Denver and some real live finished objects!

Denver was a blast.  Thank you so much, Erin, for hosting us.  I REALLY like Denver-great shopping, beautiful homes, crazy giant animal sculptures on every corner...  Very cool city.  We mostly shopped.  3 knitters together for a weekend and what do we do?  Shopped our brains out.  We didn't enter ONE yarn store!  Also, we ate.  A lot.  I really wish I had gotten at least one picture of the insane giant animal sculptures that were literally everywhere.  I did, however, get a picture of an insane giant milk can...

Cutest ice cream shop in the universe.  This is in line with Denver's apparent fascination with all things giant.  Very cute.  

One of the very most fun things we did was to have tea at the Brown Palace.  It is this amazingly swanky hotel in downtown Denver and the tea was fabbity fab.  I feel that we were a bit underdressed for the swankiness.  I, however, forgot to pack 2 entire outfits (yes, it was only a 3 day trip) so what can you do?  Here we are enjoying the delights of tea at the Brown Palace.  Great idea, Erin.  Well done you! 

We did do a teensy bit of knitting whilst enjoying some stellar TV, made for TV movies and actual movies.  Let me just say that SNL with Michael Phelps was one of the funnier SNL's we've seen in a long time.  "I said we!".  Also, "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" (Lifetime original movie) needed someone to take a serious look at the person in charge of makeup and hair before putting said person in charge of makeup and hair.  Actually, no hair was done.  Wigs were worn by the entire cast.  Really awful, fluffed-out-six-inches-away-from-the-head wigs.  Insane.  And last, "Baby Mama" is hilarious.  Yes, quality television.  However, it did afford us time to knit.  Here is proof.  That is our Kara just knittin' away.  

I, for one, did a bit of sock knitting.  I'm almost done with the second sock.  These have been unbelievably boring but just take a look at the perfection of my kitchner stitched toe ;)

Here's the rest of it...

Why, you ask, did I not model it on my own foot?  Well, the truth is that it didn't fit my giant foot (I think, in keeping with the "giant" theme in Denver, they should do a sculpture of my feet!).  These will be a wicked awesome gift for a friend with daintier feet.  I really like the crazy yarn on these.  

Pattern: Sock Recipe by the Yarn Harlot

Yarn: Spunky Eclectic Super Nova (color: Boogie Days)

Needles: Size US #3 dpns

Mods: Lengthened them a bit in the foot.  Obviously not enough!

Md for: some lucky sucker

Also, I did another pair of fingerless mitts (these were by request!).  The yarn I used on the mitts is Sheep Shop Sheep 3 which is an wool/silk blend.  I am completely in LOVE with this yarn.  It may be the softest yarn I have ever used.  Get thee some!

Pattern: Mine (I guess)

Yarn: Sheep Shop Sheep 3 (70% wool, 30% silk)

Needles: size US #7 and #8 (smaller for ribbing)

Mods: Did more ribbing than I usually do on these

Md for: Sister (don't worry, she doesn't read this blog.  unsupportive  ;))

I'm also making her a scarf from this same yarn because I am so in love with it.  I'm still working on my clapotis but I'm a bit stuck because I put it down for so long.  Oops.  Kara, I'll be needing your help.  So, when that's done, I'll show it off.  

So, I've been out of the blogging loop for a bit longer than I've meant to but I have been knitting and I actually picked up a few books recently (I was beginning to think I was illiterate because I hadn't wanted to read in so long!).  I highly recommend "Innocent Traitor" which tells the story of Lady Jane Gray.  Also, I just started "The Six Wives of Henry VIII".  Both books are by Alison Weir and are amazingly interesting.  

Thanks again, Erin, for the Denver fun!  We all had a blast, didn't we?!

  

CHOCOLATE!

Last month Steve took me on the worlds best date.  Our anniversary is August 4, we've been married 8 years and we celebrated in style.  Steve is the self proclaimed "Captain Surpriso" because he likes to come up with amazing surprises for people.  Also, he's really good at keeping secrets.  

Here's what we did.  First, we went to a great day spa and got massages.  Really great hour long full body massages.  It was so wonderful.  Then we went to our fave restaurant Cucina Toscana.  Oh this restaurant!  This was enough for me.  A massage and then my favorite food.  But then came Steve's crowning achievement for the night-we went to a chocolate tasting class.  

(the one's on the right are the delights of the amazing Chris Blue)

A local Italian market (Caputo's) does a beginner and then an advanced chocolate tasting class.  We were seated at tables with bowls of bread and room temperature water (cleansing the palate, you know).  Then we were taught about the beans used for bad and good chocolate, where they're grown, how they're processed, yada yada yada.  Then we sampled chocolates from worst to best.  The worst being Hershey's (ya think!) and the best being from a chocolate maker called Amadei.  They're an Italian company who is taking over the chocolate world from the French.  The second best is a maker called Amano and guess where they're from?  That's right-Provo, Utah.  What!?  Who would have thought?  Also, we learned about the best maker of filled chocolates, Chris Blue.  Guess where he's from.  You guessed it, Orem, Utah.  

So, last night was the advanced class.  It was so fun.  We tasted all the best chocolate ever invented and Art Pollard (owner, inventor, whatever, of Amano) and Chris Blue were there.  It was fantastic.  

Chris Blue was the head chocolatier for Charlie Trotter's and is in negotiations to be the next chocolatier for French Laundry in California.  These are two of the best restaurants in the country.  His chocolates are amazing.  

As for Amano... If you can believe this, there is actually such a thing called the Academy of Chocolate in London.  They are the officials of the chocolate world.  If you win an award from the Academy of Chocolate, you officially have the best chocolate in the world.  They give gold, silver and bronze medals to chocolates.  It's like the chocolate Olympics.  While Amadei is sort of the gold standard now, Amano (our little Utah operation) won bronze the first year they entered and are expected to do better in coming years!  YAY UTAH!  

So, being the nerd that I am, I had to get pictures with my chocolate hero's.  I was the only one to do this.  Like I said, nerd.  

This is Art Pollard, the genius chocolate man.  He was so nice and unassuming.  He is a former Physics guy from BYU so he said he puts his scientific brain to work in chocolate making.  His website is amanochocolate.com

This is Chris Blue.  Are you noticing anything in these pictures?  Yes, I am a giant.  Oh well, freakishly tall is good, right?  Chris Blue was also very nice and I'm so psyched that he didn't make too much fun of me when I asked for a picture (the Caputo's did, however).  His site is chocolatierblue.com

Thank you, Steve, for such an amazing time and for being Captain Surpriso.  You are the best!  I love you so stinkin' much.    

Keep your eyes out for chocolate bars by Amano and for filled chocolates by Chocolatier Blue.  They, along with most of the Amadei bars, are amazing.  You should be able to find them (maybe not Blue, he's pretty snidey about where he'll sell them as of yet) in any gourmet market.  GET LOOKIN'!  

I hope I have inspired the chocolate monster in all of you (or at least haven't bored you to sobs).  I promise knitting in my next post because I'm going on a trip dedicated solely to knitting and eating.  Denver, here we come!  Are we excited Erin and Kara?

Um. Some updates, I guess

Yes, I know I've become tiresome with these stinkin' fingerless mitts!

So I understand that I have a problem with fingerless gloves.  Really uninteresting fingerless gloves.  These are especially uninteresting and quite sloppy.  I just wanted to try out this yarn on something simple.  I DO NOT love this yarn.  It's a single ply and snags on everything.

Pattern: Wrist warmers from LMKG

Yarn: Nashua Creative Focus worsted (it's got alpaca but you wouldn't know it-it feels like steel wool)

Made for:Some unfortunate person I gift them to ;)

Mods:  none

  I must defend myself, however, by saying that fingerless mitts are useful AND a really quick knit whilst slogging away at things like the clapotis.  Also, I'm working on some socks that are wicked cute.  Very basic pattern but the yarn is great.  I'm using the Yarn Harlot's sock recipe (is this woman a genius or what?)

Here it is.  I've put it down for a bit because it is boring me to SOBS but I'm really loving the way this yarn looks.  Ingenious pattern.  I tried to pick it up today but I've lost my place and I'm too lazy to figure it out right now. 

As you all know, football season has started.  Even after my "camp" I still hate it.  Steve and Will love it.  It's very exciting for them to go to the games.  Here's a pic I took as they were leaving for the first game of the season.  Go Cougars :|

Will had just woken up from his nap and wasn't so excited at this particular moment.  

While Steve and Will are away, Lizzy will play...

Actually this was done while I was gone somewhere.  She loves to "coloo" and not on paper!  I finally got her an Aquadoodle so she can't damage anything else.  Have I mentioned that she is a monster baby? 

Other than half-knits, I have nothing exciting to write about. This will change in my next post as I will be going to Denver with one of my best girls to visit one of my best girls! I'm vv excited about this trip. No kids and I'm thinking it will be a knitting frenzy!