This and That

Although I've started A Better Bucket Hat in Malabrigo worsted, and my Portland Lobster from A Fine Fleece is inching along, I'm having more fun beading.

My blogless beading buddy, Kathy, gifted me a bracelet class for retirement and we made a crystal cuff at Bella Beads, taught by the talented owner, Karen. I had to do mine over again as I goofed on the endings, but it produced a fine sparkly cuff which I'm very pleased with. It's very sparkly!!



I finally sorted all the odds and ends of jewelry makings that had collected on my desk. I made a bunch of angel stitch markers and a row counter. I haven't tried this style row counter yet. It has 5 rings. I don't have a project to try it on yet, but it was fun to make.



After only living in Hawaii most of my life, I finally visited the Makapuu lighthouse. There is memorial nearby for plane that crashed there during WW2 and some left over bunkers. It's a very dry part of Oahu. There were some night blooming sirius (or is it Cereus?) nearby.






I'm considering taking a certification course in health administration. I must say, the thought of going to school again is terrifying! I'm only going to try it if I can do it online. But yikes, I have to commit by next week!

Hats, FO and Noro Love

I've said this before, but I love Noro silk garden. It's one of those yarns that just makes me happy! I especially love the thrilling surprise of the color changes. I can't help myself. Even those little chits and things in the yarn don't annoy me.
Both hats used color 84, but what a difference in the final look.
A smaller obsession has be the beret/tam. What's up with that? It started with that movie.




Pattern: Three Tams. I like that Angela Sixian Wu is an engineer:)
Yarn: Noro silk Garden color 84 and 269
Needles: size 6 circs/DPs

This fake fair isle is very addicting. The double decreases drove me crazy until I read on Ravelry that the last stitch of each circuit becomes part of the the double decrease. It looked very small when finished, but after a soak, it fit on a 10 inch dinner plate to block and actually fits a head!
I used less then one skein of the reds/browns (color 84)




Pattern: Noro Hat by Saartje de Bruijn
Yarn: Noro silk garden, color 84, about 1.5 skeins
Needles: size 7 circs/DPs

This was one of the best times knitting I've had for a while. Color 84 is a wonderful mixtures of reds/browns and pinks which just a tease of green in every skein. If I hold the hat by the point, is stretches out like a cone, but on, it looks like a stylized beehive. The pattern is alternating stockinette and reverse stockinette and only requires thinking to count the simple decreases at the top!

Retirement lessons:
1. If I don't enter information into the palm calendar, I will miss appointments or wait 3 hours for the other members of the party to show up.
2. Always take a recharged camera battery, the ipod and the palm device for those surprise 3 hours waits.. Never mind thinking a smaller bag is more stylish:)
3. Sitting in the Moana hotel on a breezy Hawaiian afternoon is a good thing:)when one has the time.

Random thoughts and WIPs

As I dreamed of retirement I made up lots of scenarios about how much I would get done...I would have house and yard beautiful...all clean and organized. In my mind I had owned a table saw and I'd built all kinds of furniture to store my stashes in...a potting table for my my patio which was devoid of weeds...a boss storage unit for my fabric and fiber (boss...now there's a term that dates me!)and of course I was in training for the marathon and had lost a bunch of weight. The reality of course is that life is the ultimate WIP and a series of random thoughts.

1. I feel good about fixing my clocks.



2. Now I want to make lots of clocks. Totoro clocks, but how many clocks does a person need? Less sawdust and noise, and less chance of injury then a table saw. But really, I don't need another hobby!

3. I can live with the fact the first row of crosses on my Portland Lobster go a different way. I know I will go back eventually and figure out which way they are supposed to go and right this on the front.


4. If there is beach glass, I'll go to the beach. Even if it's "young" beach glass, mostly green and brown. The added benefit is seeing the ocean and sky in it's ever changing jewel tones of greens, blues and people.



5. I will not settle on the chosen colors for the borders and trims on baby Madeleine's sashiko baby futon. It will rest until I find better choices.



6. The current favorite but still virtual dog is a French bulldog. I will not pay $1200 dollars for a dog, though. I miss my birds. A dog is so much responsibility. Although Mr. Cricket is a beautiful and charming dog, he would be dragging me around town, so a smaller dog would fit me better.

7. I liked Dexter, showtime TV series, about a serial killer/vigilante even though in my mind I just couldn't see glorifying a serial killer. Must be the good acting.

8. I'm not a marathoner:) I want to preserve whatever cartilage I have left in my knees for the future.

9. My new approach to yard work is to do only a little at a time. It's less painful that way.

10. Is it true people do not read blogs anymore? I still do. Is everyone on Ravelry? I love the online diary. I like the idea of being able to put pictures on to document my hobbies. My penmanship sucks. I like the virtual world. The struggle is to balance real life and not let it go by while I figure out how to format a post.

Have a great summer!

FO, Tototo TP cover

Yarn: Cascade 220, Red Heart
Pattern: made up on the fly
Needles: 13

I crocheted a base to fit my toilet papaer roll using Red Heart.. I cast on 72 stitches and knit back and forth. I would loved to knit in the round intarsia is impossible in the round. I felted it until it seemed it would be too small if I went on. He came out shaped like a large bell. The white Cascade did not felt as much. I gathered the bottom and sewed it to the crocheted cover, and ending up have to take a big tuck in the back and around his tail. I stuffed him with fiberfill. His face is needle felted on. I watched to make the smile with the big teeth, but he looked rather mean, and Totoro is not ever mean.

This retirement life seems to suit me for now. I'm cleaning bit by bit and purging a few things. My retirement company has still not sent me my information but my financial planner took me to lunch at the Outrigger Canoe Club. It is a wonderful spot on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki. It was an outrageously beautiful day and I ate a wonderful hamburger with bacon, mushrooms and caramelized onions. Malabrigo and Ultra Totoro went home with him for his daughter.




Thanks again for all the comments!

Tomorrow is the Fourth of July

Happy Birthday America!


I made only one set of stitch markers so far. I may have time to make more. It's one week into my retirement and the revelation is that my house is still messy. Apparently just being retired doesn't turn into house beautiful. The secret is that I'm supposed to spend all that time I used to be at work cleaning...not shopping, dreaming or going to movies. I decided not to get serious until all my lovely flowers have died...and I've had time to veg. I've heard that can be dangerous as sloth is contagious. I've also come to the conclusion that I cannot eat all the junk food I received as gifts as it is counter to my plan to be more healthy. I'm slowing giving it away. I'm sad about that. I really want to eat all those chocolate covered cherries. They are fruit, arent they?

Portland Lobster is inching along. It's muggy and warm these days and not conducive to wool and alpaca.

And besides, there is a FO! Here is:

They call me Malabrigo
Yarn: Malabrigo bunny, Cascade 220 sweater, sticker of flag on sweater
Pattern: Fuzzymitten.com Easter Bunny, Barbara Prime
Needles: size 7




Just in time for the Fourth of July! I think about how grateful I am to have been born an American, although technically Hawaii was a territory when I was born. I think about our American forces and the lives lost overseas and the injured returning home. I hope they can all come home soon.

Thanks for all the comments and well wishes on my retirement. It's still a bit surreal.

The First Day of Retirement

Yesterday was my last day of work. There was a barbecue with sooo much food! ...tempura king crab legs, edamame salad, Maile's famous pumpkin roll, tabbouleh salad and so much more! I was stuffed to the gills.

My house looks like a florist.




It was all so final...turning in the parking pass, the ids, the computer token, my beeper and doctors coats. I emptied out my desk and brought Yorick home. He's lost his patella. I thought it was stored in his cranium, but alas...poor Yorick! He seems quite happy though anyway and ready for whatever comes up next.



Today, it still seems like a dream. The plan is to get my house together and get ready for the chapter 2, in which the Acornbud knits, finished up those other crafty WIPs, gets healthier and suddenly becomes a good housekeeper and gardener. Well, number 1 and 2 for sure:) And of course I have to use all those gift cards! Hmmm...oh oh, the Cheesecake Factory.

Black Koigu Broken Rib Socks

Pattern: Sensational Socks, broken 2x2 rib. K2P2 around, then K then next row around.
64 stitches.
Needles: size 1 Clover 5" dps. I tried the Hiyahiya short circs, but wasn't very comfortable on them.
Yarn: Koigu in black

These socks hibernated a bit but were rescued and completed in Kona. It was hard to to get inspired by the black yarn, so practical, but not so fun to knit, even in sproingy, wonderful Koigu.

I hit Kona early so hung out in Borders for lunch and the AC. I read about A Fine Fleece and had talked myself out of it, as I don't spin, but it is a wonderful book and I had a gift card! Yay! My Ultra Alpaca Lobster Mix Forest River Gansey was languishing unloved so I frogged it and started up Portland Pullover. It is a much better pairing!

The Hapuna Beach Prince was under construction so I was given a resort credit daily! YAY. I love the brunch and ate the best bread pudding I ever had, not to mention the fresh strawberries with bowls of whipped cream. It was so quiet and relaxing. I slept, walked the beach, read 2 books, finished my socks and attended the conference on Pediatric topics. The Hapuna Beach is the best beach on the the Big Island. It is surrounded by old lava flows. Waterworld was filmed not far from here and the ocean can be an incredible blue at times.
These red flowers were in bloom all over the place.

On the last day I drove around to Hilo. The Yarn Basket was open, but the owner was not in. I didn't have a lot of time there, but enjoyed squishing all the different yarns. I was tempted sorely by the silky wool.

At night I was serenaded by the e. coqui They are quite a nusiance, but didn't bother my sleep. I totally fell for this exotic goat, Nani. He was named Nani, a girl's name, but turned out to be a boy. I thought he was so unusual with his red hair and horns, only to learn he was painted! He acts more like a dog then a goat. I never noticed what unusual eyes goats have. Nani always seems to be smiling, too.


Hilo has a wonderful open market. It's a great litchee season in Hilo and the Big Island is known for its papayas. The anthuriums and orchids are amazing. I was only in Hilo one day, but managed to have the taro hash and pancakes at Encore. Yum!
This sign in the restaurant is made of a thousand gold cranes.

The Countdown says 12 calendar days!

I tried really hard to think of an appropriate retirement gift for myself, and finally settled on a roll of stamps for mailing thank you notes, a fine leather good as I was in need of check book cover, and some yarn and yarn goodies. I decided to buy local.
The first day I contacted Sue at Isle Knits, she did not answer the phone. I was sure it was karma, and so tried to find something good at Little Knits or Webs online. After cruising the thrift store with Angela and Kim, and stuffing my face with meat jun at Yummy's, I tried Sue again. As it turns out she was in and said something is wrong with her phone! So I went down and parked in a brand new parking structure beneath one of those humongous complexes that just went up downtown, and Sue just happened to be in the lobby getting her mail. Now that's karma:) Anyway, I had the whole store to myself as it was a Hawaiian holiday.

I tried hard to come up with yarn for St. Brigid, with no luck. So I decided to make myself happy with some Noro silk garden for some little projects, and a couple skeins of Totoro like colors in Donegal Aran Tweed by Debbie Bliss. I also purchased some Berroco Linen Jeans in beet root to make February Lady Sweater.

Sue talked me into trying those very tiny 8 inch circs for socks. I also go some of those tubey things to put sock needles and projects on, and a small needle gauge for my notions box.

All in all a good haul, except for St. Brigid which will just have to wait.

After I return from my Big Island trip where I plan to bask in the sun and knit and read, I have only 3.5 working days. I suspect that is why I think constantly about consuming large bowls of whipped cream with fresh strawberries. Stress eating over leaving the source of my stress behind.

Summer seemed "on" for a few days and it looked like it was really going to be a warm one. Then some rain came and today it is overcast and not quite so warm. I find myself obsessed with the whole pre-retirement thing. The first thing that went is my housekeeping. Never a priority for me, but it's hit an all time low. I may just kill myself tripping over shoes that never got put away. I've made some feeble efforts at doing laundry and putting dishes away, and at least no houseplants have been neglected to death. I actually cooked a meal. The next victim of neglect was my exercise. I had a sorethroat and bodyaches yesterday so at least I can spread that excuse over at least two days. I tell myself soon, I will have a lot of time on my hands!

So I'm practicing for retirement by focusing on some TV and movie watching, knitting, some reading, thank you notes, and perhaps one email to that supervisor I just got off on the wrong foot with. There is no point in worrying about the financial part, the part time job, or any of that at this point! It's do or die:)

I've finished The Book Thief, and I'm half way through A Thousand Splendid Suns. This book is very captivating so far. Next in my reading queue is Twilight. My Netflix queue has almost 300 things in it so I won't run out anytime soon. I'm watching Atsuhime and Battlestar Galactica on the tube.

Opal came back from a long trip which included the Maryland Sheep and Wool and returned bearing gifts. I have a cool tube of roving for my needlefelting adventures! Thanks, Opal!


I was gifted this green bag full of local style goodies and it has become a great little bag for knitting while watching TV! The goodies didn't last long. I could say who it was from but not with the privacy act. Thats the River Forest Gansey WIP in Ultra Alpaca Lobster Mix. The color doesn't show too well.


More gifts!
A hand quilted zippered bag, cupcake bag from Cinnamon Girl, printed grocery bag, and large purse with outside pockets. I will not run out of bags for awhile!
My 8 inch square has run into problems.
Unless I find a maverick ball in my stash, or frog my Fetchings, I don't have enough yarn to finish the icords. Oh well, it is almost one inch too big anyway. Sigh. I liked the color, Cascade 220 Heathers.

M first beret attempt, Tweed Beret


Pattern by Kristin TenDyke, in IK Winter 2006
Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca
Needles: size 6
This is a top down beret. I added the nubbin on the top instead of the two she has in the original. I'm not quite sure I got the decreases corret. She has a nice ribbing pattern to narrow the beret down to the headband which is stockinette that curls up by its self. I made the large, but I think I needed to keep increasing a bit so it would flounce out more. Either that or my head not the beret type. The head band fit just right. My target hat from The Wind that Shakes the Barley is felted, too.

I've been tagged

I got tagged by terby

1.) What was I doing ten years ago?
In 1998 I had two boys in high school. I was in my 18th year working for Kaiser Hawaii as a Family doc.

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
organize a bit of my mess
knit on my River Forest Gansey
finish this meme:)
clean my fireplace
Shop for my retirement present. So far I've thought about new TV, fireplace screen, laptop, rewiring my patio and lighting, table for dining room, step tansu. Currently fireplace screen is winning, but rewiring the patio is coming in a close second.


3) Snacks I enjoy:
- chocolate
- nuts
- strawberries

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
- pay off my mortgage and fix up the house!
- get my sons set up in their own places
- travel in my private jet
- donate to help feed and educate others
- I'd buy a little yarn;)

5) Places I have lived:
Hawaii, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky

6) Jobs I have had:
Emergency Room registrar. Yup I had to ask bleeding, drunk and laboring people if they had insurance. It was better then working in the collection department though.
Family Physician, Kaiser
General Chemistry teaching assistant
pineapple packer, Dole Cannery (I only lasted two weeks)

7) Peeps I want to know more about:
sunflowerfairyknits
eklectika
theknittedbrow
lilikoiknits
yarnoverpullthrough

That Hat

How many of you out there in blogland watch a movie and get sidetracked by a knit? I was very distracted by a beret in blue that starred in The Wind That Shakes the Barley.
It's a bit hard to see. It has a nubbin on the top and a garter hem. I have more Ultra Alpaca crying out to be this hat. Sigh. Well see. The movie itself was set in the 1920s in Ireland. Brothers are caught in a conflict I still don't quite understand. It was sad.

I was totally surprised on Sunday with a "graduation" party as I like to call it.. I mean really surprised! I would have dressed better and worn some make up if I'd known. It was an awesome brunch with tons of flowers and best of all, I didn't have to make any speeches. I haven't had this many leis since I graduated from high school. There's no turning back now!

Ultra Totoro

Night shot in the box
A couple more are on Flickr
More photos for the beadlizard





Posing with epidendrums.

Saturday Sky Haiku

A moon rise surprise
Peaceful moments here then gone
Golden memory

Stash busting that eyelash yarn, Straw Lei

I used some cording I had laying around, but Isabelle used 3/8 inch grograin ribbon.
She also recommend the McDoogle (aka golden arches) straw because it is sturdy and wide enough to thread the grograin through.
I used the tube part of my fabric tube turner which I have misplaced since making the leis, and so the demo shows a drinking straw.

	Cut the ribbon longer then you want the lei to be and thread it throught he straw. Tape the end down to the straw. Tie the end of the yarns to the straw Isa used two, I used three.
	Grasp the knot and the straw and start winding the yarn around. Do not let the yarn wind over the previous wrap. Wrap so the loops are consistent, but lax enough to slide down the straw.
	Push the wraps down firmly toward the knotted end.
	When the straw is filled up, push the packed wraps on to the ribbon.

Repeat all the steps until your lei is as long as you want.

To finish, Isabelle (blogless) threads the ends of the grograin ribbin through shells and a
kukui nut,
and the wearer ties the ends into a bow to wear. I tied my ends together and the wearer slips the lei over their head. A ribbon bow can be tied on.

Seems to me that this can be done over elastic and made into hair thingies. I'm sure it´s been done:)


Ben Franklin Hawaii has nice instructions for a straw lei with beads.

Top Down Cardigan, FO

Pattern: Neck Down Shaped Cardigan #241 by Diane Soucy. Published by Pure and Simple.
Yarn: Berocco Ultra Alpaca, about 5.5 skeins.
Needles: 6s and 4s.
Mods: none

This is an easy pattern of mostly stockinette which was welcome humdrum. It' top down so the lack of seaming is a real plus. The raglan is not the best for my round shoulders, especially viewing from the back, but I love the top down idea. The yarn is very soft and fun to knit with. The color is called tanzanite. The sweater is very warm so I don't know how much wear it will get, but it is so comfy.

One month and 12 days until my retirement date. Getting all the paperwork done is annoying. I'm trying to focus on my mantra, "Grace, Gratitude and Acknowledgment" and soon:


I went to see Ironman last night with my sons. I enjoyed the action, story, acting and best of all the special effects.