I Heart Leaves

Happy belated Earth Day!

To celebrate (and also for Project Spectrum), I've cast on a lace stole with heart leaf motifs. It's proving to be a wonderfully fast knit (as are most things that are knit out of DK weight+ yarn :D )

The lace pattern is simple and easy enough to knit that while the project is small, it's my travel knitting. I plan on knitting this for use as a lap blanket/car blanket to swap out with Cozy. I find it amazing how different my experience with lace is now - I'm actually at a point where I consider some lace (usually lace with regular repeats) easy/relaxing knitting - this certainly was not the case with Cozy!

Stash Enhancement!

In Colors befitting Project Spectrum, no less! Rare indeed is the occasion these days when I actually enhance the stash - I've a hard enough time putting up limited editions for sale!

Once in a while though, I feel the urge to acquire...behold: the ever elusive Wollmeise yarn, featuring super saturated dark fiery colors (that would be brombeer in Twin and Laceweight yarns) - they were fantastic for the Fire element....unfortunately, all I have done with them so far is eye them and evaluate their potential in various projects.


On the top is a skein of Franz, mostly blue and green, and suitable (I think) for the new Project Spectrum colors.

Sadly, for the Fire Element, I completed only 1 finished object though I suppose I might be able to count the hat experiments too. I still have 3 very red projects on the needles, and in line with my need to have multitudes of projects on the needles, I also happen to have 2 projects cast on in green...dare I hope that at least one of them comes off the needles during the Earth Element months?

Let me eat cake.

Still recovering from the Half :) and still awaiting photos - almost as good as happy running photos is a photo of cake...

Red Velvet - my current favorite and fascination, even though I've never baked one myself - this slice came from AJ's Fine Foods - quite tasty, but not as tasty as Melati's Red Velvet Cupcakes...her website isn't open for business yet, but she has been taking and baking orders - if you're local, you can inquire about her fantastic cupcakes by emailing her!

Knitting is photoless - but progressing - I've cast on for some rather fancy socks called Scherherazade's Slippers - I'll be trying to modify them a little as I go to accommodate my curvy calves - possibly making them one repeat longer to get up up over my calf and to my knees - we'll see if the yarn holds out :)

The firestarters and I are back at the beginning of the gussets - I'll be back to where I was pre-frogging in no time. In an attempt to eliminate bagginess through the instep, I shall be adding some ribbing in the sole.

In other news, a big box of yarn arrived - and is being prepped for photographing. I'll be having Malabrigo Silky in the shop soon!

Can't we all just get along?

Behold! The firestarters....and what appears to be a perpetual sock line, even though I haven't been out hiking in quite some time. LOL - the things that become apparent with photographs!

Sadly, it seems I'm having a run of bad luck with my projects, those socks that look so lovely up above actually have some issues.

It seems that even though I already made one needle size change after knitting the toe, I wasn't able to bring the gauge down quite enough - while they fit, they are a little baggy and loose - especially noticeable at the heel....so I've frogged em and started over on US0s.

As if that wasn't traumatizing enough, my skeiner ate a skein of lace weight yarn last night - it was the first and last skein of the evening, the skeiner was put into the corner for a time out. We'll be having another discussion tonight. (Why yes, that does mean that the dyepot has been busy :) ) The good news is the skein wasn't a total loss - it just has too many knots for me to want to put it up for sale, so I'm now looking for a suitable lace pattern to cast on for.

I'm thinking I might have to knit the Irtfa'a Faroese lace shawl - it's gorgeous....and newly added to the shop. I've knit rectangular lace, and triangular lace - faroese lace would be new :)

the Long and Short of it.

Elbow length cabled gloves, knit by me - details over here - not too many details because I made them up as I went along and failed to take notes.

Wrist length mitts, knit by Kiki - out of Spritely Goods Sidhe yarn in the Garnet colorway - Kiki had heard me talking about how my hands get cold and work less properly when I get stuck on the computer for long periods of time and she took pity on me by gifting me those lovely mitts. I adore how they pooled - they look really neat when they are on too with the expansion of the 1x1 ribbing and the way the colors stack up in the fabric - sadly I had to take these photos of the mitts on the table since I had no helper to assist with the photography.

I thought both projects were fitting with the current Project Spectrum element of Fire - partially due to the color, but the cables on the long gloves also remind me of the licking flames of a large fire.

In other fiery news, the Firestarters were off to an exceptional start, and I turned the heels and finished the heel flaps yesterday - sadly, I suspect they are going to the Frogpond to be ripped and redone on US0s. I'll take photos so I can show you the glorious colorway though - I'm really enjoying the knit, so I don't think I'll mind re-doing it (at least not too much anyhow). Stay tuned :)

Adventures in Fair Isle

Wool takes a long time to dry in the winter time...in the time it took for this hat to dry, I actually knit another ;)

As always, all the gory details (and there is a bit of discussion on this one) over here.

The long and short of it is:
1) Fair Isle work is pretty
2) I apparently have issues with bell shaped hats
3) The proscribed decreases do not fit my head (or I have issues with float tensions)
4) I am now trying to decide if the not so properly fitted hat is suitable as a gift, or if I have needs to go pattern hunting again.
5) I apparently still have plenty of yarn to keep on attempting this :D Lets just say that my stash is rather healthy. Perhaps a little too much so.

Go read. And leave me advice :)

Trounced.

RIP Bayerische
Cast On: October 2007
Frogged: January 2008

I had such high hopes for these socks - the mind is nimble and willing, the yarn is fantastic, the body - or rather the hands and forearms - simply isn't up for the challenge - knitting even one row of twisted cabled loveliness was causing problems. Rather than let these socks linger on and perhaps never be finished, I've frogged them - this yarn will become a pair of Firestarters instead - I think the colorway is wonderfully suited :D Not only that, but they will be perfect for Project Spectrum 2008 - this year the focus will be broken into elements, with the first grouping for February and March being focused on FIRE!

Berry Season!

You know it's summer when all the berries start making an appearance at the market...


One of my favorites are raspberries - growing up, we had a bunch of raspberry brambles growing in our backyard. Between us kids and the birds, the brambles would be picked clean!


I also love cherries - I lament the fact that I don't live in the Pacific Northwest anymore - what with the varieties of cherries up there! I have to settle for Rainiers and Bings down here now....unless I want to mail order them in.


And finally, the wonderful Strawberry - speaking of which, I love my local Trader Joes. They have gorgeous organic Strawberries in stock now for a very reasonable price...especially good seeing as Strawberries are typically listed as among the top fruits to be laden with pesticides.

Incidentally, perfect for Project Spectrum, I also had a bunch of blackberries on hand too - they just wouldn't photograph well....

June, already?!

Welcome to the summer :) In true summer fashion, we're welcoming it in with soaring temperatures. Happily for me, summer is a time with wonderful fruit - several of which fall wonderfully into the Project Spectrum Colors this month. Sadly I completely forgot to take a photo of the delicious watermelon that I chopped up earlier - but I'm sure I'll chop another one before this color triad passes!

In other news, I seem to have slumped in the running training - life got in the way (as it is wont to do at times) and I finally got my new orthotic devices. I slipped em in the shoes the other day and went to have a chat with Mr. Dreadmill - and the feet were not so happy. Since the new devices are rigid, and built specifically for running, it seems I need to introduce my feet slowly to them, so there will be no more running until I get my feet well acquainted with the new orthotics. I figure I've been off the program since February due to injury, so I may as well do things right and take it slow - I certainly don't want another injury any time soon. In any case, I suspect I'll be stuck on W5D1 and W5D2 of the C25k program for a little bit while I get back into things. Sadly, the time away has certainly let my fitness slide a bit. MAF max speed on my last "run" was 3.8 or 3.9 mph. *sigh* The goal for now is consistency of training - I'll worry about performance later :) The races on the books for this winter include a 10miler and a half marathon - I've still got plenty of time to rebuild my base!

Celebrating Project Spectrum

Pinks Greens and Yellows - the color triad for Project Spectrum for April and May. If you want to find out more about what each of the items are in the photo above, visit its flickr page.

I've been surprised this month - I honestly did not realize quite how much pink or green I had in the Shop! I had noticed that I seem to be trending towards the greens an awful lot with the dyework, and it's one of the colors I am always fascinated by out here in the desert. While we don't have much of the "bright" greens, there are plenty of greens to be seen, even more so if all the elevation ranges are included. They say in some places of Arizona, just due to the elevation changes, it can be like seeing life zones all the way from Mexico to Canada!

I'm really enjoying Project Spectrum because it's really opened my attention to colors all around me!

Hoping for a Bumper Crop!

Perfect for Project Spectrum - The prickly pears in my backyard have exploded into bloom.

From their immature pink buds with fuchsia and golden tipped spines (the ones photographed were from the wild, and not my backyard), to the lovely green of the pads to the lovely golden flowers - all the colors of the April-May Triad are present!

With all my prickly pears bursting with buds or flowers, I'm hoping for a bumper crop of fruit this summer. Unfortunately my prickly pears aren't terribly diverse genetically - I have a couple purple prickly pears and a bunch of Engelmann's Prickly pears - unfortunately, all the Engelmann's are from the same parent, so I'm not sure if I'll be getting fruit or not...


The blooms on the purple prickly pear seem to be more clear and purely yellow...

While those of the Engelmann's Prickly Pear seem to have a faint orange blush to them.

If you've never had an opportunity to taste prickly pear fruit, it's quite tasty (once you get past the spines ;) ) and it has a stunning vibrant fuchsia color. I was lucky enough to have received a jar of prickly pear jam last year from a friend - and since then, I've been tempted to see if I might be able to cook my own, but I've never been lucky enough to have a big enough "crop" of fruit - perhaps I'll be luckier this year!

Color Change!

Those following Project Spectrum know that April and May bring a new triad of colors :)

While February and March had a rather pitiful showing on my part, I'd end the triad of blue, grey and white with this photo:


It's a photo of me, taken by a fantastic photographer friend, John Hart. You should cruise over and check out his site - his photography is amazing. The 3-D stuff he shoots is fantastic too, but to make it really work you need a pair of funky glasses. :D

The next triad of colors is Yellow, Pink and Green...as you may have seen at the shop, I have several colorways that fall nicely into those categories. Recently, I stumbled across a lovely pair of socks knit by Guinifer. She's allowed me to share them in my Made with Spritely Goods gallery.


If you happen to have any photos you want to share in the gallery (or not - I can keep quiet if you don't want the whole world to see) I just get such a kick out of seeing stuff that people make with my yarns and batts!

And to make sure I get the Yellow in, here's a lovely little wild sunflower:

Spring Tulips Indeed!

photos by a family friend

Well then. Laden with Chocolate (for home), Beer (for my Uncle), and a very fine cake from Goossens (for sharing), I made my way to visit some family members in Holland :) Of course, they had been following along on my blog (hello! J & M!) and had noted that I have a fascination with all things colorful and had expressed some interest in seeing the Tulip Fields. My wonderful Aunt greeted me at the train station with a gigantic bouquet of Tulips - incidentally, they matched my Spring is Here colorway perfectly (though I didn't take a photo of the bouquet - you'll just have to trust me).

Keukenhof is touted as the most beautiful spring garden in the world. I find it hard to disagree. The park is covered in beautifully landscaped arrangements and also has several indoor pavilions that feature even more flowers (and gorgeous and unique flower arrangements as well). Incidentally the park is only open for a very limited time - during the peak of the blooming season - apparently after the blooms have finished, and the park is closed, the planning for the next year begins anew, with the grounds undergoing a massive overhaul. All the bulbs are replanted each year - something on the order of 7 million bulbs are hand planted on the grounds between September and December!

I have to admit, I had never know that there was such a huge variety of tulips - nor had I any idea that there were double and even triple petaled tulips! Variety was found in every aspect from size of the blooms, stem height, and the color combinations (of both the flowers and the foliage!) - I definitely learned a whole lot! While the flowers photographed below aren't an exact match (I still say the bouquet was pretty darned close!), I think I could have a whole series of colorways named after the stunning array of flowers I had a chance to see on this trip!

Spritely Goods Spring Tulips colorway along with some Spring Tulips

Technically...

...it's still Winter.

First day of Spring is not until next week, yet Spring has Sprung and then some...(record breaking temps down here in the Southwest - with it forecast to actually break 100F eeek!)

It seems I'm getting a head start on Project Spectrum's April and May colors (Green, Yellow - sorry, no pink here). I didn't look in the backyard a couple days - and the next thing I know it, the Hopbush looks like this:

(Sadly, this hopbush is no good for brewing.) Seriously. Green and boring one moment, and bursting and fully loaded with flowers the next. It's like some magical timer went off and suddenly the whole thing is in bloom.

Not only that, but the Acacia is joining in on the fun:


Unfortunately, the Mesquite looks a bit ratty and has gone and dropped a goodly portion of its leaves, but it should leaf out again soon - if it would only rain a little.

Another favorite Green & Yellow combo is the Palo Verde when they bloom - but that's not due to happen for a little bit yet...

If you'd like to get a jump on some Project Spectrum Knitting, there are several nice green yarns in the Shop - and specifically there are a couple skeins of Palo Verde available :D

SOAR

bald eagle soaring above the desert - colors of Project Spectrum photo by Sara DeSalme

The word brings to mind all kinds of wonderful things :) The freedom expressed by a bird in flight, the Searchable Online Archive of Recipes and of course, with me being addicted to fiber, there is also SOAR, which I wish I could attend someday.

A Stash Flash

Well then, in honor of Project Spectrum, I'm offering up a stash flash of my blue yarns - the sick thing is this isn't all of it - I have lots of multiples, and I have piles of white/ecru yarn and I'm currently working my way through a grey cone as I knit up Avast. Keep in mind, all that there yarn is personal yarn - and does not include the shop inventory! As you can imagine, I'm working on a self imposed yarn diet. I think I might even have yarns that fit the bill for each of the Project Spectrum triads!

Spritely Goods Celebrates Project Spectrum!

With my personal favorite color being blue, it should not come as any surprise that Spritely Goods over-floweth with yarns perfect for this month's Project Spectrum :)
If you click on over to the flickr version of the above composite, I've added notes to indicate what each of the colorways are :)

Mmm mmm yarn!

Crazy.

It wasn't that long ago when the low desert looked like the photo above (photo, conveniently with colors of this month's project spectrum, from my friend Aaron) - yet today, the weather folk are predicting highs near 80 F! Truly, if you haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth yet, it is worth a watch.

In more happy news, the bottom portion of Avast is complete! I have cast on for the sleeves, simultaneously, of course! Of course, with the temps in the high 70s, I'm wondering if I've missed Sweater Season already...

Project Spectrum!

I'm really wishing I had a portable camera. There's nothing quite like the desert when clouds are about. It's magical, simply magical. And we've had plenty of magical clouds around for the last few days!

This morning, I had the pleasure of watching GodRays beaming down over the mountains on my drive into work.

What exactly are GodRays? GodRays are those neat rays of sunlight that are observed when the sun is hidden behind a thick fluffy cloud. The example to the left is not my own - it's from a fellow named Tom Dietrich.

Anyhow, get ready for plenty of Blue, Grey and White ;) for they are the colors of February and March Project Spectrum!

Right Around the Corner!

It's Back! Project Spectrum 2.0 this time :D Starting in February and with Triads of colors for each month!

I've even thinking of my opening post, tho kicking myself because I never seem to have a camera to take the appropriate photo. *sigh* I better get to planning, eh?