait.

From 10:00am until 6:00pm we were on the move, going from one vendor to the next...searching for the perfect yarn or accessories to order and have at the shop. Have I mentioned how much fun it was? I was in shopping heaven, and it didn't even bother me that I couldn't take any of it home with me. After eating dinner, we went back to the room and just crashed. Sunday was more of the same...a race to see it all and make our flight, not to mention fit everything into our bags!

There were a record number of free books given away this year at the show...Tiffany thought that maybe we'd get 4 or 5 books apiece, but take a look at this:

Because TNNA doesn't allow cameras on the show room floor, I wasn't able to document the event like I would have normally, but believe me, it was amazing! Here's what my sock looked like on the plane ride home...and I'm thinking that it's going to get ripped. Too loose. Can't see the pattern. Not a happy sock. I also just so happened to be sitting next to another fiber celebrity on the flight home, but that's another story.

Family news...

So, I've been debating for weeks on whether or not to talk about what's going on with my Dad. Some of you read his blog, so you know, but some don't so I decided to give you an update. It's been a rough couple of weeks around here. My Dad has been experiencing some numbness in his face, and through another MRI they discovered that the lesions at the base of his skull are pressing on the nerves in his spine...therefore, causing the numbness. He is going to start radiation on that one spot this coming Monday, here in Denver. My parents are currently spending some time together at their place in Arizona. Please continue to pray for healing for my Dad. It's such a scary thing to see one of your parents sick...I know that I've said that before, but it just keeps coming back to that for me. Anyway, know that if things are quiet around here, I probably just haven't been knitting that much, or I've just not really felt like writing. But some days, this is just the right outlet for me to get my mind off of things that are happening, and connect with my knitting/blogging friends. Thanks so much for your support everyone!

I'm going to be writing all about the trip to California tonight...to be posted tomorrow. Fun stuff!

This is my parents on New Year's Eve 2006 at the Denver Nuggets game!

Yarn presents are the best!

Nachaele went to visit her family in Wisconsin last week...and she brought me back a fun surprise! Granted, it wasn't really a surprise since she called me from the airport and told me what she got me, but it was appreciated none the less! It's actually a yarn that I had never seen before, and Tiffany and I had planned to check out at the show.

It's from a company called Conjoined Creations. I haven't been able to find out much about the reason why they named it that...it seems a little weird, especially once you see the logo. Oh well. Back to the yarn...it's called Pastimes and is a 100% soy silk laceweight yarn. So gorgeous. My color is part of the music collection, and is named "8 Tracks". It's a pinky, green combination. Thanks Nachaele!

Roaming Gnome...

Hi! My name is Gnormyn, and I recently came to live with my new owner, Stacey. I sure had a fun weekend while Cynthia was in town, she is so funny! I wonder why she had to move to Boston? Maybe I'll have to go visit her one day. So, on my adventures this weekend I was able to do a lot of neat stuff. I've discovered that I love both dumplings and Tilli Thomas yarn. Not at the same time of course...but boy were those dumplings good!

I've heard a rumor that certain people don't want me to go on a certain trip to San Diego this weekend....well...we'll just have to see about that! A little warm weather sounds great to me. Okay, gotta go, Stacey doesn't know that I'm using her computer. Shhhh, don't tell!

Knitting in the morning...

I stayed over at my sister's house last night, which meant that I had a constant companion all morning long...named Alice. She was very interested in my knitting, as always. I just happened to have some extra yarn and needles in my bag, so she was able to "knit" too.

Yes, she too has lamby jammies, as we call them. (as well as a large Little Mermaid bandaid on her head) They were bought this past season at Target, and are mini Nick & Nora pajamas. While we were sitting there, she was concentrating so hard on that yarn and needle. I cast on a few stitches and then she wrapped the yarn around and around the needle. She is definitely going to be a knitter someday. I can't wait! Just last week she dumped some toys out of a clear zippered bag and declared that, "this my knitting bag!" I laughed so hard when I heard that. We are a family of "bag" ladies...so what did I expect?! Of course we would train up a little "bag" girl.

I was knitting on the sleeves to my Sienna Cardigan last night and this morning, and I think that the pink yarn is what prompted Alice asking me questions like, "what are you knittin'?", "I have yarns too?". I am loving knitting both sleeves at once...I'm thinking that from here on out, if the pattern allows, I'll be knitting sleeves like this. I love the idea that once you are done, you have both sleeves! I just have the left front left to knit after the sleeves are finished, then it's on to the details like buttonbands and collars. I'll be bringing this on the trip to San Diego this weekend, along with a smaller more mindless project. With the weather forcast (last time I checked) calling for snow on Thursday, I'm really looking forward to going to California. Everybody cross your fingers that it will just blow over and not really amount to much. I've heard rumors that say as much as 11 inches! I told Tiffany that we are going to get out of this snow-covered city no matter what! Only 3 more days until sunshine!

Weekend surprises!!!

Thursday afternoon I made plans to have lunch with Tiffany and Michelle. We were going to eat, then head to the shop to see the new Lexie Barnes bags that had come in. Well, I was completely shocked when I walked in and saw CYNTHIA sitting there!! What an amazingly fun surprise! And guess what? The bags didn't arrive until the next day...Tiffany just knew that the lure of new bags would get me to the shop! Ha! Am I predictable, or what?! Needless to say, my plans for the weekend were thrown out the window, and Cynthia become the main focus. There were impromtu knitting groups, planned knitting parties (Tiffany really is so sneaky and good at keeping a secret!), and lots of eating!

During one of these knit groups on Thursday night we started talking about all the projects that various people had finished this year. I started to get a little down on myself that I hadn't finished more. But, then I had to remind myself that I enjoy the process of knitting...and it matters to no one how many things that I finish. Of course, what do I do at Friday night's gathering? Cast on for a Center Square hat...and I stayed up and finished it that night! You know, just to prove to myself that I could start and finish a project! I'm such a dork.

Pattern:Center Square
Yarn: Jamie Harmon, wool/angora yarn that I picked up at Rhinebeck. I even have enough left over to knit another hat too!
Needles used: US 11, 40" (magic loop!) addi turbo
Knit: 1/5/07
Mods: none...straight up followed the pattern.

I did manage to get my hands on a Lexie Barnes Flo bag at Colorful this weekend. Imagine that. I went with the Baja print that is black, white, and pink. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there were tiny skulls all over the bag! You don't even notice them at first!! I love the fact that it looks all girly with flowers...and then you notice the skulls!

**Watch for some Roaming Gnome pictures later this week...Gnormyn has been doing a little sight-seeing around Denver!**

California...here I come!

In 8 days I'm headed to San Diego! What for you ask? I'll be attending the TNNA show with Tiffany, the owner of Colorful Yarns! It's going to be so nice to go somewhere where there is no chance for any snow! I can hardly wait! If you are going to be there, either as an attendee, or with a booth...let me know and I'll stop by and say hi!

In Gnome news...I have decided on a name, and I've used a random number generator (in the form of a co-worker who was told to pick a number between 1 and 33) to pick a winner of my little contest. Thanks everyone for all the suggestions...there were so many good ones! (check them out in yesterday's comments) Without any further ado...meet Gnormyn of Norway, cousin to Dale. This name just fits. It also makes me laugh...so it had to be Gnormyn. The winner of the contest is:

Julie of the blog Knitpickin'! I'll be contacting you shortly to get your shipping info! Expect something sheepy/knitting related in the mail soon!

Check out the cuteness that arrived by mail from Boston last week!

Cynthia was able to go to the Bazaar Bizarre right before Christmas, lucky girl! She picked up a zippered pouch and button set from the crafty people at Sewing Stars. It's just so sheepy and cute! Here's a picture of the back of the pouch and the inside. Thanks Cynthia!

More on Christmas...

Many of you were anxious to hear more on the topic of Christmas this year...so here goes!

Meet my Gnome. I've been wanting one for ages...and now I finally have one! Want to help me pick a name for him? He's carrying a lantern in one hand and a book in the other. I'll enter everyone who gives me a suggestion in the drawing...of which the prize will be something knitterly of course! Suggest away!

The big surprise gift this year was a new TV...a flat screen TV! I was so shocked and yet so excited! Thanks Mom and Dad! My Dad loves to get last minute gifts for us, so he picked up the TV's (one for each of us three kids) on Christmas Eve. You could tell that he was up to something, and hardly could keep it in!

My sister's family gave me a second Pandora bracelet, and my brother and his wife gave me a new glass bead. Have I mentioned lately how much I love this bracelet? Since my first bracelet was so full, I moved half of the charms to my new one.

All the snow made it a bit of a pain to get around over the holidays, but it sure was pretty. It made for a very white Christmas! New Year's Eve was here before I knew it and I spent it at the Denver Nuggets game with my parents and some friends. We sat in a box which was all fun and fancy. We even got a visit from Rocky, the Nuggets mascot.

*What a fuzzy picture...but you get the gist of it, right? Obviously I wasn't the one taking the picture:) *

All in all, I spent the break just the way that I wanted to...with family and friends. Relaxing, knitting...you know...it was perfect. I even managed to make some good progress on a number of projects. (i.e.my pink Malabrigo sweater, Mod on Mod afghan, and bloggers afghan) Hopefully I'll have some FO's to talk about soon. Cross your fingers everyone!