Purple Princess Knits

I finally finished sewing up my Roman Stripe Boatneck. It is complete and ready to wear. I will get a picture of me wearing it later. I used Tahki cotton Classic in a rich teal color. It is a good color for me.

Here is a close up of the pattern stitch. It was actually a fun easy pattern to knit. Since it is a boatneck there is minimal shaping since the front and back are identical. If you do this pattern be sure to but an extra skein or maybe 2 of the yarn you choose. I ran out and had to order a skein and couldn't get the same dye lot. Fortunately the Takhi Cotton Classic is very predictable in color and you really can't tell. I have only a tiny little bit left after buying a whole other skein even though I purchased an extra one from what the pattern said right from the start.

Okay, picture needs help, model needs more help, bad hair day, bad makeup day, bad light day and then I still need to weave in ends and block this but its just for FUN! You can still get the idea.

Here is a close up of the pattern. Fun and funky but I love it!

Beginning Saturday I will be concentrating on color. More about that later but I promise it will be interesting. If you spend a lot of money on yarn and clothes you will want to stay tuned. If you are on a tight budget you will want to stay tuned. I will be going through a process of determining my color and style so I can make the best use of my yarn, makeup and clothes budget. I will Pass on some how to tips along the way. After a few obvious blunders and wrong color choices I want to do this so I can prevent future costly mistakes by learning to only buy only what looks the best on me.

Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot, and treat them just the same."

Hufflepuff students are friendly, fair-minded, modest, and hard-working. A well-known member was Cedric Digory, who represented Hogwarts in the most recent Triwizard Tournament.

Get Sorted Now!

Yes I have more YARN. I have acquired some Sheep Shop II Yarn colorway G123 (like that means anything!) It is pinks and greens and I am pretty sure it will become another Jawbreaker, surprise, surprise! Well maybe an adaptation of one anyway. It may be time to change it up a bit. We shall see how the needles strike, the mood sets and the yarn swings. (DH always says I can butcher the English language like no other.)

What is it about getting yarn? I already have yarn, I don't need yarn but I love to get yarn. I feel like I need it but in reality I already have enough yarn for enough projects to keep me knitting constantly to sometime in the far future, without purchasing more yarn. Yea so, I still want more yarn. I just love yarn and there is no real explanation as to why I must buy more. I don't even have enough time to knit all the projects I have. Does that stop me? No I just must have more yarn. I have tried to control my insanity, I put my yarn and projects in a spreadsheet. I prioritized my projects. It is all in black and white. Does that stop me. No, I still must have more yarn. After more yarn purchases I have to re-prioritize my projects, it is a moving target at all times. Does this madness ever end? NO, one cannot get a hold of such a moving target. So far there is no end in sight, I am just insane for yarn. I am normally a very practical person, I am not OCD or so I thought until yarn came along. Now, who knows! It is an inanimate object and yet YARN RULES! Yarn changed me, I am obsessively insane when it comes to yarn. I know this, but do I stop. No as long as there is more yarn to buy, own, hold, fondle, pet and cuddle, I don't think I will ever stop.

Here are some of my more recent "mad" purchases.

Some superwash merino nylon sock yarn from the Woolen Rabbit. I think I will make some socks!

Some Vesper sock yarn in the colors Knit and Tonic and AquaMelon from Knitterly Things. I have tried to order this yarn for a while. She is always sold out but I just hit it right one day and how could I not get some of this great sock yarn. I think I will make some more socks!

I purchased a couple of skeins of this gorgeous yarn from Over the Rainbow Yarns on ebay. It is called Softball Cotton in a color called Dusty Crocus. Claudia had some Cotton Boucle from Over the Rainbow that I liked so I checked it out and found this! I got 800 yards and it was such a good deal, how could I not buy this. I think I might make an easy fast Rib Warmer from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Workshop book. I think the yarn will be beautiful without a lot of fuss. We shall see!

This book is a classic and every knitting library should have a copy.

Then what did I do? As if I don't have enough yarn and projects to keep me busy. It is not even enough that I already have scores of project to knit, NO, I had to have this. I have to make this. Why, I really don't know other that it is absolutely fabulous, it is my colors, and two friends, blogless Sharon and Joanne and I all ordered the kits at the same time from Suzanne's. It was just one of those meant to be things. The kits were available and ready for our taking. It seems that we knitters like to purchase things along with other knitters and we take special delight and comfort in the fact that we are not alone in out madness.

"This" is the Koigu Magique Cloak.

It is in the Koigu Painter's Palette book. It will be fun to work on.The Magique Cloak, a KOIGU design, is made from forty-one (41) skeins of Koigu Premium Merino yarn in twenty colors. Nineteen painter's palette premium colors and one Premium Merino color. Gauge is 41 sts = 3 inches. Needle size is 3, or size to get gauge. Stitch is garter stitch. WOW, I can't wait! It is madness I say, completely insane but oh so FUN!!!

I cannot believe it is already June 11th. I do not know where the time goes but if anyone finds it please let me know. I am looking for more time. I need more time. More specifically, I need more knitting time!

I found Mini Me! In Arvada there was something called a Gold Strike Festival going on all weekend. On Saturday when I went to Knit Knack to knit, I found this little adorable little Purple Princess running around having fun. Isn't she sweet?
How do you like this bag? It is at Knit Knack. I am trying it out for size. It may be just a tad too big for me! What do you think? It would hold a lot of yarn, but if it is was full of yarn I am not sure I could lift it. I guess I better leave it as the couch decoration!Betsy is working on yet another Jawbreaker. I think she holds the record on how many any one person had made. I did finish my Burgundy Jawbreaker.I know this will be a huge surprise to many of you especially you Kathy, but.... my mother is getting this one! Friday was her birthday so we went to dinner, she came over after, tried it on. It fit her better than it fit me and now it is hers.Claudia taking a picture of me taking a picture of her. Yes, we are quite a silly group but we have oh so much fun!

Claudia's daughter Madison has the front of her Hedgehog finished. She also received a cute little accessory bag from Nichole. Madison is a great little knitter and I love watching her knit.

Last Tuesday at Knit Knack, Stacey from Sheep in the City joined us for knitting fun. Mary Kay hand dyed some yarn and brought it in. This colorway is named Sheep in the City and I think Stacey likes it!How do you like this yarn? I got it from here. It is from Denmark and Judy ordered it for both of us. It is really fun yarn. We first saw it here on Joanne's blog and couldn't resist.

It is going to be this sweater which is a free pattern that you can get here. I think this will be a fall/winter project for me.I picked up some Socks that Rock in the color Fire on the Mountain. Cathy was working on some Central Air socks in this colorway and the colors are absolutely gorgeous. I just had to have this!

I know I am behind on my days but what the heck!

I love going to the new yarn store in Arvada Knit Knack. It is a place you can just hang out, relax, shop, visit and knit to your heart's content. Thank you Gerri, you have a great place.

Katie, who is a new knitter and our awesome Knit Knack Barista!

Isn't this adorable! Nachaele gave this to me and I absolutely love it. It is a friendship statue and it made my day to receive this. Thank you Nachaele, I LOVE IT. I am ever so glad I went to the knitting retreat at the end of March in Buena Vista, by myself. That was quite challenging for me. At the same time Nachaele also attended the retreat by herself. We met, we had a great time and we then hooked up with the Arvada Knitting Group. I love being able to go knit at Lollicup and Knit Knack after work hours with such cool people. Thank you Nachaele, I love it.

I started some new toe up socks with this yarn. Claudia's HandPainted Yarn in Purple Earth. These are my Sea Socks. The yarn was a present from Kathy, who went off sailing and left me high and dry here in the mile high. Even so, my friends are the best. I love this yarn. The colors are fabulous. The stitch pattern is still undetermined since I am on my fourth try at swatching for the right pattern. So far a pattern has not hit me, but when it does it will be a real knock down. (and you thought I meant knock out didn't ya, but you know its the whole pattern hitting, knock down, yes I know very silly)

I was glad my friend Kathy joined us for a bit at Knit Knack on Saturda. She is working on the most beautiful deep purple shawl with beads on the ends (I love it, of course) and a beaded sock, again beautiful. Terri is working on her caplet. She is doing great and we should be able to see a finished product very soon.

Mary Kay is modeling my Lucy Neatby Celestrial Merino that Kathy gave me for my birthday. I think she like the colors. I know I do!

Isn't this the cutest little sock sack? Nichole bought one for everyone last Tuesday at Lollicup. How nice is that. I love all of my knitting friends. Thank you Nichole.

Leah almost has a toe up sock finished. After the heel turn it is all downhill. Up the leg really but downhill as far as I am concerned!

HAPPY KNITTING THOUGHTS TO ALL.

Don't ya just love BonJovi? I do. What's that got to do with knitting? Absolutely nothing, I just heard that song on the way in to work this morning (okay I play the same CD every morning on the way in to work) and this morning that song just got stuck in my head. Maybe it is because I kept playing it over and over, but maybe not. Maybe I am just happy today.

It is a long story but for months I have been getting sick every time I eat. I have changed my diet several times, tried to eat "healthy"and still I kept getting sicker and sicker. Plus I gained 25 lbs in six months while trying to eat a "healthy" vegetarian diet. Finally after a more that a year or so, I have been diagnosed with Celiac disease. Why does this make me happy you ask? Well there is a finally a diagnosis, finally a name is given to my problem and that I can live with. The worst part is not knowing what is wrong and having to live with it everyday. All I have to do is not eat wheat gluten and possibly cut down on dairy products. That sounded so impossible at first. Especially since for the last few months I have been eating a "healthy" vegetarian diet consisting of mostly whole grains, dairy etc. I was a bit shocked at first but now I know I can live with it. Wheat gluten is in so many things, it is not a matter of just giving up whole wheat bread, like my DH first thought. It involves major label reading and giving up all of my favorite foods, tortillas, bagels, pizza, soy sauce even Cambell's tomato soup, the list is long. I have much research to do. Bottom line is that for two days I have not eaten any food containing gluten and for two days I have not been sick. I even lost two pounds in two days. I already feel better. I have hope now and I am just so happy!

On the knitting front. Last week when I went to knit with my lunchtime knitting group (we really must come up with a better name) at "Paradise" and I received the most beautiful skein of Lucy Neatby's Celestial yarn from Kathy for a birthday present. What a wonderful surprise, it really made my day. Thank you! I love it! I love it! I love it!
Kathy also brought in some yarn from her stash that she is willing to part with. See her blog for details. Her yarn stash is awesome. She travels frequently and gets to shop in yarn stores around the country, so she has a special yarn in her stash. Her stash is so huge you could spend the day in her home, in her yarn room, shopping, browsing, having fun and finding some of the best yarn ever. Kathy has such a good eye for nice, unique and quality yarn. I love it the yarn she brought in and yes I picked up a couple of cool yarns from her. More about what I bought from Kathy's stash later..... I am still drooling.

Here is Kathy with her "Gator" yarn. The yarn is Glacier from Cider Moon that I bought from the Loopy Ewe. It is a 100% superwash merino wool in the color "Grand Canyon" Kathy is originally from Florida and a huge Gator fan. She mentioned that the yarn was in her Gator colors (not something I noticed) so of course I had to give her this yarn as a congratulations for passing the Colorado Bar. I think she likes it.

Meanwhile, I purchased some beautiful Debbie Bliss Stella yarn from Knit Knack. The color is called aqua but I would call it a beautiful light silvery blue. It is 60% silk, 20% rayon and 20% cotton. I think it will make a great sweater. It is knitting up pretty nice!
Yes indeed it will become a very cool cabley sweater!On the bag front. Here is my cool new Offhand Designs Zhivago bag. I pre-ordered this in January from Dream Weavers Yarns.
I love it.

My mother gave me this great leather tote for my birthday. She said "you know you don't have to put yarn in it" YEA RIGHT!
Nachaele picked this bag up for me at Ace Hardware a while back. It was on sale for $9.99. What a great find.
I have filled up every bag with yarn and yarn things!

I joined Sockapalooza Four. Yes indeed. Check here for more details. I have not done this before and so I thought it would be fun. It is already fun, the fun part has been stalking my pal's blog to find out more about her. Then there are the decisions to be made on yarn and what pattern to use. Yes it is fun, yes I am a nervous wreck. I want to find the perfect yarn and the perfect pattern so it it goes as I drive myself a bit nuts while embarking on this quest.

My sock pal had a specific requests for colors along with a vague request on the style of socks that she would like. I searched high and low for the perfect yarn that would fill this request. I have come up with this ...

Lunasea. It is beautiful colorway that fits my pal's request and I figure you really can't go wrong with Socks that Rock. at least I hope my sock pal will agree.