Back home with two FOs

My husband and I are back home after spending some nice days in South Carolina.

Highlights of the trip:

Touring the only BMW manufacturing plant in North America
Strolling around downtown Greenville
Discovering a well stocked Spartanburg's farmers market
Visiting an alpaca farm--this one deserves an entire post (later!)

Since my last post, I finished two hats for the Charity Hat-Along.  I used a 54% wool / 46% polyester yarn blend from a big box craft store. I am pleased with how the yarn worked for the hats. Both hats, Barley and Cottage Cap were easy and enjoyable. Barley went faster as it involved less purling. I would knit the entire Tin Can Knits Simple collection without hesitation!

That is my weekly report. Hope you are having a blast with whatever is on your needles, hook, wheel, spindle, loom, yarn bowl, etc.

Hat-along?

There are an almost infinite number of charities to choose from. The difficulty is in deciding which ones I can possibly support. I cannot give to everything or everyone. But, if I can positively affect one person, then I'm going for it.

What Robyn Devine, of She Makes Hats, has been doing for a number of years is beyond generous and awesome. Following her on Instagram, I learned about the latest charity drive. Guess what is on my needles? I hope you guessed a hat.

The pattern and charity information can be found here. Wouldn't it be nice if they can collect more than 2000 hats by the end of June? Hope that you can knit a hat too. I promise it feels great to knit for a noble cause!

My husband and I are about to take off for an out of town "weekend date". I am looking forward to some rest, lots of knitting and great food. What are you looking forward to?

How I knit. How you knit.

How I knit
I am a slow knitter. I knit English style.

How I want to knit
I want to knit faster. I want to learn Continental style.

How you knit
Love watching knitters on the short Instagram videos tagged #howIknit and #seemeknit

If you have not checked out Instagram yet, do not wait any longer. Is fascinating how stories are told without many words. It is a great source of inspiration!

I am sweetpurls on Instagram. 

What I am knitting?
Pin Stripe Socks. Details here.

Keep your skeins close; have a great weekend!

Today is a sweet day!

Four years ago, on a day like this, my daughter was born. We welcomed her on Mother's Day. What a gift! Today, all she wants for her birthday are chocolate cupcakes. I am proud mom.

I am trying my best to live the present. To immensely love what I have and not focus too much on what I don’t. To being extremely grateful for my family, hobbies, job and health.

My hobbies, knitting and spinning, bring so much to my present. I think I am becoming a process knitter/spinner! The path is as enjoyable as the end of the road. 

I like how these skeins turned up after washing. My very first Navajo ply:

- From: Six Fingered Kitty
- Content: BFL & Silk (4 ounces)
- Color: Black, Blue, Brown

Another fractal 2-ply:

- From: Fiber Charmer
- Content: BFL & Silk (4 ounces)
- Color: Black, Blue, Brown
 
If you a mother living in the US, enjoy YOUR day. If you have a mother living in the US, please tell her how much she means to you. If none applies to you, raise your glass for no reason and celebrate another day! Have a great weekend.