My Moebius Scarf

I'm just so happy that Cat Bordhi was on Knitty Gritty to share her Moebius cast on technique.  My friend, Sidra, tried to show me but as soon as I got home and attempted it on my own, I couldn't remember it.  I googled until I found a pattern that explained one version but it wasn't Cat's version.  That one involved doing a regular e-loop cast on using two needles so that the stitches were very loose.  Then you had to go back and pick up along the bottom of the cast on stitches.  It is twice the work of Cat's technique.
I have 150 stitches (which I think equals 300 stitches in moebius land) crammed on this size 10-40" inch cable.  With this number and my gauge, it will be a large scarf but not quite big enough to fit over my NFL linebacker sized shoulders.  Next time, to get a shawl, I'll need to cast on over 250 stitches. 
I've pretty much told Bernie that I'll be making one of these for my MIL in her favorite color, purple, for Christmas.  I'm always trying to find new garments and accessories suited to my MIL and her ability to wear them comfortably.  She is missing one of her arms so I figured that a Moebius scarf would be ideal so she doesn't have to constantly fidget with it to stay on.  Last Christmas I made her a poncho to not only keep her warm but help disguise the fact that she's missing a limb.  She has a prosthesis but chooses not to wear it.  I don't blame her one bit. 

This is my little girl, Sam

She doesn't look quite this shaggy at the moment.  You see, we had a bit of a storm recently and the grease trap of our grill flooded and overflowed.  Sam got into the grease and we had a big mess.  I called the groomer and begged to get her in.  They couldn't save her hair and she is now completely shaved to within  a 1/2 inch all over.  She doesn't even look like a Schnauzer any more.

Watermelon socks

These are Trekking socks in the #107 colorway.  The colors remind me of watermelon.  These were knit on size 2 needles, toe up with a short row heel for my size 10 feet.  I still have quite a bit of yarn left.

FO

This pair went to my sister, Joslyn.  I tried very hard to finish it while I was in Hawaii but ran out of time.  It was a nice surprise for her when she got it in the mail.  Good thing I didn't tell her it was coming.

Anchor from the Arizona Memorial

Here's one of Anthony from our last trip to Hawaii in December '05.  My son is 6'0" in this picture, so that just shows you how really large these anchors are.

Bernie & Chris chillin' in the pool

Hawaiian Steak - Spam!

Here's my sister, Gina at the Spam-Mobile waiting to try a free sample of Spam burgers.  We were shopping at the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet (a MUST if you're ever on Oahu) and saw this vehicle parked at one of the entrances.  Had to check it out!  Did you know that the state of Hawaii is the #1 consumer of Spam in the US?  I think that only applies to the original flavor.  I don't think the hybrids have done too well there, except the Tabasco marinated version, of course, which also has a large following on Guam.

This is my friend, David

Ala Moana Beach Park.  Chris is taking the picture.  Shortly afterwards, we headed for the concession stand right behind us for some Icee drinks.   Diamond Head behind us.

Yep, it's Diamond Head

I didn't take too many pictures on this last trip back home but here's one of them.  We just took a quick trip to Ala Moana Beach Park to let Chris play in the water before we headed out for Mongolian BBQ at Hickam AFB with my sister and her family.

It's been a month and a half since my last confession!

I can't believe it's been so long. I have been busy, but who hasn't? It's summer. My whole routine and schedule has been completely thrown off kilter. For one, this is my first summer home with my children. I was scared to death! I have always worked and they have always been in some form of summer program to keep them busy. Now I'm glad I'm home with them, don't get me wrong, but how can you keep your kids busy and not spend a fortune or lose your mind?

Our trip to Hawaii was nice but very hot. I know it's hot here in Vegas (110 degrees today!) but Hawaii's humidity kicked my ass! It was nice to see my cousins, some of whom I haven't seen in 15 years. My sisters and I got to have a nice lunch together and I was able to spend time with them individually as well.

Bernie and I went to Denver a couple of weekends ago for a football conference meeting. I didn't see very much of the city, though. We stayed at the Denver Marriott Tech Center and we didn't venture out much. I did manage to go to Anderson's Strawberry Tree, which is a yarn shop, not too far from the hotel. Since I had a non-knitting friend with me, I tried not to stay too long. I did manage to buy a couple of skeins of Noro Kureyon and one of Noro Daria, some sock yarn, point protectors and a Noni bag pattern. They only accepted cash (get with the program people and start accepting credit cards!) or I would have bought more than that.

Last week I finally went to a LYS that I haven't been to before. It's called Two Crazy Ladies Yarn Shop and they've been open for a year. Luckily for me, they were having a big sale for their anniversary. Every yarn in the shop was 50% off! I spent about $100. Enough single skeins for small projects for my sister, a skein of Noro Kureyon (I'm collecting this yarn, apparently), and some other yarn for a couple of shawls. Forgive me, but this yarn is upstairs in my stash and I'm downstairs and too lazy to go up and get it. I need to go back to the shop and wind up those skeins into balls. The winder was busy. Remind me to put that on my Christmas wish list...a swift! I've had my ball winder for years and for now, Bernie is content to hold my skeins for me but that's because they're only about 100 yds each. I bought some lace yarn that's 440 yds per skein from Knit Picks (with more on the way) and I don't think he'd sit still for that, especially since I need to attach my winder to our dinner table. Oh, BTW, those Knit Picks Options needles are great! I love the flexible cable! Only bad thing is that when I cast on for a Moebius scarf the needles kept unscrewing from the cable. I think it was the coiled action of the Moebius that was the culprit, don't you?

Gotta run. Aloha!

Another addiction, I fear

I'm really enjoying making these washcloths and soap sacks. I'm currently working on a lavender colored set. I can't wait to give them away as gifts. I'm also planning on designing my own round washcloths but I haven't figured out which lace pattern to use. Perhaps the vine lace that I used for those socks I made not too long ago?

The MWC 2006 football schedule is up!

Bernie just found out which games he's working this season and here they are! His first game, however, at University of Nevada Reno is not on this schedule.

The full schedule can be found by going to the official Mountain West Conference web site: http://themwc.cstv.com/

2006 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE FOOTBALL TELEVISION SCHEDULE

Sat., Sept. 30 New Mexico at Air Force mtn. 12 p.m. MT

Sat., Oct. 28 Cal Poly at San Diego State* mtn. 5 p.m. PT

Thurs., Nov. 9 Wyoming at BYU CSTV 6 p.m. MT

All dates and game times subject to change.

An asterisk (*) denotes games where the kick time may be adjusted to better serve the fans.

Yummy washcloths and flowers galore

I've been busy. Not working on what I should be working on, but busy nonetheless. I haven't worked on my black felted bag, nor have I worked on my Tubey sweater (it will be 102 degrees by Sunday) and I haven't finished my second Trekking sock. I have wanted the Bathing Beauties washcloth and soap sack patterns from Fiber Trends for a very long time and finally gave in to the urge and ordered the patterns as well as some DK weight cotton with which to make them from OneFineYarn.com. I had been making some face cloths with Cottontots and they're great but I just loved the idea of these delicate looking cloths and matching soap sacks to give as gifts. They make a great presentation.

The day the patterns came in the mail with some of the Petit Mandarin 100% Egyptian cotton yarn I ordered, I dropped everything and cast on for the round Old Shale Lace washcloth. I used a ball of yellow crochet cotton that I had in my stash. It's not as soft as the Petit Mandarin but I knew I'd be able to see the stitch definition and get the size cloth (approximately 9")that I was hoping for rather than a tablecloth size I'd wind up with using worsted weight cotton. It was supposed to have a picot cast off edge but because I had made another round petal edge washcloth prior to casting on for this, I didn't have enough yarn to do the picots. I was happy with the way the regular cast off edge looked, though.

The next day, I went to one of my LYS, Wooly Wonders, to see what type of cotton they carried that I could make more of these cloths with. Luckily, they also carried the Petit Mandarin so I bought one ball. I was also curious to see whether Paton's Grace would do well, so I picked up a ball of that as well. I am pretty happy with how Grace feels. However, the Petit Mandarin is a better buy because it costs less, has more yardage and is softer than Grace. I should finish the Grace cloth tomorrow as I'm ready to fall asleep.










A crocheted rose with knitted leaf made from Paton's Classic Merino of my own design.





I saw a scarf very much like this one on an episode of Surface this past season. I coveted it and vowed to make one of my very own. This is "my precious floral scarf".

More felting projects

I'm in love with felted flowers! This yellow flower with the black stamen is Cascade 220 with black fun fur. The leaves are Patons Classic Merino.
This pink flower is made with Lamb's Pride Worsted and the yellow center is made with Cascade 220. The leaves are Paton's Classic Merino.
The bag and flowers are all made with Paton's Classic Merino but the yellow center is Cascade 220. I made this bag a couple of years ago and just didn't like it at all. In fact, I couldn't give it away! I just started playing around on Friday night and made a button closure and sewed on the flowers and now I love it!

I just can't stop making these. I'll post more pictures as they're done. I'm still working on a black felted bag that I'll embellish with more flowers. I've been putting it down to do a few cotton washcloths. Stay tuned!

Felted flower power

Finished this purse awhile ago but it just needed a little oomph! I made it out of some Paton's Classic Merino and I think the bottom is Crystal Palace Icelandic wool. I've been looking for some free felted flower patterns online and found one that I loosely followed at Mag Knits. I really love the Noni purses at Diva Knitting and my little experiments will just have to do until I pick up a pattern or three.

My next purse project will be a black felted purse that I'm going to embellish with pink flowers and green leaves. I'm not quite sure if I'm going to use felted handles/straps or some black lacquer ones that I have. I'll be sure to post pictures when done. I'm actually working on some flowers tonight. I have pink and purple done and turquoise on the needles right now, just waiting for some leaves and then to be felted. I'm not sure what to do about the stamens but the fun fur seems to work for me.

Powerful pictures & our spring break trip

My girlfriend just sent me a link to some pretty powerful pictures with captions. You can find them here. Here is a sample and the caption reads, "Todd Heisler The Rocky Mountain News-When 2nd Lt. James Cathey's body arrived at the Reno Airport, Marines climbed into the cargo hold of the plane and draped the flag over his casket as passengers watched the family gather on the tarmac. During the arrival of another Marine's casket last year at Denver International Airport, Major Steve Beck described the scene as one of the most powerful in the process: "See the people in the windows? They'll sit right there in the plane, watching those Marines. You gotta wonder what's going through their minds, knowing that they're on the plane that brought him home," he said. "They're going to remember being on that plane for the rest of their lives. They're going to remember bringing that Marine home. And they should." I think it's important to see these images to remind ourselves of the sacrifices that are being made every day. Although I don't support our president's decision/reasons for being in Iraq, I do support our troops and pray that as many as possible return home.

Now on to something much lighter:

I've been doing a bit more felting lately. Here is a little purse that I made from some Manos del Uruguay that I bought at Catalina Crafters in Avalon on Catalina Island while on my cruise. Here is a picture I took on Catalina. I bought another skein of Manos in some dark blues and greens and a skein of Noro Daria. I have already turned the Daria into a little cell phone bag, which is all I could squeeze out of a single skein. Also, the little turquoise bag was such a hit, totally perfect size, that I'm making more in different colors. I just finished a black one, that I made a bit bigger, for my friend, Pat, to take on her next cruise in May. I don't have a picture yet as it just came out of the washer and is now blocking. I still have to find just the right button for the flap closure. The little turquoise and brown one that I alluded to in my last post was a bust. I made a mistake in blocking it and had to rework it. I stuffed a deck of cards inside it to block it into shape but it should have been blocked flat so I threw it back into the washer with the black bag and it shrank a bit more and will now have a flap and one short handle rather than two bracelets. You'll see. It's now blocking flat and will have it's picture taken with the other bag when they're dry and completed.

The kids really enjoyed our latest trip to Disneyland/Knott's Berry Farm. I hardly saw Anthony, who brought his friend, Austin.
The two of them didn't even eat breakfast with us. Bernie gave them money every morning and I was lucky to run into them a couple of times in passing. Bernie felt like an outsider since I was with my friend, Katie and her daughter, Alexiz, so he found some friends in the Anaheim area to visit with. We ran into him a few times as well. One night my feet hurt so much that I had to have him massage them or else I couldn't fall asleep.
Poor guy. We got home around midnight on Saturday night and he had to be at work by 7:00 the next morning. Good thing it was a fairly quiet shift. We joke that he had to go to work to get some rest.

Felting fever and other FOs

The vine lace socks are now a happy couple. The brown yarns have turned into this lovely chocolate bag for Mom. Funny how the finished bag looks lighter than the yarn in the picture. The turquoise bag is a little one I made especially for the cruise so that I can walk around with my phone, camera and IDs without bothering to carry a larger purse. I have a pair of capris just this color! I did alter it after this photo was taken. I didn't care for the beading just above the button. It was a good idea gone bad. I know the beading around the flap looks a bit wonky but it is "handmade" after all and my first attempt at sewing on beads. Steph and I bought the button at Joann Fabric this afternoon after our sushi lunch at Yummy Sushi in Henderson.

I actually have another little bag done that just needs to be seamed and felted. It is a mix of the brown and turquoise that will have little i-cord bracelets as handles. It works in theory. Let's see if it works in reality. Pictures to come.

I'm getting nervous about this cruise. Have I mentioned that this is my first? I have always wanted to go but get terribly seasick so didn't think I would ever actually chance it. I'm going with 3 of my girlfriends that I used to play Bunco with. My friends have told me to start Dramamine 24 hours prior, which I will do faithfully. I'd hate to spend all this money and mess it up just because I didn't start the Dramamine early enough. I'm also worried about how everyone will be dressed. I don't want to look out of place. I can't do "before cruise shopping" like some people because as Bernie reminded me today, I don't have a job any more. Good thing I paid for all of this right after I quit. Will you all think I'm too hokey if I told you I've been dreaming of the Love Boat for the past couple of nights? My friends and I are meeting for lunch tomorrow to go over some details, which I appreciate. Dang it! You'd think I was some hick who has never been out of Dodge before. I have been traveling the world since I was born. It's just this whole "cruise" thing that has me going nuts! Everyone I know who has been on one talks about them like they're part of some super secret exclusive club and since I've never been on one, I, the ignorant uninitiated fool, would never understand the power of the cruise. If I was a man, I'd be packing my polo shirt, plaid Bermuda shorts, black socks and sandals right now! Woohoo Bertha! I'm ready to party!

I'm allowed to post on my own blog! Yippee!

Yesterday, I was poised and ready to post some pictures and drone on and on as usual but I got a message from Blogger that their robot has determined that my blog was a "spam blog" and locked me out! What the f*&%? Oh yeah, I love SPAM, which happens to be the state meat of Hawaii, but I don't send spam to all of my lovely friends out there. I was upset to say the least. Now I don't know what the hell to write about since I just found myself able to post to my own blog once again. More pictures, less rambling to come...promise!

Brrr...what a way to welcome spring!

I've always wanted a shot from Anthony's school. These kids have the best view of the whole valley. It was a much more dramatic sight this morning at 7 a.m. when I dropped him off at school as it was still snowing pretty hard up in the mountains. We usually don't get snow on the side of town where we live. On the left of the photo is the Las Vegas Strip and on the right is Downtown Las Vegas, though you can't see it. The Stratosphere tower is that tall thing. From this shot you can see the newest addition to The Strip - the Wynn Hotel & Casino. Isn't it huge? It's beautiful on a clear sunny day as the glass is a deep bronze color.


Funny thing, spring. We get more snow in the spring than in the winter here in Las Vegas it seems. I'm not complaining. I'd rather have this little bit than have to shovel my way out of my front door every day. This photo above is the view from our driveway.


Above is the view from our backyard balcony.


What's this dark thing at the bottom of our pool, you ask? Bernie and I were upstairs and heard the rain coming down. He loves the rain so he looked out the window, which happens to be right over our pool. He said, is that a squirrel at the bottom of the pool or one of the kids' toys? I don't think we have squirrels here in Las Vegas but I think we do have either prairie dogs or chipmunks. Poor thing must not have seen the sign telling him not to run in the pool area because it's slippery when wet. I told Bernie to give him mouth to mouth rescucitation but he refused. He's off duty.

Here are the vine lace socks I just completed. I don't have a pattern for them. I got the vine lace pattern out of one of my old pattern books and just adapted them to my generic toe up sock pattern that I normally use. They're a bit loose as I had to go up a few stitches for accomodate the lace pattern, but since I plan to wear them as house socks I don't really mind all that much. Not enough to frog them and reknit.

The pattern is worked over 9 stitches + 4 and over 4 rows. Here are the instructions for knitting flat:
Row 1: k3, *yo, k2, k2tog tbl, k2tog, k2, yo, k1*. Repeat from *to* to end, k1.
Rows 2 & 4: Purl
Row 3: k2, *yo, k2, k2tog tbl, k2tog, k2, yo, k1*. Repeat from *to* to end, k2.

If you're working in the round, don't add the "+4" stitches. I didn't know this and found out the hard way. You'll be left with a 4 st column of stockinette stitch going up the length of your sock.








I think I have enough of this yarn left for a pair in the Blueberry Waffle pattern. I'm working on one right now and just turned the heel. Pictures to come.

Mr. Volcano Head

This week is Nevada Reading Week and at Christopher's school they are celebrating Dr. Seuss with Wacky Hat Day. I told Chris that I could make him a hat that looked like a volcano spewing molten hot magma and he went for it. I love my 6 year old!!! I was working on a shawl (my in-the-car project) in this red-orange-purple yarn that reminded me of flames. It inspired this whole volcano themed hat.