Drop Stitch Scarf "Transfix"

Transfix

My knitting lately has been projects I can easily pick up and put down, easily memorized, and easy enough that I can chat and knit at the same time. It just occurred to me that I have been on a scarf kick lately. I'll post photos of those other items soon. 

For now I am showing you my current drop stitch scarf which I am knitting with Berroco Boboli Lace. It's DK weight yarn and I am using US Size 7 needles as called for in the pattern. The pattern is called "Transfix" and is on www.berroco.com. The pattern calls for two balls of yarn and suggests casting with 60 stitches. I cast I just 30 stitches for narrower scarf. 

Berroco has other yarns called Boboli. I made mittens a few years back in a worsted weight Boboli. The colors in the Boboli yarns are really pretty. I have another Boboli project planned but I think the scarf will keep me busy for the time being. 

Would you like to see the two reasons I am leaning toward easy knitting projects these days?

Yep, it's difficult to knit with a lap-full of puppies. 

These are all pictures of puppies on my lap. 

I love these guys!  

Your Daily Dose of Cute

Ewan

Ann, the owner of my local yarn shop, asked me to make some Chicago Cubs pillows for her sister. Apparently her sister is a big Chicago Cubs fan. It appears her dog, Ewan, is a big fan of my pillows.  These photos sure make me smile.

Backyard Improvements... a pergola.

After having two big cottonwood trees removed from our backyard, we thought it might be a good idea to have a pergola built for a little privacy and shade.  I like how it turned out but it's rather tall, and it's not providing much shade or privacy.  We are contemplating some options. For example, I am thinking of hanging some red canvas fabric in the ceiling area.  The area is nice and shady in the evening hours (it's just in the morning hours that it's really hot and sunny).  In the future, we are thinking of adding hanging flower baskets and maybe a little table and chairs. We are in no rush. We are enjoying the area. It really is like an outdoor room and, because it's so tall, it actually feels much more spacious than I expected.

 

I don't get to sit alone.  Puppies in lap. :)

 

Yep, this is my view!  Sandy on the left; Brutus on the right.

 

Sweet Brutus.  Such a cuddle bear.

 

I especially love the view looking up!

 

 

Sandy (notice Brutus in the back in the shade!)

 

Big Brute!  He needs his bangs cut above his eyes.

Some guys we know from work who are now retired (Bret and Bob) did a great job on our pergola!
Thanks fellas!

Yarn Bombing and other things in Fort Collins, Colorado

 

We spent the 4th of July weekend in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's about a four drive north from where we live. We were walking around a bit one evening near the historic downtown district and stumbled across some yarn bombing.  I never investigated the significance of the "150" or the wagon wheel, but I realized the stripes woven in the fence were not just stripes...

They were music...

 

 

And then I noticed this pretty little back alley with gorgeous hanging flower baskets, so of course I had to snap a photo of that as well...

 

 

On Saturday, Zach played in a tennis match.  It was hot! 

 

Damn hot!

 

 

After the tennis matches and a really nice lunch out, we decided to drive into the mountains for some cooler temperatures.  The town of Estes Park was our destination.  We drove along a road that follows the Big Thompson River.  We could see where the flooding occurred last summer.  It was really dramatic to see the high water marks and some homes which were destroyed from the flooding. Sad.

 

 

After we walked around the cute tourist town of Estes Park, we stopped an played some mini-golf on the east edge of town.  You couldn't ask for a more scenic location for a mini-golf course. The place was just gorgeous!

 

 

Do you like Zach's putting technique?

 

 

There were flowers all over the place at the golf courses.  I enjoyed looking around at the scenery even more than playing I enjoyed playing mini-golf.

 

 

There was a nice waterfall near the 18th hole.

 

 

Ever awesome min-golf place seems to also have Skee-ball!

 

On Sunday, in Fort Collins, we rented bicycles and rode around town.  Fort Collins is an extremely bike friendly town and there are miles of bike paths.  We drove home Sunday afternoon and the holiday traffic was not too terribly bad.  It was nice to visit Fort Collins and Estes Park again. 

As always... I am most happy to be home again. 

I have actually been knitting recently. I'll try to post some photo soon.  But first... some photos of our latest back yard improvements!

Seeing Rainbows

My Etsy shop "KimzKraftKorner" had me hopping and seeing rainbows in June.  A lady ordered nine pillows, all in rainbow fabrics.  She basically ordered all of what I had showing in my inventory for two different pillows using rainbow fabric.

 

 

Of course I was tickled, so I got it all packaged up and shipped off in a hurry.

 

I updated my shop to indicate I had more of these pillows available after buying more fabric, and after about a week, the same lady orders seven more rainbow pillows. Crazy, right!?  I got to cutting and sewing and stuffing and realized I did have enough fabric on hand to make one more rainbow pillow.  I made it up and threw it in for free, this lady being such a great customer and all.

 

About a week later, I get a message from the same lady indicating she wants to custom order 24 pillows and she wants to provide the fabric. She asked for a price quote and I provided that.  I am intrigued of course... what fabric and what is one lady doing with so many pillows?

 

A week passes and the lady asks for 20 pillows in the rainbow fabric (circles, not ripples).  I race to the store, hoping they have more of the fabric.  Of course they did not since I had bought everything they had during my last visit. But I knew I could get the same fabric on line from www.joann.com.   It also occurred to me there is Joann's Store about 45 miles from me.  I called ahead with the item number and sure enough they had 11 yards of what I needed. So after a road trip and a nice lunch out with my husband, I was a sewing maniac for three days. 

 

There they are... all 20 pillows done!  Phew! This was the weekend before 4th of July weekend. Busy, busy!

 

 

There's a lot more that goes with this story. It was a bit stressful, there was some drama... definitely some speed bumps along the way. But all the experiences were learning opportunities for me in my little business venture. 

 

When the 3rd order was all wrapped up and ready to ship, the buyer finally shared with me what she was doing with so many pillows.

 

Would you like to know, too?

 

The buyer's husband goes to a dialysis clinic and she wanted all the patients and nurses there to have a pillow.

 

... really have a lump in my throat when I type that...

 

Quilt Shop in Town

 

First Stitches Quilt Shop

 

I visited my local quilt shop a number of days ago and the shop was looking so cute and cheerful, I just had to snap this photo.  I am so grateful that, despite living in a relatively small town, there are two quilt shops with great fabric, a great yarn shop, and our WalMart actually has a very large fabric/craft section.

 

First Stitches Quilt Shop is in the cutest little brick house and it's right by the history train depot in town.  The train depot is still in use for a tourist train which runs along the Arkansas River and travels west from Canon City through a scenic canyon and under the Royal Gorge Bridge.

 

I mentioned WalMart... I am not a huge fan.  But sometimes you can get a good deal.

Pillow stuffing: 10 pounds poly-fil on www.joann.com $39.99 (HERE).

Exact same 10 pound box of poly-fil at WalMart: $19.97.

 

I'm a lucky girl!