Zeneedle...needleart as life

Utah Grrls Rock

Another great way to chase away the winter blues and blahs is to hang out with grrlfriends and PARTAH!  Tuesday we held the 9th Anniversary celebration of the SLC SnB! For nine years we've been chatting, arguing discussing, laughing, knitting, and celebrating together, and we plan on at least 9 (or 49) more!

While going through the pictures it became very apparent that I am not great at taking candid shots as I'm in too much of a hurry. However, the beautiful hand knits deserve a showing, so I'm posting what I have.

To keep the gifts a secret they are hidden inside of paper bags and our founder, Laurie, does a great job of tossing the bags around the room until everyone has a gift. (heads up!)

Click for bigger -Props to Cheryl for the photos of me and of Eileen.
I was the fortunate recipient of Eileen's warm and cozy Shepherd's Wool mittens! They fit as if made for my hands! As coincidence would have it, Eileen received the gift I knit, 198 Yards of Heaven, made with Berroco Vintage. It was a fun, quick knit.

Cheryl received Susan's linen stitch cowl and Susan received Eliza's gorgeous hat. Gwen, who is sitting next to Susan, is wearing a scarf knit by Larisa.

Eliza is wearing a cowl knit by Anna and Anna received slippers knit by Gwen. (They fit!)

Larisa received Laurie's shawl and Laurie received a beautiful hat knit by Cheryl. Sadly my picture of Laurie wearing the hat did not turn out. Larisa may kill me for the picture of her with the shawl but, hopefully, this picture of her with Cheryl makes up for it.

Since this is my blog I'm going to share a bigger picture of the mittens, as I am very, very happy with my gift and my hands are nice and warm!

Thank you SnB Grrls for a wonderful night. Here's to many more!

Heirlooms

When Smith inherited a beautiful martini shaker, with a matching set of glasses, from his grandmother, she told him they had been a prized possession of his grandfathers.  Since Grandfather S had passed in 1941, we guessed the set had to be from the 1930s. We loved it and we used it and, sadly, we've ended up with only 4 of the glasses. A few weeks ago we decided the last of the set was just too precious to use and we retired them to the back of the cupboard. On special occasions we bring them out again.

Cheryl and her Pontiff must have been with us when the decision was made, as Saturday night they arrived at our home with a token of friendship. Somehow Cheryl had come across a set of glasses in a similar pattern. They have a more solid base and cool frosted bands encircling the bottom. As you may expect, we broke them in immediately.

Smith and I were touched by the generous gift, and we're very excited to have a new set of heirlooms, a set we will use and use! Thank you, Cheryl (and hubby), for your treasured friendship. 

Shear(ing Day) Fun

We started out early... ready, willing and able to help with shearing day at the Sunrise Ranch. I hitched up my jeans and headed on into the fray of fur, fun and gittin' dirty.

 
Deb hangs onto the first of the pretties and Scott the shearer stands nearby.  After we do a bit of wrangling the animal is sheared, toenails clipped and teeth checked. 

This little one had a pretty saddle of deep and soft fur, which we took away to shirt and save for future yarn. Scott, the most excellent shearer, adeptly shears her back, legs, neck and face with tender loving care.

After shearing the alpaca check each other out, as everyone looks different (clean and shaved)! Later that night, it was cold enough to wrap everyone in a quilted or fleece coat.

The day started with many hardy helping hands but, as time goes on people have other obligations, which means.... near the end when the big llama are left to do, only a few of us were around to do the work.

Thusly, the photographers were ask to step in. Even though the videographer had to work hard to keep the animal in place, he still had a smile on his face. Smith is also there to wrangle the big llama as they readied him for shearing.  

After a hard days work we head in for a drink (or two) and some relaxation time.  Despite the hard work, or because of it, we have a good time.  Jim and Deb are the best hosts, as they feed us and make sure we're warm and happy.  Sadly, there always comes the time we must take our leave...

As we walked out the door a rainbow greeted us.  Not a person in our group had seen such a low lying rainbow. It was a good sign after a great day of hard work and fun!

The SnB Swap

As you may have heard, the SLC SnBers are a tightly knit group and, while we have fun every week, the best thing about having a swap is seeing people who can't visit that often.  Sadly, my camera never came out of the bag and when it did, the pictures were crappy. Such is the life, and light, inside a coffee shop. We love our Jitterbug, nonetheless.  

Eliza was the recipient of the lovely Tree of Life mitts and she not only loves them, they fit her perfectly.  Beaverslide, vintage buttons, and a nice pattern, made knitting a pleasure, and seeing them on Eliza hands was icing on the cake.

The very cool gift I received was knit by Kathryn, one of our newest members. She knit a long piece, covered with a two color design that created the number seven, folded it in half, and crocheted around the edge to create a thick mat. It is the perfect trivet for my teapot.

The festivities were fun and raucous.  All the gifts were not only beautifully knit, they were well received. We’re quite a group, and that's a fact.

Positivity

Rather than bemoan my lack of knitting skills, or confess my knitting nightmares, let's end the week on a positive note.  Above you see all the ball bands, or tags, from 2010s yarns. I get a kick out of saving, then trashing at the end of the year.  

Hamamelis, the beautifully blue shawl, has been in the neglected stage of knitting. Usually, I'm not much for neglect but, apparently my knitting prowess has slowed and having multiple large sized projects is grounds for chaos and confusion. This past week Hammy was rescued from obscurity and has grown (and will continue to grow) quite nicely.

The SnB Ewe-tah grrls will be celebrating their 7th anniversary next week (SEVEN years we're been stitching and bitching together!).  The theme  for our swap project is...tah dah! SEVEN. (It was Susan, of course, who had to suggest a theme.) 

Cheryl (bless her) helped me find the right project (but, it's a secret until next week) and, with a little backward and forward knitting (damn that frog!), I made it through the project in a few days.  Deadline knitting averted, due to the misbehaving of my largest project. You gotta love that (or not). sigh

I get by with a little help from my friends and Suzy helped me into the next project, the beautiful tweedy Woodruff mitten. She fell in love at first sight and I tumbled right along with her.  We egged each other into finding the right yarn, which meant a trip to the  LYS, where we found the perfect wool, Tahki Donegal Tweed. She bought the most luscious red and I opted for Charcoal (at least it's not blue!). Knitting the swatch completely sold me on this yarn, as it softened, bloomed, and turned into a lovely fabric. (Someday I'll knit a sweater with this yarn!)

Until I can wrangle the larger project, get it corralled, tamed and behaving well, I will stick with smaller knitting projects (and my friends).

More About Twist and Knit

For multiple reasons, summer is not a good time for spinning and, my poor wheels, Emmylou and Corrina, spend months neglected and alone. Over the weekend the weather cooled and the desire to spin returned. Before I could spin, Corrina needed a little TLC, so with the new cloth, I polished her beautiful cherry wood finish, all the while dreaming of the soft, luxurious, and unique fibers we would spin into yarn. 

Fiber is often spun for the experience of working with the content and the resulting yarn can set aside unused. Spinning is about the process of creation, not necessarily using what results, thus handspun can marinate in the stash. Twist and Knit, Miriam’s first book comes to the rescue, with multiple patterns for the small and large skeins of handspun (or commercial yarns).

When the book arrived I went right to the handspun bin and started plotting and planning which yarn would work with which pattern. The white yarn is a soft as can be 3-ply Cormo from Wooly Wonka Fibers and should make up nicely into the cowl on the cover, perfect for winter’s cold. The white may have a dye job after knitting is complete.

The plan for the purple yarn is to knit the rustic and cozy Comfy Shawl in a 2-ply spun from Spinderella's thrums.  The shawl should be toatsy and warm, just right to throw over a jacket this winter.

As I told you yesterday, last year, while recovering from surgery, Miriam asked if I would like test knit one of the patterns for the book. You may remember it was quite awhile before my brain worked as it should, and I admit to struggling with even the most simple of tasks, but after several false starts, and multiple errors of my own making, the lace became easier to read and the pattern repeat stuck in my head. I was off and running!

Knitting Motte was just what I needed and, as she grew, I knew I would recover my sanity and my memory. The big plus was working with my own handspun and realizing my own yarn wasn’t half bad! In fact, it was beautiful and it helped create a unique, and rewarding, shawl.  If I can spin, and I can knit it into something so clever, I can do anything. Knit on!

True Blue

Susan has been touting the little projects bags she's been sewing, because of their unique construction. Saturday Cheryl had a small tea party and after we drank our fill of tea, and ate many delicious treats, we started cutting and sewing bags of our own. Well, truth be told, I just sat and enjoyed the show while Susan, Eliza and Cheryl did the work. Even though I did little more than look on, we all ended up with a beautiful project bag (for a very small project, like socks). Cheryl has a few more pictures of the day. It was a day spent with true blue friends, who kept quiet about my surprise party the next day. It must have been difficult. 

Sunday, as a ploy to keep me occupied until time for SnB, Shelley and Cheryl took me to lunch. We've been to the Red Iguana several times, but this time we tried Red Iguana 2. The decor was bright and colorful and the food was every bit as yummy as the the original location. (My tostadas were delicious, but the plating gave us a good laugh.) While we inside the colorful Iguana, Cheryl took a picture of my new "do".  I'm still trying to figure out the best way to handle it...maybe a different hairspray? It certainly shows off my new earrings, in any case.

 

The entrance is so bright and unique, with the colored glass cubes, that we had to stop for more pictures.  

 

Shelley and me - Shelley and Cheryl

If anyone needs more proof that Cheryl is a true blue friend, she collected birthday wishes from many virtual (true blue) friends and put them into a little book.  It must have taken her hours to collect all the messages and it's a treasure I will keep forever. 

And while we're on the subject of true blue, Susan designed and knit a shawl with yarn dyed by Kim. For months I've bugged Susan to write up the pattern and she kept putting me off.  Of course, now I know why. (The pattern should be available soon.)  Kim and Susan are as true blue as friends can be and I love wearing the shawl!

Here's a few pictures from the party.  At least Cheryl remembered to take a few pictures. Thanks, grrlfriend!

Cutting the best chocolate (GF) cake.

Smith, Judy, Me, Monica

SnB grrls knitting throughout the party.

Smith + Friends = Love (10,000,000,000).

Showcasing Susan

The SnB Ewe-tah Grrls have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to talented designers. We are very fortunate as several of our members are well known in the knit design world and a few more, who maybe lesser known, are no less talented. It isn't the water (at least not the water I drink), but our group does ferment and foment, support and encourage each other to greater heights.  Any knitting question, any problem that needs to be solved, the answer can be found in our group of accomplished, knowledgeable, long time (and new minted) knitters.

Saturday night was Susan's night to shine.  Her star recently rose as her Fountain Pen Shawl was published in the Spring IK.  Blazing Needles, one of the newer shops in town, and a place that also encourages and supports the knitting arts, honored Susan with a special reception.  Above is a small showcase of Susan's recent talents.  The centerpiece is the Fountain Pen Shawl in Hand Maiden's Mini-Maiden. The design artfully posed on the side of the display is Susan's newest pattern, a scarf based on the shawl, Ink Spot.  The yarn Susan used is Habu's #: A-1 Tsumugi Silk, a tweedy silk noil yarn with an exquisite texture.  (I've started one of my own and I'll share details later.)  The yarn pattern combo will make a perfect summer scarf pattern, a beautiful way to keep the draft of air conditioning from freezing ones neck.

The evening was a load of fun with the Ewe-tah grrls hanging out, sharing lots laughter, and supporting one of our own.  Laurie, who always has the right words, shared a very nice toast for Susan. (Can you tell the room was full of hand knits!?)

A good time was had by all and, most importantly, Susan had an inkling of how much we enjoy her friendship, how grateful (and fortunate) we are to have her encouragement and support in our group.

Susan with her darling and accomplished dauther.

Congratulations, grrlfiend!!

Thinking of Flowers

It's a busy week (living life can keep one running), but I have been able to fit in some knitting here and there.  As always, I'm looking forward to the weekend and more time to spend with a sweater, either Gray Mist or Wisteria, or both preferably.

Wisteria reminds me, during these days of (a slight) inversion (it's ugly here, folks) that spring will come and bring beautiful flowers once again.  Wisteria also reminds me of the process and the joy that can be found in working stitch by stitch in the present.  She reminds me that while I dream of flowers, what is in my hands now is of utmost importance.  A few stitches here, a few more there and she grows.

The SnB gang (we aren't just grrls) had a "One Skein Exchange" for our 5th Anniversary party.

  

All the "gifts" were in brown paper bags and no one knew what they had until the bags were opened.  Cheryl got a fun hat from Eliza, Chris got Laurie's (coveted) beaded bag, Eliza received Heather's very creative cowl, and Heather got Warren's very warm (and cool) ear warmer. Laurie received Chris' linen bread cloth (no picture), Warren's neck is now warmed by Cheryl's buttoned cowl and Susan (happily) got the Applewood Cowl from me.  I was the lucky recipient of Susan's gift and I'll share it with you after I get a picture of it with Acer.

The intent was not to torture you by dragging out the Acer debut (although that's not a bad idea).  Our first opportunity for a photo shoot is this weekend, but I can tell you this already, she one of my favorite sweaters ever. 

Tea Party

I spent the whole weekend hanging out with grrlfriends.  That means there isn't much time to blog. Saturday we hung out in the needlepoint shop and knit all afternoon. Sunday it was nice to have a few friends over for tea and spend time chatting, laughing and knitting.  Since I spent the last two days having fun, there is now laundry and other household chores to do.  That's why weekends go so quickly! Two days just isn't time to do everything I want to do!