Fiber Friday!

Fibernymph Bounce 80% merino/20% nylon; 400 yds. in the Vampire Kisses colorway! Gorgeous, smooshy and love, love, love it!

The Loopy Ewe order...some more Malabrigo (one can never have enough Malabrigo), Collinette Jitterbug sock yarn, and Lil Loopy is holding a cute stitch marker!
OMG when I opened the box for this order I about gagged from the stench! I didn't even take the time to look at the yarn but immediately stuck it in Wolfe Farms so it could soak up the scents from that. I don't know what they do with that Collinette yarn but will never, ever buy it again because of the smell. Someone mentioned on Plurk that it was their favorite sock yarn so thought I'd try it....how do they knit with it? @hotazzknitter and @courtsgram (after I got it) said "oh yeah, that yarn really stinks!" Glad its not just me!:) My nose don't work that well either and for me to smell it, its really bad!
Have a great weekend and try to stay cool!

Mail Day!

Highland Handmades Sugar Maple Sock Yarn
425 yds in the colorway Midnight Lavender

Vesper Sock Yarn!
428 yds. of self-striping goodness! In the colorway Mermaid!

Goodies....

@hotazzknitter made this for me for my birthday...plus gave me some yummy Moscato! This is setting on my knitting table and makes me smile every time I look at it! Thanks bunches and snorts!:)

Goodies from my guys...slippedstitchstudios project bag/pattern keeper; Signature circulars (ahhhhh); Tempted Hand Painted yarn in Mocha Chai colorway; Wolfe Farms soap, lol and a bunch of cupcakes from Double D's!

Goodies from the spin/knit/potluck....gorgeous fibers from FreckleFaceFibers...she brought bags and bags of lovelies!

Awesome yarn from a destash...Numma Numma Toasty in Black Cherry Jam; Three Ewes Twisted in Fiber in Frog Legs; and Twisted Limone in Jean-Jeanie.
Ordered some Highland Handmades and stripey sock yarn from Knitterly Things (vesper)! Can't wait! Will have to wait to cast on after I finish the next Loopy Ewe project! Project 2 has to involve cables in either mittens/gloves/socks...I'm doing Wendyknits Lace/Cable socks in the above Tempted yarn! It is so soft and squishy!

Received my yarn I won from Nichole's contest...

Sereknity Impulse...worsted weight; 245 yds.; in the colorway Land of Oz.

Thank you so much Nichole and Heather!

A few of the babies...

Total of 31 birds accumulated this weekend!

(New Hampshire Reds, Red Sex-Links (Red Stars), Easter-Eggers (Ameraucanas), Silver-Laced Wyandottes, 3 color varieties of Giant Cochin (Blue, Black and Splash) French Guinea Keets, 3 ducklings)

These are from Odyssey Ranch.

Bacon & Eggs!

Lol, Randy with Nichole and Luanne!

Left is yesterday's egg and right is today from the Red Star (Luanne) :) Off to do chores....

Sunshiney!

Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock Mini's acquired on the last update....

Was just going to look at what was updated and saw Dani put up the minis...Jimmy came over cuz he heard me go "ooooh" and kept refreshing the page and doing the countdown..."Mom, there's only 4 left....3 left...2 left" .....hurry Jimmy click add to cart!!!! They are gorgeous!!

Came with: Badlands, Painted Desert, Desert Cactus, Kelp Forest, Black and Blue, and Peacock! Ooooh, I just thought I have a shawl pattern called Peacock, hmmmmm might be my next thing I need, lol!

Jimmy and I went and ordered his school books for next year....omg I'm going to have a high schooler! Boy does time fly! Ran into @psalm127 while we were there and chatted with her for a bit which was a nice surprise!

Alice Monster!

Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock in the colorway New Moon Alice...yarn held doubled with Knitpicks size 3 needles. This was for the Sunshine Yarnies KAL that ends today! Jimmy had the great idea to add fangs; love it!

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Stashin' :)

Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock...Cheshire Cat!

Sunshine Yarn Classic Sock...Nargle's

Sunshine Yarn Classic Sock...Polyjuice Potion

Sunshine Yarn Classic Sock...Hogwart's Express

Sunshine Yarn Soft Sock...Watermelon Stripe

For those who know me, know I'm not one to stash yarn....well I'm quite addicted to this Sunshine Yarn! Love, love, love it! A good friend, Loremor, destashed these gorgeous beauties to me! It was so hard to stop at just these...then of course she told me how wonderful the Twist yarn is which I don't have.....YET! :)

Also acquired a Bernina 180 embroidery machine with lots of doodads!:) Whoohoo...lots to learn now!:)

Have a great Sunday!

P.S. Julie, I didn't get anything from the last update....but there is one on the 29th, lol! So good to hear from you too!:) hugs

Fiber Friday!

Sunshine Yarns in the colorway Draco

Sunshine Yarns in the colorway Snape

Been using Sunshine Yarns for a KAL on the Sunshine Yarnies group, and I am so addicted to this yarn! Fabulous colorways, super soft, doesn't split, excellent stitch definition...just love it! I think it's my favorite yarn right now!

Awesome Mail Day!

@kdlb Kristine from the Yarnings podcast was having a Wren KAL....guess what? I won the prize! whoohoo!!! Gorgeous Knitpicks Stroll yarn, beautiful stitch markers that have an awesome case, lolo cuticle bar, knitted necklace she made which I can't wait to wear, yarnings podcast stickers and yummy dumdums! A beautiful note came along with it too...she's such a great friend...love ya Kristine!

A wonderful package from my buddy Amanda @hellolovely from the KnitPsycho podcast....mini skeins for my scrappy happy blankie! You're the bestest!!

Saw this gorgeous skein on my friends website the other day and my fingers just clicked buy now! Its 100% superwash BFL...it is soooo soft and squishy...colorway is Emerald Isle. It is stunning! @vcfibers Melissa's shop is www.vividcreationfibers.com lots of gorgeous colorways!

Took Jimmy to get his first pair of contact lenses today!

Dogs on Thursdays...DOT!....and yarn!

Fuji's new toy....it even makes a quack sound (to me it sounds more like a fart!)

She'd much rather play with her new brother, Randy. She's a good babysitter....she peeks through his gate all the time and if he's up she comes and gets me and runs back to the gate crying! They are so funny together. Yesterday she just sat and watched him run around the couch...kinda had this look on her face like "what are you doing psycho piggy!"

Got my Knitpicks order in too....the Sunshine yellow is for a February Lady Sweater...the other two are sock yarns that just happened to jump into the cart so I could get the free shipping, LOL! Remember sock yarn doesn't count as stash!:)

Dragged my Mr. Greenjeans sweater out of hibernation and am hoping to finish it before starting this other sweater...think I started it two years ago! Want this to be the year of sweaters! We'll see how well that goes cuz you know how I love my shawls!

Have a great day!...Happy DOT day too!

Sunflower Yarns!

A skein of my Christmas yarn! NHKnittingMama yarn! When Amanda started this shop she didn't imagine moving from NH....so with the possibility of a move she has renamed her awesome shop Sunflower Yarns! Gorgeous colorways and great customer service!

This yarn is from the Fitzwilliam Yarn Line....colorway is called Silver Gray; 400 yards of beautiful superwash merino! Can't wait to cast on with it...must finish the test knit shawl and Mr. Greenjeans sweater first!

Friends & Goodies!

ToadyJoe (Amy) and Me

Sunday Limejuicy (Sarah) (not pictured) and ToadyJoe stopped by to visit before Amy's flight back to Idaho. She brought over her itty bitty spinning wheel to show James and I. Isn't it the cutest! Had a wonderful visit with them chatting and spinning!

Lovely yarn from True Love Fiber that I got at the retreat.

Tehachapi Too colorway from Freckle Face Fibers!


Never lose your scissors again with this cool gizmo from Slipped Stitch Studios! Thanks for finding me the sock monkey one, Amy and Laura! Love it!

Also got this adorable necklace from Laurs sister, lyricalllady.etsy.com...it says "Shut Up I'm Counting!" of course its in green too!:)

Wonderful vendors at the retreat...see ya'll next year!

The Limited Edition "To Hatch a Peach" 2010 Cogknitive Retreat soaps and lotions are discounted at http://wolfefarms.net Other scents are discounted too!

Gifts...

I received some beautiful gifts in the mail this past week...

Above is from my TN buddy, Dawn. Beautiful magnetic notepad, cute flower pen, gorgeous butterfly stickers, SOAK in citrus scent, a cute Happy Birthday bear, a pin that says Stitchy Woman and some amazingly gorgeous, phenomenal Dragonfly Fibers yarn in the colorway Red Hots. I've gotta find a really awesome shawl for this...ideas welcomed!:) Thank you Dawn so much..I love it all! Big hugs!!

Then I received this yarn from my brother in law and niece! 100% BFL handpainted in Bernalillo, NM! The brand is Strandavarious. So sweet of them to think of me! Thanks so much Mikey & Lila!

Weekend Fun...

Stitchin' Saturday at lys!

Fun times with Dolores, Jackie, Dawn Rene, Nancy, Angie, Marlene...nice to see Sue and Liz who dropped by. Enjoyed Chris the glass guy's goodies he brings!

James working on the front yard, planting grass! ...hard to photograph the area because of the width!

So much to do...poor guy!:)

I made some butterscotch cookies and ran some errands...

Fresh from the Cauldron minis...from a swapless swap I bought over three months ago.

Very beautiful colors! Fun looking through them!

Kool Fun!

I'm wanting to learn all the forms of dying this year.

Starting out with Kool-Aid dying...

Wound some sport weight wool into a skein form.

Tie it off in certain areas to keep it from coming undone.

Soak it in some Soak or Dawn water...

Mix the Kool-Aid (no sugar) with water in your jars to the desired colors you like.

I put1.5 packs of Grape in one and 1/2 in the other. Don't overfill with water or when you add your yarn it will overflow. For the Cherry I did 1/4 in one and 3/4 in the other. Take your wet skeins and gently squeeze water out...add it to your colors! Where you have the ties holding your skeins together make sure it is able to absorb the dye (I didn't think of this). Also another good thing to do is wear gloves or you'll have purple/red hands (yup forgot this too!) Place jars into a pot with about two in. of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let cool. When its cool take out your skeins and rinse them off...gently squeeze excess water out and hang to dry! What is totally awesome is when you take out the skeins the water in your jars is clear....clear because all the color went into your skeins! Jimmy thought this was cool!

Whalla...finished skeins! Wind into a cake when dry and get your knit on!:) So much fun! Hopefully I'll get time to try Easter egg dying today!

On a side note was able to get back to swim today...took it easy and worked out in the pool for about 1/2 an hour...felt so good to be back in the water sniffing chlorine! Also finished the preemie hat I was testing out the square needles on. Wish the cable was a wee bit bigger but love working with them. I do feel like I'm going to rip that cable right off, don't know why but it just doesn't feel that strong to me! The needles are guaranteed so I guess if I do we'll see how there customer service is!

Mother's Day is just around the corner....great gifts for Mom's at wolfefarms.net!

Grandma's Yarns...

Grandma's Yarns & Notions
45239 N. 12 th St. East
661-723-YARN

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00-6:00

Hung out at the lys this past Saturday....hadn't seen the "Grannies" in a few weeks! Had a great time catching up on things. Bought these rainbow of colors to make the Marley hat, it should make a couple of hats with all this yarn, can't wait to cast on for it! Need to finish the Hemlock Ring Blanket first though! Went home for lunch and Angie texted me that they got in glass (pyrex) dpn's! Went back to the yarn store to try them out (just down the street from me)!:) They are awesome! Casted on a preemie hat to test them out. They didn't screech, the yarn grips well to them, they're not slippery, knit really well! I'm used to my dpn's being 6in. long but these didn't hurt or bug my hands. They also have straight glass needles too where you can choose from the beautiful toppers and have customized to your liking. Also they have crochet hooks too which are fabulous! I've tested them all and they are all fun to knit/cro with!:)

April 24 between 2-6 the Grannies are starting a knit/cro/spin time....looking forward to hanging out and having some fun! So if you're local come on over and get your knit on!:)

Eileen's Treasures....

859 Oak Park Blvd,

Pismo Beach CA 93449

(805)481-4397
http://www.eileenstreasures.com/

Excellent selection, lovely displays, great prices, friendly service. I was feeling really bad when at this store so was hard to pay attention to details. Lots of Noro, Cascasde, Regia all the workhorse yarns....nothing super spectacular. After being at the Knit and Pearl Boutique with all the fine yarns it was hard to review it without being disappointed. They had tons of yarn and had lots to choose from. I was looking for some lumpy cream yarn and some tan cotton to make an itty bitty lamb. Also wanted to try the Kollage Square needles so got a size 6/24in cable. I'm very impressed with the smoothness of the cable, no twists, kind of scared that its going to break but they are guaranteed. I cast on a preemie hat to test them out and they are knitting quite nicely. They are supposed to be ergonomic and I've gotta say my hands haven't cramped with them yet. They are also supposed to prevent any kind of laddering....we'll see when I finish the hat!:)

Knit and Pearl Boutique

5 E. Figueroa Street

just off State Street,

downtown Santa Barbara

(805) 963-3930 • knitandpearl@gmail.com
Monday 11am – 7pm

Tuesday – Friday 11am – 5:30pm

Saturday 11am – 5pm

Oooooh think I've found my new favorite yarn store!! I took pics of the inside but was using my phone and they blurred :(.....You walk in and there is a big display of classes being offered with the pattern, yarn etc, right next to the cashier area to your right...to your left is a floor to ceiling oak bookcase filled with all the different Manos yarns (drooooool) around the corner from this to your left is a huge nook with a couch, chairs, coffee table, wonderful lighting to sit and knit.....next is an area of baby yarns....a rack of Malabrigo,mmmmmm....Rowan, Spud and Chloe, Blue Sky Alpaca, O-wool, organic cottons, hemp....so many fine yarns to even name...all the popular, fabulous yarns you could think of...Namaste bags all around....Lantern Moon......alpaca, angora, bamboo oh my.....in each section there were pattern ideas/patterns placed for each yarn....beautiful knitted items hung and displayed all over. A knitters/crocheter's heaven!! The owner was extremely friendly and helpful and gave me a full tour pointing out different stuff throughout. It will definitely be worth a two hour drive to go back when I need some more fabulous yarn! If you're ever in Santa Barbara, CA you've gotta go to this store....was very, very impressed and look forward to going back sometime!

I bought my friend, Alana's pattern, the Cedarleaf Shawlette and the Manos silk blend to make it with, of course in green!:) The Rowan Cashsoft is for a baby hat I need to make.....such a wonderful yarn, so soft and scrumptious! Wish I could cast them on right now but still working on the Mr. Greenjeans (I'm on the sleeves), started and restarted the Hemlock Ring blanket, started a preemie hat.....

Mmmmmalabrigo Greenjeans!

Been working on my Mr. Greenjeans sweater again! This is done in the Malabrigo worsted and in the hummingbird colorway....love it! The button is from my lys...its made out of glass and matches the green in the sweater fabulously! Hoping they will carry more of these gorgeous buttons! Going to be doing the Hemlock blanket for the the Barknknit KAL so this will probably be put to the side again....

Couple more days to get your blankets in for the contest!

Scrappy Happy Update...

In the mail today was MamaLlama minis!

The swap hostess even sent some extra minis and a pretty stitch marker!

Also got the latest Spin-Off in the mail so was a happy mail day!:) Stuff to play with and read!

This is the progress of my Scrappy Happy Blankie! I do a square a day!

Took Jimmy to Best Buy because he wanted to check out the pc games...he bought three and then I surprised him with lunch at Pizza Hut!

DawnRene sent me the link to watch Molly the owl hatch her babies.....it's so addicting! Now we're also watching some wolves, an eagle and a red-tailed hawk! Technology is awesome! Hope we get to see one of Molly's eggs hatch tonight!