Granddaughter Socks

Besides being nostalgically cute, the bamboo/wool yarn used for these socks is incredibly soft. It's another Twist-of-the month project I can cross off my "To Do" list. I've forgotten how much I like to crochet and this project has me wanting to make a granny square blanket now.

Dog Mittens

I've got a jump on winter with these light-weight wool mittens. I found the colorwork challenging and enjoyable knitting them from Noro Maiko in colors that match my dog, Sheba. They are from Twist's June Mitten-of-the-Month Club.

Antiques in Texas

I haven't been back to Texas since my grandpa passed away so it was good to spend some time with my Grandma Fetty. We visited grandpa's gravesite in Mabank and my uncle Larry in the nursing home. We were excited about and ate at a new oyster bar on the lake and made the rounds to all the flea markets and small town antique shops. Church on Sunday with Aunts Tami and Ruth and then it was time to come home. Just another busy weekend.

Road Trip: On the Bayou

Mom and I drove until midnight to make it to our road trip overnight destination in Jefferson, Texas. It's a historic Texas town close to Louisiana with many B&B's and antique shops. Before it got hot, we took a boat tour on the Big Cypress Bayou following the same route steamboats from New Orleans travelled in the 1800s. We walked through all the antique shops this town had to offer and discovered cornbread sandwiches at Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich & Pie Bar. The "Redneck" sandwich consisted of fried bologna and melted cheese between sliced cornbread -- it was a guilty pleasure and quite tasty!

Customer Complaint: Alefs Harley Davidson Kansas

I typically don't post about personal affairs, but when it comes to my ride: It's personal. I hope that anyone who Googles this dealership will see this post and take warning. When I bought my motorcycle a year ago, Alefs HD was more than happy to sell me on $6K of extras and modifications. Yes, they were more than accommodating to take my double-digit $K and sell me on their custom Harley modifications. My warning to cyberspace is if THEY do something wrong and you have problems with your bike (even during the warranty period) they will not want to stand behind their work and you will have a fight on your hands getting them to take responsibility for the repairs. It's been an unbelievable experience to say the least.

Organizing

Organization is good-especially in a craft room. As I fill my shelves with yarn and new fiber, I'm challenged to move things around and make the most of my space. A trip to Target sparked some new ideas for years of knitting magazines and a special place for my handmade garments. Of course, a spacious closet also helps.

Summer Tea

This is a clever idea I ran across for those like me who love sun tea in the summertime. Gallon sun tea jars take up so much room in the fridge so what you can do is use a mason jar to make a sun tea concentrate. It takes up less room and you can stretch it out over several days adding it to cold water. Give it a try!

Holiday Heartbreaker

You know I LOVE my motorcycle so when we got the call from the dealership today that my engine and transmission is ruined, I was simply sad and heartbroken. Turns out the black powder coating they did was not removed from the inside of the parts and has worked it's way around causing mass destruction. On top of that, the service mgr advised it would cost us $8,000 for the repairs. That really sets the tone for a happy, holiday weekend when we can't resolve the issue with the owner until Monday. Really, if they don't agree they did the all work and caused the damage - it's still under warranty - it will be time to get an attorney. But in the meanwhile, road trips are delayed (Sturgis is around the corner!) and I'm left heartbroken without my ride.

A Gift for Sister Terry

I made this special gift for Sr Terry at Heartland Farm. It has very sentimental meaning because the yarn was spun by Sr Mary Ellen from an alpaca named Albie that passed away on the farm last year. I gave it to the sisters and wouldn't you know they sent me home with more alpaca yarn to make several more. At this rate, I'm never going to be able to make one for myself!

KIP Toy Swap

It was another exciting KIP swap. We met for brunch at the Egg Crate and drew numbers for our toy exchange. I drew Becca's gift and she made the cutest bunch of crochet Oreo's in a glass cookie jar. It's going to be a cute addition in my craft room. Then, once again, Shelly drew my creation, a felted alpaca. I hand carded and hand spun the merino/alpaca yarn and then felted. I must confess, the little guy turned out so dang adorable that I didn't want to give him away -- just about stayed home and kept him to myself. Guess I'll just have to make up another one sometime.

Baby Gifts

My hairstylist, Cinnamon, is expecting a baby boy August 10th. She had a baby shower but I was in Colorado so I delivered her handmade gifts to her today. We've been friends for over 15 years so I wanted to make up some special gifts for her and this is just a start: a knitted ripple baby blanket and cotton/chenille bath towel. The rubber ducky added a coordinating, decorative touch.

Knit in Public Day

The rain kept us from sitting outside Twist on Knit in Public Day but we had a backup plan. We sat in the window displaying our love for our craft. There were drawings for prizes every hour and even a fastest knitter contest in which Lara was the undisputed champ. I decided to give magic loop a go for the first time with a new intarsia mitten project. I know, mittens in the summer?

Knit n Spin Retreat

Lee Ann coordinated a knit and spin retreat for tonight at her church through the Twist Ravelry group. Eight of us showed up toting our wheels, knitting, snacks and a couple bottles of wine. There were cookies too. We had the entire Parish House to ourselves, got our spin on and collectively decided not to spend the night. It was a good time and the accomodations were really nice. Good job, Lee Ann!

It's a Monday

We got back home late last night and I had to start the day with a grueling dental appointment that made me half ill. Combine that with lack of sleep, a job and tons of things to catch up on at home -- Hello Monday. While it's good to be home, I'm finding myself missing my friends from the weekend. Kinda like that sad feeling when summer camp was over. It was fun to bond with some new friends and we had so much silly fun in the car. Just like the Harley Davidson saying goes, "It's not the destination -- it's the journey." Knit On, Girlfriends!

2009 Estes Park Wool Market

I woke up early (as always) in our roomy log cabin, started a pot of coffee and knitted on a leather sofa while watching the sun rise over the snow covered mountains in Estes. It was fabulous. A couple hours later,




the next one to rise was Shelly's charming son, Caleb in his red flannel monkey pajamas. (Shelly brought her family and it was entertaining having little ones staying with us). We spent the majority of the day at the wool market where I loaded up on tons of new fiber. Seriously, the word is L-O-A-D-E-D up. Indulged in a bag of kettle corn and walked around the judging tents filled with alpacas, llamas, rabbits, sheep and goats. Thought I'd share a picture of the Wensleydale sheep that I absolutely feel in love with and I swear he was smitten with me, too. Then got in more walking through all the souvenir shops in town. Exhaustion kicked in after finding the perfect t-shirts and Laura and I sat down on some rocks by the stream/river and knitted while a soft mountain rainshower passed over us. It was perfect.

Estes Dropped Stitch Scarf

Although I purchased the yarn in Gove, KS, I'm calling this my Estes scarf since I finished it there and it serves as a reminder of my trip to the mountains. I even think you'll see the resemblance in this picture of me. I've kinda got that bohemian, mountain girl look with my scarf, colorful (NORO!) wool jacket and wool dreadlock ponytail extensions I found at market. I'm hoping I can pull off this look back home in Doo-Dah.

Destination: Gove City Yarns

My rabbit hole of knitting has really gifted me with some special friendships and awesome road trips. This time, Laura invited me, Ashley & Jennie along with her to Estes Park, CO for the 2009 Wool Market. We hit the road running and within 40 miles of Gove City Yarns, I dazzled my traveling companions by completing a Swiffer cover and started a 2nd one. The pressure to perform kicked in after purchasing a soy silk scarf kit in Gove. (It's one of those yarn shops where you trip over yarn, books and antiques at every turn). So then, I rushed through the second cover and started on the scarf by Boulder, CO. We gained an hour in mountain time and arrived in Estes Park in time to go to town for my favorite (mexican) road trip meal -- fish tacos and a very special "Corona moment" on the patio next to a rushing stream.

Cassoday Breakfast Run 2009

It's not easy being a Diva or Princess!

Swifty KAL

Guess you could say I'm catching on to this whole eco-friendly business. Today at Twist, Dee and I had our own little knit-along with Mason Dixon's Swiffer cover. Making these from inexpensive cotton is the perfect solution to eliminating purchasing costly, disposable refills for the Swiffer sweeper/mop. I can see myself making several more of these (just like the ballband washrag phase we all went through!)

Produce Bags

My short stay at Heartland Farm inspired me to utilize more eco-friendly products and think about ways I could reduce disposables from my life. It was there I saw no soda cans or plastic bottles and fabric napkins replaced paper towels. The other day at lunch Becca and I were sharing ideas and I told her how I use my own reusable grocery bags but feel guilty putting my fruit and vegetables in plastic sacks. She told me there were drawstring bags for sale on etsy and I decided to make my own following the directions from this tutorial. It was a breeze sewing up 4 bags tonight from 2 yards of nylon netting and 8 yards of cotton rope.