Seasons

I got an email from Carol at Rivers Edge Fiber Arts this week telling me to keep my eyes out for a package.  The mailman now thinks I am some sort of yarn crazed lunatic because I have been meeting him at the mailbox every day! When you are waiting for something exciting like yarn it really feels like time slows down and this week was no exception.  I was only a few moments too late to meet our mailman today and it makes me wonder if he has started speeding up his route to avoid the yarn stalker?  When I opened the mailbox, the package from Carol was there!  I opened the package up right away, and am so delighted at the amazing fall colors! 

This is Seasons, a blend of 70% Royal Baby Alpaca and 30% Tussah Silk.  It's so soft that I just want to wrap the skeins around my neck and wear them just like they are!  The colorway is Riverstone and can be found at RiversEdgeFiberArts.com  This is the same yarn that my Juliet pattern is designed for.  I was going to knit another Juliet in Riverstone, but when it arrived all I could think is what a fantastic cowl this yarn would be!  If you are heading to SAFF this weekend, be sure to stop by the Rivers Edge Fiber Arts booth and pick up a set of Seasons so you can make your own Juliet.  I have to warn you though, if you pick it up you will not be able to put it down.  It's that soft!

It's gotten chilly here and we had a bit of frost on the car's this week.  I thought it was time that Iggy had a proper hand knit sweater.  I don't really have much worsted yarn in my stash and wound up using left overs from the two Intersect projects.  Iggy doesn't seem to mind and I think the stripes are cute on him!  I made it on the large size so that he has some room for growing.  I also skipped blocking it since the yarn is superwash and I can get a bit of stretch to it if needed in a month or so. 

 

Just before we left for Florida I had a moment of panic and thought that I would run out of things to knit on our trip.  It happens every time we go away and not only have I yet to run out of something to knit, I can't remember finishing a project while on the road!  Back to the moment of panic...I went digging through my stash, skeins were flying everywhere, and I found a lovely skein of Miss Babs Yummy 2-Ply in Perfectly Wreckless.  I wrote up a little cable and lace sock pattern and stuck it in my carry on bag.  Of course I didn't have time to work on it while we were on vacation!  Now that we are home and settled back into our routines, I have cast on and am really enjoying the yarn and creating the new design.

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

I had such a fantastic time at the trunk show at Mosaic Yarn Shop last weekend!  The best part of the day was getting to meet so many very talented knitters.  I am extremely embarrassed to say that once the shop opened I totally forgot to take any pictures.  I think I talked non stop the entire time I was there and taking pictures slipped my mind.  Suzanne aka NeedleHappy  brought one of her finished Yorktown Socks (in a coordinating bag to boot) to show me and I didn't even get a picture of that.  She does have this picture on her Ravelry project page, but I would have liked to have taken one of her and her sock.  The yarn is

Cascade Yarns Heritage Silk and has a lovely hand.  I've never tried it, but may need to after feeling it in person.

I did manage to take a couple of pictures before the opening.

 

The center shawl is Juliet in Rivers Edge Fiber Arts new Seasons self striping yarn.  Juliet was released on Monday and there is a coupon code for $1.00 off if you purchase Juliet through Ravelry: Summer2014  It expires at midnight on Saturday July 19.  Juliet is also available on Craftsy and will be added to my Etsy shop early next week.   In case you want to order yourself a skein of soft as a kitten Seasons yarn, Carol is offering free shipping through July 20.  If you would prefer a hard copy of Juliet, Carol will have them on hand at the shows that she has a booth at.

I got to spend some time with Natasha from Unplanned Peacock who is one of the nicest people you would ever want to meet.  She has a great selection of yarns and some really fantastic colors.  I'm currently working on a new design in her Peacock sock that will be released in early fall.  Want a teaser?   Here is the swatch, the colors are Moon and Sun.

It's countdown to puppy time!  We get to bring the little cutie home next Friday and we still don't have a name.  Andy has threatened to call him "He who must not be named" if I don't figure out what to call him before we bring him home.  I have told him no-way are we naming our puppy Voldemort! This face is way too cute for that!  Margi has suggest Thor which I like, so maybe he will be Thor.  I could knit him a little Viking hat.

Lot's of fun things going here!  Today Ann McCauley is teaching at our knit group.  This will be my second class with her and Im really excited about it!  Last year I took a seaming and finishing workshop and I can't even describe how much better my seaming is now.  The class is being sponsored by The Friends of the Forest Library (FOFL) and is free to all participants. The FOFL does many wonderful things for the community and this is just one of them!

A little over four years ago I started a knitting group at the Forest Library.   We meet the first and third Wednesday of each month.  It's been a great experience and Ive met a lot of wonderful people.  Ive been trying to find someone to take over being the group leader and liaison between the group and the library, but haven't had any luck.  Between working and everything we have going on in our lives Im just unable to continue running the group.  Im hoping that someone steps up to the task before the end of the year or the group will have to disband.  We have over thirty members of the group and usually have around ten people at our meetings.  I know everyone has commitments and other things going on in their lives but it's really time for someone else to have a turn at this.  One person asked why the group can't just meet without a liaison and why the group needed a leader at all.  The library receives grants and funding based on the number of people who attend events there.  There needs to be designated leader/liaison to report back to the librarian on the number of people in our group and to be a contact person for people who are interested in joining.  We also send an email out to remind the members of our meetings.  If you are interested in helping with the group or being the liaison, please leave a comment on here on my blog.

And now onto some knitting fun:

The Mermaids Tail Cowl is finished and I love it!

Handspun SW Merino Roving from Shalimar Yarns in Zombies Treat

 

Ive been working on the Miriam cardi in Shalimar Zoe Sock, colorway Driftwood.  Not only do I love knitting with this springy yarn, the colorway is really fantastic!  Im such a sucker for gray.  If I thought I could get away with it I think most of my knitting and wardrobe would be in shades of gray paired with white t-shirts. 

 

Ive already attached the sleeves and am on the raglan decreases.  It's a bit dark in the house for pictures this morning so Im using one from earlier this week.

 

Ive been a bit of a busy beaver and finished spinning 4oz of Hat Trick in Popsicle Stick from Rivers Edge Fiber Arts.  It's going to be paired with Breathless in Ore to make a Spectra by Stephen West. 

 

 

I really should have been painting the new shelves that Andy built for the dining room, but slacked off with spinning instead.  Good thing he is an understanding guy.  Oh wait, we did go fishing for most of the day on Sunday....