Queen of Purple Yarn

Did anyone find April and May around here?

2011-06-10T01:00:00.000-07:00

April and May seem to have gone missing from the blog. Oh, maybe that's because I didn't post at all during those months...how the time seems to have disappeared!

But it's now June, and school has ended for the year. Not that I dislike my job - far from it - but it was definitely time to let the kids go and for me to have some time away from the responsibilities of being a school librarian. This was a tough year in some ways, as I was asked to stretch myself in directions that I didn't think I wanted to go.

And for someone who is now on vacation, there is an awful lot on my calendar! During June, there is only one day (ONE DAY!) that doesn't have something scheduled on it. However, this IS considered vacation, because some of those events don't start until evening, so I can sleep until I'm ready to wake or the dog decides she's tired of being in her crate, whichever comes first.

So, last time I posted, I mentioned that I had a bad case of Startitis. Well, I'm now working my way through MustFinishStuffFirstBeforeIStartSomethingElse-itis. By the way, if you want pictures, look at these previous posts and imagine more of the same in the pictures!

Case in point:

Knitting:

Girl Friday -- back and fronts done, one sleeve almost finished. BUT, after taking a Fit to Flatter class with Amy Herzog, have discovered that I'm making it a size too big. I'm debating whether to pull it completely out and redo it in the smaller size, or if I should just pull it back to the underarm shaping and refigure the numbers to make it smaller just in the upper chest/shoulder area.

Chad -- back done, front cast on and ribbing done, except that I forgot to use a smaller needle for the ribbing. RIIIIIPPPPP! Only 2 inches of 2x2 ribbing, so luckily not too much!

A's mitts for Richard -- done!

Octavia shawl -- done (just not blocked yet)!

Yet another Eco Cloud cowl for a goodbye gift to a coworker who is moving to Buffalo, NY to work on a PhD in medieval literature.

San Francisco Giants mitts -- a commission (which I don't usually do) for a coworker as a gift to his friend who takes Pat to several Giants games each season. My payment -- he will donate to No-blog Rachel's fundraising effort/walk for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer walk in September.

The Lost in Transit scarf is languishing, the Susie coat is just sitting around, as are the plain vanilla socks being made from my hand-dyed yarn.

But I want to start a Daybreak shawl (I may have cast on for this already...don't tell anyone), need to knit socks from my purple handspun and from other yarn in stash, got ideas for altering a completed Spanish Dancer shawl, and.....we could be here forever with the list of "wanna-dos".

Spinning - need to finish projects:

Baby camel/silk blend - about 3/4 done; aiming for a 2-ply laceweight, spinning on my Lendrum.

Abstract Fiber merino/silk blend in Poppies colorway -- just over half done, spinning on the KCL drop spindle. Was originally going to ply the colors togther, but now, I may spin a matching single from a lovely alpaca/silk blend (also Abstract) in Black n'Blue and ply those.

Tri-color BFL (Frabjous Fibers) in Stained Glass colorway -- almost 1/3 done spinning on my Victoria.

The cranberry and gold wool spinning project is currently on hold until I clear up one of the projects already on the wheels.

The mind is bursting with desire to knit and spin and sew (need to sit down and bust out two quick baby quilts that were promised to parents - the babies are now 4 months and 2 months old, respectively).

But the time has gotten away from me and the calendar is filling up with appointments and rehearsals. I've just joined a local gospel choir, Joyful Noise, and we have rehearsals every Tuesday evening, in addition to my normal Thursday evenings at the public library. Then there is the storytelling that I do with my friend Sharon for the public library. We do one story a year for the summer reading program, but have been asked to tell our story in a couple weeks for a Friends of the Library function. We need to get the rehearsal schedule together. Oh, and there are the two presentations that I'm supposed to do at a Teacher Institute next week, one of which will also be presented in Philadelphia at the ISTE conference in two weeks, and the teachers with whom I'm helping find resources for a major curriculum rework in 10 days.

No wonder that Time has been disappearing fast!

Startitis

2011-03-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well, since my last post, I finished a second Eco Cloud cowl, this time casting on 75 stitches, and a pair of fingerless mitts. Both are for me. Thank goodness this week has been Spring Break from School so I could do all these things!

These mitts are based on the Jacoby pattern, but I made the top part longer and added several rows to the thumb. This way, I can keep more of my fingers warm, but also can fold down the top if I need to use my fingers. Now, I need to finish a pair for R so we can wear them to Opening Night of the Oakland A's season tomorrow! (Baseball season has started -- Hooray!)

What you see below are my pair, and the one on the needles on the top left are for R. Mine were done on 60 stitches, and his are on 68 stitches. You can see how the striping pattern has changed, and how the addition of the thumb gusset changes it too. (Claudia Handpaints fingering weight in the A's colorway.)

But in addition to 2 pairs of fingerless gloves, I've got a major case of startitis! I've been a good girl and swatched to check gauge.

Girl Friday -- I've had this rosy peach Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool since Dec. 2009, and I've finally found a good pattern for it!

Cassidy -- working on this in Cascade Lana d'Oro, color 9923, an alpaca/wool blend that I've had for almost 3 years now (sorry no pics, yet).

Chad (Ravelry link) has been calling my name! You know how you've acquired quite a stash, but nothing matches the patterns you want to make, either in gauge or quantity or color or ... I've been wanting to make this for a while, but didn't have anything in stash with the quantity that I needed. I'd almost resigned myself to buying some Greenland, the called-for yarn in the pattern. But then, while I was hanging out at Purlescence, I noticed a skein of Dream in Color Classy in the Plum Paisley colorway. You may remember that almost 2 years ago, I bought 5 skeins and then found the perfect buttons for it. But subsequent dye lots of this yarn were very, very different. But this one was the same as my previous purchase. Buying one additional skein was the right decision and I'm loving the knitting of the waffle pattern for Chad!

And then, along came a pattern a couple nights ago from Debbi Stone, a Goddess Knitter from Blue Moon. Her Octavia lace shawl pattern just jumped at me and onto the needles. The lace pattern has violets in it and calls for about 350 yards of fingering weight yarn. In going through the stash of sock yarn, I pulled out a few that I thought might work. Asked the DH which one he thought would work best and he chose the semisolid Socks that Rock Lightweight in .... Vancouver Violet. Perfect match!

I'm still spinning the Abstract Fiber silk/merino on my KCL drop spindle, but Kelli and I decided that the colorway should really be called Brazilian Carnaval, not Poppies.

I've spun about half of the baby camel/silk from Stitches, and have also started some Ashland Bay merino top that will be plied together, half in Cranberry, and half in a yellower/deep gold blend.

And yesterday, I got a new wheel! She's a new-to-me Louet Victoria. Help, I need a name for her!

To make matters even more interesting, I've also started up on Twitter as @PurpleYarnQueen.

Like I said... Startitis!

Busy...

2011-03-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

So what else is new?

I just need to keep reminding myself that life will get a little less busy in a couple weeks when my school goes on Spring Break. However, since Stitches last month, it has been non-stop, go-go-go-, keep going, oh-but-don't-forget-that-project-either, madness at work.

--- 4 straight weeks of researchers in the library, 100+ students every day, in addition to the regular classes.
--- 2 presentations at a conference (oh, I agreed to help out at two of them? Oops, I thought I'd only said okay to one...)
--- 1 presentation that was cancelled at the last minute (rescheduled for next month)
--- need to make sure all your budget is spent (in your spare time)
--- what the heck am I teaching this week to this grade?
--- Second Grade show rehearsals onstage start next week, right after the researchers finish; show is less than two weeks away, so also need to keep the librarian-in-charge-of-show sane
--- which reminds me that I need to reformat my copy of the script because I'm the stage manager

No wonder my down time at home has often been spent staring off into space instead of crafting!

Nothing has been finished since my last post, but the projects are heading closer to completion. I've told myself that I have to finish one project before I can cast on another.

1. Susie sweater -- moving along on the first sleeve. The cuff is done and I'm almost 17" up the length. I just need to try it on the recipient and see how much farther I need to get it. Maybe I'll start the cuff of the second sleeve now.

2. Lost in Transit scarf is about 2/3 done. I'm almost done with the second repeat. It still looks the same as last month, only longer.

3. Purple Vanilla socks - 1 sock is done, the toe is cast on and I'm now knitting around and around and around for the foot.

4. The little bit of crafting brain that I have left is focused on spinning! Right after Stitches ended, I had to try out my new fast flyer on something intended for laceweight. Well, gee, I just happened to have this gorgeous baby camel/silk blend...

But then I got a KCL Woods spindle at Purlescence. I resisted going by Ken Ledbetter's booth at Stitches, but the Purl Girls didn't and brought some spindles into the shop. One came home with me, and the Abstract Fiber silk/merino blend in "Poppies" was immediately started onto a leader. This spindle (one of his "beginner spindles", nothing fancy) spins like a dream - love it, love it, love it!

Talk about addiction! In the last 2 weeks, I've almost spun 2 oz, solely on a drop spindle. I will say that the more you use a drop spindle, the less you drop it! I'm going to ply it into a 2-ply laceweight. Can't wait!!!

Oh, and the last thing that has eaten my brain is my new iPhone. My old iPod Touch was a first generation and wouldn't upgrade any further to iOS4, therefore not syncing my calendar etc, with my computer. After a bit of hemming and hawing (on my part) and a bit of research (on his part), he told me to upgrade to an iPhone4. [Darn, he made me do it!]

So we're standing in the Apple Store and looking at cases, but I can't get any of their purple cases because everyone else I know has one of them. I stood there and said "this person has this one, and this other person has this one..." So I went home, looked around online and didn't like the other ones I saw. Then Tapmouse mentioned making a custom case - bingo! I went to Zazzle, uploaded a photo that The Dork had taken a while back, and here's my new case. It won't be mixed up with anyone else's! The flower is actually more purple than this. It's Vinca Minor (aka common periwinkle), in case you're wondering...

I'm trying not to let a month go by before I post again, but we'll see what happens...

Coming back down to Earth...

2011-02-21T21:13:00.000-08:00

So the last month has been all about Stitches West 2011. Scheduling time off from work, knitting for it, planning, looking forward to it, etc. I love seeing people that I don't see very often, enabling people into some wonderful yarn or fiber and generally reveling in the creative atmosphere that is Stitches.

Because I was working in the Purlescence Yarns booth, I wanted to knit with yarns they were going to be selling. Since they were bringing over mostly Cascade Yarns, I took a look in my stash for something to work on.

Behold: Red Pogona by Stephen West
1 skein of Cascade Heritage 150 paints in red (col. 9958)
US 6 (4mm) needles

And: Cowl (imaginatively named, huh) based on Mulberry Merino Cowl
1 skein of Cascade Eco Cloud in medium gray (col. 1810)
US 10.5 (6.5 mm) needles

Love, love, love this new yarn! It's very squishy and soft and I'm going to make another one, but casting on fewer stitches to make a closer fit for me. The original one is going to a friend.

Also had time to cast on and knit about half of Lost In Transit scarf from 1 skein Cascade Heritage Silk (col. 5639)
US 6 needles

That knitting was using up stash. You'll be shocked to know that I did not acquire much yarn to replace what I just used. In fact, I only bought one hank of yarn at the show. Okay, so I bought more than a pound of fiber instead of yarn...

Clockwise from the upper left:
4 oz. of merino/silk in that nummy blackberry purple from Redfish Dyeworks
2 oz. of merino/yak/silk in Supernova from A Verb for Keeping Warm
2 oz. of baby camel/silk (natural color), also from Verb
2 oz. of yak (natural color) from Rabbitworks Fibre Studio
(another shot of the previous 3 fibers)
400 yards of Toe Jam sock yarn (alpaca/mohair/silk/merino) in Bloodlines also from Rabbitworks
2 - 4 oz. braids of merino from Judy's Novelty Wool (her website is very bare-bones). One braid is Teal, the other is "Henson Reunion '04"
and 4 oz. superwash merino in Patronus from Sunshine Yarns.

Another acquisition happened too, but I didn't pay for it. The Boy had promised to give me a fast flyer for my spinning wheel, but hadn't gotten it yet. So he came to Stitches, ostensibly to buy some yarn to make his girlfriend a scarf, but also took care of this outstanding debt too. So now I can spin some of this lovely luxury fiber into laceweight yarn.

Much as I've tried to get my body to pull out the wheel and spin some of this stuff, today has been all about letting my brain rest. Maybe I should head to bed soon...

Time flies when you're having fun... or Who Took My Year?

2011-01-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

How did that happen? I blinked and it's almost the middle of January, and I haven't posted since September! Where does the time disappear to? Did someone else need it more than I did?

Okay, I need to recap what I've been doing (mostly for myself because I don't think anyone is left out there reading my rambling).

In my crafty life --

There has been knitting:

In October, I finished 3 hats for Shanti's Mom's Ships Project to put hats on the heads of sailors on her ship. Those are down the left side.

From next column clockwise: Fingerless gloves for The Dork, Bryony tank, Handspun Scrunchable Scarf for me, Striped scarf for Hubby, Purple socks for me, Hawthorne shawl (yes, it takes the entire width of our queen-size bed).

In progress now: a Pretty Thing cowl in cashmere!

Quilting:
Only one this year, but there are a couple more in the works that I can't show you yet. Remember I had bought some blue fabric back in 2008 for an ocean themed quilt? Well, I added to the fabric stash... and then this:

Blue batiks

became a quilt/playmat for Reuben Jeffrey James Miles

Spinning:

Ahhh, spinning! I've done more spinning in the last year than I've done in a looooong time, and that includes the Tour de Fleece. That's because I enrolled in SpinU, a 12-week intensive class at Purlescence taught by the incomparable Sandi. We did all kinds of spinning, from understanding the basics of worsted-style and getting our hands to do woolen-style spinning, to working with long- vs short-staple fibers, to various art-yarns. I've got a better understanding of my wheel and how to get it to do what I need.

My favorite spinning was the laceweight cashmere/silk and camel/silk blends in the upper left photo. (I loved working with the good stuff!) And, The Dork Boy says he's getting me a high-speed flyer whorl for my spinning wheel so I can more easily spin the finer stuff.

In other crafty things, my sister-in-law made this embroidery for her mother (my MIL):

Lovely!

School has been busy and we're heading into what I call "research season" starting with the 3rd graders this week. We're also involved with accreditation reports for the Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC), and I'm heading a committee. Add to that supervising a part-time librarian (who used to be my boss - she's semi-retired), and I'm sometimes silly busy.

In the home improvement area, we've had 2 fences go down in a windstorm before Christmas. The backyard was quickly repaired by our neighbors who propped it up. The side fence, which we knew was a problem, will be replaced probably in the spring when it's warmer. There also have been washing machine problems, a replacement water heater (tankless!), a new-to-us TV, and some reorganization and destashing of stuff. Another run to Goodwill needs to happen soon.

The holidays came and went too quickly. I blinked and the time between Halloween and the New Year whizzed by.

Other than that, I'm looking forward to Stitches West, which will be in just a few weeks. Hmmm, what can I make before then...?

Whew! I guess I was pretty busy, wasn't I?

Finishing my vacation

2010-09-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Okay, I started this blog post last month. Now it's the official end of summer in the US, Labor Day, and I realized that the post still isn't done!

The summer was full of projects and, I think overall, that a lot got done. It just went by really, really quickly!

There has been cleaning and decluttering, and there is more yet to be done. But I'm feeling better about the lower amount of stuff in this house. Some people say there is a feeling of lightness that occurs, and I think I'd have to agree.

However, does that mean I've gotten rid of yarn stash? Not entirely! I am, though, using some stash.

Proof:

The Fall Twist Collective came out, and I immediately fell in love with the Hawthorne shawl. I have some alpaca yarn that I bought several years ago up in the Medford area, from Alpacas at Lone Ranch, and it's knitting up beautifully. It's done, and I just need to get a modelled shot of it.

I've started the Bryony tank by Amy Herzog and am knitting it in BabyBoo, a bamboo/nylon blend. We (Sandi and I) did some customizing of the pattern because the row gauge of the original yarn is very compressed compared to the row gauge I'm getting. And, I'm combining two sizes for the front to accomodate my hips, decreasing down to the appropriate bust size. Back is done and I'm halfway through the front. Love the cable detail on this!

I have about 3000 yards of this beautiful Artfibers Alfabeto (silk/mohair) that Sandi so kindly gifted to me. I started a mindless project to take on vacation up to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, so I came up with the Point Edge Wrap. Show knitting was supposed to be garter stitch with a beautiful edging. However, I failed entirely to manage an 8-stitch lace pattern in the dark.

Hence, a stop at Web*sters in Ashland for yarn for a simple mindless scarf - no yarn overs! I got some Colinette Cadenza in the colorway Marble, 2 skeins became another Scrunchable Scarf. Even better, I had a gift certificate to use!

While in Web*sters, I was in the sale room when I turned around to see this gorgeous braid on the table. They had just gotten this beautiful tri-color BFL in "stained glass" from Frabjous Fibers in Vermont. MUST.HAVE.NOW. So I did.

But I had also bought 8 oz. of gorgeous Mendenhall Merino black fleece from Purlescence. Much of the fiber I buy has to sit and marinate for a while until I decide what it wants to grow up to be. However, this stuff --- yummy! Must. Spin. Now! The locks are almost 3 inches long and the crimp is beautiful and tight. So I washed it, and now it's completely dry, and I want to just spin it right off the locks as is. But I should be good and flick card it first...

And now, I'm taking the SpinU class at Purlescence, so there is a lot more spinning in my future.

That led up to this past Saturday. Rachel and I decided we needed a day to dye. So she brought over some supplies and fiber and yarn and I ransacked my stash, and we spent over 4 hours playing with color in my backyard.

I dyed some light grey colonial top with a mixture of violet & lavender, and another braid with blues, experimented with some tussah silk, and overdyed some Malabrigo worsted. "What!?" I can hear you saying, "But Malabrigo comes in such gorgeous colors!"

"Yes" is my reply, but the ones I bought weren't quite my colors, so now they are! See the Mineral Red skeins in the top left corner? The big picture on the right is the "after" shot, with the addition of mahogany and royal blue.

One very different project occurred before school started when I took a break from my fiber obsession and took a little trip up to San Francisco. Last year when my parents came up this direction, they went to the National Archives in San Bruno and found / copied some documents about my mother's grandfather and his family. Supposedly, he was born in San Francisco in 1878 at 531 Jackson St., the brick building on the corner. Now it's a Chinese restaurant. Some of these documents were transcripts of interviews with him to prove his identity as a native-born citizen. There are addresses of the places where he lived as a child and adult, his work as a laundryman and merchant. So I went up to SF's Chinatown and walked around, trying not to completely look like a tourist, but pulling out my camera at each address I found. He was about 18 years old at the time of the 1906 earthquake, and of course, many of the addresses are newer buildings.

However, I've since found out that not one address in those documents was connected to my great-grandfather at all. Sigh! According to a written history that my grandmother created about the family (that I did not have a few weeks ago), her father-in-law came to this country through Mexico. Since a lot of documents were destroyed during the 1906 earthquake, many Chinese men created stories about their early lives that could not be verified. They had to have every detail in place to "prove" that they were "citizens" and eligible to stay in California. These "Paper Sons" made it difficult to discern what is factual and what is false about their lives. I guess I'm having a hard time reconciling these other documents because I don't want to believe that someone in my family lied, even if it ultimately led to all the other truths that I know about my family.

So, some of my summer projects have been more productive than others, but all in all, I'm pretty pleased with how much got done.

Now, on to the new school year!

Fibery Goodness!

2010-07-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Took a dyeing workshop up at Purlescence on Sunday. So.Much.FUN!

Brought in a pound of unknown wool that I had found at home. Found out later that it might by Romney wool. I measured it out into 4 ounce sections and braided each one.

My inspiration was the Four Seasons of my garden.
(From the top of the center pic)
Spring - poppies, ceanothus & iris
Summer - yellow coast sunflowers, tomatoes
Fall - pumpkins, butternut squash
Winter - not as much color, sky, paler greens

I'm really thrilled with how they came out. After cooking and rinsing, the colors were more blended and muted than I thought they were going to be. Now, what to spin from it?

Did some yarn too - bottom center. (Surprise, I made something purple!)

MUST. FIND. MORE. FIBER. AND. YARN. TO. DYE!

Crossing the Finish Line!

2010-07-25T23:46:00.000-07:00

Can’t believe I made it to the finish line of the Tour de Fleece! Two years ago, I managed to make my goal, but I bailed out last year due to some other deadlines that got in the way.

I spun every day except for the first 2 when I was out of town, but I certainly pedaled hard and made up for those days. My goal changed from the beginning, but I ended up doing more than planned. I spun a total of 2144 yards from 1.5 pounds of fiber.

A side goal besides working through stash fiber was to learn from the process. I’m getting better at spinning intentionally for a specific size single and also at balancing my plied yarns. AND, I learned how to make photo collages! (I'm using Picasa, by the way)

From the bottom, counter-clockwise:

Unknown blue merino tencel blend - already on the wheel and I'd forgotten about it. Needed to finish the 8 oz before I could spin anything else. Spun at least 4 oz. and plied all of it, 3-ply, sport- to dk weight - 470 yards

Faerie Mountain merino/silk. 2 batts, approx. 1 oz. each. 2-ply laceweight - 273 yards

Lisa Souza BFL. 2 batts (Shade Garden colorway), approx. 1.2 oz each. 2-ply laceweight - 302 yards

Royale Hare Superwash Merino, two 4 oz. braids. (1 of Sonoma Coast Iceplant, 1 of Lake Berryessa). 2-ply, DK weight, 590 yards.

Abstract Fiber Polwarth, one 4 oz. braid in the Iris colorway. 2-ply fingering weight, 481 yards.

That little teeny skein in the middle picture on top of everything is about 25 yards of navajo-plied Abstract Fiber merino in "Mood Ring". Some time ago, when the Abstract gals were in town, I got 2 little sample fiber bits from them, and finally decided to spin them up this afternoon.

Finally, I leave you with the best part of the Tour - dessert - which kept me spinning!

Nectarine Sorbet (from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz)

(Oh, speaking of food -- go see the blog Magical Eating -- for some fabulous summer salad ideas.)

(more fun fiber feats will appear tomorrow!)

One Ply, Two Ply, Red Ply, Blue Ply!

2010-07-14T22:56:00.000-07:00

This...

Royale Hare Superwash Merino
colorway: Sonoma Coast Iceplant

Plus this...

Royale Hare Superwash Merino
colorway: Lake Berryessa

Equals THIS!

I spun 1/3 of the Iceplant and plied it with 1/3 of the Lake Berryessa to make a yarn worthy of Dr. Seuss! Approximately 220 yards of 2-ply DK weight yarn; hopefully about 660 yards when I'm all done.

Happy, Happy, Happy!
(Now I'm off to spin the other 2/3 of the roving.)

Super Happy Fiber Day!

2010-07-12T23:37:00.000-07:00

Caution: for my non-spinning friends, this is filled with fibery content.

How are you doing with your TdF goals? Mine are going like gangbusters, but I'm changing the goal slightly.

I already showed the blue merino/tencel (goal 1).

Goal 2: Faerie Mountain Fibers, merino/silk, 2 batts, each approx. 1 oz.

273 yards of 2-ply laceweight

I fought the silk a bit, but it wasn't too bad, and I'm still very pleased.

Goal 3: Lisa Souza BFL, 2 batts, each approx. 1.2 oz.

Colorway: Shade Garden (dark pink/burgundy, hunter green, navy)

302 yards, 2-ply laceweight, and even more perfectly balanced than the merino-tencel! I'm in love with this. Let's just say there was a Happy Dance involved when I pulled this off the niddy-noddy!

Now, here's where the goal has diverged from the original plan, laid out here.

I was going to spin at least 4 oz. of Abstract Fiber, either merino/silk or Polwarth. But then... this arrived at Purlescence today.

Royale Hare Superwash Merino, 4 oz. braids in the most luscious, happy colors! There was much squeeing and fondling and grinning over the fiber!

I couldn't leave without taking some home (I am working more hours at the public library, after all...). So I'm going to spin one of these two colors, probably the Sonoma Coast Iceplant color, the top/bottom braid with pink and bits of purple and green. What looks like red in this photo is really a bright fuschia pink. It will eventually be plied with the blues in the center (Lake Berryessa) for something incredibly colorful and happy! I might even have enough time to spin both of them before the last day, July 25.

Yes, I did get some of the beautiful purple Penngrove Purples color too. You didn't think I'd leave without a colorway that yelled at me, would you?

Hope you had a day filled with things that made you happy!

Tour de Fleece, day 7 (or day 5 for me...)

2010-07-09T11:18:00.000-07:00

I don't know why I'm not spinning more often; it's so relaxing (mostly)...

Part 1 of the Tour goal:
360 yards, 3 ply, merino tencel
DK to sport weight
170 grams

There is also a navajo-plied skein of 111 yards, not nearly as pretty or as balanced.

Perfectly balanced (which I'm probably the most proud of)

Part 2 - Faerie Mountain Fibers is in progress! I should easily finish this ounce this afternoon and start the 2nd one. I'm aiming for laceweight.

How are you doing if you are spinning or hand-cycling (knitting)?

Tour de Fleece

2010-07-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I skipped the first 2 days of the Tour because I was traveling, but I think I'm making up for it!

Goal: spin as much of this as I can.

Realistic Goal: the 2 Lisa Souza batts and the 2 Faerie Mountain batts (a little over 1 oz each)

and the 8 oz. Crown Mountain Superwash Merino
(OR the 2 Abstract Fiber braids - 4 oz each, Polwarth in Iris or Silk/Merino in Poppies)

Be Honest With Yourself Goal: finish the almost 8 oz of unremembered merino/tencel that is already on the bobbins, then the little batts and one 4 oz braid.

I had already spun 1 bobbin's worth months ago and was about halfway through the 2nd, so around 4 oz needs to be finished and plied off the bobbins before I can do anything else. I'm currently working on the 3rd bobbin. Can't wait to ply these (maybe tomorrow?).

Things I did this weekend:

2010-07-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

Drove down to Orange County on Saturday for a BBQ with some high school friends that I haven't seen (in some cases) for more than 25 years, as well as my bestest friend and also a former boyfriend. There was so much smiling and laughter that my face hurts!

Drove back today (Sunday) after breakfast with my family.

Got rear-ended - which *did not* make my day. Luckily, low speed and the bumper did its job.

Decided I needed to take it easy on the way home and decompress by finding my Happy Place, which is on the coast near the water. Took Pacific Coast Highway between Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach and saw plenty of sights (!) on this 4th of July. I'm now going to channel Laurie with her commute photos!

Apparently there is a pancake breakfast/parade/festival/day-long-party/fireworks show in Huntington Beach. People were setting up their barbeques & tailgate parties for the day (look on the right of this pic).

One of my favorite spots on 101 is north of Ventura where the highway is right next to the shore. When the conditions are just right, the tides are in and the wind blowing just so, south-bound cars can be splashed by the waves.

Wasn't sure whether one of our favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall restaurants was open due to the holiday. It was and that made me happy! If there is no line outside La Super-Rica in Santa Barbara, they're not open. The couple behind me in line were on their honeymoon and had never been there before. The man behind them had just flown into LAX from Connecticut and promptly drove up to SB to see if he could get his Mexican food fix! Both of us told the newlyweds that they could choose anything and it would be fabulous. Due to the seating situation (lack thereof), my new friend and I ate together, and the young couple came and thanked us for the recommendation. They were sooooo cute!

Thing I did not do this weekend - Tour de Fleece. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to have to do a lot of treadling in order to catch up with everyone else! Also got about 10 rows done on my sock - no pic because I was knitting in line. Other than that - no fiber stuff. It's just too hard to spin or knit when you have to be the driver...

Summertime, summertime, sum-sum-summertime...

2010-07-02T01:01:00.000-07:00

It's taken nearly a month for me to finally feel like I'm on vacation. Usually the first few weeks is spent dealing with all the stuff you've put off "until I have a moment (or several hours) to deal with it". Oil change in the car, hair, dr appts, blood donations, etc. And then you need to get out and pick up that stuff that wasn't quite necessary, but would be nice to get fixed, stock up on, etc. Costco, hardware store, kitchen stuff, etc. Catch up on the emails you've been meaning to send and the websites on the list to explore, the music/books you've been meaning to pick up.

Then there's the retirement parties, graduations, college orientations, and some professional presentations to prep for.

No wonder I'm exhausted from my "vacation"!

There has been knitting during this time, believe it or not.

Proof:

Finally finished the (no-longer-secret) Retirement blanket - each strip was made by a different person. I gave 6 other crocheters/knitters a skein (or two) of yarn and said something along the lines of "choose any stitch pattern you like, and make it about 7 inches wide and as long as the yarn holds out". Turned out that everyone's ended up being about 50 inches long. Mattress stitched the strips together and single crocheted edging, and there is a lot of love stitched into this blanket.

Citron shawl:
1.25 skeins of Dream in Color Baby, 8 repeats
Color: Into the Mystic
Needle: size 6 (4.0 mm)
Started: June 10, 2010
Finished: June 28, 2010
(but not yet blocked or photographed)

Also working still on the Susie Hoodie and my Purple Vanilla Rib socks, but no new pics.

The Dork also finished his first knitting project: the Horizontal Rib scarf (Ravelry link, even though he's not on Ravelry - yet) in Dream in Color Classy in Deep Seaflower.

He is one of the loosest knitters that I know! This was worsted weight yarn that I had to have him work on size 5 needles, and probably should have gone down to 4's. But, it's a finished object and he's already given it away to a friend!

Next up for me: Tour de Fleece. My goal is just to spin each day and see how far I can get into the stash of fiber! I've got at least 3-4 pounds of fiber of all different types & colors that I want to get to. There's Polwarth, Targhee, superwash merino, BFL, merino/tencel, merino/bamboo, various batts of unremembered fiber, etc.

But I'm heading to Southern California this weekend for a little get-together of some high school friends, many of whom I haven't seen in more than 25 years. [Love the House of Mom & Dad, too.] Should I take my wheel, or just my knitting? Hmmm, do I have knitting at the right stage of mindlessness... Oh no, maybe I need to cast on something!

Happy 4th of July to all US readers and Happy belated Canada Day to the Canadians! Happy Friday to everyone and watch out for invading grapevines!

Yum!

2010-06-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

First of the season berries.

Berries + homemade peach ice cream.

Hopeful eyes...

Summer vacation has now started...

Sometimes you win...

2010-05-31T23:00:00.000-07:00

(Warning: picture-heavy post)

Working my way backwards in the Win Column:

Graduation: Class of 2010. The Dork will be heading to San Francisco State next year. Now if he'll just get a job to help pay for it!

Prom:Aren't they cute? They decided to go with a bit of steampunk aesthetic in their outfits, so I made his vest. I also found the perfect buttons in my button box with which to make cufflinks! So super easy using this tutorial.

For the win, this was the amount of thread left on my bobbin when I finished the vest, except for a bit of hand-sewing.

Both my guys are knitting up a storm! I find it very amusing that The Hubby has been spending more time at Purlescence Yarns than I have! (Courtesy of his work schedule for the last few months.) He is working on a vest out of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted in Muddy Autumn Rainbow, and The Dork is working on a scarf for himself in Colourscape Chunky.

At Stitches West (waaaay back when, after I last posted), I also won because The Hubby bought me some Glow sock yarn from WabiSabi in a gorgeous purple (of course). He bought more yarn at Stitches than I did - he definitely won! I bought fiber instead...

Oh, you came to see what I was up to knit-wise?

Two retirement scarves are in the works: on the left is an Irish Hiking Scarf in Cascade Sierra; on the right is a Strangling Vine scarf in Naturally Caron Spa. Trying to get the lavender one done by Tuesday so it can be blocked on Wednesday and presented to the retiree on Friday, her last official day of work! The other one is going to be shipped up to Washington for a teacher who retired last year.

My Susie Hoodie is going along, the 2nd purple 3x1 rib sock is started, I saw the Sally Rand pattern from the Twist Collective and had to start that right away too (Pictures on that later when I figure out which bag I threw it into when cleaning.)

Then I realized that I really needed to get to a repair that has been sitting for the last couple months. My boss' daughter-in-law's grandmother had made her a crocheted afghan when she was little, and there were a couple of damaged rows; could I fix it? Sure!

The separated row goes almost all the way across. Upon further close inspection, it turned out to involve parts of 3 rows. So I ripped out the damaged yarn and single-crocheted the rows. Luckily, the blanket seemed to have been made in Red Heart acrylic, and I found a great match in the last yarn swap.

Before I crocheted the last row, I put in a sock yarn life line; it was a smooth contrasting yarn threaded through the bottom loops of the row above the last row I removed. Unfortunately in crochet, to remove a row that is above the damaged area, you have to carefully remove it loop by loop, not unzipping it as you could normally would if you were ripping from the top down.

Make your stitch as normal.

BUT, before making the next stitch, remove the hook from the final loop. Insert a slightly smaller hook from left to right through the bottom 2 loops of the stitch in the row above (that is on your lifeline). Grab the final loop of the stitch you just made and pull it through, making sure it's not twisted.

Remove the smaller hook, use the regular hook and make the next stitch, repeating the steps above until you're finished. Weave in any ends of old and new yarn that need to disappear, and take a bow!

Here is the completed afghan. You can see the new yarn under the name, but it's actually a very good match, considering the original blanket is almost 30 years old!

So, how have you all been doing?

Oh dear -- another month gone!

2010-02-15T17:02:00.000-08:00

So, this month has zoomed by, much quicker than anticipated. Of course, being sick for 2 weeks will make the time go quickly. Actually I was really only sick for a couple days. The aftermath asthma has kicked my butt for the rest of the time. Lack of oxygen will do that. Love my inhaler and cough meds! Luckily (or unluckily) this past week was vacation from school, and I didn't have anything planned!

But there has been lots of knitting over the last month! This is the back of my Minimalist Cardigan. The fronts and back are finished and I'm working on sleeve one. I'd like to get this done in time for Stitches West in a couple weeks.

There is also a Secret Blanket, which (shame on me) still isn't quite done, so no photos. These 2 are part of the 3 projects I designated for this month's #UFOSmackdown 2010. The 3rd project was finished right at the beginning of the month - Hubby Socks. They're in the laundry right now, so I'll photograph them later.

And then there are the other projects... Here is the first Fine Cabled Mitt that is destined for The Hubby. Only have about an inch to go on the hand and the thumb to finish.

Since the mitt isn't quite "knit in the dark" material, and I was going to see the new Cirque du Soleil show "Ovo" last week, I cast on a vanilla 3x1 rib sock to carry in my purse. Through a doctor appointment for me, a visit to urgent care with Mari and the show (fabulous and recommended), all on Thursday, I'm up to the gusset increases. This is Rabbitworks Fibre Studio Toe Jam sock yarn in Black Orchid. Love, love, love how the fabric is working up! (And she'll be at Stitches West, so I can get some more...)

And then I promised myself that there would be no Knitting Olympics or Ravelympics knitting this time around, due to the timing of the other projects that need doing. But then I was watching the opening ceremonies and before I knew it, Spanish Dancer had appeared on the needles. I loved how the yarn (Ellen's Half-pint farm's merino silk blend) patterned when it was wound. I'm about 2 inches into the garter portion right now. (No, Kathy -- must work on blanket....!)

In the "other creative stuff" category, I decorated this mailbox (found at Target) with some rub-ons that I had. Destined for my secret pal at school, I stuffed it with some other gifts, including chocolate, and I think it turned out adorably! Will have to keep this gift in mind for others...

Remember this scarf (Ravelry link)? I gave it to my hairdresser as a Valentine's Day gift and he was so excited by it that he immediately put it on and declared that he was going to wear it all day! Isn't he cute?!

Another creative thing happening is by The Dork! He liked the horizontal rib scarf (from One More Skein) so much that he wanted to cast one on, but in a chunky weight. He's using Rowan Colourscape in the Storm colorway and doing a great job with it.

And one last picture for you -- last month I ripped out 4 different projects that were never going to be finished, a twin-bed sized blanket, a shrug, a vest and a shawl. The yarn for the 2 larger projects are gone, out of the stash, out of my life...good riddance!

I really should go and get something done today besides sit on the couch and knit. Oh, but I guess I have - I've written a blog post...

Fun stuff

2010-01-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

A super quick post before I head to bed.

Finished Object #1 for UFO Smackdown 2010

Fingerless mitts (Ravelry link - based on Jacoby)
Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Kona Superwash sock yarn in color Evergreen
US size 1 needles
Approx. 186 yards
Started Dec. 29, 2009
Finished Jan. 12, 2010

The second mitt took 2 days to knit. Of course, that was over the weekend with nothing else to do but knit!

Now I can justify casting on one of the two sweaters I'm itching to work on: Minimalist Cardigan or Cece.

Here's a funny one for you:

Can't read it too well? Try this:

And yes, it belongs to The Dork. A friend of his got it for him as a combo Christmas/birthday gift. Those of you that know him know that it's a perfect shirt!

(Funny, that zombie unicorn sort of looks like something Bill Peet might have drawn.)

Year-end roundup

2010-01-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Annual Christmas merriment with our families are done for another year. It's amazing how quickly the kids are growing and becoming their own personalities. The Dork had fun with his cousins, playing with his camera and trying to corral all the young cousins.

Mom/Aunt Kathy, do you have to take our pictures?! We really hate it when you do! Are you done yet? Teenagers!

There was lots of eating involved! The Hat is one of our favorite places to go, and not just because there is pastrami. The Dork managed, barely, to finish a Pastrami Burger.

Enormous portions were consumed. We've learned to share sandwiches and only ask for one order of onion rings.

There was rapid consumption of a wonderful bread pudding souffle at the Palace Grill in Santa Barbara. We've been going there for more than 20 years. Yum!

Oh yes, there has been knitting - but only one holiday project. I've finished 2 scarves:

Horizontal Rib Scarf (from One More Skein by Leigh Radford)
Mirasol Nuna, 1.3 skeins, approx. 5" x 70" long
Size US 6 needles
Started Dec. 20, finished Dec. 23

Still needs blocking before I can gift it

Another Scrunchable Scarf, a great mindless knitting pattern, each row is the same.

Mirasol K'acha, 3 skeins

Approximately 5"x54"

Size US 8 needles

Started August 28, finished Dec. 28

Socks! 2x2 rib, toe-up, Fleegle heel

Regia Galaxy Saturn, ~ 265 yards (60 grams of the 100 gram ball)

Size US 0 needles

Started August 22, finished Dec. 30

And I started a hat for The Hubby in Cascade's Lana d'Oro paints. I was trying to get it done before midnight, but changed my mind about the pattern and ripped back a couple inches. It should be my first FO of 2010.

Final tally for the year - 23 projects, using just over 12,500 yards of yarn. That's over 3K more yards than I used last year!

3 baby blankets

7 scarves

3 pairs of socks

2 hats

1 crocheted doily

1 pair fingerless gloves

4 shawls (only 1 was lace)

2 sweaters

For this new year, I'm participating in the UFO Smackdown started by Nathania. I will be ripping out a few projects to reclaim the yarn, but this should motivate me to finish 10 UFOs that have been laying around or hiding from me this year. I may discover a few more, but at least 10 will be finished before 2011.

Here's to a wonderful 2010. I hope your New Year brings you and your family much happiness and health and fun!

May the Lights of this holiday season shine upon you!

2009-12-24T23:16:00.000-08:00

We're on our annual trip down to Southern California to visit our families. One thing for sure, there will be lots of food! But more than that, it's all about hanging out with various family members, goofing around with the nieces and nephews (tickle fights anyone?) and being there for the stories of the year.

Wishing all my friends the best the holidays have to offer you, whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Yule, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day or any other variant of your choice!

Merry/Happy/Joyous Holidays to you!

Blanket update

2009-12-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

Yes, the blanket is finished, ends and all. It ended up being about 33x36". I was aiming for 40" square, but ran out of time.

Ends were woven in during Late Night Knits last Friday. As the caroling finished, so did the weaving.

Anyway, this is just a quick post before I dash off to give it to its new family! Then the rest of the day will be Christmas/Yule shopping, home to cook, a Solstice dinner and knitting time.

Got to finish the one Christmas gift I'm knitting - that I cast on on Sunday and need to gift tomorrow! And I said I wasn't going to do any Christmas knitting...

24 x 3 =

2009-12-18T00:18:00.000-08:00

... the number of ends I need to weave in tonight. Tomorrow (today?) is the last day of school before winter break, and I need to send this blanket home with its new mommy. FYI, I do not enjoy weaving in ends in garter stitch...

Random Stripes Blanket
Yarn - Cascade Cherub Collection DK, 12 colors, 6 brights and 6 corresponding pastels
Needle - US size 6
Begun Nov. 27, Finished Dec. 18
40" x 35"

Figured out my color sequence, then used a Random Number generator for the basic number of rows of each color.

Why am I blogging? I need to weave in ends before I go to bed! 'Night!

Shiny!

2009-12-16T23:39:00.000-08:00

From SevenYaks.etsy.com, a Christmas gift from my friend Danny. Hard to see, but there are numbers by each hole from 00 to 17 (US sizes - not metric, although the seller also has metric gauges) moving clockwise around then in towards the center.

Needle Gauge = awesome! (would have been more awesome in purple, but the seller doesn't make them in that color, yet...)

Odds and Ends...

2009-11-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

Wrap-up of projects:

The Dork's homework project (a Shinto shrine) that he and his class partner decided to make out of Legos:
Side view. The roof wasn't quite right because they didn't quite have all the pieces they wanted.

(And yes, that is a stormtrooper on the roof!)

Bird's eye view, including interior

Front

From the other side

Dork placed 3rd (tied) in a saber competition. He's the one on the right, and he's giving me the "don't take my picture, Mom" look.

As a reward, we ate at Joe's Cable Car Restaurant (mmm, patty melt and onion rings).

I've finished my fingerless mitts (and have been commissioned for 3 more pairs by members of my family).

New Stuff:
Started a Scrunchable Scarf in Mirasol K'acha as a mindless project to take to the theater when we saw the Reduced Shakespeare Company in "The complete works of William Shakespeare (abridged)". Fun yarn (not purple!), fun pattern, even more fun show!

I've started (and restarted, and restarted) a baby blanket that needs to be gifted by Dec. 16th. Nothing that I've tried has really resonated with me and I'm getting bored after only 2-3 inches. I may give up on the dk weight yarn I'm using and find enough worsted-weight and just crochet a fast giant granny square to get it over with! The older brother got a giant granny square blanket from me 3 years ago. Or I'm intrigued with the thought of knitting random stripes...

I'm thankful that I have enough yarn in stash that I can change my mind.
I'm thankful that my family is healthy and happy.
I'm thankful that I'm happily employed and that my husband is too.
I'm thankful that we have a happy, well-adjusted Dork Teen.
I'm thankful that I have great friends that I can laugh and cry with.
I'm thankful that we have a roof over our heads.
I'm thankful that we have enough food to eat and clothing to wear.
I'm thankful that we have a producing vegetable garden and access to fresh local produce.
I'm thankful that we have access to this fabulous communication and research system called The Internet.
I'm thankful that I have enough brains (usually) to solve minor house repair issues (the kitchen faucet this time) by searching the Internet for information.

I'm thankful that I can contribute to other people's fund-raising efforts. Stacie is raising money for the Lymphoma Research Foundation through her Etsy shop. I sent over a scarf for her to sell (and I'm looking for a couple other ones that I know I have around here somewhere...). You must see her Incredibly Soft Vibrating Scarf!

And with that, I'm thankful that we have options for our Thanksgiving meal this year. It will only be the 3 of us and an out-of-commission oven. We were smart enough to realize that we don't have to heat the entire smoked turkey at once, so I carved the turkey when it arrived home Tuesday. We have a small convection oven that we've been using, but there was no way to get even a smallish turkey into it! The bonus: getting to eat leftovers before we've even had Thanksgiving dinner!

Hope your Thanksgiving is a joyful one for you!

Homework

2009-11-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Homework report heard this afternoon:

"Mom, I have to create a Shinto shrine by Wednesday. And I want to do it in Legos.

Yeah, I know I need to get the bin out of my closet. I think it'll be mostly white and red.

I kinda got the idea from this Lego Golden Temple."

I'd forgotten just how many Legos we owned! The blue bin is a 30-gallon tote.

And how crazy is it that my Librarian brain said "we should probably sort them out better...hmmm - by size, color, type of piece (windows, angled roof, Technics...)"

Sigh!

2009-11-14T23:31:00.000-08:00

Last Monday was so cold in the morning when I left for work that I scraped ice off my car windows. The thermometer read 40°F. My hands were so cold that I did what any good knitter does - cast on some gloves right after I got home. The left one is done (sans thumb ribbing) and was super easy. It's the Mitt Envy pattern from Weezalana. Nicely written, the pattern was easy to follow, cable pattern was intuitive. There are mirror image instructions for the right mitt. I'm using Handmaiden Casbah (yummy cashmere-blend) in a beautiful rich purple that refuses to photograph nicely.

So I started the right one. This is the point at which my brain says "I know what I'm doing. I don't have to read all the instructions through because the cable rows are the same."

Yeah, they are the same - but I managed to miss one crucial part. Here's a picture of the two mitts next to each other.

Can you spot the mistake?

Can you see it now? It wasn't the cable pattern that I goofed on. I missed the "K8" part after the cable and BEFORE the gusset increases.

Now to rip out 21 rows...sigh!

Hello?! Is anyone out there?

2009-11-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

So, after my last post (has it been over a month already?), I hunkered down and tried to regroup my energy. I haven't felt like I was very productive, but in looking at the pictures I've just uploaded, I guess I've done okay.

See, there was knitting!

Two socks were done. But too bad that they are not mates to each other. However, one is for me (the top one in Regia Galaxy) and one is for The Hubby (bottom, Dream in Color Smooshy), so I guess they are mates after all. I'm working on the matching socks.

Remember this post about my epic Olympic project equipment failure last year? Well, the yarn has been resurrected as the Farmer's Market Cardigan from the Fall 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. The pattern actually calls for Lorna's Laces Green Line Worsted, which is what I have, in the Dusk colorway. I realized that there was still a lot of excess dye on the yarn, so I would need to wash it again. This time, I used the hottest water I could and a lot of vinegar, hoping to wash and set the color. You can see how much dye there was! I'm still getting a little on my hands, but it's not bad now.

And it's working up beautifully! Since my skeins were from different dye-lots (I had to get one extra, just to make sure I had enough), I'm alternating a few rows from one skein and a few rows from another. So far, so good; I've reached the waist decreases.

The Sea and Shells Stole is finally done!

Pattern: Sea & Shells stole
Yarn: Malabrigo Merinocash in PearlTen
Needle: size 4 US (3.5 mm)
Started: May 12, 2009
Finished: September 29, 2009 (on my birthday!)

Crocheted a baby blanket for a co-worker's baby born last week.
Pattern: Rainbow Blocks (a Leisure Arts pattern)
Yarn: Lion Brand Woolease in Blue Sprinkles, Hunter Green Sprinkles and Ivory Sprinkles
Hook: size I US (5.5 mm)
Started: October 3, 2009
Finished: October 20, 2009

In garden news, we got a grand total of 5 butternut squash this year. The smallest of these is a little over 1 pound, the largest is almost 4 pounds!

Remember the pumpkin plant that tried a takeover? Well, we got a total of 6 off the vine. The largest is 19+ pounds, the smallest (a surprise that we just discovered last week under the basil) is about 2-1/2 pounds.

And a friend from school finds these gigantic Fuji apples every couple years and brings me one. The tape measure does not lie - it is almost 13" around (4" in diameter).

So then I see a post from Norma about butternut squash, plus apples and onions with a little cinnamon and brown sugar. This turned into our version, butternut squash, apples, onions with a little curry powder. Yummy! Sorry, no picture - it was eaten up too quickly.

Oh, and then there's The Dork and his new best friend, Ellie. Peek-a-boo!

Tired...

2009-09-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

...of hearing bad news. I've just found out about a teacher who passed away from cancer this evening. He'd been ill since May. Another former coworker of mine passed away from a different form of cancer, less than 2 weeks ago - she was a few months younger than I am, and she leaves 2 young children. I'm trying not to be pessimistic, but it's been hard in 2009. In August, a friend's father (cancer) and one of Hubby's cousins (unknown how he died); in May & June, the last of my great-uncles (Alzheimer's complications), my father-in-law (heart and Parkinson's disease), and one of my dad's best friends (cancer).

Please consider supporting the American Cancer Society so we can find some answers to the many forms of this horrible disease.

Also, I'm tired of knitting on my Sea & Shells stole. I'm really close to the end of the skein; in fact, there's only about 10 grams left. If I'd stop playing Bejeweled, I could be done with it tomorrow! I'm not allowing myself to work on either of the sweaters I cast on recently until this is finished. Pictures will be forthcoming when it's finished and blocked.

However, I'm not tired of looking through the paperwork that my parents found when they went to the National Archives in San Bruno looking for information about my great-grandparents' immigration to the US from China. Mom apparently found about 90 pages worth of info, and I've been fascinated by it.

Turns out my great-grandfather was born in San Francisco in the basement of a building that housed his father's shoe store, and a white-owned saloon in the Chinatown area in 1877. We have the transcript of the interview that proved his identity as a native-born US resident, as well as the entrance papers and interview transcripts of his wife, and pictures of his twin daughters (I didn't know they were twins - I never met my great-aunts) and baby son, the great-uncle who died in May. My grandfather was the oldest of the children, and he decided to stay in China with his grandmother.

The transcripts provide a view into the world of Chinatown before the 1906 SF earthquake, and I'd like to map out the addresses given and correlate them with the historical records. I'd also like to try and look for more info on my great-great-grandparents, now that I have their names and when/why they came to the US.

Okay, Kathy - get off the computer. You're also tired and need to go to bed, especially since you are walking with No-blog-Rachel tomorrow morning. And then you need to take The Dork shopping for new pants before his senior portrait session tomorrow afternoon. Okay, now I feel old...

Brownies!

2009-09-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Yup, The Dork is making brownies. He requested them for a club meeting tomorrow and was told that if he wanted them, he had to make them.

It smells really good in here right now!

(He wants to learn to cook more. Chalk it up to his dad's influence!)

The Best!

2009-08-30T16:07:00.000-07:00

That'd be you, Alison!

You see, I was "Alison-ed" on Friday evening. Apparently, after she made her deliveries at Stanford, she had a scarf that wasn't quite right for anyone. Then it dawned on her that it was destined for me. Me?

The Purlescence Girls were the deliverers of the scarf. I wasn't able to be at the shop on Thursday evening, but could stop by on Friday. I'm not often speechless (as many of you know), but... Yup, Alison is the best!

(The scarf is much more purple than in the picture.)

Now I'm off to catch up with my sister and her family. They're on their way up to Northern California, but stopping in Campbell tonight. So we're meeting for dinner in about an hour. Their kids don't start school until after Labor Day. My school started last week - sigh! And Mom & Dad will be in town on Wednesday...

And then there is the pumpkin plant... It's now trying to take the patio table by force.

Senior

2009-08-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

How did this happen, this "growing up" thing? And how did it happen so fast?

"Mom, stop taking my picture! I don't understand why you have to do that."

"It's a mom thing. This is the last time I'm going to take your picture on the first day of school, so deal with it!"

(I couldn't find the kindergarten picture...so you get one of him in 4th grade.)

At the end of their senior year, students (usually their moms) make a collage of pictures from their school years. I have a feeling that many of us will be verklempt going through the photos. Now, where's that box?

My Stars!

2009-08-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

(Warning: lots of pictures!)

Last week, I sat out in the peacefulness of my backyard and watched about a dozen shooting stars zoom over my head, courtesy of the Perseid meteor shower. It gave me some time to reflect on Sock Summit and Portland, Oregon and the wonderfulness of the Purlescence crew who gave me the opportunity to attend this event.

Friday was the first full selling day, and it was a loooong day! The market was open from 8:30 AM to 6 PM, to accomodate class attendees. It was also my shopping day. But first, Jade and I participated in the Guinness World Record attempt at the Most Number of People Knitting Simultaneously". The rules were - 2 needles only, knit for 15 minutes without stopping. (And yes, Jade is wearing her handknit socks pinned all over her clothing. She thought it would be an excellent way to show off her work - and I agree!)

We sat with Irishgirlieknits and Christy.

This is where I started

And 15 minutes later, here's where I stopped. Because I don't actually own any long straight needles anymore, I bought some Kollage square double-pointed needles. I liked them a lot! This is the Ann Norling Short-Row Multi-directional Scarf in Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, color 113 (tropical ginger).

This is the scarf I knit on for most of my time on the show floor; it ended up being about 5" wide x 80" long (it took 2 full balls of yarn).

Saturday and Sunday were comprised of more selling and more shopping and meeting more people and more inspiration and more....

Star Purchases:
This is all Sandi's fault! Socks that Rock Lightweight, destined to be a Charlotte's Web Shawl. From L to R: Lauma, Mermaid, KMBFLA, Beached, Tanzanite, Jubilation. (luckily for my wallet, I already owned the Tanzanite and Jubilation)

Other yarn (L to R): Black Bunny fibers, MacKintosh Yarns- Iona in color Taurus, STR Lightweight Rare Gems (2), Kangaroo Dyer, Huntington (Valley Yarns), Meg's Royal Purple from Periwinkle Sheep, Laceweight Colrain (Valley Yarns)

There were more purchases, but most of those weren't photographed before they became gifts.

The fiber (L to R): Crown Mountain Superwash Merino in Purple Rain, Huckleberry Knits Targhee top in Twilight, MaryJane's Attic.

Remember my button purchase? I'm pretty pleased that my color memory was just right!

More Stars:
SuperPurlescence Heroes - courtesy of Handknit Heroes.

Speaking of Stars, here are the Rivendell socks from the Sock Museum. Liz knit them in Dream in Color's Starry yarn, color - Grey Tabby, that has sparkly bits in it - don't know if you can see it in the picture.

Here's one of the cutest stars you'll ever see! Ellie was hugging these big knitted snakes at the Skacel booth. Never mind the man who was knitting 7 pairs of socks on one big (120") circular needle!

At the Luminary Panel. This closing event was absolutely awe-inspiring, tear- and laughter-producing (both in quantity) and worth all of the time on our feet. The Knitting Stars were out in force and we all benefited from their wisdom.

Portland was definitely the Star destination of the weekend. It was a joyous, green, comfortable place. I would go back in a heartbeat!

All in all, Sock Summit created such a knitting euphoria in everyone who attended. I hope that it will continue, in whatever format, as often as people are willing to step up to the plate. The Organizers (ST-1 and ST-2) put together a magnificent event, and I hope they will be able to do so again in the future.

Speaking of socks, I've finished my Mini Mochi socks in the Sunday Swing pattern. Love the pattern, loved the yarn, and they're nice and squooshy on the feet.

Here's a sample sock I'm knitting out of Flat Feet. Well on the way up the cuff, and so far have used less than half the first sock blank.

Other knitting on the needles:
1) Still working on my Sea & Shells stole; maybe about 75% done now.
2) Desperate to start the Farmer's Market Cardigan from the new Interweave Knits (Fall 2009), but must deal with a dye issue first.

3) If I couldn't start the Farmer's Market Cardigan, and needed to work on larger needles to give my hands a rest, then I should start another sweater that has been at the top of my queue since I don't know when, right? This is the Laurel Seamless Cardigan, from Knit 'n Style, April 2007. I've had the yarn (Schaefer Laurel) in stash since well before 2007.

I'll leave you with one final hurrah, from the pumpkin plant that hasn't figured out when to quit! It's come through the brick wall that divides the veggie garden and the patio and there are 2 small pumpkins on it, plus another flower.

And with that, so ends my summer! School begins next week.

Sock Summit - Day 1

2009-08-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

It's really happening - Sock Summit has begun!

There is so much fiber and yarn in thousands of beautiful colors that I've been drooling as I've walked by some of the vendors. My credit card will never be the same!

Purlescence Yarns booth:
Before

During

After

Nathania thinks we did a pretty good job.

And then there are the Purl Up & Dye colors - gorgeous! The One-of-a-kind colors are on the tall rack and The Dye for Glory colorways are in the corner, Melantha, Oregon Berry Harvest and Purplescence on the bottom. They're next to the Flat Feet sock blanks. Lots of Mini Mochi, fiber, spinning accessories are also available.

A video taken before the Marketplace opened is in this blog post (about halfway down). I didn't see it because we were on the other side of the doors, but have been smiling and giggling ever since I saw it.

Portland

2009-08-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

OMG, I'm in Portland for Sock Summit - OMG, OMG, OMG - I'm having so much fun!

Okay, enough of sounding like I'm a teenager. But I just had a fabulous day out with the Purl Girls yesterday. The towers are of the Oregon Convention Center.

I haven't seen any of the Sock Summit banners yet, but we did find this display in Powell's. An end cap display, right at one of the entrances. Click to make bigger!

There was some squealing involved, and book buying! No knitting books, but I found some out-of-print stuff that was on the To Read List.

Nathania and I left Powell's and went over to Knit-Purl where I fell in love with this little ball of Merino-3 by Catherine Lowe Couture Yarns. It's such a luscious little cake of a color called Black Violet that I had to have it. After all, I am the Queen of Purple Yarn!

We then walked over to The Button Emporium and Ribbonry and found buttons for a sweater she's working on. I, however, found buttons for a sweater that exists only in my dreams so far, but it will be done in the Plum Paisley colorway of Dream in Color Classy. Can you see why? (I can't find a link or a picture of the new color, but it's a darker version of Pansy Go-lightly.) And I loved the sheepy ribbon!

We also were at Josephine's Dry Goods - a REAL fabric store that had luscious fabric. I see that I failed to take a picture of the cute flannel I found to back a baby quilt. Maybe next time...

We happened to find a parking space by the First Presbyterian Church, and I was struck by the juxtaposition of the older church (built 1889-90) with the newer building behind it. It's hard to remember that our cities have hidden historical treasures. You can get a fuller view of the area if you take a little time to find out about the people who are the founders and previous inhabitants of the places you are visiting.

I'll have more time to explore this city later, but right now, I'm waiting for the call this morning to head over to the Convention Center to set up the booth.

(Oh - and Jade - you're an awesome roommate!)

Lessons

2009-07-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

Lesson 1:
When sending Dork to wash some fabric in preparation for sewing, make sure all yarn is out of the way. This WAS about half of my Purple Sunset handspun from last year's Tour de Fleece. Accidentally (not entirely his fault) sent through the wash with lots of cotton fabric. Oops! I didn't get around to spinning the other 3 batts for this year, so I at least can match the hank I have left.

Lesson 2:
Use stitch markers to mark the gusset and instep stitches so you don't spend too much time backtracking. When the Summer Knitty Surprise came out last week, the Sunday Swing Socks yelled out "Make me with the Mini Mochi!" And who am I to ignore a message like that? I love it when it is easy to match pattern and yarn and have it work the first time around!

Lesson 3:
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again. The STR in Tanzanite has finally found what it wants to be - The Lace Rib socks from The Little Box of Socks. This is the 3rd try at knitting this colorway.

Lesson 4:
I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed The Muppet Show. I'm watching Season 2 on DVD and it's still very entertaining. However, I've done my share of knitting with eyelash yarn - aka "muppet pelts", and won't do that again! But watching the show brings back memories of our entire family (I was in high school) sitting down each week and every one of us enjoying the humor. The Dork isn't really watching, but he's come out of his cave a few times and laughed at Milton Berle and Rich Little.

Holy smokes - there's been some...

2009-07-25T01:30:00.000-07:00

Spinning!
304 yards of 2-ply heavy fingering to sportweight
Chasing Rainbows - Merino Tencel
Color: Abalone (the color is most accurate on the bobbins)

I loved spinning this! I had a hunch that it would be almost effortless, and it was! It took a total of about 8 hours of spinning (I did half of it Sunday, then another hour+ spent plying it). I think this is the most consistent spinning and plying job that I've done so far.

And with that, I'm bowing out of the Tour de Fleece without finishing this year. After 2 solid weeks of spinning, I've got some other, more critical deadlines that need to be met.

Gardening!
I didn't think it was possible, but we got a larger zucchini than the one the other day. This one was 21" long and weighs just over 5 lbs!

Other garden riches:
In (and around) the planter bed closest to the camera:
Pumpkins: the largest one is 15" across, and there's a new baby too! (and the plant is trying to take over the backyard...)
Basil: which is bolting and I haven't had time to cut it back
Butternut squash: 4 and counting

The back planter box has the zucchini, a yellow crookneck variety, Patty Pans (abundant flying saucers), two types of tomatoes, and apparently a melon plant.

I'm now starting to be afraid of how many figs are on that tree in the back of this picture.

And look! When The Hubby dumped the planter that the potato plant was in, we discovered 8 Yukon Gold potatoes. With the heat we had last week, the plants were getting stressed, and we figured that it was all an experiment anyway, so why not. And we all laughed and smiled and clapped because we grew potatoes! There may have been some squeeing too!

Speaking of the above deadlines, one project involves the sewing machine and it must be done before August 1st. The other project involves socks - yes, I'm going to Sock Summit! However, I didn't win the class lottery, but I'm thrilled to be hanging out with the Sockerati (my term for the Sock Glitterati), including the Purlescence crew. Oh - and go see the Purl Up & Dye entries in the Dye for Glory contest on Ravelry. They're gorgeous!

And other wonderful things too - have you seen the new Designs by Romi shawl pins (her new Ewe pins)? They make me smile every time I think of them!

Drive-by post

2009-07-15T11:30:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, a gardener looked at the garden and there were no zucchini to be seen.
The next day, this monster appeared! Yes, it is 16" long.

"Alas, poor Zucchini! I knew him, Horatio, a fellow of infinite
jest, of most excellent fancy."

And this is what happened to it last night! (This pic is only 1/4 of the zucchini.)

Stuffed zucchini
(and we were stuffed...4 people, 1 zucchini; you may want to use smaller zucchini!)

Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then into manageable lengths. Scoop out the seeds. Mix any type of sausage that you have with whatever vegetables you happen to have around. Yesterday I used a couple of chopped tomatoes and an ear of fresh corn. I should have thrown in some basil but forgot. Garlic if you want, onions if you want...whatever's around! Add some breadcrumbs if you have any, and maybe a little salt & pepper. Depends on what kind of sausage you're using.

Stuff meat mixture into hollowed out zucchini pieces, put onto baking sheet or wide shallow container. Sprinkle on some parmesan cheese and bake at 350F (or so) for 45 minutes (or so) or until done.

Eat and enjoy!

Oh, there was spinning too. It wasn't originally part of the Tour de Fleece project, but when I pulled out my wheel, I had 2 partly filled bobbins of Crown Mountain Corriedale Pencil Roving in the Black Sun colorway.

I figured I'd better finish spinning it to free up the bobbins.
It turned out to be 464 yards of a worsted/heavy-worsted weight 3-ply. Fluffy and wonderful!

Back to the spinning wheel!

Too many ideas...

2009-07-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

So, going from not enough projects (that I want to work on right now), to too many projects ...

The Tour de Fleece begins today, and I have 3 main goals:

1) Replicating the 3-ply yarn I spun from Grafton batts last year; I loved those colors so much that I got more!

2) Spinning 4 oz. of merino/tencel in Abalone from Chasing Rainbows - intention is for a 2ply lace-weight

3) Finish the remaining 7 oz. of blue fiber that I've lost the label to. I've got 1/2 a bobbin, and no idea what I was doing.

Then there is finishing at least one more pair of socks this month - 2 would be ideal. Way back in this 2007 post, I talked about discovering a sock that I think was made in 2004. Then discovering that, in the knitting of the 2nd one, I used 2 different sized needles. Well, I'm glad to say, it has become purse-knitting, and it will be done on only one magic-looped needle! Stockinette most of the way should make this one go fast. Then there are the Primavera socks and the Summer Sox, etc. And I'd also like to cast on on for Cotty, and there is a lot more sock yarn in the stash bin and how much of it can I get done before Sock Summit.....

Okay, Kathy, get off the computer, which is about to run out of battery, get into the kitchen and get those veggies prepped for a dinner at Sandi & Kaye's house tonight!

Happy 4th of July!

July?!

2009-07-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

(Warning - picture-heavy post)

Okay, where did June disappear to?! It's been a busy, busy month, with very little down time, even though school ended during the first week.

Let's see, there have been 2 professional presentations, one each at school and the public library. 3 more are coming up - in about the next 10 days. (But 2 of them are reprises of the one on databases I've already done; one is storytelling.)

We also traveled to SoCal for my father-in-law's funeral. He was 82 and had a good life. Raised 2 great kids, enjoyed his grandkids... This picture was taken 4 years ago, and it's one of my favorites of him and the kids.

DH, his mom and sister, the grandkids and 2 of their cousins. I don't think I've ever had them all in the same place for more than a few minutes!

And yes, there has been knitting!

Finished and delivered the shawl to my friend who needed and loves it!

Pattern: Shawl that Jazz
Yarn: Woobu in Nyame
Needle: size 8 US
Started: May 10, 2009
Finished: June 7, 2009

Finished some socks for me!
Pattern: Fleegle toe-up socks on 56 stitches
Yarn: Socks that rock Lightweight in Peaseblossom
Needles: size 1 US
Started: ?? sometime in the last year
Finished: June 12, 2009

Originally I had knit toe-up Monkeys from this yarn last year, but ripped them out. I like the color striping much better this way.

The Sea & Shells stole is coming along. I think I'm about halfway done with it so far.

Other projects on the needles include 2 new pairs of socks, one is Primavera. The other is CookieA's Summer Sox pattern (no pic of that yet).

Was itching to get back to a crochet project, and oh, gee, darn, shucks, if Purlescence didn't just get some DMC Cebelia thread in! I'm almost done with it - should finish it today.

In other news, the garden is going like gangbusters!

This adorable little pumpkin from 2 weeks ago, is quickly becoming a huge pumpkin. As of this morning, it's about 14 inches across!

Tomatoes

Look, a strawberry!

Several quarts of blackberries were picked.

And an abundance of squash.

Clearly, summer is now upon us in the Bay Area.

The dove nest I posted about last time has unfortunately been abandoned. There are no eggs in it, so I don't know what happened. Maybe next year...

Oh yeah -- I also now officially have a College Student Dork boy. He's taking a summer class at one of the local community colleges before his senior year in high school. I think it will be a good experience for him, and give him some good prep before the real thing in the fall of 2010.

Okay, I guess I now know where June went...

Sorry!

2009-05-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

So, I started working on a blog post 2 weeks ago for Mother's Day. I forget why I had to stop, but it's been busy enough that I haven't had time to get back to it!

So, what have I been working on...

I finished this:
Pattern: Shawl that jazz
Yarn: Rowan Silk Wool DK, 9 balls of Velvet
Size 9 needles
Begun April 26, 2009
Finished May 10, 2009

This is the shawl for my best friend, who's been undergoing some trials, both emotional and physical. Originally this yarn was meant for a sweater for me, but I think she needs it more right now. I loved knitting it so much that I started another one (in Woobu) for a former coworker who really needs some hugs.

Also started a Sea&Shells stole (about 2/3 the way down the page) in my beloved Malabrigo MerinoCash, hoping to wear it at the end-of-the-year dinner for work (only 4 more days of school!), but the above-mentioned shawl took precedence. I'll get it done by the Opening Dinner in August.

I'm loving the warmer weather here in Northern California, because this is what's happening outside in our backyard:
Blackberries (not quite ripe yet, but getting there!)

Squash (crookneck and pattypan)

Melons and basil

Evidence of persimmon carnage. We had to thin the persimmons on the tree, otherwise we'd be overwhelmed in the fall. This is maybe 1/3 of the teeny fruit on the tree. If you recall 2 years ago, we got over 40 persimmons off the newly planted tree. Last year, we only got 2, but they were huge. This year, we're hoping for a reasonable crop. And there will be plenty, even with the thin-out!

And more fruits and veggies and outdoor meals to come.

Speaking of mothers...this mourning dove has made her nest on our patio roof, under the kiwi vines. From below, we can see the bottom of the nest.

(I'm sitting out on the patio typing this, and she just moved off the nest. Eggs!)

We also have sparrow nestlings behind the basketball backboard on the garage. Boy are they noisy!
But even better, the 17-year-old boy Dork gave me a Mother's Day hug! Who could ask for anything more? I guess I'll keep him!

Okay, I've worked long enough on this post. I'd better get ready for work!

Another one bites the dust!

2009-04-22T00:42:00.000-07:00

Another month has flown by...

And another FO is now off the needles!
Stroller blanket, auction donation
Size 28"x28"
Pattern: Ondas (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy in Blue Lagoon, a little over 2 skeins
Needles: size 9 US

This pattern is also known as Fibercrack - and OMG does it ever live up to that name. I did not want to stop knitting on it, even though bed/work/food called!

And here's one project that I didn't post yet - a finished sweater!
Size L
Pattern: Marta
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted in Purple Majesty
Needles: size 9 US

Yes, I know I still need to find the perfect button to finish this sweater out perfectly, but for now, it will be held closed by a Flexi-8. Purlescence has several different sizes if you want to buy local!

In the cooking department, the following food was also disappeared very quickly: a monster pan of tamale pie (from Marian Cunningham's The Supper book) and lots of sourdough bread made by The Hubby.

Since I last blogged, lots of good stuff has happened. Spring Break at school has come and gone (spent most of it at the shop, of course). Baseball season has started! The Hubby is working again. So is my brother who was laid off 9 months ago. I've found out that one teacher at school is pregnant (oh, darn, I have to make another baby blanket...).

We also were one of the gardens on the Going Native Garden tour last Sunday, with our California native plants really going like gangbusters! If you'd like to see what the garden looks like, take a look at the pictures my husband took and put on his gallery page.

Unfortunately, there's some bad stuff too: Cancer sucks! A former coworker's cancer is making her low. Another good friend's sister has only a few weeks left to live. My best friend's dog had to be put to sleep due to an invasive tumor too, and she herself is dealing with fibroids and possible surgery. So I'm also going to be busy making prayer shawls and other comforting items.

I suppose that I'd better head to bed now so I'll be awake enough in the morning to knit lace.

Quilt!

2009-03-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

My 2nd baby quilt was made in 7 days. I was told "red, white and blue", and couldn't quite come up with the right crochet/knit blanket pattern and yarn.

But then I saw some fabric that I couldn't resist. Do you recognize the book this came from?*

And then I realized that I had a few coordinating fat quarters and it came together very quickly.

Actually, a little too quickly...
(Do you see the "oops" at the bottom of the green section?)

Problem fixed, machine quilting done, Mommy happy! I work with H's mother-in-law at the public library, so it was the perfect project for me.

*Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do you see? by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle. By the way, Happy 40th birthday, Very Hungry Caterpillar!

We now return to our regularly scheduled knitting - onward, to Marta!

See, More Knitting!

2009-03-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Rarely am I compelled to knit up brand-new yarn right away. Usually it has to tell me exactly the right pattern and then I hem and haw over whether I can afford to cast on a new project. I think about all the other UFOs and other projects that need some concentrated time.

Not this time...
Enter Marta.

I've had her in my Ravelry queue for quite a while, with the intention of using some Malabrigo Worsted (in Mineral Red) that's already in the stash. Blast you, Stitches West! I found some Malabrigo Worsted in Purple Mystery.

[Hello! (Waving wildly) Queen of Purple Yarn, here! Duh!]

That picture is, of course, not really accurate, as purples are notoriously difficult to photograph. Think more of a darker blue-purple: my color, for sure. This is 10" worth since last Friday's cast-on. I'm not even trying to work at it, and it's flying along. Loving it immensely and wanting to work on it every waking hour (nevermind that time suck called "work" ...)

Come on, Kathy, quit blogging so you can get back to work on it. Or go to sleep, which may be the better option.

I'll leave you with a picture of the silly dog who took a plant pot and thought it should be treated like a ball...

Who, me? What'd I do?

Whew!

2009-03-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

(warning: picture-heavy post)

Wow! Stitches West is over for another year and I'm exhausted after working for the Purlescence Girls for the last 3 days. But let me tell you, I wouldn't miss it for the world!

There was lots of laughter and finding friends I haven't seen in a while, and making new friends along the way. There was lots of fiberlicious goodness everywhere and an incredible creative energy that is difficult to find anywhere else. I definitely love being a librarian, but those library conferences don't quite have the same vibe! (No, we don't spend the whole time shushing people...)

I can't even remember a lot of the people I saw - but I remember meeting Knotty La, Cockeyed and EttaMae from Blue Moon, WonderMike from the YKnit podcast... and so many more wonderful local creative people in the Bay Area.

Oh - you wanted to see what I bought, right? Ummm, I vaguely remember telling someone not to let me buy any laceweight yarn because I already had a lace stash that will take a while to deal with. So how did this Malabrigo lace end up in my bag? 2 skeins of Purple Mystery and 2 skeins of Cypress. Got those at Carolina Homespun. And where did the MerinoCash (in the Pearl Ten colorway) come from (the one on the left)? Hmmm, can you say "Malabrigo Junkies"? Say the magic words at the Malabrigo yarns booth at Stitches and something wonderful may just fall into your bag!

A skein of merino/tencel from Ellen's Half-pint farms is on the left, and 3 skeins of a merino/silk blend from Redfish Dyeworks on the right.

2 skeins of BFL Sport from Blue Moon in Motley Hue.

For the Hubby (his request for his next project or two), 2 skeins of Fiber Fiend's Bulky Wool in the Mars colorway, and a skein of Brooks Farm Mas Acero.

Some knitting actually happened during the last few weeks!

Katrina Rib (a Cookie A. pattern, unfortunately no longer available)
Yarn: Rowan Calmer, 3 1/4 balls
Needles: US 8
Started Feb. 7, 2009
Finished Feb. 28, 2009
I'll be making the sleeves a little longer though.

A few other projects have happened recently. I made this beanie for our housemate out of a couple skeins of Noro Kureyon (from a swap)

A garter-stitch scarf from Lion Brand Watercolors (discontinued).

A scarf that The Hubby knit out of a skein of Malabrigo worsted.

And here was one project that took about 7 hours to completely untangle. This hank of laceweight was so badly tangled that it took that long to unwind it. You can see part of the problem: too many ends!

I will leave you with a picture of Nathania on Saturday night during the show and tell at the shop. Do you think she likes that plummy color?

2009-02-24T21:47:00.000-08:00

This caused much fiber giggles...

Must keep knitting a project to be revealed at Stitches West, only a couple more inches to go (and a couple more days)!

See you there - I'll be in the Purlescence booth most of the time, but there is some yarn acquisition in my future too.

Aaarrrgghhhh!

2009-02-03T17:22:00.000-08:00

Okay Life, you are not amusing right now!

My FIL tripped last night and is currently in surgery for a spiral fracture of his femur near the hip.

A dear friend is dealing with a rare form of abdominal cancer.

Alison is recovering from colon surgery.

In the grand scheme of things, my griping about some of my students who think that Australia is one of the States is very minor. But it's more than just a couple...

I really need a break. Luckily, that's coming up next week. We have President's week off, and I can't wait! Yes, there has been knitting going on, but no pictures yet.

More later when I have some brain power back...

Hi there!

2009-01-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hey, remember me? The one who kept saying she would be posting more? Riiiigggghhhht!
But I have an excuse! Really, I do, honest!

I've been busy ... KNITTING! Gasp! You don't believe me? Well, here's proof:

Pink Ruffles scarf
Pattern: Just enough ruffles
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted, color: Molly (about 1.2 skeins)
Needle: US size 9
Started: Dec. 29, 2008
Finished: Dec. 30, 2008 (which brings my total for 2008 to 20 finished objects)

Zig-zag scarf
Pattern: Malabrigo keyhole scarf (pdf file)
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted, color: Happy Valley (about .85 skein)
Needle: US size 9
Started: Dec. 31, 2008
Finished: Jan. 1, 2009

Gretel hat
Pattern: Gretel by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Lion Brand Woolease
Needle: US size 7
Started: Jan. 5, 2009
Finished: Jan. 11, 2009

I was so cold, even inside my house, that I had to make myself a hat. Right. Now. So I pulled out some stash yarn (hooray for shopping within your stash) and immediately cast on. May I say, Ysolda's tubular cast-on technique is brilliant (even though I had to do it 3 times to get a reasonable looking piece). Of course, when I finished the hat a week later, the temperatures had shot up into the mid-70's during the day (in January...) - so much for being cold!

Here's a piece of charity knitting that made its recipient known to me, (ala Alison). I got the yarn (Lion Brand Watercolors - discontinued) at the latest yarn swap at Purlescence. It's super bulky and I cast on 15 stitches for a garter stitch, knit until all 3 balls are used type of scarf, figuring that there's always someone who needs a warm fuzzy scarf. Then I found out via Ravelry's Charity Knitting group about the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. The pancreatic cancer fundraising color is purple. A fellow Raveler is selling purple scarves to raise money to raise awareness and find a cure for this fast-moving disease. In honor of my sister-friend's mother, this scarf will be going towards this cause. And I think (wink, wink ;-) that I have just a little more purple yarn in the stash that can be used...

Oh yeah, there's another pair of vanilla toe-up socks on the needles in STR Peaseblossom. Yup, the one that I used for the failed Monkey socks back in June. See the difference? One needle size and fewer stitches totally changed the striping and I like it a lot better. The colors are truer in the left picture however.

Did I tell you about the Ju-san Luna shawl kit (Ravelry link)I won from Purlescence? No, I guess I didn't... In their end-of-year raffle, my Dork pulled my name out of the bowl to win this kit of Claudia mohair and ribbon yarns. It's so pretty and very warm! It is destined to be an auction item for a Winter Camp that The Hubby attends.

I got about 15 rows of the Ju-san Luna done while at a fencing tournament yesterday. The Dork was, once again, thiiiis close to earning an epee rating, but lost his direct elimination bout by only a couple points. He placed 10th/37 (top 8 earned ratings). This particular competition was excruciatingly long; we were there from 2:30 until 9 pm so I got lots of knitting time. Just because I could, I took my new Mino and took some video of him (he's on the left). I really like the overall quality of the Mino, and love the fact that it's purse-sized and ready to whip out at a moment's notice! I also figured out how to upload videos to YouTube and embed them here.

The Dork asked me to mention that when the fencers get too close to each other, sometimes the referee calls a halt to reposition them on the strip. They actually have to poke each other and depress the tip of their weapon (in this case, epee; the entire body is considered a target) in order to register a touch/point. Sometimes they hit the wall or floor, which doesn't count.

Off to knit some more!

Year-End F.O. Round Up

2008-12-28T22:11:00.000-08:00

Let's see, how did I do this year? Thanks to Ravelry, I counted:

Baby blankets - 3 (plus 1 quilt)
Baby sweater - 1
Hats - 1
Scarves - 5
Shawls - 2
Socks - 5
Sweaters - 2
____________
19 knit/crocheted FOs for 2008

Can I make it to 20? Which project should I finish?

Happy holidays, happy family!

2008-12-23T09:05:00.000-08:00

It was a push to get it done last Sunday, but I finally finished the Cleite shawl for my MIL. I knew it was going to take a day (or two) for blocking, and since we left on Wednesday for our annual Christmas pilgrimage to the land of the families (SoCal), I needed to finish it by Sunday at the latest.
She loves it!

Pattern: Cleite
Yarn: Panda Silk in the Berry Smoothie colorway, 5.5 skeins
Needles: US size 4
Started Sept. 25, 2008
Finished Dec. 21, 2008

The other Christmas crafting project was for my 4 y.o. niece G. Her mom (my sis) called me Tuesday to say that G's PB (Polar Bear) needed a new pompom for his hat. So I made a tiny pompom (about 1.5 inches across), and in 15 minutes, a little crocheted scarf to match (1 double-crochet row each of red and white). It was wrapped up as a "Santa gift", with a note from The Man himself. When she got to it and she and I read the note together, the joy on her face was priceless: "Mommy, I got a pompom for PB! Santa got a pompom for PB's hat!" (yelled, while jumping up and down...) " I pulled out a tapestry needle and added the pompom to PB's hat while she still jumped up and down in front of me with the scarf. "Auntie Kathy, he can wear 2 scarves! PB, do you want to wear your new scarf?"

Everyone got what he or she wanted: Dork got an iPod Touch, Hubby got a gift cert for some ceramics classes from a potter in Los Gatos, and I got a Flip Mino. Didn't get any videos worth inflicting on anyone when I was trying it out though. But watch out, I may be videotaping you someday!

According to my sis, G's sister S is into making crocheted chain bracelets, so "I thought you might have some scrap yarn to give her, or some thread or something." HEL-LO! Of course I gave her all the leftover yarn I could scrape up, and then happened to see the 1.5 boxes of embroidery floss from my cross-stitching days. See what she made for me? Another crafty kid in the family! (Her mom sews and scrapbooks, as well as tries to corral her 3 kids...)

The next day, my dad and his youngest grandson, 1 y.o. Baby I, had to take a nap, and I had to take their picture!

Wishing you and your families a wonderful holiday season, whatever your choice of holidays!

Tag, you're it!

2008-12-17T22:43:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Jasmin, I have a post, even though it's not related to knitting at all. Which is fine, because nothing is all that new in my knitting life, except the slog through the final 1.5 repeats of my MIL's Cleite shawl.

What I’m supposed to do is find the 4th picture folder on my computer. I’m to put the 4th picture from that folder on my blog and tell 4 facts about it.

Fact 1: Taken at one of my dad's closest friend's son's wedding in China, October 2001. Brian (standing, 2nd from the left next to his bride, and his brother (Curtis), seated on the left) might as well be my cousins.
Fact 2: We were able to go because it was about 4 days before my brother's wedding reception in Singapore. As long as we were going to be in Asia anyway...
Fact 3: Dad is standing behind my mom, seated on the right.
Fact 4: Chinese weddings in China aren't much different from Chinese weddings here - lots of people, tons of food and lots of red clothing. There's just more people speaking a language that I completely mangle and maybe understand about 10% of what they say.

This was also a wonderful trip on many fronts. The Dork was 9 years old and he got to skip 10 days of 4th grade. Everyone agreed that it would be waaaay more educational for him to go on a family history trip than just hang out doing the same stuff every day at school. So the Dork and I traveled with my parents, 2 aunts and uncles on my mom's side, my sister, my "uncle" and "aunt" and another "uncle". My dad was able to travel with 2 of his best friends.

We went to the house my dad grew up in until he was about 9 or so. The house still belongs to him and my cousins. This is Dork, me, Dad & my sister in front of the family altar. The photos are of my grandparents.

We also found the villages that my maternal grandparents came from. In my grandfather's village, we found a woman who remembered him and his brothers - and they left the village in the early 1920s! She showed us the house that she said the family lived in. Of course, a lot of the rural construction is adobe bricks, and the house had fallen down a few years before and was completely overgrown. This woman just clambered into the rubble and pulled up a couple huge earthenware containers and told us to take whatever dishes we wanted. We have no proof that these items belonged to my grandfather's family, but all of us took a few pieces home anyway.

The Hubby met us in Hong Kong to join us for the Singapore portion of the trip. He was working on his Masters' degree and couldn't take a full 10 days off from school. My brother's wedding was a complete contrast to the China part of the trip. This is my brother and SIL in her 2nd of 3 wedding outfits.

This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

Hmmm, who should I tag? How about No-blog-Rachel, Stacie, Marie and Nathania?

Better!

2008-12-15T16:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, as promised, here is a picture of the Secret Pal scarf referred to last night:
I finished it early this afternoon, realized that the sun was out, and ran outside to take pictures. We got some much needed rain last night and today. Between rain showers, however, our gardener showed up, and I got some pictures!

And yes, I'm feeling better. I'm glad I didn't worry about getting out first thing this morning in the cold, as my lungs weren't happy with the cold air yesterday. My sweetie took The Dork to school this morning and I turned over and buried my head in the covers. I'm going to head out to pick him up soon though. Finals begin for him tomorrow, so the studying needs to continue!

Only a few more presents more to buy, but several to make...wish me luck!

Finished!

2008-12-13T21:36:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm finished - in more ways than one:

The bad: my respiratory system - 2nd cold in 3 months, which is very unlike my usual illness cycle. I'm taking tomorrow off from work and hibernating.

The good:
Finished a baby blanket:

Luca baby blanket
Yarn: Plymouth Jeanne in light green and white. The stripes are each exactly one skein wide, with the top and bottom border the only exception.
Needle: US Size 9 (5.5 mm)
Size: 24" x 32" (but very stretchy)

Almost finished a scarf for my secret pal:

Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf
Yarn: Baby Twist (alpaca with a twist) in a steel blue color
Needle: size 7 dpn
Size: about 4" wide, projected to be 60" long
Pictures tomorrow.

I "finished" off one of my former students, who is currently in 8th grade (my campus only goes up to 5th grade). She comes to hang out in the library while waiting for her younger sister. Two days in a row, she tells me I have to read a YA novel called Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. Haven't had a chance to get to the bookstore yet... Then she sees a ceramic pitcher I have on my desk with a picture of Babar on it. "Who's Babar?"

"What, you don't know who Babar is? You have to read about Babar!"
"No, it's a kid's book!"
"Okay, let's make a deal - you read Babar, and I'll read Tunnels."
"Deal!"

So she starts to read Babar, and I get an idea. There is another book called Tunnels, by Gail Gibbons, non-fiction easy reader, about the process of building tunnels for transportation.

"I'm done with Babar - not bad."
"I'm done with Tunnels too!"
"Hey!!"

Her mother, sister and I had a great laugh over the one I pulled on K. And yes, I now have a copy of the real book she wants me to read.

Off to hibernate...

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

2008-11-27T15:33:00.000-08:00

We have just enjoyed a wonderful meal - smoked turkey, mashed sweet potatoes, swiss chard, homemade cranberry sauce - and I'm now digesting on the couch. I'll be knitting as soon as I'm finished with this post. After the Hubby leaves to head to a gathering in Oakland, I'll roll myself in to the shower before heading over to Sandi's house for more fun and merriment.

I'm thankful for my family, my health, the weather (eating outside on the back patio in late November!), a roof over my head, food to eat and of course, all my friends, both virtual and in person.

Believe it or not, our garden is still producing! Those 2 Fuyu persimmons at the top were all we got off the tree this year - but we did not have to fight the squirrels for them this time. They've discovered someone else's tree in the neighborhood, and while running the fence line sometimes drop the persimmons in our yard. The Dog then gets something yummy! And yes, we still have some tomatoes. Those are San Marzano tomatoes but they're the last of the crop.

Hope your Thanksgiving was spent with people you love!

Sigh!

2008-11-20T22:53:00.000-08:00

I really, honestly, truly mean to blog more frequently, but I don't know where the time has gone to. What do you mean "Thanksgiving is almost here"?

Part of my problem has been the time change. With it now being dark even before I leave school, I'm exhausted when I get home. It doesn't help that my students over the last couple weeks have been driving me crazy with their lack of sense. Since Halloween, any hope of academic success seems to have disappeared, not to return until after the New Year. And don't get me started about their parents...

When I've had a bit of free time, I've gone on walkabout (hey no-blog-Rachel - this weekend?), played with the dog and done some crafting - just not all fiber-related. Well, I guess it technically is fiber-related, just not yarn-related.

I've gone a little nuts with the rubber-stamping. I've been needing lots of cards lately, both for happy and sad events, and I keep telling myself that I can do better for less $. Ironically, I've also spent a lot lately in my search for the perfect supplies... (okay, never mind that I still have a lot of leftover cards from past years. Does anyone really remember who sent you which Christmas card last year?)

I even remembered that for several years (college and beyond) I made all my Christmas cards. Didn't have access to all these wonderful stamping supplies, but a bit of calligraphy, some clip art and a copy machine... but now I have a date with a heat gun and embossing powder!

And yes, there really has been knitting going on. Unfortunately, leaving the house before the sun is really over the horizon and returning when it's dark is not conducive to getting any reasonable pictures.

Here's another lesson that I learned the hard way: don't make major decisions about your knitting when you're tired! Working on Cleite, it felt about big enough after 8 repeats (pattern calls for 9). I'm using fingering weight yarn (Panda Silk) instead of laceweight, so I felt pretty good about it. I was pretty tired and having to hold my eyelids up with toothpicks to finish the binding off - by golly, I was going to be able to say I finished something this month! However, after binding it off, I realized that it wasn't quite there. Of course, with my luck, I'll wet- or steam-block it and the darn thing will grow and grow and grow. So, picking out the binding is the next step. At least I have plenty of yarn - another 2 balls.

Also started work on JD's Susie (Ravelry link)from More Big Girl Knits. We made the decision to switch yarns, from Plymouth Encore (color #668) to Dream in Color Classy (in "Good Luck Jade") since the cable definition in Encore was pretty pathetic at the gauge I needed. I'm liking the Classy a lot more, and we laughed that if she and I have coordinating sweaters (it's the same yarn that I used for my Cardigan to Love), we can double-team The Hubby!

Speaking of holding up my eyelids, it's getting late. With any luck this weekend, I'll actually be able to take daylight pictures to post here. Then I'll be at school for 2 parent-teacher conference days, then 5 wonderful days off for Thanksgiving.

See you at Purlescence's Pajama Jammie Jam at 6 AM on Friday after Turkey Day. The earlier you get there, the bigger the discount!

Yet again, I play catch-up

2008-10-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that I've been a bad blogger. Yes, I know it's been another whole month since I last posted. But it's not for lack of content or lack of planning. You know you're a blogger when you make decisions based on whether or not your actions make good blog fodder.

However, the combination of lack of time and a top-secret project that I finally finished and gifted this past weekend is really the reason.

You see, CJ had a baby shower yesterday. She is excused from blogging duties because of baby brain. I knew she had knit a baby blanket for herself, and I knew that at others were knitting for her. So I decided to do something differently.

Behold - the Very Hungry Caterpillar baby quilt/playmat! The caterpillar and all his food is on the front and the butterfly appears on the back.

I had so much fun making this quilt!

Considering that I've never made a quilt before, I learned several things about the process:

1) I really need to do more sewing. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

2) If you're machine quilting, you really need a walking foot for your machine. I thought I had one, but if I did, I can't find it! There are a couple places where the fabric puckered more than I'd like.

3) This is another slippery slope that I could easily slide down and get lost in!

I went to PIQF a couple weekends ago and bought some gorgeous fabrics for a quilt for our house. Hubby wanted something with an ocean feel to it. What do you think?

I've also been spinning - mostly because I was on the phone last night with my best friend who lives in Las Vegas. It had been a while since we talked, so that's what cell phone minutes and bluetooth headsets are for. I'd show you a picture of my bobbins, but they are black and grey, with just a hint of lavendar and orange; in other words, not very easy to photograph. But it's the Black Sun colorway of Corriedale Pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms.

On the yarn front - yes, there has been yarn action: Cleite is coming along. I've just started the 6th repeat. The crocheted hoodie has reached the 12" point, so I need to divide for the fronts and back. And I've finally restarted the Susie cardigan, but in Dream in Color Classy. Pictures on all of these will happen at a later time.

We had a day off from school, but now I need to get going and run a few errands. Spinning and blogging and it's already mid-afternoon. Or, maybe I'll just take a nap...

Finally catching up

2008-09-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, finally...a few minutes to catch up on the last month of craziness in my life.

There has been a ton of knitting in the last several weeks. To witness, I finally had The Dork pull out his camera to take pictures this evening before the light got too low (still haven't found the other camera).

Look: 4 FOs and more!

Twist:

Yarn: Brooks Farm Four Play
Collar option
Needles: size 8 (5.0 mm)
Started: Dec. 2007
Finished: Aug. 2008

Cardigan to Love (Olympic Sweater Sprint knitting):

Yarn: Dream in Color Classy
Color: Good Luck Jade
Needles: size 9 (5.5 mm)
Started August 8, 2008
Finished August 24, 2008

Multidirectional Diagonal scarf:

Yarn: Yarnplace Bel Canto DK
Color: rust/blue/gold varigated
Needles: size 7 (4.5 mm)
Started August 2006
Finished Sept. 26, 2008

Baby Surprise Jacket
Yarn: Schaefer Lola
Color: Snoopy's Crayons
Needles: size 7 (4.5 mm)
Started Sept. 8, 2008
Finished Sept. 23, 2008 (except for buttons)

On the needles now -

Toe-up socks

Yarn: Regia Galaxy Saturn Color
Needles: size 1 (size 2.25 mm)
Started August 30, 2008
In progress - 1 sock finished, on the cuff on the 2nd

Lightweight crocheted hoodie
(sorry - no picture; I forgot to take one!)
Yarn: Regia
Hook size:
Started July 25, 2008
In progress for a shop model

Cleite

Yarn: Panda Silk
Needles: size 4 (3.5 mm)
Started Sept. 25, 2008

I'm not planning to do a lot of Christmas knitting, but I really wanted to make a shawl for my MIL for Christmas. Then I saw the Cleite pattern from the Twist Collective. In the stash was the yarn (okay, I'd only planned to make socks with the Panda Silk, but Purlescence had more!) Perfect match! Must. Knit. Now!

School has been crazy with all the beginning of the year stuff, including Back to School Nights (yes, plural...). Now I'm settling in, and my goal this year is to leave at a reasonable time each night (more knitting time...).

Fencing season has begun too, which means tournaments every few weekends. More knitting time! The Dork has been doing well, too. It's amazing what happens when he listens to his coach!

Other than that - Happy Birthday to me! Yeah, I'm getting older, but I'm not older in spirit, and that's the most important thing! But I'm being more careful about what I eat and making sure I'm drinking enough fluids during the day. I'm still working on the exercise bit, but I'm feeling better about myself overall. [I could do better in the sleep department, though.] The idea that I'm getting older is making me a little more introspective about how I want to live the rest of my life.

Stay active, feel good and have fun while you're doing it!

Arrrgh Mateys!

2008-09-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Don't forget, today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! I'll be at Purlescence tonight for Late Night Knits (and pirate movies...). If you need any help getting yourself into the right mood, take a look at this translation site.

There has been knitting and crocheting, but no pictures taken lately. This School Thing (aka the full-time job) has kinda gotten in the way of good daylight. On the weekends, I've either been at the other job or at fencing tournaments - consequently no good daylight time then either. And then the camera disappeared...(The Hubby has it somewhere).

I promise, I'll have some pictures up by the end of the weekend.

Almost there...

2008-08-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

Quick check in from the Ravelry Stadium on the Sweater Sprint. Just the neckline to pick up and knit, then add the buttons. I've already woven in most of the ends. Not quite down to the wire, but getting there, because I'd like to finish before I go to bed tonight. I don't intend to be up until 3 AM like I was last night! Pictures tomorrow when there's light.

Gotta go knit!

When in doubt...

2008-08-14T00:56:00.000-07:00

READ THE DIRECTIONS!

Duh, Kathy, when the sleeve instructions start with Knit 4 Rows, then begin the lace pattern, and you read the body instructions and SKIP the part that says "Knit 4 Rows", and go directly from the cast-on into the lace pattern, does that make sense? You even questioned yourself and re-read the instructions, remember?!

Sigh! Frogged 233 stitches x 3 rows... about 2-1/2 hours of Olympics watching... And you can't blame equipment error this time, either.

I think I should go to bed.

Olympic update

2008-08-12T08:57:00.000-07:00

Well, after the drama of the equipment failure over the weekend, I made the decision to switch out the faulty equipment and start over.

Much as I loved the Green Line Worsted, it was not the right yarn for the project. The realization hit when I'd gotten a couple inches into the lace on the sleeve, and it was a little too chunky-looking, not drapey like I wanted. Of course it wasn't apparent in the swatch.

Replacement equipment: Dream in Color Classy in the color "Good Luck Jade", which I thought was an appropriate choice for the Olympic knitting (and the fact that I need lots of luck to get this done).

Progress: The pieces are all knit from the bottom-up, so the lace portions are done first. I've done the first sleeve to the armhole, and the 2nd is well on its way. I should be casting on for the body by this evening. When that is done to the armholes (12" of lace, then the sleeves are joined and it's all stockinette from there! The color shows up better in the bottom picture.

Warning - Olympic-sized Rant ahead:
I've talked with a lot of people about the TV coverage of the Olympics. I've written letters every Olympic year to the networks about the fact that this is an International Competition. Every time, I have the same issues and lots of people have agreed with me! Why in more than 20 years isn't someone at the networks listening!?!? (and why am I so addicted to watching every minute I can, even though I know I'll end up getting angry at the broadcasters).

1. Please let us see some athletes other than the ones competing for the gold. Some preliminary rounds would be nice, instead of 15 replays of the gold-medal race.
2. Please let us see other nations other than the top-ranked, larger contingents, and not just the "feel-good, look how much this person has overcome" segments.
3. Please show fewer hours of basketball (because we can see all the same pro athletes during the regular season) and show some of the lesser known sports during prime-time.

Sure, I understand that there's a lot of pressure on Michael Phelps to get lots of gold medals, not to play down his incredible athleticism and the fact that he definitely rules the pool, but do you have to keep going on and on (and on) about it?! We know that he's gotten 9 gold medals so far in his Olympic career; is there anyone who doesn't know that?

Yes, there is more TV coverage than ever, but there are those of us (and I know I can't be the only one) who don't have HD televisions yet. And, those of us who don't have Tivo either. So, if you have something called "a job" and have to be "physically at the job site" during the day when a few of the less popular sports are run (if they're televised at all), you're out of luck unless you can get your VCR to work. I was able to see a badminton match (but only one and only because it was a US athlete) yesterday morning only because I didn't have anywhere to be until 1 PM.

Yes, I know that I can see some of it "on-demand" through Comcast, but not much. Yes, I know that there is a lot of online content. However, I'd need to get a new computer in order to take advantage of the online videos, as NBC's videos are not available for the Macs that are running PowerPC chips, only the Intel versions.

So, I'm wondering if it's all a conspiracy to get the American public to spend more money on the latest technology while leaving those who can't afford or can't justify the increased spending on new equipment.

End of rant!

Gotta go knit!

Ready...Set...GO!

2008-08-08T10:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, I have been knitting like a crazy woman. No, I haven't finished everything that I said I'd finish...and I only have 10 days before I need to be back at school. Ack! Where did the summer go?!

But, I need to cast on for the Ravelympics 2008!

Project: Cardigan to Love by Lynda Cyr
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Green Line Worsted
Color: Dusk (purples!)
Gauge: approx. 18 st/4 inches
Needles: size 8 for the lace, size 9 for the stockinette

But a spectacular equipment failure has set me back several hours already!

I swatched last night at Purlescence's Knit Night. The yarn was a little stiff and it felt like a lot of lanolin or spinning oil was still in it. But I thought it was okay to work with. After a brief water bath, it was soft and supple and I was pretty close to gauge.

But this morning, after an early morning rise (no, not 5 AM for the opening ceremonies), I started. But after finishing 2 repeats on the lace, I realized that I was heading for an injury if I continued to use the yarn in this form. The more I knit, the stickier the yarn felt.

And, take a look at this! See the dye on my hands? It only took a couple of rows worth of knitting to get my fingers this color. (It's very hard to take a picture of your hand stretched out in front of you - sorry!)

Into a water bath all 5 skeins went! Now I'm waiting for it to dry so I can wind it and re-swatch.

Meanwhile, there really has been other knitting:

Exhibit A: Adult-sized hat to match the scarf that The Hubby knit
This one is a seed stitch rib (thanks Sandi!) in the round. The scarf doesn't exactly match (Broken Rib stitch), but it coordinates quite nicely.
Yarn: Fiber Fiend's worsted wool
Color: Woodland
Needles: Size 9

Exhibit B: Socks (in progress) - this is my "purse knitting" that comes out whenever I have a few minutes.

Exhibit C: Twist (really!), 98% finished, just waiting for the collar to be knit, a full blocking, and some pewter clasps.

But - runs outside to check how the yarn is drying - I want to work on my new sweater NOW! (This way I'll have 2 new sweaters for the beginning of school.)

Doesn't hurt that The Hubby and The Dork are heading to family camp tomorrow AM early and won't be back until Wednesday night. I can stay up and knit as long as my hands hold out!

Oh, and speaking of The Dork, Mari gave me this awesome T-shirt the other day! Thanks, Sis!

Okay, gotta go check on the yarn again!

Notes to Self:

2008-07-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

My Tour de Fleece challenge is finished! All 16 oz. of fiber have been spun and plied and I've learned a lot in the process. Of course, I want to keep spinning other stuff now.

Note 1. You like to spin. Doesn't really matter how the end product turns out, you are a process spinner, as you are knitter and crocheter. However if you spin with intention, you might surprise yourself.

Exhibit A:
Crown Mountain Superwash Merino, 8 oz.
Color: Layla
3-ply, worsted weight, 325 yards
Divided into 3rds, top, middle, bottom
Comment: more muddled color & slubby than I thought it would be. Also overspun.

Exhibit B:
Lisa Souza blue-faced leicester, 2 oz.
Color: Berry Poppins
3-ply, aran weight, 80 yards
Divided into 3rds lengthwise, and pre-drafted
Comment: tried to intentionally match last year's spinning of the same fiber. I think I did pretty well, but it ended up being a little thicker.

Exhibit C:
Grafton Corriedale batts, each 2 oz.
Colors #1, 5 & 9
3-ply, light worsted weight, total of 325 yards

Note 2. Batts must be spun from the fold in order to align the fibers in a spinnable fashion. Until Sandi told me that, I wasn't enjoying this fiber. Now...I think I need to get more batts in the same color so I have enough for a shawl! I love these colors, and think I'll call the combination "Purple sunset".

I also, for the first time, played with the ratios on my wheel and found the one that for me, produced a perfectly balanced yarn. It had less than a half-twist in it before I set/whacked it.

Note 3: Before you wet-finish by whacking the heck out of the wet yarn, make sure you tie the skeins securely, so when you rear back with the yarn over your head and accidentally drop it behind you, you don't get a tangled mess.

Note 4: When you try to salvage the disaster you've created by laying out the yarn so you can rewind the hank, don't sit down on the ground with the dog outside. She will think it's an invitation to play, or to roll in your wet yarn!

If there was a videocamera around, it would have been a candidate for America's Funniest Home Videos. The Dog rolling in the yarn, tangling herself, me trying to stop laughing long enough to untangle her before she tries to run off...

Note 5:
My guys are now both knitters! The Dork decided that he would like to make himself a sweater. Specifically, a hoodie with a zipper. After looking through my books and Ravelry, he chose to make an Adult Tomten, using some stashed Noro Kureyon (discontinued color #55). He has swatched, we've done the basic calculations and cast on. Wish him luck! He'll be working on it while we're at the SF Giants' Stitch & Pitch game on Tuesday.

Halfway

2008-07-15T09:57:00.000-07:00

through the Tour de Fleece and I'm a little behind! [So why am I taking the time to write a blog post, huh?!]
Anyway - there has been progress and learning!

Part I --
Crown Mountain superwash merino
Color: Layla
8 oz. = approximately 250 yards of 3-ply worsted weight.

Part II -
Lisa Souza Blue-faced Leicester
Color: Berry Poppins
2 oz = ???

This one, I'm spinning very intentionally, trying to match last year's spin of the same fiber. My prep includes remembering to pre-draft the fibers, as they were pretty tightly braided. I didn't remember to do this with the Crown Mountain, and I'm not entirely happy with how it came out.

Part III - 3 Grafton batts (pictures later).

Back to the wheel!

Spinning!

2008-07-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

See, I really was spinning! This is almost one-third of the original 8 oz. of superwash merino. In 2 evenings I filled this bobbin. It feels really good to work on this, because I haven't spun since last February. I'm aiming for a 3-ply worsted-weight yarn that I have no idea what to do with yet. But it's purple!

Do you like my spinning studio? Right now, it is after 11 PM and it's 84 degrees inside the house. It's much nicer to sit outside in the evening with a bit of a breeze. There's not a very good breezeway through my house, and the air quality has been pretty poor. With Dear Hubby's sinus infection and breathing issues over the last week, having that poor air inside is causing havoc in his lungs. Can't open the window in our bedroom, even with the HEPA air filter, because it can't keep up with the crud in the air. He was happy playing with the dog, but had to go inside after only a couple minutes.

This spinning time has also given me a chance to make a bunch of phone calls to girlfriends I haven't talked with in months. Love my Bluetooth headset, and plenty of cell phone minutes that I pay for and never come close to using up!

All the pictures in this post were taken by The Dork who took a photography workshop at the Summer Nationals, specifically dealing with fencing photography (high-speed, poor lighting conditions), and he practiced some of what he learned by taking action pictures of The Dog and some of my spinning wheel in motion! (she's about to take off after her ball...)

Next bobbin...

Le Tour de Fleece

2008-07-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've entered! I've needed to get back to spinning, and as my knitting mojo has deserted me for the last couple days, I'm going to start Le Tour de Fleece. Basically, my spinning goal is to spin and ply at least 16 oz. of fiber before July 27, the end of the Tour de France.

Stage 1 (I started a day late). I have an 8 oz. bump of Crown Mountain Superwash merino in the color Layla - purples, of course! I sat in my backyard last night, on the phone with a girlfriend and just started spinning. It felt right to be spinning again. Yes, I used my phone headset to leave my hands free! Pictures later...

Between that bump, purchased last November, 3 Grafton batts bought last month that I intend to ply together, and another 2 oz. of Lisa Souza BFL I got at Stitches West in February (matches the stuff I got from her last year), that should take care of the 16 oz. challenge. There, of course, is still plenty more fiber in the box that I can choose from.

Now you see it...

2008-07-03T10:16:00.001-07:00

The first set of disappearances is that of a delicious brioche & blackberry bread pudding that my Dear Hubby made for dessert tonight. We had half of it, as you see in the picture (forgot to take a "before" picture).

now you don't!

In less than 5 minutes it disappeared, when I walked briefly outside to take some garden pictures.

Here's the culprit!

I thought about blaming The Dork because he was coveting it, and acting like it was going to disappear momentarily. However, we had just finished discussing the matter, and had agreed that he could have some for breakfast tomorrow.

I'll have to take some of the blame for leaving it out though.

The 2nd set of disappearances is that of about 3 boxes worth of junk that was in front of my crafting bookcase. The boxes were a convenient landing place for laundry that needed ironing or dry-cleaning, yarn that needed putting away. Okay, so I haven't ironed the clothes yet, but I did get the huge pile of magazines sorted, inventoried, and into magazine boxes.

A couple boxes into the recycling bin, a couple bags for Goodwill, a large stack of stuff to take to the used bookstore...(anyone want any cross-stitch magazines from the early 90's?). It's not quite the way I want it yet, so no After picture. However, you can see (and get to) all the books and one of the two shelves of magazines which had been completely hidden.

Part of the problem has been that my knitting mojo has deserted me temporarily. Once I finished the Grumpy socks, I've been trying to find something that keeps me interested. I've tried and ripped out a sock in Koigu 4 times now because nothing that I try looks right. I have to rip a few rows out on the Susie cardigan that I'm making for our housemate because I have an undiscoverable mistake in it and haven't had any brain power to figure it out. I can't muster up the energy to get excited about finally finishing my Twist, or my Ribby Cardi, which I really, really should do.

But I need something small and portable to work on, because I've been spending some of my time at the Fencing Summer National Tournament, which is taking place at the San Jose Convention Center (through Thursday). There are over 3000 fencers in town for this major tourney! If you're interested in watching some of what my Dork boy does for fun, go over sometime during the day. They start fencing around 8:30 AM, and stagger the start times for different events.

He is NOT fencing, though! He didn't qualify in his division. But it's fun to watch and cheer on the fencers we know, and he's been coaching some of the younger kids.

Oh, and Happy Belated 4th of July! Dork and I went to Nationals for a while, then out to the San Jose America festival a block away. The fencing club had been asked by the local NBC TV station to put on a demonstration, as part of the festival. It was tied into the Olympic coverage that they're starting to heavily promote. Some of the kids were filmed sparring behind the Weather Guy, while a few of us parents tried to prevent oblivious people from walking into their strike zone. Gotta love those Lookie-loos who are so busy watching the cameras that they fail to watch where they're walking. NOT!

I'm back!

2008-07-02T00:33:00.000-07:00

Had a great time at the American Library Association's conference last weekend. Several good seminars, 6+ hours in the enormous exhibit hall, lots of author sightings, the Newbery and Caldecott Awards banquet, book cart drill team world championships, estimated 22,000 attendees...

Also included: time spent with family. Dinner with my in-laws (including SIL and niece), breakfast with my parents, sis and her kids. These are my sister's: A is 10, S is 8, G is 4. And of course, there is The Dork. He was staying with my parents because The Hubby was in New Hampshire at a separate event, and I wasn't going to leave a 16-year old home for 5 days!

And there was Disney's California Adventure, which was do-able because we only had about 5 hours to spend there. I would probably have been disappointed in trying to get to everything in Disneyland and not succeeding because of the time constraints.

The new Toy Story Mania ride is Awesome, even though I clearly do not play arcade games very well the first time around! It's a fun combination of a ride with 3-D games. The Dork did a great job on the blue side of the car. Me, on the red side, not so good! If the lines hadn't been so long (between 30-40 min.), we might have tried again and again and again.

Just for Mari: you found Tigger, I got Minnie to hold my sock!

I wanted to get both she and Mickey together, but he was heading in for some lemonade. It was over 80 degrees in the sun, and I can't imagine how hot it was if you were one of the characters!

There really was knitting involved with this weekend! Maureen, to answer your question, there are a lot of knitting librarians. I saw 4 others at the conference, and I wasn't really looking. Several more said that it was a great idea to bring their knitting and that they would next time. At the public library, my boss gets several staff members together around once a month to knit or crochet.

I finished the pair of Grumpy socks for me. The 2nd sock was cast on in the airport on the way down on Thursday, and finished on Sunday afternoon. Somehow, I managed to get an entire pair of socks, women's size 7, stockinette, with 3" ribbed 4x2 cuffs out of a single skein of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, 50 g. Hmmm, that means I have to do something with the 2nd skein I bought...

Bedtime sounds better right now, though! My goal in the morning is to reorganize my knitting books and patterns. It'll have to wait until I know if The Hubby needs to hide out in the bedroom all day tomorrow. He's not feeling well - and we'll blame it on the unnamed airline that he took getting home from New Hampshire. Let's just say that it took over 24 hours, due to a delayed plane, an unintended overnight in Los Angeles, having missed the connecting flight. No wonder he's gotten sick!

Away for a few days

2008-06-25T23:26:00.000-07:00

Well, this afternoon I'll be heading for the American Library Association's annual conference, held down in Anaheim this year. Hmmm, what to pack?

-- Clothes, preferably somewhat professional (what's clean and ironed?)
-- Super-comfy shoes
-- Pad of paper to take notes with (no laptop for me - I can't type and listen at the same time)
-- KNITTING! What to take that is mindless enough to work on...
1. Socks? I've finished the first sock of two pairs (my Toe-up Monkeys and the stripey Grumperina socks), so should probably finish the mates to them.
2. Scarf?
3. Baby blanket (crocheted is the most mindless for me, but which pattern?)
4. Lace? Something easy that I don't have to think too hard about...

I'm renting a car to get us - 3 librarians - to and from the hotel and to go visit my parents, who are hosting The Dork until Monday. The Hubby headed to a different event in New Hampshire yesterday.

Hmmm, can I sneak away and go to Disneyland? (can I afford the $$$?! It's $66 for one adult for one park. A one-day Park Hopper pass for both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure is $91.) But I haven't been there in 4-5 years. Back when The Hubby and I were dating, we had annual passports, and The Park was part of a typical Friday Night Date.

I really need to get packing...

Summertime!

2008-06-16T11:36:00.001-07:00

I love summer. Okay, maybe not the heat, but the feeling of freedom. That's what you get when you work at school. 2 months of freedom!

The freedom to not wake up at 5:45 AM every morning.
The freedom of no grading.
The freedom to travel.
The freedom of unstructured time (that is quickly becoming structured)!

So, we've been out of school for the last 10 days. What have I done in that time?

Finished the retirement shawl for my friend Linda, although it's not yet gifted.

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl
Yarn: Dream in Color Baby (laceweight) in Pansy GoLightly, approx. 1/2 skein
Needles: Size 6 (4.0 mm)

Knit Shakespeare-themed socks (completed 4 out of the 6 that I wanted to do)
Socks that Rock:
Midsummer Night for The Hubby
Korppi for The Dork (couldn't find the right color for him)
Peaseblossom for me (toe-up Monkeys), but I only got to the heel turn by Saturday evening.

Went on vacation to Ashland, Oregon for the OSF Shakespeare Festival. Fabulous! We saw 5 shows (Comedy of Errors, Coriolanus, Othello, Midsummer Night's Dream, The Clay Cart), all of which were wonderful. This was our 5th year, and we have never failed to be amazed with the quality of the shows. We are lucky enough to have a son who also enjoys watching live theater, especially Shakespeare. He's been a tech theater kid for years, so he looks at staging, lighting, fight choreography, in addition to enjoying the plot and acting.

Let's just say the character of Peaseblossom of Midsummer Night's Dream did not match at all the socks I'm making! Combine the 70s Disco Queen fairies with the 50s Jersey Duke/Hippolyta, Hermia/Lysander and Helena/Demetrius couples, throw in the 60's VW bus with flowers painted on it for the earnest performers of "Pyramus and Thisbe", and the audience was screaming with laughter.

Knit lots during shows - Shepherd Sock in Grumperina colorway. Learned to be careful about trying to pick up dropped stitches in the dark. Spent lots of time in the evenings fixing the mistakes I made, even though this was supposed to be plain ol' stockinette! This sock is almost finished.

Knit during WWKIP day with The Hubby (waiting to see Midsummer)

Ate delicious food! We always stay at a motel just off the downtown area that has a kitchenette. There is a market directly behind the motel, a great place a couple blocks away for freshly made ravioli, and Rogue Creamery about 20 minutes up the road. Smoked chicken and cheese ravoli with gorgonzola cream sauce, swiss chard on the side. But we also ate a great meal here, too! Oh, and don't forget Lillie Belle chocolates either. Darn it (snapping fingers), they opened a retail shop right next to Rogue Creamery, so of course we had to stop in! And ice-cream after the shows at Zoey's Cafe (no website).

Got stuck in stopped traffic on I-5 (not freedom!), due to this tragic event, with a subsequent almost 3 hour delay and detour. We didn't get home until 3 AM, after sitting for an hour, then turning across the center median and using much smaller roads to try and get around the closure. Part of the detour we were directed toward was several miles of unpaved road. Thank goodness they caught the perp about 10 hours after the original incident, but the highway was closed so they could try to find him and the rifle he used.

Need to finish the Montego Bay scarf by Wednesday night so I can block it on Thursday for gifting on Friday! It didn't go to the original recipient, because there was no way to finish it before school let out. So it's going to our head fencing coach who is leaving to work on her PhD out-of-state. Our club has now merged with another one a little further north.

Whew! I've done a lot already...

Smiles!

2008-06-03T23:46:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the comments about the blackberries today! They made me laugh a lot - and in the craziness that is the end of school (Thursday!!), I needed that.

Jasmin and Emy want to climb over the fence into my backyard. I assure you, that coming through the gate is perfectly okay by me.

Marie thinks they "match a significant portion of my stash". Ya think?! How much of an obsessive fiber person am I? I did think about using the berries to dye some yarn, but then I thought about how much less work it is to just eat the berries as is! And then I realized that I currently do not have any yarn that needs to be dyed or overdyed, so I just enjoyed the berries. I'll have to go out again on Thursday and pick some more.

Here's some more pictures for you:
First up, the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl. It's not quite done, maybe about 3 more repeats left. But I don't think I'm going to make my deadline of Thursday (end of school), so I'll have to mail it to the recipient.

One reason why it won't be done is that I thought that I could whip out a couple more baby blankets before school is over. Silly me! Still, granny square blankets using a 6.5 mm hook (size K) and go pretty fast. The yarn is Jo-Ann's Sensations Rainbow boucle in reds and an occasional round of blue. It's kind of hard to see, but there is some variation in the reds, from a bright vibrant red to a deep burgundy color.

Well, creating a new post will not get either project done very quickly!

A bowl full of ...

2008-06-02T19:39:00.001-07:00

SUMMER!
Just-picked blackberries from my backyard.
So good, just plain...but maybe I'll lightly whip some cream with a little bit of sugar and vanilla...or ice cream...

Lots of stuff...

2008-05-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

The end of the school year is in sight - we're out on Thursday! (Okay, the kids are out on Thursday and my last day is Friday.) So I'm madly trying to get things wrapped up and stuff off my desk, and books to add/delete from the library off the bookcarts...

Okay, one item finished in the last couple weeks:
The Rainbow Blocks Blanket (once again)
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy
colors: Lipstick Lava, Strange Harvest, Happy Forest, Nightwatch, Visual Purple
Size I hook (5.5 mm)
Finished size 35"x35"

This one is for one of our Latin teachers, whose baby is due any minute!

In among all those projects, I'm trying to finish a Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl from some Dream In Color Baby yarn in Pansy GoLightly (purple, of course) (pictures later) for one of our counselors who is retiring this year, and I should get one more baby blanket done before Thursday for the other counselor who is due next month!

Which basically means that I should get off the computer and keep knitting.

And A Meme:

1. What was I doing ten years ago? About the same as I'm doing today: mom, school librarian, thinking about buying our first house

2. What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
A. Take The Dork to a fencing competition
B. Loads of laundry
C. Knit / maybe finish the retirement shawl
D. Put medicated drops in The Dog's ear
E. Knit some more

3. Snacks I enjoy: anything cheesy, chips, berries/cherries

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: pay off debts, ongoing donations to several charities that we support, renovate the kitchen/add on to the house (a fiber room, maybe?), put $$ away for The Dork's college education and our eventual retirement, take care of The Parents and The In-Laws

5. Places I have lived: Norwalk CA, El Toro CA (now called Lake Forest), Los Angeles, San Jose

6. Jobs I have had: babysitter, word processor, receptionist/secretary, office manager, librarian

7. Peeps I want to know more about: anyone who wants to join in!

And I will leave you with a berry picture - the blackberries in the backyard are almost ripe!

9-1/2 inches of meetings

2008-05-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

The Hubby had that many phone meetings/conference calls today. He proudly came and showed me his progress on some practice knitting that he'd been working on. We'd decided that a smaller ball of lighter-colored yarn would be better for him to start on because he was getting frustrated with the thick/thin qualities of the beautiful purple handspun he wanted to use. But, by George, I think he's got it!

I didn't quite have that much knitting time this week, but through the fencing competition last weekend, one meeting and a few rounds here and there while keeping control of the chaos of 4th graders practicing their poetry presentations aloud, some progress was made. One sock done, one toe started. Luckily Mr. Size 11 Wide Shoes (aka The Dork) decided he wanted short socks! I realized that I need to get the 3rd pair of socks (mine - probably Monkeys in STR lightweight, Peaseblossom) done by the middle of June.

The Montego Bay scarf also got some attention. I'll really have to step this one up because I want to present it to my secret pal in 2 weeks. This is about 18" long.

Oh, and the baby blankets that need making, and a retirement scarf present... I really should get off the computer and get knitting!

P.S. The Dork didn't do so well at the Pasadena competition ("Yes, I was 111th out of 114! and 48th out of 48! and 57th out of 63!") but we knew that the level of the competitors was going to be very high. It was good experience for him and the other guys from the club who were there. If he trains hard this summer and into next season, he'll be in a much better position to earn a higher rating. Meanwhile, there are a few more smaller fencing tourneys over the next month before Summer Nationals (July 1-10 here in San Jose). He'll be coaching some of the younger kids from our club then.

P.P.S. And the other member of the family? She's providing lots of bird-nesting materials! That's just a few minutes of finger-combing her fur this evening.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-10T22:07:00.000-07:00

to all you moms, and to all your moms too!

We were setting up for the Book Fair at school, and I was supervising several volunteer moms. I mentioned that as soon as The Dork showed up, I was going to put him to work, regardless of the amount of homework he had. However, when he walked in, he put his bags down and asked, unprompted, "what can I do to help?" When I recovered from my heart attack at his words, and everyone stopped laughing, he provided a lot of assistance.

So, my wish for your Mother's Day is that your children offer to help out unexpectedly, and then follow through!

I was lucky enough to spend a little time with my mom this weekend, as we're down in Pasadena at a fencing tournament (Pacific Coast section championships). My parents came to see The Dork fence for a while, as they had no idea what the sport really is about. Then they left to do some other errands in the area. The best part was that Mom had no idea that Dad had set up a surprise birthday dinner for her (her 70th is next week), with the immediate family this evening. She certainly didn't expect to see us again, as she thought we were going to be with the other fencers from our club this evening. A good time was had by all!

Now, if the Dork does better tomorrow then he did today, I'll be a Happy Mom!

Actual knitting content!

2008-05-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

See? I really have been knitting!

These are Dork's socks, started just over a week ago out of STR Lightweight, Korppi colorway - size 11 wide feet! He loves the green and purple hints in this color.

AND
I've taught Dear Hubby how to knit, for real this time!
"Don't make me look at you over my knitting!"

He bought a beautiful purple wool/mohair handspun yarn from Artemisia Ink, a local blogger/yarn artist, and he wants to make himself a garter stitch scarf. So I cast on 30 stitches for him, and away he went! [The only size 8s I had available were double- pointed, so that's what he's using, with a point protector on one end of each needle.]

Unexpected...

2008-05-04T20:08:00.000-07:00

A trip to Maker Faire!

I'm sorry to have missed Stephanie yesterday, but there was no way to get out of work at the public library. I didn't think that I would go today because I took The Dork to a fencing competition. However, he didn't do so well, and we were done and on our way out of San Francisco around 11 AM. Since I had one of The Dork's coaches with us, I thought maybe we should take him home first to Redwood City and then reverse back up to San Mateo. But J thought it would be fun to go with us.

We saw lots of cool stuff! A guy in a cool leather reptilian costume (he was giving directions to someone),

R2-D2 (fully automated, remote controlled),

and a walking giraffe.

Please excuse the bad camera shots; they were taken with my cell phone, as this was an Unexpected Detour and I didn't have the good camera.

Over at the blacksmith's area (an old fire engine, converted into a forge), I was watching a glassblower work on a beautiful glass ring, when all of a sudden she got up, squealed and hugged someone. That someone was also Unexpected for me - Yarn-a-go-go! And then realized that I was standing next to Lala! Alas, no pictures, however.

Another Unexpected thing - I'm turning the heel on the first of The Dork's socks. Somehow I did not expect to get this far this quickly, even though it's been about a week. I guess that actually knitting on them makes them grow! (Thanks to a faculty meeting, and wandering around the Maker Faire.)

And why, oh why, is Monday always Unexpected....?!

More Great Balls...

2008-04-30T22:49:00.000-07:00

this time it's a dog toy!

The Dog was given a toy ball that had been used as a prop during the Kindergarten show mentioned before, the one that I made the huge yarn balls for. She seems to really love it, playing with The Dork.

Here, she's playing with the same toy, 15 minutes later. Notice anything missing?

***********
In knitting content, The Hubby's socks are finally finished and I started The Dork's socks. The Housemate's sweater is actually starting to happen too! Pictures will be posted in a few days when I can photograph them in something resembling natural light.

The Dog doesn't get any socks or sweaters...

Great Balls of...

2008-04-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

YARN!

"...I need to acquire/make a giant ball of yarn. Round ball. The size of a basketball at least. I was thinking of using a cheap ball and gluing yarn or rope to it. But then I thought I should at least ask the yarn guru if anyone actually had one..."

After I stopped laughing at this email from my friend at school, I knew exactly what to do. You see, she's is getting props together for a play the Kindergarten classes are doing. 1/2 of each class are playing dogs and the others are cats. Of course, cats need yarn balls, right?

The purple ball is about 7" in diameter, the rainbow boucle is about 8-1/2" to 9" in diameter. Not quite basketball-sized, but I think they'll show up pretty well onstage. But I can't remember what the yarns are - I think the purple is a Rowan super-bulky, but I've lost the ball band from the other one.

Now you see it...

2008-04-14T23:18:00.000-07:00

Now you don't:
.

And this is why:
See those 4 lovely gathers down the middle of the back? Not so lovely on me. It made me look hunchbacked.

Now, this is certainly not the fault of the designer (yet another thing I cannot blame her for!), or the marriage of the pattern with the yarn. It all has to do with me and my "process".

I know that I'm not the only one who does this, but you'd think I'd have learned something over my many years of crocheting and knitting - Sheesh!

Here's my process:

1) Excitedly cast on.
2) Show everyone what I'm working on, the pattern, any pictures I can find, make them feel it, etc.
3) Gauge, what gauge? It's a shawl and I like the fabric I'm getting. I'm not worried about the gauge. I've got plenty of yarn and so far I really like what's happening with it.
4) Knit obsessively for a few weeks.
5) At somewhere over the halfway point, step back and think for a little bit. Is this doing what I want? Decide that, Yes, this is how I like it.
6) Getting close to the 3/4 point, stop again and take a look. This time, think longer about it. It's no longer "throw into the purse" portable, so it's harder to find the time to work on it. Does it still work for me?
7) Decide to add more repeats because as the pattern is written, it hits me at an unflattering spot.
8) Continue for still a few more inches
9) Slowly admit to self that: A) it isn't fitting right; B) it isn't flattering; C) I don't like the size, which leads to D) there won't be enough yarn E) and "I guess gauge might have been important after all"
10) Throw it in time out for a while
11) Rip it out.
12) Think about starting it over with a few modifications (larger needle size, check the gauge)
13) Remember that I still really like this project and should restart it right now.
14) Cast on a new project, something entirely different to give myself a break.
15) Repeat...

So what has been cast on instead? The Montego Bay scarf that I tried and ripped 3 times because I couldn't count to either 3 or 4 (finally figured out how to read the stitches, so it will be almost mindless knitting for a while). I also need to cast on for the Susie Hoodie (from More Big Girl Knits ) for our housemate - I've only been promising her a sweater for 2 years...Oh yeah, I should seam my Twist..., and there's another partial sweater that isn't quite working out either, and I could work on the Midsummer Socks and ...

Recovering from Spring Break

2008-04-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

You know how you always dream of taking an extra day off at one end of a vacation...well, this was not the way to do it.

I'm spending some time recovering, not only from a busy Spring Break, but from this ugly upper respiratory thing that I came down with a few days ago. I hate rediscovering muscles in my mid-section that are really sore from coughing. It really hit on Saturday when I drove up to Chico with the Dork for a fencing competition. Not easy to drive while you are sneezing and coughing!

Dork did well in the Foil competition, coming in tied for 3rd place out of 11. In Epee, he was seeded at 11th out of 28 and lost in the second direct elimination round to a crafty older guy who happens to own a fencing club in the East Bay! But it meant leaving the house at 5:45 AM and arriving back home at 9:30 PM. The short kid in the picture is The Dork, fencing against a guy who has to be at least 6'8", more than a foot taller than he is! He lost this bout - his opponent is a top-rated fencer.

Knitting content: I finished the foot on Hubby's Midsummer sock #2 during this competition. Almost no knitting, however, while I vegetated at home yesterday. Hubby took Dork up to the other competition in San Rafael.

It's Spring!
Everything has decided to start growing like, well, wildflowers! Poppies, ceanothus, elderberry... (click for bigger)

By the way, we are on the list for the California Native Garden tour again this year, to be held on Sunday, April 20 for Santa Clara County. If you'd like to see how people have landscaped using plants native to this area, please sign up for the free Going Native Garden Tour. After you register, you will be provided all the addresses to the gardens and you can choose which ones you'd like to see.

Alternately, email me and you can drop by for a private tour and knitting!

Very Random Posting...

2008-04-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

As Loopie Chick said "I'm not dead yet." And by the way, has anyone seen the month of March? I seem to have completely missed it this year!

Well, it's coming on the end of Spring Break, and I'm not ready for the end! There's way too much to do - especially knitting.

What has happened over the last month:

Made a few cards (and spent more money doing so - thanks Emy!) :

Went to Monterey Aquarium and got not very good pictures of lots of things - which I will not subject anyone to! The Dork took his really good DSLR camera with him and got very picky about framing his shots, with the result that not much was useful. But the day really was gorgeous!

Went to SoCal to visit family last weekend. Lots of stuff got sorted out - a good time was had by most people, most of the time. Got a couple pics of the cute nephews: Baby I is 9 months old and his big brother N just turned 3. (Sorry, these are pics from my cell phone.)

While down there, went to a book presentation (spur of the moment with my parents) by Jennifer 8 Lee (yes, her middle name is the number 8) about her book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles. It's a fascinating look at how non-Chinese a lot of Chinese food really is. The link is to her blog - she took pictures of the audience just like the Yarn Harlot does (without the sock, though), and I had to laugh at that. [However, I did finish one Midsummer sock for Hubby and warded off SSS by starting the mate while enjoying her presentation]. I'd like to spend a little more time at Nixon Library and explore a little more of the history. When you're living it as a kid, you don't really understand much about what's happening! We just didn't have enough time that afternoon, as Mom and I rushed off to my aunt's house right after the talk was over. Dad, however, stayed to get several copies and have her sign them.

Then there were the old coins hidden in various places, including a hideous plastic lion bank from when we were kids, and the safety deposit box. The librarian in me kicked in and I decided that we needed to know what we have. So I started inventorying and photographing them! I have no knowledge of coin values and many were not in great shape, but I do know that we had some coins that from the 1800s and early 1900s (buffalo head nickels and Mercury dimes, and silver dollars when they were really had silver content).

In other knitting news - there's not a whole lot, really! I'm excited to finally be on the last part of the second sleeve to my Twist. I was cautiously optimistic that I could get it done this week, but that hasn't happened (doing "work" stuff on vacation time - 4th grade research begins on Monday). The Blue Jay Shawl is also more finished than a month ago, but not quite done yet. Sigh! Pictures later when a) I'm more coherent; and b) there is sunshine for me to take them.

Wish us luck this weekend - I'm taking the Dork up to Chico on Saturday AND to San Rafael on Sunday for two different fencing competitions.

Recovering from Stitches West

2008-02-25T19:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a time we had at Stitches!

Even though I spent much of my time on Thursday & Friday being the Passport Queen (for Ravelry passports), and Sat/Sun showing off the wonderful yarns at Purlescence's booth, I certainly did have time to shop. Budget? What budget?!

Jasmin and I got into it over this wonderful roving from Royal Hare. She got a pound (I think?) and I got 8 oz.

Hubby and I got into it over this yarn from Fiber Fiend. So I went back and got more from Margit.

And The Dork and I got into it over this from Brooks Farm. Hard to tell from the picture, but it's a very dark purple and black yarn. So I bought him this instead to make a hoodie.

However, these are mine, all mine - dyed by Creative (the seawool and the merino/tencel roving) and Lisa Souza (the Berry Poppins BFL on the right) (insert evil laughter...)

But no matter how much I want to work with the stuff I just bought, I need to finish something that's on the needles first!

Note to Self:

2008-02-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

When the yoke chart A ends with row 19, and body chart B starts with row 22, double-check the written instructions to find out what happens with rows 20-21, instead of going directly from A to B. Maybe that will save you several hours of muttering and ripping out. The very nice person who created this pattern is not to blame if you can't read the instructions.

And when you finally get it right, the pattern will make ever so much more sense!

Other than that, counting correctly will also help...