Purls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Stitches W. 2009 - Part II

O.k. my little pretties;D   Here is the rest of the Haul for your viewing pleasure.

Let see where did I leave off?

We made our way to A Verb for Keeping Warm... and who did we run into?

None other than WonderMike!  You know from YKnit Genetically Speaking !

 

Interestingly enouh there were two things that drew my attention--and amazing alpaca sample shawl featured below on the cover of Knitted Lave of Estonia and some gorgeous stranded mittens. I don't have a picture of them but just swiped it from Ravelry. 

Come to find out, the mittens were knit by WonderMike! From the Mittens from Halland by Marcia Lewandowski book.  Let me tell you that sample shawl was a dream... I came pretty close to bying the alapaca laceweight... Luckily,  Rocky was right next to me and reminded me that I should check at home first, given that I have so much laceweigth as it is...  Thanks rocky --Will of iron this girl!  I needed that:)

   

Next Up was Snickelfritz yarn where I knew Skylark would be hanging out...  I wanted a skein of Gnome Running through the Forest:

  

Sitting next to the Gnome, Gnome, Gnome --were these amazing little yarn cakes - Yum!

 

These pretty handspund babies came from Pigeon Roof Studio.  SnikelFritz and Pigeon Roof were sharing a booth. Maybe if I learned how to spin I wouldn't be so tempted eh?

Alrighty then... just a few more stops...

I then dragged Rocky to Habu, Bagsmith, and FiberSphere... Remember my Japanese Knitting kick..

 

These also came home with me:

  

There is a Cardigan kit being shipped to me directly from New York City... more on this later --I could not find any pictures or references on ravelry.

From BagSmith I ordered a kit to make one of these:

Of course I will need special needles to make one of these --hence by far the biggest needles I have ever held in my hand:D

 

Lastly Fibersphere I need to protect the yarn from rolling around on the floor.  Oh and two buddy cases one for my peacok bag

 

and one in Eggplant to go with my Zuma bag --that I received as a birthday present last year from Deb andScout!

 Other Miscellaneous items I may have   picked up along the way....

Coco Knits and Jordana Page Patterns, measuring tape/pen thingy, and gorgeous black vintage buttons

     

Thats All Folks I hope you enjoyed the eye candy!   Stitches was a blast as always--get on out there if you can:) 

You never know who you might run into?  Look I got a chance to meet YarnYenta! Such a sweetheart--I hope we see each other at the Sock Summit:D

Live From Santa Clara

Its Saturday FRIDAY Night!  

You know what this means right?

Its time for some sensory overload!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Are you ready?  

As if.... I even have to ask?    In spanish I would say:  Hasta la pregunta es necia:)

Rocky and I were partners in crime today.  We both took the day off from work and had the best time! 

As soon as we got there we headed strait for the BMFA booth.  I picked up these

Nameless pretty, pretty rare Gems:

1 skein of Divine in Thraven to make one ofthese for the DH

 

And lastly I picked up a Charlottes Web Kit in Silkie --to make one just like Cockeyed's! 

   

I fell in love with these colors:D

 

I aslo  got a chance to hug Debbie:) aka Cockeyed  She is such a Doll!

After getting high from the wonderous yarn fumes at the Socks That Rock Booth we made our way to Asciano --for the best needles in town!  Look at those tips---ouch those babies are sharrrrrrrrrrrrrppppppppp!

 

Then we headed over to the Malabrigo Booth!  We met Tobias and his family -wife and boy I believe.  It was interesting because after speaking with his wife for sometime about the various colors and my love of Malabrigo... I asked if they had brought any free samples this year.  I was told no.   Then as I was walking away... I overheard Tobias say "No saques nada --hasta que mencionen que sons miembros de Ravelry -Malabrigo Junkies"     See there was a good reason my Mother taught me to speak spanish ha!

 

I stopped dead in my tracks and talked to Tobias and his wife and asked again if they were passing out samples as last year I did not realize they were passing out goodies and I missed out --not realizing of course until after my stitches visit.   Tobias then said...oh I am sorry I had no idea you were one of our Malabrigo Junkies.  He then said--lets make this special for you:)  I will give you something that is not intended for the market --but rather for our Lovely Malabrigo Junkies --A nice Raverly Red:D  Sweeeeeettt!!!!  I scored! 

Next up was A Star Alpacas.... I had to have this lovley shawl pattern and this  Ray of Suri Alpaca Sunshine:D 

Then we stopped at Webs... Hey I swear this was not part of my plan... It was this darned Madeline Tosh that through me for a loop!  How could I possibly pass up this OxBlood and Clematis colorways? 

 But wait there is more!    Part II tomorrow:D

This is getting picture heavy and it's late... and my tootsies hurt from all that walking and shopping and yarn fumes! Good God I need to catch a few zzzzzzzzzzzzs.

Back soon with the rest:D

I've got it bad....

Really really bad...   Its Startitis again....

Its started with the Japanese Vines and an unresistible skn of Jungle Boogie:

 

Then Yesterday during Little C's Soccer practice I made the mistake of paging through the Spring Interweave Knits.   I realized that I had to build my summer knitting wardrobe for when I go to the Sock Summit in August (Still bedazeled and waiting for classes to post.) Yes that's right--  Sister and I purchased our airfaire on Friday - woohoo! I am going to Sock Summit, I'm going to Sock Summit... and Meeting Up with Deb .  Sister is spending time with friends nearby and then hooking back up with me on the way home.  I am so freakin excited!!!!!!    Sorry if this not making sense...

Sorry back to Interweave...  I dog-eared quite a few lovely patterns --but could not let go of the thought of making my very own Sweet Tee:

 

I read over the yarn requirements and remembered I had this pretty Mas Acero from Brooks Farms that met all the requirements (from stitches last year).  Before I knew it  I had cast on 198 Sts and was off....  Then I spotted that left over Flamingo yarn... hmmm maybe I can double it up for the flowers. With a little yellow in the middle...

 

Today I was tidying up and folded and put away all our hand knits (the ones I have made) and tucked them away in a drawer for safe keeping. 

I came across this:

You are probably wondering...what in the hec is so special about that simple garter st scarf?

 

Well let me tell you.  This my dear friends is my VERY FIRST FO EVER!!!!  My very first scarf --made for the DH.   I asked him today if I should throw it out?    He looked at me like I was crazy:)  I guess he is sentimental --so sweet.    

So I offered to give it a little face lift. B4 I knew it I had ripped it back and cast on for this:

 

Its called the Diagonal Rib Stitch Scarf.  Very nice manly man pattern eh?   I am really liking the easy flow of the stitches.  Good for watching TV.

Come to think of it... These babies are nice to knit while watching TV also.  Oh and they are long over due:)   Sam just passed along a golden nugget... Apparently you can slip 5 sts at once!  OMG I could be done in no time!!!!  In time for Stitches next Friday even?  Hmmmmmmm 

Hey it could happen:)

Lastly,  I want to thank my dear friend Deb for nominating me for the:

 

Gosh I want to nominate EVERYONE--We are all Kreative!  I just know it:)   O.K.  So I am out of time but truly we are all creative and it only takes trying and wanting to make something uniquely yours.  as quoted by Holly in P.S. I  Love You

" All I know is, if you don't figure out this something, you'll just stay ordinary, and it doesn't matter if its a work of art or a taco, or a pair of socks! Just create something... new, and there it is, and its you, out in the world, out side of you and you can look at it, or hear it, or read it, or feel it... and you know a little more about... you. A little bit more than anyone else does... Does that make any sense at all? "

   

Flamingos

They could be deemed interesting...   For example,  how is it that they can stand on one leg for so long!

 

They come in different shades of pink obviously.. I like the flaming ones better:)

 

Amazing color variations

   

Here is my little Flamingo Chillin' in the the dining room: 

 

A couple of closeups: First the edging

 

 Now the budding lace

And finally, here I am Spreading my little Flaming Flamingo Wings:)

 

Loved working on this swallotail and absolutely adored my sundara FSM!  Perhaps there will be another somewhere down the road:)

I think I'm Turning Japanese

I think I'm Turning Japanese, I really Think So!

It all started when I laid my eyes on this Pretty Scarf

Japanese Vines.  I then remembered my vow this year to use up more of my Sundara--you know for stash busting purposes.   So I dove right into my pretty little mo hill and I emerged with this:

Jungle Boogie:

Then last week...  remember I was at Imagiknit.   I found a couple of those Lets Knit Japanese Knitting Magazines.  I picked up a couple and Allison mentioned that they were hosting a Japanese Pattern reading class on Thursday.   Of course I signed up in  a flash:)  Great class too by the way.  We received some disks and detailed instructions on how to translate the patterns and schematics. 

 

When I arrived to the class, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the "Stash and Burn" Girls Nicole and Jenny:)  They actually are further ahead in their study of Japanese Knitting patterns and they clued me in as to where to shop for these awesome magazines:  Lets Knit Series,Ondori and many others...   This is really the way to go by the way if you are interested in this sort of thing.  The magazines here are half the cost of what the yarn stores are charging!  Half!

Good God it was Japanese Craft book Heaven!  I really need to re-aquaint myself with this great city of mine:)    They clued me into KinoKuniya in JapanTown.

The Hubbs asked what I wanted to do for Valentines Day....  I conveniently remembered that Benihana was out there and even better --its family friendly:)  So off we went for a grand night on the town:)

After waiting for an hour (well not so much as we paid the bookstore a visit) we finally got seated.  Meet our Chef Junior--Who I think is also Turning Japanese hahahahahaha....

 

Junior put on a pretty good show:)  Look he event built us a onion Volcano!

Here served up some really delicious Surf and Turf:

    

He even managed to squeeze in a litle LOVE - Aaaawwwwwwww:

 

Little C and Hubbs had a wonderful time.   As a matter of a fact Little C told me that the food was soooooo goooooood he wanted to spend a 100 years at this restaurant he he....  He got off to a slow start   until he was handed a set of cheater chops stix: Watch Out!

  

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day Weekend too:)

   

We clearly did:)

 

I have FOs to share --quite a few building up actually. Including a blocked Swallotail.

 Stay Tuned:)

Watch out - New Knitter being born!

Little C and I took a trip to Imagiknit yesterday afternoon.  He was really excited about helping me find good buttons for a super important project!  More on this later.

While we were there, he spotted a couple of things he would like to take up:)

A little Sheep Needle Felting Kit:

Some more finger puppets - for his ever growing collection...

and then he set things in my basket and spotted a girl....He played for a while as I selected buttons and yarn for his top secret project:)

He quickly made friends with the cute girl and they played with Noah's Ark toys for a good while.  Mommy was especially pleased as she could "for once" take her time - Hurray!

Of course I had not been in  a yarn store for ages --with all the craziness that has been my life lately... Needless to say I lost control again... And Little Cowboy is turning out to be just like me - oh oh...the apple does not fall far from the tree:)  That means trouble for my pocket book of course.

A few Lets Knit Magazines, Vogue, Debbie Bliss, Knit Scene, needles, yarn, buttons and other misc accessories later... I was on my way to pay when I saw him grab one of these and ask

"Look Mommy.... I can learn how to knit too"   Can you teach me?

 

Please, please, Mommy?  Pretty Please?     As if I could ever say No:   Of course I will teach my little sweetheart:)   Even if DH throws a fit... He is an old school - Macho Man and not to happy about boys knitting....  But hey how can a child of mine not know how to knit?  Sacrilege!

Oh and I finished this:

I can hardly wait to get back home tonight so that I can clear the table and block my little flamingo:)

Its all about the Java

Lets here it for Knitters Coffee Swap 4 –Woot! woot! woot!

This is my third round of this swap and I am just as excited as the first time!   I have met some pretty amazing people and savoured some mighty delicious java through this channel.  First there was Laurie from Lorenzo Knits a Tomato and second, Michaela from KaekiKnits. Two lovely knitters that I still keep in touch with today.   This year I am glad to have been introduced to Allena from Star Knits.

I am sooo looking forward to some yummy coffee and treats.  I have also begun to set aside some things for you AllenaJ 

Without further ado, here is my questionnaire and answersJ

1. Whole bean or ground? I prefer ground for an automatic drip – flat bottom.
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? fully-loaded of courseJ

3. Regular or flavored? Both. Some examples Arabian Mocha Java, Sumatra, French Roast, Rich aromatic coffees from Nicaragua or Costa Rica are good too.

4. How do you drink your coffee? with cream –mostly with vanilla flavored coffee mate.
5. Favorite coffee ever? Toss up between: It’s a toss up between: Peets: Las Hermanas from Nicaragua , Road Warrior and Nitro from Peerless Coffee and Teas.
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? Coffee snob for sure—just like my yarn!  Hey you only live once.  Oh and I agree –starbucks coffee is the worst—they do over roast their beans.

7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? Cookies, Cake, Biscotti, molten chocolate cake – yum, yum!

8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? Nope.  I think I gotten my snobbiness across.  But hey, I know dear swap buddy that we have similar tastes so its all good!
9. Yarn/fiber you love? Silk, Merino, Cashmere , Alpaca. A blend of any of these 4 usually does the trick tooJ
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? Acrylic and rough cotton.

11. What's on your needles? Shawls: Swallotail, Flower Basket, Victoria Diamon Shawl, ,   4 or 5 pairs of socks (who knows I lost count), a couple of toys here and there, 2 afghans, 1 or 2 sweaters, a few scarves…. Crap I think I need to go through my UFO pile and liberate myself!

 12. Favorite colors? No Pastels please.  I love deep rich colors. My favorite color is Eggplant/Aubergine.  I love deep reds and wines. Other jewel tones and earth tones are fine too.  No variegated I suppose unless its socks.

13. Allergies? None.  Wait I think I am allergic to something because when the whether changes I know get itchy watery eyes and the sneezies.
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? I LOVE FIBER!  I love just about everything that has to do with fiber.  I would like to learn how to spin and use a professional sock machine so that I can knit up my ginormous sock stash.

 

That is it as far as the swap Q&A goes. 

Here is a small treat... Another FO.  It was a Bella hat that I was making for myself. Only the gauge was not quite right. 

Luckily it fit my little sweetheart just right!

 

Happy Friday everyone!

Great Party!

 

As with many households across the US good friends gathered in front of the boob toob to watch the exciting game:)

There were plenty of munchies and seriously good food, Sangria, other Adult Beverages as well as juice and softdrinks for these guys:

 

Of course little sister was thouroughly jazzed as we got to see the game on her new big screen:

 

I guess its true what they say about how many people make their big screen TV purchases just b4 the superbowl:)

Great Picture  and party dear sister!  Little C was thrilled to score a pair of these:

He was supercharged  

about his first 3D Experience ha!

The other good thing --for me of course is that there was knitting!  I love to knit during the game--4 hours of free un-interrupted looping with yarnie goodness!

 

Meet Hello Yarn Maisy Day Handspun in Buttercup - Superlusciouly delicious.  Its a very appropriate color 'cuz it really does feel like budder:)

I needed something easy. No concentration required --as I wanted to enjoy a couple of sangrias:)  So I decided to use my gorgeous yarn to make one of these. 

Here is how far I got:

 

Truth be told I really wanted to work on my Swallotail.  But hey pink silk, beads and sangria don't mix. I knew better than to drink and drive:)   This was an excellent choice.     As an added bonus,  my knitting really appealed to 3/4 of the women at the party:)   I see another knitathon coming on he he...   I think Thursday nights are going to pick up big time at Chez Marisol!

What you ask got them so rilled up about knitting?

These babies right here:)

 

All the girls took turns trying them on and cheking out the pattern.  4 of the novice knitters there were supercharged about having a knit along.  I promissed they were really easy to make:)   Don't you just love the buttons!  I found these at Britex downtown SF.  I have re-discovered this amazing store!  Its button, accessory, and fabric HEAVEN!  Truly a prized gem here in the city!  Whats even better is that its in walking distance from work - yay!

The 411 on the mitts:

Nancy K MItts - pattern purchased from Tangle on LIne. Also available thru Ravelry.

Yarn: Misty Alpaca Chunky 1 Skn

Needles: Size 8 US

Buttons: Britex Fabrics San Francisco