Intrepid Fiber Wizard

Blue Jeans Leaf Lace Shawl

Finished and blocked.
another happy project! And, yes, 255 yards of Dk alpaca yarn was plenty.
  the wind was blowing hard - so it's kinda difficult to see how big it turned out, yet I suspect you will get the idea! (and yes.. that is indeed AL Cardigan tossed on the bench - heh heh... photographers are difficult to come by, so when I have one I try not to take too great an advantage of their generous nature ;-) It was a fast photo-shoot!)

I am indeed able to wear it as a 'wrap' yet most likely, come fall, this is how I will wear it.:

yummmmmmy alpaca!
And this pattern is so fabulous and easy - it will certainly be knit again by me!

Friday Fun

One of the things I enjoy most about living and working in Olympia is that you never know what musicians you might bump into as you 'round the corner on your lunch hour ;-)
This group of women was playing one afternoon recently. Think deep, sultry rhythm & blues - the kind that makes you want to stand there and soak in every note - The unusual format & their rule-breaking instruments, might have put some folks off, yet there was absolutely no denying their amazing talent.
I stood, mesmerized, for quite some time.
Between "sets", they cheerfully grinned at paserbys, asking for donations to refuel their truck and head on to Seattle. They must have made it there, because I haven't seen them again.
What a treat!

Autumn Leaves Cardigan

Who's a happy gal? yup.... me.
Autumn Leaves is truly complete. And while there are imperfections (as there are with any hand knit) I am quite pleased overall.
One of the girls at knitting group snapped these photos tonight (thanks again Nancy!)  And yes, this is RIGHT outside where we knit, in the dining area above our city grocery store.... pretty isn't it?!
 

 

(sometimes I think I should walk around all the time with my hand up shielding my eyes from the sun - that way you can see the cool side seam details!! - sorry 'bout the funny faces, it was really bright out there at 7pm tonight - and hot too ... )

 

I have a few things that I would change if I ever made this again: I would decrease one of the leaf motifs at the sides when I reach the shoulders. Despite my having well build shoulders, it is really a bit too big across the top.. And I would knit the entire sleeve on double pointed needles (the top part is looser since I knit it on 16" circular) - it's not "bad" per say, just not as dense as the rest of the sweater.

Other changes? I would make my floats over 4 stitches, not 5. There are places where they are a bit too loose, but again, tolerable.

All in all, for my second fair isle project, I'm mighty pleased.

Will I wear it????? now, that is the million dollar question ! hah! I need to move the clasps out a bit first (so that the edges of the front actually meet).

This one might be gifted to someone who is more of a "Cardigan Girl" than I am - but then again, I might just keep it for awhile and see....... :-)

Recipe for a free afternoon

Picture this: I just finished weaving in all those ends on Autumn Leaves... it's soaking in the sink in its bath, and I am wondering to myself "what to do, what to do?"

I actually had a day off on sunday (whoa - communal sigh of amazement!) - and so I came up with the perfect recipe for a free afternoon:

*Begin with one skein Shibui Baby Alpaca Dk 255 yards (which I won at Madrona 2 years ago) Marinate well in stash until proper seasoning has occurred. (see the above 2 years ago comment)

*Remove from stash and skein off into a ball, fondle lovingly while perusing favorite recipe books (aka patterns) - ultimately abandon all books in stash, since they all require too much yardage.

* continue squeezing yarn as you turn to your favorite quick fix site, (Ravelry of course) and seach "lace Shawls"....143 pages of recipes will appear.  breath deeply whilst clicking to your heart's content

*locate perfect 'recipe': Blue Jeans Leaf Lace Shawl

sigh deeply, all the while enjoying your yarn as it downloads, giving you immediate pleasure

*gather all other ingredients: 2 size 10 needles(took a guess at the size here), 2 stitch markers, your magnetic pattern holder . Combine all ingredients, stir well, while sitting in your favorite big comfy chair (feel free to nap a bit between rows as you like - it's an easy pattern to follow!)

Cuddle with kitties and enjoy.

Notes: This is a recipe for a fast "cooker" - no telling what the finished quantity of leaves will be, as yet, but I predict that this pattern will soon be an easy favorite in blogland, if it isn't already!! I love it!

great yarn + fun, fast pattern = happy afternoon off

Saturday night's alright with me

Just got home from work - and thought I'd squeeze in this "teaser" post - Guess what's off the needles??? Yup, Autumn Leaves Cardigan.
woo hoo!!! Yes, there was enough of the orange to get the matchy-matchy effect on both sleeves. (lucky me!)
If I can keep my eyes open long enough tonight, there will be the ceremonial weaving in of all the ends.
 See all those teensy little balls of different colors in the photo? errr, yes, that is a few of the times I had to break the yarn to "move ahead" to the color I needed...... multiply by 2 for each location, plus all the times I changed colors totally, and you get what??? yes - a bazillion threads to weave in.
So what has this intrepid fiberwizard done?? poured herself a fabulous dry, dirty, excellent vodka martini with blue cheese stuffed olives (you should try it Carole, they are amazing).
I figure that we all need a bit of fortification with such a daunting task ahead (giggles to self)
Following the grand weaving in of the ends, there will be a rousing chorus of securing the front facings, followed by the ever so quiet soak and block party (geesh, I think I am totally tired and punchy and being silly....feel free to roll your eyes and laugh at me)

Sorry 'bout the slightly blurry photo, I haven't yet figured out the focus point on my iphone, and that was all I had with me at work to take photos in decent light...

Small update

Thank you for all the healing and loving thoughts and prayers for Kate

I know, without a doubt, that they help.
I just wanted to pop in and let you know that Kate did well in surgery, and is beginning her recovery process.
I appreciate you all more than I can express.

Oh-blahh-deee

Yup... life has been "goin' on" here.
It's been three weeks worth of 70 hour work weeks, zero knitting and zero spinning (gasp.. yes, it's true). And I finally finished unpacking my suitcase just this morning. This month is racing by.

As promised, a few photos from Kate's graduation weekend - We are all so very proud of her! She'll be off to Georgia Tech in August, to begin her college journey. I just know she'll love it.
Erin and I had a fabulous (albeit very brief) visit with Kate which included delicious meals, manicures, tour of Georgia Tech, a hike up Kennesaw Mountain, and there might have even been a hilarious romp through the local Barnes and Noble (book addiction is something all three of us share).












There were over 700 kids graduating in her class - it took about 1 1/2 hours just for them to read all the names!

 

It was raining by the time the ceremony was completed, but none of us  cared at all - there were huge smiles, lots of giggling and many hugs.

Here I am with my two gorgeous girls - and yes, they really are that much taller than me! (I'm 5'3", Kate is 5'8", and Erin is 5'9")

and one being silly with Kate shouting hurray!

I was able to grab a silly photo of the girls and their Dad - they lined up for me and I said, "okay you three... give me 'the look' - (the funny thing was that they all knew exactly   what I meant, and did it ! - you see, they can all raise one eye-brow, and will often do "that look" at each other for grins. they all think its very funny that I can't do it too) 

Everyone took lots of photos of Erin and Kate together - and here are two of my favorites:

 

 

Please hold my dear Kate in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow - she is having another surgery for her Crohn's disease, and this one is a resection of the colon. (her 4th surgery in 3 years). She is quite calm about it all, says she 'knows the drill' - and me? I am so proud of her, missing her.. and wishing that this country was not quite as big as it is....... Sometimes it stinks to have to be 'grown-up' and realistic..... It is difficult to not be there right now, yet she knows all the 'why's' and knows that she is loved beyond words.

Everybody Wins

Yes.. it is true... everyone who donated to my fundraiser is a winner! woo hoo! And a few even won two things ;-) (which is always fun!) My little random number generator had a great time with this.

Where there are blogs that I know of, I have linked to your blog (hopefully I got you all)... if you don't have a blog, I will be sending you an email.

I hope to get your prizes mailed off to you later this week.

We raised $620 total, and another donation from Lisa is on its way after the end of the month (she generously donated a percentage of her May sales on Etsy)  Thank you to all for your fabulous support and contributions to our chorus.... and 

YES - we are going to Carnegie Hall in May of 2010.

(Payments for the trip begin very soon, thus the fund raiser now) Stay tuned to my blog, and I will update you about the trip in the future.

And so, without further ado, here's the list of winners (in no particular order whatsoever):

Virginia G   -2 Skeins Mountain Colors Bearfoot Yarn
Kathleen R - 2 skeins Mama Mia colorway from The Woolen Rabbit
Laurie S.  - Woolgathering Purple/ Blue Spinning fiber
Elizabeth P - a $25 gift certificate to Dicentra Designs
Vickie K - Fleece Artist, Mahgoney sock yarn & 2 skeins Bunny Patch Joseph's Coat from New Hue Handspuns
Kathleen C - $25 gift certificate to Woodland Wool Works
Chris S - Grawk from Socks that Rock
Anne H - Great Balls of Fiber spinning Wool, color Octoberfest
Carla H - $10 gift certificate to Knitspot
Kim - Grandma's Garden sock yarn from Fly Designs
Lisa M - Turkish Drop Spindle & laceweight Victorian Hydrangea from Woolen Rabbit
Cheryl N - Buffalo spinning fiber
Lisa H  - $10 gift certificate to Knitspot
Carole J - Brooks Farm Yarn & $25 gift certificate to Sonny & Shear
Celeste M - Austermann sock Yarn
Harriet H - 2 skeins Koigu sock Yarn
Julie S - 2 skeins Bamhuey in Heartsong color from New Hue Handspuns
Karen C - Corriedale Cross Spinning fiber color - Sunny Lupine
Keesha S - $10 gift certificate to Knitspot
Lorette M - Dicentra Designs sock yarn, color Steel my Heart

And there you have it - all lucky winners!! (I love it when that happens) I am keeping my fingers crossed that I got all the prizes handed out, and that I get them all off to the correct people. Wow - these fund raising things are a bunch of work! Hats off to all of you who have done this before me ;-)

And since no blog post is ever truly complete without a photo, I'll leave you with this glimpse of Kate's graduation.... more photos to follow very soon. 

Thanks again to everyone.

Yarn Contest - Fundraiser Finale

Here are the last of the Yarn Contest Prizes - Please note that all donations must arrive to me by May 23rd in order to be considered for winning one of the yarn prizes.
Contest Winners will be announced on Tuesday May 26th.
Current fundraiser total = $520. Thank you to all who have generously donated towards making our chorus' trip to Carnegie Hall a reality !

from my stash: Fleece Artist superwash merino sock yarn, colorway Mahogany

From the most generous Diane Lyons of Woodland Woolworks - a $25 gift certificate ! Thanks Diane !! Hop on over and check out the incredible array of choices that you have here! They have pretty much anything that a spinner or knitter could ever want ;-) (and yes, I am fortunate enough to live within driving distance to their site - and I get to see them at all the local fiber shows.... lucky me!)

from my stash: a 2 ounce batt of spinning fiber -
55% brown wool, 25% buffalo down and 20 % colored anogra
divine!

from my stash: two skeins Austermann superwash sock yarn.
these will make a fabulous pair of men's socks!

And there you have it - the full prize listing is in the album over to the right on the blog.

Here is how the contest works:
For every $10 tax deductible contribution that you donate to our chorus, you will receive one chance at winning a prize (note all the prizes that have been posted previously are shown in the Yarn Contest album over at the top right of my blog) There are some amazing yarns and fibers that will be won.
Your donation to our chorus is tax deductible.
All checks need to be made out to Olympia Choral Society.
Leave me a comment below and I will send you the address where to mail your check.

This is the final week to enter the Yarn Contest. All donations must be received by May 23rd to be eligible to win - and Prizes will be drawn by random number generator. Winners will be listed on this blog on May 26th.
We need to begin making payments on our trip in the near future (thus the contest/fundraiser being held now.)
(For more details on our fundraiser and Olympia Choral Society, see this post)... and listen for me whispering every single day... omgosh.. we're performing at Carnegie Hall!

I am off now, to pack and get ready for Erin and my trip to Georgia to see my youngest daughter Kate graduate from highschool - back on Monday... Thanks to all who are helping my dream come true. You're the best!

So dear

Just before I left the house yesterday morning, I glanced out into the small back yard, and saw this:

Keep in mind that this small yard is fully fenced (ha ha ha) Yet there is a wood "buffer" just over to the left.
She must have jumped that fence so she could come in and rest.
Thank goodness I had my iphone on me, and was able to snap this photo.
No plants were chewed in the yard - Liquid Fence really works.

The Yarn Contest / Fundraiser is almost over - be sure to mail your donations soon if you want a chance at winning one of the cool prizes shown in the album. Donations must be received by May 23rd to have a chance at winning. We've raised $ 475 to date !