Have I mentioned I never win anything?

Yeah? Well, that changed. Ah, I have finally won a prize! I gave to Cayli's 3-day Walk for breast cancer, because you know how important that is to me. And she had a little prize raffle for donors, and I actually won!! Really, I almost couldn't believe it. This was a little while ago, but I never mentioned it, so it's part of the whole catching up thing. Would you believe that the grand prize was a stole she knit up herself? Oh, it was gorgeous! And she raised almost $3,000 to boot. Awesome. (Thanks again, Cayli!) Wanna see the yarn I won?



It's Cayli's own hand spun, and boy, was it gorgeous. Beautiful "Clouds" colorway in a Rambouillet/Mohair/Angora blend. It is a 2 ply worsted weight and there is 156 yards. Make that was 156 yards.



My pictures aren't really capturing the essence of the colors, but it's sort of a pale grey with some bluish undertones and lots of darker and lighter changes. So gorgeous. And soft, very nice.

I wasn't sure what to do with it, but I wanted to use every last bit. This is my first ever hand spun, and I drooled over mulled over my decision for quite a while. In the end, I went with the Yarn Harlot's One Row Scarf, and it worked out beautifully. I was sick when I took pictures of the FO, though, so they are rather terrible and deficient.



Sadly, that is the very best one. Guess I need a re-shoot. Trust me, the yarn is amazing and the scarf looks really nice. I think it will become a special Christmas present for a certain person, but I don't really want to say who it is yet.

Oh, and this yarn made me want to learn to spin. Something awful. I must hold out a bit longer...

So, having broken my losing streak, I won another prize recently, too. Crazy, right?! Jana had a contest for the Romantic Comedies Sock Club and I am a winner. Of what, I am not sure yet, but it will be coming shortly and I will post when I know more. Woohoo! We had to pick one of two movies for the next shipment, and describe the colors we would choose for said movie, and why. I chose Pretty Woman, and that ended up being the movie Jana went with. She did her own interpretation in addition to my idea, and it's more beautiful than I imagined. I haven't taken pictures yet, but I will soon.

All right, I'm off to enjoy some knitting and a movie with Brian.

Back to School...

My class at Webs was so much fun. The instructor? Cat Bordhi!! I wasn't able to get to the 2-day class on New Pathways for Socks, but the class I took was so inspiring. It was about finding your creativity, and fonts for new ideas and concepts you can apply to your own knitting. I forgot the title, and since it's trash night, I've already taken out the recycling with the paper I had it written on. I did a bad job with pictures, though. I only have one, and it's of Cat knitting (or maybe casting on?) behind her back. Yup, behind. Crazy. Sometimes I feel like such an amateur. "I'm not worthy!" So anyhow, it's probably a cute picture, but would I want someone to put up a picture of my butt to the world on their blog? Especially when that's the ONLY picture representing me? Hmmm...I'm thinking maybe Cat wouldn't appreciate it very much. I know I wouldn't, that's for sure.

You would think that I'd have taken a picture with her (of her face, this time), but I'm a really wimp when it comes to that kind of stuff. It's like I freeze up or something. No, not even that--more like I just don't have the guts to ask. Weird. One of those things about me. Makes Brian crazy. Finally, I got my hands on her book (secret birthday moneys--hidden in the wallet) and I did find the spirit to ask her to sign the book. Go me! ...Baby steps.

I need not tell you that I love the book and am dying to jump right in. What she's come up with is amazing and it sort of blows my mind. If only the size DPNs I need weren't being used right now. More on that later. If the opportunity to take a class with Cat Bordhi ever comes your way, I highly recommend you take it. You will love it.

Here's what I brought to work on in class, by the way.



They are the Crusoe Sock pattern in White Oak Studio yarn. It's a cool slip stitch kind of thing.



So here I am, working on my socks while waiting for class to start, and Cat comes up to me and starts checking out my knitting. (Here's me all uncomfortable and nervous) And she's excited because they're socks, and all I can think is what kind of shmuck brings socks to Cat Bordhi's class when they're not "Cat Bordhi" socks, right? Duh. So she asks me what kind of stitch that is, and of course I don't really know. I say, "It's some kind of slip stitch sort of thing" like some kind of crazy unknowledgable knitting fool. Double duh. She suggests it looks like some kind of linen stitch. (The lady next to me agrees with her, so I feel even sillier, not knowing exactly what linen stitch is. But I have heard of it.) Now I feel that I have to explain that I'm pretty much a self-taught knitter and I really don't know the names for a lot of stuff. I just sort of DO it, but I can't really name it. This is why Cat is so awesome--she just smiles away and says how great that is! She says that is wonderful because I can do things my way and not the way that someone else does their thing. Then she goes, "You're lucky!!" How cool is that? So please go and see her if you can--clever and warm woman, and a real asset to the knitting world.

Anyway, back to the socks. The yarn is from the first shipment (March) of the Romantic Comedies TVyarn sock club. I don't think I ever showed you, did I?



The colorway is Four Weddings and a Funeral and it's vibrant and fun.



This is what I'm up to today. Somehow I managed to knit an entire heel flap on the wrong number of stitches last night. Don't ask me how--I have no idea. But I frogged it back and had to restart.



All right, I will end with a huge announcement that I've been wanting to share with you. You know Qutecowgirl, whom I've mentioned a zillion times? She has opened her own Etsy store! called Qutecowgirl's Barn Yarn! She has wonderful hand-dyed yarn and roving, so go check it out, okay? I've already ordered something from her and it showed up superfast.



This is DK in Barn Red, of course! Beautiful, no? I love it!! I'm not usually a "red" person, but I liked it. In person I like it even more. She threw in a cute little stitch marker, too.

My favorite part? The tiny sheep on the label! So stinkin' cute...



Congrats to you, Qutecowgirl, on your new endeavor and best of luck! My yarn is gorgeous--thank you.

Actually, I lied. I will end with these...pictures from the Stitch 'n Pitch. Maura came through--she doesn't comment much, but she does read the blog, so a little guilt goes a long way. All right, just kidding...but I really appreciate her sending these along!



Crazy amounts of knitters:


Someone getting booted out of the game (why can't I remember who it was?):


Maura and I:


Krista and I: