Happy Leap Day!

This year is a Leap Year and today is Leap Day!  So, Happy Leap Day!

I had a crazy busy week.  It was my Birthday last week and I got lots of goodies and had a fantastic week!

Darlene posted the greatest picture on my FB page:

Google even knew it was my special day:

My friend Suzi got me my favorite shortbread cookies form Panera (my friend Amy got me a scone and cinnamon roll for breakfast, but I ate them before I could snap a picture):

Yvette sent me well wishes with pictures of my Celesete and Cataleya at the rodeo!

Jaime got me beautiful orange roses and a bottle of wine!

Darlene got me a fancy nostepinne!  She even had my name engraved on it.  I wound one skein of the yarn for my Citadel on it.  It is sooooo cute!  It is not as easy as it seems...but it was fun!

My parents gave me a Spätzle maker.  For Mother's Day last year, my sister brought one of these makers to my mom's house and we made Spätzle with it.  It was delicious....Now I cannot wait to make it whenever I want just for me :)

They also gave me a Packet to help me make the mushroom Cream sauce to go with the Spätzle and some Schnitzel.

My parent's asked me what I wanted for my "Birthday Dinner" and I told them I wanted steak. Not just any steak, but a steak my parents call "Jerry Golden Steak".  The steak is usually a flank steak but what makes it "Jerry Golden" is a certain sauce a friend of theirs (named Jerry Golden) made.  The sauce has Butter, Worcestershire Sauce, and some Seasoning all mixed up (yea, all low fat stuff...LOL)!  My dad also got a Kobe Steak Cut and some lobster tails.....it was delicious....here is what was left (right before I finished it off)!

Then...Jaime took me to Fredericksburg, TX for just a one night stay....there is a German restaurant there that serves Spätzle and we had made these plans before I knew I would be getting a Spätzle maker from my parents as a present....so here is my meal at Ausländer:

We walked the streets of Fredericksburg and got some homemade fudge and I got Antonio a long candy necklace (Long story why I only got him one...but I watched him on Friday evening and Saturday and I took him to my parents for the rest of Saturday and told him I would bring him something back and I was supposed to watch him on Sunday, but Bizzle ended up watching him), and I got myself a Pumpkin Spice Candle...this candle smells very cinnamon-y and I love it...I have already burnt it in my house and I love the smell!  It will last 120-140 hours :)

I also stopped at a fabric shop that had some yarn....but not really yarn I was looking for....I did see this absolutely adorable fabric....but I did not buy any and now I kind of wish I would...but I would have to ask Darlene to sew a bag for me and she does enough for me already so it is good that I did not buy any :)

Oh, and on the way to Fredericksburg....Jaime stopped in Comfort so I could go to The Tinsmith's Wife....I was good, I only got some colorful stitch markers.

Oh, and last but not least....Precious got to go to the groomers for pampering on my Birthday (but she does not consider it pampering).....Yes, I swear this is the same dog...one pic taken in the morning and one in the afternoon...I feel so terrible for taking so long to take her!

Now, I bet you are wondering if I got to knit at all (since this is a knitting blog)...Well, I did!

I worked a little on my Citadel...When I watched Antonio over the weekend,  he saw me try it on and of course he said "I wanna try!" so I put it on him too!  He loved it...LOL!

I finished my February Socks....just in the knit of time (pun intended).  This is my first pair of socks where I did a true afterthought heel and cut my knitting...

Tomorrow I get to start my March socks and I have my yarn ready:

The only other thing I worked on is new....yup, we all know I have nothing else to knit on....so Darlene really wants to make the 3 Color Cashmere Shawl by Joji Locatelli...so I stash dove....I am going to use some yarn that was part of a club kit last year along with some Wollmeise in Blend in Black that I had...I want to call it "What's Black and White and Pink All Over"...LOL!

Here is my start:

I have been doing really well with my Continental knitting....the above shawl is almost all continental.  The beginning tab start was done throwing, and I find myself throwing on accident sometimes, but over 90% of it is all continental....Yeah Me!

I leave you with a couple of pics....one is a gorgeous wreath my sister got me from a church auction and one is my mom's orchid.  On the LSSK thread, some of the ladies are always showing their gorgeous orchids...when I went my mom's house, hers was in bloom and so pretty, I had to take a picture.

Have great week everyone....I hope you get lots of knitting

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!

3rd Annual San Antonio Fiber Retreat 2016

Hello everyone!  I hope you had a fabulous weekend.  I have so much to share with you today.  This bast weekend was the 3rd Annual SAFR event out at the gorgeous Paradise Canyon facilities.

Before the retreat, Darlene gave me my birthday present early (she said there is still something on the way)......but my favorite gifts from her are always her awesome bags...and boy were these awesome.  They have sheep knitting with either green or orange yarn (mine and Darlene's favorite colors) and on the 2nd pattern, the sheep are knitting clothes for all the  Barnyard animals....How cute is that?  Thank you Darlene, You are the best Best Friend ever!

I also got a mail package from Desert Vista Dyeworks.....I ordered The Westing Game colorway and two mini skeins of black and one mini skein of orange (for some future contrasting heels and maybe toes).

One other thing I did before the retreat was to gauge swatch for a new cardigan I am going to knit for me (No, I apparently do not have enough things on the needles).  The cardigan is called Naima, and I bought Darlene some Wollmeise Blend Yarn in Green and I got myself the same yarn in Tandoori Masala (my favorite orange).....so we are making the cardigan together.

Now at the retreat I got to see some great friends.  There was a goodie bag that Mickie made (one for everyone...Thank you Mickie!) and inside was some sample yarn. stitch markers, and a scented satchel.

And, I bought a skein of MicMar Exploding Gradient from Mickie too!  The Colorway is Tequilla Sunrise....I have no clue what I should make with it!  You got any suggestions?

A while back, I was contacted by a member of one of my local SNB groups....she had some things to give away...I told her I would love some of them to use as prizes and she said she could bring them to the Retreat......she gave me an awesome Jordana Paige Bag, and 3 very nice knitting related books.  The bag has a little snafu on the zipper, but I think I can fix it.  Thank you Akaemi!

What did I knit on at the retreat?  Well, I knit on a few things.....I worked on my Citadel a little (sometimes it was too much thinking).....

I worked on my Weigh it Shawl a little (no thinking).....

I pulled my Sandbank out of hibernation since I also think it has minimal thinking....I know it does not look like I did much, but I did like 5 or 6 very long rows!

And lastly I worked on that new cardigan I told you I swatched for (above).  I am liking the way it looks so far.  Oh, and see that cute yarn holder on the left....that is a medium Owl from Diana Couture...her shop is closed right now for Stitches West, but it is a very awesome yarn holder....she needs to make a bigger one for like Wollmeise Lace or Miss Babs Katahdin skeins....LOL!

My last bit of news is that I am really trying very hard to only knit continental (Yes, I know I have said that before) but I always struggled with the purl stitch.  Well, a friend at the retreat (Melissa H...who we renamed to GENIUS) showed me and Darlene how to Norwegian purl....pure genius I tell you.  So all day Saturday and Sunday were spent Continental knitting....it is slower for now....but I hope to pick up speed soon.  I went to Jaime's for a little last night and even did the 'Continental Thang' while knitting on my socks....that is one of his dogs, Brandy, supervising....LOL!

Well, that is about all I have....here are the pics I took at the retreat (some are stolen from other people that took pictures at the retreat)....we all had a great time!

Happy Happy Happy Knitting!