Taos and Fiber

This past weekend we took our family up to Taos to go visit a few yarns stores. We went through Chimayo' and Truchas, it was a great drive!

The first yarn stop was in Chimayo, Los Vigils but it was closed again. Someday I'll catch them while they're open! Then up the mountain to Taos.

We went and checked out Weaving Southwest, wow! They had yarn in every color and the tapestries were amazing. I only got to take a quick pic of the yarns hanging outside. Don't they look yummy? The ladies there were so nice and I was happy huffing the wool fumes for a while. They had weaving, spinning and dying tools as well as books on all that and knitting too! Great place to stop by if you ever get the chance.

After that we walked a few blocks down to La Lana Wools, talk about fiber lust! They had everything, roving, mohair, a ton of different sheeps wool. Oh it was beautiful! The staff was very kind and didn't even mind that I had my kids with me. As a matter of fact they boasted that they were very kid friendly and that Mat could go ahead and touch because "wool bounces". So cool. They have a neat virtual tour on their site, don't drool too much.

After that we walked back to the jeep, on the way we stopped to see some sunflowers. Mat doesn't look all that happy but that's because a bee was buzzing him.

Next stop on our little fiber tour of the state, Edgewood!

Seaming is the Debil

So I'm sick( as you can tell from my muffled title), I'm sick and I'm stalled. Like dead in the water, no juice in the battery stalled. I just can't figure out how to to do the seaming on Mat's birthday sweater. It's all that's stopping me from working on it right now. See I don't knit in the regular english/continental style. I use the combined knitting method. I know, some people are going to say it's wrong others aren't going to know what I'm talking about. Either way, because of said combined method my side stitches of my knitted fabric are a bit wonky and don't move or sit the way "normal" stitches do. *sigh* I'll figure it out, I always do but with this cold I've been fighting off it's a little more then I can handle right now. So far I've got both the front and the back done, that just leaves picking up the stitches for the hood and sleeves. Oh I forgot to point out the funky homemade buttons!

In better news my sweet husband went to my LYS and bought me mohair to make me feel better. (He is a knitters dream, I know. ) One in a funky, sparkly avacado/lime green and the other in a bright pink, fluffy blob. I loves him and my yarns. They're from the Universal Yarn, they make the neatest assortment of funky yarns. I'm not sure what I'll make with these yarns yet, I've just been treating them like fuzzy little buddies and petting them anytime I see them. (This is common in the knitting world, skein pets.....isn't it?)

Other then Mat's jacket I have a few, a couple, lots of other projects on the needles to keep me occupied. There's the big purple prayer shawl it's a black hole of knitting. The purple blue prayer shawl which splits like crazy, my dad's basket weave scarf (which I have yet to start...shhh) Levi's scarf and finally my neon pink intarsia skull scarf. And with that I think I'm going to go work on Levi's scarf, it's simple and the yarn is soft, yummy alpaca.

Knitting Horror Stories

In the beginning everything starts out looking so sweet and innocent. You find that perfect pattern or yarn and you fall head over heels in love with it. It makes so many promises, taunting you with it’s beauty and of the many good things to come….
Then things start to feel off. At first it’s just a feeling, maybe it’s the needle you’re using, maybe it’s the light you’re working in. Something just doesn’t feel right but you keep on knitting, ignoring that little nagging voice in the back of your head.
Then comes the time where you’ve finished the knitting, blocked it and try it on….
The sleeves are too long, the button band is crooked and there is weird sagging around the tush area. You scream but it’s too late.
Unless you’re one of those mystical “perfect knitters” I’ve heard about you’ve had a least one knitting horror story. If you’re like me then you’ve had, well a lot more then one!
I think it would be a great idea to collect knitting horror stories from knitters around the globe. So on a dark and gloomy night, a knitting group can read them aloud and scare the socks off their needles.
Let me know if you’ve ever had a knitting horror story!