It's gonna be a long one...

Hello everyone,
sorry it's been so long, since my last post but time just kinda got a way from me. How can it possibly be June next week, we are seriously half way done with the year? Anyway, in this post I will talk about on the needles, off the needles, and a little bit about soon on the needles.

On the needles:
I'll start with most recently cast on. This morning around 7am I casted on a medium size Daybreak by Stephen West for Camp Loopy. The first challenge is to knit 400+ yards by a designer who is not from my country.
I am knitting it out of Dream in Color Smooshy in the Grey Tabby colorway and contrast is Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in the Fruchsia colorway. I am almost done with section one already yay.

The next project I am working on are some baby washcloths for a baby shower. I am using the pattern Baby Cloths by Kris Knits. I am using Plymouth  Jeannee in various colors. I am making 8 total 2 in each color.

The last project I can talk about is just a simple Triangle Wrap by Vickie Howell, it was published in Knit Simple magazine Spring 2012. I am using Patons Classic Wool in aran colorway, I had it in my stash. I needed something mindless to knit. Sorry my cable wasn't long enough to take a decent picture.

I have one more project but it is a secret knitting project.

On to finished Objects:
I won't post all of them, since some are simple and not very note worthy. You can always go on my Ravelry page to see them all.

First up I finished my mom's socks for mothers day, I finished them 2 weeks before mothers day. The patterns is called Berry Season by Melissa Morgan-Oakes and is in the 2-at-a-time book. I knitted them out of Cascade fixation spray in the Tiger Lily colorway. Also they qualified for the 2nd quarter loopy challenge.

Next I finished my Shalom Cardigan by Meghan McFarlane. I used Cascade Pacific Chunky, I don't know the colorway.

Then Diane from the Knitabulls Podcast is having a Knit a long (KAL) from May till June for Washcloths. I knitted the Butterfly Washcloth  out of Universal Cotton Supreme and the Doctor Who Washcloth out of Plymouth Jeannee. Also, the baby washcloths, mentioned above, will count for the KAL as well.

Another KAL i joined was for designer Rebecca Danger on her ravelry board Danger crafts. Her May KAL was for any monster and basil too. I knitted Basil the Boogie-Woogie Brontosaurus out of Plymouth Jelli Beenz.

I had one more finished object (FO) but it's a gift and I can't post it till the recipient receives it next month.

Alright last topic for today what is going to come on the needles soon:

June 1st Kirsten Kapur from through the loops is hosting a Mystery Shawl KAL. I have never participated in a mystery KAL before so I am excited about that. I will be using Universal Pace Step.

Wendy Johnson from Wendy Knits is also holding a mystery shawl KAL, which I haven't decided yet. Just have to wait and see how Camp Loopy and TTL KAL are coming along.

That is it for this week . I am planning on blogging every Sunday. So see you all next week.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

This past Friday me and my friend Pam drove 2 hours to Columbia, Maryland for the annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I got off work early to avoid traffic and to check out the local yarn store All About Yarn. The yarn store was huge, it was like my LYS times 3. Anyway, we went to Macaroni Grill for dinner and back to the hotel for our own little KAL. We happen to knit the same thing twice now. Saturday morning we got up bright and early and had breakfast at the hotel then off to the fairgrounds. This was my first yarn festival and oh my god I was overwhelmed. So much yarn, fiber, and people. 
My highlight on Saturday was I got to meet Laura and Lesley from the Knit Girllls Podcast

 and Diane from the Knitabulls Podcast.

They are such nice people and I love watching their podcasts each week.
Saturday I went a little over half way through my budget so I paced myself and started to just browse, whatever I kept on my mind I went back on Sunday and purchased it. That was a good system, because on Sunday I went back for a yarn and the second time around I didn't love as much then I did on Saturday, so I got a different one I loved even more.

Here is my yarn purchases, including buttons I collected throughout the day.
From left to right: Dream in color in the starry base in Sundown Orchid colorway (love the sparkle), tilli tomas sock in the Bad Romance colorway (love the Lady Gaga colorway name), ...into the whirled in the Manchester base in Vampires in Venice colorway (what can I say you say Vampire I have to have it), The Verdant Gryphon in the Mithril base in La Cantante colorway (I owe no lace yarn and no orange yarn, it was an orphan I had to have it), the last two I bought at All About Yarn Crystal Palace Yarn in the Saudalito base no color name.
I have patterns picked out for every yarn, except the ...into the whirled. Any suggestions what would go with it please comment.

Onto the fiber again from left to right: Some plain corriedale for practice, Three Waters Farm BFL in Santa Fe colorway, ...into the whirled Superwash Merino Combed Top in the Bird Girl colorway, ...into the whirled English Shetland Combed Top in the Abercrombie colorway, Loop Merino Corriedale Nylon Angelina in the Parrot Fish colorway.
So now I just need a spinning wheel and some practice.

This weekend I am taking a mini vacation in Nags Head, North Carolina. Next week I will blog about some finished secret knitting and current work in progresses.

Maranatha Alpaca Farm

Went to the local Alpaca Farm today for the first yearly Alpaca shearing. It was so much fun to see all the cute Alpacas. I also purchased my first roving. I signed up for their dying class and also got information on what could be wrong with the spinning wheel I borrowed from my friend. My friend let me borrow her Louet S-10 spinning wheel, but I couldn't get the yarn to wrap around the bobbin. Turns out I need to replace the drive band and tension band. If those fixes don't work they offered to have me bring the wheel over so they can take a look.
Next weekend I am going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, I am so excited.

Gift knitting, gift knitting, and yes more gift knitting

I haven't been blogging, since honestly I can't talk about my knitting. Currently I am knitting a bunch of surprises for people. I swore I would get an early start so that it's stress free and then I have the other half of the year to knit for myself. I did finish another cardigan, an easy one the Shalom, I haven't been able to take a good picture. It was a very fast knit, took me about 5 days.
I am very excited to go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in less than two weeks. I am going with my friend Pam and we will leave here Friday (I am driving so no car knitting for me) and will stay till Sunday.
Sorry about this boring post I just wanted to check in. Hopefully after the MDSW I will have some goodies to talk about.

Week 8 and 9 Delancey Cardigan KAL

I am finished!!! Yay with a couple mishaps I finally made.

Here is a close up of the buttons

And the back

It was a lot of fun to knit and I can see myself knit another one. I am glad I went down a needle size and a clothing size, it fits perfectly.

Week 7 Delancey Cardigan KAL

This week I finished the KAL goal by Tuesday, holy cow. That went really fast. Well here is a picture of the cardigan with both sleeves finished yay.

Week 6 Delancey Cardigan

I finished my first sleeve and got started on the second. At first I ended up making my sleeve too short even though I tried it on, so I ripped out the cuff, which is only 10 rows, and added 20 rows, yes it was that short.