I'm still here

It's been a while since I've posted and a lot has been going on. I joined a knitting group at my church to do charity knitting. My first project was a vest for my friend Lou who just had surgery for a kidney stone yesterday. I haven't heard yet on the outcome. I'm hoping everything went well and he won't need to have additional surgery. The vest I made for him is the Entrelac Tuxedo Vest from Oat Couture. This is the photo from the pattern.


I haven't taken a picture yet of the one I made. I thought I'd wait and take of picture of it on Lou. I used Shepherd's Wool in a dark lavender as the main color with a Noro Yuzen in fall colors.

I've also made a couple more of the Log Cabin Socks that I made for my dad last year. I like to wear them in the house as slippers to keep my feet warm. It also means there will be some wicked static electricity, which doesn't thrill the kitties. I made all three pairs with Cascade Pastaza. The second pair is turqouise blue and the third is a heather grey. They knit up very fast. One sock was about two evenings of work. I also changed up the cables a little in the third pair. No pictures of those either but I do have a picture of the pair I made for my dad.



I got the new sock book by Cookie A entitled Sock Innovation last week. It has inspired me to knit socks again lately. I plan to do some stash diving through the sock yarn this weekend to start a pair. Lots of great patterns in this book.

I will soon be in the land of bifocals. I ordered them this past Tuesday and had to leave a limb behind to pay for them. I really would like to know what the markup is on frames. The lenses I can understand being a little pricey, but the money they want for a pair of RIMLESS frames just seems to be a little much. This is not fine jewelry guys, although you seem to think they are!



I ordered them with a saddle bridge which doesn't have the nose pads. I got the progressive no line lenses. Wish me luck in getting use to them. At least they were having a so called sale when I got them. They were advertising buy one, get the next pair free. What they were really offering was buy one, get the next pair free (up to a $200 value). I think this was a bait and switch deal. What glasses do you know of that are $200 or less!?! Unless you want to look like you bought your glasses off the back of a truck in an alley. Anyway, since I couldn't afford another complete pair of glasses, I talked them into giving me the sunglass clips that go with my glasses for free. Those weren't cheap either by themselves. I still think they made a nice profit in the deal.

I'm now dealing with my third abdominal hernia in the last ten years. This one isn't as bad as the last two, but does hurt on occasion (especially when I overeat). At least it's good incentive to not eat too much. I've been loosing some weight by eating a better diet and that has helped curtail the pain a lot. I talked to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and had originally planned to have the surgery in mid April. The last time I had this surgery they put in a mesh to cover the hernia and the new one is now popping out just above the mesh. This means bigger mesh and bigger scar. bleh.. Since I needed to get my glasses, I couldn't do both right now. I'm going to save a little money before having the surgey done so I can pay a good chunk of my part outright. Even with my insurance it's going to be pricey.

The pollen at our house has been so bad lately it looks like I have a yellow car in the morning when I leave for work. I'll be glad when it's over and so will my sinuses and eyes. Check out this picture and it will show you how bad it's been.

and the winner is...

The winner of the handspun yarn is Meg with 4 answers correct!
Congratulations Meg!

Now, here are the answers to this egomaniacal trivia contest for those who are interested.

1. What was my first knitting project?
sweater for my mom
It was a mohair sweater in three colors and she still has it, even though she can't wear it because of the mohair, too itchy.. Of course, I should have asked her first if she liked mohair.

2. Name one of the 2 sister's to Bob and Blanche (may cats)? Hint: They all started with the letter "B".
Betty and Beulah
All four were kitties that I rescued after I witnessed them being thrown into a creekbed from the back of a pickup truck in our apartment complex. If I'd had a weapon of any kind with me at the time I probably would have served time for assault. There must be a special place in he!! for jerks like him. Bob, who was so small we thought he was a runt and is now 17 pounds, had a broken tail. It is crinkled just at the tip, which you can still feel. Betty also had a broken tail, right in the middle, so it had a definite "L" bend. Unfortunately, Betty, Beulah and our Burmese cat Butch, were killed in a car accident on their way to their new home in Omaha.

3. How many siblings do I have?
One sister


4. What year did I move to Atlanta?
1994
I moved here with my partner when he was transferred with his job in June 1994. The first night in our new apartment we watched OJ fleeing in the white Bronco.

5. Douglas is my middle name, what is my first name?
Ronald

6. Where was I born?
Duluth, Minnesota

7. What is the title of the very first Dr. Seuss book my mother bought me when I was a child?
Yertle the Turtle
Not one of his better known titles, but still one of my favorites.

8. What brand of yarn is my favorite?
Noro!!
I've tried several of their yarns and really like the colors and textures.

9. Where do I spend most of my yarn money?
Knitch, of course!!
Same place I spend most of my "knitting with friends" time. It's an incredible shop!

10. What model of car do I drive?
Toyota Echo (and Haley even got the color too, green)
Not to jinx myself, but this has been the best car I've ever owned. It was my first brand new car.

Thanks to those who participated. I promise the next time I have a contest, it will be easier and more generic in it's topic so more people will be encouraged to participate. I'm a librarian and trivial detail thangs are hard for me to resist. ;)

Contest!

How about a trivia contest to win some handspun yarn?

The person who can answer the most questions correctly will win a skein of my handspun yarn. Some of the questions will be easier than others. If more than one person gets them all correct (which would be scary) I will pick from those names using a randomizer.

Please EMAIL your answers to: knits4bears@gmail.com
Then, leave me a comment here to let me know you have entered.
This way I can respond to anyone who participates, since I have no way of responding to comments on my blog.

The last day to send your answers will be Thursday, February 26th.

Good Luck!


The prize is the Louet fuschia merino/silk I just finished last week. It's approximately 665 yards total in sport/DK weight.





Now, let's see how well you know Doug aka Knits4bears.


1. What was my first knitting project?

2. Name one of the 2 sister's to Bob and Blanche (may cats)? Hint: They all started with the letter "B".

3. How many siblings do I have?

4. What year did I move to Atlanta?

5. Douglas is my middle name, what is my first name?

6. Where was I born?

7. What is the title of the very first Dr. Seuss book my mother bought me when I was a child?

8. What brand of yarn is my favorite?

9. Where do I spend most of my yarn money?

10. What model of car do I drive?

back from the mountain

We got back Monday afternoon around 3:00. What a nice birthday weekend! The weather was nice the entire time we were there, although I was looking forward to seeing a little bit of snow flurries. (Computer free and blogless) Linda made me a chocolate birthday cake and brought it to the mountain to share. It was a really wonderful and tasty cake, unfortunately, I didn't take a picture.

This was sunrise on Saturday morning.



This year there were only 32 people attending the retreat. Down from about 45 last year. It made for a quieter and more relaxing time. We also had more room to spread out and it wasn't as crowded around the tables and it made it easier getting around the room.

Here is the gang knitting in the lodge. (From the left, Lou, Lori, Rob and Christine)



This is a clump of moss and ferns growing at the corner of the storage building just up the hill from our cabin. It's just amazing to me how green and lush they are with the cold and windy temperatures.


I finished three projects while there. I finished the reversible Duo hat I was test knitting for Brett. It turned out great. The striped side is Lion Brand Magic Stripes and the inside is, *GASP* Socks That Rock Raven (Corbie). Is it a knitting sin to mix these two yarns?!? They look so good together!





I also made two of the EZ Conch hats. I've had the pattern from Meg Swansen's knit-a-long for almost a year and about 3 months ago had tried to make the first one and just never finished it. So I thought it would be a perfect fun project for the weekend. It's featured in the winter 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting.



I had to adjust the stitch count for the yarn, which meant I started the first one four times, but once I figured out the right count to get the gauge, it went fairly quickly. (On size 13's, I cast on 48 stitches for the brim and increased to 72 for the body) I made the second one in about 3 hours. The teal one is Lamb's Pride bulky and the white one is Berkshire Bulky and looks a little like an ice cream cone. Lou had a great idea to make one in brown, pink and white and it would look like neapolitan ice cream. I'm already looking for yarn.

I also started another Noro Stripe scarf using Noro Chirimen (60% cotton, 24% silk, 16% wool blend) that I bought at Knitch last week. It's nice and soft.



I finished the fuschia merino silk last week just before I left for the Mountain. I ended up with about 665 yards. It's very soft and will make a wonderful small shawl or wrap. Now I just need to find a good pattern that will accentuate it's lovely beauty.




I think Bob was happy to have me back home. He has been very clingy today. He even curled up in my armpit on the bed while I was watching tv and even with his version of purring/wheezing. It was so sweet.

The spinning mojo is back!

I went to my first spinning guild meeting last weekend with Steve and it was also the first time I've spun in about 2 months. I enjoyed the meeting and I'm looking forward to attending the next one. I worked on the baby alpaca from Alpaca With A Twist that I bought several months ago at Knitch.


It's combed top and was so nice to spin up. The yarn is so soft and I plan to make a nice scarf to enjoy the softness around my neck and next to my face, which seems to be the place everyone automatically puts it when they pick it up anyway.

without flash

with flash

The color is almost the same color as my own hair with a little more grey in it. I photographed it on the piece of granite so the soft brown tones are more apparent. I plan on buying more of this roving. I want to find the natural chocolate brown color.

I've now started back spinning the fuschia silk/wool blend I bought at Knitch last year in July at the same time I got the alpaca. I think it's from Lendrum. (oops, it's actually from Louet)

It had been set aside when I started spinning the alpaca. I'm trying to spin it thinner so it's about fingering weight. I thought the alpaca was going to be thinner when I was spinning the singles. I was surprised how much it fluffed back out after it was plied.

Knitting wise lately I've been working on a new sweater like my grey one that I designed several years ago. I'm making it with Paton's Acadiana (Ackrylic). The original is made with the same yarn, but a charcoal grey color, and the yarn is really soft now after being laundered several times. The color of this one is a denim blue. I'm also still working on the hat for Brett as a test knit for his pattern.

For my AKG Mountain retreat project this year I've decided to scavenge the stash for leftover Cascade 220 and make another pair of the Fiber Trends felted clogs. Michael has taken a shine to the first pair I made, so it will be wise to have another pair to wear on cold mornings. I've decided to frog the double knit scarf from Son of Stitch-N-Bitch that I started ages ago for some of the yarn.

buh-bye

I like the scarf and I'm glad I learned the double knitting technique, but the scarf is just too heavy and I don't think I'd ever wear it anyway. The yarn will be better used in the clogs. I'm thinking I'll try the scarf pattern again, but this time use Noro sock yarn instead so it will be lighter and have some fun color changes too.

We had a new male member join the Knitting guild this past Thursday! A very nice guy named Tom and he owns and runs a campground called In The Woods Campground. He is hosting a knitting retreat there March 12-15. It is a clothing optional campground, but the knitting retreat will be a clothed event, unless you feel the urge to go streaking through the woods. I guess it depends on how much wine or martoonies you have. There's a hottub too so you could knit and felt at the same time if you want to. It's a bit of a drive for Tom to get to the guild meetings from Canon, GA, but I hope he will become a regular attendee. In talking with him he said he most often shops at Main Street Yarns in Watkinsville and Yes Yarn in Anderson, South Carolina.

The Mountain is just a week away and I'm ready to get out of town and away from work for a bit!

My left thumb has been hurting for the last week and I'm afraid it may be a repetitive motion injury. I'm still a little in denial and hoping it's not... I've had trigger finger with one of my little fingers, but this doesn't pop like that did, it just aches most of the time and hurts when bent a certain way. I know, don't bend it that way! It actually hurts most when I'm driving and gripping the steering wheel. Most likely it is trigger finger again and caused by repetitive motion from knitting. I don't use that thumb when I'm typing. I have been lifting heavy boxes of tax forms at work the last couple of weeks and that may possibly be the cause. I also have the bad habit of picking up several books at once with the same hand gripping the spines. Really bad habit and could also be the culprit. Miss Nancy gave me a nice, although sometimes ouchy, hand massage last night at Knitch and it does feel better today. Thanks princess Nancy Schmancy!

I signed up for the AKG knitting retreat at the Mountain again this year.

Sunrise at the Mountain Retreat Center.

Knitting on the deck at the Mountain retreat 2008.

So far it looks like the only guys in the manly cabin this year will be Lou, Rob and I. I'm trying to figure out which projects I want to take to work on this year. I've been wanting to make EZ's conch hat and this would be a fun project to try. I still haven't pulled out my pattern pile to go through. That should produce at least a half dozen things I'll want to start right now. I still have a few weeks to ponder the choices.

We went and saw the movie Milk yesterday. Too bad it didn't come out before the vote on Prop 8 in CA. I think the vote would probably have been affected just from the powerful story of Harvey Milk's rise to city government and the advance of rights for the GLBT community. The story is more well known in the gay community but not so much in the mainstream. I highly recommend seeing the movie.

Knittingwise, I just finished Oat Couture's Knit Ruana shawl as a commission. Nice easy pattern, but it's almost entirely garter stitch and a little mind numbing at times. I didn't take any pictures unfortunately. I should be keeping a record of the commission stuff I've done. I just never seem to think of taking a picture of them until after I've returned them to the owner.

I'm currently working on a test knit for a friend. Pattern to be published soon!

A new year begins

I haven't blogged in a few weeks and I think it's mostly just a Christmas blues kinda thing. I just wasn't ever really inspired by the whole holiday thing this year. We didn't even put up a tree or buy presents for each other this year. We decided a couple of months ago to pool our present money and buy ourselves a new mattress, which we really need. I also was kind of relieved since the stress I usually have around Christmas and the presents just wasn't there this year either. It made for the most stress-free holiday season I've ever had.

I did enjoy the Christmas parties this year and spending the time with friends. Michael and I both got lovely gifts from our family and friends. I decided to concentrate on the time I spend with the people I care about. I'm so thankful to have friends and family to share time and experiences with. To me that is a gift that has no measure and I'll have with me for a long time.

This past Friday I spent the day with Steve and Nancy. We met for lunch and even convinced Nancy that she really does like sushi! We had planned to go to a movie afterward, but didn't find anything we really wanted to see. We ended up going to Ikea and spending a couple of hours of leisurely shopping followed by sweet rolls. We then went to Knitch and joined our other friends for the Friday night knitting group. Even though Steve, Nancy and I spent about 8 hours together that day, it went by so quickly and I had such a great time. These are the kind of days I'm truly thankful for. When I can forget about some of the tough things in my life and lose myself in having good conversation, doing nothing but spending time with people whose company I enjoy and laugh. I'm so fortunate to have a partner who loves me, a loving and supportive family, and many friends around me with whom I can be myself.

During my Sunday school class this morning our pastor told us a story about going to see his 2 year old granddaughter in her first ballet recital. He told us how it was such a gray day and the traffic getting to Marietta was so awful that by the time they got to the recital hall he wasn't in the best of moods. The performance began with 6 little girls coming onstage and dancing as only children that age can. He said she did very well as long as she was watching the leader, but as soon as she made eye contact with her parents and grandparents she kind of wandered. He said his mood was instantly changed and the pure joy he could see in those 6 little girls dancing made the whole trip so worthwhile. (I can only imagine the pride and pure joy parents and grandparents feel at these recitals.) After getting home from the recital, during dinner his granddaughter would take a bite of her dinner then go dancing off around the room, returning only for another bite of food before dancing away again.

Children can express joy in such easy and apparent ways. It seems that the moments of pure joy like that present themselves in my life so seldom, but I plan to seek them out whenever possible and I wish these moments for you, my friends, too.

Happy New Year!