The Cat Knits...

Hounds tooth

2012-02-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well, wrist is much better despite the fact that I've been cheating a little on the rest part of the cure. It's awfully hard to sit idly on the couch and simply watch the TV. After all, my continuing New Years' resolution is to knit down my stash AND my niece gave me a goodly supply of Lion Homespun yarn for Christmas. With so much yarn, I wanted to knit something other than simple scarves with it. How about a wrap in a hounds tooth pattern? Yes. Using two skeins will produce a reasonably large, cuddly rectangle.

CO 48 in Color A
Row 1: With A, Knit
Row 2: sl 1 knitwise wyib; Add B: *k1, sl 1 purlwise wyib; repeat from *; end sl 1 knitwise wyib
Row 3: With B, knit
Row 4: sl 1 knitwise wyib; Add A: *sl 1 purlwise wyib, k1; repeat from *; end sl 1 knitwise wyib
Repeat Rows 1-4 for pattern to desired length
Bind Off
Weave in ends

Ouch!

2012-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

I know we're supposed to be grateful that we have jobs ... and I am ... BUT (of course, there's a but), my wrists hurt so much at the end of the day that I spend my nights in wrist braces. Not much fine knitting getting done. Too much key boarding? Not sure. I didn't think that I got to sit still long enough to injure anything. Must consider my daily tasks more critically. Where did I leave my ergodyne proflex wrist protectors?

Happy New Year

2012-01-06T17:19:00.000-08:00

My theory is that I get to wish everyone a Happy New Year for the entire month of January. I believe the Chinese New Year starts later this month so it seems to be an appropriate greeting for some time to come. As inspiration and, perhaps, an omen that this will be a good new year, the orchids have chosen to bloom now after a two-year dormancy. Life does go on at many unseen levels and choses it's own time to blossom.

Be happy and blessed in the year to come and Bloom! Choose your time to be beautiful!

Happy Holi-daze?

2011-12-26T11:08:00.000-08:00

I know! You thought I might have fallen off the face of the planet. It has been along time. As much as I enjoy the change of the seasons and the festivities of winter, sometimes the approach of year end finds that I have taken too big a helping out of the pot of To-dos. There's so much pressure to do more and more and more. Whoa! Is that a New Year's Resolution about to be born? All I know is that I may have to watch that documentary about the tightrope walker again ... learn balance....

Well, here are some happy snaps of places my knitting has gone. The college bookstore asked for my scarves and caps again this year and featured one of them in their newsletter. (Lion Homespun and the universal stitch pattern. Thanks, KD! Homespun is a highly textured yarn, but I like the subtle stripes that are produced.)

We also did another turn at the Holiday Crafts Faire in town. As I didn't apply to do it last year, I thought I had enough scarves to sell. Late in the month, I remembered I had donated a number of them to a woman's shelter and panic set in! I spent hours knitting like a mad woman to make more scarves. It's difficult knitting for unknown folks. What are their favorite colors? Are they allergic to wool? Do they want long scarves or short ones?

At the faire, I did learn something from the fused glass vendor in the room: You can't just make things in your favorite colors. People have different tastes. The first piece she sold was something she wasn't even going to set out, because she didn't like the color combination. The piece, however, looked fantastic on the woman who purchased it. I was fortunate enough to experience the same thing twice (yeah!) when I sold a Harvest-toned scarf and then a shawl. They didn't look good on me, but the shawl was perfect on the gal who tried it on. This was a faire full of surprises. Someone asked for an alpaca scarf (!), my little hand warmers got sold, and I got a commission for a lace shawl. These are big shifts in the local knowledge base. The first year I set out hand warmers, I overheard one person say that they were useless. I also came home with all of my wool hats and scarves; acrylic was the fiber of choice. I'm almost looking forward to next year--IF I ever do this again. Re-read paragraph one, please!--because I'll have more fiber-savvy customers out there. I can start knitting and experimenting in different fibers and patterns. That is pretty exciting!

Penguin Sweaters

2011-10-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

When I heard about the oil tanker breaking up off the coast of New Zealand, I wondered if there would be a call to knitters to help. Unfortunately, there was. Skeinz Yarn Shop in New Zealand asked knitters to knit Penguin jumpers for a colony of Blue Penguins that were affected by the oil spill. Ravelry had a lively discussion going. (Yes, how is the elastic added?) I saw penguins wearing their sweaters on my local TV news. Snopes.com has a page declaring that the call for penguin sweaters is NOT a hoax. So while I was trying to figure out the meaning of 8 ply yarn, old needle sizes, and which conversions to trust, the rest of the knitting world came to the aid of penguins. In what felt like a mere matter of days, knitters rallied, and now there are more than enough Penguin Jumpers for all the affected birds. I am so pleased. However, I still intend to knit these little sweaters for the next time. Sad to say, I think there will be more oil spills.

2012 Special Olympics Scarves

2011-10-25T09:13:00.001-07:00

I first heard the call for donations of hand knitted (or crocheted) scarves for the Special Olympics in 2009. The Special Olympics Winter World Games were going to be held in Boise, Idaho and the organizers need 5,000 scarves to give to the athletes. They got 60,000! Every state in the US and 12 countries sent in donations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oHNoWJ0YmA Coats & Clark sponsored effort and donated skeins of yarn in delft blue and white for volunteers to knit or crochet scarves.

Apparently, in 2011, they received 26,000 scarves. I didn't hear about that campaign, although I looked. Alas, in all the wrong places.

For the 2012 USA Games, Special Olympics is continuing the tradition of seeking scarf donations. Red Heart Yarn has 4 choices in the official colors of red and navy. Complete project guidelines and patterns are available at: http://www.scarvesforspecialolympics.org/states There are many state programs with specific delivery deadlines listed on the guidelines page. But, being me, I'm a rogue with no state! (And I have two location possibilities of the state I live in and the state my cousin lives in.) My scarf, made in honor of my cousin Carol who has Downs, is already underway.

I used their pattern: 10 rows of stockinette broken with 4 rows of a lace (11/13: *yo, K2tog, repeat. 12/14: *yo, P2tog, repeat). Finished size: 6"x 60"

Consider participating!

Unfulfilled in paradise

2011-10-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

I was sorely disappointed not to find any knitting supplies on my recent trip to Hawaii (the Big Island). I inquired at a few shops but no one knew any knitters, much less where one would get yarn. Finally, I found a clerk who thought there might still be a knitting group in Waimea, but this was said with much uncertainty. As we often shopped in that town -- which has sheep grazing in yards and a Starbucks with a fireplace! -- I thought there was a good chance I'd find something. I even spotted this sign: "Woolcraft!" Alas! The only wool for sale was for needlepoint. Apparently, another visiting (aka tourist) knitter had called in a panic trying to find needles, but there were none to be had there. So my dreams to purchase Hawaiian-made koa needles were dashed, too.

Updates...

2011-10-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

3 for 3 ... drove past the bike rack on three days and yes there were different bikes hitched to it.

Cotati Yarn Bomb

2011-09-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

Imagine my surprise when I spied this excellent piece of yarn bombing! People were just walking past it like it wasn't there, but I managed to get a pix for us all. Someone went to a lot of work with the stripes, dots, flowers, etc. I wonder if people are hesitant to park their bikes there. Hmmm. I could do some undercover scouting next week, if I can remember to do it. My memory is so bad these days. Oh! Look, Bob, my car is in the snap, too.

Knitting at a Reading

2011-09-17T15:02:00.000-07:00

I was trying to break out of my rut of home-gotowork-homeagain so last week I decided to go to an author reading at my local book store Copperfield's Books. It was an added incentive that my LYS Knitterly co-sponsored the event. I didn't go home and took myself out to dinner instead. Wow! I was breaking all sorts of patterns. The mighty author who blasted me out of my comfort zone was Rachael Herron. She was promoting her new book A life in Stitches and it seemed like the place to be for a knitter who likes to read. Rachael was delightful! The pieces (not chapters) that she read were funny, moving, and likely to be quite meaningful to any knitter. She also wore a gorgeous Romi lace shawl that I wanted to touch, but didn't. Knitting was encouraged during the reading (how often does that happen?), and the gal at the end of my row was spinning with a drop spindle. Several people not only knew about spinning, but recognized the beautiful Jenkins Turkish Spindle that she had. It was gorgeous. For more from the knitter who writes, read Rachael's blog Yarnagogo. Buy her book, too.

Yarn-sicles

2011-09-05T18:09:00.000-07:00

Still on my stash burning mission, but lately the yarns I pick remind me of ... ice cream. Does that ever happen to you? My nice tan and vanilla ... er, white stripe scarf looks an awful lot like an ice cream sandwich. Perhaps, mocha and vanilla bean .... It gets worse. I'm working on a lovely, large scarf now that is the very image of my favorite Cold Stone concoction: vanilla with black cherry and chocolate shavings. I'll post a pic one day if I don't eat it first! Ha!

The Ratty Gray Coat

2011-08-20T17:15:00.000-07:00

There are broad patches in his coat that are worn down.

It looks ratty and he is not dapper.

Are his nails too long to groom with?

Perhaps, he scratches an itch by rubbing against the hard thumbs of oak boughs.

Is he a restless sleeper in his bed of twigs?

When was the last time he brushed out that matted tail?

Before he left the nest, didn't his mother scold and chatter at him about cleanliness and the value of a clean, gray suit?

Does it really matter?

For who does he share the sweetness of my stolen apple with?

Happy Elizabeth Zimmerman Day!

2011-08-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Zimmerman (Aug. 9, 1910-Nov. 30, 1999)

Walking Walnuts

2011-08-04T20:11:00.001-07:00

After years no baby quail sightings, we finally have a full complement of walking walnuts. Mrs. & Mr. Quail keep a sharp lookout over their brood, but the chicks seem to favor Mom at this point. If they don't move, they blend in so well with their surroundings that we almost can't see them. At least my cats can't see them. Most of the quail activity takes place in the garden, which is in front of the cat porch where kitties nap all day....

Almost as Good as Being There?

2011-07-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

Saw The Steins Collects exhibition at SF-MOMA last Friday with friends. What a wonderful show! How amazing to have re-assembled all the artwork again. I grew absolutely faint as I walked through gallery after gallery, looking at artwork by Picasso, Matisse, Gris, Bonnard, Renoir, Cezanne, and many others who are now icons of art history. Of course, at the time when the Steins were collecting and fostering new talent, they were mostly up-and-coming new artists. I'm sure we all wished we could find that Parisian time machine from Woody Allen's latest film Midnight in Paris to drop in on Gertrude Stein's salon and buy 5 or 6 Matisse paintings for 500 francs. Ha! Ha!

When I made it through the exhibit and out of the gift shop, I was really faint because I really needed to drink water and eat something. DUH! Merely looking at a few still life paintings of food and drink apparently wasn't a good substitute for the real thing. We found a wonderful cafeteria around the corner from the museum, Soup Freaks. BUT, even better than lunch--and it was good!--was the matinee of Midnight in Paris that we caught in order to avoid rush hour traffic home. OMG! It was "almost" as good as being there for any art history/literature devotee. (Well, there is so substitute for Paris, I know.)

How can I knit something that incorporates all this?

Happy Birthday, MU!

2011-06-27T08:37:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday to you!
Happybirthday to you!
Happy birthday dear M....
Happy birthday to you!

Trust me: that was much more melodius than if I had actually sung it.
Your cyber-present is also quite dishy. Does it border on porn-for-knitters?

Have a great day.

Silver & Black

2011-06-24T14:55:00.001-07:00

Will the lockout end?

Will this be the year that the Raiders arise anew?

Has the Raider Nation sold enough tickets to fill their stadium?

Will we have a winning or another break even season? Positives, both.

Like the Raiders, my poor little fella has had his ups and downs, and taken way too many punches....

Will I be able to get a new antenna ball?

Do they still make these things?

A knitted film

2011-06-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

Stumbled across the most amazing little film made by Charlotte Blacker a student in the UK who knitted/created a stop motion film for her university dissertation. The Little Red Plane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2K1VI6sLdY It is beyond charming. Enjoy!

Shiba Inu Puppies

2011-06-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

I got addicted to the Shiba Inu Puppy cam a month or more ago. Yes, puppies! Not a kitty in sight, although the Shiba Inu's paws have been described as being catlike. It was amazing to observe how quickly six little puppies matured from a kind of cabbage roll state into miniature dogs. It was exciting to see their ears gain definition, tails extended and then curled (!), whines became barks, and crawling gave way to standing and then leaps of joy... and what big teeth they grew. All this and more in only two months. Alas, during the week of their 2-month birthday, they began to disappear one or two at a time. My favorite Charlotte was one of the last to go to her forever home. Now only one remains. A keeper, I think.

Jane followed the rules

2011-05-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

We have basic rules for a reason. Case in point, the lovely start to my Jane Eyre Mie Shawl (Filocana) now only exists as this lonely picture. I--at least!--knew that I needed 2 skeins to complete the project, but in my haste? enthusiasm? rush? to start it, I forgot the basic rule of knitting with both skeins at the same time to avoid problems with color and pattern mismatches. I swear to you that the lovely skeins of Malabrigo looked identical, but when knitted, they behaved quite differently. One skein is rather heavy on the green and dark brown palette and forms quasi-stripes! The other skein does not. Alas! I am now beginning again and alternating the skeins, which presents other problems to solve, but the final effect should be a shawl that is more integrated. Yes, we have rules for a reason.... Jane knew that, huh?

The Six Million Dollar Cat

2011-05-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

Thought I should let you know that Panda had a rough patch about a month ago. She was barfing up nothing several times a day. After her triple mastectomy last winter, we feared the worse, but it turned out to be an "easy fix." Leave her favorite food (happily, kibble) out all night so that she can graze. Since then, she's been fine. What a relief! We also restarted her hyperthyroid meds and switched to a higher calorie cat food. She's actually become a little pain-in-the-rear. I had forgotten how loud and vocal she can be when she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it. Ah, but when she's sleeping...what a little angel.

Can't Keep a Yarn Shop Closed

2011-04-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

I actually moped around when the Fiber Emporium was set to close its doors. But, like a law of Nature, it is written (somewhere): You can't keep a good yarn shop closed down. There is a new owner and it is to reopen soon. Happy happy joy joy!

Farewell West County Fiber

2011-04-13T19:18:00.000-07:00

Life has a way of striking when you least expect it or to strike in a way that you could not imagine. Our ambitious and newest fiber emporium is closing. They opened in February, and I became really invested in their vision. After taking a drop spindle class, I was really looking forward to a future of spinning classes, knitting, and eventually reviving my weaving interests. On Tuesday, when I stopped in to see if the closure was real--Yes, I hoped it was a bad April Fool's joke--everyone in the shop looked to be in shock. We walked among the baskets of roving and shelves of yarn and stroked the beautiful fibers. Alas! The business is for sale, and will close in May. Unless ... someone from our strong community of fiber artists, knitters, spinners, and weavers decides to try a career in retail.

Jane Eyre

2011-04-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Attention all Knitters,

Go see Jane Eyre the latest version by Cary Fukunaga in theaters now. What a luscious, gorgeous production in blues, greys, and browns. Check out Jane's fabulous knitted accessories: fingerless gloves, scarves, and those shawls.... Yum! Ravelry has the Mie pattern that was published in Filcolana. I hope I have some DK weight in my stash....

I'm spinning! I'm spinning!

2011-03-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Is the third time a charm? Hope so. Took my third spinning class and it seems to be sticking. I'm making yarn! Unfortunately, my spindle (purchased at the second class) is on the hefty/heavy side so I should be trying to make worsted weight yarn. It seems to go well for a short bit, and then it begins to thin o-u-t to fingerling or lace and ... Kaboom! The drop spindle earns its name.

Tahitian Vanilla Caramels

2011-03-17T20:12:00.000-07:00

Creamy vanilla caramels covered with premium dark chocolate... from Trader Joes. 2 oz. packets of pure bliss.

I finished my Brandywine Shawl v.2.5. Can you hear me humming?

Almost perfect day

2011-03-04T15:19:00.001-08:00

Thursday was almost perfect. I had taken the day off from work to spend time with visiting family, but woke up with some ailment that my co-workers have been sharing. We all just hung out at home. The sun was shining for the first time in days and it was almost warm. So I spent a few hours sitting on our little deck, watching the deer graze, and knitting! You may recognize the infamous Brandywine Shawl v2.3. I ripped it out for the second time and started to re-knit it. I hope the third time is a charm because the Habu linen is starting to show a little wear and I was very careful when I took it apart. It is also a gorgeous shawl when done correctly. (Shawl was designed by Rosemary Hill and is her pattern is available for purchase.) So far so good....

Too cold to fight

2011-02-20T09:22:00.000-08:00

It has been so cold in the mornings. Yesterday, I saw one of "our" hummingbirds sitting at the feeder with feathers out. It looked like a fuzzy ornament instead of a sleek, little, glittery bird. This morning, I saw two hummers sharing the Hummerfest feeder. I've only seen that happen once before. At that time, both birdies were surprised to see the other at a feeding station. This time, the first bird allowed the second to land and drink. Too cold to fight?

Speaking of fight, there is now a hummingbird drone for gathering intel for military use. It's slightly larger than a real bird, but can only fly for 8 minutes. DOH? How is that useful? Apparently, the current bird drones resemble pigeons or was it doves?

Flickered Off

2011-02-19T19:43:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of this bird in my back yard. Once, I saw him/her against our cherry tree and was amazed by the perfect match of feathers to bark. This time I caught it pecking at the remains of our peach tree (gone these many years). I swear that bird had me in its sights, too. It kept turning its head toward my window. When I finally put the camera away, it glanced up, flew to the corner of the garden closest to the window and struck a great pose for a second. Before I could turn the camera on again, it had flown away. I know it's silly to think that bird was aware of having its picture taken, but it sure felt like it. I love the coloring, anyway. Must look in my stash for that skein of hand-dyed walnut merino I bought last year....

Panda the Amazon Queen

2011-02-13T20:36:00.000-08:00

Panda is an Amazon cat. She has no use for male cats. She fights and has lost her breast(s).

Panda the Protector

2011-02-12T18:40:00.000-08:00

The other morning when I was getting ready to go to work, one of the cats began that terrible wailing that only means one thing: Watch it, Buster! So I ran to find out what was going on. I went out into their sealed room off our mud room and found Panda hissing and growling her warning at an unseen invader on the other side of the plastic wall. Then she began to smack the plastic and made the whole "room" shake. I never did see who was on the other side of the wall, but she sure gave him/her a piece of her mind.

Change of Fur?

2011-02-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

I thought we were having an earthquake the other night. Actually, it was early in the morning around 3:00 am (!). I was dreaming (having a nightmare?) about work, but I could hear the closet door rattling louder and louder. Well, woke up. There was no earthquake. Only a cat trying to get into the closet. Why? They never change their fur coats.

Panda was sighted running down the hallway, so she has recovered from the operation.

Light Through Dark

2011-01-17T16:11:00.000-08:00

When Panda was ill, I kept on knitting. I ended up with a lace scarf. I didn't think about it at the time, but it was a basicaly black scarf, even if it was all nice and airy. I should have held it up more often and let the light shine through. Panda continues to heal in silence and with no guilt trips. Her hair is coming growing back and soon we won't be able to see the scar. Last night, she and her daughter got into a loud, hissy, paw-batting cat spat. All bettah now?

Frankencat

2011-01-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

What an emotional roller coaster we rode through the Holiday Season. Kitty came through surgery just fine only to develop an allergy to the stitches and an infection, which required antibiotics and "wound" drainage twice a day for a week. She actually put up with both processes very well but had definite time limits on our cleaning session with the peroxide. We had to wash her little face, scratch her itches, and clean the cone-collar often. She eventually figured out a way to get beyond the cone and lick part of her tummy. Thankfully, she did not pull out the stitches. Finally, today, she got an almost clean bill of health: stitches out and cone removed. But does she suffer from hyperthyroidism? Sigh!

Thank you to our many kitty-supporters! Your get well wishes and healing thoughts really helped!

Another Life to Live

2010-12-26T14:09:00.000-08:00

Panda surived her triple mastectomy and is recovering well. On coming home from the hospital, she went immediately to her food dish. We are told that's an excellent sign of recovery. She's jumping (against orders) and grooming! She found a way to bypass her collar so we have to monitor her cleaning efforts. There is a follow-up vet visit tomorrow and another one the following week to have her stitches removed. Thank you to her many well wishers!

Dark

2010-12-15T09:22:00.000-08:00

I found a lump on the cat, which turned out to be breast cancer ... mastectomy next week....

Knit on

2010-11-12T11:54:00.001-08:00

A friend sent me a quote from Elizabeth Zimmerman: Knit on, with confidence and hope, through alll crises. It certainly hit the spot. With all of my new job responsibilities, I've wondered how I'll get it all done. I've come to see that ... I can't get it all done. There's just too much for one person to do. BUT I can knit with confidence. I can create and finish useful and beautiful things. So I am knitting. Besides the scarves, there's a growing moutain of hats, too. Hope? Well, I hope to make a dent in my stash. And all that done with a smile.

Red Scarf Project

2010-10-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

The Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project is accepting red scarf donations now for distribution in February. They accept scarves from September 1 through December 15, 2010 Send scarves to: OFA The Red Scarf Project, 21351 Gentry Drive, Suite 130, Sterling, VA 20166. For more information: http://orphan.org/what-we-do/programs/red-scarf-project/

The bad dream

2010-10-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

it's amazing how divided we are sometimes. My conscious self keeps trying to make the world a better, happier place and sometimes refuses to acknowledge how bad a situation might be getting. My other self--the one who communicates in dreams--has no such qualms. Although, her messages can be hard to interpret sometimes. Not so this time. I woke up yesterday at 3:45 in the morning--No thanks, Self, it was a Saturday!--right out of a dream. My little cubical at work was infested with insects. Yuk! Now, I don't mind a bug or two. In fact, many have wandered in there over the years and I've taken them back outside, but, in the dream, this was time to call the exterminator. My poor dream self was wondering if it would ever be safe to go back to that work station again. Poor me, I have to go back there on Monday. At least I go back with my head clearer about how I feel and can make some decisions about what to do. Whew!

Hmm. I recall that I have a knitting pattern for crime scene tape somewhere....

Eeyore the Knitter

2010-10-16T19:13:00.001-07:00

If I have any friends left in the world, sorry for being so uncommunicative. I have been thinking of you. It's just that I have been stressed and out of sorts for the last month. Not even chocolate seems able to lift my mood, and I don't dare eat the quantity that might! Is it the changeable weather? Two days ago it was over 90 and today it was in the 60s. Perhaps, it was the flu shot. Am I having a mock flu? Is it my ... job? More responsibilties and duties and half the time to accomplish it all. (Grrr!) About the only thing I enjoy doing is knitting. Soft fibers; soothing tones or bright, happy colors; creating someting useful and beautiful while having fun. Yes, yes! I may be morphing into Grumpy or Eeyore, but at least my fingers are Happy.

Brandywine Shawl II

2010-09-20T18:20:00.001-07:00

I had such a great experience with the Brandywine Shawl that I thought I would knit another one as a special gift. Alas! The last time must have been beginner's luck. Just had to rip, rip, rip out back to my first lifeline. Sob! Perhaps, it's the linen thread.... Actually, I was enjoying working with Habu Textile linen. Now, there is a word of caution. It does tend to split, but that could be because I had to rip out and then re-knit. Also invested in a set of long blocking wires to make this shawl sharp when I'm done.

More on the Sweater Poles

2010-09-12T13:02:00.001-07:00

The local paper ran a story complete with photos on the street pole sweater project. Of course, there are stats, because without numbers... well, the worth of a thing can't be justified without numbers, can it? (All right, math rant is over.) So "what began with 20 knitters quickly spun into 100..." and we knitted up 14,000 yards of wool and wool blends. Well, that does sound somewhat impressive. It was interesting to read that some people thought we should have knitted things for charity instead of contributing to a public art project. Alas! Poor knitting, forever consigned to be a lowly craft and not a fine art. For complete story: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100910/ARTICLES/100919939

Pole Sweater Update

2010-09-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

The poles of Fourth Street are now clothed. I missed the fun on Thursday night, but those who turned out did a great job. What fun to see our handiwork. The sweaters should be up for at least two months although we hope that it will be extended.

Yarn Bombing

2010-08-21T15:35:00.001-07:00

Ever since I heard about yarn bombing, I've wanted to do it. Bless the sprite or pixie at Castaway Yarns in town for encouraging us. Their street pole project is underway just in time for winter and for those of us with too much yarn on our hands...or is that time...or a sense of silly...or great sense of beautifying public spaces...? It was a wonderful excuse to use up skein ends and pracitse some new stitches. Pole grey for those who like neutrals and the festive honeycomb for those who like colors. Waiting to hear from the organizers about the next step which will be the sew the pieces together and give our street poles their new sweaters.

It's school ... again?

2010-08-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, another school year has begun ... in the middle of August. Andy why not? This year it rained in August. I saw my first watermelon two days ago. (Someone was selling them out of his truck on the side of the road so I:m sure they are not local.) Speaking of produce, we have one orange tomato in the garden. The rest are still hard, green balls. I was able to knit with wool throughout the summer. Now that we are all back on campus, there's a chance I'll be able to schedule a knit-break with the school nurse as soon as the book dust settles.

Missed our Anniversary!

2010-07-18T18:20:00.000-07:00

July 6, 1999 - 2010

It's been eleven years since they came in from the cold and they've never left.

Fourth of July in Oregon Yarn Shops

2010-07-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

Just back from a long weekend jaunt to Southern Oregon. Discovered a couple of wonderful yarn shops in Ashland and Medford. Possibly there were others, but I only had time to linger in two: Middleford Yarn & Stitchery in Medford and Websters in Ashland. Both very different in style, but chock full of gorgeous yarns, roving for spinning, clothing & jewelry at Websters, stitchery supplies at Middleford. The Ashland shop also stocks worsted weight yarn from local sheep. I always ask for locally made or produced yarns, roving, and other things. I am usually disappointed at how few local items are for sale in the shops, but in this case I scored big with yarn and the Lo-Lo Bar by Bar-Maids. A truly "delicious" moisturizer. (Okay, actually made in Washington, but purported to have been created in Oregon.)

The Leaves of Summer

2010-06-26T16:15:00.001-07:00

Discovered another wonderful leaf patterned scarf on the Spud & Chloe site. I can see it as a wonderful winter scarf with bulky yarn, but it's too hot to knit it that way now. Am experimenting with cotton yarns which are resulting in a skinnier scarf. Pix next time?

Genuine Fox

2010-06-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

The amazing Mr. & Ms. Fox showed off their little foxette earlier this month, but have hidden away the kit again. Instead, they tease us with sightings of themselves sunning among the struggling tomato plants in the graden or snoozing on our little stone wall--matches their colors--in the back. I think my next project must involve faux fur...somehow....

Wedding Shawlette

2010-06-15T19:25:00.000-07:00

The mother of the bride--one of my sister-in-laws--is a talented seamstress and knitter. She knit a mobius shawlette as part of her wedding ensemble. The color match was so perfect I'm tempted to ask if she dyed it to match. The texture of raw silk with a beaded top and that lustrous sequin shawl was just stunning. It was that perfect something extra for a hot, outdoor wedding and warm, indoor reception. Somehow in the excitement, I didn't get a snap of the front, which is where the mobius twist occurs. I'll have to ask her about the pattern....

The pattern is from the Treasury of Magical Knitting, White Lacy Shoulder Wrap on pg. 55.

My Secret Pal is a Rebel

2010-06-11T11:12:00.001-07:00

...and a talented Mistress of Craft!

Thank you, RB!

Fog...Sun...Knitting

2010-06-02T09:47:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining on the otherside of the fog and I am nearly back to normal. I've put the Habu pullover on hold until my spirits brighten. Working with navy threads against dark rosewood needles sounds lovely but is hard on these old eyes. I also got fed up with the bummer pattern directions (typos, misaligned arrows, missing type,and other problems). I will go back to it when I calm down. I think I should just diagram out the back top on my own and finish it. How hard can that be? We have more sunny days coming.

What?!

Will we really hit 90 by next week? I'm beginning to wish for rain again.

Right as rain

2010-05-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

And just like that --finger snap!-- there is sun again!
Right as rain? Well, it's beginning to feel brighter....

The un-merry month of May

2010-05-27T08:31:00.001-07:00

Too many missed birthdays in May for loved ones gone--Mom and her sister, Auntie Sue. Mother's Day was hard this year....

It's just a stomach thing

2010-05-19T17:02:00.001-07:00

Unhappy tummy! It's a cold day, too. Threat of rain, but nothing yet. Good for soup and tea.... Perfect for wool knitting, but my shoulder hurts from over use yesterday. I had to be content with winding a few hanks instead.

Bad Ju-ju

2010-05-07T11:08:00.001-07:00

We had a rather serious crime alert at work this week. Fortunately, it turned out to be nothing, but the police were called and arrived with guns drawn, so to speak. We are still recovering from the non-event experience. Our safe, little work space feels violated.

I spent that evening carefully ripping out the scarf I had begun earlier. The scarf is a combination of two threads of yarn: dark navy silk over stainless steel and a cool gray merino. Knitted together it's a darkish gray. But it was the ragged and uneven edges that I just couldn't come to terms with it. They looked bad and felt wrong. None of the usual tricks and tips helped to even things out.

I will begin again tonight.

It's a shawl!

2010-05-03T13:22:00.001-07:00

I now have a Brandywine Lace Shawl to block!
Woo Hoo!

Brandywine Lace Scarfle

2010-04-27T15:17:00.001-07:00

I am almost back to the beginning with my Brandywine Scarf. Mind you, at the end of last week, I was at the 14th repeat of the pattern with only one more repeat to go before the final panel, bind off, blocking and completion! Then I noticed the odd step ladder effect on the left side of the scarf. As it was not mirrored on the right side, I must have done something wrong with the increases at only a few places. Yes, not done consistently throughout, which might have made it okay to keep going and say, "I meant for that to happen." So I tore it down to the life line... and noticed something else was amiss a little further down, etc., etc. I'm not back to the very beginning, but I'm beginning to entertain thoughts that I could just bind off now and have a Brandywine triangle scarfle.

More Stash Busting

2010-04-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

This was one of my favorite balls of yarn in my stash (Crystal Palace Yarns Musique-Monet). I bought it at a closeout sale quite a while ago. There wasn't a lot of yardage (approx. 65 yards), so my logical self tried to dissuade my emotional self from getting it, but I loved the mixture of muted colors and purple. Of course, I reasoned that I would find another ball and make something. It took a while, but I finally found and bought a second ball for this project. True, I could probably have knitted up the one into another lacy cowl, but I wasn't sure that I liked this yarn against my neck. It seemed a little too delicate for that abuse. So, I fell back to one of my favorite patterns the Ruffled Scarf (by Nancy Adams). I like the straightforwardness of the ribbing that is balanced with the feminine ruffle. Since the balls were purchased at different times, I knitted them both up together, but I could not see a noticeable difference between the dye lots. This is another favorite yarn that I am having to get used to as a knitted object. The muted tones were too subtle and what happened to the purple strand? I'm working really hard to love my new scarf....

Do the Gods knit?

2010-04-15T14:00:00.001-07:00

I began knitting a lace shawl this week. It was going very welll. So well that I started feeling that I was really getting the hang of lace knitting. I even told people what I was doing and how much I was enjoying it, yadda, yadda, yadda. Need I say more? Last night when I looked at the work, there was a big mistake about 2" down involving a yarn over and the k2tog or was it the ssk? (There's also an sk2p and a k3tog somewhere.) I'm not good enough to rip out just the erring section and fix it so it was Ribbit-ribbit-time. Hubris does not lead to happy knitting. Although, I think the Gods were having a good laugh on me.

Stash Busting

2010-04-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

My stash has grown and multiplied so that I no longer feel that "stash" is an adequate term to describe it. It looks like a mini-store if only I would sell some of the skeins. I confess that I tend to buy the last ball, skein, hank of yarn in a shop. I have joked about opening a store called the Last Skein Stop. (Need one more ball of some yarn? I probably have it.) It was funnier at one time.... Well, with the discovery of the lacy cowl/ neck warmer pattern over Spring Break, I have kept knitting the cowls with a few of those lonely balls in my collection. An interesting thing happened. Yarn that I adored and hoarded became something quite different when knitted up. I was a little surprised with the appearance of the black cowl. It didn't seem as rich when it wasn't wound up in a ball. On the other hand, the light green looked exactly the way I thought it would. It reminds of a a garden trellis, and that is perfect for this time of year. Dark yarn is 100% wool Froehlich Wolle Swiss Chalet (95yds/ball) and the other is a wool blend from Sensations Canditi (Lime, 87 yds/ball). Yes, there is one more ball of that one left!

Travel Knitting

2010-04-11T15:12:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are a couple of the neck warmers that I knitted up while on Spring Break last month. I did most of the knitting in the car as my husband drove us from one location to the next. I was a little concerned about knitting a lace pattern while on the go in traffic, but managed pretty well. In fact, I made most of the mistakes while knitting in the hotel rooms. Go figure! The pattern (Lacy Luxe Cowl) is a freebie from Lion Brand. As usual, I left the ends to last, and finally forced myself to knit them in. They still need to be washed and blocked. I got the yarn on sale from Knitting in La Jolla. Yes, the last skeins in the shop. They are both Lana Grossa, Mega Stoppino, 50 g balls, 90 meters, a blend of wool and acrylic. They knitted up really well and feel nice and soft. Of course, it's too warm to wear them full time now....

How did it get to be April already?

2010-04-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

I was going to pose that question last Thursday, but it was more than I could bear to do. I have vague memories of being sick for the month of January. Was it bronchitis? The doctor was never quite sure, but antibiotics cured me. February is so short it shouldn't be it's own month. March just got blown away as I was rewriting my job description. (Not my idea....) I do remember springing forward with Daylight saving time. I hope April won't dissolve away as I do my self-evaluation at work. Somehow, the powers-that-be do not think that Yarn Goddess is a suitable job title or that my skill with lace should count as excellent job skills. Sigh!

One should not think that I had a totally miserable start to Spring, though. There was Stitches West to attend and I actually bought yarn this time. And for Spring Break in March (!) we took to the highway and drove along the California coast. Do you know, there are fabulous yarn shops in almost every city and town. Each shop I got to visit was populated with knowledgeable and friendly knitters, and filled to the rafters with different brands and kinds of yarns, accessories, etc. Truly, there was something new in every shop...and I needed it. The sales were fabulous, too. I was glad to be able to keep knitting and knitting the whole time. I'll try to post pix of the actual knitting and/or yarn next time.

Thank you to: Knit & Pearl Boutique, Santa Barbara; Knitting in La Jolla; and Black Sheep Yarn, Encinitas. There were many other shops, but we ran out of time.

Image: 4th C, BCE, Greek Fresco, Santa Barbara Museum

Achoo!

2010-01-12T12:50:00.001-08:00

Do not start the New Year off with a cold! Take it from one who knows. At least it is not the H1N1. I've had enough bed rest to last a lifetime, but sitting up to read or knit seems to zap my energy levels. Who would have thought that sitting was tiring? I can't even muster the energy to watch TV. I guess I am sick.

When I can, I'm knitting wash cloths and catching up on my reading. I have knitted up five wash cloths of different designs, and have finished two of the five knitting novels that I've collected. Bartlett's Knitting was captivating. Her novel was like an intarsia pattern with different characters/colors apart then touching and all of it making a complete fabric in the end. Did that sound delirious? Is my fever back?

Accessorizing a Community

2009-12-17T14:47:00.000-08:00

The other day when my Holiday parcels and I were taking up residence at the local Post Office, I noticed a woman in the line. She was wearing a blue tweed, garter stitch scarf...that I had knitted! I didn't know who she was and she didn't recognize me either. Now, I have been in the situation where I am surrounded by family, friends, or co-workers wearing scarves and hats that I have knitted for them. I'm guessing most knitters eventually experience this, too. But this was different: A complete stranger was wearing my scarf at "my" post office and she didn't know that I had made it. I've become the phantom knitter who is accessorizing my community.

Not so phantom is Evelyn Clark who designed the little bears that I knitted into a scarf for my Mother Bear. You can find her pattern in Interweave Knits, Summer 2005 issue.

No snow day

2009-12-07T13:03:00.001-08:00

All day Sunday, there were excited whispers among the people at the Holiday Crafts Fair that Monday would see snow on the ground. It's the first snow of the (last eight or ten?) seasons. The last time we had snow--a good layer it was, too--Howard the Cat was in his prime. Of our three cats, he was the only one to embrace the cold, white stuff. I got some adorable white cat on white snow pictures for Christmas cards that year. So, last night, I was more than ready to have a white winter. I spent the evening peeking out of the curtains hoping to catch the first snow flake fall, but it was just foggy. This morning, I got up early and rushed to the window, but it had only rained the night before and it was still so foggy that I couldn't see the hills. By mid-day,the fog had cleared and we could see that the surrounding hills got a dusting. It's all very pretty and very, very cold.

Mother Bear IV

2009-11-23T10:23:00.000-08:00

I'm getting better. Little Bear IV, is closer to scale and comes with his own little friend. The tiny bear is a pattern from an earlier issue of Interweave Knits. (I will look up the issue and give proper credit soon. I put it in too safe a place and can't lay my hands on it right now.) I basically extended his arm and made it the scarf that all Mother Bears sport. I may have to keep this fellow around for a little while as he is a nice model and I can base the bears that are to come on him.

Hallo-treat!

2009-11-15T18:55:00.001-08:00

Thank you, Great Pumpkin! I got a "Spooky Cool" card at Halloween from my pen-pal that was one of the best treats ever! We lost touch around 2001 and she found me again. I am so happy! We've known each other since the 4th grade, but have always been on opposite sides of the US. One of these days, we'll have to connect face-to-face. But for now, I'm happy to have the chance to e-mail.

That Woo-Hoo Moment

2009-11-01T10:08:00.001-08:00

Well, after the fiasco with the miscalculated yardage, I decided to do nothing. Calm down, you know? Since I wasn't going to be able to continue knitting with the yarn that was cast on, I decided to unravel the scarf and roll it into a ball. When it all came off the needle, that scarf was yards long. Even taking my own lack of rigid gauge adherence into consideration, it was still long enough to wrap around the moon. So--woo-hoo!--maybe the pattern has a misprint. We can only hope.

Woolly brain fog

2009-10-19T19:07:00.001-07:00

It was quite humid last week, which was very unusual for this part of the country. We might have a day or two, but never a week's worth of high humidity all at once. Perhaps, that was why I kept casting on the same scarf two...three times with two different yarns and it never worked out. I would finish a skein and realize I was only a third of the way through. Then I went to our yarn shop's special Third Thursday of the Month sale--tweed yarns @ 40% off this month--and got a hank of pretty blue flecked tweed from Australia. Well over the 200 yards I needed. So it finally rained and the humidity went away and I read the pattern again. Yes, you guessed it! I needed 2...TWO...hanks or skeins of 200 yards each. DUH! The dilemma is now do I go back and buy another pricey skein of Australian wool for full price? Well, it would be a 20% over all discount. Maybe I'll find another nice scarf pattern. Sigh!

Where's ... what's his name?

2009-10-13T18:57:00.001-07:00

Finally! That young man with the over sized glasses and red-and-white stripped shirt was FOUND atop a San Francisco office building. Can you spot him?
No, not Harry Potter. It's W _ _ _ _!

Purl & Putt

2009-10-11T13:32:00.001-07:00

You've heard of Stitch & Bitch and Knit and Pitch. Well, now there's Purl and Putt. My recent visit to the Presidents Cup Golf Tournament was a productive day yielding two caps... knitted and purled in an acrylic and wool blend green yarn. Sorry, but there are no photos of me actually knitting at the event since personal cameras, PDAs, and cellphones were banned. That evening on the TV sports recap of the event I did catch a glimpse of myself sitting at the 7th Hole. My few minutes of fame have come and gone, but the hats remain. This is a great little pattern for a fast knit. Using chunky weight yarn, cast on 60 on US 10.5/16" circular needles. K2 P2 rib for 29 rounds. Decrease row: K2tog, P2 around. Next round: K1, P2tog around. K1 P1 for the next two rounds. Then, K2tog for the next two rounds. Cut yarn. Thread through remaining stitches and finish. Cap is stretchy and should fit most people.

Seasons Change

2009-10-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

It's Autumn...already? There is a definite cold snap in the air. Brrr! First frost warning called off, but lemon bush is under the balcony overhang that is it's wintering spot. We must find the tarp to cover it up soon.

Dark Shadows

2009-09-07T16:15:00.000-07:00

Ooo! Scary Moon! And I thought those images were created by Hollywood special effects. Nope. That ghostly moon was right outside my window a couple of night ago. Dare I admit that I was out there with bats a few weeks before? Not the cute, little California myotis bats. This one was on the big side. It was good to know that they are still in the area eating bugs. Anyway, the images does give me ideas for knitting and Halloween is just around the corner. Can't you see an airy lacework pattern in black? I've been wanting to knit one of those large, round lace shawls. They look so beautiful in pictures and seem to be very practical.

Accordion Music Good for Knitting

2009-08-23T19:07:00.001-07:00

...and I forgot my project at home. It was a perfect August afternoon for knitting, too. The setting sun was met by the rising fog and No one had us do the Chicken Dance. We froze!

Lazarus was a Girl!

2009-08-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, while I was enjoying my first cup of coffee of the day, there was this mushy-thud sound. I thought the cats had knocked the portable fan over, but it turned out to be a bird. Poor little guy was still breathing, but his eyes were closed. I didn't want to leave him outside on the deck. It was still foggy and very cold. So I wrapped him up in a towel, put him in a little box, and left him in the bathroom, which was dark and warm and not accessible to cats. I really didn't think he was going to make it. About a half-hour later, when I went to check on him, he was out of the towel and sitting in the box. Well, this was unexpected. I didn't want him flying around the room. So I got ... the cat carrier. (Sorry!) After lunch, he was really making a fuss in there. (Can we blame him?) Fearing that he would hurt himself, we took the carrier outside and opened the door. A few seconds later he shot out of it and flew up into a tree. So I called him Lazarus ... until I finally got a chance to look into my bird book. I'm not an expert, but I think "Lazarus" was a girl black headed grosbeak. Hope she continues to fly high and away from houses.

Grafting continued...

2009-07-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

I wanted to acknowledge Lucy Neatby by way of the "Ruthless Knitter" who described the technique of using waste yarn as a guide to graft. Neatby's DVD Knitting Essentials 2 covers this approach. I have not seen this tutorial, but got the information from the Ruthless Knitting blog, which has great photographs of a lace shawl project undergoing the grafting process. Thank you, Ruthless Knitter and Lucy Neatby!

Grafting Lace

2009-07-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

I struggle with the notion of symmetry. If a scarf--my favorite project to knit--has an obvious repeating pattern, to my eye, it looks better if the ends are approximately the same. I've been advised to block both ends until they look alike, but there is a fair amount of distortion to one end and I'm never sure how permanent the block will be. So I was quite pleased to see that others on the web had tried to graft a lace scarf at center. Well, here's my freshman attempt at it. Actually, I redid it plenty. It is a lace pattern with one row of knit between the fancy yarn overs and knit-2-togethers. Not ideal. I was wondering if feather-and-fan would work better since there are more knitted rows, but I think the distortion will still be there. In any case, I will definitely try this method next: knit the last row with a similar weight yarn but in a different color. Then when grafting, follow that yarn when weaving the two ends together. It has been discussed on several sites and those knitters were pleased with the results. I also found that tension is crucial, and I had some problems by grafting "cold." Although I was able to adjust the stitches manually. And, perhaps, this will look a whole lot better once I block the scarf. Let's hope so....

Teddy Bear Party

2009-07-06T11:27:00.000-07:00

The boys have buds! I missed the Mother Bear shipment by a day. So my boys were the only bears in the shop (Cast Away Yarn) for a while. But when I was in there the other day, they had some new friends. It’s a Teddy Bear Party while waiting for the next ship to Africa. (And, yes, I’m working on getting the gauge right for the next bears.)

Great Summer Trip

2009-07-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

We took a whirlwind vacation through California in early June. It was a crazy-ball-of-unraveled-yarn kind of trip. Our first stop was at Universal Studios in LA (many pics with plushies and furries), followed by an awe-inspiring layover at Yosemite, a digression to the ghost town of Bodie and Mono Lake on the way to Lake Tahoe. Such breath-taking scenery! Discovered a wonderful little yarn shop The Wool Tree on Harrison Ave. in South Lake Tahoe. It’s amazing how one can become so attuned to yarn shops that “one” can pick them out of strip malls even when the shops are set back from the street and partially hidden by parked cars. I picked up a set of needles and some fancy yarn to knit with while “the boys” played Frisbee golf at a local course.

It’s also good to know that in Tahoe I have the Wool Tree and in Reno there’s Jimmy Beans Wool. We didn’t stop in Reno this time, but Jimmy Beans is a dynamo shop. Their website is a resource center with web tutorials, free patterns, catalog, etc. I was able to order yarn—Colinette’s Parisienne—for a project. When I called to see what the yarn was like a very helpful person compared the hanks and described them. No surprises when they arrived a couple of days later.

Endings and New Beginnings

2009-06-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year when long time colleagues sometimes decide it's their time to move on. The feral cats and I will miss one such person who has always "been there" for us. Her work with the cats was instrumental in showing that it was better to maintain a steady population at our work site instead of sending them all off to the pound. A fund to continue her work was created and named after her. It really is a good thing...a second best thing, I suppose, if adoptions can't be arranged. I knitted her a cotton scarf with cat motifs for a good bye present. I adapted it from the Peruvian Cat Lace Scarf pattern in Donna Druchunas' Kitty Knits book.

Fawn Nursery

2009-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

It's Spring! The beginning of new life is quite evident at our "nursery." Saw our first newborn about two weeks ago. S/he was so tiny, but what a jumper! That little baby couldn't step straight but was able to jump like an Olympian. I saw another, younger pair of twins earlier this week with their mother, a smaller (younger?) doe, but no sign of her this morning. Instead we had a sightly weary doe and five fawns. Only two are hers, I think. They made a small parade as they left the yard.

In the meantime...

2009-04-12T16:16:00.001-07:00

Happy to report that the silver wrap attracted some attention at the auction and received 3 bids. Heard from the person with the winning bid and she seemed pleased to have won. Whew! It all goes into a scholarship fund so I'm happy to have contributed in a small way.

In the meantime, I got involved with the Mother Bear Project. (Check it out online: MotherBear.org) There is a shop in town that collects the bears and then ships a group away at a time. I need to get back there and see how much stuffing is required. Had never really made toys before and the directions were specific about not over stuffing, but they feel a little light. Also spent a long time coming up with a face that I liked. Not perfect yet, but getting there. My embroidery skills are quite rusty. I want them to have a sweet disposition. My bears were knitted with acrylic yarn. I thought it would hold up better and comes in a lot of bright colors. They are quite addictive. Can't wait to start on my next bear.

Still here....

2009-03-07T11:00:00.001-08:00

Alas! It's been a hard winter. I was felled by repetitive motion injury that makes it very hard to knit! Our safety committee had my workstation evaluated--thank you, job--and I got my desk lowered, a new mouse appeared, chair & monitor were re-adjusted, etc. If I can only remember to maintain my posture in the correct position all should be well. Unfortunately, if I forget, I pay for it with pain up the arm to the shoulder. And it lasts for days. Not quite the wages of sin, but close enough. So, while I haven't been able to stop key boarding at work, I've had to let it go for my personal projects.

The good news is that the arm feels better and I have started knitting again. It's been shawls or wraps on larger size needles and I try to take more breaks. This wrap was something of a surprise. I got the yarn because it was on sale (sorry, the shopaholic impulse is hard to curb), but it knit up into a pretty fancy little number. It's a combination yarn of nylon, mohair, and metallic threads. This one is destined for a silent auction to benefit a scholarship at my job.

Amazing Technicolor Dream Scarves

2008-12-14T17:54:00.000-08:00

It's always a challenge to find yarns that will pair together to create a more interesting fabric. I was happy with the way the technicolor scarves turned out. They are a mix of worsted weight acrylic and a novelty nylon yarn. The nylon yarns came in different solid colors and add a nice bit of interest and texture. I knitted some of them lengthwise to emphasize the line and others width-wise for the bands of color and texture. The pink one makes me think of strawberry ice cream with chocolate. If only the scarves were edible, too.

Awww! moment

2008-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

Awww! Another happy CatKnits fan with his blanket buddy.

Breaking news: Baby Blankie Finished

2008-11-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

Baby blanket knitted by yours truly has been completed and--this is the best part--my great-nephew is still a baby! You can't imagine how pleased I am by this situation. It will be his "first Christmas" present and I have some books to go along with it. True, he can't read yet and he probably isn't into stories just yet, but one day.... Besides, books are always the right size.

Technical stuff: The pattern is feather-and-fan, which is not so difficult, but I couldn't work on it on a daily basis for hours and hours, so there were incidents of ripping. There was a time that I despaired of ever finishing. I wanted a "lacy" weave with a small gauge yarn so that the blanket wouldn't be so heavy. The yarn is acrylic because I wanted a washable fabric for easy cleaning.

I am working on baby hats now. His father has requested a cap with ... dread locks. Glad that his dad has a sense of humor.

Hope You're Better, KD!

2008-11-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Sending you my first gardenia! They're one of my favorite flowers, too, and this is the first one that has ever bloomed for me. And just in the nick of time. We had our first major winter storm yesterday. Lucky that the plant was on the back deck and not in the yard.

Pleasant Surprises

2008-08-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

What are the odds that astrology really works? I admit to owning dozens of books on the subject in general and on my sign in particular. It is always entertaining, but can any of it be true? It didn't help my skepticism when I met someone who had once had a job writing the astrology column for a paper and she admitted that she made things up! After than encounter, just to be sure that I don't influence myself, I made it a point to read the astrology column on the day AFTER. Imagine my surprise when yesterday's forecast said: "...there are just as many opportunities for sudden little ... pleasures to drop out of the sky right into your lap.... Expect some pleasing, juicy surprises."

Surprise #1: I got my hair cut in the morning and on the way to my car I ran into a coworker. Neither one of us lives in the town of my hair dresser so it was a surprise and a pleasure to walk down the street together and talk for a few minutes away from work.

Pleasure #2: I got to see the replica of the Nina, Columbus' favorite ship. It is pretty startling to think of anyone sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in a vessel that doesn't feel much bigger than a tug boat.

Surprise #3: After the Nina, I decided to visit my favorite yarn store. (See there is a knitting thread here after all.) As I turned the corner to the street when the store is, one of my best friends is sitting on a bench RIGHT THERE. She lives 60 miles away! Now this is a pleasant surprise.

Pleasure #4: We decide to have lunch and catch up. We discover that the restaurant we hope to eat at is closed. So we gander about and take the last free outdoor table at a place that is otherwise packed. During our lunch, her husband joins us. It's been years since the three of us have had a chance to sit and talk.

Surprise #5: While we're eating our lunch, 3 other friends of mine "drop out of the sky" to eat at this restaurant. It's always a pleasure to see friends.

Pleasant surprise #6: After we make our farewells, I finally get to the yarn shop. What do you know! They have more balls of a specific yarn that I need... and they're on sale at 40% off!

Can't ask for a better day than that one!

More Scribbling

2008-07-13T19:26:00.001-07:00

This was the weekend I promised myself I would work on some overdue paperwork, but I ended up scribbling instead!

The Lion pattern worked up really well, but when you're done it is just a scarf. If I do it again, I think I will make it wider so that it can double as a wrap. And increase the number of rows of thin yarn for more of an effect. It is also a very looong scarf since it grows.

Tried again with the blue yarn and cotton crochet thread, this time, with a pattern I downloaded from the Knitty archive. I like the single lines of this wrap. Still not too happy with the edges. (By the way, the scribble runs vertically when the wrap is worn.)

Getting closer to the "dream." This is the Crystal Palace pattern. The long edges are nice because they are cast on and off with the thick yarn. The effect is nice and the scribble runs horizontally like writing. If I do it again (I will, won't I?!), I think another set of thick and thins to increase the width of the scarf will help it. It also tends to grow length-wise and shrink width-wise.

I am beginning to realize that this may be the scarf/wrap to help me let go of (making) those perfect edges. The fabric can be stretched and pulled in many directions to wrap about oneself. And it feels good to have it that way.

Scribbling

2008-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Ever since I saw the first example of scribble scarves, I've wanted to try one. Must confess, it's not as easy as it looks. I used wool with a cotton crochet thread per the Mason Dixon patterns. The cotton thread edges are very uneven and not easy to fix. I suppose that is one of the challenges that they warn knitters about when one attempts to knit with yarns that are this extreme in thickness and thinness.

I've already ripped this out. I did find a couple or three more patterns. Lion Brand has a very straightforward scribble scarf of Knit 2 rows, change to other yarn, knit 2 rows, etc. Crystal Palace has a pattern for a scribble scrabble scarf that I would also like to try.

What I did do was to combine the Lion pattern with the Crystal Palace yarn suggestions, particularly the kid merino. The kid merino was easier to work with than cotton thread and holds up well. The results are passable, but the two rows of thick yarns don't do it for me. I want that single fat strand suspended with barely visible thins. So more from me next time on this one....

My Bug is a Million Dollar Hog

2008-06-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

All right! It's official. My VW bug is a gas hog. It just cost me almost $35.00 for a half-tank. Will I have to choose between yarn and gas? Oh NOOooooo!

The short and the long of "It"

2008-05-26T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my projects that will have to be a testament to hard work and poor planning. Seized by the desire to cable something, I started this scarf a long while ago with a skein of yarn that my imagination assured me would be enough. You can guess what happened. I started working on it again and I finally had to conclude that there was not enough yarn to make a scarf of good length. I may have already expressed a thought about making it a 2-color scarf, but...I didn't. By the time I took the trouble to measure, "It" was too long to just add the second color and keep going. I would have had to rip out almost two-feet of scarf. I must confess that I also did not take to the cable pattern and had a lot of problems with it. So the temptation to stop cabling won out and I bound It off. I am trying to convince myself that I'm satisfied to have an ascot-length piece. But It still lies in my work basket. As much as I came to dislike the pattern, I still like the idea of the 2-color scarf....

The cat who liked to shower

2008-05-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I've been thinking a lot about Howard lately and getting rather weepy. I guess it's the change of season and the reminder of what once was and what will never happen now.

It has been unseasonably hot lately and I wondered if Panda-mama-cat ever followed my husband into the shower. She follows him everywhere else and mews piteously, as well. (I guess it's nice to have a groupie?) Well, Panda has more cat-sense and does not enter the bathroom. Of course, she probably views it as the little room where cat nails get clipped (ME-Ouch!) and cat teeth get examined.

BUT Howard did take showers. He would even step inside when the shower was in use and water was falling hard. If a drop would strike him, he would flick his tail in annoyance but he wouldn't leave. Sometimes he would stay long after the water had been turned off. Most amazing of all, he never really got wet...except for his paws. So when the light hit the tile floor just right, we were able to trace his path. I confess, it used to annoy me to see his pawprints on the bathroom counters.

I sometimes still look, but have never found the dried impressions of wet pawprints. I really miss the tell-tale signs of his misdeeds.

Knitting nightmare

2008-05-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

I had my first knitting nightmare last night. There was a full moon so the room was too bright. It was just too warm to sleep. The weather is changing from spring to summer this week (65-100 degrees in a mere five days). Every night creature was making its rounds and the perimeter light kept going on-and-off like a neon sign on the side of a skid row hotel. Yes, the perfect set-up for bad dreams. So there I was back at the Holiday Faire and everyone wanted knitted slippers: Not felted Mary Janes, but those lumpy. garter stitch ones that you find at bazaars. Slippers that I had knitted with Red Heart yarns from the Ben Franklin store for every member of my family one year long ago. (No one ever wore them.) Slippers that I was thinking of knitting...again. OH NO! Is it time to find a new pattern?

Finished! Finished!

2008-04-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Two more languishing projects washed, blocked and stored in a cat-proof, gift-stash container. Both scarves were knitted with Bernat's Satin Sport yarn (Light weight 3, 182 yds, 100% acrylic). (Acquired at one of Michael's too-tempting-to-resist sales. Yes, I swore I would be strong, but the discount was huge.) I was afraid the yarn would be a little too soft, but it knit up nicely and feels good and soft to the touch. The variegated pink scarf was knit length-wise (CO 218) in a feather-and-fan pattern. The blue striped scarf is a lace pattern that started straight across and finished with diagonal, pointed ends.

Calla Spring

2008-04-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

The calla lilies are exploding out of the ground everywhere in the yard. It's a good thing that they're hearty plants. We haven't quite made it out of the spring frost weather. They freeze at night but seem to reconstitute themselves with no obvious damage when the sun warms the world again.

Making a dent in my works in progress basket. What a process knitter I am! Several scarves only needed to have their ends woven in, but--Oh Dear!--I seem to hate that "chore."

Spring Report Card

2008-04-05T11:52:00.000-07:00

The project bags finally got to me. There were simply too many of them stashed away in the back of my closet. As I looked into each of them, I could actually still remember the excitement I felt when I first cast on those scarves, wraps, toys.... But here they were now all languishing in darkness for a number of different reasons. The time had come to make a decision about these projects since I had--Ahem!--run out of space to hide them. So I resolved that I would not start a new project until I had finished the ones that I had already started or rewound the ones I couldn't bear into balls of yarn again. (There's only one project in the latter category. A wrap of multiple dye lots because I misread the instructions and didn't get enough yarn the first time. Shocking!I decided to leave it to last.)

Happy to report that since I set myself the goal of finishing what I started, I have completed the Feather-and-Fan scarf. Once I started knitting it again, the work went rather fast. Why had I set the scarf aside in the first place? I think I was having problems with the pattern, but this time it went smoothly, and two-and-a-half evenings in front of the TV later, it's done. I used a red tweed Woolease.

The second scarf in navy and blue-green blocks is taking a bit longer. I have lost the ability to distinguish dark colors at night. And since the lamp interferes with other people's TV-watching, I can only knit this scarf during the day. And who has time to sit around during the day? But it's getting done. The pattern is in Exquisite Little Knits a book that I adore and hope to make all of those scarves in this lifetime.... I have knit the "blocks" before in two colors, as well as in a single color, which was very pleasing.

Following next is the cable scarf that is going to be much shorter than I thought.... Options? Ascot length or--I'm considering--a contrasting color to make a longer scarf.

Happy knitting, All!

Cherry Blossoms

2008-03-24T19:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes having poor eyesight makes the world more interesting. I glanced out the window and thought it was raining. Well, that seemed strange since the sun was out--even with my poor eyesight I can tell light from dark--so I had another look.

It was a shower of cherry blossom petals!

The morning breeze had turned blustery and was swirling white petals away from the tree. They caught the sunlight just so and sparkled. So beautiful...and transient.

First Daffodils - Happy Spring!

2008-03-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

My daffodils are always the first in the neighborhood to bloom ... usually at the end of January. I'm told I planted them at the wrong time. I always hoped/thought they might correct themselves, but it hasn't happened yet. I suppose I no longer mind that they appear at a time when nights are still long and the garden is drab and still. Seeing those cheerful, bright yellow heads always thrills me. It's always such a big decision whether I should leave them in the garden for all to enjoy or to cut them and bring them inside where I can enjoy their fragrance and beauty. Approaching winter storms usually force a decision to cut the flowers and enjoy them inside. There are no more blooms in my garden, but the trees are starting to bud and bloom.

I hope you're beginning to see more signs of Spring wherever you live.