sheep in the city

The big reveal...

Many of you have figured out that I've been a little into beading lately. A few of my knitting pals have talked about it...and obviously my last post eluded to it. I have to say, beading was my first love...way before knitting. I haven't given up knitting by any means, but it has been taking a back seat to all the bead action going on over here.

The big announcement is...that I've opened up my very own Etsy shop to sell my jewelry! Go on over and check out what I have available. I'll be adding more stuff everyday.

The knitting will resume, I promise. I've been working on a couple different projects, some new and some that I pulled out the work in progress pile. Thanks for sticking with me over here, I know that the posting has been a little sporadic lately.

I've been busy...

..stayed tuned for details next week.

You say Tomato, I say Mojito!

I'm going to knit mine out of strawberries & cream and one of the new shades called Berry.

Terrie and Nachaele came over last night for a little patio knitting. We had a gourmet meal of PB & J's and chips and salsa...oh and a few Mojito's! Sometimes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich just tastes so good, especially in the summer, I think it's a nostalgia thing.

Terrie is someone that I taught to knit about a year and a half ago (or maybe longer...time flies!) and I'm so proud of her! She had been knitting some amazing stuff lately...go check it out! She came over a little early so that we could discuss upcoming projects, and the one that we settled on was Tomato, from No Sheep For You. As many of you know, I have a huge stash of Cotton-Ease, due to the Cotton-Ease scare of '05. Remember? So, yeah, I have a little Cotton-Ease. Terrie picked some nice blues from the stash and we swatched. Before long we had Nachaele convinced to knit one too!

**just to let you all know...this afternoon I got the email newsletter from Interweave called Knitting Daily, and they will give you the pattern for the Tomato sweater free for signing up with them! How fun! Now you can have this amazing pattern and knit along with me:) Go sign up!

And because I think he's so dang cute, here's a shot of Jesse, keeping us company, right up in our business like usual!

What a week!!

I'm officially 30 now...and I have to say, it sure feels nice. I'm thinking that this is going to be a good decade for me. Last Wednesday night about 13 of my knitting friends helped me celebrate in style at Buca di Beppo. We sat in the "Pope" room which was a large round room with pope paraphernalia all over the place, including a large bust of the pope that spins in the middle of your table. It was a little disturbing...don't believe me? Click here to see the picture.

What came after that was a whirlwind of activity almost every night, either with family or friends. Basically, I was very spoiled this year! Thanks to everyone for wishing me well. I have been trying for days to link to a mosaic that I made on Flickr of birthday gifts...so that I don't have to post a ton of pictures here. But I'm having a heck of a time figuring it out! So frustrating. If you want to see a slide-show...click here. Yes! I figured it out...finally!!!

**more on my trip to the Estes Wool market later**

Yarn, and Bags, and Stitchmarkers, oh my!

First the yarn. Wow. All I can say is wow! Look at the beauty that is this yarn. Dyed, by the amazingly talented Mary Kay...aka Red Rocks Fiber Works and named for me! I couldn't resist...so I bought all 10 skeins that she made. Now before you say, "Stacey, you are a greedy, greedy wool pig" know that I gave half of it to my mother, so I only have 5 skeins in my posession at the moment. It is destined to become a shawl of some sort.

This was my reaction when I saw the color. (click to see)

Now for the bag. My roommate couldn't wait for my birthday, so on Monday morning she gave me her gift. A huge hot pink bag filled with yummy grapefruit-smelling items. Mmmm...I just love the smell of citrus. Thanks Jenny! (she got the bag, for all those who are wondering, at Bath & Body Works)

Stichmarkers...well, have I got some cute ones! These were purchased on my trip to Kansas City and were made by Knit Wit Momma. They are little pewter sheep with Swarovski crystals on each marker. Too cute to resist. They have several other sets (cats, knitting, and ceramic sheep) that I'm interested in. Stitchmarkers are the one knitting notion that I just can't have enough of! Love them!

These markers are from Colorful Yarns...and no, I didn't buy them all. They have all kinds of sheep and alpacas and flamingos. I'll post some more info on them later this week. If you desperately need some before then...contact the shop.

This last item that I have to show you is my new jewelry made from vintage knitting needles! I got a necklace and earrings from my parents. These were designed by Liana Kabel. She does some amazing stuff. Check it out!

That's all for now...I'm headed to my knit group birthday party tonight and then it's my birthday tomorrow!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Wow...I can't believe how long it has been since I blogged. Where does the time go? I have been crazy busy since my trip to Kansas City. I got home on a Tuesday, and immediately headed to my parents house to help them pack/throw stuff away/clean up for the rest of the week. After that, it's all a blur. I have been knitting though. Here is a quick run down of some of my activities over the last couple weeks.

First, Molly...meet Ravelry.

Ravelry is a new online community for knitters. I love it so much...and yet I have spent hours, literally, on Ravelry looking at projects, and FO's, and yarn...and not knitting! It is the biggest time suck around. But I still love it.

I finished the front of my Molly Ringwald top, and I'm a good 6 or 7 inches into the back. I don't want to jinx myself...but I just might get this thing done! Sweet!

My birthday celebrations have begun in the form of early birthday presents! My 30th birthday is on Thursday, June 14th. It's a big one, but one that I'm actually looking forward to. I can't wait to tell people that I'm 30. Good-bye 20's...hello new decade! Joanne brought my gift to knit group on Friday night. I was so surprised! Tim Gunn's new book...Tim Gunn:A Guide to Taste & Style. She even had it signed for me! Thanks Joanne! Kim came into the shop on Saturday to deliver her gift. It was wrapped in the cutest sheepy box and ribbon.

Apparently she bought them at Michael's. Hurry, hurry and go get some! Oh...you want to see what was in the box?? Click away! That's all I've got for now, I need to find some more pictures of the fun purchases I've made lately...stitchmarkers, bags, and yarn...oh my!