Like most of you I'm sure, the holiday weekend didn't afford much time for knitting. Only a few rounds on the long-forgotten Gayle sleeves that will...ahem...someday be completed. Plenty of time for visiting with family and friends though, and I was reminded that you're never too old to put your two cents into building a snowman.Last night I had the privilege of spending a few hours with my three year old nephew. At first I was taken aback at just how much chaos ensued from the addition of a toddler to my mom's house--usually a quiet, exceptionally ordered and well decorated home that wouldn't be out of place in the pages of Better Homes and Gardens. Last night however, it seemed as if the living room was transformed into a playroom with puzzles and crayons strewn about the floor, and a surprisingly...

What do Tubas and knitting have in common you might be asking? Well, the Tubas relate to my 16 year old son and his high school band (he plays the Tuba, but I bet you already guessed that?) they will be marching in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Years day. Only 12 high schools are invited to participate and McQueen High School got the nod! So naturally we are making the trek down to Pasadena and there will time to knit on the way down, YEAH! Naturally as any good knitter might, I have a few (maybe 8, blush) things on needles right now in various states of completion, so what to take is the question. I will be of course taking my Artyarns beaded mohair and silk project to finish up (so close :) and reveal it to you when I come back. This project has been sidelined a couple of times;...

So late Thursday night, I (finally) picked up my grandma's socks (see previous blog!) to finish them up and send them out today...and realized I just couldn't stand the pattern. It was one of my own design, and really, the back was fine. The front however, ended up with these haphazard eyelets that just looked terrible.After feverishly frogging the things, I began flipping through every magazine and pattern book in my library trying to find a pattern in the approprate gauge, that called for needles I already had--since I'd be knitting well into the wee hours of the morning. I settled on the Brick-Stitch Tea Cozy in the 2008 Interweave Holiday Gifts magazine. It doesn't call for sock yarn, of course...but it sure was a quick knit. Only about 7 hours total.I used the 1824 Wool the pattern calls...

Well, i guess it's officially winter here in the Lake Tahoe/Reno area. It's been snowing on and off at our house for days... that coupled with 100+ mph winds and single digit temperatures just makes me want to crawl into the bathtub and soak for hours. The cold just goes right to my bones! (and here i thought this was california... don't we pay taxes to avoid weather like this??!). To make matters worse, we're off to madison, wisconsin on wednesday - doug grew up in nearby middleton - and the weather there is even colder. I had these lofty dreams of going for multiple long runs on the middleton streets... nice and flat, low elevation... sounds like heaven! Well, my dreams didn't include shivering in my running shoes, so i guess i'll stick the treadmill (or to the couch, most likely).Speaking...

I didn't quite have all the pictures needed when I blogged about our spectacular night out, so I thought I would get those up too! We are all still on an elegant night out twitter right now and work is so much fun!The adorable couple to the left is our own Ashley and her handsome boyfriend Cory! During the evening I ran around and tried to get pictures of everyone at the table, but Cory took a walk and I didn't get the two of them. Thanks Sandy for your picture of them as they came into the dinner.addthis_pub = 'laurazander';addthis_brand = 'Jimmy Beans Wool';addthis_logo = 'http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/images/headerlogoSmall.gif';addthis_options = 'favorites, digg, delicious, email, google, myspace, facebook, reddit, newsvine, live, more';Now here is yours truly below with my honey, Geoff,...

My first road trip as an 'adult' was when I was 19 with my best friend Jamie. We drove from Reno to Santa Cruz, CA (only about 5 hours) to visit her Ocean Granny--a kind, spunky, creative, tap-dancing, singing, and remarkably modern grandma living in a retirement community close enough to the ocean to sneeze on it. And I was sure she couldn't be more than 75. An incredibly fit 75, at that.When we pulled up, I was a little worried that in coming along with Jamie for her annual visit, I would be intruding on something sacred between them. When we walked in however, she opened her arms and scooped us both into a big hug like only a grandma can.After making sure we were both sufficiently stuffed on a chicken-tomato-bean soup that seems to be entirely her own concoction, we spent the next five...

I think I have mentioned once or twice how much I LOVE my job! Here I am on the day after a night to remember. Laura and Doug thank us every holiday season for just doing our jobs and having tons of fun all year. It is so wonderful to be appreciated and I thought you all might like to see some pictures of us having an amazing time last night, at the Harrah's Steakhouse and boy did we feel like a royal party of knitter's! The food and service was fabulous and the company was great (but I am partial to my co-workers/friends :) so the bottom line is we were treated to an amazing thank you by the Zanders!!!I need to go backwards for a bit to explain the culmination of months of work by all the little beans here at the shop to create a thank you to them for all they do for us! We an amazing bag...