O Totoro for May, FO

Pattern: see side bar for Totoro. Soot Sprite by Tessa Briley. Veined Safed Leaf from Tikkum Tree Project.
Yarn: Fisherman's Weight Beaverslide Wool. I hope the new crop is in soon and this great yarn is available again. Safed leaf is Koigu. Soot sprite is Pua Funcraft acrylic eyelash yarn.

Totoro Makes My Day!

I gave this hand knit, Beaverslide Totoro to a Miyazaki-impaired friend and she send me this picture from her iphone. Those in Hawaii who used to have no problems growing the local chili pepper (used to make Chili Pepper Water) now have limited harvests due to the Red Vented Bulbul. These birds eat only the red ones. They also eat cherry tomatoes which previously seemed to be immune to predators.

Since Totoro has gone on guard, blogless Karen has happily been able to harvest a whole bag full!

Day at the Beach

Today started with rain and clouds, but by 10 am it was a beautiful day at the Ala Moana Beach.

(sorry for the crappy cell phone picture) The surf was great and there were a ton of kids from their schools, senior citizen outings, and surfers. I met Chris with her 3 children and her friends and their kids, and they were all having a ball.

I found some treasures.

Newborn chibi Totoro is posing with a Milo pod. This may be the closest thing to an acorn he comes in contact with unless he gets to travel.












I found a couple heart shaped coral pieces and a few bits and pieces of beach glass. Pickings were slim today.
Also finished is KU Beanie
















Pattern: Turn a Square, by Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Cascade Superwash
Needles: size 7

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!


Have a Great Weekend.

Summertime Summertime

The last couple of weeks has been a time of knitting gatherings where more talk and eating then actual knitting has been going on. Okay, there was some beer and a cosmopolitan involved, also. My alcohol tolerance is very low and it took Chris (past blogger extraordinaire, now in retirement) reminding me that I had $4.50 left in my glass to finish that cosmopolitan. Luckily the homemade potato chips tempered the effects and I was not driving. The Knitted Brow took time out from her packing to be the designated driver.

Terri, Kim and I drove out to the Windward Meeting of the Aloha Knitters last night. They meet at the lovely Morning Brew . We were treated to Patrice's incredible sampler afghan. She knit this up in purples and yellow. I hope she posts a picture of it soon.

My Kelpie, sculpted by talented May has come home to Nuuanu and is getting to know the resident Totoros. I love my little Kelpie from his wry smile to his horsehair tail and "mane". I can't look at Kelpie without smiling. Thank you May!



TP Totoro is felted and is drying here with his temporary eyes and smile. He will be off to visit May's water closet as soon as he gets stuffed and sewn together.



My pineapple harvest this year promises to be tiny...I mean literally. The first pineapple to ripen is the largest and smaller then my coffee cup. I may try and make some pineapple vodka. But of course if it's sweet I'll just eat it fresh:)


The tassel stitch scarf is blocking. The tassel stitch portion curls under despite added a row of single crochet. I like the look of this very easy stitch, modified from The New Knitting Dictionary by Rhoda Ochser Goldberg. I love this shade of red Cascade 220 Superwash. I'm not sure if I'll send this one to the Red Scarf Project of blocking does not improve the curling issue.

The stitch worked much better for this hat and is reversible. (although different on the backside)

3x3 Slip Stitch Scarf

(I'm moving the pattern from my last post to this entry)




Yarn: 200-300 yards, Cascade Superwash 220, Colorway 893, a fantastic, dark red color. I used about 1.3 balls and ended up with a scarf 3 inches wide with the rib collapsed and the 7.5 inches spread out. It was a bit over 60 inches long.
Needles: single point size 9
Pattern:
Pattern for 3x3 Slip Stitch Scarf (A multiple of 6 + 2 for the selvage)

End stitch:
Very first row only: K1, pattern to one remaining stitch, bring yarn forward and slip stitch as if to purl
Row 2 and on: Knit first stitch through the back, pattern until one remaining stitch, bring yarn forward and slip stitch as if to purl.

Yarn: worsted weight
Needles: size 9

CO 38 stitches using long tail cast on.
Last and first stitches are for the selvage.
One row pattern: *P3, K1, slip 1, K1*, Repeat ** between end stitches.
Keep on keeping on until the scarf is as long as you like.
Bind off. Sew in ends.

Project Spectrum Yellow, Free Red Scarf Pattern, 3x3 slip stitch rib

Project Spectrum yellow is flying by. The yarn stashed has not been wound into balls and I suspect will not become a project in time. Nature came through with a spectacular array of Gold Trees this year. The trees were covered with the bright yellow blossoms not unlike the cherry blossom trees I saw in Tokyo. Click the link to see a beautiful example. I was never able to capture one to my liking but the second photo in the mosaic shows a closeup of a baby one near my house.




The yellow plumeria that overhangs my driveway is in full bloom. This is a great lei flower. I tried to capture the great hedge of yellow popcorn orchids around the corner on my walk. It's so much better in person. I transplanted mine this year and they have just sat there doing nothing. (I'm just happy they didn't die, a real possibility for any plant in my patio)


My only partially yellow project is Leafling, in Koigu. I have only one sock. It's a little large, and would have been better off CO 60 instead of 66 stitches. I wonder if it will be a single sock?

While pondering what to do with over 1000yards of russet red Anne, having frogged and attempted a spiral shawl numerous times, I read Now Norma Knits post and got inspired by the Red Scarf Project.




I doubled the Anne and used a size 10 needle to knit the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf. The yarn was much or orange-y then the online photo appeared and had very little variation in color. However, doubling the yarn really made the color richer. It was a miracle. Unfortunately on reading the fine print on the project page I found the "no mohair" clause. Schaefer Anne is 25% mohair. It's a nice little scarf and is slightly longer the 60 inches. I used up all but a few inches of one skein. Perhaps someone will buy it and I can donate the money to the red scarf project.

So red scarf number 2 is on it's way. This one is Cascade 220 Superwash in a nice deep red. It's my own version of a one row knit scarf. I have not seen this used as a pattern but my resources are limited. It makes a nice fat 3x3 ribbing that does pull in some like all good ribbing.


*pattern moved to another post

Felicity, FO

Pattern: Felicity by Wanett Clyde
Yarn: Fleece Artist Scotian Silk, re-purposed from Lu. I love the feel of this yarn and it was very fun to knit with. (Lu is a cool pattern, but it didn't fit me)
Needles: I changed to size 7 and 9 as this is a bulky yarn, and I only got 14 inches in diameter instead of the 16 inches the author got for her "22-inch head".
Mods: none
Comments: The shape of the hat intrigues me. I saw some of this shape hat in Japan on some men during my trip. They were cream colored and some had stripes. Like the Guinan Hat (free Ravelry download) which has two different looks, Felicity can also look like a chef's hat.

This and That

It's a hot summer so far. The vog has lifted some, but the trades are lagging. I started working in April as a call in, and after a one week stint, I caught a bug that dragged on for two whole weeks.

My blogless Wisconsin sister came for a visit and I hosted her friend and I'm happy to say (unless they are too polite to mention it) none of them got sick! Iver (the guest) spent a couple of hours getting a large stump out of a cement pot. Thanks, Iver! My plan of having it dry out and shrink away, had failed. They did a lot of sight seeing, climbing Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Waimea Bay, Chinaman's Hat and snorkled at Lanikai. They ate shave ice from Shimizu's near Frog Lane. I managed hikes to the light house at Makapuu and Hoomaluhia and of course we ate a lot...love that chow fun and minute chicken cake noodle from Pauoa Chop Suey and the the dimsum at Legends in Chinatown.

The funny noise my car had been making was getting worse. I had it down to the right front part of the car, a rotatory metallic sound, that happened between 20-45mph, and stopped with braking. I decided to walk-in one day to have it checked out and 6 hours later, I had a complete new set of brakes, front and back, a coupon for a free car wash and a big credit card balance :(.

I also had some great pictures of the lovely yellow hibiscus bushes outside and a FO!


(ps...forgot to mention this picture of for Project Spectrum!)



Pattern: Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Fractal Green Handpaint from Hungry for Handspun
Mods: none.
I made the small size and plan to gift this to the host of the Camano Island retreat she is planning this fall. She will love this fantastic color handpainted by the moonlight baker.
It was a fun, easy fast little knit.

I stopped by Aloha Knitter's Thursday night at Mocha Java and the ladies were such good sports about trying on my snail hats in this hot, hot weather. Although I managed a self portrait of the scarf (attempting to edit out neck of Iquana), self portrait of hat was a failure.


























I also received a belated birthday gift from Dayna and Mom Barbara ( both blogless). I love my Totoro book (how will I bring myself to write in it!) and the handy dandy purse hanger. Thank you! I love them both.

The fabric are some pieces from the Knitted Brow. She is moving to Atlanta and starting the process of destashing and getting ready to put the house on the market. Now if I can only get the sewing mojo going! We had wonderful udon at Jimbo's with second son, the Landcaster himself.

Leafling has stalled as I contemplate whether to frog or not as I did not have the correct number of stitches going into the gusset and now the foot. I CO the Spiral Shawl by Meg Swanson, my first project from A Gathering of Lace in russet Schaefer's Anne. This is going to be my knit while I watch The Wire series from Neflix.