The Magic of Blocking

A couple of months ago, I bought a beautiful hank of "Aslan Trends Class" and envisioned knitting something lacey with it. Soon after, I found a pattern on Ravelry that seemed like the perfect match. It's called "Cream of Spinach"...a funny name...but a great little pattern. I quickly renamed my project, "Rasberry Cream". It's simple, but gave me more practice and confidence as I tip-toe slowly into the world of "lace" knitting. I liked it as I was knitting but I was hoping that blocking would make it better. But, I guess I really had no idea what blocking could do to this. Here's the before...


And, check out the after...


I'm stunned and amazed! I can't believe the transformation. It's incredible. I love the end result...lacey, pretty, soft...it's going to make a great gift. However, I don't plan on buying this yarn again as it's splitty and snags verrrry easily. The scarf has some snags on it that I just can't get back into place. It's so pretty though that I'm hoping the recipient won't care or notice.

I don't really understand how this works...why it stays this way after blocking but...I'm so glad I made this project and invested in a set of blocking wires. Because, now, I can't wait to try something else lacey and watch another transformation!

More Pink...

Here's another entry for the "Pink Challenge"... pretty, pink slippers made by Margaret from the "Facts From Fact Woman" blog...


Aren't they cute?! She made them for her daughter and she says she'll be posting a pattern for them very soon. I love the little button closures and black accents. Very cute! Thanks, Margaret, for entering.

There are only two more days to enter. For details, click HERE and HERE.

Three More Days...

...to get your entries in for the "Pink Challenge"!

I've received several entries so far of readers who have had their mammograms. Awesome job, taking charge of your health! Here's the first entry of something crafted in pink. It's a beautiful pink scarf made by Marie at Sel & Poivre...


She has made a tradition of knitting a pink scarf every October and donating them to be given to someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. What a great way to let someone know they are being thought of. I think it could feel like a hug to that person. We all need those...especially, in that situation. You can see more pictures of this pretty scarf and read all the details about it in her BLOG POST. She will receive two entries for her scarf, one for making it and one for donating it. Thanks, Marie, for entering. :-)

Be sure to get your entries in. I'll be drawing the winner on Sunday, November first for the beautiful "Find a Cure" knitting needles and the pretty, beaded stitch markers.

Hairy Halloween

Today was the annual "Night of the Living Airedale Party", a local Halloween party for Airedales and their owners. It's an event we look forward to every year that is graciously hosted by the wonderful people that own Liebe Aire Acres. We've been going for years and always have a great time...in rain, heat, and...today's weather...wind!...


Things kept blowing off the tables, costumes were blowing in the wind, and food was even blowing off our plates. But, we still managed to have a good time. This year, Salsa was a "SaloonDale". We spent a lot of time this week crafting her costume...complete with a ruffles, a bustle, bow, criss-cross ribbons to look like a corset, a feathered headpiece, and fishnet stockings (that got a lot of laughs and pictures), and the red fabric has little black paw prints on it. Here she is dancing around in her costume...


A close-up of our little sweetie...


Part of the annual event is picture taking time with each family and their 'dale(s). Here's me and Salsa...


We didn't win any prizes this year for Salsa's costume but the competition was fierce! I took a lot of pictures but the wind had the dogs dancing around so much that it was hard to get good shots of them. But, I did my best. Here are some of the good ones... Meet "Carmen MiranDale", the winner for "Best Costume"...


Isn't she adorable?! Her 'mom' did an awesome job of making her costume. I love the headpiece!!! And, look at this colorful dress...


Here she is with her whole costume, posing for pictures...


The prize for "Best Theme" went to the "Wicked Witch and Her Flying Monkeys" (2 'dales in monkey costumes with wings and the owner dressed like a wicked witch). Unfortantely, I didn't get a picture of them. But, I got a picture of the winner for "Funniest Costume"..."Bernie Madoff"...


The winner for "Scarriest Costume" was one of Salsa's old buddies, Norman. He was a pirate!...


There were around 30 airedales at the party and lots of great costumes. Here are some more cute ones...an "Aire Mail Carrier"...


What a cutie!


There were "ChippenDales"...Notice the one on the right bracing himself for the next wind gust and the ear blowing on the dale on the left...


These two dales were ready for a day on the water...complete with floatation vests and sunglasses...


They eventually ditched their water vests but this one kept her shades on throughout the whole party!...


What would a party be without a super hero?! Meet "Super Dale"...


We enjoyed many of the things we do every year at this party, including: costumes and a parade; a raffle to benefit Airedale Rescue (they made almost $400 this year); a pot luck and barbeque; a treat table for the doggies; and a generous gift bag that was given to each family. Here's all the goodies we brought home today from the raffle and our party bag...a calendar, cookbook, toys, treats, coupons, a frisbee...


Unfortunately, because of the wind, the doggy dancing (Salsa's good at that) and the "Grueling Games" (games and contests with our dogs) were cancelled. But, we all had such a great time visiting with the other Airedales and their owners and we look forward to getting together again next year.

Happy Halloween! :-D

Cedar Sheep Association

I think this so cool and I bet other fiber enthusiasts will too. Check out the sign above the doors (you can click on the picture to enlarge it)...


This is in Cedar City, Utah. I've never seen anything like this....a sheep association??? How cool is that?! I'm not sure if it's still in operation or if it's just a preserved building being used for something else. Either way, I love it! We've stopped in Cedar City many times over the past few years on our summer vacations to Utah and Colorado. We enjoy poking around their antique stores and going through this old part of town...and I always enjoy seeing this. :-)

I'm hoping to have some crafty, fun stuff to post soon. I'm super busy, in the middle of designing and creating a costume for our Airedale for the upcoming Airedale Halloween party that we go to every year. HERE'S a link about last years party. It's coming up this weekend and, as I often do, I waited until the last minute. So, it looks like a lot of this week will be taken up working on that. I'm having fun with it. Although, I have to say that it's not easy doing a fitting on a very wiggly dog who just wants to bite her costume! lol

Have a great day!

Monday!

It's that day again! Monday! Often the most challenging day of my week as I plan out what I need to do for the week (the fun and not so fun) and begin to start tackling it all. I've been trying to come up with things that help make this transition into a new week better and more enjoyable. Sometimes I think I've figured it out. Other times...not really. This is feeling like one of those Mondays. Color can brighten a mood...maybe a little colorful eye candy...Some beautiful fall folliage from our recent trip to Colorado...Soooo pretty!...


One of these would be nice too...mmmm...another picture from that trip...yummy coffee...


How are your Mondays? Do you sometimes find it hard to get going on Mondays? Do you have any tips or tricks to getting your week/Monday off to a great start?

More Pink Prizes

The Pink Challenge is still on! You have two more weeks to submit your entries. For all the details click HERE. In the meantime, I made a little something more for the prize (in addition to the pretty pink "Find a Cure" beaded knitting needles)...some pretty beaded stitch markers. Eight in all, a few different shapes to help keep track of things, no-snag loops that fit needles up to size 13, a handy ring to keep them all together when they aren't being used, and, of course, they're pink! An irridescent pink with a little bit of a green glow and some little green accent beads. I'm looking forward to getting your entries and seeing your creations!

Halloween Happenstance

I love to travel and when I do I'm always on the lookout for new and fun things. Some of the tops on my list are food, yarn and antiques. My recent trip to Colorado was no exception. I found all three and many more. The last day of my trip was spent poking around antique stores. I love doing this because antique stores seem to be different everywhere I go. I love that! I found something on this trip that I've seen in books and magazines for decades but, until now, have never seen in person. These 1920's paper mache Jack O'Lanterns...


...And, not just one, but five (one in the picture is tin). I don't know a lot about them but from what little information I've found, they are often from Germany...which makes sense to me as I've seen a lot of old and wonderful paper mache from Germany. I have some great old Easter eggs that say they were made in "West Germany". Cool, huh?! These Jack O'Lanterns are great....notice how some of them have cutouts to see an inset of the eyes, mouth and nose (click on the picture to enlarge it). They were all around 6" or so high and wide and in pretty good condition. The prices ran from $45 to $110 each. They aren't on my list of things I want to collect but it sure was fun to find them!

Wine and Ruffles

As I knit more and more socks, I have more and more little balls of left over sock yarn. I've been wondering what to do with it. I recently bought the new "Knitted Gifts" book by Ann Budd and it has an adorable little project that I can use some of that left over sock yarn for. It's this "Ruffled Bottle Sleeve". It's easy, quick, fun, and practical. It should work great to catch the drips after pouring. I think I'll make several. They'll make great little gifts...with bottles of wine.

Aire-dorable

Aren't these stitch markers adorable?! One of my knit friends gave them to me. She knows I love Airedales but I have no idea where she found them. Airedale things are verrry hard to find. I feel lucky to have them and very lucky to have such great friends! Thanks, Stephanie!! :-)

Just a Reminder...

... to think pink! This is breast cancer awareness month and I posted a challenge a couple of weeks ago giving up to three entry possibilities of winning a prize. You can go HERE for details. So far, there are only three official entries and a couple of people have mentioned that they plan to make something pink. You have until October 31st to enter. The beautiful "Find a Cure" knitting needles are only one part of the prize. I plan to add to it and to post something new very soon. :-)

Colorful Colorado

I just got back from a week in Colorado. My husband had to travel there for business and work a couple of days. During the days that he worked, I visited some friends. The rest of the week my hubby and I spent relaxing and exploring Fort Collins (where we stayed) and some of the surrounding areas. We fell in love with this beautiful place! It was so colorful, the air clean and crisp, the people are so nice...it was a wonderful week! I took pictures but some of the better ones are on my new cell phone, which I have to figure out how to move from my phone to the computer. So, here are some pictures from the little camera that we took...

This is in the little town of Estes Park, near Rocky Mountain National Park. The colors were so beautiful! I even saw bushes that were bright fuscia (those are on my phone).


What is it about leaves on the ground that bring out the kid in us? They're so fun to kick around...


And, even toss into the air...


We happened to visit Estes Park during the Elk Festival. So, the little town was pretty busy. We enjoyed looking in the little shops, listening to live music, and seeing wolves! There was a wolf rescue there to educate visitors about these amazing animals. I got to touch one of them and his fur was so thick and course. Just as I was touching him, he noticed another wolf in a nearby pen and started to growl. Everyone quickly backed away as it was pretty scarry and unlike any growl we've ever heard! They definitely are NOT dogs! Here's the pretty little girl that he noticed...


She had been beaten with pipes and her legs broken. Poor girl! But, luckily, she was rescued and seems to be healing up nicely. Her eyes are amazing!

Later that day, on our drive back to Fort Collins, we got to see five big horn sheep! Here are two of them...Wow!...


A highlight of our trip was a visit to the New Belgium Brewery! They're the makers of Fat Tire Ale. This was a place we had planned to visit but didn't realize you had to reserve a spot for a tour. All the spots were filled for the week but they are soooo nice there and gave us a private mini-tour. Our tour guide even gave us each a glass of beer (of our choice) to enjoy during the tour. This brewery is so impressive with it's cutting edge technology that saves energy and produces a lot of their own, and uses only three barrels of water to brew a barrel of beer instead of the normal 12. Breweries from around the world (even some of the biggest names) visit to learn from them.


After the tour, we learned a LOT at the tasting counter. She poured so many tastes for us and spent a lot time with us. All around, this was an amazing visit! We bought souvenirs and a whole growler/jug of their current, seasonal beer, "Lips of Faith", to enjoy over the weekend in our hotel suite (we had a kitchen with a full size fridge!). Yummmmm! I could go on and on but the best way to understand how much fun we had there is to visit it yourself. So, if you're ever in Fort Collins, don't miss it!

On our way from the airport to Fort Collins, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant for lunner (lunch/dinner) and...WOW!...was it good! It was so good that we decided we'd stop there again on the way back to the airport the next weekend. But, we couldn't wait and went back a couple of days later. I had chicken and dumplings that day. It was heaven on a plate! Soooo delicious! And, everything that went with it was great too! We still stopped there again on our way back to the airport on Sunday and enjoyed, yet another, delicious meal! I love this place!!! We've seen it on our travels to Texas but had never tried it. I'm so glad we did this time! And, I got to sit in one of the famous rockers on their porch...


What's traveling without visiting every yarn shop I can find?!! I visited six of them! In Fort Collins I visited "Lambspun of Colorado" which shares an old house with a little restaurant (yummy lattes!). It was fun with lots of rooms filled with inspiration... including weaving and spinning. I also visited "My Sister Knits". Wow! This place was awesome! It's in an old neighborhood (of gorgeous old homes and huge tree lined streets), in the carriage house in back. It's two stories of soooo many gorgeous yarns, books, tools, and inspiration! I grabbed up so many gorgeous yarns and had quite a pile of yarns that I wanted. But, when it came time to narrowing it down to an affordable purchase, I became overwhelmed and bought nothing. :-(

But, I also visited two stores in Boulder, "Spindles, Shuttles and Skeins" (it was really big...with lots of weaving and spinning equipment, tools and yarn). I also stopped in at "Gypsy Wools". All the yarn and roving is hand dyed by the owner, except for the cotton which is dyed by a friend. Beautiful colors and some of the finest yarns I've ever seen...but I had to hurry as Boulder was super crowded and there wasn't any parking (even if there were, it was all pay parking and we didn't have any change)...so, hubby dropped me off and drove around the block...I rushed in for a quick look and we were off again. We weren't crazy about Boulder. It has grown way too much and is too crowded!

When I visited my friends in Wheat Ridge, we went to "Knit Knack" in Arvada where I bought this lovely hank of "Bonnie's Bamboo". It's kettle dyed and the colorway is "Desert Bloom". It's so pretty, I couldn't resist! I even found time to give my friend a knit lesson. :-)


In Loveland, I visited "Woolen Treasures", where I bought this gorgeous hank of "Pagewood Farm", hand dyed, Willow Creek, lace weight yarn in the color "Army Girl" (cute name). I love the greens and pinks...so pretty! It's funny that I went to Colorado and bought this yarn from California (where I live)...but I've never seen it before.


I'm still dreaming of some of the gorgeous yarns I saw...especially at "My Sister Knits"...but the budget can only afford so much, and I can only knit so fast.

What a wonderful trip! It was so great to get away for a while, spend time with my wonderful hubby...pre-celebrating our upcoming 20 year anniversary...relaxing, and exploring. We loved this area so much that we talked about the possibility of living there. Not sure if we'll ever do that, but we definitely plan to visit again.