KNIT with TINK ~ A Yarn About Yarn...

Sometimes everything just seems to fall into place in the "grand, cosmic, creative scheme of all things fiber" - this was one of those projects, start to finish!

Inspired by a lone skein of yarn at my local yarn shop, from a wonderfully creative hand-dyeing trio of Vegas friends – Ashley, Laci, and Terri –  TINK YARN (everything highlighted in this post can be clicked on for a direct link)...the new kids on the block.  Spell it backwards, you've got KNIT (it's also a knitting term for taking stitches back out - none of that going on here, however)!

Jennifer LaRocca Photography

These delightful girls, with six creative eyes for color, are finally at the point of taking their creations public – those of us who have lived close by during the evolution of this venture have been lucky enough to be able to indulge, pre-Grand Opening, via SIN CITY KNIT SHOP.  And, if first-hand experience counts for anything, I do believe they're going to have a pretty successful business on their hands.

Named “Sweater Season”, I saw SW desert canyon colors in my hand that day, as well...

Soft sandstone canyon walls peach/rust; sagebrush/river-lining cottonwood trees green; pale, weathered-wood brown; with just a hint of the golden sparkle of the hot desert sun – all in one beautiful skein of sock yarn.

Using the aptly titled CANYONLANDS pattern, this one skein has turned into a fabulous accessory – coupled with a few of my great-grandmother’s vintage Mexican Silver pieces, it’s pretty much perfect, by any standards, with a little symbolic resonance (I also took it along on a recent trip to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, while working on it)!

Off the needles, soaked, and blocked – I can’t begin to tell you how soft this yarn is in this finished product.  Color stayed just where it was supposed to (both in working it AND after) – no fading or bleeding, which is exactly what you hope for from a hand-dyed yarn.  Everything I've seen produced by the TINK YARN girls is rich and creative in their color combinations – I’m sure they probably dream in Technicolor!

Clever names for dreamy yarns.  The skeins have flown off the shelves as fast as they bring it in – a testament that others are loving it as much as I did my first skein.  It's my testimonial, and I'm sticking to it.

"WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS" IS NOW AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE!

Visit online at TINKYARN.COM, or walk into SIN CITY KNIT SHOP in Las Vegas, and get your knit on!

A BRIGHT AND SHINY NEW YEAR

Welcome to 2015!  My January, for the past few years, has started with a trip back home to spend some holiday time with loved ones not so near.  The lights of Vegas at Christmas somehow pale without the reflective snows of CO - yes, I miss the seasons!  A few bright and shiny pictures seemed an appropriate start to a fresh new year.

All in ONE yard, this eye-popping display had everything but the kitchen sink (which may have been under the snow) ~ a nativity; Santa; Disney, Peanuts and Sesame Street characters; a working carousel; hot air balloon; Broncos emblem; a peacock; etc., etc., ETC.!  Not an exceptionally big yard, but optimal light use WAS made!

The downtown suburb hubs shone brightly!  Denver has a fun little "tradition", in that the Civic Center is lit for Christmas and the lights don't come down until the end of the National Western Rodeo and Stock Show, towards the last week of January.  Many of the residents around town follow suit, happily...  

And another festive soul had his own boastful "forest" of twinkling trees.  I was overjoyed the traditions are being followed, allowing me to wallow in the AFTER-Christmas merriment!

To all who happen by, I hope this New Year brings you health, love, happiness, and "BRIGHT AND SHINY" by the yard-full!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, TO ALL MY "WHOS"...

"Welcome Christmas, bring your cheer...

Cheer to all Whos, far and near.

Christmas Day is in our grasp...

So long as we have hands to clasp.

Christmas Day will always be...

Just as long as we have we!

Welcome Christmas, while we stand...

Heart to heart...and hand in hand!"

In keeping with the movie theme started two days ago, lyrics from "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" seem fitting this beautiful Christmas morning.  Photos taken at the Bellagio Conservatory and Atrium - the 42 foot tree houses 7,000 led lights and 2,500 ornaments.  Snowglobes, with animatronic figures inside, are 12 ft. high - 28,000 poinsettias blanket the floors, cushioning the trains and chocolate houses.  A chance to see the process of changing out spent blossoms on the bears this year...quite possibly the best job in town, in this beautiful setting (click on the photos to enlarge).

From my heart and hands, to yours...

Merry Christmas, my darling Whos - XOXO

"CAMERON, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN TODAY?"...

..."what do you mean nothing good?  We've seen everything good.  We've seen the whole city!  We went to a museum; we saw priceless works of art!  WE ATE PANCREAS!"...Ferris Bueller

Well, maybe pancreas is stretching the truth a bit, but fried bologna anyway.  Two days until Christmas, and my friend Jackie and I had, what we term, our "Annual Christmas Party" today.  It was actually more like "Ferris Bueller's Day Out" - we saw everything good, in just the way Vegas does Christmas.  This is the lead-up to some really nice photos in two days, on Christmas, but these were a few of the fun things we saw along the way today...and because Jackie told me she's sick of looking at the pumpkin/brownie pie!

CUTE COWS!  At Holstein's Shakes and Buns in the Cosmopolitan, where we were trying to find the ice skating rink...on the top of a hotel...in the middle of the desert...in 70 degree heat today...we were kinda' underwhelmed once it was found.

Liberace's rhinestone encrusted Duesenberg, at the same joint.

A 50 ft. Giselle Bundchen; a large, golden framed photo of Tempest Storm in the Cosmo (for my dad); a Santa "swimsuit" for no-one, in a window of the Cosmo (well, it was a swimsuit store, but I don't think anyone was buying that it was anything but undergarments...and bad ones at that - alas, we do live in Vegas); and some square (lots of squares) purple woman in the hallway.

A LARGE sculpture made entirely of real canoes; a skylight looking up to a "sky scraping" hotel next door; Dom; watery tornadoes in Plexiglas tubes; and Mescal in groovy skull bottles.

Window shopping at the ritziest mall in town (WINDOW being the key word here) - The Crystal Shops at City Center.  The Mikimoto pearls were a single necklace that measured 100" worth of pearls!  I would SO rock those glasses, by the way!

Lunch at our favorite Pub - Todd English...always a tasty treat!

And leading up to lots and lots of Christmas and Santa, too...the jolly guy in the lower right (along with all of his packages) is entirely made from fondant and chocolate.  The tree and reindeer were enormous, as was the fun we had today.  Yep, two days until Christmas - I hope you're ready.  See you back on Thursday...two days left!  Make sure to take the time to notice the "fun stuff" around you.

"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"...Ferris Bueller

PUMPKIN-BROWNIE SWIRL PIE - HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FROM MY OVEN TO YOURS...

Seems the holidays are fast upon me ~ I can tell, as I've left little time for the blog (and/or reading) amongst that which has kept my hands busy this month, sadly.  Yesterday I had a request for a "holiday-ish" pie for a husband's office party.  Food Network Magazine published this recipe, just this month, and it was begging for a "go".  I gave it one - HIT IT OUT OF THE PARK, pretty much.

(1/2" brownie "crust" on the bottom)

Sharing with friends for a little different (and EASY) take on Pumpkin Pie this year.  Hope your day is happy and spent with those you hold dearest!  I'll be back to blogging (yes, and reading) in the next few weeks...HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

PUMPKIN-BROWNIE SWIRL PIE

INGREDIENTS

BROWNIE FILLING:
1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for the pie plate
1 12-oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
2/3 C. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

PUMPKIN FILLING:
1 C. pure pumpkin puree
1 C. heavy cream
1 large egg
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter the bottom and side of a 9-1/2" deep-dish pie plate.  Make the brownie filling:  Heat the butter, chocolate chips and brown sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the butter and chocolate are melted.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla, whisking until smooth.  Whisk in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt until combined.

Pour about one-third of the brownie batter into the prepared pie plate; set aside the remaining batter.  Bake until just starting to set and the top is shiny, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pumpkin filling:  Combine the pumpkin puree, heavy cream, egg, granulated sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice and salt in a medium bowl; whisk until smooth.

Pour the pumpkin filling over the warm brownie layer.  Stir 1 Tbsp. water into the remaining brownie batter, then spoon the batter (in about 6 scoops) onto the pumpkin filling.  Use a knife to pull the brownie batter into the pumpkin filling and create a swirled pattern.  Bake until the pie is set, 40 to 45 minutes.  Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Recipe courtesy of FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE

A "LOVE/HATE" PROJECT...MY "FEARLESS ZOMBIE HUNTER" SHAWL

Unwittingly, two friends provided me with the absolute best AND worst project ever, for my birthday this year.  Finished just yesterday, my "Fearless Zombie Hunter" scarf (or The "Walker" Wrap).  A TRUE "love/hate" relationship, if ever there was one.  The original name on this pattern, for all you Ravelry chicks, is LES MISERABLES, and clicking on that will take you there (just like in Oz). 

The knitting bag and alpaca lace-weight yarn that inspired the creativity, coupled with a pattern I had catalogued in my stash.  MANY hours spent knitting a very well-written pattern, with mind-numbing amounts of stockinette stitch, while watching Daryl Dixon and his crossbow prowess on The Walking Dead, Sunday evenings.  And then, American Horror Story Freak Show started, and I knit right through that on Wednesday nights, too.

Felted yesterday morning, this came out SO soft and "drapey" - about 65" x 9" of intentionally tattered alpaca love. 

Pre-felting, this measured about 96" in length - or long enough to wrap a zombie (yeah, slight exaggeration).  Really fine, lace-weight yarn, coupled with large needles, made for scary knitting - LOTS of it.  So much stockinette stitch that it got VERY boring in the middle parts.  The fun came in watching the intentional runs being knit into the piece, and letting them ravel downwards.

Whether for Zombie Hunting, or simply as a fashion statement, it's going to keep me warm (I say, while secretly longing for a trek through the woods with a cross-bow wielding man, instead of just driving around town with it on).  LOVE/HATE for sure, on this project - and evidently I hated it so much that I've pulled out another skein I have squirreled away, to make a white one next!  Nuts? Undoubtedly.  Thank you to Jackie and Christy, for providing the "vehicle" for staying awake on the couch during countless nights of horror shows this past month. May YOUR week be zombie free!

HAPPY HOWLOWEEN!

Oh, the things you resort to when your kids are too big to trick-or-treat...

Our little 8 lb. Voltron! with his bad-ass mohawk...

The look he was going for - the Mohawk guy from Mad Max Road Warrior...yep, NAILED IT!

From our house to yours...a SAFE and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!