Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Deadlines!

When I am on such a tight deadline....why oh why do I always suddenly find myself enthused about all the wrong things.  Instead of finishing the weaving projects I have going, the photos I need to get done for the patterns, the yarns that need dyed for the kits, etc.  I find myself suddenly obsessed with..........sock knitting machines.  I know, how strange is that?  Luckily I am not buying any just watching lots of YouTube videos and such.

I have got a bit done.  I finally blocked the Baah Shawl.  It is a really fun pattern by Michelle Miller of FickleKnitter fame.  I love her one-skein shawls.  I used Baah Yarn, La Jolla in Chocolate Latte.  It turned out great.  Here are a couple of pictures.  Better pictures will be posted ( probably on Ravelry ) when it's not rainy & dreary outside.


Love blocking wires!

Blocking works magic on lace shawls!








I spent a good 30 minutes searching for my blocking wires.  When I finally decided to just forget it & pin the crap out of it, I grabbed my Block n Roll Mat and imagine my surprise when the tube of blocking wires fell out of the center of the roll.
It's a great place to store the wires as long as you can
remember that you put them there.


In the midst of my push to get things ready for the Covered Bridge Festival....I decided I absolutely must practice my spinning.  So out came the wheel, which needed cleaned & oiled just so I could decide....  "No, I do not have time for this".
But it does look lovely now.










I have a scarf on the loom that I am determined to finish today.  The yarn to the side is the next one up. I am so in love with these scarves.  They are so soft and luxurious with subtle stripes provided by the Noro yarn. I wish the lighting in here could show you  how beautiful the colors are.



Well, time is flying by so check back soon to see what else I have accomplished in my deadline crafting.

And don't forget to visit me at the Bridge Fest!

Friday, September 28, 2012

New Focus?

So, here's the deal.  I seem to really suck at having to write about specific events.

This is obvious by how much I didn't write about over the summer. I could have told you all about the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, my daughters wedding & PhD ceremony, TNNA, family celebrations, the birth of a new grandbaby, designing, knitting, weaving, etc. Now I had no one telling me what I had to write.  I just thought that was the direction I wanted to go.  Apparently I was wrong.

Therefore, I think I am going to just start putting up random daily posts about whatever crosses my mind while I am typing.  That way ya'll can see just how wacky & crazy my daily life is....or how boring.



This image is pretty accurate on my feelings about cleaning.
So on with the show for today.

Today I cleaned and organized myself a bit.  











The annual Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County Indiana starts 2 weeks from today.  I have a booth there (behind the Fiber Closet, in Rockville).  So far I don't have that much to display/sell in it.  I need to put in some serious crafting time to be ready.  Today was about getting my self ready for the big push to get everything done.  I always say I work best under pressure.  We will see.

I hope to just post a little something everyday.  Maybe a bit of a countdown to the start of the festival.  Let me know if you are enjoying any of it.

It should be a fun time.

Gina

Ps.  You are NOT off the hook on all those  pictures & stories about my summer.  It's just that you will get to read them when that is what my mind is thinking about. But here are a couple of tidbits that were on my mind today.

Easy Peasy Mac & Cheese

Layer these in order in a 9x13 pan

2 cups of dry macaroni
1 stick of butter/oleo cut into pats
1 handful of mozzarella cheese
2 handfuls of shredded cojack cheese (or your favorite)
About 5 cups of milk

Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Perfection!!


Pictures of a recent lunch outing with Liam ( 1 yr old )

"Really Nana, We're at Steak & Shake & you gave me crackers??"




I will smile for chili & fries!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Summer Part 2

Next up I was at  The Fiber Event  along with Cheryl Moreo from the Fiber Closet.

The Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN is a favorite for me as it is close enough to drive home every evening. It's also usually the first bigger show where I can visit & catch up with other vendors to find out what they have been up to over the winter and what their new products are.  It's always fun to meet up with Carol Wagner of Hidden Valley Farm and her cohort.  This is also the first show where I have the opportunity to spend way, way too much money ( if that's possible ) while visiting with Kimber & Ellie.  Kimber is the owner of Fiber Optics Yarn & Kimber Baldwin Designs.  Her yarn comes in the most vibrant, exciting colors.  You have to see them in person to get the entire "retina searing" effect.

I also picked up a copy of "Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett from Kimber.  This is a wonderful picture book for children.  My granddaughter absolutely loves it.   We read it every time she visits.  It's a nice addition to any fiber person library whether you have children around or not.









The year the weather was pretty good for Indiana in the spring.  Just 1 quick shower.  No floods, snow, wind etc.  Nice change from recent years. The Fiber Event is a fairly large show.  It has three buildings of fibery fun, lots of interesting classes and a very nice mix of products.  This year I added KnitPicks needles & notions, dellaQ bags, Soak wash & Heel foot cream to my line of handwovens, hand knits and felted items.  This gives me a broader base for the shows where the average customer is more interested in making their own fiber crafts than purchasing ready made items.  It was a good show for us this year.  We plan to be back next year.  Look us up!

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Summer Review - A Visit with "The Yarn Harlot"

Sorry for the long delay.  I have been a wee bit ( tongue in cheek) distracted by my life.  Oh, where to start??  Let's just back up to the beginning of the summer.

Cheryl and I had the unexpected opportunity to take a class with the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  It was a full day class at Knitting Today in Wolcottville, IN.  Rather than leave at an ungodly time of the morning, we decided to drive up the day before.  We made a couple of yarn shop visits along the way.  Seriously, you know you all think that way...."How many yarn shops are between home & where I am traveling to?" First up was Knit Stop in Indianapolis.  This is a very large yet lovely & inviting store in the Clearwater Shoppes area.  While we were there we ran into Kate Larson from our SWIFT group.  It turns out she teaches there.  It's a small world we knitters live in.

We next traveled to Fort Wayne where we discovered Knitting Off Broadway. We had a nice time visiting this quaint shop run by a mother & daughter team.  Then it was on to Kendallville for dinner and finding a hotel.  We spent the evening searching Ravelry for patterns to complement the yarns we bought during the day.  Then it was an early turn-in so as to be fresh the next morning, which was the whole point of this day before trip.  Stop that laughing!  Really, it had nothing to do with buying more yarn.

Such Concentration!
The class we took was titled, "Knitting for Speed and Efficiency".  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with nice, slow, peaceful knitting.  I quite enjoy that at times.  However, to steal Cheryl's line...."It would be nice to finish something before I get bored & want to start 10 new things."  So perhaps a bit of speed is in order for me.  The morning session concentrated on the history of knitting, knitting as seen through art, various techniques through-out time,  So many things I had never really thought about.  A person as obsessed with knitting as I am should know much more about the subject than I do.

We broke for a lovely buffet lunch provided by Knitting Today owner, Lea-Ann McGregor then got busy in the afternoon learning different techniques to speed up your knitting whether you are a picker, thrower or lever knitter like Stephanie.  We had varying degrees of success.  Some knitters gained speed, others lost a bit while practicing new techniques and some were so completely over-whelmed they nearly forgot how to knit at all.  But after personal attention to each knitter from the talented instructor, everyone came away with so many tips and tricks that we can't help but be better knitters.

Stephanie recommends practicing a bit everyday to build your muscle memory.  This is good advice for any new technique whether knitting related or not.  I would suggest if you ever get a chance to take a class or attend a lecture with the Yarn Harlot that you not pass it up.  She is so very entertaining ( even when ill & hoarse from the dreaded plague). I can promise you a good time was had by all in attendance.  A special thank you goes out to Lea-Ann and her family for welcoming us to their delightful shop.



As a final note....at every stop on this trip I shopped for the perfect pattern & yarn for a special wedding gift.
More on that next time.


Happy (insert your favorite fiber art addiction here)!!

Regina

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Knit Circus Spring Retreat 2012 - Day Three

Sorry for the delay.  I wrote several posts & set them to publish on a schedule.  Didn't happen.  Probably operator error.  Happens a lot around here.  






DAY THREE

Today was my do anything, relaxing drive home day.  HA!  Never tempt the powers that be with a statement like that.

First up I visited Brennan's Market across the street from my hotel.  I wanted to pick up some lovely cheese & produce to take home with me.  Amy  (at least I think it was Amy) recommended their cheese that has grill marks on it?  Have to tell you....that one is delicious! After you warm it in the microwave for a few seconds....it sort of tastes just like the baked, gooey cheese on top of my homemade lasagna.  I picked up several goodies, including possibly the best oranges I have ever had & moved on to the next stop


....The Wisconsin Craft Market.  Oh my goodness....What a store!!  I do believe they have every color of Cascade there is.  I was quite overwhelmed.  It is worth the visit just for this, let alone all the other yarns, tools and supplies.






With an eye to the sky, I decided to start for home.  There were numerous reports of strong storms heading my way.  I hit the interstate heading south.  The radar looked ominous so I just kept driving.  I quickly learned not to watch the rear view mirror too closely.  Lightening & wickedness were right behind me.  I began to feel a sense of relief as I thought I was out running the storms.  I thought a quick visit to Sam's Club in Champaign would be fine.  I ran in got a couple things, came out and the world was green.  That eerie, creepy, calm green like some major bad mojo was about to descend on us.  Once again I was on the road and once again I was lucky enough to stay ahead of the storms.  

I cruised into the garage and made it to the house just as the rains began.  I think that was a first for me.  I outran the storm from Madison Wisconsin all the way to central Illiana, 315 miles!  Crazy luck huh.....hmm, I probably should have bought a lottery ticket.









Thursday, May 3, 2012

KnitCircus Spring Retreat 2012 - Day TWO


KnitCircus Spring Retreat 2012 - Day TWO

Class time.  I was up & ready without out needing any alarms.  Isn't that always the way it works?

Upon registration we each received a scrumptious swag bag filled with goodies including yarn.  Woohoo! Who doesn't love free yarn?





Stephannie, Amy & Jaala




First up was the Knitting an Entrelac Tam Class with Amy Detjen.  I have to say Amy is such fun.  If you ever get the chance to take a class or even just visit with her,  I highly recommend you jump at the chance.  She is so personable.  It is like jumping right into a discussion with an old friend you haven't seen in ages.  There is no awkward, getting acquainted stage. We share a love of purple, a whatever gets the job done attitude, and evidently a penchant for singing loudly in the car. The class was great,  everyone was excited to learn that elusive backwards knitting technique.  Here is a picture of my still unfinished tam



Autographed in PURPLE, of course!




I am also now the proud owner of Amy's new book - "Knitting With Two Colors by Meg Swansen & Amy Detjen". This is not a pattern book but a technique book.  Review to follow someday soon.








We broke for lunch & shopping.  There was a delightful little lunch served by the hotel.  Sandwiches, salads, some lovely local kettle chips, and an excellent chocolate dessert.  Not a one of those thing should I be eating but....it was a special weekend.  Sun Valley Fibers had a small booth set up.  We sort of overwhelmed her I do believe.  I scored a few skeins of her luscious yarn in beautiful colors.  One I have already given away but the other two I have projects in mind for.  I also bought one of her Yarn Buddies.  I have often wanted to try one & this seemed like a good chance.  I bought the single in a lovely darker wood.  Alas I have no clue what type of wood or color you would call it but here is a picture of it for those interested.
                         
 I knit a lot of lace & so far this is working out fantastic for keeping lace weight yarn nice & neat. I love that.  I am also thinking about getting the double to use for warping the smaller looms, and doing colorwork knitting.




My afternoon class was with Stephannie Tallent on Knitting Beaded Motifs.  What a delightful person!

 She had everyone feeling right at home & knitting our little beaded cuffs in no time.  Beads were flying across the tables & onto the floor but everyone had such fun.  She shared lots of designing tips.  We talked about her process for creating beaded works, writing, different needles and notions. She made sure each student got individual attention & no one left unsure of the techniques needed to add lovely beaded accents to your work using fair-isle motifs.
Small beaded cuff from class

No one seemed quite ready to call it a day so after a bit of chit chatting in the lobby. A few people made their way over to R.P. Adler's for dinner.  Everyone insisted I could not be in Wisconsin without trying the fried cheese curds & Spotted Cow beer.  Now I am not a beer drinker but I have to say, that was perhaps the BEST beer I have ever had.






  It was great to unwind from such a fun-filled day.  I made many new friends and everyone was encouraging and friendly in the way of knitters around the world.

The KnitCircus Retreat is certainly a great event.  If you ever find yourself able to work it into your busy schedule.  You should.  It is well worth the time & money.

PS.  I hear that Franklin is teaching at the Fall Retreat.  Keep an eye out for that.



Tune in tomorrow for my adventures in storm racing ( the opposite of storm chasing)

Peaceful Knitting Everyone!




Wednesday, May 2, 2012

KnitCircus Spring Retreat 2012 - Day ONE

A couple of weeks ago (that's how far behind I am on blogging)  I attended my very first KnitCircus Spring Retreat.in Madison Wisconsin.


I love listening to the KnitCircus Podcast with Jaala & Amy.  Since Madison is a fairly short drive from here in Central Illiana....I thought the time was right to check it out.

Day ONE

To start with, I attended by myself.  No friends, cohorts, knitting buddies, etc.  I can't believe how much I enjoyed the alone time.  I think I needed that.  I had a leisurely six hour drive up.  I stopped whenever I wanted, listened to my favorite guilty pleasure music, sang loudly & mostly off key all the way.  That by itself was quite fun.

Picture from www.knitandsip.com
I checked in to the hotel, freshened up & headed to The Sow's Ear to meet up with Jaala & her Retreat guest, Stephannie Tallent.  Stephannie shared her new book, California Revival Knits in its pdf form. (more on that later).  I met several of the local knitters, had a bit of dinner there.  I love the idea of a combo tea/sandwich shop and a yarn store.







While chatting with Stephannie I realized I missed an email about the class.  I had HOMEWORK!  This naturally meant I should purchase new yarn & needles for this.  Who cares that I travel with an entire arsenal of needles, notions, etc.  Doesn't everyone travel with a yarn swift & ball winder in the trunk of their car?


I purchased a set of ChiaGoo Circulars & some Alicia Goes Around Bison in a lovely shade of purple. Which I will tell you all about as soon as I find the ball band.  I seem to be cursed with ball band issues.  I have every band from every yarn I have ever used....however, I can never find it when I need it.  I hear there  is something called "organization" that helps with this problem.  I should give it a try sometime.
 ( I ended up not using this yarn for the cuff. It deserves it's own project.)


Then I headed back to the hotel with only a minor detour.  I really am not a fan of "round-abouts".  I felt like Chevy Chase in European Vacation.  I only went around a couple of times while trying to remember the name of the road I needed to get off on.  I guessed wrong and had to try it again.

Picture from CAltran


Back at the hotel I started the cuff for the class.  I will admit that the steel cable on the ChiaGoo Circs are not to my taste.  I am sure they have lots of fans (or they wouldn't still be making them) but I like a bit more flexibility in a cable.  Just my preference, not meant to be a criticism.  So I switched back to my KnitPicks dpns, whipped out a cuff, made an error somewhere along the way,  ribbing was off,  turns out I can't count, ripped that out & re-knit it.  All done .........oh, wait I forgot I hadn't finished the homework for the other class & it was first.  Better get that done before I sleep,  might not get up early enough to take care of that.

I set the alarm on my phone, turned in for the night.  Hmm, what if it didn't go off.  I should set the hotel alarm clock too.  Ok, done.  Go to sleep!  No wait, I have never used this alarm before, what if it doesn't even work.  Better get a wake up call just to be safe.  Ok, now I can rest....not actuallly sleep because the couple in the next room is having quite a loud disagreement.  It seems they have been married nearly 60 years, you would think after that long they would have run out of things to fight about?










That covers Day One.  Tune in tomorrow when I finally talk about the actual "Retreat"!  

See you then



Tuesday, April 24, 2012

SWIFT -Spinners & Weavers of Indiana - Fibers & Textiles

I recently attended the annual meeting of SWIFT ( Spinner & Weavers of Indiana - Fibers & Textiles ).  It was held at Conner Prairie. north of Indianapolis, IN.  If you have never visited Conner Prairie, you don't know what you are missing.  If you are ever in the Indy area, I highly recommend fitting it in your plans.

There was a very nice turn-out.  Lots of spinners, weavers & fiber artists gathered in one place for fellowship, food & sharing of ideas, projects and inspiration.

This was the first meeting I was able to attend.  I enjoyed meeting new people & I especially loved the presentation from Kate Larson, Susan Markle and Ann Reaves, who were part of a tour led by Nancy Bush to Estonia last June. It was a fascinating glimpse into the daily life & beautiful work of the Estonian fiber artists.
I am quite convinced I am not cut out for that life.  Although according to their customs, I am good wife & mother material.  I am "stocky" enough that I don't have to stuff the calves of my socks like many of them do.  Evidently that is a positive feature there.  Not so much here in the good ole USA.

I also learned some interesting facts about the youth Sheep to Shawl team that competes at the Indiana State Fair.  What talent these young folks have.  I was quite impressed.

I wish I had remembered my camera that day.  But if you go here, there are pretty pictures from the day.

                   This is the only picture I managed to take with my phone...it does not do it justice.



Many thanks to Cheryl Moreo from The Fiber Closet for attending with me.  It was a great day from start to finish (sepecially the finish....Maggiano's tiramisu)


Monday, April 23, 2012

Super Stealth

Just popping in to say hi!!

Much more to follow later about the KnitCircus Spring Retreat in Madison, WI and the Fiber Event in Greencastle, IN.  For now I will just tell you that I had a wonderful time at both.  They deserve much more detail than I can give them today.  But, I promise to fill you in on both by the end of this week.



I have started a super stealth mystery project.  I will keep you updated as I go without giving too much away.  But I can tell you I am super excited about it.




I even swatched.....sort of.  



I started with a provisional cast-on.  If you need a tutorial on this...I highly recommend the one 
by Liat Gat from Knit Freedom.



Ok, that is all I have time for right now.  But look out, I am a knitter on deadline & flying by the seat of my pants.....whatever that means!

Happy, Peaceful Knitting to all!!





Saturday, April 7, 2012

A New Store!


I am venturing into the realm of coding while building a new store hosted here on the blog.

I alternate between giddiness at the joy of it & beating my head on the desk.

The store front will be open periodically this weekend as I work through adding products.  I am adding the commercial products first.  So far I am carrying a few high quality products that I love.

  







                       


                    After I take care of work out the bugs, I will start adding the fiber art pieces.






If you see something that you want to order & you have issues doing so...send me an email at reginasfiberart@gmail.com.



Or as always, the studio/shop is open by appointment (see contact tab above) and I will be at various shows in the Midwest starting in mid April.

I hope to have a calendar up on a tab at the top of the blog soon. It will list the shows & events I will be attending.

Back to work now.  I think I will move to the deck to work for a while.  That should make it seem like a holiday weekend right??


Hope you all have a beautiful, relaxing weekend.    

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Baby Hat Cuteness!!

Just popping in for a quick update.

Still feeling a bit under the weather.




But.......... on to cuteness that would make anyone feel better.





Liam modeling the "Created Under Cold Meds" hat.  




Turned out pretty well, I think.




Don't you just love the "thoughtful" pose?





It could just be the model though.

                                        

                                  I am a bit partial to the boy!















It still needs a blue pompom on top but I just couldn't wait to post these pics.

PS. Notice the yarn.  Can't start them too young!

The pattern will be posted soon.  Keep an eye out for it!

Since I am still on the stranded color-work kick...here is a sneak preview of the item on the needles now.


               Road trip tomorrow so I hope to make good progress.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Sickness & Fair Isle...What a combo!

Hello Blogosphere.  Unfortunately, I have caught the same nasty virus that every one else on 3 continents has.  So don't get too close.  It is powerful enough that it very well could be contagious through the internet.  It has certainly laid me a bit low this past week.  So just a quick note before I am back to my puny, futile attempts to kick this thing.

I have been knitting.  I swear I have.  I am just not getting anywhere.

I started out to make a simple slip stitch baby hat.

I had my swatch ------------>


The hat would include at least one, maybe all three of these patterns.











But then .......
  <---------------this arrived in the mail.

This incredible book is 200 Fair Isle Motifs: A Knitter's Directory by Mary Jane Mucklestone.  More on it later.










And since the ribbing was already
done for the baby hat,
it quickly turned into this------------------------->

I am not even sure who the hat will be for, just that I needed to start knitting something stranded immediately.  A quick look through the book found several motifs that would work with the stitch count I already had on the needles.

I always forget from one project to the next how much I love Fair Isle!!


I fear this one beautiful book will fuel my obsession for months to come.  It is chock full of motifs, patterns,  tips & tricks for working with and combining Fair-Isle motifs.  It truly takes the mystery out of stranded color work.  Remember .... you are only knitting with two colors at a time in any row.  The book has the most vivid beautiful color photos of every motif.  There is a simple break down of the motif chart, columns to illustrate the color changes and clear photos of each swatch.  The motifs are arranged by stitch count and row count making combinations so very easy to put together to take your Fair-Isle knitting to the next level.


Ok, that's enough for tonight.  Back to my knitting nest on the sofa.  Only one more day to kick this before real life takes over again.


Till next time..........May your days be fun & filled with fiber.


~~~~Regina~~~~

PS:  Finished hat will be modeled next week when I am well enough to have the grandkids over.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Mischievous &^*%$# Yarn Elves!!

That's a bold title....right?  Let me start at the beginning to explain why & by the end I am sure you will agree that I used incredible restraint in composing it.


Once upon a time I bought 2 skeins of Malabrigo Silky Merino in Atadecer .

Isn't it just lovely?  The softness, the colors, it is magnificent.

I quickly cast on a project. (You didn't think I could wait, did you?)

The pattern I chose just was not doing justice to the incredible yarn so
I ripped it out & decided to think about a better pattern choice.


Meanwhile, my daughter was home for a visit.  Since she is just wild for Malabrigo & these are her colors...I gave her the untouched skein as a gift.  She immediately decided she must knit another Clapotis (pattern by Kate Gilbert).  I naturally told her "go right ahead, If you need it...I have another skein".
Em's 1st Clapotis




Did you catch that??? Those simple words are like a gauntlet thrown down to the "Yarn Elves.  It was a call to action & little did I know tiny, mean-spirited elves were gathering in the stash room. (No pictures allowed in the stash room...could be incriminating).




So as was bound to happen, Em called & said she was going to need that second skein.  I naively told her "No problem.  I will mail it right out"!  I went to get it & it wasn't where I thought it should be.  Now unfortunately this is not really uncommon so no worries yet.  I searched a bit more but was kind of busy so thought I will find it later.  If I had stopped to listen I would have heard fiendish elf laughter in the background.

Fast forward a bit and Em calls again..."Mom, did you mail that yarn?"  Time to get serious.  I proceeded to tear the stash room apart looking for it.  It is simply not there.  By now I am beginning to question my sanity. I even called  Klose Knit where I purchased it to find out if I truly did purchase two skeins. I did & they don't have anymore of it....it has been a while.

So I did the only thing I could.  I went online to buy another.  You know what's coming next right???

NO ONE has any left!!!  Finally I found ONE skein at JimmyBeans.  I bought it so fast it it would make your head spin.  They shipped it directly to Em.  So that problem is solved.

Naturally, I called my friend & LYS owner Cheryl for re-assurance that I was not really losing my mind.  She said, & I quote " You know....Now that you bought more you are going to trip right over that lost skein."

More snickering from the stash room as a plot is hatched to see how far they can take this nonsense.

The very next morning,  I get up and drag myself cheerily make my way toward the kitchen where the lovely "caffeine elves" live.  As I passed through the dining room, I stop dead in my tracks.  Laying right in the middle of the floor ............THE FREAKING BALL OF MISSING MALABRIGO.  I truly did nearly trip right over it.  Right there in the middle of the floor where I had just vacuumed the day before. Thank you so much Cheryl for helping them in their plan to drive me completely insane.

Guilty by association ball of Malabrigo trying to look all innocent!


If you listen very carefully you can hear the echoes of maniacal fiendish yarn elf laughter punctuated by the sound of  me beating my head against the desk.  Sad....Just so sad.

PS. If you need me, I will be in the stash room plotting my revenge trying to appease the

"Mischievous &^*%$# Yarn Elves"






Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Part 2 Issues Plus Fun Pictures of Babies & Knitting



While writing this blog, I have found that I am really not very good at "Part 2".  I have written several entries that I decided to break into separate posts.  As you may have noticed, I rarely get back to finish them up.  This also seems to be the way my mind works nowadays.   It moves from one thing to the next at warp speed and tiny bits are flung off and lost.

I have decided to go back and revisit the posts that are languishing in my draft file. So hopefully within the next few weeks I will catch up with my life & can fill you in on everything.

In the mean time, here are a few random shots of some cuteness & knitting fun!







Miss Lily with another favorite hat.

It is the Fair Isle Gaiter/Hat Combo by Ann Druce-Hoffman.

Super quick & fun to knit.



Liam being his adorable self.




My Helix Scarf byStephenie Gaustad.  This is a very relaxing knit.  I pull it out when I need to knit in times of stress.  It's also a great project for knit groups & knitting in public places as you can never really lose your place.  I am using Ella Rae Lace Merino in color 103 purchased at The Fiber Closet in Rockville, IN.




This is a new yarn I recently purchased.  Florafil Super Soft Cotton Yarn by Textured Yarn Co.,Inc  in their American Wildflowers Collection.  This color is called Blue Flag Iris.  I am not sure what I am going to make with it yet but it is a truly scrumptious bulky cotton yarn.  

It is recommended that you treat this as you would a hand painted yarn and alternate between two skeins every few rows to assure an overall blended effect. 

There is your knitting tip for the day!!





This is a mystery warp on the Cricket Loom by Schacht.  I am just playing around with it and making it up as I go along.  I would love to tell you what the yarn is but I can not find the ball band at the moment.  And.........I can't find the second skein that I need to continue weaving.

Which sort of sums up my life lately!!