a little Greenery

Lookie lookie, a soft and lovely green scarf with a climbing vine or trellis work motif...

Incidentally, it is another test knit for SouthWest Trading Co, based on the motif on one of their Karaoke Pullovers.

Though not intricate in the way of elaborate lacework, this scarf would be a great way to learn to read your stitches, in my opinion - it looks a lot more complex than it actually is, and it's very easy to spot mistakes (like a misplaced yarnover).

I'm still trying to decide if I think the scarf will suit men & women equally well...I'm trying to decide if I will cast on for a pair (or three!) of these on a set of needles for holiday knitting...

Bigger photo and a bit more information is available here.

Good as New!

After playing with my crayons and wearing them down while preparing my orange and green paper to wrap that bunny into a carrot I found myself lamenting the poor flattened tips. New-fangled colors or not, all crayons deserve to look perfect and newly cast. Those dreadful sharpeners that come in the box of 96 (or at least in my box anyway) just don't do the job right - oversharpening the tips to a sharp point that no self-respecting crayon wants. To the rescue? our friends at X-acto - not only do they make nice sharp knives for crafting, but they also make a crayon sharpener that re-tips your crayons good as new! Available in both hand held and battery operated! I don't have one yet, but I suspect I might just have to get one to re-perk those crayons of mine.

I can't read

em, but I can still appreciate them! Behold! My first ever Japanese Craft Books!

Fullhearted Wrapping - ISBN: 453720088X
Amigurumi Crochet Collection Volume 3 - ISBN: 4309267610

And for the record, I do not read Japanese, nor do I crochet. I do plan on starting though - after all, I can't very well have a crochet craft book and *not* learn how to crochet!

In order to learn, I expanded my library by adding the following to my collection:

Crocheting School and Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. Both have lots and lots of photos and seem clear and easy to use - though I have not actually done any crocheting with the exception of some slip stitch joining on a Triceratops.

My enabler? Amy of course :D

Incidentally, I have another craft book acquired via a swap with Amy - that complements my Amigurumi Vol 3 book - it's the original Amigurumi Collection! ISBN 4309265723 - there is an adorable kitten (I don't see her on this cover shot) I intend to make :) once I decode the pattern that is...

Get yer Party Clothes On!

Once again, I find myself lacking small human models, so I have to resort to dressing my stuffed animals. Behold, my Butter Cream Vermont Teddy Bear, all dressed and ready to party in an Anouk destined for a friend. If I could just size it down, it would make an adorable frock for Skimima. For the details, and a shot of just the pinafore, go here.

Horrible Three Horned Face

I think he's kinda cute, don't you? Though Triceratops Horridus may translate to Horrid Three Horned Face, he has always been my favorite Dino.

And now for your science lesson of the day: Triceratops was one of the largest ceratopsians - measuring up to thirty feet (nine meters!) in length and weighing in from six to twelve tons! He lived in the late Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming - all you want to know about the lil fellow photographed above, can be found here!

Cult of Knit

Have you seen this? It's all true!

And it's all Raquel's fault. She dragged me in (she's good at doing that - and it doesn't help that I'm so weak and malleable ;) ). She's such an enabler! But I can't say I'm complaining too loudly. I really do enjoy knitting - and it's opened my eyes to some pretty crafty people out there! Though there are times I'm dreadfully resentful of my knitting - it's sometimes an obsession...I blame it on its portability. What other hobby can be thrown into ones purse to be worked on covertly in all manner of locations? Unlike reading, I can happily knit in a car without getting carsick. While I prefer to finish a row, I start and stop in any manner of locations on my "travel" project - much more convenient than a book or magazine that way - where I always feel compelled to finish the chapter or article before putting the book or magazine down.

And because I can fit in scraps of knitting all over the place, it seems to be my hobby of choice - but it's now being challenged by my newly acquired obsession - Spinning! - neither requiring little setup or preparation - unlike my kitchen and sewing experiments...or the various new crafting things I want to get into.

Knitting is like a jealous mistress I tell you. Or a small harem of them...especially since I rarely only have one project on needles at any given time. *sigh*

Anyway, Spinning is progressing slowly - but I almost have a full spindle :) that means I just need to spin up another full spindle so I can ply! I seem to have some issues with adding new roving, even though I predraft my fibers, I have a hard time getting my new roving to "take" if you know what I mean. I also have not successfully progressed to dropping the spindle to spin - I'm still stuck "parking and drafting." Every time I try to drop the spindle to spin, I seem to lack coordination and I wind up breaking my yarn because I draft too much fiber out and it lacks twist...so the fiber just slips past itself and the spindle falls to the ground all forlorn. And since I have issues adding new fiber, getting re-started is proving to be quite challenging!

a Name can be a Powerful Thing.

In addition to getting in my farmer's market fix taken care of this weekend, Raquel and I headed down to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene for some fiber time where we petted, stroked and fondled all kinds of lovely yarns. While the gathering did have finished fiber products on display, they also had fiber arts in all stages of "production" if you will - from sheep, bunnies and alpacas to fleeces, rovings, yarn and knitted, woven and/or felted products! Of course, there were also knitting needles, crochet hooks, looms, carders, and spinning wheels, spindles and all kinds of other accessories to be had.

But what does this have to do with anything - much less a name, as alluded to in the title of this post? Well...neither Raquel nor myself walked out of the Gathering with yarn...that is unless you count the yarn that we made ourselves. That's right - we've taken up Spinning. Perhaps it was just a portent of things to come far into the future - a long ago nickname while I was learning how to skydive was "Spinner" - why? Because for some reason, I couldn't keep a heading while falling towards the Earth. It's finally come full circle :)

Care to ogle my roving? See a photo of it and my spindle over at Raquel's...I left my camera at home...Raquel's is on the left, mine on the right. Details? My spindle is a one ounce Emily Top Whorl Spindle with a Kingswood on Birdseye Maple Whorl and a Walnut shaft made by Adam's Woodshop. The roving is from Fantasy Fibers and is a multicolored merino in shades of dark reds, reminiscent of the desert southwest. Care to join us in our madness? Learn about handspinning here.

Market Fix

mmmm fresh produce. There's nothin in the world like it.

I was up in Portland staying with the gracious Raquel and we were busy busy busy! Saturday found us at the Portland Farmers Market where all kinds of goodies were to be had...amongst the items that traveled back to make lovely meals: Artichokes the size of a dessert plate, cherries (of various varieties), fava beans, Porcinis (mmmmmm fungus!), tomatoes, fresh young garlic, a fantastic baguette and varieties of heirloom potatoes. While Raquel's husband was busy toiling over malt and yeast (and impressing me with his variety of mad scientist equipment), we packed up and headed off to the local strawberry field for heaps of fresh berries. Want to know what became of them? A good portion graced this absolutely lovely cake (and it was very tasty too!).

Getting together with Raquel is always fun - but it's dreadful when you're weak like I am and her such a strong enabler...added to the wishlist? A draining cooler for brining (I never have room in my fridge for brining whole poultry) and a Pressure Cooker. :) At least it's not yarn, right?

(oh - and as if I needed further enabling. As if the Culinary Gods have spoken, I was minding my own business, watching Food Network while eating my dinner - and who should come on, but Alton Brown! And what was his show about? Pressure Cooking. It Must be a Sign, don't you think?)

Rabbit in Disguise

I've always been fascinated with different and creative ways of wrapping gifts...so I had to come up with something unique for the little bunny. I came up with this idea - wrap the bunny as a carrot!

Unfortunately I had no orange or green tissue/wrapping paper - so I had to make do with my crayons. Sadly, on retrieving my handy Big Box of crayons, I had to set on to reminiscing...because my Big Box is missing a mess of colors I had when growing up. I think I acquired my Big Box sometime while I was in college...but it was after the big Crayola Color Reorg. I now have to contend with a "lavender" that doesn't look like any lavender I've ever seen, "shocking pink", "outrageous orange", and "macaroni and cheese" amongst others. I want my classics back!

Hop to it!

A recent missive let me know that a friend has just expanded his family by one :) He's now got a little girl to dote over. I'm having a hard enough time reconciling my crazy mowhawked "lil bro" to a clean cut house ownin' doctor type...with a little girl - but hey, we all grow up sometime right? :D

Congratulations, Robert, if you're reading this - and no tellin Mia that she's getting a bunny!

Anywho, this little surprise was kinda sprung on me after little Mia made her debut, so a quick gift was in order! Read more on the making here.

I bet most of you were thinking I would churn out another Penguin! Well, to tell you the truth, while I do like making penguins, I was nearly out of Penguin yarn...in an attempt to tame my stash, I decided on the bunny instead :D

twas a Rip Roarin' Good Weekend

I think I've got it all out of my system now...I've successfully frogged out two sweaters and the whole back of an unloved sweatervest....the spoils?

Copious quantities of yarn...first up: the checkerboard sweater - unraveled and separated into individual strands (the sweater was knit double stranded) so I can remake it into something useful. Marble contemplates the thought. She's pulling for a Felted Kitty Pi Bed. The yarn ranged from a white to grey variegated (the balls on the far left) to a tweedy tan/brown color (balls on the right) to a solid cream and dark brown (balls in the center). The sweater was a great hit with the cats while it was being unmade, and because the wool is very rough, it is definitely destined to be something for the cats :)

Next up: The super bulky, yet quite soft, handspun sweater created by my Uruguayan Abuela. Disassembling the sweater was a little bit of a challenge as it was seamed with the same yarn that was used to knit it...once I got going though, I managed to reclaim every little scrap. Because of the bulkiness, it definitely won't be finding its way back into a sweater - not for me anyway. Perhaps a Sophie Bag? a Booga Bag? a French Market Bag? Or perhaps even a Button Hole Bag...can you tell I have a fixation with bags? Then again, it isn't as if there is any lack of yarn - after all, that is one humongous sweaters worth of yarn sitting there for your ogling pleasure :)

And Finally, the back of that poor sweatervest (the fronts have been set aside for a felting experiment or other things - I see a small red pouch, or some felted embellishments). At least one of these balls is destined to become a Branching Out scarf - I hope with a little handling the halo will bloom back on this yarn - the yarn reclaim process had little bits of red fuzz flying. Fiber content: lambswool and angora with a tiny bit of nylon - very soft.

Stay tuned for my crazy knitting progress - I managed to complete two projects this past weekend...one is just lacking a finishing touch before packing both up as they are destined as gifts.

Cup a what?!

a Cake! That's what! And not just any cake - but a little pint sized perfect personal pastry - a cupcake.

Certainly a fantastic idea, and you gotta love the little animation of the container shaking before opening to reveal a perfectly frosted cupcake. The thought of being able to tote (and not squash) a cupcake out into the wilderness for eating on an adventure brings warm thoughts to this hiker's heart! And think of the marvel and jealousy that would ensue should others be around when the fantastic little box was withdrawn from one's pack - assuming the weather has cooperated and the temperatures weren't too warm, the cupcake should travel unscathed and the frosting unmelted happily in ones pack for a perfect mid day munch.

Sadly, it does have one serious flaw in execution - what might that be you ask? Handwash only. Have these people never tried to get a plastic container squeaky clean by hand after it's been slathered with buttercreme frosting?!

Sucked in by a Seam

The Rippin' party has continued...I finished ripping out the Checkerboard sweater and just need to get the yarn rewound on my ball winder...While ripping out the back, I discovered that my cat still does remember how to play fetch, but only on her terms. Her new favorite toy (under supervision only) is a ball of yarn made of small scraps from said sweater - I think it's because of the sheepy smell! Unfortunately, I was having too much fun actually having her play fetch that I failed to get a photo before she tired of the game.

Anyway, I was re-organizing my closet and making a pile of things to send to goodwill and stumbled across a few sweaters - almost all of them had the wrong kind of seam aka Bad Seams (see this for more info on reusing sweaters for yarn) but one sweater vest (yes, I had a sweater vest) that looked mighty promising....

The vest was knit of gorgeous yarn - double strands of laceweight (at least I think it's laceweight) very soft lambswool/angora blend. In a favorite shade of red....perfect for ripping! Or so I thought. If you noticed, I said it looked mighty promising. Yeah, that's right. Looked. After divesting the vest of it's buttons and snipping out the reinforcing threads around the button holes, I tackled the sweater by disconnecting the bands around the sweater arms and edges - only to discover that the two fronts were knit and cut....that's right. Cut. They used the happy banding to hide that small fact. So the two fronts are useless except for multitudes of relatively short strands of yarn. The good news is the whole back of the vest was knit in one piece and was able to be reclaimed - I'm now in the process of separating the strands and rewinding the balls. When it's all said and done, I should have just over 2 ounces of laceweight yarn - whee! I'll have to get photos of all my reclaimed yarn once its all wound up :)

Pasha, the Pioneering Penguin

Meet Pasha the Third :) he's a Pioneering Penguin, braving the wilds in search of elusive yarn!

Here we have Pasha, peering down canyon...trying to decide if these hunting grounds are fertile...at first glance, things seem barren and brown.

On closer inspection, it seems the plants are still blooming, and there is a fair amount of greenery - however Pasha is not interested in foliage...he's on the hunt for Fiber!

Hmm...no yarn here...no fish either - but there were quite a number of small tadpoles lurking in the pool.

Pasha the Persistent, continues his hunt upstream....

Behold his bounty! Yarn balls, in a wide array of colors and sizes!

Finally, we have a candid shot...of our intrepid adventurer enjoying his catch. Pasha says "who needs fish when I have yarn?!"

Alrighty. Before you all think I've been sniffing too much yarn, there is a reason Pasha and I went off adventuring on a photo shoot - it's all in the name of the Knitty Calendar contest. Since I can't decide which photos I like best, I'll leave it up to you all - those who comment anyway. I can submit up to three - and while I have other Knitty knitting on the needles, I'm not certain I will be able to come up with creative appealing ways to get photos of those works - so I'm pinning all my photo publishing aspirations on Pasha. Would love to hear which photos you all like best :D

World Wide KIP Day!

Reams of knitting and knitting related progress was made this weekend starting with World Wide Knit in Public Day. Saturday found me running shuttle duty for a hike - and in between stops, I decided to go for a bit of knitting and a little caramel-mocha diversion along with an absolutely delicious apple-nut roll at Le Buzz. Properly caffeinated and sugared up (absolutely necessary after a crack of dawn start at 4:30am!), I headed up trail to meet up with the intrepid adventurers with Pasha in tow for a photo shoot in honor of the Knitty calendar contest. I had tried to do photos of Pasha at home, but I was doomed with poor lighting...photos outdoors were much better!

As for the rest of the crazy knitting progress that ensued, I'm nearly done with the Triceratops, made great progress on Anouk (both are gifts) and also made fair progress on my Ribbon X Back. While I wasn't knitting, I was busy blocking and unraveling :) I'm pleased to report I have successfully rescued that Silk Sweater I thought I had shrunk (thanks Chris!) - and I've just got the Back of that Checkerboard sweater to rip out...

Now then, I do have a question - anyone happen to know what the standard conversion is between DPI and PPI or if there is such a thing? I ask because I'm stumped as to what Knitty is really looking for for a submitted photo. All help is appreciated :)

Five.

Five is the number of projects I have on needles. And Five also is the number of projects I actually worked on yesterday. Feeling a little bit fickle, I knit a little here, and a little there...and next thing I knew it, I had actually gotten a bit done on each item! Miracle of miracles, I might actually get Cozy done sometime in the not too terribly distant future! Yowza. Now if I could just quit getting distracted, I'd be all set. My latest distraction? Matcha Kitty. Go check him out. He's handsome and may well tempt me to drop my knitting just to have one of my own!

C'mon Over to the Dark Side...

...you know you want to.

Several days ago, I developed a mad craving for dark chocolate m&ms after discovering their existence by reading Good to be Girl. For a long long time I struggled against their lure - well, that and they were nowhere to be found in my local grocery stores. After one heck of a day, I was determined to go find them...either that or cave in for a Marie Callender's Chocolate Satin Pie. Yeah. It was one of *those* kind of days!

Luckily for me, I found them lurking on the shelves at Target. I only lament the fact that I was only able to locate the plain Dark Chocolate variety - it would have been extra bonus and day brightening if I had stumbled across the Dark Chocolate Peanut kind...ah well, I'm pleased to report they are as tasty as I imagined they would be. A small crunch from the candy coating, and into the delicious dark chocolate we go. Yum. There's nothing more soothing than chocolate and knitting.

X = ?

Yeah....more math for me this weekend. Many thanks to the creator of the Knitting Companion - While I had indeed swatched religiously for the Ribbon X-Back, I still had to rip the poor thing out when after thirteen rows it was looking suspiciously large...indeed, half a row knitted onto another circular needled let me try on my pathetic two-and-a-half inches of tank to only confirm my suspicions. Ripped and re-balled, the tank (or rather the yarn for the tank) sat patiently next to me while I reworked the figures - the biggest challenge, of course, was the shaping...and of course, I won't know how well those calculations will come out until I get there. Ah the adventures of being the boss of my own knitting :D In any case, I've redone the calculations, measured a couple tee shirts that fit approximately how I expect the tank to fit, and have re-cast on for a smaller size. We'll see if I picked right in another few rows...

Ready for a Rrrrip Roarin' Weekend!

I don't know what's gotten into me. I blame it on the feeling of fiber and that darned Checkerboard sweater. What's been goin' on? Well...I've gone about recycling knitted things - the first target? That silly Trio Knit Bag that I knit out of Lion Brand Homespun...I know, the yarn was probably not worth the time spent reclaiming it, but there was such satisfaction in the unraveling...The reclaimed yarn along with the remaining Homespun is destined to be come a cozy lap blanket or cat blanket for one or more various animal shelters out there. I've also frogged out my mesh french market bag because it was stretching way too much under weight - I had intended to only frog it back a little big and re-do the decreases for the bottom, but I got carried away...so the yarn will now be remade as a Triceratops! In the meantime, I still have the front and back of the Checkerboard sweater to rip back as well as that green & grey bulky wool sweater. Whoo! Let the wool fly!

Roses are Red...

...but sometimes they're blue too! As you can see, I've finished felting my Rose bag :) As usual, full details can be found over here.

Roses in Bloom

Not only were the Cliff Roses in bloom up in the higher elevations, I got an awful lot of flower knitting done while enroute! Talk about fast knitting!


Each flower is knit in a different color, twelve in total and all out of Karaoke. They are for a felted bag that I'm test knitting for SWTC. I'm on the last bits of the bag, and should have it ready for the wash today! Can't wait!

Fifteen Fruit and Spiced Tea

Twas a lovely and relaxing, if slightly bug chewed holiday weekend.

Before heading up to higher elevations, the weekend began by visiting with Amy. Small gifties were exchanged, followed by a tasty lunch from Wildflower Bread Company (mmmm...mmm! Forest mushroom soup in a bread boule!). After lunch, the real madness began with yarn winding and unraveling (Amy got to watch her yummy yarn go round and round on my swift and yarn winder while I rrrripped out more of the Sheepy Checkerboard Sweater).

Before I get too far, you're probably wondering what on earth my entry title has to do with anything...well, Quince happens to be Spanish for "fifteen" - but better yet, it is a also happens to be a yellow fruit that is shaped something between an apple and a pear...high in pectin, but quite sour to the taste - it also makes a lovely fruit butter. Mariko sent this amazingly tasty fruit butter from San Francisco by way of Amy. Thanks Mariko! I'm hooked! Once I run out, it's either hie myself to San Francisco, or order online. I have to say, this Quince & Rose Geranium Butter is a unique experience and I'm hard pressed to describe how it tastes - all I know is hand me a chunk of gorgeous artesian bread and give me my jar and I'll be one happy person...until it all runs out!

So that explains the Fifteen Fruit anyway...

...as for the tea, it's actually not tea at all :) (though there is nothing wrong with tea! I'm especially into cold teas right now...and have taken to brewing a blend of teas to keep in the fridge for my morning beverage.

In this case, spiced tea refers to Chai...an absolutely delicious handspun silk from Artfibers. The photo doesn't do it justice - the yarn has amazing sheen and gloss. Thank you Amy :) I love it.

Anywho, the remainder of the weekend was spent playing outside and relaxing in my hammock. The knitting came with, and I'm nearing completion of the the felt bag I've got as a test knit from SWTC. Stay tuned for a peek as it nears completion!

So Neglectful...and Such a Novice!

Cripes. Only 2 posts this week. How dreadful! I'll have to work on that!
The good news is finished objects have been flying off the needles...I'm down to three projects on needles now - one of which is a test knit and nearing completion. It's been fun and mindless to work on - tis a felt bag knit out of Karaoke - photos and comments will come as it gets closer to completion.

Regarding my being a novice - my thanks to Bethany for pointing me in the direction of a Niddy Noddy to wind up my reclaimed sweater! I just need to get myself to Home Depot sometime to get goin! Right now, I've been making do with magazines. The natural/checkerboard sweater has been dissected into its componant parts, and have confirmed that my cats happen to love it and it's sheepy smell - guess what's in store? A Kitty Pi Bed! Sadly, the unraveling isn't going so fast - I've discovered that the entire sweater was knit double stranded...and stupid me, I started separating the strands, and am determined to continue doing so....though I should probably just give up and skein it up double stranded since that's how I'm going to have to knit the Kitty Bed anyway.

In other Novice News, Anyone know how to block a sweater once it's been washed? I've got a silk sweater that I handwashed and draped to dry - and it's puny now...it needs a severe blocking - but I have no blocking board and all my other blocking has been done pre-assembly!

How ya feelin'?!

HOT HOT HOT!
Record heat here in the southwest, and I must be nuts, because I'm busy playing with Wool. :)

Who knew that a wool sweater could absorb so much water?! I attempted to handwash my two bulky sweaters in the bathroom sink - only to have to move them to the bathtub since each sweater was more than enough to fill the sink entirely on its own! I first noticed that both sweaters had excess dye in the yarns as the water quickly changed color to match. The second thing I noticed was just how heavy the sweaters became once fully wet! I couldn't believe it! Even with the arid heat of the desert, the sweaters have taken days to dry - and I haven't even unraveled them yet (and they will likely be subject to another dampening to get rid of the kinks in the yarn) I now feel for poor sheep stuck in the rain. Finally, I noticed that my bathroom smells an awful lot like a wet sheep.

I haven't quite figured out how to manage the yarn once I unravel it - does anyone have suggestions on how best to wind it into hanks? I'll probably try winding the yarn into a bunch of balls in series - each connected to the next, as I can't bear the thought of cutting the yarn just so I can wind it into a ball...Stay tuned, I'll be sure to post photos once my work is done!

Oh. And sorry bout that dark photo down there in the Bearly in Time entry - I probably should have used my ButterCream bear as a model instead of my Dark Chocolate one - since you can't really tell it's a bear my external monitor. *sigh* it looked fine when I edited the photo - monitor difference strikes again!

Bearly In Time!

Just in time to send off as a baby gift, this lavender baby set flew off the needles.

As usual, more details can be found here.

I made some changes to my camera settings between photos which is why the colors don't match up. The true color of the yarn is probably somewhere in between the photo on the left and the photo on my finished objects blog.

I don't normally play dress-up with my stuffed animals, but I had to try the outfit on *someone* and I had no babies on hand...and I was pretty well convinced that neither of my cats would stand for it!

Now that the emergency gift knitting is done, I can return my attention to the other five projects I have on needles. The problem is I seem to always work the projects I know I can get done fast...so the ones that take a longer time wind up languishing. Like poor Cozy - stuck in UFO land since last fall. I'm thinking I might need to take up a knitting rotation - knitting on a different project each night to space out the progress...how's that for a plan?

Sticky Fingers...

...are the worst when trying to knit!

No, I have more sense than to try to knit while eating - and much more respect for my knitting to subject it to gooey fingers...it's just the fact that with temperatures now exceeding 100 degrees down here in the desert, I can't help but have semi-moist hands. Even with the air conditioning going. And a fan. It's wreaking havoc with my tension as I like to keep the strand of yarn wound around my pinky for tension control...but with the semi-damp hands, the yarn is not feeding smoothly through my hands. Any suggestions?

I've taken to knitting continental for most of my knitting - mostly to get myself good and proficient at it. I can do most things with equal proficiency knitting continental or english style - with the exception of binding off and passing slipped stitches over. If anyone has any tips, they would be most appreciated :)

Yow, time flies!

Today marks Seven Years of wedded bliss :D
Incidentally, seven years happens to be the Wool anniversary - and guess what I got!

Yarn management tools! I now have a birch swift and a happy ball winder - hooray! And just in time too, now that I have those sweaters to recycle!

Back from Hiatus

And with loot! Lookie lookie! A handknit wool sweater - or a photo of a portion of it in any case...

The last week or two has been light on blog content as I've been off traveling for work. Last week brought me back to my home state of Minnesota and a brief visit with friends and family. I was amazed at how much was new, and how much still remained familiar back in the Twin Cities metro area. Time with friends and family was wonderfully cherished - it was very nice to catch up with everyone and see how much people have or have not changed as the case may be.

While I was at my parents house, I went hunting for old goodies from my childhood. Sadly, a goodly pile of things were not able to be located, but that is to be expected, especially since my childhood bedroom has changed owners several times since I moved away. One thing I was exceptionally excited to have found was that ball of wool to the left...it was perched precariously on top of a box of old clothes. I didn't dare hope to find the rest of the wool...which happened to have been handknit into a huge cabled sweater...but I did! The sweater was handknit for me by the abuela of my Uruguayan host family...that's right - I have a huge handknit sweater from manos yarn...the sweater is not my style and is hugely oversized (as that was the style of my clothes back then). I plan on handwashing gently and then reclaiming the yarn for another project yet to be determined. Any suggestions?

The checkerboard sweater is also from Uruguay, but is knit from a much more coarse wool - it has a distinctive sheepy smell about it, and will also be unraveled and remade into something new.

Other clothing finds include my frothy confection of a prom gown (not your normal prom gown - this one is more of a ballgown - complete with volumes of crinoline, inset and hand beaded lace panels and melon sleeves). Not sure what I'll do with it, but it will likely be put up for sale somewhere.

Other surprises of the weekend? My sis-in-law has taken up knitting...as has my brother! :) how cool is that?!

What an Angel!

Lookie what came in the mail last week from the amazing Maryellen! Twas an amazing box...stuffed to the brim!

Included in the box were the following fascinating items:

1 booklet: Learn to Knit Socks! (whoo hoo! I keep meaning to cast on for a pair of socks - and I have a pile of instructions off the internet printed and everything - but this booklet should prove to be most handy :D Love the purple ones with green toe and cuff with little dangly bits off it...and the Argyle ones are fabulous too!)

She also included a skein of Shanty Creek Blend handspun yarn from SOAR 2003 (Spin off Autumn Retreat) and a skein of Opal sock yarn to get me going.

In addition, there was: a small doll, primly dressed in a little blue gown and a festive hat and a pair of balls of Fun Fur in bright festive colors, for which to make a scarf or other fun fuzzy things out of :D

And last, but definitely not least, she included a cute card with a handsome cat licking his chops...a pair of fun books: the Thanksgiving Book and the Complete book of Traditional Aran Knitting...And finally several skeins of Kid Mohair...handspun! Pehaps handspun by Maryellen herself (she's a spinner, a quilter and an art doll maker...and she knits too! How talented!)

Of course, my husband thinks I'm nuts...not only could I not stop petting the mohair, I had to sniff it too. *sigh* I'm a yarn sniffer. Is this an odd affliction? I don't think so...I vaguely remember the Yarn Harlot mentioning something about sniffing yarn...or perhaps I'm attributing that to someone else...surely I'm not the only one!

In any case, that mohair, it's positively delightful...soft and fluffy, and still developing its halo. Can't wait to get it on needles...if I could just decide what to make of it...suggestions anyone?

Thank you so much, Maryellen, you've spoiled me!

Knit Intarsia like a Pro!

With KnitPro! (a cool tool and with a mission too! Down with sweatshops!)

No, I haven't cast on for an Intarsia project, but I'm closer now that I know I can convert custom images effortlessly into knitting charts...that and it seems I'm just about set to become a two-fisted knitter :D I've been working up a swatch in SWTC's Oasis yarn, and while I'm not super fast knitting continental, I can certainly knit at a respectable speed :) Oh yeah...what's the swatch for? I'm going to be a Bad A** knitter and be the boss of my knitting...I'm going to attempt to tweak the pattern for the Ribbon X-Back Tank and see how it goes...it is no small tweak and will require a fair amount of math...but I'm hoping to be successful. Wish me luck - I can use all the help I can get :D

Strawberries are in Season!

I looove fresh strawberries! Plain, with balsamic vinegar, with creme fresche and brown sugar, with honey, pureed and on top of ice cream, mounded amongst whipped cream and cake pieces in a strawberry short cake...or sliced fresh and presented in a fruit tart atop a rich bed of pastry cream...See? I can do better than drop and bar cookies ;) Click here for the recipe.

Knit Quick, Lickety-split!

Amongst more mundane things, I spent the weekend touching up my continental knitting technique, and I think I've finally got it down...I would certainly hope so after knitting an 80+ inch scarf continental!

Do you recognize that yarn in the photo? Bigger photos are posted on my companion blog. In any case, it's the yet-to-be-released Karaoke yarn from Southwest Trading Company. It's lovely to knit with, and the felted sample I've seen is also stunning...we'll see how my own felting experiments go, now that I have the rest of the cone to play with. I see a Sophie or a Booga Bag coming out of it...tho I think I'm leaning towards Sophie at this point (I also doubt I have enough yarn to do a Booga Bag).

Happy May!

Happy May! The wet weather through the winter is continuing to manifest itself in the way of gorgeous blooms. While the wild flower season is winding to a close, the flower season does continue on into the cactus and other plants found in the desert.

The blooms on the hedgehog cactus and prickly pear are stunning this year, as are the blooms that appear all over the stalk of a mature narrow-leaf yucca! Isn't it gorgeous?!

And now for a question - I've noticed that my photos of late appear rather dark on my desktop computer, but look just fine on my laptop computers...and of course I've been doing the editing on my laptop and then re-tweaking on my desktop if it still looks too dark.

Anyone know why this is the case? And any tips or suggestions on how to handle it? For that matter, do any of you notice that my photos are "off" in the way of brightness - the flower washcloth is a great example - dark on my desktop (and not retweaked) but just fine on the laptop... Thanks in advance for any help and advice!

Flowery Goodness

Well then. Now that the secret pals are all revealed, I can update with a completed item from quite some time ago - I knit up a bunch of these as gifts - it's the flower washcloth from Weekend Knitting!

Hopefully those who have received them have enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed knitting them...the knitting goes very quickly, though I I'm mighty tempted to try to figure out a way to knit em from the inside out...to save myself from accidentally not connecting all the petals without a twist...though I don't think it would save me any trouble with regards to all the ends that need to be woven in...in case you're wondering it's 2 strands per petal plus the last bit at the center of the flower...eleven in all!!

I Love Boxes

I don't know what it is about boxes in the mail, or boxes at the door, but I love boxes...or rather, I love opening boxes :) It doesn't matter if it's a box that I already know what's inside - as is usually the case, or if it is a surprise box (a much better event!). I'm so enamored of opening boxes that my husband even leaves his boxes for me to open. How sweet is that? :D

Speaking of boxes...look what arrived:

Its a last minute gift from my Secret Pal! Included was a skein of Cascade Eco+, a pair of skeins of Cascade 220 and a skein of Fizz - all in lovely colors that I love :D Also included was the latest edition of Cooks Illustrated, a cute card decorated in cat stickers, a pair of handmade lip balms and pair of grow kits - one for forget me nots and one for black eyed susans. Thanks so much Secret Pal!

Aren't these lipbalms cute? Looks like they'll soon be up for sale at the Crafty Scientists site where it appears they also have handmade soaps and bath products as well. Both of the lip balms smell wonderful - and my husband even gave the Cupcake one a try :)

Secret Pals 4 comes to an end at the end of this month (as in Tomorrow!) and I want to thank my Secret Pal (yet to be unveiled), Jacqueline and the Angels that have stepped in as pinch hitters.

Sing...Sing Along...

And just what does yarn have anything to do with singing? Quite a bit when it looks like that and with a name like Karaoke :)

Fear not, I have not jumped off the yarn diet - tho quite frankly, the sales going on at PurlSoho are mighty tempting - Blue Sky Alpaca at 30% off?? and Noro at 40% off?! Already weak from resisting the strong lure of the sale, I brought my Mariposa in to SouthWest Trading Company for inspection and possible reward, and resolved to not accept any new test knitting...but the lure of Karaoke proved to be too much to resist.

Jonelle proved to be more than generous, rewarding me with a bag of Bamboo (in a glorious Red) for my work on Mariposa (who will become famous, traveling as a display piece on roadshows, I hear). Apparently, that fantastic cone in the photo was newly arrived and is of a yarn that is scheduled for debut in June at the The National NeedleArts Association Summer show (in 10 variegated and 10 solid color schemes!). Trapped by its lovely hues and silky softness (50% soysilk, 50% wool), I accepted the cone to turn some of it into an airy quick-to-knit scarf (yes, I accepted another test knit - but it's a quick one this time!). The reward? I get to play with the remainder of the cone...If there is enough of it, I am thinking of turning it into a Sophie Bag. Looking for a closeup? Lookie lookie:

Viola! C'est Fini!

And there is the extent of my French. Well, except for perhaps a few more phrases...

What have we here? Why a finished Mariposa!

Knit up in a lavender-hued yarn from Southwest Trading Company called Bamboo.

Click on over to my Finished Objects Blog to read more details or ogle more photos of the lovely lace. Just what is it with lace that is so fascinating, anyway?

With Mariposa done, I find myself trying to decide what to cast on for next...then again, Cozy has been languishing all this time...perhaps I should finish her up!

Patisserie Wannabe

I continue to delude myself into thinking I want to be a pastry chef. Granted, bar cookies and drop cookies do not qualify as fancy high-brow pastries, but they sure taste good. And equally important, they satisfy my need to play in the kitchen.

Not to mention my sweet tooth :)

Just what are the goodies? Well, I had to figure out another way to use my Dulce De Leche, so the first item pictured are Dulce de Leche Brownies. The next are a crisp butter cookie with a mystery ingredient. And finally, we have Double Deckers, tweaked to include coffee and kahula in the brownie layer. It was a sugar high weekend filled with the scents of butter, sugar and vanilla.

Two Fisted Knitting

In an attempt to entertain myself while knitting on Mariposa (left side done, btw), I decided to teach myself how to knit Continental style as I currently knit English style, and well - continental seems more efficient. Chris pointed out that it would make for much faster Fair Isle if I can knit with both hands...can you see it?? Ah well, I figure I'm an ambidextrous Mouser (thanks to tendonitis and working too much on computers) and it only took a week to get used to that...so how hard could it be? Not too bad, actually - I'm comin' along quickly - tension is a little tight but at least it seems to be even...I'm sure I'll have the hang of it soon :D

Re-tooled and Ready to Go!

Look familiar, don't they? Well, that would be because they used to have flowers on them...but then I discovered that the intended recipient was to be a boy, and not a little girl...and figured that flowers on little mini-man tootsies might not be so good. So along came Amy to the rescue...with super adorable California roll buttons :D Aren't they fantastic?? Just like with the stitch markers she makes, these have fantastic detail and look good enough to eat!

Thanks Amy!!

Proceed with Caution!

I, of course, read the label and carried on, throwing caution to the wind. Just what was I up to this weekend? See what had me playing in the kitchen with this as a result. Fear not, it's not some dreadful mess of exploded goo all over my workspace :D thank goodness!

mmmm...Ice Cream.

April is a true spring month, and down here in the Desert Southwest, is often heralded with the beginning of 90 degree weather. Perfect for Ice Cream!

There are two free Ice Cream events this month, so mark your calendars and plan accordingly :D

The first, on Tuesday the 19th, from Noon to 8pm is Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's so find your local scoop shop and get your free cone on Tuesday :) - oh and eat one for me, since there is no convenient scoop shop to my location.

The second Ice Cream Event is on Monday the 25th from 5 to 8pm at Cold Stone Creamery. It's their Ice Cream Cake Social - get a free slice of Make-a-Wish Cake - customers are encouraged to make a donation to the Make-a-Wish Foundation as April is Make-a-Wish month at Cold Stone, with proceeds from Ice Cream Cake Sales benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

a Redeeming Weekend

After a week of franticness ending with my waterbed fiasco (now patched, thanks to vinyl repair goo, and yes, that's the technical term) the weekend offered a very nice respite.

It started out wonderfully with a stop at the local massage school, where miracle of miracles, I managed to hit it on one of the weekend's they weren't running a promo! Why so pleased, you ask? The weeks they don't run promos are nice and slow, meaning the wait isn't long, and there is a high probability of getting a bonus massage out of the visit - and indeed, that's just what happened. Less than 20 minutes wait time combined, and I got two fifty-minute massages for the price of one!

Nice and relaxed, I headed off to Coffee Talk for a brief meetup with some Arizona Craftsters - nothing like seeing what others are working on to get the creative juices flowing! After the Craftster get together, Chris and I had to go check out Penzey's! That's right - the local Penzey's is now open for business! Having never actually visited a Penzey's in person before, this is quite the place to experience - it's in a small, unassuming location - but don't let that fool you. As soon as you open the door, you can smell the lovely scent of spices...speaking of which, all the stuff in the catalog is available in the store - but with the bonus of actually being able to sniff them to your heart's content (a small volume of the various spices are kept in an easy to open jar with the product for sale just for this purpose!) to aid in your decision making process!

The weekend was wrapped up with my kitchen smelling of warm chocolate as I baked up a batch of coffee & kaluha spiked brownies (all the better to bribe co-workers with ;) )

Oh...and I finished the center panel of Mariposa while I was at it!

Yeek! I've Sprung a Leak!

*sigh* much to my horror and dismay, I had a rude awakening early this morning....I stretched out, and my toe landed in a cold moist spot at the foot of the bed. My first thought was "ew. why is the foot of the bed wet?!" The second thought was "crap. WHY is the foot of the bed WET?!" So, in my groggy state, I got up, turned on the lights, put on my eyeballs (glasses - all the better to see with, my dear) and stripped the bed. My poor husband thought I was possessed. Until he saw how the linens were damp. Turns out the corner of my waterbed has sprung a leak. Of course it would have to be the corner...the most difficult place to patch. And of course, I don't have a patch kit in the house for the waterbed...I was thinking of installing a Therm-a-Rest patch in its place, but all those patch kits require a hot bond glue, which I was not willing to apply to the water bed. Now I'm in search of a Vinyl Repair kit for waterbeds. Any suggestions?

Weaving Weaving Weaving....

So...I'm nearly done with the center portion of SWTC's test knit, Mariposa....my dilemma? I've got several ends to weave into the lace, and I I'm not sure if there is an easier way to hide those loose ends...it's kinda hard with all the open areas in the work...Anyone have any suggestions out there?

C is for Cookie, darn-it!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am just plain appalled. Cookie Monster, my favorite Sesame Street character, is no longer singing that C is for Cookie. Apparently, according to the various news articles making the rounds, Cookie Monster is now spreading the word that "cookies are a sometimes food." As someone who has more than an abundance of fondness for all things pastry, I think this is positively ridiculous - have people no shame? Tweaking well loved characters like Cookie Monster in an attempt to curb the growing obesity rate, to me anyway, seems like people once again are failing to react to the true contributing factors. Apparently I'm not the only outraged one out there...there's even an online Petition to get Cookie Monster back to his Cookies. He'll definitely be a monster no longer if he's forced to eat his cookies in moderation.

Wafflin'

One thing's for certain...when I'm busy wafflin' and trying to figure out how to while away my weekend, I don't seem to have any difficulty figuring out what to eat :D

Golden and fluffy, topped with fresh berries and some warm maple syrup, a fresh-from-the-iron Belgian waffle always brings a smile - and it makes the house smell quite lovely too!

For details and the recipe, go here.

Knitting Progress

No, I'm not dead...just running around like a crazy woman with no time to update my pooor neglected blog. Hopefully all my readers haven't gone away (you've not gone away, have you??) lol! I still can't believe there are perfect strangers reading along my various mindless ramblings, but I still find it kinda neat too, if you know what I mean....

Anyway, this little bag was knit a while back - you can go read all the details about it here.

My yarn diet was blown this weekend - I am slowly joining the sock craze, and I have such a hard time resisting when I get to meet yarn up close and personal in a yarn shop. I seem to have the same problem with books, because I walked out with yarn for 2 pairs of socks, needles (because I didn't have the right size, of course - addi-naturas, if anyone's wondering), and I picked up the 2nd edition of the Zilboorg book: Socks for Sandals and Clogs! Whoopee!!

On the Mariposa front, I'm well into the 2nd ball of yarn, soon to start the third - I sure hope I don't run out of yarn....and I'm knitting on her exclusively until I get her done. I feel compelled to get her back to SWTC as soon as possible since she's a test knit.

Why is it...

...that every time I go out of town on Business Travel, my car has a fit?

The last time, it was the battery - plus tires that didn't last as long as they were supposed to - and a bad high pressure hose. This time? Just before I get ready to head out, the Check Engine light comes on. Oh goody. That means I get to go to the Dealer to have it checked out and put up with the condescending Service "Advisors". Can someone please explain to me whey it seems that the majority (definitely not all, but a very large portion of them in any case) of these so called Service "Advisors" seem to not comprehend that a woman is capable of understanding how semi-complex machinery works?!

Anyway, I'm hating the fact that I live in a city where it is nearly impossible to get anything done without a car. Its times like this that I miss living in a place like Boston :P I'm doomed to canceling my weekend plans because I don't have any wheels! *sigh* I guess I'll have to work on Mariposa lol!

Spring has Sprung!

Keep the Frogs at bay and install a Lifeline today!

...a tip, to keep your knitting out from your list of spring "cleaning"...

:D One thing that I do occasionally, especially after my various trials and tribulations with Lace Knitting, is to install a Lifeline at regular intervals in my work. It's basically a piece of scrap yarn or string that is threaded into a row...you know, just in case I have to rip my lace back. The funny thing is, since I started doing this, it seems it's working to keep the frog pond from forming....and anything that keeps the frog pond from forming is a good thing in my book :D Anyhow, the way it works is if you *do* have to frog back, it prevents all your stitches on the row with the lifeline from getting all wacky and makes it easy to pick the stitches back up and start anew - how great is that! Especially fantastic for lace that has pattern knitting on both right and wrong sides (as opposed to lace knitting that alternates pattern knitting on the right side with purling all stitches on the wrong side). While I use brightly colored contrasting yarn, I hear dental flosses - especially the plastic ribbon kind - glide effortlessly through knitting, making removal a piece of cake with a smooth quick tug.

Origami is Neat!

Especially when it is used in innovative ways!

Check this out! There's even a quicktime Movie available - (very slow to download - be forewarned).

I have to admit to being a bit on the nutty side when it comes to lightweight products for backpacking, and while I tend to not bring dishes, these would be fantastic - especially when pressed for space!

Frothy Piles of...

lavender Lace. After her initial troubles and stubbornness, my very testy Test Knit for SouthWest Trading Co. is churning off the needles quite nicely. I've gotten through 2 repeats of each of the major patterns (that would be something like 72 rows if I recall the pattern correctly). I believe I am now 1/2 way thru the back! whoo hoo! No photos of the work in progress as it seems every time I think to myself "boy, it would sure be a nice addition to the blog" I also realize there is no natural light to be had, and no matter what setting I use on my camera and all the tweaking on photoshop, I can't seem to rid my images of an odd color cast. Ah well, perhaps it's better to not jinx myself with a photo...after all, just contemplating a frogging session has the potential to put me into convulsions!

Inspired by an Eggplant

Super Eggplant, that is. Just in time for a road & backpacking trip, Mariko posted her results of the Chocolate Chip Brownie Double Deckers from the Oregonian. Because I'm always on the lookout for high calorie non smooshables for my hiking adventures, I had to give the recipe a whirl. They were a definite hit and are a most happy edition to my baking repertoire. My personal commentary is found here.

Sadly, because I was traveling, I missed out on the March IMBB (is my blog burning) event - which featured muffins and cupcakes - who can resist cupcakes?! All well, if you're just as cupcake deprived as I am, go check out the roll-up for some excellent inspiration.

As Promised....

Just in time for Easter...another Peeps Delight - this one is called "Peeps on Poop"

Yeah, yeah, I know. that doesn't sound particularly appetizing. But hey, it has a strange appeal. Just how does one go about making Peeps on Poop? Well, it's quite simple. Take a small plate or dish, add a small pile of chocolate chips - For anywhere from 10-20, top with a Peep, nuke on high power in your microwave for 15 seconds or so...and eat. How do you eat this delight? Well, take the Peep (no longer resembling a Peep, except perhaps by its lovely pastel color and the little brown eyes - be careful, it'll be hot!) mop up the chocolate and eat...If you prefer to go more for a controlled toasting and less mess, put the chocolate on a graham cracker, top with the peep and pop it in the toaster oven....Toaster OVEN folks, not one of those vertical slotted bread warming devices - the mess (and potential fire hazard) that will ensue if you throw a peep and chocolate in a standard toaster leaves me shuddering. Anyway, toast away - but keep your eye on the little bugger, they burn quickly...and eat it like a s'more...mmm....tasty!

Happy Bunny Day!

I'm not Dead!

Sorry Folks, Regular Blogging to resume soon...I promise :)
I'll even work up another Peeps Post just in time for Easter!

a Peeps Experiment

Around this time of year, those classic marshmallowy Easter treats start making an appearance...and for some odd reason, I always get drawn in by their sparkly sugary coating and squashy bodies. Even odder, since Peeps now come in all variety of holiday shapes, I am only possessed by this odd urge in the Springtime.

While in college, I conducted the standard variety of Peeps experiments - from submerging them in water and other liquids to see what would happen, to seeing how well they fared after being squashed under textbooks, to microwaving them, to toasting them over a burner...and of course the standard comparison between stale and fresh Peeps in these various situations...I've since graduated to more mundane experiments with Peeps, incorporating them into my culinary repertoire.

Sadly, I took no photos this time, but you can read more about my attempt at Peeps S'mores at my newly created Food Blog. (chalk that creation up to my urge for organization)

Terminally Cute

I don't know if I should be flattered or flabbergasted...I was called Terminally Cute this morning - all thanks to a response to an email...
someone was checking list traffic, saying it was awful quiet...and I responded a la Elmer Fudd:
"didn't anyone tell you? Be vewy vewy quiet. We're hunting Wabbits!"*

*Fear not, no bunnies were harmed, and I don't hunt rabbits...unless they are of the Peeps variety, which I find to be strangely entrancing.

A Little Irish

With St. Patrick's day comin' round the corner, I truly feel lucky!

Why's that you ask? Well, I've been ROAK'd. Had some co-workers from Ireland coming over from across the Pond, and I asked if they could pick me up a ball of yarn - figuring I'd get a 50g ball to play with...well, they got me enough yarn to probably make a proper Aran sweater - 1 kilo, that's right, 1 full kilogram of wool (2.2 lbs, for those of you who might be metric challenged). It's quite lovely :) Now I just need to decide what exactly I want to do with it....First things first though - my lovely yarn is white, so I'll need to decide if I want to change its color. I'll have to swatch it up of course, to see what kind of hand the fabric has...sadly, I find it hard to get enthused about a sweater right now, since the weather is warming up...but it isn't as if I have any lack of projects to keep me entertained in the meantime!

There's Nothing More Disappointing...

...than coming home from a business trip late on a Friday Night and discovering that your car's battery is dead.

Can you guess how I spent my weekend? Needless to say, it certainly wasn't spent running around doing errands...even tho I managed to get a successful jump on my car Friday night, Saturday morning it refused to do more than "click" when the key was inserted. Sadly, there wasn't anyone around to give me a jump - so I settled for a semi-productive day of laundry, knitting, reading and petting my neglected cats:

they weren't too excited about it.
I suspect the heat is starting to get to them...we had a warm spell move through over the weekend, and usually they are much less loving when it's hot.

Sunday was spent visiting with friends from home who are currently on an extensive roadtrip.

Mariposa is progressing nicely, I've finished the first full pattern repeat and am about to start the next one - just need to do the increases and away I'll go!

Don't be a Pill!

*sigh* Ribbi is seeing plenty of use, and unfortunately, she is also starting to pill on high wear points. This leads me to wonder about several things:

1. Is it because this particular wool is prone to pilling? (Peruvian Highland Wool from Elann.com)
2. What causes different yarns to be more or less prone to pilling?
3. Once a garment starts pilling, how can I prevent it from getting worse? Are there any care tips?
4. Is anyone else experiencing this problem? or is it just me?

Hopefully I'll learn more before I sit down and knit myself another garment. In the meantime, I'll have to figure out how to neatly rid Ribbi of her unsightly pills.

a Kat by Another Color...

....is even more tasty than the original!

In my opinion anyway. I've recently discovered white...and dark chocolate Kit Kats! Yum! The white were alright, but the dark were most delicious and addictive as well. A handful of dark chocolate KitKats paved the way and I've now completed my first row of decreases to get into the Pebble stitch portion of Mariposa - after a slight false start (I calculated out how to space the decreases evenly across, but flubbed in execution resulting in a fair time tinking back to get it right the next time round)...I'm officially caught up to where I was before the great Frogging Fiasco of last weekend! Hooray!

Fat Quarters to the Rescue!

In addition to the remedial baking, post frogging activities involved stash enhancement of a different variety. Since clearly the food diet was side tracked and I am still officially on a yarn diet, a little Fabric Stash Enhancement was in order. A cute little fabric shop for quilters called the Quilters Koop had these fun fabrics to offer. Plenty of excellent quilting fabrics to be had, and an idea for a pincushion made of felt...ah, the crafting list grows longer and longer :) Now if I could only find the time....

Remedial Cookies

Frogging was made fun at Coffee Talk with the ultra cool Crafters. A delicious mocha and a slice of chocolate & peanut butter cup cake provided the fortification for the terrible undertaking.

Hours (or what seemed of hours anyway) of yarn winding and I was ready to re-cast on.

Sadly, the trauma induced by having to frog out all that lace triggered a massive cookie craving so a round of baking ensued. mmmm. There's nothing better than fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of milk! It put me all in the mood for tackling Mariposa - and I'm nearly caught back up (and yes, I checked, re-checked and checked again to make sure I had the right number of stitches cast on!)

Rrrriiiiip.....it!

Oh. My. Goodness. I *can't* believe I did this to myself.

You know that lovely Mariposa I'm knitting for Southwest Trading Company? The one I had to frog back before even getting past row 1?? Well...I finally finished off the first full pattern repeat (row wise - 22 rows worth of lace) and happily started my decreases....only to discover that when I re-cast on, I cast on 1 FULL PATTERN REPEAT SHORT (34 stitches). At first, it was total denial...after all, it was midnight when I came to this realization. And in true denial form, I tinked it back, then re-did the decreases, came out short again and tinked again...and the realization hit. I'm already disappointed in myself because I know SWTC likes their test knits back as soon as possible! And this shawl was taking longer to knit because I had to keep going back to refer to the pattern...the good news is the pattern is now memorized, so it should go faster this time 'round. I can't believe I'm such a dunderhead.

Zoom!

My goodness, what a difference!
I'm inordinately pleased to be blogging from the comfort of my couch!
That's right, I've joined the rest of the world and have gotten myself a high speed connection and a wireless router. Whoo hoo!

Spring has Sprung!

The ridiculous rains let up enough to get outside and do some hiking. While some of the trails are rather mucky and others are completely underwater, it is clear that all the wet weather has triggered the beginning of the wildflower season. Some gorgeous blooms were seen and the best (in my opinion anyway) is yet to come...fields of goldpoppies and lupine! I can't wait!

I love Cable!

Knitted cables that is :) I don't have cable for my television and my lack of high speed connection at home has already been discussed :D

Slow progress with the shawl for SWTC, 309 stitches are quite the large number to work on, especially when my weekday knitting is limited to the small time I have after finishing dinner and going to sleep - and the time is small indeed, since dinner usually wraps up around 9pm...ah the life of a working woman *sigh*.