January One -- Sock Pal Socks

May 08, 2006

Redemption!

I gotta tell you, WHAT A RELIEF! We got home pretty late Saturday night - but I immediately pulled on my NEW SOCKS!

Thank you ELIZABETH! Not just for restoring my faith in the sock swap but for Lorna's Laces, which I've never tried before, and a very well done short row heel, which I've never knit to my liking before and for an all around awesome pair of socks! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!



And Amysue, my sock pal, seems to be pretty happy with her socks as well. Go on over and give her some get well wishes. She's a bit under the weather these days! FEEL GOOD AMYSUE! Socks for everyone!!!

Alas, I'm pretty sure this is going to be my last sockapalanything. Too much anxiety. ;-)
That's it for me today - I'm on a deadline and then I'm going to relax. And tell you about Maryland. Just a bit of a warning: I didn't take ANY pictures. So go around and visit everyone's pictures and then come back tomorrow for a preview of my purchases and a contest. A kind of hard, hopefully fun contest!

Oh and GO HELP TERESA and her family HELP PEOPLE!

Posted by Cara at 08:17 AM | Comments (25)

May 03, 2006

PS: It's Not Easy Being Green

I've been on the phone the entire day today - most of it was really productive. Ann and I ate lunch together. Over the phone. We both had salad. She's losing weight and I had a pudding pop for dessert. ;-)

Speaking of salad, here's some verde for your Project Spectrum May Day. Enjoy!

The roving is a new colorway, dyed especially for my Project Spectrum spinning by Tina at Blue Moon, called Hiddenite in Biffle (BFL.) I think it will be available from Toni at her booth in Maryland. The yarn is heavyweight STR in (dark to light) Beryl, Jade and Limestone.

Oh and here's a look at my Sockapaloooza package. Which went out today because I'm slow and I suck - but I think I made up for my tardiness:

Don't forget Claudia's MS Drive!!!! I've already pledged - have you?

Posted by Cara at 06:02 PM | Comments (28)

April 19, 2006

Simply SockapalOOOza

MY! Aren't they lovely?

Simply Lovely Lace Socks
by Karen Baumer, IK, Spring 2006
Socks That Rock, Lightweight, Lover's Leap
Two circulars, Addi Turbos Size 2 (3.0 mm)
Knit for SockapalOOOza.

I know I'm like a broken record, but oh my god I love this yarn. LOVE IT! (The color is actually a bit redder in real life. So hard to photograph red!) This batch of yarn was even softer than usual. The socks are really done, ends woven in and everything, but I still need to give them a nice lavendar Eucalan bath. That will happen soon. I'd just like to point out that I'm done with a week and a half to spare. Thankyouverymuch! One deadline down - one to go. Of course, I'm sure I will be plenty sidetracked. I started a new sock yesterday - and when I say new I mean new to you and me! YAY! But I had to rip it once I figured out that it was going to work. I need to knit it on bigger needles. But all is well, no fear. I'm hoping to have some decent progress in the next few days so I can reveal it. OOOHH! I'm so excited I could burst. It's going to be really cool. (At least I think it is.) There are like fifteen million socks I want to knit. And I've got at least three singles lying around waiting for mates. And I MUST finish the shawl. I will finish the shawl in time. It's just that it's boring at this point and it takes a long time to get through a row and I'm looking at longer and longer rows. I've still got a week and a half for that and it looks like it might rain this weekend, so if I can get this new NEW sock on track, I'll go back to the shawl. And Short Rows. I've been mulling the collar fix off and on for weeks. Here's the problem: I picked up all the stitches I THOUGHT should be picked up (I'm thinking sock gussets here - didn't want any holes) and then I decreased to try to get to the number the pattern said and I got lots of nice puckers. What if I just keep the number of stitches I think I need to pick up? It will work then right? I need to do some more research on this before I try again.

My dear deluded friend Ann yelled at me yesterday when I was talking to her about my many amazing knitty ideas. She said, "Why don't you finish something first?" Hong Kong Phooey on you Ann! YOU CAN NOT HOLD CREATIVITY BACK!!!! You must let it be free to flourish and sing and eat freaking Spaghettios if it wants to. Godammit.

PS - Speaking of socks, head on over to Heather's and help her with her school project. There might be sock yarn in it for you!

Posted by Cara at 09:49 AM | Comments (44)

April 17, 2006

It's just a fantasy whoa-o-o-o

Sometimes a fantasy
Is all you need

Georgie and I had LOTS of juicy, passionate discussions this weekend and one of them was about the merits of Billy Joel's songbook. We both agreed that Glass Houses ranks up there as one of the all time best. All For Leyna puts it over 52nd Street by a knockout.

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not throwing over one B Rock Boy for another. Billy isn't fit to tie Bruce's shoes, in my estimation, but he does have some really, really good songs. Really good. ( I mean, really, Captain Jack was one of the reasons I wanted to live in New York. Who didn't want to get high in the Village?) We heard Sometimes A Fantasy on our way home the other night and cranked it loud. I love singing along with my G-Love! LOVE IT!

Anyway, we had a great weekend! Guess what I did? NOTHING! Well, nothing if nothing includes a ton of knitting and laying around in my bed and watching like ten hours of Another World. Frankie and Cass are engaged (my fave pairing) and the Sharlene/Sharlee multiple personality thing is about to hit the fan, although I much prefer the later, eviler Grant Harrison than the doofus playing him now. Josie's fake stalker might be real. Rachel and Ken Jordan are about to do the nasty, only he's working with Paulina and we all now what's coming there. (I prefer the later Paulina as well. Who's on Days (again) right now.) The whole Suspicion thing going on with the Amanda/Sam/Evan triangle is a yawn and I never, ever liked shrill Amanda to begin with and Sam's almost as annoying as Evan, but send me over some Hudson love and I'm happy. I've always loved Donna. And Jake. And Michael and Vicki and Marley. I'm looking forward to Ann Heche being replaced by Jensen Buchanan but I have to give her props. She sure can bring it.

After finishing up the taxes on Saturday morning (just some last minute checks - they were really done before I left) and a trip to the post office (did you know it was like $50 to E-FILE?! How ridiculous is that?) we did a drive through of Branch Brook Park to see the amazing Cherry Blossoms. We thought we might sit outside for awhile since it was like 80 degrees on Saturday, but the park was CRAZY. The trees were beautiful though. No pictures. I don't like to take pictures unless I can get really, really close. Or someone's paying me. ;-)

There were lots and lots of religion discussions too. Fitting given the Passover/Easter weekend. We watched a few minutes of The Ten Commandments and had a lively discussion of Cecil B. DeMille's Passover meal. The kid asks why they're eating bitter herbs and Chuck Heston says so we can remember the bad times. Um. WE eat bitter herbs so we can remember THEIR bad times. This is ostensibly the FIRST Passover. The seder didn't come until the NEXT year. We talked about the history of the whole thing - what year did this happen, that happen, when did this one die, that one, who fought against who. G gets really into it and peppers me with questions. He thinks just because I studied all this stuff in college I should know it all. As the weekend moved closer to Easter we got into it about Christianity - and when I say Christianity I'm talking 70 A.D. and such. I watched a fascinating show on the Gospel of Judas. Fascinating! I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but oh my god. It's amazing how much MAN'S decisions influenced what was supposedly DIVINE. Did you know that originally there were over 30 gospels out there? Guess who chose the four that got in the good book? Yeah. A guy. (Before you go telling me it was divinely inspired and all that let me tell you that when it comes to ancient texts, I am an academic all the way. If you'd like to read that as skeptic, be my guest. I don't doubt the existence of many of these people and events, but there are academic criteria that must be met before we can say it DEFINITELY happened. My Jesuit Professor taught me that in one of my favorite classes in college - Jesus and His Times.) Anyway, lively debate all around! We love that.

The rest of the weekend I knit. It was heaven!

I started the second sockapaloooza sock and I'm already on the gusset. I will have this baby finished in no time! Deadlines Schmedlines! Still loving the yarn and the pattern and I can only hope my pal will too.

Most of the time though I knit on my Beaded Diamond Fantasy Shawl.

I'm already up to repeat 7. I have a little system going. I like to finish a repeat then start the first row (where you add the extra sections) of the next repeat and leave it on a purl row. This way I know where I am and I can just knit - I've already done the next bead row - which is getting slower and more tedious the longer I make this thing - and I don't have to worry about beads again until the second section of the chart.



I still love it and everytime G looks at it he tells me how classy it is. I hope it fulfills its purpose of camouflaging how fat I have become (again!) and making me feel fabulous because I'm afraid the dress and the body won't be helping at all. Anyway, that's my problem. I have a plan. And the plan is to knit a FABULOUS shawl that takes all the attention away from how gross I look. ( It's how I feel. You've all been there I'm sure.)



The only teensy tiny regret I might have is the yarn. Sundara did a fabulous job dyeing it for me and it's perfect, but a little bit scratchy. She told me that would go away with washing (it's from the overdye) but I'm thinking I should've gone with some kind of silk blend for utter luxury. I know it will block out fabulous though, so I think this regret is only from knitting a TON on it this weekend (four repeats?) and that I'm a bit bored of it. Still and all a FANTASTIC pattern and I'm loving the beads.

I'm way behind on the ABC A-Long but not for lack of trying. I had a G all lined up and I took a bunch of pictures this weekend and I hate them all. I hated them while I was taking them and I hated them when I looked at them and that G won't be working. So I'm moving on to another G and I hope to have it up soon. You can't put a calendar on inspiration. I'm trying. I will hopefully get back on track soon, although H and I aren't really helping either. Damn alphabet. One thing that has been working is my knitty imagination!!!! I've got some HUGE plans. HUGE. I'm very, very excited.

Posted by Cara at 10:31 AM | Comments (29)

April 14, 2006

Rare Gems

I guess I might as well admit it. I'm a sock knitter. I know you all think I'm a sock knitter, but I've been avoiding the label because, well, I DO knit other things besides socks. Although it might not seem like it these days.

I finished three socks while I was at my sister's. The first one I'm going to talk about is a mate - so now I have a pair.



Yes, yes. I ran out of yarn. I'm still using the old put up - I've got a lot of STR skeins to get through - but it wasn't all the fault of the yarn. The colorway is a RARE GEM, which means no one else in the world has it but me! Sometimes mistakes are made in the dye pot and Tina transforms these "mistakes" into gorgeous unique colorways through overdyeing. I was worried from the start that I'd run out and in this world of self-fulfilling prophecies I did. The funny thing? I made a mistake in the pattern. I hope you're laughing because I certainly did - this is my 11th pair of jaywalkers? I've lost count to be honest. So here I am knitting on this sock and I decide to do a stitch count and I realize that somewhere I added an extra stitch. The best part is that I made the mistake in a place that's completely obliterated by the pattern! That's why I couldn't see it. (For those of you intimately acquainted with the jaywalker pattern, I added the second ktfbl on a knit row down the middle of the sock so on the next row the pattern was unchanged for the first ktfbl. And if you understand that - maybe it's time to find a new sock pattern. ;-) ) When it became clear to me that I was going to run out of yarn, I called my favorite dyer Tina and asked for some Spinel, which I thought would work perfect for the toe.



And I think I was right! I love the sock. Then I had to decide whether or not I wanted both socks to match, since I had already finished the first sock with the Rare Gems yarn. I decided I liked them different. Truly a pair of Rare Gem socks.



I love them. They will sit in my (soon to be determined) sock drawer and wait for the cold feet of fall.

I also finished one of my Hot Flash jaywalkers:

OH MY GOD! I have GOT to start counting more. This time I made a very similar mistake (left out a ktfbl) and ended up a stitch short. I'm getting better with the whole perfectionism thing though because I didn't rip it out and fix it at the source (the mistake was on the cuff and when I figured it out I was on the foot.) I fixed it where I found the mistake. Same as the Rare Gems sock. Love the sock. Will be making another one.

And in the biggest news of the day, I finished sock ONE of my Sockapaloooza socks:

LOVE the yarn. LOVE the pattern. LOVE the sock. (That's three loves for sockapalOOOza.) It is SO hard knitting socks for someone other than yourself - especially someone far away that can't try them on for you. They are pretty loose on me so and a bit long so I've got all my toes crossed that they will fit the recipient.



I think it's pretty funny that the jaywalker looks bigger than the sock pal sock. So not the case.

Anyway. That's what I knit while I was away. It was excellent to see the kids and hang with my sister but I'm VERY glad to be home. Look for lots of black and bead lace knitting to come and another sock pal sock. That's going to be pretty much it until the end of April. Deadlines loom. Oh and if anyone has any ideas about sending expensive and IRREPLACEABLE jewelry through the mail (fedex, etc.) please let me know. I left my fancy wedding ring at my sister's and I want it back in my possession ASAP. I don't feel like going back down there to pick it up and I'm missing it desperately. But can you really send that kind of stuff?

Posted by Cara at 11:26 AM | Comments (34)

April 07, 2006

Hissies and Their Fits

You know, the older I get the more I learn from my mistakes. It's all part of that growing up process my 85 yr old grandmother promises me NEVER ends. We're ALWAYS growing and hopefully learning and even more hopefully APPLYING that knowledge. One of the things I've really been trying to learn and apply in my life is knowing when enough is enough. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our bodies and our minds were like our gas tanks? I get a nice little reminder on my car - it's called DTE. Distance Till Empty. Along with the little orange light that blinks, DTE gives me plenty of warning on when (not if) I will run out of gas. If that should happen, well, then, I'm the only one to blame. I mean, really, the car TOLD me it was going to happen.

I guess, in reality, our bodies do have a warning light - it's just so much easier to ignore. But last night was one of those LOUD AND CLEAR warnings. Sirens wailing. Smoke detectors going off even though you took out the battery an hour ago. A camel dehydrating in the desert. DUDES! I was DONE!

I ended up going to be very late Wednesday night - even though I hadn't planned on it - and then I didn't get anything done I needed to get done on Thursday. Thursday night was great though! I went to see Ann and Kay read at Knitty City - a new shop in NYC on 79th (btwn Amsterdam and Broadway). What a wonderful shop! Great yarn selections - TONS of Cascade 220. Lorna's Laces. They'll be carrying the full line of Koigu next fall. Cottons, wools, alpaca, sock yarn, fun yarn - everything. A nice book selection. Classes. A full service yarn store and the staff was very nice too - the complete antithesis to that OTHER yarn store on the UWS. Give it a try. Anyway, it was great to see Ann and Kay and meet some new to me knitter and bloggers! Hi Mary! Hi Marcela! (Marcela and I have the SAME BIRTHDAY!!! How cool is that?) Hi Margaret! Hi Sahara! And there were so many others that I'm sorry I've forgotten! It was a great crowd and lots of fun knitters. I'll definitely be back. ETA! I forgot to say Hi Ina! And look! Ina has a picture of my funkycoolfabulous new shoes on her blog! Thanks Ina!

So I came home, kind of early, with the hopes of knocking out what I couldn't (wouldn't) do during the day, so that I could leave today to go to Philly and see Ann and Kay at Loop. I have to be in Philadelphia anyway - today is the baby's FIRST BIRTHDAY! Can you believe it?! Tomorrow is his birthday party and next week is Passover. But last night my printer decided to fuck with me. Really really fuck with me. It's been happening a lot lately - when it spits out a piece of paper it either wrinkles or tears the top of the page. So I'm trying to print client stuff to pack into the box I need to send out today and all it will do is rip the top of the page!!!! There were things thrown. There were curses yelled. There were tears. Lots and lots of tears.

I ended up in bed, crying, watching the HBO documentary on Rosie O'Donnell's Gay Family Cruise. Now, I'm NOT a Rosie O'Donnell fan. Annoying doesn't even begin to cut it. But I cried and cried watching all those beautiful happy families. I don't know. I was jealous I was happy I was sad that our fucked up country can't see family for what it really is and should be. Whatever. I was really, really tired. G was giving me space because I yelled at him because I was pissed and all I wanted was someone to rub my back and take care of me. But I didn't ask for it and I did say leave me alone so he did.

This morning when I woke up I realized that I don't have to kill myself to get to Philly tonight. Ann and Kay will be fine without me. My sister will be fine without me. My nephew (the older one) will forgive me for not being there when he comes home from school. I can show up to the birthday party tomorrow afternoon and be there until Thursday and get what I need to get done and relax a little bit and help myself.

So far today I've sat on the couch and knit on my sockapaloooza socks! And I LOVE THEM!

This is Lover's Leap (lightweight) from Socks That Rock and it's absolutely PERFECT for this pattern. I'm using the Simpley Lovely Lace Socks from the new IK and it's beautiful! It's hard for me, though, to knit for someone else - let alone someone I don't know and can't try on the socks. They seem pretty big - I'm knitting them on size 2s and using the 60 stitch pattern - but I only be really relaxed when my pal gets the socks and tells me they're perfect! And SO FAST! I'm only about a repeat away (four rows) from splitting for the heel. I'll have at least one done by the time I get back from my sister's. And hopefully the other one will be just as fast because I really need to start working on my BDFS if I want it done by the 29th.

Okay. G was home all morning working so the computer was busy and I've been knitting and I feel SO MUCH BETTER! As soon as I post this I'm going to eat some lunch and go out and buy a new printer then come home and do the work I need to do and then have dinner with my husband and sleep another night in my own bed and then go to Philly tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. After all. Tomorrow is another day!

Lesson learned. Lesson applied.
Have a great weekend!

PS - Blogging will be sporadic at best next week. I'll be home sometime on Thursday. Knit well!

Posted by Cara at 02:15 PM | Comments (31)

March 28, 2006

The following preview may not be suitable for all audiences.

I'm giving you this preview of future projects because the ones I have going on right now are either, stalled, boring or in a time out. And really, all I want to do is spin, but I can't because I have work to do and I'm procrastinating. I tried to work on the collar for short rows yesterday and it looks awful. Really awful. Did I ever tell you Claire's inspired idea? You know the whole "should I stripe it or not" question? Well, Claire suggested I stripe the FRONT, but not the back. Great idea, no? I liked it anyway. So I started it and the thing needs to be ripped. I love the sweater so much and I think the knitting is really done well (if I don't say so myself) and I refuse to fuck up the sweater with a shitty collar so I'm putting it aside for the time being. Maybe for Maryland, instead of Passover? We'll see. I might need some help on it, and luckily help is coming soon. Current socks are boring. YAAAWN. BDFS is ready for action, but all I want to do is spin. See a pattern? But deadlines loom. Like this one:



Here we have my choices for my Sockapalooza Socks! That's HOT FLASH Socks That Rock and the Simply Lovely Lace Socks from the current IK. My pal likes bright colors and ankle socks, so I'm pretty sure these fit the bill. I'm a little concerned about sizing though, as she wears a full size (or more) bigger than me and I've never knit for someone different than my size. The pattern says cast on 60 stitches on size 0 needles, but I plan on knitting with size 1s. It's a six stitch repeat - do you think 66 stitches will be too much? She said she's a bigger girl, so that's why she wears ankle or crew socks. The best part? I know the person who made her SockapalTWOza socks, so I sent off an email this morning. Hopefully I'll get some good advice. Of course I want these socks to be perfect. I'm going to try something new with them as well - two socks on two circulars! This way I can also be in the Cirque Du Socks KAL!



Neat, huh? You need to knit socks on two circulars, but if you've done that before, then try something new. So I'll be casting on soon - 2circs2socks style!

Here's another preview:

Thinking ahead to April's Project Spectrum spinning! (Even though I've still got like 12oz of March spinning left to do. Did I mention all I want to do is spin? ;-) ) This fine fiber is from AmyBoogie. It's her Almost Solid series in Corriedale, Sunflower and Marigold colorways. I saw some of the Sunflower spun up over at Marnie's, and even though I have some batts on order from Graton Fibers, I couldn't resist. I LOVE Amy's fibers. LOVE LOVE! And her dyes are wonderful too. Look what else I got from her:



It's Amy's Handpainted Tahiti biffle and if I had all the time in the world to spin, it would be a nice transition fiber from March to April - it's got yellow, orange, pink, reds - just a whole lot of sunshiney goodness. YAY!

Posted by Cara at 12:46 PM | Comments (28)

October 26, 2005

A-a-a-CHOO! Snooort. Cough, Cough.

Ah. The soundtrack of my life. I'm sick. Sick. Sick. Sick. I'm kind of a rotten sick person. I expect to be waited on hand and foot and I complain and whine a lot. I think because, secretly, I'm excited to actually HAVE something to complain about. Something tangible like snot running down your face. Like your teeth itching so bad they hurt. Like a drippy eye. You know what I'm talking about.

See that? That's the couch. That's where I slept last night. Believe it or not it was more comfortable than my superfantasticsuperdeluxesuperspecial bed. Now, I think, you know how really sick I am. Thankfully TCM is showing Alfred Hitchcock this week. I watched Notorious last night, and then Rebecca came on, my all time FAVORITE! And after that Suspicion. I taped Rebecca and Suspicion. Gotta look and see what's on tap for tonight.

Want to know what a selfish knitter I am? I'm already on record saying I don't knit no holiday gifts. If I decide to knit something for you, I decide what you get when you get it. That's it. End of story. BUT, I so enjoyed knitting my sockapal2za socks that I volunteered to be an angel. I received my new sock pal's name the other day and high on the ROCK STAR socks, I thought I'd hit the Socks That Rock yarn for my pal.

You see, there was a skank in there that I was pretty perplexed about. Azurite. Muted colors - lavenders, purples, grays. I honestly don't remember how it got in there. I can't see myself picking it. It's not really something I would normally go for - but there it was. Perfect, I thought! My sock pal can have some Socks That Rock as well!

And then I wound the sucker up. And created a nice big tangle in the process. Well, let me tell you, after handling this yarn and looking at it all wound up there ain't no way I'm giving it away. NO WAY no how. It' beautiful.

The picture doesn't do it justice. But more than the colors, the feel of this yarn is truly spectacular. You know those rumors about how Koigu and Cherry Tree Hill are really Gems Opal, just with different dye jobs? I had heard the same about STR. But I think NOT. As soft and nice as Koigu and CTH and even Gems Opal are, STR is like SILK compared to them. Silk. I shit you not.

Because I'm a selfish knitter, my sock pal will be getting some nice blue Cherry Tree Hill that I've got in the stash. I'm thinking some simple (yet elegant) garter rib socks from the Sensational Sock book. That's the plan anyhow.

Oh and I want to cast on for mittens. Mittens are calling me.

I've got a busy night tonight. First on tap, the KnitLit3 reading. I'm not going to be able to stay until the bitter end, but I'll be there. I have to dash over the the theatre, dahling, for an evening of singing and dances and witches. We're going to see Wicked. Someone cast a spell on me please and take my cold away? Please?

Oh and if you see me tonight, I'll be wearing the ROCK STAR socks and I would think very kindly of you if you would only refrain from telling me that my nose actually matches my socks.

Posted by Cara at 11:54 AM | Comments (25)

July 29, 2005

Proof

that I still knit:

Socka-Pal-2-Za Socks
Acorn Sock pattern by Evelyn Clark/Fibertrends
Koigu, color #1110
Done on two circs - Addi size #1s

Actually, my knitting was a little overzealous. I finished the second sock, well, all but the grafting, in bed last night and this morning I woke up and grafted. When I compared it to the first one, I realized I had gone too far on the foot - you were supposed to stop at either row 9 of the lace repeat or finish the repeat and stop at row 1 of the next repeat - I should've stopped at 9. So I ripped and finished the sock while watching Meet the Fockers - which was pretty funny. I thought Dustin and Babs did a great job.

I really like these socks and the pattern is terrific. They're a little tight around the cuff - should've done it on size twos probably, but I think they'll fit my sock pal fine. She's about the same size as me, if not a little bit smaller, so I say they're good to go. Now, a question. What about blocking? I washed my first pair, but didn't block it. How do you block socks (if you don't have a sock blocker tool.) Do you need to block socks? Can I just wash them and leave them to dry or do they need to be blocked? Thanks!

I'm planning on casting on a lot this weekend. Progress picks on Monday, hopefully. Have a great weekend!

Posted by Cara at 02:46 PM | Comments (25)

July 18, 2005

What I Did on My Summer Vacation...

by Cara.

Super long. Proceed at own risk.

First off, I got a lot of knitting done. Everday we were awakened (early - NY time!) by G's office with one crisis after another. It wasn't fun for either of us, but I did get a lot accomplished:

One sock pal sock down (although I need to fix the toe close) and one almost done. I was hoping for two repeats on the plane home last night - I managed to finish all four. Now I only have nine rows of the lace before I do the heel. I should be finished with it in a day or two. I LOVE these socks. Sorry, sock pal, but I've been trying them on left and right. (I even tried them on for the flight attendant last night when she asked what I was knitting.)

I'm not usually a big fan of lace socks, but these are different. As G said, there's just a hint of skin peeking through - and the color of this Koigu is just beautiful. I'm in love. It's going to be VERY hard to give them up. (That's okay - I'll just make myself a pair!)

The pattern is very well written (thank you Evelyn Clark) and it goes so fast, really. I have nothing to complain about at all. (And all that ripping I've done - completely my own fault.)

Oh and thanks for all your comments the other day - and thanks Alison for the update!

Here's a close-up of the lace:

On to the trip details...

Los Angeles

* A quick note. I bought a new camera for the trip - something portable we could take to the castle since I wasn't lugging my 50 lb. bag in my dress and heels. I'm not really thrilled with the camera - I didn't heed my own best advice - I never finished the manual. I was reading it instead of packing on Sunday night and G said - why don't you save that for the plane and then I knit the whole time on the plane and never read the damn thing. This camera is really for G - the lack of control I had killed me. So anyway, the pictures aren't up to snuff as far as I'm concerned. It really bothers me, but it is what it is. Oh and all the yarn pictures are taken with the GOOD camera at home.

We arrived in LA on Monday noonish (after missing our flight at JFK. LONG story. Suffice it to say we were on the 10AM instead of the 8AM.) and headed straight to our favorite LA spot - the IN-N-OUT right by the airport. Not only is it IN-N-OUT, but you get to watch super huge jet airliners fly right over your head as they land. One of the highlights of the trip was flying OVER the spot we had stood five days earlier as we flew in from SLO to our connection in LA. We're weird, okay?

Then we headed out to our hotel, The Chamberlain, in West Hollywood. Got to say, very nice boutique hotel. They had just finished a refurb and everything looked very nice. It's a sister to The Viceroy in Santa Monica where we stayed last year, but I prefer this one. Much quieter, not as funky. The room was great.

We decided to take a little walk. YES, CALIFORNIANS, I SAID WALK! People literally looked at us like we were crazy as we made our way down La Cienega from Santa Monica to Melrose. I wanted to check out Julia's home away from home (although her home again!) Knit Cafe. What a bright, cozy, inviting place! Suzan, the owner was there and she was very solicitous. Her store is beautiful, and as we were there near close, it was empty but for one lone knitter. I walked around three times trying so hard to find something to buy. I've decided that on these trips of mine, I'm only going to buy yarn that is different than what I can get at home. And since I live in a large Metropolitan Area, there's not much I CAN'T get at home. I was about to buy a t-shirt and then there was some Lorna's Laces, but she only had one skein of the color I liked, so I passed. But a great shop if you're in the neighborhood! I would definitely go again. Thanks Julia for the recommendation! Suzan and I talked about what a great help you've been to her - I'm sure she's so thrilled you're coming home.

On our walk home, I passed a storefront with these casts in the window. It was very spooky.

The neighborhood had mostly antique/furniture/rug stores, but this one didn't even have a name. Just these faces in the window.

Once back at the hotel, we had some time to kill before meeting up with my brother for dinner. What to do, what to do? How about a swim?

The pool was on the roof - overlooking LA (the Hollywood Hills were behind me when I took the picture) and there was no one there but us! What a lovely romantic swim! The water was nice and WARM too. (Everywhere we went people took immense pleasure in telling us the temperature of the pool. Our pool is set to 86 degrees. Our pool is comfortable 80 degrees.)

Wildfiber

MJ and I had finally connected via email and it was my plan to meet her at Wildfiber before we left LA for Santa Barbara. I thought we might miss her because the plan changed and we were going to leave early, but the office called and we didn't get to see MJ until after noon! And I'm so glad we did! This was one of the highlights of the trip! MJ is wonderful in person - so sweet and I really, really enjoyed meeting her - even if it was really quick. And Wildfibers? Oh my god - all I have to say is MJ is one lucky, lucky girl that this place is her LYS.

Here we are in front of the Koigu wall. Can you think of a better place for a photograph?

I bought some of the most beautiful yarn I've ever seen there - MJ helped me pick it out and man was it expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY!

Tanglewood Fiber Creations, 100% Superwash Merino, hand dyed, hand spun - softer than soft. Now I have a question for all you spinners out there (not that I'm interested. Okay? OKAY?) - what is it called that gives you the ply where all the different colors are combined - do you know what I'm talking about? Where in one strand you've got lights and dark and I'm thinking this is the twist or something, right? Anyway, it's gorgeous. This is the kind of handspun I really, really love. I wish I had the money to buy more. But it was ALOT. I did get 404 yards, but still. A LOT.

I also bought some Socks that Rock! I've been wanting to try this and I even bought a colorway that closely matches the Lorna's I had wanted over at Knit Cafe. The colorway is Cobalt Bloom.

Wildfiber had a special guest, Prudence Mapstone, and I have to tell you, her work was some of the most beautiful, most inspiring ART (in any medium) I have ever seen. I want to dedicate a whole post to her - hopefully tomorrow.

We said goodbye to LA and MJ and headed out to SB....

Santa Barbara

It took us no time to drive up the coast to SB and after we checked into our hotel, we found a tux for G, had a taco snack and finally headed off to State Street for dinner. The next day was really fun - BB's Knits in the morning. Great store - and they were expecting me! (Thanks Kathie!) I wandered around - what a packed store for a little space and ended up with some Interlacements Toasty Toes (in the Tanglewood Colorway - LOL) and Koigu. Once again, I'm hitting the same color palate.

By sheer coincidence, I ended up a block from In Stitches, which was, to be honest, quite a disappointment. It was nearly empty - of yarn. About night and day from BB's.

Then it was off to the beach - and sock time!

SB was a very nice community - interesting mix of people, stores - it was so much bigger than we expected. We liked our motel/inn - you really could see the beach from our room, surprisingly enough. Overall, a very pleasant stay.

Pismo Beach, San Simeon, Cambria

We made our way to Pismo Beach on Thursday morning - again the office caused delays! We needed to get there with enough time to get ready for dinner that night - the buses were leaving the hotel at 4PM. We got there with time to spare - a quick trip to check out the beach and take a rest by the pool (a balmy 85 degrees, thank you very much!)

Getting on the bus to go to the Castle was pretty funny. Here are all these women and men - dressed to the nines - dripping in jewels (literally - there was one woman who was OOZING diamonds) getting on buses. The trip took about an hour to San Simeon, and then we got off that bus and walked through the tourist center (even funnier - the looks we got) to get on yet another bus to take us to the top - and the castle.

What a ride! The whole time, you can see the castle in your sights, you can't help but think - how the hell did he get all that crap UP THERE!?! It's a twisty, single lane road with lots of drop offs and this is 2005! Imagine it in the 20s, 30s and 40s when they were building it. Incredible, really. There's no other way to describe it.

Once off the bus, we were given the option of a tour. Needless to say, we took it!

La Casa Grande - the main house.
Designed to look like a Spanish Cathedral - with all the trimmings!



A stairway among the elaborate gardens.
(God I wish I had the good camera!)


Outside of a guest house.


The view - the ocean is in the distance.





Can you see the moon peeking out between the trees?



The amazing pool - set at a wonderful 79 degrees!

There was a photographer by the pool taking "prom" pictures. I'm not kidding - G and I had one taken and I'm sure it's the goofiest thing ever - considering how I look in this picture:

Can you say FRUMPY?

That's it - no more pictures of me. I am NOT happy with my body these days. Maybe Jen can take a nice picture of me with the shawl - we'll see. Just know it was perfect and I still love it.

They served hors d'oeuvres along the pool and it got pretty hot up there. We found a shady spot and watched the sun get lower and lower until it was time for dinner. This was what awaited us!

NINE wine glasses per person!

It was craziness! The first course was a foie gras and some other stuff and they served a VERY sweet white. Next was the fish course - DELICIOUS! - lobster in a creamed corn. Yummy. Two whites. The Fowl course was duck - also very nice - two reds - one of my favorites of the night - a Hitching Post 2003 Highliner Pinot Noir. Meat Course was Dry Aged Beef - two reds. The Cheese course - two reds. I was pretty surprised there was no wine with dessert.

Every time a course was served, two sommeliers would come around and pour wine. They never filled the glass, just a taste (a generous taste!) and if you liked it and wanted more, all you had to do was ask. Georgie and I agreed on the wines all night - and it was the left hand side for us every course! (The wine glasses stood side to side and you identified the ones you liked by whether it was on the left or right.)

Here's what the table looked like at the Fowl Course:

And the Cheese course:

And here's the view when I turned to my right while sitting at the table:

All in all it was a tremendous evening! I had way more fun than I thought I would. I'm so glad we got to have the experience!

The next day G had some business meetings in the morning, so I ordered in a nice big breakfast and tried to surf the Internet. We had such poor connections the whole trip - it was weird. Well, LA was good, but other than that - very, very slow. And since G had a lot of work, I had barely any time online. Which was good too. I had a nice break - but, I did miss my blog (and all of you!)

After breakfast, we decided to make the drive up to Cambria to go to Ball & Skein. We also thought we might be able to hit the IN-N-OUT in Atascadero on the drive back - since it would most definitely be our last chance to get there. The shop was very nice - I bought some gifty type items that I won't show here - not yarn - think tools. And while they had a SHITLOAD of yarn, falling off the shelves, to be honest, I didn't buy anything. Sticking to my rule (and honestly totally going overboard at Wildfiber), I was a good girl. I was thisclose to buying some Noro Blossom for Vicki, but luckily she already found some! Cambria was a very pretty town and it would've been nice, if we had more time, to hang out there. But we wanted to go to the beach - always a top priority - and find that IN-N-OUT!

The ride to Atascadero was exciting to say the least - we started out on Route 1 and crossed about 26 miles of Route 46 to get to Route 101. It was NOTHINGness - unless you count rolling hills, sheer drops and cows. I swear I had a panic attack. I was convinced we'd get stuck like Margene! Georgie was sitting in the passenger seat oohing and ahhing and video-ing the NOTHINGness and I could barely breathe OR keep my hands on the wheel. In the end it was worth it - we found the illustrious IN-N-OUT!

We had a nice dinner that evening at Pelican Point in Pismo - with enough Sideways moments (not us - the table next to us - actually it was The Big Chill meets Sideways. Amusing to say the least....) to last about ten years. Seriously. Is it necessary to stick your whole freaking face INTO the wine glass? Maybe if you just drank it.... Who am I? I know nothing about wines. (Athough I do know what tastes good!)

We left the next morning. Whew! What a trip! Glad to be home. Lots of laundry and work to do. G will be out most of the week with work stuff, so I'll miss him even more than I usually do after spending the week 24/7 together. But you'll keep me company right?

Thanks for reading!
L, C

Posted by Cara at 12:07 AM | Comments (29)

July 09, 2005

A 3 for 1 Deal

My sock pal socks - Koigu and Evelyn Clark. Doesn't get any better than this. Very easy knit so far - it's going so fast. Right there is two repeats and I could easily get through a third tonight. I have to pace myself for the plane, I think.

I got a dress this morning - tried to find a picture on the web but couldn't. Still need shoes, but I'm not so worried about that. I probably won't post again until after we're in Cali.

Calling All California Knitters

We've got one night in Hel-LA, two nights in Santa Barbara and two nights in San Luis Obispo. Where should I go? I'm going to try to hit Wildfiber in Santa Monica on our one day/night in LA. And then I found a couple of places in Santa Barbara - In Stitches looks interesting. Pipe up if you've got a place in LA (our hotel is in Hollyweird and my bro lives in Santa Monica), Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo. Thanks!

I thought it was pretty funny - I was typing in Santa Barbara knitting into google and you know how it brings up previous search strings? Well I got Santa Barbara clay tennis courts. Guess someone was there before me. My Georgie is such a honey.

Anyway - I'll try to post from California - but if not, be prepared for pictures from San Simeon - and I promise to get a couple of me in my dress and shawl. Thanks!

Posted by Cara at 08:46 PM | Comments (22)