What can I say???

It has been so long that I think I have even forgotten how to blog. I don't imagine anyone is still around here reading anymore, but I will do this for me and see what happens. My boss Sue, at boucle, has started blogging and she has inspired me to see if I can get going again. I will give it a shot in the dark. I am somewhat of and empty nester these days. The twins graduated this spring and all 3 of the kids are living in the basement apartment, cooking and cleaning for themselves. It is pretty scary actually. Our grocery bill has gone down, that is one nice thing! So on to the crafty side of my life. I still work at boucle yarn studio and I am so happy there. Who wouldn't? Being surrounded by colorful warm and cuddly fibers every day is a perk for sure. I will start out by showing off my most recent finished object.

This is Merope while she is blocking, This is the first one of the "Seven Small Shawls" by Romi Hill.





I used Jade Saphire's Cashmere Silk lace weight yarn and this shawl is heavenly soft.

Hibernation is Over!

Well it seems I have been asleep for the winter and I have just woken up. We are in the midst of spring cleaning and preparing the house for graduation. OMG that is a lot of work! I have been wanting to organize and put things in order. I have been getting a lot of my pictures shuffled into proper folders on this blasted computer so now I feel like I can maybe share a few things. Of late I have finished the Lady Eleanor Stole and I love it. It got a bit wider than perhaps I would have liked, but my intent was to drape it on my chair in the living room when I am not wearing it, so that is OK. It will be perfect to wrap around my shoulders on a cold evening. Also I have finished socks 'Embossed Leaves' from the Favorite Socks book. I will share one more thing, a fun ruffle scarf made from corn yarn. I love it! It is a crisp clean white and is great for summer wear.
OK then, back to housework and painting.

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Feels like Fall

Well the kids are back to school today and it sure feels like fall out there. It rained all night and is cool and cloudy out there. I have gotten quite a bit of knitting done this summer, but have been so busy with other home projects, I just have not kept up here. I am not even going to apologize anymore as I am not sure I will ever get back to a weekly posting. Ravelry is so fun and I share all my knitting projects there for the knitting people. This may well turn in to a family update spot. Anyway, I have finished my Sari Sircle made from recycled silk, the Capped sleeve tee from Fitted Knits, a couple pairs of socks... I am currently working on Jaywalker socks with Flat Feet yarn, very fall looking. I also have a Chris Bylsma sweater on the needles with some very expensive Prism yarn for embellishment. I am loving both these projects.

The cool weather is really putting me in the knitting mood and I may have startitis. I want to do a jacket or big cardigan. We are supposed to be getting some felted coat patterns in to boucle very soon, so I am planning a felted coat. I will want to make a fun scarf and cowl for winter, Socks of coarse...

Here are a few pic's of what I have been babbling about.

RedHawks Stitch and Pitch

Fargo ND recently had it's first local stitch and pitch and it was tons of fun. I hope there are many more to come. I think we had a pretty great turn out for the first year. Between boucle yarn studio and the other local shop, we were able to sell 80 tickets, some of those were spouses, but none the less, they were there in support of the stitch and pitch event. Home team did not win, but the score was close periodically during the game, so it was exciting to watch.

I had just begun a new tank from Fitted Knits, so I was working on that project. There was quite a nice variety of things being knit, helmet liners, baby hats, socks, shawls... All of the attending knitters participated in knitting one long scarf for the team mascot "Hawkeye". I took a few picture of the event, so I will share some of them with you.


boucle yarn studio staff.



Me and my husband.



Ginger and Roger knit.



Hawkeye gets his scarf.

Back from Market!

Hey everyone, I have been a busy girl ; ) I recently got to go to yarn market (TNNA) with the owner of our local yarn shop. OMG is all I can say! I was very nervous as I have had very limited travel experiences. It was just plain wonderful. I am so going to make a felted coat as soon as the patterns arrive. We ordered lots of fun new patterns and sooooo many new and yummy yarns. OMG, it was such a fabulous experience! We shopped, shopped, shopped. I am afraid Sue may not have taken the one with the most common sense and self control. hehehe. First the fashion show was incredible! Tons of wonderful long coats were modeled. Sort of like the Einstein coat only more fashionable. There is a new designer with a terrific new line of felted coats and we got the patterns, I can’t wait to make mine. Oh they are soooo cute. I think this season is about color and fun fibers reminiscent of the fun fur craze but way better. These new fibers have a multitude of different textures and fibers, like, ribbon, boucle, mohair, sparkly… all in one ball. We got some from 2 different vendors. One company calls this the Magic Ball, one calls theirs the Wild stuff ; ) Does that tell it all or what???

We added many new company’s, Got some Lorna’s Laces Superwash, beautiful!!!! Some waste silk, lots of fabulous fun Mohair from a new company (Be Sweet) with some great patterns, great new jewelry and stitch markers, some new bags, I can’t even begin to share everything here. Oh did I mention I had the most fab time. I got to meet, Cathy and Steve Elkins from the Ready Set Knit podcast, they sat right next to me at the luncheon where the Yarn Harlot spoke. Too fun. I met Sharon from She Knits Podcast, I saw Marlee, from the Yarn Thing podcast. I met Sandi Wisehart from knitting Daily and she gave me a hug! I had Lily Chin in my Cat Borhdi sock class. OMG, it was all so overwhelming! Oh and the buttons we found are to dye for! Fabulous big buttons perfect for purse closures. We got the NONI bag hardware kits, that come with the coordinating zippers, closures, clasps and feet for the bottom. Oh the list goes on and on. I can’t wait to start some new projects! We found fun things for our sock club members. SHHHH it's a secret ; )

OK now that I have been back, I have finished several projects that have been in the works.First off the Lotus Blossom Tank from you know where. I had more trouble than I care to reminisce about. I finished 2 pairs of socks and am just binding off for a cardigan. I have already cast on for 3 new projects ; )

I am preparing for our local stitch and pitch which is on July 1.

The stores 1 year anniversary is also coming up, and is going to be lots of fun. We are also going to participate in the first area fiber artists festival. Lots going on and not enough time.

2 a.m. Thunderstorm

Well here I sit at 2 in the morning. We have a doggie who is terrified of thunder and she came down to our bed to tell me about the storm. She is having some medical problems right now and I felt so badly for her, I got up to make her a nice bowl of oatmeal and egg yolks. So, since I was up, I decided it was a good time to update this blog. BLOG, what is that you say?
Yes I do remember what a blog is.
There just doesn't seem to be enough time to blog, knit, spin, work, play on ravelry... and forget about cleaning the house.
So what am I knitting? I am working on my Landscape shawl, and am loving it. I am working on the Lotus Blossom Tank and thank God I just got through with the lace repeats. I won't even go into details right now, but let's just say that row 11 and I did NOT get along.
I have 3 pairs of socks on the needles, a green summer cardi made from Blue Sky Alpaca cotton.
There are a few other things on the needles, but they aren't currently getting much attention so we will forget about them for the time being ; )
I just took a picture of a felted sock sack that Michelle Taylor designed. We will have the pattern available at boucle yarn studio. It's just a simple little felted bag to keep your sock projects in, but oh so cute. I just had to make 2 of them. The one on right is mine, on the left is Michelle's. I will share a picture of my other one, another day.

Here's a sneaky peek.

Another month gone...

I can't believe how the time is just flying by. Now that I work outside the house, there just never seems to be enough time. I really am trying here. Anyway, I will be starting a Shawl knit-a-long at boucle yarn studio. I am pretty excited about it, as it will be my first shawl and I chose a lovely yarn. It is a wool/silk DK by Sheep Shop. I wish the colorway was just a little bit darker, but it is still wonderful. There are currently 8 of us that will be working on the Landscape Shawl from Fiber Trends.

Other things I am working on: The Lotus Blossom Tank, (UGH lace) 3 pairs of socks, a summer cardi and a summer ribbon scarf. I am also considering starting a baby sweater for our store charity knitting project coming up. Too much to do and not enough time.

I am so glad the weather is finally warming up. We just purchased a beautiful Red 2007 Ford Escape and I am just loving it. It is so fun to drive, has a sun roof and heated seats ; )

On to the yarn, This is what I will be using for the shawl knit-a-long. If you want to see a nice close-up don't forget to click on the picture.