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Showing posts from May, 2007

No Quilting, Just Knitting...

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So, this is the state of affairs to date. In the center are the two pairs of socks I knit in Australia (well, I finished the second brown/purple/gold one on the plane and in California), below them the wonderful Koigu's, knitted on 3mm bamboo dpns. I tore through these, because the yarn was so wonderful to work with, and the pattern, from Sensational Knitted Socks, (the Baby Cable Rib), was a dream to knit. And then there are the yarns, needles and other books I've picked up since I got here. Keep in mind that when you see one skein, there are actually two of most, since that's what it takes to knit socks. The dark turquoisy-blue at the top middle is Wool of the Andes from KnitPicks, and there are 11 skeins of that for a sweater. The lighter turquoise sock on the needles at top left is giving me fits. First toe-up sock, and the wraps for the toe and heel are NOT fun. I think I'll stick to cuff-down from now on. That's Crystal Palace's Panda Wool, a bl

Springtime in California...Pretty!

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Enjoying the lovely spring in the Bay Area, and feeling like there's something I haven't done. Oh, yeah, I’ve been tagged by Jane Ann to reveal some random facts and idiosyncracies about myself (moi, idiosyncratic? Nah!) and am finally finding a few minutes to post. 1. I was a professional ballet dancer in my earlier years, a founding member of Oakland Ballet in 1965. We performed in the Bay Area and toured around the Pacific Northwest. Sadly, the company became defunct last year. Being a member of a touring company is an interesting state of affairs: fun, nerve-wracking, infantile at times, satisfying and thrilling at others. I really enjoyed these years of my life. 2. My internal temperature control is set on a hair trigger: 68 degrees F. is just right. 65 degrees is freezing, and 73 degrees is boiling. Just ask my DH! He also says my speed tolerance is too fine-tuned: 65 mph is fine, 63 and I start asking if he’s zoning out, 67 and I wonder what’s the hurry. I think I have

Are We There Yet?

I'm seeing lines, lines, lines in front of my eyes! Will this blasted quilt NEVER end? I tell you, a king-size quilt that's quilted with straight lines on the diagonal every inch and a half in both directions, requires a LOT of lines! I'm working several hours each day on it, and it never seems to get any closer to being finished. I'd hoped to have it quilted before we leave for California on Sunday, and in a fit of optimism took an hour or so yesterday to cut the binding, stitch the WOF pieces together on the bias, and iron the whole binding in half, ready for sewing onto the quilt...NOT! Sigh. In between times, I rest my back and shoulders by knitting on some socks. Finished the Jaywalkers, which I love, and started another pair. Loved the yarn, hated the fit of the finished first sock, so this morning I frogged it and started over. Hope the airlines will let me take my bamboo dpn's onboard. That would be a good 13 hours of solid knitting on the flight to