Monday's Musing

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” - Mark Twain

So...what are we all waiting for?! Let's get going! :)

Can one person ever have too much yarn?

I think not. :) So I'm showing off some more of my inspiration! Cookie gave me this one from String Theory. Love the name and love the yarn! In person, it looks like a verdigris finish on piece of copper. Lovely. The dyeing is just masterful.

The other yarns in this post came from Pico Accuardi Dyeworks. They have some stunning yarns, and Anne (from Knitspot) and I got some serious yarny love from them at TNNA.

I think this may be my one most favorite skein of yarn ever. I wish you could all fondle it in person. Yummmmm, I tell you!

And here's a pretty bfl - sort of between a laceweight and a fingering weight. I love the color!

And another of my favorites, if only I could capture the color properly. This one is a mohair and silk blend. Anne got one that was dyed using the same natural dyes but it looked very very different. It's amazing what they achieve by changing the measurements just a little bit.

Well, my sekrit project is blocking and is getting shipped off tomorrow. And it's on time without my staying up all night. Wooot! I am so happy about that! I've really been working on getting the scheduling under control! So far, so good. :)

Yarnz yarnz and more yarnz!

I had to begin my yarny goodness posts with Alisha Goes Around. Cookie and I walked around the convention floor at TNNA the day before it opened (Cookie was delivering books) and we both loved Alisha's yarns so much, we made up our minds to go back the next day. On my mind were these two skeins:

Just look at the fabulosity of this color! It's called Chimney Sweep.

Ahem. Well. We went back the next day with knitspot Anne. Alisha gave us bags when we walked in, and said to fill them. So, not wanting to be rude or anything (hee), we politely obliged. :) There may have been some serious drooling going on at that moment, as you can imagine!

What she hadn't had the day before was this gorgeous display.

Just look at those colors! They were even better in person, and let me assure you that I am picky picky picky about color.

Well, Cookie had to run off, but Anne and I set about to fill our bags with loveliness. I tended toward the blue-greens (one is a blend of silk/cashmere/merino and the other is merino/sterling):

and the reds. The boys want me to knit them hats out of this one (their team colors are black and red)!

There was this lovely lovely tomato red blend of silk/cashmere/merino.

And this amazing red superwash merino sock yarn that defies description. You just have to see it in the skein; the color is very very unusual and I love it! I cannot wait to knit this one up.

Mission accomplished!

Alisha's website is undergoing a facelift right now - she's re-organizing to give a better sense of her amazing wares. But all I can say is wow! She has an incredible talent for creating mouth watering colors. I have been playing with them ever since I returned from TNNA (in between sending out club packets of course). :) And lucky for all of us, her yarn will soon be in many stores. I think she did very very well at the show!

More tomorrow! Back to knitting on a sekrit project. :)

Back to Earth again

...after dropping off the face thereof.

This was the scene at Chez Romi all last week. Here's a half day's worth of packages.

Mr. Romi would take some to the post office in the early afternoon on the way to taking the boys to swim practice, and then I would take another load at the end of the day. I spent a lot of quality time at the PO! :) The kids and I were all working to get my club packages out, and when they were gone? None of us quite knew what to do with ourselves! I'll show you all a picture of what's inside when I think everyone has gotten theirs and/or seen the spoiler pics in my Ravelry group. I had a great time with the pattern for this one; the particular theme has been on my mind for a few years now, and I'm so excited to have finally done it! It's a wonderfully relaxing knit, and I so enjoyed taking it along with me for travel knitting. Well. You'll see very soon. :)

Today I decided I needed a treat. I was feeling kind of tired and a little low spirited, so I raided my jewelry materials stash for a quick pick-me-up project. Nothing like a little new bling to make me smile!

I had a couple of pearls that I thought were very cool; I love the blobby texture on them. And to go with them, I pulled out some copper findings and a length of copper chain with great links.

The tools came out next.

And I went to work.

Copper is so easy to bend.

It was a fun treat after all the (very hard) nickel I've been hammering lately!

I detached a couple of links from the chain.

And 15 minutes later, I had a new pair of earrings!

I lurve instant gratification. :)

And tomorrow? You shall see the yarnz I picked up at TNNA. I can't wait to show you!!!

Monday's Musing

“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” - Coco Chanel

I watched the movie "Coco Before Chanel" last night. Wow. What an inspiration! Who inspires you?

Whose Shoes?

I know you're all dying to know.

:drumroll:

The feet and the shoes above belong to...

Rick Mondragon! So that means you're a winner, Kathy! You were the first one to guess Rick. I have to say I love your footwear, too. I have a soft spot for fabulous cowboy boots! In fact, I first thought that Rick's were cowboy boots and he had to let me down gently. But he was very kind about it so I wasn't entirely dashed. ;)

Just email me your snail mail address and we're all set!

Thank you all so much for your guesses! That was an absolute blast. I had a fabulous time imagining all those people in the shoes!

Now I'm back to working like a crazy fiend. See you all soon!

I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can

Chug chug chug - shipping out my club packages! Did I mention my little Pins & Lace Club is about 3 times the size of last year's?! And I had to cap it? Wow. I am awestruck and touched that so many people wanted to join!!! Thank you all so much!

Ok. Back to packing, but first...no one has guessed who these shoes belong to:

So I think we need a contest, don't you? The first person to guess correctly will get a copper swirl shawl pin like this one:

Leave your guess by midnight PST Friday January 21.

Ack! Where the heck did January go?!?!

Monday's Musing

"No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

One of my favorite quotes of his. Please take a moment to read about MLK Jr. today as we honor his work.

Have a fabulous week, everyone.

Recap: people, eating and traveling

TNNA is one of those events that makes what I do so very very much fun. I mean, can you imagine? For work, I get to go play with yarn and talk with fiber junkies until the wee hours of the morning. Talk about heaven. :)

The Thursday before TNNA, I drove down to Cookie A's and spent a night so we could get an early start on the trip down to Long Beach. Look at the snow we saw going over the mountains into LA!

I will admit to being a little paranoid after my friend A's narrow escape the week before. They closed the grapevine for snow and foul weather 5 cars after she drove through, and then it was closed for 24 hours! My paranoia often takes the form of über-preparedness. There were mylar blankets and sleeping bags, 1 for each of us, including Ysolda, who was riding back up with us to spend some time with Cookie. And the all important flat of water. I may have gotten a few strange glances, but we were all well hydrated! ;)

I stayed with Cookie, Anne Hanson and Janel Laidman. Here's Anne taking a picture of the very cool grass; I expect to see this in her garden next year!

We convinced Janel to have sushi with us, but, having been a biologist, she doesn't do raw fish. We asked her not to tell us the bad news. Ignorance is bliss, after all! Aren't the shrimp bunnies cute?

Mmmmmmmmmm, shrimp heads. I'm thinking at this point, Laura Nelkin was a little surprised. ;)

Janel introduced us to Pinkberry yogurt. Delicious!!!

Lunch the next day included a flurry of picture taking. There's Ysolda and Janel.

Sarah and Miriam were a little cold and decided to share a soft scarf.

Cookie's hair was dyed to match her gorgeous new book. More on that later!

There's Anne, her husband David and Laura.

I'll leave it to you to guess whose feet these are.

I thought they were cowboy boots at first! They're something else, aren't they?!

Lunch before we took off. That's smoked salmon sprinkled liberally on a cauliflower soup. Delicious!

After the trip back up to the Bay Area, I said good-bye to Ysolda and Cookie, and got in my car for the drive to wine country.

The boys and I were super happy to see each other! I seriously missed all three of them!

Next? Yarnz, yarnz, spinning and more yarnz!!! You will be so jealous! ;)

Home again, home again!

But rushing around getting my club shipment together! I will, however, tempt you with one image before I do a complete brain dump about TNNA.

Yes. That is an obscenely huge bag of yarn. I have been fondling it. I am Very. Very. Lucky.

More tomorrow!

Monday's Musing

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” - Buddha

I had a fabulous weekend sharing yarny happiness with other knitting peeps at TNNA! Hope yours was equally happy. Have a great week!

This, that, and the other

First things first, am I right? :)

Shawl #6 is...

Asterope!

And that makes shawl #7 Alcyone!

Many many thanks to all of you who have commented and played with me, subscribed to my eBook, and generally cheered me on in my quest. I could not have done it without your support and general fabulous-ness! I cannot believe it's over. Well, not quite, eh? There's pattern tweaking and test knitting happening!

And on to the winners of my little contest, randomly chosen from the commenters: Malin and Beverly! Congratulations ladies! Please send me your snail mail addresses and I will send your pin out when I return from TNNA!

Did you see? The Knitscene preview is up (love this issue!) and I have a pattern in it: Rayonnant Pullover.

Made out of Louet MerLin, it's a fun quick knit and flattering on a wide range of body types. (Photos © Interweave).

This is one of the projects I designed last year while doing the shawl challenge. And next week, after I return from TNNA and get my first club shipment of 2011 squared away, I will show you everything I did last year (with the exception of one that is not yet released)! And with that, I'm off to Long Beach and TNNA!

Monday's Musing

"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future." - JRR Tolkien (Galadrial)

Happy New Week! Happy New Year!