pardon my break for photography….

this last summer the call of my new camera and flickr was stronger than my blog.  i was taking a picture a day, photoshopping until the wee hours and posting and commenting like a fiend!  something had to give and we all know its not ever going to be the knitting…… i do love photography and i do love the flickr community but the holidays  began to approach and that too fell by the wayside.  i’d love to say that i would stay up all night to get all my hobbies in each day but, you know, i really do love my sleep.   now that the holidays are over and i have more time maybe i can balance things a bit better….

this picture of street vendor ties was taken during a FANTASTIC trip to new jersey to visit lovely friends that we had not seen in 11 years.  the last time we had been to ny henry was 1, riley was 6 and ruby was 9!  now families have children in college and high school and henry is a middle schooler–yikes!  anyway, it was a fabulous time and i got tons of wonderful pictures and i’ll be processing them and posting them as i can (along with knitting content and pics of course!)

when we went into manhattan i had to visit purl soho, of course, and i picked up some blue sky alpacas yarn that i’m dying to turn into, what else?  wristwarmers!  i also picked up some cascade 128 which is surprisingly lovely to work with!  i made a chunky cabled hat that turned out amazingly soft and beautiful.  alas, i have no pictures of it….

i will be posting some pictures of my new knitting addiction:  the earflap hat with cascade 220.

whew!  that’s a lot to say when i haven’t said much in awhile.  more will come.  and thank you for your kind words and encouragement.  thank you thank you.

its good to be back.

Coming back?

I’ve so much to say and it’s been so long…i think I’ll start with a photo…

its been awhile…

That’s kind of an understatement.  2 months to be exact.  Now that its summer I’m hoping for more time for blogging, more time for knitting, and more time for pictures.  So far, I’ve only made more time for margaritas…Work, birthdays and family reunions have made the enjoyment of margaritas a necessity!  Now its time to relax…

I’ve begun knitting on some Christmas presents:  wristwarmers (always!), hats….I even tried a tea cosy out of Cashmerino in a cute fair isle pattern with a design all my own.  To be fair I’ll even show you the disaster that is my tea cosy:

Its too soft a yarn for this and it has no shape or redeeming qualities.  I suppose it will work to keep my tea warm but that’s about it.

I’ve also strayed into the land of stuffed animal knitting:

Let me just say that I don’t know what came over me.  It’s not like me to knit stuffed animals.  I did it under the guise of possibly knitting these as baby gifts for some baby some time in the future.  I don’t know.  Maybe I lost my mind for a little bit…but she’s cute and her mate is almost finished.  And then I’ll be done.  I think.  I used the pattern for Mel’s Mouse from the book Knit Two Together.  It’s a simple pattern, really.  I used Baby Cashmerino and size 3 needles instead of what they reccommend (worsted) and so my mouse is petite.  Just the way I wanted her.  I knit her sweater without a pattern out of some Kid Seta I had hanging around.  Pearls and pearl buttons are courtesy of some old costume jewelry from my grandmother.

It’s time to face the music and get ready for work.  Enough internet fun for one day….

snippets

This picture pretty much sums it up:  the knitting is being done in those rare and few quiet moments that appear between the “must do’s”.  I always keep a sock with me for mindless knitting that doesn’t need a pattern or any special tools.  It doesn’t take up much space in a bag and easy to pick up and put down.  So much for so little.  It’s Blue Moon STR in Grimm’s Fairytale (or something like that) in their light weight.  I was waiting in my car to pick Hen up from school.

Things have been a little more chaotic lately:  I caught the nasty cold that my kids had last week and have felt like warmed up dog turds for the past 5 days.  Not much of anything has been getting done.  I did start a major move though, before I got sick–I’m moving my craft/sewing haven out of the cottage and into Ruby’s room upstairs.  Ruby will now inhabit the cottage (if she ever comes home) and I will be able to still be present in the house while still being able to be productive with my projects.  I know that sometimes its preferable to “check out” so to speak and work without being bothered but with a puppy who likes to chew through couch cushions (oh yes, that did happen.  Yes, he’s still alive and well but it was a major turning point in our relationship…) and kids who just like to know you’re close, well, it just seems like the right choice for now.  So, currently, half of my stuff is moved.  Weekends go by so fast we only get portions of projects done.  And, of course, the weeds in the yard scream the loudest.

So there it is.

I do have a picture of my fair isle hat that I’ve finished:

It turned out great but a little big.  I’m really happy with the colors and can’t wait to start another.  I just have to finish all the other projects on the needles….All in good time!

Even though we haven’t had much sun, spring has definitely arrived–the daffodils have come and gone but now the lilacs are blooming and I have a big jug of them on the dining room table and they smell heavenly…this is such a short and lovely time before summer shows up and everything gets hungry for water and the fields dry out.  I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

finally some sunshine…

Finally there has been some warming sunshine.  It almost makes me want to get outside and garden….Almost.  I’m planning in my head, though, some of the changes I’d like to make.  It’s a good start….

The knitting has been fitful lately and I have 7 projects currently on the needles:  Selbumodern (I’d link but it’s late and I’m typing with one eye shut as it is twitching madly!), a baby sweater for one of Ruby’s friends, a pair of socks, my Silk Garden sweater, baby socks (same friend), Quant, and a fair isle hat of my own design.  Oh!  8!   Some Kilim Wristwarmers started back at Christmas!  You could say I’m keeping busy (you could also say I’m out of my mind….).  Its all good and life is humming along at an alarming pace  with only 2 more months until the kids summer break!

Not all is smooth, however.  We came home the other day to the  total destruction of a couch cushion by a certain Oski Dog.  He ripped the slip cover and tore it up and then turned the foam core and all padding into enough confetti to outfit a whole parade!  Needless to say, we are scrambling to figure out how to manage the pup better for the next 2 months until Doug and the kids are home full time.  Its enought to drive one crazy, though.

For you all I’m wishing sunshine and spring-like weather….For me, I’m wishing no ticker-tape dog parades in the house for the week…..

some pretties to look at

Still no knitting pictures and no new finished objects either.  This was a trying week–I forgot to bring some clothes for work to the gym (remembered the shear blouse but forgot the tank to go under it!)–twice!, forgot my ipod for working out one day, and topped off the week with throwing my back out somehow as I was getting dressed Friday morning!  Clearly, I need to take deep breaths and focus on the small stuff these days…

Things are starting to bloom outside and I’m starting to feel guilty about my crappy gardens.  However I don’t feel guilty enough yet to get my ass out there and weed them.  So I make tactical strikes to gather blooms and beat a hasty retreat to the house.

The Daphne Odora smells heavenly!  I have some by my bed and by my knitting chair in the living room.

And finally, a new picture of the Oski Man:

Still Trouble with a capital T…..

what a difference 20 years makes…

This is a still life at my house:

Still life at my college daughter’s apartment:

I’ve no knitting news this week–I’m scattered and flitting from project to project right now.  I’m a third of the way through my top down cardigan out of Silk Garden, almost done with the first sock of a pair of socks being made with Blue Moon, and half way through the fair isle hat I’m designing for a class I’ll be teaching in April.  Whenever one project gets to be too much and my head’s just not in it, I put it away in it’s project bag and out comes another.  I’m actually fairly happy with this arrangement.  It works on so many levels:  when I’m watching a movie with subtitles out comes the plain jane sock!  Listening to a book on my ipod, hello fair isle hat!  Yes, a fine arrangement indeed.

We did watch some good movies this last week:  I’ve Loved You So Long (just a few tears but oh, so good…), Role Models (innapropriate for some but a hoot!) and Rachel Getting Married (I wanted to KILL the musicians!  Anne Hathaway was great but what a crappy family!)  Through in a couple of Celebrity Apprentices and some SNL and its all good.

Looking forward to Friday….

once a month? really?

I can’t believe it’s been a month since the last time I’ve posted.  Oh well, I guess I’m doing the best I can with what I’ve got…

Nan, Kelli and I went on our annual knitting extravaganza  over Valentines Day weekend:  the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat in Tacoma.  Always a fun and inspiring time!  This time, Kelli and I took Janine Bajus’ class on choosing colors for Fair Isle Knitting.  “Amazing” is an understatement!

This is the table of yarn that we had to choose colors from.  I was overwhelmed and excited all at once!  It was a wonderful class and though I don’t have the technique down as well as I’d like, I came away feeling a lot stronger about colors and design.  Swatching is big….

These are some swatches that I’ve made just to play with color.  Sometimes I make a regular flat swatch and sometimes I swatch a coffee cup holder–it helps to see the colors and patterns a little more clearly and its also something useful.

Here is the hat that I started in class with colors picked from a photo…

I can see lots of color mistakes but I’m okay with the turnout.  I have so much fun working with all the colors!

My latest addictions, both of which are made with Silk Garden, my all-time favorite yarn:

Quant fromKnitty.  I LOVE making this headband!  What a perfect showcase for this yarn!

Mitred Mittens by Elizabeth Zimmerman.  Another fabulous pattern for that fabulous yarn.

I’m hating the ’spring forward’ thing–it always kicks my ass every year….better go and knit before its too late and bed beckons….

so much to say, so little time to say it

Valentine Scuffs for Mom and Sisters:

Nancy Lindberg Felted Scuff

Loved this pattern!  I made the small adult size and used only 1 skein of Lambs Pride Bulky per pair!  I made a pair for myself out of Manos Classica but they turned out too thin.  However, I ‘m wearing them anyway and love how they feel!

finally some pictures

Some more Kilim Wristwarmers:

Some scarves:

A Thorpe for Hank:

I had to duplicate stitch the NY on it even though the Giants are out of the playoffs…

I’m contemplating starting another sweater.  I feel like I could be really ready for a longer term project now that Christmas is over and I have no real deadlines…Maybe another fairisle yoke sweater out of Katmandhu.   It is still winter, after all….

I leave you with a picture of Mr. Oski WienerMeyer and me in the snow last month…

(Okay, I look like crap.  At least you can’t see the pajamas I’m wearing under that coat…)