I'm not sure what name to give these socks. I'd call them 'My Kate Socks' for the reason that Kate dyed the yarn... for her yarn business. I'd call them 'My Emily Socks' for the reason that the colorway is named after me! I'd call them 'My Rib and Cable Socks', because that's the pattern name. Or, i'd call them my 'Gentlemen's Bicycle Stockings Socks' because : 1) I started them while SAGging the BVBF for Tom, and 2) Ms. Nancy Bush derived this pattern from those of the same title from Weldon's Practical Needlework Vol. 2.

Regardless of their name, I love them. I love the pattern, the colorway of the yarn, the softness of the merino, the great fit, the repitition of the pattern and last but not least, the new toe decrease i learned-- that involved no grafting!
So, I was working away on my socks, in the Emily colorway when i realized the similarity they had to this bag. That's right, I have a Degas's Ballet Dancers tote bag. I'm in love with it too. I simply love that Kate named a colorway after me, but she could have named if Degas, or the Ballet Dancers, or something art-history like, i would still be in love with it!

Dear One Skein Secret Pal,
A big warm, western Thank You for my beautiful skein of yarn. I love it! How did you know that i have never layed eyes, or finger tips for that matter, on camel! Especially those baby camels (fitting for me, a infant care-taker). Do the baby camels spit like their elders? And the color, creme, so beautiful. Did you know i have a collection of creme hued "rare" fibers? Oh, yes, llama, lamb and alpaca. Everyone, please welcome the baby camel. I'm not sure what to make with it yet... i'm thinking lace.
Additionally, thank you for the lip-balm with loss-prevention. I won't make any rash statements about it's security, but perhaps there is hope. And if i manage to keep the clip and the black topper, i can use it for other lip balms as well. See, here it is on my bag, the one i take with me everywhere. It's all ready to go.
And in other blogging worthy news:
The Kitchen is an excellent place to enjoy local farm fresh eggs and ham benedict on brioche toast with the best darn potatoes i've ever put in my mouth, and knit socks (scroll way down!)-- with The Knitters. We had an improptu brunch and knit session. Seriously, an event that is worthy of repition (true, it is not a cheap meal, but i can taste every pennies worth. (I am not kidding, when can we meet again?)

i have had a dream. not a good dream. but not a frightening one either. simply a bizarre one (do "simply" and "bizarre" belong in the same sentence?)

~ So i was driving along in "my" truck with a very remote yarn store as the destination. it was cold, gray and visability was not so good. (i should note here, that the covers were probably falling off the bed and the air contidioning was blasting.) Once i found a place to park, in a parking lot with jalopy trucks, men with farm hats and strange looks, my cell phone rang. It was my husband. He needed something, but i told him i had already made the long drive, was about to go see the store and, "no, i would not be coming right home. I will when i am done at the yarn store." When i arrived at The Remote Yarn Store it was located at the back of the mercantile store that looked like something out of an old west movie. I wandered around, like i normally browse yarn stores; lap after lap touching each yarn. When I was done, i went back out to my truck and sat on the bench seat (and this is where i began to feel stressed) and tried to figure out the kitchener stitch by memory on thick, brown wool. I had the yarn needle threaded in one hand and the project in the other. Yet, for the life of me, struggled with that damn technique. i kept running the needle through the live stitches, pulling on the yarn and creating a tangle. I tried to remember it verbally: through like a knit stitch in the front, like a purl in the back, purl through the front stitch... on and on it went stuggling madly with the work, the stress to not loose the live stitches, the remote strange area and why oh why would there be a yarn store in a mercantile out here? where am i? is this wyoming? why can't i remeber this technique i've done it a million times?

** and then the alarm rang. and it was all gone. but my goodness, that was not a happy knitting dream!

growing up, i wasn't a fan of math. but in knitting i now love using it.
For example: One Skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton,

Minus one Baby Bolero,

Equals one little ball of said yarn!

The results of the one skein book are rather exciting. at the last little bit of the pattern i doubted there would be enough yarn ("what if my tension is different from Leigh Radford's? Maybe the little changes i made would dash the end results?" But wait a minute. The changes i made actually saved on yarn yardage. ) So i just waited, and continued to knit to see the result. Turns out, the baby bolero really only takes one skein (hehehe).
US size 8 and 9 needles. Changes: 3 needle bind off at shoulders (and save live stitches at back next edge for border), picked up and knit the sleeves down instead of knitting them flat and having (icky ol') seams at the arms.

In other (social) news:

I knit with the knitters at Alex's house. I can't decide if we are watching the best television program or using the world's largest computer monitor? Thanks Eunny.

and for a little more social recap, Jenifer has posted about the yarn swap party from some weeks ago (scroll down a wee bit). there is a very charming picture of moi. and now i will be done talking about it. done.

oh. and just so you and me know: i have started way too many projects with not enough time to finish them (i.e. gifts with "deadlines").

i had a lovely drive down I-70 the past weekend. aren't them some real beauties.

We were headed to the Buena Vista Bike Fest. My husband likes to do 100 mile (century) bicycle rides-- and i like to get the heck out of town! So while i don't pedal a bicycle one darn mile, i do provide the support-- or in bicycle lingo: SAG.

Sagging consists of driving the route along with the bicyclist bringing along water, food, extra clothing and random bicycle tools ( a wee bit of loving encouragement and yummy homemade muffins). While there is some food and water provided at the rest stops of organized events, my crew prefers their own (as in "my system is used to this food and i don't want to eat anything that is unfamiliar and make my tummy hurt" and their own sports drink powder). I take along my knitting (but appartently i don't photograph it.) : the yarn kate dyed for socks and cast on the Pea-Pod sweater from IK. This is Tom and Darell at the end of the ride at McPhlemy Park, B.V. (New Belgium is a sponsor and apprently a tasty beverage after 100 miles in the heat.)

This is the best and now my favorite road sign i've ever seen. Isn't it absolutely charming? See the little duckie that has it's wings out? He's quacking, "hey wait for me!" You know the little song: five little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away. Mother duck said, 'quack, quack, quack!!!', but only four little ducks came waddleing back!" (maybe you don't, maybe you aren't a preschool teacher!)

And yes, i accidently found the yarn shop in Buena Vista. Really, it was an accident. i went zipping past it, noticed the shop and made a quick turn-around. The shop is BEAUTIFUL!! (and yes, i forgot to take a picture of the inside-- but trust me the goods are in there-- very good indeed!)I spent some time wandering around the store, touching the yarns, but didn't buy anything.

This is me. It's a self portrait (i.e. self timer)

and this is my yarn! i'm thrilled! My friend kate has her own etsy shop.
her yarns contain the most beautiful combinations of color, hue and definations. Mine is greens, yellows and a twinge of purple. they are perfect for my taste and match my stash collection.
go check out her site and get yourself a skein-- also named after some of our friends.

100 (or so) things about me:
1. i don't know where to start....
2. i learned to knit in elementary school during Knitting club
3. knitting club turned into let's-draw-on-the-chalk-board club
4. i started knitting with my knitting teacher again when i was 20.
5. she gave be a beautiful Longaberger basket when i got married.
6. i love the Longaberger building!
7. i also learned to sew when i was 7.
8. i only make one quilt pattern-- but i love it. i've made 7 of them.
9. i machine piece my quilts, but refuse to machine quilt them.
10. i taught myself to hand quilt. i don't know if i do it correctly.
11. i bring my knitting basket to work-- everyday!
12. it is my security blanket.
13. i like to wear long cotton skirts that take yards and yards of fabric to make.
14. i make most of the cloths i wear in the winter
15. in the winter i have "Dress Season"
16. "Dress Season" looks like i am having "1800's season"
17. During "1800's season", I use a cell phone, a credit card, drive a large vechile and live a modern life. It's just the cloths that look "period".
18. "1800's season" get's too hot for the summer.
19. i am educated in Early Childhood Education.
20. i needed more that a High School diploma, so I have an AGS and some certificates.
21. i take care of small children monday thru friday.
22. they are just learning to walk.
23. that last one wasn't really about me.
24. i'm trying to recylce more often-- and as much as i can.
25. i like to spend time in the health food store, even if i don't have much to buy. it just smells good.
26. i have a small collection of Burt's Bees products; i wish it was a large one.
27. i have a love affair with homemade oatmeal soap.
28. i worked at the Denver Museum of Natural History, before it became the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
29. i had a really long job title, i don't remember it any more. but i do remember all the behind-the-scenes tid-bits i learned. i did photo-research and acquasitions.
30. the woman who hired me at the Museum completely took me under her wing.
31. i lived with her after a while.
32. it was the first time i moved out of my parent's house.
33. She died 7 months later-- i was one of her care-takers; she called me her companion.
34. i moved into my first apartment the same week she died. I got her furniture. My apartment looked liked her home.
35. she died the 8th day of July.
36. my Grandfather died in September.
37. age 19-21 was not enjoyable; i was depressed.
38. i went to an herbalist for lactose intolerance and "nervous" stomach remedies.
39. i felt much better-- i still do.
40. i lost contact with a friend i wish i hadn't.
41. i think about that friend a lot.
42. i once lived in a small mountain town.
43. i left that town to be close to my boyfriend.
44. he is now my husband.
45. i miss living in that mountain town.
46. i want to move to another mountain town-- with my husband!
47. i cut off 18 inches of my hair to donate to Locks of Love.
48. i am growing my hair long now.
49. i think i'll keep it.
50. i love braids, in lots of different styles, but i don't think i am good at fixing my hair.
51. i like a little clutter- it makes life interesting.
52. i'd like to read more books-- but i won't cut into my knitting time.
53. i don't like to pick "favorites"-- i can never choose just one.
54. i'm a little jealous of how clever my cousin was to name his cat Beatrix.
55. i don't have any pets right now.
56. i want to learn to be a better cook.
57. i love the smell of beeswax-- i like to inhale the biggest sniff i can.
58. i certainly enjoy chocolate crossiants
59. i like having breakfast for dinner-- eggs benedict is one of my favorites.
60. i'm planning on having an herb-garden this summer. it was my husband's idea. i love it!
61. i like earth-tone colors
62. i love the desert in the very early morning-- but not in the heat of the day.
63. i like eating cereal for dinner in the summer. my husband thinks that is lazy. i don't care.
64. i love frozen confections
65. i'll eat almost anything if is has a strawberry with it.
66. i like all the berries.
67. one of my favorite children's books is Jamberry.
68. if i had more room i would collect children's picture books.
69. if i were a superhero my "power" would be being able to do anything like a pro the first time-- and look good doing it.
70. i believe our public education system is not appropriate for boys.
71. i would like to be a Waldorf teacher.
72. I have a new friend who also loves Anne of Green Gables; we have had many converstations about our affection.
73. i didn't think i would have friend like that when i grew up-- i am thrilled!
74. i would like to be a mother like Mrs. March from Little Women.
75. i don't like to use lotion on my hands; i prefer balms or salves.
76. i wish i had land to have a healthy vegatable and flower garden.
77. when i visit the living museum, other patrons ask me if i work there.
78. i wished i lived there!
79. i must have a 4x4 vehicle to drive;i laugh and call it my "covered wagon"
80. i love chapstick and lip balm-- but i always loose them and have cracked lips nonetheless.
81. i was married in October-- 1 day after my brother-in-laws secret wedding and 2 days after my grandparents wedding anniversary.
82. my family (and extended) had one week notice to attend the wedding-- it was not shot gun wedding!
83. i have a large fabric stash in addition to my yarn stash.
84. i like to keep the little bits of yarn i have when i weave in ends in a mason jar.
85. i like to cut specific pictures of hands out of magazines. I glue them into a black art book,
86. i made a collection of poems about sheep into a book.
87. i cut pictures out of magazines, save them in a folder and use them for tags, cards and labels on evelopes; i usually don't have the image i want.
88. i have not traveled much.
89. i took several years of Irish Step Dancing classes; i also competed
90. i thought i would move to Ireland one day too.
91. i have brown hair, brown eyes and keep my fingernails short.
92. i do not wear nail polish
93. i don't really wear make-up either
94. if i didn't work in early childhood education, i would like to be a ceramicist.
95. i don't like to watch people sing on t.v.
96. i love television: deadwood, sopranos, big love, sons and daughters, the office, how i met your mother, lost (tho i have a love/hate relationship with you) and the amazing race are all regularly watched with affection.
97. i don't often go to the movies
98. i like my music mellow and acustic, unless i am angry, and then i like it loud.
99. tom says i am becoming a junior dead-head. i don't agree.
100. all is well in life right now. i've grown a lot and expect to do more.
101. i think i'll come back to this in a year... or so.

catching up...

i'm so far behind on posts. i've been busy!

maggie's bag
Originally uploaded by good little granola girl.

i've completed a few projects, and hosted a very fun yarn swap party!

First up: A birthday present for Maggie (who i'm so happy to have a new friendship with!)


Next up: a zillion wash cloths for my mother, aunts and grandmother. Most are sugar 'n cream cotton, and one is cotton chenille (which is quite lovely to work with, but is expensive and hard to see all the decreases without guessing.)

The yarn party was fabulous-- though i spent a lot of time in preperations. First there was the baskets to clean out and set up:

and make lovely little tags for:

clean the back deck (the building i live in just got a new roof-- oh, what a mess. and i never cleaned up after autumn):

a cake to make (in which i managed to spill a whole bottle of vanilla all over the clean counter top, clean floor and myself at 12:30 am. yes AM, in the dark!):

make some driving direction signs (i get distracted very easily while house cleaning and take many "breaks"):

Finally: the party began on a clear and beautiful mid-morning. We had a ton of food (thanks ya'll):

And all my wonderful guests (note to self: do you remember photography school at all!?!?! Do not take pictures into the sun light. duh!): Maggie, Kayla, Alex,

Erica, Ben, Katie, and Crystal and tho not pictured ('cause they are picking through yarn: Diane, Anne, Allison and Tom and Jenifer).

I have a ton of yarn left over: (most of it will go to the Knit-Out now).

And i finished up the event by ditching, errrr, i mean quickly cleaning up and putting food away at, my own party to go to LambShoppe!

And that is the update!

Well, the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange has offically kicked off! (i only messed up a little bit-- i'm new to this kind of secret keeping). Here is the questionaire all complete! The prose in paragraphs and italics are questions from my secret pal-- we had a little conversation.

• Which yarn is most like your personality (you can be specific or general with your answer- brand, type, color, fiber, whatever)? I find this to be an extremely difficult question and one that i have never considered and i am sure i am being far too analytical about it. I have no freaking idea! I may have to get back to you!
• What is your favorite color yarn to knit/crochet with? I like earth tones: browns, sage greens, sky blue and dusty rose pink-- i like a lot of colors, but the tones are not too strong.
• Have you ever used variegated, or magic, yarns? (I'm sorry, this amuses me - I don't know that in my experience with knitting, I've ever heard variegated yarns referred to as "magic" - maybe that's an international thing? Adds a certain whimsy, though, doesn't it?) When i hear the word magic yarns i think, "oh boy, they knit themselves! like something from Harry Potter!" and i don't think i have ever used them. i do like variegated yarns, but i am not in love with them-- they are good for socks, and thats about all. read more for my opinions about socks.
• Do you tend to favor certain fibers when choosing yarns? Yep (as you've read in the blog). I like me some cotton (and it's cousins Linen and Hemp)! but also love wool a lot too. when making yarn purchases, i waver between wool and cotton the most often-- i like my yarns soft, but not if that includes a lot of "articfical" fibers (micro-this-that-and-the-other, poly-what ever and the like).
• Do you prefer to work with center-pull or traditionally wound balls of yarn? (Also, I'm adding to this - do you have a yarn-winder and prefer to wind stuff yourself, or would you rather it arrive wound?) I prefer to work with a center pull skein-- and i usually use my swift and ball winder to make them.
• Have you ever worked with organic yarns or are you interested in trying them? Of course the Good Little Granola Girl loves organic yarns. although i'm not sure if the word organic fits with wool-- it's it more "free range" like beef?
• How many and what projects have you made in the last year? I didn't really count (if i had my blog longer or kept with my paper journal more frequently i could tell you). I have a lot of projects and i finish a lot of projects. some are big and some are small-- but there are a lot!
• Will you be knitting any gifts this year? (This seems kind of silly to me - I would think if one is a part of this exchange, that automatically means one will be making at least one knitted gift this year....but I guess maybe the inference is what sort of yarns would you tend to knit gifts with?) I do knit a lot of gifts, probably 50-60% of what i knit will be a gift. i tend to use practical yarns for gift that will be fairly easy for the recipent to take care of (i also include care/wash instructions with almost everything i gift).
• What is your favorite one skein project? From the book: the spiral zipper case, the petal bibs (tho not for me), the leg warmers and the baby bolero (tho it would have to live in the hope-chest for awhile).
• How much yarn do you have in your stash and how do you store it? This is a hard question to respond to because my "a lot" isn't someone else's "a lot". I have several medium large baskets with yarn. I try to store the cotton seperate from the wool. i'm having a yarn stash swap party this saturday-- so the stash will see a little change-up!
• Do you have a yarn in your stash that you love so much you can never use it or part with it? i'm not sure. if the right project came along, i might use something i didn't intend to. mostly i buy yarn with a project in mind and use it for that purpose, rather than just buying yarn willie-nilly to stash away forever.
• Do you knit less or differently in the summer? nope. i do to a bit more cross-stitch in the summer tho.
• Do you belong to any knitting groups (online or offline)? Yep. And i love them all dearly (listed on the side bar of the blog)
• (I'm adding this one, though I may figure out the answer when I spend more time on your blog.) Do you knit socks? I do knit sock. But not like a fanatic. I don't really like to wear socks: none in the summer (unless i am hiking and then i have special smart-wool ones) and in the winter i prefer tall black knee high socks (not too thin, not too thick, not too slippy, but just right) all the time. So, when i knit socks they are gifts for someone else. when knitting socks i prefer to use the toe-up method, using the magic loop. i'm planning on doing these soon.

completing this questionaire temps me to type up a "100 things about me" list.

yes, i've changed my blog name. it's not that it has something to do with the "cotton post", i did however, get to thinking about what "the good sheep" meant to me. turns out not much. i thought of it quickly, because i wanted a blog. and a blog needs a name. but what does "a good sheep" mean to me, to anyone? nice fleece? useful lanolin? am i "the good sheep?" maybe it had something to do with knitting, sheep and yarn. but as we all now know, i am not limited to only wool-- and for that matter, i am not limited to only yarn. and i am not a sheep.

so there i was with the seam ripper in hand, taking apart an old garment (and by old, i mean tissue paper thin, ripped a giant whole in the seat, but some parts are still good) to make into a new garment and i thought to myself, "what a good little granola girl, reusing the waist band to make a new skirt". and then it stuck me, "That's a catchy title".

good little granola girl, to me (who else is writing this?), has more ring. more personality. and some more description, bulk, and wit. it describes my love of the homemade, the handcrafted and the natural: cotton, wool, alpaca, silk. maybe we'll even see some pictures of the good little granola girl soon!

In other rabblings: Tom as brought my attention to the craft-couch.


Apparently, the handmades are taking over the couch, spreading out of control. and he wonders if the baskets on the floor are a nessesity right now, is the quilt getting done and just how many projects do you have?


well darling, it's spread to another room! we are in the height of craft-restlessness, bouncing from one idea to another. time is limited. housecleaning calls, but who has time when the good little granola girl wants a new skirt? i can't even put together a grocery list because my mind is so full of homemade ideas. friends need presents, mothers need presents, the wardrobe needs to be expanded. and i'd like to use my own two hands to make it, thank you!

A Festive and Merry May Day to You!

Make sure to adorne yourself with flowers, pass a posie to someone else and enjoy a little dance.

one skein, one day
well it didn't even take a whole day, or a whole skein, but such a treat nonetheless. (and just because i haven't posted in "forever" doesn't mean i haven't been knittin')
these are MasonDixon Knitting washcloths (they knit up in a matter of hours!). The blueish one is sugar 'n creme cotton (cheap, but practical) and the pinkish one is cotton chenille. they are a joy to knit and fun too. I plan to give them to my Mother and Aunt's for Mother's Day tied up with a bar of soap (as illustrated in the book, a ribbon fits beautifully through the eyelet row and the wash cloth becomes a little sachet). two done, two more to go!
These are the Petal Bibs, from One Skein. Knit in sugar 'n creme cotton yarn (again, extremely practical for a wash 'n wear bib.) I made them for Violet, at the tender age of ONE year old (i find it very fitting, One skein project for a one year old.) for a birthday present. These were easy t.v. knitting for an evening-- i even figured out a little trick for them: Knit the petals on a 16 inch circ. needle starting with a large petal, make another large petal, make a small petal, and then two large petals. Doing it this way means all your petals are in the right order and easy to join in one knit row. I also worked in all little ends as i worked the first knit-join row and saved on some of the finishing. I'm normally not one to block finished goods, but these bibs look much better once they are blocked.
This is the baby lace hat using Lush, also from One Skein. The lace pattern was not charted so i made one. In doing that i found a small decrease error in the pattern, and was able to make the appropiate changes. The skein of Lush that i had wasn't full when i started the hat, and i didn't even use the whole bit that i had. I made the 12-18 mos. size, also for Violet's birthday.

In other (picture less ) news: I have been working on a Mason Dixon burb cloth (such a joy-- so simple, so refreshing, so caring and if i can talk myself out of keeping them for my own hope-chest, they will be for a auction at work) and the stockinette section of Hush-hush (it just keeps going and going an going. but i am making progress!)

The Look, The Feel
of cotton. i've been thinking about wool lately and what my relationship is to it. and then i started thinking about cotton. i think it is because i have been reading about other people and their love of a perticular fiber (and i wondered why they were so passionate about it? am i that passionate about wool?). but this thinking of mine does not reflect in my knitting (and no, i'm not allergic to wool-- or any fiber). i have a lot of cotton on the needles right now, and have plans to do a lot more (part of this dilemma started when i realized i had spent most of the cool, wet, wintery months cranking out projects made out of cotton. i thought i'd better cast on a wooly project before the sunshine is too hot and my hands become sticky and sweaty with wooly fibers.). and i don't think it is the spring warm (well, make that hot: unseasonally hot temperatures are in bloom these past weeks with little rain. the mountains are starting to show more of their purple majesty.) i am very comfortable with cotton yarn and cotton blends. but a lot of people i meet do not like to use cotton. they remark about it's lack of "elasticisity", the mild imperfections that do not block out, and lack of warm and/or softness. but not me.

my cotton stash rivals my wool stash. i am drawn to cotton (and it's family of blends) again and again. i almost always knit baby items with cotton. i make scarves, and wash clothes and all sorts of odds and ends with cotton. but why am i drawn to cotton over and over? Is it the look? The feel?

It dawned on me this morning! I learned to knit with cotton yarn. my very first project (and then my second and third) were simple garter stitch dish cloths. made from cotton. it was trusty, hearty, cool cotton that ran through my fingers as i learned to hold the needles, wrap the yarn, and complete one slow row after another. and of course (!) is showed the imperfections, but what the hell, it was a dish cloth to clean dirty dishes! sure, i moved on to lovely bulky wool soon enough and made my first pair of mittens. but when the third new item to knit was selected: baby hats, i choose a cotton yarn. much nicer than the dish cloth version, but cotton nonetheless. and so my hands returned to the crisp earthly fiber.

i think it was the early lessons that set the foundation. same as knitting english style will always feel more comfortable to me. cotton, in it's many forms will always be that trusty reliable for me. it's not too expensive, it's easy to care for, and knits up beautiful-- to me.

love them sheep as i do, my relationship with cotton is a long and kindred one. Maybe my blog needs a different name?

No. I'll keep it. Because i love the sheep/knitting symbolism.

sshhhh!

it's not that it is a very bad day at work-- it's just rather noisey. someone won't stop crying and the whole room is feeling it.. and hearing it! And i am so over hearing it. (these are not the babies i am responseable for between 8:30 and 5:30-- they are just random found images.)

On a knitting note: I have entered Stockinette Island.
This is Libby Baker's Hush-Hush. I love her designs, and she loves stockinette (I should say here that i have been reading her blog for quiet awhile and find her immensely talented, witty and an lovely poet. She also lives in the same town i grew up in {we've had a little discussion about the public education system in that town...} and so i feel a certain kindredness to her. One day i'll meet her in person and we'll compare knit-notes.)I enjoy knitting to no end, but i hope i make it through all the stockinette. The finished goody is a bridal gift for my cousin this summer-- which means i have to stay on Stockinette Island (Knitting Survivor: out smart, out knit-wit, out play-- the finished project will be worth a million bucks! And to make matters more tempting, the new Mason Dixon Knitting book is filled with beautiful, quick, and highly inspiring projects. Too bad i'm not play on the Garter Stitch Team making log cabin quilts and baby bibs with burb cloths) See that beautiful stitching! That is some stellar 3/2 Perle Cotton on US 2 needles. Truely tho, the finished result will be beauty!!

If only I could sit and knit all day and not soothe someone else's child(which only gets to me on the really bad days! trust me, i love my job almost everyday.)

You knit where?!

The Five Places I have knit:

1. my (at the time) boyfriends house-- he didn't have any lights in the living room, so i had to wear a head lamp at night to see my knitting (he's now my husband).
2. the top of a 14, ooo ft mountain (14er)
3. a living history museum
4. by the camp fire (under the stars) in Castle Valley, Utah
5. my friend's cabin (also filled with knitters)

want to do your own, check out Kat Knits for the contest.

I'm in the West, but I too, can enjoy a little Mason Dixon Knitting

I got me'self a good ol' copy of the spanky new book! I am very excited (read: ready to abandon all current knitting projects at this very moment!) I however, will have to show some decent amount of self control (more to come on that soon.) Nonetheless, there are several projects/photograph/clever catchie paragraphs that have my creative juices flowing and my knittin' fingers itchin' (i.e. the message that runs through this book. Yep, i get it!)

here lies the moses basket that one day will be mine. i love this idea and WILL NOT forget it. Ever!
These bibs/burp cloths are pure genius. Yes, a rectangle with a button is genius! I want to make several for the babes i take care of (feed) daily in the nursery room at work. They are much more tactile and aesthitically pleasing than the crunchy plastic and velcro ones we currently use (and i currently can not stand! ick!) Not to mention easy to wash and bleach if made from regular cotton twine or Peaches 'n Creme cotton yarn.

This project makes me want to find colored pencils fast and get to sketchin'. And then get to finding some wonderful yarn. The only thing keeping me from casting on this very moment: i do not posses a rainbow of colors in my yarn stash to create such a beauty.

i do however, have all the cotton twine for this here rug... and a healthy fabric stash to make rag balls with. The rug is something i do plan on doing in the future-- a rag ball here, a rag ball there, here a rag ball, there a rag ball, every where i rag ball ( i have a lot of rag balls to make!)

See? here's some great fabric... and that tub is full of more... and there is more in the garage!

Hoppy Spring

here's wishing you a Springy Spring from Peter, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail.

yarn: 100% alpaca (purchased at the Estes Park Wool Market, 2005)
stuffed with some dark wool roving; the tail is a tuft of corridale, and the nose is a strand of Cotton Fleece. Pattern available at here.

Well, i regret to inform you that "Dress Weather" is over. and thus, (as some people, tho not me, refer to it, "her Litte House on the Prairie" look) retires to the closet for several hot and sweaty months. Have you seen the weather forecast lately? That's just too hot for all my layers of cotton-- and this saddens me. Sure, i have charming, even cute, summer clothes: dresses, skirts and shorts. But i don't have my yards and yards of fabric. Sure i've gotten lots of stares, odd looks and plenty of questions (and knicknames), but i love the feel of swooshy fabric all around me, and the "cloud" of fabric that i sit in! It just feels like home.


In other news, the past wednesday was my grand-ious SnB gathering! I love me some talented knitters! Starting with the gal at the yellow wall: Anne, Meike, Tom, Allison, Kate, (the back of) Celeste (head), Erica and Penny. Next Photo, Erica (kindly helping me with this here blog and it's pesty side bar...), Yours Truely ( fashioning the "summer look" a la T-shirt), Celeste and Maggie. They ladies behind are not knitter's (to my knowledge. They were not with our group...yet...)



and yes, we need more than one table. And yes, we take over the night we are there!
(and we like it that way! hehe)

(i typed this quick email last night, but my excitement still has the best of me)

okay, so it is almost midnight-- one final check at Knitty (cause i have been willing it to be new; checking every hour at the hour) and finally, finally, finally it is UP!!!!!!!! and there it is: our very own Jenifer's sweater on our very own Erica!! I tried to explain my excitement to Tom, but he just said, "hum". i want to run in the streets and tell the world, "the new knitty is up and my friend Jenifer and my friend erica are there, for everyone to see!! I love the knitty!!!"


CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU DEAR KNITTER: TO JENIFER AND ERICA AND ALL THE REST!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!CONGRATULATIONS!!!okay, i'm going to bed now!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! (just one more!!)

Hosting a yarn crawl can be exhausting! Now, don't me wrong, i had a fabulous time-- splendid really (and i know part of the wonderfulness of the whole day was because i haven't really had a day out shopping with friends in a while-- and i didn't do it much as a kid/teenager... but that is another day). However, when i finally arrived at my last destination: home, i was whipped (and the grocery store still loomed ahead).

Perhaps i should start at the begining. Once Upon a Time a knitter and her yarn buddies had one LYS in town. But in a land (not so) far, far away a new yarn store was due to open it's doors at any moment. While the Grand Ball was not for weeks, the yarn was available, the doors where open wide and the store was a beautiful site to see! "I shall travel to this new yarn store," exclaimed one of the knitters, "and I shall travel to more and make a grand day of it!" Her fellow knitters relpied with glee, "Yes, I too join this party!" Now at one time, this knitter had called the (not so) far, far away town "Home" and knew the roads to this land very well. "I shall drive the carriage and you may join me if you wish."

And so with this plan, the three young knitters set out to find the new yarn stores they had not yet made due call.

Upon arriving at their first destination: the Lamb Shoppe-- they were over come with the scope of color reaching to the ceiling. The walls were lined with skeins and hanks of all the softest yarns one can dream of using... if not dream of also buying (i think i can safely speak for us all when i say we have Champagne taste on a beer budget... and no, the "champagne of beers" does not solve this problem). I would love to share a breath taking picture with you (one that would have a caption something like: The aesthetics of this display, and the natural light that flows into the space, make for a truely enjoyable shopping experience for you and your eyes.) but i forgot my camera at work, of all places. The store owner was very excited and little nervous. But the good nervous that is happy, enthusiastic and little unfamiliar with her new computer/inventory/sales program-- but all was well and good. And we are now on the mailing list. Alex bought several skeins of very pink yarn right at the end of our visit and Erica bought a skein of Trekking XXL.

Our second destination: A Knitted Peace. This was at one time my LYS and will always have a special place in my heart (with out going into the long story i can tell you that the store literally changed my life for the better.) and so, i felt i needed to share it with some more people. I bought a pair of needles-- nothing fancy.

We took an intermission from shopping (and driving) for falafel and gyro sandwiches at a tasty Greek deli on Littleton's Historic Main Street.

Our third destination was a quick 75 mph drive to String: A knitting boutique. Lucky planning for us, they were having a Bag Sale: what ever you can fit into one (rather large) bag was 20% off (except needles). Let's just say that we all made some purchases, lapped the store several times and touched lots of yarn. I got some yarn that i have been wanting for a long time (good little granola girl that i am) and a tape measure to add to my collection (my justification for yet another tape measure: the bee is a symbol of industry and the name emily means industrious [which i believe i am very much so!]. i think it is quite fitting, not to mention my love of the antique bumblebee and hive imagery.)

We took a rather scenic way back to town and landed right back at our home yarn store for quick purchase running into more fellow knitters (who obviously were not at the local SnB meeting at the time-- tho we all did end up there!)

and then, like is said, i got home and had to go to the grocery store. Exhausted.
but i'd do it again next weekend--well maybe the one after that! But we are headed north next time.

this blog is driving me crazy!

i just became a joiner! i'm gonna have to work on this little blog project of mine (which means getting some photographs and stuff done!).

i am now a participant of the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange. it's my first secret pal anything. and since i was in a joining mood, i did this too: One Skein Knit-Along

join me if you want!