Library Love ~

I am blessed by being part of the best library system in the world, well perhaps in the U.S.A. but I'd bet our library would be a contender for a Class A World Rating! After waiting patiently, these two books showed up "on hold" for me just before this holiday weekend.There is so much inspiration in these two books, it could tilt the world of an unsuspecting knitter. However, being a fan of Clara Parkes from 'way back, plus following Wendy Knits for many years as well, I fully expected my world to tilt a little, once I had these books in my hands. BE WARNED, they will both pull you into the delightful vortex of patterns, techniques, yarn and the yen to cast on some lovelies....

Vogue, Really?

I was lucky enough to be gifted many Vogue Knitting magazines and I've been excited to look through them, as I've never been past the cover on one of these legends... When I opened the cover of the first one, I started turning the pages with a bit of amazement, and then surprise...and then disbelief.... I laughed when I made it to the patterns in the back....does anyone ever knit these patterns? Do mere mortal knitters knit these patterns, or does one have to have super-human super-hero powers to knit these patterns... There seems to be a hat that I think I could tackle....maybe....if the pattern wasn't four pages long....for a hat? Really?

Crime and Punishment ~

I hate to even say this, but it needs to be said. I have not knit since Saturday evening. This picture shows the newly cast on Paprika Hat from Interweave, that I think I messed up in the wee hours of Saturday night...and my last thought was, "I'll look at this with fresh eyes in the morning, and perhaps rip back or start over."

I've not been able to get back... and it is a crime to not knit for five days..... five days... I really cannot believe it, until I see my sad little cast on hat by the Christmas tree... waiting for me to decide what to do next.... What is the punishment for no knitting for 5 days (as if that isn't punishment right there...) other than a triple dose of knitting fantasy....or being banished from the blog... or....

P.S. Jitteryknitter and I were mentioned on the Knit Wits podcast this week ~ check it out!

Dear Sandy ~

Another confession here (I hope confessions don't become a trend this year) as I realize what a sucker I am for a new project. I get so excited about all the aspects and options for a new project that I often forget the obvious..... Upon picking up sweetie H from a sleepover last weekend at sweetie A's house and her mom (famous Sandy of cinnamon roll fame) and both of them are from the famous Harry Potter Movie event fame (pictured below)

....and I begin to chat and she mentioned how fun sweetie H's socks were. They happened to be the "crazy Turkish yarn" socks that had a few, ah, design features, including a clever feature that I call, "too short cuffs" but I digress. Sandy said she would love a pair of socks if I was ever interested in knitting a pair, or giving up a pair of my disastrous uniquely styled socks... We started talking about what colors she likes, and her school colors for those fabulous Idaho Vandals (that just won their bowl game!) and she showed me her bowl game scarf with the silver/gold Vandal colors...oooohhhh well, the seed was planted and I started processing all I know about silver and gold yarn... and they are not normally found colors in my stash, so I will have to start a hunt .....a light grey with some luster (perhaps bamboo or tencel) might pass well for silver, and a gold will be tricky, as it can't be yellow and it can't be orange.... how about some alpaca blend so they are super soft and warm...in a dk/sport weight yarn so they knit up a bit quicker, so perhaps she can wear them for the next bowl game (or at least before our kids graduate from high school)

After 5 days of high fantasy of new yarn in new colors with a new project....I realized I forgot to ask Sandy what size shoe she wears....ahem, as that might be useful in knowing what size to knit these fantasy socks....(duh...how did I forget such a key detail?)

Basketball break ~

After knitting so brave and true on mum's blanket, I am fantasizing about all other sorts of knitting. I have even stooped into the realm of getting crochet books out of the library.... Those watching me can see I am in need of a big diversion. Enter Michigan State Basketball, thanks very much... you're just what I needed tonight. If you need a refresher on MSU's fight song, click here.

So we watched Tom Izzo (another Northern Michigan University alumni) and his boys finish a heart wrenching game with North Carolina...losing by just a few points....

I knit on Sweet E's socks...what a feeling to be knitting on socks...how joyful are these socks! How light in my lap, how easy to turn them....almost done with the gusset....

OK team, break is over ~ back to mum's blanket....

Why I didn't knit last night ~

I had great intentions of knitting on mum's socks last night, but, alas. I was called into service.

Baking.....

for bosses day celebration.....today (Wednesday).

Since I have the best boss in the world, it seemed worthwhile to give up a night of knitting for a night of baking. These are the famous "espresso-banana-chocolate chip muffins" (Does it count that I've been thinking of knitting while I'm baking?)

Visiting Stanley ~

I think I mentioned that the Hockey season has started and the Red Wings are looking great, even with so many young players. In our visit to our home town, we may indeed get a chance to see our favorite Stanley....

the amazing purple octopus that inspires us to victory!! Think of the knitting Stanley could do if he could figure out how to hold knitting needles....

He could have 4 projects going at the same time!!!

(a true knitting fantasy!)

Bamboo garden ~

If I can't have my own alpaca farm, perhaps growing bamboo will provide another local source of yarn? Or not.....

Anyway, we planted some beautiful bamboo in our back yard this weekend, and now I can have a knitting fantasy of smooth & silky bamboo yarn locally grown & processed...

I think having alpacas would still be fun...in a fantasy world.....doesn't it look like there's enough room for alpacas in our back yard?

Early Retirement ~

Several people at work are taking early retirement incentives that help with the overall budget. I have many more years of work ahead of me, if I continue to be as blessed as I am now, and I still love my job very much. As I attended the retirement gatherings for the lucky few, I asked them all what they would be doing with all their free time....some are going to travel, some will be doing home remodeling, others aren't sure if they even believe they will have free time....

I would certainly knit a lot more if I was retired....take more knitting classes and get together with knitting friends to share more and learn more together....

I'm sure many of you have already started acquiring your yarn stash to knit during your retirement!!! That is good planning!!!

Camping friends ~

Camping in the summer is the perfect time for knitting ~ a fantasy to have uninterrupted time to knit. It is also the perfect time for sharing time with friends. The summer seems to go too fast, and the camping weekends too few, but we enjoy each trip so much! Here are some highlights from the most recent weekend...

All the friends...

putting up the tent friends...

Crazy friends....

Sunning on the rock friends....

We are all having a great camping trip!

Sock Summit Farewell ~

The knitting fantasy weekend did come to an end...with an amazing panel discussion by women of creativity and talent and honor in the knitting world. We sat next to Famous Jess of Ravelry, and that was very cool! Her friend won the blanket raffle for Doctors without Borders, very cool, indeed. Famous women on the panel including Barbara Walker (I'm sure we all have one of her books) and Cat Bordhi (I have one of her books, too) Meg Swanson, Nancy Bush (I check her books out of the library.. and have yet to brave one of her sock patterns....but they are lovely) Lucy Neatby (who I already told you about ~ she's amazing) and Judith (who I'm not familiar with, but Steph would take a class on boiling water from her....high praise....) and I'm missing a few... it was an amazing few hours hearing them discuss topics, and so funny to hear Steph & Tina with the introductions and the comments in between...

Tina let it slip that this was "the first" sock summit, so we are all hoping for one next year, and I would vote for a Portland location again, as it was perfect in every way.... this was a weekend of fantasy in so many ways, and I hope the creativity and inspiration stay with me all year!!!!


As I have at least a year of Casting On with all the great yarn we bought! (actually, this isn't all mine, it is mostly Miss M's.....but I love this picture!)

Sock Summit Sunday ~

Sunday came around so fast, as if our weekend was in a time warp. We started the morning with a class by the amazing Lucy Neatby. As a teacher, she is patient and supportive. She gave us 'one on one' attention and treated each of us as important and worthy. (I will not name the very grumpy and impatient teacher we had on Saturday...She acted a lot like my 1st grade teacher who used to whack our hands with a wooden ruler....) Lucy was A+ in every way. The class went too fast, but we all seemed to learn her technique for the chimney toe ending for a sock...

Here is Lucy with Miss M.

Lucy & Miss M are bonding....


Lucy just being Lucy..... (she's awesome)


Here is a fun Kinnear picture of guess who and guess who's arm....

(Steph and Lucy's arm.....) pretty great, eh?

Sock Summit Saturday Night ~

After the wild fun at the sock hop & Powell's, you might be wondering if Saturday night was even MORE fun...(how could it be, you ask?) and it was very fun, indeed... in a different way.... CAST ON!!!!! Yes, I cast on my official Sock Summit Sock project with great yarn I bought from Yarny Goodness... beautiful!!!

Then, since we were all casting on new projects, we decided to check out all the shopping of the day....

wow ~ beautiful new stash, eh?

the helicopter viewing of the north....

south vantage point....

eastern exposure....

western edges......Pretty impressive haul, eh?!!

Sock Summit Saturday ~

With the world's record behind us, and the sock hop a delightful memory, Saturday meant the beginning of serious shopping in the Marketplace. On Friday, I had only one class, but still did not make it through the entire Marketplace. The Marketplace was that enormous... not only enormous, it was amazing... so many vendors that I had just heard about on podcasts... the first one I saw was "A Verb for Keeping Warm" and their booth was beautiful!

also Abstract Fibers... where I was lucky enough to meet the Knitmore Girls and tell them how I enjoy their podcast! Even took pictures...Jasmine in the pink hair..


and Gigi here... nice yarn as a frame!!! They gave away great swag too!


What a great day!

Sock Summit Sock Hop ~

To say that Miss M surprised us isn't saying enough. She amazed us and knocked us for a loop. On Wednesday night (when she should have been sleeping) she made poodle skirts for all of us, and they turned out amazing. She is a talented lady, and oh-so-creative.... we looked awesome...

We took the Max (Portland's light rail) over to the Art Museum and met two delightful ladies from New York and Toronto.... New York had on a beautiful knitted dress (can you imagine how long it would take to knit that?) and Toronto had on great knee high socks (can you imagine how long it would take to knit these?)

There were a few there with poodle skirts...

and we all looked awesome....

and we had our picture taken with Steph... and she is truly an amazing inspiration....(thanks Steph)

and we danced....

and danced....

and we had a blast, thanks to Miss M making us these awesome poodle skirts.....

(then we caught a ride to Powell's Book Store... but I don't have any pictures of that... probably a good thing...)

Sock Summit Fantasy ~

Pinch me, because I'm not sure the Sock Summit really happened...as it was the most amazing collection of yarn, creativity and inspiring people that I've ever witnessed....The Sock Summit is what dreams are made of....

Here is a great picture of the Jitteryknitter... at the Portland Convention Center...

So we must have really been there...Much more news later...

Lovely needles ~

I'm having such fun knitting with my vintage yellow needles. Finding more of them, with that cool texture and color, is a great endeavour that I am embarking upon... These are happily resting in my Birmingham mug from my home town, graced with the yellow silk (behind the mug) that was a gift from San Francisco from dear friend Lisa.... Can you see the lime green & yellow jitterbug peaking from the side? Patiently waiting for me to knit them!

Webs Parade, float 5 ~

Are you still with me watching this parade? Guess what this one is? Did you guess alpaca? Um, well, yes... more alpaca... this one is Plymouth Yarn's Baby Alpaca Worsted which I always fondle at any store that carries this yarn. Oh, so soft and the colors are so beautiful. 100% baby alpaca, and in the blind folded touch test, both daughters picked this as the softest of all the yarn in the Webs Parade....pretty soft, eh!!!

I couldn't resist this one on sale, as I'd had fantasies of this yarn for years!!!! So I bought it in this teal blue, and a beautiful green.... Just 102 yards per skein, so I've bought enough for a cabled hat... or some other treasure!!

Inspired by Ms M's Socks ~

Oddly enough, on Friday I was ever~so~close to knitting at work. Ms M was working on a pair of wee socks out of Cascade Fixation for sweet Sawyer. She was having trouble with the wrap & turn of the heel, as the pattern wasn't written clearly. On our lunch break, we went outside to the picnic table, under the sun umbrella and she knit while I read the directions. It was a great break, as really felt like we were getting out of the office and into a relaxing place. Ms M figured it out immediately, as she is incredibly bright in all these ways, including figuring out knitting techniques (I wished I had taken a video of how she knit the wee heel turn as it was something great to watch). I pondered heel turns for the rest of the work day, and pulled out my Tofutsies when I arrived home. I figured out that I stopped at the beginning of the gusset, so I pulled out my dearly loved Queen Kahuna book and started the gusset...

We call this Preparation for the Sock Summit

Yarn at work ~

A knitting fantasy of mine is to be able to knit at work. Actually, to be encouraged to knit at work, perhaps even paid to knit at work....this would be great. I'm not saying that I want to knit for a living - no, not that.... but to be paid to knit, to have those 10 hour days full of yarn & knitting, and then come home....well, waking up to my real world, I do not get to knit at work. So, I have done what others in my fantasy world have done. I made a great screen saver on my computer made up of fun yarn & knitting pictures that I found on the Knit Picks website. Then I can see the beautiful images scrolling through and I can dream of knitting while I'm on the phone, or thinking of that next work related inspiration. They are really great little "knitting breaks" in the midst of my work day!

This ice cream picture is my favorite ~ which is your favorite?