Category Archives: Blogging

The yarniest day

Posted on January 26, 2009 | 13 comments

Saturday was the yarniest day of the year so far, at least for me.

The day started with a knitting party at Twisted, before the shop opened. It was a fundraiser event for the Grant High School Booster Club. Twisted provided the space and the teas, Lantern Moon provided the needles, Carole provided the treats, and Anna and I provided the knitting instruction. I also made party favors: the Checkerboard Scarflet pattern, and stitch markers in school colors. We had 15 people come to knit, some with previous experience, and some newbies. What a fun morning! Thank you to Shannon & Emily for hosting. I remembered to bring my camera, but I was moving so fast that I forgot to take pictures. Oops.

After the party I headed downtown to meet up with the Seattle to Portland Yarn Crawl. Knit Bloggers from Seattle came down on the train to meet up with Portland Knit Bloggers and check out yarn shops in the Pearl District and downtown. The shops on the list were Knit/Purl, Knit Knot Studio, and Dublin Bay. I joined the crawl late, so I went directly to Knit/Purl and met up with several Portland area bloggers that I’d met last September at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. We ended up at Starbucks for some knitting/chatting time. It’s funny, I know many of these women by their blogs and Ravelry names, but I’m still trying to connect the right faces with the right names!

I think my camera may have been in my knitting bag, but again, I forgot to take pictures. Bad blogger! Here’s a picture of a book I bought at Knit/Purl. It’s a calendar with a different stitch pattern every day. I’ve been looking for a stitch dictionary, but not one in several volumes. Just a little thing to inspire, to go along with the small section in my Vogue Knitting book.

What I didn’t realize, looking at that cute cellophane-wrapped package, is that the directions are written out row by row, without charts. I guess if I want to use any of them, I’ll have to chart them out myself. But the pictures are great, very clear.

By 3:30 I was pretty done, but I wanted to check out Dublin Bay since I’d never been there before. It’s a lovely shop down at the edge of the Pearl. Lots of natural fibers. But I was tired enough that I didn’t buy anything, despite the 20% discount they were offering to the Yarn Crawlers. I suppose it’s just as well, since I try not to stash. But the Sea Cell was really pretty…

13 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit, ravelry

Tagged Knit, yarn crawl

An evening with BrooklynTweed

Posted on January 9, 2009 | 15 comments

Jared Flood (BrooklynTweed) is in town. He’s teaching classes at Knit/Purl this weekend. The classes filled very quickly, so they added a lecture/slide show. Beautiful photography! But I knew that already from his blog. Jared spoke about his inspiration, photography, designs, new designs. He gave some hints on photographing knits, and had a generously lengthy Q&A time after the slide show. There were a few sneak peeks of things that are coming soon, such as an amazing pair of Aran gloves that will be in the next VK. These are stunning, so texturally complex, I really want to make them. And I’ve never knit gloves! He’s also working on a book for Classic Elite due out this fall. Based on just a few pictures, this book is going on my wish list.

I did have to take a picture with my current project, just to show that I was there. But no flash (didn’t want to startle), so it’s not a great picture. More like a kinnearing, but it wasn’t my cell phone!

Yes, the project is one more Pippi. I’m knitting a sample for Twisted; they’re carrying paper copies of the pattern. This time I’m using Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, and it’s really soft. The yarn has a bit of a shine to it, too. Really lovely stuff.

The other thing that I’m really enjoying is my new Lantern Moon ebony 16 inch circulars. I love how smooth they are. These have fairly short needle tips; they are shorter than the tips on my bamboo circulars. I’ve come to find that this helps them fit well in my hand, and the cable curves nicely under the palm. They’re not too short at all. And I love the way they sound. Bliss! I’m almost done with Pippi, and then I can use these needles to finally knit Athena for myself. I’m looking forward to it!

15 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Happy New Year!

Posted on December 31, 2008 | 14 comments

Here’s my last FO for 2008.

It’s the Head Hugger beanie from Ann Norling. I made it last night. I’m teaching a class at Twisted in February and again in April, Intro to Circular Knitting/Basic Hat. I needed a shop model/teaser for the class. This is a good basic hat pattern that a relative newbie can master, and then customize as they wish. Should be fun!

I was going to make a mosaic of all my 2008 FO’s, but organizing all the pictures was daunting. There are about 30, and I’m out of time. So instead, here are things that I’ve designed/written during 2008.

They are, from left to right, top to bottom: entrelac socks, felted slip stitch tote, log cabin baby blanket, zigzag lace pedi socks, stitch markers, checkerboard scarflet, Athena entrelac neck warmer, Pippi (pattern coming soon), and the square for the Afghans for Afghans afghan. Someday we’ll finish all those squares!

I started this blog in March, and it’s been way more fun than I anticipated. I started selling patterns on Ravelry and at Twisted this year, too, and that’s been a good experience. Thanks for coming along for the ride. Happy new year and happy knitting!

14 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit, pattern design, ravelry

A different kind of music

Posted on December 13, 2008 | 3 comments

Country!

I love the song “El Paso” by Marty Robbins. It’s so much fun to sing it with my Day Old Pastry friends. My friends Mitch and Karen introduced me to “Red Velvet Slippers” by Juni Fisher, the same story told from the girl’s point of view. The Pastries puzzled it out, and we love to sing that, too.

When blog friend Dee mentioned “El Paso” on her blog, I commented with an introduction to Juni Fisher. That got her wheels turning, and she invited Juni to do a house concert as a surprise for her husband’s grandmother. Nanny’s a Marty Robbins fan. Sounds like the event was a hit!

No pix; I didn’t make it to the event. But Dee was so sweet to invite me!

3 Comments

Posted in Blogging, music

Tagged juni fisher, marty robbins

Short row shoulder shaping

Posted on September 29, 2008 | 7 comments

I finished the shoulder shaping on the back of the hoodie the night before OFFF. I love how this Louet Riverstone worsted is knitting up. Funny, because I didn’t like it for the February Lady, but it’s perfect for this sweater. (The color is not quite right but my editing software is pretty rudimentary and can’t fix it better than this.)

I’m short-rowing the shoulders so I can use a three needle bind off to join the fronts to the back, when I get there. Here’s a link to a great walk-through on Knitty on short-rowing shoulders.

Sunday was gorgeous here, 80 degrees and sunny. We went kayaking in Ridgefield, Washington on Lake River. Funny name, but it’s a very slow-moving river that flows from Vancouver Lake, paralleling the Columbia River. The Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge borders parts of this river. I forgot my camera in the car, so these pictures are from my phone.

The Kid had a single kayak, and the Husband and I had a tandem. This was the first time I’d been in a kayak that had a rudder; the back paddler (me) controlled the rudder by foot. It was disconcerting at first; I’m used to steering with the paddle, but once I figured it out, it was pretty nice to just paddle alternating left and right.

We saw a lot of birds, including a great blue heron. It was an awesome sight when it took off from the riverbank. We also saw fish jumping. But our favorite thing was a caterpillar. We found it swimming near the shore, looking pretty bedraggled. It looked like a fishing lure. The Kid scooped it up with his paddle, and gave it a ride on the back of his kayak until it dried off.

We were afraid it would fall off when it started crawling around, so we scooped it up on a paddle and flipped it back to shore. He didn’t even say thank you!

Marie has nominated me for a blog award. Thanks, Marie; I’m honored!

Here are the instructions for the award recipients:

1. Please put the award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. You must nominate at least 4 fellow bloggers for this award.
4. Add links to the recipients.
5. Leave a comment so the recipients know they have received an award.

(Please save the award picture to your own hard drive and do not link to mine….thanks!)

I’d like to nominate the following blogs, and there’s a theme. I love the pictures on these blogs; big, bright, colorful.

Toxophily, Peaceful Knitter, Knit Quest, and Tiennie Knits

Isn’t this a cool way to honor the blogs you love, and to discover new ones, too?

7 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit, travel

Tagged kayak, Knit, lake river, ridgefield, short row shoulders

February Baby Sweater Pix, and Tag!

Posted on August 25, 2008 | 10 comments

Yesterday I promised pictures; today I deliver! Here’s the finished sweater. Note how the purlwise bind off on the right side makes the edge look so nicely finished.

And here are the buttons. I love little Miss Mouse! The pinks are perfect together.

February Baby Sweater from Knitter’s Almanac, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Two and a partial balls of Sublime Baby Cashmere merino silk dk, size 6 needles.

Other than the previously mentioned “read ahead” issues, I’m pretty pleased with how this turned out.

I’m not sure the yarn was a perfect choice; I was really looking for Socks that Rock Heavyweight in their Rose Quartz or Rosebud colorways, but they weren’t available at my LYS, and I was shopping on a deadline for vacation knitting. I fell for this scrumptious pink. The yarn is luscious to work with, soft and springy, although I did tend to have problems with splitting because it’s pretty loosely spun. Also, I didn’t notice when I bought it that it’s hand wash, but I hope the new mom will forgive me because the yarn is so yummy. I can offer to do the washings! It looks and feels great.

While I was on vacation, I was tagged by Susan. I’m just now catching up. The tag rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person who “tagged” you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.

Let’s see, six random things:

I’ve been to Paris, once, and would love to go back. I’m a terrible swimmer, and am afraid of large expanses of water (but had a lovely vacation despite that). I love Tudor history. I eat the same thing for breakfast nearly every day: toasted english muffin with peanut butter. I love to sing, mostly folkie stuff. And last but not least, I worked for five summers in an Alaskan salmon cannery on Kodiak Island to pay for college.

I think I’ll tag Marie, Kate, DogKnitty, Michelle, Lorajean, and TheLumpySweater.

10 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged February Baby Sweater, Knit, meme

May I have a drum roll, please

Posted on August 21, 2008 | 10 comments

It’s contest drawing time. I put all the commenters’ names on slips of paper, dropped them into my tote bag, swished them around, and pulled out a slip. It was blank. Round two: Swish, pull, and the winner is Lorajean! She wins the book, Knitalong. Congratulations; I’ll make arrangements to get it to you soon. Thank you all for playing!

And because I can’t stand to have a post without pictures, I’m sharing a few more vacation pictures. (No knitting to report right now; I’ve been reviewing and editing pix, all 437 of them.)

Norman Island has some interesting caves for snorkeling at Treasure Point. This is outside, inside, and outside again.

We also hiked on Norman Island. If you stand on top of the ridge of the island, you can see the Bight (the bay) on one side and a reef on the other.

A remora hung out with the boat one day when we were moored.

And the rainstorm that came through on Thursday night made for some interesting skies. The storm went on to become Tropical Storm Fay. There are two rainbows in the first picture; the second one is very faint and above the bright one.

Knitting content next post; I promise!

10 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Uncategorized

Tagged contest, travel

Away from keyboard; be right back…

Posted on July 29, 2008 | 5 comments

Sometimes you just need to unplug. It was beautiful on Saturday, so we went to Multnomah Falls. Us and a bazillion other people! But it was a good time, anyway.

Multnomah Falls is 620 feet high; it’s the second highest year-round waterfall in the US. This is just the upper portion of the upper falls. There’s a paved trail to the top of the falls. The trail gains 600 feet in elevation over 1.2 miles. Don’t think I didn’t notice.

Photo ops make a great excuse to stop for a moment:

Somehow this fern looks like a sock pattern to me.

We eventually made it up to the top, and could look down at where the water falls over the edge of the mountain.

In this photo, you can see Multnomah Falls Lodge and the parking lot in the upper right corner. It’s a long way down.

But this picture is my favorite. It’s a little waterfall just before the big one. You wouldn’t know it’s there unless you went to the top. It looks mysterious and secluded, but it’s right next to the viewing platform at the top of the falls.

5 Comments

Posted in Blogging, travel, Uncategorized

Tagged multnomah falls, waterfall

Fifteen seconds of fame

Posted on July 27, 2008 | 9 comments

My blog is mentioned in the local newspaper’s online knitting blog today!

Backstory: Last fall, I went to our local high school’s fund raising auction. I purchased five messages on the readerboard. After wishing Kid2 a happy birthday last winter, I couldn’t think of anything else to put up. So I finally did this:

Several friends told me that they saw the sign, but I guess it got more attention than I thought!

9 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit

Tagged Knit

That photo mosaic meme…

Posted on July 26, 2008 | 5 comments

I’m not even sure what a meme is, but out in blogland there are a lot of them. I think it means many people doing the same thing? This one has been going around for a while. I was slow to jump on the bandwagon, but I knew I would get there, eventually. Hey, I’m a sheep! But that’s not a bad thing for a knitter. Here’s my mosaic, and I think it looks cool.

1. Ponte San Michele – Vicenza, Italy., 2. Artichoke Lover, 3. Made in Oregon, 4. Blue Morpho, 5. Mozart’s Starling, 6. Lemon drop, 7. Notre Dame at Twilight, Paris, 8. lemon bar, 9. French Knitter, 10. Snowmen family in TX, 11. Tender Love and Care, 12. Piano Innards As Art

In case you want to try it, too, here’s how to do it.

Instructions:
1. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
2. Using only the first page of results, pick one image for each question.
3. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into Big Huge Lab’s Mosaic Maker to create a mosaic of the picture answers.

Questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.

In other news, I had the piano tuned this week. It’s pretty stable, tuning wise. I always get the treble voiced down a bit when it’s tuned, because it gets a little too bright as the hammer felts pack down with use. It sounds divine right now. I’m hosting a piano and pinot event next week, so this is perfect timing. I’m not the pianist next week; I just have to clean the house! And serve dessert, pour wine, and enjoy the music.

Oh, I started seaming Josephine this morning. Tiny stitches, but it’s going pretty quickly. I love mattress stitch; it looks so good on stockinette.

5 Comments

Posted in Blogging, Knit, piano, Uncategorized

Tagged photo mosaic meme, piano