The Altered Stitch, Los Angeles, California

I just got back from Los Angeles (pictures soon!) and of course found a yarn store!

We were staying in Valley Village and there was an adorable yarn store a short walk away and they were having a sidewalk sale and had yarn marked down all the way to $1!  It was an adorable store, full of wonderful people and beautiful yarn.  I wanted to buy the whole store, but only got away with a few skeins.

I got all this, plus two more skeins that are going to my good friend Sarah in England, but I want them to be a surprise, plus a Vogue Knitting for only $50!  Oh, the little pink ball on the left isn't from the Altered Stitch.  More on that guy later.)

I got three skeins of this lusciousness.  80% wool, 20% nylon superwash merino wool blend, Hachito yarn by Mirasol Yarns.  

I got one skein of Hachito in a different shade.

I got two skeins creamy white white splotches of pink and brown as well.  This is superwash merino,  Delicious Yarns Taffy in Butter Cream from Valley Village, California.  Yay for local yarns!

Then two incredibly decadent 100% silk from India, it's Duke by Silkindian.  It was originally $29.75, and I got it for $5!!  

It was an adorable store, and I highly recommend it.

And then we stopped in a store where everything was $2 and I found some adorable kitty yarn, and I had to buy some.  (One of these is coming your way, Sarah!)

Next post:  Los Angeles photos!

Favorite Things Friday.

Instead of blogging about all the new FOs I have and their accompanying pictures (which, if you're really excited about, you can view on  Ravelry) I've decided to bring back an old feature, Favorite Things Friday!  Today's features the yarn I bought at the Lion Brand Yarn Studio:

Yummy goodness!

At the top we have Homespun in Painted Desert. It's going to be a scarf for my mom. I didn't want to do boring, plain old garter stitch, so I found THIS pattern on Ravelry. I think it'll be interesting, not just to knit, but to wear as well.

Then we have Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Raspberry. It's going to go with some other T&Q I have in Taupe that was supposed to be for a boyfriend but we broke up. Anyway, it's going to be a Bold and Bulky Mini Cardi by Stefanie Japel. I figured "hey, I'm here, mind as well buy it!"

Then I bought two skeins of Amazing in Mesa. It's going to go towards the Shoreline Lace Shawl. I did a swatch in some plain cotton on size 10s and it wasn't bad at all:

Sugar 'n Creme

US 10s

CO 17, two pattern repeats.

I'm excited to cast on and get working! The story behind it: one of the employees had a gorgeous knit shawl/scarf and I asked her about it.  Long story short, I went back downstairs to the shop itself and snatched up two skeins and went home to find a simple lace shawl/scarf to make. I think this will work perfectly!

Upcoming:

1. Secret FOs, once they're received.

2. Baby gator!

3. Afghans and future projects, which is still from the 3 part post session a while back. Oops.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

A video game with characters made from yarn yielding yarn lassos on a 2D background consisting of zippers and quilted animals in a myriad of colors? I think I'm in love.

Happy April!

April first! You know what that means. No, not crazy pranks but it's the first day of the Granny-a-Day CAL on Craftster! Woo! I really hope I can keep up with it. I will keep up with it, even if I'm crocheting in the hospital or on a boat in the Caribbean with Alex O'Loughlin. ♥

YUMMEH.

I think I'll post squares every Sunday (remember Squares on Sunday!) so as not to spam your feeds. Aren't I kind?


The Plan, which has been mentioned before, but we're going to go over it again, because guess who's blog this is? Dat's right.

First, as everyone knows thanks to this post, we are I am going to do Inga's Häkelbeutel. 16 days later, we're not done with March! And I might get bored in between as I am wont to do, so we'll fill up the days left and days in between with other granny goodness.

Second, we're going to use the yarn from EssHaych and make a hexagon pillow cover a la Attic24. Brilliant! I'm excited to make granny hexagons. Hers has four colors, and I'm stuck with three and don't want to go buying more yarn, but The Stash made it through. I found a skein and a half of Lion Brand's Wool-Ease in Natural Heather that will go great. I still have to figure out where that fits in, or if it's what I'm going to use to join, but at least I have a Plan of Action.

Well what happens when we get bored and/or finished with both? (Ha, I am so optimistic.) Then we turn back to the granny square scarf we began a while ago in coral, turquoise and purple of Lion Brand's Microspun:

Right there above Arwen's head. Well, I was looking and thinking about all the fab granny square covers I saw on Flickr and the fact I have way too many scarves (I don't even think I wore half of them this season. Does that stop me from having some planned? Nope.) and decided this might be another pillow cover. Yerp. Not definitely sure yet, but I'll keep on making squares and see what happens when I finish. Hell, they may just sit in the bag for a while until I figure out what to do with them.

And maybe some squares will get finished for my Grandma's afghan.

Now with all that said it's off to start on Inga!

APRIL

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

MAY

• Week 1 
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

Yarn Pr0n

OK SO FINALLY. My internet has been extremely slow, and it's finally fast enough/normal to post pictures of the goodies I received from the amazing EssHaych! Thank you sossososososos much!

First, this is what came to my door:

A PACKAGE MADE OF AWESOME! So huge!

Susie had fun with the bag it all came in:

And now we get to the juice of the package, the yarny goodies!

I immediately put these three together. The lime on the top is Yarnfair DK, the teal on the left is Woolcraft New Fashion DK, and the purple is Robin DK. I know I have to make something with these three together. At first I was thinking little granny square afghan, but then after looking around the Flickr group Grannysquares I've decided to make a granny pillow cover. Woo! Maybe it can go along with the Granny Square-A-Day CAL when I finish Inga's bag.

These are seriously the best things in the package. SUPER MASSIVE Robin Aran with Wool and an Eggbert(a) key chain! Unfortunately she lost an arm [in the war] but I think she looks cuter without. She's currently hanging (literally) on my sewing table lamp. The gorgeous mauve yarn is going towards a Tums, which I've wanted to make for forever:

image courtesy Mochimochi Land.

Nothing like a mauve hippo!

Or a teensy tiny Eggbert! Awh. Poor lil one armed thing.

Woo, extras! Two packs of googly eyes, which was really funny, because I sent a pack of googly eyes too, the exact same ones! Great minds, right? Some granny daughters *pauses to update total* which gives me...472. Yay! And two critters from IKEA, a moose and a wolf. (I think.) I just happen to have a pink hippo, so they complete my IKEA-grown technicolor menagerie.

Woa, these are out of order. Mini Eggbert(a) for scale!

We now interrupt this post to show you what happens when Susie meets a Balloon.

Yep, half her body moves and the other stays still. .
Note: Balloon not included with yarny goodness.

Yummy. On the left Yarnfair Dotty Baby DK and Teddy Papoose Baby DK. Pink joy!

Yarncraft Fancy Yarn.

Saved the yummiest for last! Sirdar Click Chunky Wool, and 2 skeins of Wilkinson's Lustre Fancy Yarn. I see a wave on a hat or something, like HERE and a shiny shimmery scarf, respectively.

Let's have a closer look at that Sirdar, shall we?

COLORS! Yum!

Thank you so much, Sarah! If you ever want to swap again let me know, I'm so down for it!

Yarn Organization 101

Seeing how winter break is almost over and I hadn't organized any of my yarn, I figured today is good. Oddly it didn't take as long as I thought it would, only a few hours. My Ravelry stash is currently being updated with pictures and information (gotta love that Jeanette is a store, and the odd titled yarns like "Zebra" or "Boa" because they don't have a ballband) and will be all pretty and complete relatively soon. The pictures from Charlie are really large and take a while to upload and I'm really impatient. I won't bog you down with all the pictures of piles of yarn I took (yarn pr0nz!) but I'll show some that I have plans for, and a few WIPs.

My daddy's hat came out too small, so he'll get a new one. It'll be the same primary color, Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue, (the mini ball all the way at the bottom) along with the green, grayish-brown and red for contrasting stripes. I'm using the London Beanie pattern. For February, the Month of 7 Hats! (Oh noes, possibly more?)

I picked up a Pound of Love at Hancock Fabrics one day because for my 2009 BAM CAL Scrapghan I imagined joining it with lavender. Then that sorta fell through, and I'm stuck with a whole pound of yarn. Oh what to do? Join the 2010 BAM CALs, of course! And it just so happens my grandmother who taught me how to knit and crochet is turning 80 in December, so this will be perfect! I'm pairing it with some leftover Caron Simply Soft from my 2008 BAM CAL afghan and some multicolored baby yarn. I won't be following the Ravelry and Craftster ones exactly though, I'm going to follow THIS pattern concerning the number of blocks and placement. (I made this for my daddy.) So 24 6 inch blocks and 6 12 inch blocks. I can also use the 6 inch ones from the Ravelry BAM CAL and from 200 Blocks to Crochet by Jan Eaton. Exciting!

RHSS in Blue + Green + Yellow + Peruvian Print = an Inga's Habeltjrghcsnkjbful. It's going to be crazy in primary colors, but I'm looking forward to it. I think I have some animal print fabric in similar colors for lining. Ooo.

Bag o' yarn from the thrift store! Red, peach, white, green, pink and yellow mystery acrylic. I think I'll take Jan Eaton's 200 Knit Blocks and make a little lapghan. I like this color combination.

Oh Vanna's Choice Baby, how much I love you! These are for my cousin's baby, but the projects are going to be a secret since this is linked to my Facebook and I don't want her to read it. :X

And last, all the random small balls of acrylic. I'm planning on just making a big granny square blanket that'll be all plastic-y and cozy as an easy way to destash.

I've realized I really have a lot of yarn. Like, a lot a lot. I think the picture I took of everything is still on Charlie, but I'll get it soon. So now I have more of an idea of what I have so I shouldn't go out buying anything for like 2 years. I'm set.

~



What a cutie pie!

The [Delayed] Christmas Post.

Pictures from Christmas! Finally. I know, right. It's just that I've been uber giddy and spending all my time playing with one of my gifts (more details below) and reading Under the Dome by Stephen King. Page 277 out of 1,074, go me!

Anyway, I've realized all these pictures are of the Girls. Not sure why, that's just what I took pictures of. And we spent half the day sleeping. :b Promise I won't spam ya'al.

Arwen in her Christmas ruff!

Susie, too.

Damn, they hate those things. They go jingling around the house all loud. But they're so flippin' cute!

Later we hung out in front of the fire, talking and my dad absorbed in his Baseball in America book. (Something that wasn't on his list, and he loved it? SHOCKING, I KNOW! My dad's like THE hardest person to gift for.)

Heehee, last one of the Girls, I promise.

*drum roll*

INTRODUCING: CHARLIE

AKA THE-BEST-GIFT-EVER-IN-THE-PAST-22-YEARS-OF-RECEIVING-GIFTS

*squees!*

Yes, that's right! My very own Canon Rebel EOS XSi! I unfortunately didn't get a memory stick (*headdesk* my fault) so the next day when I bought it, I made up for it by exploring the woods behind my house and of course, shooting the Girls. Details later.

I'm so thrilled! I love it, I LOVE IT! I think I've taken at least 300 so far, and it's been going with me everywhere. Charlie, I love you! It's so amazing, ah, I could gush for ages, but I'd bore you. I'll just show you the pictorial proof. [Later]

As far as crafty gifts, I received two fat quarter square bundles, some supplies, and two balls of PolarKnit polartec yarn in purple to make THIS beret, currently waiting to be made into little polartec cakes. Perfect for in-flight knitting to Los Angeles. (Where it's like 70 degrees, ah!)

I didn't want to go the usual route with dinner, so I made the best recipe I've ever found. (I've dubbed it my "In Laws Recipe." When I meet the in laws of Future Hubs, this'll be the first think I cook for them. Melt their hearts right away.) It's spinach and feta stuffed pork chops. Yummy yum.

And that was our [quiet] Christmas. Oh, we also had egg nog french toast (BEST IDEA EVER) and red velvet cupcakes with green frosting. Oh wait, I have a picture!

Thanks Charlie.

See what clear, crisp beautiful pictures he produces!

We would still have them, except I forgot I used sour cream in them, and left them out, and by Day 3 they were Dry and Rocky. Oops.

More Christmas/holiday pictures to come soon, and the Necessary Year in Review along with Resolutions.

P.S. [Some] beer bottles are gorgeous:

ETA: Remember the hat I made for my dad? Waaaay too small. :( Not sure if we'll frog it, give it someone, or keep it for myself.

Dr Yarnlove or: How I Learned to Stop Using the Backs of Chairs and Floor and Love the Yarn Swift

I can't even begin to say how thrilled I am with my swap package from elociNNicole. She spoiled me so much! I love everything! Thank you so much, my dear! Since I can't even BEGIN to tell you how pleased I am with everything, I'll tell the story in pictures, and spare you all the millions and millions of thank yous! I'd fill this page with.

She said triangle box, and I thought it was going to be short and squat. Oh no. Oh no. This is probably the best box ever. You know the goodies will be great when you're excited about the packaging. And so are the kitties! (And damn girl, you packed stuff in there so great that I bet there's still goodies in there.)


First I opened the best thing I've ever received in a swap package, seriously. HIPPO MITTENS! Can there be anything better? They are so cute, and fit perfectly. My mom wants to try to steal them. I'm going to be so stylish this winter. And now, I'm thinking about how to make a matching scarf and hat so I can be a hippo-ed out.
MALABRIGO! Holy crap! I don't think I've ever touched anything more luxurious, (besides petting elociNNicole's additions to the traveling scarves) and sqooshy. The yarn on the left is, worsted in Dusty Olive, and on the right is lace weight in Purple Mystery. HERE'S a better picture of the color. My camera doesn't pick up purples too well.
And then a hippo pin! IN PINK! Eee! I can decide whether to put it on one of my coats, or a purse, but I don't want to lose it. I have a bad habit of that. And cute little hair doodads, too, in pink!

See how nice the kitty toy looks? Well, now, after two days, it looks like they've eaten it and thrown it up like 5 times. They love this. My smallest kitty just discovered cat nip, and they were fighting over it and getting high. Haha.

See?! They loved it.

Oh wait, there's something else in the box? (This was seriously a Mary Poppins box.) More Malabrigo? IN PINK! And a squishy ball of cashmere in Dusty Mauve.

Somehow she read my mind, because I have the same brand of cashmere in teal! The colors look fab together, and now I have enough to make something. Something that feels so nice.

The next day:
Ok, I lied. I said I was going to wait to open and play with my swift until I got back from vacation, but there's some yarn I needed caked that would be going with me. Yay, cake making time!
Here's Arwen, getting high for the second day.

My mom and one of the daycare kids fiddling to get the swift together. Of course, dumb me, I thought the CD that came with the dowels and nuts was an instruction guide. I was wondering why she didn't put it in a case, because it was getting scratched, but when I put it in the computer, iTunes came up with this weird CD full of classical music that had been "New Age-d." I was like huh?
So, I had to get the rest of the supplies for the swift out and there was an envelope with yarn swift directions! *headdesk* We got it all figured out, and put it together. It took a few times to get the nut screwed on to keep it balanced, but once we got it, we got it.

First, I wanted to try out a skein from my unraveled sweater. Since I had wound it around the back of my chair, I had to pull it to get it around the swift, and it was spinning it into a really tight ball. It was wound too tight, and it was even pulling one of the dowels. So, I decided to take that off and finish caking it, then move onto a different hank that would probably work better. As we unraveled and wound, it got tangled, and we spent about an hour and a half getting it untangled. We FINALLY got it all untangled, and balled it, but Susie loved it.
Next up: spinning some of my (now discontinued) Elsbeth Lavold Angora, that I was planning on using for my Leaf Beret. (I'm not so sure about that now, because the angora is worsted weight, and the pattern calls for DK and I need size 3 DPNs. I need to gauge.) For some reason, after I untwisted the hank, it was woven together almost (that's the best way I can describe it), and didn't come apart into a perfect circle. But I put it on the swift anyway. Look how pretty!
It was working perfectly, but then somehow the skein tangled itself on the bottom of the swift. I had to take apart the swift, and because the hank wasn't a perfect circle (or figure 8 or whatever it's supposed to be), it came out like this:
I think that all yarn I try to wind comes out like that. This wasn't as bad to untangle, and it was sqooshy and felt really good.
Next time, when I get back from vacation, I'm going to untwist the hank more carefully, so hopefully it'll work on the skein without tangling up on itself.

Once I get the hang of untwisting hanks, I should be rolling. Thank you so much elociNNicole! I love everything so much!

And just some more pictures:

I HAVE CUCUMBERS! Well, they're actually bush pickles. I figured out why it wasn't growing as much - cucumbers are mostly water and it wasn't getting watered enough. This little guy is almost ready for the plucking; I think they're supposed to be about 3 or 5 inches. I hope I can eat him before we leave.
And my tomatoes are plumping up. I should have bought two plants, though, because just one plant doesn't give enough to put in a salad or make anything with. It is nice to just walk by and eat the warm tomatoes. Two years ago, I had four plants, which was just way too much; we were overwhelmed by tomatoes. Maybe I'll take this one inside for the winter, and get another one next summer.
Hancock Fabrics was having a sale - SideWinder portable bobbin winders for only $20. Since it's such a PITA to keep unthreading the machine, winding the bobbin, and rethreading the machine, I decided to go for it. It's awesome. It comes in it's own little case, and it automatically stops when the bobbin's full. Look at how much thread I can get around my bobbins!:
I had no idea I could get so much on there. I've done a few 9 patch blocks, and it's nice and convenient that I don't have to stop to rewind the bobbin. There were a little problems at first, and now looking at the picture I can see where it threaded wrong, but I think that's because I was trying to stop it. (I didn't trust it was going to stop by itself.) But, now it's wound perfectly. This is probably the most convenient $20 I've ever spent. And the little box it comes in is so cute!