January in Portland

Yes, it can vary quite a bit. I thought that I would join the other desperate sun seekers today and head out for a while and take some pictures for you all. You know, the "inspired by nature" part of all of this.

Knitting Group Day

Sunday is Knitting Group Day and Strong Chai Day....and....well, so is Tuesday. Days to truly live for, in my opinion. Never you mind that I've already drunk my allotment of caffeine today. Buzz, buzz, buzzzzzz.
No, awake and thinking about how my projects are just not coming along fast enough right now. No feelings of serious accomplishment. I'm working on the shawl above and it's going slow. It was actually meant go to slow because I have a lot of shawls in the pattern in different yarns. So, I work on it in bits. I'm actually working on the crochet because it's way faster and has that sense of accomplishment to it.
I've set aside the pattern for of the shapings because I like the way I shape crochet better than any pattern I read. It can be an improvisation to smooth out the rough places and make the crooked places straight (thank you, Handel..)
Ughhh, I keep stretching here at the computer. Been here so much this weekend.
I've started a business blog and I invite anyone who is considering starting something up or if you're already in business for yourself to check it out and pass it along.

Greeting a New Day

I know that alot of people will have blog posts with that title today and be talking about our new Administration. I'll spare you. I don't have anything to say that's better said than what's already out there.
For me, it just a new day. Every day a new day. I saw dawn for a change this morning. Was actually thinking clearly enough to take this picture from my kitchen window. I then watched some news and headed back to the bed that was not yet done with me.
Just thought I'd add this picture and single thought to the river of thoughts that are flowing out there, people...

Less Yarn, Not More

I'm sure to some folks that might seem reasonable but to me right now, it's a rip. I am de-stashing down to what I consider "bare bones". What's that?I will sell: Non-sweater amounts of yarn, Too much of a particular sock color Yarn that I NEED to keep is yarn that's discontinued that I KNOW I will use, yarn that I will never get enough money for and I still like, most of my handspun, Sock yarn that I can't live without.
These are always subject to change, just like the rest of life, huh?

But for those of you who might be interested, I'm doing it on Ravelry so drop by and see what you may see.

In another area, as someone who test knits other people's patterns it's always been a question of whether I'm ever going to get down to writing patterns. I actually have one nearly ready to go and I'd just rather knit. Lazy me. I hope again to change this in 2009. I've got some crochet pattern books on their way and may do something with designing crocheted accessories.
Stay tuned. Leave some comments, people. I like to hear from you and if you can't bring yourself to write, please note the "reaction" buttons below. Gotta love those!

Crochet Anyone?

Hear me roar. I'm ramping up here.
When knitting takes too much focus, crochet. Okay, it's not like it doesn't take focus to crochet, but once I get started, it pretty much flows right along.
I preferred crochet when I was a girl because I thought that it was always safer to have one "live" stitch instead of a whole needle full. That's still the case for me. Ripping back is easier in a way, except you can't correct something three rows back by "laddering" down. You do actually have to rip back to that place.
Around the same time that I got over my fear of numbers and because a finance professional (!), I got over my fear of knitting patterns with their seemingly dense numbers and codes. I just finished a test knit that was a solid 1.5 pages of "code" that I had to read to. I couldn't even mark off each row. I had to mark off small blocks of text of the pattern at a time so that I wouldn't lose place.
I can't show the sweater here because, you know...it's like...not published yet. Yeah. But trust me, it actually became a sweater, small but a sweater with all sorts of complicated shaping. A knitting miracle. Okay, perhaps not a miracle because that would mean some sorts of divine hand guiding me. It was way too hard. I don't think there was any divine anything in play this time.
That said, I got a free pattern at the TKGA show this year from Moda Dea and I'm actually crocheting a little jacket. I started in one yarn and then ripped out several times until I changed to Superwash Bamboo from Elann in Silver Birch. (Look, I'm linking like a good girl!)
Back to it now.

What To Do When You Can't Do Much

Dying yarn is just not my forte yet. I'm very experimental. Actually, I'm very lazy. It shows in the work, but even though I thought this group of 3 alpaca skeins was a total wash (pun intended) they came out reasonably well once I made wound them up.
Yes, I'll try and blog more. I see that my post rate is going down, if I look at the last couple years.

A Change of Scenery

My Niece, Blaire just married her sweetheart, Dustin this past weekend in Colorado and I was able to make it out there, on last notice. Many pictures were taken although not by me. I did catch this great one of the two of them on the dance floor, though. A professional skater and skier with a January wedding.
Before returning home, a quick trip to Red Rocks Amphitheater after a dusting of snow. Really magical, but just minutes after the sun started shifting the cold winds came sweeping in.

Home now to the green and the rain and glad for it. I don't ever remember feeling the sharpness of the cold and elevation as much as I did this visit. It was really striking with so much brown flatness in the landscape. I'm glad I got to experience this quick side trip for a part of Colorado that I have fond memories of.

Some Traditions Endure

My favorite tradition being Paula's Christmas Cookie Party. Yes, she made all of those lovely cookies and the hostess with the most-ess had all the perfect everything to go-with. With the snow the way it was, it was just the three of us, Liz and Gaby were snow-bound. We figure the cookies will still be there by next Sunday do there may be party #2!
This is the view from my window right now.
This is a mystery picture, but I think I'll tell you the answer straight away and not hold out because I don't think you'll guess it. It was taken last night from my bedroom window. It's the edge of my brick window ledge. It's illuminated by the lights below and it slightly melting to ice on the edge.

The House Has Me

Well, the house always has me in it's grips of comfort. I love this kind of weather. I should probably just go out for a walk but I feel so compelled by my projects right now.
I will tempt fate and share one because the giftee will most likely read this before I give it to her. Heck, who reads my blog? If you don't comment folks, I have no idea who you are!
Okay, I'll share some projects...

The hat above is one for me.

This is the French Press Cosey from KnitAlong.

This is the mohair shawl I crocheted in two days with some Blue Moon discontinued Kid Mo in the Christmas Rock colorway.

This is the hat from the latest IK that other friends of mine have done a much nicer job on than moi, but it's for me so...

These are a gift with a matching Headband...

These are Dashing from Knitty, very tightly knit in bulky merino for moi, because they won't fit the original person I was knitting them for!

Dare I post these??? I knit one of them last year and just finished the second one this week.

And, lastly I have to finish the second one of these.

I'm posting all these projects because I can't seem to blog without actual knitting progress content and it's been too long!

So, here I am at a quarter to 10PM, still in the warm apartment with the kittens and the Holiday tree and lots of tea.

The Things I Can Blog About

Of course, at this time of year there are things I simply cannot blog about. Yes, gift knitting of course. So, let's have a brief re-cap of recent events. Like...Nana's birthday. Above we have Paula waiting to cut her lovely cake creation. If there's one thing you can always count on Paula for, it's a fabulous cake.

Look that that lusciousness!

Nana doesn't want her picture taken, she wants the CAKE.
After that there was thanksgiving, but I really didn't take many pictures. I was saved the job of cooking, compliments of Zupan's. All I had to do was do the table, heating and serving. Good thing because just getting my place clean and presentable for guests can be quite daunting these days.

And now I am knitting stuff. Lots of stuff. Wish I could spin at the same time, but it seems like a physical impossibility until I grow a bigger brain and two more hands.

I Said I Wouldn't

When I was going through my stash this week I just couldn't figure out what to do about this old aran yarn that was just sitting there. It was bought on Ebay and had been getting dirty and stretched out from being caked. So, at the very least, to just use it I would have to put it in hanks and wash it. Heck, if I'm gonna do that I may as well do, that thing I said I wouldn't do. Dye it.

And, then I found two skeins of Knitpicks sock yarn in Bare and some handspun yarn of unknown origin (a whole 200 grams worth.)

There is still one place I have said that I will not go and I'll be darned if I will: Processing wool. You can keep me true to that one.

Anniversary

Somehow I missed the Oct 23rd 2004 anniversary of this blog!
I suppose that means that the time just goes by effortlessly and somehow I'm managed to make so many years into words and pictures just blend together.
Never once did I think of giving up or quitting this process. It's been like a child I birthed and now it's here and I need to feed it. It doesn't cry out too often, must mostly nudges me from time to time. I don't keep a journal regularly, and although this blog often lacks a certain personal confessional quality, it does keep me connected to the process of connecting the dots.
In thinking about these years of knitting I have a couple of thoughts. Mainly that it amazes me that I find the art and craft of knitting to be inexhaustable in its richness and expanse for me. The next is that I remember going to a fiber arts show before I had this blog and I thought, "Hmm....cashmere lace. Now, that's something that I'll do sometime after 60 rolls around!" Truth be told, I haven't knit cashmere lace yet but it's way closer than 11 years away. It's more like 6 months away at this point. I mean, heck I'm spinning cashmere now! I didn't even think I'd go the way of spinning.
Yes, there are days when the simplest knitting project is just riddled with the errors from my lack of attention. And then there are those days, those wonderous days when I do something miraculous with the piles of yarn here, and I just feel stunned (and probably tired) but satisfied that I made something beautiful.

For all of you who are on this journey with me, of self discovery and self expression:
Hello and hello again, my friends.

First Meeting

We had a great time this past Saturday at Portland's Central Library. Great room. I was worried about turnout even though 30 people had RSVP'd yes. We had close to 20 people and we laughed at the fact that there was no duplication of spinning wheel. We also had a fair amount of drop spindles. Long live the drop spindle!

Our next meeting is Dec 7th and we're hoping to get the folks who couldn't make it on a Saturday. One of our treats was to get fiber samples from Susan of Abstract Fiber.

We like presents! And chocolate. Yeah, I made brownies and there was some suger high in addition to fiber fumes...

Stuff's Getting Done

The Swallowtail shawl is finished but because of too tight bind off and lack of yarn, I have no points. No points, but little beads where the points should be. This is in Sea Silk.

These make me happy. Knitted in one weekend from half a ball of BMFA Medium sock yarn in a Rare Gems colorway (one of a kind). The pattern is Spirogyra.

This is 80/20 merino/tussah silk from RedRish dyeworks and I'm still workin on it.

This is something I started oh...a few years ago? Yeah, it's the Many Buttoned Vest from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Vests. One of my favorite books. This is the third pattern I'm making from it and that's probably a record for knitting pattern books.

Yeah, just a post to prove I'm not really slacking. Just looks that way.

Transition

NOT a political message:
Today there are no leaves on the trees. These are pictures from two days ago when I last walked up my street to see the last of them piling up on the ground. The picture above is so perfectly Oregon. Moss and rain and fallen leaves...

This reminds me of the snow back in New England, but with leaves.

Done

We f-king did it.
Every morning and during the day I breathed deeply and said out loud and to myself "President Barack Obama."
For everyone else who did this and voted for this man, thank you.

Curls

As you may have remembered, I started picking these kid mohair locks into clouds at OFFF this year. (The picture above is a different color batch but the same stuff). Last night I started spinning them and then plied them with a silk thread.
Because the silk thread had no twist to counteract the twist in the mohair single, it created a boucle yarn. I tried to just keep the colors blended, bit by bit and not try and control the texture too much because it would have turned to wire...

So, from one ounce I have 109 yds here.

It takes a fair amount of time to play with these techniques. It doesn't really work for me to just do little sample skeins. I need to spend time spinning the fiber to see what it's going to do. The part that was an exciting suprise for me this time was the lovely shine here and the way the color mixed up.

String Theory or Just Spaghetti?

Just a cute title. Yeah, I know string theory isn't really about string...um...mostly.
Actually, this is some merino/cashmere that I finally finished spinning. Four ounces and I have to count the yardage and WPI now. I love working with soft luxury fiber, but I'm so drawn to color that I find is hard to get through several ounces of off white fiber. Let's see what this wants to be. Probaly a large lace scarf (as if I need more lace projects right now!)

I went to the thrift shop and got two little tea cups for 50 cents each. This one is nothing spectacular, but this second one is interesting just for the markings.

Perhaps for folks out there who actually collect china, this might not be anything special, but I've never seen this mark and thought it was sad/interesting. History in a teacup. Storm in a teacup. Tempest in a teacup. Taking tea by the fire. Taking tea with your demons...

It's a transformational time of year for me. It's a transformational time for all of us and I feel it in my gut and heart and I wonder what state of mind we're all in these days. Are we waiting? I'm doing a lot of visual manifestation. Anything seems possible, and I don't mean that in a kind of Cinderella way. I love the musical version of Cinderella by Rogers and Hammerstein. Particularly the song, "In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be..."

My Best Girl

I don't think words are necessary here...It's just one of those cat picture moments. Brahms says "hi".

Something Finished, More to Go

It didn't take me long to finish this sweater out of Noro Matsuri. It was the last past of getting the colors evenly distributed on the sleeves did take some patience. I'm happy with the results. In fact, I have it on as I write this!
Now that's done, I'm working on finishing up my other UFO's. Thing is, they all take charts of one sort or another. That leads me with the dilemma of needing a more mindless project. That next leads me to the dilemma of taking on YET ANOTHER project. What'a girl to do....
This is my friend Elizabeth's sock that she cobbled together using a long repeat colorchange yarn and a self-striping yarn together. Sock two is on the way....This photo doesn't even begin to do the colors justice.
And, one of those Gotta Have It fall folliage shots taken while I was waiting for the Sunday Knitting gals to arrive this week. The colors seem to have come out just overnight this year. Quite sudden.