Knit and Pearl, Santa Barbara Yarn Store

I just got back from a week in Oxnard,CA at my new job's corporate headquarters for training and to meet the rest of the people I will be working with.

I flew in and out of Santa Barbara. It was a beautiful hour drive up and down the coast from and to the airport.

While I was in Santa Barbara, I stopped at Knit and Pearl, a local yarn store. I bought some really soft baby alpaca yarn to knit another Bejeweled scarf.
Erin, who is from Seattle, was there knitting. She gave me some great advise on finding a place to live in Seattle. She also told me about a couple of knitting groups, her favorite being Tuesday nights at the Fiber Gallery.
I'm looking forward to seeing her again and meeting the other people in her group. Knitters are such great people. Who would have thought that of all places I would have met a fellow knitter who lives in Seattle during my trip to Santa Barbara?!?

So far I've found two knitting groups to attend in Seattle. Can't wait to get up there. But now it is crazy packing until the 4th when I leave to go up to Seattle. 10 days and counting!!!

Bejeweled Scarf

I started this scarf late last year and must have got distracted by some other project because I recently found it unfinished at the bottom of my knitting bag.

The pattern is by Lisa Shobhana Mason, author of YarnPlay, and is called Bejeweled. She wore the scarf in a picture in the book but the pattern wasn't in the book. So she made it available on her website. At the time she was trying to raise money for medical bills for her dog.
I took a sweater class from Lisa right after I learned to knit. I was in over my head having only made scarfs and hats up until then. But Lisa patiently helped me to pick out a pattern and yarn even though I was freaking out a bit by all the choices.

The sweater actually turned out pretty good if not a little big. It is a great sweater to wear around the house. And now that I'm on my way to Seattle, I'll be able to wear it more often.


Anyway, the Bejeweled scarf is an easy knit. For the green one I only increased to 24 stitches because I didn't have enough yarn to make it wider and have it long enough. The pink one has 32 stitches like in the pattern.

I'm taking the pink one on the plane with me today on my trip out to California to meet my new boss and go for some training. I'm using Baby Bee Little Britches in Breebug/#4112. I like how it has flecks of purple, yellow, and pink in it. It is a soft yarn.

The green one is from a mystery yarn from my stash so I don't know what it is. But I think it is Cascade 220. It is rougher then the Baby Bee but I think it will be okay after a couple of washes.

Pattern: Bejeweled by Lisa Shobhana Mason
Needles: Denise Size 8
Gauge: 16 sts/4 inches (green), 15 sts/4 inches (pink)

Baby Shrug For Evie

I made this shrug for Evie. I made the 9-12 months size and it ended up a little big for her. But it is August and about 95+ degrees everyday so hopefully by the time it gets cold she'll have grown into it more.

I used Vanna's Choice which felt softer in the store then when I knitted it up. I'm hoping that it will get softer with washing. The pattern called for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran but I wanted a machine washable less expensive yarn.

It wasn't a difficult knit. It is knit all in one piece so there was only a little bit of seaming.

I think if I was to knit it again I'd use a sport weight yarn instead and adjust the pattern. It ended up a little to thick then needed for a baby in Texas.

Pattern: Baby Shrug from Simply Baby by Debbie Bliss
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in Rose (#142), 2 1/2 Balls
Gauge: 18sts/4 inches
Needles: Size 7

Moving To Seattle

It has been a whirl wind last 2 weeks. I can't believe it but we are moving to Seattle. I go up next month to find a place to live and start work. Amy is going to stay in Marble Falls to get us ready to move which will probably occur mid-October.

My family live in Seattle and we had a tripped planned for next month, so the timing is perfect! And with the weather being 100 degrees lately, I'm looking forward to a little bit of relief from the heat.

I've been looking online on CraigsList for housing. I think we should be able to get a small house with 2 or 3 bedrooms. I'll need a room for my office and my yarn stash. And I'm hoping to have another bedroom as a guest bedroom. I've already had a few people say they want to come visit.

I'm really going to miss living here in Marble Falls. We just got the knitting group going but Susan will keep it going. We have other people showing up now too.

I am looking forward to all the yarn stores and knitting groups in Seattle. Seattle is where I got hooked back into crocheting. I went to the Yarn Gallery in West Seattle one day, saw all the amazing yarn and a wonderful scarf, and bought yarn to crotchet the scarf. But I ran out of yarn before I finished the scarf so I ended up going to Hill Country Weavers in Austin to get more and ended up taking a knitting class there.

There was a yarn crawl earlier this year in Seattle, so there is a map of all the shops that participated in the Seattle area. I've got a lot of places to check out. If you live in the Seattle area, please leave a comment on your favorite shop. And if you go to a knitting group in the West Seattle area I'd love to hear about it!

So I won't have much time to knit between now and when we get moved. But I did finish a baby shrug for Evie that I need to post about. I'll be giving it to her this weekend so I should be able to get an action shot.

Marble Falls Knitting Group

Another knitter, Susan, and I have started a knitting group in Marble Falls. It is every Saturday from 10am to noon at Java Bean on Highway 281 North.

We each work on our knitting or crochet projects, chat and drink coffee. It is a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning.

Map to Java Bean

I really enjoyed going to knitting groups in Austin when I lived and worked there. But I've been working in Marble Falls for the last 6 months and haven't been able to get to them.

There is a yarn store in Burnet called the Artisan (map). But their knitting groups meet during the day during the week so that doesn't work out for me.

So if you are in the Marble Falls, Texas area and want to come knit with us. Please do! Leave a comment if you'd like more information.