Adventures in the Flint Hills

Posted on April 22, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Remember awhile back when I told you about my weekend hangover? Well this weekend I had the pleasure of spending Saturday with the folks of Prairie Fire Winery at their annual spring planting.

Right smack dab in the Flint Hills of Kansas on the slope of a hill, we planted over 500 vines. I wish I could remember what variety we planted but the names where in French and I’m a Spanish kind of girl, lol.

Thems a lot of holes! I even got to take Dex. He was a great dog and didn’t even try to make a run for it. He followed us up and down the hill and charmed everyone. After five hours he was one pooped puppy!!

I had a blast. I got my hands dirty, learned about vines, sampled some wine, and hung out with good friends. Bob and Julie are truly some of the best people I have had the pleasure of meeting. And boy are they passionate about their vino!! In the past two years their wine has really started to rack up awards as well. Check out this article in winespectator.com, they made the final four!

And you can’t beat the view either!!

FO Friday: Sweet Cream Striped Raglan Cardigan

Posted on April 19, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #12 is DONE!!!

I finished up this sweater this past weekend. It took me 11 days to complete this sweater. Nothing like a little stress knitting to light a fire under your butt. Finishing was pretty easy because I wove in my ends as I went. I did have to do some crochet “fixes” around the edges to make the different knit bands line up. After a good soak and blocking this sweater is ready for Spring!

I made the whole thing out of Lion Brand Nature’s Choice Organic Cotton that I picked up on clearance. The yarn was wonderful to work with. I have a soft spot for a good soft cotton, especially this time of year. The one regret I have is that I was not diligent in checking my dye lots on the lighter cream color. I knit the entire sweater down to the knit bands up the front before I realized. The darker stripe on the body of the sweater hid the fact that the creams didn’t match. Sigh, the color difference is subtle so I’m just going to live with it. As a knitter friend pointed out, I’m probably the only one that’s going to notice.

I used the Lion Brand Simple Raglan Cardi pattern that’s free online and the same as I used in my Simple Raglan Cardi. I just kept knitting the body until I got the length I wanted. The stripes are two inches each, except for on the arms where I didn’t want the sleeves to go past my elbows.

I can’t wait to give this sweater some wear. This is officially my first full sweater project and I’m very happy!! I think I have been bitten by the sweater bug.

I want one of my next Stashbustin’ projects to be Mud Season by Elizabeth Smith. I have the yarn in my stash and the pattern already marked up in my size! I just need to get a swatch started for gauge.

What’s on your needles this weekend?

Where is Spring!?

Posted on April 18, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Did I jinx myself by knitting a spring sweater? It’s been cold and damp and stormy in the plains. We desperately need the moisture but I haven’t seen the sun in a week! Starting to get grumpy….

We had some severe thunderstorms roll through last night. I think between the storms and all the packing for our move my fur babies are very unsettled.

Dex didn’t want me to knit. You aren’t even safe when brushing your teeth!

Our dogs aren’t scared in the sense they freak out. They just become very clingy, lol. See exhibit A of our 90 lb lab trying to be a lap puppy!

At bedtime all four of us tried to fit on a king sized bed. For me it was incredibly soothing to be snuggled up with all my favorite people (dogs can be people too) and falling asleep to the sounds of thunder. However, a particularly noxious fart from the lab got him relocated to the dog bed on the floor, lol.

Hopefully we can see some sun this weekend! We are t-minus 12 days to closing and t-minus 23 days to moving!

2013 Stashbustin’ Update

Posted on April 17, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I didn’t have any big updates on my WIPs this week or any good photos to share. So I thought I’d round out my “stats” for 2013 and my stashbustin’ project. Here goes nothing:

Yds of Yarn used: 7,840

Ft of Yarn Used: 23,519

Stashbustin’ Projects Completed: 11 1/2

Current WIPs: 2 1/2

Total Miles knitted: 4.47

Number of skeins used from my stash: 78.5

Average blog posts per week: 5

Not to shabby if I do say so myself! Here’s to keeping the mojo flowing! What’s on your needles this week?

A Cause Worth Supporting

Posted on April 16, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I got a request the other day to support a local fundraiser. My day job is a huge supporter of Midland Care, a hospice provider in Topeka, KS. The bank holds a silent auction among the employees using handmade items or personal services donated by employees. I think it’s a lot of fun! We get to see the hand crafts of our fellow employees as well as raise money for a worthy cause. I chose to donate:

A Cascading Ruffles Scarf in Starbella Flash (deep purple)

And a couple of Evening Sparkle Scarves in black and red.

Last year I donated two baby blankets and 4 swiffer cloths and raised $35 for the cause. Let’s see if I can break my record this year! I’ll let you know how it goes!!

Happy Tuesday!

Stashbustin’ #13: Stylish Square Blanket

Posted on April 15, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Introducing Stashbustin’ #13! I started a new blanket over the weekend….

I have five skeins of Knit Picks Biggo in Golden Heather burning a whole in my stash. I am a BIG fan of Knit Picks yarn and Biggo has become one of my go-to yarns for baby projects. It’s a soft wool blend that isn’t hard for a new parent to care for but also baby butt soft.

I perused my Ravelry queue and found The Stylish Square by Susan Hanlon. Simple seed stitch border with a alternating stockinette/reverse stockinette block design. And the wool blend is so yummy under my fingers.

Just the simple project I need as I head into the home stretch of trying to close on a house and opening a community theater show. It seems I’m surrounded by pregnant ladies so I’m sure I will find a good home for a blanket.

Happy Knitting!!!

Sunday Meditations

Posted on April 14, 2013 by atangledyarn84

I have a strong cup of coffee, knitting in my lap, Castle on DVD, and a sleepy pup next to me. This is what Sundays are for!!

Happy Knitting!

FO Friday….almost

Posted on April 12, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #12 update!

This soooooo close to a FO, I just had to post today!

I have one sleeve to finish and then pick up and knit the bands on the front. I am tapering the sleeves rather than knit them like my cropped cardi. I think they help minimize my arms. I knit until I literally ran out of yarn. The last macadamia stripe on each sleeve is not two inches as intended. But I didn’t want to scout the interwebs for another matching dye lot, so I’m calling a design choice!

I love the length of this sweater. It hits right above the bottom of my bum. And I’m in a cotton obsessed phase. The feel of good quality soft cotton under my fingers is just what I need this spring. Not to mention that knitting is literally saving sanity between the stress of buying a home and rehearsing a play!

Happy Knitting and TGIF!! I’m off to finish my sweater!

Memory Test

Posted on April 11, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Soooo many lines….

Let me rephrase, soooo many one word lines!

This week marks our first week “off book” at A Perfect Wedding. Eeek, we are bad thus far with memory. This show has a lot of slapstick comedy and one word zingers. Pace and delivery are really important. Right now we don’t have it.

One of my cast mates struggles with memory and hasn’t been able to study as much as he needs. We are trying to help but he tells a lot of the “story”, especially in act one. So as characters we can’t do that for him. And once we lose that pace or drop cue lines, the rest of us struggle as well. I have faith that we will get there and we are going to help each other. But gosh it’s like slogging through mud right now.

On Monday and Tuesday we labored through act one. Last night and tonight we is the same for act two. A bit of meditation may be in order….

On the knitting front all this rehearsal time and frustration coupled with some long boring seminars at work have let me make incredible progress on my cardigan! It’s not complete but I hope to post a promising update tomorrow!

Right now I need to find a few quiet minutes with my script. I need all the help I can get!

WIP Wednesday: Sweet Cream Raglan Cardigan

Posted on April 10, 2013 by atangledyarn84

Stashbustin’ #12 progress!!!

This sweater stuff is addicting! The above snapshot is my progress on Tuesday. Below is where I’m at now!!

I’m using the same construction as my Stashbustin’ #11 cropped cardi. So the pattern is just flying off the needles! I won’t finish by Friday but maybe the weekend?

What’s on your needles?

My Tangled Yarn Knitting Adventures

Ramblings from an obsessed knitter

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