A Visit and a Fair

The past week and a half has been a bit of a whirlwind for me. I got all my stuff done and entered into the fair and Mary T. entered some beautiful items as well, even won Judge's Choice for her beautiful shrug. Terry Niles, a fellow knitter, spinner, and all around fiber artiste, won Best of Class and Superintendent Choice for her amazing shawl. I got two Best of Class ribbons, one for my Kool-Aid dyed Shetland and one for my red 2-ply Romeldale. I also got Superintendent Choice for my black alpaca shrug and Best of Show for my brown and pink baby alpaca lace scarf. I also received quite a few second place ribbons along with some great comments regarding what I could do better in the future.





Not that the fair was fun enough, I had the immense pleasure of visiting with my beau, Matthew Eunice from Florida. Until September 1, he and I had only emailed each other and talked on the phone. Needless to say, I was very nervous and excited when I arrived at the airport to pick him up at 12:45 am. What does one do in an airport at that time of night? Observe!


Yes, the Starbucks at the security gates is open 24 hours! PRAISE GOD! My dad and stepmom joined me in greeting Matthew because, "The parking garage of an airport is not a safe place for a young lady at that time of night." LOL! It was perfect though. Matthew was one of the last to come through the gates and I cannot even express how relieving it was to hug him for the first time and just be in his presence! The week and a half he was here was incredibly fun! We went to the fair, went to church, had a BBQ, went hiking at People's Pond and in the Umtaneum (where we encountered a nest of rattlesnakes!), drove around Manastash and visited Craig's Hill and the Japanese Garden and Arboretum on the CWU campus, tromp around Pike Place Market in Seattle (after I took the wrong exit off I-5 and got us lost! LOL!) Here's some pictures from our week together! The best part of the week was the hugs! I couldn't get enough of them! :)

Me and Matthew at People's Pond


The Yakima River from the Canyon Road.

The train at Umtaneum.

Matthew in Seattle across from Pier 59. The Seattle Aquarium is the building behind him.

Somewhere in all that I managed to finish my Harf from SpinCycle Yarns and spin a skein of black and white alpaca. I miss my man and look forward to seeing his beautiful brown eyes again soon!

Wee Hours Creatory

So there has been a change in the name of what I hope will one day be a steady hobby business. From LaRueCraft Designs (sort of boring sounding and includes the name of my ex-husband) to Wee Hours Creatory (kree-ay-tor-ee. quite fun, yet elegant and old fashioned.) The new name came to me as I was working on some Christmas presents at 1:45 in the morning. It seems that my funnest and bestest ideas come when my brain is too tired to think reasonably. LOL!

Also, I created a hat pattern that made me smile and now can't wait for summer to turn to fall so I can wear it. I really wanted something that was cabled, yet the texture of the twists would be subtle. What I came up with was a hat that only had purl stitches in the ribbing. The cables blend into the surrounding stitches, yet pop out when worn.

NAME: Cabley Warm
YARN: Some mystery wool my step-mom gave me
NEEDLES: 8 16" circular and 8 double points

On my way to St. Vinnie's for their "Stuff It" sale (anything you can stuff in a bag, you get for three bucks! Woot!!!), I stopped at a rather large yard sale and found the bike I've been praying for sitting off to the side in the shadows. Beneath the cobwebs and dirt, the tag said, $5.00. Yes, it is now home with me, awaiting a few free moments to clean it up and get some air in the tires. I found a cute little basket for the front of the bike, but haven't yet found the dual basket for the back. Oh yeah... it's red. :) I can't wait to ride it to farmer's market and fill up the baskets with flowers and fun finds! Yeah!

Yesterday, Mary T. and I spent the day at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds receiving entries for the 2007 Fiber Arts contest. We were not prepared for how long and BORING the nine hours would be. I finished a sock and knit half a lace hat out of burnt orange merino/silk from the Dancing Ewe downtown. Mary T. finished her beautiful shrug, which will be presented on here as soon as it is blocked. The saddest part of the entire experience was that our entries were about a fourth of what they were last year. We packed everyone's spinning booty into three cases last year and barely had enough room. This year, we have only two cases, but really need only one. And not only our entries were down, but everyone's entries were down by about the same amount, knitting, sewing, scrapbooking, canning... It breaks my heart that the county fair seems to be going out of fashion. *sigh*

On a happier note, my Matthew will be here in less than a week! Yes!!! I am so excited and am frantically cleaning both inside my house and outside. Mary T. is quite excited to meet this young man as well, always saying that it seems like he's already part of the family. LOL!

ADDENDUM: I just finished a great lace skull hat yesterday and haven't had it off my head (except to sleep) since.

NAME: LaceCap

DESIGNER: Adrienne Robson, from knitty.com
YARN: Dawn, 50% New Zealand Merino, 50% Silk in Burnt
NEEDLES: Size 2 16" circulars and size 2 double points

This hat was super fun to knit and was quick also. I love the burnt orange color. It reminds me of fall, a season I am very much looking forward too!

Already August!

I cannot believe it's already August! So much is happening this month, I'm beginning to feel a tad bit overwhelmed! But first things always first. This post will have a lot of pictures, more than I usually use. Yeah!

So far this month I have gone to a wedding at the Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee, Washington. The drive there was beautiful, if hot (no ac! EEK!) and the wedding was even more beautiful! On the way home, we were able to view the stars and even see a couple of shooting stars in between games of "I Spy" and "Rock, Paper, Scissors" with the 7 year old. LOL! Here's some pics.

The barn at Swauk Creek.

The drive up Blewitt Pass.

The Barr Wedding.

Mary T. and Jubal resting for a quick cuddle

Also, this month, I've managed to finish two projects. The black shrug that I started awhile ago (there's a picture on one of these posts when I first started it).

NAME: Drop-Stitch Shrug (Interweave Knits Free Patterns website)

DESIGNER: Meema Spadola, contributing editor of Interweave Knits

YARN: Black baby alpaca that I spun 2-ply at 9 wpi

NEEDLES: Size 5 circulars. This shrug is very narrow and knit from wrist to wrist, so a 16" circular was perfect.

The other project is a pair of socks that I love so much, I've already started knitting another pair.

NAME: Breeze! (Knitty.com website)

DESIGNER: Jennifer L. Appleby

YARN: Regia Cotton Top Color in #4076

NEEDLES: Size 1 double points

I am also working on creating a business card. I like where it's at so far, but it needs some tweaking. And I think a lot of the information, such as blog address and more details about what I do, will appear on the back of the card. Anyway, here's a quick preview.

Other events this month? Well, there's the kickoff for the Kittitas County Fair and Ellensburg Rodeo. I am rigtht now working on my fair entries, trying to get all my knitted projects looking as fabulous as possible! And the biggest, most bestest thing is that Matthew will be arriving at SeaTac Airport on August 31st. I'm so excited to finally meet this amazing guy in person! Whooo HOOOO!!!!!!

And I think that's all for now... Happy spinning and knitting!

July Spin-In

Hello, one and all! Last Friday, Mary T. hosted a July Spin-In! Who came? Me, Mary, and Sherrie E. Though the count was small, we all got a lot done and had quite a joyful time as we worked on our various projects. And Sherrie was kind enough to bring some scrumptuous hot applesauce with cream. Mmmmmmm...... Below are some pics.

This is Sherrie carding out some yellow wool for needle felting.

The end result was a pile of little fluffs of yellow that reminded us of baby chicks!

This is Mary T. showing off a pair of beautiful handspun, handknit socks she recently finished.

This is a shot of Mary's buttery colored Falkland (in the foreground) and the fun red and purple Rameldale that I'm spinning (in the background).

Coming up next weekend is the "Would you like to be a pioneer?" workshop as well as Jazz in the Valley. Mary and Wendy have been asked to spin down at the pioneer workshop. I was going to go as well, but with family coming, I'll only be visiting. But I shall take pictures!

So It's 105 Degrees Out...

And I'm still knitting and spinning! LOL! Despite the heat, my thoughts are always on the winter and what I can create to keep me and the people I care about warm. This weekend I had the lovely privaledge to spin with Mary T. and Jenelle. Mary is working hard to finish some Falkland wool in a beautiful natural cream color while Jenelle was trying her hand with Firestar, Merino, and Mohair. The result is a fun and slubby boucle that I am excited to see knit up! I worked on the rest of the merino I used to create the little tea cozy. Also, I've been working at making a pattern for the tea cozy and will soon have it up here for sale. I will have more information soon. If you think you might like one, please post a comment or email me at laruecraft@yahoo.com so I can get a feel of how many to print up. :)

Other things I did this weekend was knit a pair of baby booties. I don't know who for or why, but the pattern was just too cute to let slide by without trying. So here are the specs:

NAME: T-Strap Booties

SOURCE: KnitSimple, Spring/Summer 2007 issue

YARN: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (left over yarn from the Bazaar Socks I made awhile ago)

NEEDLES: Size 6 circulars and a G/6 crochet hook

Another project I finished this weekend is a felted backpack. I started it in December or January and knitted it all up, but kept forgetting about it when I was over at Mary's. I have a front load washer, which doesn't allow the option of felting. So finally this weekend I managed to remember it and got the pieces felted and all sewn together. Take a look.

NAME: Checks & Spirals Backpack

SOURCE: Felt It! by Maggie Pace

YARN: Philosopher's Wool and Cascade 220

NEEDLES: #11 26" circulars and #11 double points for the I-Cord

I also finished a pair of socks that I started about three months ago and went to the farmer's market and got some beautful Sweet Peas, Larkspur, and Daisies to pretty up my dining room table. And I spoke with my dearest Matthew on the phone for a very long time and enjoyed every second of it! (Picture me smiling big and blushing!!!) And I played a significant amount of Doom 3. There is some satisfaction in blasting demons away. LOL! Even if only in a video game! :)

Making Do

One of the greatest things about living on a limited budget is the ability to make do with what you have or what you can get for a $1 or less. It's a farmgirl trait that, although I've never been a farmgirl and only a borderline country chic, I have been happily blessed with. This weekend, after the joy of ridding myself of years of items that have been given to me or I've splurged on only to discover that I truly had no use for them, I took a look at what I do own and what I can do to make it different. I had purchased 7 yards of green ticking (for $3.99) to make a slipcover for my couch, but since I scored a free slipcover, I no longer needed that. But what every couch does need is a host of pillows to accomodate any kind of relaxation. So, using the green ticking and an old pillow and some left over buttons from a previous project I made a pillow. Then, I realized I had yards and yards of twill tape and a drawer full of Stampin Up stuff. So here's the result. I have two other pillows that I will be making knitted covers for. I haven't decided if I will be designing the covers myself or using a pattern.

My other project this weekend involved the yarn I finished to create my tea cozy. And I also completed the tea cozy itself. I used size four double points to create the main body of the cozy and the little flower on top. The bottom I created using a size G crochet hook and portions of a very old pattern I found while I was cleaning out the garage for the yard sale.

Yard Sale Saturday!

Today Mary, me, and several others had a lovely yard sale! I made out well and found homes for several knick knacks and other items so I wouldn't have to haul them down to the local Goodwill. And I scored a slipcover for my love seat for free! It's creamy rose patterned brocade and fits my couch perfectly! Now I won't have to make a slipcover for it! YEAH! Also, I bought a nifty Starbucks Co. bag that will tote around my knitting quite nicely. And a great book by Winston Churchill regarding the Revolution. I'm anxious to start reading it!

Also, I finished the alpaca doily that I started last week. It was so fun to knit and I realized that I enjoy knitting things for my home. I spend a lot of time knitting things to wear and don't think of all the awesome things I could be knitting for my home. So now I have plans to knit some pillow covers to go on my couch as well as a few more doilies to pretty up some of my tables and such. Oh, and the pictures are of my brother, Ben, on the left and my dad's wedding on the right, though you can only see me and my brother and part of Doreen, my stepmom.