Friday, October 31, 2008

Debra's Garden goodies...

Just a reminder that I'm outta here so what that means for you is any orders placed November 1 through November 9 will not be shipped until Monday, November 10th, 2008. But The Yarn Grove will remain open for your shopping pleasure.

Speaking of shopping pleasure, just in to The Yarn Grove are Debra's Garden Needle Gauge pendants. They are so useful and make great gifts. They come with a small ring which you can slip a chain through for a necklace, attach to a key ring or what I am doing, attach to my knitting bag since I can never find my other one. They are small -- 1-1/2" x 1-1/4" is as beautiful as it is accurate. US goes from 0 - 17. The numbers on the gauge are lasered in so there is no paint to wear off. It is made of anodized aluminum, which is light weight, strong and colorfast. Many colors to choose from and they are shipped in a small organza drawstring bag for even more cuteness.

There is a special pink one and Debra of Debra's Garden is matching the additional $1 cost for a $2 donation per sale of the pink pendant to donate to the Susan G Komen Foundation for a Cure in honor of breast cancer awareness.



Happy Halloween to all and have a safe and fun fiber filled week...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Some feet treats ...



I'd like to show off a pair of socks, no *not* knit by me, but by Diana's sister, Debbie in VA. Diana bought this gawgeous skein of Stitchjones in the Tai Chi colorway and mailed it to Debbie, who in turn made these gawgeous socks. Debbie, thanks so much for sharing these! Diana and I are both waiting to see Debbie's Dumbledore socks... BTW, if you want to read an entertaining blog, check out Diana's blog: Woofgang Pug Knits .

Tonight is knit night but alas, I will not be going. I am having a girl's night out with some non-knitting friends. We were all together at a wedding a few weeks ago and decided to strike up our bi-monthly meetups. What I really need to be doing is packing since I am leaving soon for 9 days ...
Packing can wait, fun with friends cannot...




Friday, October 24, 2008

I'll take mustard with those...



I just wanted to show off *again* some great sample socks my long time buddy, Paula, made for us for a show. These are the Mustard colorway from Louet in the Gems Fingering weight. Paula loves this yarn. Actually, I have never met a yarn Paula didn't like. She can turn out some socks. Amazing...

In other news, we are continuously getting in needles from Hiya Hiya. I am currently testing another size for us - in between 9" and 16". Any thoughts on those 2 sizes - 11or12", drop me an email at janeATtheyarngrove.com?

Just a reminder - the shop will remain open but no shipping will occur from November 1st through November 9. Shipping will resume on Monday, Nov. 10. More on that later...

And just because I haven't shown a pic of my 2 babies in a long time, here is a recent photo of Shorty (left) and Junior(right). They always make me smile.
Have a great fiber filled weekend!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Happy Birthday Cheryl!



Happy Birthday to my precious Cheryl! You are one much loved and a special super mommy to be. Enjoy your day ... Here is a photo of her that Orange Boy sent to me!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Picky Pants - Done...


My first pair of Picky Pants, done! Well, they're for my soon to be grandbaby boy, Stephen.

To recap, Lorna's Laces Worsted Weight in Envy colorway and the pattern was so detailed and I absolutely loved it. Can't wait to cast on another pair! And I love saying "Picky Pants".

Just made 2 new cakes of yarn which I will cast on for a new project tonight... They will be a gift for a special friend...

Friday, October 17, 2008

Itty Bitty Hat


Hope your week has been filled with lots of fiber! Mine has and I am working on a pair of Picky Pants that is such a fun knit. It is a pattern from Little Turtle Knits and the directions are so clear and precise for several different sizes. This pair should fit up to a 12 pound baby, over cloth diapers. I will show a picture of them early next week (or before if I get finished). I am knitting them out of Lorna's Laces Worsted weight, Envy colorway.

I did finish a little hat for my soon to be grandbaby to match his baby surprise jacket which was Lorna's Laces Sport Weight yarn in the Devon colorway. This was a free pattern from Just Jussi who has adorable patterns.

It is finally raining today - a nice steady rain and the temperature will hopefully start droppin' just a tad. Hope your weekend is a marvelous one!

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Some house picks


Here are some pictures of what we have done in the new house:



This is the dining room. I got the curtains at a glorious place called Old Time Pottery. I knew that if I tried to sew curtains for the entire house PLUS baby bedding PLUS a maternity bridesmaids dress for a wedding in November, that I would never sleep again. SO for $10 a panel, the curtains became mine! Oh also, I installed the curtain rod all by myself. Including dry wall anchors! Amazing, huh?

Here's a closeup of Mona's kitty window seat that Chris made for her. We call this window the "TV." Mona loves her perch- You can see that she just woke up.



Chris enjoys yardwork (a little too much judging by this picture)







Here's the kitchen. Please note the yellow countertops. The floor and walls are also all yellow. That is want prompted the wallpaper. There isn't much you can do with yellow countertops other than go with it.





Here is the bedroom. Chris painted before we moved in, thank goodness- the color is called "Airy." Isn't it peaceful? We just need to hang some stuff on those bare walls!


The nursery and the craft room are still completely messy. We are slowly working away...

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Baby Surprise... done!

My first ever Baby Surprise Jacket. Already I know that I will be making more. This was truly a fun knit. I decided when I finished that I did not want 5 buttons on it, so I did try to cinch up the buttonholes, a bit. But alas, I can still see them. Also, I will do a different increase stitch next time and be a bit more careful when picking up stitches. But all in all, I am pleased with it and I know that Stephen will love it. I am currently working on a matching hat. That should be something I can work on at Noble Knitters tonight without too much concentration... To recap: Yarn used Lorna's Laces Sport in the Devon Colorway and Hiya Hiya 24" Circs Bamboo in a US 3.



Wow, the Harry Potter yarn has been extremely popular and no wonder. Opal is a great sock yarn and fun to knit and watch the patterns evolve.

Also just refreshed at The Yarn Grove - more Nature's Palette fingering weight and of course, Hiya Hiya needles in a multitude of popular sizes... Hope your days include lots of fiber!

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Its a...

BOY!!! Little Stephen Renwick was kind enough to give us a full spread eagle shot of his privates right away! We are beyond thrilled. I haven't gotten any work done today, I've just been sitting here dreaming about tee-ball and tiny sneakers and little bowties on easter morning and this jacket from Baby Gap. I also picked out my first knitting project from ravelry. I guess I did do something at work today!

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Hat in a weekend


I whipped this hat up for a friend's birthday a few weekends ago. Sweet Scott- Spottie's FAVORITE uncle and the world's nicest guy. I used 2 Lorna's Laces colors from my (out of control) stash. It was fun to knit and only took a Saturday- I used my Turbos, which give me super powers and lightning fast speed.


Other than that, I really haven't been knitting much. We moved into our new house 3 weeks ago, so I've been spending most my time shopping for or making curtains, installing curtain rods- oh yes, all by myself- telling Chris where to hang art work and unpacking. Not to mention working full time and sleeping as much as possible. We find out tomrrow if we are having a boy or a girl, so soon nursery preparations will commence! If its a boy, I'm going to do a nautical/sailboat room, and if its a girl, I'm going to do a pink and green garden with little birds and bugs and flowers. I've been secretly shopping online for fabric in my spare time at work. Shhh, don't tell!


We've already started to receive gifts and hand me downs. We got an almost brand new swing, a basinette, 12 bottles and a sterilizer, a sleep positioner, a travel swing and lots of cute toys from the Bruno/Miller/Lamandola clan. Gammaw sent us a sample pack of cloth diapers. My favorite is the Bum Genius 3.0 One Size Pocket Diaper- doesn't that sound high tech! Its the cutest little thing you've ever seen too.


I'll let you what we see tomorrow on the untrasound!!!

Harry Potter Sock Yarn ... It's Here!





Harry Potter Sock Yarn is here at The Yarn Grove. While we only got about 40% of our initial order due to the Tutto Factory floods in Germany, we will be receiving the balance of our initial shop order soon.

So who is your favorite character? There is Harry, Dumbledore, Draco, Ron, and more. Just in time to make some great gifts for that special HP fan in your life ... or for yourself.