Thursday, April 30, 2009

Easy Socks KAL

I'm in a yahoogroup full of lovely knitters called Easy Socks. Umm the group is called Easy Socks, the lovelies.....no clue if they are Easy or not. LOL

Anyway, we do KAL every couple of months, and I really do enjoy them. I don't always get them finished or posted, but I do most of them.

This time we're doing Alli's Anklets, which can be found here: http://www.knitwits-heaven.com/all_anklets.htm I remember going into my LYS last year for the yarn and buying Plymouth Jeannee worsted as a substitute. So I'm all set for this KAL!

I have one scheduled for Sept/Oct, and I do have a couple of things in mind. Something a bit more challenging, but not so challenging to make you tear your hair out.

I think what intimidates most people who are new to sock knitting (or circular knitting in general) is using double points, not the size of the needles or yarn. But if you've done any circular knitting at all, the pattern I'm thinking of will be a snap.

Speaking of easy socks.....this pattern looks really cute and even easier than the one I'm probably going to do.

http://www.plymouthyarn.com/index.php?nav=cPatterns.freePatterns&pattern_id=000027

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Yarn shop hop

While traveling this past month, I made a point of checking out as many yarn shops as I could. It was easy finding them using an internet search and GPS on my phone.

We traveled the Lincoln Highway from Mount Vernon, IA, to Times Square, NY, and you can read all about it here: ssudio.blogspot.com It's a bit disconnected because I didn't have any way to upload pics while I was writing.

There are quite a few shops on Long Island, and most of them are pretty nice. There was only one in Port Jefferson that I don't think I'd bother visiting again. Lots of nice yarns, but if the staff isn't friendly, then I just don't buy.

One particular shop in Cape May, NJ, is on my list-I had a coupon for 10% off the total bill, so I picked out quite a few things that I needed or had been wanting. Well.....she only took the discount off one item, one of the cheapest items! Then she argued with me about it. She also charged me full price for some things that were clearly marked with sale prices. I got it straightened out, and I actually put several things back on the shelf, but I won't shop there again. Face it-I don't get to Cape May very often, but if I do, I'll resist temptation!

One of the shops on LI was going out of business, and she had 25% off everything in the store. She's moving to Chattanooga in June. I hope she does well, she was very nice and friendly.

My new favorite out of town shop is Yarn Haven in Knoxville, TN. It's really hard to find, but worth the extra effort. The staff was very nice and helpful, and there were some really great yarns in her shop. She had some official UT sock yarn, which I wished I'd had last fall when I made socks for my SIL!

It's fun to visit other shops and see what else is out there, but I do prefer my own LYS, Hearthstone Knits in SOCO. It's like Cheers-everyone knows your name, knows what you're working on, knows your family, etc. It's very much a family.

Some new Flatfeet yarns!



Paducah Quilt Show

I haven't been to Paducah for a couple of years, so when I found out that my good friend Cindy had a quilt accepted, I made it a point to get down there.

Nicolette and Ann and I hung out, and had a great time on Wednesday. Cindy and her daughter Katie met up with us as well for a short time. Here's a pic of Cindy and her Ricky Timms Rhapsodies type quilt called Ancient Rhapsodies.



I didn't take many pictures at the show, just a few of the ones I really found interesting. The show is so big, it's a bit overwhelming in a way. Especially since I haven't quilted in quite some time!

These are silk wall hangings, based on Korean folded designs.



Another one I found particularly interesting was this one of Joseph Smith in the Grove.

knit for your health!


Watch CBS Videos Online

Thanks to Georgia at Hearthstone for the link!