Is it hot in here?

For those of you fanning along with me at the thought of 20 skeins of Noro, here it is:




20 skeins of Kureyon #188. The picture is pretty true to color; a blend of greens and purples, with some lovely grays/lilacs/touch of raspberry thrown in. I'm making this, though I'm going to make it the way Aija did it, in strips rather than blocks.


I've been just itching to make this for a while but couldn't justify the expense (or more yarn in the house along with plenty of projects already in line) but then a good friend of ours was kind enough to get engaged, just so I could have a great excuse to make it as a wedding gift. And I did get a good deal - 25% off at Webs brought it to about what we would have spent on a gift anyway, and now I have the fun of knitting it! It's also a great, portable, comparatively brainless project compared to lacy Icarus, so it will be nice to have that to turn to when I screw up one too many yarn-overs.

“You know it’s kind of sad when one dog farts and you think it’s the other one’s breath”

I have nothing to say about that; it was just a tantalizing lead-in to make you think, 'what the hell...?' and keep on reading. My husband said it earlier this evening and mature individual that I am, I found it rather funny. I am 12.

Tammy tagged me today.

7 Random Things About Me:

1. I was bilingual as a little kid (Spanish/English) because my father was in the Peace Corps and we lived in the Dominican Republic and Columbia for a while.

2. We also lived on a Navajo reservation; my tattoo is stylized Navajo symbols for the harvest; I pulled the images from rock paintings I found on line and had the artist figure out how to work them together. Here's my tat:

3. I love and I'm really good at Archery and Riflery. I've taught Archery a lot and coached a couple of teams as well. But I own neither a bow or gun; it's too dangerous as I live in suburbia.

4. As a kid I wanted to be an Egyptologist. I was devastated to learn that at the time they weren't allowing Jews into Egypt. Or maybe they were allowed in, but not out...

5. I was very shy as a child, and all the way into early adulthood. When I tell people that, most of them respond 'what the hell happened'? I have no idea, but it started after I hit 30.

6. I adore my husband, and yet I take a perverse delight in working his last nerve.

7. I once nearly broke my nose kissing a horse.

Whew! My first meme. Does that mean I'm no longer a virgin? I don't know who does and doesn't like being tagged yet, so if you want to take it from here, feel free (and let me know so I can check it out). And if not, well that's fine too.

I got some yarn in for a new (and large) project. I had no idea that opening a box with 20 skeins of Noro in it could be so intoxicating...*fanning myself furiously*...

But more on that with some pics later.

A Rose is a Rose is an FO

Rose, she be done! Here's full view. 'Rose' tee, by Alexandra Virgiel (a free tank-top version is on Knitty as 'Soleil'). Started March 2007, frogged twice due to silly mistakes, heartlessly cast aside for a few weeks in favor of socks and earrings for Thing 1 and Thing 2 and the bamboo/wool Twinkletoes Socks. Altered to create a higher neckline to make this workplace appropriate. The yarn got even softer after washing and it feels great. Knit with 100% raw silk from Tess' Designer Yarns purchased at Stitches West, on size 5 Addi Turbos. Here's the view my husband likes better:

On to Icarus!

My life: Sangria, Walking and Yarn

I made sangria yesterday. Here it is in the pitcher in which my mother used to make it when I was a kid. I remember it so clearly, sitting on a trivet on the (idle and cold) wood stove in our house in Vermont. The pitcher was a wedding gift and has her initials. It's one of my favorite things; nothing fancy, I just like it. I make my sangria like she did, from a recipe in "Tia Maria's Spanish Kitchen", a cookbook she got in the '60s. I don't even look at the recipe any more, I just kind of wing it, and it's damn fine.

A couple of posts ago I said I'd talk about my training walks. The Avon walk for Breast Cancer is taking place in San Francisco on July 7th and 8th. I decided in January to take this on, for many reasons, which I give on my Avon Walk Web Page. And I've been training ever since. This past weekend was a light one (9.5 miles) but my walking partner Nathalie and I did a tougher walk the weekend before. We walked from her house into Los Gatos and then took off for about 7 miles into the hills. Not easy. Freakin' hard at times, but it was fun. Check it out - we didn't drive to get this view:

We walked back into town for lunch, then while we were walking in the residential part we ran into this:

Which is much better than them running into us; they were moving. Eventually we headed back to Nathalie's house, taking a hilly detour on the way. We did nearly 16 miles that day, much of it hills. This coming weekend we're going to Rancho San Antonio and we're hoping to do 18-20 miles. We'll see! I'm looking forward to it.

In knitting news, there isn't much news; I'm almost done with my Rose tee, and getting ready to start Icarus. And I'm contemplating knitting one last item for this year's Dulaan shipment; an adult-size sweater; I'll probably just make up the pattern.

Other than that, I've been cleaning like a crazy woman. And packing; I just ordered some Pods so we can everything we've packed into them as we go. Only a couple of weeks before we move! I'm psyched and in a panic at the same time. I'm hoping adrenalin will get me through. That and sangria.

Sox on Setter

Riso the aspiring model would like to announce that the Twinkle Toes socks are done. And that he has since licked the excess food off of his nose.

He loves it when I knit socks because most of my dpns are bamboo, which are his favorite. They're delicious! He actually hasn't ever ruined any, he just likes to gently taste them once in a while. Now a tube of lip balm? That's a different story. This dog must have the most lubricated lips and digestive tract on earth.

Here's another pic of the socks:

Back to the Rose tee, and on to Icarus!

Icarus and Laceweight and Charts - Oh My!

For the past 6-8 months I've been knitting for this LYS. It's a pretty sweet deal; they get samples for the shop, and I not only get to play with new yarn, I do it in exchange for product. I also get to branch out and try things I might not ordinarily make or something new that makes me a little nervous.

Like my current WIP for them. I'm almost done making these: They're Twinkle Toes Socks (Michele Wyman, Effectiveness By Design). I'm making them out of a bamboo/wool blend, which I just love. It's a little bit splitty but so soft, and it shows the stitches beautifully. I'm considering picking some up for myself - perhaps a cabled top?

So last week I let them know I was nearly ready to start my next project. D. from the shop came by my office to pick something up and to bring me my next challenge. And a challenge it will be! The only lace projects I've done so far are a couple of feather and fan scarves, and the lacy bottom portion of Soleil. Apparently it's time to jump in with both feet: I'm going to be knitting the Icarus Shawl from Interweave. Yikes! As lace goes it's fairly simple, but it's still a major deal to me. I'm making it with with this, Graceful in Golden Tones. It's gorgeous stuff, super soft, and very fine. I can't wait to get started. And frankly, I'm scared. Of failure and of blindness.

I did some serious walk training this weekend; more on that next time!

I won! I won!

No really. I won. Twice!

I got an email at work yesterday announcing I'd won a bottle of wine from a nice local hotel in a raffle. I'd gone there for a networking cocktail thingy recently but had left before they'd done the drawing. And I won some wool/cashmere from Tammy's Dulaan Contest and it arrived yesterday. Gorgeous, soft yarn and Pinot Noir, both in the same day!

I am on a roll in the fortunate happenings department, that's for sure.