Greetings from San Diego!

Saturday and Sunday we spent at the Wild Animal Park and then the San Diego Zoo. Lots and lots of animals! And walking. The weather has been perfect and Lil' Guy is having a blast!

His favorite thing to do is either point to show you everything or say hi to everything! Too cute!

I loved the panda bears and this koala bear I just wanted to take home. So cute sleeping away in the trees! I could go on and on with the animal photos, but we still have Sea World to do on Wednesday and this is a knitting blog, right? (I might sneak a few more in....we'll see!)

Lil' Guy helping Auntie out with the socks on vacation practice for Summer of Socks! Oh yes, I kept suggesting to my brother to take pics of the socks everywhere, especially crowded places. He loved that! Luckily, no one was near us when we snapped this!

And lookie! Today they are finished. We walked around Coronado Island today and these were taken at Hotel del Coronado (not our hotel, unfortunately!). Hearthead is going to love these socks!

Pair #4 for Summer of Socks '08

Pattern: Vanilla with a picot edge :)

Yarn: Zen String Serendipity Sport color Strawberry Fields.... can I just say I loved this yarn!! I think this was a Woolgirl purchase last year, but it may have been a Twisted purchase. Christy picked out the Zen String for her first socks to make in Portland so I actually knit with it the first time a few weeks ago and loved it! So glad I had a few skeins in my stash!

Date Started: July 21, 2008

Date Finished: July 27, 2008

Tomorrow Aunties are on full babysitting duty all day! Woo-hoo!!

Which pretty much means we'll be chasing after Lil' Guy! Thank goodness he's cute!

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

We interrupt vacation....

...for a FO post!

The Cowl of Kindness....this baby has been done since the day before I left for Portland, so figured I'd post it today! I'm a bit worn out from both the Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, and a 16-month-old in two days!! We're having a blast though!! I think my favorite was seeing the Panda Bears and Monkeys! Lots of Monkeys!

Are cowls really going to be the "in" thing this fall? (okay, probably not worn like this)

All I know is that this is made with the very lovely Handmaiden Casbah! I succumbed to its call at Purlescence! They have the prettiest yarns there its hard not to resist. Nartian made a pretty Cowl of Kindness in red. Yeap, we both got another skein or two of Casbah on their recent shipment :) Its nice stuff!

Pattern: Cowl of Kindness based on Chawne's Sock of Kindness

Yarn: Handmaiden Casbah

Needles: US 8

Notes: I cast on 104 stitches. I love it!

So tomorrow I think we are relaxing at the beach! Oh, and thanks all you yarn enablers for helping to support my yarn diet here in San Diego...hahahaha! Those comments cracked me up! Do you think I can resist the yarn calls for a few more days????

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Overheard on Vacation

So the family (brother, SIL, lil guy, sis, me) is in San Diego until next Wednesday! Yay!! All the girls brought knitting projects too (very rare, let's bet some money on whether Rowan aka irishdaisy3 aka lil sis will finish that scarf)! As we were driving around, Lil Guy's mom says to me....



Lil Guy's Mom: "So did you scope out yarn stores in San Diego to go to?"

Me: "Nope. I think I have enough yarn for awhile." (pause) "You haven't been reading the blog, have you?"

Rowan: "Obviously not."

Auntie Irishgirlie has the best toys in her knitting bag!



Seriously, I know I'm biased, but Lil' Guy had been up since 4:30am with just a 1-hour nap and he was cute as can be (and fast as can be!) all day!! Its going to be a fun week!!

Tomorrow we are off to the Wild Animal Park!

Happy Weekend!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Woolgirl + Neuroknitter = Too Much FUN!

A celebrity sighting??!! That's right! That's Abby of Woolgirl and Abby fame!! She is just as cute in person as she is on the blog!! And so is Woolgirl, but you'll just have to trust me on that one!

When Gail and Jen and I decided to meet at Jen's house (aka where the Woolgirl magic happens!) before we went to lunch on my trip to Portland I was a happy happy girl!!

I think most of you know that second to Tina, Jen is my other favorite dealer! Thank goodness Christy was with me in case I passed out or something from all the yarn fumes (hehehehe...I jest of course!).

To be honest, I was also a bit intimidated taking pictures with Gail around :) I LOVE her photography! And so I apologize Jen that these quick snapshots do not do the yarn room justice (plus my arms were full....hehehehehe!)

Look at all the lovelies!!

Yes, I took home some Miss Babs!

(no everyone! Those are not my bins !!!)

These were a few of the pretties that jumped in my bag! I'd seen the Posh before, but the colors were so much more vivid in person; the Yarn Love Marianne Dashwood...wow! I had never seen before and love love love!! And the Dashing Dachs sportweight colors and yardage can't be beat!! Oh, and more Miss Babs! So many indie yarns that I had never seen in person!! And I also got Snowboarder a souvenir here! He's always stealing my Lush soaps and Jen has so many cool accessories in stock (those yummy free samples!) that once I saw the Naiad soaps in person, wow! I knew he would love these!!

But the best part of the day was finally spending some quality time with Gail and Jen! Christy and I had the best time knitting, laughing and hanging out with them!! As evidenced by Gail's Yarnissima pose for her Moody Blues Monkey socks! It was hard not to steal them away from her! And if only the other picture I took with the guy in the background just staring at us didn't come out blurry!! I can't wait to see you all again in September!! I had such a great day!!

Just as I'm almost done catching up on my Portland trip (one more yummy berry recipe post coming someday!), now I'm headed to San Diego with Rowan, Boondock Saint (brother), Lil Guy's mom, and Lil Guy! Should be lots of fun!! The condo has wi-fi so I may be checking in!!

Happy Knitting!!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Bring on a FO!

Still catching up on my blog posts from my Portland trip, but I thought a FO post was needed first! I finished my Spring Forward socks Monday! Love them in a shaded solid!

Summer of Socks pair #3

Pattern: Spring Forward

Yarn: Socks that Rock, mediumweight colorway Coral

Needles: US 1.5

Date Started: July 11, 2008

Date Finished: July 21, 2008

Modifications: Slightly larger needle size due to the mediumweight yarn. Also, decreased to 60 stitches when I got down to the foot.

Still loving this pattern, but I cast on a few different socks for my family trip to San Diego (we leave Friday!!).

Happy Packing!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Stitch n Pitch '08!

San Francisco Giants 6 , Washington Nationals 3

Guess who these socks are for Christy?!

Can't go wrong with knitting, baseball, and friends! Cpurl and I finally spent some quality time together and got our seats together!! Yay!! This picture if for you Zonda!!

Imagiknit was there too! One of my favorite yarn stores! I was a bit confused when Allison said, "Do you want some Malabrigo?" Seriously, she had to tell me three times before I agreed and walked away with this pretty....

mmmmmmmmm...malabrigo!! Thanks Allison!! Oh, and details on their raffle for malabrigo SOCK yarn are here!

Had a great time tonight!!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

It wasn't just about yarn!

Deb, me, Christy

My trip to Portland was also about friends!

Hanging out with these cuties!

Playing lots of Wii and discovering the joy of boxing!

It was also about gorgeous scenery!

Okay, and a little bit of knitting! What else am I going to do at swimming lessons?!

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

First Stop...Twisted!

Wow! This week has flown by! First, thank you everyone for your wonderful comments about my February Lady Sweater! I'm very behind on responding to comments because of vacation, but I really appreciate them all! Its hard to believe that it was just a week ago that I was in Portland! After spending some time playing Wii with Christy's kiddos (oh yeah, click that link...she started a BLOG!!!), our first stop was......

Twisted!

I love this store! I know it would be my LYS if I lived in Portland! Actually, I have a feeling it just may become Christy's as she has been back already since I left! I had spent some time there on my last visit and Shannon remembered me and was super helpful!! And just plain fun!

The last visit they didn't carry STR though! Now they do!! I tried to resist a little bit, knowing what was in store for me later on the trip. That Mossay in my hands (I think!) may have come home with me though :)

The wall of sock yarn!!!

And it was while looking at this sock (the pretty stripey zen string one above) that Christy asked the question that made this sock knitter dance! "Do you think you could teach me how to knit socks before you leave?" Wooo-hooo!! No warning, no I'm thinking abouts, just....I want to knit socks! Honestly, I think it would be hard to resist being a sock knitter at Twisted! The yarns are just gorgeous!! Oh, and since I've left, Christy has also signed up for ravelry and started her blog!

There was also a sock monkey and sock camper sighting!! It was great to see you Karen!

This is the Zen String yarn that Christy picked out at Twisted. Here's where she was Sunday afternoon. She so wanted to make a picot edge too!

Here's where she was Tuesday before I left! Note the cute sock project bag already (she made it!)!! There were a couple of mornings where she hinted at me waking up early to help her (e.g., her and the kids were up way before me! and that was prime knitting time for her.....I believe I did show her the heel early one morning and then went back to bed...that's love!!).

Actually, I think love is winding a skein of STR by hand and leaving your beloved knit picks needles so that she has a second project ready to go!! A gorgeous mill end that she picked from the pile!! Three skeins she picked (that's how I know she's hooked!!!)!

A few more blog posts coming from my trip! I had such a great time!! I can't wait to show you all my pics from Woolgirl too!!

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Happy Campers!

Happy Nartian!

Happy Tapmouse!

See, I share.

Did you all see Tina launched the Blue Moon Blog today? Go check it out (contest...free yarn!!).

Happy Knitting!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits

Well.....

I guess some people get in.

Photos taken by a very dear friend. Thank you for a wonderful day!

Happy Knitting!

xoxo IrishgirlieKnits

Love thy name is February

February Twilight

I stood beside a hill

Smooth with new-laid snow,

A single star looked out

From the cold evening glow.

There was no other creature

That saw what I could see--

I stood and watched the evening star

As long as it watched me.

Sara Teasdale, poet

"An engaged woman is always more agreeable than a disengaged. She is satisfied with herself. Her cares are over, and she feels that she may exert all her powers of pleasing without suspicion. All is safe with a lady engaged; no harm can be done."

Jane Austen, author

February Rocks! (ravelry link)

Pattern: February Lady Sweater, XL size

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rocks Heavyweight colorway Ravenscroft, 4 skeins The color, the drape, oh my goodness.....

Other Materials: needles US 7, buttons from As Cute As A Button

Notes: Followed the pattern pretty much as written. Love love love. I mean, February is the month of love! Its my birth month. And sister's birth month. And dad's. And Valentine's Day. We love February. And now I have a February sweater.

And I think it Rocks!!!

Special thank you to Snowboarder who stepped in as photographer today!

Thank you all for cheering me on along the way too! And congrats to Knitting Knirvana on winning the contest! Send me your address and I'll get you some STR when I get back from Portland! And go check out her cutie patootie!!

Happy February! Oops, I mean Happy July!!

xoxo Irishgirlieknits