Big Sky Yarns & Crafts

Way Too Exciting

So, I was going to show you this today:

 

New dryer! Very exciting, especially if you knew the dire condition of my old one. I know you are rejoicing with me. It is from the "quiet series", has wrinkle release, even a light when you open the door a steam function. Digital numbers decorate the control board like Christmas lights and even the chime at the end of the cycle doesn't sound like a stressed out fog horn, which is a good thing, I think.  Dan and I made a joke on the way home that wouldn't it be funny if you brought home a second washer and not a dryer. Not funny really, no.

Action shot (with newly cleaned clothes underneath, dry in olympic record time): 
  

Then I was going to show you these lovely flowers on our neighbor's tree, which are so fragrant and lovely, as if being outside wasn't a gift enough:

This is the beginning of Dan and my hike today.  We walk a bit and then start up the rimrocks to show you this:

And here are two shots of MSU-Billings:

The obligatory self-portrait (am I looking snappy or what?):

 

(Pausing for station identification: Yes, I am wearing my "Knitting Becomes a Habit" shirt -- thank you, Julia!!) 

Very lovely views, though enough to make me woozy so I stay focused on all those rocks you see under us. Apparently not enough, however, because now I have this:

 

And the action shot which is downright dull:

 

which is where I am right now. 

Dan and I were discussing some important thing (which neither one of us can remember) when I put my foot down and said "Hmm, that's a funny spot" and before I could even process any further I felt like my leg was splitting in two, though I have not had that actually happen to me so I am not an expert, but I am going with it. Everything happened so fast and I was in so much pain I thought sure I would pass out when everything satisfyingly popped back in and the pain was at least tolerable, though still not of the pleasant variety. My toes even tingled which I figured was another not-so-good sign.

Down I hit the dirt exclaiming with much force, "Dan! My knee!" (at least I knew where the pain was coming from). Thankfully, I was at a spot where I could fall and not truly fall and Dan almost had a heart attack himself. After thanking God for a moment I was able to hobble to the top of the rims and most of the way home before admitting I could not take another step and sat on some grass while Dan left to get the van.  A kind neighbor saw us and graciously took us home.

I have rarely been so happy to be home. Off we went to the doctor and I have sprained the MCL (I believe -- the inside of my knee) and have to wear this brace for a month and then slowly wean myself off of it.  How grateful I am I didn't do more damage, truly.

So, I will be wearing these capris (thankfully I have a dark green khaki of the same pair) non-stop. This is how you will know it will be me. When You see these capris with a pink or red or green polo-type top just wave and I know you are a knitting buddy. Guess what I will be doing?  Folding laundry and knitting. 

Knit on.
  

Closet Cecily Groupie

Cecily Glowik MacDonald is one of those designers I knew I liked, but it turns out I do indeed love her. More and more designs of hers I can not get away from and revisit more times than should be admitted on national television.  Much of her work is with Classic Elite Yarns.

We all know my favorite vest (this is the original, not the re-knit) that I have already knit 4.5 times.

Then there's the Simple Lace Top, Long, Lush Henley, Springtime Beret and Panbe Dress, just to name a few. All these designs I thought lovely before I knew the designer. When I saw Cecily's name I just nodded and added those patterns to the I-hope-to-knit-in-my-lifetime pile.  Another design worthy of note is her first self-published design, The Tall Flower Cardi which I believe is charming without to much fru-fru. 

Isabelle & Belle (long sleeved and short sleeved versions of the same sweater) continues to revisit the knitting box in my brain and I added that to my Ravelry favorites.  

Winged Knits is her blog and I so happily bookmarked it two minutes ago. I didn't even know she had one.  Don't you love her logo with the wings? If you are a true groupie like me, here is a free download from her for a hat appropriately called Winged. The heart is added later in duplicate stitch.

Astounded I am at the amount of knitting that flows from this woman's hands. Just perusing her blog and it is a feat to behold. She must not have to rip as much as me is all I have to say, which is such an admirable trait.

Knit on.

Joanne Kennedy

 May I introduce you to a hopefully-soon-household-name:  Joanne Kennedy.

I worked with Joanne 14 years ago when we were both at Barnes & Noble here in Billings full time. Life took us our separate ways and I finally touched base with her again after at least 10 years. 

One night at work I looked at the book displayed at the counter and saw Joanne's name on it and was so excited for her I could hardly stand it. Linda Lael Miller even did a cover blurb for her! 

She shared a bit of her story yesterday. After 60 rejection letters (that is mentioned to encourage all of us to keep trying) she finally found an agent and now she has a four book contract. Number one is Cowboy Trouble, which she signed yesterday:

  

Number two is One Fine Cowboy, which is slated for publication September 7th. And she just finished the rough draft of #3.

Cowboy Trouble is a contemporary romance set in Wyoming (she lives now in Cheyenne) with a bit of mystery to keep the mind truly happy. If you need a wonderful recreational read this summer, it fits the bill perfectly.  I am halfway through it and am surprised how much I have loved it since I don't read many romances.  

Her website is joannekennedybooks.com.

Congratulations, Joanne! I could not be happier for you. Best wishes for a long, fruitful literary career.

Vickie Howell

I thought Vickie Howell was the cutest thing ever in Knitty Gritty. I use past tense as I could not figure out if Knitty Gritty is even still on the air when writing this post but I don't think it is a good sign that I can't find one hint of it.  There is, however, a whole bunch of knitting videos archived on the DIY Network, which is where the above link (Knitty Gritty) will take you. 

I first started knitting 6 years ago and I thought anything on Knitty Gritty was The. Living. End.  All the tips and tricks I thought unbelievable. One of my favorites:  when changing colors if knitting ribbing knit one complete round with the new color before returning to the knit and purl pattern for the ribbing. Hence, a clean color change with no purl bumps. When you return to the official ribbing stitch, you will never know that one row even is different because the fabric bounces right back where you want it.

I didn't have cable so my mom would DVR all of the episodes for me and then when I visited Arizona two or three times a year we would have Knitty Gritty marathons. Some fun!

Why am I talking about Vickie Howell? Well, I was hunting around Ravelry for no particular reason (one of my new favorite things to do when I need to unwind the brain a bit) when I remembered I had some of her Craft yarn. I love seeing what others on Ravelry have made with a particular yarn I have wallowing in my stash and so I started perusing the finished Craft projects and I found this one's of Vickie's:

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/VickieHowell/coming-home

I thought, "Coming home? Baby? Her's?" In that order. So I went to her blog and sure enough, here is a free pattern, Flopsy Hat, a darling little hat with her daughter as the charming model.

She also has a new book coming, Craft Corps, coming out in May.  New baby and book. Kudos to her to be able to do that and still have that baby in hand knits.  Knit on.

Red Lodge

My kiddos were off from school today so we headed to Red Lodge:

It was beautiful as always. The kids had to climb a semi-hill -- of course!

Paul pondered life somewhere along the way:

Kate played tour guide: "C'mon!".

  

We found the cutest little waterfall tucked away:

Wade just loved everything in general as always:

 

Especially with Dad:

Dad found an impressive track which must be documented:

I just listened to the water. Pretty much.

On the yarn front, this gorgeous yarn came in the mail today:

I was so excited I wound it right away.  From The Sanguine Gryphon, it is a (large!) sample of their Bugga! sock yarn, 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon. Yummy worthy of a capital Y, I tell you. They have a call for submissions for fall due mid June and out of the goodness of their hearts sent me this sample. Thanks, Gryphon!! I hope I am brilliant enough they choose one of my designs. Ahem.

Knit on.   
   

Bag-tacular

Yes, I have succombed to yet another knitting bag. There are never too many, no?

During the Great Camera Crash of 2010, I bought this one from Twist Collective, which is why you haven't seen it sooner. Only $22 including priority mail shipping? I could not resist. At the time they had a special that included a Twist measuring tape, Twist sticky notes and a Twist pin. Now how could I say no? 14" x 15" x 6" are the unofficial measurements I just whipped out using the handy dandy Twist measuring tape.

It has fabulous pockets all the way around. I have my notion bag in one, my mp3 player and headphones in one, a zillion patterns folded in half in one, random yarn wrappers in another, and the list just keeps going.  There's a 100 calorie granola bar somewhere too I am sure.

The baby version was purchased Thursday:

Is that not the cutest thing you have ever seen? An occupational hazard (as Suzanne would say) of straightening tables at Barnes & Noble is you find these treasures that absolutely must come home pronto.  No discussion.

I was interested in the history of the saying, so I went to the great Wikipedia and Keep Calm and Carry On  (link is for entire article) was a propaganda poster at the beginning of WW2 put out by the British government but never used. It was then rediscovered in 2000. 

Unoffical measurements:  9" x 8" x 4". Plus red. Perfect.

The lovely little yarn cake is Cascade Yarn's Heritage sock yarn. This yarn is twenty shades of yummy. A whopping 437 yards for $12 at Wild Purls with a gorgeous sheen and soft hand that still has plenty of strength (75% superwash merino and 25% nylon). I am knitting a new sample of my Horseshoe Hand Warmers that I like much better in a solid at a much tighter gauge.  Finished pix coming soon (I hope).

The re-do of my favorite vest is actually coming along:

I've been working on this when I have been on my exercise bike. Size 7 needles are perfect. Size 1's with the Heritage -- not so much. My eyes and hands just can't work together without a mighty-sized headache. Unfortunately, now that I am done with the shaping and am knitting the two sides of the neck opening separately, I won't be able to work on it on the bike. I will start the back tomorrow am.  

One more fabulous find I must share.  Sarah Addison Allen has a wonderful new book, The Girl Who Chased the Moon. Splendidly southern and a delicious easy read, this novel has just a bit of the extraordinary. It is even available as an e-book for only $9.99.

I recommend her other two books as well as all of the heroines are flawed and strong and grow in the process. Love it. Here is an interview I enjoyed as well.

Hope all is well in your knitting-land. Knit on. Or, more appropriately, keep calm and carry on.  
 

Look, Ma, Pictures!

The camera is back. Here is the finished Tiny Top Down:

I knit with the fabulous Cotton Tweed DK in Rhubarb from Cabin Fever Yarns. It took just over 2 balls and is size 2.  Please excuse the stitch markers. I was afraid I may not have enough for this:

 

Ironically, it took almost the same amount of yarn, 2.3 balls or 585 yards at a slightly looser gauge. And I still have a ball left. I absolutely love this sweater and it is one of those that I wish I had in 5 colors by just adding water. The turned hem at the bottom adds just enough weight to help the waist shaping look perfect. Do not fear about the neckline -- it looks a little wonky but lays flat when wearing. An i-cord bind off was used for both the neck and sleeve edges.  It is the Leaf Yoke Top (link to the Ravelry project page) by Angela Hahn. It is a wonderful pattern -- just enough to keep your interest yet still knitting and making progress at a steady clip.

Angela Hahn also designed a sweater I hope to knit sooner than later:  Primrose Path, which is from the Spring 2009 issue of Twist Collective. How I love green in general, bell sleeves and diagonal anything. And this sweater has it all!

Look at the Yarn Bonuses my mom got me while we went on our usual yarn crawl during my visit:

I am usually not into orange, but fell in love with this Koigu KPPPM instantly. It is such a warm color combo, I could not resist.

I also could not resist this, also Koigu KPPPM:

Last, but not least, the Schoppel Wolle Zauberball:

 

Can you stand those colors all together? I can not. All that color. All together. It could be really good ... or really bad. Stay tuned.

I thought this would be fabulous: Summit from the latest issue of Knitty. I will be knitting it half as wide since I only have one ball.  

Knit on.