Yum

I was doing the dishes a couple of nights ago and caught this. Very pretty.

Last night's jam session netted 10 pints of strawberry jam, from one flat of berries, plus strawberry shortcake and enough berries left to do a sauce for cheesecake. The best compliment of the night? "When I move out, I am going to have to come back home to make jam and applesauce. The store kind is gross!!"

New Yarn Shop

Just blocks from dance class a new yarn shop has opened it's doors to the public today!! YEAH, go Twisted!! I just love the name. It's all about yarn and yet it could have just this sinister edge to it. We bought two skeins of Zen String, Blueberry Pie which is purple and brown, and Jamie which is several shades of blue and turquoise. Very pretty!! Then we hit Dublin Bay, but the owner wasn't in today so we'll go back in a couple of weeks to see her. She wants to see my finished sweater and a bag that Kim designed on her own. After Dublin, we found the coffee shop to buy some special local coffee for a friend. I actually found a parking spot right in front of the shop, during LUNCH HOUR!! Headed for home, bought a flat of strawberries and plan to make jam later tonight. Yum.

What does this mean?

Ok, I just want to make sure I understand this correctly.


"Professional means anyone who receives pay from a vocation or hobby for an item in which they are entering."


This means that if I enter something that I am getting paid to make, I become a professional. Correct? So, I can enter something I have made, but not made for pay and be considered the average Joe? I just have to be clear on this.

Roxanna, I am expecting you will know what I am looking at............:) Anyone else want to guess what I am doing?

A few Pictures

I took very few pictures at Black Sheep Gathering. Not enough time. I had a great time helping out at the BMFA's booth. It was a long weekend, and it shows on how I am feeling this week, as well as Kim. It was entirely overwhelming for her.

These guys are Blue Face Leceister. I don't know if that's how it is spelled or not. I met the gal who raises them. I was just trying to get some pictures to show on the blog, but she thought I really liked the sheep. :) They do produce some wonderful fiber.







One view across from us.


Our booth.

Our booth.



Another view across from our booth.

I bought a spinning wheel. It should be here on next Tuesday. It is a Baynes, from New Zealand, and I did test it at the Pacific Wool and Fiber booth. Kim tested it as well and is just itching for it to get here. She keeps asking when it will come. That's a good sign. I'll be signing up for a class at Northwest Wools. I've taken a spinning class with Laurie before. She is really good at teaching. I saw her on Sunday and let her know about our new wheel. She said she would help me get it oiled up and ready to spin.

I'm knitting. I have 3 pairs of socks on the needles. One is a test knit, and I am probably 2/3 of the way done with them. Very cute!! Then there are my 4th of July socks, about the same spot (2/3), and the new club package from BMFA. I'm just barely started on that one, and only one right now. As soon as I get about 3/4 of an inch into it I will start the second one and put them on one needle. I really like doing magic loop both at the same time. It makes it so my socks match in size and gauge.

At BSG, I bought three things of roving, lots of purple in all three, one of them is pencil roving. I also bought soap from FogWash in Yachats, and skeins of alpaca dk weight from Pacific Meadow Alpaca. I wanted some special lace weight from Mckenzie Alpacas, but she didn't have any this year. Oh well.

Sweater pictures

So, I am mostly done with my lilac colored sweater. I say mostly because I need to sew on 2 buttons and I might rip some of it out. If I decide to redo part of it, it would be the collar and button bands/buttonholes. I don't know yet. I'm going to wear it for awhile and decide in another week or two. It's not as fitted as I wanted it to be, but a few tucks/darts here and there might help it. I love how it feels, it is so soft, and I love the buttons!! I didn't get a good photo of them, but they are almost the same color as the sweater, with a cluster of inset ivy leaves, kind of a cream color. The way they are iridescent makes me think they might be abalone or something like that. No sun out today, that's why I am in the bedroom taking this picture.

Chipmunk Cheeks

Isn't he cute? He looks just like my son with those puffy cheeks.

Yesterday was an interesting day to say the least. John had his wisdom teeth removed. Wow, they really do a number on you at this office. They totally knock you out and are done in less than an hour and send you home still woozy and wobbly. He spent all day in the recliner, mostly sleeping. I didn't hear him at all during the night, so he must have slept fairly well. When I checked on him this morning at 6:30, he'd been awake for at least a half hour with the itchies. He may be allergic to the antibiotic, so when I called the office this morning they said he didn't need to take it, it was just a preventative in case there had been an infection. Today he's up and on the computer again. Yeah for that. I didn't think I would ever hear myself saying that, but after seeing him out most of yesterday, I am thankful he feels like playing computer games.

I am so close to being done on my sweater!!! I am up to the collar now. I will have to go back and buy one more button. I put my button holes 2 1/2 inches apart, because that was how far the bottom ones were, not realizing there was one on the collar as well. I bought the buttons at the Button Emporium in Portland, so the next time I am in, I will stop by there. She should have them, I think she had at least a half dozen left after I bought my 10.

Knitting Philosophies

Grandma, last summer, looking over the shawl I was making in feather and fan stitch. Boy I miss her.

I'm catching up on old podcasts from Brenda Dayne and Cast-On. This episode they spoke of knitting philosophies. One of the things that came out is that people knit for relaxation. I have heard that twice now in the last week, and I don't totally agree with it.

People knit to relax, well I don't, at least not most of the time. I'm selfish, I want that sweater or new pair of socks.

My knitting never started as a relaxation practice. I started knitting because I needed something to fill my hands while I waited for my kids in their activities. It has grown to desiring the product at the end of the process, not necessarily the relaxation, though that does come in now and then. I love the colors, I love how the stitches look, I love wearing something I have created myself, I love seeing someone else wearing something I have made especially for them. I knit now because I want that end product, the socks, the sweater or scarf. So many pretty yarns, why waste them on something I am not going to wear or give away, just to relax. I guess you could say that I knit as part of a race, a race to get to the end of the object so I can wear it or send it to a special home. I also knit for my grandma. She taught me to knit when I was a child, and I continue to knit because she did up until the day she went into the hospital. I knit because it brings me closer to her. I think about her often as I am knitting, thinking, oh wouldn't grandma like this, or I need to show this to her, then remember that I can't.

So, what is your knitting philosophy? If you want, leave me a comment or direct me to your blog if you post it there.

Hi Alice, I'm glad you stopped by!! I was thinking a lot about you last week!

Hats

If you've read Yarn Harlot today, you'll see me in the second to the last photo on today's post. I was the "hat lady" for Portland. The hats are going to go to Outside In a local shelter for homeless teens and young adults. We ended up with 29 adult hats and 11 baby/toddler hats. That was a great job!! (see the little orange/black hat on the left side of the picture, Roxie was working on that during the talk and finished it before the talk was done. Thank you Roxie.) Though embarrassing during the moment she called me to come to the front. Thank you to the red hat lady as well. She must have put 6 red hats into the basket as I passed by her. I left the basket and quickly escaped back to my daughter. We got a good spot in line, maybe 20 or so from the front, then we sat to the side to wait until the end to take the hats and photos. It was great watching everyone come up to meet Stephanie. You see all kinds of bloggers that you only recognize from their blog names! We had a great time, though can't imagine how she does it. We were exhausted last night and still today!! She must have a lot of energy. And how does she know I collect spoons? I know it's in my last blog post, so that must tell you something about her, she reads blogs when she can!

If you notice in the photo that Stephanie took, I am not wearing a purple sweater. :( I didn't get it done because I got frustrated with the button bands. It was so close!! I guess I could have worn it with the 1/2 band pinned on. Boy wouldn't that have looked nice. It's kind of funny because when I googled buttonbands, one of Stephanie's posts from 2004 was in the top 5 hits!

Oh, something interesting happened to us after leaving Stephanie and Tina last night as we all headed to our cars. This good looking young man was walking the same direction as Kim and myself, held the door for us to get into the building where the parking garage was and asked if we had been at Powell's? We said, yes (I'm carrying the basket of hats), and he said he had heard all of the noise and come to investigate. He enjoyed listening to Stephanie's worries about hairless sheep and blights and such. He knew we were having a good time. His next comment was, "So, knitting must be a great HOBBY." I almost choked and looked at him a little funny. My reply, "No............" His, "Oh an obsession then?" "Yes, that would work." I didn't remember the really good comeback until we were in the van. "No, it's a lifestyle." I hate that!! I wish I was a quicker thinker on my feet!

So, the only pictures taken last night came out really blurry, except one of Stephanie signing Kim's newspaper. And one long distance one of the guy introducing Stephanie.
















I did finish a pair of socks this week or was it last week? I don't know, my time has all run together lately.

Mystic Sea socks from the Sock Camp wildlife cruise. Pattern by Cass White, yarn by BMFA, in the colorway LunaSea. One mod, that was to go down just a couple of stitches once I got past the heel, so it would fit my foot better. I was able to continue the pattern fairly easy on down the foot.


I have a full week, work, oral surgery for the son after finals are done this week, and who knows what else. Hopefully a done sweater!!

A Joiner Swap

I joined the Knitter's Virtual Vacation Swap. What fun!!


1. If you could visit any state in the US, which would it be and why?
I think I would like to visit Vermont, to see the maple syrup trees.


2. If you could visit any country in the world, other than your own, which would it be and why?
There are too many that I would want to visit, but probably first would be Australia.


3. Have you ever driven across several states/providence/countries?

Yes, from Oregon to Canada, and from Oregon to Arizona, and as a kid, from California to Minnesota.


4. Have you ever visited someplace you consider exotic? Where was it?

Mexico when I was in 10th grade for a girl's club trip. It was just for fun, no mission work was involved on that trip.

5. What was your favorite "travel" vacation? Why?

So far, it would have to be the trip we took in 2003 or 2004 to AZ, we saw many, many National Monuments and Parks along the way including the Grand Canyon and Utah. I think in the end we counted that we had visited at least 20 National Parks or Monuments.


6. Have you ever played tourist in your own home city/state (if international, country)? Explain.

State, yes. We like to camp and visit the National Monuments in our own state as well. I also like to check out the touristy shops when we visit the coast.


7. Are you a museum visitor, beach comer or an amusement seeker?

All of the above.


8. What's your favorite type of yarn?

Anything soft

9. What's your least favorite type of yarn?

Rough yarn, squeaky acrylic, and mohair.


10. What items do you like to knit/crochet?

Socks and sweaters so far.

11. What do you pack, knit/crochet wise when you go on vacation?

Whatever the current project is as long as it isn't too difficult, plus at least another two in case I get bored with the current project.


12. What other crafts do you do/would like to do other than Knit/Crochet?

Beading and quilting.


13. Are you allergic to anything? (Yarn wise or treat wise)

Mohair and cigarette smoke.


14. What is your favorite color? Least Favorite?

Purple and all other colors. Least fav is orange.
15. Sweet or Savory (Treat not personality)?

Sweet

16. Anything else we are forgetting to ask that you think your partner desperately needs to know?

When on vacation, I collect spoons. If a friend is going someplace cool, I ask them to bring one back for me. My grandma started me on this collection and it has grown, not as bad as my yarn collection though.

I have asthma, so cigarette smoke and heavy perfumes bother me.