no frills attached

ok... so i have gone back and forth with the san antonio scarf....

i knit it on the plane when anthony and i had decided to move here. it was one of the most annoying and frustrating patterns that i have completed. (and the fact i have completed it shows my devotion to it).

however i never wore it. a few years later i added a ruffle to it....
and...
i never wore it.

it is my san antonio scarf. it should be worn here.. at least once...
on top of that, it is the only scarf i have knit for myself~ how can i be so critical?

in case i neglected the details on previous posts:
pattern~

daisy scarf by amanda crawford
3 skeins rowan kid classic in battle #845
needle us #8
& of course.. a lot of uncertainty

oh gloomy day

i like to knit. i am impatient.

...so when the new debbie bliss spring/summer 2009 was due to hit the shelves of my local book store i was there. and the next day... and the following 4 more days until yes! it was sitting there~ mine for the purchasing.

now i don't begrudge designers when they submit one of their new patterns in a well known knitting magazine in support of their new pattern line. but what i don't really understand is why vogue has chosen a designer (and she is absolutely fabulous) to publish a magazine devoted to her alone and publish her patterns from 1995!

ouch. that is not new. should style not evolve?

well in this case my gloomy buddy for the day was created. he is 9o% sirdar country style dk (grey), 9% crystal palace yarns merino frappe (red) & 1% patons silk bamboo (black).

i like him and i think he will be happy to keep mr. g's room company until he returns.

today i feel orange

anthony's fantastic butternut squash soup recipe:






1. one butternut squash peeled & cubed (use gloves!)
2. chicken stock or boullion cube (let's make it easy)
3. habanero pepper
~~~~

boil cubed butternut squash in water (enough to cover)
add a cup of stock or boullion cube and whole un-cut habanero pepper.
cook until soft and blend.
(without pepper.. well, unless you are insane.)

happy valentines day

for the little people in my life for valentines day. (and my very own extra special person)

when finished i took the eyes off. ever read neil gaiman’s coraline? they looked like the scary creepy rats.

off with their eyes!

i ended up placing them in wooden mini panibois molds and adding happy words before sending.

the designer is anna and her website is mochimochi land. what a great pattern. i really love this designer.

the goods:

wool-ease thick & quick (1 skein each): grass, sky blue & raspberry

size 11 needles

stuffing

entrelac....

sounds like the name of a sinister cat.

this is my first attempt at this entrelac thing and some of my thoughts along the way:

i had to keep this pattern in front of me from the beginning to the end. there was no row counting or keeping track of stitches. just full on concentration. (thank goodness she will only become a headband for my sister for if she were a scarf i think my head might explode. )

because of the nature of the beast, it is hard to put her down… you sort of never get to a stopping point as she never really looks right while you are knitting her.

at the end of it all i became pretty darn good at muttering a few choice curse words, m1 & picking up stitches.

the goods:
advil extra strength gel caps
left over gavin’s green colourmart 100% extra fine merino.
us size 6 double pointed needles
us size 6 straight bamboos needles
pattern (free): quant by star athena (named after mary quant the british fashion designer)

what i learned at dunkin donuts today....

in a town of 2 million people there is only one dunkin donuts.

i had to drive 28 miles to get there.

the servers there are much friendlier than any dunkin donuts i have been to in boston.

the servers ask if you want cream or sugar in your coffee rather than assuming everyone must, therefore finding it easier to have the customer request to have one or both omitted.

while sitting there i noted that anthony took his cream cheese and divided it onto each slice of the bagel before eating to ensure even distribution.

i tore into mine and spread the cream cheese on the bits as i ate it. when i ran out of cream cheese i left the rest of the bagel.

i truly, in every avenue of my life cannot finish anything i start.

sadly, that includes your birthday present meredith.

happy birthday my friend.

i could never live in boston terrier

it got down to near freezing last night. i have never met a dog who so dislikes the cold as much as opal does.

in truth she resents us for it.

(....and not because of the silly pink winter coat.) she truly resents us for the cold weather.

apple pie

it’s rainy and 46 degrees out today.

i decided it is about time to clear out the fridge and pantry. i find apples…. just a little on the wrinkly side. then i decide to bake…. very unlike me.....

percy is monitoring the garden for the heron who is stalking our pond fish and opal is in the land of nod.

so i bake.

thank you to the food network’s ‘mom’s harvest apple pie’. i am only missing the orange zest and cranberries but i am happy to make use of our huge walnut stash and aging raisins.

oh and yes i did use frozen pie crust (but hey, it was in the freezer and it only lasts up to 2 months).

my favorite little person in the whole world....

....yeah ok. the sweater is too big. but isn't he handsome!

i livescribe.

and as it turns out i livescribe for knitting.

as a gift i received this fantastic smart pen. it may be smarter than me, as at this point in our relationship, it talks to me but i am not yet comfortable talking to it.

this weekend i had a fellow knitter contact me to ask what my alterations were for a pattern i had knitted around 4 years ago. i know how sad i am, but this was a reminder. i pulled out my books of knitting notes (there are many books) and retyped the pattern with my modifications (listed row by row in my notes) … sadly only to loose them when the (my) computer had... well it had let me down.

i retyped the modifications.

that is when i realized how friendly my mac and i could be. with my smart pen i rewrote my notes for “francesca”. i will continue my knitting notes in this same journal.

for what it is worth~ this is my new knitting library.
☺

it is wrong... it must be..

today in san antonio it is 80 degrees.

it is wrong... it must be..

our camellias are blooming?!

a little sparkle

i went through a phase of buying a lot of this yarn because well… i really loved it. now i am desperate to find projects to make with it or i will just have to admit defeat and pass it on to a better home.

the best thing about it: fantastic gold christmas tree tinsel woven into the wool.

pattern details:

francesca by martin storey (book classic woman)

8 skeins rowan soft lux
needles: us 6 & us 7

i am omitting the beads. need to face the fact that beads & glitter might be overkill.

darn..

i also think i will do away with the neckline tie (for obvious reason). i am not too keen on the sweater look either so i think i will alter it to make it a cardigan.

given that there are only maybe 2 days in south texas that it would get cold enough to knit with this heavy wool it is now or never. :)

argh! to love or not to love....

a lot of issues for a small little green sweater.

i call it gavin's GREEN alfie.

gavin's GREEN alfie was meant to be a christmas gift. alas it was not meant to be.... the pattern is from sublime #613. the front is worked in two narrow strips and the center boarder and collar are worked at the end.

i used colourmart 100% extra fine merino

size us #3 & #6 needles.

issue #1: my dumb fault. washed prior to knitting in warm water. i thought i was being cleaver so it would not shrink once knit.

new knitting rule: hot water + wool = ball of felted yarn mess.

issue #2: contacted sublime as pattern reads funny.. when working the left front armhole the pattern begins taking the decreases at the armhole edge for the first 3 rows and then takes the decrease on both sides (decrease one stitch at the beginning of the next (x) rows.) i think it should that read at the armhole edge for the next 7 rows~ which is how i knit it. looking at the picture in the book there is no shaping where the collar attaches. (did not hear back from sublime so i am not sure what the patterns intentions were.)

issue #3: had to frog the collar and start again. the collar begins 11 cm below shoulder shaping. after finishing it the neck was too small. ended up re-knitting the collar and joining it 14 cm below shoulder shaping.

a learning process.

and the answer is yes.... to love. for you little gavin in a nice bright color for you to enjoy.

happy christmas!

totally made up on the ‘fly’

sitting at the airport and inspired by the domestic abilities of my dear chi, armed with take-out-boxes of homemade treats to keep me focused, my trusty knitting bag and the realization that it truly is the week of christmas~ i take my husbands advice to write out the always better-late-than-never cards.




the goods: frog tree fingerling weight 100% suri brushed

size 3 needles (all i had at the time)

c/o 13-14 sts
knit every row until desired length.

all sorts of yumminess.

with my chi and her most fantastic kitchen within grasp at last… here comes the homemade version of the vosges caramel marshmallows.

truly one of the greatest things on earth.

why i am happy....

those i miss...

today i will have a corndog....

i will look forward to a pint at the tam with your friends.

i will remember you by your stories.

i will miss you.

one year older....

hey i was woken up early by opal barfing on my pillow.

it soon got better~ but should birthdays really ever fall on a monday?

highlight- my itouch (sadly the iphone is not compatible with my current cell phone cancellation policy). but without the mobile capability of the iphone the itouch is equally as cool. yes.. i even put stitchminder on it.... beware fellow knitters~ technology is on my side.

thank you my friends for every last wonderful birthday wish. and thank you ms. chi for the flowers that you send every year that make me happy.

little g's mathching grandpa's 70th b-day scarf

the dog motif is taken from the dougie dog scarf by Lucinda Guy in her book handknits for kids: 25 original designs for boys and girls. i made the adult one for my father’s 70th birthday and so i made this for my nephew to sport around with grandpa. the little man’s is single stranded and grandpa’s is double.

details: pattern: manly scarf by jennie.

1 skein kraemer yarns tatamy tweed dk (same as grandpas)

.2 skein kraemer yarns tatamy tweed dk in electric blue

.01 skein harmony in cream for the embroidery details on the dog- a gift from sarah.

1 button

notes:

decided pocket should have a button. ~thank you leigh for these fun star buttons you gave me!~

knit using a single strand. the end scarf is 6 inches wide rather than 8 inches double stranded on dads. the finished length is 53” in length... some nice young man at the car dealership yesterday tried it on for me for size (perfect!)

oh my. adding the pocket stressed me to some degree. in the end i chose to knit the pocket into the scarf and add the pocket back for a neater front finish.

done :)

popular

pops gave me some love for my macbook air screen protector. so, in turn i took the screen measurements and of their laptop computers and made them each one.

for syl i appliqued a birdcage... not the real thing but much less messy.



for dad i went simple. i only added a seam binding (boiltex seam binding~ vintage pre 1950’s) border in a darker blue to the wool felt.

if only i could get the mitered corners correct....

sigh.

for pepper.

our little man enjoyed his ornamental cabbage for a nap. today i bought a flat of them from shades of green.

i know he would have enjoyed them.

why i love my birthday…

yes it may sound selfish but to be honest this is my favorite time of the year. years ago my mother would celebrate my birthday with a pumpkin pie.

since then i love everything about the fall and i am lucky my birthday falls in the season.

my dear boston friend sent me john & kira's “chocolate fig pumpkins” for my birthday this year with wonderful handmade and great crafty goodies which make me smile!



what a lucky girl i am.

oh sad, oh sad that i can write this.

this is my finished father’s 70th birthday scarf.

i will be giving pops the scarf when all the kids go home for thanksgiving. i can blog about it because i am certain that dad has never seen my blog. so no chance of ruining the surprise…..

...as he is now seventy years of age i am ok with this.

details:
manly scarf (ok lame name) pattern can be found here
thank you jennie for the free pattern!

3 skeins kraemer yarns tatamy tweed dk (750 yards) ~ my choice of a cotton blend tweed in a dad like color (walnut)

size 8 needles

knitting double stranded.

(note: a nice project to take on the go. i will be making the same scarf in a 6yr old size with the same yarn and a doggie pocket. that way grandpa and grandson can enjoy together)
:)

i picked a project that would use the first pair of needles dad bought me. a nice hand made size 8 made from walnut (hence the color of the yarn.)

end project 70in. long. so i ended up using 3 skeins of yarn in the end (instead of two) to get the length.

will use the same yarn for my nephew single stranded on a needle size 5. let’s hope it works out!