Summer Knitting

Blueberry Vodka Lemonade Sweater

designed by Thea Colman/BabyCocktails

Here's the Seed Stitch collar of my sweater.

I've knit to the division of

fronts, sleeves and back

and am working away on it.

Keeping in mind that

July 27th is Camp Loopy Project 2 deadline,

I keep this as my primary project.

V

V

V

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However,

I am working on

 Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl

designed by Wendy D Johnson

Wendy is releasing each of the Clues for this mystery shawl once per week for four consecutive

weeks.

I'm current with Clue A and Clue B

but, YIKES!!!!!

Wendy released Clue C late last night.

Hope I can keep up. 

^ v ^ v ^ v ^

Lots of summer knitting fun!

Yes,yes, I do have a second

Piper's Journey on the needle

using Gnome Acres sock yarn

in that gorgeous Franklin colorway.

Franklin's Journey is what I'm calling this PJ.

You'll see my progress next post. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

There's no doubt that

It's Summer Time here in mid-MO

The temps have been

over one hundred degrees F

for a week now

with no rain ! ! !

The heat has been tolerable since there is no humidity, AT ALL !!!

Drove with the car windows down while

we were out and about this week.

Love this kind of weather,

as long as I don't have to do

any physical labor in the sun.

Our daily routine is enhaced by the warmth of the sun.

X  X  X  X   X   X   X

Hey! I think I feel a giveaway coming on.

Whadda ya think?

-  -  -  -  -  -

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥

A Lovely Shawlette

You may recall

I'm participating in a 

Piper's Journey Shawl knit-along

with Melissa on her blog and Rav Group

Her Blog is Single Handed Knits

Such a fun pattern to knit

and the gorgeous pink yarn just flew off my needle

so here it is:

This pink plucks at my heart strings !

It's more of a shawlette size, don't ya think?

Tucked round my neck on those dark, dank and dreary January and February afternoons,

I know will certainly perk up my winter-time doldrums. 

Hubby took my photos this afternoon when we got home for a couple hours at Barnes & Noble

checking out recently published issues.

Can you believe not one magazine came home with me.

We may or may not have had time for a little something from B&N's Starbucks -

how do you spell frappucinno?

I already know how to spell Rustic Apple Tart.

Busy, busy day between using a Subway Gift Card, my haircut, B&N, photos

I've had no time to sit and knit

on my Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl

designed by Wendy D Johnson.

Wendy issued Clue #2 just before midnight last night and I'm dying to knit with beads.

So, that's exactly what I'm gonna do!

Talk with you later

stay cool,

stay dry,

and please be safe from those wildfires out West.

You are all in My Thoughts

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥

Vodka Lemonade Sweater

It's that time of year again.

Camp Loopy

We're on the verge of casting on for

Project 2

This month's challenge is to knit any item

using

800 yds

in any color of Our Flag.

We do not have to stay true to the exact  Red, White or Blue.

Any shade or hue will do.

You can see by my Gauge Swatch

I've decided Blue would be the color I knit.

I'll be knitting a springy sweater

Vodka Lemonade Sweater

designed by Thea Colman

using this luscious blueberry color yarn.

Top photo true to color.

We start our Project June 27th

must finish by July 27th.

Think I can do it ?

That's EIGHT HUNDRED YARDS people

lots o' stitches.

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥

Library Additions

My latest finds at Barnes & Noble

I do believe I've gotten my money's worth with this one.

Ended up with a number of tabbed pages and several more that are just plain lovely.

photo from Knitscene Accessories 2012

Like this "Putney Shawl" 

A cute shawlette 

worked side-to-side with a quick border worked with picked-up stitches.

While the pattern states light fingering weight yarn

with a gauge of 

21sts x 36rws = 4" on Size #6

I can see this worked in any of my fingering weight sock yarn.  

Which I may or may not have in Stash.

Several patterns from this issue have been added to my Queue.

Time, if only  .  .  .  .

********************

As much as the Knitscene mag was a good  buy ~~

 let me tell ya

this magazine 

is loaded with very cool patterns.

As you may have  deduced by the cover,

it's very feminine.

As I browsed the mag displays I passed it by twice, didn't think there'd be a thing I'd want to wear, 

let along knit.

WRONG ! ! ! 

Picked it up and just had to find a seat so I could really look at it. 

Yeah - - - just look at the finger less mitts on the cover.  
Hetty's Sunday Cuffs

How could I not want to knit a pair or two of these loverlies?

But to pair it with this

photo from Jane Austen Knits  Summer 2012

Margaret Dashwood Shawl

will complete the look.

++++++++++++++

An hour later,
 I brought out my Mother's Day Gift Card.

Both these mags came home with me.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Let's hear it for the rain
hip-hip-hurray
We got TWO INCHES OF RAIN
last night.
Our trees and our grass is happy.

hoping you're enjoying fair weather
hugs

♥

A Bit More COLOR ! ! !

Molly Weasley

75% Superwash Merino/25% Nylon

great for sox and fingerless wrist warmers

Arthur Weasley in Silk

oh, yeah, SILK

70% Merino Wool/30% Silk

definitely not for my feet but won't this silk content feel luxurious wrapped 'round my neck this winter?????

I've made a couple of orders from GnomeAcres and let me tell you

Amanda gives very personal attention with each order I've placed.

Both times Service AND DELIVERY were EXCELLENT.

Arthur was order on a Saturday afternoon

and was in my Mailbox before noon MONDAY ! ! ! 

How's that for instant gratification.

Amanda / GnomeAcres does the magic to her yarns by creating colorways that instantly grab our hearts! 

Swoon, swoon.

Amanda's etsy shop is here:  GnomeAcresEtsy where you can catch her up-dates.

Her blog/podcast can be found here: GnomeAcres

Amanda can also be found on Ravelry 

Progress on a project or two

will be in the next post or so.

It's raining a bit this morning

almost .25"

That's not a record, but at least the driveway is wet.

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Stash Enhancement

Yarn! I have new Yarn!

Meet Franklin.

Franklin is the colorway inspired by Franklin.

Franklin lives with Diane of Knittabulls Podcast

and be seen in the right sidebar at the link above.

Go take a look, I'll be waiting .  .  .  .  .  .

Yep! you've got it, Franklin is a  cockatiel ! ! 

She is a female and such a Colorful gal she is.

Diane is having a KAL in July

that I'll be participating using these gorgeous, gorgeous vibrant colors.

I want to make something wearable and

because the colors are so spectacular

it's hard to make a decision.

You gals have any suggestions?

I'm open and have 'til beginning of July before I cast on.

# # # # # # # # # # #

Just a reminder:

I've begun responding to your Comments

by using the "Reply" button beneath

your Comment.

You can receive my note to you in your very own email 

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And that button is located beneath the comment text message box.

^v^v^v^

Still no rain ( ( (

brown is appearing in many of the lawns 'round town and we've even seen trees dropping leaves.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥'s to each of you Sweeties.

hugs

Spontaneous Sox ! ! ! !

A week or so ago a couple of knitters on Rav womaninashoe and hotazzknitter

introduced me to a wonderful Rav group Itty Bitty Knits

They are having a Patchwork Sockalong hosted by Susan B Anderson

blogger and knit designer
Knitting from my 'Leftovers Stash' was just in the organizational stage

but I just jumped right into the fray.

Just grabbed a yarn and began knitting threw in a bit of Fair Isle knitting

and before I knew it a week later I have this pair of sox!

Not too bad, eh?
But that was last week
this is this week.

*******************

The first pair was nice
but not quite what I had in mind.

I pictured something 'hot'!

hmmmmmm .  .  . ? ? ? ?

Ahhhhh, now I know

I want something brighter

wait, wait,

no just brighter, 

nope,

I want, I want >  >  >

spontaneously LOUD bright

So, now we're getting there:

Isn't this a hoot!

More to come, you can bet on that :*)

##  ### ## ###  ##

There's a new podcaster/blogger.

She's also on Rav  

Melissa has a fresh, positive approach and captured

my attention on her first episode.

Melissa's blog:  SingleHandedKnits

her first podcast:  Alohas for the first time

you'll fall for her

Piper's Journey Shawl aka Natalya's & Mom's Journey

Tell her I sent ya.

000*000*00*000*000

wishing you all a great week and lots of progress of your latest projects

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  ♥

Spontaneous Scrappy Sox

I've been 'enabled'!

 womaninashoe/Mel 
and
hotazzknitter/Nicole

have convinced me to join

Susan B Anderson's 

Itty Bitty Knits Rav Group

They are knitting Patchwork Socks.

I had been toying with the idea of using my sock yarn leftovers to make some sox anyway.

So thought, why not.  

Decided to join Mel, Nicole and all those other Ravelers with a like mind who are knitting with leftovers to make their Patchwork sox.

For my pair, I knit a toe-up stockinett sock with an afterthought heel.

  

However, just for the Challenge of it - 

I knit this pair one at a time magic loop.

First time in recent memory that I've done that.

They flew off my needle - 

cast on last Monday and finished today!!!  

Zoom, zoom

Oh, before I forget

I want to let you know that

Nicole is a video podcaster.

She hosts Positively Knittting Podcast

you can find her episodes by following this link.

She's what I would call a 'spontaneous knitter' with a positive attitude

and a great sense of humor.

Susan B. Anderson designs knits.

Many of the participants in her Patchwork Socks KAL are using her How I Knit Socks blog post.

Or you can follow this link directly to the post. 

Just as soon as I publish this post I am going to print out Susan's post so I can follow her method for my next pair of Patchwork Socks.

Always up for another method of knitting heels.

In the meantime,

as everyone must be aware

Sunday was the first day of

Camp Loopy

Being the good camper that I am

I cast on Project 1

first thing in the morning and have made a little progress.

Had to finish my sox before I can concentrate on The Hogwarts Express Shawl.

You Harry Potter fans will recognize the 'hogwarts' reference.

This evening will be spend knitting on Hogwarts.

Here it is, the end of the Memorial Day Weekend with a return to the rest of the week tomorrow 

Each of us with thoughts of the great three-day holiday.

We spent a wonderful afternoon visiting with

DD#2.  What a way to spend the day.

Good Times with lots of laughter.

Hope your memories will carry you though 'til our next three day holiday

or even 4th of July holiday.

hugs to each of you

♥ ♥ ♥

hmmm, blogger may not be playing nice today

Just about THE END OF MAY

Hi, everyone!

May has been a yarnie fun month.

Worked with mostly cotton yarn for a switch.

Here's a collage of cottony happiness

with a dash of wool/nylon tossed in along the way.

###############

Are you ready for Memorial Day Weekend?

Looks like our mid-MO weather is going to remain nice.

However, we are short in the total-rain-for-the-year department, we need a couple inches.

How 'bout it Ma Nature.

This week we had our rain gutter downspouts enlarged just in case.  : ^ )

What's going on at your place this holiday?

Ours will be rather simple, 

DD#2 will be working so no get-together goin' on.

Something simple here.

&*&*&*&

Along with dishcloths

this is what's on my knitting needle

Made with a set of mini skeins.

Scrappy with a bit of Fair Isle

added for happiness.

Have a happy weekend

hugs

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

By Gemini, it's finished!

Finished

and Posted to The Loopy Ewe Photo Gallery

to qualify for 2nd Qtr Challenge.

**********

The 27th is the day we cast on our

Camp Loopy Summer 2012

Project.

Hogwarts Express Shawl

is my choice for our first project

Skein Top Draw Socks

is the yarn I'll be using.

Now then, it's not ALL about me, gals.

What's your current interest?

What is taking all your free time

and .  .  .  daydreams?

hugs

♥  ♥

Books, New Books

Hope your week's been great

and that you're looking forward to a wonderful weekend.

Happy Mother's Day

to all our mothers.

Gotta love 'em.

My lovely daughter's know my intentions are in their best interests, 

don't ya girls?

Once again, knitting has been my craft of choice this week.

Finished a few more dishcloths, which I'll show ya when I build up my Dishcloth Stash.

I have stashes of everything else, 

why not these, too.

It'll be so much more impressive to see a stack

and to see them one at a time. 

Probably.

#  #  #  #  #

Spent the other afternoon browsing Barnes & Noble and came upon a couple of books I can't do without.

Tula Pink

whose blog is Here

has captured my attention by her playful choice of colors.  L♥ve it ! ! 

Her Shower Curtain is a clever idea that I just might have to use.

And what else? a sleep mask:

One Eye Open Sleeping Mask.

this would make a cool gift for the traveler on your gift list.

Besides all that, she lives in Missouri

and gives credit to 

The Quilt Shoppe

in Stewartsville, MO

*  *   **  *  *   **   *  *

The other book that caught my eye:

I can relate to her take on the 'modern quilt'

Denyse Schmidt Modern Quilts

Traditional Inspiration

I enjoy just looking at the photos in these two books and am inspired by their color and design.

& & & & & & & &

Opps, it's time to do my nails

and then do some knitting.

♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Happy Mother's Day

Dishie Cotton Haul

Hi!  How is everyone?

Hope all's well with loads of time for your fav crafting.

Before we get on with this post

I want to mention once again

that I've been using the Comments section at the end of each post
 to Respond/Reply to each and every of your oh, so lovely Comments.

Sooooo, if you subscribe by email by clicking on that button located beneath the text box

my reply will arrive in your email inbox.


Now,
this is what I'm anxious to show you.

A great Dishie Cotton haul.
Made by KnitPicks

This is Cottage

A lovely dishcloth
using the vid from VeryPink.com

Cast this next one last night

This color is Daisy!
////


And, there is this one made with Peaches & Creme

Are these great for gifting, or what ! ! ! 


hugs


♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥