Simple Knits | Simply Knitting

I decided this month that I was going to get going on the May Simple Knits Knitalong project early in the month because, even though I've been finishing on time, it's been just barely on time and I really just want to simply knit and enjoy the process and the project.

For this month's project, Reminisce by Truly Myrtle, I was torn between 2 yarns and the Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino in the Dusk colorway was the winner for this version. Psst... I say "this version" because the second yarn is still queued up since I'm hopelessly optimistic that I can knit all of the things. 

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So... when my amazing hubby gave me a day off earlier this week - in the true spirit of our knitalong - I made time that day to cast on between errands and other "day off duties" and... to be completely honest, I can barely put this lovely hat down. Seriously, it's been a "just one more round" project since I cast on. Libby's design has a wonderful flow and combining that with the deliciously luxurious Blue Sky Alpacas Suri Merino, it's destined to be a gorgeous FO in the very near future!  

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So, I'm about halfway through the body of the hat and there's no telling how much more progress will be made before the day is up. Not only am I excited to try a second yarn for Reminisce, I also have my sights set on a Truly Myrtle shawl for a shop sample. Conveniently, I already have the perfect shawl yarn wound. It's meant to be, right?! 

Are you knitting along this month? If you are, or plan to, and haven't picked up the Reminisce pattern yet, be sure to pop on over to Ravelry for Libby's special for our Knitalong'ers... 

20% OFF the Reminisce pattern through Sunday, May 17th! Just pop on over to Ravelry to purchase the pattern here and enter the coupon code 'SIMPLEKNITSKAL'.  

I'm off to do work things, you know... order yarn, knit a round on Reminisce, reply to emails, knit a round, pay bills, knit a round, plan classes, knit a round... oh, and finish building the new Firefly Fibers website. And between all of that, I've been getting a fair amount of knitting done. It's busy around here!

I can't wait to see your version of Reminisce!

Cheers!

Journey-Along | Final Giveaway

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is the end of the Journey-along, but that doesn't mean it's the end of knitting projects from Journey - for me at least. I really wanted to knit all 6 projects and that was my goal, but I came close and with Antrorse being the only project left to knit (and it will be knit). Even so... I managed to finish what I feel is a respectable number of Journey projects and I'd like to wrap things up with all Journey WIP's in FO status. That being said, today and tomorrow I'll try to get my 3rd pair of Climb's off the needles and with ~5" to go on the cuff, I'm optimistic.

But this post isn't about me... it's about the lovely knitters that have spent the last 10+ months knitting along with me. A very warm thank you for joining me in this knitting fun - it wouldn't have been the same or nearly as fun without you. For the knitters that came along on this 'journey', I will be drawing 2 names for 2 really wonderful prizes.

It's no secret that I have a huge crush on Blue Sky Alpacas - they are wonderful to work with and I love each and every one of their yarns. I've stocked Blue Sky Alpacas at Firefly Fibers since we opened and we now carry just about every yarn in the line. The first prize is their newest yarn, Extra...

One Journey-along'er will receive one skein of Extra (55% baby alpaca | 45% fine merino) and a Pretty Cheep project bag! Since the arrival of Extra last spring, there's been one Journey project that is a perfect fit for this yarn, Spate by Jane Richmond...

A Journey-along'er read my mind and knit up Spate in Extra and they are divine! I hope to knit up a pair for myself in the near future. Cross your fingers for me.

The second prize is Blue Sky Alpacas Sport Weight - this yarn is a staple and the very first Blue Sky Alpacas yarn we brought into the shop...

One Journey-along'er will receive 2 skeins of Sport Weight (100% baby alpaca) and a Pretty Cheep project bag! This yarn has made it to my needles twice for Swift by Shannon Cook...

Yes, I loved this yarn/pattern combination so much that I actually knit it twice and I'm sure it will find it's way to my needles again.

The Journey-along wraps up tomorrow and I hope everyone had as much fun as I did - don't forget to post your FO photos on Ravelry (tag with #journeyalong) and I'll get my final projects uploaded for you, too. I'll be back in the near future with a wrap-up post and to announce the two Journey-along'ers for our final giveaway. Stay tuned....

Which Journey project was your favorite? 

Herringbones and Salsa

Fall is in the air and I love it! I've been waiting for the weather to cool down so I can wear sweaters and hats and mitts and shawls... Can you hear me *squee'ing*? It's only Thursday, but I'm already planning my weekend knitting - after all, there is a car ride to the sauerkraut making event. I do have a couple projects on the needles and you might remember this one from last winter. I wound these beautiful skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes:

and I cast on for this:

It's the Big Herringbone Cowl I blogged about here. Well, it took awhile to get into a rhythm with this project and it kept getting pushed aside (for months). The yarn is lovely - like, really lovely - and it knits up quickly, but I realized late into spring that I was doing something wrong at the beginning of the round (100% operator error) and asked myself the dreaded question: can I live with this? Sadly the answer was no and it was all wound back into balls in a matter of minutes.

Since then, I've been waiting for the weather to cool so I can cast on again. Well, it is cooling off and then this month we're having a Yarn Tasting at the shop featuring Worsted Hand Dyes - this combination proved just what I needed to get my BHC back on the needles. I re-cast on over this last weekend and I'm making great progress - almost through ball #1! I can't wait to finish it up and wrap myself in the luxurious goodness of Blue Sky's yarn in this squishy stitch pattern! It is going to be great!

Along with the knitting bug, I have a zillion things that I want to cook since grilling season is over. A dear friend (Veggie Fairy Jen) delivered this to me last week:Isn't it pretty?! Whenever I'm lucky enough to receive a veggie delivery from her, it's always presented beautifully - so beautifully that I don't want to disassemble her artwork and I grin from ear-to-ear each time. Everything in this bowl screams salsa with a deep, rich flavor, so I'm going to add some of our garden tomatoes for a Roasted Garden Salsa. The recipe is super simple and the addition of apple cider vinegar intrigues me. I'll report back...

Do you have a favorite salsa recipe that you want to share?

Cheers!