Hodgepodge

I seem to only be able to get my act together and post once in a blue moon. Oh well, it makes for a longer post with lots of pictures.

Since I last blogged, my friend Phoebe opened up her brick and mortar store; Girl of the Golden West in the Shops at Briargate in Colorado Springs. Her website is still in the beginning stages, but the store is absolutely fabulous. Our whole club turned up for the Grand Opening, and I just HAD to buy the red felted jacket in the front of the picture.......



Phoebe has an impeccable taste, and unfortunately I really like the stuff she buys. If I had unlimited funds I would probably buy one of each item she has for sale. Here you see Phoebe and Kirsten behind the counter on opening day, and you can see Anne perusing the wonderful jewelry at the counter.....



Since then I've been back for another fix. I'm a sucker for shoes and boots in general, and I just couldn't leave these boots behind. And wouldn't you know, the necklace decided to come home with me too!



I've been a busy little knitter, and finished two sweaters since my last post. The first sweater was another Skeppsta (Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton, for Noro), this time in Manos del Uruguay, color #115. The guage is not the same as for the Noro yarn, so I had to add stitches and repeats to make it work. I love this sweater, and I especially dig the scalloped edge.



I also - finally - finished my Elsebeth Lavold "Estrud" sweater that I had been working on for such a long time. I This is the nicest sweater I've ever made, but it was an exercise in patience. I detest long stretches of purling back, so I had to put it down for weeks on end to gather up the will to continue on.



I did make some changes to the pattern, though. The collar in the pattern didn't excite me too much, so I left it as a V-neck, and the back was just plain stockinette stitch. Knowing that I would never finish the sweater if I left the back like that, I decided to adapt a pattern from a different sweater and use it on the back. I really like the way it turned out.



The sweater still needs to be blocked, but I can't make myself part with it just yet. It was finished yesterday afternoon and I've been wearing it ever since. Hopefully I can get to blocking it later today.
So while I didn't have anything significant on the needles last night, I decided to try my hand at making some jewelry. Over the past few months I 've been picking up some beads here and there. Apart from making a grand total of 1 stitch marker, I had never done any beading before. It is FUN!! I still need a lot of work on my technique, but I love the result.



And last, but not least, I received my first shipment of Blue Moon FiberArts Socks that Rock Club kit. Granted, this colorway is not something I would have chosen myself, but that's the beauty of joining this club. The pattern is interesting; the sock can be worn inside-out as well. I'm very eager to learn the new techniques.



Oh, and my cashmere goats are shedding! The ladies don't have a lot of fiber, but Lancelot the buck has a LOT of it. Unfortunately he seems to have a case of dandruff (should I gently suggest he use Selsun Blue when he washes his hair?), but apparently that is fairly common. Can't wait to get all of his fibery gold cleaned, washed, and spun! And the ladies might be pregnant after all. Their udders are starting to develop and their bellies look slightly bigger. I can't feel any kids yet, but they apparently don't become really obvious until the last month of pregnancy.



Well. This was it for now. See ya next time......