Birthday Bonanza!!!

Another year, another cake. Always happy to have one of these around! (My BD is the 2nd)

There's only five candles because we only had five pink ones. Plus, The Big Guy suggested we put ALL of my candles on but then made a "remark" about how they weren't going to fit..... and we didn't have enough anyway..... yea, he's a riot. So, I don't feel so bad about my bounty this year. Guilt can work to my benefit yet again.

(ETA: These stash yarns were purchased over several paydays! LOL! I make my birth"day" sort of my birth YEAR around here.)

Socks That Rock MediumWeight in the Mustang Sally Colorway. I grabbed this off of the ISO/Destash board on Ravelry. That is one addictive place to hang out. It's very dangerous for someone like me. Upfront, this isn't my first purchase from there - and it's certainly not going to be my last! But I do try to avoid it as much as possible. I already have a skein of this that I haven't used yet but the price was too good to pass up. Yep. Dangerous.

I purchased these from a new yarn shop in my area. Well, I discovered it's quite aways away (about 45 minutes) but at least it was a nice drive! They just opened last month so I felt the need to show my support (and enhance my stash). I actually bought three of these Cherry Tree Hill Select Semi Solid's. I got the Azalea, Slate, and Lotus Colorways. (Lotus is already OTN's, hence no picture). I just LOVE the colors of these (which explains why I came home with 3 skeins- gulp!) I picked up a few cotton yarns as well because she had the prettiest washcloths crocheted up in Plymouth's Jean Nee that I just have to replicate somehow. They're pretty basic, but the Jean Nee is just so soft, squishy, and delicious in this type of project. When I saw them, I thought of my Mom and her delicate face from her cancer surgery 2 years ago. My Mom certainly deserves the best.

I think I ordered these from The Loopy Ewe last month. Malabrigo Sock in colorway #808-Violeta Africana (which looks way more purple in real life, my camera picks it up as blue). Add to that "Tiziano Red" which is also already in use for the girls fingerless mitts (pictures to come soon I hope). The purple Cascade Fixation just jumped into my online cart (honest! ) Not sure how that happened but I already have something in mind for my youngest using that.

My splurge. Fleece Artists Handmaiden Casbah in the Victoria colorway. Cause as you can see it matches my tablecloth. Seriously, those are my colors. If it reminds me of ROSES. It's mine.

Of course I couldn't help but visit KnitPicks for my Birthday! These are skeins of Stroll (handpainted sock yarn). Colors are Dolly (pink) and Make Believe (purple/blue). These are soooo pretty. I haven't decided what these will be yet. I picked up some extra Harmony tips (why do I always need the size that's already in use?) and the double ended crochet hooks for good measure (free shipping). I'm now eyeing those new Zephyr needles. There's no doubt I'll be trying them, I enjoy using my acrylic straights that I got from Joanne's a long time ago. I love that they're so lightweight (my wrist pain is an issue at times), and these are supposed to be a way better acrylic.

Thank You Thank You Thank You so much to all of my fantastic knitting blog friends, Ravelry friends, and all of my wonderful family who made my day so awesome. We're alone here in our town, but the phone calls and messages on Ravelry and here kept coming all day and it sure made me smile. It makes turning 39 (again) easier to bear!

Happy Knitting!

Knits & more Stash

I picked up this lone skein of Happy Feet DK at the CC Fiber Festival last weekend (Colorway 54). It's the perfect color for some fingerless mitts for my girls. I must've been in a "baby blue" kind of mood, because at The Yarn Patch I picked up another skein of Tofutsies in a pastel-y color as well (#800-Fancy Footwork).

This next one was just too pretty to pass up:

The color's aren't easy to get accurate with my camera (they're darker in real life) but this is a yarn called "Jolie" by The Great Adirondack Company. This colorway is called "Amazon". It's 74% cotton/26% rayon and SOOOOOO soft! I picked it up at The Yarn Patch as well. I'm thinking it might be a pretty lacey scarflette for my Mom. Something simple that just lets the colors come through.

I finished another pair of simple socks.

Yarn: Knit Picks Felici - Alexandrite Colorway

Size 1 magic loop

64 st cast on.

Pattern: Just simple stockinette!!

I'm a tad worried on how well these will wear. The yarn is VERY soft, so I'm guessing they might wear thin quickly (and might pill pretty bad) once they're on the feet. We'll see. I'm sending them to my Mom because they ARE so soft. And, as with most yarns, the reviews are so mixed, there's no way to tell how they'll really hold up until she uses them.

I made this a few weeks ago but forgot to post about it:

It's for my youngest daughter. Just a simple crocheted shrug. I probably could've gotten away with making one size smaller because the yarn does stretch a bit. But she'll grow into it.

Pattern: Selma's Shrug

Yarn: Dale Of Norway's Svale in White

I think I used a size G hook.

She liked it, but now she wants one with the sleeves a bit longer. She likes the one in the SnB Crochet: Happy Hooker book so I'm going to work on that for her at some point. Probably by the time she's NOT wanting it anymore.....you know kids and how fast they change their minds....and how slow this old Mom is anymore!!

*In other news: The Big Guy and I are keeping to our schedule of walking a few times a week in our neighborhood with the "killer hills" and all (ouch). I've been sticking to it despite the pain from my Fibro/Auto-immune problems and that means I pay dearly at times (especially at night). But I have to work on making that dadgummit scale go in the OTHER direction for a change. We've been very blessed because in the past by this time in April, it's already hot, horribly humid, and just plain ICKY outside. This year it's still been cool and breezy, so we're going to get out and enjoy it as much as possible.

My SIL was kind enough to let me check out her Weight Watchers booklet that lists all the points. It's pretty discouraging when you first realize that ONE thing you're eating NOW is more than half the points you get for the DAY! Big eye opener. We're studying that with the intention of working on our eating habits as well. The Big Guy is already down 7 lbs just from walking (he does it at work too) Me so far: Zero. He's a brat.

~*~Lil Pink Schocks~*~

FINALLY.

These only took me about 4 months to finish!
Just a basic sock: 2x2 Ribbing on the leg portion and then straight along the foot.
Size 1 Magic Loop
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino Sock Yarn in Raspberry

I have to confess, I had NO desire to finish these while working them up last fall. I seriously hit that knitting slump that a lot of knitters out there seemed to hit around the same time (verified by reading all the blogs I do). I love to knit, but there's a point when I need to do other things and a break is well worth it. It IS good to know I'm not alone though! And it's good to know my knitting sits and waits for me to feel the luv again.

I also finished a couple more Preemie Hats. These are so fun to make, I really enjoy the quickness of these and it's wonderful to know they'll be on some teeny wittle person soon.

Bernat Baby Softee
Size 3 Magic Loop
The Pink and White one I striped and the blue is a varigated yarn.
They just make me happy-happy.

Saturday was cold, rainy, and miserable, but I went to a knitting meeting anyway. I was worried that there would only be a few people (or just me!) but the room was pretty full by the time I got there. A lady I knew from an old knitting group was there so it was great to see a familiar face right when I walked in.

It's just amazing how totally different people, from different backgrounds, can get together in a room with some sticks and string and just fill the time with laughter and enjoyment. I'm really excited about this group since it's close to my house and they meet up twice a month. I also just found another group in town but their meetings are pretty far for me - but it's always nice to have options if I'm ever out that way.

Wonder of Wonders, the knitting break I took didn't include the purchase of yarn of course. No, that would never do. Here's some of my bounty:

I've been drooling for awhile over this tweedy Queensland Kathmandu Aran. I ordered some in Taupe and Burgundy. I want every color....but....you know how it is. These will hopefully be a hat for The Big Guy and some fingerless mitts for me!



It seems like EVERYBODY wants this stuff but I just loved the colors. For me, it's always about the colors....

Mini Mochi from Crystal Palace Yarns
Color 103.
It's fuzzier than I thought it would be, but it is soft....more fingerless mitts probably....



Knit Picks Essential Bordeaux Kettle Hand Dyed. Uh, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this color. I don't even want to use it, I just love to look at it.



That's all I have pics of right now. I have to slow down some on the purchases for sure. Times are pretty scary right now, but that's why you gotta have a little sunshine.

Happy Knitting.