Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Hi, We headed out to Odelia Alpaca Farms , today. It is a local farm with a small number of alpacas, and they sell yarn and sweaters, among other things. They had some folks there, spinning and talking about the yarn. These are the two male alpacas that they have. They stayed a bit closer to the fence than the females did. They were curious, but they didn't want to be handled. There were two new baby alpacas born there this week, both of them brown. Here is Mitchell with one of their dogs. One dog was outside the pen, and one was inside, with the alpacas. One time when it got near a baby alpaca, the mama charged it to run it off. The owner said that is about as agressive as they get. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, All visitors to the house, beware. (Luckily, I don't have any yarn orders pending...) There is a spider who has built a web across our front walk. It goes from a tree in the main yard to a tree in the garden bed by the house. Try clicking on the picture of the house, and I think you'll be able to see the web. She isn't on the web in the picture, because it was the last one I took, and I had frightened her off the web by then. (She ran up into the tree.) She is over an inch long. It is hard to get scale in the pictures, but you can see the "eye" of the nest in the spider picture, and you can also see it in the picture of the web, so you can get an idea of how big she is. I thought about trying to hold up a quarter or something, but I was too chicken. Mitchell likes her. He said, "She's friendly. She likes me." Daddy says, "Spiders are good. They eat bugs." So, she is not in great peril at the moment... unless someone comes to visit. Mayb...

Hi! Mitchell got some "small" legos last weekend while we were shopping. He had "Quadros" before, but we finally went to the little ones. Here he is, working on the Lego tree that Daddy made. There are a lot of teensy parts in Legos that I don't remember from when I was a kid. Note the little red apples on the tree. By the way, doesn't Mitchell have cute toes? Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished up the Rectangle Vest. It stretches quite a bit from the weight of the fabric. The armholes are 9" deep laying flat, but 12" deep vertical. My next project is another vertical garter stitch fabric, so I'll take stretching into account for that one. Lessons learned... The "knitting needle" shawl pin front closure is by " Gita Maria ," and I found it at Myer's House and Barn in St. Louis. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Here is Mitchell in his Long John Silver's hat. He won't let us help put it on! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

...he's gotta wear shades!

Hi, I finished the fronts, today, for the Rectangle Vest. The alternating rows in garter have a fabric with two different sides. In one side, the stitches from the same yarn lay together, making stripes (Side A). In the other side, the stitches from the same yarn are separated, blending the yarns more (Side B). Side A: Side B: Which side do you think is the "right" side? Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Hi, Last week, I had a business trip to Maryland. I was so near to done on Wicked that I didn't want to drag the large project with me on the trip (knitted in one big piece, sleeves attached and everything), so I started another small project. I took my Mountain Colors Twizzle (obtained at Yarns on Berry Hill during my last New York trip, two weeks earlier), and made a quick " Dulce Neck Cozy ." (This pattern link will only work if you are on Ravelry. Sorry.) It was quick and turned out really cute. My trip to Maryland was a really quick one, and I even had to come home earlier than planned, but I did manage to stop on my way to my afternoon meeting and buy some yarn at Crazy For Ewe . Ellen had to ship it to me, because I only had a computer bag (doubling as an overnight bag) and a purse! But it is here now, and I took pictures when it arrived. Gorgeous! Two colorways of Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets, Gemini (Primrose and Aquatide), and two coordinating colors of Kara...

Hi, In our on-going Sunday evenings with the grandparents, we continue to get good Mitchell time. Here is Gpa E helping Mitchell with his Lincoln Logs. That's Gma E in the background. Hey, maybe Mitchell is helping Gpa... Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, I finished knitting "Wicked" over the weekend, but just getting around to posting. Ellen at Crazy For Ewe helped me pick this wonderful yarn a while ago (for a different project, but I get distracted...). It is Sublime's Cashmere Silk Merino Aran. The twist gives a nice "self-cabling" to the stockinette stitch, and the fabric is incredibly soft. Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

Hi, Pardon me for the political aside. I did not expect to really have much comment on the election, but I feel the need to say that I am ecstatic with the choice of Governor Sarah Palin as Senator McCain’s running mate. Finally! I have always said that I would like to see a female president in my lifetime. (But Ms. Clinton was not the one I wanted to see. Enough said about that.) The thing that really has me writing this political rant is that I am horrified by some of the liberal media response to Governor Palin . Let me be specific. On Wednesday evening (9/3/08), Sally Quinn of the Washington Post went on Bill O’Reilly’s program for an interview. She said that even though she believed in working mothers – she herself is a working mother and “many of [her] friends are working mothers,” – there is a “tipping point,” and Governor Palin needed to “reconsider her priorities.” Gee, Sally, is that “tipping point” the spot I encounter when I climb the ladder and clumsily collide with th...