They're Back

Last night, after dinner, Greg, Spookie and I were sitting in the breezeway cruising the internet when we heard our raccoon family skittering across the roof. We grabbed two cameras and ran outside to try snap better pictures of them. They seem very curious about us, too.



















Yesterday was busy at Unraveled. Janice Rosema taught a class-it is always fun to see her projects! Several friends came by during the day...every time I thought I'd take a break to sit and visit, a new customer would come in and need help. That's good for the store and makes the day pass quickly. Jillian and I had lots to do.

This morning we attended a soup class at Williams-Sonoma. Usually a purchase is made after class-today it was a huge jar of Maille Dijon Originale mustard. Very useful item in our house!

Now it is off to pay bills, a little housecleaning and knitting. Tomorrow evening I will start to assemble items for Stitches West which is coming soon...

Happy Valentine's Day

Love those Tiffany bags! There was one sitting on the bed this morning when I rolled over....and inside the box was a shiny silver bracelet. What fun!








Today is going to be dedicated to finishing the heel flaps on my 2 socks on one circular project and finally focusing on the homework assignments for Stitches West (which is next week), Woohoo

Revenge for What?

Greg and I were "good" this morning and made it to the gym before breakfast-true to our NYE resolution. There was a display of gym wear in the lobby and this tee shirt was marked down twice-to less than $5. So, despite the tacky pink glitter REVENGE, I had to have it. Now I will have to figure out what revenge I am due.





Here is a shot of the Paddle Leaf succulent that was re-potted on Sunday. So far, so good...I usually do well with them and have many varieties that I have divided and redivided over the years. I should find a good reference book and learn their true names, shouldn't I?

The sleeves of the Patrick Sweater are at the length they should be, however I am two decreases short. I will wait patiently to see Knitdad on Friday and see what solution he recommends. He will probably tell me to go ahead without the final two increases and begin to decrease for the top of the sleeve. It is only two more days and there are other projects to do. Projects like homework for my classes at Stitches West. It is a week from tomorrow morning that I fly out of LAX before 7am! My classes include 3 sock classes and one yarn substitution class. The three sock classes are six hours each....and should be great fun. The yarn substitution class will be helpful for suggestions to customers at Unraveled....and for me, personally, as well.

Something wonderful arrived in the mail just now- Knitting Saddle Style by Susan Gaugliumi. It was ordered two days ago. Gotta love that Amazon.

What a Fantastic Day...

This morning was another in the series of technique classes offered by Williams-Sonoma..the subject was stocks. The chef demonstrated brown and white chicken stocks and a vegetable stock. She also discussed beef stock and fish stock. I am not much of a cook and I picked up several good tips. While there, we purchased some brightly colored bowls that couldn't be resisted. Next Sunday we are booked for the Soup Class. That should be fun-especially if we have some more cold weather!

After cooking class, we headed over to Armstrong Nursery to see what herbs looked good. Greg picked out cilantro, lemon thyme, lime thyme and I added a flat parsely. I also picked up a fun gift for a friend...to be revealed later. They have some wonderful plants!I also picked up a new succulent to add to my collection...I believe it was called a Paddle Leaf. After arriving home, I spent several hours re-potting old plants and organizing my potting bench.

Then it was on to knitting. The Patrick Sweater is closer to completion..hopefully I will be finished with the sleeve increases tomorrow. My plan is to go to S.i.T. and hunker down until it is done. Cross fingers. Here is my update picture as of 8pm tonight.
Happy Birthday Knitdad!

Happy Birthday & Happy Year of the Rat

This is the Spoksters reaction to the news that it is the Year of the Rat.

Happy Birthday to Knitdad and Greg. I know it is a few days early, but last night our knitting group had a surprise party at Mindy's to honor Mr. L. I could not attend because we were out celebrating Greg's birthday with Meghan and Julien. They have found the "perfect place" for dinner. We went to Saddle Peak Lodge in Calabasas.

Yesterday I made my flight reservations for Camp Crow's Feet in April. It is going to be so much fun. Camp starts on a Monday, but most of us will be arriving at some point over the weekend. I am going to meet up with a few campers from last year to do a yarn crawl and then an island hopping adventure to see some alpaca farms. I read a thread on Ravelry about some of the plans other campers have...could be interesting!

After French class at 10, I'll motor on over to SiT for the security of having help on the Patrick project. My confidence is growing...but I have those moments like last night when I really shouldn't knit. After drinks and dinner it is not always wise to come home and pick up pointy sticks and string. I'll be unknitting this morning before leaving so I can add those increases on the last row. Can anyone identify with me?

I Survived Super Bowl Sunday!

Actually, I survived it in fine style. Our friends, Ken and Lorraine had a wonderful party with all the trimmings. There was an abundance of food and drink, several televisions and ample seating for their many guests. Mind you, this was after Greg and I attended the Chocolate Class at Williams-Sonoma that included samples of the recipes! A day of excess it was, indeed.

While watching the game, I did manage to finish the second Christmas Jaywalker sock. I just Kitchenered it together before writing this post. I also completed several rows of the Palindrome Scarf, a project for Unraveled in Karaoke yarn.

This afternoon I drove over to Stitch In Time to be near Knitdad, just in case the Patrick Sweater sleeves went south again. I am gaining confidence and doing much better with the side increases. Once there was a slight mishap, which I sorted out for myself with encouragement. Lisa and Fay Lynn both were there for awhile. Hopefully, we will all make it to Knit Night at Unraveled tomorrow, too!

Here is a peek at my attempt to do two socks one one circular. Not too sure how I feel about doing them this way yet. Think I'll be one of the die-hard DPN crowd....

Raccoons Races

I think our resident raccoons are litter mates.  We have three and they seem to enjoy each other's company very much.  Racing across our long, interconnected roofline and eating quantities of Carolina Cherry fruits appear to be their main sources of joy. They pose for students leaving Greg's studio after lessons and seem very interested in us when we go out to snap a picture.  Here is a recent, very grainy shot of them taken the other night .  Hopefully, they are not doing too much damage to the roof while they are up there. Believe it or not, there are several recipes for raccoon on the internet, not that we are interested in doing that to our late night entertainment.

Before Unraveled opened Saturday, I was able to finish tagging the new Koigu shipment.  Very exciting stuff.  This is a long anticipated order and many customers will be in to check out the colorways. It will probably be out on the floor by Tuesday. Sorry, there is no picture as it appears that I left my camera at the store.

Today is Super Bowl Sunday.  We are going over to Ken and Lorraine's this afternoon for the festivities.  After breakfast and a Chocolate Class at Williams-Sonoma, we'll pick up a Salad Diane from Green Street and head over to their house.  Yes, I will take along some knitting (something simple) as I am not really a sports fan.  Probably the Palindrome made from Karaoke.  Yes, a sock project will most likely come along, as well.