Two steps forward, one step back

July 4th was different for us this year - George was at home for the first time in many years (more about that later), and we were invited to a BBQ at Cindy and Alex's house; they are fun, good friends, and Maverick was welcome to come with us. Here's a photo of Maverick's Corgi friend, Darby, showing her patriotism by wearing the Statue of Liberty hat after dinner and before the fireworks. We also decided, for the first time, to sedate Maverick. Our poor hound gets so frantic during fireworks that he paces, whines, and can't settle down at all - if he weren't with us, he would certainly be a candidate to become a wild-eyed runaway dog. There's no telling what he was thinking after we gave him the meds, but he was able to just sleep through most of the pops and booms this year. So we all slept better than in years past.

The following day, Maverick was in the back yard when he got a visit from a dog which looked very much like him. She was the same coloring and slightly smaller, but very thin and due to the shape of her face, she was likely a boxer-pitbull mix. She jumped the fence and ran with Maverick for awhile - she appeared to be well cared for, so we're guessing she may have escaped during the fireworks. We fed her, watered her and called for Animal Control to see if she was micro-chipped, but they weren't going to be open again until Tuesday!!! We couldn't keep her, and she didn't stick around... we truly hope she has reunited with her owners.

All the pieces for my Lynton sweater are complete. The shoulders are seamed, the front pieces are bordered, and the collar has been picked up and knitted about 3cm into the ribbing. I panicked and bought more yarn, and now it doesn't appear that I will need the extra, although with the size of this collar and the fact that it is ribbed, I'll withold judgement until completion. I'm loving this sweater and can't wait to finish it. Cotton Jeans is beautiful yarn and I love the Blue Wash color I chose as well as the lovely texture it has with this gauge (sorry the photo contrast isn't great - I'll do better with the finished piece). I'm dreading all the sewing in of ends - it's never fun, and even worse with cotton yarn, but a small price to pay (I'm telling myself). I can barely stand to wait to wear it.

So why am I on the computer instead of knitting, you might ask? My left shoulder has a hot thread of pain running through it, and it increases immensely when I pick up my needles. I'm not sure whether I did something else, or whether I'm just stressed when I knit because I'm working hard to keep a tight gauge on the Lynton. I went to sleep in pain last night and have been popping ibuprofen all day. I have a massage scheduled for Saturday, and may need to move it up. So I'm giving it a rest and not knitting tonight. And I don't really need to say how hard that is, do I?

George always works the 4th of July at Gasworks Park. It's one of those days that every officer works, either on duty at regular pay, or overtime at holiday pay, and George looks forward to it each year. On July 2nd, the day after my previous post, George was injured while attempting to stop a suspect running from another police officer through a retail store. The suspect was running all out and George was off to one side and could not get a grip on the man; the force instead tumbled George into a clothing rack where his knee landed sideways on the foot of the rack. Thanks to a citizen, the man was stopped and George and the first officer were able to take the suspect into custody. George was taken to emergency where doctors told him some deep bruising had taken place, but they are hoping there are no tears to the ligaments. George also has some bruising at his ribcage and a large bluish toe from the incident. And he is back at home, trying to heal up to get back to work and back to his motocross racing. He's been told that he will be at home for at least a week, but he is not healing as quickly as he had hoped and will now miss the motocross race this weekend so will wait a month before he can race again. The good news is that the suspect did not attempt to use a weapon, so the injury is not life-threatening. And the other good news is that his recovery from surgery is complete, as no pain is coming from those areas.

So, we're making progress, a little bit at a time! And we are enjoying this warmer weather!

Must we mix dirt and yarn?

See this smile? This is what recovery from a "big deal" surgery looks like at my house! George raced motocross when he was a teenager, and he has never forgotten the fun he had. So he now has a number of vintage motorcycles to race in the dirt with other enthusiasts and while they have a wonderful time in all kinds of weather, George says he has the most fun when I come along.

So I did this past weekend, to Washougal, WA. The track there is great for the riders, and has a number of places where I can enjoy another of my hobbies and get some nice shots of jumps and landings.

This is one of George's favorite images of himself, landing on a tabletop jump. He did not race as many "motos" as he usually would since he is still building his endurance, but he says he made a pass that was worth the entire trip.

I expected to be able to watch most of the races from a chair or bleachers with Maverick next to me and knitting in my hands. Except for the excessive heat and dust, and on Saturday, the wind... The sun-block served as a semi-permanent base for the dirt, and I just tried not to think about all the places the dust was infiltrating. NOT my knitting though - I only got it out when I was safely cleaned up in the evenings.

We spent a nice weekend among many kind people who are more interested in fun and having a good race than winning. I always witness much sharing of parts and expertise (like knitting, don't you think?) just to get that old bike out on the track, and it's fun to see the nostalgia and respect for the origins of the sport (also like knitting). I improved my technique for action photos and am now lusting after a longer telephoto lens to get those closer up shots without risking my life. While it's not a sport I would have chosen due to the petroleum and environmental perspective, the fact that it's George's joy has given me reason to find the good things in that community. And I have!

A variety of distractions

We're finally going to have a HOT weekend in the 80's, maybe approaching 90 degrees! OK, hot for Seattle. We've been working in the yard, planting vegetables, weeding, and hoping the weather will be better soon. The peonies take full advantage of the sun and defy the chilly air - I love the powder-puff appearance and wonderful fragrance. I've been hearing we won't get many vegetables because of the delay of warmth and sunshine - we have been picking and eating our pineapple strawberries, and our climbing rose is blooming like crazy, but the produce is still small - the growth looks more like early May than the end of June.

I've been wanting to have a outdoor work space for a couple of years, and finally found room on the side of our house. We took a trip out to Marenako's last Saturday and shoveled 600 lbs of 3/8" and 3/4" crushed granite into the back of the truck. The larger went on the path around the vegetable garden, and the smaller went to create a "floor" for my potting area and hutch. While George worked on his motorcycles, I weeded, sorted rocks, raked, put down landscapers' cloth, shoveled the gravel into the wheelbarrow, then spread it. I was stiff for a couple of days afterward, and it was completely worth it. And you can see that Maverick was enjoying it with me.

The past few weeks have challenged me in a several areas, most important was that back in May, George had an injury involving pain and numbness in his right arm. He thought it was a pulled muscle, then a pinched nerve, then, after staying home on pain pills for a couple of weeks, he and his neurosurgeon decided he needed to have surgery at the C7 vertebra in his neck to enlarge the hole (framen?) through which the nerves travel (I, of course, may not remember the actual medical terms). The decision was made on the Friday of the LYS tour, and the surgery was on Monday.

So it was an interesting weekend... George talked about the surgery in a sort of blithe manner, and it wasn't until I actually said to him "This is a BIG DEAL." and he answered, "No Shit!" that the gravity was acknowledged between us. Fortunately, he has a very skilled neurosurgeon, and the doctor's first words to me after the surgery were: "He has a really big neck! And he came through very well." George was in the hospital for only about 26 hours. He began to feel better almost immediately, although he stayed on the pain pills for around two weeks. He finally stopped taking them due to his inability to sleep while under their effects. I got some first-hand experience in how taking pain meds long term can affect a person's behavior, and was very glad when he stopped. He went back to work on light duty for nearly two weeks doing data entry, then was so bored that he felt strong enough to return to regular duty this week. He's been much happier and very fortunate to be whole again, and having his first motocross race since the injury coming up this weekend is icing on the cake.

The above mentioned LYS tour was fun this year - I made it to only a few stores, but enjoyed them all. I began on Thursday with So Much Yarn and Hilltop Yarn Queen Anne, then went to Village Yarn and Tea in the evening for my class. On Friday, George and I stopped at Weaving Works on our way downtown for an errand, then went to Mill Creek for dinner so I could go to Main Street Yarn, then on Saturday, I visited my parents on Bainbridge Island since I was determined to go to Churchmouse Yarns & Tea. Upon my return from the ferry, George took me on his motorcycle to Acorn Street and Tricoter. OK, it was more than a few stores. I will post photos of my treasures as I knit the charming patterns from each store. I didn't go to any more shops on Sunday, because I was unable to walk out of any previous store without making a purchase, and because I wanted to spend that time with George. It was finally a nice day, so we worked in the yard and were able to relax a bit.

My attention was also on Naomi's retirement from the City. Her office was one floor above mine, and although our schedules meant that we saw little of each other at work, I liked knowing that she was nearby. My dear friend is responsible for drawing me back to knitting, and I have such amazing companionship and joy in the time I have spent with her as well as my newfound fiber friends. I didn't listen to her request for no retirement gifts since I had already ordered and received the custom Seattle Mariner Socks that Rock yarn from Tricoter, and decided to knit her the Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts she mentioned in her blog (I knitted a 36 stitch width instead of the 48 stitch for a longer, narrower scarf). Amy set up the photo for me - Blue Moon's lightweight yarns are just a dream to knit with. So I'm thrilled for Naomi to be doing whatever she wants every single day, and even though we won't be seeing each other at work, we'll still be meeting with our yarns, and that's the best part anyway! Congratulations, Naomi!

A Lot of Small Things

Can it really be June already? And I haven't posted for over a month? I have many events whirling me around in my daily life, so I have only posted in my head.

Since last time, I completed my red Silky Wool topdown sweater and have worn it several times. I love the design and the fit - I found that the yarn holds shape very well and was surprised that I was itching on my back. I've never been allergic to wool, and would have never expected itching from a silk and wool blend... so I wear a high-back camisole underneath and have been enjoying the sweater very much.

I've also completed and blocked my Kauni wristlets from Ruth Sorenson's class, and I love her design. I gave them to my color-loving friend, Cheryl, for her birthday and she was thrilled to receive a handknit gift. I'll knit more of these in a cooler season.

My enjoyment of cotton bath mitts continues (three of my latest are to the left) and now I'm mixing as many colors as I can. I gave one to my friend, Claudia, for her birthday. She worried that her husband would want to use it too, so I knitted him a larger, jewel-toned mitt. Then she admitted that their 8 year old son, Drew, took possession of both mitts because he loves them. Well, with that kind of admiration, he will, of course get one of his very own in his size for his July birthday.

I made my first visit to Renaissance Yarns in Kent (I didn't find a website, but this blog shows classy photos and says nice things that I agree with) with my long-time friend, Pam. After carrying around numerous skeins I wanted to buy, I limited myself to two Jitterbug colors. I will definitely stop in whenever I'm in the area!

And I finally gave in to the urge and managed to actually be quick enough to get project bags from Amy. Her mother sews them and they have such charming details... I've been carrying at least one project bag with me at all times, and I admittedly try to match the colors of my project with the bag - helps my short memory, you see.

Pam's daughter, Rachel, has known me as Auntie for all her life, and when Rachel's son, Connor, had his first birthday, I decided to knit him a sweater I thought he (OK, his Mommy and Grammy) would like. I got to reinforce some skills and learn others when I needed to increase the pattern to his actual size, and when the designs were done with intarsia and double stitch embroidery. I managed to get it done in a week, and even included my label since it's important to Rachel. She and Pam loved the sweater - Connor was more interested in the blocks I gave him. The star sweater is knit with Cascade's Superwash, and was a lot of fun! I took the photos in their garden.

I've had the FiberTrends Felted Clog pattern for months now, and finally knit a pair for Mitch's (my Seattle architect brother) birthday this month. I admit to some silly challenges since I seem to have a mental block about reading a pattern through before starting. Sigh. I did complete them in time for his Sunday morning visit and had him try on the oversized pre-felted versions. He was a little suspicious about why they were so large, but cautiously suspended doubt as I dropped them in the washer for the agitation stage. Maverick became agitated himself since I dropped in half a dozen tennis balls - he guarded the washer all day to keep track of those balls. Mitch and I had a rare chance to hang out and talk while the magic happened, and he was thrilled with the results. He is so talented himself that I'm truly happy to give him something made with my own hands.

My Blue Moon order of Karen Alfke's Linen-Cuff sock pattern arrived with a lovely skein of Lunasea colorway in Silkie Socks That Rock. I didn't think the linen stitch would show up with that yarn, so I knitted them in the Bright Leaf color in Jitterbug (right). Athough the yarn is not medium-weight, I blithely followed the instructions for the cuff and like the resulting texture and weight very well. When picking up for the foot of the sock, I decided to have an emphasis on the cuff and picked up with a purl row before beginning the foot. I wore them yesterday (unfortunately, Seattle weather isn't warm enough yet to make wool socks uncomfortable) - I love them! And I started right up on my Regia self-striping socks! Must always have sock project for travel purposes!

Some progress has been made on my Rowan Lynton cardigan knit from Rowan's Cotton Jeans yarn - I'm just to the decrease point for the neck on the front pieces and still have the sleeves and collar to go. I love the sweater and the yarn so was puzzling in my Skills Building class with Rebecca about why I'm taking so long to finish this garment. Having to frog the fronts at least four times to get the correct increase slant for the angled opening and knitting this beautiful yarn so tightly to get a jacket texture on needles I truly dislike have each contributed a negative point or two. I'm working hard to stick with it so I can wear this sweater by July. I'm just hoping I won't NEED to wear it in July.

Memed?

When I logged on to complete the post I've been working on in snatches, I found that I've been memed by Naomi! Answering the questions is pretty fun - I just don't know 6 people who have blogs and haven't yet been memed.

The rules: Are posted at the beginning. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you've posted your answer. Play nice, children!


1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was living in my town home in Kirkland, working as a Community Service Officer with the Seattle Police Department, and had been seeing George for two years by that time. In my job, I was completely involved in the Neighborhood Action Team Seattle, which was a sort of "one-stop-shop" for coordinating responses from a variety of City departments to neighborhood issues. We did some very good work at coming up with fresh strategies, and made some long-term contacts. I stopped rowing crew in spring of that year to correct my deviated septum with a septoplasty, then I never rejoined the team. Four of us rowing women periodically organized a gourmet dinner for ourselves and our partners. We met at a coffee shop to plan the menu and decide who was responsible for which dishes one week, then the following weekend spent a day shopping, cooking, then sitting down to eat a four course gourmet menu. It was a lot of fun to learn new cooking skills with others.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today - not in any particular order? Get my yogurt parfait breakfast, meet with my manager, vacuum and fold clothes when I get home, sew in ends on a pair of socks that I added new toes to, and complete my new Karen Alfke linen cuff socks so I can wear them tomorrow.

3. Snacks I enjoy: Mrs. May's Almond Crunch, cinnamon-sugar pita chips from Trader Joe's, sliced cucumbers with light ranch dressing, Kashi 7 grain crackers with Trader Joe's hummous, Luna bars, Fiber One Oats & Chocolate Bar, and nearly anything with cinnamon or chocolate.

4. Places I've lived: Kansas and Missouri before we moved to Washington. We lived in a rental in Bellevue while our house was being built in the area now called SeaTac, then in Riverton Heights, Kirkland, and Kenmore. While going to school, I lived in Pullman, then later in Staufen and Prien, Germany.

5. Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay off my house, and get the landscaping completed, buy George a motorcycle garage with a dirt track and lots of insurance, gift my friends & family according to their dreams, donate to Humane Society and Planned Parenthood, buy a vacation home or two, and take my friends traveling with me - if they want to go! I'd also be knitting, but that's no different than now. I might also buy matching recreational single shells for George and I so I would get back on the water.

6. What are some jobs I've had? Babysitting; sewing (tailoring new garments & alterations); fast food in high school; retail sales at fabric store; a summer with Fotomat in one of those tiny parking lot booths; wiring diagram draftsperson at Boeing; sales; management; buyer at Frederick & Nelson; commission sales of new technology: Fax machines! Since reaching adulthood, I've actually had at least four careers! I currently work as a tax collector, and in my spare time, I occasionally help people sort through their clothes by organizing closets and drawers with them and making recommendations for their wardrobe shopping.

7. People I want to know more about: Janine, Karen, Kristin - I know this isn't six, but they are who I want to know more about!

And I actually have another post nearly ready, finally!

Ferals Top to Toe Challenge

Naomi invited me to Ferals last year shortly after I picked up my knitting needles again. The first time, I looked through the window at all of them and went to work out instead. The next time, I went in and very self-consciously sat as close as possible to Naomi while I knitted on something conspicuously NOT Fair Isle. I continued to attend, with or without Naomi, and have gradually met and been talking with many of the members. One meeting Karen Campbell delivered the Cotton Jeans yarn I had ordered from Two Swans, another meeting Sandra got my address and sent me a copy of the Fair Isle Tam and Vest pattern from Vogue magazine. At another meeting, Wendy showed me her third beautiful Martha sweater from the Rowan Studio Two book, and I was hooked (unfortunately, the book is now out of print, but I did manage to track down a copy to buy. Phew!). I can't name them all - I'm just trying to say how amazed and grateful I feel to find such a graceful group of interesting, talented and kind women to spend a couple of hours with every two weeks or so, and how lucky I feel to be among them.

I don't remember who actually set the top to toe challenge to have a Fair Isle knit hat or a pair of Fair Isle socks completed between January 1 and April 1, but I was determined to try something new. I heard about Sandy Blue's Midnight Sun tam then saw it at Churchmouse when I was attending Janine's Color in Fair Isle class and decided it was so beautiful, I wanted to try it. Once I decided, Karen delivered the yarn and pattern so swiftly, I didn't have a chance to feel panicky. I have shared my experience with it along the way, from the German cast-on to finally deciding with which colors to replace Bracken and Yellow ochre. Sandy talked with me not only in person at a Ferals meeting to tell me how she went about choosing new colors when shades get discontinued, but later by phone when I had novice-tam-knitter questions about the wheel chart. I'm not a fast knitter, and am even slower when doing the stranded knitting since I'm still learning technique, but even I thought I could finish the tam by April 1. And I did finish the knitting at the Ferals on March 31, with help from Rebecca and Naomi reminding me to read my color chart AND my knitted item, and with Melinda showing me the spit splice color change to avoid the hundreds (as it seemed) of ends to knit in. So finally, here it is!

The show and tell was this past Monday April 7 - I took my camera to capture images of some of the completed tams. Still to come are Wendy's re-colored Midnight Sun tam and Diana's hat - maybe more that I don't even know about. I'm sure there must have been more hats and some socks that didn't make it to the meeting. The folks who brought completed items were very generously given prizes from Karen Campbell and Linda K (two people I neglected to photograph) - I was lucky to receive the Koigu shown at the top, and am planning a pair of ribbed socks as soon as possible. Other prizes included pattern books, other colors of Koigu, needles, and I can't remember what all.

The knitting wasn't all hats and socks! Here's Lori on the left with her own intricate and beautifully colored design becoming a cardigan. She began this design in Janine's class when and that's when we met her and invited her to Ferals - she's been a devotee ever since! She also got in the spirit of the challenge and designed and knitted her tam in one day. And here's Janine on the right with her Armenian technique Leo sweater - this is another classic in the making to join Janine's collection of heirloom sweaters.

Left are four of the tams from the back: left is Lori, my Midnight Sun, Norma's snowy design, and Karen Hust's beautiful tam of Sandy Blue's other color way. Right is same lovely ladies in their tams. Below left is Wendy wearing Karen's tam and below right is Karen wearing my tam.

I loved being involved with the challenge, and it was a thrill to knit something so lovely and complex. I plan to knit another one and try more colors or maybe design my own.

It was a Tam Good Time!

Madrona Novice Part Two and beyond

My experienced friends coached me to be sure to allow some free time, so Friday morning I got in a workout at the nearby Y (since the hotel's workout room was "under construction" like so much else at Hotel Murano) and a walk to the bank and post office. Then I met Naomi, Melinda, Ellen and Ruth for lunch at the Japanese restaurant across from the hotel - there was a wait, but it was delicious and filling.

My afternoon class was Phoenix from the Ashes with Lucy Neatby - I had tried for her finishing class and while I didn't know what to expect from this one, I hoped for (and got!) a treat. We began with grafting and went on from there - it was great fun. We actually did things I had only read about, and I hadn't known anything about her intense, inventive style. When I think of her now, the words "never say die" are what I remember. While I'd like to have all of her DVD's, I settled for purchasing one at the marketplace this time.

Lucy also was the speaker that evening and I hadn't had enough of her yet, so hearing more was energizing. I wish I had photographed her - I haven't seen a single image of her that captured that personality. After the talk, the instructor's gallery was also inspiring: Ruth was like a rock star with all the people gathered around her and her tables of lovely items knit from Kauni yarn. She had her knitted basket pins for sale and they sold in a flash - I barely managed to get one myself!

Saturday was my morning with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee; another real treat! Besides all the students being able to sit and knit while she talked, the information she delivered was specific, useful, AND entertaining. I was able to use one of her sock tips in combination with a pick-up technique from Margaret Radcliffe's Sunday morning class - I can't remember when I've taken classes that so immediately applied to what I'm doing in real life.

I went to Janine's Color Reunion at noon and it was fun to see everyone's progress. I only had my Midnight Sun tam with me since I planned to change out two of the colors, but some folks just had great things. I might have liked Sheila's wristlets best; see what I mean?! Janine talked about how yarn manufacturers are continually reducing the number of colors they offer, and how every color cut from the line impacts the stranded knitter's ability to choose the colors to acheive the amazing subtleties characterized by Fair Isle knitting. We all talked about the value of supporting the yarn industry by continuing to knit traditional Fair Isle designs, and Janine went so far as saying that today's knitters from outside Fair Isle may be the ones to save the tradition, which doesn't appear to be valued as much on Fair Isle as we think it should be! All the more reason for me to chip away at my attempts at this skill with Sandy Blue's Midnight Sun tam for the Ferals challenge.

Saturday afternoon was spent visiting with people in the rotunda outside the Marketplace. Sat with Ryan and Kathy, then with Sam. Went through the marketplace with Melinda, back with Rebecca, a couple of trips on my own... it's hard to not spend money when I can't stay out! There were so many lovely yarns and useful tools, dvd's, books... I bought every color of pin Jamesen's and a couple of colors of J&S for good measure at Two Swans Yarns... Karen's rainbow display of yarns was just irresistable!

The much anticipated banquet had wonderful food, I'm sure, since my choice was salmon. Amazingly, foodie that I am, memory of what I ate was completely knocked out of my mind by what I heard from Judith McKenzie. I knew only a bit about her, but when she began to speak about bison, I felt like I was at a National Geographic lecture. Her authenticity was apparent from her specific information, much of which was first-hand, once she completed the history portion. I was so entralled that I uncharacteristically asked a couple of questions. And I loved the yarns which were serving as the centerpieces on the tables... at my table, we thought we were going to get an opportunity to win some!

My final class was again with Margaret Radcliffe, then I was off home. George did a fine job of taking care of the house and dog in my absence - in fact Maverick didn't really seem to need me back at all for the first 30 minutes or so. The only part of Madrona I thought George would be interested in was the talk on bison, and I did my best to recount much of what I learned to him. Even with my minimal capsule of information, he was interested enough to get right on the computer to look up bison vs grizzly on you-tube (unfortunately finding only a video where the grizzly was successful in getting the calf - heartbreaking to watch the mother bison unable to save her baby).

It was hard to break the habit of knitting at every opportunity, so I was glad Monday was a holiday for us City workers. Ferals on Monday evening was quite fun with a very large group including Ruth. Sandy Blue was even there and gave me some insight into color replacement ideas; I had already replaced Bracken with J&S #FC10, and I tried Crimson in place of Yellow Ochre that evening, but took it out as soon as I got home (it was right next to Leaf and ended up looking like a Christmas hat). George chose the color I ended up using: J&S #9143. I was considering Sorbet, and it would have been nice too... another hat, another day?

I did go in to work on Tuesday, then attended Ruth's Design class at Village Yarn & Tea on Wednesday. It was a lovely day and comforting reminder that returning home from Madrona doesn't have to mean an end to my knitting retreat. Some of my favorite people were in class with me, and the light in the room was a teaser for the spring weather to come. Ruth is a charming, natural teacher who shared with us, encouraged us, and enjoyed everyone there - possibly as much as we enjoyed her! We listened, tried on her designs (photo at left is of Victoria in Ruth's skirt, with Rebecca), then began designing and knitting for ourselves. Besides starting my very own wristlets, I loved getting this wonderful photo of Rebecca and Ruth together, as well as the one Rebecca took of me (wearing one of Ruth's sweaters) with Ruth.

Madrona proved to be completely inspirational to me, if I could only find the time to knit everything I want to knit in addition to having my regular life. Maybe that's a future Madrona class: "How to find time to knit as much as you want." Still, I'm persevering, and will update with photos of "Life After Madrona 2008" next time!