Starting to finish

It started with a post on a knitting list that Cozy Ewe was having a sale: 25% off all yarn. And Tom was going to Home Depot anyway...

Traveling Shells
While there I found the Spring/Summer VK. I used to have a copy which, along with several other items, I hope to someday find in the garage. But, just in case, I bought it. (Doesn't that assure that I'll find the other copy?) In it is Shirley Paden's Traveling Shells cardigan. It was calling to me again, so I swatched a couple of yarns and got the feel of the pattern again, but neither really was close enough to gauge, so I decided to pull out the UFO I'd started in San Jose.

In April, I pulled it out thinking I'd be clever and finish it as a vest, since the sleeve is one of the items MIA. If I'd looked closely I'd have seen the problem.

Later I thought I did.

But upon closer inspection, I realized the reason one shoulder was wider than the other was that I'd divided the fronts and backs wrong in the beginning. So here's my progress now.


Dressing Gown
So now that I'm on a jag to finish things, I've also pulled out my mom's dressing gown. I'm not counting on it being a Mom's Day present after all (there's always Christmas), but I'm going to plug away at it anyway.


Yarn
Oh, and I did succumb to some yarn. Luscious Artyarns Silk/Mohair. You can't quite see it, but the top hank has glitter in it. But it will have to wait.

More Spring flowers

Couldn't resist snapping the different colored hyacinth in the front yard.
  

Moebius

It took a while to finally get the pattern memorized, and when I got it in my head the möbius just flew off the needles...well not exactly "flew," but it did go much more quickly because I wasn't making mistakes that I couldn't sort out immediately. Trying to unknit the furry yarn was no picnic.

But the möbius scarf is done!


Now I need another lace project, though I really should work on some of the stockinette projects...

Happy Girl

Mandy likes the spring because, it's still cool enough to get some good smells, and there are more days when that wet stuff isn't hitting her back. Like the rest of us she enjoyed last weekend's pretty days. I don't think I'll get quite the smile today.
  

Spring flowers

What a difference a week makes. One of the many things I like about Oregon is spring. Temperate San Jose never really had a spring—at least not with the flowers. Last weekend it was technically still winter, but tell that to the flowers and blooming trees.


  

Another VK

It arrived yesterday—Spring/Summer 2007 VK. I set it on the stairs meaning to pick it up and peruse it immediately, but forgot. When I did finally open it up, I have to admit I was less than "wowed." However, on second inspection, I've decided, though it's not a terribly exciting issue, there are some things I'd like to make (just add it to the list.)

There's the lace. I like the top by Nacy Cassels, but it may the the entire outfit that really intrigues me. It's almost like a dress.

IF I can find yarn in my stash, I think my next lace project could be the Mari Lyn Patrick's jacket, though. I like that it's fitted in the back and it's a sport weight yarn, so would knit up pretty quickly, I think.


The Shiri Mor's short sleeved cardigan is also interesting because it is fitted. Jean Suzuki's wrapped vest is just different. And if I had a real job and the patience to do another stockinette project, I'd go for Margery Winter's suit.
   

Moderation

I almost didn't go. I thought if I go, I'll just be tempted, so I didn't print out the map to the Abernethy Grange where the Spring Fiber Sale was being held on Saturday. But after our weekly visit to Coffee Rush in Oregon City, Tom didn't want to head back home on such a pretty day, so I suggested the sale, and I thought I could find my way to the Grange. Tom already knew the way, so it was kismet.

The good news for a non-spinner is the number of sellers of spun yarn wasn't great. But I did manage to make one purchase. Baby Alpaca laceweight yarn from Sporfarm in The Dalles, Oregon.

The colorway is "Sea." Isn't it pretty?

Protecto Dog

It was another lovely spring day yesterday. Mandy was sitting on the patio soaking up some rays. So quick like a bunny I ran upstairs to get the camera. By the time I got downstairs her sunning moment was over and she was at the door.

Cody, on the other hand, was protecting us from the mean ol' lawnmower next door. Those lawnmowers really get his back up.


And for his efforts he flashed me the "Cookie?" look.

Sassy

That's the name of the bag I made. The pattern is one of many cool bags from Lazy Girl Designs and was pretty easy to make, in general. It would have been easier if I'd started with just quilt fabrics; the ultrasuede was fidgety. But I like the results. Both the silk and ultrasuede were leftovers from other projects.

More Lace

I'm still working on my mom's dressing gown, but stockinette is just so darn boring, so I had to spell the project with some lace. I chose the Möbius scarf from Arctic Lace because it's a 20st/4row repeat and I thought it would be easy to memorize. Rows 1 and 3 memorized, but I haven't quite put 2 and 4 set to memory. After a few false starts (I really hate the foundation rows...) here's what I have. The yarn is Crystal Palace Kid Merino and the project is so light it will be good to carry around...if I could just get 2 and 4 memorized.



I saw Lace Style in Elisabetta in Los Gatos and checked Amazon (where I'd preordered it in December) but it was still "preorder." A couple of days later, it was "in stock," but still no ship notice. After an email to Customer Service, the "in stock" was removed from the description page and my shipping had been upgraded to 1-day and it finally arrived on Saturday. I'm not as enamored with all the patterns as I was with the Scarf and Wrap Style books, but there are a few "must knit" (geez...how long is my list?).



  

Couldn't resist

I think I really should just turn off my email sometimes. I get an email from a yarn or fabric vendor and off I go. Sometimes the temptations are just too great.




Fabric Mart
I'm thinking the cotton/rayon tapestry would make a nice coat. I'm not quite sure what I had in mind for the embroidered polyester; it was just too pretty to pass up.




Mystical Creation Yarn
I've been admiring Mystical Creation Yarn for a while. I'm not quite sure how I ended up on their etsy.com site, but there I was trying to decide among the many, many gorgeous colorways. My lace obsession led me to choose the silk lace yarn in Purple Dream.

The colors, the sheen, and the fact they were on sale were the reason these were chosen. And I have to tell you the pictures don't do them justice—they are just vibrant.
  

March Birthdays

March is a big birthday month.

On March 4, I always remember my father, who passed away in 1995, just shy of his 65th birthday.

Tom's former business partner and his sister celebrate their birthdays this month. And it's the birthday month for one of the Fiberly Friends, Diane Egelston. All told there are ten people with birthdays this month in my calendar.

Dianne Rodway's birthday was earlier this month, but we waited to celebrate till Sunday, which happened to be Tom's birthday. We went bowling.

In almost 25 years of marriage, Tom and I have never gone bowling except for group parties. I'd forgotten he had a bowling ball (gloves and shoes) gathering dust all this time, but he pulled it out for the birthday outing, and we headed for Sunset Lanes in Beaverton (a non-smoking bowling center) with Dianne and John. Our bowling scores were less than stellar, though we each did have moments, and we had a great time. We followed bowling with dinner at Dessert Noir, where we enjoyed good food in rather generous portions.




Gifts
For Dianne, I made placemats and napkins out of dupionni silk and cotton, and made beaded napkin rings.

Tom was the recipient of four shirts (two made from fabric), 6 mugs, two books and certificate for another dinner out with Dianne and John.


I deviated from the dog theme and made a shirt from Three Stooges fabric, found at Over the Rainbow, but returned to the dogs, with the second shirt and mugs.











The non-fabric shirts were clever little plates that Dianne and John gifted Tom along with licorice allsorts candies, and the dinner certificate.


The mugs were ordered through Cafépress.com. There were a lot of really great images from different artists to choose from. Here's what Tom got. Click on the images to find even more.

Thank you gifts

My Adobe days are in the past, but I'm happy to say that I've stayed in touch with many of the people I met.

Makoto Miyata works for Adobe Japan. His visits to San Jose and Seattle gave me the opportunity to meet and get to know him.

Tom had been trying to remember the name of an album he'd had and lost during his move from Medford, OR to Sunnyvale, CA. Three weeks ago, it came back to him, after watching and episode of BBC panel game show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Farewell Fairbanks, by Randy Edelman. But it was only released on CD in Japan, and he couldn't locate anyone selling it here in the U.S. (Though I just found it at songsearch.com in a Google search.)

So I sent an email to Makoto, and, timing being everything, he found two listings on Yahoo! Japan. And now Tom has his CD. I'm not sure how much he paid because I couldn't find the second listing and Makoto wants a hamburger next time he's in the U.S. But that's always iffy: who knows if his schedule will allow him to have a hamburger with us?


But then, it's hard enough to make something for men here, much less a man in Japan. So my solution was to make a little poncho for his four year old daughter, Marika.







For her dad and mom (and her, too, probably), we found some too-cute truffles at Moonstruck Chocolates.








After sending out Makoto's package from the West Linn post office, we noticed that Bone-Jour Gourmutt Bakery & Boutique was open, so we stopped in for a visit. We had a nice chat with the owner, Cindy, and will be taking the dogs to visit after "puppy toes" (aka nail trims) at the Dog Club.

What am I working on?

I haven't been idle, and have done some knitting and sewing, I just haven't finished anything...at least nothing that isn't a secret.

WIPs include the dressing gown, a second Cabled Bolero/Shrug/Cape/Poncho—only smaller out of Lamb's Pride, Heartstrings Fiberarts Cat's Cradle scarf from the Koigu I bought at Madrona and the Shoji Screen Wrap.

Shhh. Don't tell anyone, but Sunday is Tom's birthday, so I've got to whip out a shirt or two in the next few days.

And all with a swollen tendon. (Will is still be swollen by the time I go see the hand doc in three weeks?)

Promenade

The first definition in dictionary.com for promenade is "1. a stroll or walk, esp. in a public place, as for pleasure or display." And that's what we did.

It was a day that epitomizes why we are still thrilled with our move to Oregon, two years later (officially in two days, as it turns out.) The sun was shining; it was a balmy 60 degrees and just beautiful. We opted not to go to Mary S. Young again, since neither we nor the dogs fancied another puppy shower. Instead we headed across the Oregon City bridge to the McLoughlin Promenade for a little walk.

In the short walk we viewed a bit of Oregon history from the bridge to the falls.
  

The dogs love their walks.


The treat on the way home.


And resting when we get there.


There was a little more to see on the walk, so check out thehudsons.com