Welcome June!

Finally we have some warm weather, longer days that I can look forward to enjoying. We have a new pergula and some nice new furniture on our patio. It’s like a new beautiful outdoor room where I can sit comfortably in the shade, enjoy the weather, look at the flowers and knit, knit, knit. I am looking forward to knitting lots and finishing everything. Starting June 1st and every month thereafter I have been challenged by Nachaele to name the 2 or 3 projects of the month that I am been itching to get finished and make it my goal to finish those projects within the month. What’s the consequences you ask, well I am thinking I just won’t allow myself to buy any yarn for a new project without getting an old one off the needles. As with all yarn promises, SOCK YARN DOES NOT COUNT!

1st I must show my wonderful new outdoor room:

It is most delightful and I must have some friends over to knit with me before it gets too hot to enjoy the outdoors!

1st June project tagged for finishing:

My Vickie Cardigan of course. I love it and just need to assemble the pieces, knit the button band and the collar. I love the way this sweater knitted up; the flow of the cables is really wonderful. I give Marilyn King with Blackwater Abbey a real thumbs up on this great design.

2nd June project tagged for finishing:

My Log Cabin blanket made with Tahki Cotton Classic. I really only have 2 or 3 more rounds to go on it but they are the LONG ones! This project is hard to photo while I am still working on it so don’t mind the bumpy picture just trust me the finished blocked project will turn out wonderful.

3rd June project tagged for finishing is:

My Sea Lettuce Scarf!

 All 3 of my projects are near completion so with this little push to get them complete, I should be able to finish them and have time to start and-or finish other items of my choosing. I have already started 2 other projects but that is a story for another day!

HAPPY JUNE! Let me know what you plan to work on this month.

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Nachaele tagged me for the Peeps I Want To Know More About meme and I am a bit slow to respond but right now I got nothing else.

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

I lived in Westminster, my son was graduating from High School in June of 1998 so we were getting ready for a huge graduation party. I realized that I was already more than 1/2 way through menopause and had no clue; I thought the office just normally got a little warm every single afternoon and the temperature fluctuations were normal. No one ever told me it could happen early. I know this sounds silly now but I didn’t even question not having a period for over 6 months. I was just busy with work, family and living my life. Who knew! I had not yet discovered knitting but would by the end of 1998. (You know the story only Son grows up, only Son leaves home and after almost 19 years of being a devoted mom there is now an empty nest so with lonely panic starting to set in, all I can say is thank God I found Knitting!) I was still working in the Oil and Gas Industry doing Division Orders. In the summer of 1998 I spent a lot of time with my son just having fun. At the time I did not know it was to be his last summer at home. It was going to be his last summer in Colorado. I am so glad that we did have so much fun together that summer. He got a job as a receptionist during the day and we stayed up late playing board games and video games on the weekends. I was also teaching the Christian equivalent of Girl Scouts at my church to 5th & 6th grade girls which kept me quite busy.

2. What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:

Organize more in my yarn room

A load of laundry

Do some swatching to prepare for a class on Sunday

Take Dina for a walk

Take care of some medical paperwork

(WOW I am so exciting today I can hardly stand it)

 3. Snacks I enjoy:

Potato chips, Cheez-its, plain milk chocolate, latte’s and iced tea. 

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Buy an apartment in New York City. (I have always wanted to live in a high rise in NYC and not have to drive everywhere), take long walks in the park, Buy a loft in Downtown Denver and buy a Vespa to get around in Denver. Buy a home in Arizona, its nice and dry and better for my allergies. Knit as much as I can. I would travel to see my son and grandson in Florida every month. (I can’t and don’t want to live there with my allergies but I will visit A LOT!) Buy my mother a nice home with no maintenance so she can retire in luxury.  Buy my Grandparents their own assisted living facility in Salida. Buy land in Salida and build a house to retire in and also use it for knitting retreats with the Peeps! buy a nursing home/assisted living facility for my retired Division Order Analysts friends and knitting friends. We always talk about buying our own place so we can hire whomever we want to take care of us as we are all afraid of getting old and not having good care. Set up a non-profit foundation designed to assist underprivileged kids to get a good education and go to college so they can choose to have access to a better life for themselves.

5. Places I have lived:

Salida, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; San Diego, California; Alameda, California; Ann Arbor, Michigan. 

6. Jobs I have had:

Burger King, Hospital Kitchen worker, Accounting Clerk, Division Order Analyst, Division Order System Administrator, Division Order Supervisor. 

7. Peeps I want to know more about:

All of you and everyone who cares to respond.   Please leave me a comment that you posted on your blog so I can read everything.

I did finish some socks last weekend.

I used some Lana Grossa Cool Wool 2000 print sport-weight yarn in pink, purple and orange from my stash, the wavy rib pattern from More Sensational Socks, a Turkish Toe Cast On, the heel from WendyKnits generic toe up pattern and a stretchy bind off to create these quick and easy socks.

Socks are one of those little take along items that are soothing to the soul to knit. I really needed some good soul soothing this week. Do you know what else is good for the soul???

New sock yarn, of course.

I got this really great yarn by Enchanted Knoll Farm color EFK Vardo from The Loopy Ewe.

Is that all?? I think not, my soul needed a bit more soothing so ..

I really had to pick up some ShibuiKnits from Knit Knack. The color is called Man Blue. You really can’t go wrong with the Shibui. I love working with it. Well, enough reflecting and soul soothing for this week.  

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I have acquired a few things this week.

First off …

Thank you Marly, I love them! You are so sweet to think of me. As if I have to point this out.. they are PURPLE!

Thank you Claudia, I Love them. These are the alphabet stitch markers that I will use to make the socks in Cat Bordhi’s book. Claudia is making these for several of the shops that she supplies to.

 

Thank you Nachaele. I love this. How did you know I would like the purple one!!

I received some new artisan sock yarn from Hazel Knits. It is very nice yarn and I only got two colors a couple of weeks ago, so I of course had to order more.  One color is called Denim Blue and the other color is Fireberry. Bet ya can guess which is which!

 

I love getting the personal note from Wendee along with a cute stitch marker.

I received some new Vesper Sock yarn from Knitterly Things. This one is called Monet’s Garden and is 100% superwash merino self striping yarn. The colors are just beautiful. I am a fan of Monet’s work so of course I had to get it. (remember I like to get culture along with my yarn!)

 

This one is brand new and is a 100% superwash merino variegated yarn in the color “Might as Well go for a Soda.”  Don’t you just love the name. I pretty much bought it because of the name. The bonus is I like the color! Julie only recently began doing the variegated yarns so I am interested in how this yarn will knit up.

 

Last but not least this week, I also received my Noro Kureyon from the Yarniverse Kureyon club. I am collecting skeins of Noro for the Lizard Ridge Blanket. This one is color 209 Lot A. Unexciting name; exciting color. When you are NORO you don’t have to be creative in naming the colors. They just are. 

All the way around I had a great week. I love to get new yarn and yarn related items; is it a sickness. a psychosis or just a passion. I can’t really answer that. I only know that it is great fun and lifts my mood. This weekend I will be on a mission to finish adding my stash to Ravely and possibly finish a sweater or two! Okay you know me, maybe start the finishing on one…

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To describe how I feel after this weekend. Saturday I had lunch with some friends at Bliss Cafe in Arvada and spent a most wonderful afternoon knitting at Knit Knack with friends. I really had no idea that it was going to be such a wonderful birthday celebration. Nachaele, who has not been out of surgery 2 weeks (she still has her stitches in) and whom I should have driven to Highland’s Ranch to see, drove all the way to Arvada and invited everyone who could come to have lunch, hang out and knit for my birthday. I have been telling people that I quit having birthdays last year but what a wonderful surprise for me . I am so touched. I had a blast. In my grownup years, I have not had even one birthday party until now. I do not like to draw much attention to myself (despite what you have heard!) Instead I love to to things for other people and give other people little gifts throughout the year because it makes me happy to give. Saturday, friends turned the tables did some very nice things for me and I am so touched that I really do not have the words to fully describe how I feel. Gerri pretty much had to kick me out of the shop so she could close up and go home if that tells you anything.

 

After being treated to lunch there was a Purple Princess Yarn cake.  It was a very delicious Carrot cake that was gluten free and sugar free. It was wonderful and so very thoughtful as you see I have to watch my sugar and I am gluten intolerant.

Of course there was a Purple Princess crown. How on earth did Nachaele ever find such a cool Purple Princess Crown?

 

Thank you Christie and Cheryl.

Thank you Cathy and Nachaele.

Thank you Nicole. You look beautiful in your Purple wig!

Thank you Maddie and Claudia even though they did the MS Walk in the morning they still showed up.

It was a very Vera Bradley Birthday. Nachaele coordinated with everyone so I ended up with some very cool matching Vera Bradly stuff. I love the pattern and I love the project bags. No more ziplocs for me!

Thank you Cathy.

Thank you Claudia and Maddie.

 

Thank you Nicole.

 

Thank you Christie and Cheryl.

One would think that all the other stuff was enough but then Nachaele gave me this wonderful large duffel/satchel to put everything in. I love it so much and again I do not have the words to describe how I feel. It is beautiful and I Love it.

Claudia made me some Purple Princess Stitch Markers.

Marly also gave me some of her great stitch markers. Sorry I forgot to get a picture but I will post it tomorrow. They are really nice weighty markers with purple beads. I love them. Thank you Marly.

Yes I feel like a special Purple Princess!

Thank you everyone for making me feel so special as I am now over the hill having fully crossed to the other side and making my way down the hill un-birthday. I love you all.

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I was not familiar with the painter Winslow Homer before last week. This is his painting called Rowing Home and I find it quite extraordinaire. Beautiful watercolors that depict the soft glow of the evening sunset with dusk shadows thown in as a small fishing boat heads for home. Which brings me to the fact that I love the new Scout Sock Yarn I received as a member of her sock yarn club! Feast your eyes on this little treat in the color Rowing Home based on the painting by Winslow Homer.

 

Scout randomly picked one of the sock yarn club members to assist in the design of a new and unique colorway for the club.  I think this is lovely and can’t wait to see it wound and knit  up. Who knew that when I joined Scout’s sock club I would not just get yarn but I would also get some culture! 

May I suggest that you Google this painter and view his other paintings, they are worth looking at. 

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