Knit-Knot

In August of 2014 a new yarn shop opened near me! It's called Harps & Thistles and is in Cuyahoga Falls and it's much closer than My Sister's Yarn Shop in Green, but I love them both, equally. They have different selections of yarn and a wide variety of classes. Since Harps & Thistles is super close, I spend quite a bit of time (and money) there. Brandi and I have taken a team knitting class (even though we still haven't finished the project) and the owner hosted a knit along group time for the Downton Abbey mystery knit along! So much fun!

She does this really cool thing on the first Friday of the month and keeps the store open until 10pm and we can all snack and knit and have a nice time in our community - here I am working on my Downton Abbey shawl in March.

I have been knitting a lot lately and nabbed two things off my to-do list recently. I'm in an Outlander themed swap and a Game of Thrones themed swap. I made cowls for both my partners.

Winterfell Cowl by Fancy Tiger Crafts (on Ravelry)

Outlander Pattern for Claire Cowl by Shelli Westcott
(This is actually the pattern for the cowl that Claire wears in the show!)

One of my best friends went to New Zealand for a month and brought back so much delicious yarn for me! She found yarn that is a merino wool and possum fur blend! How cool is that?? I can't wait to get some projects with these yarns on the needles so I can see how it knits up!

Also pictured All Blacks salt and pepper shakers and a sheep shot glass - this girl gets me. :)

I've made friends with a few of the ladies who frequent the shop (including the lady who teaches a lot of classes including the team knitting one) and they invited me along to the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival! I've never been to a fiber fest and it was AMAZING. I loved it! The opportunity to see so many shops and fiber makers in one spot was just incredible! I want to go to all the festivals now! Anyway, I saw a bunch of awesome yarns, bought a few, and a book. We also got to see Cindy from Harps & Thistles because she was there with Three Irish Girls Yarn!

Three Irish Girls had this awesome idea for a yarn bar - loved it!!

I found Brandi's dream yarn collection. Bright pink and sprinkles Madeline Tosh yarn. DREAMY.

This was the best burger I've had in ages. So good. Perfectly cooked, and I got this teeny tiny jar of mayonnaise!

There was a couple who had created a machine to spin fibers together and create this lovely cashmere/silk yarn! So cool!

I found this giant crochet hook - not sure how big the fiber would have to be to use it, but it's pretty cool.

It's called the OMG Hook!

This is what I snagged. The Hope yarn was my gift for attending, I got some stitch markers for Brandi (not pictured), some hot pink yarn that is from a company called Amelia & Wiggles and all the yarns are named after things Amelia (the daughter) and Wiggles (the dog) love. So cute!! I also snagged some sparkly Space Cadet yarn.

Now, about that yarn cake - how delicious is this?! I can't wait to knit this baby into a shawl and see it come to life!

Here's the book I got - Neo is gonna love it!

Well, that's all for that, I'll leave you with a picture of Neo and I snuggling while watching one of our favorite movies: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It's finally on Netflix!