Obligatory Knitting Post

Contrary to the fact that I haven't really talked about it on Ye Old Blog, I am still knitting.



I've got an embarrassing amount of WIPs, and have really only been working on Elemental Boatneck. I've finished up both the sleeves and am almost ready to divide for the front/back on the body piece. I sucked it up and ordered a 7th ball of yarn, because I knew if I didn't add at least 3 inches of length to the body I'd never wear it.



If you click to enlarge that photo (look to the lower right), you will see the battle wounds the body piece sustained when I accidentally dragged it half-way across the parking lot at Whole Foods on Tuesday. Apparently the yarn was still in my purse as I exited the car... oops. I tried to spot clean it, but I'm hoping the Euclean can take care of the rest.

On a final note, do you know how hard it is to knit and watch TV when you have this staring at you, sending you body language that screams "PLLLLLLLLLLLLEASE throw me the ball!"


Please ignore how ridiculously dusty the coffee table is. It's amazing what some flash photography can bring out!

Weekend in Yosemite

Last weekend I got to see a dear friend from college that I haven't really spent any time with in ages! She and her husband are new parents and finally got around to taking a little mini-vacation and we were able to show them the cabin and Yosemite. It was a spectacular day - overcast and unseasonably cool - perfect for some hiking. The park was crowed as always, which always reminds me why we almost never go there despite our cabin being 1 mile away.

Anyway, Matt took some great photos:











I LOVE this one. We are all alone on a path in Sentinel Meadow, with that spectacular scenery. And Katy the dog.

After hiking around the meadow, we headed over to my favorite stop in Yosemite. The mighty Yosemite Falls which is...

... not so mighty in August (usually it's gushing.)

Like I said above, we brought Katy into the park for the first time and ohmygod, was she on sensory overload.



Obviously, she is much more interested in the chipmunk behind me that posing for a photo.

After the day in the park, we headed back to the cabin and gorged on spaghetti and garlic bread. It's fabulous when you know you've gotten enough exercise in that calories don't matter! From there is was a blur of fabulous wine, knitting, and waking up Sunday to the sound of rain. Pure bliss, and a very relaxing way to spend the weekend.

Come back soon Lauren & John!

Sunday FOODday

I ate better on Sunday than I have in a long time!

Sunday morning after a wedding my DH, his brother, and my soon-to-be SIL headed to Carousel in Hollywood for some Armenian feasting. And feast we did.


Tabbouleh, Kheyma, Hummus, Baba Ganoush, Cabbage Salad.

I HIGHLY recommend this place if you like middle-eastern food. I seriously cannot wait to head back to LA so we can go again. Sadly, that won't be until December :(

Thoroughly stuffed from lunch we headed home, and upon arriving Matt decided he needed to make a Costco run. Well, we can't go to Costco and NOT get the King Crab Legs.


King Crab grilled with butter, wine, lemon, dill and pepper.

YYYUUUUUMMMMMMMM. And I wasn't even hungry.

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Thanks to the 8 hours in the car to LA and back, I started and got about 30% of the way through a new cardi, Trina.


I really, REALLY adore Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed.

I'm worried I might be a little short on Brindle, the MC, so I am doing the turned-hems with some leftover yarn from Matt's Cobblestone. I'm knitting the Medium which is a touch to small, so I went up to a size 9 needle and I like the resulting fabric.

SOS Terracotta!!!

Dear Knitters -
PLEASE HELP. I am probably missing something totally basic here, but I am totally stuck on the last couple rows of my Terracota Ripples Skirt. I'm hoping one of you out there who has knit this can provide some insight.

The ruffle part reads:

Rnds 3 and 4: Knit
Rnd 5: *[k2tog] 6 times, [yo, k1] 6 times; rep from * to end
Rnd 6: Knit
Rnds 7-10: Rep Rnds 3-6

So I am on row 9. It looks like this:



If I [k2tog] 6 times, then my [yo, k1] is going to start in the MIDDLE of the previous [yo, k1] row. Is this correct? Because it looks really off to me. Or is it supposed to be a feather-and-fan, in which case I should [k2tog] 3 times, THEN start [yo, k1]?

Did I miss something really basic here? Please help. Or send a gallon of wine since I'm about to pull my hair out.

Love,
D-Knitter*

* My new nickname, given to me by a friends boyfriend after his initial shock that I pulled out a sweater to knit at the dinner table.

Traveling Bandit

Since I got confirmation that the recipient got her gift in the mail, I can now share it on here.


Click for bigger

Traveling Bandit
Pattern: Springtime Bandit by Kate Gagnon Osborn
Needle: US 8 / 5.0 mm
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca / 1.75 skeins = 376.3 yards (344.0m)

I knit this shawl for a friend who is leaving on a world expedition at the end of this week. Since I can't "hug her goodbye" because she's 10 states away, I had to knit her a hug instead.


Click for bigger

This yarn, which is a FABULOUS match for the pattern, was purchased a couple years ago with this same friend in mind. Something about the color and warmth of it reminded me of her. I'm glad I was able to find the perfect thing to make out of it.

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All my attention is now turned to Terracota Ruffles:



I'm on the ruffle part with 550 stitches on the needle(s). Every stitch is the same regardless of the row, so why is it bugging me that each round takes so long to finish?!?

Finally, do you know how hard it is to photograph a dog that is in constant motion?



Hi Mommy!

8.7.09

When I headed to the coast this weekend, I took three projects with me: Traveling Bandit, Elemental Boatneck, and the mini-KAL socks.


My 7-year-old cousin was really proud of this 'sculpture' he came up with using my size 2 dpns and the ShiBui sock yarn

I woke up on August 1 and cast on the socks. I knit along happily outside watching the water.



I was obviously distracted by the water because 1) I knit the entire cuff in K1, P1 rib (should have been K1, P2 rib), and 2) I didn't notice the evil POOLING that was going on.

So I ripped it out, and after redoing the cuff I realized what Lisa had already figured out - we would not be happy with the pooling on these. Le sigh. So now this has been earmarked as "the Non-Pooling Sock Project". Upon Lisa's return from Sock Summit we are going to decide on something else (stranded or Mosaic?) that will eliminate that problem.

So I worked on the Elemental Boatneck most of the weekend instead.





Despite the fact that it's slow-going, I really like Linen Stitch. I'm about 50% finished - through 1/2 the body and 1 sleeve. I am concerned that this is going to be too short and that I am not going to have enough yarn - oh well. That means I'll have to buy more, and if I have to buy it at Webs, I'll have to buy enough to get the 25% discount, right?

Speaking of buying more yarn - I made it 10 weeks without purchasing more but I broke down because I needed another skein of Ultra Alpaca for Traveling Bandit (not posting photos here because I think the recipient may read this - see Ravelry), so I ended up getting:


Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock, for some knee-highs (I also really like the Ombre look) and...


Berroco Lustra in Rodin Bronze, and the Lustra Pattern Book. I am deciding between Lexical and Loope (going to eventually do both). Thoughts?

On to another cool, lovely, lazy vacation day. The difference today is that I slept until 915, so my morning productivity is out the door. Cest la vie!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

We just got back from the coast yesterday. But don't be fooled, vacation is sort of just starting for me. I still have 5 DELICIOUS days off from work. Five. Nevermind that I woke up at 630 this morning, and I've done more before 10am than I usually do all weekend... No working! LA LA LA LA LA. Just a tad bit excited, as you can see.

So I am home this morning, sipping coffee, playing with the dogs, knitting, listening to some Paul Simon, all with this lovely breeze coming in from outside.

Doors open during August in California's kitchen you might ask? (or not, but go with me here)

Yes. It is 80 degrees in Fresno today which might actually be considered hell freezing over, in which case I have some promises I may have to cash in on. Seriously. 80 degrees in August. A dinner party and fire in the pit are in the plans for the evening. And a sweatshirt. IN AUGUST. Did I mention 80 DEGREES IN AUGUST.

Ok moving on.

Santa Cruz was lovely as always






DOLPHINS! Click for bigger




On Monday my DH took me to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of my favorite places. Seriously. When I was little (like, five!) I told everyone I wanted to be a Marine Biologist and work at the Aquarium.

Beforehand, we walked Cannery Row and stopped for some clam chowder (covered in Dungeness Crab, YUM) and ahi sashimi.



We then spent about 4 hours with the fishes. We had our nice camera with us, and we got some amazing photos.































This was my best shot of the day:


For reference, this guy was the size of my thumb nail:


We then headed out to the Old Fisherman's Wharf for dinner at Gilberts. On our way out to the patio, the hostess asked us if we had seen the jellyfish yet. You mean the ones at the aquarium? I wondered. Did we look that much like tourists?. But then she pointed over the side. HOLY CRAP.


Please click that photo for the full size.

This was literally 30 feet off shore at the most. Add they continued in this frequency around the entire wharf.



The manager at the restaurant said he had worked on the wharf for 30 years and had never seen that many jellies come up.

It was a perfect getaway! Knitting tomorrow.