Stitches West 2010, Santa Clara

I went to my first knitting convention this weekend! I didn't attend any classes, but I browsed the marketplace at Stitches West in Santa Clara. So much yarn! Knitting books and everything you could possibly imagine. I snagged some gorgeous yarn from Becoming Art. This is Turning on Suave DK. So pretty & soft!!

Here is a bad picture of my Solana yarn from Brooks farm. It was on sale and is amazingly soft and squishy!! The colors are very light and hard to photograph.

I also stopped by a local yarn store in Santa Clara and bought some new Three Irish Girls goodies. Here is Kiernan on Glenhaven (merino, cashmere & nylon blend = SOFT!!!). Another bad picture. It's much more of a varigated rust colorway, then the red semi-solid that it looks like.

Last, but not least is Estuary on Westerly. The colors are more muted than they appear and it's so lush! Gorgeous!!!
To answer the next question, I have no idea what I'm going to do with any of it, other than make more tops & sweaters for myself. I'm very selfish with my knitting that way.

Sunny Tempest Cardigan

I finished my cardigan!!!

Knitting in 2010

Yesterday, I sat down and matched my stashed yarn with patterns. My yarn stash was starting to get a bit out of hand, and I won't have as much money to spend on yarn next year. So. Here's a few of the items I'm planning to knit in 2010:

Tempest Cardigan made from Three Irish Girls Cian on Beckon and Backwards Loop on Kells




Harf made from hand-dyed, handspun yarn from The Vildish Twist




Joelle's Favorite Yoke Sweater from Three Irish Girls Alchemy on Finley

CHP Graduation Pictures

My brother graduated from the CHP Academy a few weeks ago! I, of course, had to bring my camera. Here are a few of the shots from the day:

Holiday Knitting Madness!!

I started off this holiday season without any plans for knitted gifts. Then with only 3 weeks left, I decided to knit two very simple scarves. Last weekend, I thought a friend needed a hat for herself and vest for her toddler. The hat is done and the vest will be today. The scarves will likey not be done time and I still have to attach the hood to the latest hooded scarf.

How about some pictures of recent finished projects?

Two Steps Forward...

I was doing so well. Knitting away, not ordering any new yarn, then BAM! Lots of yarn is on its way. So. How about a preview?

Georgia Peach on McClellan by Three Irish Girls. It's a limited edition and I'm a sucker for limited edition. Not to mention, it's totally gorgeous. I bought enough to make a lightweight, 3/4 sleeve cardigan.
Morgaine on Kells by Three Irish Girls. Love it. Had to have it. It's going to be a long sleeve pullover.
Knitosophy Discover by Dream in Color. I love quotes. I have a whole notebook full of them. One of my favorites is this one by Mark Twain: "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." This colorway was inspried by that quote. Yarn inspired by one of my favorite quotes. There was never any hope.

Turkey day is around the corner!

And I need to lose 10 pounds. Still. Or at the very least, stop gaining weight and buy new pants. Regardless, neither of these goals will be accomplished when I do things like eat two donuts for breakfast. That is exactly what I did today.

So I have a plan (you knew that was coming, right?)

We are going to switch to light soy milk and low-fat & fat-free when possible. The bigger change shouldn't be too difficult (I hope). Before dinner, I'm going to eat a nearly vegan diet by avoiding most animal products and simple sugars. I am also making a conscious effort to eat more fiber. Hopefully this helps!

In a random note, I am apparently semi-vegetarian, meaning that I eat meat in less than half of my meals. I've always been this way. Who knew it had a label?