Knitter in Progress

If you are a HAED stitcher(Heaven and Earth Designs for the uninitiated) or you want to be one, now would be the time to buy a chart. Specifically, this chart: Ching-Chou Kuik is the artist and she donated this piece for Michelle and Bob(the brilliant duo behind Heaven and Earth Designs ) to use as a means of raising money for tornado relief. Their house and much of their property was destroyed by a tornado and they are overwhelmed with where to begin--to say the least. This chart will only be available for two weeks and then it's gone forever. If you would like to help out, go here for the details.

Sorry about the MIA-ness. It's been a busy July here at Casa KiP. First there was the excitement of the 4th of July. Then one of my sisters came out to visit--the first person from my family to come out since we moved here in 2005. She wanted to show her kiddos the mountains so we decided to take them to Glenwood Springs to swim in the hot springs . It's about a 3 hour drive from here to there and you definitely see a lot of mountains on the way. **left to right--Tank(nephew), Little Diva-in-Training(niece), Diva, and Rage My sister doesn't knit **gasp** or craft at all really **double gasp**. She runs, and runs, and runs, and then she runs some more. She came here to run in a higher elevation. There was much talk about her mile times and how ticked she was that she was running slower here. I just smiled, nodded, and said more power to ya. Why can't someone figure out how to get knitting/stitching to give you a runner's body? I'm jealous and envious of my sister...

I finished 9 squares in June. I had to have 9 of these squares done in time for our CWKK weekend, so that I could exchange them with everyone who was participating. Here are the squares I received: (clockwise from top left: Jeni , Terrie , Kelly , Genia, Mary Kay , and Michelle --thanks ladies!) In addition, I finished two more(the bright pink one is actually from Stacey for Little Diva's blanket).

I finished Rage's socks. A few months ago he went through my Socks That Rock stash and found a skein of lightweight in the Lapis colorway and he insisted that I make him socks with it. He loves them(he wanted a pair so he could "skate" around the kitchen like his sister does with her handknit socks). Stats: Yarn: STR lightweight in Lapis Needles: size 2 dpns Pattern: Classic Beginnings Socks for the Family(Wyman)

Last weekend, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend our knitting group's annual trip to the mountains for a weekend of knitting, laughing, and eating which has been dubbed Camp WannaKnitKnit. It is the highlight of my summer. Here's what you need to make it happen: Knitters: 14 awesome knitters and great friends! An idyllic setting: Yarn(to knit with, to admire/fondle, etc.): Food: It would be so easy to just eat out or microwave a bunch of stuff but, just like with our knitting, we don't keep it simple. This year we had crepes, Hawaiian food, and a southern breakfast. And the "dessert"--a gift bag: The gift bags get better and better each year. This year we were given Piddleloop bags, Jelby stitch markers, and Red Rocks Fiber Works yarn in a Camp WannaKnitKnit colorway(and there is one part of the gift bags that wasn't quite ready for the weekend--I'll post it's picture later). We also made dpn holders--mine are devil/pirate ducks, pirate skulls,...

First of all I cannot believe it's July. Pictures will follow later. June Goals, revisited: Knitting: **I need to finish 7 Skully Barn Raising Squares-- I finished 9--7 skully and two others **I'm only working on stuff that is already on the needles this month, no new cast-ons-- DONE Stitching: **QS Swimming with Dolphins SAL Weekend(13-16)-- Nope, my last weekend to opt out of. **Provence Sampler SAL(20-23)-- DONE **TT K(on at least 2 QS Wednesdays)-- Nope, I didn't get a lot of stitching time last month. Reading: **Finish one book(hopefully more)--and that one book will be Blood Noir by Laurell Hamilton which I am going to get as soon as I post this-- DONE and yes it was Blood Noir that I finished. July Goals: Knitting-- **no new cast ons--finish stuff already on the needles. Stitching-- **QS Swimming with Dolphins(SAL weekend 11-14) **Provence Sampler(HAEDless SAL weekend 18-24) Reading-- **finish one book