Lunchtime yarn fun!

Had my first trip to Knitty City today!!! What a wonderful (and friendly) store!!

My Knit Picks order came!!!

YAY!!! I was delighted to come home from work on Friday and find my Knit Picks order waiting at my door!  Even though I have enough yarn to last me a few years (I need to reorganize my stash....maybe in a month or two I will do that and post all of what I own **gulp**), it is always nice to receive some in the mail or buy it in the store or get it as a gift...you get the idea :)!  All of the yarn in the order is sock yarn--which I plan on using to make more Easter eggs...(for next year) :) and I also tried a set of interchangeable needles (which I am loving!!) and some new stitch markers!!!

::Drool!!!::

Mmmmmmm all the yummy yarn!!!!! KP <3!

Felici in "Moonlit"

Felici in "Rainbow"

Stroll Multi in "Meadow"

And Imagination in "Fairy Princess"

"Mermaid Lagoon"

"Pixie Dust"

and "Unicorn"

When I get new yarn it reminds me how far I have come with knitting and crocheting.  I'm not sure if everyone else is like me, but I know that I started out using yarns from craft stores like A.C. Moore and Michaels (which I still use btw because they are quite useful!) and as I got more skilled I advanced to using more "special" yarns.  I love yarn, knitting, and crocheting so much and I'm so excited to use this new yarn!!

Zergling-inis!

The first set of Zergling-inis are on their way to Canada to meet their new owner :).  I really hope that they have a good trip and are happy in Canada :).

I'll miss you guys!!!

Happy Easter

Over the past couple days I knit up a few cute (if I do say so myself) Easter eggs using a pattern from Knitting Today! and some sock yarn :).  They remind me a little bit of the beautiful pisanki (Polish Easter eggs) that my mom has in a basket at home.  I hope to make a few more too! :)  Enjoy this wonderful day.  Happy Easter to anyone that celebrates it!  Hristos voskres!!

The Quarter Stitch--New Orleans, LA

Last weekend I attended the joint conference of the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) located in New Orleans, LA.  I enjoyed four days of the conference--attending presentations and meetings, receptions and get-togethers, and I of course visited a local yarn store.  Before I left for NOLA I googled about the different LYS in the area and I discovered that The Quarter Stitch was located in the French Quarter AND was in walking distance from my hotel.  Perfect!!  So on the last day of my trip I decided to do some exploring and wandered into the French Quarter to The Quarter Stitch.

The store is open every day from 11am to 6 pm and I happened to arrive a little before it opened and the woman opening that day was surprised to see someone waiting for her to open the store.  One of my favorite parts was the knitting/needlepoint post that stood outside the store, welcoming customers in. 

It really was beautiful inside--there was a lot of yarn everywhere and it was in all different colors!  The sales woman was nice enough to let me take some photos in the store and I'm very please to share them! The store also has many needlepoint things for sale, but I wasn't allowed to photograph them since they are copyrighted.

My mom remarked that this wall of colorful yarn resembled part of my yarn stash that "lives" in my bedroom :).

Of course after looking at all of this wonderful yarn, I had to buy some!  I decided on two skeins of Malabrigo Rios in the color way 866 Arco Iris that remind me of NOLA and one skein of Colinette Jitterbug in lilac (which is a yarn I never saw before, but apparently is popular).  I'll have pictures of the yarn soon :).  I also purchased a project bag for one of my very dear friends (KnittyLindsey).  At The Quarter Stitch they wrap each purchase--each skein and the project bag in my case--separately in different colored tissue paper and then put them in a clear plastic bag.  The bag has little tissue paper hearts in it and very cute business cards for the store.  It is all tied closed with multi-colored curling ribbon.  This probably was my prettiest yarn purchase to date!!

I also wanted to share some of my general NOLA photographs :).  This is a picture of the view from my hotel.  It shows the Mississippi River and part of the French Quarter Festival that was also going on at the same time as the conference.

This is a picture of Bourbon Street (of course).  It was jam-packed with people.  It was interesting to see people standing in the balconies in the buildings on the street tossing down beads.

There were different musical groups performing all over the French Quarter.  I found it to be really fun to have all different types of live music all around--and boy, did they really draw a crowd!

On my last day I decided to go exploring and visit The Quarter Stitch.  Since I arrived a bit early before the store opened, I just walked around the French Quarter snapping away.  Here is a man who is painting; I just love how much color he uses in his artwork!

This is a picture of the St. Louis Cathedral that is located right near Jackson Square.  It is so beautifully breathtaking to see it in person--massive and white, standing majestically in the French Quarter.

One of my favorite parts of NOLA was the balconies with the beautiful railings.  I just love the detail of the iron work (I think it is iron work....) :).

I also really like the quaint little shops that you find on all of the streets.  The area just seems so small and the entrances to stores are small as well.  I am guessing that is because the buildings are so old :).  I just really liked the set up of this little store.

So overall I enjoyed my extended weekend trip to New Orleans.  The food was delicious (though very rich) and the atmosphere was fun.  I learned a lot at the conference and I'm filled with positive energy--definitely a good boost to get working more on my dissertation!!! (And I can't wait to knit and crochet with my new yarn!!!)

Wine glass charms--Cancer Crushers Fundraiser

On April 30th I will be walking with team Cancer Crushers in the 2011 EIF Revlon Run/Walk For Women in New York City.  Part of my goal in participating in this event is to raise money for cancer research--together we can find a cure for this terrible disease.  As part of my fundraising efforts, I created five sets of wine glass charms.  Each set features a different theme of charms and colored glass beads.  For a donation of $10 you can receive one of the following sets.  

"Stars" is a set of five charms featuring different unique star shapes.  The colors included in this set are red, light blue, green, orange, and purple.  

"Birds" is a set of five charms as well.  Each features a unique bird along with different color beads.  Colors in this set are blue, yellow, green, red, and purple.

"Swirls" is a set of six charms all featuring identical swirly pendants.  The colors included in this set are dark blue, purple, orange, pink, green, and turquoise.

Update 4/5/11--"Swirls" are no longer available! :)

"Hearts" is a set of six charms featuring identical heart charms with engraved details on the front.  Colors contained in this set are teal, light blue, orange, yellow, green, and purple.

"Starfish" is a set of six charms with identical starfish charms.  The colors contained in this set are light blue, red, yellow, green, deep blue, and orange.

To make a donation and receive one of these wine glass charm sets do the following:

• Email me, comment on this blog post, or comment on Craftini Marini's Facebook page and let me know which set you desire.  Once you do this I will place the set on hold.
• Next, make your $10 donation using this website or contact me for paypal information.  
• Once your donation is made, let me know via email or comment that you made your donation and you will get your wine charms.

Thank you for your help in supporting this very worthy cause.  Remember these five sets are first come first serve!!

Life is a cycle. Even in the coldest, darkest, desolate times beauty can be found. Look to nature for hope; it serves as a reminder that better days will come and life will continue. Don't overlook all of life's miracles. 

Fruit Cozy with Ties

I created this pattern because I was looking for a type of fruit cozy that could be adjusted to fit different sized fruit and did not include buttons.  It is free on my Ravelry store too!  If you make them, let me know.  I would love to see your finished products!!

Fruit Cozy with Ties

This is a crochet pattern for a fruit cozy with ties.  It can be adjusted to fit different size fruit.  Ties may be placed where desired.

Yarn: Worsted weight

Hook size: G-6

Stitches & abbreviation used
sc: single crochet
hdc: half double crochet
dc: double crochet
sl: slip stitch
ch: chain
sc2tog: single crochet two together
adjustable ring (see http://www.stitchdiva.com/custom.aspx?id=54 for a good tutorial)

Special stitches:
Make tie: [ch 21, sl in 2^nd chain from hook and across (20 sl)]. 
Directions

Round 1: Begin using the adjustable ring, ch 3 (counts as dc), 14 dc in ring. Sl to chain 3 of beginning chain.  (15 dc)

Round 2: Ch 3 and dc in same stich. 2 dc in each dc around.  Sl to chain 3 of beginning chain. (30 dc)

Round 3: Ch 2, hdc in back loop only (BLO) around.  Sl to top chain of ch 2. (30 hdc).

**From here on do not join rounds, work back and forth in rows**

Round 4: Ch 2, hdc in BLO around, DO NOT JOIN (30 hdc). Turn.

Round 5: Ch 2, hdc in front loop only (FLO) around.  DO NOT JOIN. Turn (30 hdc).

Rounds 6-9: Repeat rounds 4 & 5 two more times.  (add more repeats if you wish to make a taller cozy).

Round 10: Ch1, sc2tog around, BLO (15 sc). Turn

Round 11: Ch 1, sc FLO around (15 sc). Turn.

Round 12: (edging round)

• ·      Ch 1, sc in both loops across (15 sc).
• ·      Make tie.
• ·      Sc in last stitch you sc’d in.
• ·      Place 8 sc on edge of cozy around opening, until you reach the 6^th round.  [If you want to place ties in a different position, sc until you get to that spot].
• ·      Make tie.
• ·      Sc in last stitch you sc’d in.
• ·      Sc around until you reach 6^th round on other side of cozy.
• ·      Make tie.
• ·      Sc in last stitch you sc’d in.
• ·      Sc until you reach top of cozy.
• ·      Make tie.
• ·      Sl in 1^st sc of the 12^th round.

Finishing: Cut yarn and bind off.  Weave in ends.

Please help me raise money

In April, I will be walking with the Cancer Crushers in the EIF Revlon Run/Walk for Women to support cancer research.  This is a terrible disease and needs to be eliminated for good. Please help me by donating--even $1 or $5 dollars helps! 

Thank you so much!!

You can access the donation page by clicking here.

Northern NJ Yarn Crawl

Recently I and knittylindsey and I participated in the Northern NJ Yarn Crawl.  This event took place February 19-21st and we crawled on the 19th and 20th.  In those 2 days we visited 6 different yarn shops.  There were raffles, discounts, free yarn (at some shops) and chances to win prizes!!!

I think my favorite store that we visited was The Blue Purl located in Madison, NJ.  I just loved the atmosphere of this shop.  It was roomy yet quaint and had some of the prettiest yarns I've seen.  I wish I took pictures in the store :).  Since I already have quite an extensive yarn stash, I decided to only purchase 2 skeins of Madelinetosh DK to make another Honey Cowl.  The color way is called glided and I'm completely in love with it!

From there we went to The Stitching Bee in Chatham, NJ.  This shop was packed with yarn from ceiling to floor.  It was smaller than The Blue Purl, but still fun!  They even gave us free sock yarn and a pattern here!  I purchased 2 skeins of Berroco Vintage to probably make another cowl :).

Free yarn :) for the socks

The final stop for 2/19 was in Morristown at Accents on Knits.  This store was much different than any other yarn store I had ever visited.  Here, they had all of the yarn organized by color rather than brand.  It was pretty to look at, but confusing to navigate.  The prices were at the end of each aisle on a laminated paper and you had to look up the yarn to figure out the price.  However, they did have a room of sale yarn :) which was a lot of fun to dig through.  I ended up buying one skein of Kudo yarn.  I've never tried this yarn before, so it should be fun experimenting with it.  Also, they offer a new customer discount of 10% I believe and I think they had some sort of discount on the day of the crawl :).

Sunday 2/20 we went out again, this time exploring all of the shops close to home, in Montclair :).

First stop was Modern Yarn.  Unfortunately, this is one of my least favorite yarn shops because the staff is not friendly nor helpful.  Perhaps I always catch them on a bad day....Anyway, I didn't buy any yarn here :) only entered into the raffle!

Next stop was at Stix-n-Stitches my favorite yarn store in Montclair!!!  I just love how friendly the staff is and their yarn.  I chose a nice cotton called Luna by Cascade :).  It was on sale and I bought all they had in this color way.  I think I might make a vest out of it or some sort of wearable for myself :).

Finally, our last stop of the day and also of the crawl was at Connie Sloan's Needle Craftique which is located on Valley Road in "The Mews" which is a little area off the beaten path of the street.  It is a quaint store with a lot of yarn.  Here I got a yarn called Ruca by Aranucania.  It is made from sugar cane and is very very soft.  I hope to knit either an open work scarf with it or a shall for myself :).  

This was a very fun time and I'm so happy I got to spend the day with Lindsey and do the crawl!  I spent a bit more than I should have, but now I have a good amount of lovely yummy and delicious yarn!!!  Can't wait to craft it all up!