Cure for a Hang Over?

Needless to say, I woke up this morning with a raging hang over! Wine and I do not mix! So, I started my morning slowly, got my hair cut & colored.. best haircut and color I have had in years and years.. that made me happy.. despite my upset tummy and pounding head - oh yes, and the parking ticket for an expired meter!

So, what is a girl to do? How about visit her Local Yarn Shop? Yep! Just a few doors down from my new hairdresser is the LYS Castaway (castawayyarn.com) - visiting was a must!

The shop is lovely! Open, bright and full of wonderful fibers. The selection is amazing and the feeling of the shop the same. I left with a little bag of cheer - also known as blue sky alpacas Organic Cotton - 2 skeins in hot hot hot pink (color 617) and two in an off white (color 80). The shop owner had them right at the front of the shop, I was taken the second my eyes spotted them.



I also left with a class schedule .. I think it would do me good to take a class or drop in on Knit night.

Tonight I checked for ideas of what to knit up with my new stash item, and found wonderful FO's, seems this is a pretty popular fiber! I must have great taste! ;-) I am thinking of knitting up a hat using the Cloche du Bois pattern on Ravelry. You know how much I love hats and a crochet flower, I am head over heals!

So, to summarize... best cure for a hang over? Visit your LYS and pick up the prettiest fiber you can find, then cruise Ravelry and pick out the perfect pattern! Yep. That's my story and I am sticking to it...

Oh.. and sorry Erin for the drunk dialing! You were a good sport.. and sorry for inviting you to all these crazy groups on Rav... I was in the zone! - oh yeah, and had WAY too much WINE! I shouldn't be left home alone! ;-)

Taking comfort in Ravelry & Happy Thoughts of Stitches 2009!

Here I am... up to my ears in my "to do list". To do.. everything... and I am overwhelmed and feel like a complete failure at all of it.. so where am I on a Friday night with a glass of wine? .. cruising Ravelry.com .... adding patterns... adding myself to new groups... finding comfort in the companionship of Ravelry.com!

What does that mean really? I guess if it was lunch time, I would take a trip to my LYS for a quick fix... or do a little online shopping at work.. but instead.. I find a sort of comfort and companionship in looking at the various groups.. and the recently posted finished objects (FO's), recently posted stash... it somehow makes me feel better.. I feel connected.. to fellow knitters, yarn enthusiest... to my friends...

It is a place of safety and comfort.. and enjoyment.. I love thinking about the pretty things that others have created.. that maybe someday I can create... it is just such a wonderful place to be...

THANK YOU RAVELRY.COM for giving me somewhere to be on an evening when I feel unsure and overwhelmed!

Meanwhile... I am in the middle of finsihing my last Christmas gift.. yet another Boyfriend Hat.. this time in Cascade Heathers - Green.. it is quite lovely actually.. I even made a mistake somehow along the way.. but it looks great anyway! So I decided to not rip.. but just keep going.. I mean, really do we need to rip every mistake? Can't it be part of the process.. and look good anyway.. you know what? In this case it does.. so I am moving foreward...

Happy Thoughts...

Here is a pic of Erin and I from Stiches West 2008 last year.. we were wet from the rain but happy from the day at the market... when I see us, it makes me happy and for tonight.. that is exactly what I need.. a good thing.. wouldn't you say?
I can't wait for Stitches 2009! Classes, market, girlfriend time... yarn, bags, tools, new friends.. again, it is a time away from our real life.. a place where we can share in our special passion for yarn, knitting, and everything fiber related.... counting the days..

HAPPY THOUGHTS TO ALL!!!

Being Quiet

Funny thing. I haven't felt much like talking. Lucky for me Liz fills in the blog for me.

Work has been stressful, and I've been plagued by this vague feeling of not doing things right. Both at work and home. That's not very comforting. Maybe this is the reason for my inward grunting.

One thing that's going well Celtic Cable Neckwarmer with my handspun camel.

This is an instant gratification project, as far as any cable projects go. This goes to my mom, if I can part with it.

What I should do is to spin. It does me good, always.

Mad Hatter!

I am MAD for hats these days.. I can't seem to get enough of them. I seek out and find hat patterns, find yarn that would make the perfect hat.. and yes, as strange as it sounds.. actually cast on and knit hats!

I have a new pattern I am MAD for.. a very simple yet, may I say, PERFECT hat pattern. The pattern knits up very quickly and the finish project looks great. Here is a link to the blog.. it is a free pattern. I found it on Ravelry (of course!)

http://limulusknits.blogspot.com/2007/11/boy-hat.html

So far I have knit it using some Cascade Heathered yarn, in a Camo brown/green color. And I did another in a Black Hemp/Wool mix (I just have to weave in the ends - I will post again because there are some noteworthy comments about the use of this lovely yarn and the pattern).

Let's talk about my finished project. I used Cascade 220 Heathers - brown. It is sort of a CAMO look, brown but hints of green along the way. I think it turned out GREAT!

The only issue I really had wit this has was on the decreases. You can't really see the problems from the pictures - so the good news is no one else will notice them .. aside from me! I will try not to get too picky when I see him wearing it! I am doing something wrong with my SSK - so my thought is I will watch a video on knittinghelp.com and keep making hats until I have a perfect SSK!

I say, if you want to make a great hat for a boy or a man or heck even for yourself - do it trying this pattern!

Happy Hat & Fingerless Mittens

Have you ever picked a yarn that well... just made you feel happy when you saw it, touched it? Yet, it isn't really something you would expect to invoke such emotions? This is how I felt about this lovely little lime green - The Alpaca Yarn Co., Snuggle, #6878 Pucker AKA HAPPY GREEN, GREEN, GREEN! It doesn't make sense, I know. And I didn't just buy 1 skein, no, I bought like 4! On two different trips to my LYS Balls & Skeins in Sebastopol.



It was just one of those things. Then also unlike me, I cast on straight away, that very night. I asked my 7 year old daughter if she liked the yarn and she said she LOVED IT! Well, that was all it took. That yarn never even hit my stash. I found the perfect pattern, my new favorite hat pattern because I can use whatever yarn I happen to have in hand - paired with whatever size needles and wah-la.. I have a recipe for a great looking, pretty hat! The pattern is from Ann Norling #54 Spiral Rib Hat by Song Palmese and again I love it!



Now, all of you who know me, I take a very very long time to complete a project. I only have 1 project going at a time and it takes me a while to complete. Well, I even surprised myself on this one.. I was finished in two days! So quickly that I wasn't finished with the yarn, so I quickly cast on matching fingerless mittens. I took the pattern repeat and with my best guess I cast on and created the mitts. I think they turned out GREAT! Nicole wanted LONG fingerless mittens.. so I just kept knitting until they met her liking. You know I liked them too! I finished the pair in two evenings, they knitted up so quickly. I then decided to crochet a flower for the hat and crochet a finishing on the mittens.

I still have more Snuggle left in my stash, I am thinking about casting on for me! This was the perfect project because I learned that when I am inspired, I really can create and finish a project with ease. So, the project is finding the right project and the right yarn AND to be inspired! Of course, it doesn't hurt when I find myself working with the softest and happiest yarn ever.. and knitting something for my daughter who is so happy to show off to her friends at school.

I will be posting more FO's, as I have had great success with another hat pattern that I must share! Meanwhile, I wish you HAPPY YARN as part of your every day! ;-)Liz

WELCOME 2009! STASH NITE

So what better to do to celebrate a new, wonderful and very hope filled New Year? Cataloging One's Stash on Ravelry! Yes, indeed!

Yesterday Erin and her wonderful boys came over for a visit. Well, before we knew it we were deep in the bowels of my stash.. tubbies and tubbies of stash! I even dug deep into the closet in the back room where one does not go without an escort.




There was too much... it was overwhelming.. but Erin - The Braveheart! She said we could do it.. she said she had all night. Little did she realize it would take ALL NIGHT! Yes, she left just before Midnight - with the majority of the stash cataloged on Ravelry. I have 1 tubbie left to put in - all Cascade which should be easy enough for me to handle.

In the end, I have 25 miles of yarn - four space bags full - and 1 tubbie left to enter. It was an AMAZING experience - and I feel GREAT when I look at my stash online. I feel inspired to knit from my very own Local Yarn Shop... Lizzy's Stash! ;-)

I did do the right thing, and nominated some of my stash for Goodwill, after all, we all make mistakes when buying yarn time and again. I even have 4 skeins on the sell/trade list - it was a "what was I thinking" purchase.

The evening was so much fun.. reminiscing over the yarn purchases - Stitches West 2007, Stitches 2008, Knitterly, Balls & Skeins, Cast Away, Gifts, Game Wins.. all of it was so much fun. And you know what I discovered, I have EXCELLENT taste in yarn! I love it all.. I could see my color themes over time.. Heathered wool, Blue Malabrigo, Yellow/Green.. Pink, Pink, Pink. It was really a visit down memory lane. And now what do I have to show for it?

I can go to my stash anytime and see all the lovely yarn. I know how much I have.. I can search for patterns and inspiration.. I don't have to wonder, or be afraid to dig deep in a closet, where I might feel compelled to clean. It is a WONDERFUL, HOPE FILLED NEW YEAR!!




Thank you Erin for all your help. I would not have done it without you.. and now I owe you big time!!

Good Bye 2008

It was a great year, and it was a year of turmoil at the same time. I enjoyed the break from work, and endured the challenges of the new school for Mitch. The world changes in a dramatic, catastrophic way, I am still thankful that we are able to spend the last day of 2008 together and healthy. I hope that the year 2009 will be a better year for all of us.
Happy Knitting and Spinning New Year.

Fingerless Mitts, Fingerless Gloves, Fingerless Mittens

No, I haven't gone insane, if you were wondering. Not yet anyway.

I finally managed to knit a pair of fingerless mitts, and I get to post about it. I'm dying to see if I can attract some Googlers that come to visit our blog as a result of searching "fingerless gloves" or "fingerless mittens." Between the fall and late winter, those who come to see Liz's post that was written nearly two years ago are a half of the hits on our blog. You see, it's like a study on statistics...

So there.

Sorry about the dark pictures. It's just a gloomy day here... The pattern is "Mitt Envy" by Weezalana. I love this pattern! Used Nature's Palette fingering superwash. Probably used about a half of a skein with US 1 DPNs.

As much as I love them, I don't get to keep them... They are going to our beloved neighbor Lia. Yup, I am going to knit a pair for myself before it gets warm!

I've neglected to post, but I've knitted a pair of socks for my mom using the same yarn earlier. They are done and safely arrived in Japan, and she loves them -- phew! It was the first time I've used this yarn, but I was shocked by its rather poor quality. The color is great -- it's the uncreatable "Mystery" colorway. But the yarn was cut in three places, and on top of it there were about six places where the yarn was thin, barely held together by a fiber or two. The second ball I wound up was the same way. I've contacted the owner of the yarn company, and she promptly contacted me, to which I was pleased. She mentioned that she suspects a moths damage (which never occurred to me as the cuts were all clean, perpendicular cuts). I offered to send her the yarn so she could inspect, as she did show an interest, but after that no reply. I have a ball of yarn just sitting here... And yes, she did offer to send me replacements -- very nice of her.

Seed Stitch Ribs from More Sensational Knitted Socks. My mom has tiny feet, so a skein was more than enough to knit this pair.

Ok, here's Mitch's Cowabunga, knitted with my handspun merino. See the post below for the link for the pattern. Another great pattern!

Should have made it larger (or deeper). It'll be way too small next year!

I've spun the camel too. Three-ply with two strands of Camel/Silk 50/50 blend from A Verb for Keeping Warm, and a strand of Mongolian camel I spun at GGFI. Some of the Mongolian camel was re-carded and respun after I practiced long draw with cotton. Fulled and whacked. 12 wpi.

I'm not sure if I LOVE this yarn... I'll see when I knit it. It was quite confusing to me to spin the Silk/Camel blend. Silk is very long, and camel is short. To which fiber do I apply the twist to? I felt like I was doing a core spin, the silk fiber being the core. I love the camel though -- so I decided to treat myself for the camel/merino blend from Herndon Creek Farm. I thought these two fiber might be more akin to each other, and less confusing.




Great quality, great service -- and the red ribbon is a nice touch! Oh, did I mention GREAT price? I highly recommend them. Can't wait to spin it, but now I have to concentrate on casting on and finishing a pair of mittens for Mitch.

I need to take a breath! Boy it's a loaded post. Happy Holidays everyone -- wishing you a great time knitting and spinning, and being with the family.

My Hat Model

My son's Cowabunga hat was going well, until of course I ran out of my handspun yarn just short of finishing it.

When I spun the first batch of merino for this hat, I thought I had messed it up -- I did intend to put more spin and ply twists, but it seemed way too much. So I was expecting the yarn to be tough and harsh on my hands as I knit, but in fact it was one of the nicest of my handspun to knit with. It was bouncy and even, tight but smooth. I'll remember to recreate this again when I spin for socks.

So he models the propeller Cowabunga while I spin more yarn. But so far it fits.

While the wet-finished merino yarn dries, I knit another item for Llama Llama's Homeward Bound Knit-along donation. We needed more kid-sized hats. I think I'd call it a acorn hat.

I love this yarn (Sabrina from Tahki Stacey Charles, needles US 13 and 10) -- it was an odd-ball in my stash, but now it'll be useful somewhere and hopefully loved.

My hat model, a.k.a Mitch, has been working hard on learning reading, writing and numbers at kindergarten (and at home too -- the amount of homework he gets!). He helped me make a grocery list today. I think I'll save this one for myself -- the first one went to his grandma. I just hope that he'll start curving the "J" to the left soon!

Teaser

I forgot about it, but I've signed up on a mailing list for Herndon Creek Farm at the last California Wool and Fiber Festival in Boonville. I bought some Sally Fox organic cotton from them (and drooled over their nice wooden tools).

A very nice letter came from Herndon the other day, announcing their Fiber Special for the month of December -- be still my heart -- baby camel and fine merino blend. Just look at the sample I received in the mail.

What a teaser! And oh so effective. I'm trying to remind myself that I have enough fiber to last me for the next five years, but my voice is getting less convincing. Sometimes, less works better than more.

Procrastinating or Love

I am so in love with this.

Naturally dyed Merino-Bamboo 60/40 from Tactile. Erin got me four hanks for the use of my car (which is not getting much attention lately and sitting lonely on my driveway). I really don't know how I always strike such a good deal with her.

This really is nice to spin. Well-blended, so I don't feel like I'm spinning a chunk of merino here, a chunk of bamboo there. I'm thinking to do a three-ply and knit a sleeveless sweater. Llama Llama Knit now carries their spinning fiber!

I wonder why I've been spinning so much lately -- aside the fact that I do love spinning -- then it dawned on me that it's like avoiding to study for a test. Yeah, what's that word, procrastination? I escape from the pressure of the Christmas knitting and run to the comfort of the wheel. Now back to Mom's socks...

Spinning Bliss

After some practice with cotton and re-spinning the camel I butchered at GGFI (it was my first attempt in long draw), I felt I was ready for the yak down. I had two 2 oz bags from Tactile -- one I got as a door prize at GGFI (thank you, Maia and Brooke!) and another I purchased at California Wool and Fiber Festival.

It was another humbling experience. But after fumbling with the whorl size and skipping the carding process, it started to go much better.

This is before fulling, in a somewhat poor light -- and here's the one after fulling in hot soapy water. Yes, the sun makes it look much happier as well.

It's so soft and downy I can't stop fondling it. I think this might be the softest yarn I've ever spun. Spinning from the clouds of down is also very different from spinning a commercial top. This may get me addicted.

The four day weekend has been very nice and relaxing -- tomorrow I'm going to go take my scarf to Llama Llama Knit. They are hosting a "Knitting for Others" event, and all knitted objects gathered from the knitters will be donated to Homeward Bound of Marin. Llama Llama will also give you 15% discount for the yarn for this project, and there are some raffle prizes for the participants too. The event ends on Dec. 19.

I love this scarf -- very light and soft, and love the color gradation. I hope it will keep the recipient warm. Used two balls of Gedifra, US 10 needles.

Despite the fact that our annoying neighbors have already put up the Christmas lights, I am still in denial that Christmas is just around the corner. I'm so not ready.

Thankful for...

The beautiful morning glow yesterday at 7 am from my house.

I was already on the phone when I took this shot. This is what happens when you have to work with lots of East Coasties. But then because many of my coworkers are remote, I get to spend time with the phone headset on my head, knitting. (If you are a non-knitter and think I'm slacking off, no. Many people listen better if combined with fine-motor activities, like knitting and doodling. Knitting is more productive.) Because of the long meetings for the last couple of days, I'm done with the scarf I'm knitting for charity (which of course, I am in love with! Photos next time.)

Sometimes I wonder if I can spin at all -- here are some merino that I spun for some Christmas knitting, but I'm not very pleased with it, although washing improved the evenness and the texture.I'm working on the yak down right now, and I'm getting better with it. Can't wait to ply and full the yarn.

I have harvested the Japanese indigo seeds. Hopefully they'll do better next year.

And Thanksgiving is here! I'm looking forward to some relaxing time. We have a lot to be thankful for. In this difficult time, we'll always find something to be happy about. Happy Thanksgiving.

Beach in November

We are having a record-breaking warm weather here in Northern California. I took my son to the beach last Saturday to take advantage of the unexpected gift. I thought it might get foggy and colder as we head to the coast, but in fact the thermometer climbed up to 75 F when we arrived at the beach. No wind, no waves, just a perfect beach day.

The locals know -- there were many families with young children. It was nice, peaceful, relaxing day. The water was just amazing!

And after leaving the beach, we stopped by Windrush Farm in Petaluma -- they were having a gift show - open house. My son is very tolerant of me taking him to fiber-related outings.

He got to feed Mimi's goats -- they love grape leaves, and Mimi let him treat them.

(Waiting Anxiously!)

I finally finished my FIRST pair of socks of the year. After knitting ten pairs last year, I may have gone sock-shy, but here they are.

Classy Slip-up from "Knit Socks!" by Betsy Lee McCarthy. Yarn - Lana Grossa Meilenweit, US 0 needles. I made them quite a bit longer than I usually do, and I only have 15 g yarn left over. I think they'll be very warm because of the waffle-weave pattern, but if you try this pattern make sure to knit them just a tad smaller because they scrunch up.

I didn't want to start anything else until I'm done with them, so now I'm eager to get started on Christmas knitting, finally! The heat is on.

I finally skeined up the silk hankie 3-plies as well.
I spent my Sunday afternoon at Llama Llama Knit. Their first Spinning Sunday!

What a great weekend it was. Just not long enough!

I Will Not Stop

I know I shouldn't be ranting about politics or the election on our joint KNITTING blog. My blogmates are so tolerant of me and my big mouth. I promise that this is going to be the last one, at least for a while!

I, like many others, was elated with the outcome of the election. It really was a historical moment, and I do love the fact that my son will grow up having a person of color as our president -- he wouldn't understand what the big deal is, and that's beyond exciting.

But my joy was cut in half by California's passing Prop. 8. This is going to amend the state constitution to prohibit the same sex marriage. While the nation celebrates the equality of us all and a remarkable achievement by a racial minority, the state with the largest electoral college is legally denying one of the most fundamental rights to the certain population.

I can't express how sad I feel about this. I was in tears.

I hope that this will not be the end of the story as I watch the massive protest march in San Francisco. I respect the integrity and ethics of the Mayor Newsom has exhibited on this long battle to ensure the equal rights to San Franciscans and Californians -- how courageous is that for a politician to risk his entire political career on such a controversial issue?

It took us years to pass the Sonoma/Marin Smart Train. It took the nation 232 years to elect a black president. Persistence.

I will be back with some knitting/spinning posts soon.

Tomorrow

I can't believe it's THE election day tomorrow. I consider myself to be a political being in a relative sense, but I think I've been rather quiet, at least publicly, about this year's election. It's not because I feel less strongly or excitedly about it -- rather, I try to keep it to myself because I worry that I may become too opinionated, or even emotional, if I started talking about it.

I think it was last year just before the election that I ran into a blog post by a well-known textile artist (whom I admire) on how she disliked all the "noises" about the politics and election. She said something like "I can't wait for it to be over so I can just sit and weave with my friends without being bothered." I know why some people might feel that way -- even I feel overwhelmed by the political ads right now.

As much as I'd love to, we (or most of us) don't live on a lonely island paradise. Everything to do with politics, elections, measures and propositions have some effects on our lives. And why do we look away from it and pretend that you have nothing to do with it? We may not even have the peace and freedom to sit in the quietness of your own house to do what we love to do, if we let the nation and the state crumble.

Vote.

Consolation

My persimmon tree didn't bear fruits this year. It may still be recovering from being crushed by the fallen yucca branch last winter. Or, I may be doing something that the tree doesn't appreciate.

But, a consolation --

Autumn.

New Bumper Sticker

I've just put a new bumper sticker on my car.


I know. It's perfect!

Here, There, Everywhere

I was in D.C., Montreal, Toronto, a pumpkin patch in Petaluma, and Placer/Nevada Counties in California, all in one week, and even managed to squeeze in one night on my own comfy bed. But, not much knitting was accomplished, and worst of all, no pictures! I've got to see some of the famous fall scenery in Montreal, and didn't take my camera with me.

In Auburn/Grass Valley, since I was the one doing all that driving (Charlie was stuck in the CAP meetings all weekend at Auburn) and keeping my son occupied, I didn't even think about taking the camera out of my bag. Funny thing.

But I came home without picking up nasty germs from the foreign places, feeling well, rested and a lot accomplished, and first sock of the year (hard to believe) nearly done.

Only if I managed to clean up the mess in the house, and deodorize the mouse cage!

Finally Ravelry

Other Designated Knitters had been urging me to join Ravelry, but it didn't spark my interest so much -- I have this blog to keep up after all, and felt I didn't need another online black hole to suck my time. I already have enough of that! But oh yes my lovely fellow knitters just signed me up and I found myself adding my projects... My ID is Tamami (how original). Knitters, see what you've done to me??


I've finished blocking my False Modesty. I love how it looks and feels, but it was dreadful when I found two more dropped stitches on the mohair! I kept knitting until the Kid Silk Haze was about to run out on me, so it came out a little wider than it was supposed to be. I think it's a great size for a stole.

It's hard to see, but the darker rows are the cotton handspun. The colorway of the carded cotton is "Abalone" and the way it variegates on the yarn is beautiful -- Purple, blue-gray, green, dark green.

This is before blocking.

This is the cotton laceweight. I'm not sure if it stands to be shot close-up!

I've started on Shetland Triangle shawl for my mom. She and I went to Knitterly while she was here in the summer, and there was a knitted sample of Shetland Triangle. My mom loved it, so there I go. I'm not a shawl type of person, but I always wanted to knit one, so it's perfect. The question is whether I'd be willing to let go when it's done.

I am fascinated with the way it's knitted, like starting at the center of the neckline! It's so clever. I'm trying to decide if this is going to be safe for me to knit while flying -- I am traveling to Montreal and Toronto next week. I know very well that distraction is dangerous for lace knitting and that's a sure way to mess up the whole thing.