Wollmeise for moi!!

I received my shipment of Wollmeise yarn today!! Oh happy day!! I tore the envelopes open and was greeted with this glorious sight:


It only took a week to get here from Germany! The yarn is soft and the colors are amazing! I don't know if I can bear to wind it up into a yarn cake and knit with it. I might have to get duplicates so that I can keep my skeins intact as eye candy and have skeins to knit with! lol Keeping my fingers crossed that I will have luck this Friday for more Wollmeise! I am a Wollmeise addict now!

Yarn Club Addict!!

I am so addicted to yarn clubs!! I love getting a surprise packages every month. Oddly enough, this does help me curb my yarn spending.

I received my Year of Lace June Kit last Saturday and I love it! I prefer rectangular stoles compared to triangular shawls. Here is a pic of the yarn (Helen's Lace by Lorna's Laces):


Here's a pic of the pattern:


Then today, I received the June shipment of the Blue Plate Special by Chewy Spaghetti:


I absolutely love the yarn....not too sure if I'm going to use the pattern for the yarn though. Here is a close up of the color:

Omigod.....I got Wollmeise again!

I want every day to be Fridays from now on!! I logged onto wollmeise's website and there was yarn again! Today I got (the pictures are from wollmeise's website):

Gewitterhimmel 100% Superwash - Light


Rittersporn 100% Superwash - Medium


Wilder mohn 80/20 Twin - Light (pic is of the 100% superwash in light since there is no pic of the 80/20 twin)


Tiefer See Wild Thing 80/20 Twin - Light
(no pic on the website but you can see a pic from JanaA's stash here.)

Last night I started clearing out some of my stash sock yarn. I have come to the realization that I will never get to some of my yarn since I have too many. They need to find a good home where they will get the attention and fondling that they deserve! So check out my Ravelry stash to see what I have. I'll be trying to add more every day.

Ode to Woolgirl!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My stash can reach..........

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poem says it all when I think of Jen of Woolgirl! I received my Woolgirl sock club kit and I am in awe! I have to say that her kit was the best that I have ever seen and/or received. This is the June kit:


Here is the April Kit:


Woolgirl is is the definition of awesomeness in my dictionary!!

I got Wollmeise! Yay!!

I got into work yesterday and I realized that it was Friday so per my normal Friday morning routine, I checked the wollmeise website. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw yarn listed on the "In stock" webpage! I refreshed my browser a couple of times just to make sure and then I went crazy!!

I knew that the inventory wouldn't last long and I was trying to look at the colors/intensity before putting them in my basket. I wish I could buy a skein of every color but I was going to limit myself to $100 worth of yarn.

I've been dying to get the Poison nr 5 medium intensity and when I saw it listed, I put it in my basket and was about to check out when it became sold out! I was in panic mode at this point and I put the Poison nr 5 dark in my basket and checked out as soon as I could! I didn't even look to see what else was in my basket! I was so elated and trying to calm myself down at this point.

I printed out my receipt to see what I did end up getting and realized that I lost my Poison nr 5 dark as well!! I ended up spending $170 on 7 skeins of yarn which comes out little over $24 per skein and this is including international shipping! What a great deal! I know people have sold her yarn on ravelry for $30 easily.

So here is what I ordered (the pictures are from wollmeise's website):

Am kalten Polar - 100% Superwash - dark intensity






Dornröschen - 100% superwash - medium intensity






Pfefferminz Prinz - 100% superwash - medium intensity






Red Hot Chili - 100% superwash - medium intensity







Rosenrot - 100% superwash - medium intensity






Vincent - 100% superwash - light intensity






Wilder Mohn - 100% superwash - medium intensity

It looks like I got a lot of red colors for some reason! Hopefully I can trade one of them for a skein of Poison nr 5 medium!!

A day later and I'm still doing the happy dance! Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Early anniversary gift!

My hubby told me out of the blue that I can have anything I wanted for my 10 year anniversary which is in September. Yarn was out of the question since hubby is already complaining about my stash! Diamonds.....I already have studs, rings and a pendant....I wouldn't know what else to get that I would wear on a regular basis. Hmmm....such a tough choice! I thought long and hard and decided I wanted a better camera! I was serious about photography when I was in high school and college and had a manual 35mm Nikon camera that I took everywhere with me. Then the camera got lost during a move and I never replaced it and things got busy with work and dating.

I looked around on the internet and decided on the Nikon D60, Nikon D80 or the Canon Rebel XSi. Of course, I needed to check them out in person to see how they fit in my hands. So I headed to Best Buy and got a chance to play with them. The Nikon D60 fit great in my small hands and the controls were very easy to figure out. The Nikon D80 was too big and heavy and it felt kinda awkward because of the size. I felt like I was going to get a workout everytime I lifted the camera!

The Canon XSi was about the same size and weight as the Nikon D60. The specs were actually better then the Nikon D60 with the auto-focus in the camera and liveview. The only issue was that I couldn't figure the darn thing out to even start taking a picture. I felt very technically challenge with the Canon which is an unusual feeling for me since I've worked in the IT field for about 12 years and am normally surrounded with the latest gadgets. Featurewise, the Canon XSi was the better camera and was about $200 more then the Nikon D60. For the price of the Canon XSi, I could get the Nikon D60 with the 18-55mm VR lens and get the 55-200mm VR lens....that was my deciding factor. I was leaning toward a Nikon from the beginning since my hubby has the Nikon D300 and we could interchange lenses, etc if I got a Nikon.

So I decided on the Nikon D60 and found the best price on Amazon.com. The camera and the 2 lenses cost me a total of $726! Amazon is currently offering a $100 off on this camera and additional lens purchase which made it an even better deal! The Canon XSi w/18-55mm lens was about $830. The price was a huge factor and I won't feel so guilty if I d0 end up upgrading to another camera in the next year or so!

I should hopefully get the camera this week!! And of course, I'll have to reshoot pictures of my stash!! Any excuse to fondle my yarn!! lol

Up the Creek...that is Cedar Creek!

I kept thinking that I would post something once I did more FO's but I only have one thing finished so far. My Cedar Creeks socks in Socks that Rocks Knitters without Borders:


They fit pretty well and it was a very easy pattern to remember! I will have to try these again but do the picot edge per the instructions.

I'm almost done with my Leafling socks. I decided to give them as a christmas gift so I made them a little longer for ladies size 7 feet. I gotta start knitting for christmas! I can't believe it is already June!

I love my packages! It's like xmas over and over!

Look what was waiting for me when I got home yesterday! The 3rd shipment of Blue Moon Fiber arts Rockin Sock Club:



The skein is more purple then blue but for some reason I can't capture that purple color with my camera. I tried natural sunlight, flash, no flash and ott light but they turn out looking blue. Very odd!

I love this shipment! I love Yarnissima's patterns so this is definitely a must-do but I told myself I wouldn't start until I finish Leafling! And I am also out of extra US 1 needles so I have no choice but to finish some wip's to free up a US 1.

The shipment consisted of:
1 Pattern by Yarnissima - Cleopatra Socks
1 STR Lightweight in The Incredible Shrinking Violet
1 Luggage Tag and holder
1 mini-skein

Yesterday was definitely a good day in terms of packages. I also received a shipment from GudonyaToo. I had requested a special order of SmOOchy skin bars in Spa Fusion, Be Delicious, Tahitian Vanilla and Island Coconut! I really loved the vanilla and coconut so I order some of the whipped clean in both. I am so glad Loopy Ewe talked about them in her blog! That SmOOchy skin bars are amazing! I'm not too sure about the exfoliating properties (it is a little rough) but boy o boy....it sure does leave my skin very soft and I don't have to put on body lotion after I shower!! The thing I always hated about body lotion is that it seemed to take forever to completely dry but now my skin is soft and completely dry so I can get dressed right away!

And now I'm off to go check out Amazon's friday sale. Sometimes they have to some really amazing deals like last week's Martini glasses for $20!

Diamonds & Pearls...Oh my!!

I finished blocking my diamonds & pearl shawl on saturday night and I took some quick pictures before I wrapped it up and gave it to my mom on Sunday for a belated mom's day present.

Excuse the mess in my mom's bathroom. I took a picture after she unwrapped it but she didn't want to be my model so I had to the do the bathroom mirror shot. The shawl was a nice shoulder shawl size. Perfect for summer when you need a light wrap around your shoulders.


Here's a few shots on the blocking board:




I definitely will be knitting another one for myself! This was a super fast knit that can be completed in one weekend!

Drowning in WIPs!!

I went a little crazy during the month of May and I blame Ravelry!! Too many KAL and too many people posting pics of their gorgeous socks and shawls! Last night, I was trying to decide which project to work on and I realized that I was pulling too many wips out of my knitting bin!! Here is the list:

Leafling in STR mediumweight Lucky:

I wanted to finish before I received the next sock club shipment but I don't think there is any chance of that! But I do have to say that I am enjoying knitting with the mediumweight yarn! I always thought lightweight was the way to go but now I'm not too sure!

Cedar Creek in STR lightweight Knitters without Borders:

I frogged this yarn so many times since I couldn't decide on the pattern. I loved the striping look as seen in JustJen's socks and weebug's socks so I was doing just a simple ribbed socks but it looked too plain so I frogged that. Then I was going to do Cat's Master Coriolis but I guess I measured my foot wrong and it was huge so I frogged that a couple of times and then I saw the STR KAL for Cedar Creeks and started that. Then it started pooling but I kinda like it so I am chugging on.

Another Django on Mama E's C*eye*ber Saffron for my friend's Jeong's upcoming b-day:

I do enjoy this pattern! It does go fast and it looks so nice! I just wish I could do this 2 on 1 circ but I have no idea how to move the stitches from needle to needle without having to take one sock off the needles.

Diamond and Pearls shawl in The Plucky Knitter sportweight MCN in Josephine as a belated mother's day gift:

This is done and it is one definitely fast knit. It just looks so much smaller then I had pictured. I still have to block it so I probably will try to really stretch it out!!

Eunny's Print O' The Wave in Malabrigo Lace Bobby Blue:
\
I picked this one back up since I was in a lace mood and now I just want to finish it so bad since I only have 3 more pattern repeats and the edging to do.

My head feels so cluttered right now with all these WIPs whining at me. Ugh...I need a flirtini! Speaking of which, I picked up some martini glasses on Amazon.com for $20 last friday and just received then. They are even better looking then pictured! An amazing deal for $20 and free shipping! Now they are back to $40.

I just need to get some vodka, etc to celebrate the start of the memorial day holiday weekend!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend!!

More packages today! Yay!

YarnAddict Yarn's Lace Variety Club May shipment:

800 yards (110gr) of Luscious Lace (55% silk/ 45% cashmere). This yarn is seriously yummy! I think this is my favorite new lace yarn.
Celebrations Shawl - looks simple and lovely!
Black tote bag (you can never have too many bags!)
I am so glad that I signed up for this club! It was a great price for 3 shipments of luxury lace yarn & pattern!

The color is more pink then shown in the picture. Here is a better picture of the color.


And I also received the May shipment of Whimzy Pimzy's Cotton Sock Yarn club. Bamboo cotton yarn in colorway - Herbal Garden Reflection Pond. The color is brighter then shown. The flash washed it out a bit. Either I need a better camera or a lesson on how to accurately capture colors in my photos!


Now I need to finish up some ufo's before I can touch these! I am dying to start my silk/cashmere lace shawl. :(

Updates....updates!

Ya...been slacking a bit so here is everything that has happened in the past 2 weeks lumped into one entry!

MD Sheep and Wool festival was amazing! I went on Sunday (5/4/08) and there were so many vendors and so much to buy! Too bad I was on a yarn diet and had to limit myself....it was so hard to do! Is this guy cute or what!

I'll post a pic of my purchases when I get a chance. I finally bought some sheldrige farms sock yarn and found tilli thomas yarn at a huge discount. Voile de la Mer for $10 a skein and beaded lace for $15 a skein. They didn't have much left at those prices on Sunday. I also picked up a pretty lace scarf kit from the Unique Sheep.

Finished Django by Cookie A (Mama Blue's Sea Merino in color Sky) at the end of April but haven't posted pics until now. My favorite socks so far. They fit great! I only did 2 repeats on the cuff.


This color is a bit muted in this picture. The above picture is more accurate of the color.


Received the second shipment of the Seven Deadly S(p)ins club.

Wrath vs Peace

Contents:
1 skein of The Unique Sheep Pima Petite in color Peace
Pattern - Sheepy washcloth & soap sack by Sarah Wilson
Chocolate sheep
2 tea bags
Sheep stitch marker
Peace of Mind - milk & honey soap
Candle
3 mini sheep soaps
Mineral bath salts

Wooly Woolgirl Club!

Nice surprise from Jen of woolgirl.com. Seven purchases and you become a member of her wooly woolgirl club. What an awesome package!

Woo hoo! Camp Crows Feet!!

Yup....it happened....I got behind on my blogging. I figured I could do at least 1 post a week but its been a few weeks since my last post. :(

But.....Woo hoo! Camp Crows Feet was awesome!! (Camp Crows Feet is Blue Moon Fibers 2008 knitting retreat for the Rockin Sock Club members) I just wish I took more pictures. Like always I take my camera and never take it out to take pictures!

Of course I had to take home some souvenirs of camp and what could be better then more yarn!!


Here's a shot of the Knotorius Knitters Express bus that picked us up at the Sea-Tac airport. MJ....you are awesome!! You can see Frieda and the backside of Carla. :P


One of the views from the Rosario Resort:


Attack of the Monkeys!!


The snowy ride to the ferry. Who would have thunk it that it would snow on the way home!!


I definitely would like to go again next year but I would probably plan things a little different. I would probably fly in the weekend before and join the pre-camp yarn crawl or just fly in that weekend so that first day isn't so hectic and tiring. I woke up at 3am edt on Monday to catch my 6am flight and didn't go to bed until 11pm pst. That was a long day!!