Catching up

Ok, there's a lot going on in my family and around my house...

I'm going to try and catch you all up in one post with lots of pictures.

Halloween - we had lots of kids this year - went thru 2 large bags of candy and had to shut our porch light out at 8 pm. Here's a cute pic of Summer and Zach - niece and nephew




I finished three shawls.
Another brown handspun Forest Canopy for my sister Juanita,


a commercial yarn Forest Canopy for Mom,


and my Kiri out of handspun exotics for me me me.







Here are some gratuitous cat pron... We have 4 cats - a 14 year old long haired calico - Cameo - my sweet old gal.


Two adults - Candy



and Stormy,




and a youngster - Baker Baker.



Here's a shot of them all on the bed at once - this rarely happens. Cameo is picky and doesn't like any of the others to come close to her.




Here's the reason we bought the new couch - Maegan and Sarah spend the night at our house almost every other weekend - this new couch gives them both room to sleep on it


The couch also got put to good use on Thanksgiving - the reclining feature was appreciated by all - my son and some of the girls


My mom and a couple of sisters



The kids had a good time at Thanksgiving - look at them playing fort under the table.



I have to finish the last minute details for my sons wedding this weekend. I'll probably have more updates soon.

Kiri finally done

No pictures yet, I just sewed in the ends last night.

At SOAR this year, I received a number of exotic fibers as samples from peace of yarn.

There was cashmere, cashmere/silk, ultra fine merino, angora, yak, camel down, etc...

About 1.5 ounces total for 10 different fibers - most of them white or off white.

When I got home, I scored an electric drum carder with a fine drum, so I carded all the white and off white exotic fibers together with some merino I already had. I added about 25% more in bleached tussah silk to get four ounces of yummy batts.

I spun it medium fine laceweight and the single came out slightly slubby in places, but pretty.

I already had 3/4 bobbin of very fine bleached tussah singles for a different project that I had stalled on - so I plyed those two together to get 1200 yards of a very pretty off white yarn - total weight a little less than 5 ounces.

I have knit the Forest Canopy Shawl 6 times so far and wanted to do a different one.I like my shawl knitting to be a memorizable pattern - written with a chart, but a small enough repeat to be able to knit without looking at the pattern every row every stitch. Kiri fit the bill perfectly.

So, in between the felted bags and the watch caps that I've made for holiday presents, I finally finished knitting the shawl. This was my take along knitting. Everyone at work has seen me knitting it and are waiting for me to wear it to work.

I have less than about 20 yards of the yarn left and did 20 repeats of the pattern rather than the 14 called for. I dressed it on to my 7 foot triangle loom to see if I was going to be able to block it on there like I've done all my other shawls and it fit, but a very soft block. Once I wet it down with a sprayer, the shawl sagged and I was afraid it was going to stretch all out of shape. As it is, it's very large on me and I love it.

I finished it last Friday and then sewed in the ends last night so that I could wear it to my guild meeting.

I'm hoping to get some pics of it soon

Warning - family members do not read

Yes, that means you, too, Bonnie.


My sister and I just sat down and figured out the Christmas list and I'm going to be very very busy between now and the end of the year.

Yikes - I have at least 11 felted bags to make and only 95 days to do it in. That's just about one a week.

Luckily, Juanita will do all the finishing - make the linings and attach the handles.

I am going to use the one that is already felted as one gift - only 10 to go!

The Felted Bag

The bag from the last post was so much fun that I am doing another one right away. I acquired 6 skeins of Plymouth Boku yesterday from TYF along with some interlacements Tiny Toes. The Tiny Toes looks very similar to the base yarn used for Koigu - I'll let you know how it knits up.

Anyway - back to the bag. Last night at the store, I was asked for the pattern. So, I thought that while I am knitting this bag, I will write the pattern and then post it here for those interested.

More to come.

They don't fit

Sarah tried on her socks yesterday and she cannot get them over her heel. They are the right length and fit her foot - but the heel and arch are too small.

So I am keeping them for me and will knit her another pair.

Yarn P0rn

Look at what was waiting for me when I got back from Portland..... It almost made coming back ok in a small, non-heat related way.




This is two more huge skeins of sock yarn from Ray. I just can't say enough about this yarn. My favorite LYS just placed an order from him - so now I can go fondle his yarns before buying them!




My first order from Knit Picks. I've heard lots of great stuff about their yarns from Melissa, and met the owner at the PDX Knit Bloggers meet up. So here are 3 pairs of socks just waiting their turn.



This is some test yarn sent to me by the distributor so that I can knit it up and give my opinion. Who'da thunk it?

Portland Visit - Day 1

Wah!!! I took photos, but am using my work computer and cannot download or upload....

pics will be added at the end of the trip or whenever I figure out how to post flickr photos to blogger. Usually I post pics from PicasaWeb and that works fine.

Anyway - a great time today. DeVia and I met Melissa B, Duffy, Gary, and Mary for lunch at Dan and Louis. It was so nice to see Melissa and Duffy again, to meet Gary and Mary for the first time and to give DeVia a small glimpse of the excitement generated when two or more knitters are gathered together.

After leaving Dan and Louis, we headed towards the yarn store, but stopped at Starbucks first for a chai and bit of a knit.

We then went to Knit Purl for the PDX Knit Blogger meet up. Bobbie invited me to join them and conferred on me honorary PDX knit blogger status. The store personnel could not have been more welcoming - there ending up being about 25 of us and they handled it very well.

DeVia hung out for a little while and then headed to Powells. She came back for the ending and was recognized as the outstanding fiber enabler that she is.

There was chocolate, yarn fondling, pattern oohing and aahing.... I can't begin to remember everyone's names - Kathy wrote them all down (including blogs). 3 other knitters were working on the Mystery Stole 3 - I had to put mine away as I just could not concentrate on the lace and talk too.

Another Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl

Here are some unblocked pics of the most recent incarnation of the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl.





More later once it's blocked.

MS3 - half of clue one

I joined the Mystery Stole 3 KAL very late - yesterday in fact. I cast on last night hanging out at Tempe Yarn and Fiber and was able to get thru the first 50 rows of the first clue.



The second clue comes out today, so I am going to hustle up to see if I can get the other 50 rows of clue one out of the way this morning.

This is my very first KAL and I am hoping to have fun. This is already the most complicated lace I have every knit - everything else has been small pattern, easily memorized. Every row on this is different and there is no pattern repeat so far.

Lots to say - more later

I have a bunch of stuff to blog about - finished my sister's socks, knitted for the 4th at my favorite LYS, cast on the first clue for the MS3, and the most important thing of all - I got a call today saying that the waiting list for SOAR finally got to me!

Yippee! I am going to SOAR this year!.

I will try to take some pics tomorrow morning before work.

On Saturday, DeVia and I are off to Portland again. She will be at a conference, but I will be hanging out with the PDX bunch and trying to get a group together to go to Woodland woolworks on Monday or Tuesday.

Insidious LYS

I ran a couple of errands yesterday - I needed a couple of dpn point protectors that I can only get at one LYS and needed to replace a broken brittany size one at the Place I Love. It was only going to be a couple of quick stops, cause I wanted to get home and start the second chevron sock for my sister.

It was a quick trip at the first place - they have just moved and are always too busy for me to feel comfortable there. When I got to the second store, I got my needle replaced and Terry started showing me the new yarns. I showed her the sock I finished out of Ray's yarn and we started talking. Then I sat down at the table and the next thing I know there are a few people around.

I showed a couple of people how to do the magic cast on and by 7:30 or so had finished the foot of my sister's sock.

I am not sure how, but this yarn followed me home.

I have not knit with cotton blends before, but I love the colors. The single skein is a ribbon yarn that I experimented with that forms ruffles when you knit it. It matches the sock yarn exactly and I am going to put some ruffles at the top of the socks I am going to knit for Maegan. Pink is her favorite color. It's all I can do not to cast them on right now, but I am determined to finish this other sock first.

I have also decided that the knit/spin from stash 2007 does not include sock yarn - thanks Wendy.

Another Finished Object

or rather two of them - socks count for two - right?



Here is the pair of socks that I started on my trip to Mom's right before Mother's day weekend. I started the second sock on my trip to Portland to see the Yarn Harlot. She said that she liked the yarn - it's from Ray. The stitch pattern is an offset rib with a couple of knit rows between - like this k2 p2 across for 3 rows, k two rows plain, p2 k2 across for 3 rows, k two rows plain. figure 8 cast on with 12 stitches and a YO short row heel down to 12 stitches and then back up.

It's my generic sock formula with a pattern stitch on the instep and leg.

I finished the socks last night at the guild meeting and cast on for a new pair immediately. This new color is very intense and I think I am keeping them for myself.



I'm trying to figure out what kind of pattern to do on the instep of this one.

Socks for my sister

This is a chain plyed BFL dyed by Spunky Electric that I spun up last year. It knit up so nicely for these socks. I used my toe up recipe and did an interesting pattern on the instep and legs.

It's a K2P2 rib for 3 rows and then 2 rows of plain knit - repeated

This gave an interesting texture to the socks and made them very stretchy - I didn't get a close up of the pattern, but should have.

Been a long time

It's been over a month since my last entry and I have a lot to blog about. My niece's Cinderella birthday party, easter, pretty growing things in the garden and new yarns - however today is about Knit Camp.

Some of the members of the GLB-knit group that I belong to got together over the weekend in Vermont to hang out and knit together.

Oh my gosh - what a great time it was. The flights were on time, even though I was in a 40 seat prop job for one leg of the flight. The weather was amazing and the people I met felt like family that I had not seen in a long time.

I have a bunch of photos to share - they can be found here.

Here is the text of the post I made from the Albany airport on my way home:


*****************************

Well, Fudge just dropped me off at the Albany Airport for my trip home from glb knit camp.

What a wonderful couple of days. It was great meeting everyone. It felt like a school reunion - I wasn't really sure how people would look and felt a feeling of familiarity even when meeting someone for the first time. It felt like old friends after a long time apart.

Ray's yarns were wonderful and the alpaca that Mel and David brought is amazing. I learned the mobieus cast on from Witt and demo'd the figure 8 cast on for toe up socks. I learned the patch toe for toe ups from Duffy.

Sarah and Jeri are full of fun, Jenny and Deanna have wonderful soothing energy - I just could have sat in their presence for hours.

Much much thanks to Sadia and Ann for pulling this together.

Wonderful Melissa accomplished miracles with food for all of us.

I can't wait to see Duffy again - another great reason to head to Portland every chance I get.

Melissa Scott - I restrained myself and didn't act like a star struck fan in front of her - thank all the gods there are.

And the boys - what can you say about the boys but how great it felt to have their gentle male energy - Witt, Gary, Lou, Mel and David - I have missed having queer men in my life and you all felt so familiar.

it was great to meet Joy, Susan, Pamela too.

I have to thank Fudge for schlepping me back and forth to the airport and for being my friend. It's always easier to go somewhere when I know there's at least one person who knows me and who I know likes me already. Then I can be brave with strangers who might not like me.

Thanks to all who came - those who didn't missed a great time.

***************

I'll catch up later with everything else that's been happening.

Cheating on my tofutsies - Sock yarn review

I am working on the second sock from my second skein of Tofutsies yarn, but when this arrived - I had to find a set of needles and cast it on immediately.

It's the sock yarn that I ordered recently from Ray. Just shut up about the spin/knit from stash 2007 - I could not refuse this color. The yarn is 75% merino superwash and 25% nylon and it knits up very nicely.

This skein photo does not reflect the accurate colors of the yarn -

This picture is better











This is best of all - look at those colors come to life. I am trying a new stitch this sock. It's a four stitch basket weave. I like how it complements the sock colors without being too busy.

The purple Shawl - before and after blocking

I love the way the brown and purple in this play across the whole shawl. Amazing what blocking will do for the lace.

From Blog photos

From Blog photos

From Blog photos

Travel Journal - very long

Here is the link to the pictures taken on the trip:

Friday - departure

Up at 5 am to get the last minute details ironed out and the final bits packed. The super shuttle was right on time and we arrived at the airport plenty early. We are flying Southwest even though I really don’t care for their open seating policy. D has to be first in line so that we can get aisle seats close to the front of the airplane.

In Los Angeles, we boarded the shuttle to the port fairly quickly, then circled the airport a couple of times picking up other passengers. We met a couple at the Phoenix airport that were taking the same cruise and they told us about the Princess shuttle. Our shuttle drove us all over town dropping off a couple of other passengers, but we beat the Princess shuttle to the embarkation site. First sight of the boat – man it’s big. (insert pictures of boat here) The tent was huge and quite a few passengers were already there. (Insert pictures of tent here)

I was hoping for a snack and a ladies room in the tent, but no such luck. Processing time wasn’t too bad and we were aboard ship in our room within an hour or so. Dropped our carryon luggage in the room and off to the buffet for a lunch snack.

We came back to the room, watched the forklifts loading the ship for a while and then off to explore the ship.

Saturday – at sea

What a great day. I didn’t sleep very well last night – getting used to the motion of the ship. Our room is very far forward and only a couple of levels above the ocean. As a result, we can hear the waves as they break on the bow even with our balcony door shut. The room is smaller than I expected, but still very comfortable. The shower was designed for a skinny person and the shower curtain kept trying to get me.

I finished D’s socks this morning sitting at the library. I brought along my shawl to work on – thankfully I have memorized the pattern and can knit it and talk at the same time.

It’s been very cold and I have been grateful for my brown shawl. I’ve gotten some compliments on it.

I took a digital camera class that was not what I expected at all. I spoke to the instructor and he said that the next class was probably more what I really wanted. I’d like to learn how to use this great new camera that I bought for the trip.

I also saw an announcement for a meeting of the friends of Bill W. I was amazed to see that. There were 5 of us in the meeting and I was going to keep it light, but the “safe place” feeling that I get at a meeting overcame me and I spilled my guts about my fears, hopes, and helplessness that fill me when I think about my son and his struggle with addiction.

We opted for free style dining. Dinner the first night was a seafood turnover – very good. Last night was a nicely prepared Red Snapper with an amazing appetizer of bay scallops on an avocado half, topped with caviar. We left before dessert so we could get to the comedy show. Split our sides at the comedy show – Oh my gosh – what a funny guy.

Sunday – at sea

It’s our second morning at sea. This morning is much warmer.

We went to the gym this morning and worked out for about 25 minutes, then took a few minutes to plan our day. We are off to breakfast.

Attended a pottery throwing demo – I am seriously considering taking the class this afternoon.

At 11:30 there was a meeting for all veterans – no matter the country. I was not surprised to see that there was only one other female veteran besides D and I. The other woman was a WWII British Air Corps Women’s auxiliary. Amazing.

Time for a nap and then off to the afternoon activities.

I looked into the shipyard build off, but was not interested it in after all. I wandered about and found the art auction. Everything was way out of my price range, but I enjoyed the artist information offered for each group.

Attended the afternoon friends of Bill W meeting and then up to the room to get ready for formal night. I hate getting all dressed up, but D wants to do it, so at least once I will.

We changed out of our formal clothes to go watch the comedy show tonight – this guy was not nearly as funny as the comedian the first night.

Monday – at sea

The cruise daily schedule didn’t really have much interesting to do today. The lecture on “Current Immigration Wave” was dull – just a bunch of numbers – no analysis or cause and effect.

I stopped by a flower arranging seminar – that was fun. The “friends of Bill W” meeting was early today and we had 10 attendees. We talked about long times spent away from meeting rooms. I watched the movie “Breaking Up” with Jennifer Anniston. The best part of the movie was seeing Vincent D’Onofrio in a different role.

A listing for “Rainbow friends of Dorothy” was posted – we thought it might be for glbt, so we stopped by. We saw a number of guys who we were pretty sure were gay. We met a couple of women from Toronto and exchanged a lot of information back and forth – differences in culture… etc.

Dinner was good – the mahi mahi was tender and not dry – but I have been eating so much that I was not very hungry and left half of it.

No show that we want to see tonight and the captain has said that we are in for some weather. It’s rocking and rolling pretty well right now. I think we are just going to hang out in our room and go to bed early.

Tuesday – at sea

The waves were high last night – we had a thunder and lightening storm with a lot of rain. The motion of the ship woke me up often during the night. My stomach was a little queasy today and I ate lightly. The schedule didn’t have anything that thrilled either of us, so we both went back to bed after breakfast and slept the morning away. After a light lunch I went to the “Bill W” meeting and then sat in the art auction just to listen to the guy talk about the artists. I saw quite a few pieces that I would love to own, but I would rather travel than buy art.

I think we are going to one of the shows tonight after dinner.

Wednesday – Kaua’i

High seas continue to the point that Nawiliwili harbor is closed to us. The captain announced this morning that we would be diverted to Honolulu harbor to offload passengers with a medical emergency. I went to the AA meeting this morning and we all were very grateful for a program that helps us accept the things we cannot change. Many passengers were upset at the change in schedule – but we have been very “easy does it” about it. Saw a lecture by the comedian Kevin Hughes called “The truth about lies”; very informative and entertaining at the same time. Watched the movie in our room and were asleep pretty early.

Thursday - Lahaina

Calm seas as we approach Lahaina, but the captain informs us that a front moving across Maui will bring 55 knot winds by just a little after 1 pm. This will prevent the tenders from being able to bring us back from the harbor – so another day on board ship and another missed port. No meeting on the regular schedule today, I am hoping that the revised schedule will have a meeting posted. There is a knitting and needlework group announced - I am going to go hang out there and see how that goes. I have talked to a number of knitters, but none of them were carrying their knitting around with them. I have gotten quite a bit of knitting done on the most recent incarnation of the Forest Canopy Shawl with the cobweb weight polwarth that I dyed at SOAR 2007.

DeVia has a headache tonight – she’s been lying down since right after lunch. I ate dinner alone and then went to see the second comedy show by Kevin Hughes. He talks about relationships and communication. Very funny guy. I think I will end up getting his CD’s before we leave the ship.

Tonight we are passing by the lava flow. We can see it from our balcony. I am going to try to get a picture of it, but considering the results I got photographing the full moon this morning, I will probably just get a picture of some red lights on the horizon.

Friday - Hilo

Finally we have arrived at a port where we will be allowed to get off the ship! I was getting ready to start the rumor that we were not being allowed to leave the ship because we are under quarantine. LOL – that’s not funny.

Our excursion today is up to Mauna Kea – 13,000+ feet high - second highest mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the highest. We could see it in the distance as we drove up to Mauna Kea. When our tour bus got to the ranger station, we were informed that the road was closed due to ice and high winds. Crap! We turned around and came down to the Imiloa Astronomy center and then to the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut groves and processing plant. I got a few pictures of Mauna Kea in the distance with the observatories and then some great shots of the storm that rolled in.

We ate lunch at a nice little park overlooking a waterfall and then back to the ship by 4 or so. Dinner tonight looks good and Tom Briscoe is doing another comedy show – we will go again – but we were not thrilled by his first performance.

Saturday – Honolulu

We were up early today – watched as Oahu came into sight. Docked at the pier and we walked to Aloha tower shopping center. Our bus was late for the excursion to Sea Life Park, but once we finally got there - swimming with the dolphins was amazing.

Sunday – Kona

Another calm day and the tender boats to the island are swift. We get on a Robert’s bus and are off up the mountain past Parker Ranch to another ranch with the horseback riding and ATV riding. It’s a perfect 65 degrees out. We grab slickers and I pick up some cowboy boots to wear in place of my Sketchers. Man, I forgot the feel of boots on my feet. I tied the slicker on the back of my saddle cause the coolness feels good to me. After two hours and 5 miles, some gorgeous scenery on the way, I had forgotten how much I like riding. The horses were great – willing to trot or run, responsive to the reins.

Monday – at sea

It’s good to be at sea – very relaxing. The seas are calm and I finished my purple shawl. I wish I could block it so that I could see what it will look like. The Bill W meeting is set for 10:30 today, good to be back, I missed going while we were in port. I really like the connection to people that a regular meeting gives.

Tuesday – at sea

The meeting was at 10:30 again today, I like it when it’s the same time, and same place every day. A knitters and other needlework gathering was on the schedule today. I brought my spinning wheel and we had a great time. I started a pair of socks in handspun. Dinner tonight with Penny and Chip – we really like those guys. We are making plans to see them this July. The Comedy show was lukewarm.

Wednesday – at sea

The meeting today’s topic was our life today. Great stories from everyone. I’m sitting here with the horizon a million miles away wondering how early peoples got up the courage to cross this wide water with primitive boats. I started a stole from the Victorian Lace Book. The border is knit first, the center next and then the border for the other side. I’m knitting it up in the same yarn that I used for the purple shawl. I started it twice. The first time, I realized that I would need a row counter as it’s a 20 row repeat. I was reading and one of the women from the knitting get together sat down next to me. I told her what I was going to do and she offered me one of her row counters. What a nice gal. I have 1.5 repeats done so far and it’s a challenging knit.

The comedian is Kevin Hughes again tonight – I can’t wait – he’s the best entertainment on the boat.

We met Jody and Dennis at the comedy show and had dessert with them. They are so nice and I am looking forward to staying in touch with them. Kevin outdid himself tonight. He has a way of taking everyday issues and making them funny.

Thursday – at sea

I was up early and went up to breakfast while DeVia was still asleep. She joined me later and we hung out for a while, then I went off to return my book and work on my knitting. D found me later and let me know that she had met Kevin’s wife Kathy. We sat with them at lunch and had a great time laughing. Kathy and I talked about knitting and I gave her my copy of the Forest Canopy shawl.

The meeting was at 12:30 today and one of the regulars was missing. Jody brought a daily meditation guide - today’s meditation used a yarn analogy and I got a copy of it for future use.

Friday – at sea

Not much to write about today – got all the bags packed up pretty early in the afternoon and went to the last Kevin Hughes show in the evening. Touched base with the couples we met that we really liked – got email addresses so that we can keep in touch.

The last meeting for the friends of Bill W was this morning and it made me cry to say goodbye to them. Tomorrow will be hectic – with customs and immigration inspections and then the airport security stuff. I will be glad to be home.

It's been a while

My computer is still on the fritz and I have not been good about writing.

I have a number of pictures to upload, I don't know why I have been putting it off.

The blue version of the Forest Canopy Shawl is done, blocked and put away, all without one picture. The green striped one is almost done - I hope to take a photo when it's blocking.

The cruise is less than 3 weeks away now and we are planning the luggage to take. I have to determine which projects to take - the Little Gem is the wheel that is going along. I just have to figure out what fiber I want to spin. I have over a pound of fiber to spin for mom's sweater, I could take that. I also have some gorgeous dyed silk that I am thinking of taking. It will take hours and hours to spin, but I don't know if the humidity will be an issue.

As for knitting. I will look in my stash for some handspun sock yarn and start a souvenier sock. I have the blue ones from last years trip and my red ones from SOAR. I think memory socks is a wonderful idea. I will also take a lace project - I am thinking that I need to try another pattern for lace now that I have the Forest Canopy Shawl pattern memorized. I still have the cobweb yarn that I dyed at SOAR that I want to knit into a shawl. I have to find the perfect pattern for it. I also have another skein of the chocolate polworth and silk that needs to be turned into something beautiful.

The brown blob blocking

I finished the Forest Canopy Shawl and it is a delight to knit. Very easy to memorize the pattern and the instructions are very clear. I did many more repeats than the pattern called for, as my yarn was finer and my gauge swatch was more stitches per inch. My first lace shawl.

I knit this out of a fingering or lighter hand spun yarn. The wool is chocolate Polwarth from Rovings.com and I blended it with some silk I bought at SOAR. The ball of yarn weighed 6.5 ounces and was 850 yards. I have very little left.

The colors of the silk are very hard to see but give the yarn quite a bit of tweediness in some places. I am not sure that I like it, but will wait to see what it looks like after blocking.

Blocking on the Tri loom, if I was going to do it over I would change how I put it on the loom. I did the top first and then tried to do the sides. I should have done it from the center out three ways.

More pictures when my camera starts working again. I think I need to replace the batteries in it.

Green Socks

I finished these green socks quite a while ago, but pulled them out to wear recently. I have completely crossed over to the dark side of knitting - yes that's right! I know wear socks as well as knit them.

For a long time, I considered my self on the grey side - I knit socks but did not wear them. Barefoot is the way to go as far as I have always been concerned, but the weather here has hit a cold spell and I tried on these green socks.

That was all it took. These have a cable running up each side of the instep and then two cables on each side of the leg. This is a 2 ply handspun superwash merino. I cannot remember who I got the fiber from.