Ahhh, a bit of zen

Yesterday it seems I was juggling a million things at the same time, when I heard a 'thunk' at my doorstep - the familiar sound of the mailman unloading a package. It was what I was hoping for, the second gift from my Secret Pal!

And it couldn't have been more appropriate. Even before opening up the box, I could smell a wonderful aroma that instantly calmed my nerves. I soon discovered it was a bar of rosemary mint soap. Inside were all these other treasures:


Super stuff from my Secret Pal
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My anxiety quickly faded as I realized there was everything I needed for a "zen moment" - the candle, tea, yarn, sweets, and a cozy new frilly scarf (presumably knit by my SP). The soap, of course, would come into play later. Ahhh... THANK YOU, SP for saving the day!

Happy Easter!

Forgot to mention that in my previous post of two seconds ago... Thanks SP for the e-card. :)

We were too exhausted yesterday after our trip to Harley Farms, so we didn't color our eggs. But the Easter bunny left me a super-rad basket from Sanrio filled with Cinnamoroll goodies - stationery, candy, pencils, erasers, and of course... Cinnamoroll himself! We think he looks more like a girl dog, so we're changing his gender. S/he's a little camera shy so no pic, but I'm sure I'll sneak one when s/he takes a nap.

You can never have too many patterns

During a very successful shopping trip, we went to the bookstore and I managed to pick up the Spring/Summer 2005 issue of Vogue Knitting. I've never purchased this magazine before, though I peruse them on the newsstands when they come out. My general rule is, I have to like at least 4 patterns in any given publication to make it worth buying. Here are the top contenders - there are a few more that I liked but I got tired of scanning (ours is really slow):


Short Sleeve Top in Karabella Empire Silk
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Lace-Up Camisole in Anny Blatt Kanpur
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Wrapped Lace Cardigan in Berroco Glace
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Leaf pattern scarf in Mohair Royal and Wool Gatto
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"This is weird..."

I keep saying that as I knit with some GGH Cascade I got from eBay a while ago. I've had my eye on this pattern for a while, and when I saw the yarn at a great price I was stoked to be the winning bidder:


Red Jacket with Peplum, design number 24 from Rebecca 22
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I actually played with it when I first got the yarn, but I really wasn't in the mood for man-made fibers. At the time, I figured I'd save it for later, when I wasn't so addicted to wool and alpaca. I thought the time had finally come, but as I'm going along I have to admit that I'm not really enjoying this.


The beginning of Red Jacket with Peplum, design number 24 from Rebecca 22
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I don't know if it's just my mood or if this yarn is just plain too weird for me. As with all ribbon-type yarns, it gets twisted (especially when working in K2,P2 rib) and you have to twirl it about every couple rows or it looks funny. Annoying. And the texture of the fabric has this strange feeling, resulting from the ladder fibers. It just screams "Snag me!". Not good. It's really too bad, because the yarn itself (unknitted) looks really cool:


Close up of GGH Cascade yarn - you can't tell from the pic, but it's acutally a triangle ladder construction. Very unusual, to say the least.
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Buckle bag by Rowan, yarn is Gedifra's Fifty Fifty in a light grey color (I know it looks off-white)
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I forgot to mention Rowan!

It totally slipped my mind, but I finally received my copy of Rowan magazine #37. It was such a tease going into a LYS and seeing it there. I only joined Rowan Int'l back in December, so I hadn't received any magazines yet. I started worrying that they had forgotten about me, until I read in the forums that other members were eagerly awaiting their copies as well. Whew!

After all that anticipation, it finally arrived - and I forgot to mention it. I spent the first evening cuddling it, and looking at the pictures over and over. Sad thing is, I probably won't knit anything from it. My favorite designs are either not flattering to the flabby, or knit in a gauge reserved for the patient. Check it out:


Hike in Calmer. Love it, but someone with a short attention span like me can't handle that much stockinette stitch at 21 sts/4"
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Two versions of Trek in Handknit DK cotton. This one's my favorite design, but again - the gauge!! I'm not brilliant enough to re-write the pattern for a larger gauge. Huh? What was I talking about?
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Hobo in Cotton Glace. Another buckle-y design.
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Elspeth in Calmer. Ok, I *might* do this one because I LOVE working with Calmer, and at least there is some patterning to keep me interested.
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Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hallmark's servers must have been flooded with people picking up their e-cards again today because it took several tries before finally viewing mine from my SP. Hmm, this happened on Valentine's Day and they sent me an email saying how sorry they were for the "unexpected traffic" that delayed the receipt of my e-card and that it wouldn't happen again. I guess they didn't truly realize how popular their service is - or perhaps it's all of us Secret Pal participants hogging up bandwidth! Thanks, SP for continuing to think of me. :)

It cheered me up before my midterm exam. I like that my class is online because I can take my exam and know right away what my score is. By the way, I only missed one question, mom.

As promised, here is the photo of the completed sweater. You can view the original version of the pattern in my previous blog entry.


Rebecca #29 - Pattern #31 in Lang Eve yarn
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It's rough being a dog

While roasting this...


Gayo Mt. Sumatra - Sulawesi blend (my fav)
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... the dog was busy doing this:


Catching some California rays
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... then this:


Look at me! I'm a cow!
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... then a little patrolling:


"Why are humans so fascinated by me?"
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Last night I started putting together all the pieces of the blue mouline sweater. It actually came out cuter than it looked separately. Weird. I'll post a pic once it's all finished.

I've been studying really hard for yet another exam, but I did manage to get some errands done yesterday, including sending out the second gift pack to my Secret Pal. This one was a really good one, if I do say so myself. Quite generous indeed.

And deciding where to go for our summer vacation(s) continues to be the hot topic in our house. We both change our minds hourly, so it has been nerve-racking. Why can't it just be free of charge to stay at the Four Seasons Hualalai?

They grow up so fast... check out how much my tomatoes have grown in just one week! They were barely above the bottom ring last Monday!
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Yarn of the day: Rowan Kid Classic in shade 840 Crystal. Knitting Arts had a 20% off sale yesterday... who can resist that?!
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Roast of the day: Ethiopia Harar Horse, sorta uneven (blonde beans in the center)
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Oh, good lord...

I was wondering how long it would take for someone to come up with the "Martha" poncho:


The knock-off poncho
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Didn't they get the memo that ponchos are out?!! At least Martha was incarcerated, what's Herrschners' excuse?

Now you're just showing off

As an early anniversary gift, we got a new digital camera. It's the Canon PowerShot A95. I still haven't learned how to use the darn thing properly, but I've been having fun testing it out!

And look what showed up in the mail today - the yarns from my Yarn of the Month club:


March Yarns of the Month: Top row, 2nd Time Cotton from K1C2 and Nature Wool Chunky from Araucania; Bottom row, Cotton Stria from Manos del Uruguay and Sari Silk from Yarnexpress
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Since it finally stopped raining, there is better natural light indoors for taking pictures of my progress on the blue mouline sweater. I know they are still pretty crappy, but it's our lame, dark house (not the new camera).


Update on the "Sweater with Round Yoke", halfway there!
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Close up of the vertical eyelet detailing
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Over the weekend, I roasted the Brazilian peaberry coffee. I was really surprised how much I like this stuff, especially since I usually prefer blends. It is really complex for a single origin coffee. Perhaps due to the uneven roast? Some of the beans were a little charred, while others looked like they barely left first crack. I pulled out the obvious "black sheep" of the roast, still leaving a wide range of roast in there:


Brazil Peaberry - Brauna Estate. Roasted using the i-Roast at Tom's suggested profile stopped 7:28 short
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And it was such a lovely day that I planted some tomato seedlings, my first attempt at anything beyond forcing bulbs. These are the yummy Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes that are so great on salads. I really hope they turn out like the picture, but I'm worried - I think they should have been in separate containers, but Mike insisted they would be fine together. We shall see...


Dear tomato seedlings, Please grow up big and strong so that I can eat your fruit. Love, Mom
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Last but not least, I had to show off our crazy lemon tree that is promising a future full of lemonade, lemon bars, and lemon cake. Folks, you're only seeing one side of the tree. I know this is perfectly normal for California, but let's consider that during the 3 years we lived in Texas, we yielded *one* friggin' lemon from our Meyer lemon tree, so I'm full of cheer over all this free fruit!


Abnormally large lemons, which we jokingly call "Fairchild" lemons (referring to the former semiconductor company that leaked toxic material into the local ground)
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My brain hurts!

Now I recall why I felt such relief when I graduated from college... it was HARD! And I don't know what made me think that I could absorb information at the same rate I did 10 years ago. Anyhow, I blame my aging (and throbbing) brain for the lack of posts.

I've been so busy studying for my Accounting class, which has confused me so much I haven't even *started* studying for my Business class! Yikes! I'm sensing trouble ahead...

I haven't neglected my knitting, though. Since my brain doesn't work after dinner time, I still manage to stitch in the evenings while watching TV. I'm currently working on two projects.

One is a vest that I've had my eye on for a while. It's a very basic vest pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple, which I purchased from Jimmy Beans Wool. This was my first order from them, even though I have had their site bookmarked for a while. I liked their site because I think their dogs are cute.

I decided to order from them because they had yarn on sale that was appropriate for this pattern, Rowan rowanspun aran. I chose color Husk because I figured a beige vest would go with everything. It does, but now I'm thinking it looks sorta man-ish. Whatev, I got Rowan yarn for 30 bucks (3 skeins), so that to me is a good deal.

The yarn itself is a bit scratchy, more than I thought it would be, and there are quite a few "organic" bits that I've had to pull out. You know, burrs and pieces of hay or whatever. There was a sharpie that really stuck my finger good. Oww! I would describe this yarn as "rustic", similar to Jamieson's if you've ever knit with that. Also super lanolin-y (my fingers had that filmy feel). Here's what it looks like so far:


Rowan rowanspun aran in Husk, 16 st = 4" on US 9 needles, ribbing done on US 7 needles
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I've also been working on a sweater from the new Rebecca. No, not the super cute Wrap Sweater with Eyelets (though I will get to that at some point). It's the Sweater with Round Yoke #31.


Sweater with Round Yoke from Rebecca 29, original yarn Illusion @ 15 st x 20 rows
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I'm using the Lang Eve I got on ebay a while back. I'm not sure I like the mouline look of the fabric, but I'm having so much fun knitting with this yarn that I'm willing to continue and decide later if I like it. Eve is a really stretchy yarn that has been forgiving of my recent sloppy knitting. Hey, I'm tired at the end of the day!


Too bad you can't see the eyelets - it's really a cute pattern
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Caution: Long Post Ahead!

I'm finally back on the normal routine, so this is a good time to share pics of all the cool stuff that's happened over the last week!

First of all, Thursday was my birthday and I was really excited because Mikey and I were going to spend two nights up in the Napa/Sonoma wine country. I'll get to that later, but I gotta share the fun stuff I got to open that morning:


Birthday presies from my boys: two cool CDs from 40 Pound (inside joke), and a cup for tea with two travel size candles
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I wanted to "dress up" my usually casual wear, so I spent the day prior knitting up a flower pin to wear. I used the pattern for the flowers found on this sweater in Knitty, and the leaf is from a book I have in my collection. I put them together with a pin backing I got from Michael's and... voila!


Flower pin I made using Brown Sheep Prairie Silk, leaf using Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride
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So, with CDs in the changer and the flower pin safely attached to my top, we headed up north and stopped at two yarn stores in the city. First, we went to ImagiKnit, where I picked up two balls of yarn, some needles I needed for the necktie I want to knit for Bubs, and the Summer 2004 issue of Interweave Knits.


Gedifra Fashion Trend Stripe wool/acrylic blend
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We finally made it through the rain to Sonoma, our first stop on this trip. We stayed at this very cool place called the Gaige House Inn. I can't say enough about this place - everything was top-notch. To call the morning meal a "breakfast" just doesn't do it justice. It was truly a dining experience. I could go on, but I'm starting to sound like a broken record because I've been telling EVERYONE who'll listen, how great this place is!

We had an hour to kill before picking up the dog from the kennel in Napa, so we did some light shopping at the gift store at COPIA. We bought quite a few food-related postcards which I'll frame and put up in our kitchen, my favorite being this one:


My new friend for the kitchen
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When we got home there was a large package waiting on our doorstep. It was our belated (to put it mildly) Christmas present from my sister-in-law, who lives in Missoula, Montana. Among the many treasures inside, this was the most... unusual:


Moose Drool ale from Big Sky Brewing in Montana
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We cracked one open the other night and enjoyed it with a roast chicken. Very yummy stuff, despite its gross-sounding name!

And finally, for anyone who's still reading this entry, here's the scarf I worked on during the trip. It's a pattern from my Knitting for Dummies book, eyelet lace version. As you can see, I'm still working on the neck ribbing part, which will later be grafted together. I think it looks cool in a hippy-retro sort of way.


My almost-finished scarf in Brooks Farm's Four Play yarn
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My first mitten

It's been raining here for several days, so as I sat wondering what to do with the yarn I received from my SP, I thought it was time to finally try a mitten or a glove. I referred to the article in Interweave Knits Winter 2003 issue for help, and came up with a custom-fit fingerless mitten (we don't want to rush into things by doing fingers, now do we?):


Fingerless mitten with fur cuff in Bernat Cameo and Crystal Palace Whisper
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I added the fur cuff because it seemed plain, and because I had two balls of Whisper sitting in my stash. It's actually a cream color, not pure white as it might seem in the photo. This gives it a softer look overall.

I used the suggested size US 7 needles for the Cameo, and crochet hook size F for the Whisper (two strands held together for a thicker fluff). I originally didn't think I could do this because I don't have dpns in size 7, BUT I do have in size 7: 16" circs, Denise needles, and straights. What I did was divide the stitches into groups using only the circs and Denise needles (just the tips, no cord attached. For every group of stitches I was about to knit, I slippped the stitches over to the straight needle and used whatever needle I just slipped them from to knit the stitches.

Now that I have one mitten down, I'm debating whether to jump right into the next one. We're heading for Napa/Sonoma tomorrow and I prefer to travel with projects that don't involve several needles or complicated instructions. We'll be stopping in the city (that's San Francisco for all of you not from Northern California), so I might find a kit or something there. I've never been to any of the yarn stores in SF, so I'm curious to see if the prices will be inflated. But it's my birthday, so if ever there was a day to splurge, this would be it!

Look what I got!

Happy Valentine's Day to me!
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I can't believe it - Mikey totally surprised me with a box of 10 balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton!!! This is the first time he's ever purchased yarn without my assistance. I didn't even mention that I wanted any yarn, since I already felt guilty about the purchases I made at Stitches West.

He stepped out of his comfort zone and picked out a pattern from one of my Rebecca magazines, enlisted the help of a salesperson at Knitting Arts, and managed to come up with a knit kit for a cabled sweater. Impressive!

To top it off, he gave me the first CD from "The OC". I've got enough yarn and music to keep me very happy for a while. Thanks Bubba!

Score!

Today I received a presie from my secret pal! Here are all the goodies that were inside:


The CD I've been wanting for like, ever; two balls of yummy blue wool/alpaca yarn; two fun Sanrio pencils; and a sweet stationery set!
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Soooo stoked about all of this - here I thought I'd get one, maybe two, balls of yarn and nice note. This is fabulous! I don't get it, though - how is it that someone who's never met me is able to send me a gift full of stuff I love, when some of my own family members manage to baffle me with their gift choices? Weird.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, SP! :)

I also want to show y'all (oops, residual "y'all" from Texas) the booty I picked up from yesterday's Stitches West convention. Gorgeous hand-dyed yarns everywhere, most of it waaay out of my price range. But I couldn't resist these two:


L: Oak Grove 100% silk yarn from Putney, VT in colorway "Desert"; R: Brooks Farm "Four Play", 50% wool/50% silk yarn from Lancaster, TX
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Both are super-soft, especially the silk yarn. I debated getting it because it knits up on US 5s and we all know how I feel about slow-progressing projects. But after passing by their booth, oh, about 5 times I finally decided I had to have it.

Another item I couldn't resist was this pendant necklace. The flower is carved abalone shell and it's hung on a silk tube cord. There were so many color combinations that it took me forever to decide, but I eventually went with this one because I thought it might go with the top I got for my birthday dinner next week.


Shell flower pendant on silk cord from San Francisco (sorry, don't have the business card handy)
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One lump or two?

This morning the doorbell rang and guess who it was - the FedEx guy with my tea package! I can't wait to sit down with a nice hot cup, my knitting, and the OC tonight!


Tea time!
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You wouldn't believe how fragrant these teas are. The apricot green tea is super juicy smelling, and the Valentine's tea TOTALLY smells like chocolate-dipped strawberries. How fun!

I'm curious as to how well this tea contraption will work. I don't know if it will be difficult to clean out those pesky little bits of tea leaf from the mesh, since you can only access it from the inside. But hey, I'm not responsible for doing the dishes so all I can say is, "good luck, honey"!

Just chillin'

I survived a crazy week, and now I'm thinking ahead to new ventures. I managed to finish the fluffy purple scarf for my sister, and I also finished the Holiday Cowl I was working on, but it's too big! I'm pretty sure I'll frog the entire thing and start over, but I'm not mentally ready for that yet.

I've been trying to figure out what I want to do next. It's nearing the end of winter here in CA, so I don't know if I should squeeze in another wooly winter project, or plan ahead for the warmer spring/summer months. I've forgotten what it's like here this time of year, since 2000 was the last time I lived here in the winter. Does it suddenly become spring the way it does in Texas? I can't quite remember...

In any event, I've got my eye on this cute tank top from the new Rebecca:


Chevron Top from the new Rebecca
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I mini-swatched the light blue Lang Twin Color yarn I got on eBay a little while ago, and I think it'll work if I use US 7 needles. But, I gotta be mindful because this yarn tends to unravel and the shiny twist is very loosely spun so it's an easy target for snags. Love the look of it, though.

Finally got my order of green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's! I ordered a 5 lb bag of the Sulawesi (my fav!), along with a few others to blend with. The Sumatra Iskandar and Organice Gayo Mountain, Ethiopian Harar (Horse), and the Brazil Peaberry Brauna Estate. I don't think I've ever roasted Brazilian coffee, so that should be interesting. I get why they call it 'peaberry' - it sorta looks like barley:


Beeenz, beautiful beeeenz!
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Yarns-of-the-month: (L-R) "Eco Wool" by Cascade (this red must be new?), "Shiny" by Grignasco, "Prairie Silk" by Brown Sheep, "Kiss" by King Yarns
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What's on your mind?

Here's what's on mine:

• Relief that I got the first gift package mailed yesterday
• Checking up on the folks this weekend
• Excited for the Knitting conference next weekend
• Starting school next week (yikes!)
• Valentine's day is coming up
• Looking forward to relaxing in Napa/Sonoma for my birthday!
• Planning our next vacation and/or anniversary trip
• Creating a menu for Super Bowl Sunday (we just watch the half-time shows and eat finger foods)
• Getting my bike tuned-up so that I can ride it again
• What to knit from the new Rebecca magazine?! (decisions, decisions...)

I'm back, baby!!!!

I finally got a new hard drive installed (thanks Bubz!) and now I'm able to do all the things I used to: scan, print, upload photos, and my forward and back buttons WORK on my mouse again!!!! You never know how whacha got 'til it's gone.

So without further ado, here is the pic of the completed Amy vest. I used all of the colors suggested for the argyle version, but with a few switches. I decided to alternate diamond colors, with the middle one in Ash instead of all in Dusk. Since I had leftover yarn in Russet from the beret hat, I decided to do the stitching in that instead of the original Ash.


Ta da!!! The Amy vest from Jo Sharp
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I think overall, the sizing was designed to be loose fitting, so even though I knit the smaller size it still came out a little too big for me. I think it's really cool, though, and I actually didn't mind the stitching after I came up with a great way of doing it.

I went to the fabric store and bought one of those marker pens that show up in white. The ink eventually dissolves in water, but I didn't care since I was going to stitch over it with yarn. With ruler in hand, I just drew lines across the front and a few seconds later the white marks appeared. It was sooo much better than my previous method of pins marking the way. So there's my tip for anyone thinking of making this sweater!

I've also been working on my own version of the "Holiday Cowl" pattern I received from my yarn-of-the-month club. I had two balls of Rowan Polar sitting around and really thought it would be good worn around the neck (because it's the softest yarn ever!), but I was sick of making scarves.


Holiday Cowl in Rowan Polar and S. Charles Ritratto
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The cowl seemed like a good idea, but I wanted to carry along another yarn that would give the solid color some pizzazz. I found this Ritratto at my LYS and was immediately drawn to it. I think it's gorgeous stuff, but perhaps too subtle in it's pizzazz effect next to the Polar? I just really didn't want eyelash or anything with sequins or such. Eh, we'll see how the finished product looks.

I suck!

Ugh, it's the end of the day and I didn't get to the post office. Thankfully, my sister is coming to take care of my parents tomorrow so I THINK I might get another chance tomorrow.

It was a long, exhausting day of driving all over the place. We got the news that my dad would be released from the hospital today, so I had to pick up my mom and go over there. It took a long time, longer than I expected, and I had to function on only an English muffin.

Tired and hungry, I got home to find that my SP sent a gift certificate for an online tea shop called Adagio. I had never heard of them, but I was immediately intrigued by the "ingenuiTEA" contraption on their homepage. After clicking further, I knew I had to have it. I was just telling Mikey that I needed to do something about my rusty tea infusers.

After browing their extensive tea menu, I added a few samplers - a couple different jasmine teas and their apricot green tea - along with the new infuser (plastic, so the resident dishwasher will appreciate that). I only wish online purchases could somehow pop out of my computer and materialize into the actual thing immediately after hitting the final purchase button! Hey, you never know - this whole Internet thingy probably sounded like crazy talk not too long ago...

Phil says more winter

Yet another cute e-card from my SP has reminded me that today is Groundhog Day. Thanks SP! According to Phil, we've got more winter ahead. I dunno, does that really matter in places like California?! I'm soooo glad we finally came back here (after a 3-year detour in Texas) - I never knew growing up, how much I took the gorgeous weather for granted.

Well, if I didn't say it before, I'm saying it now: I've got drama. My parents were in a car crash on Monday and my dad is still hospitalized. My mom was able to go home that night with some bruising, but her car is totaled so we've been driving her back and forth to the hospital. There will likely be a long and hard recovery for my dad, but we still don't know the extent of his injuries.

Until my mom is feeling well enough to drive (she has a rental), I will be busy shuttling her around the South Bay. It's fine, I just REALLY need to find time to package up my first gift to my SP and ship it out. I was sooo good, did all my shopping over the weekend and had it all ready to go on Monday. I had planned on sending it out Tuesday, but things got crazy and since she's in Canada (yay!) I have to actually take it to the post office. I will get it done today, I swear!

Ack! I hit Save instead of Publish so this is going out much later than I intended...

Weee!

I just got the sweetest surprise - an e-card from my Secret Pal! And how fitting that I should wake up this morning, NO COFFEE in the house, and see a bunch of dancing coffee cups taunting me with their liquid elixir! Heeheehee, it was super cute and I appreciate the thought. Thanks SP!

It's rare that we'd run out of coffee because I'm usually very diligent about either roasting some, or going to get it at Peet's, but it was raining cats and dogs yesterday so I let Mikey take the car. So why did I not roast? Well, since I just got the i-Roast, I had to run several experimental roasts and ended up using all of my good coffee, the Sumatra and Sulawesi that I love so much. Unfortunately, Sweet Maria's is out of the Sulawesi so I'm waiting until they get it to place my next order. The last two weeks we've reverted to buying store-bought :-0 coffee and I must say, my stuff's pretty damn good for being a fraction of the cost (not counting the machine, thanks Mom!).

Anyhow, I just sent Mikey to get us some joe and a couple of bagel sandwiches from Noah's. We gotta energize up for the day because we've got a lot to do! I wanted to hit the yarn stores today to see if I can find something for my SP - she's into Fair Isle, which automatically earns my respect. Anyone who can knit several colors at a time, keep them from getting tangled, AND follow a pattern has really got some MAD skills, I tell ya.

I also wanted to check out the other colors for Rowan Plaid yarn. Someone is selling several packs on eBay and since I enjoyed working with the one ball for that scarf, I wanted to bid but didn't know which color I liked best. I thought I could perhaps "assist" my husband in the purchase of my birthday present. You know how that goes - "here honey, this is what you got me" - and they're so glad they didn't have to think or go shopping!

We also need to go to Fry's to get some nerdy thing that has to do with getting the data off my old hard drive. I have no idea, I just tag along and hang out in the video game section while Mikey's off doing his thing. It's the same thing at yarn stores - he usually waits in a corner and plays a game on his cell phone and I'll come by to ask his opinion on colors.

Oh, and before I forget, I completely finished my Amy vest last week (argyle stitching and all) but I can't get the photo off the card until I get my computer running again. I guess mine was the only one that had the correct reader or something. But it is complete, and although it's a little big, I really like it a lot.

RIP, my little sweet

A few things have been happening lately that I thought I should mention (mostly for the sake of my curious mother-in-law). ;-)

To start, my computer is currently out of commission. I was in the kitchen making dinner the other night, and went into the other room to see what that strange noise was. I looked down at my laptop, as it was dying slowly, the bizarre scratchy sounds indicating that it was not doing well. Luckily, my husband was home and rushed over to perform some CPR (that's Computer Processor Resuscitation).

Alas, the hard drive could not pull through and time of death was 6:40 PM. The computer's less than a year old, so this was completely unexpected. Apparently, HP is sending another hard drive but I'm really hoping we can salvage some of the data off my old drive.

Well, I suppose I'm lucky in the sense that my husband is a geek, so there are plenty of extra computers around the house. He was able to set me up on another laptop within minutes. Yeah, it ain't as loaded or as pretty as my beloved HP (whose shell is now lying sadly on the floor), but it works so I'm not complaining.

And just in time for Secret Pal 4! Mom, if you're reading this, Secret Pal is a knit/crochet gift exchange program. Like Secret Santa, you don't know the identity of your gift giver, and likewise you send gifts to someone who doesn't know who you are. You get to know one another via blog, which is why I started this whole thing.

Not to mention, I actually did enroll in two classes, one of which is online. These will go toward a Certificate in Small Business Management. The first class is Intro to Sm. Business and it's actually a TV course (good thing we have Tivo!), and the other is Accounting 1 (the online class). It's been 10 years since I've been a student, so I thought it would be wise to ease into it by taking classes from home. I'm not even sure if this is for me, so I'm taking the basics to decide if I'll move forward later on in the Summer/Fall.

That's the "big" news for now. I'm getting over a strange infection in my salivary gland, but we won't discuss that here (my jaw was swelling up like I was involved in a bar fight!). Hey, if you're my SP and you're reading this, you'll soon come to realize that I'm a magnet for unusual occurrences so don't be scared! :-0

Dear Secret Pal,

Hiya! Welcome to my blog! I hope you'll find my little corner of the world at least remotely interesting, and I hope we can share opinions and tips on all things yarny.

Feel free to peruse my questionnaire:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Guilty - I'm in love with "designer" yarn, but I avidly look for sales or only purchase a small amount... long sleeved cashmere sweater coats only exist in my dreams!
2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin, but I do crochet on occasion (I'm not that skilled, but I did manage to complete a fabulous flower-motif bag from Rebecca 24
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Yes - smoke, cats, and pinenuts (probably won't be a concern here, unless somehow they've figured out how to make yarn out of pinenuts... you never know - they did it out of soy!)
4. How long have you been knitting?
Just over two years
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Sure do! Just search my full name over at Amazon, and I think I'm the only one that will come up
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
It's a toss up between jasmine and herby smells like rosemary, mint, or lavender
7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
I think I may have a sweet mouth! My absolute favorite thing is cake, particularly from a fine French bakery, but I also have a thing for Donnelly chocolates (support the local guys!)
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I homeroast coffee (mostly Indonesian), and I recently got a sewing machine for Christmas but I haven't learned how to use it yet!
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
My favs are Cake, Beck, Moby, and Weezer, but I also like a lot of 80s stuff
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
I love red, grey, blue-grey, and "autumn" color combinations
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Married three years (almost), no kids (don't plan on it), one brown dog named Gibson
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Wow, umm... I think they are fairly simple - I would like to own a small business (a yarn store would be ideal), I'd like to have a house on a bit of land so that we could raise some animals, and I want to visit a good portion of the world
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love anything soft, wool and/or alpaca, and anything worsted or chunkier
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not particularly fond of eyelash/furry yarns, or anything thinner than worsted (I need fast gratification)
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I'm not really fixated on any one thing because I'm trying to gain experience with all different yarns, stitch patterns, etc., so I have several projects going at a time
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like knitting bags because they almost always turn out and they're useful, but I also like knitting tank tops or vests because I don't have the patience for sleeves
17. What are you knitting right now?
A cabled tank top in GGH Goa (see earlier post for pics), an argyle vest in Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed (almost done, picking up around second armhole), two fluffy scarves for my sister, and numerous abandoned projects waiting to be finished
18. What do you think about ponchos?
I actually really love them (I have a few myself), but I'm trying to focus more on "timeless" items these days
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Circs all the way!!
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I love Clover bamboos in particular, but it really depends on the fiber because sometimes bamboo creates too much drag - in which case, aluminum is a better option
21. Are you a sock knitter?
Unfortunately, no - I would love to have a pair of handknit socks (my feet are small, so a snug fit is pretty hard to come by), but I don't enjoy working with thinner yarns and I'm not terribly fond of working with double pointed needles
22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself by looking at books and online resources, and still do!
23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Woah, had to look up "UFO"... that one's new to me... umm, I can't think of any project that would be considered a UFO because I tend to either finish what I'm working on, or abandon them completely
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Fav animated character is Hello Kitty, fav animals are dogs, chickens, and donkeys (don't ask)
25. What is your favorite holiday?
I gotta go with Christmas - I love exchanging gifts (hey, kinda like SP!), and you can justify indulging in some guilty pleasures
26. Is there anything that you collect?
We have a growing collection of chickens, mostly handcrafted, funky chicken figurines by artists from all over the world

Good for you!

I can't believe it... I actually finished something!!


Finished "plaid" pattern scarf in Rowan Plaid
Posted by Hello

You can see a close-up of the pattern in my previous post.

Not only that, but I finished half of the tank top in GGH Goa.


First half of "Sweater with Diamonds" from Rebecca 23
Posted by Hello

I'm really proud of this one because I didn't mess up on the cabling, and as you can see, there were plenty of opportunities! I used US size 10 needles, and coincidentally, I got a set of Brittany cable needles for Christmas which included a size 10. I had lots of fun following the pattern, but it was kind of exhausting so I'm taking a break before starting the other half.