hearthstoneyarns.com

Clarification of hours: All shops will be open during the times listed on the crawl info — even if those are not their regular hours.

Summer’s Last Blast Yarn Crawl is this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; and I think we will be ready.  We just finished packaging the Grand Prizes, and I wish I could be in the drawing!!!

Everyone whose passport is stamped at all 6 participating shops will be entered in the drawing for one of the SIX Grand Prizes, each with a retail value of approximately $200, and for one of six Gift Certificates for $25 from one of the participating shops.  Also, each shop will award a Local Prize, valued from $50 to $75, to someone whose passport is stamped at that shop.

So many chances to win….and I’m not eligible for any of them!!!

Making plans for next weekend’s Summer’s Last Blast Yarn Crawl.  Can’t wait!!

Aren’t they sweet!  This Angora (100%!) arrived yesterday, and I whipped these up last night from the free Plymouth pattern.  Sizes preemie to newborn only takes 1 skein for a cost of $6.25!  How’s that for a great price?  We have white, blue, pink, and red in stock.  We also have black and a free adult beret pattern for us grown ups who love luscious things.

After working on socks in the car during the day, I wanted a different project to work on during evenings in the hotel.  This Shapely Shawlette from a pattern by Judy Pascale was just the thing.  The yarn is sock yarn from JWrayCo in Lerwick Harbor Purple.  It turned out the perfect size for an accent shoulder shawl, and the pattern was really easy to memorize.

I didn’t have it quite finished when we got back, and I was searching through my dresser looking for something else when I unearthed these beads.  What a perfect match for my almost-finished shawlette!!  Serendipity!!!  I added them to the bind off row and voila!  What do you think?

Now that I’ve caught up with everything that piled up while I was on vacation I can catch  you up on my travel knitting.

Socks are always my favorite car project.  I can knit, talk, and watch the scenery all at the same time.  On this trip I learned that I can also babysit the GPS while working on a pair of socks.  [By the way, the GPS has been named “Shirley” because my husband kept saying, “Surely, she’s crazy!”]

The pattern is a simple 8-stitch repeat that I could keep just by watching the results.  It spirals around the foot like the Blue Ridge Parkway curls through the mountains.  When it was time for the foot, the pattern decided that it needed to use switchbacks to climb from the toe to the ankle.

We were on the way home while I was knitting the second sock, so it had to spiral the opposite direction.  After all, balance is the keep to a happy existence, right?

P.S.  The yarn is Crazyfoot from Mountain Colors, and the design will be available the last week in July.

Gotcha!  No, I’m still here in North America, but I am casting on a short-sleeved summer sweater in Tahiti yarn from KFI.  The colorway with the white background has been calling me for months, and I’m finally giving in.  The pattern is Ariel from Knit N Style magazine June 2010 issue.

If I finish this quickly, I may offer Daughter a sleeveless tank in one of the other colors.  I think the pink would look great on her.

The “Traveling Socks” are coming along great.  I’m currently working on the second sock which is a mirror image of Sock 1.  I should have pics this weekend, maybe I’ll even be finished!

Also hope to have pics of the Shapely Shawlette from Judy Pascale’s pattern that was also travel knitting.  I’m trying to work out how to bead the bind off.

Have a safe & fun holiday weekend!

I’ve been playing the new Crazyfoot sock yarn from Mountain Colors, and it knits up beautifully.  The twist is great for pattern work.  The colorway is “Chinook” and this swirly design looks like it’s been blown around in a high wind.  The pattern will become a whirlwind when it reaches the foot, and the other sock will twist in the opposite direction.  I’m having a lot of fun with this so far.  What do you think of it?