Knit, Knit, Knit, Frog, Knit, Crochet, Knit, De-Stash, Knit, Finish, Repeat!

Before I left on vacation I spent a lot of time looking at my stash and pattern possibilities on Ravelry. I'm still on a mission to de-stash and that's just what I'm doing. I've been starting and finishing projects, finishing up loose ends on others, frogging a few, and still starting new ones. I've been inspired and excited about knitting again (even a little crochet) and I think I've got my knitting mojo again...maybe it's the sheep shoes!

The first thing I did on my trip was to finish my Sangria Shawl. I don't have any new pictures of it yet but you can click on the name and see it's beginnings. I love this shawl! The colors, textures, and overall effect of the yarn is delicious!

The next thing I did on my trip was to start a simple scarf. I found the pattern on Ravelry...it's called "Scrunchable Scarf". The stitch pattern is done in threes plus one stitch on each side. I used some Bernat Denim Style yarn in blue. I tried it with a few needle sizes, decided on 10 1/2's and quickly got started. The only thing was...it was making a ridge down one side and a dip down the other...hmmmm? I frogged it and started again, adding another set of three, thinking it would add a ridge down the other side and make it symetrical. It didn't work! Hmmmm? Oh well...I knitted it anyway and it turned out nice. I finished it shortly after we got home from our trip. It's super soft and "scrunchable"...just like the pattern name says...


Another project I started on our vacation was this...some stripey socks with Knitcol yarn I had bought last year. I finished the first sock last weekend but had so much yarn left over in that ball (it'll take two balls of yarn) that it bugged me enough to frog the sock back to the leg and add more to the length of that, in hopes that I'll use up more or most of the yarn...keeping my fingers crossed that I have enough now to reach the end of the toe (I really need to learn the toe up method!)...


I had taken some left over Sugar n Cream yarn to make a little project bag but didn't get to it until I got home. I ended up crocheting it. It's loosely inspired by the "Work Your Way Up String Bag" pattern (also found on Ravelry) but I did it in the round so I would only have the bottom to sew up...


I added lining...


And, an I-cord drawstring...


I still need to get some thread to match the "Cupcake" color of the yarn so I can sew the lining to it. Otherwise, it's done!

I also finished up a lot of loose ends after I got home by tucking the ends into several projects that I had previously finished but neglected to do that final task to truly finish them. That felt good!

I worked on my "Flower Basket Shawl" this weekend. However, since this project has done little more than frustrate me, I'm planning to frog it completely and use the yarn for something more enjoyable.

I'm also about to cast on my first tank top! After months of having trouble deciding on projects and lacking my usual knitting enthusiasm, it's extra nice to have that excitement back again! I just hope I don't burn myself out! lol

Well, I'm off for a day at the beach...fresh, cool air, beautiful scenery, and...of course...knitting!!! :-D

Fun Finds!

When I go on vacation I tend to avoid the "touristy" shops with "touristy" things (although, I do look a little) and I head to local antique stores and other fun shops unique to the area. I love seeing how things differ so much in antique stores from one area to another, one state to another. Prices tend to vary greatly too! Most of the antique shops I've gone to in California seem to be extremely high priced...with the exception of a few of my favorites. Utah, on the other hand, seems to have much lower prices that fit better into my budget and I find more things that I like.

Whenever we go to Utah we try to stop in Cedar City, along Highway 15, and visit a few antique shops that we love and always find great things in. This trip was no exception. I'm so glad we stopped because we found some great things. My daughter got a great old camera...a "Brownie". I finally bought something I've been wanting for a while...an antique wash tub. It even has a drain hose! I think it'll be great to fill with ice and drinks for parties and get-togethers. It'll also be a great place to wash veggies, fresh from the garden! The price was unbeatable and I love it! In fact, as we got closer to home and I was thinking about it...I thought it might even look great in the house filled with yarn!!! Here it is with a blanket I wove years ago...


Here is something else I found... I think it's a shoe form for making shoes. It's a child size 5 1/2 and it's made of wood. It'll look cute on a shelf or table...


There is metal on the bottom, at the toe and heel, where shoes would typically have nails. I figure these metal pieces probably protected the wood and allowed a shoemaker to use the forms over and over...


My favorite find of the whole trip is from a Berkenstock shoe store in Springdale, just outside of Zion National Park. I went in at the beginning of our trip to find some sandals (which I did). But, I saw the cutest shoes called Woodbys. They were clogs that came in various primary and secondary colors and they had animals on them...like a dog, cow, pig, cat, horse, or a sheep. The animal was split in half between the two shoes. I fell in love with the ones with the sheep! I couldn't get it off my mind and I HAD to get some when we went back to Zion...and, that's just what I did! Here they are...


They're my official knitting/spinning shoes! I've wanted red shoes for so long and who knew I could have them with sheep on them too! Soooo fun! And, they're really comfy too! My daughter is thinking about getting the kitty shoes. We had fun putting on the various animal shoes and holding our feet together to mix and match front ends and back ends of animals. Sooo fun!!!

The first kind of store I always look for when I go to a new town is a knitting or weaving store. So far, I've only found one yarn shop in all of Southern Utah and it was in a tiny...I mean reallllly tiny town called Panquitch. Sadly, it was closed. I'm wondering if few people knit in Southern Utah, if they spin all their own yarn, or if they buy online or travel far to get it?? I'll keep searching every time I go there...I never know what might pop up!

Natural Wonders in Utah....and Salsa too!

Whenever I travel, I like to look for new and different things. I enjoy doing this with everything from the differences in lifestyles, architecture, colors and textures of rocks and soil, earth formations, animals, plants...everything. It's so fun to find new things! On our trip to Utah last week, we truly enjoyed the varied landscape...awesome and beautiful! There were some smaller things that were amazing too...trees, plants, animals... Here are a few...

This is a tree we found down in Bryce Canyon. I noticed that it had a very different look...


As I went closer, I realized it was some sort of pine tree...


The ends of the branches were bushy with thick, hard, smooth needles. The cones forming had a reddish color and make me think of rasberries...


When we first arrived in the Bryce area I only saw one of these flowers. As the week went on they were springing up everywhere. It's interesting to note that they start out with a striped bud (on the top of the photo). When it opens it has four points and is a bright yellow (bottom). As it wilts and completes it's cycle it begins to turn orange (center of photo)...


These grow on bushes and as far as I could tell, the petals never opened any larger than this...


I love the color of this one. Click on the picture to blow it up and notice the purple hair like things in the center...


We saw quite a few deer...even ones with small antlers! We also saw some black horned deer like animals, buffalo, squirrels, lizards and several kinds of brightly colored birds. There were lots of chipmunks too! Cute!...


This huge raven landed on a post right next to us and he seemed to be posing for pictures. A tour bus had stopped at this turnout and after I finished taking pictures of him, I turned around and saw a bunch of people facing me and the raven with their cameras clicking away. So funny! Speaking of people taking pictures...my husband saw a man walk up beside me inside Bryce Canyon and as I was taking close up photos of a flower, he took pictures of me taking pictures! How weird is that?!!!


There were so many colors of soil...white, gray, peach, orange, red/orange, yellow and even a pinkish/lavender. Here's a spot of orange soil after it rained...


Another "Extreme Knitting" break!... :-)


Salsa was such a great traveler and such a joy to have with us on our trip. But, by the time we went back to Zion her feet were getting a little sore from walking on so much gravel and rocks. We could tell it was bothering her...especially, when she decided to climb up on a folded loungchair...


That became her new hangout when she was outside...


We spoiled her and made her more comfy by putting her bed on top of it. Happy dog!...


Thanks for visiting! Come back soon to see some of the great things I bought!

Bryce Canyon

For the past few years, we've been spending a lot of our vacation time in the beautiful state of Utah. It all started a couple of years ago with a stop at Zion National Park on our way to visit friends in Colorado. We had so much fun and loved it so much that we decided to go there for a couple of days last year on our way to Park City for a harp event for our daughter. We had so much fun that we went there for a few more days on our way home. You can read about those adventures here and here. This year, we decided to see Bryce...but we couldn't go there without visiting Zion!!!

We packed up our truck and trailer and hit the road. And, yup...even our dog and cat went with us. They love to travel...especially, Salsa. Here she is, ready to go!...


We left around 7:00 am and arrived just outside of Springdale/Zion around 3:00 pm. We spent the afternoon relaxing (and knitting). The next morning we went into Springdale (just outside the park) for a little shopping. For such a small town, it has some great shopping! We didn't have much time that day but made good use of it and found some awesome things. Then, it was back to get our trailer and head into Zion National Park, up to the tunnel, through, and over to Bryce. The switchbacks up to the tunnel were surrounded with spectacular views. When we arrived at the tunnel, we had a short wait for the rangers to be sure the tunnel was clear so they could only allow one way traffic through for our trailer to fit. The tunnel was completed in 1930 and it is 1.1 miles long. Here's the entrance (through the windshield)...


If you look where the blue arrow is pointing, you'll see an arched opening in the rock wall. That's a window/opening into the tunnel! Aside from the small bits of light from a few openings, it was pitch black inside. It was amazing to think that the tunnel was running just inside the face of the rock with hundreds, maybe a thousand feet or more of rock above us. Incredible! To help with understanding the scale...those tiny trees against the rock are actually quite big! (click on the pictures to see them bigger)...


When we came out on the other side, the temperature was much cooler and the scenery was much different...but still very beautiful and amazing. Here's our truck and trailer at a turnout...


When we planned our trip we noticed that the elevation for Bryce was pretty high but I guess it didn't register in our minds how high...about 8,000 feet just outside of the park...where we stayed. It was chilly most of the time we were there and there were thunder storms either in our area or surrounding areas everyday we were there. It was hard to stay warm and since we were looking forward to a 'warm' summer vacation, this was a little disapointing. But, after a few days we got our attitudes in check and made the most of it. The views of Bryce Canyon were spectacular. In fact, we took well over 1000 photos. Unfortunately, it's impossible to truly capture the awesome size and beauty of it in a photo...especially a small one on a blog...but here's a sample (be sure to click and make the pics bigger)...


It's hard to really understand the scale of what we could see down in the canyon until we started to hike down into it. Here's the top of a formation (that's my daughter in the forground and my husband in the background)...


Here they are a little farther down...


And further, still...notice the tiny people on the trail near the bottom, middle...


We hiked through tunnels...


And slots...


This is the bottom of a section of trail called "Wall Street". That's my hubby and I behind a lady taking a picture...


This is the switchback trail coming up and out of Wall Street. What a workout...especially at such a high elevation! Notice how far it goes down, and we weren't at the top, yet...


We went hiking again a couple of days later. And, of course, I try to never go anywhere without yarn and needles. That day was no exception. I had to do a little 'extreme knitting'!!! lol......


I'll share a few more photos tomorrow. Thanks for visiting! :-D

Tree Orchid

It's been a crazy, busy, fun, amazing few weeks around here! My daughter just graduated from high school on Saturday. The weeks leading up to it were filled finals, awards banquets, concerts, and seemingly endless to do lists...busy but fun! Then, it all quickly came to an end yesterday after a celebration dinner with family. I had no idea I was tired from all that busy-ness and fun. But, I guess I was. I came home and couldn't keep my eyes open and laid down for a quick snooze before I was to get going on our vacation to-do list. But...I fell asleep and ended up sleeping about 12 hours! I guess I needed it though. So, needless to say, all the busy-ness is the reason my blog posting has been very minimal lately. I wanted to post a little something though today to let ya'll know I'm still here and what's been goin' on.

This is a flower on a tree in our front yard. So pretty! Someone told us it's an "orchid tree". It only blooms for a few weeks each year and then it grows long pods that the ants seem to find very tasty as the tree becomes covered in ants. If it weren't for the flowers, we probably would have taken this tree out long ago.

Back to my newest to-do list for vacation. Ahhhh...I can't wait! My blog still might be a little quiet for a while but I'll try and start posting more regularly very soon. Thanks for visiting! :-D

Garden Weaver

Today, I was a garden weaver. I did something I've wanted to do for a long time. I wove a lavender wand.

I cut some fresh lavender...


It was approved by Salsa, my sweet and helpful Airedale...


I tied ribbon just below the flowers, bent the stems over and began weaving.


It caged in all the beautiful smelling lavender buds and created a wand that I can place in a drawer, closet, or just set it somewhere to enjoy it's simple beauty and lovely scent.


Lavender is heaven scent!...


It was fun to sit on my patio, enjoying the beautiful weather, birds singing, and the scent of my project. It was simple to do and I learned from it so I think the next one will turn out even better. I planted another lavender plant a couple of weeks ago. I now have three different varieties to play with. Mmmmm...

Stash Busting Magic

A few months ago I was introduced to the idea of "magic ball" yarn. A friend of mine had bought some yarn for her daughter that was made of various types of yarn tied together and rolled into a ball. It was an interesting idea. Shortly after that someone showed me a project she's working on where she had gathered various types of yarns in coordinating colors of greens and purples, tied them together in various lengths, and is knitting a sweater. She's even changing up the stitches here and there for more interest and texture. It is turning out beautiful! I shared this "magic ball" idea with some of my knitting friends and they got to see that beautiful WIP sweater on a knit shop run. We all got excited and quickly planned a stash busting, magic ball making party.

We each gathered yarns from our stashes for a yarn swap, got together, and poured them out onto the floor. I didn't have much to add because I have a small stash and I'm not sure how much each of the other ladies brought but all together it was quite a selection. We started mixing and matching to find combinations of color and texture that we liked and got started to create "magic". It was fun to see how we all went about it in slightly different ways... One person cut her yarns into two yard lengths. Another held several yarns together and started winding a ball. One of the ladies was a magic ball making machine and made several. I made mine with various lengths of yarn and very random. Sometimes I held two or three yarns together and other times it was a single strand. It turned into a beautiful ball...


From the start I wanted to make a shawl. I was going to knit it but thought it would be fun and quick to crochet. However, I wasn't getting the results I was hoping for. When I saw the shawl Debbie made with her magic ball I knew I had to knit it. (Thanks, Debbie, for the inspiration!). Debbie's shawl is gorgeous! It's fun to see the unique magic we each create. I love the beautiful, rich colors in her shawl. Mine is made with blues, greens, turqouise, white and even tiny touches of yellow. Here's how mine turned out...




I knitted it with a size 11 circular neede and cast on five, knit the first row, and each row after that was K1, K in the front and back of the second stitch, knit across to the last two stitches, knit in the front and back of the next stitch, K1. I continued that until I was nearing the end of the yarn ball and then I knit several rows without increasing and bound off. Simple and fun.

I pushed all the tied ends to one side. I'm thinking of tying on some shiny beads or little shells. The other side is more smooth. It makes it a double sided shawl. Debbie clipped the ends on hers and they blend in very nicely.


I couldn't resist taking a picture of it with shells because it makes me think of the sea. I love the gorgeous blues and greens. So pretty!


This was a fun project from the moment of inspiration to the completed project. I'm anxious to create a little more magic!