Lisa Kay Knits... and Quilts!

Both of the sweaters I've got in progress are to the point of seaming-collars-finishing, which means they are a bit too cumbersome for a carry-along project. As we were about to start our Saturday swim-lessons-and-shopping outing, I realized I didn't have a small project to take with me, and I dove into my sock yarn stash and grabbed something and wound it up in a hurry. I ended up with Hedgehog Fibres sock club yarn in the colorway "Potion." Without much time to consider patterns, I decided to just do another BFF . I liked that one, and I still have the photocopy with notes in my sock knitting bag. I am really impressed with Beata's colors. There are so many colors (copper, bronze, purple, rose, teal...), and the transitions are beautiful. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I have gotten a few new things in the mail... Here is my Tour de Fleece prize (random draw from entries on a certain day), from Wharfedale Woolworks , 100g of Corriedale in the colorway, "Ultra Violet." Kirsty also added in 20g of mohair locks in a similar color. I'm not sure exactly what I'll do with it, but I'm sure it will be fun. I also received my quarterly Quasi Club order from Zen Yarn Garden , in the colorway "Frosted Lilac." This time, I ordered four skeins of Serenity Worsted, which should be enough to make a Leaflet in my size. I also ordered a skein of Serenity 20, fingering, in the "Frosted Lilac," for a matching pair of socks, of course... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

July was a "Rockin' Sock Club" month (once a quarter), and so I received the new installment... The color is called "Schwarzwald." I don't know what that means, of course. I like both of the patterns, and the colorway is a great brown/green combo that seems consistent with some of my recent spinning. I think this is my favorite RSK kit so far... Yea! I also received the Hedgehog Fibres sock club, Phoenix (left) and Ondine (right). As always, Beata came up with some impressive handpaints. She's amazing. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

Mom and Dad (aka Gma and Gpa E) went with me for the St. Louis Yarn Crawl , which goes today through Sunday. Dad was the driver-photographer. Thanks, Dad! This allowed me to just ride, knit, and relax between shopping stops. We made it to 11 of the 12 shops. We just have one of the most local (Illinois) shop left to do, tomorrow. 9:10 a.m. at breakfast, Rothschild's Family Restaurant, Washington, MO. (Great biscuits!!!) Just before 10 a.m. crawl start time, BAH! Yarns 805 Franklin Ave, Washington, MO 63090 (636) 390-2400 10:49 a.m. Wool Gatherings 510 N. West Ave., Eureka, MO 63025 (636) 221-2826 11:41 a.m. The Heavenly Ewe 1716 Old Missouri State Rd., Arnold, MO 63010 (636) 287 1231 12:06 p.m. HearthStone Knits 11429 Concord Village Ave., St. Louis, MO 63123 (314) 849-9276 12:44 p.m. Snack Break at Ted Drewe's 1:07 p.m. Knitorious 3268 Watson Rd, St. Louis, MO 63139 (314) 646-8276 1:51 p.m. Ewe Knit Yarns 7967 Big Bend Blvd., Webster Groves, M...

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) ...

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 received my Zen Yarn Garden club yarn, the Japanese Red Maple, last week. Here are two of the eight skeins of Serenity Worsted: And the one skein of Serenity 20 fingering weight, for matching socks: I started Cassis on my birthday eve. I'm six rows past the end of the collar, just starting the shoulder shaping and the front lace panels. Here's the inside of the collar (which will show): ... and the outside of the collar (which will be hidden): Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

I've finished one and a half socks in the second pair of Mona's. Here's one sock for a progress photo: I also received my April installment of Romi's Pins and Lace club. It is gorgeous! The pattern is called Lisianthus . The yarn is String Theory Seri in the colorway "Larkspur." You may recall my first Pins and Lace kit and  project (which isn't finished yet.) If you are interested in Pins and Lace, the club will have a few "half year" openings available May 20th, at the "Pins and Lace" link, above. Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I'm prone to joining clubs, it seems. I've received some really interesting club yarns in the last month... The Plucky Knitter , Plucky Classics Club, "The Hills Are Alive" Zen Yarn Garden , Art Walk Sock Club, "Judith" Hedgehog Fibres , Sock Club, "Quicker" and "Glazed" The Loopy Ewe , Lorna's Laces Honor in "Loopy Ewe Shuffle" Blue Moon Fiber Arts , Rockin' Sock Club, "Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" Meanwhile, I'm off working on my March/April sock for Knit Sock Love... it is red Zen Yarn Garden. Lovely! Sock pictures later... Happy Knitting, Lisa Kay

I mentioned that we went to the Weaver's Guild annual sale in the previous post, but I didn't show any fibery goodness. Well, here are the lovelies that came home with me: Bjorn Coordt Hand-Dyed Fiber in "Azure"  Pi's Sister (We're calling her "e")  Happy Knitting! Lisa Kay

I've been knitting furiously on something I can't share, yet, so I'll share some yarn clubs, instead. I got two, last week, along with a specific order from a new (to me) indie yarn dyer, and they all seem to go together, oddly. Zen Yarn Garden, Art Walk Sock Club The Plucky Knitter , Little Black Dress Club   Orange Flower , 50/50 Merino-Silk I thought it was funny how the two solids seemed to be similar to the colors in the Art Club yarn. I found the Orange Flower etsy site through a Ravelry forum for Romi's designs. Romi has a wonderful new small shawl pattern, Celaeno , coming out soon, with pictures on her blog  (look for Sept 8). The Orange Flower yarn might work wonderfully for that. The shawl has a lot of beading. Romi also has a mitt pattern as part of her small shawls " ebook ," which I may try, first, just to get a hang of whether I like beaded knitting or not... All the patterns in the ebook are wonderful! Two of them, Merope...

Mom and I both won Yarn Crawl prizes! Mom won the Namaste Hermosa bag from Hearthstone Knits . The color is called Eggplant. I thought it was a black bag when I saw it last week, but I guess I didn't look closely enough! It is funny that I mentioned in my Yarn Crawl post that it was a prize even Mom would like (non-knitter that she is)... because she won it! Namaste Hermosa in Eggplant I won a tote with two skeins of yarn and knitting needles from Knitorious . Knitorious Tote Baby Twist, Jumbo Hank in Seam Foam Green (#4001) Malabrigo Rasta (a new yarn) in Colorway Archangel Sox Stix, Size 0 The knitting needles were my choice, and I picked a treat... Sox Stix, which I have been wanting to try. These were high end, but Sandy said I could pick anything... I am not sure just how Mom and I both managed to win a yarn store prize from the crawl. With such good knitting Karma, I can only conclude that we were extremely well-behaved in a previous life. Maybe we raised sh...

I took the day off of work on Friday, and Mitchell, Mom, and I did the St. Louis Summer's Last Blast Yarn Crawl . Here was our route: The Weaving Department Knit and Caboodle Hearthstone Knits Kirkwood Knittery The Cheesecake Factory  (Well, it isn't yarn, but...) Knitorious Knitty Couture You can see these and other StL yarn shops on the compiled StL yarn store map . I bought less stuff than you might think, but, of course, we were on a mission to obtain stamps on our "passports," as much as to obtain yarn... I did manage to obtain the following yarn and needles... Cascade 220 The Cascade 220 is to make the Hawthorn Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman, published in the Fall 2010 Interweave Knits. Hawthorne Pullover by Kathy Zimmerman Rowan Cocoon Another color of Cocoon to make a third "Haven," since there are three grandmas... This color is called "Tundra." (Recall that I bought "Mountain" and "Polar" last week to m...