Norovember, 25 days Until Christmas!

The latest Totoro is posing with my son's flowers. He ruptured his appendix on Saturday and just came home yesterday. People from work sent him this lovely candy bouquet. I being the mom worried and lost sleep and I'm so grateful he is smiling and joking around again. Totoro is smiling, too...I think he ate all the candy, yummy dark, Nestle's chocolate.



Needless to say, the knitting and blogging took a back seat to the real life drama. I found knitting with Noro in this repeat Diagonal Scarf from Acorn Street pattern, made me happy as the different colors bloomed. These two balls were nothing like each other, and the end result was quite different then the first Diagonal Scarf I made.





I managed a cozy for my humongous mp3 player out of the handspun-hand-dyed mohair from Kai. I started the bottom like a toe up sock and made an attached icord at the top. I tried making a Kumihimo cord but the mohair would not hold up the bobbins and kept breaking, so now I have to decide on a cord. I like the way the oranges turned out.

And here it is, on the verge of December. 25 Days:) Thanks everyone for your well-wishes.

I See Cork People

While traversing the acorn forest with his Chinese cousin, Corky came to realize that only he saw cork people!

Pattern from Manne, translated by SaartjeKnits. Yarn from Kai, obtained during the great Aloha Knitter giveaway, 100% handspund/dyed mohair. I was surprised to find that some "corks" are synthetic now. I erased the markings with sandpaper. And no, I did not drink 5 bottles of wine, knitters honor!

Thank you for all your well wishes. I am now at the stage of this cold where I think I may live and don't feel the need to whine constantly.

Knitting Iris had the most fun post about acorns. I am now obsessing on the Wee Folk.

Stitcher Markers

While stewing in viremia yesterday I watched Battlestar Galactica while working on Rogue sleeves. I had decided nothing fancy, knit 2 at once on straight needles, use the k1p1 rib facing instead of the bias hem, don't knit it up and all would well. Well I did the turning row on the wrong side. I finished the graph and am trying to convince myself that the hem will turn okay. Well I keep thinking of Elizabeth Zimmerman and her saying that if something can be knit in the round it should be. It must be karma, that I messed up the turning row. I am meant to knit the sleeves in the round. But, frogging is so hard to psych up for sometimes, especially since JoSharp Silk Aran Road may shred while frogging.

Just like it is karma I'm sick. I whined so much about work lately I no doubt brought it on myself. I took my flu shot and all, so I don't know what happened.
Must be the negative energy I generated.

I got out the old pliers and made some stitch markers. A girl can't have too many of those, you know, and it they sparkle, all the better! I will channel that positive energy in and hope to be well in time for Thanksgiving. I have so much to be thankful for:)

Trying to Buy Inspiration

My new yarn purchases are all in. Lamb's pride for a hat, probably Knitty's Coronet Hat like Rachel is knitting. The Jo Sharp in black is for Cherry
a project instigated by one of my fellow Aloha Knitters. I plan to make it for my hair stylist who is a very tiny woman. Yay! The Rowanspun wool in DK and 4 ply are just some impulse buys that are destined for some unknown Aran sweater. Hope I bought enough. I scored the handspun mohair in the great color from Kai. I don't know what it's going to be. The Mission Falls wool was from Shteeni's Destash. I suspect it will be fingerless mittens or perhaps a Clapotini. I hope some of my jewelry sold at the craft fair my friend took it to. That will help balance all this mad spending!

I have knit very little since casting on Rogue's two sleeves. Work has been no fun at all, I'm coming down with a cold and I'm still trying to put back all the stuff I got out of the craft room for the bathroom fix. At least I got all the Lego's washed. My sister is going back home tonight. Last night we all had great Pho at the Green Papaya at King and Dillingham in Kalihi. Today she made her famous cheeseball and also raspberry margarita's in the Magic Bullet. We also did some shop therapy at the Aloha Stadium Swap meet. I picked up some Hello Kitty cel phone charms I never seem to have enough of, and a couple of crosses to make rosaries with. It was a beautiful day.






There was some action around the yard. Bird of Paradise was blooming. It has stuggled in this location but blooms anyway. I don't know if it's the runoff from above, too wet or the shade. The seed pods fascinated me as a child. They are such an outrageous shape and color...round black seed with bright orange tuft.



Starfruit, or carambola, is such a beautiful fruit. It's just hard to give away. There are a few people who really like it, but mostly I just like the shape when it is cut up. My neighbors tree is loaded right now.



It's time for the purple orchid to go crazy blooming. The longan tree is fruitless again but has become home to lots of moss and staghorn ferns.


And there it goes, another day closer to Thanksgiving!

Ramblings of Analysis Paralysis

There has been a dearth of knitting and crafting of any sort at my place. Blue Skye bear has been frogged, Noro wristlets have been frogged, and Rogue lays neglected and and sleeveless in his little basket.

My sister flew in today and as my folks are remodeling, she asked to stay with me. Yikes! Cleaning frenzy! I let go of the Nintendo Power magazines, cleaned out the remnants of son number 1 and put on the topper for the hard as a rock bed. I am washing the Legos which have collected dust. I must have a billion or two. I have a whole drawer full to go. Luckily they have a new home.

I'm beginning to eye my bag ladies and wondering if it's time for them to retire from the bag business.



I discovered today that I have been forgetting to pluck my eyebrows. Yish, whoever invented that bit of torture!

I was trying to dazzle blogdom with a sunset in paradise, but by the time I found the camera, the sun was down.



What does it all mean? I can ponder and introspect, or I can just go to bed.

At least I knocked a few thing off the to do list. I filled out the insurance form, bought stamps, called the plumber, and "organized".


And my sister came in and brought be a Bullet ! Can whipped cream, salsa and margaritas be far behind?

Tofu Salad

1 block of tofu, cut into cubes
1 sm. can of red salmon, remove skin and bones if you like, crumbled
1/2 sliced round onion (sweet onions to taste)
2 tomatoes, chopped
chopped watercress
Layer in pan or bowl in order.

Heat dressing to boiling then pour over.
scant 1/2 cup of soy sauce
1 clove crushed garlic
1/4 cup salad oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon mirin

Garnish with
toasted sesame seeds
green onions (scallions) if you like


My grandma from Maui used to make this. It lends itself to many variations.

More Totoro adventures with Handspinning

Now that Socktober is over, sigh, I am in project limbo. I started the Blue Sky bear, but the yarn from my stash in very uninspiring and I can't seem to pick it up even though it has only one leg to go.
I washed and dried my first spindle full of yarn spun from the blue roving on my Ashford drop spindle from the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. I experimented with some shaping and knit on ears, but I think other ears have been better. The large one really has more cat-like ears. At least Totoros do not make fun of other Totoros, they are just not like that. I toyed with the idea of felting the Totoro...maybe another time.
I received a really nice gift from the world's best hair stylistMisa, at Paul Brown Honolulu. She returned from her trip to Japan with a hand towel, paperclip jar and bag charm. They are just too cute.

Hmmm, what can I make for Norovember with two balls of Silk Garden?

SockFish

SockFish
Pattern: The Giving Flower

This was my first fish. The pattern was very clear and had nice illustrations. I sewed the eyeballs on wrong the first time giving him a very mixed up look. Luckily the stitch witchery came off and I applied stuffed felt eyes with buttons. I haven't decided on the strap yet. I used some black brush denim from my stash. Under the fins are pockets. How very clever:)

In order to get these buttons, I was forced to stop at Ben Franklin, where of course I found the last pair of dp needles in any size, which just happened to be size 10.5, the size I needed. I also purchased Pursenalities and 2 skeins of Cascade 220, all in under 15 minutes. Is that not impulse spending or what?

I came across a Destash. Shteeni is selling her stash so she can take up spinning and walk in the The Avon 2 Day Breast Cancer Walk.

Swimming with the Fishes

Jess Hutchinson Odd Man, swimming with his yellow friend in the STR Sea.

Soggy Wednesday

Today is was one of those days. Maybe it was the fact that I have to back to work tomorrow, or maybe it was the fact that it is humid beyond belief today, I don't know. My refrigerator project has been dragging on. The person installing it measured wrong and had to some dry wall surgery...then there is the priming and the painting, and all that. This is the second day he said he would come (actually a pattern for him) but he didn't show up. I drove over the Pali for my massage which was a little bit of heaven:). On the way back, the traffic was detoured as the mountain on the other side of the Pali tunnel fell down and the whole road was closed. I tried another road but it was closed. I then missed my turn and got on H3 instead of Likelike. The water was coming off the mountains in huge waterfalls, always an awesome sight. There were dozens of them!

My craft room project (was to become a bedroom, now going back to the craft room) is nearly done, but I need a 28.5 inch tall something to hold up the other side of my table (a board with a cut out for my sewing machine. I looked at those nifty folding sewing desks, but at 700-1000 dollars, I decided the ole board would do. But no luck. I set up my sewing machine on a table and made the Amy Butler Swing bag. It is larger then I thought, but a nice size. The strap construction was a bit tricky .





The hat is a mini-hat, probably more likely to be a felted bag then a hat, but I liked the way the left-over Noro Kureyon worked up in the stripes. I also finished the Socks That Rock neck sock. It turned out 60 inches long. None of the photos came out very well as it is so cloudy today.

Now I don't know what to do. I have an email out to Kimberley of the Giving Flower to buy her SockFish pattern. I'm treading water knitting another hat, and have Rogue sleeves to contend with, but nothing is really calling to me yet. I still have disk 6 and 7 of second Season lost to watch and of course there is always house organizing. And oh yikes, time to cook dinner.

It was just one of those days.

Socktober 2006

socktober2
Originally uploaded by acornbud.

Pattern: Conwy, Nancy Bush, Knitting on the Road
The Knitting: Size 1, two at once, magic loop, Koigu. I started from the sixty stitches after the calf shaping as I wanted a shorter sock.
Comments: Fun pattern and very classic. It has a pointy toe which is different then I'm used to, but I haven't washed them yet.


Finished in time:)

Rogue and the Coffee Bean Man

My cousin sent me a link to the The Man in the Coffee Bean Brain Test and I tried it out on several co-workers after personally taking way over 3 minutes to find the man. Only one other person took a while and everyone else was under 3 seconds, and one just spotted him immediately. I am trying to fixate on the fact that the test is unproven rather then that my right brain is broken. But sometimes I wonder.
Case in point. Take Rogue hoodie. I have grafted the top of the hood and after the first try I realized I twisted the last row incorrectly. I decided to redo it. And, there it is! One unruly stitch. The overactive left brain has created guilt! The right brain is saying "whateveh, whateveh", "there is beauty in im-perfections", and "if you frog that one more time, your yarn will fall apart" but the left brain is telling ,me "it just doesn't line up neatly and so everything is ruined!" "Everyone will notice!". "How can you even think to give that as gift when it ain't perfect!!!"

Whew, no wonder I get tired sometimes...all this drama going on. I'm trying to change, honest I am. I like to take a lesson from nature. If I examine these flowers carefully they are not "perfect". There are spots on the leaves and the buds are not uniform. But they are beautiful nonetheless, and unique, like every creation.


And there it is, one of those irrational ideas I have about myself and perfection I just have to let go! Now that I see the coffee bean man, I will never be able to not see him:)

Leia's Family Album

I am thankful to Leia's cousins who allowed me to photograph the Leia hat. I used a little over two skeins of Plymouth Yukon, the only bulky yarn I could find. I ended up casting on 60 stitches instead of the 66. This made for a very warm head cover. May the force be with you!

Socktober socks are at least started in Koigu using Conway from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road. I like my socks shorter, so I started after the calf shaping with 60 stitches, and started two with magic loop in hopes of actually finishing two by the end of this month. The color did not photograph well. The ever Fabulous Ms. Lolly interviewed Nancy Bush for the Socktober festivities.

I finished a ChemoHat using Inside out Hat from Head Huggers in Plymouth Oh My. This is a very soft yarn but it shed a lot while I was knitting it and the ends came apart like serger tails do before I finished the hat. I sewed them in so I hope they hold.


The Hawaii International Film Festival starts tomorrow for me. I have tickets to 7 filmings over the next week, but may attend more. I hope to do some knitting in between movies.

Thanks for the comments and emails:)

On Sunday, I was sitting at my computer finishing some work when the house shook and for a brief moment I thought it would never stop. Then the computer shut down and there was an island side black out. My power did not come back on until 1 am the next day. It was inconvenient but I'm so grateful there were no people lives lost. I knit a bit, did some Sudoku, watched Galaxy Quest on my Palm Pilot, read some, and slept.
I appreciate all the comments and emails I recieved. Bloggers are the best!

The next part is sad, so some of you may want to stop here.


My only casualty here was my son's fish. We tried to figure out how old they were. Mr. Manini was about 1/2 inch long and grew to 7 inches. Mr. Aholehole was 3/4 inch and grew to 13.5 inches. He caught them at the beach when he was 8, like so many kids do here, but his fared quite well under his diligent care. He is 22 now. I have not been able to find out how long these fish live. Perhaps in the wild it is shorter due to predators. We are sad. Many times during their stay with us we thought of returning them to the sea, but then, they were used to having regular meals and knew they wouldn't know how to fend for themselves.
Lesson learned: If you have fish, make sure the back up pump is battery operated.

Yesterdays sunset.

Rogue Excuses and woolarina Wonders

Rogue is resting again at the hood level. It is darn hot and muggy here and it's Socktober. A few meager rows happen occasionally if I'm in AC. The plan is to work on it more during November and have it done by December 18. Anyway, that's the plan.
(The color is difficult to photograph)

So far during Socktober I have managed to buy yarn, such as this cushy, colorful Raspberry Bramble woolarina superwash merino and roll up two balls of Koigu for the proposed Socktober creation.



While Totoro and his friends admire the yarn I am still amusing myself with STR "neck sock", and have started a Leia hat, after being amazed by Michelle from Aloha Knitters glow in the dark Hallowig. Hope to get some pictures of that! I want to make one ore Chemo Hat, too.

Rogue Interrupted

A friend came over to make baskets with me. I had not made any for awhile but cleaning out the craft room has resulted in all the supplies being out and available. It's been a while since I made one and I think hers, her first one ever, came out pretty nice. It's the one on the right.

Jen new to blogdom has drummed up the Aloha Knitters to make Chemo Hats. This is my first attempt. It's very purple, but its stuff I had in my stash. It's Sue Thompson's Ringed/Ridged Hat off the Head Hugger's site. My long tail cast one was short 14 stitches so I had to wing the decreases on the top as I was too lazy to frog the cast on. I'm not sure it's appropriate for a chemo hat unless the person is very devoted to purple or maybe a child.

It's muggy, hot, stick to your seat kind of weather today. Too hot to work on Rogue;)

Today's Sky

Driving to Aloha Knitters tonight from work was very inspiring. On the East side, the moon over Olomana was peaceful and idyllic. Looking toward the Pali was a show of clouds and perhaps a jet trail. I'm not sure the streaks are natural, but who knows? On the West side the sunsetting clouds appeared to be moving toward the eye of a maelstrom.

We had a lusty discussion of religion, knitting chemo hats and cow bags. I just know we are on the verge of solving the issue of World Peace:)

Spinning for Totoros

I got to try out Jill's wheel once and also tried my hand at drop spindle after reading a book and visiting online sites such as Interweave Knits . After trying out the beginning Spinning class at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival, I decided I on another drop spindle kit. I also purchased a niddy noddy. (I have some notion I will skein some Paton's cotton I have in my stash and dye it...but then that's another story)

Spinning was fun and I will probably keep trying. Using the wheel involved too many things at once for me to pick up quickly, rather like playing the piano.
I finally finished the rest of my roving from the class, then soaked and dried it.
According to the instructions, the yarn may "bloom" some in the bath. Well it sure did!. I have thicknesses from extra super bulky to cobweb, all in one ball. So what can a girl do? I was reassured at Aloha Knitters, that "thick and thin" is in! So I present, Thick and Thin Totoros.


I finally picked up Rogue and I'm working on the hood. Socktober starts today. I'm thinking Conway from Knitting on the Road in Koigu.

Waah, I have to go back to work tomorrow. What is it I used to do for a living? I have had so much fun this vacation, I want to be on vacation permanently;)

Thursday's Sky, and Two scarfs

I actually did finish another project on the road...Trinity, traveling vine scarf is done. The pattern looks good on both sides, imo.

When I ordered the STR on impulse, I didn't ask about the difference between medium and light weight, and ordered the medium weight which was way too thick for socks. I started the Here and There Cables scarf from Wrap Style, but cast on 18 stitches less then recommended on size 6 needles, ending up with a very narrow, thick and somewhat stiff "neck sock". It somehow does not seem appropriate for a scarf, but between the color and the wonderful pleasure of the yarns feel, smell and and color (County Clare), I just can't stop knitting this.

Today's sky at dusk made into a mosaic with Flickr Toys, just because it's so much fun. The moon shot was "enhanced" with automatic photo fix. It is amazing how all this sky action goes on simultaneouly!

Thursday's Sky
Originally uploaded by acornbud.

I had a fun night with the Aloha Knitters stitchin' and bitchin'. Knitting is way better the booze, heh. No hangover and we still are witty, philosophical and funny:) but we plan to try both booze and knitting soon!

Vacation, how sweet it is!

Being at home and still on vacation is the best! I started a new book, "Where the Heart Is" by Billie Letts, recommended by my sister, I have cleaned out two closets and worked a little on the mildew solution, and I get to reflect on my trip and enjoy all the pictures I took. I am posting most of it on my other blog Not Another Hareball starting with the 9/23/06 post, and there is more to come.


I did succumb to the Amy Butler brouhaha. It was purely to support the Coupeville quilt shop, The Sundown Quilt Shop I swear! Now I have to think about getting the sewing machine out, sigh.


I made the Kureyon Kozy from the silk garden left over from Klarlund. My only teapot has a handle 90 degree from the spout so it is modeled here by a pitcher. It's kind of tiny, and I haven't figured out the closure. It was a fun quick knit even with the unmatched sides.


I actually took time to shop and cook since I am off and made Gypsy Soup from Mollie Katzen's Moosewood Cookbook. I used kale, butternut squash and tomatoes. It is quite hearty and sweet.

A Fantastic Knit Coat

I met a creative and beautiful self proclaimed "free form knitter" on my trip and she modelled her fantastic creation. This coat is knit of multiple yarns and is soft and luxurious to touch and just the ticket for a cool almost fall day. The collar is alpaca and just sets the whole thing off. She looked amazing in it. This woman is talented!

Believe it or not, I actually read two whole books on the trip. I also got introduced to Sudoku and burned up a lot of erasers:). I found a copy of Knitting on the Road, on my last walk through the Barnes and Nobles Knitting section, so I figured it was karma and bought it. I visited Prairie Lights , a cool independent book store in Iowa City.

Pink in Wildefoote Elderberry

Pink in Wildefoote Elderberry
Originally uploaded by acornbud.

All very nice you say, but what about the knitting? The Knitting Tree is under new ownership. There was no wall of Koigu and no Trekking, but they had a pile of Malabrigo that I lusted after. In the end again, I could not decide on a colorway, but I did take away some lovely Koigu. Since I know everyone is here for the yarn porn and not the travelogue, here they are, along with the Koigu from Weaving Works in Seattle, on the second leg of my trip.


I have to confess, I only finished one project on the road, Pink in Wildefoote, Elderberry. I wore these before washing and blocking as it was chilly for this Hawaiian up north.



Yikes I messed around with flicker and now all the comments are gone! Waaah.

If they shear those sheep, don't they get cold in the winter?

My creation
Originally uploaded by acornbud.

There is no place like home, but visiting friends and family while on vacation is pretty durn close! I had a great time visiting, eating, shopping, sightseeing and did I mention eating?

Fist stop was Wisconsin to visit my sister and her husband in Madison.

The Wisconsin Sheep Breeder Co-op has a fall festival and my sister and I took the beginning spinning class. We were in Denise Curry's Saturday morning class (I don't see us in the picture but I think there are two of the afternoon class, and none of ours, so no sense looking:) We used a PVC, two treadle wheel made by Nels Wiberg. Read his story in the May/June 2006 issue of Sheep Magazine . It was tough trying to pedal and draft at the same time. I got a better feel of how the wool drafts out, but made another curly ball of yarn. I didn't have much time to go around to see the vendors, but I got my niddy noddy and a drop spindle starting kit from a pretty lady in a bonnet at the Mielkes Farm booth. I found some Trekking but only a few colors color so I had to pass. I hovered over some lovely cobweb lace yarn, but again couldn't decide on a color, alas. We went around the and saw the sheep, llama and alpaca. I somehow thought sheep were much smaller then they were in person. Back home I tried out the drop spindle and the yarn looks a bit more like yarn now, but the skein is not growing very fast. If I was responsible for clothing my family for the winter, they'd all freeze. We'd have to sleep with the sheep in the barn! They look pretty warm and cuddlly except for the naked ones that had been shorn. I hope they get to spend winter in a warm barn because the canvas sweaters they had one didn't look too warm. I'll have to go back another year and learn more about these sheep since I'm getting a bit worried about them running around out there without their coats!
I resisted the temptation to take up needle felting, but I saw some very cute critters made by that technique. Hmm and there were classes, too!
My sister is an exercise devotee. I packed my gym clothes in case of rain, but the first day it was was balmy in Madison so we walked around the Pheasant Branch Conservatory That afternoon the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and it was cool and cloudy when we drove to Iowa City to visit my niece and also when we drove to Chicago to see King Tut. I am sorry to say mapquest didn't help us in our drive through the Windy City! Since my other niece was on call we decided to drive back and experienced the gridlock around Ohare Airport. But, we made it back alive!

Wisconsin, here I come!

As I get ready for this trip, the things on my mind are, what knitting to take, what size needles, and what patterns.
Do I take minimal stuff and just buy as I go? Shall I take Rogue, bulky project that it is? How many fingerless gloves do I really need to knit? They just seem the perfect size project for the road.
I wound the STR into a ball, so that is definitely going and I have the Pink restarted on size 1s to go. I have a few patterns in a folder ready to travel with me. And what about Omiyage ?...my sister said not to bring her anything, but if I don't will I be riddled with guilt? (she already has fingerless gloves;)

My other thoughts involve my gadgets. The trusy Neuros mp3 player is charged. Do I need the Ipod Shuffle, too? My spanking new Palm TX has two movies and it's one month of free T-mobile wi-fi. My camera battery is charged, but do I need the charger? And my phone, too.Then of course there is the electric toothbrush. Do I take it or not. Do I hand carry all my chargers or pack them in the bag? Decisions, decisions.

I never left this rock until I went off to college. My parents did not take me off to school to get me started. Just my mom and friends saw me off to Iowa at the airport. My big sister and her husband were in school in Iowa, and drove me down to Kansas and got me settled. Getting prepared to travel didn't seem like such a big thing back then. Oh for those carefree days of youth!


Shetland Triangle, my first completed knit lace shawl, modelled here by yellow Teletubbie. Not the best photo, but finding the right light to show off the pattern in this dark yarn was a real challenge and blogger flipped it sideways again. I tried the photo in the mirror trick as my photographer was "too busy".(Bah) but that didn't work out. I made it too small. I expected it to stretch a lot more, but it was an encouraging project in the end, and who knows what lovely lace weight I will find on the road? And, of course there is the lovely Jaggerspun Zephyr calling me from The Knitter.com in many lucious colors.



The coffee beans across the road are turning red.

The cloudy days continue to produce spectacular sunsets and as the sun sinks slowly in the West, (tee hee), I mean as the sun sinks slowing in the West!!!
the Acornbud is leaving the desktop. Happy knitting to all you wonderful bloggers and commenters! See you in a couple of weeks.