Category: Blog

 

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!

 

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!

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!

I finished my Laminaria shawl on Friday and here are some teaser shots.

 

 

Tracy and I are heading to the beach this evening to get some good shots of them (yes, hers is also complete!). So tomorrow I will do a big happy post on it! Yippee!

I know it’s been a long time since I have posted on our family blog but I thought now would be a great time to try to get some things on there. Especially pictures from our trip to Idaho. So, feel free to head on over for more in depth photos and accounts of our trip.

Enjoy!!

Idaho was wonderful!

The weather cooperated for all driving, not a drop of rain or snow on the way there or the way home. That has to be some kind of record for this time of year driving across 3 states and a corner of Arizona.

Easter with two of my sisters’ families was a lot of fun for the kids. We did the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday then a large family dinner on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately my sister Stacy had surgery the Thursday before and was feeling rotten from the anesthesia so she had to stay home. We sent home lots of food with her daughters. Luckily I had the rest of the week there to spend more time with her. Her second surgery the following Monday went very well and she’s actually feeling relief from her chronic back pain. Now if the incisions and implants all settle in well she may actually have some pain free moments! We all thought that was impossible at this point but there are some miraculous medical treatments out there.

Here is a picture of my sister Stacy and I.

 

 

 

For now that is the only photo you get. We used Tracy’s camera on the trip and they are importing as huge files. I will have to get them resized and post them later. Suffice it to say that the trip was great & lots of pictures will come!

 

Notice, I have not mentioned knitting. I drove 14 hours on the way there with no knitting time in the car. The rest of the week I found myself so animated in my talking to my parents that I was constantly setting my knitting down. Dad even commented that it was the least he has ever seen me knit. I enjoyed my time with them so much that I didn’t even miss my knitting. Granted, it was always within a few feet of me even if I wasn’t going to work on it.

On the drive home though I got a lot done! Tracy drove from Salt Lake all the way through to her house in Montecito. For some reason neither of us had trouble driving for such long stretches. It was kind of nice actually.

I finished a Mobius Scarf for the class I am teaching at Knit & Pearl. And I got about half of the Baby Surprise Jacket done for the store also. That is another class I am teaching at Knit & Pearl.  I will have photos of those as well in my next post.

 

I am just so glad that we were able to make the trip with all of us for a full vacation. George rested, Tracy rested even though she was parenting the whole week (thanks, Tracy! We love you!) and I just enjoyed being with my family.

 

I held my mail on the USPS site 2 days before leaving.
You used to have to walk in and fill out a form.

I am having Salvation Army come & pick up the 6 bags of donations that have been in my car for weeks.
I have been meaning to drop them off, really I have.

I found out the weather  & road conditions for our whole drive there and back.
Not just the weather forecast for our destination.

It’s miraculous, this internet!
it’s also a time-suck

 

The bags are about 50% packed. I have a canvas cube stacked full of things by the front door that go in the car. I have laundry piled up on my bed to be sorted for packing/staying.

Today is cleanout the fridge, all trashcans, change sheets day. Tomorrow the cartop carrier goes on and all bags put in Thursday afternoon. We leave Friday morning at 4am, drive straight through with minor stops for gas, breakfast, gas, lunch, gas, dinner, gas. Lots of gas. That part I am not looking forward to. I hate getting gas, I hate paying for gas. Blech.

Notice I haven’t mentioned knitting. I don’t know what to take! I have so many options now all of a sudden! I am on the schedule at Knit & Pearl to teach some spring classes so I have fun little things to make for the shop.  A BSJ using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Worsted in Edgewater, a Mobius Cowl using Louisa Harding Cinnabar yarn in a turquoise/gold/tan colorway and a toe up magic loop sock using Alpaca sox (I haven’t started &I don’t have the yarn in front of me, brand & name are slipping my mind. OH, that’s what my stash in ravelry is for!! Hold please….) Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in Garden. Aha! I love ravelry.

Surprise, surprise!! Who just knocked on my door?? The FedEx man!! I love him too! Here’s what he brought me today.

Naughty Monkey Open Line sandals in Green, obviously!

Naughty Monkey The Bomb Pump. I like to think of them as my biker-babe heels. I love them too! Can you tell I am bingeing on shoes a little bit? Well Ross last night didn’t help.

Yummmmmmmmm…..Dollhouse

These 2 brands are the perfect fit for my feet. High arches, lots of cushion, narrow toe box. It’s all good. Too bad our trip is to freezing ice & snow country so I can’t wear any of them. Oh, did I say I couldn’t? Well, I am taking one pair for Easter service. I don’t care if I have to get rid of necessities to make them fit!

Okay, back to knitting.

I love the Laminaria shawl, here are the details on ravelry. I had a good amount of it done when I realized that I just didn’t like the way the star chart wasn’t symmetrical. So, I ripped it all out and started over making the right hand side using the k3tog 3-into-3 and the left hand side using a sssk 3-into-3. Granted , if you haven’t looked at the charts or read the pattern or are not making it you will have no idea of what I am speaking.  I decided at that same time to move up a needle size from 6’s to 7’s so that I would get a more open lacework.  It’s gorgeous! The minimaiden Handmaiden yarn is absolutely scrumptious and just glides off the needles.

I really should have taken a picture of the difference before I ripped it out and started using the sssk 3-into-3. Well just imagine that those horizontal lines of dec on the left side going straight up and down and the right side still being horizontal.  Not the most pleasing to the eye. Now, if I were using a true laceweight yarn and larger needles it wouldn’t be noticable once blocked out. Since I am using a slightly thicker yarn it’s a more dense fabric and won’t block out as much.

Oh & a Special Thanks to Tracy who forgot her knitting bag last night and worked on my shawl for me! ;o) She is also doing the Laminaria out of the same yarn just using the Smoke colourway.
It’s beautiful in that color!

We (Tracy, Suzanne, Liz and I) had a little field trip today over to Loop & Leaf in downtown SB. I hadn’t been in the store in a couple of months (and they have only been open for over 4 months) so I thought it would be fun to take my friend Liz down there. She’s a relatively new knitter and really finding it enjoyable. We are just immersing her in the knit culture right now & she’s loving it!

For the Laminaria shawl in the Spring Knitty I bought 2 hanks of Fleece Artist Mini Maiden in Cedar.

The pattern calls for Fleece Artist Suri Blue but she didn’t have any so this is a great substitute! My plan is to get this started, get comfortable with the pattern over the next week and take it on our drive to Idaho. We’ll be there for a week, then the drive home. I figure I can get at least 12 hours of good knitting time in on the drive to & from. There are 3 drivers, George, Tracy and I, so it will be a good, even amount of drive time between us.

I also decided it was time to try the Jamieson’s DK so I bought 2 balls; 1 Leprechaun (so appropo for the season) and 1 Rye. I plan on making a 2 colored hat of some sort. I will have to check my ravelry faves to see what’s in there.

She also had Frog Tree yarns and the sport weight pima cotton is so soft and yummy I had to get a ball for my nephew that’s on the way. A cute zeebee is in order with this yarn.

It’s a great boy color and with him being a spring baby the cotton will be good for him through the chilly but not too cold evenings up in NorCal.

As soon as Julie at Knit & Pearl gets the red Silky Wool in that I am dying to have, I will have enough new yarn to keep me busy for a few years.

😉