School started today! I packed my Trapper Keeper, and my lunchbox. I got my pencil case and my backpack. Okay, not really… but I wish I had all that cool stuff… I just had my notebook and an old pen, and these:

Don’t they look riveting? Such is the life of a Library Science student…
Actually, I only had one class today, and it was quite interesting!
So, Tuesdays and Saturdays are now official class days.

I knew that today would be a good day…
I was greeted by these little beauties when the sun came out:

The color almost took my breath away! I would love to find yarn this color!

Here is a funny picture of my three cuties: Kris, Jenny and Bella

And … here is Rehoboth in her near-finished state:

She is not done. I still have the neckline to do.

I hope to finish that tonight or tomorrow… the sweater came out a lot “boxier” than I intended. I have had this problem with my other sweaters as well, and of the three I have made, this is definitely the best sweater so far. Perhaps I am using too big of needles and too chunky of yarn? I don’t know, but I really hope to make something that is a little more fitted…

A great big thank you to everyone who reads and sends me feedback! You all make my day! I really love reading all of your blogs as well!

It was the best of times, it was the … best of times!
Especially when you enjoy a day at the coolest little shop in Maryland, Folk Art Studio and Cafe! … and that is exactly what Megan and I did yesterday! We got our knit on… and ate the best grilled cheese sandwiches EVER… and drank yummy chai… and talked to the awesome staff… the list goes on.

We met up at the shop, and unbeknownst to us, it was their Open House day. We walked in and there was a knitting lesson going on! Jeannie was showing a customer how to knit with some luscious Lamb’s Pride.

(L-R Top: Kathy (shop owner), and Megan modeling the cutest baby sweater!
Bottom: New knitty customer, and Jeannie)

Megan began working on her baby blanket (which will come in handy in three months… She is due in November!) I worked on a quick ribbon scarf project in a drop stitch pattern.

Megan and I show off our projects, and the lovely atmosphere of the shop.

Erika, one of the lucky staff members, models her shawl, fresh off the needles! Bellisima!

The cafe offers some delicious vegan / vegetarian treats, and tons of good drinks!

…the time came for us to choose some yarn to take home with us…

Megan’s Stash

Lauren’s Stash

It is a little unclear, but we both made out like bandits! It was discount day, and we took advantage of that.

Megan was wooed by the captivating Colinette Giotto, (we can have matching scarves!) and we both got hanks of the lovely Ironstone New Wool.

We got swifted…

and had to take off after 4 hours of fun!

We had a great time! If you are in the Maryland suburbs area, you have got to stop by Folk Art Studio and Cafe. You will find lovely yarns, great staff, and yummy food and drink.

Check out Megan’s blog later today for her pictures!

OTHER KNITTING NEWS

Rehoboth (Pink Monster) is nearing completion… I have a few more inches, then my new and improved neckline, and she will be prêt-à-porter!

My mom’s ribbon drop-stitch scarf is done! This was tons-o-fun to make!

And my final stash enhancement tally:

So, I changed the look of the blog… I made a little graphic up top, and found this paisley background that I was quite fond of…

and made buttons: (they will be on my sidebar from now on)

Buttons are super fun to make! I could make a thousand (well maybe not really that many…) Feel free to use it, but as always, please download to your own server. Many thanks!

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet two other Maryland knitters last night, Heather, and Ei. Knit, chat, talk about blogs we love… it was great fun!

Three devout bloggers present, and I was the only one to have a camera with the memory cartridge, so these are only my accounts of what actually happened at KnitKnite…

Ei recently finished the lovely Audrey pattern, and was helping Heather get through some particularly nasty increases. Don’t give up H, you are so close!
Take note of Ei’s awesome Pagan tank top, and it may be hard to see, but Heather has the coolest pink poncho EVER.

Heather worked on Audrey, Ei swatched for the Klaralund knit-along with some beautiful Noro, and I got a few more inches into Rehoboth (aka Pink Monster).

The Lessons I Learned at KnitKnite

Can I get away with all of this pinkness? I have been told that pink is a great color for me… but is this too much of a good thing? I really love the color, but I am just trying to figure out if it is too bright!

BACK

FRONT

I have made fast progress on this sweater… I am planning something special for the neckline. I got the inspiration for it this past weekend when I went to Rehoboth. Therefore, this sweater will forever be known as the Rehoboth.

I came across a very nice store in Baltimore today–Beadazzled, in Mt. Vernon. What a wonderful place for any crafty person. They have some beautiful beads and jewelry in the store, as well as classes on how to make your own stuff. I noticed that they had some books for sale, and came across this book:
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It has some nice designs in it, but I would mainly use it as a how-to and then go off and make my own beady beauty. Have any of you ever worked with beads before?
I plan to go back to the store (there are two other locations–in DC and in Tysons Corner) and pick some beads for a knit project. The problem will be finding the perfect beads… it seems like there are a million beads in the store!

In other news, I am really excited! I found out that I have the DIY Network on my cable package. The thing is, I just found out about it, and I have had this whole season! That means that I missed all the earlier episodes of Knitty Gritty and Knit One, Purl Two! Please play reruns!! I could kick myself for not checking my schedule before now. So, I set up a Tivo Season Pass for both–not going to miss anymore!

Cute pattern alert!

Click on the picture to take you to the pattern! What would I do different? Take off the stringy flower on the front… if it needed something there I would do a simple chain crochet flower. Otherwise, I think it is cute, and I plan to make it sometime soon. I do not have the yarn yet, but it is easy enough to acquire.

In closing, I will leave you with a cute picture of my Bella Hund!

She always looks so shy in pictures…