An early birthday present

My love of knitting and my love of purses has led me on the hunt for the perfect knitting bag. This is the Grand Zelda from Offhand Designs in the Cocoa Labyrinth fabric. Ain't she a beaut? I love the size and shape of the bag. The fabric is so luxurious and it has TONs of pockets (9 in all). I'll be taking her out for a spin tomorrow when I teach my knitting class (more on that later).

My prayers have been answered

The knitting angels took pity on me. They knew I needed something to look forward to. I have been fussing for a long time that Texas doesn't have a cool fiber festival like you lucky ladies up north and in California have. Well guess what folks...WE DO!

Jeanie at Dances With Yarn gave me the heads up on the Kid 'N Ewe and LLamas Too festival in Boerne,TX. For those of you who aren't familiar with Texas geography, that is in the beautiful Hill Country. It is November 4, 5, and 6 at the Kendall County fairgrounds.

I'm in! Anyone else want to join me? We could all meet up and have a little Texas knitting bloggers hoedown.

A good belly laugh and some hurricane FO's

KnitChick posted this today, and I must share.

The Yarn Harlot's Knitters Hotline

1-877-SOS-KNIT

All of you fellow knitters out there MUST call the hotline. It's free, and if you are like me it will truly speak to you. Option 3 is a godsend for your significant other.

I know I promised you some hurricane FO's. I finished two things during the storm, but I can't post them just yet. They are presents for people who might read this blog. After they receive them, I'll post. Promise.

The calm after the storm

We have not much to report here in Katy fortunately. We had some high winds and a sprinkling of rain, but that is about it. Our power went out around 3 am and was back on by 8.

My heart goes out to the people that are going to be stuck on the road again. Traffic is a nightmare.

Last post before Rita

We have to bag up the computer before the 'ol gal hits.

I am so glad that we didn't leave. If y'all have been following the news, traffic in Houston and the surrounding area is a nightmare. People are running out of gas or their cars are overheating before they can even get out of the city limits.

We've packed up all of the important stuff: pictures, documents, cameras, guns, 3 days worth of clothes. They are all tucked safe and sound into an internal room of our house. I've also packed my ENTIRE yarn stash, swift, ballwinder, and knitting books the the room. I know all of you knitters out there were worried. :) And lest you think that I'm the only one with funny packing priorities, my husband put his treasured fishing poles in there as well.

The girls are holding up splendidly. I told them that we are going to have a hurricane party tonight, and that we are going to camp in the laundry room. They are downright excited.

I'm guessing that I will have quite a few FO's to post after this ordeal is over. What else am I going to do with the power out?

Thank you all for the kind words the past few days. It really means a lot. I'll get back with y'all as soon as I can.

Hurricane Rita

It looks like hurricane Rita is heading our way. For those of you who don't know where Katy is, we live on the west side of Houston. My husband told me this morning that I might want to stock up on supplies just in case, so I headed to our neighborhood Target. I bought the last radio and flashlight. They were almost out of batteries and water. What went from a "just in case" shopping expedition turned into panic. I managed to go to several stores and find all of the things on my list, thank goodness.

I'm SOOOOOO with it!!

Scary, I know.


You're a hip knitter! Anything in style, in vogue,
in fashion, or expensive is your thing! I bet
you're a big fan of the Tiny Diva....

Are you a knitter?

Hourglass Sweater

Both my mom and I finished this sweater a few weeks ago. We finally got together today to take a picture. You may recall that my mom and I knit this together as a mini knit-a-long.

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha #93 (mine) & #61 (my mom)
Comments: Easy sweater with a beautiful result. This would be a wonderful first sweater for a new knitter. The Cash Iroha yarn is luxurious and is a treat to knit with. I love the depth of the color.

I've got friends in high places

Earlier this summer, I was chatting with Rob from Threadbear. I told him how much I loved the Glenwood colorway from Lorna's Laces. They didn't have any in stock, but he said he would keep his eye out for some. As I said, this was several months ago and I had completely forgotten about it. Well, look what shows up in my mailbox last week. Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Glenwood. Behold her in all of her glory. Thanks Rob! The scary thing is I now have 12 skeins of L&L. I'm going to have to put it in the safety deposit box!

Needle Exchange

My sweet friend Catherine set up a needle exchange. It is sort of a mini secret pal. We are to fill out and post the answers to the following questionnaire:

1. What do you like to knit or crochet? (socks, sweaters, etc.) What I'm knitting depends on my mood. I have socks and a shawl on the needles right now. I would like to get started on a cardigan for myself and a skirt for one of my daughters.
2. What fibers do you like? Natural & non-itchy
3. What type of needles do you use most often? Addi Turbos & Lantern Moons
4. Do you like to knit in the round? yesiree
5. Do you use a magic loop method or any other we should know about? Are you interested in learning a new method? As far as socks go, I'm sticking to DPN's in the round for right now.
7. Do you have a favorite place that you shop online? Herrschners, Jimmy Beans, Yarnmarket
8. Do you want to be surprised? then erase all your answers above and write surprise me!!! I really like surprises, especially ones that come in the mail. It's like Christmas! But to be honest, I have just about every needle available right now. The only ones that I've really considered buying lately are the Addi Turbo DPNs found here in size US 1 & 2.

Ruffles

Name: Ruffles from Scarf Style
Yarn: Rowan Calmer #460 Drift (2 balls)
Needles: #6 Lantern Moons

I was drawn to this pattern because of its three dimensional nature. I am also drawn to knitting patterns that are different from the norm, so this was right up my alley. I LOOOVE Calmer. It is on my list of top 5 favorite yarns. It is so incredibly soft and has a neat spongy nature. Very cool.

I've also finished the Hourglass sweater that my mother and I knit together. I'll post a picture here when we can take a picture together in our matching sweaters.

Knitty Secret Pal Strikes Again

And her name is SUZMCQ! The theme of the package was CANADA, which is where this wonderful lady is from. It has been such a joy to get to know her. I know that we will definitely stay in touch. In fact, she has joined a little mini-KAL with Rachel and myself to knit the Reverse Rib Shawl.

The yarn that she sent is readily available in Canada. The lovely robin egg blue yarn (one of my favorite colors) is Lana Gatto Summer. The pink yarn (another favorite color) is El. D. Mouzakis Butterfly which is from Greece. The label is even printed in Greek. How cool is that? It also went with the Canada theme (red + white=pink).

The pewter pendant is from Fleece Artists, which is a Canadian company. The ball is filled with yummy yarn. It is such a conversation piece. I can't wait to wear it.

The little white bottle is pink martini salt scrub, which I'll be using this evening. And no Canadian package would be complete without some maple syrup.

She also sent both the girls and myself some Laura Secord chocolate. Dark for me and white chocolate teddy bears for the DD's. My Canadian sister-in-law informed me that Laura Secord Chocolate is very popular in Canada. I can't wait to sink my teeth into it! The girls also received Canada magnets and mood bracelets, which they love.

Thank you again Suzanne! You are such a sweetheart.