For the Love of Socks

I have been working on a couple of projects...and thinking of adding another to the mix as soon as I finish the first Cubist Sock. Thus the lovely line on my finger. Only another knitter would recognize the dye residue deposited on my tensioning digit. The sacrifices we make for our craft! On the other hand, the sock is a delight to knit. Cookie is such an exquisite designer. Her charts (once I have them enlarged to the proper size for my old eyes) are fun, fun, fun!! For yarn, I am using the latest installment from Blue Moon. The colorway is Piney and the color will stabilize after a rinse or two. The finger will return to normal quickly. No fear- it is this knitter's badge of honor.

Give me Shelter!

I couldn't resist when Brooklyn Tweed posted about his yarn line, Shelter. It arrived this morning and it is lovely...don't you think? He has several new patterns that will probably be ordered up soon. My daughter has already approved one and suggested a colorway she would like.

The other exciting, knitterly event is Stitches West registration...which opened this AM. I almost missed the starting gate trying to figure out what 9AM Central Time translates to in Altadena, CA. Thanks to the trusty Mac I found out and grabbed all the classes I wanted.

End of Season

We harvested what appears to be the last few tomatoes from this year's sad little garden. It was totally neglected and we got what we deserved for our lack of attention.

They were quite tasty, I am happy to report!

I have another picture of the BSJ ... of the buttons that were sewn on last night. They are a good match, don't you think?

Baby Set

Things have been a blur since we arrived home. The first week back I worked the entire week (except Thursday) because the other teacher, Nancy, took a few days off. No rest for the wicked, I guess! Also, the secretary for the Youth Accountability Board is about to go on maternity leave and I hadn't made her baby gift. Yikes!! Once again the much loved BSJ to the rescue! Not only that...but the perfect skein of Jitterbug was found in my stash. You can locate the particulars about the yarn and hat on Ravelry, if you are interested.

More of the Baja Trip

In response to yesterday's posting, I received a lovely email from Margarita Carrillo de Salinas, Don Emiliano's Chef and owner. She is in Mexico City preparing to leave for an International food conference in Ireland. Margarita is a leading proponent of the Slow Food movement. Here are a few more shots taken at our two dinners with her...

An evening spent on her patio is a must if you visit San Jose del Cabo!

Back at the Hacienda del Mar there were many places to explore. We took several walks with cameras in hand. You never know what you might see there...

There is a story about the upside-down saint on the altar....

On the property, actually on the hotel side (Sheraton) there is a chapel with a lovely door and vaulted ceiling. Who knew they had wireless?

The plants are amazing!

The pools were lovely!

..and the beach

Oh yes, we'll be back here!

I promise to include more knitting related items in the future! This little fellow was propped up at the table next to us at breakfast one morning. He travels with a young couple from Boston. Wherever they are, they costume him appropriately ....

Back From Baja

We took two whole weeks off this summer! Yea!!!!

The first week was spent at our timeshare close to San Jose del Cabo and the second week was at the Hacienda del Mar, closer to Cabo San Lucas. When we were near San Jose, we took advantage of the Urbano (city bus) into town. The rides back were usually in a taxi because were were either coming back late from dinner or laden with purchases. Twice we went to our favorite restaurant in S.J., Don Emiliano's. If you are ever in the area, don't hesitate to stop in for dinner.

Perhaps the most unusual dish we tried was "Mexican Caviar". It is called Escamole and you might be surprised what the main ingredient is....

The Grand Mayan just outside of S.J. is a beautiful resort with an exceptional staff, well maintained rooms and pools. We have never been disappointed with their properties.

Our other timeshare, Hacienda del Mar, has stunning architecture, beautiful grounds with mature plants and the Pitahayas Restaurant, another favorite. The seating is open air, on a terrace overlooking the beach.

It is hard to see, but at the bottom of the evening beach picture, there are whale bones.

Since Greg and I usually split meals, were were able to enjoy some delightful dinners!

Perhaps you are wondering, did she do any knitting?? After all, this is a knitting blog....

I Won the Lottery

I joined a lottery exchange in a Ravelry group and I won!!! My prize was a beautiful skein of Malabrigo in Ravelry Red. It arrived in the mail today. What a thrill to open the package and see that incredible red color. Now, what to do with it? Any suggestions...I am open to almost anything.

Can You Guess?

Can you guess the name of well-known Pasadena restaurant from this hint??If you know me (and Pasadena) at all...you will probably guess correctly.

The knitting has been fast and furious. Nothing challenging so far this Summer since I have been working almost every day at Skein. Nancy better be enjoying her vacation! Payback is just around the corner... (insert evil laughter here)

Off the needles in the last little while are three simple projects you can find on my Ravelry project page, if interested in details.

The bird feeders are attracting all sorts of creatures. Yesterday, once again, the furry grey seed guzzler was observed at work...perhaps I will have to get a spinning feeder.

This morning, while attempting to snap that perfect project picture we saw...a really beautiful hummingbird. He came right over and hovered near us assessing our threat-level. It was obvious that he thought we were not going to bother him...so he hung around the feeder while I snapped away.

Happy 4th of July

Wishing everyone a wonderful 4th of July weekend...filled with fireworks and good times! With any luck I will have some fireworks photos to post next week.

We haven't attracted too many birds with our freshly filled feeders ...it seems that now we are in the business of feeding the neighborhood squirrels..

This well-fed fellow jumps on the feeder and calmly swings it until a quantity falls to the ground. Then he merrily munches away until he is sated. He doesn't seem to mind if we watch or take pictures. Perhaps we will have to invest in a feeder from this company..

On the knitting front, I have finished one Swing Set sock...from my Socks That Rock sock club. It is posted on my Ravelry project page. Also, buttons for the Iceland top arrived from Windsor Buttons. They are even more perfect than pictured on their website.They were worth the wait!

Bedraggled Butterfly

So my DH and I decided to spend this Father's Day tidying up the front yard a bit and filling bird feeders. We did have a nice breakfast at Green Street and a tour around Armstrong Nursery before getting to work.

This poor creature was perched on cuttings from our morning's labor in the front yard. He seems to be on his last legs as his wings are quite tattered and he is missing the end of one of his antennae.

The hummingbird feeders are now filled and waiting for clients! If I am lucky, there may be a picture or two later this week. On my trip to Alaska, there were feeders everywhere with many happy customers in attendance.

On the knitting front, the Rowan Iceland has been growing. It is an easy knit with just enough going on to keep me entertained.

Happy Fathers Day Weekend!!

I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Father's Day this Sunday. Our DD sent an overnight package that arrived with directions for me to open it upon arrival and give Greg one of his gifts early. What a wonderful, yummy treat she made for her Dad! Lucky me, I get to have some, too. She is quite the accomplished bread baker....

Greg's favorite rose bush, deep red with touches of black, produced some lovely blooms that are in the waiting room. They are just in time for his special day.

Knittingwise, the Iceland (scroll down in this link) is now on the front burner. It is a kimono-style garment that was started and neglected. Not that I don't like it...just that I have been easily distracted by other projects. My goal is to finish most of it before going back to work next Tuesday. In any case, a photo of the progress will be posted soon. Now that I have said it here...perhaps it will actually happen.

D'oh!

D'oh!

Yesterday was going to be filled with knitting with friends. I planned to knit in the morning/early afternoon with one group and later on with another. The morning meet-up went as planned and was lovely...then I drove to where I thought the second group was meeting. However, no one else showed up. It turned out that I was at the wrong place. I was at Panera in Hastings Ranch and they were at Corner Bakery. I didn't discover the error of my ways until I got home and re-read the reminder. Well, at least I did do the finishing on my last two projects...and I listened to an audiobook (Let the Great World Spin). So, it wasn't a total disaster.

Lesson learned: read carefully!

Two Walks....

This morning Greg and I took a walk down Colorado Blvd. . We parked near Target and walked to Europane's new cafe. It is just across from the Paseo Mall (if that is any help to you). We thought it wouldn't be as busy as the older location. WRONG... I am so happy for Sumi that she knows her customer base and was brave enough in this economy to open a second location. This one will appeal to the workers at City Hall and the legal talent at the court for a wonderful option. Europane is full of good smells and eye candy. Tasty treats, too.

My second walk took place after a rather long session on the Citron project. The rows are getting longer, and longer. Not quite sure if I am going to have the heart to let this become a store sample. We'll see how I feel about it when it is finished.

I took a camera along to take shots of plants and whatever else I might find during my stroll...

There are so many beautiful flowers right now. It is hard for me to select which ones to share here....