Knittinggarden

Alpaca with a Twist, Baby Twist from the Loopy Ewe . Zen String Serendipity in Morocco and Poseidon Yarn Pirate in Solstice and Icicle Need I say more?

Well, it looks like my career working in a yarn and tea shop has ended as quickly as it began (that's right, so quickly I didn't even get a chance to blog about it.) I was in my favorite LYS a couple of weeks ago and noticed that they were pretty busy, and offered to help. (I'm such a good samaritan when the good deed involves being around yarn.) Anyway, I thought I could tag stuff or stock shelves, but I was asked "Do you want to work?" The owners are friends of mine and had faith, I guess, that I'd be able to figure out how to use a computer/cash register, measure and serve tea, and answer questions about yarn after not having worked in 20 years, so who was I to disagree? I made it clear that I didn't want to take hours from other people, and I started working at the beginning of December. It's been a lot of fun and I've learned so much (mostly that it's hard work being on your feet for 8 hours a day and trying to find things when you don...

has taken on a whole new meaning for me. (And has given me the inspiration to blog after a quite lengthy hiatus.) I called my son to tell him to watch for a package I had sent, since it had gifts in it, including a couple of checks that he would want. He told me that he had lost a key to the mailbox, and one roommate who had already gone home for break had the other one. So his plan is to watch out the window for the mailman and run out and ask for the mail when he arrives. Sounds good to me, and definitely much easier than looking through the house for the key! I hope he can see the mailbox from inside, since it's supposed to snow today. This is one item that's in the box (modeled by the lovely and talented DH). Scott asked for convertible fingerless mitts, and Mom was happy to comply. Especially after hearing that he doesn't wear the hat I made for him last year, because wearing a "matching hat and scarf that your mom made" is not cool. Oh well, who was...

Twenty years ago, at 11:14 AM, I became a mother. It amazes me to see how many changes take place in the first years of life. After all, I'm still the same! Well, maybe not exactly...... It seems like it was just yesterday that you looked like this: You were a busy, sweet, baby - bright and active. You were happy and funny and didn't really mind when an interloper came along to share the spotlight (after you finished throwing all of my shoes out of the bathroom window!) Your athletic exploits ranged far and wide but usually came back to the water. You've always been willing to share your toys. You went from neat little boy to rebel with a 'fro. You kept us guessing all through high school, but you made it through and are now happily keeping all those college professors on their toes. You are bright and creative and funny; oh, so funny! (Tell me about Margaret Weathers again sometime.) You have so much to look forward to. Happy Birthday, Scott. We love you.

Last weekend I received a big box of afghan squares in the mail from Laura, who has organized Rebuilding Greensburg - Block by Block. I've mentioned before that I sent some squares to her during the summer, then volunteered to seam a blanket when it looked like she was having trouble finding people to complete them. So we went from this, to this, then this, and finally this, a finished blanket. It was very cozy, warm, and colorful, and I hope it will bring a little speck of comfort to a family who can use a blanket. I count my blessings frequently and am so thankful to be able to help others, even in a small way. I also finished my ISE5 scarf, and it's all ready to send to my pal, once I pack up a few more goodies. This scarf was a lot more trouble than I had anticipated, but I think it came out nicely. I don't know why I kept messing up the simple lace pattern, but I did and always ended up ripping back many rows to get back on track. It's the Peaks and ...

Last night I attended a Louet trunk show at my LYS, Village Yarn & Tea . Not only were there great yarns and patterns to see and touch, wine, cheese, and friendly people, but I got to be a model! My garment was a lovely knitted tee made from Euroflax linen. I liked the style, but the fabric was still a little bit scratchy from probably not having been washed enough yet. Here's the pattern and what I'd look like wearing it if I was a little (lot) younger and had long, beautiful hair. It was fun; we walked around and people touched, petted, and questioned us about the lovely items we wore. October sock club items so far: Yarn Pirate - Killer Bees superwash merino and two pretty fuschia-colored circular needles. I understand that the cables on these are 24" (not including the needles themselves) so they'd be long enough to use for Magic Loop if you were so inclined. I might give it another try, although I prefer two circs in general. But I could save some mon...

because YP Booty Club sock yarn (and cool circular needles) just arrived in the mail! Very fun color.

at the big party! It's time to get a post on here with a few more photos of Mom's Birthday Bash. The party was fun; it was great to see old friends and neighbors, lots of relatives, and Mom looking so great and happy. Above is the immediate family, and cousins who came from California and Nevada - we were really pleased to have them here. My sister and I have been having parties for Mom every five years since age 75, so this is the third one. I think it might have been the most enjoyable, too, since we finally wised up and got some teenage girls to help us in the kitchen.Yes, we're not the center of attention, but it's nice not to have to be doing all the work during the actual event. The preparation and clean up are enough. I actually enjoyed preparing the house for the party and am appreciating the (hopefully not temporary) lack of clutter I achieved in a few rooms. We won't talk about the rooms to which I moved the aforementioned clutter. Even though we d...

I couldn't let the day pass by without wishing a very happy 85th birthday to my wonderful mother. We had a great party for her on Saturday, but today is the actual day. I'll put some more photos in a later post, but I just wanted to say thank you for being the kind, caring, loving mother and grandmother that we all cherish. You are the best, and we are so lucky to have you. Lots and lots of love from all of us.

Mystery Stole 3 is currently blocking. It's been a long process, but I've learned so much from participating. No, it's not perfect, no it doesn't have any beads (I'll tackle that next time) but I think it looks pretty darn good for a first major lace project. When I announced my intention of finishing it today, my DD said "Are you still working on that? You've been doing it since, like, July." Yes I have, and yes I'm proud of myself for finishing it in October.

I ran across news of a contest on this blog (it's so cool how you can be reading a blog, pick up a link to another, and end up referring to a blog you never heard of before). Be that as it may, I decided to participate, partly because of the sock posting I did here already. Also, I realized that I left one pair out of my group photo, so I'll remedy that sometime. The contest is to post a photo of the first sock you made and the last sock you made. I had DD help with setting up the photo, and we got one shot before the camera's battery went pfffft. So here it is. The blue socks are the first I ever made, using Bollicine Baby Night and a beginners stockinette pattern from Knit Socks! I made them when I first started knitting, about 3 years ago. They're warm and snuggly and I usually just wear them around the house. The colorful socks are Monkeys. I just finished them last week. The yarn is Zen String Harmony in the Opal colorway. So there you go!

In preparation for the 85th birthday party we will have for my mom in just over a week, we've been readying the house; cleaning carpets and windows, painting stairs and hallway, and just generally trying to tidy up. This caused a look at some artwork hanging in the hall, which led to a project that involved reframing and rearranging several pieces. This led to having a space with nothing in it, which caused us to go to the pile of high school artwork our son had left in the basement when he went to college last year. He has always been artistic and has taken art classes off and on, so we had a selection of work to choose from. We ended up reframing one piece that we had displayed previously (orange girl) and finding an abstract piece that I really liked and having that framed. Here they are: (click on each to see larger.) It was hard to photograph them accurately in the hallway at night, but I did my best. Here they are actually hanging; that was harder due to the narrow hal...

is to have lots of knitting time and nothing else to do. I always finish socks, but I'm not a particularly fast knitter, and it usually takes me a couple of weeks. Well, yesterday I found out that if I just sit and knit (for hours and hours) I can get half a sock done in a day! I don't really recommend the circumstances I had, but it's nice to know. Here's what happened: My husband was having some trouble with his stomach Friday and Friday evening, but thought it would pass as most things do. He woke me up about 2:00 am with the news that he thought we should call a doctor. He doesn't like to ask for help (what man does?), so I knew it must be something. Long story short, the doctor recommended a trip to the ER, so I started on my odyssey of sitting and working on the sock (which had most of the leg finished) at about 2:45 am. We worked our way through the ER, and after the CT scan they were pretty sure that the appendix would have to come out. DH was admitt...

Yes, tonight I was there amongst the hundreds of knitters at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park, WA to see Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. It was great, although I always manage to sit behind someone with too much hair. That's Stephanie behind the podium in the dark; I obviously need a new camera, too. Don't worry, better pictures are to come. Stephanie is hilarious. I've seen her twice, and she's engaging, earnest, self-deprecating, and funny. But she manages to get her message of this "represent" tour across, illustrated by many examples, the least of which is the ease by which she raised over $300,000 for Doctors Without Borders by simply asking knitters to donate. Knitters are a force to be reckoned with! Knitters are people from all walks of life, and when spurred to action can accomplish just about anything. Anyway, this time I waited around to get my book signed, and this is what amazed me. Here is a woman who has traveled for hours, speaks for an...