My First Colinette

I've always dreamed of buying some Colinette yarn, but even better is to receive it as a gift. I have got to have one of the most fabulous Secret Pals because she sent me my first skein of Colinette (Zanziba to be exact!). It is so lovely I had to pose it with some other cherished objects...a vase a dear friend bought for me on her trip to England and a beautiful family heirloom jewlery box my mother recently gave me. I really need to ponder what to make with this yarn. I'm open to suggestions from anyone! Please help me. I want to do the right thing with this yarn. For now I have gingerly placed it in my yarn display basket on my dresser. I love being able to see all the wonderful colors and textures of the fibers I own - so I keep them on display always. It gives me joy to look at that basket each day.

Secret Pal - if you are reading this I hope you have seen the comment I left at your blog and read the email I sent to you. If not - thank you thank you again for such a terrific gift --- which included not only the Colinette but other wonderful spa items that I am THOROUGHLY enjoying! You are super!

Here is the progress on the back of the Thorn and Thistle sweater/shell. This project has been a real learning experience and now I am on an "easy stretch" of the pattern. I'm loving how it is turning out and I also love that it is so light weight - not heavy and saggy like cotton sweaters can get.

OK - so Floyd Landis did it. I must say that I love to hear the Star Bangled Banner played on the streets of France! How inspiring were Floyd's last few rides. Whenever I ever begin to feel defeated I will think of Floyd. I cheered for him and knitted furiously as he pedaled to victory. I had to keep flipping back and forth between the British Open and the Tour on that final Sunday, but I'm not complaining. I''ll be ready to go next year when the Tour returns.

Bye for now and remember - leave comments - bloggers love comments.

Lacey Days of Summer

How does the old song go? ..."Roll out those lacey, crazy, hazy days of summer, those days of soda and pop corn and beer." Yes I'm working on some summer lace. It is for the sweater twin set I mentioned in an earlier post. Once I made sure that my yarn-overs (YO's!) were going the right direction then this pattern fell right into shape and now I'm ready to cast on for the front of the shell. This will be a great project to take to Squam Lake on vacation. The yarn is Classic Elite's Classic Silk - cotton, silk and just a tad of nylon for strength. It is super soft with a bit of a nub that makes it look like linen.

So my man George Hincapie is not doing as well as I had hoped in the Tour de France. However, I can still root for him and an American - Flyod Landis - who holds the yellow jersey as of today. My project for Tour TV Time is the Clapotis and you can see how that is coming along below. I'm only one more repeat away from starting my decrease rows. What strikes me about this piece is that the camera never does it justice. I would love to see a live exhibit of all the many bloggers Clapotis' one day. Maybe there needs to be a Clapotis Convention!

Well, my son is clamoring for dinner. My goodness - sometimes I forget myself. Off to the kitchen to dig up dinner. We'll keep you posted.

The Vest is a Hit!

This is the vest I knit for my Mother's 70th birthday. (Click on any photo for a close-up view!) It was quite the pattern. It is called "Vest Sideways" and is knit sideways. I loved all of the many yarns that went into the vest and so did my mother. With this pattern you create your own "designer yarn" by tying together 2 - 3 yd. strands of varying fibers. It's a treat for the senses. I found the pattern at a cute yarn shop in Ft. Walton Beach Florida. Here is the back of the vest.
While in Florida we visited a yarn shop that was selling a version of "personal designer yarn" already made up for you. It was the most beautiful yarn I have ever seen, with the most expensive price tag too...$92.00 a skein. No kidding. It was probably worth every penny and when I become wealthier than I am now I will purchase some and make a jacket. Until then I will string together my own personal designer yarn. Oddly enough when we showed one of the clerks the vest shown here - she thought we had used the yarn from their shop to make it. So - who would know the difference? Only your pocket book.
This was a sweater that I knitted for Mom - oh about a year or so ago. Actually I knitted it for myself and my mother fell in love with it - so it became her Christmas present. It was a Bernat pattern that I modified by adding the cables going up the front. I love cables and so had to have them on this sweater. Even though Mom lives in Florida she likes to have one roastie toastie sweater to wear in the so-called Winter months in Naples.


Here is the table setting Mom did for us on the 4th of July! It was fabulous. Note the beanie baby! How many of you still have those?

Now I feel good!

The blanket is finished. CLICK ON THE PHOTO to see the detail. It will be blessed in October and then sent on to Project Linus. It felt good to finish a project, especially one that will be given away to a good cause.



Ok! So how about George Hincapie?!! He's a feel good guy. He is my man in the Tour De France this year and is the leader after a fabulous time trial in the Prologue and after today's first stage. Keep your eye on this one. The tour is just getting started - catch it on OLN TV. Even if you have never watched cycling - check it out - it's fascinating - great drama and strategy.

We are off to sunny Naples, Florida to visit the parents. Stay tuned for more posts, the unveiling of a finished knitting project and much, much more. And remember - leave a comment - I live for comments! TTFN Kate