Some yarn and a sock

I'm back from the mountains. A quick over night up to Beaver Creek (near Vail) to give a presentation. I have to admit, the drive was one of the easiest I have ever had up the hill. Probably because ski season ended over a week ago. And it's very strange to be up there because there is still SO MUCH SNOW! Loveland and A Basin are still open, but all the other ski resorts have closed because their leases are up for the season with the National Park Service. So all this beautiful snow, and quiet chair lifts and no one skiing. And Beaver Creek was virtually a ghost town. I walked into shops where I was the only one in the store.

So, I decided to make the most of my time and hit a yarn store on the way up, and two on the way back to Denver. The first store I stopped at was the Yarn Studio in Minturn. Kathy is the owner and we had a great time talking and I found out I had seen her at a Rockies Stitch and Pitch game in 2006. When I went upstairs in the shop while she wound my yarn, I saw a framed picture of that game that was in the Rockies Magazine. Guess who was in the picture? Me. There I was sitting a row or two behind her knitting away on a shawl. I need to try to get my hands on one of those magazines. I want the picture. Any way, the Tahki pattern book is from there, I am going to make the sweater on the cover, and have ordered the yarn. This is a stretch for me, because anyone who knows me, knows my favorite size needles are either 2s or 3s and this is knit on 10.5s. But it is such a cute sweater that I had to get the yarn.

The purple yarn is from the shop too. It is Suri of the Western Slope in Bright Purple Melange and so far it is only sold at the Yarn Studio. It has 5% Magenta Flash, a sparkly thread plied with it, and has 465 yards fingering. Oh this is pretty. The little glass heart is also from the store, and is fired glass and can be worn as a pin or a necklace. I'm thinking it might hold a light shawl.

The colorful yarn with purple and blue and yellow and orange is also some local yarn. It is sport weight for socks, hand-dyed by the Leadville Ladies and sold at the Tea Time Quilting and Stitchery in Breckenridge. For all you quilters, oh my, you should see the fabrics in this store. Makes you want to jump right in and start a quilt.

The last store I stopped in was in Frisco - What's Needling U. The owner was very nice, but they were out of a KFI pattern I wanted for a zippered hoodie. She's going to call me when it comes in.

I didn't get much knitting done last night because I ended up being social and not going to my room as I had planned. I ended up dealing Texas Hold'em for 2 hours and giving the players a hard time. The April sock needs some work, but it is coming along. Still haven't finished March's but you know me, the sock orphan Queen.

Have a good night, me I'm trying to stay inside, even though it's pretty out there. Too much pollen and mold I'm afraid. I went to the allergist on Monday, and they are going to do more testing on me a week from Friday. There is something in the air that this nose and these eyes just don't like! I am hoping to get to the colorwork on the Roslin Hoodie tonight.

Whoops, I forgot to talk about the skein of yarn on the right side of the picture. This is also sock yarn in the colorway Goody from from Tempted Bad Grrl Hand Painted Yarns. I got this in the mail from Loops in Tulsa. I get interesting sock yarn from that store, things I have Never seen before.

Happy Earth Day.

Today

Today sure was a pretty day. I think it managed to get to 70 degrees, but it was a blustery day, so at times it felt a little cooler. But the sky sure is a pretty blue, and there are tulips and trees blooming.

So far, not much knitting has been done today. I worked some on the Roslin Hoodie while the oldest son was at a birthday party. I decided to enjoy the time he was in one of those "bouncy places" and bought myself a cold Diet Coke and pulled the car under a tree. I proceeded to listen to podcasts and work on the hoodie for an hour. So, that's about the extent of today's knitting so far, but at least that was a quiet hour for myself. Yeah!

I have to drive up to Vail tomorrow to give a one hour presentation Tuesday morning. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous, but there you have it. I am going to make it a leisurely drive after I go see my allergist and stop when I want to and get there when I feel like it tomorrow. I will have to see if there are any yarn stores along the way, make it even more enjoyable to stop.

I was hoping to have a lot of FOs this month, but oh boy today is the 20th. I don't know. I haven't worked on the Mandarin Jacket because there have been too many interruptions. I will have to look at what I thought I was going to accomplish again. Hmm.

Well, have a great rest of the day. I hope you had some of this nice weather like we did.

Whew! That's a lot of Koigu.

That is a picture of 300 mitered squares. 11 colors of Koigu, knitting time approximately 1/2 hour per square so about 150 hours, eight pieces to assemble. Yes, the miters are done and now the finishing begins. So far I have attached one band to one sleeve, easing 104 stitches into 88. This is slow going. I am using black Koigu and picking up stitches along each edge and then using a three needle bind off to join the pieces. I am not sure how I am going to do the underarm seams yet. Right now the sleeve bands are first, then the shoulders, then the neckband, then attach the sleeves, then I will think about the underarms. There is also a crocheted edging around the entire edge.

Today is tax day, so that means eight months until another birthday. That's one way to look at it. I don't want to think about how much money we paid!

Spring is finally here. Boy, yesterday was gorgeous, in the 70s. But along with the Spring comes pollen. Anyone else sneezing? My poor nose and eyes aren't very happy this morning. And today is a fire danger day. I guess since not much has started to grow and with all the dead grass and stuff from the winter, you add that with expected high winds and a warm day and you might have trouble. I hope not. I'm just looking forward to another nice day before the temperatures drop again.

Well, time to get this day started, I hope you have a good one!

What is the deal?

Okay, it is supposed to be Spring right? What’s with the blowing snow? All right, it has stopped snowing, but my goodness; I was bundled up and bent over against the wind and snow this morning. I wonder if the boys - Rockies are playing this afternoon. There was supposed to be a 1:05PM game. Oh, no thank you. No snow baseball for me. Oh, just saw that it is postponed until June 16th; hopefully there won’t be snow on that date. You know, I just got off the phone with an attorney in St. Thomas. He told me it was a “cold” 79 degrees and sunny. Man oh man. Sounds nice doesn’t it?

I had a toe up sock class last night. A good group of students. Good knitters and we laughed a lot. My kind of class.

What are you knitting on? I am trying to finish projects. Four squares to go on the Mandarin Jacket and then I will start the finishing work. I pulled out the Marilyn cardigan which has been in the stash FOREVER! I ordered a Habu cardigan out of wool and steel – can’t wait to knit that! April is definitely a finishing and prioritizing month for me. I am also going to be doing some knitting for a friend who needs samples for TNNA. Keep on knitting, keep on knitting!

Well, got to get back to work. Still thinking of the beach in St. Thomas……

Darn, it's Sunday night!

Yes, that's right - Sunday night. I spent an enjoyable weekend in the mountains with a group of great knitters, just hanging out knitting, eating, laughing, and having a good time. Thank you Judy! And you ladies from Colorado Springs, it was great meeting you! Princess Moonbeam, you are something else.

Didn't go crazy buying yarn either. I am really concentrating on finishing some projects and getting some designs down on paper. I was pouring over some stitch books tonight, because I have an idea for a shawl that I'm working on which will combine lace and cables. I have the center panel worked out in my head, but need to work out from there and swatch it. Hmm.

So I don't have much to write about now, I need to get ready for bed, knit a row or two and then get to sleep. Back to reality tomorrow.

April 1

Is Spring finally here? Okay, we did have some snow this weekend, and the breeze today is feeling really kind of cold, but what do you think, have we finally turned the corner? I have my fingers crossed. I really like Spring. I like the colors, watching the grass change from shades of brown to green. I like the buds on the trees, and then the explosion of flowers and leaves, and the “rain” of petals if you walk under a flowering tree when there is a good breeze blowing. And I like daffodils and tulips and robins. Oh, and don’t forget the start of baseball! Yes, I like Spring.

So I am trying to finish up projects, and looking to work on new things that have more of a Spring feel to them, and I am also looking to start the design process. Because it is time. I need to get the ideas down. And there are some “hopefully” good ones which I have in my head right now. But they will need to be swatched, and written down, and charted, and rewritten. A work in process. But it is time. Time for something new. But I am still working on the miters, because the end is very close for this jacket. 26 more squares and the finishing begins. It’s also April 1st, and I have sock number 1 of April’s socks on the needles (okay – they were March’s socks, but I don’t care, they will be completed in April!)

And, I’m thinking of taking a spinning class. I KNOW! Before you say it, I KNOW! I am so busy now. And I’m not talking April fool. I’m thinking maybe this summer, not right now, but maybe then. To see if I like it. And I am talking about on a wheel. I have taken a drop spindle class, and I did not like it. But I want to try a wheel.

Did you get on Ravelry today? How fun! Little hats on your Avatars in the small talk groups – mine was a Cat in the Hat hat. Finding a Fabio book and a Happy Hooker book in your library. Very fun and creative.

I have a knitting weekend and opening day to look forward to this week. Yeah! Not so bad for the first week in April. Alright, time to get back to work, darn!