Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Mitchell had this idea himself. He started with a "shirt" made out of a box. He wanted a hat that he could drink from (like a soda can hat he saw on Spongebob Squarepants), and I was talking to him about needing cup holders and tubing. Then he said, "Why can't we just tape a bottle to the box?" Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I just finished and blocked another new shawl, this one the fabulous Color Affection by Veera Välimäki ( Veera's blog ). The pattern is super popular, favorited over 14,000 times and almost 3,000 projects already entered (and counting) on Ravelry. In fact, I have already cast on my second one. More on that, later. My "Buggaffection" is made with Sanguine Gryphon Bugga sock yarn in the colors "Reakirt's Blue" (the light blue), "Cowkiller," and "Sooty Dancer." Those are all bug names, of course... I think I'll really enjoy these colors. I have a lot of navy blue in my wardrobe, and it goes great with jeans, too! happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

We got out early and made it to the zoo right around opening time. The Children's Zoo is free for the first hour of the day, so we headed there first. Mitchell paused very briefly to touch a guinea pig. The Children's Zoo also has a little park, and the "fake hippo" is part of the playground. Mitchell was talking about the "fake hippo" before we got there, and neither Chris nor I could figure out what he was talking about. He said it was by the slides in the kid's area. Sure enough, there it was. Then, we went to The River's Edge to see the real hippos. They weren't in their enclosure yet. They must have been eating breakfast. Here are the guys coming out of The River Edge. There is an enormous beetle in front of the insect house. Mitchell made it a photo op. The entrance to the primate area gave us another chance... By near 11, we were tired and hot and ready for lunch. After lunch, we stopped at a park. Mitchell thought the...

We had a beautiful weekend, and I enjoyed a nice birthday with my family. Mitchell has started riding his bike, albeit with training wheels. Check out those Darth Maul shoes! Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I tried some fiber from a new source, Nest Fiber Studio . The link goes to the online shop, where you can see some of the latest items. It sells out in moments, so you have to know when the updates are planned in order to get some. Announcement of updates are posted on the Friends of Nest Fiber Studio forum on Ravelry. My first Nest spin is "Analog Girl" on Mixed Blue-Faced Leicester. I got about 275 yards of 3-ply fingering/dk. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

You know that Bond wool I was spinning... well, I finished it up. It is about 550 yards of Navajo-plied worsted weight. I think that if I stripe it with another yarn, I can get a sweater... :) Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I took a little break from sweaters and socks to make a shawl that caught my eye on Ravelry. It gives a bit of an impression of a ruffle around the edge, but it is actually just points in alternating garter and stockinette stitch. The border is knitted on with a SSK together with a body stitch, every right side row. So easy! The pattern is wonderful, very easy to follow. Even though it has some short rows, it is not a hard pattern. I recommend the shadow short rows . My Ravelry project page is here . The pattern is downloadable on Ravelry, at the link. I used DROPS Alpaca, about 3.3 balls. I got mine here . Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

... and I don't mean 007. Southern Cross Fibre 's March fiber club featured Bond wool. I've never spun it before, and it was an interesting wool. I tried to spin it "worsted," working from the tip of the roving after a bit of pre-drafting. I found it a bit difficult to get the fibers to draft out, almost like it was a woolen prep. So, I tried spinning woolen using a long draw from the fold, and that worked a lot better. The March club colors were "Terrestrial" (a blue and brown combination) and "Delicate," a fun mix of purples, greens, and brown, shown below. I purchased two extra 4 ounce bumps of fiber, and I've just finished the single bobbins. I'm going to Navajo ply to keep the colors distinct. I should end up with a worsted weight yarn. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay