Yarn Crawl, it's a day with the girls

With spring fever in the air and the lure of fabulous fiber filled day of decadent yarn porn, plans were made and a yarn shop crawl was in progress. Little did I know, one of our com padres would be a bit ambitious about it. I had put together a list of shops and with list and phone numbers in hand, JW played co-pilot to LS's adept piloting skills. LS seemed determined to make it to more than a couple of shops.
We made it to 5 shops and stopped for lunch in between them.









First was Amazing threads in Maple Grove
http://www.amazing-threads.com/home.htm
This was a lovely shop medium to large in size, neat and drawers for those balls of yarn that pop off the shelves. The women working were friendly and helpful, I found a great half priced hat pattern called "Arsenic and Old Hats" the hat is cute and the name cuter, so it was a must have. JW commented that I should knit it while watching the old Carey Grant Movie " Arsenic and Old Lace", have to find a rental.
there was a great Andes inspired hat kit that was perfectly priced, perfect for and purchased by CF. Other lovely yarns were purchased and we went on our way.









All about Yarn in Coon Rapids was our next stop.
http://www.allaboutyarn.com/
We were warmly greeted, there were bags and notions, small selection of sock yarns but a lovely little variety of yarns. The shop has tow seating areas, one near the front with a couple chairs and a couch by a fire place, in the back was a large table and what looked like a class was being held. This is an inviting store not as large a selection as the last one mentioned, but I could get cozy by that fire place.




CF had never been to the yarn garage in Rosemount which is where we went next.
http://www.yarngarage.com/
I had not been there since the commotion on Ravelry about it being reorganized, still claustrophobic I thought, one of our group wanted to buy a Namaste bag, had them get it down, really wanted the skein of yarn she had, but could not make it to her turn at the register, with the people and the confinement of the shop, time to put the stuff down and just make it to the exit. He does carry a nice variety of knitting and Namaste bags, a large selection of yarn and plenty of help.





Lunch was at Red Robin, always a great place to eat with the most savory strawberry lemonade, which is endless and your fries are endless too, I barely make it through the first serving of fries, have never been able to get more.
http://www.redrobin.com/










Knitter's Palette in Lakeville was our next stop.
http://www.knitterspalette.com/blog/
I locked onto a seductively delicious hank of roving for spinning from After The Sheep Fiber Arts. The fiber was right by the door and was in my hands before I knew it, it is called Butter Cream Panda, it is creamy whites and light yellows, is a blend of 60% Superwash Merino, 30% Bamboo and 10% Nylon. The roving is 4oz and I am hoping to spin it up for either socks or a hat (maybe Arsenic and Old Hats).
I purchased the roving as well as two skeins of a cascade superwash in a beautiful Caribbean Blue to make a scarf, a Christmas gift, thinking ahead and it is knitting up to be very pretty.

Our last stop was Three Kittens in Mendota heights.
http://www.3kittensneedlearts.com/
The front half of the shop has yarn and the back half is needlepoint, a moderate selection of yarn is available, there are three seating areas, two in the front with the yarn and one in the back for the needle point.
They have a few Namaste bags, a bit of sock yarn was purchased there. They offer a 10% discount on yarns to Knitters Guild members, so don't forget to take your member cards.

It was a great day. We were tired by the time it was over, but I think we could have worked in Zandy's and one other shop perhaps? Any way, my LYS is still Linden Hills Yarns, I enjoy loitering and knitting with everyone there.

Happy stitches and keep your sticks in the yarn.

Sim cards, Beautiful wool (aka Bella Lana) and Stuff

SIM and the mental collapse of a cell phone.

Like a few people I am still finding pot holes to fall in with technology. My phone began shutting itself down and giving me odd SIM messages, then just locked me down to calling 911. Not good. I called for technical assistance, my phone said it needed a SIM, where do I put that? Apparently, phones need to be turned off once in a while. I think the person helping me was a bit amused and helped me navigate, turning the phone off, taking off the battery, locating and removing the incumbent SIM card. While we waited the minute to let the phone reset with the network and put the card back I said it would be bad if i broke it in half. A bit of silence "well..........they are fragile he said." I did not break it. we put the phone back together and I was counseled on turning my phone off periodically to let it reset. The phone had one additional small mental meltdown, but has been good since then.

Beautiful Wool (aka Bella Lana) and Stitchville USA

On weekends, friends and I occasionally visit different yarn shops, or re-visit ones we have not been to in a while.

My friend Sheri had been looking forward to shopping at Stitchville USA, a crosstitch and needlework shop in Minnetonka. I had a full and a partial punch card and found the cutest little Hardanger Ornament kit, and a scissor and needle case, with my full punch card, $17.50 of my purchase was free. Sheri purchased some wonderful angora wool to crosstitch on a blanket with, which is what she went there for and she now has a full punch card to redeem the next time she goes.
You can visit their web site for more information, I always find something lovely there and if you like to crosstitch or needle point you may find things you like as well.

http://www.stitchville.com/

After this we decided to check out Bella Lana yarn shop in downtown Minneapolis; not such a huge hike if you hop on 394. The shop seemed a bit complicated to get to but it was worth the trouble. We had called first and since the ladies were re-doing thier front windows they waited for us Normally they close at 3pm on Sundays, but as long as we were there by four we could come.
We were greeted at Bella Lana by the sweetest little pug and miniature grey hound, they were so cute, the obnoxious attention seeking by these little guys reminded me of my own little Sadie and the way she thinks she should have everyones attention, she goes the extra mile to walk, hop and dance at your feet.
The shop itself is white, the walls the floors and the shelves which makes the colored yarns pop out at you. Over all it was a fun and pleasant experience, for yarn card lovers, they do not have one. Do check out thier web site for more information.

http://www.bellalanaminneapolis.com/

Stuff

After helping my friend Jenny with some of her knitting projects on Saturday (I know I was just writning about Sunday, working backward here) we went to Linden Hills Yarn and Textiles, Needles were needed and we sat to knit for a bit, it is always free to sit, knit and solve the worlds problems at Jan's table with the self proclaimed "Know it all knitting divas" Yup you got it, here is the link to the web site.

http://www.lindenhillsyarn.com/

The 43rd and Upton area of Minneapolis is a cute little neighborhood, not only is Linden Hills Yarn there, but as written about before, Wild Rumpus calls the area home as well. This as I have stated in past blog entries is a unique mostly child oriented book store, where you can read find little live animals and critters roaming about and in cages. I stopped in today and found a book that I have been looking for called The Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book, which I plan on sending to one of my sisters for her children who have asked about learning to knit. This book by Jane Eayer Fryer was origionally published in 1918, so some of the yarn and needle information is out dated, not a big deal at all, There are at least two other books, one on cooking and one for sewing. Yes, here it is.

http://www.wildrumpusbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp

Also in Linden Hills area near 43rd and Upton, you can find a Coffee & Tea Ltd, an aray of ecclectic little shops as well as a rather wonderful and understated little resteraunt called Cafe twenty eight.
The food at this restraunt is perfect, great sandwiches, home made chips, simply wonderful, the staff is freindly, service is great, definitely a pleasant dining and take out experience.
I would totally recomend cafe twenty eight, definitely worth checking out.

http://www.cafetwentyeight.com/

I am working around the neck of My Fair Isle sweater, closer to finishing the shoulders and picking up for the sleeves. Yeah for me.

The sock contest is over, I did not win in the Fair Isle caregory, but will publish the pattern myself. Knitting freinds were sure I had a winner, but ther were lots of great entries, we all could not win and there wil be other design opportunities.

I do believe I have rambled quite enough.
Happy stitches

Challenge update and sox

Okay, so here it is almost March and my sweater has a neck steek and neck decreases. Weigh-ins need to be done by March 7th at the latest, the weight will determine the chances of winning. I still don't know if I will weigh-in, but I am excited about my progress; soon I will be placing back neck stitches on holders and adding a back neck steek. Yeah me!

Next bit of great news is.................drum roll please...................................dadadaada.....

the wining socks for think outside the sox will be chosen this coming Saturday, at stitches west in California. I hope the link works, you can go look at the amazing entries.
http://KniTalk.com/SOX/

My socks are (shameless self-promotion) number 103. At this point I am not getting a lot of votes, but I am hopeful. I have a friend in the contest as well, her number is 237.

I am so excited about the sox contest, and I look forward to the results.

Happy stitches

Weigh-ins start today

Weigh-ins start today at Linden Hills for the Fair Isle Challenge. I am about 10 rounds from the neck steeks on my sweater and I would normally go to Linden Hills on a Tuesday or Wednesday morning, so I will not be weighing in today and Put a few more rounds on my sweater.
This challenge for me has been more about making this gorgeous sweater for me, than it is about entering to win. I rarely win, I could be one of two names in a drawing and not win. No, no feeling sorry, just knowing reality.
thoughts of not entering the drawing to win have gone through my head, those thoughts are being replaced by push to get to the sleeves. I know I am a good knitter and not really slow, but I am having an insurgence of the green envy monster when I see others who knit much faster.

I keep thinking of all the sweaters I have on needles and waiting to be on needles, some are for summer. I hope the creation of this lovely sweater gives me the compulsion to push forward with those sweaters and finish them.

One of my sweaters on needles is my version of something I saw and I am looking forward to making progress on that sweater as well.

I have some dog designs to put to needles and create, I am not sure if one of them will end up on a crochet hook or not, but the idea is pretty well formed, its just down to needles or hook.

I am so fortunate to have people in my life that are encouraging my creativity and and give me valuable help with my ideas, I encourage them as well, they are very talented individuals and I do believe that we enjoy creating together.

Need to stitch and make more progress on my sweater, want to get to the neck.

Happy Stitches

My Sunset cardigan

I am knitting away on my Winter Sunset Cardigan, and wanted to post a few pictures. The sweater is about 20 rounds from the neck and I am looking forward to being able to wear it.














I am obviously not a photographer, and my blogging abilities are questionable as well, but nonetheless I plod along. I would like to speed up with my kitting, but I am a fairly good knitter if I do say so myself.

The Fair Isle challenge at Linden Hills Weighs in by the 7th of March, I believe, so I need to make as much progress as possible in the mean time, if I go in to weigh and enter formally. I really am motivated to just have the sweater.

My arm steeks are in place, you can't see them, but they exist none the less. I will definitely have to write about how teh cutting of the steeks goes, keeping my fingers crossed. Wish me luck.

And Happy Stitches

Mourning our kitty Monika

We lost our little dilute calico this past week, she was old and became ill Monday overnight and passed away. I have photos, but do not have any digital photos, she was a talker, demanded her treats in the evening.

It is strange that she is not getting on the couch with me, or jumping onto the bed at night. She was alpha cat and kept the much younger and bigger Sasha in line.

It was helpful that the week was busy with dog walking and a dog rescue. I had been approached on Wednesday while walking all the dog by a woman who said she had a small dog who was a few months old, she could not take care of the dog, she said it was afraid of men and may have been abused when it was younger. Immediately I said yes and gave her my number; she called me Friday morning and I met her to get the dog. Her name is Baby and she is a sweet and lovely dog, who is possibly a terrier and poodle mix. I could not afford to keep baby as she would need a full and complete vet work up (she has not seen a vet at all) as well as needing to be fixed. One of the very lovely ladies in the charity knitting group I attend took Baby for the weekend and they bonded and fell in love. Amy has purchased toys, treats and training aids for Baby, I don't know if she will rename her, but she is a wonderful placement for Baby and we may make play dates for Baby and my poodle Sadie (who took to Baby right away) to get together.

The distractions did not take away the pain of loosing Monika, but knowing I help another little being find a good home was helpful.

May God bless all of our pets and Happy stitches to you.

Yarn Porn and a night at The Swedish American Institiute

If you are around or integrated into the fiber cult, you have heard of yarn porn, that lust of even pictures of possible additions to your stash. But my friend C. takes her lust a step further.
This past Friday January 23rd, J.W., S.D., C and I went to hear Solvieg Gustafsson speak at the Swedish American Institute in Minneapolis on Bohus Stikkning. There was a reception with a wonderful lingonberry punch, fruits, lefse roll ups, crackers with dip and wine. the wine was lovely, I preferred the punch, but C had 3 glasses of wine and justified them as one, or one and a half as the glasses were just half full. We practically drooled over the exhibit of Bohus sweaters, they are gorgeous. The color work patterns are knitted into the yokes of the sweaters, around the crown of the hat or on scarves and mittens. Kits were available in the gift shop at very reasonable prices, Depending on the sweater they were in the ballpark of about $189.00 for a kit with pattern and precision dyed wool yarn with enough yarn for a sweater up to 46inch bust.

It was a full house for the talk, I sat near the door incase I needed to exit, which I had thought at one point I may have had to. I began to feel the tightening and stabbing pain in my lungs from the purfumes and chemicals; my inhaler helped and I made it through with a headache.

Solvieg is lovely, she explained how she went from her executive work-a-day world in a large company re-creating the dyed yarn, colors and sweaters of the Bohus region. The lovely sweaters, patterns, hats, a lovely dress and other items were facinating, and as she showed and talked about pictures of her precision dyed yarns, C. commented about it being like yarn porn, which quickly echoed from the ladies in front of us and then she made the exclaimation I had heard her make over a skein of silk yarn from India, as pictures of the dyed yarn changed and the rich dep colors were displaed on the screen in front, she said "hellooo Lover". Yup that's our C! I had a flash in my mind of some sort of intervention, but it quickly went back ito a corner of my head and hid, because seriously, how many of us would need that yarn intervention.
Apparently Solvieg knits the yokes for the sweaters she is recreating and her husband helps her out by knitting the rest of the sweater. There is quite a bit of work involved in recreating the colors, dyed yarns, patterns and then knitting the yokes, leaving her with little to no time for knitting the rest of the sweaters.

Kits were purchased before the talk, J and C said not to let them return to the gift shop for more, which did not work well, the last thing I said as they bounded back upstairs after the talk was you can't go unless you buy me something, they both said okay and I turned to Sara and said, "They won't bring us anything." We agreed on this, but when they returned, J had purchased me a lovely Green Meadow wristlet kit. J is too generous for words at times, I was quite surprised.

I worked on my Fair Isle sweater, I was at a spot of a couple rounds of one color and then some simple pattern repeats. I am gettig close to the point, where I will add the steeks for the sleeves. I am so happy with my sweater, Here is the picture from the Jameison web site.





The picture does not do the sweater justice and I am not this young and cute.






Saturday was knitting our world together at L.I's., she has had a tough week with her chemo and treatment for her cancer. I am glad to know and knit with such wonderful people, good and generouds to each other and supportive, we all need love and emotional support from time to time. Sadie and I went early to help L's husband Dave set up for guests and visit a bit before the others arrived. J.W., D., and K.P. showed up to knit. I twas a nice visit, and pleasant knitt time. We did of coulrse do some clean up before leaving and then J and I went to the Bead hive, J for beads for a pair of socks and I purchased some jump rings for stitch markers.

Today however I had a sinus headache and laid low, missing a work shop on crating your own craft book, I was very sad about missing that, but I would have been miserable there.

I have been able to get a couple tasks done around the house, including nail trim for Sadie, which was overdue.

Hope your weekend was good and all is well in your world.

Happy Stitches.