Leaves, water and relaxation

It has been awhile since I did an official knitting update and I know you are all on the edges of your seats with anticipation, so I thought I better not hold off any longer. I have made very poor progress with Forest Floor (aka my Birch). I am done with the first repeat and you can see the life line I ran *just in case*. I was feeling like the life line wasn't really necessary, but I am still finding my stitches (and the pattern for that matter) very difficult to see through the "haze". As not wanting to temp fate, I opted for the life line.

I have mostly been distracted from Forest Floor because of Oceania. I suppose that should mean that Oceania should get the next point in their little competition, but I'm reserving judgement until after I take a gander at the fine poetry they are in the process of whipping up. I have been distracted because I was ever so steadily inching along on the back of Oceania. The goal being to finally combine the two halves into a round ribby whole. It was starting to seem like I was NEVER going to finish, but apparently the relaxation provided to me by Glen Ivy on Tuesday was all I needed. After knitting what only seemed to be another couple of rows, all of a sudden I was a repeat too long! When I got home, I got the two tops evened out and have been knitting round and round ever since.

I would say that I have about an inch and a half of the ribbing right now and when I hold it up to me, I think the length will turn out perfect. I ended up deciding to knit the smallest size widthwise and the next size up lengthwise to account for my *longish* torso.

Oh, and about that spa day...soooo nice. It only cost us $35 to enter for the whole day, which included all the pools, hot springs, jacuzzis, saunas, lounge chairs, water, towels, showers and locker room facilities you could possible want to use. It also included the very fun Red Mud Extravaganza (aka Club Mud, but I like my name better). I have always loved to play in the mud as a kid, so I was in hog heaven. I was lucky enough to find a decent looking (and very cheap - thank you Old Navy) black swimsuit last Sunday, which was perfect anti-stain protection for the red mud. Since this was my mom's birthday present, my brother and I also treated her to the Grotto. You pay another $25 to go in there and to be honest, I didn't think it was worth it. We were alone, which I can image the experience can only be lessened if you are stuck down there with a lot of people, but they brush you with a sea kelp mud, you hang out for a bit, then wash it off and then hang out in the final room for another bit. It wasn't that it was bad, I just felt that $25 was a little steep compaired to all the stuff you get just for paying the admission rate. Plus, I decided that I like the mud stuff better when it dries versus the kind that stays wet. I know they do different things, but I enjoyed the Red Mud Extravaganza much more.

We stayed until about 5:00 on Friday, had dinner in Temecula and then headed back to North County just in time to see this amazing sunset:

A perfect end to a great day I would say.

Bougainvillea Socks

O Happy Day! My Bougainvillea socks are done! They were my first attempt at socks on two circulars, and as such, I thought it only fitting to use Cat Bordhi's Basic Sock Pattern to try it out. You may remember that I wondered if I was crazy while I worked on the first sock, because so many knitters l-o-v-e this method, however, I found myself missing my DPNs. Yet, I wanted to reserve judgement until I had finished the pair. Didn't want to jump to any hasty conclusions. Well, now that I've completed a pair, I can say that...while I don't hate this method (hate is such a strong word), I will be knitting my next pair of socks on DPNs.


I did enjoy knitting these socks, though, I must say. I may or may not have mentioned before that I llllllove this yarn. Cherry Tree Hill supersock. And get a load of these colors! Well, sadly, you can't so much, because it seems that no light can ever do it justice. I've tried all kinds of lighting situations, people, and unfortunately for you, it looks so much prettier and more vibrant in person. The pinks! The purples! The greens! Aagh! Hopefully you can get at least an idea of it's beautiousness in these photos or the ones back here.

I'm not saying I will never knit socks on circulars ever again, but all I can think about right now is how I can't wait to bust out the trusty ol' DPNs and cast on for another pair of socks. Now, to decide on a pattern...

One less UFO sighting

I'm not a quitter. I have fond memories of tackling Algebra II problems in high school until 3am because I didn't want to turn in an incomplete homework assignment. But I must admit that there are a few things that didn't see the finish line: 1) Moby Dick (I won't attempt to pick this one up again) 2) Homer's Iliad & the Odyssey (which I may try to finish someday) and 3) a cross-stitch of a koala bear wearing a sailor outfit (alas, I threw that in the trash can...since fifth grade, I thought I would move to Australia, thus accounting for my fascination with anything from down-under.)

I decided not to add onto my list and finally (over a year later) completed my Tuscan Sunset Kyoto! (as of midnight last night.) The seaming looks like the job of a first grader - despite my blocking, parts didn't seem to fit together. Why? Because my gauge significantly changed over the past year, depending on whether I was on vacation or deliriously studying for my finals.

Now onto my next year-long project...

(Also please take notice of the plant in the background...currently growing two Japanese eggplants, hopefully ready for harvest in a week or so!)

FO and F-o-o-d

FO alert! But, it's fresh off the presses (aka needles) so I don't have a proper photo yet. For now, I will leave you with this little tease...

In the meantime, I'll give you a quick run-down of this past weekend's activities, as it relates to my new neighborhood and food (in said neighborhood), both of which I am a huge fan. To live within walking distance to restaurants, movies and theater (not to mention- Trader Joe's)...being able to walk to places, especially in these parts, is a luxury. And these days, anytime I can get out of driving my car- you know I'm all over that! I love it!

A friend was in town from New York on Friday, so we met up and had a chance to hang out for a good chunk of the day. She came over to see our place and meet the doggy. We walked up the street to have breakfast at this fabulous diner that is always packed to the gills inside, with a mob of people waiting outside. Luckily, we were there mid-morning on a Friday, so it isn't too long of a wait. Later on, we went to pick up LA for lunch at a little curry house that all 3 of us happen to love. I was still a little full from breakfast, but who can pass up yummy curry? Not I. No, I don't possess that kind of strength. It was a fun day- I'm so glad that K visits from New York as often as she does, especially now that she's abandoned bi-coastal living for a more permanent home base in New York. It's always fun to hang out with her.

The food fest continued for me on Sunday, when B and I attended a Taste of the Nation benefit which was held at a neighborhood park. It was one of those events - they are in cities all over the country - where your ticket allows you admission to a "strolling buffet" - where chefs from local restaurants have booths set up and you can taste samples from their menu. All ticket proceeds go to local organizations involved in the fight to end hunger and poverty. Can I just say- a wonderful cause + wonderful food = one heck of a good time and totally worth the price of admission. Some of our favorite local restaurants participated, and we discovered new ones to try. It was a really nice afternoon. And fun- you felt like you were getting "free food," even though you had paid good money for your ticket. Funny how the mind works. Too funny...

Espresso Tank

The Espresso Tank is officially done. For a quick knit, this hasn’t been all that quick. It wasn’t even that there was a lot of knitting. It was just annoying. I rarely felt like working on it, so I made myself bring it to Rebecca’s or the Knit Salon so that the chatting could significantly distract myself from the knitting. But, it is done and I am ready to move on.

The Blue Sky Fitted Tank was knit on size 7 needles in Blue Sky Dyed Cotton in Espresso. I made the smallest size and used 2 full hanks and a 1/3 to a 1/2 of a third hank. The tank fits me nice (although that really doesn’t matter because it’s for my mom), but if I were to make myself one, I would lengthen it a bit. I also added a reverse crochet edge to the bind off edge that went around the neck to help straighten out the neckline (thanks to everyone at Rebecca’s for that suggestion – it worked great!). I would say that if you can take a little bit of time and work out a more gradually sloping neck, you should do it, because if made as instructed, you get a fairly ragged stair step that is really hard to smooth over with the finishing. I also skipped the arm hole finishing. My arms were very even and smooth and I didn’t want to risk messing it up by the finishing technique suggested. I am also apparently lazy, because I didn’t feel like bothering with a crochet edge either. I thought it looked nice as is. I was planning on making a second one of these in the same pale blue (Sky) I used for my Baby Blue Bobbi Bear, but it will probably be a while before I would want to knit this again. I plan to give it to my mom (as long as it is done drying) tomorrow when we go for our spa getaway at Glen Ivy.

Coping

Everyone seems to cope with working on Fridays in different ways. Apparently, for one of my co-workers it is taking random candids of everyone at their desks.

So for those of you also stuck in a cube today - Happy Friday!

Peanut Bracelets

No, not bracelets made from peanuts. Bracelets made for peanuts! The peanuts (otherwise known as my yet-to-be-born twin nieces) are 36 weeks old now, each weighing in at around 5 lbs each. Needless to say, LA is just about (= more than) ready for them to be born. But for now, we wait. Oh, the anticipation!

In the meantime, I decided to make bracelets for them, since LA has mentioned the need for a way to keep track of them. Since, identical twin girls...I mean, I'm sure it will become obvious eventually, but it may be a little tough at first. I went with just their first initials, since these are tiny wrists we're talking about here, and even though their names are comprised of only 4 letters each, that would have taken up half the circumference of the bracelet! It's been a while since I've made any jewelry, but I think they came out pretty cute.

On the knitting front, Carmelita and I got into a bit of a squabble the other night. I think she was miffed that I wouldn't climb into the loft with her the other day, so she decided to rebel and get all jacked up on me. Spiteful! Thankfully, after a few serious heart-to-hearts over the past few nights, we are back on track. I'm so relieved!

DIS 3.0

Like the ability to knit in the car, one knitting "skill" that I have been envious of since I first heard that it was possible, was the ability to read while you knit. Mouse knits while she reads blogs, Jeanette knits while reading case law (what?), and Chris, well, she knits while reading A LOT. I am an avid reader, but have read less and less as I have been knitting more and more. And when I am reading a particularly good book, I feel like I have to sacrafice one for the other.

Monday during jury duty (No, I didn't get picked. And yes, I snuck my knitting through security.) I had my current book (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and my knitting to keep me company. But after reading for two hours, I was ready for a little knitting. But, I didn't have any music with me and I didn't feel like watching the View (sorry, not my thing). Needless to say I got tired of knitting 4X2 rib real quick. Then I realized that the hard cover book I was reading (I usually prefer paperbacks because they are easier for me to cart around everyday), stayed open nicely on my lap without help...Hmmm...(can you hear the hampster wheel turning?)...I watch TV while I knit...I watch movies while I knit...I even occasionally read subtitles while I knit...Is it possible that I really can read while I knit? And with that, the world opened up.

I am pleased to announce the newly released DIS version 3.0 - now with simultaneous knit-read built right in! Now I don't have to divide my time between knitting and reading and I have finally understand the purpose of the hard cover book. Boy, have I been missing out! I can't wait to make my next trip to the library.

Thank goodness I'm a 21st century knitter

This morning I showed my mom the Denise needle kit and the Kyoto and baby sweaters that I'm in the process of seaming. She told me that when she knitted in Japan, she used 3-4 bamboo sticks to make a sweater. I just spent a half hour today trying to figure out how to pick up stitches and turn rows. I can't imagine trying to do all that on four needles...

Adventures in Gardening, Take One

After however many years of living on my own, I finally have a yard! One of the benefits of having a yard, besides being able to have a dog, is being able to have a garden! Too bad I know almost nothing about gardening. Besides helping my grandma in her garden when I was little, and a quarter of an ag class in high school, I have no real-life experience. Sure, I've grown indoor plants - with varying degrees of success - but no outdoor ones. Until now!

After some research, I decided to go with pots this year, since it's already late in the season. And thanks to a LOT of useful tips and advice from The Stitchin' Sheep, I decided to start with just a few veggies and herbs. Lucky for me, Dis knows a thing or two about gardening, and was eager to help me embark on my gardening adventure during her visit last weekend. After the Getty and before Tito's Tacos and margaritas, we went to Whole Foods and Home Depot for our gardening needs. She helped me pick out some herbs (basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and lavender) and veggies (Japanese eggplant, yellow squash, and cucumber). I wish I took pictures at Home Depot- but you will just have to trust me that we were a sight, carting around a bunch of plants and containers and ginormous bags of potting soil. Also, can we talk about how busy the HD is on a Friday night? Holy cow!

I also wanted a couple of plants to put next to the front door. I love bamboo, so I was happy to find one short enough to fit in Darby. Having a truck or something really would come in handy sometimes, but as it were, I had to leave the pretty papyrus at the store. I also decided on this pretty "purple grass" plant that Dis loves (and that's the lavender in the short pot below).

We also picked out a few little succulents for the back porch, which I'll have to get pictures of later. I have one ginormous bag of soil leftover, which is perfect, because now that Dis helped me jump start this whole planting thing, I am excited to do more! Next on the agenda: flowers!!

Only time will tell, but I hope this will mark the beginning of my life as a successful gardener. I plan to read up more on the topic, and look forward to more planting. Miriam recommended a book to me on square foot gardening, which I immediately ordered and just arrived. It looks really interesting- I am anxious to read about this method in hopes of incorporating it into the garden as well. In the meantime, I'm really excited about what we've planted so far. I think Mr. Dakota likes it too...

" Um, please don't pee on the veggies..."

Warning: Art History Major Geek Coming Through!

Dis and I, despite missing Nasus tremendously, had a great afternoon at The Getty on Friday. I absolutely love it up there and was glad to be able to take Dis to see it for the first time. I was so pleased that the sky was clear (by LA standards), which allowed her the opportunity to take in the great view of the city from the hillside. I should have taken more pictures, but frankly, it was a little too warm for me to think wisely at the time. Sorry, maybe next time! Here's a picture of the top of one of the main buildings (with a little purple flower peeking out in the bottom corner).

We found (ran to secure) a great knitting spot in the Central Garden. It was the perfect place to plant ourselves and drink some iced (but not for long) tea, even though the questionable plant behind us smelled curiously like onions. But, no matter! Normally a couple of office-bound lackeys by day, we relished in being outdoors for a change. We lounged out there for a while and then decided that we should maybe look at some actual art (and, let's be honest, get within some AC-ed walls for a few minutes). We decided to take in a wonderful Eliot Porter exhibition.

As we walked through the grounds, I was reminded of how much I love museums. (I believe I may or may not have actually uttered the phrase, "I love museums!") Not only do I enjoy seeing pieces in person that I had only read about and studied or admired from afar, I appreciate the whole environment. There's just something about a good museum, wherever it may be, that feels familiar and even comforting to me. Part of the reason, I'm sure, is that it reminds me of my college years, especially my last year in college when I worked at LACMA. I could have spent the whole day there (okay enough, art history nerd..), but alas, there was Friday afternoon rush hour traffic to face (love ya, 405!) a LYS to visit (or so we thought- if only we had known they close at 4- hello?), and plants to buy!

More on our gardening adventures soon!

Weekend Update

There really isn't a better feeling than a nice, long weekend. My office permits you (if you are so inclined) to work 10 hour days every other week in order to have a Friday or Monday off that week. I have been working this schedule for the last year and a half and absolutely love it! I don't mind the 10 hour days and the Fridays off allow me to do some fun things like I did this weekend.

Friday morning I drove up to LA to hang out with Nonnahs (who is lucky enough to get every Friday off - jealous!). We tried to get Nasus to come, but unfortunately her schedule just didn't work out this trip...good thing we have a mini retreat planned for next month! We went to the Getty which was new for me, had lunch and hung out in the gardens. I decided to play around with the macro feature on my camera and had fun taking pictures of all the plants and flowers.

We also found a great spot in the central garden for a bit of knitting. Nonnahs worked on her socks and I made a wee bit more progress on Oceania. I brought Forest Floor, but just didn't feel like messing with it.

We didn't really explore the museum this trip all that much because really it was all about the knitting spot, but we did manage to see a nature photography exhibit currently on display. The museum actually reminded me a lot of the modern art museum we saw while in Brisbane last year and I know we will be back soon.

Nonnahs and I also had a fun boy-free sleep-over. We did some gardening (which I will let her tell you all about), had some yummy tacos and margaritas, and most importantly, I got to meet the Doogles! Dakota is such a cutie and looks gigantic compared to Jenny (even though he is really a medium sized dog). He also was kind enough to help me name my next pair of socks.

This lovely cake of Obsidian Socks That Rock, will soon be made into Dakota Socks, not only because he seemed to think that this cake looked as fun as his pink and purple squeeky ball, but because it matched him perfectly - mostly black with a little brown. Don't you just love when projects name themselves?

Some of us are X-treme

Carmelita is the adventurous member of our team. She is up for anything. Just look at her! Carmelita, where are you going?? No, not the loft...

When B and I moved into our new house, one of the features I loved most was our loft space. I imagined fixing it up real cute- the perfect knitting spot. Well, upon further investigation, the loft...it's high. Yes, Nonnahs, lofts are usually high. But, they also usually involve an actual staircase of some kind, do they not? Ours, however, is more on the uh, rustic side. Our way in and out of the loft is by an old 13' wooden ladder. Which is just basically leaning up against the wall.

Now, in my younger days, I would have relished climbing up (and down) that thing. I used to climb on everything- jungle gyms in the playground, trees, furniture, you name it. Even ladders. I've also always wanted a loft. So why am I now so afraid of climbing up into that thing? Several factors come into play, I'm sure, but whatever the reason, the result is that I won't go up there. I've been up there only once so far, just to prove to myself that I could do it. Climbing up was fine. The getting down part was sketchy. You have to basically step off the side of the loft and swing your leg around to position it on one of the steps. I made B adhere little rubbery pads on the bottom of the ladder for traction, as well as little gripper bars on either side of the ladder up top to prevent it from swaying. I feel better about it, but it's still not my favorite place to be. Also, it's about a hundred degrees up there these days, which makes it all the less enticing.

Please, don't make me come after you. Please...

Hip to be Square

I'm not quite sure what is wrong with me lately. And I'm sure there are quite a few of you out there who really don't think this is a problem. But, I just can't seem to focus on a project. I keep getting distracted and obsessed, which ends up with my knitting time spread way to thin to actually see much progress. I feel like I keep bringing the same things to the knit groups every week. So, of course, I just got one more project for the pile.

Being a fairly new reader of Mason-Dixon, I absolutely fell head over heels for the mitered square blanket when I first looked through their book. (And in case you haven't heard it enough times already, this is a really great book. There are many things that caught my eye and are now fairly high on the To-Knit List. Another one being the linen After Dark Nightie. I happen to already have 2 hanks of Euroflax linen in my stash from my SP5, so I only need to track down one more. I know there is a way to ask people if they have your same dye lot online, so I figure I give that a go first...once I figure out how to do it). I don't need the full amount of yarn because I am technically not making the full blanket. I'm making a body pillow cover for our futon. We've had the same futon pad for about 10 years and it is slowing losing its form, so both B and I have given to placing pillows behind out backs when we sit on the couch. We thought a body pillow would be perfect because we can run it along the length of the entire couch. And if you are going to have a big ass pillow on your couch you might as well have it stylishly covered, no?

I think I am going to end up needing about 3/5 of the squares for the blanket size in the book, but the beauty of a blanket put together like this is that you really can do whatever you want with it. I also happened to have come across a Memorial Day sale that allowed me to pick up a good portion of the yarn for about $3 a hank. I am sticking with more muted tones, but any color is a go. There will definitly be some blues, reds, and hopefully I can find a good yellow to go with the greens (yes, there really are 2 greens in that photos), lavenders, adobe and taupe shown above. I think I will try and pick up the random amounts I need left as I see good colors...which will also help to spread out the expense.

I have finished the Blue Sky fitted tank I was working on, but the neck line is a disaster. I am going to try blocking it to see if that helps and I plan to post a picture before I pass it along to my mom in a week or so. I am also really bummed I missed the Knit Salon at the Grove last night. I ended up finding a near disaster on my desk a half an hour before quitting time (for four days) and had to stay until 7:30 to fix my F-up. By that time, I was grumpy, weepy, hungry and had a little doggie that had spent too much time by herself yesterday to be left until 9:00. So, I got myself some rolled tacos with sour cream from my favorite taco shop and some of my favorite beer, headed home and soothed myself with a couple episodes of Lost.

The good thing (well, great thing, really), is that I am off to LA today to spend some quality girl time with Nonnahs. We are having a good old fashioned sleepover and have talked about heading up to the Getty to knit and hang out a bit this afternoon. I plan to come back to San Diego in time for Rebecca's on Saturday. Should be a fun weekend!

On knitting, Frogger, and cupcakes

Wednesday. Not the beginning of the week, not the end. Neither here nor there. Week limbo. That's kind of how I feel this morning. I'm all over the place. Like, this photo doesn't have anything to do with anything, but it makes me happy. I mean, come on- what about black patent leather flats could be anything but?


Last night, however, different story. I had a bit of scare last night while working on Carmelita- why is it so hard to hold a conversation and knit sometimes? I swear! But, my preemptive bowing down to the knitting gods seems to have paid off, because the crisis was averted...at least, I think it was...we'll see today when I knit a couple more rows and survey the damage. I didn't even mind messing up that much- either I'm loosening up, or I was just thankful to have arrived home in one piece.

Ever get that feeling? Sometimes just driving can be scary, like it was last night. I felt like I was living a real life game of Frogger on my way home from work. Cars were weaving in front of and around me with barely any room to spare (and sans blinkers, might I add - a BIG pet peeve!), and I managed to avoid a 6 car pile up near my exit that I could easily have been involved in, had I left work a couple minutes earlier. Yikes. I try not to think about things like that, because I do drive so much and I can only control so much out there. I can't really help what other people do, all I can do is try to stay out of their way as much as possible. Anyway, just a rambling thought.

Back to Frogger, I think knitting can be a Frogger-like experience at times. At least for me. There can be a lot of obstacles, especially with one's first lace project: Don't forget to yo! Did I just ktog, or ssk? Where did that extra stitch come from? What is that? LIFELINE! My mind can wander and before I know it, I'm like, WTF? I guess that's what makes knitting so rewarding. Averting messy crashes- or at least learning how to walk away from them in tact.

Onto a totally different (not scary) topic: My sister LA's birthday is today! Yay! In my dream world, we would be in New York City today, celebrating with scrumptious cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery. As it stands in reality, a fun jaunt to NYC is not in the cards for either of us right now- I have to work, and LA is 34 weeks pregnant with twins...so she may just have to settle one of my cupcakes instead. :)

Emerging

Carmelita is beginning to take shape! And when I say beginning, I mean it really is only the beginning. I have, after all, only completed the first tiny fraction of this shawl. Most knitters could complete this same piece in the blink of an eye. But who cares- this little section brings me a huge amount of satisfaction. If you had seen me during my first couple of days into this, you would know how far we've come, Carmelita and I.

I'm knitting this thing so slowly, even for me, and I'm a pretty slow knitter to begin with. It's already taking me a while to get through each row - I can't even imagine how long it will take when the rows grow wider - but, I won't think about that now. For now, I'm just pleased with the fact that I'm feeling comfortable working with this yarn (love it), that I'm remembering to yo (for the most part) and that my little piece here is starting to resemble an actual Icarus (kind of). You can't tell much from these photos, so you'll just have to take my word for it- it doesn't look half bad!

I still have a long way to go, but but for now, my first accomplishment is bringing me much joy.* I'm really looking forward to watching this shawl take shape...I just hope it's a shawl shape by the time I'm done! ;)

* Dear knitting gods, I am, in no way, shape, or form, trying to insinuate that I know what I'm doing. I humbly ask that you please cut me some slack and allow me this proud feeling for just this little while. It won't last, don't worry. I know my place. Thank you.

X-treme Lace

127...128...129...wait, was that 129 or 139? Crap. 1...2...3...4...

This is when B chimes in and asks - are you ok? No. The answer is no. There is no way you can cast on 299 stitches and still be ok. It sucks. And dental floss on size 8 needles is even worse, especially when that dental floss is really microscopic velcro strong enough to make that guy in the hard hat stick to the big steel girder.

Then you have the added pleasure of working on brand new circular needles, which insist on returning to their original packaged state. When is this ever the case? Things never go back in the box properly after you've taken it out and played with it. How often have you tried to re-fold a map? But, Inox needles...those will go back in the package on their own. You don't even have to ask.

Except for maybe trying to work a lace chart after several cosmos, I can't think of anything more extreme in knitting than casting on for a shawl top down. It took two episodes of Lost (Season 1 from Netflix) before I was done...and then the counting began...

ETA: Ok, I now know of something more extreme: getting to the end of row three of the chart and find that somehow the last four stitches are really comprised of several sets of stitches that were purled together. And you can't tell what is going on because the pattern hasn't been established yet...not as if you could see what's going on anyway through all that "haze". WTF. I have no explanation, but I can tell you this much: 1...2...3...4...

_____________________

Distopia Teammate status:

When I first told Oceania and Forest Floor about Challenge Two, Forest Floor smiled and said she had this one nailed, the competition point would be hers. Casting on 299 stitches? No brainer - extreme. But, then Oceania smiled that evil little smile of hers and said, "I can be extreme, too. You just watch." She turned mean and unfortunately her desire to win was taken out on me. She made my hand cramp again. No numbness in the knitting finger this time, she brought out the big guns: wrist pain.

So, I was about to award this Challenge's point to Oceania for being the "extremest" of my teammates, when I learned a dirty little secret, she had help. It turns out that the wrist pain I had been attributing to Oceania all week was really a bad case of Harry Potter Wrist (wrist pain cause by spending too many hours in a row holding open those ginormous Harry Potter paperbacks with one hand). Given this new information, the point will go to Forest Floor.

Point Total
Oceania: 1
Forest Floor: 1

Whatever, June Gloom

It's June, and in Project Spectrum Land, that means it's the Month o' Blue. Wouldn't really know it, if you live in SoCal, since our normally present blue skies have been absent for the last several days. Yes, June Gloom is officially upon us. It was staggeringly sunny and hot last weekend, and then gloomy since Monday. To counter the *bleh* effects of June Gloom, I thought I would serve up a dose of pretty blue sky and Pacific Ocean waves as seen this winter at the Banzai Pipeline on the North Shore of Oahu. A photo of home, especially of the beach, always lifts my spirits!

In keeping with the happy thoughts, I wanted to share the omiyage Nasus brought back for me from London. A darling Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino pattern book and enough yarn to make a pair of the Sandals on page 42. The book is filled with adorable patterns, and the yarn- cashmerino- need I say more? Delish! I absolutely love it! Thanks again, Nasus, for such a thoughtful gift! As a bonus (yes, it gets even better), I also got a hilarious chocolate covered "Penguin" biscuit (botom left corner). I don't know how well you can see it, but that is, indeed, a penguin head carved into Mt. Rushmore. HA! And as if that wasn't humorous enough, there is a joke (I use this term loosely) on the wrapper. Q: Why did the boy eat his homework? A: Because he thought it was a piece of cake. (Uh...)

And now, get a load of what I received in the mail yesterday from Jennifer! So many goodies! Not one, but two balls of GGH Esprit (sooo soft), some cute note cards, and look over there, in the corner- pretty little (blue!) stitch markers (no doubt handmade by Ms. Craftylilly herself)! I have to tell you- this made my day yesterday! Nothing combats bad commuter traffic and PMS quicker than a puffy envelope filled with knitty goodness! So generous- thank you!

Here's a much deserved close-up of the stitch markers. Purdy!

And so, despite the Gloom of June, it is Thursday (TGIT!) and for that, and for friends, and for presents, and for the beach, I am thankful. (Here is where I might insert a list of other things that I am conversely not thankful for at the moment [like how it's taken me all freaking day to post one stinking post- thanks, Blogger!], but then why pollute a perfectly good gratitude post?) ;)

Happy Thursday everyone!

PS: Last, but certainly not least, a late-breaking bit of happy! I got through the first chart of Carmelita (Icarus) today! This is nothing to you lace experts out there, but this is a huge deal to me! More later. For now, suffice it to say I'm stoked!

Ambidextrous...

...or at least I hope to be in the near future. Fair isle is something that has intimidated me, not unlike cables, from the very beginning. And like just about everything else in knitting, it isn't as bad as it looks. You just need to jump in and not psych yourself out.

I took the Fair Isle Knitting class at the Grove yesterday and had a great time. First of all knitting with two hands at the same time is really fun. I thought it was going to take a lot longer before I could make it across the row, but it was cake. Now, I'm not saying my fair isle is perfect. I have a long way to go, mostly with my yarn control in my left hand. It is still getting hung up and doesn't flow over my finger like the yarn does in my right hand. But, I know that will work itself out. This is the swatch I made in class.

I used contrasting shades (Khaki M-18 and Roasted Coffee M-89) of Lamb's Pride worsted on size 8 needles. We started with the checker board at the bottom of the swatch and then learned how to carry yarn across the back using both hands - that's what the plain stripes are after the checkers. If you look close, you can see the puckers my poor stranding skills left behind. Then we tried our hands at some traditional fair isle designs.

I'm looking forward to practicing this technique a bit because there is a goal to all this: Eunny's vest. I am not a vest person in any shape or form, but I want this vest. This is the cutest vest ever. In fact, we have talked the instructor at the Grove into offering Eunny's vest as a project class, which is great for so many reasons. One of the top being that we will learn to steek in a controlled environment following the instruction of an expert. I can't wait! Ok, steeking is still freaking me out, but it's time to jump.

Also, it has been awhile since I posted any updates of my current WIPs. For my Oceania, I have finished the front and started the back. The little needles and little yarn take time, but it is slowly ticking away.

I also just turned the heel for sock number 2 in my Carbon Socks that Rock. Man, I don't think I could ever say enough nice things about this yarn. So far it is one of my favorite things to work with. Now, I find myself in a dilema. Nonnahs and I split a 1/3 membership in the Rockin' Sock Club to keep our cost down. With the last shipment, Blue Moon gave us the option to extend the membership and I don't know what to do. It's fun to be apart of the club and I'm not really ready to be done with it. But at the same time, we don't get to pick the colorway, so maybe it would be best just to spend that money on colorways that we choose. I just don't know!

Finally, I just wanted to say a public thank you to Nasus for my beautiful silk! She trekked two hanks of Debbie Bliss Pure Silk in a soft orange (27011) as well as the pattern book all the way back from the U.K.

The color couldn't be more perfect! Thank you Nasus!!

The London I Failed to Share

Ritblat Gallery, located in the British Library...the parks...Hadley's, the seven-story toy store...watching a West-End show (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)...delicious Turkish food...and all of the usual London touristy spots. But I did fail to mention that incarcerated, delinquent tax-payers and prostitutes would have never imagined that centuries later, an American coffee shop would be established in the pub district within a few yards from their prison (did I mention how I should've bought Starbucks stock a few years ago?)

Australians are referred to as "antipodeans" and Foster's beer always seems to be on sale at the grocery store. The ING savings account rate of 4.5% was higher than what is currently available in the US. E and I freaked out when we turned on the TV in our hotel room one morning and saw a video of a person sleeping in what we thought was a bed in our hotel (we later concluded that it was part of the regular programming for the "Big Brother" channel.) We watched a music video station and discovered that Michelle Branch went country. And speaking of music, I fell in love with Corinne Bailey Rae's video for "Put Your Records On" (she reminds me of a youthful, jazzier india.arie.) It was one of those suspended-in-surreal-happiness moments for me.

Surprisingly, tap water tasted good. One of my favorite yogurt is the "Summer Biopot." Patesserie Valerie served very delicious cakes. There are comfy faux leather chairs in McDonalds. "Spicy" shepard's pie is basically chili with mashed potatoes and melted cheese floating on top (yum!) I enjoyed watching a TV show called "Beat the Boss" (a team of three kids competes against a a team of adult professionals in designing and creating a product.) Simon Cowell and Sharon Osbourne are judges on the "X-Factor," a singing competition between celebrities (ranging from actors/models to rugby players) selected and mentored by the judges. Each celebrity appears on behalf of and raises money for their charity of choice. Really, we didn't stay in our hotel room and just watch TV, although it appears that way.

Sale...Sale...Sale...

Today was the semi-annual bag sale at the Yarn Lady in Laguna Hills where thousands upon thousands of bags of yarn are placed in large metal bins and all marked 50% off. For those of you outside of California, Laguna Hills is about an hour fifteen north of San Diego. The sale begins at 8:00am, which means you have to leave SD no later that 6:30am...on a Saturday. This is a requirement because what if some else gets your stuff? Fortunately, I'm not the only one who sees the logic in this madness. Crazy is best diffused when surrounded by crazy, which means you are no longer crazy. You are normal. Like me.

So Knitzalot, Kris and I took off right on time. In fact, I don't think there is a more punctual bunch than knitters on their way to a 50% off sale. We got their at about 8 minutes to 8:00 and did you know there were already a ton of people bin diving? Seriously, people. Did they even have time to finish getting ready before the chaos began? Actually, the beginning wasn't that bad, lots of people, but everyone was still checking everything out and surveying what was there. The plan of action was to grab it if you liked it and then decided if you really *needed* it later. (At one point I had $600 retail worth of wool/cashmire in my bag.)

It was when the culling began that it got a bit nasty. Things would get tossed back that you didn't see the first time through. And what if you could find another bag of that pretty orange merinio that you kept holding onto, which would be practically useless unless you found another bag...somewhere? There was quite a bit of rechecking for certain prized things. And there may have been a joint bin diving incident that almost landed us all in the big front bin with our feet flailing in the air. In our defense, it was hard to reach the middle on the bottom...and you have to check there...because that may be where that last bag of yarn is...

So, without further ado, I present to you my new additions to the stash:

I splurged and picked up enough Anny Blatt Cachemir Anny in Veloute (612) to make the Cabled Shrug from IK. I want this for my office which is usually sub-zero, but won't probably get made until the fall. Another find that I am extremely excited about and may even get knit up this weekend (or at least the swatch will) is the GGH Goa in a dark green/teal (23). This has been earmarked for my elusive knit - Cable-Eight. I also picked up some strange man-made stuff called Emozione from Austermann that I thought would make a nice sage (0009) Pullover Flair. The two bags of Topacio from Valeria di Roma in mint green (023) and royal-ish blue (043) are the only really non-earmarked additions. It is a Cotton-Ease substitute and since I happened to be with two of the biggest members of the Cotton-Ease fan club, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Finally, the Trekking XXL (100). Not on sale. Enough said.

Overall I think the three of us did pretty good. We didn't find all those prized things we were looking for, but we can all still afford to put dinner on the table. I highly recommend going with friends, not only are there that many more eyes helping you look for that last elusive bag, you can remind each other of the logic of each selection. Something that is often lost in such thick yarn fumes. Let's just say that Kris and I saved each other about $90 on sweater yarn that wouldn't have really saved us any money.

Team Nonnalita

The Amazing Lace teammates Nonnahs (lacer) and Carmelita (lacee) have only known each other for a short time and are still learning how to deal with each other's um, idiosyncrasies. However, after much contemplation, both competitors are confident that they have what it takes to make a great team!

Is this really gonna work?

Meet Team Nonnalita:

The happy team

Carmelita is made of 100& baby alpaca - the stuff of a true lace champion. As such, she knows she can handle the challenges that lie ahead. When all is said and done, she hopes be a respectable version of Miriam Felton's gorgeous Icarus Shawl from the Summer 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. She is at times difficult, temperamental, and a bit of a diva, but can certainly get the job done. Carmelita hates tangles and knots. She loves being admired and petted.

Nonnahs is the pragmatist of the team. Her downfall may be her ability to psyche herself out, but she is nothing if not a loyal friend and teammate, and remains optimistic that this gung-ho enthusiasm and determination will help carry her team across the finish line with her first *GASP* lace project ever. Nonnahs hates math. She loves positive reinforcement and margaritas. On the rocks. With salt.

Distopia

The Amazing Lace is a challenge. But to me, it has become more than that. It represents the ultimate battle between two loves. See, it was difficult to pick just one teammate. There is Birch, who has haunted my dreams since I first saw it draped around the Yarn Harlot's shoulders at her book signing last year. Then there is Orangina, which embodies the true essence of being sexy. Birch has whispered to me with every yarn shop visit. Orangina swept me off my feet. Both are true loves, but so, so different.

The logical thing would have been to sit down, weigh their pluses and minuses with one of those groovy t-charts, and come up with the teammate winner. But this is the Amazing Lace and in true Reality TV form, I am willing to put it all on the line and as Howie Mandel says, "to make a life-changing decision". Through the course of the challenges to come, my teammates will also compete for my affections. In the end, only I will decide the ultimate winner. At the end of each challenge, I will award one of my teammates with one point. The teammate with the most points at the end of the competition will be crowned The Dis Ultimate Knit.

I don't expect this challenge to be easy. The days to come will be hard. And I am sure a tear or two will fall. But, this is love...and lace. There is no room for second best.

As such, I present to you the members of Team Distopia:

Team Captain: Dis. San Diego, CA

"Life is too short for bad knits".

Challenger 1: Oceania. Orange, France

"Que Sera Sera. C'est la vie."

Challenger 2: Forest Floor. Holmfirth, England

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken."**

**Really C.S. Lewis said this. Since Forest Floor has shown herself to be a bit of a plagiarist, and plagiarism can not be tolerated, Challenge 1's point goes to Oceania.

Point Total:
Oceania: 1
Forest Floor: 0

Best Country in the World for Women

Check out the June 2006 issue of Marie Claire; there's a great article explaining the benefits of being a Swedish female citizen (13 months of maternity leave, also applicable to the fathers!) There is a police chief (a woman) who oversees a group of officers who are predominantly women, and she has been hailed as being instrumental in successfully combatting crime in the country. I am by no means a bra-burning feminist, but the following thought does pass my mind more often than not: if only women ruled the world...