goodness in the mail and more...

First, we have the first (and possibly last) pair of socks knit for mr.sunneshine. They turned out well, but he is still not thrilled with them... Boys....

Then there was this wonderful coffee swap package from Paige! It has the Noro sock yarn that I have been coveting and yummy COFFEE - that smells amazing! There was also some handmade goodness and chocolate and a beautiful card. I am feeling very spoiled right now... Thank you, Paige! And having a huge debate over what sock pattern to do with my new yarn... Suggestions are always appreciated and I am going to check over at Ravelry as well...

Happy KNitting!

The brown alpaca mitts

Well, the brown alpaca mitts are finished! I LOVE them... I love them enough that I finished them a week ago and dressed every day last weak to be able to wear them. This week its just too darn warm to be wearing alpaca mitts. Since we are about 50" of snow shy of where we should be, I am hoping for snow - the 60 degree weather can come back in April.

So with every triumph, there is a challenge. I bought this amazing cashmere yarn from Woolgirl. When I spun it, the ball was huge. So in the true thought of luxury, I decide to make knee socks. The pattern is simple - the yarn amazing!! However, as I got close to the ankle, I realized that there is not nearly enough to have pure cashmere feet - however, this may be okay, I am not sure how durable the cashmere yarn is - there is only 20% wool. So now I am mixing it with a similar but darker color of interlacements sock yarn to finish off the feet. Just a few more inches to go...

Happy KNitting!!

Coffee Swap Questions

QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground?
Generally whole bean

2. Fully-loaded or decaf?
Fully Loaded!!

3. Regular or flavored?
Regular - just good old black coffee in our house...

4. How do you drink your coffee?
Since I answered that above, I drink my coffee in bed in the mornings with my husband. The perfect way to start the day.

5. Favorite coffee ever?
It seems to change... Really what I am drinking at the time is generally wonderful. I just stay away from Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts...

6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do?
Not too fussy...

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee?
Chocolate... wheatless waffles... chocolate covered pretzels...

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences?
Nope

9. Yarn/fiber you love?
I love natural fibers. I have been knitting a lot of socks and fair isle lately. I have however knit just about everything and enjoyed most of it. Really, I am thankful to have time to knit whatever the project...

10. Yarn/fiber you hate?
Synthetics, fun fur, hairy and acrylic yarns - I know there are reasons to love them, I just don't...

11. What's on your needles?
Two pairs of socks for me, one for my husband, a sweater and two pairs of fingerless mitts... Can you say knitting ADD... And there is a shawl/scarf, bathrobe, sweater for my grandson and more socks in the cue...

12. Favorite colors?
For socks or fair isle mittens, I will knit with anything! Color is fun! For hats, scarves or anything else, black or neutrals... I don't wear much color.

13. Allergies?
I am allergic to wheat. However it is mild and my DH will eat anything that I can't...

14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest?
I love this swap! Paige, I am really excited to be paired with you. While I have just briefly lurked around your blog, I think this is going to be very fun! I am pretty easy to please and thank you for all the time and thought I know you will put into the package!!

More knitting posts soon... There are pretty finished objects to share...
Happy KNitting!!

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!