Alpaca Alert!

Have you ever seen such cute faces?!!



After the wedding in Ithaca on Saturday (wedding post once I figure out how to upload pictures from the new digital camera), we went back to Syracuse and stayed at Scott's sister's house. On Sunday, we went to an antiques show at the NYS Fairgrounds. We've gone to this show for several years and the last few years there has also been an alpaca show at the fairgrounds. Usually by the time we are done at the antique show, it's too late to see the alpacas. This year we were at the antique show by 11 a.m. and done by 1 p.m. so we decided to stop in to see the alpacas.



We all fell in love with these adorable animals! Scott says he wants to buy a couple to keep in the yard. We have just under an acre of yard so it might be doable. I told him that if he does, he has to learn to shear the alpacas and I have to learn to spin.

Scott has Raynaud's Syndrome so his hands and feet get very cold in the winter. He absolutely loves alpaca socks because they keep his feet warm. Last year I knit him alpaca mitten liners for the Malabrigo mittens I am making him. Well, I knit both the liners and one outer mitten. I really need to make the second outer Malabrigo mitten before the snow flies!



Because he loves alpaca yarn so much, he actually bought two skeins of yarn so I can make him a hat! This is amazing because it drives him crazy that I have so much yarn. Well, that just opened the flood gates. While he went to the car to get the old camera so I could take alpaca pictures for a blog post, I went to another booth and bought a softer skein of yarn. The first two skeins were nice but not as soft. Then we were looking at more booths and I found the softest yarn. I bought a 600 yard skein of fingering weight marled alpaca yarn for $29.00!



L-R: 2nd yarn purchase (200 yds for $15.00), 3rd yarn purchase (600 yds for $29.00), 1st yarn purchase (2-200 yd skeins for $15.00 each) (Click on picture for a close up)

That's 1200 yards of alpaca yarn for $74.00. Approximately $.06 a yard!!

I can't wait to start knitting with these yarns. The first skein pictured was from a farm that has it's own fiber mill. I think you can purchase yarn online from them. It's A+ Alpaca Fiber Mill at Riverside Alpacas. I haven't checked out the website yet but I intend to.

And that was my alpaca adventure. I have a feeling that if we go to the antique show next fall, we'll also schedule a stop to the alpaca show!

I'll leave you with one last alpaca picture.



(I wonder if we can teach Isabella to herd alpacas?!)

Blocking rocks!

The wedding shawl is blocked and ready to go! (Click on pictures to see it closer.)
Isabella is not impressed but I'm very happy with it.







I think Megan will be happy with it, too. Too bad the weather report for Saturday is around 50F and rainy. That kind of ruins her plans to walk out of the woods for her wedding march. I feel bad but I don't know what she expected when she planned this wedding for the end of October in New York State. At least it will be a memorable wedding!!

Sunday Ariane and Mike came to visit and brought Lucy with them.



Lucy is their 11 month old French bulldog and boy, is she a handful! We went out to breakfast and left her blocked in the kitchen. We came home to find the trash can on the floor with the bag pulled out. Luckily it was a new bag and empty. All the paper I had hanging on the refrigerator had been tasted and were scattered and her collapsible water dish had been tossed around so there was a large puddle of water to be mopped up.

Isabella (who hates Lucy with a passion) was properly horrified that a dog could do such awful things.



In spite of her naughty behavior, we love Lucy. She loves everyone and everything and is so happy. Isabella prefers that she not visit her house again.

First real lace project

My first real lace project is done! Well, the knitting part is done. Now it needs to be blocked.

Here are a couple of progress pictures that I took earlier in the week.




The pattern is the Vine-Stitch Wrap from Vogue Knitting "Shawls on the Go". I used Mirasol "Nuna" yarn which is a merino/silk/bamboo blend in what I call a pearl white.

I started the shawl on October 5th and finished it last night (October 16th). The shawl is for Scott's niece's wedding on October 24th. Her shower is today and I had hoped to have it completely done but that wasn't possible. In my defense, we didn't get the wedding invitation until September 25th and then left for our week on Cape Cod. I'll take it to the shower to show it to her and then I'll bring it back to be blocked.

It's nice to have the shawl done so I can go back to knitting other things. It was a fun and easy pattern, though.

While vacationing, I bought a couple of hat patterns. I finished up this hat on the drive home.



The pattern is the Spiral Rib Hat by Song Palmese (Ann Norling #54) made in Lamb's Pride Worsted "Limeade". The book "HomeSpun, HandKnit" (edited by Linda Ligon) has a pair of mittens made in the spiral rib pattern that I'm going to make to match the hat. The set will go to charity.

And finally here's a picture is Isabella enjoying a walk on the beach near the house we stayed at on Barnstable Harbor. She's a real beach dog.



And now I have to go do all the housework that I neglected while knitting the shawl. The shower is at 1:30 p.m. and Scott's brothers and one of his sisters are coming over afterwards. I need to vacuum and declutter!

Cape Cod 2009

Yes, I'm on Cape Cod. Today is our 31st wedding anniversary and this is where we are celebrating it. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that we have been celebrating our anniversary this way for over 10 years now.

Here is my little "nest" at the house. My laptop is set up on the kitchen table next to the window where I can look out at Barnstable Harbor. (Click on pic to enlarge.)



You can see my knitting sitting next to the laptop. When we are at the house, this is usually where you will find me.

And this is the view that I'm looking out onto -



The house sits about 50 yards from the beach. Across the harbor is a spit of land known as Sandy Neck. There is a lighthouse on the end of Sandy Neck but I don't think I got it in this picture.

Not a bad way to wake up, is it?

My knitting has not progressed very far since we've been here, though. I've been working on some charity items - mittens for a couple of different places and a baby sweater with matching socks for another charity. Here are some of the mittens -



This pair is made from Wisdom Yarns "Fair Isle". I bought it at Webs for $3.99 a skein. Look in their closeout section. It's a 200+ skein of 100% self-patterning wool and it's great for charity mittens and socks. I orginally bought 5 different skeins and think I need to order some more of it.





These are Patons Classic Merino wool. This has to be one of my favorite yarns.

I was hoping to get the baby socks done before tomorrow so I could post them on Sock A Month but I don't think that's going to happen. I have about 1 1/2" done on the first one. Today we are going shopping so I don't think I'll get much more done on them.

Have a good week all. Oh, I'm on Twitter now - SuefayeNY.

Preemie hats are done.

I finished 5 preemie hats for Marykatherine's first birthday. Three are knit and two are crocheted. I used a variety of pattern and yarn to make them. They will be delivered today along with a store-bought set of onesies. I hope the hospital can use them.



Now I'm back to knitting mittens. The purple ones I mentioned in the last post have been set aside temporarily. The yarn is acrylic and after rereading Ann's blog, I realize that wool or wool blends are preferable. So I started a pair in Patons Classic Wool. The first mitten is done and I just started the thumb gusset on the second one. I'll post a picture when they're done. The purple mittens will be finished and I'll send all the acrylic pairs with the wool ones. I'm sure they will all be used.

It's that time!

It's that time of year when I start thinking of charity knitting. Usually because Ann from Sheep Shots posts about the Mittenz Blitz for the Cheyenne River Reservation. So far I've made two pairs of mittens this week.




They are 4 needle mittens from Leisure Arts #391 "Mittens and Hats to Knit" by Marion Graham. I've had this book for years but never tried the 4 needle pattern from it. I wish I had sooner because I find these mittens very quick and easy to make. I'm using Red Heart worsted weight yarn. A lot of the yarn is from left over skeins that I have in my stash but some I purchased just the other day. Most of the stash I have is ombres so I needed to buy some solid colors to match.

I have another pair started in purples but they are on hold for the moment. Remember the baby from church that is celebrating her 1st birthday? Well, her parents have asked that in lieu of gifts people donate preemie and newborn items to the hospital where she spent so much of her first 6 months of life. So for the rest of this week, I am making preemie hats to donate. I started and finished the first one last night.



Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK #SH393, Size US 6 (4.0mm)needles
This is a pattern I printed out in 2005. I can't link it because the site is no longer viable. If you are on Ravelry, however, you can search Preemie Hat Pattern and find an archived pattern. It was written by Elizabeth Dimbleby.

And I have another FO to post this week. I finally finished that pair of socks that I started in June 2008. They came out nice but they are a little tight on me. Probably because I knit insanely tight on double points and these were made on size 1 (2.25mm) needles. Plain 2 x 2 ribbing in OnLine Supersocke Tropic #931.



And that's my knitting progress for this week. Now I have to cast on another preemie hat!

All baby, all the time?

Yep, I'm still knitting for babies! Here are my latest endeavors.

This little hat was made while I was on vacation in the Thousand Islands. Sue T. and I each knit one. I made the top of my hat differently than the pattern but it still worked out well.



The yarn is Zenith by Di.Ve' (100% Extra Fine Merino Wool, shrink resistant.) I liked working with it. The pattern can be found on Ravelry. Just plug Parallelo Hat into the pattern search. It's a fun knit. I didn't knit it with anyone in mind so it's going into the finished projects basket.

The next project had a definite destination. One of Scott's nieces was due in September but the baby was born in July. Little Maddy Jo was 2 lbs., 14 oz. at birth. She is now 3 lbs., 12 oz. and gaining about an ounce a day. She may even come home this week if everything goes well.

The baby shower was scheduled for August 15th and my sister-in-law decided to go ahead with it as planned. I knew I wanted to knit something but couldn't decide on a pattern. The Monday before the shower, I was in JoAnn's Fabrics and found "Pipsqueak Knits" by Jil Eaton. There is a cute sleep sack in it that I immediately knew was what I wanted to make.

So, I shopped the stash and found 2 skeins of Bernat Baby Softee in Peony Prints and cast on. Five days of concentrated knitting later, I had a cute shower gift.





I was pleased with it when I was done but if I knit it again, I'll make some changes. It will be knit in the round until dividing for the placket and the sleeves will be knit in the round, too. I'll pick up and knit for the placket differently, too. I wasn't very happy with the placket but it turned out okay.

My last picture is of the wrapped shower gift. You'll see that I used the baby socks from my last post as the package decoration.




I'm not finished with my baby knitting, either. Ariane's boyfriend, Mike, has a twin sister and she's due with her second daughter in September. I figure I should get ahead of the game and make something for her now. I think I might make a Baby Surprise sweater for her. And a couple at church had a baby girl last August who has multiple health issues. After many, many medical scares, she is turning 1 and they are having a party for her at church on August 28th. She's small so I think I'll make something in the 6-9 month size for her. Now I just have to decide what it is that I want to make. I had two weeks to make something when I first found out but now I'm down to 10 days. I'd better decide soon.

And while I'm deciding, I've been working on finishing a pair of socks that I started in June 2008 and making mittens for charity. But more on those when they're finished.