What EXACTLY happens at a Knitting Retreat??

Well if the 1st Annual Knitting Retreat to Rockport, TX by a group from my LYS Yarntopia is any indication - alot of knitting, eating of seafood, and a lot of laughing. A group of us ate the 1st night at the Boiling Pot restaurant. Yum! Here we are in our bibs! Watch out for the rice and beans, they were MEGA-HOT! The next night we had a couple of adult beverages and decided to "GLAM" for the camera.





  I worked on a pair of socks from the fall's sock club made with hand-dyed bamboo yarn from Mama Llama.  The good news is I had a ton of fun, the bad news is I had to frog about 4 inches because of 3, not 1 not 2, but 3 mistakes.  Guess knitting and an adult beverage don't work for me!  I'm such a cheap date!
The pattern is from Fiber Trends called Peak Experience: Angel's Rest.  This yarn is so pretty on the stockinette foot that I almost wish I had just made a plain sock with it.  The pattern was fairly easy except the darn thing was designed with a yarn-over at the end of each needle.  What a pain!  The leg part is pretty tight to get over my heel so next time I might want to use the larger size of the pattern for the top and then reduce the stockinette size on the foot since that stitch count fit my somewhat narrow foot fine.  I wear an 8.5 - 9 in women's shoes and used 2 circulars size 1.  



I also took a really fun sock class from Patti at Yarntopia.  It was Toe-up Short-Row Heel with Yarnovers on Magic Loop.  This is my 1st pair that is Toe-up.  I had done short-row heels before but with the wrap method.  It was great fun, Patti is a fun and funny teacher.  I have the first sock complete. 
It is with one of last year's summer colors from On-Line which is cotton, wool, and nylon.  I think they will just get softer with every wash.  I think these are going to become a gift.  I used 56 stitches for the foot and increased to 60 for the leg because of my experience with the previous socks above.  I used 2 circulars size 1.


A lot has happened since my last post.  I had shoulder surgery.  Turns out the shoulder problems I have been having for the last 8 to 10 months were actually 2 problems.  I had a "frozen shoulder" and I also have 2 deteriorating disks in my neck (from a wreak years ago where a drunk driver hit my girlfriend and myself) that was pinching nerves and causing my left arm and hand to go numb.  Not fun!  I thought I might have torn my rotator cuff but fortunately not.  However, it was painful enough as it was.  The surgery wasn't bad though.  They did MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) so while I was out they wrench my shoulder and arm around until the adhesive capsules inside the joint break loose and pop and make noises.  I told him if they tried to do that while I was awake, I would definitely makes some noises!  They also gave me a dose of cortisone deep into the joint while I was still asleep.  I got back 90% mobility.  It sucks to get old (er)! 

My DD Cheyenne is graduating with an Associate's Degree in Business in a few weeks from Rogers State University.  We are so proud of her.  She has been going to school, working, and got married almost 2 years ago as well.  My DS Asa is doing great, he is finishing his freshman year at OSU in Stillwater and is pledging to the FIJI fraternity.  He has been doing a lot of community service and other projects with them so that keeps him out of trouble.  Cheyenne is transferring to OSU-Tulsa in the fall.  I am so thrilled that both of them will graduate from my alma mater.  Too Cool! 


I mentioned in my last post that I was having a contest for the anniversary of my blog.  Since I only had 2 "yarnies" who didn't disqualify themselves, I decided to have 2 winners.  Below are the 2 prize packages that go to lucky winners, Carolyn and MsBlondieKnits.