A bunch of FO's

I've been knitting up a storm. Since starting work at The Knitting Bee, I've been trying to finish a bunch of projects. These first three are ones that I've actually started since I started at the shop. 

Vintage Fremont by Jami Brynildson. This was the free pattern from The Knitting Bee during the Rose City Yarn Crawl. I dug through my stash and found some beautiful green Malabrigo Sock yarn. It was a fun, addictive knit. I've already started the next one with some dark Dream in Color Starry. 

Norwich from Berroco.com made out of Berroco Floret an acrylic and cotton yarn. This will be a shop sample. 

Just a silly Ruffle Scarf. I've never used and ruffle yarn before so decided I needed to try it out in case I ever had a customer come in asking about it. I used a yarn called Euro Yarns Broadway. Pretty purple and blue with the silver bling in it. I may never wear it, but it was a fun knit. 

This sweater I finished a long time ago, but didn't get a picture until this week.  Flint by Samantha Roshack. I used Woobu in Manly Yes, But I Like It Too. It's a perfect gray color. 

I have a couple of other hats I've made, but haven't taken pictures yet. Maybe next week.

Menus January 23-29

I've had two days out of the last week where I didn't feel absolutely like crap, so my menus are late, even though I had them done last week.

Sunday- Gluten free spaghetti with meat sauce, used ground buffalo and made sauce since most of them either have wheat or dairy in them.

Monday- Sushi, use smoked tuna, cream cheese, cucumbers, red bell peppers and rice.

Tuesday- Sniffle Stew, gluten free biscuits.

Wednesday- CP Apricot Turkey, brown rice, frozen mixed veggies.

Thursday- Gluten Free baked macaroni and cheese, Kim's version.

Friday- Baked Salmon with herbs, roasted red potatoes with dill and rosemary, green beans.

Saturday- Shepherd's Pie

I got Kim's February Lady Pullover done last night, but it's not blocked yet. She loves it! I also found a really cute beret using the same pattern to use up the rest of the yarn. I started my slippers for Stitches West today and they are so easy. I am almost done with one of them.

Finished a Vest

Nothing new here, knitting away all week, thinking of menu ideas now for the week. Will post those tomorrow.

I did finish the hooded vest as a test knit for Samantha Roshak. I went downtown Portland on Wednesday and found some clasps I am going to try on it. They are darker than the picture shows, they don't have the gleam on them.

It's hard to see the color here but it's a dark green with blue in it. Malabrigo worsted in Verde Azul. Oh, if you go to my Flickr account you can see both of the pictures I uploaded to Ravelry and see them bigger there to see the color a little bit better.

I am getting close to being down with Kim's pullover. I finished the front neckline this evening and have put the back stitches back on the needles and will finish that tomorrow. I still have sleeves to do, but we think we might do short sleeves, it depends on how much yarn we have left. It looks like half a ball at this point. We started with a full ball and made a good 3/4 of the sweater with it. I don't positively know what yarn it is, but it is a Blue Moon worsted, or dk.

Lily got a new toy this week. It's supposed to keep her mind busy trying to figure out how to get the squirrels (that look like chipmunks) out. She had fun with it the other night and was able to get one out. I see all three on the floor now, so need to stick them back in the stump for later. We are talking in both of them, but you don't need the sound on, we were mostly talking to Robert in the background. I'm loading the videos onto Flickr and it is sooooo slow getting them up.

This first one shows her playing with the stump, trying to figure it out.

This one shows her doing the same and finally getting one squirrel out.

Yesterday I made some yummy breakfast sausages from ground lamb, garlic, sage, salt and pepper. I see more of these in our future. They were easy and freeze nicely making a quick breakfast in the morning later.

I'm listening to a Sherlock Holme's book on tape. The Sign of the Four. I got two versions from the library, one is unabridged and not a super good narrator. The other one is an abridged version done by the BBC. I think that one will be better in forms of voices they will use. :) It is in preparation for a Victorian Writer's club package from Woolgirl. The first one is Sherlock Holmes. We (as a group) are reading a book from each author before that shipment. Should be fun.

Lost

I know, I have been non-existent here. I'm sorry. I've thought about blogging, then realize I really don't have much to say. I am going to try harder though.

We have had a lifestyle change at our house over the last two months. It's been hard, though not impossible. I don't remember if I said much when Kim went on an allergy friendly diet. She went gluten free, mostly dairy free, chicken egg free, and peanut free. There were some other things in there too, but these were the biggest ones. That was around Thanksgiving of 2009. She has done really well on this diet and rotating her foods through so she isn't eating the same thing every day. This last fall, the other three of us did an allergy panel as well and found that most of the same things we needed to avoid. Gluten, milk and chicken eggs. We did switch to duck eggs last year, mostly for Kim, but now two of us have found we can't tolerate them either. :( Eggs are such a great protein for us and this is hard to get rid of. If you look at any of the good breads that are out there in the gluten free world, there are eggs in them. We have been trying to make bread at home and just haven't gotten it right yet. Soon I hope. We really miss bread. Good protein breakfasts are hard now at our house since the eggs are out. Anyways, enough whining on that. I will try to post some recipes once in a while that we have found to be good. We did come up with the most awesome chocolate chip cookies that taste exactly like the ones we made before going gf. Today Kim is in the kitchen with some gf oats and I don't know what else. She's making something that I am sure will be tasty! She likes experimenting even if it fails.

On the knitting front, I've done quite a few things for the BSD (Beaverton School District) Yarnfest. It goes to help out the 1600+ homeless kids in our school district.

I've also been working on several sweaters. My Traveling Sweater that I started in Ireland is still only about 1/2 way done. I've got 3 other sweaters on needles as well. 2 for me and 1 for Kim. One is actually a test knit that I am almost done with. Deadline is Tuesday and I have to sew the pockets on, weave in a few ends and block it. It is a hooded vest/cardi for Knitquest. She has been designing a lot of sweaters lately and I love it!! Sam is a friend from the first year of BMFA Sock Camp. I joined a group on Ravelry called 12 in 2011. We are making our way through some of our stash, queue and patterns that we already have, so one of my sweaters in the February Lady Fitted Pullover for Kim. It is in an amazing green that will look good on her.

Other things I will be doing in regard to knitting, going to Stitches West in Santa Clara, California in February! I am taking three classes in hopes of preparing myself to do more tech editing of knitting patterns. Two of the classes are actually on tech editing and one is on designing your dream sweater. I actually have a drawing of a sweater I wanted to make several years ago and I think I have a picture of a sweater/vest that I saw in a store a couple of years ago. I am excited to go. I'm taking some extra time to spend before and after with my parents as well.

Oh, the other thing I am doing, I signed up for some writing classes through the Community Education at the local community college. Those start in about 10 days. I signed up for three classes, but they aren't all at the same time. They do overlap a few days on each one, but for the most part they will be by themselves. They are all online as well, so I don't have to commit to being "in" class every session.

Christmas 2010 of Kim and Lily. It almost matches last years picture.

Christmas 2009 Kim and Lily.

I thought I'd be Knitting Today........

But, I have been on Ravelry most of the day. Exploring, adding stash items, completed projects and just spending way too much time on there!!

I did spend all weekend knitting on the Indigo Ripples Skirt from IK Spring 2007. I saw the skirt in person at Black Sheep this year and just loved the way it looked. I am about half way through the lace section, then there is a ruffle to do. I am doing it in Knit Pick's Cot-Lin, Nightshade, but have some Royal Plum for a second one. I started this on Thursday morning, and have really enjoyed knitting it!!


We have an apointment with the Oral Surgeon this afternoon to figure out why John's jaw is sore. It kind of sounds like TMJ, so we aren't sure which direction to go with it. The pediatrician wasn't too much help last week, and the regular dentist told us to start at the ped's office.

A Day in the Life Of..........

This is how my day was spent. Bits and pieces of each project. None of it finished, either.









My throat is hoarse from this one, and we still have 13 chapters to go.


Fire on the Mountain, Sheep2Shoe kit from BMFA. My uptake needs some help I think.

Summer Days of Fun

Updated, I thought I had added the photo of all of the socks and I can see now that I didn't. Oops.

We ran to the fair this morning to see what we could see!!! Just a quick trip though, I think I'll go back tomorrow to see more. All of today's pictures are courteous of my new camera, which I think I LOVE!




Lookie at the 1st place ribbon on Kim's bag!! Her own design!!

My socks received 2nd Place, which was actually a little disappointing because they had a pattern, lace even, and the other socks were plain vanilla socks, except the Rock N Weave on the far left. I can see the argyle getting a blue, but not the ones on the front row that are just plain except for the yarn colors. I'm not really upset by it, because I am so tickled that Kim got a blue ribbon!!


Ok, I think the Rock N Weave should have won something more than a 3rd! I am going to have to go back now and see which category each sock was in.



Then we headed to downtown Portland for the Oregon Brewer's Festival. Drinking beer is tiring!! Actually, I just take sips from each kind. I don't like beer too much, so a little sip to see if it's something I would even consider drinking. A lot of them were good!! Several were nasty, too hoppy, or one had a molasses and heavy alcohol flavor. I prefer the malted taste instead. We had a good time, the weather wasn't too hot, and if it did heat up, the breeze from the river cooled us off. We went yesterday afternoon, just Robert and myself, then today Kim came with us. She loves the rootbeer garden. Kids and designated drivers get free rootbeer, orange cream and vanilla cream floats. The orange cream was to die for!!


Random images from the festival.







There's a guy in a kilt there, the one in the middle of the three, with his shirt unbuttoned. I learned after the fact that my camera could have done a REALLY GOOD close up. Oh well.


This is how I learned it could do a good closeup. This was a good 8 feet away from us. It was cute watching two little brothers, probably 3 and 4 playing with their Thomas the Tank Engine trains. We still have ones like this that John adored when he was little.



No MS3 pictures or any other knitting. I have been plugging away on the knitting, but I either can't show you, or it's not very interesting. It's almost like I got stuck on this last clue for MS3. I've only gotten through 22 rows. I was too busy all last weekend into the week and finishing the week. Bad knitter!

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.

More pictures

Thank you to Suz and her husband for identifying the coral looking cactus. They are pencil cholla.

A different set of windfarms on I-10 between Palm Springs and Loma Linda. These are just so neat. Some are small and others are huge!!










The ones below are actually pretty small, even though they tower over us.




This was the main reason I wanted to go to Southern California. If you notice, this is a double headstone. Or it should be........I didn't think about going back to the office to ask when the etching would take place. We had thought it would be done by now.




Just below the headstone above, is this little placard that does have grandma's name, date of birth and death and age on it. Still, I was very disappointed.




Sun and shadow play on the desert.

This is the highest point that you can drive to and easily walk to in JTNP. Looking south, it looks out into the valley and Palm Springs should be down there. To the west there is a pass that brings the smog from the LA area. YUCK!!


I didn't realize that JTNP was a rock climbing haven. When we were there two years ago, we only saw the other side of the park, this time we went in a different entrance and encountered the rocks and climbers. My dad was a climber over 18 years ago, before his health took him in a different direction.

I was having fun with the different settings on my camera. Because of the sun, I couldn't see how this turned out until later when it was on the computer. If I had thought about it, I would have continued playing with the B&W settings more.

I thought this was cool how the sun was hitting the rocks.

I finished my Titania's Revenge on the drive down. I think Thursday afternoon. I made a few modifications to the pattern, just in decreasing stitches which in a couple of spots messed the cable pattern up, but they still look nice. These are made out of the Titania colorway from BMFA and the pattern is by Cookie A. They are from the Rockin' Sock Club last year.

I finished my block on Saturday afternoon and promptly cast on for a pair of socks for Kim, but I STILL have not taken any pictures of them. I am through the heel on one of them and just starting the heel on the other.

This is one of our stops that is always made on our way home. It is right off the freeway in Redding. In California, you can buy alcohol of all kinds, in the grocery stores, here in Oregon, it is just beer and wine. You have to go to a specific liquor store if you want something else. Anyways, this place has everything in one store for very reasonable prices.

This is just a couple of the bottles that we bought. They had the Baileys mint and caramel which we can only find up here around Christmas time, if the stores haven't been sold out. We have never had Frangelico, it is hazelnut and it is yummy. All of these are really good in hot cocoa, or with a little cream and ice.

This is the cindercone by Mt. Shasta. One of the pictures that I didn't take on the way down was of Mt. Shasta. It was clear and you could see the mountain perfectly. It's usually clouded over. I think there have been only two times that we have ever seen the mountain without clouds around it, last August was one of them, this trip down was another. When we came back you could see nothing. We have also never seen snow on the cindercone!!

We had snow coming down from Dunsmuir to Weed, about a 20 mile distance. Then as we headed up the Siskiyous there was more snow. On the California side, it was sunshiney and snowing, once we hit the summit and the north side, it was foggy and cloudy like this. I tried to get a picture of our temperature gauge, but I couldn't get it to come out. The low coming down the Oregon side was 33 degrees F.



Summit of the Siskiyous.

The next day at home, this is what we encountered. Spring had sprung while we were gone.

The grape hyacinths smell like honey and have taken over the yard.

Playing with the sepia setting as we are flying up I-5.

Playing with the B&W setting as we are flying up I-5.

This week when I emailed my uncle, he said there had been snow in Yucca Valley on Wednesday!! I think we left in the nick of time!!

Finished Items

Project Spectrum: My color is Gray, and a little bit of Blue.

This block is about 9 inches tall, it took one skein of Wool of the Andes to get there. I need another 3 inches, but blocking it won't pull it up that much. I will pull out to the sides though to make it 12 inches across. It is an easy 6 stitch cable, much like the hat below.



Here's John's finished hat. I took out one cable section. It could stand to be about 4-6 stitches bigger, but when he tried it on the other day, it seemed to fit just snuggly.

Tada!! We threw it in the washer last night for two heavy duty cycles. It came out perfect. I think the straps are a little long, but Kim says she's not done growing, so it will work for her.

With the MP3 player in it!!
Have a super busy weekend ahead of me!! Tonight Kim and I are going to a jewelry party for a friend. Mostly just to be present, but who knows, I might see something I like. Tomorrow morning, we have a 10:30 preview of "Bridge to Terabithia". Kim really wants to go to that, so the two of us will. I really hope we get in though. The tickets say that they purposefully over book these events, and you may not get in. Then we will stop for lunch somewhere and go to Mabel's Cafe for a small knit-together. I set up and sent out invitations to several groups, so I am hoping we won't be the only ones there. Sunday, I have a class on flower-arranging and need to get the other child to a birthday party. Fortunately Monday is an easy day, with one Drs. appointment in the afternoon. I really need to clean house today and I keep putting it off. If I could at least get the vacuuming done, it would help.