Christmas Party

My company's Christmas party was an awesome night. It was held on the first floor of the Heinz History Center in downtown Pittsburgh. It was decorated in red and gold and shimmered in candlelight. A beautiful setting among some of Pittsburgh's best memorabilia. The food was spectacular and in the middle of the buffet table was a beautiful decorated 5 foot Christmas tree.

Just like last year we had lobster tails and steak. This is where the above picture comes in. Last year Jim (above) ate quit a few tails. On Monday he was presented with a $75 invoice for eating more than one lobster tail. It was a joke a co-worker plotted and he fell for it all! So this year we had to poke fun at Jim. Donna, Shelly and me plotted a nice surprise for Jim at the party. He was presented with a few lobster mementos by our President. We all had a ton of fun and Jim was a great sport.

The Two Year Sweater

This sweater should have never taken me two years to make, but I kept ripping it out and starting over. Not only did I keep ripping it out I then would put it away to work on other projects. So it was my then called my go-to project. Finally this year I was committed to finish it. This is only my second adult sweater I made. When I saw the pattern in a book I new the yarn I had at home would be a perfect fit.

The stitches on the body are moss stitch and basket weave with a mistake rib on the sleeves. The yarn was made by Morningstar mini mill in Ohio. It is 70% alpaca and 20% merino/hemp. It is so soft and a beautiful taupe color. I'm not sure I will ever wear it since it will be so warm. I was thinking about entering it in some fiber arts competitions at alpaca shows.

Met one of my favorite bloggers

I spent my Saturday in Wooster Ohio at a seminar called Paca to Product. The keynote speaker was Susan Gibbs who happens to be one of my favorite bloggers and Twitterers. I have been following her for probably a year. I enjoy reading about her daily antics on the farm and about the quirkiness and personalities of all the animals that happen to find their way onto the farm.

Susan had the courage to leave her high paying job at CBS in New York to become a shepherdess to her flock of sheep. You can read her story on her website http://www.fiberfarm.com/. What really is special is that she can make a living doing it. I was so excited to meet Susan and to get a picture with her. The time flew by quickly listening to her stories.



These two little acorns were hand felted and offered for sale at the seminar. They were for a fund raiser for the local arboretum that lost a lot of trees during bad weather this summer. The top of the acorn is the cap of a burl oak acorn and the heart shape is a pin. Might have to try making these little guys with the tops of my acorns. You can't believe how many fall in my yard.

My New Hat Project

This is my new hat pattern for Highland Alpaca. It is 100% hand dyed alpaca from their line of yarn. I am thinking of naming it Phoebe's pill box hat.

Blue Ribbon Winner

This is Lady Guenevere my blue ribbon winner. I can't find a recent pic of her, so I guess I am a bad Mom. :-( This weekend Lady G. is on her way to another show in Maryland. I am hoping she is the first Alpaca that I sell.

New Projects

These are my two new projects I just finished. If I must say so I think they are beautiful. They are both made for Highland Alpaca and the patterns are free with the purchase of their yarn.

The knitted shawl is called Willow's Shawl and is made from their bulky dyed yarn. Take a look at the edging. That is crab stitch, which is a crochet stitch, that is done from the left to right side. It creates a twist that reminds you of a rope.


This crocheted scarf I made for myself a couple years ago and I love wearing it. The stitch looks like ladder rungs and tied to those rungs are pieces of specialty yarn. In my mind it creates this funky hip look. I always get a lot of compliments when I wear it. Since the scarf is made with 100% alpaca you can also felt is to add a different look.

Yarn Ball is Almost Here

This is Amelia, Rebecca's baby. They both are part of my knitting and crochet group. I made the Santa hat for the yarn ball. In fact there will be 4 available for a donation towards either Rwanda Knits or our local VA hospital.

The Yarn Ball will be on Saturday October 9th. Jump over to our website www.threeriverscrochet.com for more details.