Are you ready to Party?

My friend Debbie is having a party on her site all month long, to celebrate her birthday, but the presents go to YOU! Visit Dodge Creations to join in the fun.

“May 1st is finally here!!! It’s time to party!!! This month long party that will rattle the neighbors begins NOW! As a guest at the party here is what YOU get: For each and every order we receive we will include a birthday present (a $15 value) to you. “

And – another reason to party – We’re starting our very first Knit Along on Ravelry’s Play Yarn Dash group and guess who’s supplying the goodies? Yup – Debbie! 🙂

Dodge Creations is offering a beautiful sock kit (a $28 value) for only $20 during the dash (May 1st to May 31st). The wonderful pattern, Springtime Socks, is the creation of the talented designer Jean M. Clement of Desert Rose Designs. We are also offering the Springtime Socks Pattern individually for purchase ($6 value) for $4.50. (in case you want to use your own yarn)

And here is the link to the page with all the different yarn choices.

Are you on Ravelry? I’m Karne on Ravelry and you are cordially invited to join our Play Yarn Dash group.  Just search groups for Play Yarn Dash and you’ll find it. See you there!

Play Yarn Dash

I’m a sucker for a new lace pattern….

Andrea at Bad Cat Designs has done it again – WHY does she tempt me like this?????

and I have SO much to do! But I’m weak and can’t help myself….

The Mimosa Shawl

I can finally show pictures and talk about the test knit I was doing! Andrea at BadCatDesigns designed this shawl, and it is gorgeous!This is the shawl being blocked (or racked as Mike calls it) lol….

Here it is unblocked – such a pathetic looking little thing!

I should really take a close-up picture for you. I used KnitPicks Palette in Cream and Grey. There are black Swarovski Crystals on the last row… hard to see from here.

Summer Workshop Update – The Schedule is posted! Are you ready?

The Spring Meadow Shawl

My friend Robin, who I introduced in the last post, designed and made a beautiful shawl she named Spring Meadow. She combined 2 unlikely yarns and produced an incredibly wonderful shawl.

She’s great to wear this on the hot day that it was – this shawl is wool!

it’s kind of hard to tell on these pictures, but she knit beads into the center of every flower

and the leaf border, thereby completing the Meadow

So… catching up

You’ll be hearing more about the Breast Health Project later, please make a block for our quilt – you’ll be glad you did 🙂

So, what have I been doing since the project started? Well! let me tell you –

We planted flowers, in the yard and some baskets for the front porch…

The flower baskets are quite underwhelming so far, but they will grow big and bushy. We planted Wave Petunias on both sides of the front walk, and they’ll spread pretty fast now that the sun is out. We started some planting in the tiers in front of the house, some Candytuft to hang over the edge with the Creeping Phlox – in the fall I’ll plant some yellow tulips in the Candytuft – it’s a lovely spring treat. The Iris’ were already here – who can get rid of them? I mean really – if you know how to get rid of them, let me know! And the most wonderful of all – my Hydrangea bush. I’ve wanted one forever – but it’s much too dry in Idaho. Even with all the rain we get, we still have to water it! It’s my pride and joy 🙂

I’m toiling away on the June issue of Cotton Spice – it’s a good one!

Knitting? Well, I made a pair of cotton slippers for Mom –

They look pretty funky without feet in them, but she tells me they are VERY comfy. They are adorned with some vintage pearl buttons I received in a Freecycle haul of the century. More on that later.

I finished a pair of mittens for Macuwita sni for Mitten Quest 2008-09 – our goal is to send 250 mittens in the fall –

and another pair OTN (on the needles for you non-knitters)

I started a shawl. I’m falling in love with lace knitting. It nearly beat me, but all of a sudden something clicked and my friend Robin showed me a few things and presto chango…I’m knitting lace!
I’m using bits and leftovers from my sock yarn stash, 100% wool, so it will be pretty and warm!

I’m working on some gift-ey things I can’t talk about it yet.

We did have some wild weather a week or so ago. An F4 tornado just south of us, didn’t touch us at all, but damage and destruction was huge. Almost 20 people died and many injured. Please remember to pray for them, many of them have lost Everything.

My quilting web guru friend Tammy Harrison is coming to visit me on Monday. I’m so very excited to meet her in person. We’ve been virtual friends for about 2 years now, much of what Cotton Spice is now, is because of her and her work. She makes the techy stuff work.

Now, my confession, where you find out exactly what kind of hostess I really am. 😦 She was traveling to see her nephew graduate from college and had go thru Joplin to get there. The plan was for her to stay a night going to, and one night coming back. Well… she arrived right on schedule, but I thought it was the next week… wasn’t prepared for her at all and even worse… we didn’t answer the phone. Yes… she was stranded in Joplin, with no way to get a hold of me and then had to get a hotel. The next morning when I checked messages – I was mortified. Absolutely mortified. I couldn’t believe what I’d done.

We finally connected and I have to say she’s such a gracious lady. She laughed it off and it’s been good joke material for the last few days. But she will be here Monday afternoon – she’s reminded me several times – and I’m looking forward to a wonderful time. And from on, I will be answering the phone unless it’s an 800 or 866 number.

Ok… my Freecycle haul of the century. I answered a Freecycle email about 3 bags of fabric w/notions, buttons etc. I’m still not real familiar with the area here so when she told me they lived in (I don’t even remember the town now) I just said Great! We’ll be out to pick it up when Mike gets home! Well… she lived 50 miles away!!!! Maybe not many miles for you city people, but it took us 2 hours when you count getting gas, getting lost, driving a curvy country road for much of it, but it was SO worth it!!!!

There were the 3 bags of fabric PLUS – bags of zippers, bias tape, notions of all kinds, lace, ribbon, little girl dress patterns (SO cute) and the jackpot – an antique candy tin full to the brim of vintage pearl buttons. All kinds from huge to tiny. Some on original cards which are so pretty, some strung on thread. But every one of them absolutely gorgeous!!!! I will get pictures of it soon. It was like Christmas!

Ok.. enough from me. I’m not sure if I’m caught up, but that’s all I got right now! 🙂 Happy Saturday!

WIP Wednesday

I can not even remember how many times I’ve frogged this shawl and started over. Starting over doesn’t bother me, I’m not sure why.

The Peacock Shawl- one of the most WORKS in progress I’ve ever had. In fact, the more I rip it out, the more determined I am to make this darn thing!!!!! You might pray for me. 🙂

WIP Wednesday

I dyed more yarn yesterday –  I know it looks a little ‘tie-dyed’ but I’m loving it. I’m going to combine it with a black or dark gray, some kind of stained glass type of pattern. But I don’t have  a lot of it, so haven’t yet decided what to make. A vest maybe…. I have almost 400 yd, just about 7 ounces.

Don’t forget the contest!

Catching up on pictures

I’ve had some pictures I’ve been meaning to take, finally made myself do it this morning. Also, since the magazine is finished, I can pay some attention to my long neglected Etsy shop.

The next 2 pictures are ‘in progress for Etsy’….

Stay tuned!

I finished the first block of GAAA…

and got some new yarn in the mail…

and finally remembered to take a picture of my finished Branching Out Scarf….

And yes, I’m still a quilter 🙂 A quilter on a knitting binge!

Don’t forget to leave comments for the Giveaway! See last post if you didn’t stop by yesterday.

Happy Saturday!

p.s. comments on this post are entered into Giveaway, as well as any new posts until Dec. 5

Happy Thanksgiving, the first snow and catching up in general…

How was your Thanksgiving? We had a wonderful time. Ours was small – 5 people, and that was just the perfect amount. Quiet and peaceful, just enjoying each others company. I have to tell you how wonderful my husband is – he cooked the entire dinner. He sent me to the sewing room to play. The dinner was delicious and I was relaxed. He loves to cook, so I tried hard not to feel guilty for playing while he was slaving over the hot stove. I did do the dishes, although he still put the extra food away and cleaned up the rest of the kitchen. He gets the Best Husband award for this and so many other things.

So, what did I do with all that time in the sewing room? Well, I decided it was time we had a beautifully decorated table for our meal of Thanks. So, I made some napkins –

and some name cards –

and some chair-back decor –

for a beautiful table –

I added the ‘good’ silverware, my green glass goblets for ice water and of course the food, but by then, I’d forgotten to take more pictures.

I did take Wed, Thurs and Friday off. I started my GAAA…. no, I’m not choking… Great American Aran Afghan! Click on the thumbnail for a nice big picture! I’m so thrilled with this! In the front of the book it lists the 5 easiest and the 5 hardest. I started with the first one on the 5 easiest list. (this is the easiest!?!?!?!)

And we did wake up to a little bit of snow. I took the pictures from indoors, I wasn’t about to peek any part of myself OUT THERE where It’s COLD!!!! Here’s the backyard –

and the rambling rose bush on the side of the house –

And the front porch. All these pictures were taken from my sewing room windows. I do have lovely views!

Have a wonderful weekend? Did you venture out yesterday for the 4am sales? not me… I was snug in my warm bed snoozing away! 🙂

Big Mail Day Yesterday

Doncha just love it when the mailman brings all kinds of packages in the mail, and they are all for YOU!? 🙂 I do, and yesterday was such a day.

First, Fed Ex came by and left a package with this booklet inside it on the porch-

This will be my next big project and I’m a little intimidated by it. I looked through the directions and it’s not for the faint of heart. There are knit alongs for this afghan, which I may have to join just to figure out the directions. I’ve already got some of the yarn purchased as you can see. You also get a peek at my ironing board cover which needs to be changed! 🙂

The best part about this package? I didn’t have to pay for it. I swapped some yarn for it. Perfect!

Next,  a lady on one of my Ravelry groups offered up some 30’s fabric – whoever PM’d her first, she’d send it to. Well, I was 2nd! As an alternative she said she had ‘a few’ blocks laying around made from 30’s fabric and would I like those? I’m strangely attracted to these prints after years of not caring for them. Anyway, imagine my surprise when 2 very large envelopes were on the porch!!! (I’ve had to put a small table under my mailbox on the porch cause we do get a lot of mail and packages)

and

That’s what she calls ‘a few’ blocks lying around? Wow! A crib size quilt top, a partially finished Delectable Mountains top with blocks to finish it, 4 large (16″? 18″?) Dresden Plate blocks, embroidered tulip blocks, 9 patch blocks, many stacks of rectangles both large and small, pieces of blocks ready to sew together… my goodness! She didn’t want anything for the ‘few’ blocks, but I’ll be sending her a little something 🙂

And finally, this –

I’m in a Winter Wonderland Swap on KnittingHelp.com and this is what my Santa sent me! Isn’t that yarn gorgeous? Reminds me of peacocks! I had put in my questionnaire that I was learning to knit lace, so she sent me this wonderful pattern for several lace scarves and that gorgeous yarn.

It was like Christmas around here yesterday, and I’m still oohing and ahing and petting fabric and yarn! 🙂

The HoHoHo quilt is nearly done, just putting on the edges – pretty different edge treatment for a quilt. I think you’ll like it! Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change into actual winter weather, so I’m trying to get it finished today so I can photograph it today, before it starts storming.

Have a great day! 🙂