A Day of Knitting & Friends

June 7 (yes, I'm still playing blogging catch up) was the annual Granite State Knit In at Loon Mountain... a wonderful hot and long day of knitting, classes, shopping and friends. This was my second time attending and I did enjoy it even more than last year! Joanne was presented with the opportunity to vend this year, so she, blogless Cheryl and I hoped on the road at the crack of dawn and headed North!

We got there and promptly loaded in and set up the beautiful Knitter's Garden "shop in the corner"...


With some very creative help of my honey, we rigged a great display board for Stitch Markers by Lapdog Creations...

The day started off with classes. I took Duplicate Stitch, Celtic Cables and Gauge, which were all interesting but Duplicate Stitch was by far the best! Both Cheryl (who also took the class) & I had read about duplicate stitch several times, and we both agreed that it is one of those things that you just don't get until you are shown it first hand.

We had some great items in our goody bags this year....

I was thrilled to find out that the main gift this year was the Beanie Baggie from Mind Your Knitting! These were big at last year's Knit & Crochet show and I ended up not leaving with one, only to wish I had a few months later! Not only did we all have one of the very cool weighted baggies, but they gave us the matching Knitting Knotebook & Accessory Pouch too! I was extra thrilled that I even got the colorway that I would most want!

Following the classes, we had our shopping hour, a super yummy lunch (the baked fish was delicious!), and then we were treated to this year's keynote speaker, Miss Virgina McGlynn of the Abbot Yarn Shop in Beverly, MA. Miss Virginia was both enlightening & entertaining and she brought lots of great knitting memorabilia to show us.

Miss Virginia gave everyone some great free patterns, including this lovely shawl that both Cheryl & I are planning to make... and she graciously signed her books (I got my Finishing book signed).

I was very reserved in my shopping and only brought home a few things...

3 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Cotton Boucle Mini (which was double discounted... I ended up spending a whopping $12.50 for all 3 skeins!)

The yarn & pattern for my Dream in Color shrug...

My final purchase was this gorgeous lace weight alpaca/silk and shawl pattern from Tree of Life Designs...

The day ended with the contest winners (none of us), the annual State Trooper visit to collect the dressed teddy bears/stuffed animals and the raffle (again, nothing).

A shot of some of the stuffed animals collected this year...

While none of us won any of the raffles, Cheryl's blogless super lucky ducky friend Beth managed to walk away with the uber grand prize (drawn from all non-winning tickets)... this beautiful, bottomless basket of goodies!

Did I mention what a hot day it was? And since Loon Mountain is known for being a ski lodge, well... there's no a/c (can you scream UGH with me?)! So what else to do, but end the day right with a stop for ice cream on the way home! The place we stopped at had a make your own sundae bar (yum-o!) and this cute guy parked out front...

FO Monday

While I'd much rather be enjoying one of those other FO Mondays (esp since today is my 13 year "anniversary"), I actually have a couple of finished objects to share! I finished both last week.

First up, my second pair of Magic Slippers. This time I used bulky yarn (Moda Dea Tweedle Dea from the goody bag at last year's Knit & Crochet show) and size 6 needles to produce a much larger size. They were donated at Saturday's Granite State Knit In. I heart this quick, easy, fun pattern and will surely make more!

My other finished object was the Camera Sock for my new toy. I wanted to get this done before the Knit In so as not to get any scratches on it. I used leftover Sereknity sock yarn and followed the pattern as written, however I started decreases 1/2" from the length I wanted (as called for) and it ended up being about 1/2" too short... so I will be casting on for another (longer) camera sock soon... but this one certainly works.

Yesterday I finally got Clappy off the needles, after I neglected her for at least the past 3 or 4 weeks. It was too late for a photo shoot last night, but I hope to get it photoed tonight so long as I can bear to put it on in this disgusting heat wave we are having (I so love fall weather...).

Since I don't have Clappy photos, I'll share a couple of my recent acquisitions with you...

My Frogged & Ripped pint set and Bob lapel pin arrived from Ravelry...

And this gorgeous, yummy yarn from Zona Blue Design, which I got in trade for a set of dolphin stitch markers...

Isn't it beautious?!?!? It is merino wool/nylon sock yarn in the colorway Sweetheart. Click on over to her etsy shop (linked above) and scoop up some of your own!

Stayed tuned for more vacation pics, a recap of the Granite State Knit In and pictures of the finally finished Clappy! In the meantime, try to stay cool.......

Vacation Part 1 - Cottage Yarn

Vacation installment part one... my yarn shop discovery!

I found an amazing, welcoming, wonderful shop in Mint Hill, NC ... Cottage Yarn! We ran over there the first night we were in town, since the shop was open until 8pm on Tuesdays (I discovered it was their knitting group night) and what else were we going to do? This is how I started my vacation off...

We drove in a nasty thunderstorm and missed the entrance the first time by and had to turn around... but of course it was all worth it. The staff and ladies knitting at the shop were extremely friendly and welcoming and we all talked about racing, Charlotte and New Hamsphire... in fact, one of the ladies is thinking about moving to NH in a couple of years!

I was thrilled to not only find such a friendly yarn shop, but some unique items as well, especially their very own Cottage Creations line of gorgeous handdyed yarns. I had all I could do to only buy 3 skeins...

Raw Silk, in the Blue Ridge Parkway colorway (100% raw silk, 400 yards)... {you can click on the photos to enlarge the beauty}

Silk/Wool Bulky, in the Tuscan

Hillside colorway (silk/wool, 246 yards)...

Sock Yarn, in the Wine Country

colorway (85% wool, 15% mohair, 246 yards)...

Other than the sock yarn, I'm not sure what projects these are destined for yet... feel free to make suggestions!

The shop itself is set inside a comfy, old house and each room has a theme (sock yarns, baby yarns, cottons, etc), including the "Sale Porch" where I found this yarn I had never seen before...

Maggi's Multi Linen in a green/khaki/orange colorway (52% cotton, 48% linen, 126 each ball - I got 3 balls) I'm not quite sure what its destined for yet, so if you have a suggestion...

I also purchased the most beautiful handmade copper button and a shawl pin (you can see both in the group photo at top - click to enlarge). The button was simply stunning, one of those things you just knew you couldn't leave the shop without. It might be destined for a felted bag or some other item that needs a focal point....

Again, I can't say it enough... this is a wonderful shop! If you're in the area, be sure to stop by! I will be back next May, with my frequent shopper card in hand (I already filled up more than 1/2 of it!).

While I was away, my Mom made this bag holder for me (since I don't crochet, I get to ask her to make things for me!)...

I picked out the colors (changed from the original pattern, which I believe was from Bernat) and just love it. Its so much prettier in my kitchen than the fabric lighthouse one we had... Thanks Mom!

Quick update... they found a bit of cancer on one of my Dad's tonsils and believe that may be where it started. He will have surgery to remove the tonsil this week and then they will begin a treatment plan for the cancer in his neck.....

I'm still working on getting vacation photos downloaded... more to come later, as well as a recap of the Granite State Knit In from yesterday (and more stash enhancement!).

Sheep and Yarn and Alpaca and SNOW?

I spent Mother's Day at the NH Sheep & Wool fesitval with Joanne and a couple of blogless girls, Cheryl & Marlene. What an excellent day for fiber frolicing - the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold!

While none of us were looking for spinning related items, we did happen upon some beautiful wheels, including this beauty (click for a 2nd view)...

Look at that wood work... and the matching chair too boot! The pictures hardly do it justice.

Of course there was a lot of other stuff to buy... including yarn! I had gone with the attitude that if it wasn't something I really loved or unusual, I wasn't going to buy it... I'm at the point where my credit card company could see a $1000 yarn store purchase in Hong Kong and never question if the charge was legit or not in my stash where I don't need to just buy yarn for the sake of buying yarn. So I ended up walking away with just 3 skeins...

From left to right, that is a 3.5 ounce skein of hand painted alapca from Sallie's Fen Alpacas... a skein of Seacoast Handpainted Llama/Wool in the colorway Colorado and... a skein of Seacoast Handpainted Mohair/Wool in the colorway Pink Patch. Both of the Seacoast yarns were marked down to a steal and the alpaca was just one of those that I couldn't leave behind! I'm not totally sure what they are destined for just yet... possibly mitts for me, maybe a baby something with the pink patch... maybe a Calorimetry, although I just received my Spring Coffee Swap package and my awesome pal Criquette made one for me .... its gorgeous, but after a quick try on in the office bathroom, sadly its too large... BUT, that got me to searching on Ravelry for input on the sizing (seems its too wide for most everyone - you'd think by now they'd have publised a revision!) and it looks like less stitches, less repeats and maybe even smaller needles are the way to go...

My only other purchases for the day were a delicious buffalo cheese steak and some apple crisp... and this sweater pattern...

Both Joanne & I were ooohing and ahhing over the sample and then realized the vendor was wearing another version. Its gorgeous... and the only sewing in the entire thing are the buttons!

Now I'll leave you with a montage of cutesy animal photos because you know there were plenty...

This is the sheep impression of my Lola & Sophie...

There were lots of cute sheep...

There were sleeping sheep... and smiling sheep...

There were fluffy alpaca...

And alpaca with cute hair cuts...

Curious alpaca...

and the cutest little angora goats!

There was even this...

Yes, you non-New Englanders... that is left over snow!!!!!!!!

Oh and as for the coffee swap package, I picked it up on my way to work and did bring it inside for fear of meltable goodies inside (I was right!) and snapped a quick camera phone pick before tearing in to the beautifully wrapped goodies... I'll post more about the package & real pics tomorrow!

Spring Ahead?

Did everyone remember to spring ahead this weekend, despite the fact that it seems spring is still a million miles away? I replaced our snowman slate hanging thingy on the front door with Mr. Bunny yesterday ... so that entitles everyone to think Spring, right? It rained all weekend and we have a f&$%*$g wet basement, which sure does make it seem like spring... Then I got in my truck to head to work this morning and the temp read 17 degrees... bbrrr.

Did everyone have a crafty weekend? I worked another 12 row increase repeat on my Clapotis and then switched to some other WIPs on Saturday. Yesterday was my race watching and beading afternoon and boy do my hands friggin hurt show it today. I got 7 or 8 sets of stitch markers completed for A Knitter's Garden, a couple sets for gifts and 3 choker/necklaces which are all gifts (I plan to get some done for my soon-to-finally-have-something-in-it Etsy shop next weekend). One of the sets of stitch markers is going out in today's mail as a surprise/thank you to a dear friend and one of the chokers will be going out this week as a Pay It Forward surprise.

Despite the back-to-the-daily-grind Monday blahs, I got a smile on my face when I stopped at the post office this morning and found my Loopy Ewe order waiting for me! I got one of the new Kitchener Stitch dog tags for myself and one to put in my swap stash and some very cool merino wool. It is UrbanGypZ hand painted twisted sock yarn in the vibrant Ave Maria Sangria colorway. The cell phone photo doesn't do it justice, but it is gorgeous! I'm planning to use it for the Lydia Scarf by Lazy Kate. The pattern calls for 150 grams of DK weight yarn, which according to this handy converter equals 5.2911 ounces. The skein is only 4 ounces, so I am guessing I will have to adjust the length of my scarf.... I think the easiest way would be to weigh the yarn after the first section (before starting the main body of the scarf), then do the silly math calculations to figure out how much I used.

Happy Monday... see you over at the Multitasking 9-5 board?

Maine Yarn Crawl!

Sorry for the delay in posting the details ... but alas, I bring you the Maine Yarn Crawl Joanne and I did just over a week ago! The main attraction? A wonderful Double Knitting class at Halcyon Yarn in Bath, Maine. The extra goodyness? 3 more yarn shops to puruse!

Our day started with iced coffee (you simply just can not start a day or leave home without it, right?) and on-the-go breakfast from McDonald's and then we headed North! First stop was The Knitting Experience Cafe, a great little shop with lots of charm and very friendly staff. The owner wasn't in when we visited, but her lovely sister was.

There were lots of yummy yarns, great patterns and fabulous bags on hand, but alas due to my "budget" I walked away crying held back from most of the purchases I could've made and came away with a cute Anklet Sock pattern and Wick yarn (to make the socks), both from Knit One Crochet Too.

Joanne picked up a beautiful shawl pattern while we were there and we both admired the adorable mini sweaters, dresses, socks & more hanging in the store window. We also thought the big comfy couch was wonderful for sitting and looking thru patterns ... and Joanne vowed to return home to clean off the couch in the front room of her yarn shop to make room for sitting (instead of using it to display baskets of yarn)! Great idea!!

Next stop was the super cool, Purl Diva! Her logo alone was enough for us to say "a must stop," but the selection of yarns, patterns and notions was a pleasant surprise! Wonderful!

Once again, I am proud to say I exhibited much restraint in my purchases. I figured I'd limit myself to only things Matt wouldn't notice as being "new" in the house things I couldn't readily get at one of my LYS or things I absolutely could not live without (again... I'm learning that whole budget thing, not to mention space/storage issues!). Joanne once again walked away with just 1 pattern (the lovely Tulip sweater), while I wound up with just 2 skeins of yarn (after picking up and returning about 20 to their respective bins)...

I feel in love with the softness of Smooshy sock yarn from Dream in Color - omg, this stuff is delicious!!! With no pun intended, I opted for the delicious sounding colorway of Chinatown Apple. I also grabbed a skein of Donegal Tweed in a purple/wine colorway, which will is slated to become a felted clutch from the One Skein book. Joanne and I both thought Purl Diva's logo was wicked awesome ... don't you? They have the infamous hat on display inside... on a water cooler of all things!

Now of course, I couldn't leave without having my Knitting Queen pose with the Purl Diva...

As we were leaving, the lady at Purl Diva asked if we'd made it over to Ewe & Me yet... we hadn't had it on our list, but decided to give up the idea of a sit down lunch in favor of stopping at another yarn shop (and instead unintentionally made our 2nd visit to McDonald's for the day for some more driving food - oh, the sacraficies we make for yarn stores!!!)...

Ewe & Me is a quaint little shop (who shares a buildling with a bank) with a different selection of yarns and patterns - a lot of older stuff. We were promptly greeted by 2 tiny doggies (Japanese Chins I believe) and then realized we recognized the owners from the Knit In at Loon Mountain! We both walked away with only patterns this time - I got "The Heirloom Knitter Presents Heavenly Cotton Face Cloths Vol. 2" and Joanne picked up Vol. 1... it'll be fun to make some fancy-spanchy face cloths!

After that we got our Mickey D's and headed to Halcyon so we wouldn't be late for class! The class... Double Knitting ... wonderful! The only "complaint" would've been that it could've easily been a 4 hour class (it was 3) and/or we had wished we were given the cast on instructions prior to class, so as not to take away from the actual class time. But regardless, we both walked away having learned a lot and were quite pleased! Our instructor was the lovely Ruth...

She brought some wonderful samples of headbands she had knitted and you can sort of see them in front of her in that picture. We worked on a basic headband for the class and she gave us an instruction booklet for some more intricate designs to try later on. It is a very time consuming technique, especially as you're first learning. It was even more so for myself, as instead of holding both yarns in my right hand, I opted to try to learn to hold on in each hand ... so I was essentially trying to learn to knit continental and double knit at the same time. Here's my work in progress during class...

After class, we went downstairs to shop til we dropped ... or rather, shop til we got kicked out by the absolutely rude cashier! She was the only one left at 1 minute til 6 - they closed at 6 and she made it quite clear with comments and eye rolls that she really didn't want to ring us up and just wanted to leave. However, I won't let her poor customer service reflect on the store, as everyone else we encountered during our class & shopping was wonderful, and after an overcharging incident for which the rude woman refused to fix, I left my name & number and received a prompt call at 9am on Monday morning to appologize profusely and let me know they were crediting me the overcharged amount)!

So the goods... I did pick up a few more things here than originally planned, however they armed us with 10% off your entire purchase coupons, so what do you expect??? After all - did you notice the great restraint I had at the 3 previous yarn stores??? My Halcyon haul...

On the left, 2 skeins of Misti Alpaca 100% baby alpaca, hand dyed in the fall-ish colorway IND2 (I tried to link this from Misti Alpaca's site and for some reason this yarn isn't on there - I am unsure if they no longer produce it or what??). This is super soft and is destined for a long scarf... I think. On the right, 2 skeins of Misti Alpaca worsted in peony.... for a pair of fingerless mitts or maybe regular gloves. In the middle, 1 hank of Noro Cash Iroha in color 22 (that was on clearance!) and 1 hank of Malabrigo Col China 100% angora that is to die for... ooooh... so very soft. My plan is to combine these 2 together for something... probably a scarf because I can't think of what else would make sense. Ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Well, there you have it folks... one of the best days ever with a wonderful friend (and knitting queen!), great weather, scenic drive (um, which accidentally included Massachusetts on the way home... however that was a "design modification," right Joanne?), good stash enhancement and a wonderful class! Can't wait to do it again!

Now as I was photoing all the yummy yarns for this post, I spotted this guy on the other side of the porch. Feeling the need to play with the super zoom on the digital camera (and maybe secretly hoping the camera would shoot some death ray at him?!?!), I snapped this...

That is super zoom folks... anyone who knows me knows I do NOT do bees, hornets, spiders or snakes... so super zoom. Pretty cool, huh? I'm impressed with the camera if I do say so myself. I took a few scenic shots that'll I'll share as well...

Spotted this plane "sky writing" while photoing the yarn...

View of the willow tree from the deck out back...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I wanted to mention that sign ups are beginning Aug. 15th for the next Felted Bag Exchange. This one looks like fun and I'm planning to participate. Also, it looks as though my Mom will get to go home tomorrow and then have a visiting nurse. No official results yet, but they said we'd get them on Tueday.

Quote for the week!

"This one's for every one of those fans in the stands who pull for me every week and take all all the bullshit from everybody else..." -- Tony Stewart after winning Indy on Sunday, 7/29/07

And that's why I love him... you'll never hear any other NASCAR driver be so brutally honest and always say what he wants, no matter what the pr people tell him to say....

So... I haven't had a chance to download the Maine Yarn Crawl pics yet, but will get to that later in the week... a few quick updates...

Mom ~ Thank you all for the well wishes and thoughts for my Mom this week. It really means a lot to me and I can't wait for Mom to get back to her computer and catch up on the blog & your comments! She is doing much, much better and feels much, much better. She'll be in the hospital at least thru the end of the week, as they continue to give her antibiotics thru IV and other things to get her healthy and send that nasty infection away. She had a blood transfusion on Sunday. The cat scan showed that things were clearing up nicely yesterday... yet still no definite cause for the infection at this point. More tests today, including the colonoscopy. Tuesday Afternoon Update... Mom is scheduled for surgery tomorrow afternoon to remove part of her colon, which will then be sent out for testing.... please keep her in your thoughts!

Bella ~ I heard from Bella's new Mom and found out they've changed her name to Cotton. It sounds like she sure is keeping them on their toes! They've enrolled her in obedience classes and things are going well thus far. Bella (sorry, hard to get used to Cotton) even climbed Mt. Tecumseh with them last week!

That's all for now... though I did just find out that I won (yea, I couldn't believe it either!) a contest that my Secret Pal 10 host had at the end of the round... can't wait to see what it is! I promise the Maine yarn crawl post very soon! I will leave you in suspense by telling you that our route was The Knitting Experience Cafe then Purl Diva then Ewe & Me and finally, Halcyon where we had our Double Knitting class!

Stash Enhancement at TKGA Show!

Yes folks, I did end up spending more than I had planned on at the TKGA Knit & Crochet Show on Saturday, but still had huge restraint! I could have done sooooooooo much more damage... ooh, SO much more! There was a stunning jacket kit that I absolutely adored, but alas the $200 price tag wasn't in my budget. Nor was the $62 skein of some unusual fiber (it wasn't yak but it was something in that unusual category). So I tried to not set my credit card ablaze be good and only purchase things that were out of the ordinary and not something I could readily pick up at my LYS. Here's what I came home with...

See all the unusual fibers there? HA HA - just kidding. That was the goody bag from Coats & Clark that the first 500 pre-registered attendees received. Its not bad and does include a nice skein of Moda Dea washable wool in what I think is a new shade! Now for the real stash...

I purchased 3 kits... one to make super soft (and from what I'm told, amazingly warm) silk mittens, one for a drawstring bag (knitted with beads - also from AffectionKnit but I couldn't find it on their site to link) and finally, an elegant scarf (also with beads). I tried to show you the gorgeous hand dyed yarns that came with these kits in this pic, but it does not do them justice. Also pictured are some Norwegian pewter buttons, a set of size 7 Fiddlesticks (oh my gosh - these needles are amazing... rosewood with coconut at the top and mother of pearl finish on the ends ... not only do they look great, they are fabulous to knit with as I cast on a dishcloth last night just to test them out!), some absolutely amazing (yet extremely affordable!) yarns from Habu and 2 books - One Skein Wonders and The Secret Language of Knitters. Yes, I do already own the One Skein book - and some of you may even know that it is one of my favorite books - but the editor, Judith Durant happened to be at one of the booths signing her book and well... well, if your are one of the people I get to spoil in my current swaps, you just might be getting my previous copy! HA HA. And guess what? In chatting with the lovely Judith, we found out that the second installment, 101 Designer One Skein Wonders is coming out this fall (and I've already pre-ordered my copy thru Amazon)!!! WOO HOO! Use the stash!!! Here are some more photos from the show...

Close up of the goods.... The gorgeous hand dyed from the AffectionKnit kits on the left, the buttons, needles & scarf kit on the right.




Signed books for the collection...



Mary Beth Temple ... we just sort of happened upon her signing her just-released book and what a hoot she is! If she happens to be near you signing, go check her out (and remind her she shouldn't sit in coffee when wearing a white skirt...)! She blogs too! I started reading the first few pages of the book and so far, 4 paws 2 thumbs up! Think of Mary along the lines of a Yarn Harlot type of comedy... knitting comedy if you will. I can't wait to read on in the book ... and and get this, she's a dog Mommy too!!! :-) I can't believe the number of fellow knitting (and crocheting) dog Mommies I'm meeting thru blogging lately - its amazing (and I'm not referring to "dog owners" - but true dog MOMS - and those of us who are know there is a big difference)!




Here I am with the lovely Judith (thankfully I found this nifty healing brush tool in Photoshop today that helped to remove some of the awful, awful bags under my eyes... boy were these pictures a horrible wake up call today... anyone got some good beauty cream tips/advice??)...

It was a wonderful day spent with friends and family! Sue came up from CT to go to the show with me (while Matt and his Dad worked on the dog's fence... woo hoo! They got a really great start on it too!)... again, loving that healing brush tool!

Sue is really into beautiful lace shawls and boy were there lots of gorgeous ones to drool over!

We bumped in to lots of other friends throughout the day, including Heather who was my enabler at the Habu booth. I really wasn't thinking of buying anything there until she came by and started raving about it... then I had to have a closer look and ended up with this...

The photo of the booth really doesn't do those amazing garmets justice, but hopefully it gives you an idea. The yarns... yummy, yummy yarns... I got 1 tiny (no joke its about the size of maybe half of the palm of my hand) skein of 100% cashmere (the green) and 2 skeins of the silk/mohair blend. These will mostly likely be for feather and fan scarves. The burgundy color cones to the left at 100% merino wool which will probably turn in to some lace shawl or wrap ... and the lilac color is the silk and stainless steel blend (also destined for a lacey shawl of sorts)! Yes folks, silk and stainless steel - how very cool and unique? Matt was even impressed!

We met this lovely sea lady while walking around...

Yes, a felted mermaid that is life size - very cool! Joanne said she was at The Knit-In at Loon Mountain, but I have to admit... I missed her there!

These were some of the garmets on display near the entrance...

It was an absolutely wonderful day (even if I did have some sore feet aftewards)... and I got to come home to a half-finished fence for the doggies. WOO HOO! I can't wait until its finally finished and ready for use, but we're much closer now. Matt's Dad even offered to come back up after their vacation next month to help some more (thank you Dad & Sue!!!). Maybe that means Sue and I will have to do a little yarn crawl that day... hee hee.

In doggy news, we picked up our newest houseguest, Bella, on Friday evening. What an absolute love bug and energetic pup! If you know dogs, you know that terriers are known for their energy... multiply that by oh, about 100 and you get Miss Bella! Yes folks, she's either in GO-GO-GO mode or she's crashed out completely... there's no in between with this little cutie pie. She immediately fit herself right in to our pack as soon as she came in and has been romping and wrestling with the big dogs non-stop. When she's not wrestling, she's chomping on a bone or playing with a squeaky or some other toy. She loves the marrow bones we have around, as well as the Orbee toys ... and the squeakies and the balls and the Bobos and the ropes... see a trend here? Yes, this lovebug just loves anything and everything ... and shows you nothing but love and affection in return! It looks like she already has an adopter ... and get this... its yet another Nicole who only lives about 10-15 minutes away! I'm going to be stopping by Nicole & Ryan's place tomorrow to do a home visit and then we'll proceed from there if they are interested in adopting. (I swear there is something ironic about me adopting out to fellow Nicole's - Dustee's mom is also a Nicole and only lives about 10 minutes way too!). So here's my dose of cuteness for you from the first few days of Bella in our lives...

She's always smiling...

Two peas in a pod... or Daddy's lap anyway!

She loved Bobo so much she chewed his ear right off ... oops!

Hanging with her foster brothers & sister...

Of course I have plenty more pics, but I'll save some for later... plus this post is getting kind of long... are ya still with me? Huh people??? Still out there???

Knit Fast... Turn Left!

I wonder how many racing knitters we have out there? No, I don't mean those that you just want to smack because they knit a sweater in 3 days who knit insanely fast ... I mean knitters who are fans of NASCAR or other forms of racing?? I know there's some... I even spotted a lady knitting while sitting outside her RV as we were driving in to the race on Saturday (not quick enough with the camera for proof though). Speaking of the race, I'll start with a brief recap of last weekend, brought to you in picture form...

Saturday... Busch Race

Scott Wimmer (one of my faves!) got an award and posed with some of NH's finest...

Kevin Harvick was on the pole (he went on to win the race)...

Everyone cheered when Juan Pablo (who is unworthy of being linked from my blog!) wrecked out of the race and had to get pushed behind the wall... Buh-Bye!!

The temps were in the low 70's and the sky was beautiful all day...

Sunday... Cup Race

Its ironic that the best photo I got from driver introductions was of Don-Juan-Dumbass and Dale Jr...

Temps were rather chilly, high 60's ... and the treat of rain lingered all day long. For much of the race, the skies looked like this...

Some of the day (long enough for me to get some friggin' sunburn on my face) looked more like this...

So now that the major series racing is over in New Hampshire until September... I will return you to our regularly scheduled program.... knitting (and yes, dogs too...)!

I finished my first Bob Marley's Grandma Footsies sock...

I'm using Sereknity merino/tencel blend in Triple Scoop. These would be a very quick knit if I actually knit them and stopped treating them like a red headed step child worked on them more often.... but it is a sort of boring, mindless knit. I will cast on the mate this week...

I picked up my shaped alpaca scarf to work some more rounds (no rush for this to be done... so long as I have it finished in time for fall) and cast on the Cabin Fever tank top and worked a few rounds.

It's really not much to see... The scarf doesn't look any bigger than my last posting of it (even though I've worked quite a few more rounds). The tank doesn't look like anything, but at least you can see the colorway I'm using. Since my WIP's aren't all that interesting, I've got some eye candy for you (no, not more pictures of sexy NASCAR drivers...)...

My recent order from the wonderful Loopy Eye arrived...

On the left is the clever Duet Sock Yarn in merlot (multi color skein with coordinating solid color to do contrasting toes & heels - brilliant!) and on the right is the vibrant Stone Barn Fibers sock yarn in Tainted Love. You like? You can get your very own by click on this button...

The Loopy Ewe is a one stop shopping for hand dyed sock yarns... customer service is superb and the perks are an added bonus (see their Frequent Shopper Benefits & The Loopy Groupie Club)!

Some more eye candy... I noticed a couple of day lilies in bloom on the side of the house...

Of course, no post is complete without doggy photos, right? I rearranged the top of the collectible cabinet about a week ago (I needed a new place for these 3 framed doggy photos and yes, there might be one too many candles up there but I ran out of time to organize other areas)...

The dogs got a new, longer lead for when they're in the front yard and are happier than a pig in poop certainly enjoying it. Before they could reach about half way across the driveway and not far enough down to reach the maple tree with all of the inticing bird feeders... now Teutul wants to show you this.