Pegged

Because we all needed to know:
I present the Duke in car form, and boy did they 'peg' him.

I'm a Chevrolet Corvette!

You're a classic - powerful, athletic, and competitive. You're all about winning the race and getting the job done. While you have a practical everyday side, you get wild when anyone pushes your pedal. You hate to lose, but you hardly ever do.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

A Yarn to Remember

I just found this wonderful blog

http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html

She searches the web for dresses, sews her own dresses, admires other people's dresses, ect. I have really been enjoying it.

I thought to myself: "self, you do this with yarn all the time anyway, you should share with the readers of Yarnnation,"
Then I said to myself: "self, you're right, I should!"

So I decided to share my current obsession every so often and also make a list of websites that carry handpainted, handspun, or otherwise delightful yarns and fibers. Please feel free to contribute your current love.

This is a lovely yarn worthy of obessions, by one of my favorite companies, Handmaiden. It is called Sea Silk and here is what they have to say about it.

Sea silk is a new silk blend hand dyed for you by Hand Maiden Fine Yarn.
70% Silk combined with 30% SeaCell ® in a lace weight yarn (32sts/4 ”on 2.5 mm
needles) It is wonderfully soft and shiny.
But what is seacell ?
Seacell
is a cellulose based fibre made from seaweed. That’s right – seaweed! It is
highly breathable and very soft. When worn, your skin’s natural moisture will
release magnesium, calcium and vitamin E contained within the seaweed. It has
anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to protect the skin. Amazing.
We hope that you enjoy the gentle, rich colours of this intriguing yarn.

I just purchased it (from Hilltop) in what I think is the Paris colorway, but I'm not entirely sure, as it is much more muted than it appears on their website, very lovely. It is destined for a lace shawl of some sort.

On the Road Again, I Just Can't Wait to Be On the Road Again

Really I COULD wait, but I don't have a choice. Luckily this week it will be fore vacation, and the drive is only 3.5 hours. Much more sane. So here's the last trip in pictures and knitting.



I thought dish cloths would be a great traveling project, small, no counting or charts, short rows so the Duke doesn't have to wait long for me to finish a row. This was also perfect because a few of my very old dish cloths (like 10 years, these things last forever) had started to get ratty.
In and 18 hour trip I thought I could get 10 done, no problem. I got off to a good start.


Then the Duke got tired and so I had to drive. . . Three hours cut out of my knitting time, so #2 gets finished nearly half way there.

Shasta Lake was beautiful
And #3 appears shortly after. Then I need a nap, the short night's sleep, the bouncing around in the big truck, ect. ect. Then tragedy. . . The Duke needs me to drive again. We switch at a little town called Willows, CA. (I think) I get stuck driving through some crazy windy canyon where the trees grow at an angle because of the wind- keeping a 26' truck on the road required everything I had. Then my torture test continues as I make my way through Sacramento traffic, and then Bay Area traffic during Rush Hour. Several hours after I took the wheel I can no longer hold the wheel, as my arms ache so badly from gripping the wheel so tight.

The beautiful sunset made me feel better (along with my darling Duke taking over the truck for the last hour.) However, no more knitting progress was made due to aching hands and arms.

The next day I find that I still can't knit, my arms start to burn 10 sts in and by the end of a row I am in serious pain. Sigh, my muscles are inflamed. The remedy, ES Tylenol, no knitting, and rest. NO KNITTING!!! So I made a trip to my local fiber store and purchased a goodly amount of roving. If I can't knit, by golly, I will spin!

Pictures tomorrow

If I were a car. . . Heaven help us.

I am not a car person, but after spending nearly 18 hours on the freeway this weekend, I have at least seen a lot more cars. A lot of this freeway time was logged in California, a truly automobile obsessed culture. The Duke commented that he had never driven down the freeway and seen more BMW and Porsche's than Corollas. So, if I were a car, what would I be? I couldn't tell you myself, but someone tried to figure it out.
So how did they do?
I don't really consider myself competitive, but I suppose I am with myself. I would also never be so audacious as to call myself elite, I hope I don't act that way either. Other than that, flattering. . . I'll take it. The funny thing is that this is my best friend from HS's favorite car. K., what do you think?

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Isn't this cool.
So my friend Kat got me reading masonddixonknitting.com
I couldn't resist trying it, isn't it pretty, it's my blog in graph form.
Click here to try your own blog or website.

So when you are me, and I hope no one else is me, your summer vacation lasts about a week and a half. I go back to school on Thursday. Naturally, I had to share what I did on my summer vacation,

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Isn't it pretty. It is my first real garden and I am loving it. I even added compost to the soil first, and let me tell you, that stuff STINKS! Please, don't tell me why it stinks, I know what it is made of, I read the bag. What I really want to know is why bat poop gets is own special name.

As for the epiphany mentioned below. . . well it is just under half finished. I think this one might be Knitty bound if I can get it done in time. Isn't the suspense killing you???

The (somewhat premature) finish line. . .

Here's the finished baby blanket and even an extra little happiness thrown in for good measure. For those of you interested, the blanket and the hat only took 4 skeins of Blue Sky's Dyed Cotton, with enough left over for another hat and some booties.
I think I'll call it the 'suprise' baby blanket. There's no suprise in the blanket (other than it only takes 4 skiens) but it's for when the baby is going to be a suprise- darn those non-knitting women, don't they KNOW!



Here is the Calmer shrug. The original pattern was Second Nature Designs "All Eyes on You Poncho." I loved the lace pattern, but a poncho, um no, thus the shrug was born. The original idea was to just have buttons on one side and button up the sleeves, but the calmer doesn't hold the buttons well. It's too stretchy, so I am going to sew it up I think. I mean, don't want to get too comitted, really!



So the only think left on the needles is the Shelby sweater, which I don't have to have done until the first of July. So seeing as I only have the button band and weaving in ends, and I have been so good in my finishing spree, I officially rule (I am the Duchess of Yarnnation, after all) a photo finish and the winner is. . . ME!
Cast on here I come. I had an epiphany last night, I'm in stealth mode for a few days as I work out the details. Enjoy your weekend.

A Serious Distraction

My first semi-successful attempt at spinning, it isn't good spinning, but it looks pretty cool.



So, I had some pencil roving, I tried to knit and felt it, but it doesn't knit well, so what better to do with it, SPIN IT! Now, this didn't feel like real spinning, because there is not drafting involved, but it gave me some good practice. Oh yes, and Tsarina too, she spun some of it. I was so surprised, and pleased with the tweedy type of yarn it produced.

Now ask me how much knitting I diligently contributed to my finishing goal. . . Ask! Ask! Ask! You're right, you don't have to ask- of course NONE! I am so distractable- but ooooh, what a way to be distracted.


On a different note, it was a sad day in doggy land today, this is the pink monster, Maggie's favorite toy. He went to doggy toy heaven (aka the garbage can) today because Maggie has been sick and little pink monster bits have been showing up in her lawn 'presents.'

And on a bit of a somber note, Princess P (my little sister) lost her baby kitty of 5 years to renal failure. They placed her under a new Cedar tree in their yard. Keep her in your prayers.

Finishing Spree

So I have decided that I won't cast on anything else until I finish or frog all of my current projects. I'm doing good, but I tell ya' it's pretty hard. I almost caved and got out the Yarn for the Duke's next sweater, fortunatly, the needle I needed was being used by the Organic Cotton Baby Blanket.

The green wrap is "Rhapsody in Lace and Ruffles" my design, a Decidedly Hilltop Pattern, in Misti Alpaca Silk- the close up picture is the more accurate color

The hat is Rowan's Aura in Karabella's Vintage Cotton. It is for Princess P. (Aren't you impressed that I took this picture myself.)

Stay tuned for more finished products, Shelby's Sweater is done, it just needs ends woven in and possibly a zipper put in (not by me!) The organic cotton baby blanket is coming along quickly as well, I have about 3-4 inches left. . .
I know I can, I know I can, I know I can

Finals Week

I'm a little quiet as of late, you say? It's finals week. The Duke finished his yesterday- HIS LAST FINAL EVER!!! Lucky man. He still has eight months of rotations to finish, but he is done with classes. I on the other hand still have Managerial Accounting on Friday night, (who gives a final on Friday night!!!) Not to mention 18 more months of classes. . . I needed a little break from studying, so here I am. Here's a "take away" (that's management talk for the only thing you heard in the last 10 weeks.)

Leadership vs. Management
When Noah heard the weather forecast he ordered the building of the ark.--- that was Leadership
Then he looked around and said, "Make sure the elephants don't see what the rabbits are up to."--- that was Management

Duke and Duchess Do Dutch Oven

Now THIS is how you should spend Memorial DAY! "Good Friends, Good Food, Good Fun" - Well Said!

The Duke and I went to a Dutch Oven cookout put on by our friends the Seattle Dutch Oven Guys!

http://seattledutchovenguys.com/default.aspx

Gary- our Dutch Oven Guru.

Tzarina and I got in a little knitting, Dutch Oven take a lot of time, time well spend knitting!

The Duke and I showing off our finished Corn Bread. It was soooooo good, along with the other 20 or so dishes. This is serious food!!

Also, notice my sweater, the Queen knit it, (several times) and just didn't like it on herself. So she donated it to the official Yarnnation wardrobe, which is always taking donations of knitted item! Isn't it lovely.

You Didn't!

You didn't!

I did!

What where you thinking?

I don't know!

What are going to do?

Ask for help. . . Sarah? Karen? Martine?

Baby hats, baby hats, ooooohh baby, baby, hats.

Look at all of these BABY HATS!

So about a month ago I was asked to start knitting baby hats to contribute to a service project sponsored by the stake I belong to. (a stake is a group of several smaller church congregations)

I knew that there was something more I could do than just knit a few hats to support this project I sent an email out to all my co-workers. Now, these are some VERY busy women. Many of them work two jobs, go to school, and still have to find time to knit, but a few of them were able to contribute. Thank you Tami, Roseanne, Kelly and Mimi. We were able to contribute 20 hats to the project. There are 18 hats here, but I wanted a nice round number so I hurry and knit two more.

So the project was four fold.

1. Knit hats for babies that come to disadvantaged women in our area- the stake collectively knit over 200 hats
2. Teddy bears for Police officers and Firefighters to give to kids that they rescue from traumatic situations- we (not me specifically) made vests for them.
3. Baby blankets to go with the hats - all sewn that day
4. Recording our feelings about the gospel in copies of the Book of Mormon, so when people read it, they know that there are real women out there whose lives have been changed, enriched and enlightened by the teachings in that book.



It was a successful project, with between 150 and 200 women there. It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning. I highly recommend it!

Later in the day Tzarina and I went to two yarn shops I have never been to before, Seattle Yarn and Cultured Pearls. I didn't buy anything, but there were some yarns I had never seen before at Cultured Purls. I really liked two of them and I might make the trip back to Issaquah one day when I have money. I would tell you what they are called, but I can't remember, so there you go, a reason to visit a new store.
I also "shop hopped" to the Fiber Gallery, Village Yarn and Teas, Main Street Yarns, and Weaving Works on Friday. Amazingly, I went to 7 (including Hilltop where I work) yarn shops in one weekend and only spent about $30.

A Shop Hop and a Meme in Honor

Tomorrow will comence the first ever

Puget Sound Yarn Shop Hop

for details. . . go here

http://www.villageyarnandtea.com/shophop.html

In Honor, a new knitting meme. . . Hilltop Bloggers (and anyone else!), what do you say?


Which of your finished projects are you most proud of?
It's between the Duke's Green Polar Sweater (people never believe him that his wife designed and knit it!)
http://yarnnation.blogspot.com/2006/03/sisterly-love.html
and the awful lace capelet I knit for Princess P.
http://yarnnation.blogspot.com/2005/10/duke.html

Which of your UFO’s is never going to see the light of day again?
I am really ticked off at a little sun dress I was knitting for my neice out of Rowan Denim. I might frog it and knit her something else.

What is the most unusual place you have ever purchased yarn?
hmmmm. . . not that unusual but I did buy some recycled skilk from this Jewish guy selling various felted objects and other fiber treasures at the cash and carry section of the Seattle Gift Show. It was also the best deal I have gotten on yarn - $2.00 per skien.

What is the most money (plastic or real) you have ever dropped on yarn at one time?
Not that much, really, my vice is continual small purchases, but it was probably in the $100-$120 range.

Where is the craziest place(s) you have whipped out your needles?
The craziest is probably the circus, but the place I got the most trouble about it was at my husband's company Christmas party. People often think that me knitting equates to boredom, not true. . . always.

What is the most unique project you have ever undertaken?
Probably the fully functional dog collar, leash and anklets. (with felted doggie toys too!)

Have Fun

Duchess

I have CONQUERED the KITCHNER

This started out as a very sad story. I finished this lovely Kimono Sweater in Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK about two months ago. The day after finishing it I wore it and ripped a hole in it. It ended in triumph! I pulled out about three inches of the two affected rows, re-knit one of them, then kitchnered the two 'live' rows together. A little blocking and think no one will ever be the wiser. A Friday night well spend as the Duke studies with friend in the kitchen (yes, it's sick, it's now midnight and they are still at it.)
As a side note I got domestic in the kitchen today (explaination: I had the whole day off!) Steak kabobs on the barbie, baked potatoes, and yummy, yummy, yummy grilled mushrooms. Study friend (mentioned above) rounded out the meal with some sort of sinful peacan pastry thing- very good.

Crazy Crochet at the Circus

So, I am not a crocheter, nor do I really plan on becoming a crocheter. . . but it is coming into it's own, and good for it. I'm glad that there are actually nice patterns being designed now for those crochet queens.
So, one of those bringing about that change is Debbie Stoller, author of The Happy Hooker. She was here for a book signing last Saturday. Jen, the boss, made it into a whole learn to crochet event and even I got on board- for a second, or a week.


The pattern for the day were these cute floppy crochet mums. I thought I needed one, and when I got done with that I thought all the moms needed one for mother's day. So, I didn't get the chance to photograph all of them, I did about

12 of them all together, but I had to mail several of them off before I got to shoot them. Anyway, here is a nice sampling.

They are great little traveling projects, as they are small, and you don't have to worry about dropping stitches while it's being shuffled in your purse. In example my friend, the Tsarina, took me to see Cirque Du Soleil- Varekai and I took along my little crochet flower.

By the way, this is hands down the craziest most spectacular, and hopefully inspiring thing I have ever seen. I tried to describe it to the Duke, it was futile, it really defied description. The costuming was AMAZING! If you can, go see it, and take a crochet flower for 1/2 hour intermission. The pattern is available at Hilltop.

Victoria

The Duke and I have been married for 5 years, can you believe it? Here's what we did to celebrate

Day 1
- First order of business, change car battery which died as we boarded the ferry - much thanks to the lady who saved us with a jump!
- Lunch at Barb's on the warf. . . best fish and chips in Victoria - we don't know exactly what haddock is, but we like it.


- Beehive Wool - http://www.beehivewool.com/index.htm - You will see from their website that they have a lot of acrylic yarns, which was suprising, but to my great delight, they had more fleece artist yarns than I have ever seen in one location. Here is what I got. Ok, so you can't see the colors in this at all, but it is an oh so lovely colorway of deep reds, purples, and golds. It is from fleece artist and it is a superwash merino in sock weight. It is just too nice for socks (pardon requested of my faithful sock knitting friends.) It will be combined with a nice color of kid silk haze and knit into something lace.


-Checked into our B&B, The Ashcroft House
http://www.ashcrofthousebandb.com/index.htm
We stayed in the Cotswold room, and after getting up at 4:00 am, the amazingly comforatable bed called to us and we took a nice nap
- Dinner at the Flying Begal Pub - it was ok for pub food. I had a BLAT (BLT with Avacado) and pesto mayo and Link had a Toad in a Hole . . . the only thing you need to know is don't bother ordering it.
-EVITA - put on by the Victoria Operatic Society at the McPherson Playhouse. It was opening night and we just happend to stumble upon the theater and buy some of the last tickets. It was stunning with one very unfortunate exception, the orchestra was too loud. The Duke, having never heard Evita, had a hard time understanding the singers sometimes.

Day 2
-Breakfast- to die for (see B&B link above)
-The Royal BC Museum - http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/
We really liked thier century of change exibit, but this was hands down the coolest. If you click on the photo you will see the sign in the lower right corner reads "John Lennon's Yellow Submarine." It was sitting in the lobby of the museum.
-The Bug Zoo-http://www.bugzoo.bc.ca/
This might seem a little strange, but we LOVED this! It was so facinating and unusual. Here are a few pictures to creep you out

A milipede on the Duke's Face



A giant scorpion in my hand









A tarantuala taking a nap on me
Isn't she beautiful? - her name is Emma


Oh, and yes, they are all very much alive.







- Muffins and Tea at Murchies (we were in Victoria after all)
-A little window shopping and the purchase of our traditional piece of local art, which is also our anniversary present to each other this year. It is a small box that fits inside of the larger box, that is the larger peice of irregular wood. The smaller box was carved out of the inside of the bigger box. It is carved out of old growth Big Leaf Maple that was cut down by loggers on Vancouver Island, this part was discarded by the loggers because it is irregular. Jason, the artist recovers these peices (they had a name, but I can't remeber) and creates some of the most beautiful peices.
- Dinner at Danieli's - Italian - phenominal - order the chocolate almond pate for dessert - trust me.

Day 3
-breakfast - yum again
- ferry
- stop in Mt. Vernon on the way home to see the ALPACS!!! They are SO CUTE I want one or two or three!!! There is a little shop there where they sell thier raw fiber and yarn, and on the yarn band it says the names of which aplacas 'conntributed' the yarn! Isn't that fun! It was Sunday so I didn't buy anything, but I can't wait to go back!

4.45 AM

4:45 am you ask. Well you see. . .


I really just wanted to see the Easter sunrise (ya just keep telling yourself that through church so you can stay awake.)

So what does one do while they are waiting for the sun to rise on Easter Morning?

Take pictures of her finished Easter Egg Basket of Course.

BTW - Easter Egg hunts aren't near as fun with dogs and husbands as they are with kids. We did ours last night as a reward for Duke who spent the entire day studying. I don't know how much of a reward it was. . . but hey, it's Easter. Maggie found one of the two doggie Easter treats very quickly and just as quickly Logan stole it from her. After she chased after him and then ran back to us to complain we helped her find the other one. They are very funny!


So no pre-felting pictures of my basket, I was too excited to get it in the washing machine. I learned an important felting lesson too, don't try to felt with towles that are all ready wet from felting something else. They MUST be dry and not smooshed up against the walls of the washer. Go figure. I had to felt it twice.

Isn't the ruffle fun!

So, Jennifer, my boss, really liked them so we are turning them into Mother's Day and Father's Day baskets and the pattern will be available as soon as I knit more samples and write it at Hilltop Yarn. www.hilltopyarn.com






Here are the two happy baskets together!

HAPPY EASTER












And just because I know you were wondering (or at least would have if you had thought about it). . . What DO Mormons do with crystal wine goblets?