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Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Stashbuster Scarf and Hat


Mr. Carebear agreed to model the stashbuster scarf and hat even though brown is not his color, but I had to loan him my iPOD shuffle. I got this iPOD for Christmas and it is the cutest darn thing. It holds about 3 CDs worth of music and plugs into the USB port of my computer. Since my son rebuilt my computer as his Christmas gift to me, I now have one right there in the front!

I was obsessing on what I could do with the tan Inca Tops, and then I remembered I have two other brown yarns that have reached antique status, and I thought, well if two wrongs don't make a right, maybe 3 do. I had some Berocco Glace and Dante from way way back, and also threw in a little Reynolds Slique. I thought I had enough tail to cast on the 151 stitches I had in mind, but ended up with only about 115. I think the scarf is a little short. Glace is a rayon ribon, Dante and Slique cotton and viscose. According to the Dress King, viscose is : "The most common type of rayon. It is produced in much greater quantity than cuprammonium rayon, the other commercial type." I figured the alpaca silk would make the hat and scarf warmer. I used size 15 needles for the scarf and 13 for the hat.

Looking at and trying on the finished product I can see what the real problem with the yarn is. It's just not my color. I was probably going through some identity crisis way back when I bought it and thought, okay no black and no blue....and chose brown, since I wasn't ready for green, orange or purple. I still have more yarn left, too. It is hovering every so much closer to the Goodwill bag.

Sunday, December 25, 2005

The Final Days of 2005


Broadripple sock number two is a little over half done. I must say, I love the Koigu KPPPM. It is so springy and durable, but then maybe I mentioned that already. This colorway did not stripe much and bring out the patterns chevrons, but I do like it anyway.

Did you every have a yarn that just didn't know what it wanted to be when it grew up? My sister gave me 3 balls of Inca Tops 50% Alpaca silk yarn as it did not sing to her . I tried knitting a scarf when I first got it, and then the fingerless cabled gloves in Holiday Knits. It didn't want to be any of those. The latest effort is Twosheep's helix scarf. This yarn really feels wonderful. It is very soft, but I think it is too drapey to show off the double helix pattern well. I did discover that the K1P1 seed stitch looks nice. Maybe a plain, daintier version of Seaman's scarf is what it wants to be


I ordered some yarn sight unseen to knit Rogue. Scary!


It is a cool, sunny, dry winter so far. The vog is pretty thick somedays. Venus and Mars are putting on quite a show in the sky. It's a good year for avocados and citrus. Guacamole anyone?

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Lush Cardiagan, Final Chapter



My sister the intended recipient of Lush Cardigan came, and just as I feared, the sleeves were too narrow. She refers to her arms as baby alligator wrestling arms that are the result of wedging clay and lifting those 75 lbs kiln shelves. She has semi-retired from pottery but the arms remain. It fit her beautiful daughter who swears she can wear it while studying in the cold depths of the law library. She is just about 10 inches taller then my sister and I and quite svelte, so it is almost like a shrug. She declined to have a button, so even better :)

Being sucked in at work sucks rocks and is seriously interfering with my knitting of purple broadripple socks. I had to let down stitches to correct an error and the larger holes left behind are glaring at me. I am trying to convinvce myself that the springy and lovely Koigu KPPPM will even out the pukas (holes in Hawaiian) after washing and blocking. This is a fairly simple lace pattern and I know the stress at work is distracting me. That's my story and I'm sticking it to it.

Cookie Day turned into a 7 hours marathon of sugar, chocolate chips, gingerbread smells and coffee. I'd show pictures but I ate it all, err, I mean I gave it all away.

I really loved the gingerbread recommended by tsogb.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Maybe the last needle case

The next project for me will be the purple Koigu for my purple loving best friend. I know there is a good chance her dog Ebony will find them tasty, but I love Ebony, too. They live in Seatlle near the Troll under the Bridge. I am trying to decide whether to do Ann Budd's Woman's Fancy Rib Socks or Knitty's Broadripple Socks, and am leaning toward the Broadripples.

I finished the needle case for my straight needles and here it is in all it's purple glory. (And yes, and a blue Totoro did join the crowd because the others wanted to be in the picture, too)

The pattern is ginkgo leaves. The Ginkgo appeals to me because of it's fan shaped leaves and the fact that it has survived from prehistoric days. And, it's supposed to be good for the memory and grandma used to put the nuts in her nishime.

Well, enough of purple, except for those socks!

I wonder what candsmon's favorite color is?

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Helmet Liner




Cascade 220 was a fun knit, although knitting black is hard on these ole eyes. After I retire I was contemplating either going into bank robbing, as crime pays, or becoming a ninja, 'cuz and I got the hat. Yes, I'm that tired of my current job! It will pass, I hope.

Officially though, I can retire at the end of this year. The only catch is I still need income to pay the mortgage, sigh.

Keohinani, I can come work your store, or what?

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

The Mailman Cometh



Just as I was beginning to lose hope that my yarn from Knit Happens had been kidnapped, the much stalked mailman came through. I wound all the Cascade 220 into balls, getting a thrill out of watching the yarn swift spin round and round, and admired the 3 balls piled up and rolling around. I started my helmet liner. I have never used Cascade 220 before although I have read about it a lot, and it is very soft and not scratchy at all. It is a fun knit for the me who actually likes mindless stretches, especially with size 6 and 8 needles, cuz I can see it grow before my very eyes and watch movies at the same time. Just don't knit black in the a darkened room without wearing night vision goggles.


My first Koigu also came. It is purple for my purple loving best friend. It is wonderfully soft and lucious. I think I'll just fondle it for a while.

The second skein of another first, my Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn in camoflague, was in the package, too.

While I don't have serious yarn porn like Knittin' Mom's 250+balls (or was it really 503?), what I have is all mine to play with. gna ha ha!

I have cut out my final needle case for the straight needles. I have 3 sets of really long needles, but decided to leave them out and just make it for the 10 inchers.

The last thing the mailman brought was more of these plastic pillows from Amazon.com. I had just managed to reuse or give away most of them, and okay, I admit I popped some and threw them away, and today I got a very huge box of them again. There was gift I ordered for my ex in there, too. Now I have to have guilt about what I do with all of them, sigh. At least the box can be recycled.

While trying to fulfil some of my Christmas list, I stopped by the new Border's at Pearlridge and picked up Sensational Knitted Socks, by Charlene Schurch.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Rolling and Ramblin'

It poured rain for about 30 minutes today, I mean really poured! Then it stopped and this was the beginning of sunset tonight.


I left early today to do some shopping and avoid the crowds. I have mostly unfussy boys to to shop for. I found some shirts...boring;) I also ran into a friend who was ogling the water massage at the mall, so got her a gift certificate. YAY! That thing looked pretty weird to me. The client gets into this humidor face down and and is covered with what appears to be a large garbage bag. Jets of water move up and down, pummeling the poor soul. I hope she enjoys it. I'm not a good judge of these sort of things. I avoided massages for years and since I went for my first one, I'm now hooked. I had had enough shopping by noon, so after a stop at the grocery store went home. Once again I avoided any major housecleaning, although, I did move things from the hall back into the closet.

Thanks to Kimberly and her neat circular case, I got an inspiration for my own circular needles. I figured I needed about 20 pockets, and I would leave out the cat, but was afraid it wouldn't roll. It was also going to be quite large as the pockets had to be deep enough so the circulars wouldn't pop out the side. Well it doesn't quite roll, but I think it has to do with cardboards I slipped in the pockets for identification. I'll try making them smaller.

I decided to go partially pink and use up the pansy fabric from my pansy period.

Saturday, December 03, 2005

Magic Loop Toe-Up Socks, Pau! (Pau=done)



The toe-up socks are done! And, they fit. They aren't blocked yet, but I'm so glad they are done. My wonderful Addi turbos are still in one piece although the cable part is a little curly and bent. This technique has been a little hard on it, poor baby. It was nice having only one needle to deal with and the yarn tangling was not really ever an issue. The Fortissimo had an unusual smell, that I got to like eventually. The striping went berserk at the heel, so I had one join, and as the leg progressed, one ball became about half a needle behind. I purposefully made the socks short, as I am short (see how I carefully cropped them out ;) and because of the weather, I don't really ever need longer ones.

The toughest part of this project was the heel. There aren't any holes but there are inconsistencies and one mistake.

Now if that darling mailman would only bring my other skein of Lorna's Laces, Koigu and Cascade 220, I can knit on! I want to try and make a helmet liner with the black Cascade 220. I don't know what sock pattern to try next. And Yikes! I am no where near done with the holiday preparations.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Another Needle Case and Sock, Still in progress



I loved the way the dp needle case came out so I decided to make a crochet hook case. Once again I used some scraps from my purple phase. In the decluttering I have promised to throw away small scraps...really, I have to let go of the idea that I will ever make a postage stamp quilt. I need more immediate gratification then that! But I still have a ton of fabric in my stash.

In imagining this crochet hook case I thought that 3/4 inch would be enough for most of the hooks and I would have two rows. Well it's a tight squeeze. Then I forgot to sew the bottom edge of the top pocket down before sewing on the bottom one. So, I ended up have to shorten the bottom pocket so the hooks wouldn't disappear into the pocket.

So, this crochet hook case may have a twin one of these days. Still have to figure out a plan for the circulars.




The Magic Loops two socks at once are progressing slowly. The heel was a real challenge. I ended up have to frog the heels anyway due to the hole problem discussed everywhere, so I joined the yarn to try and match up the heels. I was kind of cool to have unmatched heels, but I wanted the ankle portion to match a little better.

The short row heel did not come out perfect, but I decided to move on. This project is going ever so slow, and the impatient knitter I am is so praying that Cascade 220 I ordered will come soon.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Revolt of the Self Striping Yarn



I had a little trouble following the heel instructions from the tostetoes site, and decided to try Wendy's short row heel. After frogging it once, it started to make sense and I ended up with what looks like another toe. So I confidently knit up the other heel only to find, "the horror, the horror" the Forstissima self striping yarn which so perfectly matched decided to go off on it's own and make a red and yellow heel.

Yikes! I'll have to sleep on that one!

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Knitting Needle Case


The decluttering has resulted in my targeted areas looking more cluttered. I suspect that things have to look worse before they get better. One thing always leads to another and I took a break to make a needle carrier, as I had become obsessed with one while sorting my patterns and remembering fondly the project called the Traveling Quilter, a pattern by Patricia B. Campbell, put out by the Heart and Home Pattern Company. (I'm not sure they are in business anymore). This lead me to look for some Hobbs Thermore and to The Calico Cat. Scroll down on the page to read a little about Carol Kuniyoshi. She is always so gracious and helpful. She shared with me that she used to work at the Liberty House in Ala Moana back when they sold yarn. In my early knitting days I used to love to hang out at the vast and probably only yarn store in Honolulu, the downtown Liberty House. This is my first needle carrier and I made it for my double pointed needles. I discovered that I have at least 3 sets of number 5 and some other duplicates. I want to make one for the circular needles, but I'm still thinking about how that one will look. Who knows maybe I'll make a traveling one, too, although I usually use my Traveling Quilter for that.


I have gotten stuck on the two socks on the circular needle. I'm at the part called "shaping the heel". Somehow I can't visualize it. I'll just have to think on it for awhile, but the stripes are coming out pretty cool.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

Gratuitous Pet Picture


Tweedy came out today, old man that he is. He was such a great flyer and singer in his younger days. He still gets a kick out of hopping around and flies about a bit, although I'm not sure he can see where he is going. Here is he is posing by the Japanese fishing float.

Happy Thanksgiving!



Laa, Laa-laa's cousin from Hawaii is showing off my current project, knitting two socks at once on the 40" Addi turbos. Laa is a past project of mine, shamelessly put up here for lack of new finished projects to show. I knit Laa from (gasp) Red Heart and was short finishing up the curly-Q on top of her head.

This current project, every so small yet, is one of many firsts for me. After realizing that I only ordered one skein of the camoflague Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock yarn from Knit Happens even though it clearly states I need two, I decided to go with the Fortissimi colori socka.
While ordering another skein of that Lorna's Laces, some how, I also ordered black Cascade 220 and color 305 Koigu KPPPM. Funny how that happens!

The Addi turbos, size one, are really great, but oh so tiny and it took me forever to have any stripes.

The pattern I am using is, Knitting Basic Toe-Up Socks Using the "Magic Loop" Circular Method, Two Socks on One Cirular, with support from Purlwise for the figure 8 cast on.

Now while this is not a great feat like keohinani's sock within a sock, it's plenty challenging for myopic me!

The sock pattern is all stockinette since the self striping yarn is the real star, but after only 3 stripes I'm flirting with other patterns.



I eliminated the step about tightening up the cast on stitches and. I kind of like the ridge, but having never done this before I wonder if it will matter. Also, I started with a slip knot in an effort to start the yarn at the same place, but I think it can be undone if I need to attempt to tighten up the cast on row later.

My other thoughts on the one long circular needle technique is whether or not the needle/cable join will take a beating and break soon.
I have new respect for veteran sock knitter's like candsmon and january one who whip through that sock yarn and tiny needles with such speed!

No cooking for me today as I am taking the family out to celebrate my mom's birthday. So... time to blog and comtemplate all that I have to be thankful for...great country, great food, great friends, great family, great yarns, and great music, just to name a few (in no particular order)

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Lush Cardigan



I graduated high school in a class of 607 students. The great thing about graduation is that when the diploma is given and the tassel passed over the cap, it is over. It is time to move on to bigger and better things. I can't say I really enjoyed high school. Perhaps it is because I experienced and ended my first "true love" in high school. Perhaps it was because I felt awkward and self conscious about who I was and where I was going. For me, the most memorable thing about graduation was Yvonne Elliman singing the Janis Ian song, "Society's Child".

The thing I'll remember most about the Lush Cardigan, is that I loved yarn, the way it felt so soft and warm, the color, the way it knit, the smell, and the cool way it fluffed up when "fulled". I suspect I might be allergic to angora, as my allergies took a slight turn for the worse, but then again it could just be the weather.

It still needs closure. I have some possibilites, but for now I think I'll put it away with the high school memories, at least until my sister comes to try it on. I am toying with the idea of some sort of clippy thingy, like the chains people put on their beepers. I have also toyed with some wonderful lampwork buttons made my the the talented Karen at Bella Beads

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Sushi

Well I hate to give candsmon more quilt but some mommy's make Cute Bento for their children's school lunches. But maybe she is blessed with children like mine, with more simple tastes. I was able to get away with peanut butter and jelly and, cold cuts and cheese (no mayo) for years. I actually attemped more healthy lunches, but they wouldn't eat them. They are cheese/meat/carb kind of people, just like their dad. I once had a major argument with my oldest about tofu, and I am still haunted by the experience.

BTW, a bento is a prepacked lunch. The Japanese have turned it into an art form, and even have special boxes for them. Sushi is a generic rice "sandwich" that is now made with all kinds of additives and shapes, including raw fish (sashimi) and spam (yikes!) and traditional vegies like pickled radish, shiso, and gourd. Ideally the lunches do not contain items that spoil easily as the bento may not be refrigerated for a while, but since California invented the California roll, refrigeration is more common.

I hope my first skein of Lorna's Laces comes in the mail soon with my long Addi turbos. I want to try the magic loop technique for my next project. I am stalking the mailperson, but so far no luck :(

I am contemplating a closure for the Lush sweater. It looks very nice, but I am not sure it will fit my sister. The fulling made it all a little more solid and this yarn is very, very warm!

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Clutter Treasure

I had a great anticlutter weekend. I threw out the partially disintegrated Weber grill and the despised recliner in icky brown. I was surprised to find that someone wanted the Weber Grill as it had been collected before the Bulky Item pickup. I also went through "The Closet". I packaged up the old cookbooks I'll never use and threw away all those used vhs tapes. Just threw them away just like that. The videos, mostly exercise, I have in a box for the next pickup by Savers or whoever calls first.

I started looking at my craft books and magazines and stopped at "The Official Knit-A-Dress-A-Day Knitting Book" by Joan Rattner, Women's Editor, This Week Magazine, 1968.

The knitting is done on Reynold's Jumbo Jets-a needle with a 3 inch circumfirence. There are some for sale on Ebay.



I was thinking I don't need this book, but there is something that made me pay a $.95 for it (original price was a dollar) and I think I'll have to keep it awhile longer as it just makes me smile. It doesn't really take up much room.

Maybe I'll find some Reynold's Jumbo Jets at the swap meet or a thrift store. Who knows?

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Lush Moments

The instructions in this pattern say to full the pieces slightly by washing then drying the parts for 5-10 minutes on low heat. It doesn't say whether to weave in the ends first. It doesn't say what temperature water should be, or what kind of soap to use. I have never felted anything but I was encouraged by the 50% angora content of this yarn (I hope no bunnies were injured in the production)to go for it since angora does not felt, and just pray I didn't end up with a munchkin size sweater or the lint ball that ate Puunui.

Here the pieces are all laid out. I spied the error in sleeve number two, after the fulling process. I decided I would have to leave it. I just hope everything dries in this humid time of year. I'm beginning to dread the collar/neckline.

Knowing me, I'll be pointing out that error to everyone. So there it is! Right out in public.

The Ball of Yarn that Never Dies



While pondering the skimpy notes on how to "full" lightly the Lush Cardigan parts, I knit up the other bootie and a tiny hat with the yarn left over from Gone with Wind, formerly of Socktober fame. Here they are unblocked and posed for keohinani to animate them into a witty cartoon.

As I was in a vintage horror mode until the TV went goofy, and the fact that I still have yarn left made me feel as if this ball of yarn will never die! I'll try not to subject anyone who reads this blog to another project made from this yarn.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Multidirectional Scarf, FO

The Multidirectional Scarf using two skeins of Noro Silk Garden is complete. It was a fun quick knit. The picture is a little fuzzy, but I can see I can block it a little more.

Wish the Lush sleeves were going faster. I think it would be better if sleeves were knit from the top down, then they would go faster instead of slower.

And look what the postman brought. I had these on my wish list and apparently one dark night I ordered them in my sleep. That's the only explanation I can think of for them to show up at my front door.


On my short list of things to do (other then get up and go to work) I will put eyes and claws on the blue Totoro, and I will finish Lush Cardigan before my sister comes next month! And I hope to make some jewelry for gifts. I am also trying acupunture to balance my yin and yang. While I am not sure I entirely believe in these principles, it helped me before so I'm trying it again. Apparently I have too much yang, which is common in menopause.

And, if there is any time left, maybe I'll send a few Christmas cards for a change. I used to start at the beginning of the address book one year and the end of the book the following year so at least some people got cards every other year. Then when the kids where little, I made Holiday cards with their pictures, because of course they were the cutest kids ever! Now it's a real challenge to get them to pose for a picture and not act goofy, so it's actually been a couple years since I even tried to send cards. I admire people like my mom, who have a system and never fail to send cards. I guess email Christmas cards aren't universally accepted yet.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Fringe benefits

Multidirectional scarf is done. I have more then just a small amount of yarn left, so I'm contemplating a fringe. After that I just need to block it. Its a little short, but I love the colors.

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Aaah, Diversions

It comes as no surprise to me anymore how I can wile away the minutes (okay, hours) surfing the Net. Here are some new places I went to today and there is so much amazing creativity, and insight out there.

craftholic
Knitting Escapism
craftholic
split yarn
Big Girl Feet
street and YOs
Warning, x-rated
KnittingHelp.com

I have my two Lush sleeves 1/3 done, and have started the Multidirectional Scarf in Noro Silk Garden. I just love the way the colors show up. There are a bunch of pictures of the scarf on the split yarn site.

After watching the video on the Magic Loop technique feel an impulse to buy really long Addi Turbos. My only salvation is that Isle Knits is closed on Sunday.

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Shopping Day


I could feel the shopping urge building and today all it took was my son needing fishfood to send me on my merry way. In reality it was a series of events that pushed me over the edge. I dropped my Shiseido compact and it cracked, so although I rarely put on the warpaint, I wanted to hit Shirokiya for another. I also didn't like the way that particular powder made my face red in photos. And, of course I had to buy fishfood. I am also on a quest to find a Panasonic EV-2510 Rolling Massager for my mom for her birthday.

Then there is the creative doldrums. I knit up the cute baby hat using that pink acrylic stuff and it is now going to have to be a toilet paper roll cover. I've cast on both sleeves for the Lush cardigan but don't feel like working on it. I made one blue Totoro, but he is still earless and armless. I also have to get away from all the left over Halloween candy!

And, the new Barnes and Nobles store opened at Ala Moana shopping center. I walked pass it on the way to the pet store. As far as I can tell they didn't have any knitting calendars, but I did pick up 3 knitting related items and two books.
Fall 2005 Knit It!
Socks.Socks.Socks. edited by Elaine Rowley
A gathering of LACE gathered by Meg Swansen
Everday Sacred, A Woman's Journey Home by Sue Bender
Zen and the Art of Needlecraft by Sandra Detrixhe


Yarn and Friends is right on the way home, so I stopped in. I got size 5 bamboo double pointed needles, and 3 skeins of Noro Silk Garden. One color 8 to match the lonely skein I had left over from Clapotis. They had the 2006 Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar, too.

It doesn't take much does it. I really need to re-read Everyday Sacred. Instead of emptying my bowl I keep filling it up!

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Halloween 2005


A little late, but there it is in all it's glory.

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Tagged Again

candsmon tagged me again!
1, What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with.
This is a tough one. I truly loved knitting Clapotis with Noro's Silk Garden. Lush is like butter. Way back when, I was enraptured with Lopi, though I never made anything with it. Another one that I loved was Henecke's Heaven Sent. It was so soft and buttery. My niece has made good use of the scarf I made with it, and it must taste good because Buddy, her cat, ate part of it.
2, Your favorite needles
I'm not too picky, but the after years of knitting with aluminun, the bamboo had a good feel to it.
3, The worst thing you've ever knit
Hmmm. It must have been the pink socks for my dad. Surprise surprise. He didn't wear them.
4, Your most favorit knit pattern.
I love cables. I knit this sweater for my sister and niece quite a while ago. I don't know if they ever wore their sweaters, but I had fun making it.

5. Most valuable knitting technique
Kitchener stitch.
6. Best knit book or magazine
I love Interweave Knits and books with celtic knits and guernseys. I don't know why someone in Hawaii would want to knit sweaters that are for North Sea fishermen, but the cables fasinate me. Classic British Knits is a book I can look at over and over.
7. Your favorit knit-a-long
Without a doubt, Socktober! Thank again, Lolly for setting it up and Chris for getting me inspired.
8. Your favorit knitblogs (in no particular order)
candsmon
glampyre
Aloha and Oreos
LollyKnitting Around
grumperina
9. Your favorite knitwear or designer
see number 6.
10. The knit item you wear the most
I wear my scarves when I go to the Mainland in winter. Here in Hawaii, I take Clapotis to the movies to snuggle up in.

Puanani you are tagged!

Cleaning up


While Lush is on the needles, I don't seem to have much to say! Is it time to "stay down" ala candsmon?

Cleaning is a perpetual task for me. I suppose if I put everything away after I was done with like my mom kept telling me, things wouldn't pile up and become that trademark clutter of mine. Oh well. Much as I aspired to live life out of a backpack and have a Spartan home, I feel better with a little chaos around me.

Periodically though, I have to clean out. When the harddrive runs slow, it's time to purge all those never used files, adware and defrag. So I'm cleaning out files on my drives and as it always happens, I run in some mp3 hiding in a strange folder. This one was just sitting on the desktop in plain site in a folder called Mix. Apparently I was going to to put this on a disk at some point.

And this is how it happens. I am now sidetracked into listening to Crosby Stills and Nash. Their music figured into a great time of my life-that 11 years I spent on the Mainland getting higher education. Aah, memories. I lived for a while in a house on Harrison Street in Denver, Colorado. I met a some fascinating people there.

I started the second front of Lush Cardigan while waiting in line for my movie, Mirrormask and it is going quickly. The sleeves next! Then what? I feel a yarncrawl coming up unless I can do the sensible thing and knit something from the stash, heh....Well, could happen :P

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

20 Things About Me

I was tagged by candsmon

20 things about me? Feel free to take a nap before getting to the end;)

1. I love Totoro. Okay I admit I sometimes feel guilty that at my age I still play with dolls, but hey, at least it keeps me off the street!
2. I jumped on the trampoline for fun until age 40
3. I majored in Chemistry in college and loved Organic Chemistry which was a lot like cooking class. I singed my eyebrows off and got quite a scare allowing potassium metal to come in contact with water with explosive results. Potassium is like that, and I’ll never forget it!
4. I used to fantasize that I was going to marry George Harrison.
5. I have never left America. Nope, not even Canada or Mexico. Some think Hawaii is a foreign country.
6. I love movies, especially science fiction, samurai and weird stuff.
7. I have serial addictions. Knitting, sewing, quilting, basket making, stamping, jewelry making, and movie conversions, just to name a few.
8. I have a fireplace in my house, even though I live in Hawaii.
9. I live in the house I grew up in and my folks live next door.
10. All my sisters live on the Mainland. I have 3 of them, and no brothers. I have 2 sons who live with me.
11. I lasted two weeks working in the pineapple cannery. I apparently cannot tell a choice from a fancy pineapple even with the 15 minute training I got. It held me up trying to decide which can to put the fruit in especially during my 3 am shift. I have much admiration for those that could do it.
12. It came as quite a shock to me that my house gets dusty. Apparently my mother was such a premier housekeeper, she hid all the dust from me.
13. I learned so much from my kids. Growing up I was lead to believe parents had everything to do with how kids turned out.
14. Okay, very sad to admit, I was not the breastfeeding champ of my family. The poor starving child was so grateful to get a bottle of formula, he slept through the night. Talk about guilt!!
15. When I was in grade school I thought if I taught myself to be left handed I could change my personality.
16. I hiked into Havasu Canyon with a backpack on my back and made it out to tell the tale.
17. I went to college in Kansas. I saw snow there at age 18 for the first time in my life and it took me 3 years to find out how to stay warm. In retrospect a lot of that had to do with the fact that I was hooked on cotton, and didn’t give wool a chance. Wool is so warm and dyes into such beautiful colors!
18. I recently got divorced after 25 years of marriage.
19. I own 3 sewing machines and one serger. Since I ran off with yarn, they are all very neglected.
20. I did my Family Practice Residency in Kentucky. I made some very good friends had wonderful experiences there, like rafting down the Rock Castle River, Shakertown, visiting Bybee pottery, driving the horse country, the best peach ever, fireflies and John Hartford concerts.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Not Just Socks

Final Fantasy!



Houston, we have lift off! All two of my Socktober socks are done! I named them Gone with the Wind since I read the Go With the Flow pattern chart wrong and they are nice fall colors. I still have some of the yarn left, so I'm going to try and make the booties from the Not Just Socks, book. Maybe I'll knit a bit on Lush. Those #1 and 2 needles drive me crazy. The results are great, though.

Lolly, the illustrious creator of Socktober is in Hawaii and candsmon joined her for some yarncrawling. I hope the weather behaves the rest of the time she's here in Hawaii!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Socktober Sock, One down and one to Go!



My first sock came out way too small. This one came out a little too, big, but close! Now on to number two. I don't know whether to name this sock Mango Foot or Gone with the Wind.

I am not letting that Lush distract me, even though I used my new swift to wind it all up into balls. I got the swift from julipoolies on ebay. It is not that pretty like the ones made out of wood, but very functional. It plays well with my ball winder.

I love the beautiful socks everyone is knitting. Lolly started something really fun.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Socktober Adventure



Sigh. Anyone who has knit Go With the Flow can see, that I did not pay attention to the chart and have knit all the stitches between the pukas (holes) instead of having ribbing between them. I discovered this after I had knit the whole leg and had to frog part of the turn. I contemplated what to do. Frog the whole thing and start over? Pretend I liked it that way. Make jokes about how I'll just go with the flow?

I remember when my son was young he would often wear his T shirt inside out. Now I know it wasn't because the right side was dirty. I had only sisters growing up so having boys was quite an adventure. Someone pointed out to me that some men go around with their T shirts inside out, too. Well I decided to ask my son why? He said very emphatically, "I like it that way."

I suspect the real reason he wore it inside out was that he either didn't notice it and was miffed that I would mention it, or that he was too lazy to turn it inside out. I hope he didn't really like it that way.

One of the great things about crafting is that mistakes sometimes turn out okay. I think the sock looks okay the way it is :) The yarn makes the sock fun. I only hope it fits.

I have lost the label for this yarn. I can't even remember if it had one when I got it. It was sheer impulse buying! Like that swift I just bought.

I blame work for making me read the pattern incorrectly. It couldn't be my vision, heh.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Socktober


Lolly is celebrating sock knitting this month and I decided to join in on the fun. I started sock number 1 last night, and although I pledged to knit a gauge swatch , I didn't. I couldn't wait to see what the pattern would look like. Not much sock yet to tell, but the colors are outrageous!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Happiness is Totoro




Two more Totoros done, except for noses and mouths. I think Totoro #1 is still my favorite. The large acorns are a gift from my traveling sister. The tops are real acorn caps and the body is covered with acorn leaves...Gotcha! If mangos grow on mango trees, and guava's grow on guava trees, why to acorns grow on oaks?

I tried two different ways of knitting in the bib front. The first with 3 separate balls, the next carrying the grey behind. Unfortunately the second method caused the body to shrink and the turn edge was difficult to tighten up and left lines. Oh well.

I used CascadeYarns Pastaza to knit Totoro and will make some blue ones, too! It is a wonderful blend of wool and llama I purchased at Yarn and Friends here in Honolulu.


After reading my little mochi and following her link to these, darn if I didn't order them. They are so cute. Hmmm, now who do I know that needs cupcakes?

Monday, October 10, 2005

Lush Cardigan



The great thing about flying is that it is a great time to knit. The flight to Maui is only 30 minutes so I couldn't knit much in the air, but since I'm always paranoid about the overbooking thing, I usually check in way early. I never flew Island Air before and I didn't check on what kind of plane I was going in, but it is a jet prop and quite small. That equalled small number of passengers, smaller terminal, and plenty of time to knit :) The plane flies lower and slower, so I had a lot more time to enjoy the scenery. The weather was glorious on both Maui and Oahu, so there was lots to see.

I wound one ball of Lush before leaving, by hand, 'cuz it's so "relaxing" and it is a very easy lace pattern.
I knit a couple of Totoro's, experimenting with knitting in his white chest, but will have to post photo's later when they get their eyes. Right now they are blind :( Knitting in Totoro's white front proved challenging, as the changes showed up as lines on the front. I would like to knit him in the round but, duh, how can that be done without adding new balls every row.

The south side of Maui is a different world. There are huge million dollar houses, lots of condos and many transplanted, part time residents. The traffic has quintipled and although there are lots of new roads, the traffic gnarls up in places. Oprah Winfrey has bought a ton of land in Pukalani and Hana. Sitting on the beach and watching sunsets though, I can see why so many people want to live there.

Waaah, vacation is over, and I have to go back to work tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Ramblings



Any other crafters with birds? keohinani pointed out that many knitters have cats while she has a yarn eating Rottweiler. I have one peach faced cockatiel and a green canary. Mr. Canary declined to be photographed as he was having a bad feather day. He is old and moulting, which always makes him self conscious. Since he got older, white feathers and all, he doesn't sing like he did, but still likes lettuce and celery.

The cockatiel loves to sit on my shoulder but also has a bad habit of chewing on anything shiny, like my necklaces. She destroyed two chains already. She likes walking around in the craft room finding pins and yarn scraps.

And of course I got fishies! Actually my son caught some tide pool fishes when he was five-ish (he's 21 now) and they are now sashimi size and living in a tank on my patio. I wonder what the lifespan of aholehole and manini is?

I'm off to Maui for a meeting tomorrow. It's been awhile. I loved going to Maui to visit my grandma when I was young. She was able to live at home alone until she was 96 and I miss her so. She made the worlds best Shoyu Chicken! From her I learned that a musubi should never be round (round ones are for funerals!) She also I had an interesting random way of cutting up her vegetables for nishime. I never asked her why. I read some where about it being a Zen thing, but maybe that's just the way her mom did it. She took me to the samurai movies when there were Japanese theaters in downtown Honolulu. Her favorite was Chushingura, a tale of loyalty and obligation that is a Japanese classic. I didn't really understand it as a child, but it has been remade many times and I finally got it.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Best Bead Show



The plan to purge stash and not acquire stash fell my the wayside, but the damage was not too bad, heh. Luckily for me, my partner in crime was on a time table so I only had a 1 1/2 hours.

The red "dice" beads I got from Silk Winds, and I quickly made the bracelet with charms I had, just to see how they would look. I'll wear it for awile since I miss the Peace I had to remove from my Mantra Bracelet. The beads are vintage trade beads, which I so dearly love.

I got the big honking shells because they were so pretty and I have a whole spool of brown leather cord they will hang well on.

I grabbed the turquoise nuggets because the color variations were so cool. I hung one on the Kumahimo leather cord I made at the Bead Gallery class I had. It is a rather short piece. Hmmm, I think I'll make some more of those cords.

The rest of the purchases were findings...ear wires, toggles.

There were some very yummy lampwork beads. I've considered learning to make them, but it requires fire. Ever since I set my hair on fire with that candle at the midnight Christmas candle service I've avoided fire, unless it's in the hibachi or Weber. Luckily the incident did not go as far as the Michael Jackson incident, but it was scary enough!

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Totoro, First Attempt


This is my first attempt at knitting Totoro. I'll make his arms are little shorter next time, and will have to work out a good foot pattern. His eyes are a challenge because they are white with black pupils. I used ultrasuede and embroidery floss for this first go around. Ultrasuede is a not that easy to sew on, and I have a thing about glue, so I will either have to find sew on eyes or so other technique. Embroidery is not one of my skills! I will try felt for his white tummy, but I think I'll knit it in next time.

All and all for first attempt, I think he's pretty cute!
The Camphor Tree

Saturday, October 01, 2005

Innspiration from past issue of Piecework




I keep the May/June 1998 issue of Piecework because of this jaw dropping masterpiece of lace knitting. A woman named Bridget Rorem knit this wedding veil for her daughter. It is a great labor of love. It is knit of fine Merino wool spun in Italy, weights 8 ounces, and was knit on a size 000 circular needle. It took about a year. She knit in design patterns and words personal to herself and daughter. On the fourth side she knit in the last two lines of a poem by William Yates
"I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh".

I dug that UFO black lace shawl out, Hmmmm. Where did that pattern go?