Gallery of Projects That Shall Never Be On My Needles

This was free swag at the Knit Out.



Somehow this yarn does not bring to mind a dog, but rather something the dog hacked up.

The Swag - Just In Time for the Oscars

Ever wonder what swag Oscar star attendees take home? Take a gander here.

Maureen and I took home our own swag. Being the good friend that I am, I did not take photographic evidence of Maureen's haul and my lips are sealed as to exact details. But I can tell you that she spent the better part of each evening on her bed, surrounded by her purchases, reveling in the fibercopia.

The damage from this weekend.

First, the patterns. In addition to Beth Brown Reinsel's Celtic Dreams, I bought the following at Yarn Cafe, Needlework Unlimited, and Borealis Yarns.







Now...what you've been waiting for...the yarn.

From Yarn Cafe - Cherry Tree Hill's Sockittome.


From Borealis Yarns - Araucania Aysen, a small Laurel Burch bag, and Plymouth Happy Feet.




From Needlework Unlimited - Araucania Ranco Multi, Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, and Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend




Oh, and I also bought blocking wires...which was the only item I had planned on purchasing this weekend. HA! Famous last words...best laid plans...and all that.

Knit Out - Day 2

After partaking of a breakfast of champions...



We didn't hang around MOA very long today. We ran across these knitting celebrities.

Nicky Epstein.


Annie Modesitt.


Vickie Howell.


Hazel Tindall (in the fair isle) and Maureen (in the aran).



Interesting trivia - Hazel's husband was a pro footballer before being sidelined by injuries. Does this mean that Hazel is a Footballer Wife?

Maureen and I walked the aisles where the knit out "vendors" had booths. The largest vendors were Bernat, Caron, Red Heart and Lion Brand. Enough said. We did not join in the lines waiting to file past those booths - some women were waiting for an hour in line in order to get a tote bag or a pair of size 19 inch wooden needles or some lighted needles. I was disappointed that the Interweave Press and Vogue Knitting booths didn't have anything to show other than their magazines or recent books. Now if I'm going to get swag, I'd like the high-end stuff, please.

Well, Maureen and I did get swag - but it wasn't the free kind. We headed out on the early afternoon for stops at The Yarnery where Maureen picked up her tickets for the Harlot's talk on April 10th. I was quite restrained and purchased only a Beth Brown Reinsel aran pattern. Maureen...well...let's just say what happens in the LYS stays in the LYS. All I can tell you is that she's already emailed her husband that I, as the driver of the car, am to blame for her purchases. And to be fair, I am quite the enabler.

We then headed to Borealis Yarn - a favorite stop. I was less restrained here.

Pictures of swag to follow as Blogger is being difficult tonight.

Land of 10,000 Knitters

This last week our local guild had Carol Rhoades as a speaker and she took us on a virtual tour of Finland. If you can't place her name, she's a knitter who translated "Two-Ended Knitting" by Anne-Maj Ling into English.



The rest of the week was spent working overtime so I could leave on Friday for Minneapolis and the Knit Out. I met up with a fellow camper from SHP's Knitting Camp (Hi Maureen!) and we descended on a LYS before heading over to the MOA (Mall of America for those of you uninitiated in the finer points of rampant american consumerism). Now I've been to MOA before as family live in the area but I've never seen the mall this crowded. There was barely a parking space to be found when we arrived in the early afternoon. It will be interesting to see the estimate of how many knitters were in attendance.

We caught part of a "show and tell" that had members of the audience come up and display their knitting or crochet projects. My favorite was a 10 year old boy who had his teenage sisters and mom as models. This kid had knit scarves and felted bags - and even embellished the bags with old jewelry. I think we were witness to the first public appearance of the next Kaffe Fassett.



All of the women on the stage in this picture are wearing or holding his knitting.

We also watched time trials for the fastest knitter. Anyone attending the Knit Out could participate in this. Annie Modesitt won the fastest knitter. THEN came the international contest. There were 5 contestants from Canada, the Netherlands, the Shetland Islands, the US, France.



Maureen and I were unpatriotic - rooting for Hazel Tindall rather than the US contestant. We should have placed bets. (This was actually occurring with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House.) Hazel won with a best out of three score of 262 stitches in 3 minutes.

My apologies to any crocheters out there, but I have no photos of international fastest crocheter contest. There were only 2 contestants in that competition - from Canada and the US. What was impressive was that the same woman who was the US fastest knitter was also the US fastest crocheter - which means she competed in three 3-minute trials for the knitting competition then speed-crocheted three 3-minute trials all within the space of about a half hour.

We spied this little ewe across the aisle from us. Too bad we can't introduce her to Jean's Sam the Ram (picture in 8/29/07 post).



Stayed tunes for more on the Knit Out, the goodies that just happened to fall into my bag during our sojourn to the LYS and...the gallery of Projects That Shall Never Be On My Needles - a treat not to be missed!

Where Are We? Siberia?

We love to complain about the weather.

But, in all fairness, we've had a lot to moan about this winter. The snow fall total for this season is 80 inches - more is in the forecast for this weekend - and winter is far from over. Snow in May is not unheard of in these parts. The wind chill tomorrow morning is expected to be -20. I'd cry, but I'm afraid my eyelids will freeze shut.

Usually by this time in February the street are filled with filthy slush and the snow on the sides of the road is an ugly gray - the drab gray of mid-winter Moscow in Dr. Zhivago. The only positive aspect about having snow storm after snow storm is everywhere you look there is the white of newly fallen snow, reminiscent of the ice castle at Varykino.

Some projects currently on the needles and keeping my fingers warm -

The first - another rib scarf. I always have one of these on the needles for mindless knitting. The yarn is Big Baby from Alpaca with A Twist. I love the color. There are red, blue and purple fibers blended with the brown.



The second is the geometric scarf from the scarf book of Vogue Knitting on the Go series. Click on it to see the detail.



The third project is Evelyn Clark's Paws To Remember scarf from Fiber Trends. The yarn is the Malagbrigo lace weight.



This may get ripped back - I'm not sure if I like the resulting fabric or if I need to go up a needle size.

This weekend your intrepid blogger again heads NORTH(!) to meet up with a friend at the Knit Out in the climate-controlled, commercial vastness of the Mall of America.

The travel essentials - my knitting projects and camera - are already packed.

Therapy Is In Order

Or two weeks in Costa Rica.

Or at least a St. Bernard dog carrying a small cask of brandy.

Bravely ignoring the forecasts for the most bone chilling weather in years, DH and I headed north (yes, NORTH) for a weekend of cross country skiing with friends. Our view from the cabin.





Kindly refrain from pointing out that if we wanted to escape wind chill factors, it might be a good idea to head south of the mason dixon line. (Although, as I write, Atlanta, Georgia is 35 degrees and Chattanooga, Tennessee is a balmy 38 degrees.)

The temperature Sunday morning was -28 degrees with a wind chill of -40. That's negative 33 for you celsius folks. This is the kind of cold where your contact lenses turn into little ice packs for your eyes - which might be pleasant in the event of a hangover but not so much when loading gear into the car. This is the kind of cold in which it almost hurts to breath. The sensation of your lungs freezing as you inhale does make you question living in a climate which makes several serious attempts to kill you (to paraphrase Garrison Keillor). Some cars started, some didn't. Ours started, thankfully. And we arrived home to a veritable heat wave.



Knitting was on the weekend agenda - especially as skiing was not due to a knee injury. I baked cookies while the others skiied on Saturday. Over the weekend I finished a scarf (picture not taken yet), started another, and kept plugging away on the second Estonian Lullaby baby blanket.

But I have other finished projects with which to amaze and astound you (keeping in mind that the amazing and astonishing aspect is not so much the projects or yarn, but that anything gets finished at the Stash Haus).

First up - Falling Water Lace Scarf - unblocked. Yarn - unknown soft wool in a fingering weight.





Next, we have a Spiral Rib Hat by Ann Norling made out of Plymouth Encore Colors.



More snow and frigid temperatures in our forecast.

Now where did I put the brandy?

Playing Catch Up

I've been a bad, bad blogger lately. I didn't realize there was a Murphy's Law for blogs - the more busy you are and the more blog material you have, the less time you have to write.

Scene from the road (2 weeks ago on work-related trip).



And to imagine Punxsutawney Phil predicts only 6 more weeks of winter - if only we should be so lucky. We've had frost in July, for goodness sake.

Scenes from LYS in Chicago (3 weeks ago). I went south of the border on another scouting expedition for a future guild event.

This is Knitting Workshop. I found easy parking (no mean feat in Chicago). The staff was helpful. I enjoyed the controlled chaos - those who want a perfectly organized shop will not find it here, but those who thrive on hunting for treasure will feel at home.







Next stop was Knitter's Niche which has a very friendly owner and interesting stock - especially the Great Adirondack yarns.







Last, but not least, was Knit 1. Unfortunately, by this point on the tour, yarn fumes had totally overcome the proper working of any brain chemisty so there are no photos. It's a very small shop but packed with goodies. If you stop by, be sure to check out their sale bins located below the shelves of yarn.

Scenes from Minnesota (last weekend). On Saturday, after escorting the nieces to violin practice and then basketball practice, I briefly escaped the controlled chaos - leaving DH to entertain them - to visit a LYS called Borealis Yarns.






All I can say is, "Wow". This shop is the perfect storm of LYS. The amenities, besides fabulous yarns, include a bright and airy atmosphere (a difficult thing to accomplish in the middle of January), a table at the front of the shop filled with local knitters, fantastic staff, and a coffee shop next door. Don't be fooled if you stop by - keep going to toward the back of the shop because there is a whole 'nother LARGE room filled mainly with shetland yarn, sock yarns, and sale yarns.

Of course a few goodies slipped into my bag before leaving. What? Like Chez Stash Haus can't do with a bit more insulation?

View from the Haus

This was the view from the Haus today.





It was so bad in areas that the snowplows were not able to clear interstate highways, much less municipal roads. The local city government and university finally admitted defeat, closing midafternoon. (The area elementary and high schools were much smarter, having cancelled classes by 7a.m.) Even the municipal bus service has been shut down until tomorrow morning. This afternoon neighbors were out helping people push stranded cars; those with snowblowers were helping others remove snow from sidewalks and driveways.

Much as we like to complain about winter around here, we are very lucky that our view was not this. If you were so fortunate as to not be in the path of this storm, I encourage you to help your neighbors.

Regular blogging resumes tomorrow with a bonus - actual finished projects!