Like all the other local girls ssss(plus a few more) I was off to the Estes Park Wool Festival on Saturday. Michelle was so kind to host us all Friday night so we could get an early start from the same location Saturday morning. The good news is that I had money for lunch, and didn't use the plastic at all, I took cash hoping if I had to transfer to plastic I would realize I was in trouble. It worked. I will admit I had hoped to bring some cash home though. Below is the new stash enhancement:

Brooks Farm Yarn Limited Edition Superwash top left, 2 balls of Trekking top middle, Plain and Fancy Sheep and wool top right and bottom right. Some 100% Alpaca in Colorado Red bottom left and the big purchase was Brooks Farm Yarn 100% Kid Mohair on the bottom middle. Isn't it beautiful!

I also have some progress photos to share.

First up the Cutaway pattern, the back is almost finished.

Not sure if I mentioned before but this is Jo sharp Soho summer cotton dk yarn, in a slate color. It is really soft I am liking this knit and it is fast. I have a few more inches before the back is done.

I have also been working on the Madli's Shawl it is quite a bit slower knit but enjoyable.

Call me the copycat. Stacey decided to make the Noro Shrug, so I made it along with some others(Cynthia, Michelle..). Wanda went and made a Green Gable, so I went and made one too. Kim bought this awesome Vera Bradley Bag, in Java Blue, so I got one too (see behind the picture of the shawl). Cynthia started the Madli Shawl, I just bought a ton of lace weight and didn't really have plans, I have been looking for a not so girly frilly shawl, so guess what? With Cynthia's help I started the Madli Shawl last night, even knit on it over lunch today. I am loving this, it is addictive, Cyn was right about that.

Just so everyone doesn't think I am all copy cat, I did make the Noro Cowl (still needs to be seamed) and I know a few have yarn to make it now too.

I have also started on the Cutaway pattern, which no one else I knit with is working on currently. It is going really fast I have about 3 inches before I can start the arm hole shaping. Good think I have the shawl now for some excitement.

I have tried all week to post this entry, and by now all the original pictures are out of date, but good news I have new pictures, complete pictures, well complete as in pictures of it blocking as we speak.

Green Gable Pretty Blue Gable is now complete, I knit this with Rowan all Seasons Cotton, in a shade of blue color I don't know right now. This was a super quick knit and I even added sleeves. I was amazed that I switched out the yarn, didn't really swatch, and it still fits. Of course that is after one or two re-do's which is normal for me I always knit things at least 3 times over before they are complete. I am working on this, believe me. I have also started a lace project, a stole, there isn't much to see yet. I really really want to knit this stole. Isn't it pretty? Lace and Intrelac all in one, am I crazy? Here is what I have started on my beginning lace stole.

He was so good when we got him, no chewing nothing bad, he was mellow and just happy to be where we were. He is digging, and he even escaped twice yesterday to go sit on the front porch, well until the neighbors dog went by then he took off to their house. We are all learning slowly, but I will admit it has been a lot better than I anticipated and he doesn't seem to have any interest in yarn, which is the biggies relief. He is still quite cute though. Not all that photogenic yet, we'll work on it.

You know the drill, you get pictures or all sorts of rambling. Today you are lucky it will be crappy camera phone pictures.

I have blocked the cowl, in an effort to postpone seaming since it is too hot to wear it anyway, I blocked so that it did not get lonely on me.

For Mother's day I made all the mom's I am quasi related too slippers, last count was 7 pairs. The last pair is the only one that would smile pretty for the picture, and will be mailed off tomorrow to Grandma.

The Kyoto has been ripped, I blocked it too so that the cowl would not be lonely during blocking. After blocking the stitches looked much better but the size was still off, I was pretty sure of this but hated to rip unless absolutely necessary. Hence no picture of Kyoto.

Since Kyoto was off the needles, and the slippers consumed a good portion of knitting time I decided a new project was necessary for my knitting peace of mind. I cast on for Green Gable last weekend and am plugging away. I'm loving the yarn and how this looks, the color is a bit off here though. A few other random projects seem to be hiding in my knitting bag, but nothing that is getting much attention.

The last post was all words, this time we will go for the visual side of blogging:

I finished my modified OSW, with sleeves, I stole the mods from here. I believe it was the August 18th, 2005 post. Basically I just joined the sleeves in the round, where the original pattern has you do the rib on the sleeves, then decreased about 2 stitches every inch until it was long enough for me. I used to be photogenic or maybe I just preferred the way I looked before and would allow pictures of myself. (yes my kitchen really is that color of green, not sure it will be staying for the long haul).

I have also been working on felted slippers out the wazoo, one pair yesterday turned out quite odd, so I am unsure if I screwed up the pattern of if Rio de la Platta just doesn't do much for the felting world. I need to finish 3 more pairs by Sunday!!

See our new Garden Friends, Fred and Dizzy the Lizard.

I have also been working on Kyoto, I am unsure if my gauge is off, or if I need to make a smaller size, or if I just want my sweater to be big and comfy. Cynthia helped check gauge yesterday, and came up with 4, 4.5, and 5 stitches per inch. Not real consistent, I think I might keep going and see how big it turns out, or if I need it to be smaller. Who wants to rip, then again how often do I hear that something is too big on me.

I have some new yarn pics as well. I should really take pictures more than once a month.... The bulk of this yarn is for Ted's sweater when it gets colder, I will have to post a picture of the pattern I am going to use. I also bought some Noro Silk Garden, and some more Kureyon. Not real sure what i am going to make with either yet, some ideas but we shall see.

I think because of the two Noro purchases I must restrain myself from buying yarn untile Estes, I am out of control. Unless of course I need to buy yarn to finish a started project. I can do this, it is only a little over a month.

Will the week ever end so I can go frolic in the mountains and knit to my hearts content? This last couple weeks at work has been grueling. I am used to being fairly busy, but this putting out fires once a day and non-stop crap is enough. Thankfully it has not included too many extra hours, but I am just drained when I leave this place. the worst part is that it has not given me adequate time to update my blog. Now that is just rude.

I un-boundoff the Noro Shrug and added a few inches to the collar, so much that I used up all the yarn and didn't think to realize I needed some of that said yarn to seam up. Don't look too close I seamed up partly with other random yarn. I really like it, it fits well too. It might be a little baggy on the sides but I can deal with that.

I didn't wait long to cast on for the next project, another Noro one. This one I am almost done with the back, it is a super fast knit. Not sure if the knit two buy one is getting me to knit faster or what, but when I finish this sweater I can buy another lot of yarn for a new sweater. Hmmm maybe I need a special treat if I knit 3 then buy one. I must ponder this.

The only other exciting news is that I finally have a real dryer. I was using this old piece of crap that was in the house before we moved in, it seriously took about 3 hours to dry a quarter of the laundry out of the washer. The floor vent on the kitchen floor and a drying wrack was faster. My father came by to see the new digs and I sweet talked him into installing the right electrical outlet so I could move the new fancy dryer from the garage into the house. I love it, I have been playing with the settings and what not, who knew dryers could be so exciting.

I have finished the Knitting Olympics, obviously I did not pick something challenging enough for myself or my drug test will come back positive for steroids. I pick the former. I really like the socks, they are soft and very warm. I originally had a little trouble with gapping holes in my heal turns. But in the end they turned out good with a little cinching here and there.

I have since started the Shrug Stacey made famous, out of Noro Kureyon color 92. It is knitting up fast, but I had to go down to 6's to get gauge when the pattern calls for 9's. I originally bought Kureyon colorway 88 which was just too bright for me, I knew I wouldn't wear it when all was said and done, after much obsessing about it. So if you are interested in some Kureyon color 88 hop on over to my eBay auction. Sunday, Stacey met me at String to pick out some new yarn (for me) and ask some questions about the Shrug, since they are having a class for it. And that is when I got my new beautiful color. Here is a picture of what I have done so far. I am excited to see this thing, grow, I will need to go back and get 5 or so more balls since they only had 5.

I have also been slowly working to finish the "damn" clapotis, as I call it now. The third do over and hopefully it will be done, it was my lunchtime project today.

I think Clapotis has started a love hate with me and my knitting. I have been knitting but with no real purpose. I did start Clapotis over for the 3rd time, and I tell you what this Plain and Fancy Yarn most likely would not take another undo and redo, so this is it kids. It is at the half way mark and will go into hiding until the Knitting Olympics is over.

I have been working on getting used to DPN's, is it me or do I feel clumsy all of a sudden? I am thinking about trying out the 2 circular method, if I can get up to Shuttles by Friday. Here is the practice sock that of course will not be done by Friday and will wait as well. It seems to be pooling, as I just learned what pooling is. But really isn't pooling a mathematical thing, won't every yarn pool with just the right pattern and such? Since this is practice I am not real worried.

After I ripped out Clapotis the 2nd time I needed a quick pick me up, a quick knit I could finish. I was in Knitty Cat perusing sock yarn to start some training and I found Noro Transitions yarn to make a quick scarf. I think the colorway is 13. The scarf is supposed to have a little angora at each end of the skein, out of my 2 skeins only one of the 4 ends had it. I do like the scarf it has already gotten good use.

I noticed that the opening ceremonies are Friday at noon Mountain time, does that mean cast on is then, or when they actually air the opening ceremonies on TV?

I have finished the Cable Sweater from Vogue Knitting Fall 2005.... Finally

Not that great of a picture, but here it is.

Pattern: Cable Sweater Vogue Knitting Fall 2005

Yarn: Rowan Big Wool in color 24, Cassis and Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Marmalade, here is a closeup of the yarns together:

Needles: 15 US Denise Circulars

Started: After Christmas before New years.

Finished: 1/15/2005

I am really happy with this sweater, I have worn it already and love it. I wish I would have gone down another size of needles for the cable on the cuffs and bottom. It also probably needs to be blocked again.

As everyone else has joined Kim's stash along, I have decided to enhance my stash to catch up, not really but I do have yarn envy. I tried on Saturday to enhance with Cyn she was along for the ride, after the Saturday meeting at Borders. She was good, and I was not near as bad as I would have liked, leaving Strings with the beginnings of Spork, and another ball for my cable sweater from Vogue. We dropped by Knitted Peace as well but left with nothing.

Oh but Sunday I made up for it. Wanda told me about a sale at Strawberry Tree, so I headed over. Once there I realized I needed to hit the ATM to cover all my stash. Conveniently so, Wanda busted me by walking in (and seeing me in the same cloths as she did Saturday, but come on it is a Sunday right?) as I was gathering up to pay. Yep that is 56 balls of yarn. Hey at 35% off how can a girl enhancing her stash resist.

I am hoping possibly if the yarn works out to use the Brown Jo Sharp DK Wool tweed for the Rogue. If it won't work then I am sure I will find something else for it. Once I got home I started looking through books to see if the yarn I bought would work for the patterns I wanted to knit (I know that is all backwards). I think I might need more yarn of most of them to get anywhere, unfortunately. The sale does go until the 15th!! I think going forward I need to keep a list of "things to Knit" and their gauge with me so I can buy more responsibly. I have a couple ideas so far. I have officially out grown my current way of organizing yarn (big 5 gallon or so ice chest looking tubs, you know you see beer in these often). Hopefully the move that is looming in February or March will help fix all of that.

I think I successfully missed all the good yarn sales, too bad it wasn't on purpose. I tried heading out Saturday to see if there were any leftover sales, no real luck. Unannounced closures at the Knitted Peace I was really hoping for some left over sales there. Strawberry tree was closed for Inventory, so I ended up at String briefly but did not end up with anything, nor were they having a sale. La ti Da had 25% off of everything, but the selection was limited, I did get some Calmer, in a tealish green, a book and some sock yarn (this will be my first sock attempt). I did hit a few on line sales, got quite a few book on sale. I also bought this Vera Bradley bag, I hope it is not too big and I should have gone smaller. Now I just need somewhere to take it. The Donut Maker (my boyfriend) and I were also out the day after Christmas looking at such bags and came across a luggage sale, so hey why not. But I got him to throw in another bag I will use for knitting as well. I hope I can get some good use out of both of them pretty soon. So you seem my dilemma in not joining Kim's stashalong. Being a newish knitter, and not getting sufficiently prepared I just couldn't do it, right? If it is any consolation I did from September until Christmas last year without buying any yarn other than Christmas gift stuff. So there is my justification.

The Christmas knitting was finished in time, minus the scarves for my sister, mother and sister-in-law. One was complete but I liked it so much and was not sure it was something any of them would wear so I kept it. I was also going to possibly give the so called scarf away but it was not finished, and the same goes, my female family member's seem to be very conservative. And well no one oohhed and awwed over the so called scarf while I worked on it Christmas day. Seems to me then it is mine. I have 3 scarves to show off that are finished including the "So called Scarf" I am not sure I shouldn't rip it out but I think I am the only one that will notice the mistakes. I have another two skeins ofManos del Uraguay in coloryway 114, any other scarf ideas for it?

It didn't seem like I had a lot of time to knit last week, between Avalanche and the Nuggets, family crap and all. But this weekend has been all knitting, well almost. I have been working on the V-neck pullover from the Fall Vogue. I am liking it so far, easy to knit. This picture is from last week, I know have the back, one sleeve completed and the other sleeve started. I am not going to do the frilly edges, instead I have added a rib around the bottom and sleeves. I have also been playing with the idea of starting a Clapotis with some Interlacement yarn I picked up in Estes this year. Anyone know how to get that smell out of the yarn?

Isn't it great that briefly before my office has the big move to Northglenn, that I can run off at lunch get to Shuttles, Spindles and Skeins shop for about 30 minutes 45 if I don't mind a hour and a half lunch, (which I don't) and get back to work. I do usually feel rushed but that is OK. I can also do this with The Stitchen' Den. Yesterday, I only went to Shuttles. I had a plan, I knew what I wanted what I needed, and from some act of God that is all I did. I bought 1 pattern and 6 skeins of yarn, to make my two nieces poncho's for Christmas. Now me, I am not much of a poncho girl, I am of the belief that just because something is in (if it even still is) doesn't mean it looks great on me. I do admit one caught my eye in the new Wrap Style book. One of my niece's is loving ponchos, so I figured I would buy some yarn find a pattern and make her one. Well, I have 2 niece's so I can't just make one right? Hence the 6 skeins instead of 3. I think I will go with the unhooded version we shall see, maybe to make theirs a bit different other than color I will add a hood to one.

Speaking of niece's and things I have made for them, I finally got a picture of my neiceice and I and the quilt I made for her. This quilt was the death of me, by this time I had started knitting and not so much of the quilting, my machine was having issues, so I was having issues. But I think it turned out good. Isn't she cute?

I am slowly making progress on my Ribby, it is not all that fun anymore since I have a few other projects going. I have to admit that I stress with too many projects, like who to spend the most time with and such things. I feel now that I just need to get a couple done and go from there. I hate having unfinished things, like the Hoody that needs to be finished up, and Ribby. But of course I started the Wrap I listed below from Wrap Style, I need to finish the Michigan scarf (which I spent all lunch today on) and do another damn bag for my sister in law. My efficiency gene is getting me too, I think I need to get them all done NOW.

I am making a lot of progress on the Hoody from VK. Amazingly enough I think I may even wear it one day. I always worry that I do not like my tension it always looks too "homemade" will I actually wear this, but I think I will. Is it possible for certain yarns to knit faster? I think this Cascade 220 knits so much faster than the yarn I am using for the Ribby. I have just finished the back of the hoody, I think it looks great. I started on one sleeve, somehow I forgot to do both sleeves at the same time I usually do, but well not this time. That is Navy and light Grey in case you can not see it so well.

I some other good news, it didn't take Elann long to get the yarn I need in the right color in to finish up Ribby. I am excited to have that on the way to me now. I hate unfinished projects. I hate leaving books unread. I am stressed out by the number of projects I want to make and the lack of time to make them. Anyway I should be able to finish up Ribby soon.

I received the Yarn to make the VK single cable sweater. Also last week I received Wrap Style which I really like, I was going to make something similar to Twisty Turns and had the yarn waiting, and waiting. But in black. I am hoping it will be an easy quick knit. I never thought I would like ponchos, they just don't seem to be me but I like how some of them in this book look.

Starting on Monday I will be spending a ton of time at the Pepsi Center watching these sexy boys. I am excited to have hockey back and have season tickets back. Well even if they are my boyfriends tickets, who else can he take. Here is the dilemma, can I knit at a hockey game? I tried while watching on TV last night and I miss so much. I can't imagine skipping 2-3 nights a week of knitting all together, so I think I must take the knitting and knit in both intermissions. What else is a girl to do?

While on vacation I only took 2 projects and that was a difficult choice. I hated to leave Ribby behind but I knew I was too far along to make it a trip project, and I thought I might need something easy but yet not utterly boring. I choose to make another Klaralund because of the issues with the first one, being 6 bazillion sizes to big. When I got home I only had about 10 inches left on the second sleeve to finish and it would be done. I have a pre seaming picture.....

I am quite pleased with this one. It may be a touch small but I have yet to block it and hope to get a little there, and well if I ever lose that planned weight loss it would help as well.

I wanted to leave for vacation at a good stopping point on Ribby. So I stayed up late the night before liftoff, I needed to complete the 2 front panels of Ribby before I left. I needed to have just the sleeves to finish when I got back. I was successful. I am still not thrilled with how the stockinette looks on this project. I feel amateur (I am I know) that my stockinette is bumpy, loose then tight just not smooth and flowing. I started to wonder if it was just the yarn, or partially the yarn since the stockinette on my Klaralund looked so nice. I have started to wrap the string around my pinky and I think it helps but I am not convinced I will truly wear this sweater when it is complete, because well it looks handmade in the beginner variety. which makes me wonder why I bought so much more Peruvian Wool to make yet another Ribby one day....

The bag I made for my grandmother which I thought would be a big success, deemed this response in a thank you letter from her: "Thanks for my bag Jeni. I sure like the bag you made for your mother, maybe one day you will make me one like it." The only difference between her bag and my mother's bag are color. One navy and Grey, one maroon an charcoal. Go figure.

This weekend I get to start Ribby's sleeves and hopefully start a Christmas blanket for my father, I would really like to use some of my other wonderful yarn just waiting to be made into a sweater.

I spent the weekend knitting, reading, officiating tennis, knitting and reading. Exciting huh? If only it was not the truth.

I managed to finish up the back of the Ribbi and the beginning of the left side. The farther I get along the more I feel inclined to rip the whole thing and start over. That would give me something to do on the way to NY and such. Hopefully I will be done with round one before we leave, and can decide if it is too small, yet another reason to rip it and start over other than the uneven stitches and horrible looking decreases around the armholes. Here is where I am at.

I had some time to work on my grandmothers felted bag, (I will remember to look up the book and pattern on that one) while at the movies last week. I saw The Island, even though it was entertaining it had a crappy plot. This has turned into my non-distracting project that I can do in the dark or at work during lunch. It is getting close and with my brother heading off for a visit to Grandma soon I have a deadline. I believe I am about 10 or so rows from starting on the base of this one.

I have also decided to make a second Klaralund on our trip. My first turned out huge, really really big. I think some of it was stretching during blocking, it also had some mistakes I would like to fix, so I will most likely go with smaller needles and a smaller size. This also gives me the chance to get a new color since I was not thrilled with the first colorway. I bought Noro Silk Garden in #88 for this. Lighter colors with not so many dark striping. I really did like the colors of my first Klara but there were these large brown/'blackish stripes I did not like so much. And well it being my first sweater I didn't worry as much about the coloring as I did the look and when I started looking at the coloring more I realized it was just odd looking to me. So hopefully the lessons learned the new color will make for a happy second round, even if expensive.

The Michigan scarf has received no attention, and it does have a deadline but it could be fudgeable since the deadline is while I am in NY and I can't very well give it to the person while we are in different states. Nor is it all that much fun, once the bag is done it will be come my distractable project.