Knitting Retreat

Well, I may as well fess up. I recently got back from a knitting retreat. I tried to cover it as Knitting Camp (which sounds a little more cool), but there's no way around it. Imagine telling my boss I need a day off to go to a knitting retreat. Let's just say I needed a mental health day. And I think I might need another mental health day when my friends have a yarn intervention for me. God lord, how much yarn can one person have?!?

So there were 7 of us at said "camp". We knit, we drank, we ate, then we knit some more (that's K1, d2tog (drink 2 together)). Then we drank some more. It's a wonder anyone could recognize what we were trying to make. Which, by the way, was a beautiful Celtic cable pillow, with designer/instructor Melissa Leapman, who had a special way of drawing knitting needles that riled up the room full of menopausal women. (Yikes, something else to look forward to.)

But I digress...

"Camp" was help at a place called Marconi Conference Center, on Tomales Bay. It was absolutely lovely out there. I never knew the place existed and it was the perfect spot for a relaxing weekend.

I had always been fearful of knitting cables. They look so beautiful and therefore difficult. I was pleasantly surprised how easy they really are. (Yes, everyone is still getting a scarf for Christmas, only it will have cables now.) Melissa was a great teacher and made the whole process fun. We met some wonderful folks from all over the Bay Area, and saw some amazing pieces. I wonder how some of them have so much time to knit.

So, I've already signed up for "camp" for next year. Sally Melville and, um, someone else who's name escapes me at the moment, are going to be the instructors. looking forward to it.

Fundraising continues

We had a pretty successful fundraising event with the Purse Party. I sold 7 purses so far and have a few left. If you're interested, let me know.

This is one of my favorite purses, and unfortunately it's hard to see. The artist who donated it also makes purses for the Hollywood crowd, and was recently commissioned to do a purse for the Bill Engvall show. The minimum price on this is $150.

















This is another great little purse. Lot's of fun colors. It to was donated. Starting price $50.





















This is another fun purse. Crazy enough for the weekend, but still nice enough for work, with a little extra flare. This one starts at $75.

080808 - Let the games begin...

I'm such a huge fan of the Olympics! And having just completed my USA Track & Field Coach certification, I'm going to be a real pain. I'm sure to annoy the heck out of everyone with my editorializing! Can't wait.

Ken and I went to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and had a blast. The great thing about being there in person is that you really see (or are reminded of) what the Olympics are really about. We stayed through all 51 men's ice skaters (bet you didn't know there were that many there). That's because on tv, we only see the top 15 or so. And everyone cheered for everyone, regardless of which country they were from.

I have 2 knitting projects I'm working on during the Olympics. One is a scarf that I should be able to get through pretty quickly. The other is a felted computer bag.

Go USA, Canada, Mexico, Estonia, Argentina, Iceland, Germany, France, Denmark and the other 70+ countries being represented.

Summer of Love Package 2

Wow, am I ever spoiled. I just received my second package from my Secret Pal and it is AWESOME. So many lovely items and things I've never seen before, like a tool to help you measure yarn. It's totally cool. And the most amazing books on Cables and Arans. I just got back from Ireland so it's so perfect that I can check out these stitches. The book makes them seem easier than I thought. I can't wait to try some. I'll post more later and some pics.

Thank you and have a great vacation Secret Pal.

Best Buddies Charity Auction

Every year I put together an auction of knitted and handmade goods and donate the proceeds to a local charity. This year, the auction will be benefiting Best Buddies, an organization that works to help developmentally challenged people assimilate into society.

This time around we've received some amazing donations. Check out what we'll be auctioning off.

Best Buddies Charity Auction
August 3
2-6pm
1518 Shasta Ave
San Jose, CA


Kniterature Bag by Debbie (as seen on the Bill Engvall Show)
















Red Bag No. 9















Springtime

















Monet's Day Out















Bag by Kiddendoodle (Thanks for the donation!)

Houston - we have a problem

That is is tooooooooooooooo hot here. I just got back from spending a week in Houston for a conference and then a coaches certification program.

I did get a chance to check out a LYS in La Porte that was awesome. It's called Upstairs Studio and they focus on spinning and weaving http://www.upsstudio.com. If you are ever in the Houston area, I would highly recommend it. I picked up some stuff for my Secret Pal. I don't want to say too much in case she's checking this out.

Houston wsa, I have to admit, much better than I remembered it. I spent some time at the convention center and then Rice University. Lovely place. Had some great food as Pappas Bros.

I also did some caching in their lovely Memorial Park.

And finally I was able to visit the Space Center, which was awesome as well. I did some tours, heard all about going to the moon and beyond.

I've got an auction coming up here in a few weeks and I'm tryng to get stuff done before then.

Summer of Love Swap - Surprise Package 1

Wow, I just went through all of my mail after being gone for 10 days and received an awesome package from my Secret Swap pal. I love it. I received some lovely Bamboucle (Bamboo Boucle), that is just amazing and "yummy". I can't wait to knit something with it. I've never seen anything like it before (and believe me, I've seen a lot of yarn : )

There is also some other wonderful items, like beautiful stitch markers, chocolate, tea, and some lovely knitters hand repair soap, and some other really cool things.

Thank you Secret Pal