Has it really been so long?

Hello blogworld,
It apparently has been forever since I have been here. There are a laundry list of excuses - the holidays, working on closing the yarn shop (almost done - 1/31 is fast approaching), my real job, husband with the flu, visiting grandchild, and I am sure there are more... However, there has be knitting, so I really am overdue! It appears that everything that I have to show right now is in progress - so here it goes... Oh and sorry for the not so crisp camera phone photos!

So the grey and white mitts are a proto-type for a class that I am teaching on fair-isle knitting. I have yet to add the thumbs, since that is the most intimidating part - I want to have both thumbs to demonstrate with...

Then we have the anemone sock that I messed up with the Rockin' Sock Club yarn - so I started again with some yarn a
co-worker gave me (after I spent 4 hours rolling some mohair for her - one more reminder as to why I do not knit with mohair). They are turning out really nicely - and will show up better on blockers when they are finished.

Then there is the brown mitts - I realized that I didn't have any, so these are wonderful brown alpaca mitts with a little orange and white detail. They have been a joy to knit. Started last Sunday, I expect they will be finished and wearable by the end of next week at the latest!

And finally, I found this pattern on ravelry and thought it would be fun. It was! However, I did not gauge before I started, and I know better. So the mitten turned out HUGE. I won't be making the second. However, if I ever break my right hand, I have a lovely large glove in superwash wool to wear. I will be trying this again (complete with a swatch) as soon as a few other things are off my needles.

Happy KNitting!!

Finished!!

There has been lots of finishing around here lately. It feels good to get these projects - especially the gloves that were started in January - off the project pile!! There is a little Christmas knitting to do, but I am getting on that....

Thanksgiving was lovely. We has people over and a good time was had by all. It is nice to finally have the house in good enough condition that we can invite people over - even though there are 1000's of projects for the future...

Back to stockings...
Happy Knitting!!

My PRGE package arrived!!

It was such a nice treat to have my PRGE package arrive yesterday! And I can't tell you how good the box smelled with the blackberry tea!! My pal, Requim, really spoiled me with treats from her home. There were yummy chocolates (good thing I got the photos before they disappeared), beautiful green yarn to felt into a tote - and we all know how bag crazy I am right now, stitch markers for larger needles :) and the yummy blackberry tea. It snowed here all day today, so there was a lot of tea drinking this afternoon... Thank you Kirsten!!

Merlot mitts and almost hat

Mr.sunneshine and I left for a long weekend last weekend. We were going wine tasting, so I decided it was the perfect chance to make the pink and burgandy mitts that had popped into my head. I had some of Vicki Howells silk bamboo that I had purchase, that was begging to be knit so with the pattern from the Majolica childrens sweater in a Fall 2006 IK, I had the mitts finished before we arrived at our destination. They have been worn for a solid week - I forgot to photograph them earlier, oops. Thankfully, I brought another project, too.

I kept looking at all the left over yarn and decided to make a hat with a whimsical pattern to go with the mitts. It looks like, with two skeins of each color, I will just barely finish it :) And as an added bonus, it matches my Northface jacket from last year...

And the trip, was relaxing and wonderful. We rented bikes, rode through town, saw some friends and just decompressed...

Happy KNitting!

Halloween

Halloween was fun! I LOVE this holiday... Being something that you are not able to be every day, giving out candy, cute little kids all dressed up, big kids all dressed up - too much fun!

Here are a few photos from Halloween with some of my co-workers...

There will be knitting soon...

Halloween is almost here!

This is just a quickee...

I finished a market bag this morning - it is a hybrid pattern, and I love it! I have learned a good market bag lesson, though. This projects are darn hard to frog - so they should not travel with me, where my attention could be less or a couple stitches will escape. There are a couple lines where the stitches weren't perfect due to these type circumstances... However, my other experience with these types of bags is that they will stretch and bend and the mistakes will pretty much go away with use. And honestly, for a grocery bag - I will take these over a cloth/paper whole foods or safeway bag any day - mistakes and all!!

I pulled out the Halloween bin today! Its fun to have a few decorations up! And apparently we have an affinity for Halloween candles... I will be working on my costume all day tomorrow - yeah!! The kids come to our offices to trick-or-treat at work... I can't wait!!

Happy KNitting!!

Where does the time go?

Where does the time go?

We had a great trip to Omaha - saw the grandbaby, who turned three - the bounce house was a hit - and a good time was had by all... And isn't he so cute!
While I was there, LimenViolet made me a featured ESotD chum seller on their blog - so I got home to a mad scramble to get the stitch markers off to their new homes...
There was a plane ride, so 1.5 market bags were made. I finished the second one last night. Loved one pattern - the one that you have to purchase from Hempathy - hated the other which was free from a LYS. Figures... Still really like this pattern from Knitty... There is enough stash yarn to make three more bags, but for now I think I am going to take a break and maybe do some felted bags, like these. Plus I have an itch to try to write a sock pattern, and I have been contracted to make a Christmas stocking.
The hat was just a fun way to use up some scraps, and it matches the bedroom rug so well... Not sure who to give it to as it is little kid size.
My PRGE pal, gave me some beautiful wool to make a market bag, so I am thinking that with the three colors, I may do a fair isle felted market bag. I have never tried that and it sounds like fun!
There is still tons of house work being done. We are down to the last few boxes - I spent yesterday getting art on the walls. There are only a few difficult pieces left to hang...
I added a picture of my
Studio, which is still a work in progress - but getting there... And a picture of my boots living above my armoire (yes, the one that broke my foot this summer). I love the way they look with the flag behind.
More soon...
Happy Knitting!!