Knit & Sip – A Class

Frequently I hear folks say that they wish they could knit when they find out what I do.  I’ve taught many a man and woman, and now I’m teaching a class through the brand-new and awesome Tentiko!

Next Tuesday, December 11 between 6 and 8pm, I’ll be teaching a basic knitting class at Hooked on Colfax. 

Students don’t need to have any prior experience and materials are provided.  At the end of the class, students will have a scarf and (possibly) hat fit to decorate a wine bottle!  Spots on the class are limited, and they’re filling up super quickly (yay!) so if this is something you’d like to learn just in time for the holidays, go sign up now and I’ll see you next week!

Holiday Handmade Recap

This weekend was Fancy Tiger’s 5th Annual Holiday Handmade Show and I’m proud to say that I was a part of it.  Getting into the show is pretty competitive and I was shocked and honored to be chosen!  It was my first two-day show and I worked it by myself, no less.

New Pattern Organization Strategy

Load-in on Friday afternoon went fairly smoothly, thankfully they had helpers to get things out of cars and into spaces quickly.  Set-up was stress-free (I think mostly because I’d done a mock set-up in my living room the day before) and my neighbors were awesome!  With the friendly folk of My July on one side and Colleen H Designs on the other, the two days were a breeze.

Friday’s Booth

The shoppers came and they shopped.  They lined up in front of the doors at least an hour before the show even opened!  How dedicated is that?

The Pattern Basket

I met some super cool folks, made some friends, learned a lot, worked out my arms and legs (carrying all of your product, table, chair, displays up three flights of stairs certainly is a work out), and all-in-all had a great time! I hope to do it again next year

Now, I must start preparing for my next show this Saturday.

HaHo Holiday Show

Birthday Adventures and a Coupon!

So, Friday was my birthday and in true birthday fashion I extended the celebration through the whole weekend and did whatever it was that I wanted to do!

crossing rivers, bogs, tundra and rocks to get to the top

Friday we woke up early and headed to the mountains.  Our destination: 14,060 feet to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt.

From the trailhead

Not a mile into the hike we saw a moose swimming in a lake!

just going for a dip

The views were just gorgeous all around and it was a perfect way to start off a new year in my life.

Mona Lisa even enjoyed the hike

such a different perspective from the top

the other side (I wish I could show you the 360 view!)

Because I don’t really want the celebration to end even though I have to go back to being a responsible, contributing member to society, I want to offer a sale on all of my patterns!  Through Friday, September 14th use code: sillybday to get 20% off your order on any of my patterns!

about halfway up, the summit in the clouds

What did you do this weekend? Anything fun?

Playing Tour Guide

I love where I live.  I love being able to go up and get lost in the mountains within a ten minute drive of my house.

mountains, trees, sunsets

I love that I have rivers, lakes, rock climbing and hiking around every corner

little rocks, big rocks, little waters, big waters

I love that little (and occasionally not-so-little) wonders are everywhere

Boulder Falls

I love playing tour guide when friends and family come to visit.

What do you love the most about where you live?

So Fancy

My favorite LYS, Fancy Tiger, just had their 6 year anniversary this past weekend!  I needed some swatching yarn and a knitting-people fix so I took a real shower, put on real clothes and skipped (drove) on down to Broadway to join the festivities.

phone pic, taken amidst the action

Believe me when I tell you the place was packed.  The owners, Jaime and Amber, were so generously handing out goody bags to the first 100 people who walked through the doors and I was lucky enough to snag one before scampering off through the crowds to find the perfect swatching yarn.

The line was long, yes, but it moved very quickly and when you’re in a line like that, you’re in good company and so waiting was actually enjoyable.  I also brought knitting in my purse and was able to knit while in line too (and nobody looked at me weird either! yay for yarn stores!).

Can you believe that I didn’t even open my goody bag until I got home?  True story. I broke through the staples in the car but decided it would probably be a safety hazard for the vehicles around me if I delved into the deep whilst driving.

Wanna see my loot?  Of course you do.

free tshirt (it’s so soft), free stickers, free tattoos, free fabric and free Bhedawol

As we all know, photographing reds is difficult but suffice it to say, this yarn is beautiful, the color is gorgeous, its very soft and it’s perfect for the design I’ve got in mind.

knits up beautifully

What did you do this weekend?

Help Victims of the High Park Fire

The High Park Fire is a massive forest fire currently burning down the Rocky Mountains just west of Fort Collins, CO.  It’s burned down almost 60,000 acres in only 10 days – wilderness, homes and a life have been lost with more to come.

not my favorite part of summer – taken this past weekend on a trip to Ft. Collins

In my inbox just the other day Bijou Basin Ranch put out the call to help the victims – “a minimum of 10% of all online sales of our Bijou Spun yarns & fibers will be set aside and donated to the Red Cross’ relief efforts and the Colorado Professional Firefighters” through the rest of the summer.

the red sun, blocked out by the smoke

After having lived in New Mexico for so long and been through the Cerro Grande Fire, I have a soft spot for fire victims.  Please help in any way you can, this fire is only 45% contained right now.

A Serendipitous Gift

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you read about my trip to Buena Vista and the awesome little yarn shop there, Serendipity Yarn & Gifts.

I was lucky enough to be chosen as the winner of one of their recent giveaways and this little package came in the mail just this week!

Bambino Taffy and a sweet little card

I’m thinking the Bambino Taffy will turn into some sort of summer scarf/gift…

Long Weekend

You know those weekends where you do enough stuff and have enough adventures to fit in an entire week but really it was only three days?

I had one of those.

There was baseball to be watched

There were obscure signs to be seen

there were roller coasters to be ridden

There was Casa Bonita to be experienced

(if you don’t know about Casa Bonita, educate yourself)

There was fooseball to be played

There were pianos to admire

And, of course, many more things that didn’t make it on camera.

And I’m taking another trip this next weekend to take advantage of the Memorial Day Holiday on Monday (New Mexico, I’m comin’ at ya!).  Perhaps I’ll sleep next month sometime.

Crafty People’s Fair

If you’re in the Denver area this weekend I’d love to meet you! There will be lots of prizes to be given away, I’ll have new works in my booth and all of my patterns to browse

Crafty People's Fair

I’ll be in booth 12 with Skin Poetry Photography

Another Fun Weekend

I hope you all had a good weekend, mine was a bit of local fun entertaining a friend from out of town.  We hit up all of the local touristy spots including kite-mania:

all kinds of things that fly

street performer heaven:

pretty music from unusual instruments

little Europe:

super cute little shop

literature-a-plenty:

who else loves the smell of books?

and of course we topped it off with a beer:

Annapurna Amber from Southern Sun Brewery in Boulder, CO

What was your weekend like?