Grab your knitting needles and come relax with me.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Completion and Aquistition
Lot's to post about today! It's funny how things work out...I have days where I have no knitting to blog about and then I have days that are so full of knitty bloggy goodness, that conceivably I could stretch it out into three blog posts. Much like the weather here in S. Texas: it either rains A LOT or not at ALL. (We just had a long, long period of Not At All and we've had a few days of beautiful GLORIOUS rain).
FIRST: I finished the Twirly Skirt yesterday!!! Woot!!!
It took me five days to hem the skirt...and I finished the skirt itself in under a month. NOT five months like my husband suggested; not even the month or two I estimated! Lorelei is a great motivator--she would not let me knit other projects. "Why aren't you knitting my skirt Mommy?!"
As you can see it twirls brilliantly. Lorelei had lot's of fun modeling her new skirt. And within an hour I had to take it off of her and wash the strawberry stains off of it--thank dia it's cotton! I am just glad I removed it before she got into the chocolate ice cream!!!
Notes: The pattern is sadly only available on Ravelry. Because I used a thicker, heavier yarn I knitted the size 2 with size 6 length (Lori wanted a longer skirt). Yarn: 5 balls of I Love This Cotton. Needles: I magic looped this with 60 inch circs in size 6
Friday, Jamey told me he had a surprise for me. Woot-I like surprises, but I hate guessing out loud (weird? me? Never!), so I sat silently in the car quiet pondering. We were headed east--centrally toward YARNIVORE!! Woot! My surprise was a trip the yarn shop (sometimes it's like pulling teeth to persuade Jamey to take my yarn shopping). So I get to the shop (run in more like it) and survey the shop--let the hunt BEGIN. Tammy changed the layout since I was in the shop last--so I hunt for my favourite yarns, the laceweight, the sock yarn and the silk...OH and I spy a giant HEAP of Dream in Colour Smooshy!! Freshly arrived! I was very good and did not roll around in it like I wanted to.
BUT.
THAT.WAS.NOT.THE.SURPRISE.
The surprise was this:
He stood in front of Tammy and her counter--gave her a wink and she pulled out the books!!!! Those two sneakers!!!
I had asked Tammy a week or two ago if she could order the first 2 Barbara Walker Treasuries for me--it was my reward to myself for being published in Knitty. Unbeknown to me: Jamey had emailed her TWO HOURS prior to ask her the very same thing with a caveat, Do Not Tell Birdy. So Tammy, dying, has to tell me that she already did her book order and can't order them for another few weeks. (I was totally cool with that...I am patient). So of course I was completely and utterly surprised and of course thrilled beyond words. I have the coolest LYS owner/friend and hubby!!
Now, none of that Smooshy came home with me because none of the colours really spoke to me and screamed to go home with me. But I did rescue two skeins of the softest, silkiest yarn.
It's Sugar Rush by Queensland Collection: 100% sugar cane! It is amazingly soft, with great stitch definition. This yarn has a scarf in it's future (using ma brand new books, I have three motifs picked out).
So that was Friday and Saturday! I did have a pot luck Saturday night, but I will save that for tomorrow. (Read: I still need to free the pics from my camera and edit and...don't wanna do that right now)
This past Saturday Anne and I got to do one of our favourite things: show out of town knitters the yarny sights. Since most of the gals visiting San Antonio, stay downtown, we always take them to the Blue Star Brewery. They have homemade root beer. And terrific chicken fried steak.
Then we went to the new Yarn Barn location. (The shop lost its lease and was sold to the lovely Lisa about 6 months ago). I love the new shop. It's a lovely, cozy house.
I really love their new signage; it's so cute.
It's a cozy, multiple room shop. They kept their needlework room--it's got a table for work as well. A knitting table is in a far back room...surrounded by windows. I am looking forward to spending time there.
And yes, some yarn walked home with me.
front
back
I am envisioning a shield themed scarf. It's Handmaiden Sea Silk, and it is luxuriously soft. It should be; it's 70% silk, 30% seacell.
Next stop: Yarnivore. The kids played while I was seduced by this:
And this:
Although, I nearly hyperventilated when I saw Nancy Bush's Knitting Lace of Estonia. True knitting pr0n. Absolutely beautiful. Anne bought it--I am holding out for Christmas and or my birthday, hint hint!! Grin. It's gorgeous and FULL of nupps! Woot!
It was a fun way to spend a Saturday, full of knitterly goodness.
Life interrupted once again...I have also been extremely boring in the knit department. I am still working on sock and scarf. Although I am about to release a new pattern!! But I am waiting on my techie guy to create the shop page.
I am working on a new pattern, but I am submitting it so I can't show and tell...just say right now---it's going into fits and not cooperating. Grrr.
I have loads of knitting pictures--but I need to unload them still. Tomorrow!!
Tomorrow will be a busy day though. Eeek! Revise previous statement: Birdy WILL be a good girl and will release knit pictures for blog!!
I can never walk into a yarn store without leaving with some yarn, especially if it's empty and I am being talkative with the owner/clerk (it just seems wrong not to support the local business). On Friday we were checking out a new HEB (Alon Market place--Allons-y Alonso!!!) and Jamey just had to drop this gem: Do you know where we are? Looking around real quick: Aha! Yarnivore! I relieved a few balls of yarn from their clutches.
Look closer, ain't it GORGEOUS! (I do love Fall--the light is just wonderful for taking photos!!)
I think I'll be making another Samara Scarf. These were the last two balls and I had to have them. I may make a scarf as a gift or just gift the yarn and pattern to someone. So pretty.
On Saturday (which needs a post all it's own), I got some of this beauteous yarn from our yarn bob. I know it's superwash wool, but I am at a loss to figure out where it comes from (can't find it in Ravelry). Anyone here read German???
The yarn wants to be a pair of wrist warmers....it speaks to me.
My friend Lei Lani casually mentioned she had something for me--so keep an eye on the mail box. Well, I promptly forgot and my husband overlooked it in the incoming mail--and I found her envelope a week after she sent it. Then I remembered!
I love the cute little cat playing with yarn (thank god my cats completely ignore MY yarn). And inside:
I could have cried, it is the sweetest most un-silly thing any one has ever done.
I was horribly disappointed I couldn't go to the 1000 Knitters photo shot and meet Franklin (ya'll have to know by now that I desperately want to be famouz--grin). I was a mite disappointed only 67 showed--with this big state of knitters you would have though there were more knitters that weren't camera shy. I think there we many like me that just could not arrange it with their schedules. I WAS able to go to Austin 13 days later and see the art work Franklin left on the walls of The Knitting Nest.
I've been in a mood--since yesterday. I blame stress, my cycle, and aggravating words from a "friend." I vegged on Mother's Day--I wasn't even up to knitting. I forced my self to knit two rows on the swallowtail shawl. I have been neglecting that shawl shockingly.
Pfft.
This morning I decided to finally join Twitter [see red box on the side bar] (makes sense--I always have some silly small thing to say--why not broadcast that too). I may get a cell phone soon (yes I know one of the few people left in the free world to get one) and it'll be fun to blog from my cellphone.
A. and I took the kids to the Witte Museum--her son in law came too--so we got some knitting time in while he chased the kids. I am looking forward to some quiet knitting tonight. cross your fingers for me
We did stop by the Yarn Barn--eh, I am reserving finally judgment until they move to the new location this summer. I like the increased floor space, not crazy with the pattern storage (hidden away in binders) and yarn selection I am hoping will improve at the new locale, which will be on San Pedro, near Jackson Keller--it's going to take over a day care.
