Wednesday, May 31, 2006

She's a Drama Queen



The birthday weekend is over, and it's back to work. Ainsley had a great birthday, with little drama (despite what the shirt says). The party went pretty well (despite me forgetting a few things and having to send Chris back to the house) and everyone seemed to have a good time. I didn't take any pictures, but I'm sure I'll be getting a few soon from family.

In knitting news, I've been working mostly on my super secret design project, so I don't have much to show you. The Hanging Garden Lace stole has gotten a little longer...




Close up of unblocked lace...



And I have a picture of the log cabin blanket - Suzanne said I need to provide weekly updates (I think she doesn't believe I'll actually finish it). So here's the first...



Debbie Stoller has issued the call for patterns for her next book, so I've been challenged by my knitterly friends to submit something. The deadline is June 19, which will be cutting it close. We'll see!

Finally, I leave you with this.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

0 to 3 in, well, 3 years

Ainsley is 3! Or, she will be on Sunday. She has cupcakes today at school for her birthday (another kid already got Friday), so she gets to wear her birthday shirt. This year's shirt was pretty easy - 1 iron-on flower and an iron-on transfer and we're done! I think we have a tradition in the birthday shirts...




Festivity today will be continued with the arrival of family today and tomorrow, and a party with our neighborhood kids at Huguenot Park. Surely pictures will follow. Ainsley is getting a Dora bike from us this year. Last year we got her a tricycle, which she has not once ridden. Why we think she'll ride a bike is beyond me. But if she would ride a bike, it would most definitely be a Dora bike.

I am still knitting, but working on a design project that I can't show you yet. I'm making some slow progress on the Hanging Garden Lace stole, but lace is not good for photographing. I did start a log cabin blanket with the mounds of wool I bought at Sheep and Wool, but I forgot to take a picture. I'll shoot for next time. (Get it, shoot a picture? Shoot for next time? I'm here all week.)

But for now, I'm going to lunch.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Dial up users beware!

Cause I have some pictures for you!

First, a FO - socks for my mom for Mother's Day. Happy (late) Mother's Day! (Disclaimer - I called her and finished the socks on Mother's Day. I just couldn't mail them until Monday.)



It's an Ainsley-heavy day here on el bloggo...

Taking a break from the sandbox on the deck (note my neighbor in the background)...





Pictures from Portrait Innovations...












Good times!

Monday, May 08, 2006

That's a lotta yarn

But first, a cute kid in a sweater:



I stopped the neck shaping because it was getting awfully small, and steeked a slit in the back so she can get her head through. Ainsley chose to pair it with orange pants.

What else am I working on?



Hanging Garden Lace Stole in Shimmer.

Also, the Ruffles scarf from Scarf Style gets longer. This picture was almost a week ago (I'm a little behind) so it's even longer now.



And then there was Sheep and Wool 2006. People, it's a LOT OF YARN. And sheep. And people. We drove up Friday night (in the rain), ate dinner, and planned our attack. We decided that Koigu was the first stop of the day, where Suzanne dove in and didn't come up for air for about an hour. Insanity. But she scored a good load of Koigu, so it was worth it. While she was doing that, I was enhancing the stash in a major way.



Over the course of two days, I acquiried all you see above. It was a good weekend.

1 and 2 - Cotton from Davidson Corp. People. There is about 9,000 yards of yarn there. Guess what it cost. I dare you. As Suzanne would say, I Dukes of Hazzard dare you. It cost TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS. For the whole thing. Granted, it's really thin so I'll have to double or triple it, but it was TWENTY EIGHT DOLLARS. I'm thinking sweaters for me and for Chris.

3 and 4 - Sock yarn from Cherry Tree Hill. Very nice.

5 - Bearfoot sock yarn by Mountain Colors. Mohair makes it feel nice.

6 - Sock yarn by Claudia Handpainted Yarns. I've heard a lot of bloggers wax poetic about this yarn, so it was a good find.

7 - 4,000 yards of wool from The Little Barn. 20 balls (@ $2.29 a ball) - it was the most space-consuming purchase of the day. This will be (eventually) a log cabin blanket a la Mason-Dixon Knitting.

8 - Sock yarn from Ellen's Half Pint Farm.

9 - Sock yarn from Fleece Artist. Almost none of this to be found at the festival, so I was pretty happy with finding this.

10 - Ribbon yarn from Tess' Designer Yarns. I ordered a tank pattern from them for this yarn, which should arrive next week.

11 - Sock yarn/baby yarn, also from Tess' Yarns. This will be a baby kimono.

We did head for some Socks that Rock but were foiled. By 10:30 on Saturday, they had 3 hanks left. Mary bought one (or two?) but I guess we'll have to wait for next year.

WHEW! That, my friends, is a lotta yarn. It was a great trip - I hope to have more pictures soon (I was a picture slacker, so I'm depending on others to provide more visual evidence), but for now I have these:


Suzanne knits on the hill.


Mira makes pregnancy look good.


Blogger meetup on the hill - bloggers in the wild.

Here's to next year!