Bird's Nest Knits

Hell hath frozen over...

So, I'm a bit of a fluffy zaftig sort of girl.  Lots of curves, plenty of cushion, and generally out of shape all around, well, if roundish is your shape I'm all over that.  Recently I've been rather confronted by my age and my lack of activity, and frankly - a little worried about my overall health.  My cholesterol is high, my blood pressure is high and I have an extensive history of cancer in my family.  At a recent checkup my doctor gave me an ultimatum...  Get some exercise, lose some weight, work on your heart health or you are going to be looking up the shotgun barrel at late onset diabetes or an early stroke.

What.
The.
Fuck.

Ok, so maybe I've been deluding myself that getting a little out of breath going up two flights of stairs was just because I was carrying stuff.  Uh.. a latte.  She also said that the extra weight would screw up with my fertility and may make it hard for me to get pregnant when that time comes.    By sheer force of laziness (and the force is strong with me folks)  I managed to put on a LOT of weight after college.  I avoid looking much at those photos of me when Mr. Bird and I started dating 12ish years ago - its just too embarrassing.  With the financial and emotional stability - you start to get comfortable in your own skin, and before you know it - there is a heck of a lot of skin now.

I need motivation.  And I found it in Nike+ .  The thing is freakin brilliant.  It is a little sensor that attaches to your running shoes, and works with the iPod Nano, tracking the number of miles you've run, the calories you've burned, and the pace you are running.   Once you've signed up for an account on the Nike+ site, you can challenge other people to distance or speed contests, look at your own progess, setup your own goals.  The competition aspect of it has made all the difference.  My sister, Mr. Bird and I have a challenge going now with the first to run 20 miles.  I'm in the lead with 14.75 miles, a little over three miles ahead of my sister.

I'll let you in on a secret.  I hate running.  My boobs would bounce all over the damn place, my shins would hurt, and my arches would cramp up before even a quarter of a mile was done.

I. Hate. Running.  (and I hate to sweat)

Until - I discovered that I had the wrong kind of shoes for my feet, that there were kick ass sports bras out there for even my gigantor boobs, and the motivation to leave my sister and Mr. Bird in the dust really kicked in.  I went to RoadRunner Sports to have my feet checked out - I have severe over protenation which in English means my feet are flat and as a result running puts a lot of strain on my arches.  Armed with some nice (read pricey) shoes - I took on the treadmill and lo and behold - dang.. my feet don't hurt.    It's not easy mind you - it's still damn hard to run because I get tired so fast and my heart just isn't used to the work.  It regularly cusses me out like a drunken sailor these days, but I soldier on.    I run/walk on the treadmill with Yoly every couple of days at work, and since March 8 when I got my Nike+ I have gone 15.72 miles and worked off 2188 calories.  Yah I know - damn unbelieveable.  I'm actually excited now when midway through my workout I can feel the sweat on my forehead.  I even have to wipe it away!

I am still firmly in the camp that I am NOT a runner.  But I've started running.  For myself, for my health, and for my rather suck ass body image of late.  I don't delude myself into thinking that I'm going to turn myself into some super model.  I like to eat.  But I would like to see myself being able to wear cute little clothes and such.

Saturday is the annual 5K Race for Autism and I'll be going to that.  I won't be running the whole thing (not even close)  but I'll be jogging till I get tired, walking to recover and jogging a little more.

Oh yah...  I even finished a sock.  I went with a 1 stitch picot bind off that made the cuff crazy stretchy even if its a tad sloppy looking.

I'm on the bandwagon for knit from my stash in 2007 and have not bought a SINGLE skein of yarn all year.  Not even sock yarn!  (although I'm reserving that priviledge cause sock yarn doesnt count)  I've also not cast on a single new thing.  Nothing till the other sock is complete AND Mariah is done.

I think I've been taken over by a body snatcher.

2006 Out with a Bloom

A Primrose bloom that is.  I closed out 2006 with a finished object - not a bad project to finish with either - considering that Heidi's about to pop any day now.  The only thing left to do is to find a couple of pretty snaps for the front.   My contribution to the Stranded Knit Along is done!

All in all - despite the bazillion ends to weave in - this was a really fun project and the yarn was really nice to work with, resulting in a lovely fluffy warm fabric with the sheen of silk and the softness of baby alpaca.   I made a few changes to the original pattern.  The sleeves were knit in a solid color instead of continuing the fair isle pattern.  I picked up stitches around the armhole and knit in the round with a few subtle decreases after the elbow.  I think the solid sets off the colorful fair isle very well, and by the time the sleeves came around I was tired of the finicky-ness of having to fiddle with the stranding.

Pattern: Primrose by Louisa Harding
Yarn: Knitpicks Elegance 70% baby alpaca and 30% silk
Needles: Knitpicks Options Size 5
Started: November 28th, 2006
Completed: December 27th, 2006

Come on - you know you want to peek at the wrong side...

I think that some pearly snaps for the front would be really nice.

Happy New Year to you - and here's a cup of tea while I enjoy one of my own.

I told you I was a knitter!

Finally - a finished object.  I know - its shocking, but true!  And I even completed it in time with the Knit A Long.  If that isn't a sign of the coming apocalypse - I don't know what is.  Frogs falling from the sky has got nothin' on this one.

Wendy said this was a 3 day project.  Lets just say that I knit in dog years.

Sizzle by Wendy Bernard

Very easy to follow pattern and it turned out quite flattering I think.   Definitely something that I'd wear regularly.  I wore it over a white button down shirt to Heidi's house on Saturday night - so it's pretty versatile.  Very much disliked the yarn choice - the drape of the finished object was really nice - but the yarn is SUPER splitty.  Blech. 

YARN:  SouthWest Trading Company's PHOENIX soy silk yarn in Really Red (4 skeins I think)
NEEDLES:  Size 7 Knit Picks Options

A few modifications I made to the pattern:

1. Added an additional bust increase row
2. Added an additional inch of knitting before splitting for the neckline.  Now that I see it on I would have only added 1/2 an inch - because I'd have liked it just a little more open.
3. Knit the seed stitch edging around the neck back and forth to create the keyhole effect.
4. Didn't bother with the 1/2 inch seed stitch edge around the arms.

End Radio Silence

I'm a stubborn sort of woman.  I was born in the year of the Ox (contrary to popular opinion this *IS* the most glamourous year of the Chinese Zodiac - screw all ya'll dragons and tigers - I didnt want to be a dragon ANYHOW - and at least I'm not a pig or rat).   And Oxen are well known for being steady, even tempered, and stubborn.  I told myself that I was not going to post until Orangina was completed because I had to prove to myself that I was still a knitter.  The speed of knitting Continentally btw does not even out only knitting a couple of rows a week.   

That being said... I <3 Stephanie Japel.  I lurve most of her patterns (aside from the odd Knitty ones) and they are just so damn flattering - even for the more zaftig of us girls out there.  You know who you are.    I've knit the One Skein Wonder, and now Orangina, and have my eyes on the Mini Sweater and the Simple Knitted Bodice.   I'm looking forward to the next few patterns that come out from her. 

Orangina was a fun knit - it met the three rules of Happy Bird Knitting:

1. Easy to Memorize pattern
2. Looks real fancy-like
3. Doesnt make me look like a jumbo sized biscuit.
4. Perfect knitting in public project!

It took me off and on (more off than on) about two months to finish the project - not because it was difficult or anything - just didnt spend all that much time knitting. 

Some small changes I made to the pattern:

1. Stopped the lace portion right under my bustline to have the ribbing cinch the waist in a little.  No need to emphasize my fluffiness more than necessary.
2. Knit the ribbing in one size smaller needles.
3. Cast off in pattern with the ribbing - purling the purls and knitting the knits.

The KnitPicks Shine is super soft, and the stitch definition is decent, however I'd love to have this in a yarn thats a little crisper - maybe SWTC's Bamboo.  I liked this project so much that I picked up some Rowan Wool Cotton in maroon to knit one for my mom.

As you can see - a nude bra is a must, and always fun to tease the boys with whether or not a nippy is visible.  The only thing I think I might rework is the neckline.  The scalloping is really pretty but very prone to rolling.  Ironing the beejezus out of it didnt really keep it from rolling so I'm considering - 1.) Starching 2.) a single crochet edging to firm it up a bit.

And no knitting project is complete without at least one near disaster.  I was about 6 inches left on the bind off and saw that I had about 3 inches of yarn left.  After much frantic searching I found the swatch I made for the project and unraveled it to use to complete the bind off.  Thank goodness too because this color is no longer available from KnitPicks.

Stats on Orangina:

YARN:    6 skeins of KnitPicks Shine in Violet
NEEDLES:     Lace pattern Size 3 Addi's, Ribbing - Size 2 Addi's
DIFFICULTY:   2 skeins out of 5 skeins
REQUIRED KNITTING SKILLS:

1. Knitting in the round
2. Increasing and decreasing (k2tog, skp, yo)

Don't say I never gave you nothin'...

Contrary to popular believe - I DO knit.  Really.  It's true.  I even occasionally finish things.  Although of late it's been few and far between.  Even though I knit Continental which is supposed to be "the fast way" - it still feels like I knit slow as molasses.  And I'm even trying to concentrate on a couple of projects at a time!  Generally two sometimes three because one is asking a little too much devotion for little fickle ol' me.  Hell - remember my initial lust and obsession with Butterfly?  She's sulking down at the bottom of my knitting bag right know - with only the edging done on the first side.  Dont tell her though - I'm planning put her on Center Stage for my trip this weekend to Colorado.  South Fork for those who were curious - my inlaws live there.  So what does one do in South Fork in the heat of summer?  Rafting!   If you don't hear back from me by July 4th - I fell out of the raft and drowned.  I have a 5 hour mini van ride from Denver to work with, and another ride back on Monday to catch the flight home.    I expect plenty of moments in between to get a row here and there in. 

But on more interesting note - I finished my two color Koigu socks.  I knit them with short row heels and toes - and a seed stitch rib similar to the Thuja socks in knitty.  I like to do em toe up though instead of cuff down.  My only issue now is that its too damn hot to be able to wear them!  Sweltering blistering humid heat that only bare feet can stand.  I think that becoming a drama queen in regards to any miniscule change in the weather is required for living in Southern California.  Did anyone get any thunder on Sunday?  I got about 3 minutes of rain drops and some half mumbled thunder before it cleared up.  I felt distinctly ripped off.  Premature precipitation even.    Oh right - socks.  Yes.  Knit them I did.   Wore them to work with tennis shoes.  Feet sweated profusely.  Tore them off soon as I got home.  Now soaking in Eucalan.  There is a haiku in there somewhere I know it.

Oh - pictures you say?  Yes there are pictures.

I did a picot edging in the contrast color and let the back of the heels stay in stockinette for a couple of inches for heel rubbing against shoe comfort.  Actually the truth is - I forgot to do the ribbing pattern on both sides after the heel was done, and decided to just mirror the same thing on the second sock cause I didnt want to rip back.  Screw that.  Its a sock.  You wear them with shoes.  Who would notice? 

As you can see - I am a rather "interpretive dance" sort of knitter as opposed to the tap dance kind.  No sharp staccato rhythms and snappy routines for me.  Thats me rolling around and doing somersaults in the corner waving my arms and calling it dancing while people stare and wonder if I have some sort of seizure disorder.  I'm cool with that.  Not that I've been doing any sort of somersaulting lately - I'd hurt myself.

Gardening, Rabbit Ass, and Mysteries of the Universe Revealed

Things have been busy Chez Bird of late, and unfortunately the bird has come down with the phlegm-tastic plague which has considerably slowed me down, enough to finally get around to getting the pictures off of my cameras.  My thumb is showing some signs of greenness.  Here is the picture of my kitchen window plants, doing a stint outdoors to get acclimated to the environment before planting.  I'm noticing that I have much more plant than I do places to put them so I think I may need to get another planter.  I really like having it up on the table like that - no digging up the lawn, and no trampling by a certain dog who's name will not be mentioned, and NO FREAKIN SNAILS.

In addition to the vegetables I have some thriving blackberry vines and I'm starting to see my very first berries!  I'll be having blackberry jam by the end of the summer, just you watch.  As long as a certain canine does not develop a taste for them.  I can just imagine coming home to see her covered in blackberry juice, and not a berry left for me.    We'll have to see - but in the meantime - hope springs eternal.

And the fight goes on, daily warfare against the slimey, escalating into holey hostas, lacerated lilies, and corrupted clematis.   Its woman against snail and lately, the snails seem to be holding steady.  The killer snails are taking their time getting established, and in the morning I have to go out and crushing the ones that I can find to feed my baby snail army.   I use a little hand trowel to flick em into a spot near my wee soldier snails and squash their shells with it.

Take a close look.. because soon... soon my pretties... you wont be seeing this slimey invader anymore!

All is not slime trails and mushy bodies here - oh no!   The previous owner of Chez Bird also planted some roses, and man are they beautiful.  A creamy white dipped in rosy pink - and I loves me some bi color roses.  I usually can snip one or two every few days to sit in a little cup and bloom by my sink.  I'm still figuring out how to take care of them.  A couple of the bushes are a little weird looking, the leaves have holes in them but I don't see aphids, and another has baby shoots coming out of the bottom.  They were pruned into a sort of ball shape and straight bare root going down.  I'm not sure if I want to keep it like that or let it get a little bushy.

On the knitting front I've completed the body for Eleanor, and am debating on if and what kind of fringe I may use for it.  Wendy suggested I refer to Nicky Epstein's edging books for some design ideas - brilliant!  I complained for ages about the rabbit hair, which indeed was a pain in the ass as well as not so good on black pants.  However, now that she's mostly done (sans edging)  I love her.  I've worn her twice - once last night to a Rabbi ordination in Santa Monica, and once today to the Childrens Pool to look at the seals with a friend who's visit.  I hope I didnt give her my plagueiful cooties.

The photo on the left is the most color accurate, the one on the right gives you an idea of the length, long enough to throw over a shoulder.  One word of caution while blocking this yarn... wet Kochoron smells like ass.  No amount of open windows, fans or Febreeze can avoid this fact.  Just accept it and pray it dries quickly.

Next on the agenda:

Orangina - I lag on this KAL but I should get it done pretty quickly.  The lace pattern is really great, super easy to memorize but enough to keep my interest.

Another busy weekend coming up as well - I'm not used to being pulled out of my cave so all this activity is wearing me out.  Saturday is Dye Day at Wendy's, Sunday is the Housewarming, and Monday is Firefly night.    Somewhere in between all this activity I should find some time to breathe.

Oh.   And if you've ever wondered....

We interrupt this regularly scheduled Eleanor for a socktastic break.

At the request of Heidi and Wendy - who are sick of looking at my vomitastic purple NYNY bedspread, I am finally getting off my jiggly ass to post an update on what is going on Chez Bird.  Doesn't the arbitrary injection of a French word here and there make me sound so elitist?  Mais bien sur mon petit chou.

So last last Sunday I went up to the little LA bloggers meet up that Lauren is so great about organizing when she's out on the Left coast.  It was a nice crowd and the food was as good (Buster's in Long Beach)  as the company.  Christina has a list of the attendees, cause the rest of us are too lazy to look up all the blogs ourselves.  I had a delicious seared tuna appetizer, and then a huge fried banana dish with a couple of macademia ice cream testicles.  (The ice cream was better than the 'nanas  which then left me with 2 large penile shaped fruit and a single ice cream ball, the ratio was just.. off). 

After gorging on food - there was much gorging on yarn.  Alamitos Bay Yarn Company was conveniently right next door, so the mob of us descended on the shop and packed it to the rafters.    I was reasonably good and only left with two skeins of deliciousness, Curious Creek Fibers Serengeti superwash merino wool yarn in the happy happy joy joy colorway of Sunrise on Daffodils.  The yarn is squishy goodness, and I turned it toute suite (more bad French for you) into a pair of Thuja Socks from Knitty.  The worsted weight socks flew by on size 4s and made for a nice firm thick fabric, and the pattern was pretty basic - a seed stitch rib with 1x1 rib cuff and a slip stitch heel.  Not too terribly challenging and was an easy item to knit in the car, in line at Jerome's, curled up on the couch watching TV. 

Here they are - blocking on my Fiber Trends sock blockers which I <3 and the photo on the left is the sock in action on my mom's foot.  These will replace the Lorna's Laces socks which the evil Oscar puppy chewed through.  Bad dog!  They make for some awesomely snug and warm house socks.

Also at the Bloggers meetup I saw Jillian's lovely Shop of Pretty bracelet and of course I had to have one.  I ordered the Harvest Glam bracelet which was lovely in person, with quick shipping and Heather is aways fun to talk to.  Go now and empty out her inventory!

I was sick for the last week or so and put down Eleanor while I was phlegmiful.  The last thing I was needing was for bunny fur to mingle with my congestion, but really - it was all about those socks.  I couldn't pull myself away even if I wanted to.  Now with the sock indiscretion all over and done with, I can slink on back to Eleanor and pump out a couple more skeins.

I spent the weekend at the new house - (got our keys on Thursday!) and test drove some paint colors.   I'm going with this nice buttery sunny yellow for most of the house, and a greyish blue green for the guest bedrooms and the downstairs bathroom.    This week the painter is there, and the week of the 27th will be the floor guy to put in some wood, cause he's you know.. good with wood.    We are going with an exotic wood "Kempas" which is a pretty reddish color and since that is the natural color of the wood, and it isnt stained, the color will have some variations in the planks which I think will look really nice.

So March 25th my family and I will be running (some running some walking for me)  the Autism 5K Run/Walk in Balboa Park, and I setup Team Patrick - my cousin has autism and this fundraising/bonding/exercising/heartattackpossible event is for him.  Wendy and Mr Wendy are going to run it with us too - so if anyone out there would like to donate a bit of money to our cause, I'd be thankful and so would Patrick.

Donate for Autism Research to TEAM PATRICK

Ok...  knitting update, check.. snotty French, check... beg for money, check... my work today is done.  A bientot!

BroadRipple fingerless gloves

Its all knitting all the time Chez Bird's Nest.

Most recently finished are the BroadRipple fingerless gloves- which was a really fun way to get ride of extra skeins of sock yarn because it only takes one skein for a pair.  It was a pattern I made up as I went along and was inspired by the BroadRipple sock pattern from Knitty - originally I'd started knitting the cuff on that and got bored and turned it into a fingerless glove pattern.  Anyone can probably divine the pattern but I'll type it out here for whomever might want to try it out, your mileage may vary!  I use the Magic Loop method but you can easily enough split the stitches onto 4 dps if you want to use those. 

Yarn:  1 skein JaWoll Color Superwash Sock yarn
Gauge: 9/5 sts/inch
Needles:  Size 3 Addi turbos

Cast on 56 stitches and join in the round without twisting.  (Magic Loop or two circs will split the stitches evenly in half and have 28 stitches on each section, DPs will have 14 stitches on each needle). 

Work the Garter Ripple stitch for 6 repeats.

Garter Ripple Stitch:                            

Round 1: *K2, yo, k3, ssk,  k2tog, k3, yo, k2; repeat from * around.
Round 2:Purl.

Repeat Rounds 1 & 2  - 6 times

Switch to the Ripple Stitch and knit in this pattern for 2 inches.

Ripple Stitch:                            

Round 1:*K2, yo, k3, ssk,  k2tog, k3, yo, k2; repeat from * around.
Round 2:Knit.
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 for 2 inches.

Then knit for 2 inches.

Knit the round up till you have 4 stitches left from the end of the round, purl 1 stitch, make 1 stitch twisted, knit to the end of the round. (on following increase rows - purl the purled stitch to note where the increases should be)
Next row - knit

Repeat these two rows until you have increased 14 stitches, finishing with a knit round.  This is your thumb gusset.

Place these increased  stitches plus the purl stitch onto a scrap piece of yarn (18 stitches) - you'll finish the thumb later.  Knit to the top of the thumb opening where you've slip the stitches to scrap yarn.

Cast on using the backwards loop  11 stitches, and knit the last cast on stitch with the first stitch at the end of front of the hand (stitch right before the purl stitch).  This now rejoins the back of the hand to the front of the hand.

Knit for 1 inch and then bind off the body of the hand.

Slip the 18 thumb gusset stitches onto your needles in the round and pick up 12 stitches from the cast-on edge of the thumbhole, twisting them when needed to keep holes from forming.  Split the stitches evenly on the needles as necessary.

Knit 20 stitches, SSK, k6, k2tog in the thumb crotch.
Knit the next round even.
Knit 18 stitches, SSK, k4, k2tog  in the thumb crotch.
Knit evenly for four rounds, bind off.

Repeat for second hand reversing directions for your right hand.  Try it on as you go along and adjust the length of each section as desired if you want a longer cuff or have a longer palm etc.

Edges along the thumb and fingers are meant to roll.

===============================================================

In other knitting news - I met up with a few of the SD knit bloggers at Rebecca's for coffee and then lunch at the Linkery.  I loves me some sausage yes sirree.  In attendance were Christina, Heidi and Mary Kay, we missed Wendy, but I got a call from her that she was fine and ended up spending the morning in bed with Mr Spaaz and the pups - which is a good excuse as far as I'm concerned.  The coffee was good and the company even better.  We even had a lady come up to us and ask if we were some other SnB group that was supposed to meet there.  I said we weren't but invited her to join us anyhow.  She decided to wait it out though.  Maybe I look intimidating who knows.

I started on Lady Eleanor and I must say - looking at the instructions the first thing I thought was - how the hell is this going to work?  I even had Christina and Mary Kay trying to figure it out with me.  But I decided to go ahead and just take the leap of faith and do what it says.  Entrelac is cool people!  Much less confusing once you do it and its pretty interesting.  I'm not all that far along but it's keeping me quite engrossed to see the color changes.  My only beef on the Noro - Not even done the first set of triangles and I already find a knot.

And on Thursday a few people met up at Mary Kay's house for beer pizza and knitting.  What better reason to get together?  Its been lots of knitting events in the last few days and I've been really enjoying it.  I had class on Thursday night so I only could stay until 6 unfortunately and missed seeing Hilari and Christina.  I did get some Rottweiler love though from Mary Kay's pup Missy - the 2nd cutest dog ever.

I got some amazing hand dyed roving from Mary Kay which I cant wait to spin up into sock yarn cause umm.. I dont have enough sock yarn as it is or something.

Uh.. here's Mary Kay spinning (we wont speak of what I need or dont need)

Picovoli - c'est fini!

I'm just cranking out Finished Objects this year, and I think it has a lot to do with not allowing myself to cast on new projects until my UFOs are done.  Amazing how much progress can be made when you actually focus.  Quel surpris!   

I finished up Picovoli today and even wore it to knitting at the Whistlestop Pub which was nice.  I really enjoy meeting up with the San Diego knitbloggers because I've gotten to know them better over the last few months, and they are so much fun to hang out with.  In attendance were:  Heidi, Wendy, Hilari, Chris, Mary Kay, and I saw Kris at the Grove when we walked over for a yarn fix.  (for the record I stuck to my resolutions and did not buy any yarn - just Scarf Style which has Lady Eleanor in it.. which I am probably going to join the KAL once I get the yarn - which will be after I finish my Broadripple wrist warmers.  I'm just knitting the pattern until the cuff is about 3" long then I'm doing a stockinette palm with the thumb gusset from the BroadStreet gloves.

Yes - its true.  My middle name IS Frankenstein.

Ok back onto the subject of my Picovoli.

Pattern:    Picovoli on Magknits by Grumperina
Size: 40" bust
Yarn:  KnitPicks Shine in Orchid - lil' bit over 5 skeins
Needles:  Size 4 metal circs
Started:     Swatched on Jan 6 and knit a bit each evening and on the way to work
Finished:  Feb 5th

Some modifications to the pattern - I added about 2" to the bottom and just continued working the waist increases until it was the length that I wanted, and I only did 6 waist decrease rounds, and I probably could have used one or two more.  One thing I didnt like was how large the armholes were so if I were to knit it again I would make them smaller - they seemed to sag a bit.  I'd also go down one size because in my over estimation of what size I'd need and the underestimation of how much KnitPicks Shine would stretch - it ended up being a little looser than I wanted.   

Over all though - the pattern is very well written and while there is a lot of stockinette - the shaping is quite lovely.  I might add a lace inset next go around to keep things interesting.

I did try a couple of new techniques - the picot edging is definately something I would try again in another project, I also tried out the Russian Join, which I've decided is just not for me.  I wasnt able to get the two yarns well joined enough and I could see where the join was because the stitches were puffy.  I prefer my usual Doubling Up join where you knit with both yarns for 4-5 stitches and then you drop the old yarn and just knit with the new yarn.  It makes for a much smoother transition in all but really bulky yarns.

Here is a side by side comparison:

Food Fun and Furry animals that go.. meeeeh!

Its been a busy weekend.  Saturday was a fun little housewarming for Heidi, and I got the chance to try a new recipe - Fried Risotto Balls!  I also brought a Caprese (tomato, fresh mozzerella, and basil salad with olive oil and basalmic vinegar) as my back up dish in case the balls bombed.  But luckily - the risotto balls were a hit because.. anything fried tastes better!

Recipe for Fried Risotto Balls:

2 boxes of risotto
fresh wild mushrooms (shitake, oyster, portabello - cut into small pieces)
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 heaping table spoons shaved parmesean
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
vegetable oil
1 tblspn olive oil

Saute 2 cloves (pressed) garlic in olive oil until just starting to turn golden, and add mushrooms and saute until mushrooms are cooked.  Set aside and prepare risotto according to box directions, add cooked mushrooms and garlic when you add the packaged spices.  Add parmesean and stir to melt.  Remove from heat and allow to cool 2-3 hours.

Scoop out risotto and shape into balls between your palms and roll in the bread crumbs.  Fry in very hot vegetable oil until golden and set on paper towels to drain excess oil.   Sprinkle a bit of parmesean on top of balls and serve warm.

At Heidi we met her very cute cat Morpheus - and what is a blog without a photo of a cat?  He was adorable, and got a nice ball of cotton yarn from Wendy to drag all around Heidi's house, and spent a good part of the afternoon with his head in my purse.  I'll leave it up to you to wonder what sort of things I have in my purse that attracts pussy.

Today was Alpaca Critter Crawl!  We met for lunch at The Linkery - which won rave reviews from all of us, and we'll all be back for another pass at stuff we didnt get to try this time around (sliced pork chop wrap for me).  We went to visit A Simpler Time in Crest California - which is a family run farm with about 24 animals.    We met Barbara - a woman who looks AMAZING after having 9 - yes I said 9 - children.  We got to tour the farm and get into the pens and bribe some alpacas to come closer with grain.  They are very skittish animals, except for one adorable little black female that Mary Kay got to nuzzle with.  Afterwards we went to The Grove and got some coffee.  I managed to not by ANY fiber or yarn today.  Yay me!  It was hard let me tell you.

AND.. I've even finished something!  Behold - Bea Ellis's Traditional Hat Kit.  I sent an email to Bea Ellis and told them I'd lost my pattern and was willing to buy the pattern if they would sell it to me separate from the kit.  She sent me a replacement pattern for free!  Now that is some nice customer service.   I used three colors instead of the traditional two, and did a makeshift braided cord because I dont really like pompoms.    I think it turned out pretty well.  Too bad its 80 degrees in San Diego right now. 

And -- to be able to balance the kitty cuteness - another photo of my dog trying to beg for a bite of my dinner, but being blinded by the flash.

Holy Dyelots Batman!

So the New Year is starting off pretty well as far as knitting goes.  I've just finished Marnie's Wyvern Socks.  It was a very easy knit - the pattern was easy to memorize after a while.  My third pair of socks which I think turned out pretty well - it made for good commute knitting.  If I were to do them again there are a few things I'd change -

• Not too stripey a color of yarn - the striping of the Lorna's Laces detracted from the lovely scale design, Koigu would probably be really pretty.
• No bottom ribbing - it makes for a little too snug a fit for me, and while it does fit - when the sock is not on - the ribbing pulls the yarn in to the point where it looks extremely narrow.  It got mistaken for a willy warmer more than once.
• DOUBLE check your dye lots.  I used 1 skein of Lorna's Laces and got to about 2" from the end of the cuff on the 2nd sock when I had to break out the 2nd skein... which ended up being SIGNIFICANTLY lighter than the first skein.  *headdesk*  I was pretty sure the dye lot was the same too.  So I had two choices, frog back the first sock to a point where I could steal the yarn and even out the lengths, or suck it up and deal with a lighter cuff and knit to the same length as the first.  Guess which I chose?  The lazy way of course!  Who looks at cuffs anynow, they are usually hidden by pantleg.

• Next time - two socks on two circulars knit at the same time.  No more 2nd sock syndrome for me.
• Kitchener Bind off next time - while I like the stretchiness of the picot bind off, I hate how it rolls downward when you wear them

All in all, I love them even with the minor color issue, the pattern was well written and fun to knit up.  The color is a little blotchy cause they are slightly damp being blocked on my feet.

Pattern:    Marnie MacClean's Wyvern Socks
Yarn:  Lorna's Laces (oops threw away the band)  1.25 skeins
Needles:  Addi Turbo's Size 2
Method:  Toe up w/ Magic Loop
Toe:  Short Row
Heel: Short Row
Bind Off:  2 cast on/ 4 cast off Picot Bind Off

I've also done my swatch for the Sexy Knitters Club Picovili KAL - Knit Picks Shine in Orchid.  I really like this yarn!  Its super soft, and makes a nice tight fabric.  I got gauge with Size 4 circ's and the color is cheery and bright.

I'd not completely decided to participate until my credit card threw itself at the KnitPicks web site.  Can't beat the price either at $2.29 a ball - definately won't be finding something that nice at Michael's or Walmart. 

My contribution to JenLa's ugly avatar contest:

Would it be too gauche of me to bring knitting to Heidi's housewarming?  What if I brought booze and fried risotto balls?  (I thought of Fried Rice Balls, but I know how perverted ya'll are)

Victory! La Clapotis - c'est vraiment fini!

Finally... a finished Clapotis!  Despite the whining - I managed to get this completed.  If I were to even consider doing this again - I would do it in some yummy yarn instead of the rather snooze worthy wool I did it in.  Louet has some nice sim-Lion & Lamb (silk wool blend) that Wendy is doing hers in.  Trust me - the pattern is pretty mundane once you figure it out so you'll want to use yarn that is really enjoyable.  Its in this colorway that both Heidi and Wendy think might have been KoolAid dye - and what I'm calling "Carnival Barf"

Yarn:  Handpainted wool from Willow Wood Pond
Needles:  Size 8 circulars
Dimensions:  76" x 25" - definately the size of a wrap and not a scarf

Sacre bleu!

Secret Treasures

It seems like forever since I finished my last object.  Probably a combination of lack of motivation, time, and effort that contributed to the snail like speed of my knitting lately.   However all that is changed as of TODAY.  Thats right, I've actually finished something.

Its the Secret Treasures bag from Knit One Felt Too, which I did in a few colors of KnitPicks Wool of the Andes on size 9 Addis and then switched to two circulars when the circumference got too narrow for the single.  I modified the pattern slightly by casting on 80 stitches instead of only 60, and I messed around a bit by adding some extra stripes and the row of dots at the bottom.  Relatively quick knit and I love felting.   Shaved the bag with a razor after felting.