Knitting for me and my friend, Paddy

I have been busy knitting, I really have. Just have not posted lately. Made a lot of gifts for grandchildren, neighbors and Christmas tree at Curves. Curves has a tree every year that clients fill with knitted hats, scarves, gloves and socks. They go to a local womans shelter. But I thought I would post just a few things I have done that I haven't given away. The mittens I just finished. They are super warm. They are knitted with Crystal Palace Taos yarn and a strand of solid mohair. Very fast knit and with this frigid temperature, very useful. The cat bed was knitted with Homespun, I have tons in my stash. Although I hate to knit with it, it made quite a nice cat bed. So far, Paddy is the only one who has made himself at home with it. Sorry my cats are not more like Terry's. They seem to love cat beds.

Christmas in years past

Every year I drag out the Christmas tree, ornaments and decorations. This year I thought I would post a few I painted in years past. I really need to pick up those brushes again soon, but my paint table is in the basement now, and it is sooooo cold down there. Other than my needlework stands that I get orders from, The Artists Collection, I have not painted much this year. Soon, very soon.........

Photos from Retreat

Fall Knitting Retreat at Buena Vista

Girls just want to have fun and KNIT!!!!! Three days and three nights of fun, eating and knitting. What more could a knitter want.....Well, there is a fair amount of fiber, patterns, stitch markers, stash buying, swapping, etc. This year we had a hat contest sponsored by Black Water Abbey yarns. The hat pattern was called, "Oh Snapp Hat". There were seven other beautiful contenders in the contest besides me, but to my shock and SURPRISE, I won.....I got a $25.00 gift certificate to spend on beautiful Black Water Abbey yarns. I put it to good use right away. Thanks to all the wonderful ladies that voted for my hat. Had a great time and met many new fellow lady knitters and reunited with the ones I have met before. Now....on to those new projects........By the way, you can purchase one of these Oh Snapp hat patterns at www.abbeyyarns.com....they are adorable and would make a great Christmas present.

Twisted V Pullover

I finished this sweater in record time. The pattern is in Simple Style by Ann Budd. It is my first long sleeved pullover. I was attracted to the pattern after my good friend, Judy Pearce, told me about it and said " I think this pattern would look good on you". The pattern was easy, no side seams. Did have to pay attention to the chart for the ribbed shaping. The V neck is a bit deep. I may add a few rows before decreasing next time. I used Knit Picks DK City Tweed in the colorway, Enchanted. It is a pretty forest green with lots of tweedy specks. Really liked the yarn. It called for 8 skeins, I used 7, with a bit leftover. Knitted the 34-36 bust size. It fits great, maybe a bit too great. Hugs the curves you might say. I would make this again, but maybe add a few inches in length, adjust the neck decreases, but definitely make again. I love the DK weight. I may have hubby take a photo of me wearing it, you'll get a better idea on the fit.

Coventry's Doll

This weekend we are going to Nebraska to celebrate Coventry's third birthday. I had asked my daughter, Jennifer, what I could bring back from our Rhine cruise trip last month. She said, "Mom, they have the nicest dolls in Germany, I think Covey would love a doll for her birthday." So, while on our trip we came across a perfect Gotz doll. Only about 14 inches, but she is adorable with the same blue eyes as Coventry. I picked up a few doll clothes on the trip for the doll. I know that half the fun of having a baby doll at that age is the dressing and undressing of the doll. Then I came across a little poncho pattern to knit. Fits the doll great. Now I am working on a baby doll blanket. Will try and take photos on the trip of Coventry and her "new baby".

Wine socks

These are the socks I was knitting on the river cruise we took down the Rhine in Germany. I call them my "wine socks" because of the color and because while I was knitting them we passed on vineyard after another. Have not knitted socks in awhile and it was a great vacation project to bring. Everyone is so impressed to see someone knit socks.

Valour

I bought the yarn at Stitchin Den at Estes Park last month. Fell in love with the colors. The yarn is Colourscape and the pattern is Valor. It called for 4 skeins of yarn but I got away with three, and at 23.95 a skein, I will be happy to take one back and get store credit. I am not sure if I like it that well or not. It was easy and fast but I think I will stay away from bulky yarn for awhile. Right now I am working on DK weight yarn and I like the look better. I opted not to put the button and the crochet loop on it but secure it with a shawl pin instead.

Knitting on Ship

What's a woman to do with a little extra time on ship? Why, of course, knit socks. I think the other passengers were intrigued with my knitting. I took it on bus excursions or port talks. How sad for those watching, with nothing in their empty hands......

Sock yarn in Germany

Alas! I hunted my way through Germany, the Netherlands, parts of France, only to find many little shops who carried sock yarn. Oh well! I came home with 4 skeins of it, but many happy memories of Europe and all it's charms. It will have to be back to the good old USA for yarn choices...... Took a photo of one of the yarn displays in Germany, yes, sock yarn......

My gifts from Judy

My finished Feather and Fan Noro Wrap

The beautiful wrap from Christie

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!!

I have some of the dearest knitting friends. Today my dear friend, Judy, (aka Fiber Experience), took me to a lovely lunch at a new restaurant in Littleton by Cottage Yarn. We eagerly consumed pork schnitzel, mashed potatoes and carrots, followed by a scrumptious apple strudel sundae. Needless to say, not a diet day. Then we perused Cottage Yarn, and also went to Posh. Judy gifted me with some lovely fingering weight yarn, a book of clever craft stickers ( to be used on knitting gifts, and a wee kitten to sit on my window sill. A lovely day with a wonderful knitting friend, (the best kind of friend).
On Tuesday night at Knit Knack, Christie, (aka Crittie 42), gave me a beautiful wrap in my favorite colors. I don't think the photo does it justice. It looks like it is handwoven and is a perfect light weight, gonna take this on my trip this month.
All in all, a great birthday, made ever so special by these two special friends. Thank you, Judy and Christie.........

Happy Birthday Cameron

Coventry in her new outfit

Covey's Sun Top and Nebraska

Had fun knitting the suntop. Quick and easy. Knit it from Cotton Ease in the 2-3 yr. size. Took some looking to find a cute skirt to match but I think the outfit is precious. And of course Coventry looks great in it. We so enjoyed our quick trip to Papillion Nebraska. Over 8 hours of boring driving to get there but it was great to see my grandkids and be there for Cameron's 5th birthday. We came on a rare weekend, no humidity and temps in the high 70's. I took an early birthday present from my hubby, a Kindle. Love it, love it, love it. I read one book on the way and started another on the way back. It holds 6,000 books, download one in seconds without hooking up to WIFI. It also has an audio feature if you get tired of reading and just want to listen. I hope I can squeeze some knitting in between books now.

Pay it Forward

To all you fellow knitters out there......Want to receive a handmade item????? Well, I read Fiber Experience's blog just in time. If you are one of the first three to comment on this blog entry, you are eligible to receive a handmande itme from me within 365 days.
If you comment, please make sure I have your email and blog name, so I can get the item to you. You must also post on your blog that you will send handmade items within 365 days to the first 3 commenters on your blog, thus Pay it Forward.
I think this sounds like a lot of fun.....and you have a whole year to do it. Even for a procrastinator like me, this is achievable.....whatcha think?????
Now if I can just get enough of you to read my blog........he...hee.....

Just have to show you the yarn for the scarves...

Estes Park Wool Market

Well, I said I was not going to go, but hubby felt like going to the mountains and I decided "why not?". Well, I ended up buying far too much yarn but.....it all needed a good home. I bought some lovely silk yarn to make the Cheryl Oberle Kimono Shawl after seeing a finished one in a lovely orange. I love orange, but it is not my color, so I bought some lime green. Also bought a pattern to make a cardigan and turquoise yarn. At another vendor, I aquired two skeins of beautiful yarn to make some lightweight scarfs. I will have to go into more detail about color and fiber content after they are finished, ( in due time.....right?) Anyway, enjoyed the festival more this year. Then I went to Stitchin Den in town and acquired two more patterns and had the silk wound, hate to wind silk..... It was a fun day......

Montego Bay Scarf

My Irish "Paddy" on my Wool Peddler's Shawl

So I'm Knitting Again.....

Three months of having a 2 and 4 year old underfoot 24/7, really cut into my knitting time. I was reduced to very simple things, you know, like dishcloths. Love them, they are practical and my daughter Jenn took several to her new home in Nebraska, but I am over dishcloths......over....over....over.
So what else have I accomplished. Well, I finished a beautiful Montego Bay scarf in the Handmaiden Sea Cell, color is a bright turquoise and has a beautiful blue running through it here and there. Although the fishnet lace pattern was a bit tedious with all the K2tog's, it was easy and I love the yarn. Light as a feather and so silky......
Nest I finished and blocked the Cheryl Oberle, Wool Peddler Shawl. This is a project that I and my good friend Gail, bought to make shawls for an upcoming trip to Ireland next year. She picked a burgundy wine color and I picked a beautiful teal green. We used Cascade 220 Superwash, great yarn and blocked beautifully. Would use this yarn again for worsted weight projects.

Feeling "Old" but Proud......

Saturday was graduation for my grandson Andrew. He graduated from Lakewood High and was the speaker for the Senior class. He gave an amazing speech. He will be attending CSU in the Fall and plans on going into the engineering field. We are very proud of him. Seems like only yesterday I was changing his diapers, they grow so fast. Makes me feel really old when you look at the photo of him holding my great grandbaby, Jackson, one year. Where does the time go??????

Little Miss Coventry

Finally finished Coventry's sweater. The basketweave stitch seemed to take forever. But the reward was a pretty cute sweater. After washing it seemed a pretty dense stitch, so it will seem more like a light coat than a sweater. Mission Falls sweaters always run a bit wide and a little short in length. I cut one inch off in length on the sleeves though, as Coventry is little for her age, and judging by the photo in the book, it eleminated rolling them up. Love the raspberry color.

Knitting and meeting Cheryl Oberle

Darn.....I forgot to take my camera to Knit Knack to take Cheryl's photo, but I did get my new book signed. I loved the knitted jackets that she brought from the book. Cheryl Oberle had me try on the red one. It was beautiful on. I also loved the lace jacket. I honestly was not that impressed when I first saw this book, but loved the finished sweaters I saw. Also working on a baby sweater for Coventry in the Mission Falls book, the pattern is called Checky....almost done.....photos soon.

Jenn turns 33

Actually her birthday is April 1st, but we celebrated a little early so her husband, John, could join in before he had to fly back to Omaha. It seems like only yesterday that she was a little girl, time goes so fast.......

Snow, Birthday and Missing my Knitting Retreat

Thursday was one snowy day. I had everything ready to join my knitting friends for 3 days of pajamas, wine, and knitting relaxation and then...........snow, and lots of it......and wind with the snow. To make a long story short, I stayed home. We had a birthday celebration planned for my daughter, Jennifer, before she had to take her husband, John, back to the airport to fly home to Omaha. It wasn't all bad. Sunday we took the grandkids tubing down a neighborhood hill and then worked out at the gym for a bit before we all went to Cinzetti's for the birthday celebration. It was a good day, but I can't wait until I go to the next retreat in the Fall. Until then I will knit on.

Swifty

Okay, I know this is crazy, but I have been wanting to knit one of these mop covers in the Mason Dixon book for sometime. I altered it a bit, as I wanted it to fit the wider mop that does my hardwood floors. The washable mop thing that came with it is just about had it and I thought that knitting a new one might be just the ticket. Instead of the 45 stitches cast on for a standard sponge mop, I cast on 68 stitches for the wider head. I also made 4 buttonholes instead of the two called for in the pattern. I washed it and dried it prior to sewing on the buttons to insure a tight fit, especially important, as they want the mop cloth dampened prior to using on your hardwood floors. Well, it was a quick knit. Not pretty and I won't be wearing it anytime soon, but it will get a lot of use.....

They are moving away

They are moving to Omaha, Nebraska in May. My son-in-law, John, found a great job, but it is in another state. We have been blessed to have them close by in Broomfield for many years but with the bad economy and a chance to get a good job, they are moving. They are renting to see if they like it there and renting their place in Broomfield as well. We are going to be very sad to see them go. Right now Jenn and Coventry,2, and Cameron,4, are rooming in with Grandma and Grandpa until Cameron completes his school year. We are very busy and life is pretty noisy compared to our normal, but we are trying to soak up as many good memories and hugs and kisses as we can, while we can.

The year long socks......

I started these socks last year and finally finished them. I guess buying two new sock books and seeing fellow knitters finish their socks, inspired me to pick them up again. I love the colors......

Ariel the Mermaid Doll

I finally got around to making something out of this book. Coventry will be the proud owner of a new knitted doll made by Grandma. Don't ask me where I found the time, but right now, my spare time is used knitting.....my therapy.

Flower Baby Hat

Welcome little Bella..... I made this hat for a new baby girl who lives two doors down from me. It's Kate and Cade's first baby and a long awaited one. Congratulations!!!!!