The BIG 4 Retreat.....join us!

Hi everyone!  I hope you had a fabulous week!  I had a crazy week.....and lots of knitting news for you!

Well, it is almost time for camp....and Darlene and I are not going this year!

Yup.....You read right....No Camp for me or Darlene this year!  Instead, Darlene and I are doing our own "Campish type" thing.....we are calling it The Big 4 Retreat!  We are going to call it a retreat instead of camp.....doesn't everyone love a retreat more than they love camp?  Come join us for our retreat!!!! (Link back to Rav for chatting.)

You know how you cast something on and you work on it and work on it and then something else equally exciting comes along and you just have to cast on and work on that new item?  I know there are some monogamous knitters out there scratching their head because this never happens to you....this is probably not for you.

What happens with the first thing you were knitting on?  Well, for me, some of those items get neglected.....for too long......so, we are each picking 4 WIPS that we really want to get done but somehow got put on the back burner and never made it back in the front of the line!!

Here is how our virtual retreat will go down.......We have 4 months to finish these 4 WIPS....we started yesterday (May 1) and we end when camp would normally end, August 31st.  We can work on anything else we have at the same time, but we CANNOT cast on anything new.....at all....till September (only exception are socks since I am doing the DVD and Bags By Awesomegrannie sock of the month, and that is a big goal of mine this year).

I figure if we can always get 3 awesome new things knit for Camp in past years....we can start a month early, add one more project and FINISH 4 awesome WIPS that we really do love but maybe have not given love lately!

Here is the view at The Big 4 Retreat!

Here are my BIG 4 From Left To Right:

Smooth Move, Spire, Agleam, Pure Joy...so the first 2 are from 2014...the second 2 are more recent....but I should still have 4 awesome finished things when done!

So, Smooth move is about 43% done, Spire is about 23% done with Spire, Agleam "was" about 17% done and Pure Joy is about 4% done.

I worked on Agleam this past weekend and now it is about 37% done....not bad to do 20% just in the weekend.

Here is my progress:

I worked on Pure Joy over the week...so it is a touch bigger than the last time I posted...but here it at only 4%

I did a couple of rows on Spire just to switch the needles it was on....so here is a picture of it semi stretched out.....

I have not done anything with Smooth Move yet...so I really do not have a close up of it.

So, what do you guys think about mine and Darlene's "The Big 4 Retreat"?  Feel free to join us....I even started a thread in the Bags By Awesomegrannie forum in case you want to post pictures and chat with us.

I look forward to giving you updates on The Big 4 Retreat in the months to come :)

Also, to get ready for "The Big 4 Retreat", I did a bunch of Frogging.....I frogged 6 projects:

Fruit Gum Stripes - I will make this pattern some day with self striping yarn

Welty - Maybe some time in the future, but I was not 'feeling it'

Cercis - I just realize that 1 skein shawls are not large enough for me, and this yarn is too good to go to waste.

Boxy - this yarn will be better for a Girasole...the stitch definition this yarn shows is wasted on a plain stockinette pattern.

Thousand Tulips

KOM Mystery KAL

So, aren't you proud of me for frogging 7 projects in less than 2 weeks (remember, I frogged The Doodler last week)?  But please do not ask how many projects I still have on the needles....I am working on lowering the number :)

I do have a couple of stash enhancements....but not yarn.....I heard on a podcast that Wolfe Farms was closing and wanted to try their lotion...so I got some lotion, a candle, soap and a cable needle....I love the lotion....Paige already snagged the bottle of Cucumber Melon and I have the Honeysuckle for myself...I am really sad that this place is closing because their products are very nice!

Then......Darlene really wanted to make a memories blanket...the mitered square kind.....so I pulled out almost all of my left over sock yarn:

I got a bag of yarn together for Darlene (there was actually more when I gave it to her...I forgot to snap an updated pic):

This is yarn from the very first pair of socks I ever knit, so it will be my first square...

I did a first square....

Then decided to do some different stitch counts and needle sizes:

We are going to do a 50 stitch count square on size US 4 (3.5 mm)....This will be a forever project so, expect it to just pop up here and there :)

I also cast on for my May socks of the month:  and I got a new medium sized bag for them....thank you SOOOOO much Darlene!

The last thing I started (I think) is a Nuvem is this gorgeous pink color.....I love it!  It is for just plain old mindless knitting (and of course I had to cast it on before The Big 4 Retreat!

Okay.....now for things I finished......I finished the test knit for Susanna IC.....the pattern is called Evenfall!

I also finished my April Socks :)

Whew.....I feel like this may be one of my longest posts....so, I am going to wrap this up.

I went to Jaime's and he cooked me a fantastic steak (I have not had steak in long time).

And I got to hang out with his dog, Brandy...she is the softest thing ever.....

On Friday, I picked up Antonio from Daycare and took him to his Grandma Debbie's house....He usually does not go to daycare on Friday's but it was picture day.  Now, remember that Antonio used to live with 3 barber's and of course still lives with his mother who is a barber, so to him, it is all about the haircut and hairstyle....he knew he looked good Friday....he told Paige, "Mom, I look good don't I....My hair looks good!"

Now, if those last 2 pics did not put a smile on your face....NOTHING will.  Have a great week!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!!!!

Happy Easter!

Did everyone have a fantastic Easter and/or Easter Weekend?  I did.  I had Friday off and watched Antonio....we had a good time.  I got lots of knitting done, but first I am going to start with a few things that came in the mail last week right after I did a blog update.

I won some prizes from the Down Cellar Studios PigSkin Party....I was so excited to hear that I won.  I won 2 bags from Suburban Stitcher.  One bag is HUGE!  The other is sock drawstring size.  I love them both and love the "Sporty" fabric!

I also won a dishcloth booklet and some stitch markers from a dishcloth a month group I am a member of:

I also got another skein of DVD yarn....Most of the time when I buy yarn, it is for the colors...but this time, it was because of the name.  Chicka Boom...this is from the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom....I used to read it to my kids all the time and now they read it to their kids.  I love this book and this yarn!

Lastly for stash enhancements, I got the rest of my "Rope" yarn from Poland:

I have put this project in my New Big Huge Bag!

I finished the last Mug Hug for my Aunt and Uncle:

I worked a little on my Miss Babs "Bump In The Road" project...the pattern is called Cercis:

I finished my March Socks...Yeah!  We went to Hot Rod Night this past Saturday evening and I finished them there.

I have my yarn ready for my April socks.....I was going to try to use the new sock sack that I just won...but I think this yarn looks much better with the Bags By Awesomegrannie bag....what do you think?

I worked a little on my 3 color cashmere shawl...I have 8 of the 10 stripes of each color done.  I am almost to the third color!

Lastly, I worked on my Citadel....the sleeves were getting really tight on my 16" cable so I went to magic loop, but I always wanted to try these 12" needles....so I just got a 12" needle in size 7 (today) and I will see how it works on the sleeves tonight....I will let you know next week :)  I already started to pick up stitches for the collar (since I was holding off on the sleeves till this needle came in)....and while picking up stitches, I found a mistake in my Citadel....it is so far back, it is not getting fixed....it will just have to be a design element, and the part that makes it unique!  I am a little bummed about it, but oh well, it is what it is and I think the collar will be able to hide most of it....anyway, here is my progress and new needle.

Now....for a new project....Yes, I am crazy, but I think we all know that.  You know I have finished one Hyper Nova aka Hyper Crazy....and I have frogged one too....well, I want to make another one and I have Darlene, Marla, Barbara and Evelyn all joining me...maybe even Carol from SNB will join in.   I will use stash yarn called Masquerade...it is Miss Babs Katahdin.  Darlene got me this yarn for my birthday in 2014.  Now, Darlene sold her Masquerade yarn to Marla, so she had to buy new yarn (I think that might have been her plan...LOL!) and she got the most awesome color called Wolves Den...I am in LOVE with it...it screams "Carrie".  Here is my yarn and her yarn...I think we are starting this coming Friday....April Fools Day :)

My Masquerade:

Darlene's Wolves Den:

Well, that is just about all I have.....I hope you all have a fabulous week....do not get fooled on April Fools Day!

Here are some fun pictures, a couple of Hot Rod Night Pictures, and of course, a couple of pics of Antonio with Cascarones!

Happy Happy Happy knitting everyone!