Lovely Rabbit Hole ~

I recently talked about many of the lovely rabbit holes that I have thrown myself into, typically with Jitteryknitter leading the way..... At the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, the Jitteryknitter found her very own rabbit hole to launch into...

Yes, she bought that Cricket Loom that she had been thinking about for a long time... and so we went back to our little rental house and she and Marion read the directions, watched some YouTube and put it together...turns out that Marion had been down that rabbit hole many many years ago and had made her own loom...gotta love that!!!  We had a blast figuring this out!!!

Thin as Frog Hair ~

Something is magical about Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.  This festival causes people to jump down rabbit holes that one would normally walk FAR around to be safe.....yet safety around rabbit holes is overrated. Really...... I thought I had already been down my Oregon rabbit hole when I first spun on the Pocket Wheel in 2010... yet it seems that this rabbit hole of spinning has many wonderful twists and turns... For those that know me, you'll know that I tend to love bright and happy colors, the more colors the better, the brighter the better.....

 Something about Oregon.....I bought natural roving.....yes, in a color I can only describe as....natural?  Truly a lovely blend of merino, alpaca and silk....and....natural in color.......(not to scare anyone, but I also bought fiber that was a white natural....yes, "absence of color white" natural.....)  And, this natural fiber spins as thin as Frog Hair..... and I have never spun this thin.... perhaps the absence of color helps me concentrate on spinning (no....can't be that.....this fiber is just "butter" and that is why it spins like this...)  Really...... it is so thin I can hardly see it in this picture!!!!

Road Trip ~

On the way to Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, we stopped at the most delightful yarn shop we have seen in a long time....well, other than our own Serial Knitters....

Turns out that KnitPurl is where Shibui yarn started, and they have a luscious selection there...of course...plus quite a bit of Koigu, with that amazing twist.... they had many patterns and the Finished Objects on display. I ended up buying lovely yarn made in Michigan!  What was it doing in Oregon? We spent a lot of time there, enjoying the vacation of being in another city and another yarn shop!

Spinning Away ~

In honor of being at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this weekend, I am posting my latest spinning work.  This beautiful fiber is 50/50 superwash merino/tencel and I love these colors! Two years ago, at the 2010 Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival I first tried spinning on the Pocket Wheel of Carla and Jon's.

Soon, in October, I will have my one year anniversary of picking up my very own sweet Pocket Wheel. I have improved so much, and I am still having such fun spinning and learning how to spin better.  What a wonderful journey this continues to be!  Hurrah!

Magenta baby!

Yes, this little lovely shawl is Done!  For such a little shawl, the color is so bright and fun and did I say BRIGHT!!!   I wanted to photograph it in the sunshine, to set off the color...and how beautiful it is!!

 Magenta Baby!!!

Thanks again to My Hero for sending me the needed yards of Jitterbug to finish this lovely shawl!!!!

Twins and Frappuccino ~

A lovely day to be spending enjoying the last great days of summer weather with the fraternal twin socks.  They are turning out really well, and I love the cuff pattern that I chose from the sock book by my favorite sock pattern person, and also my favorite hat patterns person, Charlene Schurch.

These socks are such fun to knit, plus I think of my secret pal that gave me this crazy yarn while I'm knitting!

Birthday toes ~

As I mentioned in my birthday post, I did cast on a birthday project on my birthday. I told you that I would tell you later, and now it is time.  I cast on the very interesting and lovely sock flat that was given to me by the Jitteryknitter, as a new Rabbit Hole to launch through....

I am loving this yarn as it is soft and colorful, and fun to unravel as I knit.  I have not reached the neon lime yet, but certainly looking forward to knitting the neon lime!!!! Another perfect birthday gift from the Jitteryknitter! Hurrah!
(how could one not be excited to knit with neon lime???)

Polka dot progress ~

Coming home from the cross country meet, I was able to do some road trip knitting on my lovely scarf!  This is the Polka Dot and Moonbeams yarn that I spun and plyed, it is 50/50 superwash merino/tencel. 

The yarn is so lovely, and my birthday Signature needles match so well, and knit so fast fast fast!

Cross Country Champs ~

Another great cross country race for our high school!  At the Island invitational, we had a perfect day for racing.

All our teams did super well, and these gals were extra fast and photogenic! Hurrah!!!
P.S.  I did some knitting on the trip home!  Hurrah!

My Hero ~

You are not going to believe this....of all the messages I sent on Ravelry desperately seeking Magenta Jitterbug to finish my Little Colonnade, I had just one response.  MY HERO!!!!  She wrote back and said she would find it in her stash, and just charge me for shipping.... MY HERO!!!!!   That afternoon she sent me another message to say the package only took two stamps, so she was considering it as a gift.... MY HERO!!!!!

May she have Great Knitting Karma and Fabulous Karma of All Other Types for all her many many many many healthy and happy years.... Bless you!!!!!!  (P.S.  The label on her yarn was dated 2008!!)

More Rabbit Holes ~

I have a great friend, the Jitteryknitter, who always finds a new and interesting rabbit hole for me to launch myself into.  For my birthday one year, she bought me lovely BFL fiber of lovely greens, just in case I needed to get serious about spinning... and I launched myself happily down that rabbit hole..... One year she surprised me with amazing Signature needles...perhaps because I was babysitting her pair and couldn't seem to find time to return them (we had bonded so well, and I really thought they were happier with me.....but I did (finally) return them..) and I have launched myself into getting...ahem...several pair since then...(how many is "several"?). One year she brought me the most beautiful silk from London, the Most Beautiful Silk EVER....and I almost weep with joy each time I knit on the shawl and feel that silk and see it making such lovely stitches.....

This year she found some fabulous yarn for me, in a super shape of a sock blank!  I have seen these, but never knit with one.  I love the colors, she said the Neon Green spoke to her...perhaps I have been choosing a lot of lime and neon lately... and the yarn is oh-so-soft!  I am excited to cast on!! This could be a great new format for yarn...does not need winding...does not get tangled.... a new rabbit hole for me!!!

Trouble here ~

I have trouble here, right here in River City....(that is a nod to my Dad, who always sang this song from The Music Man while we were growing up.....) as I have been knitting away in a Jitterbug Frenzy with the magenta colored perfect yarn and amazing Signature needles and.......oh dear.......

I have five rows left, and there is not enough yarn.....oh dear.....So I have searched on Ravelry, and there is one skein of Magenta Jitterbug for sale, and four knitters have posted that they have "leftovers" of Magenta Jitterbug in their stash... I have messaged all of them....My yarn is from 2009... what are the chances that I will find more??????

Birthday Cast On ~

For those of you that know me, you might remember that I have a quirky way of celebrating my birthday by casting on a special project, like here, here, here and here.  This year is no exception. In the weeks before my birthday, I begin to fantasize all the projects that could be "the one" that gets the special award of being, "my birthday" project.

This year, I officially cast on a super deluxe project, however I have no pictures of "the first" cast on for this year's birthday. You will be seeing that project soon.  With this amazing surprise of new Signature Needles, size 9, I cast on my most delicious handspun, moonbeams and polka dots! This scarf is going to be fabulous!  Just looking at the cast on, with this glorious yarn and amazing needles, I know this will be a stunning piece!
P.S.  I think I received size 9s as I was about to borrow the Jitteryknitter's pair again....She worries about the way I bond with her special Signatures! I love these needles!

We are the Champions ~

Grace and Emma, injured during the spring track season, worked hard all summer, and came back to come in first for our high school in Varsity and Junior Varsity, only one of the many inspiring stories of today's cross country meet.

We are so proud of them!