Time to choose yet another pattern for the Morning Blush shawl. My second pattern is a variation of an 'Eyelet and Bead' pattern from Barbara Walker's Charted Knitting Designs. I'm using it to separate the mesh pattern from the rest of the shawl; as this is growing I am not sure if I will leave it to one more pattern or more(?). One thing, though, this fine 2 ply yarn is such a pleasure to work with, and I am looking forward to seeing this blocked when it is done.

In the meantime I had been wanting to make a pair of wrist warmers and came across this pattern in Leigh Radford's Oneskein book. Super simple to knit and the beads made it a lot of fun.

I finally got back to dyeing and discovered that I had kept my dyes too long; after eliminating anything that had spoiled I got to work and this is the result. I'm calling it Moody Blues.

I love how light reflective this is, and I am pleased with the final result shown in the 2 ply skein below. I ended up with a 4 oz.skein with 545 yards. Now to find an appropriate use for this. And time to order more dyes!

Also recently finished a knitted tie for my husband that he actually likes (!) and I finally spun up Martie's Free Fall #131, beautiful greens and golds. I have a backlog of handspun lace/fingering weights waiting for projects and also succumed to some beautiful lace weight mohair/silk in a sour lemon color that I want to do a very sheer top out of inspired by those trumpet flowers I took a photo of when we were in California. Like everyone else, I imagine, I have too many projects and too little time. But it is fun to dream about it all.

Another sunset and more animal ramblings

Shortly after returning from California we joined a group of friends at a get-together in Picayune. The sunset was particularly lovely that evening; we were in a tranquil mood. We had enjoyed good company and charming antics from miniature goats. Sorry, no photos, the goats were too quick for us, as they seemed to bounce off any surface they landed on, including the backs of two donkeys. We were told that they frequently ride on the backs of the donkeys and will junp from one donkey to the other! Wish I'd seen that!

Going back to California for a moment or two, these pigeons on the light standard caught my eye. This light is found over a very busy intersection in San Diego, and it made me wonder: What are they looking for? It isn't as though there are a lot of trees in this area or grass where they can look for seed. Just a place to rest their wings? Who knows from pigeon behavior?

Rosie's portrait. I didn't include it in my earlier California travelogue but this is Rosie, in whose home we stayed while in San Diego. She was kind enough to tolerate our invasion of her home and we enjoyed a great walk together.

This week I have been continuing to work on a tie for my husband, easy fingerless garter mitts, beaded, from One Skein, and am almost finished spinning a lovely roving from Taos Sunflower's Free Fall series. The singles that is, then I will ply it to produce a 2-ply yarn. I am gearing up to do some more dyeing, if not tomorrow, then next week. And there are still so many other projects to finish not to mention my continual attempts to SIMPLIFY!

Ciao.

California part two and then home

I thought these little trumpet flowers were so pretty, and I love the colors. These were just outside the front door of our friend's house where we stayed the last five days we were in San Diego. The first five days we were with our friends Louie and Argelia, and it was better than a five star hotel, I tell you. Argelia is a brilliant cook and decorator, and has made a beautiful home out of the condo they rent in Rancho Bernardo. Highlights of our stay with them include the wonderful meals, the comfortable accomodations, and sitting on the terrace watching the sunrise over the hills of Southern California. That's what the time difference will do to you, not to mention the daylight savings 'fall back' change. We ate like kings and had a marvelous time.


The first Sunday we were there our friends planned a 'fiesta' for us. It was wonderful to see so many of our friends in one place and enjoy good food, and a 'baile', dancing, and this little charmer stole my heart. The new son of my friend Dora. He was wending his way under tables greeting and meeting people. I couldn't resist.

One of the things we used to do when we lived in S.D. was to celebrate our anniversary with a couple, Bob and Denise, whose wedding date is the day before ours. We stayed with them the last part of our vacation and rather than going out to eat to a fancy restaurant, we requested a 'Tapas' night. Like they do in the Bar/Restaurantes de Espana, we filled the island in the kitchen with all sorts of Spanish delicacies: garlic mayonaise, spanish tortilla (potato omelet, thick), pepperoni stuffed dates wrapped in bacon, spinach and pear in puff pastry, mushrooms 'al ajillo' (in garlic sauce), shrimp in garlic sauce, garbanzos in onion sauce, olive tapenade on toasted bread slices, 'hot tomatoes' (cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced with tons of garlic and basil) on bread spread with brie; and of course, a good cold champagne.

Bob and Denise included Louie and Argelia and also Bernadette and Bridget and we had a marvelous time sampling and talking, enjoying the patio (like sitting outside at a Tuscan villa), just too yummy for words.

After spending our last day relaxing, and knitting and enjoying even more good food it was time to head home.

We arrived home, landing in New Orleans buffeted by the winds from hurricane Ivan which fortunately was a lot further east. Drove home in a very steady rain with wind gusts but arrived safely. Rested and then started preparing for a spinning demonstration at our lys. I had set this up before leaving on vacation and had ordered a batt called 'Little Orphan Annie' from Monte of MyMixMix (she sells on etsy.com). Spent Saturday morning gathering fibers and carders and a drop spindle, etc., and spent a nice couple of hours demonstrating various aspects of spinning, and answering questions.

Here is the result of spinning 'Little Orphan Annie'. It has, if I remember correctly, Targhee, silk, mohair, some kind of locks, dyed like Annie's hair and a surprise bit of sparkle with teal sequins. It was a lot of fun to spin, and I was able to get around 108 yds. out of something like 2.7 ounces.

Once the spinning demonstration was over I was ready to get back to my routine when I got hit with a whopper of a cold, which kept me from doing practically anything. Now I am over the worst and actually feel like doing. Although, while I was sick I discovered a show on BBCAmerica called "How Clean is Your House". Now I am wanting to clean, clean, clean. Not that I don't, but there were some good tips offered and it made me take a good look around to see what I have been letting slide. Aughh! I'd much rather be spinning. Or knitting!

Ciao!

I feel that I have been away for an age, although it was only ten days that we were in San Diego visiting friends and family. One of the many highlights of our trip was visiting the Cedros Garden Center in Solana Beach where we saw this charming fountain. Another attraction of the center for me is that my nephew Matt works there as manager. I have always been fond of his quiet ways and when he smiles he is so handsome!

The day after we arrived I was able to meet with the knitting group we had formed before I left San Diego. Left to right are Leilani, Anissa, Priscilla and Jessica. Priscilla (6 years old) learned to knit that very day, and Jessica is also a new member of the group. Anissa was so quick to pick up knitting that I called her my assistant; if anyone needed help casting on, Anissa came to the rescue.

It was always so much fun to meet with these girls and their moms, as, besides knitting, we would eat! And that day was no exception. Graciela and Dario made a fabulous 'carne asada', Mexican style grilled meat, with all the trimmings, and then of course there was always dessert!

I could not have gone to California and not gone to Dog Beach in Del Mar to watch Nani, the surf diva catching some waves. Here we see Peter walking Nani out in the water to where she could catch a wave. The waves were rather boisterous that day, but Nani rode three or four of them all the way to the beach, where Kiki, her companion Bernese Mountain dog was waiting to greet her and the two frolicked in the surf till Peter caught up with them to take Nani out for some more. It is quite a sight to see this large animal stand her ground, er, board, and enjoy it so much. She attracts her fair share of attention, but a caution. You don't want to stand too close when they come out of the water and she begins to shake. You can check out her blog: NaniSurf Diva.Blogspot.com.

One of our last days we went to the San Diego Bay area and had a delicious meal at Point Loma Seafoods. I think that I was the only one of my siblings that did not work there during high school, but we have always enjoyed their restaurant. While waiting for our meal (fish tacos, fried shrimp sandwhich, yum) we enjoyed these pelicans who seemed to be gathering for a reunion. Actually, where else would pelicans gather than where the sport fishing boats come in to port and just off one of the best seafood eateries in San Diego?

There was so much to do and see. I will post a few more photos next time, very shortly.

Skeins from recent dyeing bout here look like meringues one might find at a tea party hosted by the Queen of Hearts. First there is Morning Blush, next is Dreaming of California Sunsets and the little puff below is Sunrise, Sunset, in which I plyed one strand of each of the first two together.

Every form the skein takes shows off the colors differently, that is why knitting the yarn is such a pleasing experience, and tends to go so fast, as I can hardly wait to see what color is going to come up next. I decided to once again try a triangular shawl, but this time am venturing to try my hand at something original. Perusing Walker's Treasuries and other stitch dictionaries I have come up with a start.

From the first Walker book I chose a "pretty and popular pattern" called English Mesh Lace to begin. It took a little time and about four starts before I got the pattern to work for me in the triangle shape, working out the increases and where to start the pattern, and though I don't have a lot on the needles I do like how it is working up and now have to choose a second pattern stitch. What fun!

Back to Matisse

In an effort to finish spinning my California Sunsets roving I realized that I needed to ply the second skein of Matisse that I had on two bobbins as singles. I had a debate with myself as to how I wanted to ply these and finally decided to just spin them together as they came off their bobbins and not obsess about the colors not matching. I am re-publishing a photo of the first skein of Matisse on its bobbin to compare. What a difference!

Here the colors are crisp and clear whereas the second skein is very soft and muted.

You can see the difference in the skein off the bobbin as well.

I am tempted to repeat the Old Shale Shawl with this skein to see how different the two shawls will look. Or perhaps I will try something different. In the meantime I am off to spin the second bobbin of Dreaming of California Sunsets and dream of actually seeing a California Sunset soon.

An Experiment in Dyeing or How I Learned to Paint

It all started when I got the bad news that things went terribly wrong with the Fall offering of Roving Art rovings and they were cancelled. I hadn't been aware of how addicted I had become to receiving these glorious skeins of wonderously colored rovings and all of a sudden my supply was stopped! What to do?
I started day dreaming about getting blank 'canvases' and trying my hand at painting some rovings myself. My mentor, Martie, generously offered the undyed rovings and offered tips on her process. I also found on my bookshelf the Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook by Lynne Vogel that is packed with instructions on dyeing and painting rovings for spinning. So, armed with these two fountains of information, I sent off to ProChem for a sampler pack of dyes and anxiously waited for their arrival, meanwhile reviewing all the info I had on hand.
The rovings and dyes arrived on the same day, a week ago Monday. I had to wait til Friday for the actual D-day, meanwhile I was gathering my supplies: vinyl gloves, extra wide plastic wrap, jars for mixing and storing dyes, etc.
At last the day arrived. With a face mask covering mouth and nose I felt like a mad scientist while I mixed the dyes which come in powdered form. Once the dye solutions were made and cooling I set about arranging one roving, pre-soaked, to receive the dye.

This is the result of the first attempt. I had intended to have a bit more yellow in this roving, however in a brainless moment I picked up the roving from the center, instead of keeping it nice and flat, and watched all my colors run together! Still I am please with the how it turned out. And I learned aLOT!! My respect for Martie's artistry, which was already very very high, jumped a hundredfold.
Next came steaming the package of roving to set the dyes, and the anxious hours while all was cooling before I could open the package, rinse carefully and see how the colors turned out. I guess it is because I'm heading to San Diego in November that I named this first roving "Dreaming of California Sunsets".

On Monday I repeated the procedure only this time the dyes were already in solution so it went faster, and came up with the roving you see at the top of the page. I named it "Morning Blush".

So now I am addicted to painting the roving with a desire to learn more and more, as well as spinning it and making beautiful lace shawls from the results.


Here is 'Dreaming of California Sunsets' on the wheel as a singles, soon to be plied, once I get the other half of the roving spun. Or perhaps I will ply it with one of the 'Morning Blush' singles??? Decisions, decisions! What I do know is that I will be sending off for more wool and more dyes soon!

Two not ufos anymore

Completed Fluffy Cotton Baby Cardigan. Years ago Classic Elite Yarns put out this as kits with one skein of the fluffy cotton, which is comprised of one strand of a solid off white cotton and one strand variegated 'fluffy' yarn, and a very simple pattern. I didn't remember that I had the kit until trying to sort through my stash, perfect timing, as a friend was just about to deliver her little boy. I was going to go buy buttons, even looked at some cute dinosaur buttons at the Stitch Niche, but decided to raid my button jar first and came up with five mis-matched ones that work well together. Maybe I am reacting to a line I heard recently in an old movie regarding Scottish 'thrift'. Or, perhaps, it was because I finished weaving in the ends at night and wanted to finish the whole thing and didn't want to have to get up and go to the store. I had hoped to finish this last week. Ah well, now you know, instead of finishing it first, I started the Rose Ribbons Shawl in the Free Fall #125, and here is the result.

This lace pattern is a lot of fun to do and especially with the handspun beautiful colors it is so satisfying to see how the colors work up, always a bit of a surprise for me. This was a 3.7 oz skein of roving dyed by Martie of Taos Sunflower, and I was able to get around 470 yds from it, and used all but about 20 yds in this shawl.

If you can 'click' on this picture I think you can see the beads that I worked into the last row before binding off. I chose a deeper pink to try to pull the deeper colors into the scallop edge. I like the way it turned out. This is the second time I've worked this pattern and now I am thinking of how much I would like to try designing my own. I have even gathered a selection of lace patterns from Barbara Walker's pattern books. Now it is time to try swatching them. Off to work!
P.S. The Rose Ribbons Shawl is one of the great patterns from Evelyn Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles.

This is one of the views of the pretty garden outside the Mockingbird Cafe. If I time it right I can get a spot in the parking lot on the side of the building. It is always so lovely, with little pathways you can follow through the garden.

I was amazed at this moth. I was visiting a friend in Bogalusa and thought how odd it was that 'that leaf had stuck to the screen like that!' when on closer examination it turned out to be insect and not leaf! Especially the side view:

It was huge! Well, probably about 3 1/2 to 4 inches across. Huge to my eyes and such a beautifully subtle pattern. I wish I knew more about these things.

Here is my friend Bernie trying on the Whisper Shawl. Bernie lost her sweet little mother Ruthie recently to that old enemy, death. I told her that every stitch is a hug; I know it cannot replace a mother's arms, but at least it will, hopefully, remind her of how much she is loved by those of us who know her.

I finished spinning my second skein of Matisse roving and now I am having a debate with myself on how to ply it. I may even ply one bobbin by winding it into a center pull ball and plying both ends together, and then the other bobbin try Navajo plying. Then I will have a two ply and a three ply skein to play around with. Is there anything wrong with that? I think not. Lets see what I actually do!

Ciao!

Garden Shawl

I did finish the Garden Shawl from Evelyn Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles book. This was my first attempt at spinning a finer yarn and I did not quite achieve a lace weight or even fingering, probably more of a dk weight yarn. I just put it away until I finally decided what to do with it. The fiber was a merino/silk blend, 60%/40%, and feels wonderful. I had just enough yarn to finish this shawl leaving out one repeat of the lace motif at the end.

Even though I had to leave out a repeat the shawl still is a nice size. Will definitely work as a neck wrap in winter time. The close up gives an idea of the pattern changes in this particular shawl, at least three of the patterns: the medallion, the flower lace and the leaf lace just before the edging.

I am finishing up a baby cardigan for a 1 year size. The baby boy was born Wednesday night so I figure I have a little time to finish. But I won't procrastinate! I hope to finish it this weekend (one sleeve and button bands to go) and get it wrapped and delivered by early next week.

Then, if I can get one more ufo finished, I promise myself I can start something new! Especially since the new Fall subscription to the Roving Art club arrives the end of the month. I can hardly wait to see what Martie has for us this time!

One of our favorite restaurants, La Tapatia, in Picayune, is about to re-open on a daily basis. Last year before they decided to re-structure, they had a shop next door to the restaurant where they sold all sorts of products from Mexico, hence the trying on of some Charro hats. Gradually they closed the shop, or rather moved it in to the restaurant, removing over half their tables to do so. Then they cut the hours and days for the restaurant. But now they are ready to increase the size of the restaurant and hiring another cook and wait staff, so hopefully we will be able to get sopes and enchiladas and other goodies again. I can hardly wait!

Some time this spring I finished the Paloma top from French Girl knits. I had to fiddle with the pattern just a little to get something that would fit well through the shoulders without being too big through the waist.

It is a very comfortable top to wear. I used the yarn specified in the pattern. A merino/linen blend, from Louet, and comfortable fiber for all but the most humid days. The laciness makes it more wearable here in southern climes. It was fun to knit, and I have thought of making it in a cotton or cotton blend, but still must continue to work on ufos.
I am taking the week off to try organizing and simplifying and am still formulating my plan of attack, so off to work!

Matisse shawl finished

I am pretty happy with the way Matisse turned out. It is a nice size, not too large, but big enough to wrap up in or to serve as scarf, just right. It measures about 60" across the top and 24" from middle top to point. The pattern is Old Shale Lace, from summer 2008 Spin Off magazine and designed by Evelyn Clark.

I was trying to get the scallops to match each other, but one side definitely wanted to scallop more than the other. I wonder why that is? I decided not to do the picot bind off, the plain bind off seems to suit this piece much better.

It is even lovely just thrown across the bed. I have someone in mind who I think this will suit wonderfully, if I can avoid the temptation to keep it!

Another photo of our Mockingbird Cafe knitting group this time with Marg and Evie. In the back, left to right: Cherri, Marsha and Evie, seated left to right, Marg and Eileen. We have a lot of fun together seeing what everyone is working on. We're still missing a few here, but this seems to be our core group.

Now that the Matisse shawl is done I am trying to finish more projects: the Crystal Cove Pullover from Just One More Row, a fluffy cotton baby cardigan from Classic Elite Yarns, and then if I'm really good I will start another shawl using one of the Free Fall yarns I've spun. And I have another Matisse roving to spin. I just saw a fabulous video on Navajo plying sent from Spin Off, and I may try tackling that on the next spinning session. Oh what fun!

Critters on the road and at home

Being new to Southern Mississppi I am constantly stopping to see precious sights like these. The first time I saw this little sweetie I thought he was a dog as he was bouncing all around mom across the field from us. The other day they were right by the road and I finally remembered I have a camera in my phone. (Oh, the techinical advances! One day I hope to be up to speed on them.) I am so glad he stayed still long enough for me to get this snapshot.

Not far away from the miniature ponies we found this group of cows enjoying the water and shade. I was about to drive by when in the background I noticed mama cow had just given birth. We must have missed it by about ten minutes or less (?) as baby was already on his feet but mama was still attending to licking him clean. I could have stayed to watch alot longer, but this is a narrow country road and we had to get out of the way.

Back at home, having replenished the feed station, I sat down to see who would visit. I was quite surprised to have been able to get this shot of a house finch coming up for some more seed. We get finches and sparrows and cardinals, tufted titmice, chickadees, and in their season rose-breasted grosbeaks, orioles, red winged blackbirds. Even woodpeckers will come to the feeding station.

Here is a momma red bellied woodpecker on the left and her young 'un in the lugustrum (sp?) trees that border the backyard. Momma flies to the station and hangs on while filling up and then flies over to the trees where the young ones are. There were two waiting for her, the other one moved to the other side of the trunk. So far the young ones haven't learned to fly to the station themselves, but one day I'm sure we will see them there.

Speaking of babies, here is the cutest little male cardinal just barely starting to get his color. He has a very fine crest already and knows how to get to the feeding station just fine, thank you very much. It seems that mama cardinal takes them to the grassy area underneath the station when they first venture out, but this young fella has graduated to the top of the feeding station already.

Next time some photos of the finished Matisse shawl.

Beginnings and endings

Beginnings of a shawl using the 'Matisse' yarn spun from the last of the spring/summer Roving Art club. I thought quite a bit about what I wanted to do with this yarn and I kept going back to the Old Shale Lace Shawl from the summer 2008 issue of Spin Off magazine, another Evelyn Clark design. I like the simplicity of the pattern, especially since there are such long repeats of color. I had a momentary issue with it as it was July when I began musing on what to do, and I was thinking of Paris and July and that led to Bastille Day and my mind jumped to Madame Lafarge and her knitting aristocrat names and crimes into her work, and all the eyelets made me think of rolling heads, quel horreur! I started to reject the idea but I kept going back to the pattern and this time my thoughts turned to more pleasing venues such as this shawl could be something Peter Mayle picked up for his wife in Paris and she would toss around her shoulders when the evenings turned cool sitting around their enormous outdoor table in Provence. Or perhaps something Leslie Duncan would have left over her chair when called to do another scene. Feeling much more comfortable with it I began. But not until I finished the Whisper shawl.

I am astonished with how beautifully lightweight this shawl is and how pleasing it is to wear. It was a lot of work, and I do admit that I would set it aside to do some spinning or other knitting, but I am so glad that I picked it up again determined to finish. The challenge here was whether or not I would have enough yarn to finish the entire shawl, as I only had the one skein, and I am happy to say that I did. I thought perhaps I might have to leave off the final edging across the top, but I had enough yarn to finish that as well.

Another temporary ending with the prospect of a new beginning is the skein of Free Fall #128, also from Taos Sunflower Too. I was able to get 678 yards from 3.8 oz., so I am very happy with it. As I was plying it my mind kept seeing autumn leaves so perhaps I can come up with a pattern that would show this off in a lovely leaf pattern.
I still have two more 'skeins' of roving to spin and lots of projects to finish and even some baby knitting to do for new arrivals. I will let you know what I come up with.

Ciao, ate lago, au revoir.