Catknits

A New Week

Since my last post, we returned from 5 days at the Market in Atlanta.  We worked hard to find new "stuff" for the shops and the merchandise has already  started arriving. 

Last night was the  annual Art from the Art which benefits Studio By The Tracks.   This wonderful organization provides art lessons for children and adults with autism , Asperger's and other mental illness.  For the silent auction I donated a felted kitty bed with knitted catnip mice and a Trinket bag knit from Sari silk.  I had to leave early so I don't know what the final bids were.

         

In other knitting news, I have finished Clue 3 on the MS3 and the good news is I have until August 3 to finish Clue 4.  I will show you a picture as soon as I have knitted a little on Clue 4.  I have been knitting away on the mate to the Broadripple sock I started on vacation.  I also finished the Chevron Scarf and have to block it before pictures.  I know I have a lot to do.  Harry Potter is in the house but I don't know when I will be able to start reading.

I almost forgot that I have an FO to share.  My second pair of Monkeys(I love the pattern by the way) is finished.

Monkey from Knitty

Apple Laine Apple Pie yarn in Painted Daisy Colorway(50% wool, 20% mohair, 20% silk, !0% nylon)

Size 1 1/2 DPs.

I haven't mentioned this before but my Mother cracked 2 vertebra in her back the end of June, had surgery and then went to rehab for a week.  She has been in a lot of pain since then and had an epidural in her back about 10 days ago with no relief.  My sister and I arranged for my parents to come from Montgomery to Birmingham for more rehab this weak so DH and I brought my parents and Niki(their new cat) up yesterday.  My Dad is staying at my sisters and Niki is at my house.  Right now we have cats in 3 different rooms (since we have some cat issues of our own).  Niki is enjoying looking out the window and hopefully at least one of our cats will befriend her.

In other good news I finally got my Ravely invite last week so come visit me as catknits.

Have a great week!!! 

The Central Coast Part 2

We started out early Friday morning and headed to Lompoc so I could meet the people DH was working with this week.  Lompoc is know as the flower seed capital of the world so I wanted to see some of the flower fields.

         

We also decided to do a few wine tastings and first up was Alma Rosa Winery  which is an organic vineyard and then on to Sanford Winery whose labels are known for their flowers.  I really enjoyed the Sanford wines that were offered at the tasting.

      

Our next stop was Solvang a town settled by Danish educators.  We strolled around the quaint town with lots of pastry shops and headed past the ostrich farm and through Santa Ynez.  Our final stop of the day was dinner at The Hitching Post(known for their steaks) which was featured in the film Sideways. 

Saturday we headed to Santa Barbara where I visited Knit & Pearl Boutique.  I bought some Twisted Sisters sock yarn(which I haven't seen in person).  We enjoyed talking to the owner about her trip to the south and her love of sweet tea.  I can't believe that I forgot to take a picture of the cute shop.  Stearns Wharf was next up where we got a good view of the coastline.

Another stop on our way back toward LA was another knit shop which happened to be Knit and Tonic's LYS.  They were having a 30% off sale and I found a couple of things.  Our stop for our last night was the Channel Islands where we enjoyed dinner and watching the boats.

I have had just enough time to wash clothes, feed the cats and head out the door again.  This morning 3 of us from the shop are driving to Atlanta for the gift market.  See ya'll later.

Home Again Home Again

I made it home last night at 11and of course have to go back to work today.  We had a wonderful adventure exploring California's central coast.  After a long travel day Wednesday, we tried to find barbecue for the 4th but most everything was closed.  The fireworks were going off everywhere so at least we were able to celebrate the 4th.  We stayed in Santa Maria for 3 nights since it was a good location to head north and south.

Thursday we had reservations for tour 1 of the Hearst Castle.  I didn't realized how isolated the castle was and how far from the coast line.  We are ready to go back and tour more of the castle and grounds.     

On our drive along the coast we stopped at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery to see the seals some of which were molting and resting.  The seals were amazing to watch as they flipped sand over their bodies and changed positions.

On down the coast we saw these large kites only to discover that they were being used to Kite Surf.  What a beautiful sight to see all of these bright kites floating together.

   

Other sights of interest were San Louis Obispo (where I made a quick stop at a yarn shop) and Cambria where we saw Nit Whit Ridge which is built of junk.  A very interesting place to say the least.

Last stop of the day was Pismo Beach for a wonderful dinner at Pelican Point Bar and Restaurant.

More on the trip later, but fast forward to Sunday morning with a picture of our view outside our hotel room and a finished sock.

 

A Surprise Package

A huge thanks goes out to my HSP Angel Amanda for the wonderful package that she so graciously put together for me.  Pictures speak louder than words so here goes.

          

The sock is the Merino Lace pattern from Favorite Socks knitted with Lorna's Laces in the Old Rose color way.  The sock fits perfectly and I am looking forward to starting the second sock.  She also included a skein of Lisa Souza sock yarn in Mulberry which I have never seen but have heard great reviews.

She also included candles for those times when the power goes out(hope that doesn't happen) and some wonderful Lindt chocolates and oatmeal and raisin bites.  The kitties were also included with some delicious treats.   Thank you Amanda for the lovely package and also thanks for Christy for hosting this fun swap.

In other knitting news, I have finished Clue 1 in the Mystery Stole 3.  I wanted to finish it since I will be busy the next couple of weeks and know I will not be able to keep up with the clues.  I am using Zephyr Silk/Wool in Pewter and I love the Addi lace needles.

DH and I are off to California early tomorrow morning and I have decided to knit a pair of Broadripple socks in Vesper Sock yarn in Astro.  This will be my first time knitting with the Vesper yarn and I hope the yarn and pattern will work together since this is the only project I am taking(maybe I should rethink that). 

3 of the kitties are staying home and a friend will be checking on them.  Cisco had to be boarded because of all of his medications.  Beamer looks sound asleep but I bet he is planning some parties while we are away!

Have a fun and safe 4th!