Alaska!!

My husband and I just got back from a seven day cruise to the Inside Passage of Alaska. We left from Seattle, went to Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, Victoria and then back to Seattle.

It was absolutely amazing. We went on a couple of excursions and saw humpback whales, a gray while, sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, porpoises, a grizzly bear, bald eagles, and lots of birds I couldn't identify.

I took lots of whale pictures. I think seeing whales was the best thing for me. Coming from landlocked Texas Panhandle, I was just taken aback at how beautiful they were.






We also saw a grizzly bear, sitting on a small island eating grass. The naturalist on the boat told us he was probably not long out of hibernation and was trying to get his system restarted. The waterfall in the background is coming from Redoubt Lake feeding into Redoubt Bay outside of Sitka.


We saw a lot of bald eagles and some nests. Wow, those nests are huge. We saw one eagle down in the water, evidently fighting to get a fish out and saw a lot just soaring. It was hard to get a picture of those; this was was easier to catch.





We saw several glaciers, although we had to miss the Johns Hopkins glacier because of fog. We stood out on the bow of the ship and we could hear the ice popping and cracking. We even saw one glacier calve, losing a chunk of ice that we think was about the size of a Suburban. It truly sounded like thunder! And, arent' the colors amazing??





And, of course, I bought yarn. Thanks to nice ladies at Knitters Review, I had an address for Skeins in Juneau where I found some DK wt. for socks from Rabbit Ridge in Anchorage. In Sitka, we went to an Arts and Crafts center where I found yarn that had been dyed in Sitka, Raven-Frog Fiber Arts. I bought some merino/silk to make a stole in a colorway called Kelp. This seemed appropriate - we went out to kelp beds to look for sea otters in Sitka. Then in Ketchikan I found a store that had both yarn and beads - Alaska Bead Shop. I found some Lorna's Laces in a colorway called Baltic Sea - of course, I wasn't in the Baltic, but I saw all those colors in the seas we were in. And, I met some really nice people. It is so nice to travel for thousands of miles and still find something in common with the people you meet. The ladies in Alaska Bead Shop were especially knowledgable about the different yarns, and they had a lot of yarn!

So, now I have to get back to the real world, but I am determined to get back to Alaska again.

Knitting meme

I have never done a meme, nor have I even wanted to do one until I saw this on Knitters Review. This made me feel really good about what I have done!

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-upMittens: Top-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with bananafiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting (?)
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffitti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Knit lefty style (backwards)
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colours
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies, coasters...)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items)on two circulars
Olympic knitting!
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching (it's happend once or twice, not often)
Long Tail CO
Entrelac Knitting
Purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with selfpatterning/selfstriping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/armwarmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair (all the time, but not on purpose)
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Knitting Retreat Project Finished!

I finally finished the alpaca hand warmers. We started these at the Gourmet Yarn knitting retreat. I had to learn tubular cast on, Magic Loop and tubular bind off.

I really love Magic Loop, and I'm now looking for a size 2 circular needle, so I can try socks using Magic Loop. Tubular cast on/bind off didn't impress me that much.

Cat Socks

No, not socks for the cat, but socks in a colorway that matches the cat.

He wasn't happy about posing, and you can't see his bright blue eyes very well, but I bought this yarn because it matches "Kittyboy".

This is a Socks That Rock line named Lucy, I saw the yarn on another blog, although the colorway in those socks made a sort of flame pattern - the mysteries of gauge!

I have been knitting as fast as I can to get these done, so I can have the needles for the cruise - we leave in less than a week. I want to start a new pair on the trip, so I will have Alaska socks.

No Knitting - Just a Brag

If you don't live in Texas, this may not make sense to you.

My school got our TAKS results Thursday. I teach 8th grade English and my students' percentage was - 98% passing!!!!

And, I had 60% make Commended for Reading!!!

This is justification for me because I absolutely refuse to focus on TAKS through the year. My philosophy is, if I am teaching what I should, then students should do well on the test. I do not use TAKS materials and try not to even mention TAKS through the year. I usually use a PreAP curriculum for both PreAP and my on-level classes and just use different readings for the on-level classes. I have the reputation of being a hard teacher, and I do have high expectations.

This has been a difficult year. I have had a rough class - lots of cheating, lots of defiance, lots of disinterest in school. We have had conflict in our building.

So, this is a great way to end my year. Yay for my kids!!

My First Knitting Retreat

How exciting to finally get to go to a knitting retreat. You guys who have local yarn stores and who have knitting gatherings might not be able to understand how nice it is to be in a group of people with the same interests and skills, to be with people who know KnitPicks and Jo Sharp and Noro, to have someone understand when I say things like yarn over and felted.

A colleague and I drove 4 hours to Oklahoma City, shopped for awhile, and then drove east again to get to the conference center for the retreat. It was certainly worth the effort - what a wonderful group of people. We learned several new skills such as Magic Loop and tubular cast on, had some alpaca to play with and, best of all, made some new knitting friends. The setting was beautiful, the food was good, and we had a great time. I have one completed wrist warmer, about a third of a lace face cloth and many great memories

We even met another Texan - the star of the wrist warmers section - Dawn was the first to finish!

I also met someone I had known previously through blogs and Knitters Review. Blogland is great for finding new yarns and patterns - thanks Kay for giving me more to look at!

Thank you Margaret for putting this together - I'm sorry you weren't able to stay. Thanks Melissa and Nancy for all the help and encouragement and instruction. Thanks to Linda for a lot of information and advice. Thanks to Nina and Lillian and Anita for all the great book talk. To all the others whose names I can't quite remember - thanks for all the fun.

How Bizarre

I had noticed the Project Spectrum buttons on some blogs, but I really hadn't paid attention until I read a post in Panhandle Knit and Sew and realized what it was. So I followed the button - sounds like a fun thing to join in on and (This is the bizarre thing) the colors for this time period are gray, blue and white. And, here are the socks I had been working on this month, before I ever read about Project Spectrum.

I seldom buy blue yarn - it's just not a good color for me, but I wanted to try this Regia cotton blend, and I wanted socks to wear with jeans. The gray socks are Cashsoft 4 play. I found the pattern stitch in a couple of books. In the Barbara Walker Treasury 2 the version is a little different, but is called Turtle Tracks.

I knitted both on size 2 needles, starting with 60 for the striped and 56 for the gray. I had some trouble with ladders on the striped ones, but my experience has been that these will disappear after the first washing.

Another view of Turtle Tracks. I really like the cable-esque look combined with some eyelets. This is an easy pattern to follow - only eight rows with YO's and decreases that move over a stitch every other row.

Four FO, One more UFO

To date I have finished a baby blanket, a baby sweater and hat, and two pair of socks. I have posted pictures of the blanket and sweater earlier, and I forgot to take a picture of the college bowl socks before I mailed them, but I also finished my Socks That Rock. I started these last July while flying to Copenhagen. I broke one of my needles on the plane, so I had to limp along with 4 DPN's instead of 5. I put them away because I really wasn't thrilled with the color, but in the spirit of finishing, I dug them out last week and finished!

While looking for some stray needles, I found this T-Shirt that I started for myself last summer, out of elann's Sonata. I love the pattern, but I really have trouble knitting for myself - evidently I have a distorted self image because this sweater is about 6 inches too big in circumference. All I have left are the sleeves and the neck ribbing, so I think I will finish it and try to tactfully find someone to give it to.

The last picture is my idea of a great Sunday afternoon. I have a fire in the woodstove and my buddy on my lap. (Note the "Rock N Roll Knitter" shirt)

And more UFO's

So, I found 3 more UFO's. The red is the start of Rowan's Audrey in Calmer. I can't believe I forgot this because I loved this color when I saw it in a yarn store, but they didn't have quite enough. I took a chance, bought what they had and then tried to find more. Luckily I found some online and, even though the dyelots aren't the same, they all look the same. Now I just need to get this done.

The other two are furry scarves - I am so tired of novelty yarn! Again, color caught me on the orangey one - it is a great blend of orange, pink and gold. I bought the yarn for the other scarf on a clearance for possibly gnome beards. However, it has quite a bit of metallic copper, so I don't think it would be right for beards, but a colleague thinks she would like a scarf, so I'll get it done. I only have about 6 inches left.

And, here is why I had time to get out UFO's and finish some things. Snow started here Friday night, and it snowed through late Saturday night; we had around 9 inches total. I spent most of Saturday knitting in front of the woodstove. However, this picture is from Sunday morning, and the melting has already started, which is great since we have to be in school tomorrow.

UFO's - Batch #2

Another sweater for me - this will be a hooded tunic out of Paton's SWS in the Earth colorway. I made one for my daughter and loved it, so I started one for me. I currently have four (actually five) socks in progress. The red are out of WoolEase and have a candy-cane pattern, so they can wait for next Christmas; The purple are Chutes and Ladders pattern, the purple blue striped are my first use of Socks that Rock yarn, which I just got bored with. The brown tweed are for my son-in-law and this is the second sock, although neither one is finished yet. I am doing parts of each one after another, so they stay the same.






















Cleaning out UFO's was such a help. I found the baby blanket, and I found this sweater that is knit from Canadiana when my daughter was about 13 (she's 23 now), but I think it will still fit her because I didn't understand gauge very well then, and it's really big. All I need to do is sew it together and finish the bands. Then I have a bag of scarves in progress - the green is elann's Baby silk in (I think) a Cascade lace, the black is some alpaca I bought at an alpaca ranch in Taos, N.M., the pink is my first attempt with mohair (which I hate), and the purpley black is Branching Out in some wool I bought in Copenhagen this summer. I don't know who will get the scarves, so I don't feel much pressure to finish them. They are mainly for me to try new fibers or new techniques.

I joined a UFO group in Yahoo with the hope that public display would be humiliating, and I would get some finished. I didn't take pictures of the things that I am just frogging and/or giving away. I have 3 sweaters that need minor finishing work, but I hate them, so I will finish them and give them to a local charity - nothing really wrong with them except that I no longer want sweaters out of acrylics. I also had 3 sweaters that I gave to others to either finish or frog and use the yarn.

I also set a goal this year of knitting from my stash. I know I won't go for very long without buying yarn, but I set a rule for myself of no new yarn until at least 3 UFO's are completed. Well, I have finished two, but I also have already gotten some new yarn. I have a hard time resisting sales, and I found RYC Cashsoft 4 ply on sale at Webs, so I ordered enough to make 4 pair of socks. Oh well - I can rationalize this because I also worked 4 basketball games at my school, which paid me enough to nearly cover the cost of the yarn.

UFO's - Batch #1

Here are the two that I have nearly finished. The pinwheel blanket was for a great-nephew - who turns 5 next month. However, his mom is pregnant again, so it will be great for the next one. The sweater and hat are for a former student's baby. I don't normally knit for ex-students (or current ones) but this young man is on his second tour in Iraq, and I teach with his mother.
















The striped sweater is from the naturally colored cotton; I can't remember the name, but I know I bought it from elann. This was going to be a V-neck pullover for me, but I think I am going to frog it and use the yarn for something else. The other sweater is a Rogue hoodie for my daughter. You can see the body is to the armholes, and I have started the sleeves. I got off on the cables on the sleeves, so I need to rip some out and try again. I have enjoyed this pattern but it has also been incredibly frustrating.

Bowl Socks

Football and knitting just go together for me, and this college bowl season has been great for these socks.

I started them on the 23rd, ripped out and restarted them on the 26th, and turned the heel on the second sock this morning, the 2nd. I would have gotten further last night, but those Sooners!! They had to play such an exciting game! Even though they lost, I am still so proud of those young men, and I know next year will be spectacular for OU.

Anyway, I have mainly worked on these during games, most of which didn't turn out to my liking. I always pull for Big 12 schools, and this just wasn't their year.

The colors are really skewed in this picture also. I used Photoshop Elements to try to get it to somewhere close, but it still isn't right. I am using Regia in a brown tweed, and am using a pattern I found on the net called Gentlemen's Socks. I really like the twist in the rib, and I plan on making myself a pair with this same pattern, probably with some self-striping yarn. It makes a really cushy sock.

Edit: After looking at this picture on my blog, I realized that one sock was shorter than the other, so I pulled out the heel and added more to the leg - much better!

One and Only Knitted Christmas Present

I have not had great success in the past with knitting for others for Christmas, but I found an incredible bargain on Debbie Bliss Cotton Cashmere in a color that my mother would like that I just had to try again.

This is KPS top down raglan T-shirt. I know the picture is not great, but it is a sort of grayed lavender. We bought an amethyst pendant to go with it.

It fits, and my mother likes cotton a lot more than wool, so I guess this is a successful Christmas present.

Now that Christmas is over, I have to get back to UFO's. I have a pair of socks for my son-in-law and a Rogue hoodie that I have had for two years now. And scarves and felted slippers and hats and felted oven mitts . . . The list is endless!

Another Goal Completed

My husband and I have been working on building our house for more years than I want to admit. College tuition for all 3 of us interfered for a good many years.

However, this week he finished one of the major projects - installing the woodstove and chimney! This is on the second floor, and installing the chimney was not easy, involving scaffolding and very heavy lifting very high off the ground.

But, you can see, we are already enjoying it. The next thing is to texture and paint the room, and then varnish the floor, but taking a break next to the stove is great!

Gratitude

I know it's a cliche, but gratitude is on my mind today.

1. I am grateful for family - they are the best.
2. I am grateful for my job, even when I want to pound on middle school students!
3. I am grateful for my home - unfinished still, but we are still working on it.
4. I am grateful for knitting. It keeps me calm.
5. I am grateful for football and the time to watch football. I am especially grateful that the Sooners are winning!

And I could go on and on.

And, certainly not last or least, I am grateful that Addison is here and that she and her mom are both okay. She's a little early, but still healthy.

Last Baby Sweater

This is the last sweater for Addison - at least for now.

I used Paton's SWS in Geranium and Knitting Pure and Simple's neck down baby cardigan pattern. I opted to do neck ribbing instead of a hood because I wanted to do a hat. This is the 12 month size.

I am such a fan of SWS! I don't know how it will wear, but it is very nice to knit with, and I love the colors. I am making myself a hooded tunic in the Earth colorway now.

Sock yarn stash

This is the yarn stash that could overflow my house! And this is just sock yarn!

Looks are deceiving - there are two layers in each box. I have totally lost count of how pair of socks I could make - at last count I could make 25 pair. And, I ordered 4 more skeins yesterday.

Maybe Socktoberfest will get me going, but I have to finish the baby cardigan since it looks like Addison will come early, and my daughter wants her tunic since the weather has gotten colder. Although, I am about halfway through the hood on the SWS tunic and should be able to mail it by Tuesday. Then the plan is to zoom through the cardigan and then back to socks.

Soctoberfest Questions

So, I'm a little late with these, but at least here they are:

When did you start making socks? - I started my first pair of socks on Jan. 1, 2004, using some of elann's sock yarn and the pattern in Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch. I started because I had been reading about socks for months on Knitters Review, and I decided I should just give them a try.

What was your first pair? How have they held up? - My first pair is as described above. I gave them to my dad who wore them every week until he died in March, 2004. My dad had small feet, so the socks also fit my mom, so she kept them. They have held up exceedingly well.

Here they are, on my feet.


What would you have done differently? - I would have invested in a better yarn. I don't really dislike the elann yarn, but I now have tried other, softer yarns.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed? - I have tried Koigu PPM, Lorna's Laces, Socks that Rock, elann's Sock it to Me, Cherry Tree Hill, Regia, Opal and Knitpicks undyed that I dyed with KoolAid. I really like the Knitpicks yarn both for the feel and the price and because dyeing the yarn was great fun. My favorite socks to wear have been from Lorna's Laces because I like the softness and the thinner yarn.

How do you knit your socks? - I stick with DPN's just because I feel more comfortable with them. I'm not a big fan of circulars except for sweaters.

What kind of heel do you prefer? - I really like the square heel flap, both for making and for wearing. It gives me great satisfaction to do the heel flap and to turn the heel. I have tried short row, but it just doesn't feel right to me.

How many pair have you made? - I stopped counting at 15. I know I have 4 pair, my daughter has 6 pair, my niece has 4 pair, and several other family members/friends have a pair each.

Okay, that finishes this set. I am trying to take a picture of my sock yarn stash, but there is so much, I am having trouble getting it all together. And, embarrassingly enough, I found some yarn that I had forgotten about - I just ordered two skeins of the same thing yesterday!

Another Patons SWS - this is the top down baby cardigan from KPS in Geranium. I haven't gotten as far, but you can still see that the sleeve stripes will be wider than the body stripes. Still, this is soft and, while not machine washable, should make a nice warm sweater for Addison.

Patons SWS in KPS top down, knit in the round, hooded, tunic. I posted these so others could see the stripe pattern that has developed. You can see that the stripes on the sleeves are, of course, wider. This is the Natural Plum color, which has a lot more red than I expected. The stripe pattern is not perfectly regular, but it is still predictable which makes it fairly easy to join a new ball of yarn.

Trouble in bloggerland. I suddenly cannot see this blog!

This post will be an attempt to get this back on the web.

ADD Sock knitter??

After signing up for Socktoberfest, I thought I should look at socks I am already making. I think I have gotten a little carried away. To the right is Socks That Rock, and I can't remember the colorway. I was a little disappointed when I got the yarn because I didn't expect so much yellow. I'll still finish them because the yarn really feels nice.

In the middle is my second pair of Chutes and Ladders from elann's Sock It To Me. That pattern, which I got from Six Soxs KAL, is fun to do - these are for a friend for Christmas. Bottom left is KnitPicks Sock Memories, and again, I cannot remember the colorway. I was making the Ribs and Cables from IK for my daughter, but she tells me no more socks for now, so I think I will frog this sock and try something else. Top left is what I actually planned for Socktoberfest, Snowflake Lace in Lorna's Laces.

I was too embarrassed to take a picture of all my other UFO's, but I counted 4 sweaters, three scarves, and one pair of ballerina slippers to finish. Football should help because I really enjoy watching football while knitting, and, since the Sooners aren't doing that well, I don't really concentrate on their games.

Pea Pod set from Interweave Knits.

I wanted to make something different for Addison, this coming baby, and I found this superwash merino at Webs in just the color pictured in the pattern - I think it was meant to be. It was surprisingly easy to knit, and I am very happy with how it looks.

Hopefully the mother-to-be won't see this, as the shower is tomorrow morning.

This is how the fair should be - friends and Fair food - turkey leg in one hand, corn in the other, chocolate covered banana or fried S'more to follow.

I had the stuffed sopapilla and curly fried potatoes; my husband had fried pickles with ranch dressing. We missed the deep fried Twinkies - darn!

One of the best parts of Fall - Fair food and football, although those Sooners are giving me ulcers.

The other blue ribbons.

Blogger wasn't cooperating today, so I had to do the pictures separately. The scarf is Branching Out from Knitting and I used Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool in a gray-blue. The hat is Ann Norlings fruit hat pattern, done in the tomato. I don't remember what yarn I used, but I know I posted about it when I made it. I didn't really expect a ribbon for the hat, but I got a free gate ticket if I entered 3 items, so I put it in to save me a few bucks.

Success at the Fair!

I haven't entered the Tri-State Fair in a couple of years, but they have a new building for the textile, culinary, and art exhibitions, so I decided to try. I have never entered knitting before either, but I certainly will next year - three entries = three blue ribbons and one Best of Division rosette!

These are socks made in Heartstrings Parting Ways pattern which is a spiraling eyelet rib. One rib of the spiral eyelet also goes down each side of the heel. I used Knitpicks new merino/silk blend called Gloss which is great to knit with; it is very soft! I know they are hard to see, but I am glad they are locked behind glass doors.

Yarn from Copenhagen. I bought this at Sommerfuglen, a store that was recommended to me by another KR member from Sweden. It is produced in Denmark by a company called Kauni who has a website at kauni.com. I didn't see this colorway on the website, but I did see another I will think about for another project. This is I think either DK or sportweight; the label is in Danish and I am just not sure. It is 100% wool and this skein has 400m.

Yes, I'm a geek - this is the picture I plan to send to Knitters. I'm standing in front of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek - an art museum in Copenhagen. This was my first trip to Europe; we went to Copenhagen because one of my grandfathers emigrated from there in 1902 and we wanted to see where he had lived.

It is a mecca for shoppers - I loved it! I found Debbie Bliss Cathay for around $3.50 a skein - I bought 10 pale blue and 12 pumpkin. And, the one thing I really wanted, I found at Sommerfuglen, a really amazing yarn store - some Danish produced wool. I bought a 400m hank that is dark blue, purple and dark green. I don't know what to make yet, but probably some sort of lacey scarf. I'm going to use Grumperina's Picovoli pattern to make tops for my daughter and niece out of the blue Cathay, and a light cardigan for me out of the pumpkin.

We also saw castles and museums and churches. What an amazing place! I am already planning another trip back, although I need to recover from airline glitches for awhile longer.

More new knitting accomplishments! My first neck down, entirely knitted in the round sweater. And, I finished it in 17 days, another first.

I am now a true fan of top down, circular knitting. I hate sewing pieces together, so this is so much easier. I will be looking for these patterns again.

7/13 I forgot to put in that the pattern I used was from Knitting Pure and Simple.

Baby sweaters are really fun to make! One of my daughter's close friends is having a baby in December, so when I saw a link to a simple pattern on the KR forums, I just had to try it. I bought the Encore at Gourmet Yarns in Oklahoma City. I don't know gender yet, so this varigated seemed appropriate for either, although I am generally not a fan of variagated. Now that I have made this pattern, I will get some nice cotton, and try again, especially since I hope to know gender soon.

This was a very easy pattern - took me 2-3 days to finish. It called for I-cord instead of ribbon, but I really don't like making I-cord. I plan on using a solid color for the next one and getting plaid or dotted ribbon for the ties.

7/16: I should have put this in the original post. I found the pattern via a link on the Knitters Review Forum - dogsstealyarn.com/yoda.htm

This is a wool and kid mohair blend from Brooks Farms; I bought two hanks at the Taos Wool Festival last October. I wasn't thinking - two hanks are only 1000 yards, so I have had trouble finding a pattern that would show off their great colors and stay under 1000 yards, but I finally found Knitting Pure and Simple's top down, raglan sleeve, crewneck that seems to be okay. This is my first time to knit from the neck down, and my first time to do a sweater completely on circulars, but I think I am hooked.

I also know that next year, when I go back to the festival, I will certainly buy more of the Brooks Farms yarn. It is so soft and so easy to knit.

The tomato hat on the right was not something I planned or wanted to do, but I recently visited Gourmet Yarns in Oklahoma City and saw their model. The colors were perfect, so I had to buy the Skye Tweed and make one for myself. I don't know what I will do with it; surely some small child will happen along who needs a tomato hat.

Gourmet Yarns was a great place to visit; the people there were so nice and knowledgeable. I treasure opportunities to talk with other knitters. I also loved the Cascade 220 - what a selection they had! I bought a couple of skeins for the striped bag I am planning.

On the left are the stitch markers I put together. I finally found a pattern for some yarn I bought at the Taos Wool Festival, but it required 5 stitch markers which I didn't have. So, I hit the local Hobby Lobby for eye pins and found yarn ball and dragon charms. I found the bee beads at JoAnns. I made more markers, but they are in the sweater. I don't need lots of stitch markers which is too bad because they are a lot of fun to make. I'll have to find other knitters who need them.

Okay, here are the completed baby derbies. I am so impressed with the Cascade 220 - it felted so much quicker than the Knitpicks Merino. I am still looking for a bowl with the right circumference for the other hat.

Here are my newest felting projects, pre-felting. A colleage and I knitted these hats from Knit One, Felt Too; they are the baby derbies for another colleague's coming twin great-granddaughters. We used Cascade 220. On the right is a kind of chullo made from KnitPicks Merino Style.

I spent some time in the local WalMart measuring small plastic bowls to get something to put the baby hats over to keep them at the right size. I will be felting them tonight and then, when I find a bowl for the black hat, I will felt that. I will post pictures of the finished objects as soon as they dry.

First socks of the new year!! I know this is a terrible picture, but I wanted to get them posted, and I really wanted sun to show off that gorgeous KPPM. Of course, I also got the dry, dead grass, but with drought, that's all we're going to have for a while.