No Knitting but lots of Pictures

Stupid me, I took my camera on our trip to Oregon to visit family but didn't bring it out until the last day. I missed taking pictures of the girls with their grandparents (my mom and dad) and my aunt.

I did however remember to snap a few pics of the girls with their great granny Ruby.

I snapped a few photos along the way (mostly in the car going down the road). We were wanting to get home and didn't want to make many stops.

This first one cracked me up.

I took it when we stopped at Fairchild AFB, WA to stay the night on the way to Oregon. We stayed in a pet friendly TLF (temporary lodging facility) and they gave use sheets to put on the couch to keep the pet hair, drool etc off the couch. Apparently someone missed the n in friendly.

This is a picture of the tree farm that was along the road near Hermiston, Oregon.

As you can see in the photo the trees (on the right hand side of the photo) go on and on. We estimated that it runs along 5 miles of I-84 and it goes back away from the interstate as far as the eye can see. It's kind of neat to see where new trees have been planted and how small they are compared to the ones that are close to being cut down.

The girls got a kick out of going over the Pioneer Memorial "Blue" bridge that connects Kennewick, WA to Pasco WA.

You can see some better shots on this website.

The girls enjoying their Starbucks.

Well Bree is enjoying a small cup of whipped cream. I don't think she's quite ready to have her own Frapp. She was very proud of her Starbucks. We programmed our Tom-Tom GPS (which is now lovingly called Tom) unit to make a noise whenever we were near a Starbucks. Boy did that thing go crazy when we were in Spokane, WA. I'm beginning to wonder how in the world we have lived with out our Tom. There several places along the way that weren't marked very well and the only reason we stayed on course and didn't get lost was because Tom told us where we needed to go.

We passed a correctional facility in Connell, WA.

The thing that makes this place stick out in my mind was because of the signs posted on the side of the interstate telling you not to pick up hitchhikers. Well duh! Common sense dictates that you should never pick up hitchhikers, specially when they are near a prison. No hitchhikers were seen when we passed through. ;~)

Here's a shot of the girls playing with their goodies after a trip to Build-A-Bear Workshop (BABW) when we stopped to stay the night at Fairchild AFB, WA.

We actually made two trips to BABW. The first trip was with my parents and we went to the one in Eugene, OR where they built their bunnies....yes I forgot my damn camera. We stopped at the Spokane Valley Mall on the way back to let them pick out a few things since we made it to Spokane early. They were so excited about getting to go to BABW. Oh man to be able to shop in Spokane, WA. They have a real mall in Spokane....it's huge! The drawback is the state sales tax....ouch, it's over 8%. I've kinda gotten use to no sales tax here in Montana. The huge bonus at Fairchild is that the base has a Starbucks....Yup, I have my priorities straight.

This is the friggin' kitchen in the house we stayed at on Fairchild AFB.

Man I wished I had a kitchen this big. Mine is a lot smaller and has a bunch of cabinets that are completely worthless because you can't reach the shelves. Two people can actually stand in this kitchen without bumping in to each other constantly.

Welcome to Idaho!

Man I can't wait to see this sign when Shawn finally retires from the Air Force. We are actually adding Coeur d'Alene, ID as one of the spots to move back to when Shawn retires. It's only about 30 miles from Spokane so there is big city culture without having to live in the big city. Plus who wouldn't want to live near a lake and be surrounded by trees.

My obligatory Welcome to Montana shot.

We were happy to see this sign since it meant we were getting closer to our destination.

We were merrily driving down I-90 working our way to US Route 12 when we see this big green sign with a bull on it advertising for the Te$tic!e Festival (trying to avoid spam on this post.) I can honestly say I've never heard of this one. I bout spit my soda across the dashboard of the car. Shawn and I had a good laugh over this billboard. I'm still kicking myself in the butt for not getting a picture of that billboard. Seriously, there should be a sign saying "warning for all bloggers funny billboard or sign ahead". If you want to see the billboard they have it out on their website.

A wicked view coming down out of MacDonald Pass on US Route 12...yes that's snow on the ground.

There was still a little bit of snow up on the sides of the pass from the snow storm that came through after we left. MacDonald pass is like 6320 feet and the scenic view is definitely scenic. Wow that is high up. It was high enough that my happy little butt did not want to get out of the car to get a panoramic shot. Just sitting there in the car gave me the heebee jeebees. So I snapped a few shots in the car and told Shawn to keep driving. Yes, I know my fear of heights is irrational but aren't most fears and phobias?

Hope you guys liked my abbreviated tour of four states. I'll be back in a few days to post about my knitting and some goodies I received while I was gone. Sadly I never got to visit the local yarn shops which was a big disappointment but we were pretty busy the whole time we were gone.

A Little Knitting

Dear architects,

Could you please rethink the design of homes and take note that my coat closet size bathroom does not need a heater vent. Nor does my bathroom sized walk in closet for that matter. My clothes could care less if they are hot or cold and I really hate it when I'm taking a shower and the heater/AC kicks on and pushes the shower curtain in....very annoying! Isn't it sad that my walk in closet is almost 3 times bigger then the tiny little room they claim is a master bathroom?

Thanks,

Luvs2knit

I would love to know what the architect was smokin' when he designed this house? There is tons of storage space but the fool couldn't give an extra 2-3 feet in the bathroom? Seriously!

Still no news on what's going on with our orders. Some people are saying that my arthritis is going to stop us from going to Germany. Others are saying it's not going to be a problem. Gotta love it when you can't get a definitive answer. We did find out that if we go to Germany our car insurance is going to shoot through the roof. It's going to be alike $138 per month and that doesn't include renters insurance. I guess you have to have higher coverage over there. It'll be off set by some of the bills we wont have over there. It'll all work out in the end but the price did make choke on my coffee.

I've been making progress on the knitting front and have managed to start a few projects but haven't finished anything major. Although the way I'm going I'll be finished with Kaity's sweater in no time at all.

First up is Kaity's sweater.

The pattern is Luna Trail Pullover (ravelry)(non ravelry) and the yarn is Dream in Color Classy, Punky Fucshia. I absolutely love knitting with Classy but hate, hate, hate winding it up. The yarn is so squishy and springy that it doesn't wind very well....at least not for me. I've wound 4 skeins of this yarn so far and every single one of them has given me fits. That being said it won't stop me from using it again.

New socks for me, yippy!

Oh wait just about every pair of socks are knit for myself. Oh how selfish I am! These are the Mallow Sock pattern (ravelry)(non ravelry). The yarn is Frog Creek Fibers Ebullient in the Raspberries and Chocolate colorway. The yarn is soft and has a nice tight, twist. It's going on my list of yarns I'll buy again. I'd like to try some of their other base yarns.

New on the go socks.

My basic toe up sock pattern with a turkish cast one. I'll probably knit a short row heel and a stockinette leg and to change things up a little I think I'm going to knit a picot cuff. Easy socks, perfect for car knitting.

The 1 Sept Monthly Dishcloth KAL cloth.

Basic ABC cloth done in Red Peaches and Creme. I haven't found the link for this pattern so no link for this one.

Some yummy String Theory Caper sock now lives in my stash.

I placed an order from TLE a few weeks ago to order the Namaste small clutch to match my Laguna bag. I wanted something for quick trips to the store. Since I was ordering I decided to go for free shipping. I couldn't have my Namaste bag all alone in the box now could I. I ordered a skein of String Theory Caper sock in the Black Cherry colorway and a couple of sock patterns.

Look at what Shawn came home with for me.

A drying rack for my socks. He noticed that hanging up all the socks on hangers was a pain in the butt so one night while he was out at Wally World he found this and picked it up. The drying rack is huge. I'm around 5' 8" give or take a smidge and the rack is up to my shoulders. It has all but a few pair of socks on there and without Bree's sweater I could probably have fit ever pair of handknit socks that I have for Kaity and I.

We're on our way to Oregon to visit with my family. I started this post at home but am finishing it up here in Spokane, WA. We're staying the night at Fairchild AFB. TLF (military hotel for families) is a lot nicer here. Big rooms and just way nicer all around. Wished we would have had this much room when we were stuck in TLF in Montana for over a month. We're getting the visiting in now just in case we do go to Germany because chances are once I get over there we won't be able to visit with family. The plane tickets are just to much money. Not to mention passports and visas. As it is it looks like we're going to have to shell out over $400 on passports to be able to travel around while we are there. If we don't pay for the passports we won't be able to leave the country. Well if I'm going to be stuck over there I'm damn sure going to travel to other countries. The government pays for traveling passports for the girls and I to get to Germany but that is all they are good for. Sucks I know! If they're going to send us over there the least they could do is give us full fledged passports to travel with.

I'll be back for another post after we get home from our trip. Till then...Happy Crafting!

Some Knittin' Goin' On

Dear UPS,

Please, please, please don't fail me today. My daughter is counting on you to bring her a special package. In the past you have been untrustworthy to me. Telling me you were going to bring me my goods and then letting me know that the goods were delayed and I'd have to wait another day or too. This should not be done to a person when it's late at night and a person is feeling down because they didn't get their package fix. Please don't let me down today! I beg you because if you do I will be sending a very disappointed 8 year old to you so you can hear her cry.

Thank You,

Luvs2knit Family

Kaity is excited because UPS tracking is showing that her American Girl doll is here and out for delivery. Yes it was a splurge and a very special treat for Kaity. Yes yes yes I know that they are expensive and no we are not crazy for buying her the doll. I wouldn't scoff at you for buying a skein of Qiviut now would I.

For the past two weeks we've heard nothing but "is my doll here yet?", "I can't wait to see Chrissa!", "mom can you check the tracking to see if Chrissa is here yet?" "I can't wait till Chrissa is here so I can play at my friends house with her doll too! It's about to drive me insane. I swear on all that is holy if UPS changes the status to show that the package will be delivered on another day I'm going to scream so loud they will hear me in China!

The weather is still warmer then normal around here. I swear that it was only in the 60's and 70's Fahrenheit last year. I know it was a lot cooler in 2007 when we got here because we had to go buy warmer clothing because our stuff was still in storage. We've been hitting in to the 90's....that's just wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm getting back in a regular routine now that
Kaity is in school. I'm starting to adjust to the fact that we are moving to Germany though we are pushing for the date to be moved to May 2010. We still have to be medically cleared but that will take some time yet and according to a lot of people we've talked to my arthritis could cancel our orders. We should know more within the next month or so.

I
have managed to finish a few things and of course start up a few more.
I just finished up another test knit for Woolgirl and am working on one for Madelinetosh.Here's a little teaser of what I'm working on.

It's a smallish project so it'll probably be done fairly quickly.

This is a test knit for Woolgirl.

I think this was from one of the Peanuts kits. The yarn is Curious Creek Fibers Serengeti and the colorway is called Happiness is. I loved all the cables and twists in this pattern. I really liked working with the yarn too.

First up are the Rapunzel's Braid Socks (ravelry).

I love love love these socks. They fit beautifully and the yarn (Zen Yarn
Garden Serenity sock) is so soft and squishy. I think I have one more
skein of Serenity sock in my stash so it's time to go buy some more.

The rainbow stripe Opal socks are finished.

I knit these with some Opal Brasil, #5001 from my stash. This is my basic
toe up pattern that I know by heart. No need for a paper pattern which
makes for perfect on the go socks.

Merletto Mitts (ravelry) for my mom.

I finally finished them. They are a quick knit (when I actually work on
them). It took me less then two days of knitting to make both mitts. It
took me so long because I kept getting side tracked by other projects.

I've started & finished a sweater for Bree.

The pattern is Cookie Sweater (ravelry) from Miss Bea's Rainy
Day and the yarn is Dream in Color Classy, Visual Purple. Bree loves it
and is very proud of her new sweater.

Now to wait for it to cool down enough for her to wear it.

The Pearl-barred Scallop Scarf (ravelry)(non ravelry) is finished.

Well I'm done knitting it but lazy me I have yet to block it. That's on the
agenda for tomorrow. I hope to have it in the mail to the new owner by
the beginning of next week. I want to find some goodies to put in the
box. I have an idea of what I want so I'll pick it up this weekend.

New socks for Kaity.

She's worn these sock for the last 2 nights and I suspect she'll wear them again tonight. Worsted weight socks are such a quick knit. Kaity requested some new worsted
weight socks to wear to bed so I dug out the scraps of Cascade 220 and started knitting. These are a basic toe up sock with a heel flap. Nothing fancy and a fairly quick knit since I used worsted weight wool. I planning on knitting her several pair out of whatever worsted weight yarn I can dig out of my stash. I really should knit these with some superwash yarn to make it easier on me when they need to be washed. Guess I'd better go digging through my stash.

I'm moving right along on moms Whispering Pines Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry).

I can't wait to get this blocked out. I'm just about through with Section G.

The most absolute gorgeous color of sock yarn from Madelinetosh.

I picked this up from Woolgirl. The colorway is called Tart and I'd love
love love to have this dyed up in Tosh Worsted for a sweater. Might have to save up some money and see if Amy will custom dye the yarn for me.

JulieSpins MCN sock yarn.

I picked this up from a Ravelry destasher. The color is Dark Peony and the yarn is completely petable. Now to find the perfect pattern for this yarn.

Self striping sock yarn from Fireweed Dyeworks.

I'm still on my self striping sock yarn kick. I'll probably wind this up and knit it for my next "on the go" sock project. The dyer was great to deal with and shipped the yarn out quickly. She even dropped me an email to let me know that she had shipped it.

I picked up a couple of skeins of Tosh Merino to try.

I picked these up from Madelinetosh's etsy shop. I'm planning a cowl and hat, maybe some fingerless mitts too. The colorway
is called Ophelia and this yarn is so delightfully soft. I could totally imagine a cardigan made out of this yarn.

I pre-ordered a skein of yarn from Frog Creek Fibers awhile back....I think it was right before Sock Summit.

I received it in the mail last week and absolutely fell in love. The color is even prettier in person. The colorway is called Raspberries and chocolate.

A Spin-It Kit from Yarn Pirates etsy shop.

This kit has 4 ozs of Shetland wool dyed in 4 different colors, 1oz of each color. I have no idea how or what I'm going to spin this for but I thought it was a cool idea and isn't roving like sock yarn...you can never have enough?

My Sept shipment from the Artwalk Fiber Club came in last week. You can see it here. The fiber is so soft.

I received my Angel package from a swap that had gone wrong.

My TLE swap partner flaked out on me at the last moment but my wonderful angels more then made up for the flaking. They spoiled me rotten and even threw in some goodies for the girls. The cool thing is the skein of Trekking I received is the same color and dyelot as the skein I bought a long time ago. What are the odds of that happening? So now I have two matching skeins. I do believe this yarn is destined to become knee highs for me.

I did cave on the no more buying yarn before we move rule I had started. In my defense I only purchase one skein of yarn and it was to help meet the free shipping from The Loopy Ewe. I picked up the small clutch that matches my peacock Laguna bag that Shawn and the girls got me for Christmas. I picked up a few patterns I've been wanting and a skein of String Theory Caper. It should be here tomorrow.

Well that sums up my post for now.

Happy Crafting!

We Are Moving!

We just found out that we're moving again. I guess the military is making up for the 9 years they didn't move us when we were in Idaho. Well I should take that back, Shawn went to Korea two years after we got to Idaho and came back and we spent another 6 years there before moving up here. So I spent 9 years in Idaho Shawn only got 8 years. We've been here exactly two years and anyone who knows how the Air Force works will know that our orders are not stateside. We'll be leaving for Mannheim Germany in Jan 2010....maybe a few months later then that if Shawn can get it pushed back. It's an Army Garrison which has an Air Force detachment on it because of AFN (American Forces Network) which Shawn's job will be to keep the system maintained and running correctly.

The decisions to make, what to take, what to store, what to sell, have been running through my mind since we found out. The only thing I know for sure is we're taking the kids, the yarn, and the dogs. Well only one of the dogs. We're not sure what we're going to do about Shadow. She's getting up there in age and having problems with her hips and stairs. I love her dearly and I don't know if I want to put her through that long move on a plane and then having to go up and down stairs several times a day because the housing over there is apartment type housing with several levels and no yards. I just need to find someone reliable who will love her and take care of her.

I spent the first two days completely in shock and freaked out. I'm not a person who handles change very well and when my routines are messed up it drives me crazy. It's worrying about the unknown that tends to get me upset. Now that things have sunk in and I've found out a few things I'm feeling better about this move and am actually looking forward to it. I'm not looking forward to the non air conditioned apartment living but I can live with it. Basically I'm looking at it as a 3 year long vacation to Europe that Uncle Sam is paying for. Shawn's job will be a lot easier and waaaaaay less stressful. He'll have more time to spend with us as a family which means more time to get of the base and do stuff. It's an opportunity of a lifetime for all of us to see the world and other cultures. I am part German after all so why not check out where part of my family came from. Plus if we get really homesick we can go to Ramstein AB which has a Chili's. They also opened up a Macaroni Grill not that long ago. I bout fell out of my chair laughing when I seen that there was a Chili's over there. It's one of Bree's favorite places to eat.

The good news is after some research we found that our computers, printers, tv, Wii, Sonicare toothbrushes, and Kaity's Nintendo DS are all able to run on 220V with new power cords. The US runs on 110V while Germany runs on 220V so some of our things won't run and will have to be replaced when we get there like our coffee pot, crockpot, etc. If you're curious about the types of power around the world Wikipedia has a listing. My Kindle will charge via USB and although I can't download using the wireless Sprint network I'll be able to buy the books on Amazon's site, download the file to my computer and drag it to my Kindle. Takes a little bit longer but hey if I can still use my Kindle I'm happy. Same goes for my iPod, it charges via USB so I'm set and ready to go. As long as I have my tech gear I'm happy. From what I understand we'll also have cable modem internet that we can purchase through the local German cable company.

At least the major things will be able to go with us. They have laundry rooms for the apartment complexes so we'll probably sell the washer and dryer instead of storing them. Three years is a long time to store that kind of stuff and I had planned on a new washer and dryer when Shawn retires anyway. I may have to downsize my stash a little bit but will do that as it gets a little closer to moving day. I might surprise myself and whittle down my stash enough that I won't have to worry about it. I have decided that I won't be buying anymore for now so the only stuff that will come in is club yarn and fiber.

I'll be back in a few days with a knitting related post. I just wanted to share the news with all my blogland friends.

Stunning Lack of Progress

Ok, so maybe I have been making progress on some things. Of course those things must remain secret for awhile yet. I finished one test knit for Woolgirl about 2 weeks ago which I've absolutely fell in love with and I'm working on another one right now that is really cool. Sorry I can't show them to you but I can show you the ones I knit up for Woolgirl and Miss Babs for Sock Summit.

The first knit was a sock.

It's a new entrelac sock pattern called Choix Entrelac Sock which should have been available for purchase at Sock Summit in Miss Babs booth. If I remember correctly Woolgirl has announced on her blog that she will be getting this pattern in her shop. I really want to make a pair for myself. It's just enough entrelac to add interest without doing the whole cuff entrelac and making it impossible to get on your foot. I found it easier to work the entrelac portion on my trusty dpns then moved to my circular needle after I finished.

The second knit was a caplet.

The pattern is In the Garden (ravelry)(non ravelry). This is knit in the round from the top down and was a very pleasant knit. I used Miss Babs yummy sock and the color is Merlot.

I have managed to finish a few small things and I have two pair of socks that aren't far from being finished. I really need to kick it in gear and work Shawn's sweater. I'm planning that as one of the projects I work on while he's gone in Sept and Oct for schooling.

Thank You cloth (ravelry)(non ravelry)

This one was the 1 Aug KAL cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL.

"Have no clue what it's name is so there is no link" dishcloth

This was the 16 Aug KAL cloth for the Monthly Dishcloth KAL. I've been trying to knit all the cloths for this year. So far, so good I've stuck with it. If I've made it this far I'll make it to the end.

Rapunzel's Braid Socks (ravelry)

This pattern is actually a top down sock pattern but I'm working it toe up because I prefer working toe up pattern for socks I'm knitting two at a time. I worked a short row heel and I've left the cabled pattern off the back of the leg because it was making the sock too small for my foot and going up a needle size made the cables look sloppy. I'm really enjoying these socks which I could attribute to the cables or the sock yarn which is Zen Yarn Garden's Serenity sock. Deliciously soft squishy sock yarn. It's a merino/cashmere/nylon blend. This colorway is from the Woolgirl sock club. I picked it up from someone who was destashing it.

My "on the go socks" are just about finished.

Just a few more inches on the leg before starting the ribbing. The yarn is Opal Brasil, color 5001. I picked it up cheap from someone destashing it quite some time back. It's been sitting in my stash just waiting to be knit. This colorway is such a happy color. The stripes are so bright and cheery.

The Whispering Pines Shawl (ravelry)(non ravelry) is moving right along.

The color is off since I took this picture indoors. I've been working on my moms shawl and have managed to get part way through section C of the pattern. This is a very enjoyable knit and so far I've managed to remain mistake free (knock on wood) which is rather shocking. Normally by now I've had to rip back several rows because of a mistake. I've knit several patterns from Knitspot and have yet to find one I didn't like. Her patterns are so well written.

I picked up some JulieSpins MCN 560 from a Ravelry destasher.

I can see why people go "gaa gaa" over her yarn. It is very nice and the colors are beautiful. This is 560 yards of light fingering weight yarn in the Iris colorway. I'm not sure if this will be socks or if I'll make a shawl or scarf out of it. I haven't made up my mind yet so it'll just let it marinate in my stash for now.

I received some Zen Yarn Garden Bamboolicious in a Ravelry trade.

Someone was looking for Koigu for a blanket so I swapped some of mine for the bamboolicious. The colorway is Dublin Bay which I'm pretty sure is the colorway ZYG dyed for the shop Dublin Bay Knitting Company.

I have a spinning project on the wheel right now.

This is the start of some very delicious merino silk roving from the August shipment of the Artwalk Fiber Club from Zen Yarn Garden. You can see the roving here. I've been trying to spin for at least 30 minutes every day but there have been a few days where I haven't been able to spin. My goal is to Navajo ply this. I'll be re-upping this club in Nov and if all goes well I'll go for the 8oz option for more fiber.

I finally got my hands on some Pony Bead lacing for my wheel. I've had a heck of a time finding it from a place that has a reasonable shipping charge. This stuff is nowhere to be found here in town. Michaels & JoAnn's both carry the flat lacing which is not what I wanted. Everyone keeps telling me to go to Hobby Lobby. Well my nearest Hobby Lobby is in Billings which is like a 4 hour drive so that's out. I absolutely hate buying a $3 item and then being told I have to pay $6 to ship said item. I picked mine up from this ebay seller. The 5 yard hanks for $2.49 are the tubed lacing with the connectors. They shipped the stuff out first class mail and I had it in a few days. Just thought I'd share this store with anyone who may be having a hard time finding this stuff. No affiliation, just a happy buyer.

I'll leave you all with this shot of Bree enjoying her big birthday gift.

I had to wait till the first of Aug to order it so it's a little late for her b-day but she didn't seem to mind. It's the Naturally Playful Big Folding Slide by Step 2. I picked mine up through Amazon and got free shipping. I could have picked the slide up cheaper at a few other places but once they started tacking on the shipping costs and over sized fee it was crazy and way more then what Amazon wanted. One place wanted like $90 for the slide but then they wanted to charge me another $60 for shipping. It's not that heavy nor was the box that big. All the hassle was worth it to see her go down the slide continuously for like 45 minutes. This will definitely come in handy this winter when it's too cold to go outside to play.

Well that sums up our irregularly scheduled blog post. I'll be back soon, hopefully with some FO's to show you all.

Happy Crafting!

FO's and Yummy Goodies!

Things have been pretty busy here. I try to stay busy since it keeps me out of trouble. It's almost time for the kiddo to go back to school....woohoo! I'm ready to have a little peace and quiet here in the house. The girls normally play well together but when they're around each other for to long they fight a lot. Kaity has a bad habit of bossing Bree and that just pisses Bree off.

I finished my "on the go" socks.

These are a basic toe up sock using a turkish cast on. The yarn is Paton's Kroy self striping sock yarn and they don't match because there was a knot in on of the skeins that reversed the pattern. I really hate yarn companies that do that. It's cheap sock yarn so I'm not over mad about it. Non matchy matchy socks don't bother me so it's all good.

I also finished my On-Hold socks (ravelry).

The yarn is Madelinetosh sock, color: Cherry. The picture is so so. It's hit or miss with the sun around here. We've been getting thunderstorms in the afternoons and although most of the storms pass us by without so much as a drop of rain we still get all the lovely cloud cover.

I have a few more skeins of handspun to show off.

First up is a skein of yummy purple yarn.

I used Zen Yarn Garden Merino/Seacell roving. This stuff is seriously sooooooooft. Very smooth and a little slick to spin but wasn't to bad once I got the hang of it. I'm definitely going to be buying more of this fiber type...yum. This one will soon become a cowl for me.

Next up is the last two skein I finished.

The one on the left is BFL roving from Zen Yarn Garden and the colors remind me of candied caramel apples. If I figured this correct I have around 278 yards of sport weight yarn though there are a few spots through out that are a little bit thicker or thinner then sport weight. I'm going to try for a pair of socks out of this.

The skein on the right is superwash merino from Yarn Pirate in the Rosie colorway. I purchased mine at TLE but they're out of stock right now. I know Yarn Pirate also sells her roving through her etsy shop but she hasn't stocked the shop yet. This one is a thick and thin worsted/bulky yarn. Kaity has already claimed this one as her own. She's requested a cowl out of it. She's also a converted scarf user. All she asks for are cowls after the one I made her last year.

My Pearl-barred Scallop Scarf (ravelry)(non ravelry).

It doesn't look like much but when the pattern is blocked out it's a really pretty lacy scarf. I'm making this for a friend. I wasn't going to post about it since the friend in question reads the blog but then it dawned on me (yes my brain works slowly most of the time) that said friend doesn't know he/she will be receiving this so I can post all the pics I want. I have about 20 inches of scarf so far. The yarn is Malabrigo sock, color Impressionist Sky. I have the pattern memorized so I've been zipping right along on this one. Fingers crossed that friend will like it.

I also started two pair of socks but haven't taken any progress photos. I'll try to get pics for the next blog post.

I managed to snag this yummy JulieSpins fiber from someone who was destashing it.

It's Merino/Seacell in pretty pinks. Normally I'm not much of a pink person but I really liked the way this one looked. I've heard her sock yarn is super yummy but I'm just not in to stalking sites for yarn anymore. If I can't buying it without fighting other people for it, I don't want it.

I did some destashing so I could restash. I know that for some this makes sense and others think that I'm insane. It makes me happy and it's not hurting anyone so who cares. It's my only habit since I quit smoking. It's either stash or smoke. I think I'll stick with stashing since it's much healthier. If you have a snarky comment about my stash keep it to yourself because you will get no response from me. I ignore people who spread stupid.

I ordered The Loopy Ewe's 3rd anniversary kit.

I'm a sucker for coffee mugs and I really liked this Lorna's Laces colorway so I bought it. I'm actually sipping coffee from the mug as I type this.

I purchase this yarn from Eat.Sleep.Knit.

This is a really nice shop. I've been branching out and looking for other online shops to buy from. Not because I'm unhappy with the ones I shop from but because I want some yarn variety other then sock yarn plus I'm always looking for shops that carry roving. I'll definitely be going back to this shop. The cool thing is you get these lotto scratch cards that you can win things from like store credit, kits, yarn, etc. The two purple skeins are Malabrigo Silky Merino, colorway Blackberry, which will soon become a moebius cowl (ravelry)(non ravelry). The other skein is Yarn Love Anne Shirley in the Summer Sangria colorway which will most likely become a cowl and a pair of fingerless mitts if I have enough leftover.

I picked up this skein of yarn from Sonny and Shear.

It picked it up with a 40% off coupon that came off of already clearance yarn prices. It is such a bright cheery colorway though I have no idea what I'll make with it. I have a few patterns that I think will work quite nicely.

My August shipment from LOTR sock club. The club was renamed to Lord of the Strings but I just don't care for the name and just can't use it. It sounds goofy.....well maybe that's just my craziness coming out again. This of course did not stop me from joining in on round 2 of the club.

Picked up some Arucania Nature Wool Multi.

It was on sale at WEBS so I picked it up to knit Mara (ravelry)(non ravelry - this is a direct pdf link). I want one of my own and although I'd love to knit one it Tosh worsted I can't really afford 3-4 skeins right now. I do have plans to make one in Tosh worsted later on but I want one now because winter is going to be here before I know it and I need something warm to snuggle under.

I just finished a test knit for Woolgirl. I have a few samples that I'll post about next time. I have one I can show you here in a few more weeks and one that I'm going to be starting here in the next few days when I get it in the mail.

I'm holding out on starting another spinning project since my Spin Art Fiber club (from Zen Yarn Garden) has shipped. The fiber club is closed but will reopen in 3 months. I really want to start that when it gets here. I need to buy a few more bobbins for my wheel. I've come to the stunning revelation that 4 bobbins are not enough. I'm hoping to upgrade to the sliding hook flyer for my Traveller soon. I don't mind stopping to move my yarn since it gives me a change to stretch and give my legs a break.

I think that covers everything for now.

Happy Crafting!

And the Winner Is.......

Alex! I've emailed Alex to let her know she's the lucky winner.

For those who are curious about how I picked the winner:

I've been putting name/email on a excel sheet....no I will not be selling your email addresses and will delete the excel sheet when the winner has claimed her prize. When I ended the contest late last night I randomly assigned everyone a number from 1-49 next to their name. Then this evening I went to a random number generator online and had it spit out a number. The lucky number was 37 and when I opened the excel sheet I saw that it was located next to Alex's name.

Holy Cow! Do I know how to complicate things or what? ;~)

And yes I now realize I ended the contest a day early I goofed and messed up the dates.

A great big thank you to all who joined in on the fun!