Harbor Cruise 2008

Today was our knitting group's annual harbor cruise and trip to Alamitos Bay Yarn Company.  I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Good people, good food & drink and....did I mention YARN?  Our captain this year, Fran, pointed out some things we had not seen before.  Luckily, not too much wine was spilled and I remembered the wasabi nuts.  Hope you enjoy the photos.

           Andy and Mendy                                                                                        Mario

                                          

                                                                               Thom

Hopefully, someone else got a shot of Rene and Larry.  I was sitting in the wrong place to get either one of them.  I didn't get a decent moon jellyfish picture this year...but I did get this sign that I didn't remember from our last trip.
Now for the stash enhancement shot you have been waiting for. You know there had to be yarn if we went all the way to Alamitos Bay. Everything except the Schaefer Anne was purchased at Alamitos...that was a drive by after leaving Mendy's.  

Bad, bad Susan!

Reflections on Knitting....

It seems that knitting has taken over my life.  Not a bad vice, mind you! I have made many new friends, learned quite a bit (a fraction of what I need to know before I become an accomplished knitter), improved my technology skills and traveled...all because of knitting. This all began innocently enough when my daughter suggested that I needed a new hobby when I retired and we took an introductory knitting lesson with Knitdad. That was the genesis of my downfall...just kidding.  

This week I finished the first Primavera Sock and cast on the second. Another project, the Seamingly Simple Vest, that has been languishing on the sidelines for longer than I care to mention-was seamed up with pointers from Knitdad on Friday. It is a quick knit and is destined to be a wardrobe staple this Fall. The yarn, Blue Moon's Twisted, was dream to knit.A friend from Sock Camp put a call out for test knitters for a hat she had designed and I responded.  I've not been a test knitter before....it should be fun!  The yarn and pattern are on their way.

Earl Grey Pattern Finished

Greg took a few minutes out of working on the craft room to pose in his just Kitchenered ebay-won Wollmeise socks. I was so anxious to be done this afternoon that I dropped a stitch and had to rip back about an hour's worth of work. That wasn't much fun but the yarn is such a pleasure to work with I shed only a few tears. Knitdad will be proud that I took my needles out and ripped back with abandon just past the missed stitch...and then reinserted my needles and reknit like the wind.

Wollmeise!!!

Yesterday's mail brought my latest yarn purchases-Wollmeise from the Loopy Ewe. After watching the website all day last Monday,they put the yarn up at 9PM Central Time. In less than five minutes, 300 skeins were gone! It must have been fun to watch from their end. I was thrilled to get my two skeins after skein after skein disappeared from my virtual cart before I could "check out".  After debriefing, I have rethought my shopping strategy and am ready to do battle for their next shipment. Bring on the Wollmeise.  The GA skein was to avoid shipping charges and it is a good, manly color. Greg likes the name, too.

Keyboard Buddy

I have been gifted Ganley the Hedgehog by a dear Fox's breakfast buddy, Devra. He was poised at my place setting when we walked in this morning, waiting patiently for us to arrive. Now he occupies a spot near the keyboard... 

Greg's Earl Grey Sock is coming along nicely. Can't wait to see my new Wollmeise purchases. They were paid for this morning and should be winging toward Altadena soon, accompanied by a skein of Great Adirondack in Cappuccino to round out my order to avoid shipping charges. Great excuse, no?

Wollmeise

The word on the street was that Wollmeise would be posted on The Loopy Ewe website sometime early this week. So, being obsessive and a compulsive sock knitter, I kept a laptop within reach while I was knitting Greg's Wollmeise Earl Grey Sock. Every few minutes I refreshed the screen. Then....Lo and behold, at 7PM (Pacific Time)....there it was! Sadly, I browsed too long and many of my purchases disappeared out of my cart before I checked out (less than 5 minutes later). Neither of the two items I managed to bag were my first choice.  However, I did score some Wollmeise.  Woot!  The colorways that I will have the pleasure of paying for are Indisch Rot and Zenzi. Before the bloodbath started, I managed to finish one sock up to the heel turn.  All in all, it was a fantastic sock-filled day.

Cool Sock Blockers on a Humid Day

The sock blockers arrived!  I have wanted some since I first saw them on the cover of Cat Bordhi's latest book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters, Bk. One.  A friend from the past two BMFA sock camps on Orcas Island, Chappy, sells them (her husband, John, makes them) through her website. They are really beautifully finished and well worth the money. You can have just about any image on top...hedgehogs, for some crazy reason appealed to me.

Jalapeños Anyone?

We are letting them ripen to see how they taste.  You rarely see red Jalapeños at the market.

The knitting group that I belong to has scheduled our annual "harbor cruise" and I can go!  I was concerned that it might fall when we will be out of town-but the knitting gods have decided that I should go.  We had such fun last time ... it will be hard to top. Hopefully the moon jellies will be there when we swing by for a photo op. Hold on to your sunglasses, Tom!

The Annetrelac socks are coming along.  It looks like they will be done sometime tomorrow as there is not much time left to work on them today.  Because my second quilting class takes place this evening, there will be no time later today.  The decision about a pattern for Greg's Wollmeise socks is close to being made.  The strongest contender at the moment is Earl Grey because, in my opinion, the pattern will not overpower the beauty of the yarn.  Spookie agrees...

35th Wedding Anniversary!

Greg and I celebrated our anniversary yesterday.  We both worked hard all day and enjoyed a dinner out. This is some of what we ordered:



We shared a lovely fish entree served on a bed of rissoto and two rich desserts all washed down with an appropriate wine.  This was preceded by a tasty cadillac margarita!

My anniversary present is all the hard work Greg is/has put in on my craft room. His time as precious, as it is with anyone who works from home. Progress is made slowly...but it is well worth the wait!  Currently he is focused on the two large bookcases that occupy a space behind the door. As the room is small, it is important to use every inch.

Stolen Shoe

Before I found my snazzy green clogs, I had a pair of old flip flops that I kept on the front step to wear in the garden. However, one of them went missing a few weeks ago (hence, the purchase of the Sloggers). This morning Greg found the missing sandal on one of the critter trails, along the side of our house.  Someone had a good time chewing my shoe!

Yesterday, before working at Unraveled, I snapped a few shots of my first entrelac sock.

Today is our 35th Anniversary. Greg has always given me yellow roses for our Anniversary. Today was not an exception.

Christine, the owner of Unraveled, surprised me with some thoughtful gifts to kick off our anniversary festivities.  Now Greg can't lose his place with magnetic bookmarks...and what girl from Arizona doesn't love a turquoise and coral cuff?

A But the Kitchener....

The Annetrelac Sock #1 is almost finished.  My goal for the 4th was to finish the first one and to cast on the second.  Looks like I will make it!  

Last night was the first of two class meetings for Piecing 101 at New Moon Textiles, a new fabric store in the neighborhood. I had a great time and learned quite a bit.  

The picture shows the first set of squares and three of the six fabrics I have selected for the project.  Quilting was another craft I wanted to tackle during my retirement.  There are some talented teachers associated with this store and I have so much to learn.