Oh My Seven Stars

Several members have asked The Creator about this absurd star stitch blanket he has been doing.

While he was in Dallas a few weekends ago, buying knitting needles at the Signature Needle booth, he tested those needles out by making this stitch in the fabric of many knitters. Low and behold, several members of the knitting community sought this amazing stitch out. People called across the market floor and yelled at him to pop over and tell people how this was done.

Meh, I say. It's pedestrian. Old school. Several people have done it. SEVERAL. But then there is a story behind this stitch. You know The Creator, he has to take something and OWN IT PEOPLE. I'm not sure why, but he simply must.

The Creator is selfishly creating a blanket out of seven different colors of MJ Yarns in seven rows of the stitch pattern (it's actually 7 repeats... but it's a process, people!) Here are all 7 colors in the repeat together.

The original idea came from the pattern from this scarf: holding-hands-feeding-ducks pattern. It's a good pattern and The Creator loves the way it looks. One day, he sat down and switchey swatched the pattern. He tried liking it for the yarn he was doing and what he was wanting to do. Frankly, he hated it. There was no pippy poppy to the stars. The stars must POP! They must TWINKLE!




And then a pattern was born as The Creator was thinking about a linen stitch blanket one of his famous knitting boys made and showed off at the last Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat. He so wanted to make this linen stitch blanket that was displayed, but didn't want to do the back and forth yarn in front, in back, in front slippy thing. And he so wanted to make this HHFD blanket. So, booya, let mash this and make it work. And this was the resulting pattern.


Pattern:
Cast on a multiple of 4 stitches, plus 3 (plus 6 edge stitches, three on either side).

Knit 4 rows for a garter stitch border.

Row 1 (RS): Knit all stitches
Row 2 (WS): Knit 3, *P3TOG, leave stitches live on left needle, YO, P3TOG, S1YIB* K3
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Knit 3, P1, S1YIB *P3TOG, leave stitches live on left needle, YO, P3TOG, S1YIB*, P1, K3

Knit 4 rows and bind off.

There are some simple notes about this pattern. The yarn is fingering weight and the Creator is using size 5. I'll leave it up to you to swatch and find the right needle size for you to make the stars. It works better with a larger needle. Just sayin.

When this blanket gets done, I'm sure the Creator will make something more special for you all and sell it and make a profit on it. He really needs to, after all he did buy that pretty set of Signature Needles and they work great for this pattern. Again, just sayin.

The Milano Stitch ... Redux...

The Creator has been asked by several people to share with them this stitch as he uses it is all his improvised patterns. Our correspondent, Horbert, tells me that everyone ooh and ahhs over this silly stitch. Personally, I don't get it. It seems pedestrian to some of the other things that are out there. Horbert tells me that he loves it because it is simple, yet, of interest to several knitters. So, here I am writing about it because of the interest out there in the world. And because I need to earn my plastic shine The Creator buys for me. Oh, the things I do to keep my plastic in mint, tip top condition. Not that I'm vain or I might just say the the humanity of it all. But Plastic People have no humanity; we have shine!


Here is the swatch stitch that we will be working from in this post. The Creator used a yarn from MJ Yarns in Fruit Juice.

The bottom stitch is the Untwisted Milano stitch. The middle pattern is the Milano stitch and the next stitch up in the photo is the Milano Rib stitch.


Initial Stitch Credit goes to Brenda Dayne and you can find her blog post about the stitch here.






The Milano Stitch Pattern
The stitch itself is quite simple and done in a multiple of 2 with a 4 row repeat. In the original photo, it appears that Brenda slipped the stitch purlwise, thus, creating a twist in the stitch that makes a tighter, denser fabric. More on this later in the Other Variations section.

Pattern
Row 1 - *S1 (purlwise), K1, yo, psso both. Repeat from * to end.
Row 2 - P all to end.
Row 3 - K1 *S1 (purlwise), K1, yo, psso both. Repeat from * to last stitch, end K1.
Row 4 - As for row 2.

Considerations
If you are working this stitch for the first time, consider going up a few needle sizes. Passing the stitches over and trying to get them all to work together in a tight knitted fabric can be a bit trying. Swatch and test what works the best for the yarn you have chosen. A stockinette foundation row allows for the setup of the first Milano stitch row.

Increases
Because the pattern is offset, increases need to be completed in multiples of two or a ribbed pattern appearance may be presented. Increases can be made at the beginning or the end of Row 1 or 3.

Row 1 - increase, before the first slip one you will want to: M1, S1, YO, K1, YO, PSSSO (yes over all three!) and continue with the pattern. This will add two stitches to the fabric. If an increase is needed at the end of the fabric, on the last Milano Stitch, S1, YO, K1, YO, PSSSO (yes over all three!) and M1.

Row 3 - increase, after the K1, M1, S1, YO, K1, YO, PSSSO and do the same on the last Milano Stitch pattern.

Decreases
Decreases are worked in all rows. At the point of a decrease, leave off the YO and PSO the knitted stitch. Again, increases can be made and the beginning and end of the rows.
Row 1 - S1 (purlwise), K1, PSO, continue in pattern until the last Milano stitch set then S1 (purlwise), K1, PSO.
Row 2 - P2TOG, P until the last two stitches, P2TOG.
Row 3 - K1, S1, K1, PSO, continue in pattern until the last Milano Stitch set then S1, K1, PSO.
Row 4 - As for Row 2.

In the Round
The Stitch can be adapted to be done in the round if you would want to make a hat. For a hat, Rows 2 and 4 become knit rows. There is a jog that may present itself when knitting in the round as beginning of the round may become evident. If you find this distasteful, simply start the pattern one stitch before your round marker. This will prevent a jog from becoming evident. In a hat, omit the Row 2 and 4 decreases while minding the pattern offset by adding in a knit stitch where needed. Essentially, you are making a new section of pattern repeats with the decreases.

Other Variations 
There are some other variations of the stitch that may have happened. One by mistake in making a hat, the other by way of writing this this up. Again, this is a personal taste and preference and what you want to do with the spiffy hank of yarn you purchased.

The Untwisted Milano Stitch 

The stitch is still done in multiple of 2 on a 4 row repeat. The only difference is the slipping of the stitch. Instead of purlwise, slipped knitwise creates a more open, less dense fabric.

Row 1 - *S1 knitwise, K1, yo, psso both. Repeat from * to end.
Row 2 - P all to end.
Row 3 - K1 *S1 knitwise, K1, yo, psso both. Repeat from * to last stitch, end K1.
Row 4 - Repeat row 2.

The Milano Stitch Rib 
The Milano Rib stitch was a mistake that was completed with the first hat. The Creator didn't think it was all that. However, Horbert heard that his Famous Friend loved it when he showed it to her and now she may make her husband a scarf out of some expensive yarn she purchased. It's also very stretchy just like one would expect a rib to be.

Row 1 - *S1 Purlwise, K1, yo, psso both. Repeat from * to end.
Row 2 - P all to end.








Projects that use the Milano Stitch:
In Progress Cowl

A Hat

A Scarf

Spinning of a Fleece

I remember when The Creator brought this fleece into my little room. It was before I had a nice shelving units to store all these silly things he brings in. Interestingly enough, I did not get a photo of this fleece before he sent it to the mill to be washed and carded. I have fallen desperately behind in my duties. BEHIND, I say.

Let's talk about the roving. The roving is a nice springy roving. It seems all soft and yummy. However, there are many small short fibers. So, this is going to have nupps in it. I'm not happy. Not HAPPY. I'm thinking Horbert wasn't appropriately looking at the fleece before it was purchased. Nonetheless, I'm thinking it will make a more tweeded affect with the nups sticking out.



Here is how the single looks on the bobbin. See that WooLee winder... it's lovely. LOVELY, I say. There are nupps.



Never the less, The Creator has started spinning the 40+ ounces of fiber. He has so far made a 4 ply, a 3 ply and a 2 ply. So, let's see how this knits up. The top of this is 3 ply. Its a nice fabric. It has some shape and is dense enough to be a sweater. That's the crazy notion the Creator has for making this sweater. The middle field is 2 ply. It's ok. It's all drapey and stuff. I'm not a fan. The Knitting Girls seemed to like it. And the last is a 4 ply. It's ok. But honestly, a larger needle size could be used, but I don't like it. The British Man of the house likes the chunky munky style of the four ply.



And yes, there is a hole. The hole is the change from the 2 ply to the 3 ply. The spit splice didn't work.

And this is going to be one of the 40 year-old sweaters.

The Creator has been Busy without Horbert

As, I sit and write this, I am perfectly steaming that The Creator has taken a trip to Yarn Shops without Horbert. Steaming Stompin' Mad, I say. He is supposed to take Horbert with him. I may have to ask the Perfect Boyfriend to go next time.

You see, The Creator bought some lush Swan's Lake wool to make a lovely sweater. This would be the Cat's meow if I had a cat. And we all know I'm a cat person at heart. The sweater is still being thought about but it will be light grey with a dark grey and blue stripe. I'm sure he will like it. It won't look good on me. 

I've got some gossip to share as well. The Creator had a doctor's appointment. Evidently, he must lose a feed sack worth of weight. So, he has been tracking the calories in and calories out. There isn't much to be lost for knitting or crocheting.

Speaking of Crocheting... The Creator has almost finished the silly Squirrel Repair Project. He almost matched the tension of the little old lady that made the blanket. It's made from Red Heart with a size F hook. It's tight, very tight. He has three more rows of grey on one end and 5 more on the other end. His buddy should be very happy to get it back as he has had it a long time. A long time, indeed.

He also has a project he mustn't speak about. It's going. It's secret. I shall reveal in May. I mention this because he has some Quivet/Silk mix he PROMISED himself once the blanket is done to cast on and make himself a scarf. It's a rich red color and is very lovely. It should be sexy fab to knit something up. We shall see.

Currently spinning is a fleece he had washed and made into roving. It's started. Its a light grey color. He has a 4-ply and a 2 ply that he is test knitting. He is going to make a 3 ply to see what that looks like. It's rustic. I shall have photos of this in the near future. You'll love it. I know you will. 

Very Busy Indeed

The Creator has been very busy indeed. He recently attended the Southeast Men's Knitting Retreat where he ran into some more fantastic knitting men. Of course, he didn't take many pictures. Horbert went but was contemplating a scarf pattern and hanging out in places unknown while The Creator was rocking in a rocking chair working on the Happy Fun Sweater that looks astonishing like something you would get at JCrew.




It all I understand it was fantastic by the bomb of swag that dropped in the newly painted fiber room. There was swag people. Sweater quantities of yarn, books, circular needles, patterns, bags, fiber and this doesn't count the fibers he purchased at two yarn shops he visited. It's going to take me a month of Sunday's to get this sorted and appropriately put in the proper location. I'm sad that I didn't get to go, however, I understand he audited the classes and made some lovely purple yarns from some borrowed fiber. You can see that on his Facebook Page. It's there, you may have to hunt for it.

Right now, he is spinning a Happy Fun Colorway for a coworker to knit something happy fun with it.

 

It has way to many colors, but we will see how this turns out. It's Happy Fun.

Terribly Sorry...

Hi Horbert here...

The Creator has finished the blanket of Heather's newborn baby. It needs washed and blocked before I can show pictures of it.

Manny has been busy. He is *still* redecorating his room in preparation for Julia R. The room is in such a mess that I can't find the little blue box to blog from. I have many things to share with you all and I finally found my way out of there. Manny isn't very good at organization. Of course, it may help if the Creator stopped bringing stuff home. Over the last time since I've blogged about stuff, he has went insane and purchased a new spinning wheel, fiber, yarn and another can of paint for Manny. He also has be put together two more book cases for the yarn. Whew... that is a lot of things that have happened. In the middle of that, there was a retreat or two, maybe.

Yes, I have been remiss in keeping Manny up and blogging... Sigh...

Pictures of the new blankie to come!!!

Cheers!

Secret Weapon

The Creator had a whirlwind visit with his sister. I didn't get to meet her. The Creator showed off this hideous yarn room. It needs to be painted white. But while, his sister was here, I logged onto Amazon.com and found me a Man to woo Julia Roberts.

He didn't come with a name. I could name him Ken, but that just doesn't do his little suave helmet head justice. And The Creator needs to make him a new sweater. This Ultimate Boyfriend isn't working for me. The jeans are OK. And he has black loafers; no socks.

The Boyfriend

I do wonder if all this will work. I mean, do I really think that I can get this room painted in time for Julia to knit. But at least I have a secret weapon. Now, I just need to name him.

Goals and Julia Roberts

Since The Creator has been busy at work creating his goals for the next year, I've decided that I will have some of my own. Someone has to have them.

First, I must get my wee little room in order.
 
1. It needs a fresh coat of white paint. I say white because it make me look tan and buff.  2
2. I must get The Creator to get to IKEA to buy two more yarn storage cabinets. I'm tired of having yarn all over the place in this wee room.
3. I need a proper place to sit so that I can watch TV.

This brings me to my next subject. I fell madly in love with Julia Roberts. From what I have found searching the internet from the blue box, she knits. But, that isn't why I fell madly in luve with her. You see, The Creator left the TV on and I started watching Pretty Woman. You know that cheesy classic of girl meets boy, boy give girl credit card, girl falls for boy, boy does something stupid and boy chases after girl. So, I didn't stop there. I pulled up NetFlix on the TV and started watching all the movies I could get my hands on.

I've decided that I must meet this Julia Roberts. This is my second goal. I have a grand plan. Yes, a grand plan has been hatching. I logged onto the Creator's Amazon and went to town getting the Best Boyfriend Ever. It's all part of the grand plan that I'm hatching.

Fiber Forward

Hi Horbert here...

I have found receipts for yarn that isn't in the room as I have been stashing away in Ravelry. I have spent a month looking for this Magic Bean yarn from A Verb for Keeping Warm. Said yarn was purchased at Twisted in Portland. I have been scratching my plastic little head look for this shiny green/blue/yellow yarn.

As I was perusing Facebook for what The Creator has been doing, it appears that he GAVE THIS YARN away. This uber sexy silk/merino yarn.

Here he is showing some Mike guy how to knit with this luscious yarn. He even bought needles to support Mike's new habit. It's like crack. Once you start, you never stop. You acquire more yarn. Boxes. Rooms. Retreats. Yarn groups. It's a thing.

It's one of The Creators joys to share the knitting craft with someone. In fact, bringing someone in to the fold is fun. So, imagine the surprise he found last weeks sitting on the door step from some guy I haven't met. Well, I may have at that retreat thingy he raves about.

So, imagine the surprise when The Creator found a box on his front door step. And inside this box was this:


And this little card was inside:

It seems this fellow sent him this fab box full of fiber. He has a fab fiber arts blog and fab taste in fiber. He also teaches to spin and is crazy about fiber. He got this fiber from one of those places The Creator coveted. He is going to make yarn. I'm not sure what he will make but, I see a scarf in the future. I may have to roll around in this goodness. 

Grandma's Pink Flamingo Sweater

Gram's Sweater is done. YAY! Now we can get on to some boy things after working with the Knit Picks Andean Silk in the Pink Flamingo color. It's now a discontinued color and he used 9 or it may have been 14 balls of the stuff. He made a duplicate order of the stuff. He must research his and find out how many he actually used. I think, he can't remember how much he ordered nor did he enter the information in Ravelry.



The Creator put some effort into the detail of this one. The button band was crochet and the buttons we selected with care. I think they are shell of some type.



You can see the edging here a bit better. It really makes the sweater. The Creator deviated from the pattern as he liked a smaller picot on the edging.



It seemed like this project took forever. But, this was the second full sweater The Creator has completed. He has already casted on for one for Grandpa.

Terribly long time...

Hi, it's me again. It appears I have been terribly horrible about blogging about the happenings in my little plastic world.

First, let me just share with you how much I detest what the creator has done. He has created this lovely pink sweater. I don't have a problem with that at all. No, it's  quite lovely with the little crochet edging. But, did he have to really put it on me and use it as a model? Not only did he put it on me, but he took (gasp) a photo of me wearing said pink sweater. And don't you think he could have cleaned up around my base? I mean, really. I am not this messy!



Anyway, he is about done with that and he can ship it off. I wish he would just get it done and off my back. It's not becoming on me as it would be for his Grandma.

In other news, The Creator has been busy. He has photos of what he has completed, however, they came from the new camera. I can't find the new camera. I've sent Horbert after it to see what he can find. He hasn't come back. Of course, he may have been side tracked.

Oh, and I should share with you the travisty of the TV. For the longest time, I've wanted a TV to occupy my mindless mind. I have no head so I just need something to may my flesh colored shape look very good. So, The Creator found a TV at Best Buy for $199. He bought it thinking it would be a grand thing for me to keep me company while I wear the things he creates. It was ok the first few weeks. After that, the screen started rolling and frankly it was very tiresome trying the surf the channel for repeats of Rikki Lake. So, I turned it off. The Creator took it back for me and they wanted to send it in for repair. The Creator fought a good fight and told the 19 year old clerk "It's a piece of CRAP. I would like my money back." Now, we have to send it in to be fixed. After a few more words, The Creator gave them the TV and left for Portland.

I had a nice surprise when The Creator came back with another TV. LED, and 5 inches bigger. We all know that 5 inches is a good thing. And it connects to the Internets. I may have to get my own facebook page as it has a direct interface. Cool!

And then today, I received a nice TV stand for it. It matches the yarn cabinet. I'll have to take photos, but not before The Creator paints. I would love a lovely light green with purple trim and a gray carpet. It would be outstanding and show off my lovely flesh tones. I'm thinking he is opting for ultra pure white. I'm not sure I'm down with that. It will wash my tones out. Sigh. Someone with some decorating sense needs to talk to him.

I have a few more things to do before he shuts the light off and I can't do anything.

Cheers!

Two Things Must Be Shared

OMG.  Horbert had to dig me out of the disaster that is my room. I don't care that The Creator found a TV on the Open Box table at Best Buy and had to set that on my lovely little stand and I have been repourposed to the floor. I mean really! And then, to make matters worse, he put boxes of yarn around me. I think it is yarn. Only one box is open and I see that silly blue face Leicester from Rowan in it. I don't know why he loves that stuff so much. Anyway, it took Horbert and that silly girl hours to dig me out to tell you this.

First, The Creator has sold his first pattern. I didn't think it is anything special. I mean it is just a cover for his iPad. Although, it could be used for a hot water bottle. I'm not really sure.When the pattern is avaliable for human consumption, I will post more about it. It's going in a collection of one hank wonders that have all been designed by men. The concept rocks the knitting world.

Second, The Creator, the token male in an all girl knitting group, was featured in a local newspaper article. Horbert was there when they were interviewed and he tells me it didn't go down like that. Here is the link.

Knitters bring love of yarn

Read this. I did. I don't think they love all yarn. I don't think they are the hottest knitting group. They are The Group in the greater Denver area. Just saying. Also, I think The Creator was misquoted. He has skillz and can crochet like a mad man.. but did he really buy his first ball of lambs pride when he was 20... Yes, he recounted the story. He went to a yarn shop with a friend when he attended University in Laramie. He bought two skeins of light blue and two skeins of dark blue. Evidently, some Birgit woman was with him. She was there. He said she was the witness to said enabling.  Also, did you know he is the most mentioned in the article. Horbert said there are more interesting people at the group that they should have focused on. Like little Will, the token Kid. He is a supermodel in knitting magazines. He didn't even get a mention. Besides, little Will loves Horbert enough to suck on his head. I don't think Horbert agrees with this.

And that is all I have today. The Creator is off to Taos. He is in the car with the J's -- Jen, Joy, and Jean. Lord help us all! I don't need more yarn is this room and he best leave the TV on to HBO and turn me around so I can watch TrueBlood. That Tara girl and I are tight!

Horbert found the Little Blue Box

Horbert Here...

So... I found the little blue box. I have stuff to say.

First, look at this:




I know. This is my professional shot taken by this fellow. I had it done without The Creator's permission. It was taken with the hem of this and a ball of wool mentioned in this post.

Since I had my headshots taken, I haven't found the little blue box. I think it is because The Creator has been using Manny's Room as a Yarn Way station. I lost where the little blue box is. I would take a photo, but I can't find the little red box that makes photos to show you. He has been busy going through his yarn stuff and putting it in ravelry. Oh, and he has been to IKEA to buy book cases to store yarn. He has one. He needs two more I think for proper yarn storage. Of course, I also think he needs to get a desk where he can properly put the blue box and the red box for us to use.

Anyway, I'll be in Taos this weekend perusing the yarns there. I want to find something yummy to be photographed with. Maybe a goat or two as well.

Knitting with the Mens

I can't believe The Creator took me to the Rocky Mountain Men's Knitting Retreat this past weekend. I sat in a chair and watched everyone. All the gentlemen seems like they were having a good time. I sent Horbert out and about to talk to them all. He has yet to let me know how others enjoyed the retreat. But from my chair and later the table, I could tell people had fun. I was sitting on the table where we had all the books and fiber. It was all amazing. I hear The Creator now has a relationship with an Alpaca. There are pictures of him kissing said alpaca. I must acquire said photos for black mail purposes.

I didn't see The Creator knit much. I guess that is because he co-created the retreat with the Frank guy. It was a bit fuzzy for me. Horbert should know as I did send him out and about to take photos. Horbert took a good deal of photos with people and things. I can't wait for him to share them with you all. I do know The Creator has almost lost Horbert, twice. Once was on the path. A nice fellow picked him up and returned him to The Creator. It appears that he fell out of the pocket. I have told The Creator time and time again to make him a harness to keep him safe. The next time, The Creator stuffed him in a bag and forgot where he was. An ABP was put out and people were searching high and low for the little pip-squeak.

The Creator is quite tired so I have to be quiet. I just wanted to let you all know that the retreat was fun and I can't wait to attend next year's retreat. It's been years since I knitted with the boys.

Knitting with the Boys - Men's Spring Knitting Retreat

Horbert here.

I, again, stowed away to attend the Men's Spring Knitting Retreat with The Creator. I'm telling you all, it was good fun. There is something said for being around men and knitting. You see, we sit, we knit, we stand, we knit, we sleep and dream of knitting. It appears that those fingers need to rest a bit. I could go on but frankly, if you are a boy and knit, make one of these retreats a priority on your vacation list. The learning, camaraderie, and awe of 40 to 50 men knitting is awesome!

I need to say, I found this all very relaxing. Who wouldn't love sitting on the deck looking out over this lovely pond. I think I missed the spinning class The Creator attended because I was mesmerized by the beauty. 



I attended a few classes with The Creator. See, I'm learning cables from Mike. (That's a rav link by the way.) He had some wonderful handouts that made things simple. I like simple. Especially, since I have the brain size of a q-tip. But, The Creator didn't even need a cable needle to make these great cables.



Look at us all there watching and learning. See all those sample swatches. Mike used these to help us along and show what is possible with the cables. I even got to roll around in said swatches but The Creator had censored that photo of me. He said there were too many photos out there of men frolicking and one went national and all. Of course, The Creator doesn't have Twitter so it is probably for the best.



Oh, speaking of some fiber related stuff. I did get to roll around in some yarn The Creator ordered from the UK. A very kind British Gentleman packed it across the pond and delivered it.



This is Blue Face Leicester. I just had to roll around in it. I know, the photo is a bit risque. But, if you have fiber this great, you should roll around in it. I don't think The Creator agrees. He's afraid I may felt it.

Oh, and here are Mike and Ted. They are spinning. I'm not quite sure why they are doing this in the middle of the cabling class, but they they are making some fantastic yarn on those spindles.



One day, at Yarn Camp!, we went to visit Foster Sheep Farm. This isn't a flattering picture of me. But, I'm here and I got to see some wonderful little animals.



Me and this little creature were playing hide and seek. I really wanted to sit on it's head and take a ride, but The Creator forbade me from doing anything of the sorts.



I think it had to do with her. She looked a bit over-protective of said youngin':


She didn't seem to like me standing there to get a photo of us. Really, I'm a great friend of the sheeps! The Creator wanted to buy some of these sheeps to send to his Mama. However, I don't think he could have put them on the plane in his luggage.(A side note, in the middle of the cable class, his mama called. She bought a llama named Barney. Maybe I can ride on the top of his head. He is black, I hear.)



He bought fleeces instead. The Creator did pack one bag to take a fleece back, but not two. Another kind gentleman, Ray, boxed them up and shipped them to The Creator. Both fleeces sit in Manny's room where they waiting for The Creator to do something with them. They smell all sheepy and such. I haven't spent alot of time in there because of it.

One of the other highlights was listening to a radio program that Joe, Ted, and Mike were a part of. You can listen in here: CLICK ME!

The Creator had a fantastic time there at the retreat. I would be wrong not to mention the generosity of some of the retreat sponsors: Skacel for donating some sock yarn. The Creator has a lovely color. I don't know if he will make socks, but he should. Karin and her group are fantastic supporters of the Men's retreats.  Nomad Press - Deb donated a lovely book on socks. (HINT to The Creator... SOCKS ARE IN!). Indigodragonfly yarns also donated a lovely black and white skein of delicious yarn. And Puff the Magic Rabbit had this fantastic green and blue fiber that The Creator really coveted. He is awaiting the arrival of some blue and purple stuff to start his spinning. I can't believe the generosity of all these sponsors. They donate a good deal of fiber and notions for these retreats.

I will find some pictures of these fibers and get them uploaded. I have to g-rate them first. You know, I can't be rolling around in fiber and being all obscene. I don't want to have to resign my post here at the Manny Quinn blog because of inappropriateness. Although, if that will get my name out there, I could make it big as an aspiring fiber writer. I mean, it is scandalous. I must ponder this thought.

Yarn Crawl #2

Horbert here.

As most of you know, The Creator loves his fiber. The YarnGirls are going to be the death of me when I follow them around from store to store. You see, I fell. I was splayed all out on the concrete at one of the best yarn shops in Colorado. But, I'll get to that in a moment.

It was a hot sunny day in May when we all decided to pile in a car, The Creator's car and trundle off to Fort Collins to check out the shops up there. We met at Kunjani where I ate a Cinnamon Roll and had a lovely hot chia tea.



Then, MO came in and presented The Creator with this yummy fiber. See... doesn't it look yummy... there's silk and cashmere in there, just so you know....



We all loaded up and headed out for an hour and a half drive to Fort Collins. First up on our list, Lambspun. The Creator found some lovely yarn in a cotton and enabled Ms. JP to purchase said yarn. I'm laying on that lovely purple-blue mess in the picture. The Creator also bought a skein. Then he found the same fiber that MO gave him earlier in the day. He purchased two more just so he would have enough to do what he wanted with it. The other stuff in the basket is MO's and the Yarn-Shop-Owner-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.



I wonder whose yarn that purple is. The shop was having a sale on the shop brand of yarns. So, we purchased some more because you know, at 30% off, who could resist.

After we loaded up the back of Dudley with our newly procured fiber purchases, we headed off the My Sister Knits. The location is very lovely. Just look:



Who wouldn't want to shop there. But, my friends, this is where I get a bit upset. You see, The Creator in all his fury, dropped me and left me on a cement slab. I'm still upset over this. How could he have lost me??? I'm his number one fan. Just ask Manny Q.



The Creator got all the way here before he noted I wasn't where I was supposed to be.



The girls rushed ahead of him into the shop to see all the yarn and goodies. The Creator came back and retrieved me from said cement slab. I had my photo taken with the ever so lovely garden angel. She is pretty. I think I may have a relationship with her.



And we walked into the store and found this sign.

Ok.. the picture is MIA. I'm sure I have it on the blue box. I'm going to have words with The Creator on this. Pictures need to go on one machine or the other. Period.

It's of the Men's Knitting Retreat that The Creator is helping Frank with. The Creator thanked the lady and the girls started squeeling with de-light as they found yummy yarn.

No, you have to see this. I took photos upon the discovery of yarn behind yarn.

They opened one door... and then OH IS THERE MORE???



Shut the front door there is more!!!! Hurry open that up!!! I want to see!!! They rushed and squeeled to open that door. This prompted someone to come upstairs to ask if we needed assistance. I was sure I needed to call a doctor or something because this was too much fiber.


Oh My goodness.... Look at that... COME HERE! YARN!


And they all come running...


Look... MO found bliss...


The Creator found a Road to China while up there...It's lovely stuff.


Julie at My Sister Knits is a lovely donor of the Men's Rocky Mountain Knitting Retreat. She donated 11 books to the retreat while we were there. I can't say how much of a lovely shop this is and how much fun we had in there looking at every thing.

These bags are all the proof of our fibery fun!


All that yarn fun made us hungry. So, we needed some fiber. One can never have too much fiber in their diet. So, we visited Your Daily Fiber. A quaint little shop with a good deal of local fiber.



Notice the bag are around the worsted weight of the Road To China. The Creator bought some cashmere here. That was it, really. I wouldn't let him buy any more yarn.

Then... because we were starving and the Kentucky Derby was on... we needed something to eat. We proceeded to get Stuft.


I tried to down this burger...


But The Creator had to help me. Actually, I found a Mint Julep.


So I soaked myself and rooted on #07 in the Kentucky Derby. He lost, but I had minty fresh breath.

We left the town of Fort Collins with our bags of fiber and a good day. We did stop downtown at the Fabric Bliss and the Fancy Tiger...

It was a grand day. I even had Pinkberry!