YARN CRAWL INVITE

Attention yarn lovers- we are YARN CRAWLING to upper upstate NY on Sat Oct 27
Meet at GImmee on State St at 8:30am. We will car pool.
Lunch spot will be decided upon and prehaps wine tasting on the return trip.
We will plan to return early afternoon (so you still have time to quick knit a
Halloween outfit
for any party you are attending this weekend).
Rox

P.S. An "I plan to come" response to the list serve will help us plan vehicles,
thanks!

Finger Lakes Fiber Festival- Hemlock, NY 2007

Hi all here's the pics I promised you all- Rox


I ventured out to the fiber festival and highly recommend the experience. A beautiful drive to Hemlock, NY and an overwhelming amount of fiber to behold. Here are some pics from the day...

An amazing amount of fiber to choose from!



World setting records .. that's one big sock












Antique sock knitting machines that make a PAIR of socks in under an hour!






Amazing and funky fiber creations.


All this and more, there were over 70 vendors, a huge barn of exhibits, many workshops and classes to take and a selection of cute fuzzy knittable critters

25 caps and an ocicat

I just posted something here.

Go look! While you're at it, why not join in? Also, I'll be mailing off my completed objects in December, so if you'd like for me to include anything newborn-related (hats, booties, blankies) in the package, I'll include it. Think of the babies!

Thanks to Roxane for posting the link to this fine page and worthwhile project!

Needle Lust

I've always secretly desired a set of Knit Picks' Options interchangeable needles. But, whenever I was struck with the urge to actually purchase them, I resisted. I rationalized that I could live without them just fine. I didn't really NEED them after all and so I couldn't ever bring myself to justify the cost.

Alas! Those crafty gals at Knit Picks have upped the ante by unveiling the most beautiful needles I've ever seen!! (Here's where I start to sound like an infomercial!)

http://www.knitpicks.com/interchangeable+circular+knitting+needles_NL300312.html

Knit Picks' Harmony needles are made of multi-colored laminated birch and are absolutely gorgeous! AND, to make matters worse, you can get them as tips in the Options set for only $10 more than the original nickel plated version!

Dammit! I thought I had the will power to resist but they have discovered a weakness I didn't know I had. How could any knitter in their right mind not crave these needles?!?

Now, I find myself trying to rationalize buying these needles. For one thing, the entire Harmony Options set costs significantly less than purchasing each needle individually (especially if you have a slight addiction to Addis.) According to some of my knitting friends, the Knit Picks needles outperform Addis in many respects. Also, the wooden tips are less likely to be confiscated at the airport. All good reasons, don't you think?

Hmmmmm...I might actually cave on this one.

HELP!

New Finished Object Pics!

Okay, so I had a plan to create a fruit basket of baby hats for a co-worker of mine who just recently had a baby. My intention was to have this finished by the time the baby was born. Well, that didn't happen BUT I did complete what started out to be a strawberry but looks more like a tomato to me because I just couldn't get the seeds right! Gretchen said that she received baby gifts for Tala months after she was born so I guess there's still time for the pumpkin, watermelon, blueberry and eggplant hats. We'll see how that one goes.


On the list of things I've been working on for far too long, I did manage to complete a decent version of the cabled fingerless glove pattern from an old issue of Interweave knits. I've been playing around with this pattern for a while and frogged two previous attempts. However, I'm pleased to report that I'm sticking with this one. I love the yarn (alpaca!), the color, the cute little cable up the center. And this time the thumb isn't even all that bad. Now if I can only finish the left glove before equinox I'll be in good shape!

Summer Knitting

If you find yourself free on Wed night we are still knitting this summer at Gimme Coffee 7- 9 pm. Enjoy a evening sitting at a cafe table with friends, sipping coffee and knitting under the beautiful Ithaca skies. Some nights we get out of work late, so if noone is there at 7 sharp, stick around- we usually will all wander in as soon as we can make it. Join us!

Charitable Thoughts

I came across a blog that I wanted to share since we are always thinking of knitting for others,
http://25thingsforcharity.blogspot.com/
You can join this blog and make a committment (to yourself) to knit/crochet 25 things to give to a charitable organization.
Check it out!

Open Yarn Thursday

OK, ladies and gents...Thursday lunchtime poll is back in black! (well, in a pleasing shade of off-white, anyways...)

What have you always wanted to knit? Given unlimited time, skill, and resource...

I would like to make a fitted zip-front hooded sweater in cashmere...maybe a few little cables here and there...in cobalt blue or charteuse...and OF COURSE the sides would all be perfectly sewn together! Hey, a girl can dream...

Golden Gloves - Knit Style!

How cool is this? Nattygan and Cess came out to watch me at Golden Gloves! They were my crowd. There had been talk of coming, but it was really a such a lovely suprise when they showed up.

Here I am with Natty before my fight.

And with Cess showing off my fishnets. The officials proclaimed them against the rules, but I wore them before the fight. Then I just rolled them down and tucked them into my tall socks.

Here is a prebell shot. I had the red corner.

My opponent was shorter than I am and I had a height and reach advantage over her. But she was a "scrappy chihuahua" as Nattygan put it and she kept coming and coming. I got hit hard in the nose, eye and lip. And there was blood splattered everywhere -my own. The third round was really in the toilet for me. I got two standing 8-counts. I lost the fight, but it was a great learning experience and I had a lot of fun. And I got a little trophy!

Sip'N Stitch

Well the votes are in and the first Sip'N Stitch of the year is scheduled for Sunday April 22. So come on out and join the stitchin' gals at 6 Mile Creek Winery (only 2 miles out of town on 79 East) - rain or shine.

And check out The Secret of the One-Skein Shawl. Where Clara Parkes of Knitter's Review gives a lovely formula for making a simple triangular shawl. Wouldn't this be a great summer project?

Open Thread/Yarn Thursday

A recent trend in the World of Blogs has been something called 'Open Thread Thursday'. A question is asked, or a topic is brought up for gentle and ferocius readers alike to give input in the comments section.

I thus carry the torch of What the Cool Bloggers Are Doing along to our forum.

The premiere question...Where and what is your ideal knitting environment?

My answer would be at an outdoor cafe, preferably in a city, with a great view for people watching. Company would include one or three others...knitters or non-knitters, but definatly stimulating (or snarky) conversation. Add in there endless refills of hazelnut coffee, and a warm summer day with no plans.

Your turn!

Knitting Events on the Horizon!

Event #1 - Sip and Stitch!

The Finger Lakes region is full of wineries, but one of the nicest is right here in town: 6 Mile Creek Vinyards. And not only that, but it has one of the best balconies in greater Ithaca as it catches all of the afternoon sun. And if the weather is miserable, there is a brightly lit indoor area with tables and chairs.

Now imagine yourself amongst a group of friendly knitters, sitting in the sun, laughing and working on your latest project. Did you know it's BYOF? (bring your own food). So there is a lovely spread of hummus, cheese, crackers and bread to snack upon. And perhaps we've all chipped in and bought a couple of bottles to sample. Or maybe you prefer to taste a number of different wines and so you chose to buy by the glass. What ever the case, we've never had a bad time up at the vinyards. You should come, too!

Date: Undecided, but it's got to be a Sunday. Let's try for 4/14 or 4/8. Vote or suggest a date in the comments section.

Event #2 - Yarn Shop Crawl to Skaneateles!

If you haven't been there yet, let's go. Skaneateles is on the cutest towns in the Finger Lakes. And can you believe it? There are two yarn shops up there (at least that's what google says), and one on the way in Geneva. We could do a little shopping and grab lunch at one of those scenic waterfront restaurants.

A date has not been suggested, so start thinking about when you'd like to do a little traveling, eating, shopping and hanging with the gals!

Ithaca Knitters!

 

Wooly Bullies

I found this on my friend's blog. So hilarious!!!!

Proof of the Winding Revolution!

Thanks so much, Roxanne! Vive le swift!

My Very First Sweater!

A couple of months ago I made a baby sweater for my dear friend who gave birth in October to a beautiful baby girl named Ruby. She just sent me this photo of lovely Ruby sporting her new threads.

The sweater is made with Noro yarn and has a cute little hood. As you can see, it's a tad big on her but doesn't she look fabulous?!?

I'm currently in the process of making my first adult sized sweater for my husband. If only he weren't so darn huge in comparison to baby Ruby!