Birthday Bliss

A few weeks ago I celebrated my (gulp) 37^th birthday. Wow, I didn’t feel old until I typed that. Strange how looking at the number is so much worse then saying it. Well, I may be getting old, but it sure beats the alternative!

 

To celebrate the anniversary of my birth, hubby planned pretty much the perfect day for me.

A little history: it has been years since both of us were of on my birthday (or his for that matter), so I was delighted just to be able to spend my birthday with my husband.

He wasn’t sure exactly what to get me so he decided to take my shopping and out to eat.

Days don’t get much better then that!

 

First we went to the Lamb Shoppe in Denver in search of a new knitting bag and perhaps some new yarn to put into said bag. Luckily, I found both!

Behold my brand new Namaste bag:

 

It took me 5 minutes to decide on the style and 20 to pick the color!

I have a Jordana Paige bag I have had for years, but it has proven to be too small. I always have a few projects going and I like to take them all with me. You never know what you are going to be in the mood for. I found I couldn’t fit multiple projects, gadgets, and needles in my bag. Not to mention it wasn’t large enough to hold a magazine or book. So, I decided I needed a new bag. Hubby being the awesome enabler he is indulged me.

No need to worry about room in this bag. I currently have 4 small projects, 2 magazines, 1 book, my Denise needles, *all* my DPNs and gadgets, wallet, cell phone, keys… and I haven’t even used the middle pocket! 

I love my new bag!

 

He also bought me some yarn to help fill my bag:

I have already cast on a cabled beret with the Ultra Alpaca, which is, shockingly enough, actually what I bought it for! I’ll post pixs when I am done. The sock yarn was just so darn pretty I had to have it!

 

After the Lamb Shoppe we went to lunch at the Brewery Bar II in Denver. For those of you that don’t know, the BBII is a little Mexican place we enjoy going to. Delicious! Nothing too fancy, but it is a 45 minute drive from our house, so we don’t get to go too often.

 

After lunch, hubby took me to Best Buy to get a new case for my iPod Touch (I lost my old one camping)

 

 

You will notice there is also a new computer game in the picture as well. Given all the hype of Spore and that it just came out, we splurged a little. I friggin love that game! Sadly, Calc is killing me so I never get to play it. Basically you start off as a cell in primordial soup, evolve legs, explore land, and keep evolving both physically and personality wise. I haven’t made it much further then exploring land, but it is fun!

 

After Best Buy, we stopped at Mew Mews Yarn Shop in Louisville before dinner. Which is where I got the WPI tool and the Kidsilk haze seen in the previous pictures. ‘Cause you can never leave a yarn store empty handed!

 

Now, Louisville is a long way from Denver so I would normally be suspicious of our trek up north, but hubby disguised his true intent by going to the only hockey shop he likes which just happens to be outside of Louisville. Sneaky, sneaky.

 

His real intent was to surprise me with dinner…at the Melting Pot!

One word: YUM!

I have always wanted to go and it was well worth it. Hubby was so sweet; he reserved a table with roses for me. What a guy! He so would have gotten lucky if we hadn’t eaten ourselves half to death.

If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it. It’s a bit of a splurge, but you gotta splurge once in awhile!

I swear I was still full into the next afternoon! It’s really too bad you can’t stock pile calories. Wouldn’t it be great if you could eat 5,000 calories in a day and then not half to eat for a couple of days?  

 

Anyway, that was my birthday. It was perfect.

 

Wow! What a week.

    Y’all have NO idea what a crappy week I have had. Well, some of you do and bless your large hearts for all the love and friendship you have shown me! I really don’t want to get into the particulars, but suffice it to say I had a really bad ego week. Just when I thought I couldn’t take anymore, ALL my WONDERFUL friends stepped up and showed me that I really am valued. Thanks to each and every one of you for being you!  Hugs and Kisses to you all!

 

Okay, enough of that…back to the vacation saga. I really am sorry this is dragging on forever. I swear I was planning on being done with this all by now. I should just drop the whole thing, but I’m too stubborn to stop mid-vacation! I promise, only one more vacation post after this one. Hell, at this rate, I’m going to need another vacation by the time I finish this!

 

Okay, so where were we?

 

Road Trip: Days 3, 4, and 5. March 24- 26

(Which are not really road trip days)

 

We spent these days in Phoenix visiting family. All in all a good 3 days: it wasn’t too hot, we got to spend time with my nephew (and his parents), hubby’s aunt, and I got to visit a LYS.

 

My nephew Ayden and his Dad Cliff

 

On the first day Hubby subbed for his brother at Ayden’s swimming lesson.  

 

Not that 3 year olds swim that well, but the whole purpose of these classes is for kids to be comfortable enough in the water and know enough to get them safely out of the pool if they fall in. I think this is a great thing. When I lived in Phoenix so many children fell into pools. In fact, once I was swimming with some friends and we watched a baby just crawl right into the pool! Can you imagine if we hadn’t been there? It makes me shudder just thinking about it.

 

After the lesson, we went out to lunch. I had a rather large, rather potent margarita; the first of what seemed to be a daily ritual in Phoenix. So, I went home and took a nap with my nephew. While we slept Uncle and Daddy put together the soccer set we had got for Ayden. When I woke up the boys were outside kicking the ball around and had already lost one ball in the neighbor’s yard. Boys! Once Ayden woke up his Dad and Uncle were nice enought to let him play a little.

 

 

Ayden scores his first goal!

 

 

The rest is just boring family stuff. We ate, laughed, enjoyed seeing each other, and drank. I drank a lot. Cliff  works as a sommelier at a local wine store called Enotria. As a result, he always has a few nice wine choices for us to enjoy when we visit. The bright side is Phoenix is at sea level, so I have a slightly better tolerance. Thank God! At night, when Ayden got his juice, Cliff would hand me a glass of “Chelle juice” (my family calls me Chelle) Thank God for Chelle juice and my BIL! J

 

On our last day, we took Ayden to his favorite place: the train park. They have an enormous playground and, of course: trains. Ayden loves to ride the train! Although, this year he was a little more into playing then riding the train,  Last year I think we rode the train 3 or 4 times and he still wanted more! This year he was more then happy with twice.

 

 

Ayden and Uncle getting ready to ride the train.

Two cool dudes, ridin the train, checking out the sites.

 

After the train park, I was able to make a quick visit to Jessica Knits, a LYS in Scottsdale. This is a cute little shop with a nice selection of yarns. They even had a fair amount of yarn on clearance. The staff was super friendly and spent a lot of time helping a new knitter. My only complaint is the yarn prices are on the shelves…sporadically. I would say at least half of the yarn was not clearly marked with a price. Although, it is in Scottsdale, so presumably cost is not an issue.

I purchased a skein of Cherry Tree Hill Lace wt. alpaca (on sale for $15) and a skein of Colinette Jitterbug

 

 

I LOVE the colors! I can’t wait to see how these look knitted up.

I only bought 2 skeins, partly because I didn’t know how much some of the yarn was, and mostly because the boys were patiently waiting for me in the car.

 

Well, that’s about it for the Phoenix part of my vacation. Next time: the trip home!

 

OH! I almost forgot: I got a 92.5% on my last Chem. test! WOO- FRIGGIN-WHO! I was totally sweating that one.  I was sick for a week and then I had a bunch of crappy work stuff happen and I couldn’t focus so I really didn’t study…at all. Apparently, I need to not study more often! Hooray for me!

 

Suprise!

Last time I mentioned having a specific project to complete for the Kitty Knits blog tour.

Well, hold on to your hats kids, because can you believe it?: I actually finished knitting something a few days before the deadline! (While I am posting this today, due to my work schedule, I wrote it on the 4^th) As I type the kitty bed is drying and the mouse is felting.

The first project I chose was the felted cat bed. I used Patons Wool and bought the required yardage (2 balls of each). However, I would have easily had enough yarn if I had only purchased 1 ball of each. If the furies like the bed, I have plenty yarn left over to make another or maybe I will make something for me… like a felted purse… hmmm. Okay, back to the felted cat bed.

I found this a quick & easy knit. From cast-on to cast-off, it took less then 8 hours of knitting time. The pattern was so easy to follow, perfect for knitting at a Stitch and Bitch or during a lunch break at work. The i-cord bind off along the bottom edge was the hardest part, but the glossary explained the process well and once I got the hang of it, it was fun. The pattern calls for a mouse to be needle felted on after felting, but I chose not to do this. I also changed the colors (had to match the couch!). The Patons Wool worked really well for this project; it felted nicely and quickly (about 8-10 minutes).

Here it is before felting:

   

As you can tell, Sumnus already liked it. She was a little hostile when I dared to remove her from the bed.

Here is Devi inspecting it after felting:

She tried to get into it, but it was still wet and her little paws don’t like to be wet.

Final Verdict: Um… remains to be seen. The bed is still wet, so it’s in hiding until it dries; but they really liked it before felting! Update: the kitties freakin’ love this bed. It has been occupied since I put it out for them.

The second project I chose was the felted catnip mouse.

Talk about a quick and easy knit! Only plain garter stitch is easier then this. It is taking longer to felt the damn thing then it did to knit it! Seriously, it is. It took me about an hour to knit, and about 15 minutes to seam and stuff. Currently it has been felting for 1 ½ hours!  I just checked on it and it is almost done.

Why so long to felt? I think one reason is it’s a small item and when I took the bed out I forgot to add a pair of jeans to help with agitation. The other problem I believe is the wool I used. I used some free samples of “O-Wool” (an organic wool) I had in my scraps basket. I knew it would take a little longer to felt, because it took forever to spit splice. But, come on! Over an hour and a freaking half to felt a mouse?! Really?! I wonder if all organic yarn takes longer or if it is just this one…

At any rate, here is Neko checking it out pre-felt:

  

And here it is post felting:

  

Not that it really felted that well, but I don’t think Devi minds at all.

 

Sorry for the blurry-ness, but she was going nuts with it!

    

Final verdict: passed rigorous kitty inspection with flying colors!

These patterns (and more) can be found in Kitty Knits by Donna Druchunas

I chose to knit these 2 things because I was short on time, not because of lack of projects. I would have made the color work chullo and/or ballet cardigan pictured on the front but I procrastinated too long. I procrastinate….a lot…but you know that already.

I passed this book around both my stitch and bitch groups and it was met with approval. (Even the one who doesn’t like cats liked the patterns) The most popular patterns were the chullo, cardigan, cat lace scarf, and felted carpet bag. One of my friends commented on how nicely done all the charts are and all agreed the patterns seem to be well-written and easy to follow.

Being fairly new at blogging and never having participated in a blog tour, I am pleasantly surprised how smooth this went, and how much fun it was.

 Thanks Donna for writing such a fun book for kitties and their owners, and for putting this all together! PS I noticed you live just north of me. If you are ever in Westminster/Thornton area on a Thursday night check out the North Denver SNB ! We would love to have you. 

Oh… one more thing I would like to add: none of these pictures were posed. I have some seriously nosey and camera hogging cats! If you don’t believe me, come over, put down something new and pick up a camera. I guarantee you at least Neko and Sumnus will appear, and sometimes Devi too. The only one you will never see is Persie- she’s a little shy.

PS: Chemistry still sucks! In case you were wondering.

 

You knew it wouldn’t last…

Well, I tried to post weekly, I really did. I swear. Damn life got in the way. Maybe I should shot for monthly posts …

Sit back, get comfy, grab a cup of tea or a nice cold beer, ‘cause this is may take awhile:

We spent the better part of the last couple weeks at the hospital with my dear MIL. She had been having shortness of breath (SOB is the medical abbreviation- not very original, but kind of funny). They have done test after test after test. It’s been very frustrating for all of us. Anyway, she started having chest pain (CP) , so they decided to do a heart cath. (basically they stick a long wire from the artery in the groin up to the heart, inject dye, and take pictures to see how the blood is or is not flowing).  Well, my MIL, who has NO RISK FACTORS AT ALL for heart disease, has pretty significant heart disease. At first they were concerned she would need bypass, but thankfully she does not.  She is now the proud owner of three stints in the main vessel that supplies blood to the heart and will be taking blood thinners and cholesterol medicine until the day she dies, which hopefully won’t be for many more years. That’s the good news.

The bad news: none of that resolved her SOB or CP. What the fuck?? As it turns out, after a few more days at the hospital and much more testing, her heart is fine. The new theory is she has really, really bad gastric reflux. They upped her meds and she is currently symptom free and vacationing in Italywith my FIL. Whew!  The really good news: although none of her symptoms were related to her heart disease, at least they found it. It would have been very bad if those blockages had gone un-diagnosed! Needless to say, we are all relieved and grateful. My MIL is the most awesome woman I know. It’s nice to have her healthy again.

There’s my excuse for not posting. It’s a pretty good one, don’t ya think?!

Moving on…

My last post was unintentionally divided into sections (class, dancing, knitting) I liked how that worked; so I am going to try to keep the same format going. As an added bonus: if you don’t give a rat’s ass about, say my Chem. class, you can scroll right on past. Because I am a little (okay a lot) anal I am going to proceed in alphabetical order: class (Chem.), dance, and knitting. I am also a little evil because this makes you at least glance at the ongoing drama of Chem. class, ‘cause I really want you to suffer along with me!

Chem.: What can I say? I got my first test back and I earned 84%. I’m a little bummed I didn’t get an A. Not just because I am an over-achiever, but because when I was done with the test I really thought I did well and because a couple things I missed I knew, I just had a little brain fart. Not the end of the world I know, but it still sucks. We do have three more tests and a final left; so I have plenty of chances to make it up. Yippee.

Dance:(in a sing-song 5 year old voice) I got new dance shoes, I got new dance shoes, and you-ou  don’t ! Nanny, nanny, nanny! Okay, you might have new dance shoes, but whatever; let’s look at mine shall we:

 hey, it’s hard taking pictures of your own foot!

I especially like this one. It shows my other foot with socks and jeans well: nice touch, no?

Aren’t they fabulous?? I finally bought the Werner Kerns I’ve been  lusting after since hubby got his pair. No, hubby did not get the same pair! He wouldn’t look good in strappy heals; he has a very manly pair, thank you very much. I had been procrastinating because they are a little on the pricey side (good thing I did, because I got them on sale), but after wearing them, I would pay full price in a heart beat. Trust me, they are worth every penny. Good news/bad news again:

Good news: I got them for 30% off because the store is closing (also bad news). They are the most comfortable shoes ever! I don’t even want to wear my other pairs. I love these shoes! They are so well made and so sexy. Hands down: The. Best. Shoe. EVER.

Bad News: They are the best shoes ever. I want more. Even if I could get more at 30% off, which I can’t because I took the last pair in my size, they are still not exactly cheap. Maybe I’ll get another pair for my birthday or ground hog day or something. For now, I’ll cherish these and pick up change off the ground in an effort to get another pair.

We were able to make it to the Denver Turnverein the last 3 weeks. We really like it there. The floor is nice, they play a good mix of music, it’s a great atmosphere and they have a bar! Nice! Not that we are getting loaded or anything (you try to Tango with a buzz, not good, someone could get hurt!), but a glass of wine or a beer is refreshing and tasty. It seems like the same core group of people every week, and we have already talked to a few of the couples, so we feel more comfortable each week. We are happy to have found a “home” to practice.

Knitting:

Still working on the never-ending ribbing on the sweater. I managed to get a fair amount done (like 4 inches) while Mom was having her heart cath. That’s the nice thing about tedious knitting; it keeps you busy enough to not go totally crazy, but it’s not too challenging and you can put it down anytime. Only a few more inches and then on to the sleeves, with any luck I should be done with this by NEXT winter!

 

Other projects: I have another section of Aliens in Spring done. I am almost halfway done having 2 ½ out of 6 Alien heads complete. I couldn’t be happier with the colors I chose; I love it so far.

When I was at the hospital with Mom, I ran out of the yarn I brought for my sweater. Instead of driving home to get more yarn, I started the Diamonds sock from More Sensational Knitted Socks. I am doing it in black and hot pink. So far I have the ribbing section of one sock done. I tried to take a picture, but it wasn’t working for me today. It’s not that exciting anyway: 1 ½ inches of 2 by 2 ribbing in black yarn…wow.

I have all but the thumb done on the first of hubby’s gloves. If I can just get that damn thumb done, I will be able to get going on the other one. The fingers/thumb are such a pain, I keep putting it off. I really need to get those damn things done.

However, it won’t be this week. I have a place on the upcoming blog tour for  Donna Druchunas’ new book Kitty Knits on March 7th.

I am planning on making a couple of little things from the book and of course I procrastinated and now I am pushing the deadline a little. The only knitting between now and then is from the Kitty Knits book. I do have one thing almost done and should be able to get the other done the next couple of nights at stitch and bitch. Sorry, I can’t tell you what. It’s a surprise.

Finally: hubby was kind enough to take me to the Alpaca Extravaganza in Longmont last weekend. Wow. The alpacas are so cute and soft. I wanted to take them all home.

 

 

 

The breeder was kind enough to let me and my friend Nissa feed the little guys. They weren’t so sure about us until we had grain in our hands. Then they were all about us!

 

 This guy is a Paco-Vicuna. I love his big brown eyes. The breeder says they are much softer then Alpacas, but he was a little shy and not in the touchy feely mood…too bad I didn’t save some of that grain! In addition to being softer, their fleece is also something like 10x more expensive then regular alpaca.

 This guy is a Suri. I love this picture. He looks like a little old man.

 

  Ah, the much lusted after “panda” alpaca. I totally wanted to steal this one. The markings are amazing. Unfortunately he was a little camera shy, and this is the best picture I have of him. I’d like to give a shout out to hubby for taking all the pictures: thanks babe!

 

In addition to all the alpacas, there was roving and a fair amount of alpaca products (socks, sweaters, teddy bears). There wasn’t as much yarn selection as I was hoping for, but they did have some. I bought a couple of skeins from a local farm: Kitchell Kriations. They had a few things the owner had knit and crocheted and it seems to work up nice and soft with  that nice fuzzy aura alpaca has . It was pretty reasonably priced at $6 per ounce, so I bought 4 ounces. I also really like the heathery gray color (most of the vendors only had shades of brown) I’ll keep you posted when I make something out of it.

Are you tired of reading yet? I’m know I am tired of typing! Good thing I had Sumnus to help.

 

Happy Leap Day! I hope you enjoy your extra day.

 

I kept my promise…kind of

I promised I would try to post once a week and tada! In truth it’s been a little over a week, but close enough. So, what’s been going on this week you ask?

First a few knitting updates:

I finished my second cupcake hat for a co-workers baby. Poor thing, she is having a little girl, not that having a girl is a bad thing. It’s already having 3 boys and having a 4^th and the 4^th being a girl that makes me feel bad for her. So, I wanted to make a super-cute girly kind of thing for her and I think the cupcake hat works perfectly.

The original pattern called for 80 stitches to fit 6 months to 2 years. As my friend is tiny, I decreased the number of stitches cast on to 68 to make the hat more suitable for a small newborn. I used Bernat Cashmere Blends for the hat. Can’t say it was my favorite yarn to work with, but the FO is nice and soft with just a little sheen. I wish I could have found the colors I wanted in something soft and machine washable. I feel like a little bit of a bitch giving a woman with 3 boys and a newborn a hat that needs to be hand washed, but at least it looks super cute! I hope it looks as cute on the little one.

Also, I got a little bug up my butt the other day and decided I needed to make Urchin with the Limari I purchased last week. It was a very easy knit and only took 2 hours, but I am not sure if I am in love with it. I love the color, but the hat feels a little big, and like the yarn is a little bulky. I might frog it, but for now here it is:

 

Note to self: need to get one of those glass mannequin heads for hat modeling and shaping!

 

Another of my current projects is the Alien Illusion Scarf from Stitch N Bitch. I am going through a stage in which I want to try every technique and I think illusion knitting is fascinating plus this a super cool idea for a scarf. While I loved the idea for the scarf, I was not crazy about the green/black color combo used in the book. The problem being I really believe the alien should be green. That left me trying to find a  contrast color. Finally, I decided on pink and green, so when Lenore  and I went to Brown Sheep I picked up the yarn I wanted and cast on for what I have decided to call Aliens in Springtime:

 

 

I have one section complete and am about halfway through the second. I love the way it looks so far!

Other Updates:

Dance:

Last week Hubby and I were planning on going to the Denver Turnverein to check out their Monday dance. According to another couple we dance with the Turnverein has a nice dance floor and the admission price is very reasonable. We are planning on competing in the Denver Star Ball in June and we need to find another place to practice. We were practicing at the rec center, but they won’t let us wear our shoes. They said our heals were pulling up with wood… ahem… bullshit I say! How on earth is my rubber heal getting in between the boards covered in varnish and pulling up the boards? And more importantly why doesn’t this happen at dance halls? Okay, moving on, I said we were going, but the weather kept us in. Damn snow! Hopefully, we can make it tomorrow, like I said we really need to practice. The plan is to compete in Rumba and the smooth dances: Foxtrot, Waltz and Tango. While we have the room to practice Rumba at home, the smooth dances require a much larger space then out 10 by 10 room. So let’s hope the Turnverein works out.

School:

Chemistry still sucks. While it is significantly easier only having one class, that one class is still Chem. The bright side is I feel like I actually know what the hell the instructor is talking about this time, but I’ll let you know how the first test goes in a couple of weeks. The other bright side? This is the second of three Chem. classes I need, so only one more after this one! Of course, the next class is organic, but let’s not discuss that right now.

Finally, I’d like to share with you the sad, pathetic creature that is our cat Devi right now:

 

 

Poor baby, she had a little scratch that she managed to lick absolutely raw. We had to put the collar on her to keep her from licking herself anymore, You can’t see it in the picture, but she has a huge bald spot: silly cat. Hubby has taken to calling her “Satellite”. Nice.

 

More Stash Enhancement

Do you ever go on knit binges? It seems like I do pretty good for a while. I happily knit from my stash, with patterns and needles I already own. Then Bam! all of a sudden I can’t control it anymore. It’s like a drug, and I turn into a possessed fiber-head. I can’t get enough: yarn, needles, patterns, it doesn’t matter what it is.  Must.  Buy.  More.

  

On Wednesday Lenore and I had another of our pre-SNB, stash enhancing field trips.  Posh was having a 40% off sale so we decided to go there first, after Posh we ate a late lunch, followed by yet another yarn store: Fancy Tiger. As usual we had a blast and as usual are checkbooks are now a little lighter.

As you can see my new purchases include: Bag Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd (actually I purchased it at Borders before I got to Lenore’s. I had a 40% off coupon I had to use). I also bought a Crafty Alien  felted Swat Kitty kit in black at Fancy Tiger because it is uber-cute and I had to have it. At Posh I purchased 3 skeins of Araucania Limari. If you are unacquainted with this gorgeous yarn, as I was, it is an amazingly soft hand-dyed yarn that is 80% Merino Wool, 20% Alpaca, and 10% silk. It is so yummy and this color-way, as well as the others, is fabulous! Here is a close up:

I also received my long-awaited package from Knit Picks  Yippee! I ordered 2 skeins of Essential (fingerling weight, wool/nylon) One skein of petunia (pink) and one black for a pair of socks, 2 skeins of Shimmer (lace weight, alpaca/silk) for a shawl and …woo-who!…. the set of Harmony sock needles! These are friggin awesome! The colors are great, and they are so smooth and warm. They feel like a hybrid between metal and bamboo, a little slippery, but not too much. I knit a swatch for the socks and the Essentials yarn seems to work up pretty nice, but I won’t know for sure until I really get going on the socks. The Shimmer is beautiful and so soft! The color is so bright, much pretty in real life then it looked on the web site. I bought it because I want a nice lace shawl in a bright color. This looks like it should work perfectly; I hope it works up as pretty as it looks in the skein

 

 

Okay, I was going to write more about a FO and other life crap, but I’m getting sleepy. So I’m off to bed. Hopefully I will get a chance to post this weekend.

 

Eating my words

  When I first started knitting, I was perfectly content with making small things: scarves, mittens, hats, dishcloths, and eventually socks. I had no intention of ever making anything even close to a sweater. In fact, I remember reading a posting on Knitlist in which the writer stated, despite claims otherwise, every knitter will eventually knit a sweater. Bullocks to that! I said. Why on Earth would I ever want to knit a sweater? The yarn alone would cost way more then a store bought sweater would, not to mention the time it takes to actually knit the damn thing. (Somehow, I did not apply that same logic to sock knitting and I continued to spend $20 a pair and many hours happily knitting socks.) Then there was the issue of putting the damn thing together. I only know one person who actually enjoys seaming. No, I was not, nor would I ever be, a sweater knitter. Leave that to all the other knitters, I am content to make small, portable things.

     Well, Dear Reader, that was then and this is now. Last week I cast-on my very first sweater. The pattern is the Cozy V-Neck Pullover from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel. I think it’s the perfect first sweater. It’s knit top down and in the round (very few seams!) The pattern is easy to follow, sometimes even a little boring, but perfect for knitting at Stitch and Bitch. Because the yarn is bulky, it is a fairly quick knit as well. I used some of the Brown Sheep I recently purchased in Nebraska.

    

     What happened that changed my mind? I believe it is a combination of things. The sweater seed was planted when I read somewhere the number of stitches in a pair of socks and a sweater are roughly equivalent. Hmmm.

     So, IF I were to knit a sweater it would take me about the same amount of time knitting a pair of socks would. As a bonus, I would escape the “are you nuts?” looks from people when I knit socks. After all, no one has every questioned a knit sweater the way they do knit socks. You sock knitters know what I am talking about. How many people have looked at you like you were crazy for knitting socks? How many times have you heard “Wouldn’t it be easier to buy a pair of socks?” But, we sock knitters know nothing compares to knit socks, nothing, nada, zilch. Socks are as much about the process of knitting as they are about the FO. Hmm, maybe knitting a sweater is the same.

     I think I also needed something bigger and better to knit. I guess the person from Knit-list  was correct in a way. The longer you knit the more you want to challenge yourself. So why not knit a sweater? Try something new, learn about shaping, and in the end have a hand-knit sweater to show for it. Plus, it allows me to delay serious color work a little longer.

     Now the only thing holding me back was cost. If I was going to invest the time to knit a sweater, I was not going to use crappy yarn!  Then I heard about the Brown Sheep Mill, and received a Visa gift card from work for Christmas. Just like that, the cost issue was resolved. I bought the yarn at Brown Sheep, saved a ton and was ready to venture into my first sweater.

    I would be remiss if I did not add another motive for sweater making came from the gals and guy at my Stitch and Bitch: the ones that show up in their hand knit sweaters, the ones that work on their sweaters, and perhaps most importantly the ones that bring their knitting books and mags to oh and ah over. I must give a special shout out to Linds who first showed me the Fitted Knits book. This is THE BOOK that changed my mind about sweater making. (Beautiful, modern, sexy, fitted sweaters knit in the round.) Thanks to Linds and all at the Denver Downtown SNB for the constant inspiration!  

 

Can you tell I’m a Virgo?

Today and tomorrow are my last days of freedom before spring semester begins. L While I am not necessarily looking forward to another semester of Chemistry, I must admit I am looking forward to returning to class. I  had so much free time; I didn’t know what to do with it all. I am running out of things to organize! So far I have re-alphabetized my spice cabinet, organized my pantry and my closet, and spent untold hours organizing my stash (which I still have not completed).  I have also spent a lot of time knitting, so much so my carpal tunnel is really acting up. What I have not done is steam-clean my carpets and deep-clean my house… Wait! I did steam-clean most of the house and I did deep-clean before Christmas. So, I really have accomplished a lot over the break. Hurray for me!

What I am going to miss is the time I was able to spend with my friends. I have been busy going to lunch, going to parties (even throwing a party), and taking road trips. I feel so fortunate to have so many people I call friends. I am going to miss seeing everybody so often. And I feel a little guilty; even with all my extra time, I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to.

Moving on: I promised pictures of my organized stash. So here you go:

 

 

 

 

 

Those hanging sweater and shoe organizers are The. Best. Thing. Ever.  As you can tell, I can see all my yarn at a glance. Seeing all the different colors and fibers is so inspiring! Not to mention, it is much easier to see if I have something in my stash that will work for a new project. So much better then putting it all in a plastic bin and having to rummage throught it. The downside is they take up a substantial amount of closet space. Currently the other half of the closet has gift-wrapping supplies in it, but I may have to commander the entire closet by the time I am finished. I still have a rather large bin of miscellaneous yarn and a rather large bag of acrylic stuff to organize.

I’m going to take pictures of the acrylic stuff (for my stash on Ravelry) and then put it all in the plastic tub. I am not a fan of working with acrylic, but I hate to get rid of it. I actually tried to once, that’s why it is in the bag. A lady in my stitch and bitch was collecting yarn to teach middle-school children to knit. I gathered it all up to give to her, but somehow at group I missed her. It has been in my car ever since (we’re talking last winter folks!). I finally got sick of listening to Hubby complain, so I took it out and it has re-entered my stash. It does come in handy for knitting toys for the niece and nephew and I’ve always wanted to crochet amigurumi for myself, so I might hang on to it a little longer.

Speaking of Hubby of stash organizing….. When I organize anything, I pull everything out of its home and methodically put it back in its new home. Organizing my stash was no exception: I pulled all my yarn out, photographed it, and placed it back in it’s new home. On the first day of my organizing fit, I apparently lost my mind. I was standing in my craft room, surrounded by yarn, completely over-whelmed at the process I had started when I lost all reasonable thought. I actually walked out of the room and said to Hubby:

“I am only going to say this once, so pay attention. I think I may have a yarn problem”

Hubby: “Huh?!”

Me: “There is a slight chance I may have a yarn problem”

Hubby, amused: “Really? How big of a problem are we talking about?”

Me, alarmed: “Um… well not that big, but, um… I have ….um….acquired…..a…um… fair amount of yarn”

Hubby less amused: “Oh, really?”

At which point hubby followed me into my craft room and I actually allowed him!

What was I thinking? Hubby looked around the yarn strewn room and exclaimed, not at all amused I might add:

“You think you have a problem?”

Which lead me to say: “Get out! Get out! You are no longer allowed in my room! It’s not that much! Get out! I got most of it on sale you know! You can leave now! Hey, I quit smoking! Really, get out! You have a PS3! It’s my money too! Get! Out!” (I think this is the knitter’s equivalent of justifying an addiction)

Well, hubby left, rolling his eyes and laughing hysterically and he proceeded to happily play his PS3.

I learned 3 lessons from this.

 Lesson 1: when organizing stash, organize a bag at a time. It is much simpler and far less overwhelming that way.

Lesson 2: when organizing one’s stash makes you crazed and overwhelmed, step outside, eat a cookie, have a drink, whatever it takes, but don’t invite the Hubby into the yarn lair!

Lesson 3: Playstation is an excellent way to distract Hubby

 

Yarn-topia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday my friend Lenore and I finally made our long-anticipated trek to Brown Sheep in Nebraska. Woo-who!!!!! Before I get into the particulars I would like to give a shout out to Lenore for driving, keeping me company, enabling my yarn addiction, and generally making the trip super-awesome. Thanks Lenore: you are the best!

This being my first ever trip to the state of Nebraska, I absolutely had to take a picture of the sign. “Home of Arbor Day”? Is Nebraska the only state to celebrate Arbor Day? Or maybe just the first? I really should Google that, but I’m not going to because I have more important things to talk about.

Well, I’ll tell you about it after a couple of obligatory scenic pictures of Scottsbluff, Nebraska

  

 

TADA! The legendary Brown Sheep Yarn Company Headquarters. Yes, it does exist and yes it is as awesome as you have heard.

It took us a little over 3 hours to make the trip form North Denver. Of course, the closer we got, the longer the trip seem to take. When we finally arrived, we were a little worried. As you can tell the outside of the building holds no clue to the gems contained within. Not to mention I almost fell on the ice like 3 times!

The actual store is larger then I had imagined and they had a pretty large selection. It really is like a LYS (a LYS that only sells Brown Sheep of course). After all the anticipation Lenore and I could hardly contain ourselves. She just started grabbing armloads of yarn. I did my normal walk around the store fondling everything at least twice before deciding. At one point I looked over at Lenore and I could barely see her through the yarn! That’s when the euphoria kicked in; we started laughing hysterically, prompting the very kind lady who was running the store (whom I will call Bev, because I forgot her name and she kinda looked like a Bev to me) to question our sanity. Although I think “Bev” quickly realized that we where ALL ABOUT THE YARN and offered to give us a tour of the factory.

The sign outside said no photos, but she was kind enough to allow me to take a few pixs because the factory workers were all gone home. I told you “Bev” was awesome!

This roving has been dyed and is waiting to be spun like in the picture below:

 

Sorry it’s so blurry! The roving is spun by this machine, turning it into single ply yarn. According to our guide, the machine holds 11,000 lbs and a “good” sheep will produce 8 ½ lbs per year! That’s a lot of sheep! Of course at the mention of “good” sheep my mind pictured this: a group of fluffy white sheep brushing their fleece while standing obediently in line to be sheared. And what of the “bad” sheep you may ask? Oh, they are lurking outside of spinning shops of course. They are half-bald from offering patches of their fleece to spinners at “bargain prices” or maybe in return for a pack of smokes and some tequila.

  

Above is already died yarn blended with shiny white mohair waiting to be spun. The picture does it no justice: it was the most beautiful thing! Below is Lenore wishing she could just jump in and sleep with the yarn candy:

Here is a shot of all the “test batches”. I assure you, it took all the self control we had not to keep some for ourselves!

And finally…………………… the combined yarn acquisition of two crazed knitters:

Oh yeah, that’s right, a trunk full of yarn. We were singing “Praise the Sheep” all the way through Nebraska! Not to mention, praise the aforementioned “Bev” who because she is awesome and because we bought so much, gave us all the yarn for $12 A POUND!!! Yep, even the hand-dyed yarn that was marked at $25/lb! Oh yeah, told you she was awesome!

Here is my newly acquired stash:

In all truthfulness the pound of sock yarn in front was $25, but come on, a pound of “experimental” hand-dyed yarn for $25 combined with 6 skeins of handyed yarn that total about $18? Pinch me! (Oh, I already owned the cat)

 All in all an awesome trip! Although, for some reason, I didn’t get very much worsted weight……. guess we’ll just have to make another trip

 

Sticks and Stitches

or is it Stitches and Sticks?? I can never remember….. at any rate……

Last night myself and 8 of my fellow knitters (well, 6 fellow knitters, one husband, and one sister) attended the second annual (?) Sticks and Stitches put on by the great folks at Interweave.

We chatted, knit, and watched the Colorado Avalanche’s overtime win over the New York Islanders. (No, I am absolutely not going to provide a link to the enemy’s website, if you wanna know,  tough. You’ll just have to look it up yourself)

 

In truth some of us knit and chat more then watched hockey, but rest assured a good time was had by all. For me personally, it was the perfect combination of my favorite things: awesome friends, knitting and hockey. Oh, and of course: tasty adult beverages.

Oh, did I mention there were free goodies?

By the time we got there, the gals at the goodie desk said something akin to “Help yourselves to whatever” Are they nuts? Help yourself?? When there is free yarn on the table, what kind of nut says “Help yourself” to a group of knitters??  All told I have 3 balls of Bernat Satin, 4 balls Katia Mohair, and 3 mags.

In short:

friends + food +  drink + knitting + hockey + freebies = good, no, awesome times!