HELP!

FYI to anyone who reads my blog==I am having difficulties with Blogger. When I try to go to my homepage it tells me that "allthingsknitterly does not exist" Today,it has also added the comment that this name is available for registration. I have not abandoned my blog, I am trying to get help from google, as there are other blogs who have experienced the same problem.. Hop to be back up an running soon!

Yarn Crawl

I never posted about my yarn crawl on the way home from LA when I visited Carson. I had several new places and old favorites on my list. So here's the goods!

I started at Wildfiber in Santa Monica. The first time I experienced Wildfiber I drooled over the their Big Wall O'Koigu. Right around the corner from Koigu is the Scrumptious Wall of Cashmere(mynames). I didn't take a photo of the front of their establishment because the building was getting a facelift. Literally--it was being restuccoed painted, the works. I have been here every time I come to LA, which is not a frequent as I wish. There is no comparison to Wildfiber. Great selection of yarn, lots of natural light from their big windows, friendly helpful staff who remember you. Definitely one that you should have on your listif you get within 100 miles of them. I mentioned in my blog a couple of days before that I was going to stop there first. I received an email the next day from the owner, saying that she had read my post and that a free blogger gift awaited my at the shop. She wasn't there when I stopped by, but one of the ladies who helped me took my name and address. Natasha Hopkins, the owner, sent me a gift--how cool is that? The goodies included a project bag, highlighter tape (a must-have), a small box with stitch markers and point protectors. (photo to follow soon) Thank you to Natasha. Your shop is worth the trip, even if it is 301.2 miles and 4 hours, 49 minutes from my front door! Be forwarned though, they really enforce the parking restrictions here, tickets are easy to come by and pricey.

Next I visited Jennifer Knits. I had read about them, and I had a vision of what I thought this shop would be like, but it was nothing like my vision. There were about 10 ladies lined up at the door waiting for them to open. I sat outside knitting on my sock. When the doors opened, they all lined up and signed their names on a whiteboard. The shop owner gives them one on one attention whether they are shopping or need help with their knitting. Which is nice, if that's what you are there for. I was there to touch, sniff, and drool on yarn. Everything was in big ziplocks, the shop was small and didn't tweek my creative side. Living

a long ways away from any yarn shop, this one didn't fit my needs at all. No sock yarn sightings either.

So back in the car, heading for Laguna Hills and Yarn Lady. OMG. Yarn Lady. What can I say? I could have curled up on any one of their several seating areas and knitted all day. It is a large shop, but they have several areas set up with seating, furniture arranged to make it feel like they were separate rooms. Of course I bought some yarn--Schaefer's Nancy in the Elizabeth Zimmerman colorway. And some sock yarn. Actually two skeins of sock yarn. OK, and some other stuff too. A yarn wrap necklace by Perl Grey. And maybe a scarf pin.

On the 5 again, to Common Threads in Encinitas, one of my perennial favorites. Stopping by there reminded me why I always like going there. Basically the same things I have already mentioned--they are friendly, helpful, remember you, and they have a nice selection of yarn.

Also in Encinitas, Black Shop. Nice selection of brands also. They are really quick with shipping too.

Next, a visit to a shop I haven't been to for a while--Needlecraft Cottage in San Diego, over by the beach. A new owner, nice selection of yarn (esp. sock yarn), and they ship. They get the stuff out to you really quickly. A definite plus for me since I live in a yarn-barren town.

Lastly, a stop to the yarn shop we call the "Hooters Yarn Shop". It is right next to the Hooters Restaurant in the Mission Valley area. Nice ladies, but more needlepoint than yarn.

So, in summary, the perfect yarn crawl from Yuma to LA would include driving to San Diego, hitting Needlecraft Cottage (for the sock yarn esp), then on to Laguna Hills for Yarn Lady, and end up in Santa Monica for Wildfiber. Wildfiber is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, for sure!

The Birth of a Sock

YES! This is a sock with the leg opening recently liberated. Shirley finished the heel and opened up the leg. Now it is a race to the cuff then binding off! Pretty awesome!

Christmas 2010 AND The Knitting Olympics.

Rachel is already knitting for future gift giving occasions, i.e. Christmas 2010. These are washcloths she is making--the pattern follows. She says they are quick and you have to pay just enough attention to cure any boredom that might pop up. Great idea---

Rachel's Washcloth Pattern
Row 1: Sl Kwise, (P2, K1) to end
Row 2: Sl pwise, (K2, P1) to end
Row 3:Knit
Row4:Purl

I like this pattern, it would make a nice boy-hat.

ANNOUNCEMENTS!!!
FRIDAY is the day! The start of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the KNITTING OLYMPICS. Yes, Virginia, there is a Knitting Olympics. Go to http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog
and sign up. The rules are listed there, but in a nutshell, you pick a project, and cast on when they light the flame in the opening ceremonies. Your goal is to be done when the flame is extinguished at the closing ceremonies. Yarn Harlot lists all of the rules on her website.

I am knitting the Shoalwater Shawl out of some yummy handyed merino/cashmere/silk that was a Christmas gift from Christmas 2009. It will be perfect for this and I can't wait to start. But, I do have to wait. You can swatch before the flame is lit (it is like training for your event), but you can't cast on until afterwards. Join up!

Anyone interested in Knitting this weekend? Monday?

Knit onward.

Aspiring to Mediocrity.

Our district Admin is going crazy again. Musical chairs with campus Administrators. Moving two out, offering them classroom teaching positions if they so desire, a Principal from one school moved to another. An interim AD moved from one to another,an assistant from one school moved to another. One assistant moved to a school that already has a full complement of administrators, even though my campus is minus one administrator. Why?

One of the reasons listed by dao is that morale at this particular campus was down. Is this a result of the recent survey asking about job satisfaction? Is it possible that these cuts/changes were partially driven by this questionnaire? That was one of the reasons given by district admin (notice no caps) for these changes. What will these actions do to morale now? If it was low before, how low will it go now? They don't exactly instill confidence and trust. We need leaders on each campus and at the district level that we have confidence and trusting relationships with. This is crazy.

Why is it better to do it now, halfway through the first grading period of this semester rather than spring break or during the summer? Could they possibly have chosen a more disruptive time and method to implement these changes? This will cause problems on all levels of campus life, down to each student in each classroom. Some of these positions that have been vacated will be filled by others with Admin Certification who were now teaching up until this time, which will mean that other teachers will be moved around in order to have coverage in each classroom. Out of the 6 schools in our district, 3 were left unscathed, and I am happy for them. The other 3 are going to have big changes on Monday.

And is there any truth to the rumor that there will be a nation-wide search to find a new principal for this school next year? Is our district sound enough financially to undertake a search like this? We have to scrape and beg to get copy paper or printer cartridges, and they are considering a nation=wide search for a principal? Look at our past nationwide searches, they didn't turn out to be all that great.

Seems to me that in our district, if you are perceived as being competent and good at what you do, you get jerked out of your position and moved to a different campus. It has happened before, now it has happened again

Likewise, if you are bad at what you do, you don't get invited back the next year. If you are really bad you are fired midyear.

However if you are somewhere in the middle, merely mediocre, might just be the best place to be. Hence my new goal---I am now Aspiring To Be Mediocre.




Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises.
-Elizabeth Zimmerman

Addison's first 24

Both mom and baby are really tired. Being born is a hard job for all involved, especially when you have to be in the hospital for 10 days prior to the actual birth. They are both exhausted. Addison is in the NICU, Aimee still is in the hospital. In some respects it makes it easier for her to be that close for feeding purposes, but it is so hard to rest there. She just gets to sleep and the janitor comes in or time for vitals , or friends calling in, excited about the baby, wanting to know when they can come see her. Having a complicated birth is just that, complicated. You can't visit in the NICU unless one of the parents take you in there. So that eliminates most everyone except for grandparents and immediate family. Hopefully tomorrow's feedings will be better and bring them closer to going home. There is no place like home.



Addison has lots of toppers to keep her head warm once she gets out of the NICU's warming lamps. There are acutally two more that didn't get photographed and I have two more on the needles and bunches more in my head. They are fast, fun, and a bit more addictive than socks. Those of you with the sock bug know what I mean. These go way faster. And I now have two hats on the needles, one lace, one a knit-in-the-dark hat. Two hats for two different knitting environment/mind spaces.


How about knitting on Sunday, Anyone up for it? At the usual place, usual time!

Introducing Addison!

Addison Dynes Dunn, born tonight, 6lbs 1 oz. She is supposed to be 35 weeks, I can't imagine how much bigger she would have been at 40 weeks, she looks pretty perfect here! She is doing really well, and Aimee is doing well. Addison was born on their 11th day in the hospital. She was ready, it was time. Welcome Addison!

I have been making a lot of these.

I think that these baby hats are more addictive than socks. They go super duper fast and you don't get bored. I may need a Baby Hat Intervention. There are more hats struggling to get out of my brain. I see ideas everywhere. I am dangerous at Joann's once I read that you shouldn't use anything with wool because in the NICU any wool+oxygen=potential for static electricity. Which isn't good with oxygen of course. Stayed tuned for more hats.......

PLUS, as an extra added bonus there may be a baby soon to model them. This is day #8 in the hospital for Aimee. She changed doctors today-long story--but it is definitelve stopped the contractions. And steroid shots. And on and on. So, as of now, the amnio is not going to happen, she comes off of the mag tomorrow, the catheter is out, the baby girl is 35 weeks, game on! Stay tuned for new developments!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some Jewelry recovered!

inally home! I brought these home from the Police Dept. Evidence Room last week. I can't tell you how nice it is to get it back. I hope some more will surface over time, you just never know. The lady who owns the pawn shop where I found these pieces said that when she was robbed, the burglars buried some of her stuff. When they got out of jail they dug it up and pawned it, she got it back even though a lot of time had lapsed. I will diligently check this pawn shop every week. I forgot how pretty these things were.

Happy knitting!

The First Pair of Socks I Ever Made.

This is a true confession. These socks took me 3 years to knit. When you look at them, remember that there have been some things that I have knitted that I threw away. These socks weren't in that category. So remembering this contex, here they are...........

The one on the left was the first one, I believe. It took the longest, maybe 2 years. I got tired of looking at it and decided, "What the Hell? Just do the second one". So I did. Looking at these, just think to yourself how hideous the things I threw away must have been.

Curt spent the first 10 years of our marriage looking for their mates when they showed up in the dryer. He didn't know that they were fraternal twins born a year and a half apart.


So, it is amazing that I ever, ever decided to try a another pair of socks. Ones that would actually stay on my feet without turning upside down or falling off.

This photo shows Andrea's Rare Gems (my daughter in knitting) that I am knitting along with some very brave knitters who are being introduced to sock knitting.. I am bowing to their peer pressure, all of whom have BOTH socks on Magic Loop already! I can't be outdone by my students!

So to those new Sock Knitters that are crossing over into the Dark Zone of Sockiness, remember my first pair. I will bring them to our next knitting session so you can see them in person. They are to socks as the Cow-Tongue purse is to felting.

Knit on!

PS--the photo makes my first pair of socks look much better than they are in real life.

Wow! Two Posts in One day!

This is Louisa's finished Big Sea scarf in a wave pattern with drop stitches. It is really pretty--the photo is a little dark but you can still see the waves. Very nice Louisa!

Do you know about the craziness of socks? It is an extremely addictive type of knitting. Fits into your purse. Done on crazy little needles, 0, 1, or 2. Anywhere from 14,000 to 18,000 stitches per pair. Sure, you may say we are crazy now, but watch out for the suction of the sock. You may just want to cross over to the dark side with the rest of us. Here is Helen, who swore she would never knit socks. Hey, what is that thing stuck on your toes???

Watch this space for sock updates!

Gifts from Christmas past

Finally! Computer is working with iPhoto, new

camera is charged and ready to go! This hat

was super cute, Linda knitted it and the mouse slipper here. The hat has an asymmetrical brim--where did you get the pattern Linda? I think you said it was a Lion Brand free pattern? The brim is the part on the lower left where the yarn striped, but it doesn't stick out, it is like a band and can be rotated to any position, very cute!

And the mouse slippers--way cute. Even really big kids like these!





These hats are knitted to fit over helmets---ski helmets, motorcycles, quads, you name it. Gifted by Linda.

These are mother- daughter hats knitted and gifted by Helen. Cute and quick!

Shirley knitted this cute hat---check out the ruffled edging-it really makes it different---Shirley, can you post the website in the comments?

And finally, the "Goin' to the Gyno" scarf. Model is anonymous. Remember this when you are tempted to add fun fur to the ends of your scarf. As they say in the world of real estate, "location, location, location".

Happy knitting! The New Year promises to have lots of sock news---stay tuned!

Is it over?

Ahhh, Christmas has come and gone. I ended up short my mom's scarf and her socks. I had some unknown sock dysfunction which I have now remedied, but not in time to finish her socks before Christmas. I think everything is OK now, just have to finish Beached sock #2, then I have two more pair that need to be frogged back to the leg opening and re-knit. Same thing with Karen's Ugg. I think that my problem lies in the fact that I did the Discovery sock on Magic loop and the subsequent socks with y Signatrue DPNs. I knit much tighter with them. Live and learn!

I am in LA with Carson who just moved into a new apartment but hasn't had tie to unpack. Today we went to IKEA and bought a dresser and this wardrobe organizer thing. They will really help him organize his stuff. Will post photos of the view from his apartment. It is up the hill from Franklin in the Hollywood Heights neighborhood. Very quiet, cool, and secluded.

I must retire---IKEA kicked our butts tonight. Knit on! (did get the new camera and am still learning about it, photos to follow! I am going on a yarn crawl when I go back to Yuma on Tuesday/Wednesday, probably starting at Wildfiber in Santa Monica)

What makes a person Knit-Worthy?

Seems several of us have had "Worthiness" issues lately. This is at the forefront of every Knitter's mind this time of year. You may not even realize it, but it has crossed your mind. It may have even hit you like a ton of bricks.

Here is the scenario: You have added 5 or 6 new projects to your queue of projects-to-be- completed-for-Christmas-gifts. You know it is ridiculous, but you want to shower all of your friends with samples of your Knitterly-Love. You are sure that they will be thrilled-after all, this gift of yarny-goodness takes with it a piece of your soul. (well, in actuality it probably has little pieces of your hair in it, at the least. If you have a cat, it is a rule of the Knitting Cosmos that your orange cat's hair will only be attracted to black or navy blue knits, they never invade like-colored yarn)

Seriously, think about it. You have put at least a couple of hours knitting this thing and during that time you are thinking nice thoughts about the recipient. You also will always remember the state of the world at the time this object of yours was knitted. Your projects mark your place in the timeline of the history of the world.

How does one determine a potential recipient's Knit-Worthiness? There is no questionnaire in Cosmo, Knitty, or even on Ravelry. It is in your gut and heart. You act on your instincts and hope you guessed right. Sometimes, you guess wrong.

Shawl-Worthy and Sock-Worthy people are extremely rare. There are only 3 in my life. Note: this does not include other knitters. Knitters give each other gift certificates to yarn stores.

To be Shawl-Worthy, the recipient must treasure your gift AND know how to wear it. Ever worn a lace shawl? Not just everyone can were one, you know. You can't give a person who wears snaggy jewelry a lace shawl. The unthinkable will happen and you will have a gi-normous hole ripped by a big-honking diamond to fix. The Shawl-Worthy are aware of this.

I gave my mom her first shawl a couple of years ago. It lived on the back of a chair like a lap throw. I was heartbroken. I knew she couldn't be wearing it. For some reason I picked it up and smelled it. Ah ha! Estee Lauder Youth Dew! Unmistakable evidence of her wearing! No question about Shawl-Worthiness! Last Christmas I gave her a second shawl--it is a Myrna Stahman design done in Blue Moon's STR lt.wt. Kaw-Kaw. She had already achieved Sock-Worthiness several years earlier. Again, you can't give socks to just anyone--not when you are knitting approximately 14,000stitches to make ONE sock. They have to be treated with love and respect, aka delicate cycle, lingerie bag, inside out, with Soak or Eucalan, air-dried. You can't put them on by tugging at the top rib. One puts them on as if they were silken panty hose (remember those? I don't even know where to buy them now).

Two Christmases ago I gave my sister-in-law a capelet made out of 2 skeins of Fiesta La Boheme. La Boheme you know, is pricey. I took the gamble. She passed the Shawl-Worthiness test with flying colors. She wore it all day that day and many times afterwards. In fact, I have it here with me to be laundered and blocked.

Most people can be Scarf-Worthy. How can they not be? Even a distant acquaintance could be Scarf-Worthy. We are talking here of something equal to the Fun Fur scarf, cast on 10 sts and when you run out you are done. Yarn cost is somewhere around $10 or less. This kind of scarf requires no pattern. You can knit it in the dark. Not the Taming of the Ewe type scarf, no written directions or graphs.

What happens though when you gift these things and never see them again? Do they fall into an abyss somewhere? Have they been re-gifted? Are they at the bottom of someone's dresser behind the drawers? Are the wedged between the person's car seat and console along with the old french fries, a couple of raisins and chocolate chip cookie bits? Did the person (gasp!) give them to the Thrift Store?

This has not happened to you, beware--it will. You pour love into every stitch and it is not appreciated. It is not treasured. You cannot even find it in the recipient's house. It has ceased to exist.

Most of us would love to see one of our creations loved so much that it is falling apart. It is OK for it to get dirty, snagged, holey, peed on and most of all, loved. That is why you knitted it. For it to be loved and used every single day. It is a tangible evidence of your love for this person and it represents your existence in their world.

Some people, sadly, prove to be Not Knit-Worthy.

I gifted scarves to my mom and dad's doctor and her assistant in Tucson a couple of months after my dad died. On the card, I thanked them for their care and told them that it would be OK for them to re-gift to someone they loved, that these things needed to keep someone warm. I felt good giving them and giving permission to re-gift, knowing that they would end up somewhere with someone who really liked them and would use them.

The bottom line is that you have to be really careful who you gift with your Knitterly treasures. Remember that it is part of your essence you are giving away, part of your soul. Realize that not everyone appreciates your creations the way that you do, and that's OK. Give those people a nice coffee mug next time.

Follow your heart............

Roarrrrrrrrrrrr.......said the Fire-Breathing Dragon.............as he anxiously awaits the rest of his neck and body....

Finished Objects--two pair of toe-up, no-purl Monkeys. Bella Coola blue for my mom, Tide Pooling for Karen, our neighbor in Show Low, both are STR lightweight.

We are knitting this Sunday, noon at Shirley's in the Dunes, 3378 S. 16th Avenue, 344-2283. Call if you can't find it, my cell is 550-0182. Bring a salad. I am bringing a Chopped Salad ala California Pizza Kitchen. We are celebrating two women that we should all admire for having their priorities in order and following their hearts. I am a better person for knowing them and you probably are too. DeeDee leaves Monday morning, and I hope Linda will still be here. Come sit and knit and celebrate our friendship!

One last photo

This one wouldn't fit in the last post. It needed to be by itself.

Snuggy

Most of you know what happened toSnuggy last Sunday. It was a very sad day. This post is all about Snuggy.

She came to live with Carson and I in May of 1993. Sunday, she was 16 years and 5 months when she left us. She outlived the odds in a big way. When she was 6, Tang came to live with us. He was a kitten. As you can see, Snuggy trained him well. They did a lot of things together, like taking catnaps, or dognaps.

If you roll you cursor over the title, it will link you to my Flickr page with more photos.

They posed for pictures, and shared treats on each other's birthdays.

SometimesSnuggy got more of the birthday treats than Tang.

They posed for photos. Without being bribed with treats, sometimes.

Snuggy always had a favorite chair to sit in, or to nap in, in this case. They took cat/dog naps anywhere they wanted, frequently.

Snuggy was my best friend. She left us suddenly, for which I will always feel responsible. The life expectancy for a Cairn Terrier is 14 to 16 years. Even with her diabetes, she way outlived her days.

She loved to go places, anyplace, as long as she was with us. Here she is

at the tide pools on Point Loma. She visited the Dog Beach on

Coronado several times. She hated taking a bath, but she loved to get in the ocean.

Snug, I miss you, Carson misses you. We have holes in our hearts the size of Texas. Tang misses you. I come home from work and it is so very, very quiet. Tang begging for treats, but no rattling of your tags. I miss your begging for treats, to go for a walk, and in the last of your days, even the confusion you were in. I read on the Peaceful Paws website that a dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself . Thank you Snuggy for loving me and Carson. We will love you always and miss you forever.

Ooohhhh. Ahhhhh. Ooohhh. Qiviut.......Qivuk......

Yuuummmmmmmyyyyyyy! Maybe better than Cashmere? This is Qiviuk, also called Qiviut (pronounced Kiv-ee-uk or Kiv-ee-ut, long u) from Alaska. My brother and sister in law went on an inside passage cruise this summer. I emailed him telling him that if he ran across any yarn stores to see if they had any Qiviut. They happened across this store in Skagway, Alaska. They sell garments made of it, and this yarn. Each skein is 217 yards. Believe or not, it is softer than cashmere(oh be still my heart!) I will let you pet them for a brief moment, so as not to create a Qiviut addiction in you. Warning: it is an incurable addiction and an expensive habit, but ohhhhhhhhh soooo soffffffffttttttttt.

What I have in mind for both are scarves. Pattern TBD. I don't stray from Blue Moon Fiber Arts too often, but when I do, Omigosh do I stray. And how about this for a cool brother and sister in law? They can yarn shop for me anytime!

And speaking of people who can shop for me anytime, let's add Aimee to the list! This 1224 yards of handspun bliss is 2!0% cashmere, 30% silk, and 50% merino. It has a little heather fleck in it. I finally discovered what it wants to be and I wound it into ready to knit cakes. It will be a Shoalwater shawl. I can't wait to get started on it! The colors are so pretty, it begs to be done for the fall.

See you next time!

Hi there knitting buddies! Hope your summer is going well--seems like it gets shorter every year.

I bought this bag at Wildfiber in Santa Monica at the beginning of the summer. I have seen these bags there before and resisted, but this time I couldn't stand it. It is made from Capri sun type juice drink containers. Check out the company's website at rebagz.com.

By the way---Wildfiber in Santa Monica---best yarn store EVER! We must plan a trip. We could be in Santa Monica in 4 hours if we left on a Friday, spend some quality time at Wildfiber on Saturday, eat ground beef and pickle tacos at Malo in Silverlake for a late lunch, and be back home by 9. I feel a field trip coming! They have an actual "wall o'Koigu", an adjacent "wall o'cashmere", and just about anything else you want. Plus some stuff you didn't know you wanted. We will discuss later...........

The close up here shows that they use everything, even the nutritional labels and the silver part of the bag. The website shows some bags that are all silver. For the life of me, I can't figure out how they did it. There is no evidence of a seam anywhere. You can carry it anywhere and set it down, it is impervious to yucky stuff on the ground. I bought it as a knitting tote (can you ever have enough?) and have been using it as a purse.

Here is Mr. Stripey Head, made as part of Jackson's first birthday present. He is from the book "the Knitted Odd-bod Bunch" by Donna Wilson. Check this book out next time you are in a big bookstore or knitting store. He is made from some left over Cascade Fixation sock yarn. He and all of his buddies have really odd bodies (hence the name) and strange faces. The strange faces really are nice because my embroidery skills are less than perfect.

On to my knitting---until next time, take care and happy knitting!

Memorial Day is here!

Ahh, a 3 day weekend!  Today we cleaned house, now it is time to get a new post out.  And I have some photos of finished objects too!

The top photo is my finished Leyburns in Roctober, finally ready to wear1

The next photo

is a snippet of my Froggin Personal Footprints I started at Sock Camp. They are Cat Bordhi's newest pattern, so I can only show a snippet of the sock but not the whole sock because I am sworn to secrecy until her book comes out!  Their fit is superb and easy, also a fast knit, you must get her new book!  T

This Moderne Baby Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting belongs to Mr. Ozzie Ortiz.  It will be gifted next weekend.  I will get a photo with him modeling his blanket next weekend!  It is knitted from Lion Brand Cotton Ease and I think it will serve him well!     Until next weekend, happy knitting!