Alpacalicious

Today, there was an alpaca show at the fairgrounds near my house. So, being the dedicated knitters that we are, DillyDally Knitter, the intrepid (yet blogless) Betts and I went off in search of yarn.

We learned lots about alpacas, especially since before we got there, we weren't quite sure what an alpaca was.

They were very friendly, and happy to pose for the camera.

This guy just got a haircut- hence the 80s jerrycurl look.

DillyDally gets a snorgle from a friend!

Of course there was the yarn too...

This is my purchase- 875 yards of "Suri Elegance" to knit a feather and fan scarf with.

DillyDally also brought me a gift- can you guess what it was from the before and after photos?

My circular needles before

My Circular needles after. Thanks DillyDally!

Finally, here is the sock yarn haul for the week (except for my Rockin Sock Club yarn that came on Wednesday- I will wait to show that)! This is Sundara yarn, and the beautifully named colorways are Pine over Pollen (green) Port over Nectar (red) and something that I cannot remember over something else that I cannot remember (blue).

Roza's Socks

Someone out there had a question about the slipped stitches at the sides of the heel flap on Roza's socks, so I promised to take some photos of mine so she could compare.

Here is what it looks like on the back- you can see the slipped stitches on each side.

Here is a close-up of one side

And here is the right side of the heel flap- you cannot see the side stitches becuase they roll under, but I am stretching it out so that you can see the overall slip stitch pattern (which, aside from beinf decorative, make the heel sturdier) with the non-slipped stitches between them. Each slipped stitch equals two rows of non-slipped stitches in heigth, just like the ones on the sides.

Fave Furniture Blog Challenge!

I am always looking for stuff to post on my blog (who isnt?!), so I thought I would offfer a blog challenge to anyone out there who is, like me, blog challenged!

I think that the furniture you love says a lot about you- so, what is your favorite piece of furniture in in your house (apartment, dorm room, etc.)? Show it how much you love it and make it feel special by taking its picture and posting it on your blog, and then tell us all what makes it special to you! I'll get the ball rolling with mine:

This is an Eames rocker- not an old one, mind you (I would be scared to sit in an old one- I would probably do something horrible to it and then feel like I was going to furniture h*ll (no comfy chairs for knitting there!) when I die for destroying a piece of history)- this is a newfangled one where the seat is made of plastic, rather than molded fiberglass. I absolutely love it. I love the way it looks- cool, unassuming, hip... there is hardly anything to it, yet is is so appealing to the eye! And what you would never guess by looking at it is that it is ultra comfy- those Eamses really knew their lumbar support!

So anyway, what is your fave furniture piece?

It was all CPurl's fault.

Every bit of it.

CPurl and I went yarn shopping this past Saturday, and I was not necessarily going to buy any yarn at all, but she said I really should because it would be bad luck to go to a yarn store and not buy any yarn, especially if you go yarn shopping with your girlfriend. So then I was all "well if you are gonna all twist my arm like that then FINE- WHATever." And so I had to buy it, but it was her fault.

First we went to Purlescence, in Sunnyvale, Ca. Although I have only been to Purlescence a few times, this is one of my all time favorite yarn stores! They carry all sorts of great yarn- Lorna's Laces, Claudia Handpaint, Malabrigo, Socks that Rock- loads of good stuff! Aaaaand... they have spinning stuff too- including Lorna's Laces Shepherd Wool Top superwash merino packaged in hanks sized just right for making socks.

This colorway is called "Vera" and may I say that the colors are suspiciously similar to my nest purchase, Socks that Rock in the colorway "January One"

Maybe the STR folks got with the Lorna's Laces folks and had a few glasses of wine and a dying party?

To continue my theme of pink (lighter pink this time!) I also picked up some Claudia Handpaint in "Geranium"

And more Claudia Handpaint in a colorway that I cannot remember the name of - this time from a lovely store called Commuknity, in San Jose.

Then we required nourishment (just in case the mexican food we had for lunch had worn off), so we made a pit stop at Starbucks (what girl's shopping day would be complete wothout Lattes?) where I go this

which I am showing you solely because it is very cute. I bought it to put into the birthday present of my niece, who is, unbelievably, even cuter than the duck-ette.

After that, we could have ended our knitting day, but (being gluttons for punishment) instead we moved on to our brand spankin' new LYS, Knit This Purl That (where, you will be pleased to know, I did not purchase any sock yarn).

Long time, no blog!

Ok, so I haven't posted in a short while (a long short while). But that is because I have been sooo fantastically busy knitting that I have not had a single second in which to scribble down a few words and snap a photo. However, this very evening, I have decided to finally take a breather, and actually write a post.

Since I know that you are all absolutely on the edge of your seat wondering what I have been knitting- here are a few photos.

First, I knit some hats.
Although I knit them quite a while ago, they were so cute that I thought I would post them anyway. A very good friend asked me to knit them for her friends, who adopted twins- a boy and a girl. I hope that they kept Roxie and Wylie's heads nice and toasty, and that they both grow up to be geniuses due to their sporting Koigu on their heads in infancy.




Next is a photo of something more recent- how I spent my Easter weekend. This is just a tiny bit of it- a stop along the highway while driving doen the California coast from the SF Bay area to San Luis Obispo. It is a wonderful drive with much lovely scenery and interesting stuff along the way.










Once we got to San Luis, of course I had to make a pit stop at a nearby yarn store- Ball & Skein & More in Cambria, CA. Here's what I got- 2 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway "Marble" and an untagged (but really nice) skein of Scheaffer "Anne" sock yarn in different tones of very dark blue. The pretty tray that they are sitting on was a gift from my excellent MIL, who bought it for me in Big Sur after I admired it. Wasn't that nice?



And finally- you will all rest easier tonight knowing that finally, I am cool. And I have proof.

I made it into the Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin Sock Club" by the skin of my teeth! I originally missed the sign up deadline and thought that all hope was lost, but then about a month and a half later a little bird who knew how crushed I was by my own incompetence (thank you DillyDallyKnitter!) let me know that they had 20 openings still available... so this time I did not waste a single (not a one!) moment and had the very good fortune to get one of the spots. Woohoo!
Here is the March installment of yarn, which I just got and will not be able to knit the socks before the April yarn and pattern gets here- it is called monsoon, and it is hand dyed lovely shades of smoky grey and green. The pattern that I am supposed to knit with it (and will when I have a spare moment) is for "Inside Out Socks" that are nearly the same right side out or inside out. Neat-O!

Now my goal for next year is to go to the Rockin Sock Club camp- Camp Cockamamie. I'm planning for that now!