Cross country knitting ~

The great news about a longer cross country practice is lots of knitting gets done at the corner coffee shop. I started knitting with my Hazel Knits strawberry lemonade socks that I am loving....and then ended up knitting on Encompass too....I love long cross country practice!
Note: I forgot to take my camera on our latest river camping trip...so there will be an update of projects coming soon, but no fantastic (?) pictures of the knitting progress on the river :(

River cast on ~

Getting closer to the end of the Hazel Knits socks for my 16 year old, and I am thinking of the next cast on. That same 16 year old requested a scarf that is, "a circle" and that she could loop around her neck if needed. I thought, perhaps, she needed a moebius, so I did some research. Instead, I came up with Encompass by our favorite Yarn Harlot....and cast on!It may not look like much yet, but it is oh-so-soft and the stitch patterns are fun.Plus, it is always great to cast on at the river!Looking great so far, eh?!!!!!
Yes, I love this - on Signature needles too - Yippee!!!

River Knitting ~

Ah......back at the river....back in 80 degree sunshine, and the water here is around 50 degrees...cold and crisp river, and the knitting is marvelous.I knit great amounts on these strawberry-lemonade socks. I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this little pattern I've chosen for the cuff. I found it in More Sensational Knitted Socks, and I love it!!The socks look great against the river rocks, and river water......Its great to be back, knitting in the river......

Backwards journey ~

This week feels like I have been moving backwards on my knitting journey. Not in the way of "memory lane" or not even "the good ol' days" but truly backwards.Instead of signature needles and lovely alpaca or silk, I'm using big wooden knitting needles and acrylic yarn, or acrylic net....or ribbon....or........and I'm poking the needles willy-nilly into the acrylic to make a stitch...so I am, on purpose, splitting the .... yarn...(is this yarn???) to make my stitches.....They are uneven and blurred....and misshapen.......but the scarf is instant gratification (and my teenagers love it....who knew?)

Hazel's Heels ~

This weekend was great for knitting, as I made it through one of Hazel's heels on Saturday...and the other heel turned on Sunday.They are looking beautiful, and I'm looking for a good pattern for the cuff. Hazel Knits is the best yarn!All the rubber bands are the methods of Queen Kahuna's heel turns......works perfect every time!

Hazel's Gusset ~

These beautiful socks are going strong and I'm knitting on the gusset now!Such a joy to knit with this yarn, and the colors are stunning in the sunshine! Just a few more rows until I can start on the heels! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Got Shibui?

Text & pictures late Friday afternoon:
Shibui! Want some? what color?

Yes! That one & that one!? Where are you? Is it Silk Cloud?

Yes, want green?

Yes, wasabi? Silk Cloud, right?

Yes, 330 yards for $18 - no sales tax.

Where r u??

Cousin took me to Medford

Love your cousin! Do you have any blue for Marion?

Is that Fjord?

Store closing in a few minutes.

Yes to wasabi and Fjord! Now looking for patterns!

We now have Shibui, don't tell my husband. Gotta run...

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Thx

(I love my friends)

Mum's cuffs ~

Mum's socks are almost done. I'm knitting up the cuffs and they are looking so soft and cuddly. Of course it is over 70 degrees as I'm knitting these cozy alpaca socks for her, so I'm knitting outside, but she'll love them once the fall comes to Michigan.I hope to cast off while we're camping this weekend!

Meriboo spinning ~

I realized after Sock Summit that I've not spin in a few weeks. Seeing all the beautiful fiber and all the amazing spinners made me realize that I need more practice. I need more time to practice too, but we'll work on that too...I pulled out on of my samples that I bought from Little Knits, a great little shop in West Seattle. This is called Meriboo from Frog Tree, and it is a mix of Merino and bamboo. So far it spins up well, not too slippery and a lovely color!

Hazel and tea ~

I was very pleased that my oldest daughter loved the Hazel Knits colorway, Strawberry Lemonade, that we picked out for her at Sock Summit. My youngest daughter had me looking for, "Aqua yarn that is very colorful and fun" so I picked up several choices...but wasn't sure what my oldest would like, since she is 16 now....yes, you guessed it....sometimes hard to figure out..but still delightful...I just can't pick out clothes or colors or..anything for her...but she is still delightful! My friends helped me pick out this colorway, and it received rave reviews from sweet sixteen!The Hazel Knit socks are also delightful. This yarn is one of my favorites these days, a great tight twist and great colors, a dream to knit with. A wonderful dream to knit outside while having tea during cross-country practice!

Sock Summit Treasures ~

Sadly the Sock Summit 2011 was coming to a close on Sunday. The only good news was the vendor sales, as they didn't want to carry all the fiber and yarn home with them.So I was able to pick up a few sale items....Just a few, as I really did all my shopping on Friday, right?! I'm already looking forward to Sock Summit 2013!

Sock Summit Fleece to Foot ~

Amazing day on Sunday, where we witnessed the shearing of 3 wee sheep, and then the spinning and plying of their fleece and the knitting of their wool into socks...all by 6 teams of amazing knitters and spinners.The sheep were so cute, Gusset, Instep and Heel Flap.... Here is Clara Parkes spinning the first of the shorn fleece, and after seeing Clara in her element, I am now a big Clara Parkes fan...and I really liked her before this, and now I'm over the moon about how wonderful she is....down to earth and approachable....lovely lady!Here is the YouTube link of the shearing here and here and here. The gal that is shearing is delightful and oh, so educational as well!Here is Clara giving the first of the plyed yarn to Steph for the teams to use as a "sample" so they can begin their spinning. This was a great event!

Sock Summit Flash mob ~

If you are a sock knitter, chances are you have already heard about the amazing Flash mob at Sock Summit. There were practice videos here. We practiced on opening night and at the 1980's dance here. Then we really blew the socks off Portland on Saturday, when we all did the Flash mob at the Portland Convention Center. Check it out on YouTube, as we were amazing! (Sorry I don't have any pictures, as I was dancing with my skein of Artyarns Beaded Mohair from my Secret Pal!)

Sock Summit Cast on ~

I did cast on these socks on Friday, as the Hazel Knits just kept calling me, Strawberry Lemonade colorway. I used the size 1 needles just vacated by the Track Star Socks, and off we went.If you have never knit with Hazel Knits, I would recommend this yarn as top of the delicious chart! I've knit my Meliae Shawl and Sweet Jazz Shawl out of Hazel Knits, and am very excited to be knitting this yarn again.By Sunday, this is how far I've knit....the other yarn is Marion's Hazel Knits!

Sock Summit 1980s ~

No, you didn't read the title wrong - By the end of this lovely Friday of shopping and classes, there was an event that we were supposed to attend.... I thought that I would rather cast on new socks instead of going, but I went with the flow and had a blast....1980's dance, and oh dear......we met some lovely people there, and danced the night away. Wish I would have taken the names of these four stylish gals we saw - the outfits were great and the music was fabulous. I think we only didn't dance for 3 songs..... Gosh, wish my camera worked better in the dark of the ballroom, but trust me when I say we looked fabulous and had a blast!

Sock Summit 2011 too ~

Friday at the Sock Summit, up early and into the Marketplace to check out the demonstrations and learn new techniques and check out the vendors.... any sales yet on the first full day?Well, actually, there were lots of sales - most of my purchases came from a shop that was sizing down due to the daughter going back to college and not able to help the mom at these shows, so I was able to get some beautiful Koigu and Cherry Hill Farms....Then to the Hazel Knits booth, she is local to our Seattle area, but still one of the very very best yarn in the entire Marketplace. We feel very blessed to have her yarn locally...however we bought some, just to show the love.....Gosh, this looks like a lot of yarn, eh? Some delicious fiber as well.....More fun tomorrow....By the end of this lovely day of shopping and classes, there was an event that we were supposed to attend.... I thought that I would rather cast on new socks instead of going, but I went with the flow and had a blast....

Sock Summit 2011 ~

Whew.....Monday after the 2011 Sock Summit, and I'm not sure how to begin sharing this amazing weekend with you. So much wonderful and delightful bliss occurred for me (and for at least 2,000 other attendees - perhaps closer to 6,000). We arrived Thursday night, in time for some shopping in the Marketplace, plus the opening ceremonies where Steph and Tina shared their thoughts and stories of Sock Summit 2009 and turning into the planning of Sock Summit 2011. Plus we danced a little....I've never seen Star Gate, but Steph and Tina love the show....so we all were able to walk through Sock Gate.... certainly the Sock Summit had that "out of this world" feeling for all the time we were there..... I only bought one skein of yarn on this first partial day in the Marketplace....I was saving up for the first "official" day of shopping......