Serendipity

Quite by accident I ended up 3 yarn shops last weekend! My husband and I went to Bainbridge, then Poulsbo along with our pup Kona. I really liked Bainbridge, there are lots of cute boutiques and eateries. Reminds me a bit of Mill Valley, CA. There is a nice path leading to the harbor and you can meet lots of other pups in town. It's a must do day trip. Perfect for a fall day.

While there we went to Churchmouse Yarns & Teas (http://www.churchmouseyarns.com/). Churchmouse is beautifully decorated and very organized. They have a large selection and lots of projects knitted up. I was expecting a tea cafe inside, but they only have a selection of tea leaves for sale and a few tea pots. I noticed that their prices were on the high side compared to some other shops I've been to and they didn't have large sale section. But all in all, it is a lovely shop and great place to go for ideas.

After walking around Bainbridge and picking up some free pumpkins from a realtor's Open House, we moved on to Poulsbo, another delightful place for window shoppers. I didn't expect to come across two yarn shops there! We were walking along the main drag looking for some snacks and then I saw Amanda's Art-Yarns & Fibers. It was above street level. I didn't stay as long because it was a bit disorganized and cramped. The store had a good selection though. We continued onward and not more than 100 paces away and across the street, was Wild and Wooly (http://www.thewildandwoollyyarn.com/). This shop saw the most of my time. Wild and Wooly is spacious and has a couple of cute nooks. The shop has a unique arrangement. The yarns are organized by color. It makes it easy to pick out yarn if you are drawn to certain shades. They also had a pretty big sale section. I bought some superwash merino wool that was on sale. I didn't really need it...

During our drive and ferry trip I worked on a baby sweater. I'm making the kimino again, except this time I'm using a wool/cotton blend in fuschia.

Finished Baby Sweater w/ Hat

My husband and I went to a baby shower today and I gave the gal a baby kimono sweater with a roll brim hat. A lapse--as we hurried off to the shower after going to church and teaching Sunday School--caused me to forget to photograph my beautiful creation. It turned out quite nice and I wish I had a picture to show y'all. I am planning on making another sweater in fuschia. For the sweater, I used Cascade 220 in a medium shade of blue. The hardest part was of course finishing and attaching the six i-cords. It was the first time I steamed something to "block" it. Made the sweater look much nicer.

My other ongoing projects include: the baby blanket, just remembered a shawl I started 2 years ago, Regia sock yarn that I need to get going again, and this ribbon yarn I've been meaning to use to make a sleeveless summer top...

I start a PT job soon so I'll have less time, but I'll give an update soon...

I just love my new sweater--but can I play with the ball of yarn???? 

Progress

Well, I kept my promise. With my husband gone to a conference over the weekend, I was able to complete my many projects. The scarf and new sweater for Kona are done. I am almost done with the baby sweater. I probably picked up the stitches for the collar and ripped it apart at least three times already. The pattern says to pick up 52, but each time I pick them up It get at least 60. Ugh!!! I hope to finish it by today or tomorrow.

Sadly while bored over the weekend, I read knittersreview.com for yarn recommendations and did some virtual shopping on elann.com. I didn't make any purchases, but I don't think I can stave it off for long.

So many projects so little time...

Last night I met with my little knitting group. We meet at a local bookstore that also has a nice cafe/sitting area. Luckily we always get the couches by the fireplace. I finished the first sleeve on the kimono baby sweater and started the second sleeve over the course of our meeting. At the same time I have a scarf, a baby blanket, and a new doggie sweater to complete. I know this is a problem that many knitters face. We just love to start projects and touch new yarn. When bored with a project, we start a new one. Well, I'm gonna try to curb the desire to start new projects until I finish the ones I've left undone. My aim is to finish up the scarf and kimino over the weekend at the very least. If I really mean it, I can get the doggie sweater done for Kona. Now that it's in print, hopefully I'll accomplish that goal. I'll load pics later of the projects.

I feel so pretty! 

My First Sweater~it's was a little too big 

Kona's Sweater Take Two

When we first got Kona, I knitted her a sweater in a pretty fuschia blend of wool and acrylic. It was chunky yarn (Plymouth Encore Chunky) so took no time at all to make. I have to learn how to post pictures so you can see it. She looks like a supermodel unless she's busy trying to bite the collar.

I used a pattern I found online and modified it for my pup. It turned out to be rather large for her small two month frame at first, but she's grown into it. While she's filled it out, her body has gotten longer so I went on a search for yarn at Acorn Street (the only yarn shop I've been to since moving here, very friendly and helpful ladies) to make her a new sweater. A girl's gotta have more than one sweater in her wardrobe. I had to get a skein of yarn wound up for the baby sweater I'm in the middle of anyway, so it was the perfect time to visit Acorn Street. That's another project for another entry...

It took less than a skein to make her first sweater. In fact, I made a baby hat with the left-overs from her first sweater. Since it has gotten rather cold during our morning strolls, I opted to get 100% Icelandic Wool by Reynolds in a light green. I wish yarns would come with their color names next to the numbers. It's so much nicer to have a name attached. I've made one up for this color: lime sherbet. Anyway, I LOVE getting new yarn, but I promised myself that I wouldn't start a new project until I finished the aforementioned project...so hopefully I'll get that one done today.

Pet Ownership

After getting a puppy, a whole new world opened up. We now know more neighbors and get stopped constantly while out. Having a dog has really helped us meet a lot people in our new neighborhood and is a great conversation starter. Somehow a person walking a mini-mutt isn't threatening and automatically appears friendly. I really am friendly, but no one stopped me before to chit-chat.

Single guys would be smart to walk a pup around town because the vast majority of people who stop me are women. Then again, my husband says he feels unmasculine (except her uses a different word) while walking her because she's such a little girl. We answer the same questions over and over. I don't mind at all because I'm proud of my cutie pie Kona. My husband, on the other hand, wants to carry around a recorder to play answers to frequently asked questions. He's even joked about giving people made-up answers to the typical questions.

• Is it a puppy?
• What kind is it?
• Is she a terrier?
• How big will it get?
• Where did you get it?
• What's her name?

Meanwhile, Kona just soaks up all the attention, licks and jumps. Maybe a little pee comes out in her excitement too.

Excuses Excuses

I've been meaning to set-up a blog now that I'm unemployed and have loads of time on my hands. Strangely, the days pass quickly and I have little accomplished by the end of the day. What have I been up to since moving from San Francisco to Seattle in June? It's October already and I'm finally gaining momentum on the projects I want to start like this blog.

What Kept Me So Long???

Not working full-time has been a difficult transition. It was fun for the first couple of weeks while my husband and I worked on our little house. Painting, weeding, cleaning, stripping wallpaper and dealing with shady movers consumed us. Places like Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and Costco became quite familiar to us. But once we unpacked, hosted out-of-town friends and settled in to a new routine, I wound up in the hospital due to two ruptured cysts on my left ovary!!! It was a lonely time, but my husband tried his best to make me comfortable and to make himself useful. So I had to rest for a month while waiting for the cysts to decrease.

When I came home from the hospital, I needed something to cheer me up so I continued my obsession with adopting a puppy. I spent countless hours on craigslist.org (it's not as big in Seattle, but still very useful) and petfinder.com. I combed the Internet for pups in need of a home and fell in love with every pup I came across. Prior to the hospital stay, I applied no fewer than three shelters, but I was rejected because we don't have a fenced backyard. Finally, I just decided to buy a mutt from a craigslist poster. She's been such a doll and was just what I needed to keep me company and make me feel better. We named her Kona and I've spent a lot of time taking care of her and training her. At four months she can sit, come, lie down, go to bed, beg and get off.

That pretty much covers July and most of August (my mother visited for almost two weeks in August and that kept me busy too). Kona and I took a trip to Los Angeles for my brother's wedding over Labor Day and all of a sudden we were one week into September. I had some contract work to do when we returned and two weeks passed before I took a trip to Boston with girlfriends. It was a fun trip, but I was ready to return to my husband and my puppy especially after I found out that my husband's 100 year old grandmother was ailing.

All of this, television and laziness kept me from starting this blog, organizing our photo collection, and finishing up three knitting projects.