FO Friday 44

Happy Friday! I have a busy weekend ahead, but fun. Comic Con is this weekend, and I think we'll be going for a few hours on Saturday. We haven't decided and at this point have been to it so many times, we don't stay too long. I get a little uncomfortable in crazy crowds, and if you've ever been to Comic Con, you understand why I don't hang out days on end. I feel like a sheep being herded. On Saturday night, we're hanging out with a few tiki friends on Sunday, we're driving up to Huntington Beach to another tiki event. As I said, it should be fun but crazy busy. We'll see if I survive!

Now to FO Friday!

As for the sake of Year of Projects, this is my first completed project from the list. I forgot to blog this past Sunday, so I'm counting this post as this week's.

I bought the buttons for my cowl this week. I went with wood ones, that are a little smaller than I would have liked, but for the size of my buttonholes, these were as big as I could go without having issues. Overall, I love it. The colors are great, and I think the wood of the buttons really bring the orange color out in the yarn. I can't wait to wear it. Unfortunately, I live where it doesn't get too cold, so may have to wait until we go up to the snow on vacation, or on cold rainy days at home.

I also like how it's a little big. It makes it a little less claustrophobic feeling, as I can imagine some cowls are. That was one reason why I had been hesitant to make a cowl up until this point.


Materials Used:
Size US 8 needles
Malabrigo Worsted (colorway: Plena)
Pattern: Pedestrian Crossing Cowl
5 wood buttons

This is the cowl unbuttoned

This is the cowl buttoned

And here I am wearing it. I thought it would be odd if I was in a tank top and cowl, so I put on my jacket. Let me tell you, I was SO HOT, as it was about 80 degrees F in my house.

Share your FOs!

FO Friday 43 and My Thoughts on the End of an Era

Happy Friday! I'm ready for the weekend, but I must say, I'm not ready for Harry Potter to end. I know this is a knitting and crochet blog, but please bear with me.

Although I'm a little on the old side to say that I grew up with Harry Potter (I'll be 32 this year), it has been very much a part of my life. I started reading the books when there were only 3 in the series, and since then have seen almost all the movies on opening night, and went to book 5-7's midnight book release parties. I obviously own all the books and movies, as well as figures, statues, clothes, etc. I'm a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of HP, and it makes me teary eyed to think that it's over. Sure, we can read the books again, or watch the movies but it won't be the same. We won't wonder what comes next, or how the movies will compare to the books. After the last book, I was pretty sad, but there was always the movies left to look forward to. I pretty much bawled at Part 1, but I knew that I still had Part 2 to look ahead. What now? To me, there will never be another book, movie, intellectual property, that I will feel apart of like I do with Harry Potter. I look forward to watching the last movie this weekend (I decided not to go to the midnight showing, because I wanted to make sure I felt good and enjoyed it, instead of being tired and grumpy), and dread it all the same. I plan to bring TONS of tissues, since just the thought of it, and the trailer makes me cry. This may sound stupid, but I feel like there will be a feeling of loss when it's over. I plan to read all the books again, and watch all the movies in a long marathon (when Part 2 comes out on blu-ray), but it will never be like the first time. So, I want to thank J.K Rowling for making such an incredible story, for shaping people's childhoods and for making Young Adult fiction what it is today. Without you, I wouldn't write Young Adult books. Heck, I probably wouldn't even be a writer. I'm not ashamed to say that Harry Potter has shaped a part of me...and I already miss Harry and the gang.


Okay, enough of that. Thanks for sticking through it (if you did). On to FO Friday.

These are really crappy pictures, so I'm sorry for that, but I was so proud to have finished my cowl I had to share before it was finished blocking. I still have the buttons to pick out, but seeing as I was dreading the buttonholes, it's a feat to have finished. As you can see with the button hole picture, they suck, but I think they'll do. They're a little smaller than I wanted, and for some reason, two of them have yarn running through them, but if I find the right buttons, I can make it work. At least they're there, and when the cowl is on and buttoned, no one will know, right? Sorry for the semi-cheat post, since it's not 100% officially done. I'll share it next Friday as well, so you can see it completed.

Share your FOs!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 46

Hi there, all! This week is a good one for me at the Candy Skein workshop, because as I write this, I'm staring at 10 skeins of un-dyed gorgeousness (is that a word?). That's right, be jealous. Honestly, I should be the jealous one, as I will only be keeping one of these skeins, if any at all, the way my Monday night knitting group wants to snap them up before they're even out of the packaging. I figured, I'd share the awesomeness that is the new Delicious yarn from Candy Skein. I hope to have this all dyed up by Monday, to share with you on Tuesday. If you have no clue what I'm rambling about, check out my post from yesterday and the exciting Candy Skein news!

This is how I get them from my supplier! Very cool, isn't it?

Okay, now on to WIPW for real now that I've shared the pretty fiber.





I shared my cowl that I had just started last week, and as you can see, I've worked on it but not as much as I had hoped. I was cranking on it, but then my next project caught my attention. This cowl is a very fun, easy, yet can get boring pattern. It's the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl on Ravelry and is a free pattern. Once I memorized the one difficult row, I breezed along. I will say, I didn't realize how it was pooling until I just uploaded this picture! Very cool! Anyway, I had to stop working on it and put the stoppers on the end of my interchangeable needle cable due to the fact that I only have one size 8 circular needle...And that brings me to my next project.





For those of you who checked out FO Friday this past week, you may remember that I cheated a little and actually shared a ball of yarn that I dyed this past week for myself instead of a finished project (I guess it IS called Finished OBJECT, not Finished Project luckily). Anyway, since I had no clue how this yarn would turn out due to how I dyed it, I, as I mentioned, kept it for myself. I decided on The Age of Brass and Steam for the pattern to use with this ball of DK yarn. Since this is my first shawl-like project (it's smaller so I guess more of a shawlette or kerchief?), I needed a little help starting from my Monday night knitting group. Because they are awesome, I had no problems and actually learned a few tricks along the way! I must say, I'm quite proud of my progress and how the yarn is turning out. I can't wait to get to the first major color change. As you can see, each color (as demonstrated in the light blue so far) has a little of the other two in it to tie it all together. Cool, right? I can't stop working on this project, I have to admit.

The great news (at least for my cowl) is that I ordered a set of Knit Picks Zephyr needles this week, as they have them $10 off the set. I really want the Harmony set, but unfortunately can't afford them right now, as almost every penny I have to my name is going into Candy Skein right now (as you can see from the pics above of the 10 skeins of butter soft yarn). I thought $30 was a steal for a whole set! I should have the set on Thursday, and can work on both projects at the same time again. YAY for packages in the mail!

Anyway, that's it for me this Wednesday. Please remember to use the new link to your post from this week, overriding the one that Mr. Linky saves from the previous. I've had quite a few links still linking to their old posts, or links that go straight to their blog's URL instead of the actual posts URL. Thanks!

For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Work-in-Progress Wednesday 45

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week. My week is okay...busy. As usual, I'm watching my nieces today, so won't be able to get to everyone's posts until later tonight or Thursday. This is going to be a short post, as I'm super tired only getting a few hours of sleep.





I've worked some on these socks. I'm love love loving the pattern! I think the colors are awesome, too. This is being knit in Knit Picks Felici Caprica.




As you can see, I haven't worked much on these. I'm working on the chart now though, so I have to actually concentrate. Remember, this is a test pattern, so no Ravelry page yet for it that I know of. I'm excited to see it grow. :) I'll have to figure out how to photograph it when it's worth seeing it. This orange is so bright it's impossible to get a picture of it.




This is new for WIPW! I'm working on my first cowl and using Malabrigo for the first time. It's the Pedestrian Crossing Cowl. Alea and I decided to have a little KAL together. It's a fun knit which is nice, but since it's just two rows until the end, it may get a little boring. :) I love love love Malabrigo. I have two skeins of this, and the cowl will only take one, so I think I'll probably make a hat or gloves when it gets closer to winter with the other skein.


For those that are new to WIPW, to share your WIPW post with us, just fill out the Mr. Linky below. Despite it saying you must comment, don't feel as if you do. That is something Mr. Linky automatically adds. I just ask you to check out a few of the links posted to see what everyone else is working on and comment there if you can. Everyone loves feedback and a little encouragement on their projects! Also, please link back to this post in your post to get the word out! The more the merrier!

Please remember to use the new link to your post from this week, overriding the one that Mr. Linky saves from the previous. Thanks!

Vacation- One LYS at aTime

As most of you know, I was on vacation between December 26-January 1st. I had a great time traveling up the California coast. It's one of my favorite trips, despite the long hours in the car from San Diego to San Francisco. We decided to work our way slowly up and then work our way back down until we ended up back in Los Angeles where we could pick up Milo, our Corgi, from my parents before going back home.

Heading up the coast, we didn't have much planned except for a hockey game in San Jose, where my husband's and my favorite hockey team were playing! We couldn't have planned it any better. They even won 4-0! I was lucky to not be beat up by the crowd as I celebrated wearing my LA Kings jersey.

Beyond the hockey game, we knew that we would be visiting a ton of tiki bars (my husband's interest) and a ton of yarn stores. Our trip definitely didn't disappoint. We went to all the LYS that I had planned, and even threw in a few more for good measure. Here is what I got at each stop along the way (and yes, I counted this yarn into my yarn diet)!

• San Luis Obispo, CA- Yarns at the Adobe: We got a room at the Madonna Inn, a place I had always wanted to stay. Each room is themed (we stayed in the Cabin Still room) and we had a blast. The next morning, I had a yarn shop on my list. The shop was small (it was in the old part of San Luis Obispo across the street from the missions), but had a lot of yarn crammed into it. I was so excited to see they had hand-dyed yarn, a perfect way to remember this stop on the trip. The first picture below is a hand-dyed skein of worsted yarn. I don't know what I will use it for, but I couldn't resist. Below that, I got two skeins of Mirasol Yarn, Akapana in teal. I thought I may make this with it, but I'm not 100% sure. I know I do want to make a cowl though.

• San Luis Obispo, CA- Beverly's: Surprisingly, when we were trying to find a parking spot for Yarns at the Adobe, we ran into a Beverly's. I have one close to home, but wanted to see if this one carried Red Heart's new boutique yarns, as mine does not. Beverly's website carries it, so I figured some of their box stores would. I wasn't disappointed! I was lucky enough to get three skeins of Red Heart Boutique Swirl. I can't wait to use it. I'd been wanting to try some of their boutique yarns, but didn't want to order it online. Wanting to pick a dyelot I wouldn't normally choose, I let my husband pick which colorway I bought. I normally go toward the blues, so he picked brown, which I'm very happy with. It's crazy soft. I'm not sure what I want to make with it, but I have a little over 300 yards. I was thinking something like this, the Reversible plaited scarf.
  

• Santa Clara, CA- The Bobbin's Nest: Next up, we headed to San Jose for the hockey game. It was great fun, and our hotel was crazy nice for the price and even a short walk to the arena. We couldn't have asked for a better night. The next morning, I searched for LYS in the San Jose area and found The Bobbin's Nest in Santa Clara, just a few short minutes from downtown San Jose. I wasn't sure about this shop before visiting, but it had to be my favorite of the trip and one of my favorites I've ever visited. They had a great selection, the store was roomy and the staff was awesome! I was lucky enough to hit a sale, and found a great sock yarn, Hazel Knits, that was dyed just for the shop. I bought the last skein of the colorway they had! I also bought some wood buttons there that I can't wait to use when I learn to knit socks (the buttons are in a picture further down).
  

Berkeley, CA- Stash: Originally we didn't plan to stop in Berkeley, but we had some time to kill between tiki bars. We were in Emeryville at the original Trader Vics, so I looked up yarn stores in Berkeley on Ravelry since it was a short drive from where we were. We had a hard time finding the store, parking a few blocks down and walking the rest of the way in the rain, as they had moved recently and didn't have a sign outside. I liked the selection at this store, but wasn't crazy about the store/staff themselves. They were friendly enough, but a new knitter had questions about a yarn while I was there and the lady seemed a little rude to her in my opinion. I ended up getting two skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca in sport weight. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it, but I love these two colorways together and the yarn is crazy soft. Unfortunately, the yarn is super soft in the hank, but reading comments on Ravelry, people say it's a little itchy. Considering I have crazy sensitive skin, it can't be anything too tight/close to my skin. Any ideas are welcome.

• Berkeley, CA- Pegasus Books: Since we had time to kill, we walked around Berkeley a little bit and happened into this bookstore. They had a mix of new and used books, so of course I headed to the craft section. They had a TON of books, it was so hard to choose from. I finally ended up with The Yarn Girls' Guide to Beyond the Basics. The projects are a little hard for me now, but I love some of the patterns and thought they would be great for later on. Does anyone else have this book?

• Carmel, CA- Knitting by the Sea: Carmel is a funny area. It reminds me a lot of Del Mar. I wanted to go to this yarn store, but wasn't holding out much hope. Like Del Mar, Carmel is kind of ritzy and stuck up, so I expected this yarn store to fit that bill. Fortunately, it didn't. It had a GREAT selection and the lady was so amazingly nice (as was her dog!). She asked me what I was working on and what kind of yarn I liked. I felt like she saw me as a person, instead of a sale. She, too, was having a New Year sale, and I wanted something that was universal. She suggested the Plymouth Worsted Superwash and I couldn't turn it down. There were tons of colorways to choose from, and I picked these three (not in the blue family I must add). I want to make a stripped scarf from them, so if you have any suggested of patterns, I'm open. Each skein is 218 yards, so I have a lot to work with. Can these colorways be any prettier?
  

• Monterey, CA- The Twisted Stitch: We were randomly driving around Monterey where we were staying, looking for a place to park the car for a tiki restaurant that was on my husband's agenda when we drove by a shop called The Twisted Stitch, and wondered if it was a yarn store. While we were eating lunch, I quickly looked it up on Ravelry, but didn't find a thing. Then I Googled it, and found that sure enough, it was a yarn store! Luckily, we were parked close, but were running out of time (it was a 90 min parking spot) after we finished lunch. My husband said we could run there if I could shop fast. Luckily, on their site, I saw that they sold Malabrigo. Who could turn that down? As you may remember, I just recently bought Malabrigo Chunky, but didn't have any in a worsted weight. I flew into the store and went straight for it. Luckily, I instantly fell in love with a colorway. The lady was awesome (and British!) who owned it, saying that she just opened the store a few months ago. I was so happy to give her business! I bought two skeins and can't wait to use it, though I have no clue what I will make from it. Isn't it beautiful?
  

• Pacific Grove, CA- Monarch Knitting: I actually had high hopes for Monarch Knitting since their site has so much stuff. It was easy to find and had a beautiful location. I will say though, it had a much more box store feel than it did a LYS. It was big and had a great selection, but also carried lower end yarn and it was almost too big. If I lived in the area, I would probably go there over my local Joann's or Michaels, but it wouldn't replace my LYS. I figured I would go out with a bang before the yarn diet, so I purchased my most expensive skein of yarn there. That's right, I am now the proud owner of a skein of Madelinetosh Vintage. I could only buy one skein, but I'm still proud of it. I broke my blue rule on the trip for this, as I couldn't pass up this beautiful colorway. I think I may want to make , Thermis, with it, but I don't have the skills yet, so will have to wait until I get a little better at knitting.
  

• Monterey, CA- Cannery Row Antique Mall: Monterey is one of our favorite cities we've ever been to, so when we realized we had a chance to visit there this past month, we couldn't turn it down. Last time we were there, for our honeymoon, I sadly had pneumonia (crazy timing with being sick right before this trip, isn't it?) so we didn't get to do a ton, but we did find the Cannery Row Antique Mall. Last time (3 1/2 years ago), I wasn't into knitting/crocheting or even crafting, so I didn't realize the amazing items that this antique mall had to offer. This time I did! They, too, were having an and of year sale where every stall had a percentage off. I got some amazing stuff! My husband and I are really into the 1940-60's, so when I found old pattern books from the 40's-60's I knew I had to buy them. My favorite is The Men of Action from Beehive yarn. I can't wait to get good enough at knitting to make a few of these sweaters, along with a few socks/slippers and hats/scarfs from the other books. As you can see, I also found size 5 US antique needles. They are in great condition, except for the end a little rusted. The stall had a bunch of sizes, but these were my favorite, and I don't own size 5, so it worked out perfect. I also got a great collection of antique buttons (all from the antique mall except for the brown top middle row which I got at The Bobbin's Nest) that I'm sooo excited about. I can't wait to use them for cowls, hats and sweaters.

• Woodland Hills, CA- Tuesday Morning: Since we had an extra day in LA when we got back into Southern California (and I had another day left before the yarn diet kicked in) I thought I would head to the Tuesday Morning's in my parent's area. I don't have one too close, so I like to visit this one whenever I'm in town. Last time I was there, I wasn't into knitting, so I was excited to see what knitting books they had to offer. As you know, craft books are so expensive, so when you can get them on the cheap, you have to snag them. These are the two I got, along with a skein of Knitting Fever Indulgence sock yarn that got a good rating on Ravelry, though I'd never heard of it. It's super soft and I loved the colorway.

That's it for the trip! I hope you enjoyed reading about it. I had a great time documenting each spot we stopped at.