Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

I believe I am about to be "whorled" into le Tour de Fleece. The group of spinners runs a spin-along of sorts in concert with the bicycle race, Tour de France. It starts Saturday! From July 2 though July 24, the group spins every day except Monday the 11th and Monday 18th, when the cyclists rest. There is a special challenge day on the 22nd, when the cyclists have their hilliest ride. There is a Ravelry group for le Tour de Fleece . There are different groups associated with cyclist groups (like The Peloton) or different fiber dyers or wheel makers. I joined Schacht (since I spin on a Ladybug). Participants are encouraged to post progress pictures daily... Hmmm... I'm not sure I need another project, you know? Still, it seems so cool! (I'm such a joiner.) Happy Spinning, Lisa Kay

St. Louis area knit shops are doing another yarn crawl this year, the last weekend in July. I am not sure how much I'll be able to participate, as I am having a surgery one week before this, but I hope to be able to go to at least a few shops. There are twice as many stops this year as last year!!! BAH! Yarns 805 Franklin Ave, Washington, MO 63090 (636) 390-2400 The Bead Place 5200 North Illinois, Suite102, Fairview Heights, IL 62208 (618) 222-0772 Ewe Knit Yarns 7967 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314) 961-6933 HearthStone Knits 11429 Concord Village Ave., St. Louis, MO 63123 (314) 849-9276 The Heavenly Ewe 1716 Old Missouri State Rd., Arnold, MO 63010 (636) 287 1231 Kirkwood Knittery 10724 Manchester Rd., Kirkwood, MO 63122 (314) 822-7222 Knit and Caboodle 330 S. Main St., Saint Charles, MO 63301 (636) 916-0060 Knit One, Weave Too 303 North Main Street, Edwardsville Il 62025 (618) 692-6950 Knitorious 3268 Watson Rd, St. Louis, MO 63139 (314) ...

I finished my first Mingus sock for the June/July Knit Sock Love KAL ( Ravelry Forum Link ). The group is actually doing Stricken for June/July, but I substituted this time. The Mingus pattern is downloadable from the pattern link, above. Striken and the other official KAL patterns are all out of the "Knit. Sock. Love." book by Cookie A. Knit Picks is having a 40% off book sale until August 15, so you can pick it up at a bargain. You can join the KAL in any month, with prizes from the sponsors every month. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I am thrilled to report I have a sweater pattern in the "First Fall 2011" issue of Knitty. It is called Undercurrent. :) Link to the Ravelry Undercurrent pattern page Link to the Knitty Undercurrent pattern page Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

The offering of the June Quasi Club from Zen Yarn Garden has been announced. It is a lovely cool option, after the warm red of the Japanese Red Maple ... It is called Frosted Lilac, and it is available at the Zen Yarn Garden Club page until July 17, in Serenity worsted, fingering, and lace. I haven't quite decided what I want to make, yet. Perhaps something from BabyCocktails, again... I like the Gibson shell, though it calls for dk weight. Or perhaps a little sweater in fingering? I have been looking at the Vitamin D design by Heide Kirrmaier... Decisions, decisions! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the May/June sock, Rhombus, on Saturday. I started the June/July sock. I'm substituting a pattern, Mingus , in this case... (You can do that four times during the book KAL, for any other Cookie A sock pattern.) I'm knitting with a sponsor yarn, again, in this case, Claudia Hand Painted Yarns in the colorway, "Yo! Sailor Boy!" I really like this pattern. The twisted stitches are fun (without being nearly as much trouble as Rhombus). Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Last week was the annual vacation bible school at Gpa and Gma W's church. They help with the VBS and Mitchell attends. Pandamania was the theme. It bears a striking similarity to a movie we recently saw... no names needed, I imagine. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

It is always amazing to see the love between these two. We are very blessed! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished the Cassis sweater... Pattern by Thea Colman of BabyCocktails ... Yarn by Zen Yarn Garden (Serenity Worsted in the Quasi Club colorway, "Japanese Red Maple.") Notes and mods on the Ravelry project page . I used down to the last "less than a row" bits of the 8 skeins I purchased. I still have one skein of matching Serenity 20 sock yarn, so, clearly, matching socks are required... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Chris has been diligently planting vegetables... My goodness, he's been busy. I'm sure I'll be able to tease him with a recurring line in Avatar: The Last Airbender ... "My cabbages!" Meanwhile, I have done little or no gardening this spring, but I've been enjoying the faithful return of my perennials! Yellow: Hollyhocks; purple: Clematis. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I finished my first Rhombus... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay