Where did the summer go?

Its been a while since I last blogged. Blog Week in May left me all blogged out, and then I blinked and Summer was over and Fall is now here. So I thought I'd give a quick roundup of whats been happening.

In June I got married.

We bought a house in Minturn, CO. It needs a lot of love.

I also spent a fair amount of time on my mountain bike, in our tent at random locations throughout Colorado, and hiking some splendid mountains in the Rockies. There was some work thrown into the mix too - but unfortunately a limited amount of knitting.

However - now the weather has started to turn autumnal and the evenings are drawing in; the needles have been dusted off, the sofa has become my knitting haven and I have some deliciously chunky yarn on its way to becoming a cozy cowl!

What a Yarn: knitcroblo7

One of the greatest yarns I have ever used is the Twinkle 'Soft Chunky' Yarn. It is amazingly soft, deliciously thick and comes in some truly gorgeous colours. I originally bought this yarn in the kelly green and coral colours, and loved it so much I couldn't resist buying two more skeins when I visited Fancy Tiger in Denver - more yarn for my ever-growing stash. With the kelly green I made this super toasty cable hat, which knit up in just a few hours. It turned out so well, I made another one in the coral!!!

Cable hat made from Twinkle Soft Chunky Yarn in Kelly Green!

Cable hat made from Twinkle Soft Chunky Yarn in Coral!

Revisit a past F/O: knitcroblo6

I thought this topic would give me a great excuse to share a few piccies of gorgeous Florence wearing a hat I made her - the first one was taken at 3 weeks old - the second at about 3 months - unfortunately it is almost too small for her now - but isn't she just delicious !!! (Maybe a little scared in the first picture !!).

3 weeks old!

3 months old!

Location, Location, Location: knitcroblo5

Yellowstone NP, taking a wee break from knitting, watching Chris fly-fishing!

I don't have a specific spot or place where I always knit - I pretty much take my knitting most places (in my awesome Cath Kidston knitting bag), and if I have a free few minutes and feel so inclined, I'll pick up the sticks and do a few rows. I really don't like to waste time, so if I can be productive with my down time, then thats always a bonus!! The most memorable places I've knitted are - Yellowstone National Park, sat watching Chris fish. It really was an idyllic spot, and a pretty relaxing experience. I was a little worried a bear might stumble upon us, or a big old buffalo. Fortunately neither creature decided to visit that day !! I've also been known on occassion to bring my knitting to the Sports Bar in Vail, on a Football Sunday, and sit and knit while Chris cheered on the Chicago Bears - I'll admit I got a few odd glances, but I have absolutely no interest in American Football and didn't want to waste 4 hours watching it !!! So my philosophy for knitting is anytime, anyplace !!

A New Skill: knitcroblo4

Having read a lot of blogs about knitting this week I stumbled across 'Entrelac'. Having not heard about this technqiue before I eagerly googled it. Wikipedia told me that 'entrelac is a knitting technique used to create a textured diamond pattern - while the end result resembles basket-woven strips of knitted fabric, the actual material comprises interconnected squares on two different orientations'. Cool.

A wonderful example of Entrelac

I then read through a few patterns on Ravelry and I think I could potentially manage a little 'entrelac' project - maybe with my mums help!! This is therefore the new skill I would like to learn.

One Great Kniter: knitcroblo3

I have to say Jane Richmond is right up there as one of my favorite knitters/designers. She comes up with such wonderful designs, using bright, vibrant yarns. Her patterns are brilliant, and easy to follow. She has a fabulous flair for photography - the photos of her knitted delights are great!! She makes such wearable, fashionable items. I come away from her blog and ravelry page inspired !!! Thank you Jane !!!

Red is Best

An Inspirational Pattern: knitcroblo2

Over the last year I feel I have challenged myself in my knitting projects. From just making hats and scarfs a year ago, I now have bags, cowls, a kicking bag for my beautiful niece Flo, and handwarmers in my repertoire. I've also tried my hand at colourwork, cabling and felting, and attempted to design some of my own hats. So what next .................

Well - I aspire to make a Cardigan for myself - and as I live in a ski town, I'm thinking a Ski Cardi !! This would allow me to practice my colourwork on a bigger scale and give me a great toasty piece of clothing to wear at the end of it.

The Ski Cardi I want to make - unfortunately I need to find a pattern for it!!

It would be the most ambitious undertaking in my knitting career thus far - and I'm sure it would take a ridiculous amount of time, tears and stress - but at some point in the next few years - a hand-knitted ski cardi will be perhced upon my shoulders and be the envy of all the other ski chicks in town!!!

Unfortunately the pattern for this desired cardi is still undiscovered. However while I was searching for it - I did stumble across this EPIC pattern. A His and Her matching ski jumper and cardi combo. I'm sure Chris and I would look adorable in these - I can see the Christmas card picture already !!!

His and her ski jumper and cardi!

(If anyone knows of any great Ski Cardi patterns - I would love to hear about them please !!)