Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

It's almost here! WIPs WrestleMania!! Tomorrow, July 1st, it begins!!!


This is a Ravelry based event - for the whole month of July we're going to tackle those wips (works in progress) and get them done once and for all!! We've formed teams, picked wrestling names (mine is The Ivory Ninja!) and classified our wips by weight, division, and events. I have, get this, 12 wips to tackle! I hope I'm up to the challenge!! Here they are in all their glory:

They are in varying degrees of completion, so some will be more difficult to finish in time than others. I told my teammates, though, that I absolutely have to finish the Master Knitter Level 1 assignment (a couple of the MK swatches are pictured in the middle). I'm hoping this gives me the motivation to finish it!!

I'm in two teams: Team Charlotte Purls (I'm team captain!) and Team LSG. Go Teams!!

It'll be nice to have just one or two wips left by the end of July! And in August I pledge to be a more monogamous knitter (well, to try to be anyway!)

The Smackdown begins tomorrow!!!

Chili Peppers anyone?

I got my prize package in the mail today. Woo Hoo!

A wonderful Chili Pepper theme:

The wonderful box bag (a Bella Bag) is from StarLitStella - isn't it just adorable? (Um, I checked out her store while I was getting the web address, and maybe, just maybe, I bought another one in a cute kitty print. I'll admit, I'm weak in the face of cute kitty cat fabrics. :-) )

This yarn is fabulous! Just check out these colors:

100% Superwash Sock yarn from Crazy4Dyeing in the color 'Ring of Fire'.

And some super-cool chili pepper stitch markers from PennyWenny:

Plus some cute sandal stitch markers from Crazy4Dyeing as well:

Isn't it a great prize package??! I LOVE it! Not bad for an hour or two of Photoshop fun. :-)

Now I just need to find the perfect pattern for the sock yarn. I'm thinking it needs to be chili pepper related, don't you?

I can't believe I won!

This year, again, Zarzuela is hosting the Summer of Socks! For those that aren't familiar with it, you cast on and knit socks throughout the summer, and get entered in random drawings when you finish socks. The big prize is the Vacation Photo prize at the end - you take a vacation photo with a sock in progress, and the participants vote on the winning photo. This year it is all taking place within Ravelry - visit the link to the Ravelry group over on the side-bar to sign up. I can't wait till tomorrow to cast on my socks!! I have several patterns and yarn already lined up. :-)

So, anyway, she had a blog button/banner contest, and I said "what the hey" and designed a little button and banner - never thinking I had a chance at winning!! And guess what? I won!! Woo-hoo! So here are my winning button and banner:

And I won a lovely package with sock yarn (of course!) and a bunch of other goodies! I'll post a picture when I get it in the mail. I can't wait!!

If you're in the Summer of Socks group - feel free to copy the banner and button and use them on your blog!

Happy Knitting everyone! Get your needles ready for tomorrow!!

WWKiP Day!

Saturday June 13th was World Wide Knit in Public Day! And what a fun day it was!

The Charlotte Knitting Guild hosted an event from 11-3 at a Charlotte area Books-a-Million, with prizes drawn every half-hour. The Joe Muggs cafe stepped up and had samples of iced coffee and treats for us too!

(Charlotte Purls! Stacey, me, Wendy, Rose, Donna and Angela (seated).)

(Stacey with my SKA WWKiP sock, and her own socks. Aren't they great?!)

After the WWKiP event, I headed home and got a few photos for the Ravelry SKA WWKiP Scavenger Hunt. (Quick explanation: you take photos of a sock in progress with different things, and get points. The people with the highest points win a prize, as well as winners in different categories. All in good fun!)

(Sock with children under 12, in front of (just part of!) my stash. One is knitting! 4pts)

(Sock with a person in uniform. 3pts. heehee!)

Then we headed to the mall, to get a bite to eat before seeing UP with the boys.

(Sock in front of a Landmark. Lowe's Motor Speedway. 5pts.)

(Sock dining out. 1pt.)

Then I did a little KiP before we headed over to the movie theatre.

(Sock being KiP in front of 3+ non-knitters. 6pts.)

I ended up tallying 35 points with my 9 photos (Not all of them are pictured here. You can check the rest out on my Flickr WWKiP set.) We'll see if I win anything. It doesn't really matter if I do - the point was to have fun, and I sure did!

The boys really enjoyed UP!, and we had fun watching for fireflies on the car ride home. Overall, it was a very good day!

Don't be afraid to KiP all year long! Happy Knitting everyone!

Leaf Purse

The Charlotte Purls are having a Bag KCAL, so here is my project:

Pattern: My own design

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes

Needle size: US9

I started it by hand at the bottom, and then worked in the round towards the top. A few days after I started it, I got a Bond Sweater Machine, so I finished it up using the machine. It only took me 20 minutes to finish it! I then felted it, and needle-felted swirls and leaves on it. The handle is a leather handle from Homestead Heirlooms, and so is the leather leaves and acorn.

I ran out of tan yarn and had to finish up using grey, but you can't really notice it in person. Overall, I'm very happy with it. My Pouchee (I love this thing!) fits inside, with enough extra room for a small knitting project as well.