More New England Photos

Sorry about that last post, one photo got uploaded twice.

Fall in New England

Went on an 8 day tour of New England. Saw Maine, New Hampshire, Boston, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Conneticut. Just beautiful. Some of the trees were at their peak, others were still green, but the Sugar Maples were and they were beautiful. Visited 2 knit shops. One in Woodstock Vermont and the other was in Maine. Bought yarn and knitted socks on the bus. We went to Old Sturbridge Village and watched ladies dye the yarn wearing Colonial costumes. Great trip.

Coventry and her doll

Well the doll is finished and residing with her new owner, my grandaughter Coventry. Better known as Covey or Cici. I gave it to her at her brother Cameron's birthday party as a consolation gift. I always try to bring something for the sibling missing out on a gift. It was well received even though most of the clothes were either felted on or sewn on. Hopefully they will stay that way. On the knitting front, I am presently busy working on a sample sweater for BWA. It is the Cassidy pattern from Chic Knits and it is a hoodie. It is almost entirely cables so it is not a quickie project but I think it will be beautiful, a lovely colorway called Pippin. Have a great summer......

A windy day in Santa Fe

I always wanted to go to Santa Fe and just never had the chance to do so. Was not under the best of circumstances. We were on our way back from an unexpected trip to Encinitas, CA., where we visited with my vagabond Mother in Law. She had just returned from a trip to Russia, then England, where she was hospitalized. By the time we left, she was doing much better and promised us that at 86 yrs. old, this would be the last trip on the "bucket list"......we only pray she was being truthful, and not under the influence of her many pain meds.
Santa Fe was beautiful and had three wonderful knit shops I visited while ducking out of 45 mph winds. There is not much vegetation in Santa Fe, so the wind provided a virtual sandblasting. If you go, visit Needles Eye, that is where I got the cutest doll and clothing kit along with the adorable ruffled shrug pattern. I know that Coventry will love them, and her birthday is in September (gives Grandma time to knit them). Also don't miss Tutto's, a new knit shop. The guys that own and operate the shop used to be reps for Opal sock yarn. They had machine made socks from Opal that were originally used for samples. Had to snatch a pair up, along with a very nice shawl pin. The third shop I visited was "Oodles". Very nice ladies there, but alas, no purchases.
Loved Santa Fe and will have to go back and try and make Taos as well. Who knows, maybe I will see "Julia" in one of the knit shops in Taos.

Ruffled Shrug Pattern

Opal Socks and shawl pin

Opal Socks and Shawl Pin

Things I purchased in Santa Fe

Standing outside of Tutto's

Oklahoma....where the wind comes rushing down the plains...

Wall murals

Whatt have I been up to.............

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted on Ravelry. What have I been doing????? Well, I have been knitting some, painting some and visiting family some....As far as knitting goes, I have finished socks, preemie caps and a hoodie for BWA as a sample sweater for their website. According to Marilyn, it should be available on her website soon. She was very gracious in sewing on the buttons for me. The sweater is a Chic knits pattern and it is the basic hoodie (lace version). Fun knit and a very practical sweater that you would wear a lot. Check it out soon.

On the painting front, I have painted two wall murals for a lady who wanted to make her grandkids overnight room special. She wanted an outdoor scene that had a tree and frog pond. She later requested another wall with kites and their names on the kites.

On the family front, we just returned from the annual family reunion to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Paul's 93 yo aunt lives there with her son and daughter in law. Saw the baby donkey ( now grown) that was conceived before our very eyes at the last reunion we attended. Yes, Shrek (the daddy) and Fiona (the Mom) have been busy yet again and are expecting again later this year.

Kilkenny Cable Shawl

Wow! Some things take a long time to knit. This was one of those projects that seemed to go on forever. Partly because this shawl is pretty warm on your lap and knitting it in warm weather was enough to remind me of the all too familiar "hot flashes" I experienced a few years back.
The shawl pattern is from Cheryl Oberle's, Folk Shawls book. I love the shawls in that book and when I saw a fellow knitter, Cathy, modeling hers a few retreats back, I knew I had to knit it. I knit it smaller and narrower than the pattern called for. The yarn is Black Water Abbey's, colorway Bracken. I think this will keep me pretty cozy this winter.
Thanks go to Karen for taking the photos. She is such a good photographer. The photos were taken at my favorite knit shop, Knit Knack in old town Arvada. I love the shop and our little group of friendly and gracious knitters.

Finally....Two Sweaters I Love....

I love to knit, but I don't always love the finished project. I love these two sweaters. They are comfortable and they fit great. I started the brown pullover last Fall when I was on our knitting retreat in Buena Vista. Marilyn King brings such lovely patterns and yarn, couldn't resist this vnecked pullover by CHIC knits. It's called the Mondo Cable Pulli, it also comes with a cardigan version. I bought brown tweed Himalayan yarn at Serendipity and started it and completed it in just a few weeks. I loved that it was knit in one piece, NO SEAMS......yea!!!!

The second sweater, the turquoise cardigan is from one of the best books ever, a fine fleece by lisa lloyd. The pattern is called Amanda (happens to be my grandaughter's name as well). The yarn I used was a great yarn swap purchase from my dear friend Christie's stash, it is called Dream in Color Classy in the colorway Blue Lagoon. It is a wonderful handspun with wonderful color varigation and is smooshy soft. It has a wonderful textured stitch repetition through out the body of the sweater. I fell in love with the shawl collar, but it took forever to complete all the short rows.

So there you have it, two sweaters I love. The year 2010 is starting out pretty good knitwise. I hope it keeps up!!!!

California Dreamin

December 26th we headed out to California for a long, long car trip. On the way there I started a fair isle hat. I discovered just how much I loved fair isle. I loved watching the colors and pattern come to life. I may have to try more of this fair isle knitting.
When we got to Encinitas, I decided to look up local knit shops. I found two that I will definitely go back to on return trips. They are both on Hwy 101 by the beach. Black Sheep had a lovely assortment of sock yarns of which I purchased two skeins of Ambiente, Schoppel Wolle. The next shop, Common Threads, had a lovely selection of Koigu and Mini Moochie, which I also purchased intending to make yet another Chevron scarf. I was very disappointed in the lack of yarn shops in Anaheim, where I grew up and where my Mom now lives. After two dead end attempts to find shops, I did find on, Velona, in Anaheim hills. It had the most yarn inventory I have ever seen in any one place. Floor to ceiling stocked with yarn in plastic bags. I should of taken photos of the chaos, but I am afraid I would of insulted the owners. No purchases there.
I did come home with a new found appreciation for all the lovely and organized yarn shops we are so lucky to have here in the Denver area. Like they say, "there's no place like home." So true......