Thanks Ann and Kay!

I'm obsessed with something thanks to Ann and Kay. Log cabin knitting!! I started a new baby blanket over the weekend (I'm frogging the old one, and turning it into something else.)

Remember, this is for my friend who is having one baby, and she isn't going to find out until it's born what it is. So, I wanted color, but I didn't want boring, pastel, or all-white things. I wanted excitement!

I think I found it:

Colorful, but not obnoxious. Of course, the photo doesn't do too much justice to these colors. Think primary colors (except for the pink.) The middle bottom color is actually a purple, and the green is a bit darker than what it shows. Oh, and ignore that little hank of sock yarn at the bottom -that's for some baby booties. :) The yarn is Plymouth Encore (75% acrylic, 25% wool), and Webs is having a sale on it right now. I did purchase this last Friday at my LYS for about $8 ball, and I thought that was a great price considering each ball has about 200 yards. However, Webs sale is far cheaper. You'll have to check their price out. I would tell you exactly what colors I'm using, but I don't have the yarn with me right now.

I did start the blanket last weekend. I LOVE IT! Quick knit - but if you don't like garter stitch, this project is not for you! Check it out:

The green here is a little closer to the real color. The purple is still showing up a little dark. Obviously, it needs blocking, but at this point, it's barely 12" by 8". I'm going to keep on knitting tonight and hopefully I'll have this done soon!

Blast to the Past

One of my first real knitting projects was a baby sweater. I got the pattern from the Yarn Girls Guide to Kid Knits and knit it up in Tahki Bunny yarn. I gave it to my niece, who at the time, was about a year and four months. I knit this in 2004 - it took me a long time, because I just started to knit a few months before that. I bet I could whip this out a lot faster if I knit it again.

I did hold the yarn double through the pattern - it made it a little warmer that way. I needed to bind off a little looser, because babies have big heads and she didn't quite get hers through easily. The only other think I would change is to keep that yarn about halfway up the body from pooling - but I didn't mind at the time! I will say the the Yarn Girls do write patterns so that they are easy to read!

Tomorrow, or maybe on Friday - real knitting progress on the log cabin blanket I'm making!!

Meyer's House, part two

Where the yarn porn increases. Really, it's worth it for me to only post the INSANE photos of the store because they say it all. Like I said yesterday, the actual store in the on the second floor of the house. It has six rooms filled floor to ceiling with yarn. It's amazing. It is my favorite yarn store.

Some of the brands they carry include, but are in no way limited to: Noro, Debbie Bliss, Cascade, Plymouth, Berrocco and Rowan. They carry loads of sock yarn, and if I knew more about it I would tell you the brands, but I don't know them. Really, they just carry a ton of stuff. More than any other store I have ever seen. If I ever died at that store, I know I would go straight to yarn heaven. It's awesome. Take a look at those photos and enjoy!

Too much to say, too little time to say it

O.k. - I limped around on Thursday and Friday, was fine on Saturday, and had some serious pain in my ankle on Sunday. I'm still waiting to hear from the doctor on whether or not I'll have to wear a boot, but I'm thinking that I won't have to.

In the knitting world, I've been doing lots of things. I mentioned last week that I started my first sock with the yarn my SP sent me. I haven't taken photos because I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

However, I do have photos of several things that I want to share, except that I don't know if I should post my yarn store photos or my new project photos.

Well, I owe the yarn store photos, so we'll start with that. I'm going to extend the post over several days because there are lots of photos.
The yarn store that I go to in St. Louis is called Meyer's House Weaving Department. The house is old, and on the National Register of Historic Places. A little know fact is that plans for a major on-ramp for Interstate I-170 in St. Louis had to be changed because this house was here and couldn't be torn down.

This old house is the yarn store. Well, that's not entirely true. The second floor is the yarn store. The first floor has fabrics, and then, there is this:

That would be the barn. That is important for two reasons. The first being clearance yarn, which is ABUNDANT. I think that their clearance yarn is 40% off, but I don't remember. There always seems to be a lot of novelty yarn in there, which is fine by me! The second reason that barn is important is because it has food. Actually - it has a restaurant in it. I've never actually eaten there, but it's usually packed with people.

Tomorrow - photos of actual yarn. They have six large rooms filled floor to ceiling with yarn!

oh, crap

I have a fractured ankle. Brilliant me. I'm so pissed because I just started (three weeks ago) doing an intense 10-week exercise program, and I want to finish. My ankle hurts the worst today. The good news is that the doctor told me that I can really do whatever I want, but I won't find out until Monday or Tuesday if I need a walking cast. If I need a cast, no exercise. I'm torn over what to do.

Back in the saddle again!

Oh my goodness...what a weekend. I knit (I started to knit socks!!) and I visitied the Mecca of yarn stores without purchasing a single thing! Coming this week - photos of my sock-knitting progress and the yarn store review! I just have to upload everything to flickr!

Oh, and I've joined Secret Pal 8, which I am super-excited about. And, I've applied to be in the Knitting Blogs Web ring. I know my sidebar is a little messed up, but I'm trying to make it pretty. And advice would be much appreciated!

hump day

So, it's Tuesday. Not quite hump day, but close enough for me. I have been a tired, tired girl these days, so tonight I'm going to have a little massage. I need it bad. I'll try to post something more interesting when I have it. I'm going to St. Louis from Friday to Monday- I might be knitting, and blogging, or I might not. One thing I am hoping to do is get photos and do a review of Meyers House in Florissant, Missouri. It's the best yarn store ever, and if they let me take photos, I'll be able to show you why.

On another note, I've applied for Secret Pal 8, and I think I'm in. I cant' wait to get started !

welcome weekend

Got a speeding ticket today. Bleh. So much for starting the weekend right.

Updated on Saturday morning to add that I got a speeding ticket Friday morning at 5:59 a.m. and a parking ticket at 5:15 p.m. Double BLEH!

Why was my SP7 the best?

Because of surprises in the mail in January, and in February (please see previous blog entries for gift porn, but I'm not going to give you the URL because my blog is small. She left comments on my blog ALL OF THE TIME, and sent me e-cards! She even taught me a little bit about blogging when she helped me add some buttons to my sidebar! And the, just yesterday, I get a box with this stuff inside! (please note the crocuses blooming in my yard IT'S FINALLY SPRING!!)

How wonderful and BEAUTIFUL is that yarn? Through all of the gifts that Kaitlin gave me, it was evident that she read my blog a lot. I'm pretty darn sure she read this blog more than anyone else! Kaitlin - thank you so much for making my first experience with a secret pal exchange so fun!

And, a close-up of the yarn, because who doesn't love that? It's wool, two hanks, 218 yards each. I have no idea what I'm going to knit with it yet, but I'll think of something. The colors look the closest to real in the top photo, but this one isn't bad. I think the colors look like the sunset, don't you?

Kaitlin - thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You made this extra special for me!

you need this book!

I am a knitting book collector. It's hard not to be, right? However, there are few books that every knitter should have - and this book is on the list of MUST-HAVES!!!

Mason-Dixon Knitting : The Curious Knitters' Guide: Stories, Patterns, Advice, Opinions, Questions, Answers, Jokes, and Pictures is a great book. That's all I have to say about it.

Just kidding. If you're looking for a knitting book with colorful, LARGE photos and patterns galore, this is the book for you. They have the most beautiful log cabin blanket patterns, and they even teach you how to do your own!

Buy the book. See for yourself. It's that simple. Really, it is.

for your review

This weekend, I bought two knitting books that I definitely think every knitter should have in their collection. Today and tomorrow I plan to review those books.

Today's selection is Knitting Rules! The Yarn Harlot's Bag of Knitting Tricks. I would paste the little Amazon thing in my blog, but I don't know how, so go here to check it out.

First of all, I am a huge fan of Stephanie's, so really, this book could have been terrible and I would have said that I love it. But the good thing is that the book is not terrible - it's awesome! In her usual witty writing, she talks about things that Knitter and knitters should know. She talks about yarn, tools, supplies and everything you need to make the perfect knitting bag. I think that my personal favorite part was where she writes about BURNING yarn. (I would tell you more, but then why would you need to buy the book???)

This is a short review because the book is so good, and full of so many surprises, that I don't want to ruin any of it. Buy it now!

busy weekend

Woah. I had a super-busy weekend. Did lots of stuff, including some jewelry-making, and some boring knitting. Obviously, I didn't take a photo of the knitting. Jewelry is just so much prettier. It's been raining for days here - which is fine and all, but spring is such a tease - bring on the sun! I bought two knitting books this weekend as well - from fellow knitting bloggers the Yarn Harlot and Mason-Dixon Knitting. I will post my book reviews later this week.

So anyway, the photo is of the three bracelets I made this weekend. I buy these little kits from Michael's craft store, and then sort of put them together how I want. I do not like the findings in the kits, so instead, I use my own. The blue bracelet didn't come with enough beads, so I added my own. The pink one is a little longer than most, and the yellow is a tiny bit short, but I LOVE the color. I have a feeling these will be give-aways.