A Fetching Christmas!

Because I am such a rebel, I took my knitting to Mass on Christmas Eve. While sitting listening to the choir and the readings, I finished my second Fetching! I just need to finish weaving the ends in and I'm totally and completely done. Aren't they gorgeous? And they're soooooo soft! I'm still not totally sure how I feel about the yarn, since it's hard to see the cabling with the heathered color of the fuzzy alpaca. Overall, I'm addicted to the pattern, and I plan on making several more pairs of Fetching. I also would love to attempt a pair of Dashing, most likely to be made with some Cascade 220.

My Christmas was pretty average, but it was very good. One of my best friends Melanie made me a gingerbread house, and her mom gave me the 2008 day by day Stitch and Bitch calender! I got a really fuzzy new bathrobe, some great jewelry, a couple giftcards, and *drum roll...*

$100 to spend on YARN!

This is totally going to come in handy with all the new yarn stores I'm planning on visiting in the next week or two. My mom suggested that I use the money to buy the Knit Picks Harmony options set I want, but I'd rather have yarn.

Mom and I are leaving early tomorrow morning for Arizona and should be back the third or fourth of January. I don't know what type of computer access I'll have while I'm out of state, if I will even have any at all. I don't know what I'm going to do without checking Ravelry every single day!

That being said, I have a billion things to do before I have to go to work this afternoon. I need to decide what yarn to bring so I have plenty of knitting for the long car ride there and back.

coffee and cashmere,
Lulu

Planning a Yarn Crawl

I know, I'm a bad blogger.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to update this thing more, because I really do like blogging! I want this to be more than just a knitting blog too; I'd love to write about my crocheting, my scrapbooking, and my sewing. Plus I want to try some new crafts in the next few months, in addition to expand my knitting abilities.

So, now, onto the knitting!

The annual Christmas party at the Mexican restaurant I work at was Saturday the 15th, and of course I brought knitting even though I didn't work on it too much because I was busy eating, drinking, and merry-making. My friend Nichole, who is a junior at my high school, was my hot date. James, my boyfriend, drove us because my car was completely out of gas (how sweet). All the people who work at the restaurant participated in a gift exchange type of thing, and I had picked my boss's name. I gave him a cute gift set with a coffee mug, a shot glass, and a beer mug with the CU Buffs logo. Needless to say, with the excessive amounts of drinking going on, he loved it and even used the shot glass that night. I learned that drinking spiked egg nog with Nichole and trying to knit cables in the round really do not mix well. Overall, the party was fun and I was able to wait until Sunday to knit.

A few days ago, I finished the first glove in my alpaca Fetching's and started on the second. I really hope I have enough yarn to finish the second one because the ball is getting smaller and smaller and my LYS is closed until after the New Year. I don't really care for the pattern in this particular yarn though because with the heathered dark gray, it's hard to see the detailing of the cables. The pattern is really easy, and I think I may even make some modifications to the next pair I make. I'm hoping to get my hands on some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino while out of state so I can knit myself some black or red ones that I think I may actually wear more than the gray ones I'm working on now.

Speaking of going out of state, yes that is a New Mexico travel book in the above picture! Mom and I are planning a raod trip to Arizona and New Mexico for next week. Her parents live in Tucson, AZ so we're going to visit them, and then taking our time driving back home through New Mexico. I can't wait to visit all the new yarn stores! We're even planning to *hopefully* visit the Fiesta Yarns outlet too. Anybody know any yarn stores in Tucson or New Mexico?

To all of those Ravelry members who have left me comments, THANK YOU! If you're interested, I'd love to swap blog links. Just let me know. =)

coffee & cashmere,
Lulu

Coffee Swap Received!

Friday afternoon, I finally got my coffee swap package. I squealed and opened it quickly. I got spoiled with six skeins of yarn. (Excuse the date on the picture...My camera doesn't like me anymore!)



The fun part about swaps is that most of the stuff in my package is things I wouldn't normally purchase for myself, such as the Wildfoote sock yarn from Brown Sheep.

In my packaged, I got...

• Four skeins of Knick Picks Andean Sick in Sangria
• Two skeins of Brown Sheep Company's Wildfoote sock yarn in Soft Jazz
• An espresso cup with saucer, just plain white and rather chic
• A purple candle that smells very pretty
  
• Smarties!
• Chocolate coins from Disney
• Avon hand cream/lotion
• A box of organic, fair trade tea, caffiene free that sounds great for night time
• A sample of Blueberry herbal tea
• And one whole pound of Ethiopian coffee, that is quite yummy.

Thank you Mya from Aurora!

Coffee & Cashmere,
Lulu

Coffee Addict!

I am 75% Addicted to Coffee

Boston Dating

Boyfriend Scarf!

Because I love to knit so much, and I'm dearly fond of my boyfriend, I'm going to make him a scarf! And not just any scarf, but Knitty's Danica! It's going to be a lightish cerelean blue and black. I went to buy yarn yesterday at my awesome LYS but Emily was all out of black Cascade 220! She just ordered some more and it should be in after Thanksgiving probably. And since James (The boyfriend) wants it to be more black than blue, I need to wait to cast on!

I can't wait. ^_^

In other news, I spent last week taking about 40 pictures of my yarn stash for Ravelry. O-M-G that website is so addicting!

I finished my moss stitch scarf last night while watching "Fever Pitch" (cute movie btw). I need to weave in the ends and block it now! It's gorgeous too, and I can't wait to wear it.

Still no word from my swap partner... I want my package!! I just hope I get fun goodies. I can't wait to see what yarn he or she got me.

Ravelry Addict

It's official. I'm addicted to Ravelry. I even donated a dollar so I could feel good about my addiction. =)

I signed up for a billion groups, including House and Gilmore Girls!

I also signed up for the Caffiene Addicts Swap 2, and I've mailed off my package to my spoilee, a high school science teacher in Alaska. She already received everything, and just loved it all! I felt soo good Friday night when I saw her blog post about the package. I can't wait to see what she makes from the yarn.

I still haven't gotten my box.

Yay Raverly!

I love Raverly. It's so awesome. Just thought everybody should know that!

EEEEEEEEEE!!!!

I just got home from school and decided to check my email. Little did I suspect I would see my RAVERLY INVITE!!

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!



My username is craftylulu so add me or something if you're also on there!

I can't believe my invite came this soon, seeing how I didn't put my name on the list until about a month or two ago.

YAY!!!

Coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

Yay for Books!

With work really picking up and school getting busier, I haven't had a ton of time to devote to just KNITTING. As always, I take some with me everywhere, either a washcloth or one of my scarves, so my fingers are never idle, but I haven't had much time to do just crafts!

However, I just bought two new knitting books yesterday with part of my first paycheck from work! Best part, they were half off at Barnes & Noble. I love sales.



Okay, this book really isn't a knitting book, but it's crochet! And it's SCARVES! I love scarves. ^_^



And then, I also got Vogue's first stitch dictionary! A book I've been eying for several months. Not only was it half off the retail price of $29.95, I also received an additional 10% off because the back cover was torn, something easily repaired with some tape.

Fall Fashion: Knit Wear!!

I know this isn't a fashion blog, but this is totally knitting related!

Has anybody else noticed how much knit wear is showing up in the stores now? Gosh, I'm so excited about it all! I love sweaters, and I can't wait for the weather to finally turn colder so I can start wearing them. I've already purchased two lovely deep v-neck pullovers from Old Navy, three quarter sleeves, with a couple cables up the front. Maybe I'll post pictures someday...

In other more directly knitting related news, I'm just working on my cousin's hat. I love knitting with alpaca, even if it sheds like crazy.

Other than that, there really isn't much to report.

I'm vice president of the drama club!! Woot w0ot.

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

Bad Blogger

No purse cookie (Huge inside joke between me and Mel.)

Sorry I haven't been posting much. I have actually been knitting like crazy, and getting more yarn.

My current projects are:
1. a ribbed beanie like hat for my cousin Kelsey, knit on size 10 straights with gorgeous and very soft chunky alpaca in a pretty shade of coral
2. Washcloths! I plan to make several yellow and blue ones for myself, to match my duckie bathroom
3. Another scarf made from Cascade 220 on size 7 straights with seed stitch, it shows off Quatro colorway wonderfully

Maybe I'll even try to get pictures up someday. Lately I've been really focusing on school and work, since there is so much drama going on with the social aspects of things.

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

Pictures!

As promised, pictures from recent Stash Enriching Expeditions! This is a picture of me, taking by my lovely cousin, in from of all the gorgeous Cascade 220 wool at the crack house, I mean YARN STORE, in Boulder! As a Cascade 220 addict, I was in heaven. I had mentioned before how much I loved that yarn store, and I really do look forward to going back someday to buy out the orphanage.



This is some very pretty Cotton Fleece from Shuttles, Spindles, and Skeins, purchased from the Orphanage for a very reasonable $6.15. It's a lovely jade green, and of course I have no idea what to make out of it.


And this is some Luna cotton yarn from Cascade, all for a very reasonable orphanage price. Can anybody say pretty purple striped scarf?


Gorgeous greens! Purchased from the Lamb Shoppe in Denver, the skein on the left is 100% wool, and the skein on the right is a Debbie Bliss yarn, made of cashmere, wool, and microfibre. Of course, these are going to be a scarf too, with a fun play on different textures in the yarn.

Those were the yarn finds from my recent trip to Denver. I also bought a skein of some Sugar n' Cream cotton yarn, a varigated blue, white, and yellow, to make myself some washcloths.

And also, I order some really fun and pretty handspun from Etsy, from Spinning Warm Fuzzies. I paid only $8 for about 100 yards of lovely silk/wool handspun, plus $1 for shipping. I highly recommend this Etsy seller. The price was very reasonable, perfect for getting my feet wet when it comes to handspun, internet shopping, and the like. Her shipping was very prompt and the yarn arrived in wonderful condition! I can't wait to start knitting with it.

Gotta love the S.E.X.!

As in Stash Enriching Expedition!!

I went to the Denver area last week for some qaulity time if my mom's second cousin Meredith. On the way up, I stopped at Denver's own Lamb Shoppe, the same place Mom and I had ventured to back in March. This time, however, I actually bought something! Two different skeins of gorgeous green yarn and a pair of size 6 US bamboo needles. I need a green scarf now, so I'm happy. ^_^

On Saturday, Meredith and I went to the Farmers' Market in Boulder, CO. I had heard very good things about the yarn store up there, Spindles, Shuttles, and Skeins, and after asking around for a bit, we found it! I do have an excellent sense of direction after all. All five skeins of yarn I purchased there were "orphans", as in some of the last in their dye lots or something like that. There were an entire two shelves, what we shall call the Orphanage, devoted to orphan yarn. I got some beautiful purple cotton yarn, and then a skein of Cotton Fleece in a gorgeous jade green.

Of course, as I write this, I am listening to a summer storm at the Hoffman's house and therefore can't show off my pictures just yet. Wait until tomorrow!!

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

Yay for Yarn

Yesterday the twins and I went to Colorado Fiber Arts, our L.Y.S., because it was the last day of their Christmas in July sale. I bought five gorgeous skeins of Cascade 220, at 25% off!!

The twins decided they want knitted hats for their birthday, in October. Rachel wants the kitty hat from the first Stich and Bitch book, and Gina wants the same hat, but instead of kitty ears, she wants a big pom on the top with a contrasting color. I can't wait to make these hats!!

I bought myself a beautiful skein of Cascade 220 quatro. It's lime green, hot pink, dark purple, and light purple, and it's gorgeous. Did I mention it was the last skein left in that colorway? Yay me!

And for my mom, I got a skein of purples, and I think I'll make a scarf for her for Christmas I think, or mittens or something... I dont know yet. But whatever it is, she'll like it because it will be purple and made by her darling first born. Maybe I will make this scarf, called Wavy, from the Winter '04 Knitty. Hmmm, the possibilities...

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

So I've been MIA lately...

I've been knitting, but not as much as I did the end of the school year.

I've been making a blanket for Alex, the most adorable baby I watch 26+ hours a week. It's crocheted, with this really cool cameo looking cheap acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby, trimmed in this moss/sage Red Hart (so this way it's totally washable). I'm actually almost done, and I can't wait to finish it.

Once I'm done with this, I think I will make something for Alex's 7 year old sister Emily, so she doesn't feel left out. Her favorite color is pink, but I'm not sure what to make her. I think I will help her make clothes for her Brats dolls out of felt. Hmmm. Any ideas?

My lovely sweater has taken a bit of a backseat to everything else. It's very concentrated knitting for me, since I have to keep track of how many rows I knit before doing my decreases and what not. I will definately not have it done by the time school starts, but maybe next spring? Hmmm!!

I've also been working on a really fun scarf, blue and yellow, made with Cascade 220! It's kinda narrow, and striped, knit on size 7 needles with a 1x1 rib. I think I will put fringe on it.

In other news, I have a job interview with Best Buy on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. I've just spent a bunch of money buying clothes to possibly wear to my interview! Gosh, I hope I get the job. It would be absolutely great. I think my dad only wants me to get the job so he can use my employee discount...Oh well, it would be awesome. Just imagine how many CD's I could buy!!

Knit knit knit knit

My sweater is coming along nicely. I have one more repeat with my decreases and then it's 12.5 inches of just plain boring stockinette! I'm almost through the first skien too.

The Boyfriend and I are going to Yoder this weekend, this tiny little town half an hour east of Colorado Springs. Why? His aunt and uncle have 35 acres with half a dozen horses. We'll definately do some horseback riding and most likely go to the flea market in CO Springs.

I have to go back, and make sure I have batteries for my camera.

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

BOOKS! and other stuff

My grandmother left yesterday afternoon adn went home to Tucson, AZ. It was kind of nice to see her, but I'm glad she left!!!

However, she was a very nice grandma while she was here and she bought me knitting needles and a book!!! And not just any book! She bought me "Cables Untangled"--a book I've been eyeing for several months!

Also, I finally have finished swatching for my Tahoe sweater and I got to cast it on yesterday! I'm using a 29" size 8 US circular for the main part of the back right now. It is a little confusing but I made a promise to myself to get this sweater done by August so I can year it back to school this fall.

I'm still working on the cotton/angora scarf for my friend. I'm really hoping to get it done soon but I keep working on other stuff...And I'm also working on my first sock, which I think I should name. Any ideas?

My one year anniversary with The Boyfriend was yesterday. We went to the mall and shopped (I spent quite a bit of money) and then to the movies to see "Meet the Robinsons". We bought a really darling silver/platinum ring with diamond accents. It's gorgeous and it was a steal!!

After the movie, we went to Barnes and Noble and I bought a KNITTING BOOK! Big suprise there! It's Vogue's Knitting KNIT 101 and I really like it. Emily from CFA had reccommended it to me previously and I finally bought it. I really like it and I can't wait to knit some of the stuff in there.

Well I think that's all for now. No pictures this post because my computer isn't turning on due to a power blip (so my mom called it) yesterday. DARN IT!

coffee & cashmere,
Miss Lu

I Heart Socks That Rock

So go check out Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I've barely started on my first sock a week ago and I want half of the Socks That Rock yarn!!

Particulary: This one called LUCY!

And This one -which is called Lucy in the sky.

Totally cool, I know!!!

Also, I started swatching for my Tahoe sweater. I love the yarn!! I'm making it out of Lamb's Pride Cotton Fleece in Heather. I'm trimming it in Cadenza yarn (I can't remember the colorway). I'm so excited.

I have one more week left of college. And then a few more weeks of high school and then I'll be a SENIOR!!!

Life isn't half bad!

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

I've Been Sorted!

be sorted @ nimbo.net

And I'm Finally Back!

Mom and I just got home last night from a three day excursion to Denver and Greely, where we did plenty of shopping and toured the college of my choice, University of Northern Colorado.

The first yarn store we went to was The Lamb Shoppe, and I was slightly disapppointed. There was TONS of selection, but the prices were a little bit more than what I was used to. (Made me really appreicate my LYS-Colorado Fiber Arts). There were tons of books, plenty of sock yarn, and lots of that Debbie Bliss yarn that I'm going to ask Emily about soon. Mom and I bought an Americano, took a few pictures, and then left, on to do more SHOPPING!!

The yarn store we went to in Greely was called Wild n Wooly and I was horribly disappointed with it! THEY HAD NO CASCADE 220!!! When I asked the crazy old lady who ran the store about Cascade 220, she said "Oh, Hobby Lobby has that." Any decent fiber enthusiast will know that Hobby Lobby does NOT carry Cascade 220. Either way, I bought some Sockotta sock yarn and a pattern that will be cast aside until I finish all the other projects I have on the needles.

UNC was absolutely great! It's afforadble, the professors are great, and the campus is beautiful. Not to mention, the food is FANTASTIC! Despite not being horribly anxious to graduate and grow up, I'm so excited to go away to college.

I'm nearing the end of my second Fetching glove, and I will have plenty of yarn left over to probably start making the THIRD glove.

The Stitch and Quilt expo starts today but Mom and I probably aren't going until tomorrow. Oh well, I'm just so excited anyway!

Until next time!!!

coffee and cashmere,
lulu <3

New Techniques!

The cotton/angora scarf I've been making for Johnny V is coming along nicely, and I'm started working with the second ball of yarn the other day. Hopefully I can get the rest done within another week or two.

On Tuesday, The Boyfriend and I went to Colorado Fiber Arts so I can get the materials for a new project. I am currently making Fetching, from the Summer 2006 Knitty, and I am doing it on a really long size 6 circular (I think it's 32 inches long). They're light blue, done in a Baby Alpaca DK, and I love knitting these!! This project is also teaching me a lot of techniques including: Magic Loop, circular knitting, cables, and whatever I have to do to do the thumb holes. Yipee

My 17th birthday is on this Saturday, and I am throwing a Sock Hop at the local burger joint. I'm super excited, and I even made a light blue poolde skirt in honor of the occassion. I'm hoping a lot of the people I invited are going...

Off to class and to do more KNITTING!!

Sorry for the lack of Pictures!

Life has been sooo crazy... I've been really stressed out over school and a couple of personal stuff, thus, NO PICTURES!

I finished a long white crochet scarf with fringe over the weekend and I've been chugging away on the purple cotton/angora scarf for Johnny V.

OH, and I finally went to the Open Knit Nite at Colorado Fiber Arts last night. I had so much fun, and I really need to start going reguarly. Since my piano lessons got switched to Tuesdays, I have really no reason for not going to the Knit Nites! YIPPEE!!!

Today is the opera in CO Springs, and I'm so excited about it.

Not to mention, my birthday is in a week!

Just a Quiz Result

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer. You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!








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And Now an Update Please!

I've actually completed a couple projects projects this past week.

1. A pillow for my youngest sister, made out her old Crested Butte shirt and of Mom's old fabric.
2. A flannel baby blanket with duckies on one side and solid blue on the other, trimmed in white blanket binding.

The cotton/angora scarf I've been working on is almost finished, and I'm debating if I should buy another skein to make it longer or if I should just bind it off soon. The Boyfriend bought me "Candy" yarn for Valentine's Day, and I cast on an airy, Spring scarf last night. It's weird yarn to knit with becuase it's 1% elastic, but the colors are soo gorgeous, blues and white and a little bit of light green.

Pictures coming once I find my digicam.

coffee and cashmere,
Miss Lu

Let's Start at the Very Beginning

...A very good place to start!! Excuse me, I just had a Sound of Music moment...

Anyway!

I'm Lulu, a.k.a. Miss Lu, and I'm a craftster! I sew, crochet, knit, srapbook, play piano, doodle, paint, and whatever else I can get done. This blog is where I show off my crafting to the rest of the world.

Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions!

coffee & cashmere,
miss lu