A Girl's Gotta Knit

A blog about opening A Swell Yarn Shop, knitting and the rest of the stuff that makes life fun :)

Monday, September 26, 2005

Housewarming


Ken and I had our Housewarming/Engagement party on Saturday and what a treat it was to have many of our friends and family over at the same time. The only down side was that there just wasn't time to visit with everyone enough! Many people were shocked and impressed with the yarn room used for A Swell Yarn Shop and a couple just couldn't resist the tempation and purchased right then! Thank you everyone who came and made this such a great day!!

Friday, September 23, 2005


What can be sweeter than a living room full of yarn?! Brand new lines have just arrived!!! There are some of the yummiest yarns you can imagine. I only wish I had more hands to knit with :) Check out www.aswellyarnshop.com in the next couple days to be the first to grab these great yarns.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005


I swiped this picture from My little sister's blog because I wanted to show how great she's doing! She is a new knitter and already moving up to hats!! Great job Karla!!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Back from Canada, ey


Well, back to reality from the cruise to Canada. There was lots of fun had by all. We all shook our groove thangs! Many of us ate WAY too much food. We did a bit of gambling. Strolled through the farmer's market in Naniamo and found this gorgeous handspun alpaca, mohair, wool blend. It was far too expensive to purchase so we wondered off through town. Along the way we were handed a $5 gets you $10 at the local casino...so in we went...Every one in there was winning like crazy...they must have had their payouts set incorrectly, but I won $50 canadian dollars at the slots and made a bee-line back to the farmers market to buy the yarn!!! Oh, it is heavenly...I have not idea what I am going to make with it! Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

Friday, September 16, 2005


In honor of Cascade 220 being the yarn of the month, I got a good start on my felted bag project. Now it's stockinette in the cream color for miles and miles. I am torn as to whether I should bring another skein of the cream on the cruise...I don't know if that's just wishful knit thinking and therefore space in the suitcase that could be used if I find I cute new pair of shoes at one of the ports. Hmmm, some of life's decisions are so hard :P Well, I am off to the cruise...have a great weekend!

Wednesday, September 14, 2005


TaDaa! My new kelly green Katia Diana cardi is done!! WooHoo! I thinks it's pretty dang cute! I am sure I will make another and when I do I plan to do some shaping on the sides...it's a smidge boxy right now, but I like it non-the-less!! :)


I was in JoAnn Fabrics the other day because I needed buttons for my kelly green cardi and point protectors for my needles. I walked through the yarn department and noticed their selections had expanded greatly. Still all acrylic blends but a larger selection. As I looked as some of the yarns I noticed ones that appeared to be handspun. At this moment I felt a little sad. There are people who spend years learning to perfect the art of spinning, countless hours spinning those yarns, and unmeasureable amounts of labor the create the high quality beautiful yarns they produce and BLAMO!!! as super huge chain store has managed to create a lesser quality look alike at a fraction of the price and will likely make spinning for profit a futile process. It is so sad when major chains put small business out of business. So sad.


In just two days Ken's company is having their company party. The best part is their company party is a 4 day cruise to Canada!!! It also just so happens that the company includes a handful of Ken's close friends and family so we are going to have an absolute blast! There is a formal night so everyone has been discussing what they will be wearing...I have a feeling that I will be dressed the most floofy for that night, but I doubt that will suprise anyone. I am going to be bringing my felted bag project, just in case there is time to sit by the pool and knit. Beyond that everyone is looking forward to margaritas on the deck with a round of minature golf by day and shaking our groove 'thang by night!

Monday, September 12, 2005


Went to the Gorge in George, WA to see Keith Urban with my sisters!! I love going to country concerts...Not only is it my only chance to wear my cowboy hat, but the people watching is great. The concert was pretty ho-hum. The opening act was someone I had never heard of and all her songs seemed to revolved around death...which is a little odd for country music. Keith Urban, even with his wonderful Australlian accent, couldn't get the crowd going. We left early... but it was fun to hang out with my sisters none the less! Here are more photos

Wednesday, September 07, 2005


Here is my progress on the Katia Diana cardigan. I just need to add the neck/shoulder band and button bands and I am done!! I can't not say enough how dreamy soft this yarn is...I can already tell this little sweater is going to get the heck worn out of it!!!


Great new colors just arrived of Cascade 220. After I finishing blocking and seaming my kelly green cardigan (I finished all the pieces on the camping trip),I have my eye on a couple shades of pink and brown for a felted book style bag. Actually, I am thinking I am going to whip it out on the knitting machine, since it be will straight stockinette stitch...now if I can just remember where all the pieces to the knitting machine are packed away at :P


Ken and I got a last minute invitation to join our neighbors who were going to be camping at Ocean City over labor day weekend. So we packed up the camper and headed down Saturday night. We spent all of Sunday on the beach with the camper and bbq grill!!! The dogs had an absolute ball running wild on the beach!!! People were flying kites as far as the eye could see and as it got dark,mini bonfires were lit by many. It was a pretty cool way to spend a day in the great northwest!! Here are some more pictures from our quick camping trip.

Friday, September 02, 2005


Typically I have the opposite of a green thumb..I don't have a color wheel nearby so I don't know which color that would be...Because of my usually inability to keep plants alive, I am very pleased that I have had this happy and health plant (I have no idea what it is). Ken gave it to me a couple days after we moved in and to my suprise it is still alive and looking great...if it decides to continue being so happy and healthy, I will have to come up with a name for it :)

Katrina Devastation

I have heard the news reports and seen the pictures of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. I also heard a report that families that have taken their beloved pets with them are being forced to leave them behind because they are not allowed on the buses. The thought of these beloved pets suddenly left to fend for themselves in the middle of all the chaos breaks my heart. Both, this organization and this organization rescues animals in situations of disasters. If you can help in any way, they have set up a PayPal donation account. Even $1 dollar can make a difference. And when you give, even when you have little to give, I can tell you from experience... It comes back to you 10 fold!