Happy Thanksgiving!

Long time, no write….I know!  It’s hard for me to talk about everything that I would like to talk about so I have just not written.  Hopefully, that will pass soonl I bound off the last two edges of the Malabrigo vest Tuesday night.  Last night, I seamed the shoulders, but not the side seams.  It seems that I thought about blocking the pieces AFTER I started mattress stitching the first shoulder.  I wasn’t about to take it out again (I can’t stand the putting together part to start with) so I figured I would wait to sew the side seams together until I did block the darned thing.  I plan on making another one of these vests for a store model for Haus of Yarn, but was smart and waited to begin until I finished this one to see what I wanted to change.  Good thing because there is something I definitely want to change.  The whole FRONT!!!  The V of the V neck is way too deep and I would rather it not be so darned low. I am thinking I may need to employ my alteration skills and cut out some of the top, but I just don’t feel like it. I know why I like to knit socks….the just about always fit and don’t take as darned long to find that out too! Sigh.   We will see what pans out with this thing after I have it blocked and the buttons picked out and attached.  Malabrigo vest (click to embiggen – wish that worked in real life) 
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Spunky Eclectic has created a new and much improved web site in which to spend all of your hard earned Moula!  Very nice and I don’t know how she did it, but I am truly impressed.  At any rate, I did a little shopping while visiting her new site and this is what the Fiber Fairy brought to me: 

BFL – My most favoritest fiber (click to embiggen)    Top to Bottom
  Vineyard, Grand Opening and Swamp Monster

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One of my most favorite of Amy’s colorways is Riverwalk.  Don’t ask me why, it just is.  I already have it in BFL and now….superwash.  Very soft and Squishy!
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Riverwalk superwash   I have had a little fun buying shirts lately for one of my dogs.  I thought you might get a little grin out of this shot…..
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I have been wrapping Christmas presents with my friend Barb here at the house all day.  I have to slip on my sweat pants and go to my Mom’s house now to eat.  Darn, life is hard, big grin. Medical question for the crowd out there, if you are squeamish, close the screen now.  If you have fibroids and past 40 with no desire, wish or plans to have kids, would you have a simple same day procedure to remove them or would you say yank out the plumbing (wreck your history)????  If you opt for wrecking your history, do you vote to keep ovaries or yank those out too?  Inquiring minds need want to know….. 
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I have been shopping all year and boy has it paid off big time!  I am one of those people you will hate this year.  My shopping is 90% done and wrapped as of today.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Good Morning!  Well, I survived the Great Adirondack trunk show that is at Haus of Yarn (there until next Saturday).  Problem is….I will be working there next Saturday as well and two boxes of goodies are still to arrive from this talented dyer!    So, I am not out of the woods yet!  There was some beautiful Sierra Alpaca that I would have gladly taken home with me, but I was slow on the draw and a customer beat me to it.  Can you imagine?  I did get two hanks of sock yarn.  Yep, just two measly hanks.  Like I said…there is always next Saturday. 

 Great Adirondack Soxie (wool)- Peacock (on bottom) and Silky Socks (wool and silk) – Navajo (on top)
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Last week, I blogged about knitting progress on my Raggi vest that is being knit out of Malabrigo Oceanos, but I showed an older picture that included the pattern and a small strip of knitting.  I decided to show a pic of my actual progress so you can see how many miles of garter stitch there are.  I am sweating it as to whether I have enough yarn to finish this!  If you click on the picture, you can see the back piece is in the background and the two fronts (in progress) are laying on top of the back.  I have another good 6” or so to go.  I can’t wait to put this thing together.  I haven’t picked out buttons yet, so that will be interesting and fun.
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Miles of garter

I have been bitten by the BSJ (baby surprise jacket) bug and wanted to knit it out of self striping yarn.  I couldn’t find (gasp) anything that I really wanted to work with so I contacted a wonderful new dyer named Tonia whose label is “Knitted to a T” and boy does she have a sexy label!  If only we looked liked the girl in the label, sigh….   You can find her on Etsy also.  Tonia is so nice (and a great indie dyer). She dyed some superwash DK weight yarn in emerald and purple for me that will self stripe.  Looking at the hank of yarn, I can’t imagine it doing that, but I have great faith in Tonya.  This will be a fun knit and I will have a few days off in the week so hopefully I will get to this soon. 
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500 yrds superwash DK custom dyed

I have been getting a lot of knitting done lately, much more than normal because I am keeping one of my dog’s company that needs a lot of lap time lately.  I posted this pattern a few weeks ago….

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The back is finished and I am a little over halfway with the fronts…Yes, front with the “S” on the end.  I am knitting both front pieces at one time on one needle to make it easier to remember which side is which and to make the increases uniform.  This is the first time I have knit with Malabrigo and it about the softess wool I have ever knitted with.  I can’t wait to wear it.  If progress keeps up, this will be a reality by next week!
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I will be knitting one of these gems again soon.  Very soon.  I am going to knit a shop model for Haus of Yarn out of this:

 I love the tweedy look, especially the turquoise.  This will be a really fast knit…big yarn, big needles.
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I have been working hard on being a Wool Girl.  If you order, I think, seven times, you get a gift bag with goodies in it.  I think I must be close.  Anyway, I have been eyeing the Wool Girl with a Twist colorway from Liisu and that is all Erin’s  fault.  She brought, ahem, a few single pairs of socks to the last HOY sock knit a long and I think a couple of them were Liisu sock yarn (with mohair).  Thanks, Erin.  You know what they say about payback?!

Liisu Woolgirl with a Twist

Dull moments are few and far between around here.  I have not written much lately because a lot goes on that I don’t really want to write about to the open public, but suffice it to say that everything is going pretty well for now in the world of the AgileKnitter.   
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The last weekend of October brought the Fiber Festival to Murfreesboro and that is a short 20 minute drive for me.  I was pooped from working all night for my ‘day’ job so I slept in on Saturday, the day of the festival.  I always (usually) get to the festival 30 minutes before it opens to get first dibs on the hand carved crochet hooks and knitting needles.  I woke up ‘late’ and go to the show 45 min after it started….I didn’t get any crochet hooks or knitting needles this year, darnit.  That is okay though, it gave some of the other festival go’ers a chance at the good stuff.  Because I was so tired, I did not even think of bringing my camera.  I would say ‘what was I thinking,’ but obviously, I was NOT thinking.  Oh well.   There were lots of people there and a really good attendance.  Sally and her friend Pam came from Howenwald and Waynesboro, TN, respectively.  Pam has Alpaca on her farm and sold some Alpaca yarn.   I really liked her Nighthawk’s yarn, but ended up bringing home some of her Mab’s yarn instead.  Ah, such a nice pretty deep brown! 

Mab - Alpaca yarn

I also brought home some Alpaca from another vendor and it was titled “The Whole Herd.”  It is a blend of all of the Alpacas on Hickory Farms and is a beautiful heathery gray.
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Whole Herd - Alpaca
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I picked up this wonderful felted mermaid doll for my Mom for Christmas.  She recently visited my Sister and came home and I think was wishing she was still visiting my Sister….so I gave her the doll early to help cheer her up.  Oh well….I guess on Christmas, I will say “remember that Dolll???”   I will try and get a pic of this doll to share…..she was a great find!

 Meredith with the Knaughty Knitter has been busy dying roving and yarn.  This roving ‘told me’ it needed to come and marinate in my stash…such pretty colors.  Nice job, Meredith!  Oh, I forgot to mention…it is my fav fiber too…..BFL!!!
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There is this awesome blog written by Aija that I check out from time to time that has what is called Etsy Friday.  Aija also have an Etsy store where she sells beaded stitch markers.  She has been responsible for many of my great internet finds…..Frost Fish Cove Soap Company for one.  I love FFCS!!!!  My fav is the honey almond soap.  Yummmmm.  I can’t wait to take a shower everyday when I know I have that soap.   I have also found a few fiber vendors through Aija as well.  Aija featured Greenwood Fiber Works and this is what I ordered: 

  Tye Dye Merino in Autumn colors 
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That leads to a story.  In August, a temp Mail Delivery person hit my mailbox.  She put the pieces on top of my mailbox and kept driving.  The box has never been the same since.  I reported it. My regular Mail Lady (AKA the Yarn Fairy) bent the door flap around to try to get it to shut correctly.  Now, the door shuts, but doesn’t stay shut.  The Post Master lady said she would have it replaced.  This was in August.  It is.  Still.  Not.  Fixed.  I have meant to call, but haven’t gotten around to it.  Monday, we had a heck of a storm blow in, then blow out and lots of rain was dropped down on us.  I checked my mail later that night and the Greenwood Fiber was waiting on me….in a mailbox with an open flap in after a huge rainstorm.  Luckily, the package was near the back of the mailbox, but was a little damp.  The roving was not in a plastic bag, so it was a little soggy on one end, but dried quickly.  That did prompt me to contact my local Post Office to inquire about my poor, broken mailbox.  The Post Master said she had forgotten it, but would definitely get it fixed.  I am holding my breath.  Not.  I am hoping they will fix it this time so the Yarn Fairy can leave my goodies in a nice, safe, dry place.  We shall see.
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Sigh.  There is a trunk show going on this week and next.  It is Great Adirondack.  It is at Haus of Yarn.  You should go there.  You should buy all the yarn.  So I don’t….   I have heard this stuff is extremely beautiful.  Jan of Clarksville (artist, spinner, knitter, great cook, you name it) reviewed what she has seen so far and she told me how much she  liked it.  She told me I better take lots of money because I am going to want it.  All.  Good thing I don’t work at the LYS to make money…..    I swear, Carolyn stayed up nights thinking this one up!   Thanks, just thanks (mutter, mutter).