Movin'

In the past few weeks my life has felt like it's completely been turned upside-down. We had been toying with the idea of moving for a long time, but in short order it has finally become a reality. Just, you know, waiting for the economy to turn at it's worst and have the housing market be in the dumps before you make the leap to sell your house. But these are the changes we've put into motion and good or bad, that's our reality.

So now we are living in a neighborhood where we can actually walk to stuff. Not only stuff, but lots of stuff. And that feels good. It hasn't all sunk in yet. I feel like I still haven't physically gotten used to fact that I no longer live in the other house. It's strange.

Things are good though, the boxes are beginning to diminish and our new house is starting to look normal.

I missed Stitches West, I guess I thought I would melt if it rained a little. I still feel bad I wasn't there, it sounded like a lot of crazy fun. Brooke, if you're reading this, I missed seeing you, and I hope you and Maia had a great time!

In knitting, my newest project is the Barn Raising Quilt from Larissa Brown's new book Knitalong. I love the idea of using sock yarn scraps, because I have a lot, and bonus, they are washable. So my dirty little monkeys can use this blanket (when I actually finish it) with abandon.



On an exciting note, Spin-Off magazine contacted me through Ravelry and my Morning Surf Scarf may be in the Summer issue. Way cool...thank you Ravelry...you rock.

I can't believe it's almost Easter, it feels like we are in constant motion, always busy.

I hope that it can be a day of relaxation, for us and for everyone.

Just a wee laddie

Happy Birthday Grandma, we love you!


Today's my mom's birthday, Happy Birthday Mom. I wish I could be there to celebrate your day with you.

It's been awhile, and I've been dyeing, knitting and spinning. We also went to Point Reyes--Drake's Beach--and saw this amazing guy, isn't he cute?



So, I feel like I had my first non-class successful natural dyeing. This was madder and quebracho (which I can't say for the life of me) yellow, and logwood grey. I was very pleased.



I've been knitting. I finished my Tangled Yoke, it still needs buttons, but it's done with knitting and weaving in ends. I'm kind of scared to look at it on too much, for fear it doesn't look good after all that work, but I will get buttons and photos soon. I've started this sweater from yarn that I had in the stash. I'm trying to use up the stuff I have at home....I still am no good at the size thing, so I went with the smaller size this time, we'll see how that goes. It's a very fun and easy and fast sweater to knit. If I was giving all my time to it, it would be done. I'm on the second sleeve and then just the front will need to be done.



And lastly, I finished spinning the black bluefaced/indigo...it's so pretty, I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it was a pleasure to spin, and I know it will look beautiful knit up.



That's all...hope that your day is as beautiful as it is here in California. The sun is shining and I am thankful.

Haouli Makahiki Hou!

or Happy New Year...
Well it's a brand new year. Amazing, I always get a thrill on New Years Eve no matter how good or bad a year has gone. A time for a new beginning, chances to make new resolutions, to change, to grow.

Funny, I'll be 39 this year, it sounds so old to me. I used to look in the mirror and wonder if I'd ever look like a woman and not a girl. Now I look and see the wrinkles and want to look like that girl again. Never satisfied.

Knitting. I've been knitting a bit. I'm almost done with my Tangle Yoke Cardigan. Well I'm almost done with the knitting. It may take another while longer for the buttons, we'll see.




I've started this new sweater, a seamless yoke, for which I'm using a standard pattern for and will try to design my own yoke. I don't know if I'll finish it, I feel like I never finish the sweaters I don't have patterns for. I like to know what it's supposed to look like before I finish it. And I have this feeling that it will be a lot like when I draw...never turning out quite like I saw it in my brain.

I suppose this is something I need to push through and just do, and not worry if it doesn't fit me or if it looks perfect. An exercise, a challenge, maybe good for a brand new year.

I finished my Morning Surf Scarf, which I love, love, love. I didn't love knitting it so much. At first it was interesting and new, and then it was boring. It reminds me of the Kelp Aquarium at Monterey Bay Aquarium. It's soft and beautiful.



I plan on doing more dyeing this year, and trying to branch out creatively. It seems like it's so hard, like I've shut that part of me out, while I've been mom and wife. It's a constant battle to remember who I am and be that person. Not just the picker upper, grocery shopper, laundry do-er, etc. I suppose everyone has these same battles in one way or another.

I started spinning some beautiful Black Blue Face Leicester that Kristine overdyed with Indigo...





It's amazing to spin, you too can get some at A Verb for Keeping Warm....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

First off I'll begin with a post I started awhile ago...

What an amazing wonderful thing the internet can be when it comes to being a knitter. I appreciate all the incredible knowledge that people share. Having come to the Nupps on my Swallowtail Shawl and getting sore wrists trying to pearl those 5 stitches together, thinking to myself, carpal tunnel here I come. I looked at what those had done before me. Luckily there was a lot on the subject. Here is where I went http://swallowtailshawl.blogspot.com/2007/05/nupp-tip.html
I ended up using a smaller dpn sock needle, just shifting those nupp stitches onto the needle so I could pearl those babies with ease. If only it could solve my inconsistent spinning woes. The control yarn (bit that helps you know how you want your yarn to turn out, instead of your tired and failing memory) probably really is a good idea. oh well. Handmade with love. Not perfect. Now that I have finished the nupps, I ran out of yarn and fiber...so it's on hold until I figure out what to do.

The Tangled Yoke is truly my humbling project. It seems every two steps forward I take, I must take at least 4 back....I plan on working on it after the holiday knitting.

I've been doing some Christmas knitting....I always say I'm not going to, and then end up with some "small" projects. This year I chose hats. Here is a Thorpe from Through the Loops for Tia made with Rowan Cashsoft chunky



I followed the pattern exactly, casting on and knitting from 4 stitches is tricky! I also learned to half double crochet, there is a great tutorial on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL4YCmIrCgw

A hat for baby Judd, with some soft yarn from my stash, pattern from Ann Budd's Handy Book of Patterns





and Kim's hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, in Aracania Aysen which is super super soft



I also am making a Devil Hat from Stitch and Bitch, but it is hornless right now. Almost there.

Well, I hope everyone has a fun and restful holiday and that the New Year brings lots of love, happiness, and peace....

Happy Halloween!

It's a day late, but here is my ninja monkey and my prisoner monkey ready for Halloween.

Well, one of the troubles I've come across with spinning yarn for a project, is when you can't knit it until you spin more yarn. I guess there are those people who have the patience to spin up all their yarn before they start knitting. I am not one of those people. So my Swallowtail Shawl is on hold. Which is so hard because I've come to the end of the first repeats and now onto something new and different, but can't continue.

The Tangled Yoke cardigan is coming along nicely. I so wish the second sleeve or second sock for that matter were like the drive home. Familiar and faster. But they're not. They're boring. I have finished both of them, and am up to the yoke now, which is why I'm typing and not knitting, because it takes a certain amount of attention which I do not have right now. I'm excited about this sweater.





I started a new scarf,

it's the morning surf scarf. I had this yarn I had spun up that I thought would look great in this pattern. I'm still not sure about how many yards will look like what, but it's fun to knit anyhow. Maybe I'll have a mini scarf, or a hot pad or maybe it will actually be scarf length.

I finished my BFF socks,


They are knit with the Neptune colorway of A Verb for Keeping Warm sock yarn available on Etsy. Size 2 needles. The only change I made is that I did 4 repeats instead of 9 on the ankle part. I loved the yarn and the pattern and would recommend both.

And last, but not least I've been doing some spinning.....




Besides the fact that I've eaten way too much candy in the last couple of days, that's all for now.

hootie cootie rum sum sum

finished Girlfriend's Swing coat, ready to wrap.
swallowtail shawl with handspun.
small monkey with braces.


Knitting the Tangled Yoke a lot, I am almost done with the first sleeve.

There was one woman who did them both at once, that is very smart, but it makes my head hurt when trying to figure out how. I've started my second BFF sock, actually almost to the toe.

Started the Swallowtail Shawl. I'm not a shawl person. I'm already trying to figure out who I can give this to. I wanted to try out spinning laceweight and then see what it looked like knitted up, so there it is. I have to remember that handspun is not like yarn you buy at the store. It's got it's own personality, and is beautiful in different ways.

I'm having one of those hormonal weeks where I'm angry at everything and hate just about everyone. I wish there were some way to turn these feelings off. I do a fair amount of exercise. But I don't stay away from the caffeine and chocolate. But how could you? Wouldn't that make me into more of a monster? Anyhow...

It's like a Sickness

Okay, I get these obsessions about what to knit. Really all I want are easy to figure out projects so I can knit them and not have to do things like math, or swatching, or even finding a yarn that will work. A project I can knit while waiting at the dentist, or talking on the phone, or watching a movie, you get the idea.

So once I get the notion I want to knit something, it's like an itch, I can't let it go. So now, I've started the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. I have had this Rowanspun DK which I bought for my retro prep, I bought it on sale online, and was unsure about the color. Well, it's been sitting in my closet for a long time, and it looks a little better(hah) well, now that I've gone on Ravelry and saw that someone else is making their tangled yoke cardigan out of Rowanspun DK. I don't know if I love it though. I'm still not sure of the color and I'm not sure that that the pattern will show up well with this yarn. but i still continue to knit.



It's like a sickness.

I've all but abandoned that tank, I still can't bear to look at it.

I'm still knitting the BFF socks. One down, one to go!!



I really like the Neiman sweater in the new Knitty, and Roam. Although with Roam, I want to buy that sweater and wear it more than I want to knit it. It looks so comfy and in such a great yarn.

The 19th was my oldest monkey's birthday. 11. I can hardly believe it. It's amazing how fast these children grow. He's started middle school and seems to be hanging in there, with the big fishes, or should I say, big-ger fishes. I constantly want him to stay young and grow up at the same time. He has taught me a lot about life these past 11 years, I am so incredibly happy and grateful that we are together in this crazy journey called life.