the quacking fiber addict

Got food poisoning yesterday. Or, something like it. Mum and Emm and I all got sick within 3 hours of eating at Burgerville. *sigh* I also got to take copious amounts of Benadryl, because they use the same oil for french fries and onion rings. Not going there again.

All the Benadryl is making me sleeeepy.

But I was very excited (in a droopy way) to receive two parcels in the mail yesterday. One from Penny, containing ducky finger puppers to cheer me up (and cotton floss):


The other package was from The Loopy Ewe. I gave in and ordered one of their new CTH Sockitome skeins, in "Peacock":


Because I was feeling quite peaky, I didn't get much knitting done. I did, however, finally strap some steel to my backbone and grafted on the lace border to Mum's Oregon lace shawl:


After finishing that (and staring at the wall for an hour or two), I cast on a pair of Baudelaire, with my ShiBui Knits Sock, in "Orchid":


And, um, I'm sorry this post is so bare-bones. I'm still a bit peaky.

I went to the East Side Knitters Meet-up at Twisted tonight, even so, and met a bunch of cool knit-bloggers. The ride there was harrowing. The first connection I made was wrong (why am I in the boonies?) and then I accidentally got on the Knight Bus disguised as a Muggle vehicle. I swear to Hashem the bus drove up on curbs and made turns that are impossible within the Laws of Physics.

But, positive note - I arrived still-breathing, met lots of friendly knitters (already noted, I know), and didn't spend a dime on yarn. Food doesn't count. We (Aimee and I) have agreed to start a knitting group nearer to us on Tuesday nights. Mabel's Cafe & Knittery, 6 - 9 pm. Drop by if you're in SE PDX :D

I think that's everything. I'll do better tomorrow, I promise. Over and out.

Labels: baudelaire, cast on, lace, socks

What have I been up to these past couple of days? Oh, well, let's see...

Mum and I tried to start reupholstering her set of 8 Edwardian oak dining chairs yesterday (we spent the day before in Hell Depot and Jo-Ann's getting supplies). After a practice run on a very strange footstool (has anyone ever heard of cedar wood shavings being used as cushion filling??), Mum and I pulled out the first chair seat. "If we can get two of these done today, I'll be happy," she told me.


Only to find that the chairs were really well made - oak seat frames, dozens upon dozens of iron tacks, silk velvet upholstery, silk batting under the seats, linen broadcloth under the silk batting and then 4" of wool rag encased horse-hair filling the cushions. All afternoon yesterday, we'd pull up another layer only to find that the frame was that much further away.

"Mum, we're going to be lucky if we get one chair a day done!" She waved me off, determined to finish two chairs by 6. After a couple more hours of pulling out iron tacks, ripping off jute webbing and oil-cloth, Mum sat down, huffing.

"We're might not get this chair done today," she finally admitted.

And we didn't. After another hour or so, she and Dad finally agreed that we might just want to consider the possibility of making plywood copies of the frames (er, frame, as we've only managed to strip one) and reupholster them.

After that, we had to clean up quickly to meet with some old friends who were in town, visiting their son. Our families had been in the same congregation in MD, so they called us when they were flying this way. We took them to a truly authentic Chinese restaurant and then home for dessert. I snapped a shot right before they left:


Sooo, that should explain why I haven't made that much progress on the Mystery Stole (scarf in my case) 3 or le Tour de Fleece...


And why I ache all over and still can't get the dirt completely out from under my finger nails (arrrrg). What's that? Here's a close-up of the stole IP:


I finally went back to the evil that is known as Jo-Ann's this afternoon to get a magnetic board and line magnifier. Last night I managed to cut and paste all of the charts into one file and printed it out - just so I wouldn't have to flip back and forth between the charts for the L and R sides. Of course, the charts are now tiny and require a magnifying rod - which is fine, because it clips to the stand.

Project specs? I'm completely crazy, but still smitten with the bamboo. I'm using Addi 2.5 mm's (US 1.5) instead of the recommended 3.5 mm (US 4). My stole's going to be smaller than intended, but I preferred the look of the lace knit with the smaller needles. Oh, and I am mad in love with Addi Turbo lace needles right now.

I'm also sorry (and embarrassed) to have to admit that I'm further behind than ever in my bloglines subscripts. My laptop and wireless card just aren't up to the new LAN set-up we got, so I'm stuck using the family PC. 30 mins a day to check my email, Peace Corps status, and other web stuff is clearly not enough. Hopefully, I'll get the cash together soon (after I get a job) to update my little Dell.

Until then? *sigh*

Well, on the bright side, maybe I'll have more time to knit with less internet access.

Labels: family, insanity, lace, le Tour de Fleece 2007, MS3

“Thank G-d for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea.”
Sir Philip Sidney

Now, I'm not quite that devoted to my evening tea, but I do appreciate it. I'm brewing some chamomile/ spearmint tea right now, in hopes of it making me sleepy. And if it doesn't work, at least I really like chamomile, right? I wish we had some in the garden. I loved Brookside Gardens back home (D.C.) because there was this old English-style garden, and between the flagstones chamomile had been planted, so it was amazingly fragrant wherever you stood.

Back to our garden. I suppose even the most fragrant herb wouldn't have helped me today (the mystery herb didn't help, that's for sure) as I took out the most tenacious grass I've ever encountered. I also got out as much of the plum tree roots as I could (again, this thing's a weed itself!). It helped that the weather's been rainy the past few days, so the soil was loose.

I was muddier than an earthworm by the time I was done, but hey, the grass and roots were gone from one of the beds (two, now) - only two to go!

After that, Dad, Emm and I went on the Mad Sneaker Hunt of 2007. It wasn't quite as exciting or daring as The Great Apron Hunt of 2006, but it came close. I ended up with 2 pairs of Sketchers sneakers (my first new pair(s!) of trainers in, er, 3 years, I think). I also found some cute sandals. We ended up in Springfield (10 points to me as navigator) to find the second pair at a sister store.

In the end, it was Dad who suggested getting me the second pair - after we went through nearly every damn brand in the store. In European sizes, I'm a 37/8. But, in American, well, only G-d knows. I fit 6's - 7.5's.

Shoe standards?

I think not.

In Knitting News - I finally found replacement needles for this project:


And before you ask, no, I did NOT sit on it. I have absolutely no fricking idea how the needle ended up that way. I had it in my sling backpack, and I pull out the project to work on and... well, wow. I tried bending it back, but it didn't work. And I shall use it to poke the first person to suggest Viagra.

I'm gonna transfer the stole to the new needles tomorrow later today. And now my tea is cool enough to drink.

MMM... chamomile.

Labels: gardening/ weeding, knitting, lace

For a post, anyway. My stash belies that statement on general grounds. So, instead of a picture of my recent work, I present you with a picture of a woman winding silk, not spinning it (as the caption claims - seriously, does anyone see a quill attached to that thing? no) from a Chinese silk painting:


And, a quick update:

• I have cast on 431 stitches, and knit the preliminary row, for the border of Mum's shawl.
• I have maybe 2" left before finishing the back of the peacock pullover.
• The Queen of Cups socks have languished in my sack all day.
• I actually may have helped St M at TKS today. Some of the customers seemed less confused after I helped them, anyway.
• Thai food is yummy.
• Lapis/ Mr Fishy is doing well.
• Emmos and I are playing phone tag.

Aaand... that's about the short of it. I'm too tired (the workmen arrived very early this morning, added to the fact that Dad and I stayed up until 3am last night) to give you the long. Which, admittedly, you probably don't want anyway.

Labels: cast on, lace, update

“Rain! whose soft architectural hands have power to cut stones, and chisel to shapes of grandeur the very mountains.”
Henry Ward Beecher

Sachi was right. There IS a yarn store in Olympia. Unbeknownst to me, we had gone by it a great many times. Mostly because it's called Canvas Works I tended to ignore it:


Considering the large sailing community (and boat-making, as well), I had thought it was, well, you know, a store that sold canvas. Silly me ^_^ Another reason I hadn't given them a second glance is the fact that they're located in the more industrial section of town, see?, the neighbors:


Every time we walked or drove by, I was busy focusing on getting to somewhere more, ah, picturesque. Yes, I know, I'm shallow. But, if you look in the picture above, you can see the dome of the state capital building. Olympia is pretty small, and you can see the dome from nearly anywhere in town.

Anyway. I went into the store and tried not to moan. They had some exquisite yarns that I can neither afford nor find the space for. The sales lady (very nice, very helpful) immediately showed me to the sock yarns. I was a bit disappointed by their small selection (of sock yarns). But, that disappointment was quickly assuaged when I wandered into their book section. Oh... my. I didn't even know where to start. So, I let my eyes wander, and they immediately zoomed in on the lace books.

And do you know what I found?? A copy of Creating Original Hand-knitted Lace! OMG. I have been searching for this book for ... wow, over six months at least. Maybe a year. No one carries it. No one has heard of it. They HAD it. In hardback. At 30% off the price on Amazon. I snatched it up and tucked it under my arm, as I wandered the store some more. They also had a HUGE button collection (sigh), but I limited myself to buttons I needed. Specifically for baby T's wraplan. They had pink and green buttons that matched the yarn I'm using! (yes, I have the colours committed to memory, heaven help me). So, I grabbed 8 of them and then forced myself to stop looking, as I was over-budget already. I escaped with my finds (the saleswoman agreed that the buttons were squee!-worthy) and I nearly skipped home. Here's a pic of them on Mum's porch:


A last note on the LYS, Canvas Works. I really liked them, they were very nice. They had a great selection. I wouldn't recommend them for knitters on a tight budget, though. Their prices were a bit high. But, otherwise, I really liked them.

Relating to the title of this post. I did bring an umbrella with me. I didn't use it, because the wind was so high it nearly turned the poor thing inside-out. I just toughened up and tried to ignore the chill. On the way home, the rain and wind got worse, so I was extremely happy to arrive. Of course, 1/2 an hour after I had settled in, the rain stopped.

It figures.

Just like in San Fransisco.

I must have angered the rain (and wind?) g-ds at some point. Some sort of ritual sacrifice or something must be in order. Chocolate, maybe?

Oh!, in other news, my Hogwarts Houses Swap partner, Laural, received my parcel today! Here are her pix. And here's one of mine:


The hoodie: I painted and appliqued a Gryffindor crest (t-shirt) I had (it was entirely in greyscale and needed some colour desperately) to a hoodie, along with a House patch, and embroidered around the crest with red and gold floss (A and K were bemused watching me embroider during American Idol). The DPN case: made from faux-suede, lined with Indian cotton (don't tell Mum I raided her quilting stash, but it was the perfect colour!), and with velvet trim - I have to say, was really pleased with the whole thing, it came out so lovely and it was my first DPN case. I also included some Gryffindor coloured DPNs I found at St Vinny's. The Canary Creams? I couldn't resist. And the yarn I got at Full Thread Ahead.

I'm so pleased because the hoodie fits Laural perfectly, and she seems to like everything else. Yay!

Labels: craft swaps, lace, LYS review, travel, wraplan

The tones of gray, pale turquoise and pink will prevail.
Christian Dior

Aside from it being my favorite colour, I'm tickled pink by this photograph TheBon took whilst battling my ancient digicam:


It's always nice to know that it is it and not you. And to prove that some adjectives just don't fully express the absolute dejected nature of Eugenian winter weather.

Anyway. Today was interesting. Bon and I kidnapped St M from TKS for lunch today (we didn't make it far as it was quite nippy and I'm apparently more cold sensitive than I'd realised). At some point, on a chocolate run, Bon and I went outside (brrr) to take some "action shots" of the clapotis and lace mitts. I think I'm going to salvage my bruised pride (we shan't talk about my recent weight gain), by putting my favorite shot first:


Right before we dashed back inside, so I might regain feeling in my appendages, Bon took two pix of my lace mitts. I have to include them both cuz I'm just crazy that way, and I like the angle of the first one:




Aside from freezing half to death and consuming too much chocolate (I assure you it was for medicinal purposes), I also helped Bon pick out yarn for Eunny's Anemoi mittens. She's gonna have the most kick@ss mittens ever. Seriously.

And, brownie point to me!, I actually managed to escape the yarn shop without buying yarn. I did buy a book (First Book of Modern Lace Knitting). I also looked through every lace book they had, and put 'em back. Including Victorian Lace Today (again, brownie point to me).

After that, things get a bit blurry. There was the Great Shiitake Hunt of 2006 and a very scrumptuous dinner, the preparation of which lead me to fall in love with Ariel wine. G-d help me, it's good. It's also non-alchoholic, so I can actually keep it in the house.

It's 4 am. I think I'm going back to sleep again (not enough sleep last night and what could be construed as a long nap later make for a weird schedule).

Labels: finished object, lace

You know how the Harlot photographs everything with something she's working on? Well, I decided to try that today, as an experiment.

Here's the shrug (wink) at the Guild's termly potluck...


Damn them for bringing their too yummy organic treats. I was foolish and asked Emmos to photograph me in sakura afterwards...


Which doesn't seem like it was the wisest decision after all. Ahwell. Live and learn.

Donna asked for a copy of sakura's pattern when I've resized it, which made me happy.

I had all these things I was planning on writing, but they've escaped me. Toodles.

Labels: finished object, lace

Wonder of wonders, my shawl was dry this morning, so I brought it into Costume Construction to finish it and show it off (a promise is a promise). I then steamed it (bless the lab) and checked all my woven-in ends and, being secure, cut them off. I even emailed the Harlot, as per the pattern (laughing). Eventually, I asked Laura to help me document this momentous occassion:


Good job at the lighting, Laura ;)

I think the best part of the finishing was everyone assuming I was working on a class project. Most of the students didn't believe I'd made it. Heck, even my parents were amazed. Humans are weird sometimes. We can fly to the moon, but making something by hand is a mystery to most people.

So now, of course, I must do more lace. (I don't know where this urge is coming from, honestly) And, truly, I do like the sharper edge of the shawl w/o the border, so I'm happy. I just have to find occassion to wear it ;D

To satisfy this craving for lace, I'm currently drafting up two patterns - a travelling vines summer spencer, and a "Miss Lizzie Shawl" - for my May Knit the Classics project.

Anyway, after our brief stint in the sun and fresh air, we returned to The Dungeon (well, Laura ran back in 'cause she's Californian and it was under 60 degrees out... uhhuh). And, this is what I have to show for today:


Puck's trousers! Fully furred (maybe too much) and perfectly fitting. Sadly, S is thinking we might have to thin out the fur. Oy. Here's a view of the tail I want to put on Puck (and V, too), but S thinks black velvet is better. C'mon, the lime green fur matches his waistband!


D and I escaped The Dungeon early and rejoiced in this by getting ice cream and heading home (before the sun had set! oh, the wonder). I decided it was too lovely outside to go inside directly and sprawled in a neighborhood park for half an hour. Which was sooooo relaxing. Wow. What a strange feeling.

I took some pix of the amazing sky. I know it's Montana that's called "Big Sky Country", but I think Oregon has better horizons (and I've been to Montana). I'd never seen such spectacular clouds until moving out here.



And to give you context, the little green bits on that "hill"? Those are pine trees. And that's a butte, not a hill. I live down in the foothills of the Emerald Valley. We get some strange weather because of it. But our skies are amazing, too.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear some pink alpaca calling my name. Oh!, and I swear I haven't forgotten the sibling sweater set! I tried to get out my fair isle swatch to work on in lecture, but it was all tangled - one of my goals for tonight is to make it workable.

Labels: finished object, lace