Looped, DC

I took a quick Uber this morning in between conference sessions as I found a lovely (and open) yarn shop in Dupont Circle. Welcome to Looped Yarns in DC!

The shop was adorable and the two staff were so kind and helpful. I didn’t have long to shop and I wanted some easy to use yarns for the trip. My haul is as follows:

I tried to chose yarns I haven’t seen before. At the top is Knitting for Olive in Heavy Merino in Pearl Grey and Pink Daisies. They are 50 gram skeins so I am thinking striped hat. I couldn’t resist a Malabrigo Rios skein in teal/turquoise for PB. And in the middle is some Big Little Yarn Co Trusty Sock in the Yosuzume color. And lastly some Isager Yarn Aran Tweed in Black tweed.

I had the shop wind the Rios and the Tweed so I could choose for my next hat. I would totally recommend this shop to anyone passing through DC! Happy Knitting!!

Almost Finished Siren Beanie

My hands needed something different so I switched to the Siren Beanie for the afternoon sessions and cranked out the crown decreases!

I need to get back to the hotel room and use my darning needle to weave in ends and secure the top. I am pretty happy with the hat and got some interesting looks from fellow attendees. This hat is definitely an adult LARGE. I am worried at the rate that I am knitting that I am going to run out of projects!

Happy Knitting!!

Conference Dream State

Pre-conference sessions have started. And I made some additional progress on my Dream State Musselburgh.

I am glad I packed a light sweater in my bag. As hot as it is outside, it is that much over air conditioned inside!! I was literally shivering in some of the ballrooms. I am on track to finish this hat soon and I may need to wear it!

Happy Knitting!!

Alpacas On Vacation

Safely in DC and sweating my butt off at the National Zoo. The pandas are the main attraction but I spotted an Alpaca at the petting zoo. And I couldn’t resist a photo.

My Midwest self is a little puzzled how this is a zoo attraction when they are all over Kansas but I remembered that I am in a major metro….

I can tell these babies had their spring or early summer shear and are growing back their coats. I even got bonus points from my travel companion for knowing they were not llamas but actually alpaca. We were both befuddled by the cow exhibit next door. Again, our Midwest was showing!

Dream State On A Plane

My Dream State and I headed out on jet plane! I have work trip that involves a lot of sitting in conference rooms and traveling on planes and busses. This should mean good things for the three hats I packed!

I made several inches of progress on my direct flight to DC. I managed an aisle seat so I had plenty of elbow room. I even made good progress listening to my latest audiobook. I am hooked on the Jessica Fletcher Murder She Wrote audio books from my library. Are they complicated? No but they are just the comfort listen that I need here lately.

Happy Knitting!!

2024 Conference Knitting

Conference knitting has arrived! This past week when my posts were auto-posting….the family and I snuck away to a conference in San Diego. And boy howdy, did I get a ton of knitting done (and work and family time).

I was in a room with 600+ ladies and I was one of two knitters. I very quickly became “orange hat lady” and had muggles approach me in the bathroom, lol. It was a 9 hour day so I made terrific progress on my Glazed Carrot hat.

Lots of people asked to touch it and were impressed with how soft the fabric is. That is the magic of a singles yarn with no plies, its soft! Stay tuned for the finished object shots…

Happy Knitting!!

Let’s Go Home Knitting

My brain is full and I’m ready to head home tomorrow from my work conference. My travel socks didn’t get as much work as I had hoped at the conference. A lot of the days I chose not to carry my backpack and just a small clutch so I could move around the conference better. Which means less knitting but a healthier back and less foot pain.

I have seven hours of travel tomorrow so my goal is to double this progress and at least get through the full rainbow. Do you think I can make it?

Happy Knitting!!

A New Travel Sock

I have a quick work conference this week so of course none of my current knitting would work. I DEFINITELY needed to cast on something new!

I pulled some vintage KirbyWirby sock yarn from my stash. This one is her Rose Apothecary Remix color. I hand wound this into a big ball and I had a wee little toe for my flight halfway across the country.

I strategically got an aisle seat so I could knit comfortably on the first flight leg, but was not so lucky on leg number two. So I read my book for the last two hours. I am reading the latest Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum book. Yeah, I know they are all the same but I find that comforting!

Now I’m off to learn a whole bunch! Happy Knitting!!

Kansas Is More Than Flat

Thanks to Thanksgiving travel, the family decided to take the scenic route to see family. That takes us through the tall grass prairies of the Flint Hills of Kansas.

There is an overlook right off the highway that we pulled off for. You can go right up to the edge of the bluff and look out for MILES. It’s fully fall now so the foliage is gone but it is still pretty spectacular

The kids and I stopped to read about the features of the North American tall grass prairie. And then hustled back to the car because it was super cool and super windy. Sometimes its nice to remember that Kansas is more than just flat land, lol.

Happy Friday!

Hill Country Weavers Yarn Shop

While in Texas, I had half a day to kill before my flight left for home. I hopped into an Uber and found the closest yarn store which happened to be Hill Country Weavers. Y’all…this shop was the bomb!

This shop had all kinds of yarn brands that I haven’t been able to lay hands on yet. I touched La Bien Aimee, Life in the Long Grass, Madeline Tosh and many more. Even the bathroom had a life size sheep painting!

I might have spent my budget plush some but it was totally worth it. I grabbed a mix of sock yarn, DK and worsted. I had some Uneek Worsted in a self striping pattern (top), La Bien Aimee BFL Sock, Life In the Long Grass Fine Sock, Madeline Tosh DK, Madelinetosh Pashmina, and two skeins of Spin Cycle!

Truth be told, other than the hat I cast on with the Uneek Worsted, I have zero plans for this yarn. I just wanted some special/souvenir pieces to add to my collection and stash. These are yarns I don’t normally get to lay hands on. Definitely yarn to remember!!

Happy Knitting!!