it is unimaginable that it has been 4 years. truly. i have no idea how i have stuck with it so long. i thank all of you for reading, your comments keep me going. you make me feel like i am talking to somebody out there. blogging can be hard at times as those of you who blog know. finding something to say isn't always easy. i do all of this for one reason really - the knitting community. i started knitting just about 5 months before i started this blog. i am just as passionate about knitting as i was then (to my sheer amazement - my crafty hobbies usually come and go). i have met so many people along the way and made some really close friends all because of this craft.

i promised a sneak peek of some of the prizes...


a new size in the project bags - large! this is for those of you who like to knit larger projects (like sweaters, blankets etc.). and of course, yarntini sport weight in the good to be girl colorway. one prize will have the bag and the other the yarn along with other goodies (stitch markers maybe?). :)

both contests will be open until sunday night (june 1st). the first contest is based on comments but that is as much as you know.

the second is this lovely quiz about moi. just copy and paste this text into an email with the answers and send to amyATgoodtobegirlDOTcom. for every right answer your name gets entered into a drawing. i'm making you work for it a little this year! :)

1. what is my favorite color?
2. name a pattern or yarn i mentioned in my first ever blog post
3. one of my favorite sweets?
4. name of my favorite lys?
5. what are the names of my 2 cats?
6. how many clapotis' have i knit?
7. name one item that was in my first blogiversary give away?

AGAIN you have until 8 p.m. sunday evening (june 1st) to enter.

p.s. i was going to include something about yesterday's socks in the contest so i left out the details. but then i added it to ravelry and gave away too many details. so for all those who asked - pattern :: twisted tweed socks - yarn :: socks that rock lightweight in sherbet - modifications :: none, followed pattern as written

sherberty-good

i completed this pair of socks last night. super bright, but i like them. it has been awhile since i have finished a pair of socks so i was very happy to get back into the sock knitting. handknit socks are one of my favorite things.

just a reminder that tomorrow is my 4th blogiversary! there will be a couple contests (one that has to do with comments) and another that has to do with my recent completed projects. hopefully i'll have a sneak peak of the prizes for you tomorrow as well!

and mark your calendars there will be a bag sale early next week with several amy butler fabrics we haven't used before. my mom found some out of print and hard to find ab fabrics. she has been sewing up a storm :)

festivities

just a reminder that my blogiversary is less than a week away (28th). if i tell you that your comments will have something to do with the contest will that get you talking? :)

there will be 2 prizes this year, a grand prize and a secondary prize. the grand prize includes one of my mom's fabulous bags in a new size along with lots of other goodies.

i have to admit things are a bit overwhelming at the moment. i have a wedding shower and bachelorette party i am helping plan along with throwing myself a birthday party. i know it is kind of silly to throw a party for oneself but i am doing it anyways. i had a great idea for a theme and went with it


cute no? it is just over 2 weeks away and i still have a lot to do (like assemble swag bags for all my friends!).

not to mention that i am in a knitting mode right now so all i want to do is cast on and knit.

anyways, i'll be back soon with details on the blogiversary

for the stash

ellen and i had a lot of fun (and spent way too much $$) on the lys tour. we could not have asked for better weather. besides the ferry crossings, we motored 271 miles over the 2 days.

just a few shots of some of the yarn i bought.


5 skeins of malabrigo worsted in paris night - planning to make the hemlock ring blanket with this


100% soy habu yarn in a pewter color - possibly for a 2nd melody shawl (just finished 1st one out of plucky 50 silk/50 merino lace, pics to come)

i also picked up 1 skein of kidsilk haze in a kelly green, 1 skein araucania ranco multi (sock yarn), 1 skein araucania aysen (merino,alpaca,silk), 1 skein manos silky in a teal and 1 skein rowan felted tweed in brown (for a hat). i bought a few patterns as well and a couple accessories. the tour was great this year, we only made it to about 12 of the 24 stores but it was just enough.

i'll block my melody shawl and share it soon.

and i just finished watching last week's ugly betty online. can i just say what a big fan of gio i am? i love that guy. can't wait to see the finale on thursday along with grey's. i am very interested to see how they wrap it up. i have been pleasantly surprised by grey's, the beginning of the season was painful for me to watch. glad they have turned it around a bit!

and they're off...

lil and coop are minding the blog while i am away on the lys tour. neither have mastered typing so don't expect any posts until my return.

ellen and i plan on having a great time and buying lots of fabulous goodies. tonight we pre-funked at vyt. i hung out with naomi while ellen was busy working and met several ravelers who came in for the tour (yes knitter pre-funk, we did it for the harlot too). it was very fun and a great way to start things off.

fyi, if you are doing the tour, i dropped off some stitch marker sets at vyt along with a special edition for the event if you are interested.

*positive attitude brought to you buy sunny skies in seattle, i'll be wearing flip flops on the tour! yeah!

chat soon.
meow. meow.

diamanta

i'm up late working a bit so i thought i would do a quick post. our IT department moved our web server tonight so i had to make sure our systems were back up and running after the move. they aren't. hopefully things will work themselves out overnight (most likely caused by a refresh issue) but if not i'll have a long morning ahead of me.

not that it matters to you, but it's late and i tend to ramble a bit when i get sleepy. ok, so what i really wanted to show is some pictures of the shawl i knit for my friend who is getting married this summer.




this is diamanta by french girl. i used yarn from one of my favs the plucky knitter. it is the silk/merino laceweight in meryweather i believe (the tag is around here somewhere but too lazy to look at the moment).

as i mentioned a few posts back i am having a hard time capturing it's beauty in pictures but i think you get the idea. if you are on ravelry you may have already seen these.


this was a fairly quick knit. i actually have a second in malabrigo lace on the needles for myself. i'm taking my time on it though so don't expect any pics soon. i am in love with this pattern. i wanted a lace pattern for my friend that felt a little more modern and i think this fits.

logging off now, happy friday!

long post.

i wore my flip flops 3 days in a row. it's a miracle! (ok wearing them today was pushing it a little - it wasn't warm but at least it wasn't wet). i was also able to get a nice walk in the last 3 days without having to schedule around rain. but the forecast is gloomy for the rest of the week. i'm not sure i can put up with this much longer. it is may for pete's sake! (weather rant over, i know you have had to put up with a lot of them recently).

in knitting related news, i have been practicing my yarn buying for the upcoming lys tour. ellen and i are going to head out both friday and saturday to several of the shops. if we can find a cool place i think we'll spend friday night over on bainbridge so we can go to cafe nola and mora in addition to churchmouse of course.

first up is some lovely sock yarn that i just couldn't seem to live without


this is actually my 2nd skein of pagewood farm sock yarn. i have a pinkish colorway called rainbow too, this i believe is the crayons colorway. hopefully this will find it's way onto my needles by the lys tour.


and how could i resist signing up for plucky classics when i am a huge jane austen fan? this yarn makes me swoon because it is named after one of my fav leading ja men, captain wentworth.


ellen suggested a cabled sock and i think that sounds about right. however, i am considering a cowl and beret as well.

today i caved and also ordered a skein of regular plucky yarn in the summer of love colorway. i'll post pics when it arrives.


if you think i have only been buying yarn, this pic proves otherwise. the thing is this was such a boring knit in progress that i didn't want to bother with photos until it was done. this is the lucy bag pattern. i bought it on the way to cannon beach last fall and am glad to check it off my to-do list. i love it but will try to felt it one more time to shorten the strap a couple more inches. it sits just a little odd. i also am not loving how the cascade seems to be pilling after just a couple uses.

i had a 2 other projects knit up as well but they just didn't fit right so they will be frogged. one was a lovely springy green and white organic cotton beret. i had high hopes for it but it was huge even after a soak in some hot water and a hot dryer. my intention was to wear it with my cute new tote.


ok, make that plural. i have been on a bag binge lately. today's purchase is the lovely grey namaste bag from vyt (ellen did you buy the green today?). 2 kate spades and a dooney and bourke complete the assortment. however, the dooney will most likely be going back. this was to be my spring bag but with the weather i haven't had a chance to carry it and it isn't worth keeping if i am only going to get a couple months wear out of it this year. besides i bought a fantastic chandelier that i can only justify if i return the dooney. ahh how i rationalize my overspending!


ok, if you have made it this far congrats, this is one long post. above is my first attempts at acrylic painting. and probably my last. this was after 2 glasses of red wine. not horrible, but painting really isn't my thing. i haven't fully committed to hanging this in the condo yet. but it shows i am attempting creative pursuits outside of knitting so that is something no?

ok, wrapping things up now! my blogiversary is coming up soon. 4 years. wow. just like years past i'll be doing a contest around the end of the month. a project bag is likely to be part of this years prize so stay tuned.

Bag Sale On Now

project bags in the amy butler fabric are for sale now (monday the 5th) on the shop blog.