Oktoberfest

First, I have to say how very wonderful my husband is.  The day I wrote the Dance of Spider Lunacy post he came home, donned a hat and went on a spider hunt.  I followed him around (he is much taller than me and I figured if he went first he had more of a chance of the spider jumping on him) while he searched under the eaves on top of the pergola and through the bushes.  I knew the chance of finding the offending spider was very slim and we were just about to give up when we came across him.  He was curled up on the side of one of the beams that goes across the top of the pergola.  Let's just say that he had an untimely demise and will no longer be scaring the crap out of me building his gigantic webs of horror on our deck.  The patio is now safe and hopefully spider free!

We were happy as clams (are they really happy?) and thought we were spider free.  Then we went to Busch Gardens for Hallowscream.  We love to go through the haunted houses, they really are so much fun.  What was not as much fun was having to walk through the spider bridge of horror.  I kept wondering if the was some sort of bad karma that comes along with eradicating a spider from you patio.  As large as these were, at least they didn't move.  They were creepy non the less.

Oktoberfest is now available in my Ravelry Pattern Shop.  It's a fun and very easy knit.  The stitch pattern is easy to remember which makes it a great take a long project. 

"Cool crisp days, falling leaves, fresh apples, and heading out to our local Oktoberfest are just a few things that make Fall my favorite time of year.

The Oktoberfest Cowl is the perfect accessory to wear to while apple picking and at fall festivals like Oktoberfest.  When the sun goes down and the air cools off, wrap it twice around your neck for extra warmth.  A luxury yarn like Shalimar Breathless DK will be extra soft around your neck and feel like a cozy hug!"

Margie, Diane, Holly, Robyn, Peggy and Linda did a fantastic job test knitting.  They had wonderful feedback which I really appreciate.  Be sure to check out their Oktoberfest projects on Ravelry.

Maryland Sheep & Wool

Last Friday Andy, Shannon and I headed up to Maryland for the weekend.  We all got to stay with Kristi and Paul from Shalimar and I have to say we had a blast!  It was non stop fun from the moment we got there until we headed home on Sunday.  When we arrived on Friday we all pitched in for the Shalimar Yarns Annual MDSW party.  Before we knew it, people started arriving and the fun started.  I got to meet Julia Trice in person.  Have you ever worried about going to a party and having the same outfit on?  Well, this time it worked out really well! Julia and I both had our Adiri sweaters on.  She is so much fun and I had a great time getting to know her better over the weekend.

I only briefly got to talk to Kyrie who I haven't seen since last year.  She's an avid horse woman and couldn't stay long at the party.  A friends horse had foaled and poor little guy needed to be bottle fed due to a foaling complication.  From what Ive seen on Facebook the foal seems to be doing much better.  I bet Kyrie's helping hands had a lot to do with that!  Here she is with Andy.  They look like they were having a great time, it makes you wonder what they were talking about.

Here are Laurie and I working in the kitchen.  Laurie and I are kindred spirits and we kind of took over the kitchen when we got there.  She's a fantastic knitter and if you would like to see what she has made her Ravelry name is Ellejay119.  I have to say that I wish I lived closer to Laurie because I think we could have a lot of fun and possibly get into a lot of trouble together!

Saturday at MDSW was crazy busy.  It was fun walking around, doing a little shopping and getting to spend time with friends that live in other parts of the country.  I had finished my Audrey in Unst in Breathless DK Copper Pennies and it was actually cold enough to wear it on Saturday morning.  The only problem was that I hadn't counted my buttons before knitting the button band.  A quick email to Melissa Jean and problem solved!  She had a button waiting for me when we got to her booth on Saturday and I sewed it on as soon as we left the booth.  Now that is some awesome customer service!

That cute guy in my lap is Enzo.  He is so much fun and really larger than life.  A bouncing ball of energy and fun.  He was waiting at our bedroom door each morning to come and jump onto the bed to cuddle.  Speaking of fun loving, Michelle Miller/FickleKnitter is one of the most fun people to hang out with!  We had a meet and greet with her at the Shalimar tent on Saturday.  It had warmed up and we had a chance to sit and knit and chat joke around and tease Shannon. She's a really lovely person and a wonderful designer.

Connie and I both wore our Frost in Bloom's in Shalimar Breathless and Homage on Saturday and Shannon was kind enough to take a quick picture.  Shannon had on her Ribbon Street Cowl and I was so lax with the camera this weekend that I forgot to take ANY pictures.  I wish I had because she really looked adorable in it, especially when she had it paired up with her straw cowboy hat.  Maybe I can coerce her into a photo shoot.

I finished up the new infinity scarf. If you have a name idea, please leave it in the comments of my last post.  The winner will receive a free copy of the pattern when it's published.  It's currently being test knitted and should be released around June 1st.

I'll have a bit more on MDSW in my next post with a few of the goodies that I picked up while we were there.  I picked up the cutest needle felting kit's from a new vendor!  More on that later :)

Catching Up

The last few weeks that lead up to Maryland Sheep & Wool always have me trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done.  There is a lot of behind the scenes work for Shalimar that gets done ahead of time, then getting everything here at home ready to go is a whole nuther issue.  Our dog is getting older and requires medication three times a day now.  Plus we have a house rabbit.  We have a wonderful pet sitter who comes and stays here.  I don't know what we would do without her!  This year she rearranged her annual camping trip to take care of our critters.  Thank you Lea, you rock!

There are two secret projects that Ive been working on and Beth has test knitted.  One of them will be released sometime next month.  The other one won't be until later in the year.  It's all very exciting and rather 007ish.  So while I can't really talk about what Ive been designing, I can talk about what we have been up to and what Ive been knitting for fun.

Last weekend we went fishing on Sunday.  It was freezing cold and very windy.  It was so cold that my fingers went numb.  I know your thinking, why would you go fishing when it's nice and warm at the house and there are things to knit?  I enjoy fishing and especially getting to spend time with Andy.  He's a trooper and comes to all my fiber and knitting things and is wonderfully supportive.  So Im not going to complain about nearly freezing to death being a little chilly.  Plus for the second weekend in a row, I outfished him.  Yes that's right, I outfished Fishing Yoda.  I have a feeling that may change this weekend, but for now I am the 2013 Fishing Champion of our house.  I need to be careful with that though.  I lost a serious bet to Andy a few years ago and wound up making him a pie all from scratch.

Ive been knitting away on my Audrey in Unst.  Love the pattern and the fit.  The yarn is Breathless DK in Copper Pennies and I can't say enough about how much I'm enjoying knitting with it.  Im hoping to have it done in the next day or so.  All that is left is the neck band and button bands. 



Ive also been working on the everlasting hexipuff project.  Earlier this year Kyle Kunnecke was kind enough to share the hexi's he made with me.  They are the cute ones at the top in gray, turquoise and lime.  I love them and someday before the end of time the quilt will finally be done.  I have 219 of them total.  384 of them will make a small quilt.  It's good to know that it's halfway done.  We have a few road trips planned this year and I plan to work on the hexis then. 





My very good friend Stephanie and her family recently adopted a Doberman from a rescue after their older Dobie passed away.  This guys name is Zeus and he's a whole bunch of fun in a giant puppy body.

 
They had only had him a short time and had to rush him in for emergency stomach surgery.  Something they hadn't been prepared for, and it was astronomically expensive.  Anyone that has pet's knows that vet bills can be expensive, but this vet bill was over and beyond expensive.

The Doberman Rescue is helping out by having a raffle this weekend.  If you are in the area and can help out by purchasing a ticket here they will be at:

DAR&E Spring BBQ

Bennett Cerf Park

544 Manchester Rd

Westminster, Md

April 27, 2013

noon until 4 pm

There are some great things that people have donated for the raffle including yarn and there is a gift certificate to my pattern shop as well. 

Balls!

Balls of yarn that is.  What were you thinking?  For Christmas Andy got me one of the best gifts ever.  A lot of women like jewelry and perfume or dainty little things which are all fine.  I'm not saying I don't like those things, because really, you can never go wrong giving me something sparkly. I'm like a magpie that way.  This year though, he really outdid himself.  I've been bitching and moaning mentioning that my rotor cuff bothers me when I have to wind a bunch of skeins with the behemoth of a jumbo winder that we have.  Andy's been really good about it because he will wind the yarn for me when he is home.  Well on Christmas morning I was never more surprised when he gave me this:

 

 

Yes knitters, there is a Santa!  And I just happen to be married to him. 

 

I've been having way too much fun with this.  First I organized all of my little balls of leftover fingering weight yarn.  Before they were rewound into tidy little cakes of yarn, I couldn't get the drawer they are kept in closed.  It's so much better now!  Yes, I know.  I'm starting to get all Martha Stewart about this. Although, I think she would have nice neat little labels on each one and perhaps organize them by color or brand.

 

 

Yarn Glamour Shots

 

Before:

 

During:

 

After:



 

The yarn is Cephalopod Bugga in Mantis Shrimp.  I used it in my latest design, Candy Necklace.  It's a one skein or less spring scarf worked in fingering or light sport weight yarn.  I'm looking for test knitters for this pattern.  If you are interested please leave a comment here on my blog or PM me on Ravelry - SpinningLara

 

 

As soon as Andy and I can get our schedules coordinated I will have much better pictures of Candy Necklace.  The self portrait cell phone pictures were a little too uncoordinated looking to post!

 





 

Ribbon Street Cowl

Ive been having such fun designing!  I really enjoy seeing my ideas come to life and it pleases me to no end to see someone else knit something that Ive designed.  Back in the late 90's I had a small business designing and sewing custom riding clothes.  It was always a thrill to see someone wearing something I had sewn.  Making the change from designing sewn garments to knitted ones wasn't really that difficult.  There have been a few instances where Ive had to frog something to redesign it, but overall it's been a very smooth transition.

                                          Shown in Malabrigo Silky Wool Cape Cod


I'm so excited to announce the release of my new pattern, The Ribbon Street Cowl.  It's named after the street that my Grandmother lived on in NY when I was growing up.  It seemed like such a magical place when I went to visit her in the summers.  She would take me to Rath Park for swimming lessons.  Sometimes I would get to go to work with her for the day.  Her boss, Mr. Diabler, would always call me into his office to sit and chat for a while.  The best memories of my childhood are from the times I spent with my Grandmother.  She is even the person who taught me to knit.

The introductory price is just $3.50 until the end of February.  No coupon code needed.  You can find the pattern on Ravelry: Ribbon Street Cowl or by copying and pasting this link into your browser: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ribbon-street-cowl

I hope that you enjoy knitting this pattern as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

                                                   Shown in Shalimar Yarns Breathless DK Loden

                                    Shown in Knitspots Breakfast Blend DK Morning Smoke


And a big THANK YOU to Beth for test knitting once again!  Daisy makes a wonderful model, don't you think?