*Left Coast Knits

Mushrooms

2011-04-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Here at Chez LeftCoast, we really like mushrooms. So, just for fun, we decided to try growing some ourselves. We bought a kit to grow Maitake mushrooms, and although we were not completely successful, we did get a nice bunch going down on one corner of the mushroom patch. We think that if we pick that portion and keep watering, more may grow from the rest- here's hoping!A closeup- Yum! We need to come up with a special recipe for them...

You may recall my round robin quilt square from my last post- here it is with the frist two borders on it! Holding it up is the lovely Dee (who is not actually hiding her face, rather she is reading something from a paper on the counter), Cpurl's and my quilting instructor.

And finally, this was spotted on the sidewalk in Berkeley last Saturday.

P.S.- Guess what tomorrow is? That's right- flea market day! As long as it doesn't rain, this will be the inaugural trip of the year, and since we expect it to be very crowded (this is the first week this spring where we have had nice weather), we are leaving at 5:30 in the morning to get good parking!

Quilting! (and some knitting)

2011-03-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

Lately, I have been doing a little quilting.

I took a beginning quilting class with CPurl at our local quilt shop, In Between Stitches, and instantly became addicted! I have a few completed quilts that I need to photograph, but until then this is a Round Robin starter square that I made:

Lone Star Round Robin Quilt Block

In a Round Robin, each person makes a starter square and then hands it off to the next person, who adds a border to it. It is very fun to see what each person adds, and this Round Robin has 12 people in it, so my quilt will quickly grow from a nine-inch square!

Because I do a fair amount of "remote sewing" at classes and get-togethers (and I plan to attend a few quilting events in the near future that require travel) I bought this recently:

1964 Singer Featherweight 221

I expected it to be lighter in weight than my standard sized sewing machine, and it is- but only if you carry it around without the carry case! Once you add in the weight of the case it is pretty much the same (maybe a little lighter), and once you add in the travel iron and mini-ironing pad that I bought for it, it is definitely heavier! I really love it though; it sews beautifully, it is definitely compact enough to travel with, and frankly it is just super-cool.

On the knitting front, Stitches West happened a few weekends ago!

I didn't go too crazy, but one of the things that I did purchase was the pattern for Autumn Vines Beret, by Alana Dakos, and some lovely Sanguine Gryphon "Bugga!" to knit it with. The pattern was really fun to knit, and I think that the resulting beret is lovely!

Autumn Vines Beret

Flea Market Day!

2009-07-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

Here in the San Francisco Bay area, we all wait with baited breath for the first Sunday of every month to roll around. Because the first Sunday is.... FLEA MARKET DAY! Woo!

So on July 5, Cpurl and I got up at the crack of dawn, grabbed our little old lady rolling shopping carts, and hit the old Alameda Air Force Base with a vengance.

The now-defunct Alameda Air Force Base is a really cool place for a flea market- it lies on a point on the end of Alameda Island, and is roughly triangular. It has water on two sides of the triangle, and if you look off of one side you are facing the Port of Oakland across the water (think lots of giant shipping containers all stacked up, and cranes to move them around), and if you look across the water on the other side, you have a great view of the city of San Francisco. The only bad thing is that at 7:30 in the morning, it can be really cold. Regardless, it is worth it!!

We have very fancy carts with bike bells on them- Cpurls is red and mine is black. However, when we got to the market, we realized that to really be considered market masters, we would need to sew new linings for our carts out of brightly colored (but coordinating) fabrics- all the cool kids had those. And cup holders- trying to steer a cart with one hand because you have your coffee in the other is likely to result in catastrophe in a place whit tons of antiques at ground level.

The flea market is huge, and it has a rule about no new stuff and no reproductions, so there are many many lovely displays and lots of great stuff to be had.

Bottles...

Balls... (anyone know what these are for? Lawn bowling, maybe?)

Tennis racquettes...

Cool vintage stripey beach umbrellas...

If you had an empty summer cabin, this would be the place to go to furnish it. See the taller wooden rack on the back of the table in the photo? It holds 36 old bread pans, and is now in my house holding letterpress printing supplies.

This is another find that made its way home with me- a vintage egg-laying chicken.

Finally, here is the view from the end of the market- the city of San Francisco!

Underwater basket weaving

2009-05-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

Except without the underwater part.

This Saturday, Cpurl and I took a basket weaving class. It was offered at Knit-One-One in Berkeley. It was super fun! First, Knit-One-one is really neat. It is a space, rather than a store, where the owner Sile (pronounced Sheila) offers different classes and events.

We arrived a little early, we got to be in charge for a few minutes while Sile went out to find the instructor, who had lost her way driving to the studio. So we took a few minutes to investigate...

The space is full of neat stuff, most of it made in the classes and events that they offer.

Lovely jewelry...

Handbags and sweaters...

Giant condiments...

In just a few minutes, Sile returned with the instructor and the class got under way.

Basket making is not hard- in fact it is lots of fun!

Here are our baskets at the end of the day- not quite finished, but almost! Cpurls is on the left, and mine is on the right. You can't see it too well in the photo, but mine has a giant open space in the middle too.

Here are all of the baskets made in the class- each one is shaped a little differently.

We took home enough supplies to finish our projects and then some- here is my completed basket. It is a little rough, but not too bad for a first try!

Roller Derby Queens!

2009-05-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

A while ago, CPurl and I heard that Roller Derby was coming to town, and of course we knew we could not miss that, right? Well, our big night came last Saturday! We picked up CPurl's pal R and headed for Kezar Stadium in San Francisco- oh, the anticipation! We didn't really know what to expect- none of us had been to Roller Derby before, and to be honest, we didn't even know how it worked- all we knew was that there was rollerskating, in a circle (ok an oval if you want to get technical about it), and that there was lots of "bone crushing action." What else did we need to know? If there is bone crushing action, we are there!

R and CPurl waiting for the action to begin!

The team waits anxiously for the game to start- excitement fills the air!

And they're off! Roller derby is super fast, so it is hard to take photos- mostly you just get a blur whizzing by.

The show was so exciting that it was broadcast on TV as well! The camera guy is filming a man who has a notebook full of signs- one for each player on the team. He flips through it and holds up the appropriate one as that player zooms past... this is an extremely enthusiastic crowd!

There was lots of smashing and crashing!

and audience participation...

Time for a hotdog break!

Back to the game- this is the men's half of the team. There are both men and women on each team, and they skate separately.

There is a lot of fighting...

everyone joins in...

even the referee!

Victory- the Bay City Bombers win!!!

R and another dedicated fan pose with one of the roller derby ladies!

The schwag- possibly the coolest t-shirt ever.

Sooo- now for the review!

Was roller derby everything you expected?

It was very fun, with lots of action. I had no idea how it was played or how they win, so that was a little confusing- I thought there was a ball involved. But in terms of retro coolness- it was everything that I expected. It was a little exaggerated- you can see that there is some acting going on, but not so much that it ruined it.

Do you know how the game is played now?

No...

How was the crowd?

The crowd was awesome- they were SO involved, and many of them knew a lot about the teams and players. There was a lot of stuff going on that seemed to be traditional- booing the other team every single chance they got, getting up and yelling face to face with the other players, etc.

How was the concession stand?

Rather limited- hotdogs, or pop corn.

Would you go again?

Absolutely. And we will too- I heard throughthe grapevine that there will be roller derby every single day at the county fair this year!

If you were a roller derby queen, what would your roller derby name be?

Boom Boom Jones

Hotdog rating: Derby Dog- 4

Gaah!

2009-02-20T20:01:00.000-08:00

You will recall my recent enthusiasm toward knitting "Lizard Ridge" from Knitty. Well, I finally finished my crocheted cardigan (photos later if I like it- if not, you will have to use your imagination) and instantaneously (ok, I really did it a tiny bit before I even finished) cast on for Lizard Ridge. I started knitting and got to the short rows... and messed them up. What? You mean I have to pick up the wraps? Plus, knitting backwards did not work out quite as well as I had expected... So far I have knit the beginning of square one twice, and I am currently back to a ball of yarn. Oh well- I shall persevere, because I am smarter than a ball of yarn, most of the time.

The other day, I left the house on my way to work, and spied this:

A gift from the neigbor's cat. He used to be a stray, and my husband would feed him every night- now he brings us worms as gifts. Woohoo!

I put them in the grass and send them on their (wormy) way.

Quiet Sunday

2009-02-08T18:26:00.001-08:00

It has been a quiet Sunday here on the Left Coast.

I have been working hard to get my Ondori Crochet Cardigan finished in time for Stitches West at the end of the month. It is just about done- all I have left is one side of the front from the armpit up, and then the collar.

It has been a fun project and a learning experience... good thing that crochet symbols are universal, because the pattern itself in in Japanese.

Earlier this week, I got the yarn for my next project in the mail. Twenty-one skeins of Noro Kureyon in every color they have (plus a few doubles)- can you guess what I am making? Here is a hint!

I bought this yarn from Annie Amelia , and it came so perfectly packaged that I am not sure I can bear to use it!

Dishcloth Mania Continues!

2009-02-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

You can never have too many dishcloths, right? After all, there are always lots of dishes in the world that need doing. Keeping that in mind, I hit Michaels for their dollar sale of discloth cotton (I only bought five balls of it- I was good!). "Chinese Waves" in Sugar and Cream Faded Denim (not to be confused with Peaches and Creme Faded Denim)

"Grandma's Favorite" in Peaches and Creme Faded Denim, which is ever so slightly lighter in color than the other Faded Denim.

This is more hand dyed cotton- I was rummaging through my stash looking for some other yarn, and lo and behold, I spied something that looked suspiciously like cotton... it was not one, but two skeins of it in two different colorways. I think that they are froma Spinning Guild Dye Day a few years ago. Score!

The leaning tower of dishcloths.

More coming soon- I got a book on ebay!

On another note, one of the great tgings about the Bay Area is that once the holidays have passed, we don't waste any time with more winter- we move right along into spring.

This guy (gal?) was in my yard this morning, partaking of the bird bath.

Here is my hellebore that finally opened...

Daffodils on the way too!

SUNDAYSUNDAYSUNDAY!

2009-01-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

This year, CPURL and I decided to do some stuff that we have never done before. SO, it's a quiet and gray Sunday afternoon... what are two forty-something women to do to keep out of trouble? That's right- go to a monster truck rally. What else?

The location: Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA.

The seats were packed! The crowd grew restless with excitement...

Leftcoast and CPURL could hardly contain themselves!

The anticipation grew, and finally the lights dimmed... and then, finally, a single spotlight glowed... the announcer gave an exceptionally lengthy and heartfelt introduction to the National Anthem.

At last, the engines roared to life! Only for long enough to give us just a taste of what was to come... That is Gravedigger at the far left- the star of the show. The dinosaur truck is Jurassic (driven by a woman!), the red truck is Terminator, and the camo truck is Airforce Ranger, which is driven by a man who is a parapalegic, and controlled completely with hand controls. Cool!
We were wowed by skilled and daring ATV racing (California vs Nevada, CA won, of course)

And then came the real show! Monster trucks racing side by side, over a jump and to the other side of the arena- exciting! Airforce Ranger won this round!

Then it was time to get ready for the wheelie contest.

3000 horsepower makes a lot of noise!

This was a sissy wheelie- the best wheelie, in case you did not know, is one where the back bumper touches the ground but the truck does not go over backwards. This requires the truck to be perpendicular to the ground. Gravedigger won this one, with a perfectly vertical wheelie!

Intermission... my bottle of water accidentally got knocked over the ledge and under the seat of the man in front of me... bye bye water! Oh well.

Of course we had snacks too...

At last, the grand finale of the Monster Jam- the freestyle show. Trucks get 3 minutes to do whatever they want, and they get a score. Usually this means that they try to do donuts and almost tip over but dont, and then they drive over the old-car jumps at one end of the arena and do some more wheelies. Gravedigger always wins, but we still rooted for Airforce Ranger!

This is not Gravedigger, it is another truck that crashed into the end of the arena (oops).

Not a problem, though- if your truck turns over they just turn it back with this bulldozer!

Feel the power...

And now for the Champeen of the Monster Jam, GRAVEDIGGER! Woohoo!
The Review

Was this what you expected it to be?

We'll, actually no- I expected that all of the trucks would drive around at once and try not to crash into each other, doing cool tricks at the same time. This did not happen. In reality, the trucks don't do a lot, and what they do do is very limited by the small space- although the arena is big, it is not quite big enough for a Monster Truck race!

What was your fave part?

The freestyle portion, and any pert where they drove over the old cars at the end of the arena.

Who was in the audience?

Besides myself and CPURL, mostly families with very cute small children. In many ways the show was geared to kids.

How were the souvenier stands?

They did not have as many t-shirts as I thought, and many things were quite expensive! They did brisk business, however!

If you were a monster truck, what would your name be?

Hell on Heels, and my truck would look like a giant high heeled shoe.

Hotdog rating: 6.5.

All hotdogs are rated against a Costco hotdog, which has a rating of 10. I have not had a Costco hotdog, so I had to take CPURL's word for it.

Monday Back to work shot...

Skeining Party!

2009-01-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

Last night, my knitting peeps and I got together to help out Janelle of Snicklefritz Yarns wind skeins for dyeing. We wound 30 skeins in all, and we got to have a sneak peek of what she will be bringing to Stitches West (booth 637)!

KnitPsycho & J working as a team

The Master (Snicklefritz) at work

Blogless Friend B and our assistant Jack

Jack, supervising the winding

The un-dyed stuff (No, we did not give Jack a haircut and spin it up)

Samples!

Dishcloth Mania

2009-01-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

Recently I was gifted with some absolutely lovely handknit organic cotton dishcloths. They were far too pretty to use, but at the insistence of their creator, I gave them a whirl anyway... they are so fantastic that I had to knit one or two myself. Full on dishcloth mania has ensued.

Dishcloths are a great project- they are small, easy (usually!), inexpensive, quick, fun to use, and they always fit. I have used up all of my cotton yarn- time to hit Michaels!

On another note (not to do with dishes), it was lovely here in the Bay Area all last week, and, for the first time ever, a Hellebore that I planted three years ago is about to bloom!

Woohoo!

Spinning Projects

2008-07-07T06:07:00.000-07:00

I noticed that I have not posted anything that is actually about knitting since about October. Well, the project that I amcurrently working on is a secret, so instead I will flash my recent spinning projects.

Spinning is a nice way to relax at the end of the day- it is repetative, soothing, and you get yarn at the end. Recently, I saw an ad on Ravelry for spinning fiber from Yarn Wench. The fiber in the ad was so pretty that I visited her web site and bought enough for three pairs of socks! As soon as it came in the mail, I started spinning... this colorway is called Portal 1.

This is what it looks like spun up...

Now I just have to spin the other bobbin and ply it, and voila- sock yarn!

I received another fun package in the mail this weekend as well- some dark gray fleece from a Rambioullet lamb. For those of you not in the know, Rambioullet is a type of sheep breed with very soft fleece, and lamb fleece is the softest of all. I have been looking for some really nice dark gray fleece for a long long time, so when I saw this, couldn't pass on it!

To prepare a fleece for spinning, step one is to wash it. Lucky me- the woman who I bought this from had already done that! Step two is to process it, either by carding or combing it (or sending it somewhere to be carded by machine!). I like to comb, so that is how I do it... but it takes a while! I already have another combing project in the works, so I just combed up a few locks of this fleece to see what it looked like... pretty!

Next I spun my tiny sample of combed fleece on a drop spindle, and got this- a few yards of yarn.

Finally, I knit up my few yards of yarn into a tiny square... just to see what it was like!

I only have about a pound of the fiber, so a sweater is probably out of the question, unless it is very tiny... maybe I can make a vest? Regardless, it will take a few months to comb this and spin it up, so I guess I have lots of time to plan!

LeftCoast & CPurl at the county fair

2008-07-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday, after our 10 mile 3-day Breast Cancer Walk training walk (and some Mexican food for sustenence), CPurl and I went to the County Fair.

It was still early in the day, and pretty quiet.

We bought some lemonade from a giant lemon...

And searched for Unraveled Breast Cancer Walk team member A.'s handknit hat on display in the Exhibition Hall...

And finally, bought some souveneirs.

We're walking, yes indeed...

2008-06-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, my knitting peeps and I joined the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk to raise money for breast cancer research. The walk itself is in September, and over the three days, we will walk 60 miles. Preparing for this involves lots of training, so yesterday, we participated in a 13 mile walk through San Francisco.

We arrived on-site at the Warming Hut at Crissey Field at 7 am, and were greeted by smiling faces of other walkers and a lovely view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

We set off through the park- up hills, through woods, and finally out into the city.

There was lots of scenery to be had, from rocky cliffs to the Sutro Baths to the lovely homes in Pacific Heights.

There was even an element of danger just to add excitement...

Finally, after 13 long miles (so long that they were really 14.5 miles), we made it back to Crissey Field, where we celebrated with a nutritious meal of hot dogs and lattes from the Warming Hut.

L to R: Cpurl, Jo, LeftCoast, and KG (3 day walk impersonator)

Stuff

2008-06-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, hmm- it's been a while huh? Obviously, I've been busy.

Since I last wrote, I have...

...gone to Alaska with a bunch of knitters (cpurl & blogless friend Betts included)...

We took a helecopter tour

We ate canapes

We drank drinks and knitted.

...walked my butt off (not literally- don't I wish!) (stole this pic from cpurl, btw)...

...gotten a shiny new nephew...

(who is matched in cuteness only by his adorable big sister)

...visited my Sis...

Those are her real eyes.

Seattle Aquarium

Sock, in Seattle

...met the Yarn Harlot... (also stole this pic from cpurl)

...and fed crackers to a chicken.

life is good, huh?

I won! I won!

2008-02-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

Here it is- the coveted "Your Blog Makes Me Yawn Award!" Finally, all of my hard work has come to fruition!

Thanks Cpurl- you're the best!

Rhinebeck Rhocks!

2007-10-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I went to Rhinebeck with my sister J and her friend K. The day was a lovely New England autumn day (yes yes I know, technically Rhinebeck is not in New England...), and we started out early with our coffees in hand. Sadly, I forgot my actual camera, so these photos were taken with the one on my phone (sorry!).

We arrived just after it opened, when everything was still quite- that didn't last for too long!

There was lots of fun stuff to see (besides yarn!)...

...lots of Autumn scenery.

and plenty of critters!

And of course, lots of hand dyed yarn...

And some tasty treats. I did not try the fried artichokes (or the fried pickles, thank you very much)

On the way home we passed a sight that many Rhinebeck attendees will recognize- The Fork in the Road (I kid you not). And guess what is right across the street from The Fork In the Road?

In Sheeps Clothing... also known as... Morehouse Merino. Woohoo- lovely, soft, hand dyed yarn! You know, becuase we did not get enough at Rhinebeck!

Stay tuned for some of the yummy goodies that I brought back with me!

Hand Dyed Yarn Swap!

2007-08-26T14:51:00.000-07:00

Lookie lookie what I got in the mail a few days ago! It came from my super-nice Hand Dyed Yarn Swap pal Jessica, at alfiberdreams. I just love it, and she gave it the perfect name:

Evil Queen

Do you think that she knows something about me that I don't? For those of you who are laughing right now, you can just stop it.

Jessica also included a set of beautiful sparkly stitch markers

And some treats (no, I could not get that coffee to stand up by itself!) to make my knitting time even more pleasurable.

Thanks Jessie- I absolutely love it all, and I cannot wait to knit that yarn!

YPF

2007-06-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

I dyed this one myself- I call it "Jimi Hendrix" yarn due to the psychadelic colors.

This is Socks that Rock in Firebird- this months Rockin Sock Club yarn!

This is called "boring brown yarn, but I washed, combed and spun it myself so you have to look at it anyway"

Super Duper Super Sox Box Swap pal!!

2007-06-26T19:12:00.000-07:00

I left work today all tired and cranky- I had a long day with lots of meetings and a very short lunch. So you can imagine how nice it was when I arrived home and found this on my doorstep:

It didn't look quite like that, of course (the mail man prefers that you ship in a cardboard box), but it did contain all of the wonderful things that you see, all of the way from Sweden!!

The bag, as you can see , is lovely- beautifully felted in my one of my favorite colors- gray. It is wonderfully soft and has a bit of a halo- maybe there is some alpaca involved? According to my SP, this is her first felting project ever- I am not sure that I believe that (look at the lining!).

There were lots of goodies inside the bag, including yarn- enough for two pairs of socks.

First there was some very pretty ragg yarn "to knit a pair of gray and red traditional Swedish Ragg socks" - and a set of DPNs to knit them with, along with a pattern, translated from Swedish to English by my SP (girl genius). Ragg socks, she says, are meant to be worn over regular socks inside of winter boots. Although it doesn't get that cold here that we would need boots, we here in California are giant babies about the cold and act like the world is going to end if it drops below 50- so Ragg socks will be perfect slipper socks!

Next, (continuing the gray theme) there were two skeins of super cute Strompegarn Jacquard print sock yarn, along with a set of Holz and Stein DPNs (be still my heart) to knit them with. These will be the perfect knitting group project- since the yarn is self patterning, I can knit really pretty socks with no patterning!

The bag was full of neat stuff- pretty flower needle keepers, Earl Gray Tea (keeping with the Gray theme!), a packet of fair trade Vart Goda coffee (that will not make it past tomorrow morning) and a Halge the Moose pen (yes, I did have to Google that!)

oh yes, and there was some candy...

Thank you Secret Pal! You truly made my day!

And here is my crack photography assistant, Friday the 13th, who is wondering why there was no peel-and-eat shrimp in the box!

Finally, here is a tiny tidbit for my gift-ee Secret Pal- I will be shipping your package in a day or two!

(Thank God its) YPF!

2007-06-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

Tumblebloom by Hobbledehoy

Confetti, by Rainbow Fibers (Purchased live and in person at my fabulous LYS Knit This Purl That)

Bread and Water

2007-05-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

Super Sox Box Swap contest question: What is your favorite beverage and snack while knitting, and why?

When I knit, I like to have bread and water as a snack, except without the bread. So it is just plain old water. I choose water over other (far more delicious) beverages mainly for it's calorie free properties, and also because if I drink wine the whole time I knit, then I will end up with very wonky knitted items...

Thank you supercrafty Betts!

2007-05-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Betts, who is clearly supercrafty, is too good to us. She made DillyDally Knitter and I little tiny sock necklaces- she knit the socks on size 0000 needles, and then added them to the necklaces that she also made herself. They are adorable- thank you Betts!!!

Sock necklace, modelled by Dawn (who is thinking "Can I have the other sock please? I have been wearing these stupid high-heeled shoes since, like, 1974 and they are killing me. And who thought shoes with big holes in the bottom were a good idea anyway? I mean seriously."

Betts also made us these- most excellent. She bought the tiny blocker keychains, and then knit the socks herself using a special yarn for each of us. We love Betts! Oh- she also made us delish butternut squash soup, but that is, ummm, loooong gone!

YPF.

2007-05-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Silkie Socks That Rock: Walking on the Wild Tide

(this is the Socks that Rock Club yarn from April)

Hand Dyed cotton sock yarn, dyed by your's truly...

This is what it looked like before dying. It came from a friend's annual yarn swapping bash, and I got six skeins of it- when I dyed them I somehow missed this one!

Ok, ok, I know it is not yarn... it is a peony in my yard, and this is the first time that it has bloomed!

Super Sox Box Rocks!

2007-05-14T20:14:00.000-07:00

Super Sox Box Swap Questionnaire:

1.What are your favorite colors?
Jewel tones- sapphire blue, ruby red, deep orange, deep pear green- you get the idea! Oh, and I love grey.

What colors make you cringe?
Candy pink and shamrock green. I guess I have bad memories of the "preppy" early eighties!

2.Are you a new sock knitter? How long have you been knitting socks?
I have been knitting socks for about three years, but for the first two of them I just knit a tube with a toe and a heel- not even ribbing! Recently I have been inspired by DillyDallyKnitter (a sock goddess) to advance my skillz somewhat, so now I use actual patterns and everything!

3.Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
I like variegated solids or multicolored yarn.

4.What fibers do you prefer in sock yarn?
Superwash merino or superwash and nylon.

5.Where do you usually knit socks?
On the couch, in the car, at my LYS... wherever!

6.How do you usually carry/store small projects?
In a drawstring bag or small handbag.

7.What are your favorite sock knitting patterns? Any favorite designers?
I guess my fave pattern that I have knit so far is "Roza's Socks" from Interweave Knits. I like Cookie A., but have not been brave enough to actually knit one of her patterns yet. I also love Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks book- the traditional patterns are so pretty!

8.What are your favorite sock knitting techniques?
I am traditional- I like top down on DPNs. I honestly think that I just like the way the DPNs look- all fancy and like I am doing something important.

9.What new techniques would you like to try?
Different heel techniques- I can currently do an afterthought heel and a flap heel, but I know that there are lots of other interesting variations out there! Also, fair isle... I have the yarn, but not the courage.

10.Do you prefer circulars or dpns for sock knitting?
DPNs

11.What are some of your favorite yarns?
Hand painted yarns- no particular brand, although I always love "indie dyers"

12.What yarn do you adore and yearn for? What yarn makes you happiest?
I yearn for Joseph Galler Pashmina (loads and loads of it)- I knit a small project with it once and it was woooooonnnnderful. It is way out of my budget though! What yarn makes me happiest? I guess hand dyed yarn- the colors are so pretty, and each one is a little bit different.

13.Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
A great big soft fluffy sweater made of chunky brightly colored cashmere.

14.Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
I would kill for Holz & Stein size 0 sock DPNs- do they even make those? Barring that, I like regular old bamboo 5 inch DPNs.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
I don't know.... but if I had to date someone from Gilligan's Island I would go with the Professor. Does that help?

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Sweet or salty?
Citrus fruit flavored jelly beans- I ate 4 lbs of them at Easter...

Do you collect anything?
You mean besides handbags?

What is your favorite scent?
Citrus, rosemary, lavender

Will you be celebrating a birthday, anniversary, etc. between now and the close of the swap?
Nope!

What’s your favorite animal?
The jellyfish. (just kidding)

Do you have pets?
5 cats, 6 goldfish and some guppies.

What are their species/names/ages?
Minette (cat), Ponette (cat), Friday the 13th (cat), Bijoux (cat), Ramona (cat)
Godfish 1, Goldfish2, Goldfish3, Goldfish4, Goldfish5, & Goldfish6
Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, Guppy, etc. etc. etc. (guppies are very prolific)

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read.What is your motto in life?
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. (this particularly applies to fun fur)

Do you have a wishlist? (ie: Amazon, B&N, a LYS, online store, etc.) Please list link here.
No- sorry!

Anything else you’d like to share with your Sox Box pal?
Yay sox!

Any allergies to be aware of for this swap?

Coffee, Tea?
Both!

Anything Else?

intrepid sock yarn shoppers...

2007-05-14T19:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, DillyDallyKnitter and I were at it again as the intrepid sock yarn shoppers. On Friday evening, she let me know that Purlesence had received a new shipment of STR...

I shared my opinions with her and we decided that it was worth the trip. After all, it was sock yarn, which is almost always worth the trip! So, bright and early Saturday morning, we were off! We did our usual shopping, and just as we were pulling out of the parking lot, we spied this:

Viva Video/The Lace Museum! That sounded way too good to pass up. We werent 100% sure what we were getting ourselves into, but we turned around anyway. And lucky for us, it really was The Lace Museum.

There was lace everywhere, and of all types. Knitted lace, crocheted lace, tatted lace, needle lace, and lace made from hair- you name it, and it was there! And there was a very nice lady who showed it all to us, with a big wooden pointer.

It was all lovely, and some of it took over 30 hours per square inch to make!

There was a nice gift shop too, and so I started my holiday shopping early by buying this:

Isn't it lovely? That is hand worked needle lace on there!

Alpacalicious

2007-04-28T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today, there was an alpaca show at the fairgrounds near my house. So, being the dedicated knitters that we are, DillyDally Knitter, the intrepid (yet blogless) Betts and I went off in search of yarn.

We learned lots about alpacas, especially since before we got there, we weren't quite sure what an alpaca was.

They were very friendly, and happy to pose for the camera.

This guy just got a haircut- hence the 80s jerrycurl look.

DillyDally gets a snorgle from a friend!

Of course there was the yarn too...

This is my purchase- 875 yards of "Suri Elegance" to knit a feather and fan scarf with.

DillyDally also brought me a gift- can you guess what it was from the before and after photos?

My circular needles before

My Circular needles after. Thanks DillyDally!

Finally, here is the sock yarn haul for the week (except for my Rockin Sock Club yarn that came on Wednesday- I will wait to show that)! This is Sundara yarn, and the beautifully named colorways are Pine over Pollen (green) Port over Nectar (red) and something that I cannot remember over something else that I cannot remember (blue).

Roza's Socks

2007-04-25T08:36:00.000-07:00

Someone out there had a question about the slipped stitches at the sides of the heel flap on Roza's socks, so I promised to take some photos of mine so she could compare.

Here is what it looks like on the back- you can see the slipped stitches on each side.

Here is a close-up of one side

And here is the right side of the heel flap- you cannot see the side stitches becuase they roll under, but I am stretching it out so that you can see the overall slip stitch pattern (which, aside from beinf decorative, make the heel sturdier) with the non-slipped stitches between them. Each slipped stitch equals two rows of non-slipped stitches in heigth, just like the ones on the sides.

Fave Furniture Blog Challenge!

2007-04-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for stuff to post on my blog (who isnt?!), so I thought I would offfer a blog challenge to anyone out there who is, like me, blog challenged!

I think that the furniture you love says a lot about you- so, what is your favorite piece of furniture in in your house (apartment, dorm room, etc.)? Show it how much you love it and make it feel special by taking its picture and posting it on your blog, and then tell us all what makes it special to you! I'll get the ball rolling with mine:

This is an Eames rocker- not an old one, mind you (I would be scared to sit in an old one- I would probably do something horrible to it and then feel like I was going to furniture h*ll (no comfy chairs for knitting there!) when I die for destroying a piece of history)- this is a newfangled one where the seat is made of plastic, rather than molded fiberglass. I absolutely love it. I love the way it looks- cool, unassuming, hip... there is hardly anything to it, yet is is so appealing to the eye! And what you would never guess by looking at it is that it is ultra comfy- those Eamses really knew their lumbar support!

So anyway, what is your fave furniture piece?

It was all CPurl's fault.

2007-04-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

Every bit of it.

CPurl and I went yarn shopping this past Saturday, and I was not necessarily going to buy any yarn at all, but she said I really should because it would be bad luck to go to a yarn store and not buy any yarn, especially if you go yarn shopping with your girlfriend. So then I was all "well if you are gonna all twist my arm like that then FINE- WHATever." And so I had to buy it, but it was her fault.

First we went to Purlescence, in Sunnyvale, Ca. Although I have only been to Purlescence a few times, this is one of my all time favorite yarn stores! They carry all sorts of great yarn- Lorna's Laces, Claudia Handpaint, Malabrigo, Socks that Rock- loads of good stuff! Aaaaand... they have spinning stuff too- including Lorna's Laces Shepherd Wool Top superwash merino packaged in hanks sized just right for making socks.

This colorway is called "Vera" and may I say that the colors are suspiciously similar to my nest purchase, Socks that Rock in the colorway "January One"

Maybe the STR folks got with the Lorna's Laces folks and had a few glasses of wine and a dying party?

To continue my theme of pink (lighter pink this time!) I also picked up some Claudia Handpaint in "Geranium"

And more Claudia Handpaint in a colorway that I cannot remember the name of - this time from a lovely store called Commuknity, in San Jose.

Then we required nourishment (just in case the mexican food we had for lunch had worn off), so we made a pit stop at Starbucks (what girl's shopping day would be complete wothout Lattes?) where I go this

which I am showing you solely because it is very cute. I bought it to put into the birthday present of my niece, who is, unbelievably, even cuter than the duck-ette.

After that, we could have ended our knitting day, but (being gluttons for punishment) instead we moved on to our brand spankin' new LYS, Knit This Purl That (where, you will be pleased to know, I did not purchase any sock yarn).

Long time, no blog!

2007-04-05T20:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I haven't posted in a short while (a long short while). But that is because I have been sooo fantastically busy knitting that I have not had a single second in which to scribble down a few words and snap a photo. However, this very evening, I have decided to finally take a breather, and actually write a post.

Since I know that you are all absolutely on the edge of your seat wondering what I have been knitting- here are a few photos.

First, I knit some hats.
Although I knit them quite a while ago, they were so cute that I thought I would post them anyway. A very good friend asked me to knit them for her friends, who adopted twins- a boy and a girl. I hope that they kept Roxie and Wylie's heads nice and toasty, and that they both grow up to be geniuses due to their sporting Koigu on their heads in infancy.

Next is a photo of something more recent- how I spent my Easter weekend. This is just a tiny bit of it- a stop along the highway while driving doen the California coast from the SF Bay area to San Luis Obispo. It is a wonderful drive with much lovely scenery and interesting stuff along the way.

Once we got to San Luis, of course I had to make a pit stop at a nearby yarn store- Ball & Skein & More in Cambria, CA. Here's what I got- 2 skeins of Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway "Marble" and an untagged (but really nice) skein of Scheaffer "Anne" sock yarn in different tones of very dark blue. The pretty tray that they are sitting on was a gift from my excellent MIL, who bought it for me in Big Sur after I admired it. Wasn't that nice?

And finally- you will all rest easier tonight knowing that finally, I am cool. And I have proof.

I made it into the Blue Moon Fiber Arts "Rockin Sock Club" by the skin of my teeth! I originally missed the sign up deadline and thought that all hope was lost, but then about a month and a half later a little bird who knew how crushed I was by my own incompetence (thank you DillyDallyKnitter!) let me know that they had 20 openings still available... so this time I did not waste a single (not a one!) moment and had the very good fortune to get one of the spots. Woohoo!
Here is the March installment of yarn, which I just got and will not be able to knit the socks before the April yarn and pattern gets here- it is called monsoon, and it is hand dyed lovely shades of smoky grey and green. The pattern that I am supposed to knit with it (and will when I have a spare moment) is for "Inside Out Socks" that are nearly the same right side out or inside out. Neat-O!

Now my goal for next year is to go to the Rockin Sock Club camp- Camp Cockamamie. I'm planning for that now!

Spindle spinning, or, gee my arms are tired!

2006-09-04T18:56:00.000-07:00

I promised DillyDallyKnitter that I would teach her to hand spin yarn on a spindle the next time we got together for our Thursday night knitting group. That was supposed to be last Thursday, but at 7:00, when knitting starts, I was sitting at my desk in my office, 45 minutes away, working. So I didn't exactly make it. To make up for my absence (which, DillyDally told me, caused endless tears among those who were supposed to be learning to drop spindle but were not) I thought I had better give a really excellent lesson this Thursday, so I actually got a drop spindle out to make sure that I could even still do it- which is a great start to an excellent lesson.

I had to dig my drop spindle out from under loads of stuff- it was waaaaay at the back of a closet buried under hand combs, an unloved (completely) charkha and lots of bits of fiber and yarn and swatches. But I got it. Then I needed something to spin (ok, I have loads of stuff to spin, I needed something to spin that I wouldn't care if I ruined it), so I rooted in the closet some more and came up with an old zip lock bag of sort of scratchy fiber pieces in three random colorways, none of which went together very well. They didn't clash horribly, though, either- and hey, I'm not picky (not that picky, anyway...) so off I went to spin.

Three hours and two tired arms later, I was just about done with a full spindle of "singles," ready to be twisted together into yarn. And no, that little amount of single that you see on the spindle is not all of the fiber from the first photo. Just some.

Here is the finished product- enough (just enough, probably) to make a sweater for a squirrel, if it were a small squirrel. A little more spinning, though, and I will have enough to make myself a really pretty (hopefully- you never really know what it will look like until you start knitting!) pair of fingerless gloves.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention- I am happy to report that my laptop keyboard will be receiveng a new "W" shortly. Interestingly, according to the technician at Dell, they cannot possibly ship such a small part as a single plastic clip from the back of a single keyboard key (just the clip that holds they key on was broken), so they are sending me an entire new laptop keyboard, which I may install at my liesure (or just rip the "W" key off of and jam it onto my old keyboard). Hmmm....

My rockin' knitting group!

2006-08-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Meeeeee.................
Recently it was my birthday, so my knitting group got together and threw me a little party at knitting! There was cake (chocolate!) wine (red and white), and cider, for those who don't partake. Annnd, there were presents.
How nice are they? What great friends I have!

On another note, my spinning guild had a dye day a while ago, and we dyed self patterning sock yarn. We are suppodes to at least start knitting socks out of it and bring it to spinning guild this week, so I had to get crackin and do mine. The colors are just slightly less fab than I would have imagined, but maybe when I am finished I can get a pair of really excellent boots to cover them up with!

And speaking of socks... the Claudia Handpaint socks on the sidebar have made the plunge into the frog pond. Shockingly, they were too big. Those of you who know me personally and have viewed my feet will understand why I find this shocking.

Thank you Secret Pal!

2006-07-24T19:12:00.000-07:00

I owe my secret pal a big old apology- she sent me a fantastic package with a camping theme about TWO weeks ago, and I have not posted about it yet. So, Secret Pal, I am profoundly sorry. And I want you to know how much I loved my package- I received it the same day that took a red-eye to New York for a funeral, so it was a great cheerer upper! Anyway, I know that you are all dying to hear about what, exactly, was in the box- so here you go.

First, like I said, the package had a camping theme. SO, of course, there was yarn- in "Campfire" and "Smores" colorways. (Secret Pal, may I say at this juncture that my friends and I are in awe of your genius)

Then there was a Burt's Bees travel kit- get it- bees? My secret pal must have also known that I am going on vacation soon! There was also some candy (long gone, of course) shaped like mosquitos, and a packet of Vanilla Chai for drinking around the campfire.

And then last (but definitely not least, there was a nut (a chestnut?) that, my SP says, is a clue to where she lives. Ideas, any one?

So what else has been going on, you ask? Well, heat, heat, and more heat. It has been 110 here for the last three or four days. When it gets that hot here, the power goes off, so you have no AC- yuck!

And on another front, my cat pulled the letter W off of my laptop keyboard, and I cannot get it back on. Hmmmph!

My SP8 is the best!

2006-06-25T08:20:00.000-07:00

My Secret Pal is the greatest. Look what a fun package she sent me- she has been telling me that she is stranded on a desert island, so everything had a tropical island theme! She send excellent decorated flip flops (and I looooove flip flops- how can you not love a shoe that comes in every color of the rainbow but costs only $4.95?), a very cool straw bag (perfect for my knitting and very cute too!), stuff to make tropical drinks (ok, maybe tropical jello shots), funky palm tree straws and a coconut glass, and loads of other great stuff! Yay secret pal!

The goodies from inside the bag- a knitting journal, Some Lambs Pride worsted (Noni bag here I come!!! Woohoo!), and two skeins of Plymouth Obsession in really pretty tropical colors that I think will become a moebeus. And in the card that she sent (with a drawing of a person stranded on a tropical island and "need yarn" written in the sand large enough for an airplane to see!), my SP says that there is a clue, presumably to her identity or location. Hmmmm.... Plymouth, Mass? Or the Lambs Pride is made in Nebraska.... Or there were (notice that they make it to the photo...)some Swedish Fish in there...

Here is the decoration from the inside of the package that my SP sent- she has been saying that she is stranded with Wilson from the Tom Hanks movie "Castaway" so there are hashmarks to mark the days, and a little "Wilson was here" grafitti.

Even the Friday the 13th got into the fun!

And on another note, my friends are the greatest too! I have been looking everywhere for Knit Klips, including Stitches West and TKGA but they just weren't to be found anywhere at all except Patternworks. Then the other night I went to my knitting group, and DillyDally Knitter said she had a present for me. She got me some Knit Klips! How excellent is she?

Carcasting

2006-06-12T10:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so Blogger was down last week for a few days. Then it went back up, and I wrote a post. Then it went back down and I published my post. My entire post, pictures and all disappeared. Then I got aggravated, and did not get un-aggravated until now. Not that I am complaining- Blogspot blogs are free.

Anyway. Remember a few weeks ago when I sent a 40 year old coupon to Herrschners to get loads of embroidery floss for just a few dollars? Well, recently I received a lovely note from
Shelly letting me know that unfortunately, Herrschners does not honor 40 year old coupons. Sheesh- my career as embroiderer to the stars has ended before it even began. Although Shelly says that my $3 will be returned separately, it seems as though they may have kept it- maybe Shelly bought herself a latte with it.

On another (yet still fascinating) note, my hand dyed raw silk bathroom curtain (didn't I make that sound so fancy?!) panel is moving along. For about one week I killed myself and knit 15 inches of it (it is 20 inches now) but then I was so traumatized by the experience that I needed to take a break from it... 15 inches in six days on size 1 needles is enough to make anyone nuts. Only sixteen more inches to go, and I can move on to another project- which should be peeling all of the wallpaper off of the bathroom walls and painting it. We'll see.

I took a three day handspinning class this weekend. On the way there and home again (it was about 35 minutes away) I listened to my iPod, broadcast over the radio with an iTrip. Well, like most people, I never changed the default radio station that my iTrip broadcasts to. Which means that when I drive next to someone who is also broadcasting their iPod to their radio with their iTrip that they haven't changed, I hear their music. And their music is always bad. The good thing is that while I hear their sucky music, I am sure that they are hearing mine right back, and they are thinking how sucky mine is (which is not true). So then, because I am annoyed at their sucky music infiltrating my car, I drive next to them for a little while, enduring their Toby Keith or whatever badness they are listening to, secure in the knowledge that my Presidents of the United Stated of America or Strokes or whatever I am listening to is making them crazy. Aggressive iPod carcasting. Yet another way in which technology has made our lives better.

Wine, socks, antiques, and Noni bags.

2006-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I promised another post on Saturday, and here it is Monday, and I am just getting around to it. But I have been busy! And not just with knitting... Over the Memorial Day weekend, I went to an antique show, where I got these lovely old spools of silk thread- each is about four inches tall. The thread is such a pretty color that it is sorely tempting to use it for something (it is pretty thick- I could knit it!)- fortunately, there isn't too much of it, and it is smelly (but only if you put your nose right into it- don't be thinking that my whole house smells like stinky silk thread now!). So- temptation averted. That was close,though!

After the antique show I went to an open house at a local winery, Thomas Coyne Vineyards, in Livermore, CA., where I got to bottle my own wine. Supremely fun! You get the bottles and put them on a machine that fills them, and then you get to use a corking machine to cork them. Then you paste on some labels, and viola- you can now drive straight home and crack them open. The winery is uber-cool too- it is kind of out in the middle of no-where, and is very old and wild west looking, with sheep and wild rabbits running around. Yee-ha!

In my last post, I mentioned that I had joined a Cascade Fixation sock KAL (that's Knit ALong, for those of you who are not in with the in crowd). The pattern provided was a little, errr, small, so after some trial and error (mostly error) I came up with a stitch count that would work for my less-than-ladylike feet (which my mother has been known, on occasion, to refer to as clodhoppers). The socks are only ankle high, so they should move along quickly, despite their gargantuan sizing. I have been on a sock bender lately- socks are a great way to break up the excitement of knitting miles and miles of stockinette on my curtains- too much of that and a girl is liable to burst into flames. So while I have been working on these, I dyed some more sock yarn. That pink one in the middle is just a tad bright (the picture is giving you a headache, isn't it?) so I have to overdye that one just a little to bring it within the range of what humans can look at without screaming. Other than that particular one, it all came out pretty nicely- I have enough for two pairs of socks with color coordinated heels and toes. I dyed some yarn for my Secret Pal too (another that is tooo bright and needs to be beaten into submission) and some spinning fiber (lest I should run out of knitting projects).

Finally, I have another Noni bag felted and waiting for someone to take pity on it and give it a zipper, handles and a lining. Pretty snazzy, huh?

See, I told you I have been busy!

Unfashionable socks.

2006-05-26T18:22:00.001-07:00

My husband injured his back last Saturday, and as a result he has been working from home all week. Well, today, we decided to run out for some Starbucks, and when we got back, guess what we found?

Kitty had decided to help him with his work. Now, was that nice of her or what?

So my good friend Ceallach went to London (lucky her!) on business, and she had the good fortune to have a few free moments (you can read about them here) in which to go yarn shopping... look what she brought me! A whole load of Colinette Prism, Rowan Calmer, and Rowan Linen Drape. I think that each will become a sweater this coming fall- the Linen Drape will likely become a cardigan with a lacey edge, the Prism will be a simple fitted pullover, and I am not sure about the calmer yet, but of course I have some ideas and lots of Rowan Mags to help me out!

A few days ago, I bought some cute socks. Yesterday, when I went to put a pair on, I made a horrifying discovery... my socks are a Fashion No Show. Hmmm. If I had known that I definitely would not have purchased them- I mean, a girl needs all the help she can get, right? And the last thing she needs is to be undermined by unfashionable socks. Ok, seriously, what was the person who designed the label thinking?

DillyDally Knitter and I wend Secret Pal shopping in San Francisco yesterday! Of course, I can't show you what we bought, but rest assured that if you knew our secret pals, you would be way jealous of them. On a side note, DillyDally is a big giant enabler- she sent me a link to the Cascade Fixation Sock KAL, and of course I had to join. More on that (plus my second Noni!) tomorrow!

New tote!

2006-05-18T15:40:00.000-07:00

Viola- finito!

Well, Ok, I am not 100% sure that it is finished- I may add some ribbon embellishments or something, but then again maybe not because that would fancy it up quite a bit. Anyway, it did not quite felt to size, but I got a nice tote out of the deal.

It was somewhat difficult to line- it flares out quite a bit at the top, so unless you are willing to put the time into a lining with darts (which I will no doubt do next time, since the lining bugs me) your lining will have lots of extra fabric at the middle, like mine. I love the lining fabric, which is good becuase I have tons of extra!

So this is my knitting tote for my knitting group tonight!

Like a Noni in the Sun

2006-05-17T12:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am in love.

So I finished knitting my Noni last night. This morning I got to felting it- fun fun fun! It is supposed to be felted with the hottest water that your washer can produce, so I turned off the cold water to my washer- you know, to help things along. There were all of these recommendations to keep taking it out and checking it, etc., but it felted very very nicely. Ok, so it is not exactly the dimensions that it was intended to be- it is more of a Noni tote than a Noni bag, but whatever. It is supremely cool.

Here it is drying in the sun- I am so excited about it that while it dried I made a piece for the bottom to keep it flat, and marked the lining so it is ready to be cut and sewn together. I also located some black piping to trim the top with. Tonight is assembly night! This entire project took only four days to knit (knitting late in the evening, only- not knitting all day for four days (don't I wish I could knit all day for four days!), and I have had barely any knitting time lately. Next I am going to make a pink and orange striped roll bag with DillyDally Knitter (except hers is going to be pink and green, I think) and then another elephant foot bag, but in tangerine. Oh, and I am going to fool with the dimensions- this one came out to be 24.5 inches around by 9 inches tall, and it is supposed to be 22 inches around by 11 inches tall. More like the average bag, rather than the supermodel bag... finished pics tomorrow!

Noni madness

2006-05-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Whew!

Once again, I have been slaving away. Also once again, though, I have managed to squeak in some time to knit and I fiiiinally finished my Koigu cardigan. Here it is in all of it's glory- and may I point out that it has been about 90 degrees out every day since I finished it? Oh well- it will be just the thing for fall in mid November when it will finally get cold enough again here to wear it! I do have to re-sew on the buttons- they way I did it you see the little knots and thread ends if the button band flips over. I know that there is a way to do it so it so that those things don't show (all of the items that I currently own, with the noted exception of my cardigan, are lacking this feature)- I just have to look up what, exactly, it is.

So I was merrily knitting along on my curtains, when I was distracted by the knowlege that DillyDallyKnitter had a Noni Bag pattern. I was thinking about that pattern, and thinking about it, and thinking about it. So then I had to look at their web site. One thing led to another, and I had to make one. Or two or three. So far, I am only part of the way through the first, but I have yarn for two more. Let's hope that I like the finished product- otherwise I have lots of Cascade 220 to use up!

Hi Secret Pal!

2006-05-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo- I heard from my secret pal today! (Hi Secret Pal!) She seems excellent, and according to her she is stranded on a desert island with only Wilson the volleyball for companionship. Oh, and her computer, which I must say is extremely convenient- now she can order sunscreen and bikinis via the internet when she needs to, plus umbrellas for all of the coconut drinks that she must drink.

I have been practically chained to my desk for the last few days writing a proposal for a big e-learning project and making animated tape measures and stuff for another project, but in between the tape measures and the formal writing I did manage to get just a tiny bit of knitting done. I re-did my cardigan button bands (it was a no-go on the holy intervention) as applied button bands and went down a needle size too, which worked out to look a lot less sucky than the original. I knit the collar separately too, and am about 1/3 of the way through sewing it on using the free loop back stitch method illustrated so well by Skinny Rabbit. So finally, it is almost done.

And, guess what I got in the mail yesterday (besides a 3d studio max training guide)? Yep- it's a vintage Patons Beehive yarn holder. Ooooooh aaaaaaaaahhhhh. My yarn will feel all snuggly in there.

Faves

2006-05-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

Secret Pal 8 starts in a week or two, and I know that my secret pal is on the edge of her seat waiting (don't fall off!) to hear alllll about me. So here's the dirt, in the form of the Secret Pal supersecret questionnaire...

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Hate. Scratchy. Yarn. And glitter. Other than that, I am open to the excellent karma of all of the vast opportunities of the yarn universe. That wasn't that helpful, was it? Ok, I love Koigu (could ya guess?), and I think that Rowan yarns rock. Also, I don't generally use bulky yarn- usually I am a dk weight or less kind of a girl.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a lantern moon and a home made needle case.

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Jeez- it seems like an eternity, but really I have been knitting for a measly 4 years. I am the most advanced knitter ever in my dreams, but when it comes to actually knitting stuff, I am juuuust intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
A what? Ok, I wish for a new car. How is that?

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Citrus scents- lemon, lemongrass. And rosemary. I don't care for stuff that is too flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Heck- I've got a whole mouth full of em! Milk chocolate (don't like dark chocolate, though!), fruit slices, jelly beans... mmmmmmmmmmm caaaaaannnndy.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I spin, sew very badly (sewing machine challenged!), plan to embroider but never do, and buy beads that I never make anything out of. Oh yes, and I also plan to paint oil paintings that I never get around to.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like contemporary alternative music generally- my favorite cd's right now are Evanescence, Sarah MacLaughlin (I have no idea how to spell that), Moby, Garbage, Stereolab, and The Strokes. I am MP3 worthy.

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
My fave color is orange, but it is not a good color for me to wear. The only colors that I can't stand are really really bright colors (think Bernat Disco in Aqua Velvet) and most pastels (with the noted exception of pastel pink and lavander). I love orange, raspberry pink, lime green, and neutrals.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married, and a cat lady. I won't say how many we have- it's too embarrassing.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear scarves and ponchos- it is too warm in the Bay Area for hats and mittens.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love to knit sweaters, and accessories, like handbags.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Project one: Koigu Cardigan
Project two: Bathroom curtain panel

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Sure!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer straight needles, under 12 inches, non metal. Picky picky picky.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
You mean the thing that you put your yarn on, or the small bird that resembles a swallow and is noted for its rapid flight? I own the yarn one, but not the bird. And a winder.

17. How did you learn to knit?
My mom taught me when I was about 8 (poor mom!). I really never did it more than occasionally until 4 years ago, when I was inspired by uber cool knitted curtains in Home and Garden Magazine.

18. How old is your oldest UFO?
I had to think very hard about this- I am not a UFO kind of girl. Either I finish it, or I frog it. However, after much reflection on the subject, I remembered that I do have a single sock lying around somewhere. Now, that knowlege will eat at me until I find it and make it a friend- which I will start doing tonight, thank you very much.

19. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas, without a doubt.

20. Is there anything that you collect?
Yes, I collect money. American currency, and my favorites are the larger bills. OK really, I do collect some things- I collect brightly colored two tone vintage plastic knitting needles, and old matchbooks from the fifties with cool graphics on them. Oh, and I like to grow orchids, but that is not really collecting.

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Well, there are all of those Alice Starmore books... Actually, the only book that I am really dying for is The Knitter's Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting by Montse Stanley. And I subscribe to VK and IK.

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I am currently trying to learn to knit Fair Isle...

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Ooh, this is sooo embarassing... I will email you my GIANT foot measurements privately if you ask very nicely in a way that impies that my feet are very dainty, even though you know they are gigantic.

24. When is your birthday?
August 6- same as David Bowie, Lucille Ball, M. Knight Shyamalan, and Punky Brewster.

Entertaining myself.

2006-05-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

So I bought this old Needlework Magazine from January 1967. I was leafing through it, and there amongst the ads for half price accordions and pet monkeys (I swear) there was an ad for Herrschners. As a special introductory offer, Herrschners would sent me sixty (count 'em- sixty!) skeins of embroidery floss for $1.98. Well, I don't embroider much, but heck, sixty skeins for $1.98 is too good to pass up! So the ad was from 39 years ago, so the address had changed. A girl's got to do something for entertainment, right? And since I know the postage went up, I put in an extra 80 cents.

Now, about the Koigu sweater... I picked up about a billion (or a zillion or a quatrillion- I forget at this point) stitches- up one side, around the collar, and then down the other side. Then I started knitting, and I knit and I knit, and I calculated the button holes and all that and I knit and knit and knit and then I stepped back and said to myself "Hey... this looks really sucky!" So after some expert consultation with my sister, I have decided to finish the current buttonband, just in case the Virgin Mary comes down from the sky and performs a miracle on my button band and it becomes fab (and we would call it The Miracle of the Button Band, and everywhere I went people would be in awe of my holy sweater). However, I am fully expecting to have to rip it out and find another (less holy) solution.

Finally, can we talk about a pet peeve for just a moment? Manly. Laptop. Bags. Hello- I am a girl. Had anyone noticed? So why do practically all laptop bags look like they are for members of The Starfleet Federation? So I bought this. From here. Thank you!

A 38 year old white woman eating an apple and going to the mall

2006-04-29T14:02:00.000-07:00

At our house, we have a Subaru WRX sporty sport wagon to tool around in. For all of those exciting things that we do- you know, buy groceries, pick up takeout- whatever. Coincedentally, the WRX is one of the choice cars for those who like to tart up their cars- namely, teenagers. So this leads to some interesting misunderstandings. Yesterday afternoon, I was driving to the mall - and this very loud tarted up speedy white car pulls up next to me. The driver revs the engine repeatedly, so I look to see what the deal is. At that very moment, the teenage boy driver looks over to see who is driving my car- imagine his dissapointment when he saw me- a 38 year old white woman eating an apple and going to the mall to see what's on sale at Banana Republic. As uncool as it gets. He sped off in a huff.

My Koigu sweater is almost done- I just need to have a seaming session to sew up the sides and arms, add the button bands, and the buttons of course. Oh, and there is that blocking thing, which I decided to hold off on until the button bands and collar are added, thus avoiding any funkiness between the clashing blocked vs. unblocked parts. So far it fits well, but the true test will, of course, come after it is really sewn together- not just held together with bits of lavander yarn.

And now, a random shot of my yarn- Koigu bits and pieces that I bought last weekend.

No, I am not in jail.

2006-04-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

You all thought I was dead (or in jail!), didn't you? No such luck- I have been working. Hard. Very very hard. But now, finally, I have a day to breathe- woohoo! SO what's been going on? Loads of stuff!

First, last Thursday night, two excellent knitting pals and I (DillyDallyKnitter and Ceallach) went to the Knitting Guild of America show pre-show market. It was the perfect time to go- we got first pick on the Koigu at FoxyKnits. We got some great goodies at the show, and Ceallach won a door prize (lucky dog!) and made the rest of us feel like the loosers that we were. My haul: some Koigu (how'd ya guess?) some bargain Henry's attic black alpaca yarn (enough for a sweater) some bargain Filatura Di Crosura Pavone (which, like you no doubt, I had never heard of, but it is really pretty) and my uber bargain of the night (possibly of my life)- a 2 lb cone of Loro Piana cashmere (yum!) in a wonderful cocoa color for $20. The funny thing about the cashmere is that when I saw it, another woman had just pulled it out of a big cardboard box of random odds and ends, but she must not have liked the color because she put it back- I don't think she knew that it was cashmere. I loved the color (and you all know of my undying love of cone yarn) so I asked the woman (I was paying for my other bargains at the time) what it was, and she whispered caaaashmere! to me. So I had a quickie look, saw that it was $20, figured it was junk cashmere that would pill all over the place after I knit it, and bought it anyway. It was only later that I actually looked at the tag pasted inside of the cone and saw that it is Loro Piana, which is really good Italian cashmere. Excellent karma, huh?

I went back to the TKGA show on Saturday to take a color knitting class (which was great!) and on my way home, who should walk over and plop down on the bench next to me as I was waiting for my train, but 12 Galaxies Man, complete with sign. So I spent the next 12 minutes while I waited for my train desperately trying to figure out how, how in heavens name, could I get a picture of him? Without asking him, of course. I never quite figured it out, so I went my way (to steal someone elses picture of him) and he went off (probably to Union Square) to educate the greater public about the evils of the 12 galaxies. I have had excellent luck all week since then, and I just know it is because he sat next to me.

Finally, my pink Koigu sweater is just about done- the pieces are all finished being knitted and it just needs to be assembled and have the collar and button band added. Although I am sorely tempted to bore you with a picture of the pile of pieces, I won't- instead I will bore you with a picture of my craaaaazy new knitting bag! How cute is that?

And I have been knitting my curtains!

Happy Tardy Easter!

2006-04-17T17:48:00.000-07:00

Happy tardy Easter everyone! Please excuse my tardiness- I was away for Easter weekend and now I am being overrun with client work. I did have a lovely holiday, though, spent in San Luis Obispo, Ca. SLO is the home of CalPoly, and as a result there is a ton of great stuff to eat, drink, and buy. AND (get this!) if you drive back up the coast a little from SLO, you get to Cambria, home of Ball & Skein & More (and lots more great shopping), which rocks. But, if you keep going... you get to Hearst Castle. And the thing about Hearst Castle (aside from the fact that it is absolutely overrun with the most unbelievably fabulous antiques from all over the world, including walls, doors, and fancy-schmancy ceilings) is that there are real live zebras that live there. How cool is that? So sometimes, when you drive up the highway, they are right there next to the road munching away on the grass. Neat huh? And I guess that they go well with the elephant seals that live across the street!

So when I left last Friday, knitting bag on my arm, I was absolutely convinced that I would finish the last piece of my koigu cardigan before I walked back through my front door on Sunday. But noooo- I got almost no knitting done at all. It's not like I didn't have the time- a 3 hour car ride and in-laws who go to bed at 9:30 make for lots of knitting time. But I didn't knit. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the salt air (maybe it was the zebras!)... I just didn't do it. Don't you hate when that happens?

Speak no evil!!!

2006-04-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am supposed to be working, but instead I have been looking for buttons for my cardigan. I have a button box (who doesn't?) that is chock full of options, but I wanted certain ones. Ones that I knew I had somewhere- apparently that somewhere was not the button box (after all, why keep buttons in your button box? That would take all of the challenge out of finishing your hand knitted garment.). So I got to looking. I found the buttons that I wanted in my stash cabinet... they were the wrong size. Oh well- an excuse to go button shopping. But while I was rooting around in there, I found all of this other cool stuff! Stuff that I had blocked from my mind. Stuff purchased with a plan... a plan that was probably abandoned before the postman actually got here with the stuff.

Please excuse my very bad photos- yes, it is still raining here. No outdoor light to be found.

Item number one: tiny gold monkey charms. Ooooh aaaaah. They are so tiny! And so gold! In a bag of, like, 50. These are the speak no evil monkeys (no swearing!)- they were listed on eBay as "giggling monkeys" but any halfwit could see that someone was just trying to make the best of a bad situation where hear no evil and see no evil got lost. These were purchased (along with some lovely red suede!) during my "handmade suede knitting bags" phase. I did, incedentally, make one bag, but not from the lovely red suede.

Item number two: red plastic cherry charms. Purchased for the afore-mentioned handmade suede knitting bags. Also in a bag of, like, 50. Am I the only one who is eerily reminded of a male body part?

Item number three: uber-cool pin up girl buttons! How cool are these? Not like you would wear them on a sweater or anything, but they are still the coolest.

Item number four: Slightly less cool than the pin up girls, but still cool anyway buttons. And these you can wear in public, as long as you have a sweater that requires three buttons or less (and you don't mind mixing and matching).

And for all those of you who have been wondering what Kitty has been up to lately, she has been catching up on her TV watching.

Everybody out of the pool!

2006-04-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

When you are knitting a sweater sleeve with two different balls of Koigu, what are the chances that the colors will pool? Apparently much higher than you would think, because I had to knit the same 20 rows or so no fewer than four times to outwit the yarn and it's burning desire to pool. Attempt number one- involved only one ball of yarn. Pooled. Attempt number two- use the same ball of yarn, but work from both ends. Pooled. Attempt number three (see photo!)- get a new ball of yarn involved this time. Really pooled! Attempt number four- go back to two ends of the same ball, adjusting yarn part way through to prevent pooling. Finally! Sheesh.

That is the thing about designing your own stuff- you have to be completely willing to rip out and re-knit a lot. Because there is no one to check your pattern but you. And sometimes, that is just not enough. Especially if you are me. Last night, I knit and knit and knit to finish sweater sleeve number one. I majestically arrived at the last row (thinking how I am going to cast on the next sleeve and get an inch or two done on that one before I go to bed), and think "gee, that looks really wide..." Umm, yeah, that is because it is 40 stitches wide instead of 30, like it is supposed to be. Poor. Math. Skills. (PMS). If you start with 76 stitches, and you need to end with 30 stitches, and you have 50 rows to accomplish that, how many decreases do you need to do, and how often? Sounds simple, huh? Eventually, I did get the sleeve done. At, like, one in the morning.

So yesterday I went to a yarn swap and knitting party at my friend Charlotte's house. The plan was to bring yarn that you had and did not want, and swap it (hopefully) for someone else's really excellent yarn that they had and did not want. And the leftovers go to charity. What did I bring? Doceur et Soie (itchy- 8 skeins!), Elann Peruvian baby Cashmere (leftovers- 9 skeins!) and some other random stuff. What did I get? Mmmm-nice... two skeins of Artfibers "Scrimshaw"- one in pinks (in the picture!) and one in blues. It is hand dyed bulky cotton- who knows what I will do with it.

Finally, guess what I won yesterday on eBay? Knitting needles! Ooooooh aaaaaahhhhh..... not just any needles, but two-colored button top needles. How cool am I? They are coming from Australia- why is it that all of the super cool knitting needles live in Australia? Go figure.

Beep beep beep New Project Alert

2006-04-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

New project alert: it’s curtains for you, baby! One of my bathrooms has a small window with very bad curtains (very bad everything, actually, except for the flooring, which is not fab, but not too alarming either). So I am knitting new ones. Not really curtains- curtain. Or a window panel, to be exact. I had this giant cone of lace weight raw silk that I thought would do the trick, so I dyed a bunch of it really dark chocolaty brown. I did consider leaving it the natural raw silk color (which is really very nice) but I wanted it to show up when the light is shining through the window. Plus dying stuff is fun.

I am going to knit it on larger needles than it would normally require so that it is "open" and see through, and then put a sheer curtain behind it so it will look all cool and hip and zen like.

Oooohhhmmmmmm............

Coolness will require that I remove the wallpaper and paint the bathroom too- it is hard to be cool when you have cheesy late 90’s wallpaper all stuck to you.

See what I got in the mail today? That's right- a big cone of yarn. And not just any yarn- it's a big cone of cashmere. MMmmmmmmmmmmm........ cashmere. (I am a cone yarn fan, can you tell? If you knit from a gaint cone, you have hardly any ends to weave in!) There is a story behind this cashmere- about three weeks ago, I took the train to San Francisco to go to my internship, but when I got there, I had no computer to work on. For about the fourth time. So, back to the stupid train. $4.50 and 1 hour later, I arrive back at home, only to realize that I have left my beloved black cashmere wrap on the wretched train. Now, this was no chi chi wrap- but I loved it. Looooooved it. Wore it everywhere. Scarf, blanket, swim trunks, pup tent, this wrap had it going on! I called the rotten train station, called the lost and found, went to the rotten train station, lit prayer candles (ok, not really on that one), and complained for an entire afternoon- but still no wrap. So anyway, I decided to make myself a new one, hence the yarn. And if I see any of you wearing the one that I left on the train, I am going to get you.

oh, the humanity of it all.

2006-04-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting my butt off! I finished the right front side of my sweater, and am 1/3 of the way through the left side. Aaaaand, the piece that I finished only took one skein of yarn- woohoo! I am a chronic yarn over-buyer... that is to say that if I see some yarn that I like and I know I would like to make a sweater out of it in the future, I will buy like 20 skeins of it, just in case. I mean, you wouldn't want me to run out, right? And what if I decide that I want to knit something really big like pants? Ok, maybe not pants, but you know what I am saying. (I know that knitted pants are bad- I have some!) For this yarn, though, the store that I bought it from only had nine skeins. Oh the humanity of it all... And you know how it is with Koigu- there just is no more. What you have is it. So I was a little nervous. I planned my project accordingly (petite girly cardigan- that's the pattern over there!), but still..... it was a nail biter! Now I can take a deep breath, relax, and keep knitting, secure in the knowlege that I will not have to knit that last sleeve in purple because I ran out of pink. Which is good because I pretty much hate purple.

I did not flash my stash on April 1. My stash is not that cool, plus I was working all day. If you are really sad about that (which I seriously doubt) you should have a look see at Wendy's stash! There now, don't you feel better?

Finally, here is a picture of flowers on my tiny crab-apple tree- aren't they lovely?

I need a pineapple drink (or new shoes)

2006-03-31T09:03:00.000-08:00

Quick, the sun is out- take some pictures! Oh, no, waaaaiiiit.... there it goes. Can I complain a little more about the rain? It has rained in San Francisco for 24 out of 30 days so far this month. Today will no doubt bring that total up to 25 out of 31. My deck is slowly turning a greenish hue (you think I am kidding but I'm not!) and everything is soggy. AND my photos are suffering- inside light is just not that good. I think I need to go shoe shopping. Or to a sunny beach somewhere where drinks come in pineapples with tiny umbrellas and plastic monkeys on them. Seriously, how do you people in Seattle do it? Or can you not answer my question because you are all in Mexico drinking pineapple drinks right now? Right- that's what I thought.

Anyway... So guess what my wonderful friend Betts gave me last night at knitting? Vintage 12 inch red knitting needles! Wasn't that nice of her?! I helped her out with a little graphic design something-or-other, and since she remembered that I love brightly colored vintage needles, she gave me these in return. How nice is that?

Guess what? (some of you will answer "chicken butt" to that question- you know who you are) It is new project time! My favorite time of the year (except for vacation time, but during vacation time it is usually new project time too--- so vacation time is like having the cake and eating it too, and you know how infrequent that is!)! I am making my new project with my favorite yarn of the year. Here is a hint of what it is:

Can you just guess? What is the most popular yarn on the planet, beloved by all and yet knitted by only some due to it's being really hard to find in a store? That is right- Koigu KPPPM. I will be making a snappy fitted cardigan (which I refuse to call a cardi- sorry all you cardi people out there, but I am just not a cardi person) which will be perfect for spring, and I will be knitting it really really fast so that I can wear it while it still is spring. Sort of like Olympic knitting, except for that I missed the Olympics- when are the Special Olympics?

And finally, someone called my house this morning at 10 after seven. I was asleep, in bed. So I did not answer the phone- so, they called back. My wide awake drinking coffee in the kitchen husband did not answer the phone either, rather, he rushed up the stairs, full speed, and burst into the bedroom to make sure that I knew- "the phone is ringing!" Uuuh, yeah, I got that. Perhaps answering it might remedy the situation? I mean I, with all of that sleep in my voice could not answer it (or I would be forced to endure- "were you asleep?" "no, I was awake!" "really? Because you sound like you were sleeping." "no really, I was awake..." you know how that goes), but what was his excuse? And the caller, who wanted to talk to us so badly at 7:10 in the morning that they called not once but twice, did not leave a message.

Mr. Blackwell says...

2006-03-29T10:49:00.000-08:00

"Practical, yet stylish! The perfect spring accessory. Plus it matches my whiskers!"

My Clapotis is finito... and I mean finished in the sense of I really finished it, not the more liberal interpretation where I hide it at the bottom of my knitting basket and just say I finished it (well, I would be finished with it, right?). I stayed up way too late the other night to get it done. Friday the 13th was so impressed by my Clapotis coolness that he offered to model it for me- wasn't that nice of him?

And now, on to my next project... stay tuned- I'm thinkin' Koigu!

I am crocheting an ark.

2006-03-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Woohoo- the rain is makin' me craaaaazzzzy! It has been raining here for ages now- I think that the other side of the earth must have no water left on it because it is all over here, sloshing around in San Francisco. It is hard to believe that in a few short months, I will be complaining endlessly about the heat instead (you can hardly wait, right?)!

Lookit my Clapotis- yep- it is almost done. And after aaaallllll of that complaining I did about it- I really like it, and I want to knit another. And another, and another. And then maybe another one after that. It is so cool, so hip, so chi chi- I feel Parisian already and I'm not even finished yet! I need a glass of wine and some cheese, and maybe a baguette.

Gratuitous cat photo here.... Kitty was my personal assistant today. Here she is taking stenography.

Yarn Splendor! Or, I'm hungry.

2006-03-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

WooHoo its Friday! And I have had a great week- I have two new possible clients, one of whom wants me to do some graphics for a small cable tv show that he is working on (fun fun fun!). So, in honor of my great week, and it being spring and all (and definately not because I don't really have anything better to talk about- I am just loaded with absolutely fascinating subject matter), I decided to slack off and take some photos of my stash yarn. Plus I have a new digital camera and I had to try it out! I only really got two good ones...

This is Habu Kakishibu Cotton Viscose. I only have one skein, and will probably make some decorative household item out of it one day.

This is also Habu- Tsugumi silk, and again, only one skein here!

Ok, ok, so I am hungry.... when I'm done I'll have a snack, I promise. Wouldn't want to waste away or anything (especially right before the weekend!).

And yes, I have been working on my Clap- I have got my mojo on! Look- it has gotten much bigger since the last time you saw it! You can see from the photo that I have looooaaads of yarn left, though, so I am no where near being finished. But still, progress is progress! It should only take about a million years to finish it all!

Here is a close up of the super cool drop stitch pattern- now don't you all want to knit your own Clap?

Camel haired itchiness.

2006-03-20T10:44:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here is another FO- the handspun camel sweater. Clearly it does not have the buckles that I want it to have (yet)- I still have to find some and figure out what to do with them. But anyway, here are the stats- it is made from about a billion yards of hand spun baby camel fiber (and no, I did not have to spin more!) and I designed it myself. I like extra long sleeves, and these are just right (knuckle length)!! The front will cross over and buckle on one side once I find the coolest buckles ever. I like it without the buckles too, though, as evidenced by the photo of me wearing it... it is actually pretty handy-dandy, as the ribbing makes the front reeeeaaaallllly stretchy, so it is easy to pull it out and wrap it around yourself (like if you live in the Bay Area and have to go out and get your mail in the pouring rain for the millionth day in a row). And it's toasty too! Of course, if I wanted to wear it with, say, something that did not cover every inch of exposed flesh underneath I would end up scratching the very flesh from my bones, but I'm ok with that.

And, just to prove that it is officially spring, look who I found sitting in a tree in my yard, just waiting for me to snap a picture (note the gray "I'm going to pour any second" sky in the background)? Ok, really, we have hummingbirds all year round, but isn't he (or she- I am sure there is a way to tell, but I am clearly not that skilled when it comes to assinging gender to tiny noisy birds) uber- cute?

He invited a friend too- then they had a bit of an argument during which they flew around and tried to peck each other (or maybe they were really going in the opposite direction, if you get my drift...)and then they flew off into the sunset together (really it was only 11:00 am, but whatever).

And yes, I have been working on my dreaded Clapotis, now that I have no way to procrastinate with another project. I even got to do the drop a stitch part last night, which is excellently fun.

The sweater, finally

2006-03-18T13:13:00.000-08:00

Ok, I promised... so here it is- the finished black sweater, complete with the original catalog photo for comparison.

(Can we talk about the Anthropologie models for just a moment? I have no problem with skinny models, but man, those women are skinny. Sometimes it is kind of creepy looking...)

On another note, I went to the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show this morning. While I was there I bought two orchids, and one of the orchid sellers gave me some spanish moss too. The moss is making one of my cats go completely bezerk- I had to put it in an enclosed conatiner to keep her from ripping it to pieces and eating it. Go figure. But anyway, the show was lovely- trees plants and flowers everywhere, and the whole place smells like jasmine (I swear they pump in perfume). There are worse ways to spend a Saturday!

What? Why would I know my password?

2006-03-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Well, lots of stuff has happened since my last post- mainly, my laptop hard drive failed and I lost all of my data. Which means that, when I go to post on this blog on the desktop computer at my house, I actually have to type in the username and password... which presented a problem or two. On my laptop, those fields would be filled out automatically, and while I can set the desktop to do that too, I still have to log in at least once to have it remember that info. So, ummm, what is my password? And user name, for that matter? That took a little guesswork and a few tries, but I finally got it, obviously.

Ok, so first, I finished my black sweater that I copied from the Anthropologie catalog. Thank god. I have been knitting it for ages, and am beyond glad to not have to be looking at it anymore (except in the mirror when I am wearing it!) However, it has been so dark and gloomy here in Northern California (stupid rain- will it ever stop? It has been raining here for weeks! We are all soggy!) that I cannot get a decent picture of it, so you will just have to look at the buttons that I bought for it for right now! I needed something to place at the middle of the front of the sweater where there is a clasp- I ended up using the two smaller buttons on the lower left and putting one on each side of the clasp. It was a tough decision, though, because all of the buttons that I bought are really excellent- the small ones are the most excellent though. Oh, and I promise to take a decently lit photo of the sweater itself asap, so you don't have to sit there and imagine what it might look like. AND for waiting so patiently, I will see if I can find you an original photo of it from the catalog, so you can compare and contrast.

Next, guess what I am aaalllllmost done with? You got it, the itchy scratchy baby camel hair sweater. I just have to knit about six more inches on the collar and sew up the armpits, and voila, finito! Well, except for that buckle thing- I need some cool buckles for the side to keep it closed. I saw great ones at MJ Trim, but they look like I might need some, ummm, leather-working tools to sew them on and have them look decent- which is a little more involved than I am willing to get. So I have to ponder that issue for a while.

Last, for my final project update (boy is this going to be a short one!)- there it is, my Clapotis. In the bottom of my project basket. Unloved and un-worked-on. The thing is that the only project that I have that I can use to avoid working on the Clap is almost done (ok, I admit it, there is a hat too, but hats can only go so far in terms of sucking up project time!), so veeeery soon it will be my only project. And then I will have to knit it. Don't get me wrong, it isn't a bad project- it is just one of those projects that is a little repetative (ok, in my case a lot repetative because I used lace weight yarn and had to add a billion extra repeats to compensate), and if I don't pay attention all of the time I am hosed. None the less, shortly I will be banished to the land of Clapotis, and not be released until I am done. Maybe I should bring some tequila.

Handspun Hell

2006-03-10T19:04:00.000-08:00

Since I put a progress meter up for my hand spun camel sweater, I thought I should at least give you the lowdown on what the heck it is. This is the first (and possibly the last) hand spun yarn that I ever made a significant quantity of. When I bought the fiber, I really reeeaaaallly wanted to make sure that I would have enough for a sweater, so I bought two (count em'- 2!) pounds of it. Two pounds of camel hair fiber takes, like, a billion years to spin, in case you were wondering. I did not spin all of it- I stopped when I became so ragingly tired of looking at camel colored fluff that I wanted to pluck my eyes out and throw them at my spinning wheel. So now, two years later (now that I have finally gotten off of my butt to knit the sweater), I am hoping, praying, that I have enough to actually knit the sweater with. If I don't, I will have to spin more of it. Which I don't want to do.

Anyway... I digress. Obviously they yarn is camel, and, well, I would not say that it is of the highest quality... my hand spinning skills at the time were, ummm, still "under development." What that means is that the yarn is lumpy, bumpy, itchy and scratchy. None the less, it was spun, by hand, by yours truly- and dammit, I'm makin' a sweater out of it. You see my cool fashion sketch of my sweater- (and yes, I know that you are all guessing that I am the model in the picture- it's true! I am! That is just what I look like, and those are Dolce & Gabbanna boots that I am wearing too!) the reality is slightly less appealing. I am sure that when it is blocked, though, it will look exactly like my sketch....

I knit both the body and the arms of the sweater from the bottom up, and will be joining them together to knit the shoulders and collar all in one piece. I have no idea how that will work out (or if it will work out!), but what the heck, I'm a brave gal (I am woman hear me roar) and I'm not afraid to rip out. I'll let ya know how it goes!

The World's oldest intern

2006-03-07T14:12:00.000-08:00

Two days a week, I go to San Francisco to be an intern at an uber-cool company that specializes in all aspects of film and video post-production including creative editing and motion graphic design, visual effects, and online editing. (can you tell that I took that direcly from their web site? Not the uber-cool part, though- I added that myself because it really is uber-cool. Uber-uber cool, even.) Yes, I am the world's oldest intern. That is ok, though- I love it there and I get a lot out of it, plus they don't make me do any actual intern stuff like getting coffee, which is cool. So anyway, on my way there today I stopped at Starbucks to get a gimungous non-fat latte, just like I always do, and who was there to greet me but my special friend...

This bird can work it. It scoots in the door when someone walks in, and then starts to work the tables. It scopes out which person has a baked good, and then up it hops, right onto the table top. First it jiggs it's little bird butt up and down for a while, cheeping away the whole time. Then it just sits on your table and looks at you hopefully- if you don't feed it, you have about two minutes (to take it's picture with your phone!) before it moves on to the next table. I do not feed it, but I really really want to. I am just too afraid that the Starbucks people will get mad at me, and then I would have to go to the Starbucks two blocks over to get my gimungous latte.

Blue knitting needles.

2006-03-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

See what my sister emailed me? She drew it herself. One of her hobbies is colored pencil illustration, and she is clearly fantastic at it (mad skillz!)!!! I told her that maybe she might wanna consider, you know, getting paid to do it? Because obviously, she could.

So, about my black sweater... assembling it went fine and all, but now that I am down to the finer aspects of finishing it, it is from hell. I have had to knit the neckband twice, sew the neckband on twice, and now that I have basted on the trim it is funky so I am going to have to do that twice too. Maybe my sweater will be twice as good in the end? Either that or it will just have been twice as big of a pain in my butt.

I did knit something nice, though- a lovely, albeit slightly felted (in a good way, though!) hat that is a gift for my mother in law. It did not start out felted (I know, you are thinking that nothing does, right?)- it is just that the yarn, which was looooooovely (Artfibers "Sherlock") turned everything within 100 paces of it blue. My hands, my knitting needles, and, I was afraid, my mother in law's head. Which would be bad. So I had to wash (and wash and wash) it to get the extra blue out, and yes- it felted a little. The excellent thing about "Sherlock," though, is that it is mostly wonderfully soft merino- but, it has a little bit of silk in it. So when (and if) you felt it, the silk pops out just a little bit causing a shiny silky sheen that makes your husband (or mine, at least) say "wow, that is a really nice hat!" Which was rapidly followed by "can you take that knot thingy off the top?" Whatever.
He is probably just jealous because I have stylish dyed blue knitting needles now.

And just so ya know, kitty approved of the "knot thingy" on the top of the hat. Kitty rocks.

Knitting the Clap

2006-02-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

So my sister Jenny, who also knits, told me that she wants to "knit the clap" one day. I had never heard it referred to in exactly that manner before... Anyway, I have been knitting mine. Ok, I haven't exactly been killing myself over it, but it is bigger, see? It's not like I have been just sitting around eating potato chips all day or anything (don't I wish)- I have been slaving away on my black Anthropologie sweater that I started last August when I was on vacation. I had a few interruptions while knitting it (namely that I decided to knit a throw for my Mother in law for Christmas, and it took for eeeevvvvvveeeerrrrr- but she totally loved it!) I have been trying to finish the Anthropologie sweater before this August... But anyway, the moral of the whole long story is that I have been knitting on my Clapotis, and I would like to finish that by August too so that I can take it with me on vacation.

Stitches West, or, two hours of yarn madness

2006-02-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

Ok, everyone who knows me knows that I live about 1/2 hour from Santa Clara, the home of Stitches West. So, did I go? Well of course I went. Wild horses and all... My Mom and Dad were visiting, as well as my brother in law (who is a FedEx pilot and just happened to have a 24 hour layover during which he happened to be staying in the VERY TOWN where, unbeknownst to him, I live- my sister had to fill him in on that info) , but I managed to squeak in a 2 hour visit to the market. Remember the Ren and Stimpy where Ren gets space madness? That is what the Stitches Market is like- yarn madness.

Seeing as how I had limited time and had to maximize my yarn purchasing options, I got there early. The sales floor was not open yet, so I had to wait on line with about 250 other shoppers, all of whom were practically foaming at the mouth... just like me. Eventually (after loads of worrying that we were in the wrong line, that we would have to wait for everyone in fornt of us without tickets to buy them, and that all of the good stuff would already be gone) we got in to do our shopping. In the end, my practical side (who knew that I had a practical side?!) won over- I did not buy too much. Plus I was totally freaked out by all of the yarn and simply could not make any kind of buying decision what so ever. But here is what I did manage to make a decision on...

My first purchase- I ran all over the place looking for the Foxy Knits booth, because they have a huge selection of... Kiogu! KPPPM, nine skeins of it, to be exact- I wanted more (ok, I wanted them all, but you know how it is- if I spent all of my earnings on Koigu, what would I buy girly shoes with? Plus there is that mortgage thing...) but nine was all that they had in the colorway that I liked best. That should be enough for a cute little fitted cardigan with three quarter length sleeves- just the thing for spring- as IF I could knit that fast! You can't really tell from my not-so-mad photography skillz, but the colors are dark magenta, orange, brown and purple. For me, Koigu is the kind of yarn that is worth every penny you spend on it- it is super cool looking when it is knit up, plus it is fun to knit with because the colors keep changing. It is also worth paying extra to buy it if you can see it in person- it is dyed in small batches and each dye lot can very quite a bit, so the photo you see on the internet may represent a dye lot number, while the yarn that a retailer has in stock when you order, although it is the same dye lot- it might look pretty different. But I digress- Koigu rocks. It really really does.

My next purchase- funky retro looking ribbon printed with knitting instructional pictures. How cool is that? I have no idea what I will do with it (which means that I will hoard it for about three years, waiting patiently for the perfect use for it, and then use it to wrap some gift or something just so that I don't have it lying around anymore), but I wanted it anyway. If I had a yarn store I would want to use it to tie on to all of my shopping bags- how cute would that be?

After that I saw this- I had to have it. I happened to be buying some needles (no pic of those, sorry- you all know what Addi turbos look like!) and while I was paying I saw this woman in the booth pick up a project, stick it in a bag like this, and put it under the table. What you cannot tell about this bag from my photo (not-so-mad photo skills again) is what a fantastic shade of dark turquoise it is, and that it is made from shantung silk. So I was like "What was that? Do you sell those?!" Turns out that they were for sale, prominently displayed smooshed in a large plastic bag under a table that was covered by a table cloth... I know, you are wondering how I could have missed them originally. So anyway, I bought it, even though I had NO idea who the heck Tilli Tomas is- I loved it THAT much. And when I got home I looked up Tilli Tomas on the internet. How could I not have guessed? They make yarn, of course.

Finally, my last purchase of the day- some socks that rock yarn. I have been hearing about socks that rock for a while, so when I saw the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth, I stopped for a look! They had loads of fantastic colors, thereby creating a "decision making issue," but I finally managed to suck it up and pick a colorway. Guess what it is going to be? Yep, another Clapotis. And I swear, I have been knitting on the one that I already started- I will post pictures tomorrow to prove it!

Wild Stripiness

2006-02-23T08:40:00.000-08:00

Look what a very nice woman named Angela sent me- a photo of her beautiful new baby boy all snuggled up in a Wild Stripes blanket knit from my pattern on Knitty. I feel like a proud parent! As you can see, Angela substituted a printed flannel for the gingham lining, making the blanket super cozy for the wintertime!

Thanks Angela!

Grrr...

2006-02-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the blogger template was making me completely crrrraaaazy... so I changed it. I need to make my own, in my free time- HAH! Just kidding- I don't have free time. But I still need to make my own template.

Yo yo yo, all you phat knitters out there, are you down with it?

2006-02-13T11:41:00.000-08:00

Yo yo, check it- it's Gangsta Knitter! You down with it? Gangsta Knitter Knit for ME!

The Gangsta Knitters are THE coolest- I only wish I were half as cool as them, and that they would let me join their knitting gang (my gangsta knitter name would be Special-K)! Learn more about them on this week's The Tom and Doug Podcast Episode 5 which features an interview with Knit-Master SSK, and a description of the origins of "Gangsta Knitter."

This phat video was made by the very funny Debbie (KnitMaster SSK), ThomasP and DougDoug at Pisa Designs. Debbie has some really lovely designs (she is deifnitely down with knitting!)- so you should check it!

I have joked with Kelley in the past that our spinning guild should be a gang, and the next spinning guild over in Oakland could be a gang too, and then we could have a turf war that would end with a big rumble and maybe a dance-off. Now I am thinking that maybe the Gangsta Knitters would want to rumble with my spinning guild too... of course, if I got to join the Gangsta Knitters thene there would be this whole conflict of interest thing going on, but I am sure that I could figure something out.

If yer' lookin' fer the sidebar, scroll down- waaaay down.

2006-02-10T16:11:00.000-08:00

What is with my sidebar? Why is is all of the way at the bottom of the page? Clearly my mad blogging skillz are lacking. If anyone knows how to fix it, feel free to share!

The olympics start tonight, and Kelley (all hail the queen of hellacious sock knitting) asked me to join YarnHarlot's Knitting Olympics with her- but I chickened out. The pressure... it got to me! I would have to go all out of order on my projects, which I hate (and I hate it because it is inherently wrong). However, mainly because I felt totally left out, I have decided join the Knitting Olympics pep squad (I am one of those cowbell ringing people on the side of the ski races), and make myself finish seaming my black sweater that I copied from Anthropologie (what? You have never shopped Anthropologie? Surely you jest! Go there right now- or don't- maybe your wallet (like mine!) won't survive the damage. Oh go on, be daring, go! But maybe you should put your credit cards in the freezer first.). I was going to show you all a picture of the sweater, but I started it soooooo long ago (as in, um, August) that it has been removed from their site, no doubt because it has been deemed passe... So anyway, I hereby swear on the Olympic Torch and all that that I, Left Coast Knitter, will sew together my black sweater by the time that the Olympics have ended. And I mean these olympics, not the ones that will happen in two years.

Seasons versus sweaters- who will win?

2006-02-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

It is spring here in the San Francisco Bay area. Well, actually, here I think that spring starts December 26- we get no snow for Christmas, so once the day has passed we are ready to move on... but whatever. So I sat on my deck for a while in the lovely 65 degree temperatures and knit my Clapotis. Mmmmmm. But while I was out there enjoying myself, I got to thinking about my other projects- the ones that were still inside the house- the ones that I was not working on- the ones that are winter sweaters. Seriously, why do I bother? Winter here is about a week long, and on it's coldest, darkest, most sinister frozen days, the temperature only goes down to about 45 degrees (at which point, just so you know, we all act like we live in the frozen tundra and complain a lot). Yet I persist. Currently I have two winter sweaters going on- one is ready to assemble, and one is on the needles. If I were to spend today assembling the ready to assemble one, I might get to wear it twice (it is light weight!) before it hits 70; the one on the needles is knit from hand spun camel hair and will probably not see the light of day until next December. Honestly, what am I thinking?

On another springy note, all of the daffodils in my yard are in bloom. Aren't they lovely? Now for the reality of the situation...

I dug them up a month ago to plant a tree, and then it started to rain, so I left them there, languishing on the deck. We have not had time to plant the tree yet, so there they sit to this day. They don't seem to care at all- ignorance is bliss, huh?

Last, I will update you on my Clapotis progress:

So there I was happily knitting on the train to San Francisco yesterday morning, and I went to pull some more yarn out of my center pull ball, and urp- it stopped dead. Ok, so I may have wound the ball a little tightly... you know how that goes, right? That big globby mess of yarn lurking in middle of your center pull ball, which is trying to look innocent the whole time? So, last night I spent five and a half harrowing hours (between 9:00p.m. and 2:30 a.m) flogging it into submission. But I did it.

this is wrong on so many levels.

2006-02-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I went to get my mail today, and there, inside my mail box, lay a shiny new knitting magazine! "Yay," I thought, "the new Cast On!" But then I opened it, and turned to page 58 (look for the square with 58 in it!)... all my hopes were crushed in one terrifying instant. There it was- the knitted bicycle seat cover-with doilies on it. Oh, the humanity of it all.

How many times can I say Clapotis?

2006-02-06T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, all of these people have been asking me lately if I have a blog. And then I have to confess to them that yes, I do, but I have never posted anything on it, even though it has been up for over a year- yes, I am a loser. So anyway, for those of you who know me, you already know what I do, so you can skip this part. For those who don't know me, I am a freelance graphic designer based in the San Francisco bay area. In my abundant free time (hah!) I like to design knitting patterns, which can be found at knitty here and here and here. Yes, some day I will make a pattern that comes in different sizes.

So I know that you are dying to know- "Left Coast Knitter," you are saying, "What is it that you are knitting right now? What scrumpdillyiciuos yarn is on your needles?" Well ok, since you are dying to know and all, I'll tell ya what I'm knitting- It's a Clapotis. Yes, Virginia, there is actually a knitter left who has yet to knit a Clapotis- but not for long. I have actually been pining to knit this- it is so cool, so hip, so chi chi, so Clapotis-y... but I just never got around to it. So, this weekend, when I went to my friend Rachel's knitting store (and may I say that Rachel had the nerve not to be there, even though I did not tell her that I was coming so she had absolutely NO reason at all to avoid the store that morning) The Knitting Basket, and when I got there I was struck dumb by the selection (it was so fab!) and thus unable to come to any decision what so ever as to what to buy. But then, lo, there it was, in a basket between the cash register and some books- a skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's lace in "denim" that just had Clapotis written all over it. So I bought it and got to Clapotising. Here's the damage so far:

Since the yarn is lace weight I have to add like a million extra repeats of the increase rows (ok, maybe only three) and another million rows to the body (or a few inches or so), but I can tell already that the scarf is going to be bee-you-tiful. And did I mention that the yarn rocks? It is wool and silk, and although it pretty much kept to itself until I started to knit with it, once it really got going it got that "I'm going to be a Clapotis" shine going on. Woohoo!