Happy Happy Father's Day a little early!

I feel bad when a holiday is on a Sunday and I am always posting about it after it happened.....so this time I am going to do it early......Happy Father's Day to all you fathers out there!

I did not get a lot of knitting done this past week.....on Thursday, Jaime and I headed out to the ROT Rally in Austin....and we came back on Sunday.  I did get some knitting time in, but not as much as I would have wanted to!  All I really knit on was Camp Loopy #1.  I would actually already be done with it according to the pattern, but I am making it bigger so I can use up all of my yarn!

I am also loving my new Dyakcraft Lavendar Northern Lights needles!  While we are talking about Camp Loopy.....project #2 was announced....and I picked out yarn.  I am going to make a cotton shawl....yes, a cotton shawl.  I think I am going to go with Fly Forward....but I was reading the pattern and it is almost exactly like Ardent (my camp loopy #1 project), just bigger......so, I am not 100% sure I am doing Fly Forward, but that is the current plan.....I will be using Cascade Ultra Pima Cotton in the Chartreuse colorway.....it is YUMMY!!!!!

While I was placing my order with The Loopy Ewe, they sent a notice that my Loopy Academy Prizes were ready and went ahead and shipped them with my Yarn for Camp Loopy #2.  My prize for finishing Loopy Academy was a book bag.....okay, it is really a project bag!

And then I did the extra credit project too.....now, I still have not decided if I am going to frog the project, but I did earn the extra credit.....it is a pencil tin with 10 pencils.....then, we can use the tin for knitting knick knacks!

I am so glad I participated in the Loopy Academy and I kinda cannot wait for Sophmore Year to start!

Now, I had a surprise last Monday.....In the Camp Loopy Forum on ravelry, the Rhino's and Elephants (I am a Rhino) decided to do a small swap.....my swap package came on Monday from a lady named Cher Rickat....she way over did herself, but I love every bit of it!

As I opened, I spied an elephant, rhino and lion looking at me….

Inside this amazing project bag, were individually wrapped items…..my jaw dropped in amazement!

There was another project bag inside with knitting material and longhorn material…..I am completely in love with this bag and just might sleep with it! My two favorite things (excluding people) are the Longhorns and knitting…..Cher must have read my mind! Both of these project bags are drawstring with cute wood beads and a carrying strap….they are perfect!!!

Oh, but I did win the swap lottery and there is more….perfect animal crackers and THREE bags of coffee….yes, I love coffee! My favorite is Hazelnut….which of course Cher got me, along with Nutty Irishman flavor and Michigan Cherry! I cannot wait to try these! There was a darling rhino stuffed animal too. A beautifully smelling melon slice candle (that has already been used on my  mantle).  Last but not least, a package of chocolate covered hazelnut coffee beans! It was 93 degrees on the day I opened it and the chocolate was just a tiny bit melted, but threw them in the freezer and they are heavenly delicious!!!!

Along with a safari themed card!

Cher, I honestly cannot thank you enough! You have MADE MY MONTH! Everything is wonderful!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!

I had another surprise last week.....I won some yarn from the SKA (Sock Knitters Anonymous) group...The yarn was from Stone Barn Fibers, and I got to pick the color.  I chose the transitions yarn in the Summer Solstice colorway!

 Last on the knitting stash enhancements are some stitch markers....they are the Atlantis Stitch Markers from the Miss Babs Knitting Tour destination 2.

That is really all I have this week.....Like I said last week and earlier in this post, Jaime and I went the ROT Rally......this year was the 20th year anniversary, so we got a special pin along with our t-shirt.

I had a great time seeing some friends I have not seen since last year....from the left...Brielle, Mary and Arlisa.....

and there were lots and lots of motorcycles:

That is all I have.....Have a great week everyone!

Startitis Hits Again, but so does the frogging.......

Happy Happy Tuesday everyone!  How was your week?  Mine was good....I got some knitting in, so that is always a good week!

I did however run into some startitis and frogging.  You know my awesome Nuvem...that I started over a year ago?  Well....I think it will probably hit the frog pond.  I have not frogged it (yet) but I started a new Nuvem.  It is still with wollmeise lace garn, but it is a more true black.  The first one was with a color called Heavy Metal and the second one will be with one called Schwartz.....The reason for frogging you ask?  Well, look at the increases.....I am not sure if you remember, but I had the same problem with my Viajante (In this post) and I frogged it and went with kfb instead of backward loop.  Well, that is what I am going to try with Nuvem.  I did try make one right and make one left increases, but I think I like the kfb better.  I cannot seem to bring myself to frog, so I figure if I get this next one far enough along (maybe to the same spot) it will be easier for me to rip-it all out!  Here are pics of the soon to be frogged Nuvem and a picture of the new big honking skein of yarn on my scale...it is about 309 grams (once you subtract the weight of the lazy susan).

I finished the third and final (three times' a charm) crochet bag...but I still need to crochet the handles and flowers.

I also started a new hat.....I was looking at the Dead Or Alive fish hat (Steph from The Muststash Podcast is making 2) and I saw a bunch of nemo colored ones in the projects on ravelry....so off to order yarn and cast on....I tried to put it on Antonio and he was not having it...so my knitting may be wasted on this project.

I have also been knitting on the super secret Scarf Swap Scarf...but I cannot share those pictures, so I will share a picture of some Stash Enhancing.....there was a lady destashing some wollmeise on ravelry that I just had to have...it is WD Saami.

Did you notice how I kind of blamed the whole Dead or Alive fish hat on Steph from The Muststash Podcast?  Well, one more thing to blame on them.....they have a give away from Unic Designs.  Natalia makes these awesome project bags (Yes, I know I am a little addicted to bags....get over it!).  She donated the cutest Double Bubble project bag as a give away and I saw the bag on the podcast and just had to have one (I do hope I still win....one can never have too many bags!).  I emailed Natalia and she made me one....I LOVE IT!!!!  Isn't this the cutest material ever?  Thank you Natalia!  Natalia said I can share a 10% off coupon with you guys.  Use Discount Code LOVEUNIC for 10% off.

I have mentioned my knitting sisters in a group called "The Lonestar State Knitters" (LSSK).  Well, this is a group of exceptional women....I have become good friends with a lot of them.  One friend, Ruby, it just beyond exceptional.  She is one of the ladies that got me addicted to The Loopy Ewe (TLE) with Camp Loopy last year.  Well, TLE has these reward levels for how much you spend with them (too much for me) and I had made a comment to her about how I really wanted to make the next level so I could get the TLE coffee mug, but of course finances are always tight and it would be the most expensive coffee mug ever....so what does this awesome lady do?  She sends me one (she had 2 and one was not being used)!!!!  On top of that, she sends me 3 skeins of yarn and an awesome book!  She sent two skeins of Madeline Tosh Prairie Lace yarn in Copper Penny and Moccasin and the skein of Navy yarn that came with the mug and The Yarn Whisperer by Clara Parkes.  Ruby, I could never thank you enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had two of my grandkids this weekend....Celeste and Antonio.

I leave you with a picture of Celeste and Antonio playing...I had both of them with me this past weekend!

Happy Happy Knitting!