Saturday, January 17, 2009

It's almost a scarf

It has been so much fun knitting with the Mini Mochi yarn I received from Crystal Palace Yarns. Using a two row by two row method, pulling from the inside of one ball for two rows, then using the second ball and pulling from the outside has made it like a new project each time I pick it up. Plus the feel of this yarn isn't your typical sock yarn even though it's 80% merino and 20% nylon. It's so much more yummy, and very soft. It's now available to purchase at Yarn Market and Jimmy Beans Wool It comes in 8 colors, this one (photo colors are not accurate) is color #103 Violets Rainbow. The scarf is done in 1 x 1 rib changing color every two rows. I couldn't get a good photo no matter how I tried. This earlier photo is closer than the one I took tonight but still doesn't really capture the colors well, they are quite vibrant without being too bright.

There are still several other scarves on my needles as well, but none have been getting their turn for my attention. Hope is still there for them, this scarf is nearly complete and I don't have more of this yarn . . . shucks!


Today's trip to the Friends of the Library store was fruitful. They had a lot of hard back, and the larger soft cover knitting books in. Oddly, most of them were filled with sweaters to knit. I picked up Knit it Your Way by Cynthia Yanok Wise, Modern Classics - Knit Over 20 Timeless Designs by Louisa Harding, and New Directions in Knitting from House of White Birches - all for less than $20.00.


Moving on to the local thrift stores provided good pickings too. At the first one, two bags of basic yarn snagged me 15 full or nearly full skeins of basic yarns (1 velour type, 2 boucle, 8 variegated acrylics, and the rest solids) plus two large balls of cotton yarn in yellow and chartreuse and a small ball of a really pretty blue that is kind of glitzy. The bonus of these bags of yarn were 4 pair of knitting needles (1 pr sz 15 Clover Takumi, 2 pair plastic size 8 and 1 pair of wood size 8), 5 crochet hooks (all different sizes), and a crochet hook bag by Klutz which had some stitch markers and really cute buttons in it. All this for about $5.50 after the senior discount.



Across the street at another thrift store I found a package of T-shirt transfer paper which I plan to use to make a Scarves From The Heart t-shirt or bag, two brand new stainless steel watering cans (for watering plants) and one of those huge bath sheet size towels that is just like new. I think I spent nearly $7 at this shop. Don't you just love bargains! Hubby says he gets out of the thrift stores a lot cheaper when I don't go with him, but that's ok, I'll buy my yarn at yarn stores and on line if he prefers .



After lunch at Sizzler, and the thrift store crawl, it was the not so favorite chore of grocery shopping before coming home to flop into the easy chair. It seems like no matter how much I plan to eat well these trips consist of junk food shopping! I think it's because we do our meat shopping at Costco once a month, and also buy our paper products there. Of course fresh fruits and vegetables are bought as needed, so this was a pop corn, bread, soft drinks, and yogurt trip.



If you belong to the KnitTalk group on Yahoo you've already heard that my friend Alison is not well. She has several medical issues, and right now her Crohn's is out of control. If you're a praying person, please say a prayer that God will allow the new medication to help her quickly, very quickly. The medication, and getting it is a whole other story in itself. I'm sure you've seen Humira advertised on TV. Bet you would never imagine how difficult it is to get an insurance company to pay for it, then how much rigamarole you would have to go through to get it, and have it administered. It seems that this medicine is highly regulated, but it is also pretty much Alison's last hope to survive this bout with Crohn's disease. In addition to the symptoms of the Crohn's she has been dealing with fever, nausea, vomiting, and it seems all the things that she can't afford to have if she's going to beat this.



Oh, I almost forgot. Scarves From The Heart has been asked to work with a local group called Kaleidoscope which provides bags of comfort items to cancer patients. I'm excited about it. I've been invited to speak to their group at an upcoming meeting. I think it's a good thing, though I'm not sure exactly how we'll work together. We'll see, God will lead me and let me know if this is the direction He wants us to go.


Now, I'd like to leave you with a smile on your face. This is what makes me smile each time I think of her. My granddaughter Brodie Skye, who turned 1 back in October.


Thursday, January 01, 2009

Happy New Year 2009!

Happy New Year to all our friends out in cyberland! May 2009 be a prosperous year and may you always have enough! Enough of everything that makes life comfortable and worthwhile! May those of us who are blessed to have enough food, and all the necessities in life all share with those who are in need.

New Years Eve for us was a quiet evening for us. We picked up pizza for hubby and Chinese food for me and spent the evening in front of the tv. It was a bit strange at midnight when all the fireworks went off, it was very foggy here and it really muffled the sound. The big fireworks sounded like they were in a barrel and the small ones in the neighborhood sounded like someone popping bubble wrap.

Today was more about getting laundry done than reflecting on what 2009 will bring. I've never been much for making resolutions but I am planning to make most of this year's knitting projects from stash. Hubby watched part of the Rose Bowl Parade while I slept late, then he watched the USC game, while I caught up on email and laundry.

Our Christmas trip to Disneyland and our stay at the Grand Californian Hotel were wonderful. The weather was less severe than predicted, the traffic going both ways was uneventful, and the hotel was awesome. If you'd like to see some pictures of the wonderful environment of this hotel check out the traveler photos on this site. There is a box on the right hand side of the page, just a little way down that says "traveler photos and videos". It's hard to do justice to the grand decor of this hotel, but if you love the arts and crafts movement in architecture you've got to experience this hotel at least once! I spent quite a bit of my time at the hotel, knitting and computing, and enjoying the third floor mezzanine which is furnished with overstuffed chairs, side tables and lamps with stained glass shades. I really like the oversized sit-in fireplace in the lobby, but the lighting isn't good enough for knitting there.

Santa brought me the external hard drive I wanted for my computer along with a few other things I'd asked for, including some of the Elizabeth Zimmerman knitting books. But he also brought a couple of unexpected gifts, including a digital picture frame which I love.

The black fingerless gloves for our grandson are done, the purple ones for my sister-in-law are about three-quarters done. I've already started the 1x1 ribbing at the knuckles. I'm not particularly happy with the fit of my own fingerless gloves, or the yarn they're made from, so next up will be some warmer ones from wool to replace the ones shown in my last post.

Today I cast on some inexpensive yellow boucle' yarn for a scarf, using straight needles which I seldom use. It's kind of odd because I seldom work with yellow, don't particularly enjoy working with boucle yarns - but there is something about this yarn that was calling to me. Maybe because my sister sent it to me, maybe because it's such a bright sunny color, but I'm loving the fabric that is developing. The needles are a material I'm unfamiliar with, they feel like plastic, but they have a different feel than any I've used before. They are by Boye, and they're bright yellow, 11" length, with metal ends and appear to be at least a few years old. I really like the shape of the tip, they are one of the few straight needles I've found that I like. Where I picked them up, I have no idea at all! I'm sure I found them when I was looking for antique needles, and I wonder if they could be made of cellulose.

Scarves from the heart is currently asking for basic machine washable and dryable scarves which will be donated to shelters. So if you're a beginner to knitting or crochet, this is the perfect project to donate to. Simple patterns are ideal, you can let the color be the statement!

Happy New Year all! Call a friend you haven't talked to lately!