WhiteStar

Squeal Like a Pig

Oooooohhhhh-ooooohhhhh-ooooooohhhhhh

That is me squealing like a pig because I finished my Noro leftovers shawl and I LOVE IT! It's blocking now, pictures tomorrow. I like it so much I may need to buy more Noro just so I have more leftovers to make another one.

Next?

Did I mention that last week I bought some Kidsilk Haze to make Birch? Or that on Monday I went up to Boulder to visit Shuttle, Spindles and Skeins and purchased 9 skeins of Alice Starmore Scottish Campion in Wisteria, and 10 skeins of Jamieson Spindrift in Sunglow.

One is destined to be the Sampler Shawl from Cherly Oberle's Folk Shawls book. I'm not sure about the other but the colors were both so pretty I couldn't decide. I was diappointed that they had raised their prices from $3.90 per skein to $4.75....

Meanwhile I'm really going to try to finish up a few projects before I start anything else. We'll see how long that resolution lasts...

Springtime In the Rockies

The first year I lived in Colorado, when April rolled around I was in shock. I grew up in Virgina where April means spring flowers, cherry blossoms and dog woods in bloom. Winter is (usually) a distant memory by the end of April.

In Colorado, April means snow. And then more snow. Most non-Coloradans don't know that April is our snowiest month. It has snowed EVERY DAY THIS WEEK. But it's not our usual "dry" snow. And the ground is no longer frozen.

Here is what Springtime in the Rockies means to me....

Those legs are attached to Ilsa....

The other dogs all looked just as bad, if you have the need to see more, so that you can gloat on how lucky you are that you do no co-habitate with filthy little heathens, click on over to the April 30 entry on Babe's Blog.

Anne at 9:46 AM

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Study in White

Anne at 8:10 PM

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Lady Eleanor: Take 4

This is Take 4 of Lady Eleanor:

Take 1 was out of Noro Silk Garden.

Take 2 was out of Lalana Millspun Silver Streak.

Take 3 was out of the same yarn as in the picture. Either Kathleen Power Johnson is a VERY tight knitter, or I have suddenly become a VERY loose knitter.... I used the size 10.5 needles the pattern called for and ended up with a stole 36 inches across instead of 23.

There is going to be a Take 5.

I am not going to rip out Take 4 YET... but I am going to start another version using size 10 needles and eliminating one entrelac square.

Why?

Because I already know I'm going to run out of yarn WAY before I'm done.

How do I know this?

The geek in me has weighed and measured and the yarn I'm using and it does not have anywhere close to to the 81 yards per 2 ounce skein that Lalana says is the approximate yardage. I've got more like 55-60 yards per 2 ounces.

Sigh.... such is the nature of handspun yarn. Beautiful but unpredictable.

Another view of the Lady, because she is beautiful:

Fun with Noro

Meanwhile here is what has been consuming most of my time:

Neverending Noro project of the month.... Truly Tasha's Shawl out of Noro Leftovers.

So far I've used, from bottom to top, Silk Garden color 1, Kochoran color 1, Kureyon color 1, Kureyon color 2, Kochoran color 2.

I'm having Too Much Fun with this project!!

I have one more color of Kureyon and some Shinano. And lots of Kochoran in both colors. I'm not sure if the Shinano will "go" with the other yarns or not, but then each time I've added a new color I've had my doubts and it keeps looking better and better!

This is definitely a good project for any Noro addicts out there who have bits and pieces lying around.

I'm just starting to think about what color to use or the knitted on lace border.... maybe some Auracnaia nature wool or kettle dyed Manos... I dn't think it should be as varigated as the Noro but not totally solid either. In maybe a smoky blue gray or green....

Anne at 7:05 PM

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This Day in (My) History

15 years ago today, my German Shepherd Ripken was born. Ripken has been gone now for almost 3 years.

6 years ago today I bought my first Palm Pilot. And Columbine happened.

5 years ago today my dearest darling Sasha, love of my life, died.

2 weeks ago today Raven's puppies, Sasha's great grandnieces and nephews, were born.

Anne at 11:05 AM

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Lady Eleanor

I lust for Lady Eleanor.

If you don't know what Lady Eleanor is you haven't been visiting the Scarf Style blog. Lady Eleanor is one of the many fabulous designs in the book Scarf Style, edited by Interweave Knits editor, Pam Allen. The yarn called for in the pattern is LaLana Wools Forever Random Blends. Have you seen how much it costs?

Many people knitting Lady Eleanor are using Noro yarns, either Kureyon or Silk Garden. I tried that and it just did nothing for me. It was not the Lady Eleanor I lust after.

Then I tried some LaLana Millspun Silver Streak I had sitting around. Nope. That won't do either.

I had resigned myself to never possesing the Lady Eleanor of my dreams.

Then I remembered something.... something hidden in the deepest recesses of my mind...a number of years ago I bought, for an embarrasingly obscene amount of money, the kit to make this. I fell in love with it and HAD HAD HAD to have it. The most I've ever paid for yarn in my life. I brought it home and started right in on it.

I finished the body, I put on one sleeve... and then... I RAN OUT of my obscenely expensive yarn. So after spending so much money in the first place, I now needed to spend even more to finish it. Twice I sent email to Lalana ordering four more skeins. Neither time did I ever receive the yarn. Was it a sign?

I should mention that in addition to only having one sleeve, it also weighed over 2 lbs. Knit in linen stitch with both single and double crochet trim, this could have done duty as a bullet proof vest. But, as I said (repeatedly), I spent an obscene amount on the yarn so I couldn't just trash it.

I did what any self respecting knitter does, I hid it in the back of the closet and forgot about it.

Until yesterday.

Guess what? I have 28 ounces of Forever Random. Lady Eleanor takes 30 ounces. I'm thinking if I either do the fringe with the silk from the original kit, or if I make Eleanor one entrelac square narrower, I'll have plenty.

So we had a rip-fest today!

Ripped and Rewound

Skeined and Soaking

Drying!!

Looks like Lady Eleanor and I are destined to be together.

By the way, if you have ever wondered if there is anything worse than ripping out something knit of mohair, the answer is YES. Try ripping something crocheted out of mohair....

Anne at 4:59 PM

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Obi is Complete!

I finished Obi and I think I really like it! Yes it IS different. My husband thinks it's "weird". But it's VERY comfortable to wear.

More pictures on Obi page in the Gallery.

In the comments a few days ago Alice indicated she was not happy with her Obi because it rode up in the back. It IS a short sweater, and because of all the width it does have a tendency to flare out (and up) in the back. I was not happy until after I blocked mine. Now it's fine.

I am long waisted and if I were to make it again (Yes I'm considering it, I like it that much!) I'd add an inch or two of length, just an extra two rows on each stripe would be perfect.

Old Stuff

The Shawl Knitters group on Yahoo is doing a Landscape Shawl knit-along starting soon and several people had questions about the finished shawl. Since I knit mine almost 3 years ago I won't be joining the knit-along but thought that I could answer some of the questions by putting up some pictures. You can see it on the Landscape Shawl page.

Meanwhile...

The puppies are now 4 days old! All weigh a pound or more now and seem to be doing really well. We are still on round-the-clock watch as Raven occsionally accidentally sits on one. But she's getting smarter about it as the days go by.

Anne at 7:51 AM

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Redefining What "Local Yarn Store" Means

The other day, Theresa asked each of her readers to leave a comment letting her know where we hail from so she could create a map of her readers locations. So I did.

Then Liesel saw my comment on Theresa's blog and, since she lives in a nearby area, she emailed me to say "Hi Neighbor!". We exchanged a couple emails and, when I was more specific about exactly where I lived, she said, "I've been up that way. There's a yarn shop (Wooly Works Knits) up there."

What?

A yarn shop? NEAR me?

I live in the middle of nowhere. Okay it's not entirely in the middle of nowhere, but when friends from Denver or Colorado Springs come to see me for the first time they think they are going to end up in Kansas they drive so far east.

I would KNOW if there was a yarn store near me, wouldn't I?? I've been to every store that sells yarn in Colorado Springs and most of them in Denver too. Also Fort Collins. And Boulder.

Well guess what?

Liesel was right. Wooly Works Knit Shop and Alpacas. On Oregon Wagon Trail in Elbert, Colorado.

I CAN SEE IT FROM MY HOUSE.

It is a room in the basement of a home that is very near me. It's very small, but Edie, the owner, is very nice and she carries good stuff. She has yarn from Dale of Norway, Brown Sheep, Cherry Tree Hill, Blue Sky Alpacas and Mountain Colors as well as a few others. Addi Turbo and Brittany Birch needles. What more does a knitter need?

I have to say it again...

I CAN SEE IT FROM MY HOUSE.

Anne at 2:16 PM

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Shrugs

Shrugs are everwhere in knit land this year.

I hate shrugs.

They are without a doubt one of the ugliest garments ever foisted upon woman-kind.

I don't just hate them on ME. I hate looking at them on other people as well.

I have never seen a shrug that looked good on anyone. NE-VER.

No matter how skinny, tall, young or cute the model is, a shrug invariably makes them look like they put on the nearest two year olds sweater. They make flat-chested woman look flatter and well endowed woman look.... well....let's just not go there...

They are right up there with the "really cute" super short* ponchos that always make me think some infant is missing his clothing.... Snort.

Okay, I feel better now.... I can go back to reading the new issue of Knitty. (Yes there is a shrug.. what a waste of lace....)

*I can handle normal (correctly) sized ponchos....

Anne at 9:10 AM

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Look What's New At WhiteStar!

Meet the puppies:

Yellow Girl, Green Boy, Purple Boy, Red Boy, Black Girl

Anne at 8:56 PM

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Too Much Fun!

I found this over at Jenifer’s and I just couldn’t resist!

1. YOUR PORN STAR NAME: (Name of first pet / Street you live on):
Mickey California

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (Name of your favorite snack food / Grandfather's first name):
Chocolate Harold

3. YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (First word you see on your left / Favorite restaurant):
Tuesday Zio

4. EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS: (Favorite Spice / Last Foreign Vacation Spot):
Cilantro Cancun

5. SOCIALITE ALIAS: (Silliest Childhood Nickname / Town Where You First Partied):
Annie Fairfax

6. "FLY GIRL/BOY" ALIAS (a la J. Lo): (First Initial / First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name):
A-O’N

7. ICON ALIAS: (Something Sweet Within Sight / Any Liquid in Your Kitchen):
Raven Molasses

8. DETECTIVE ALIAS: (Favorite Baby Animal / Where You Went to High School):
Puppy Fairfax

9. BARFLY ALIAS: (Last Snack Food You Ate / Your Favorite Alcoholic Drink):
Marshmallow Kahlua

10. SOAP OPERA ALIAS: (Middle Name / Street Where You First Lived):
Elizabeth Berry

11. ROCK STAR ALIAS: (Favorite Candy / Last Name Of Favorite Musician):
Dove Lang

12. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: ( First 2 letters of your first name and the first 3 Letters from your last name makes your first name. Take the first 2 letters of your mother's maiden name and the first 3 letters of the city you were born in):
Ano’ne Funew

Puppies?

Not yet. Friday was a False Alarm. Although today things are starting to look interesting.....

Anne at 3:07 PM

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Surprise!

Well even though I was convinced that Raven would have her puppies early next week, it appears she may have other plans. As of 1 PM MT her temperature has dropped to 97.5.

When her mother's temp went this low, I had 6 puppies within 8 hours. When her sister's temp went this low, I had 4 puppies 24 hours later.

Although I hadn't planned to put it up until Sunday, I did some scrambling and the Raven-Cam is live. My guess is that you may experience some delays as lots of people may be hitting it at once when they know it's up. Just keep trying :)

To keep up to date on what's happening, vist That's So Raven.

Anne at 1:45 PM