Another Bandwagon

Hopeless! LOL

2009-03-18T11:48:00.002-07:00

I give up! It seems it is impossible for me to get on here and update when I promise I will. Either the site is down, or my computer is deadly slow or ... Oh well, I am on here now so let's make the best of it!

Training is going reasonably well for Team in Training. I walked in a 10K race in Jamestown CA on Saturday. After a long down hill stretch from the school through the main street of town, it appears that every other hill only went up!! Honest, that's what it felt like. There were some short down hills paired with some very long uphills. I need to get better at hills for sure before I head off to my marathon. It took me just over one hour and forty one minutes to finish the 6.2 mile course. I was too tired to remember to look at the clock as I crossed the finish line! However, I did finish strong and could have gone on for a while yet though I definitely need to figure out what kind of nourishment I need to take out on these longer walks. Luckily I had some Sport Jelly Bellys with me (yes, there is such a thing!) and they helped a lot. I have a really hard time dealing with GU or sport gels, I just can't get past the texture, they make me gag!

Fundraising is definitely an issue at this point. I am only 25% of the way to my goal of $4901 for the Alaska marathon. I have to recommit on April 10. Once I recommit, I am responsible for the full amount, whether I fundraise it or it comes out of my own pocket! Ouch! I do have a fallback position, I can switch to the Seattle RocknRoll Marathon which requires $3100 in fundraising but ... after this past weekend, I am not looking kindly at a hilly course. Hopefully, I will be able to raise enough to go to Alaska.

This weekend, Saturday to be precise, I will be doing my first prize drawing for those who have already donated. You get one ticket for each $25 you donate and the prize this weekend, if a knitter wins, is a skein of Wollmeise sock yarn. You will have a choice of Iris Siberica (should be on its way to me now) or Koralle im Meer (Coral of the Sea). Both colors are gorgeous! The Iris has blues and yellows and I think maybe green, while the Coral is deep blue, teal, orange, ... well, you are going to have to see them to believe them. Maybe I can get a picture in the next couple of days so you can get an approximation of what they look like. I am still working on a prize for the non-knitters. A Blue Diamond Almond gift basket is in the works and we will see what else I can come up with.

Don't forget that the knitter who donates the largest amount will win a Wollmeise Sock Club shipment. I think they will have the option of choosing this current shipment (yummy!) which they can see or choosing what's behind Door Number 1, the final shipment, choosing it sight unseen! That should be fun.

I am still working on that knitting project I mentioned last post. Can't post a picture cuz it is a gift but the size is worrying me. It just doesn't seem large enough. I may end up ripping it all out after blocking if I am not happy with it but that's okay, it is an easy knit and one I enjoy. I just got some very bright fuschia colored cashmere to make a shawl or stole for my cousin who is suffering from multiple myeloma. She, like me, is usually quite warm so she doesn't need something to keep her warm, just something bright and cheerful. The yarn is gorgeous, now I just have to find the right pattern, something in laceweight, a very fine laceweight I might add. Hmm, I have got to figure out somewher to take some pictures. You just have to see this yarn!

Anyway, that's all for now. I will post the winner of the drawing here on Saturday as well as emailing them. Take care all.

My oh my, doesn't time fly?

2009-03-08T19:05:00.002-07:00

Where the heck does the time go? Sorry I have been so bad at keeping this blog up to date. Maybe I can blame it on health issues? Oh, I know, I will blame it on menopause, after all, they did in Menopause the Musical! What a great show! I saw it at the Gallo Centre for the Arts in Modesto last week and laughed out loud over and over again. If you ever get the chance, go see it, you won't regret it.

Things have been a little slow lately. I seem to have lost my mojo for just about everything. I haven't wanted to knit, I have been skipping training walks, just nothing seems to pique my interest. I can't remember if I told you that the weight seemed to be coming off extra easy this time around... While it should have been cause for rejoicing, I worried that it was too easy this time so I headed for the doctor's office just to double check.

It turns out I have hyperthyroidism which is why the weight loss, although I am sure all the walking and working out helped too. Seems I have Graves Disease, which a couple of my aunts have. The doctor wanted to use radioactive iodine to treat it but I am not big on killing off another part of my body if not absolutely necessary so I told him I would rather use medication. He is open to working with me on that so I am supposed to be researching various programs of attack and getting back to him. Actually, I think I was supposed to be back to him a couple of days ago but ... time flies, right?

The training is going pretty good even though I have skipped a few workouts. I walked 8 miles today in about 2 hrs and 12 minutes. Not bad, considering I didn't have anyone to walk with. I did meet up with some of the Shadowchase Running folks before I started out and, amazingly, some of them were still hanging about chatting when I got back. That made me feel good.

I started a new knitting project a few days ago and this one seems to have my interest back. It's lace, my favorite, so that is probably why. I knew I was in trouble when I didn't feel like going to Stitches West. I also spent over an hour in Imagiknits in San Francisco with a gift certificate in hand and didn't buy anything! I must have been one sick puppy but hopefully that has passed.

Time for sleep, need to get up at midnight and go to work. Hopefully I will be back on here tomorrow to tell you about the prize drawing for those who donate on my fundraising page. Hopefully the darn page will be up tomorrow. It has been down for maintenance all afternoon.

I did it! My first 5K

2009-02-16T16:22:00.003-08:00

Boy, time flies when you are having fun! Or when you are sick as a dog... That is what I am going to blame my lack of blogging on, I have been feeling rotten. However, on Saturday, I completed my first "race" with Team in Training. Considering that I had been sick all week and only walked once, I was thrilled with a finish time for 46:34 for what felt like a verrrry looooong 3 miles. That works out to a 15.4 minute mile which is considerably faster than what I have been training at. This pace is a very good thing cuz I have been scaring myself looking at a lot of marathon sites and seeing that most of them require a 15 or 16 minute pace. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk that fast but now... I think it is doable. I still have about 4 months more to train so I should be able to make the cutoff time.

On the fundraising front, things have been slowing down a little. I did manage to make about $200 selling those gourmet candy apples I was telling you about. Oh boy, are those ever good! As I mentioned before, anyone (in the US) who donates $50 or more receives one of these apples if desired. I can also order them if you would like to buy one for $12 each.

I will try and post details within the next week or so of the drawing I am going to have for knitters who donate $25 or more. There will be wool, naturally, Wollmeise for sure, Loopified and, for the knitter who donates the largest sum, a complete Wollmeise sock club package! I am going to have to figure out what to do for donations from non-knitters, can't discriminate against them but I am betting they do not really want sock yarn!

Time for me to hit the hay, have been up since 6 am and I need to get up in just over 6 hours to get to work tonight. Take care everyone!

A whole week already?

2009-02-04T14:43:00.002-08:00

Goodness gracious (omg, I think my grandmother used to say that!) where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday I was telling you I signed up to train for a marathon and a whole week has gone by already! Let's see, what have I accomplished in that time?

On Wednesday we had our first TnT workout at the Modesto Junior College track. Three laps to warm up, then stretch, then ... bleacher loops! Ughhh. If you really want to know, a bleacher loop is where you start at one bleacher, climb to the top, walk across top, climb down, head for next bleacher, repeat... Once you reach the end of the bleachers on one side of the track, head for the other side and ... Yup, lather, rinse, repeat! I have a feeling this is not going to be my favorite part of the training but I made it. We did one loop this week but apparently two are going to be the norm.

On Saturday, I walked nearly 4 miles in one hour at the Team in Training Official Kickoff. After the workout, the mentors cooked us a marvelous pancake breakfast and we received our welcome packets, Team in Training t-shirts, and met some of the team honorees who are folks who have already fought through or are currently fighting blood cancers. They are so inspiring! One of the favorite sayings around the team is "If you think training for a marathon is hard, try chemotherapy". They aren't kidding there. Those of us who have our health have no idea what tough really is, do we?

I managed to fit in a short walk before the SuperBowl and I think I finished my aerobic workout during the last quarter! Was that exciting or what? Another short walk on Monday when Modesto had a community walk to support physical fitness, not only in our children but in the adults. We walked a mile in downtown Modesto and it was great to see how many folks got out there to walk. We had an absolutely gorgeous day and finished to pick up window decals saying "Fit for the Future" and had some grapes that were waiting for us at the finish line. I do have to say that I now understand why our coaches tell us not to walk on the sidewalk. I swear my legs were more tired from walking one mile on concrete sidewalks than walking four miles on an asphalt bike path.

We got to see the gourmet candy apples that we will have available for fundraising. I brought home four, one of each variety. I took them to knitting class yesterday and got orders for ten so that was great! I will pick them up tonight when I go to our fundraising seminar.

I alreay walked 40 minutes this morning after going in for my annual checkup. You know how they always say you should consult your physician before starting an exercise routine? I never do but I thought that maybe training for a marathon might be a major enough reason to check in. LOL He couldn't find anything majorly wrong with me other than a tiny heart murmur that I have apparently had for some time. I was down 23 pounds since I saw him last August though. Hooray!! I think this regime is going to accomplish everything I hoped for. Raise a lot of money for research and patient services while at the same time, improving my own health. It's a win-win situation.

This weekend, I have to walk 6 miles by myself since I don't get off work in time to join the group. I will let you know how that turns out but I make no promises on when! I think I need Hermione's timeturner. How about you?

And the Big News is ....

2009-01-27T10:40:00.003-08:00

I have signed up with Team in Training to walk a marathon!! That's right, 26.2 miles in lord only knows how many hours. Those who know me personally will probably realize just how out of the ordinary this is for me. I prefer to knit and read, and if I am going to go any distance without a wheeled vehicle, I prefer it to be on the back of a horse, not on my own two feet. However, I received the Team in Training brochure at a time when I had just lost my second family member in two months along with at least 3 other friends in that time. It seemed like a good time to change my ways and get in shape while raising money for a really good cause. Team in Training raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society which is a cause dear to my heart since my aunt Patricia died from leukemia back in 1996. Tricia was the person who got me involved with horses which became a lifelong love.

I will be posting updates here on how the training is going (just started last week) and also how the fundraising is going. I need to raise $4900 in order to participate in the Mayor's Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska on June 20, 2009. It's an awful lot of money but I am hoping to be able to reach this goal. The breakdown for donations to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is 75% goes to research, patient services,etc while only 25% goes to expenses.

Let's see now, how about some starting statistics. As of yesterday, January 26, I weighed 231 lbs and my measurements are ... well, let's not go there. I will let you know how many inches I lose as I go along, okay? We had our first official meeting last Wednesday but didn't walk cuz it was pouring and our walking coach didn't want to. Thank god I am not a runner cuz they had to go out and do 3 miles! I walked 30 minutes Thursday and Friday, then 4 miles on Sunday in about 1 hr 15 minutes. Mondays are our day off so I am getting ready to head out for 30 minutes right now. Oh yes, I have also been working out 3 days a week at Unlimited Physiques, a 40 minute circuit training set up with about 20 minutes cardio beforehand. Thanks to that workout, I am down 11 lbs since the first of December! Maybe this time, I am finally going to get down somewhere near my so-called optimum weight. If not, so what? I am feeling good, proud of myself for doing well so far and raising money for a great group.

Maybe the next time I post, I will finally have some knitting pictures to put up. In the meantime, here is the link to my fundraising page: Deb's Fundraising Please feel free to make a donation. Everyone who donates over $50 (limited to US residents I am afraid) will receive a gourmet candy apple, covered in chocolate, caramel, nuts, etc. I am working on a special drawing for knitters, more details to follow. Talk to you soon. Take care of yourselves!

I'm Baa-aack

2009-01-23T18:20:00.002-08:00

Well, kinda sorta. I can't believe how long it has been since I posted here. I guess that's what you call falling off the bandwagon in a big way. I have still been knitting (tons of hats for both Kristy and to send back to my daughter in Jersey) and staying busy at work. Had a wonderful time in Louisiana, New York and New Jersey in October visiting my friend JoAnn for her 70th birthday and then up to see my daughter for her 24th.

One of these days I will get my Ravelry projects pages updated and hopefully post some pictures here as well. I really do have pictures, just have never managed to download them from the camera yet.

Anyway, I have some really big news but I need to get to sleep right now (been up over 18 hours already). Some of you may already know the news depending on how you got here but I promise, I will try to get all details up this weekend. For now, take care and I will talk to you soon.

The Incredible Kindness of Knitters!

2008-07-24T20:02:00.003-07:00

I have been meaning to get a post up for days but I had hoped to have pictures to go with it. Since that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon, I figured I had better just go ahead and post. Hopefully, I will get some pictures next week.

If you have been a part of the knitting community, either in real life or online, for any length of time, you know that knitters are incredibly generous when it comes to charity. Just look at Kristy's Hat Quest for example. Kristy came in to our LYS Hooks & Needles in very early May and mentioned she was going to the Ukraine in September and needed (gasp!) 300 hats for the orphanage she was going to visit. It seemed nearly impossible at the time but between blogging and Ravelry, she already has over 260 hats in hand and more to come! Then, of course, there is the Yarn Harlot's campaign to raise money for Doctors without Borders through her group Tricoteuses Sans Frontières (Knitters without Borders). They have raised nearly half a million dollars since the start of the group! There are many other examples all over the web of knitters raising incredible amounts of money in rides to cure Aids, Breast Cancer Walks, and many other charities.

What you may not know about knitters is how incredibly generous they are among themselves. Of course, if your friend is short of yarn, or needs to borrow a stitch marker, or a darning needle, or someone has a deadline to finish umpty-jillion water bottle cozies, you are going to help out however you can. It's part of the definition of friend, isn't it? Then there are the folks who will willingly help out someone they may have met at their local yarn store. But I am talking about total strangers, who out of the blue, are totally willing to help out a fellow knitter.

You may or may not know that the latest "hot" yarn, at least from what I can see with the Loopy Groupies et al, is Wollmeise. This gorgeous yarn is dyed by Claudia, who lives in Germany. The Loopy Ewe is the only distributor in the US and let me tell you, it is nearly impossible to get your hands on some. Last week, Sheri (proprietress of the Loopy Ewe) posted over 300 skeins for sale at 9 pm CST and it was all sold out in under 5 minutes! Here's a link if you want to see some of the gorgeous colors. (Hmm, looks like you will have to scroll down and search for Wollmeise. Trust me, it's worth the time.)

Anyway, I digress. I have tried multiple times to get my little paws on some Wollmeise. The crazy thing is, I had never even seen it in person but had read so much about it that I knew I just had to have some. However, it seemed as though that was going to be an impossibility. I just don't have time to sit in front of a computer screen for hours, refreshing the page to see exactly when this yarn comes up so I can attempt to get some. Apparently, I was not the only one feeling kind of low after missing out yet again. TracyinMichigan (Ravelry link), who is the "mom" on the F5ing thread of the Loopy Groupies on Ravelry, started a thread to share the Wollmeise love. Wollmeise "virgins" posted their requests for Wollmeise on this thread and would receive a PM if someone wanted to help them out. Long story short, I am now the proud owner of two skeins of gorgeous, luscious Wollmeise! I received my yarn from two different ladies in Colorado who sold it to me for exactly what they paid for it, plus shipping! I eventually found out that between the two of them, they helped out 11 different knitters, none of whom they had ever even heard of before this thread. I know that many other generous knitters did the same thing. Can you believe that? Like I said, knitters are the most generous of folks.

PS Hopefully, I will have pictures of this luscious yarn to post next week. Right now, I need to catch some zzz's. Tomorrow I head up to Oroville to help out a friend who was burned out in the Palermo fires about 6 weeks ago. They just got power yesterday, and we will be hauling stuff to the dump to make room for the new triple wide she hopes to have in place in the not too distant future.

Water Bottles Need Love Too!

2008-07-02T16:13:00.003-07:00

Well, maybe not love exactly but ... A friend of mine ran across this picture in my photostream

and found it rather strange. Actually, Keith, there was a very good reason for knitting a water bottle cozy. One of the gals I knit with at the Escalon library every Monday has a daughter who is going to the Netherlands to play in a soccer tournament. Each player is responsible for bringing enough small gifts to exchange with each member of one of the teams they play. Joy's daughter is taking water bottle cozies. They are done in patriotic colors and they keep the bottle from "sweating" all over whatever they are set down upon. That being said, Joy needed to come up with 17 of them! I don't know about you but knitting 17 of anything can get a wee bit monotonous. I told her that if she had some extra yarn, I would be happy to knit up a cover or two. Of course, if you have read much of this blog at all, I very seldom knit anything in plain stockinette or garter. Thus, the lacy water bottle cozy as well as this one based on the Odessa Hat pattern by Grumperina.

I just love that swirl pattern and it is so amazingly easy to do.

The hat is naturally going to Kristy's Hat Quest. The last I heard, Kristy now has 177 hats in hand. I received 3 more on Monday to go along with the Odessa hat and the group in Santa Fe, NM has at least 21 hats ready to ship on August 1 with more coming in all the time. The new goal is 400 hats so that once each child at the orphanage receives a hat, there will still be some available for new children arriving long after Kristy makes her way back home. The generousity of knitters is just amazing!

I finally finished! ....(clue #2)

2008-06-20T10:32:00.004-07:00

Well, it's not much but it is some progress. Sooo, I am only 5 clues behind (Moni posted clue 7 today). Oh, yes, guess I should mention that I am talking about the Slow Bee Mystery Shawl. I don't yet have a picture of it as it is rather difficult to lay out but I may try and get one this weekend. I am not sure why they call this a Slow Bee Shawl. I figured they would be small clues for those of us whose life interferes with our knitting but .... Last night it took me nearly an hour to knit just 3 rows! And those were rows without beads. At the end of clue 2, there are already 347 stitches per row and this increases by 12 every 4th row! I am scared to figure out what the count is for the end of clue 7 and I am hearing rumors that there are 12 clues in all! Oh lordy, what have I got myself into? On a positive note, it is going to be absolutely stunning when it is done. I am using a pale gray laceweight (might be cobweb, actually) by Lane Borgosesia and putting on clear, silver lined beads. They look like little raindrops suspended in the shawl.

Although I have not been making much progress on my shawl, I have been busy. Not only did I take my mule packing course, but I helped out at another combined driving event this past weekend and I have been making lots of hats! Can't remember how many I have finished exactly but I think I have given Kristy eight already with two more ready to go after I show them off to my Monday knitting group. Here are some pictures of the last ones.

This hat is called Foliage. It is done with bulky weight yarn on size 10 needles and only uses about 80 yards. I really like it although it is naturally much too warm to wear here in California. Terrible picture of me but I wanted to show you what the lace looks like when it is stretched out.

How do you like my two versions of the Fake Isle hat? Hat #2 is the negative of Hat #1. Number two is now finished but I don't have a photo yet. I used Cascade Yarns for these hats: Cascade Heathers in a light mauve and Cascade Paints for the darker color. Both skeins had 220 yards on them and I still have tons left of each. Will have to figure out what new pattern I can make with these yarns.

For now though, I think I am done with hats for a while. I really need to make some progress on my shawl and I am still waiting for Jen to send back the sample I sent her of the Marvelous Mitts so I can make the second one in time for the Stanislaus County Fair. I finished the first Ankle Biter sock and need to get to the second one before second sock syndrome sets in. I am putting it off at the moment since the sock uses the same needles as the Marvellous Mitt and I reaaallly don't need to be buying any more needles!

I guess that's all for now. This Sunday, I will be trekking over to Lavender Hollow Farm in Escalon and meeting some of my knitting friends for tea and scones followed by knitting under the "Chicken Tree". No, there are no chickens roosting in it now but I guess they used to. It is a lovely big fruitless mulberry kind of tree whose outer branches hang down to the ground leaving a lovely shaded alcove underneath. The folks at Lavender Hollow have furnished this with chairs and a couple of love seats and we have reserved it for the knitters on Sunday afternoon. Ummm, lovely location, good friends, knitting and fantabulous lavender lemonade! What could be better?

ETA: Woo hoo! I have finished the first 5 rows of Clue 3 already. The rows go so much quicker when it is straight knitting with no beads. The only problem is I have to get up in about 6 hours to go to work and I haven't been to sleep yet. I'm blaming it on the heat. It has nothing to do with the knitting .... really.

Mystery Yarn

2008-06-14T07:16:00.003-07:00

I bought some yarn a couple of weeks ago that I do not know very much about other than the fact that it is soft and very beautiful. Here is a picture of the two skeins that I purchased.

Isn't it gorgeous? I do have to admit that I do know a little about the yarn, just not the yardage or what might be blended with the main fiber. Can't remember, did I tell you about the Packing Class I was taking? as in mule packing? like in the old westerns? Anyway, it was a great class and, while I did not get to go on a trail ride with a pack string since I no longer own a horse, I can tie a pretty mean box hitch! Anyway, one of the classes was about dealing with other folks we might find on the trail. We had a backpacker talk to us about his perception of horses on the trail and then we met this fine fellow.

His name is Rubicon and he is a 3 yr old male llama. His owner, Lora Crawford, brought him along to tell us about using llamas as pack animals. Rubicon has never been out as a pack animal but he did condescend to wear his training saddle to show us how it fit.

Notice the mini van behind him? That is how he travels. I had the privilege of playing with Ruby while Lora answered numerous questions from the class and when it was time for him to go home, I got to load him. Just took him to the open door, told him to get in and voila! Up he stepped, bending his head down low and he was set. He travels in the back with no problems at all. Lora had just got back from a show in southern California the day before and they went in the mini van. Would love to see the looks they get on the highway.

Finally, I just have to show you his beautiful face. Don't you just love those eyebrows? That is Bernadette in the picture with him. She was a classmate of mine and it is her camera that provided these pictures.

Oh yeah, this post started out to be about the yarn, didn't it? Well, a couple of days after meeting Lora and Rubicon, I travelled down to her ranch in Turlock. Lora has 40 llamas there! The little guys who were 6 months old were just adorable! Anyway, each year she shears her llamas and sends the fleece off to a co-op who then combines the colors with fleeces from other llama ranches and spins it up. Then, after paying many dollars, she gets the yarn back in equal proportions to the amount of fleece she sent. Unfortunately, she doesn't know anything about yarn. She thinks it might be combined with another fiber to give it more elasticity but she doesn't know what and she doesn't know how much yardage is in a skein. Oh well, it will be an adventure to knit with it and see what I come up with. And, after all, we do want to support our local farmers, don't we?

And the winner is .... !

2008-05-31T21:54:00.002-07:00

This is about to be the world's shortest blogpost since I have been up 22 hours already but I did promise to do the drawing on May 31 so here goes. After entering all the comment leavers (is that a word?) into a spreadsheet and using a random number generator plucked randomly off the web, the winner is .... Danielle!!! also known on her blog as GrannyDani. Danielle, please drop me a line at stlwatrs "at" hotmail "dot" com. You know the drill, replace the words in parentheses with the appropriate symbols. You now have your choice of either Mountain Colors Bearfoot, Muskat mercerized cotton or a skein of Lane Borgosesia Cashwool. Let me know which one you want and how we can connect and I will be glad to get that out to you.

Thank you everyone for not only leaving comments on my blog but for doing such a good job on the Hat Quest. We already have over 70 hats!! We are going to make the goal for sure. That is just too cool!

G'night for now. More to report soon, just need to get some pics for the post.

Finally back online!

2008-05-28T08:31:00.002-07:00

Isn't it amazing how addictive the online community is? I was without a modem from Thursday till Tuesday and it made me nuts! How was I supposed to check up on the progress on Kristy's Hat Quest on Ravelry? Who posted a comment on my blog to enter the drawing? What was the Yarn Harlot up to? I am pretty sure I used to have a life once upon a time. When did I find time to watch TV? read books? clean house? (well, I never was much good at that one) I do still find time to talk to my daughter but that is mostly on the computer since she is in New Jersey. Who would ever have thought that we could communicate so easily with people all over the world who come together to discuss a common interest and help out friends in need? It is truly amazing!

I have slowed down somewhat on my hat knitting. Number 7 is just about in the bag and I am taking a short break to work on my true love, lace! Finally finished Clue 1 of the Slow Bee Mystery Shawl. I have no idea why it is called Slow Bee since the clues come out once a week and there is no hope in h--- that I can keep up but it is oh, so gorgeous. Don't yet have any pictures as I don't have a long enough cable on my circular needles to be able to spread it out but if you go take a look at the Ravelry group Slow Bee Mystery you can see some of the projects being shared there. I am doing mine in Lane Borgosesia Cashwool in a pale grey with silver lined beads. It is going to be stunning! I am just going to have to figure out somewhere posh to show it off. LOL

Have some other fun stuff I was doing yesterday but I hope to be able to get a picture or two to go with it so I will leave that for a later post. In the meantime, here are some of the hats I have done for Kristy's Hat Quest so far.

A simple 3 x 2 rib done on size 10 1/2 needles. I think the yarn is Teseo by di Ve. (I am so bad about keeping track of basic stuff like that.)

This purple and white yarn was part of a stash inherited by a friend of mine. She offered it to me and I decided to make a basketweave hat out of it. Just made the pattern up as I went along. If I remember correctly, it started out as k6,p6 for 6 rows and then reversed. Isn't it funny how the whole look of the striping changes when there are less stitches in the round?

I cheated on this one. This is a hat I knitted up last year just to try out the stitch. Once again, my memory isn't so good but I am pretty sure it is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Watch Cap in the Prime Rib or Brioche stitch. Amazingly(if I followed the directions) there are only 36 stitches cast on for this hat!

Last picture for now. I have no idea where I got this yarn or why since it is certainly not my normal cup of tea. However, it makes for a pretty cute hat! Colorful, at least.

Happy knitting all and don't forget to enter the drawing for the Mountain Colors Bearfoot or Muskat cotton by leaving a comment before May 30. I will draw on May 31, hopefully before I head off to an afternoon wedding. Talk to you soon.

The Quest is On!!

2008-05-17T14:14:00.003-07:00

Wow, where does the time go? I cannot believe how much has happened since my last post just two short weeks ago. Remember me mentioning Kristy's plan to take hats to a Ukrainian orphanage? Well,things are spreading like wildfire. The quest is officially now called Kristy's Hat Quest on Ravelry and we are getting new members all the time. The group has only been up a few days and already we have members from all over the world. Most of these people have never heard of Kristy (or me for that matter) and yet they are stepping up to the plate and helping out with this great cause. There is a yarn shop in Maine that has a group of knitters gathering hats, a knitter in Norway who is sending a boxful and a loom knitter in England who is planning on sending some hats. Hooks & Needles Yarn Shop in Oakdale is the official yarn store of the quest and Kaylee is offering discounts on yarn or shipping depending on whether or not you are local to the shop. Kristy's friend RC is sponsoring a contest which will give you one entry for each hat you donate and that drawing will be in September some time. In the meantime, I figured I should get in on the action so ... for all of you who are knitting for the Hat Quest, leave a comment here on the blog letting me know you are doing so and I will have a random drawing on May 31 to determine a winner. The winner will have their choice of either a skein of Mountain Colors Bearfoot

or 550 yds of Muskat,

a mercerized cotton in fingering weight. I realize neither of these yarns is a hat yarn but I am using all my hat yarn up at the moment. I hope this small token of my appreciation will make someone happy.

For those of you who might be wondering: the Marvellous Mitt had a chat with Stephanie's travelling sock while we were at the Maker Faire.

It decided that maybe flying isn't so bad after all. Last week, it winged its way to New Jersey for Jen to try on. We don't want a repeat of the sock debacle! Everything is copasetic so the Mitt will hopefully be on its way home soon. I will knit up a mate for it and, before they travel back to New Jersey, they are going to be my very first ever fair entry! I have already entered them in the Stanislaus County Fair Home Arts division so now I have to get them done! Nothing like a deadline to give you incentive. It will be fun to see how they are received.

Lots to report!

2008-05-04T11:16:00.004-07:00

Well, I have no pictures for this blog entry but so many things have happened since I last posted I figured I better not wait any longer or I would forget all of it. The most important thing is my friend Kristy is back! Not only in blogland but actually in person. She came to Girls Night Out on Wednesday for the first time in a long time and brought with her an important project. She is going to blog about it in more detail but unfortunately her internet is screwing up at the moment so here are the highlights.

She needs 300 hats by Sept 20!! Yep, that is 300, you saw correctly. She is going to the Ukraine to work at an orphanage for special needs kids who have absolutely nothing of their own. When she first took on the hat challenge, she needed about 160 hats from size infant to big enough to fit a 15 yr old. Since then, she found out that another orphanage is closing and will be consolidated in to the one she is visiting so there will be about 300 kids in all. Can you help? I have already given her two and am working on a third. Hats don't take long and it is for a great cause. Her blog is OK What Next Check it out and help if you can, okay?

Yesterday, Kristy and I went to the Maker Faire in San Mateo for the express purpose of seeing the Yarn Harlot She, as usual, did an amazing job of amusing several hundred knitters while also giving us scientific data on how knitting is good for you, not only emotionally but mentally building your brain. How cool is that! We were lucky enough to be seated in the first row and were then the first ones in line for her book signing. I took along the Marvellous Mitt to meet the travelling sock. Kristy has the picture, I will have to get it from her so I can post it on here soon. Afterwards, we wandered about the faire and saw some weird and wonderful things. Wonderful would be the demonstration on chocolate making from Scharffen Berger Chocolate followed by free samples. Weird .... well there were too many things to list. Let's start with a mention of people in little ... I don't know what they were but it was a parade of little cupcakes in a variety of flavors including one with giant size prozacs all over the top. There was a huge version of the old Mousetrap game, a robotic giraffe, some of the most off the wall attire you have ever seen and we didn't even get in to most of the buildings to see what else was there. However we did find an independent yarn dyer, Kelly from Ceallach Dyes, who uses solar power to set her dyes. We also found Allison from Imagiknits, the folks from Noe Knits and a couple of other places that had lovely yarn and roving to pet and fondle. I refrained from buying all but some Malabrigo that I bought and gave to Kristy for her hat project.

Last weekend was a totally non-knitting weekend but I had a ball! I went down to Ram Tap in Madera where I volunteered at my first ever CDE. A CDE is a combined driving event (with horses, not cars) that is based on three day eventing which you may have run across if you watch the Summer Olympics. On the first day they do dressage, meaning they have to perform a prescribed set of moves that is judged on accuracy, obedience of the horses, quality of gaits,etc. On Saturday, which is the first day I got there, they do marathon. They had a 14 minute trot section which covered several kilometres, followed by a walk section and a 10 minute halt which included a vet check to make sure the horses weren't overstressed. Then it was on to the hazards section. That was the most fun of all for the spectators. They had to go up hill and down dale, through lettered gates in prescribed patterns, splash through water hazards, weave through poles with balloons flying through them and make sure they didn't go off course during the process. I was lucky enough to pull a job as a score runner which meant I got to see all the hazards and goings on. On the final day, since they can't jump like in regular 3 day events, they do a cones course, which means driving through an obstacle course of cones with balls set on top of them. If the balls got knocked down they received penalty points. The width of the path between the cones varied for each entry depending on how wide the wheelbase of their cart was. My job on that day was cone setter. It was pretty amazing to watch the drivers maneuver their teams through the cones as there was only about 10 cms clearance on each side of the carriage. I got to see such a wide variety of horses that weekend, from tiny minis to a four in hand of Welsh ponies, to Friesians, Arabs, Morgans, and some breeds I had never even heard of. All in all, I had a great time and I am sure I will volunteer again.

Check these out!

2008-04-20T11:48:00.003-07:00

I am so excited about these Marvelous Mitts! They are just gorgeous and so much fun to knit. I knitted them on size 1 and 2 needles even though the pattern calls for size 0 and I think they are still a little too snug. Sooooo, before I start on the second one, this little fella is going to take a trip to New Jersey so Jen can decide whether or not I should make them a tad bigger. She wants them snug and believe me, they feel wonderful on but they are a little too hard to get on and off for my liking. I know they will stretch a little bit but ... A friend of mine asked what I would do if they are too small, rip them out? She was being sarcastic and was totally shocked when I replied "Absolutely!" I guess that is the difference between being a process knitter and a project knitter. I love knitting these mitts and it will not bother me a bit to tear them out if that is what I need to do in order for them to be right. The thought absolutely horrifies her, she wants to get the project done and move on to something else. Oh well, different strokes for different folks.

I have also finished this fair isle hat since the picture was taken. You might remember from the last post that I said I was making 4 of them for Penwick Stable so here is number 1.

What else is on the needles? Well, I started a Beaufort hat designed by Angela Hahn. It will be for the charity project for my MJC knitting class. There is a new cancer center in Turlock and they say that their patients would really appreciate some hats. The yarn is nice and soft and the pattern makes it an interesting knit for me. Will post some pictures as soon as I get a chance.

I also started, would you believe it, another pair of socks! These ones, however, will definitely not be knee socks. Hopefully, they will not take the four months that Jen's did! I received some lovely yarn from the Loopy Ewe in a package called Don't Be Blue. It was kind of a consolation package for not being able to get into the Loopy Ewe sock club. I won't post pictures of it yet since it was a surprise package and I don't know if everyone has received theirs yet. I will say that the yarn is just wonderful and I can't wait to get my tootsies into the socks that I will make from it.

Good grief! Where does the time go?

2008-03-30T09:03:00.003-07:00

Okay, I knew it had been a while since I posted a blog but three weeks??? What's up with that? The sad thing is I really can't come up with any reason for it to have taken me so long except that I was trying really hard to come up with a finished object to post pictures of and ... Tah Dah!! They are finally done! Oh yeah, guess I better show you a picture to prove it.

Socks, actual, honest-to-god, finished (except, in the interest of total honesty, the bind off on one sock) knee high socks for Jen. The pattern is Loopy Laces, designed by Wendy Johnson of Wendy Knits fame, and I got it at the Loopy Ewe. That is also where I got the super cute sock blockers. Isn't the cutout of Loopy cute?

I know what you are thinking ... those socks look really cute on sock blockers but ... do they actually fit anybody? Yes, they do! Here they are, modeled by moi(aren't those pulled up jeans the classiest? LOL).
If the bindoff goes over my big calves, hopefully Jen will have no problem with them. I progressively changed needle sizes to enlarge the calf since I didn't want to mess up the pattern and you can see where I switched to the size 4 needles. The yarnovers really show up there, don't they? Oops, so do the needles on the right hand sock (my right, not yours). Anyway, the pattern was great fun even though it doesn't really show up with this lovely variegated yarn. The main point of it was to keep me from going nuts just knitting round and round and round .... well you get the point. I don't know the name of the actual yarn since I got it in my Coffee Swap package from Gil, my swap partner in England. She got it at a fibre show from an indie dyer. The only things I know for sure are that it is 100% merino and also definitely not superwash! Good thing Jen takes better care of her laundry than I do.

Believe it or not, I have actually been knitting on other projects as well. Here is Brad (Kaylee's son) modeling the finished Fair Isle hat.
As you can see, it stretched out some during blocking. I sent it off to Jen for design approval but it is definitely tooooo big. Everyone at Penwick Stables loved the design so she is sending it back and I will be knitting a smaller version in a variety of color combinations involving black, red and white which are the stable colors. It's a fun knit and will be a handy in-between kind of project.

I finished block #2 of the Great American Afghan but I don't seem to have a picture of it yet. Still haven't finished the duplicate stitch and the socks for block #1 and now it is almost time to start #3. Yikes! Will I ever catch up? Also need to get to work on the Marvelous Mitts as well as figuring out what to do with all that sock yarn I bought at Stitches. Oh well, for now I think it is time for bed. I have been out and about all day and I am still sleep deprived from the last couple of days. Talk to you again soon. Hopefully, it won't take 3 weeks the next time.

Celtic Adventures

2008-03-09T17:22:00.002-07:00

As some of you may have realised, or having read my blog from the beginning already known, I love all things Celtic and I love Renaissance type fairs. Today, I got to combine those two loves when I attended the 22nd annual Sonora Celtic Festival. It seemed a little strange that it was called the 22nd Annual Sonora Fair since every time I had attended it in the past, it had been held in Angels Camp! However, it turns out that Sonora is where it started and Sonora is apparently where it will continue from this year forward.

The Mother Lode Fairgrounds is considerably smaller than the one in Angels Camp but that was kind of nice. It made for a more compact setup with a lot less walking involved. It will take some time before folks figure out where everything is but from my point of view, that is not all bad. I actually had no problem at all getting a seat at the Black Irish Band and Tempest shows and let me tell you, this is not often the case. I think there were 10 bands performing in all, as well as 3 pipe bands performing on the grounds. There were English Country Dancers (the Merrye Prankstyrs) and I also watched some Irish and Scottish Dancing. I always love wandering around and looking at the handmade items from soap, to pottery, to ironware made by Michael the Blacksmith. There were also kilts, plenty of Celtic inspired jewelry, t-shirts, swords and bucklers (for both grownup kids and littl'uns), and music playing everywhere. Of course, all the bands had their CDs for sale but there was also a fellow playing the hammered dulcimer and another playing an instrument I had never seen before. I should have asked what it was. He used a bow like a violin but it had wooden keys that he pressed to change chords as well. Very strange looking it was but a lovely mournful sound it produced.

And of course, there were plenty of re-enactors. There were several modern clans in attendance but there were also plenty of guilds demonstrating everything from royalty, to ironwork, making of shields, and everything else. The demonstration I always like is done by Alex. I wish I knew his last name and guild affiliation. He puts on a demo where he gets dressed bit by bit in everything a Scot would have worn back in the 16th century. He explains that the kilt (which we all see the warriors wearing in every Scottish melodrama) would never have been worn in war as it was far too valuable. Sheep were not yet in Scotland and wool was very dear. Not only that, it might take your woman a year or two to weave that piece of fabric and woe betide the man who came home with a sword thrust thru it. Alex is one of the few people who can take history and make it interesting without going over the top to dumb it down and make it into "entertainment". Whenever possible, I try to catch his demonstrations at the smaller fairs.

Well, that's all for now. I will try to get some knitting pictures up this week. I finished the Fair Isle hat and also block number two of the Great American Afghan. Both of them need blocking to finish them off and I need to send the hat to New Jersey to have Jen determine any fit problems before I make more in the stable colors. Bye for now.

As promised, goodies from Stitches

2008-03-01T14:07:00.002-08:00

Never let it be said that I don't honor my promises. I might be a little late but it does eventually get done. I had a wonderful time at Stitches. If you have never been and you get the opportunity, you have to jump on it! This was my second time and it was just as good or better than my first. I took 3 classes: Forgotten Meshes with Ruth Lantz, Celtic Cables with Melissa Leapman, and Russian Style Continental Knitting with Galeena Khmerleva (sp?) I would highly recommend any one of these instructors. Ruth has a 3 hr class just on cast ons and another class on various methods of binding off. They are definitely on my agenda as possibles for next year. Melissa was marvelous despite being sick as a dog and I absolutely love homework assignment number 3. As a matter of fact, I think it is going to end up being a square in my Great American Afghan. There are a couple of squares in the pattern that I am not that fond of so this will be a great substitute. I will try to get a picture once I finish it and block it. Galeena was a wonderful surprise. I had heard she was good and she was but I hadn't heard what a sly sense of humor she has. She was wonderful and I would love to take a lace class from her.

Okay, okay! Enough with the typing and on to the pictures. Market preview on Thursday night cost me a lot of money. So what else is new? My first purchase was at Woolstock, the same place where I found my wonderful Noro Kureyon last year. This year I found a bag of 10 balls of Muskat. They tell me it is a cotton but I can't read the label. It is absolutely gorgeous and even though I have no idea what it will become, I simply had to have it.
Don't you agree? It's just luscious!

Then it was on to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. They had a huge line of people buying Socks that Rock and I had to jump on that bandwagon too. After all, everybody who is everybody has knit with Socks that Rock, haven't they? I ended up with a heavyweight skein in a colorway called Rare Gems. Apparently, Rare Gems are colorways that don't meet the approval of the dyer and will, therefore, never be repeated. She may not have liked it but I sure do. What do you think?

For someone who claims she is not a sock knitter, I seem to have ended up with a lot of sock yarn. Ergo: this yummy sock yarn from Full Thread Ahead. Actually, that is its name, "Yummy", and it is a special edition colorway available only at Stitches this year.

It suits its name, don't you think? It wasn't until Sunday that I decided what to do with it. I recently bought a pattern called Marvelous Mitts by Karendipity who is on Etsy It calls for a solid color yarn knit with a variegated yarn as background to make these gorgeous Fair Isle fingerless mitts. I finally decided that a Royal Blue Koigu would really make them pop! Am I right?

The acquisition of sock yarn continued! I attended the student banquet on Saturday night and came home with two skeins which were donated by the sponsors of Stitches. Here is Wool in the Woods Cherub in the colorway Birches. I saw a sample of it knitted up into a sock and it really does look like birchbark.

And then there is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in the color Sunburst. Definitely out of my normal color selection but absolutely gorgeous!

Finally on Sunday I returned one last time to the Beehive. I kept finding myself at this shop all through the show and I knew I had to make a purchase there. After all, the shop is in Victoria BC, the Handmaiden yarn is dyed in Vancouver and the Fleece Artist yarn is dyed in Nova Scotia. Have I mentioned before that I am a Canadian? You see why I absolutely had to have some yarn from this shop. Here is Casbah, an 80% merino, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon blend. It is soooooo soft. Once again, I don't know what it is going to be but it feels sooo good it deserves two pictures.

The second one is probably closest to the actual color.

Incredibly, I didn't buy a single book or pattern this year. I guess that is because I already have so much on my plate already. But watch out next year!

My Cocoa Swap package came!

2008-02-27T17:55:00.002-08:00

My swap partner Michelle spoiled me rotten. Here is what I found waiting on the doorstep for me yesterday. The first thing I saw when I opened the box was a sock pattern called Butterflies & Blossoms. It reminds me very much of spring. How did my partner know I just bought a whole lot of sock yarn at Stitches? Here is everything as it came out of the box. I was too excited to take pictures systematically as I opened things.

Can you see my new buddy Blue Beard? Here's a better picture of him sitting with my new hot chocolate mug.
Isn't he adorable? I just love him and so does everybody at Hooks & Needles Yarn Shop. Michelle also sent me gorgeous stitch markers and a nice spring like note card.

There was lots of hot chocolate, several flavors from Hershey and a can of Green & Black Organic Hot Chocolate that is made from bittersweet chocolate. I am really looking forward to trying that one.

I love wolves and here they are on a dark chocolate bar with cranberries and almonds, two of my favorites. There was also a very cute nail file.

And last, but by no means least, were the knitting goodies.

A cute little lamb measuring tape, Chibis (always very useful and I didn't have this size), stitch markers and ... Cherry Tree Hill Yarn in the absolute perfect colors for me! There was a lot of Cherry Tree Hill at Stitches but I didn't buy any. Maybe fate was trying to tell me I already had some coming. Thank you so much Michelle. This was an absolutely fabulous swap package. I hope your swap pal spoiled you rotten too.

Off to Stitches!

2008-02-21T06:54:00.002-08:00

I can't believe it is finally here. Didn't sleep worth a darn last night worrying about whether I packed everything I needed for class and clothes. Got the car filled up, washed (it is now raining of course!), went to the laundromat to dry my clothes since my dryer decided that heat was an unnecessary extravagance and then went off to Girls Night Out to sort out my knitting bag, work on GAA and on the socks. Oh yes, I also made sure that my neighbor knows I am expecting my swap package so it won't have to sit on my porch and wait for me to come home.

I did promise to post pictures of Harry and also the wristwarmers so, better late than never, here they are.

Here is Harry holding the bag containing Emily's fox stitchmarkers.
and here's a picture of him all wide-eyed in his new home in Toronto. I hope he is staying warm!

Unfortunately, you can't see the Celtic knot on the picture of the wristwarmers. I guess I am going to have to knit a solid color pair so you can see the details.
Jen says she loves them and so does everyone else who has seen them. Hope they aren't getting any bright ideas that I might be making more to send back east!

Last but not least, here is the progress on the Great American Afghan, block #1. Already I am learning lots of new skills, not the least of which is duplicate stitch. By the time I finish all 20 letters (socks x 4) I should be an expert.

Okay, my snooze alarm has just gone off for the 3rd time so it is time to hit the shower and then hit the road. Hopefully, I will see some of you at Stitches. It is going to be a blast!

My swap partner got her package!

2008-02-19T09:53:00.002-08:00

Was thrilled to receive a note from Emily today as she let me know she received her Mmm...Hot Cocoa swap package. Since I still haven't managed to post a picture of Harry, swing on over to her blog to check him out. She got a great picture of him and he is oh so cute even if I do say so myself.

Still waiting for my package :-( About a week and a half ago, my partner got in touch and said my buddy was almost finished but I haven't heard anything since. Hopefully he will arrive soon since I don't want him to have to wait on the porch while I am off at Stitches.

I am still working on the first square for the Great American Afghan Tink-a-long LOL the knitting itself went reasonably smoothly but duplicate stitch is something new to me and it is taking more concentration than expected. I only have 1 1/2 letters done with 18 1/2 more to go! Yikes. Will try to post a picture of the square when it is done. I am also working on Jen's socks. I have turned the heel on the second one and have two repeats of the pattern done on the leg. On the first one, I did 10 repeats on the leg, went up a needle size, did 5 more repeats and need to go up in needle size again to finish it off. It's a knee sock so the increase in needle size is to make it fit over the calf. Hope it works. At least I shouldn't suffer from second sock syndrome since they are both in progress at the same time, right?

Time to get to the laundry and do some housework. I spent the last two days in San Francisco and am heading to Stitches on Thursday so I suppose I should work part of the time even though this is my vacation week. Take care everyone, have a great week.

Ta da!

2008-02-09T11:02:00.001-08:00

Well, it was supposed to be Ta Da! with pictures but the camera is not cooperating. Since my last post worrying about all the WIPs not making any progress, I have actually finished two, count 'em two, projects. Harry the Hedgehog went into the mail yesterday, heading for a climate completely foreign to him. Snow is not something we find down here although it is not all that far away. On the same day I completed Harry, I also completed Jen's wristwarmers. They too went in the mail yesterday, along with a bunch of horse stuff, clothes etc to the tune of 40 pounds!! Yikes, I knew that box was heavy but ... I mailed two items yesterday and it cost me over $60. Oh well, job security, right?

Those two items were both finished on Thursday so on Friday I got brave and ripped out about 15 rows on the sock with the too short gusset. Got the gusset finished yesterday and started the short rows this morning to turn the heel but I have mangled something, not sure what. My plan for today is to figure out the problem, fix it, then finish at least as far as the heel flap before switching over to the first square of the Great American Afghan. Yessss, you knew I would have to join in on that as well, didn't you? For right now, I am watching the store for Kaylee while she attends her son's soccer game. Time to get to work. Hopefully, I will be able to update this post with pictures later today once Kaylee arrives. Have a great weekend!

WIPs, WIPs and more WIPs

2008-02-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

And not a finished object in sight, sigh.... I decided it was time to take stock of just what I had on the needles and to try to figure out just why I wasn't making any progress on anything. Of course, the fact that I was sick for nearly 3 weeks and that work has been crazy since before Christmas might have something to do with it but I think the following pictures might be more to the truth of it.

First off, I have Jen's socks The pattern is Loopy Laces designed by Wendy Johnson and the yarn is from the Coffee Swap 3 package I got from Gil This particular sock is waiting for a needle that I ordered from KnitPicks on a friends order. The order seems to be lost so currently the sock is in limbo. Why am I waiting on another needle? I wanted to do knee socks so I needed to increase the diameter of the sock in order to fit over the calf. I didn't want to change the pattern so ... Larger needle, larger diameter, right? Hopefully it will work out. The second sock is also in limbo at the moment because I got over cocky and figured I could knit while watching TV. I did the increases for the gusset but when I looked at the pattern again for the heel turn directions I discovered I had increased on every row instead of every other row for the gusset. Haven't yet been brave enough to just rip back to the appropriate spot and I am too lazy to tink back that many rows. Jen just may get these socks sometime in July at this rate. Hopefully, she will think they were worth the wait.

My Spring Shawl Surprice designed by Lul is languishing on Clue 1 while others have already completed Clue 5. Why, you ask? I have a couple of errors in a complex row and all I need to do is tink back one whole row and start over but there are a few other projects that have taken priority. Not to worry, I will eventually get back to it but for my current lace fix there is ....

Secret of the Stole II. I thought I was going to keep up on this one. I was actually several rows in to Clue 2 when I discover a dropped stitch about 10 rows back. Kaylee from Hooks and Needles Yarn Shop is convinced I can just drop down a section of stitches and reknit that section back up again. I haven't felt clearheaded enough to do that yet so this project sits in timeout as well. (Did I mention I have been working 10 hour days and that my day starts at 1 am? That explains the lack of clearheadedness if you know what I mean.)

The project voted most likely to actually reach the finished state sometime in the near future is a pair of wristwarmers for Jen. In fact, she was asking about a projected finish date when I talked to her yesterday since "my arms are cold out here Mom!" You can't really see the details in the picture due to a combination of flash and the color pattern but there is a lovely Celtic knot on the back of the wrist. The second one is now several rows farther along than shown in the picture. I think I am about halfway through the knot. Since I have a limited amount of this yarn, I am waiting to see how the second one turns out before finishing off the first one. Thank goodness for KnitPicks options. I can just leave the first one on the cable while using the size 4 tips for the second project.

Oops, can't forget Harry the Hedgehog. He is for my Cocoa Swap partner. We have to make a Winter Blah Buster Buddy for our partner and I think he will fill the bill. He has been the quickest project so far. I started him last Tuesday and felted him last night. Now my only worry is whether he will dry in time to be stuffed and mailed off next week.

Then there is Jeannie. This is a gorgeous pattern but my lavender yarn just doesn't want to play. I have been having a terrible time finding out what this yarn wants to be. It is lovely to knit with but I just haven't found the right project. The unfortunate thing is that it is supposed to be for a birthday present the end of this month but I don't think it is going to happen. Anyone have any suggestions? It is a lovely merino laceweight hand dyed by Royal Hare in Santa Rosa, CA.

This gorgeous Panda cotton is just waiting to be made into a herringbone dishcloth. Oh, and the Lily Chin Mock Cable scarf has been my in car project since last March. And there is the top down raglan I am supposed to be working on and .... Well, you get the picture. It is time to get my buns (or fingers I guess it should be) in gear and finish some of these darn works in progress. After all, Kaylee is starting a KAL for the Great American Afghan soon. I can't skip that bandwagon, can I? Hmm, I wonder what color scheme I should use ....

Secret of the Stole Clue 1 Completed

2008-01-25T20:12:00.000-08:00

It looks like DK's designs are the only ones I will ever be able to keep up with on a knitalong. I actually had this finished by Monday but only just now managed to catch a picture of it thanks to Julie. What do you think?

I love this yarn and so far the pattern has been very easy. I just looked at Clue 2 and it looks like we are now straightening out into the rectangular stole I was expecting.

On other fronts, the Spring Shawl Surprice is still sitting in timeout. No, it is not really that ill behaved but I messed up on a row near the end of Clue 1 and by the time I found my problem with it I was too deeply involved in other projects to pick it back up. Work has been crazy so I am very tired and this stole requires serious concentration. I need to get back to it before I am so far behind that I give up in frustration. Still haven't got those pictures of the cashmere swatch washed and unwashed but let me tell you, the difference is amazing.

Started a pair of wristwarmers for Jen on Tuesday. They are very cool with a celtic knot on the back of the wrist. Will have to find the link to the pattern so I can give credit to the designer. Still haven't finished her socks. I got overconfidant the other night, so proud of myself for being able to watch TV and knit on the sock. I finished the increases for the gusset and was re-reading the directions for turning the heel when I discovered I had increased for the gusset on every row instead of every other row. Dang! Another project goes in to the frog pond.

I need to get to work on my blah-buster buddy for the Hot Cocoa Swap. I have my stitch markers, yarn and cocoa for my buddy already. Have a couple more things on order but have to get knitting on the little buddy. Yikes, how did I get myself involved with soooooo many WIPs? Hopefully, I will have some finished objects soon that I can show you. For now, it's off to bed so I can get up at midnight to go to work. Take care all.

More Homework for Cocoa Swap Blog

2008-01-16T07:32:00.000-08:00

Who knew that being in the Cocoa Swap was going to provide so much blog fodder. I don't even have to think up a topic so I can post LOL Here is the current question:

Now that we're in the thick of 'Winter'... has your knitting changed to match the season? Are you moving on from dishcloths, and tank tops to afghans, hats and mittens? Has your yarn changed from silk or cotton to wool, superwash or heavier cottons?

Hmm, that is a very good question. I have knitted a hat and a scarf in the past month, which is something I don't usually do. (actually the hat was crocheted but it looked knitted). However, this wasn't really because I am in the thick of winter but because my daughter is. I think the week that I sent her the care package, the temperature was about 9 degrees Fahrenheit in New Jersey. That is the one advantage to having her move to cold climates. At least I know that the lovely knitted creations I am making for her will get used. Not much use for thick warm hats, scarves etc here in California since we are both rather warm-blooded. We both hate the heat which is rather ironic since we live (or lived for her) in the central valley which can be exceedingly warm. I am working on some wool socks for her using the gorgeous hand dyed merino I received from my swap partner in the Coffee Swap and next week I am taking a class on wristwarmers that have a gorgeous Celtic knot on the back of the wrist. So, yes, I guess you could say I am sort of in winter mode.

However, my other projects are all lace as they have been since I got hooked on mystery stole knitalongs this past summer with Mystery Stole 3. My first two lace stoles were gifts to others. The next two are intended to be for me. I started the Spring Shawl Surprice just yesterday and clue 3 came out yesterday as well. Secret of the Stole II starts soon, sometime this week, can't remember exactly when at the moment.

The Spring Shawl Surprice is being knitted in 100% cashmere from Colourmart in the color Glacier. I actually managed to knit up two swatches so I could see side by side the difference between the washed and unwashed cashmere. Let me tell you, it is unbelievable. I will hopefully have pictures by the end of the week so I can show you too.

Sooooo tired of being sick!

2008-01-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

Anybody else out there got the crud that never ends? I am sure there are plenty, I hear it is going round. I have basically been sick since about 3 days before Christmas. I spent 6 days at home starting Christmas Day hoping to kick it quick but it didn't work. Saturday I left work after an hour and a half. As I have mentioned before, I have a very physical job. When you are breaking out in a huge sweat just from inserting labels in trays, you shouldn't be there. The only reason I went in at all was because we had had 3 sick calls the day before and I didn't want to leave them even more short-handed. Two of those folks came back on Saturday so I bailed after doing the initial sweep.

Not only does the crud make it hard to work, I can't seem to knit! (much worse in my opinion) Clue 3 of the Spring Shawl Surprice comes out tomorrow and I haven't even started Clue 1 yet! Not to mention the fact that Secret of the Stole II starts on Friday and I have socks on the needles as well as a stole that is supposed to be a birthday present for the end of February. I don't think it is going to happen.

I did manage to attend a get-together today of a bunch of us who used to work at the Modesto REC. We had to keep adding chairs to the table since the initial estimate was for 10 people and I think we ended up with over 20. It was nice to visit with folks I hadn't seen in the last several months. Everybody seems to be adapting, though only one of the folks who has to commute to San Jose was able to make it which gives an idea of how exhausting the communte is. Later on, I met my LYS friends to go see "The Bucket List". Isn't it amazing how the movies that get the worst reviews are the ones you like the best? It was a great movie but I hadn't planned on the whole group of us being in tears at the end. Go check it out, after all any movie with both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman can't be all bad.

Haven't decided yet whether I am going to return to work today. I guess it will depend on whether I manage to get any sleep tonight. I am definitely making a doctor's appointment today though I don't know whether there is anything they can do for me. I have a feeling that plenty of rest is probably what they will say. Do you think they can write a prescription for that so I can stay home from work? It sure would be nice.

Ohh, one last thing. I did at least manage to get a couple of swatches knit in the cashmere but I still haven't washed one yet. I am dying to see how it changes once the oil is washed out. Will post pictures once I get it done.

Hot Cocoa Swap Scavenger Hunt

2008-01-07T15:33:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, looks like this swap plans on putting us to work. LOL Time to go searching through some blogs to find answers to the following questions. Wow, I have some serious multiples here, going to cut down since there are so many people playing.

1. Who's favorite animal is an Otter? Criquette
2. Name someone who prefers whipped cream with their hot cocoa Just about every one I have read! specifically Debbie W if I have to pick just one
3. Find 3 people who live outside of the United States Tricia R, Maria M, Lyndsey-Jane C, Lesley, Janice, Clarissa R oops, that is WAY more than 3
4. Name a fan of Harry Potter Heather V
5. Name someone who crochets Nicole D
6. Name someone who DOES NOT have a healthy supply of notions Sarah R
7. Name someone who has NOT put up their questionnaire yet (just put a date with your answer in case they put it up after seeing their name listed somewhere ;-) )Emily H-K, Sarah G, Rhonda C, Rhoda G, Natalie M(1/7/08)
8. Who likes to have Kahlua, Baileys, or Peppermint Schnapps in their cocoa? Rachel C Paula B-E
9. Name someone who knits fingerless gloves as a 'quick knit' Tanya M
10.Name someone who's looking forward to gardening this spring. Sarah J, Rachel S Michelle J
11.Who's favorite way to drink cocoa is with a gorgeous Frenchman, while overlooking the eiffel tower from a French Cafe? (I'm right there with you... well at the table next to yours!) Kris L
12.Name someone who's favorite animal is NOT a dog or house cat Sharon K Rachel S Rachel C
13. Name someone who's favorite treat is NOT chocolate. Tricia R Patty R
14. Who plays Candyland? Criquette
15. Name someone who DOESN'T get the winter blahs
Patty R, Mel B

Well, I have made it through most of the blogs and there are multiple answers for nearly every question (especially if I add drinking cocoa with a gorgeous Frenchman to my list LOL) Stopped posting the multiples after a while but it has been fun getting to know some of our fellow participants in the upcoming fun.

Hot Cocoa Swap Questionnaire

2008-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Let the fun begin! Here are my answers to the cocoa swap questionnaire.

Cocoa:
1. What is your favorite way to drink cocoa? Prepared with milk? Water? from home made recipe or store bought?, In a tea cup, or big mug?

I love to drink my cocoa (or tea or whatever) in a big mug so I can wrap my hands around it and warm them up. I usually use a storebought mix with water cuz I am always in a hurry and too lazy to make up my own stuff LOL I do like chocolate with peppermint so the addition of Peppermint Schnappes as mentioned on a couple of other blogs sounds good. Wait...I think I have that recipe in a book my mom gave me. I think it is called a Ski Jump.

2. Marshmallows or whipped cream?

Definitely with whipped cream, the more, the better. When asked whether I want whipped cream on cocoa or a mocha, my answer is "Why else would I be ordering?"

Yarn/Knitting/Crochet

1. What is your favorite type of yarn? In what colors?

Hmmm, favorite yarn ... I love soft squishy merino, or anything that is super soft. Been knitting quite a bit of lace lately but I am starting to get into socks and would like to do another sweater one of these days. I love deep blues, turquoise, teal, purple, green. You know, those jewel tones.

2. Do you knit or crochet (or both)?

I am definitely a knitter. I did learn to crochet a hat just recently but I prefer to knit.

3. What are your favorite type of needles, would you like to try something new?

Love, love, love KnitPicks options but I am open to trying something in wood.

4. Do you have a healthy supply of notions?

Can you ever have enough notions? I can never find my tape measure or my scissors. I have plenty of the Clover closed stitch markers but can always use more locking ones or just some decorative ones.

5. What one thing do you keep thinking you need to buy for your knitting habit (outside of yarn)?

One of those katcha,katcha stitch counters or some way to corral my needles.

6. What is your favorite 'quick knit/crochet' pattern (quick gratification)

For a quick knit gift, I like to do the dropstitch scarf. Only takes a couple of hours but impresses the heck out of non-knitters.

Miscellaneous

1. What is your favorite thing to do in the Winter?

I love to read, mysteries particularly. Especially if they are knitting or needlework mysteries. I also love going to plays.

2. What is your favorite animal?

Hands down, I love horses. But don't tell my two long-haired kitties that. They are also not fond of the fact that I love dogs.

3. Do you get the 'winter blahs'?

Sometimes.

4. What is your favorite way to beat the blahs?

Don't know that I have a favorite. Spending time with friends (especially if they are knitting too) or going to the movies ... Talking to my daughter who recently moved all the way across the country.

5. What is the thing you are most looking forward to this spring?

The smell of spring, everything turning green and fresh but it is not too hot yet. I hate high temps, crazy considering where I live.

6. What are your favorite treat?

Chocolate!!! Particularly dark though I love Ferrero Roche. I guess any kind of chocolate mixed with nuts or chewy stuff!

7. What is your favorite board game?

Used to play a mean game of Backgammon many long years ago but don't have the opportunity these days. I also like Trivial Pursuit. It is amazing what little tidbits are stored away in the old brain.

8. Do you have any children (furry or human)?

One daughter who recently moved to New Jersey to take a job working with horses. The good thing about that is now I have a place where my knitted items will actually be used since it is plenty cold there. I also have two long haired kitties who love to lie in the way while I am knitting.

9. Do you have any allergies or special considerations your partner should know about?

None regarding fiber, treats or animals. I do have to say I am kinda allergic to novelty yarns though.

Okay, I think that answers all the questions. If my secret pal should want to know more, just drop me a line or leave me a comment on my blog. Looking forward to this swap. It's gonna be fun!

It's lace knitalong time again!

2008-01-02T11:20:00.000-08:00

Well, the knitting frenzy has started again. The Spring Shawl Surprice (sic) knitalong started on the first and Secret of the Stole II starts on January 18th. I have included a button on the sidebar for SotS-ii. There is still time to sign up for that. DK runs a great KAL and there are always lots of cool prizes, both for completion and for just plain being in the group. This stole calls for earthy colors. Do you think that Zephyr Marine Blue qualifies? Water is of the earth, right?

I don't have a button yet for the Spring Shawl Surprice but I will try to find one soon. Signups for this KAL close next Monday I think. I think Lul, the designer, said signups would close before the second clue. I have some cashmere ordered from Colourmart for that one. Methinks both of these stoles are going to be mine, all mine!!! I started Jeanie yesterday for a birthday gift. I am going to have to get it in gear for that one. So far, each row is taking me about 25 minutes! Knitting and purling through the back loop is rather time consuming for me, especially with lace weight yarn. Still, it will be gorgeous when it is done.

Bad timing!

2007-12-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

If you have read my blog before, you have probably figured out that I enjoy attending (and working at) Renaissance Faires. For the last couple of years, I have mainly concentrated on the multi-weekend Northern California Renaissance Faire but in the past, I have also attended some of the smaller weekend faires. When you work or volunteer at one of these faires, you don't just dress up and show up. You need to have some training to help create the illusion for the paying customers. The big faires put on their own workshops during the month before faire opens but for the little guys, something else is needed. That something is often the Renaissance Symposium, a weekend in February where Bill Watters and his merry crew organize a weekend of workshops where you can learn everything from English Country Dance, BFA (Basic Faire Accent), and songs of the times, all the way to swordfighting! It's a great opportunity to meet new people, learn new skills and catch up with all your friends from the faire world. I have had the opportunity to attend twice and loved it both times.

Now for the bad timing... When I received the email notice of the dates for the Symposium this year, I was dismayed to find that it fell on the same weekend as Stitches West. For you non-knitters out there, Stitches is a huge ... actually ginormous ... hmmm, how would you describe it? There are fashion shows, classes by some of the top knitters and designers in the country, a trade show with vendors from all over the world ... Last year I was able to fondle yarn from Australia, Ireland, Canada, and Alaska as well as see all the newfangled gadgets and oldfangled knickknacks we all love to covet. Do you get the impression that Stitches is kinda huge and a lot of fun? Anyway, I had already signed up for classes on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday but I figured that maybe I could catch up on some Ren stuff on Friday since I was going to be in the Bay Area anyway that weekend. But nooooo... In the latest email I received, I find the Symposium is going to be in Modesto this year. In my own backyard!!! and I am going to be in the Bay Area that weekend. Dang it! Oh well, I will have a great time at Stitches and hopefully next year, I will be able to attend the Symposium again.

In the meantime, I hope you all had a wonderful holiday week. Although I was home sick for most of the week, it meant I got a lot done on the sock I started. Yes, I did say sock. You knew I was going to have to get dragged on to that bandwagon too, didn't you? Hopefully I will have pictures for the next post. Till then, take care.

My swap package finally came!!

2007-12-16T10:07:00.000-08:00

Well, actually it arrived a few days ago but it took me a while to get pictures since I sent my camera to New Jersey with Jen and then it took me a while longer to actually get around to posting. Speaking of which, it seems there is a great lull in the land of blogging. Everyone seems to be spending their time knitting and getting ready for Christmas! Even the Harlot has gone from posting every day to more sporadic posts while she frantically tries to keep up with Lene's Schedule. I am sure she will get everything done, hopefully with a little time for sleep.

Anyways, back to my package! Here is an overall picture of the goodies.
As I mentioned on the Coffeeswap blog, Gill mailed this package back when we were still in Halloween mode as per the jack-o-lantern goodies. She also sent me a lovely coffee mug which I used the other day at my LYS Hooks and Needles. She sent me six (six!) different flavors of coffee from Whittard of Chelsea since I didn't really have a preference when I filled out the questionnaire. Haven't yet had a chance to try them but I am thinking that when I finish with this blog might be a good time. It looks like these products are now available in the US so maybe I will have a new favorite coffee since my little coffee shop, Wanderlust, has just closed :-(

Also in the package were some lovely Yorkshire Tea biscuits. Yummy! Actually, so yummy that the package in the picture is actually empty LOL Luckily I took them to Girls Night Out so I didn't actually eat ALL of them myself. There were two coffee scented candles, a knitted washcloth, coffee bean stitch markers and two beautiful beaded coasters! Gill, did you bead these yourself? They are gorgeous!

And of course, there was yarn. Two skeins of my favorite colors in what appears to be sock weight yarn. I am just going to have to take a break from knitting stoles and make me some socks one of these days soon.

In other news, I promised a picture of the koolaid dying experiment and the hat I learned to crochet. Here they both are together!

I know I had a picture of the yarn all balled up but darned if I can find it. It must be on Kaylee's computer. Not a very good picture of the hat but the scarf in progress is the Broken Rib pattern with random stripes of the red and white yarn set off by the black. The yarn is all Cascade 220 superwash. The hat was done with a J hook and the scarf is on size 10 1/2 needles with 21 stitches cast on. Hopefully I will get back to it soon so I can send it off to Jen in New Jersey where it will be put to very good use.

I seem to be in a bit of a knitting funk lately after the big push to finish Secret of the Stole. I guess I am burned out. Hope to get my knitting mojo back soon as there are at least two stole KAL starting in January and I need to finish another one by the end of February. I don't think I will finish Mystic Waters though. It is a lovely stole but it just isn't calling to me. I will have to wait and see just what that lovely Zephyr Marine yarn wants to be. In the meantime, maybe it is time for me to dig out those sock patterns I got from Loopy Ewe and get to work. Just in case I go on hiatus like everyone else, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Just a quick note

2007-12-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to put up a quick picture of my finished Secret of the Stole.

Isn't it gorgeous? It blocked out to about 16" x 80", big enough even for me to wear but I won't be. It is a birthday gift for a friend who is turning one of those decade birthdays next year. I absolutely loved working on it, learning new techniques and talking to people all over the world. Thanks DK for a wonderful knitalong. I am already signed up for SotSII.

Time for a nap. I have a concert to attend tonight and tomorrow I am going to see Evita. Jam packed weekend and so far no sleep. Will update you later on the festivities and next week I will try to post pictures of the yarn I dyed yesterday and the hat I learned to crochet today (well, attempted to learn, anyway). Catch you later.

Happy happy, joy joy

2007-11-29T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yep, you guessed it! My new computer has arrived. Actually, it arrived two days ago and it has taken this long for me to clear a spot and get it set up. Still have a couple of glitches, no speakers yet and danged Clearwire won't stay hooked up long enough and fast enough for all the LiveUpdate stuff to download. I am thinking that this live update is to cover all the virus scan and other security stuff and since I definitely need it ( ie: since virus killed (so to speak) old computer), I am hoping that I can get that working sometime tonight.

Actually, the new computer is not the only cause for joy. I have heard from Jen and she is deliriously happy in her new job. She was working the day she arrived despite having been up about 24 hours and being sick with sore throat, stuffy nose etc. By day 2 (actually about 18 hrs after she got there) she was up early, feeding, graining, turning out, cleaning stalls and all that good stuff before she had a lesson with one of the two trainers. She proclaimed it amazing and when I got an update from her today on her lesson with the other trainer, it was fabulous! I am so glad she has found a place with two amazing teachers. She should be able to learn a lot and I am sooooo jealous. Oh well, guess I will have to live vicariously through her.

The other cause for joy is the completion and blocking of Secret of the Stole. It is currently drying over at the shop. Kaylee got some pictures yesterday but we haven't had a chance to upload them yet. That is on the agenda for tomorrow since I will be over there to attend a KoolAid yarn dying class. Sounds like fun, don't you think? I am really looking forward to it. Then on Saturday, I am finally going to take the plunge and learn to crochet. Hmm, sounds like a couple more bandwagons to me. I knew the name of this blog was appropriate.

Will post more soon, hopefully with pictures this time. Have two more fun activities planned this weekend so will fill you in later. Bye for now.

Still no computer :-(

2007-11-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

Well, I still have no computer but I did order a brand new one just the other day. Hopefully it will arrive soon and I can stop bugging Kaylee to use the computer at the yarn shop. I promised big news so here it is. Jen is moving to New Jersey!! She leaves on Monday for her dream job of working with horses. She will be working for a three day event trainer in northern New Jersey. The place is called Penwick Stable and the pictures look fabulous. I am so jealous that she is going to have a white Christmas and ... she is only 1 1/2 hrs from New York City. I would love to visit the city at Christmas and see the Radio City Rockettes and all the fabulous Christmas windows at Macy's and other stores. Maybe I will see if I can get a few days off early in January to go visit. If not, I plan to head for the east coast in September and by then she should know where everything is. LOL

The last clue for Secret of the Stole came out today. It has been such a fun knit and the pattern is fabulous. I will try to post pictures sometime next week. DK is already planning a second mystery stole and I have signed up for the new group already. Anyway, time to run for now. Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and found lots of things on sale if you dared to venture out on Black Friday.

Sick computer = no fun!

2007-11-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of updates lately but my computer is suffering from a nasty virus so I have to borrow the computer at the yarn shop (Thanks, Kaylee!)I have so much email I need to look at, don't know when I will catch up. Anyway, week 7 of Secret of the Stole is underway and I am still up to date. Can you believe that? I can't! Here is a picture of the completed week 6 clue.
The stole is getting very long. I am beginning to wonder just where the heck I am going to block it.

As I have mentioned (more than once, I am sure) we are having a contest at Hooks and Needles to help keep us on track with the Secret of the Stole. You don't have to finish the stole in order to win but the more rows you have knitted, the more tickets you have in the drawing. Being slightly competitive, I am trying hard to stay ahead of the game. We only have 4 of us currently in the drawing so the odds are pretty good. As you can see from the chart, I am just barely ahead of Robin in the knitting (non)race.

Last of all, for now, here is a picture of Kaylee, Robin and myself, all working on the SotS last night just before we walked next door to have dinner.

Robin was knitting while talking on the phone. Hope she didn't find any errors like I did this morning when I started back on the next row! Went forward 1 row and back 2 1/2! That's what I get for hurrying.

There is more big news coming that has nothing to do with knitting and I will try to post it soon but for now ... it's time to get back to working on SotS. Have fun everyone.

Secret of the Stole Update

2007-11-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I am actually caught up on a knitalong. I finished Clue 4 of Secret of the Stole on Wednesday but I am just now getting around to posting the picture. I had to post it so I can enter the completion drawing over on the SotS KAL. After all, what are the odds I will ever be caught up again since I am working on that KAL, the Mystic Waters KAL and have just started on a top down raglan sweater for myself in my MJC knitting class. Never content to do just a plain jane version, I am adding a cable along the v-neck. It is kinda funky since I have to increase along the neck edge and that means moving the cable over each time I do. It loses a little definition that way but hey, it's for me and I happen to think it looks okay the way it is.

Oh yes, Secret of the Stole. I had hoped to post pictures of everyone who is entered in the contest at Hooks and Needles but I haven't had a chance to catch up with everyone. In the meantime, here is my stole at the end of clue 4. It is knit in KnitPicks Shadow Campfire Heather on size 5 Options needles.

This is not a very good picture but I was in a hurry to snap a photo while my camera's battery kept dying out. Here is a pic of the center detail. Will try and get some better shots soon.

Here's a shot of the first 60 rows of Mystic Waters. This one is for me, not only because of the color and the work involved but because my last name is Waters. Seems appropriate, no?

Time for bed now. I have been up since 1 am and I just ran out of gas. With luck, I will be able to post pictures of Kaylee's, Anita's and Robin's stoles tomorrow. Remember, if any of you are in the Oakdale/Modesto area, stop by the shop with your stole and get entered in the drawing for a $50 gift certificate. Bye for now.

Time to play catch-up

2007-10-27T12:23:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it has been two whole weeks since I last posted to this blog. Where has the time flown? There has been lots going on, that is for sure. First of all, if you noticed my previous entry, it was about Knitters Coffeeswap Three. Since posting my answers to all the questions about likes and dislikes in coffee and yarn, I was paired with my new swap pal, Gill from England. We have emailed back and forth and I think we have a pretty good idea what each other likes. She apparently has my package ready to go. I am still waiting on a couple of things to arrive in the mail before I put hers together.

Okay, what next? Well, I promised a picture of the MS3, all blocked out. Here you go.
I gave the stole to its intended recipient last Wednesday. Hope Sherri is enjoying it. Ron took a picture at the party so hopefully I will be able to share a picture of the stole being worn. Here's a shot of the detail from the pointed end.
I know it has taken me forever to post this picture but I really did block the stole only one day after the Yarn Harlot blocked hers. Doesn't that count for something? Of course, she knitted a dozen other items during the time it took me to knit only the shawl but after all, she is the Harlot and I am a humble beginner.

Hmmm, more questions I was supposed to answer. Despite the fact that those of you who voted on the poll about yarn for Secret of the Stole and Secret of Chrysopolis completely agreed with the way I thought the yarn choices should go .... I didn't do them that way. I found out that the intended recipient of SotS would more likely prefer the Campfire colorway so that is what I chose to use. Here is a very bad picture of me knitting at Girls Night Out at Hooks and Needles. If I look like I might be rather out of it, it could be because I had only had about 3 hrs sleep in the past 20.
Lord, that's an awful picture. Maybe if I show off the picture of the baby being slowly brainwashed into becoming a knitter ...
This is Emma and her mom Amanda. Emma is 6 weeks old and has been coming to the Girls Night Out for the past 6 months. Yes, you read that correctly. We are starting them in utero!

Oh, Secret of the Chrysopolis stole. No I haven't started it but I did get yarn for it at the TKGA show in Oakland a couple of weeks ago. Can't show you the pictures cuz it's a surprise. I was putting off the thought of this stole because it looks so complex but after seeing the picture here, I am thinking I am going to have to cast on soon. And as if that is not enough, I am signed up for two more mystery KALs. One of them is Mystic Waters, which started on Wednesday. I finally splurged and got some Zephyr in Marine Blue. This stole is going to be for me. The color is absolutely gorgeous. I hope to have some pictures to post soon. I also signed up for one more stole but this one doesn't start until January. It is called Spring Shawl Surprice and there is still plenty of time to sign up for this one. A great way to deal with those after Christmas blahs.

Well, if you are still reading by now, you are probably tired of my rambling and I don't blame you one bit. I promise to try to get back to posting on a more consistent basis. Right now, I am sitting at Hooks and Needles, watching the shop for owner Kaylee while she is off coaching soccer. I am so happy that I am enough of a regular at my LYS that she considers me trustworthy to keep an eye on the business while she has other obligations. Too cool!

Knitters' Coffeeswap Three

2007-10-13T05:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have done it. The reason I began this blog originally was to get involved in some of the cool swaps I have seen. I have joined my first swap and here are the questions I need to answer for it.

QUESTIONS
1. Whole bean or ground? I love the smell of freshly ground coffee so whole beans for me.
2. Fully-loaded or decaf? Fully-loaded, otherwise what's the point?
3. Regular or flavored? hmm, not yet a major coffee junky so I am willing to try a flavor or two, just recently tried Danish Pastry, it was yummy. However I have nothing against regular coffee.
4. How do you drink your coffee? with milk, actually preferably cream
5. Favorite coffee ever? don't have one yet
6. Are you fussy about your coffee or will any old bean do? again, not hardcore coffee junky so I am not terribly fussy, just as long as it is NOT Starbucks
7. Favorite treats to have with your coffee? chocolate, of course (cuz I don't think cheesecake travels well LOL)
8. Anything else about your coffee preferences? I haven't yet learned to like very dark roasts so a lighter roast for me, I think
9. Yarn/fiber you love? love superfine merino, also baby alpaca, anything soft and yummy
10. Yarn/fiber you hate? don't really hate anything but tired of novelty yarns.
11. What's on your needles? hmm, two mystery stoles (SotS and Secret of Chrysopolis), illusion scarf and a Lily Chin scarf ...
12. Favorite colors? love blue, green, purple, teal, those deep rich colors
13. Allergies? none that I know of, unless you are planning on sending penicillin ;-)
14. Anything you really love, really don't like, or just need to get off your chest? Not fond of orange and yellow colors, really love reading mysteries and attending Renaissance Faires, can't think of anything I need to get off my chest. Just excited about being matched up with a partner soon.

Okay, that does it for the swap questions. Now it is time to catch a nap and then head over to the last weekend of the Ren Faire. Next time I will try to post pictures of my finished Mystery Stole 3. Hooray!! It came out gorgeous and I am quite happy with my first major lace project. More details later. Have a great weekend.

This is fun, some might think it rather accurate as well.

2007-10-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

What kind of knitting needles are you?

You are interchangeable.Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every eventuality covered and every opportunity just has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and every day is a new beginning. You are good at so many things, it's amazing, but you can easily lose your place and forget to show up. They have row counters for people like you!
Take this quiz!

I know I already posted today but this was too cute. Is it accurate for you too?

Almost done with MS3! Now on to ....

2007-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am almost done, just 8 more rows to go. Of course, then I have to cast off, and oh yeah, have to block it.... But still, I am almost finished and so looking forward to seeing just how gorgeous this bundle of peacock Jaggerspun looks when it is blocked and then modelled, expecially with the beautiful copper swan pin I got from Romi.

I now need to figure out just which mystery stole to work on next. Secret of Chrysopolis is absolutely gorgeous but it is going to take some serious concentration. It started last week and the second clue came out today. Secret of the Stole started today and it looks like it will be slightly simpler in terms of concentration. This may be the one for me today since I need to be getting ready to head off to the Ren Faire for the weekend. Only one weekend left after this one. I will miss it, that's for sure.

As I am sure you may have noticed by now, I have finally figured out how to include links in my blog. No, not on my own, though it is so simple I should have been able to. Actually, it is thanks to Regina , another blogger who had contacted me to ask how to make buttons on your blog that would link to the appropriate website. I sent her the directions today, explaining that now all I wanted to know how to do was to include links. She sent me back a quick explanation and voila! Isn't it cool how we can help each other out even though we are on opposite sides of the country?

We're having a contest!

2007-10-02T11:19:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly me but I am sponsoring it. As you know, I have been babbling on for a while about Secret of the Stole. Believe it or not, I am still not positive which yarn I am going to use though I deeply appreciate you guys helping me out with votes and comments. Anyway, the contest. Several folks at our local yarn shop, Hooks & Needles, have already signed up to do the Secret of the Stole. I figured it would be fun (and motivational) to have a contest tied in to the KAL that would encourage us to keep on knittin'. Here's the deal: sign up for the Secret of the Stole KAL (knit-along, as if you didn't know) and then swing by the shop to brag about the progress you have made on the stole. For every 25 rows of the stole you complete, you get a raffle ticket. Then, on December 5, after all the clues are out and we could conceivably be finished with our stoles (snicker, snicker) we will have a drawing for a $50 Hooks & Needles gift certificate. Yes, you read that right. $50! to spend on gifts or on yourself, just in time for Christmas.

I realize this is very short notice, since you have to be signed up for the KAL by Thursday, Oct 4th and the KAL starts on Friday, Oct 5th. I would have posted it yesterday but we had a break-in and yesterday was spent dealing with the consequences. Depressing and boring stuff and I don't want to think about it anymore. I am currently scrambling to finish MS3 so I am start SotS (Secret of the Stole). Got 14 rows done already this morning but I still have another 30 to go. I will finish this thing, I will, I will, I will.... Have to because the recipient's birthday is coming up soon. I promise to post pictures before I give it away. Hopefully, I will even manage one modelled by a happy recipient.

Oops, back to the contest. In order to sign up for the KAL, you need to join the Yahoo group "Secret of the Stole". You can go to their site either by clicking on the SotS button on the left side of this blog or you can go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestole/ and sign up there. Hope to see lots of you bragging on your stole in the near future. It's gonna be fun!

What to do, what to do ....

2007-09-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I need your help. Finally got a bunch of pictures done today and I need to make some decisions. I have two new mystery knitalongs starting, one today and the other next Friday. Both are lace, both are stoles. The problem is, I have swatched for both stoles with two types of yarn. Now I want your opinion on which yarn to use for which stole. I think I have made the decision already but I am curious as to what others think.

The first stole is the Secret of Chrysopolis which started today. Too bad I am not yet finished MS3, I really should do that before starting something else, shouldn't I? Anyway, here are the swatches. Swatch #1 is done in Lane Borgosesia, color ecru on size 4 Knit Picks Harmony Options. I like this one a lot although the photo does not do it justice since it was not properly blocked.

Swatch #2 is done in Knit Picks Shadow, colorway Redwood Forest. This is also done on size 4 Knit Picks Harmony Options and this one was properly blocked. Well, at least relatively so.

Option #3 is also Knit Picks Shadow but done in the Campfire colorway, all other details the same. So, what do you think?

Of course, only three swatches would be too easy, don't you think? The other stole, starting next week, is Secret of the Stole. I think I already showed you the one swatch for that done in Lane Borgosesia but what the heck, you can never see enough pretty yarn, can you? Here is that swatch again.
My other swatch for Secret of the Stole is done in Knit Picks Shadow Redwood Forest. It is not properly blocked but you can see anyway. Do me a favor and please leave me a comment as to which yarn seems to cry out for which pattern. I think I already know but .... Oh, one more thing, I need to find beads for Secret of the Stole. I will find time somewhere for that, I hope. Maybe tomorrow at the TKGA show in Oakland. Hope to get a chance to do some shopping over there if I don't fall asleep between getting off work and getting my buns over there. More pictures coming in the not so distant future, I hope. Nap time now.

Update on stuff in general

2007-09-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

Hmm, seems like life has been very busy and yet I don't seem to be accomplishing much. I still have 10 rows to go on clue 6 (of 7) on MS3 and I have to get it done soon. Not only is the birthday it is intended to be a gift for coming up but Secret of Chrysopolis starts this Friday and Secret of the Stole starts next Friday. What was I thinking? I can't finish one stole during the summer with lots of time available and now I am signed up for two? Oh well, challenges make life interesting, don't you think?

One of the things that has been eating into knitting time is knitting related. Ravelry. If you already belong, you know what I mean. I think it was the Yarn Harlot who mentioned what a time-sucker that site could be. She was right! So many things to see and check out. I have posted a couple of projects and just a couple of yarns to my stash (stuff I already had pictures of since I haven't had time to take and download anymore). Two of my projects were adaptations of patterns from Exquisite Little Knits. When I couldn't find the projects already on Ravelry, I added them to the site. Wonder of wonders, I got an email asking if they could use my photos as featured photos of those patterns. How cool is that?

Work is going okay but just when I figure I am getting a particular job down pat, I manage to screw something up. No, it's not major or life-threatening but it is discouraging. Not only does it cause my partner to lose trust in my abilities, it causes me to doubt my abilities, bigtime! I am sure I beat myself up over these mistakes far more than I need to but it is frustrating. I am used to being able to do things and do them fairly well without having to doubt myself all the time. Oh well, I am sure things will get better with time.

On the Renaissance Faire front, Saturday was cancelled due to the major rainstorm that blew through. It rained so hard Friday night that water flowed into my daughter's tent and trashed her phone. What a bummer! I left mine for her as an alarm clock this morning and apparently she took it to work with her. Not good, since we don't have a landline. Good thing I didn't need to desperately reach someone today. But I digress. I drove down to the fair site on Saturday despite the cancellation. It was nice to have time to just visit with all the participants. Very relaxing. I learned a new game called Octiles. Kind of like adult Chutes and Ladders where you create your own chutes. At least that was how Moira described it. Sunday dawned bright and sunny and we had a huge crowd all happy to come out and play. I had to leave at two in order to get home and sleep before going to work but I still got a chance to take in a little bit of the joust before I left.

Today was spent catching up on sleep. Better get some laundry started and get back to MS3. Times a wasting!

Ooooh, ooooh, it came! it came!

2007-09-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have my invite to Ravelry! I was suffering from severe letdown yesterday. Checked first thing in the morning, 395 people in front, a little later, 220, then 110, then 10 ..... and then it stopped. There were 10 people in front of me at 1:30 Sunday afternoon and still 10 people in front of me at 10:00 this morning, no matter how many times I refreshed the page! Fiddled around trying to get the knitting pictures up for you to see and decided to take one last look at my inbox before going to bed (I work nights, if I haven't mentioned it before). Hmm, 1 email in the junk mail, could it be? Yes! I have signed in and my name will be stlwatrs, like everywhere else. I wouldn't want to confuse myself by having to remember another name. Now, the dilemna. There is so much I want to see and do but I really, really need to get some sleep. I guess if I have waited this long ( signed up on July 4th) a little longer won't hurt anything, will it? I'll let you know how it all turns out. Night night.

Finally, some knitting pictures!!

2007-09-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I do have my swatch done for Secret of the Stole (check the button on the left, you can still join up till Oct 4). Here is my swatch, made of Lane Borgosesia Cashwool, ever so fine but oh, so yummy. The swatch was knit on size 4 Knitpicks Options. I think I like the size just fine but I have some of the new Harmony points on order so I am dying to see how that will affect the feel when knitting.

Here is a closeup of the swatch, I love how fine it is yet it is fairly easy to knit with.

A couple more pictures to share. My college knitting class (yes, they do exist if you are really, really lucky) decided that this year's charity knitting should be a show of good will from our college to the students of Virginia Tech. We found out their school colors are burnt orange and Chicago maroon (whatever that is) so I found the closest approximation I could and have been working on a couple of scarves.

The one on the left is knit end to end, 200 stitches on size 11 Knitpicks options, 6 rows of garter stitch per stripe. The one on the right is 14 stitches across on the same size 11s, the burgundy is garter stitch and the orange is seed stitch. Since I figured a college student would not want to worry about handwashing, etc. I did the scarves in TLC Essentials, colors Claret and Persimmon. What do you think?

On the job front, all is going well. Automation seems to be pretty much under control and now I am learning how to do nixies as well as working on box mail whenever needed. It's a whole different world from what I was used to but I like it and am looking forward to the side benefit of weight loss .

First week at work, first weekend at Ren Faire

2007-09-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

I did it! I survived my first week at the new job. You would think that as you moved through training, everything would come easier. Instead, it seemed as though the volume of mail built each day until Friday when we processed over 85,000 pieces of mail, handling each piece at least twice as it must be run twice in order to get it in delivery point sequence. I was one tired puppy when we finished, let me tell you! It caused me to make a tactical mistake when I got home. I was supposed to drive straight down to Hollister for the opening weekend of the Renaissance Faire (at Casa de Fruta every weekend from now till Oct 14). Instead, I decided that I really needed just an hour of sleep. Can you see where I am going from here? One hour stretched in to two, then I hit the snooze a couple of times ..... Oh well, I did promise Terri I would be there to work for her on Saturday. Finally made it out of town by about 3 and down to Casa about 5:00.

It was good to see everybody and renew old acquaintances. Most of us see each other only twice a year, the six weeks of Northern and then many of the same folks work at the Dickens Fair held at the Cow Palace each year between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

I arrived too late on Saturday to be of much help but worked the breakfast run Sunday morning. Breakfast is for the workers at the faire prior to the gates opening. Have no idea how many people we fed but I know that I alone cut up about a dozen cantaloupe, made copious gallons of orange juice and cracked about 2 1/2 crates of eggs! (I think there are six flats per crate so what is that? about 15 dozen or 180 eggs! Yikes) Lest that sound like I was doing all the prep, there were at least a dozen people in the kitchen so my contribution was only a small part of the whole. Left early to come home and catch some sleep before going in to work tonight at 00:45. Needless to say, I still don't have any knitting pictures. As a matter of fact, I have barely picked up the needles in the last week. I do have Ren Faire related pictures though.

This is me working at the chocolate booth back in 2005. Unfortunately, Steve no longer comes to our faire since he moved to Arizona. Too bad, it was a rough job but someone had to do it.

This is my daughter, Jen, with Zeus, a black percheron gelding used for jousting by the Knights of Avalon, whose pictures follow:

Last, but by no means least, this is Jen with King, the English Shire gelding who drew her back to the troupe as mentioned in a previous post. She adores King and the feeling is mutual. He is a lovely boy and hopefully he will end up healthy once the vets finally figure out what is the matter with him.

Oh my aching everything!

2007-09-04T16:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I did it. I made it through my first day of a very physical job. Not that I have any objection to physical, I rather like it but the last 12 years have been spent in a terminal staring at a computer screen. This morning, I started off "dropping" 6 cages of flats to carrier stations. For those of you at the plant or at stations, you will understand what that means. For the rest of you, let's just say it involves multiple trips (minimum 100+) carrying mail tubs ranging from probably 20 to 30 lbs. Not bad by themselves but boy, do they add up! After that, it was box mail, both flats and letters. Easy enough, except when the boxes are full and the contents need to be bundled and tagged. Everyone was very friendly and I think I will have no problems with the job. One major faux pas, my watch stopped and I worked 20 minutes overtime without realizing it. Good for the pay check but looks bad when you do unauthorized overtime.

I was worried about being able to knit after packing all those tubs but my hands do not feel tooooo bad. Thank heaven for gloves (says the person who detests wearing gloves). It's my feet that hurt the most. Stopped at the drugstore on the way home for a new watch and something for the muscle aches. Pharmacist recommended Tylenol or Alleve so I bought a huge bottle of extra-strenth Tylenol and some new gel inserts for my shoes. Took two Tylenol and fell in to bed. Now, some 5 hrs later, I managed to crawl out without too many ill effects. We will see how I feel later.

Still no knitting pictures but how about something to think cool, instead of whatever inhuman temperature it is out there right now. This is me and my daughter panning for gold in Alaska this past May. My friend Toney took the picture. While it was cool enough to have a sweatshirt on (for a short while), I barely got the chance to wear the sweater I knit just for the trip cuz it was too darn warm. Of course, for me, I would be happy if the temp stayed below 72 degrees all the time, but hey! You expect to be able to wear a sweater in Alaska, don't you?

Great concert! and other stuff (kinda late)

2007-08-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a great concert last (oops, Wednesday) night. Who knew Randy Travis had such a great sense of humor? The man put on a wonderful show despite the heat and allergans in the air that had him, as he said "sounding like Mr Haney from Green Acres". He sounded great to us and the rest of the packed audience. For those of you who have never seen him (about half of the audience) he has 8 guys in his band who are all excellent and he sang for an hour and a half straight. Good times for sure.

Have to say thanks to Keith who was kind enough to mention this blog in his latest post. I will be sure to post updates about the new job as soon as I start. Hard to believe that as of tonight (Thursday), I will no longer be working at the REC after 12 years. I am looking forward to a new adventure. Should also be losing some inches since the new job will be active, not just sitting at a terminal.

Oh yes, one more thing. The Northern California Renaissance Faire starts next weekend. I have worked there the last two years and last year my daughter was a groom for the jousters. She had decided not to go this year but found out today that her favorite horse has some health problems and needs her to come make him feel better. This is just a tiny little horse, mind you, 19.3 hands or for those of you who don't do horse talk, 79 inches high at the shoulder! Yes, you read that correctly, King is 6'7" at the top of his back!!

Okay, you can see by the notes in parentheses the updates I made cuz this was supposed to be posted last Friday. Now to the current info: we did go to Hollister and it was wayyyyy toooo hot! Worked with the horses and I also did some painting for one of the food booth owners. I know I will end up with at least one free dinner there and I like to earn my keep.

Still haven't learned to do links yet but I promise it is coming. That was one of my plans for this weekend before we decided to head to Hollister and the last weekend of prefaire at Casa de Fruta. Pictures coming soon of knitting (thanks for the comment Lori). I have finished Clue 6 of MS3, swatched today for Hanami, and need to get swatching for Secret of the Stole. Oh yeah, also need to start my new job tonight. Will let you know how that is going tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy the big blue eyes of Dora, our rescue kitty. After all Another Bandwagon must include the "Must have kitty pictures in blog" bandwagon, mustn't it?

Today is our lucky day

2007-08-29T16:28:00.000-07:00

Well, after all the uncertainty of when and where I start my new job it turns out that I actually get a long weekend! Hip, hip, hooray! Don't know when I last had a three day weekend and this one works out to be nearly four (off at 8 am Friday and back to work at 1245 am on Tuesday). Even better, my daughter hit send to call me this morning, forgetting she had previously called the radio station last, and she ended up winning tickets to Randy Travis tonight. How's that for luck?

Still haven't figured out links and such but I did manage to post a button to commemorate my participating in MS3. I will attempt to get some pictures up this weekend. Have a nice day all.

I guess it had to happen

2007-08-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

Who woulda thunk that some day I would have a blog? Not me, that's for certain! Still, it appears that blogging is just one more bandwagon I need to jump on in order to get in on all the new fun stuff that is going around. I have been reading about all kinds of fun dishrag swaps and knit one, tea two swaps. Since they all want a blog, here goes ...

Life is rather in flux at the moment as my current job is ending and my new assignment starts this weekend (I think). That sounds sort of weird, not knowing when I actually start the new job but that is not surprising considering how the whole long process of shutting down the place where I currently work has been going. Everybody has been stressed to the max but it is almost over. My official start date is September 1 but that is because it is the start of a pay period. With it being Labor Day weekend, I may not actually start until Tuesday. Hopefully I will know by Wednesday what is going on for sure.

In the meantime, my junior college knitting group starts up again this afternoon. I have been taking time off from MS3 (mystery stole 3) to knit a couple of scarves for Virginia Tech. We thought it would be nice to send thoughts from our school to theirs in the form of knitted items. I didn't think I would like burnt orange and maroon together but the colors have grown on me. I will try to post a couple of pictures before I send them off. This assumes of course that I can figure out how to post pictures at all.

I guess that's all for now. It is going to be interesting to see how this all works out. One more step in to the future! LOL My daughter is not going to believe this one.