Impulse Control

The other day I was surfing around the knitting world and I came across this yarn at Wool Girl. It is not really a color that I would usually lean towards but I found it oddly compelling. I left the site but kept returning. Finally I decided that I just had to have it so I ordered it. My lovely skein arrived quickly and I cast on for - what else - a hat and started knitting away. I decided that since I am enjoying the Spirogyra pattern so much I would try it for a hat. It doesn't show up as well on the dark yarn as it does on light yarn but I think it will be cute when the hat is all done and streched on a head. I sure hope so. If you wish to join me in my hat obsession I will be taking donations through the middle of June for the Relay for Life. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Relay - it is put on in cities around the country to raise money for the American Cancer Society. People form teams and walk around a track (or wherever) for 24 hours to raise money. Well my LYS formed team "knit around" several years ago. We set up by the side of the track and we knit chemo caps for 24 hours. Mom and I have gone for the last two years and are very excited to do it again. It is so much fun. Anyone who wishes to knit hats let me know and I'll tell you how to get them to me. Anyone who donates will be but in a drawing for a wonderful prize!


I had the opportunity to chaperone Miss K's class field trip to the tide pools on Friday and I had so much fun. We were blessed with amazing weather. It was warm and clear. There was so much to see. Sea life everywhere and the kids had a wonderful time. I learned so much.

This is an sea anemone and you can see that they take fragments of shells and put them all over their "bodies" to camoflage themselves. If you touch them they squish up like a sponge and water comes shooting out. That was a favorite past time for the kids! Also these cute purple sea urchins were everywhere and they were so beautiful. I had a field day taking photos.

Other People's Knitting

There is knitting for friends and then there is friend's knitting! I have a friend named Nancy who enjoys knitting but is not addicted to it like we are. However I do my best to be a bad influence on her whenever I get the chance. We go to Oregon together every summer and when we do I take her to the LYS up there and of course she invariably finds yarn she can't live without. Unfortunately she generally brings it home and never gets started on anything. This of course makes me crazy since I know what she is missing out on. The other day I suggested we get her started on one of the projects she bought. She responded by handing me a bag from the store with a pattern, two skeins of yarn, knitting needles and a crochet hook - all in their original packaging! She suggested that I take them because she was never going to get to them. So I did just that. I took the bag, read the pattern and started the shawl. When I finish it is going right back in to her home but hopefully this time it will rest on her shoulders and NOT in a bag!

I leave you with a last photo from our vacation last week. This are some gulls at Moonlight Beach in San Diego.

You'll Never Take Me Alive

Miss K's teacher is pregnant and some of the Moms and I have decided to throw her a baby shower. She is a wonderful teacher - the kind you know your child will always remember and so I wanted to make something extra special for her. She knows she is having a little girl so I decided to knit her a sweater. Never mind that I have never made a baby sweater before - I didn't let that stop me. I found an adorable pattern on knitty.com called Reid for a lace sweater and I set to work. I thought after surviving (and finishing I might add) the Secret of the Stole that my lace knitting had improved. Not true, not true. This little diddy has been kicking my proverbial arse! It's not that tough of a pattern, just knitting, purling, ssk, k2tog and the occasional s1*k2tog*psso but for some reason I'm knitting backwards almost as much as I am going forwards! I had to tear it out 3 times in the beginning just to get it started correctly. I do think that the Secret of the Stole did makeme better at figuring out where I have made my mistakes. Hopefully I can survive and finish this for her June 1st shower. I'm using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino because the colors are pretty, the yarn is soft, it is washable and it was on sale! I think I'll have enough to make a hat to go with it but we'll see how long the darn sweater takes!

We are currently on vacation in San Diego and having a wonderful time. We've been to Sea World, Disneyland, California Adventure and Legoland. A good time has been had by all but my feet!

Clapotis Cest Fini!

I finished my clappy - YEAH! It is a very modified version but I'm happy with how it turned out. I wanted it to be thinner and longer so I only did 4 repeats instead of 6 in the increase section and I did 14 repeats instead of 12 in the straight section. I also did a variation called Coin Lace so in the "knit bars" which remain after dropping the stitches there is the coin lace. It doesn't really show up that well in these photos and it isn't as clear on this yarn since it is a bit thick as it is on thinner yarn but it adds some interest to it and I really like the way the lace stitch looks. Check out this one made by SK in the Clapotis 2008 KAL and you will see how gorgeous it can be on lighter weight solid colored yarn. I also made a big boo boo in my exhuberance to finish. When I started the decrease sections I was so excited that I forgot to drop one of the stitches!!! Shown here in the extra thick block. Luckily one of the wondeful folks on the KAL - Kiwimam - figured out how I could thread in some new yarn and then cut one stitch and drop it. My effort was far from perfect and I have a bit of a bump where I tied some knots but on a whole it turned out great using her fix. Also since I knit them before I had a blog I have never shown you my first two Clapotis. The first one I made for my very first International Scarf Exchange partner. I really didn't know what I was getting myself in to at that time but she really liked it. The second one I made for my sister after she said, "why don't you ever make anything for me!" I've never seen her wear it which is sort of a bummer but hopefully she enjoys it.

Spring Flowers

After having frogged it from the Spirogyra gloves the beautiful skein of turqoise yarn kept calling to me. I decided to make it in to a hat. Horsey Girl seems drawn to cable hats so I am using the pattern my wonderful pal Kristin sent me. It was really kizmet - I had seen the hat knit in a LYS but you had to buy an entire book to get the pattern. Then a few weeks later she sent me a note and the notecard had the pattern on it. How amazing is that? The pattern calls for Zarina yarn doubled but not only is that expensive it would be quite thick. Instead this is Zarina which I found on sale. I think it's a perfect choice. So far I'm just on the ribbing but I think this will go quickly.

Happy Days

Happy Days are here again * the skys above are clear again* I can knit my Spirogyra again * happy days are here again! Yes - the yarn arrived and it is the RIGHT COLOR. I'm so excited. I ripped open the bag and there it was in all its pink and greeness. I ordered two skeins to be safe so I might just have enough for a hat . . . . oh wait - that's what got me in to this mess in the first place. I did have an idea in my desperation. I went on Ravelry and found people who had made things out of that same yarn. I figured if the yarn I ordered wasn't the right colorway then I'd start stalking them and see if they had any extra to sell. Yet another potential use for Ravelry! Progress is being made on the monkey sock. I've turned the heel and have started on the foot. The pattern says to knit until it is 1-1/2 inch shorter than your foot. So do I measure that on the bottom from the heel? Or somehow measure it on the top? Someone please let me know. Also don't forget Daffodil Daze - if you post a photo of a daffodil in your area and let me know then you can be entered in the drawing. I'm keeping it open until Lisa sees them in Alaska!