Back in the Saddle

After nearly six months away from the office, yesterday was my first day back in the office full time after back surgery in April. I did amazingly well, thought I might flag by 3 in the afternoon, but no. I made it. Even stopped and did some errands on the way home.

Then, once at home, ate dinner and had only enough energy to crawl into bed. In the sack by 6:30 and full asleep by 7 p.m. Slept straight through till the alarm.

Feeling great this morning.

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise we harden.

--Goethe

A problem with lace

When you step through the doors of a yarn shop, and none of the novelty yarns catch your eye, and the wonderfully fat bulky handpaints do nothing to your pulse, but the finest yarns of all, the laceweights make your heart go pit-a-pat, you might have a problem with lace.


As you can see from my selection from Monarch Knitting and Quilts in Pacific Grove, CA, I may have a problem with lace. I couldn't resist the lichen colored Misti Alpaca. The palest of ocean blue merino laceweight seemed to whisper in my ears "make a shawl with me and whenever you wear it, you will hear the Monterey Bay." Even the pink and purple soysilk, which would seem out of place here, was made into a wonderful neck scarf that will be striking on my daring friend Jana, a red head with true style.

At the Monterey Pronk that weekend, I met the alpaca breeder who sold me the lovely creamy alpaca from two of her finest fleeces.

I think I may have a problem with lace. See, it all started by me wanting to make a simple but elegant little pair of socks for my mother. Those accomplished with lace may scoff that the simple little pattern I selected, but these socks have taught me much.

In fact, I made a huge discovery on the plane winging westward, somewhere over the Sierra Nevada I believe. I have been knitting my yarnovers incorrectly. That is, knitting into them on the next row, I was working devilishly hard to put an extra twist into each stitch. Once I discovered the error of my ways, the lace just opened up before by eyes, like the socks' eponymous butterfly, and took wing.



My heart has taken wing for lace.

Lost week

Hmmm...when you haven't posted in a while, it's hard to know where to pick up. Short story: Monterey for fiber and fun, home for the work (and the FLU!!), progress on socks for Mom, and learning to spindle yarn.


Monterey was marvelous! Full of beautiful sights, like these luscious hydrangeas, of which I am very jealous because they are difficult to grow in Utah.



While on the plane knitting Mom's socks, I took a good look and realized my gauge was way off. These would fit my father! So I searched for and found a wonderful yarn shop in Pacific Grove (right next door to Monterey). This is a charming town, full of darling cottages.

Monarch Yarn and Quilts is a great resource full of scrumptious yarns and very kind-hearted people. I managed to lock my keys in my rental car (thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week...) and owner Joan Williams and the friendly staff gave me all kinds of assistance. Including Kleenex as my tears of frustration at myself welled up.



The inside of the shop was just as fun,with a fabulous selection of needles, excellent yarns, and even spinning wheels.



My stash enhancement was amplified by the two-and-a-half hour wait for the tow truck guy with the get-into-the-rental-car tool, which took him all of 10.8 seconds. Still, it was nice to calm myself among fiber and new friends, and even gaze longingly at the spinning wheels for sale.

I came home to flu, with the flu, or some such gombu. Laid me low for most of the week.

More details on stash and sock photos tomorrow.

Monterey!

I am going to Monterey this weekend. I stole this little critter's image off the Monterey visitor's web site. I am going to a small fiber gathering. Details next week.

If you go to Monterey, and don't require room service, but just want a decent clean room, check out the Lone Oak Lodge. It's a great value. I stayed there this summer on a family vacation for a week. $79 a night for a family cottage. Great place!

Going to be working on these socks to get them finished for my Mom. Mom's are all one color, cream. Hoping to finish them this weekend.

Last of Summer

This weekend has been cool, overcast and blustery. Makes one reach for the wool. I've finally found a gauntlet mitten pattern that has the shape and length I seek. I'm not brave enough to attempt to alter this pattern, but I DO plan to play with color. More on that in few days.

This has been a pretty knitless blog this week, as I have busied myself with the last of summer. As the snow sits on the mountains at about the 6,000 foot level today, I'm thinking that this the end of the harvest.

Here is what a bored teen can do with a 2 pound bag of M & Ms.

Fingers and Toes

Oh, the weather has turned here. It is only in the sixties today, cool and overcast. My feet, which have been bare since April, now crave coverings. I was wandering and found this seductive pair on MagKnits. My fingers will soon be wanting some coverage too. I've some scrumptious handspun that is just begging to become mittens.

How do you handle the disenchantment with what's on the needles when your heart desires something new?

Bottled sunshine

Utah has gorgeous weather, especially in autumn. The sky is wonderfully blue, the air still warm, and the harvest is in full swing. I love this time of year.

Today, I added some variety to my exercise routine. As I heal from back surgery, I have become quite the walker. But today I decided to swim. There were maybe eight people at the local pool. The water was warm, the sun was bright. And I swam. A lovely memory to tuck away for that day in January when we are socked in with gray.

Here is another way I am trying to bottle sunshine.



Perfect sweet nectarines picked fresh from my friend Bill's tree. And there was a little excitement during the processing of these beauties, as one of the bottles must have had a stress crack. It happens, even to these tempered glass jars meant to be reused year after year. You are looking at the open bottom of the jar!



Find a way to savor the season and make a memory to enjoy later.

Contentedly,

Lark

Casting about in Prevailing Thought

Wondering if any pattern can be knit in any yarn if the gauge is right.... That seems to be what people say. I've come into possession of some lovely alpaca yarn that would make a truly warm sweater. Because I don't live within the Arctic Circle, I don't think it lends itself to a gansey. I'm thinking somethin more open and lacy, so that I have the option to wear it more often. So, I'm casting about looking for lacy patterns for cardigans and am finding some done in cotton. Is it possible to have success when substituting wools for cotton in a design where gauge matters, i.e., not a scarf or shawl?

Perplexed, Lark

Autumn in Utah

Today was an absolutely exquisite autumn day in Utah. The sky is so blue, if you look at it long enough, I swear it makes your teeth ache, the way sweet candy sometimes does. I adore the crispness in the air, the warmth of the sun, the leaves beginning to turn. It felt like I was in a Maynard Dixon painting yesterday, as I drove through Fountain Green and Moroni, Utah, on a fiber-en-hoof hunt. We found sheep, alpaca, guanacos and llamas. Educational and fun, but unfortunately, no pictures as the batteries in the camera chose to be uncooperative.

At least, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

Fiber Fair Haul

The Great Basin Fiber Fair was a wonderful resource, a great gathering of diverse yet like-minded folk. Here is the stash of stuff I bought with my presently meager budget.

Some lovely geranium and moss Koigu-I'm thinking wristwarmers for gifts.
Some divine worsted weight 55 mohair/45 wool in lovely warm tones called Fall Fantasy from Lonesome Stone Yarns. Some Supersocke 100 in a delicate rosey tone I am sure will call to me next January. Deliciously scented soap called Friendship, from my new friend Laurie, and an artistic t-shirt from Katherine. The odd button is one from a set -- a glass reproduction with a beautiful impression that will fit a cardigan I have in mind.

Sigh. Oh, and an ebony circular I have coveted for a while.

What joy we find in the tools, materials and process of knitting!

My non-knitting path

Midnight (last Wednesday)No access to my blog. The switch to Beta has messed up my access and passwords were changed multiple times. Finally gave up and emailed support.

7:00 a.m. (last Thursday) Woke up to a dead laptop. Nada. Zip. Zilch. No power, no life, no blog entries, no work for the office either. So, taking care of that was important.

7:05 a.m. I unkenneled our dog, only to discover she'd had diahhrea during the night, which had caked on her lovely Sheltie backside. Having just had back surgery, hefting our big girl into the bathtub for a sitz bath wasn't really on my slate. My daughter helped and held her while I clipped the worst of it off, then she washed and rinsed and toweled the dog.



7:30 a.m. I discover that I cannot shut off the hot water, and it's pouring out in a 1/4 inch stream! Manage to find a retired friend who will come repair later in the day in return for a home-cooked dinner.

Seems like a crazy day right? Well, it was. But this morning I received news of a former co-worker who was killed in a car accident over the holiday weekend. We only met a week before she left the company a few months ago. I liked her very much, but my back surgery and recovery got in the way of spending time getting to know her better. And now, that opportunity is gone forever.

It's made me think of all the paths and opportunities that we daily choose NOT to take. Of course, not everything has such import. But it has caused me pause to wonder if I have taken the best advantage of my time here. Laraine's passing has sharpened my awareness of the gift we have in the present.

So my question for you to day is:

Are you sharing your gift?

Shalimar Cardigan Progress

Given the week I had, it's amazing I have made any progress at all on this cardigan. But it is coming along and this photo doesn't nearly do it justice from a 'luscious color' perspective. I thought I would try taking a photo outdoors but the color now seems so washed out. This is the back of the cardigan, worked double-stranded in Curly Q cotton from Katsara Yarns (visit Andria using the Katsara Yarns link on the right) on size 13 needles. This is the Juniper colorway and I love it. It has slubs of denim, cornsilk, juniper green, and merlot which should make it very versatile in my wardrobe!

And though I am not yet a member of the Saturday Sky ring, I decided to show you what lovely evenings we have here in Utah in late August, after the first autumn breath is in the air.


So what was my problem this week? I missed a too-fun-I-am-sure Knitter's Accountability Partners (also known as the local SnB) meeting because of work commitments, then couldn't move a good portion of the last part of the week. I recently had major back surgery (PLIF) and am still trying to grow bone and get my muscles and nerves to do what they should when they should. It's a slow process but one I think will be very worthwhile in the long run. In the meantime, I have been able to return to work full time this month from my home so that I can recline, sit and walk about whenever necessary to my healing.

Lest you think I have the idea of an SnB group wrong, I am just choosing to use the embarrassment of having the same project on the needles for three weeks in a row to motivate my FO completion rate. Ah, the things we do...

KIP with the Symphony

Well, plans to finish the Fair Isle beanie went by the wayside Friday night. A handsome gentleman and I went to Deer Valley to hear the Utah Symphony play and I wanted a nice easy project to take along. After a lovely picnic dinner with a glass of white merlot, I made great progress on my cardigan till dark. The symphony was in fine form, and the setting is magnificent for listening to every nuance. Of course, at one point my partner said, "what music is this...I don't recognize it...sounds like Bugs Bunny..." which of course sent both of us into paroxysms of laughter which we did our best to contain!!! Thank goodness for the outdoor venue.

I have been working on this lovely Shalimar cardigan from Katsara Yarns, in the Juniper colorway. It works up so quickly on size 13 needles! And the colors are dreamy.

Fair Isle fun

I seem to have a thing for Fair Isle knitting lately. A few months ago, I completed this Stained Glass Hat from Green Mountain Spinnery. Loved the Mountain Mohair, which I bought on a trip to New England last Fall. If you have a chance to visit, the Spinnery is very interesting to see. I loved to see the old machinery working away. I liked the way the pattern was written. Very easy to understand. I have a pet peeve about patterns written for color knitting that talk about color names. I would rather have a pattern say Color A, Color B, etc. than the actual name of the colorway in a particular yarn.

Right now on the needles is this attempt at a Fair Isle beanie in cotton. It's a kit I bought at my LYS from KnitWhits.

Have to get off to work now. Want to finish this beanie this weekend. Have a great day, and do it on purpose!

Find Joy in the Process

This space is a way for me to share my joy in the process of life. I write, read, cook, garden, walk, swim, talk, pray, nurture and play. Any of those verbs might become the basis for my joy in a day. Come and enjoy the journey with me.