More Knitting

Here is one big sock. It's for my size 13 footed husband. One big sock down and another one to go. This is done in Lorna's Laces Motherlode colorway. I guess I got a couple of vintage skeins from a woman on eBay, because the colorway was handwritten on the wrapper band. This is a pattern I sort of made up using a basic sock pattern with two circs. One down one more to go. The color is more true on the ones that the flash didn't go off on.

The next pictures are the diagonal rib scarf out of the Artfibers Alfabeto that I got in SF and mentioned in an earlier post. It's still a work in progress...pretty slow going since it's also in fingering weight yarn.

Finally, this is a work in progress that's been in progress for awhile. It's a Wings of the Swan scarf/stole out of Traditional Knitted Lace. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock merino mill ends I got on eBay, so I'm not sure of the name of the colorway. I think it may be African Grey, but I'm not positive. Computer monitors are so weird! It's not blocked yet, since it's a little less than half done. It should spread quite a bit when I do block it, I think. Wouldn't really know for sure, since it's my first lace project, but that's what the books say it will do. :)

Paul's biiiiiig sock - the ball on the left is all that's left, the ball on the right is a whole ball. Good thing he likes the tops short!!!

More true to life color of the sock on this cuff detail

Heel and gusset detail

Diagonal rib scarf in progress

Close up of this lovely, shiny silk blend yarn

Wings of the swan with flash...

and without (more real life color than flash)...

Close up detail

Super close up detail

Drifting Dreams Jacket for Ida on Ample Knitters

Here are some photos of my finished version of the Drifting Dreams Jacket from Just One More Row. The first is me in the jacket on BART headed to San Francisco during my trip to the area last week...I just had to prove I knitted on the trip! Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I don't have any pictures showing the whole jacket on me, but these will give an idea. The following pictures are stitch detail. It's amazing how much maneuvering there was for each stitch, particularly with the "in next 3 sts work (p3tog, yo, p3tog--all in same 3 sts)", but I think it came out pretty well, considering it's my first ever sweater. I made it out of Elann Sonata (100% mercerized cotton) in the vineyard colorway. I made it longer and made the sleeves longer. I think I went a bit overboard on the length of the sleeves, but the added length to the bottom of the jacket was a must.

What's in a name?

One of the people I used to work in the same office with is also one of my dog friends. We call her Libby's fairy dogmother, because she's the one who connected us to the people who led us to Libby. Anyway, we'd been emailing back and forth a bit today when she invited me to lunch with some of the other people who used to be in my office and a new hire from their office. The newest secretary's name is Genevieve, which makes her only the second one I've ever met in person after my sister, Genny, also Genevieve.

Walking on the way to the restaurant, she mentions how interesting it is that my sister's name is Genevieve, because she has a sister named Rachelle...yup, just one letter off from mine. We laugh a bit at the coincidence, then she jokingly says, "You wouldn't happen to have a sister named Sarah, too, would you?" She thinks this is impossible, I know she does, but I have to tell her that I do, in fact, have a sister named Sara without an h. How bizarre is that? My name is Richelle and I have a sister named Genevieve and a sister named Sara. Her name is Genevieve and she has a sister named Rachelle and a sister named Sarah...too weird!!!

So, we get to the restaurant and, of course, my friend and I are talking dogs, which brings the topic around to Genevieve. She also has a dog and asks what kind mine are. I tell her Cardigan Welsh Corgis. Her mouth drops open and she says, "No way!" I'm not sure why she's so surprised until she confesses that her dog is also a Corgi...a Pembroke. Okay, so now we have the same unique names among the sisters in our families and we both have corgis. To top it off, she wants to join our knitting group to learn to knit.

Weird!!!

Artfibers in San Francisco

One major highlight of the San Francisco trip for me was riding the BART from Pleasanton to a station just one and a half blocks from Artfibers in the financial district. It isn't a large yarn shop and you certainly won't find anything here that isn't special. They only sell their lines of yarn that are either made by them or specially made for them. The things you can find here, you can't get anywhere else. And it's incredibly amazing stuff!!! Very mind boggling, but wonderful! If I ever have to go back to SF, even as a layover for a flight, I'll make sure I have plenty of time to go back to Artfibers, though I'm sure I'll order online in the meantime. The woman who helped me was terrific, friendly, and helpful! The patterns were lovely...wish I'd had the money to get a sweater custom designed, but we'll save that for next trip...they design for free, if you buy the yarn there to make the design.


I didn't get much, considering it was the end of our stay, but I got some very interesting things. Here is the color of Alfabeto (76% silk 19% superkid mohair 5% wool) I got...

And here is the stitch pattern (diagonal rib stitch) I'm using with it to make a slim scarf...

Another yarn I got was Tsuki (silk 40% superkid mohair 60%). It looks almost black in the picture, but it's really a vibrant dark electric blue...

And here is what I plan to make out of it...

Finally, I got some lush Big Bunz (90% angora, 10% nylon). Super, super soft and gotta love the name. I think I'll do a small cable scarf with it...really wanna make that angora sweater some day...

Anyway, a great, great place! Check them out at www.artfibers.com.

Random Nationals Pics

These were all taken by my sister, Genny, at her second or third ever dog show.

Poor Ef ...he can't help having a coat

Jeri, Lizzie, Traci, and Sedona in classes

Savannah in classes

Too fast for the camera

Could she shed any more?

Okay, who did that?!?

How did my daemon go from being a glorious tiger to a not so cute bunny rabbit?

The Golden Compass - Daemon

I haven't read the book or listened to it, but got a bit of a head's up about it on Amy Singer's Knitty blog at http://knitty.com/blog/. It's kind of interesting and I definitely think I'll listen to it...I've got Audible. I dunno about the shy part, but, anyway, here is what it came up with...

How to make her eat and some random pictures

Savannah's been on a hunger strike...not only does she have to start blowing coat right before Nationals, she thinks it's a great idea to be a tube dog, too. BRAT!!! We've tried everything...different treats in with her food, feeding her in different places, threatening that the cat would eat it for her, taking it away after 15 minutes, leaving it with her in her crate all day, hand feeding her...everything...until tonight. And what was the magic thing to do? Lock her in Libby's big wire crate in the living room and drop food in the crate with her, with no bowl and Libby and Ethan staring at her, willing to eat whatever she wouldn't. So, today anyway, she doesn't like bowls or dishes. Very ornery, but at least she ate it all. Sheesh!!!!

And here are some random pictures taken over the past couple weeks or so.

Bobannah and Woobie

Li'l Bit close up and personal

Nothing like a good play session to tear the cover off the couch and wear ya out

Libby's New Hobby - Halo 2 on XBox 360 (she takes after her dad)

Peaceful coexistence

Stalker?

Man, I'm a crappy blogger...just had to get that out of the way before telling my story.

On the way back to work today after letting the dogs out at lunch, I decided to stop at a convenience store in the university area to grab my friend and I some diet Dr. Peppers (like you needed to know that). I drove along in my semi-trance headed back to work and pulled into the lot like the thousand other times I've gone to this store. As I'm getting my wallet out of my newly knit and felted bag (which I will show and brag about at Nationals), I see this flash of a blue car in my rear view mirror. It pulled right up behind the Kiasaur very quickly, then, just as quickly, slammed into reverse and powered into the parking space two over from me. How odd!!! I finished what I was doing, trying not to look at this car (afraid to make eye contact), and headed toward the door of the store. This woman somwhat breathlessly comes bounding toward me and, once she realizes what she's done, sort of stutters her way into saying, "Uh, I saw the stickers on the back of your car...so you have a corgi? A Cardigan corgi?" Yup, it was another one of us extremely odd corgi people who just had to track down the owner of that car with a corgi on it that she'd seen in traffic. Been there, done it myself. Turns out she has a pembroke girl who is just over a year old that she got from a breeder out toward Junction City. I didn't get the name of the breeder. And, though we talked about the differences between Cardis and Pemmies and all other corgi related topics for a good ten minutes, I don't know her name or even her dog's name.

Funny, aren't we?