I have the best – BEST it tell you – customers/knitty friends ever. They are crazy talented, diverse, helpful and entertaining. And helpful! Oh, I already said that, sorry. It’s just that they are so helpful!

A few weeks ago I sent out a knitting S.O.S. to the ladies in the plucky group on Ravelry that I was in need of some test knits for the upcoming show for the Madison Knitters Guild in Madison, WI (March 13th if you’re keeping track).

Anyway – the test knits have begun to trickle in and they are fantastic. I just had to share them. You can be sure I’ll be back with more as they arrive. So, without further ado ~

CanCan Mitts knit in the 80.20 merino nylon fingering weight. The stitch definition on this yarn is great – they just POP. Dare I say it – I think, with a bit of tweaking, you could easily get two pair of mitts out of one skein of yarn. I weighed the mitts and they came in at approx 42g with a whopping 76g left. These little numbers were knit by the so very generous Marla. Thank you Marla – they are perfect!!!

Herbivore – this beauty was whipped up by Ulli. Again, knit up in the 80.20 merino nylon fingering. Ulli – thank you so much, it’s simply stunning.

Look who got new specs~

Or ‘why I’m now ok with wearing a scarf with a pointy end’……

Truth be told, lace has always intimidated me. While I surely appreciated the craftsmanship and attention to detail that goes into knitting lace (as well as designing the patterns for goodness sakes!) I never thought it to be something I would be interested in wearing. Ever. In all honesty, it just seemed so….. old. And, why oh why would I want to wear something that pointed straight at my bum? Really??? Or that had the potential to make me look much older than I ever want to??? (Just being honest here). And, well, as I said, it intimidated the daylights out of me. But then I started seeing all these Ishbels (and other amazing lace projects) pop up in the Plucky Knitter Group on Ravelry (go have a look, you’ll get a kick out of all the great projects) and I just couldn’t help myself.

And, from a purely functional standpoint, it’s a fantastic scarf. The drape is great, pairs well with collared shirts or a plain old tee and cardi (which happen to be my uniform of choice) and it’s great for more temperate environments as it’s not bulky at all. So, you’ll never see me sporting a shawl (or shawlette if you will) worn the traditional way, but you will see me with them bunched up around the neck/shoulders as a scarf/wrap.

Raveled

Since the finished Ishbel is such a hit I am now knitting Hayworth. It’s so Art Deco-y…… I’m actually further along than this pic suggests (wish I were further along as I am suppose to be test knitting – Sorry Victoria!!!), it’s a surprising quick knit (would be even quicker had I not left it on the patio and then had it drenched by a sudden down-pour and then had to unskein, wait for it to dry and then reskein). Hayworth is the first (can you believe it?!!?) design by the lovely Victoria. Check it out, really, you’ll love it.

Whether you’re having fun or not! I can’t believe another summer weekend has come and gone.  The last couple weeks have been completely insane around these parts (which is why the poor neglected plucky blog has been even more quiet than normal). But, we put all the insanity on hold to head West to Madison, WI to see some friends (with a stop in Rockford, IL to drop our carpooling companion off to see some more old friends). The weekend has been planned since March – no way were we going to let this pass us by!

There was the Art Fair On The Square that offered fantastic browsing opportunities and then, of course, the Farmer’s Market. How I LOVE a great market. Splurged and got two loaves of this. WOW.

Love the Capitol in the background. What a setting.

Say hi to Hickory Mr. Koa!!!  Fully aware that I look a little crazed here. We were getting ready for a night on the town (which never happens) so I was a little excited!

They’re so dandy.

Just being silly.

Next morning we were up and at it, back to Rockford to pick up or intrepid travel partner, the fabulous Ms. Nicole.

But, wait, the most exciting part?!?!? I kid you not….I’m knitting an Ishbel and it’s totally keeping my attention. Just the knitting distraction I’ve needed.

The last few months I’ve had what can only be described as the worst cast of castonitis I have ever encountered. Nothing is holding my attention and I think I’ve figured out why-  my thinking was all wrong! ALL WRONG!  I was under the misguided impression (my own impression) that I needed mashed potato (you know, comfort food) knitting. When what I really needed was something to make me think (I need a knitting distraction!). Now, I know Ishbel is a pretty simple lace pattern, but for this lace newbie (terrified lace newbie would be more accurate) it’s just the ticket to keep me on my toes. And, as a bonus, I got to join all the Plucky Knitters in the Lace KAL! Whether or not I get it done it time remains to be seen, but here I go nonetheless. Though, I have to say, it seems to be flying along so far.I’m at the lace part, section B to be exact and I’m in love with this knit.

Now – off to tame my email in-basket….. Happy Monday everyone!

Summer time is not only for knitting but hanging out with family and good friends, cooking and, of course, reading too! With that in mind I found myself drawn to A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, author of the mouth watering blog, Orangette. It’s a darling book of essays and recipes that I found to be  a quick (and very heartwarming) read and chock full of some fabulous recipes. The first ones I’m going to try are the macaroons and her roasted tomatoes.

I’ve never made homemade bread and do not own a bread machine so when I saw this title making its rounds through my contacts on Flickr – I thought that ‘there’s the bread book for me’ and have grand plans to give it a twirl this week. Can you tell where this is going? I feel a contest coming on~

So…. tell me. What are you reading this summer? What are you cooking? Drinking? Inquiring minds want to know! Please leave me a comment – I’ll be taking entries all through this week and drawing two winners from the entries on Sunday, June 28th. The winners will receive a skein of yarn or a copy of the book, A Homemade Life, the choice is yours.

Oh, and August 11th South of Broad byPat Conroy (who happens to be one of my favorite authors and the story is set in one of my favorite spots in the whole world) is released. You know what I’ll be doing that weekend. I can’t wait! It’s been ages since he’s released a new novel and, I’m embarrassed to say, almost as long since I’ve sat down and read a novel (do unabridged audio books count?).

Anyway, I’m rambling….. so, go ahead let me know what you are reading/cooking/drinking/eating and loving this summer. Can’t wait to hear from you!

New lawn ornament.

Bob has mad, I mean completely mad, jumping (or maybe they are flipping) skills.

Pure glee.

Break the egg.

Could not help myself. Though Shelbie has brought it to my attention that I have “lame air”……

But, it got better.

After entering the numbers in my trusty random number generator (”Bob, can you pick three numbers between 1 and 119?”) I give you our winners (and, can I just say I got the biggest kick out of reading what accumulates in your cups, drawers, chairs, bedside tables, etc.).

1. Susan said – “Best I can do is the chaise in my living room. I used to sit there; then my DH missed me (while he sat on the other end of the couch)………..Oh, and the current project, a baby blanket for Warm Woolies……”
2. Jane said – “I usually have a collection of broken toys, books that need to be taped/repaired, and wayward craft items (like googly eyes) that have fallen off of projects cluttering up the place.”
3. Sarah Says – “Let me see . . . hand lotion, 2 bottles of hand sanitizer, half a dozen chapsticks (?), roughly 20 mismatched markers and highlighters, Hello Kitty shot glasses (don’t ask), a very old radio, a picture of my DH and me in Yellowstone, miscellaneous software install disks and some candy. And that’s just on top of my desk. I am scared of the drawers.”

Congratulations Ladies! Now, if you would all be so kind as to contact me with your email so that I may get your prize yarn to you, that would be great! Thanks so much to everyone for playing along. Until next time…. and there will be a next time. You know how I love a contest.

At the bottom of The Great Keep.