Vickie Howell, how knifty!

Last night Teenuh and I went over to Full Thread Ahead for a Vickie Howell book signing, yarn promo and her DIY Super bowl Knit In promo. She talked a little and answered questions. What a nice friendly lady she is (and every bit as cute as she looks on tv, boy she is tiny see the pic of her and me below, her wearing like 4" Steve Madden Heels and me like 5'11" in my Bass slip ons.) I am sure it improves her male viewership. This is her modeling her new original pattern for a crochet and knitted shrug made out her new super yummy soft soy/silk yarn Love. It is so very nice and soft and drapey. It is fairly pricey but a few skeins for something nice, worth it. She is smirking because she didn't want to model it because her outfit did not match with the shrug. I love the names of all her yarn colors they are hillarious and/or cutely named. Last but not least here is tiny Vickie standing next to GIANT me. She is so friendly she will just chit chat away with you while she signs your book and even after she is done. She doesn't make you feel hurried or like you are bothering her a bit. You couldn't imagine a more pleasant experience. Don't miss the FTA super bowl sale.

Knitwise, today I fnished one of the Broadstreet mittens without the flap. I made the fingers on it and decided in fear of running out of yarn that I would make both glove parts of the mitten first and then divide the yarn in half and make the flap portion. I am evening thinking maybe I should make the flap part from the point up and work backward and then I'll know exactly how far I can get with it.... but then it would be hard to join. Hmmm, decisions decisions.

Just like every time I have ever tried to keep a diary, I have failed to update on a daily (weekly or even monthly basis) as it has been MORE than one month since I have created an entry. What's worse is I have since enjoyed many a thrilling knitting related event that really should have been recorded..

Super Duper Most exciting knitting news. I finished "The Beast". My gigantic circle has been completed. I have stretched it and blocked it and it looks swell. Before stretching it looked a bit like a middle aged wife, wrinkly, frumpy and suffering from stretch marks. After stretching and blocking, it is a beautiful and taut as a plastic surgeon's wife. Made with approximately 2,600 yds of Knitpicks Alapaca Cloud. Comprised of 223,620 knitted stitches and cast off with just 6,240 crochet stitches. It was truly a labor of love.

September 9th I had to extreme joy of hearing the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl McPhee speak at Full Thread ahead. She was tremendously hillarious and very friendly. The tickets were obtained by my dear fiber addict buddy Teenuh (because it is never fun to get high alone!?). Thank you to you!! We spent a very long day waiting outside to see her speak, Then waiting to have our books signed, though it was very fun and we met a lot of great people. I even met Cookie of Pomotomas fame. It is almost scary to realize how many knitters there are out there. I bought some extrafine lace weight lambswool in black , which is supposed to be machine washable (although by the time I finish whatever grand project I make with all 825 yds of it, I may be too afraid to wash it!!) I was also VERY lucky and won a Full Thread ahead contest while we were waiting, for having the most stitches of lace knitting on the needles (thanks to the beast!) and won a very yummy skein of lace weight, Belissa Cashmere in Twilight color way, with a $42 price tag on it. It may be the most expensive yarn I will ever own in my life!! Here I am with the Harlot. (Why are all the other knitters in the world SO TINY?) Stephanie is very gracious and charming when you meet her and tries to spend a little time with everyone, she was wonderfu and it was awesome to meet herl.

September 17th My beloved yarn buddy and I made a grand 3 hour trek up to 9th annual California Wool and Fiber arts Festival and Mendocino County Faire. It was interesting. It was much like traveling to a different world in a different time. The feel was so very small town (as it was and without parade traffic would probably take about 3 minutes to drive in one end of the town to the other, if you got caught at the stop light.) We saw a sheep shearing with electric shears and manual shears, as well as a spinning competition. It was a little (okay a lot) disppointing to see there were young children there who were better at spinning than me!! I picked up a BEAUTIFUL silk brick in a yummy bright violet color called Violet Thunder, which I have already begun spinning into a beautiful silky yarn.I bought one skein of ultra soft lacweight 100% Fine Kid Mohair by Wagtail Yarns in a lovely light violet colorway. I am thinking.... Fiddlesticks Peacock Feathers Shawl...

In between sewing some curtains and some bed covers I have been trying to finish a baby layette set for a baby shower early in October. I am thrilled to find I have another baby shower to knit for, for a GIRL yippee!! I love knitting for a girl. Better yet, this is her 3rd child and the first 2 were boys so she is ready for the pink!! Yaye I will be knitting pink. I love it.