You Say It’s Your Birthday? at Knitting

This goes out to our former group member Kerrie, who had a birthday today. We miss you Kerrie! Interestingly enough, besides Kerrie, 3 other knitting groupies have had birthdays in the past month. Are people who were born under the sign of Leo natural needlework divas? I thought so.

Rachel contemplates a new project in crochet

Lois asks Ethel for some clarification in her sock project

Grayzie tries to dive in nose-first

how about this bag?

Wait, here’s another one! MMMMMMM….

I got up to “L” on the Martin Storey blanket

Hope everyone with a happy summer birthday feels renewed and ready to roar in a new year, full of great new needlework! XD

“Always Look Eye! ” and Solve a Knitting Mystery

Wednesday Night. The yarn activity continues…

Ethel’s skills as a teacher were greatly in demand….

Someone wanted to learn to crochet

Someone wanted to learn to knit, but she was ok with learning to crochet, too.

Lois had some final touches to finish on these mitts

I am up to the letter I so far!

And I’ve started on another tote

I forgot to show my book of knowledge to the group

mysterious but perfectly preserved package

Meanwhile, we solved the mystery of the mysterious but perfectly preserved package.

While DH and I were at the Family Beach Weekend, he got an email stating that some tool or other he ordered would be delivered by UPS and would lounge around on our doorstep til we got home. So he called a family member and asked her to go by the house and please pick it up on her way to the beach. She did, but when we quizzed her about it, at the time it was in her car, so she described it as a book and a present. A present? Yes, wrapped in pink wrapping paper with butterflies on it. That didn’t sound like something DH would have ordered from Rockler or Woodcraft. When I opened the package, it was a beautiful arrangement of tatting mounted on black velvet in a silver frame. And the book was a biography about Teddy Roosevelt. Well, when I saw the tatting, I immediately thought, “Lois!” But then, the book had an inscription that mentioned “Ethel.” So I presented the treasures at Wednesday Night Knitting and learned that Lois had dropped these things on the doorstep for my birthday 3 months ago! She put them in the iron Dutch oven that resides thereon as a sort of rustic decoration. Thinking back, she did say that she had called. Which just goes to show that people need to spell it out, preferably using the NATO alphabet names (ie. alpha, beta, Charlie, November) or make exaggerated mouth movements after saying, like Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid, “Look-eye! Always Look Eye!” And then maybe I will get the gist of the conversation! Thank you, Lois! I am humbled that you thought so much of scatter-brained me!

Yarn Crawl Texture: My Take on Weekly Photo Challenge

This week’s photo challenge is Texture. I went to The World’s Most Famous Beach for our family beach weekend. Sand, surf, the roar of traffic up and down A1A outside the beach-front hotels, hugs from big and little ones, crisp hotel sheets on sun-exposed skin, seafood restaurants, and of course, a yarn crawl. I had to see what the local yarn shop The Ball of Yarn had to offer.

Family Futbol on the beach

Sunrise the first day

2nd day sunrise

sunrise the 3rd day

Speedway entrance

Daytona’s LYS

Yarn Crawl Haul

Sandnes Kashmir Alpakka worsted weight: spaghetti-size

Mandarin Petite DK yarn: vermicelli-size

Kraemer Tatamy Tweed DK spun in Nazareth, PA

Grayzie nuzzling my sand-infused callouses enriched with plankton from beach walking

The Mandarin Petit and Kashmir yarns are from their Swedish import rack, although they have a flag of Norway on their labels. The shop proprietor told me that they love Kraemer brand yarns, which are spun in America and were used in the Ralph Lauren knitted apparel worn by our Winter Olympics competitors. Isn’t it a small world after all?

We Love Knitting. Even though it’s August

Summer loving knitting! Yes, we do!

Ethel is thinking of knitting this cool sock from Interweave Knit

 

Meanwhile, she also thought about these:

 

 

bamboo, cotton and acrylic yarn

and she worked a little more on this project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lois made lots of progress on her afghan.

Lois’s afghan

Rachel started something new.

Rachel’s new project

I worked on the same project.

more squares finished

But it’s not boring! The blocks go fast, and I can’t wait to start on another beautiful color of Rowan felted tweed.

Show and Tell Knitting Mystery

Knit one, purl one, knit one, purl one….oh, hi there!

We made lots of progress in the past week.

Lois’s cable afghan

Ethel with freeform crochet WIP

Ethel was actually involved in 3 projects, this just shows one.

Rachael finished her cotton wash cloth

Today was Rachael’s birthday, and she was wearing the awesome dress that she was working on a few weeks ago. She said, to celebrate, she was going to go home and cut out another dress. Can’t wait to see what fabric and style pattern she chooses.

Tricia was tired and said she hadn’t done much on the white sparkly scarf, so I agreed to hold off on the photo of her project this time.

my alphabet afghan blocks

Lois brought a few items for “Show and Tell.” Can you guess what they are?

Lois’s Guess What? Item #1

Item #2 What is it?

Seriously, we knew the first item–a darning egg, right? But does anyone know what the second item is?

Lovely Knitting on a Midsummer’s Night

Ethel and her new phone (and towel hanger WIP)

Great knitting meeting this week!

Tricia worked on a sparkly white scarf

Tricia took a wash cloth pattern and extended it into a scarf!

Elizabeth’s crochet components

Elizabeth worked on an afghan in what she calls “granny strips”–her version of Granny squares, except they are long strips. The new purple strip will soon have a light lavender center. She will probably edge these in black.

Lois’s afghan, two panels-at- a -time cable construction

Lois is also making an afghan, with two long center panels. It’s easier when you make the same thing, two-at-a-time, she says.

Lois likes this cable needle best so far

Martin Storey blanket

The cats interfered with my new project, a knitted blanket from the Aran and Celtic Children’s book. One block at a time, in Rowan felted tweed yarn, with intarsia alphabet letters in each block. Ethel showed me how to weave in the intarsia loops that are formed on the back. (I took a little break from the Sophie Tunic—I’ll be back…) To see Martin Storey’s Fall/Winter brochure from Rowan look at this you-tube vid here.

Rachel and cotton knit cloth

So what’s on your needles this fine summer night?

 

Knitting as Grounding in the Midst of Life

Three of us stole a little time together knitting, after a hiatus and in the middle of life-altering events! Some of us are back from vacation, some of us have had houseguests. One of us has a two-year old who’s just been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes 😦 . One of us had a lightning strike and lost almost all her household  appliances.

Meanwhile, Ethel got interested in a new needle-art form:

Freeform Crochet

 

Looks very intriguing!

Lois finished her teal green shawl. We get to observe Lois making lots of hats, shawls, afghans, and other beautiful objects. But then they disappear off her radar and we don’t always find out where they went, because she doesn’t like to jump into the limelight. But her creations go to folks at the Atrium, a local assisted-living facility, family members, and friends who might be staying in a local hospital or rehabilitation center in which overzealous air-conditioning necessitates a warm blankie.

Lois and her new project, a white cable-knit afghan

 

 

We live in Florida, and in the summer IT IS HOT. So we love it when we have someone to knit for who might appreciate warm woolies, and also tropical-friendly fibers that are nice to knit with in our climate.

Ethel and her new project, a kitchen towel hanger

 

We’re in the second week of July and already the stores are full of fall stuff. The seasons are racing along. What are you knitting this summer? Have you started on fall/winter projects yet? What is your favorite summer knitting project?

 

Fiber-loving Fourth of July

DH and I were invited to spend 4th of July weekend with his brother and family at their resort condo in Longboat Key. We had a refreshing time relaxing, partying on the beach, shopping, and talking with loved ones in a place that is just short of paradise.

Early morning sunrise from the balcony

Beach at 9:30 AM

Majestic Norfolk pine in the landscape

Florida gulf coast beach

resort condo

Fireworks on the beach

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I seized the opportunity to do some yarn shopping in nearby Sarasota.

A Good Yarn

A Good Yarn truly was The Mothership of all yarn shops. It was BIG, stocked full of all of the most popular, trending brands. Next to the front window was a work table, decked out with shop patrons who were calling for assistance from the friendly, outgoing staff. There was a large, comfy sitting area with “guy” magazines, for those patrons who don’t get all that excited about yarn. I had ordered Rowan fine tweed and felted tweed from an online vendor, but they were sold out of two of the colors that I needed for a Martin Storey project. But I couldn’t remember offhand what those two colors were, although the cute young clerk located the pattern book for me and allowed me to browse through it. “Don’t worry,” she said, “you can figure out what they are when you get home and then order it from us!” Awesome to know that they do a great mail-order business, too.

The shop owner is an underwater photographer, and on one wall, they have a selection of yarn in color ways that match the several photos of marine life framed above the skeins. Here’s a shot of the damage I did (to my bank account) while I was there.

yarn haul

We have here, clockwise from left: CoBaSi (cotton, bamboo, silk blend sock yarn that doesn’t sag and bag like cotton alone would) by HiKoo in orange and blue; Lorna’s Laces Hand-dyed Shepherd Sock in U of F; Lorna’s Laces Hand-dyed Shepherd Sock in A Good Beach (they said it was in the colors of nearby Siesta Key Beach, white, light orange, sandy gray);HiKoo American Brand fingering weight yarn in Wind Cave (white); Rowan fine tweed in Tissington (orange); Rowan felted tweed in 178 blue; fine tweed in Bainbridge (dark red); Anzula Hand-dyed Sebastian (70% super wash merino, 30% sea cell) in Hyacinth; Madelinetosh Dandelion (merino/linen blend) in Midnight Pass; and at the bottom, Hand Maiden 100% silk in Rumple (metallic grays.) The bags are decorated with logo stickers and scraps of yarn, by students at a local school.

I also stopped in at Picasso’s Moon, a Sarasota yarn shop/antique shop.

Picasso’s Moon

art yarn from Picasso’s Moon

Owner Debra Lambert spun this yarn on a Mach III wheel with a large orifice. She is set to give a workshop on spinning at Towles Court later this month. The shop is (as the yarn tag indicates) an eclectic collection of fibers and antiques arranged in sort of a giant web of skeins and scarves, shawls, bowls and baskets of old wooden spools, balls of yarn, decorative objects, hanging garments, and in the center of the room sat Debra on the floor, weaving on what looked to me like a little Cricket loom. Nearby was a beautiful, compact Schacht loom warped with a very fine, black yarn. I learned that art yarn such as this is VERY pricey, but I was under a spell, taken into the gypsy mystique of fiber artisanship, an alter ego I once vaguely sought for myself…some day, I want to delve deeper into the fiber arts.

Happy Knitting

Happy reunion at Knitting: Ethel was back, and Rachel brought Elizabeth to join the group.

Rachel worked on a wash cloth

Ethel also worked on a wash cloth

Elizabeth did some crocheting

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Ethel brought back some cool finds from her trip[/caption]

Maryland flag crab

Crabby kicks

Ethel’s metal needles

and got these free gadgets

Ethel’s cotton-linen Knit Picks yarn

Rowan Felted Tweed Yarn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so excited when my Rowan Felted Tweed yarn order came in the mail this morning. Looking forward to the day I finish the Sophie Tunic so I can go on to other projects in the book Little Aran & Celtic Knits for Kids by Martin Storey.

Wednesday Not Knitting

I waited around for the knitters to show up Wednesday night. So far they haven’t.

But that is ok. I’m still feeling the effects of a long illness and a long road trip.

At this point, I don’t even remember where my knitting is…oh, yes I do. Going to go get it now.

Toasted cream cheese sandwich with cucumbers, carrots, sprouts and seeds from Serendipity Deli in Cary, NC

Continuing in the discovery of the vein of gold…as it pertains to food purveyors…I have become as the detective Hercule Poirot, in search of truthful, but manipulated by the wracking of the digestive process on my delicate constitution.

Here are a few dishes from the Posta Tuscan Grille in Raleigh.

House salad

Filetto entree (beef tenderloin)

Vitello (veal scallopini)

I didn’t show a pic of the breakfast buffet. But some of the offerings were notable: great, gleaming jewel-like blackberries the size of plum tomatoes, crisp-and-browned-on-the-outside, velvety fluffy on the inside biscuits with a savory herbed cream gravy, creamy cheese grits. Many different kinds of muffins.

This was our dinner from Saffire in Charleston, SC (room service: decadently romantic!)

BBQ Shrimp and White Cheddar Cheese Grits with Mushroom Hash

Sustainable Atlantic Catch (mahi-mahi)

our gorgeous accommodations

rest room

my erstwhile work station

A luxurious little haven in which to work, while a gentle rain fell and fog rolled onto the riverbanks outside.

Before we left town, I visited Persimmon Café on my yoga buddy Karen’s recommendation, and snagged some snackage for the road.

what was left of a giant Capn’ Crunch cookie

a special low-cal root beer from Wisconsin

I had a long, friendly chat with the proprietor about root beer and the fact that although the café is located inside a laundromat, its patrons have some very sophisticated taste in delicious and creative food!