Happy Yarnoween!

I was not able to make it to Rhinebeck this year, but I did make it to Stitches East '10 instead. Although it is quite a different venue, it was still a LOT of fun! I found some really nice things and thought I would share. First .... the YARN....

Starting on the left, the multicolor yarn is my first purchase of this sort ever. I never really had an appreciation for handspun yarns until my friends started to spin. I really LOVE their yarns and the way they knit up. So when I saw this skein I felt a warm and fuzzy feeling. I will have to take up spinning one day :-). It is called Krazy Skeinz from Still River Mills in CT. It is 50/50 Baby Alpaca/Merino. The coolest thing is when I met up with my friend Marcy for some lunch, she had purchased the roving (I think that's what it is called) from the same booth to make the same yarn and subsequently the same vest (free pattern came with the yarn). So cool! I feel another knitalong coming soon!

Next is my very first purchase ever of MissBabs yarns. It is Yowza in Smooch. It is a Superwash merino, hand-dyed and feels just yummy! It was great to meet Babs too!

Next is a tried and true Blue Moon Fiber Arts, socks that rock in Medium weight. I just could not pass up the colorway: Spy-say Guacamolay. I love everything spicy!

Next is Kitchen Sink Dyeworks, another never tried yarn. One touch and I could not put the skein back, not for nothin'! It is called Luxe Merino Fine in colorway Dexter and is 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere and 10% Nylon. I plan to knit this into something that I can feel around my neck. I also got to meet the dyer, Mercedes, in this booth. Meeting the real people behind the yarn was what made this trip so amazing!

Lastly, but not least is String Theory! OMG this is squooshy yummy yarn with the most gorgeous dye work. I wanted to buy it all. It was so difficult to just purchase one colorway for one project. I bought 5 skeins of Caper Aran in Shale to make my very first February Lady. I am not one to run with the crowds and knit what everyone else is, but this yarn is just calling out to be a February Lady and I can't resist.

I'll get to the accessories later...

Summer Sewing

Surfing anyone?

I've been spending some time sewing this summer. It has just been too hot to actually hold yarn! Look what I have been up to.

There's more too. Check out my etsy shop for more style bags.

Now I will move back to knitting.
Happy summer!

This is a test

This photo collage made with Smilebox

I have this new piece of software and thought I would play with it for a minute to see if I like it....

Am I back? or Just visiting?

iPad Cozy!

I don't know the answer to that question. What I do know is that blogging is alot of work and quite time consuming. I felt the need to step back for a while, but today I felt a desire to check in.

It is my 48th birthday today and I have had a wonderful day! The family bought me an iPad for my birthday. No, nothing fiber related, but an iPad. Hmmmm. Anyway, I will enjoy it. It means I can post to my blog or to ravelry any time. While waiting for the girls at their activities, while at playdates, when ever. That sounds pretty cool.

I wanted a safe way to stash it in my purse so it is always with me, so I whipped up this iPad case today. Yes that is what I spent my birthday doing, untangling a skein of wild yarn so I could make this.

I like it, what do you think?

Yarn: Socks that Rock, lightweight in Flower Power.

Needles: US1 or T10 on a standard gauge machine
Notes: I did a gauge swatch and used those numbers to plan how many to CO and how many rows to knit. Pretty straight forward as the iPad is pretty narrow, no need to calculate for depth.
I knit a 20 row hem (10 each side), knit 60 rows at regular gauge, 5 rows at a tighter gauge, 60 rows regular gauge, and another hem. Seemed the sides and voila! Then I though, hmmm, it needs a button. So I just picked up 10sts and added on a button flap. easy peasy.

RHINEBECK '09

The Team! Pat (left), Me and Marcy(Right).
This was only stop #2, The Fold for some Blue Moon Fiber.

Just after lunch and chatting with fellow Ravelers we head to the car to lighten our load.

Yes there were sheep.

The collective loot! Lots of yummy stuff and some fun stuff too! Wonderful time with friends and fiber! Can't wait till next year!

For more photos take a look at Flickr.

Whoah!

Just for Giggles

I made the comment "My craft/guest room is overflowing with yarn. The challenge was given "I'd like to see pictures of this craft room.
Well, here you go. It's not alot compared to some people I hear talk, but it is more than I can handle.

That table is my scrap booking table and the large basket usually sits under it.
The big basket is filled with all sorts of yarn, mostly worsted weight, some singles and some enough for sweaters. The teddy bear basket has the skeins for Shalor. The small basket is filled with singles of worsted weights for hats/mittens. The chilli bowl box is filled with left over sock yarn.

This is the top shelf of the closet, the basket has yarn for 2 sweaters. Under that the bin contains cotton yarns for sweaters. On the top right is skeins for the little girl bulky cardigan I am making and the 2 bins below contain sock yarn (the one one top is Cherry Tree Hill).

This 2 drawer is sitting on the floor of the closet and contains mostly yarns for sweaters....lots.

And this shelf is just chock full of sock yarn. It is hard to see, but there are 2 balls on top shelf waiting to be knit, the basket on the right of those contains sport weight yarns. 2 shelves down in the pouch behind the pinecone is another sweater waiting to be completed. and the overflowing basket below is all finger weight yarns.

OK, maybe I shouldn't go to Rhinebeck tomorrow!
Off to knit RIGHT NOW!
feeling ashamed

It is Fall here in New England

I can't believe it has been such a long time since I last post. As soon as school started for the girls, it got quite busy around here. I am only just getting used to the hectic schedule. My girls are only doing a fraction of the after school activities that others are doing, and I feel overwhelmed and like a taxi driver. They are only in Third grade, they say it gets worse...so I best get used to it.

Well, I have finished a few knitting projects since I was last here, that's good news anyway!

But the bad news first. I've lost everything on my PC. My photos for the last few years, my saved patterns, my designs (those published and those not), etc. We lost both the primary and backup discs. Bummer! Well, a chance to start anew, and hubby has set up a whole new backup system. I will also take the time to creat CD's of photos from here on in.

Let's see what have I completed, that I have photos to show....

Pattern: Stricken by CookieA.
Yarn: The Painted Tiger, Tiger Cub in Rusty
Needles:US1 (2.25mm)
Pattern: A test knit of Everthing's Connected by Jeannie Cartmel
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock solid in Burgundy
Needles: US1 (2.25mm)

Pattern: Cascade Christmas Stocking
Yarns: A bunch of left overs in Blues. Sarah's favorite color.
Needles: US7

I have also made some mittens in preparation for winter's imminent arrival. I'll get photos for next time.

Keep Woolly Warm this Winter!

Fall Sale

Just a quick note to let you know that I am having a sale at my Etsy shop. I have some gorgeous new fabrics I am going to use to make some Fall bags. New shape and style too. But I need to clean up some inventory to make room for the new. Check it out and tell your friends.

Happy Belated Birthday Mom!

Better late than never! I simply love the way this bag came out. I was not sure how it would work out, I have never put a zipper in a large sized bag. But it worked perfectly. My daughter modeled for me and you can see it is just adorable. I think you will really enjoy the bag, Mom. Happy Belated Birthday!

What a Mess!

See that tangled mess? Well, that is after working on untangling it for an hour when I thought to take a photo. It is 4 balls of yarn and what a mess!

Every morning the neighbor's dog, Koda, comes over to play with Max for about an hour. Well, this day, Max went up to Koda's because our lawn had just been fertilized. I brought my socks to knit while I supervised the dogs. Not that they really need it, but this is new territory for Max, so I didn't want him getting into any trouble.

Well, Max did grab something he probably should not have, so I put my knitting down and went to retrieve said item. When I turned around.....to my horror.....Koda had my project in his mouth.

Picture this. Very happy dog looking at me with mischief in his eyes. I move to approach him and he excitedly runs away. He stops, looks at me and again runs away. No matter how I screech STOP, he is having way too much fun to listen.

Now, picture this, Koda has run around the playhouse, around the sand box, around the swing set, around the deck furniture, up the hill, around and around again. Imagine a gigantic spider web. Then Koda finally drops the knitting and steps on it. Here is the good news, the wooden US1 needles were jammed into the ground, but did not break!

Humor me for just one more moment. Now I am running around trying desperately to gather all the yarn (almost 4 entire balls worth) while both dogs think playing in the web of yarn is the best playdate ever!

The socks are still being knit. They are riddled with dog hairs and sand.

I hope you enjoyed my story. I am able to laugh about it now, but it did take me a day or two to see the humor in it.