This creates that ?

Had a lesson to learn Intarsia with Teresa at Country Yarns. It's something to keep all those bobbins in order ! I love Blue Sky Alpaca-it's soooo soft.

Farm House Lumpy Bumpy

This is such a fun yarn. I love the colors - it goes from Blackberry Wine to Blackberry Ice Cream to Black Light Purple ! I found this at Country Yarns and the very nice owner Teresa gave me the fingerless mitt pattern. Here they are worn by our wonderful daughter Anna.

Froggin' Expert

Yes, I spend more time rippin' than knitting ! This is my first mitten. It's a bit snug so I'm going to rip it out and do it again ! Practice makes Perfect and Quality not Quantity. I found this pattern on Ebay in a booklet published in 1948 of Scandinavian Snow Sets by Kajsa Lindquist. There is also a pattern called Rococo that I want to try with the Bohus yarn.

Gammal Mormor Brita

This is the spinning wheel that my great grandmother brought over on the boat from Stöde, Sweden in 1903. She was given this for her 12th birthday in 1894. The flax distaff was lost years and years ago. The little black bag that had extra spools and such in it was unfortunately lost in our house fire along with her carders and Union rug loom.
I hope to take up spinning in the Fall. I remember as a little girl asking if she could make me a dress with it. She had a good chuckle about that.
When my mother was a newlywed and had this displayed in her living room my great grandmother was totally mystified as to why. To her this was a tool and seeing it as decorative was like hanging a mop on the wall. She must have had fond feelings for it though because she kept it all those years.

So Cute !!

Barbro did a wonderful job designing her own Swedish Sheep Puppet. Love the design and colors !
Check out Carol's clever fox too. Very fun !

Love this yarn !

Saturday night - Black Currant Margaritas ( a new drink concocted by Karen ), friends, and knitting. A fun evening ! Tried this scarf pattern I saw in Last Minute Knitted Gifts but instead of using Koigu I used Claudia Hand Painted Yarn. It calls for two colorways so I used Twilight and Purple Earth. Very pretty combo -Karen thought it would look lovely in a wrap so I bought more Claudia's to try. It doesn't take much to get me out to buy more yarn !

The dog is smarter than I am !

Well, Wennie aka the Wenster or Wenners (from the Welsh name Olwena meaning White Footprint) is quite the chewer as puppies are want to be. I've lost 3 sets of needles and the cord to the digital camera. She's a sweetheart but obviously is smarter than I am if I keep forgetting to keep things out of harms way !

I tried an experiment of using the scanner to image my works in progress while I'm waiting for the new camera cord to come in the mail. Here we can see some of Wennie's handiwork along with my own ! This is the Swedish Dubblemossa Hat kit from Schoolhouse Press.



Valuable lessons learned here -
Keep handiwork up high
Also, along with making a copy of the original pattern in case it gets lost, make a notation of the size of needles you are using if the pattern calls for sizes 2-5 !

Last Wednesday night was a great evening at the Starbucks in Monore with the B& B Knitters. It was great to meet more knitters and see what other people are creating. Check it out at Meetup.com ! Charisa handed out a hat pattern she created too. Very cute !

Wish List

After I get to my goal weight (have lost 80 pounds so far) my reward will be to order this wonderful Vivian Hoxbro Domino Wine Leaves Jacket kit. Love the colors !

Recieved a gift certificate for Hilltop Yarns East today. Promptly went out on my lunch hour and got 2 more skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca. So soft !!



okay, okay, I know he doesn't knit but isn't this a great picture !

Great times

Friday Karen and I spent a great day together. First we went to Weaving Works. This is a fabulous store in the University District. My first Yarn Harlot books were purchased there. She is such a hoot. I heard her first at Madrona Fiber Arts. I laughed so hard I cried ! Thanks Karen for the books to read on the plane ! Also picked up Spin Off. I love these sheep puppets !
Next we went to an Afghani restaurant in Gilman Village. My coworker told me about this place. The food was delicious. My first time sampling cuisine from that country. Cultured Purls was a wonderful yarn store also. Definitely worth the trip there.
Saturday I popped into Country Yarns. Bought " Folk Shawls" to add to my collection.
It is such a cozy shop and Teresa is great to talk to.
Back to Weathered Wool for some Claudia's Hand Painted Yarns. Thanks Chris for showing me this wonderful product along with Lorna's Laces. Was even inspired to start thinking of a larger project for my husband. Too much wonderful yarn out there !

Still up !

Still cruising the Net at 1:00AM. Too much fun stuff to look at ! Aren't these mittens wonderful ! I heard about Katarina Brieditis from Susanna Hansson and Carol Rhoades. On our trip we are stopping at the Länsmuseet in Härnosand. I am hoping to buy some of her kits there. I am so looking forward to our trip to Sweden.

Shopping Therapy

It's been a stressful week so when things get tough, the tough go yarn shopping ! After dropping Lee off at the ferry I spent an hour in a charming yarn shop in Anacortes called Ana-Cross Stitch. Bought some interesting yarn made from recycled silk saris in Nepal. Lee spent three months in that country on his big trip in the 70's so thought it would be great to make him a hat. Had a nice chat about the Nordic Knitting Conference too. Great to meet fellow Nordic Handiwork enthusiasts ! Heja Sverige och Norge ! Also picked up a great book from Norway on beaded wristwarmers.

Stopped at Wild Fibers in Mount Vernon after hearing so much about it from my new knitting buddy Karen. It is a lovely shop. Signed up for a Domino Scarf class to be taught by Susanna Hansson in September. That should be alot of fun. I bought some beautiful Alpaca yarn by Blue Sky Alpacas. I hope to knit and embroider this wonderful looking hat soon.




The evening was capped off at Country Yarns in Snohomish with the Yarn Divas. Knitting and chatting about knitting - what more could one ask for ! This group meets
every Thursday evening between 6-8:30PM.

A favorite project

One of my favorite projects I've completed is a Latvian Sock Pattern called "Ilga" by Nancy Bush. It used the Finnish yarn Satakieli. Very lovely to work with I think ! I didn't take a picture of them before I gave them as a present to someone so I'm using a picture from The Wooly West, Nancy Bush's company. Fabulous place to buy yarn and supplies !

My second shipment of Bohus yarn came today. What wonderfully soft and beautiful yarn. I've started my Blue Shimmer hat. Can't wait till it's completed !

Fabulous Design

I ADORE these designs!














Sirkka Kononen, Finnish Artist and Knitwear Designer, is
absolutely phenomenal. Look at the wonderful use of color. Hopefully the Nordic Heritage Museum can bring her over for the Nordic Knitting Conference in October of 2007. I am so excited about this Conference. Besides Sirkka, Vivian Hoxbro and Elsebeth Lavold have expressed an interest in coming. They are looking into getting someone from Iceland and Norway too.
Thanks everyone for their encouraging words about this project especially Virginia, Carol, Suzanne, Susanna, Charlotte, and Marianne !

I'm learning!

Chelsea is showing me how to add photos and links. Still seems confusing but it's a learning experience !
Here are a few pictures of the Miniature horses we co own. They are so cute!

This is Little K Koaldust, one of my first miniatures. Driven here by Chelsea at Nationals.

This is R&B All About Me a.k.a "Tess"
Co-owned by my daughter Anna & friend Cindy.

This is R&B Sneak Prix View a.k.a. "Gracie" and her mom Poco. Gracie's sire, R&B Grand Prix , is a Multiple National Champion single pleasure driving horse.