Mr Poopers Day Out

Posted by: preita | July 7, 2009

Lacy Baktus

Thank you all for your lovely comments on my Apre` Surf Hoodie I really love it and since it’s been so cloudy and chilly still here in Southern California I’ve worn it quite a few times. I had a wonderful birthday, I got a great haircut that trimmed up the crazy poof that I was sporting and I got a fab birthday present from the Mr.

Birthdays usually aren’t a big deal in this house for some reason. I will admit that this present was several birthdays of neglect rolled into one. He did well though, it was more than I expected and the fact that he’s been planning it since December means the world to me.

In other news I’m going with a family friend tomorrow to volunteer for the first time at a horse rescue up in Ojai. I’m a little nervous as what to expect but it will be awesome to get out of the house. I really don’t know what people do at home all day who don’t have kids to run after. Seriously, house wives with out kids? What do you do? This is ridiculous.

I finished a knit too. I really like it and it finally gave me something to use one of my favorite skiens in.

Baktus

Pattern: Baktus with Mustaavillaa’s modification
Yarn: Mountain Colors Barefoot colorway Marigold
Needles: US 2

Right now there is a lot of knitting going on. I’m finishing up a fingerless mitt pattern, trying to get some motivation to finish a second sock, spinning for tour de fleece, swatching (or trying to get around to swatching) for a new sweater, among other things. Hopefully I’ll be a little more consistent with blogging. I realize I haven’t had a whole lot of interesting things to say lately but really, my life just isn’t that interesting. Still looking for a job and trying not to get down about it. I’m just no good at sitting at home doing what I see as nothing. Chores at home are what I would be doing even if I were working so they don’t count.

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Posted in Craft, knit

Posted by: preita | June 30, 2009

Apres` Surf Hoodie

I have finished quite possibly the most beautiful sweater I’ve ever knit. When the Apres` Surf Hoodie came out I remember thinking, “Alace hoodie? No thanks” and that was the last time I even thought about it. That was until my friend Sophia talked about this sweater for three weeks strait. She was swatching and deciding on yarn and I was becoming intrigued. By the time that she had cast on so had I.

I'm seriously in love with this sweater

Pattern: Apres` Surf Hoodie
Yarn: Beaverslide Dry Goods Light Sport Weight 1 pound cone (between 1700 & 1900 yds no one is quite sure which)
Needle: US size 4 through out
Mods: Many! Obviously I omitted the hood. I like the concept of a hood but don’t actually like to knit one. I have a knit hooded sweater and it pulls and stretches so that I’m constantly tugging down the front. I don’t like it. So the hood was out!

Another mod was that I omitted the waist shaping. This was a two fold decision and I will be completely honest here about it. 1. I just didn’t read the directions well enough. I just blew right by the waist shaping. 2. Instead of going back to fix this I thought about how I wanted the overall sweater to fit. I wanted NO tugging at all so after measuring a few of my favorite sweaters and my knit in progress I decided this was ok. I’m really pleased with the fit and my decision.

I also added length to the sleeves which probably wasn’t needed because this yarn + lace really bloomed in length not width. So my hands disappeared in their length. This doesn’t bother me because I’m usually tugging on my cuffs anyways and I can always fix it later if it really bothers me.

I’m especially pleased with the back. There is no pulling but also no drooping either. It fits me perfectly. This I believe has been the commutation of being honest about my measurements and how I wear clothes. When I first started knitting I had a tendency to lie to myself about what size I really was. It’s hard being a bigger gal and a knitter. I never meet gage and that’s ok because most sweaters stop at 50″ or 52″ bust sizes. Both of which I can wear but I like a little more ease than that.

I’m only a little sad that I will have to wait so long to wear this sweater. At least it will be ready come fall and I know it will be fantastic to wear. I should have slipped on a white T under this sweater to really show off the lace but this is exactly how I will wear it.

What else am I working on since I have been remiss in the knitting aspect lately? I have started a garter st jacket for my best friend’s soon to be baby girl. She’s due in September so I think I’m ok time wise though I’m afraid I’m going to run out of yarn. I did this with 3/4 skeins and I think I will worry till it’s done.

In real life the colors are Jitterbugs Vincent Apron & Velvet Grapes which are totally kicking butt together. they aren’t quite showing true in this photo but it’s almost there.

In other news tomorrow is my birthday which is also Canada Day for you people up north. I have no idea what’s going on to celebrate other than I am getting a much needed hair cut & washing my car. The Mr has been practically jumping out of his skin about his gift he’s been planning since December so I will finally find out what he’s been up to.

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Posted in Craft, Knitting, Picture, Pictures, knit, photography

Posted by: preita | June 29, 2009

Crochet, Flowers, & Lompoc

This last weekend the Mr and I drove up to Lompoc to visit our friends Mette & Tom at Ranch Of The Oaks. It was the annual flower festival up there which was pretty neat. I didn’t know that Lompoc was the seed capital of the United States and where I’m used to seeing produce fields there are instead fields of flowers.

Tractor in a marigold field.

As always there was some farm animal visits.

Donkey!

I have to say I’ve been wanting to get into the big pasture with the donkeys since I met Mette. I was amazed that they both came right over and were happy to get any kind of attention from us.

Donkey Love

Of course there are llamas but they aren’t nearly as friendly.

llama

Fashion is relative on a ranch

All in all the weekend was a blast. We kept Mette & Tom company at their booth at the craft fair for the flower festival. I spent the whole time crocheting and the Mr spun 12 ounces of alpaca.

Crocheted Icelandic Scarf

This is made from a little under 400 yds of Icelandic Wool from Ranch Of the Oaks. This is probably the nicest lopi I’ve ever felt. It’s amazingly itch free that I doubt a lot of people would know what kind of wool it was.

I’m not sure what I did with the crochet pattern because I’m not a good crocheter. I think it’s a half double crochet? But I’m really not sure.

I am done with my apres surf hoodie and just have to take pictures. It’s awesome. It’s probably the prettiest thing I’ve knit next to my Lady Elanore and I know I will get quite a lot of use out of it. I now have to think of the next big project

Until then I thought this sign was funny.

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Posted in Craft, Knitting, Picture, Pictures, Spin, california, crochet, fiber, handspun, knit, photography

Posted by: preita | June 23, 2009

Too Many Topics

The days have been a blur of activity but I can’t quite remember what happened in all of them I know that last Friday was my good friend Nancie’s birthday and we all surprised her at a local restaurant. The reaction was classic.

Nancie

After a delish lunch at Hozy’s we all caravan-ed over to Lisa’s place for some more birthday celebration – knitters style

Lisa & Becky

Then after that we had some brownie Sundays and they were fantastic!

Saturday the Mr and I drove down (up? sideways?) to Valley Village to visit a friend we don’t get to see all that often. Will and I hung out all the time (and I mean every damn day) when we both lived in Minnesota and it’s just a freak chance that we moved out to California with in months of each other and actually live with in driving distance.

Reflections of Me

I finally got a picture that I have been trying for since about this time last year. I’m a little obsessed with reflective surfaces, especially if they are non-traditional ones. So last year we passed by a huge tanker truck and I noticed that we were reflected awesomely in it’s hubcaps. A new obsession was born but it was limited. Tanker trucks are most usually spotted on the 101 & 5 out here and they aren’t all that prevalent on the road in Ventura. So I knew my best chance of catching one was on the way to Will’s house. Bingo. Also I have to be the passenger for obvious reasons (I hope they are obvious anyways). I have totally been known to take pictures WHILE driving but not on the 101 going into LA thank you very much. That’s just stupid.

Another accomplishment of epic proportions.

My Word Count

I still can’t quite believe that I’ve written over 200,000 words in one piece that actually relate to each other (That’s 358 pages for those of you that wanted to know). I printed my story out so far and had it bound at kinkos so that I would be able to give it to people to read and it would be easier than on the computer and get their opinion. Problem with that is that I’m still really embarrassed that I’m writing a story at all, so I doubt anyone will ever even see it. Every time I even mention it in public I hear my parents voices “get a real job” because art school or anything fun won’t pay the bills. This was a reoccurring theme when I was growing up which is maybe why I get nasty jealous when other can totally make a living at something awesome. Either way, I think that I’m just about 1/2 way done (but when haven’t I said that before?)

In other news the Mr has Thursday and Friday of this week off (which totally rocks hard core) and we are heading up to Lompoc to Ranch Of The Oaks this weekend. They are having a craft fair up in Lompoc and if you want to stop by to visit alpacas please do stop by! The Mr and I will be there all weekend, I’m offering impromptu knitting help, instructions on knitting in the round, socks, and other techniques. I’m going to force the Mr to bring his wheel so both of us will be fibery all weekend.

My birthday is a week from tomorrow. I’m not sure how that even happened or how I managed to be 27. It’s weird, not unpleasant but just different. Of course I’m also one of those odd ball people who is really looking forward to my 30’s and 40’s. What can I say? I’m a freak! Those of you at Anacapa Fine Yarns on Thursdays I will be bringing cupcakes (home made) to knitting so be there or be square.

I’m still knitting the Apres` Surf Hoodie. I have finished both the front and back and now am almost done with 1 sleeve. This is definitely going to be one of my favorite sweaters (I hope!) Amazingly the weather here has been so gloomy (june gloom) that I could probably even wear it soon if I finished it fast enough!

And just as a reminder for this weekend!

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Posted in Knitting, Picture, Pictures, The Story Of Mildred, Writing, california, fiber, knit, photography

Posted by: preita | June 19, 2009

Actual Knitting!

I have finished the back and am close to finishing the front of my Apres` Surf Hoodie.

I am using Beaverslide Dry Goods in their light sportweight. It’s $30 for a 1lb cone, comes in fantastic colors and is 1976yds per cone. Seriously, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to finish this sweater because it’s going to get A LOT of wear. I’m leaving off the hood because that’s just how I roll. I don’t wear a hood and don’t need a hood looking like a giant flabby tumor on my back.

I realize I’ve neglected my spinning wheel for a few weeks and have a few bobbins that i really need to ply. Maybe I can get that done next week and free up all the bobbins before heading up to Lompoc. Lord knows I have enough fiber.

I also have fairly regular visitors to the yard bird wise.

Oeriel

and then these guys which crack me up. I want to know what the fly did to the bird!

It’s been cool and kind of cloudy lately but that has been great weather for the flowers which have now really bloomed in earnest.

I may also have a lead on a job but I’m not going to go into too much detail in case I jinx it Also I’m getting closer to a kind of landmark for me. I am just about to reach 200,000 words in my story. I printed out (at kinkos online) what I have so far and had it bound. It’s weird to have it tangible and to physically hold it in your hand.

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Posted in Craft, Knitting, Picture, Pictures, The Story Of Mildred, california, fiber, knit, photography, short story

Posted by: preita | June 15, 2009

I had such a lovely weekend that sometimes I am truly overwhelmed by how blessed I am to have married into such a fantastic group of people. We drove up to the Mr’s grandparents Saturday and though we had to play nice with the only unsavory element of his family it was really nice. I have to tell you once again, if you do not know someone well enough to know why they do not have children after almost six years of marriage, you do not know them well enough to ask. It is the rudest question on the face of the earth. I do not ask you “why did you feel the need to have babies to justify your marriage” why? because it’s rude, yes? Just keep that in mind if you think this is a good small talk starter.

In other news I’ve been knitting like mad (is there any other way to knit?) and have finished the back and half of the front of the apres surf hoodie except I’ve got no pictures. Maybe tomorrow if the sun actually comes out.

I have supplemented my summer reading with some good gore. I dig the concepts of this book and at times it’s been funny but there are a few things right off the bat that I’m not a fan of.

ORCS now with women!

1) the sentence structure seems to be lacking somewhat. The sentences are themselves fine, but the author doesn’t seem to fully employ a compound sentence. I’m not sure if this is the editor’s fault or the work of the writer. Each sentence is between 12 and 14 words with few exceptions. Being a big fan of Tad and Terry and Patrick ect (Williams, Prachet & Rothfus for those of you just joining us) I need long drawn out page long sentences.

Problem (for me) #2 is um, well there’s sex. I don’t read sex, any type of sex, which makes this book a little awkward at times. This book should come with a warning “FOR ADULTS ONLY” because, yeah, ew. (and it’s not at all that I’m a prude, I just don’t care to read about ‘manhoods’ and the like).

Next for the knitters and spinners. June 27-28 you all want to be in Lompoc CA.

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Posted in Family

Posted by: preita | June 10, 2009

Celebrating the Small Anniversaries.

A week of anniversaries. Not big ones like wedding anniversaries, the Mr and I were married in September, but ones that we’ve never actually acomplished before.

First off, we have spent one full year in one place. One house, no moving, 12 full months. You might think that this is nothing and that people do this all the time, but honestly we haven’t. See, the standard lease in California is 10 months and we have only once re-signed a lease in our almost 6 year marriage. Of course, a week after we resigned it (in month 11) we decided to relocate to Ohio for business and moved that month.

Also yesterday marked the 10th week since I gave up smoking. That’s two and 1/2 months. I still want a cigarette almost every week but it usually passes quite quickly. I think it’s a physical want rather than a NEED. Like my brain is remembering “hey, didn’t we used to smoke about this time every day?” It’s amazing how well I breath now, how well I smell and how well I taste. I knew smoking decreased all these things but it doesn’t matter when you are in the middle of an addiction.

I have also finished the first Vilai sock. Another Cookie A sock from Sock Innovation. Am I knitting my way through this book? Probably. I did the same thing with Knitting Vintage Socks.

Vilai Sock

The color is off because it’s one of those fantastically red/wine/burgandy colors that is beautiful in person but doesn’t photograph worth a spit. Hopefully the June Gloom will lift a bit in the next few days so when I finish both I can photograph them in natural light (for those of you that don’t live in Southern California/ Central Coast and don’t know what June Gloom is, well it’s an entire month in SUMMER where it is weirdly cold during the day and the sun is absent. It happens every year but still is weird to me)

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Posted in Craft, Knitting, Picture, Pictures, california, knit, photography, thoughts

Posted by: preita | June 8, 2009

Two Socks Full

I finished two pairs of socks in the last week. One pair was finished in two days which is even a record for me! Funnily enough they are still not my favorite pairs of socks in Cookie A.’s Sock Innovation.

Kei-Mai Socks

Pattern: Kei-Mai from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Wine
Needles: US 2 circs
Thoughts: This pattern is honestly just fine. Nothing to write home about in my mind though it does have some unique and thoughtful construction in regard to the lace panel. 7 inches of ribbed cuff was a little much though, there should have been more going on because though this was a super fast sock I didn’t want to knit it because of the boringness of ribbing. All in all it’s just fine.

Angee Socks

Pattern: Angee from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock
Needles: US 1 circs
Thoughts: OK, now here is what I was looking for. Though this still is not my cup of tea pattern wise they were so much fun to knit and the chart just sucked me in that I finished these babies in 2 days total.

Angee Socks

The yarn reminds me of a Monet painting and it was amazingly ribby enough that I could smash my fat foot in the sock before washing/blocking it for the recipient who totally does not wear my big clog stomper size 12’s.

I have one complaint about Sock Innovation by Cookie A. though. All the stitch counts are a might puny. They are all roughly 60-65 stswhich is tough on a gal who has large feet. Especially when there are cables involved. That means I have to up my yarn/needle size to even be able to wear these socks but also means that I will end up with thick slipper socks. Though…she does go through a whole second on modifying a stitch count I still feel I kinda shouldn’t have to. But then again, maybe I’m spoiled.

In other news my husband is starting his own line of knitting related products using rare woods and a laythe. No, they are not knitting needles and as soon as I have a proto type I will flash it all over the blog

Purple Heart

On the job front I am still unemployed but I have a thingamajig (not an actual interview) that I have to show up for on the 16th. It’s for the county and it’s doing something I could do in my sleep, and it pays pretty darn well. So we will see. Though I have to tell you, I was looking forward to having the entire summer off.

4 Comments

Posted in Knitting, Pattern, Picture, Pictures, crochet, knit, photography | Tags: angee, cookie a, kei-mai, sock innovation

Posted by: preita | June 5, 2009

Ghostly Image Captured @ Bodie Ghost Town!

I finished the Kei-Mai socks and they are ok. I’m still not thrilled about them but have already started a new pattern from the same book and am totally feeling back in the groove. I did take pictures but instead I’m posting just one random picture today that cracks me up. Happy Friday!

Ghostly Image Captured!

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Posted in Picture, Pictures, california, photography

Posted by: preita | June 3, 2009

I <3 Icelandic Wool

One of the nice things about being home is that after I finish looking for a job for the day I have “free time” which means trying to clean the house, making dinner (I am having an affair with the crock pot), baking bread and what not. This week it included spinning.

Icelandic + Angora Goat

This is Icelandic Wool blended with Angora Goat from Ranch Of The Oaks and it was absolutely beautiful to the touch. Not at all like any lopi I’ve ever felt, it was clean and soft and so enjoyable. Also, it had a LONG staple! Over 3 inches in some places! I’d totally recomend begining spinners trying icelandic but I doubt that any is really as nice as Tom & Mette’s. I’m not sure how they get it so soft but they are doing something seriously right at Ranch Of The Oaks for sure!

I’m thinking that after I wash and twack it this yarn will fluff up to a solid DK or even light worsted weight. I am thinking about making fingerless mitts or mittens out of this as it’s a little too hairy to be close to the neck.

I also finished a sock from Cookie A.’s new book. Kei-Mai. It’s nice I guess. I’m waiting until I finish the second sock for a full review but though I was impressed with the traveling lace pattern I wasn’t happy with the 7″ long cuff or that for my foot size the lace travels all the way across the foot to the other stockingknit portion of the sock. I’m really glad I went up a needle size (66st is kinda small for me!) instead of adding more rib because then I really would have been out of luck pattern wise.

I think that these socks are kinda pretty, but I think pattern wise they aren’t my cup of tea. I chose this pattern to get my feet wet in the book and now that I have it’s off to the more interesting and fun patterns.