Happy Valentine's day!!

In Mexico we call Valentine's: day of love and friendship...
I have an amazing hubby that loves me as I could never imagine, that fills me up, comforts me, push me and gives me courage to do whatever I want to try and supports me every step of the way making me feel very safe and loved.

I have an incredible family that never lets me alone and it's there with me at all moments.

And I have awesome friends that make my life happy and wonderful.... and crazy at some times...
They called yesterday, they want me to come to Aspen in 2 days, for a week!
Most of my friends from Mex are going and I had thought about going and then decided not to go for different reasons, but they called yesterday, offered a good plan, sounded excited and got me excited!! So it looks like I'm going!

I don't know if I'll be able to snowboard (I don't know skies) because my back has been hurting for the past 2 weeks and finally we went to the doctor on Tuesday and I have 2 muscles in my back strained and pulled... and it can be very painful. I'm resting and not doing anything strenous and taking some nice pills that take the pain away, so I don't think it'll be wise to sky.
But it'll be great to see them all, to know Aspen, to be with "family". I'm really excited.
Sad for leaving MG, as he can't come with me, but we'll both be fine.

I've been crocheting, knitting a lot. writting patterns, making samples for the shop. I have a pattern being tested at Ravelry... I love that site!
I'll tell you more about the pattern when it's ready, here's a photo!

See you soon!
S.

Rambling and several random things...

I feel like I've had such a full and busy week and also like I don't really have a lot to share with you, but lets try, I'm sure there's lots...

Last Saturday, a dear friend of our knitting group at the shop, that have been away for a couple of months, came back for a short day visit. It was great to have her back and I was amazed at how it was as if she had never left. We had a great time talking and sharing and eating... I made a rose cake to bring for her and we all enjoyed it. It was a chocolate cake with Swiss butter cream icing infused in peppermint. I wanted to try the recipe for the butter cream and this was a good way to do it... it was good, but way to buttery. (it actually made me feel sick after eating it, tooooo much fat in it::: not good!)
But, boy, it was pretty!!!

Also, last Friday I cut my hair again:::

 

I'm happy with it and it feels really light! I like that...

For the rest of the things I don't have any pictures.... I haven't been carrying my camera this week with me.

I took a class of knitted socks using 2 circular needles. So far I've stayed away from making socks mainly because of the use of double points that I don't like (they make my hands hurt) but I wanted to try socks... I'll take a picture and talk more about them later... The teacher was my new friend Karen, she's the one that we spent Thanksgiving with!
Also, last Tuesday, Karen invited me to a Bell Concert in which she was performing...
Have you ever been to a Bell Concert???
It was amazing, let me tell you... there was like 14 people with about 50 bells... they have around 40-50 techniques to make those bells sound and it was like hearing an angels choir!!!!
It was my first time hearing something like that but I loved it! I want to buy a CD of it.

This week was full with classes, crochet classes taught... I had classes on Tuesday and Wednesday nights... And yesterday I had an early class at the shop and I was there to open at 10am, class from 10-12, then stayed all day there, Tunisian crocheting a top I'm making and helping with some shop duties... and then class again from 5-7pm and closed the shop. It felt like a very long day.

Today I wanted to make some jewelry before going to the shop but outside is really foggy and there's not a lot of sun light... My artificial light inside the house is not very good so I won't be making jewelry, there is not enough light... so I'll watch a movie and crochet a new scarf with a Lustra yarn that I have and been meaning to use... and then go to the shop after lunch...
And we have another convert tonight!!! Carrie Newcomer... have you listened to her??

See you soon!
S.

Learning to sew...

It has been a few years that I've wanted to learn how to sew... I've tried several times since we came to the States to take classes without much success... finally, last week I had my first sewing class!!
At the Yarn Shop, with my friends, and one of them is the teacher!
It is almost perfect, the only down side being that our great friend-teacher will be moving away in 2 weeks... but hey! at least I think I'll be done with my first skirt by then...

Last week we learned to be friends with the sewing machine, we took our measurements and had a field trip to Jo-Ann's Fabrics to get patterns, fabrics and notions...
I forgot to take a photo of the pattern, but here's what my fabric looks like:::

Maybe a little bit busy, but I love the colors and the paisleys make me happy... lots of doodling and just my kind of colors-happy-feelings...

My fabric is all washed and dryed, I need to iron it, and will be ready for the next class tomorrow night.

See you soon!
S.

New Project.... Freeform crochet sea

I don't know if I've talk about this before, but there is an ongoing project in my town to raise money for the Middle Way House...
Since our last yarnbombing infront of the shop, there was a great response from the people and Middle Way House came up with this idea and asked Yarns Unlimited to partnered with them to lead  the project of yarnbomb all the trees in the downtown square.
The idea is to get businesses to sponsor a tree, and volunteer knitters and crocheters that would make sweaters for the trees.
The theme is free and each volunteer is welcome to do as many squares as they can, in any stitch, technique, yarn and color as they want. Then, they'll be all put together in bigger pieces for easy assambling on the trees. The sponsors will have their name in the tree.
We are thinking about puting them up on the Gallery Walk on October. Gallery Walk is a Friday night in which the galleries stayed open later and offer specials and snacks for people to visit and enjoy the exhibits. The Knitting to Heal project, will be like a life performance during that day when we'll be dressing up the trees. I think the sweaters will be up until March or April 2013.

I loved being part of the last yarnbombing and see my stitches in a tree for a while... But this time I thought I would do somehitng bigger, so I'm attempting to do the sweater for a whole tree by myself.
My tree will be sponsored by the yarn shop, and I decided to go with a maritime, sea, organic, life project theme...
Here's what I had after the first day:::

And after:::

I'm loving the greatness of freeform crochet... it's really fun and the freedom of doing whatever is great! although some time you have to think about what the next step will be.

I'll keep you posted with the progress...

See you soon!
S.

A guided Journal...

Last week I was surfing the web in one of those days that you jump from webpage to webpage and you end up finding wonderful things in the way.
One of those findings was a website called Grace is Overrated... Christie has a shop on etsy where she sells little books of guided journals. Which some times I feel is just what I need to write about things that I would normally wouldn't think about writting but are things that right now are part of my every day life and maybe in 5 years won't be any more and there will be no record of it.

On the right side panel of the blog, she has links to different things and one of them says Journal Pages. And I went there and saved them all, one by one, in my computer and today I printed them.
I think is totally worth to pay a visit to her... go to her blog and see the fun things she has there. Also I love the white, crisp look of her page splashed with nice touches of color.

Then I went out to Target and got a very nice package of 50 crayola washable markers in pretty, bright colors...

And then I put color in the first page of my journal...

My plan right now is to fill a page a week... that will give me almost a year.
I'll share with you as I progress...

See you soon!

New Blanket in Progress

I love blankets... there is something about them that captivate me.
I can't explain quite well what it is. And when I think about all the time you spend making one it seems a little nuts to actually crochet or knit a blanket... but I realize that almost all the time I have one blanket (AT LEAST) in progress.... right now I have 3!!!
Hubby won't like that! lol!
Every item that is knitted or crocheted, and specially a blanket, is usually made out of pure love... I guess that is why I love them.
They will cover you and get you warm and wrap you in love. :o)

I'm making a blanket for my friends wedding in October. I am using the Sunny Spread pattern which very nicely is a free pattern. I love the look of it, it's made of squares that are pretty easy to memorize, and have a lot of texture, giving a very interesting look to the blanket once they are all put together.

I have 30 so far...

I'm not really sure how many I'll make... the pattern calls for 64, but I'm not sure if I like that size (52" x 52" / 132cm x 132cm), I think I'd like it a little bigger... so maybe 81... we'll see... it also depends on how much yarn it takes!!
I'm using Vintage worsted... by Berroco.
I LOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE that yarn, is super soft, washable, comes in great colors and has a good price. I use it for a lot of my knitting/crocheting, but is deffinetly a great choice for blankets.

Here's how it looks all together spread out! I haven't joined them yet, I want to have them all first...

See you soon!
S.

Oh! And I almost forget... I just wanted to share something else:
I joined Curves back in December... I like it because once I'm there is fun and you finish in a wink.
I've been on and off during this time and practically haven't gone this past month because of the dizzyness...
Well.............. this week I've been there all 4 days!!! Monday trhough Thursday so far!!!
A LOT of it, and probably ALL of it thanks to MG that very nicely and gently ask me in the morning if he should give me a ride over there... Thank you Cielo!!!

I can feel the results in my body, is working and I'm trying to eat healthier and better so I hope to get rid of some weight soon!!
I'm also doing a thing that they call Curves Smart that is a small tag that has your data and measures your performance during the sesion and sets a higher goal for you and stuff... so I'm competing against myself....

soon... a healthier and improved me!!

S.

Football Field Baby Blanket...

Someone called to the shop the other day asking for someone to crochet a blanket for her.
Then a few days later, an older man came to the shop asking for the same thing. Result it was the brother of the one who called.
I had already planned the pattern I would be using and was ready to giving him the option of colors and yarns... and then he says::

"So, you'll be able to make the football field then?"

"Excuse me????"- I said.


Apparently, the father-to-be was a former profesional football player, so the man (I'm guessing the grandpa) wanted a football field blanket to give the baby as a present...


So here I am...

... in the making of a crib size football field blanket...

It had been very funny to say "I'm in yard 20"... "I got to yard 30"... "I just have 60 yards to go"...
So that picture is from yesterday... today I'm almost at yard 90... I hope to finish the field and the goal line tomorrow.

Then the goal post made in slip stitch on each side and then a white border of 2 inches all around...
I'm still debating if I should emborider the yard numbers...

That's all for today!
See you soon!
S.

Edited to add:: I just realized I never said anything else about this blanket. Well, I finished it in time and the gey loved it... you can see the details and more photos on my Ravelry projects page.

Knitting, knitting...

Thank you all that commented on my last post! I felt totally fine yesterday, actually by Friday night I was fine.
Ladies at the Yarn Shop called it a 24 hour flu... I think it was a 6 hours flu... but who knows... the point is that yesterday I was good and went to see my friends at the show and then to the yarn shop as I had a beginner crochet class to give... it was very good. Nice afternoon knitting and then movies night with my dear MG.
Today totally lazy day with him, cooking and doing tons of laundry!!! I hate laundry! we have to go to the basement and I don't like it when is too cold... today is suuuuuper windy! although not cold.
Good thing that we do the laundry together... that way is not as tedious and burdening as it could be.

Now to the knitting bussiness.......
I thought it was ridiculous that I spend almost every day a GOOD amount of time crocheting/knitting and MG doesn't have a scarf or a nice hat...

That is not possible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what kind of yarny girl I am???

So I took him to the shop to see different patterns and to choose a yarn...
He chose a delightful Vintage Chunky, by Berroco. I love that yarn and I've used it for a lot of projects. It's really soft and it's made with wool, acrylic and nylon, so is machine washable!!! it comes in great colors and one of the best parts is that it comes in DK, Worsted and Chunky weights! FABULOUS!!!
So MG picked a dark navy blue with heathery hints of something that looks purple-ish.

And for the pattern, a Brioche stitch that is mindless once you've got it. It looks like a knitted ribbing but it doesn't have any purls in it!!!

I'm half way on it, I'vee used a whole skein already... so it'll be a 2 skein project and then a hat. I don't know which one yet. I want a knitted hat that goes with the same texture as the scarf.
Last year I made him this one

Which is what he uses but I think is far from being my best finished item so I don't like it very much. And I'll make him another hat with the same yarn as the scarf.


On other knitting stuff... I took a class this week in knitted fingerless gloves...

Wow! I'm doing a lot of knitting this semester... maybe is just the time to get used to it... but this, by no means, means that I prefer knitting over crochet or that I've stopped crochet!!! that CAN'T be!!!

Anyway, fingerless gloves are coming nicely but the double pointed needles take their toll on my hands... I get tired super fast and my hands ache. So not so happy there...

That's just the cuff...

See you soon!
S.

More knitting adventures -- A new exciting project!!!

Helloooo!!!!!
In my previous post I wanted to talk about this, but then the post became so long with all the other things I wanted to share that I have to save this for a new post.

Here it is:

Last month, when I was visiting Mexico, I took time to visit some of the local yarn shops. I went to 6, and I know of about other 8 or 10... but Mexico city is so big, that I'm pretty sure I don't know even half of the exsisting yarn shops there!!!
Now that I'm "living" the daily life of a yarn shop and that I saw (with the moving of my LYS that I helped) what it takes to put a yarn shop... I'm dreaming about opening my own yarn shop whenever we get back to Mexico City!!! wouldn't that be wonderful???
But that's another story, that hopefully will happen some day...

For now, what I have in my hands is a new project. I saw a sample of it in one of the yarn shops I visited in Mexico and I LOVED it...

I can't really show you what it is because I didn't take a picture, and I don't have a pattern for it.
But I can try to explain it... it is a cardigan for myself that pretty much has this shape:

But instead of being worked top-down or bottom-up, what I would call vertical direction beacuse it grows vertically.... it's worked from the opening on one side to the opening on the other, so the rows are worked from bottom to top to bottom again, and the knitting grows in a horizontal direction... (hope it makes sense...)

I think I have figured it out, but I don't know if I can explain it yet... here's the drawing that the lady at the yarn shop made for me as an explanation of the pattern::

She said, using worsted weight yarn (I got 100% mercerized cotton, Fontana yarn by Omega) and 6mm&10US size needles, you cast on 80 stitches and knit 1.5in of 2x2 ribbing... leave the last 12 stitches to work a 1x1 special ribbing that will be worked in short rows respect to the body to form the neckline. For the rest of the stitches choose whatever stitches you want and work your numbers to have them divided in the total amount of stitches that you have... work until you've reached the side and put 40 stitches on hold and keep working with the top 40st to make the sleeve... when you've finished the sleeve, pick up the stitches you had on hold and work the back of the cardigan until you get to the other side, then put your stitches on hold and make the second sleeve as the first one, pick up the stitches and get to the end (the opening) and finish with 1.5in of ribbing.

Simple huh??

Well, so with that I came, hoping not to forget what she had said and explained... I spent an afternoon on Ravelry looking for stitch patterns to use in my project and found a lot that I liked... discarded, reasses, discard again...
When I've decided, I spent more time reading each pattern carefully, working math and numbers to have the right amount of stitches for a repear of two of the pattern... how many stitch patterns do I need? how many total stitches can I use? how will this work???????

Finally, adding some stitches to be worked in garter stitch in between each stitch pattern I decided I was ready to start...
I took my yarn, my 10 US size needles and casted on...

90 stitches to start (because I'm bigger than the lady at the yarn shop), 2in of ribbing... start with the pattern......... Oh no!!!! the numbers match but the fabric is TOO open and you can barely distinguish the stitch patterns wich is the whole point of this vest.

So I took some pictures:::

Rip it all and started all over again... in 8 US size needles...

I added 10 more stitches to compensate the needle size reduction. So I'm working with 100 stitches now. I have 6 stitch patterns going at once. I changed some of the first patterns for cables and for that I changed some of the garter stitches division for stockinet and reverse stockinet, so the patterns and the cables show better.

I've finished the first front and I'm about to put on hold the bottom stitches (60) to work the top 40 for the sleeve... I don't have photos of it at this moment... hopw to take them in a while... when I'm working on it...

I'm SOOOO truly excited by this project... I'm happy that the numbers are working, I'm delighted on how it looks!!! and I'm SOOO proud of myself of being able to figuring it out and actually make it work. It's a big thing for a No-Knitter like me!!!!
I guess I've learned something from watching my friends knit all the time!!!

I'll be back soon with photos of the project... now I'm off to the shop to keep working on it!!!

See you soon!
S.

Knitting Adventures

Back in May, when we had our trip to Rochester, I bought some Vintage Chunky yarn to make a top...
It has been seating in the closet since then and is hoping to see the light sometime this fall to go from this

To this...

you might remember that last year I made a little dress using this free pattern on Ravelry
Well, now I want to make the same one, but for my size!!!!! it'll be interesting for sure...

It looks like my fall will be full of knitting, to have a change from crochet... not really. Is just that I've came along several knitting projects that I've postponed till the fall.

I'm taking a sweater class at the Yarn shop, that will be knitted.

I just finished this nice shawl

It's made with one of those self texturing yarns, something similar to ChaCha  but from a French company. I got it in Mexico, and 2 balls were enough to make this estole (is that the word?)... Here's a close up of the texture:::

It was very fun to knit... I felt like I was knitting with a cloud!!!

Also in Mexico, I worked on a cable hat... which was my first succesful cable project and I am very happy with it and proud that I was able to make it!

It has a long ribbing for the brim, so you can fold it:

 Look how pretty they are!!! I'm still excited about them!!

I used a free pattern that my LYS gave me... and again Vintage yarn (by Berroco), this time in Worsted weight. I sooo love that yarn!

Last, I leave you with a photo of myself in the Annie's Attic top that I told you about here...

I finished it in June I think, but it wasn't until a week ago that MG took me a picture wearing it...

See you soon! more knitting adventures to come!
S.

Knitting a hat...

Hello guys!!!

I hope you all are having a great day!!! My day here is beautiful and not so hot, it is very hot, but not extremly hot... And I totally love to have the sun out!

Yesterday I started a knitted hat... I haven't done any knitting since May, when I finished my Rosa's Sleeveles Tunic... There has been a lot of crochetting in this time thou. And I'm in the middle of some crochet projects, but I decided to knit a hat because in 3 weeks MG and I will be traveling to Mexico!!!! I'm so so so so so SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!! it will be our first time together there in 3 years, he hasn't been there since our wedding and I think is absolutely great that he'll go with me this time...

Anyway..... on the 22th (of August) my grandma will have her 91st Birthday!!! so I'll make her a nice and comfy hat for the rainy and cold days...
I am using Cascade Eco Duo yarn... and let me tell you::: is a dream!
It is 70% Baby Alpaca and 30% Merino Wool... it is undyed, so it comes in about 4 or 5 natural colors and it's super pretty, warm and SOFT!!!!

Here's what I've done so far...

The colors are a little bit darker in real life...

I'm so very happy so far!

See you soon!
S.

Bits of this and that...

I've been a little all over the place lately... I am still just living, trying to make the most out of my days and just enjoying them and being happy... but my so free life, leisure life, it has become busy and full of things lately!!! which is great and I don't regreat any of it, but it gives me less time to spend in blogland... either reading or writing...

I've been more and more involved with the LYS, and I LOVE it!!!! I'm not "working" there and I'm not official staff, but I spend a lot of time there, helping with different things, giving classes, knitting, crocheting and chatting...
This yarn shop will be moving to another location at the end of July, is just a block away but there's a lot of work to do in the new space and a whole lot to prepare for the actual moving... and I've been helping with that too... it gives me something to do, it allows me to know more about more things and I can be useful to someone.
I love to spend my days there, learning about fibers, different tecniques and medias, diferent yarns and their caracteristics... and all that happens in a store in daily basis...

I've been enjoying this books and magazines...

I just got the Learn Slip Stitch Crochet from Annie's Attic, I have worked with slip stitch before but I've found several interesting things in there, it was on sale when I bought it so a great discovery for $4!. The Interweave Crochet magazine (spring 2011) has several lovely patterns that I am dying to try!
And the Happy Hooker is a book that I've seen for years but just recently picked it up... I think is a must for any crocheter!

This is my reading book on turn... I'm LoVinG it!!!!!!!!!!!

On the Yarny side...... I fixed a crochet blanket for a customer at the yarn store... It was like this and I felt so bad for it!!!!

 It took me a little while because the old yarn was difficult to take out, but I did it and I felt so proud of myself!

I made a shawl/poncho kind of thing for myself.... I used a picture of a shawl from Ravelry for the base, but then I added the mesh ribbon (Swing by Rebecca Pick), that is one of those yarns that you use for a curly scarf.

Anyway, it was fun to make and I can wear it on the side and it looks fun and it's super comfy!

And last, I started to make a top, pattern from Annie's Attic...

I have the back finished and I'm working on the front now... I'm using Cascade Sierra yarn that it's a heavier weight than what the pattern asks for, so I did my numbers and I'm wroking with the small size instructions of the pattern, but it's not really coming out small as it has to be for my side and I'm more Large than small, hehe... but it fits and I'm very pleased with the work so far!

And my last sharing for today is some jewelry... I've been playing with Viking knit.

Don't you love them????

See you soon!!!!
S.

Y is for Yarn!!!!!!!!!!!

As it is almost impossible to go into a yarn store and not get nothing....

AND I've decided that yarn is an excellent souvenir whenever you go to a new place, guess what I got in Rochester????

I'll make a top with that one, is Vintage Chunky, by Berroco.

This one will be a hat or a scarf.

This one was made while being in Rochester with cotton, it has a nice brim to cover the sun.

My Vintage Vertical Stripe is coming out great!!!

I am LOVING IT!!!!!!!!

And I'm making a shawl! this is just the first "row" but I have 5 more done already... I'll show you soon!

See you soon!
Off to dinner!
S.