I'm a lucky duck

I got very lucky last week. Very lucky indeed. Back in December I fell in love with a beautiful pair of mittens, the Fiddlehead Mittens. These wonderful mittens were designed by Adrian over at Hello Yarn. Last Tuesday Adrian posted a very limited number of mitten kits in her shop. Well, the mittens had become very popular on Ravelry and on Flickr and in the knitting community in general. Popular is really an understatement. Adrian listed the mittens at 2pm and so many people hit the site that it crashed before she could even list the kits. I must admit....I was one of the mitten crazed knitters who kept hitting refresh. Sorry Adrian.

After about 30 minutes of not being able to get onto the site I gave up. I figured all the kits had been gobbled up, and I called it a wash. Well, being a school counselor I get to leave work around 3:30pm some days, and on that Tuesday I got home at about 4:30pm. I logged onto the Hello Yarn site to see the aftermath, and I was completed shocked to find a kit IN STOCK! I quickly added it my cart. The site crashed again right after. Overall, Adrian said she had over 114,ooo hits on her site that day. WOW! Talk about luck!

So I came home yesterday to find a wonderful package. Adrian did a great job with every aspect of this kit!! I am a huge fan of anything green, and these greens are absolutely gorgeous. They are rich and vibrant...and the color variations add so much depth. The outer mitten yarn is 70% mohair and 30% wool. The lining yarn is 100% alpaca. So so soft!! Adrian dyed all the yarn herself, and her attention to detail is evident. She does great work.

Ok enough talk...time for some yummy pictures:

I think this kit is one of my favorite yarn purchases thus far. My hubby thinks that I am absolutely nuts to order a mitten kit. I mean we do live in Florida! But I look at it like this. These mittens will be a special treat on those rare days when we actually have cold weather. We all have something extravagant or special in our wardrobe right?!?

Lobster Cadet

It sure has been a crazy week! I worked very long days, and as a result I didn't get a chance to knit at all for almost 6 days. Not even one stitch. I didn't realize how much knitting had become integrated into my daily routine. It is my de-stressing mechanism at the end of the day. My "me" time when the house is nice and quiet. So, I went to hang out at the LYS with some girlfriends on Sunday and knit myself silly. My hands are sore today, but it was so worth it.

I finished my first Project Spectrum item last weekend, but I wanted to wait to post about it until I got a suitable model. My first project is a hat knit with Colinette Cadenza in Lobster Punch. It is a great colourway...a mixture of oranges and reds. The pattern is one of the first patterns I listed as a favorite on etsy, the Hawkeye cadet hat by Alice and Grace over at Kathryn Ivy. This hat was very fun to knit. The pattern is very clear, and I love the brim. I knit the medium size, but I wish I had knit the small. It is a little too big for me, but it will make a great present for a friend. I already have another yarn picked out for the smaller version.

Here is my Lobster Cadet modeled by my new, very creepy glass friend:

The brim on this pattern is ingeniously designed. It is very stable and I love that you do not have to use a piece of plastic! It is formed by short row knitting.

Since the Colinette Cadenza is a DK weight yarn, I held it doubled throughout. It helped to marble the colors, and I am really happy with the result.


My favorite part of this hat is the top. I love how the decreases swirl! It is such a nice added touch. I am definitely going to knit a few more of these. So, friends and family look forward to these in your stockings this holiday season. :)

Project Spectrum Begins

I am so excited about the official start of Project Spectrum. I have already had a lot of fun scoping out patterns and yarn. I have done lots of online window shopping, and a few purchases for the opening element....FIRE. My favorite colors are reds, oranges and pink so the first theme is going to be a lot of fun for me. My first project will be revealed this weekend since it is almost finished.



I picked up this gorgeous Mountain Colors Bearfoot at my LYS last night. I have heard so many rave reviews about this line that I just had to have it. It is a lucsious cherry red in person, but all the pictures I took washed the color out a bit. But trust me, it is really yummy in person. I love it, and I cannot wait to knit with it. I am just searching for the right pattern.


I was honored with the You Make My Day award by Peaknits. I enjoy her blog so much, and I was so happy to see that she passed this along to me. Part of this honor is to pass it along to 10 other bloggers who bring me joy. Well, this is a hard task. I have "met" some really amazing people through this blog process, and it is very hard to pick just 10.

Hobbygasa: I absolutely adore all of her projects, no exaggeration. :) She is very creative and super sweet.

Soto Softies: Maritza's little toys always make me smile. I have yet to get my hands on one, but I swear that one Friday I will make it home in time to take advantage of her shop updates.

Little Cotton Rabbits: I am lucky enough to have two of Julie's lovely little bunnies, and they are a constant source of joy for me. I love them to death, and I really enjoy reading her blog. She is also a super nice person.

Very Pink: I look forward to Staci's antics each week. I love her babies (dogs), and I really enjoy seeing her projects.

Yarn for Brains: Adrienne and Karen give me so many ideas!

Country Girl Zine: Beck creates really beautiful sock blockers, and her blogging style is so down to earth. I really enjoy checking in to see what she is up to.

Pischi Days: If you want to ogle some lovely socks check out Pischi's site.

Kathryn Ivy: Alice and Grace are AWESOME! I am inspired by them constantly.

Nutty Irishman Knits: Jen is a really funny writer, and I look forward to her posts. I love the hats she has been working on lately.

Sockaholic: If you want to droll over some sock yarn and creative knitting head on over here.

It was really hard to pick just 10 out of the blogs I read regularly. For those I nominated, pass this award along to 10 other bloggers if you so choose. No pressure I promise.