Back from the beach!

And conquering 2 knitalongs at once! We ended up staying in Traverse City longer than expected, but I'm not complaining. There was multiple yarn stores, lots of sun, nice sand, and freezing cold water, after all.


The charming view of the bay right outside our cottage.


The view while out for a walk.


This is the start of the first sock, set down for a little picture during a stroll on the beach (the trek). It is indeed my first Trekking sock for Trek Along With Me and I actually completed the entire pair while I was there! They are also serving as my first pair of vacation socks for the Summer of Socks, since I did them on vacation. While I was there I bought another ball of Trekking, so I may start another- though I am halfway through a pair in Socks That Rock too.


They're done! Emma loves them. I brought her back a few goodies from Traverse City too (cherry jam, obviously) but also the World's Largest Pair of Underpants, with a 100" waistband. It was a huge hit.
P.S.- The donations for Team Tiara are rolling in! Don't miss out on your chance to win some yarny goodness (see this post for details)- deadline is July 29!

Nice mail

I got a letter in the mail today letting me know that I have officially moved up from "Associate" to "Established Professional" in the Association of Knitwear Designers (AKD). Yay!

I'm on my cruddy old laptop using dial up right now because many a storm today has messed up my DSL on the good computer. Oh well. This thing can barely handle me typing, let alone pictures, so you'll have to wait to see knitting updates. I'm going to Traverse City tomorrow for a few days with the girls from work, so I hope to have both some "Trek With Me" sock action as well as vacation sock progress for the Summer of Socks.

If you haven't gotten around to donating to my little crusade for Team Tiara, what are you waiting for? Does someone else need to get my Koigu? It could be you, you know! Every little bit counts.

Go Team Tiara! (now with PRIZES!)

I've been thinking about doing some good with the whole marathon thing- I never thought I'd even enter one, and now that I have I'd like my efforts to benefit others. In that vein, I joined Team Tiara- benefitting Girls on the Run, an organization that helps girls develop leadership, goal-setting, a healthy body image and self-esteem through running. If you're feeling the girl power, I invite you to sponsor me toward my goal. And yes, I'll be wearing a tiara in the marathon. AND, I have decided to kick in some prizes for a drawing amongst my fair supporters- 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in the "mineshaft" colorway for starters, Koigu, Trekking, and more! Anyone who makes a contribution by July 29 (the date of my next race, a 10K) is in!

My first 5K, and thank you Jennifer!

Today was the Father's Day Run- I entered the 5K (my first race!) It was terribly hot, but so festive- and lots of snacks afterwards! Also, I'm proud to say that I came in 2nd in my age group, and got this swell medal:

Also, I want to thank Jennifer for being the first to donate to Team Tiara!! You are the best.

And the winners are...

I finally got Emma to do the drawing!

My copy of Alterknits goes to Ragan and my copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting goes to Dana!

Congratulations, and please email me at frottez at att dot net so I can get my hands on your addresses, okay?

I guess I didn't really want a break...

I've got two new designs in the works for SWTC in their new Gianna yarn. I got to play with it when I was hanging out in their booth at TNNA- it's nice- a bit like Karaoke only bulky. I haven't worked with bulky yarn in a while and it sounds nice after doing so many things in DK and sport lately- I could use some instant gratification!!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!

Woo hoo! It's a long day though. We do a lot of fun events during the day and have a big awards/potluck thing at the end, and I still have to work one more week to finish up paperwork and stuff, but still. This year has been particularly crazy at work so I'm glad to get to the end, and hope that next year will be better (I'm sure it will).

For me, this means tons more knitting time. Can't wait.

As promised...

Sock progress from TNNA. The Socks That Rock are, thank you.

Look!

Check it out- new running shoes. And I'm doing my first 5K on Sunday!

Live from TNNA (plus a little contest)

I'm here, and attempting to post from my Palm, since I left my laptop at home. I saw SO MANY COOL THINGS, and met SO MANY COOL PEOPLE, including Amy Singer, Vickie Howell, Louisa Harding, Lexie Barnes, Nicky Epstein, Stephanie, Yahaira, Suss Cousins, Annie Modesitt, Ann and Kay, Jordana of Jordana Paige, everyone I've been designing for, other yarn company people, and saw pretty much anyone else you could name in knitland. Really. Plus I drank too much free wine. More later.

ETA: It's later (and I'm really tired and will ramble). Who would have thought you could have so much fun NOT buying things? The best part was meeting everyone at SWTC (all soooo nice) and seeing their great booth FULL of my designs. There was even a huge poster of the corn yarn sweater! I dropped off the alpaca one at Alpaca Yarn's booth (a huge relief) and spent most of my time chatting with people and waiting in line to get books signed. And they just give you the book too- some are the "real" book, others are uncorrected proof copies of books that aren't out yet. I got signed copies of Mason-Dixon Knitting, Alterknits, Andean Inspired Knitting, and a yet-to-be-published book by Suss Cousins. I got a signed tote bag from Nicky Epstein (her books were gone by the time I got to the front) and missed out on a few others (pout). I saw the Great Wall of Yarn and got to put yarn clippings in a book to take home. I saw my swatches (Chrissy-I saw yours too). I fondled all the needles and bags at Namaste Needles and petted lots of quviut. I went to a meeting with all of the designers from AKD. I had a great class on creativity with Sally Melville, and tasty crab cakes at the Vogue Knitting booth. I felt more yarn than ever before, and saw lots of stuff that isn't out yet (including new prints of Lexie Barnes bags that I totally need, even though I already have TWO of her bags). What else? I got through almost an entire sock and a swatch for Classic Elite while waiting in line for book signings so I'll have a new FO soon. The best part? More than a few people knew me by name- that was weird but really, really nice. And now? I just got home, have to go to work tomorrow (but only 4 more days until school lets out) and I am exhausted from all the sights, excitement, and WALKING. Too bad you can't bring cameras in- I'd love to have lots of pictures to show. Just use your imagination, okay?

As for the contest, I now have 2 copies of Alterknits and Mason-Dixon Knitting. No, you can't have the signed ones (they're signed to me, anyway) but you can have the old ones! Leave a comment if you're interested and Emma will make a random selection on Friday.

At last!

The Fair Isle Cardigan for Alpaca Yarn Co. is done. Really. Just needs the buttons sewn on after it's done blocking (which it's doing now.) I am so happy. And tired. I still need to pack to leave for TNNA tomorrow after work, but that will have to wait till the morning.

Goodnight.

Hey- as of this moment (well, I still need to clean up the pattern instructions a bit) I have no knitting going on for anyone else. I can make something for ME next- like the socks I have yet to cast on for. Yay!! As much as I love seeing my work in magazines and stuff, after spending the last 4 months cranking out designs for mags and yarn companies(including that capelet, 2 cardigans (1 Fair Isle and the other with an allover knit/purl pattern), 1 allover cabled mock turtleneck sweater-in sport weight yarn no less, 1 short sleeve sweater, 1 Fair Isle pillow, 2 pairs of socks, plus other submissions, writing instructions, etc.) I'm ready for a little break. And just in time- school lets out next week!

yes, I still exist, thank you

To go a whole week without posting- that's just not me. I'm still slaving away on that sweater for the Alpaca Yarn Co.- it HAS TO GET DONE LIKE RIGHT NOW so in a second I'm going back to it. If I only didn't have a real job, this would be so much easier.

In happier yarn-related news, Mr. Mailman brought me TWO checks- one for a SWTC sweater and one from Cast On. Yippee! Now all the money I spent on "necessary" Marathon Training Supplies (new shoes, cute outfits, etc.) isn't going to get me in trouble. I did a whopping (for me) 14.2 miles last week (spread over 4 days). Now the trick is to keep going- that's what the cute outfits are for. (Yes my need for external motivation is just plain sad).

I'm leaving for TNNA after work on Friday. I was hoping I'd have time to knit up something cute to wear, but yeah right. Guess I'm sticking to "regular" clothes. I'll let you know if I meet anyone famous (in the yarn sense) there. I'm hoping!