Ginger’s having a contest – guess what she named the three chicks she just brought home and you could win some sock yarn. A knowledge of country music will help your guessing! Someone already guessed correctly! Now anyone who comments on the contest post by midnight April 27 will be entered in a random drawing for another prize.
Reading Update
A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie. This is the first mystery about Scotland Yard Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and his assistant, Sergeant Gemma Jones. I’ll definitely be reading more in this series.
High Heels and Holidays by Kasey Michaels. The most recent book about mystery writer Maggie Kelly, whose formerly fictional characters the Viscount Saint Just and Sterling Balder materialized in her living room a few months ago… Silly but fun and occasionally steamy.
High Stakes: A Tale of Vegas Vampires by Erin McCarthy. The first book in the Vegas Vampires series isn’t great literature by any means, but it was an amusing and somewhat steamy read. My big complaint is that the book ended abruptly, almost as if it had been split into two parts…
Yarnover Update
Well. I, um, might’ve picked up a bit more at the Yarnover market than I had anticipated… No one’s going to be particularly surprised by my purchases. 🙂
I bought some skeins of purple laceweight Euroflax.
Whoops, it looks like I forgot to take a picture of the knitting mystery I purchased – Cast On, Bets Off by Jack Olesker. I hadn’t heard of it before, so we’ll see… I also bought a black sheep magnet and a WPI tool (I’ve wanted one for ages!).
“Hmm, this doesn’t smell particularly sheepy to me. Plus it looks hard to pick up and steal.” -M
Jeanne and I each bought enough Blue Sky Cotton to make the Eyelet Cardigan (sorry, you can’t see the pattern at all in the picture). Um, yes, I bought black…
“Big kitty, I tell you, the only possible conclusion you can draw is that she’s going to make more black kitties. We have to put a stop to this!” -M
“Where do you come up with this stuff, May?!” -C
And I bought some amazingly soft true black (not dyed!) alpaca, which came from an alpaca named Orphelia.
“Now this smells like something very interesting! Not a sheep… What could it be?” -M
“Mmmm… Alpaca, you say? Soft. Mmmm… Mom, can we have an alpaca? I promise I won’t eat it.” -M
I LOVE your purchases! Black, purple – great colour choices! Hey, I’m making a topdown short sleeve sweater right now with the Blue Sky Alpaca/Silk – yummy! Cotton, huh…?! 😀
May, if you had an alpaca, there wouldn’t be enough room for your food and toys! And you’d have to train it to use the box.
Ah, Monday morning silliness…
Mayhem, how would mom fit an alpaca in the condo?
Purple and black yarn??? The shock of it all!!
Your poor hands! I don’t know how you can knit with linen and cotton.
You are just too predictable in your choice of colours! Oh well, just more for May to play with 😉
Ooooh, black alpaca is wonderful stuff! And the rest of it looks really good too!
I bruise my chequebook sending Julia to preschool…you bruise yours by buying knitty things. It’s all good. 😉
hee hee.. I love the fact that the two of them are so curious that they will come examine anything you put on the floor. I have to pile roving on my cat to get her in the photo with it.
I think May’s onto something. Forget the sweater. Make more black kitties.
Exaclty how do you know what the alpaca’s name is???? Sounds like a marketing gimick to me. You didn’t adopt the alpaca did you??
Completely shocking selections!
O wait. They would be if they were for me!
Poor Mayhem. The idea is fun, the reality of an alpaca, maybe not so much.
“I promise I won’t eat it!”
Boy, it’s a good thing I wasn’t drinking anything when I read that! Looks like you got some great stuff. That black alpaca is gorgeous!
I bought that same book at my LYS on Saturday… BUT, I met the author and got mine signed. (Sorry, Chris, had to brag! :-D) Jack is a great deal of fun to meet. If you ever get a chance, make sure you meet him!
That alpaca was pretty delicious, wasn’t it? I couldn’t bring myself to buy any, as I’ve got a ton already, but I wish I’d grabbed their card. What are you thinking of doing with it?
So, what is the plan for the Alpaca?
Good thing I couldn’t go to the Yarnover, my fast would have been OVER!
Great purchases! That black alpaca looks wonderful.
Just where does May come up with this stuff? 🙂
Mmmmmmm, alpaca ~ I love how soft alpaca is to work with…
Interested to hear what you think of the WPI tool… don’t have one and keep thinking about it.
Don’t we all want alpacas as pets?
Why am I not surprised… black and purple! : ) Nice purchases btw
Oooh that black blue-sky cotton cardigan is going to be so soft and nice. As for over-purchasing, I think it must be the time of year! Yeah, thats it 😉
Gee, are you sure you got the right colors? 😉
I’m a wee bit jealous that you can knit and wear black. My eyes don’t like to knit dark stuff anymore and 4 of our 5 furry beasts leave a delightful frosting of non-black fur on everything. Good choice of colors for your kitties 🙂
Oh, and I think I bought the same magnet for part of olga’s prize. Ssshhhh, don’t tell…
Purple and black eh? now there’s a departure 🙂
That alpaca looks gorgeous.
Chris- Not that I’m competitive or anhthing- but I got 2 more Anne Taintor’s for my fridge- different ones.
What are an Alpaca’s views on cat food? Can you train them to use a litterbox?
Oooh, pretty yarn. I’ve been meaning to read the Deborah Crombie series… but my library doesn’t have the first. Is it worth buying, do you think?
I LOVE THOSE YARNS!!! Oh wow.
The colors…I’m just drooling…
(yeah, May won’t eat an alpaca! HAH! It might eat her…Chaos is such an “older brother”)
(((hugs)))
The top view of Mayhem and the two thingies of yarn make it look like she has gigantic paws…which is cool
Beautiful yarns! I love that you know the name of the alpaca that provided the fiber for your yarn.
I think May might be a little surprised by the size of an alpaca, although I hear they are very friendly unlike llamas.
I would have never guessed that you bought purple and black yarn. Can you hear my giggling?
okay, for someone who doesn’t do lace, you bought a LOT of laceweight yarn… whadda ya gonna do with it?
What are the sizes (in inches) does that cardi come in?
Cheers Eva
What lacey loveliness are you planning to knit with the delicious purple linen? 3 cones seems like lots of yardage? And it’s terribly funny that no one seems to be interested in the linen but you! Sounds like you’ve an evil plan afoot. Well done.
Alpaca and Blue Sky Cotton are two of my favorite yarns. Yum! Good shopping. The checkbook will heal!
The Eyelet Cardigan will be fun to knit — especially with a friend!
Was the Yarnover fun? I had other plans that day and missed it. A WPI tool sounds like a great idea.
Great purchases! I LOVE the Eyelet Cardigan… can’t wait to hear how it knits up 🙂
Love what you bought. You just can’t go wrong with purple and black.
That looks like a lot of laceweight! Are you going to run some along with the alpaca? haha
The eyelet cardigan? NICE!!! I want one. As soon as I lose a zillion pounds, and I convert the pattern to long sleeves and a longer body…
If I’d known you didn’t own a WPI tool I’d have sent you one right away. No one should live without one.
LOL! I can just see you, Chaos, May, and an alpaca in your condo. 🙂
Nice yarn acquistions! Hmm… I like the looks of the Eyelet Cardigan. At least you bruised your checkbook on fun stuff.
Black yarn, black fur…the shedding doesn’t show up. Why didn’t I think of that? (But orange would look terrible with my skin color, rats!).
I’m wondering what you’re planning with the purple laceweight? I keep vowing to knit with big yarn, big needles, but the laceweight always gets me in the end, sigh. 🙂
Pretty yarn acquirements! It’s always fun to see how interested Chaos and Mayhem are in all of your purchases :o) More black kitties on the way? Eek!
I. heart. alpaca.
That black alpaca looks lustrous and wonderful!
Ahem. Now how is your coffee/yarn swapper going to be able to get you things you’ve ALWAYS WANTED if you persist in buying them for yourself? I’m starting to get a sense about color choices….It’s a vague idea, but it’s formulating…something about black, is that black I’m seeing? And methinks purple? Hmm. I’ll have to look deeper into the crystal ball! I don’t suppose RED ever makes an appearance, hmmm?
Oh, yum, that purple is gorgeous! And the black ain’t bad either! You have such good taste in colours! And cats, obviously.
Dear Chris,
Thanks so much for buying Cast On, Bet’s Off. I hope you enjoy my steamy murder mystery for knitters. It’s the first novel in The Lisa & Max Devereaux Sit & Knit Mysteries series. Kim and I are having a lot of fun going to yarn shops across the country to do book signings. I did a reading of the first chapter at My Sisters Knits in Chicago last week and had a blast. (Enjoyed meeting Karen during my swing through Ohio, too.)
I see you do contests on your blog. If you’d like me to send you a couple of complimentary, autographed copies that you can use as prizes just drop me an e-mail and I’ll get them out to you.
Happy reading!
Best,
Jack
oh, that eyelet cardi looks like a lovely pattern!
that orphelia is a beautiful alpaca…glad you put the link! what a color. too bad she’s not for sale…C & M must be sooo disappointed.
alpacas don’t even like tuna, and as far as i know they wouldn’t be likely to steal SRMice either…so a wee black one one might might a nice addition to the Stumbling Over fambly.
Love your new yarn!! I bet May and Chaos would just love to have an alpaca as a playmate…
Ooh, real black alpaca is a delight. I think you were pretty restrained…
Ooh! I *love* laceweight Euroflax! What are you making?
don’t believe Mayhem for a minute – black kitties love to eat alpaca! (take it from one who knows!)
oohhhhhhh black alpaca!!
Yeah mom, can we have an alpaca? We can keep it in the bathtub. Chaos will walk him….puleeeeez?