What was I thinking?

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!

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

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

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!

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?

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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

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

You Made my Day!

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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


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

Do Sheep Felt?

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

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

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

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

I'm Somebunny

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

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

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

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

Green with Envy

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



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

Pure Bliss

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