My Bags are packed, I'm ready to go.

Why is it always so hard to get out the door for a vacation? By the time you go you REALLY need that vacation. There is so much to do to get ready. Find someone to feed the cats and take in the mail - check. Find someone to take care of the lizard - Bonnie wouldn't do it - but check. Confirm airline and hotel reservations - check. Get all your work done before you leave - well not so much. Dump your work on someone else since you ARE leaving - check. Pack the kids - check. Pack yourself - working on it. Pack the husband - HAH! But most importantly - determine what knitting you are taking with you. After much consternation and input I have finally decided on three items. A hat I am making for horsey girl. I figure I can finish it on the trip and she can wear it while we're in Alaska. Sure hope that plan works out. Next there is a sweater I am starting for the little man. It is knit in the round ribbing for rows and rows and rows so good mindless knitting when I need it. The third project was the toughest and there were lots of contenders but I finally landed on the Cozy. It is taking me forever to knit but whenever I work on it I really like it. I cast on during a flight to Paris in April 2006, really didn't work on it again until Mexico in January and now I'll work on it in Canada/Alaska. I think it can be my international project. It may however require several more trips to complete. There was a brief crisis when I couldn't find where I had hidden the extra skeins for the Cozy. Cancellation of the trip was considered. Luckily the skeins revealed themselves at the last minute and we are still able to go. I hope you've packed your virtual bags!

Hats off to Hollis!

Hats off to Hollis (owner of Full Thread Ahead) for another fabulous Relay for Life. Team Knit Around had a stellar showing with an enormous pile of hats for cancer patients. Mom and I arrived at 10 p.m. and there was a large contingent. There was lots of laughing, talking, pie eating and knitting. Even when we left at 1:30 a.m. there were still 4 die hards - 2 of whom were going to knit for the entire 24 hours! My hats and Mom's are pictured here. I was happy that we finished so many. There's even one that got lost in my knitting bag (go figure) that I will be giving to Hollis shortly and I am still finishing the pink one shown above. I have become hooked on knitting hats. They are quick, cute and gratifying! Janice is the winner of my blog contest for sending me these two adorable Irish hiking hats. She also sent me some yummy candy covered soy nuts from Iowa. I have dubbed them Heartland M&Ms. Careful though - they are addicting! Janice will be getting a special gift package including the ubber geeky ear lights Mom and I were sporting at the Relay - they were all the rage! Also Hollis has graciously agreed to add something to the prize package. I hope you can wait Janice as I'm going to get something from Alaska to add in there. Thank you so much Janice!

Summer Solstice

Happy Summer Solstice! I always have mixed feelings about June 21st. On the one hand - it is the first day of summer which is of course a wonderful thing. Summer is a fabulous season filled with vacations, BBQ's, beaches, family, friends and just a much more relaxed feeling than the rest of the year. I must say that as the mother of three the ability to get up in the morning and get out the door to work without having to get anyone to school is such a relief. However it is also the longest day of the year which means tomorrow the daylight hours are already going to start getting shorter. That always makes me think, "hey - I just started gearing up for summer - you can't start shortening the days on me!" I realize that is a "glass is half empty" way of thinking but somehow this date always strikes me. I guess this year I'll get some extra sun when we are in Alaska where it will be light until midnight or later. For those who read the Yarn Harlot she has been posting photos of what it looks like at midnight - pretty cool. I'm glad you're looking forward to our virtual trip and am excited to take you all with me. I will also be taking my wavy shawl pictured above. I really couldn't capture the colors in the photo but I'm very happy with how it turned out. Knitting with a mix of yarns and colors was scary at first - it looked hideous when I started - but I am very happy with how it turned out. I think it will be a perfect wrap for those somewhat dressy evening meals on the ship don't you think? Now make sure your passports are up to date and start thinking about what knitting projects you will be bringing because of course that is the most important part of packing! Do you think we'll be able to find any moose hair yarn . . . .

THANK YOU

It's here, it's here! My ISE scarf has arrived all the way from Finland! It's a beautiful, soft, breezy, PURPLE scarf that is just so gorgeous. My wonderful pal Hanna sent it to me and she did a fabulous job. She also sent me lots of goodies including some wonderfully soft yarn, some unbelieveably small needles and an adorable little Finland Hippo pin. He's just too cute! There was also some chocolate in there, funny but I just couldn't seem to find it to photograph it . . . . Sorry to have been missing in action from blogging for over a week but things have been a bit crazy here with 8th grade graduation, end of school parties, dance shows and swim meets. Summer has officially begun! We are very excited that our first trip of summer is coming up soon. We are off to Alaska in a couple of weeks and I plan to take you all with me! If the internet connections work as I hope then I will be sharing the trip with all of you as we go. Keep your fingers crossed!

Meet Sir Wrappy

I'd like you to meet Sir Wrappy. I've been spending my evenings with him and it's time to reveal him to the world. Sir Wrappy was inspired by our trip to Mexico over New Year's (get it - Sir Wrappy - serape?) We went to San Jose del Cabo which is about 1/2 hour north of Cabo San Lucas and had a wonderful time. However, it was a bit cooler than we had anticipated. All of the restaurants there are pretty much out doors so every night when we went out we were very cold. While we sat there shivering, the restaurant would come over and give you a wrap to wear. It was great. Many of them were simple but at one restaurant at the Cabo Sirf Hotel, they gave us these gorgeous multi-color wraps that were just beautiful. My Mom and I spent the rest of the visit looking for something similar in every store we entered. We even asked the hotel where they had purchased them and went to the same store. Alas we were unable to locate anything quite right. So I decided I would just have to knit one. Hence Sir Wrappy was born. I designed him based on a placemat I saw in Mexico and he is made out of 13 colors of Cascade Cloud 9 which is a combination of angora and wool. He is very soft and VERY warm. My only regret is that he curls at the edges. I think it's finally time for me to be seen in public with him! Now I'm using the leftover Cloud 9 to make the chemo caps for Realy for life - it's perfect!

I'm ready for my Close-up

I've never been good at diets and that includes yarn diets. Even though I've got way too much on the needles and waaaaaaay too much yarn, I was forced to buy some more. Really - there was a knitting needle to my head and I had absolutely no choice. Frankly I blame my pusher Hollis. I walked in to my LYS not too long ago - just to look around - really - and there she was knitting with this amazing yarn. Curious Creek in the most incredible purple colorway. The yarn was soft, luxurious and come on - it was PURPLE! So I fell for it and had to buy some. I think I'll make a yummy wrap. Now I just have to find the time to start it (oh yeah and finish it!) And a special treat for Bonnie who loves K's little Saphira so much - here's a recent close-up. Our little dragon is growing up!

ISE IV Scarf

I finished my scarf for the International Scarf Exchange awhile ago but I didn't want to post it unitl my pal had received it. The ISE II was the first exchange I ever participated in and so it holds a special place in my heart. This is now my third time participating in ISE and I have really enjoyed it. The first time I made a clapotis, the second time a Mathew's scarf and then this time I was gearing up to make something lace when I got Randy as my pal! Well the lace patterns went out the window and I searched and searched. I had landed on the cable pattern from OneSkein (there is even a guy wearing it in the photo in the book) and I bought the yarn for that. Then when Jennifer and I were shopping in Boston I saw this scarf and decided it was perfect. It was fun to knit and I'm happy with how it turned out. Horsey Girl kept asking how I was coming on my "Man Scarf!" Gee now that I type this I'm wondering what I did with the yarn I bought for the other one . . . . Anyway, the scarf went all the way to Japan and here is Randy wearing it - I think it looks great on him! It was fun to get to know Randy - he seems like a really great guy. I can't wait to get my scarf from my upstream pal. I'll show you all when it arrives!

My Hundredth Post!!!

On this auspicious occasion of my 100th blog post I want to talk about giving back to this great knitting community which I am so happy to have become a part of. Next month Mom and I will be participating in the Relay for Life. Relay for Life is a major fund raiser for the Amerian Cancer Society. Relay events occur all over the country and the one for our town is coming in June. Basically people walk for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Often people form teams and take turns walking to cover the entire 24 hours. Well my LYS Full Thread Ahead, has created a Team Knit Around. Instead of walking you knit chemo caps. She sets up a tent alongside the track and folks come and go and knit for 24 hours. Mom and I plan to be there from about 10 p.m. until midnight. It's a fabulous idea and a whole lot of fun. So I'd like to invite all of you to join in the fun. If you are so willing/interested, please knit chemo caps and send them to Hollis at Full Thread Ahead. Be sure to send them so they arrive by June 24th and put a note in the package that you sent them based on this post. If you don't have time to knit a cap you can go to the FTA site and donate to Team Knit Around. Also please send me an e-mail at lahamltAgmailDOTcom to let me know you sent a hat or made a donation. Everyone who sends a hat or makes a donation will be entered in to a prize drawing. You will get one entry per hat (or per $10 contriution). The winner will get lots of cool knitterly stuff (be sure I have your address!) Maybe Hollis will even donate something from the store for the prize package (hint, hint)! If any of you are in the Bay Area and wish to join us in person I hope you will! My heartfelt thanks to all of you for making my first 100 posts so much fun!

Gifts Galore

First and foremost I want to belatedly publicly thank my wonderful SP 10 Pal Clara for the really cool gift she sent to me. It's a felting kit where you actually use roving rather than yarn. The instructions are fairly complicated but you place the roving over the form you want for your purse and then you go through a number of steps including washing and agitating by hand and doing something with bubble wrap. I've never seen anything like it and I'm excited to give it a try. I've had a lot of fun in the SP 10 exchange. Then of course to continue the shawl theme here are the shawls my Mom made for my sister and I for mother's day. Aren't they great? Mine of course is the purple one and it's done in a seafoam stitch pattern. Better yet - it's totally yummy Cherry Tree Hill in a silk blend. THANKS MOM - you're the greatest!

Shawls Galore

We'll I cast on (and cast on and cast on and cast on) for the Elann Pacific Waves shawl in the Sonata print in the Rose Garden colorway. It requires that you cast on 541 stitches!!! It took me FOREVER! Then you only reduce the equivalent of about 1 stitch per row for around 60 rows so I'll be knitting over 500 stitches on most of the rows! It is a major accomplishment just to knit one row! I think I will like it though and it's a very easy pattern to follow. I also started this crazy shawl based on a kit I got at a yarn store shawl kit sale. They put a mix of colors that basically go together in to a plastic zipped bag and then you make whatever shawl you want. There are some patterns that come with it and also my Mom and I bought some additional shawl patterns. I go back and forth between loving this color combination and thinking it's just too wild. I guess we'll have to see how it looks when it's done!

Crossing The Finish Line

They say the two best parts of a project are starting it and finishing it. In between things can get a little tedious. Well that was certainly the case for this cozy wrap. I made this wrap for Horsey Girl and I started it oh so long ago. It is made out of pink Homespun and it is wonderfully soft and squishy. My Mom had made one out of blue and every time my daughter saw it she would take it from my Mom and wear it herself. So I decided to make one for her. I bought 3 skeins and got to work. The first skein went fairly quickly and I was excited. Then I started to get bored and I put the project away. I'd forget about it for awhile and then I'd work on it every now and again. Now those skeins of Homespun are evil. They are like Willy Wonka's every lasting gobstoppers. THEY JUST NEVER END! Even when you look like you are close to the end they just go on and on and on and on! But alas - I FINALLY finished it and now she won't have to steal my Mom's. I really love it and would like to make more of them but for now I just can't face another skein of Homespun! Also this week I received two wonderful surprises. First, as a prize for the contest to name Bonnie's "dummy" Lola, I received four adorable stitch markers. Thanks Bonnie! Then I also received a surprise package from Jennifer. She was out shopping and knows I love dragonflys so sent me this beautiful business card holder. It was such a wonderful surprise. Thanks so much Jennifer - I love it!

Elann-athon

I've decided I'm a joiner. I know. It's obvious. The scarf exchanges, the tote exchanges, theSecret Pal exchanges, I just have to join. So when I found out about the Elann Shawl-athon I just HAD to join. If you haven't been there before, Elann is a discount yarn site that has the most amazing free shawl patterns. I've got several of them on my "to do" list and even have the yarn for one. So when I came across the Elann-athon I just HAD to sign up. I'm so excited! I'm going to make the Pacific Waves shawl in Rose Garden. It is made with their Sonata yarn which is 100% cotton and is very colorful. I've never used cotton for anything other than small dishcloths so this will be a new experience for me. Also it is a very easy shawl pattern for when I don't want the complexity of the Victorian Lace pattern. The kick-off is on May Day but I told myself I have to get several things off the needles before I can put anything back on. So far 2 off and 2 to go. I think I'll be able to start this in about a week. I'll post progress as soon as there is any!

I Needed Another Scarf

Actually the last thing I need is another scarf but I just couldn't help myself. Every time I went in to my LYS, they had this amazingly soft, snuggly scarf hanging there. Each time I would fondle it but then tell myself I didn't need another scarf. The yarn is Cypress Mohair and it is a mix of acrylic and mohair. That was another reason not to make it - I generally don't like knitting with acrylic. But the mix of colors is amazing and it is just so incredibly soft that I found myself compelled to make one. I am so happy that I did. The yarn is wonderfully soft to knit with and the scarf is just so comforting to hold. To take this photo I sort of tossed the scarf in to the flowers. Then when I pulled up the photo on the computer I noticed it was shaped like a heart! The scarf must know that I love it. Too bad the weather is warming up now that I'm almost done!

Spring Challenge

I decided that I need to try something a little more challenging than the felted bag or typical scarf that I seem to be spending most of my time on. So I decided to try one of the shawls out of the Victorian Lace book. I bought some gorgeous alpaca silk at Stitches West and picked a shawl that I thought I could do. I must say that it is fun although it requires a LOT more attention that knitting a felted bag. I also keep ending up with the wrong number of stitches! Intrestingly enough, when I heard the author speak at stitches her view as that you just "fix it and add a new stitch" rather than going back and tearing things out. I like that approach! So far my little fixes don't appear to be noticeable but I think I won't truly find out until a get a little farther. Has anyone else made anything out of Victorian Lace?

Sadly No Knitting

Unfortunately there will be no knitting content in this post. I will explain why in a bit. However I wanted to share these photos with you and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I do. This week the kids were off school so we went down to Monterey for several days with my folks. For those of you who aren't familiar with California, Monterey and it's better known sister city - Carmel, are on the coast of California about half way down the state. It is a gorgeous area and I always like going there although we don't get there very often. It is truly a gorgeous destination. As you drive along Highway 1 on the coast, I am always taken aback by the sheer wonder of it. Even though I live mere miles from the coast, I don't often get to the ocean. Whenever I do, I am always in awe. It's just amazing to me that I can be driving along and a few feet away is literally the edge of our country! I mean that's it. Turn right, drive a few feet and you are in the ocean. The gynormous (yes I got that word from my kids) Pacific Ocean. I don't know why it always amazes me so but it does. While in Monterey we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

(or the 'quarium as Master J would say) which is one of the best Aquarium's in the world. They have the most amazing sea life there and lots of opportunities to touch and learn. One of their best exhibits is the jellyfish exhibit. They have all sorts of jellies and have them in tanks with lights that make them look so incredibly beautiful. It is really a sight to behold. Also they have many amazing creatures such as the seahorse pictured here. Of course no trip would be complete without a trip to the yarn store so Mom and I went to Yarn by the Sea, the yarn store in Carmel where they sell not only yummy yarn but designer chocolate! I mean what more could you want out of life? Now for the "no knitting content part". That was the only bad part of the trip. I had been scouting out photo shoot locations for various knitting projects and Saturday morning I packed up the projects, grabbed the camera and headed out the door only to - GET WET! Yes it had started raining, then pouring and it didn't stop! I was so disappointed!! I was really looking forward to sharing pictures of "knitting by the sea." Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back!

Just Shrug it Off

I was watching Knitty Gritty one night and saw this adorable shrug that appeared to be fairly quick and easy and looked like something Miss K would like. I've never knit anything even remotely like a sweater before but decided it was time. Not wanting to spend time making something she wasn't going to wear, I made her watch part of the show and she said she really liked it. Check - she likes it! So then I picked out the yarn (green of course) and showed that to her. Check - she likes the yarn. Next as I was knitting it I continually tried it on her and each time asked her if she liked it. Check - she continues to like it. And then (of course you know the ending to this sad tale) when I finished and put it on her she says, "It's OK, but it's too bad you didn't finish it while it was still cold outside!" WHAT??? It's only in the '60's and clearly a shrug isn't exactly a fisherman's sweater! She doesn't seem to like it. I don't think she is going to wear it. I'm so disappointed but maybe she'll change her mind. Oh well, I guess I'll have to "shrug" it off!

Fabulous SP10 Strikes Again

I got a fabulous box from my SP10 Secret Pal this week. Previously she sent me this adorable Vogue book on felted items. Sure enough there are several things in there that I can't wait to make. NOT that I need more projects but there is this adorable plaid bag and . . . Then on Monday this big box arrived. What a nice way to start the work week. I opened it and found the most wonderful things. First it was all organized in these nice need sections. Then I opened each one and found surprise after surprise. This AMAZINGLY soft and gorgeous Art Yarns silk yarn. The colorway is just scrumptios with the purple, teal and yellow. Any suggestions on what to make? Then there were two gorgeous skeins of Noro, hand lotion, candles and these totally cool gloves with polka dots to put on your hands after the lotion. They are so cute but they were too shy for a good photo. THANK YOU SO MUCH to my wonderful SP10 pal. You are so good to me. I love all my gifts and can't wait to use them!

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring! Whatever your denomination (or not) this is a great time of year. The sun is out more often, the weather is warming up (most of the time) and the flowers are beginning to bloom. This time of year always feels like the start of something new to me. It is a great time to think of fresh knitting. It's time to put away those hats, scarves and wrist warmers and turn to spring knitting. I've started knitting with cotton - not something I've ever done before and I highly recommend it. It is so soft and the colors are amazing! Also it seems to be cheaper than some of the other yarns out there. So far I've only knit wash cloths but they are so quick and fun and they lead to instant gratification. Maybe next I'll knit a tank top or spring sweater! I think spring is a time to make new knitting resolutions just like New Year's. It's time to take on a new challenge, knit a fresh new item, just get out there and knit! So happy everything to everyone including Happy Spring Knitting!

And the winner is . . . .

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and participated in my blogiversary contest. It was so great to hear from all of you! I'm very flattered by all your kind words on my knit items and photography. I put all the names in a hat and out came Brooke. Congratulations Brooke - I will be sending you a box of goodies soon. Brooke was my upstream pal in SP8 and what a wonderful pal she was. I also want to say hello to my upstream pal in SP10 in case she is reading. My new pal sent me a wonderful little Vogue knitting book on felted items. Now I have even more things on my "to do" list! This photo is yet another ballband bag I am making. I can't thank Monica enough for this great pattern. My friend likes pink and brown so I'm desperately trying to get this done for her for Easter - do you think I'll make it?

BLOGIVERSARY Contest

Happy Blogiversary to me! It's my party and I'll knit if I want to, knit if I want to, knit if I want to! One year ago on March 30, 2006 I started this blog. What a wonderful ride it has been. It has given me a great opportunity to combine my love of knitting with my love of photography and my love of flowers and nature. But most of all my love of friendship and the exciting opportunity to meet all of you! So as a special thank you and to celebrate, I'm having a contest. Either leave me a comment or send me an e-mail and let me know which of my knit items is your favorite and why. Or if you prefer - which of my photographs you like the best. If you don't like any of them just fake it! The winner will be drawn at random from all the entrants and I will send you a bunch of knitterly goodies. Be sure to let me know how to contact you if I don't already have your e-mail address. Thanks for playing and thanks even more for visiting my blog!