Yes, I Actually Still Knit!

My friend Tina from Take Heart Farm and my Christian Artisans group surprised me with a lovely box full of fibers to spin and three skeins of her own handspun. You could have knocked me over with a feather, I was so surprised. Some of the lovely fibers were things I have never spun, but have wanted to, like Teeswater and Cormo and there was the most luscious gray Shetland I have ever seen!

The photo doesn't give justice to this beautiful yarn. The colors changes are softer and more subtle but the flash sharpens that all up. I started making a Calorimetry (head band from Knitty) and as I saw how the colors unfolded, I knew it had to become something else... can you guess what it is? I'm starting with the variegated and finishing with the natural brown. I need to find out from Tina what fibers are in this. It's so soft.

Ooh! Too bad I can't have any more babies... this would be a beautiful Baby Surprise Jacket (from Elizabeth Zimmermann).

Still Knitting...

I can't remember the last time I posted about knitting, but I do still knit. While I was on vacation, I did get to stop a couple places, though it was disappointing that my favorite store in Bellingham, Marilyn's Yarns, closed. The ferry that we took to the Peninsula disembarks in Port Townsend, which is a charming Victorian sea port. The commercial district is geared towards tourists and the hillsides are peppered with authentic Victorian homes, many of which have been featured on various HGTV television shows. North of the town is Fort Worden where An Officer and A Gentleman was filmed. And my step Dad Andy, who is deceased, was there ready to ship out to the Pacific when Pearl Harbor was bombed. Another Hollywood connection is that all the boats for The Pirates of the Caribbean were designed there. My goal was none of these things. My goal was wool! :o)

This is the building where the object of my desires was located.




And charmingly, it was located in an 118 year old building.

I loved the old brick walls.

The shop was a little small and at first I worried it was a bit too yuppy and therefore would also be too pricey and worse yet, too snobby. However, the lady who worked there was really nice and even would my skein for me and wrapped it in a piece of lavender tissue paper!

Here is the object of my affections - Socks That Rock medium weight in the colorway Gypsum. I really liked that ceramic sheep. It was hollow. In my opinion it should have been a piggy bank to save your change for stash enhancement! lol

When I was in Sequim, I purchased this Romney roving. In reality it is a little bit rosier than this photo shows. 8 oz for ?? Not sure what I will do with it yet.

Near my Mom's there is a little store called Lynda's that carries quilting fabrics and supplies and knitting. She had these two lovely skeins which are perfect for a shrug pattern I have for the girls. I also bought some blue "Pacapeds" sock yarn which I can't locate at the moment to photograph. (The bum knee has kept me from unpacking much.)

I also went to a store in Lynden, a Dutch tourist and farming community near my parents. This store was unique in that it was combined with a store that sold previously owned quality clothing and accessories. The yarns and supplies were also from peoples' stashes, estates or closeouts. This is lovely heathered Country Classics Yarn for Sox in Blue Jean. It's destined to become hiking socks for me!

And this is what I started with the Socks That Rock pictured above. I tried a couple other things first that I didn't like and I was not sure about this first, but it's growing on me and helps me keep my hands busy when I am elevating and icing my leg!

The pattern is Art Yarns' Diamond Modular Scarf designed by Iris Schreier.

Three Years Blogging And A Give Away

Honestly, I can't believe it has been 3 years! Blogging is a part of my life, surfing blogs is a huge distraction :o) and I have learned so much from fellow bloggers, from recipes to sewing tutorials to photographic techniques, that I can't imagine living without blogs! And, that's not including all the friendships I have developed and some I have met in real life and others I hope to over the coming year.

Four years ago I took a quilting class at Quilter's Corner, my local quilting store. At the time, my son had just turned 3 and my girls were about 19 months old. I was done nursing babies and could leave for longer periods of time and I was restless, needing some type of "outlet". Quilting was something I had dabbled in over the years but had not learned the actual techniques so a class sounded like fun. In addition, I had hoped to meet some other gals locally to make friends. That didn't exactly happen, but almost...

Theresa with her finished pieced top of sampler blocks made in class - November 2004.

I didn't meet someone who lived near me, but I did meet Amy. I noticed her right away and felt that we were supposed to meet. Previously I shared a little of this story and have linked to her blog. Amy is "sparkly", intelligent and has a great sense of humor. She has also known deep grief. And though our griefs are different, I instantly felt safe with her. One day in class she shared with us that the Sacramento Bee was featuring an article about blogs and she was interviewed. HUH?! What's a BLOG? She explained to me what a web log was and I was interested.

Our teacher Barb is at the design wall helping Amy determine the best color for the background of her quilt.

Blogging sounded like fun, but I didn't have time at the moment. It appealed to my creative side. At the same time I began the quilt class, I also bought my first digital camera. Things were lining up.

Here is Amy's quilt top pieced together and hanging on the design wall.

Guess what else Amy does? She knits! Knitting is something I had done since kindergarten off and on with varying levels of success. In the early 90s I was quite gung ho and took a lot of knitting classes even some with famous knitters like Alice Starmore, but my long bout with Pseudotumor Cerebrei and the chronic severe migraines it left in its path, left my knitting bag in the closet. Amy reminded me how much I loved it. My pregnancies gave me some migraine relief and I was having longer stretches of pain relief and able to use my eyes to concentrate more on close up work and so I got out the needles and started knitting again.

The best Hubby in the world - my Valentine's gift - my friend Laura watched the kids and Tim and I went to the quilting store and pinned my top to the batting and backing. That's true love.

Another view of my top while I was piecing it together.

At the time I started blogging, my friend Laura had little lambs.

And she tenderly cared for my little lambs. Here she is with D. She came once a week, generally Mondays and played with the kids to give them and me a break. Sometimes we went to see her small "farm" in the middle of the city, like the day pictured here.

This is J playing peek a boo with Laura. See that bright yellow? That's Laura's kitchen! She was that vibrant and alive - you saw her colorful clothes. She was a unique individual. She loved me for who I was and in spite of who I was and we loved her right back!



At the time I started blogging, we lived in a "gated community"! There were baby gates everywhere!

And there were babies everywhere! LOL The girls had just turned 2 years old. This is J petting the neighbor's kitten and A behind.

And D was 3 and, well... not much has changed! He's grown at least a foot but he's the same goofy boy! :o)

And when I had started blogging, Hubby was the same age I am now (this is on his birthday) and we both looked a lot younger and had less gray.

And when I started blogging, I had no idea that I would be writing this post today. There was no inkling of what may emerge in words and friendships and projects.

During that time I began knitting prayer shawls as a ministry. I turned forty. And in these three years, the first two recipients died of Ovarian Cancer. Then Laura was taken Home with Uterine Cancer. Though I have grieved deeply, I have also had many moments of joy. I joined the Christian Artisans Group where I have made incredible friendships. And I have made friends with many of you who have visited here and whose blogs I visit. My blog has been a place to share family news and photos with Grandma as well as my growing interest in photography. Interestingly, my blog has also been a way to learn more about some people I know in real life, as we have been able to "chat" back and forth through the cyber lines.

Though my first blog entries were simple and somewhat stilted, I have begun to find my voice. I am beginning to express myself and though it may sound cliche, I feel that my blog has been a gift to help me grow. So, THANK YOU Amy! I believe God put us together for a reason - our meeting was an Ephesians 3:20 gift! Thank you Lord, that you work in marvelous and mysterious ways!

Who knows how much longer I will blog, but for now, I am having fun and I hope you are too! Now, for the fun part!

A few gifts need a new home! :o) I'm sorry, I don't have pictures because if I waited, I might never get this post up!

I will draw names. Your name will be entered into the "pot" by leaving a comment here on THIS post through Wednesday, April 30, 2008. Please indicate in your comments whether or not you want to be entered for the knitting prizes because if I draw the name of a non-knitter, I will re-draw.

Your name can be entered a second time if you comment and you have never commented on my blog before. And the third way to enter is if you mention and link to my blogiversary give away on your blog (but you need to let me know that you did so!). Winners will be announced approximately May 1st.

My blog is now open to all commenters except anonymous, so it accepts Word Press and other IDs. If for some reason you cannot comment, my email address is up near my profile to the right.

PRIZE 1: In honor of all the healthy eating changes I have made lately, I am giving a copy of a small cookbook that I have found so helpful, Beth Holland's Bread For Life Volume I. So far I have made at least 6 recipes from this book and they have all been good!

PRIZE 2: For the knitters out there, 3 skeins of Knit Picks Memories Sock Yarn in the Yukon colorway which is navy, medium blue, medium gray and light gray. Each skein is 100% Merino wool and 220 yards. Three skeins will make BIG socks, lace or ?

Prize 3: This is also for knitters. Crystal Palace Kid Merino in colorway "Circus 9803" which is a rainbow variegated yarn. Two balls, which are approximately 240 yards each. This would make a colorful and bright scarf.

Prize 4: Choose 10 of my Photo Cards, some of which can be seen at the provided link.

Prize 5: Choose one of my photographs for an 8x10 or 8x12 enlargement OR 2 5x7 photographs. If it works with the photo, I will be happy to customize it with a Scripture, poem or other appropriate text, or you can have it as it, ready for framing and/or matting.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you who take the time to comment, encourage and share your lives with me. I still struggle to keep up with answering comments, but I do always read them and they mean so much. I go back and look at your blogs too! That's always a joy. In your comments to this post, if there is anything you would like to see me write about, share or photograph in future blog posts, please let me know. Thanks for being part of these last three years. God bless you all!

The Best Mitten Swap Partner Ever!

Are these not the most amazing mittens in my FAVORITE Colors??!! I love them and they FIT! Thank you Amy for an amazing and well thought swap package. I was amazed at how much attention to detail she put into my package. For starters, besides my favorite colors, the mitten pattern is called Alaska (and we hope, God willing to go there this summer for a ten year belated honeymoon trip!).

The next surprise was this lovely braid of hand painted roving called Berry Pickin' from Black Cat Handspun.

In the pansies you can see another one of my gifts, Maizy sock yarn in ocean like colors made out of corn and nylon elastic... I can't wait to try this.

And look at all this fun stuff... A Sirdar nativity pattern booklet that I have wanted to knit a long time, herb and tomato seeds and a travel book for Alaska. The kids and I are going to have fun with the seeds!

Last, but not least are these stitch markers (Amy did you make these?). The photo doesn't do it justice. Do you see these little cameras? And there is a set of the gold ones that look like a little open Bible with a cross on one side and a dove on the other.

THANK YOU Amy for all the thoughtful detail you put into my swap package. This was very fun and I love everything!

Birthdays, Plants and Swallowtail Shawl

Today was Hubby's birthday #44, which sure impressed the kids. It might as well be 144 where they are concerned! lol You would think it was a national holiday the way they have been excited! Besides a couple books and music that he likes, I got him some long sleeve shirts from LL Bean where I could get them long enough for his LONG arms! I also got him a non-pill fleece vest for our trip to Alaska along with a small first aid kit, bear bell and other survival essentials to carry in the pack when we are photographing in Alaska, Lord willing this summer.

I apologize for the lousy pictures. I am still working on learning how to resize in PS Elements 6. Actually I know how to resize, however, I just haven't figured out what will give a clear image in a small size. Anyway, we were at Costco and tried to get one of Hubby's favorites, Gummi Bears, but they were out or don't carry them, so the kids got him a box of his favorite candy bar. Poor guy has been eating whole wheat everything and has been quite a trooper so I can't begrudge him a treat every once in awhile. Hopefully this box will last awhile.

Yesterday after church we went out for Mexican food, which is Hubby's and my favorite, however it wasn't very good. So tonight we had another birthday meal... we grilled NY steaks (should I tell my friends who are buried in snow that we grilled outside in shirt sleeves?!) and I made roast potatoes. Dessert was hot fudge sundae cake, but I won't be sharing that recipe on Wellness Wednesday any time soon! This was actually the first time since Christmas that we used white flour and white sugar. (And we haven't really missed it!)

This is A, D and J with our current school project. We are studying about plants for science this spring. These are the seeds we planted on Thursday. On the left are 20 peat pots with mixed annual seeds. On the right, 6 Hollyhocks have come up and in the middle we have no progress on our Columbine or Foxglove. We also have some sunflower seeds beginning to root. We are all having fun with this project.

Last but not least, this is my progress on the Swallowtail shawl. I don't think you can tell in this photo but after the light blue and raspberry there is a bit of brown before it goes to green. I was pretty apprehensive about this as brown is NOT one of the colors I like much. But I decided to be brave and leave it in.. The yarn goes from the green back to brown, raspberry and then into the blues, grays etc again, before going back to the brown, raspberry and green. I am halfway the first chart of bobbles. This is the slowest I've knit on a Swallowtail shawl, but that's because I have had lots of distractions.

CA Project Along

On the Christian Artisans list, we started a Project Along on February 18th. Most are knitting but some are doing crochet, weaving, spinning, sewing and other projects. The color in this first photo isn't exactly accurate. The purple is more of a warm violet rather than a cool lavender. Last night I started the Swallowtail Shawl. I think this is my 4th one! I had found this ball of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn and didn't really want to do socks in a single yarn, so thought maybe I'd do a shawl or scarf where you could really see the color way work out. It's fun to knit because you are waiting to see what the next color will do!

Here is a close up of the yarn. This is a little bluer/cool toned than the actually yarn which looks purpleier (sp?!) and a little more pink/violet than lavender. However, the burgandy and acid green in the center of the skein are closer to accurate color. Like regular Kureyon, it's kind of a rough yarn, but I'm hoping that it will also wash up soft. When I felted with Kureyon, I could not believe that the soft finished product came from the rough beginning. This is semi-mindless knitting, since I've done it several times before, so I am working on this when my brain is too tired for the butterfly lace.

Getting Back to Knitting

It has been a really long time since I have done any "real" knitting. Part of that has been a bump in the road in my grief journey. Since I knit lace shawls as a prayer shawl ministry, they sometimes go to people who die. Two people receiving one of my shawls died of Ovarian Cancer and this is all interlaced with my own grief and loss journey. Intellectually it doesn't make sense, even to me, but emotionally knitting has been intertwined with death. For several months now my knitting has not held either pleasure or comfort for me and lately I have been just too sick and/or exhausted.

Today however, I made a decision to pick up the Butterfly Shawl and begin knitting. It felt good and as I watched Becoming Jane I knit 5.5 rows on the Butterfly Shawl that I am test knitting for Carissa. That doesn't sound like a lot of knitting, but consider that this is the bottom of the shawl and has over 350 stitches as well as some of the rows being patterned on both sides. In a few more rows I'll be done with the beautiful butterfly border and it will begin decreasing! Yeah! At that point it should progress much more quickly.

As for Becoming Jane, it was enjoyable to watch, but I thought it fell short of its potential. When the movie starts you feel like you have dropped into the middle of something and some of the plot is poorly developed. A great disappointment to me as a photographer was that there was so much potential for the cinematography that was never realized. Still I would reocmmend any Jane lovers see it. It is an interesting glimpse into Jane Austin's life and how fun to have Anne Hathaway play her part after having written her senior English thesis on Jane at Vassar. And I must say I have the best Hubby of all. He watched it with me because he knew how much I wanted to see it and how much I enjoy just being with him, so he gave me that gift of time! Thanks Honey!

El-Jo's Heart

Cary is such a sneaky little sheep! :-) I played with the color balance to try and get this right, but it didn't work well. You can see it more accurately at the Serenity Farms site.

This beautiful fiber came in a box along with a cute sock pattern she designed with coffee cups on it. I should have taken a picture of it too, sorry! This was all a shock when it arrived. What a nice surprise.

This lovely creation is called El-Jo's heart after her inlaws. It is a mix of Corriedale/CVM from Cary's ewe Bunny and Pygora from my friend Tina's Take Heart Farm, as well as silk from my other Christian Artisan friend, Eve at Perennial Grace. I'm not sure what I am going to make with this gift but I am thinking of spindle spinning it to make something lacy!

Life it seems has been up and down and going in fits and spurts the last several months. There has been a low level of underlying stress - nothing BIG - just lots of little things adding up. I have not been knitting other than a few dishclothes. It's not likely to lighten up as we have a lot going on this spring with Hubby doing some extra training for a possible second job and home improvement projects. But today we received our couch and love seat. This is the first new piece of furniture (other than mattresses and the kind of things you put together from a box) we have purchased since we got married. We've been without a couch for so long and the only time I get to sit next to my Hubby is in the pew at church! LOL I miss him! So now, we got the couch in place after many discussions and much moving and purging of other items as well as a sad goodbye to my old recliner - the one I nursed all my babies in and my girls learned to walk with it, by holding the handle and walking in circles - but our living room is looking more like a home. Soon I will be taking photos of finished objects on the new couch instead of the old blue chair! And I am in the process of "nesting" and building a new knitting spot and hoping to start again. I miss it!

I Still Knit...

I tried to "photoshop" this to the right color but this does not do this justice. This is a dyed silk hankie from Chasing Rainbows in Willits, California. It's incredible with all the depths and nuances of color that silk attains, only the photo looks flat and blah. I'm going to be knitting a silk scarf directly from this after I take a class at Babetta's on February 20th! I'm really looking forward to it as I have not taken a class in a long time.

Life has been too busy and too stressful and too full lately, so I haven't even had the time and/or the nerves to sit down and knit. What is wrong with life when you are too stressed to knit? LOL This is a season. I have to keep reminding myself that.

No More Hum Drum Mittens Swap 2

One day I was innocently browing on Cary's blog and she sucked me in to another exchange! :o) Here is my questionnaire for the No More Hum Drum Mittens Swap 2. I hope I answered the measurement questions correctly Secret Knitting Friend. Feel free to ask questions if you aren't sure.

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I learned how to knit in Kindergarten (1971) when my Grandma taught me. In 1990 when I moved to a knew city I really got serious about it. Then set it aside for awhile again and have been knitting steadily since 2005.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I think my knitting level is somewhere between intermediate and advanced.

What are your favorite colors?
I love all purples, burgandies, blues, periwinkle, dark teal, pinks, grays, some blue toned greens. I generally prefer jewel or rich colors to pastels.

Any you dislike?
Orange, warm tones, browns (unless it's a natural sheep color)

Do you like Latvian type patterns?
Yes, I like most all types of traditional knitting forms, including the Latvian mittens and Scandinavian.

If so, what are your favorite patterns?
I don't know enough about Latvian mittens to have a favorite pattern. I love snowflake pattern variations, but I'm sure whatever you think of will be a great surprise.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?
I'm going to be selfish and say for myself since I've never done this before.

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger?
8.5 " (not counting cuff)

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point?
9.25" (I measured where the base of the thumb is, I hope that was right. Sorry! I have big hands!)

What other things do you enjoy knitting?
I do a lot of lace knitting and traditional things like Aran and Fair Isle and plain/common things like dish cloths, socks, kids sweaters etc.

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
It depends on the project. I use a lot of circs, especially Addi turbos and Addi lace turbos and also like bamboo. I love Brittany for douple points.

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
I would like to work on some of Elizabeth Zimmerman's patterns. I have the books but just haven't gotten around to it. I also have some Alice Starmore Arans that I would like to make. I have a HUGE list of projects on Ravelry in my queue. I love looking at patterns and could have a million projects going at once if I am not careful.

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
I love wool. Someday I would like to try some luxury fibers like cashmere or quiviut. I have a skein of Tofootsies I haven't tried yet. Some of those new fibers sound fun.

What other hobbies do you have?
I love to sew/quilt, do genealogy, spin, scrapbook, photography

Do you spin?
Yes, I have a Lendrum DT and a couple spindles. I'm still pretty beginnerish.

Sew?
Yes, for my kids, some for myself, quilting and patchwork

Garden?
I just have container gardens where I am now but I'm reading up about organic gardening so that hopefully in the future we can do that.

Cook?
Yes, I like to cook and we have recently been pursuing healthier living so I am re-learning how to cook, all over again.

Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
I like sheepy things and killer whales but don't officially "collect" anything.

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty?
I like caramels and chocolate, shortbread. I'm not a salty or sour person.

Anything you hate or are allergic to?
Cigarette smoke, scented stuff (I have asthma), I don't care for licorice.

Do you have any kids?
3, DS - 6, DD - 4 3/4, DD - 4 3/4

Pets?
Kitty, Abbie

What is your favorite part of Winter?
Snow...knitting!

What is your least favorite part of Winter?
People's grumpy attitudes and commercialism around holidays and sales.

Catching Up

This is the colored pencil roll from Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. This project was fun to make. It is not difficult but it is time consuming. Of course the one in the book is made from all kinds of funky and fun fabrics. Mine is made from my stash, 70s-90s quilting cottons. Well maybe I had a bit of this century in there too! LOL This is part of a gift for my best friend Shelley. It went along with a 12" square graph paper pad for planning quilts. I put together a "get quilting" kit for her with all kinds of goodies in it, but this was the most fun.

The kids thought this was really cool, so I think I will make them one for their crayons. I found a free tutorial that looks really cute. It uses rick rack and since I have some from my Grandma Hopkins, that would be fun.

Right now I am sorting through my fabric stash. I am reorganizing and sorting. This blogger shows a great way to fold your fabrics, which I believe she got from this book, which I want to try and get through our library. It does make the fabric much tidier and I am reorganizing my banker's boxes and trying to slim down my stash! I need to get sewing this year and use up some of my stash so that when it is time to move, I will have less to move!

Catching up is the theme around here though. It seems like everything is behind and in the wrong spot and I have been more exhausted this year than after any other Christmas. Each year we try to keep it really simple, but we can't control everything. Even our anniversary was an exhausting and hectic day and we had a horrible meal out as a family. Doesn't it just get you when you spend extra to eat out and then you get horrible food. We were so hungry for good Mexican food, but the search for a decent Mexican restaurant around here continues.

One thing I am planning to do to refresh this weekend is spend some time breaking in my new Bible (mine is navy). I know it's crazy but I have had teh worst time with my eyes lately and wanted this large print to read at night and at church so that I don't have to concentrate so hard. In all the hectic rush of the last month, I haven't had as much time in the Word as I like to spend and I am feeling weary and hungry.

The Butterfly Shawl awaits me and begs to be finished so that Carissa can get it published. It promises to be beautiful. In the meantime for mindless knitting I have been knitting some garden themed dishcloths. Not very exciting but I am waiting for this migraine to disappear. When it's gone, I will tackle the lace.

Do all of you have a lot of UFOs sitting around? I certainly do, both in quilting, sewing and knitting. I would like to get some of them finished up this year. I hate having them hanging over my head and taking up what precious little storage room I have. How do you keep motivated with your UFOs?

Rare Sighting...

This is a rare sighting of me wearing something I knit! I had to reach into the archives of 2002. Here I am with my then 7 month old (now 6 year old) son at the ocean. This is now called a Color Your Own Fair Isle from Philospher's Wool, though at the time I knit it in 1993 it was called Vienna Woods in an old issue of Knitters. I ordered the kit from Philosopher since they fairly unknown at the time and then swapped out the yarns until I came up with a color scheme that suited me. I still have the sweater. It has gone through a lot. But since having twins, it really gets stretched out. Next winter I'll be able to wear it though! I'm counting on it. It's nice and warm.

Secret Sister Surprise

I am late in getting this posted. A couple days before Thanksgiving, this arrived in the mail. Isn't it pretty? My Secret Sister on the Christian Artisans list spun it. She also made me some pretty pink and turquoise stitch markers. I have so many projects with stitch markers going on that it was the perfect timing. I really needed some more. I'm not sure what I am going to knit with this, but it is wool and mohair and all the colors I like.

I do still knit. Sometimes. Between being sick, doing homeschool and working on adjusting Hubby's thyroid meds and his work stresses, this fall just has not been a great knitting time for me. I still have a couple shawls to block, including two Swallowtail Shawls, one of which, I hope to wear Saturday to women's brunch with Sonia and Pam, my scrapbooking friends.

Friends

Today I had a fun break from the usual. My friend Amy, who I met in quilting class about three years ago and introduced me to blogging and got me back to knitting, came to town. And she brought her friends with her, so I met some really nice knitters! We met up at Babetta's Yarn and Gifts, which is my lys. They had already been shopping and had lunch before I met up with them. It was so good to see Amy in person again!

This is Amy's Big Shrug. I was really impressed with the great job she did! After seeing hers, I think I want to make one. Sometimes hubby and I watch movies on the computer as we have a 22" monitor and my shoulders get cold while the rest of me is under covers. I also like to read a lot and I think it would be nice to snuggle in then too. So, I might have to get this pattern and knit it up too!

Here is Amy! She is showing the front. Doesn't she have a beautiful smile?!

Here are the gals that Amy came with. Everyone was so nice and warm and welcoming. I hope we get a chance to meet up again some time.

This is a little blurry because I cropped it out of a larger picture, but here I am with Amy.

After yarn shopping we went for coffee and treats in Fair Oaks, California which is known for its wandering chickens. It's quite common to hear roosters crowing and if you have a friend that collects roosters, you can find roosters on everything and anything while you are there! It was so nice to make new friends and meet with old...just like the Girl Scout song! :o) I don't have any local knitting friends so this really was a privilege today!