Welcome Summer!

Today is the kids' last day of school, where did the time go? I just took these pictures I thought a couple of days ago, but I look out my window and the wisteria are all gone. They were breathtaking and fragrant while they were here, but alas summer is on the way! But Spring did bring new additions while it was here. I lucked out and scored this Ashford Traditional for a steal from a woman who works at one of my dh's clients. She was gifted it about 20 years ago but never used it, so decided to sell it for lawnmower money. I quickly snatched it up. It only needed a new leather footman piece and a drive band and some TLC. I am hoping to get to it this weekend so I can see how it spins.
Meanwhile on my Lendrum I have been working on this roving from Ashland Bay. I believe I posted the picture of the single previously.
And here it is all plied. I ended up with about 675 yard of worsted/bulky weight. I am hoping to find a cool vest pattern and knit it up this fall.
I did however start this with the merino/tencel I spun. It is the Cream of Spinach scarf. I did only 2 repeats instead of three to ensure I have enough for adequate length. This is my first knit with my hand spun, and I am enjoying it thoroughly.
Other projects have been going so/so. I just frogged the Blue Sky tank last night, it ended up being way too big. I was about 1/2 way done too. :( The Veronik sock just got a heel flap and is being ignored while I spin. It is so busy this time of year it is hard to find time to do it all and I find myself choosing spinning over knitting lately it would seem. Coming up soon: all the lovely new fiber I have added to my stash!

Sound Familiar?

You're from Colorado if:
You'll eat ice cream in the winter.
When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.
It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be cancelled.
You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.
You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's. And then you make fun of them.
'Humid' is over 25%.
Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.
You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.
You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.
You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
You know what the Continental Divide is.
You don't think Coors beer is that big a deal.
You went to Casa Bonita as a kid.
You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.
You always know the elevation of where you are.
You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.
You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.
Every movie theater has military and student discounts.
You actually know that South Park is a real place not just a show on TV.
You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches,not Six Flags.
A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.
You've been to the original Chipotle near the DU campus on Evans.
When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.
You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer blue.

Fun Packed Week

Wow, we were busy this week. We has something going on almost every night. We started the week on Monday with the Duran Duran concert. We had 5th row center seats in the pit and about half way through we ended up in front, directly below the stage. I am still unsure who is cuter 20+ years later, Simon or John. I'll post a pic of the concert as soon as A emails them to me and perhaps you can help me finally decide.

Tuesday I had the pleasure of being invited to Christie's house for a swap and pizza dinner. It was so nice to see everyone on a Tues night. Here is Gerri (owner of Knit Knack) modeling a sweater she purchased from Judy.

And here are Betsy, Christie and Cheryl having a laugh.

I almost nabbed this bag right out of Gerri's hands when she walked in the door carrying it. This is the exact Namaste bag that Maddie had been eyeing in the shop.

This gorgeous Stella yarn I purchased from Christie almost matches it exactly. I am not sure what I am going to knit with it, but I do have the DB Bliss book for this yarn so I have lots of possibilities.

As you can see Maddie was quite thrilled when I brought her home the bag, in fact I do believe some jumping up and down and squeals were involved.

Yes, it does bring a little flair to the rather dull outfit she was donning.

Thursday night we had dress rehearsal for the ice show which occurred on Sat. I wish I had taken pictures, but I knew that the glare of the glass around the rink would ruin the shot. It was a ton of fun though and both Maddie and little A did an excellent job. Although little A admitted he did have some stage fright, he was the cutest little Tigger. My SIL came for the second show and sat further up so I hope she will have some pictures to share which I in turn will post for all of you.

In the world of knitting I have been busy working on the Fitted Tank with this gorgeously squishy Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton. I think I am going to have to end up buying another skein though. Shoot, just what I needed, an excuse to head up to Conifer.

I also finished spinning this Merino/Tencel Blend. I Navajo plied it, which was a first for me. It did come out a little bit over-plied so I ran it back through the other direction. I have about 220 yards and no clue what to do with it. It is rather pretty.

Well with the Ice Show finally over, this week should be rather calm. I do have a lot of work to do at our old house. We are putting it on the market at the end of the month, so my hands will be filled with paint brushes rather than knitting needles for a while. And I just had a manicure Fri., so figure.

MS Walk

The MS Walk was a blast. We met Liz and the team at 8am at City Park at the Mix 100 booth where our cool Mix 100 team t-shirts were awaiting us to don. Here is Liz with her sister Hannah, their Mom and Liz's daughter Emma.
Hollywood Henderson told the crowd of over 5000 people about our team and Liz followed up giving thanks to the station for their support. She did a fabulous job, I can't even imagine talking in front of that many people.

There was a great turn out and the walk was a nice stroll around city park at a leisurely pace given the crowds, which was fine with me.

We finished the 3 miles with in an hour, stopping along the way for potty breaks, snacks and pictures.
And greeting us at the finish line was this beautiful view of the Denver skyline.
Thank you for all of the generous donations, they are greatly appreciated. It is not to late to contribute if you wish to do so. I'm looking forward to walking again next year!

Colorful weekend.

What a fun weekend this has been! I started off bright and early Sat. morning heading to the MS Walk. It was a great experience and I will blog about it further on another day. I don't' want to post too many pictures at once and I have lots of other things to share. Friday night I finished the pretty pink pussy bed! Actually looking at it I think I should rename it the furry pink pussy bed. Here it is before felting. And after.
Pablo had little interest in actually laying in it. He did try to nibble the fur a bit though.
With some coaxing (force) he did sit in it long enough for me to capture this shot.
And with in seconds he was done. I placed it in his normal sleeping spot so we will see if he accepts this new bed.
Saturday after the walk Maddie and I headed to Knit Knack and Bliss to knit/dine with our friends. It was the Purple Princess' birthday...well she has claimed to stop having them but we celebrated anyway. Isn't her cake the coolest? Christie was so sweet to get this for her, it was gluten and sugar free carrot cake and unbelievably delicious.
Every princess needs a crown of course.
And here is Leanne wearing Nicole's new purple wig. Sorry princess but I think it looks better on Nicole. You do give her a run for the money though. It was so good to see everyone. I haven't been to knit night in a while since the kids have ice show practice on Tues. nights, so it was great to catch up. I also did a swatch for the shell I will be making with the Blue Sky Organic cotton. I love how soft it is....but more on that later.
And today I managed to finish photographing and posting all my yarns to my stash on Ravelry. Whew, that was a chore, but it is fun to see it all organized. I do have some yarn listed in my sell/trade page, so if you see something you like feel free to make an offer. I think I will go make some tea now and start my shell while watching Iron Chef. I hope you all had a fabulous weekend as well.

Pardon my pictures.

Unfortunately these pictures are not the greatest quality since they were taken on the camera phone. Dh is in San Diego and took our camera with him, but I couldn't wait to post so these will have to suffice. I finished my socks, and love love love them. I am so happy it is cold today so I can wear them!
I also started to make my pretty pink pussy bed. I am using Brown Sheep and fun fur, and am going to pick up around the edge when the base is done for the sides. After that the whole thing will go in the wash for felted goodness. I hope the kitties like it, well I know Nietzsche will care less but Pablo seems to favor cozy sleep surfaces. I know it is not very manly and doesn't match my decor but I am trying to use up some stash, although I did end up at Mew Mew's today to buy another skein of Lamb's Pride. Maddie noted that it looks a lot like the items I knit when I first started knitting. I am happy to report that I have almost depleted my fun fur stash.
This yarn arrived today in the mail. I bought it on ebay from The Special Tea Shop. It is 468 yards of 90% wool 10%nylon blend sock yarn in Orange Cranberry. My two favorite colors in one skein!
And on it's way is another Atenti bag. I need to stop searching ebay for them. Tsk tsk.