I'm ready for my Close-up

I've never been good at diets and that includes yarn diets. Even though I've got way too much on the needles and waaaaaaay too much yarn, I was forced to buy some more. Really - there was a knitting needle to my head and I had absolutely no choice. Frankly I blame my pusher Hollis. I walked in to my LYS not too long ago - just to look around - really - and there she was knitting with this amazing yarn. Curious Creek in the most incredible purple colorway. The yarn was soft, luxurious and come on - it was PURPLE! So I fell for it and had to buy some. I think I'll make a yummy wrap. Now I just have to find the time to start it (oh yeah and finish it!) And a special treat for Bonnie who loves K's little Saphira so much - here's a recent close-up. Our little dragon is growing up!

ISE IV Scarf

I finished my scarf for the International Scarf Exchange awhile ago but I didn't want to post it unitl my pal had received it. The ISE II was the first exchange I ever participated in and so it holds a special place in my heart. This is now my third time participating in ISE and I have really enjoyed it. The first time I made a clapotis, the second time a Mathew's scarf and then this time I was gearing up to make something lace when I got Randy as my pal! Well the lace patterns went out the window and I searched and searched. I had landed on the cable pattern from OneSkein (there is even a guy wearing it in the photo in the book) and I bought the yarn for that. Then when Jennifer and I were shopping in Boston I saw this scarf and decided it was perfect. It was fun to knit and I'm happy with how it turned out. Horsey Girl kept asking how I was coming on my "Man Scarf!" Gee now that I type this I'm wondering what I did with the yarn I bought for the other one . . . . Anyway, the scarf went all the way to Japan and here is Randy wearing it - I think it looks great on him! It was fun to get to know Randy - he seems like a really great guy. I can't wait to get my scarf from my upstream pal. I'll show you all when it arrives!

My Hundredth Post!!!

On this auspicious occasion of my 100th blog post I want to talk about giving back to this great knitting community which I am so happy to have become a part of. Next month Mom and I will be participating in the Relay for Life. Relay for Life is a major fund raiser for the Amerian Cancer Society. Relay events occur all over the country and the one for our town is coming in June. Basically people walk for 24 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Often people form teams and take turns walking to cover the entire 24 hours. Well my LYS Full Thread Ahead, has created a Team Knit Around. Instead of walking you knit chemo caps. She sets up a tent alongside the track and folks come and go and knit for 24 hours. Mom and I plan to be there from about 10 p.m. until midnight. It's a fabulous idea and a whole lot of fun. So I'd like to invite all of you to join in the fun. If you are so willing/interested, please knit chemo caps and send them to Hollis at Full Thread Ahead. Be sure to send them so they arrive by June 24th and put a note in the package that you sent them based on this post. If you don't have time to knit a cap you can go to the FTA site and donate to Team Knit Around. Also please send me an e-mail at lahamltAgmailDOTcom to let me know you sent a hat or made a donation. Everyone who sends a hat or makes a donation will be entered in to a prize drawing. You will get one entry per hat (or per $10 contriution). The winner will get lots of cool knitterly stuff (be sure I have your address!) Maybe Hollis will even donate something from the store for the prize package (hint, hint)! If any of you are in the Bay Area and wish to join us in person I hope you will! My heartfelt thanks to all of you for making my first 100 posts so much fun!

Gifts Galore

First and foremost I want to belatedly publicly thank my wonderful SP 10 Pal Clara for the really cool gift she sent to me. It's a felting kit where you actually use roving rather than yarn. The instructions are fairly complicated but you place the roving over the form you want for your purse and then you go through a number of steps including washing and agitating by hand and doing something with bubble wrap. I've never seen anything like it and I'm excited to give it a try. I've had a lot of fun in the SP 10 exchange. Then of course to continue the shawl theme here are the shawls my Mom made for my sister and I for mother's day. Aren't they great? Mine of course is the purple one and it's done in a seafoam stitch pattern. Better yet - it's totally yummy Cherry Tree Hill in a silk blend. THANKS MOM - you're the greatest!

Shawls Galore

We'll I cast on (and cast on and cast on and cast on) for the Elann Pacific Waves shawl in the Sonata print in the Rose Garden colorway. It requires that you cast on 541 stitches!!! It took me FOREVER! Then you only reduce the equivalent of about 1 stitch per row for around 60 rows so I'll be knitting over 500 stitches on most of the rows! It is a major accomplishment just to knit one row! I think I will like it though and it's a very easy pattern to follow. I also started this crazy shawl based on a kit I got at a yarn store shawl kit sale. They put a mix of colors that basically go together in to a plastic zipped bag and then you make whatever shawl you want. There are some patterns that come with it and also my Mom and I bought some additional shawl patterns. I go back and forth between loving this color combination and thinking it's just too wild. I guess we'll have to see how it looks when it's done!

Crossing The Finish Line

They say the two best parts of a project are starting it and finishing it. In between things can get a little tedious. Well that was certainly the case for this cozy wrap. I made this wrap for Horsey Girl and I started it oh so long ago. It is made out of pink Homespun and it is wonderfully soft and squishy. My Mom had made one out of blue and every time my daughter saw it she would take it from my Mom and wear it herself. So I decided to make one for her. I bought 3 skeins and got to work. The first skein went fairly quickly and I was excited. Then I started to get bored and I put the project away. I'd forget about it for awhile and then I'd work on it every now and again. Now those skeins of Homespun are evil. They are like Willy Wonka's every lasting gobstoppers. THEY JUST NEVER END! Even when you look like you are close to the end they just go on and on and on and on! But alas - I FINALLY finished it and now she won't have to steal my Mom's. I really love it and would like to make more of them but for now I just can't face another skein of Homespun! Also this week I received two wonderful surprises. First, as a prize for the contest to name Bonnie's "dummy" Lola, I received four adorable stitch markers. Thanks Bonnie! Then I also received a surprise package from Jennifer. She was out shopping and knows I love dragonflys so sent me this beautiful business card holder. It was such a wonderful surprise. Thanks so much Jennifer - I love it!

Elann-athon

I've decided I'm a joiner. I know. It's obvious. The scarf exchanges, the tote exchanges, theSecret Pal exchanges, I just have to join. So when I found out about the Elann Shawl-athon I just HAD to join. If you haven't been there before, Elann is a discount yarn site that has the most amazing free shawl patterns. I've got several of them on my "to do" list and even have the yarn for one. So when I came across the Elann-athon I just HAD to sign up. I'm so excited! I'm going to make the Pacific Waves shawl in Rose Garden. It is made with their Sonata yarn which is 100% cotton and is very colorful. I've never used cotton for anything other than small dishcloths so this will be a new experience for me. Also it is a very easy shawl pattern for when I don't want the complexity of the Victorian Lace pattern. The kick-off is on May Day but I told myself I have to get several things off the needles before I can put anything back on. So far 2 off and 2 to go. I think I'll be able to start this in about a week. I'll post progress as soon as there is any!

I Needed Another Scarf

Actually the last thing I need is another scarf but I just couldn't help myself. Every time I went in to my LYS, they had this amazingly soft, snuggly scarf hanging there. Each time I would fondle it but then tell myself I didn't need another scarf. The yarn is Cypress Mohair and it is a mix of acrylic and mohair. That was another reason not to make it - I generally don't like knitting with acrylic. But the mix of colors is amazing and it is just so incredibly soft that I found myself compelled to make one. I am so happy that I did. The yarn is wonderfully soft to knit with and the scarf is just so comforting to hold. To take this photo I sort of tossed the scarf in to the flowers. Then when I pulled up the photo on the computer I noticed it was shaped like a heart! The scarf must know that I love it. Too bad the weather is warming up now that I'm almost done!

Spring Challenge

I decided that I need to try something a little more challenging than the felted bag or typical scarf that I seem to be spending most of my time on. So I decided to try one of the shawls out of the Victorian Lace book. I bought some gorgeous alpaca silk at Stitches West and picked a shawl that I thought I could do. I must say that it is fun although it requires a LOT more attention that knitting a felted bag. I also keep ending up with the wrong number of stitches! Intrestingly enough, when I heard the author speak at stitches her view as that you just "fix it and add a new stitch" rather than going back and tearing things out. I like that approach! So far my little fixes don't appear to be noticeable but I think I won't truly find out until a get a little farther. Has anyone else made anything out of Victorian Lace?

Sadly No Knitting

Unfortunately there will be no knitting content in this post. I will explain why in a bit. However I wanted to share these photos with you and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I do. This week the kids were off school so we went down to Monterey for several days with my folks. For those of you who aren't familiar with California, Monterey and it's better known sister city - Carmel, are on the coast of California about half way down the state. It is a gorgeous area and I always like going there although we don't get there very often. It is truly a gorgeous destination. As you drive along Highway 1 on the coast, I am always taken aback by the sheer wonder of it. Even though I live mere miles from the coast, I don't often get to the ocean. Whenever I do, I am always in awe. It's just amazing to me that I can be driving along and a few feet away is literally the edge of our country! I mean that's it. Turn right, drive a few feet and you are in the ocean. The gynormous (yes I got that word from my kids) Pacific Ocean. I don't know why it always amazes me so but it does. While in Monterey we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium

(or the 'quarium as Master J would say) which is one of the best Aquarium's in the world. They have the most amazing sea life there and lots of opportunities to touch and learn. One of their best exhibits is the jellyfish exhibit. They have all sorts of jellies and have them in tanks with lights that make them look so incredibly beautiful. It is really a sight to behold. Also they have many amazing creatures such as the seahorse pictured here. Of course no trip would be complete without a trip to the yarn store so Mom and I went to Yarn by the Sea, the yarn store in Carmel where they sell not only yummy yarn but designer chocolate! I mean what more could you want out of life? Now for the "no knitting content part". That was the only bad part of the trip. I had been scouting out photo shoot locations for various knitting projects and Saturday morning I packed up the projects, grabbed the camera and headed out the door only to - GET WET! Yes it had started raining, then pouring and it didn't stop! I was so disappointed!! I was really looking forward to sharing pictures of "knitting by the sea." Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back!

Just Shrug it Off

I was watching Knitty Gritty one night and saw this adorable shrug that appeared to be fairly quick and easy and looked like something Miss K would like. I've never knit anything even remotely like a sweater before but decided it was time. Not wanting to spend time making something she wasn't going to wear, I made her watch part of the show and she said she really liked it. Check - she likes it! So then I picked out the yarn (green of course) and showed that to her. Check - she likes the yarn. Next as I was knitting it I continually tried it on her and each time asked her if she liked it. Check - she continues to like it. And then (of course you know the ending to this sad tale) when I finished and put it on her she says, "It's OK, but it's too bad you didn't finish it while it was still cold outside!" WHAT??? It's only in the '60's and clearly a shrug isn't exactly a fisherman's sweater! She doesn't seem to like it. I don't think she is going to wear it. I'm so disappointed but maybe she'll change her mind. Oh well, I guess I'll have to "shrug" it off!

Fabulous SP10 Strikes Again

I got a fabulous box from my SP10 Secret Pal this week. Previously she sent me this adorable Vogue book on felted items. Sure enough there are several things in there that I can't wait to make. NOT that I need more projects but there is this adorable plaid bag and . . . Then on Monday this big box arrived. What a nice way to start the work week. I opened it and found the most wonderful things. First it was all organized in these nice need sections. Then I opened each one and found surprise after surprise. This AMAZINGLY soft and gorgeous Art Yarns silk yarn. The colorway is just scrumptios with the purple, teal and yellow. Any suggestions on what to make? Then there were two gorgeous skeins of Noro, hand lotion, candles and these totally cool gloves with polka dots to put on your hands after the lotion. They are so cute but they were too shy for a good photo. THANK YOU SO MUCH to my wonderful SP10 pal. You are so good to me. I love all my gifts and can't wait to use them!

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Spring! Whatever your denomination (or not) this is a great time of year. The sun is out more often, the weather is warming up (most of the time) and the flowers are beginning to bloom. This time of year always feels like the start of something new to me. It is a great time to think of fresh knitting. It's time to put away those hats, scarves and wrist warmers and turn to spring knitting. I've started knitting with cotton - not something I've ever done before and I highly recommend it. It is so soft and the colors are amazing! Also it seems to be cheaper than some of the other yarns out there. So far I've only knit wash cloths but they are so quick and fun and they lead to instant gratification. Maybe next I'll knit a tank top or spring sweater! I think spring is a time to make new knitting resolutions just like New Year's. It's time to take on a new challenge, knit a fresh new item, just get out there and knit! So happy everything to everyone including Happy Spring Knitting!

And the winner is . . . .

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and participated in my blogiversary contest. It was so great to hear from all of you! I'm very flattered by all your kind words on my knit items and photography. I put all the names in a hat and out came Brooke. Congratulations Brooke - I will be sending you a box of goodies soon. Brooke was my upstream pal in SP8 and what a wonderful pal she was. I also want to say hello to my upstream pal in SP10 in case she is reading. My new pal sent me a wonderful little Vogue knitting book on felted items. Now I have even more things on my "to do" list! This photo is yet another ballband bag I am making. I can't thank Monica enough for this great pattern. My friend likes pink and brown so I'm desperately trying to get this done for her for Easter - do you think I'll make it?

BLOGIVERSARY Contest

Happy Blogiversary to me! It's my party and I'll knit if I want to, knit if I want to, knit if I want to! One year ago on March 30, 2006 I started this blog. What a wonderful ride it has been. It has given me a great opportunity to combine my love of knitting with my love of photography and my love of flowers and nature. But most of all my love of friendship and the exciting opportunity to meet all of you! So as a special thank you and to celebrate, I'm having a contest. Either leave me a comment or send me an e-mail and let me know which of my knit items is your favorite and why. Or if you prefer - which of my photographs you like the best. If you don't like any of them just fake it! The winner will be drawn at random from all the entrants and I will send you a bunch of knitterly goodies. Be sure to let me know how to contact you if I don't already have your e-mail address. Thanks for playing and thanks even more for visiting my blog!

I'm so lucky!

I have returned from the frigid East Coast (see the photo at the bottom) to lovely spring weather. I had to go to Boston for the week for work but the delight was meeting my ITE II downstream pal Jennifer. We spent part of the day together on Sunday when I got the opportunity to have brunch with her and her wonderful family. Her kids were so well behaved and she has to coolest victorian syle house. It felt like we had know each other for years. To boot she gave me all sorts of wonderful gifts! She made the adorable needle holder pictured here and a really cool project bag modeled on the one recently in Knitter's Review. It easily holds 2 skeins of yarn and has a cool little strap to put over your wrist or the arm rest on a car of plane, and straps inside to hold the yarn. Also a neat-o little pocket on the outside for your various goodies. Then if that wasn't enough she made me an adorable dragonfly washcloth in purple no less and gave me a ball of purple Sugar and Cream! THANK YOU Jennifer for all the wonderful gifts!

We also found time to hit a few yarn stores both on the Sunday when I arrived and the Saturday before I left. We topped it off with a visit to the New England Flower show where we admired the various floral displays and discussed how their colors could be arranged in the perfect felted bag!

Spring has sprung so why am I heading East?

Spring has sprung in sunny California. The flowers are blooming and the sun is shining. Today it is expected to be in the 70's. So why am I getting on a plane this afternoon and heading towards Boston? Yes BOSTON - where they got 2 feet of snow yesterday and they closed the airport??? Well duty calls and I have to go there for work so off I go. More importantly though, when I get there I'm going to meet my friend Jennifer in person! Jennifer was my downstream pal in Tote Exchange II. I'm so excited to meet her and her family tomorrow. We're going to have brunch and then a tour of Boston's yarn shops. I made sure there was extra room in my suitcase just in case I bought something (HAH - notice that - "just in case"!) I am so blessed with the friends I have made through the Tote Exchange. Among those folks is my pal Bonnie who just sent me this adorable wristlet. Isn't it totally cool? I just love it! There are more photos of her amazing wristlets on her blog. I'm taking it with me on the trip to carry pens and knitting supplies and so it can meet Jennifer too. THANK YOU BONNIE!!!

Hip to Be Square Part II

I have finished my bag for the International Tote Exchange III and have packaged it up and sent it soaring to my secret pal across the way. Many thanks to my good friend Carrie for giving me the pattern she designed for this hat. I used her pattern for the body of the bag, another pattern for the bottom and designed my own strap. I sure hope my pal likes it! I am sorry to see it go I must say. I really like the colors and was quite happy with how it turned out. Now I'm going to make one of those cool hats!

Sign Me Up!

I've signed up for the new Secret Pal 10 which is about to start and I'm looking forward to it. My first Secret Pal exchange was SP8 and I'm very thankful that I participated in it because that it what caused me to start my blog. Having a blog is a requirement for the SP exchanges. I have really enjoyed having a blog and getting to know all of you out in blogland. Also SP8 allowed me to meet my wonderful upstream pal Brooke and my wonderful downstream pal Lynae.

If you think of it, the Secret Pal exchanges are actually pretty amazing. Basically people sign up to send presents to someone else. I mean that's really all it is. You're not necessarily knitting something for them (unless you want to), you're just giving. I think it's so wonderful that there are so many people out there who want to give to others. True - you also get back (which of course is very cool) but still, it's hundreds of people signing up to buy presents for one another. Where else do you see something like that?

I gave SP9 a pass as I was too busy at the time. It's not like I really have the time now but I couldn't pass up SP10. So here goes with my questionnaire and to my secret SP10 pal - I'm so excited to add you to my warn and wonderful on-line knitting community. Welcome!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I have several favorites, cashmere, silk, alpaca, really anything soft. Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk is my favorite. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'm not crazy about novelty yarns.
2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I use plastic boxes for the straight needles and a binder with plastic zip compartments (like those ones you put your pencils in for grade school) to hold the circulars. I have an absolutely gorgeous holder for my best straight needles which Jennifer made for me.
3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting for 5 years. My Mom taught me because I wanted to knit a blanket for my son before he was born. I think I'm an intermediate knitter.
4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Nope
5. What's your favorite scent? I like vanilla, lavendar, citrus, almond and any other yummy smells.
6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Are you kidding? Favorite candy? Anything Chocolate. Lindt balls, almond joy, Swedish Fish.
7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?I like to scrapbookbut I must admit that I havn't done much since I became addicted to knitting. Do you spin? No
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 rock, pop and cross-over country. I have fairly broad tastes in music. I can play music on my computer or iPod
9. What's your favorite color(s)? Purple, red, pink Any colors you just can't stand? I'm not crazy about 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 named Saphira.
11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves, not hats, shawls, not ponchos and probably fingerless gloves (I do live in California after all).
12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I've been in to felted purses lately but now want to make some shawls.
13. What are you knitting right now? Where do I start? Some felted bags, some scarves, a shrug for my daughter, a wrap, a baby blanket, a hat and my hyphen boy bag.
14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes.
15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Depends on what I'm making but probably not plastic.
16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes
17. How old is your oldest UFO? Probably the afghan I started at least 2 years ago. It's all knit in 3 panels but still needs to be put together.
18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas although I like all holidays. I just like to celebrate and have fun with family and friends.
19. Is there anything that you collect? Not really.
20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I like Interweave but don't have a subscription.
21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Anything related to lace.
22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I'm hoping to make my first pair of socks this year. I have size 9.5 foot.
23. When is your birthday? November 18th - Scorpio Baby!

Project Gracious Parcel

I have finished my squares for Project Gracious Parcel. I found out about this project on someone's blog and thought it was really wonderful. This woman's husband is involved with Habitat for Humanity in upstate New York and so she makes blankets to go to the inhabitants of the new houses. I know there are tons of knitting charities out there and lots of places that make blankets but I liked the idea of sort of "knowing" where the blanket was going. The house they are building this spring is for a mother and her three children so she is making 4 blankets! I decided I wanted to make 4 squares out of the same yarn so they would each know they came from me but each square needed to be different. I used some of the wonderful soft yarn from Uruguay that I bought on eBay (remember that bad influence Bonnie . . .) The colors are brown and yellow and beautiful fall colors. It made me think of leaves changing on the East Coast. First I made one that was double seed stitch. It turned out well but it sort of looks like a pot holder and I wanted to make something a bit more interesting. So next I made the heart square. I got the heart pattern here. She has lots of adorable patterns for dishclothes but unfortunately most of them have too many stitches for a 7 inch square. The heart was the only one I could modify to make fit. But inspired by her designs I then made one with vine lace to think of the lovely trees and forests in upstate New York and the last one was in horseshoe lace for good luck. I'm excited to see how the blankets turn out!