Lacey Disasters and Spinning Out

Wildefoot cable and seed stitch socks are moving slowly. This is my first 48 stitch sock and I think it might be too small. The yarn does not show the pattern very well and is very splitty. Perhaps this will be a lonely one. I cast on Rogue and the Jo Sharp Aran Silk Road is much nicer to knit with. (not sure why blogger keeps loading this picture vertical) All my attempts at knitting lace have been rolled back up into balls. I tried Faery Tale Scarf from Interweave Knits and kept getting giant holes. Most lace patterns say purl all the wrong side rows but this one had yarn overs over yarn overs and it made me nuts.

Wayback sometime ago I bought a book on spinning and a drop spindle at a garage sale. It has been rediscovered in the cleaning frenzy (okay well frenzy is and exaggeration) along with some carded wool I had gotten in the pincushion addiction period of my life. The drop spindle was huge and being quite short it was very heavy. I researched making one of my own and was contemplating a run to City Mill when a lightbulb went on and I decided to do surgery. My son sawed off the crochet hook end of the bottom whorl spindle and screwed in a cup hook.

My odd little ball of yarn was well, strange! I could say the surgery was a success, but the patient died :(
I got a little understanding of how the fibers separate and a lot off knowlege about overspinning, heh. I am resisting the urge to order roving until I go to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in September. The plan is to sign up for a spinning class where no doubt I will lust after wheels, whorls,and yarns and dream of raising alpaca.
Of course I need a new hobby like I need a hole in my head.

Whine Ahead, stop now if you wanna get off!
I blame work for all this inertia in my crafting. The edict went out "We must change or die!". Being a detail, process type personality, generalities like that just make my head spin. I have to learn to stop those "tank" type personalities from running me over. It's cutting into my creative energy!@ OK, whine over.

Wildefoot cable and seed stitch socks are moving slowly. This is my first 48 stitch sock and I think it might be too small. The yarn does not show the pattern very well and the is very splitty. Perhaps this will be a lonely one. I cast on Rogue and the Jo Sharp Aran Silk Road is much nicer to knit with.

Wayback sometime ago I bought a book on spinning and a drop spindle at a garage sale. It has been rediscovered in the cleaning frenzy (okay well frenzy is and exaggeration) along with some carded wool I had gotten in the pincushion addiction period of my life. The drop spindle was huge and being quite short it was very heavy. I researched making one of my own and was contemplating a run to City Mill when a lightbulb went on and I decided to do surgery.

I could say the surgery was a success, but the patient died :(

My Mess

My Mess
Originally uploaded by acornbud.

Lolly's mosaics looked so cool I had to try it myself.

I decided to share my mess. Its always quite a task to find places for everything since I'm remodeling my craft room.



Here is the nearly empty room. I found I have a lot of sewing patterns. Oh what to do with them.

Blues gather for Project Spectrum Blue

The Blues is made up of the blue Totoros who insisted on posing with Blue Koigu Totoro on the Catbus square of my quilt. The square was one of 9 quilted in a group where we all learned to quilt in 1998. The catbus was made by our talented teacher.


Koigu demanded to show off the Noro silk garden, color 244 and Kureyon color 154. I want to try my hand at felting and am planning Klaralund with the Silk Garden.
I've started cable/seed stitch socks in Wildefoote. It is crunchy as I read on another blog and not fun to knit, but the sock itself feels pretty good. Koigu thinks I should "Get a life" , clean my room and get that sewing machine out. Sigh. He had to pose sideways putting his best eye forward, because I am embroidery impaired. Maybe that is why he is cranky.

PS: I apologize for not replying to some comments as blogger does not show an email address for everyone. Regarding questions about knitting a Totoro, please send me an email at Acornbudatyahoodotcom and I will invite to you test knit one.

Confessions

The sunshine and clear skies made this orchid happy. My mom is anxious to transplant it as the biggest spray is on a part of the plant outside the pot. Its all I can do to keep her from doing it before the last bud blooms! I equate big blooms with happiness. My live and let live approach to gardening has resulted in a lot of weeds but every once and awhile I get a bonus!





Speaking of weaknesses, I will have to admit, I'm a follower much of the time. I have allowed myself to be swayed by the many blogs touting the glories of Socks That Rock. The package arrived yesterday and I'm so intrigued with the color. I got the medium weight. Now to decide on the projects.
I am showing the toes of the finished Embossed Leaves pair as they really cool. AND, no kitchener stitch.


The buying bug has bit me. I have rationalized that since I found this book from an Amazon reseller I am justified. My Jo Sharp yarn is on its way...hope I can get gauge for Rogue. Lucky for my pocketbook I did not win 3 ebay auctions for Noro yarn (phew!), but I did order some for my Klaralund. Help! Paypal makes it too easy.

Blues Project

I've been waiting for Project Spectrum blue month to start these socks in Koigu solids blue. I love Koigu-so springy and interesting with its monochromatic varigations. The pattern is Interweave Knits Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt. So far I have only one, but can the second one be far behind?

The pattern is different in that the first couple of ribbing rows are knit back and forth, and the yarn is broken at the end of the gusset. Needle one is actually the needle I am used to being needle 4.
After a few halting starts, the lace was easy to do. I am in love with this pattern. H

One Skein Project

One Skein is full of cute little projects. I used some varigated cotton from my stash for this little bag and it used way less then one skein. It was fun to make and very fast.

Psychedelic Totoro

Left over self-striping sock yarn Totoro.

Cascade Fixation Tabi Socks

Project: Tabi Socks, Size 10
Cascade Fixation: 2.2 balls of apple green
Needles: Size 4 DP
Pattern:
Dimensions from "Sensational Knitted Socks" by Charlene Schurch
Elizatbeth Bennett's Perle Sock Program for the general directions
Tabi toes from Kate Atherley's Summer Sock Collection published in Spun Magazine

Not having the feet here to try these on is risky. My dinky 5.5 size feet didn't fill the bill and my sons huge ankles just stretched them out too much. I am counting these for knitpastis's Cascade Fixation Ankle Sock KAL even though size 10 ankles are not that tall...oops;P
I'm counting these toward Summer of Socks KAL, too!

Aloha Knitters

Another picture from the walk around my neighborhood reminds me about the Aloha Knitters.

June 10 is World Wide Knit in Public Day. I read about it on Kai's blog. The Aloha Knitters are planning to meet somewhere in Kapiolani Park. It should be fun!

I hope Chris comes out for it too! The picture reminds me of her, as it is practically in her new back yard:)

An Abundance of Green

My Wisconsin sister is visiting and we took a spin around the neighborhood on a blustery day. This is Nuuanu Stream which I drive over everyday.

I love the staghorn ferns that grow on trees here.


I didn't see a lot of green flowers for Project Spectrum green, just yellow ones with hints of green. BTW, there is green knitting going on. Tabi socks in apple green Cascade Fixation for my size 10 friend. I am debating on whether the leg is too long :(

Real or Memorex?

I walked in to Shirokiya one day and some ladies were doing a make and take for Deco Clay, a paper clay, as I understand. I couldn't resist and in just one session, with a lot of help produced a gardenia. It is gardenia season around here.



My friend with the emboidery machine made towels for my Dallas Cowboys fan-friend and also made a star for BunBoy's sweater. He has hair now, and if I can find that elusive ball of twine, some whiskers will complete him. Maybe he needs a banner to carry, too.



I can't seem to get blogger to load this picture correctly. One of my silk ribbon flowers finally found a home on my sisters outfit for the recent family wedding.

knitpastis is inspiring me with her Cascade Fixation socks, so I think that is my next project.

All About Meh

The end of winter on this side of the globe brought out a lot of ambilvalence around blogland. I finished Bpt and really love the Superwash Cascade, but on a cool morning here (72deg) in the uplands of Nuuanu I can put it on for all of about one minute before breaking out in a hot flash.

I had already given up on the Pacific Northwest lace, and rolled the Zephyr up into one giant ball.

Then,I missed a teleconference at work because I mistook PST for Hawaii Time. I make this mistake a lot, I mean, Hawaii is in the Pacific so why does Hawaii have it's own time? I was very lonely in that conference room and the help desk did not enlighten me on the fact that the meeting was already over.

Then I missed a personal appointment. Just totally blew that one.


And then the Cascade Leaves socks acted up. The first one flew by and I loved the pattern, the springy green Koigu, the 5 inch DPs in size 2 (even though I knew size 1 would be better). I got almost to the toe on sock number 2 when I discover I missed one pattern repeat before starting the gusset. So like a good knitter, I frogged back to the spot and knit back, measuring and counting as I went and finished up the pair. I stood back to admire my work, tried them on and carressed them lovingly. It wasn't until I tried them on the second time I noticed that the patterns still do not match up. Sigh. They will be house socks. I love the green anyway.

I was forced to shop. I finally checked out a bright and cheery Aloha Yarns, a lys near where I work. I squeezed the Merino Stripes Moon is making shrugs out of. In honor of Project Spectrum, I added some green Cascade Fixation for summer socks.

I also got Ann Norling's Spiral Rib Hat pattern.

And, I got up and danced anyway at my cousins wedding.

And I had breakfast with my two sisters visiting from Colorado and Wisconsin with our mother and families.

But of course, tomorrow is Monday....again...meh!

Beginnings, Middles and Endings

I leaned to knit at age 6 from Tubly. She was from Switzerland and I never knew her real name was Tauba until I read it in the paper when she passed on to the Biggest and Best Lys. She married a local boy from Hawaii who went overseas for WW2 and lucky for us Hawaiians, she moved to Hawaii and taught knitting, "the German way" at the Richard Street YWCA. I don't remember the year this picture of me was in the paper, but it describes me as "advance knitter", knitting the sweater for my grandmother. It turned out to be my first but not last UFO. It also says I am knitting one for my brother but, I don't have one. Reporting hasn't change, eh?

Anyway, back to Tubly...she had the patience of a Buddha. Our first project was a doll cardigan, complete with button band and set in sleeves. I remember getting a row of stitches twisted and knitting and reknitting them so frustrated that they still were twisted. She fixed it for me and I know what a twisted stitch is now:) The sweater forever had a row of darkened stitches from my sweaty little hands.

Thank you, thank you, Tubly for teaching me something that will last my lifetime!

Fashion alert: I'd like everyone to believe those glasses with the wings were all the rage back then, heh, and maybe they were like the wings on the cars, but a tomboy like me never paid much attention to fashion.

Mr. Bunny was not done in time for Easter as planned. At least he has his topdown raglan, his tail, a mouth and a nose. He needs some hair and the Dallas Cowboy star yet. I wish his ears were a little more rabbit-like He is holding my Project Spectrum socks, Cascading Leaves , in Koigu Emerald Green. I love the slight varegations in the yarn. I'm thinking I will regret going with the 2s instead of the 1s, though.

My zipper finally came and it matches perfectly. It went in without a hitch:) BPT is finished just in time for summer in Hawaii, hahaha.

Shroom! Shroom! Shroom!

The Postman brought me the cutest Shroom, from the multi-talented Stacey at Simple Joys stuffed with colorul and tasty candies. Totoro was most amazed and joyful! Small Totoro jumped right in to try Shroom on for size and it fit perfectly. The lid buttons shut and is the perfect place for shy ones to hide.

She crocheted shroom from this pattern from Crochet Me Magazine. I love the red and white.

Thank you, thank you, Stacey!

Check out Stacey's Etsy Shop for her other cool items.

The Cat Hat, FO from First S&B Book

Here it is, the cat hat in hot pink Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton from the generous and driven keohinani of Aloha and Oreos modeled by the ancient and weathered Daruma doll of my childhood. The hat disquises the fact that he has a concussion and the wish associated with this doll is long forgotten.



In the last hurrah of Project Sprectrum Yellow/Orange month I found this yellow "rose" on my neigborhood walk. I don't think it is rose as it has a milky sap.

Can't think of a catchy title, must be Monday.

The orange variety of this orchid thrives in my patio. The red does fairly well, and the purple not at all. It plants it self all over the place and really doesn't need any soil, just something to anchor it. I can count on this to have a few flowers almost everyday of the year.

For lack of FOs to show, here is my handkerchief doll home from the office posing with the pineapple blossum. I found her in an shop marked down as her spool hands were no longer holding her original package. I became obsessed about making some myself and started collecting handkerchiefs. The label on her arm says Heartstrings. There is a phone number, but I never called it. I also never made any dolls as I had some guilt about copying it and also there is a hole cut in the handkerchief, which I just could not bring myself to do. And that's my story ,and I'm sticking to it.
Last year was a very good pineapple year, and I had six which all tasted yummy. This one has the prettiest flower. It's a hybrid.

After seeing all the wonderful lace everyone is knitting, I dug my UFO, The Pacific Northwest Shawl out of the closet. I have knit and un-knit the last panel "trees" three times already. At least the musty closet smell has waned a bit. Currently the project is in negative status. Sigh. It will be a miracle if it looks like the picture.
For comic relief I'm knitting the cat hat from the first S&B book in the hot pink cotton I swapped keohinani for. It needs ears yet.

BPT, the underarm

Here is the underarm of BPT at the request of Knitting Spaz
The labels in my picture are a bit garbled. The "sleeve" labels refer to the front and back raglan which have cables running along them. The cables also run down the side seam of the body and along the underarem. The very center is where stitches get picked up when starting to knit the sleeve. I wasn't exactly sure how my rows to count up before the twist but all in all I liked the result.

A bit of yellow a bit of blue and green

The second spray of my orchid plant opened up and is much more glorious then the first. And here is Daisy drying. I am packing up my craft room to have it remodeled and can't find a single button. Wow, a reason to shop:)


I still need a zipper for my BPT, too.

Meanwhile, my order from Four Seasons Knitting Products came. Lovely, lovely, squishy Koigu. I'm in love! (and so is Totoro!) I wanted a solid for Cascading Leaves. And the blue? I just had to have it. I got a bit of a scare on my first time ordering from Four Seasons when I didn't hear from them, but the owner was away! She even expedited the shipping for me when she returned.


I experimented with cel phone picture sent to Flickr. Ain't technology grand? It's a good example of why more pixels are better! I had to adjust the color since the flower was a very yellow hibiscus.


I miss decorating Easter Eggs with the kids, since they are kids no more. Have a nice Sunday everyone, on this the last of the "chocolate" holidays until Halloween!

Ooh I almost forgot. My mini sushi stitch markers from Amyville arrived. I ordered them after mkcarroll illustrious designer of The Womb showed me hers. They are just so cute!

April Project Spectrum, Bpt Update

Thanks to all who left comments on my Blogiversary.




Here is the sorry state of my April Project Spectrum yarn stash, unless I want to count a couple of leftovers. The Softball cotton was purchased on sale at Liberty House, Ala Moana, which dates this yarn circa 1979. I made several tops from this yarn in different colors and they wore well. I'm not sure what I will make with this yellow, but I have some black, too, so it sure sounds like Bumble Bee something. Boy I miss Liberty House. I spent many a hour browsing the yarn department years ago petting all that sock yarn.



Huckleberry Farms, a local grocer, had some really nice butternut squash. It looked so nice and yellow with carrots in this very hot squash curry. I think I'll try Ms. Lolly's butternut squash soup next time.

And look, The hood of a nearly finished Bpt!! Here it is drying. Let's see, since the ambient humidity today is 50-100%, it could take up to 3 days to dry, if I'm lucky. Then I have to measure and find a zipper to install. I enjoyed knitting this sweater and only had an urge to bolt 1/2 through sleeve one. Cascade 220 Superwash was a joy to knit with in color 828 on size 8 aluminum needles. I could not get a decent picture of the color. Once again I knit a sweater with a very "comfortable" fit. I have short arms and was not able to make all the decreases before I had to stop. If I knit it again, I'll decrease every 5 rows. It is really cool the way the cables come together and split in the armhole. I tried the 3 needle cast off on the hood, but undid it and grafted instead as some others recommended and liked it much better.

I got my first squeeze of Knit Picks in person, thanks to Chris. Feels very nice:) Now, what to knit next?

I made One Year!

I began blogging exactly one year ago on April Fool's Day. Is there a hidden message in there somewhere?
I started blogging during a down time for me...lot's of issues in my life and in desparation decided to blog my way out of it! A lot of my angst got posted in my first blog and the craft blog split off. The first blog is pretty much just an occasional movie review and whine but remains open for any future hills and valleys.
Along the way, I have met some wonderful "imaginary" friends, as twosheep calls them, and some real ones at the Aloha knitters. I've gotten much inspiration from the talented and creative people out there, not just in knitting and crafts, but in life and love, too!
A big ALOHA! to all the wonderful blog sisters out there for sharing their talents and kind words. And, thanks also bloglines and blogger.com for enabling me to connect with them and of course the Internet, still the most amazing invention in my time.


This orchid bloomed in time for Project Spectrum yellow and orange. It is delicate and not a long lasting flower, but when well cared for it can make several sprays at once and the glory makes up for the brief show.