A Knitting New Year's Eve

What a way to end the year - a bunch of us knitting away at our local Starbucks! Fiber and coffee - Wahoo! (Pardon the quality of the pictures - it's the first time I used the camera, and I couldn't review the photos - I didn't have the manual with me - so some of the "victims" were turned away from the camera at the time of the photo, but I didn't realize it. I even cropped a couple of pictures so I could try to get the best parts of the two photos....so Debbie gets to be featured in two pictures!) What can I say....we're knitters, not models and photographers!














First Picture(front to back): Kathleen is in the foreground - I believe she's knitting a top for a formal occasion; Gabriella is knitting away on a combo cardigan/shrug/scarf - I forget the "official" name of what she's knitting, but it's a really cool combination; Sarah is knitting her bright and cheerful kitchen rug, Elizabeth is finishing up the "snuggle blanket" to be snuggled by a homeless pet (what a fabulous charity - the Snuggle project!); Lissa is loving the colors of the new top she's knitting but not too thrilled about the "small" (size 5 or 6) needles; and finally Susan is attempting to "tame" the lace edges of her shrug.

Second Picture (front to back): Ruth is modeling her fabulous crocheted shawl (which can double as a blanket as needed) and her crocheted cap. Danielle is exhausted from all the holiday company and not knitting today, but couldn't resist stopping by to say "Hi" to all her knitting buddies.













Third Picture(from right to left): Carol is in the throws of the "most hated part of knitting" - the part where the knitting is done, but now you have to piece, stitch, and graft to complete the project - which is a gorgeous natural colored sweater for her mom; Karen is busily working on the scarf for a sister-in-law(?) - I believe this is one of those projects where someone said, "Oh, wow! Can you make me one too?"; and finally Debbie is knitting an adorable beaded amulet bag - on size 00 or 0000 needles!

Fourth Picture (from right to left): Debbie again (isn't she photogenic?); Starla is knitting a basket-weave scarf for herself - in purple, of course; and finally me - I'm trying to finish up a late Christmas present for a very dear friend - it's in dark blue Inca Alpaca (it's the ONLY Christmas knitting I committed to....and it STILL didn't get done!)

Happy New Year Eveyone! See you next year!

------------------A Very Merry Christmas!-------------

I had a perfect Christmas.....lots of Knitty stuff! I got 3 books that I've been lusting after:

Knitting Nature by Nora Gaughan
Knitting Beyond the Edge by Nicky Epstein
Inspired Cables by Fiona Ellis

AND

My daughter was home to share the holidays with me.

AND

From my DH, I got a digital camera of my own....so it will be MUCH easier for me to take pictures of my knitting and spinning and dump them to the computer. Wahoo! (The bad thing is that now I'll have no excuses!!!!)

AND

My middle sister made a fabulous scrapbook for me. She's a wonderful scrapbooker and really has an eye for making exquisite pages - complete to the last little detail. It's definitely a beautiful piece of art! There are pictures of our grandparents, parents, my sisters and me growing up, and key moments in our lives. I was literally sobbing while I flipped through the pages - it's that beautiful! It's probably the most thoughtful and lovely gift I've ever received......it's DEFINITELY a treasure!

Oh.....my sister happened to mention again that she hasn't received any socks from me (I promised to make her a pair of bedsocks....and she's ANXIOUSLY awaiting them!) I WILL get them done....they're on my January "to do" list. (I really feel the pressure now after the scrapbook she created for me.....)












DD holding Sandy's stocking. Unable to resist the smell of home made dog biscuits, Sandy "dives in".



Sandy and me wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

I've Been Tagged!

I've been tagged by Kai.....

Here are the rules:

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

Weird things about me:

1. I like fresh pineapple on top of cream cheese and toast. Sounds weird, I know, but it's really refreshing.

2. I celebrate "International Left Hander's Day" with a lemon cake with lemon icing (Left Hander's day is August 13th).

3. I prefer "raw" hot dogs over cooked hot dogs (they just taste better).

4. I have way too many knitting projects that are started but not finished....and I keep finding more that I want to start!

5. I consider coffee and chocolate one of the 5 major food groups.

6. I look forward to demonstrating spinning and knitting to kids (and their parents) at our local Sheep and Wool festival in Frying Pan Park - I've participated in this for the past several years.

My "taggees" are: mandyknits, Fizz14, Knitarella, ygymraes, CatKnit, and lligett

So Much to Do! So Little Time!

Time has really gotten away from me.....I'm in frenzy mode for Christmas. I have 3 projects that I need to finish ASAP.....only one is an official Christmas gift, and the recipient has already been warned that it will be a post-Christmas gift! I have so much to do around here before the holidays that I have NO TIME TO KNIT!!!! ARGH!!!!

I've started my mom's scarf out of the blue merino handspun. I'm using a Plymouth pattern from the "Lace Scarf Collection" - I'm doing Style B. I'll post a picture later this week. I've got about 10 inches or so done, so I am making progress.

The second project (not yet started) is a scarf out of very soft Alpaca in a deep tweedy blue. I haven't even decided on the pattern yet....and this project IS a Christmas present (although it will be a bit late!)

The third project (not yet started) is the Alpaca bedsocks for my sister....she loved the ones I made my daughter, so I'm being "coerced" into making a pair for her!

....And Now, For Some Fibery "Eye Candy"

I acquired some lovely wool this past weekend - some in the form of fiber, some in the form of yarn. The pictures just don't do it justice....you really need to see and touch them to get the full effect.

The "bump" is very soft Romney roving (I'm used to Romney being a bit on the coarse side, but this stuff is wonderful!!!) I got it from Sharon Krasny - it's from her daughter's sheep, "Lollipop" - gotta love the name of the little sheepie!

The yarn and the little sheep ornaments were purchased from Gretchen at Solitude. The natural colored yarn is absolutely yummy! It's very soft (from a lamb) and has a wonderful luster. It's Leicester Longwool lamb's wool yarn from Old Gjerpen farm. I love it! I'm thinking it needs to be made into a shawl....in a Feather and Fan pattern perhaps?????

The colored yarn is naturally dyed and I LOVE the colors. It's very nice Romney from local sheep. The blue was dyed using Logwood. The rich pinkish purple was produced using Brazilwood. Gretchen of "Solitude" did a fabulous job dyeing this wonderful yarn. I believe I'm going to attempt to make leg warmers from this - it's my usual mitten/earmuff/scarf colors - blue and purple or magenta - so I think that's the perfect project.

Finally, here's a shot of the skeins of the blue wool with denim bits that I've been spinning. I thought I'd only completed 4 skeins, but I've finished 5! Wahoo! I'm still surprised about how "nasty" it feels....it's only about 10-15% blue jeans, but the cotton feel really predominates. The second photo shows a close up of the roving, just to give you an idea of what it looks like.

And FINALLY, Some Spinning and Knitting!

I FINALLY managed to work in a bit of spinning. It's been WAY too long. I decided to take a break for a while this week and worked some more on the blue wool blended with recycled denim. It's really nasty stuff to spin - rather short fibers and the denim fibers cause it to be a very lumpy yarn when plied.

I managed to finish the second bobbin and was able to ply 2 full skeins. Now I have a grand total of 4 skeins! I think I've spun at least half, it not 2/3 of the roving now, so I need to start "planning" the project...decisions, decisions!

Oh....I forgot to post the picture of the finished Alpaca bed socks (finished and delivered to my daughter in mid-November). I know, I know.....they look like little kid socks....but they really DO fit an adult foot! Honest!



Progress on my Claudia socks has been slow. I've FINALLY turned the heel while at a guild meeting, but with a track record of about 10 rows every 2 weeks, I'm beginning to wonder if I'll EVER get them done!

Thank You Secret Pal!

I have a totally awesome Secret Pal once again! I was totally spoiled by the fabulous package I received. This is a shot of my package before I "dug into" the goodies.




I LOVE all the purple! One can never have enough purple! She found lots of little goodies for me......I just love it! Here's the breakdown: Page markers - always good when working on projects; some Sorrento (purple yarn) and Castaway (fuzzy yarn) that seems to be "asking" to be made into a funky scarf; and not one, but TWO dark chocolate bars (Mmmmmm!). There was also 4 skeins of purple Baby Silk (pets incredibly soft yarn....) and the Interweave Knits magazine where she's selected the "Swallowtail Shawl" as a potential project. It looks like a FABULOUS shawl.....and the luscious Baby Silk will be PERFECT for it! Finally, tucked into the purple "take out" container along with the "J" sticky notes was a darling fashion scarf in purple, white, and black with beaded fringe........handcrafted for me by my Secret Pal! THANK YOU!!!!