Scotland Yarn

Scotland was such a great trip. Besides seeing really cool places I also found yarn! Yay, yarn! In Edinburgh I found a really nice yarn shop near the GrassMarket. K1 Yarns Knitting Boutique.

I was really wishing that I had some knitting with me after going in. The place was really cozy and welcoming. A nice place to sit and knit. Everyone inside were very friendly and I found some really great yarn there. Not really Scottish but from the UK. Good enough. :)

Artesano 100% Alpaca 4 ply

Stage 6: In the Mountains

I haven't knit since the Team Time Trial. I guess it was just too much for me. :)
For the KAL we were to count our stitches knit in an hour. You must remember that I am knitting lace, but I was able to contribute 1074sph to Team Quickstep's average. Not too bad.

So, today I plan to get back on the bike and knit at least 1 repeat of the lace pattern.



The yarn I am knitting is Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca. This is the first time I have used it. I love it. Very soft, easy to work with. I can feel the warmth on my fingers as I knit. It is working out perfectly. Plus, the color is perfectly matched to the swatch that my friend lent me to find yarn. The colorway is French Vanilla. Love that.

No more procrastinating. Time to knit!

KAL decisions to make

I have decided to go with the yarn I just got from Steph for Dewey's KAL. I just absolutely love the color of this yarn.



As far as the pattern goes I have some choices. One is to come up with my own. This would be a first for me, but I have an idea that I would love to try out.

Of course I could always go with a pattern that has been in my Ravelry queue for awhile:
Go With The Flow from the Interweave Knits book, Favorite Socks
or
Cookie's Monkey socks

Choices, choices.

celebrating socktoberfest

I am trudging along on the second clue of the TTL Mystery sock. I keep putting it down to do other things like bite my nails during the UT-OU football game. Go Longhorns!
Anyway, here is the first of the two socks. I am trying to work on both at the same time. :)



There is a Yarn Crawl happening here in the Hill Country but unfortunately I am not taking part. Just not enough money or time this weekend. I did head over to my LYS, Gauge, this morning before the game to buy a tapestry needle (my plastic ones snapped) and some more US1 DPN's. I have an inability to leave without purchasing any yarn so I did walk out with a couple skeins of Jojoland Melody.



Pretty.

Here is some more yummy sock yarn that I won from NovaMade awhile back. Beautiful colors, don't you think?

day of knitting and fiber

I had a really great day today. I think it is the first time that an entire day was devoted to knitting and shopping for yarn.

It started this morning with a knitting MeetUp at Nicki's. Lots of fun. great group of people and I got a lot done on my secret swap project (shh). I will definitely try to make it to a few more of these meetups before it is time to get back to work. I really enjoyed it.

Afterwards I met up with one of my friends from work who I taught to knit lat year. She picked a project from the Stitch 'n Bitch book, a baby blanket, that she wanted my help finding yarn and deciphering the pattern. We went to lunch at Guero's for some yummy tacos and then perused the aisles at Hill Country Weavers. She found some ribbon yarn to make a scarf with and some yarn for the blanket. She also picked up some Lamb's Pride to make a felted bag. Along with all this, she picked some much needed notions as well.

I was feeling really envious. I so wanted to fill up my own basket with yarns. I tried to refrain. I really did.

I may have left with some Berroco NaturLin. Unfortunately, it has some rayon in it so it wasn't included in the First Thursday discount. Oh well. I got 5 hanks. I have no idea what I am going to make with it.

We came back to the house and went over the pattern. Made sure she remembered to move yarn to the front or back when knitting the seed stitch. Showed her when to place markers.

Anyway, we had fun.

Hubby is not happy to see that I have someone to shop with. He knows how much of an enabler she is.

went to guage...

malabrigo lace in apple cinnamon

Not sure about this one. Can anyone help me with the correct name?

suffer well

It has been one week/weekend from hell. I won't be going into details but it's been a little rough.
What made my day yesterday? Opening my mailbox and finding this lovely skein of yarn, though, brought a much needed smile to my face.



I love it. Thanks, Amanda!

It is a bamboo/merino mix in Cordial from NH Knitting Mama Yarns. Absolutely lovely and so soft!

Another thing that made me smile...a friend let me borrow her Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books. I have only seen the movie and have wanted to read these for awhile. Yay.



I am also almost done with the first of my Luna socks.

we have ourselves a winner

Thanks to everyone who shared their first blog posts. It was fun to see all the different ways that you all began.

So, our winner...

With all the extra entries from postings and mentions of others, I had 138 total entries. I used the Random Number Generator and 40 popped out. Which means...

Bea of Baa Baa Blacksheep has won herself some Malabrigo.

Congratulations!!

Bea- let me know which of these two yarns you prefer and email me your mailing info.



Thanks, everyone ,for playing!

If you want another chance to win some some Malabrigo go to cinnamongirls blog, Happy Handwork, and enter her Spring Contest. Don't forget to mention I sent you!

the madness continues

El Capitan
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

March is coming to an end soon and I only could manage one project in malabrigo. Capitan by Rosi Garmendia. I am not even done with it yet. There are some changes to the pattern that I did. One, I am using worsted weight yarn instead. I was told it would work, but, unfortunately, not for my big head. :) This will be going to my niece. Two, the cables. They are different. I didn't do this on purpose. I messed up. I liked it though and left them.

I am almost done. Just need to finish the front band and sew up the brim. Then I will need to find some cute buttons. I have a whole box of buttons at school for the kids to sort. I bet I could find a couple silver ones that will work perfectly.

So, I made it to Gauge today. You know what that means. Yarn! Two lovely skeins of Malabrigo. One of which will make it into the hands of one lucky person. The winner will get to choose one of these lovely yarns:

Lace in vetiver, 470 yards


Worsted in dusty olive, 216 yards


Contest ends tomorrow. You have until midnight my time (CST).

Good luck!
Go here and enter. (Sorry for the confusion.)

ready for a break

I can't believe it is already March and only one week away from Spring Break! This year's trip is to Maui. I can't wait. Doing nothing but sitting by the beach with my books and my knitting sounds absolutely perfect after these past two months of work, illness and stress. We have been there before, seen the sights, so sightseeing will not be our priority. Rejuvenating for the rest of the year will be.

So the plan is to print out Hint #8 on Friday before we leave on Saturday morning. Getting that done will be my goal for the week. I will also be taking my dad's Thujas. I have cast on the second sock but have knit no rounds on it yet. I don't think I will be taking the cardigan. Too bulky and warm for Hawaii, don't you think?

As far as books for the trip, it depends on if I finish any this week. I know for certain that Ursula K LeGuin's book, The Left Hand of Darkness will be coming with me. It's one of the hubby's scifi books that I have read about and heard good things. Have any of you read or seen the the movie, The Jane Austen Book Club? It is the scifi book that Grig gives Jocelyn. Anyway, I am looking forward to reading it.



I have put out all my Easter/Spring decor. Is it too early?
Easter does fall in March this year. It feels like spring, looks like spring. I declare it spring here in Texas. So Easter/Spring decor is okay. :)

The yarn is Pakucho organic cotton that I am going to knit into something for a friend's baby girl who is due in May. I am thinking booties or a cute little hat with a sage green ribbon.

small packages

sleeping kitty
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

I am still fighting off a bug from the kids. No matter how hard I try to not get sick, I still catch whatever is going around in our class. Urg.

So today I spent all afternoon in bed sleeping. While lying there, Joey pushed her way under the comforter and curled up between my legs for a nap of her own. The hubby came in awhile later and took this pic of her. I thought she had left, but I guess she had just moved a little further down to get some air. Hehe. Very cute.

I got some lovely packages in the mail today. The first, children's books from my mom:


I am sure the little disease vectors will love them.

And, yarn.


This is the Elsebeth Lavold Silky wool I bought earlier this week. Isn't it lovely? I need to figure out which sweater I want to make with it and get started.

Well, first I need to finish Hint #4 for sotsii. Hint #5 was given yesterday and I would hate to get off schedule. I am really liking having this hints come out every week, it keeps me on task. I should give myself little deadlines on all my knitting. I might actually get some of the big projects done a lot faster.

in need of something new

I am ready for a new project but I know I shouldn't start anything new. I have a few things on the needles right now. Not one close to being finished. The sotsii stole is, of course, still in progress. I am working on a pair of socks for my dad and that Log Cabin blanket is still not finished. You know the one. The one that was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my in laws. I pulled it out of its bag the other day and worked a few rows. Garter, garter, and more garter is just do boring.



I am making my dad this pair of Thuja's.
(He has a small foot. They will fit. They are big on me. Really.)

I only work on them a bit here and there. It's my traveling project. Always in my bag, not really ever worked on at home. I am past the gusset on the first sock. Yay. Should be smooth sailing on the foot for awhile. Dad's birthday is at the end of March. I have some time.

So, I have a couple patterns that I am looking at to start. A baby bolero from One Skein for a friend who is due in May. Also, this has caught my eye. So cute.
Tangled Yoke. I have been wanting to make this for awhile but couldn't bring myself to buy the yarn. Well, I bought some yarn from someone on Ravelry. 8 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a really pretty brown. I will either use it for the Tangled Yoke or for Patti.

Very hard decision to make.

loss of control

I have been unable to control myself. I see sock yarn. I buy it. This week, two. Yes, two lovely packages came in the mail bearing some sock yarn. One was from Alyson's de-stashing and the other came from Sunshine Yarns. Both, lovely yarns, more expensive than any sock yarn I have ever bought. The minute I held it, and felt it, I knew that it would not be my last time spending that much on one skein of yarn.

Anyway, want to see?

Want to see what I spent my money on?

First:



Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight, Flower Power

and


Sunshine Yarns Merino Sock, Luna

Yes, Luna, as in Luna Lovegood. I am a sucker for anything Harry Potter. You name your handspun after an HP character and I will buy. :)

Just so you know.

smile...

foliage ii
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

...you're on candid camera! :)

Just wanted to show off the little bit of knitting I got done in Park City. All were amazed at how quickly I cranked this out. I was wearing it around town by Saturday. It's very warm despite the lace and just a little big. I used needles a size up of what was called for in the patten. I didn't have time to go buy the right size before heading to the airport on Wednesday.


So, I got most of my stuff done last night that I wanted to. Tonight is laundry and finish hint #1 for sotsii. I worked on it last night up to row 31. Coming along pretty nicely. I really like the way it is looking so far.



I should be able to get this done tonight.

Yay! My mail just got delivered (it was on hold) and my package of yarn from Bunky Bobos is here. It is two more skeins of KP Shadow for the stole and a skein of Sandy's own hand dyed sock yarn in the color: Basalisk! :) I will share pics tomorrow. No more light in here on this gloomy afternoon.

100th Post

I made it to my 100th post. It is still hard to believe that anyone would want to read anything I write, but I am glad that you do. To say thanks I have a lovely hank of one of my favorite yarns to give away. Some Berroco Ultra Alpaca, seen here all balled up:



This is what I used for my Shedir back in August, but for you I have a brand new hank. If you would like a go at it just leave me a comment. That's it.

Of course, if you pimp on your site or I get told by another commenter that they came over from your site, you will get even more entries into the hat.

Good luck to you. I will take entries until Midnight on the 21st of January.


Speaking of deadlines, if you are interested in joining the Secret of the Stole II KAL, you have until the 17th of January. Click the button on the left (and probably a ways down) for more details.

went all the way to canada...

Qiviuk
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

and all I got was this lovely ball of yarn. :)

I couldn't resist. It was 1/2 off the regular price, which I will not share for fear that it may give some of you a heart attack. Just so you know, it is the only thing I brought home with me from Banff.

The holidays were great. I received many lovely gifts and everyone loved their knitted gifts. I have had requests for more. I better get started now.

It was great to see the family, but really, too short. Going to Canada after Christmas cut our visit short. Not that Banff wasn't fun. I did some reading, some knitting, and a little spaing ( I don't think that is a word). The hubby did some skiing. It was great.

On the vacation front, Sundance is next. I wonder what lovely yarn I can find there!

you can never have too much yarn

Thank you for the birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day. I left work early, made dough for the gingerbread cookies I have to take to work tomorrow for the kids' decorating party, I bought yarn, I went and had sushi for dinner. Very nice day.

Did I mention yarn? Yup, more Malabrigo yumminess. The hubby asked for a knitted hat for his brother for Christmas. So, of course I went straight to the yarn shop on the way to my hair appointment. I can't just go in and buy one skein, so I came out with three! I must say, Malabrigo has the best names for their yarns. Paris nights, sealing wax, dark forest!

Look at these! Beautiful, aren't they?



I already finished the hat for the BIL and have begun foliage in the reddish-orange chunky. I am thinking it will be for one of my SILs. The other SIL is getting gloves, so I better handknit for the other one as well.

Ooh, and the birthday fun continued into this morning. I got to work and found a bag on my desk. This is what I found inside...


Do my friends know me, or what?

unoriginal wip

unoriginal
Originally uploaded by my_weezy

I seem to be incapable of only working on the blanket for my IL's. I have started something new again. An unoriginal hat, from yarn harlot blog. The best thing about this new wip is the yarn. Malabrigo. It is my first time using it. Love it. I don't know how I hadn't used it before!

I went to Gauge on Friday and perused the selection until I found this chunky yarn in dark forest. (great color way name) and some worsted (another great name that I can't remember right now). I so wanted to start knitting something, anything as soon as I got home but we were meeting a friend for happy hour. Margaritas. Can't say no to them on a friday.

Anyway, Saturday, after an entire day of cookie baking (photos to come later) I started this quite happily while sitting in front of the tv watching Knocked Up. A great end to the day.

look what I came home and found today

Yup, a certain little kitty got a hold of my yarn and made a bit of a mess. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. I should have known that one night I would forget to put away some yarn. She managed to get away with little scolding this time. She was very lucky that this was just a small ball of left over yarn that I used a bit of last night to hold stitches.

Yup...lucky.


Evil little kitty!

"Big Daddy needs new yarn."

Another great knitting reference on Pushing Daisies tonight. I love this show!

I myself, am not in need of more yarn considering I have an order coming from Knit Picks soon. Oh, so much sale yarn was purchased. Some yarn for this lovely sweater and some more sock yarn. Even a couple skeins of lace weight for who knows what.

I need to go to bed. It is after midnight. This is what happens when you take a nap in the afternoon. :)