yarn harlot

I am lame and have no pictures to show but I do have a story to tell. I went on a road trip yesterday with my friend Deb to Northhampton, Mass to see the Yarn Harlot! We got to town a little early and went out for a berkshire beer (Deb's favorite and not available here in VT). We then went to see Stephanie and she was so funny. I loved hearing her voice and seeing her in person after years of reading her blog and all of her books. After the talk she was heading to WEBS for book signing and Deb and I made our way to the Northampton Brewery and had more beer and dinner. They had great shirts there with a peace sign on them, heart and beer. Peace love and beer. I had to have one! We then headed over to WEBS where I was rendered speechless for at least ten minutes after walking in the door. It is a knitter's dream and if you ever get the chance to go there you definently should! We roamed around touching yarn and filling our baskets for about an hour. I then start talking to a woman who says " Now that I figured out the warehouse I come a few times a year". The warehouse? I thought we were in the warehouse? Nope. If you head through the door at the back of the shop you enter a huge space with shelves up to the ceiling filled with YARN!! It was so exciting. We actually closed the place down. Poor Stephanie- I think she was tired by the time we left. I loved meeting her as the meditation book she wrote was the first thing that made me aware that there are other people in the world as crazy about knitting as me!! Thanks Stephanie for being so inspirational!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all. I hope it is a day full of appreciation both by your family and by yourself for the job you do as a mother.

I have had a great weekend so far. I spent all day yesterday at the NH Sheep and Wool Festival with two good friends. Kimberly left with two Angora bunnies and Deb and I left with a few new skeins of yarn.
This is all the yarn I added to my stash. There is a beautiful skein of cashgora/merino blend from Spirit Trail fibers. I love all of her yarns. It was hard to leave with just one but I am sure I will visit her website often. The peach colored skein is handspun by the woman from fiberfetish. She was so personable and fun that I wanted to stay all day and watch her spin. The little purple and green skein is a wool/silk blend that will make a perfect spring and fall scarf. I got it from a local woman- Ellen's half pint farm- I don't know if she has a website. I think this is the first thing I will knit. The two skeins of variegated green are destined to be socks for my husband. He gets a pair every Christmas and he has had his eye on some green that I bought for myself at the VA S&W last fall. Now we both will get our green socks! I got a skein of lacy silk and two skeins of a to die for angora blend that I bought and used last year too. It was the one vendor I knew I had to visit again this year!

I bought a few patterns and a book- Sweater Workshop based on Elizabeth Zimmerman's sweater formula. The woman who wrote the book was so great and she has been knitting forever.

I found a new pair of needles that I can't wait to use. They are ten inch circulars with a strechy cord. The idea is they will stretch so it is easier to knit socks on them. I can't wait to see how they work and if they work as well as I am hoping I will be purchasing them in many sizes. I can crank out socks on small circulars!

The last skein of yarn needed it's own photo...
This is what my daughter calls Double Pink and is currently her favorite color. I have no idea what I will do with it although I would like to just use half and keep half for her to fingerknit with when she learns. I think she will love to use the yarn too and we have to get them started young- right?

Onto the knitting...
This is the first of the Horcrux socks. It was a fun and easy pattern to knit although it is going to be a challenge to finish the second without diving into the new lucious yarns I now own. I did cast on the second to keep myself from second sock syndrome completely!

So, that was my mother's day gift from the family and what a treat it was! I went to bed last night dreaming about yarn and colors and do wish that I had many more dollars to go back again today! We instead just got our three piglets and are introducing them to our land. This makes for a fun mother's day treat too!

Green socks finished!

I finally finished the green socks out of Fleece Artist yarn. I whipped the first one out in a week and then got a wee bit distracted by the other yarns calling my name and had to do a few projects in the interim. I just buckled down and worked on the second sock this week and I am so happy I did. They feel so nice on my feet and the color is great!! Here is a close up that shows the color better.
I just got a few new books in the mail and since I love to read and knit it is a treat to read about knitting! I got the Yarn Harlot's new book. She is going to talk at WEBS in Mass and I am planning on making the trip down to hear her if any Vermonters are interested in carpooling. I have never been to WEBS and am looking foward to a yarn store where I can have a shopping cart!
I also got the new Harry Potter pattern book which my kids have pored over. I love that the projects they like the best are the bookmarks and the mini sweaters. They may actually get those! The last book is by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I can't remember the name right now but it is the first book of hers i have read and it is so amazing. I have been hearing her name for years now and I can finally understand why!
There is currently no new work in progress- I am carrying around a few balls of Koigu trying to figure out what I want to knit with them. I don't want to do socks as I love the colors and I tried the clapotis but got off in my numbers really early on and ripped it out. ( Lace overwhelms me as there is very little knitting without young children around!)
I will have to get a photo of the yarn soon so I can hear your ideas!

Spring has sprung!

Spring has finally happened here in Vermont. I have been busy pulling weeds and planting seeds- it feels so great to dig in the Earth. I also finished my final exam for my last class until fall. It feels a little strange to not have thinking work to do every evening but I like it. I am trying to decide what book to read first.
On the knitting front I have finished the Kochoran afghan.
I thought about making it bigger but I just had to use it. It fits perfectly over my lap and down past my toes and I am the one who will use it so I sewed in all the ends last night and snuggled up!
I made a beautiful head wrap/ scarf from a pattern by Wendy Bernard- the Dream Swatch
Here's a closeup of the stitch pattern:
Isn't it lovely? It looked a little complicated until I started knitting and then it knits up pretty quick. I would like to try some with nice sock yarn. This is made out of silk and it is already getting a little furry.
A good friend is having a baby any day and I found this cute bolero in the One Skein book. It was a fast knit and I used a cotton/tencel blend that is so soft. It is perfect for a spring baby! I have to get it off in the mail tomorrow as baby's grow so fast!
Once again I did not finish my socks for the sock a month KAL. I finished some in February and the Fleece Artist socks have been next inline. I am finally in sock mode again (at least until this pair are finished!!)