Happy Needles

I just finished something that I have been thinking about making for months, a needle book for a dear friend and fellow Leo. After much reflection and pinned inspiration, I put this original gem together.

Fair Day

Woooooooooo. The Fair is opening in Ventura today and I have my tickets. Now, I knit and wait for my family to enjoy the opening ceremony in about an hour and a half.

Sleeves Will Be Conquered

I think that I could make myself famous for saying (among other things), "Sleeves are my Kryptonite." A couple of years ago, I took to making them first (Betty sweater), realizing that course as a way to beat my own short coming and to play with uncertain gauge. Luckily, it seems that Jared Flood feels solidarity in the case for making sleeves first;  his sweater, Ranger, begins with the sleeves. One down and the second one on its way.

Neon Love

We got this glorious, saturated neon Plymouth Encore yarn and it needed to be mine. Oh, the plans that I have made!
When I showed a ball of it to my 2 year old daughter, she said "Yes!" before I could say anything else about it.
First, I am making a ton of squares and mixing these glowing colors with black for a little blanket for my girl.
Then, I am going to take the pink with gray and make her another tomten.

Knit More

I did show you a swatch yesterday for a sweater. I started that sweater. It is going swimmingly.
Then, I became distracted by some shiny new yarn last night. I swatched again and I started another sweater. The good news is that it is nearly finished. It is a tiny, little, baby Tomten.
When all 219 yards are devoured at the end of the sleeves, I am going to use some of our new clasps as closures.

A New Brew

This morning (with 1000 other things to do), I am swatching for something new. I am auditioning Madtosh in Whiskey Barrel for the Heidi Kirmaier sweater, Peasy. It is looking promising.

A Good Day

We are celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. From an undisclosed location, we have enjoyed many fun grownup/child free activities. My favorites, with 5 hours to go in this day, have been an uninterrupted afternoon nap and catching up on my mystery shawl knitting.

Summer Fun

We are enjoying the first Monday afternoon of summer break at the park. The boys are in Jedi camp and the girls are playing on the playground.
My play is my working on samples for a crochet class that I am teaching at Barrelhouse 101 on July 18th. They need buttons and their ends woven in.
Bella wants no pictures, today.

New Toy, New Project

I made the first thing with my new artisan wooden crochet hook. It' s a size H and I am in love.
I made Dante a new cap from this pattern by moogly. It is some band less acrylic, likely Vanna's Choice. It was fun and I would like to make more (in a different yarn).

BW Inspires

My last name means "the Writer" and I want to live up to that name sake. I am trying to record the thoughtful inner dialog that happens as I knit; allowing that richness to transfigure from thought to ink on paper. I once read that this way was the way that Barbara Walker works.
Also, I am wondering about the power of the journal to record a point of view. My sister seems to find Anais Nin's greatness in her diaries and I am reading about Zelda Fitzgerald leaving her soul in her journals.

New knitters

I am having so much fun. I have 3 fifth grade girls learning to knit at a local elementary school. We have 2 hours together and, during their break, they keep eagerly peeking in the door to see if it is time to return.
I am sharing a pic of the work table as I am not sure about taking a pic of other people's kids for posting here. So, I share  their successful knitted cast one while they have recess. Also, the wee sampling of finished objects.

Bragging

I simply wanted to take a moment to brag about the awesome notion that my husband provided me this last weekend. A little Swiss army knife, something that a fan of Macgyver has always longed for. It is a great knitting notion as it has a good little scissors and a nail file. I bet that the toothpick might even be able to help with drop stitches and cabling.

Swirl the Third

I seamed my second Knit Swirl sweater today. I sauntered in wearing it for the beginning of our second set of Swirl girls. Joyously completing the second one meant that I could delve into my third, worked in Lotus Yarns Mimi 100% Mink. Buttah! I am going to have a hard time putting this down to work on other very important samples. The previous two, folded in the background, are nearly forgotten as I knit forward on my new love.

Back to the Grind

I was knitting like crazy from Saturday through Monday at 5:45 pm so that I could do welts 24 to 63 of the Knit Swirl, Winter Waves. I had promised a blocking demonstration for our 6th class session and I delivered as planned.
I share this tidbit because it leads into the next. During my knitting marathon, I received my order of Essie In the Cabana. This morning, I celebrated my nearly finished second Swirl by painting my nails properly: used my friend's tip about freshly swiping each nail with remover just before applying the first coat, did 2 thin coats in total, and even took the time to apply a top coat. The color is exactly what I hoped it would be! Let's see how it lasts as I have yet to be impressed with Essie in the past.
Now, I can return to class sample knitting and wrapping up the last few rows on the larger version of my new pattern.

Peacocks, In Theory

Peacocks, in theory, are lovely and elegant creatures. Their tails are an inspiration to many artisans. This shawl is Rose Beck's Peacock's Tail. I loved making it and I love the yarn, Baah's La Jolla. As I knit on this item, on recent evenings, I heard a sound that brought me back to a freshman classroom at Alemany High School so long ago. Peacocks wander the grounds of the parts of campus that touch the Mission San Fernando. Their mating call is far from glamorous or elegant. It is an ugly, almost scream. This call echoing over your  biology teacher's lecture makes for an unpleasant afternoon. Seems that one of my current neighbors has a lovelorn male whose call echoes through our little valley in the wee hours.

Good Times Were Had

Eweniversity came and went at the store this last Saturday. It was a fantastic day. I taught 8 classes: 1 one hour and 7 half hour.
We sewed the project bags that contained many fun treats from some of our event's sponsors. I made stitch markers with the image of Ana the sheep to match.
On Saturday night, in the haze of blissful exhaustion, I began to play with the yarn that was in the bag: 1 ball of Plymouth Mira Mira, 1 hank of Blue Sky Alpaca Techno, and sample of Anzula For Better or Worsted (perhaps 5 to 6 yds). I came up with a shawlette that used every bit of all three and a few skills that people may have picked up at the Eweniversity classes.
It is all done now and I need to write it up. The pattern will be issued in two sizes, the first going out as a thank you to the students and later, the complete set available for sale on Ravelry.

Rainy Day Strands

It isn't exactly a rainy day. I call this dampness spittle rather than drizzle.
I greatly enjoy the mist that settles above the hillsides. As I sit tucked under my roof's overhang and watching Dante and Mirabella pretend to be deep sea fishing out of their cardboard box, I am working on the second set of stranded cuffs for a future class.
It will be nice to move back inside and cuddle in with the same task and a different game of pretend.

Wee Hours and Afternoon Hours

In the wee hours of this morning, around 2 am, I finished off my Clapotis. I still needed to drop a few columns which surprisingly amounted to another half hour. I conducted this work at a more reasonable time of the day.

This afternoon, I celebrated by taking the remainder of the scarf's yarn and swatching for what is both a future class and the first thing that I have designed in 2013. Stay tuned for what it becomes.

Finished Friends

Aren't they sweet? They are the creatures that I was sharing when I posted Brains and I am very pleased with their cuteness.
Same pattern, simply yarn and needle size changes.

I have at least two more in my future as Mirabella and Dante really wanted these guys to be their friends and not shop samples. These friends are a class slated for the coming class schedule at AFY - 

2 Sessions - Tuesdays, Aug. 6 and 20, 6-8pm, $40,

Level: Sheep.

Do you see what I see?

Can you recognize what this little corner might be?
Spoiler: (or, answer) It is the start of a Clapotis in Noro Silk Garden Light.

Brains

I am making some fresh samples of my toy pattern, Lil' Peanut. I am taking the suggestion that he should have eyes this time and digging into my safety eye stash.
I am only two rows and 4 i-cord away from finishing, but I thought it would be fun to share him while his cotton brains were out.

Hats for Two

Now, they have coordinating hats. Together, they are off to surf fish. Yum.

Glorious Day

Saturday was simply fantastic.
I enjoyed teaching a class filled with fun women as we made duct tape dress forms, fondly called body doubles.
It was such lovely weather that we decided to have dinner at a taco joint on the pier. Dinner was followed by a stroll down the way to see if fishing had turned to catching for anyone.
Then, I wrapped up the evening with a reunion, my newly fixed sewing machine and some new pants for Bella.