New Yarny Deliciousness

I had a lovely, rainy, wet, gloomy... Sunday afternoon. Alas, the skies of gray were brightened by a lovely ray of sunshine... The local yarn store!


I had a bit of difficulty finding the shop in the first place. I drove to Avon to find this shop, French Creek Fiber Arts. It definitely wasn't where I thought it was, so I drove back and forth about 25 bagagillion times. Finally, exasperated, I was just looking around and I saw a sign for Old Avon Village. This sign had a few smaller signs connected to the bottom of it. A few mini-signs down I saw "French Creek Fiber Arts". Mind you, this was all in a matter of seconds. I went rrrrrrrrrrrrrttttttt. Tuuuuuurrrrnnnn. Woohoo!

The lady working there was really nice. I feel awful that I don't remember her name... :( She asked questions about me and my knitting experience. She showed me both projects she had with her (a sock and a cardigan). We talked technique and much more. She invited me to the weekly knitting group, which I plan to attend this Friday. She even told me about a Stitch n Pitch event on July 10 that DJ and I decided we will attend! Yay! There was a cute kitty named Bordhi (after Cat, I learned ^_^). He was very sweet. We were able to talk a lot because I was the only person in the shop, I suppose because it was a rainy Sunday.

What did I buy, you ask? Well, I really had to reign myself in because I just placed an order with Amazon for knitting books. I was tempted by lots of yummy Cherry Tree Hill sock yarns. For, of course, I was focused on the sock yarn. (I have definitely jumped on the sock bandwagon...) They have a really wonderful selection. I didn't have my camera with me... I would have taken pictures for you to see!

I ended up bringing home two skeins to add to my stash.


Some gorgeous Cherry Tree Hill! Oh, how I love these colors! This will become a pair of socks for me.


And some Wisdom Yarns in the Boston colorway. This is for DJ's mom. Well, not for her, really, but the socks I knit out of it will be! ^_^

While everyone else seems to be cutting back on stash lately, I am trying to build mine up! Which side of the playground are you on?

A Bit O' Progress

As of this post, I have finished one lace repeat on the No Purl Monkeys... For some reason I kept making a mistake in row 5 and had to rip back several times. I guess I just wasn't paying close enough attention... Oh well. I finally got past it. ^_^



I wish I would have had more time to work on them today. We are going to the movies later tonight, so I will probably work on them later later. Haha.

Hope your Saturday was fabulous!

FO Friday!

Even if it is late night... It's still Friday! ^_^

The first and (at least to me) most exciting of my FOs... The Ribbed Lace Bolero! Woo Hoo!!




Then we have the lost then found and finished project, Baglove!



I started this in, oh, I don't know... March? I had about an inch left to knit when I took it somewhere with me. I thought I left it there but then the other day I was digging throuh my knitting basket and found the WIP at the bottom... So, I finished it!

And here we have the newest WIP... dah dah dah daaaaaahh... No Purl Monkey Socks!



The yarn is from a previous post, and it is more red than it looks in the above photo. I am pretty excited about these socks. I hope they turn out well. ^_^

Oh, I also wanted to show you my little sheepy! I bought him at my LYS.



For some reason I feel like his name is Bill... I don't know why.

Bill is now the blog mascot. Hehe!

New Stuffs!

I added some cool new things to the blog, such as progress bars from Ravelry and also a list of all the blogs I read regularly. Yay!



Playing With the Laundry

In order to distract you...

from the lack of knitting content, I will show you the cutie pies that I recently started babysiting...




The bottom picture is the same baby as in the top, but I just really liked that photo of her. ^_^

I know my ABCs...

I'm such a copy cat. Thanks Nicole!

Accent- Erm... Ohio-an? Hehe.

Breakfast? - Eggs, bacon, and hash browns. But I usually only eat "breakfast for dinner". Hardly ever breakfast.

Chore I don't like- Cleaning the bathroom.

Dog or Cat- Both... But cats more. ^_^

Essential electronic- My phone.

Favorite Cologne- I only wear Victoria's Secret Garden Romantic Wish

Gold or Silver- Silver. I am allergic to gold.

Handbag I carry most often- My Prada from China town, most recently. But I like to switch it up every few months.

Insomnia- Most nights.

Job Title- Student. Babysitter. Lol.

Kids- someday

Living arrangements- With my grandparents.

Most admirable trait- forgiveness.

Naughtiest Childhood Trait- whining

Overnight Hospital Stays- Only when I was first born.

Phobias- Being alone

Quote- "I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious."
"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it's called present."

Reason to smile- Friends and family

Siblings- 5 sisters, 1 brother

Time to wake up- Depends on when I go to sleep.

Unusual talent or skill- Eh... none.

Vegetables I Refuse to eat- tomatoes

Worst Habit- I don't know...

X-rays- teeth

Yummy Stuff- Anything chocolate.

Zoo animals I like the most- the big cats! >^^<

Yarn Pr0n

Yesterday was a wonderful day for me. I went to lunch with DJ's mother, then we went to the LYS together. Now, she isn't a knitter, but we sure did enjoy fondling the yarns! She is, however, a beader... She saw the Odessa hat that the owner of the shop had knit and said that this might be something she would like to try... Hmm... ^_^ I also found out they have a knit night every Friday. I have been looking for a local group to knit with, so I think I may go this week and meet everyone.

I didn't think to take any photos there, but I did buy some sock yarn.

The following info was copied and pasted from the Yarn Market site:

Brand: Fibra Natura
Yarn Name: Yummy
Fiber Content: Wool
Ball Weight: 130g
Yardage: 370 yds.
Texture: Plied
Yarn Weight: Laceweight
Gauge: 36
(Stitches per 4.0 inches/10cm.)
Needle Sizes: 1-3 U.S. (2.25-3.25mm)
Care: Machine Wash & Dry Flat.

I am very excited about this yarn. I think it will become a pair of No Purl Monkeys... Have you ever used this yarn before? How did you like it? I also bought a couple of sets of DPNs, seeing as I only had US 3, I thought I should get some more sizes if I want to knit socks.

After the LYS, I went to Cedar Point with a couple of my friends.

When I got home I worked on the bolero. It's coming along, but it still just looks like ribbing and a lot of lace.

Wow!

I just looked outside and it is absolutely POURING! It has been so hot lately. I am glad for the rain.

I have been ignoring the lace bolero for the weeked. I was very frustrated with it. Now I have begun to work on it again. In its place I have been reading... Not that I had much time for that either. You see, my graduation party was on Saturday. (I am kind of working backwards here... Oh well.) That was a lot of fun. We played badminton (I had to look up the spelling. ^_^) and volleyball. It was hot, but we survived. In the afternoon we had family and other adults and a few kids who couldn't come later at the party. Then, at about seven, the "cool people party" started. Those aren't my words. One of the adults coined the phrase.

Here is one photo that my cousin snapped.

From left to right is my cousin T, me, DJ, and my aunt D.

How was your weekend?

Ribbed Lace Bolero

Here is my progress so far. I am fairly new to lace knitting. I know this pattern isn't all that difficult, but I had a bit of trouble. I thought it was easy, so I got overconfident and stopped paying too close of attention to it and I made a mistake. So... I had to rip back about five rows, which as you know isn't very easy. I just HATE ripping out stitches. All the while I think to myself...

If you would have just paid attention while you were knitting, you wouldn't have to spend half an hour (or whatever) ripping back to this mistake that took about five seconds to make!

Urrrrg. Haha.

When I finish this project I think I will pick up the River Stole again and finish it. I find it much easier to do these big projects on circular needles rather than the straight needles I had been using for everything! They are, for one, pointier and that makes lace go much more quickly. Also, they allow you to spread out your project so you can see what it actually looks like, rather than seeing a bunched up ball of yarn.

Recently I began listening to knitting podcasts while I knit. Currently I listen to Sticks and String, Knit Spirit, and last night I downloaded Lime n Violet. Those ladies are just too funny!

Are there any other knitting pod casts I should check out?? Let me know!

Les Fleurs

It was an overcast day today... But that was nice for photographing some of my lovely flowers!






I finished the ribbing and began the lace on my Ribbed Lace Bolero. I will probably get a bit further along seeing as it's only early evening right now. Hopefully by the next time I post, I will have something worth photographing. ^_^



I knit a Feather and Fan Stitch washcloth for my grandmother the other day. I am trying to help replace all her old worn out ones with nice handknit ones. She knits, as well, but she only likes to do scarves using different knit/purl combinations. She just likes to relax in front of the television with her knitting, so she's not really interested in working on anything more complicated than that, she tells me.

Oddly enough, she kind of re-learned how to knit when I first learned. Two years ago I joined a knitting club at school because I was always curious about knitting. When I came home and showed her what I learned that kind of made he get back her knitting spark. I helped her remember the basics. So, while most people learn to knit from their grandmothers, I sort of taught mine.

How did you first learn to knit?

Graduation

It's official! I'm finished with high school. I've turned the page on that chapter and am beginning another. I will be attending the Community College in the fall and am planning to teach elementary school.

Me and DJ's mother:


Me and one of my best friends, John:


My entire class:



Now I have unlimited knitting time! Hehe. I am still at the very beginning of the Ribbed Lace Bolero. I really have no knitting to show... I apologize. :(

I, Jolynn, do solemnly swear that I will knit like the mad knitting fool I am now that summer is here. ^_^

I have a few goals for my summer (knit-wise, that is to say):
~Finish a pair of socks
~Learn how to cable
~Knit the Log Cabin Blanket for DJ's mom

I have a few more, but I really can't think of them right now... I promise to share as they come up!