BAA BAA BLACKSHEEP

Whats been done so far this week

2008-08-28T18:38:00.003-05:00

This is the not so exciting blob that I am working on. I've just started ball two. Its been a slow knitting week since I've "lunched" three days this week and so not much knitting at lunch like usual.

No its not a bag. Yes it is not a scarf. No it is not growing upward. Yes it is flat. No it is not round. Yes it is square. No I don't have much to say about it since you can't really tell what it is like this.

Thats all for now.

Out on a Limb

2008-08-27T18:25:00.003-05:00

Pattern: Branching Out from Knitty (ravelry link and my ravelry project)
Materials: 1.75 skeins of Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in a lovely burnt orange (Yum!)
Made for: Me (But first for Chris photo shoots)
Needle: US#6 Addi Turbos Lace (40")
Start Date: 16 August 2008
Completion Date: 24 August 2008
Size: 65x6 after blocking; 54x4 before blocking

Notes: I decided that I wanted the leaves to go in the same direction on both sides of the scarf. Meaning starting at each end and grafting in the center. Its a pretty subtle change if you look at the pictures on Ravelry. But I really like the effect.

Especially at the join. It took me couple of tries to go from garter grafting to stocking stitch grafting and then back to garter. The garter stitch sort of flattened on each side with the blocking too so it looks like a mix of garter/stocking now. But I like it just fine. I love the how it came together in such a pretty shape.

Another thing that I particularly liked on this project, after blocking, are the flower shapes that come out in the yarn overs down the center line. I hadn't noticed them when knitting but they strike me as very beautiful now. So this is more then just leaves, its flowering too.

Other then the choice to knit in two pieces and graft I didn't really have any adjustments. You can see I forgot to cut one of the ends before taking the photos with Lacy.

There is actually a reason there were so many ends. I knit the first side and managed 18 repeats from the skein of Alpaca Silk. So I started the second side thinking I had another full ball. I must have used a little bit when I knit my wool peddlers shawl because the second skein only made 14 repeats. I frogged two repeats of the longer side. Yes frog is the right word becasue I was too impatient to unknit 20 rows so I just pulled the needle and started ripping. This is why there was a puddle of yarn on the floor for Ozzy to be so excited about. Then I knit the additional two repeats onto the side with 14 repeats to even things up. So there were the ends from starting. The ends from finishing the small ball and starting the next. The end of the 16th repeat on both sides and a grafting end.

I was trying to take a picture on a branch but frankly our trees have very high branches and I can't reach. So you get the twigs at the end of the branch. This scarf was blowing in the gentle breeze quite well. Its very drapey and smooth. The Alpaca silk, if you haven't used it, is soft and airy and light. Its really really nice and very warm. This will be a good scarf for the days I need a lot of warm. The few and far between days...

One more off topic thing. Guess who has a helmet again. She is having allergies and wants to scratch her face off. We are trying to avoid large gashes.

Blocking lace

2008-08-26T20:32:00.003-05:00

So I always block my lace items before I weave in the ends so I don't accidentally pull them untucked when I block hard. Umm, so there were several ends to weave in and I didn't manage it before it got too dark to photograph. I honestly think I may subconsciously be coming up with reasons not to post another finished object. I really don't know why they bother me so much.

It was supposed to be knitting night but Gus and Abby were both up last night a lot and so sleeping was sporatic. Abby had a coughing fit (? I guess this is what it was. It was odd.) and then couldn't get comfortable and since she has been wearing a e-collar again (yes she scratched herself again and right in front of me too and I didn't get their to stop it in time!) she was scraping the collar on the sides of the crate whenever she moved. She finally settled and then there is Gus actually throwing up. Twice about an hour or hour and a half apart plus a lot of bulldog smacking noises in between. So I'm so very tired right now. I can sleep (totally passed out, Penny screaming in my ear not waking me up type sleep) through their normal noises. Snoring like you wouldn't believe, whining, grumping (both from Gus), and all manner of movement through the night. But one of them gets sick? That wakes me and keeps me awake.

Secret Pal Question of the Week #9, 10, 11

2008-08-25T20:08:00.007-05:00

To the person now posting comments as Jackie, are you a new Jackie or are you Jackie whom I know from Ravelry? I was going to answer the comments but I wasn't sure since your profile page is empty for me. I figure before I just decide that I can't answer I should ask and see if you are ravelry Jackie.

On to Secret Pal...

Boy am I really behind on these or what? I guess I was just forgetting about them while I was on vacation. So now I will catch up.

Question of the week #9

Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair or alternately would you even consider it?

I haven't entered anything and I don't think I would. I know you don't always have to use your own pattern but I think I would want to have designed something first. I wouldn't feel right about entering something that wasn't mind from start to finish. All that said I'm not even sure that I've actually been to the fair before either.

Question of the week #10

What Olympic event would best describe your knitting/knitting style?

I think I know why I skipped this one. Ummm...hopefully it doesn't have to be a summer sport...how about cross country skiing. Its a lot of the same thing over and over but then there are hills and trees and interesting stuff along the way too. And, um, maybe a "wild" animal or two or four.

Question of the week #11

What is the best thing you've received in the mail?

As far as crafting goes? Yarn and/or fabric. Especially the stuff that was a surprise. Overall? Probably my first birthday present from Chris.

:: :: ::

So this is what so far has become of yesterday's yarn. Don't you love how the stitch marker I bought from Carolyn matches so well? How cool is that. Its purely a coincidence that the markers I have for fat needles match my fat yarn.

By the way the orange scarf is dry but it was already to dark for good photos by the time I got home and got home stuff finished tonight. I think I need to do it first thing when I get to the house tomorrow.

:: :: ::

Probably I'll get bad comments about this but I've decided to make a little note on my comments things about advertising for a shop/product in the comments. It doesn't happen that often that I get these. Maybe once every couple of months. I always delete them. You all totally know that I am an enabler. If I find a new shop with pretty yarns I totally let you know. If I have great service or poor service I say so. I'm always happy to endorse your shop for you if I have personally seen, touched, and/or used your product and enjoyed it. Always without you even asking me to do so. Sometimes though people I don't know, who haven't commented before, and whom I haven't endorsed before, randomly come along and advertise their latest sale or the fact that they have free shipping or whatever it is by leaving a comment. I don't really like that. I understand why they do it, but I don't like it at all and it isn't something I would ever do to someone else and I don't appreciate it being done to me. So they get deleted as soon as I see them. I won't mention it on here again, but it really upset me to see it today from comments on yesterday's post. So its gone. And there is a new comment from me above where you leave your comment. I guess I just feel like I should get to choose who I advertise for.

So what's next?

2008-08-24T16:57:00.002-05:00

The orange scarf is blocking. Hard. I pulled it quite tight and I think its going to look really good. But now we move on to the next set of stuff.

Something colorful and a bit of a reminder of Christmas in its colors but not in its theme. The green and reddish are Queensland Kathmandu Tweed (DK and Aran respectively) and the tan Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed. I knit Chris a scarf with the Jo Sharp when I first started knitting. I love this yarn. Since I am the only one that wears that scarf I might have decided to rip it out to knit a sweater for myself but there isn't that much yarn there so I will just enjoy the scarf. And this new project.

The second thing thats going on the needles...

Because I have an idea I want to try out and see how it works out. Reynolds Smile. I'm already dreading the acrylic a bit. This has been around a while. I bought a few skiens to knit my sister a scarf. She's got the scarf and these are the last two skeins. I'm going to play with it. Hopefully this will end up being interesting...

Finally Oz came to visit last night. This is a yellowed pictures but at least it shows he stuck around long enough for me to take a picture. He was really attracted to that orange yarn as it sat in a puddle on the floor...

Spending a day doing what I love

2008-08-23T19:24:00.003-05:00

I spent a lot of the day cutting out bags. See I went into my fabric stash with the intention of finding some fabric to make a medium tote to trade with Erica for some of her hand dyed yarn. She gave me an idea of her favorite colors and textures and such and I went digging in the stash to look. I found a bunch of fabric that I may or may not have used before that was begging to become bags. I kept ooooing and ahhhing. So I started cutting. No new bag designs but I did cut out a couple of the large totes that I originally made a month or so ago. A lot of it was just finding some Autumn fabrics and thinking that it would be nice to work with those. I started sewing some of the seams. Which is what you see below. But there is no way these will all be finished this weekend. I think I cut out about 50 bags total. So probably next weekend. I'm going to see how I feel about it tomorrow, but I imagine getting through the first set of seams on each bag is probably the max. This is the blue series, because I am using blue thread for these.

Here is a sneak peak of my current knitting project. Its only a sneak peak because you'll probably be seeing it again very very soon in a more finished state. Can anyone guess the pattern?

I actually started this prior to the Versatile scarf, but its not something I can work on in the car so its been getting attention at home in the evenings rather then during my most usual knitting time at lunch or at stop lights. Thats what's nice about a garter scarf, so easy to pick up and put down and no yarn overs to lose or accidentally forget. Plus this whole sick thing seriously muddled my brain.

Finally this is what we have been doing for the last hour or so. I gave the dogs a bath and a nail trim a couple hours ago and now they are in bed napping because they had been up for the whole afternoon and both were super tired and Gus wouldn't just lay down and sleep. So Penny and I are hanging in the comfy chair in the office while Chris is working away at photo editing. We are being lazy. She sleeping. Me knitting. Its not a bad way to spend a Saturday evening.

Versatile (and 3210)

2008-08-22T13:08:00.004-05:00

I'm approaching one of those magic comment totals that maybe deserves a little prize? For the knitters out there it will probably include a little bag and some other goodies. I can tailor it to the non-knitter if they are our winner. So what's the magic number? 3210. Please commence to comment. A comment on any post from here until we get a winner will qualify. I haven't a clue how long it will take except to know how many comments are left.

Versatile

After this shirt I decided that the gray shirt with the sequins was not the right background but sadly the only other plain-ish shirt is a midriff bearer. That's what your getting because it is better then the gray. At least she's got a nice stomach.

Pattern: Versatile (my ravelry project)
Materials: One skein Fiesta Rayon Boucle in Tequilla Sunrise
Made for: Chris for photo uses then for me? Who knows someone I'm sure will use it.
Needle: US#11 Addi Turbos (32")
Start Date: 17 August 2008
Completion Date: 22 August 2008
Size: 60 x 4 (without the fringe); 80 x 4 (with the fringe)

Notes: The pattern is super easy. You just cast on 120 and knit until the scarf is wide enough for your tastes. Once it is then you cast off. If you have enough left for fringe then add three strands to every other hole on each end. See? Nothing to it. But its a really nice versatile scarf. For instance you can wear it like a regular scarf (the top image is wrapped three times) or more complicated like above. I'm partial to this style of wearing it. Haven't a clue why but it's a pleasing look to me. Maybe I like messy hair?

But you can also wear it as a belt. If you are very skinny. This way.

Or this way. I like this way better but mostly because I don't know that I would like something that catches so easily on things down near my knees.

I think the fringe is really helpful at keeping the ends down because it weights them a bit. The whole thing is really lightweight without the fringe and I imagine that in the wind it would probably fly around a lot more without it.

Out in the backyard

2008-08-21T18:23:00.003-05:00

No matter how many rows I knit the scarf pretty much looks the same because its all jumbled up on a not quite long enough cord. Not surprising since I don't have a 60" cord, but also not so great for blog fodder. So we had a little adventure in the backyard this evening.

First things first we had to check under the fence. One of Abby's favorite spots.

I promised Abby that her butt would make it on the blog. I don't think she believed me.

Then we searched along the back part of the yard near the trees and found this beauty.

We found some clover.

Then to Gus and Abby's surprise, Gus found a bone from something (still meaty too), I threw it over the fence, but by then the search for more was on.

Gus thinks he's found something.

Just mushrooms. Not so exciting.

I liked them though.

Maybe tomorrow my knitting will look more like a scarf.

Back to work

2008-08-20T20:14:00.002-05:00

I was back to work today. It was a long and tiring day. I took a small nap at lunch. Just cleaning up dinner made me feel exhausted. I bought a roast chicken and we had sandwiches so no making dinner thank goodness. Tonight I'm just hanging with Gus.

There is an ottoman there that he is sitting on. He takes up most of it so my legs are really there to hold him on. Otherwise he'd slide right off. We're watching the outside. Its busy with cars and people out enjoying the comfortable temps the rain brought.

And hanging with Penny, Chris and Abby. Abby would like to be on the ottoman too. We had to bring in a second chair because the four of us (everybody but Chris, Penny is behind my head) don't fit on a chair and an ottoman. Chris is working at the computer. You can see that its hard work because there is candy on the desk and a couple of cokes.

Me? I am working on a new scarf and reading a good book again. Actually it is the In Death Series from JD Robb and I'm working my way through the whole series again. In order this time. I'm on the third book now. I started Naked in Death (book 1) on Saturday. This sleeping all day long/working all day long sure is getting in the way of my reading/knitting time. Let me tell you...

That computer under the window sill has been there since we moved in and isn't actually attached to anything or plugged in. Mostly the cats use it as an expanded bed. I guess at some point it may move but its convenient right now for Ozzy mostly because his fat butt doesn't fit on a windowsill well enough for him to lie down comfortably without some extra space.

Pretty Penny

2008-08-19T19:43:00.003-05:00

Pretty Penny has stopped by to entertain you today because I am still sick, better then yesterday but still sick and so I don't have anything else to share. She wasn't really that interested in standing still either. Silly cat never stops moving when a camera is on.

Oh yeah. Chris brought me some mallowcreme pumpkins today. Its only August. Why is Halloween candy out already?

I'm sick

2008-08-18T18:57:00.003-05:00

I don't like sick. Luckily I have a picture of Abby and Gus from the other night because I don't feel much at all like posting.

The Yarn

2008-08-17T16:32:00.003-05:00

First I've had a couple inquiries about the heel on my socks. Its part of my basic recipe but I was thinking I would right up a short pattern to cover but I need to get to that point in a sock. So I guess that means its coming sometime in the future (probably my next pair of socks - which knowing me I'll probably be starting soon.)

Now for the yarn from the trip. There's quite a bit of it.

The first stop was Coastal Yarns in Cannon Beach. This was a really lovely, small shop, with a large selection of fingerling weight yarn. Plus yarn of other varying weights and huge array of colors. They had baskets and needles and books and other paraphernalia as well. I got three skeins of yarn there.

Blue Moon Socks that Rock - Mediumweight in Mossay. Just in case... 100% superwash merino. 380 yds/ 347m per 5.5 oz. You've seen this one already and also the next.

Arauncania Ranco Multy in color 318. I've seen other people knit with this or pop it into their stashes after a trip so I decided to grab a skein while I was there.

Now this one is interesting. Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rail in the colorway Bronze. 400 yds. 60% Rayon/40% nylon. Anyone heard of this one before? Its a really dramatic colorway. Lots of depth and saturation.

My MIL picked it out the first time we were in the shop but there was just one skein. We thought we would make it a shawl so we would need more so I was going to order online from Blue Moon if possible so we'd get all one dyelot. So, that evening I was searching the Blue Moon Site and couldn't find this yarn base let alone the color. I searched Ravelry too. No luck. The base isn't even an option. I used google. Didn't get anywhere much with that either (not that I really tried that hard, I was on vacation). So we went back the next day. I'll make her a wide scarf instead.

The second stop of the yarn tour was Knit/Purl. I know Portland has a lot of yarn stores but I've "shopped" here before online and I wanted to see this one in person. We really only spent a day and a half plus one evening in Portland and I wasn't going to drag my MIL to multiple stores in the same city. So just Knit/Purl. Its another cute little shop. Lots of stuff to choose from including Koigu, Shibu (surprisingly I didn't like this stuff), Handmaiden, Kauni and lots of sweater weight stuff too. I picked up a few more things.

Koigu KPPPM in P525D76. 100% merino. Apparently not superwash. Thats good to note as I didn't know it wasn't. 175 yds/160m per 50g. I was trying a little bit to get away from my same old, same old. Maybe have a pair of socks that isn't orange? So two green pairs of socks when I'm done with these and the one above. Almost branching out. Whoo-who!

Koigu KPPPM in P324196. This one remnds me of wildflowers. As you can see by the pink, orange, yellow, and brown that I didn't stray that far from my favorites.

Finally the jewel of the trip (also know as MY favorite as opposed to Chris' or my MIL's).

Handmaiden Fine Yarn CamelSpin in Pumpkin. 70% silk/30% camel. 100% soft soft soft. 300m/100g. Its about a thick fingerling. I love this yarn. Half of me wants to decide what to knit with it now and the other half wants to just let it be yarn so I can pet the skein. So weird because I'm usually not like that.

Moving farther into the country. We come to Hood River, Oregon. My days in the Gorge. Knot Another Hat yarn shop. I'll admit there wasn't a huge draw after looking at the website since I am mostly into sock yarns when traveling and they have plenty of yarn for making things other then socks. It was a pretty shop. Quite warm inside though. I don't think I would sit and knit. I managed to grab a couple skeins though. Or really I should say that Chris did. Since I only selected the first. (Can you tell that I took all the other pictures at the hotel in Portland with the nice brick wall and white sills and trim? These I took at home where most everything is wood colored.)

Alpaca with a Twist - Socrates in the colorway Solar Explosion (5016 974). 30% Alpaca/30% Merino Wool/20% Bamboo/20% Nylon. 3.5oz - 400 yds. I have a plan for this sock yarn. I really wanted to get another color too, but its Alpaca. The need to keep my feet that warm just isn't there that often so I settled for just one. Its a really lovely color. I'd been looking for a sock yarn with a bit of a halo.

Fiesta Rayon Boucle in colorway Tequila Sunrise (2132). 100% Rayon. 240 yds per 4 oz. Chris picked out a scarf in the store that he liked (pre-knit) it was in the Rhubarb colorway which they didn't have more of. He then selected this color thinking it seemed really tropical. Guess that means he'd like this done in time for us to go to St Thomas. We also got a free pattern for the scarf which just confirmed to me that it was a garter stitch going lengthwise knit on really big needles like I thought. He still wanted the Rhubarb. So when we got home I found it on Ravelry in a destash. So I'll be knitting the same thing twice most likely. Not that I mind that considering I've knit the same sock over and over a dozen or so times now and still want to knit it again.

Peruvian Tweed in colorway fawn/black. 100% Superfine Alpaca. 300 yds per 4oz. Chris picked this while sitting in a chair across the room. "How about that brown and black one?" I picked it up and we tried to pair it with a couple other yarns but mostly it didn't really go so I'll be making a scarf out of the one skein. You put that man in a yarn shop and he'll actually pick things out for you. Sadly what he picked out made my plan to use only 3 or maybe 4 images in this post completely useless because these last three yarns look really really really bad together.

Since there are already so many yarns/pictures I might as well show a couple purchased off etsy recently too.

From Yarn Lust I purchased a 80% wool/20% bamboo blend in the colorway Mustard. I was a really taken with this yarn when I saw it. Its hard to tell but it is brown, yellow and evergreen with some sprinkles of red thrown in.

I also custom ordered a skein of Kona Superwash from Fresh from the Cauldron in the colorway The Burrow. She does most her business in the form of custom orders so if you go look be sure to check out the sold items. I think she has no problem repeating stuff so all you'll have to do is ask for what you want.

So thats all. I actually ordered some other skeins a while ago. I don't expect them for a while yet either. Now to get knitting all of it so I can order more without wondering when all of the yummy yarn I have will ever get knit.

Blackberry, Blueberry, oh how I love thee...

2008-08-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

I do actually love blackberries and blueberries. I'm not so fond of knitting the blues at all but I do love a yummy berry. Except raspberry. Yuck. They have a LOT of berries in the pacific northwest. Many many yummy types. So what would be more appropriate then bringing along a berry colored yarn? Nothing!

Well actually this yarn surprised me. It wasn't so blue in the skein, but I knit it anyway because it was the only yarn I had on hand at the airport. Once started and most the way through a sock I might as well finish (since I was at the heel turn when I made it to the first yarn store).

Pattern: My normal sock recipe. (my ravelry project)
Materials: Two skeins Koigu KPPPM in a colorway that apparently I didn't list the number for in Ravelry.
Made for: Me
Needle: US#1.5 Addi Turbos (40") (Also a second needle in some larger size for the bind off.)
Start Date: 4 August 2008
Completion Date: 13 August 2008
Size: 11M
Project Spectrum: WATER (blue, purple, black) oh so appropriate for this yarn. There isn't much black but there is a teensy bit.

I was knitting these in the lobby of the Hotel Monaco (I showed a picture of that lobby earlier) when we were waiting for Chris to get back to Portland and a lady came up to ask me what I was knitting and she looked twice before she said anything to me and sort of squeeked. I think thats the best way to describe it. Then she said "You're knitting socks!!?!? I wasn't sure at first but now I see!" Then when she asked what type of yarn it was I named the Koigu and she said it back to me in an odd way adding "you really meant to say..." on the front like I had pronounced it wrong. Then she sort of skipped across the room and I assume pulled out her own knitting because she introduced herself by saying she meant to do so before she saw me. Totally weirdo. She and her companions left their area of the lobby in complete disarray (including rearranging the furniture) when they took off.

So this is my normal pattern. There really isn't much else to say for it. I did everything just like always but with a couple fewer stitches. I think I could have increased one more time at the toe and for my next pair I will because the heel and gusset and parts up near them could maybe have used a couple more stitches.

I never did get a shot of them on the beach, but worse then that, I didn't get a shot of them in the blueberry bush at the Columbia Gorge Hotel!! I didn't even think of it until we were already back home! Talk about a missed opportunity. So I made up for it at home with blackberries and blueberries from the market.

so

2008-08-15T17:10:00.004-05:00

So does anybody remember how yesterday I said something about finished socks and pictures and blah blah blah? Oh ok. I was hoping you weren't paying attention...

The socks ARE done. Its the pictures that are the problem. Its not even the weather that's holding those back. See this morning I got up and it was pouring like crazy. I love it when it rains super heavy with lightening and thunder. The whole bit. But by the time I got done with work (four hours later) it was only overcast. Then this afternoon the sun is out as usual. Perfect for pictures actually. So what's the problem? Well, hmm, yeah.

Wednesday night I left my camera powered on when I downloaded that last set of images. ALL night. I didn't realize it until the next morning when I saw the green light. I shut it off. Did I go get the charger? No, didn't even think of it until I went to take the first image today and the battery died on me. I was pretty sleepy Thursday morning. Oh well. I now have something to post about tomorrow. (You know this means no yarn pictures today either, right?)

So anyone read any good books? I acquired from my MIL a book called The Dive From Clausen's Pier. Its really quite good. I'm actually enjoying it enough I want to keep reading it without putting it down. I bought a couple at Powell's in Portland so they are up next. I have to decide what to do with this book when I am done. My MIL buys books, reads them, and passes them along. She'll never reread anything as a personal preference. I'm considering that I should pass this one along to someone too in her spirit. Though I may have to reread it first!

And so we are not without a picture.

I love how these are both speckled.

And this one too. Even the lilypads. No frogs though.

Columbia Gorge

2008-08-14T20:46:00.004-05:00

Columbia Gorge Hotel, Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, and Multnomah Falls...That is a lot of words for a title. So I narrowed it down a little.

Here are some favorites from my last few days in the Portland area. All of these are from inside the Columbia Gorge national scenic area or from Mt Hood.

This is Mt Jefferson while standing on the edge of a cliff at the Timberline Lodge (We just went to see it and not to stay) on Mt Hood. Facing South. The smaller looking mountains I think are The Three Sisters. Volcanos. Semi-active volcanos. Its a set of three mountains all in a north south row. The one that would be most clear is North Sister. I think the others peek up behind it. I love this photo. There was also a fire just to the Southeast of us. I spotted the plume but we didn't realize until later that it actually was a fire. It was quite far away. (Barely seeable in the linked photo.)

From a flower pot at the Timberline Lodge. If you don't know this hotel it is the one they filmed The Shining at. It would actually be a pretty/cute hotel if they would just clean it up a bit. Looked dirty while we were up there.

Multnomah Falls. Chris taught me how to make the water hazy like that while we were on the trip. I like the effect quite a lot.

I wasn't able to get a full on view of Multnomah. Its quite high. So you get it in parts. This is the upper section. You have to climb up to the second bridge to see most of this.

On the upper bridge at Multnomah falls facing away from the falls. Its a nice view of the Columbia there in the distance.

Wah Gwin Gwin Falls on the grounds of the Columbia River Gorge Hotel. Nice place. Funny old fashioned elevator. They will let you walk around and see the falls and gardens even if you aren't staying there.

While staying here, I learned that blueberries are white until they rippen. I hadn't realized until I wandered into the blueberry patch on the grounds. Very cool. Off topic, but still cool.

The view from one of our windows. We had a corner room so we had three windows. It was a nice view of the Columbia. We discovered the hard way that we couldn't get the screen off without it falling to the ground below. Chris luckily was holding it in place so it didn't fall but it was a pain to put back in correctly. I was trying to adjust settings for the screen and caught this other image. It look sort of old to me and pretty cool.

This is my favorite type of succulent. I think its a succulent anyway. Not totally sure. But I love these anyway and was so happy to spot them. Let me know if it isn't? This is from the garden of the Gorge Hotel.

This is another one of my favorite photos. I love the raindrops. Also from the garden at the Gorge Hotel.

Teeny succulent on big big big boulders. In the hotel garden.

Have you had enough photos? If not, I loaded 175 into the flickr set for this group. I narrowed my 675 down to 175 and I think I didn't load too many duplicates.

Knitting tomorrow. The socks nearly finished on the trip (except the ribbing on the second) are now finished.

Due for a doggy fix

2008-08-13T19:10:00.004-05:00

This is still a knitting blog. I know I haven't shown any in a week but I actually do have an almost finished pair of socks to show off and lots of yarn from my trip to put up here and in ravelry. Tonight though I am working on uploading those last 600 photos to flickr. There are probably less then that when all is said and done, but every one that I put up I will probably label and I'll bet I'll have a couple of stories to type out in the descriptions and etc. I think this project could take more then this evening actually. So since we haven't seen dogs around these parts in a while...

This is what they wanted to do when I got home from work today. They weren't interested in posing at all and forget about candids because they were running like crazy.

I swear they look skinnier, but its probably my eyes playing tricks from not seeing them for a week.

Abby had this to say about the food despite gobbling it down. Apologies for the crappy picture she just looks so funny.

Gus on the other hand...

Well old Gustus will eat from all bowls as he pleases and its best not to disturb him.

First from the left and then from the right.

So tomorrow there will be better photos, yarn or knitting or the Columbia River Gorge and Mt Hood, and more effort spent on a blog post for sure. Since I think my last two took no time at all.

More Yarn

2008-08-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

There is actually a lot more yarn. I forget what this is called but I need a post for today. We are home, we arrived safely, the dogs are loving their new toys. Mostly I need to go to bed.

Portland Day 3 (yesterday)

2008-08-11T20:16:00.002-05:00

I took over 500 photos today while we were out at the waterfalls and the gorge and Mt Hood. Its going to take a bit to go through those and also to download them. I'm hoping some turn out well. So, here are some favorites from my last day in Portland and here is the flickr set.

The hotel lobby. While Nancy and I were waiting for Chris to get back to Portland. We stayed at the Hotel Monaco Portland. I love Kimpton hotels. We've stayed in them before (the Argonaut in San Francisco for example) They are extremely eclectic and over the top. They are extremely comfortable in their furnishings and extremely inviting. Not to mention they are really well staffed. Everyone is really curtious and friendly at all of them. Oh, yeah and extremely dog friendly is on the list too. Including have a dog on the Portland premises named Art who was the directer of pet relations. We'll probably be visiting my parents at the end of the year and I was hoping there was one in Austin, but alas there is not.

Yesterday my MIL and I went to the Bite of Oregon (yummy!) and then spent some time down by the waterfront. Neither of us ever really feel the need to "fit as much in as possible" and this sort of relaxing homegrown thing is always as much or more fun then the tourist attractions. Also Sunday was the Bridge Pedal so there were some road closures and it was just nice to stay near downtown and hang out. We did stop in at Voodoo donuts in the morning as well to pick up something as an eclectic birthday cake for Chris. I should have photographed the donuts.

After we finished walking the bite, which for my local readers is about a fifth the size of Taste of Addison, and sampling all the yummy food our stomachs could handle, we took a stroll down the waterfront to work it off. That is where the last two photos were taken. This last is one of my very favorites from the trip.

Yarn

2008-08-10T23:45:00.003-05:00

Its really really really late and I haven't downloaded today's photos or written descriptions or anything. So you get to see one of my yarn acquisitions. Socks that Rock in Mossay which I will be changing the name to Mossy because I don't reallly understand the extra a. I only made it to the one yarn shop in Portland. It was the only one that I planned on so I'm happy about that. We are now in Hood River having driven here in the early evening after Chris got back to Portland. Sarah from Knot Another Hat lives in Hood River and owns a yarn shop. I may have to make a stop there.

Portland Day 2

2008-08-09T22:01:00.000-05:00

Our second day in Portland was a lot of fun. We went to Knit-Purl. Then we went to Saturday Market and the Chinese Garden. We walked through downtown and played around at the hotel. Photos from the day can be found in today's flickr set.

The Pioneer Courthouse steps.

Waterlilies at the Classical Chinese Garden.

There are a bunch more I love but internet is slow here so you'll have to see them on the flickr set.

Cannon Beach Day 3 Part 2 and Portland Day 1

2008-08-08T23:12:00.003-05:00

There aren't actually any photos of Portland yet. We drove back around noon and then checked-in and went to Powells. That was almost overwhelming, but I love love love books. Then we came back and did happy hour and games here in the hotel. We went to have a wonderful dinner at the Red Star Tavern and are currently watching Ironman. I'm not so impressed with that at the moment, but I'll give it a chance as we are only 20 minutes in. So far all of our restaurants have been good. We've been working based on suggestions from locals or others that have been here before. Thats been really awesome.

Here are some pictures from yesterday afternoon at Ecola State Park. You can find more images from yesterday and the very few from today in my new flickr sets. I have some videos I have taken that I need to edit just a bit before uploading to flickr, but those will be coming soon.

Forest closing in during drive in. I loved this part.

Path down to the beach.

Pebbly creek bed.

Large rock/boulder on the beach.

North side of the inlet.

South side of the inlet.

Cannon Beach Day 3 Part 1

2008-08-07T23:20:00.000-05:00

We walked to haystack this morning and then this afternoon we went to Ecola State Park and then toured a bit in the city. We had a really really lovely dinner at a place called the Wayfarer to celebrate Chris 37th birthday. I've downloaded and commented on my photos from this morning. I'm still working on those from this afternoon. I hope to get to them before I get too behind! Here are some favorites from the day. More from my second set yesterday and from this mornings set can be found on flickr under the links. Oh by the way, Cannon Beach has a yarn store called Coastal Yarn that was actually really awesome. There website isn't great but the store is. I found some nice stuff there.

Seaweed

Three rocks on the south side of Haystack. I wonder if these have names?

Haystack from the South.

Rooftops from the top of the stairs near the hotel lobby. I love this rooftop in front. The shape draws my gaze each time we walk by. I want to visit that top room.

Cannon Beach Day 2 (and day 1 landing)

2008-08-06T19:24:00.005-05:00

We arrived in Portland at 645PM yesterday. The hotel was alright, not great. But we did go out and get an awesome meal at Salty's just north of the airport. It was recommended by a guy I work with and we were not at all disappointed in his suggestion.

This morning we woke up and drove out to Cannon Beach. Its overcast but not rainy.

The hotel wasn't ready so we spent some time on the beach. The tide was out when we got there. I love that there are so so so many dogs on the beach playing, rolling in the sand, and having a wonderful time. I so wish we could have brought Abby and Gus. Do you think that the airlines would mind if I bought them a ticket and just buckled them in next to Chris and I? Everyone would think they are cute anyway and I just can't bear to have them knocked out and shipped in the cargo hold.

Drove down the 101 and stopped at a couple of the viewpoints and took some awesome shots.

And another favorite from those viewpoints.

We spent some time in the little town.

Mostly, we are having a blast so far.

The hotel room was finally ready about 330PM and here is our view.

More excitement coming tomorrow. Here is a flickr set if you want to see some more of today's shots.

Red Cinnamon Socks

2008-08-05T09:02:00.004-05:00

I'm not feeling terribly creative this morning so the sock pictures are just socks with very little posing. Probably too much left to get done before our flight this evening.

First though, this little monster decided to pick this week to have allergy attacks. She's licked all the fur off the inside of her leg. So tomorrow my sister has to take her to vet. Luckily we've done this before so I knew exactly what to tell them was wrong with her. Still. It would have been nice if she waited.

Red Cinnamon Socks

Pattern: My normal sock recipe. (my ravelry project)
Materials: Two skeins Crystal Palace Panda Wool in the Red Cinnamon colorway
Made for: Me
Needle: US#1.5 Addi Turbos (40") (Also a second needle in some larger size for the bind off.)
Start Date: 27 July 2008
Completion Date: 3 August 2008
Size: 11M
Project Spectrum: AIR (white, yellow, gray) There is a teeny tiny bit of yellowy orange. I'm sure it counts...obviously I am going to pretend anyway.

Notes: Let's see...I deviated from my normal pattern in that the leg has ribbing, the heel has a pattern, and the foot has ribbing. Plus I didn't need as many stitches so there are fewer.

Some people said they have some of this yarn and they and several others said they hadn't tried it. So here is a quick review that might explain some of the changes to my normal pattern.

1. Its thick. That means I needed quite a number fewer stitches then normal, plus when you knit with it it doesn't deflate to make smaller stitches like some yarns do.
2. Its stretchy. That means that plain stocking stitch can be quite loose even with fewer stitches. Hence the overload of ribbing. Plus this gave me a chance to see how to increase into a new rib when I did that in the leg.
3. Its soft. Self explainatory.
4. Its splitty. But only when I didn't want it to be. When I was trying to weave in the ends and not pick up all the treads I couldn't get it to split apart for the life of me, but when I was just trying to knit or purl a stitch I kept only picking up half of it.
5. Quick knitting. Apparently anyway, because these socks only took a week.

Overall, Its a really nice cushy, cozy, soft yarn. I would definitely recommend it and might buy it again if I like whatever other colors they have. I suspect the bamboo would mean it would have an easier time wicking away moisture. So probably good for my upcoming hiking.

The only other things about the socks is the mistake I made to the ribbing on the foot. My brain said that each needle should start with K2. However the second needle always began with a P2. I did it right on the first sock but didn't realize my mistake on the second until I'd done enough that I didn't feel like fixing it so there are two extra wide ribs on either side of the foot. Not at all noticeable on my foot so basically I decided that I didn't care that they are that way.

I'm going to start a new pair of socks on my trip. Project spectrum water next. I'm going to be experimenting with a different type of toe-up heel flap on that sock. We'll see how it turns out. I'm hoping it will look more like a top-down heel flap.

I owe lots of emails. I was hoping to get to them today, but it looks like not. I will be online during this week so I'll still be posting so I'll still be around. Our plane takes off about 430 so you guys can expect to start seeing images of Portland starting tomorrow. Hopefully a sock on a beach?? Wouldn't that be cool. Anyway. I am so looking forward to it!

needed two nights of easy posting

2008-08-04T19:52:00.003-05:00

Apparently I needed two nights of easy posting. I was busy giving instructions to my sister and then taking her to dinner when the giant light in the sky was on. So now its too dark for making good pictures of finished socks. So I'll do that tomorrow morning. Tonight you get dogs.

Taken when Gussy was very little, its too hot out for them to do this right now.

So finished socks tomorrow. I am planning on posting while on vacation as well, but it may be like new years where I just post an image or two.