Smoke and Mirrors

I've decided to distract you from the fact that I have no new knitting content with these gorgeous photos my colleague just sent to me from Laos. She is on a "walk about" in Asia and takes the most wonderful photos. The amazing thing is that she is e-mailing me right now while she is on a 22 hour bus ride to Hoi An (I have no idea where that is but shoot me if I ever suggest a 22 hour bus ride - Mom - wanna take the train?) Isn't technology amazing though? To think she's on a bumpy bus in the middle of nowhere sending me e-mails! Only bad part is she is e-mailing asking if she can stay gone until March 15th. So despite the fact her clients are driving me crazy and we could really use her help I said yes. Guess I'm just a push over for a good vacation (that and I made her promise to bring me yarn!) Hope you enjoy the photos. Back with more knitting soon.

You Made my Day!

Both Hakucho and Monica nominated me for the "You make my Day" Award. It is so very sweet of you and I thank you both very much. You both made my day!!! I'm so happy that you folks enjoy reading my blog. I certainly enjoy writing it and visiting yours.


So here are the rules:
Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about Blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. Beware! You may get the award several times! There are definitely more than 10 of you out there but being a lawyer I feel a need to stick to the rules . . . . So here goes!

* Hakucho not only for being the first to nominate me but also for being such a lovely person. Her comments are always so beautiful. I would definitely like to meet you one day - you are so nice!

* Monica also for nominating me and for having a fun blog to visit. Starting with the Wallace and Gromit photo and going from there. Don't know what I would have done with my time without her famous ballband bag!

* Bonnie my partner in crime from our days of starting and hosting the International Tote Exchange. I have gotten to know her so well and we have become good friends. We have a ton in common but I have to get her off her sewing kick and back to knitting!

* Jennifer who was my downstream partner in one of the ITE's and who I was lucky enough to meet when I went to Boston. We have also become great friends and I'm so lucky to have her in my life. It has been so much fun sharing our knitting trials and tribulations.

* Brooke my wonderful upstream pal in SP9 who once again I've had the good fortune of meeting in person at the Yarn Harlot event. I just realized how I was knitting Jen's bag when I went to the event so it's sort of like Jennifer and Brooke have met! Brooke's blog is always hysterical!

* Janice whose house I always want to go to! I've never been though given we live sort of far away. I love reading her blog and hearing what they are up to. Doesn't it always look like so much fun? And her recipes are really, really yummy! What is truly amazing is how many socks she made last year!!!

* Alison who not only has a great name and is the author of the wonderful book Wrapped in Comfort, but who is so generous with her knitting! She doesn't just knit hats for people but entire shawls! Her entries are always so beautiful.

* Lisa who lives all the way in Alaska and does such gorgeous knitting. We've met through blogland and I think we'd have a lot of fun together if we ever find ourselves in the same state! Congratulations on your first steeks! I'm still too chicken to try that one.

* Kristen my new friend from the Fall Felted Bag Exchange. She was my upstream partner and made me that gorgeous purple and red bag that I use all the time. We've been having a great time getting to know one another.

* Smariek makes the most complex cable scarves and publishes her patterns for all to enjoy. Plus she makes all those cool dishrags and hats and posts those patterns as well. I don't know how she has the time to do all that but I really appreciate it and have made several of her patterns. I love reading her blog as well.

* Wendy last but certainly not least is Wendy who was one of my first friends in knitting blogland. We met at the International Scarf Exchange and then she started a bag group. She's a kick and so full of life that I love reading her blog.


I decided to make a valentine hat for Miss K so I combined the daisy stitch for the brim and then some plain old stockinette. I love the way the daisy stitch looks but it is so hard to do. Not mentally but physically! It really hurts my hands. I kept reminding myself that there were really only 6 tough rows in the brim but it still took a lot of effort. It has been non-stop rain around here so I couldn't get a very good photo. I also found a cute intarsia heart hat that I'm going to make for Horsey Girl. Hopefully I can finish both before the big V-Day!


Some of you asked for the stats of the yarn I bought in Ojai. The baby yarn is Zarina Print 100% lana extrafine merino superwash by Filatura Dicrosa baby. The really soft yarn is Savoy by Tahki Stacy Charles. It is 52% silk and 48% merino but pretty reasonably priced.

Do Sheep Felt?

This weekend we went to Ojai (near Santa Barbara) for Horsey Girl to compete in a show. It is a beautiful place that looks sort of like Arizona with lots of rocks and scrub. It is very artsy and set in a serene valley. It is also the location of some of the Sunkist orchards so we also saw beautiful orchards full of citrus crops. The weather was gorgeous and a good time was had by all. On the way home however it began to rain and we noticed a field full of sheep so I wondered - why don't sheep felt in the wild? Would they felt if you agitated them after a tropical storm? I wonder.

Other than watch horse shows and wonder about felted sheep, we wandered the town when what to my wondering eyes should appear but a beautiful historic house filled with yarn and good cheer. We happened upon this adorable yarn store that had not only knitting supplies but scrapbooking and beading goodies as well. Even though I have been trying not to buy any yarn until Stitches I was forced to pick up a few of their gorgeous yarns. The two multi-colored yarns will become baby hats and I have some plans for the bronze yarn that you'll have to check back to see.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Somewhere along the line I took leave of my senses and signed up for Spring Shawl Surpice (sic) to knit another mystery shawl. I'm actually almost done with Secret of the Stole (I'll post those photos once I actually finish and block it) so I found myself itching to sign up again. SSS was started by one of the folks participating in Secret of the Stole who didn't think the pattern was challenging enough! She made a pattern with "real" lace where there is "none of this purling back on the wrong side." It is definitely a challenging pattern and the beginning looks nice but I'm finding that I can only knit on it when I give it 110% attention and given that 3 clues are already out and I'm only on about row 12 I'm thinking this is not the project for me. So why is it so hard to admit defeat? Stop the project, rewind the yarn, and make something different? When I don't like a movie I still watch it until the end. When I don't like a book - I can't simply give it away. I keep thinking it might get better or I might miss something. Why can't we just STOP? So I'm going to do it. I'm going to break up with my Spring Shawl Surpice and pull it out. I'm going to start something different with this gorgeous yarn. Really I am!

I'm Somebunny

Thanks to Wendy I found this fun quiz to find out what type of fiber you are. Turns out I'm Angora.

Angora – Soft and warm “Angora has a warmth that rivals cashmere and softness that rivals qiviut. Best of all, it comes from cute little bunnies that look for all the world like furry footstools with ears.” –The Knitter’s Book of Yarn

Angoras are eager to please and are highly sensitive. Flexibility and adaptability are your strengths and sometimes your weakness, as well. You are essentially a warm and feeling person, and little escapes your impressionable mind. You are generous with others and strive for harmony in your relationships.

I read this and my first response was that it doesn't really capture me. I'm not sure I'm highly sensitive - being a lawyer you have to have a thick skin. Am I flexible? Harmonious? I am impatient, type A and a bit controlling. So I was about to toss this out and chalk it up to a silly quiz when suddenly it hit me. This is a knitting test. And the more I thought about it the more I realized it does reflect the "knitting me". Can it be? Is the knitting me a different me than the "other me"? I realized that knitting actually makes me a better person. It makes me calm, flexible and a warm and feeling person. Knitters of the world unite - we can make the world a better place!

Green with Envy

I've gone a few weeks without knitting a hat so of course I was itching to get another one on the needles. Miss K who actually wears my hats (and looks adorable in them) wanted a spiral hat like I'd made for her sister so of course I was happy to indulge. I found the most amazing green Silk Maiden yarn from Hand Maiden. It is so soft and wonderful and I'm really enjoying working with it. There is about 300 yards in the skein so I'm thinking that there might be enough for a hat and a narrow scarf or maybe a hat and fingerless gloves. Of course with my track record it would be hat and fingerless GLOVE!



The count down has started for Stitches West which starts on February 20th (or something like that). Mom and I have signed up for the opening speech and luncheon followed by a sock class with Cat Bhordi. How cool is that? We also have another class on Friday. If you're going to be at Stitches either Thursday or Friday let me know and we'll figure out how to meet up!

Pure Bliss

Over the holidays I went shopping with my friend Nancy and I noticed that she seemed drawn to cashmere. Every sweater that she loved turned out to be cashmere. She was drawn to sweaters, scarves, even socks. So I decided I needed to make her a cashmere scarf. I looked around and was lucky to find Debbie Bliss simply cashmere on sale at Little Knits. So I made her this scarf in a beautiful light blue. I used simple rib stitch so it is soft and scrunchy. It was a joy to knit with and it knit up pretty quickly. I can't wait to give it to her but I better do so soon or I may just have to keep it for myself!

Fetching Fever

The Fetching fever continues as I have started another one. I found some gorgeous bamboo yarn and just had to make something with it. I've never knit with bamboo before but it is really soft and the colors are vibrant. It splits a little but not too bad. I love this Fetching pattern and now have created a modified version that is a little longer at the top, bottom, middle and in the thumb - so I guess pretty much everywhere! Now I just have to finish my second one in the bamboo and still waiting for the second in the green and purple. Now I just have to figure out what to do with all of these gloves!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!

Happy 2008! We started off the year with a 5K Fun Run down town (we actually walked) and it was very fun. As always, one of my goals for 2008 is to get in shape so I thought I'd start out right. We walked fairly slowly - 57 minutes to finish the 3.2 miles - so I resolve to get in better shape so next year I can finish with a faster time. It was a wonderful way to start the year with friends and family in beautiful weather doing something good. My wish for you this new year is like this ball of yarn. It is beautiful and full of possibilities. You can't really see from the photo but this is a very large ball of yarn. It is almost as big as my little guy's head. It is very soft and pretty and comes from somewhere far away. At first I thought the label was in German but on further inspection I think it's written in some Slovic language. It's about 360 yards so now I just need to figure out what to make with it. Perhaps a scarf and hat? Any ideas? In 2008 I want to try some new things in knitting, learn to use the two circular needle method, finish the boot socks and maybe try another pair of socks. I'll also continue with the charity knitting making hats for Relay for Life - Team Knit Around. Here we are staring at 365 days of knitterly possibilities. What will you do?