December Fun!

Love, love, love this yarn in this very simple shawlette. And, more birds for the tree!

And Today's Lesson Was...

Blanket stitch, French knots, chain stitch and stem stitch. Isn't she cute!

Crazy for Owls

I took a class to learn how to make Edmund, a holiday owl at Fancy Tiger last week. It was so much fun! I've gone nuts for owls ever since the class and have been crafting away. My owls look pretty homemade (not handmade), but I'm learning the blanket stitch and how to mess around with felt. The hubby's owl is in the back in WV colors of blue and gold :) Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our first Thanksgiving day in Denver was filled with yummy smells, lots of sunshine and sleep. We were recovering a bit from our trip to Paris (which was AMAZING). The Thanksgiving weekend has been full as well...shopping and running around. I managed to finish the shrug I started quite some time ago. It's snuggly and warm. I'm not sure about the sleeves, as they tend to poke out. We'll see if I actually wear it. The yarn is amazing though - Misty Alpaca hand painted. Beautiful!

Bonjour! It's been a while...

Wow, it's been quite the year. Any readers still left out there? We moved to Raleigh, NC for a job for Ben last September and within the year, got a wonderful opportunity to come to Denver, CO. So, we packed up our lovely house, sold it in 4 days and headed out West. It's been great so far - haven't met any knitting folks yet, but I've touched base with several different groups in the area. There are a few new knitting items that I'll post soon. Until then, hello strangers! and check out what we've been up to in Denver!

Icarus

Hmmmm

So I'm not very good at updating the old blog anymore. I have so much to show too! I just finished Icarus, which definitely a growing experience. I calculated (and my math could be wrong) over 60K stitches - that's one crazy shawl. Once I get some good shots of it over the weekend, I'll post photos. I'm now working on Wandering the Moor, which is a really beautiful shawl - I'm knitting up the stockinette portion now, but hope to be into the lace section soon.

On the reading front, I'm cruising along on my 52 books in 52 weeks goal. As of April/mid-May, I've read 22 books for the year. Here are the latest reads:

agatha christie - appointment with death
rennie airth - river of darkness
maj sjowall and per wahloo - rosanna
maj sjowall and per wahloo - the man who went up in smoke
maj sjowall and per wahloo - the man on the balcony
garth stein - the art of racing in the rain

Tactile-Kinesthetic Learner

I've been experimenting with crochet and having a heck of a time with following the instructions. They aren't difficult, but I'm just stubborn and want to figure it all out on my own. I can do the first round with no problem. In the 2nd round, I get lost in the pattern and give up, ripping it all out. A friend of mine pointed me to Sew Mama Sew's post on the various types of learning styles. My crochet experience just made sense! I am a Tactile-Kinesthetic learner, meaning I like to jump in and experiment. My weak spot is that I don't fully understand the instructions before I just dive in.
Will this work for crochet? Not sure, but I'm going to keep on trying :)

updates

March has flown by. Before I know it, we will all be bracing for the 100 degree days of a North Carolina summer. That isn't all bad though. I can knit and read while the AC is blasting at 68 degrees :).

Throughout the month, I've been knitting here and there. I'm still working on the Icarus shawl which I desperately want to finish at this point. It's quite beautiful in all of its Malabrigo Lace glory.

I also managed to whip out the Sunday Market Shawl. The yarn came from Mum Rector and is Malabrigo. I love going back to basics. The shawl was knit in stockinette and then stitches were dropped to create the lace effect. What a great pattern!

I've also been reading. I've read 16 books out of my 52 for the year. I think I'm making good progress. Books for this month include:

Water for Elephants by Sarah Greun, an excellent novel!
Mademoiselle Boleyn by Robin Maxwell, a somewhat trashy fictional account of the life of Anne Boleyn
Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie, a typical Christie novel set in Jordan

52 books, 52 weeks

So, I didn't make as much progress in February, but it's a short month right? :)

Cod, a Biography of the Fish that Changed the World
Temporary Sanity: A Crime Novel
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

maine morning mitts

Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts
Yarn: Malabrigo Twist (luxurious & just wonderful!!!)

Sorbet

This hat reminds me of Sorbet, raspberry to be exact :)
Pattern: Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns
Yarn: Leftover Briar Rose Fourth of July
Rav Link

Baroness Beret

Pattern: Baroness Beret (rav link)
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash

52 books, 52 weeks update

January books! On to February!
> The Lovely Bones (100%)
> The Sweet Hearafter (100%)
> Salt, A World History (100%)
> Communicating Design (100%)
> Designing Interfaces (100%)

rising meadown farm handspun

About a year ago, my friend Pam bought me some luxurious 100% Corriedale yarn from Rising Meadow Farm in Liberty, NC. I finally got around to winding it up and knitting it into something. Since I only used 1 skein and have 1 left, I plan to make some matching mittens and a hat at some point. This pattern, from the Yarn Harlot, is super simple and fun to make. Hmmm... Maybe I can convert the pattern into the round and use it for a hat...

52 books, 52 weeks

As you'll recall I tried the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge last year and unfortunately didn't make it all of the way though. This year I'm determined to meet the 52 books target!
So here goes with January reads and goals (both pleasure and work reading):

100 Years of Solitude (80%) 3 out of 5 stars
Designing Interfaces (100%) 3 out of 5 stars
The Sweet Hearafter (90%) 4.5 out of 5 stars
Designing Web Navigation: Optimizing the User Experience (90%) 4 out of 5 stars
The Lovely Bones (haven't started it yet)

new socks, new year

The hubby's yearly socks are done!

Yarn: Mission Falls Superwash Merino
Needles: Size 3
Size: Size 12 foot!
Started: December 29th
Finished: January 1

welcome 2010

Dear 2009, I was so glad to see you go. The past year was tough on so many levels. I know some others are feeling the same way. Last night I raised a toast to 2010 and to the new decade! May everyone I know have a better year and may all of your knitting dreams come true :)

Typically I don't make resolutions,, but decided that this year I'm going to really try and use up all of my stash before buying anything new. The stash has grown so much that I can't even remember what I have anymore - ridiculous. Of course this resolution didn't apply during the past week when the hubby and I traveled to my favorite yarn store in the Outer Banks, Knitting Addiction.

What a great store! We typically go there to buy the hubby some sock yarn (I'm partial to using Mission Falls DK Superwash for socks - so soft and snuggly). This time around the owner had a bunch of Lamb's pride on sale for 30% off! How could I resist? The New Year's resolution starts on New Year's day n'est pas?


Armed with my Mission Falls and Lamb's Pride, I'm off to knit the hubby some new socks and me a new sweater. I'm also getting ready to enjoy the last 2 days of our annual Outer Banks vacation. Again, welcome 2010 and happy new year to all of you readers out there. May you have a good one!