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Taiyo Mermaid Scarf~ Yummy

Tracy splurged & bought me a huge ball of the Noro Taiyo cotton blend yarn in the Color 02.

 

I love this yarn!!

On Saturday she brought it over & we went on a pattern hunt.

We found the Mermaid Scarf from Interweave Crochet & went to work.

 

By that night I had myself a scarf!

 

I love how it turned out!

 

 

It’s a fantastic pattern for a self-striping yarn like this.

The yarn itself is wonderful to work with. Soft on the hands, easy to crochet, beautiful color changes. I will defenitely be buying more of this yarn!

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As promised~Trapeze Jacket

Tracy was kind enough to take some pictures of me in the newly finished Trapeze Jacket last night at knitting.

 

Details: Trapeze Jacket by Jordana Paige

Silky Wool Yarn by Elsebeth Lavold~ color 014 Olive

Size 6US needles

 

Of course there are some funny shots, she likes those candids. I may put a few on the bottom to amuse her.

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Twirling is always fun, or was I flapping?

 

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There, seen enough? Great!

The buttonholes are hidden in the inside of the placket. That made me very happy!

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These are buttons I had on hand. I am not sure I will keep them, if I find something better I will defenitely change them.

 

Overall, the fit is perfect. The pattern is written very well. The top down construction is as perfect a sweater design as you could ask for.

 I will say though, that the 1×1 slip stitch ribbing pattern gets very old after a while.

That is why it took me from September ’07 through yesterday to get it finished. Granted, I did put it down in October & didn’t pick it up again until 2 days ago.

I would recommend this pattern to anyone that doesn’t expect to finish a sweater lickity-split. If you like taking your time and enjoy the yarn, the process of knitting, then you will love this sweater project!

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I finished the Trapeze!

I know, I started it way back in September of last year. I know I said I would be done with it by December. I know, I know!

But, it’s done now. Complete!

I don’t have pictures yet. They need to do it justice.

I promise, good ones!

 

Oh, and I made a quickie Mermaid Scarf on Saturday using a (giant) ball of Noro Taiyo. It’s so cute. Pictures of it to come soon too ;o) Promise!

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Blech!

Here is the weather from yesterday:

Current Conditions – 99.1F / 37.3C | Clear – 3:20 PM PDT Apr. 27

Temperature: 99.1°F / 37.3°C | Humidity: 16% | Pressure: 29.91in / 1012.8hPa (Steady) | Conditions: Clear | Wind Direction: SE | Wind Speed: 5.4mph / 8.7km/h
How freakin’ disgusting is that? I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually didn’t top that for the rest of the year! Our average temp is 68F. I say we got that beat! It’s better today, only 81F right now. That’s liveable.

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My Best Friend

I feel the need to post a little tribute to My Best Friend, Tracy.

(tellen on ravelry)

She is an amazing woman; funny, beautiful, motivated, smart, sarcastic, kind, loving, giving, I could go on & on.

We’ve been friends for over about 15 years now.

Over the course of our friendship we’ve gone through many changes. At first we were just work acquaintances, working in stores that were across from each other in an outlet mall. Then Tracy switched companies and worked for the same company as I did, eventually being my ‘boss’. That’s when I bullied her into our first tattoo together. Then our friendship took a break while I moved away, focused on my marriage and had some kids. Then we moved back to the same area as Tracy and I went back to work. That is when our friendship really bloomed. She became more than just a friend, she became a confidante, a partner, a sister. Again, my family moved and the distance was too much this time so we convinced Tracy to come down to Santa Barbara with us. It was a rough first year for her here being so far from family and friends. But eventually she found her own groove, her own place here.

Our friendship again changed. She went from being ‘my best friend’ to being ‘our best friend’.

She’s George’s best friend, the kids best friend, my best friend.

She has taken a place in our family that we didn’t know needed to be filled.

Over the last year and a half we have had another change, this one being a little more sad but also more mature in it’s makeup. She lost her Mom, thus we lost a member of our family. It brought about profound changes in Tracy. She felt the desire to seek out a deeper connection in life that the loss of her Mom had left in her.

She wanted to be whole. Not ‘whole again’ because she realized she was never whole to begin with.  No, she wanted to have her soul fed and her life to not be solely her own. She desired God.

With that desire came a change. She saw what her Christian friends around her had, a peace and knowledge that no matter how flawed we are we are still loved and taken care of by a Power that is so great we can’t even comprehend it we just trust it completely. She saw that we make mistakes, own up to them, make them right and move on. She saw that we Love each other with a Love that can’t come from flawed people, it comes from a knowledge that she didn’t posess.

She decided to seek out the truth for herself.

For over a year she came to church faithfully, met with our Pastor faithfully, learned how to pray faithfully. Now, understand that faithfully includes much doubt, learning and determination. She was determined to figure this out on her own, on her own time line.

Last September our son Tyler was baptized. He asked Tracy if she had been baptized. Tracy answered no, she had not. Tyler asked why. She told him she didn’t know. He asked if she could be baptized. She answered that yes, she could. Then he asked again, why hadn’t she been baptized then? She couldn’t answer that one.

For the next week she mulled over that question and came to the realization that she could answer it. She could be baptized because she does believe. She does believe that she has a Savior in Christ. She does believe that she has been along a path without salvation and wants it, craves it badly.

So yesterday, she was baptized and professed her faith in Christ through her testimony to the entire congregation with George & I standing beside her.

It was amazing. She is amazing.

There is a strength that Tracy has always possessed that now has morphed into a confidence and purpose. She radiates beauty, happiness, kindness, joy. These are all things she possessed before but now they make Tracy whole.

We love Tracy, as our sister in Christ, as an eternal family member.

 

Now for the good stuff ;o) Pictures!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We are blessed beyond belief to have a friend like Tracy.

We love you Tracy!

 

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5K~ check

Tracy & I ran a 5K on Saturday morning. Yep, we sure did! I have proof, you wanna see??
It was fun! More fun than I expected it to be. I was a little scared, intimidated and generally didn’t have confidence but then we started & it was great! Easy, actually. For a first ‘race’ it was a great experience.  We met a girl (she thought we were in college, ROTFL) from San Diego that came to run but decided her upgraded hotel bed was too nice to get out of to go run a 10 miler. So she was on the sidelines with us watching the first men come in from the 10 miler and chatting. She promised that if we trained for next years 10 miler she would come up & we would run it together. I have to say, I am intrigued by that.  We’ll see just how much my running career advances in the next year. Considering I started running just a couple of months ago with a program & did my first 5K, I may be on track for 10 miles in a year from now!
I am also on the Dash for Stash ravelry group and I have to say, it motivates me! I pay myself for each mile I run/walk and meeting goals I set. I am a good girl and deduct $$ when I don’t meet a goal also. I use the sweet bank my sister Cori got for me, it’s appropriate!


Exactly what I needed to save for stash. Now, if I actually take the money from there when I do buy yarn it will be a miracle. I am the type to say it’s saved for something else & never actually use it.  I do think I will use it on the Silky Wool in red that Knit & Pearl ordered for me.
I am working on socks for mom. I know she won’t come on here to see them so I’m not ruining Mother’s Day ;o)

They are  a kit from the Woolgirl 2007 Sockclub. They were February’s shipment and of course they are called Blush. The yarn is a Squooshy yarn and fantastic to knit with even if the pooling is making my brain flip over in my skull continually. I hate the pooling on these for some reason.
The second sock is half finished and will be done tomorrow probably. I think they are fantastic for Mother’s Day.
I also finished a pair of Jaywalkers out of STR lightweight Jingle Bell Rock for Mom. She’ll have 2 new pair of socks to keep her freezing Idaho toes warm.

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Wollmeise Pomatomus'

 

These are the start of the Pomatomus socks from Knitty.

I am using Wollmeise 80/20 Twin sock yarn in a the Teifer colorway on size 1.5US knitpicks 32″ circular needles, magic loop method. I tried for months to get my hands on some of this yarn, it’s hard to come by. Finally I was able to get into the site on a day that they were updating the shop. I came away with one hank of yarn. I wanted more but I wasn’t fast enough on the mouse I guess! So I have made myself a wishlist that I can purchase from. Then I get the colors I want when they happen to have them in stock.

I have been wanting to knit these socks since the pattern was published. I started 2 pair, didn’t finish either of them. I can’t tell you why now but I am sure it wasn’t because I didn’t want them! This time around they are going to be finished!

 

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I won something!

I was the 2000th post on the Zimmermaniacs blog and won a prize!


A beautiful hank of STR Lightweight in the color Shibui, a colorway I have never seen before, and a hank of a “MysteryCashmereYarn”. Sarah, the lovely person from the Zimmermaniacs blog that sent this surprise along, specifically named the cashmere ‘Mystery Cashmere’. So that is the name I shall call it.

There was also an adorable handmade card with a cute toothpick & yarn knit swatch. It’s so cute & a great simple idea for cards for knitter or crocheter’s. Just substitute the needles with a hook, can’t be that hard!

I will make some beautiful socks, or who knows, maybe a BSJ from the STR.

 

Thanks so much Sarah! The Zimmermaniacs blog is one that continually inspires me and keeps my love for EZ alive & well!

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Laminaria

Here is the laminaria finished in all it’s glory!

 

 

 

And the always must have action shot

 

 

I love this shawl so much it’s hard for me to not cast on for another. I have another fingering weight silk yarn from Colourmart in silver that would be amazingly beautiful. Alas, I am just not sure I want another stinky silk shawl right now ;o) Beauty comes with a price I suppose!