sheep in the city

Happy Birthday Liam!

What a cutie...and a pickle face to boot! I sure love this little guy. He tends to do everything with tons of energy and all his heart behind it. This photo is a perfect example. Happy Birthday buddy!

**I'll be posting Camp photos tomorrow! I just need one more night to recover!**

Headed to Camp!

Well, the weekend is almost here, and I'm taking my yarn and heading to the mountains tomorrow morning for a long weekend of knitting with the girls. I can't wait. It's just what I need right now.

There will be lots of pictures and stories when I return to reality on Monday, but until then...I'm living in the land of yarn and knitting. Doesn't that sound fun?

**note to self...before leaving the house, make sure all yarn and knitting bags are out of the range of Jesse, just in case.**

edited to add:
The yarn pictured above is going to be a February Lady Sweater. The yarn is Dream in Color "Classy" in the color In Vino Veritas. I just love that deep burgundy wine color. If you wondered where I picked up this gorgeous yarn, you guessed it! Colorful Yarns has tons of Classy in stock right now. And no...I haven't bought it all yet, but I've been tempted! I just love this stuff...plus it's washable! It doesn't get much better!

Anybody want a cat?

Okay, I have to start this by saying...no, I'm not getting rid of my cat. But last night, I was close, seriously close to giving him away. Remember....I love my cat, but there are just certain things that they are not supposed to touch. Like your knitting. I had been home about half an hour when I noticed him digging around in my knitting bag. He then proceeds to PEE IN MY KNITTING BAG! My brand new knitting bag no less. What was in there? Well, three works in progress, about 5 other skeins of yarn that I was going to wind up, including three skeins of Red Rocks (these lovelies), assorted patterns and notions, etc.

Yesterday had already been a bit of an emotional day for me...so I was a little on edge to begin with. (read my Dad's blog here if you want to) Then to come home and have my cat do that....right in front of me no less...was the straw that broke the camels back. To say I was upset is an understatement. I pulled everything out and started the process of cleaning everything. What a process it was. I didn't know what to do with the projects that were already on the needles. I didn't want to throw them away. My Mom kept saying that it was all replaceable...but my time wasn't?! I managed to calm down eventually and get the job of cleaning everything done. Wool wash to the rescue. I soaked everything and hung it all up overnight and everything looked and smelled normal this morning. What I've learned from this is that I'm just going to have to watch where I set my big knitting bags. No more leaving bags unattended that he can fit into! (for those of you that have met my cat, you know he's a big boy...so this was a really big bag!)

This is his "I'm so ashamed" pose. Ummm, yeah right! :) I couldn't stay mad at the big lug for long.

It's Friday again! Whoo hoo!

This picture is another one that is just too precious...I had to put it on the blog! It's my grandpa and my nephew....his great-grandpa. I love that my they live close enough that we all get to hang out together on a regular basis.

My parents flew to Arizona this weekend, almost immediately after my Dad had his first treatment yesterday. I'm trying to stay upbeat and positive about this new clinical trial...but some days its hard. There's not much more to say about it now, other than my Dad still needs prayer. Just that he will be strong and that this round of treatment would knock this cancer out! The side effects may be harder this go round. Cancer sucks. Okay. It's good to just have this off of my chest. Okay. Moving on. Let's talk about knitting. That always puts a smile on my face.

This weekend should be a restful one. It's looking like I'll have lots of knitting time. Those kinds of weekends are the best. It'll be nice to just hang at home with my roommate and my kitties. Although...next weekend is the one that I've been waiting all year for. It's Camp Wannaknitknit time again! I can hardly believe that this is the 4th year?! Cynthia is flying out from Boston, which I am thrilled about! It has been way too long since I've seen her, way too long. I've been gathering up lots of fun stuff for everyone and putting together a few simple crafts for everyone to do. (You can check out previous years here: Year 1, Year 2, Year 3)

Have a great weekend everyone!

The birthday weekend!

Here it is...what all of you have asked for...pictures!

Group shot...Estes Park Wool Festival 2008!
From left to right: Kelly, Wanda, Michelle, Jeni, Genia, Me, Terrie, my Mom, and Mary-Kay. In the front row are Sam and Michaele.

These are the 2 cabins that we stayed in at Meeker Lodge. The bigger cabin had a really fun porch where we all got to hang and knit. It was so fun to be out of our normal element, but still all together knitting. We had dinner that night to celebrate my birthday. Needless to say, we laughed a ton and really had such a great time.

The next morning it was Wool Festival time. Our first stop was Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool. I love their sport weight wool. I made a Seraphim with the yarn I got a few years ago.(here on Ravelry, mine is pictured here) I picked up 6 skeins in the color Dark Magenta to make a sweater for myself. I would normally only buy 5 to make a sweater, but I was wisely guided by Michaele when she told me that if I was going to do something with a hood or cabled at all, I should get an extra skein. I'm thinking about knitting Roam with this yarn. I'm not 100% decided, but it's a thought. I also picked up 3 more skeins of Plain & Fancy in a gorgeous Reddish-Orangey color aptly named Red on Red. This is to make myself another Seraphim since I gave the first one to my Grandma.

Saturday afternoon, all the knitting girls went home and the rest of my family came up for the night.

We went to dinner at The Stanley Hotel that night. Seriously...the best meal that I've had in a long time. I highly recommend going there and eating at Cascades. We made S'Mores in the fireplace, instead of making a cake. The kids had a ton of fun with the s'mores and we all ate way too many. Boy it was fun! We all got up the next morning to a home cooked meal of biscuits and gravy. Thanks Drew! (my brother-in-law makes the best gravy ever!) We ended up going back to the wool festival on Sunday so that the kids could see all the animals. All in all...it was a fabulous way to spend my birthday.

This is my favorite picture that I took all weekend. It's my Dad and Mimi taking a little snooze together. Too cute!

My Dad starts a new chemo treatment on Thursday...we are hoping that his body responds well to this new clinical trial that he is participating in.

*You can see more pictures here!

Estes or bust!

This is us last year.

Estes Park Wool Festival 2007.

The Estes Park Wool Festival just happens to be this Saturday, which also just happens to be my birthday...which also just happens to be National Knit In Public day! What are my plans you ask? I'm heading for the hills this morning with 11 other lovely ladies. We've rented a cabin and will be knitting the night away and heading out early to get to the festival all bright and early. You know that saying that the early bird gets all the good yarn...well it's true!

My family (that means grandparents, parents, siblings, and nieces and nephew) are all coming up tomorrow. Except my mom, she's coming up today...you know, she can't let me get all the good yarn! We'll be dining at The Stanley Hotel tomorrow night for my birthday dinner. I"m really excited! I've never been there...and it's a Colorado landmark ever since The Shining came out. Have a great weekend everyone and don't forget to knit in public somewhere on Saturday!

Swatching and sweating...

Boy was it HOT today. I'm sitting at home, directly in front of a fan, it's 11:00 at night, and it just won't cool down. One cat is laying mostly on the linoleum in the kitchen. The other one is laying on the bricks in the entryway. They have the right idea!

So...what have I been up to? Besides sweating? Well, it seems that I've got a case of the swatches.

This beauty is the Drawstring Raglan. Does it look a little bigger than a swatch? Very observant. This one was cast on a week ago Sunday in the yarn that it calls for, Berroco Seduce. I was at the shop and I fell in love with the yarn and the colors that I chose. I think I may have called them my pretties. I couldn't just leave them at the store. I did switch some of the colors around. I'm just using 4, instead of 5. My colors are the three that you see in the photo above, plus a really pretty plum purple. This is a great sweater. I'm now about 4 inches into the body. You'll be seeing more of this sweater in the near future because I'd really love to wear it this summer!

The lacey little swatch you see here is knit out of Berroco Love It, in the color Rosebud. This all came about because the group that has been knitting at Colorful Yarns on Tuesday night has turned out to be a bunch of enablers. I totally blame them. I saw Joy (here on Ravelry) knitting her lovely version of the Vine Lace Vest (this is a pdf link, so don't click on it, unless you want to download the pattern!) out of Love it. Then I noticed some Love It in the clearance bin...in pink no less. It was a match made in heaven. It too needed to go home with me. And yes...I have made many, many jokes about "loving" this yarn named "Love It". You can see Joys almost finished version here on Ravelry.

Last, but certainly not least, is the Clapotis that I started last weekend. I'm knitting it out of Red Rocks Fiber Works Aspen. The colorway is named Boleyn Girl. The markers are from Knitty K8. She specializes in Clapotis stitchmarkers...so the set you get has enough markers to put across your whole project. Very cool...and don't they just match perfectly?

Okay, time to head to bed. Ugh. It's hot.

Stash and Bag sale!

Ok, sorry for the delay. If you are interested in anything here, send me an email at sheepinthecity @ gmail .com (obviously take the spaces out) and then I'll send you an invoice through PayPal. Shipping is included in the price. (if you are overseas...we might need to talk) Let's see if this works this time!! Here goes:

BAGS:

SOLD!Trendsetter Purple Suede bag for $50: This bag has hardly been used in the last 4 years...it has just been sitting in my closet, all sad and lonely! Someone needs to give it a good home. I didn't think to take measurements...but it's a decent size, without being too big. It would work great as a one or two project bag. I love the details of the big silver balls on the handles. Here is a detail shot for ya.

SOLDHot Pink Namaste bag for $35: This is a tough one for me. I love this bag, but I don't use it as much as I used to. Of all the bags for sale today...this is the one that I used the most. There is some slight wearing along the handles, but it is minimal.

SOLDLantern Moon Messenger bag in shades of Red for $20: This bag has been used, maybe twice. Just not my style. It has one big zipper across the top of the bag. Holds a ton of stuff!

SOLD! Lantern Moon Needle case for $20: This seems like a theme, but this needlecase has hardly been used. It is lined in silk, has a zipper on the left side to put notions in, and has spots for both circulars and straight needles.

YARN:

SOLD 9 skeins of Berroco Ultra Alpaca for $60: color # 6281 Redwood Mix
50% Super Fine Alpaca,50% Peruvian Highland Wool, 215 yds, 5 sts = 1", regular price $8.50/skein. One skein has been wound, and I knit a swatch with it. Otherwise, it's as good as new!

SOLD 5 skeins of Malabrigo Laceweight for $35: Color: #35 Frank Ochre, The total yardage on all 5 skeins together is 2350 yards. This usually sells for $9.50/skein, 100% Baby Merino wool, aprox 470 yards per skein.

SOLD 8 skeins of Valley Yarns Stockbridge for $25: Color is Kiwi, 50% alpaca, 50% wool, 109 yards/skein, 5 sts/1". This yarn normally sells for $3.99/skein.

Cascade Eco-Wool for $10: This has never been knit, it is wound into a ball though.

SOLD!I have no clue how much I paid for this yarn....make me an offer I can't resist. :)

SOLD!Trekking XXL for $10: Color #135, 439 yards.

Stash Sale...coming on Friday morning!

Okay folks...I am just now figuring out that I have too much yarn at Mi Casa. (don't laugh, it's true) I'm doing a little spring cleaning in anticipation of my birthday next month, which just happens to fall on the opening day of the Estes Park Wool Festival, as well as National Knit in Public Day. So....that being said, I need to clean out the stash a little. My plan is to go through things tonight and post them late tomorrow or Friday morning. Be sure to come back and check out what is for sale, it's going to be some good stuff!

**Edited to add....I just went through my bag stash, and there are going to be a few bags for sale on Friday!

I'm a little late to the party...

...but you still have time! I would have posted this yesterday, but I was working at the shop all day. Anywhoo...my friend Mary-Kay is having a yarn sale. Not just any yarn sale either, she's selling some of her very own hand-dyed yarn. It's gorgeous! Below is a sampling of some of the colors, but please go check out the rest and support your independent yarn dyer! Ummm...and run, don't walk, it's going fast!

My week...

Here are a few of the highlights that have happened in the last week since I posted. I have got to get back into regular posting. Seriously!

I got a haircut. Nice and short for the summer...I love it!

Last night I got to meet Larissa Brown, the author of the book Knitalong. I've been reading her blog for years. It was great to finally meet her in person!

I've been spending lots of time cleaning up my stash. I think it's more that I just love spending time playing with yarn and dreaming of what it's going to be made into. I sit up in my loft, looking through pattern books, staring at the wall 'o yarn. When it's all cleaned up and organized...it makes me happy.

I have been doing a little bit of stashing too. Not that I ever need to buy anymore yarn, EVER! Some of this was bought a while ago...and I just haven't confessed , i mean, shown you. From left to right it's Elsbeth Lavold Hempathy in a deep rich orange, Malabrigo Silky Merino in the color Sunny Lime, and Noro Taiyo. All of these yarns were purchased at Colorful Yarns. (by the way, she's having a Memorial Day sale...and I'll be there all day tomorrow...come see me!)

I've been hanging out over on my sisters back patio alot this past week. It's so comfortable out there...and the niece and nephew agree!

Have a great long weekend! I am hoping to actually get my knitting mojo back. I need to show you all some more finished projects...plus I'd really like to wear some of them this summer!

*no updates on my Dad yet...but thanks again and again for all the encouragement you all give me. The emails, the prayers, and all the silent support means the world to me and my whole family.*

Knitting update.

Believe it or not, I have been knitting lately on a bunch of projects, trying to get some stuff done around here. (what me? Finish something?) I need to finish up a couple things that will become class samples and then there are a few pressing baby knits that need to get done so that they still fit the baby's they are going to. Progress shots on that stuff just wasn't that exciting...so I skipped the pictures of my works in progress. Here's a list of the active knits that I have been carrying around with me:

1. Sunshine Dress from the new Queensland Collection book by Jane Ellison.
2. Alice's Afghan (following the Olive's afghan pattern from the book Knitalong)
3. Liam's Aarrgh sweater
4. Molly Ringwald...remember this one? From last May? (Sheesh) This one just needs to get done. It's almost there.
5. Parcheesi Afghan: I can't wait to get further into this afghan...its just so fun to knit log cabin squares.
6. Barn Raising Afghan: A while back, the girls that I knit with decided to start the Barn-Raising afghan from the book Knitalong. We are going to exchange squares, which should be a lot of fun, seeing as we all have wildly different taste. Here is my first square:

It was knit with Socks that Rock medium-weight, in the color Rhodonite. I picked it up at Rhinebeck a few years ago. This is probably going to be my square that I trade with everyone. First of all....it's very pink, and you all know how much I love pink. Second of all, I have 2 skeins of it which works perfectly since I need to knit 9 of them. Lastly, it was already in the stash! Bonus!

Some people, that will remain nameless, don't really care for pink. I've had to make them promise that they'll put my square in their blanket if I make them one. I haven't decided 100% to use this color, but I'm leaning towards it. Pictured above are my second and third squares. The one on the far right is knit with Socks that Rock light-weight in the color Jewel of the Nile. I love how that one is turning out! Take a peek at some of the other girls who have knit up squares: Terrie, Kim, Michelle, and Mary-Kay.

Friday night, I went to dinner with some friends and it was so funny to me that we all showed up with our Piddleloop bags. I had to take a picture. I was sporting my new Gnome bag, Genia had pink knitting skulls, and Terrie had her Skulls, Flames, and Flowers bag. Aren't we just so cool?! :)

I've received loads of fun stuff in the mail recently. (read that as too much time spent shopping on Etsy.) Hopefully I'll get my act together and take pictures of some of it!

When it rains...it pours.

Last night we had a huge rain/lightening/thunder storm. It woke me up off and on from about 4:30 on. At around 5:30 or so, as I'm trying to will myself back to sleep, I hear this weird plinking sound. I felt that dread when you just know that something is wrong. Sure enough, it was raining in the living room! I had a leak...and it was no little drip...it was sizable. I immediately ran down and grabbed some bowls to catch most of it. Then it started in another spot, so Genia and I scooted the love seat out of the line of fire. (by then the lightening and thunder had woken up my roommate) The cats were freaking out both because of the noise and the fact that we were moving things around. Sheesh. What a pain. It's time to finally replace the roof I'm thinking. I think I'm ready for this week to be over...is it Friday yet?

Hello? Anybody home?

So, I allowed myself to have a break from blogging this week...and what did I fill my time with? Maybe a little shopping and a little bit of casting on. Some people might try to get some projects finished...me? No way. I needed the thrill of the cast-on this week, and believe me, it helped!

On the family front, my Dad got his test results back...and nothing showed up on the scans that he had done. This is a good thing. It means that the cancer has not spread to the soft tissue/organs. But, this doesn't explain his elevated PSA levels. So, we wait some more. We are now dealing with what my Dad calls, "best guess medicine". The doctors really don't have an explaination, and therefore a treatment plan, for what he is going through. He really has an amazing team of doctors working with him and for him...so I totally trust what they are doing. I just hate all the waiting!

Back to knitting...I received my first installment in The Plucky Classics club from The Plucky Knitter. Oh boy was I excited on Wednesday when I pulled it out of the mailbox. I already knew that the first theme was going to be Jane Austen, what I didn't know is that it would be named for one of my favorite characters. It's Captain Wentworth from Persuasion. Love the name, love the yarn, and so far LOVE the club! Thanks Sarah for brightening my day with yarny-goodness. Oh, and the best thing? This yarn is so soft. It's 80% merino, 10% Cashmere, and 10% Nylon.

Isn't this yarn gorgeous?!

More pretty yarn...this time from Red Rocks Fiber Works. I couldn't resist when I saw it. It's also a 80 merino/10 cashmere/10 nylon mix. I have 650 yards of the stuff. Any suggestions on what I should do with it? I know that Mary-Kay is going to make a shrug out of hers. I'm dying to cast on something with it because it's just so pretty! That Mary-Kay is a talented one with the colors.

What's inside that bag?

It's yarn for the Parcheesi Afghan. I ran across this one on Ravelry, and I couldn't resist. It's just gorgeous. PLUS, it's a bonus that I had a lot of that cotton already set aside for a mitered square afghan. Since we made blankets for the kids in mitered patterns...I'm a bit sick of them. Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have my first big log cabin square done. I can't wait to see how the colors all come together in this project. The color palette that I chose is not one that I usually knit with, especially the blues, but since I was drawn to it, I just let it happen.

These last 2 projects are kind of funny. Last Sunday I had a wild hair to cast on for the cover sweater from the latest issue of Vogue Knitting. It's called the Sideways Cardigan. (see mine here on Ravelry) It has a really interesting construction and I figured out that I could use stash yarn for it. Even better! (I settled on cotton-ease in the discontinued color Strawberries and Cream) The bright pink project below is from the latest issue of Rowan Magazine. It's called Geno and I'm using Rowan 4-Ply cotton in the color Cheeky. The casting on will stop one of these days...but for now, I'm having a blast.

Thanks everyone!

Wow, I am overwhelmed, once again, by the support of my knitting community. Thanks everyone for your prayers and all the words of encouragement. It has helped just knowing that there are people out there praying for my Dad, and my family...so again, I say thank you!

One thing that I have been completely remiss in doing is posting a picture of the Wee Sock that I received. I posted when I knit mine, but then I don't know how I managed to miss posting when I got mine in the mail?! I owe a big apology to Jackie, who did such a great job knitting it! Thank you, thank you Jackie! She knit it with Socks That Rock, lightweight, in the colorway Tlingit. It's part of the new-ish Raven series. I love it!

Have a great weekend everyone!

eta...the computer that you see in the background is my lovely new MacBook that I got last week. It was time for an upgrade and I'm loving this new model.

Lots on my mind...

The last week has been another long one folks. My Dad found out some disappointing news...after a year of chemo treatments...every three weeks for a year...his body has stopped responding and his PSA levels are rising. Today, actually as I write this, he is getting a cat scan of his abdomen and chest to see if anything has spread to the soft tissue or organs. We are praying against that being the case. We'll find out within the next week what that scan shows. Needless to say, I haven't felt like blogging, or at least I haven't really known what to write about. I've been knitting a little, off and on, but have no real progress to show for it.

When I have no knitting to show off, I show off pictures of the nieces and nephew because...boy are they cute!

Alice riding for the first time in her new PINK carseat in Aunt Stacey's car. For 10 bucks more, why wouldn't you get the pink, right? Of course, my sister replied that now she is only going to want to ride with me. Oops!

After lunch on Monday, I ran with Alice over to the yarn shop. It's one of her favorite places to go. (mine too!) She, without our prompting, tried on a few hats. We didn't correct her that she should probably only try on one at a time!

Here we have a super cute picture of all three of my nieces and nephew. That would be Alice, holding Liam, who is in turn holding Amelia. These little ones bring so much joy to my family. Just the other night we were all eating dinner together when Alice leaned over to my Dad and said, "We are special friends Poppy, because we both have sensitive ears." This was just after my Dad had told us that we were all talking a little loudly and could we tone it down. We really do have so much fun together. Please be praying for my Dad in the next week...pray, pray, pray. That's all we can do. Thanks everyone!

I am all about the kids knits!

It must be this nice weather that we've been having for the last few days, but all I've wanted to do is cast on for cute little summery kids stuff. Here are a few of the things that I've got going on.

First, a little lacey knit called Sunshine, from the Queensland Collection Book 8, by Jane Ellison. It's a great little pattern book. If you are in search of cute kids stuff, look no further. This is a great book. The plan is to make 2 of the 0-6 month size for my niece and a friend who just had a baby girl, then one in Alice's size. That way they'll all have little matchy-matchy summer dresses! This yarn is the softest stuff you'll ever feel! I love it! Hopefully, I'm going to get some help knitting these dresses, ahem sister and Mom, ahem, ahem, hint, hint.

Next up, is another sweater from the above mentioned book, this time knit with Queensland Collection, Hyacinth. This little cabled cardigan is knit sideways...so that should keep it interesting.

Last, but not least, is a blanket for Alice. She's the only one of the three nieces and nephew not to have their own handknit afghan. We finally settled on Olive's Afghan from the new book Knitalong. I love this afghan and the way that it's constructed! I'll keep you posted on this one. It's another family/group knitting project. My roommate Genia, my sister and brother-in-law and my mom and Grandma are all helping out.

I'm thrilled that the weather is finally turning warmer. I think that when I was in my car at lunch time, it registered that it was 83 degrees outside! Come on Spring...I'm ready for Summer!

The Studio.

So here are the promised pictures of my Mom's newly finished and set up crafting/creating studio. I have to say that they are just shots of the organized stuff. I'll be taking a picture of the room as a whole when everything gets put away...but this will give you a good idea. Believe me...this space is so gorgeous and feminine, I'm totally jealous! I know that I'll be spending lots of time over here this summer. (she has a/c after all, and I don't) Okay, enough chit-chat, here it is.

Picture lavender walls, eggplant colored carpet, and a big girlie chandelier in the ceiling. There is a large rectangular table in the middle of the room, it actually used to be our kitchen table growing up. It's big enough to lay out large painting/quilting/knitting/scrapbooking projects on. It gets better, there is yarn...and lots of it! We both were so glad when we managed to fit the old blue lockers into this room. They will soon house lots of works in progress and crafting supplies inside them. I can't remember where my Mom got these, but she's had them for years. I think that she may have gotten them from a family friend who had them in his garage for years. They are one of my favorite things that my Mom owns. You can kind of see a small yellow chair in the corner. That's my donation to the studio. That chair is mine, but I didn't have a very good spot for it, so it has come to live at my Mom's house!

This cabinet houses what my Mom and I were calling the "luxury" fibers. You know, the Koigu, the Red Rocks Fiber Works, the Cherry Tree Hill, and anything with silk in it. Plus, some of these are just her favorite yarns that she has enough of to make a sweater out of. The blue spinning wheel that you see in the distance was a fun find at a local flea market a few years ago.

More cubes, with more yarn and books. I love how organized my Mom is. It's definitely what I aspire to be. I'm not there yet, but I'm going to keep trying!

Last we have what I was calling the Tower of Green Yarn. My Mom is drawn to all things green, so it makes sense that she would be able to fill a large Lantern Moon tower with all green! This is the first thing that you see when you walk in the room. Love it! I'm sure that I'll be taking more pictures soon as things get finished up. Working with her on this has inspired me to try and get my stash more organized, or at least to try and organize the space that I live in. Thanks Mom for a fun filled day!

What a week I had!

Last week, I ended up doing something every night?! I think I'm still recovering and am a little worn out, but boy was it fun! The 2 highlights of the week were going to see the play My Fair Lady with the girls and meeting the Yarn Harlot on Friday night. Both were equally funny in their own ways.

My roommate, Genia, and I on the train!

We all met up (there were 8 of us)and rode the train downtown, which ended up being an excellant choice, so that we could knit on our way to the play! Then of course, we all had knitting with us at the play. Some of us even knit during the play. Thank goodness for garter stitch, that is about the only one that I can knit in the dark!

Kelly getting her knit on at the play!

If this play is coming to your town...I HIGHLY recommend that you go see it! It was such a fun production, and very true to the original. I've been singing all the songs all weekend long in my head!

Now, Friday night we went to hear the Yarn Harlot speak. Oh my goodness, she is just a laugh and a half! Some of you may remember the huge disappointment that I had last year when she came and I had pink eye. Well, this year more than made up for it! The crowd was very impressive...I think it was around 250 to 300 people. My friends that I went with were numbers 1 through 5 in line...I was 22. We sat in the second to front row and laughed our arses off. That one is for Stephanie! (you can see us in the picture on the Yarn Harlots blog...we are all sitting on the right side) I haven't laughed that much in a long time. I brought back the mittens that she knit and I won for a little visit with her. She saw me come up with them on...and was like, "Hey, I knit those!" So she took a picture of me holding her sock with my mittens on. (it too is over on her blog)

Kelly and Terrie, knitting with me in line!

If Stephanie, aka The Yarn Harlot, is coming to your town (check the list here) I suggest you run out and get a place in line. It was so much fun to meet her. I'm planning on showing you tomorrow what I did with the rest of my weekend. Can you say....organize my Mom's new yarn studio? Oh my! It's gorgeous. I've got the pictures to prove it!

Aarrgh.....it's a pirate!

I got a wild hair last weekend that I needed to knit my nephew Liam a sweater. I picked out yarn and a pattern and found the needles, but then I decided that I didn't need to cast on right away. Well, then our network went down at work on Wednesday at around 10 am. What's a girl to do when all the things that I needed to do were on the network? So I knit a gauge swatch. Then I cast on and knit the ribbing. Then the next day, the network was still giving us issues, so I started knitting the skull. By this time, I'm obsessed with seeing how the whole skull will look, so I keep knitting. The network may have come back on around 1:00ish on Thursday, I can't be sure....I was still knitting. It's amazing just how much you can get done when you knit all day! After lunch on Thursday I had to put the knitting away and actually work, but this project is addicting. I want to have it done for his 2nd birthday at the beginning of July and at this rate it looks like a good possibility.

Project Stats:
Pattern: Pirate Sweater by Zoe Mellor, from the book Adorable Knits for Tots You can see it here on Ravelry and here is the link to my version.
Yarn: Berroco Comfort DK in colors 2741-Bittersweet, 2740-Seedling, and 2700-Chalk. All purchased at Colorful Yarns.
Needles: US 5 and 6

I'm off to hear the Yarn Harlot tonight...and I'm thinking that I need to get there early to get a good place in line. Whoo hoo...more knitting time!

Where does the time go?

How has it been more than a week since I last posted? Where does the time go? I've been knitting lots, teaching classes, hanging out with a bed-ridden friend, and generally running around like a chicken with my head cut off. You know...just normal stuff. I have about 3 more inches to go on my Juliet sweater. I'm not sure why this silly thing isn't done yet. The rows are just really really long and whenever I sit down to knit on it, I knit a row and am so sick of it that I put it away. Oh well, it's going to be finished one of these days. The other projects that I've been feverishly working on are Manon and the Dream in Color shrug. Both are holding my interest which is always a good thing.

These are some more cute needles that I picked up recently. They are made by the clever people at Serendipity Needles. Can you stand the cuteness? It's little bird nests that have teeny-tiny eggs in them! So Springy! Have a great weekend everyone!

Random goodness to share!

I have to show you the latest additions to my growing collection of gnome related stuff. First, the knitting needles. I could have just died when I opened up that package. Oh, the cuteness! These needles were given as part of a swap that I was in on Ravelry. They are from Janet, who knows me well I guess, and she bought them from Tami on Etsy. Love these needles!

Next we have a little zippered pouch that Kelly gave me last week because she knows about my obsession with this gnome fabric. I had to get my hands on some of it. Love. It. Thanks Kelly! It was made by Sew Serious.

It hasn't been ALL casting on over here, I have pulled out a few older projects to work on. Like Alice's Super Girly Striped Sweater. It's still going to be huge on her, so I'm almost glad that she hasn't had a chance to wear it yet. It will fit her perfectly as a sweater/jacket in the Fall. Little brother Liam sure oohed and awwed when I pulled it out of the knitting bag yesterday. He is just too cute for words. Have I mentioned that everytime he sees a bag of mine he points to it and says, "Knitting". He won't say Gram (which is what the kids call my Mom) but he will say yarn and knitting! He has his priorities right in my book. He knows that the cuter he is and the more interested in my knitting he is, the more handknits he'll get! Smart kid!

**speaking of casting on...it's not just me, 3 of my close friends, Kelly, Kim, and Michelle have all been biten by the bug too! Go read about what they are up too!**

Oops.

I finished up the first peplum piece of Manon last night. I love how this project comes together...it's so interesting! I have the utmost respect for Norah Gaughan, she is what I call a knitting genius! Seriously, she just sees knitting everywhere. If you don't have the book Knitting Nature, please, go out and buy it, or at least check it out from your local library. Anyway, after finishing the first triangle, I went on to the next step. I cast on X number of stitches, then picked up along the edge of the triangle, and then cast on some more stitches. I even knit a row or 2 or 10. Then I noticed something on Ravelry. Errata. Uh-oh. I totally should have been looking for this before I started! It could be worse I guess, I only have to rip out the few rows I had knit and the 150+ stitches that I had cast on. Note to self though, check to see if the pattern has any corrections next time! The book that this pattern comes out of, Norah Gaughan, Vol.1, has quite a few corrections. (I do have an early edition of this book though...so if you have a newer one, you might not have to worry about it) Here is a link to the corrections in case you are wanting them.

It has been a while since I've posted a kid pic, so here's a picture of little Amelia. She's already getting so big at just 7 weeks! My sister is bringing her to the office now, so I get a chance to see/hold her often. Whitney was calling this her "Stacey" outfit because it's pink, has a sheep on it, she has on her "sheep in the city" colored socks that Kim made her, and the little leather Robeez shoes that I bought her. Too cute!!

I've got a fever...

...and the only cure is more projects! It must be something in the air or the weather changing, but I want to cast on a new project about every 20 minutes or so. Last night, I got home, cooked dinner, my Mom came over to eat with my roommate and I. We chit chatted, watched some quality TV together. (Ummmm...Days of Our Lives. Is anyone else sick of John Black and his weird personality change/memory loss?!) All was normal until about 10:00pm when I started chatting online with Kelly. At one point I ran upstairs and grabbed 4 different balls of yarn and the 4 patterns that went along with them and brought them back down to play with. I ended up casting on for 2 of them and then re-casting on, on different needles, a project that I had started on Tuesday night. What is up with that. It was like a I had to cast on for something new right then. You wanna know what I'm working on? Okay...I'll show ya.

The first one, that I knit the most on, is Manon, from the Norah Gaughan Collection Vol. 1. I've had this Berroco Pure Merino Heather in my stash since the book came out, always with this project in mind. Let me tell you, it is so fun to work on! Lots of interesting textures and patterns. If a knitting project keeps you up late into the night and doesn't make you sleepy...you know that it's a keeper. I had to force myself to stop knitting on it and go to bed at ohhh, around 2:30am. What?! That's just crazy! Usually after about 11:30 I put all knitting away and just veg and watch tv or read a book, not last night though.

The other projects that I cast on were the Dream in Color Shrug (here on Ravelry) using a bright chartreuse green skein of Dream in Color Classy called "Spring Tickle" and the One Button Cardigan (here on Ravelry) using Mirasol Cotanani. The One Button Cardigan is going to be a knitalong of sorts, at the Tuesday night knitting group/help night at Colorful Yarns. About 3 or 4 of us decided to knit this sweater, so it just sort of became a knitalong! I only got through the cast on last night though because I had to cast on 319 stitches! It's knit all in one piece up to the arm holes, which I like doing, but it makes for a bear of a cast on. This is the one that I had to cast on for twice because I didn't like the needle size that I was using. So....there you have it...my temporary insanity of last night is over and all I have to show for it is more projects on the needles. It could be worse.

*Some of you have asked about the Juliet sweater. No, I haven't abandoned it. It's just taking a little longer to get to the length that I want it to be. I'm having to knit more lace repeats than I had originally planned, which is fine, but time consuming. I'm close
though*

Bird in Hand

I have been knitting...I just haven't had the time to blog. I'm hoping things will slow down soon. Just wanted to stop in and say "Hi" to everyone...I promise that there will be more later. The mittens pictured above are the Bird in Hand mittens from Kate Gilbert. I'm loving knitting fair isle again! I'm knitting mine with Cascade 220 and lace addi turbo's in a US 3.

*By the way...yes these are for me, but right now I'm knitting them along with a class that I'm teaching at Colorful Yarns.

Knitting and stuff.

Last night I cast on for A Better Bucket Hat using the very first skein of Malabrigo that I ever bought. I got it at Jessica Knits in Arizona about 2 years ago or so. I just love the color, Cognac. I'm really excited to knit this up and wear it! The last bucket hat I made didn't turn out so well, so I have high hopes that this one will be better. (by the way: the cupcake bag is from Piddleloop and the stitchmarker is from Amyville) Also on the knitting front, I'm one repeat away from finishing the Juliet sweater. I'm thinking that I'll be able to model it and take pictures of it this weekend. Yay!

I hinted that I had picked up a few items in recent weeks, and boy have I! Colorful Yarns just got in a new line of bags called Atenti bags. I love the dots, I love the colors, I love everything about it...especially the fact that I can fit LOTS of knitting into that bag! They also got in some of the Switch Interchangeable needles. It has every size Bamboo needle tip from a 5 to a 15. All the cords get stored in a pocket in the back. I'm thinking that these needles are just going to live in my knitting bag as a "just in case I need them" back-up. You can see a whole lot more pictures of the needles, including the joins and what the cords look like over on my Flickr page.

My mom got me this sheep skin little rug at IKEA when she was down in Arizona last week. Look who has claimed it as his very own.

He spent about 10 minutes "pawing" it to make it softer. (go figure, he's silly) Then the next time I walked through the room, this is what I see.

Awwww...my heart melts!

Watch out...the swifts are flyin' round here!

I can't talk long...I'm under a deadline to get all this yarn re-skeined for my friend Mary-Kay! I'll be back tomorrow with some fun stuff that I've picked up in the last week...and maybe even a finished Juliet! I'm SOOOOOO close to being done I can taste it!

Lace and Yarn gnomes...

First for the lace, I'm making some good progress on my Juliet cardigan. I would be about 3 or 4 inches further along if I had been paying attention to what row I was on. I was just knitting along over the weekend when I realized that the lace wasn't lining up along the bottom basically back at the first repeat. Good grief! So I had to rip it back. I loath ripping stuff back. Finally I get everything back on track, moving right along again, when I realize that I didn't really fix the problem that I was having. Oh well, definitely not ripping back again, I'll just live with the way that it looks. I don't think that it's that noticeable. So, if you see me in public wearing this sweater and you notice that the lace is a little wonky at the beginning...just don't mention it to me, okay?!

I have been participating in a couple swaps through Ravelry in the last few months. Yesterday, I got some goodies in the mail! They are from Melanie who's blog is Lotus Knitter and she also has an Etsy shop called Lotus Yarns! She got me some amazing stuff, check it out.

Melanie sent me 2 skeins of Manos Silk Blend in a coral-pink color. I haven't ever seen this yarn before, but it is buttery soft and silky. She also sent me a skein of some of the yarn that she dyes herself. This one is her "Buddha" yarns, which is 80% Superwash Merino and 20% Nylon. The colorway is called "Miss World". She included some yummy hot chocolate packages (which I've already taken to work to be enjoyed on the next blustery day) as well as some little samples of citrus SOAK. Do you see the cuteness that is the little gnome though?! I love it! He's totally going to live up in the stash somewhere, and I imagine that he'll be going with me anytime I go on some kind of trip that includes yarn! How fun?! I need to come up with a good name for him...do you have any suggestions? Thanks again Melanie, you rock!

I heart my knittin' girlz!

I don't know what was in the air this past weekend...or who sent out a memo...but I was so spoiled by my knitting friends! I was talking to my Mom (since she is down in Arizona right now) on the phone on Saturday and she was like, "So, do they think it's your birthday or something?" No, I don't know what it was, but I sure did enjoy it! Thanks ladies for all the little thoughtful goodies! I love them all!

This is a cell-phone charm of a special kind of Hawaiian sushi that is made with Spam...and it has Hello Kitty on it! I love it! It now lives on my scissors in my notions bag. Thanks Kim! Click here to see the cutest picture of Kim with her kids on the beach in Hawaii. She also got me the little bag (that I immediately put notions in) pictured below. It's a traditional Hawaiian quilting technique that is so beautiful. It's all appliqued. A shout out to her daughter Little Diva for picking out the perfect colors for me!

e.t.a...Kim let me know that the sushi is called spam musubi--or, in this case, a Hello Kitty musubi! And that this is the only time she ever eats Spam!

What knitting notion do you always need...but never have on hand? Look no further, I now have the perfect little notion. It's a shortened crochet hook, perfect for picking up dropped stitches! It's oh-so-tiny and oh-so-cute and luckily it's on a key chain, so I'm not going to be losing it. Thanks Kelly!

You all probably know about my love of funky jewelry. Some of you have even seen some of it in person. Michelle found this knitting needle bracelet on Etsy and it's SO fun! I love it! I'm pretty sure, correct me if I'm wrong Michelle, that she got this from Sassafras Creations. Go check them out! She is doing some really fun stuff with vintage knitting needles.

Last, but certainly not least, is the yarn that Mary-Kay spoiled me with. It's Merino, Silk, Nylon, and silver. It has 2% real silver fibers running through it! Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff! More than likely she is going to start carrying this yarn and I'll be sure to share with all of you when she does that. Thanks Mary-Kay!

As much as I loved everything...I knew that you all would get a kick out of seeing it too. As busy as I was working at the shop all weekend, this was a nice little surprise. I feel loved! Awww!

The keeper of my yarn.

I was walking up the stairs the other day and what do I see? This little gray fur ball, guarding the entry into my loft where all my yarn lives. He has officially made that room his own. He lounges around on the couch up there all day and apparently he watches who comes and goes too. This picture cracks me up too because if you look at the gnome (remember Gnorman?) to his right, they look kind of similar. Jordy has what I called his "Tuxedo Shirt" on, but it also looks like a beard! Ha! I don't know why, but this is just cracking me up!

For those of you that were worried about Jesse and Jordy getting along, thanks for the concern, Jesse appreciates it....but, they have lived together before. I adopted Jesse when I still lived with my parents about 11 or 12 years ago and then a year after I got him, my Mom adopted Jordy. About 5 years ago, when I finally bought my own place and I wasn't living in a place where I couldn't have a cat, I moved Jesse out with me. So, as much as Jesse pretends not to remember Jordy or that they lived together for the majority of their lives, they are adjusting well.

My sister took this picture of Amelia over the weekend and I had to share. The sweater that she is wearing is one that I knit for Liam when he was a baby. It's the Baby Bolero from the book, One Skein. I knit it out of Blue Sky Dyed Cotton. (love that yarn!) Liam actually wore his in his hospital photos and then promptly grew out of it. I love it when you get to use hand knits for multiple baby's. Way to recycle Whit!

And now a little garter stitch for me.

Since finishing the Baby Surprise Jacket, I've been knitting exclusively on my Juliet sweater. I'd like to finish this one soon so that I can wear it while it's still cold out. I am loving how the Noro Iro is knitting up. I'm on a finishing roll or something...it's crazy. Of course now that I've said that, I'm not going to finish anything for months!?! Oh well...I'll keep on knitting.

I've never really been good at taking the mirror-type self portraits that so many people take so well, but last night I was desperate. Ignore the silly look of concentration on my face, I needed to see what this sweater looked like on me and I need your opinion on it. So, here is my question to you, how much more garter stitch should I knit? I'm making the longer version of this sweater, plus I'm thinking that I want the lace portion of this sweater to start a couple inches under my bust. How does it look so far? I took all these pictures at about 12:30 last night, so my judgment was a little skewed. I'm thinking that I will knit for about 2 or 3 more inches than move on to the lace pattern. For those that don't know what this sweater looks like, you can see it on Zephyr Style or here on Ravelry. Since my roommate was asleep and my cats don't have poseable thumbs, I had to improvise on the whole taking a self portrait thing. I did have a little furry helper though. He was very curious about what I was doing...plus he wanted a drink from the sink. Silly kitty.

If you are thinking that this cat doesn't look like Jesse...then you are correct. This is my Mom's cat, who now lives with us. When my parents moved in October they decided that Jordy should stay with me for a while since he tended to bother my Dad in the night and with my Dad still in treatment, he needs as much rest as possible. Well, he's not leaving anytime soon...and even if my Mom wants him back, he's not going anywhere. He's a part of my family now. Genia and I aren't letting him go. Plus, Jesse tolerates him and gives him the occasional lick on the head, which I take as a sign of affection. His name is Jordy after Geordi LeForge from Star Trek: Next Generation...I'm a SciFi dork!

Give me feedback on the sweater please! I'm done increasing, now I'm just knitting garter stitch to add length...so opinions, opinions!

Thanks everyone also for all the wonderful comments that you left about my BSJ. I'm so proud of the end result, and you guys were just too kind! Thanks!

*I just love his little milk mustache! So cute!*

What is with the no blogging?!

*I had to show off the cuteness that is my nieces and nephew in their matching pajamas! Awwww, so cute! I love their little hands, holding Amelia so gently and sweetly...hopefully the sweetness lasts! :)*

I have no real excuse for not blogging all of last week. I was busy and whenever I would have a moment to sit and think...it seemed like I had nothing to say. I made it through the week though, and even got some knitting finished! I finished up my Koolhaas hat and I forgot to take a picture of it before I stuck it in the shop as a sample. I'm going to run by there this afternoon and take a picture, so that will be shown to ya tomorrow. I love how it turned out! The lettuce colored Mmmmmalabrigo is just so vivid and bright. I'm getting so close to finishing a couple projects...hopefully in the next few days I'll get some knitting in. My baby surprise jacket was put on hold while I knit the Koolhaas hat, but I'm closing in on the finish line. I'm so so close! The Super-Girly-Striped sweater for Alice has been brought back out of the WIP basket. She got all excited when she saw me working on it, even though she didn't remember it was for her. She told me that the colors were pretty...imagine that! She picked them out, silly girl! (here's another shot of the sweater when I first started knitting it. This one just makes me laugh) I need to just keep on working away at my WIP's I really haven't allowed myself to start anything new...even though the urge is there to cast on for spring and summer stuff. The one thing that I did start is my Bird-in-Hand mittens, but those are for a class, so they don't count! (pitures this week hopefully!)

What else have I been up to? I've been on a bit of a yarn buying spree lately. For no reason at all other than when I don't have time to knit, I buy yarn! So...maybe this week...I'll share a little bit of my madness with you, if you want me to.

How about some kntting content?

This is a knitting blog, right? I feel like I've been knitting in fits and starts this past week. I was on kid duty while my sister was in the hospital earlier this week. Let me just say that I have a new found respect for all you knitting moms with young kids out there! I don't know how you do it! I ended up doing most of my knitting after the kids went to bed and then I'd catch a few minutes every once in a while during the day. But other than that...I just couldn't seem to get the knitting in! I did manage to make some progress on a few projects though.

I started a Koolhaas hat the week that I was sick, and I've made it all the way to the decreases on top. So this picture is a little outdated, but you get the gist. I'm using Mmmmmalabrigo in the color Lettuce. This is probably my all-time favorite color that Malabrigo comes in. It's such a vivid chartreuse green. This is a great cabled hat pattern...easy to memorize the pattern and works up really quickly. I'm making this as a sample for a class that I'm teaching at Colorful Yarns in the coming months. It should be a fun class. I've been knitting this hat without a cable needle and it has gone really smoothly. Once I got the hang of it, it seems to be much faster to knit this way.

I also have been knitting my little squares for Amelia's blanket. Yep, her name is Amelia...I just love that name! These little squares are very small miters knit out of shades of pink, green, and brown Tahki Cotton Classic. This yarn is also a favorite of mine for afghans and children's stuff. It comes in about a million colors. That's it for now...hope that everyone has lots of time to knit this weekend! I hope that I can actually finish some stuff, take some pictures, and call some projects done!

**eta: Some of you have wondered where the bags are from that are in the pictures above. They are "Piddly" bags (the smaller bags that she makes) from the girls at Piddleloop. No, I didn't make them myself...I really don't have time to sew and these girls make such cute stuff, it's just easier to help support their business! The green knitting fabric was a limited edition, so the likelihood of finding that one is slim...sorry! You can always contact Jen and ask her if she's going to get more!**

She's here! Yay!

How fun...I have another niece! My sister's little family is growing and I love being a part of it! The baby and my sister are both doing really good...everyone is healthy. She is already sporting her handknit socks that Kim made for her using Red Rocks yarn in the Sheep in the City color-way. I have the best knitting friends! A bunch of the girls are actually helping us knit a blanket for the baby too. Some of you may have seen some of the squares around on some blogs lately. It's going to be all pink, green, and brown. Thanks ladies for helping me knit this afghan!

Finally feeling a little better...

...thanks to the miracle of modern medicine! I went to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor yesterday because I woke up intending to go back to work, and my ear was in intense pain. It seemed like I had been getting worse over the weekend and not better. That was a sign to me that it was time to go to the doctor. It turns out that I had a pretty bad sinus infection that ended up making my ear "very angry" in her words. People...they gave me a steroid shot to take the swelling down! I was a little freaked when she said that I needed a shot, not because I'm afraid of needles, but because I thought she was going to put it in my ear! Thank goodness she's the doctor and knows what she's doing...into the hip it went. I went home for the rest of the afternoon and rested. I made a little nest in the living room that became my "resting zone". Of course I had my constant companion Jesse with me. He would only get annoyed with me when I decided to leave the nest. He'd give me this look, it's like he's trying to tell me, "Hey! I'm trying to sleep here!"

Because I felt so rotten, RayLynn and I stayed close to home and just knit and talked and played around on the computer. I didn't get ANY of the knitting finished that I thought I would. But I made some progress on the baby surprise jacket and the Koolhass hat that I am knitting for a class sample. (you can see this pattern here on Ravelry Seriously, if you haven't signed up yet...go...it's the coolest thing to come along since the ball winder people! Hop to it!) I would knit for about 20 minutes and then need to rest. I'll try to take some good pictures of both of these projects soon. The baby surprise is SO close! Today I am back at work and swamped with things to catch up on, but it feels good to be back in a normal routine!

I've got the crud.

I've been sick and at home for the past 2 days. Bleck. I hate being sick, but at least I've been able to knit a little and clean up around my house. This guy has been my constant companion. What a sweetie!

I've got big plans this weekend. RayLynn is coming into town! Yay! Then I have Monday off from work for MLK Day. Double Yay! I'm planning on getting some serious knitting done on Sunday and Monday. Expect to hear about some finished projects very soon!

Before I go to take a nap, let me tell you a funny story. I'm sitting up in my loft, knitting, looking through Ravelry, writing this blog post when all of a sudden I hear this strange plopping noise followed by a sizzling bubble sound. What in the world? Good grief. My cell phone fell off the side of the couch and into my glass of Cherry Coke. Crap. I rush to dry it off and get every little bit of liquid off the thing and it still works. That was a close one. What are the odds of my phone falling directly into my full glass of cherry coke?! Okay, must go take a rest now.

Baby, oh baby!

I went to the doctor with my sister last week and she was told that the baby could come at any time...even though she's not due until Feb. 5th. What does that mean for me? I'm cranking out the baby knits. I cast on for a baby surprise jacket over the weekend. It's going to be flying off the needles any day now. I think that I'm finally getting this pattern this time. I cast on for one a few months ago and I promptly ripped it out in frustration. Not sure why it's going better this time, but it is. Oh, maybe it's because I borrowed the DVD of Meg Swanson knitting up the sweater. It sure helps to have someone telling me exactly what to do. Sometimes figuring out Elizabeth Zimmerman's "pithy" instructions, as she calls them, is hard to do on your own. I'm knitting it with Dream in Color "Classy". It's a superwash wool that knits up like a dream. I'm using the sweetest little baby girl color called Petal Pink. I got it from my local shop, Colorful Yarns. I am loving knitting with this yarn. I need to make something for myself out of it. Maybe a sweater like this one, the Vino Cardigan, that I stumbled across last night. I also am in "full-swing knitting of afghan squares for the new baby mode". Since Liam had a hand-knit blankie, Amelia is going to need one too! I'll take pictures of all my teeny-tiny miters later this week. Her blanket is going to be so cute. It's all pink and green and brown.

I'm headed to the dentist, my favorite thing to do. I've got my knitting all packed with me...just in case I get left in the chair for long amounts of time. As long as I'm knitting, maybe I won't have any dental chair freak-outs today?! Maybe that is just wishful thinking.

*By the way, one of my knitting buddies, Jeni, is having a HUGE stash sale. She's got some great deals and lots of yarn for sweaters...hurry and go check it out! She is even selling an Offhand Design bag for a great price!!*

Itty-bitty and Teeney-tiny!

I started some baby socks when I was at lunch with Kim last week. I have been inspired by the 2 pair of baby socks that she has already knit for my soon-to-be-born niece. Wanna see them? Go look! Here is the first pair...and the second pair! Can you stand how cute and tiny they are?! I can't! I really haven't done much more than the cuff because I've been obsessing over my Juliet. That is one addictive sweater! Back to the socks though, I'm hoping that these little guys will push me over the edge to be a better sock knitter. What am I saying? How about to be a sock knitter at all. Some of you may not know this, but I have massive amounts of sock yarn and I've only knit 2 pairs of socks....ever. That is going to change this year. I want to knit a pair of socks that will go on my feet! All of the socks that I've knit, I've given away...so now it's my turn!

*because I know that one of you will want to know...the little pig bag is a "Piddly" bag from the Piddleloop girls. It's the cutest little fabric cube and perfect to put a little cake of sock yarn in! Jen should have new bags up in her shop sometime in the next week or so*

Everybody's doing it...

It seems like everywhere I turn there are people making long lists of what they've knit up in the past year. For some reason, it just doesn't feel like I've finished that much. Don't get me wrong, I know that I have finished items...but the starting far outweighs the finishing. In the past year there have been lots of outside things influencing my knitting time/knitting mojo. Don't take this as a complaint though. I'm happy with the things that I've accomplished and I do think that there are a few stand-out projects.

Ariann: I started this project, along with my Mom, last February when my Dad started his radiation treatment. I then dragged it to the hospital when my Dad had to have a couple stints put into his heart. (ummm, can you say scary!) Then I've just continued to work on it here and there while he has been in chemotherapy treatment. I'm at the point now where I just need to finish it. I am at the armpits and I need to knit the sleeves and connect it all together. My goal is to finish this before the end of February.

Sienna Cardigan: Finished, at last, in September.

Secret Projects: I had a few projects that I couldn't reveal here on the blog while I was working on them. The biggest being my Dad's afghan that I finished (well almost!) just in time for Christmas. It was made with 11 skeins of different colors of Malabrigo yarn. I'll be honest and admit that I didn't love only working on one project for the majority of 2 months, but the end result was worth it. I love knowing that it's for my Dad and that he loves soft and cuddly things. This definitely ranks as soft and cuddly. Overall, one of my best FO's of the year. The other secret project that I eluded to in November was for my roommate Genia. It was a skully dishcloth. You can get the pattern for free here. Genia flipped when she saw it...so if you have someone in your life that loves everything skully, you have got to knit them one of these!

I also took a couple big trips this past year...Russia in October being the biggest/longest/furthest away. I went to Chicago, Illinois. Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Kansas (at least 3 or 4 times). Arizona with my parents. Overall...a pretty good year for travel. I don't really have any trips firmly planned for this next year. Of course, there will be DisneyWorld sometime this year, maybe late Spring/early Summer. My roommate and I are going to try and go somewhere together this year...we just don't know where yet. We've talked about taking a road trip, so maybe we'll finally do it!

I do have some knitting goals for 2008:

1. Knit more socks. I am determined to knit with some of the luxurious sock yarn that I own and just stash away. I just cast on for a pair of baby socks for the niece that will arrive in 4 weeks! Yay!

2. Knit more projects from the stash. This doesn't mean that I can't add to the stash, it just means that I need to think through projects and what I already own before I buy new yarn.

3. Finish. Finish. Finish. Enough said!