Sometimes it is worth getting out of bed....

Especially when the reason is the Postman bringing goodies!

My Ravelry Caffeine Swap package arrived this morning bright and early and look what was inside:



This is one of the best swap exchange packages I have ever received. mobarger was my swap partner and she really did an amazing job of sending me stuff that I love.

Look at this yarn:

Aren't the colors gorgeous?

and these cool teas and cupcake mix:


Plus bourbon soaked sunflower seeds, expresso chocolate, a green tea bar, Piecework magazine with the beautiful Summer Shawl pattern by Nancy Bush, and wonderfull smelling soap from her farm! I can tell she really took the time to find things that would appeal to me personally and I feel truly spoiled. Thank you Mo - you are a great swap partner.

I really needed that package this week - my mother is back in the hospital, this time LIJ out on the Island. It is not that far in miles, but with traffic it has been a trek driving out there after work this week.

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme

Last weekend, we took the boys to the Renaissance Fair in Sterling Forest. It was there first and I haven't gone since before I met David - the three of us had a blast, but David definitely prefers the 20th century, a rocket or a submarine would have made him much happier!


A game of Chess



Birds of Prey


It was not for sale.
x

I've got a girl and she likes to shop

ssshhh - actually it is me, I like to shop...look see what I just bought:


don't tell anyone, I am supposed to be on a budget, ssshhhh.....
www.tricoquelicot.etsy.com

You've got to spend some time, love

Another Sunday, another day to spend quietly playing with yarn and beads, another day to post some updates to this blog.

I am in a swap on Ravely, one of the things we needed to send in our packages was stitch markers, so I made these yesterday to add to the rest of the goodies I am sending out:



I really like them, I bought that cheapy key holder to put them on so they don't get loose in the package. I also bought this yarn to send:


It is 100% wool and I bought a booklet of felted bag patterns to go with it.

I signed up for the Ravelympics, the Lace Longjump - here is my entry:


Zetor by Jatta Saukko in Handpaintedyarns.com lace color Hydrangea. I am really liking how this is knitting up, the yarn has a homepun feel and the color is lovely. I have until the closing ceremonies to finish.

I am still working on the Goddess Mystery Shawl, here is the last update:

I really love this yarn - it is Zephyr color Copper.

Of course since I still didn't finish that KAL, I had to join another, Mystery Stole 4 - I originally was going to knit this is the silver gray Colourmart silk I have, but the diameter on the stole, according to the designer is only 16", that silk is so fine, I would be lucky to get 10", so I decided to use the cone of Jaggerspun Main Line I bought from Sarah's Yarns last year. Here is the swatch I did:


The top is done on size 5 needles the bottom on size 3, I like the top better. The beada are from Beadaholique , the color is Witch's Brew, these are 8/0 that I ordered for the silk - I just ordered them in 6/0 so they will show up better on the thicker yarn.

Here is the yarn and the beads:


I have to run to the nursing home now - hopefully I will remember to finish updating this page.

Later...............

Ok, I'm back

I found the perfect beads to match that Claudia Handpainted Silk I bought at Garden City Stitches, look:


They pick up all the colors in this yarn! I am thinking about designing a stole with this yarn and beads using the Japanese Knitting Patterns Book 300 I bought online from a SaucyLouise's Esty shop. This book is phenomenal! There are patterns in here I have never seen anywhere else before, and even though the text is in Japanese, the charts and diagrams are clearly written and suprisingly easy to follow.






That is just a small sample! I am hooked on Japanese knitting and crochet patterns, one weekend soon I am planning a trip to Kinokuniya Bookstore
to browse through and pick up a few more. There is Japanese Knitting and Crochet group on Ravelry that is really helpful with working out the patterns.

The angels want to wear my red shoes

Last night I went to Jones Beach to see Elvis Costello and the Police in concert - It was an amazing show. Elvis was awesome, he really sounded great and the Police sounded so good, they looked like they were having a blast on stage. Elvis was the opening act, he did some songs off the new album and a lot of old songs.

Today my girlfriend and I took a mental health day and went shopping, I went to the concert with her and her husband and spent the night there so we decided to take the day and spend it having fun and spending money. We went to Garden City for lunch and stopped at Garden City Stitches and I bought this:



Isn't it pretty?

Found my way downstairs and had a cup (or 2 or 3....)

You Are an Espresso

At your best, you are: straight shooting, ambitious, and energetic At your worst, you are: anxious and high strung You drink coffee when: anytime you're not sleeping Your caffeine addiction level: high

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Sorry i'm not home right now, I'm walking into spiderwebs

I am a bad blogger, I know. Life just keeps stealing my blogging time. I am however not above boasting about my accomplishments. In that spirit I present to you:


SWALLOWTAIL







I am so pleased with how this turned out! The beads add the sparkle I was hoping for.

My new project is Icarus, I am using the lovely silk lace I recieved from Sundara for test knitting Tatami:

The original fire has died and gone But the riot inside moves on

The weekend started off on a high note - the Rangers took the Devils in 5! On to the next round. I haven't enjoyed a hockey season so much in a long long time. The East is wide open, the West is being fought to the last man. No team (but Ottawa) folded. Boston forced a game 7. Nothing like Springtime Hockey.

The best thing about watching Hockey is I get a LOT of knitting done. I finished another Shetland Triangle, this one in cashmere/silk from Colourmart.

Here it is right off the needles


and here is it blocking


Close up of the yarn

This is such an easy pattern and the results are beautiful, the yarn is lovely too, so soft with a luscious sheen. I made this for one of my Ravelry swaps - the mohair one was supposed to be for the swap, but after reading my swap partners blog, I realized she is allergic to wool and lives in a hot climate - the mohair would not have worked, so I am keeping that one and sending this one instead. I hope she like it.

I also cast on a new shawl - Swallowtail - Knitting Daily had it as a free download and I have been wanting to knit it since I saw it in Interweave Knits. I am using my single skein of Sea Silk.

I love this color and the yarn is so nice to work with.

Galveston, oh Galveston

Finally made it home - yes we were booked on an American Airlines MD80 and yes our original flight was canceled.

I was on the phone for over an hour last night trying to get another flight out today - thankfully AA was very helpful and found us a Continental Flt that was direct ( our original had a stop in Chicago) so even though the Continental flt was delayed over an hour, we still got home earlier than we would have on our original flt.

I think the airline industry has it in for me - every flt I am booked on gets canceled or delayed.

Texas was fun - I loved Austin and wished I had more time there - David liked it best there too. Mother Nature was being difficult as well; it rained in Dallas and Galveston, the only really nice days we had were in Austin/San Antonio, otherwise it was cloudy and dreary.

The traffic in Houston makes rush hour in NYC look like a NASCAR Speedway! We pretty much stayed out of the city - we were staying in Webster, which is halfway between Houston and Galveston and the home of the Johnson Space Center. The only time we went into Houston was to follow train tracks and visit Yarn 2 Ewe. ( where I spent over an hour playing with lovely yarns!)

The obligatory vacation pictures:

The Houston Skyline


The beach in Galveston


This hotel in right on a pier - I would hate to be there during a storm!

I finished the mohair shetland shawl on Tuesday, which necessitated a trip to the yarn store so I had a project for the trip home.


Off the needles on the bed in our motel


close up of the beads (bought in Dallas) on the edging


The yarn I bought in Houston - Wool in the Woods Seeds and Such in the Bashful colorway. Though they are both the same dye lot, the on the needles is a little deeper than the other and has more of the coral color. I am doing a simple scarf in the ostrich plume stitch one side in each color and then grafted in the middle. I can wear either the darker or the lighter end to the front depending on my mood.

Next to the yarn is the Space Bear David bought me, he always buys me a teddy bear from out vacations - I have an italian police bear, a Borg bear, a pilot bear etc. I love my bears.


Blocking on the floor in the boys room.

It is good to be home - I still have tmrw off from work and I plan to do as little as possible, I am afterall on vacation.

Austin - Awesome?

I think so, but I really would have liked to stay longer to really find out.

The weather finally cleared when we got to Austin - beautiful, hot and sunny! We spent the day walking around downtown. I didn't get a map and didn't realize how spread out the city was. I really wanted to spend more time in the SoCo area ( which was much closer to our hotel then we realized) but we only had 1 full day before we had to head to San Antonio and on to Houston.

Some pictures from Austin:

The State Capital


An impressive tree (and David)


A great building with a really looong fire escape!


My favorite piece of the skyline

I did manage to get to one yarn shop - Hill Country Weavers - lovely place filled with beautiful yarn and friendly people - I picked this up:

I want to make a light spring/summer shawl with it.

Yesterday we drove to San Antonio - in case any of you don't know - yesterday was the final match up of the Final Four - San Antonio was PACKED with people - it took us 25 minutes to find a parking lot that wasn't full. We managed to walk along the Riverwalk and see the Alamo, but it was just so crowded.

David is rushing me out now - we are going to the Johnson Space Center this morning then off to Galveston. I'll post more later.

ETA Pictures from San Antonio:

The Riverwalk


David on the Riverwalk