WhiteStar

It Matters To ALL Of Us

2007-04-23T14:02:00.001-06:00

When the Animal Rights Nazis came for the Pit Bulls,
I remained silent;
I did not own a pit bull.

When they outlawed the hobby breeders,
I remained silent;
I was not a hobby breeder.

When they abolished dog shows and performance events,
I did not speak out;
I was not a dog exhibitor.

When they came for me and my pets,
there was no one left to speak out.

D. Newell

PETA, HSUS and many other "animal rights" groups are trying to take away your rights to own pets. It's starts with breed specific legislation (already in place in many areas) and then expands to the people who carefully and ethically breed only the best dogs to the best dogs with health and quality foremost in their intent.

You will be next.

Help support the fight against anti-dog legislation today! Visit this site and sign the petition now!

LIfe. In Colorado.

2007-02-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining, there is not a cloud in the sky.

It's supposed to be near 60 degrees today!

And there is a blizzard warning for tonight.

In Search of ..... the Perfect Bag

2007-02-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Long time, no post.

And when I finally do post it's non-knitting content.

Okay a little bit of knitting content. The Epic Sweater (see below) is coming along nicely. The body is done. The neckband is done The button bands are done. I'm halfway down one sleeve. Maybe I'll post pictures someday.

The real purpose of this post is to moan about how I cannot find the perfect bag. Not a knitting bag, not a purse, but an all purpose whatever-I-need-it-to-be bag. To take with me to dog shows. To carry all the miscellaneous stuff that needs to be carried safely and in style.

It must have some pockets but not useless pcckets. I need pockets for:

Cellphone
iPod
PDA
My small camera

Then it need to hold a whole mess of other stuff. Up to something the size of an average magazine. Maybe a book. Altoids mints. Dog leashes. Poop bags. (yes, you read that right) A bottle of water. Right now I use a stiff leather totebag but it only has one pocket. It holds a lot but it's very disorganized.

The bag must have structure. (i.e. no floppy fabric bags)

It must be easily cleanable. Or at least not easily stainable.

It must be reasonably affordable (under $200) If it was REALLY erfect I might go higher.

No gloppy hardware or overdone topstitching. No big buckles. Not heavy zippers all over the place.

It must be "pretty", pink would be perfect :)

I'm not asking for much am I?

I have not seen anything online or in the stores that even comes close. I love a lot of the Dooney and Bourke bags but they have no or very few pockets. I looked at carry on luggage, too big and the fabrics are usually icky.

Any suggestions? Leave a comment.

Epic Knitting

2007-01-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

In addition to this being the year of Knit From My Stash, it's also going to be a year of Epic Knitting.

I plan on starting two projects that will probably take all year (or more) to finish.

Epic Projects.

The first is the Knit Picks Fair Isle Cardigan...

Some friends and I are going to embark on this project together. I know it's not a very complex fair isle design but in the past I've always managed to get about 3 inches done on the various Jamieson and Starmore fair isles I've started and then just kind of fizzled out. Bored with the little needles. Not interested to pay so much attention to my knitting (WHY does lace not bore me then???) So for me, this is an Epic Project.

Second is this:

Yup. It's a full length dressing gown. From Romantic Style. It's why I bought those 20 balls of Kid Classic recently. God knows if I'll ever actually wear it, but I WANT it.

Epic Knitting Rules

1) The only new projects I can start for the first 3 months of 2007 are my designated Epic Projects.

2) I need to finish 3 Works in Progress before I start another new project.

3) When I can start a new project, it must be Epic in Nature.

3b) Epic is defined as a project I believe would take me more time than I usually have the patience for. (I know I've knit lots of lace shawls in the past, (which many consider Epic) but lately I've been suffering from some form of Knitter's ADD and have not completed one in over a year!)

4) Socks don't count because one must ALWAYS have socks on the needles.

(Speaking of Epic Knitting - check out this beautiful blanket made by The Scarlet Knitter.)

Spindle Lust

Have you seen these? sigh.....

How Much Snow?

2007-01-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

What people who don't live in blizzard country often don't know is that it's not about "how much snow?", it's about "how much wind?"

12 inches of gently falling snow, lying softly on the ground, doesn't make a blizzard. A few inches of snow being driven horizontally across the open plains by 50 mph hours winds... THAT is what makes a blizzard.

And so I offer up these pictures... the first is of my side yard, taken not after any melting has occurred, but right after the storm subsided. The gate behind the snow is 5 feet tall. How much snow do YOU think I have?

Why yes, that IS bare dirt on the right side of the picture...
And here is a picture of my front door.

My kennel runs are made up of 6 foot high panels. When I complained about not being able to use my kennels, a friend asked why I didn't dig them out. And the answer is:

My poor dogs are on house arrest. They are used to having multiple acres to run. Why can't they go out? See the red arrow in the picture below? It's pointing at the TOP of my 5 foot fence....

I have a Ford F-250 4 x 4 Super Duty Truck. It's BIG. There are three ways to get out of my neighborhood. Do I get snowed in during blizzards? You be the judge?

One:

Two:

Three:

A neighbor starts to dig out his garage. This is where he stores his motorhome. The door is 10 feet tall.

Another neighbor doesn't even want to contemplate what digging out is going t take.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Out the Back Door Saturday

2006-12-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Click for BIG.

Where?

2006-12-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

Leisel and La asked where I made my great yarn score.

Holly Berry Needleworks in Colorado Springs.

Unfortunately they don't have a website. I'm not even sure they'll mail order stuff over the phone.

And ummm.... I kind of bought most of the good stuff they had left.

No, that's not entirely true. They still have a bit of Kid Classic but no more than 2 or 3 balls of a few colors.

Some of the Felted Tweed, but again, not 10 balls of any single color. Also some Yorkshire Tweed (Aran? Chunky?) and bit of the 4 ply as well.

They did have a lot of Rowan Wool Cotton, at least 10 or more balls in a dark navy blue and a rose color as well as 6 or so balls in several other colors.

Quite bit of Katia Scotch (a heavy worsted weight silk wool yarn - think Silky Wool only HEAVIER) in several colors.

And many of the cottons were on sale including Elsbeth Lavold Cotton Patine, Debbie Bliss Cotton DK (quite bit of this), DB Cotton Cashmere (10+ balls in several colors), DB Cathay and DB Cotton Angora (not very much of either of those). And a few skeins of DB Merino Aran - no more than 6 or so per color.

Finally, I think there were two odd balls of the Noro Kujako in a different color than I bought.

Have at it.

SCORE!!

2006-12-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

(Yarn P0rn)

Rowan Kid Classic at $4 a ball:

More Rowan Kid Classic at $4 a ball:

Rowan Felted Tweed at $3.50 a ball:

More Rowan Felted Tweed at $3.50 a ball:

And some Rowan 4 Ply at a ridiculously low price:

Last but not least, some Noro Kujaku at $4 a ball:

Just getting prepared for Knit From Your Stash....

My Rules:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through December 31, 2007 -- a full year (yes I have THAT MUCH YARN!)

2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2.a. If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.

2.b. Yarn can be purchased at Estes Park. But it must be unique, with little or no chance of finding it elsewhere.

2.c. If I find that green Trekking XXL yarn that Christy was knitting with, I can buy it.

2.d. Books and tools don't count as yarn.

3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Spinning fiber of any sort is NOT exempt, I have almost as much fiber as I do yarn. I could spin (and not knit) for an entire year and still have fiber left over)

5. Sock yarn is NOT exempt. I have enough sock yarn to make about 100 pair of socks. I average about 8-10 pair a year so... you do the math.

Last But Certainly Not Least...

Out The Back Door Saturday

2006-12-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

What brings me out of Blogger silence? (Actually I have not been silent, I've just been doing all my posting on the other blog lately.)

Kate's great idea.

I have a view of Pikes Peak out my back door. And almost every Saturday (when I'm not at a dog show) I leave for Knit Group at the same time. So it should be pretty easy to snap a picture each week. Wow that might mean at least one post a week!

click for BIG

(P.S. I'm on clue 54.4 now.....)

I'm On Level 26 36 47....

2006-12-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.weffriddles.com/

How about you?

Why Yes, I AM a New Champion.

2006-12-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

CH WhiteStar's Beyond Thunderdome HIC

Rip It. Rip It Good.

2006-11-28T16:20:00.000-07:00

So I have just about finished up the Fletcher jacket.

But I decided I'd really rather have made the Holly turtle neck instead.

See this post if you don't know what I'm talking about.

So I'm ripping. Why? Because I can.

Killing Time

2006-11-16T06:24:00.000-07:00

Lady Eleanor is finished, blocked and fringed. Pictures later today. Want to take bets on that?

Once again Blackbird comes up with a meme so that I can have some blog content....

Explain what ended your last relationship?
It ended so long ago I don't remember. Seriously.

When was the last time you shaved?
Last night.

What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
It's not 8 am yet. It's not even 7 am yet. I don't think it was 6 am when I started!

What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
Same thing I'm doing right now. Well, specifically, I was reading the Craftster KnitAlong Forum.

Are you any good at math?
hahahahahahahaha!

Your prom night, what do you remember about it?
That I didn't go.

Do you have any famous ancestors?
nope.

Have you had to take a loan out for school?
Yes. The payments were $39 every 3 months.

Last thing received in the mail?
SunGuard and Sardine Oil for Max's coat.

How many different beverages have you had today?
none.

Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine?
Rarely. I hate phones. And answering machines.

Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
Chicago and the Beach Boys together.

Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
No. Yes? Maybe? I forget.

What’s the most painful dental procedure you’ve had?
Fillings.

What is out your back door?
My deck. Prairie grass. Lots of white dogs.

Any plans for Friday night?
I have to work until about 2 AM.

Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
Yes! Ringlets! It' sthe only thing I miss about the ocean.

Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
No. Thank God.

Have you ever been to a planetarium?
Yes! Love them! I took a year of Astronomy in College and aced it!

Do you re-use towels after you shower?
Um... doesn't everyone? Or is doing laundry every day a hobby I'm unaware of?

Some things you are excited about?
Sam and Taiya's ring debut next month. Kelly's puppies. The new yarn I got from Webs last week. Lady Eleanor even though I'll never wear it.

What is your favorite flavor of JELL-O?
Oh my God! Ar you supposed to EAT Jell-O? I tought it was decorative.... Blech.

Describe your keychain(s)?
I have 4, 2 for each vehicle. They are all equal opportunity.
1) purple nylon wrist strap with a hand made Cindy Brwon lampworked bead.
2) purple beaded wrist strap
3) mini-screwdriver set
4) dealer tag - yes, still, even though the truck is 8 years old....

Where do you keep your change?
1) In the change compartment of my wallet
2) In a wine bottle on my dresser
3) In the center console of my truck
4) In one of the dogs stainess steel drinking buckets in my van

When was the last time you spoke in front of a large group of people?
I don't do that. Ever.

What kind of winter coat do you own?
I live in Colorado. We don't "do" winter coats. We layer. Okay, seriously, on the rare occasions that I have to wear a real winter coat I have a Linda Lundstrom La Parka that I got at Nordstroms Rack in Washinton DC for $80. Which if you know anything about La Parka's you know is an incredible deal. Other than that Ihave LOTS and LOTS of jackets.

What was the weather like on your graduation day?
I have no clue. It was indoors, why would I care.

Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
Both. Either. Or.

How Big is Big Enough?

2006-11-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

So I bought some Noro Transitions on sale at Webs. My plan was to make this:

It takes 700 grams for the smallest size but I bought 800 just to be on the safe side.

But then I decided a super bulky turtle neck just might not get too much wear in the temperate (yes, really) weather we have in Colorado (where it is 76 degrees today).

Maybe I'd rather make this:

But the extra small size takes 900 grams. BUT the extra small size is also 48 inches around the chest. I'm 12 inches smaller than that. So I'm thinking I could take off several inches and the 800 grams would be plenty of yarn.

But how Big is Big Enough? I mean, 48 inches would be huge on me! But would 42 inches be too small for a garment styled like this? 40"? 44"?

What would you do?

Have I Forsaken Lady Eleanor?

Absolutely not!

We're on ball number 9 of 11....

Too Precious For Words

Lady Eleanor (again)

2006-11-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last year I started Lady Eleanor from Scarf Style. Twice.

The first attmept was in La Lana Wool Streakers. I hated it.

The second attempt was in La Lana Wool Forever Random. The yarn called for in the pattern. I hated it.

But this:

I love.

Patons Soy Wool Stripes. Natural Geranium. Size 5.5 mm needles.

I Love This.... BUT....

2006-10-31T06:10:00.000-07:00

When the new issue of Vogue Knitting came out I fell hard and fast for this cardigan:

Gorgeous, isn't it? I even talked to the Llama Store about ordering yarn for me.

But not yet.

Because I have concerns.

First off it only comes in three finished chest sizes. 28", 31" and 35". With a slightly loose gauge and judicious blocking the largest would probably fit me. That's a lot of knitting for a "probably". So maybe I need to adjust the pattern. (Side note: WHY design a pttern that will fit like, what? 20% of the knitting population?)

Second concern. I have knit long sleeved looser fitting (40") cabled sweater for myself and know that I need about 1600 yards of yarn. Why does this one call for 2100 yards. That's a lot of yarn. Where is it all going? This is a little tiny sweater, bell sleeves not withstanding.

Third concern. Okay I figured out where the yarn is going. Notice how the model is holding her hand at her hip. I think she's trying to hide a flared out peplum and LOTS of extra fabric. Upon examination of the shematic I noticed the finished measurements on this very lovely sweater are a bit "odd":

The Smallest size;
chest: 28"
waist: 25"
hip: 46"

Medium:
chest: 31"
waist: 28"
hip: 49"

"Large":
chest: 35"
waist: 32"
hip: 53"

Do I really want 53 INCHES of fabric around my hips? I DON'T THINK SO!!!

So I'm either waiting until some other people finish knitting it up and give their opinions. And I see pictures. Real pictures, not model pictures. Or I need to see about modifying the bottom between hip and waist.

Have you said hello to the puppies. You should. Blame them for the lack of blog content here. I'm spending all my time (and admittedly poor photography skills) on them.

Do Yourself a Favor.....

2006-10-26T08:16:00.000-06:00

.... and go read this:

In The Woods

I know that anyone who managed to find this blog probably already reads The Yarn Harlot. But just in case you missed Stephanie's most recent post, you NEED to check it out.

Together Again

2006-10-20T19:07:00.000-06:00

Sam and Tina

How Gorgeous Is This??

2006-10-20T06:21:00.000-06:00

How has this not been plastered all over blogland?

Why is everyone not making it?

Of did I somehow manage to miss the buzz?

It's kind of like Birch but a sweater.

Purchased and downloaded this morning... I even already have the yarn... Kidsilk Haze in Meadow.

Find it at NeoKnits.

KnitAlong (not much activity) here.

48 Things.....

2006-10-16T12:33:00.000-06:00

48 Things You Could Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME? Anne

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Supposedly my grandmother. But her name was Anna. So maybe it's just a story.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? September 25. The last day of my vacation.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? When I print, Yes. Other wise each year it gets to look more and more like my fathers - illegible.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Lunchmeat? Is that stuff edible??????

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I don't know. I'm hard to get to know. I avoid people in most situations. Except at dog shows.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Does this count?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? No.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Can I just use BlackBird's answer? No. Way. In. Hell.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms. Yes, really.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Never!

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Emotionally yes, physically no.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Jamocha Almond Fudge

14. SHOE SIZE? Dansko 39. Any other brand of shoes and it's a toss up.

5. RED OR PINK? Pink. pinkpinkpinkpinkPINK!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I worry about stupid stuff.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mother.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue, Blue, Blue

20. LAST THING YOU ATE? A chunk of dark chocolate

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Nothing. Unless an occasional dog bark counts. I don't like background noise. I HATE radio or TV in the morning.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple.

23. FAVORITE SMELL? Citrus or pine. Or maybe lavendar. Or the smell of onions and garlic cooking in olive oil.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My husband.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their hair.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I don't know her!

27. FAVORITE DRINK? Lipton Diet Green Tea, Citrus flavor.

28. FAVORITE SPORT? Dog Stuff.

29. EYE COLOR? Blue.

30. HAT SIZE? I dont' wear hats. Except when it's REALLY cold and then they are wool and they stretch.

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes.

32. FAVORITE FOOD? Pasta.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs. But not from "strangers"!

37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Do I have to choose just ONE? No fair.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? To what?

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I'm not asking anything.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Whelping and Rearing of Puppies by Muriel P. Lee.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? A Samoyed. Wow, what a surprise.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Cold Case.

43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Running water. Thunder in the distance.

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Beatles.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? A few thousand miles.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Problem solving.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? New York.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Stolen from Blackbird.

One of these days....

2006-10-13T11:19:00.000-06:00

....I'll get back to regular blogging.

There has just been so much going on.

First there was getting ready for the National.

Then being at the National

Then recovering from the National.

Then it was confirmed that Kelly is pregnant. So I'm preparing for puppies. Four, probabably 5. Here's one now....

I have been knitting. A lot actually. I finished 4 Phoebe Scarves and one Phoebe Jacket.

The Plum (Apricot) Jacket from Rebecca 27 is coming along nicely. I'm making it in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky and believe it or not I'm still not getting gauge, but I think it will block out big enough. I'm having fun with this as it's the first thing I've ever knit in it's entirety holding the yarn "continentally" (left hand), it's also the first thing I've knit using the Combined method and if that isn't enough, I decided to knit it in one piece, including knitting the set in sleeves in from the top down.

I also started Serrano in Dale Baby Ull. Can I really delude myself into believing I will knit an entire sweater in baby yarn on Size 2 needles? It's "only" 7 socks worth of yarn.....

AND I started on Tamarah in the ArtYarns called for, Regal Silk and Silk Mohair, but mine is (surprise!) pink. I've been looking for an excuse to buy some ArtYarns yarn and this was it.

Recently Finished Objects? Just one, the Cabbage Rose socks.

$850

2006-09-26T14:37:00.000-06:00

That's how much the White Biscuit and Cream, Samoyed fur trimmed shawl sold for last Saturday night at the Samoyed Club of America fundraising auction.

Wow!

The beaded necklace went for $375.

Wow again.

And did I mention the shawl also won Best in Show at the Art Show?

Wow AGAIN.

There Has Been LOTS of Knitting....

2006-09-15T23:19:00.000-06:00

... and even some spinning and beading!

But no picture taking.

The Simple Knitted Bodice is done after FINALLY receiving the one extra skein of yarn I had to order to do the last 10 rows. It only took 15 days to get here from Arkansas.

Something Lilac is also finished. I don't think I like it though. It makes me look huge, I'm not sure why. I will put it away and look at it again in a few weeks.

The special Art Show/Auction shawl made of 37 different white and cream colore dyarns is complete and packed for it's trip to Idaho. I will get ap icture when it's unpacked. Uh-hu, really I will. It came out really nice and the spinning (Samoyed fur) for yarn for the edging was relatively painless.

And the beaded necklace made out of the specially minted SCA 2006 coin is also done. That too will be entered in the art show an then given to the auction. Agine I'll get a picture when it's unpacked.

Speaking of packing... the van is loaded, most of my stuff is packed and we leave at 7:30 tomorrow morning. I'm taking 4 knitting projects and I bet I never touch them. Icer, Babe, Max, Sam and I head for Post Falls, Idaho and the Samoyed Club of America National Specialty, the once a year meeting of "our tribe" where we get to see old friends and meet new ones. Yee-Hah!!! See ya'll in 11 days!

Favorite Online (Downloadable) Pattern Source?

2006-08-29T09:39:00.000-06:00

I love to be able to buy patterns online and download them almost as soon as I pay for them. So many of the online designers have way more fashion sense and (and way more commmon sense!) than the designers hired by big yarn companies.

I'm wondering if I've missed any really good sources. I just discovered Zephyrstyle last week so I figure there are others out there I don't know about.

Here are the ones I regularly take a look at to see what's new:

The Garter Belt
Knit and Tonic
The Knitting Vault
The Knitting Zone
Zephyrstyle
My Fashionable Life
Pink Lemon Twist
MimKnits.com
See Eunny Knit
Chic Knits

Am I missing any good ones?

I am aware that some yarn companies have tons of free patters (Garnstudio/Drops, Berroco, Rebecca) but that's not what I'm looking for. I want to find the small designers like Wendy, Renae and Miriam.

I am NOT interested in baby clothes, hats, mittens, dishrags or scarves.

I AM interested in finding interesting womens clothing, lace shawls, and anything out of the ordinary.

Leave a comment and tell me your favorite online, downloadable, pattern source!

Got Gauge?

2006-08-24T13:06:00.000-06:00

So I bought the Blue Sky Cotton and guess what?

I got gauge.

The only one of the 5 yarns I tried (that were supposed to get the gauge) that actually did.

Something Red is now Something Lilac.

Quick Update and... The Knitting Kerfuffle....

2006-08-23T10:58:00.000-06:00

For some reason I am stalled on the Glampyre Sweater. I am within a few hours of it being complete and I can't make myself pick it up. I still love it..... I am thinking this is an avoidance behavior because I am still so worried about running out of yarn.

Gauge for Something Red continues to frustrate me. I think I'm going to say the hell with it and just buy the damn Blue Sky Cotton and use it even though I think it's going to be a very heavy sweater made out of that yarn.

Not much other knitting going on since I've been spending all my time swatching for Something Red

Kelly is happy in Oregon, has fallen in love wih Rapper, and we've gotten 4 "fake breedings" (artificial inseminations) so far. Kelly wants to be bred, Rapper wants to breed her but there have been some "technical difficulties" so Rapper's owner has stepped up to the plate to get things done one way or another.

My friend Kris is not going to be able to make the Big Trip with me this year (she'll be home taking care of brand new puppies!) so I am facing the 16+ hour drive by myself. Yuck. And payng for the very expensive hotel room by myself. Double yuck.

Last but not least... a few posts ago I mentioned the knitting kerfuffle that happened with the knit group I belong(ed) to. The mention brough several comments and private emails asking what happened. It's been very hard to talk about as it was all quite upsetting to have people you think you know and trust turn on you without warning.

There were basically 2 and half people that were dead set against the rest of us discussing spinning at knit meetings or on our Yahoo group. TV, sex, food, dogs, kids, clothes, etc. were all okay subjects - but NOT SPINNING!!! The other 13 or so regulars didn't mind at all, or were in the process of getting sucked into the spinning vortex. It's really more complicated than that and as I said it's been really hard to think about it, much less talk about it, without getting upset all over again.

Last week Kirsten posted about it and then yesterday Christy really spelled it all out. They both expressed the things I'm feeling very well, so I think enough has been said and I don't need to add any more.

Suffice it to say that our merry band of multi-faceted fiber fanatics has (thank goodness) continued on almost without missing a beat.... but there is a hole that we are all well aware of that makes us all sad. The one good thing is that I kind of feel like we are stronger as a group now and even better friends. Which is nice.

The K-Dog

2006-08-21T07:10:00.000-06:00

Is Kelly enjoying her visit to the Pacific Northwest?

You tell me. Is that a happy dog or what?

Picture courtesy of Ron Manor.
Used with permission.

A Picture....

2006-08-18T10:44:00.000-06:00

Not a good picture, but still, a picture.

Here is my Stitch Diva/Glampyre Simple Knitted Bodice at 90% complete.

How can I be so sure it's 90%?

Because I had 10 balls of yarn, I've used every bit of 9 balls and I'm still not sure I have enough to make it as long as I want.

After completing each sleeve I took what was left and used it up around the bottom. Less than one row each littl ebit of yarn, but I'm so tight on yarn I had no choice. I don't want to join ends in on the reverse stckintte trim, It's way too hard to hide joins in reverse stockinette.

Next I'll pick up for the neck and finish that up. Then, whatever is left will decide how long it's going to be.

It does look short right now but really,it's "long enough", I'd just like it to be a bit longer if ossible. I think it looks short in the picture because the sleeves are so long. I have to have long sleeves, I can deal with it being a bit shorter in body but I'd never wear it if the sleeves felt too short.

I am really really happy with this so far, and promise I will get pictures of it on an actual person when it's done!

There has been knitting.....

2006-08-15T10:19:00.000-06:00

.... but still no picture taking.

Things were pretty crazy around here the past few days.

First there was the "kerfluffle" as Lisa called it, with the stitch-n-bitch group I belong(ed) to.. more about that in another post.

Then there was the whirlwind trip to Fort Collins for the dog show this past Saturday.

And THEN I realized Kelly was in season again... a month earlier than expected. Given that her intended suitor is in Oregon, I had to make some really fast decisions on what to do. You can read all about it on Kelly's blog.

And YES, there has been knitting. I am 80% done with the new Stitch Diva / Glampyre pattern..... LOVE IT!

And I did start Something Red. I'll order more yarn when I know how short I'm going to run. If the dyelots are too far off, I'll over dye.

Lots of stuff going on for work, a dog show this weekend and of course I have to spend some quality time worrying about Kelly....

Gauge Rant

2006-08-10T15:42:00.000-06:00

The Good News is that my barely two year old $500 camera is not broken and I don't have to replace it.

The Bad News is I still didn't take any pictures.

Oh yes, I was going to rant about gauge.....

Why, why, why, WHY are their dozens and dozens of yarns Out There that all claim to knit up at 18 sts over 4 inches - that would be 4.5 sts per inch - and then don't?

Oh sure I can go up a needle size or two and make the yarns get that gauge. But then they look like crap. The fabric is so sleazy - I don't want to wear it much less spend my time knitting it.

I have purchased or stash dived and swatched not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR yarns in the past week trying to locate one that will give me a true 4.5 sts per inch and not look like gauze. All look lovely at 5 sts per inch. All said on the ball band they were supposed to work up to 4.5 sts per inch. They lie.

I desperately want to make Wendy's Something Red cardigan to take with me on the yearly Big Trip next month. Given that I have two other Must Finish projects to complete by then, time is getting short. And I can't find any yarn that gets gauge.

Oh and did I mention that when I do get stitch gauge by making gauze instead of fabric the row gauce is not even close. It's supposed to be 22 rows / 4 inches. I need at least 24 to hit 4 inches. Sometimes 26. Usually not an issue except Wendy specifically mentions in the pattern how important row gauge is in this one.

One of the yarns I really relly like. I was thinking of simply rewriting the pattern to my gauge. But then I realized I would not have nearly enough yarn even though I actually purchased more than I thought I'd need. And the store has no more. And of course if I buy elsewhere, the dyelot won't match.

Tina

That's her name. For now anyway. I thank everyone who voted and now I'm going to ignore what the majority said anyway. It was interesting to see how the voting went. Lola went out to an early lead, the Tina took over and it looked like a runaway. Then slowly slowly Zara crept up and took the front spot for quite a while, then late this week Lola took over a commanding lead. But she's a Tina. Really. She is.

Name That Puppy

2006-07-30T19:51:00.000-06:00

I am 99% sure that Sam's name is going to be WhiteStar's You Send Me.

The girl? Not so sure.

Oh. My. God.

2006-07-29T20:07:00.000-06:00

Are these not the most Most Gorgeous Puppy Pictures ever????

World class (although he won't admit it) photographer Scott Vail has taken beautiful pictures of my last three litters (as well as my favorite picture of Pumpkin) But I didn't think Sam and Tina would have a chance to sit for him.

Well Scott was at the Denver Samoyed Association picnic today and he can never resist a cute puppy. Here's what happened....

Sam

Tina

Sam and Tina

All pictures in todays post copyright Scott Vail.

Mystery Stole 2

2006-07-28T06:53:00.000-06:00

Okay, REALLY tired of the paisley designs. NOT a paisley fan.

The center of this was so cool looking, but now, three weeks of nothing but a paisley as the clue. Yuck.

Guess this is the chance you take when you decide to "knit a mystery".

Do I go on hoping clues 5 and 6 will actually be as interesting and attractive as Clue 1 was?

Yeah, I do seem to be in a bitchy mood this week don't I?

I am liking this though.

Rest in Peace Lace for All Seasons

2006-07-26T07:53:00.000-06:00

So Wendy and Snow deleted the Lace for All Seasons Yahoo group yesterday.

Can't say I blame them.

When Wendy started the list last summer (then called Summer of Lace) it was a really good place to be. But over recent months it had deteriorated (as most knitting lists seem to do) into a endless collection of complaints, pet stories and other off topic subjects with the occasional piece of x-rated spam thrown in for good measure.

I don't understand why people join what are supposedly topic oriented lists and then can't seem to get why some of us would like to stay on topic. If I want to read about the cute things the pets do, I'll join a pet list (actually I do belong to 4 Samoyed lists). If I want a chatty knit list I'll join one (actually I do belong to one I rather like:) ) But if I join a KAL, or a supposedly on topic list, I want it to be on topic!

For those with A-List blogs the lists are probably of little importance. If Grumperina or the Harlot need an opinion or have a question on a pattern, they can post it on their blog and will get dozens (or in the case of the Harlot, hundreds) of comments in reponse. If I get two I'm overjoyed. So the networking of a list is important to B-List bloggers.

I won't miss Lace for All Seasons, it had gotten so that I rarely read it any more as the garbage was too much to wade thru. Ditto for Laceknitters. And the poor Mystery Stole2 KAL is in danger of going there too.

Someone needs to create an on topic lace list.

What Is This.....

2006-07-25T14:56:00.000-06:00

.... and why are there so many of them in my yard this year. And yes that is about a life size picture. It's huge!!

Why Are people So Rude??

2006-07-22T15:00:00.000-06:00

Is my time less valuable then theirs?

A couple was coming up to Denver from Albuquerque to see a litter of puppies that is several weeks younger than mine. When they found out that Tina was still available, they asked if they could come see her. The plan was:

They would drive to Denver on Friday.

Visit the younger puppies early Saturday morning.

If they decided to take one of those puppies they would call me and tell me they were not coming.

Otherwise, they would call me and tell me about what time to expect them.

Get the picture? In either case they were supposed to CALL ME.

I cancelled plans with two sets of friends, which I didn't mind doing, assuming I'd either have these people visiting Tina, or I'd know they were not coming and could get out of the house by noon and still get stuff done.

Well here it 3:00 PM and like a dummy I sat around and waited. I didn't have fun with my friends, I didn't get my grocery shopping done and I didn't get to the bank like I needed to.

Yes, I'm annoyed.

And yes, I know the blog is having problems... specifically the server on my ISP where I host my pictures is apparently down. I've called them twice, no idea when they will be back online...

There Has Been Knitting.....

2006-07-21T13:01:00.000-06:00

Socks were finished....

Socks were started....

More socks were started....

A corset was resurrected....

A blanket/pillow was begun....

A mysterious stole was started...

And a shawl grew....

And the whole time, puppies were watched....

5 Things.....

2006-07-13T06:21:00.000-06:00

5 things in my closet:

crocs
danskos
dooneys
birkies
baseball jerseys

5 things in my fridge:

yogurt
mustard
tea
hearts of palm
salsa

5 things in my car:

dog kennels
grooming table
dog bowls
fold up chair
cattle dryer

5 things in my purse:

wallet
cell phone
life drive
pen
yup, that's it. I travel light.

One Up, One Down

2006-07-06T18:05:00.000-06:00

New Project

2006-06-30T20:22:00.000-06:00

I call it: "pure white, white and biscuit, cream, or all biscuit"

Any idea why?

Oh My God! She Posted About Knitting!

2006-06-18T17:19:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true. A post with actual knitting content. A finished object even.

The Pomatomus socks are done, have been worn and are in the laundry basket. A new pair of socks is on the needles and I actually did a little knitting on the Jaywalkers this week. I even dog out a sock that I started 4 years ago in cotton yarn and never got past the heel on. The heel is now done and I'm decreasing down the instep.

Estes Park

Yesterday was the Estes Park Wool Market. Not as big as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival but we in the Rockies do okay with our little fiber extravaganza. I picked up a Greensleeves Tom Foolery spindle. I've been wanting one for years and could never find one in woods I liked. Mine is Pink Ivory and Maple. I know, I should have taken a picture. I also bought a Dragon spindle from Tracy Eichem at Wooly Designs as well a basic, lightweight Comet.

In the yarn department I was quite restrained. One skein of the popular Opal Petticoat 1290, One skein of laceweight silk/yak, one skein of laceweight silk/angora, both form Skaska Designs. Two skeins of sport weight Limited Edition (wool/silk/tencel) form Brooks Farm Yarns.

And I bought an alpaca fleece from an alpaca named Angel whom I totally fell in love with. I couldn't buy her, so I bought her coat. She had not been sheared yet when I met her, that was supposed to happen this mrning. The shepherd (is that what they call alpaca owners?) will call me later this week with the total price and I will send money.

Gratuitous Puppy Picture

They are now five weeks old and starting to be lot of fun...

Oh Yeah....

The good folks at Blogger finally realized I'm not a spammer and lifted the restrictions off my blog. Someone told me it got flagged because I have so many links. Yeah, I do. I'm thinking it may be time for some ~~house~~ blog cleaning....

When is 50 Grams Not 50 Grams?

2006-06-14T13:25:00.000-06:00

When it's 44 grams:

This is a brand new, untouched, "50 gram" skein of Koigu. I know the (lack of) humidity in the air here in Colorado can affect the weight of yarn, but by 6 grams??

Mine. All MINE.

2006-06-12T15:12:00.000-06:00

Sky Watching

Knitting content will return soon. Really it will. In meantime some very cool sky pictures. We had a big storm just to the north of us last night and the sky got very interesting. Here is it looking southwest from my house.

And here is a shot at the same time looking northwest:

A few minutes later, again looking northwest. What a stange color the whole sky is!

The White Torpedo

2006-06-07T18:36:00.000-06:00

Yes, there is knitting happening. The Pomatomus Socks are about 75% done. But it's so much more fun to take pictures of puppies than yarn.

Amazing Lace

So I see I already missed the first Amazing Lace Challenge. Can I blame it on the puppies again? And my crazy weekend schedule. At least that winds up this weekend with a show close to home in Colorado Springs.

Oh yeah back to the lace. I hope to put up my response to Challenge #1 later this week. Better Late than Never. And now I see Challenge 2 has already been posted. Better get on that I guess.

Gotta go look at puppies some more now.....

Spam?

Blogger has apparently decided this is potentially a "spam blog" and as such is requiring me to enter word verification to post to my own blog. I've followed the steps they gave me to get it taken of the "potential spam list" but from the reading I've done, that can sometimes take weeks, and in some cases people eventually get blocked out and can't post at all. So if I disappear for more than the ususal week or so, that's probably what has happened.

Morning Sun

2006-05-31T09:12:00.000-06:00

It's Baaack!

2006-05-25T13:12:00.000-06:00

What's back?

The Aliy-Cam is back!

And now me and my lace are off to Wyoming for 4 days. Knitting pictures when I get back. In the meantime Ileave you with this:

Lace on the Road, Week 2

2006-05-18T13:44:00.000-06:00

My wonderful husband, fresh off of delivering Aliy's puppies last weekend, has encouraged me to keep my schedule and let him puppy sit, so.... Hyrna, Pi@Sunrise, Pomatomus, Babe, Max and I are heading for one of our favorite places in the country.... Cortez, Colorado!

See y'all Monday!

I'm Going to be Very Busy.....

2006-05-17T11:15:00.000-06:00

.... for the next 9 weeks....

What are the Chances?

2006-05-12T07:41:00.000-06:00

Am I making one pair of Pomatomus Socks?

Or two pair?

Just one.

Two skeins of Koigu grabbed randomly from my stash (well they are the same dyelot).

Cast on with no thought to match color repeats.

Bizarre.

Dogs (and Lace) on the Road

And we're off to Albuquerque. Pomatomus, Pi@Sunrise and Hyrna will be traveling with me, Max and Babe. Does Pomatomus count as lace since they have yarnovers on every row?

Springtime in the Rockies, Part 3

2006-05-10T10:16:00.000-06:00

This:

Leads to this:

Bird Update

Here's a picture of what I assume is Dad:

It's all very sweet. He brings Mom food and spends time sitting on the nest with her. The third bird still shows up occasionally, we call her Auntie. No sign of hatchlings yet.

It Works For Me

2006-05-02T14:20:00.000-06:00

DOTR*
Week 1: Albuquerque, NM
Week 2: Cortez, CO
Week 3a: Casper, WY
Week 3b: Larmie, WY
Week 4: Longmont, CO
Week 5: Colorado Springs, CO
Week 6: Las Lunas, NM

LOTR**
Pi@Sunrise
Mystery Shawl 3
Evergreen Cardi
Diamond Fantasy Shawl
Sea Foam Shawl
Adventure Shawl
Hyrna Herborgar
CeCe

* Dogs On The Road
** Lace On The Road

Happy Birthday to Me

2006-04-26T11:10:00.000-06:00

So I broke my yarn diet. But I had Two Good Reasons.

1) Yesterday was my birthday. I had the day off and I visited two "new to me" Yarn stores. String in Highland's Ranch (nice), and Knitty Cat in Centennial (very VERY nice!). And then I went to the Llama Store.

2) I found out last week I will not be going to the Estes Park Wool Market :( :( The Sangre de Cristo Kennel Club moved their show to that weekend and... the dogs always come first.

So I took the money I would probably have spent at Estes Park and spent it yesterday.

5 skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Laceweight Suri Alpaca in three different colors

1 skein of Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in Black Purl

3 skeins of Cascade 220 in flamingo pink to make, what else, a felted flamingo. (How did I miss this pattern when it came out????!!)

8 skeins of Cascade 220 to make the pink aran sweater I've been craving.

10 skeins of pinkish Rowan Silk Aran that was supposed to be for Bonne Marie's new pattern, But I CAN'T GET GAUGE! Anyone have any suggestions on what to do with 700 yards of aran weight silk that was Very Expensive???

3 skeins of SWTC Karaoke to make a felted bag.

3 books, inluding the long out of print Jean Moss Sculptured Knits.

3 patterns.

New Addition

Yesterday when I went out my front door I scared a bird that I thought had been on the eve of the porch. A half hour later when I went out the door again I scared another bird.

It was then that I noticed we had a nest perched on top of our porch light right outside the door. And the birds had been taking off from the nest, not the edge of the porch.

Note the Samoyed hair lining the nest!! How cool is that?

I have no idea what kind of birds these are. They are small and sort of spotted looking with orangey colored chests. The weirdest thing is that there appears to be not one, not two, but three birds taking care of this nest. I looked out the window this morning (and of course scared them again) and there were three birds sitting on the nest!

Is this normal bird behavior????

Love It!

2006-04-24T10:01:00.003-06:00

Saw it last night.

Bought it this morning.

Starting it tonight.

Ranting Again

2006-04-20T13:24:00.000-06:00

VyALtuUM, X&nax, VtAgra, CtAlts, VaLtUm, C/alis, Val/um, VpwyALIUM, V/agra, Vbal/UM, 0EM S0ftware, M0rtgage Ratess, Farmatcy, Pharamacy, Faramacy, All love enhancers on one portal....

You know what I'm talking about.. the new breed of spam that your spam blocker and junk mail filters can't trap.

I think my favorites are the ones from Paypa1 < that's a numeral one not small letter L.... and PaypaI < here we have a capital I instead of an L....depending on your font you can't tell them apart.

And why the hell do spammers pick on poor Chase Manhattan Bank and not Wells Fargo or Citibank?

In Praise of Lace

2006-04-17T11:56:00.000-06:00

Violets by the River is done.

Shown here being "worn" by my favorite model, Office Chair.

As always, my favorite part is the point. I love the points.

This was a very easy knit. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in doing their first lace shawl. The pattern, although at times a bit confusing, was perfect, not a mistake in it. A bit different than the other Hazel Carter pattern I did which did have a number of chart errors in it.

It's been awhile (months) since I finished up the last lace shawl. I had actually forgotten how magical it is. There is absolutely nothing in knitting (and rarely in life) that compares to the feeling you get when you pull a lace shawl off the blocking board. The wonder, the awe, the MAGIC, that you, a mere person of flesh and blood have created something so heartbreakingly beautiful. The most well excuted sweater, sock or scarf in the most intricate cable or fairisle may give intense satisfaction but only lace leaves me breathless.

Okay I could go on and on.... what I'm saying is that if you haven't yet tried knitting lace, you really should. At least once.

Pupdate!

2006-04-14T22:14:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin came home about 5 PM and is obviously very happy to be home but seems quite annoyed at me for putting her thru this :)

The vet said it was a "nasty bad pyo" and I was lucky to catch it as early as I did.

Thanks to everyone that sent good wishes out to my little girl!

Good Thoughts for Pumpkin

2006-04-14T08:25:00.000-06:00

Dirt on my face? WHAT dirt on my face?

Pumpkin goes in today for spaying, the vet diagnosed her yesterday afternoon with a probable case of closed pyometra.

She'd been acting "weird" the last couple weeks. It started with the sudden upswing in the amount of water she was drinking. Until today I had NO idea that was the first sign of pyo.

Then this week she lost interest in food. Second sign.

The past couple days she has just overall not been herself. The weather here has been gorgeous and other than running outside to bark at airplanes (her favorite hobby) she has pretty much stayed inside while all the other dogs were out playing.

In order to rule out possible diabetes, kidney or liver problems, he did a complete blood work up on her. Her white count came back at 31,000, normal is 6000-7000. The vet said other than a massive respiratory infection (which she shows NO signs of) he only ever sees this kind of white count, in conjunction with her other symptoms, with pyo. He says we can x-ray tomorrow if I want to see if her uterus is swollen, but he seems so sure I'm just going to have her spayed.

He says we are probably catching it very early given her overall apparent condition and she should be fine.

But of course I am still worried.

It Worked

2006-04-11T13:15:00.000-06:00

So last Wednesday (One Row Wednesday, you remember?) I complained (do I HAVE to??) about doing a row on Violets by the River.

And I also said the purpose of One Row Wednesday was to remind me what it was I liked about the projects languishing untouched for too long.

Well after putting off the One Row I needed to do on Violets by the River until Wednesday was almost over... well let's just say I can't put it down now!

So this Tuesday Morning Round-up doesn't have any pictures because there is nothing more boring than a big shawl in progress that looks like a ball of wadded up dental floss. And all the other things look exactly like they did before.

I probably should have taken a picture of one of the dogs. Oh well.

Here's the round up:

Violets by the River - just FLYING along. At this rate, I should finish it sometime next week!

Everything Else - other than The One Row, haven't touched it.

Springtime in the Rockies Part 2

2006-04-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

Friday: Blizzard warnings, 2 foot snowdrifts in the front yard.

Saturday 7 am: 27 degrees

Sunday 4 pm: 82 degrees

Love it or leave it.

Russian Join

2006-04-07T08:19:00.000-06:00

What's wrong with this picture?

I wish I could say I've never done this before.... but I can't.

One Row Wednesday

2006-04-05T15:59:00.000-06:00

If Tuesday is Round-Up day (yeah I know I missed the rodeo yesterday) then Wednesday is going to be One Row Day.

I'm going to work at least one row on every project I have "active". I don't know about anyone else, but I tend to be really enjoying a project but then I get sidetracked and forget how much I was enjoying it. And so it sits. And sits. And sits.

Then when I pick it up agin I am reminded how much I like it and I get moving on it again. But sometimes that is ~~weeks~~ months later. With One Row Wednesday in effect, maybe "forgotten projects" won't happen as often? Maybe I'll get more stuff done? Maybe I won't start as many projects?

So far today I've done one row on:

The Diamond Fantasy Shawl, Mystery Shawl 3, Pi@Sunrise Shawl all got a row or two competed and Jaywalkers actually got heels becuase it is physically impossible to do one row on a sock heel:

And the latest Project Spectrum sock has begun:

Still to come... one row on FLAK, the Sea Foam Shawl, Evergreen Cardi and Violets by the River (do I hafta???)

The World's Most Expensive Cardboard Box

An ordinary cardboard box. A styrofoam insert. Two ice packs. And two pieces of newspaper, folded: $114.25

And lucky me, I have two of them: $228.50

If Kelly is pregnant: priceless

Pumpkin says "MOM! Think of the biscuits you could have bought me!!!"

In Celebration of Pink and Red

2006-03-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

Unlike my friend Christy, who suffered thru this months Project Spectrum assignment - Pink and Red - it was easy for me. I started my project, a pair of socks, a couple weeks ago and finished them up yesterday:

Why was this such an easy month for me? Take a look around...

We have pink and red clothing...

.... footwear....

.... purses, totebags and even a pink themed wallet.

Lots of pink and red shawls, scarves, hats and mittens....

...and accessories of all types.

Just so you don't think it's all about me... the dogs have red and pink stuff too. Collars, leashes and harnesses.

And then we have the sporting goods which have a definite leaning towards the pink side. Missing is the picture of the pink golf bag with matching pink golf balls.

And then of course there is the pink and red around the house.

The couch...

... and towels....

...for the pink (yes really) bathroom.

Not pictured are my pink sunglasses, red dish drainer and matching sink mat, red garden buckets, pink cleaning caddy, pink and black fur blanket, white mountain scooter with the red tires, red ATV.... oh my.... the pink and red list just goes on and on and on.......

Next month will be tough... I am not an orange and yellow kinda girl at all. Watch me suffer now Christy :)

Tuesday Morning Round-Up

2006-03-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

1) Mystery Shawl - I started out behind on this project when the first clue was released while I was away and I'm still behind. Part way thru Clue 2 at this point.

2) Project Spectrum Socks - turned the heel and heading towards the toe. The Dale Baby Ull is so soft but it splits like crazy.

3) Evergreen Cardi - It's a Manos pattern but I'm using Malabrigo - has there ever been a wool yarn this soft??? I swear it feels like it has silk in it.

4) Sea Foam Lace Shawl - I bought this yarn and pattern last year at Lalana in Taos and I have been thinking about it constantly. I kept telling myself I needed to finish some other things first. This past weekend I finally decided..... What the heck?! You can never have too much lace on the needles! It's working up VERY fast on Size 10s.

5) Diamond Fantasy Shawl - I've seen this shawl knit up all over blogland and finally decided to start mine. It knits up really fast and when it's done, it's Done. No edging to knit on.

6) Work on the FLAK continues. I'm trying the Magic Loop method on the sleeves. I'm not sure if I like the technique or not (I'm usually a 2 circs kind of girl) but I'm going to finish out the sleeve with it before I make a final decision.

7) Swatch of Debbie Bliss Baby Casmerino for a cardigan I just started. Love the yarn but the idea of an entire sweater knit on size 3 needles is daunting!

8) Swatch of Rowan Denim for a lace and cable cardigan

Finished! Finished! Finished!

First the Neopolitan Socks I started last month:

And a pair of Sock Bug's Lacy Scallops. These socks were so much fun to knit I finished them in a week!

Blog Burn Out

2006-03-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still alive.

Yes, I've been knitting. Finished a pair of socks. Started another pair.

I'm apparently experiencing total blog burnout. It's not like I post everyday like Wendy, so I don't really know what my problem is. I have little desire to either post to this blog or even read others blogs.

I'm sure I'll get over it. Maybe.

Here's what I've been up to the past three weeks:

Went to the 4 day Denver show. It was cold. VERY COLD. -13 at night. Hovering around 0 during the day.

Spent the next week catching up on work - how is it that missing two days of work takes 4 days to recover from?

Spent a week in Arizona at the 5 day Scottsdale dog shows. Good friends and family. 75 degree weather. Loooong drive made SO much easier thanks to Brenda Dayne and Marie Irshad. Maybe blogs seem so mundane after listening to very cool podcasts for 1600 miles?

Then I had to catch up on missing five days of work.

And between all that I was doing this too:

The New Black

2006-02-16T11:58:00.001-07:00

For the third time in three months "Where do you keep your cable needle on rows you don't cable" is the hot topic of discussion on one of the lists I'm a member of.

The THIRD time. In TWO months.

It will soon morph into "Do you even use a cable needle?"

The THIRD time. In TWO months.

It's apparently the 2006 version of "Can I take knitting needles on an airplane?"

Craving....

Neopolitan candy.

Why?

Outta Here

Babe, Max, Ilsa and I leave for the big 4 day dog show in Denver in about 3 hours. Thank God. Work has totally sucked the past three days and the only thing keeping me going has been knowing that I don't have to work a full 5 day week for the next 4 weeks!

Enjoy the Process!

Pony-Up

2006-02-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I bought myself a ceramic horse figurine just because I really liked it. I'd pass it in a shop window everytime I went to one of my local yarn stores. One day it was missing from the window... so I went in and discovered it had simply been moved. I bought it on the spot. I am by no means a "horse person", but I just really liked it.

I later found out that it was one in a series called The Trail of Painted Ponies. My husband really got into the ponies, he knows which ones are retired, which ones are new, how much they are worth, etc. Me, I just think they are pretty.

Last night he surprised me with this one:

It is so beautiful in real life it took my breath away when I opened it.

Here's a detail of the wing:

Tuesday Morning Round-Up

First up this morning is FLAK. It's not exactly the V-neck cardigan I'd planned to make.

I started to worry that my neck opening, at 8 inches across, was going to be too big. I figured the easiest way to remedy that was to make a crew neck pullover that can have a nice wide neck ribbing like so many of Alice Starmore's designs incorporate.

Can you see the dog hairs knitted in there?

Next is Pi @ Sunrise. Still a nice, enjoyable, although slightly boring, knit. The Crazy Monkey yarn makes it a real pleasure to work on.

It is becoming painfully obvious that I will be increasing beyond the 576 stitches that I thought would be the total circumference.

Last but not least is Jaywalker:

I'd say I'm about halfway thru the cuffs. I try to do a few rows a day, it's just that I am so much more fascinated by the FLAK, and Pi @ Sunrise is really perfect knitting to watch the Olympics with.

Yes, poor Violets by the River and the Victorian Shawl were ignored AGAIN this week. I really need to admit I'm not going to make the Victorian Shawl and just rip it out.

The Numbers

865 balls, skeins or cones. 169,615 yards. So far.

The Young Prince

Yes, he knows how cute he is.

Enjoy the Process!

It Is With Sadness (Yes! Really!) I Report....

2006-02-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

..... that Am-Kamin has been removed from my list of Works in Progress.

Why? you ask?

Because of my pledge to Buy No Yarn.

I actualy settled down this weekend and did some serious swatching. And I realized that it NEEDS to be made out of a smooth yarn. The yarns I was swatching with had too much of their own personality. The Harris DK was very pretty and the fabric was "pleasing" but in the end it was too much work (in some cases, cabling on every row, not every right side row, EVERY ROW) for too little result. It just didn't have the stitch defintion. Might as well have been a nice knit-purl brocade pattern for the impact it carried.

Ditto for the Rowan Magpie. Not too mention it was way too dark as well.

And since I can't buy any new yarn this year, well, looks like Am Kamin is on hold until next year. Unless my husband takes the hint and buys me yarn for my birthday!

Isn't it bizarre that with all the yarn I have (100,000 yards and counting) I have virtually NO large quantities of solid, smooth, worsted weight yarn. I do have lots of single, double and triple balls, but for the most part I'm just not a solid color sweater kind of girl.

Enjoy the Process!

85,559

2006-02-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

I recently mentioned I had purchased HanDBase for my PDA and desktop so I could create an inventory of my yarn, projects and knitting needles. I have really enjoyed playing around with it, getting my databases created and starting to enter information in it.

So far I have entered some of the yarn laying around my office, the yarn in my "lace box" (which is not all my lace yarn) and all my Lorna's Laces sock yarn as well as most of my Koigu. I'm know it's less than 10% of my total yarn stash, maybe closer to 5%, probably less.

So far the total is 289 balls, skeins or cones of yarn. 85,559 yards.

I'm scared.

Deja Vu All Over Again

2006-02-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Does this sock pattern look familiar?

How about this one?

I mentioned in my last post that I was finally jumping on the bandwagon and making a pair of Jaywalkers. That's the picture of the sock-in-progress above.

As soon as I started knitting them I realized I'd been been here before. The picture at the top of the page is of a pair of socks I made about 4 years ago using a FiberTrends pattern called Peak Experience. Just goes to prove everything old is new again. Instead of being behind the curve with the Jaywalker pattern I was actually way out in front!

Tuesday Morning Roundup

Janet released Part 5 of the FLAK pattern yesterday, and I have progressed as far as picking up the stitches for one side of the front and knitting a few rows. Now it's decision time. Crew neck or v-neck????

Next up.. the Angora Fingerless mitts are complete! I had a nice note from Louisa Harding yesterday, there was indeed an slight error in the directions for the "medium flower". Once I knew what the correction was, I whipped the flowers out in no time and got them on the mitts.

Another (and larger) picture here.

Sliding on down our list of projects in progress we slide right on by Violets by the River, Am Kamin and the Victorian Lace Shawl which were all ignored this week.

The Pi @ Sunrise Shawl continues on.

I so enjoy the Crazy Monkey Lace yarn I'm using on this. 588 stitches per round now so easily visible progress is slowing down quite a bit. I've only used about 25% of the yarn so far so I still have a long way to go. In the directions in Knitter's Almanac, Elizabeth Zimmerman states that the shawl will probably be "big enough" long before you increase to over 1176 stitches.

Maybe if done with heavier yarn on size 10 needles, but not when worked in laceweight yarn on size 6 needles. I'll be hitting that increase round with still no clear end in sight!

Comments

I've been lax in responding to comments so it's catch up time!

Way long time ago Maus asked if the picture of the moon that I posted was taken with a digital camera.

Yup. Took it with my little Sony, the one in the commercial with Aerosmith :) It has a "night" setting that turns the flash off and uses a very slow shutter speed, that's the reason for slight blurriness.

Caroline asked where to find the toe I used on the Blueberry Socks.

It's the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts short row toe/heel which can be found in her book Simple Socks and also in a pattern she did for Interweave Knits a few years ago called (I think) Priscilla's Dream Socks.

Saleknitter asked what cable I substituted for the "wave cable?" in the Flak?

I didn't substitute anything! The wave cable is right there... although I did switch the positions of the wave cable and the baby honey comb.

Ilsa Says:

Don't you even THINK about waking me up!

Fate? Or Was it Just Max?

2006-02-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

Remember how I just was not thrilled with the finished Pineapple Jacket? And how I was trying to decide if I should hang on to it or give it away? Sometimes fate decides things for you. Or maybe it was just Max being a nine month old puppy.

I got home this afternoon and discovered the Pineapple Jacket which had been carefully and neatly folded and placed atop a box which was on Max's crate had slid off and onto his crate.

You know what's coming right?

In the process of eating 7 of the 9 buttons Max managed to chew holes all along the front edge. And a hole in the bottom ribbing. And one on each sleeve.

I really couldn't be too mad at him. After all, *I* left it in a really stupid place.

sigh.

Finished!

The Blueberry Socks are done and I'm really pleased with them. Plain and simple is sometimes just what's needed.

Almost Finished!

Just need to weave in the ends and add the trim and the Angora Fingerless Mitts will be done too! Don't hold your breath though.. I think there is a mistake in the directions for the trim so I've emailed Louisa Harding and am impatiently waiting to hear back. It's been three days already....

Meanwhile...

As usual, I'm behind the curve and have only just now finally started a pair of Jaywalkers. Only have two rows of ribbing done so they are not worth a picture yet.

I also have a non-knitting project that's been sucking up my time. I had been trying to decide if I wanted to buy e-Knit Cards or Knitable for my PDA... and after long and overly careful consideration, I decided both were over priced and underfeatured. So I bought HanDBase and am creating my own inventory. Much more powerful and I can tailor it for exactly what I want to keep track of.

Wordcloud

2006-02-02T14:31:00.000-07:00

Make yours here.

Tuesday Morning Afternoon Round-Up

2006-01-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time again!

First up we have a finished Pineapple Jacket.

I hate it. I wove in all the ends, sewed on the buttons, tried it on and then promptly stuffed it in a bag to go to Goodwill. I don't like the yarn, I don't like the color, I don't like the way it fits. Even if I lose 10 15 pounds I don't think I'll like the way it fits.

Then I decided to pull it out of the Goodwill bag so I could get a picture. I think it's very photogenic. Then I put it away and will let it "age" for awhile. Meanwhile I'll work on those 15 pounds.

Oh Oh Look! It's a FLAK Back!

REALLY loving this so far. It looks way small but I am trusting in my blocked gauge swatch. Janet says it will all work out.

What's this? Yes I actually started the second fingerless mitt:

These have a pretty interesting construction... they are knit flat and then seamed up the side. At first I thought.. "WHY???"... but then I decided to do it the way the pattern was written instead of converting to circular knitting which was my first instinct. I'm not sorry, it's actually kind of a nice way to do these. I think messing with two circs or DPNs would have been tough on such fine slippery yarn.

Pi @ Sunrise is a joy to knit. The Crazy Monkey Creations yarn is like buttah... and look at the interesting pooling I'm getting where I increased from 144 to 288 stitches:

Speaking of Christy's Crazy Monkey yarn, the Smokin' Blueberry Socks are coming along nicely. I only ripped the heels out once. You can't see them 'cause they are on the back side in this picture, but trust me they are there.

It's tough to get good pics of socks in progress. At least the colors look good.

And what about the other projects in progress?

I took a picture of the Victorian Shawl to illustrate what I'm not liking about it. But the picture was even worse than the shawl itself. I haven't ripped it out... yet.

I sort of forgot about Violets by the River. I MEANT to work on it..you know how it goes....

And we're not even going to discuss Am Kamin.

More eBay Goodness

Yes they REALLY are that RED and that SHINY!

Icer

What's Icer doing in this picture?

Freaking Mom out.

Not Loving It

2006-01-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

That would be the Aran Weight Victorian Lace Shawl from Elann that I'm referring to.

I am thru the English Mesh Lace and have one complete repeat of the Horseshoe Lace done and I have to say I'm not loving it.

I am now trying to decide if I'm going to keep going or not.

Felicia made a good choice in making hers out of only the Horseshoe Lace. Why do I say that (aside from the fact that the finished shawl is gorgeous)?

Basically, this is three lace patterns pulled out of a stitch dictionary and slapped together with little to no regard to the transition between them. The English Mesh Lace has several strong vertical lines which appear every 6 stitches. The Horseshoe Lace also has strong vertical lines which appear every 10 stitches. Do you see where this is going?

Because of the difference in the pattern repeats they don't line up. Then throw in the Vine lace and you have another pattern that just does it's own thing without regard to the pattern preceding it.

There are so may beautiful, well thought out patterns that incorporate multiple lace designs that transition beautifully from one to another, why do I want to spend so much time knitting one that doesn't have those lovely transitions? I could just have easily have opened any one of the 7 or so stitch dictionaries I have, and slapped together three lace patterns I like. Which is what I may just do, nly with a little more thought so that they "go better" together.

Don't get me wrong, the finished shawl is still very pretty and most people are not going to be as judgmental as I'm being. But I've knit enough lace at this point and have collected so many truly well thought out patterns that I'm not sure *I* will be satisfied with the final product.

Oh My. Four posts in one week. That's gotta be a record!

A Landscape Littered With Toes.

2006-01-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sock Toes that is.

I am a fairly accomplished sock knitter as I think the recent picture of my sock drawer proves. I use a wide range of yarns and do all kinds of interesting things to the body of the sock. But when it comes to heels, I do either a standard gusset heel, or I use Priscilla Gibson Roberts Dream Sock heel. And the only toe for me is usually her Dream Sock toe (which is actually identical to the heel).

When I started my Smokin' Blueberry socks I decided I needed to branch out and try a new toe.

Pictured above you see the carnage that ensued. There is a Queen Kahuna Aloha toe. There is a Queen Kahuna short row toe. A toe that was started using Meg Swansen's turkish toe cast on. A Sherman toe.

Not pictured (but somewhere in the house) is the short row toe that Wendy uses. It's actually constructed very similarly to PGR's toe but Wendy's version is harder to execute. Just my opinion of course.

In the end I realized you don't mess with success and, after 4 days of sock toe failures, I cast on for a PGR toe. It's just about perfect.

Pretty from the top.
I did make one change, and instead of casting on over waste yarn or using a crochet chain to start, I used Queen Kahuna's tip and cast on over the cable of the second circular needle. No stitches to pick up later, they are already sitting on the needle and waiting to close the toe! Kudos to Queen Kahuna for that nifty idea!

Pretty from the side.

Why I Love eBay

Mmmmm.... Dansko Goodness!!

Babe-y Dog Says:

You woke me up from a great nap just to take a stupid picture????

What's More Annoying Than Spam on a Knitting List?

2006-01-25T12:43:00.000-07:00

The people who "reply" to it.

This morning a spammer sent garbage to several knitting related lists that I'm on. I assume they were links to dirty pictures. I don't know, I didn't check, that's what the delete key is for.

I could not believe all the "Oh my I am SO shocked!!", "Can someone please remove this person from the list?" and "I'm leaving if this doesn't stop!!!" messages that were generated. Don't people realize that turning 3 annoying messages into 30, DOES NOT HELP THE SITUATION!

It leaves me wondering if these people have got a clue. If you get a message titled "School girl fantasies gone bad" or "Kama Sutra" anything and you are not into that kind of thing, DON'T OPEN THE LINK. If you are stupid enough to open it anyway, and are then offended, I don't need to hear about it!

Trust me, the list moderator will deal with the problem when they see it without you adding to the problem

Just venting.....

Love Monkey

2006-01-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

So if I am a good little , don't buy any new yarn* and only use what is in my stash, why can't I start as many projects as I want, without guilt?

You know where this is going, right?

I just couldn't resist casting on a new pair of socks out of Christy's beautiful Crazy Monkey Creations yarn.

And I cast on for a basic Pi shawl which I'm calling Pi @ Sunrise because of the color. At least that's the color of sunrises around here.

That's more of Christy's Crazy Monkey yarn. Sooooooo preeettttyyyyy.

Christy is a master of color. I don't usually buy orange yarn. But I've bought orange yarn from Christy. I don't usually buy green yarn, but I've bought green yarn from Christy. Christy makes even colors you don't like irresistible. It's a very very dangerous situation.

And I Joined Another Knitalong

I'll be knitting Mermaid in the exact color shown in the button above.

I almost killed two birds with one stone and joined the Olympic Knitalong being hosted by Stephanie and was going to make Mermaid my challenge project. But then I came to my senses and realized the Olympics only lasts for 16 days and I'll be at the great big Plum Creek/CKC dog show for 6 of those days and no knitting will be completed.

Even Wendy couldn't finish her mermaid in 10 days start to finish, although she came close!

Tuesday Morning Round-Up

Maybe I'll make this a regular feature. You know, so I can make sure I know about all the projects I haven't touched in the past week.

The Pineapple Jacket is done except for buttons and me losing 10 pounds.

We just got the next installment of the FLAK this morning, I'll be working on that tonight!

I still haven't started the second fingerless mitt.

I rescued Violets by the River and added ONE ROW!

The first completely finished object of 2006, Standing in the Shadow of Love:

I've done a lot of thinking about the Victorian Lace Shawl but not a lot of knitting.

Am Kamin? It non-existence is multiplying as I consider another yarn possibility.

Fellow KWAer Phoebe presented me with that pretty pink ball of Harris at Rowan Dk weight yarn. I think it may be too thin, but I'm going to swatch anyway.

SkyWatching

* There are two exceptions to the rule. I can buy New Yarn at the Estes Park Wool Market in June if I want. And if Christy has some yarn I really really love, I can buy it because it's all one of a kind, gorgeous and I'll never be able to get the exact color again. So there.

A Few People Asked.....

2006-01-18T12:39:00.000-07:00

Edited to add: In case you couldn't guess, this is the Barbara Walker version of the lace, not the Elann ~~mistake~~ version.

I had charted out the English Mesh lace the other day when I started my shawl so I could see the rate of increase to pattern repeats.

I don't have any fancy charting software (although after this exercise I am SO tempted to buy Stitch and Motif maker!) and I HATE trying to use fonts in a word processor or spread sheet, so it's scratched out by hand on a piece of graph paper.

Its ugly, but it works for me. It's the first (right) half of the shawl, the first 40 rows.

Keep in mind that there are other ways of placing the lace in the chart. I chose to cast on 22 stitches and have 11 sts in each half at the start instead of the 24/12 Elann specified. Someone wrote yesterday on the AWVLS knitalong list that they cast on 26/13. They modified their stitch count for the same reason I did, so that the plain knit stitches on either side of the pattern would be symmetrical.

The way I did it, I only have one pattern repeat for the first few rows, I think the other way, with 26 sts, you'd get in two repeats. Either way is just as good as the other.

I also chose to add in new pattern repeats any time I had six stitches available AND was getting ready to do pattern row 2 or 6. You could choose to add in a new pattern repeat on any pattern row, or only on pattern row 2. The choice is yours!

Click on the ugly little image below to get the full (ugly) chart.

Tuesday Morning Round-Up

2006-01-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

So have I been making any progress on all those projects listed in the side bar? You betcha!

First up is the Pineapple Jacket from Rebecca #27. Also known as Apricot Jacket and Le Fleur de Fluffa. I'm on the homestretch now, and if I actually liked the color better I'd be more anxious to wear it and it would be done. As it is, I'm seaming the sleeves in:

Project number two in the round-up is the Follow the Leader Aran. I'm as far along on that as I can be, both saddles are complete and that's all the instruction Janet has given us so far. A big Thank You to Icer for helping model them.

Next up is one Louisa Harding Angora fingerless mitt. It took me about three hours to make it, so how come I haven't made the second one?

Uh-oh! What happened to Violets by the River? I don't think it's damaged but I haven't had the heart to look too closely after finding Babe and Max "playing with it" the other day.

Standing in the Shadow of Love. How cool a name is that for a really spectacular pair of socks from the Six 6 knitalong? I started them a week and half ago and I WILL be done by the end of the month!

Am Kamin. Crossed in Translation. I think the picture speaks for itself. sigh....

Rounding out the party is our newest entry, Elann's Aran Weight Victorian Lace Shawl. It's a lovely pattern and it is free, but it's not for those who need their instructions spoon fed to them. Right off the bat there may or may not be mistake in the pattern.

The pattern (originally) said that the first lace pattern was Barbara Walker's English Mesh Lace from her first Treasury (page 193) But when Felicia and I started knitting, it didn't look right. A quick comparison between the two sets of instructions showed that Elann's was indeed ~~wrong~~ slightly different.

Felicia wrote to Elann, pointing it out and Elann's response was that the pattern was only an "interpretation" of Walker's Engish Mesh Lace. They even added to the pattern, the words "based on". Well to my eyes the interpretation looks like mistake.

Here is Elann's version. Notice how the motifs vary from line to line with the offset ones not "closing" properly at the top:

Here is Walker's version with everything looking as it should. Well.... as *I* think it should:

You be the judge.

Too Pretty Not to Knit

2006-01-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Felicia started a knitalong....

Have You Seen This Sweater?

2006-01-11T15:47:00.000-07:00

If you are a regular around knitting blog land, you probably have.

It's from a Japanese book called New Styles of Heirloom Knitting and it's one of the hottest knits around these days. Cara started a knitalong and almost against my will I've joined.

What do I mean by that?

Well, almost a month ago, on the Montreal Knits blog, I came across mention of the book along with pictures of some of the other projects in it. While I liked The Sweater, I LOVED some of the other stuff in it, especially the white lace shawl. So I ordered the book from YesAsia.com.

It came last week. It is a GORGEOUS book. If someone forced me to knit every single thing in it I wouldn't be upset :) And as I said earlier I was really taken with some of the other projects in the book, more so than The Sweater. The folks at XRX and Interweave should go study with a Japanese knit publication for awhile. Really.

And the white lace shawl, along with a a white guernsey style sweater were still my favorites.

But then it happened. I started dreaming about The Sweater. I'd wake up shaking it out of my head. Why is The Sweater obsessing me? Why is my subconcious compelling me to knit it??

I have no idea, but I've given in to it's siren song.

I asked Cara to let me join her knitalong and I'm swatching some Rowan Magpie Aran that was in my stash. Since I can't buy any new yarn because of my self imposed yarn restriction, I sure hope I get gauge or I'm afraid there will be a lot of sleepless nights ahead!

Meanwhile....

The knitting is complete on the Pineapple Jacket and seaming has begun.

One cuff is complete on the Standing in the Shadow of Love socks.

And I have started and ripped out and restarted the border on Violets by the River.

Sock-It-To-Me

2006-01-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

Sit back while I tell you a story....

Once upon I time when I lived outside of Washington DC, I used to knit obsessively. I had a two to three hour commute every day and I whipped out sweater after sweater with Wendy-like speed.

Then we moved to ~~Paradise~~ Colorado and I focused on other things. Except for the occasional item, knitting took a backseat to showing the dogs and I started doing beadwork.

Then one day as I cruised the internet, I came across a mention of something called "self patterning sock yarn". Oh. My. And knitting socks on two circular needles. Oh my again.

I was hooked immediately and soon I had a drawer full of socks:

But how many pairs of socks can one person have? So I got sidetracked:

No socks were knit for a very long time. I bragged to my friends how my hand knit socks lasted forever. After all, most of them were 4 years old and were worn on a daily basis all Fall, Winter and Spring and even occasionally in the summer, and none had worn out!

Oh sure there was the pair I lost. And the pair someone chewed up. But I still had 20 gazillion pair.

Then it happened, my two favorite pair got holes in the heels THE SAME WEEK! What's a knitter to do?

I bought this....

.... and spent a lot of time looking at it. And googling sites that would teach me how to use it.

Yesterday I had two long, boring phone meetings for work, so I finally bit the bullet and did it:

And I also even took the sock with the mysterious hole:

(It's not worn out at all, it just has a hole)
And knit a new toe!

And because I just know that all the rest of my socks are just waiting to self destruct, I joined this:

Responding to Comments

Marguerite says she thinks she heard the FLAK is going to take a year to complete! Yikes! I am going to have t "break" the yarn diet and pick up one more ball of Nature Spun Worsted as I'm right on the edge of having enough. If it were finished in a month I wouldn't worry abut matching the dyelot, my LYS has a TON this color, but a year from now? Better but some insurance. But this doesn't really count as a "new" yarn purchase, right?

Maus asked if the Interlacement socks stayed the same color even though they bleed so badly. Mine have, but most were very dark colors anyway. The load I machine washed had several pairs of white or light based socks in them (Opal, Regia and Lorna's Laces) and they were the victims of getting very muddy looking from the bleeding Toasty Toes.

JennyRaye asked if I am near the Hampton Roads area. Once upon a time I lived in the same state as Hampton Roads, but now I'm halfway across the country on the high plains of Colorado, at the foot of Pikes Peak! Why do you ask?

Jumping on the Band Wagon

2006-01-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

Like a lemming I joined the Follow the Leader Aran Knit-along. I tried very hard to resist but at the last minute* on New Year's Eve I headed out to to one of my local yarn stores and snapped up 7 balls of a gorgeous blue yarn.

It's Butterfly Blue Brown Sheep Nature's Spun Worsted and the picture above is my gauge swatch and my cable swatch, made as directed in the first two "installments" of the project. I was lucky, I got perfect gauge the very first time I tried. Considering how some people are really suffering (at least thats how it sounds) I feel quite fortunate.

I've knit cables before, but I've always wanted to do a "real aran" not just a "sweater with cables" and this seemed like a good opportunity. So far I'm thinking the project is going to move rather slowly, so there will be plenty of time for other knitting as well.

And in Other Lemming Activity

The first time I ever saw the infamous Apricot Jacket from Rebecca #27 on someone's blog I fell in love. For the past year and half I have looked in every yarn store I've been in, across multiple states, and have not been able to locate the pattern. I didn't think I wanted to spend the money to mail order it.. what if that was the only pattern in the whole thing that I liked??

Then a couple weeks ago I decided it didn't matter, that one pattern was worth the $20.

It so is. Look at that lovely detail.

I was a little worried before I actually had the pattern in hand. I'd found the knit-along on crafster and so many people complained about how poorly written (or translated) the pattern is. I found it to be VERY straightforward and surprisingly simple. The knitting on this is cruising along at the speed of light....

I started on it last Thursday and have only spent part of one day and two evenings and I'm well over half way done already.

I just hope I like wearing YELLOW. I am not a YELLOW kind of person*. But I had the yarn and it got the right gauge....

Finishing off 2005

The last two completed projects of 2005...

Chevron scarf made in Prism's Wild Stuff. I can't get a decent picture to save my life. Trust me it's gorgeous and I now understand why people spend the money on this frou-frou yarn.

Socks in Interlacement Toasty Toes.

Speaking of Interlacement Toasty Toes...

I've used both Toasty Toes and Little Toes for multiple pairs of socks. And I really like they way they knit up and they way they feel when worn. But there is one problem with them....

What's this? A glass of Chardonnay? Rose' perhaps?

No, it's the rinse water after washing a pair of my Interlacements socks in Eucalan. Not the 1st time they were washed. Not the second or even the 5th. About the 25th time. I've tried vinegar, I've tried Synthrapol and NOTHING will get the dye to stay in the yarn.

After turning two loads of laundry PINK, I now hand wash ALL my Interlacements socks, every time. What good is having superwash wool socks if you still have to wash them by hand?!?!?

*What's this "last minute" stuff? And why am I (the queen of purple, pink and blue) knitting something YELLOW? I've gone on a yarn diet. A SERIOUS yarn diet. Maybe one of these days I'll take pictures of my stash. I tell people about it and they don't believe me. Trust me when I say I have more yarn in my stash then at least two of the local yarn stores here in town have on their shelves. So when I bought my yarn for the FLAK it was truly a last minute thing, if I hadn't purchased it by the 1st (my self imposed diet start date) I'd have been out of luck....because.... OF COURSE.... I had nothing in my stash I could have used!

Pete and Morrigan Have Been Found!

2006-01-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

YEAH!!!!

LOST DOGS IN SEATTLE

2006-01-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

If you are in Seattle Area, please take a look at the information below. My friend Cyndy is frantic with worry, these are her kids.

LOST DOGS IN SEATTLE

Pete and Morrigan escaped their yard about 1:30 AM Sunday, January 1st after
someone unknown opened the gate without their owner's knowledge.

Morrigan is a three year old Samoyed female. Pete is a ten year old Malamute.
Both have permanent identification.

Their home is in North Seattle, just south of Northgate and between
I-5 and Roosevelt Way. Owner is desperate for their return.

REWARD!

If found or seen, please call immediately:
Cyndy (206) 300-9069
Ron (360) 402-7476
Kathy (360) 402-4326

Pete

Morrigan

More pictures at: http://www.samoyed.us/

Mom

2005-12-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

Mom, March 1921

My great grandmother, grandmother, Aunt Muriel, Uncle Bill and Mom, 1923

Uncle Bill, Aunt Muriel and Mom, 1928

Mom, 1939

Mom and unidentified man, 1942

Aunt Muriel, Uncle Bill and Mom, Easter 1967

Pumpkin, me and Mom, November 2001

Helen Elizabeth Fulmer Bailey - July 27, 1920 - December 19, 2005

My mom lived here in Colorado before moving to Phoenix. When she was here, she and I would sometimes go shopping in the part of town known as Old Colorado City. It's full of cute little specalty shops, galleries and tourist traps. Yesterday I paid Old Colorado City a visit. I wandered around the shops, stopped at La Baguette just like we used to do and ordered a bowl of their French Onion Soup, one of mom's favorites. Afterwards I stopped at Dairy Queen and got vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and peanuts, another of her favorites. It almost felt like she was there.

At one point I was in a store and Bing Crosby came on the sound system singing "I'll Be Home For Christmas". I almost started crying right then and there. Each year at Christmas, EVERY time that song played on the radio she would always say "I went to high school with the man who wrote that song". It got to be so much a of a joke that often, as soon as the song came on, someone else would say before she had the chance "Did you know Mom went to High school with the guy who wrote that song!"...

If It's December, It Must Be Time to Finish Stuff...

2005-12-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Every Decemeber I enter a Finishing Frenzy. I have no idea why, it just happens that way. I get overwhelmed by too many projects on the needles and BAM! I feel the need to finish stuff in a big way.

I usually knit lace out of lace weight yarn because I think it is prettier than lace done with heavier yarns. But look what I finally finished:

It's the Ostrich Plume Triangle designed by Mary McCall. It only took a total of 5 skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport and once I actually sat down and knit on it, if practically flew off the needles. Done on size 9 needles, it's very lacy and lovely, see

I highly recommend this pattern for those interested in lace but afarid of the finer yarns! I may even have to make aother I like it so much.

More pictures on the Ostrich Plumes gallery page.

Dog Stuff

Babe is a new champion, Max is a big winner and Pumpkin has a broken toe! Read all about it and see pictures on The Babe Blog

And now we are off to the last show of the year.. Amarillo, Texas here we come!

Another Reason I Love Colorado

2005-11-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

The sun* rises in the East and sets in the West, right?

In most parts of the world that means if you want see pretty colors in the sky in the morning, you have to look to the east.

But in Colorado you can look to the East:

Or you can look to the West:

Yes, we have 360 degree sunrises. Sunsets too.

The first picture is looking directly east at the sun rising over my neighbors house, the second shot is the same morning, just minutes later, looking out my back door 180 degrees to the West. The mountain is Pikes Peak. Pretty cool.

*I can't believe** I had the word "sign" instead of "sun" in this post for the last 24 hours and didn't notice it even though I probably** looked at it 10 times. Proof once again, that I am the LOUSIEST proof reader in the world.

**Need more proof? I published this correction*** (after proof reading of course) and realized I had spelled "probably" as "probabably". Corrected it, proof read, published and then saw that I had spelled "believe" as "beleive". Really, it's not actually a spelling issue most of the time, it's a *typing* issue.

***Oh. My. God. "Correction" not "corretion". I give up.

Amber Waves

2005-11-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

No I haven't been blogging but I have been knitting! Here's the proof:

That's the center point from the second Mystery Shawl Along. It's done and blocked and photographed and in my closet and y'all hardly even knew I was working on it because I've been such a bad blogger.

I really enjoyed this shawl, the construction was intersting - you knit a small trianglar center portion, cast off along the top, pick up along the sides and add a wide border, then knit on a sideways edging.

A number of people complained about the size of the finished shawl, so I decided to make mine bigger by adding two more repeats of clue 4....

(see I have 6 instead of 4)

... and my shawl is HUGE, about 80 inches across the top. I don't think I needed to add the repeats but I like the size anyway.

More pictures on the Amber Waves gallery page.

Old Stuff

Okay not THAT old, just from last month. I finally got a picture of Rosy Fingered Dawn after blocking.

See more at the Rosy Fingered Dawn gallery page.

And especially for KWA knit buddies, TOKathy and anti-Kathy... a blast from the knitting past, completed over 2 years ago....the Girlfriend Sweater...

...aka The Sweater That Go Me Banned From a Certain Person's Blog....

Pictures on the Girlfriend Sweater gallery page.

Wintertime and the Knitting is Easy...

While I contemplate the Next Big Project that I'm going to get serious about, I'm doing some totally mindless knitting. Anyone guess what this is? I'm sure of lot of youhave seen it....

When Technology Fails....

2005-11-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

My high speed internet connection has been down since Sunday afternoon. I feel like I have been stranded on a desert island, cut off from the world.

I did get a lot of knitting down with no blogs to read. Hopefully I'll have pictures soon. In the meantime I leave you with this:

Max at 6.5 Months

We're Back....

2005-11-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

.... and we had a GREAT time!!!

I do have a few little brags.... I took three dogs with me and all three came home with ribbons and trophies!

6 month 2 week old Max (WhiteStar's Beyond Thunderdome) made the cut in both Futurity and Sweeps and in a huge (23 dogs) puppy class took 4th place.

10.5 year old Icer (CH Tundra Winds' 32 Degrez of WhiteStar WSX HIC) who was COMPLETELY naked (possibly the MOST naked dog at the Specialty) took 3rd place in Veteran Sweeps and 2nd place in Veteran Dog. Even better than the placements were the compliments I received on his still effortless movement :)

15 month old Babe (WhiteStar's Ready For Anything HIC) proved she really is ready for anything. She won the 15 and over Futurity class and took Reserve Intersex for her age group. She was 3rd in the Puppy Sweepstakes. And although she brought home no ribbon, her performance in the Bred-By class made me incredibly proud as her breeder. There were 48 in the class, Judge Annie Clark placed her top 10 dogs in order from 1st thru 10th. Babe was 6th.

I can't beleive how busy each day was and how I felt that after being immeresed in a Samoyed world for a week, that I still had not gotten enough, seen enough or talked to enough people. I'm already looking forward to next September when the "tribe" will converge again in Post Falls, Idaho...

Knitting?

HAHAHAHA! Yeah right. I had so much free time. Actually I started a scarf. Twice. Didn't like how the colors were lining up and ripped it out. Twice.

Outta Here

2005-10-21T22:28:00.000-06:00

Bright and early tomorrow morning, Babe, Max, Icer, Faith, Gidget, Kris and I head for Kentucky. 5 dogs, 2 people and all our junk in a Pontiac Montana. Should be an interesting sight.

See ya in 10 days!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

2005-10-14T14:01:00.000-06:00

Actually I'm gone as soon as I finish writing this.

After being gone for five days last weekend, I got back late Monday and spent all day Tuesday catching up at work and at home. Then I had an all day class to attend on Wednesday. Then it was Thursday already and I was still catching up from being gone. And now it's Friday and I'm leaving again. Babe, Kira, Max and I head out for Los Lunas, New Mexico and yet another dog show.

Speaking of dog shows, I gotta brag on my puppy... last Friday, his first time EVER in a show ring, young Max, at just 6 months, 1 day old went Winners Dog, Best of Winners and Best of Breed beating all the adult competion, male and female. He now has one point towards his championship!

Meanwhile Babe picked up 2 more points, she only needs 6 more!

Did Somebody Say Knitting?

I have now started Mystery Shawl 2 twice. The first start (shown in my last entry) was okay but I was worried about the size. It's one thing to use a modified gauge if you know what the project is ultimately supposed to look like so you can add or subtract appropriate rows but... this is a MYSTERY right? I haven't a clue what it's going to look like or what kind of edging it will have or anything else.

So common sense prevailed and I started over with some lovely yarn from Furr Yarns. But it was too varigated and I could not see the pattern forming. I'm beginning yet again in a lovely golden shade of Zephyr.

I also started Yet Another Shawl. Violets By the River by Hazel Carter. I'm using a rough spun silk from Silk For Life hand dyed by Donna Zalusky. Pictures when I get back, I promise.

Peacock Feathers is progressing nicely, much quicker than expected considering how little time I have spent on it so far.

Sorry no pictures the camera is already packed.

Outta here!

WARNING! Picture Intensive Post!!

2005-10-05T11:25:00.000-06:00

Wow, do I ever have a lot to blog about today. I have Finished Objects, and New Projects and even some Serious Enabling to do. First off I bring you Herbal Remedy

Worth the Cover Price

I'm cheating a little bit by calling this finished, I haven't found the perfect buttons yet. It's knit out of Rowan Calmer and is very soft and will be perfect for my trip in a few weeks.

Question: So what is the section heading referring to?
Answer: The latest issue of Knitters magazine.

When I got to the point of picking up for the collar, I had the same dilemma I always have when making collared garments... pick up on the wrong side or the right side? usually I do with the wrong side as the turned over collar will hide the right side. But I hate making the outside "ugly" even if it never shows.

Then I remembered an article in the most recent Knitters. Double Sided Pick Ups.

What do you think?

Inside.

Outside.

More pictures on the Herbal Remedy Page in the gallery.

Rosy is done!!!!!!!

Before blocking a tiny 35 inches across...

Blocking at 54 inches...

My most favorite part....

My least favorite part...

ummmm.... what exactly happened to my yarnovers?

This GINORMOUS disparity on yarnovers paired with left slanting decreases vs right slanting decreases only seems to happen on "pattern every row" patterns. Since this is the first thing I've ever knit that uses pattern-every-row stiches I had no idea this would happen. I'm just fine when I have a plain row in between.

WHY?

New Stuff.

I started two new shawls (what else) this week... Mystery Shawl 2....

I may or may not continue working on it. Depends on what the next clue looks like. I bought four different subtly varigated yarns for it. (Margaret Stove Artisan in case you are wondering). If the design is created in bands of horizontal pattern it will work as envisioned. If it becomes bands of V-shaped paterns I need to design my own shawl for this yarn.

PLEASE NOTE my even-on-both-side yarnovers!

I also started Fiddlesticks Peacock Feathers this week. The yarn is handpaintedyarn.coms laceweight in Emerald Blue.

AGAIN, see my even yarnovers!

New Girl in Town.

Axelle and Dani watch out, theres a new yarn dyeing Goddess in town and her name is Christy.

Christy and her husband Bennie are true renaissance types who seem to be able to do it all. Ben is a wood worker, Christy is a quilter. Together they have been hand dyeing quilting fabrics for years. They also do chain mail jewelry, stained glass and you just had to know when Christy decided to learn to knit, dyeing yarn would be the next endevour.

I'm proud to be the owner of some of Christy's first Crazy Monkey Creations yarns.

First we have 400+ yards of fingering weight yarn in a color I'm calling Desert Blooms...

Destined to fingerless mitts? This is the PRETTIEST color I have ever seen. Prettier than Koigu even and we all know how much I LOVE Koigu.

And here is 800+ yards in lace weight which I think should be called either Marigold or Zinnia...

I'm not sure whether to knit with it or just collect it!

On the Road Again, Just Can't Wait to Get On the Road Again...

Can't you just hear Willie singing?

Max, Babe and I head out bright and early tomorrow mornign for four days in Alamogordo New Mexico. Max is making his show ring debut and Babe is looking to add to her point collection.

See you all Tuesday!

Turning the Corner

2005-09-29T18:30:00.000-06:00

Rosy has a really intersting short-rowed corner treatment. In my rather limited experience with lace shawls I haven't run across one like this...

Pretty cool, huh?

I'm getting worried about the size of this shawl though. Unblocked and just laid out flat it only measures 30 inches on a side. Yikes that's tiny!!

A Sky (or Two) for Sandy

Yeah, I'm late to the party. So what? These were too pretty not to post.

Eastern plains of Colorado 6 am:

And about 3 minutes later with a different camera setting:

Max at 5 Months

In the Pink

2005-09-24T07:39:00.000-06:00

I didn't plan it, really I didn't!

I went shopping last night to pick up a few "special" things to take with me on my big trip next month.

First I came across these:

Then these were on sale:

And so was this:

A super soft pink leather jacket for under $50? How could I resist??

Purple is my favorite color, but pink runs a close second and I can just see this in the dog show ring with a black linen skirt! (Okay confession time - I have not one but two friends with almost the same jacket and so I already know how sharp it looks with the dogs!)

I am also way in love with this:

Stars!!!! But I want it in WHITE! But $185!!!???? I mean REALLY?? So I'm keeping an eye on eBay which is where I have bought several of my Dooney and Bourke bags at less than 1/2 price, New With Tags.

I am a confirmed GoodWill shopper. This was my first time in a mall in about a year. I just hate them, but once a year (always before the "big trip") I venture out to pick up a couple items that you just can't find at GoodWill.

Last year I bought a dressy, slim fit, black knee length chiffon skirt with a ruffle around the bottom to wear in the ring for Best of Breed. It was $95 - the most I've ever paid for a skirt. It fit perfectly, I love it and I've worn it a lot so it was worth it. But I can only pay those kind of prices once a year.

Should I mention that I wear my $95 skirt with a hot pink and black linen jacket that I paid $4 for? Or that the shoes that complete the outfit are black keds from Wal-Mart that also cost $4?

Knitting? Oh yeah... been working on Rosy and almost have Herbal Remedy completed. Off to KWA in a few minutes!

Hangin' Out With Rosy

2005-09-19T15:20:00.000-06:00

I am really enoying working on Rosy Fingered Dawn. The yarn is soft, the colors are beautiful ang the pattern is interesting to work on and seems to knit up pretty quickly.

We have our differences though. See my last entry for a description of ripping out a significant part of Chart 5. Here's the picture I promised from that day of Rosy off the needles and relaxing before getting ripped back:

Unfortunately that is not the only disagreement we have had. After knitting back to slightly beyond the point pictured above, I discovered a mistake about 8 rows back, all the way on the first row of Chart 5.

What did I do?

A partial rip out:

I got back on track and am now about half way thru Chart 5. I have to work hard at not thinking about how I could be DONE with Chart 5 if I would stop making silly mistakes!!

Stash Enhancement News

Enough Rowan Calmer to make TWO sweaters and some Rowan Summer Tweed!!! Stay tuned for more details....

Minus Ten

2005-09-15T07:54:00.000-06:00

The bad news: I ripped out 10 rounds of Rosy. When you have between 400 and 500 stitches on each round, that's a lot of ripping.

The good news: When I took it off the needle I laid it out and got a picture. So when I once again have acess to my ISP's server you will get to see a picture that doesn't look like a misshapen mess.

The reason for the rip-fest? Chalk it up to Anne thinking she knows more than the designer. Sometimes I'm right. This time I wasn't.

Rosy has pattern bands separated by "spacer ridges". Up until this point the spacer ridges have consisted of 4 rows - knit one round, purl 2 rounds, knit one round. The rows immediately before and after the spacer ridges were always patterned rounds.

In the case of the ridge between charts 4 and 5, the last row of chart 4 was plain knit. The directions then called to "knit one round, then purl 2 rounds" then immediately begin chart 5. I "assumed" the directions should have been "purl 2 rounds, knit one round" since I'd alrady done a plain knit round. After all, didn't I want a plain knit round before starting chart 5?

No.

Picky as it may seem, it made a huge difference to how both the charted pattern looked at the beginning and how the color change looked.

So I ripped.

Missing....

2005-09-14T15:10:00.000-06:00

I know all the images on my blog page are not showing up.

Apparently my ISP is having some kind of server problem, I can't even get to their home page. All my pictures for the blog are stored on their server :(

At least my internet access is still here and I am getting mail.

Rosy continues... I just started knitting with the 4th color. I have pretty much abandoned all other knitting in favor of Rosy. It's a very addictive pattern.

In stash enhancement news....last weekend I bought some really cool yarn (Reynolds Smile) to make a quick, bulky cardigan to take on vacation with me next month. I normally don't care for Reynolds yarn but this is very soft and came in outstanding colors. Seems like the yarn companies have all learned a thing or two from Noro.

Expecting orders from both KnitPicks (I ordered the Palette Sampler!!!) and handpaintedyarn.com by the end of the week. Yippee!!!

More when I have picture capability back!

Everything's Comin' Up Rosy!

2005-09-06T10:15:00.000-06:00

I LOVE what I've got done so far on Rosy Fingered Dawn!

The yarn, although somewhat fragile, is a joy to knit with. It's hard to get pictures of circular shawls so this may be the first and last progress picture I provide.

I think my center came out great. First time around I used a "traditional" circular cast on, but when I went to tighten up the loop I'd picked stitches up around, the yarn broke unraveling my first couple rows. BUMMER!

So then I used waste yarn, cast on and knit a few rows then switched to the real yarn. After doing about 15 rounds I picked out the waste yarn and gathered up the opening. Couldn't look any better.

Stuff On My Siberian

Have you seen this website? What a hoot!

Here's my variation:

I was making the bed and Kira WOULD NOT get off, even after I started piling pillows on her. I also put a couple of bags and other stuff on her as well, but those pictures did not come out as well as this one.

None of the sammies would ever allow this.

Everything But Knitting

2005-09-02T22:18:00.000-06:00

Actually I have been knitting. I did several more repeats on Kiri. And doubled the size of the Ostrich Plume Triangle. And I started Rosy Fingered Dawn. Do I have pictures of any of them?

No.

Instead I found this over at LisaB's blog. Looked like fun so hear ya go...

1) First Car. 1972 MGB. I LOVED this car. I even still ocasionally dream about it.

2) Place you grew up. Fairfax, Virginia. I'm not sure if this is really a picture of Fairfax, but it's what came up and it symbolizes all the reasons I left the Washington, DC area.

3) Place you live now. Colorado Springs. Ain't it gorgeous?

4) What shows up when you type your name in and your blog name:
Anne

WhiteStar - how appropriate. This guy is apparently a member of a wolf pack and his name is Whitestar.

5) Favorite food. Pasta. Any way, shape or form. Can't live without it.

6) Favorite Drink. I had to include two. Lemonade and Kahlua and Cream.

7) Favorite Song. Unchained Melody. Doesn't matter who sings it, it takes my breath away.

8) Favorite Smell. Citrus. Lemon, lime, orange, doesn't matter.

9) Favorite Pair of Shoes Ever: Dansko Professionals. My first pair was even this color.

And Now For Something Completely Different

I leave you with this. 'Nuff said.

Off to a dog show, back soon....