Phew! Holidays are over until next year….

Well, the silly season has once again come to an end.  Whether you celebrate it for the “real” reason or other reasons, it can really wear on you!   What has done me in is having 5 days off two days on twice!  It makes it really hard to get back into the swing of things at work.

DB and I don’t have children.  We celebrate the holidays in our own way: by running away.  We took a trip to San Diego, CA to find the home DB lived in until he was two.  (It’s now a home that is quite possibly unaffordable by our standards.)  The weather there was the coldest it’s been in two decades!  What luck….  As a result, surfing lessons for DB was out of the question.  The 70-yr. old head with the 20-yr. old body freaked me out the most.  There was much wealth and everything was well-manicured.  The seafood and sushi was particularly good.  (We do like our sushi!)  As fate would have it, I spotted the yarn shop, Knitting in La Jolla, in an alcove on Prospect St.  My luck held, as DB pulled over immediately and let me indulge for a few minutes.  My luck was good.  The sock yarn was RIGHT INSIDE THE FRONT DOOR!  I grabbed one skein of indie hand-dyed yarn from CO (I bought the Aspen Sock in Pedro’s Journey), a couple of skeins of Misti Alpaca Sock yarn, and some buttons (for my dear friend/neighbor/dogsitter) for a 3-button shawl.  I was so quick, that when I left the shop, DB was not there!  He assumed I would take longer, and had ducked into a gallery nearby.  I wandered around aimlessly on the street, but didn’t dare go back into the yarn shop, for fear that I would buy more yarn.

We left for San Diego Christmas day, and came back Sunday afternoon.  It was a long trip, but restful, and as usual, as with all trips with DB, it was FUN.  We went to the San Diego Zoo (World famous), walked the boardwalk several times in Pacific Beach, had seafood, steak, FISH TACOS, sushi, and in our search for a restroom, ended up seeing the Lodge at Torrey Pines.  Yes, in our search for a restroom, DB pulled into Torrey Pines Golf Course.  The name seemed slightly familiar, but didn’t hit home until I saw the huge banner that read “Home of the US Open.”  Against my protestations, we went through the Lodge door, held open by a dude in a kilt.  The Arts & Crafts woodwork was BEAUTIFUL.  The restrooms were IMMACULATE!  I was so glad he dragged me in there (for more reasons than one).  Now I want an Arts & Crafts home in the country, instead of a French Country home. 

Before I forget, we went to the Hotel del Coronado and MEXICO.  We went so deep into Mexico, they didn’t speak English.  I can safely say we went all the way to Rosarito.  The change, at the border, was amazing….we went from a clean, organized, thriving community in San Diego to depressed, lean-to looking habitation.  It was really sad.  That border really makes all the difference in the world.  I’ll stop now.  I’m not going to figure it out here and now.

I’ve finally got the “Lasso Me Baby” pattern printed.  (See entry below in December)  It’s available for a cool $5, plus postage.  Please remember it only comes in a 36″ bust.  I’ll be posting it on etsy.  My shop is “Papatya.”

Oh, and before I forget.  Remember when I left the yarn shop and couldn’t find DB?  He had wondered into a sculpture gallery called “Device.”  The metal sculptures blew me away!  Here are photos of some of the works:

Eris by Greg Brotherton

 

Mercury by Greg Brotherton

 

Minitron by Greg Brotherton

In website news, I’ve added a new Cocoknits pattern, “Katje.”  She’s really cute.

Cocoknits Katje cardigan

That’s all folks!

Rowan 44 kits are getting cranked up!!!!

Good Afternoon my little pretties!
I just got a lovely box of yarn from Rowan yesterday.  It contained yarn necessary to kit both Da Vinci and Florentino from Rowan Magazine 44, the 30th Anniversary Edition.  The photos really don’t do the masterpieces justice.  The colors are rich and warm.  I’m pricing them at the usual 10% off for your purchasing pleasure!  Remember…you deserve something special, especially if it ends up being a garment that you will make for yourself, and enjoy doing it.  These designs are timeless.  This is the link for the kits:  Rowan Magazine 44 Renaissance Kits  Here are photos of the kits that are available so far:

Da Vinci knitted in Wool Cotton and Kidsilk AuraFlorentino knitted in Kid Classic

It’s now time for a caravan update.  I’ve put a lot of new wood framing on it, but don’t have a photo of it.  I have a raw spot on my right palm from using the chisel without my work gloves.  BAD GIRL!  Anyway, I’m paying the price.  I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I have selected FABRIC, LINOLEUM, AND LAMINATES from which I will make a final choice for the interior finishes.  The walls will be the original 1/4″ birch plywood.  I want the look to be a little retro, so I selected an Amy Butler fabric that’s got knockout shades of aqua and chartreuse.  (Chartreuse seems to be a constant in my life these past 8 years….why deny it?)  I welcome all comments.  Which laminate do you like?  The green “bamboo look” or the aluminums?

Samples for Caravan interiors

I tried to blog about the Rowan Colourscape cardigans that I shipped to Westminster Fibers last week, but WordPress seemed to be acting up, big time.  Below are photos of two of the cardigans that I completed.  I’m now working on the back of a coat for them, because it’s time sensitive and I didn’t have time to do the whole garment.  SO, we are sharing coat pieces! 

WOAH!!!  BLURRY!!!!!  Have you been hitting the bottle already?

I’m leaving for Stitches Midwest with some great friends from AR on Thursday 4 a.m.  Yes, 4 a.m.  Desperate measures for some desperate knitters!  I’m taking 2 classes:  Design it yourself with Unpatterns, and Unpattern Top-Down Sweaters.  I’m always trying to get over my fear of pattern writing.  I’ve only got 4 patterns to my name, that are self-published, only one of which is on etsy now, and there really should be more!  Anyway, I ramble….if you haven’t attended a Stitches event, you should, but you should also take lots of money.  The market is scary incredible!  Thank goodness we are driving.  If I run out of space in my roller bag, it can go in the car!

Please keep in mind that I welcome ALL comments, positive or negative about ANYTHING I write!  Let’s have some fun!  Oh, and I think I may have fixed the column problems with the blog.  Sorry about that!

Knit on!

Black-Eyed Peas and Patterns

 

Here are some photos I took at the Memphis Farmer’s Market a couple of weeks ago.

The Incredible Edible Eggplant

Raw Black-Eyed Peas

I had a long boring day at work yesterday and got home to find something good in the mailbox.  New patterns I ordered at market in JUNE!!!!  So far I’ve been able to create the page for Tree Knitter Designs.  I was so excited when I saw a really neat looking vest, “River Birch” in the Deep South Fibers booth.  Let me tell you my peoples, I DON’T WEAR VESTS.  Not any kind of vest.  No sirree, not me.  NEVER.  BUT, I have a lovely skein of Ozark Handspun that I just had to have.  Of course, it’s chartreusey.  (Yes, that IS a word.)  Now my skein of Ozark Handspun finally has a purpose in life other than collecting dust in my home office!  Of course, I have that special chartreuse Misti Alpaca Chunky in stock in abundance.  Folks, I WILL wear this vest!  Without further ado, here is the photo:

River Birch Vest made with Misti Alpaca Chunky and Ozark Handspun 

  This next one is extremely girly in my opinion, so watch out!  I’ll wear this, too!  I present to you “Willow.” 

Willow

On the pattern page I give MANY yarn choices for this garment.  I saw it in person on the designer, and believe me, it’s adorable!  Here are some photos of some other patterns that have come in that aren’t on the website yet.  Please check back often at yarnstudio.com for updates.  I’ll try to post here (without posting too much) as soon as I get the others on the site.  In the meanwhile, don’t hesitate to email me with questions at papatya@yarnstudio.com. 

Falling Water - front

Falling Water – back

Well that’s all for today folks.  Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to watch Michael Phelps clean up in the Olympics!  I know the Chinese are being sneaky again (i.e. dog fud, lead-based paint, fake fireworks on TV, etc.), but please respect the US athletes and all of the hard work they’ve done. 

And this one’s for you Peg!

The Seaside Shell