Music Love

I found them through another blog.  I love them.  I introduced them to Chris tonight.  He wasn't so thrilled, but I hope you like them anyway.  This one is their newest.

Also go check out the contest for some really really lovely fabric on Kerry's blog.  Its in celebration of her 100th post.  She does such gorgeous work.  Really lovely.  (Oops...did I say that already?  I guess that's why her blog is Lovely Little Handmades...)

Diamonds Scarf

Finally I have pictures!!!  I know you are all so thrilled to finally see this.  ahem.  

There isn't much to say with this one.  This might be one of my longest knits ever, surpassed only by my sweater which took three whole months instead of just two like this did.

Very simple stitch with 64 stitches and just knit until the yarn runs out (I used three skeins or, technically I guess, 6 half skeins).   The simple lace stitch is a honeycomb stitch that goes like this:

Row 1: (k3, p2) repeat seven times, k3, p1, sl 1
Row 2: (k1, yo, k1, sl1-p2-psso)repeat seven times, k1, yo, k1, sl 1-p1-sl 1-psso
Row 3: (k2, p3)repeat seven times, k2, p2, sl 1
Row 4: (sl 1-k2-psso, p 1, yo, p 1)x7, sl 1-k2-psso, p 1, yo, sl 1

The diamonds are the product of an excellent dye job by Robyn on her Flock of Feathers DK weight sock yarn.  Seriously it was pretty cool to find that pattern in the yarn.  Also interesting is that the diamonds go from big to little (within the same ball) over the length of the scarf.

Pattern: Honeycomb Rib Scarf (That's my project link.  The "pattern" is above.)
Materials: 6 half skeins Robyn's Nest Flock of Feathers Sock (the thicker version) in colorway Vireo
Made for: Me
Needle: US7 32" Addi Turbo Circular
Start Date: 17 November 2009
Completion Date: 20 January 2010
Size: 68" x 9" (Unblocked.  I thought it looked great unblocked so no blocking this time.)

give a kid a quilt

Sorry for the radio silence the last couple of days.  Its not that I had nothing to say, its just that every evening as I sat down to type it out I was needed for something else, somewhere else.  And in fact Chris is about to interrupt me for breakfast shortly.  Sort of annoying, but at the same time sort of normal.

Anyway moving on.  Rachel from Give a Kid a Quilt had the brilliant idea that we should give quilts to kids.  In her words:

"The Pacific Northwest has some of the highest unemployment rates and child poverty rates in the nation. Winter is when many seasonal workers get laid off. Making the local economy in the Portland metro area worse than the nation as a whole. Because of our weather, these months of highest unemployment are also our coldest months. Compounded by the economic recession, food banks, clinics and other child welfare services have seen a dramatic upswing of children in need. [The quilts go to] Babies and young children in Washington County and hopefully Clark County."

This is totally up my alley since I can't seem to make any that I don't give to someone else.   I've been considering sending in a finished quilt or two.  Apparently I need a push sometimes though because I haven't finished anything to send.  Enter the wonderful Dana of Thistle Hill Fabrics who offered quilt starter kits on her blog for three people to make quilts for Give a Kid a Quilt.  So I said I would and Friday this arrived in the mail.

All of these are so gorgeous.  Ideas started flowing immediately.  I'll talk about those in a second first I have a couple of questions for all the quilters out there.  The four fabrics in the back are decorator weight fabrics, which I've never used before.  What I'm wondering is if these behave shrinkage wise the same as quilting weight cottons?  I'm probably going to pre-wash because I'm thinking of using some other pre-washed fabrics with these.  So I want to make sure I'm going down the right road here?  Also do decorator weight fabrics pair well with quilting weight fabrics?  In other words, can I sew them all into a quilt top without compatibility issues?  Thoughts?

Ideas now...I love ideas.  I started by pulling out all my blues and greens that match the four fabrics on top.  There are a couple here that I'm iffy about, but I wanted your opinions so I'm not going to tell you guys which.  What do you think?

The first idea I had was to do squares in squares like this.  Or maybe with a border, but I ended up not liking the mosaic I made for that very well.

The biggest problem with this is that the bottom right square is a big flower print.  I only have a fat quarter of that so it can't be the big squares.

So I'm hesitating.   I went looking for solids thinking I could maybe incorporate them somehow.  This is what I found.  All of them look really nice with the fabrics.

So that lead to another idea.  I think I'd only use one of the whitish fabrics.  Thoughts on this design?

I have another more abstract design in my head too, but I'm not totally sure where that is going yet and I couldn't figure out how to lay it out so you could see without actually cutting something.   I kind of felt this quilt should have a nice simple design to show off this really pretty fabric.  Visual interest and all.

Then I got thinking about those other two fat quarters she sent.  This one is very chaotic in my head at the moment so I'm just going to show a picture of some of the fabrics I've pulled to go with those two.  We'll just have to see where it goes from here.  I'm trying to see if I have anymore fabric in some more of those colors in the big blue flower print. 

Anyone have any thoughts?  Tomorrow I have scarf pictures finally!

Its a blurry day for Gus

Its rainy and cloudy and gray today.  It was already starting to get dark by the time I got home at 530.  Sort of like this only more purple.

So most all my pictures of Gus look like this.

Unless of course they look like this.

There was this one that wasn't too bad but still blurry.  (Nice weeds!)

If you haven't guessed yet I have absolutely nothing to show in the way of knitting or sewing.  Sigh.  Good old winter.  That's ok though because maybe I can photograph something tomorrow during my little day off if it gets a little less rainy.  (Also, Carolyn, I'm working on your corners tutorial!)

Spotted

This weekend... Do you see him down there on the left?  He's the one that likes to bang himself into the windows.

Late December...chickadees!!  He's that full busted thing there in the middle of the photo.

Plus this lovely coyote.  They are very very noisy this evening.  Definitely more then one out there right now.

Bloggers Silent Poetry Reading

Hope Abides

Hope abides; therefore I abide.

Countless frustrations have not cowed me.

I am still alive, vibrant with life.

The black cloud will disappear,

The morning sun will appear once again

In all its supernal glory.

-Sri Chinmoy

Doorway in Split Croatia.

and you thought they were nice friendly dogs

Little did you know they are mean vicious snarling fools.  All this over a little woolen ball. 

Probably fortunate I realize they won't kill each other.

These videos were obviously taken late at night.  Sorry they are so blurry and dark, but at least you still get the idea.  These were all taken on the 16th.  I can tell, two weeks later, that Gus is actually quite a bit skinner then these.  He's more angular and pointy.  Very puppy like.

They do so love this ball though.  It might just be their favorite toy.

absolutely ages

I think its been absolutely ages since I showed anything knitting related.  I'm not really sure how long that is, but at least since the 6th.  So here is my sock in progress as of this morning.  Actually as of two days ago.  I don't think I've done much on it since Friday.  I'm still in shock about how slow I'm knitting lately but then again also not considering it a bad thing.   Sometimes its nice to stop and smell the roses.  One of these days I will remember to actually photograph the scarf I was knitting so you guys can see it.  Sigh.  I keep walking by it at night and thinking "tomorrow I will do that!!" and then completely forgetting the next day.

The only really exciting thing going on around here lately is some freedom for Gus.  He wasn't really liking life in the prison of the neck brace collar.  I'm dying of the sadness here.

So I asked the vet when I took Abby and Penny in for their yearlys on Friday if we were allowed to take it off.  If he's with us in the same room and we are actually paying attention to him then yes he can have it off.  Yay!  This is how he felt about it after I told him and just before it came off.  I swear sometimes I think they do actually understand English.  Doesn't that look just say hopeful?

Lovely Flowers

Sam said I didn't have to do this.  She and her husband sent flowers to thank me for the quilt she won.  They are just so gorgeous I felt I had to share them with you guys and say thank you back.  They were an absolutely wonderful surprise.  Thank you so so much Sam!

They smell simply divine and I've locked them up in the craft room so Penny can't attack them.  She loves plants just a little too much sometimes. 

Yarn Meter

I have a yarn meter from my dyeing days that I didn't really ever use so I've decided to sell it.  I've listed it in the classifieds on Ravelry, but I thought I'd put it up here too in case any of you wanted one.  It retails on KnitPicks for $50 and I am asking $40 which includes shipping to US or Canada.  I'll check shipping anywhere else if you are overseas.  I expect that would be just a little bit more. 


It looks like this...