I’m back at home, after a whirlwind trip through Vietnam and Tokyo. I had a couple little “where in the world” contests while I was gone.
Adam (Knitguy) correctly identified this Buddha statue as being at Long Son Temple in Nha Trang, Vietnam. His prize? Some beautiful chopsticks and chopstick rests! I need to sweep the bamboo leaves in my backyard, but in the meantime, aren’t they a nice Asian backdrop for this picture?
The next picture was a little trickier to identify.
Kaminari-mon Gate (Thunder Gate) is the first gate going up to Senso-Ji Temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Lots of people take pictures of it, which made it too easy! The second gate, closer to the temple, is Houzou-mon Gate. Courtney (Knitting Siamese) was the first person to correctly identify the photo. Her prize is this silk scarf. Blue, of course. I’ve always got blue on my mind!
I came home to find the blueberry bushes still laden with berries. Last night I picked a half gallon box, and this afternoon I picked two more. I’ll bake with some, give some to my Mom, and freeze the rest. And there are still more out there…
I was going to make Blueberry Boy Bait last night after seeing it on the Smitten Kitchen blog, but I didn’t have enough butter! Maybe tonight.
I’ll blog more about the trip, and knitting, after I work my way through 400 pictures. Don’t worry, I won’t post *all* of them!
Categories: Blogging · travel
Tagged: buddha, houzoumon gate, nha trang
I’ve left Vietnam for this…
Here’s the back side:
Smell the incense!
A little prize for the first correct guess of what this structure is, and where it’s located.
Cheers!
Categories: travel
we’re not in Kansas any more!
Can you tell where we are? Here’s what I saw yesterday. Sorry for the raw photo, but that’s what I have…
There’s a prize for the first correct guess of venue, city, and country. Good luck!
Categories: travel
I’ve made two lace triangle shawls so far, the Shetland Triangle and Ishbel. I think it’s ingenious how these start at the center of the neck, and grow out from there. I want to know more about how this works, so I bought this book.
Knitting Lace Triangles by Evelyn A. Clark. The Shetland Triangle is one of her patterns, and it was a fun knit. This book is kind of a recipe book for knitting triangle shawls using four different lace stitches. You can use one, two, three, or all four of the different lace patterns. Ingenious! All of the patterns increase four stitches every other row.
What I really want to know, though, is what happens when the increases are more frequent, as in Ishbel. I know it makes the triangle shallower, but what happens to the lace at the sides? I guess I’ll have to chart it out and see.
Categories: Knit · pattern design
Tagged: Knit, lace
And I love them! Blue is my favorite color. I’m still plugging away on the blue Ishbel and the blue Ruffle Tank. And now I’ve won some beautiful blue yarn from Lorajean at Knitted Wit.
It’s 400 yards of fingering weight sock yarn, colorway Blue Sky. Lorajean noted that I don’t knit socks, but that’s not completely true. What’s true is that I don’t knit socks with fingering weight yarn! Someday I may. But wouldn’t this blue make a gorgeous scarf or shawl?
I also harvested the first of the blueberries on Sunday when I got home from Carmel. I made blueberry cobbler, and we had it with vanilla ice cream for Father’s Day dessert. It was delicious! While I was picking the berries, I noticed a blue jay on the corner of my roof, with a big fat blueberry in his beak. I think there’s enough for all of us, but that was pretty cheeky of him!
Categories: Knit · recipe
Tagged: birds, blue, blueberries, Knit, knitted wit, yarn
Picture this: Sitting in your seat, knitting on an airplane. A pattern is on the tray table; Ishbel is in your hands. A ball of blue laceweight yarn is on your lap. You shift in your seat slightly, and the ball rolls off your lap, under the seat in front of you, and down the aisle…
No, it didn’t happen, but I was visualizing it as I was knitting. Just in case, next time the yarn should be in “cake” form!
The weekend was lovely. Five erstwhile pianists (I think only two of us are actively playing right now) who met at piano camp several years ago. Two more piano buddies came down on Saturday to play for us: Satie, Grieg, Mozart, Bach… D’s piano sounds fantastic in its new space. It sounds rich and round. The space is very open, with a cathedral ceiling. And the view from the piano is inspiring, looking across the Carmel Valley.
How could I not be inspired to play? I re-acquainted myself with the Granados Waltzes from Valses Poeticos. And the Adagio movement from Mozart’s K 332.
Friday afternoon’s sky was especially lovely.
Saturday’s walk took us down by the beach.
In other piano buddy news, fellow piano camper Katie Hafner’s book on Glenn Gould, A Romance on Three Legs, is now available in paperback. The book is a great read. Katie is one of the smartest, funniest, and most charming people I’ve ever met.
I did a lot of knitting on Ishbel while listening to my friends. But it’s not done yet. :sigh:
Categories: Knit · music · piano · travel
Tagged: Knit, piano
I’m going away for a weekend with the Piano Babes. Too bad I haven’t played the piano very much this year. Oops. Knitting and blogging have taken up a lot of my leisure time! But I’ll try to resurrect the three Granados Waltzes from Valses Poeticos that I played this year. Wish me luck.
I’m trying to decide what knitting to take for the plane. I think my socks on dpns (poor languishing Kai-Mei) would be a bad choice because it’s so easy to drop a needle. Circular needles are great for plane knitting, because you can’t drop one! That means I should take the Ruffle Tank. Or my new Ishbel. Or both.
New Ishbel? Yes! I was feeling sorry about not using that glorious blue Claudia Handpaint Silk Lace. It was a bit spendy, and I was feeling guilty. I bought some Addi Lace needles, and it has made all the difference. I also went down a needle size to a US 5. The silk glides along on the metal needles, and I’m a happy camper.
This doesn’t meant that I don’t love my Lantern Moon Ebony needles. They’re still my favorite. And they’re working great on the Ruffle Tank! I finished the back, and have cast on for the front. This is a great knit, just enough pattern to it that I’m engaged, but simple enough to knit while watching old episodes of Firefly. Mmmm, Firefly. I’m going to be sad when the 14 episodes are done!
Have a great weekend! What’s on your needles?
Categories: Knit · piano · travel
Tagged: addi lace, ishbel, Knit, Ruffle Tank, yarn
And I am! I’ve won two contests in the past week, and am now the happy owner of two new sock patterns. The first is Zoom Zoom, by Samantha Roshak at KnitQuest.
The other is Cotty, by Carrie Sullivan at IrishgirlieKnits.
These both look like fun knits. I have Socks that Rock Mediumweight in Alley-Oop, and I think that will work for Cotty. I’ll have to buy (twist my arm) fingering weight yarn for Zoom Zoom. but I’ll probably wait for the market at Sock Summit.
Thank you, Sam and Carrie, for the patterns, and for permission to use your pictures, too!
For someone who wasn’t a sock knitter, isn’t it funny that I have sock patterns, sock yarn, and am going to Sock Summit in August? Never say never!
Categories: Knit
Tagged: Knit, knit socks
I made it to two WWKIP Day events. The first was at the Hollywood Farmers’ Market. I met the organizer, BubblesAnne from Ravelry. It was great to meet her in person; last fall I knit several squares for a charity afghan she was making. We knit, met some nice people, and answered questions about why were were knitting at the market. I forgot to bring my camera, and completely forgot about pictures.
I also went to Pioneer Courthouse Square to knit with Melissa, KnitFemme on Ravelry and Twitter. She said they’d be on the stair, so I circled the place and didn’t see any knitters on the stairs.
Then I noticed the group at the end of the flowers. There were a few more people at this gathering, and even more after I took this picture with my phone!
Don’t ask me names, though; I’m really bad with names. I think that’s Emily on the left? I do know that she made the most delicious vegan chocolate chip cookies. Wow!
After all the knitting fun, I helped DH at a wine-tasting event. The wine was tasty, and so were the Moonstruck Chocolates!
Here’s the sky at the end of the event:
Where did you knit today?
Categories: Knit
Tagged: Knit, WWKIP Day
I can’t remember exactly when our blueberries ripened last year, but there are promising signs out there.
All five bushes are heavily laden again this year. I hope they’re ripe soon; I love blueberries!
My Ruffle Tank is showing signs of promise, too. The knitting is easy, and it’s a great take-along knit. I’m almost to the armhole shaping on the back, and still on the first of three skeins of yarn. I don’t think I’m going to run short.
It’s interesting knitting with this linen/merino mix. It’s string-like, but not really hard on the hands. I know that when it gets washed and dried, it’s going to get a lot softer, and it will help even up the stitches, too.
And one more sign of promise:
This robin is nesting in Carole’s lilac. Since our wreath nest was abandoned, Carole says we can share this one instead.
In other local news, Lorajean of Knitted Wit is having a contest. She’s participating in Take Steps for Crohn’s & Colitis, a fundraiser for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation. For every $5 you donate to Take Steps on her behalf, she’ll enter your name in a drawing for some wonderful prizes, including a Lantern Moon circular needle case, and hand-dyed yarn and fiber.
Deb Accuardi of Mt. Hood Fibers is starting a local sock club, which includes a lunch at Gino’s Restaurant in Sellwood (Portland) with every yarn/pattern release (every other month from October 2009 through August 2010).
And lastly, Saturday is World Wide Knit in Public Day. Last year I was on a camping trip, knitting in a field. I have several choices for this year: Hollywood Farmers’ Market at 8 a.m., Pioneer Courthouse Square at 10 a.m., or Hillsboro from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Get your needles ready!
Looking for a WWKIP Day event near you? Check here!
Categories: Knit
Tagged: contest, Knit, Ruffle Tank, WWKIP Day, yarn
