CarmelKnits, etc.

Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock medium weight color way Mossay!

I'm getting a brand new skein of yarn in the mail today. I'm pretty excited. Excited enough that I keep manically checking the tracking information to see how close it might be to my house. It's still in Seattle. Technically, if you are going by distance, I'm probably closer to it now than I will be later today when its delivered at home. It's sock yarn It's a wonderful shade of green. It's going to actually be a pair of socks. Not a hat Not mittens (although that's not a bad idea) Not a shawl. Not a cowl. I'm going to knit a pair of socks Specifically I'm going to knit the Ivy Trellis Socks from Botanical Knits. It'll match my hat that I just finished. I'm pretty excited. oh and I also just ordered a bunch more yarn to make some more Color Affection Shawls for myself and a friend for the rapidly approaching Silvertips Season! Happy Wednesday...  I'll tell you more about this nugget cover tomorrow 

So like I was saying yesterday... D and I were shopping Sunday morning for some new riding gloves for him when I was drawn like a bug to an electric zapper to a hot pink hat with a massive pom pom on top. Massive pom pom, which leads me to believe that while I find pom poms in general annoying, I find the extreme massive ones absolutely delightful and whimsical. The inspiration... isn't that pom pom amazing? I knew I could copy the pattern of the hat. So after much examining, touching, a few discrete photos then a glance at the price tag... On sale! Marked down from $26.50. I looked quickly to see what kind of fiber was used... 100% acrylic. So, I talked D into buying it for copying purposes and I was off and running. I counted stitches around the ribbing. I counted stitches around the cable pattern. There were no tricky increases. It maintained the same stitch count all the way around. I wrote a few notes and then as I got wrapped into the knitting my no...

It's hard to believe that he's 11 already. He still behaves like he's two with the exception that he sleeps a little more than he used to. He was just over a year when we brought him home. He's my boy. I love him so much. He makes me happy when I'm sad. He makes me laugh whether I want to or not. He hates having his picture taken. He loves to steal and eat cake. He loves to eat paper. He hates turkey basters full of hydrogen peroxide (this happens when he eats too many cupcakes or too much paper) He loves his Veterinarian. He hates Bitter Apple, he'll bark at whatever object you've sprayed it with. Especially if he wants to lick it. We used to spray it on my brother in laws legs since Mr. Brown would lick them like a popsicle. He loves to play with puppies and look out the windows. He gets loungey on car rides. I taught him how to eat off a fork, a habit that D is less than proud of. Loud noises ...

D needed to pick up some new gloves over the weekend and as I was browsing thru the store this gorgeous hot pink hat caught my eye... Folded brim. Fat cables. Biggest Pom Pom ever on top. Did I mention the hot pink? Because this photo doesn't do it justice, it's electric! As I studied the hat I thought 'I can knit this' So I started thinking I'll take a bunch of photos and then go from there. Well nothing stands out more than some crazy lady snapping pictures of a hot pink hat. It was on sale so I sweet talked D into buying it for me. Much easier for comparison knitting... The original hat is 100% acrylic with a wicked seam up the back. Plus it was originally priced at $26.50 I'm using 100% wool and doing it in the round. Seamless and clean looking. I'm actually almost to the third twist, then I get to figure out decreases. Then I get to do it all again and write down more specifically what I'm doing this time... :) On a...

We had SO. MUCH. FUN! We talked the whole way home about how much fun it was! The ampitheater is built at the bottom of a sloping hill and all the concert goers are set up all around. We packed up my picnic backpack and a messenger bag cooler full of fruit, chicken, chips, salsa and some water. We bought wine when we arrived. One of the funnest things was seeing the set ups that other people had. They have a low chair section and a high chair section we were in the front of the high chair section. People spread out blankets, set up small folding tables and lay out spread of picnic goodies. Not to mention the food options available at the tents! I don't think I saw anyone carrying less that 3 bottls of wine at a time moving among all the people. We met up with some friends who had relatives visiting from out of town, and that just added to the fun! The wine poured freely The singing and jokes were wonderful The sun was shining It was a glorious afternoon!...

I'm giddy!!!!

There are a lot of great things that go along with being a knitter. 1. Yarn: There is so much yarn out there. So many different fibers and blended fibers to play with that is it any wonder a knitter guards her stash like Fort Knox... at least I do. 2. Patterns: The quantity of patterns available in books, pamphlets, pdf. downloads, knitting blogs, magazines, fiber companies, and inside yarn labels is mind bogling... Ravelry is my number one source for pattern hunting, designer hunting, and yarn information. I have a library of pdf's that I've bought over the years that I covet as much as I do the yarn I'm going to knit them with. 3. Notions: I can't get enough of pretty stitch markers, cable needles, crochet hooks for fixing mistakes, tape measures, pattern holders, project bags, gift tags, note pads, it goes on and on. My favorite right now, and I haven't gotten my hands on them but I'm working on it, is the Karbonz double point needle set from Webs. Along...

When Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting announced that she was releasing another pattern book I was excited. Her collaboration with Hannah Fettig from Knitbot  with Coastal Knits was beautifully done and the patterns wonderful. Botanical Knits is just as wonderful, the patterns are stunning, and in true Alana style so well written it could make a knitter weep with joy as she knits every stitch.. I've been a huge fan of hers from the moment I cast on the Autumn Vines hat April 5, 2011. Since then I've knit 17 things designed by Alana, some of them more than once! Her designs gave me a love for knitting accessories using finer gauges and created in me a love of texture that sings to my heart. I love to touch my knitting. To feel it under my finger tips, to trace the stitch patterns. Watching them come alive after a good soak and stretch. The pattern practically blooms before your eyes. So, when the new book was announced I was giddy. When the time came to preorder, I...

It's nothing new that I like berets. I like to wear them and I like to knit them which is handy especially since in the past year I've accumulated quite a collection of them. This one is special. Why is it special? The yarn is special. That's why. This colorway was created by Yarnista of Three Irish Girls to honor the victims and their families of the tragedy that occurred in Newtown Connecticut December 14, 2012. You can read her post here . The name is Love Wins. As soon as it was open for ordering I ordered a skein in the Kells Sport 100% merino wool. It was a limited edition dye lot.   A percentage of every skein went towards helping those affected in the Newtown shootings. No one will forget what happened that day. No one will forget where they were when they heard what happened that day. I've had the skein for a few months and hadn't decided what to do with it till last Sunday. Then it clicked. It needed to be made into a hat. With all t...

But before the judging starts I did finish the beret I was knitting and I'll do a proper post on that later... Right now though I'm working on the ribbing for this and will probably be working this all day...

Delicious yarn matched up with the perfect pattern. Any surprise that both patterns are by Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting? Probably not since she tops my list of favorite designers. I'm trying to finish a Simple Beret (Hannah Fettig design) before winding the yarn for either of these but I think the longer I sit in front of them the worse my case of startitis will be... Happy Friday!

The original pattern calls for fingering weight but this time I went a bit bigger and chose Manos Silk Blend. It's 20% silk and 80% merino wool. It's soft. It's squishy. It's perfect. All that's left is to weave in my tails and give it a bath! Details: Designer: Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting Yarn: Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend 3-4 skeins. Needle Size: 9 US I love it. I love it. I love it. I think it accentuates my short neck. It might be gifted if I know what's good for me...

It's just pictures today really... some knitting, some not. I'll have a finished object post tomorrow or the next day... My Clematis is blooming. I love this plant so much... mostly because it was such a surprise when it creeped onto the deck and then bloomed the first time  this skein has been staring at me from my yarn bowl for months now. It's from Three Irish Girls out of Duluth, MN. The colorway is 'Love Wins' and it was a special limited colorway to raise money for victims and families of the Newtown CT tragedy last December. I'm mentally kicking myself for not ordering more of it at the time....   So I wound it up even though I wasn't done yet with my dk/lightworsted Cream and Sugar....   and then started knitting with it...  and continued knitting with it, smitten with the way the colors pooled on the ribbing and then randomly broke up in the stockinette portion...  but I did get back to Cream and Sugar and ...