New Local Yarn Shop ~

While in Michigan, I missed the grand opening of our newest local yarn shop...but my friends were there and said it was an amazing place. I couldn't wait to visit, and checked it out my first weekend back here ~ what a GREAT shop!   Tolt Yarn and Wool is delightful in every way.

Lots of yarn, lots of samples, lots of light to check out the yarn and samples, and close to a great restaurant to celebrate a great birthday!

Plus a great pattern and great yarn to celebrate the grand opening!

 

Hurrah!  

Secret Pal Surprise ~

Our Secret Pal program ended this past week with a "revealing lunch" when we all get to reveal to our Secret Pals who was giving them special treasures...and find out who had been our Secret Pal. After getting all the wonderful knitting goodies each month, I had visions of exactly who my Secret Pal would be...not by name, but by sight.....She would come to our lunch wearing a cabled cardigan, and a light weight summer scarf, perhaps out of some Shibui Cloud.... or perhaps a summer shawl....I knew she was my kindred spirit, as who else would buy me beaded ArtYarn.....really....who else would? I had used the message board to send Thank You's to my Pal, even sending the YouTube of the Flashmob where I danced with the ArtYarn...I knew she would know how much I loved all these gifts, and that we were kindred spirits....Well, at the lunch there were transportation engineers, life guards, recreation leaders, police officers, police dispatchers, city planners, and even the Chief of Police.....which was my kindred spirit? Who bought the beaded ArtYarn just for me? A police officer....OH MY GOSH....there was no way....All I could say was, "You must have had help!" "You could not have walked into a knitting shop and purchased beaded ArtYarns" His reply, "This was super fun, and your reactions were a hoot - and you really took that yarn to Portland?" Live and learn.... and I hope he is my Secret Pal next year...look at the darling gift he gave me at lunch - even a knitting travel case...I love this guy!

More Secret Pal Delight ~

Have I mentioned about my out-of-this-world secret pal? This kindred spirit that gives me beaded mohair ArtYarn (yes, that yarn! Can you believe it?), and cable knitting books that I get out of the library every time I visit (yes, that book! Can you believe it?) Well, last week's gift was very cool, indeed, as it was a knitting book I've not seen before.I'm thinking of casting on the last pattern in the book - Ha'Penny loop cowl...it is so lovely! I can't wait to meet my kindred spirit secret pal soon!

Dear Secret Pal ~

Tuesday: I just opened this very sweet little bag that was on my desk this morning….
My phone was ringing when I walked in this morning, so the bag went off my desk as my day raced into action…. And I just came back from my 4th (or 5th?) meeting, and I saw it sitting sweetly on the floor…. So I picked it up, thinking how light it was… must be a gift card? Or a sweet poem…then noticed the bag, “Renaissance Yarns” and my heart started beating a little faster…as a FIBER gift card is really something to get a bit jazzed about……then I opened the bag and was blinded by sequins and beads and fuzzy soft mohair…and SILK…..OMG……I think I stopped breathing………..I was afraid to reach into the bag, as I was sure, SURE it was a mirage!!!!! Who in the world would give their secret pal the most luscious combination of mohair, beads, sequins and SILK???? In the softest colors that would cause the most relaxing experience for the lucky recipient…… who in the world???? How lucky am I to have the greatest Secret Pal of all times? (Extremely Lucky!!!) One with knitting savvy and amazing taste in yarn, and perfect color sense for me….How did I get so lucky??!!!
P.S. Once I started breathing again, I noticed the cute pattern for a scarf! Ooooh la la! I think I will be casting on tonight (after my night meeting!!!) Hurrah for you!! You are the Best Best Best Secret Pal, EVER!!!!!!!! Can I have you next year, and the next year??Dear Secret Pal,
I wanted you to know that since Tuesday, I have been carrying this amazing yarn home and then back again each day, just in case it might vaporize and truly be a dream…. As I look to my left, I can see the silky sparkles peeking out of the bag… I took a picture of it with my phone, and sent it to my knitting friends – and they are wondering how could I be so lucky to have such an extraordinary secret pal (I don’t know the answer to that, but I am so happy about how lucky I am). Today two of us were, again, marveling at how lovely this yarn is…. My co-worker said I could just wrap the skein around my neck to have a ready made necklace that I could view all the time…. I want you to know how much your gift is appreciated, and all the joy it has already brought me before I’ve even cast on one stitch!!!! Perhaps, if I can bear to wind it, I will cast on a project this weekend….. Again, so many many thank you’s to you – you are so fabulous!!!!!!!!

Christmas Yarn Shopping ~

While visiting my folks last weekend, my mum let me know that she loves the Multnomah Shawl and blanket I knit for her, and she would now love a rectangle shawl that would keep her arms warmer than the triangle "corners" of the Multnomah...

So I went shopping at Webs to get some Mirasol Qina yarn in a deep green. I'm going to try to knit the Clapotis with this yarn, just like Jitteryknitter knit with her Noro silk garden... I think I am the only knitter alive that has not knit the Clapotis... please wish me luck!!!

Help for Sock Summit ~

I mentioned that I've been looking at lots of patterns. On my vacation I found a pattern set that I've heard about through many sources, the first time through one of my favorite podcasts The Knitmore Girls where Gigi knits through almost the entire Little Box of Socks. Since the Box is individual patterns that are "lose" meaning not bound in a book, I couldn't find it at a library to review, or open at a bookstore... it was always sealed....



Imagine my delight when the yarn shop on our vacation had an open copy to review.... and review it, I did.....



and then I bought it.... so now I have lots of pattern help for my remaining Sock Summit yarn... P.S. Not all the yarn pictured is from the Sock Summit....just the majority!

The wrong pattern ~

I brought my "knit one below" scarf on the weekend, and the pattern, as several of us wanted to cast on this project. As I saw the samples of the "knit one below" scarf in the local yarn shop, I realized it was very different than my scarf. As I sat down to start knitting it again, I couldn't get the pattern to look the same as it was, and the "new" pattern looked terrible.

I think I have to rip it completely back to.....zero..... and cast on again.....and I'd knit so far, and just can't figure out what pattern I was knitting as it must not have been knit one below.. darn it!!! P.S. another great movie, complete with mini coopers!

Can't tell ~

Am I allowed to tell you what arrived in the mail? Perhaps, since I did mention to you that I placed an order with a very special company on the east coast....

Am I allowed to tell you about each of the little treasures that arrived in the box that arrived in the mail? Perhaps, although that might cause a *spoiler alert* to an upcoming surprise project of sorts...

Am I allowed to tell you about being excited to cast on a certain project, once I find the perfect pattern? Perhaps, although since the pattern has not been found I can't tell you yet...

Whoops ~

Even when you have a rough week, and you promise yourself that you can cast on something really exciting if you can make it through the week....

Even when you have beautiful yarn in your stash to cast on, and the correct needles, and a pattern with great potential....

Even when you read the pattern before you cast on, and diagram those increases so they come out just right. Even when you do a gauge swatch (*gasp* yes, really!)....

There is a chance that you might miss something in that first line of the directions....*ahem*... and have to start over tomorrow...

Book review #2 ~

Another book I received during the holidays is Socks from the Toe Up, by Wendy Knits aka Wendy D. Johnson. She is a delightful author and has many sock patterns that I'm interested in trying. Although I'm sold on the toe and heel construction from Queen Kahuna, I am always looking for patterns for the cuff and leg of the sock, and Wendy has many to choose from.

Here's one of my favorites, I Heart Toe Up Socks (below) and be assured that her pictures are much better than the ones I'm taking here! I'm not sure if you can see the little heart pattern all the way from the top of the foot up to the cuff...

I can't wait to try these out!

Book review #1 ~

I was very excited to receive several knitting books over the holiday, and I'm excited to cast on projects within each one. Perhaps you've seen these, too, in your library or book store. The first one is 99 Yarns and Counting, More Designs from the Green Mountain Spinnery.



Just like their first book, this one is full of stunning yarn and great patterns. The patterns I am itching to cast on are the color work hats ~ the most difficult part will be to decide which hat pattern to cast on first!



Here's a great one....beautiful color choices ~ Great Meadows Hat (above)



Here are more choices....Lotus Blossom and Lightning Bolt hats....(above)



Here's another cute one....Switchback hat... there are so many lovely patterns in this book, and the photographs are all inspiring!

Vacation knits ~

Remember I mentioned getting some sale yarn at the Stitchin' Post in Sisters Oregon? Well, I cast on a new scarf pattern on the way home ~ so this is 9 hours of knitting a new pattern with new yarn... and then I ran out of yarn....geez.....

so, now I'm looking for more sale yarn....

One way to celebrate ~

In pondering the best way to celebrate one year of delightful blogging (I think it has been delightful, but not all the family votes are in!) about yarn and knitting and all related topics. Since I've recently been part of the Webs Parade of Sale Yarns (and what a great parade it has been), I thought that I would not buy more yarn... *sigh* ....


but, instead try out a new pattern that I'd been longing to cast on.... so I did. Out of the library book Knit One Below (which I check out of the library on a regular basis) I cast on the basic scarf. There is also a free download of the scarf on Ravelry,


This pattern uses two yarns, one a "noro type" with long color repeats and the other should be a complementary color. I'm using Noro from my stash and also a hot pink Tahki "Sable" yarn 70% merino and 30% french angora that I bought years ago in the $2 bin at a yarn sale! I love using stash yarn, especially when I've bought it on an incredible sale with no clue what I'll knit with it! The hot pink matches perfectly with the Noro. I took two pictures so you could see the way the pattern of Knit One Below shows the two yarns. I'm having fun with the new pattern and will keep you posted on my success!

Webs Parade, float 3 ~

The next new yarn in our Webs Parade is a luscious Misti Alpaca, 100% Baby Alpaca and it is so very soft. This was from the Canadian closeout, so a big discount on Webs ~ how could I resist? The color is a perfect blue for a Finnish hat for my mother-in-law for Christmas. 200 meters will be plenty for the cable hat pattern I'd like to try out!

I had a lot more of this in my cart, but thought I'd better not go too crazy...... (rats...)

Pondering the Next Knit ~

Although I have a few projects "on the needles" I am still thinking about what I want to cast on next. There are so many beautiful patterns available, and with spring in the air (finally) there are so many possibilities for warm weather knits. I must admit that I've not opened my new Interweave Knits magazine yet, as I'm worried it will send me into a "new pattern frenzy" as happened with the First Page of the last Interweave Knits magazine. I saw this pattern for a lacey wrap, and thought it would be great out of my Cascade Cloud 9 in bright green. Wouldn't that look great?

now that I think about it, what is wrong with "new pattern frenzy"?

Birthday Gratification ~

I had forgotten that some scarves knit up fast, and do not have that "never ending" in the middle when you think you just can't continue.... this one is lacey and easy, and finished with such instant gratification that I believe I will start another one very soon! This one is Miski by Mirasol 100% llama that I bought at the Sewing Expo, at Roberta's Fiber etc., plus some deep green "flags" that H really likes. She picked the creamy Miski too ~ she is fabulous at picking out color combinations.

Birthday Knitting ~

My oldest daughter becomes even older this week, as her birthday is on Wednesday. I'm not sure where the time goes, yes ~ such a cliche, but still the years have gone by so fast it seems. We have a lot of fun together (I think) and have a lot of laughs as well. I noticed that she has been wearing my silk scarf that I dyed at the Sewing Expo (taught by Roberta), plus she wore my knitted silk scarf to school this past week....interesting turn of events to have her wearing my creations. I asked if she would like me to knit her a scarf of her own for her birthday, and I showed her some yarn that I thought she would like... she liked it, but found another one in my stash that she liked better (I'm glad I asked for her opinion!) and I cast on.... Gosh, casting on is such a magical feeling, I really needed to cast on a new project this week!!! Ahhhh, like a breath of fresh air!!!

More inspiration ~

Yippee! The new Interweave Knits has arrived! I've decided that I'll be "allowed" to read it once I've finished listening to Breaking Dawn as that will give me extra motivation to finish this audio book before the due date at the library. So far, the Interweave looks like it has a lot of potential ~ remembering that the last issue sucked me in from the very first page of advertising, as it was the Lacy Pullover (shown below March 31, 2009 post).

Interesting Knitting ~

Our neighbor came over this past weekend with yarn that she had made "finger knitting" and asked if I could knit it into a hat. I'd never heard of finger knitting, but she had a lot of this yarn in a big long tube. It was bigger than bulky weight, perhaps bulky on steroids. I knew I couldn't knit a hat with that bulky yarn as my needle collection doesn't include ginormous sizes... but I tried to cast on for a scarf, and it didn't look too bad. It will be a very warm & thick scarf. She's bringing me over a new color this week to knit into stripes. As she described how to "finger knit" she used the word "interesting" one hundred times, so I told her I would title this blog "interesting knitting"... and I did.... here are some pictures of the original tube of knitting, and then how it is knitting up.

Spring Knitting ~

Daffodils are in my top 5 favorite flowers ~ they are so happy and bright, and bloom right after a long dreary winter. Spring knitting should also be happy and bright, and full of the promise of warm days and sunshine, just like daffodils. Here are some daffs in my back yard, plus my pima cotton/tencel lacy pullover ~ lots of spring everywhere! This yarn is working well and feels great while knitting, plus the pattern seems to be working out as well ~ the lace is not hard, but moving slowly!