Sources for Help with Rogue Grafting

First of all, for Beth:
PumpkinKnits wrote a cheat sheet for grafting the Rogue hood! It's linked on the right hand side on her blog.
Also, Wise Hilda wrote a basic explanation of grafting ribs or cables as well.

More FOs, WIPs and Orchids, coming up next!

Little Red Riding Rogue

OMG IT'S DONE!
DONE! Over two years in the making, and the sweater is finally done!
I've been working on this sweater for over 2 years. I knit it, then procrastinated the seaming, and then it sat on the bookcase in the hopes that it would install its own zipper for probably about a year.
Being too big didn't help its case any either, but a good spray-down and a careful run through the dryer took care of the extra long sleeves and some of the extra fabric.
So here she is, my FINALLY FINISHED OBJECT



This is my cardiganization of Girl From Auntie's Rogue Pullover, minus the pockets. There's info on the pattern site about converting it to a cardigan, and links to other bloggers who have written out the modifications. I also added an i-cord edging to create a zipper..placket? I don't know what else you'd call that. I kinda wish I'd still added pockets, but whatever. It could also use some short rows at the back of the neck, IMHO.

Yarn: 6.3 skeins of Plymouth Galway Highland Heather in rust
Size: 38" this pattern runs BIG. I wish I'd made the smaller size, and I definitely wish I'd adjusted the size of the sleeves and the depth of the armholes. They're huge! The circumference of the sleeves is VERY large at the top, and the armholes come down to the bottom of my chest, and I don't find that very flattering, and neither is the 7 or so inches of positive ease, but the darn thing IS warm and comfy ;) The sleeves were also very long before I threw the thing in the dryer.
I didn't realize the original design included a lot of positive ease anyway, and wanted something I could wear a bit like a jacket, but it's much bigger than how I usually like my sweaters.

I sewed the zipper by hand, as my seamstress friends were too intimidated by knitwear to help me :P But I think I will have one of them go over the stitches to reinforce them (I'm not the best at hand-sewing either).

I very fun and fairly quick knit, but it does have some fiddly grafting on top (which was kinda fun, once you get the hang of it). Very well written pattern!






On Ravelry too! I'm RedThread!

Diagonal Scarf

puffyscarf2, originally uploaded by RedQueen715.

Oh Noes! I ran out RIGHT at the end! This was frustrating, however, the scarf was only about 4.5' long, and quite wide, so I decided it wouldn't be such a big deal to frog it and start over, especialy since the whole thing only took a few hours.
I made the 2nd scarf with smaller triangles (17 stitches), and this made it narrower and longer.

It's done in 2 balls of Karabella Puffy, which is a gorgeous almost-boucle super-bulky merino. I used a size 13 needle. It LOVES to be garter stich, but that's boring, so I compromised and did a garter stitch Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf . This pattern is so fast and fun! More details about the construction over on Ravelry. I really want to buy a few balls in Mustard and make one for myself! The finished scarf is about 5.5 feet long, and 6 inches wide. I'm not sure how to block it, because I think soaking it might "deflate" the fluffy merino. I'll probably steam it, but on something this thick I can't image that that would have any effect on it. Suggestions appreciated!

Swirl Neckwarmer

Swirl Neckwarmer!



I was inspired to create my own button-up neckwarmer after seeing YarnballBoogie's "Fourteen". Everyone at The Celtic Knot has been going ga-ga over the one we have knit up in Frog Tree Merino. I changed the pattern up quite a bit to suit my yarn and style. This pattern is done in a traditional Brioche stitch, with decorative crochet button holes. I found that traditional Brioche creates more defined ridges, when compared to Fisherman's Rib (the stitch used in the original pattern).
Yarn: Catalina Bulky Alpaca, 2 skeins (comparable to Cascade Chunky Baby Alpaca, or 200 grams of the yarn of your choice)
Needles: US 10.5
Extras: Medium-Large crochet hook (I think I used an N)
3 1-inch buttons (I got my handmade porcelain buttons from Joan Miller, ButtonBliss on Etsy)

Directions:
Holding two strands held together CO 20 stitches
Set-up Row: *YO, Slip 1, Knit 1* repeat across the row
Pattern Row: *YO, Slip 1, k2tog* repeat across
Repeat the pattern row until you have only a few yards of yarn remaining. Bind off loosely, but do not cut your yarn.

Crochet button holes:
Distances are estimated.
Using safety pins, mark the spaces where you want your button holes to be. They should be roughly 1/2-inch in from the edge on both sides, and one in the center.
Row 1: chain 1, single crochet in the next two bound-off stitches. Chain 3. Skipping the next 2-3 bound-off stitches, single crochet in the following 5 bound-of stitches. Chain 3. Skipping the next 2-3 bound-off stitches, single crochet in the following 5 bound-of stitches. Chain 3. Skipping the next 2-3 bound-off stitches, single crochet in the last two bound-of stitches.
Row 2: Chain 2, Double crochet 8 times in the hole formed by the "chain 3" button hole from the previous row. Single crochet to anchor the scallop. Double crochet 9 times in the next button hole, single crochet to anchor it, and repeat for the last button hole. Cut yarn leaving a 6-inch tail and pull the end through the loop to secure it. Weave in all ends.

Attach your buttons up the left side of the neckwarmer, using your button holes as a guide.

Whirlwind NYC trip!

Last Friday I took the bus up to NYC to visit with my friend Day, who is from Staten Island, but who has lived in Seattle for the past 6 or 7 years. He was in town to see his family for Chinese New Year.
I've never hung out with Day in NY so this was really different for us. I got on the bus around 7am, took a nice long nap, and arrived in downtown Manhattan a little before 11am. I had some time before Dayvd could meet me, so I wandered towards a Starbucks on 42nd st, right next to a Yoshinoya beefbowl restaurant. I was pretty surprised to see Yoshinoya, because outside Japan I'd only seen them in Hawaii! So I walked into Starbucks with Japan on my mind, and sat in the window with my $4 latte and overpriced banana bread. To my right was an asian girl who looked about my age, reading a New York City travel guide...in Japanese! I figured she might have just arrived and said Ohaiyoo Gozaimasu! (Good Morning!) and asked where she was from. She was more than a little surprised, but excited, to find someone speaking to her in Japanese, and said she is a grad student in Tokyo, here to interview some people from the UN for her Political Science thesis (how cool!). We talked for a good while, about NY and Tokyo and her trip, and I mentioned we were interested in visiting the MOMA that day. "Oh!" she said, "You should go after 4pm, it's free! I was thinking of going, myself!" This was pretty cool, because I'm sure we would have gone at like, 3:30, and would have still had to pay $20 to get in, if Chizu hadn't said something! She is going to be in DC next for a week, and I said she should give me a call if she's lonely :)

Day showed up, and we decided to head to Chinatown for lunch. I LOVE eating in Chinatown(s) with Dayvd because he knows what most of the food is, and can talk in Chinese with the waitstaff. We always end up with food I never would have ordered by myself :) We found a little place with a huge fake tree in the middle of the restaurant, decorated with everything from Halloween pumpkins, Valentine hearts, to New Year's paper lanterns. We had pan-friend pork dumplings, steamed seafood dumplings, and noodles and veggies in sauce. The noodles were too bland for my taste but the dumplings were wonderful. After lunch we took our time wandering up Broadway towards Union Square park to meet his friend from Art School, Tae-rin. On our way we popped into Dean and Deluca. I could spend an entire afternoon, and my entire paycheck in that store! Wonderful gourmet meats and cheeses (one whole case of different bleu cheeses!), beautiful fresh fruits and veggies, stunning flowers, artisanal chocolates, and an amazing array of jams, vinegars, sauces, spices and kitchen accouterments. We tasted some local jams and chutneys being displayed by the creator herself, and she said that all the fruit (except the exotic, like mango) is sourced locally. I tried her hot plum chutney, and despite the $10 pricetag, had to have some :) But hey, I'm supporting small business and farms, and damn this stuff is good! I also bought a long wooden pestle so I can make Mojitos this summer. I have been looking EVERYWHERE for one of these!

We also wandered around Pottery Barn, as I'd never been in one of their stores, and marveled at the gorgeous patterned plates and Snail napkin rings which I think I need to own!
We commented to each other about how Manhattan really is it's own little ecosystem...with completely different culture from the rest of the country, or even the rest of the state. We noticed that in general, Manhattanites are slimmer and more fashionable compared to the average American, and on a daily basis are faced with more options in terms of food, shopping and activities than most people are exposed to in a year.

We waited in the park for Tae-rin and people watched for a bit, and took silly pictures:


Then it was off to the MoMa! I'd never been before, and it was fun to be there with someone who loves art as much as I do :) It was way to busy and crowded though (since it was free), and I was already exhausted from walking around the city, so we didn't go through it as thoroughly as we could have. I still enjoyed seeing some works that I had only seen in books before though.
Running low on fuel, we took the subway to Brooklyn for pizza, and parted ways. I headed up to Queens to meet my friend Dylan, and Tae-rin and Day headed back to their respective houses.
Dylan and I had a low-key evening of junk food, beer and cartoons, and then I fell into exhausted sleep.

Saturday I had the opportunity to spend some time with Brian, whom I haven't seen since senior year of college, and only briefly. While we talk on the phone a lot, it was really good to get some "face time" :) We ate lunch at my favorite diner, the Tick Tock at 34th and 8th, and had eggs over sausage, smothered in cheese, with two potato pancakes on the side, AND sweet potato fries. Talk about a power lunch!
Here's Bri looking swarthy at the diner:

After lunch I dragged him yarn shop browsing with me, on the condition that I make him a new scarf and hat. We went to School Products in the garment district, which is NYC's oldest yarn shop, and owned by my coworker's family! I name dropped and the owner was very happy to show us around the store and give me a little discount on the incredibly inexpensive cone of cashmere that I bought (post about my purchases soon to come). We then hopped a train to the West Village, where I have never really spent any time before. It's really interesting area of the city! Almost more like Philadelphia in feeling and ambiance. We popped into one mini yarn shop we stumbled upon on our way, and marveled about how little tiny second-floor shops with not much stock can stay in business. We then proceeded to The Point, which is a knitting cafe I'd read a lot about on the internet. It too was much smaller than I expected, and it was crazy busy since they were having their Saturday sit and knit. We got some coffee and cooled our heels for a bit, sharing a table with some VERY snotty obnoxious beginner knitters. Overall, aside from at School Products we did not find the staff or the patrons at these shops to be particularly friendly, which is typical for NYC, but not typical for most yarn shops.

It was getting to be late afternoon, so we headed back up to midtown, as Brian had to catch a 7pm train home to CT, and got a few pints and some wings at Tir Na Nog, and debated about whether the bartender's Irish accent was real or not. Overall it was a very fun, fairly inexpensive trip, and I think i'll be heading up to NYC more often, now that I know the bus is frequent, convenient and cheap ($38 roundtrip). Let me know if you want to come with me next time!

Hat for Brigid

Another Earflap Hat!
This one for my other co-worker, Brigid. Despite how much I love them, I don't think I'll make one for myself, since I think they look kinda silly on me.
I have a Fake Isle hat in the works for me!


I spent the day helping with our big "5th Anniversary Sale" at the yarn shop today! That was quite fun since most of us who work there were there, and I don't get to see them very often. It was very busy too, lots of friendly people :) I even met some new Ravelers to add to my friends list! They are big fans of Storm Moon Knits yarn, and they practically cleaned us out! I haven't bought any yet, but I'm rather fond of her "Gaz" colorway, so maybe next time we get some more in I'll splurge.

We decided that on the couch watching March of the Penguins was where we needed to be tonight. I've been fighting a nasty cold/flu thing all week, and while I feel better than I did during the week, my hearing and balance is a bit off and I still feel icky. Thank goodness for tea! And fleece pjs *snuggle*

My Monk hat made for Real Monks..er..Nuns!

I was contacted recently by Willow Million of "String of Gems" in California, thanking me for my Monk Hat Pattern which she informed me they were using to knit hats to take with them to Tibet to give to 250 Buddhist Nuns whose livlihood they help support! I love the idea of contributing to something that will help people so directly. And they do need our help! They are trying to get 250 hats BY March 3rd. So if you have some extra wool yarn, and an extra hour or two, please knit a hat for them!

Excerped from the message I received from Willow:

You may know that Cathy (owner of Inner Journey in Los Gatos, CA andmember of Gyalwa Gyatso Buddhist Center in Campbell, CA) is a tirelesssupporter 250 nuns near Lhasa, Tibet.
I am knitting some wool hats forthe nuns and looking for other knitters who would like to participate. Cathy would personally deliver any hats we can complete when shevisits them in March. She is leaving on March 12, so I am setting mypersonal deadline for March 3. I have already researched the yarn,which is very reasonably-priced and the pattern, which knits upquickly with size 11 needles.

Here is some background information about the nuns and their needs:
IntroducingString of Gems A foundation dedicated to the financial welfare of Buddhist Nunsin and around Lhasa, Tibet. String of Gems was founded in 2001 around a dinner table at theShambala Hotel in Lhasa, Tibet. After 2 previous trips to Tibet, wewanted to give something back to the people and country we were forming a definite attachment to. The more time we spent with theTibetan people, the more we saw how important their religious identityand culture was to them. These are a kind and gentle people who walk their Buddhist beliefs everyday. Of all the things we could do to help the people of Tibet., one need above all became very apparent once we were introduced to a group of Buddhist Nuns. They needed help gettingtheir day to day needs met. They seemed to have been abandoned byeveryone! Since 1949, more than 6,000 monasteries and nunneries have been destroyed. Thousands of Tibetans have fled into exile, followingtheir spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama. What may be lesswell known is that, currently, Tibetans are still subjected to gross human rights violations everyday. The exile of thousands of Tibetan and Chinese monks and nuns continues today as China's genocidal politics persist. There are numerous nunneries and thousands of nunsin residence who are barely surviving. These humble nuns have next tonothing except their belief's and are in need of so many things frombasics like shoes, blankets, food, and tools to overwhelming itemssuch as roads to their nunneries, yaks to haul firewood and supplies,and repairs for the nunnery buildings themselves. In Tibet women are still second class citizens and nuns in particular are under aconstant threat of personal and religious prosecution.We are currently financially helping 4 Nunneries in the Lhasa area:Garu, Mechong Ri , Chupsong, and Nemo. There are approximately 250nuns currently occupying these nunneries. About every six months wewire money to a much-trusted Tibetan friend who takes these funds outto each nunnery where it is used to buy everything from rice and gheeto sutra books and Stupas. It is impossible to wire large amounts ofmoney into the personal account of a Tibetan citizen as it acts as ared flag for the Chinese government.
String of Gems is a grass roots group of individuals dedicated to the ongoing financial needs of these extraordinary women.
Bless you for helping us get in touch with knitters who would bewilling to make some Hats for Nuns.Yours in the Dharma, Willow


Here's the page she made with the address to send the hats to, desired yarn to use, and you can learn a little more about their organization:
http://mysite.verizon.net/reso5cyd/hatsfornuns/

Thanks for your help and your interest in their cause!

6-Degrees of Karabella

So the other day the new-er girl in my office came up to me holding a new "Runway Knits" book, which I had not yet had the pleasure of perusing yet. She exclaimed "It's my Aunt's!", by which I thought she meant that she had purchased it for or borrowed it from her aunt, as she (co-worker) is just learning to knit. No, that's not what she meant. She meant that her Aunt WROTE the book. Her Aunt (well, techincally her mother's cousin) is the creator of Karabella Yarns, Berta Karapetyan, and the Author of "Runway Knits", designer for Donna Karen, etc! *Squee!*
AND she's close with her! She want me to come with her if she goes to NYC to go her her store, School Products! How cool is that? What's funny is that, as a non-knitter, she never realised that any of this could possibly be a big deal.
That's my little brush with knitting greatness for the month :)

Also, I've been smitten by YanBallBoogie's Fourteen (Briche, buttoned neck-warmer). However, I'm using a true brioche rather than fisherman's rib, and mine's wider, and I'm using 2 strands of Catalina Baby Alpaca Chunky in black. It is YUMMY. I was thinking of making it into a real scarf, but I only have 4 balls, and still want to make a matching hat. 2 balls will be perfect length for the neckwarmer.

My First 3-Ply!

I've been lazily spinning up this lovely Cormo/Alpaca roving I bought at Sheep and Wool (from Foxhill Farm) for a long time now, and finally I got to try my hand at plying it! This was my first non-Navajo 3-ply job, and I think I did pretty well. I still need some work on plying, but I used the "Spice Jar top" trick and I think that helped. (You run each of the plies through a whole in the lid and it helps to keep them separated).
It's about a sport weight I think, about 13 or 14 WPI if I'm figuring that correctly. I'm not sure what to do with it yet, but I think it could be lovely as some twisted-stitch mittens (if I have enough).
Here it is!



Also some WIPs!
Here's the very beginnings of my GreenGable Pullover I found on Ravelry. I originally was going to make the Leaf Lace Pullover with this yarn, but the more FOs I saw of it, the less I liked it. It just looks kindof frumpy on everyone. I LOVE the bold cabling in this design, and I think the Polar will show it off nicely!


And here's my languishing Pomatomus sock. Stitch patterns usually never give me a problem, but I keep getting lost in this one! I think I just need a good few hours to push throuh the complicated bits, instead of trying to work on it when I'm distracted. I'm using Ellen Cooper hand-dyed Merino.

Xmas Loot! And Hats!

An adorable Alpaca finger puppet! I got a grey one around here too somewhere...must be buried in my stocking.

I got 5 colors of Alpaca top my Mom got from a farm near my hometown! How wonderful is that?! J has already decided that he NEEDS an earflap hat from the back Alpaca. He also picked out the chunky orange Malabrigo below for stripes.


Also, spinning books!


hehe I'm so easy to buy for.

So, remember that pink/lavender chunky handspun I made from the NC wool my mom got me? Well, I turned it into and earflap hat for my sis for giftmas! Here's J modelling the hat. info on Ravelry, I'm RedThread:


And here's another version of the same hat, that I made for a coworker who is moving to Chicago. It's Noro Kureyon and Cascade 220 held together. This is the Knitty Gritty Camo Earflap Hat Pattern, if you were wondering.


Find me on Ravelry! I'm RedThread

December Recap

January is here!
Unfortunately, this year's "Selfish Knitting Month" is going to be postponed until February, as I'm still working on some late giftmas presents :P
I'm hoping to build a new home for the blog soon! A home page for easy access to pattern and pictures, and hopefully handspun yarn for sale!
In the meantime, I have added a link in the sidebar for the Dragon Scarf.

December was very eventful! Full of parties and friends and family and food, along with plenty of stress, from things like buying a car, and having way too much crap to do at work.
J and I celebrated our 4th New Year's Eve together by having a beautiful, luscious, dinner at Red Maple. I tried my first Vouvray while there, and will have to seek out a bottle in the near future! It went wonderfully with my pomagranite grilled swordfish and purple potato salad! Joe thuroughly enjoyed his beef tenderloin and spinach mashed potatoes as well. Unfortunately we didn't make it out to the party at the club later due J not feeling well, but there's always next year :)

For Solstice this year J and I put together a huge feast for 4 of our closest friends. As I didn't cook for Thanksgiving, and knew I wouldn't be cooking for xmas, this was my one chance to have my own Holiday Dinner. It involved much planning and a few evenings of prep, but it was well worth it! Here's the spread:
*Cranberry and Pink Champagne cocktails when my guests arrived
*toasty crustini topped with honey-walnut goat cheese, warm saute'd pear, and a curl of proscuitto as an appatizer
*Handmade winter squash ravioli cut into star shapes, in a sage cream sauce; for the first course.
*Roast Goose with Brandied-Cranberry reduction sauce (Thanks Emeril!)
*Quinoa with squash and dried fruit
*Roasted beet salad with fennel and herbed goat cheese over greens
*Mocha-Walnut cookies with Dublin Mudslide ice cream for dessert

Everything came out just as planned, and wonderfully delicious! Goose takes a little work, but was easier than expected. I don't think I'll bother making my own pasta dough again though, at least not until I buy a Kitchen Aid mixer with a pasta attachment! I wish I'd taken pictures! I was too busy to think about it..

December limit reached!

Sorry Everyone!
My Download Limit for December has been reached!
Dragon Scarf Pattern will be available for download again in January. I am very sorry for this inconvenience.
Alternatively, you can email me and we can set up a private paypal transaction if you need it immediately :)redqueen715 at yahoo

CHINESE LUCK DRAGON SCARF PATTERN!!!

It's here! I've had this thing done for months, but couldn't get it converted correctly into a pdf! Thanks to kind people on Ravelry who offered to help me, it's now ready to go! Click on the link to download a copy for $6.00 US that will be delivered to you via email.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/chinese-luck-dragon-scarf

About the Chinese Luck Dragon Scarf:
This scarf won first place at the 2005 Washington D.C. “Scarf Style Scarf Contest” sponsored by Interweave Knits, to benefit orphans and AIDS victims.
Read my original post about this scarf!

Materials:
Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Cascade 220 Wool or
100 grams worsted weight wool 1 full hank each of red (MC) and yellow (CC1), or any 2 contrasting colored worsted weight yarns.
One ball of Crystal Palace Yarns Squiggle (50gr, 100yds) in “Firecracker” (red/yellow/orange print) (CC2)
Needles: US#9, plus two double pointed needles or one circular needle size 7 or 8 for i-cord
crochet hook
tapestry needle
Gauge: 4 st/in (gauge is relatively unimportant for this scarf, as long as you use a worsted weight yarn)


Errata:
In the “Scale Pattern” section the non-repeats are not written out for the ends of the rows. It should be:
Row 1: K2, P1, K5, P1 end K2

Row 2: P1, K3, P3 end P1

Row 3: P5, K1 end P5

Row 4 As for row 3

Row 5 As for row 2

Row 6 As for Row 1

Ravelry Link, if you're interested.

Email any questions about the pattern or problems you encounter to me at wishchick99@yahoo.com

My Downstream package!

So, I was silly and didn't take pictures of the K1T2 package I sent out, and I wish I did, BUT Cindy did!
I'll outline the contents for you anyway:
2 kinds of locally distributed loose teas from small businesses
-whole leaf white tea with melon and pear
-black tea with vanilla
One bar of local handmade Green Tea soap
One skein of Trecking wool/bamboo sock yarn in neutral grey/green/orange/browns, that coordinates beautifully with the Carnelian stitch markers that I made :)
6 cherry blossom shaped teacup coasters in maroon
A tea ball for the loose tea
A honey-lemon tea stirrer
And a tin full of tiny Earl Grey Tea shortbread cookies, made by me!

Knit1Tea2 Package!

I had soo much fun with this swap! I got to shop for yarn and tea and make pretty things and talk to very nice other knitters.. all in all a great experience :) Not to mention the wonderful package I received yesterday! Thank you so much, Jennifer!
So, the goods, I got:

FOUR kinds of organic Green Tea! Lemon Mint, Sencha, "Fog Lifter" green tea, and a Genmai Matcha. I haven't seen Matcha since I left Japan, so that should be interesting! Also because that one is a genmai matcha, it has toasted brown rice in it. Looks very different from the matcha I'm used to. I'm sure it will be excellent :)
AND I got a TEA STICK to steep them in! I'm sooo excited about this, I've wanted one for a long time now and had never seen it in person. VERY cool invention. Check it out! http://gamilacompany.com/tea/

I got a pack of yummy-looking Chocolate scone mix, a skein of Malabrigo worstead in varigated greens (SO SOFT), a Caribou Coffee car coaster, some cafe mints, and a handknit tea towel and washcloth set! And look! The tea towel has a teapot knit into it and it says TEA at the bottom! How clever! I couldn't get a good picture of the washcloth, but it has a teacup and says tea as well :)


And it all came with a nice little note all tight in a tin. Thank you so much Knit and Tea pal! The yarn is so soft it will have to be a hat or neckwarmer..something next to the skin :)

Craft Night!

Saturday night was Girls Craft Night! A few friends and I got together to knit, make jewelry, chat, spin, eat fudge and drink wine!
One of my friends recently took a job at a fabulous Bead Shop. They had a sale last week and I bought some yellow turquoise, carnellian chips, designer silver and copper headpins and assorted pretty glass beads :)
I made some stitch markers, and these! I needed something to wear with brown, and I don't wear much gold, so copper it is!

Camping in PA!

Joe and I went camping last weekend..er...weekend before this past one, with and in Pennsylvania. We went to Raystown Lake and stayed at this nice little campground that has campsites right on the lake! We had beautiful weather, and got to spend our evenings outside by the fire playing games, or lying by the lake staring up at the stars. Only things we didn't like about the lake were the many loud motorboats and the lakeweed.
Joe was the only one whose vacation wasn't as nice as it could be, since he got stung by what we think was a ground wasp, and got food poisoning on our last night :(
Here's some pictures!







and our beautiful new friend! The Spicebush Swallowtail Caterpillar!

(those aren't his real eyes)

I finished it!

I'm in love with my new scarf :) I haven't knit a scarf in a while since I get bored knitting rectangles, but this yarn was too beautiful to pass up! I saw a sample knit up in one of my LYSs and snagged the last skein of the yarn, Schaeffer Yarns "Helene", a merino silk single. This is the "My So-Called Scarf" pattern. Used size 13 needles instead of 11s. It's sooo cuddly!

Lovely Weekend

This Friday Joe came home after being gone for a month. It's one of the longest trips he's been on since we've been together. I am very glad to have him home, and he is very glad to be here :)
We got let out of work early on Friday, and I skipped my workout so I could come straight home. We lazed about and ordered pizza and watched Perfume, and went to bed early.
Saturday we had planned to take a drive, but after going to Randallstown to the pet store to get supplies for the new snakes, Joe wanted to spend the day setting up the new tanks. So he set up the tanks, and I repotted some of my plants, and we made broccoli cheese soup for dinner with biscuits, YUM! using a lower-fat recipe from Eating Well magazine. It uses white beans to add thickness, protein and fiber instead of a roux.

Sunday we took our drive, by backroads, west to New Market. It was a beautiful day, with white puffy clouds, and a light breeze, and not too hot. We drove through Mt. Airy as well, and up and over to Lake Linganore, then walked through New Market and admired the little shops and the cute buildings before heading back.
There was a rib place in New Market that looked really good, but we weren't hungry yet, so we went to Famous Dave's when we got back. I'd never tried their chopped pork sandwhich, so I got that instead of my usual ribs, and it was very good, especially with coleslaw on it. I do looove BBQ pork.

Today, Labor Day, I enjoyed sleeping in, and spending most of the day in my pjs, making white bean hummus, drinking arabian ice tea and spinning on the porch.
ahhhh this is the life!


Here's my 1st finished wheel yarn, a bulky hand dyed wool from North Carolina that my mother gave me.


and my first "art yarn", a mishmash of nearly everything I got in a sample pack from someone in the SpinningFiber Community on LJ.


I'm currently spinning up a lovely natural Cormo-Alpaca blend I got at sheep and wool, hopefully to become and 3-ply for mittens.

Feeling better...

With the help of my fabulous Shaeffer Helene, merino silk, that I got at Lovely Yarns in Hampden, Baltimore, when I went on that little adventure a week or so ago.
Also, I have to say THANK YOU for all the nice comments people have made, both here and on my LJ! I wasn't aware I had any readers left! I haven't been very active as a poster or a reader lately, I'm trying to remedy that.

I'd been meaning to make a My-So-Called-Scarf for a while now, and hadn't found the perfect yarn for it yet. They had a shop model made up with the Helene, and it was just about the most gorgeous thing ever, even in a colorway I didn't like! and they had ONE..SKEIN...LEFT. So I had to have it. And I'm very happy with that particular impulse buy ;)
Here's what she's becoming!


Also, I'm very excited about my silly little cherry tomato plant. It doesn't get quite enough sun, so it's very long and spindly, and is attempting to climb up to the next floor, but it IS making little tomatoes! Aren't they cute?!


For more Life Details, like about my visit to the amazing Baltimore restuarant Red Maple, and other current adventures and randomness, please go visit my personal LiveJournal here