my thanks to no two snowflakes….

just like the name she chose, nicole creates one of a kind high quality hand dyed yarns.

this wonderful lady created this 100% cashmere skein and called it “soft pepper.”

her eye for color and design captured pepper’s colors and softened them to alter them to my taste of soft blended yarns.

could you get more custom than that?

when it arrived i sat on my couch with anticipation and trepidation~ i thought it would take me months before i would open it but percy came and sat by my side and we opened it together.


after a smell he snuggled into the yarn~ not with my camera handy i missed it but in no time he was back on the couch and this time lying right on top.

yarn approved, sniffle.

our new family

meet oscar (top) the new member. oscar is a shih tzu who loves toys, playing and his mum. then of course the second down is mr percy and sweet opal on the bottom.

such q-tys we have..

poor chair...

happy fall

marimekko

owl baby sweater get's a marimekko outfit.....

denim yarn?

ok i ask myself why after my ordeal knitting with a cotton blend why i would move on to a 100% cotton yarn?

why?- for a missed baby shower for my friend michelle.

yarn: rowan denim~ from the ball band: “den-m-nit shrinks by one-fifth in length and fades just like denim jeans.” (a yarn destined to ruin any project.) shrink!! i will suggest hand washing in cold water.

2 skeins sh 229.

pattern: “owl baby vest” by jodi haraldson

i liked the way this yarn knits up…..
although it did turn my fingers blue as are my bamboo needles!


mods:

1. knitting front and back as two separate pieces instead of in the round. i prefer seems as they give the sweater shape. (however i don’t like seeming!)
back: c/o 54 sts; row 6 increase at each end of row.

front: same as above; note owl pattern inverse on every even row.

why i am not and never will become an olympic athlete.

why my ravelympics 2008 project did not pass the finish line…

1. i am not capable of completing anything i start because i can’t help from being distracted with other projects.
2. i am not capable of completing anything i start because i can’t help from being distracted with other projects.
3. i am not capable of completing anything i start because i can’t help from being distracted with other projects.

you get the picture. (i should be forced to write this out on a chalk board 100 times)

first a thank you fellow raveler~ 1knuttyknitter
(i could not have done it with out your help.)

here is the final product

made from five skeins of rowan cashcotton dk in sh 603, one skein of sirdar snuggly dk in sh 348, roughly 1000 + rowan large white beads and more of my fab portugal buttons.

mods:
1. increased length by 1”
2. increased sleeves to repeat pattern 2x
3. made fronts as cardigan
4. omitted the yarn overs in neckline for ribbon- instead:
5. from neck picked up and knit 24sts up right neck, 29 up right sleeve, 40 across back, 29 across left sleeve and 29 down left front (not 25, 35, 45, 35, 25) as stated in pattern and neck line fits great.

lyme regis

a four-day visit to britain’s jurassic coast to the quaint village of lyme regis during their carnival sounds like a nice place to be this summer. that is unless you are there to undergo dental surgery.

lucky for me i was just along for the ride.

best find… jurassic bar. (you need to look beyond the plastic oversized fish that adorn the entrance.) the chef/owner takes his boat out each day and serves up his catch in his restaurant that evening every day of the year apart from christmas and new years day.. .nice life…
we had dinner there every night. i would still be having dinner there nightly if i could only find enough faults in the dental work preformed on my companion (mil) to scare her into returning to the surgery.

alas i have failed.

another find: the town mill bakery. lunch: dorset rarebit & dorset apple cake.

a special lara find: all these fantastic old english knitting needles at a charity shop on the beach. 50pence. no kidding.

a find for a friend: vintage english horse brasses from an antique shop. for luck.

christchurch

my home away from home knitting shop while i am in england is honora

i picked a brick red color of sirdar snuggly for my future "ascott" from the new rowan classic vintage book.

yes sadly i am setting myself up for another bead disaster.

also on our visit we went into the christchurch priory- the longest priory church in england and built in the 13th century. such a beautiful site- worth a visit even if you don't plan to visit the wool shop :)