Coffee Bean Stitch Markers

Looks decaf to me! What more can you ask for? These are perfect for all my upcoming projects!

**Note:

I ordered these & did not receive them to my disappointment:( I have had others message me that since seeing my post here they have also ordered them. I have no idea if they received theirs or not. Unfortunately when I messaged the lady that I never received them... she told me I probably had and lost them or "misplaced" them. When I was adamant on the fact they never made it here she told me she would not resend because she would be out the money......the fact is Im not so well off that I can waste money either.I thought that attitude sucked for a "business"person & have learned my lesson...be careful what you order on the net. Ive never had trouble ordering from anyone else on Etsy so Im hoping that was the only bad apple.

http://etsy.com (StarrlightJewelry)

Shrug Your Shoulders

Im looking forward to making this one. One of my friends made this pattern last year and is gonna help me along if I need it. I tried hers on and liked it. Its not to short for my body type and loose enough to feel comfortable in. I happened to already have the yarn requirements for this pattern, so it worked out great.

Got the shrug started at our Thursday night knitting group--took me forever to do the cast on! Its called a provisional method cast on which equals a crochet cast on with waste yarn. It wasnt really hard, just time consuming if your not used to it. This was my first time for that one so it was some thing new for me. Starting tomorrow, I plan on checking my stitch count and begining the knitting.

http://www.fibertrends.com/product/0/AC84/_/AC84_-_Shrug_Your_Shoulders

Entrelac Cardigan

I love this pattern, and would really love to give it a try. Im not sure my skills are quite there yet! I have been practicing the pattern and once I get it down to where I can do it with ease I'll give it a go. Ive only recently started knitting with straight needles (instead of circulars) so this will totally be a challenge thats for sure. I have a cute shrug to do, and another sweater pattern picked out that might be a tad bit easier to start with, but Im hoping the experience of those projects will some what prepare me for this one.

Now, if I was only as thin as the girl in the picture....(sigh).

http://networkedblogs.com/5fBKP

Summer Angel Food Cake

Thought this was a great summer cake.... my kids love this sort of thing. Im not so much into sweets any more, but angel food cake is better than most on calories (minus the icing).Its all about portion control.

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/rainbow-angel-birthday-cake-recipe/1/

Storm

Well, the storm passed and no one was hurt or any major damage that we can see. Large branches from two different trees fell on our house this time. Guess we'll be cleaning up tomorrow and checking things out. The flooding is just temporary thank goodness.... it should actually be ok by later tonight.

Yarn Addiction

I think its become official.... I'm addicted to fibers. Hi, Im Dee and Im a fiberoholic! Wonder if there is a nine step program for that?

Lately, I have been working on Christmas projects and/or finding yarn for them. So far, Im on schedule=) Im sure more new patterns and yarns will come out this fall (heaven help me) , but I have to stay ahead of the holiday rush. You would think with this heat wave were having that thinking of knitting projects would be out of the question, but I seem to be getting more done trying to avoid the heat than I have in a while.

http://shopearthlygoods.com

A Christmas Gift....Shhhh!

Now that my comfort scarf is finished, Im moving on to making Christmas gifts. Ive decided to start with the easiest and go to the hardest. That way I wont have to rush cause the others will already be finished. Sounds like a plan to me. Maybe this year I will actually get them done before Christmas gets here.

The pattern is in the book " 60 Quick Knits ".

Im using Red Heart yarns-- in the colors Real Teal & Coffee Fleck. These colors are perfect for what I had in mind! I love all the great knitting yarns out there, but the boys (my son and his friends) can be sort of hard on things so this works and its washable! Can you say.... making a scarf for $5.oo? Cant beat that!

(One skein of each color/super saver. Size US 8 needles.)

Finished=)

I made mine long and wide, but that was just my preference. My goal was to have a cozy neck warmer and let me tell you Im not disappointed. I love it and a fun project to boot.

Summer Reading

Our local library has a summer reading program for adults.... and since I love to read, its quite perfect actually. Pretty cool when you can win prizes for doing some thing you would have been doing any way. Since I keep track of my reads on the Shelfari bookshelf (to your right) I wont bother listing all my good reads.

For the knitters, I really liked "Casting Off " by Nicole Dickson, " The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club" & " Needles and Pearls" by Gil McNeil , Seaside Knitters Mystery Series by Sally Goldenbaum, last but not least I Love the whole Maggie Sefton knitting mystery series. I have read all the books Ive been able to find with a knitting mystery or story theme and have liked them all so far, but these are my favorite picks for now. Im always finding new ones to add to my reading list. I find them inspiring to my knitting and enjoy reading about the different personalities in each knitting circle. I think its great how the characters come together to share their talents and know how. The knitting store settings are always very cozy and inviting. Makes you want to run out and yarn shop whether you have a WIP going or not. Oh, and I cant forget the patterns and recipes that come in the back of the books. The stories totally endear them to your heart. My next knitting read will soon be "Spinning Forward" by Terri Dulong.

Some other random good reads I have really enjoyed are " The Fixer Upper " by Mary Kay Andrews, & " The Mulberry Tree " by Jude Deveraux.

I could go on and on, but I will spare you all. I just wanted to share my love of reading ...and pass on some titles you might not have been interested in before.

The picture above can be found here:(isnt it great? Its on my wishlist)

http://www.art.com/products/p10264212-sa-i3586357/sung-kim-book-shop.htm?sorig=cat&sorigid=0&dimvals=0&ui=92245d56fd6e4f6faffe8d8abf6e50d6

Quiet Morning @ CJ's Coffee Bar

CJ's

Nice quiet Saturday morning at the coffee bar. Caramel latte & broccoli and cheese quiche. Good way to start the day! (and had good company to enjoy it with!)

Knitting @ Mika's Coffee House

Tonight was pretty fun! I learned two things ... what a Dirty Chai is... Chai with a shot of expresso & learned the knitting term ticking. Ticking is going back and fixing your row stitch by stitch (unknitting) instead of ripping it/frogging.

Although she's not a knitter, Kelsey came along to keep me company, we had a good night. Thanks! I enjoyed having you there.

Knitting @ Mika's

Thursday Night Knitting

Above is the original picture I saw that inspired me to make one of these scarves. It just looked so cozy.

http://lanaecotone.blogspot.com/2009/11/sciarpa-con-lana-pon-pon.html?spref=fb

... and this is what Ive gotten finished so far on the one Ive started.

Since this was our first night going to the new knitting group, I took two projects that I needed to get started. If I got stuck on one, I could still do the other. Anyway, I ended up starting a whole new project all together. It was on my "someday to do list" .... which I guess was today!

I love the pon pon yarn and wanted to make a scarf that I had seen on someones blog . The directions were given, but the translator lost some of the words used so it was hard to understand. Tonight I found the yarn in coffee colors and had help getting it started. It can be a bit tricky since you are actually only knitting between the pon pons. Super easy and quick once you get the hang of it. Should be finished in no time at all.

(The scarf that was already made up in the shop had three rows across and only used one skein instead of two.)

The knitting group was great... all the gals are really nice! YEAH! So Lora and I are planning on going back next week, and another one of our friends will be joining us too! I cant wait and Im glad to be back in a group. Lots to look forward to. Tonight I also got to see one of the girls do continental style knitting. Her fingers were just flying! Im such a slow knitter maybe I should look into that .....hahaha.

The scarf is just being pulled across to show the knit stitches between the pon pons.

The yarn I used is called Rozetti Cocoon Multi.

http://www.willowfabrics.com/acatalog/PomPon_PomPom_Scarf_wool_by_Rico.html

This link shows how to get started for crochet or knit~http://www.redheart.com/yarn/pomp-doodle

Rico Pompon - How to Cast on

Ewe-Nique Yarns

(This is the shop pictured below)
Tomorrow night a friend and I are going to a new knitting group. I have already met a couple of the girls and they are really nice. I have high hopes ...and Ive been in knitting group withdrawl, so this is a godsend.

The Yarn Shop

When you walk in its like a fiber candy shop....
I had so much fun yarn shopping today and the staff helped me find all the

things I needed to get started on those projects.

Just had to share this fabulous store. (This is also where our Thursday Night knitting group meets from 6-8pm, so if your close stop on by.)

New Projects Waiting in the Wings...

I thought this one would make a great Christmas Gift for my Mom....

Tied Rectangle Wrap from the book "60 Quick Knits".

This one was made up in the store and was totally adorable! Not sure who will get this one.

You cant really see it but the pattern is called Smock-a-Ruche Scarf found in the book

"101 Designer one-skein Wonders" by Judith Durant.

If I ever get it started....these will be for me. Im hoping for a pair of fingerless gloves, and if all goes well I just might consider some for gifts.

.... and with the top book "The Knitting Answer Book" I should be armed to handle any mishaps.



Most of these are very new to me so Im a bit leary on getting them going and finished successfully. In our old knitting group there was always some one to get you started and help you figure out what you need to be doing. Now, Im sorta on my own and trying to figure things out from books or the great helps on youtube. So, Im not sure exactly how far I will get on this list , but my goal is to get a few things done for Christmas. There are a couple more projects that I havent pictured yet .... so wish me luck.