CaliforniaGirlinOz (now just California Girl)

Tracy's purple Evergreen Socks are finished, washed and mailed off to her.  Hope they fit, and that she likes them: Several new knitting projects have jumped on my needles, too.  Not sure how THAT happened!  Finished one little scarf (that was supposed to be significantly bigger).  It will be a nice little neck warmer, but I'm always disappointed when the sizing doesn't work out.  Also working on a green sweater for myself, and a pair of red socks...pics soon. It's been pretty chilly in Mittagong (down to minus 1 C. a few times already) but still fairly mild during the day, so we decided to attack the garden here at the new house.  There was a huge old tree rose, Crepuscule, that was so overgrown and top-heavy it was in danger of blowing over.  We selected individual branches to remove, then tidied up what was left.  Hopefully we haven't killed it entirely, but Spring will tell... About halfway through the pruning, here's how the poor ...

Found some lovely MadTosh Merino Light at Knitterly in Petaluma yesterday, to start this gorgeous pattern for sister, Tracy: Evergreen Socks Can't decide between these two yarns: The top one is more purple (the color is called Flashdance) but also has more variegation, which might distract from the pattern.  The lower one has more of a red-violet cast, and also has subtle variegation, though not quite so much.  Sigh...I guess this is one of those cases where you need to do a swatch, huh?  I'm always so anxious to jump right in and get knitting.  Patience, Dianne!

Yes, Australia is still home for us, but we are continuing our peripatetic lifestyle, making about 4 trips to California each year for a month or so each trip.  Over the last 8 years, we have made do with a very small one bedroom condo in Oakland that we viewed as a sort of hotel-room-away-from-home, and it served us very comfortably and well.  Still, after 8 years, and realizing that our back-and-forth life will continue for some years, we realized we'd be a lot more comfortable if we had a bit more space to live in when we are in California.  And so, a few months ago, we bought a larger condo in the small village of Glen Ellen, in Sonoma County. This trip to California has been about getting the Oakland condo cleared out and ready for sale, and getting the Glen Ellen place set up as our new U.S. pied-à-terre...a comfortable place with room for occasional visitors, still near enough for Ross to visit clients in Silicon Valley when needed. Wednesday was the final t...

So, it's been yonks since I've posted anything.  I can't imagine where the time went, but there you are. A lot has happened:  We sold Devon Farm, moved temporarily to Lynwood Farm, and finally bought a place in Mittagong.  Moved there last week, barely got settled, and then hit the skies again for a trip to California..again. We continue the back-and-forth cross-Pacific life, though it is taking a little toll on us by now.  Maybe one day we will be all together in one place again! This post will be a trial to see if I still know how to do this, since it's been so long and I don't know how/if Blogger still works.  Should I be migrating this blog to another app?  Maybe someone will give me a clue... Just to try out the photo function, here are a few things I've worked on lately: First a pair of purple socks for DS, my own pattern, now completed:  And my first Hitchhiker scarf, in gorgeous Seasilk from Handmaiden Yarns: And here is a...

I think bloggers who don't post for ages are lame, and I plead guilty as charged.  It's been ages since I posted anything.  But!  Tonight's the night... I've started a new quilt for little Rory, who lives in London and is about 1 year old.  Every little boy loves dinosaurs, right?  And when I found this amazing fabric at eQuilter, I decided it was just the thing for Rory's quilt. So, I made a start, and here are the first two blocks: And I got inspired, and made all the star points, put together the first 12 blocks, and have the remaining 8 laid out, ready to sew together: And just to give you another little taste, here is a close-up of 6 of the blocks -- can you tell I LOVE these? Still working out the setting, but I'm thinking a simple horizontal setting, with 2" sashing, maybe in a wild print, with a contrasting color for settings squares.  And then either a triple border using some of the star point fabric, or maybe I'll find anot...

My cousin Joe reminds me that I haven't posted for ages!  Thanks for the little nudge, Joe... I think this photo says it all about why I haven't been on here: Yes, there's a jumbled up pullover on the left, with only the sleeves left to be knitted.  In the center are two books written by another cousin, Jeff Maulhardt, about my family's roots in Oxnard, California.  In front you see a stack of file folders, organized by my family's various surnames, and some notes...plus the obligatory cup of coffee to keep me going.  Yes, thanks to Mary , I've been bitten by the Ancestry.com genealogy bug!  So engrossing, entertaining, fascinating and obsessive.  Just what I need, one more obsession...no smart cracks, OK?! Meanwhile, out the window, winter is leaving us and spring is trying hard to arrive.  This morning is still very chilly, but here's how things looked a couple of days ago: Cloudy was ready to start his around-the-hard prowl, under the Manchu...

So I did get this shawl soaked and blocked and dried in time to wear it out for dinner last night.  First up, here's a picture of it blocking: It was BIG...ended up 80" x 45". And here's how it looked when I wore it: And the back view: Glad this one is finally finished, but I feel a little bereft!  Of course, I do have the pullover I'm working on, plus another shawl that's underway... We took a 2-hour walk today up into Mountain View Cemetery at the top of Piedmont Avenue.  This is the cemetery that was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who designed Central Park.  It was a glorious summer day and I took zillions of pics.  I think they will deserve a separate post. As Yarnivorous Lynne would say...anon!

I thought that knitted-on border was going to finish me off, but there's nothing like keepin' on keepin' on... Here's the finished product, even if it does still look like a large red puddle: Don't have the energy to tackle the blocking at the moment.  But I do have a nice glass of Zin poured and at the ready to celebrate! Tomorrow is soon enough for the soaking, blocking...and modeling!

We were delayed a day in leaving Australia because of the volcanic ash cloud that caused cancelled flights for a few days.  Bad news was we had to route through LAX instead of direct to SFO, but we arrived eventually, tired but ready for some summer.  Oakland was glad to oblige! I did some knitting on the train to Sydney, then gave it a rest for the flight.  The Red Highland Triangle Shawl is proceeding well and I'm knitting the edging now.  Fiddly, but effective.  Wanna see?  Of COURSE you do! The shawl still looks kind of like a big red puddle, but it will change into a dramatic, beautiful piece when it's blocked...I hope.  Here's where we are with it today. As you can see, there's a l-o-n-n-n-n-g way to go, so I'm taking a break and (surprise, surprise) starting something new: I bought this gorgeous yarn at Stitches West last year and have been itching to start something with it.  Now seemed like a good time...  I seem to be on a r...

Jetlag has me in its throes...asleep at 5PM, up at 1AM...what's a girl to do?  Why, funny you should ask! On the last trip I wore my greeny-brown Highland Triangle Shawl a lot and enjoyed it every time, so I decided to make another.  I can credit/blame Bells for my color choice...RED, RED, RED.  It's Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, which is the same yarn I used for the last Highland Triangle.  It suits this shawl very well.  Drapey, easy to wrap, not too heavy, a nice sparkle to the color because of the silk content.  This pattern, from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls book, is a dream to knit.  Daunting, at first, because it is such a large shawl, but the pattern is simple, logical, orderly and relaxing to knit once you have the hang of it.  As you see, I photocopy the chart and put it on a board with a rubber band to mark the rows.  I also highlight the pattern repeats to prevent getting lost if my mind wanders, and I use stitch markers on the...

We arrived back today after a very easy flight.  It was a busy trip for me, from a knitting point of view...lots of hats promised and delivered.   Here's the navy watch cap for Ross, finished, at last.  Forgot to take a photo of the brown one for Greg...need to get a modeled shot. And here's the brown Porom for Karine...need to get permission from her to post a pic of her wearing it! It looks MUCH better on her, believe me... And here's me wearing the charcoal beret I made for Rodnay.  Also need to ask if I can post a pic of him wearing it... I think I already posted pics of the Mink/Cashmere berets in blueberry, so I won't post them again.  But here's what I'm up to now.. First, a small triangle shawl, a Mystery Knit-along on Ravelry, pattern by Wendy Johnston.  This picture was taken shortly after I started, and now I'm only waiting for the final clue before finishing. And last, but not least, Anne Hanson's Crooked Walking Shawl is now underwa...

We've had a tough couple of years with our little furry friends, and the time has come to say goodbye to little Cassie: She was diagnosed with diabetes a few months ago, but had been responding quite well to her insulin injections.  We boarded her at the vet for this trip to California, so they could continue the insulin therapy.  Sadly, a few days ago she began to be quite ill, listless, not eating, and uninterested in her surroundings.  Investigation revealed a large mass in her abdomen, and this morning we got the news that the end had come for her.  They have been keeping her comfortable with morphine, a heated igloo, hand-fed treats when they could get her to eat.  But the time has come to say goodbye. Here's the little darling in earlier days, as a spry young cat in the Sierra Foothills, lounging on top of her favorite perch: Cassie was a stray, found wandering the streets of the small Gold Country town of Sutter Creek in 1997.  We adopted her ...