Joining up again

In honor of being about a quarter of the way thru my last skein for Cozy, I have joined the Kepler Along in anticipation of casting on for my new project. Not only is Kepler a nice looking sweater, the pattern is free, and I have enough yarn to do it in three different colorways! Hooray for Stash Busting!

Nearly Neverending

While I will finish eventually, it certainly seems as if Cozy is a nearly never ending project. Cast on over a year ago, she's waited patiently as I've gotten distracted with other things, and on occasion seriously frustrated and fed up. I've come a loooong way it seems. What used to be a rather challenging lace repeat is no problem, I can even work it while "watching" TV.

It's nearing time to rejoice - Cozy and I have reached an agreement. I've nixed the fifth ball of yarn (setting it aside for some worsted weight socks) and will be calling her done after this ball I *just* joined is finished...it's not quite time to celebrate, as it's no small ball of yarn, I've got nearly 200 yards of yarn to knit into Cozy before I'm done....but at least I'm nearing completion!

In preparation, anyone know if Wool Ease can be blocked? (yeah, I knit her out of Wool Ease. It's a Cozy for the car. It needs to be durable and easy to wash.)

Goin' into Business

Well, I've always wanted to try to earn some money off my crafts, so I'm making a bigger attempt at it now.

While the stock is rather low right now, I have gone ahead and opened a shop :) I still have a shop space at Etsy, but I've decided to launch my own to cut down fees.

Please pay it a visit here, and spread the word!

The Calendar is up!

the Knitty Calendar is now available :)

Check it out! My Pasha is Ms. January! What a way to start the New Year :D

Baa Baa Black Sheep...

Have you any wool?

Yes Sir, Yes Sir....way more than 3 bags full!

I finally got around to cataloguing my yarn and fiber, and it's a little bit shameful. I have 11.5 kilos of yarn (almost 25.5 lbs!) - and that's just the yarn. That does not include my piles of fiber - of which there seems to be a somewhat alarming amount in and of itself.

I've discovered that while I enjoy knitting lace, I have very little lace weight yarn. By far, I have mostly worsted weight yarns, and most are natural fibers. Yarns vary from a pile of recently discontinued Cotton Ease (earmarked for a miter square blanket) to a pair of skeins of super luxurious bulky Classic Elite Sinful (100% cashmere - earmarked for nothing other than gazing at adoringly and a little bit of petting now and again).

I've put some of them up for sale/swap - in case you're reading via RSS feed, these include:

• Lion Brand Homespun
• Gothic, 1 skein
• Edwardian, 1 skein
• Paton's Beachcomber
• Dark Blue, 9 intact skeins + 1 full skein, partially unraveled
• Steinbach Wolle Maxi Ombre
• Yellow/Brown variegated, 1 skein
• Green variegated, 1 skein
  
• Southwest Trading Co Bamboo
• Purple, 1 skein
• Southwest Trading Co Oasis
• Canyon, 1 skein

If you're interested in any of it, leave a comment, or click on the sidebar to contact me directly :)

Dreadfully Remiss

I've been terrible at keeping track of the food goings on, but recent posts on my favorite foodie blogs have reminded me that I've just missed out on two fun IMBB events: Sugar High Friday (featuring dark chocolate, my favorite!) and the original Is My Blog Burning (this last one featuring souffles - not as intimidating as you might think)! IMBB is currently experimenting with Technorati rollups, so the unofficial results are available for perusal while the host does the manual rollup. Incidentally I also missed out on a new IMBB event, Cooking the Old Fashioned Way, AKA Disaster Preparedness which sounds like something I should be reasonably good at - especially considering how tricked out I am in terms of outdoor equipment, which I presume, I would grab in the event of a disaster. Ah well, go check em out :) you'll be glad you did!

Certifiable.

Some might argue I'm bonkers, but that's okay.

While I continue to churn away on Cozy (yes, I'm still working on Cozy, and I'm not allowing myself to cast on for anything else until that darn FO is finally finished!), and my experimental Karaoke Socks, I am also unspinning some yarn. That's right, unspinning. In my box of fantastically fluffy merino and angora were some balls of spun (but not yet set!) yarn - Because they are a bit slubby and aren't of the same thickness I would spin, I've decided to try to unspin the yarn to reclaim the fiber...so far so good, and I'm getting some lovely pencil-roving like lengths. I'll probably bundle a couple lengths together when I respin it so I have more fiber to work with to set the thickness as I see fit.

As for Cozy, we had a little chat - she's agreed to be 1 skein shorter than planned, I've agreed to knit her til she's done. As for what's happening with the other skein, I think I'm going to cast on for one of the Sandal Socks by Anna Zilboorg - after all, the yarn is worsted weight, and if I remember, her gauge is 6 stitches to the inch! Perfect, and close enough to an instant gratification project for me!

Sweet Sweet Handspun

Mmm. Delicious Yarn.

Lovely, isn't it? Looks a mite different now that it's plied, but more beautiful, I think - don't remember what they looked like unplied? Click for a refresher!

Incidentally, I'm an enabler...they're for sale.

Details? Why of course! Available here.

Bunny on the Brain

This morning, as I was headed out to my car I spotted a bunny in the driveway! The cottontail community must be getting healthy as I've been spotting rabbits in the neighborhood - even caught one wriggling under my side fence once though I'm really not sure what it found enticing in my back yard.

To add to Bunny madness, I got a pile of Merino-Angora (50/50 - can you say soft!) fiber - I won't call it roving, since it seems to be in semi-squashed batt form. I have about a pound of "Ecru" and two pounds of Silver-Grey color - I might blend the two as I spin them, to get a slightly tweedy yarn - I'm not decided yet though. I'm thinking of making a sweater out of it once the yarn is spun up, but I haven't quite decided yet as I hear angora is ridiculously warm.

Speaking of bunnies, have you ever seen an Angora rabbit in person? They are quite adorable - and rather funny looking after they've been harvested for their fur!

Happy Tacks!

Those fancy colorful baubles there are thumbtacks, believe it or not...if you go look at my finished objects blog, you will actually be able to see the shadow of the pin part of the tack in the close up shot! Neat, huh?

Hoo hoo! I'm published!

Or I will be anyway. This marks the 2nd and 3rd calendars I'll have photos published in :)

The first was a canyoneering calendar for the American Canyoneering Association - for 2005.

The second is the Knitty 1st annual calendar - if you recall, my entries featured Pasha...one of those penguiny photos will be in the calendar, can you guess which one?

and the third is actually the 2nd annual American Canyoneering Association calendar :)

A little cake, for all day munching

I woke this morning with an urge for cake. After purchasing some yogurt earlier this week for some curry experimentation, and then just not being in the mood for curry or the prepwork involved, the yogurt has sat, with nothing to contribute itself to. I generally don't like yogurt, especially that of the plain variety, but I do find it useful for cooking.

Wander over this way and see what became of said yogurt.

Pardon me. I have cake to tend to :)

All Wound Up

They look much more stunning wound up, don't they?

These three happy yarn balls are fresh off the bobbins, and are ready for plying. It was absolutely mesmerizing, winding them off the bobbins into center pull balls - and once wound up, they look just gorgeous. You can see the various colors in the yarn better in ball form than on the bobbin, I think.

Each one is about 90g (3 ounces) in weight, I can't speak for the yardage yet since I'm going to ply them up - stay tuned for results!

Singles Anyone?

Incidentally, you can click on that photo for a gratuitously large shot of singles...

I'm so pleased...you are looking at three bobbins full of singles I've spun :) A total of 10 ounces of blue faced leicester space dyed (not by me, I bought it that way) roving converted into fingering weight singles. Because I personally have not had much luck knitting with singles that thin, I plan to ply these up - 2-ply most likely, as I've not had much luck at all with Navajo plying (3-ply to keep the colorway intact) - I made a right mess the last time I tried that.

It is possible that the yarn is knittable as is (well, once the twist is set anyway) since I have a tendency to over spin, but I figure why risk the frustration? Once plied, I will likely offer the lot up for sale, as individual 2 ply skeins. While they all came from the same roving, the way they were split, some sections had more blue and purple and some sections had more pinks. Stay tuned for plied results!

A Fantastic ROAK

While I'm not an official member, I've been ROAK'd none the less. What is a ROAK? It's a random act of kindness. And I'm one of the multitudes of recipients of the ROAK planned by Elizabeth of My Favorite Things. After collecting all kinds of recipes from various knit bloggers, she formatted them, printed them up and bound them into a spiral bound book...272 pages of favorite recipes from various knit bloggers! She then proceeded to send a copy to each of the contributors! My copy arrived last night, and I've been perusing it for dinner ideas since then. Thanks Elizabeth!

You may notice the sidebar has been updated to include the various things I'm selling off. Please do contact me if you're interested in any of it. I'll probably keep it listed on my blog for a bit before taking it off to Ebay to try my luck there. I suspect various items will make an appearance as we actually go through our house and start clearing things out.

Apparently, I should go Purple.

No further cleaning has happened...and few things have found new homes. I figure I'll try here first, then perhaps post over to ebay.

Last night was spent going through a ginormous box of baseball cards - with a few football cards thrown in for good measure. Does anyone know how best to go about selling one's baseball card collection? (not mine, it's my husband's - I never would have guessed!)

Other things up for sale/trade:
a six inch black bladed Kyocera Chef's knife. It's in good order, and might need a sharpening (send it to Kyocera for sharpening) depending on how you like your cutlery, never been dropped or washed in the dishwasher.

In case you are wondering what's to be bought if I manage to sell off enough stuff? I'm drooling over digital SLR camera.

Oh and about that purple:

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

Cleanin' Frenzy

I'm not sure what is going on, but my husband has gotten on a cleaning kick again. I think it had something to do with some crazy PBS show that was playing in the background this weekend about cleaning up clutter...it must have worked its way subliminally into his mind because the next thing I knew, the front closet was being rearranged, and jackets and barely worn shoes were being placed in a pile for "redistribution."

I managed to escape unscathed so far, but will probably not escape for long.

Some items I know that will likely be looking for a new home include:

-A lightly used Omega 4000 Pulp Ejection Juice Extractor -why? I prefer smoothies, and love my Vitamix much more dearly.
-A lightly used Matfer Mandoline - because a sharp knife in my hand is much faster than fussing with a mandoline, even though I can't make crinkle or waffle cuts with a knife :D

In the way of Fiber, I'm likely going to be looking for a home for some of the following:
-Several skeins of Lion Brand Chenille - in various colors - I think I have a skein of purple, 2 skeins of black and quite a number of skeins (6 or 7) in Peacock (I think...actually, it's 8. I counted when I got home.)
-Numerous balls of Patons Beachcomber in dark blue

Any takers? Make me an offer...

just plain bored.

*sigh* I'm tied into completing some gift knitting and have high hopes for completing the other projects on needles before getting distracted and starting another project...

...sadly, I'm bored bored bored! The gift knits are easy knits, can be done anywhere, but I'm tired of knitting them (scarves. Two of them. At the same time. On the same needles. What was I thinking?!) The other unfinished projects? Cozy, of course - with 2 huge skeins of yarn to go (but I'm half way done!). I've considered ripping the thing out, and using the yarn for something else - but I don't know if I have enough yardage...the current candidate for the yarn should I be possessed to rip, is a wrap/throw from Alice Starmore...mmmm....aran knitting! The other project? Socks :D I'm on the cuffs...K2P2 ribbing...I've only got about a centimeter done...and it goes FOREVER because it's on US3 needles! The good news is I knit both socks together on the same circular needle (hooray for the magic loop - it's saved me from Second Sock Syndrome) so at least once I'm done, I'll have a pair of socks :D

Anyone else hitting a crafting slump?

BTW, I love my wheel...gratuitous yarn photos will be appearing sometime in the not too distant future :D

the Squid ate my Eggplant

...among other things.

Here at Half Baked, we seem to be troubled with minor technical difficulties....
First, yahoo groups is misbehaving, delivering messages all out of whack. It makes for wonderfully disjointed reading. Next, my email for my volunteer job kept wanting to do maintenance and kept logging me out (gotta love web based mail!) and finally, it seems I can't get into a couple sites from work today - one of them is SuperEggplant and I'm dying to find out what books she fetched from Kinokuniya (sadly bloglines truncated the entry, thus the tantalizing knowledge of a new craft book found...but which one?! Oh the curiosity is tremendous!) and it's not letting me into my volunteer webmail either. Both are returning various errors...but I've verified it is *just me* that seems to be affected. My computer has been rebooted, given a stern lecture and a time out, all to mostly no avail...after several tries using multiple browsers, I was finally successful in getting into my webmail using FireFox...but sadly, SuperEggplant's doings remain a mystery, a victim to a 113 no route found error.

Oh, and what's up with the Squid you ask? Beats me, I'm not IT savvy, but from what I can gather, it refers to this squid.

Technical Difficulties

My blog(s) seem(s) to have technical difficulties - pertaining specifically to photos uploaded directly to blogger....anyone else noticing these problems? The problem: The photos don't seem to load reliably - sometimes they appear, sometimes not. When they don't appear, often times the problem is fixed by refreshing the browser - other times, it doesn't work at all. I guess I'll have to post to blogger for assistance, and then if it's not resolved I'll have to move the photos to Flickr and update the blog accordingly. *sigh*

In other news, I did a little baking this weekend - if you are as partial to chocolate as I am, click here for details!

A day to Lament

Attn: If you have not already yet discovered, the Matcha Green Tea Frappuccino is no more.

It has officially been "discontinued" and replaced with "Pumpkin Spice Latte" or some such.

*mope*

Officially Thirty-Something!

Today is my Birthday :D And I'm officially a thirty something now. I think I'm starting to feel older, but I'm kinda hoping it's really just this stupid lingering cold.

But enough about that. Look! Look what my wonderful husband got me!! It's a wheel!!!!

Details, you ask? It's a Kromski Minstrel, in Walnut finish. Double treadle, double drive (though I have it set up as single drive with scotch tension right now). I've got the optional distaff on it (looks more castle like, no?) and an arch-style lazy kate (not in the photo). I've also got an extra large whorl for it, so I can try to teach myself how to spin much bulkier yarns (I tend to spin singles that are a bit thicker than fingering weight) .

It did require assembly, but it came together with hardly any tools (just a Phillips head screwdriver) and no difficulty at all. And yes, I have spun on it - there was a little bit of thick and thin going on at first, but I think I've gotten the hang of it now. I tried Navajo plying, but was having no luck with it - neither on my wheel nor on my spindle...so I just went back to 2-ply - since i was too eager to ply up the first yarn off my wheel :D The yarn is currently sitting on a Niddy Noddy waiting for me to give it a bath to set the twist.

Oh - In case you're wondering, Marble doesn't know how to spin - but she does show surprising amount of interest in the treadles.

Freaking out about Holiday Knitting?

Not me...not yet anyway :D I've got only a foot done on each of the scarves (of which there will be two) - so I've got about 5 feet more to go! yeek. All other knitting has since been set aside, including my socks - and all they have left is boring K2P2 Ribbing for the cuff for as long as I wish to make them (they'll be slouchy socks I think - so maybe 3 or 4 inches of K2P2 - sounds all fine and good, but it's on US3 needles...so it takes longer than I would expect)

In any case, if you are freaking out about holiday knitting, the Harlot has some help and advice. Call and listen to her at 877-SOS-KNIT. It's a hoot. And it's free in the US and Canada :D

Birthday Goodies

Not only did Amy treat me to crafting and Fruit Tarts, she also spoiled me with some birthday presents!! Such fun and colorful wrapping paper :) Tied together with coordinating yarn - and on the outside, a carebear and a skein of blue yarn - bet you'll never guess where it's from....Target! LOL! Off to the side, you'll see the fruits of my crafting time with Amy - she took pity on my pooor hands and we polymer clay'd my crochet hooks. Haven't had a chance to use them yet, but they certainly seem easier to handle now that they have proper handles on them. In addition to helping me bulk up my crochet hooks, Amy took some time to show me the basics of working with polymer clay - unfortunately, I can't show off my attempts (or the cute ebi pins Amy made while demonstrating manipulation of Fimo to me) as my camera refused to focus on such small items.

Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering what was in the wrapping paper...it was books! I looooove books!

I am now a proud owner of the ever popular Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop - and the first project tagged is the leaf pullover :) I sure hope I have yarn in the stash already for it!

The second book is a Japanese sewing craft book - handmade Zakka. ISBN: 4579110080. It has a bunch of adorable little sewing projects inside...if I could just get past my issues with cutting fabric! LOL :)

Thanks so much Amy, you spoil me!

Pre-Birthday Weekend

What a fun weekend :)

Amy of Amyville had Chris and me over for some lunch and crafting, complete with surprise birthday treats for me! She's so thoughtful, Amy remembered I have a thing about AJ's Fruit Tarts :) and had some on hand for dessert! I felt so special and spoiled - thanks Amy!

Chris also had a surprise for each of us - handmade purses/knitting bags in our favorite colors! Mine is blue, Amy's Pink and Orange, of course! Perfect for storing a pair of knitting projects (I know, because I happened to have two - actually three projects on hand if you count both scarves I have on the same needle!)

And check out the inside - a zippered pocket and one that closes with velcro - Chris has thoughtfully placed the loop part facing out, so if you happen to have exposed yarn, it won't get chewed!

If you're interested in one for yourself, she's able to take requests on color :)

Pop over to her blog and leave her a comment - she's planning on opening an online shop soon.

Thanks Chris! I love it :D

Last bits of Summer

A little bit of summer trapped in a jar to welcome in the Autumn!

What is it? It's Prickly Pear Jelly! Made by a friend down in Tucson, and gifted to me. Yum! While my favorite season is autumn, summer in the southwest does have its delights - and prickly pear fruit is one of them. Unfortunately, none of my personal prickly pear seem to bear large fruit - I suspect part of the problem is they are cultivated for their appearance rather than their fruit - and I'm sure the fact that I don't supplement their watering doesn't help matters.

In any case, if you happen to have prickly pears on hand, and wish to make jelly, I hear the trick to making it gel is to throw in a couple unripe ones - as fully ripened prickly pears don't have much pectin.

September's Sampler!

September's Sampler Arrived - it's like getting a semi-surprise self gift in the mail!

Some of my favorite items are pictured above...they include:

• A polymer clay pendant from spicey creations
• A glass bead stitchmarker from fuzz monkey boutique (coming soon!), not photoed...oops.
• A Cletus Fetus from fetopia.net - odd, but cute in its own way
• A cute monster button from...oh dear. I've either lost the label or it wasn't labeled!
• A music themed button from a minor thread
• Some lovely stationary from the creative cupcake
• and a bi-fold pouch from pink thread & more

Darn it, I missed!

I missed my official Blogiversary. How sad is that?

In the past year I've gone from knitting rectangles, very nice, but they were just rectangles...to knitting lace, the occasional garment, and I'm still cranking on my first official pair of socks. I've learned to spin, to support my fiber addiction...and I've learned how to crochet :) Not bad.

I've continued to cook and play in the kitchen, tho not much that has been blog worthy...

And I've managed to make friends with people who have somehow, one way or another, stumbled into my little piece of the internet. Thanks for popping by and dropping the occasional comment :) I appreciate each and every one!

Here's to more blogging and more random friendships!

C is for Cookie!

I love chocolate chip cookies. Especially fresh out of the oven with a tall glass of cold milk. Mmmmmm.

While I don't have a set recipe for the Chinese feast I cooked up in celebration of my Lunar birthday (a huge vat of hot and sour soup and fried dumplings :P), I do happen to have a link to the recipe I used for these tasty chocolate chip cookies.

Head over here for the details.

And no, the chocolate chip cookies were not served with the Chinese food - we had mooncake for dessert, of course!

Celebrating the Harvest Moon

And my lunar birthday! I was born on the same day as the harvest moon in the Chinese calendar - and as such, I mark the date with the Mooncake festival every year :) I am partial to yolk free mooncakes, even though they are not considered as auspicious as those with yolks inside. This year I couldn't decide between Mung Bean cakes or Lotus Seed cakes...so I bought a box of each. Yum!

Early Presents are the Best!

While I was delivering some Kilt Lifter to her and her husband as a thank you gift, Raquel surprised me with an early birthday present! Thank you Raquel! Isn't it lovely? Creative and reusable packaging (wooden wine bottle case) stuffed full with eight ounces of stunning blue-hued merino/tussah silk roving! Hooray! I haven't tried yet, but I suspect the wooden case will be just the perfect size to stuff my spindle inside along with some roving for a little bit of protection. I love it. And in my favorite color too :)

Fire up those needles...

it's nearing holiday time.
That's right, Halloween candy is in the aisles...and next thing you know it it'll be stuff-yerself-with-Turkey day and then the official count down begins.

As such, the knitting needles have been pressed into action - various gifts are in the planning stage, others are in the execution stage :)

Of course, there's also some Personal Knitting going on...a pair of socks, Cozy (which actually got worked on this past weekend - 24 more rows done, and nearing the end of my 2nd skein of yarn - at least I *think* it's the end of the 2nd skein...I can't remember - the poor thing has been stuck on needles longer than I can remember. ) I'm flirting with the idea of knitting Leaves in Relief, though I'm thinking of doing it with a cabled braid down the sleeve instead of all those twining leaves....I certainly have the yarn for it - 1 full kilo of worsted wt cream colored Irish yarn...

Citrine!

Look! She's done! More details on her creation can be found here. She and Pasha are good friends - and they are going to be winging their way to a pair of sweet little girls who have been evacuated from their home due to Hurricane Katrina. I suspect when they evac'd they didn't take many toys, so hopefully these two will bring a bit of brightness to them.

Cat Bits

I've been taking a break from knitting to crochet....
... and I've found that while I can crochet reasonably quickly, and I love the fact that there's only one loop to keep track of, crocheting hurts my hand :( I don't know if it's the way I hold the hook, or if the hook handle is simply too small...

In any case, I have completed all the bits and pieces for a Matcha/Skimima/Flo & José - like kitty...and finishing syndrome has set in. What is it with finishing that makes me want to procrastinate and set it aside for later? Most of the hard work is done...all that is left is to put all the pieces together, after all!

All Skeined Up!

:) amazing the difference lighting makes...I am continuing to struggle to get accurate representation of the color of this yarn. Anyhow, there they are...all skeined up :) Aren't they lovely?

Pure Nerd.

Pure Nerd

69 % Nerd, 26% Geek, 21% Dork

For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd, earning you the title of: Pure Nerd.

The times, they are a-changing. It used to be that being exceptionally smart led to being unpopular, which would ultimately lead to picking up all of the traits and tendences associated with the "dork." No-longer. Being smart isn't as socially crippling as it once was, and even more so as you get older: eventually being a Pure Nerd will likely be replaced with the following label: Purely Successful.

THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

Prettily Plied

I'm very pleased to report that plying goes a lot faster than spinning :)

For a more details and bigger photos, go look here.

Of course, I haven't decided what I'm going to do with this yarn yet...I've got plenty more roving in this colorway - I think I bought 8 ounces total.

I'm currently contemplating keeping the small hank for myself to play with while offering up the larger hank for sale. In case you're wondering, the larger hank is 50g (about 2.5 oz) and contains about 79 yards (72.5 meters) of yarn.

Ready to Ply!

Well...Almost Ready to ply anyway :) I've got a full spindle of lovely Mojave colored Merino Roving spun up into singles - or one long single anyway. What is the proper terminology - does anyone know?

The plan is to transfer the yarn from the spindle onto a ballwinder so I can try to ply this into a 2 ply yarn using a center pull ball - I was going to try the Andean bracelet trick, but I'm worried that 1) I will wind up winding it too tightly around my hand and 2) the yarn will be prone to twisting on itself making a snarled mess.

Lack of Fiberly Pursuits

Well, work has got me in a slump. But perhaps you all have noticed...especially since I've been dreadfully remiss in updating my blog!

I seem to have recently fallen back into reading - mostly a wide variety of escapist reading...every now and again I work on a crochet project...but I've discovered that crochet seems to aggravate tendonitis in my hand. If I'm not reading or crocheting, I've actually found myself determined to completely fill my spindle so I can get to plying. It has to be close - it seems I've only got a few millimeters of unoccupied space before the spun yarn is flush with the edge of the whorl - the spindle still spins fine, and the accumulated fiber is not threatening to slide off the spindle shaft, so I guess I still have some more yarn to spin before I'm "officially" done. Interestingly enough, I've nothing on knitting needles at this time! How odd!

Gotta Love Technology

Well, it's been a while - needless to say, work has been keeping me plenty busy - the weekend was spent getting my weekly dose of sunshine (along with my fair share of bumps and scrapes...and apparently I got a bit too friendly with a prickly pear).

This morning I had planned on working from home (hooray for telecommuting) but that was quickly quashed by technical difficulties. I spent the first hour of my morning allowing the "Technical Assistance Center" break my machine further, only to have it returned to its semi-functioning self at the end of the call. Apparently if I decide to end the call, they consider the ticket closed, even if the problem is not resolved. How's that for customer service? *grumble* so after I get done with my phone meeting, I get to get back with the Tech folk to see if they can fix the problem.

Love it.

Recovery Weekend

Had a fantastic weekend just recovering - spent some time with Amy - and got a mixed assortment of stitchmarkers from her (all available at Amyville!) but sadly, I was too much the lazy (and hungry) individual to stage the photo shoots...lets just say it would have involved the stitch markers being displayed next to real size versions of the various foods...

Other than field trips to the north for food and yarn, we also popped into an amazing paper studio - I've always been fascinated with making paper - and they have a whole workspace and classes!! yeek! As if I need another craft! Lol.

The remainder of the weekend was spent either spinning (I nearly have my first spindleful of singles!) or curled up on the couch reading. I was a very much needed very relaxing weekend.

How odd.

Your Linguistic Profile:

70% General American English

15% Yankee

10% Dixie

5% Upper Midwestern

0% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

it would seem, that even though I grew up in the midwest, and never ever spent any time in the south, I somehow speak 0% midwestern american and 10% dixie. The Yank comes from my time in College, I'm sure.

Shop's Open

Well, I've gone and opened an Etsy Shop - for now it only has marble magnets for sale, but once I get my spinning in hand, I hope to have handspun yarns to offer. Sadly, my sewing is always the hardest for me to work on, so fabric-goods like totes and softies may be long in making an appearance.

Sampler!

Well, I subscribed to the Sampler last month, and I received my August Sampler package while I was at the OR show. Lots of goodies to be had, but I especially enjoyed the following:

• A pearl choker made of pearls in clusters of three strung on what I think is Hemp string from MaizeHutton.com - I will probably have to lengthen it, as it is a true choker and I'm not accustomed to wearing them.
• Delicious Soap from Naikid Inc
• Tasty Summer Vacation Lip Balm (it's Vegan!) from Heather Joy
• Lovely Gift Tags from Annette Payne Designs
• Handspun Yarns from Midnight Sky Fibers
• A cute packet of fabric, button, needle and thread from Uplifting Arts
• Adorable Stationary from DeMarco Designs
• A sweet little Bee Charm from Amy Peters Studio
• and on my to check out list: Feed Your Head Books

Sorry, no photos, but you can certainly browse those Indie Artists and see their goodies for yourself :D

Exhausted.

Well, I'm back :) Spent the last week ogling and petting gear at the Outdoor Industry Summer Retailer Show up in Salt Lake City, Utah. Needless to say, I'm exhausted, and the gear is loooovely! Nearly no knitting was accomplished during this time, but my August Sampler arrived :) More tomorrow!

Spinning Bag!

Remember that floppy purse I made? Well, while it is a little floppy for regular use, I have discovered an excellent use for it! I use it to hold my predrafted roving while I'm spindling! I'm terribly uncoordinated and can't for the life of me figure out how to wrap roving happily around my wrist and feed it off for drafting....so this turned out to be the perfect solution. Stuff roving in bag, sling bag on wrist, and draft away :) Sorry, no photos of spindling in progress - it's going reasonably well, if a little bit slowly - the spindle is nearly full, so I suspect I'll be trying my hand at plying soon! hooray!

Nearly Frogged

I nearly frogged this project to turn it into something else...it had been on needles for what seems like quite some time - turns out it's not been too long - I originally had to rip it back out and redo math back in June - anyhow, I realized how close I was to being done, and I decided to finish it off. What is it? It's a Ribbon X-Back! Click on for photos and more details.

Connect?

Hey - does anyone out there use Connect? If so, and you want a code for 5 song downloads, please let me know. I don't use it, nor do I tend to download music. So...first come first served. :D And while this may seem like a blatant plea for comments, it's not. ;) not really anyway :D

A new Fiberly Pursuit!

Fantastic time was had the last few days hanging with other fellow crafters...

First was a farewell to Alison as she is moving from the Southwest to the Southeast...and while my time was limited, it was certainly good to be able to put some faces to blogs as a goodly portion of the ladies present were from the local SnB.

And yesterday I met up with Chris for a delicious Indian food dinner, lively and thought provoking conversation....and Crochet!

That's right - after all, you must have seen it coming, what with the small herd of Japanese Crochet Books that have landed in my library. And can you guess what I've cast my hook out on? Why it's a kitty...in the style of Matcha. Crochet is great - and there's only the one loop to worry about :) Perfect for portable projects :D Sorry, no photos yet, as I've just got a bit of a circle goin' on!

Shopping

Thanks to the pointers to CafePress and Etsy :)

I'm also going to check out Zazzle too.

I haven't been very happy with the available apparel products on CafePress - and I've not yet had a chance to look very closely at Zazzle yet. My main problem is ideally i'd like high quality organic cotton or hemp shirts - but the only way that is going to happen is if I print the darn things myself. As for the cards, cups, mousepads and such, I still haven't decided which way to go. Anyone have anything to say about either Zazzle or CafePress's print on demand for those types of items? Good quality? Crisp images?

Fridge Jewelry

lookie lookie what I made! I do indeed to other crafts other than knitting!

So...as I mentioned before, knitting seems to take most of my time, but I do feel the need to branch out now and again. I've been trying to come up with ideas for custom things out of photographs me and my husband have taken - mostly for gifting something personal, but then the mercenary side of me does pop out - in order to offset some of our other hobby costs, we want to sell some of our custom images in the forms of cards, shirts, calendars...that sort of thing. But since we're still hunting for a reputable vendor and trying to decide how to move on those things, I decided to stick my toe in the water with these.

So yes, you heard right. I'm thinking about becoming commercial. Gotta pay for that yarn somehow, right? And since my spinning is somewhat slow...I'm startin' easy with these instead. If you're interested - do let me know. I'm thinking of starting the big ones at $3.00 ea and the little ones at $2.50 ea. Leave me a comment if you're interested...

Perfect Timing!

I've just finished reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix...and also received notice that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is awaiting me at the local Library! Hooray!

Library Expansion

Somehow, every time I have a spare moment when I am traveling for work, I manage to drift into a Japanese Bookstore in search of books. I already have a dreadful issue with regards to collecting books (mostly cookbooks in my case) but then I stumbled into the world of Japanese Craft books. The new additions?

Food Wrappin' - ISBN: 4388058114

This book is loaded with beautiful photos - of food and how to creatively wrap it! What better than lovely food and lovely wrapping combined? :D

Next up, we have:

Amigurumi Collection Volume 2 - ISBN: 4388058114

This books completes my series of three :D. How shameful. I don't even know how to crochet yet. I better get started...especially since the last book to join the library (this time) is another crochet book!

Look!

Title Unknown - it's the Cat book that inspired Matcha!ISBN: 4391130122

I love that book. Not only is it a pattern book, but it shows all colors of cats up to all kinds of mischief!

Eggs - not just for breakfast!

Last Month's IMBB was hosted by Seattle Bon Vivant and it was all about Eggs! IMBB has continued to grow amazingly - and the Egg issue had 81 entries rolled up in two summary posts! If ever you needed inspiration for different ways to prepare eggs of all sorts, go have a look see :D

And in case that isn't enough, there's also the EoMEoTE - #8's summary was just posted!

Leafy Lacework

Continuing with my fascination with knitted lace, I decided to knit Knitty's Branching Out as a hostess gift for a friend who's putting up with me and a mess of other crew in a month or so while we run amok at a local (to her) trade show - and no, it's not a fiber related trade show...it's an outdoor gear trade show. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a little bit of a gear head when it comes to outdoor gear and equipment - but then it seems I'm the same way when it comes to my fiberly pursuits.

Anyhow, I've got enough yarn to do another...or I might use the yarn to do this dayflower scarf...Details (and another photo) on my Branching Out can be found here.

Socklets or full Socks?

I've got some Sock weight Karaoke I'm evaluating - I've cast on for a pair of socks (whoo hoo - two socks on two circs!)...no photos, because there isn't much to look at yet - I've cast on using the Pom Squad Toe-up anklet pattern...but I'm not certain what I think about wool-silk anklet socks - I guess I can just keep right on knitting the leg of the socks if I don't want anklets - these will be my first socks, so I'm not sure how sound that logic is.

Then again, if I knit just the anklets, I might have just enough yarn for two pair....maybe.

What do you guys think?

Am I the Only One...

...who was not sucked in this weekend by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince?

I was sorely tempted to go and get my hands on a copy - but I held back - I checked my local library queue and I'm currently #13 on the list...In order to bide my time, I've also gone and put Order of the Phoenix also on hold so I can refresh my dreadful memory as to just what happened in book 5. How dreadful that I can't remember...I spent a good portion of one evening this past weekend trying to recall what all happened in book 5 and was embarrassingly unsuccessful....I could easily recall books one through four, but not five. Oh well, timing should work out perfectly - I think I'll be able to pick up Order of the Phoenix, read it through and Half Blood Prince should be ready for pickup just as I finish :D Hooray!

Speaking of Tea...

Looks like July's IMBB is all about Tea. Go visit a la Cuisine for details!

But back to that Matcha thing. I've a whole mess of wool yarn that needs to be dyed...and a small herd of KoolAid packets with which to enhance them...but the idea of having Matcha hued yarn intrigues me. Does anyone know if 1) Matcha can successfully be used to dye wool yarn 2) if so, what ratio is used - matcha powder to ounces of wool to get a saturated color and 3) is it prohibitively expensive (since matcha powder demands a much higher price than KoolAid!)

Matcha Madness!

Just what is this Matcha anyway? Well, Matcha is the name of a rather adorable crochet cat - and while he has his own following, I'm referring to a specific type of Green Tea. The literal translations I've found for "Matcha" include "liquid Jade" and "rubbed tea." It is a brilliant green tea powder that is typically used in the Japanese Tea Ceremony, Chanoyu. Interestingly enough, it is also used to dye foods such as soba noodles and mochi green, and is used in the making of Green Tea Ice Cream. Matcha is made from gyokuro, a green tea that is shaded during the weeks prior to harvest to ensure their deep green color. Post harvest, the leaves are steamed to prevent fermentation, and are processed to remove their veins - at this point they are laid flat to dry - and are now known as "tencha." The tencha is then ground into a fine powder and is then known as Matcha. There are two types of matcha - koicha and usucha, with koicha having a milder and sweeter flavor than usucha.

Anyhow, Matcha green tea is all the rage these days. Starbucks now offers a Matcha Creme Frappuccino as well as a Matcha shaken iced tea. I've not yet had the opportunity to try either....what I have tried is one of the new Matcha additions to the Jamba Juice lineup...while they offer several Matcha blended smoothies, I opted for a Matcha Shot - paired with soymilk. Interestingly enough, it tastes like Lucky Charms. I kid you not - and it had me perky all morning long :)

Keen What?!

Quinoa! It might look like birdseed, but it isn't. Well...if it is, people eat it too...and they have been for thousands of years.

Just what can you do with Quinoa? Well, it can be used to substitute rice in many dishes, it can be turned into salad similarly to taboule, and it can be ground into flour! In my case, I turned it into a tasty salad...read more here.

Meme me up, Scotty!

Imagine my surprise, when another Stephanie tagged me for Delicious Days' cook next door meme! I find it pleasantly surprising that people stumble into my blogs - especially my companion blogs since they see so few updates! In any case, if you'd like to see my answers, please go visit my woefully neglected food blog. Perhaps I should update it with my recent and somewhat embarrassing craving...guess what's for dinner...Spam & Pineapple Fried Rice. That's right. Spam. How frightening is that? I even went to the trouble of making rice last night so it would be of the proper consistency for frying...

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!