Run for Boston ~

I saw this hat pattern on Ravelry last week and knew I had to knit one, or two or maybe three of them... or perhaps more, as I am in a family of runners. I also sent it as a "gift" to my spinning teacher who ran Boston this year (see previous post). A bonus for me is that the hat needs four colors, and I am all about colors!  I asked Jitteryknitter to help me pick out colors for both my daughters, and we made awesome choices!  She even let me pick lime green! What a great friend! Another bonus, our favorite yarn shop was having a sale!

This is what the ribbing is supposed to look like.  I had a false start with my first cast on as the rows with purl stitches looked wonky. Although I have knit a lot of two color fair isle, I cannot recall ever purling... so I had some trouble with all the yarn getting tangled with the purls....so I ripped it out, pondered how it was supposed to work, and then cast on again.... also texted Jitteryknitter with a bit of *$^%# and that always seems to help!

Boston Blessings ~

With all the bad news coming out of Boston this past week, I wanted to share a good story.  We heard about the Boston Marathon while in Oregon. My daughter asked me if my spinning teacher was running in it, as she had finally qualified for Boston while I was still taking lessons with her. As I've talked about my spinning teacher before, she is an amazing lady in many many ways, plus a fabulous spinner and spinning teacher.  I emailed her as soon as we arrived home on Monday night, but I had not heard from her yet, and kept sending prayers and positive thoughts her way.   I received this email from her today:

Hi, - yes, I ran Boston this year, and came in just about three minutes before the first blast. My daughter was with me. I was in the finishing chutes, and had just gotten my water bottle (hadn’t even gotten my medal yet) when the first one went off. It was a very chaotic end to an amazing race, but we are safe, well, and walked out under our own power. We are feeling so blessed and grateful, I cannot even begin to describe. I thank you for your thoughts and good wishes. Boston is an amazing city, and I hope to go back next year. I was only going to go the once, but now, I’m more determined than ever. :-)

picture shared from this link

Track Rockets ~

We spent today at an invitational track meet, so my youngest was running the 1600 (1 mile) along with 40 other girls in her "heat" and there were four heats of girls running the mile. Yes, big race and wonderful day.   Great news is that she ran really well.

Other great news is that I was able to get out the Sock Rockets and take them for another spin.  This (above) is how the socks looked before the race.

This (above) is how they looked after the race, as we were celebrating with lunch.  They are pretty fast needles!  Notice the Champion Gold nail polish of my track star daughter! She is the one that picked out this glorious yarn for my Christmas gift, so I could knit her some wild socks. I love this yarn!!! I like these needles a lot, and wish I had more time to help them knit faster!!

False advertising ~

Apparently, this place in Newport has amazing yarn and lots of knitted garments on display in the shop, to inspire us to knit in the spring, summer, winter and fall.

However it is not open on Sunday or Monday.....yarn for all seasons, but not all days.....Rats.....I was very very disappointed. No vacation yarn for me.....

Oregon Hiking ~

Another great part of being in Oregon, is being able to do some hiking. Hiking in the woods and hiking along the beach and hiking just about everywhere is a great way to see Oregon.

We were in Newport, on the beach and did lots of beach walking, perfect with hand knit socks and my hiking boots. It always makes me smile when I put on my hand knit socks!!

Burgerville Love ~

One of the best parts of driving to Oregon is getting to stop at one of my favorite spots, Burgerville! We do not have them in our area, so it is always a treat when we are able to cruise in and have one of their fabulous milkshakes and burgers. I even used my Burgerville card for the very first time (thanks Lisa!).

Of course, another great part of driving to Oregon is being in the passenger seat, knitting away on a pair of lovely socks! Oh Joy of vacation!!

Behold SOCK ROCKETS!

I first saw these advertized at one of my favorite yarn shops in Portland, Oregon. Addi Sock Rockets, for faster sock knitting, and well, who would not want some of that action?  I emailed that shop, and they had already sold out. WHAT?   So I kept looking, as I really wanted to see these babies and give them a test drive....everywhere I checked, they were already sold out..... Enter Vogue Knitting Live and Paradise Fibers.....I have shopped in their booth many times and have ordered from them on line and I love them... and they had SOCK ROCKETS, but only two pair in size 1 and two pair in the size just less that 1 but bigger than zero (weird, I know....) Marion and I grabbed them, as we could see by the empty rows of needle racks that they were almost sold out....(well, once we grabbed them, they were sold out!)

Yes, these little sticks can go super fast and super quick, and I had a blast casting on. Tips are sharp and narrow, and smooth sailing. I love them! I am so excited to have them that I am not going to feel bad or guilty that I now have (gulp!) six pairs of socks "on my needles" - yes, SIX!!!!  How fun is that!!!!

Vogue Live ~

How lucky to have Vogue Live in our area this weekend!  I met up with Marion and we worked the booth for the Seattle Knitters Guild in the afternoon and met lots of great knitters! Lots of stories and lots of knitted projects and lots of "what did you buy?"!  Sort of a big Yarn Yoga for our area!

The market place was fun, starting with this array of Cascade Yarns hanging from the upper deck. A rainbow of colors from black all the way to the lightest of creme.  They said that on Sunday when the show was done, they would cut the ribbons and we could grab the yarn as it fell....I'm sure it was pandemonium when this happened!!

There were great vendors and great displays - our favorite yarn store Serial Knitters was there, and our favorite Yarn Artist Susan Tidwell, plus Hazel Knits and Paradise Fibers...The Fiber Gallery...Soon I will tell you the very very special purchase that Marion and I made...here is a hint: We bought the LAST ONES!!!! (Stay tuned!)

Chicks on the move ~

We added eight lovely chicks to our farm menagerie this spring. So cute and small when we brought them home and put them in their little wagon in the garage. With their heat lamp and straw, they grow to be a bit bigger there until we can move then into their chick condo next to the chicken coup.

The chick condo boasts of shared water facilities with the hens, so they can meet and greet over drinks. They can visit but not go into the other area yet, but just a bit of acclimation for the older hens and the wee chicks.

We had a lovely day this weekend to move the chicks into their condo, and they seem to be getting along with the hens.  The hens are curious about the wee ones, and the wee ones are still running around with boundless energy...Spring is here!