Michigan Fiber Festival, Part 2

As promised, pictures of my booty:















Go ahead. I won't mind if you drool!

As you can see I went a little crazy on the sock yarn. From top to bottom:

Knitting Notions handdyed lace yarn. This is the only yarn that will not become a sock. I'm making it into a lacy scarf. Maybe for me, maybe as a Christmas present. We'll see.

Some Merino-Tencel blend from some farm I forgot the name of (when I bought the skein it didn't even have a tag on it!).

Some fad yarn. Socks That Rock to be exact. I'm not one for fads but I have never knitted with this stuff before, and if I find out it is as good as people say it is, well, I may become a fanatic myself!

Perchance to Knit sock yarn. I recently found this lady's blog after she had left a comment on mine some weeks ago. I knew she dyed yarn but I never realized that she sold her handdyed creations. Absolutely beautiful, Susie ! I think once I'm done with this baby, I'll purchase some more.

Some solid colored sock yarn from Shelridge Farm. I figured I needed some solids because I would love to utilize the stichionary I have to make socks one day. Plus solid sock yarn seems to be more mature than multi-colored (as if pink and bright yellow are mature colors).

Some Mountain Colors Bearfoot in a wool and mohair blend. I see myself wearing these socks around the house, on an extra cold winter day, sipping some hot tea, listening to a podcast, and knitting away on something else.

And finally some sock yarn from the Blackberry Ridge Woolen Mill, Inc. I simply fell in love with the jewel like tones of the blues in this yarn. Whatever this becomes, it will be something for me!

Now that I have all this new stuff to add to my stash, the hardest part is choosing what to work with next and with what pattern to pair the yarns with!

Now excuse as I roll around in my new treasures!

Distractions

Due to poor lighting (it's been raining since yesterday afternoon), the photoshoot of my booty has been delayed.

In the mean time, here are some shots of some FO's I have recently completed:





The hat was finished Sunday night and the bag was felted Monday morning. Both projects were very satifying. As you can tell, though, I gave up last minute on one of the straps for the bag. I ended up not wanting to do the intarsia motif on the strap because I really just wanted to felt this bag up and start using it. It doesn't bother me that the straps don't match. I have a bag that beautiful anyway and thats all that counts.

The hat is the Odessa pattern by Grumperina. Again, this knit is fast and easy. Perfect for last minute gifts.

Speaking of last minute gifts, has anyone started their Christmas knitting? I know it's still August but if you're a knitter with a couple hundred things to knit this year, it's best to start early and plan ahead. Let me know what you guys are cooking up in your houses.

Hopefully the weather will improve today or tommorow so I could show you my newly accumulated stash. Until then, happy knitting!

Michigan Fiber Festival, Part 1

Today I have a long post to write but not much time to write it in. So this is going to be more pictures than words.

The BF and I woke up very early so that everything wasn't sold out by the time we got there.

There was plenty of this:







Beautiful roving. It made me think maybe I could become a spinner. That's when a man that was selling electric spinners (at $800 a pop) showed me that it was easy to do. Needless to say that is easier said than done.





Nonetheless I tried but failed many times. I didn't want to learn how to spin after that. But I did end up with this:



Remember I chopped off my hair 2 weeks ago? Well I kept my hair, thinking that it could be spun up into some yarn. And the man was right! See, I told you my hair was like wool!

Then we got to my favorite part of the show:















I was whoring around:







By the end of it, we got to the animals:





Mostly sheep and alpacas, with a couple of angora rabbits were there. Everytime I go, I fall in love with the sheep:



Then I step in a pile of shit, and realize why I do not like animals.

All and all, a wonderful day:





In part 2, I will be showing you my booty (Pirate talk for: the stash I accumulated this past weekend).

And the Prizes Are...

Today is the big reveal of the prizes for the contest.

Since Valerie guessed the closest answer, she gets the "grand prize":





A copy of the 25th Anniversary Special Collector's Edition of Vogue Knitting as well as some laceweight merino from Argentina. I got this yarn a year ago and the only reason why I picked it up is because it did not look like any other yarn I had seen in Argentina. This yarn definetely screams lace but alas, I can't think of anything to do with it. Therefore I am giving it away.

And don't think I forgot about you Trek. I got you this:



Some lightweight Socks That Rock in the Grandma's Flower Garden colorway. Tell you the truth I was somewhat hesitant to give this one away, but I can't be selfish. I'm sharing the yarn love!

Hopefully the both of you guys enjoy your prizes. I can't wait to see what you guys make out of it!

Oh yeah, make sure you email me at kellyson718 AT yahoo DOT com so I can know where to send these wonderful gifts to.

That's all for now. Tomorrow I'm going to share with you what I did at the Michigan Fiber Festival!

A Nice Birthday

The contest has come to a close and two winners have been determined.

Valerie was the closest, guessing 9:17 am.

The second closest was Trek and she guessed 12:02 am.

Congratulations ladies!

Tomorrow is the Michigan Fiber Festival and Nathan and I are attending. I have a prize for one of you guys but I have to purchase the other prize tomorrow. Therefore the prizes will not be revealed till Monday.

Thanks to everyone that participated. It was fun reading your guesses.

And just so that all of you guys know the exact time, I was born 5:38 am on August 17, 1984.

A Great Day

I'm having a wonderful day today. I'm a year older, I took a day off, and had a wonderful bath with this bath bomb stuff from Lush. They sell other beauty products if you are interested.

Then I baked some cupcakes...



Red Velvet Cake mix from Duncan Hines with vanilla frosting (Duncan Hines too).

Then I picked up my mail and got these lovely magazines:



I paid for a subscription over 2 months ago and there was a mix up in the payment that delayed the Summer issue from getting to my house. Now I got the Summer and the Fall issue.

I have to admit that the preview on the website did not make me as excited about the patterns in this issue, but I'm so glad I got a copy of the magazine because though I may not see myself wearing alot of the designs in this season's issue, everything in this issue looks beautiful and comfortable to wear.

Now I'm watching Food Network and working on this baby:



It's the Odessa hat by Grumperina. I've been wanting to make this hat for a long time and I got sick of my other projects so I figured why not cast on for this. It's going pretty quickly. I'm not rushing this one. I'm using the yarn called for (Rowan Cashsoft DK I believe) and I love the stitch definition and just the soft feel of the merino. And now that I have chopped off all of my hair, I can actually wear some of the hats I knit myself this winter.

That's all for now. I start a new job Monday and life is looking pretty positive for me right now.

Until Monday, Happy Knitting!

Eye Candy and a Contest

First the Eye Candy:



I got this package in the mail from this retailer in New York City. The yarn is Rowan Big Wool in the Gingersnap color. I'm kind of disappointed because I thought the color would be brighter but I've gotten used to it now. And like the last big scarf I made, this yarn will become a thick winter scarf. Though the color is not what I had expected, it is still appealing and this new scarf will match many of the outfits I have in my closet.

Contest

I'm not sure if I told you guys but my birthday is this Friday, August 17th. To celebrate this occasion, I have decided to host a contest. Here is your challenge:

You guys all know the day I was born, but can you guess the exact minute I was born?

The 2 individuals with the closest guess to the time that I was born will receive a special prize from me.

Leave your answer in the comments section to enter the contest.

The contest closes 12 pm Eastern Standard Time on August 17th and from then on I will determine the winner.

Good Luck to everyone!

Random Developments

Here are some progress pics:





The scarf was started last year in October. I never blogged about it because frankly, it's just a boring 2x2 rib scarf. Lately however, since I've been stash busting, I've decided to make this a Christmas gift for my sister. I gave her a felted bag last year. Hopefully she'll like this.

The two hats are for two friends of mine that got married last week. They've been together since high school and the both of them just turned 23 in the past 2 weeks. This Friday, I'm turning 23 years old and Saturday night we're going to Olive Garden to celebrate my birthday.

Though this Saturday's occasion is really about me, I decided that I could share the spotlight and the hats were a great way to not only spread the love, but also get rid of some stash. Two birds, one stone.

Vogue Knitting



Almost two weeks ago, I received my copy of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Vogue Knitting. This issue is pretty thick in comparison to previous ones, and has many articles in there, from pieces that teach new techniques to interviews with several of the knitting industry's past and present icons.

Unfortunately, I buy knitting magazines mainly for their patterns, not for articles and techniques. If I wanted articles, I'd read a newspaper and if I wanted techniques, I'd reference a book or the internet because to wait on a quarterly magazine to talk about a skill you've been dying to learn about or try is foolish in this day and age.

The color for the 25th wedding anniversary is silver, and Vogue Knitting used that in their editorial spread for the first couple pages of this issue to showcase designs that are in yarns from icy grey to shiny silver tones. Some of these designs are actually wearable and appear interesting to knit, but the patterns are not found anywhere in the magazine. The patterns that are found are of ugly ass designs in the back. This is because currently, high fashion runways are showing off styles from the 80s, that means ill-fitting, oversized, boxy clothing. Frankly, I do not care what era I'm in, I like my clothes to fit. And I am sorry, Vogue Knitting, if I am too cheap (aka, poor) to knit a cashmere sweater 4 sizes to big for me just so I can be up with the times of excess and opulence.

To put it simply, this issue was a HUGE disappointment, in my eyes. Thankfully I do not pay for this subscription (my boyfriend got this as a Christmas present for me last year), however, once the subscription is up, unless Vogue Knitting decides to make some radical changes in their design selection, I'm not buying their publication. I hate saying that because I truly appreciate the gesture that my boyfriend made by buying me a subscription to a knitting magazine. Unfortunately, I'm not having a good time with my gift right now.

My Life

I cut and colored my hair brown this Saturday:



I love the cut, but the color I do not really see a difference in my hair. Besides all that, I'm pretty happy with the result. Now I feel more confident and sexy in my own skin. Plus this hair is absolutely perfect for my lazy hair habits. I really just wash (or wet) and go. I LOVE IT!!!

Tomorrow I have a very important job interview. I'm somewhat nervous, but I've been doing this for 3 months now, and the more I search and interview for a new job, the closer I feel to the job I really want.

That is all for now. This Wednesday I have a very important announcement to make concerning my birthday this Friday. Here's a hint: it includes yarn!

Almost But Not Quite

I don't have much to talk about today so here are some progress pics of the bag and the sock for Auntie Dee:





I got 7 more rounds to go before I start knitting the straps on this bag. I'm hoping I could finish it by this weekend and felt it so I can use it for this event in 2 weeks.

As for the socks, there is only one more inch to go and sock number 1 will be done. I'm dreading knitting the second sock because it's boring, big, and long. It has taken me almost 2 months to get to this point of the knittting. Because of this experience, I think I will never knit another stockinette sock on such small gauge (9 stitches the inch, to be exact).

This week should be busy for me, so don't expect much from this blog. However I do have something special for you guys next week. Details later!