Madrona Fiber Arts!

Wow. I had a great time at the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat.

It was so worth it to me to stay at the hotel because it allowed me to really enjoy my time there. My head/brain was swimming with information everyday. I didn't have to battle the traffic everyday and that was certainly a treat.

I attended three full days of classes. I spent all three days with Jean Wong.

I took Tailored Knitting the Japanese Way(two days) and Fine Finishing Techniques(one day). I learned so much. Jean is a patient teacher, always making sure everyone understands what she is trying to explain. She had to explain some concepts two, three different ways so we all could understand it. If you ever get a chance to take a class with her I highly recommend it!

Here are some photos taken during class. The first one is of an example of how we create a pattern for our particular body measurements and guage of yarn/needle size for a sweater we are designing.



Here we are working hard at using the concepts we have learned and applying them to our personal pattern.

Below is my work area...a complete mess! This is a very involved process but I love the idea of having this knowledge. It will liberate me from being dependant on patterns. Let the creating begin!

I have so much to share about the weekend.

Thursday night I met up with Sandy. We hadn't seen each other for over a year. We had scheduled to get together for dinner so we planned to meet up at the marketplace. She came up to my hotel room so I could drop off all the stuff I accumulated at the marketplace. She mentioned she wanted to do this sweater/shrug that was on the cover of Vogue knitting Fall 2005. I said "I know exactly what one you mean!" I went to the closet and pulled out the sweater I had done. She is going to knit this. Go to her blog and check out her progress. She is doing great! Thanks Sandy for your hospitality! We need to plan for one of those knitting cruises - preferably to foreign countries! :)

I met Tina and Kaci of Blue Moon Fiber Arts. What sweet women! By the time I left on Saturday they knew me by name. I went back so many times. Tina commented that she thought I bought all the pink/purple yarns she had. I bought sock yarn, roving, bamboo yarn and a wonderful fingering weight yarn made of kid mohair, silk and a little bit of nylon. This is going to make a wonderful shawl! I'll get pics posted soon. Their new colorway Backstabber(the one in the middle in the photo below)...absolutely *my colors*!!!

Sock yarns - how many skeins do I have in the stash?? Does it matter that I'm a member of the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club? NAW. After all, these are my colors!

This is a super soft Bamboo yarn. I will make a short-sleeve shirt. I bought the pattern that was displayed with the yarn. Maybe I'll use my "Tailored Knitting the Japanese Way" knowledge and create a Naomi original.

The reason why I kept going back to Blue Moon's booth was because I got to purchase things that you can't get on their website. It was SOOOO much fun! I won't show photos of the roving because I purchased some for my friend Terry who pushed me over the edge to start spinning. I don't want to ruin her surprise. She knows she's getting some, she just doesn't know what or what color(s).

Friday night I met up with Greg, my best friend Jamie, and her husband Chris. We had a nice dinner at the Pacific Grill. They have great atmosphere but I thought the food was overpriced. It was nice that it was just a couple blocks away. We could walk.

After Jamie and Chris dropped us off at the hotel, Greg and I went up to the bar on the 26th floor of the Sheraton to have a drink. We sat down at the windows, enjoying the view. Next thing I knew, Fiona Ellis and the Yarn Harlot Stephanie Pearl-McPhee sat at the table next to us. I was so thrilled. I had no camera with me. Greg could not understand why I was so excited about it. When we got up to go I had to go over to them to say hello. I stumbled badly. I told Stephanie I loved her. How stupid is that??? I do love her!! She said "I love you, too" (yeah right!). We introduced ourselves and she said everyone had been talking about my sweater that day (the Vogue one I spoke about earlier in this post). Wow. I was amazed that she even noticed!


The next morning at (what else) the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth, I ran into Fiona and she recognized me and we exhanged pleasantries. What a nice woman!

I met Melinda, a fellow Feral Knitter. Why didn't I already know her? I'm fairly new to "Ferals" and the only time I saw Melinda was in early January(?). She was across the table and I was not feeling well and wasn't very social that night.

What is a Feral Knitter? We are knitters that enjoy the art of Fair Isle knitting and we meet every other Monday in Lake Forest Park. I had never met Melinda in person but I had been a lurker of her blog. When I was in the registration line I looked behind me and I recognized her photo from her blog. I introduced myself and found she was also in the two day Jean Wong class. We sat next to each other in class and I had the honor of getting to know her better. Melinda is an amazing knitter! Her blog is full of great techniques and tips.


I have more stories and photos to share but I need to get going. Start planning on coming to Madrona next year! Save the dates - February 14-17, 2008.

Happy Birthday Nicole

Sunday night we celebrated my niece Nicole's 10th birthday! Her birthday is really today.

She is one in a million. I'll tell you why.

It is a miracle that she has lived to reach this milestone in her young life.

Six years ago, at the age of 4, she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, or CML.

She was on vacation at Whistler, BC and tried to get out of the pool and found she could not walk without exruciating pain. Within a couple days she was at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center with this "one in a million" chance diagnosis. This type of leukemia is extremely rare in children.

The Ooka and Howard families went into panic mode. How could this beautiful, perfect child have cancer?

The families along with friends and a much larger community gathered for bone marrow recruitment drives. Through connections Washington's Governor Gary Locke got involved. Other well-known people such as Jamie Moyer of the Seattle Mariner's and Moyer Foundation helped out. There was a lot of press about Nicole's situation which highlighted the need for more minorities and people of mixed race to get on the registry.

There hasn't been much press lately so I'm hoping with the power of the internet, we can get more folks registered.

The only cure for this type of leukemia is a bone marrow transplant.

At the beginning of the panic, Nicole's older brother was tested, he was not a match. We all got tested. No match. We scoured the NMDP, National Marrow Donor Program, world-wide registries and there was no match. What were we going to do? Our only option was to recruit, recruit, recruit.

We paired with the Mavin Foundation. They eventually created the Matchmaker program. This program is the only national program with the goal of recruiting mixed race donors on to the national bone marrow registry.

Nicole's challenge is she is of mixed race. If you look at our world today, how many people in the United States, and the world, are of mixed heritage? Many. Minorities and people of mixed race of the world have a real challenge if they need a bone marrow transplant. This challenge will only get more acute the more diverse our population becomes.

Through Nicole's struggle and the many, many bone marrow drives held on behalf of Nicole, many matches have been found for others in need. Nicole has affected many peoples lives and has moved politicians to create laws to help those in need of a bone marrow transplant. For example, then Washington Governor Gary Lock signed an executive order allowing state employees to donate and receive bone marrow transplants without having to take leave. See article here.

This is where faith comes in. I grew up Catholic. I believe in God. The year Nicole was diagnosed, a leukemia drug called Gleevec was approved by the FDA. No protocol had been established for children. Trish and Rob, Nicole's parents, did tons of research on Gleevec and even contacted the man who developed the drug. He lives in Oregon. They arranged to meet him, talk to him, get information from him. Then they came back to Children's Hospital to try to get the physicians here to prescribe this medicine for Nicole. The physicians gathered all the research Trish and Rob had done, along with their own research and Nicole was the first child at Children's to be put on Gleevec. We were blessed that this life saving drug was approved, just in time for Nicole.

Nicole is currently in remission. We have been blessed with 6 wonderful years with this child that we most certainly would not have had. Without a bone marrow transplant, or Gleevec, Nicole would have died many years ago.

The downside of Gleevec is it is not a guarantee and the only known "cure" is a bone marrow transplant. I want a guarantee. If I think about it too long I panic. There is still no match for Nicole on the registry, 6 years later. Think of all the people that have no drug to keep their cancer or diseases in remission. They die waiting for a bone marrow match.

We still need to get many, many more minorities and multi-racial folks signed up to be bone marrow donors. Sometimes people need to get educated on what being a bone marrow donor means. Get more information here.

The federal government has funded minorities to get registered with just a swab of the cheek. In the "old days" you would have to give a blood sample. This turned many people off. In the Seattle area you can go to this link to find local drives. If you know folks over the age of 18 that are a minority, please forward my post to them. We desperately need more minorities on the bone marrow registry.

You can give the gift of life to someone in need.

I could write on and on, and on, about this topic as it has affected me personally. Deeply.

Today on this very special day I reflect on Nicole, my precious niece who deserves a long life. She deserves a cure.

It only takes ONE special person with her tissue typing to save her life. The person that could save her life could be YOU.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please take a minute out of your day to pray that we WILL find a match for Nicole.

Help me celebrate Nicole's birthday by forwarding this post to others you know, especially minorities or mixed race folks.

Happy Birthday Nicole! I love you girl.

Inspired Knitting with Louisa Harding

Today I took a class today at So Much Yarn. The instructor was Louisa Harding.



If you haven't seen her designs, you should. They are timeless designs with a modern twist. I love knitting "the classics" but her designs and the yarns she uses have gotten me more excited than I have in quite some time. You can see some of her books here.

We had fun using Louisa Harding yarns to make a little purse. This is mine in progress.

She told us her story how she went to being a gopher at Rowan in the late '80's to having her own yarn label with complete design freedom. What an interesting journey she has taken!

If you've ever seen her books, you may have noticed the beautiful photography. She didn't want her books to *look* like knitting books. Her husband does all the photography for her books and he is an artist in his own right.

I caught up with a couple women I haven't seen in awhile. One is Sue. I know her from Acorn Street and she livess a few doors down from my sister Trish in the Bryant neighborhood of Seattle. Here she is showing off a beautiful shawl knit with Louisa's yarns. She lined it beautifully with silk fabric and added lovely Swarovski beading - only in the back so that the beads don't bother her arms in the front of the shawl. The photo just does not do it justice.

I also caught up with Beth that I had met taking a class at So Much Yarn a couple of years ago. She is a hoot! We exchanged information again and I hope we can get together for those once-a-month Saturday morning knitting sessions!

The great thing is Louisa brought samples of her designs. I tried some on and I love how they fit. So I bought some yarn to make the design "Gilt" from Winter's Muse Portraits. What this lady is doing with the picture frame I'm not sure. This design looked great on both me and Lauren(owner of So Much Yarn).

I won't do it in those colors. I'll do it in these:

In my prior post I commented that I wasn't sure what project to take to Jean Wong's Tailored Knitting class at Madrona next week. I'll take Gilt. (note - Gilt, not Guilt!) A catholic girl like me has plenty of Guilt - I don't need more! :)

I close this entry with a picture of me and Louisa. She is a very kind and interesting person. The reason I am no longer shy about taking a photo with someone *famous* is I saw the Yarn Harlot about a year and a half ago at Weaving Works and was too *shy* to ask to get my photo taken with her and have regretted ever since!

Thank you Louisa for an inspiring morning!

Whew! My Eleven Swatches are Done!

Believe it or not, I completed 11, yes eleven, swatches today. UGH!

Next week I am attending the Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat.

I am taking two classes, both by Jean Wong. One is Tailored Knitting the Japanese Way and the other is Fine Finishing Techniques.

Both classes cover areas where I feel I'm lacking in knowledge and skill. I have heard really great things about Jean's classes so I'm excited.

I'm was dreading doing this homework. Hence I kept putting it off but I figured since I had the day off, I would procrastinate no longer and get prepared for class.

I had to knit the eleven swatches for Fine Finishing Techniques. When I initially read over the instructions I thought to myself "oh! this won't take much time. I'll get these knit up and have plenty of time to get to some of my other projects". Note to self: Things always take longer than you think.

What are these piles of zip lock bags? My various samples safely tucked away in their baggies ready for class next Saturday.

Here are the swatches sitting happily on my bed. I feel like I need to take a rest with the swatches on the bed after doing all of these.

At least I'm ready....sort of.

For the two-day Tailored Knitting the Japanese Way class I am supposed to have a project already in mind that I will work at tailoring for me and my own body. I don't have one in mind. Sure I have projects on the needles but none that really need tailoring so to speak. So do I bring one that could possibly use some tailoring or do I bring something that I have already started knitting? I guess I could e-mail her. Well, I have a week to decide.

I don't think I've mentioned that I'm taking a class by Louisa Harding this Friday at So Much Yarn. I just thought it would be fun. We are going to be making a small little purse.

One of my intentions for 2007(that I haven't been too successful at yet) is to buy less stuff and purchase more experiences.

Gotta run. DH came in saying he wanted to talk about our trip to Bonaire.

The Right Tools for the Job

I remember my dad saying that to do a task that required tools, and if the endeavor was to be enjoyable, you need to have the right tools for the job.

As you may recall, I started knitting the cap shawl from Victorian Lace Today. This is the cap shawl.

Currently I am on round 85. This shawl began with 9 stitches. It now has 387. By the time I get to the part where I add the border, I will have knit 172 rounds and have 738 stitches on the needle!

Why did I begin my post about tools?

Currently the needles I am using are "Blunti Stumpos" which was coined by Grumperina.

This is NOT the right tool for this project. The needles do not look that blunt in the photo but these are driving me crazy. I'm knitting with Misti Alpaca Lace. You can kind of see the center swirl of the shawl in the bottom right corner where the whole pattern began.

Why are these the wrong tool for the job? I decided today that since I don't have the time I want, or need, to get the projects done that I want to complete (along with fitting in exercise into my day as well as working 9 hours ) that I'll have to KNIT FASTER.

Lately I knit more in the English/Throw/American method. I can knit fairly more quickly in the Continental/German/Pic method but these damn needles are too blunt. I have ordered a pair from Knit Picks because their points are, uh, more pointy. So I'm putting this project aside until the new needles arrive.

According to their website, my order shipped on the 8th so I'm hoping I get them soon because I'm abandoning this project until then. I'm at a point in the pattern that it is a good break point. I'm done with the first chart(which was very easy to memorize). I'm excited to start a new phase of this baby but without the right tools, I would just get frustrated. Like Dad said, in order for the task to be enjoyable, you need the right tools!

I need to get organized!

I am ready to start the armhole decreases of Go with the Flow. I have really enjoyed knitting this. I usually don't like knitting with cotton but this is nice and soft. It is Dale of Norway's Stork color 7 and the pattern is from Fiona Ellis' Inspired Cable Knits .

I took Japanese Shortrows from Susanna Hansson awhile ago. During the class I was concentrating so hard getting my example knitted that I missed out on how to calclulate where to start, end for the shaping on a garment. Sure I can follow the instructions to create the sample but I need to take some time to just sit and really figure out how this would work on AN ACTUAL GARMENT!

I want to do this for my armhole shaping on 'Go with the Flow'.

Why do I need to get organized? I can't find my class folder that has all the hand-outs, my notes, examples, etc. This always happens. AAARRRGGGGHHHHH. So if I get impatient I may just go ahead and do the old, regular way of decreasing with those ugly stair steps!

I need to get ORGANIZED!!!!

Another organizational intention I have is this: I want to document all the items I knit. I want to document needle size, pattern, yarn, pictures and any special notes.

When I was in Venice in 2006 I found this cute little shop that had handmade leather books. I bought one with the intention of doing just this. Where has this book been sitting? Its been sitting on a shelf, gathering dust, just asking to be used. I sort of used it. I stuck labels from skeins I've knit things from in it. That counts for something, right?

Its a beautiful handmade leather book with regular paper separated by this lovely whispy vellum like paper. I know its not vellum but is sheer and very soft like tissue paper but heavier. It has a beautiful sheen to it that the photos don't pick up.

I'm going to start it today! My first entry will be Go with The Flow. Here is the outside of the book:


The inside.

Snowballing Ideas

Yes, 'snowballing' is really a word! Sometimes I'm not sure if some words I use are ones I made up or someone else made up and use as *real* words. I looked it up in Websters and it IS a word.

In my last post I wrote about spinning. I'm not referring to exercise classes. I'm referring to the kind of spinning that I will need new clothes for. According to my friend Jamie, she says, and I quote directly from e-mail, "Now you will have to knit yourself a black shawl and wear a big long grey skirt to fit the image of women who spin".

People, feel free to go over to her blog and let her know how hip and cool spinners are, ok? We need to let this poor girl know how far *out of it* she is! :)

Here is my story about my "Little Vicki".

I started reading reviews about the Louet Victoria all over the internet. Then I started going to different websites checking prices. So I figured if I'm going to take the plunge, just do it. I've been pondering this spinning thing for at least a few years.

Norma at Ferals just made one comment and that's all it took. She basically just said buy a wheel and you'll be happy with it for the most part nowdays. As a side note: Any Ferals out there...I was really out of it on Monday night. I was in a bad mood and was not feeling well(sore throat). I was not in the most social mood. Sorry!

This wheel came out late 2006 at least from what I've read. They had an introductory price and now that the initial response has been very, very good, the price is going up quite a bit and most vendors will not get more inventory until March 2007.

Once I decide I'm going to do something....Get Out of My Way!

My *ideal* situation would be to buy one without tax and free shipping. I looked around and that deal just doesn't exist. Once 2007 hit, the price on Little Vicki went way up. I call her Little Vicki because her name is Victoria, but she is so small! So her nickname shall be Little Vicki.

(I can tell this is going to be a long post. Feel free to skim because its fun for me do tell about my little adventure about the planets coming into alignment, just for me).

I found a place in Washington called Paradise Fibers in Spokane. Their website didn't specify if it came with the carrying case/backpack, 2 extra bobbins and lazy kate. So I called them yesterday at lunch-time. Their website had it at the introductory price and had free shipping. I knew I would have to pay tax but I decided that would be ok.

I talked to a really nice guy Travis. I told him the website didn't have enough information and he said he was the one that does the posting. He appreciated my feedback. I asked if they had any in stock. He said he thought they were all out. He took the phone with him while he went in back to check. They had ONE. I was hoping it was in Oak. IT WAS!!!

So I got off the phone and went on-line to make my order. About a half hour after I got my confirmation e-mail on the purchase, I got an email saying my package had shipped. The other added bonus was Pacific Fibers does like a craft dollar thing. I earned $40 in fiber dollars so in essense I didn't have to pay for sales tax after all. All of the planets converged and the universe said to me "this was the right thing to do".

Before I called Pacific Fibers I checked around for beginning spinning classes. Lo and behold the LYS that I take weekly classes from has a class beginning Feb 7. When I talked to Travis he said I should have it by the end of the week which is in plenty of time for the class.

After hitting "purchase" button, I called Village Yarn and Tea to sign up for the class. I talked to one of the owners, Victoria, and she asked if I had a wheel. I said I would by the time classes started. She asked which one. I told her and its the one she wants, too(and not just because its name is also Victoria! smile). She informed me that Village Yarn and Tea will start carrying Louet wheels. In fact she's meeting with the distributer next week to firm things up. Too bad they didn't carry them sooner. I would rather buy from my LYS.

I was working from home today. At around 11:00am I'm in the kitchen getting more tea. I hear a UPS truck. I knew Greg's birthday gift was scheduled to arrive today. I answer the door and there are two packages. What? Greg says "What is this other package?". I said "I don't know!".

The box has all these little Louet markings. One end says "Victoria". No freaking way!

It got to me within 24 hours and I didn't pay for shipping. What service!

Although I know very little about spinning I was able to figure out how to get her setup. She sure is cute and So VERY portable. How cool is THAT? I also don't need a lot of space to store her. Another added bonus.

I treadled her and I can tell I'm going to love this-so far so good!

Here she is with the boys.

One of the good things I can about my job? I'm well compensated. It is the golden hand-cuffs. It affords me luxuries such as this. I'm grateful I can afford to fund and expand my hobbies.

My other news. I'm knitting my first short row heel on a sock. Not good. Need to frog. I call it the poochy heel. Yuk. I like the short row heel overall but I'll increase the center number of stiches before wrapping and turning.

As I close for the evening, talk about snowballing...

In the past hour a good amount of snow has accumulated at our home. I might be working from home again tomorrow.

Be safe out there on the roads. Traffic is a big mess around the Puget Sound area.

Go With the Flow!

In my last entry I promised some photos of my lastest project which I vow to complete before I start something new. A resolution to stay committed to my projects through 'sickness and in health'!

Here is my progress on the 'go with the flow' vest.

And this is what the finished product will look like.

As a side wandering I've been seriously thinking of venturing into spinning. Ever since I *met* Terry (darn, no blog to send you to - maybe someday, huh Terry?) via E-bay I've been curious about spinning. Then I was re-acquainted with Rebecca (the one who is going to help me with my fear of cutting steeks in my weekly projects class at Village Yarn and Tea) during the fall of 2006. She is also a spinner and has brought some of her wonderful yarn to class and it makes me really want to take up spinning. How cool would that be? Then I could go visit Elise(another non-blogger) in NY to attend Rhinebeck!

To really complicate things is Terry is buying a Louet Victoria which is a new wheel that is very, very portable. They have been selling extremely brisk and the price has gone up about $130 since they just came out a few months ago but she has one on order at the old price that she would let me purchase. So...I need to learn more about wheels! This is not a decision to take lightly.

I like the idea of portability. Given I know very little about wheels I have a lot of homework to do.

On a lighter note, as a Seattle Seahawks fan I was thrilled at their win last night. It was an amazing game. I didn't think we could come through with a win but thanks to Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboy's and his slippery hands we are moving to the next round. Next game is a week from today at 10am at the Chicago Bears. You know what I'll be doing next Sunday at 10am!

One more thing. Greg and I have decided when/where our next vacation will be. Bonaire in June. I love Bonaire. We have been there twice together and Greg has been there 2 additional times. Don't know where Bonaire is? Find it here.

This is a very laid back island. Despite its small size, they have wonderful restaurants and its a lovely place to visit. They have increased the number/variety of flights there so it is much easier to get there than the first time we went in 2000. The first year we went, we flew to Miami, then Curacao(and a 5 hour delay due to mechanical problems) then Bonaire. The second time we went from Seattle to Houston to Puerto Rico to Bonaire. This time we will go to Houston and then from Houston directly to Bonaire. This will be MUCH better!

Boy am I looking forward to it. I love Bonaire. I really do. The food is awesome, the prices reasonable and the diving and snorkeling are the best in the world. I'm so happy we have decided on a destination. I feel more relaxed already(NOT! - I was on-call this weekend).

Well enough for now. Enjoy your week!

Fulfillment Comes Through Commitment

Many years ago a friend of mine told me that her dad always told her that "fulfillment comes through commitment". That has stuck with me all of these years because it really is true. Whether it is relationships, a career, or knitting you do get fulfillment if you stay committed through all the various ups and downs.

I need (LOTS)more commitment in my knitting.

I've been flitting from this, to that, to this, then that. Nothing gets completed and I have all these projects lying around. Literally lying around. There are socks on the desk, Abalone, Clapotis, and Storm Water scarf in my new knitting bag, the cap shawl in my backpack, and sock yarn everywhere and another skein on the way from the Posh Yarn sock club(not to mention the projects stashed away in baskets!).

Then to prove how anti-committed I am in my knitting, I cast on yet ANOTHER project last week.

I can't remember what day last week I went into Village Yarn and Tea "just to look around". I talked with Ellen and she is casting on "go with the flow" from Fiona Ellis' Inspired Cable Knits for a store sample.

I walked out of the shop with the yarn for this vest(only $25) and we are doing it together. Someone please remind me to stick to one project at a time so I can actually have a FO, and not all these UFO's! At least when I commit to doing a project with someone I actually do get it done. There is hope for this project!

The good thing about this project though is the title. Go with the flow. I need more "go with the flow" at my job so I figure there WAS a reason for this project(see, once again justification thinking).

I'll post photos tomorrow.

OH! Before I sign off for the day. GO SEAHAWKS!

Knitting Updates!

I had a wonderful Christmas.

My day was family filled. First we went to the Bang festivities and then in the afternoon, the Ooka party. My nephew Connor got a Nintendo Wii and that was used all day long! For awhile the adults had taken over...imagine bowling in your own living room!

I haven't written much on knitting content lately. I haven't completed any projects, but I have worked on a number of things. Don't they say variety is the spice of life?

I have also accumulated some knitting related stuff! For loved ones of knitters, if you ever wonder what to get that special knitter in your life, see this post by the Yarn Harlot. She has some really good shopping tips! This not only applies to Christmas, but to Valentines(hint Greg!), birthday's, anniversaries, etc.!

Onto the fun stuff:

Here is a photo of Tabi sock 1 of Sandi Rosner's book Not Just More Socks. These are the socks on the cover of the book. I really love these. They are very comfortable. I'm beginning to think I may make this type of toe for all my socks. I love flip flops(I wear them a lot at home) and they are dual purpose. I can wear them with flip flops and I can wear them in shoes.

The tabi sock was done in a yarn called Twilight Bay by my friend Terry. Her Etsy shop is here.

About a week ago I started the Cap Shawl from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby. This is a beautiful book. When it was sold out at my local yarn shop, I ordered it on-line. I would normally buy it locally or from Karen at Two Swans Yarns. When Karen brought it to Ferals I had already purchased it(I felt kind of bad but I didn't know she had stocked it).

Anyway, here is the beginning of the shawl. I am knitting it out of Misti Alpaca Lace. The pattern is really easy to memorize right now so I've been taking it with me in my purse so when I have some waiting time, out it comes. I even take it to Sonic's games! I really do!

Alice Starmore's Abalone. Finally at the neck decreases. I know the photos look pretty much the same to you as the ones I have posted before but I feel good about getting to the neck. YES!


(I know...the steeks should be opposite yarn each row - fair isle knitters will understand what I mean but you know...Oh well).

I joined Sundara's Petal's Collection sock club a couple months ago. I got my first installment on Saturday. She is an artist extraordinaire. You can read about the details of her inspiration for what yarn and pattern she creates. She is undecided about whether she will continue this club in 2007. I really, really, really hope she does. I'm going to beg her to continue!

Check out how she packages her creations. I feel like its a spa type setting/environment for her yarn and pattern!

Elise, evil temptress, got me ordering some sock yarn from Sunshine Yarns. The colors are wonderful. This grouping was inspired by the dragons in the 4th Harry Potter book, The Goblet of Fire. I love HP and I was laughing when the Yarn Harlot started referring to non-knitters as muggles. From left to right are: The Swedish Short Snout, the Welsh Green Dragon, the Hungarian Horntail and the Chinese Fireball. Each skein has 450 yards.

I have my whole family coming over for dinner tonight - that is 5 sisters, two husbands, and 6 nieces and nephews. I want to post this so I better get moving.

One last thing. I have a number of Martha's knitting bags. Martha is Martha Sacco of Green Mountain Knitting Bags. I love her knitting bags for a few reasons. I have done a fair amount of sewing in my lifetime. I am hesitant about buying handmade, sewn items from people I don't know. I'm very particular and want the items to be made well, with precision. Martha's handi-work is awesome. She hand sews that bag to the wood handles and like I said...she is very meticulous.

I love her bags because they are modern, yet traditional. I love the feeling of the wood handles. I also love supporting artisans. I don't know how I found her but she is reliable and very honest. This is my latest Oversize Carpet Bag made in an Italian Upholstery fabric. I love it. This was a Christmas gift. She only lists on Thursday nights, 8:30 eastern. It is a mad rush to get one of her bags. They sell out quickly and someone can take it from your cart until you pay. So you must be decisive and very quick.

This photo was taken from our master bathroom. I had to show my lovely bag with the best view in the house because this bag only deserves the very best! ;)

Isn't she lovely? Abalone is in her right now. It fits the sweater, yarn and pattern with room to spare. I love it.

Gotta run - family should be showing up in about 45 minutes and I have quite a few things yet to do. Eeee Yikes! Oh well. No stress! I'm on vacation!

Happy Knitting!

Remembrance

Five years ago my sister, Deborah Takeko Ooka Yasuda, died of pancreatic cancer. I've been avoiding acknowledging it because it hurts so much.

She died December 15, 2001.

She bravely battled this very aggressive type of cancer for 8 months. She had a very high tolerance for pain - one tough cookie. I have many memories of our time together as she battled this horrible disease. I had Friday's off and I would try and spend most Friday's with her. As she became more ill I know she looked forward to us just hanging out at her house. She only got to see my new home once. We have a lot of stairs and by that time she was not getting out much. I tear up just reminiscing about our times we spent together.

She saved my life when I was about 19 or 20. I had just taken my finals and had come home to the dorms at the UW. I wasn't feeling well but just figured it was the flu. She called to see how my exams went and I told her I was a bit under the weather. I went to bed and she called a couple hours later to see how I was doing. I was feeling pretty terrible. She insisted I come and stay with her and her husband Kyle(a doctor). I tried to resist but if you knew Deb, you can't really resist her. She was one stubborn lady.

She came and picked me up. Later that night sometime around midnight Kyle came to check up on me. He knew something was wrong. They took me to the emergency room at Virginia Mason(where he worked) and I was admitted to emergency surgery. I have a condition called endometriosis. The endometriosis had taken over one of my ovaries and it had burst, spilling blood internally. They both saved my life that night. Her instincts told her to care for me and it saved my life.

When Debbie was admitted for the very last time to the hospital it was at the end of November 2001. I took a leave of absence from my job so I could be with her as much as possible. A couple of weeks later I was scheduled to meet Greg, who was attending a conference, in Las Vegas for a few days. I knew when I left that it would be the last time I saw her.

We all knew her time to go was very near. I wasn't going to leave her but she insisted. She wanted me to go. She told me I had to go. That was the toughest thing - seeing her on the way to the airport knowing I would never hold her hand again, never look into her eyes and say I love you.

I got the call two days later as I was having dinner at a restaurant at the Venetian.

I was sad, yet relieved. She had been in excrutiating pain and she was free from the pain.

As I sit here writing, I just can't believe 5 years has gone by. Life continued on without her. That doesn't mean continuing on was easy.

Debbie was like a mom to me as a child. My mom was so busy just trying to survive with 7 children, working full time. Debbie took care of me(as did all my 6 older sisters). I remember her making me do my daily chores like sweeping or vaccuuming. She would tell me stories when I would go to bed and they almost always began with "Once upon a time there was a little girl named Naomi...".

We lived in a 1500 square foot home - two parents and 7 children. When I got old enough to sleep in a "real" bed I shared a bed with her. I would kick at night, hog the bed and blankets, eat crackers in bed. She'd be like "Naomi....there are crumbs all over in this bed!". We'd get out and try to get all the crumbs out. Man, what she had to put up with.

During the time we spent on those Friday's she shared memories of growing up. She told me a story of when I was about 3 or 4. We were at the local drug store and of course she had me tagging along. I'm sure this would not have been her choice but she had to watch out for the little ones. This lady comes up to me and said "Honey, aren't you cute?". I said with attitude, "My name's not Honey, its NAOMI!". Deb said she was like "oh my goodness!". We(all my sibs) have that feisty-ness...definitely from our mom.

She even told me about the birds and the bees!

I grieve for her daughter, Mirei. Mirei is a wonderful girl and she lost her mom when she was only 6. Mirei is a lot like her mom - super outgoing, daring, very intelligent, opinionated, likes to joke and have fun.

Her mom was her world. Mirei was Deb's world. I know Deb is watching over Mirei but no child should lose their mom at such a young age. They did everything together. Deb loved that girl so very much and it tore her apart to know she would physically be apart from her, not be able to watch her grow up, not be there to give her advice about boys, life.

Deb was feisty. She believed in fighting for the less fortunate. She didn't do that at a global level but on a personal level. From emotionally supporting people at work, coaching them to stand up for themselves to gathering the community to help a woman get out of an abusive relationship by organizing people and collecting money so the woman could leave the relationship.

She even organized a Cultural Day during high school in the 70's to help educate people about other cultures. Remember this is Ellensburg, Washington in the 70's. People would yell at her to "get back on the boat and go home!". She didn't care. She had already developed the tough outer shell and she went on her way. She did what she believed in and no one was going to stop her.

Tonight I'm just taking time to grieve so my heart can be open to the wonderful-ness of this time of year. My heart has felt closed but I want it to feel open. Shedding tears helps to heal and open my heart again.

I love you, Deb. I miss you so darn much! Tell Mom and Dad Hi!

Powerless!

As many of you may know(or not) the Seattle/Puget Sound area got hammered by a big storm a couple days ago.

We have been without power since Thurday night about 10pm. We got power a few hours ago(Saturday).

I am giddy happy that we have electricity! Imagine going into a room and turning on the light switch and the light actually goes on! How many times did I, while holding a flashlight in my hand, go into a dark room and just automatically try turning on a light? Yeah, um hello? Anyone home? I guess not! Maybe my brain was frozen so it wasn't working very quickly. Yeah, that's it!

Yesterday afternoon G and I spent most of the afternoon and evening at Northgate mall, or maybe I should call it the local human zoo. We wandered around and had dinner there since we had no power and our house was cold. We do have a fireplace that I sat next to all day but once darkness hit, my options of what to do became very limited. So off to the mall we went.

We came home about 9pm and got a fire going in the fireplace and eventually went off to bed. When we woke up this morning our house was about 48 degrees indoors. BBBrrrrrr.

So...we went off to Starbucks where they had power! We met these two very nice ladies and had a nice cup O' joe and conversation. Both knitters! How fortunate for me! They said they would check out my blog and if they do...please email me or post a comment so I can get in touch. Maybe we could get together at a coffee shop and knit!

I'm off to take a shower! Whooo Hooo!

Sweet Sheep Installment 2

I had heard from Elise that she had already received her second installment. I was hoping mine would be in my mailbox when I came home from work.

It arrived today. I'm lovin' this colorway. Now these are more "my" colors.



There hasn't been much activity on the Sweet Sheep Sock Club blog but I hope the members will start posting more ideas on what they are going to do, or are doing, with their yarn!

Lupine Lace Socks...Done!

The socks are done and just in the nick of time. Supposedly the Sweet Sheep Sock Club will be sending out the next installment this coming week. I can't wait to see what we get!

I was in an Oracle Data Management class last week and since this was major review for me I knit while the instructor was, well, instructing! I got most of the leg done during class. I love when I can multi-task like this.

Here they are...done!

Starmore Abalone, Oh NO!

Last night I was happily knitting away at Thursday night knitting class at Village Yarn and Tea. I knew I was knitting more tightly because my level of work stress. So I decided to check to see how much tighter I was knitting.

Actually I hate my job. Ok, I don't *hate* my job. I love what I do. I just don't like where I'm doing it. I have a yucky boss(that is a nice way to put it).

I hate that my work stress is affecting my knitting too!. See the difference? Yikes.

So I had to start something different. Yes I could have continued working any number of UFO's sitting around but no, I wanted to start something NEW! I wanted a mindless project! So it is this sweater

from this book

With this yarn.

I'm trying to keep my guage consistent. I must thank Karen of Two Swans Yarns who I just recently met in-person. She's a very kind person and I checkout her blog daily and on this recent entry, I learned more about making a guage swatch. I just hate doing guage but it is worth the time. You'd think I'd *know* this after knitting 15 years but I still hate doing it.

I squirm and try to justify not doing it. "Oh, it won't matter if its a bit big. You bought two extra skeins just in case" "The guage is right on without blocking..the instructions don't say anything about a blocked guage swatch", blah blah blah. There is just no getting around it!

I wrote Karen an e-mail asking a dumb question(are you sure I need to block the swatch?) and I knew the answer but I just didn't want to go to the trouble. Really...it is a lot less trouble to take the extra time now than to have a sweater that doesn't fit! I'm glad I did because I had to go down 2 needle sized to get the guage after blocking. My sweater would have been too big. Thanks Karen!

Snow!

We have snow in Seattle!



I love snow. We've got a few inches tonight.

Last night we had probably about two. By the time I woke up this morning it was mostly gone.

I got up at my usual time (4:45 am!) and made my usual bus. I have the best bus friends in the morning. I look forward to seeing my "bus buddies" everyday. It makes getting to work fun!

I got a ride home with my sister Cheryl tonight and by the time we got close to home, it was snowing pretty hard. We could not believe how much snow was accumulating in such a short period of time.

Snow reminds me of my childhood in Ellensburg, Washington where I was born and raised. I miss having snow in the winter time.

It is so pretty outside. I wish it could last....only as long as I don't have to go out and try to get around Seattle in it. Seattle doesn't function very well with snow. There are a lot of hills and the bus service gets very spotty.

Chase and Beanie don't really appreciate the snow much.




I love snow and I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!

What Card are You?

Julia of Vesper Yarn posted this on her blog. What Tarot card are you?

Go here to find out here.

I am the Star:

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.
The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised
The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you're a dreamer, but you're not the only one.

For those of you that know me, doesn't that sound like me? Whoa. Go try it out.

See - another post - I really don't want to work on that scrapbook!

Life and Knitting Updates

I've been busy with the holiday's and what-not.

I find time a curious thing. It just goes faster as you get older. How is that? Time moves at the same rate of speed so why does it go faster as you age?

As a young child I would complain and could not wait until I would get my driver's permit. I remember thinking I have 8 years until I turned 15 and a half and could get my permit. My mom would tell me that as a person gets older that time just goes faster and faster. I looked at her like she was nuts - what? All I knew was that it was not going fast enough for me! We all know from first hand experience that, yes, time does seem to go faster as you get on in years.

I thought coming into the Thanksgiving holiday that I had a full 5 days off that I would get a lot of knitting done! I had 5 days after all.....

Wednesday I spent 1/2 the day at my sister's bakery, The Madison Park Bakery, helping to fill pre-orders. Yes...I was there at 6am. They are so busy during the holiday's that I usually help out at Thanksgiving and at Christmas. I came home and felt like I was coming down with something so I just read in bed the rest of the day. Nice!

Well...we all know that Thanksgiving is shot because my hands are busy shoving all kinds of food and drink into my body that I don't have motivation to knit. So no knitting done then.

Friday my sister's and I planned to take our niece Ariana out for her 21st birthday drink. We didn't start heading out until 8pm. So I did get some knitting done in the afternoon. There was a channel on cable that had like this CSI marathon so I sat there like a zombie, knitting all afternoon. Good thing I went out that night(Greg went to the Sonic's game) because the couch and I would have become one.

Saturday G and I went to Costco in the morning. Greg loves entertaining so he's like "let's invite people over for dinner". So it ends up all my sisters, their kids and husbands came over for dinner(11 of us). The only knitting I did was in the car to and from Costco.

Sunday - off to U Village. Greg was looking at photography books for like 2 hours. I got bored looking around so I went to the coffee shop and sat with my eggnog latte' knitting on the Lupine Lace Socks. Here is my progress.

This afternoon I came upstairs to my office to work on finishing up this scrapbook for my in-laws of our trip to Italy in September 2005. It is this huge monkey on my back. So instead of finishing that up I called my friend Renee' and we talked for almost an hour. I only have Florence yet to scrapbook but I update my blog as the next distraction(do you see an pattern here?).

I want to get side-tracked(again) for one second. Florence has great yarn shops. I went to this place that was just 1.5 blocks from where we were staying (5 minute walk from the Duomo) that was where yarn is manufactured. Boy did I get some screaming deals there! It was so much fun to go there! They spoke some english and I would love to take some knitters there.

Anyway - update on Abalone. I only have 30 more rows before the body is done and I can cut for the sleeve steeks! I was hoping that I would be done for class this Thursday and Rebecca could help me with the cutting! Here is the current progress on that:

I really better get on to doing at least a few pages on the scrapbook. Then I can knit as a reward!

Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday!

Dinner with Mauro Golmarvi

Sunday night Greg and I hosted a dinner party for 8 at our home. The chef was Mauro Golmarvi - owner of Assaggio Ristorante in Seattle.

If you've ever eaten there or had him greet you when you come in, you'll know he is such a warm and vibrant soul. If you are lucky enough he may come visit you at your table to say hi and have a nice little chat. It is like you are coming to eat in his home and he wants you to feel welcome. We usally go there for special occasions like our wedding anniversary or birthday's.

We, along with some other folks, purchased this dinner at a fundraiser for a local private school.

A few years ago we had introduced my sister-in-law Renee and her husband Mike(Greg's brother) to Assaggio. Renee' has worked on many school auctions(She is THE MOST TALENTED, ORGANIZED auction director out there) and when she told us Mauro was donating a dinner for 8 - we said we are in to bid on that item with them. Man, was it worth the contribution to the school! We had an ABSOLUTE BLAST. You can bet we'll be bidding on this again when the auction happens in March 2007.

Petyr Beck and Holly ?(I don't know her last name) volunteered to be servers and clean up crew so it was truly a decadent evening.

The wine flowed, the food came in wonderful waves and we delighted in each and every course! This was truly a treat, a night to remember.

Petyr brought each one of us a copy of Mauro's cookbook which can be purchased here. Petyr worked on the book and its lovely. Thanks Petyr! That was very thoughtful of you!

Here are some photos that show how much fun we had!

Mauro is teaching Pam and I how to correctly cut an onion.


Here we are hanging out in the kitchen. Doesn't everyone always tend to congregate in the kitchen?

Here Mauro is telling me and my brother-in-law Terry the finer points about proscuitto and risotto!

Here is the gang(no Holly or Peter) - attendees Renee', Terry, Karen, Greg, Pam, Pat, Mike and myself.

How could you not fall in love with Mauro. He is passionate about food and he loves people. Here he is with Pam and Pat(and "Relax" glass sculpture by Dino Rosin).

Set your TIVO's and DVR's to the Food Network on December 23 at 1:30 pm. You can see Mauro in action on Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. This segment will be on Italian Comfort Food! There is no way I'm going to miss that one! Mauro - you're a love!