It's Fiber Arts Friday

It's Fiber Arts Friday already?  Wasn't it just a few days ago?  I had plans to show my husband's finished socks today, but as you can see, I'm not quite there:

                                                                           

That's an old Stahl sock pattern book that I'm using for a basic men's sock pattern. Lots of nice patterns for men.

I'm continuing on with my elann Montana Ajoure cardigan and I'm now on to the right front.  Talk about instant gratification: even if you put in the bare minimum of knitting time during the week, you still have alot to show for it.  Love those size 11 needles and chunky Linie Montana yarn.

                                                                                         

Here's a better picture of the lace pattern:

                                                                                     

 
Met up with some of my friends from South Bay Knitters in Campbell the other day and just had to include this picture of a Judy Pascale shawlette made by my friend Margaret.  Love the color and the beadwork:

                                                                                                 

                                                                    
Have a great weekend everybody!

Felted Flowers and a Stephen West Hat

First off, under the " No But I Could Have " category, check out these cute felted flower scarves:

    I have always wanted to make something like this, but never got around to it.  I think they would be great as a decorative piece, perhaps draped over  a mirror or somewhere else in the house.  Here's me wearing the Morning Glory one on a beautiful day when we went wine tasting up in Napa:

                                   

   
I seem to have gotten side tracked on my stash busting sweater. Decided to start knitting a pair of socks for my husband from my sock yarn stash.  Here's the first one.  Not sure why I chose this colorway when I bought this....

                                                                                         


Lots and lots of snow this week up in the mountains -  finally! We are expecting 8 feet which should keep the skiers and snowboarders happy through April.  Not too late to make a warm winter hat, like this pattern called Bandwith by Stephen West.  This version was done by hellskitsch and you should check out her projects page on Ravelry;  a very talented knitter.

                                                                                                                                         


  Bought this Madeline Tosh Vintage for my project at a new yarn store in Danville that carries a lot of Madeline Tosh.  It's called A Yarn Less Raveled and they carry a beautiful selection of yarns.

Have a good weekend everybody!  Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Stash Busting Sweater

I've been digging through my stash lately, and looking for a project for a sweater for myself.  Decided to do this oversized cardigan with  Linie 146 Montana yarn that I bought from elann years ago.  It calls for 19 balls of yarn which should really put a dent in the stash in one of my large Rubbermaid bins.  All these old sweater patterns were enormously sized and called for a lot of yarn, including  a couple of Rowan projects I have stashed away.  Imagine if I just finished off a few of them; why there would be room for all the new stuff I have bought in the last year!  Here's the sweater I'm working on:

                                                                                   

And here's a picture of the yarn and an enlarged picture of the pattern, which I think could really work well with other types of variegated yarn:

 

I think it's going to look great with jeans and will get alot of use up here near Lake Tahoe.  Have a great weekend everybody!  It's Fiber Friday, check out what others are up to on Wisdom Begins in Wonder.

                                                                      

Stitches West, Part II

Here are a few more pictures from my day at Stitches West.  It's amazing how many booths I stopped at and ended up buying very little, but there was plenty to tempt me.  Here's the Timeless Totes booth where I bought my knitting bag last year.  Check out their web site to see more of their nice craft bags.

                                                                       

They have some really beautifully designed bags in gorgeous colors and they hold up so well.  Here is the one I bought last year and it has been on numerous trips and still looks great:

Here's the inside.   It comes with plastic zippered pockets that can be snapped in or taken out as needed:

Was zipping by Yarn Barn at the end of the day and stopped short when I saw this scarf:

   

Can't remember the name of the pattern or the yarn, bit it was so pretty!

Ran into Jasmine of The Knitmore Girls podcast and she was introducing her brand new baby girl to her first Stitches. Hello Genevieve!

Several years ago I made the Cabled Capelet for my daughter from Cascade Soft Spun in a beautiful shade of purple and my sister and I always said we would make one for ourselves.  Never did get around to it, and by the time I went back to the shop last fall to get the yarn it was sold out.   Oh well.  Fast forward to Stitches and as I am taking a short cut through the WEBS booth what do I see out of the corner of my
eye, you guessed it, the very same yarn and marked down to half price!  I bought a bag and ten skeins is just enough for one for my sister and I for our KAL.  Here's my Ravelry picture of the shawl:

                                     

                                                                                 

Also bought a few things at the DROPS booth.  This is their Verdi yarn which is mohair, wool and acrylic and is very light and soft.  So cuddly!

                                                                                     


Also bought some sock yarn there but can't seem to find it just now; thought I would use it for a shawlette at some later date.  And that, ladies, is all I bought.  What self restraint on my part - or it could be I was thinking of my large stash with lots of yarn from Stitches Past?  Anyway, it was lots of fun as always!

                                                                                   
                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

A Day At Stitches West

One day at Stitches West - can you possibly see everything in one day?  Well, not really.  Every year this event seems to get larger with more classes and more vendors with bigger and more attractive booths.  A friend of mine was visiting from Oregon and she joined me for this incredible day.  I worried that this would be totally overwhelming for her, but she was a real trooper.  We started out with a good breakfast, wore comfortable shoes, brought a bag for all the goodies we would pick up and off  we went!

First stop, the Knitters booth, of course:

                                                                             

Ran into my friends Margaret and Candace:

Stopped at a booth that had the knit Swirl trunk show and book signings by the author, Sandra McIver.

I just love these sweaters and this book has been hugely successful:

                                                                               

Lots of people trying on these sweaters and they looked good on people of all sizes:

                                                                                  

Here's me trying on my favorite one.  Those hanks of yarn are the kits for these sweaters from Mountain Colors:

                                                                                     

Stopped by the booth of one of my favorite designers, Ysolda, busy signing books:

      

Next stop, Alana Dakos' booth:

    

      

Got to see her Cedar Leaf Shawlette and bought the pattern:

    

   

So many friends to visit with and ogle their beautiful projects.  Here's my friend Lisa wearing her 

In Dreams Mystery Shawl:

                                                                                   

   Oh those beads!

    

These pictures don't do this beautiful  shawl justice.  Here's a picture from Lisa's Ravelry page:

                                                                                 

Here's one of Meg Swansen's sweaters worn by a woman standing in line at Miss Babs:

                                                                                                                                                           

Love this!  Got to add to my faves.

Lots more to talk about; I am amazed at how much we did and saw in one day - hey, I didn't even get to the part about what I bought!

More later!  It's Fiber Friday - check out what others are blogging about at Andrea's blog.