My final serial post will be a confession

Well I have been really bad this month as far as the yarn diet goes. I really
am enjoying meeting at KnitKnack, however my wallet feels differently. I somehow managed to justify the 1st and maybe the 2nd purchase by offsetting it with Geri's stitch marker purchase, but the 3rd and 4th purchases really have no justification other than the yarn is soo pretty. Well I did have to purchase another hank of the Araucunia (the first three would be my first purchase) in order to have sufficient yarn for the intended project.(which I am still waffling on). And the sock yarn was purchased because I had to learn toe up and Turkish cast on. And well I couldn't just buy one skein of yarn, that would be ridiculous. So I bought the yummy purple and the ice cream yarn in my previous post.

And the red stuff, I can't even remember what it is, some sort of delicious wool blend. I really needed that to go with the cashmerino I already have so I can make a contrasting cable waist band on the sweater I am planning to make. (sometime in the future).Oooh and that blue shade of mystik could not be resisted. I mean everyone was drooling over it and Allegra bought the rest Geri had in stock because she too was entranced by its beauty. So that is perfectly understandable since I was not the only victim.

Hmm...now that turquoise Berroco Twist, well that matched what I was wearing this past Sat. while at the store. As did the decor at Bliss , even their website matches. I knew I should have used my orange purse that day, I would have blended right into the walls. Wait, one does not wish to be a wallflower, does one? Lastly the black Debbie Bliss, well I need need need to make the shrug I saw recently and basic black should not count for anything. It is a necessity. Right?

And keep in mind this was all over the course of three visits, and I don't have to confess the Debbie Bliss book or Addi needles, since they don't count? So really, my purchases are all easy justified. I need to go make some more stitch markers stat.

Ooh new skills are fun!

I love this Turkish Cast on that Leanne taught me! It is such an easy way to make a beautiful seamless garment. I am hoping to knit up to the heel flap by tomorrow night so she can instill her wisdom on me of how to do the heel flap toe up. This yarn is so yummy, but something about it makes me crave ice cream. mmm.

More Tales from the spindle

I have been having a blast with my
new spinning skills.
I love the pretty turquoise yarn that
I plied with a lovely
black mohair and blue lurex yarn I bought
on ebay. The hank is the roving I acquired at
Mew Mew's as is the peacock
colored ball that I am currently spinning.
I am about 2/3 done with that project and can't wait to knit with it!

Have I mentioned I am a little anal retentive?

So here is my stash of yarn. The red basket has all the synthetic yarn. The drawer is full of novelty, leftovers and sock yarn (one yarn I have somehow not amassed). The bottom basket is full of wool, and the top cottons. The round hamper is full of yarns for this summer's projects. The pink container (thank you Nachaele) has roving, hand painted and luxury yarns. I just reorganized a bit this weekend to accomidate my new purchases. So I have a bit more since I posted my stash on the Sybermoms KAL blog. But it gives you an idea.

Further evidence can be witnessed in my closet. Did you notice that the clothes are organized by color? But wait that is not all, they are also further categorized in each color by sleeve length. Hey, at least I stopped putting the green clothes on the green hangers and so on.
And my most treasured manifestation of my ocd/retentiveness is the shoes. Oooh they are the best part. They are labeled and sorted by type and color. i.e. all sandles together, evening heels, sneakers etc. Oh and in my son's closet you will find the same thing for my off season shoes. I could be worse, I mean have you watched Monk? He makes me look totally normal.

Oh we are talking serious falling off the wagon

So dh, wonderful amazing man that he is, just booked myself and my three bestest friends a trip to http://ojocalientesprings.com/. We leave next Sunday and stay through Tues. Ooh there will be massages, and yoga, and food and oh wait can't forget YARN. I am defintely going back to Chimayo to get another fix, I mean more fiber goodness. And since I didn't scope out the Sante Fe LYSs I suppose I must this time. And lastly I am finally going to go to the O'Keefe museum. In all my trips down south I have yet to have this pleasure, which will be uninterupted by bored children. Ahhh just a few more days and heaven awaits.

Just for you Betsy

So here is my scrapbooking, beading, stamping area. Okay it is a craft room. Or almost one as soon as the wall goes up dividing it from our bedroom. But that may be a while. As you can see I horde not only yarn but paper as well. It is a disease and I have yet to find the cure, but then again I also have yet to look.






See all the pretty ribbons in the jar, I love ribbons. I may even use them at some point. And all those white containers hold my beads for stitch markers. Perhaps I should learn to bead other things, but then again a girl can only have so many hobbies. Too many and the purse collecting may suffer.

Spinning, its not just for hangovers anymore

This past Thurs. I had the fortunate opportunity to take a beginning spinning class at Shuttle, Spindles and Skeins.
Maggie was a wonderful instructor with many years of knowledge in fiber arts. She is also in the process of writing a book about spinning. So I consider myself lucky to have such wisdom at my access.

We started by learning a bit about our drop spindle and how it would be used. We started spinning a lovely natural merino. After we got the hang of it (And I retrieved my spindle from across the room) she moved us on to a different type of wool, which I don't remember for the life of me what type that may be. But it was blue and pretty. Next we plied the two together and then used the niddy noddy (oh that is so fun to say!) to skein it.

And here it is my first yarn.

Maggie sent us home with additional roving (which my darling Pablo seems to think is a kitty bed) and of course I had to buy some since it is permissable in the Stash-A-Long. Shuttles has a wonderful selection of roving to chose from, but I managed to stay under budget. I was on such a natural high from my night of spinning that when I called dh he asked if I had been drinking. lol. We then went to Reign on Me which was excellent, but boy did I feel bi-polar. High off of yarn and crying at the movie. Too much emotion for one day.

So the next day I continued to spin the wool she sent us home with. I combined them into one skein and washed it in warm sudsy water. Do you think they could make a perfume that smells like wool? Or am I the only one who loves that scent? I hung it to dry and then waited. And waited and then figured it was dry enough to take a spin on my swift to wind it into a nice little ball of goodness.

Now the only question was what to make? The yarn starts off with a few yards of creme and then transitions to the blue/creme and then back again to creme. I decided since I only had a small amount of my magnificent first creatition that it would be best used as a hot pad. I cast on several times, tried several different approaches and finally ended up with this hodgepodge log cabinish design. I feel like a little kid who brings his mom home the unrecognizable blob of clay with his initials carved in the bottom and pride displayed on his little face. I made this, I love it. All I see when I look at this homely hot pad is accomplishment, joy and that warm, fuzzy feeling it inspires in me.

Taos Conclusion

Our last day in Taos was quite rewarding. First we scored a great deal on a chiminea for our back patio. I'm eager for the snow to melt so I can spend time knitting out back by the firelight. After a delicious lunch at a small deli we found The Yarn Shop right around the corner. My darling husband entertained himself by chatting up the eclectic woman minding the shop. He told her a tall tale of his vast interest in knitting and that we hailed from Cleveland. My youngest (wearing his CO Avs sweatshirt) was about to give his rebuttal when he was quickly summoned away by my daughter. The unsuspecting woman in turn told dh of her uncle who served in both WWI&II and was afflicted by some injury/disease ( I was hiding in the corner trying not to laugh) and how he was taught to knit while on the mend. Dh continued to blather on about some non-sense which included how she desperately needed to carry the world famous Creative Process stitch markers. We will see if there are benefits from his marketing strategies.

The last store we visited provided less comic relief but more fiber benefits. LaLana Wools has an overwhelming selection of plant dyed yarns. It was quite difficult to choose from all the beautiful colorways and selections of fibers. I finally settled on some Tussah silk in Lupine and my daughter picked the Millspun Wool in Indigo Green. Little A (youngest ds) was content with an adorable knit bunny finger puppet. I think the silk will make a delightful summer tank and am eager to see how it knits up.

We concluded our trip with a visit to the pueblo. We all thoroughly enjoyed the tour and were told at the end that George Clooney was somewhere about. We didn't see him which is probably for the best, especially since my camera battery had just died. So for now Dh can feel secure. lol.

Taos Continued

On Friday as we made our way to Sante Fe we took a little detour to Chimayo to visit the Sanctuary. And low and behold I had my own little blessing. In this small town lies Los Vigiles Living Traditions Fiber Studio and Supply.

As we entered (yes I made my family partake in my yarn pilgrimage) we were greeted by Rose who was in the process of dying a batch of yarn. My husband was amused by her story of how she was investigated by the FBI since some of the ingredients she uses to dye can also be used for making Meth. Now I have to tell you her yarns could definitely be addicting, but they are legal.

Being the addict that I am, I succumbed and added three of her yarns to my haul. The first is a beautiful Slate blue boucle (78%mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon). It is 490 scrumptious yards that I plan to make into a shawl. And who could resist the gorgeous Paprika hand dyed yarn (10% silk, 18% mohair, 72%wool). I bought three skeins, 88yards a piece that will end up as some sort of scarf.

And of course I saved the best for last. This incredible Lavender Fields is beyond gorgeous. It is 70%Mohair and 30% wool and 100% drool worthy. I believe I will knit up a multi directional scarf with it. Rose was a delightful and knowledgeable artist and I look forward to the opportunity to indulge again when she comes to the Estes Park Wool Festival.

Taos+Yarn=Love

We had the pleasure of visiting Taos for spring break. It had been 8 years since the last time I visited and the first as a knitter. And I must say my radar was keen. As we navigated our way to the house my ILs rented we passed through the charming Arroyo Seco. Even though it was late, and dark and my body was restless and my stomach full of road food (beef jerky, pumpkin seeds, bit o honey, diet pepsi...ya know the staples...but I digress) I managed to spot the beautiful glorious sign that read Yarn Store in back. Now I just had to wait till morning for it to open.

First we strolled the plaza in Taos, buying many tacky souveniers including two Indian head dresses, and then alas I was able to get my fix. Taos Sunflower yarns and fibers was a beautiful shop with a great selection of yarns. The Malbrigio almost had me locked in it's fiberous grasp. So tempted was I, but finally I made a selection and bought some beautiful Mountain Colors Twizzle in Ruby River. I wanted to buy something made there at the store but the one yarn I really liked was $35 for 17 yards. I don't know what I could make with that. So instead I bought 5 skeins of this lovely merino silk blend and hope to find a perfect pattern for it.

Feels Like the First Time

Okay, I give in. I can no longer resist the blog. I thought I could just walk away, but the pictures of my beautiful skeins, ridiculous stash and WIPs cry out to be seen. I will share all my discoveries, obsessions and occasional FOs. Perhaps you the reader will be amused, inspired or pitifully bored. We will hope for the former and see how this goes a second time around.