Tis the Season

Here is a glimpse of our Christmas décor. While this time of year can be rushed, hectic and stressful, it is nice to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the season.

Congrats Liz and Eddie (and shoes)

Isn't little Eleanor the sweetest baby ever. She is so beautiful and I must say models the hand knits well. Congrats on your new arrival.


Heaven forbid one were to think that my shoe fetish has subsided. Here are a few of my recent purchases modeled by my lovely daughter. These are the most comfortable Steve Madden flats, it's like wearing slippers.



These are just some cheapo heels I bought to match a dress at Forever 21, not the most comfortable but cute non the less.



These are really cute, somehow I have yet to wear them.



I lusted after these for a long time, but when I went to purchase them they were gone. Not to be discouraged I found them online. They are the most beautiful deep purple, my new color obsession.



And I finally found a pair of Uggs that I don't find ugly. They are sooo warm and made w/ real sheep skin, so comfy.



Lastly are my awesome slippers that match some pjs I recently bought at Macy's. When I wear them together it is like having footsie pajamas. They are sooo soft, warm and cozy.



I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with scrumptious food, family and friends.

Flashing my stash

Okay since I went through all this work for a thread on Ravelry I thought I'd post this here too. You can definitely see the difference between now and two years ago (please ignore the messiness) I have indeed added a bit to my fiber stash!

Sorry for the picture heavy post but you will see I would have a hard time consolidating.Okay I’m going to flash my stash. I’m sure that there is more I am missing somewhere and I do have three fleeces off for processing.This is where I keep my spinning WIPs, the knitting WIPs live in zipped up bags the puppy can’t access (for now…she’s pretty smart).

This is roving and yarn I plan on dyeing Monday. Kitty likes to jump into pictures whenever possible.

Some of my yarn sorted by color. The bins are also full of yarn.

The rest of the majority of my yarn.

Where I keep my favorite yarns (in the basket) and my recent handspun hang from the hooks. As you can see I love red.

My Juliespins and Spunky Eclectic rovings.

The top shelf in my closet is all my processed fleece purchases from Estes and other shows.

The middle shelf is all mostly batts I made or purchased .

The bottom is where I keep my single skeins in the top drawer, remnants in the bottom drawer and fiber in the bins on the left.

Up close of bins. One has more roving braids, one is natural fibers and the other mish mash fibers.

Sock yarn used to live here.

Until I dragged it out to take a picture of it all, now it won’t fit back. I’ll be buying a new basket tomorrow.

Lastly my knitting books.

Lily's sweater

I know I promised some shoe pictures, but I'm behind on taking pictures of my new acquisitions so for now this will have to satisfy my readers who share my addiction. Aren't these the loveliest little sheep slippers? I bought them at Bath and Body works, they also have a matching sleep mask and a robe out of the same fabric that might make it on my list for Santa. Lily likes to chew on the sheep's ears so maybe even a back up pair is in order. Today I spent the day snuggled in by the fire, appreciating the snow outside the window from my cozy seat while knitting Lily a sweater. She gets a chill when she rides with me in the car and it isn't warm yet so this should give her a little extra protection from the elements.

I picked up some Vanna's choice at Joanne's the other day and I am pleasantly surprised at how nice a hand it has. It isn't squeaky acrylic like Red Heart but rather comparable to Plymouth Encore however much less expensive. I think I may use it in the future for kids, dogs, charity or any other washable required items.

She wears it well, the only problem is getting her to sit still while I take a picture. I think the cat that was just below on the stairs was a bit of a distraction.

This week I'll see to getting around to taking some pics, my new Uggs are awesome! And I have some nice spinning to share!

Meet Lily

Isn’t she a doll. We adopted her yesterday, she is a collie/terrier mix and just the sweetest little girl ever. It has been many, many years since I had a puppy and oh boy the joys of housebreaking are infinite. We are crate training her which seems to be working well minus a few accidents. Little A is just thrilled beyond words as she is his puppy. The cats however are not so thrilled, although she has been spending much time in her crate the kitties are seeking refuge in our bedroom.


In other knitting news, I have been busy finishing some projects. This is another Shetland Triangle shawl I knit using my handspun llama/silk. I am pleased with the end results.


And this is the set I made for my friends Liz who is due today. It is the five hr. baby sweater and matching hat and booties. I had never knit booties before and oh my they are just the cutest little things, I want to knit a dozen.


Up next, recent purchase and SHOES (well boots and slippers)

22 inches of snow!!

It's an Oct. blizzard. We are snuggled in our pjs knitting by the fire while drinking hot chocolate. So far we have had 2 snow days and I'm hoping they cancel tomorrow too, after all it is a Friday. I know I'm behind on my blog and I have lots of knitting to share but for now enjoy these wintery pictures. http://www.flickr.com/photos/34985522@N00/sets/72157622689915066/

Shetland Triangle

I know I haven't been posting much...recovering from surgery and getting back on track, but I did manage to finish this project which I thought I'd share.

I've been working on this the past few weeks. It is from Falkland which I handpainted and then spun fingering weight 2ply, the pattern is the Shetland Triangle. I enjoyed it so much I immediately started another shawl out of some llama silk blend. This is a gift for my husband's 2nd mom who was just in the hospital.

Californyha nyha nyha nyha

South Park watchers will get the title.

For my birthday this year we decided instead of a big party to get away, just the two of us. It was a wonderful birthday and started out on the right foot when the rental car agent upgraded our midsize to this bright convertable.

The main event of the trip was seeing Blue October in concert. They trail not far behind NIN as my 2nd favorite band and seeing them live is always a treat.


Our hotel was awesome, so many cool little details that made it stand apart from the standard chain.


The view from our room was wonderful as well.


Thursday we went to the beach in Santa Monica and hit a wonderful yarn store, Compatto as well. I bought a couple of gorgeous hand-dyed sock yarn made especially for that store.


On the last day we went to In N' Out and then I spent the afternoon on the hotel's rooftop pool while A worked. It was pure heaven to sit viewing the Hollywood Hills while knitting, drinking the hotel's signature martini the stillo. Just when I thought that life couldn't get better a massage therapist came by and offered me a free foot massage. Ahhh this is the life.

Now if I could live in this house I think A might be able to convince me to move to LA. The more we go the more I am able to invision ourselves living there. Perhaps once Maddie has gone off to college it will be a good time...time will tell.

And I did manage to accomplish a bit of knitting, this is the sweater I am making for little A out of Berrocco Comfort. So far he thinks it is pretty cool. It is knitting up fast and I should have it done pretty quickly.

It's been a long summer

And even though I've been less than 100% I have managed to get some things done. The great news is I fulfilled my New Year's resolution and have completed the Minimalist. I love, love, love how it turned out. I did full length sleeves instead of 3/4, I made it a bit longer and I did a i-cord frog closure.The best feeling is the compliments I have received from non-knitters on it. The frog closure I did with my little hand i-cord maker and then used the pattern from Knitting Over the Edge by Nicky Epstein. The button I received in a swap and I think it works perfectly. I wish summer would be over soon so I could wear it every day. I was actually pleased when it was chilly this week.
Yesterday I finished my Crosshatch Lace socks using my handspun Sherwood yarn. It is a a 60/30/10 Merino/Bamboo/Nylon blend. I had 315 yards and used size 1 needles and ended up with quite a large amount left over. Definitely enough for child's socks.

Now that these projects are finally complete I've moved on to knitting this sweater. The pattern is in a Tahki booklet for Nova yarn. I am using Debbie Bliss eco-cotton. I can't say I'm particularly fond of this yarn it is 10 plies of 2plies and is splitty as can be.

I am however quite please with how it is knitting up. I love the soft blue color. I hope I get it done in time to wear while it is still warm.

This is the fiber I am using to make batts to spin. I had made some for a swap and loved how they turned out so much I decided to card about 27 ounces to do a sweater. The fibers included a mohair wool blend, sw merino, tussah silk, Wensleydale locks and a merino/tencel blend.

I have run them through the carder twice and am pretty pleased with how they turned out. I am eager to see how they spin up.

And lastly this is the yarn I have spun this summer. I bought it at the Alpaca Festival this spring. It is a 80/20 llama/silk blend.

I think I will use it to make the branching out scarf, I have about 540 yards of it to work with. It is fingering weight.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and is getting lots of fiber arts time in. Right now I am sitting on my patio and enjoying the beautiful day.

Estes 2009

How quickly the time goes and once again it is time for the Estes Wool Market. This year I went with my friend Anne, Maddie and met Schelli there. The four of us had a fantastic time and thoroughly enjoyed every moment and dollar spent. I just love the Teeswater sheep, aren't they cute with their bangs?This little sheep was getting sheared.
And this baby Shetland named Diamond Lil almost came home with me. My FIL says all I have to do is build a fence and then I can get some, not sure I'm ready yet though but she almost had me convinced.

It was quite entertaining to watch the border collie shepherd the ducks.

Here is Schelli's Ted with a fellow llama. The llama doesn't look too sure about Ted.

This was a small fleece I bought, probably a 1/2 fleece of Romeldale/CVM from Arianna at Aniroonz in Wellington, I love the rich deep chocolate color.

I adore this Jacob from Perry that Maddie picked out. It is only 1 lb 12 oz but enough hopefully for a vest or maybe even a sweater depending on how much of it is grease.

And my absolute favorite is this luscious 5lb CVM fleece from Geri McGilney in Loveland. The colors are amazing and the crimp is divine. The test lock washed up beautifully and I can't wait to get it to the processor's and back.

This is Ellie, a lovely Paco Vicuna from Hickory Ridge Farms. I purchased 2oz of her fleece to add to the 4 oz I bought last year. Hopefully that will be enough to make a shawl with.

So heavenly, once I make that shawl I think I will wear it with everything I own.

This is a 40/60 Bamboo/Merino roving I purchased from Bonkers. It is 4oz. of the Pavoreal colorway.

I also bought 2 oz of silk hankies from Bonkers.

And a couple of ounces of nylon that I plan to blend with some wool I will dye to match for socks.

And lastly these great Wensleydale locks are going to be used in carding projects and maybe I'll try an art yarn out of them as well.

Overall it was a fabulous time and I am still happily in love with my new fleeces. I just love the smell of sheep.