Show and Tell

Some eye candy for you of a couple of my Stitches purchases. This colorful yarn is some oh so soft alpaca yarn in such a bright and happy colorway that I just had to buy it. I think it came from Pacific Alpacas. She has a whole bunch of these cute little skeins of about 150 yards. I figured of course that it could be a hat! I have not yet decided if I will be keeping it or if it will be a gift for someone. Or I just might carry it around stroking it all day! The second photo is some wonderful green silk from Tess Yarns. I absolutley love her yarn. Her booth is very dangerous to enter and it is hard to leave with just one thing (I did not succeed!) Her colorways are so gorgeous and then you can pick the fiber once you find your favorite colors. She has sock yarns, silk, wool, merino, alpaca, silk and merino and even riboon. I picked this skein to make something for Miss K partially because she loves green but mainly because I just had to have it! There is about 333 yards - any suggestions on what to make with it?

My Very First Sock!

You're looking at it - my very first sock! I'm so proud. And no, it's not a matter of the photo being out of perspective, it is indeed a baby sock. I made it in my class at Stitches West taught by none other than Cat Bhordi herself. It is her Coriolis sock design. How cool is that? She is so very nice and friendly. She is down to earth. She loves to teach. She looks just like a normal human being. The non-knitter would never know that she is a goddess! Here she is holding my sock! The class was so much fund and Mom and I had a great time. We also enjoyed shopping at the market and I will soon show you some of the goodies I purchased there as soon as the rain stops so I can photograph them. You can see a sneak peak of the yarn I got to make a clapotis here. Unfortunately on Friday I got the flu and so had to miss the second day. That was a real bummer. However I'm finally feeling well enough to knit so the world will soon be a good place again. I don't think I'll make a second one of these socks because I have no intention of giving them to some sweet babe. I'm keeping my first sock like a trophy!

Daffodil Daze

I was thinking the other day about Janice's comment that she was experiencing weather that was 25 below while I was considering planting my forgotten bulbs. I realized that we often take for granted that which we have. In California we often forget how lucky we are when it comes to the weather. As knitters we forget how lucky we are to have a passion and as knitting bloggers we may forget how lucky we are to have a wonderful community of friends. So I'm having a contest called Daffodil Daze. I want to track the appearance of Daffodils across the country. I figure this are probably the most common of bulbs so everyone must have some near them that they can take a photo of. So when they appear near you, please take a photo, post it on your blog and leave me a comment. Once the last bulb has emerged from the ground I'll have a drawing for a wonderful prize. I figure Lisa in Alaska will be among the last to see them so once I've heard from her I'll now it's time for the drawing. I thought it would be fun to see how long it takes these little guys to make their way across the nation. If you have no Daffodils near you than a tulip or another sort of flower which emerges from a bulb outside (other than paperwhites) is fine. I first started spotting daffodils in my neck of the woods the beginning of February.

So what will the prize be? That has yet to be decided. Tomorrow starts Stitches West so I promise to find a worthy goody at the market there. Mom and I are going and I'm so excited. We are taking a sock class with Cat Bordhi on Thursday and an all day sock class on Friday. This is my yarn for Friday's class - some wonderful Koigu in red and purple. I've yet to complete a sock so wish me luck!

I'm in love!

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a beautiful yarn! Did you guess? I LOVE this yarn. It's Malabrigo selecction privada and its soft, fun to knit with and I really like the colors. I bought this awhile ago at the yarn store in Half Moon Bay and have decided to make the Wave Scarf which is a free pattern from Knit Picks. It's really a cross between a scarf and a shawl as it's a very wide scarf but not wide enough to truly be a wrap. It looks like it is going to be very yummy to wear. There is a 24 stitch cable which is quite large and makes it pucker a bit. I still haven't decided if I like that or not. If I make it again I might consider a 16 or 20 stitch cable instead but it is pretty cool as it gets bigger. I can't wait to wear this when I finish.

Springing Up

I found these bulbs in my garage. I guess I forgot to plant them. But that didn't stop these guys - they are bursting out anyway! I'm going to get them in the ground quickly so hopefully I'll have some pretty tulips in the spring. They are currently resting comfortably in the hat I'm making out of the cute baby yarn I bought in Ojai. It is for my friend who is adopting a baby from China. Her new little girl is about 1 year old so hopefully I'm making this large enough. She leaves at the end of the week to get her and will have to spend about 3 weeks in China. I'm so excited for her. They have been hoping for this for about 4 years! She also has a little girl who will be 2 in March so I'm going to make her a matching one in the pink yarn. I am using a stitch called mock cable or baby cable and it is so easy! No cable needed. It is K2,P2 rib and then every four rows rather than K2 you K2TOG but then instead of slipping it off the needle you knit one more in to the right stitch and then slip it off. Viola! Baby cables without a cable needle. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Valentine's Hats Part Deux

It finally stopped raining enough for me to rush out and take some photos of the Valentine's day hats I am making for the girls. I am still working on the one for Horsey Girl and am quite happy with how it is coming out. While I'm not a big fan of intarsia, it it worth it to get the effect. You can't quite see it yet but this will be a rim of hearts around the middle of the hat. I'm using some soft yarn form Misti Alpaca which is 85% cotton and 15% silk for the pink section and the left over red from Miss K's hat for the hearts. I picked the pink because I love the color and it is so soft and yummy but I have not made a hat from cotton before. I'm hoping that it doesn't get to stretchy. I think the intarsia will help make it stronger and less stretcy. I also have a picture of Miss K's finished hat. The last one looked so bad I needed to show it to you again. It is being modeled by the little man since it is still a surprise to the girls. He looks awfully cute in it - might have to make one for him . . . .