CRAFTING IN THE NEW YEAR

I have started my 2008 stash busting. I refuse to buy anymore yarn until I get some of what I have down to something that is a little more manageable. Well...until the Maryland Sheep and Wool.

I would not call this a New Year resolution because I never keep them so I felt that maybe this year I would just say that intend to use up a lot of my yarn.

The first hat called the Nehalem Hat by Oat Couture, www.oatcouture.com, can be made with either DK Weight or Heavy Worsted Weight. You also have a choice of brims, cable or ribbed. It was fun and quick to make. The only adjustment I made was that I did not have any beads so I used three crochet corkscrews. I wear my hair in braids for most of the year and is hard to find a hat to get all that extra hair under. This hat is perfect for that.


The yarn is very soft Berroco Foliage. It is a thick and thin yarn so I used the DK weight instructions but the the size 9 needle of the Heavy Worsted pattern.
Worked out beautifully.


Crocheting the corkscrews for the Nehalem Hat made me want to crochet a project. I learned to crochet years ago and made my daughter's coming home outfit from the hospital. The only crocheting that I have done in recent years was teach a co-worker how to crochet because she wanted the Martha Stewart coming home poncho. This hat is a free Lion Brand pattern.



It is just called Suede Cap. I have some suede yarn left over from a purse exchange that I was in. The yarn is by Reynolds and is called Cabana. This was quick, quick.

I am off to a good start I feel.

Happy New Year-2008 Has Great Promise

TWAS THE MONTH AFTER CHRISTMAS

Twas the month after Christmas, When all through the house,
Nothing would fit me, Not even a blouse!
The cookies I'd nibbled, The eggnog I did taste....
At the holiday parties, had gone to my waist!

I remember the marvelous meals all prepared:
The gravies and sauces, the beef "nicely rare".
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese,
And the way I NEVER said, "No, thank you, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt,
And I prepared once again to do battle with dirt,
I said to myself (as only I can),
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a MAN"!

So---away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip!
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished,
'Til all of the additional "ounces" have vanished!

I won't have a cookie, not even a lick!
I'll want only to chew, on a celery stick!
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot, and quietly cry.

"I'm hungry...I'm lonesome..and life is a bore
But isn't that what January is for"

Unable to giggle, No longer a riot!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DIET!


(author unknown)

A Great Christmas

I had a most fantastic Christmas. The first 5 pictures are from a calendar that a family friend gave me. Don't you think that this is terrific!















My son got me the Keurig Single Cup home brewing system with the cup maker so I could use my own coffee. It works great for coffee or just hot water. I am loving this .









My daughter got me the The New Pathways for Sock Knitters book. I had been looking at it and wanting it but just had not gotten around to buying it. Feels good to have it now.











I am still in awe and smiling because I HAVE MY WOOLEE WINDER. I know it will not make my spinning better but no more stopping and starting to move the yarn, now it will at least look pretty on the bobbin. Get ready for some fantastic spinning...well...maybe not fantastic.













My friend Vicki sent my favorite coffee, Creme Brulee, this beautiful sparkly yarn and goodies. There were more goodies but this is all that made it home. I made this scarf for Vicki from a pattern at Garn Studios-Drop Design. It can be knit in a day with bulky yarn. I also made my daughter a black one and a grey/blue one for me. I lose my scarves when I am working so this one will work just great.








Okay, I am through bragging. Hope everyone had as great a Christmas as I did.

For the next year I plan on concentrating on my spinning and weaving but will keep a knitting project with me for when I can not get to my loom or spinning wheel.

I have great plans for the New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

1st Sweater and Studio Tour

I thought I would give you a close up view of my sweater. On the sleeve is the cable stitches that I mentioned in my last post.







My daughter and I went on a studio tour in our area on Friday. We had a chance to meet and talk with the owners of 2 studios that offered handspun and hand dyed yarns and jewelry; owners of a Handmade fiber art Gallery that featured several local artist; hand painted furniture studio and a winery. There were several others that we wanted to go to like a hand blown glass studio and a pottery but time and weather was not in our favor.


Our first stop was Kiparoo Farm, www.kiparoofarmstudio.com
















I always stop at the owner, Annie Kelley, booth when I go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool in May. She has beautiful kits, yarn and her own patterns. I ended up with yarn and patterns to make some mittens and a scarf. The mittens will be knit and the scarf crochet. I really like this rich red. The yarn is wool and mohair.




Next, we went to Dancing Leaf Farm, www.dancingleaffarm.com
My daughter, TeAntae, had discovered her years ago when she needed to take a spinning lesson. Both Dancing Leaf and Kiparoo are farms. They offer completely different yarn and both are worth going to. I brought this gorgeous bright yarn from Dalis to make socks. The yarn is 100% superwash merino.























Our next stop was Lahara Gallery and Textiles. www.laharatextiles.com
I brought and insulated quilted lunch sack. I also signed up to take a rug hooking class this spring.






























Our last stop was Stone Wall Farm, Kathleen Balogh, offered hand painted glass ware as well as hand painted furniture. The sign said to go to the barn and it really was a barn. I loved it and wished I had one.

Proud Mom and 1st Sweater

So much has been going on these last few weeks. I finally finished my first sweater and wore it to my son's graduation. I am in the process of unraveling the cuff of the sweater to make it longer. Otherwise, I am quite pleased with my first attempt. The pattern is from Green Mountain Spinnery and is worked in the round with cables on the sleeve. The yarn is from The Yarn Cafe, http://www.yarn-cafe.com/store.cfm in Minnesota by Mooncake and is called Tranquility. This yarn is so soft that makes the knitting a joy. I will certainly make something else with it.










On December 8, 2007 my son got his Bachelor of Science degree with honors. It amazes me that I sent him to school and he would rather party. He goes on his own and look what happens!!!

The first picture is my son, Roger, and my daughter, TeAntae. The next one is Roger, of course. It is hard to see in the picture but he has crimson and white tassels; gold and a white stoles. The white tassel and stole shows that he is in the Information Technology honor society, the gold stole signifies that he had a 3.8-4.0 grade point average.....
and then I had to show you part of the commencement program. The important part.....

The Cruise was Fantastic

We took the 7 day Eastern Caribbean Disney cruise. My daughter, TeAntae, and her husband Bryan renewed their vows. I do not have all the pictures as yet.

How do you like us as pirates?

The seas were very rough because of Noel, however, I had a ball.

Was able to work on my socks but not as much as I would have liked.

Currently, I am working in OH. Hopefully, just until Christmas.

I have been working on my first sweater, hope to get it finished in a couple of weeks. I just have the sleeves and collar to go. Then I will post it so you can see.

Take care,

Happy Halloween

I know that I have not been posting lately but hopefully, my life will be back in order next month.

This Halloween greeting is early because I will be taking a cruise with my daughter and son-in-law at the end of the month. They are renewing their vows on the Disney Cruise ship.

Are you on Ravelry? If you love fiber, you must sign up. Lots of great ideas, ways to catalog your yarn, UFO's, finished items, needles, books and meet great people.

See you next month.

I Have Been Framed

I just found out that I would not be leaving Minnesota anytime soon. I was depressed and then I received a call that brighten my day. A new friend, Theresa, said she was stopping by the hotel later that evening to show me something.

I have coffee every morning in a local coffee shop before work. Theresa comes in most mornings on her way to work or swimming. One morning I was knitting when she came in and we talked about knitting, crocheting and the fact that I spin and weave. She had never seen anyone spin so she asked if she could take pictures of me spinning. Theresa is a nurse and has a part-time framing business in her home. She loves to take photographs of people in natural settings doing everyday things then she frames and hangs the pictures in her shop as well as enters them in local shows.

To make a long story short, she asked me to bring my spinning wheel to the coffee shop because they had a fireplace and the place looks very homey. I am quite sure the shop employees were happy when we left because she moved their furniture all over the place to get good lighting. She brought her husband along to distract me so she could get pictures that were not staged. I actually got a lot of spinning done that night.

Approximately a week ago, Theresa, gave me a set of the pictures and extras for my son and daughter. Tonight, she came by the hotel to show me how she had framed the pictures.

I hate taking pictures, hope anyone that looks at them will just look at the wheel and the yarn.

Mom is Safe and Sound

This is Louise's daughter, TeAntae. I'm cross posted this from my own blog:

To those of you who've called or sent emails, thank you so much for all of your concern. To everyone, whether you're aware of this or not, mom has been working storm duty in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region since she got back from her European trip in June. THANKFULLY she was not in Minneapolis-St. Paul this week. She has been in Orlando, FL since Sunday at a training seminar/conference. She flies back to Minnesota today.

I didn't even hear about the bridge collapse until Mom called me last night. She found out from a friend of hers who'd called to see if she was ok. Then the flood of emails and calls starting coming in.

I think the one spooky thing about the whole thing for us is, though mom doesn't regularly travel that bridge (her territory is in the surrounding suburbs), we traveled that bridge a few times while I was up there visiting a few weeks ago.

Again, thank you for all of your care and concern. Everyone is breathing a huge sigh of relief believe me.

Yarn Crawl in Minnesota, part 1

It has been awhile since I posted. I do not have any pictures of the socks I am working on. Hopefully, I can get them posted shortly. I am also spinning yarn for socks. The yarn will be Christmas presents. Of course, after I finish spinning I have to get it dyed. Won't be able to do that in the hotel room.

However, I am anxious to tell you about my weekend. My daughter, TeAntae, flew in to Minneapolis Thursday evening to spend a long weekend with me. I do not think we had planned to do a yarn crawl weekend but that is what it turned out to be.

We started at Sheepy Yarn Shoppe in White Bear Lake, MN http://www.sheepyyarnmn.com/ . I can only say a fun atmosphere, staff and patrons.

The Yarn Café is more than a store and more than a café. They want you to come in for lunch, then stay and chat a while. Need help with a project you are working on? At the Yarn Café, they welcome the casual diner or the serious knitter as well as everyone in between. The Yarn Café is open for lunch dinner or anytime during the day that you are in the mood for a snack. They offer a selection of sandwiches, salads, soups, sides and pastries, as well as a full beverage service. Their beverage selection includes beer and wine, as well as many different coffees and teas. On Friday nights from 4 to 8 PM they have "Happy Hour" with half price wine and beer. They are also an internet cafe with two terminals and WiFi. The shop opens at 9A.M., I can not believe it...yes, we were there at 9.

Oh...and they have a great selection of yarns and patterns.

My daughter and I decided to go to the "Happy Hour" after yarn shopping all day. We ordered a glass of wine and a cheese platter.

That is my daughter knitting away while we snacked at the Yarn Cafe. (By the way, I wove the top she is wearing, it is a copy of one we saw an an arts & craft show for a couple hundred dollars).

We also met a lovely group of ladies that asked us to come back.

I have every intention of going back to knit with this great bunch.

Don't you think this is a great idea for a yarn shop?

We also went to the Yarn Garage http://www.yarngarage.com/ . I have to go back and take pictures because you have to see to believe. The shop is very small crammed with yarn from floor to ceiling. My daughter said that doing inventory must be a nightmare. The owner, Steven Berg, calls himself the "Glitter Knitter". He has a "Yarn Tasting" on Wednesday nights that I have to try to get to before I leave the area. There is no way to describe this man or the store. Go to his website and surf around. You will be amazed. He is also sponsoring knitting cruises.

Our travels on Friday also took us to Amazing Threads, http://www.amazing-threads.com/ . I purchased some of their original patterns for my collection and brought some yarn to make a hat. My daughter went into the clearance area and brought some yarn and books. You will have to check out her sight to find out about that.

We also went to All About Yarn http://allaboutyarn.biz/ Because we were so hungry, we did not stay long and so I will have to go back and let you know about the store.

I hope I did not miss a shop but that was our Thursday night and Friday yarn adventure. I will let you know later about our Saturday.

All the stores in the area are open on Sunday from 12-4 or 5. In fact, all of the stores are open 7 days a week. I love it.

Happy 4th of July

Website to Few my Europe Pictures

I am working in Minnesota 6 days a week, 12 hours a day so I have not had time to update my

blog. Since I know that some of my friends check my blog, I thought this was the best way to tell you how to view my pictures. When you go to the site, click on each picture and it will open up to few all the pictures under that heading. You will then be able to view the pictures as a slide show.

http://picasaweb.google.com/RT.Turner.

Enjoy

I will try very hard to update the blog as quickly as possible. Keep crafting or whatever you do...

HONEY, I AM HOME

I got back last night 6/7/07, and received a call today telling me that I am to leave for Minnesota to work on Tuesday. The company sure knows how to spoil a wonderful vacation.

I will be posting pictures as soon as I can and will let you know the web address to take a peak.

Here a sneak peak of some of the pictures. The first one is me in Amsterdam. Yes, to get the sign all the way in one of the ladies on the tour had to get way back, that is me between the "I" and the "A".

This is me on a Rhine cruise in Germany. We had just left St. Goar where we hiked up to the Rheinsfels castle. That is St. Goar in the background. We were on our way back to Bacharach our home base for this part of the tour.

This is me in a beer hall in Munich. Okay, that is someone elses beer. I tried the beer that was suppose to have lemonade in it but it still taste like beer so I did not drink it. I have never been able to like the taste of the stuff.

My son has my pictures from Cinque Terre, Italy to Paris. He is suppose to put them on CD and bring them to me on Monday before I leave for Minnesota. At that point, I will try to get them up so that you can see the beautiful scenery.

Would you believe I took over 2000 pictures? I did lose about 100 of them by having them put on CD instead of DVD. It was my fault that I did not look to see what the last picture was. I lost my pictures of Germany's Bavaria including my tour photos of King Ludwig II's ornate Neuschwanstein Castle which was spectacular and me on the luge ride. I have my memories. I could ask other people for pictures of that castle but on my camera was a picture of me in front of it. I only had about a half dozen pictures of me and I lost 2 of them. You will have to take my word that I started my amazing journey in Haarlem, Netherlands, then went to Bacharach, Germany; Rothenburg, Germany; Reutte, Austria; Venice, Italy (should have thrown my passport overboard there; Florence, Italy; Rome, Italy; Cinque Terre which is on the Italian Rivera, we stayed in Monterosso, Italy and was free to explore the other 4 towns-I remember the evening I sit on the beach drinking wine while gazing at the sun setting-okay, back to reality; we next went to Stechelber, Switzerland where I rode a gondala and hiked to the next town. They had a foot of snow the day we arrived, It was hard to believe that the day before I was sitting on the beach-quite a shock, no one had clothes for this; next stop Beaune, France where we were treated to a wine tasting and had dinner in a cellar where monks used to store their wine; on to Paris-my son met me after the tour and I have to admit, we had a great time. 26 days that I will never forget.

Yes, I got some knitting done. That was my pastime on the bus going from place to place. I actually got one sock finished and was half way through the second. I brought yarn in Venice to make a pair of socks which will be called my Venice socks. I also brought yarn in Florence. I stubbled on this little shop and after the owner and I gave up on trying to communicate with words and me pointing at my socks, I just walked around until I found something I liked. After I paid and was walking out of the store, he stopped me and put a pattern book in my bag. The pictures are beautiful but it is all in Italian. Looks like the internet language translator and I will be close buds if I want to try some of these patterns. I will take pictures of the yarn as soon as I can.

I am heading out to spend the night with my daughter, TeAntae, and give her the presents I brought back and tell her all about my trip. It was so hard to do so by email or over the phone.

Would I recommend Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door Tours www.ricksteves.com ?

In a heartbeat. Yes, there is lots of walking but you can op out of any thing that you do not want to do. However, if you do not go on the excursions, I can bet you that you will be missing something spectacular. This is the first trip I have ever taken that I ate constantly and when I got home and got on the scale I had lost 3 pounds. One of the ladies on the trip had a pedometer and she said that she was averaging 14000 steps a day. As long as you are not a complete couch potato you would love the trips. Also be prepared that to beat the crowds and other tourist, we had breakfast at 7:15 and was out the door by 8:15 most mornings. As we were leaving the museum, etc., the crowds were just arriving. We had the rest of the day on our own to explore.

I am checking out my trip for next year...yes, I am going to take another one.