Life is Sweet

I spent a fun-filled weekend in San Francisco last weekend with Janine. Not only did I find some adorable new Franco Sartos, but I got my hair chopped off at a trendy little salon on Haight street. Additional photos below include a few shots of my newly painted and remodeled office. The light was streaming in really bright, making it a little difficult to get good photos. But you can see a little bit of it!

New hair! In the new office with Buddy

The new office

The new office, continued

New shoes and Buddy

Buddy loves my new shoes!

Ah, c’mon now, Buddy!

More new hair pics, Buddy just can’t sit still, he is so excited!

The back of the new hair, it’s an inverted bob. Wow! Short!

After finishing the Cat Bordhi sock, I’m relieved to be doing a regular ol’ cuff down sock with this very fun yarn that I got from The Textile Arts Company recently. It is called San Francisco from Wisdom Yarns. It is 75% wool and 25% Polyamide and super fun to watch develop into stripes and fair isle. This is colorway #201.

I finished the shrug! Haven’t had a chance to wear it yet, it’s simply been too warm even for such a little shrug. But I’m looking forward to getting lots of wear out of this versatile little number! I ended up doing the kitchener stitch to join the two pieces. I think it is much better than having seamed the two halves, as the pattern instructed.

I’ve been so lax in updating my blog. I’m now juggling Facebook, Plaxo, Ravelry and my own web site which is the hardest to keep updated. Anyhoo, enough of my whining. Thought I’d post my latest project. I’m planning to knit a sweater for my dog, Buddy, but that will come later.

This is the “Lovely Lace Shrug” which was published for use with “Hemp for Knitting” yarn (not a big fan). I picked out Nashua’s Creative Focus Superwash instead. It’s a pretty nice yarn, and in off-white, should go with anything!

Well, I’ve actually had this yarn for two months, but it still feels new to me. I was visiting the East Coast and decided I had to stop at one shop (at least!). I chose The Yarn Lounge in Richmond, VA. What a great shop! It is located in a very charming part of town with lots of small, locally-owned boutiques and shops. The owner (and her dog) and an employee were busy at work on a rainy day. They were very friendly and had some beautiful yarn.

I chose to buy some Fleece Artist (pictured here). I divided it in half when I got home, and started working on the Coreolis Sock in Cat Bordhi’s new book “New Pathways for Sock Knitters.” I finished the first sock (picture coming soon, I promise!) and I had enough yarn to make it almost a knee-high! Wow. Thanks, Fleece Artist. And the colors, oh so pretty!

It was a movie marathon weekend. Three of the four were on The Seattle Times Top 10 Movies of the Year

The Lives of Others (German with English subtitles): Before I saw it on the Top 10 list, a friend highly recommended this film. It takes place in 1984 Eastern Germany, before the Berlin wall came down. A local playwright becomes the subject of surveillance. It is an engrossing story that went on and on and on. While I appreciated the ending, the tale itself seemed to last forever. But perhaps I just wanted to get back to my knitting (which I could not do while reading subtitles).

Eastern Promises (English and Russian, with English subtitles): Oh, Naomi Watts. She is so watchable. But Viggo Mortensen stole the show with his Russian accent and sexy, tattoed body. You even get a 5+ minute scene in which his naked bod (penis included!) steals the show. It is an attempted murder scene, though, so not as much fun as it sounds. I was looking forward to this movie, but frankly, it was a bummer. The acting was brilliant, but the story was tragic and slow. But I did get some knitting done!

Ratatouille: Probably my favorite movie of the weekend. Another great film from Pixar. Since it is a Disney film, there is no mother. (What the hell is it with Disney and mothers?) Little Remy, the rat with a gourmet palate and a keen sense of adventure, made me almost love rodents. (If only they COULD cook!) This movie was fun from beginning to end, and really made me want to work in the kitchen.

Waitress: Not on the top 10 movies of the year list, but it was well worth the price of admission. I’m not a fan of pie, but this movie made me drool with all of the yummy pies being poured, sprinkled, mashed and baked. The characters had such a crisp appeal, just shy of realistic. I was delighted, and slightly disappointed, at the the main character’s reaction to her baby’s birth. No spoilers. But I would say this is a slightly sad story with more depth than your average chick flick. I loved it.

Better late than never … Crazy Aunt Purl was in Seattle in October for her big book tour, and I have proof! We were just late enough to miss her reading, but just in time to stand at the back of the line for a book signing. She is sweet as pie, just as you would expect. I very much wanted to give her wine and drink it with her, but alas, she was being rushed off to her next signing in Portland. Perhaps next time!

Merry Christmas to me — I got a new camera this year! I’m excited to say that, once I learn how to use it, I’ll be adding lots of new photos to my blog. I just finished all of the knitting on the Alpine Lace sweater. Just have to block and seam. I’ve also finished a baby sweater, a hat for my husband, and have started a new baby bolero. Soon I will be able to share all of the exciting details in pictures!

I’ve begun yet another lace sweater. This one is extremely easy, from the book “Lace Style” from Interweave Press.

The pattern called for a chunky-weight yarn. Yippee! Super-fast! I picked up some “Alpine Chunky 14-ply” by Naturally New Zealand Yarns (100% wool, 3.5 sts=1″ on US 9-10.5) at a brand spankin’ new store called “The Textile Arts Company” in Port Hadlock, WA. I would refer you to their web site, but it’s not quite ready yet. Nevertheless, if you are up for a short trip to that area, I would highly recommend stopping in. They have a fabulous selection already, even at only a few weeks old.

Even though the yarn is a bit on the scratchy side, I decided to go with 100% wool. It’s simply the most reliable fiber around. I know if will hold its shape, it won’t droop and look crappy after the first couple of wearings. I think it will work beautifully with this simple feather and fan lace pattern. I’m looking forward to displaying the finished results soon!

I finished my Blue Sky Alpaca sweater! Yippee! I actually finished it like two weeks ago, but it has taken me this long to write about it. It’s looking a little wrinkly in the photo. I was surprised that some of the crinkly-ness did not block out. Maybe on the next washing. The lace bit did not stretch out as much as I hoped, either. The last sweater I did with this lace pattern at the bottom was in bamboo, which drapes so beautifully. Alpaca and Silk is lovely, too, but much less drapey than bamboo.

Next post … my current project!