Gourmet Yarn Company

{click the link to visit their website}

Several months ago DS and DIL {Dear Son and Daughter-in-law} moved into Oklahoma City. Naturally I wanted to check out the yarn stores in OKC.  Somehow I only made it to one.  I have so much fun at Gourmet Yarn Company that I just keep going back every chance I can when I am in The City.  

Every time I have started to take pictures outside the sun has been shining brightly, so getting pictures without too much glare was the best I could hope for.  I apologize for cutting off the hours, but if you are in the area, they are also open 10 to 5 on Saturdays and 12 to 5 on Sundays.  

When you walk in the door, your eyes are greeted with eye candy every which way you look!

My pictures do not do it justice.  There are only a few shots here because I was too busy having fun to take pictures of all of the store.  

Recently they mentioned they had some Mrs. Wilson in.  I was intrigued.  LOL!

Here is a close up of one Feza Oriental Alp, aka Mrs. Wilson {my apologies that the close up is blurry}:

Have you figured it out?  Here is one of the movie trailers from Cast Away where Tom Hanks is on a deserted island for a number of years:

For those of you who might still be wondering who Wilson is, here is someone's fun compilation of scenes from the movie with Tom Hanks and the infamous Wilson.

No, he is not in love with Wilson, but I guess when there is no one else to talk to while being cast away, a Wilson ball works nicely!

For more fun reading, click here for Gourmet Yarn Company's Blog and find out what keeps everyone coming back for more GYC!

Carpe Knitting,

KZ

Oh Clapotis,

Oh Clapotis,
I wonder what yarn you'll be
{Sung to the tune of "Oh Christmas Tree" }

A friend is having a Clapotis Tea in a couple of months. In order to attend you must have knit a Clapotis shawl or scarf from the popular pattern designed by Kate Gilbert and voted Design of the Year in 2005 by


I have decided to knit the scarf instead of the shawl. I found a beautiful colorway in Karaoke called Mermaid and I just knew I was all set.

I wound one of the skeins into a yarn cake and set out to cast on. When working the setup rows, I was tired and my mind could see the purl in front and back, but my hands were just not cooperating. I wanted to see someone do this, so after surfing around, I discovered the following video {special thanks to Gingerly4it}:

I cast on and began my first couple of rows, only to discover that my Karaoke was breaking on me. My hands were so warm, it was felting as I worked the Purl 1 in the front and in the back. So back to the drawing board I go.

Part of the beauty of

is you can check to see what yarn others are knitting or have knit a particular pattern in. As of today, 160 people have listed having a Clapotis as a WIP {Work in Progress}. That number is possibly low as there are probably many like me who have not noted this as a WIP since we are just casting on. This next number will probably surprise you if you have not surfed around Ravelry much: 3581 Clapotises have been logged. Ravelry has also detected 510 members' blog posts that mention Clapotis. This number should go up by one once I publish this post and their software has time to pick up on the theme of this post.

I have been looking at the yarn chosen by others on Ravelry and have emailed a few to inquire about their honest opinions of the yarn they used. Their replies have been so helpful! Soon I will make a yarn decision as time will be flying by if I am not careful. If you have suggestions, feel free to leave me comments.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

P. S. You can also visit Kate Gilbert's blog:

It's a Fig, Newton!

My week in Mississippi is flying by way too fast! My parents were expecting me on Monday; however, Saturday {08.11.2007} was my Mom's birthday. Knitted Zebra's Brother, Sister and I planned a surprise for Mom and Dad. They told Mom they would take them out to eat for Mom's birthday and Mom & Dad's Wedding Anniversary. After most were gathered inside the house on Saturday, I walked in and said "Happy Birthday!" Mom said she thought she was dreaming when she looked up and saw me there. She had been trying to figure out a time when all of us could be together through the week. I live 525 miles away, so it is an all day journey to "pop in."

We are enjoying laughter, great times together and wonderful food. Some of the best food comes from the fruits of my Dad's labor. He loves to work in his garden now that he is retired. I am early for the figs and muscadines, but wanted to show you what I will be missing. Above is one of the figs. Below is a shot of one of Dad's fig plants. I am sure his figs will be so tasty!

One of my all-time favorite Southern foods ~ muscadines ~ is shown below. Muscadine Jelly and Muscadine Juice fall right in line with delicious muscadines right off the vine! I did get to taste a couple of muscadines. One was ripe, but the other was evidence that I was too early for the harvest.


I have really looked forward to some of Dad's delectable green tomatoes fried up and served hot. Yum! Green fried tomatoes are so good!


Another Southern tradition, besides Mom's outstanding cooking, is a bowl of Boiled Green Peanuts. Sometimes it is hard to find them fresh, but believe it or not Peanut Patch Green Boiled Peanuts are the next best thing. {I did not believe Mom until I tried them.}


Yes, I call them Boiled Green Peanuts and they call them Green Boiled Peanuts. To me they are green peanuts that are boiled, to Peanut Patch they are Boiled Peanuts that are green. Somehow though I am not going to let semantics stand in the way of enjoying them. {Rest assured, no peanuts were wasted in the making of this photo!}

While speaking of the South, I have to mention Elvis, especially in relation to tomorrow {anniversary of his death}. While growing up I lived across the street from Elvis' birthplace for five years. {Click on birthplace to go to a link that shows pictures of his home.} At that time the birthplace served as a "rent house" and was owned by a local lady. This type house is known as a "shotgun house" in local terminology. It is a small two room house with wooden steps and a small porch the width of the house. The front door opens into a small room with another small room immediately behind the first. The back door is at the end of the second room.

When I lived in Tupelo, I had a memory of why they called it a shotgun house, so I "Googled" the term to see if I was correct. "The Shotgun house is a narrow one-story dwelling without halls. Each room is placed behind the other in single file. The roof ridge is perpendicular to the street. The traditional description of why these houses are called "shotgun" is that if one fired a shotgun through the front door, the shot would pass through the lined-up doors of each room and out the back door." {Definition from bywater.org}

I did not live in Tupelo at the time, but Elvis held a concert at the Tupelo Fair Grounds in 1956. The following statement was made by Elvis as reported in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, August 16, 2007: "Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together."

Knitted Zebra's Brother worked for South Central Bell in Memphis for over 30 years. During this time he was assigned to handle telephone service to the downtown medical center. It was his assignment {and pleasure} to "hook up" the private telephone for Elvis each time he entered the hospital. Elvis would always be admitted after midnight. On one occasion, Elvis left him a short note as he was being discharged: "Thanks, first name of KZ's Brother, for your help." One thing that made this note unique was Elvis wrote this at 2:00 a.m. on his doctor's prescription pad. This is to the memory of Elvis as we remember him 30 years after his death.

It is amazing what some wizards can do! Tomorrow {08.17.2007} on spinner.com and on itunes, you will be able to see a duet between a now-grown Lisa Marie Presley and her father, Elvis, who died when Lisa Marie was 9 years old. In anticipation, here is a replay of the American Idol duet of Celine and Elvis. Elvis' image was taken from a concert in 1968, the year Celine was born. Double click on the arrow to start the music.

This afternoon I went to a place my sister told me about ~ The Fillin' Station at the corner of Fillmore and Wick Street in Historic Downtown Corinth. When you walk in, it is very evident the owner is a true Elvis Fan!! A number of people were enjoying "Dogs on the Run" with slaw, homemade chili and Sweet Vidalia onions. If you are in the mood for a thick slab of bologna in a cheese sandwich or a Grilled Cheese freshly made, you have come to the right place. If I am not mistaken, those are some of the sandwiches Elvis enjoyed. I stopped in for some ice cold Dr. Pepper and picked up a couple of glass bottles of Soda Pop for memorabilia from Corinth. If you are ever in the area, I know they would love to have you drop by The Fillin' Station.

The picture above was taken at my parents' home. All of our guitars are at the homes of Knitted Zebra, KZ's Brother and KZ's Son, so a piano was substituted for a musical instrument. That is a menu from The Fillin' Station though. My apologies that the pic is blurry, I needed more light.

For those who have waded thru this for the knitting content, I present to you the start of "My So Called Scarf" which I found on Sheep In the City's blog. I first saw this scarf on Stacey's blog when I was just learning to knit. I knew someday I would knit one of these. After a few projects on my knitting needles, I went in search of the beautiful Manos del Uraguay yarn she had used. It was well worth the wait! This is the Wildflowers colorway and I am using Denise Needles, size 15. I found the yarn at my LYS, Stitches.

Carpe Knitting,
KZ

I Won!

What fun to win a blog contest! This is my first chance to post about my good fortune. Kat had a contest on her blog Creative Pop-Offs to identify the difference between her Swallowtail Shawl and the original from

Kat treated me to 4 skeins of fun yarn!

1. Kathmandu, Aran, Greensland Collection, Color 133 {twead brown}, 85% Merino Wool, 10% Silk and 5% Cashmere


2. Moda-Dea, Zing, Color 1887 {sparkly black and silver}, 100% Polyester


3. Persia, Ladder, Shade 900 {blues and blacks}, 100% Nylon


4. Trendsetter Yarns, Aura, Color 8298 {black, silver, grey and white}, 80% Wool, 10% Nylon, and 10% Polyester

I will enjoy finding the perfect projects for these yarns. Thanks, Kat! {Apologies that the picture does not do them justice.}

Speaking of Interweave Knits, have you checked their updated website for free knitting patterns? While you are there, be sure and sign up for

.

Carpe Knitting,

KZ