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.

See the Sea Lettuce

grow by twists and turns. Sea Lettuce by Lucy Neatby is so addictive. This is one of those projects you can just stuff into your bag and pull out whenever you have a spare minute or two to knit. After the first bit you can say goodbye to the pattern until the bind off. I plan to make another out of some Colinette Jitterbug sitting in the bin just behind me. This next scarf will be the larger version of Lucy's pattern.

Skein will be closed next week as AM and KC are off to find new things to tempt us all with - they have gone to TNNA. I can't wait to see what wonders they find....love to see those boxes full of yarn arrive! Don't you??

A Special 4th!

My DH has decided to take today off to celebrate the 4th. This afternoon he is watching the History Channel special on the Revolutionary War and I am attempting a Mermaid Sock. He has a kit rifle of the period in progress, too!

Over the past three years I have been able to take classes from Lucy Neatby at Stitches West. Her teaching style is to be admired and the patterns are interesting. Her Mermaid Socks have called to me and (until now) I have resisted. Then I saw the perfect colorway sitting on the shelf at Skein the other day...another project underway. Our daughter left for Boston last night on Virgin America with a whopping 10 pieces of luggage. It turned out to be an efficient and inexpensive way to move certain items. Who would have guessed that? She plans to see the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular this evening in person. We will watch it on TV.

Happy 4th of July

Summer has officially arrived in SoCal. Tomato plants are full of fruit and the temperature is rising. Our first 4th of July fireworks will be observed at the Altadena CC Thursday (the 2nd). We will park the big blue truck on the southern border of the golf course to enjoy the display. It is always a treat! We may even purchase tickets and attend the Rose Bowl extravaganza!

I hope to have some exciting knitting news about my Central Park Hoodie in progress in the next few days. Exciting for me, that is. My current dilemma is which pair of socks to cast on. Should it be the Orion Socks (the official sock pattern for Sock Summit) or Lucy Neatby's Mermaid Socks from her book Cool Socks Warm Feet? Suggestions/advice will be cheerfully entertained.

More Stitches Stash Enhancement....

This set of buttons from Black Water Abbey was a must buy....check out the dragonflies. Not quite sure what project they will be perfect for - but I love them. My other button purchase is for a project that was finished some time ago. If you go to my project page on Ravelry, look at my Broad Street Mittens. Notice that they are, sadly, lacking buttons. The acorns will be the perfect touch-don't you think?


When I was standing in line, I noticed that the three people behind me were all holding Simple Style...it looked like a good book and there was only one left. No impulse shopping here.

Then there were patterns to be purchased....

I don't have the yarn for the Interlacements' pattern to the left. Still thinking about this project. Might be fun.

and more patterns.... Lucy Neatby's Bicycle Socks

and an easy Lily Chin shawl pattern...

that she graciously offered to autograph when she discovered it among my purchases as we sat next to each other at the Hyatt sushi bar comparing marketplace finds....

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I also picked up a pattern from Black Water Abbey for three hats that my daughter liked.

I did pick up some green yarn for one hat and the ecru pictured in the pattern arrived in the mail two days ago.

Yesterday's post brought the last item from this year's Stitches that I plan to blog. It is the Jackets book from Cheryl Oberly. She not only autographed her book - a beautiful bookmark was inside. Wouldn't it be fun to take one of her workshops?Oh, yes. I have been knitting, too. Check out my page on Ravelry for the latest project.

Still Unpacking ....

Sorry for doing the reveal in dribs and drabs...there is just too much for me to post in one sitting. You know, there is knitting to be done, too. Just off the needles this morning is another hat to keep my daughter's head warm when she is in Boston. It was a fun knit in a lovely yarn.

The third sweater project that I purchased while at Stitches West is a Lucy Neatby design, Venus Rising. The yarn I will be using is Kauni, a wool that I had, until Stitches, not seen in person. It is beautiful, colorful..and will keep me entertained while knitting!

Next out of the bag are some wonderful sock yarns. If you know me...you know that I have a special weakness for Blue Moon's fingering weight sock yarn. Like I don't have enough already!

Here are some that I could not resist adding to my collection.
and there were the other random sock yarns that I could not leave behind....

still unpacking ....more sock yarn

Well, that will have to be all for today. We have plumbing and carpentry projects underway and the craftroom is in need of organization...patterns to sort into binders.

Just a typical Sunday at home.

Back From Stitches West

I am decompressing after a whirlwind long weekend of fiber overload at Stitches West 2009. My daughter joined me for Saturday and Sunday, making the experience even better. 

Later in the week I'll share my yarn and knitting related purchases. Before dashing off to work this morning I wanted to post a photo of my favorite teacher from the past three Stitches I have attended - Lucy Neatby. This year the class was on something I have avoided, intartia. Lucy's instructions have cleared up some issues for me and perhaps an intartia project is in my future!

What do you think of her sweater?She has DVDs for sale on her website that are very helpful. I purchased the last three that are currently available. They happen to feature intartia techniques & tips.