SPA Weekend

I'm slowly recovering from a non-stop trip to Maine.  It was a busy weekend at SPA.  There were plenty of opportunities to connect with other knitters, and I came home with several new project ideas.

Here's a quick view of the booth.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by.  It was fun connecting and chatting about all things knitting.

I'll post some knitting content next time.  I had a little time to knit over the weekend - something that doesn't always happen when I'm on the road.

Travel Knitting

I'm getting ready to travel this week and working on a long to-do list.  One of the things at the top of the list (the most important?) is travel knitting.

I need a new project for the road, so I wound some yarn. I'm in a matchy-matchy mood this morning.

If you're headed to SPA this weekend, you'll find all the details here (Ravelry link).  There's a lot of info to wade through.

To help you out, the market hours are:

Friday evening, 5:00 - 8:00                                           Saturday, 9:00 - 4:00                                               Sunday morning, 9:00 - 11:00

If you make it to Freeport, be sure to stop by and say hi.

Finishing

I'm on a roll over here.

I finished another project the other day.

Gulf of Maine - Light (Ravelry link).  I've made this project a couple times, and it's always fun choosing colors.  This one is made with Lucia DK in Biscuit, Dark Chocolate and Sea Breeze. 

This design includes two sizes.  Need a relaxing, soothing project?  Take a look at this cowl.

This week's color inspiration . . .

The palest pink.

A Bit Fidgety

I'm picking up where I left off on Monday.  It's a drag to wind yarn and not cast on right away.  I ran out of day on Monday and had to wait until yesterday for the cast on.

I don't have many active projects on the needles, and I was feeling a bit fidgety.  This project has taken the edge off, but I definitely need to cast on something else for good measure.  I'm off to do a Ravelry search.

Limping Along

I started my Monday with some tech difficulties and have been limping along most of the day.  While I've had to put some things on the back burner, I did manage to settle on this.

There's nothing like a new project to salvage the day.

Playing with Fire

I'm still being faithful to one knitting project (see previous post) and I'm making good progress, but I might fall off the wagon any day now.

I thought playing with color combinations and browsing on Ravelry would be safe zones, but I might be playing with fire.  I'll see if I can remain faithful through the weekend.

It seems that every store is stocked for Valentine's Day, and that's where I found this week's color inspiration.

Dusty pink.

Missed Deadline

I've been juggling a few deadline projects recently.  Two of them came in on time, but the third one fell short.  I blame it on the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day. Time is a precious commodity, and I sure could use a few more hours.

This week I'm trying to be a monogamous knitter, so I can finish this last project.

It's challenging because after finishing a couple projects, I think I've earned a new cast on or three.  I'm trying to be good.  We'll see how long it lasts. 

Winter Fiber Events

If you're looking to break up the winter months, I just updated the right sidebar with a couple fiber events. Later this month, SPA, Knit and Spin (Ravelry link) will be happening in Freeport, February 24 - 26.

Fiber enthusiasts take over a couple hotels for the weekend.  There's a market, fashion show, informal sharing and general socializing.  Come for the whole weekend or make it a day trip.  For more details, hop over to the Ravelry group.  

I'll be there with an awesome group of vendors.  I expect the full list will be posted to the Ravelry group in the next day or so.

The following weekend we'll be closer to home and back at Russell's Garden Center for another Farm Fiber Day on March 5.

If you missed it last month, this is your chance to get in on the fun.  The hours are 10:30 - 3:00.  Keep your eyes open.  I'll post an update with more details about our exact booth location.

Another Hat

There's no such thing as too many hats - especially when the Arctic wind blows.  I finished Estrella's hot pink hat just in time for the weekend winter blast.  As requested, I topped it with a white pom pom.

Estrella texted me this morning for a project update:  Is my hat ready to go?  I could almost hear the implied follow-up text:  It's not finished yet, is it.  I quickly replied that the hat was finished.  I would have taken a picture of her wearing it, but she was in a hurry to get out the door. Maybe another time.

This week's color inspiration . . .

Frosted leaves.

Counting and Recounting

Yesterday I had a long to-do list, but one thing near the top was casting on a new project.  The pattern and yarn were ready to go.  All I had to do was get stitches on the needles.

It was one of those days, and I had more interruptions than I could count.  The cast on got bumped into the evening hours.  No big deal.  After dinner I settled in with yarn and needles only to be interrupted yet again.  My parenting gig takes priority, but I have to say, sometimes it gets in the way of other plans.

Finally around 9:00 I got down to business.  This pattern needs over 250 stitches, so I cast on with markers, counting and recounting the whole way.

The first time, I was way off.  I discovered I might have been reading the wrong pattern, so I started again.  The second time wasn't much better.  No, there wasn't any wine involved.  Maybe I was getting tired.  I cast on a third time, but by then it was after 11:00, and I didn't have the stamina to count any more.

In the morning I looked at all those stitches and decided to let the project rest a while.  Instead I went back to this project.

This hat is almost finished.  In just a few rounds it will be off the needles, and then I'll start counting stitches again. With any luck I'll even have the right number.