Knitti-me

A CHANGE IN VENUE

2006-01-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

After much cursing and thrashing about, I have finally decided to move my blog to Typepad. I'm going to try and have all my Blogspot archives migrated over, but whether I'll be successful remains to be seen. However, for all future posts, come visit me at my new home:

knitti-me.typepad.com

Bracelets!

2006-01-25T23:04:00.000-08:00

I've completed another Multi-fringed Party Bracelet! As you can see, this bauble is beaded up in tones of red and black with silver accents. Very fun and sassy. (For those of you just tuning in, I have a Party Bracelet Tutorial available for the asking. Just email me at marieedmondson AT yahoo DOT com.)

I so loved the knitted and beaded bracelet Emma worked up that I had to go on over to Earth Faire and order a kit for myself. Here's mine in the Golden Raspberry colorway. For the most part, I love this bracelet. It is very unique and I love the blending of my two passions of the moment: knitting and beading! And yes, this was knit up on size 00 needles. Who would've thought knitti-me would ever trade in her tree trunk needles for twigs! Well, I can take small needles in little doses.

I was disappointed to find out the beads were mostly plastic. I'll definitely be working up a few more of these beauties from my own bead mixes.

I was pleased to see how well the bracelet matched my new shoes!

Next post...SP Goodies!!!

Self-Portrait Tuesday

2006-01-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

This photo was taken sometime in 1966 or 1967. My dad wrote on the back of the photo, " She was dressing up one morning and this is what she came up with." What can I say? I loved to play dress up.

For Lack of Actual Crafting Content...

2006-01-23T10:32:00.000-08:00

I bring you this meme. Bron put out an all-inclusive tag for this meme, so I took the bait. Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life: Snack Shop counter girl at Hume Lake Conference Center; Part of the Banquet/Galley crew on board the Mercy Ship Anastasis; Logistics Secretary for FEMA; Account Rep Supervisor for Group Term Life Insurance. Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over: Monty Python and the Holy Grail Zoolander The Shawshank Redemption The Terminator Four Places You Have Lived: San Francisco Hawaii Sacramento Rancho Cordova Four TV Shows You Love To Watch: Lost Invasion Stargate SG-1/Atlantis Survivor Four Places You Have Been On Vacation: Disneyland Hawaii Europe California Gold Country Four Websites You Visit Daily: Bron's Blog Purrty Gud Sahara Knits Frog It Four Favorite Foods: Chicken Fettuccini and steamed broccoli Filet Mignon and baked potato Super Burrito from hole-in-the-wall Mexican Cantina Gourmet Vegitarian from Papa Murphy's Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now: Kauai Nicaragua Scotland New Zealand If anyone would like this meme, consider yourself tagged.

Well, I guess I was too ambitious to think...

2006-01-17T11:42:00.000-08:00

...that at least 25 people would even stop by my blog let alone comment over a three-day weekend... I tell ya, bloglines is killing me. Whatever happened to good, old fashioned bookmarking? I spent over an hour on Friday trying to get my RSS feed to work and then get bloglines to work. No luck, obviously. Anyway, let's hope that I haven't taken on a too ambitious project for The Knitting Olympics hosted by the Yarn Harlot. Yes, I signed on thinking that because we weren't knitting on a specific project, that I may just start/finish my project of choice and not get slammed with the KAL (knit-a-long) curse. The basic rule is that we need to start a project during the opening ceremonies on February 10 and finish by the time the Olympic torch is extinguished on February 26. That's 16 days of TV knitting.

So what will Knitti-me be knitting during the 2006 winter games? Why a Colinette-esque throw for my friend, badcat Karin's, upcoming nuptials. (She hasn't stopped by my blog in months, so I hope she doesn't start reading, thus spoiling the surprise...) ~~~

It's Tuesday, so what does that mean? Why Self-Portrait Tuesday. This month's assignment is Personal History.

Here is a photo taken sometime in 1965 with me and my mom and dad in front of our house in San Francisco. I am now the same age as my mom in this photo (and yes, she had that same hair-do for years!). I love seeing my dad in his work shirt.

In 1965 we still had our milk delivered in glass bottles to our little milk box on the front step.

On trash day (Tuesdays) the garbage trucks would groan up the San Francisco hills to our street with the garbagemen hanging onto the back and sides. The men would swarm all over our neighborhood carrying the trash cans back and forth to the truck as it slowly drove along the street.

Gas stations were closed on Sundays. Dad would always fill up the car with "Ethol" at the Atlantic-Richfield (now known as ARCO) station at the bottom of the hill.

Our classy neighbor, Margaret Blakely, would dress to the "nines" in a hat and gloves with matching shoes and purse just to take public transportation downtown to go shopping at The Emporium on Market Street.

And no, we never recycled.

Spreading the Comment Cheer

2006-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

This game I found via Michele. Spread the Comment Cheer How to play: Leave a comment here that says "hello." Now, go visit the person's blog who commented above you and say, "Hello, Knitti-me sent me." Note to the first person commenting, simply say "hello" to me. And YES, you are invited to play as often as you wish. This is a great way to discover other great blogs outside of your "favorites." Added incentive! My 25th commenter will receive a prize!

Happy Birthday Baby!

2006-01-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

Today is my dear husband's birthday! I love you Graeme!

~~~

Here are some beaded stitch markers I made a few weeks ago for the craft boutique. The Sunflower markers are a for the "big guns" of kntting needles. They can fit onto a needle up to size 17 and perhaps even a size 19.

These Cat stitch markers are for mid-sized needles, up to 10.5.

Here is one of the bracelets I beaded up and that got away before I could get a really good picture of it. This was made from ceramic beads and silver accents. At my brother's New Years party there was a friend of his family (and I guess she's now my friend) and she flipped out (in a good way) over this bracelet. She collects blue/white pottery and she really loved this look. She has commissioned me to make a matching necklace.

~~~

Knitting! While down South I, of course, checked the Yellow Pages for any local yarn stores and found one, Anapalaca Yarns, just a few miles from my Uncle's home in Ventura. I picked up some wonderful hand-dyed yarn from the Schaefer Yarn Company. This is their Elaine Yarn in the Jane Addams colorway from which I knit this quick hat/scarf set.

~~~

From the Ally Archives - Scary Ally in all her stinky, hairy glory! It's off to the Doggy Day Spa for you dear pooch.

And they're off!

2006-01-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

Secret Pal 7 is off with a bang! I've already heard from my Secret Pal Gifter through a cute E-card, email and comments. I spent my lunch hour reading my SP Giftee's blog from start to finish! What fun to catch up on a person's life by reading over two years worth of blog posts. Let the spoiling begin! ~~~ Craftwise - I've been knitting and beading here and there, but no pics. I'm a bit frustrated as I get home from work after dark so find it hard to take good photos. And the weekends - they're over before I even realize. I will endeavor to get a little more organized and fit a photo shoot into my busy life. (What really gets me is that I've already given away several beaded items and some scarves without getting photos - ack!) ~~~ Ally is scary right now - she hasn't been groomed in months and is a big hairy, stinky mess. I just made a date for her at the Doggy Day Spa for Saturday, so she'll come home smelling pretty. It will also be good to see her big brown eyes again. I'll try and remember to get before/after shots.

Secret Pal 7

2006-01-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, I did it again! I signed up for Secret Pal 7. I was an avid participant in the first three SP rounds, but took a break. Now I'm ready to jump in again and spoil some unsuspecting knit blogger. And here, once again, is the SP Questionnaire: 1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Yes, Dahling, I tend to be trés snobby when it comes to yarn. Of course one always has skelletons in one’s closet and you may find a ball of LB Homespun or Fun Fur lurking there. Red Heart? Avoid it like the plague (we won't mention the poncho I knit from Red Heart a year or so ago...). 2. Do you spin? No. Crochet? Yes. I use crochet for finishing many of my knitted items. I also love to crochet my cell phone cozies and purses. However, I normally do not crochet large projects such as sweaters or throws. 3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? My straight needles are in an old (antique) metal coffee pot. It's supposed to be decorative. Crochet hooks and other miscellaneous tools are in my zippered tool kit - it's actually pretty cool. I picked it up at Wal*Mart for $3 - I believe it was marketed as a cosmetic case. I'll have to take pics and post about it some time. My circulars are in a plastic see-through storage bin. 4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been seriously knitting for about three years. I would consider myself a solid intermediate knitter. 5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, but this may encourage me to set one up. 6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) I love Partylite candles. Some of my favorite scents are Honeydew, Pear, Cinnamon, Vanilla and Almond. Citrus flavors are nice too. I don't care for really flowery scents. 7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Not a huge chocolate fan, but I like a nice truffle occassionally or chocolate dipped strawberries. I like JellyBellys and Hot Tamales. Ice cream is always a favorite and berry pie ala mode. 8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Big time beading (jewelry making). I want to combine beads and knitting/crocheting more. I've done scrapbooking in the past too. I also collect 1930's Metlox Pottery (similar to Fiesta Ware). I'm slowly working on home improvement projects and decorating (as money allows). 9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I'll give nearly any music a listen. Have trouble with Country and Rap though. I like all kinds from Classical (not the intense stuff) to Gershwin. I love classic jazz vocals like Ella Fitzgerald , and instrumental jazz- not "smooth" jazz (it puts me asleep), but not the intense "progressive" jazz either. I like alternative rock and the Blues baby. I'm a child of the 70's and 80's so classics from both those eras are enjoyed too. 10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I love autumnal colors - reds, browns, burgundies, oranges, greens - deep and rich. Oh, and I like purple - jewel tones. 11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? One husband of 20 years; two kids - boy 15, girl nearly 14; One dog (Ally), two cats (Tasha and Oliver), one rabbit (Molly). 12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear scarves a lot, especially in fall/winter. However, they are more of an accessory as it doesn't get below freezing very often (50's/60's during the day and 30'2/40's overnight). So gloves/mittens not so much - besides, my fingers are so stubby, it's hard for me to find gloves that fit. I occassionally wear a poncho I knit last year. I wear shawls sometimes too. 13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Noro is at the top of my list - love Silk Garden and Kureyon (although Kureyon tends to be fragile). Total Colinette junkie - any of their yarns are just yummy. I also love hand-dyed yarns, such as Danette Taylor and Over the Rainbow of eBay fame. Generally, soft wool or wool blends (not the scratchy stuff). 14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I'll give any yarn a try, but I tend to not enjoy knitting with cottons as much as wools. 15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Nothing at the moment. My crafting set up at home is not really condusive to creativity at the moment; however, I think this year will be the year of the throw - I'll be stash busting big time to make room for more yarn, of course. 16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I enjoy the process of knitting sweaters/cardi's, but I have one success for every three or four tried. I'll knit scarves ad nauseam - knit with really fabulous yarns that is. I'd like to knit more hats and purses (felted) and combine beading with knitting/crocheting. 17. What are you knitting right now? I'm working on a hat/scarf set for myself from some great hand-dyed yarn just purchased on my trip to So. Cal. I have to finish my cropped cabeled cardi and start/finish a throw. 18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes! 19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular (Addi's).

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Bamboo. 21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Yes, but my swift is the cheap plastic one; I would like to acquire a wood one eventually. 22. How did you learn to knit?

I can remember working on the incredible increasing/decreasing scarf out of industrial grade acrylic when I was about 8 or 9 (I wonder what ever happened to that scarf...). However, my real first introduction to knitting was on my honeymoon when my mother-in-law taught me to knit (English). Then I put the needles down for about 17 years. 23. How old is your oldest UFO? About 2 years. 24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

Love The Brain from Pinky and the Brain. Stewie from Family Guy is pretty funny too. 25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas. 26. Is there anything that you collect? Yarn, beads, knitting and beading magazines/books. 1930's Metlox pottery (200 series). 27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? Interweave Knits. 28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? I really want to get a hold of the Butterfly Sweater pattern knit with Noro yarn and the Must-have cardi pattern. 29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I had the opportunity to try my hand at cables and reading from cable charts last Fall, but I would like to practice more and give Kepler or the Rogues a try. 30. Are you a sock knitter? No. But I have no problem wearing hand-knit socks. What are your foot measurements? 8.5 inches long by 3 inches wide. 31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) December 5th.

Self Portrait Tuesday

2006-01-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

Me and my Honey smiling for the camera.

I'm really excited about January's assignment - "Personal History: Explore the cross over between self portraiture and family photography. This challenge can be as simple as revisiting old family snap shots - to tell a story."

I have a couple of ideas for some photo essays regarding some of my family history, etc.; hopefully this will light the fire to get me working on those.

~~~

The Holidaze are over and I am so ready to get on with my life!

Yes, I'm back and ready to make 2006 MY year (I had mistakenly thought that 2005 would be MY year - but we all know how that turned out...). Anyway, we have been criss-crossing this great state of California visiting relatives et al, eating our way through numerous holiday feasts and generally making pigs of ourselves.

We treated the kids and ourselves to a day at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Here's a quick scan of our souvenir pic from Scream - ride out loud! That's me in the lower righthand corner (with my mouth open wide enough for a swarm of flies to take up residence) with Graeme beside me (I love how he's gritting his teeth). The kids are behind us. It had been about 18 years since Graeme and I had been to a theme park, other than Disneyland in 1998. The rides have certainly become more extreme, or should I say X-treme, over the years - but I'm so there! Love it!

~~~

When we returned home Saturday morning, a package was waiting for me from the lovely and talented Bron. She had sent me the absolutely gorgeous Seraphina. This shawl apparently was too small for Bron's "wingspan," but with my stubby arms, it fits just perfectly! I was so overjoyed that I had to give Bron a call. Yes folks, I actually talked to her. It's always weird but not weird when "meeting" fellow knit bloggers for the first time. We gabbed for well over a 1/2 hour about everything and nothing. Thank you Bron! You're the best!

~~~

Knitting? Some. Beading? You bet! But did I get any photos? Nope.

Fun Weekend

2005-12-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

Friday night we celebrated my son's 15th birthday with a fun-filled Laser Tag party. Once again it was a success and his friends showed up in force with gifts ($$) in hand. (You may or may not remember my rant of 2 years ago for Gabriel's 13th birthday.) I have to say that I love laser tag and I was the only female in a sea of swarming, mostly adolescent, males and I ROCKED (personal high scores and my team won both games)!!!! Who says life ends at 40? I say, "bring it on!" This also was a benchmark for my recovery. Six months ago I could not even attempt any physical activity, much less running around a bi-level laser tag arena. Go me! Graeme's company treated their employees and spouses/significant others to a weekend at the Gold Country Casino. Where I was expecting gaudy Vegas, the casino/hotel was actually quite tastefully decorated with touches of Native American artwork. Our room was amazing! It must have been at least 900 square feet - enough for me to comment that the bed didn't look like a king-sized bed because the room was so huge. AND THE BATHROOM! OMG! A sunken tub, with jets, that you could do laps in. I was in heaven. I wore my Klaralund to dinner and dancing, but now it's airing out from all the cigarette smoke. I can't believe how spoiled we are in California with all the non-smoking laws (however, one can smoke in the Indian casinos) -

[after being in a coal mine for a day] Derek Zoolander: [high-pitched cough] ... I think I'm getting the Black Lung, Pop. It's not very well ventilated down there. Larry Zoolander: For Christ's sake, Derek, you've been down there one day. Talk to me in thirty years.

It was interesting watching Graeme's boss make a fool out of herself - 50 going on 18 if you know what I mean. And this creepy old guy doing the Roxbury on one of Graeme's co-workers. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend of fun and relaxation. AND I STILL HAVE NOT DONE ONE LICK OF CHRISTMAS SHOPPING... Photo was taken in December 2004 during my trip to Vegas (The Conservatory at the Bellagio).

Ack! (or why do I even bother...)

2005-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well, the Annual Holiday Boutique was last night. While it was a fun night of hanging out with other talented women, with lots of munchies and drinks and browsing all the fun art, crafts, jewelry, and bath/body products displayed, it was also an evening of disappointment; I came home with $60.00 in my pocket and lots of unsold merchandise in my trunk.

Snark on... I could tell you about the vendor, new this year, that made a killing last night with lots of Red Heart and Fun Fur hats/scarves that were sold for $10 bucks each - but I won't...Snark off.

Anyway, another crafter told me about Etsy.com. I'm probably going to set up a store and try to off load a lot of my stock.

Will I participate next year? I don't know. If I do, I'm going to have to come up with a more marketable product instead of unique scarves and accessories made from fabulous high end yarns and materials.

Rumor Has It that...

2005-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:00

You can imagine my surprise and delight when I got home from work last night to find a package waiting for me. The lovely and talented Bron spoiled me with homemade goodies of fudge, spiced pecans, cherry cocoa mix, lip balm and those great stitch markers along with a cute sheepy magnet all nestled in these fun holiday tins. Yummy! I was in such a grinchy mood last year that we didn't even put up our Christmas tree. But this year I am in a much better frame of mind. Friday night I came home and dear Graeme had already assembled our tree and strung the lights. Then we all gathered and hung the ornaments. Here is a photo of the lovely crocheted snowflake ornament, with beaded accents, Bron gave me last year. And, of course, Oliver wanted to get in on the action. He loves to climb up the interior of the tree and poke his head out. Surprisingly, he has left the ornaments alone. But he does love to sit in the middle of our Nativity village and knock the shepherds around a bit - I can see the headlines in the Bethlehem Bulletin, "Monster Cat Terrorizes Biblilcal Villiage—Baby Jesus Saves All." ~~~ Tomorrow night is the Annual Holiday Boutique. I'm heading over to my friend Charr's house tonight after work to set up.

Self Portrait Tuesday

2005-12-13T00:38:00.000-08:00

December's challenge is "reflective surfaces." I took this photo last week driving home after long day at work. I really like how the light of the cars and street lights reflect in my glasses.

Takin' Care of Business, i.e. It's a Long, Long Post

2005-12-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

First of all THANK YOU! for all your birthday wishes. And we have a winner for the Birthday Contest! Mz. Badazz herself was the first person to correctly identify the initials (S.M.) on my 1st birthday cake as Sarah Marie. Tashia, send me your mailing address and I'll have your prize winging its way to you. I was born to my parents, Ralph and Sarah, and christened Sarah Marie. My mom had intended that I be called Sarah Marie, but as the years went by, people dropped the Marie and I was known as little Sarah, Sarah Jr. or just Sarah. During the summer between elementary and jr. high school, I decided that I wanted to go by my middle name of Marie. Looking back over my life, this decision was one of the first that shaped my future and helped me form my own identity. It's not that I don't like the name Sarah (I named my daughter Sarah after all), but being the daughter of a very strong and overbearing mother of the same name, it was important to me to have a name I could call my own. I am Marie, but Sarah just happens to be my first name. ~~~ I also want to give a big shout out to all the wonderful people who have signed up on Knitti-me's Frappr Map. I'm up to 25! ~~~ I discovered through comments that the wonderful and talented Bonne Marie Burns of Chic Knits fame added knitti-ME to her sidebar, "I (heart) Marie at knitti-me - see what waiting to be picked for Jury Duty does to some people and don't miss her Bracelet Tutorial - beautiful!" Thanks Bonne Marie for the kudos. ~~~ Speaking of bracelet tutorial, I have a pdf version of the Multi-Fringed Party Bracelet Tutorial available to anyone who wants one. Just leave your request in comments or email me (marieedmondson AT yahoo DOT com) and I'll sent one over to you. (One of these days I'll figure out, not only how to get my Bloglines RSS feed to work, but how to find a host for pdf formats and links, maybe adding another page to my blog - I am so lame when it comes to html, et. al.) ~~~ We had a really busy weekend leading up to my birth day (Monday). Friday night after work I rushed home to pick up kids and husband and bucked traffic down to the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium to see the musical extravaganza and Christmas pageantry of An Evening in December. We've attended this show every year for about six years and it always jump starts our holiday festivities. After sending daughter Sarah off on her weekend mission trip down to Southern California to work at processing center for Operation Christmas Child, and driving son Gabriel to/from his Performing Arts Stage Craft clinic (courses offered to teens teaching them the ins/outs of stage production, lights, sound, costuming, props, etc.) and running other various errands - was I supposed to put up my Christmas Tree this weekend???! - we met my oldest brother and his wife for an early dinner before going to the John Tesh Concert. Now before you snort in derision, Mr. Tesh really puts on a great holiday show. However, I am not a Tesh groupie, but I am a big fan of one of his back up singers, my niece Christine Miller!

There's only five years age difference between Chris and me. We are more like cousins. It's funny when I leave a voice mail for her, I always seem to say, "Hi Chris, it's Marie, (then in an ominous voice) your Aunt Marie..." Christine just released her Christmas Album, "All is Bright." It's a wonderful compilation of Christmas classics in a smooth jazz format. It's a great album, but of course I'm biased.

Here's my brother and sister-in-law (Christine's parents) acting silly with their backstage passes. OK, on with the busy weekend blow by blow. Sunday dawned bright and clear and after church we rushed home for lunch and then Graeme and I went to Mervyn's (where I subsequently had my meltdown) to get him some duds for my company (semi-formal) Christmas party that evening. We finally arrived at the posh Italian restaurant about 40 minutes late where a rousing game of Jeopardy was in full swing. After a couple glasses of wine and some appetizers, I began to settle down and enjoy myself. I tried to get some pictures from coworkers of the evening (we forget our camera), but have been unsuccessful thus far.

Birthday celebrations have been put on hold for a bit; having a birthday in busy, busy December AND on a weeknight AND not coinciding with a paycheck - well, you get the picture...

This weekend will be dedicated to going to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe, decorating the church sanctuary, caroling, getting ready for the holiday boutique on December 14th and perhaps, maybe, getting MY Christmas tree up - another fun-filled weekend (maybe we should hold another contest to predict the time and place knitti-me has her next meltdown - HA!).

It's my Birthday and I'll Cry if I want to!

2005-12-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

Yes, today is my 41st birthday. For some reason I've been very weepy. I had a major meltdown in Mervyn's yesterday. Anyway, this pic was taken on my first birthday back in 1965. That's my 40-something mom holding me with my 13 year old sister sitting nearby. Not sure which teenaged brother is standing in the background. The caption on the cake reads, "Happy B.D. (Birthday) S.M." To liven things up around here and get me out of my funk, I'm holding a BIRTHDAY CONTEST! The first person to correctly guess what the initials "S.M." stand for gets a prize. The winner will receive something knitting- or beading-related (real surprise there - smile). Leave your answers in comments - and spread the word. Contest deadline is Midnight PST, Wednesday, December 7th.

Klaralund Revisited and Two Scarves

2005-12-03T22:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally lost that extra 12-15 pounds I gained just pre/post surgery, so now I'm back down to where I've been for forever it seems. Will 2006 be the year I loose those extra 80 pounds I've been packing around? (Note: I have not been on a diet, I just started moving again, once I started healing). Anyway, that all leads up to modeling Klaralund. I love the bell sleeves. Now what do you get when you have six hours in a Jury Assembly Room, a ball of yarn and pair of non-metalic needles? A drop stitch scarf! Yes, folks, I spent last Thursday doing my civic duty and sat in a jury pool. Fortunately, I wasn't called and was free to go at the end of the day. Whew! But I did get some great uninterrupted knitting time and another scarf for the Christmas boutique, so not all was lost. I bought this Singer Knitting Machine for my daughter, but I couldn't help playing with it myself. It basically knits a long stocking stitch tube. With a couple balls of self-striping sock yarn and a 1/2 hour of turning the crank, I came up with this long skinny scarf. My daughter thinks it's pretty cool; so she'll be cranking out some Christmas scarves for her friends.

The Multi-Fringed Party Bracelet is Done!

2005-11-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Here it is in all it's green glory. All in all it took about 3.5 hours to finish this bangle.

As in my last bracelet, I made three passes of fringe in varying lengths and random beadage.

I have gotten so many compliments on these two bracelets and many requests to make one from various aquaintances. However, when I tell them what I'd have to charge (probably around $160 in time and materials), they balk. There is the Tutorial afterall.

We had a wonderful, low key Thanksgiving at my sister's house. Normally we have between 20-25, but this year we were down to 9. Mom roasted the turkey, made the dressing and gravy and sister and I did the rest (with the help of the kiddos and husbands for chopping, pounding and signing off of the various side dishes).

From the Ally Archives~

In lieu of a trip to the groomers, Ally underwent a dump and fluff in our kitchen sink. Oh, piteous Ally. Hopefully, we can get her into the doggie day spa sometime this next weekend.

Party Bracelet Tutorial #3 - The Fringe

2005-11-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

Once you have secured the nylon beading thread, slip a random sampling of beads onto the needle and push along the thread until they are snug up against the base beads. (As I mentioned before, I utilize my bead spinner by just doing a quick twist and having a random selection of beads threaded onto the needle. If you don't have a spinner, just randomly slip the beads from the mix onto your needle. You may want to make patterns with each fringe, but in the overall scheme, I don't think it makes a difference.)

Vary the fringe lengths with the longest at 1" to 1.25". In the bracelets I make, I do three passes (of fringe) up and down the length of the bracelet. You may do the first past with the longest length, the second pass with medium length fringes and the third with short length fringes; or just randomly adjust the lengths as you go along.

Once the beads are snug up against the base beads, pass the needle back up inside the length of beads (except for the last bead of the fringe; if you thread up through that bead again, you're just unthreading the fringe - the last bead is used as a stopper) and then through the next base bead and out.

String on your next set of beads to the desired length. Add a specialty bead or charm as you go along. I added my charms every inch or so or every 5th fringe. Remember on the specialty beads, such as crystals, add a small seed bead to use as the stopper on the fringe and then thread up through the crystal and up the length of the fringe into the next base bead. Here is a artist's rendering that I had my husband draw up that shows the basic roadmap for beading a fringe. Here I am about halfway done with the first pass of beaded fringe. It took me about 1.5 hours to get this far - you may be faster. I will end up doing three passes; this will make a nice, full bracelet. Any questions?

Party Bracelet Tutorial #2 - Getting Started

2005-11-21T16:09:00.000-08:00

First of all, I am assuming that you have at least some knowledge of beading, such as using crimp beads. If not, post a comment and I'll either find a link for basic beading or write something up. 1. Attach one half of the toggle clasp with the metal beading wire and secure with a crimp bead. 2. Add enough "E" beads to encircle wrist.

3. Attach the other half of the toggle clasp and secure with the other crimp bead. Keep in mind not to jam the E beads too close together, they need a little wiggle room (but don't leave big gaps either) so you can weave the nylon thread between each bead two or three times as you add each layer of beaded fringe. 4. To attach the nylon thread, make a slip knot and slip it between the first and second bead on one end of the bracelet and pull to close the knot around the wire. Leave the tail long enough to thread because once a couple of the beaded fringes have been made, I thread the tail and then weave it through one of the fringes and pull it out and snip it.

5. Now it's time to brew your bead mix. I poured the bead mix in and add a dash of each of the three complimentary seed bead colors and stir.

Note: I utilized my bead spinner so I wouldn't obsess about bead placement or pattern on each of the fringes. Random beadage is really all that is needed.

Party Bracelet Tutorial #1 - Supplies

2005-11-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

- A bead "mix" made up of various types of beads in complimentary colorways;

- Two or three additional colors of seed beads to coordinate with the mix;

- 50 or so "E" beads (enough for 7.5" length of the bracelet);

- 8 to 10 metal charms;

- An assortment of additional specialty beads a bit larger than the beads of your "mix";

- 12" medium-weight metal beading wire;

- Nylon beading thread;

- Toggle-style clasp;

- 2 crimp beads;

- Beading needle;

- Scissors;

- Wire Cutter;

- Pliers for Crimping

- Ruler Finished Length 7.5"

Notes: To take the guess work out of choosing beads I start with a bead mix, which is usually available at any bead shop, consist of a variety of shapes and sizes of beads with similar or complimentary colors. I usually supplement the mix by adding two or three other complimentary colors. For example, for this bracelet I started with a green mix and added dark olive, light green and off-white seed beads. Here is a closeup of the green mix. As far as the specialty/accent beads go, I usually get a variety of glass beads in the shape of stars, leaves, bell flowers, crystals, bugles, etc. and of course, the metal charms. These add the extra bling, that makes the bracelet fun. These beads are usually larger than the beads of the mix. The "E" Bead are used as the base, i.e., they are strung on the wire between the toggle clasps and are the beads through which the beaded fringe will dangle. Basically, the "eye" of the bead needs to be large enough for the metal stringing wire and two to three passes of nylon threading as each layer of the beaded fringe is added.

Regarding the nylon thread. I thought I would be fancy and pick up a spool of upholstry thread in olive green, but I found the thread was too thick for the eye of the beading needle and would not work with the seed beads. So I ended up going back to your basic nylon beading thread; thin, but strong.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

2005-11-18T10:23:00.000-08:00

My daughter is a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Breathless, she comes up to me this morning and says, "Harry Potter's coming out today!" With a look of astonishment I reply, "Harry Potter is gay?!" "MOM!" ~~~ Yes, most likely we'll be in line sometime this weekend to see the new Harry Potter movie.

Self Portrait Tuesday

2005-11-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

Hand of Pudge

~~~

Well my Frappr map is filling up slowly but surely. I had to pad it with my husband and his psychotic criminal face (go check it out-creepy). I was pleasantly surprised to see our friend Richard in New Zealand signed on (Hi Richard!). I also want to give a shoutout to Amy in Arkansas and Bron in New Mexico.

On the crafting front I'm making mindless scarves for the boutique in December and have strung together a couple of bracelets and some earrings for friends. Not much time to craft these days unfortunately and no extra energy to take pics of what I do accomplish.

I will, however, be making my way to the Bead Shoppe to buy supplies for my sister's multi-fringed party bracelet. Tutorial to follow - I promise!

Cheers!

I've Joined the Frappr Map Bandwagon too!

2005-11-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm following in the footsteps of Bron and Emma and set up my very own Knitti-me Frappr map. Click the link and go on over and enter your location on my map. Now I just need to figure out how to get that nifty Frappr button that Bron has to work in my sidebar. Added Later: I've succeeded in adding the botton to my sidebar. The map has a satelite/hybrid feature that lets you zoom in on specific addresses, "Hey, that's my house!" Very cool. This is such a great way to see where all one's readers are in relation to one's self. Now if only I could be the darn bloglines to work.

The Leaves Have Just About the Right Amount of Crunchiness...

2005-11-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

...to be so satisfying when you step on them. It's a bit blustery today, but sunny. The Autumn leaves are swirling around and I got that good feeling, after stepping off the curb onto a pile a dried leaves, hearing the crackle and pop. Ah Fall, how I love thee. However, it's still not cold here in Northern California - I'm wearing capris and flip flops today. Anxiously anticipating the chilly days to come, my arsenal of handknit scarves waiting in the wings. Where's the camera when you need it? Badcat Karin and I both brought our kittens to work today. After the boys rolled around the floor play fighting for a couple of hours, we finally found them under Karin's desk curled up asleep together. How precious. despite my continued exhaustion and ongoing physical ailments, I'm beginning to regain my eternal optimism. Life is good today. Have a great weekend everybody!

Party Bracelet and the Landfill

2005-11-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

First up, I finished my multi-fringed party bracelet. Woo Hoo! I love this bracelet, it is so fun with lots of little treasures beaded up in the fringe.

It is definitely a very labor-intensive and time consuming piece of jewelry, but well worth the effort. I'm going to be making one for my sister as a Christmas gift, so I'll do a little tutorial. ~~~ I have made mention several times about my "two-car storage unit" or the "landfill known as my garage." This chaos has been hanging over my and my husband's head for years. Well, over a couple of weekends we did a HUGE purge and made great progress in finally organizing the garage.

Here's what we started with. This is just the front; what you saw when the door was up. That mass of junk extended all the way back, with little or no room to walk.

We pulled everything out and began the purge. We put a pile out in the street to schedule a pick up by our sanitation company, 10' long x 7' wide x 4' high, but I'm sure it far exceeded those parameters. Then we filled up a huge trailer that went off to the dump. At the end of the day Saturday, this is what we ended up with. We went to Home Depot and stocked up on Rubbermaid containers, so now the organizing begins. Remember last Christmas when I couldn't even be bothered to put up our tree? Now, you can see why it was so disheartening to try and wade through all that crap just to find ornaments and lights. ~~~ From the Animal Archives~ Ally's looking a bit apprehensive, but Oliver is settling right in. P.S., I've turned the comments back on. Hopefully, those spammers will keep off my blog.

Sick, Sick, Busy, Busy

2005-11-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody, I've been flat out sick with a nasty flu bug and brochitis. I missed three days work and am just now trying to wade through all the crap on my desk. To add to my misery, my boss is going on vacation next week, so she's given a nice long laundry list I need to work through and cover while she's out. Yeah - it's back to a very salty salt mine. Anyway, I've turned off my blog comments for a while because I'm being spammed constantly. So if you want to contact me or just say "hi," drop me an email (marieedmondson (at) yahoo (d0t) com). Crafting endeavors are somewhat at a stand still. Cropped ribbed cardi is languishing on the first sleeve, the other Glampyre cardi is, well, not sure I'm loving it. Maybe I'll take a pic and get your opinion. I've been working on a really cool multi-fringed bracelett that should be done tonight, if I get any TV time in. The annual Holiday Boutique I participate in every year has been scheduled for December 14, so I'm going to be shifting gears and begin to churn out scarves, hats, mits and other accessories for sale. Anyway, health and work have once again cut into my crafting and blogging life - I need to find a balance.

OK, for lack of knitting or other craft-oriented topics...

2005-10-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

...here is another lame game. Go to Google.com and type in "{your name} needs" and see what you come up with, then post the 10 best. I found mine were very self-help oriented (except for that pregnancy thing), here they are: Marie needs the smallest number of servings from each food group. Yup, got to get working on that poundage. Marie needs to be admitted a number of times for specific procedures. Been there, done that this year. Marie needs is a complete psychiatric evaluation, followed by ongoing psychotherapy and possibly, medication. Yeah, don't we all. Marie needs to relocate and keep her pregnancy confidential from both her family and employer. Whaaaat? Marie needs to get on with her life. That needs to be my theme song. Marie needs to set her sights on the real goal. So true, I need to focus on what is really important in my life and cut through all the other crap that has me pinned down. Marie needs the shape up or ship out action. I'll take this as I need to exercise more. Marie needs help and will not get it until something drastic occurs. I hope it won't come to this. Things need to change around here, but I hope I'm taking the right steps. Marie needs answers but are they the answers she wants to hear? I hope I'm open to what needs to be done to make positive changes. Marie needs a rest now. All this self-improvement is wearing me out! ~~~ It's kind of scary to realize that most of the Google "Marie needs" hits spoke to where I am in my life right now. I know we're not quite to the New Year, but we're getting pretty darn close to my birthday and it's that time again for reflection and evaluation. This has been one of the most difficult years of my life. Last December I turned 40 and I was determined to make this year mine; loose weight, excel in my job, organize my house, really connect with my kids, deepen my relationship with my husband, etc. Well, as most of you know, that was not how the year went. The most traumatic issue for me was that my health took a downward spiral. Many of you know that when you're in pain or your body isn't feeling right it colors the rest of your world. Well, I've had the surgery, still seeing the doc for the other extraneous problems, so (I think/hope) I'm on the upward swing health-wise - eventhough I still feel like crap most of the time. Last Sunday at church we had a really inspirational guest speaker who talked about passion. I have lost my passion - for life, for work, for ministry, for family - the desire is there, I just need to reach down and find the zest again. Major life-changing decisions need to be made. Will Knitti-me find her zeal again? Stay tuned...

Me No Knit

2005-10-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

I knew it - once I got back to work my crafting time was severely curtailed. I am wiped out, I tell you! Exhaustion dogs me at each turn. We'll, I'm actually knitting a little; maybe a row or two each evening. I have two projects I'm actively working on, 1) The Cropped Ribbed Cardi from the latest Vogue Knits and, 2) Glampyre's Bulky Mini Cardigan. I have no idea how either of these sweaters will look - ridiculous I'm sure. (Can you tell I'm in a sarcastic mood?) Anyway, here's Oliver is his exhaustive state.

Self Portrait Tuesdays

2005-10-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Football Mom

Meme'd - me

2005-10-20T07:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a good long while since I posted a meme of any sort. I've seen this one making the rounds and thought it would be a good one to post. I found it interesting to realize that five years ago I had not really started my yarn and knitting obsession, that the words Noro or Colinette weren't even in my vocabulary. Anyway, here goes~ 10 Years Ago 1995 – I was working for FEMA. The kids were ages 3 and 4. We lived in the ghetto, a part of Sacramento known as Oak Park, were we would routinely find used condoms, hypodermic needles, etc. in the gutter. Gunshots and police helicopters were just background noise. We even had a very large man pounding on our front door at 3:00 in the morning with moonlight glinting off the knife in his hand. Graeme was doing the craft show circuit, making wood toys. This enabled him to stay home with the kids during the week, build his products and then do the craft shows on the weekends. My father died of cancer. My inner craft child was starving . 5 Years Ago 2000 – I had just started working at my current company, being immersed in the world of Group Life Insurance. The kids were ages 8 and 9. We finally bought our first home and were able to leave the slums of Sacramento behind. Graeme was working in construction. My mother finally sold the family home in San Francisco (bought for $11,000 in 1952 and sold for A LOT more 48 years later). I started to crochet again, thus beginning my spiral down into a fibery obsession. 1 Year Ago 2004 – Still at the same Group Life Insurance job. The kids were 12 and 13. Still in the same house. Graeme worked diligently all Spring to put automatic sprinklers in and update the landscape in the front of the house (the other side of the driveway and the backyard are still a wilderness though). Graeme was/is working in mortuary services. I took a trip to Nicaragua with my mom. My fibery obsession flew to new heights with the completion of my first knitted sweater. 5 Snacks Tortilla chips with Graeme’s homemade salsa Spinach Dip Red Ropes Canteloupe with cottage cheese or ice cream Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey or Cherries Garcia 5 Songs I Know All the Words to Theme from Gilligan’s Island Theme from the Brady Bunch The Oscar Meyer Bologna Song Amazing Grace Seriously, I know the words to a lot of songs, mostly worship choruses, hymns and Christmas carols. Many times, I don’t think I know the words until we start singing them. As far as secular or pop songs, I’ll know snippets of them, “Everyone’s going to the party, have a real good time…” but if I haven’t seen the written lyrics, I tend not to be able to retain the words just by listening – weird. 5 Things I'd Do with $100 million Quit my job Dream Home Travel Invest Be generous with family, friends and charities 5 Places to Run Away to Fiji New Zealand United Kingdom Italy Brazil 5 Things I Would Never Wear Bikini Thigh High Boots Mini Skirt Nose Ring Tiara 5 Favorite TV Shows Lost Survivor Star Trek (all incarnations) Rock Star: INXS CSI’s Five Biggest Joys My family Singing with the band Reading Crafting Helping others 5 Favorite Toys Computer Cell Phone Yarn Stash Bead Spinner Graeme 5 People to Pass This on to No one in particular, but if you want it, take it!

Cat, I'm a Kitty Cat...

2005-10-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

For my bosses' birthdays this year, I beaded up some Kitty Cat earrings.

The tail wires were already sculpted and pounded flat by the Bead Shoppe personnel. I just had to add the beads and twist the top onto an earring wire. I must admit, my wire twisting abilities need more practice - I hope my bosses don't look too close. And speaking of kitty cats, here's Oliver.

With the introduction of Oliver, the animal pecking order at Chez Edmondson is still being worked out. But I'll have you know, Knitti-me is and will remain, the Alpha Woman!!

The Heart of an Artist

2005-10-16T19:40:00.000-07:00

My father was a very multi-faceted person. Professionally, he had a lifetime career as a Merchant Seaman. He traveled the world in the bowels of large ships working as a the Chief Engineer. He had visited every Continent in the World before the age of 30 and had traversed the Panama Canal more than 50 times in his lifetime. During times of war, the Merchant Marines we considered part of the armed forces and my father bravely served during World War II, even loosing a ship (SS Hobart Baker) to a Japanese bomb, and during the Korean conflict. But there was another side of my father. You could see him most mornings with his cup of steaming coffee enjoying his Dahlia garden, which he tended with care. Or he would be sequestered in his shop building an elaborate sailing ship model, carving each piece in detail and to scale. He would make up silly songs and sing "A Whale of a Tale" until you begged him to stop - and then he would sing some more. He had an artistic eye. In my last post, after seeing a photo of our new kitty Oliver, Bron asked, "But I gotta ask - what is all that brass behind him - looks like really large caliber bullets!!??" Yes folks, those are indeed really large caliber bullets! My Dad could see beauty in something as ugly and deadly as bullets. This is a photo frame he made (probably in the early 50's). In fact that's him in the picture leaning up against a tree.

~~~ From the Ollie Archives~ A rare moment - sleeping kitty.

I can tell you right now, this work thing is really going to interfere with my life!

2005-10-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well I survived one day on the job, and I am on day two with a [work] to-do list a mile long. There have been quite a few personnel changes, hirings, firings, and shifting of responsibilities, since I left at the end of August, so... re-familiarize is my name. Lookie, we have a new member of the family. Meet Oliver, or Ollie as we affectionately call him. Of course we could never confuse Ollie with Emma's precious Oliver.

Cropped Cabled Cardigan

2005-10-10T11:50:00.000-07:00

That's the back of the Cropped Cabled Cardigan from Fall 2005 Vogue Knitting. Except for one other sweater (Simply Marilyn - with one big cable up the middle), my experience with cables have been very limited. So it has been quite fun and fortunate that I've been home from work recovering so I could have time for some uninterrupted and undivided knitting time learning to read cable charts etc. And of course I could never have gotten this far without Bron's invaluable tips.

So now I'm on to the left front.

~~~

I DON'T WANNA GO BACK TO WORK - WAAAAAA! I just got back from the doctor's and she is putting me back into the workforce part time Wednesday, Thursday, Friday then throwing me into the fray full time next Monday. And I was getting so use to being a lady of leisure. As a result, I'm sure the creative endeavors will be tapering off.

~~~

From the Ally Archives~

Ally says, "What, you're not going to be hanging out all day with little ol' me anymore?"

Beading-me...

2005-10-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

...at least that's what I should rename my blog. Yes, more beading, so I'll make this quick. Simple stranded bracelets for gifts.

An earring and bracelet combo for a birthday present for one of Daughter's girlfriends.

A more elaborate earring, bracelet and necklace ensemble - I may have to keep these for myself. And a definite keeper~a multi-stranded necklace (bead spinner used for random beadage) with a wonderful stone disk as the centerpiece. With matching earrings (and bracelet too - not shown). Filed under: And Yes, I Do Knit. A quickie birthday scarf out of Colinette's Salsa cotton yarn in the turquoise colorway for another one of Daughter's friends.

And We Have A Winner!

2005-10-04T10:57:00.000-07:00

Tifff correctly indentified the buttons as belonging to longjohns!

My Grandmother had several hundred of these buttons rattling around in her button box. She used to do laudry for the Amy Aircorps and probably she and her family wore a pair from time to time back in the day. To say the least, she collected a few over the years. There is quite an interesting history on undergarments and I found a fascinating site here on the history of skivvies. It's a good read with great photos. I also found an interesting and odd vintage photograph online of three men working in their underwear. So there you have it folks!

Tifff will receive this beaded bracelett and matching stitch markers so she'll be knitting in style.

Another Treasure

2005-10-01T14:36:00.000-07:00

While rumaging around in my Grandma's button box I found, in addition to buttons, pretty rocks, marbles, a whistle, and this pressed penny. It is from Niagra Falls. And I believe it is a representation of this view. The penny itself was an Indian Head penny from 1906! You can just distinguish the Indian head and year on the back of the pressed penny; unfortunately, I was unable to take a decent picture of it. I have a few pressed coins rattling around my house, but not one so old. I love it! ~~~ Answers are coming in for the Blog Contest (September 29th post). We're getting some really good guesses so far.

Button Bonanza and a Contest!

2005-09-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

While at my sister's home last week, my mom returned from a trip to Baja Mexico where she did volunteer work at an orphanage. You have to hand to my mom, at 80 years she is still active, albeit slower. She'll be home for about two weeks before driving down to Oklahoma and Texas to visit relatives. I spent some time raiding my mom's button box. Most of these buttons belonged to her mom, my grandmother, and are at the very least 40-45 years old and many much older.

Here are some of the larger coat buttons. I was surprised at the amount of plastic used in manufacturing these treasures. But I did find some lovely shell buttons. I want to try my hand at making some jewelry, using an unusual button as the centerpiece.

!!!Blog Contest!!!!

Who can tell me what these medium sized white buttons were used for?

Give your answer in my comments - deadline Midnight, Monday, October 3. The first person with the right answer will receive something of the beaded variety (stitch markers, bracelet, etc.).

Trains and such

2005-09-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finally home after spending five days at my sister's home. I was planning on blogging while there and knitting and scanning old photos - but the best laid plans and all that... Instead I was treated to first class meals, a manicure, a movie, good conversation and even better wine. Anyway, I left from the Sacramento train depot, which is a grand old building. I've always wondered why train stations were built on such a grand scale back in the day; cavernous, but beautiful to be sure. There is a large mural across one end of the building of which this photo is just a third. And rather substantial benches. I did get some knitting done on the three hour train ride. That is some wonderful wool from eBay seller Serendipity in South America that I'm knitting up into a Flap Dash bag. Tomorrow - the button bonanza!

Yawn - more beadage...

2005-09-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Yes, I've been on a beading binge. A few years ago my sister's sister-in-law gifted me with a beautiful stone necklace from Saudi Arabia (where they lived for several years before moving back to Lebanon). Much to my despair, the necklace broke. But I have "recycled" the stone beads into these two braceletts and have got a lot more wear out of them than when they were in their former manifestation.

And here are matching (fraternal) braceletts in reds and ambers for my sister and me. I even went so far as to try my hand at a pair of earrings for sis. Speaking of which, I'm heading down to my sister's tomorrow to flop at her house for a few days.

My New Toy!

2005-09-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

When Husband and I attended the Lambtown Festival in July, I picked up this nifty bead spinner. The bead spinner comes in two pieces...

...and then nestles with one rod inside the other for smooth spinning. The bowl and pedestal are both hand turned wood on a lathe~very beautiful. You put your selection of beads in the bowl.

The bead spinner comes with this specialty needle. Unfortunately, the eye of the needle isn't very big, so I can't use any thread or fiber bigger than fine nylon. I've experimented with different needles bought at craft stores (quilting needles, etc.), but haven't had much success. However, using the needle provided with the proper sized beads, it works like a charm. The bead spinner works on the principle of centrifugal force (n : the outward force on a body moving in a curved path around another body). One hand is used to spin the bowl, while the other holds the needle, gently skimming the surface of the beads. The centrifugal force causes the beads to build up on the needle. After several minutes, you have a beautiful string of truly random beadage. Now what would I do with a long string of beads? I tried knitting and crocheting using the string of beads as a carry-a-long with not much luck (I'll need to think on this a bit more). After an afternoon of trying different techniques. It finally came down to crocheting and quick pouch and applying a portion of the string of beads in a random design on the flap. It turned out pretty nice I think. If you are interested in ordering one of these bead spinners, drop me an email (marieedmondson AT yahoo DOT com) and I'll give you the contact information.

Scarfing it Up

2005-09-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

I've been crafting it up here at Chez Recovery. Here is a scarf/hat combo knit from some Lion Brand yarn from the stash (gasp!) paired with some lovely homespun (Angora/Alpaca/Icelandic) I scored on the Internet a few months back. I'm not too crazy about the scarf; it came out a bit short, but it may strike someone's fancy. This scarf is knit from Filatura Di Crosa's Sesamo, a very textural yarn. One fringe end is straight across and the other end is at an angle. I may trim the fringe to make the angle a bit more extreme. And here is a lighter scarf knit from Trendsetter Yarn's Bobolino (discontinued) that has been simmering in the stash for years. I love the color gradations and roly poly slubs. I knit this by casting on one stitch and then increasing one stitch at the beginning of each row until I had 12 stitches and then knit straight for awhile and then decreased one stitch at the beginning of each row until I had one stitch. I then made two tassles for the fringe. Very easy. ~~~ I don't know why, but I'm starting to feel a bit blue. I don't know if it's because I'm backing off the pain meds (they made me very glassy-eyed and mellow), or if I'm becoming frustrated at my inability to be more productive (then I overdo it and have to pop a couple pills and then back to glassy-eyed mellowness). I'm not sleeping well. I'm starting to get nervous because my leave is nearly half over and I'll have to face work again - and what have I accomplished at home? Anyway, I'd love to hear from any of you. It gets mighty quiet here during the day and I'd love a comment or two.

A-Beading We Will Go...

2005-09-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday found me at the kitchen table will all my beading stuff spread out before me. After spending hours organizing the chaos, I commenced actual beading. I was on a mission to make thank you gifts for all my girlfriends who visited and brought meals after my surgery. I started off with some simple single-stranded bracelets with repetitive patterns.

And then went on to double stranded, random beadage numbers.

I love the clasp on the larger bracelets.

Sunday, I ventured out of the house to attend church (boy do those pews do a number on the back!). Here is my friend Barb showing off her new bauble.

I'll Have Cell Phone Cozies for $15

2005-09-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Remember my Two Skein Wonder of the August 20th post? Well it unravelled only to become crocheted cell phone cozies. With Noro's self striping capabilities each cozie has unique color gradations.

I've made 12 or 15 of these little beauties, each graced with a vintage or whimsical button. While I was in the hospital, I received many compliments on my cell phone cozie from staff and visitors. Nurse Connie even requested one in Greens, Blues and Yellows, for which I had the perfect yarn in the stash. ~~~

From the Ally Archives ~ here is the lovely Ally lounging on the back deck..

...with her counter-part, Tasha, in the opposite chair.

Klaralund, How I Love Thee

2005-09-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

Klaralund is finish and she is mighty pretty, even if I say so myself. It will be, however, several pounds before I can lovingly wear her; a good goal, don't you think?

Pattern: Klaralund from Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's Hand Knitting (Noro) Collection #2.

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden colorway #232.

~~~

Look what I got in the mail! Four beautiful stitch markers from CJ! I had the pleasure of meeting CJ at the Dinner-a-long during Stitches West last February. CJ is the creator of MarkerMania, a stitch marker swap program. I'll be working up my contribution to the swap sometime this week and sending them off. Thanks again CJ!

~~~

My daughter participated in a Summer in the Arts Program sponsored by my church. Here is Sarah and her cohorts practicing for the Youth Band. Our Praise Team, with whom I sing, will be out of a job pretty soon - those kids ROCK! They did a great job at the end of summer recital, with blaring guitars, pounding drums and even a fog machine. All that was missing were the pyrotechnics.

My son Gabriel ran his first skirmish last week. Because I'm currently house-bound, I was unable to attend this momentous event, but Husband took lots of pics. They work and train these Frosh football players hard. Six weeks before his Jr. High School let out for the summer and then another six weeks during the summer, Gabriel participated in football camp, where he worked with weights, learned plays and did whatever else they do for Frosh football training. It certainly made his transition from Jr. High to Sr. High easier. (I really should have talked to him before choosing that jersey number...)

I'm proud of you kids!

~~~

And from the Ally Archives:

I was cleaning out the laundry area and put the kid's socks and shorts bins on the floor. Ally immediately took up residence.

Jack Schidt

2005-09-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

So what's with the name Jack and network TV's obsession with calling their leading men this nondescript moniker. Here we have the beloved Jack O'Neill who repeatedly saves Earth one episode at a time. Admittedly, SciFi Channel's Star Gate, SG-1 is a spin off from the movie of the same name (without the SG-1), where Jack O'Neill is played by a rather stoic Kurt Russell. However, I find it curious how Samantha, Teal'C and Daniel Jackson's professionalism have carried Jack's rather quirky personality and unprofessional conduct to politicians, military brass, and aliens alike through nine seasons. It's a wonder he made Major General.

And then we have Jack Malone (affectionately called Lips McGee in our household, for his lack thereof) from CBS's Without a Trace. Here is one of the FBI's finest when it comes to finding missing persons. This is one show we'll watch when the pickings are pretty slim, but not a must see. And how can we forget NBC's Law & Order's Assistant D.A. Jack McCoy. Again, the original Law & Order is not on my "must see" list, but we'll tune in occasionally (at least enough for me to note Assistant D.A. McCoy's first name).

What really brought the Jack phenomenon to light was when Husband and I rented the first season of Fox's 24. "My name is Jack Bauer and this is the longest day of my life." Ah Kiefer, you do a good job saving America and saving face. Husband has been clamoring to rent seasons 2 and 3, but I've been dragging my feet - not sure why, maybe because aliens aren't involved. But you can only imagine the lifting of eyebrows and rolling of eyes between husband and me when we tuned in this summer to the rerun of the first season of ABC's Lost only to discover their leading man is Dr. Jack Shepard (can't wait for that crew cut to grow out). This series is engaging enough to definitely make my weekly "must see" list. We'll see if the producers can keep this huge cast and complicated storyline contained. So you can see the Jack phenomena spans all genre and networks. Come on guys, let's get a little bit more original - Horatio, Gil, Elliot - those are great names. Give me a call, we'll talk.

It Hurts When I Laugh...

2005-08-31T23:37:00.000-07:00

I'm back! First of all, I want to give my most sincere thanks to all who left well wishes and kept me in their thoughts and prayers; they were most appreciated. Well, not only did I survive the surgery, I survived the hospital stay as well. Now comes the long road to recovery. Right now I'm at the "beached whale" stage. It's quite the production, with husband's help, to get in and out of bed. It could be quite comical, but don't start me laughing - it hurts. So on to fibery news. Stash Enhancement! A few weeks ago, Graeme and I wandered around the Dixon Lamb Festival. It had been a couple of years since I had attended this show and was shocked to see the number of vendors and foot traffic decreased significantly. So to say the least I was disappointed in the fibery offerings. I did, however, find this cool yarn spun from banana fronds! The texture is kind of like silk and color is very rich. I also acquired some wonderful homespun from Houndscroft Farm. There's enough for a nice hat/scarf set or a child's sweater. From the Ally Archives! Look who took up residence in my knitting basket. Knitting on Klaralund is finished. Now on to finishing. That's her lying beside Ally in the basket.

Major Abominable Surgery

2005-08-23T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow I undergo major abdominal surgery. After being up half the night with intense pain, I am so ready to get this over with and move on with my life. I will be in the hospital for three or four days, so will be incommunicado. I may have husband log on just to let you know if I made it through El Surgerio OK. ~~~ In the meantime, I'll leave you with photos of a day trip husband, kids and I took to Squaw Valley. It was a wonderful day taking the cable car up the High Camp and spending the day at the pool. Squaw Valley was the site for the VIII Winter Olympics in 1960. Just walking around, I could imagine what it looked like when beehive hairdos and Nordic knitwear thrived.

They have a 1960 Winter Olympic museum, but I use the word "museum" in the loosest terms. It really was just a bunch of enlarged newspaper clippings and event results set up - not a lot of memorabilia. This was the first Olympics to be televised and they had a big screen TV showing the 1960 Olympic coverage (with the cheesy announcer and silly background music that was so popular in the 50's and 60's - you remember the science films shown in school? Oh, and we had the "Girls" Downhill and the "men's" Slalom.) At High Camp they have a couple of nice restaurants, a year around pool/hot tub and ice skating rink and of course, in winter there's skiing.

Here we are leaving base camp in the cable car. It is about a 10 minute ride ascending over 2000 feet.

We were crammed into the car with about 70 other passengers - standing room only.

Our shadow on the terrain below. We were so high (High Camp being over 8000 feet), that there were still large pockets of snow - in August! These unusual rock formations were used as models for Disneyland's Big Thunder Mountain Railway. Here we are passing another cable car heading down the mountain. Here is the pool at High Camp were we spent several relaxing hours with beautiful views and rich Olympic history. I would highly recommend this trip if you happen to be in Northern California. ~~~ Body of Klaralund is done. First sleeve half done. We'll see if I get any knitting done while in my drugged stupor. Knit On!

Two Skein Wonder, A Cozy, and a WIP

2005-08-20T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well this was one bandwagon I jumped on ~ The One Skein Wonder. Actually, it took nearly two skeins of Noro Kureyon, but then I knitted it loosely for my ample form. This was a fun, quick knit; great for instant gratification.

Of course it doesn't look quite as flattering and sophisticated on me as it does on Glam Steph. Would I wear this out in public? I don't think so. It may find itself reincarnated into a Sophie Bag someday. ~~~ We got new cell phones! After reading about Bliss' war with Verizon, I called, with trepidation to order two new phones for husband and me and also to add the kids to the family plan (yes, I finally broke down and got my two teenagers cell phones! Will I live to regret this?). Up to this point husband and I have been lugging around dinosaur cell phones as big as staplers, so you can imagine my glee when I received my new little toy in the mail.

Knowing this little gem would get lost in the dark recesses of my knitting bag, I crocheted up a little cell cozy using the last remnants of the Noro Kureyon from the Two Skein Wonder.

I even found a wonderful vintage button from my grandma's button jar to secure the cozy handle. ~~~ Here's another bandwagon I jumped on too, Klaralund - about 12 months late! Well at least I didn't join the knit-a-long or this thing would never get finished.

I love, Love, LOVE this Noro Silk Garden colorway, #232. I opted to knit the body of the garment in the round. It's going pretty fast, that's about 2 1/2 skeins of Silk Garden so far.

After the felting fiasco with the Peruvian Collection Highland Wool, I'm finding I'm dragging my feet on knitting the next Sophie bag sample for my upcoming felting class. In this sample, I am incorporating random beadage throughout the knitted fabric. I finished knitting the bottom of the bag and have just picked up stitches around. I'm distracted by Klaralund.

See what I mean Blogger?

2005-08-18T22:19:00.000-07:00

I've tried to upload photos for the last week and all I get are these frustrating boxes with X's in them. I sent an SOS to Blogger and all they came back with, "Oh, we're busy right now, but read these cool articles and they may help you..."

For a Smile...

2005-08-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

Click this link and then choose The Kitty Cat Dance for a nice diversion. I espcially love the 70's acrylic afghan the kitty is writhing on.

Mammograms R Us

2005-08-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

I received a free can of high-end hairspray from my hair stylist the other day. Apparently I had referred someone to my most excellent hair stylist and she gave me free hair product as a thank you. Here I was sitting in the barber chair being shrouded with the sheet when my hair stylist asks, "Have you had a mammogram recently?" What -- am I wearing a badge that says, "I mammogram, do you?" Or do I have the glow of a woman just exiting the radiation chamber? Or is my most excellent hair stylist psychic? Anyway, I answered that yes, indeed, I recently underwent a mammogram. My most excellent hair stylist recounted how a woman, who was a radiology technician, was recommended to my most excellent hair stylist by a patient. However, the radiology technician couldn't remember the patient's name, but the patient was short, with glasses and brownish/auburn hair. My most excellent hair stylist deduced, or psychically divined, that it could only be me. And here's the rest of the story... As any diligent woman, who has passed that magic number 40, should do - I went in for my first mammogram. The technician chatted away, I assumed, to make me feel more at ease. As she pushed and pulled, twisted and mashed my boobs, she commented on how much she like my haircut and color. I mentioned my most excellent hair stylist's name, the salon and it's location and didn't think twice about it (well other than feeling really weird talking about everyday things with my boob hanging out). Apparently this radiology technician moved to Sacramento a few years ago, but was commuting back to the San Francisco Bay Area for her cuts and color, which were becoming more difficult as she made more of a life in Sacramento. Having done the same thing years ago when I first moved to Sacramento from San Francisco, I could totally relate to the radiology technician’s plight. After years of wandering from salon to salon, growing out bad haircuts, I found my most excellent hair stylist. She is a gem and I tout her talents to all who ask – and hey, I got a free can of hair spray out of it too.

Can't Turn Your Back...

2005-08-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

(Why oh why can't I upload pics? You'll just have to use your imagination until I can get this thing figured out.) Boy does that Highland Wool felt! You can't get distracted with this yarn, because you'll end up with Lilliputian handbags. Before... After... I've posed her beside Harry Potter for scale. I knit this Sophie bag by alternating two hues of orange, which came out with a great tweedy effect. The second bag was a complete disaster! Before... After... The Booga Bag came out as a blue, wonky mess. However, I thought it made a great Bucket o' Chic - NOT! Lesson - you can't felt this Highland Wool without close supervision. On to more experimentation.

Filed under - "And this is a knitting blog..."

2005-08-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yes I have been knitting. I'm going to be teaching a felted bag class at church in September or October and will be using Julie's most excellent Booga and Sophie bag patterns. Right now I'm test knitting the patterns for timing (I'm an average knitter, so I'm trying to get a baseline on how long each stage of the knitting process will take for each bag). I'm also trying out alternate yarns (I don't think the ladies will want to knit a $30 Noro bag their first time out). I've just finished a Sophie bag knit in Elann's Highland Wool in two different shades of orange, alternating each shade every other row. I'm anxious to see how the Highland wool felts and at $2.25 per skein - that's a pretty good deal. My next "experiment" will be to incorporate random beadage throughout the body of the bag and see how that felts up. With all these Sophie and Booga bags, I'll have a purse for every outfit or a great stash for Christmas pressies. ~~~ I finally got around to finishing the narrative on the Hawaii trip. If you have a few minutes, scroll on down and have a read.

Hawaii, Part Three

2005-07-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

One evening, we had the pleasure of attending the Smith's Tropical Paradise Luau and Show. The Smith family certainly has the corner on Kauai attractions, the luau and show being just one event of many. Apparently, Mr. Smith came to Hawaii in the mid- 30's and married an island girl. They started their empire with a little boat with an outboard motor that took sightseeing tours up the Wailua River. And believe it or not, Grandma Smith, all 90+ years of her was there to welcome us to the luau feast! Once you arrive at the Smith's Tropical Paradise and get your photo taken with coconut bra hula girls, you alight on a tram (ala Disneyland parking lot tram), which takes you around the gardens.

We had the opportunity to see a lot of tropical flora and fawna, most of which is not native to Hawaii.

The show as very entertaining. As Bron pointed (no pun intended) out, those coconut bras take perkiness to a whole new level. As there were numerous costume changes and I heard to cries of pain, I can attest they were not stuck on with super glue.

Here we have Tahitian dancers, with the required coconut bra-age. It was good to see they hired "bigger" girls along with the more willowy dancers. And just to make Graeme feel at home, these girls, dressed in traditional Maori costumes, danced the Haka Poi with their twirling poi. Later in the show, they twirled fire-lit poi, for added flare. (An aside ~ when I was a pre-adolesent girl, my next door neighbors took a trip to Hawaii. When they returned, Eugenia and Jocelyn, told tales of the exhotic dancers with their twirling balls. We then got our heads together and began making "poi" out of wads of Kleenex stuffed into a baggie with the tail braided in varigated acrylic yarn.) Graeme was a little disappointed that the men didn't do the Haka (Maori war chant).

One day, towards to end of our stay, we drove up to some of the beautiful waterfalls Kauai has to offer. Here are the Opaeka'a Falls, seen in the movie Blue Hawaii.

And Wailua Falls, best know for their appearance in the opening scenes of Fantasy Island. And as a finale to a our waterfall sightseeing day, we parked along a side road, hiked through a sugar cane field (below, you can see Sarah and Graeme making their way through the cane - believe it or not, there's a trail in there)... ...and came upon Kipu Falls. This photo is taken from across the pool. If you look closely, you can see Gabriel on the far left. Along with the alure of jumping off the 20' cliff, Kipu Falls also has a rope swing. And yes, I jumped. You'll have to excuse the bikini-clad bootay that got in the way of the camera as I plunged to my death... And Knitti-me lives to tell the story.

All four of us jumped - son numerous times - but were too fast to catch good photos.

So ends our Hawaiian adventure 2005. We will return - you can bet on that!

Hawaii, Part Two

2005-07-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

After three days on Oahu, we were more than ready for the REAL vacation to begin. Here's a photo of the condo we rented on Kauai. It wasn't beach front, but we had a nice view of the lagoon.

Adjacent to the our condo property was the Radisson Resort. As an added perk, we were able to take full advantage of all the resort's ammenities. Their pools were fabulous, with waterfalls and even a sandy bottom pool.

The day after we arrived on Kauai, we met up with some more friends who were staying at the Marriott Resort. We had the opportunity to splash around in this fabulous pool too.

Here we are with our friends swim-tired and sun-kissed. The family... For several mornings, Graeme was able to catch some amazing sun rises. Yes, I married an "early bird." I'm usually a "night owl," but lately, with my health issues, I've been more like a "early to bed, late to rise, with a nap in between" kinda gal. Some of the local flora - plumeria - very fragrant and beautiful. One highlight of our trip was the Kauai Tubing Adventure (unfortuately, I don't have any digital photos of this trip). It was great fun floating down old irrigation ditches, tunnels and flumes surrounded by sugan cane fields and beautiful back country scenery.

Hawaii, Part One

2005-07-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

To say our trip to Hawaii was wonderful would be an understatement; it was fabulous! Twenty years ago Graeme and I lived in the Hawaiian Islands - this was where our love blossomed and where we were married. It was good to go back, kids in tow, to visit the "old stomping grounds." Did I say Taipei? No, Honolulu. I had forgotten how crammed full of mid-century architecture Waikiki was. Oahu in general and Waikiki in particular were very congested, with people, cars, buses, it was hard to breath. I don't remember it being quite so crowded 20 years ago...a shame really. Here's a more familiar shot of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head. We spent one day doing the "World War II thing" by visiting the Arizona Memorial National Park. We didn't acutally go out to the memorial; the wait was three hours long! However, we did tour the USS Bowfin and the Mighty Mo; both great tours with lots of WWII history to obsorb. Here is pic of Sarah and I in the crew quarters on the USS Bowfin submarine. And here is a view from the USS Missouri looking over to the Arizona Memorial. After the tours we continued around the island to the town of Waianea and up into one of the valleys to Camp Waianea where in 1984 Graeme and I lived with about 150 other people for six months (long, interesting story; may tell it someday). What do you know, the camp looked exactly the same. On our second evening in Honolulu, we met up with some friends from Sacramento, who happened to be in Hawaii at the same time, for a swim at the beach and then dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki. Here's a photo of us all having a good time waiting for our table in the glow of tiki torches and live Hawaiian music. On our last full day on Oahu, we took a ride to the North Shore by way of the Nuuanu Pali Lookout. We saw some great custom surf boards and of course we sampled some Hawaiian Shaved Ice. Here are the kids back in Waikiki posing with tropical birds. Sarah and I standing in front of the World's Largest Hawaiian Shirt displayed at Hilo Hatties, Honolulu. Oahu today, Kauai tomorrow...

Happy Anniversary Baby!

2005-07-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

Twenty years! There have been great times and hard times, and yes, we're a bit more fleshy, but it's ALL BEEN GOOD! Here's to another 20, 30 or even 40 more years!

An Email to a Friend, Part Deux

2005-06-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Date: Thu, 23 Jun 2005 11:14:03 -0700 (PDT) From: "Marie Edmondson" View Contact Details Subject: Hi There! Hey, you really hit the jackpot with your SP. Beautiful, beautiful gifts. I have been faithfully keeping up with your blog, but just haven't had the "umph" to comment. However, your latest projects and beading (especially!) have been fabulous. After my last email to you - I ended up taking another two weeks off work after going to the doctor and sobbing in her office. Her comment was, "I've had several patients with severe anemia like you, but they're not crying - there must be something more going on here..." Ya think?! I have since gone to the shrink and he's put me on a totally new medication and I'm feeling a bit more stable. Anyway, as it turns out, I'll be going under the knife in August for a full hysterectomy. Apparently, my uterus is the size of a 4-month pregnancy (Congratulations Mrs. Edmondson). However, I don't have a precious life, but lots of insidious tumors (boo, hiss). Well, at least I can almost see a light at the end of the tunnel, I just have to recover from major abdominal surgery. In the meantime, Hawaii is just around the corner (jetting out of here next Wednesday morning). Given my health condition, I won't be up for hiking the heights of Kauai, but a hammock on the beach with a Mai Tai sounds just fine. We bought snorkling gear for the whole family and have been practicing in the pool at the gym. That's about the extent of activity I can do these days; slow leisurely laps up and down the pool with only the sound of the "Darth Vader" breathing from the snorkle. I had been working on a pretty feather and fan scarf (from Scarf Style) in some beautiful "Over the Rainbow" Twinkle Toes yarn, but put it down nearly two weeks ago - I've been stagnating since. I'll probably take it as my vacation knitting though. In the meantime, I've beaded some braceletts. Before leaving for Hawaii (i.e. this weekend), I'm going to rip the recycled silk purse and reconfigure to fit all my "necessities." I perfer small pouches that wear over one shoulder and across the chest rather than the ubiquitous fanny pack. So there you have it - I'm back at work (and in a much better frame of mind) and ready to pack my bags this weekend. Take care my friend, -Marie

An Email to a Friend

2005-06-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Date: Tue, 24 May 2005 11:15:22 -0700 (PDT) From: "Marie Edmondson" View Contact Details Subject: Re: Hi Marie :) Hi there! It's so good to hear from you - thanks for checking in. Today is my first day back to work after taking two week's medical leave. They finally did it - ran me into the ground. So now I'm back - so far so good. Here's a rambling synopsis of my health. I'm still severly anemic and popping iron like nobody'sbusiness. I am so tired all the time, it's frustrating- but I must be patient with myself. Still sufferingfrom god-awful headaches and nausia. Trying to make appointments with doctors to get to the bottom of this, but Kaiser drags their feet...I may need surgeryto stem the flow of blood that is causing the anemia(among other things). On the plus side - A/C's in just in time. We're in the 90's now and should be near 100 in a few weeks. New windows should be installed in the next two weeks! You know you have arrived at total "domesticality" when you get excited about a new vaccum or A/C. My house is actually straight! It took me most of the two weeks I was off - between about five naps a day, but I now have a house that isn't too embarrasing if you choose to drop by. I love Dish Network's DVR. I've been taping all theStar Trek Deep Space Nines. ST-DS9 was always on at awkward times when first aired and I never quite got into the characters - but now it's a different story! It's like watching a Star Trek series for the first time. I'm such a geek that I get excited not only about vaccums, but Star Trek (smile). Both daughter and son are caught up inend-of-school-year activities (son's actually graduating from middle school), so that's keeping usbusy. Daughter won an award and we attended the awards ceremony at the State Capitol last night - didn't see Arnold though. Hawaii is still on (and paid for!). We'll be jettingout of here on June 29th! I haven't read any blogs, so I haven't been keeping up with your life - I'll go get a cup of coffee and havea good read. Take care and thanks again for checking in. Hugs! -Marie

When it Rains it Pours

2005-05-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

In fact, I'm wondering if it's March or May here in Sacramento. Usually by this time it's in the 80's, but it has been cold and raining for several days now. The Good As I already related in a previous post, we re-fi'd our house and not only are we getting new windows and cetral heat/air, we're getting a trip to Hawaii out of it too! Graeme and I were once young and care-free living in the balmy climes of Hawaii. Twenty years ago in July we were married in Honolulu and shortly thereafter, left the islands to begin our new life together. Now, with two kids (teenagers) in tow, we're returning to where it all began. Ten glorious days in paradise - unfortunately I have to wait two months before we embark on the trip. I could really use the vacation now, as you'll read below. For Mother's Day, the husband and kids got me Scarf Style and a fabulous knit bag. I also indulged in a little Mother's Day (justification) yarn buying of some beautiful and unique homespun from TookNap Press. The Bad There's a lot of miscellaneous crap going on here. I've been having some major medical issues going on and of course the choice to discontinue Celexa didn't help matters either. Anyway, I'm now chronically fatigued, severly anemic and ready to pass out at any moment. On Friday my doctor recommended I go on a short medical leave, "you need rest," is what she said. Well, stupidly, I refused, saying I couldn't take time off work because of critical projects I'm working on. After being unable to remember my assistant's name and making some dumb mistakes, I'm reconsidering her recommendation. Knitting and blogging have been a very important part of my life over the last two years. I love the knit-blog world and the relationships and inspiration I have gleaned have been priceless. There are hundreds and talented knit bloggers out there with wonderful writing styles, wit, and fiber talent. I feel privileged to peek into their worlds daily. Looking back in my archives, I saw that this was once a fun and innovative blog. I can almost see my deterioration through the quality of the posts. Lately I've been making half-hearted attempts at blogging, but my heart isn't in it. I NEED A BREAK. I hoped it would never have to come to this, but Knitti-me is going on hiatus. I'lll probably still click around to see what you all are up to, but things will be pretty silent here. I'm looking forward to the day I'll be able to put effort and heart back into my blogging; hopefully, that day will not be in the too distant future. In the meantime, I'll knit on.

Misc.

2005-04-27T11:09:00.000-07:00

So, ya wanna see how I'm feeling? Go ahead, click the pig, I'll wait... I'm actually feeling much better. I still have "episodes" but the frequency is becoming less. ~~~ On the knitting front, I finished the Curlicue Ruffle Scarf from Stitch Diva's Decidedly Different Scarves pattern. It's really pretty, but when I put it on, it's a bit like a clown collar! Pics soon. I've been toying around with Tunisian Crochet, waiting for my HUGE Tunisian crochet hooks to arrive. It's quite fun and quick to pick up, but the swatches really curl on the small size hook. I'm also preparing to begin on my first free-form crochet bag. I'm frogging my Scrappy Poncho for the needed yarn scraps. ~~~ How can "Scotty the Body" still be on American Idol? He's so creepy - he has to go! I'm all for average-Joe's being given a chance, but I think Scott has outstayed his welcome. ~~~ Looks like I'll be spending the summer in air-conditioned comfort. Sacramento is located in California's central valley and our summers get quite toasty; high 90's and low 100's. We have not had air conditioning since 1992! Graeme and I just signed refi papers today, so it looks we'll be able to put in central heat/air AND new windows! Woo Hoo! ~~~ I'll be going in for tooth extraction tomorrow. The doc gave me a handful of Valium, so I should be pretty wasted by the time they put that needle in my arm. ~~~ Anything else? I think I better get back to work.

SF and an FO

2005-04-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

Saturday the kids and I met up with friends and family in San Francisco to celebrate the life of my sister-in-law's father who passed away in December. After a touching service and lunch we all gathered on top of Twin Peaks to scatter Jim's ashes, which was his last request. Here is a view looking down Market Street into downtown. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit windy. Here I am with my precious kids. FYI, I'm standing on a short wall; both my kids tower over me. Son just hit 6' and is still going strong. On the way down the hill, much to my kid's dismay, I stopped by ImagiKnit. The shop literally has floor to ceiling shelves full of high-end yarns with lots of comfy couches and chairs to sit and knit. Despite being surrounded by loveliness, I only came away with the "Decidedly Different Scarves" pattern from Stitch Diva Studios after seeing a beautiful store model. ~~~ And here is another Cape Bohemia, my third one, knit from some fabulous La Boheme from Fiesta Yarns, produced from the Embarrassingly Large Yarn Stash, I might add. I think I may knit Ally a matching doggy Cape Bohemia - uh, maybe not. ~~~ On a personal note, thank you for all your kind words of encouragement. It has been a difficult road, but I think I may be on the upward swing.

"I need a fix, man" or "Lock her up and throw away the key"

2005-04-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Nearly two weeks ago I went off a medication that I have been on for seven years. At first I thought I was a bit under the weather, but then I realized, after many irrational rages directed at my unsuspecting family, that I was in full-blown withdrawal. I had to leave work suddenly yesterday when I commenced vomiting and having uncontrollable shakes. My sister finally did some research and sent me links on the side effects of quitting Celexa cold turkey. "Over 50 different symptoms have been reported with antidepressant withdrawal, with dizziness, nausea, fatigue, headache, gait instability and insomnia the most common. The lucky ones will experience only minor Celexa withdrawal symptoms. They might even blame their Celexa withdrawal symptoms on the flu. For others, the Celexa withdrawal symptoms are debilitating. Celexa Withdrawal symptoms: Anxiety Dizziness - Hold on! Fatigue Headache - Pass the Tylenol Extra Strength! Insomnia Tremors - And that ain't no earthquake! Visual hallucinations - Not yet! Diarrhea - yuck! Nausea - Constantly Vomiting - oh yeah. Restlessness Blurred vision Muscle and joint pain - it hurts to breath! Jolting electric "zaps? Tingling sensations - Ants all over me! Fever Abdominal discomfort Flu symptoms and general malaise - I feel horrible. Anorexia Agitation Gait disturbances Sweating - Pass the Arid Extra Dry! Irritability - I am so irritable, Archie Bunker looks like a choir boy next to me. Aggression - much to my dismay. Sleep disturbance and insomnia Nightmares Vivid dreams - as evidenced by yesterday's post. Confusion - where am I? Memory and concentration difficulties - What was your name again? Chills and hot flashes - Constantly. Crying spells - pass the Kleenex. Suicidal thoughts - fortunately no. Lethargy Weakness" As far as my job is concerned, this is probably the worst time to go off meds, but I had no idea I would react this way; especially after my psych doc said it would be "no big deal." (I have a call into her - she's going experience some of this aggression first hand!) I may go into why I choose to get off the meds, but that will be another day. I have been tossing up whether I should go back on them - at least until I get through the current crisis du jour at work, but then on the other hand, I could be so close to kicking this thing. Bear with me my friends and family - knitti-me should be her old self soon (I hope - 'cause this is killing me!). I have FO's and pics to show from the weekend in SF. But I don't have the energy or concentration to pull together a proper post right now.

Dream

2005-04-18T11:52:00.000-07:00

I had a funny dream last night. A group of friends and I were held hostage in Communist Russia. In order to escape we were utilizing certain song sequences on the radio. However, one of our number betrayed us by revealing the plan. So we could only choose one song that would be the key to our escape! Of course we were successful, and were soon strutting across the tarmac to the airplane as Ozzie Osborn's remake of "Staying Alive" blared through the loud speakers. The Russian people were standing by clapping and dancing while the Communist officials fumed. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, Staying Alive, Staying Alive..."

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

2005-04-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

Today is my precious Sarah's 13th birthday! Best wishes on your special day!

Delusional

2005-04-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

What happens when you want something so bad that you begin to create that reality around yourself, deceiving yourself, your family and friends? About 18 months ago K gathered a bunch of friends and family together to make a big announcement. As we raised our glasses of bubbly, she announced that a screen play she had written had been bought by none other than Ford Francis Coppula. In meetings she had with the director, she had been assured that she would be very much involved in the casting and filming of the trilogy. Contracts were generated and we were told big name stars were already signed: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Orlando Bloom. In addition to these well-know actors, K was encouraged to also sign talented friends and family (just to clarify, these friends and family members, of whom I am good friends with, are talented actors in their own right). You can imagine our excitement. The plan was the trilogy would be filmed in New Zealand utilizing Peter Jackson's connections and facilities in Wellington. K and her family would go down about four to six months prior to the commencement of filming then the rest of the cast (i.e. my friends) would follow. The project was expected to take about three years. Having contracts in hand, my friends began to make arrangements for the move (i.e., put in for leave of absences from jobs, etc.). Fast forward 18 months. K and family are still here and telling us that they are waiting for "the call." She explains that the film currently being shot down in NZ is running late and it should be any day now that they will be out of the facilities and K and her crew move in and begin filming prep. One of our friends began to question K and was getting frustrated by her ambiguous answers so he got his lawyer involved. Come to find out the contracts were fraudulent and signatures forged. Mr. Coppula had never heard of K or her screenplay. How could this be? What could cause someone to create such fiction? This woman is a beautiful and talented person and intelligent. She certainly had us all fooled. When I first heard the news, I thought, "Poor K, she need some love and serious help." But then I started thinking of all the ramifications of this charade. M sold his house, R put in for a leave of absence, F quit his job and was working temp until "the call." K's son was applying to NZ universities. NZ housing was being explored - deposits being made. Was K's family involved? Did she pull the wool over their eyes too? What else can I say?

Adventures in Dentistry

2005-04-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

Over the last several weeks I have been undergoing dental treatments that will culminate in wisdom teeth extraction at the end of month. Sitting in the chair yesterday, my mouth propped open with various torturous dental instruments, muzak playing in the background, my mind wandered to movies with dental themes. Hermey the misfit elf from Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer immediately came to mind. Here was an elf who didn’t like to make toys, but had aspirations to become a dentist. Hermey saves the day by pulling an abscessed tooth from the Abominable Snow Monster, thus taming the savage beast.

Another character that came to mind was the delightfully sadistic biker-dentist, Orin Scrivello, D.D.S, played by Steve Martin, from The Little Shop of Horrors film. This leather-clad dentist thrived on inflicting pain on his helpless patients. Then of course there’s Dudley Moore’s character, George Webber, in the movie “10.” Webber is suffering from a case of mid-life angst and becomes obsessed with his dentist’s daughter who symbolizes the perfect woman, a “10.” At one point in the movie, Webber visits his dentist in order to gather information on his daughter. Once home, Webber thoroughly drugged and numbed, tries to carry on a telephone conversation in a hilariously funny scene. After receiving 8 shots of Novocain yesterday, I could totally relate to Webber’s plight.

In a more sinister dental-related movie, Dustin Hoffman plays a marathon-running university graduate that gets caught up in an espionage plot due to the knifing death of his brother in Marathon Man. Excruciating scenes of dental torture at the hands of former SS dentist and Nazi fugitive, Szell, “the White Angel” of Auschwitz, is definitely not for the faint of heart.

Do you have any favorite dental-related movies to add to my list? ~~~ In knitting news, I am still plodding along on the throw for my bedroom. I've seamed the sides of my Ribby Cardi, but still need to attach the sleeves. Still trying to find the perfect pattern for my new Katsara yarn.

I'm Back

2005-03-30T12:50:00.000-08:00

This post has been languishing as a draft for several days now - I suppose I should finish and post... Well, I made it back from the wilds of Wyoming. My mom and sister stayed a few extra days in order to visit the old homestead; I wish I could have taken the time to go with them - but work and family called. As a rule, I don't check my baggage if I don't have to. If it doesn't fit into my little roll away carry-on, it doesn't go with me. Over the years, I have traveled to Europe, the South Pacific, New Zealand, Central America, Canada, Eastern United States...and have never lost luggage, even when I had to check bags due to a longer stay. Well, I had to take a plane from the Denver airport into Riverton, Wyoming. This prop plane was little 19 seater, which didn't have any overhead compartments or storage in the cabin. I was required to leave my roll-away bag at the bottom of the airplane stairs and they would transport the bags in the "trunk" of the plane. After arriving in Riverton, my Uncle (not the dead one) and I were the last de-plane. There was his bag sitting there on the tarmac, but mine was nowhere to be found. How in the world could they loose my bag?! Evidently, the little old lady who had traveled on the same plane mistook my bag for hers, because her bag was still at the terminal! I was able to get her name and address off the suitcase tag and I looked her up in the phone book. After arriving at my Aunt's house, I began to phone her every few minutes (no answering machine). About an hour later, she finally answers. After trying to explain (actually yelling as she was a bit hard of hearing) the situation to her ("who are you?" "how did you get my number?" "what suitcase?") I persuaded her to go look the suitcase she brought home. "Why, I'll be, this isn't my suitcase!" (that's what I've been trying to tell you for the last 10 minutes.) Turns out, she lives about 40 minutes away. My cousin Steve, kindly offered to swing by the "airport," pick up her suitcase and meet halfway to make the switch. Well, I got my suitcase, but when Steve stopped at the "airport" they were closed up until 10:00 pm that evening for the next arriving flight, so she had to make an extra trip back to Riverton the next day. Knitting: I've been working on a throw for the love nest, I mean my bed room. This is knit from stash yarn (Colinette). When I was going through the Embarrassingly Large Yarn Stash trying to find yarns to sell off, I discovered these one-skein wonders would all look good together for a tone-on-tone throw. It has since been ripped out and started again. I realized I had cast on too many stitches (the length of the throw). Stash acquisition: Handpainted DK wool and English Mohair from the fabulous Katsara. I am currently on the prowl for a cardi or pullover pattern. I'm planning on knitting with the two yarns held together. I'm thinking of a V-neck with long or 3/4 sleeves. Swatching to commence soon. Beading: This is a beaded book mark I made for a co-worker's birthday. I love the Spring theme. Also, I don't think I ever showed you the stitch markers I made for the Stitches West Dinner-along. Most of these had mates (2 of each), but each of the ladies at the dinner picked one marker. Ribby Cardi: She's in limbo. Waiting for the right circumstances to commence seaming. Perhaps at the next crafty Sunday at church (first weekend in April-wait that's this weekend!). I just might have an FO for you sometime next week.

Rest in Peace, Dear Uncle

2005-03-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Edward "Ed" S. Niles May 6, 1920 ~ March 16, 2005 Here is Uncle Ed as a young boy (@ 1928) with his father (my grandfather) Roy S. Niles.

This photo was taken in around 1940 with his mother (my Grandma) Margaret Maude Weidemann.

Knit Bloggers Rock!

2005-03-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday I had the pleasure of spending the day with the wonderful Lisa from Oregon! We met at her hotel and were able to knit a couple of rows and chat. It's amazing how the knit blog world brings so many together. When I walked into the lobby and saw Lisa, it was like meeting an old friend. Lisa was down here with some of the members of her belly dancing troupe; they were on a pilgrimage to the Rakkasah Festival. Lisa explains it this way, "Rakkasah is to belly dancers as Rhinebeck is to knitters." And she invited me to tag along! What a fabulous experience. I never realized there is a whole sub-culture of belly dancing enthusiasts (well, I guess the average Joe doesn't realize there's a whole underworld of knit bloggers either). The festival was fabulous! I have never seen so much beading and sequins in one place. The costumes and jewelry were amazing. After browsing a bit, we sat and watched live performances of dancers and musicians from all over the world. Belly dancing embraces all shapes and sizes. Like Lisa said, you don't see a 200 pound ballerina, but you can see some lovely "fluffy" women making visual poetry through dance. Thank you Lisa for introducing me to this art form. ~~~ Ribby Cardi: Well, she be in pieces waiting for a seaming party. Here she is at the blocking party we had last week. ~~~ From the Ally Archives, or should I say Scruffy Archives. ~~~ I have to make a whirlwind trip to Wyoming due to the death of my Uncle (boy, I wish I had finished Ribby Cardi - it's still winter in WY). Be back Thursday.

Knitting Monogamously

2005-03-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

I have been working on Ribby exclusively for the past week or so, snatching moments of time here and there between work, church and family obligations. Then on Saturday, I had several hours (to myself - gasp!) in which I watched TV and knitted on one Ribby sleeve (I had started knitting both sleeves at the same time, but soon gave that up). I merrily knit along, nearly to the end of the increases when, looking over the pattern again, I realized I had skimmed over this little, but all important, phrase at the end of the sleeve increase section, "Work increased stitches into Rib Pattern as established..." Ack! Here I was knitting a sleeve with nice st st panels on each side of the rib pattern! How could I not notice or realize??? Stuffing the errant sleeve into my knitting bag, I spent the next 12 hours or so deciding if I could live with it or not. I could not, so I ripped the whole sleeve out and started again. Four hours of uninterrupted knitting wasted! I later read on the Ribby Cardi KAL that another knitter had made the same mistake, but she continued on. She says it looks ok (a photo was not available) and I suppose my would too. However, I don't think I could honestly finish my Ribby with the st st panel sleeves and know I did my best. This is just about the same point I was on with the errant sleeve when I ripped it out. Now I'm nearly to the cap shaping on the fully ribbed sleeve. ~~~ Bron recently finished a beautiful freeform crocheted pillow and I had jokingly commented that I would need to have instructions for any freeform knitting or crocheting I would attempt (thus defeating the point of freeform). But lo and behold I found this book on freeform knitting and crocheting. There are some really pretty and intriguing designs and projects that I am anxious to explore. So here's to freeform knitting/crocheting with directions. ~~~ Don't forget my Stash Sale in the previous post below.

More from the Embarrassingly Large Yarn Stash

2005-03-07T11:40:00.000-08:00

For Sale! ~~~ 1 and 3/4 balls of Lamb's Pride Worsted; 85% Wool, 15% Mohair; 190 yards for a full skein; color Sun Yellow (seconds). $10.00, includes shipping. ~~~ 5 and a bit balls of Bucilla Wool/Shetland; 95% virgin fleece wools, 5% imported shetland; color #357 (gold); great for felting; 2 oz each; $8.00 including shipping. ~~~ Colinette Chenille DK; 100% cotton; 200 m/218 yards each. Colorway: Toucan (left) and Autumn Leaves (right). $6.00 each includes shipping. ~~~ More Colinette. Upper left: 1 ball salsa; 100% Cotton in color Turquoise (I think); 100 m/109 yards. Upper right: 1 ball Mohair; 78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon; color #99 Ice; 175 m/191 yards. Foreground: 1 ball Zanziba; 50% wool, 50% viscose; color Ice (I think); 100 m/109 yards. $6.00 each including shipping. ~~~ And yet more Colinette. In back: 2 balls Salsa, 100% Cotton in color Terracotta; 100 m/109 yards. Left front: 1 ball Circe; 53% wool, 41% viscose, 6% nylon; color #112 Velvet Gold; 80 m/87 yards. Right front: 1 ball Wigwan Cotton Tape; 100% Cotton; Color Burnt Ochre (I think); 170m/185 yards. $6.00 each. ~~~ Four balls Ironston Felicia yarn; 71% cotton/29% rayon blend; 142 yard/each; Pretty, deep orange/mango color; $12.00 including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! 250 yds British mohair (78% mohair, 13% wool, 9% nylon); handpainted by Katsara in the Riviera colorway. $10.00 including shipping. ~~~ Three Leisure Arts booklets: 1) Quick Crochet Ripple Afghans Book 2 (4 designs) - $1.00; 2) Birthstone Afghans (12 designs) - $3.00; 3) A Year of Q-Hook Afghans (12 designs) - $3.00. $5.00 for the lot. ~~~ Four crochet purse/bag pattern booklets. 1) Crochet Chenille Purses (10 designs) - $3.00; 2) Charming Handbags to Crochet (8 designs) - $3.00; 3) Crochet Trendsetting Totes (8 designs) - $3.00; 4) Crochet Purses on the Go (5 designs) - $3.00). $10.00 for the lot. ~~~ From my previous post - Still Available: 6 balls of Euro Yarns Brushstrokes Cotton in color #109; 119 yards each; 100% mercerized cotton. I paid $8.50 each so I'll take $25.00, including shipping. ~~~ These are two balls of Colinette's Mezzotint wool, which has been discontinued. There is no colorway listed, but the colors are pastel pinks and blues. 125 meters (approx. 130 yards) each. $10.00, including shipping. If interested, email me at marieedmondson (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Stash Sale!

2005-03-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

I spent Wednesday evening rummaging around in the Embarrassingly Large Yarn Stash and came up with lots of yarn to sell. And to look at my yarn closet, you wouldn't even notice that a dent has been made. I tell you, it is almost sinful how much yarn I have accumulated. ~~~ SOLD! First up are 2 balls of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in color #18 Watercolor; 215 yards each; 80% Superwash Wool, 20% Nylon; machine washable. I paid $10.50 each, so I'll take $12.00, including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! Here are 3 balls of Colinette Fandango in their Jamboree colourway; 100 meters (approx. 109 yards) each; 100% pure cotton. $15.00 for the lot, including shipping. ~~~ 6 balls of Euro Yarns Brushstrokes Cotton in color #109; 119 yards each; 100% mercerized cotton. I paid $8.50 each so I'll take $25.00, including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! One ball Twinkle Toes fingering weight wool handpainted by Over the Rainbow Yarns; approximately 4 oz./500 yards. $7.00 including shipping. ~~~ These are two balls of Colinette's Mezzotint wool, which has been discontinued. There is no colorway listed, but the colors are pastel pinks and blues. 125 meters (approx. 130 yards) each. $10.00, including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! Six balls of Crystal Palace Waikiki in color #2954 (peach); 100 yards each; 65% Rayon, 35% Cotton. $20.00, including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! OK, this is 3-ish balls of a handpainted Softball Cotton by Over the Rainbow Yarns in muted purples, blues and greens; approx. 8 oz/400 yards. $10, including shipping. ~~~ SOLD! Three balls Cascade Yarns Sierra Quatro in three different colorways: #84 (greens, peach); #85 (yellow, blue green, coral); and #81 (green, purple, yellow); 191 yards each; 80% cotton, 20% wool. I paid $9.25 each so I'll take either $5.00 each or $12.00 for the lot, including shipping. ~~~ If you would like to purchase any of the above yarns, please email me at marieedmondson (at) yahoo (dot) com. Well, that's it for today. More to follow...

Ribby Cardi Progress!

2005-03-02T18:05:00.000-08:00

Back is done; Left Front is done; Right Front nearly done! And then it's time to cast on for the sleeves. Since I had good luck in the past with knitting two sleeves at the same time, I'm going to use that strategy for Ribby. I really like the Peruvian Highland Wool from elann. I read on the Ribby Cardi KAL (for which I did not join for fear of jinxing myself), that some knitters found the wool scratchy. I don't at all; I actually find it very soft and soothing. As many of you know I have a weakness for varigated wool yarn and as I've been knitting away on Ribby - knitting miles of solid red - I have been dreaming about this pattern in a cool varigated yarn such as Noro's Kureyon or Colinette's Skye. So we'll see how the finished product fits before I decide to knit this pattern up again. Speaking of varigated yarn, I got the new Patternworks 2005 Spring Catalog and saw this: That's the Sideways-Striped Pullover knit in Filatura Di Crosa's 127 Print. I love this sweater! However, pricing it out, it will cost over $120 in yarn! Boo Hoo! I am seriously thinking about funding options and one that keeps coming to mind is selling off some of the Embarrasingly Large Yarn Stash. Inspired by Bron, I'm going to venture into the stash closet and critically evaluate all my yarn accumulation. So keep a look out here for my Stash-Busting Sale. ~~~ From the Ally Archives:

meme'd me

2005-02-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

I got tagged by Bron for the knitting meme. Do you knit continental or English? I suppose you'd call what I do English style. I throw. I don't wrap the yarn around any fingers so this may account for my loose tension. I've watched my friend badcat Karin knit Continental, but haven't tried it for myself -- yet. How long ago did you learn to knit? I can remember working on the incredible increasing/decreasing scarf out of industrial grade acrylic when I was about 8 or 9 (I wonder what ever happened to that scarf...). However, my real first introduction to knitting was on my honeymoon when my mother-in-law taught me to knit (English). Then I put the needles down for about 17 years. First FO? Well, other than the incredible acrylic scarf I'd have to say that it was the wool vest I knit while in New Zealand on my honeymoon. It was in a gastly powder blue and very "80's." I think I still have the pattern around somewhere... I finally sent it to Goodwill about four years ago (before I got back into knitting) after having it move with me about 9 times and never being worn. Favorite yarn? I'd have to say wool and wool blends are my favorite. I absolutely love hand-painted varigated yarns. Favorite pattern? I am really enjoying the Ribby Cardi pattern right now (but I'll have to reserve final judgement after it is completed to see if it fits right). A poncho pattern I've knit more than twice is the Cape Bohemia - that was a very fun and quick pattern. Favorite pattern source? The internet baby! I have amassed quite a knitting book and magazine collection, but I must admit, most of the patterns I return to again and again came from the internet. Favorite needles? Addi Turbos for most projects. However, for scarves, my favorites are short, straight Clover Bamboo needles. Nicest thing you’ve ever knit? I would say the Wave & Shell Stole knit from some fabulous hand-painted wool from Over the Rainbow yarns. Most hated project? My first sweater knit from very expensive Colinette yarns. I knitted the short version of the cover sweater on the Colinette Lifestyles Pattern Book. I knit this when I had just gotten back into knitting about three years ago. This was before I realized that gauge was my friend. This sweater is a real knuckle dragger and very wide, with a neckline as big as Lake Tahoe. It has been sitting in my frog pond pile for years. Great yarn and I know I have enough for a sweater...hmmmm. Who are you going to pass this on to? I'm going to pass this on to Susan from FuffyToes and Dustbunnies and Suzy from KnitTime.

The rest of the weekend...

2005-02-22T18:39:00.000-08:00

The next day we took a very lovely, winding ride over to the coast. With the smell of Blue Gum (eucalyptus) and ferns growing along the side of the road, Graeme remarked how like New Zealand the landscape seemed. Even though he has lived in the US for over 22 years, nostalgia overcomes him every once in a while. At last we came upon the Pacific Ocean. It was a cloudy, blustery day, but still very beautiful. We took our time cruising the coast and looking at shops in the towns we passed through. That evening we met up with my brother, sister-in-law, his youngest daughter, her boyfriend and some other friends at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for dinner. Then it was off to the Ritz Carlton to see Bobby Caldwell in concert. Some of you may not be familiar with Bobby Caldwell, but one of his best known songs is What You Won't Do for Love. What made this concert extra special was my niece Christine sung back up... ...and her husband, Russ Miller, played the drums. It was a really great show played in an intimate setting. ~~~ In knitting news, here is the back of Ribby Cardi. I have since finished the back and have started on the right front. I hope to be up to the armhole shaping by end of American Idol tonight.

So this is love...

2005-02-21T17:47:00.000-08:00

It has been nearly three years since my husband and I had gotten away for an overnight weekend - alone! You know it has to be love, when your spouse agrees to go to a "yarn convention" and be surrounded by fanatical knitters. Saturday around Noon, we arrive at the Westin and checked in. I knew immediately we were in the right place because of the multitude of novelty scarves draped around necks and many women tucked away in quiet corners knitting. So we just followed the miriad of ponchos and shawls to the convention center next door. The Stitches West Marketplace was a circus. Wall to wall people moving every which way. One saw many people in beautiful hand-knit attire - sweating away! It was so hot in the convetion hall, I was glad I left my Rosedale at home. Later when Graeme and I were discussing the Marketplace he said, "I was just standing there admiring a display when this arm comes out of nowhere and plucks a couple of balls of yarn out from under me." My husband really dislikes crowds and after wandering an isle or two, I could see that glazed look in his eye. So I sent him off on a Diet Coke run. I believe he ran into the same Coke machine the Fickle Knitter is flipping off in her February 13 Stitches report. I enjoyed ebbing and flowing with the crowd. One has to have the right mind-set before venturing into the Stitches Marketplace - kind of like Christmas shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I was on the lookout for great bargains, and I found myself thinking, "I could get that cheaper off the Internet, including shipping!" I finally stumbled across some beautiful recycled silk and bought a pound of it. I also bought a couple of patterns. That was the extent of my haul. But I did enjoy fondling many yarns that I've read about on the knit blogs, basking in all the beautiful colors and textures, and admiring the model garments and accessories. At 6:30 that evening we met up with other knit bloggers and headed over to Bennigans for the Dinner-a-long. It was a bit awkward at first, but once we all got settled, conversation began to flow and soon we were gabbing away. Here we are L-R: ME!, Delia, CJ, and J Strizzy. And on the other side of the table L-R: Seltsame, Marissa, Kris, and Jen Unfortunately, I didn't get a good closeup of La, but you can see her way in the back on the right hand side of this pic. And that's my precious husband in the foreground. Thank you dear heart for braving the knitting underworld. I had made up a bunch of stitch markers and passed them around for everybody to pick one. When the topic of knitting technique came up, Delia informed us that she knitted with one needle in her armpit. Intrigued, I asked her to show me. In the words of Mr. Spock, "Fasinating." It really was! Then everybody began bringing out their knitting projects. Very soon, the restaurant manager asked us to move to another booth because it was kareoke night and we were sitting on the stage. Taking pity on my husband, I took this opportunity to say our goodbyes. From what I hear, the company and knitting were great and the kareoke was bad, real bad. After returning to the hotel that evening, I immediate cast on for an envelope bag from my recycled silk. This is actually crocheted, does one actually cast on in crochet? Perhaps, chain up? Anyway, the recyled silk makes a great fabric, kind of rough and dense, perfect for purses. I have made one other and have "chained up" one more. The first two have already been gifted, the third is for me. Tomorrow, I will talk about the rest of the knitti-me and sacto-graeme's weekend getaway.

So, You Vant Pictures...

2005-02-09T13:11:00.000-08:00

Noro Vest from the latest issue of Vogue Knits. Button drop-stitch vest knit quite a while ago from a pattern in the Fall 2002 Issue of Knitter's Magazine (cover vest).

At craft group last Sunday, my daughter Sarah took her two girlfriends out and had a photo shoot showcasing my knitted vests. I'm thinking they had way too much fun.

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In Loving Remembrance~

2005-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ralph Raymond Niles January 21, 1923~February 8, 1995 I miss you Dad.

Fastest Swatch in the West

2005-02-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well the new sweater project of choice is The Ribby Cardi! Inspired by Sahara and other Ribbies glimpsed around the knit blog world, I decided to give this pattern a try. After downloading the pattern, I clicked on over to elann.com for some Peruvian Highland Wool. I chose color #2020 Claret for the body and color #0294 Chocolate Truffle for the sleeves. I couldn't believe it when I saw the receptionist walking down the hallway today with a box that looked suspiciously like it was filled with yarny goodies. I squealed and leaped over my desk to meet him half way. This was my first order with elann, and I was very impressed to receive the order within three days! So the yarn sat by my desk distracting me as I worked. Knowing I didn't have the correct sized needles, I decided to make a quick trip to my LYS during lunch. I am a loose knitter and always have to go down one or two needle sizes to achieve gauge. The Ribby Cardi calls for needle sizes 6 and 7 US, so I sat down at the table and began to knit a swatch with #5's. Too big, so I rip out and begin another swatch on #4's. Meanwhile, my lunch hour is ticking away. I then measure the #4 swatch. What the...? I can't believe it, still too big. Rip. I dubiously take out the #3 needles and cast on for the third time. Ladies and gentlemen, I have never knitted with anything smaller than #5 US; but if I was going to beat this sweater curse, I wasn't going to let a little thing like needle size dissuade me. So I swatched. My needles were flying as I anxiously watched the clock. Quickly now, I laid out the swatch and measured. Ack! It was still just a tad too big, by a half stitch or so. Close enough. I ran out of there with #2 and #3 US size needles. What have I gotten myself into?

The Curse of the Sweater

2005-01-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

It looks like I contracted the sweater curse again. After my successful completion of Rosedale* and Marilyn** at the beginning of last year, I have had only frustration after frustration since then.

>>Autumn Cardi - as much as I block and steam, stretch and coerce, I can't seem to get the silly thing to come together;

>>Marta - I picked this put after being in the UFO pile for nine months or so and began knitting away only to discover my tension was off. I tried knitting tighter, looser; nothing worked. It looks totally wonky. So Marta will go to the rip pond too. Not sure if I will restart Marta or use the yarn for another project.

The Sweater Curse didn't extend to vests however. I successfully finished up the Noro vest featured in the latest issue of Vogue Knitting. Of course the vest I knit doesn't show up on the preview page (humph). You'll just have to wait for a pic. The pattern was very straight forward and a fast, easy knit. The allure of Noro Kureyon kept it interesting.

Some other FO's have been my husband's birthday (Multidirectional) scarf, a frou frou birthday scarf for my sister, and a chunky Colinette One-Zero scarf for my Secret Pal III, whom I haven't introduced yet (my BAD!). Pics someday. (If you haven't noticed, in addition to being ho hum, my computer has been out of commission - incompetent idiots at Best Buy - two weeks, two weeks, and they haven't fixed the problem!)

I've cast on for another Art Nouveau Poncho. And I'm on the prowl for a sweater or cardi pattern - I'm going to lick this curse yet!

So it looks like I won't be sporting any new knitwear at Stiches West, but that won't stop me. I'm going shopping Baby and I'm dragging husband along to carry the loot. JenLa is organizing a casual gathering of knit bloggers that Saturday night - you bet I'll be there with knitting needles in one hand and a drink in the other!

I want to introduce my totally awesome Secret Pal III - Pixie of Pixie Purls. It has been a pleasure spoiling her over the last few months. She is a fairly new knitter - but has progressed very quickly. She also has taken up sewing and has been quilting up a storm. Go on over and say "Hi!"

Also, to the wonderful woman who spoiled me during Secret Pals III, Susan of Fluffytoes and Dustbunnies. She tragically lost her father in October and despite that continued to send me thoughtful gifts and notes. Thank you Susan. I hope to meet up with yer at Stitches West.

I wanted to publicly say a big THANK YOU to Bliss for the wonderful Knitting Pattern-A-Day Calendar she sent me for my birthday.

I think that's it for unfinished business (please let me know if I missed anyone - I've been suffering from dementia a bit lately...). While I have acknowleged gifts and notes directly, I just wanted to post here how much I appreciate the knit blogging community and the friends I have made as a result of this blog.

Until next time - Knit ON!

~~~

*I still love and wear my Rosedale at least twice a week!

**I wore Marily once. Have you ever have a piece of clothing that just doesn't do it for you? Well, this sweater is one of those. I just felt dumpy in it; so it's relegated to the frog pond. It was a good learning experience for cabling and seaming though, so not a total loss.

Heavy Sigh...

2005-01-24T11:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I'm still here. I believe this has been the longest period I have gone without blogging. Thanks so much for the kind emails and comments wondering where I've been. I'm functioning and knitting and there's even some positive stuff going on in my life—but I've just not have the enthusiasm to blog about it. I had a revelation today. Every year I go through this; from about early to mid-January until the first or second week in February I go through a lull. I don't know why I wonder about it, there's good cause. My beloved father fought his last battle with cancer during these weeks. He would have celebrated his 82nd birthday last Friday. On February 8, ten years ago this year, he passed on. Dad, I miss you.

This is a knitting blog after all...

2005-01-07T18:30:00.000-08:00

I have an FO to share! Here is my first Sophie Bag! I used Noro Kureyon in color 128; finally succumbing to a major Noro fix. For the handles I made some great beaded handles. I learned how to braid with five strands—very cool! ~~~ Are you up to another pic from the Ally Archieves?

Seize the Moment ~ Cherish the Moment

2005-01-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

About three-and-a-half weeks ago, my sister-in-law (in Portland, OR) emailed saying that her dad, Jim, wasn't feeling too well and went to the hospital for observation. The next day, Tuesday, they discovered he had too much calcium in his system, causing confusion. Wednesday they found out that he had lung lesions. Thursday they discovered that he had bone, pancreas, and liver involvement. Friday they did a head CT to find out if there was brain involvement and then they transferred him from the hospital to a care center. He passed away Friday. Why oh why didn't I respond to or call right after receiving that email?! What was I doing that was so important that I couldn't take a moment to acknowlege his illness and offer help or encouragement to my brother's family? Seize each and every moment, my friends; you never know what tomorrow will bring. ~~~ As many of you know, my son is now 14 and very teenagery. As he has gotten older, the sweet boy has started to be covered up with "cool." Needless to say, spontaneous demonstrations of affection are few and far between. Last year, as I shared in my December 22, 2003 rant - I mean, post, Gabriel's 13th birthday turned out to be such a disappointment. This year, although I counseled otherwise, Gabriel was not willing to wait until after the Christmas holidays to celebrate, so birthday party planning commenced. The party of choice this year was Laser Tag! So invitations went out and the big day arrived - and so did the guests, with gifts in hand. I was so relieved. After a couple games of laser tag, candle blowing, cake eating, and gift opening, all the boys were cut loose to run wild in the video arcade. Gabriel came up to me sweaty and smiling and said, "Mom, this is the best birthday party ever!" He then gave me a big hug and kiss - in the middle of arcade, teeming with teenagery boys and girls. Wow! Cherish the moment, my friends, cherish the moment.

How Does One Begin the New Year?

2005-01-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Puking one's guts out in the movie theater toilet is perhaps one way. And the spewing was not (unfortunately) induced by any merry making either, let me tell you. So I spent the majority of a perfectly good long weekend groaning on the couch watching TV - such a waste! But I'm not letting the first weekend in 2005 set the tone for the year - no siree! 2004 was a horrendous year for me personally and professionally. I can remember 1994 being a horrendous year too; at least I didn't end up in the looney bin this time (hee!). So here are my New Year's Goals (I think Resolutions only set one up for failure - at least goals are something one can strive for): 1. Water - Drink more water... 2. Exercise - We joined the Family Fitness Center and I'm going to take advantage of it and I may even discover I like exercise - but don't hold your breath. Check back with me in three months, we'll see if I'm sticking to it. 3. Bible - Read and study more routinely than I have been in the last few years. 4. Prayer - Become a woman of faith and prayer. 5. Organize - the stash, the land fill (known as my garage), the office; the house - MY LIFE! 6. Budget! - This is the year of the budget. We are going to get our finances under control, whatever it takes. Shooting for Awesome Vacation New Zealand/Australia 2006! 7. Colorwork - I want to get beyond the scarf and tackle a colorwork project like one of the fabulous carpet bags in Vicki Square's Folk Bags. 8. Yarn - Only buy yarn for specific projects (no more impulse buying); knit two projects from stash yarn for every one "bought" project. 9. Relationships - Work on getting beyond the yelling and negativity with my teenagery son; appreciating my daughter as the individual she is; romancing with my husband; becoming more genuinely interested in those I come in contact with and developing friendships. 10. Work Ethic - strive to be above reproach, to do my best in whatever I put my hand to. Well, that's a tall order, but with God's help I will certainly strive to reach these goals. I am a work in progress afterall.

Relieved~

2004-12-29T08:25:00.000-08:00

My brother-in-law Robert, his wife Bauy, and their daughter Jade were in Thailand visiting Bauy's relatives when the earthquake and resulting tsunami hit. While life here seemed to go on "normally," running in the background was concern for Robert and his precious family. We went about our daily business, but were waiting for The Call. We would listen to the news, but know we wouldn't find out anything specific on our loved ones. Yesterday, Graeme got ahold of his parents in Australia and they were finally able to get through to Robert in Thailand. Robert and his family will be flying home to Australia on Friday. I thank God for His protection over our relatives in the face of such disaster. We must continue to keep the people of Southeast Asia in our thoughts and prayers as they recover from this devastation. As our situations allow, we must send finanical and material aid.

It's my baby boy's Birthday!

2004-12-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

Happy 14th Birthday, Gabriel!

It's starting to look a bit more like Christmas...

2004-12-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

... around the Edmondson house. It has been such a "bah humbug" year for me. Usually, as soon as December 1st rolls around I've got that tree up and carols blaring. Not this year; not sure why - might be that I turned 40, or that money is tight, or that my job is so all-consuming that I can't see past my stapler - who knows. Anyway, just the thought of venturing into the land-fill known as my garage to bring out the tree (artificual = husband's choice) and decorations sent me reeling. My daughter, bless her heart, finally brought out her two-foot fiber optic tree (which has been in her room since last year...) and set it up in the living room. On Saturday Graeme and I made a quick trip to my brother's house (1 1/2 hours away) to pick up my Grandmother's "TV" room furniture. My brother and SIL recently got new family room furniture and offered Gran's old furniture to us. We dumped our living room set off at Goodwill and brought in Grandma's set. We're talking vintage 1950's and really cool. Last night I was so enthused about having a fairly clean living room and new furniture that I actually doned my Haz Mat suit and entered the land-fill for some Christmas decorations. (I still couldn't bring myself to drag out the tree and ornaments though - so the fiber optic tree stays.) Here are a few Christmas "vignettes" I set up: I used to be all "Victorian" with the Christmas decorations, but have since been moving into a more "rustic" direction. I collect Nativity Scenes and this is one of my favorites. Yes, that's the fiber optic tree on the right. It provides quite a light show when it's dark. Although this is not your typical Nativity scene, I like it because it shows Joseph playing with the baby Jesus. Most Nativity scenes focus more on the mother and child and the holiness - but this scene shows the "humanity" of the Christ-child. And here is a "rustic" Father Christmas just hanging out.

Here is one of the chairs, the ottoman and side table from my Grandma's set. That wonderful lamp was made by my Grandfather. Click here to see the other chair and here to see the sofa. The sofa is a bit "saggy" and will need to be reinforced at some point - but I'm loving it just the same. Merry Christmas Everybody!

Cookies

2004-12-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

I have never considered myself a cook, baker, sous-chef or anything related to the culinary arts—I barely get by (and thank God for microwaves!). Last Friday my office hosted a cookie exchange where each employee brought one or two dozen cookies to eat and share. Not wanting to flake out and show up with store-bought ginger snaps, or worse - buy Costco cookies and put them on a plate thus decieving my co-workers, I decided to try my hand at baking. Reaching deep into the family recipe archives (well, after a few frantic calls and emails to family members) I came up with my Grandmother's Gumdrop Cookie recipe. ~~~ Grandma’s Gumdrop Cookies 1 Cup Butter 1 Cup Brown Sugar 1 Cup Sugar 2 Eggs 2 tsp Vanilla 2 Cups Flour 2 Tbl Baking Powder ½ tsp Baking Soda ½ tsp Salt 2 Cups Oatmeal 1 Cup Coconut (optional, but recommended) 1 Cup Chopped Gumdrops (not Spice Drops - get the fruity ones) 1 Cup chopped Nuts (optional) Cream sugar and butter, add eggs and vanilla and beat well Mix flour, salt, soda and baking powder in a separate bowl and then stir into creamed mixture Add Oats, Coconut, Nuts, and Gumdrops Roll into balls about the size of a small walnut and press flat with fork Bake on lightly greased baking sheet for about 10-14 minutes at 350 degrees Makes about 70 cookies. ~~~ My boss gave me the best compliment, "Wow Marie, you're Grandma sure knew what she was doing!"

Debriefing the Holiday Boutique

2004-12-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

On December 14th a group of beautiful and talented women got together to offer their wares to last minute shoppers. I was honored to be included with this group of local artisans. Here is a photo of my little corner. FO Altert! This poncho, was the belle of the ball. I love how the Crystal Palace Waikiki yarn drapes. At first I wasn't too crazy about the peach stripe, but now I like it. And a medley of scarves... Another FO alert. This is a cute vest knit from 100% Labrador wool, hand-dyed by Danette Taylor. Both the poncho and this vest look fabulous on my friend Karin. When the poncho, vest, Karin, and my camera are in the same place at the same time, I'll get a modeling photo. And here is Cori with a wonderful display of her hand beaded jewelry draped on a replica of the Eiffle Tower. This is Charr, who was gracious enough to host this event at her home. The multi-talented Charr had a selection of hand-made jewelry, hand-painted silk scarves, and photographs. Here are Kim and Karin who have embarked on creating a new line of unique lotions, bath salts, lip balms, body sprays—definitely the "Nectar of the Goddesses."

Is it just me?

2004-12-17T11:04:00.000-08:00

Despite the great time I had in Vegas with my sister, I’m a bit perturbed about the reception I received from my cousins. Our trip to Vegas coincided with my Uncle’s 80th birthday party. Relatives from as far away as Wyoming and Connecticut gathered to celebrate. There were about 30 of us; most I hadn’t seen (albeit briefly at my Aunt’s funeral last year) in five to ten years and a couple for as long as 23 years! What puzzled me was not one cousin asked about my husband or children, what I did for a job, whether I went to college – nothing! And later talking with my sister, she found the same was true for her. Having been in the corporate working world and customer service for the last 20 years, I have developed skills for drawing people out and engaging them in conversation. You may call this small talk, but I am genuinely interested in those I come in contact with; especially cousins I haven’t seen in 20 years. I know that ~

Cousin Kathy loves country music and is a manager at Longs Drug;
Cousin Jason is fluent in Spanish and is working on becoming a certified elementary school teacher;
Cousin Greg says he’s in “banking,” but it turns out he really only sells ATM systems to chain stores;
Cousin Eileen has trouble with her demonstrative Italian in-laws;

And on, and on… I’m not implying that my life story is so interesting (I work, I knit, I blog, oh and I have a family too) that their lives would be eternally changed, but a little common courtesy and give and take would be appreciated. Is it a sign of the times that people generally are becoming so self-absorbed that they can care less about those they come in contact with—unless, of course, they want something. Or is it that they have a hard time getting beyond their comfort zone and reaching out to others?

Is it just me or am I the odd one? I’d be interested in what you think.

Where Else Can You...

2004-12-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

visit New York ... and Paris all in one day... ... And celebrate the Holiday Season in a BIG WAY?!!! ... Only in Vegas, Baby! From the fabulous casinos, to the scrumptious food, to the specialty Marguaritas (Neon Kamakazi), to the wonderful company - we had a great time!

Viva Las Vegas Baby!

2004-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

(It's amazing what a couple weeks in the gym can do...) See you next week!

Curses!

2004-12-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

I wanted a change around here, but forgot to copy all my side-bar doo dads. Looks like I'll have to recreate everything like my web ring links, FO's and WIP's lists - Oh NO!, I lost my scrolling marque - does anybody know where that code is? Curses, curses! EEEK! I just realized I lost my commenting capability too! Well go and email me with any words of wisdom or sympathy at marieedmondson at yahoo dot com. ~~~ Added Later: I was able to add Blogspot Comments... ~~~ As my dad use to say, "Some people live and learn, other people just live."

Lookie, lookie - more goodies!

2004-12-08T07:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute, cute ornaments from the fantastically creative Tifff. And you may notice that the ornaments have BEADED detail. And here is a wonderful birthday-Christmas present from the absolutely brilliant Bron. The gift included a chili pepper themed hot pad, to bring a little of the Southwest to Northern California, a stunning BEADED crocheted snowflake ornament, and a fabulous BEADED bracelette, which is sparkling on my wrist right now as I type. Is this a KNITTING blog? I'm starting to wonder. Anyway, I've been plodding along on the Art Nouveau Poncho and I finally found my husband's unfinished multidirectional scarf, which he is anxiously awaiting now that the weather has turned chilly. Have I mentioned that my sister is taking me to Las Vegas for my birthday? My plane leave Saturday morning.

I'll have beads all around please...

2004-12-07T21:52:00.000-08:00

Look what my kids got me for my birthday! That's a nifty carosel with modular trays holding lots of beading goodies. Also, received is a great beading book that I've already used for inspiration. I'm raising a couple of enablers aren't I? Speaking of beading here are a few of my latest projects: Here is a set of stitch markers I sent off to Bliss (http://goddess1.typepad.com/i_hide_yarn/) for her birthday. A couple of braceletts I made for my Secret Pal II, Chandra (http://perfectlyfine.typepad.com/), and her daughter K. Another bracelett for my sister Vicki given in appreciation for hosting the whole clan for Thanksgiving. And for a special badcat (http://badcat.blogspot.com/) for her birthday, a book mark. The large bobble is a piece of Paua (a cousin to abaloni) shell from New Zealand. ~~~ Thanks for all your well wishes for my birtday! I really, really appreciate all my blog buddies. You guys are the best!

Sigh...

2004-12-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's my 40th birthday. ~~~ There's knitting going on, but no pics to show for it. I have crafty Sunday going on today, so I'm planning on sewing "knitti-me" tags into all my boutique items.

15 Minutes

2004-12-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

Check out my friend Charr's "15 Minutes" in The Sacramento News & Review. ~~~ Oh, and I found an FO in "My Pictures" on the computer, which I forgot to post. These are a couple of fingerless mitts I made Bliss' Kiddo in exchange for the wonderful socks she knit me. ~~~ From deep in the Ally Archives