Thursday, March 27, 2008

Yarn Fix

That's right. Got a yarn fix today. Danny drove 3 of us to Fancy Image Yarn in Shelton, WA. Myself, Danielle, and Lizzie. Corinne worked the early shift today so she missed this trip. What a nice shop! I was impressed from the moment I walked in the door with the beautiful colors I found. Most of the yarns are hand dyed by the owner, Myra Hansen. I bought a few skeins...


Got one more for Lizzie, and a cute bag for Danielle, too. My camera can't possibly do these colors justice. There were so many beautiful yarns and I will definitely go back for more when I can add some $ to the budget for yarn. In fact, Myra has a Yarn of the Month Club that would be so fun. She sends out a different DK weight yarn each month, each dyed especially for the Club members. During that month, the special yarn is also available for purchase if you wish to buy more. Fun! And at $179.40 for 13 months, you get a good deal on the skeins. (normally only $14.95, which is already a great price for 250 yards of hand dyed machine washable merino wool.) I bought a skein of this wool, in the red and gray colorway, also 2 skeins of her fingering wt. Couldn't resist the blue colorway...you know me!

When I walked in the shop, I was greeted by a cheerful woman who showed us around and Myra came in after while and even offered to wind up the skeins of yarn I was purchasing. If ever in or around Shelton, WA be sure to check out Fancy Image Yarn. It is a fun place with friendly people. And enough hand dyed yarn to make you drool!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Ties That Bind

A big hello! Just thought I would "check in" before heading off to work. I want to thank those of you who have left me comments lately. I am surprised that anyone at all is still checking my blog after my "disappearance" and am so pleased that you are. So thanks to Tina and Jenni, and also to my knitting idol, Kelley! See the sidebar for their blogs and for other interesting and fun blogs to read. I have so many more in my favorites that I read regularly and need to make some time to add them here. One of these days soon, I promise. Thanks also to the FNKC, (Friday Night Knitting Club), who give me a hard time if I am not blogging! I need their encouragement! You girls are so great!

I have been working on more of the fingerless gloves for Mom (step-mom, if you will) She asked if I would make some for her, and also for their friend. So, a black pair for the friend are all done...

And the yarn that looks a bit like a Yorkshire Terrier there is SWS (Patons). I am using that to make Mom's pair. It is kind of weird to knit with. First of all, it is slippery. Not too bad though, since I am using my Brittany wood dpn's. Made from wool and soy, it has a wonderful shine and the colors are beautiful. But it isn't a twisted ply and therefore splits easily. I have to knit a bit more slowly as a result. It reminds me a bit of Brown Sheep yarn, but prettier.


Here also is a picture of one of my projects I did this winter, a scarf. The pattern was in last years "Knitting" page-a-day calendar. Berroco's Ultra Alpaca was used and it turned out very nice. Ultra Alpaca is a very springy yarn. I have used it before for a shawl and liked it very much. It is very affordable and Berroco created some lovely colorways for it, also. I used the Light Gray, since that is what I had in my stash, having picked up two hanks while shopping last year at the Acorn Street Shop in the University District of Seattle. Wonderful store, by the way. I make a point to drive up there and browse every so often. I always find something to take home. They have lots of yarns, including sock yarns, laceweight, specialty type stuff, and loads of "everyday" type yarn. They also have spinning stuff, needlepoint and embroidery stuff, needles, and friendly helpful staff.


That is my Great Grandmother's quilt in the background of the picture. I use it a lot when I photograph my knitting. It makes me happy that a grandmother I never knew (she died a few years before I was born) and who never would have dreamed of a thing called a blog has a little "presence" here once in a while. She pieced that quilt in 1940, and then never quilted it. I did the quilting in 1992, which again gave me a thrill, working on a project "with her". I knew a bit of how Natalie Cole felt when she recorded "Unforgettable" as a duet with her father, Nat King Cole. Just thinking of my hand quilting, tracing her own invisible "handprints" on the fabric, made each stitch special and each hour spent on the quilt enjoyable. It took me 6 months to quilt (it was only my second quilting project or it would have been a bit faster). I love the feather pattern and the sawtooth piecing of the quilt. I no longer quilt, knitting is the passion now. But I know that with each heel I turn, with every row of ribbing and each dropped stitch, my Great Grandma would smile and say, "Yes...I was also a Passion Knit Girl. Knit on, Honey, knit on!" Knitting, quilting, sewing, embroidery, crochet...it's in the blood of the women and men in my family. And is one more tie that binds us together through the generations.


Until next time, keep knitting!

Renée





Friday, March 7, 2008

Kool Aid Fun/ Superwoman Delusions



Didn't "Kool Aid Fun" used to be the ad slogan for Kool Aid? I think so...

Well, it takes on a whole new meaning for me now, since I can combine my childhood love of Kool Aid (only an occasional sweet treat at my house when I was a kid) and my adult love of yarn.


I am signed up for the Mystic Light Shawl KAL on Yahoo Groups and decided to dye my own yarn for the project.
I bought the Knit Picks fingering weight Bare and some Kool Aid packets. At first I was going for yellow with a little bit of pink thrown in .


Then I realized that it was ugly. That's right. Ug. Ly. Like spagetti with strawberry jam smeared on it. So, I re-dyed it with Tropical Fruit punch. Perty. In the end, I wound up with a real tie-dyed look and it is perfect for the shawl. And just in time for the swatching, since the instructions just went up on the KAL (Knit a long).
Now I only need to find a way to knit 24/7 since I have so many projects going and one that needs to be finished by June. Why do I always seem to think I am Superwoman?

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Countdown!!

I have been hooked on Knit Picks podcasts for some time now, even before I got an actual IPod. I learned that I could download I Tunes and listen to the podcast online right on my own computer. So I began listening that way and then for Christmas this year, my dear husband got me an IPod. Hooray! Suddenly I had a wonderful way of listening to knitting podcasts and also audiobooks.

The long and the short of it, is that knitting podcasts are very cool. And the coolest, in my humble opinion, is Kelley Petkun's podcast. (KnitPicks) Love, love, love it. So, in tribute to Kelley, here is my "countdown".




Ten reasons why I want to be Kelley Petkun




10. Xena. Any dog whose name starts with "X" has to be cool!


9. Cool travel opportunities that involve knitting and have "built in" knitting time!



8. KnitPicks yarn at my disposal....drool....



7. Terrific knitting skills and the ability to teach them clearly to others.



6. Lots of knitting friends from all over the world



5. I would know how to spin.



4. The ability to wear orange and be happy about it!!



3. To be cute and small enough to knit myself sweaters that don't call for 25 skeins of yarn.



2. To be a "knitter who looooves books"! (Ok, I admit I have that one going for me)



and the #1 reason why I would like to be Kelley Petkin is: (drumroll........)



1. To have the ability to look at an ordinary gourmet kitchen spoon and think out loud, "Gee, this would make a great set of knitting needles!" And POOFF!!! It is!!

Yes, if you too love Kelley, be sure to check out her blog Yarn Rambles, listed in my sidebar. She is a lot of fun and inspiration and a terrific Knitting Sister!