Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Lamb Shoppe in Denver, Colorado

The trip out to Denver was a great one for both work and for fiber-goodness. Lucky for me, the hotel in which I stayed had a free shuttle which conveniently took me to see one of the best LYS's I've been to so far - The Lamb Shoppe.

Denver Lamb Shoppe Exterior

Located in a more residential than commercial area, the Lamp Shoppe is a wonderful store that is worth the visit when in Denver. The set up of the store is great, with high ceilings, warm paint colors, tables and chairs, and oodles of yarn. I was instantly smitten when I first walked in the door.

Denver Lamb Shoppe Interior

They have a great selection of yarns, from local and regional companies to a great selection of Debbie Bliss and Noro. There are plenty of books and patterns for purchase and the store is definitely crochet-friendly. The staff is also super-friendly. When I asked about regional producers of yarn, they led me to a beautiful hank of lightweight yarn, dyed pale blues and greens, and perfect for a shawl or scarf. The price tag was appropriate - $48. But my wallet was not up to that task.

Instead I opted to get 3 balls of Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool (which was on sale) and some skull buttons I could not do without.

Denver Lamb Shoppe Purchase 2

The other part of the store that I absolutely loved? See the fine print on the business card? The store is a "Yarn and Coffee Bar". Yep - they have a cappuccino machine. Talk about my idea of heaven! Fiber goodness with a latte. Absolutely perfect! Though this picture is blurry, you can see the coffee bar next to the register. (And it saved me the need to blur out their faces, right? Putting my less-than-consistent picture taking ability to good use.)

Denver Lamb Shoppe Interior 2

So I must say that if you are in the Denver area, this is a yarn store you must find time to visit. My thanks to the owners who let me take the photos, too. :)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Random Updates

Sean is off umpiring while I'm enjoying the afternoon at home. I'm looking forward to going to see some of his games once the temperatures cool down. It's fun to sit outside on a cool afternoon, crocheting away while watching Sean's baseball game. It's not fun to sit in the glaring sun, sweating and overheating, with bugs buzzing around and biting. Hence, I'm home today catching up on mundane things such as laundry, bills, and blogging.

So just a few random updates in the life of Crocheting Commuter...

The print of "Happiness" that I bought at MS&W has been framed and is up on the wall in my craft room. I've also selected the perfect color to paint the craft room but I have to wait for the dry wall inspection before I paint anything. I should have it painted before MS&W, girls. :)

Happiness 3

Stitches East is in Baltimore again this year. Sadly, I won't be able to go because Sean and I will be driving up to Ohio for a wedding. No worries though. I've already found a few yarn stores to visit on the way.

I've got a ton of travel for work starting this week and through October. When making my travel arrangements, I tried to arrive in enough time to check out any LYS stores around town. This week, I'm off to Denver. While there aren't any stores within walking distance of my hotel, there are a few within walking distance of each other. I'll take a cab downtown and walk to a few. If anyone has suggestions of which ones to see, let me know. I use Sweater Babe's Yarn Shop Directory to find LYS's in each city. On the side bar of the blog,you can see a list of all the LYS I've visited so far.

Yesterday I bought yarn to start the two baby blankets for KMP's bun in the oven. The due date has been pushed up to mid-December so I've got to get started. While at Joann's (which was a mad house as it was a demonstration day), I checked out their October classes, hoping to take course 2 of cake decorating. Alas, there were no Saturday classes. The only one I could sign up for was a one 2-hour session candy making course. My concern with the course is that the only thing on the list of class materials is the Wilton Candy Making for Beginners Guide. I'm wondering what the 2 hour course is going to add to the instructions in this book. They better make it worth the $15 class registration fee by giving some additional candy making tips or letting us do some hands on work. I'll be sure to let you all know.

Wilton has some fabulous ideas and projects using melted and molded chocolate. I can see myself going a bit crazy with ordering molds and candy melt colors so I can make fun stuff for holidays throughout the year. I'm also hoping to make some fun candies for bridal and baby showers I'll have this year and next.

The pattern writing is going well. I'm really excited about having a few patterns up on Ravelry. Even if I don't sell many, it's really cool to have finally written the patterns. I've got at least two more coaster patterns to write up and publish and I've got about 6 pot holder ideas to work up. But with all the other projects right now, who knows when I'll get them all done. But I'd rather have too many projects and lots of inspiration than be in a creative slump.

Until next update, have a blessed Mabon!

Completed Project: Lace Dish Cloth

My first dish cloth - yay! I finished it last week.

Lace Dish Cloth F3

Lace Dish Cloth 1

During my camping trip last month, I started making Jessie's pot holders. Marian the Librarian's mom, grandma and aunt love to use knitted and crocheted dish towels so when they saw me crocheting, they wanted to know if I could make dish cloths. I said sure, though I hadn't made them before I thought I could figure it out. While they did want round ones, I'm not ready to use the DPNs to make them. So this one, one with a King Charles Brocade, and a plain stockinette stitch are what they will get.

Here are a couple of other photos so you can see the design.

Front
Lace Dish Cloth F2

Back
Lace Dish Cloth B1

As usual, all the details are on Ravelry. I don't see the sense in spending double the time to post here on the blog everything that is so conveniently listed under my projects in Ravelry. If you're not signed up for a free Ravelry account, what are you waiting for??? It's the most amazing database of everything you need to organize all your projects, find cool new projects, see photos of completed projects, and meet great people. Seriously - go sign up.

Because of the pattern, it's given me hope that I can once again pick up the BUBBLES bubbles wrap (that I haven't touched since July) and try again.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Another Pattern

The Froggie Coaster Pattern is completed and up for sale on Ravelry!

Yarn Order - The Details

Details about that big ol' box of fiber goodness I got last week...

More Colorwaves

This was the precipice of the yarn order. I needed to buy more Colorwaves yarn for Sean's blanket and Smiley's has the best price for it ($1.99 a skein). But - I had to order a minimum of $50. Here's what made up the rest of my order:

Cervinia Sorrento Denim HeatherCervinia Sorrento Charcoal HeatherCervinia Sorrento Beige HeatherCervinia Sorrento Brown Heather

Four skeins each of Cervinia Sorrento in Denim Heather, Charcoal Heather, Beige Heather and Brown Heather. This is 100% acrylic yarn though it looks and feels really nice. I'm planning to make a charity blanket with it.


Bernat Cotton Yarn

One skein each of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton in Blueberry and Blue Haze. The names would have you assume the yarn is from the blue family. I beg to differ as I find this yarn to be more of the obnoxious teal family or drab gray family. Oh well. It will be used for dishcloths (that is, if I ever get my first dishcloth made).


Wendy Peter Pan Baby Blue

One skein of Wendy Peter Pan Baby Yarn in Baby Blue. This will hopefully turn into a hat and booties for KMP's bundle of joy due in December. I best get a move on this project because I am no speedy knitter.


Jamie Classic LemonadeJamie Classic PistachioJamie Classic Lilac

Lion Brand Jamie Classic in Lemonade (4 skeins), Pistachio (3 skeins), and Lilac (3 skeins). I bought this to make another charity blanket of daisy squares. The pistachio is not as green as I would have liked, but it will work for the background of the squares.


Circular Needles

Susan Bates 29" circular knitting needles in sizes 7, 8, 9, and 10. I've got a bunch of circulars in smaller sizes for socks so I thought I might as well make the set closer to complete with circulars in the larger sizes.


Where am I going to store all this new yarn? It won't be pretty, but I'll try my best to cram it all into my little yarn cabinet.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Supporting My Yarn Addiction

My first for sale pattern is up on Ravelry!!! Yay!!!!

Check out my store where the Susan the Ladybug Coaster pattern is available for purchase! Huzzah! (Note: The Crocheted Pot Holder pattern is also available for free download.)

I'm hoping to somewhat offset the major yarn purchase I just made from Smiley's. I needed more Colorwaves yarn for Sean's blanket and it's the only place I found the yarn for $1.99 (compared to $5.99 everywhere else). Of course, with a minimum purchase of $50 plus a flat rate shipping cost of $12.95, did I really save money on my 6 skeins of yarn???

Smileys Order 09-08

Smileys Order 09-08 2

Lots of yarn ordered plus some new circular knitting needles. Details to follow this weekend.

Monday, September 8, 2008

CAKE!!!

I was going to blog a real post. I really was. And then I had to do some online shopping - yes, some of it including a yarn purchase. So in lieu of an actual post, I give you photos of the cake I made last week. It was a big hit at the party.

Jump the Shark Cake 03

Jump the Shark Cake 02

Jump the Shark Cake 06

And if you can't wait for an actual post, you can also check out photos from the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Covered in Frosting

A quick hello - the aforementioned weekend was a fabulous one. No time to blog extensively as I have spent the evening preparing a cake for a former co-worker. It's the largest one I've made yet and I underestimated the time it would take to bake and frost it. Good thing I did the bulk of it tonight so I can properly decorate it tomorrow. The theme of the cake will be "Jumping the Shark" a la Fonzie from "Happy Days". It was a running gag at my last office - someone would always point out when a meeting had officially jumped the shark. Since she's leaving the office, the cake symbolizing her time with the group as having jumped the shark. Really, it's a lot funnier than what I just typed but I'm coming down from the sugar-enduced euphoria that only homemade frosting can cause.

Speaking of cake (and since I don't have time to post all the photos from the Ren Faire), I'll share some photos of the monkey cake I made for Sean's birthday. It had a strawberry filling and vanilla cake. Quite yummy! I also think I like the monkey better as a cake than as a brownie.

Monkey Cake 01

Monkey Cake 04 Monkey Cake 05