Intrepid Fiber Wizard

There has been knitting

Truly - there has ;-)
In fact...... just this afternoon, before I went out and raked leaves and cleaned gutters, I found these on my feet:

  and why yes... that is some actual sunshine streaming in across the rug!

Now the funny thing about this pair, is that in my sock drawer, I have another pair almost exactly like it....

yeah.. I know... I'm being silly...... so, here are sets for real.

  

The funny thing to me, is that you can truly see the difference between the sock that has been washed in each set, and the hot off the needles one. (new sock on the left in brown-eyed girl yarn, and on the right in the happy together yarn.)

The hand spun yarn really enjoys a good bath.

I am casting on tonight for two more singles, that will complete two more sets. yay..

It's been a glorious fall here.  I enjoy every moment of driving around, even during the rain that has been our constant companion until today.
 
Last week the trees looked like this -

And now this week, they look more like this:

And every once in awhile, you turn the corner, and your breath is literally taken away with the beauty:  

I recently discovered something else that is totally cool..... while admiring trees, and looking up at the sky, I saw that on the top of my office building, all four corners, there are gargoyles!! (well, griffins to be exact.. I think..) Aren't they incredible! They are original to the building, which was built in the early 1900's - one of the first "high rise" buildings out here (all 5 stories of it - grins). I have asked many of my friends who have lived here much longer than I have, and they didn't notice them either -
color me goofy, but I enjoy these little discoveries so much.

Life goes on

I have been missing my family, which is fairly normal I suppose after a lovely visit.

I wonder if those who actually win the lottery spend more time with their beloveds? - for my family and I seem to repeat the mantra "when I win the lottery, I will see you more"

I bought a ticket to the mega millions tonight. 
Music makes me misty - clouds make me melt -

Mom emailed me tonight, telling me of some gorgeous clouds she and Dad saw this evening, and how they both exclaimed that I would have wanted to take photos.
Indeed.
I was even shooting pictures of this evening's sunset as I left the grocery store. Did anyone see it? oh so pretty, and gone in a fleeting moment.

I find that as I age, I tend to enjoy the impermanence of things even more - a flower's bloom, a perfect ear of corn, a sunset that steals your breath away - these are things that matter to me.

There has indeed been knitting in wizard-land...........
two socks, past the heels....
and well on their way to making two new pairs for my sock drawer (lucky me - the mates are already complete!)

I also began a lace scarf with one of the newest yarn sensations, Zauberball...
I am totally enjoying it.
And it will look like something a bit more lovely, once it is blocked.
promise.
It will just take awhile (since each 20 row repeat takes me about 45 minutes. gack!)

I have been feeling sentimental these past few days - wishing that I had more control over the fates - yet at the same time, blessing the universe that I have no control.
M - next time you read this, know that you are still my favorite dance partner (for 45 years) - and this song has been playing in my head, wishing you were closer.

I made a batch of homemade Mac 'n cheese tonight. as you can see, it feeds an army. Anyone wanna hop on over for dinner??  It freezes pretty well, so I can save it if you cannot come by tonight :-)

A few more photos and a completion shot

I have a few more photos that I have now downloaded from my camera - I had such a wonderful time with my folks. Most mornings found me up around 6:15, and off to the beach to greet the sunrise. And at that hour, it was me, the pelicans, sandpipers, ibis and heron. It was a great way to greet the day.

(And if you are here to see some knitting, at the end of this post are some shots of the finished Casablanca sweater ) 

I am having trouble with typepad this morning, and my comments on the photos did not show up - and the writing I did about the sweater appears to be in the middle of a bunch of pictures of the beach..

go figure... and thanks for bearing with me. (grin)

 
 

 



 



 

And now, for some shots of Casablanca (finished end of Sept).
First of all, I love the Rowen cotton/wool blend yarn. It is heavenly to knit with, and does not stretch as much as pure cotton does.

This is a very clever pattern, knit from the top down, with 'after-thought' sleeves. I had fun learning some new techniques on this one.

The only part of the pattern that I thought was a bit difficult, was lining up the sleeve pattern when I picked

up the stitches there and did all the increases. It wasn't as easy as I imagine it should have been.

I ended up doing two rows of single crochet inside the shoulder edge, because it continued to want to fall off my shoulders.

     Worked like a charm.

And now, for my only disappointing situation....

Look carefully at the midriff section of this sweater, and you will see that there is a distinct line across my tummy... ahem... yup.. one ball of yarn is entirely different color.

sigh..

Sometimes dye-lots lie.

I have two balls left of this yarn, and someday I will rip back the bottom HALF of this sweater and re knit the whole thing.(grumble grumble) but for now, it has gone into the box of 'summer clothes' that I just put away for the season.

So, maybe next year ;-)

Next post I will show you some actual current knitting I am doing (smile). I knit two socks to just past the heel flap, and also a bit on a

sweet scarf.

Alas, the inevitable

I began knitting socks in 2006.
And soon thereafter, began spinning sock yarn for sale.
And alas... this morning... the inevitable has happened....
sock heel blow-out.

One of my favorites, I might add, a purple "monkey" sock!
Yet, not to worry, I have more of this yarn, and can knit another.
Overall, my evaluation is that 2-3 years of wearing a handspun, handknit sock is a good long time, and well worth the value.

It is only a couple of days until I make my 'get-away' to parts south on my vacation.  I have decided that I needed a few knit project s to take with me (since they are predicting rain for all 7 days that I am there visiting in southern Florida).
And what did I go for? well, socks, of course. The perfect, portable project.

Now, here comes the "confession" part of this post (heh heh).
Once upon a time, when some of you knew me way back when, I was part owner of a fiber/yarn business. And we traveled to many shows every year to sell our yarn & fiber and wheels. Each of these shows needed "booth samples". And since I was selling some very fabulous sock yarn that I designed, I knit SOCK SAMPLES ! (lots of them)
(here's the confession part) in most of the cases, I only knit one of the socks. ahem.
Yup....
and here's the evidence. 11 single socks.

And now, 2 years after the fact, I have decided to finish the pairs (as best as I am able). Thus far, I have found the yarn and patterns for four of the single socks. (and am trying to not act all smug about that !)
I will be taking a couple of these single socks along with me next week - and we shall see what I can accomplish.

There will be no "goal setting" involved, no "deadlines", no rush, no hurry... just a soft, gentle intention to finish up some much needed socks for myself or my kids (we all have the same size feet ;-D

Here it is, Socktoberfest... and I am offering a fun game to all my blogging buddies: show us your stash of single socks... we all know you have one!

Casablanca - a fitting name

I have been looking at this top from Romantic Knits  for some time now, wishing for the perfect yarn to make it with. And so, when my friend, Barbie and I went to the annual sale at Churchmouse Yarns, (affectionately known to the locals as "The Mouse") I was delighted to find this:
Rowan Wool Cotton . It might be a new favorite yarn.
I got a whole smash of it for 50 % off. It's deep chocolate brown. It's divine.

Touted as a 'modern' dk weight yarn, it is everything that they claim it to be in their marketing. It's uber soft, durable and comes in tons of rich colors. a blend of 50% wool, 50% cotton. Not too heavy, not too light. just right. The 'official' name for the color I am using is "coffee rich' (color #956)

I cast on last week for it, and in the process discovered that I will be knitting a few 'firsts' in this project.

First ever "top down" knit. My friend Karen will be shocked to hear this, but its true! (note to self... cast on for one of Karen's fabulous sweaters in near future..)

And it also my first ever after-thought sleeve (or after-thought anything for that matter!)
Do you see that single row of different colored yarn? that will eventually become a sleeve.  At first when I knit this row, I used a scrap of yarn that was very similar in color... ahem.. not a good idea. I tinked back and re-knit this row about 7 bazillion times (or so it seemed)
 I somehow kept making it more complicated than it really is. Annie Modesitt writes very clear patterns - and I can only claim work-exhausted-brain as my excuse for my goofs.
Now, I am finally cruising along with this sweet little top.
It is mostly, a 2-2 rib, with a slip stitch tossed in there for beauty, and a small portion of lacey-goodness down the front panel.
Really a classy pattern. Looks more complicated than it is (don't you love those!)
    

 I recently had a conversation with a friend about what all  the tiny little washing symbols mean on the ball band of the yarn. They are actually quite informative, if you watch closely. Here's a link to what most of them mean . I tend to use my blog as my own archive of info like this.. do others of you do that?

Our fabulous rain has returned here. It must be almost autumn. (easily my most favorite time of year) The other day it rained so hard that the roads were running with rivers of water. I could have happily  listened for hours as it pounded on the roof.

Margene, dear one, you will be in our thoughts with love as you go through your surgery tomorrow. May your healing time be swift and gentle.

Anhinga complete

August seemed to fly by in a flurry of work. I hardly recall any particular day, yet I was able to squeeze in some knitting time with the peeps once or twice, and finished seaming all the pieces of Anhinga. This evening, as our little knitting group sat outside knitting by the water, my friend Michele offered to take some photos. (thanks M !)

I love this sweater.
I love the feel of the yarn.   
I love the flow of the design.
It was fun to knit (and easier than it appears)
I might knit another.
Is there more that needs to be said???

Okay.. perhaps a recap of the details:
Anhinga from Nora Gaughan's newest booklet Fly Away
knit size: she gives 6 sizes to choose from, and the measurements/fit are accurate as shown in the photo of the completed garment. I knit one of the medium sizes.

        needle size 7  (I ended up going down  to this size so that I could obtain the correct gauge)
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto, 14 skeins. The yarn is the only part of this that I was disappointed with. While I love the hand on this yarn, the quality control at the factory seems quite off to me (every single skein had multiple knots in it). Yet, if you can tolerate sewing in lots of ends, this is a fabulous soft yarn that adds just the right amount of drape for this sweater.

In news on the personal life side of things, plans for our chorus, Olympia Choral Society (OCS),  performing at Carnegie Hall are full steam ahead! We'll be performing on saturday May 30, 2010, directed by our fearless leader, Terry Shaw (grins). I am still working on fund raising (as is most of the chorus) and we have now set up a site where people may donate with credit cards. All donations are tax deductible, since OCS is a full non-profit organization.
Our chorus got together last Saturday  for the annual picnic.

It was wonderful to see everyone, and catch up on their lives - and to pick up our music for the fall concert season. This truly is a fun group of people. The laughter was hearty, the food yummy and the weather was a bit dismal, yet that never stops Washingtonians. It's kinda funny, but out here, you never schedule "Rain dates" for anything. Picnics/garage sales/parties etc. go on, rain or shine. In fact, there is often so much drizzle that the locals call it 'liquid sunshine". I really do love rainy days, so no complaints from me. We begin singing on a weekly basis again in a couple of weeks - and I heard echos all around me of "I can't wait!"

Also, upcoming on friday evening, October 2nd of this year (5pm-10pm), is Olympia Artswalk - and this year, my daughter Erin will be displaying her art! I'll share more details as the time gets closer - so mark your calendars and come celebrate with us!

Cooler days

The heat wave in the Pac NW seems to have abated. Last Wednesday was the worst - at 4pm it was 107 degrees. And I know it went a bit higher in the next hour, yet I was not around to record it. I escaped into a movie theater. ;-D (and was amazed that it wasn't jam-packed-full).
Fortunately today is predicted to be only about 80, and we're all delighted around here.

And thus, the knitting has resumed. 
Anhinga body is complete.

This is a sweater from her newest collection called Fly Away)
The reverse seaming  to attach the center biased panel to the left front was a bit easier than I imagined.
I began at the center point of the sweater, and picked up a stitch from the purl side of the left panel, then used the mattress stitch to pick up from the center panel. (alternating that way down the entire front). I ended up re-doing it a couple of times, since the panel and the center piece had differing amounts of 'ease' due to the stitches being knit in different directions - yet finally it worked and the ends met.

Sorry about the blurry photo. Navy is an interesting color to photograph... and seems to only show its true color when no flash is used.

The sleeves commence this morning, then I'm thinking of a short nap before work this afternoon.... it's a 12-13 hour day at the store... and about 36 hours more this week as well.. which isn't really too bad, unless of course one remembers that I also have a "day job". (heh heh.) So I'll catch up with you all as I am able.
Have a fabulous week!

Another perfect day off

It has been awhile since I had a complete day off (zero obligations, neither work has called for me to come in) ... and I spent last Saturday in absolute "bliss" by Lake Stillecoom, (sp?) with dear friends, Lorette Meske and her husband, John Guy. 
We have been 'friends' for years, yet between Lorette's schedule and mine, have actually spent very little time together in person. Saturday was a rare treat with hours together... and we had a blast.

Lorette is a relatively new spinner, who purchased her  first wheel,  a Schacht !!!!!! - so I took my Majacraft, Rose Pro up(as well as my trusty old Schacht)  there for her to play with. It was great fun. Here we are, post gourmet lunch ala John (her husband) spinning on their deck!.Be sure to notice dear Louie, their Corgie, sleeping behind her chair.)

John pampered us with wine and food all day long, and Lorette and I spun on various wheels.
It was heaven.
Here's the view I had from their deck as I spun.... (yeah..  you can all sigh with complete jealousy now.. - grins).)

Lorette has just barely begun spinning, has taken no lessons, and seems like she has been doing it forever, We pulled out all her plied yarn to date, and it looks amazing to me! She's spinning fingering weight yarn, without even thinking about it (or so it seems!)
Wow! and soon, make way for another pro- spinnner!!

John, meanwhile, cooked us gourmet lunch and dinner, and sprinkled with fabulous conversation and a few bottles of incredible wine. We talked late into the night, sitting down on their lovely dock, watching the stars come out ;-)
And we all decided that I should win the Mega Millions this week, so I could buy the "cottage" two doors down from their house, that is listed at a cool 2 million... ha ha ha ha ....
yes, Lorette, I bought another ticket today! :-)

So, other than spinning, I have been working - and have cast on for three new projects recently:

Honeycomb Cardigan sweater:

This one is being knit with yarn from Black Water Abbey - it'll be great for a jacket, yet it is very coarse Irish wool, and hurts my fingers to knit with... so it will be awhile in the making.

I love the deep purple of this, and will most likely make my way back to it as the weather cools a bit.

Maplewing Shawl

I LOVE this pattern and yarn from Kim over at Woolen Rabbit - it's merino laceweight. Colorway OakMoss. (ahem.. 1700 yards of laceweight wool....)
This is one that will probably take me forever to knit, but is TOTALLY worth it. It took 45 minutes to CAST ON the 600 stitches, and then 55 minutes to knit each of the 3 rows I have completed here...... (heh heh, insert snidely whiplash laughter here) It will take me awhile to show progress on this one, but bear with me, it is a smashing shawl... you will be breathless when I am done.

Anhinga

(from her pattern book Fly Away)

This is my current "go-to" project. One row takes about 30 seconds (or so it seems relative to my other two projects). I am LOVING this pattern (from the newest Norah Gaughan booklet)  - the yarn I am using is deepest Navy, made by Debbie Bliss, Rialto (and I am cursing her a bit for all the knots in each ball... grrrrr,) But it is zipping along quite rapidly, and progress will show soon.

I hope that each of you had such a lovely day off as I did.
Summer has finally arrived here.

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!

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....... :-)