speedyneedlefreeman

busty seattle: one car, two girls, ten yarn stores

2008-07-15T09:40:00.000-07:00

i recently joined carrie on a trip up north. we drove all day on tuesday and stopped in ashland, oregon just long enough to stop in at Web-sters yarns. a good yarn store with a great book selection. then we drove on up past portland to kelso and found a place to sleep. the drive was great. we took turns driving. the passenger got to knit and we listened to brenda dayne of cast on for many hours, with breaks to talk about boys (nothing to report). it was great and a totally acceptable way to spend 12 hours in a car. good company, a good podcast and knitting.

i made the above sign and was holding it when carrie picked me up, just in case she missed me with all my bags, standing on the sidewalk with a big smile on my face.
we put the sign in the back on the window of the car and i guess it should have said 'kelso or bust'. but who knows anything about kelso?
we do now. we got coffee at the starbuck's that is inside the brand new and huge safeway there.
we made it to seattle and then got in line for the ferry to bainsbridge. carrie had a appointment at churchmouse yarns and tea, which is a very sweet store. we then drove to poulsbo to our hotel.
this is the marina in poulsbo, which is a very cute touristy town. it has a two or three block long main street that has two yarn stores on it! and the below senior center. ain't it cute? oh i forgot to mention that the town has a norweigan flavor to it.
all the guide books said that we had to try the bakery. and try we did.
that is called a 'viking donut' i guess due to its size. it was big alright. we took the ferry back to seattle and spent the next two days going to many more stores, some touristy spots, and doing a bit of knitting in the hotel.

this is the original starbuck's location, across the street from pike's market.
the necklace i am wearing in the first picture was a birthday present from firegirlpj and love it. she got it in columbus at knitter's connection. you can get one from dream weaver's.
if you are going to seattle and only have time for one yarn store, i would make it weaving works. they have tons of yarn for knitting, but also spinning supplies and weaving supplies. and enough books to open their own little fiber related book store. we sat there for awhile just looking at books. it was relaxing. i bought more than enough yarn to make some yet to be determined sweater. it is locally grown and naturally dyed worsted weight wool. i will take some pictures and post about it. and i am calling on my EZ muse to come to me in my sleep and help me dream up something good to knit with it! carrie found something good from sweaters from camp.
so we ended up hitting 10 yarn stores. it was great. check out little knits too. its an online store- but you can visit it. its out of a house in west seattle, run by a nice woman who employs friendly and helpful people.
on the plane ride home, i started a little cardigan out of debbie bliss cashmerino superchunky, a pattern i got for 75% off at hilltop yarns in seattle. they had a fire recently and had to get rid off everything! i finished the sweater over the 4th of july weekend and will post pictures in my next update.

WWKIP day

2008-07-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

as you can see- many many many knitters showed up to knit in public! it was great. warmed my heart about the knitting community. this first picture is wondermike of YKnit interviewing each and every person who showed up at the knit one one studio to knit. you can hear all about it on the most recent episode of YKnit. its funny. and if you listen carefully, you will hear me! it was rad to have so many public knitters, i mean most of us are not ashamed, or all of us are not ashamed to be knitters, and knit in public all the time without thinking about it. it was wonderful to be part of such a public display of unashamedness. for most i don't think it is poltical, but when you get a group together (there were about 60 of us there), it becomes political. si se puede!!!
here we all are. if you look hard you can see sam.
oh there he is again. making his political statment about public knitting by wearing his cowl that i made for him! he has a really long neck and i worry that it gets cold. so i knit a stockinette tube with some left over lamb's pride worsted color oregano, the best color tied with fucshia.
somehow during all the knitting, the tree in front of the studio was tagged, knitta please style! none of us saw it happen and we don't know anything.
oh and right after i published that last post, one of my coworkers at the er found my knitting!! it worked!

MIA

2008-07-09T09:44:00.000-07:00

so i knit this cute skull and cross bones for the magical mystery kniting party: colorwork on 6/13 at knit one one. and then i lost it. damn. here is proof that it existed. i did my homework. and then it walked out of my life. last time i saw it was at ucsf when i showed it to my coworker.
well the class went well and everyone's came out great and 6 new people now have done colorwork! look at the finished projects here. aren't they cute? thanks to helloyarn.com for lending us the pattern. you can try it yourself and do the felted bag!
also check out all the people who showed up for wwkip day. it was great. knitters really know how to show up when they want to make a statement.

6/15/08

2008-07-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

this year i shared my 28th birthday with father's day. it happens every so often. the first time we shared was the year i was born. it seems fitting. if my dad wasn't a father, i wouldn't be alive. if i wasn't born, my dad would not be able to celebrate being a dad. so it works. although i was a tiny bit grumpy that my day didn't get to be totally and 100% my day. but he is not a bad person to share a day with, especially because the two reasons for having a day are totally entwined. we went to the temescal farmer's market in the morning for some blue bottle coffee. i finished the vest i was working on as a present for father's day.
i used ella rae classic in three colors. and i used the random stripe generator to "plan" the stripes out. the pattern is mine. it goes: get gauge, measure dad, cast on, knit til armholes in the round, begin to work back and forth for front and back with help from ann budd's handy book of pattern's for the decreasing and such, make v-neck front, three needle bind off shoulders, pick up for neck edge and armhole edges. i used size 7 needles for body, size 5 for the ribbing. and almost all of all four balls of yarn. thanks to EZ and her EPS for giving me the knowledge of how to just knit a vest. i like vests for two main reasons: they don't have sleeves, and they sure do make one look spiffy.
i call it his 'hip professor vest'. what do you think?
then we went rowing in the emeryville marina. something that both of us enjoyed doing and could do together. i did most of the rowing, and had blisters on both hands to prove it. he was just holding the oars so i could take some pictures. but doesn't he look happy?

knitting at the dog park

2008-06-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

i was thinking about trying to steal his hotdog, but not after he gave me this look. the humans knit while we were at the dog park. the dogs did not and neither did the little humans. they ate hot dogs. it was super cold and windy and i was dressed in every knitted item i could find. then the sun came out and i got sunburned. sammie sniffed so many other dog butts and checked his 'peemail' as firegirlpj calls it. trumom showed us all the goodies she has for the raffle she is doing to raise money for the breast cancer 3 day walk she is doing. donate and you could win 10 skeins of malabrigo plus so much more!

eggs

2008-06-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

eggs from a co-worker's chickens. aren't they beautiful and all different? my favorite is the tiny white one in the top row just to the left of the huge brown one. they helped make a yummy cake.
eating locally makes me happy. i want chickens one day. i would love to have chickens. i would try to knit them sweaters. turtleneck sweaters.
if you enjoy michael pollan and haven't read his essay "why bother?", i would.

congrats maggie

2008-05-31T13:20:00.000-07:00

maggie, the closest thing i have to a sister, graduated with her masters in counseling from sf state, a few weeks ago. i was able to spend the day with her and her family (my second family, we met in preschool, about 24 years ago). we had lunch and went to the ceremony and then had ice cream. it was great to be in the middle of that family again, something that was a common occurrence during my childhood. i fit in there somewhere and that is a very comforting feeling. i am very happy for you maggie, and very proud as well. major props to franny and zoe (sandwiched between mags and me) and glenn, who took the picture. glenn goes down in history for making the best worst jokes ever. expect for my dad, of course.

california hornblower

2008-05-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

i have been running yarn divas, a knitting night, at the women's cancer resource center for a couple of years now. every year they have an event to thank their volunteers. this year, margo decided it should something different than the usual. so we went on a dinner time cruise on the california hornblower. it was beautiful. we ate good food, knit and laughed as we watched the sun set on the bay. i also got to wear a name tag that said: kate, cultural and healing arts. i like that. the center does great work and has lots of services. its actually where sile of knit one one and i met. on that note, the june classes and events are up, so check them out. i have been listening to cast on, i am about 2 and a half years behind, but i have been listening to brenda about four or so times a week as i run and commute to work. i do not run to work, if you were concerned about that. i am up to 212 miles this year for runagogo!

when i am 64

2008-05-24T22:11:00.000-07:00

my dad turned 64 a couple of weeks ago. for about three months, both my parents will be 64, until my mom's birthday in july. we woke up early and drove over to sf. we got coffee at blue bottle coffee on linden street for some of their amazing coffee and then made our way to the san francisco conservatory of flowers. we first had a picnic breakfast on the lawn in front. my mom made a frittata from alice water's new book. it went well with the coffee. although i would be hard pressed to think of something that didn't go well with coffee.
my parents are fantastic. we had a lot of fun walking around looking at flowers and butterflies. and taking funny pictures with our heads in flowers. i found myself singing 'when i'm 64' by the beattles. that song is filed in my brain under the heading of 'camp song'. maggie and i grew up going to hidden villa during the summer. its an amazing farm summer camp in the los altos hills. we had a song book that we would sing from around the camp fire every night. i remember singing that when i was 11 or 12 thinking that 64 was soooooo far away, not even in the realm of things possible. it still feels far away. but i also remember feeling a tiny bit of excitement deep in my stomach about the idea of finding someone to be 64 with, someone that would embody the song for me. i think my parents are good poster people for it.
my dad is wearing one of his birthday presents, a baseball hat which goes with the sailboat he bought himself recently. doesn't he look happy? i knit him a beret out of queensland kathmandu aran and i will post a picture of him wearing it later. it is quite dashing if i do say so myself.
pretty plant
pretty flutterby- well i bet its actually a moth. its little brown legs are super fuzzy, like it knit itself legwarmers out of brown fun fur.

"Well, it was rage honey"

2008-05-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

I just found some photos I have been meaning to post and some stories I wanted to share.
Mae and Mary of Ruby' Garden, and their friend Mary and my mom and Faith threw me a surprise party the week I got into nursing school. The second Mary I listed is a RN at the General in SF and she supplied the props. I walked in a everyone was all dressed up. It was very sweet of them, and a great surprise. Ruby's Garden is a great shop and everyone should go check it out when they are at article pract because it is just across the street.
Here is Sam in his A's gear.
My mom just finished a quilt for me, and it was in the East Bay Heritage Quilter's Guild show a bit ago at the Oakland Convention Center. This is us in front of one side of the quilt. It is beautiful and keeps me warm and I feel very special to have had a quilt made for me.
My parents and I had a thrown together Passover. Notice the wholewheat torilla next to the orange, that was all my dad could find due to the Great Matzah Shortage of 2008. We had lots of fun.
Now something knitting related. Last week a customer came in to article pract and we got to talking. Her name was also Kate and we hit it off. She said a couple of things that have stuck with me that I thought I would share. She was in her seventies, I am guessing, and she refered to her knitting life as something of the distant past. She said she stopped knitting over thirty years ago when she had knit everything that she had wanted to knit. Wait! Stop the presses. She said that she had knit everything she had wanted to. I asked her if that time actually would come. She said it did for her. I can't imagine that day, the day when I have knit everything I could possibly want to. Can you? Knit through your stash, your raverly queue? I am still processing that thought. I am not knitting as fast as I am coming up with things to knit, so I can't run out, can I?
We were walking around the shop and she was pointing out things that she liked or pattern she had used on projects in her previous knitting life. We came to a cabled sample and she told me about a sweater she had knit long ago, for a man she was with at the time. They were traveling in England and she bought some yarn there to knit him a cabled sweater. After they split years later, she took the sweater back and she ripped it out! And then she balled the yarn back up and donated it to Goodwill. She said she hoped someone was out there wrapped up in that yarn.
"You frogged that whole cabled sweater?" I asked, shocked that she had it in her to do that.
"Well, it was rage honey" she replied.

P.S. I am now speedyneedle on ravelry.
P.P.S. Listen to Y Knit, they are amazing, great and local knitters with a funny podcast.

baby hoodie

2008-05-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

baby hoodie- how cute right? top sweater is knit out of berroco comfort which i bought at article pract.

this one was knit out of some yarn from my stash- still super cute. this sweater is a knitting pure and simple pattern (#982) top down and in one piece. no seaming. you knit the body in one piece and then pick up for the sleeves, button band and hood. super cute and easy once you get a hand on the pattern. come take the class at knit one one. the next three saturdays! see you there.

some things knitted

2008-05-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

i didn't make this collar, julie of cocoknits did. and sammie wears its proudly. yes it is shibori and felted and fantastic. and its FREE! so go check out her website - she has amazing patterns and she created the knitter's block, a new blocking system which is like so hot right now. i have one and i love it. sammie does too.

that little beard kills me.

something i knit. i had the SARS or the bird flu or something ridiculous two weeks ago. i am ok now. anyway i watched way too much Law & Order: SVU but i did knit envy and i love it. i used some burly spun that i had in my stash and size 13 needles which the pattern calls for. it knit up very quickly. and then i went to stonemoutain & daughter and bought this amazing buttons. they are so amazing that i think they are kind of distracting from the actual knitted object, but i couldn't pass them up. and only $1.20 each! it has cables running up the sides- which are hard to see in such a dark yarn, but it was in my stash. and yes that is seed stitch in the middle. yes i did seed stitch. if you have ever talked to me about seed stitch, then you know that i hate seed stitch. anyway maybe it was the SARS that had my brain fogged enough to do it, but i did. at least on a few stitches on size 13 needles for like 2 hours. anyway when we end global climate change and its normal weather again here, then i can wear it again. until then, and i am not holding my breath, i can at least wear it to work at ucsf where it is always about 30 degrees colder.

three good things

2008-05-17T08:06:00.000-07:00

1. i just made the most beautiful lasagna ever. ok that i have ever made. if you turn your computer screen to the left- it will make more sense. i sort of followed the recipe on the side of trader joe's lasagna noodles- but i took out the alfredo sauce and i put in spinach and the lite mexican cheese mix from trader joe's. i haven't tried it yet, but it smelled amazing as it was baking.

2. my cholesterol levels are 'optimal'. i got some blood work done last week and i just got the results in the mail. my good and bad cholesterol levels are both perfect. this makes me so happy because i have borderline high blood pressure, and this makes me very nervous. hypertension is called 'the silent killer'. it totally messes you up slowly over years and years. your kidneys can't deal with the extra pressure on their tiny little parts and they get shot. then you have to go on dialysis. i won't even start on how much that sucks.

3. marriage is legal for everyone in california! now let's keep it that way.

hug limits and wearing a jacket

2008-05-13T13:43:00.000-07:00

so i am moving out of my wonderful housesitting-house and i moving back to a place i call home. some people already live there, i call them mom and dad. and then there is dog of course too. he is going to be so excited to have us all under the same roof, all of his toys in one place, and some many hands to pet him. he will have to learn that he can't climb the stairs to get up to my room though, and that whining at the bottom of them is not ok. my stairs are a ship's ladder - yes a ships ladder- aka steep. not stairs but a ladder, so not really schnoodle ready.
moving is never fun, it has consumed my busy life for the last month or so. but i keep reminding myself that the reason i am moving, and moving back home is because i got into nursing school! my life must go on! so i am going to save some money while staying at the folks house. then i am going to find some sort of living situation that will be quiet in which to study.
living back at home will be fun. some things will have to get worked out. like what kind of coffee is made in the coffee pot. my parents drink some sort of caf/decaf blend that doesn't have enough caf in it for me. shall i use my own pot? or is it all silly? yes silly. at least that is one of my only worries. ok not only worries. my dad likes to hug me. i like hugs just as much as the next gal, but its my dad. i guess the middle school ew-dad-grosses-me-out period is not over yet! sorry dad i am just being honest. so how about a hug limit? one a day seems ok right?
my mom likes to remind me to bring a jacket with me when i am leaving. i know i will always be her baby. but i learned about jackets along time ago. i can even knit them now if i need too! all those years that i have not lived at home, i have been able to keep myself warm, yet the minute i am living under the same roof, she thinks i have forgotten. i know i know, this is not really a big worry either. and yes mom, i had my coffee, my vitamins, and breakfast and i packed lunch and its in my bag. i was raised very well i have to say. and i am getting much better at flossing every day. so i have some more cleaning to do tonight and tomorrow. i will bring over my last load of stuff tomorrow (plants and food from the fridge). and then it will be me at home again. we have a great time together the four of us (that includes the dog). so i think this will be a fun summer. but i don't think i will be bringing home any dates!

more hats

2008-04-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

beret done in malabrigo purple mystery with some scrap green yarn as stem.
cascade 220 : noe knit's baby bunnie hat
same hat as above, blue sky alpaca organic cotton, i added a ribbing on the bottom edge

b-day hat for my brother

2008-04-19T19:39:00.000-07:00

my brother's 44 th birthday was last week. i made this hat for him. pattern here.
its called the marsan watchcap. fantastic pattern. and it comes out great. this one i did in sublime cashmere merino silk aran. it took two balls and i knit it on size 7 needles. it was great to knit with and sooooo soft. and it blocked out really well. i really would suggest both the pattern and the yarn. i made another one for my dad in cascade 220 and that was really nice as well.

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!

2008-04-07T14:09:00.000-07:00

i was accepted to merritt's nursing program today!!!!!!!!!!!

cat scarves

2008-03-31T09:19:00.001-07:00

ok this was the magical mystery party project from last friday- i called it the honeycomb java jacket- original i know. anyway christine said she was going to go home and put it on her cat. she did. she blogged about it. i borrowed the pix from her blog so that i could show them to you all- i did tell the class that if someone got the java jacket on their cat- that i would put the pix on my blog. so here you go:
what a handsome cat! oh and if you want to learn how to knit cables- i am teaching a class this saturday at knit one one called "cable mania". www.knitoneone.com check it out! cat scarves for everyone.

schnoodle in the hood

2008-03-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

my dog is so fierce, i wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley.

Ravelry @ Article Pract

2008-03-16T09:39:00.000-07:00

from the minute we opened the store, we heard rumors that ravelry was coming to visit us at Article Pract. i got giddy and ran around the store, touching all the yarn to make sure it was in its proper place. mike wade was on the phone with carrie when casey and jess walked by and i am sure he could hear me giggle and sequel. they headed right to bakesale betty's because they had heard about the fried chicken sandwich over there. i highly recommend it. they then came in a hung around for a while and we all got to talk to them and discussed Stitches. they are very sweet and all the fame has not gone to their heads!! (i dont think that any of us on ravelry thought that) anyway, it was fun having them in our LYS. i am sorry that bob was not on this trip out west, i am sure him and sammie would have a great time sniffing each other for hours! and for those of you who have not joined yet, run don't walk, to www.ravelry.com

405: one down six to go!

2008-03-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

so i got into a nurisng school. before you get too excited- let me explain. yes this is a good thing, a very good thing, i got accepted. its napa valley college, in napa. they don't do a lottery like the other community colleges, instead, if you meet their qualifications, they accept you and put you on their waiting list. so i met their qualifications and got put on the bottom of the waiting list. that is all great for sure. i am number 405. they go through 90-100 people twice a year. so about two years until i would come to the top. so if i don't get in anywhere else, i can move to napa and go there in two years. it is a great plan b for sure. it feels good to get accepted somewhere. will you all come visit me up there? so now its waiting time- april 15th is the first i will hear from the other ones, so i will keep you all updated. should we start a betting pool as to how many other schools i am going to get into? tammy or mike wade want to help me set it up? we might as well make this very unfun thing, more fun right?

baby bunnie hat and saartje's booties

2008-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

carrie is teaching saartje's booties and i am teaching the baby bunnie hat- what a cute combo really. and if you don't have a baby to put the stuff on, why not your dog? i did as you can see. knit one one.

i only spent $60

2008-03-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

carrie and i went down to stitches on friday- we were so excited- a weekend of yarn fun! and she had never been there! we went to TNNA together- but being as that she is in the business- she was working the whole time and didn't get to walk around and see the goods. we checked into the hilton and filled our water bottles and walked across the street and then entered yarn mania. the line to get in was sooooo long. we got in a found our peeps at the article pract/cocoknits booth- who were both doing very well with their cute patterns. we made it around most of the convention center, took notes on what we wanted to see again on saturday, covered lunch back at the article pract/cocoknits booth and conversated. then it was closing time and we were ready to sit down for a bit. we went to bennigans for dinner with reuben, julie (cocoknits) and petra. yes i ate what is in the picture above. it is a monte cristo sandwich, which is a turkey, ham and cheese sandwich batter fried and rolled in powder sugar and then you spread raspberry jam on it! i know so gross! so carrie and i shared one so that not all of our heart valves would clog at once. it was totally edible, especially because the raspberry jam was yummy and overpowered all the other flavors.
there is the jam being enjoyed
so saturday morning we had a very important breakfast meeting with kristine from curious creek and her husband phil at IHOP- which is a very happening place on a saturday morning. then we made our way back to the convention center and the booths that we hadn't hit the day before. i managed to only spend $60 and carrie didn't buy ANY yarn. julie did a demo of her fantastic knitter's blocks as we urged her on. we were such a good audience if i do say so myself. the yarn below is brooks farm yarn from lancaster, texas. 400 yds of fine wool for $16.00. i bought two as you can see. i am not sure if i want to make a cap sleeved something or other or some big style wrap from ann budd's wrap style or scarf style. what do you think?

2008-03-02T11:11:00.001-08:00

new wave cactus blossom

2008-03-02T10:53:00.001-08:00

ok so this is the cactus blossom. from knitscene fall 2007. i used cascade 220 for the MC and CC in noro kureyon. tammy helped me with the color choices. it makes me happy. well i decided to make another one using the same basic pattern by kate jackson. i added hearts into the color work pattern, fitting it in by adding a few stitches into the sleeves. so this is how it is so far:
unblocked of course, i am working on the collar as we speak. i also used cascade 220 for this one. my fave red color for the MC and a heathered gray for the CC.
i am really excited to post about stitches - and i have like 5 pictures from when ravelry came to article pract!!!!!!!

classes

2008-02-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

i am teaching this cute slouchy beret at Article Pract in march - this is the wednesday crew before work at our fave LYS- see if you can guess who my lovely sidekicks are. oh and the yarn i am wearing in the form of a beret is Fibre Co. Khroma- soooo pretty.
i am also teaching some classes coming up at Knit One One
magical mystery party this friday night and a switch knitting class march 8th. so run don't walk to check out these classes and all the other ones taught by many lovely people.

2008-02-20T19:48:00.001-08:00

that is all i have to say, my dog is once again too much

a snail?

2008-02-20T12:56:00.001-08:00

ok so the vest is done- so done that i can wear it! not sure how many people get it though. i mean most have not understood that it is a heart. i am thinking about putting some veins and arteries so maybe that will help with the identifying. i wore it to the hospital and people thought it was cool. but i still think it is not being fully understood. well i love it. christina's response was one of my fave. she said "you do have a big heart" this was not the intention but i like the sentiment. some people think its a snail. maybe its my job to educate the world on the anatomy of a human heart. aortic arch anyone?
well i am just glad that it is done and wearable. so in that picture i am hand delivering a nursing school application to merritt community college. i guess it is my first choice. i mean it is the closest to my world and my dad runs the environmental center there. so we could have lunch together. that is the fifth application i turned/mailed in. it feels very good to get them in. i have two more to go. but i won't know anything til mid april or even beginning of may. so the wait is on.

i know this is a bit outdated but this is my mom and dad and me after voting! aren't we cute. and yes, my dad is wearing his sticker on his forehead. it is from him that i get my sense of humor, but i have been told that he is funnier. i guess i will have to work on that. ok well see you all at Stitches!!!

french press cozy for sile

2008-01-10T22:09:00.001-08:00

this is the french press cozy i made for sile for the holidays. i found it on ravelry as "cable and bobble coffee press cozy". i really only know one person who uses a french press, sile, and it just so worked out that i thought she would enjoy one. so i knit it up on bart to and from work with some stash yarn and it came out adorable, in my opinion. the body is worsted weight lamb's pride in color creme i think and the garter stitch borders are in the new variegated lamb's pride in the yellow color. that is my fave one of the new variegated colors. i cant wait for more to come into article pract so that i can make some gloves out of it.

"that's me eating firetruck"

2008-01-08T20:57:00.001-08:00

"That's me eating firetruck."
this is cyrus, sonya's son. and yes he is that adorable in real life too. i made him that sweater for his 1st birthday a couple of years ago. i combined Knitting Pure and Simple #214 top down in the round baby sweater and i put a cable in it. i used Mission Falls 1824 cotton that i bought at Yarn! in alameda. as sonya was sending me this picture, she said that cyrus was sitting next to her and said "that's me eating firetruck".

ok last obvious dog posting

2008-01-05T21:59:00.000-08:00

sam likes carrots, enough said:
please watch and enjoy a schnoodle in action

dairy queen and spherey

2008-01-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

i made this elizabeth zimmerman dairy queen hat for tammy for xmas. i was at her house last weekend and i just sat and knit it and then gave it to her. a very quick knit on size 15 needles. and its a fun pattern too. i got it from The Opinionated Knitter by EZ but watch out there is a mistake in the pattern. get the corrections. i used Harrisville Heathered Bulky by Harrisville Designs which i bought at Stash on solano ave. one skein does it with a bit leftover.
spherey and sammie. i used cascade 220 and the new variegated brown sheep lamb's pride for the legs. all from my stash.
spherey is for my aunt phyllis and uncle tony who live in boston. he is from the now-out-of-print book Unusual Toys for you to Knit and Enjoy by Jess Hutchison. she does however have a cute cat named kate on knitty.com. i think he is happy even though he has no mouth. i would ask him but i don't think he is capable of answering.

my fave tiny people

2008-01-03T11:22:00.000-08:00

my mom and sammie are my fave tiny people. some of you may say that sam is not a person. i beg to differ. ok they are my favorite tiny mammals. how is that? sam is wearing his sailing sweater that i made for him so that he would look smashing out on the bay on my dad's new used sailing boat. the sweater is made out of mission falls 1824 superwash wool that i got at stonemountain and daughter. you know if you go in there, and sign up on their mailing list, they will send you 20% off coupons on the regular. so i cast on and knit a square with the silver and put in those anchors that i got from 1000 Great Knitting Motifs by Luise Roberts, which really is great. i decreased it a little along the way so that it would fit sam's thin little schnoodle body. i then knit a chest piece and sewed them together leaving holes for his legs. then i picked those stitches up and knit legs. i then picked up stitches around the whole edge of the sweater and did some ribbing. then with the blue- i picked up stitches around the neck and make a collar which can be popped if sam feels like it. ta da! a sailing sweater. first we have to find out if sam likes sailing.

adorable dog and WIPs

2008-01-03T09:25:00.001-08:00

people always ask me how sam is doing- so i thought i would pop in a picture of him doing just fine. he is sitting on carrie's lap. we are about to go for a run, in the rain? or is that the sun trying to come out? i am wearing my new shoes for this year. they are green and make me happy. i also have new running socks which also make me happy.
ok yes knitting blog- ok here we go- this vest is for my dad- it is being blocked at this very moment!!! done!! i used kraemer mauch chunky bought at dear article pract. i made this pattern up and it makes me very proud of myself. when it is really done, as in my dad is wearing it, i will post again with its name.
this is another vest, for me this time. an anatomical heart. the heart is done, well besides some cardiac veins and arteries. i still have to do the back of the vest. i made this one up too! i printed out an image of a heart from the interweb and then drew it onto graph paper i bought from schoolhouse press. then i knit it into my vest. and i cursed my name the whole time. at some points, far too many, i was knitting with four colors across a row! gray, pink, red, blue, pink and then gray again. crazy i tell you, crazy.
ok the sun is out so that is my sign that it is time to run, especially since there is a high wind warning going into effect at noon. if i don't come back, its because sam and i are floating around out there somewhere. happy new year! i am calling it knit 2008.

don't steal my two-headed alpaca, bitch

2007-12-24T10:14:00.000-08:00

this is logan. she is adorable. she also works at article pract. she rides a very pretty green bike everywhere. i wish i had the discipline to ride my bike half as much as she does. i mean i have a car which just makes me lazy. can i just say that it is cold and dark early? well it is. but logan is still out there on her bike. you are my biking role model. i have no excuse.
ok back to knitting. we had a gift exchange for the store. i got a two-headed alpaca. i could not be happier. logan took the fiber trends pattern for a 'normal' alpaca and made it have two heads. it is felted and she knit it out of alpaca yarn!!! my knitting heart is so happy to have them around. it was one of those gift exchanges where you could either open a new gift or steal the one from the person who just opened one. i was first. no one stole my alpaca. it was great. i have named them dartos and cremaster. thanks logan. oh and that is remy's hand behind logan's head.
today is new year's eve. i work tonight at the hospital. i am looking forward to it actually. i don't know what that says about me, well i guess that i like my job. i am working on finishing some knitted things which post soon. happy new years!! be safe and drink enough water if you are going out to have a drink or two or five.

done and done

2007-12-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

done #1: in january i signed up to run 100 miles every 13 weeks- 400 miles in a year- yarnagogo is to blame, ok nevermind, to thank for all of my runningness in 2007. i was not sure if i should do it, i have knee pain from a car accident i was in over three years ago and i wasn't sure if it would hold up. well i signed up anyway and last week i finished my 400 miles!! (i am aware i mentioned it earlier) something i never thought i would do. the picture above is me about 30 sec after i made it home from crossing the 400 mile finish line. all that running was great and totally doable. i am going to increase my mileage for next year, i am thinking 600 miles. i was not sure i was going to make it, but with some discipline and faith in myself, i finished before the year is over and i feel great about the whole thing. one of my best accomplishments, at least during this last year. if i can do it- you can too! sign up at http://www.runagogo.com/

done #2: i just walked in the door 15 mins ago from finishing my last final for my nursing pre-requisites. this means i can now apply and then knit while waiting to hear if i get in. i decided last year that i wanted to go for nursing, and i started this jan by taking chemistry. i took two classes a semester including summer school, maybe you remember not seeing me for 2.5 months. this morning i had my physiology final and tonight i had my life span pysch final.

i now know way more about the human body than most people are interested in hearing, especially the gross stuff!!

anyway this year has been hard but very rewarding with all the studying and running and more studying. now i will sit back and let my blood pressure come down a bit and get some solid amounts of sleep and knit everything that i didn't get to this year. thanks to all of you who have supported me through this, i could not have done it without you.

ok, so yes this is a knitting blog. being that i have been busy, i have not done much knitting. but i plan on calling 2008, knit 2008.

above is a picutre of me wearing the neckwarmer i made for carrie (www.knityaya.com) for the holidays. it is prism yarns kashmir in color nevada ( 65% cashmere and 35% silk) . i used the luxe neckwarmer pattern from knit2together, a very simple 4 row repeat in a feather in fanish pattern. it only took maybe 2 hours as i was studying for my final! very nice to work with and looks great on carrie with her blue blue eyes. she is off to iowa to see her family so i hope it will keep her warm. more knitting to follow. and a two headed alpaca...

All I Want for Christmas (a public service annoucement)

2007-12-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

All I want for Christmas is for people in public places, and not so public places, to sneeze and/or cough into their elbow and not into their hands or into the shared public air around them, and me and you. Using your elbow keeps your germs to yourself and keeps them off your hands. You know what you do with your hands, you touch things that I then touch. That is how things are spread (common name: germ theory). So also, since I am already on my soap box, wash your hands. That is all I want.

things

2007-12-13T14:28:00.001-08:00

things I like least when I am running:
1. running through someone's just exhaled cigarette smoke

things I like most when running:
1. finishing running 400 miles this year (100 miles every 13 weeks) www.runagogo.com

things NOT to buy at the dolllar store:
1. pregnancy tests
2. condoms
3. anything that costs more than a dollar

things to buy at the dollar store:
1. everything else

Speaking of things...

... these are my two favorite male things (interviewing for a third):

my dad (left back corner):
1. he came up with the name for this blog
2. he came up with me (at least part)
3. my sense of humor, some people might not think it can be called that, is from him
4. he is a fantastic supporter of all things I do and is endlessly proud
5. when my hair feels like being curly- its from his side of the family
6. he is saving the world by being the chair of the environmental studies department at Merritt College http://merritt.edu/~envst/index.html

my schnoodle (Sammie):
1. best dog ever
2. weighs 9.8 pounds
3. very smart
4. loves to cuddle
5. does not shed or make people have allergic reactions
6. adorable
7. tiny
8. best running partner
9. adopted him from http://www.bayareapoodlerescue.org/
10. with help from Sile from www.knitoneone.com
11. loves to wear the sweaters I knit for him

some other things:
1. your pee should be clear, yellow, but clear
2. I like black licorice
3. knitting is the best hobby ever, hands down
4. my mom is one of my favorite female things, ok my fave
5. community colleges provide an amazing education for a great price

log in my eye

2007-11-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is me at work. I am wearing a hat I knit for a co-workers baby, Ava (pictured above). She is adorable and deserved an adorable hat. I got it from here: http://verasunshyne.blogspot.com/2006/11/felted-baby-yoda-hat.html . I used half of a skein of Ella Rae Classic - ok actually I weighed the ball after I knit the hat and there was only 45 grams left- so it took more than half. After you felt the hat, you must mix up some white glue and water and smear that paste on the ears. See the coat hanger on the desk in front of me? While at work, the hat was hanging by its ears in my locker.
So if you look closely at my left eye, you can tell that something funny is going on. For those of you who don't know me, it is not normally like that. In the middle of the night before this picture was taken, I was awoken by the terrible feeling of having something terrible in my eye, a log really. Well I got up and went into the bathroom but I couldn't see anything in it at all. But when i closed that eye, it hurt sooooo badly. So the first thing I did was think "what would they do at the hospital?" Its kind of like WWJD, but totally different. So I spent the next couple of minutes flushing my eye out. That didn't work at all. So then I thought "what would my body try to do?", also not like WWJD at all. Homeostasis, that's what our bodies are doing all the time, trying (and doing a very good job) of keeping our body functioning normally within certain guidelines. And by guidelines I mean something else but I can't come up with a better word at the moment. Anyway homeostasis is a delicate game of balance and its just great. So I thought, if there was something in my eye, my body would try to get it out on its own, by using tears and the like. So I went and sat on my couch and watched an episode of Scrubs (the sixth season) and held my eye closed with a finger or two. I have lots of faith in the human body. Well, the show ended twenty two minutes later and I opened my eye- and the log, the invisible log, was gone! So I went to sleep. When I woke up the next morning, my eye was as it appears in the photo above.