CaliforniaGirlinOz (now just California Girl)

Well, I'm back from Stitches West, which was unbelievable. I think I wandered around in a daze for the best part of four hours, unable to focus on anything in particular. Feeling like a kid in a candy store, I just couldn't bring my mind to what I should buy...amazing! Eventually, I did find some gorgeous things. Here's Tactile Superwash Merino Sock Yarn in Aventurine: And, feeling adventurous, I bought some Habu Wool Stainless Steel (75% wool, 25% stainless steel): And a skein of Habu Superfine Merino: My friend Margaret, in Oz, had contacted me this morning to see if I would bring her a couple of bits of Blue Faced Leicester so she could try spinning it. That helped focus my mind a bit, and Lynne ( Yarnivorous ) was a big help in keeping me on track to accomplish that goal. Thanks, Lynne! Here's Lynne admiring some gorgeous yarn in just "her" colors: And here's the BFL I chose for Margaret...first up, A Verb for Keeping Warm, in Color #9: Next, ...

What fun! Having 3.5 wheels of leftover Unspun Icelandic from Schoolhouse Press in the great color, Sumac, I decided to try Elizabeth Zimmermann's Stonington Shawl (from Knitter's Workshop, maybe? I left my book at home). Actually, this was my illicit airplane knitting: you may remember the great Bamboo DPNs Scandal of last year...well, this time I decided to be smarter. I took my KnitPicks Harmony 5.5mm tips, tucked into my briefcase beside the pens and pencils. The cable resided in an outer pocket, all on its lonely. One wheel of yarn was tucked into my rollaboard. Once settled on the plane, well after takeoff, I assembled the needles, cast on, and during my sojourn in California I have been knitting. Today I paused to admire my brilliance in attempting a picot bind-off on the completed shawl/blanket, and here's what it looks like...cool, eh? And here's the unblocked shawl...er, blanket. We're going to leave it here in Oakland at the apartment, so we'll have ...

Well, dang! Looky-looky...see that blue bow? As I started blocking the wet pink alpaca shawl, I found a very large hole, getting larger with every gentle pat of the shawl. It was such a sickening sight, I couldn't stand even to take a pic of it for you to see! Instead, I grabbed a yarn needle and some yarn, gathered up every open stitch I could find, and pulled them into this bow. Now I've gone ahead and blocked the thing, and I'll worry about somehow sewing that spot in some not-too-obtrusive fashion when I'm finished. Grrrr! Can't even feel too sorry for myself, because I remember Bells had a similar experience recently, and someone else, too, but I can't remember who it was. Anyway, here's the nearly finished piece -- sorry for the poor pic. It's a very grey day outside, and pink alpaca doesn't show up very well against the pale blue sheet on which it's being blocked. In happier news, here is the scene when we visited our friends in ...

Look what jumped into my shopping cart at KnitPicks...two skeins of Imagination in the color Looking Glass, and two skeins of Felici in Tyrian Purple. These were supposed to be for socks, but...Imagination just wanted to be a scarf... And then, and then...my Peace Fleece (in Volgasippi Blue) and Beaverslide (in Dusty Clover) arrived. Peace Fleece will be the Acer sweater, and Beaverslide I'm not sure...was thinking of the Amanda cardigan from A Fine Fleece , but now I'm uncertain. I did also succumb to this DK weight Swish in Ash, because I've been wanting to make something in a superwash wool. But wait...there's MORE! The Yubina Cashwool and Cashmere I'd ordered arrived, too. That's the Cashwool on the left in the silvery blue (it's maybe a shade lighter in real life), and the gorgeous cashmere laceweight in the red violet on the right. Too cool... And, can you believe it? I finally got my blocking wires. Now all I have to do is find the intestinal fort...

Thought I'd check in, anyway. Guess who forgot to bring the camera to California. Grrrrr! Fortunately, DH will fly up tomorrow, and he's bringing it along, so I may have things to show soon. Having a great time just lounging around the condo, taking naps, going for walks, EATING OUT! And I've had a chance to see the grandsons three times...they are leaving for India with their mom tomorrow for three weeks' holiday (DS is staying home to take care of their kitties and keep the home fires burning), so I was lucky to have the time with them. We made bread together the other day -- the No Knead Bread recipe that's been all around Blogland lately. Have you tried it yet? Absolutely wonderful. In fact, since I learned to do it in mid-December, I haven't bought a single loaf of bread. And I've been shopping, of course. What have I bought, you ask? Well, my Yubina Cashmere Lace yarn in a silvery pale blue arrived and it's gorgeous, as well as the Cashmere-Si...

And here it is, in all its glory! Amazing how hard it is to photograph this color. It's not actually quite this red, but a rich mahogany browny russet. Hard to photograph, too. I stood on the bed to try to shoot down on it, and then scraped a huge piece of skin from the back of my heel when I tried to step down without standing on the blanket. The trials of photography! So now, I need to get serious about what's next. Nothing too complicated, since I only have a few days before I take off for California.

Another FO, off the needles! Doesn't look very promising, does it? Still very blob-like. Turned out to be 41 inches (about 100 cm, I think?) fresh off the needles. Took 3.75 skeins of Bendigo 12 Ply rustic, and I used 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 mm needles, depending on what I had available. Looks kind of like an amoeba, doesn't it? As you can see from this picture, taken on the (very bright) foam blocking mats, I gave it a pretty agressive blocking...up to 64 inches (160 cm, if my in-my-head math is correct). Not a very good picture, because I'm blocking it in the laundry where the light isn't very good, and the dark mahogany/redwood brown doesn't photograph very well anyway, and it's competing with the brilliant hues of those kids' foam mats. I'll post a pic of this in a more salubrious setting once it's dry. But I'm really happy to be finished. The binding off was extremely boring and time-consuming!

Woo-hoo! Finished, and aren't they wonderful? This was SUCH a fun knit..and very fast, too. Yarn is Pagewood Farms Chugiak Merino in Grape Juice, and the pattern is the Cable Twist Socks ...using that wonderful left twist: Following the example of Pat , I knit these with sock yarn, rather than sport weight, and they fit like a dream! So, I'm making good progress on the Hemlock Ring Blanket, following the charts from The Rainey Sisters and Brooklyn Tweed . This is knit with Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12 Ply , in the color Russet, a rich mahogany-redwood color. I'm approaching the end, although you can't tell from this picture: it just looks like a big blob...a common failing when trying to photograph a circular shawl while it's still on the needles. Only 4 more plain rows to go, and then the final border. AND...today I finished piecing the blocks for Katie Rose's Big Girl Quilt: These blocks are 9", and the sashing will be 2" with the cornersto...

What is this big pile of fabric and scraps, you may ask: Some you may recognize from the 10 Wishes quilt, but others are new. Yes, I've made a start on the Big Girl Quilt (i.e. queen-size) for Katie Rose. I've been so inspired by the lovely quilts Mary and her Heartstrings group have made that I decided to make one for Katie. Here's where I am -- two rows of string blocks made...four rows still unmade. I will sash these blocks with 2" sashing (don't know what fabric yet), making stars from the cornerstones (ditto). You can't really see the EQ design very well, I know...sorry. Here's a close-up of the first four blocks: Second four: Third four: It's really fun doing these. I love the colors...wanted them to be "girly" but not too bright. I will add a wide-ish border of some gorgeous fabric, yet to be discovered, I think. I'm also ratting through my WIPs and getting inspired to finish up the As Time Goes By quilt pretty soon. Of ...

OK, so there is not JUST quilting going on...there's also knitting. These socks are called Hedgerow, and the yarn is Cherry Tree Hill in a gorgeous dark turquoise blend. 2.25mm needles, as usual. Pretty, no? And I couldn't resist also casting on this pair of Cable Twist socks after I saw Pat's (the green ones in the pic). Original pattern calls for worsted weight yarn, but Pat did hers in that gorgeous sock yarn, so I rummaged through my yarn stash and lo, what did I find? This beautiful Pagewood Farms merino, in the colorway Grape Juice. Again, 2.25mm needles. AND...can you believe it? I finished this WIP...started in California before we moved Down Under, where it languished mostly, until last week. In the wake of the fast finish on the 10 Wishes quilt I decided to forge ahead and wrap this one up. Here it is in all its glory: queen-size, quilted, bound and on the bed, at last. (But not washed yet...just didn't have the energy or patience to wait for it t...

And here it is, in all its glory. Finished size is just over 50" by just over 60". And here are the wishes...first up, Spirit, Hope and Peace: Joy and Kindness: Grit and Patience: Grace, Love and Humor (though my Aussie friends tell me I've misspelled it!): Then there's the back: This was just such a fun quilt to make. I almost hated to see it end. BTW, DON'T embiggen these...you might be shocked at how really bad I am at free-motion quilting...