Another day, another sock yarn

By the time I got to Unwind on Saturday there was only one color of this yarn left. It's not a color that I would normally buy. But I needed to have some of this Rio de la Plata sock yarn. My collection would not be complete otherwise. My friend L (of L&H fame) got some on Thursday in a colorway that I would have much preferred. So I went with what there was. It's a nice enough color, SL00, poinson green, green sheen, dusky green, according to the label. Super-wash merino and 437 yards.

So I brought it home and wound it right away. The color is more accurate in the wound yarn than in the skein. Way more. But even that isn't quite right. You know how hard it is to take pictures of something so blurry in the first place.




I couldn't wait to get some socks started. I'm trying the Feather and Fan socks from Socks, Socks, Socks but not liking it so much. I think I'll start over with something more leaf like. Meanwhile I've been working on yet another shawl. This may be the year of the shawl, or so it seems.





More about that later.

Rough

The past couple of days have been rough, at least on the knitting. Hardly anything I tried seemed to work. I did manage to finish another hat for Dulaan. This one is from one of the Vogue On the Go Books. Book Two of Hats and Caps. The pattern is by Fiona Ellis. I used three colors of Brown Sheep Nature Spun that accidentally were the colors in the pattern. Except mine are darker and not tweed. I still have a few ends to weave in on the inside.

The yarn I was planning to use for the Pacific Waves Shawl turned out to be too busy for the pattern. It's Trendsetter Solaris. I don't think it's available anymore. There's an error in that pattern, by the way. The chart is correct but the written pattern has a purl row where there should be a knit.

Anyway. I decided the yarn would look better in Monika's Sakura-Cherry Blossom Shawl. I'm calling it the Pillar Shawl. It took me a while to get it started but I think I've figured it out and can keep going without referring to the pattern. I'm going to try making it flare more at the top so it has longer wings.

Back to our regularly scheduled program

The shawl is done and suitably admired. Time to move on to something else. I've been using the Dulaan project as sort of a filler for the past week. A couple more hats and some others on the needles. But I really need something bigger. So it looks like I'll be doing this.

I've seen it a couple of times but didn't make up my mind until this morning when I was moving stash around and came across some yarn that I think will be perfect. I have to work up a sample yet, and find the rest of the yarn, but I think it'll be a good use for some yarn I haven't any idea why I bought. Must have been the 50% off price from when Temple City Knits was going out of business the first time.

For those of you who thought that was my yarn stash in yesterday's photos. That's only the part that doesn't fit into the yarn room. The yarn room is undergoing major renovation right now. I'm trying to clear out some old stuff that I don't think I'll ever use. It'll be hard to say goodbye to some of it. I need to go get some more plastic tubs for the stuff I'm keeping. At least they'll stack better than the cardboard boxes.

Spanish Dancer Shawl

The fun is in the details. And seeing it being worn. This is probably the best color capture I've done on this project. I used eight skeins of Koigu and several lengths of US7 needles, 16" to 60". There were a few errors in the pattern but nothing that couldn't be easily deduced. I worked almost exclusively on this shawl for three weeks. I'm pleased.



Miles of ruffles before I sleep. Several days were devoted to doing the ruffle. But it was worth it.



Lisa loved the shawl and all the ruffles. (I guess I should have tidied the background before I took this one. Now all you people who never get to come inside can see why. Like I told you, I'm not a good housekeeper.)

Another day, another hat

A hat a day keeps the doctor away. Or, "all work and no hats makes Jack a dull boy" or whatever. Using up more scrap odds and ends, these yarn are from a very old Rowan kit. Do they even still make kits? The yarns are so stiff and firm that I'm sure they must have been meant for carpet. I'm putting this in to soak for a bit to see if that will help. I think the next hat will be a plain roll brim with something that will not cause the back of my wrists to ache quite so much.

That could be the rain though. Yes! It's raining today. Not a downpour yet but maybe that'll come later. I've already taken three ibuprophen tablets so I can keep knitting without too much pain. Since I'm teaching today I probably won't do much actual knitting anyway until this evening.

Went to Unraveled yesterday. They had apparently had a good first day of the sale. I didn't help though. Came close to getting some more Koigu but put it back. I'll wait until they have some new sock yarn.

Never say never

unless you really mean it. As in "I'm never buying any more yarn."

I ended up at Black Sheep Knittery yesterday after I went to see my dermatologist at Kaiser in Hollywood. I had planned to only buy some of those Addi Bamboo Circulars. I've only recently discovered them and I think I like them way more than any of my other circulars.

There's a 50% off sale going on at Black Sheep for the rest of this month. L (of L&H fame) said she thought they had some of those needles in small to medium sizes so I had better go get some. I only found two that I would use on a fairly regular basis. So, since I couldn't spend as much as I had mentally allocated, I spent some on this wonderfully soft cashmere/extra fine merino blend from Lana Grossa. "Pashmina" is the name. There was more of this orange plus some other colors. I got four skeins, enough for a reasonably sized scarf. Pattern search has begun.

I'm not going back. At least not right away. There's a "Tax Relief Sale" starting at Unraveled today. I have to go over there to meet friends later today, and to see if I can resist a sale this time. Everything is on sale. I think it's 25% off but I could be confused.

Hot and not so

My friend Estelle went to Belize. She had a great time. She brought me four bottles of the very popular Sharp's Habanera Sauce. (I already finished one of them.) I like them a lot. I put some on my oatmeal every morning. Umm! Some people think that sounds weird. Those same people eat raw fish. Ick!

I finally finished this hat that I started a few weeks ago. It's for our Dulaan contribution. Now that I've finished the Spanish Dancer shawl I'll be able to concentrate more on making hats and other stuff. I used a couple of yarns I had left over from hats I made for myself a few years ago. The red is possum and merino. I hope no one is allegic to possum. It's very warm and a lot softer than you might think. I don't remember what the blue yarn is. Some kind of wool blend I think.

I have a couple of sweaters started but I don't think I'm going to be able to finish them in time to ship this year. If there's not a next year then I'll find a home for them somewhere else. Anyway, as I mentioned a few weeks ago, our production this year is not so hot. We're really trying to make up for lost time. I think hats are the way to go. More items for more people. Quantity isn't everything but it counts for a lot.

Gimme another four to six hours

and I'll be done with the bind off of the SD shawl. Conservatively, I spent six hours yesterday just binding off and I'm maybe 400 stitches past the center point. 3596 stitches. My left thumb is really throbbing. And then there are a few ends to be woven in. I know we'll all be happy when it's done.

Weird weather this weekend. Rain! Not like the East coast, of course. But still, rain this time of year is really unusual. And it was loud enough to wake me and the cat up at 4:30AM. And there was some thunder too. It's still gloomy today but no more rain is predicted. But then there wasn't any predicted for yesterday either.

I spent a really pleasant afternoon at Unraveled yesterday. L&H were there as well as a couple of other knitting friends plus the shop owner. There wasn't much traffic in the store so we all sat around and chatted and knit. A really fun time! Then we went to dinner at the Mediterranean Grill. I'd never been there. I liked it and I'll be going back soon.

Now that the Spanish Dancer shawl is almost done I'm beginning to think about my next project. I'm still trying to make some headway on the top down raglan that I'm doing as a shop sample. If you're waiting for the pattern, don't despair. Soon! Then there's still plenty of other things already started that I want to get back to. But I'm being led astray by Monika and her new shawl pattern.

Hot off the needles!

All I have to do now is pick up a couple hundred stitches across the top edge and do an attached I-cord. Then undo the provisional cast of of 441 stitches and make the ruffle. Maybe by next weekend when Lisa comes over I'll be able to show a finished shawl. I had planned to finish this last night but things can get in the way.

My older brother called and that always takes an hour or more. He said my new phone sounded great. And the another friend and I talked for maybe another half an hour. So by that time it was nearly time for bed and I was too tired and a little stressed so decided I would finish it this morning while I'm doing my laundry.

I went for my tread mill test yesterday. I thought I did quite well and I managed to get my heart rate up where I had to in only a couple of minutes. Apparently that's too fast. It should have taken at least five to ten minutes. The nurse said maybe I wasn't used to exercise but I told her about my daily walks plus my blood pressure is really good right now. I didn't have any problem with the tread mill walking, except I was pretty short of breath when I finished. So there's some kind of problem. One that didn't show up in my EKG. I have to wait until next week to hear from my primary physician and then there'll be a decision as to whether I have to wear a "black box" monitor for a day or so. Anyway, I think that's why I was feeling stressed.

So, the long process of knitting the body of the shawl is done. As soon as I finish putting away the laundry, and have some lunch, I'll be starting on that attached I-cord.

Paying attention

See my new phone! Isn't it nice? It only took me two trips to Target to get it right. I should pay more attention. I forgot to check when I got the first one to see if it had an answering machine. That's the only reason I needed to get a new phone. The old answering machine quit working. So a second trip was necessary. It has an answering machine and I managed to program the few features that I will actually use. It was a lot easier than I was prepared for.

Minnie asked me why I wanted a corded phone. It's pretty simple really. I like living in the last century. I hate the look of the new phones. You notice this one is black, the way phones used to be. My last phone was white and I never liked it. The new phones are just too cluttered. Too many things going on. The one I got is bad enough. I used to have a wireless phone and it caused me lots of grief mostly because hackers could use it to call China and Japan. But really I don't need all the stuff the new phones can do. Anyway, if you want to call and leave a message I have an answering machine again.

People who know me well know that I don't like seafood of any kind. I cringe just thinking about it. When I buy my Healthy Choice TV dinners I only buy chicken and turkey. Usually two of each kind. I should have paid more attention when I went to the market last week. Someone had mixed the garlic chicken and the seafood combo and I got one of those shrimp/chicken with rice things. I ate it because there wasn't anything else. I didn't want to get dressed again to go and buy something else. That's the same reason I ate five jalapenos for lunch. I didn't have anything else at home for a salad.

I did manage to KIP on my Spanish Dancer shawl yesterday without forgetting or misplacing any of the decreases. But then I was paying more attention than usual.

Annual Amaryllis

Here it is at last. I know you've been wondering how my amaryllis is doing. Just fine, as you can see. I've lost track but I think this plant is now about seven years old, started from a the three what were in a Christmas basket sent to me by my sister. Doesn't seem to matter how much I neglect it. It just keeps on going.

I just finished the fifth skein of Koigu that I'm using for the Spanish Dancer shawl so that means I'm 62.5% done with the shawl or my supply of yarn at least. I'm beginning to get a little nervous. Fortunately, L (of L&H fame) has a skein of the same dye lot that she's willing to sell me and there's one more at Unraveled. I think I'll go ahead and get them while I can.

I'm off for my morning walk now. I'll stop by Target while I'm out and see what they have in the way of corded phones. I went on Sunday but they, and practically everyone else, were closed for Easter.

Too much weekend

means you don't get much knitting done. I think I worked about three rows on the Spanish Dancer shawl and about the same amount on a new zigzag scarf. The rest of the weekend was given over to wining, dining and otherwise abusing my body. I hope to feel better by noon.

Sic transit omnia

Just in case you're keeping track. I'm over half way done with the Spanish Dancer. Well, I'm more than half way through the yarn. The rows are now less than 200 stitches so that means I only have about 100 more rows to go until I finish the body of the shawl. Then the real fun begins.

Yesterday I learned of the passing of the husband of one of my friends. It wasn't unexpected. I did not know him well but I liked him and respected his abilities. And he was a great husband to my friend. I'll be going to a memorial get together for him in a couple of weeks. I expect I'll be reconnecting with lots of people from an earlier time in my life. I'm really bad about keeping track of people once I don't see them on a frequent basis.

I had my first official knitting consultation yesterday. I've been hired to advise and give my opinion for one of my sometime students who is starting an import business. It's too early in the game to know how it's going to go. She does have some good resources though and is quite enthusiastic about it. Consulting is a lot of fun. You get to tell people what you think needs to be done but you don't have to do any of the work yourself.

And on a final note. My answering machine has quit. I have to get a new phone/answering machine this weekend so I don't miss any of the sales pitches and handout requests. Or the political stuff. So if you're trying to reach me and my machine doesn't answer that means I'm not here. Please call again.

Haircut

There's really not much to report on the knitting front. I worked a bunch of rows on the Spanish Dancer shawl. And worked on the current Dulaan hat last night. I did meet up with some friends at Unraveled for a while yesterday and got to hear about a Valentina Devine workshop that sounded like it was good. So while I'm not in the doldrums I don't have much to report.

Yesterday morning while I was out for my walk I decided to stop for a haircut. There's a plain ol' barber shop near where I live so I thought I'd give it a try. I don't think I've ever had a worse haircut. Considering that I don't have much hair it's hard to imagine how I could get a bad haircut. For which I had to pay $12.00. The guy ahead of me had one of the funniest comb-overs I've seen. Very little on top but he had let the sides grow so that he had a fairly thick fringe that covered his ears. I don't know how the barber kept from laughing, or just cutting it all off. Anyway I don't think I'll be going back there.

Hats, hats and more hats

We're getting closer and closer to the cut off date for shipping our Dulaan hats and sweaters etc. to Flagstaff. This is just a few of the hats I've collected over the past week. I have another one on the needles right now that I hope to finish this evening at our Dulaan knit night.

We were hoping to exceed our last year's total of 350 plus items. I'm beginning to doubt that we'll be able to even match that number. Not to be a pessimist but we just haven't had the enthusiasm that we had last year. That doesn't mean that we haven't had some enthusiastic knitters but we haven't had the number we had last year. And there have been some other factors that have kept folks away or otherwise distracted. We've got about three months to get our numbers up. Of course there's no obligation but I'd sure like to see a lot more items before the deadline.

The top-down raglan pattern is slowly taking shape. I mean really slowly. I didn't have much time to work on the prototype yesterday and today I'm working on the Spanish Dancer shawl. I will be putting together some numbers later this week for various sizes so at least people can get started if they want to. I'm using Sweater Wizard for the basic information like yardage and stitches to be cast on. I haven't quite decided some of the final details but I'm thinking about them.

Someone else's yarn

Well, there won't be any yarn shopping for a while. I decided yesterday that I'd better get my taxes done. Just in case there were any problems with the software. Plus they're about due. I was expecting to have to pay something. And I was right. But it wasn't as bad as I had thought. Still it's enough for a couple of really good yarn shop trips. Good thing I just topped off my stash.

So what do you do when you can't buy any new yarn? Use someone else's. Here's a swatch I did last Friday. I'm going to make a sample for A Stitch in Time using some of the Malabrigo we have in stock.

I'm working out the pattern as I go. I have to recalculate the pattern first since I wrote it without having first made a swatch. It's going to be a top-down raglan. The ubiquitous top-down raglan. I'm thinking I'll document the process and post it here. I'm starting with a size small. That's a 32" body size. What other sizes should I include?

Five

We are five! Tempus fugit and all that. Here's to another five years, if my hands hold out.

I'm making good progress on my Spanish Dancer shawl. Some of it has been negative progress though. I spent most of yesterday's Metroplitan Opera tinking the rows I knit on Friday night, trying to figure out why I had two more stitches on one side than on the other. I thought I'd forgotten to do a couple of decreases or had done a couple that I shouldn't have. Not so. I finally found an SSK that hadn't dropped off the needle properly so I still had the two stitches I had knit together plus the wrap I had made. Only six rows back but still nearly 2000 stitches. I'm back on track and now have less than 300 stitches per row. Yay me!

Shawl update

The Spanish Dancer shawl is about 30% complete. It should start to grow more rapidly now that I've decreased over 100 stitches per row. I'll be able to spend a couple of days on it plus tonight at one of my knitting groups. It's hard to stick to it since there are so many other things tempting me. I just want to see if I can stick to my plan.

I didn't have time to repost my book review from yesterday. A bunch of ladies from Unraveled tied me up and drug me to dinner last night. And they made me drink some margaritas. I have to admit it was lots of fun. And now I'm off to A Stitch in Time where I'll probably have some more fun except it'll be Starbuck's and cookies.

Watch out for Spellcheck

Something wacky happened with my post. So I'm going to try again and see if I can remember what I wrote. Maybe later today.

Kind and generous!

I have some very kind and generous friends. Here's an example of that kindness and generosity. A sheepie bank filled with quarters. (Just in time for today's laundry hassle.) Thanks, Pat. I tried several times to get a decent photo but this is the best. Too much glare from the glaze, even without a flash.

Last night was Dulaan knitting. Th hosted and it was really nice. Wine all around plus cake and coffee. I made a small hat. I wonder if Mongolia babies have really small heads. There were five us, the four guys in the group and Susan. Lots of fun. We're probably going to meet at Th's house again next week. Great for me. It's only about five minutes from my house.

Speaking of Dulaan. Here's a photo that a friend in North Carolina sent. She made all these things from yarn I had sent her and has already shipped them to Flagstaff. Thanks, C! It's a good thing to have kind and generous friends.

Finish what you start!

I'm still working away on the Spanish Dancer shawl. I'm about 20% of the way based on how much yarn I've used. This is not the shawl. It's another zigzag scarf that I finished yesterday. Three skeins of Kureyon and the zigzag pattern from the back of section of Scarf Style.

Generally I don't work on projects at work that use yarn that the shop doesn't carry. A Stitch in Time doesn't carry Koigu but it does have Noro Kureyon, just not this colorway. So I've been using the Zigzag Scarf as my at work project. I'll have to find something else now.

We're having our Dulaan knitting tonight at Th's house. (Mendy has been in Charleston and Savannah for the past week and is returning today. I'm going to LAX in a couple of hours to get her and Robert. We figured she'd been too worn out to host tonight. Robert just called and their flight is on time so I'd better get started getting ready.) Anyway, I need to choose something to work on this evening. Probably another hat.

There was this yarn sale

I have a hard enough time resisting yarn when it's not on sale. But let me hear about a sale and I'm done for. Black Sheep Knittery is having a 50% off sale through the end of March.

The last time I went to Black Sheep Knittery it took an hour and a half to get there. We used rapid transit (an oxymoron if ever there was one). This time we drove. It took twenty three minutes and we didn't have to walk three blocks after we got there. I went with L&H (of L&H fame). L's car knows to the way to every yarn shop in Southern California. She can get there blindfolded. We stayed for maybe an hour and came away with so many treasures. I'd go back except I pretty much emptied the check book. I could really use one more hank of that Alchemy Silken Straw though. Even at half price it's pricey.

There's another yarn sale next month at Unraveled. but I don't think I'll be going to that one. I just managed to get everything put away, after I added some more storage cubes, and now I have the stuff I just bought at Black Sheep. And it's unrealistic to think I could ever knit everything I have in my stash, even if I only use the good stuff. But that's never stopped me.

Notice anything different?

That's right. I changed the color of the provisional cast on. That red color was just wrong. Really bothered me. Made the colors of the actual yarn really difficult to see.

Then I thought I might as well correct the gauge since I was starting over anyway. And I was able to use a longer needle that I just happened to have in the bigger size. And this time it only took about an hour to do the 441 stitch cast on. I'm really getting the hang of that one.

When I first noticed that my gauge wasn't what it was supposed to be I figured it wouldn't matter since it's a shawl. Then I realized it did matter since my row gauge was about 2 shy per inch and the shawl would come out too short. Since I'm decreasing four stitches every other row there was no way I could just keep on knitting until it was long enough. Of course I'd worked a few more rows before I figured that one out. So now I have four rows done.

I was also informed that Easter is on the 8th of April. Whose idea was that? So this might just become the May Day Shawl.

The color is better in the photo, especially of the provisional cast on.

And forsaking all others

at least for now. Forget the Aran, the socks and all the other projects I've started.

Remeber the eight skeins of Koigu I got last Saturday? this is what I got it for. The color is totally washed out. That dark pink/red line you see is the provisional cast on, all 441 stitches. Took me over two hours just to do that. And I've worked about twenty rows. There are fewer stitches now but there are still lots. I'm hoping to make a big dent in that today.

My friend S made this using some Jitterbug and it's really smashing. I don't think I have enough of the Jitterbug that I got and haven't found the other two skeins I bought that I think are the same colorway. I'm making mine a little larger that she did. I think my daughter is about 40 stitches larger.

The ruffle goes on last. That's not the ruffle in the photo, just a lot of stitches bunched up on a too short needle. I hope I don't run out of yarn. If I do I'll make a coordinated ruffle and pretend that's the way it was supposed to be. I'd like to finish by Easter. We'll see how good my attention span is.

Little Jack Horner

wouldn't be happy. The westher is causing me some problems. Yesterday the high was only 58°F and it rained a bit just to make things worse. I think it's the weather although it could just be that my arthritis has racheted up a bit. My left thumb is really hurting this morning. Right in the joint where the thumb meets the hand. I can bend it but at a price. I worked on some socks yesterday and had to do my best to keep my thumb straight. Given my technique that was hard to do. I should probably take a couple of days off but that's not likely to happen. After all, that's why they invented ibuprophen. Not going to be pulling out any plums for a while.

I know I'm behind the curve on this but I just listened to my first podcast. That's not strictly true. I did listen to parts of one that a friend had on her i-pod. I don't have an i-pod so I listened on my computer. I could probably get hooked on this. (How do you write that anyway? ipod, iPod, i-pod?)I read wabi-sabi every day. She has a series of podcasts called Purl Diving. You can link from her blog. I love her laugh.

I've been trying to teach my cat to speak English. I have to admit though that there hasn't been much progress. Sometimes he will say mmm-keh which I think means okay. That's usually right after I've told him to wait a minute. His only other word is more of a whine than a word. That's also usually after I've told him to wait a minute. Other than that it's pretty much body language. And the constant meowing he's doing this morning isn't making any sense at all. I gave him some treats but that didn't seem to be what he wanted. I brushed him some but that wasn't it. He doesn't want to play string. It will be lots easier when he learns a few more words.

I'm so confused!

It's Saturday, right? I was convinced it was for nearly half an hour this morning when I first woke up. There's not much difference between Tuesday and Saturday for me. The cat wakes me around 4:30 or 5. It's dark. I worked yesterday so this could be Saturday. I don't have anything planned for today. I went to bed early which I frequently do on Fridays 'cause I'm usually worn out by then. Everything pointed to Saturday.

I had turned on the radio and heard one of the annoucers talking about what was going to be on his program this evening. My first thought was that someone had put on the wrong recording. That happens a lot on that station. But then I began to think, maybe it's not Saturday. But what day is it? Obviously I figured it out and I do have something planned for today.

Later today I'm going to take my swift and ball winder to a friend's house to help him wind a truck load of yarn for an afghan he's making for the bedroom he's decorating for this year's Showcase House. I hope he makes it.

And furthermore! I heard this is the first day of spring. It's more like winter. I had to get out my heavy coat when I went for my walk. It's dark and gloomy. Hard to believe it was 97F here a couple of weeks ago. Guess I'll go turn on some lights and knit for a while.

From the ridiculous to the sublime

or the other way around, depending on your point of view.

It was a busy and fantastic weekend starting with an evening of hilarious juggling and commentary by The Flying Karamozov Brothers at Cal Tech's Beckman Auditorium. I'd heard of these guys and seen a short clip on some TV program years ago. They're amazing, not only with their juggling, but their sense of humor.

At the other end of the spectrum was a trip to see Tannhauser. I haven't been to a live opera in maybe twenty years and have never seen a live Wagner performance. This one was worth it. Thanks to my friend E for a wonderful Sunday afternoon.

And in between that there was the sale at Unraveled.



Eight skeins of Koigu and four of Colinette Jitterbug. Not only was it 30% off but I had gift certificates from my birthday that offset about half the purchase price. I think I have two skeins of the Jitterbug already that I'll add to this for a shawl. The Koigu is also for a shawl. My friend L (of L&H fame) is making the Spanish Dancer shawl and I want to make one like it. I just have to find out how many more stitches to add to the original pattern to make it bigger.

And then there was St. Patrick's Day Dinner at Judy's. A really perfect dinner of corned beef and cabbage and potatoes and carrots. And jalapeno rolls just for fun and they had some green in them.

Tofutsies

I'm lovin' this Tofutsies sock yarn. (Click on the photo to see it a little better. Not perfect but better.) I'm using a free pattern from South West Trading Company. Look for the pattern under Free Patterns. The yarn does have a tendency to split but since I need to keep an eye on what I'm doing with the stitch pattern it's not a big problem.

I really like this color way and the fabric makes me think of haberdasheries. It's hard to see the lace pattern until it's stretched. The fabric has a slightly dry feel to it, more like cotton than wool. I can't detect any shrimp or crab shell, nor does my cat.

The collection

You may have noticed. I buy a lot more sock yarn than I ever actually knit. I've begun to think of my stash, especially the sock yarn, as a collection. Something that gives me pleasure just to look at rather than for its more utilitarian aspect. I don't have one or two of everything that's out there but I do have a lot.

Here are the skeins of Sweet Georgia Super Sock that I added yesterday. It's a colorway called Coal Harbor. I wasn't familiar with this yarn and had barely heard of it. But when my friend L (of L&H fame) mentioned a few weeks ago that she was going to Unwind to get some I tucked the reference away thinking maybe someday I'd see some.

I got an email newsletter from Unwind on Monday that said they had a very limited supply of this yarn and that there wouldn't be any more because the vendor was not going to make any more, ever. So I called and purchased two skeins, sight unseen, just so I'd be sure to have some in my collection. I'm pretty glad I did. It's not a colorway I would normally choose but I liked it more than the three others that were available. And it is nice to the touch. It's 100% merino, hand paint.

Other than that, I've got nothing. I've been really busy with other stuff but I think my week is settling down a bit. Tonight's our last Thursday night knitting group. I work tomorrow and am going to the the Flying Karamozoff tomorrow night. Nothing planned for Saturday though. Oh, no. Wait! I forgot. I'm having breakfast with Mendy before we go to the St. Patrick's Day Sale at Unraveled.

Summer! So soon?

I'm not ready. Yesterday, according to my weather page, the high in Pasadena was 97F. It's not even the middle of March yet! I've already made arrangements to have the freon in my ancient a/c replenished. The guy that was here this weekend to replace my hot water heater said that so long as the a/c is still working that it probably only needs a resupply. I sure hope he's right. The hot water heater replacement turned out to be a lot more difficult, and expensive, than the original projection. But if we're going to have the kind of summer weather that's been predicted I'm going to need that a/c.

I took a couple of pictures this morning while I was out walking. It was still pretty early, just barely getting light.



The sky was not quite as blue as it appears in the pictures. There were no spectacular cloud formations. Just my favorite palm trees.



And these irises. Another of my favorites. I used to walk by these several times a week but I haven't been on that street for a while. There's usually a lot of trash caught in all the leaves but this morning I didn't see any. I don't think these are volunteer but they're usually pretty neglected.

Oh! You want knitting news? I worked on some socks while I waited for the hot water heater guy. And sorted a bit of yarn.

The real news is that Mendy has decided to discontinue our Thursday night knitting group. "Our" isn't the correct pronoun. It's really "her" knitting group. She started it, what, four years ago? She's also the host for our Tuesday night Dulaan group. She stated in her email that she was just taking a break and will resume sometime. For now we'll only be meeting on Tuesday. The Thursday group has experienced a lot of negative growth recently. Last week there were only three of us, including Mendy. It was a bit of a surprise but I can certainly understand. I haven't spoken with her since she sent the email as she was away for the weekend. I'll be calling her later this morning.

I forgot

I had the day off yesterday. No plans. Nothing in particular to do. Somehow I forgot to blog. Not that that's a big deal, except it's a strange feeling to realize that you totally forgot something that's a part of your routine.

Speaking for things forgot. While I was wandering around looking for something with which to entertain myself, I found this scarf that I had forgotten. I meant to use it as a holiday gift but when I was looking for it last December I couldn't find it. Seems I forgot where I put it. I'm almost done.

Not a forgotten but a belated birthday present. Have you seen or tried this yarn? Tofutsies from Southwest Trading Company. It's wool, soy silk, cotton and chitin. I'm told that chitin is ground up shrimp and crab shell. And that it has some therapeutic value but I don't know what the therapy is. I'm looking forward to making some socks for me. There's 425 meters in this one skein. Should be enough. Thanks L&H.

Yarn sales abound

When I got to work yesterday there was a sale going on. None of us knew it was going to happen. The owner, who is on vacation for the next couple of weeks, left some flyers and a note for us to post the flyers and have a sale while she's gone. It's called "Shhh! The boss is a way and we're having a sale." So that's 25% off on all knitting yarn and books and needlepoint canvases. I emailed everyone on my knitting group list but I want to make sure that everyone who might be interested knows about it. The sale is at Stitch in Time in San Marino.

I also had a couple of emails from other yarn shops. Needle in a Haystack in Montrose is having a sale on some of their knitting yarns and some of their other needlecraft items. I think that one goes on just for this week. And Unraveled has marked down a bunch of stuff. I haven't seen their selection but I know they always have big discounts once they decide to clear out some of their yarns.

Aran Update

It's been a while since I've had time to work on my Aran. But this weekend was a good one. No plans that took me away during the day so I was able to sit and knit without interruption (other than the cat wanting some attention) for several hours at a stretch.

I finished the yoke back first and then picked up for the right sleeve and have maybe half of that done. I'm beginning to think the sleeve is going to be short. Once I finish the pattern section I'll put it on hold and work the other sleeve and the body. Then I'll be able to tell if I'm going to need to add some more pattern repeats before I do the ribbing.

That's all a long ways off.

Jitterbug

Who could resist such a yarn? Not me. I was definitely not going to buy anything. Just taking my friend on a yarn shop hop. But then I saw this Colinette Jitterbug in the colorway Jewel. I guess it was a good thing they only had one hank.

My camera batteries died right after I took this photo. Otherwise I'd have tried again to get something with a better focus. The colors though are pretty accurate.

There's supposedly enough for a pair of socks but I doubt it. I'm looking for somethng to use for heels and toes. No hurry. I'm just as happy admiring the yarn in the hank.

If these be showers

then I don't want to see your thunderstorms. It was pouring this morning when I got up. Showers were predicted. That was a bit of an understatement. But now, four hours later, the sun is shining and the clouds seems to be moving away. Although there were warnings that there'd most likely be more rain later today and into tomorrow.

I finished the Iceland Scarf last night. It's a little wider than I thought it would be but it's certainly going to keep someone warm. Lisa was taken with it when she saw it last Saturday so it'll probably be hers.

Now that the sun is out I'm going to be going to Studio City to work with my private student. We had agreed that if it was raining I would skip this week. I haven't heard from him so I guess he's expecting me. Once that's done I'll come home and work some on my Dulaan sweater. Haven't touched that in months. I have some new yarn that I got last Saturday but I really need to get caught up first. Like that's going to happen.

Who needs the Oscars?

My cat is enough entertainment. Patrick never gets up on tables. At least he didn't until now. I don't know what possessed him to climb up here and sit in the very middle of the current jigsaw puzzle. He seemed quite pleased with himself though. And he hasn't tried to get up there again. Unless it's while I'm not here.

I don't watch the Oscars. I almost never go to movies nor do I follow what is going on with all the hype and gossip about the so-called stars. So I don't much care who wins or loses.

Instead I started a new Kureyon Zigzag scarf. One of the ladies I work with at Stitch in Time saw Mendy's Zigzag scarf last week and asked me to show her how to do it. I'm not sure Kureyon is the best yarn for this project. The color changes are a bit too long so you don't get the full zigzag impact. But it's what I have on hand and will the fine for now.

Quick shift

After doing all those hats (I finished another one on Wednesday night) and struggling with the tinyness of stitches on dpns, while trying to look alert, I succumbed to the impulse to start something else.

The problem, if you want to call it that, was that I didn't have anything with me that I could switch to. Happily I was on my way to Unraveled where I knew there'd be lots of things from which to choose. They have a bunch of needles on sale. That's good since I haven't been able to find my US13s. Got some Britanny for about $7.00. Then found some yarn with an appropriate gauge. Not, unfortunately, on sale.

It was raining and cold so I thought another scarf would come in handy. And there it is. Worked this bit up last night at knitting group. A 9 stitch braid cable centered between two opposing 4 stitch rope cables. And a little ribbing to fill it out a bit. I'd have more done except we were also celebrating a birthday so we had to stop for cake. (Good, but not chocolate.)

A little more filler

Yesterday's gig with the new knitter went well. At least after I found the correct gate to enter. I don't feel entirely dumb. The gates don't really match the houses that they're in front of. I had to drive back down the hill to find a pay phone since I don't have a cell phone. I called the guy and he cleared up the mystery.

I never know what a new knitter's expectations are. Many times I think they're envisioning a sweater or something large scale. I think that might have been what this guy was planning. Until he got the needles in his hands and started his first knit row. Before it was all over he was talking about just practicing the knit stitch for the balance of the week. We'll take up the purl stitch next week. Once in a while I get a student who can move quickly through the basics but just getting the knit stitch is where most of them get by the end of the first hour.

I knit another hat for Dulaan last night so I'm averaging one a day. I have to switch for the next couple of days though in order to knit something for someone's birthday gift. Unless I find a good alternative before then.

I have a couple of friends who are going to Stitches West. I'm only moderately envious. I'd like to take some classes but we all know that I'm not buying any more yarn. So what's the point in going?

Filler

A couple of days ago it was 90F here. Today it might get up to 65. Very erratic weather this winter. When I leave for my morning walk I'm usually wearing a hat, a scarf, gloves and a heavy coat. By the time I get back I'm usually carrying at least part of it. I've been trying to go out a bit later so I don't have to wrap up quite so much. But today I don't have time to wait.

I'm giving a private knitting lesson today. I have to leave Pasadena by 10 in order to get to the guy's house by 11. Somewhere on Mulholland Drive. I haven't been to that part of town for over twenty years. Way before it became the chic address it is now. It could be interesting. I forgot to buy the supplies he will need so I have to stop at Skein on the way to pick up needles and yarn.

Yesterday was one of the busiest Mondays I've had since I started at Stitch in Time. Several people came in that had the holiday off. Hooray for holidays on Monday! So I didn't do much personal knitting, maybe two rounds on some socks. And then in the evening I had a call from my older brother. That's always good for an hour or so. And another call from a Chinese friend I haven't talked with for more than two years. That was another hour. So very little knitting yesterday. I did finish another hat for Dulaan. It's drying right now. You don't really need another picture of another Dulaan do you?

The rest of this week will be pretty busy. I'm working on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, covering for the other knitting instructor who's going to Stitches West. So, if you're close enough and want a lesson or just want to come and visit I'll be at Stitch in Time from one to five in addition to my ten to five on Friday.

I also have three knitting nights this week and a yarn shop hop on Saturday. I am home tomorrow evening, at least for now.

Hats Aplenty

There are lots more hats in the works. These are the ones I completed this weekend. I didn't get much else done though. Some yarn sorting. I found more sock yarn, enough to fill one of the new storage boxes that I got for my birthday. And a lot of Tahki Cotton Classic that's already wound into center pull cakes. I don't remember doing that or what I was going to do with all that cotton. I know I have enough other Cotton Classic that I can combine with this and make one of the Mason-Dixon Log Cabin Blankets.

So today's a holiday. For most people anyway. Unless you're in retail. A Stitch in Time is open today. I'm hoping that some of the people I don't usually get to see will come in and say hello. But it's also raining today. That's another cause for celebrating. Our rainfall this year is way below normal so rain, even on a holiday, is a welcome change.

End of the day

So, the Cloud Hat is finished and I'm just about ready to start the top shaping on this Canadian Hat. My camera just doesn't do red. Not that this is a bad colorway; it's just not anywhere near accurate.

I've made several of these hats over the past few years. The pattern is from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch and can easily be made for children or adults with a change in needle and yarn size. No change to the instructions. I'm using a Zitron yarn called Loft. I've forgotten where I got it. Maybe it's from Handmade in Burbank. The price sticker looks kind of like theirs.

I'm using a needle four sizes smaller than the suggested size. I made a hat from this yarn last year and it was fine for Southern California but no where dense enough for the Mongolian climate. I expect to finish this tomorrow or over the weekend.

So what else did I do today? Stood in line for half an hour at the Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up my gluscose test strips. Went to meet some friends at Unraveled for an hour or so. And went to my Thursday night knitting group. Now it's time to play with the cat. He sleeps all day and is ready for some string chasing usually around eleven o'clock.

Happy Valentine's Day

to those who observe it. And for the rest of us, better luck next year. Actually I did get a sweet card from Lisa. It has been a nice day though. Had a chance to catch up some on my sleep and managed to get my laundry done a day earlier than expected. So tomorrow will be an open day for me.

Here's my latest completed Dulaan hat. I used some Calmer (Rowan) and some Paris Rainbow (Plymouth) that I had in stash. The yarns are both cotton but there's enough synthetic and it's a very tight knit that I think it will still be a warm hat.

And I've started another one. This is the celebrated Cloud Hat from Ryan's pattern list. This one uses one strand of Plymouth Encore and one strand of a very fuzzy mohair that I recycled from a less than successful shrug I knit a few years ago. I should be able to finish this tonight. Especially since I have no Valentine's committments or opportunities.

Thanks

Thanks for all the good wishes on my recent birthday. I'm doing my best to respond to everyone individually but there's a slight problem. Blogger's Comments doesn't work the same way as my YACCS comments did so I don't always get an email address. But I do appreciate each and every one.

It has been a terrific event. And it still continues with a few more dinner invitations and the promise of more to come. It's a balancing act to keep my glucose levels anywhere near what the doctor wants given how far away from my diet regimen I've been. Not complaining, just commenting. And walking as much as I can stand.

No new knitting to report. I did finish the first of the mock rib socks and have done the ribbing and one pattern repeat of the second. I meant to do more last night but everytime I sat down to knit I went to sleep. So I gave it up and went to bed. A whole eight hours worth.

Today is Dulaan knitting. I'll work on a hat or two and maybe another square for the afghan we're putting together. We weren't going to get together this week since Mendy is out of town but one of the other members of the group volunteered to host so there should be at least a few of us.

BDFO

I finished the Goal Color socks while I was waiting for Lisa to come over to celebrate my birthday. The yarn has been very popular with people who've seen the socks in progress. This is the sock yarn that I discovered I had purchased three times. So I have plenty in case I want to make another pair. It's Regia #5399 in case you're looking for some.





So, after I finished that I pair, I picked up this sock that I had abandoned a couple of months ago because I had lost the second ball. I found the missing skein a couple of weeks ago. It's amazing what you find when you clear off the dining table. I've just begun the toe shaping. Should get that done today and get the second sock started.

I found another abandoned sock. I think it's a couple of years old. No picture yet. I've just ripped a few rows and picked up the messed up dropped stitches. I'll have to check the pattern before I continue. I think I remember but I've learned, the hard wy, that I need to check first.

Happy Birthday to me, almost

So that's what 68 looks like. I always wondered. I would swear I'm closer to 50. Well, except for the aches and pains, the wobbly memory and the row of pills I take everyday.

The Thursday night group turned out in almost full force tonight to celebrate my birthday. I hadn't actually thought much about it until I got to Mendy's. I should have been tipped off when the owner of Unraveled wished me a happy birthday. Turns out two people had purchased gift certificates there for me. In addition to the gift certificates I received four bottles of wine, a gift certificate to Trader Joe's (and a dinner with margaritas), lunch tomorrow and a new Walkman and a portable CD player. Plus some great cards.

When Mendy purchased the Walkman the salesperson tried to get her to get an IPOD. She explained that I would never download music. "He's a very 20th century person." I suppose that's true. I'm not really into media. Rarely watch TV. I don't usually know what people are talking about when they get onto the subject of any of the popular TV programs. Almost never go to movies. I listen to classical music, I knit and I spend time with friends. It's more than enough.

Sorting yarn, sorta

If I never buy any more sock yarn it will be too soon. I spent part of yesterday going through all the cubicles in my living room, pulling out sock yarn. Some of it is is already in balls, ready to work. Others, like what's on the second shelf, mostly still needs to be wound into cakes. This doesn't include the three plastic bins that are in another room. I took a picture of them but I haven't yet figured out how to post more than one photo on new Blogger. I thought I had it figured out but I was wrong.

So I decided it would be a good time to change my blog template. What do you think?

It's back to more sorting of yarn, all kinds. I think I'll focus on getting all the novelty yarns separated. I'm also editing. Anything that I can tell I'll never use is going into plastic bags to be used for Dulaan projects or donated. I discovered yesterday that I had bought the same sock yarn at least three times.

Joey's Natural Color Farm Yarn. American grown wool, made in USA by Farmhouse Yarns, LLC. I got it at Unraveled a couple of weeks ago. I'm sort of in to tweed yarns this year and am really tickled with this one. It's a bit rough in the hand but it's already a little softer just from being wound. I got two hanks. Enough for a decently sized scarf. I still have to decide which pattern I'll use. Probably something with a cable or two.

I did knit a hat last night for Dulaan. No picture because I didn't remember my camera. But it's just a stocking cap, some beige Jo Sharp cashmere blend and some blue stripes to make sure I had enough of the cashmere to finish the hat. I had maybe a yard left over. We're not going to meet next week but I'll try to do my weekly Dulaan from home.

I took some pictures of the yarn I bought on Sunday but I'm still not sure how to post more than one photo. And they were pretty blurry. I'm sure you've all seen Cascade anyway.

Still having problems using the new Blogger. I'm over here on Mozilla right now and I can at least log in. I don't understand what the problem is but apparently it's something to do with my browser. Blogger suggested that I try using Mozilla. I don't have time right now to set everything up on Mozilla (email, bookmarks etc.) but I'll spend some time tomorrow and see what I can do.

Very little knitting since yesterday. Tonight is for Dulaan knitting so there'll be something. Another hat most likely.

What was that!? All weekend long, and on Friday too, I've been trying to log in to Blogger. I wrote and got no actual reply. But, here, just because I decided to try one more time, all without warning, I'm getting to actually post. Because I couldn't access my blog for the past three days I still haven't played with any of the new toys and I don't have time this morning. But maybe I'll be able to over the next few days. Hope I don't break it.

One of the first things I'll need to figure out is how to move photos to where I want them. Like the photo above. I have finished that sock since I took the photo. Finished it last night after sort of watching the Super Bowl. (I say sort of because my TV doesn't get decent reception so really I was just listening to the play-by-play.) But, about the sock. It's some Regia sock yarn in a color called Goal Color. Don't know what that means but the sock is nice. I used my new Crystal Palace (2.5mm, 1.5 US) and made them very dense. The pattern is just K6, P2. Enough to keep things from getting too boring but now too demanding. I started the second sock last night and will be working on it today at Stitch in Time.

Judy and I went to the anti-Super Bowl sale at Unwind. There was a long line of people already waiting when we got there. We got our extra 10% discount tickets for being there before opening and were able to get into the back room where all the 50% off stuff was. The line to get in there was tremendous by the time we got back on the main salesfloor. I haven't taken any photos yet but maybe I'll have some tomorrow. I should have been better prepared. I wasn't planning on buying anything. But I did. Now I have to figure out what and why.

It was fun to see so many people that I know from other shops. It was too crowded to spend much time chatting though. I keep thinking about that Karabella Breeze I bought and wondering what to do with it.