Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Quality time with my ball winder...


I spent some quality time with my ball winder last night and loved the way the yarn looked all rolled , so I had to post it. Most if it is for the women in my class, who would otherwise wind by hand (Keep in mind all the taupe/tan yarn is cobweb weight acrylic - can you imagine how long that would take by hand?) However the 7 skeins of sock yarn to the far left are for me. This will keep me in yarn for quite a while!

Happy Knitting!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Knitting does still happen here...






Yes, there has actually been knitting!! Despite a really busy and beautiful weekend, I managed to finish a pair of socks and two single socks - yippee!! I am not sure about the pair, even though the yarn looked so good together in the picture, I am not sure that I love it in real life. I do love the way it feels on my feet. However, I did make the socks for hiking, so no one except me and mr.sunneshine (when he does the laundry) will ever see the colors together.

The singles socks are my first Vinnland, which you can see from the not being work photo - looks okay. But then when I put it on, I loved it!! And a few highlighter strokes to the pattern, and all the sudden it wasn't so hard. I should have the next one done by next weekend! The other single sock is what I am calling the James Bond sock - since most of it was done while we watched Casino Royale. It is just a twisted rib pattern on a basic sock. I had never done pattern down the foot of a sock, so I thought I'd try it. Its really hard to see from the photo, but I love the way it looks with the dark yarn. It is a little thick, but when I am cruising around in my Birkenstock clogs, it will look great!! (Yeah, I know they are dorky and clunky, but after standing on my feet all day, they feel so good!!!)

Finally, I got a package from Scout on Friday and this lovely was part of it. I first saw this magnet on Enchanted Daffodils blog. It was too cute, I had to order one. I am sure it will get stolen, but until then, I am really enjoying it!!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Barbie is listed...


Finally, the Barbies have been listed in the Rocky Mountain News - Here is the link:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/fashion/article/0,2792,DRMN_62_5552102,00.html

They are auctioning off the doll to benefit Dress for Success, a great cause! But there is also a link where you can rate each Barbie from 1-5, so if you have the time, please, please give my Barbie a 5!! There are a bunch of really well done dolls, so it is a fun look! To see all the dolls, you either have to go to ebay or rate the dolls... Its kind of a bummer since you don't really get the full effect of the Mohawk from the photos, but this was so fun!

I appreciate all the voting help in advance!!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

knitting projects revisited

Reading Calling on Kahlo's blog the other day, she referenced a contest at Skeins Her Way blog. This was one that I thought I could actually benefit from even if I don't win. The contest is to set your summer knitting goals. Now there hasn't been a whole lot of knitting happening recently. This is due to a few factors:
My little stitch marker business is cutting into my knitting time... but its still crafting and I really enjoy it, so that probably won't change.
There is a little burnout after the Hush dress.
Everything that I want to knit is so dang hard that I can't always concentrate when I get home from work - and I am averaging one day off a month right now...

So keeping those factors in mind, I pulled out my January list of things that I want to knit and already own the yarn for. I have crossed a few things off (and I am almost done with one more on there...) and decided that I should pick a couple off the list and allow for a new addition or two....

So my summer knitting goals are:
1. 2 fair isle christmas stockings for my husband and myself (I need to write the charts for the design too)
2. 1 pair of tiny toes socks
3. 1 pair of toasty toes socks
4. Ene's scarf from scarf style
5. Rococo socks (recent addition)
6. Market bag (and re-writing the top design)
7. Henne Falkenburg Ballerina sweater (new addition)
*and if I have time Mountain Peaks Shawl (new addition)*

From right here, right now, it doesn't look that ambitious, but we'll see what happens!! I may have to come back and add more - but I am one of those crazy people who needs to finish everything on the list to be happy...

This is a long one...

I accidently took a week off blogging. Its good to be back - but now there is all this stuff to show and tell. So this is a long picture-full post...

It was my second wedding anniversary yesterday. All good and fun. But in the sunneshine household, we can't let any good thing pass with a single day of celebration, so we had 5 days of parties (partying) - hence no time for blogging... We began our five days of celebrating with the traditional baseball game (traditional to us). The best picture from there was my Rockie Dog - a 12" hot dog sold only at Coors Field. Yummm...

Friday was a mellower dinner out. Saturday was a dressed dinner at a wonderful new restaurant in Denver called Fruition. Great food, good wine, excellent service - a winning combination.
Sunday was an open house for our tenants and neighbors. Last night we celebrated with grilled blue cheese burgers and beer - too tired to do much else!!

So there hasn't been tons of knitting, but I will do a rare in progress of the projects that I am actually working on right now. There are the spring hiking socks. They have taken the place of
errand hat. They are so easy and quick and I love the wicking yarn from Halcyon! When I finish these two pairs, all the stash wick yarn will be gone :) Then there is the Vinnland. They are not easy to photograph! You can kinda-sorta see the pattern and this photo washes out the yarn. I am not in love with this pattern. I don't find the pattern rhythmic, nor am I thrilled with how the smaller gauge yarn that I am using shows the pattern. But I really want to finish a set of toe up socks - so these will get done!!

Finally we have some AMAZING packages that I received in the mail yesterday!! The first one is
my first installment of my knitters treat package from Poppy (who still hasn't told me her real name). She is from Washington and filled the box with treats from there. And since it is my favorite place in the world - Yippee!! There was two local coffees, chocolate, a beautiful magnet, a wonderful rosewood bracelet, lavender lotion, organic wool wash, and a beautiful card!! Such a wonderful gift - Thanks Poppy!!

Then my coffee swap package came from Jana at White Oak Studio. She gave coffee, in the coolest
packaging I have ever seen!! A skull bag, a sock pattern, some beautiful yarn called Sleepless in
Seattle (did she know that I was from there?) from her amazing etsy shop and Scout, her beautiful black lab, added the dog notebook!! Thank you Jana!!

It is pouring, pouring, pouring here today!! So, I am trying to get caught up on my work, so I can knit a little more!!

Have a great week!!

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Knitting Meme

All the cool kids are doing it, so I grabbed this little meme from Calling on Kahlo.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up (working on them right now)
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing (Barbie will hit the paper on Thursday!!)
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener
BOPurses/bags
Knitting with beads
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public (constantly!!)

I promise there will be knitting content in the next day or so!!
Have a great week!!

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Kpixie!!

Okay, I really do try not to post more then once a day but look -

http://www.kpixie.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=90_91

My markers are finally listed on Kpixie.com!! Yippee!! I was beginning to think that they weren't going to be listed, then today they showed up!! I am so excited!!

Happy Tuesday!!

tagged...

Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog. Here are my facts:

1. I love American flags - especially the folk art, wrong, weird ones. It goes back to my days as a cyclist. They hang all over my house. There are ones where the stars have 6 points, where the flag is flying backwards, all kinds of handmade wonderfulness...

2. I own a clothing store and really don't mind keeping everything nice and folded there, but hate hanging, folding, and organizing my own clothes.

3. Everything that I own is just a little bit off, whether it is the actual item or the way it interacts with other things - nothing is perfect and I enjoy it that way.

4. I get huge amounts of pleasure seeing things that I made being used, especially by strangers. Nothing makes my day faster then to walk into my LYS and see someone using the stitch markers that I have made or seeing them being used/gifted on a blog, seeing a baby out who is wearing a hat that I knit and sold, ect...

5. There are things that I own to own. Things that I cannot bear to use or if I do use them, I buy a second to have in reserve that will probably never be used, but I need to have that one to use the first one - cargo pants, shoes, sweatshirt, art supplies...

6. I always know when I am getting sick because I crave garlic - garlic-y mexican food, garlic-y italian, garlic-y thai, yummmm....

7. When people do not pronounce my name correctly (you say it "sun", the easiest possible way) I will correct them twice, then I give up and let them call me what ever they do, usually then someone else at a later point will correct them or not. I find it too exhausting to keep pointing out that they are not paying attention to me... its the easiest way to figure out if you really know me and are my friend or not...

I tag Jana (whiteoakstudio), Roxtarchic, Stella, Leslie, Heidi, Jules, and Jana (exile) - I know that this one has been going around for a while, so if you have already done it, I challenge you to give us 7 new weird facts, I did...

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Grandbaby

Since I didn't do much this weekend, I thought I'd share these cute photos of my grandbaby in his easter bunny hat and the green birthday sweater that I knit for him last Aug/Sept (you can see the post here). His birthday is in October, so I guess I should be thinking about what sweater to make him for next year. I do appreciate that his mom actually dresses him in the things that I make for him :) Have a good week!!

Happy Knitting!!

Saturday, May 12, 2007

pretty flowers

I have been feeling really icky all weekend - starting Thursday. I made it out of the house once on Friday and these pretty little flowers caught my eye - so I thought I would share them. They are the first flowers in the front yard this year! Hopefully, I will be back to full YA strength and back to knitting tomorrow!!

Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Socks, the second attempt...

My prge pal Spinalcat gave me this awesome Tofutsies yarn and some patterns from SouthWest Trading Co. Thanks again, Amy!! All the socks were knit on a size one, so I was a little hesitant, but actually this pattern - Tidal Wave - was quick and fun. The lace pattern was very rhymthic, and fast!! I loved the yarn it was super easy to work with and there is enough left over for at least one more sock, if not two shorties!! And its soy and chitin shell, so it sooths the punk hippie in me! The colors are gorgeous - look how good they look with my new chucks (don't mind the ratty hem of my favorite cargo pants!) All in all, I loved this - now I am debating what to do with the leftover yarn... In the meantime, I cast on the Vinnlands socks from the Anti-craft with some fearless fibers that Angela gave me in SP9. They are going to be more challenging, but that is good too!

Friday, May 04, 2007

The Hush Dress is Done!!

Updated - here is the real photo of the Hush dress after a long day of knitting, work, dinner and going out - I still love it!!

Yes, its true - the Hush dress is finally done and I am wearing it today!! I swear I will update this post later with a decent photo of it on - cuz I actually LIKE it!! Don't sound so amazed - mr.sunneshine said. But I am amazed! After all the work and toil - I was sure that I wasn't really going to like it or like wearing it. Plus at the end of the project, it was pulling teeth to get the straps done. Oh. I am so happy!!
I did just put one bow at the bottom, not the four suggested by the pattern, it was too much going on... Otherwise, I would recommend the pattern. I think if I hadn't knit it 1 and a half times, I would have been much more psyched about the end of the project! Yippee!! Done!! Done!! Done!! And I think I will be knitting small projects for a bit...

I have already started these tidal wave socks from SWTC with Tofutsies sock yarn, gifted to me by my PRGE pal SpinalCat! I LOVE how these are working out!! I love the stripes, they are knitting quickly despite the size 1 needles and the yarn feels amazing!! Thanks again, Amy!!

Happy Knitting!!