my name is tracy. i knit.

The Happy Recipient!

2010-12-28T12:53:00.001-08:00

PC254396, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Blanket for Dax

2010-11-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

I made this quilt awhile ago for my friend Justina and her son, Dax. I didn't want to do solids so I chose a bunch of blenders. I made it not by cutting triangles but using the two-colored block method. One of my most favorite blankets ever. I think i am going to do it again but on a larger scale and with different colors.

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Crap.

2010-10-27T09:28:00.001-07:00

That right there would be half the container of my favorite eye shadow

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Snowball quilt

2010-10-25T13:47:00.001-07:00

Batik fabrics from connectingthreads.com

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I actually made a Christmas gift this year!

2010-10-25T13:22:00.001-07:00

Made using fabric from connecting threads.com.

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testing

2010-10-22T23:00:00.001-07:00

Testing

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Aeolian

2009-09-12T19:21:00.001-07:00

Aeolian, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Today this little lovely won me third place in a local knit store's annual contest. :)

Something new, something old

2009-05-16T12:39:00.001-07:00

Something new, something old, originally uploaded by tellen24.

My old shuffle went kaput during a run last week (granted, I am the third owner of said shuffle) so I bought myself a new one! Do you think it will inspire me to keep running? I do!

I am pretty impressed with the size due to the fact that it's a 4gb and my Nano is 5 times bigger and also is a 4gb. They just keep improving them!

I am not so keen on the headphones as that is where the controls are for the shuffle. Big bummer but I will deal. :)

Whisper

2009-04-27T11:17:00.001-07:00

Whisper, originally uploaded by tellen24.

It's a finished Whisper. I used Malabrigo Laceweight, maybe 3/4 of a ball (which consisted of 990 yds).

Running around

2009-04-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Running around, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Saturday consisted of a bit of this but a lot more of sitting, knitting, chatting, relaxing. A bunch of us met up at Rowan's for a finishing party. I was able to start and finish a pair of slippers for Sadie Jane that day. I also got some great photos of my finished quilts, photos to follow.

Walk the Line back

2009-04-27T10:25:00.001-07:00

Walk the Line back, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Back of the Walk the Line

Walk the Line

2009-04-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

Walk the Line, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I made this in March 08 and left it with Lois to have it quilted. As soon as she got her new machine, she quilted it and sent it back to me. It has been waiting for over 8 months for me to do the binding. :) And since I was in a finishing mode 2 weekends ago, I got right on it! The backing is polar fleece.

Grandma's quilt

2009-04-27T10:16:00.001-07:00

Grandma's quilt, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I made this as a birthday gift for my Grandma. Okay, I actually I made it just because but it's taking me so long to finish it, it will be right on time for her birthday. :) I used Jacobean Garden fabrics from Connecting Threads. The quilting was done by Lois Sedgwick.

Cowboy quilt

2009-04-27T09:56:00.001-07:00

Cowboy quilt, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Made for James Randall Frame, my cousin's new little baby boy. The back is a brown flannel. I had a lot of firsts on this quilt: first handmade binding, first quilt with free motion quilting. Okay, two firsts! I am very very pleased with how this turned out!

Weekend Sewing Town Bag

2009-04-11T17:14:00.001-07:00

Weekend Sewing Town Bag, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I used a metallic pleather for this bag before I attempted to try it with real leather. I had some issues. I have never had to sew around D-rings, sew this type of material. I used 44" for the strap instead to make it longer. One thing I did note is that the instructions do not tell you to sew the 13" or 14" side when you are sewing the two outside sides together.

I don't love this bag right now. I think I might prefer it in a much flopper material. Probably a soft leather would be nice. :) Also, I think it's a tad too big. But it certainly was a learning lesson!

Weekend Sewing Town Bag

2009-04-11T17:12:00.001-07:00

Weekend Sewing Town Bag, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Inner lining

Project bag

2009-04-05T15:14:00.003-07:00

Project bag, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I modified the original pattern by firebrunette to use 2 pieces of material 13"x18" for a finished size of 4"wide x 6" tall x 8" long.

Project bag

2009-04-05T15:14:00.001-07:00

Project bag, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Tempest

2009-03-30T11:32:00.001-07:00

P3283741, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Pattern is from Knitty. I used 2.25 hanks of Shibui Sock in Bark and 1 hank of Socks That Rock in Lovers Leap. Because I only had one ball of the STR, I had to do less stripes on the arms. I removed the first three sets of stripes and ended up with the just a few yards left over. I also only did half the amount of side decreases (I believe I did it at the beginning of every contrast color). I did the buttonholes but I am thinking I prefer it without the buttons.

Very very pleased with how this came out! I am already planning another. :)

SewConnected March block

2009-03-29T17:30:00.001-07:00

SewConnected March block, originally uploaded by tellen24.

SewConnected April block

2009-03-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

SewConnected April block, originally uploaded by tellen24.

John sent his fabrics last week. And since I still had to do the March block, I sat down and designed both then cut them in preparation for a sewing Sunday. I am pleased with how both turned out!

Finishing Party

2009-03-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

P3213694, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Saturday we all gathered at Ro's house to sit down and finish up some knit projects. Susie, Justina, Spencer, Chauntel, Catherine, Jaime, Gwen, and I were all there to drink coffee and knit. It truly was a fun day! And I know both Catherine and Justina finished some projects and I sewed together my Tempest sweater.

This picture shows what kind of day it was. :) Nice n' easy. The photo set is here.

Photo shoot caught on camera!

2009-03-23T10:48:00.001-07:00

P3213724, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Oooooh!

2009-03-23T10:46:00.001-07:00

P3213701, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Spencer story telling, Tracy spitting, Sadie watching

Silk Kerchief

2009-03-16T15:45:00.001-07:00

Silk Kerchief, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Pattern: Silk Kerchief
Yarn: Silk Garden Sock
Colors: 245, 269

The pattern calls for a specific amount of repeats but I went until I ran out of yarn. I did 44 repeats. I also ended with a picot bindoff for a bit of 'flair'.

Just because

2009-03-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt for my Grandma. Just because. She helped us out a lot when my mom was sick and I don't know that I ever thanked her for that.

I used the Jacobean Garden line from Connecting Threads. The pattern is from Film In The Fridge. It wasn't so much a pattern, as guidelines on following her quilt. I love how it turned out! I sent it to Lois for quilting and I am so amazed at what she can do. I can't wait to give this to my Grandma!

Nope, it's not an illusion!

2009-03-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

Look at me posting for the first time in 2009! As I have admitted many times before, I don't much like blogging anymore. But I am keeping the site up for now because I actually research it often for old photos, old posts, etc. So let me update you as to what I have been doing!

1. SewConnected quilt block group. I am in the fourth month of this group already. My month was January and as I am still waiting for a few blocks, I haven't done anything with them yet. I did make this block for February. It was my first attempt at an actual pieced pattern. I am pretty pleased with it!

I will be working on March's block this upcoming week.

2. We had a new baby born on my mom's side, first baby actually! They wanted a mellow cowboy theme so I made this quilt top (it's currently being quilted).

3. Stitches West. An awesome trip that I took with my knit group. 9 women, 3 cars, 2 nights and a yarn convention. It was a great time!
Friday and Saturdays yarn purchases (doesn't include Sundays)

Left to Right: Abby Rowan Spencer Suzanne Chaun Cori Susie Tracy, Justina took the photo. Which I borrowed, thanks J!

As it turns out, our knit group is putting on the peer pressure for some project finishing. So this weekend many of us have assessed our WIPs and decided what needed to be finished and what needed to be frogged. I have 6 to-be-frogged projects and 4 works-in-progress. Well, I have more than that but those will be my focus!

2008-12-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Easy Lap Quilt from Bend The Rules
Fabric: 1/2 yard cuts of 6 different fabrics
Size: 50"x64"
I love the blanket in the book so much that I decided to recreate it for myself. I did not prewash my fabrics so it puckered quite nicely when finally washed.

January SewConnected Fabrics

2008-12-02T22:05:00.001-08:00

January SewConnected Fabrics, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Here they are!! I went for the fun and funky. I have included two silk dupionis and I am really so excited to see what the group can come up with!! Click on the photo to see it all.

November Block - Buffy

2008-12-01T10:13:00.001-08:00

Whew! I barely made it in time! I had four days for the holiday and I took full advantage of them. I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning starching and cutting fabrics. Um, whoever invented starch? Right up there with the guy who invented sliced bread. I normally Hate cutting fabric and the starch just made my life so much easier. In the spirit of taking full advantage of days off, I spent Sunday afternoon sewing all my starched fabrics. :) I only have this one photo as one of the other items is a gift and the other (quilting the Pink Lemonade), well, I was just too lazy to get a good photo of it. I am using this SewConnected group as a way to learn different quilt techniques. Obviously, this month, I chose to do a Log Cabin. And I could Log Cabin all day, I loved the block so much. In doing my practice square though, I learned how important the 1/4" seam really is (you would think I would have known already but no) so I finally marked it on my machine with masking tape and it made such a difference! Now, I just need to get over to the post office and mail it...

The practice block:

Luscious cashmere

2008-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

If you are a knitter and you haven't heard of Colourmart, you need to stop reading, get yourself over there, order up some of their 100% Cashmere yarn, then come back to finish reading. And if you know a knitter, follow the above instructions but send the purchased yarn to your knitter as they will consider your gift the best ever. Chaun and I discovered this yarn a few years ago and absolutely love it. It looks expensive online but for what it is, it is such a bargain. The yarn is oiled for machine knitting so while knitting it isn't nearly as soft as you expect it. But as soon as you wash it...it fluffs up and becomes the cashmere it really wants to be.

I just knit myself a KeyHole scarf using the My So Called Scarf pattern. It's currently drying but I can't wait for some cold weather so I can wear it!!

Unwashed:

Washed:

Pattern: My So Called Scarf
Yarn: Colourmart 2/7nm DK 100% Cashmere
Color: Meadow
Needles: 10.5
Modifications: I cast on 30sts and knit the pattern for 26". On the next RS row I knit 9sts then cast off the next 12sts. I turned the work and cast on 12 stitches then followed the pattern to the end of the row. I knit for another 7". I bound off with a knit bind off on a purl side row. I did this to prevent the upcurl at the end of the scarf. I then washed it with dishsoap to remove the oil and to fluff up the yarn.

It's November 22.

2008-11-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

And I have no idea how it got to be that date already! This month has just flown by. I did my sample block for the SewConnected group but completely forgot that I have to do the real one too! I did buy all my fabrics (I got really fun fabrics!! I can't wait for everyone to see them!) for my month, January, and I am SO excited to get those cut and sent out. And after seeing Rita's top in progress, I cannot wait to start seeing what the group will make. I have some Christmas gifts that need to be sewn so I think this weekend and the following will be Christmas gift weekends. I am also knitting up some hats for family members.

And so everyone knows, me and all my peoples survived the Tea Fire, no problems. I do know people who were evacuated but no one's home burned. I did have a few clients lose their houses though. And I do have one bitch about the news coverage on our fire. Montecito has a reputation for being a 'hidden celebrity enclave' or so I learned while reading online. The bulk of the houses that burned were regular people. Not celebrities. That's all!!

Sorry, I have no photos to share currently. I am hoping with time off at Thanksgiving I will be able to update, document, share everything I've been working on.

Have a great weekend!

A giveaway!

2008-10-31T18:45:00.001-07:00

Nono, I am not giving away, I would like to win one! Katie Jean has reached her two year blogiversary and is celebrating by giving away fabric. I know, who gives away fabric?? Katie Jean does!! Go enter for your chance!

Sweet Treats

2008-10-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

I wrote about this quilt back in this post. I left it in Idaho so Chaun's mom could quilt it for me on her long arm. Soon after, her machine broke. But! She bought herself a brand new HQ16 and pulled out my quilt to finish it up. I decided to have it backed with polar fleece (I don't really know why seeing as how I live in SB) and the quilt design shows up fantastically on the back. I, of course, didn't get a photo of the back but here are pictures of the front. Lois used a variegated thread and I absolutely love how it lookes! The binding still needs to be finished but overall, it's a wonderful quilt.

Nathanael's baby blanket

2008-10-17T11:06:00.001-07:00

PA052683, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I am finally able to blog about this! I made this blanket for my friend Cristy and her new baby, Nathanael. She made the baby room in a celestial theme so I chose my version of celestial fabric. Basically, I didn't want cutesy fabric, I wanted powerful colors. Cristy is a powerful woman with a strong, positive attitude. I just love her and I really did make this blanket for her. :) It's final size is 32"x44", and I used the ZigZag Quilt pattern from Purl Bee.

Nathanael's baby blanket

2008-10-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

The whole thing.

Hi!

2008-10-16T21:13:00.000-07:00

After a few busybusy weeks (root canals, termite tenting, travels), I was finally able to sit down and work on my SewConnected block for Rita. I put a lot of contemplation into this first block as I have Never done a block quilt before. I also bought a bunch of books for ideas (well, and just because I love quilt books), I wandered around Flickr looking at a bunch of blocks. The idea came from bubbles. I wanted to make a block that had bubbles. I did do a practice block. I will probably do one for each block I do. Which means I will end up with two quilts once it's all said and done! As you can see, my first block is pretty basic. It was a definite lesson in applique! I started out with a blanket stitch but it didn't give me the look I wanted so that was ripped and replaced with a tight zigzag. Much better!

My second block needed much more dimension as the linen made the bubbles just flat. So, I layered them. Popped 'em with some bright orange thread and we have bubbles!

On the knitting front, I am still doing it! I am currently working on the Julia. Again. But this time I am bound and determined to actually finish her. I have two sleeves and the back done. Other than that? Not much else going on in that front. :)

Hello? Anyone still here?

2008-09-01T20:38:00.000-07:00

Let me start off by saying I moved and it took a month for me to get internet. Hence, no posting. But that aside, the move happened, I am now more centrally located here in SB and I love it! I didn't like the idea of leaving a place where I had been quite settled for 4 years but I am very very pleased to be in my new place. For one, it's bigger and two, it's closer to Chaun! Okay, and third, it's right across the street from Ross. I confess, that was a big bonus.

Due to my prolonged move (never never ever make a move last longer than 2 weeks, trust me!), I didn't do much crafting. I put away all quilting accoutrements and my knitting consisted of the AMS. I am actually at the edging. Which is going to take a darned long time. I did set the Mystery Shawl aside for about two weeks while I worked on my Olympics Knitting (Olympics! I didn't even blog about the Olympics!). I knit the February Lady Sweater for that and almost finished it. I believe I finished it two days after the closing ceremonies. I love this sweater! I used Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (4 skeins total) on size 8's. Take a look!

Let's back up a second to the Olympics. I grew up loving every moment of the Olympics. My mom was a huge fan. I think even this year she would have complained about there not being enough on tv even though there was over 30 hours of viewing time each 24 hour period. It was a little tough to watch the Opening Ceremonies knowing I couldn't call her up to discuss the outfits of the athletes but I still watched every second I possibly could. I was able to see Michael Phelps' 8'th gold medal race, Misty May and Kerri Walsh win their fifteenth hundredth win in a row (okay, slight exaggeration but those girls are serious about their volleyball!), Jason Lezak kick ass over the French (they really deserved a good ass kicking too, for their trash talk), Mary Carillo's . I was truly sad when they were over. Partly for the Olympics but partly because that's another thing I had to adjust to without my mom around.

But! In another two years we get the winter Olympics then the summer ones again. It's another reason to love them!

In the meantime, I will be working on many projects. I have my Asian Quilt, the Pink Lemonade needs to be quilted, another secret project needs to be finished, etc etc etc.

Whew! Thanks for hanging in there. I am glad to be back!

I most proudly present... The Curlicue!

2008-07-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

In her unblocked, blurry glory, I give you The Curlicue. She was started way back on February 29 when I found a similar blanket on Ravelry. I wasn't sure how I was going to make myself pay for 15 balls of Silk Garden but I decided to go for it anyway. I bought one ball at a time there for awhile and then I discovered WEBS and their discount. :) It made it a little more palatable and I ordered my little heart away (and wallet). I finally finished up on July 6. I used 15 balls in 14 colors. Each inner section of the star takes just about one full ball (I only ran short on one point) and each outer petal takes about 2/3rds of a ball. So I am left with probably 2-3 balls of leftovers. The numbers on the picture indicate the color number of the yarn.

Started: 02/29/08
Finished: 07/06/08
Needles: Size 8
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden (15 balls)
Pattern: Curlicue Coverlet by Oat Couture
Here it is in Ravelry.

Fabric, fabric and more fabric!!

2008-06-26T14:18:00.000-07:00

I have so much to share. New fabrics, ideas, pictures. For now, I give you a new etsy shop, Fresh Squeezed Fabric, with my new favorite fabric. Wouldn't that be great as a picnic blanket?

I promise, I will be back soon... :)

Random

2008-06-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

We have a local store that is named Random. And it's just that, a bunch of random stuff from mirrors, to wool rugs, to lamp shades, to medical supplies, to flooring, to nuts and bolts. I mean, completely random. I found some fabric in there for the back of the Blue Asian quilt. I got almost 4 yards for only $6!!

30%!!

2008-06-08T19:30:00.000-07:00

That's what fabric was on sale for at our local craft store. Of course, I had to take advantage of that! I did not go buckwild but I was able to get two needed quilt backings, two fat quarters, and a jelly roll of Flutterby by Tula Pink. I was stoked (yes, stoked, I am a total 80's girl) to get that jelly roll! I am contemplating a log cabin with this fabric.

Color coordination

2008-05-22T18:35:00.000-07:00

Ever since I received Amy Butler's In Stitches, I have wanted to make the quilt, Patchwork Decorative Throw. I have had the idea of doing it in one color scheme instead of crazy patchwork type colors. I chose to do it in a dark blue. I have 9 fabrics so far for the quilt, they all arrived today in the mail. :) I am not sure about all of them though. I see these colors and realize that I need a middle blue, that it can't be all dark blues. I love the fabric with the red flowers, I think that definitely works. I also see that I have a lot of fabric with circles. I am not sure about the two light colored ones, only because they are SO light. Also, the white with diamonds is actually a sage green diamond instead of pale blue. So, I have some work to do with the fabrics but so far I have a good start.

Sweet Treats

2008-05-22T18:25:00.001-07:00

Back in January, my Aunt Karen invited Chauntel and I to attend a quilt show in Ontario, The Road to California. I had no idea that the quilt show would inspire me to start quilting. At the quilt show, both of us purchased a quilt kit called a Sweet Treat. Each quilt takes 8 fat quarters plus fabric for the backing and borders. I cut and sewed mine together a few months ago when I was still flying high from piecing together my Chocolate and Blue quilt. And after only one quilt, I was the bomb when it came to cutting, sewing, just a total badass. Go ahead. You can laugh. I learned my lesson hard. When I went to square up my Sweet Treat top, turns out it wasn't square to start out. It was a trapezoid. A pretty strong trapezoid. I was devastated. I had no idea how to fix it. I took it to Idaho with me to talk with Lois, Chaun's mom. She said, "Consider this your learning quilt. You learned you need to be a better cutter and sewer!" So, with that in my head, it got put aside for, well, months. I finally pulled it out and assessed the damage. It wasn't as bad as I had it in my head of course, but it's definitely a trapezoid. So, I just sewed on the borders, adjusting where needed and ended up with this:

I love the colors and pattern of this quilt. It makes me feel calm when I look at it. I am going to send it off to Lois to quilt it for me. It's going to get polar fleece on the back and become one very warm quilt.

Charming!

2008-05-22T18:23:00.001-07:00

P5222292, originally uploaded by tellen24.

It's a charm pack of fabric by Tula Pink. It contains 40 5"x5" squares. I bought it because it was on sale. And I love it! She designs her fabric in a Where's Waldo style. Each fabric in this line contains a bug. Moths, caterpillars, snails, butterflies, dragonflies.

Pink Lemonade

2008-05-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

Pink Lemonade, originally uploaded by tellen24.

I love my little red and white quilt so much, I decided to make another one. This next one will be bigger and the colors, less bold. I have always loved the one shown in the book, Bend-The-Rules Sewing, so I am recreating it. I am going a little outside my box this time and not planning ahead. I am just going to cut the fabric into the strips and see what happens! I am a tad nervous... I will keep you updated.

On your marks, get set...

2008-05-14T15:24:00.000-07:00

Twice a year, my company has a clearance sale. And it's always based around a theme, which involves us salespeople wearing t-shirts we wouldn't normally be caught dead in. We are all women in my office and tend to wear very nice clothes to work. This years event, "Final Floors Event!" started today. Before I get to today's outfit, let me just give you the slogans from our fliers:

"Hoop it up during the PSSB Final Floors Event!"
"Slam-dunk savings exclusively for members!"
"Make a fast break to incredible savings!"
"Get in on the PSSB Final Floors Madness!"
"The Sweet Six! It's down to these great offers that can't be beat!"

Do you get it yet? The whole basketball theme? Let's ignore the fact that in reality, it's March Madness for college basketball. And it's currently...May. Aside from that though, do you see where I am going? Let me give you another hint (accompanied with a photo made by my OhSoWonderful friend, Laura): All day long we have been getting this comment, "Oh, so do you guys work at FootLocker?" That's right!! We are Referee's!!! I even have a whistle. I am so lucky, I get to wear this shirt for the next 3 days. Life is good, isn't it!

*The head in the photo is from my 5k run a few weeks ago. Don't I look like I am scared out of my life??

Up and Coming!

2008-05-11T11:36:00.001-07:00

P5102275, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Squares. Lots of squares.

Downtime

2008-05-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

When I am hanging out at home, I like to wear comfortable clothing. I have been wanting to make the lounge pants out of In Stitches by Amy Butler for awhile now. I saw a photo on Flickr of someone's capri version and I thought, "That's it! That's what I need." So, I whipped out (and I use that term loosely. Very loosely) a pair of capris for myself AND a pair of shorts for Chauntel (she will need to show you, as I didn't take a photo of them) in two weekend sittings. For never having made anything wearable in my life, they turned out pretty decent!

Red and White

2008-05-11T11:20:00.000-07:00

I made another quilt. This time, I did it all on my machine. I got the pattern from Bend The Rules Sewing by Amy Karol. It's a very simple, easy to put together pattern. My reason to make this quilt was to use a bit of my fabric stash (without having to buy any more) and to use my new walking foot. :)

I planned out my pattern on paper before I started:

Then I sewed it all together (need to work on cutting, it was about an inch off on one side) and pinned it to be quilted:

I went the easy route and used predone binding. I didn't like the backing I used for the quilt as a binding so solid red it was! The size of the quilt is 39"x41". I really, really like this pattern for a nice simple quilt.

Chauntel

2008-04-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

She's done it again. I don't know how I ended up with such a wonderful friend. If you want to read more about my baptism, she wrote the most wonderful, loving, detailed essay on her website this morning.

Thank you, Chaun. :)

Busy Weekend!

2008-04-20T18:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend I ran my first 5K and I got baptized. I don't know that it gets much bigger. Okay, maybe if I were getting married or maybe my first child was being born but other than that, it was huge. The 5K was a test to see where I was at in my running progress. And considering 3 months ago, I thought running for 2 minutes straight would certainly send me to my death, I've come pretty far. I was convinced to do this by none other than my cohort, Chauntel. I am so glad I did this race with her! I was VERY against doing any sort of race but Chaun was able to show me that it isn't much more than what we are already doing three times a week. So, we did it!!

After the race, I picked up my dad at the airport as he came down to see me get baptized. Also, my Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill were able to make it up for the weekend. It was so wonderful to have my friends and family there to witness, as much as I didn't want to give my testimony. Yes, I had to get up in front of everyone and explain my spiritual journey. And seeing as how it alllll started with my mom's cancer diagnosis, I was nervous to explain such an emotional event. And I almost lost it. I started speaking and whooosh, here come the tears. I was able to pull it together and finish up. I understand now why they have us do that, it's so rewarding to be able to be in a roomful of people that 'get it'. And a friend of mine was kind enough to take pictures for me because, let me tell ya!, I don't remember it much. :)

So, I am pooped. Ready to just hang out and relax the rest of my night away. I hope you enjoy yours!

R2D2

2008-04-17T12:48:00.001-07:00

P4031154, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Pattern: R2D2 Beanie by CarissaKnits
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, Winter Night & Fog, one skein of each
Made for my friend Tiffany because she is nerdy like that! I knit this in the round using Fair Isle techniques for the basic hat. So all large blue areas were knit in Fair Isle, the black and red circles were done in duplicate stitch.

Bound!

2008-04-15T21:22:00.001-07:00

P4161198, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Laminaria Beauty

2008-04-15T10:00:00.001-07:00

P4151181, originally uploaded by tellen24. Photo taken by Chauntel (firebrunette).

Slightly less than one month after starting, I've finished. And I absolutely love it! It was a well written pattern, I chose a lovely yarn, and it turned out to be a well matched set.

Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman
Started: March 15, 2008
Finished: April 12, 2008
Yarn: MiniMaiden from HandMaiden Fine Yarn
Color: Smoke
I used slightly less than two skeins of yarn. While blocking, I realized how much I love the ruffly edge that was created during bindoff, so I left it.

Details!

2008-04-01T11:20:00.001-07:00

P3281121, originally uploaded by tellen24.

The quilted pattern is called a meander. Because...you just meander the machine along! :)

A mostly finished quilt!

2008-04-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

P3281106, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Okay!! Here it is! I took it all the way to Idaho to quilt on Lois' long arm machine. I still need to do the binding but I received lessons in that also. All in all, I love this quilt. :)

Traveling quilts

2008-03-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

I am deliberately holding out on posting pics of progress on my quilt. For one very specific reason. I am traveling to Idaho with Chaun, George and the kids next week to visit her parents. (Cori, I SO wish you could come out too...) Chaun's mom owns a longarm quilting machine and is going to teach me how to quilt my own quilt! The longarm machine will make it so much easier than trying to deal with my sewing machine here at home. The quilt top is done and as a matter of fact, I am just about done with another one. :) I will have quilting-in-progress photos when I get back. I am so enamored with the idea of working my own quilt from start to finish. Any quilt tops I do after the trip will be sent to Idaho and Chaun's mom will do them up for me.

I sewed some more!

2008-03-07T09:13:00.000-08:00

Just one more bag, folks. Once I tried it, I had to make the perfect bag for myself. The original was based off an actual plastic bag and I forgot to add seam allowances so it ended up a skinny tall bag. Second time around, I didn't use a template, I just measured and sketched on the fabric itself, the size of bag I wanted to end up with and then added in extra for seams. I made this bag wider, shorter, and gusseted. I also made one handle 1" shorter than the other so I can loop it over the tall handle and the bag will stay closed. Oh! And we added interfacing (Chaun's brilliant idea) to give it more structure. I forgot to measure the finished product but I will add those in once I remember to measure.
SIDE ONE:

SIDE TWO:

SIDE VIEW:

I sewed!

2008-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

I found this tutorial recently on how to sew a lunch bag by using a plastic grocery sack as the pattern. I don't know much about sewing or my sewing machine but I figured this could be easy. And after a few rookie mistakes, I had myself a cute little lunch bag! I didn't take into account seam allowances (another rookie mistake) so it's smaller than I would like but having done it once, I know I can tailor the pattern to exactly what I want. I used a few fabrics from my stash (I find it extremely funny that I have a yarn stash AND a fabric stash) which made me quite happy.

Finished!!

2008-02-26T10:51:00.001-08:00

P2240825, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Gathered Pullover from Interweave Knits Winter 2007
Started: January 17 2008
Completed: February 9 2008
Yarn: Brown Sheep Top of the Lamb Sport (cone)

Modifications: I knit the 36" size but I didn't want a boxy sweater so I decreased 3 stitches each side to give a little bit of shape. I also did not do the the decreases in the bust, I felt it unnecessary to emphasize that area more. :)

This was a quick, easy knit. I quite enjoyed all the stockinette! I still need to block it to relax the rolling a bit.

No more!

2008-02-26T09:35:00.001-08:00

P2230814, originally uploaded by tellen24.

"Please, no more photos, one is enough. Move along, there are others people waiting..."

Chaun loves being my photo test subject. Okay, not really. Check out the Ravelry Avatar poster behind her! Somewhere up there, avatars for every Ravelry user...

Stitches West

2008-02-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

Man what a time we had!! Chaun and I left around 7p on Friday night and drove up to Santa Clara for Stitches West. We stayed at a really cute hotel, Wild Palms Hotel which apparently is a Joie de Vivre hotel (not really sure what that means in the hotel industry but it sounds cute!). After a night of little sleep (only partially due to us talking, mostly due to a clock radio that turned on at 630a in the empty room next to us), we wandered in to the convention center around 1015a. The next 6 hours were very fun, very overwhelming and so exciting! We had a plan, to walk the entire market floor first and then buy. It was hard at times but I think that was a good decision. I got a skein of Socks That Rock Lightweight in Lover's Leap.
I also bought a skein of Colinette Jitterbug sock yarn, in color Toscana. I've only been eyeing it for a year, I figured it was time.
We also found a booth at the very back of the hall that just had mounds and mounds of yarn. As we stood there, staring at the sign, we asked ourselves, "Can it possibly be true??" The sign said "All Acrylic Yarns $2, Cashmere/Merino $8" The sign said other things but nothing nearly as important as Cashmere/Merino $8. $8??? Yep, we both grabbed 5 skeins (each skein contains 320yds in a DK weight, I think) each. I got navy, Chaun got red. And apparently there was a coupon in some booklet that advertised $2 off each cashmere/merino skein. I know!! So we paid $6 each for this yarn. It was just overwhelming.
And last but not least, my most surreal moment of the day. We had been seeing people walking around all day with these little purple passports. Once we found out that the Ravelry booth was passing them out, we scouted them out on the map and beelined for it. We got up there and were talking to this man and woman, and as they explained what the passport was, it dawned on me. The man...was Casey. Casey, the co-creator of Ravelry. !! And I am such a nerd when it comes to "famous" people that I blurt out, "Oh! You're Casey!" Cause he's only been called that his entire life... Anyway, he was kind and gracious, very fun to talk with and let us take a picture with him.

Good Times

2008-02-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

Two weekends ago, I traveled up to Dad's house to do a bit of outside clean up. He has decided to rent out the house, hopefully sometime in spring. Which means we have a lot of work to do! We rented a large dumpster (took up half the driveway!) for the weekend and we overfilled it. Brush, trash, all kinds of crap that has been hanging out at our house for years. We ended up with a large pile of hazmat materials (paint, oil, stuff we weren't really sure what) and a large pile for donation. At times, it did look a bit like CalTrans was working at the house:
All in all, it was a good weekend, I enjoyed seeing my dad, my bro, and Jerilyn. On the way home, I stopped on 41 (or was it 46? Does it matter? They seem to be interchangeable, equally boring drives) to take pictures of the incredible sunset. Enjoy!

Beautiful day

2008-02-10T15:11:00.003-08:00

Beautiful day, originally uploaded by tellen24.

After weeks (it felt like months!) of rain, overcast days, and cold (cold enough to snow), we finally have spring like days. Even though it's still mid-February, the weather is beautiful right now. This photo is enough to regenerate a girl's belief that the world really is a beautiful place.

But we don't get weather!

2008-01-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

Oh yes we do! It's been just stormin' like crazy here in SoCal. Rain, sleet, hail and even snow. On Wednesday, Santa Barbara recorded over 4" in a 24 hour period. Blew our old record out of the water, so to speak. The street in front of my work flooded. To the point that we had waves lapping up in the parking lot. Today, we experienced a huge downburst of air and it was like a tornado blew through the 500 block of Gutierrez. Crazy! Took some pictures of the snow this morning. Supposedly we will get even more tonight!

My other love... I think.

2008-01-20T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chaun and I met my Aunt Karen at the Road to California quilt show in Ontario. In one word: WOW! I knew that people made intricate quilts but I really had no idea how intricate they got! Many of these quilts had to have taken years to make. I didn't write down the names of the quilts or the makers of them but enjoy the show! I do have more on my Flickr site if you would like to check them out.

Zeebee

2008-01-17T14:08:00.001-08:00

Picture 1732, originally uploaded by tellen24.

It's a Zeebee for my friend Mike. I used one ball of Noro Shinano (from the sweater I knit a few years ago). I cast on 34 sts and did 10 wrapped sts. I love this pattern. It can be adapted to ANY weight yarn and it's a quick quick knit.

Noro Socks

2008-01-17T14:06:00.001-08:00

Picture 1742, originally uploaded by tellen24.

The start of a sock!! I am hoping that keeping this in plain stockinette, I will be more inclined to actually finish the set. I am knitting this pretty tight so Chaun may just be ending up with a pair of handknits socks from me!

Meathead

2008-01-17T14:05:00.001-08:00

Picture 1747, originally uploaded by tellen24.

The Meathead hat. Made with two strands of Bernat Alpaca held together. This little baby took about 2 hours to make. I love the point the hat comes to. Not for anyone in particular, was just feeling the need for a quickie one night.

Been a long time.

2008-01-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, the January Doldrums have set in. It's that whole rush into/through the holidays, gotta do this, gotta do that, have to run over here, this party that day, that party this day, and all of a sudden...it's over. I love the holidays and it's depressing when they are over. Also, I had some pretty big realizations about where I am at with my mom's death. So, as much as I loved the holiday, it was very emotional. So, I am really just hanging out these days, trying to be quiet and peaceful. It's my birthday tomorrow and my mom's oldest sister (My Aunt Karen who is so much like my mom, it's uncanny!) wants to take Chaun and I to a quilt show at the Long Beach convention center. So I think we will head down for that on Saturday morning. Sunday I plan on working on my quilt. I talked about quilting quite awhile ago and even showed pictures of my chosen fabric. I decided that pattern was WAY too hard and have chosen to do this pattern instead. It's just rectangles, right?? It should be easy. I made Chaun's Scarf for her birthday and was a tad shocked at how quick and easy that one went. I used a herringbone flannel for the backside and a brown wool blend for the main part on the front. The other green fabrics are cotton, silk dupioni, satin, and some others.

The quilt I am making is from this collection of fabrics. I also have been making baby gifts for, well, anybody really. Chaun and I pulled out the knitting machines a few weekends ago and have been whipping out some projects for friends. I just found out that my friend Cristy is having herself a little baby. :)) I can't wait to get started on projects! I am still knitting. In fact, I have knit quite a few small projects recently. I made Chaun a pair of felted slippers (she makes me socks, I have to pay her somehow!), Sadie also got a pair of slippers, a couple of hats were made (pictures to follow),. I am currently working on the Silk Garden sweater, edging on a blanket, a sock out of Noro Sock yarn, and I just cast on for the Gathered Pullover.

I have been trying to upload pictures into this post but blogger keeps giving me an error message. So they will come direct from Flickr. :)

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Sunset on the Beach

2007-12-02T16:30:00.002-08:00

We waited until the very last minute to head down to the beach. But we got some great photos! I love that both Chaun and I see the world slightly differently, we end up with some really good ideas. You will have to check out her blog to see her pics. And she is full of such info, it's great to be able to pick her brain on why certain things happen when I take pictures or how to make certain things happen. I just love her. :)) Oh, and if you want to check out more photos, I post them all at Flickr. If you do a search for people, look for tellen24.

Let's start out with Weeds n' Sunset:
Next, we have the family in shadow (left to right: Tyler, Trevor, George, Chaun. Sadie was at a friends house):

How about a Profile (or two) in Twilight?
Last but not least, let's look at those things that are in constant motion:

Swing Jacket

2007-12-02T16:30:00.001-08:00

Swing Jacket, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Pattern: 103-1 Jacket in Eskimo or Silke-Alpaca with A-shape and ¾-long or long sleeves by DROPS design
Yarn: WoolEase Chunky in Charcoal
I used size 11 needles and knit this in 5 days. Very quick, very cute. I still have buttons to sew on but for now, the large safety pin suffices.

Tangled Yoke

2007-12-02T16:27:00.001-08:00

Tangled Yoke, originally uploaded by tellen24.

Pattern: Tangled Yoke from Interweave Fall, 2007
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Chocolate
This took 6 and some balls. I used needle sizes 5 & 6. I added 1 1/4" to the sleeve length and made the button bands two rows wider. Very very pleased with this sweater!

I know...

2007-12-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

...you are all sitting here thinking, "Does she ever knit anymore?" I am here with proof that says with a resounding Yes! She does knit! Unfortunately, I don't have proof yet for you. :) I have two finished sweaters to show you. One, the Tangled Yoke, has been a labor of love for a few months now (it really shouldn't have taken me this long to finish it but stockinette is just a pain sometimes, don't you agree??) and the other took a total of 5 days to complete. We are heading out to the beach today to get 'action shots' of our sweaters. Well, and some really cool beach photos. It's a beautiful day here in SB and we don't want to waste it! Maybe I can get some really cool pics of the kids for some more panoramas... Hmmm... my photo wheels are a'turnin'!

Have a great day and internet connection willing, you will all have some nice pictures to look at tomorrow!

Jalama Beach

2007-11-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I went on a beach hike with my friends Jeff and Laura. I must admit, I knew walking in sand was tough but c'mon, there would be hard sand, right? I am here to tell you folks, it doesn't make a difference. We hiked from 11am to 6pm that night. And I was tore up the next day! It was a lot of fun though! We hiked down to the light house and back.

We started out with a little bit of fun:

There was a lot of walking:

After that, there was some resting:

We finally got to the lighthouse:

Where we saw many of these:

We ended the day with a beautiful shot of this:

All in all, it was a great day. A highly recommended hike. Make sure you go early in the morning and check the tides!

How Cute Are These!

2007-11-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

How perfect are these! I found them in my BluePrint magazine this month. They are by an artist, Alyssa Ettinger. She even has jewelry!

Picture 1715

2007-11-12T16:48:00.001-08:00

Picture 1715, originally uploaded by tellen24.

It's not much to look at right now but this is the back of the Drops sweater I mentioned about 4 posts ago. This yarn is an oiled cashmere (made for machine knitting) so it needs to be washed to get the full effect. The little rectangles in the corner are my swatches.

KoolHaas #1

2007-11-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

I finished this hat, KoolHaas by BrooklynTweed. Pattern is in the Interweave Knits Holiday 2007. I used Queensland Kathmandu DK in Orange. It's an easy pattern to knit but not a quick one. The only issue I have with it is that the crown gets decreased pretty quick. When I put the finished hat on, it felt as if it was going to pop off the top of my head. So, I wet the crown, popped it on the StyroHead and let it dry stretched out. Fits much better now! This is a Christmas gift for a friend.

Zeebee #2

2007-11-10T10:57:00.000-08:00

Same yarn, different color: Natural Violet. This hat was cast on 2 stitches less to make it slightly shorter. The hat is finished and fits great. I think the next one will have 35 stitches. That might be the perfect hat right there...

Zeebee #1

2007-11-10T10:54:00.001-08:00

Picture 1698, originally uploaded by tellen24.

My friend Thuy came up with this pretty brilliant pattern for a 'seamless' garter stitch hat. I am not a fan of garter stitch but I saw (on Ravelry of course! ) someone's (possibly Chauntel) Zeebee in a self striping yarn. I promptly went to my stash and found my Patons SWS in Natural Pink. I used size 9 needles and cast on 36 stitches and did 9 wrapped stitches in each section. And the hat turned out wonderful!!

I started a new one.

2007-11-08T10:09:00.000-08:00

Sweater, that is. It's justified!! It's bulky and quick and only has 3/4 length sleeves. And I only have the button bands to do on the Tangled Yoke and that baby is done. Oh, I put it on at knitting last night? I got a group wide OOOOH! It was nice. :) Anyway, I am finally using my Colourmart Cashmere for this new sweater (it's from Drops). The yarn will be doubled and be so luscious, soft, warm. I can't wait for this one to be done! I will give you pics once I am past the cast on.

And just to give all y'all a head's up. All you knitters out there need to join Ravelry. Even if you don't use it for yourself, I am seeing less and less blogging happening and more and more Ravelry-ing. It's such a useful source of yarn info, projects, corrections, substitutions, etc. I am having trouble keeping up on the blog. It may go by the wayside sometime here in the future. I have to give a lot of thought to that... Just wanted to let you know.

A Match Made In Heaven

2007-11-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

Do you ever think about the personality of a store when you go shopping? Do you ever wonder why it is you have your 'favorite' shops? I think a lot of it has to do with the personality of the shop. I am not talking Ross, Target, etc, I am talking the fun little boutiques that might be expensive but are so worth visiting. The owners/employees are friendly, the shop is set up to accommodate you (or so it seems!). Everything about it just seems 'right'. Well, I found my knit shop. The Loop & Leaf. The owner, Celeste, is super friendly, loves knitting, and has brought my esthetic to her little shop. It's open, airy, fresh, and colorful. She organizes her yarn by color!! It's my dream. If you have a moment, you should stop in and check it out. I didn't buy any yarn yet but I have plans for many things I saw in there. She carries many yarns that aren't readily available: ShiBui, Shokay, Fleece Artist, Jade Sapphire, and many others.

A comment was recently made on the Santa Barbara Group's forum in Ravelry that we "have what you'd call 'an embarrassment of riches' for those of us living in Santa Barbara." She's right, we have 3 boutique knit stores plus Craft Essentials and Michaels. And I love it! Each store has it's own personality and suites just about everybody in town. I appreciate the fact that we can share the wealth. :)

She made me another two pairs!!

2007-11-01T22:55:00.000-07:00

Seriously. Best BFF ever. All I have to do is make a pair of felted slippers for exchange?? Okay!

This one is the same pair but how can you resist a closeup. I can't!

This is the first pair she knit. Same yarn, Socks that Rock Silkie, different colorway. Just as awesome. :)

8 Unusual Things You Probably Didn't Even Want To Know

2007-10-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. And I actually am going to play along!!

1. If I meet a new person, I have to know how to spell their name. When I talk to/about them, I picture their name in my head, not necessarily their face.

2. I use the Cascade 2in1 Packs for my dishwasher. And even though they are nice, little contained, premeasured packages of detergent, I have to put it in the detergent dispenser. Even though I know as soon as I flip the door closed, it will fall to the bottom of the dishwasher. Trust me, I've tried to just toss it in, it doesn't work for me.

3. When speaking to someone with an accent, I will start talking in their accent. I hope they don't think I am making fun of them.

4. I chain chew gum while at work. I love gum and as soon as the piece is flavorless and old, I will pop it out and pop in a new piece. Not to worry, I am SO not a gumsmacker. I chew the gum because it prevents me from snacking all day. Which I will do.

5. I walk around looking at my feet. I like to see my shoes, my tattoo, my new nailpolish, whatever happens to be on my feet.

6. When I get scared, I run in place. Seriously. It's been proven many times over. Also, if I am really scared my arms will flap in place and then I may grab whatever/whoever happens to be standing next to me.

7. I love Twix. But I like just the cookie and the chocolate. So, I will scrape off the caramel with a knife before I eat it.

8. I sway in place when I am standing still. The baby sway. Never had one but it's an automatic thing I do. I do wonder what people think when I am trying to sell them some flooring and I am standing their holding a sample...swaying.

I won't tag anyone but if you feel like sharing some unusual things about you, feel free!!

Are you surprised? I'm not.

2007-10-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

I am 75% Addicted to Coffee

Sister Love

2007-10-22T13:06:00.000-07:00

This post is so long overdue. Chaun's sister, Cori, recently (okay, like over a month ago) had an opportunity to see the Yarn Harlot in person. She actually bought a book, had it signed by Stephanie, and mailed it to me!! To me!! Look!

October 20, 2007 10:31pm

2007-10-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

I do believe we have two sleeves!

Here they are attached to the body. Next up, 3" of stockinette. 3"=27 rows. And at 276sts a row... eh, whocares! When I get done with the drudgery, I will be ready to start the fun cabling. I gave myself a goal of 4 rows a day, after those are done, I get to work on the fun stuff. Like the KoolHaas hat I started out of Kathmandu DK. Pictures on that later...

Baby Love

2007-10-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

The Baby Shedir hats have reached the parents. The mom of soon-to-be-born twin boys (they are already 6lbs. Each. She's carrying 12lbs of baby!) loved them so much that she wanted to frame them. I guess she took up knitting years ago because she loved how cabled items looked. She may have liked the look but she hated the knitting. I told her she was welcome to frame the hats once those boys have turned 20 and refused to let her cram those hats on their heads one more time.

I love when people appreciate a handmade item. :) Wouldn't a picture of two cute little newborn baby boys wearing their oversized Shedir hats be precious?? (hint, hint Aunt Kalah!)

Where do you get bogged down?

2007-10-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

I asked everyone a couple of weeks ago to share when they tend to put projects down, when they get tired of working a project. I was surprised when everyone had different answers! I truly thought that majority of knitters got stuck on the finishing stage. But no! Apparently it's different for everyone. Picking up stitches, getting 50% completed, sleeves, finishing, there were many different answers. Thanks for sharing!

I need to share a little more with you. My pitfall are the sleeves. I have a tendency to just like the fronts and backs and screw the sleeves. In fact, I now have a total of 4 projects at the sleeve stage. From left to right: Julia (I thought knitting two sleeves at once would alleviate the problem. It didn't), Tangled Yoke Cardigan (seriously, I should be finished with these), and the Rebecca Hooded Sweater w/Lace (I thought I only had to pickup stitches for a hood...oh no. I barely started the second sleeve).

And let's not forget my last stalled project. I started a sweater out of Silk Garden based off my Shinano pattern (Elizabeth Zimmerman's Percentage sweater). The front and back is done...but no sleeves!

So for now, I plan on finishing up the Tangled Yoke Cardigan. And after that, the Rebecca Hooded Sweater. That's today's goal...we will see what changes tomorrow. :)

Onto other things. My cousin Kim (mom's side) came up for a visit on Friday night. I was really happy to have her here. It was a tough week. Mom's birthday was Wednesday and I ended up having a pretty deep conversation with my brother on the state of our relationship. Whew! Let me tell you, I was not the most pleasant person to be around at the beginning of this week. Anyway! It was nice to be able to talk with Kim about memories, thoughts, feelings about our family. I forget that I am not the only one that lost my mom so hearing her side of last year was really helpful.

On that note, it looks like I need to get started on knitting some sleeves! Have a great weekend!

I just don't get it...

2007-09-25T09:08:00.000-07:00

I do understand artisitic license and the need to create. I am a crafter, I get it. What I don't get is this stuff. I have admired Pluckyfluff's creations for awhile now but from afar. I don't enjoy spinning so maybe that is partly why I don't get it. Why use stuff like bubblewrap, plumber's tape, wallpaper shreds, etc.? That's the part I don't get. And what do you do with it?? Does this stuff ever get used? Or is it just purely creative and that's it. Just wondering...

Fan & Feather Blanket

2007-09-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

The reason I am so jazzed to knit this blanket is because BrooklynTweed knit something very similar and it turned out beautiful. It could also be that he is a professional photographer and his photographs are just lovely... But that being beside the point. Last Christmas I knit the Fan & Feather Shawl out of GoL. Around that same time, Chauntel decided to try knitting that same pattern out of HPY Merino, to use as a blanket. And it just looked so warm and wonderful. So, I decided to make my own. BrooklynTweed's is based off a doily pattern but I figure since I have already knit the F&F, why not do the same thing? This is my F&F shawl, blocking. Don't you think a blanket version would be so cool?? Of course, it won't be the full pattern. And I got enough yarn for a lap version of it.

Long time no talk!

2007-09-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a little while since I posted, hasn't it! How about a little update. My teeth are fine, thank you for all of your well wishes. I am now just dealing with 4 gaping holes in my mouth that are going to take far to long to fill in. Not complaining, mind you! Just making a statement of fact. :) I was off the innernets there for about a week and a half due to computer complications. No need to get into detail, just know that I am now up and running on dial-up, still working on the wireless. Oh, and then I was gone for a weekend to visit my dad. It was a surprise for his birthday (I can't believe he turned 60!). And yes, he was surprised! His girlfriend, JeriLyn, had some events planned for the weekend. Friday we went to the Imax theater (along with Kalah and her parents, Margaret and Al) to see Harry Potter 5 in 3D. That was pretty cool! The last 20 minutes were in 3D. On Saturday, Dad, Jerilyn, and I went up to Plymouth for a bluegrass festival. What a kick in the pants that was! It was a very good weekend, exactly what I needed.

You know, it's funny. I always think when I am sick or just down and out, that I will get plenty of knitting done seeing as how I am just sitting in my chair, doing nothing else, not feeling up to doing anything really. But no. It doesn't happen like that. I end up reading, napping, or watching tv. So, I didn't make all that much progress on the Tangled Yoke during the surgery recovery but I have been working on it. The body is finished (I may have posted about that already) and one sleeve is about 2/3rds done. See, what happened was...I was distracted by babies. My cousin and his wife are having twin boys in about 5 weeks. I have been wanting to make something for them (they already have a 2.5 year old son) but after the Tiramisu, I had NO desire to make another blanket. I finally settled on a baby version of the Shedir. After much discussion and debate (mostly in my head) I picked up two balls of Little Lehigh Pebbles. This is a great yarn if you haven't tried it yet. 250 yards for $6? Can't go wrong! I have finished up the green hat and cast on for the blue. It's not the easiest pattern (I had to frog it twice to get the ribbing right) but I love the way it turned out.

I also picked up 7 balls of SWS in Natural Wood for a version of BrooklynTweed's Hemlock Ring blanket. I am just going to do the Feather and Fan shawl from Gathering of Lace. I am so very tempted to cast on for it right this very minute but I need to get that second hat done before the babies arrive. So, I will hold off. Besides, it turns out that when knitting a sweater, sleeves tend to be my downfall. I went through some of my older projects recently and discovered most of the sweaters have stalled because I stopped knitting on the sleeves. Try three projects: Rebecca lace sweater, my beautiful Julia, and the Tangled Yoke. When you find yourself stalled on a project, is it something different every time? Or do you have one particular portion that stops you in your tracks? Just curious.

Go Speed Racer!

2007-09-09T17:20:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten how pleasureable stockinette stitch can be. Being incapacitated this week, well, just for a few days, it made it so much easier to knit when it was on plain 'ole boring stockinette. I finished up the body and have moved onto a sleeve. I will say it again and again, I love love this yarn. It's the perfect yarn for our weather. I am already trying to figure out how to use this yarn in my next project. Haven't picked it out yet but if it could incorporate my 5 hanks of Silky Wool in purple, that would be super!

The One About The Teeth

2007-09-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

I unexpectedly had all four wisdom teeth taken out yesterday. I have had my wisdom teeth fully in for years but have always known that they needed to be taken out. I waited because I have such a high fear of being in the dentist chair. Well, over the weekend, one of the teeth started to fall apart and I knew it was time. I made the call Tuesday and was lucky enough to be able to have the surgery on Wednesday (the surgeon is only in SB once a month). I was very nervous that morning, I couldn't even laugh at Chauntel's jokes. Nor could I stop my leg from shaking. They took me in and got me hooked up to an IV and a half hour later, I was awake and questioning whether or not they had gotten all four. Are they sure they got all four? :) I felt them pulling one of the teeth out and I was so sure it was the first tooth but it turned out to be the last. A few minutes later, I was walked into the recovery room where Chaun met me. All in all, not a bad experience. I am just so glad to have it over with. I am recovering here on my couch at home. I am a little tired of oatmeal, yogurt, and applesauce but it's all fine. Soon enough I will be able to have my cheeseburger and salty fries. Oh, and I am not swelling up like some people do. I have some slight swelling but no chipmunk cheeks. Whew!!

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes. :) This is a very common surgery and I feel a bit silly for having put it off for so many years. I had it so built up in my head to be horrible but it went fine. Thank you again!

And a big fat Thank You to Chauntel. BFF's!!

New knitting and an Old moon

2007-09-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come... I started a new project! I made myself finish up the Rusted Root before I cast on again. I don't have photos yet of the Root, she's languishing in the finishing pile. A dozen or so ends that still need to be tied in. And you know how much I love tying in ends... So, I moved onto the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from IK Fall '07. I was so excited to cast on! And to start knitting. Not so excited to remember how much I dislike 2x2 rib. :) Don't get me wrong, I love knitting this but ~sigh~ it's the entire sweater on the needles at one time. I do have the Mystery Stole still to work on when I can't take the stockinette any longer... I am knitting the Tangled out of Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in a dark chocolate. I absolutely love this yarn. It's a very springy/spongy/tweedy yarn. I think it's going to turn out very nice in this sweater.

We had a full moon this week and I took the camera down to the stairs at the beach to see if I could get some cool photos. I was trying to play around with shutter speed on the camera but I didn't get the effeect I was looking for. Despite that, there is something that attracts me to these pictures...maybe a quietness or something about them. Anyway! Here they are:

And on a complete sidenote, having nothing to do with knitting or moons, I absolutely love the music in the Lord of the Rings movies. Our cable is out this morning and I am not a fan of just turning on the radio so I popped in the Fellowship of the Ring. The music evokes such feelings for me. I love how the music reflects the lifestyles of the people in the movie. Long flowing music for the elves (it brings to mind their jewelry with the long delicate strands of silver) and hard choppy music for the Orks. I love these movies...

Knitting!

2007-08-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

The one bad thing about Ravelry is that I update my projects on there but I forget about my blog. So here you go, I have updated pics of the Swan Lake (aka MS3) Stole. I didn't really work on it the month of July but have been trucking right along on it this past week. I am so very pleased with this project. I love the yarn, the pattern is very pretty, and beading is a breeze! If you aren't a member of the group, I would highly recommend purchasing this pattern for yourself.

Whoops!!

2007-08-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

I could have sworn I posted about my Father's Day present to my dad this year but in searching my blog, apparently I didn't!

First let me tell you a story. Many years ago, my dad's grandma started a quilt. She took the cast off clothing of my dad and his siblings and crafted a Dresden Plate patterned quilt (I think that's what they are called). She passed away before she was able to finish the quilt and my mom, being pretty much the most crafty woman in our family, inherited all the pieces. I remember from when I was a little girl, my mom working on this quilt, embroidering around the edges, with bright orange yarn. After awhile, the quilt was relegated to the back of our linen closet where it sat until this past year. I took this quilt and had it quilted for my dad for Father's Day. There is a wonderful woman, MaryAnne Huggins, based out in Ojai that took on this task. My dad was mildly pleased with the present, his first comment being, "Wow! It sure is bright!" I wasn't expecting him to fall over gushing so I wasn't too disappointed. He did recognize though, that this is now an heirloom quilt for our family. This first photo is the quilt on my dad's bed. This second photo is a close up of one of the panels.

Breath of fresh air

2007-08-19T16:05:00.000-07:00

It is kind of hard to convey the physical effects of the smoke in our air through a computer. But let me give you an idea: every day I wake up congested, my throat is scratchy and I am constantly clearing my throat. I lack energy and my thought processes are slowed down. But today, today I went down to the beach for a few hours. And I finally was able to clear my head of the smoke. There was a nice breeze coming off the ocean. So no smokey pictures today. I do have more to share, especially of yesterday's HUGE smoke plume. But let's pretend for just a few minutes that there is no fire going on. I spent yesterday at Golf N'Stuff in Ventura for Sadie's 10th birthday. I don't spend much time with kids let alone a gaggle of ten-year old girls but I was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed my time. It's been a very long time since the last time I played miniature golf. I will let Chaun share the story of the day. I do want to share one photo with you though. It's a great example of what happens when you regularly shop with your best friend. :)

That's right, similar outfits. Very similar outfits. How funny that both of us thought of Preppy Cute as the theme of the day. And how funny that we were dressed appropriately for golfing!

And speaking of Chaun, I just love her. She always knows just the right thing to say or do when I am not feeling myself. It was a rough week and due to something that I chose (and had) to do, I have been feeling kinda lonely and slightly depressed. So, what could possibly make a girl feel better? Yarn of course! Ahhh, SeaSilk in Peridot. It's some of the most beautiful yarn I have ever seen. It's ideal for the Hanami. Thank you, thank you Chaun! I love you!