Hilltop Fire Sale

For those of you who survived you don't need to hear the tales of glory.

For those of us who weren't there, we never got to test our mettle.

I bring you, the Hilltop Fire Sale.




People were lined up for hours before the store opened.

I'm not sure anything like this had ever happened on Queen Anne before.

Once the doors opened the store was instantly wall to wall people.




Congratulations to the stash enhancers! I've seen your haul on ravelry. :)

If you see me at Hilltop I'll be the one behind the register trying to reorder yarn as fast as I can. :) There's some books, patterns and needles still left on sale.

We'll see you all again as soon as you've recovered!

*All pictures are from Martine as I was a big chicken, at home knitting in my pjs.

Chilly Hilly

Today was the annual Chilly Hilly bike ride on Bainbridge Island. Now I'm not in shape to bike 33 miles and truth be told I don't even own a bike. However, that didn't keep me from being part of the support team!

Some Hilltop knitters rode in the race and some more of us chose to support them by shopping for yarn and fabric, as well as eating some delicious food.

Here's Shannon enjoying a beverage after the race. Which is actually a tiny dessert.




I managed to find a little something to treat myself with, isn't it pretty?



It's a dark chocolate tart filled with caramel and a mocha on the side. Yum.

I also managed to wear my new favorite sweater.



Obviously, Seth likes it. Or he's just proud that he actually did bike 33 miles.

I'm especially proud of these darts.



I started with the Boatneck Bluebell pattern from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel, and then I went my own way. This yarn is so beautiful I didn't think it needed much embellishment.



The yarn is a worsted weight merino from Spincycle Yarns, in the "Castaways and Cutouts" colorway. It goes with everything I own.

Progress!

I have been knitting, and even finishing a few things. Knowing the end of the year is coming soon, I've felt a frenzy to be productive and finish projects that languished during the year.

These have been waiting the longest, over a year. I know they look deceptively simple, but there are little fingers hiding inside those paws and since I always knew they were a gift I'd been less inclined to finish them.



Here they are in progress:



I'm so glad they're done and now I can think about doing a pair for myself!

In the meantime I made a pair of quickies for me:



These are Wonder Warmers from Spincycle Yarns using their single ply worsted merino wool.



I also made a hat for myself:


(Sorry for the dark picture.) It's the Virgo Hat from Spincyle in their single ply worsted merino wool, colorway "rusted rainbow." I call mine the Scorpio hat, since I was born in November.

Lest you think I only knit small things I also finished this:


The pattern is the"Jane Origami Crossover Sweater" from Perl Gray. The yarn is Ottawa from Fleece Artist and it's quite delicious. Hilltop is selling them in kits and I made this one as a store sample.

Thanks to Monica for taking this picture.

Now I am pondering what to knit next... Any suggestions?

A Well Loved Object

I consider this humble i-pod cosy to be one of the most successful things I've ever knit.

The reason is simple. What you see before you are the contents of Jesses' pockets. A minimalist, not a lot of stuff is in there, only the bare essentials. Keys, wallet, pen and i-pod, not complete without its cosy. Everywhere he goes, this cosy goes and so a handknit piece of me goes too.

It makes me want to knit a fine layer of cosy for many treasured, small objects.

Achtung

My friend and co-worker, Jenny Chase-Rappaport is participating in the Queen Anne Artists Trunk Show this Saturday November 10th from 11-4pm with her unique hand crafted toys and accessories for all ages. Her booth will be "Rocket Boy and Danger Dog Knits."

Come by and check out her wares!

The Awful Truth

I love Ravelry just like every other knitter/crocheter I know.

My only problem with it, is that it is forcing me to confront how many unfinished objects I have or at least how many I'm willing to own up to...

Currently we have:



Pop Up paws for a friend of Jesses.

The yarn was free and is not colors I would normally use, so I had no problem making it into a gift. I had never made fingers or even half fingers before and thought it would be neat to try. Ok, it was neat but tedious and I dread the thought of doing another. Then, the friend began to nag us, a lot. I asked Jesse to remind her that I don't have hand knit gloves of any kind. That it is a gift and one shouldn't rush hand knit gifts. The more she nags the less I want to knit it...



An adorable teddy bear for an adorable niece. The A is for Alina. The bear is from Unusual Toys for you to Knit and Enjoy. Embarrassingly enough I keep losing the little pieces of it, all those arms, legs, and ears... sheesh.



One for the store. Beautiful pattern, beautiful yarn... tons of short rowing and stockinette. And now I'm at the point where I should be picking up stitches. Hmmm...



Another for the store... the yarn is beautiful, it's hand dyed Handmaiden, but the pattern. Oh this pattern is not good. Bad, bad pattern writer. Names withheld to protect those I don't want to insult. But, what could a person have against a provisional cast on?

Ok, those are the ones I can bring out into the light.

I know I'm not the only one.

I'll see you on Ravelry, I'm Stampalina there.

Birthday Flowers

Birthday Flowers
Originally uploaded by Stampalina

Someone brought me flowers home from work for the very first time.

My day does not end at midnight

but officially my birthday does.

It was a good one, a mellow one. Which is what I needed.

Jesse and I had some good time on the road to and from Bellingham. I go to pick the music on the ipod and, as usual, he did all the driving.

We drove North to spend time with Opie. Had brunch at one of my favorite spots in town, Mount Bakery. Although none of us was hungry enough to try their crazy Eggs Benedict, which come served on a Belgian Waffle. Next time I'll resolve to show up hungrier.

We hung out at a fabric store and fondled various things. Steph bought fabric to make many aprons. I had the good luck to not only be included in this generous apron making and giving, but also have the chance to learn something by watching Steph work on them later.

We stopped by Goodwill and found many $3 finds. I now have more sweaters in my wardrobe to counteract the chill, does it feel like snow to anyone else? I know it's too early, right? Please say yes. I live and work on top of two separate, large hills...

We ended the evening with a large Stephmade dinner including many of my favorite things, eggplant, kalamata olives, parmesan, pesto, garlic and pasta. I also got to love up her pets quite generously, especially Wyatt as I do have a tendency toward the felines.

Most of all I had a chance to breath a bit easier. To share some of the load I've been carrying and hopefully to do the same for her. There is an ease in being with someone who has known you nearly half your life. A comfort to just being able to be with someone.

We're 29 now and while it's a bit of a shocker I think we can handle it. Especially if we're able to see each other once in awhile.

NaBloPoMo

Jesse and I were supposed to have a get away to Portland this weekend. Unfortunately, a combination of his work and the upcoming holidays means he couldn't get away.

I'm still going to Bellingham for my birthday, to spend some quiet time with my best friend. It's one of my favorite places and she's one of my favorite people, I'm looking forward to it.

After that I'm looking forward to a little time here:



You can barely tell, but peeking out from the left and from the right, is my new craft space! There is yarn, a sewing machine, a paper cutter, my own craft centered bookcase and most importantly a large table. I'll show you more pictures when things are a little more together.

Here's another corner for now:




I'm hoping for some quiet moments to put things in their right places. There are pieces of me that haven't been in the right places lately. I've been walking around with my shoulders tight and my tongue sharp. I have a particular knot at the base of my neck that has been throbbing. I'm trying to unclench.

I tidy and nest when I feel this way. What do you do?

I'm being followed by a rain shadow

Jesse and I went East for a restful weekend of visiting friends and family. I enjoyed getting out of town, he does all the driving- so guess who does all the knitting!



The drive is pretty, we started out in the Cascades



held our breath at The Gorge





and were in the land of wheat before we knew it.



We went to Spokane, which as everyone knows is where they keep:



The Hot Carly. I looked around, but my college roommate was in North Carolina. Not Spokane.

We found plenty of hotness however, in nearby Cheney.



Yes, that's Nerissa and I at the hardware store. We can have a good time anywhere.

It was a short trip, but with blue sky, pumpkin pie and these smiling faces



we'll be back for another visit as soon as we can. Which is pretty much as soon as the snow melts. Let's hope for a short winter shall we?

The Silver Fox

We've seen the sweater go from this:



To this:



And finally, we have this:



Doesn't he look regal?

That's my Dad, finally modeling his long awaited sweater. It's knit from Lopi, a rough icelandic wool. I may never knit with it again, but I feel better knowing he appreciates its scratchiness. He feels its rough texture and knows it will last through years of hunting and fishing.

He really does like it and that makes my rough hands and hours of hauling around a large sweater, just to finish that last sleeve, worth it.

Pattern from The Knitters Handy Book of Sweater Patterns by Ann Budd. Which despite the bottom up raglan directions is an excellent book. Just look at the results!

Have I mentioned the quilt?

In all the hubbub with getting married and moving and whatnot I don't think I ever posted about our wedding quilt. If I did it couldn't have been a sufficient post as I don't remember it. And I think this deserves its own post.

Jesse's mother and grandmother, Diane and Stella, made this quilt for us.



I was allowed to choose the colors, because even though it's our quilt, Jesse already has a beautiful quilt that was made just for him. This one was for us, but I really felt like it was for me. A welcome into the family. And what a beautiful one.


The colors I chose aren't the usual palette for Stella or Diane. Looking through their generous fabric stashes I only saw hints of the colors I wanted. Dark reds and aqua blues I said. Rusts in the ocean. Diane looked at me funny, but I don't think anyone could argue with the result.




Thank you Diane and Stella. I love it.

It's Friday

Enjoy a little feist.

Unpoofen Man Sveater

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to knit a man sweater. Not just any man sweater of course but one comfortable AND interesting. One that a man of a certain age can wear. One that won't drive me crazy. One for my Dad.




His birthday is today and before you go thinking I'm all thoughtful, you should know: this is a sweater I may have promised him a birthday or two ago.

Indeed I may have shown him a knit back o' sweater just to prove my fidelity to this project, when in reality I had none. That sweaterback proved to me the whole damned thing was coming out far too large and I had to rip it out. The Lopi I picked to match his silvery blue eyes was not too kind to my hands either.

That being said, I picked up the offending Lopi again and somehow it seemed softer. I began knitting it, in summer (think on that, Lopi wool + sweater+ humidity) and I've made some progress. Hello armpits! Never have I been so happy to see you.

Tonight my family is going to the ballpark and I'm going to knit my heart out on this one. Depending on how the Mariners play I may even finish it off. Unfortunately the old man was called away on business, so he won't be with us, but that will just give me more time to sew in ends and give it a wash.

This boring knit has been a welcome respite from moving, job hunting, etc. It also feels good to finish up some knitting I've been feeling guilty about. I have a few more things on that list and then, then I will knit guilt free!

Memed

The Duchess of Yarnnation, has posted a meme and I've been tagged, umm about 3 months ago. Yes. So let it begin:

Which of your finished projects are you most proud of?

My wedding dress! Mostly because I finished it on time. I'm thinking now that I'd like to separate the top and bottom so I can wear it more often, as it will be less dressy then.

Which of your UFO’s is never going to see the light of day again?

Oh so many. What jumps to mind are some felted slippers using Lambs Pride that I hate the color of. An odd lavender... Nerissa finished hers though in fuschia, embroidered them and they were adorable.

What is the most unusual place you have ever purchased yarn?

Paris? London? Hmm... actually it's probably a stand that sells imported carpets at the Fremont Public Market. They had some recycled Sari Silk that I couldn't resist and of course I have no idea what to do with it.

What is the most money (plastic or real) you have ever dropped on yarn at one time?

I doubt more than $200, in a go.

Where is the craziest place(s) you have whipped out your needles?

I got the most guff about it on a train in London. Apparently people don't knit in public there!

What is the most unique project you have ever undertaken?

Well my wedding dress has been the most "mine" yet. Though knitting for McDonalds was definitely unique. I still see signs with my mittens on them, strange.

I don't want to tag people, but if you want to jump in (Pip, Quinn?) go ahead!

Be We in Paris or in Lansing...

I feel summer coming to a close. The weather is getting a touch cooler every day and I find myself wanting to fix this summer in my mind.

Not that I could forget:

Knitting my wedding dress at my Grandmas' bedside. Watching each of my friends discover Woodstock anew. Jesses' face when he read his vows to me.

I wouldn't forget that.

But I might forget the smaller moments, like blackberry picking with Steph, Zophie and Quinn.

Even if I did draw a little blood for my troubles.
I also got plenty of pie and freezer jam out of it.

And Nerissa Hula Hooping it up with Milo... I wouldn't forget that.

It's been a good summer.

Here's to hoping I can squeeze the best out of the next few weeks.

*Blackberry picking photos taken from quinnwick.com.

Interweave Fall Preview

Oh that Eunny Jang, why does she haunt me so?



Doesn't she know about the unfinished projects I already have languishing? I have no room for more m'dear... but those cables. Oh those cables.

I think my mind is still on vacation

I love Seattle, but today I'm dreaming of a day in New York with nothing better to do than eat bagels in Central Park.

Reception

The reception was a mellow, pleasant picnic where the weather held off enough to prevent an actual downpour. Kids were (mostly) free to run around and adults were free to eat all the blackberry cobbler they wanted.

Here's some of the Hilltop crew doing just that.



And here are many of us with the beautiful blanket they knit for Jesse and I! I believe it's from Mason Dixon Knitting.




That's Karen, Martine, Jenny, Jesse, Betsy, me, Teresa and Daphne (some of the knitters involved are not pictured here). It's adorable and because of the coolness of this summer I've already begun to use it!

Thank you all for the lovely handmade gift to warm our home.

*EDIT* All pictures by Seth Howard.