Res Ipsa Knit With Her

Who Ordered the Snow?

2009-10-07T06:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend I got a wonderful treat. I spent the weekend in Tahoe with eight ladies from my book club! Normally we meet one Sunday night per month and we switch off who hosts. Well this month the hostesses said, "let's all meet at my cabin in Tahoe!" At first it wasn't clear that many folks would be able to make it but ultimately we had about half the group. It was such a wonderful weekend and great to have a bunch of Mom's around! There was always someone cooking something or cleaning up - not like when you go somewhere with your own family and you have to do all the work. I had a fabulous time.

There was even a quick trip to a cute little yarn store called the Wool Tree. They had lots of lovely yarns including a fabulous selection of Trendsetter Tonalita. I was looking at the pretty colors trying to decide what to make and I decided to finally give Lizard Ridge a go. I've always wanted to make it but I don't like the feel of Noro Kureyon. The Tonalita is very soft in gorgeous colors so I think I'm going to like this. I didn't get enough for the entire blanket because I wanted to knit a few up to make sure that I liked it. I really do so will now have to hunt down the rest on-line.

The weather was in the '60's on Saturday and the sun was shining. But what a surprise when we woke up Sunday morning - SNOW!! We were like little kids on their first snow day. We made snow angels, took pictures and threw snowballs. It was absolutely gorgeous. The only bad part was having to dig out my car . . .

Oh yeah - and the book? We read The Help which I highly recommend. It takes place in the '50's and '60's in Jacksonville, Mississippi and it's a realy eye opener.

Fair Isle Baby

2009-09-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

I FINALLY found a hat pattern that I thought would be cute for a baby boy but it was fair isle. To date I have not really done much fair isle and have not been very good at it. But the hat was so darn cute I just had to give it a try. I even had colors in my stash pretty close to the ones in the pattern which I really liked. So here it is - my first ever fair isle baby hat. I must say that this is really easy peasy fair isle in that the colors change every other stitch when you are doing the pattern so therefore you don't have the long color runs that mess me up. I even learned to "pick" and "throw" having a different color in both hands. There are definitely more of these hats in my future!

To see something much more impressive than another hat - go on over to Jen's blog and see her beautiful Ulmus! Now I'm really put to shame since I suggested we both make an Ulmus, mine is about 6-8 inches big at this point and hers is all done and oh, so gorgeous! Way to go Jennifer! I'm so impressed (and quite envious).

Finally - I haven't shown you a photo of Miss Molly in awhile. She is almost 8 months now and a rambucous puppy. She is growing like a weed and is a long leggy "super model" as the vet said. She remains a sweet pup who loves to be around people and has the best sad puppy dog look of any dog on the planet (and therefore gets her way a lot!) She has become such a member of the family it's hard to remember a time without her.

Surprise Jacket

2009-09-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

I had to be careful as I thought of the title for this post. I am making the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket but when I sent an e-mail to Bonnie about it I ended up with an unintended consequence. You see she read it on her blackberry/trio/handheld and only part of the title of my message could be seen. Well I think she just about had a heart attack when she got a message from me titled, "Baby Surprise!" No Bonnie - no more babies in my future but plenty of knitting for other people's babies!

This jacket has intriqued me for a long time so I finally decided to make one. The pattern comes on an extra long piece of paper with lots of writing, diagrams, etc. But then when you start to make it you realize there are only two paragraphs of instructions and I've got to tell you they are NOT THAT CLEAR! I got started just fine but then I had several questions. Thank goodness for the internet. There are several sites that offer some help (glad to know I'm not the only one who had these issues) and even a 6 part video instructions on You Tube! I love the internet! I'm using some Socks that Rock Heavyweight so we'll see just how big this sucker turns out. I'll keep you posted. In the meanwhile, if anyone else has made this and has some tips for me please send them my way.

Where Have I BEE'n?

2009-09-14T06:55:00.000-07:00

HELLO everyone! Long time no "talk". I look at my last entry and I can't believe it has been almost two months since I have posted. Where have I been you ask? I wish I had a tale of fabulous travels that kept me away from the computer but it was really just every day life. We did have a nice vacation in Oregon the end of July/beginning of August but other than that I've really just been very busy at work and dealing with three kids going back to school, starting soccer, horses, hip-hop, learning to drive, and the like. I have been stalking your blogs though and enjoying your posts (to the extent you're not delinquent like me!)
My main project of late has been the Girasol shawl which I showed you earlier. I am now at the point where the rows are 640 stitches long so they take FOREVER! I feel like I'm nearing the end but then I realize that I can only get through about 1 to 1.5 rows per night and I have about 33 rows until the edging so that's about 1 month more!! I also continue to suffer from my major knitting A.D.D. and have many other projects going as well. Lots of babies being born so I have been making hats (there's a surprise!) The guy who grows the organic garden near me (where most of my flower photos come from) just had a baby girl. So I made him a tomato hat and also a bumble bee hat. I couldn't find a pattern I liked for the bee hat so I made one up. I am so tickled with how it came out. He named her Eden which I think is so perfect!

The problem with most of the other babies are that they are boys. Not that I have anything against boys but I'm having a really hard time finding cute baby boy hat patterns. I find tons and tons of cute patterns for little girls but not for boys. In fact I've even made several for baby girls with no one in particular to give them too! Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

On a non-knitting note, the Little Man's school had a cake walk at the back-to-school BBQ. People are supposed to bring cakes which are then judged. After that the kids play something akin to musical chairs and when the music stops they jump on a number. Then a number is called out and that person gets to go pick a cake. Inspired by Janice I made cake balls. The theme was "Kentucky bluegrass" so I made blue and green cake balls. It was something short of a disaster. Trying for colors I went to Michael's and bought candy melts which I thought would be good for dipping but it was really too thick. Then I dropped in some coloring trying to darken the blue and it immediately thickened and was ruined. So I had to make the rest green . . . what you see are the salvaged ones. Anyway - I was totally put to shame by THIS cake. Isn't it amazing? I have no idea what it has to do with bluegrass but it was amazing!

Then sadly at the end of the day the kids picked whichever cake had the most candy or toys on it! When the Little Man finally won it was close to the end and my cake balls were still there . . . . and would you believe that with all these wonderful homemade cakes he picked a carton of cupcakes that came from the grocery store but had little superman decorations on them! I have SO learned my lesson!

Never Enough Time

2009-07-21T06:32:00.000-07:00

I am continuing to learn how to use my new macro lens and I think things are getting better. I just wish I had more time to play with it and study what to do. The story of just about everything in my life. I wish I had more time to knit, more time to read, more time to photograph, more time to blog and read your blogs and most of all more time to have fun with my family. But I've been trying to make the most of the summer and get home a little earlier and do some fun things. We have a vacation coming up and I plan to bring lots of knitting, books and of course my camera. I do that every year and bring most of it back barely touched but hope springs eternal!
On the knitting front I continue to work on my Girasole and it is progressing well. I think I'm more than half way done but I'm not quite sure. This is the first time I've started a shawl and wanted to work on it almost exclusively. Usually I flit from project to project. There is one project that I have also been working on, especially when I need something mindless. I have a friend who is going through hard times and I wanted to knit something for her. I couldn't decide what and then one day I stepped in to my LYS and saw this gorgeous new Berroco Lustra yarn. It just shimmers and comes in all these gorgeous deep colors. I decided a scarf out of the luminous turqouise was just the thing. I tried some lace designs but ultimately decided a simple ribbed scarf shows of the yarn the best and is oh so yummy! It's taking me much longer to make progress on the scarf even though I seem to progress quickly on the shawl. I think it's the knitting in the round!

Look who came to visit us last night. He had a friend with him as well. We have several young bucks in the area with their horns still fuzzy. They are truly gorgeous creatures.

Round and Round and Round

2009-07-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

I've been working on the Girasole by Jared Flood and I must say that I LOVE this pattern! It's really quite easy yet it looks so fancy in the end! It is knit in the round which clearly goes faster than having to turn after every row and the pattern continues to change to kee in interesting. It is really quite simple lace knitting and I think both the novice and experienced lace knitter can enjoy it. I'm making this one out of Malabrigo silky merino which is wonderful to work with. It's hard to show you what it really looks like since it is crinkled around the needles but you can check it out on Ravelry to get the full view. I think I'm about half way done now (further than when the photos were taken) but it's hard to say. Also the stitch counts goes up and up so each row is now taking much longer so it's not entirely clear how much longer it iwll take me.

I have been wondering lately what's going on in the knitting blog world. It seems we're all posting less and commenting less. Does that just mean we're busy? Have people gotten tired of the blogs? Is everyone spending their time on Ravelry instead? Do other people see what I see? Does anyone have any ideas what is happening?

Not much else is new around here. I did get a new lens for my camera - it's called a macro lens for taking very close-up photos. I'm still trying to get the hang of it. I'd love to hear from any of you who are experienced macro lens users for your tips and suggestions. We continue to enjoy the summer with the kids and they are very busy with a variety of camps. On any given night I'm down at least one kid and that in itself it a little odd. I want to go to camp! Instead I go to camp work every day. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day to all of you. I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with fun and family (and maybe even a little knitting!) We started the day with a parade down one of the main streets of our town followed by a BBQ and swimming at our friend's house. We brought Cake Balls thanks to Janice's wonderful recipe. Horsey Girl and the Little Man helped me make them and they had a fabulous time decorating them. Everyone was very impressed and thought they tasted fabulous. One person even asked where we bought them!

On the knitting front - I made a cupcake pin cushion for Mom out of the new Spud and Chloe yarn from Blue Sky Alpaca. I don't really understand why they came out with a whole new brand name but it is supposed to be more wash and wear than their other yarns. It was nice to work with but the colors weren't as pretty as they looked on-line. It was a quick knit and I am happy with the results.
Here's a photo of some of the hats I made for the Realy for Life. I really had a good time making these hats with multicolored brims. Hopefully they will find their way to someone in need and make them smile.

And of course I have to leave you with today's Molly photo. Here she is decked out for the 4th of July parade and already panting!

Who'd A Thought

2009-06-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Remember this? I showed you the two yarns I had picked to make the Ulmus and I KNOW that some of you were thinking, "Ewww - has she lost it?" Well it's just so amazing to see how colors look once you combine them. I thought the colors would look good together but sometimes I would look at them and worry that perhaps I was crazy. Well lookie here. I'm thrilled with how this is turning out. I definitely recommend this pattern as it is quite easy but turns out a beautiful shawl. There is one point I will make though - when you slip the stitches it is always WYIF. I made that mistake at first only having the yarn in front on one side and not on the other. The pattern uses different symbols depending on the row even though it is for the same stitch (slip with yarn in front). I can't understand why they did that but once I figured it out things are going smoothly.

I'm also working on a few other things that I will share with you soon. It's been a little hot to knit lately so progress is slow. On the summer front Miss K is off to camp for 2 weeks and I miss her already. It is so weird just having 2 kids instead of 3. It gives me a little glimpse in to what my life will be like in two years when Horsey Girl heads off to college. I must say I am NOT looking forward to it. I'm not a mom who is eagerly waiting for her kids to leave home. I think I'll be the one hanging on their legs as they walk out the door!

I leave you with the obligatory photo of Miss Molly who is getting longer legged by the minute. I hope you all have a wonderful family, fun and fiber filled FOURTH!

Earth Baby

2009-06-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, the Little Man's kindergarten teacher is expecting and we Mom's decided to have a baby shower for her at the end of the year. At the last minute I decided to knit a baby blanket for her. She loves earth tones so I skipped the normal pink and baby blue and went with teal, brown, tan and sage. I had three criteria when I went to pick out the yarn. It had to be earth tones. It has to be able to go in the washer AND dryer. It had to knit up quickly! I went with Universal yarn Classic Worsted. It is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. I knit the blanket on size 11 needles so it went quite fast. The pattern is of my own design. I was thrilled with how it turned out as was the soon to be mom. I hope she ends up using it often.

The kids are all out of school and summer camp season is about to start. My oldest has gone on a college tour in southern California and my middle is already bored, bored, bored! Maybe she could walk the dog . . . .

What's a Girl to Do?

2009-06-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

There is a new yarn store in the vicinity of where I live. It's called Green Planet Yarns. I've been hearing about it but it's not that close and it's in an area I don't tend to find myself. Recently Horsey Girl had a soccer game at a High School that was only 3 miles from Green Planet. So what's a girl to do? I volunteered to drop her at the game since she needs to be there half hour early to warm up. Mom was with me and we snuck on over to the yarn. My plan was just to check it out quickly and then get back for the first quarter. Well you know what's next! We did at least make it back at half time and at luckily BEFORE hubby got there so he never had to know!

There was so much to look at and so many yarns I'd never seen before! I didn't think that was possible since I've spent so much time in yarn stores and looking at yarn on line. I was "forced" to buy something. There was this gorgeous bamboo yarn in bright, bright colors. I decided to get it for a baby blanket. I don't know what baby yet, but maybe by the time I finish it someone will be pregnant! I'm loving this yarn. It is so soft and the color is not disappointing!

I leave you with a photo of one of our kitties. They are getting jealous that Molly is getting all the attention!

Cacophony

2009-05-31T07:56:00.001-07:00

I have three kids. One six year old. Two teens. A puppy. And a very hectic schedule. So when my parents come visit on the weekends it is like a three ring circus. Everyone is talking, moving, interacting. To finish a thought is a luxury. To complete a sentence - unheard of. And it drives my father CRAZY! I have realized that my knitting is much like my life. A cacophony of fiber each wanting to be heard. The beautiful yarns talking over one another. Competing for my attention. The projects fighting to be heard. I hear a bit of this conversation and a bit of that . . . Maybe that explains why I have yarn stuffed in every nook and cranny and projects in every bag. I've decided to stop feeling guilty about it. The conversations will keep. I'll return to them later. Occasionally the subject matter will have changed and it may be time to scrap a project and that is OK. The point of knitting is to enjoy oneself right? So stop the guilt. Start the knitting and ENJOY!

I have been conversing from time to time with the Neco Wafer Hoodie from the Spring Twist Collective (there is a new issue out tomorrow!) I'm making it for my friend's daughter and I love the bright colors. Now that it's Summer maybe I don't need to worry about finishing it until Fall!

I did finish the helmet liner for the soldiers in honor of my frined Brooke's son. It is really long but that's what the pattern calls for. I guess they like to have some extra room in the helmet.

And to leave you with a Molly photo - here she is with Grandpa who was visiting last weekend. Doesn't she have the perfect puppy eyes?!

Happy Memorial Day

2009-05-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend. Ours was pretty mello but very enjoyable. In the spirit of Memorial Day, I finished the helmet liner I am knitting for Socks for Soldiers. It is in honor of my dear friend Brooke's son who fought in Iraq and passed away in December. The pattern calls for you to knit for 7-8" before decreasing so the hat seems huge but there must be some reason for that. They are very picky - you have to use a certain type and color of yarn and follow their pattern but I got it done and will be shipping it off momentarily.

I also just found out that there will be a shower for the Little Man's kindergarten teacher who is expecting a baby in July. She is expecting a boy and she loves earth tones so I made this little veggie hat for her and I'm working on a blanket. The hat was VERY quick and a great and easy gift.

To continue with my "start-itis", I am thinking of knitting the Ulmus and have been trying to figure out what yarn combination to use. This is what I came up with and I need to do some swatching to see if these colors look right together. It's always so hard to find the perfect combination.

My good friend Kristin nominated me for an award.

Here are the RULES: you must resend this to 5 bloggers and you must tell 5 things about your crafts you like the most...what inspires you to make home made gifts.

1. I love the relaxing feeling of sitting and knitting something, watching it grow and seeing the end result.

2. I love experiencing all the different yarns out there these days especially the really soft ones and ones with amazing colors.

3. I love the community of knitting that exists on the web and in yarn stores.

4. I love to be able to make someone a gift that they will know truly came from the heart.

5. I love the possibilities knitting offers as can be seen from my ridiculous stash and pattern pile - if I knit them all I'll live forever!

Now for my fab five of inspiration - I decided to make sure I had five folks that I've never mentioned before. These are 5 people who don't know me at all and don't know that they have motivated me to knit things so let's let them know!

1. Susan

2. Kristin Kapur

3. Brooklyn Tweed

4. Mustaa Villaa

5. Kody May

And OF COURSE I have to leave you with a photo of Miss Molly.

Knit On

2009-05-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd share some actual knitting with you. I HAVE been doing some knitting although mainly I've been starting things. I have serious "start-itis" and not enough "finish-itis". I keep thinking of things I want to make and yarn I want to purchase. I have been trying hard to restrain myself although I'm not have much success. I have continued to work on hats for Relay for Life but I thought I'd show you something other than a hat for a change.

Awhile back I purchased some Crystal Palace Iceland yarn at a LYS sale. It is a very bulky wool in seriuosly bright colors. I had no idea what I wanted to make with it I just knew I had to have it. Recently I have been considering making the Kiki Mariko rug from the new Mason Dixon book but just can't quite bring myself to spend the time to knit a rug. So instead I decided to use the concept to knit a felted bag. I only had 4 colors and the pattern calls for 8 but I decided I would just give it a whirl. I'm learning how to knit fair isle 2 handed and it is going reasonably well. It definitely makes things work better and tangle way less. I put a skein on either side of me and off I go. It's slower than regular knitting but hopefully I'll get faster the more I try it. So stay tuned for my Kiki Mariko bag - I definitely see more things out of this "pattern" in the future! I may just find myself making that rug . . . .

How's Molly you ask? How sweet of you to inquire! She is doing well. The potty training is going quite well with very, very few mistakes. She has started puppy class and can sit, down, stay and spin in both directions (not quite sure the point of that one but it's fun!) Our town had our annual pet parade on Saturday and she was a star. It's such a cheesy event and I love it. Half the town walks in the parade and the other half watches. There were dogs, cats, lizards, goats, ponies, horses, fish and a bull mastiff dog that is the biggest thing I've ever seen. She has never walked that far before and all of the excitement wore her out. At the end she totally flopped and we had to carry her to the car! Look at those long gangly legs! It's still very hard to photograph her. The deep black of her coat for some reason makes it really difficult but trust me - she's GORGEOUS!

The Rumors of My Death

2009-04-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

The rumors of my death have been greatly over stated. I am still alive and kicking - barely! So here's the summary: Caribbean cruise*granny, grampsie, sister, BIL,niece, nephew*family fun*San Juan* shopping*bingo*fun in the pool*fru fru drinks*St. Maarteen*snuba diving*fancy dinners*disco nights*shopping*mexican train*fru fru drinks*submarine ride*Labadee, Haiti*sunburn*water park*water slide*zip line*fru fru drinks*Miami Seaquarium*digging out at work*cleantech conference*pneumonia!!!*puppy playdates*sleepless nights*soccer*volleyball*t-ball*little tiny bit of knitting.

As to the photos - no I have not totally lost my mind and gotten a second puppy. The yellow lab is Molly's brother Riley who is owned by some friends of ours. He came over this weekend for a playdate and a great time was had by all! They even shared a stick to chew on.

On the knitting front I'm trying to finish things but not feeling a lot of the knitting mojo these days. I am working on a helmet liner for Socks for Soldiers in honor of my friend Brooke's son who passed away. I figure it's the least I can do. Other than that I'm making some squares for a blanket out of sock yarn.

That about sums up my last 2.5 weeks! What have you been up to??

No Knitting Going Down

2009-04-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been a lot of knitting going on around here lately. There has been a lot of playing, barking, snuggling and pooping if truth be told. Meet Miss Molly, the latest addition to our household. She is a 9 week old black lab who has quickly found her way in to our hearts. The kids are crazy about her and she thinks that the Little Man is one of her litter mates. She loves playing with him and follows him all around. She has one blue eye and one brown eye (photo not so great) but it is not clear that the blue eye won't yet turn brown. We are hoping that it doesn't. She is sweet and playful and fairly mellow. She only has one flaw. She has serious separation anxiety leading to messes I wish not to discuss. But we are learning how to deal with it and find ways to make her more comfortable when she is alone. It's amazing how helpful a puppy trainer can be. Just when I'm ready to throw in the towel she looks up at me with that sweet puppy look or snuggles up with me on the couch and all sins are forgotten. I know what Janice is thinking - I warned you!

There is some recently completed knitting in the hat arena. I do make other things - just none that are finished or photographed. I promise next time to give you something better. But I am starting my stash of hats for the Relay for Life in June. Once again if any of you want to donate hats just let me know.

First we have a cabled hat from Monica's pattern with some Tonalita yarn I got at Stitches. I'm very happy with how this one turned out. I love her pattern. It is quick and easy but yields a great result.

Next up I've been making hats using scrap yarns of various colors. The two finished ones have the band with the wrong side facing out and the one still in progress has the right side out. I just can't decide which I like best. What do you think?

Finally I made another Amanda hat with some pink and grey Katia Mexico yarn. I'm not so sure about the colorway but hopefully someone will like it.

Well time to walk Miss Molly!

You Can Never Have To Many Hats

2009-03-22T21:03:00.000-07:00

Can you? Well maybe you can. But if you give them away then you don't have too many do you? This is my latest hat - the Thorpe pattern made for a friend who is going up to the snow. It's a great pattern that knits up quickly. I decided that instead of doing the garter stitch at the bottom and on the ear flaps that I would use seed stitch instead. I also used the same yarn for the crochet border because I thought there was already enough going on with the multi-colored yarn. I like how it turned out. I used Lorna's Laces Shepard Worsted but the pattern called for Malabrigo chunky. I think a chunky weight probably would be good to make this hat have more body. I think another one of these cuties is in my future so I'll try a thicker (or doubled) yarn for the next one. The long braids are really fun too.

Continuing with our hat theme I knit another Amanda Hat from the Katia Mexico yarn I got in Lake Tahoe. It's a beautiful, vibrant yarn that knits up nicely. I think it's just perfect for this hat pattern. I made it for the daughter of our friends who invited us to Tahoe but when Horsey Girl saw it she just had to have it. How could I say no? I'll make another one for Tahoe Girl. I tried to find some more in this color online, eBay and Ravelry with no success. I guess I'll just have to keep my eyes open.

I just love the way the Amanda hat comes together at the top.

And in the most important news . . . . look who may be coming to live with us soon. Isn't she adorable?

Hodge Podge

2009-03-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Before you read any further you HAVE to go to Wendy's blog and check out THIS! It is just hysterical. Remember to come back though - I'll wait for you . . . . .

OK so you're back. Did you love it? It just cracks me up every time I look at it. She always finds the wildest things to post on her blog. Next I want to belatedly thank Wendy (you're already seen how awesome her blog is if you obeyed my first request :-), Bonnie (check out her adorable quack hat and booties) and Marie (check out her blog for the most amazing cabled scarves, bracelets and more!) for nominating me for the Kreative Blogger award. I feel so special. Thank you ladies and I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to post about it. I guess I'm just behind in about everything these days.

Here are the rules for this award:

Copy the award to your site.
Link to the person who nominated you.
Nominate 7 other bloggers and link to them on your blog.
Then leave a message on their blog notifying them you have nominated them for this award.

It would be easy to list more than 7!! I did not list the wonderful ladies who nominated me (since they are linked above) and that gives me a chance to really have 10! What can I say, I'm a lawyer and like to find ways around the rules. So here goes:

Jennifer - is one of my best knitting buddies and is an enabler who often leads me astray.

Monica - is about the most prolific sock knitter I've ever seen and writes great patterns too.

Janice - go check it out - you're going to want to move in with her!

Lisa - check out her most recent awesome sweater and hear all about life in Alaska.

Kristen - is one of my more recent knitting buddies and manages to juggle work, home schooling and knitting!

Brooke - is one of my buddies from a long ago SP. She's going through a tough time - please go give her a virtual hug.

ADD Knitter - this is a new one for me. I don't really know her but found her through links on friends' blogs. I just HAVE to love someone who makes that many hats!

I also haven't told you about Stitches yet! Boy am I behind. Mom and I went to opening day for Stitches West in late February. The theme was Intarsia and it was so fun to hear all the different speakers. There was Nicky Epstein, Lucy Neatby and several others who I can't remember. They each showed some Intarsia knitting and their pieces couldn't have been more different. It shows you how many different interpretations there are of this kind of knitting. Then we took a class from Nicky which was interesting but I was a bit disappointed because even though it was a 3 hour class she really only had 1.5 hours of material. Also I guess I was hoping for some secrets to Intarsia but really didn't come away with any. However the next day Mom took a class on Shetland shawls and she can't stop raving about it. They made the cutest little shawl and then the teacher said they had all the basics and could now make a big one. I'll try to get it from her soon and post a photo for you.

Then of course there was the market. There seemed to be fewer booths this year due to the economy but I'm happy to report that it was very busy. I'm glad for the vendors as I want them all to stay in business! I tried to do my part but didn't really buy that much. I got the mohair above to make the Spectrum scarf. I've been toying with making it and now decided to go for it. The one thing the photo doesn't show is that the light colors are silver/creme and a great soft lavender.

Next I got some Mini Moochi. It's a new yarn by Crystal Palace that is supposed to have colorways like Noro. I really don't like the feel of Kureyon but I love its colors. So I thought I'd give this a try. They folks said it is selling like crazy and they can't get enough of it. It is very soft and the colors are vibrant. These are two different colors to make the Brooklyn Tweed Noro scarf I keep seeing everywhere. Mom bought some too and has already started a scarf with it and it's oh, so soft.

I also got some Tonalita yarn which is a soft and colorful yarn to make scarves or hats or something - yes - I know - I should have a pattern in mind first but they were so pretty!

I leave you with some more signs of spring. My orchid is blooming again and that always makes me so happy.

Oh Baby Baby

2009-02-28T22:12:00.000-08:00

Miss K's 6th grade teacher from last year had a baby in July and we have been meaning to visit her ever since. I made the pink sweater and hat for her baby shower. I realize it is pathetic that we haven't seen the baby until now but at last we got a chance to meet her today. She is absolutely gorgeous. Big blue eyes, a bit of blonde fuzz on her head and a smile that could melt a glacier. I took a break from knitting hats to make these adorable mary jane sock/shoes for her. I made the 6-12 month size but unfortunately they came out fairly large. Oh well, she can hopefully wear them when she is about 1 year old. I found these cute litte flower buttons at Joann's fabrics. Aren't they perfect? While we were visiting Mrs. R I saw this fabulous throw on her chair. Her MIL made it for her and I just loved it. The color combination was fantastic but I don't know how to crochet. Makes me want to learn! Does anyone know what stitch this is?

I spent a good part of the day driving the kids hither and yon and enjoying all the flowering trees letting me know that spring is in the air. I just had to stop and take a photo of this gorgeous pink tree which was surrounded by daffodils along the bottom. When I got home I finally planted the bulbs that have been sitting in my garage. Yes bulbs! They should have been planted in October but I never got around to it. They have started to grow in the bag so I figured I'll stick them in the ground and see what happens. I'll keep you posted!

Hanging at the Lake

2009-02-24T22:23:00.001-08:00

The kids had the entire week off so we headed up to Tahoe on Thursday night. We have some friends who bought a cabin in south shore over a year ago and they have invited us up many times. Unfortunately we have never been able to make it - until now. I must admit the drive on windy Highway 50 was a bit scary at night but it was well worth the trip. The weather was amazing - crystal clear and 47 degrees! The snow was piles of powder and a fabulous time was had by all. The girls snow boarded with their friends and the Little Man took two days of ski school. It really helped and now he is making pizza (snow plowing) down the slopes.

I did not end up skiing on this trip. I had to take a conference call for several hours on Friday and Saturday I decided to hang out with my friend (the cabin Mom). She can't ski because she tore her knee last year. Instead we managed to find an adorable little yarn store called the Wool Tree where I bought yarn to make hats for her kids. We also found a great little scrapbook store where I bought stickers to add to my piles of unfinished scrapbooks! Someday, someday.

I found a little time to knit and I finished up my Calorimetry. (That's Horsey Girl's dirty hair in the photo - not mine :-) I had searched around on Ravelry beforehand and found that many people had said it was too long and too wide so I cast on only 100 stitches instead of 120 and didn't do as many repeats. I still need to find a button but I'm very happy with how it turned out. Now I have to go back to the cold so I can wear my matching headband/scarf set. The really weird thing about this pattern is that when I first came across the pattern on Knitty.com about a year ago I realized it was designed by the girls old swim coach. What a small world!

I also made another hat for myself, with some black feathery novelty yarn at the base and I used some gorgeous red yarn from the stash. The color doesn't show well at all in the photos. It is really more of a deep claret color. Then since I still had some of the red left I decided to make another Robin Egg Hat. Of course I ran out of the red so I had to mix in a little black to be able to finish. This hat currently is homeless but I think it will find a home soon.

I did find a little bit of time to read so I started the new book for my book club. It is called Bel Canto and I am really enjoying it. I highly recommend it and for the first time since this book club began it's a book that is less than 500 pages!

Also THANK YOU so much to Bonnie and Wendy for the Kreativ Blogger award. I'll do that in the next post so stay tuned . . .

Bon Ami Scarf

2009-02-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

I finished my scarf and I'm naming it the Bon Ami scarf. Why? Well this is the scarf I made with the yarn Bonnie and I bought when she was visiting San Francisco. She finished her scarf recently (check it out - it is so cute!) and named it the friendship scarf. However she said she wasn't that happy with the name. So I thought about it some more and since her blog is "Tres Bon Babble" I came up with the Bon Ami scarf. Sort of a play on words. I'm thrilled with how it turned out. It is so soft and I'm happy to have an off white scarf since it's not a color I normally pick. I cast on 27 stitches, used a size 9 needle and knit in mistake rib until it was along as I wanted. Then I decided it needed a little somethin somethin on the end so I added a slight ruffle. I knit in to the front and back of each stitch doubling it to 54 stitches, knit one more row and then bound off. In the photo you'll see the cast on edge is still straight but I later went back and picked up stitches on that and added a similar ruffle.

I finished it last weekend when we went to Ojai for a horse show. We really got lucky. The weather here has been extremely rainy lately and I was worried that we'd have to drive down the 5.5 hours in pouring rain and then spend the horse show slogging through the mud and trying to hide under whatever cover we could find. But the heavens smiled on us. The weather was glorious on the drive down. Blue skies with rolling white cotton clouds. The drive is spectacular as you pass rolling green hills, golden fields of mustard flowers, horses, cows and ultimately find yourself driving along the ocean on the Santa Barbara coast. I wanted to stop every mile and take a photo (but I restrained myslef)!

We stayed at a cute place called the Blue Iguana Inn which has lizards and iguanas all over the place and is decorated in south western style. It was Mom, Horsey Girl, the Little Man and me. Hubby was in New York and Miss K was smart enough to find a friend to stay with for the weekend. We had a 2 bedroom unit with a cute little family room. It was great. Saturday night the Equestrian team all met for dinner and when we arrived we were shocked to seem them all sitting on the patio of the restaurant - in 35 degree weather! However there were some heaters, I went back to the car and got every jacket I could find and we ended up having a lovely dinner.
The horse show went well. Except for the fact Horsey Girl had to be there at 6 a.m. and it was only 30 degrees. By the time she had her first ride (around 9:30 a.m.) she was shaking so hard she couldn't stop. But by the end of the day she had earned enough points to go back for the regional finals at the end of March.

Now that my Bon Ami scarf is done I'm again working on my "re-do" scarf from the yarn I frogged in Oregon. I'm much happier with it this time.

Spring is Springing

2009-02-14T07:42:00.000-08:00

We are starting to see many signs of Spring in California. I think it is because we had some warm spells in January but I fear that now that we are having a normal winter with rain and cold it will knock all the buds off the trees. Here is a picture of my cymbidium orchid which always thrills me when it decides to bloom.

I have been knitting several scarves which I hope to finish and show you soon. In addition, I made this Robin Egg hat for my friend. She has invited us to her house in Tahoe next weekend to go skiing so I thought it would be nice to show up with a gift. Not only will it keep her warm in the snow but I made it in the colors of the San Jose Sharks hockey team because she is a big fan. I love this pattern. It is quick and really makes an unique hat. Funny thing is my friend Jennifer also made one and we hadn't even mentioned it to one another! Hopefully she will like it. Horsey Girl gave it the nod of approval so I think that's a good sign. She even said my friend's teenage daughter my steal it - I take that as the ultimate complient.

Here's a hat I made for the Little Man when we were in Oregon over New Year's but I forgot to post. When we got up there I realized he didn't have any hats made by me - only store bought ones! I couldn't let that be the case so I found this great Diva yarn and whipped up this little diddy. It went perfectly with his olive green jacket (not planned but a happy coincidence) and he loved it.

Tote*ally Awesome

2009-02-02T06:51:00.000-08:00

Here is my favorite Christmas present. A gorgeous tote that Mom made for me. Isn't it awesome? You may wonder why I am showing it to you now but it took a little while to find it's way to my home. It wasn't quite done for Christmas but Mom did finish it early January. However after all the work she just had to show it to her friends at the guild. Wouldn't you want to show it off? Then it did find it's way to me about a week ago but I finally had a chance to photograph it this weekend. I wanted to be sure to have a bright sunny day so I could show it in all it's glory.

The story starts even earlier than that. You see Mom and her freind went to a PFQ (PQF?) Well a big quilt show that is like Stitches and there they found this really cool tool to make cords. They were so enamoured with it they decided to buy one to share. My Mom's friend had it first so she brought me a magazine that had a photo in it and a bag where the handles were made with the cord maker. I of course fell in love with the bag! Mom looked around and found fabric that looked almost exactly like the bag in the photo and viola! I got my favorite present. Look at the cool dragonfly lining!!!

In knitting news, I made this yummy purple scarf. I got this yarn when we were in Oregon for New Years. It was just one skein of about 150 yards. I think they had made it with odds and ends of fabulous purple yarn. Since it was three strands together I decided to make a scarf the long way using size 17 needles. I've rarely made anything using needles that big and it was so cool how fast it goes! The scarf was done in a jiff and it is long and snuggly. In fact so snuggly I must send it somewhere cold so it can get the wear it deserves. I'm sending it off to my mother-in-law in Delaware for Valentine's Day. Hopefully she will enjoy it.

Let's Make A Deal

2009-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

At last photos of the Ice Queen I made for my sister for Christmas. I finished it in December but it has taken me awhile to get the photos up and posted. I hoped that she would like it - she e-mailed me the pattern in September and asked if I would make it for her! At first I said no - I really don't like knitting with beads and the lace looked fussy. But then the idea grew on me and I remembered I had yarn and beads left over from my Secret of the Stole so I really had no excuse. This is actually the first time I was able to use leftover yarn to make a "real" project. I was very proud of myself! It looks great on her and I hope she will enjoy wearing it.

My spring cleaning continued this weekend. I really need to clean out my closet but every time I go in there it overwhelms me. So I decided that I will remove 10 pieces of clothing per weekend. That shouldn't be that hard right? Just 10 items? I figure that over time it will get cleaner. The first 10 were easy. I know that it will get harder each time but I have to try something. I also photographed my bag of yarn for eBay and plan to list those items this weekend. I only hope my motivation continues long enough to make a dent!

On the knitting front I promised myself that I will finish one UFO before starting something new and that I will knit from the stash for at least the first few months of the year. However I already find myself making deals with - well - myself! What if I start something new out of the stash? That shouldn't really count should it? Do I have to finish something before knitting from the stash? Also there is a yarn swap at one of the LYS' this weekend. If I swap yarn does that count as not buying new yarn? I mean if it's a net balance it shouldn't count right? What do you think?

I have been working on my scarf. It is now 42" long. Check out Bonnie's. It turned out beautiful!

How I spent my Sunday

2009-01-18T16:14:00.000-08:00

The weather on the West Coast has been unseasonably warm. Perhaps that is what lead me to start some spring cleaning. Or perhaps it was because everywhere I turned there were bags, boxes and piles of this, that and the other. I should have felt pretty good. My Christmas tree is down, the ornaments and decorations have been put away. My friend's tree is still up! But the piles are beginning to get me down. This is the first weekend in a long time that we've basically been free and at home. So I decided to put it to good use and try to make some headway on the disaster that is my house.

On Saturday I worked on cleaning the Little Man's room. He is growing like a weed and quickly outgrowing his clothes and toys. We cleaned out 3 garbage bags full of stuffed animals, almost 2 laundry baskets full out out grown clothes, a basket full of toys he no longer plays with and 1-1/2 garbage bags of - well - garbage! His room looks much better although I could probably go through the entire drill again and find more stuff!

Today I decided to take on the stash. I didn't go through the entire thing - but I got a few new storage bins (thanks Mom!) and I wanted to try and put things away in some form of organization. What you see here is only about a third of the stash. I had bags and bags of yarn stuffed in various corners of the house that really needed to be properly stored. I think to properly organize things I would have to pull out everything and that is not something I can face. But at least I made a little progress. I truly have reached SABLE (stash accumulation beyond life expectancy) probably for my life and my kids! I did come up with a bag of yarn to sell on eBay and a bag for Goodwill but they are fairly small compared to the volume!

The photo above is a bin or feltable yarn. I really love the tie-dye yarn and need to think of something fabulous to make with it. Next we have a bin of Malibrigo and Jasper. Most of the Malabrigo is single skeins but I have a few colorways where I have 2 skeins. Next we have a bin of cotton. There are lots of fun colors of Sugar n' Cream but those are below the other skeins.

We also have a bin filled with Iceland yarn in fabulous bright colors. 2 skeins each of 4 gorgeous hues. I think I'll make a huge bag with those. Any other ideas? Snuggled next to it are several skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca in multiple colors and sizes. I have no idea what I'll make out of those. A beautiful bin with lots and lots of Socks that Rock and a few skeins of miscellaneous sock yarn. I love all of this yarn even though I don't knit socks. Really makes you want to start doesn't it!

And last but not least the bin of left overs. I actually managed to throw a few bits away. I told myself I could only keep what would fit in a single bin. It was tough. The bin is chocker block full and I could barely close the lid but I managed to stick to one bin!

If I keep this up my house might actually be clean by spring!

Psycho Internet Friend

2009-01-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of the holidays was that I finally got to meet my friend Bonnie in person. Bonnie and I "met" a few years ago after the International Scarf Exchange when we were introduced in cyberspace and we started the International Tote Exchange. We instantly hit it off and became fast friends who had never laid eyes upon one another. We all know how that goes out here in the knitting blogisphere. We had been wanting to meet for awhile and came close about a year ago but finally the opportunity presented itself. Bonnie, who lives in Cincinnati, was coming to the San Francisco area with her daughter for a cheerleading event. I was so excited! We arranged to meet for lunch in San Francisco near a yarn store of course! We had a fabulous Hunan lunch and then went down the street to ImagiKnits. Everything was perfect (except for the parking ticket Bonnie got . . . .) We got along really well and hope to see one another again some day. I feel so lucky that we got to meet each other in person. So why the title? Well my daughters thought it was so weird that I was meeting someone I had "met on the net." I tried to explain why it is different than my continual warnings to them about meeting people on-line. I think they understood but they kept referring to her as my, "psycho Internet friend." Bonnie was a good sport about it and doesn't seem to mind now when I start my e-mails, "Dear PIF"!
At ImaginKnits we decided to both buy the same yarn. It is Azapa by Arunca Yarns and actually the photos on their website do NOT do it justice. It is very soft and sort of rustic. I got an off-white color and Bonnie picked a soft turquoise blue. We are both making scarves and I can't wait to see hers. She is doing 2x2 rib and I am making mine in mistake rib.

I also bought some gorgeous yarn for which I promptly lost the label. They told me it was from the Black Forest in Germany which sounds very exotic. I just fell in love with the vibrant turquoise and white colors and immediately set to work on a hat for Horsey Girl on our car ride up to Oregon. I made up the pattern myself and unfortunately did not take in to account how tight and unstretchy it would be. As you can see I got very far along but have ended up tearing it all out and starting over. I do still really love the colors.

New Beginnings

2009-01-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

The new year is a time for new beginnings. For new promises to yourself and for renewal. When we were in Oregon for New Year's I brought several scarves with me since I would finally have the weather to wear them. One was this pastel scarf which is one of the first things I ever made. I love the yarn and the colors but the scarf was horrible. It was an undulating scarf that was wide then narrow then wide again. A neat pattern for the right yarn but clearly not a good choice for yarn that is very floppy. So whenever I wore the scarf it just looked like a pile of yarn around my neck. I decided to do the unthinkable. Something I have never, ever done before. I cut the end of the scarf and unraveled the entire thing! I decided the yarn needed a new beginning. It needs to be a gorgeous scarf that I can be happy wearing. It was pretty scary at first but then amazing how those hours of work could so quickly be undone. I've started it's new life and will show you soon.

On the flip side you could say there was an ending. I FINALLY finished the cool market bag I started making for Miss K in the summer of 2007! The entire bag was knit, I just needed to finish the i-cord and assemble it. Then recently I bought one of those i-cord makers so decided to put it to good use. I quickly finished a nice long cord and was able to finish the bag. It is adorable and she loves it. Now we just need summer!

It felt so good to finish my long forgotten project that as part of my renewal for the year 2009 I have decided to keep trying to finish those UFO's that are hanging around. I am making a promise to myself that before I start anything new I will finish at least one UFO. We'll see how long it lasts but I'm really going to try. So now for a CONTEST. Anyone who posts a comment in the month of January mentioning a knitting goal they have set for themselves in 2009 will be entered in a drawing for a wonderful prize filled with yarny goodness. Let the resolutions begin.

The Mad Hatter

2008-12-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

After Christmas we headed up to Oregon to spend some time in the snow. As we were packing to leave sunny California (where it is unseasonably cold at 55 degrees) to head to sub freezing temperatures I realized something that amazed me. Astounded me really. I. Have. No. Hats! Can you believe it? Me of the ever loving, hat knitting craze? Seems I've given them all away!

There was only one solution. Quick - knit a hat! I found some very soft pink angora mix that I had used to make a hat for my niece (the one with the cool picot edging) and some great thick purple yarn and viola! A hat for me. It is a little big but works well without messing up the hair too much. Then I couldn't stop. I cast on another on the drive up. Next I used some Luxor yarn in gold. If you haven't ever tried it you should. Luxor is really cool and has a somewhat metalic look to it. I made a silver one in the summer for the chemo cap donations. I ended up making it a bit too small (I have a big head) so it will ultimately end up as a gift to someone. Then when I finished that I cast on another and another! When will it stop? I hope everyone has a fun filled, knit filled and hat filled New Years!

We Interrupt this Knitting Blog

2008-12-23T22:17:00.001-08:00

This one's for Bonnie! Now those of you who know me and have been reading my blog for any period of time will know that I never post sewing projects. There is a very simple explanation for that - I can't sew! But alas on a trip to Joann's with my daughter I saw the cutest pattern for a rooster apron. We were going to a holiday dinner hosted by a friend who collects chickens. I thought it would be the perfect hostess gift. So I asked Miss K if she would sew it. I needed another project like a hole in my head but sure enough, we took it home, cut it out and put it together. The ruffle was a bit troublesome so we had to call in the cavalry. That's right - MOM to the rescue. Turns out the instructions were wrong on that part but she got it together and if I do say so myself it turned out to be adorable. Our friend loved it and wore it all evening.

We also went up to Marin on Saturday for our family holiday dinner. It never ceases to take my breath away when we drive up to San Francisco, turn the corner and there you see the Golden Gate Bridge. Truly one of the most spectacular sights around. It was a beautiful, crystal clear day. I just wish I could have spent the afternoon taking photos.

I hope everyones holiday preparations are going well and that you have a joyous and love filled holiday.

Distractions

2008-12-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

I should be doing my Christmas cards, wrapping gifts, decorating the tree, cleaning the house, working on my holiday scarf, finishing my sister's present or so many other responsibilities that are looming as the big day fast approaches. So why do I find myself casting on for a cabled hat? I admired Monica's hat and she was kind enough to share the pattern with me. I found this gorgeous yarn in my stash and decided it was just perfect. She started off with the cables immediately. I decided to do a garter brim. I think if I did it over again I might do a ribbed brim - we'll have to see how it looks. I'm also thinking about casting on a different hat for myself. Why can't I focus and stay with my other responsibilities? I guess that is what knitting is for right? An escape? My wish for you is that you slow down and enjoy the rest of the holiday season and that you take the time to engage in some escapist knitting!

Yes Virginia

2008-12-14T20:19:00.000-08:00

Yes Virginia, I really do still exist though my blog might indicate otherwise. I must say I was truly shocked to realize it has been 3 weeks since my last post. I knew I was delinquent. I guessed it had been roughly 10 days since I last posted. But I was blown away when I realized it had been three weeks. Twenty-one days! One week short of a month!!! Where has the time gone? Clearly I have been in a whirlwind that is the holiday/birthday/year-end season.

The weeks have been busy helping Miss K get ready for her Jr. High holiday faire. She and a friend made 40 pairs of flannel PJ's and shorts! They also made 10 tied fleece blankets. It was a huge amount of work but they did quite well and sold all but 3 pairs. They were very excited. A special thanks goes out to my Mom who was really the laboring oar with the help. Miss K did most of the sewing herself but Grani was there for moral support, assistance when needed and the seam ripper. It appears that much as I hate frogging my knitting Miss K hates ripping a seam. Do you think that could be genetic?

On the knitting front I have been working on a holiday scarf for myself. I had not intended to but was in the yarn store and saw the most gorgeous shades of deep red and green in Touch Me yarn. I decided to splurge but then had to find just the right pattern. I recalled seeing a cute scarf made in ribbing with two colors. The "bumps" where one color and the "valleys" were another. I knew that was what I wanted but I could not remember where I had seen the pattern. I looked and looked and looked and finally realized it was 2 color brioche. I cast on, ripped out, cast on ripped out and cast on again. I couldn't get it right. Then I tried stripes - both horizontal and vertical. Then I cast on the brioche again. I was making good progress (about 10 inches) when I made a mistake. I tried to go back but the stitches got messed up. In a fit of frustration I frogged the entire scarf. I knew I only had one more chance. Both my patience and the yarn were worn quite thin. So I went to the good ole Babs Walker treasury and found a two color slip stitch that just might work. It had the look of brioche and also the pattern looked a bit like little Christmas trees to me. It is not reversible but the back side looks nice enough. I'm now just about half way done and glad I finally found the right patern. The photos really don't do the yarn justice but you can see the stitch. I was worried that the scarf would be too short as I didn't buy much of the yarn but I think it will turn out to be about 50+ inches long so that will work just fine.

I also finished the girls holiday hats. Miss K (the wearer of all things green) got the green and red one in 2 color brioche (hey - I had to use it somewhere!) The red was really too thin - if I do it again I need a thicker yarn but it turned out pretty cute. There are some serious flaws in the decreases but luckily they are hidden where the hat folds. I was on a serious deadline to get the hat done before the town light parade and I finished about 5 minutes after we were supposed to be there! For some reason I would knit round and round and round and it didn't seem to grow very quickly.

Horsey Girl's hat is a more typical santa hat but the yarn is stretch and sparkly so it gives it a bit more pizzaz. They both wore them to the light parade and looked adorable but I'm not sure they'll ever wear them again. I hope they will. Next year I'll add one for the Little Man.

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and that your holiday crafts are going well.

There's only HOW many days until Christmas?

2008-11-23T14:29:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast the holidays are approaching. It is always such a busy time of year. In November first we have Mom's birthday, then mine, then Horsey Girl's followed by Turkey Day. After that it's time for the Little Man's birthday and next it is Christmas and New Years. In between there are soccer tournaments, volleyball playoffs, Thanksgiving lunch at the kindergarten, winter concerts, holiday parties and we can't forget that work thing! It tends to be a crazy time of year. Each year I tell myself that I'm going to slow down and enjoy life, friends and the joy of the holiday season. I've yet to master that goal but every year I try and try again.
So what would the holiday madness be without knitting projects? I swore I wouldn't start anything new for the holidays but we all know how that goes! I recently decided to make these little sachets, they are small, should go quickly so what's the problem right? Yeah right! And wouldn't this sparkly red yarn make the cutest santa hats? I mean really, who would want to just buy one at Walgreens when you could take time you don't have and knit one! And then there is the holiday scarf I'm making - more on that later. So how are your holiday knitting projects coming?
I did take time to enjoy my birthday, my folks came and we all went out to dinner and I had lots of wonderful cards, e-mails and calls from my friends near and far. No matter how busy we all get it's nice to know that my friends are out there thinking of me. I even got presents from my beloved knitting friends. Jennifer sent me this fabulous dragonfly shawl pin. Isn't it gorgeous? I've never seen one like it. I can't wait to try it out. Bonnie sent me the ultimate relaxation package - tea, chocolate and a good book. THANKS GUYS!

Happy Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T07:17:00.001-08:00

First a moment to honor our Veteran's. We shouldn't forget the meaning of today so I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the men and women who have served our country. In discussing Veteran's Day with my 12 year old she asked, "does everyone want world peace?" My first reaction was - clearly not or we wouldn't have war. But then she started asking who doesn't want world peace and why don't they want it? Such difficult questions from a young mind! I'm going to need to work hard to keep up with this one. As to the holiday side of things - I know several people have today off. I unfortunately don't so if you do - do something fun for me too OK?

Today's knitting is brought to you by Mom. It is the Seamingly Simple Vest by Blue Moon Fiber Arts. She got the pattern and yarn at Stitches West this year and it is really quite clever. You knit one really long, wide panel which ends up being the front of the vest. It goes from the bottom of one side, up and around your neck and back down to the bottom of the other side. As it goes behind your neck it folds creating a natural collar. Then you pick up stitches and knit a panel down the back and seam it to the sides. That's it. Just a whole lotta ribbing. She is doing a great job and I can't wait to see it all finished.

Speaking of finished - I finished the Jamaica pouch awhile ago and wanted to show you how it turned out. I highly recommend this pattern for colorful cotton. It is quick and really cute.

Currently I am struggling with a holiday scarf. I bought some gorgeous Touch Me yarn in both deep red and deep green with an idea of what I wanted to make. However it didn't look right. Since then I have tried a number of patterns and nothing is quite right. It's making me crazy but hopefully I can find something soon before the yarn wears out! If you have any great suggestions for a two color scarf please let me know.

Small Things Amuse Me

2008-11-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

I found this really cute hat pattern and I just love the way the edging is done. You may have seen this nifty trick before but it's a first for me. You do a provisional cast on (the green in the photo), knit a few rows and then a row of k2tog and YO to create the holes. Finally knit a few more rows. Then you remove the provisional cast on and place those stitches on DPN's. You bring the bottom up even with the stitches on the main needle and k2tog all the way around. Then VIOLA! you have this great picot edging! Isn't that amazing? And the really great thing about the edging is that it is somewhat thick and will not get all rolly/crinkly like picot edging is want to do. It is perfect for a hat brim or a cuff. I think I'll be using this little trick again. Also the hat pattern is adorable and knits up quickly. I made this in Sublime angora/merino blend. I wanted it bigger than the pattern so I used worsted weight, size 8 needles, went with 77 stitches and 6 repeats. For an adult I'd probaly make it one more repeat if you want it to cover your ears. This yarn really lives up to its name. I just want to fondle it all day! I got it at Little Knits on sale.

I hope that you all had a wonderful Halloween. It was a dark and windy night here. Oddly warm but the wind was blowing through the trees. There was a low cloud cover illuminated by the city lights so the sky sort of glowed. It was a perfect Halloween night and thankfully it didn't rain. Yesterday wa s a down pour with all the soccer games cancelled but today I see the sun breaking through. Happy Fall to all!

Soccer, Horses and Sharks, Oh My

2008-10-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

I'm still recovering from our crazy weekend. I think I might need to sleep for a week (like that's going to happen!) There were slumber parties, 3 soccer games, a horse show and we all went to the Shark's Game on Saturday night. What a game it was! The Sharks beat the Flyers 5-4 in over time. It was a very exciting game. All five of us went and my folks came too. We had tickets in three different locations and we'd meet after every period to exchange who was sitting where. I think the folks next to us in all the locations thought we were a little nuts! Horsey Girl looked stylish in her new hat. It is Shark's Teal and turned out quite nicely. She looks adorable in it but then what doesn't she look adorable in? (OK, maybe I'm biased . . . .) This is made out of Nashua Grand Opera. It is sparkly yarn that's still quite soft. I find that to be a rare combination.
Also I received my package from my SP12 Pal. And what a package it was! She had saved it all for the end and the package was jam packed. I just kept unwrapping item after item. There was this adorable sock monkey project bag, a dragonfly wash cloth, a beautiful teal leather notebook, some rust colored Knit Picks sock yarn, fabulous dragonfly stitch markers, an oh-so-cute sock blocker key chain with instructions to make minature socks, purple Malibrigo, Ripped and Frogged glasses from Ravelry, tea and candy! Phew!!! What a haul. THANK YOU Valerie (ptownhokie on Ravelry).

And for those of you who like my photo blog (Hi Mom, Hi Marie!) I know I've taken a bit of a hiatus there but check out my new "Veggies as Art" post.

My So-called Red Scarf

2008-10-16T21:57:00.000-07:00

My scarf for the Red Scarf Project is finished! I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern knit in my beloved Berroco Jasper. I was able to make the striping consistent when I changed skeins which is an accomplishment for me. The OFA gathers the scarves to deliver to college students on Valentine's Day. They define "orphan" as anyone who has lost their parents or has been in the foster care system. I'm so excited to think that my scarf will bring joy to a young man or woman working to get an education. I just wish I'd know who ends up with it!

Take me to Jamaica

2008-10-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

I was wasting time on Ravelry the other day and came across this adorable bag called a Jamaica Pouch. It is made out of Katia Jamaica cotton and really takes advantage of its amazing colors. I bought two skeins of this yarn when I was in Boston with Jennifer in March of 2007 because the colors were just so vibrant. Ever since then I have been searching for the perfect use for it. I think I've finally found it! It is a very easy pattern and even the bottom is really cute!
I don't usually discuss financial matters on a knitting blog but after the week we've just had I think it's unavoidable. In the Silicon Valley where we suffer from about 2 degrees of separation rather than six, everyone is talking about a meeting held this week by one of the venture capital firms. They used such quotes as, "it's always darkest before it's pitch black!" Someone else I know said we should all invest in gold because money may some day be worthless. I tried to explain to my husband that I'm doing my best to invest in gold - I just feel you should be able to wear it until you need to spend it! Then it dawned on me. If money ever became worthless I'd still have my stash! I mean think about it. Yarn would definitely be valuable. It can provide clothing and warmth. You could make things and trade them.

Has anyone read the book The City of Ember (soon to be a major motion picture)? It is about a city that is underground because of some catastrophe top side. The grandmother of the main carachter owns a yarn store and given they have been living underground for 200 years, they've run out of the original supply of yarn it was stocked with and now she spends her day unraveling sweaters and the like to create "new" yarn because it is that valuable. So now I know we'll all be fine. We have our yarn - what more do we need?

I Couldn't Help Myself

2008-10-06T21:53:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself, really. I tried but it was no use. I stopped in to a yarn store JUST to purchase some needles and there it was. Right next to the needle rounder. This adorable ribbed vest from the Tahki Stacy Charles Tweed Collection. I don't usually knit clothes but this vest called to me. It's really fairly simple, largely ribbing until you get near the top. But it was very flattering (at least on the store dummy!) and tailored looking. They had made it in Donegal Tweed which is very attractive but also very scratchy. So I found this great purple Dream in Color Classy and immediately started ribbing. Of course this continues to cut in to my efforts to finish my UFO's. I definitely have "cast-on-itis"! However I did finish a hat that I had started long ago. It is out of the new (or at least new when I started!) Skakel yarn and it is oh so soft. It really didn't take long to finish so it made me wonder why I put it down in the first place. Oh well - at least it's done! Now who to give it to . . . . .

Also when I took the photo of my purple ribbing I asked my daughter to hold the needle for me. She rolled her eyes and said, "why can't you just knit things? Why must you always photograph them?!" Said with all the disgust that only a pre-teen can muster. It reminded me of the other morning when I definitely had a, "you know you're a mother when" moment. For a change everyone had left the house in the morning before me. I decided to treat myself to a cold chai latte before heading off to work. I got a glass, filled it with ice and then poured in the chai mix. Then I reached in the fridge to get the milk to finish it off. You guessed it - NO MILK! I tried to figure out what to do. Could I mix in water? Ick. Pour the mix back in to the container? Not really. What to do, what to do. Then I saw it. A bowl on the table filled with milk and several remaining Cheerios. Should I? Is it too gross? NO! It would avoid waste! So I fished out as many Cheerios as I could, poured in the milk and had a somewhat crunchy chai latte!

Monkey on my Head

2008-09-28T22:46:00.000-07:00

When I finished making my Monkey Socks I still had some yarn left. I loved the yarn so much that I had to make something else. There wasn't enough for another pair of socks so guess what I decided to make? Can you guess? Huh?! You guessed it - a hat! I know, it was time to try something different. I thought about trying to come up with a monkey hat pattern but didn't quite feel I could pull that off and thought it might pucker a bit. So I went with the ole stand by - my favorite pattern - the swirl hat. The yarn is Loopy Legends "Janice's Sunshine in Winter." Named after my friend Janice, I just had to give it a try and have not been disappointed. Like her, it is bright and sunny. When I visit her blog I always want to go visit her! She has a wonderful, loving family and everyone always seems to have so much fun. I've never been to Iowa but if I ever do - I'm showing up on her doorstep!

I was also delighted to receive an "I Love Your Blog" award from Marie. THANK YOU Marie not only for the award but for all your nice comments both on this blog and on my photo blog! I've actually taken a bit of a hiatus from the photo blog because I think Marie and my Mom are the only people who ever look at it!

Marie has started writing her blog in French so I'm not entirely sure what she says about this award but I've gotten the basic idea.

Here are the instructions:

1. Please put the award on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you

3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.

4. Add links to the recipients.

5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

So here are my nominees:

Jennifer - is my good buddy from one of the International Totel Exchanges. I was so lucky to get to meet her when I went to Boston and we have become very close over e-mail. I love all her knitting and her fearless nature to take on something new. Check out her latest beach photos and all the adorable little hats she has been making for the Innocent Big Knit.

Janice - as I mentioned above it is just a delight to visit her blog, see her "old" dog Sumo and her young puppy Sophie. She is always making something interesting, cooking something yummy and entertaining family and friends.

Marie - is just amazing. Check out all of her fabulous cable scarf patterns and dish rag patterns. I can't even finish my Irish Hiking Scarf and she's off designing these scarfs where each one is more amazing than the last!

Deb - I have never met Deb but her comments are always so nice and I can just tell that she is an incredibly warm person. She is often one of the first to leave me a comment and when you visit her blog she had dozens of them!

Lisa - is always making some intricate project like a sweater and gives us all a glimpse in to what's going on in Alaska. I love all her nature photos. Go on over to her blog and take an exhausting "hike" in her latest post!

Bonnie - is one of my first buddies from the knitting blogoshpere and my co-host when we did the International Tote Exchange. Bonnie has been in a bit of a knitting rut lately but she is always sewing something amazing. She does it so quickly too! And check out her yummy recipies even with their own blog!

Kristen - is a relatively new knitting friend from exchanging as well! She has three kids and always something exciting going on. She's been going through a tough time lately and I'm thinking of her. Please send good thoughts her way.

Wendy - is my downstream pal in SP12. I just revealed myself to her so now I can talk about it. I've been enjoying getting to know her anonomously and it will be even more fun now that she knows who I am! She's sick right now so go on over and leave her a comment to feel better.

I can't wait to see who everyone else picks!

I'm Innocent

2008-09-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

You've probably seen it. It's sweeping the blogisphere. The knitting of tiny hats. What for you ask? Well check out the Big Knit over on the Innocent site. They are a UK beverage company and apparently they have an event every year where folks knit tiny little hats for their beverage bottles. For each bottle sold they will donate money to heat the elderly this winter. As first when I saw it I thought it was fairly nuts. But then I kept seeing these adorable little hats and finally this little buttercup hat of Jennifer's put me over the edge. I HAD to make some. What to start with? How can you ask that! I made this tiny Black Jack hat out of the left over Jasper yarn. Next came a minature Amanda hat, followed by a mock cable hat and then I made this rather odd party hat that looks more like an elf hat . . . . So if you care to join us break out the needles and make some hats. They take no time at all and are a great way to use up that spare yarn!

Also as a wonderful surprise this week the same Jennifer sent me a care package. Isn't she sweet? It had this gorgeous wash rag, cotton, patterns for dish rags, chocolate and these really cute dragonfly buttons. Thanks Jennifer - you're the best!

Funny thing, Color

2008-09-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling with my Chevron Scarf. Not the knitting of it but the color. In my previous post I expressed my concern that my color choices would clash. In fact, they blend so well that I became worried they were too similar. So I picked two different colors that were more dramatic. With the help of Holis at my LYS, we checked out the Ravelry photos of the Chevron scarves (there are A LOT of them!) and realized that the ones I was most attracted to were a blend of a multi-colored yarn and a more solid yarn. So I tried the pink and blue combination. I keep changing my mind as to whether or not I like it. I want to rip it out, then I like it, then I want to rip it out again. What do you think? The one thing it did help me decide is that I actually really like the first color combo!

In the good news category - I FINALLY finished my monkey socks! Yeah - my first pair of socks. They are now proudly owned by my Mom. I made them for her to wear to the CAL games. For those of you who don't know, CAL is UC Berkeley and their colors are blue and gold. My folks have season tickets to the CAL football games and now Mom can arrive in style. GO BEARS!

How about another KAL?

2008-09-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

Awhile back I mentioned to you the Fashionably Late in 2008 KAL. They were making a Clapotis and I was wanting to make another. It's a nice group of folks and I really enjoyed it. Their next project was the Swallowtail Shawl and even though that's on my list for some day I wasn't in the mood to do it now. After that was smoke rings which I was happy to join as I am making my first ever for my sister - photos of that one soon.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well the new project is the Chevron Scarf. This is also one I've been wanting to try so I'm jumping in. Janice has made some of these so check 'em out. I've got my yarn and I'm good to go. Now I just have to finish my Monkey Sock before I can start the Chevron Scarf - that's what I promised myself anyway . . . . When I first read about the Chevron Scarf I was disuaded because you use 2 skeins at once and that seemed cumbersome. I thought about making it with a single striping yarn but after looking at all the photos out in the blogisphere I decided that I really liked the versions that use two different colored yarns so I decided to give it a whirl. I hope it won't be too much of a hassle. I also read that it is good to use contrasting yarns so that is the look I'm going for but I am a bit worried that these are actually "clashing yarns". Let's hope they look good together! I already had the greenish skein of Koigu so I went out to search for something else to go with it. I'm proud of myself for at least making half the project from the stash! Also the pattern calls for 4 skeins of Koigu but that sounds ridiculous to me. Each skein is 175 yards and in my book 350 yards is plenty for a long scarf. Hopefully I won't run out.

My Love Grows

2008-09-06T22:36:00.000-07:00

When we last left our Heroine she was ever so deeply in love with Jasper. She dreamt of him, she spoke of him. She swooned when she saw him. She didn't think she could live without him. Her friends were sick of hearing her talk about Jasper. She knit him hats night and day in red, blue, black and brown. But would she grow tired of hats? Would she grow tired of Jasper? Her friends secretly hoped so but then their relationship changed - she decided it was time to try something different. Give their relationship a twist. Yes, she decided to make - a scarf! She decided she needed to share Jasper with others. It was wrong to keep him all to herself. So she decided to make a scarf for the Red Scarf Project. She would share Jasper with an orphan. Much to her delight she found Jasper to be as agile at scarfs as he was at hats. Is there nothing this yarn can't do?

I'm making My So Called Scarf and am just thrilled with how it is turning out. I've wanted to make this scarf for a long time and it is a really fun knit. And just in case you're worried that you won't get to hear more about that wonderful, soft, sexy Jasper - I've got several more skeins for the sequel!

It's in the Bag

2008-09-02T21:53:00.000-07:00

I finished my Everlasting Bagstopper and I think it turned out pretty well. I had several skeins of Mission Cotton each in a different color. Maroon, blue, white and green. I bought them in March of 2007 when I was in Boston. That's when I was lucky enough to meet Jen and she and I went yarn hopping. I had no idea what I would make with the yarn but I fell in love with the colors so just had to get it. This is one of the few times that I have ultimately found a great project for impulse yarn. I like the combo and it made knitting the bag more interesting. Plus every time I look at it I think of my fun visit with Jen! I used every last bit of those 4 skeins on the bag. I'm not sure I'm that fond of knitting with the Mission Cotton because it is a bit nubby but I like the end product. Now the question is will I really use it for groceries or perhaps something a little more upscale?

Also since Miss K loved the colorway I used for the Dish Rag Tag, I used the balance to make a wash cloth for her. There wasn't quite enough so the proportions are a bit off but I think she likes it. Next time I want to try making a dish towel out of some Sugar and Cream.

Don't Rag on Me!

2008-08-26T20:33:00.000-07:00

OK first things first. Berroco Jasper yarn is on sale here! Check it out. I was asked if it is really as soft as it looks and the answer is yes. It's not quite Alpaca soft but it is very soft and snuggly and nice to wear as a hat, scarf, gloves, anything. Really - you need to make a hat!

Now - to the purpose of THIS post. Anyone out there playing Dish Rag Tag The Sequel? If you are - beware Magic 8. We are going to win this time! Well I received the box yesterday with a lovely purple dishrag from Jaynee along with chocolates and some cherry Carmex. How did she know I love cherry! As soon as I got a free moment I took the brightly colored ball of cotton out of the box and knit my fingers to the bone to finish my dishrag. I stayed up late and got up early but I wanted to do my team proud. I packed it back in the box this morning with a new skein of cotton and some goodies for Jill and off it went. I never knew one could feel so much pressure to knit a dishcloth! It never ceases to amaze me how many fun folks there are out in the knitting world. There are almost 300 knitters competing in this game of Tag!

Jasper My Love

2008-08-20T23:09:00.000-07:00

I just can't stop knitting hats with Berroco Jasper yarn. I'm hooked. It's so soft, knits up so quickly and stripes so beautifully! I started with the red Amanda Hat which you see modeled by the actual Amanda. I liked it so much that I made another one in blue. I did modify it a bit as I felt that if I followed the pattern the hat would be too long so rather than do 3 full repeats of the lace pattern in the second section of the hat I only did 1 and one-half.

After those two I went back and bought some of the black colorway and made a Black Jack Hat (pattern to be posted soon) which is for the Little Man since I didn't think he'd like the fancy lace stitch! After that I just HAD to make a Black Jack Hat for my nephew so I chose the brown colorway to go with his blonde, blonde hair. I think the boys will love being twins. Now what shall I make with it?

Round and Round and Round

2008-08-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Miss K saw a twisty scarf months ago and decided that she just HAD to make one. So we went to the LYS, found some Bamboo yarn (green of course) and brought it home. Then it sat in her room. And it sat. And it sat. Finally she asked if I would make it for her. I'd always wanted to try the pattern so I agreed. It's from Scarf Style and it's actually quite a fun knit. It goes quickly and it's pretty neat to watch it twist. It is made with short rows and I must admit that I don't actually understand why it does what it does but it's very cool. It does eat up the yarn though so I think it will take three skeins. I've just finished the first.

We just got back from a few days in Oregon. It is so gorgeous up there!

Stick a Fork in It

2008-08-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

My Italian Market Bag is finished. I am so thrilled with how it turned out. The only problem now is keeping the girls from taking it! I love this yarn, soft, pliable with just enough sparkle to add some interest. The ending kicked by bu** though as I had to frog it several times. I thought I would end with seed stitch but after 4 rows I decided it didn't look very good so I had to tink it all. I hate taking things out so it was a struggle for me. I decided to use stockinette instead and was hapy with how that turned out.

Then I bound off and had a big, huge floppy opening. I didn't like that so had to take that all out. I decided to pretty much k2tog all the way around and then bind off again. For awhile I was nervous that it would then be too small of an opening but it turned out just right.

I looked all round for white rope handles but couldn't find any. I couldn't even find any good rope to try to fashion in to handles. I did find some white drape tie backs and got all excited over those, but when I got them home (of course I didn't have the bag with me at the time) they didn't look good with it. Too fancy. So I decided to knit the handles. After that I tried a few different things and pulled them all out, I finally landed on making it in to a strap with "blocks" of stockinette followed by a purl row.

I will type up the pattern and post it in case anyone is interested. I have seen links on people's blogs to patterns that open up to nice PDF files of the pattern. Does anyone know how to do that? If so I'd love to hear.

The joining bug has bit me again so I joined two KAL's this week! Luckily both are small. One is Dish Rag Tag through the Yarn Miracle. I did it last year and it was a lot of fun (even though our team - Lucky 13 - lost solely based on where the mailman placed our box! - I'm still bitter.) I figure a dish rag is a pretty quick knit so that's not too much of a commitment. Also check out the Fashionably Late in 2008 KAL and join me to knit a smoke ring. I've never made one before but I think it will be fast and easy and make really impressive gifts.

Good Yharma

2008-08-03T21:05:00.001-07:00

"Yharma" is my word for knitting kharma and this hat is the perfect example. I was yearning to make another hat - just one - and then I'll get back to the socks and UFO's - really I will. I wanted to make it for my daughter's friend Amanda but I wanted to try something new. So I searched around and found this great pattern for the "Amanda Hat". Now how perfect is that? The pattern is adorable and it knits up really quickly. I think she's going to love it. The only problem is that it calls for a half ball of Malabrigo and I didn't have any handy. So I grabbed some Berroco Jasper that I have been waiting to use. It is so soft and yummy I just love it!

What I didn't realize is that there are only 98 yards in the skein. I came close, really, really close but not quite enough. But I figured that since Berroco is a major yarn supplier and it's not some hand dyed, art yarn that I'd be able to easily get some more. Right? WRONG! I went on the Berroco site to figure out what the color is called (my tag just had numbers on it) and what did my eyes behold? They have discontinued that colorway. ACK! So I quickly went to WEBS online and was thrilled to find that they had 3 skeins left. Can you believe it? Just 3! So I bought 2 because I figured I'll use just a little to finish my hat and then what will I do with it? So if I have 3 skeins I can make 2 hats and maybe one baby hat . . . . Hopefully it will arrive soon.

I also went to my vegetable garden this weekend. I've been scared to go up there because there has been a gopher in there destroying things. I hired a trapper service and they've already caught 3 but I'm still getting holes all over the lawns and in the veggie garden. It's very depressing. They've basically ruined the tomatos but the beans are still doing great. They ruined the Little Man's peas and he is very sad. He wants me to get three Anacondas and put them in the gopher holes. That might just work but I'm pretty sure I have to go to the Amazon to find Anacondas . . . . But look at the pretty sunflower that is getting ready to bloom!

And speaking of growing things - remember this little gal? Well she is growing up and I know her Aunt Bonnie wants to know how she is doing. For those of you who havn't "met" her yet, this is Miss K's Bearded Dragon named Saphira. I never thought I'd ever care about a lizard but actually I do! Maybe she could catch the gophers for me!

We interupt this knitting . . .

2008-07-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

I know this is a knitting blog and I never discuss sewing here - I'm sure that has something to do with the fact that I can't sew - but this post is a "proud mama" post. This past week Miss K has been at Granny camp. What's Granny camp you ask? At Granny camp Miss K gets to spend time with my folks and do everything she loves. They go to the movies, the Lawrence Hall of Science, the book store, they sew, cook all her favorite meals, go to her favorite restaurants - basically it's what I imagine Heaven to be like. Most of my friends have asked if they can go to Granny Camp! This year it was extra special because my folks signed her up for a sewing camp at their LFS as her 6th grade graduation present (can I say LFS like LYS?) She has desperately been wanting to learn how to sew. She wants to be a fashion designer and as she will tell you, "you can't be a fashion designer if you can't sew!" SO she went to sewing camp 4 hours a day for 4 days and LOOK WHAT SHE MADE!!! Isn't this quilt amazing? It's the first thing she has ever sewn and she did it all herself. She wouldn't even let the instructors help her tear out a seam. They did have a few comments about what a perfectionist she is . . . . So as a totally awed and proud Mom I thought I would share her glorious (and bright) accomplishment with you.

Saving the World

2008-07-23T08:08:00.001-07:00

Can knitting really save the world? Maybe not but it's worth a try isn't it? I saw a post on Firefly's blog discussing how if each of us knit just one bag that we use weekly instead of a plastic bag the numbers add up and can really make a difference. Think about it. If I use one less plastic bag a week that is 52 less plastic bags per year. If 100 knitters do that (or their giftees . . .) that is 5200 per year. If more knitters do it or you use your bag for more than one year or you use more than one bag per week - the numbers can be staggering. I like to think of it as saving the world one less plastic bag at a time. Firefly has asked for knitters to join her quest - will you?
I have decided to join and am using my gorgeous Italian yarn to do so. I'm making my own pattern and calling it the Italian Market Bag. I looked around for an open work stitch to use and found the Italian Rib which I thought was a perfect choice. I will post the pattern when I finish the bag as it is still evolving. I'm trying to decide how long to make it and what kind of handle it wants to have. I saw a cool purse on my trip with white rope handles so I'm thinking of giving that a try if I can find any. Thoughts?

Lace at it's finest

2008-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

I'm still here! I hope you've had a chance to check out the travel blog where I have been posting on almost daily these last two weeks. We have been having a wonderful time on our vacation but I don't have any new knitting to share with you. I haven't had much time to knit and the time I have had has been spent on the second Monkey Sock so as not to suffer second sock syndrome. I haven't gotten that far on it but I'm hoping that 4 hours on a train from Venice to Rome and the long, long flight from Rome to San Francisco will give me ample time to work on it. In the meanwhile I leave you with this photo from the island of Burano, Italy - the home of Venitian lace. Some of the finest in the world. This gives a new meaning to the term "lace shawl"! I didn't even dare ask how much it cost . . .

I did FINALLY managed to find a yarn store on my trip - Lella Bella located in Venice near Campo Menin. It is quite small and they just display one skein of each yarn. She has a metal ring with gobs, and gobs of little, tiny knit samples of the different yarns to show you what they look and feel like. Then when you pick what you want she goes to her cupboards and rifles through them to get the yarn. In truth I didn't see a lot that I was interested in but after all the effort I have put in to finding a yarn store I had to get something! So I decided to purchase a few skeins of cotton/rayon blend in a blue, green and white which reminds me of the beautiful oceans and bays I have seen on this trip. I've been working on a cotton bag pattern based on what I saw in Dubrovnik and I think I'll use this yarn to make it. I promise new knitting content soon!

No more monkeying around

2008-07-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

I was motivated by Janice's quick work on her Monkey Sox to finish mine (or guilted/shamed in to it - you pick) so I have been working diligently and I finished my first full size sock! Yeah!!! Now I just have one more to go - hopefully it will be MUCH quicker than the first. This also counts as my first project for Summer of the UFO. I hope you'll join our KAL and come along with me in UFO efforts.

Here it is in all it's glory being modeled by Horsey Girl (I wish my feet looked that good) in the lovely city of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Check out our trip on our travel blog!

Despite my efforts I can't seem to find any yarn to buy on the trip. I really wanted to make a vacation scarf like Jennifer made. It is such a great idea. In Rome I was told that there was a yarn store in one of the Piazzas so I took a cab there and looked around but it had gone out of business! The cab ride ended up costing 10 euros which is about $17! I sure hope the dollar gets stronger soon. I was really bummed that there was no yarn but then turned a corner and found a fancy pen shop. That is another one of my passions so of course I had to buy a pen so that the effort wasn't a total loss! Then I found a metro stop and took a train back to my hotel because I didn't want to spend the money for another taxi.

Today in the walled city of Dubrovnik I came across an old woman knitting outside her little store. I got very excited and went over to check it out. She was using something that looked like DPN's but when I got closer they were sharp like knitting needles on the end and crochet hooks on the other! She was definitely knitting but clearly these were multipurpose tools. I got our guide to ask her where she got her yarn (my guide thought I was nuts - you want what to do what?) but she spoke to her and the old woman said she only knew where to get yarn in her city which is not close. Bummer! I also saw someone selling a knit stretch tote bag like the Knitty.com BYOB and Everlasting Bagstopper. So I guess the cool cotton knit bag movement is everywhere!

Greetings from Rome!

2008-07-03T10:00:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Rome today and have been having a great time so far. Check out our adventures on my travel blog travelingpeas.blogspot.com. I did some knitting on the plane but not as much as I had planned because I had to spend several hours doing the work I didn't quite manage to finish before I left! I brought my Cozy along as it has become my international UFO. I started it in April of 2006 on the way to Paris. It was my first lace pattern and I found it quite difficult so didn't get very far. I made several mistakes but amazingly enough with the lace pattern and my multi-colored yarn it is quite forgiving and you really can't see the mistakes. Then I picked it back up when we went to Mexico for New Year's 2007 and since I had then acquired more lace skills I found it quite enjoyable. However for some reason I did not finish it when I got home. So hope springs eternal in the eternal city and I am at it once again.

For this week's SP12 questions here we go:

1) What yarn (that you don't have/haven't used) would make your stash"complete"? I don't have a particular yarn I'm holding out for my stash to be complete. And besides, "complete" sounds like you're done. I don't think my stash will ever be done (until I am of course!) Any new yarn is most welcome to join my stash family. I'm particularly excited about the yarn that Jennifer sent me from Paris. I can't wait to figure out what it wants to be.

2) What yarn do you never want to be without? I must say that knitting my Cozy again I remember how much I LOVE this yarn. It is Curious Creek in a silk blend. Sooooooo yummy!

HAPPY JULY 4th everyone - please celebrate for me!

Contests

2008-06-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

Remember the Fashionably Late in 2008 Clapotis KAL? There was a contest for anyone who made one of SK's variations. Well guess what? I WON!!! I'm so excited. I never win anything and this time I won Shui Kuen Kozinski's gorgeous coin lace clapotis. I love it. The color is deeper and richer than this photo but I wanted to share it with you. Isn't it great? SK is the fabulous knitter who has so many of her gorgeous patterns available on elann. I feel very lucky.

This also reminded me that I have been completely remiss in announcing the winner of my Daffodil Daze contest. And the winner is . . . . drum roll please . . . . MARIE! Congratulations Marie, please e-mail me your address and I will send you this beatiful skein of super soft alpaca yarn that reminds me of - what else - Daffodils!

I also want to share with you this square I knit for a baby blanket that Kristen is making. I made this one in horseshoe lace for good luck. The color is actually the more like the little blob of blue in the bottom corner. I have no idea why the rest of the picture turned out in this washed out grey.

Finally for SP 12 I have yet to answer any of their questions and they are already on the third week. So here goes: The question this week is "What do you consider the perfect amount of Stash?" That's tough to answer as I purchase yarn faster than I can knit it so the stash grows and grows. So there is no perfect amount - just more yarn to enjoy! Jennifer once had some british knitting terms on her blog and I loved SABLE. That stands for "Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy." I think that's the perfect amount. And just when I was feeling that my stash has really gotten out of hand (unless I plan to live to 200) you have to check THIS out. You'll feel much, much better!

ADDENDUM: Please join me in Summer of the UFO - sign ups are now open. Tell your friends!

Happy Summer Solstice

2008-06-20T20:23:00.001-07:00

Today is the day - the first day of summer. I always welcome this day with mixed emotions. I'm excited that summer has officially begun but somehow sad that this is the longest day of the year. Summer is just getting in to swing and already the days are going to start getting shorter. I realize that's a "glass half empty" point of view but I can't help it. Every year at this time it crosses my mind. But mainly I'm just thrilled to have Summer. Something to look forward to is the first day of summer brings with it the Relay for Life. Tomorrow night Mom and I will go for the third year in a row and knit our chemo caps. Here is a sampling of the hats that I have already finished. I find that I can only get one hat done during the evening so I try to make a few in advance. The silver hat is a really cool yarn that I found in a sale bin and it turned out very cute. Horsey Girl has been eyeing it so I'm going to have to sneak it out when she is not looking. I wish I'd kept the label so I could see what else they have! The one in the hydrangeas is made from Rowan All Seasons Cotton. It is very soft and great to work with. The multi-colored one is a top down spiral. I thought I had enough yarn to finish it but when I ran out I had to add the tan border but thankfully it matches. Finally, the burgundy one is another mobius hat made out of Blue Sky Alpaca. It is very soft and yummy.

I think this is definitely a style of hat that I will make more of.

MORE ON SUMMER OF THE UFO
Brooke asked if unspun fiber counts. The answer is SURE. He more the merrier. The idea is to have fun and get things done. In fact, Jennifer and I have decided to start a Summer of the UFO KAL. We're still working on setting it up but watch for more info. I hope you'll join us!

Summer of the UFO

2008-06-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

With the power vested in me (a.k.a none), I hereby declare this to be the "SUMMER OF THE UFO!" I have been trying to clean up my house - a project which I must admit is not going very well - and in the process have realized that I have waaaaaaay too many unfinished projects. They range from felted bags which simply need the handle to be attached or a button sewn on to scarves which have only a few inches on them to baby blankets that are 3/4ths of the way finished. So I am declaring this the official Summer of the UFO as my commitment to try to finish as many UFO's as possible. I plan to build a UFO list on my sidebar (give me a bit of time - I'm afraid it is going to be a long one) and I pledge to do my best to finish off as many items as possible this summer. I commit that I will not start a new project without finishing at least one UFO. To reflect my commitment I finished this Odessa hat which I started for my niece probably in January. It's made out of some stretchy yarn so it looks a bit odd when it's not on a head but when it is stretched tight it will look better. The truly pathetic thing is once I picked it back up it only took one evening to finish! Odessa is a very clever pattern. I love the way it spirals in on the top. I chose to make it without the beads but may try the beaded version next (that is AFTER finishing a UFO of course!) I tried to put a link to the pattern but it no longer seems to exist. It used to be on MagKnits but since they pulled it down I can no longer find it. That seems tragic but if you want a copy let me know (since it used to be free I'm guessing that would be OK).

And now for a contest. Please join me in the Summer of the UFO Challenge. Let me know what UFO you plan to finish and let me know when you finish it. I will draw winners in each of June, July and August and anyone who has finished a project during that time will be eligible to win. The requirement is that it has to be an old project that you have let languish. You can either finish the project, decide to finally frog it and start (and finish) something new or put your project up for adoption! To adopt out a project you can mention it in the comments and see if there is anyone who wants to adopt a UFO you no longer plan to finish. If they are willing to give your project a new home you will send it to them and they must send you a little something fun in return. Let's the games begin!

InCRIAble

2008-06-12T07:07:00.000-07:00

Meet Lyra, a baby Alpaca which is called a Cria. She was born one week ago and this photo was taken when she was just 2 days old. She is absolutely adorable! Lyra belongs to one of Horsey Girls best friends and she has been long awaited. Not only are Alpacas pregnant for something like 11 months but her mom had a cria last year that died tragically. It was such a happy day when this sweet little girl was born healthy and strong. Horsey Girl's friend posted signs on the pasture saying, "It's a Girl!" It cracked me up that her Mom went out with a pen and added, "Alpaca Baby" so that none of the neighbors would think that SHE had had another child! Don't you just look at her and think of a gorgeous soft scarf? There was a baby shower for her on Sautrday which was very well attended. Horsey Girl went to the saddlery and bought a purple bucket which she then decorated and also got little bows for her hair. Yes, this little cria will be quite spoiled!

We have had two graduations in the last week, the little man graduated from preschool and Miss K from 6th grade. They grow so fast! I managed to get through both without tears but it was tough. Now they are ready for a summer filled with camps and fun - I want summer vacation!

Me and My Mobius

2008-06-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

If any of you have not tried Cat Bordhi's mobius you are in for something quite unusual. The Yarn Harlot once said that Cat looks at knitting and says, "how can I make this harder?" I think she may be right! The mobius is cast on in a very strange way and then you are knitting round and round on both sides of the work. It's really quite odd and I must say that I can't totally figure it out. But I saw a mobius hat and thought it was so cute. I felt like I had to give it a try. The mobius part is just the band but I think it turned out pretty cute - what do you think?

As to something OTHER than hats - I decided to join Secret Pal 12. It's been awhile since I have been in an exchange so I thought what the heck. So here are my answers for my wonderful anonyous pal out there whoever you are!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I have lots of favorite yarns. Pretty much whatever gorgeous yarn I have found for the project du jour. I'm not crazy about novelty yarns and don't really use that much in the way of bulky yarns.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a beautiful needle case that my friend Jennifer made for me which houses some of my straight needles. I have a binder with little plastic pencil holders in it to hold my circular needles. I also have two boxes to hold other needles - one for up to size 9 and one for larger sizes. Basically a workable but not fabulous system.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I learned to knit when I was pregnant with my son and have been knitting now for 6 years. My wonderful Mom taught me and I'm probably now an intermediate knitter.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I don't but maybe I should create one!

5. What's your favorite scent? Lavender, Citrus and cinnamon.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?CHOCOLATE of course! Also Swedish Fish and Sour Balls.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I don't spin and am trying hard to avoid it - the last thing I need is more ways to take up my time. I do scrapbook although I haven't done so in quite awhile.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like lots of different types of music - rock, pop, jazz and others. I have an ipod and I'm pretty sure I can play am MP3.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love purple and red. I'm not so crazy about orange and dark green.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I'm married with 3 kids, 2 cats and a bearded dragon lizard.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves and although I knit lots of hats I actually don't wear them. I wear gloves but no ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Hats! I also am enjoying making shawls although they take me MUCH longer!

13. What are you knitting right now? I'm trying to make as many hats as possible right now to donate for Realy for Life. I have 4 done and 3 on the needles. I also have 2 shawls, 2 pairs of fingerless gloves, a sweater for my son, a baby blanket, at least 2 scarves and several other items OTN!

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes I do.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? It depends on the project. I like straight for scarves, circular for almost everything else, I have lots of bamboo but like the aluminum for lace. Not really a plastic fan. I'm loving the KnitPicks options in the Harmony wood.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I do!

17. How old is your oldest UFO? Well how do you define a UFO? If it's something that is knit but not assembled then probably at least 3 years. If it is something still on the needles than maybe 2 . . . .

18. What is your favorite holiday? I love Christmas - it's such a fun family time, we get together with lots of different people, work tends to slow down a bit and then or course there is giving and receiving presents!

19. Is there anything that you collect? I love dragonflys but I'm not sure I would say I collect them.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Nothing special but always open to other people's suggestions. I don't have any current subscriptions.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I would love to learn intarsia. Whenever I change colors on something you can always see where it occured.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I have just started knitting socks but haven't yet finished one. I wear a size 9.5 shoe and have thick ankles.

23. When is your birthday? November 18th

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? Why Allisondragonfly of course!

Yeah Me!

2008-06-06T07:49:00.000-07:00

My kids love this show called "The Suite Life of Zach and Cody." It's a cute show and I love the play on words in the name. Well there is a character on that show named London who is a spoiled girl fond of saying, "Yeah Me!" While a fairly obnoxious saying - I must just this once - use it for finishing the Baby Sweater! I'm so thrilled to be done and look at the finished result. MANY THANKS to Mom for her excellent seaming. Here it is in all it's splendor along with the little matching hat. When Miss K's teacher opened it at the baby shower I got all the requisite "oh's and ah's" so I was thrilled. I just have to ask myself WHY did I choose such a challenging pattern? I always seem to do that. I think, "I'll make a baby sweater, they are small and easy so should be fast." And then I find the most complex pattern that takes me forever. Oh well. I really like it even it I won't be making it again! At least the hat was quick.

Don't forget the Contests!

2008-05-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

As the Relay for Life is fast approaching I have turned my attention to making hats. I think I started earlier last year because I had several hats by the time Relay rolled around but I'll just have to do the best I can this year. This one is using the feather and fan pattern. I'm very happy with the color and pattern but unforutnatley it is quite small. One of these days I'll actually make a swatch! I'm going to keep going though as there are unfortunately also kids who have cancer and need hats. Don't forget my contest - anyone who donates hats to me for the Relay for Life will be entered in to a drawing for some wonderful goodies.

Speaking of contests - I think it is time to call an end to the Daffodil Daze. I'm guessing that all daffodils have bloomed across the country by now. So far I have the following folks entered: Monica, Kristen, Marie Is that it? If you posted a photo of daffodils and I missed you let me know. I'll draw a name in a few days!

Post Holiday Let Down

2008-05-27T06:53:00.000-07:00

Happy day-after-Memorial-Day to all of you! I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mine was lots of fun but not quite long enough. What is it about a three day weekend that makes you think you are going to get so many things done? And then you don't finish even half of what you thought you would do. Now I just need another 3 days off!

The baby sweater is coming along. I finished knitting the various pieces and my wonderful Mom is putting it together for me. She is an excellent seamstress and I knew she would do a much better job than me. She is bringing it back tomorrow and then I just need to crochet the contrasting border and it will be ready for the shower this Sunday. I'll snap some photos before I give it away. With Jennifer's encouragement I decided to make a hat that matches in the contrasting color. Thankfully that knit up quickly in just 2 days. As to the shower - we are now at 56 people! It has definitely blossomed in to something bigger than we expected. Hopefully it will be a success. I know my daughter's teacher will be extremely touched when she sees the turn out. She is new to our town this year and has made a great impression on everyone.

Kristen tagged me with this fun game so here goes. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was doing a lot of what I'm doing today, I was married with two of my kids ages 2 and 4.5. I didn't have all the kids acitivities I have now though! We were living in a different city, about 30 minutes north of where we are now and were shopping for our current house. What I didn't know w asthat a month later I would have one of the worst experiences of my life when I fell, shattered my heel, ended up with a plate and seven screws in my foot and a year of physical therapy ahead of me. That is certainly something I'm glad is in my past!

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):
Get several things done at work, give some books to a friend who works at a school I am donating them to, pay bills, fill out various end of year school forms and clean up my room (like that will happen :-)

3) Snacks I enjoy: apples, chocolate, chai latte from Starbucks, fresh berries and nuts.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: First I have to say it is so sad that this question has to say "billionaire". Twenty years ago "millionaire" would have sounded pretty good! If I were a billionaire I would first give some money to family, friends and charities. I like charities that help children, cancer victims, animals and help teach people to read. Then I might just quit my job, travel, buy a new house or perhaps a house in Hawaii, buy yarn . . . .

5) Places I have lived: Northern California (at least 8 different places), Texas, New York and on a ship - just 4 actually!

6) Jobs I have had: working in a Hallmark store, working at Bullocks department store, secretary, lawyer and MOM.

7) 6 peeps I wanna know more about:

Jennifer

Bonnie

Janice

Lisa

Hakucho
Can't wait to see what their answers are!

I'm si chanceux!

2008-05-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

That's "I'm so lucky" in French. Yesterday a package came in the mail from my friend Jennifer. It smelled absolutely amazing before I even opened it. There was a sachet of lavender inside and with the heat wave we are having it really brought out the smell. It was fabulous. I just wanted to sit there and sniff the package. But I had to rip it open to see what was inside. You see Jen just came back from Paris and she is so sweet she sent me 3 skeins of this gorgeous yarn! What a special treat. THANK YOU JENNIFER!!! The yarn is blue and pink and purple and is it so gorgeous. It is thick and thin and fairly soft. She doesn't know what kind it is (there is no label) but there appears to be enough for a scarf so now I just have to find the right pattern. Any suggestions? Maybe I should go to Paris and see what the Parisian women are wearing these days - what do you think? It is so exciting to get a fabulous package and now have this wonderful yarn all the way from Paris. I am indeed a lucky girl.

Go Green

2008-05-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

Can knitting actually change the world? Probably not but at least it can make a small difference. I needed something simple to knit when I couldn't focus on the pattern for the baby sweater so I decided to make the Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty. It is a great mesh bag that you can use instead of plastic bags. Even more eco friendly I am using some Mission Cotton that I had purchased a year ago. I have 4 different colors so I am going to make some broad stripes. The pattern is really simple and knits up quickly. I was on the Elann site yesterday and saw so many cute cottons that I may have to make several of these little diddies! The green photo is borrowed from Knitty.com so you can see what it is going to look like.

Virtuosity

2008-05-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up my mother was always telling me "patience is a virtue" to which I would respond "THAT I DON'T HAVE!" I have never been known for my patience despite the fact my mother has the patience of a saint. I like to think that as I have grown older I have become more patient and maybe I have, but then as my irritation rises because the 411 lady isn't giving me my number fast enough I realize maybe I haven't! So I'm very proud of myself that I have stuck to the baby sweater despite my desires to move on to other projects. I have been patient with it and have mastered the pattern. No longer am I ripping out every other row. I have now finished the back and the left side. I have moved on to the sleeves leaving the front side for the last piece since it will go fairly quickly. I am currently knitting both sleeves at the same time as I was worried that my new patient self might not be able to immediately turn to a second sleeve after finishing the first. I have never done that before but it is going fairly well. It also does seem to be more efficient. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get it done in time!

Timing is Everything!

2008-05-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

As they say, timing is everything. So just in time for the impending warm weather I have finished two hats! I mean who can't use a good warm hat in 70 degree weather? The turqouise one is for Horsey Girl and the green one is, of course, for Miss K. The girl who has enough green clothes so that entire loads of wash can be nothing but green. Horsey Girl has been wanting a hat with cables and she is pretty happy with the result but she doesn't like the fact that the ribbed brim is folded in half. Oh well, teenagers are never happy anyway are they? Miss K's is finished with a double seed stich brim and turned out quite cute. I am very happy with it and as a bonus there appears to be enough left on the skein to make another hat which I can donate for the Relay for Life.

Impulse Control

2008-04-28T06:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-17T17:43:00.001-07:00

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!

2008-04-12T08:02:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

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!

What was I thinking?

2008-03-30T16:09:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when the new Knitty.com came out. I always like to see what the new patterns are because of course I don't have enough projects already! Well the new Spring issue has come out and I like several of the patterns. I was most excited about the Spirogira fingerless gloves. I have long lusted after the Mermaid gloves but there is no true pattern for them. If you search around on blogs and Ravelry you'll find bits and pieces but no true step by step pattern. Spirogira is very similar and actual has a pattern I can follow! I was forced to stop all other projects and start these cuties. I first started with some gorgeous turquoise yarn I bought to make something for Horsey Girl. I was working on them when she said, "ooooh, pretty yarn. Whatcha making?" What a perfect response - she liked the yarn - my heart swelled! I responded proudly, "fingerless gloves for you sweetie!" To which she responded, "but I don't wear fingerless gloves, well, yeah." Can you hear my heart deflating? So I did what every self respecting mother would do - I shouted "you'll wear them any way!" No seriously, I didn't but I immediately pulled them off the needles, rip, rip, rip.

I still really wanted to make the gloves so looked around and saw the remaining yarn from the hat I recently made for my friend. I loved the colors so much that I threw it on the needles and started knitting away. I'm loving the pattern and loving this yarn but I knew I didn't have enough. But since it's not some fancy hand dyed but fairly standard commercial yarn I figured I'd be able to find some no problem. Right? WRONG!!! I have spent many hours now searching on the internet and calling around to LYS' looking for this yarn. It is Filatura di Crosa Zarina baby. I think I finally found a site on the internet that has it. It is hard to tell from their photo if it is actually the same colorway but I jumped in and ordered some. Hopefully it will arrive soon and be the right color. Please!

Hoppy Easter!

2008-03-24T07:28:00.001-07:00

For those of you who celebrate Easter I hope you had a good one yesterday. We definitely did. The weather was amazing - in the low '70's - and we went out to brunch with my family, my folks and my sister, brother-in-law, my niece and nephew. The decorations were gorgeous, food was a amazing and the kids had a great time with egg hunts and lots of fun activities. The only bad part of the day was that I didn't even get 5 minutes to knit! Things were so busy and action packed. So I have a guest knitting photo today - Mom is making these great socks out of some Socks That Rock yarn she bought at Stitches. It is the basic STR pattern and they are turning out quite nicely. The yarn is soft and squishy and oddly enough there is no true heel. She was worried about this but we had Horsey Girl try them on and they fit beautifully. We should never have doubted those ladies at STR!

You Can Count on Me

2008-03-19T22:00:00.000-07:00

When Mom and I went to Stitches West we didn't just buy yarn, we also found this great vendor who sold these gorgeous glass beads. Now I know this is a knitting blog and not a beading blog but don't click away just yet. We got the beads with a definite knitting related purpose in mind. You see several months ago my friend Judy who was my downstream pal in the first Tote Exchange sent me a kit filled with a jump ring, two long pieces of ribbon and 19 beads. I read the directions but couldn't figure out what to do with them so I gave the kit to Mom to see if she could figure it out. Of course my super Mom was quite capable of figuring it out. What Judy had sent me was a kit to make a row counter. It's really a very clever way to do things. Not only did Mom figure it out but she took it to a whole new level. She figure out that it would be even better to use a stitch marker rather than a jump ring so that you can slip it right on the needles and keep it hanging off your knitting while you work. She then went crazy and made a bunch of these little diddies to go with all her projects. You can make one with 4 beads for a 4 row repeat, 6, 8, 10 etc. and you can even make them with two sets of beads so that you can count in double digits.
Here is a photo of one that counts in to double digits. You use the colored beads to signify 1-9 and then the clear beads are for the tens. In this photo the counter is reflecting 26. So here's my tutorial on how to make these. First get a stitch marker and a long piece of thin ribbon. You fold the ribbon in half and loop the two ends through it and pull it tight. Next you take a bead and you thread the ribbon on the right through the bead from right to left and the ribbon on the left through from left to right. Then you add the next bead and repeat. So the ribbons thread back and forth from side to side through the beads. Both ribbons pass through each bead. You add as many beads as you want to make a counter that counts as high as you want. When you're done you leave a bit of space on the bottom and tie the two ribbons together. To count you just slide down the beads one at a time. I even made one on a very tiny stitch marker with very tiny beads to use as a row counter for my Monkey Socks. I used embroidery thread and had to use needles to get it through the bead holes. I love how light it is - it doesn't get in the way at all but I must admit the beads don't slide as well as they do on ribbon.

As you can see I got a bit carried away. Once you start you cant' stop. I kept thinking of projects I could use these for! Another suggestion is to make these as gifts even for non-knitters. In that case I would use the jump ring and instead of counting rows they can be used to count your blessings when you get up in the morning or before bed. It's a really fun way to get to use some beautiful beads as well.

Monkeying Around

2008-03-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

The Clapotis KAL has set a deadline of March 31st to finish so what do I do? Throw myself in to working on my clappy? Focus and finish? NO - I felt an incredible urge to start something new of course. So I wound up the Loopy Legends Janice's Sunshine and stared at it. What to make, what to make. It IS sock yarn but that doesn't mean that it HAS to be a sock. I thought about a hat or a scarf but then decided I actually would make some socks. But what pattern? Then I remembered that Janice likes making Monkey Socks so maybe I should make some of those. I was worried they might be too hard but I know they have been all the rage so clearly many knitters have been able to conquer them. So I have cast on and knit round and round. So far so good. I have gotten through two rounds of the lace pattern so far. I am trying the two circular needle method but have some loose stitches where I switch needles. I have been trying to pull tight each time but it's not working so well. Any suggestions?

Cest fini!

2008-03-08T15:02:00.000-08:00

I have finished the two hats for my friend and I am very happy with how they turned out. One is the mock cable that I showed earlier and the second is a lace pattern. My friend's oldest daughter just turned two and her new daughter from China is 15 months old. I thought they would look cute in these "matching" hats. I hope they like them and that they fit. My friend published a blog during her trip to China to get Kate. It was such an amazing experience to live vicariously through her journey. You could tell from her words and photos the raw emotions they were all experiencing. It is amazing to realize that a person can be given a child and within about 48 hours can be completely and irrevocably in love and the bonding has begun. I feel honored to have been a part of the beginning of their wonderful life together. I get to meet her next week and I'm so excited.

What's in a Name?

2008-03-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

I found this little diddy on Bonnie's Blog and thought I'd give it a try. A good part of it is true and some is not. However, it is strikingly similar to Bonnie's description. That could mean one of two things. EITHER Bonnie and I truly were separated at birth OR it could be that it's a ruse - take the test yourself and let me know!

What Allison Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. I definitely strive for perfection - don't think I'm accomplished being the best at everything (or anything!)

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. True

You have the classic "Type A" personality. Very True

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. This doesn't seem to fit with the earlier ones does it? I'm a bossy chic so probably don't totally go with the flow.

You are light hearted and accepting. True

You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. I'm fairly well adjusted - but how does the "you don't get worked up easily" fit with the next comment that I'm "pretty tightly wound?"

You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. I probably do get easily excited.

You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. This one is probably not true - I have a lot of enthusiasm but I also tend to stick to most things.

You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. I do try to do a lot - as to knitting - it is an issue to get everything finished . . . .

You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong.You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. OK we know this one's not true!

You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. Hmmmm - maybe this fits in with that "type A" comment.

You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. Well I'm definitely round . . . . and I do think I have a decent perspective.

You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. That I am - one friend once called me, "good ole dependable Al".

At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are very intuitive and wise. I don't think anyone would say that I'm overly serious, I do put a lot of pressure on myself though.

You understand the world better than most people. Don't know about that one - I definitely don't understand teenagers!

You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. I can be known to day dream . . . .

You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. I do tend to be sensitive and always assume that you ARE talking about me :-)

Clapotis for Me

2008-03-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

In the past I've made two Clapotis and have given both away. Then Jennifer told me about the Fashionably Late in 2008 KAL and I decided it was time to sign up and knit a Clapotis for me! I bought some gorgeous Tess yarn at Stitches that I had planned to use. However when I started working with it I decided it was too thin (it is the one pictured here.) Then I remembered that I had bought some thicker Tess yarn last year and so I went digging for it. Guess what? It was the EXACT SAME colorway! So what does that tell you? Anyway, I fired it up and am on my way. There isn't quite as much of the thicker yarn as is called for in the pattern so I'm making it a little thinner than the pattern calls for. Here are also a few more photos from my Stitches haul. I got some of the new Malabrigo silkie yarn which is a combo of silk and merino. I love Malabrigo and this silkie version is amazing. I got the colorway Stone Chat which is the same color as I used to make Jennifer's backpack in the first Internationaal Tote Exchange. Also I got some fabulous Baywood silk and merino sock yarn. The maker is a local artist located in San Mateo. Unfortunately she doesn't sell on-line but only through a local yarn store that is just a tad far for me so I don't get there that often. I found this great turquoise and brown colorway that I am excited to try. Last but not least is some yarn that I didn't get at Stitches but rather ordered from the Loopy Ewe. They have started a series called "Legends" where they name colorways after their favorite customers. This one is named from my good friend Janice so I just had to have some. It's called Janice's Sunshine in Winter. Isn't it gorgeous? Just like her!

Show and Tell

2008-02-27T07:11:00.001-08:00

Some eye candy for you of a couple of my Stitches purchases. This colorful yarn is some oh so soft alpaca yarn in such a bright and happy colorway that I just had to buy it. I think it came from Pacific Alpacas. She has a whole bunch of these cute little skeins of about 150 yards. I figured of course that it could be a hat! I have not yet decided if I will be keeping it or if it will be a gift for someone. Or I just might carry it around stroking it all day! The second photo is some wonderful green silk from Tess Yarns. I absolutley love her yarn. Her booth is very dangerous to enter and it is hard to leave with just one thing (I did not succeed!) Her colorways are so gorgeous and then you can pick the fiber once you find your favorite colors. She has sock yarns, silk, wool, merino, alpaca, silk and merino and even riboon. I picked this skein to make something for Miss K partially because she loves green but mainly because I just had to have it! There is about 333 yards - any suggestions on what to make with it?

My Very First Sock!

2008-02-24T18:19:00.001-08:00

You're looking at it - my very first sock! I'm so proud. And no, it's not a matter of the photo being out of perspective, it is indeed a baby sock. I made it in my class at Stitches West taught by none other than Cat Bhordi herself. It is her Coriolis sock design. How cool is that? She is so very nice and friendly. She is down to earth. She loves to teach. She looks just like a normal human being. The non-knitter would never know that she is a goddess! Here she is holding my sock! The class was so much fund and Mom and I had a great time. We also enjoyed shopping at the market and I will soon show you some of the goodies I purchased there as soon as the rain stops so I can photograph them. You can see a sneak peak of the yarn I got to make a clapotis here. Unfortunately on Friday I got the flu and so had to miss the second day. That was a real bummer. However I'm finally feeling well enough to knit so the world will soon be a good place again. I don't think I'll make a second one of these socks because I have no intention of giving them to some sweet babe. I'm keeping my first sock like a trophy!

Daffodil Daze

2008-02-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

I was thinking the other day about Janice's comment that she was experiencing weather that was 25 below while I was considering planting my forgotten bulbs. I realized that we often take for granted that which we have. In California we often forget how lucky we are when it comes to the weather. As knitters we forget how lucky we are to have a passion and as knitting bloggers we may forget how lucky we are to have a wonderful community of friends. So I'm having a contest called Daffodil Daze. I want to track the appearance of Daffodils across the country. I figure this are probably the most common of bulbs so everyone must have some near them that they can take a photo of. So when they appear near you, please take a photo, post it on your blog and leave me a comment. Once the last bulb has emerged from the ground I'll have a drawing for a wonderful prize. I figure Lisa in Alaska will be among the last to see them so once I've heard from her I'll now it's time for the drawing. I thought it would be fun to see how long it takes these little guys to make their way across the nation. If you have no Daffodils near you than a tulip or another sort of flower which emerges from a bulb outside (other than paperwhites) is fine. I first started spotting daffodils in my neck of the woods the beginning of February.

So what will the prize be? That has yet to be decided. Tomorrow starts Stitches West so I promise to find a worthy goody at the market there. Mom and I are going and I'm so excited. We are taking a sock class with Cat Bordhi on Thursday and an all day sock class on Friday. This is my yarn for Friday's class - some wonderful Koigu in red and purple. I've yet to complete a sock so wish me luck!

I'm in love!

2008-02-16T16:17:00.000-08:00

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love with a beautiful yarn! Did you guess? I LOVE this yarn. It's Malabrigo selecction privada and its soft, fun to knit with and I really like the colors. I bought this awhile ago at the yarn store in Half Moon Bay and have decided to make the Wave Scarf which is a free pattern from Knit Picks. It's really a cross between a scarf and a shawl as it's a very wide scarf but not wide enough to truly be a wrap. It looks like it is going to be very yummy to wear. There is a 24 stitch cable which is quite large and makes it pucker a bit. I still haven't decided if I like that or not. If I make it again I might consider a 16 or 20 stitch cable instead but it is pretty cool as it gets bigger. I can't wait to wear this when I finish.

Springing Up

2008-02-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

I found these bulbs in my garage. I guess I forgot to plant them. But that didn't stop these guys - they are bursting out anyway! I'm going to get them in the ground quickly so hopefully I'll have some pretty tulips in the spring. They are currently resting comfortably in the hat I'm making out of the cute baby yarn I bought in Ojai. It is for my friend who is adopting a baby from China. Her new little girl is about 1 year old so hopefully I'm making this large enough. She leaves at the end of the week to get her and will have to spend about 3 weeks in China. I'm so excited for her. They have been hoping for this for about 4 years! She also has a little girl who will be 2 in March so I'm going to make her a matching one in the pink yarn. I am using a stitch called mock cable or baby cable and it is so easy! No cable needed. It is K2,P2 rib and then every four rows rather than K2 you K2TOG but then instead of slipping it off the needle you knit one more in to the right stitch and then slip it off. Viola! Baby cables without a cable needle. Pretty darn cool if you ask me.

Valentine's Hats Part Deux

2008-02-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

It finally stopped raining enough for me to rush out and take some photos of the Valentine's day hats I am making for the girls. I am still working on the one for Horsey Girl and am quite happy with how it is coming out. While I'm not a big fan of intarsia, it it worth it to get the effect. You can't quite see it yet but this will be a rim of hearts around the middle of the hat. I'm using some soft yarn form Misti Alpaca which is 85% cotton and 15% silk for the pink section and the left over red from Miss K's hat for the hearts. I picked the pink because I love the color and it is so soft and yummy but I have not made a hat from cotton before. I'm hoping that it doesn't get to stretchy. I think the intarsia will help make it stronger and less stretcy. I also have a picture of Miss K's finished hat. The last one looked so bad I needed to show it to you again. It is being modeled by the little man since it is still a surprise to the girls. He looks awfully cute in it - might have to make one for him . . . .

Smoke and Mirrors

2008-01-31T18:35:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-27T13:43:00.000-08:00

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?

2008-01-23T14:12:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-20T17:07:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-13T22:11:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-10T06:52:00.000-08:00

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

2008-01-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-01-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

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?

And the Winner Is . . .

2007-12-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Kristen! My wonderful upstream pal from the Fall Felted Bag Exchange wins the Christmas knitting story contest. Thanks to all of you for your comments and stories. I put all of your names in to a holiday gift bag and Mom drew Kristen's name. I'll be sending some goodies to her shortly. On December 23rd we went to my nephew's bowling birthday party in Pacifica and it was the most glorious day. On the way home I just had to pull over and take some photos. My kids gave me the "not again" rolled eyes as I jumped out to snap this. It was just so amazingly beautiful I had to take a photo! Also pictured are Mom's socks that she was working on Christmas Eve modeled by lovely Horsey Girl (hence the teenaged chipped nail polish look). She is making them with some fabulous yarn called Baywood Yarns made by someone locally in San Mateo. Her yarns are amazingly soft. I think Mom is going to enjoy wearing these socks. Of course her shoes might fit better without the silver decorations!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T00:09:00.000-08:00

To all of you who celebrate Christmas I hope you have a wonderful day with your family and friends. For those who celebrate other holidays I wish you a joyful day as well. For all of you I wish you happy knitting and lots of yarn!

Holiday Hat

2007-12-22T23:15:00.000-08:00

Keep those holiday knitting stories coming. Remember there are 2 more days to enter and you can even create a new story by starting say an Afghan or sweather tomorrow or better yet - on Monday! I'll be pulling the name out of the stocking on Christmas day. Thanks so much for sharing your stories with us - I've really enjoyed reading them. This is another hat I am making with some yarn I purchased on my trip. Thanks to Jennifer who sent me an e-mail with a list of yarn stores in Singapore. I have no idea what the yarn is - the label is completely in what I believe to be Japanese. I think it might be some sort of mix of cotton and wool but it is very soft and is knitting up quickly. I'll have to find someone who can translate the label! Now I need to figure out who to give this one to. Hope your shopping, wrapping, cooking and the like are going well. Take some time to relax and enjoy the season.

Hat's Off

2007-12-17T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hat's off to all of you for your great holiday knitting stories. I will leave the contest open until Christmas day. You can leave comments on this post as well and then I'll put all the names in the proverbial hat to draw a winner. I've really enjoyed reading your stories. Good to know I'm not the only crazy one to start a project at the last minute and stay up late to finish it or delude myself in to thinking that it will be quick and easy! And all of us are going to call Alison H. when we need to tell someone how we really feel!

I finished the hat for Horsey Girl's friend Jenny and I'm very happy with how it turned out. This is the second hat I've made with Classic Elite Inca Print. The first one "blobbed" colors but this one went in a spiral so that was pretty cool. The top of both have similar striping so not really sure why the difference but I did use different patterns. Now off to start some Christmas presents . . . .

Holiday Contest

2007-12-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

Wow - it has been 2 weeks since my last post. I think this is the longest I have gone between posts. For those of you who might have actually missed me - I had to go to Singapore last week unexpectedly to close a deal. While it was sort of exciting it was also exhausting and a week of my life disappeared. I did however have two very long flights in which I thought I would get a lot of knitting done but I ended up sleeping, reading and watching the movies. I did knit a bit on my Cozy to continue with it's international history. I may never finish it but at least it will be well traveled!

I do have another hat to show you. This one is for Horsey Girl's friend Jenny. I just can't keep up with the demand! It is very nice though to have the girls wanting my knitting. I have also finished the second blue fetching so now that it's a pair I will be giving it as a holiday gift.

To celebrate the holidays I am having a contest. Leave a comment about your holiday knitting story and I'll draw a random name out of the stocking to win a yummy yarn prize. My craziest holiday knitting idea was two years ago when on December 23rd I decided that I needed to knit a scarf for a friend for Christmas. I went to my LYS and got some of that crazy yarn that is made of all sorts of different yarns tied together. I decided to knit a really long, thin scarf so I cast on about a zillion stitches and knit all day and night to finish it. It turned out REALLY long but I got it done and she loves it. I still ask myself though what I was thinking starting a gift just two days before Christmas!

Eye Candy Friday

2007-11-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

Progress continues on the Secret of the Stole. I'm rounding out Hint #6 and I only have 2 hints to go. Technically I was "supposed" to finish by today but I knew when I started that I would not finish on time. I told myself that if I only had 2 Hints left on November 30th then it would be a great victory. I technically have 2 and 1/3 Hints left but I figure that's good enough. It's funny how you play mind games. Rather than count every row, my friend Jennifer suggests only counting the difficult rows. That cuts things in half right there! Also I discount the rows where there are long stretches of plain knitting. Then of course in Hint 8 you are reducing every other row so there are fewer and fewer stitches each time - so I can practically consider Hint #8 already done! But this is further than I've made it on any shawl I've started so I hereby declare VICTORY OF THE STOLE! For more eye candy visit Fryday Photo.

Fetch Me Some Yarn

2007-11-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

We're still in Oregon for Thanksgiving week and having a wonderful time. I decided Mom and I needed a project we could do together so, motivated by Janice's wonderful Fetchings, I brought yarn for Mom and I to try this project. I got the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran called for in the pattern and they have been very fun to knit. The first one I made I - GASP - actually followed the pattern. It knit up quickly and is quite cute but it is not long enough for me. I think it will be perfect for one of the girls or a friend with smaller hands. So the next one I decided both to make it two tone (why pick when there are so many wonderful colors) and also to make it longer. I added a row of cable to the bottom, 4 extra rows in the middle and a row of cable at the top. Oh I guess I lied before, I didn't totally follow the pattern even the first time. The piquot bind off makes it too floppy in my opinion so I did a cable row and then bound off. I like the way it makes it lie flatter on my hand. It has been really fun making a project at the same time as Mom. She however actually started the second mitt for the first pair before starting a pair in a different color - what's with that???

Res Ipsa Knit With Her

Who Ordered the Snow?

Fair Isle Baby

Surprise Jacket

Where Have I BEE'n?

Never Enough Time

Round and Round and Round

Happy Fourth of July!

Who'd A Thought

Earth Baby

What's a Girl to Do?

Cacophony

Happy Memorial Day

Knit On

The Rumors of My Death

No Knitting Going Down

You Can Never Have To Many Hats

Hodge Podge

Oh Baby Baby

Hanging at the Lake

Bon Ami Scarf

Spring is Springing

Tote*ally Awesome

Let's Make A Deal

How I spent my Sunday

Psycho Internet Friend

New Beginnings

The Mad Hatter

We Interrupt this Knitting Blog

Distractions

Yes Virginia

There's only HOW many days until Christmas?

Happy Veteran's Day

Small Things Amuse Me

Soccer, Horses and Sharks, Oh My

My So-called Red Scarf

Take me to Jamaica

I Couldn't Help Myself

Monkey on my Head

I'm Innocent

Funny thing, Color

How about another KAL?

My Love Grows

It's in the Bag

Don't Rag on Me!

Jasper My Love

Round and Round and Round

Stick a Fork in It

Good Yharma

We interupt this knitting . . .

Saving the World

Lace at it's finest

No more monkeying around

Greetings from Rome!

Contests

Happy Summer Solstice

Summer of the UFO

In*CRIA*ble

Me and My Mobius

Yeah Me!

Don't forget the Contests!

Post Holiday Let Down

I'm si chanceux!

Go Green

Virtuosity

Timing is Everything!

Impulse Control

Other People's Knitting

You'll Never Take Me Alive

Clapotis Cest Fini!

Spring Flowers

Happy Days

What was I thinking?

Hoppy Easter!

You Can Count on Me

Monkeying Around

Cest fini!

What's in a Name?

Clapotis for Me

Show and Tell

InCRIAble