Treat Bags

Come and get it Trick-or-Treaters. There will be gift bags at my house!

Yarn Hop Scarf

I completed the Scrappy Scarf from the free yarn each shop provided us with at last weekend's yarn hop. I had to give the pattern a little thought before starting to accomodate the different weights of yarn and then decided to change yarn at each row. The result is a weave pattern that looks nothing like it was knitted. Kinda cool.
Details on my Ravelry page.

Cotton Picker

It's just about harvest time in Cowley County. All the bolls have opened and the cotton fluffs out in big clusters. Cotton is my favorite fiber to card, spin and dye. It's mesmerizing to stand next to a field of white as I dream about all the things I could make out of it. Soon the machines will be out harvesting and white fuzz will line all of the ditches like a blanket of snow.

2010 Yarn Shop Hop

Lara, Jackie, Becca, Amy and I had a full day (& Friday nite) of yarn adventures driving together to 7 of the 9 yarn shops participating in the fourth annual Central Kansas Yarn Hop. The purpose of the hop is to visit each shop for a stamp to be entered into a drawing for gift baskets with each shop providing a different experience:

Sugar Bunny Boulevard - My spinning extraordinaire friend, Laura, and her new yarn shop in El Dorado. She rolled out the carpet for us Friday for a night of soup and knitting. It's a cozy but spacious shop. She provided the best freebie hand dyed yarn.

Yarn. - Our first stop on Saturday where we received the warmest yarn hop welcome making us feel like knitting celebrities when we walked into the door. Good shop notions for purchase such as buttons, project bags, sticky notes, etc...and my favorite - FUDGE!

Newton Beadery - Saw Connie, Cass & Mimi there. I didn't buy any yarn but did get a crystal rosary bracelet.

Laura May's Cottage - Cute little small town shop next to her home. Saw Jan and Maxine there. We liked the free note pads but it was way too warm in there to linger long.

Yarns Sold & Told - Inspired to make their sample sock yarn leftover blanket. Absolutely gorgeous and such a nice lightweight feel. Knitsters: Seriously, we've got to have a leftover swap and make this!

The Shivering Sheep - Abilene, KS is one of my favorite destinations. This shop is a hidden gem that furnishes my knitting room with all kinds of sheep art. This time, a black and white sheep canvas picture, more cool knitting buttons and a project bag. Other mandatory stops included margaritas at LaFiesta and handmade jewelry from Tracine's.

Twist - Twelve hours later we made it back and stopped into our hometown shop at closing time. I may be biased, but Shelly provided the best freebie - a shop notions holder and pen. I used a gift card (thanks, Aunt Vicki!) to get a couple skeins of Tupa, jumping on the bandwagon to make Clockwork.

Also on this trip, each shop provided a free small skein of yarn to make this shop hop scrappy scarf. Lara is our two-time undisputed Fastest Knitter. She represented well on our trip by almost getting her scarf completed. She inspired me to make it to the other two shops tomorrow. So much yarn...so little time!

Breaking in New Skates

I have some new figure ice skates. The rink made me quite a deal with 15% off and a free bag, blade covers and socks with purchase of skates. For Lesson II, we worked on swizzles and it was bound to happen -- I fell during open skate time. It wasn't just a stumble or trip, I was going forward pretty fast and my toe pick vaulted me into a full belly flop that just about knocked my glasses off (Note to self: wear contacts next time-geek) and everyone on the rink said a collective OOOH! In fact, everyone (me included) involuntarily gasps when someone falls. I've been very apprehensive about falling and crippling myself so I guess it was good to know I could bite it hard, get up, brush myself off and keep on skating. Then there's the blisters that comes with breaking in new leather skates...OUCH!

Oklahoma!

I always look forward to a relaxing weekend in Oklahoma! It's our annual fall family reunion at Osage Hills State Park where together as a family we camp, cook, hike and lounge around. Time passes by slowly and I cherish simple things like listening to acorns and walnuts falling from the trees and knitting on the rocks by Sand Creek. We take long hikes in the woods and laugh over a guitar being played over a crackling campfire. You are in our hearts and thoughts, Grandma & Grandpa M.

Fall Noro for Ice Skating

I finished a pair of Noro (Silk Garden) mitts and cowl just in time for my first ice skating lesson. It's cold on the rink and they did the trick in keeping me warm. There were 5 adults in my class and we learned some basic moves. The ice is smooth and slick which makes gliding across the ice seem almost effortless. It has the feeling of rollerblading yet much easier to turn, pivot and spin and I didn't fall down once which is a very good thing. I can even skate backwards so watch out -- I feel a jump coming on!

Fall Finds

It's that time to find a perfect pumpkin. I like mine with a flat side to fit up against a wall. My pumpkin find is displayed on the front porch along with a cornucopia I purchased at a work craft sale. My porch is now festive but I still need to get a couple yellow mum plants to add a little pop.

Firefly Fringed Scarf IV

You could say I love this scarf. So much that it's the 4th one I've knitted so far. Someone special really liked mine so this one is now blocking and will be mailed out soon. This time from Hempathy in white beach.

2010 Blues, Bikes & BBQ

It was another good Blues, Bikes & BBQ motorcycle rally in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This year we had many guests in our group for a total of 21 motorcycles. It was a beautiful thing to see so many cycles in our pack riding side by side through the curves and hills of Arkansas. We took in a night in Eureka Springs, the rally and some back roads in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Live to Ride...Ride to Live!