It's Monday...

...and I'm done with my afghan! (pattern #5 from the Done By Monday Afghan book).

The pictures aren't that great since it's such a dark yarn (plum) but I'm happy with how it turned out. Come see it at the shop!

Completely unrelated thought to share with you.... on my days off, I catch up on Days of Our Lives. I was watching last week and was just dumbfounded when one of the characters said to the bartender, "Oh, what is that?" And he replied, "These are Tyson Anytizers. Do you want some?" And she said, "Mmmm, buffalo chicken wings." Don't they get enough money with regular commercials? They have to put a commercial IN the show? For those who want to know: Tony is on the verge of death, trying to tell E.J. that the baby he thinks he had with Nicole is not his because she faked her pregancy and paid a doctor to get her this baby. And Sammie is trying to tell everyone that the baby she actually had while in the witness protection program is not hers, but adopted. What she doesn't know is that the baby she thinks is hers, is not hers, and her baby is actually the one Nicole paid to get. What better is there to do on a day off?

More show and tell!

My finally blocked Picovoli tank top made with Bebe Cotsoy:

A class for this is being scheduled for April 18 and May 2 9-10:30am! Free pattern at: http://www.knotions.com/patterns/magknits/picovoli/directions.aspx

Robin's Cabled Fingerless Gloves made with Mirasol Tupa. So elegant!:

Nancy's awesome socks made with Step Duett:

Elizabeth's equally awesome socks made with Maizy (corn fiber!) - surprisingly soft!:

Elizabeth's beautiful alpaca scarf - talk about soft:

Kelly's adorable Shalom Cardigan made with Eco wool:

This is a free pattern on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shalom-cardigan or here if you aren't on Ravelry: http://involvingthesenses.blogspot.com/ (but I highly recommend getting on Ravelry - it's great! http://www.ravelry.com/ )

And Lisa's beautiful Noro sweater from the Noro Mini Knits book:

I feel famous!

Ravelry asked if they could use my picture of my Waterfall Beaded Scarf (in progress) for the picture with the pattern. How exciting! click here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waterfall-beaded-scarf

Five minutes

A little story about procrastination.... When it comes to household projects that I need to do by myself, I tend to procrastinate. A lot. Our house came with a wallpaper border in virtually every room. We are not wallpaper border folk, so we wanted to take them down. If you've ever removed wallpaper before, you know that it is a HUGE task. You have to score the paper, spray some goop on in, let it soak in and then use a lot of elbow grease to scrape it off. The borders in the bedrooms took a really long time. Hours. More than an evening of work each. But we got it done and then painted. Now they look really nice.

The border in the living/dining room is another story. The first layer (the pattern) came off very easily (last year) leaving the glue part. It became "my" job to get that glue part off, Paul having moved on to other things (car stuff) while waiting to do "his" job - spackling and putting up trim when I was done. I'd much rather do these things with Paul. For one thing, he's the motivator. For another, I don't feel quite as tortured when someone else is doing it with me. For over a year now, the glue part has sat there staring at us, waiting for me to take it off. Despite not liking the fact that things look unfinished in here, I've procrastinated, knowing it would be a REALLY. LONG. TASK.

Finally, Saturday, Paul very nicely and gently "hinted" again that he'd like to get "his" part done. So I said, "Fine. I'll just do it tonight. I'm tired and I wanted to do my yoga, but I won't. I'll just do this." Paul likes to come home from work and "get things done". I like to come home from work and relax and knit, leaving my days off to get things done. Since our days off are not the same, sometimes it feels a little disjointed.

I stomped down to the basement to look for the scorer, sprayer and scraper. I couldn't find them so I stomped back upstairs and asked Paul to find them. He found them and I started getting organized, mumbling and grumbling. Paul was hanging around a little and I could tell he might have felt a little badly that I was so miserable about doing this. I told him, "It's fine. I'm just being whiny about it but I'm going to get it done" and off he went to the garage to work on his car. So, I scored and sprayed and waited for it to soak in........

The border practically fell off the wall on it's own and I was done in 5 minutes. FIVE. MINUTES. All this time and it could have been done in five minutes.

A quick knit....

Here is my unblocked Picovoli tank which I started on Tuesday and finished on Saturday:

I have to admit, I was on a mission so that I could have a sample in one of my new yarns, but under normal circumstances, it would still be a pretty quick knit. Very simple pattern, top down. I'm blocking it today and hope it will be in the store by Wednesday. I really like this yarn (Bebe Cotsoy by Queensland) - it is a soy/cotton blend and it feels very soft. Really nice to knit with.

HAPPY SPRING!

More show and tell!

More show and tell from Sunday and also Wednesday's knit-in:

Wilna's shawl made with a wool/alpaca blend:

Jana's felted mittens, from the Knit One, Felt Too! Book, made with Ella Rae Classic:

Very comfy! And they have a knitted liner at the wrist so the cold won't go up them... Jana said the Ella Rae felts very well.

Noel's socks made with Cascade Heritage Handpaint sock yarn:


Kathy's hat made with Mushishi and using the pattern that comes with the yarn:

She said it was very nice to knit with - soft!

Janell's flock of felted sheep!!:

Made with Lamb's Pride worsted. She made these to give as toys for her daughters' dogs (no, they don't chew up their toys!) - The white sheep have little flower appliques near their ears!

Renee's felted coat!:

Renee made this pattern up - she just started knitting and felting, then cut and sewed until she got this gorgeous coat! Lots of oohs and ahhs over this at the knit-in last night!

And finally, Iryth's sweater pre-steeked:

See the line down the middle? She'll end up cutting this to make the sweater a cardigan. Isn't this a beautiful pattern?

Days Off Goings on....

Monday: Woke up EARLY to get to the dentist by 7:30am (have a cavity and have to go back in june!). Went grocery shopping. Got home and realized forgot to go to the pool store to get a new valve thingy. (Paul noticed the pool cover looked a little low and then found a leak in the valve.... the pool saga continues into the second summer...). Went back out to the pool store, only to find they are not open on Mondays. Went back home and finished the Waterfall Beaded Scarf:

Watched Dancing With the Stars. Enjoyed it, but these early shows are SO long. No favorites yet.

Tuesday: Woke up EARLY, AGAIN, to attend a small business seminar from 8-10am. It started at 8:15 and the guy was wrapping up at 9:00 but took questions until 9:30. Complete waste of time, except for making some serious progress on my hand-dyed sock:

Then was REALLY early for a 10:30 appt at Starbucks with the WAMC advertising person, so worked a little more on the sock and had a toffee nut creme and a scone (yum!). Went to the pool store, now open, only to have my debit card not work (ongoing saga in which they were to have sent me a new one three times now and keep turning my current card off thinking the new card has gotten to me). Stopped at bank, had them turn it back on and order yet another card. Stopped at the shop and cleaned the "SALE" sign off the window. Went home and tried to do some shop paperwork, but realized the paperwork was at the shop. So, I started my new project, the Picovoli tee, with one of my new yarns the Bebe Cotsoy:

I'm really liking the yarn. It is soft and nice to work with. I just wish I had more time to knit on my days off!

The cool thing about living on the hill...

Watching the space shuttle/station fly across the sky for a really long time (like, 4 minutes).

If you look really closely, you will see a tiny white dot smack dab in the middle of the picture. That's it. It was cool to see, even though it was just a dot.

Weekend goings on...

So much to tell! It was an incredibly busy week with the sale going on. Thank you to all who came to visit and took advantage of the sale. If you got a chance to purchase some of the new yarn, please let me know how you like it!

On Saturday morning, I went to the Cooperative Extension to teach participants how to do cables and to fix mistakes. Here is the group:

We had a great time. Some already knew what I was teaching and just wanted to come and be around knitters. There's Phyllis holding up her cabled afghan strip. Her mom (next to her - I'm sorry, her name is escaping me!) brought her felted bag:

Inside it, peeking out is a tribble that Phyllis made for her. It's a little srubbie facecloth thing. Really cute and, she says, easy to make. Here is a link to a free pattern: http://1870pearl.typepad.com/TRIBBLE2.pdf

And here is Erin (who recently learned to knit at the shop!) showing her ribbon scarf:

I had a lot of fun with this group! By late morning it was back to the shop...

Back at the store Saturday afternoon and Sunday, lots of show and tell!

Kathy finally felted her myriad of projects, her constant companion bag being one of them:

Made with Cascade Eco wool and Lamb's Pride Bulky. And inside of it were all these things!:

Her felted purse made with Galway and the felted sheep made with Lamb's Pride worsted. So cute!

Her felted pouches and toe-up felted Christmas stocking. Unfortunately the stocking had a felting mishap and felted together so you can't put anything in it. "Yet", says Kathy. She's working on a solution!

And her most recent projects:

The Double Knitted Checkerboard Scarf made with Encore, and the Branching Out Lace scarf made with Silky Wool. Beautiful!

Here is another Erin, wearing her beautiful sweater made with Cascade 220:

She came in with her mom and a friend and they spent a couple of hours browsing, chatting, having coffee and knitting!

In the middle of everything on Saturday, this very sweet thing across the street in the gazebo:

Laura had to move her car to make way for the ginormous limo!

After all the craziness on Saturday, Paul and I went to the NY Theater Institute to see "Yours, Anne":

A musical based on "The Diary of Anne Frank". It was excellent - I highly recommend it. Sad at the end of course, but really a great show. It runs through March 26. NYSTI's website is here for more info: http://www.nysti.org/

Stay tuned for Days Off Goings on....

It's not always knitting help that's needed

So, there we were, me and my three sock class participants, wrapping up the class for the evening. Here are their socks in progress, heels turned, gussets worked and on to the toe!:

It's ten of 8:00, the door opens and in walks Mary Kate. I said, "Hi! What are you doing here?". She said,"I needed some help." And she said it so casually I thought, "Oh, well she just lives next door. She must have known I was here and popped over for help with one of her projects." Then she held these up:

FYI, these are NOT knitting tools. (sorry the pics are blurry - its a pair of pliers and scissors)

And she said, "I can't get out of my coat!"

Her zipper had gotten stuck, in the almost-all-the-way-up position, so there was no hope of even squiggling out of it or getting it over her head.

How lucky is it that I was still open????? So, we used her tools and freed her....

...with fairly minimal damage to her coat!

Meanwhile, Lisa, who was in the sock class (see the pink sock above - it's a little hard to tell in the picture but she knits very loosely and was joking that her sock was not for a baby, but for a 5 year old!) brought in some show and tell:

Her very cute entrelac purse made with Nature Wool Multy:

Another Entrelac class is scheduled for 4/26 & 5/3 if you'd like to sign up!

And her Noro striped scarf:

These scarves have been so popular. Such and easy pattern! You should try one.

Don't forget about the SALE which goes on thru this Sunday.... 20% off all yarn!

Lots of knitting going on....

.... almost done with the Waterfall Beaded Scarf, which will be the sample for the upcoming classes. Still working on the Rambling Rows afghan, also a sample for an upcoming class. Started working on an entrelac scarf with Nature Wool Multi, as a sample for the Nature Wool. Finished the Flower Cap for the upcoming class:

Very cute! We'll be focusing on crocheting the flowers for the class. The cap itself is a basic crochet or knitted hat.

AND, got in some cotton blend yarns so now I'm looking for a tank top pattern that will be quick and easy to knit up as a sample and maybe as a summer class. Any suggestions????? Please feel free to comment!

Some more show and tell:
Laura's Breathe Deep mittens from a Ravelry knit-along, made with Malabrigo (another yarn I hope to get in the shop some day):

Nancy's cabled vest, made with Cascade 220, which she made for a St. Patrick's Day party!:

And Linda's Constant Companion felted bag, also made with Cascade 220. Her first felted project and it turned out great!:

Have you heard?

Wednesday, March 11 thru Sunday, March 15!!!!

Also, more show and tell:

Yvette's beautiful Irish Hiking Scarf made with Suri Merino:

Sage's doubleknitted scarf, made with Cascade 220:

Christa's felted clogs from class and another pair started (with a plan for a third pair in the works!). Made with Lamb's Pride:

Catherine's adorable kids' hat made with encore DK:

It's a long story...

So, I was out of commission for a little while, having some sort of stomach bug. A big THANKS to my mom, who was here over the weekend, for watching the shop for me on Saturday while I went home and slept! It was a busy day but she handled it like a pro! And on my two days off.... I slept. And watched tv. I didn't knit, clean, cook or do anything. Oh wait, I did knit a little bit. I started on the Waterfall Beaded Scarf:

Love it - I'm making it with the Mirasol Tupa. A class for this (two different sessions) is scheduled in May and June.

I'm so glad you've been taking me up on my offer to take pictures of your finished projects! Here are some of them:

Libby's Bella Scarf, mostly done (just some end weaving-in to do):

Mitered square scarf made with Mirasol Chirapa. Beautiful!

Maryann's hooded creation:

She started with a hat pattern, then just winged it to make this very warm hood! It's made with alpaca.

Elizabeth's beautiful alpaca sweater:

She worked on it at many of the knit-ins, ripped it back a few times (yoke and arms) -- the results are great!

Eileen's felted clogs:

Made with Ella Rae Classic which felts wonderfully!

...and Eileen's socks:

Both warm and cozy!

Laura's Mock Cable Rib socks:

Made with Socks that Rock (hopefully a yarn I'll have one day!).

Sue's Constant Companion Bag:

Made with Plymouth Galway. Great bag that she's using to carry her knitting projects! Another class for this is scheduled in June!

Also, check out Sarah's spinning wheel!:

This is her Louet which she got for Christmas. Her husband, David Hoffman, who is a graphic designer, personalized it for her! Isn't it great??? Since I like to support small businesses (because I am one), here is David's information in case you are interested in adorning YOUR wheel, or have any other graphic design needs:

Twilight Printing and Design, LLC

PO Box 882

Guilderland, NY 12084

518 357-3748

twilightprinting@mac.com

and website coming soon: www.twilightprinting.com

Also, I got my beads for the Waterfall Beaded Scarf at Diva Beads and Jewels, 190 State Street, Schenectady, NY 518-346-1800, divabeads@verizon.net Kathleen Cianfarani is the owner and she is very nice and very helpful!

Finally (I made you wait for it).... THE NEW CLASS SCHEDULE IS OUT!!!!! Classes for April, May and June are now posted on the website at: http://www.spinningroom.net/classes.htm Even more will be added soon but wanted to get them out as soon as possible. There are several returning classes due to popular demand and some waiting lists, but there are new classes too!