ON A 2 DAY POSTING ROLL, ha ha!

Even though I'm rarely present on my blog anymore,

I've been busy cranking out knit projects that I started but never finished.

I'm trying hard not to allow myself to start something new

till I finish long forgotten projects which is incredibly hard for me.

This shawl was started many months ago to learn some new knitting tricks.

Fading contrasting colors, pointy scalloped edges,

 plus more lace work then I usually do.

I can't tell you how many times I messed up the pattern and had to frog back before I could move forward again.

It was so good for my brain.

Above is a picture of how I block my pieces with tons of sharp pins

and a special squishy board after I soak/wash the finished piece.

This locks in all the loose ends as well 

as stretches out the work to show off the stitch pattern.

After removing pins it's pretty much holding it's shape.

This is a kit I found on a new site to me called Ranching Traditions Fiber

located in Montana.

The kits comes with a lovely skein of wool yarn (you pick the color).

It's called Roots in the Valley and the pattern is housed in the sweetest booklet.  

It also comes with a wooden shawl pin

 that I can't seem to find anymore.  Ugg!

However,

I didn't use the yarn because I wanted to use up some of my handspun stash.

I thought I had enough yardage to finish the shawl

 but sadly ran out 3/4 of the way thru.

But I love challenges like this.  

It forces me to think outside the box.

I had some leftover Malabrigo Worsted which was about the same diameter

so I ripped out a couple of inches and faded it in.

Again more frogging!!

The fading was trickier then I've done before 

because the colors contrasted so much,

 and I had to cheat and go back after I finished the piece

 and weave in some more lines to help it fade more smoothly.

The beige handspun is wool with some small pieces of silk spun 

to bring in a touch of color.

I recently gifted it to a dear long lost cousin that I just reconnected with,

 and am asking for her to send a pix of her wearing it.

Hopefully coming tomorrow in an email.

And here she is, 

my lovely cousin Susan wearing the shawl.

I think it looks perfect on her and am so very happy I gifted it to her.

Susan is from my father's side of the family 

and lives with her family outside of Salt Lake City.

I haven't seen her or her mother Georgie Lou since my mother's funeral in 2013.

It's been way too long!

I'm so glad she reached out to me and came to visit.

Susan and her twin Karen are such lovely gentle souls.

Now it's up to me to pay all of them a visit.

So Utah,

here I come.

HALF WAY DONE

At almost 400 tiny stitches across each row

(about 20 minutes per row),

and ripping out so many rows that I made errors on,

I finally reached the half way point.

Woo Hoo!!!

Days 9, 11 & 12 brought in some wonderful forestry greens...

and then Day 13 thru me for a real loop with a very pale grey,

 but a pleasant surprise of a new tapestry needle.

Because I haven't blocked this half below, 

I had a really hard time laying it flat enough for it's photo.

But at least you can see how those greens worked in between the white and black which I loved.

And here you can also see the pale grey next to the white.

It's easier to see the difference in the photo then it is in person.

The very bottom is so sweet 

but in this pix it's hard to see the detail 

of the black bobbles along the edge. 

There was a real surprise for me at the bottom edge.

Amanda of Buku Yarns only had us bind off 1/2 of the 400 stitches.

The rest remain live on a cord to be knit together at the very end

 of the second half of the shawl.

Sounds pretty darn cool to me!

DAYS 10 & 11 ADVENT KNIT

I'm almost to the half way point on this shawl 

with 315 stitches across my needles.

Loving the way the black knit bobbles look

 giving the piece even more interest and dimension.

They are a pain to make, 

super time consuming

which of course slows me down even more.

Ha ha

And in this next white row I will be doing another round of them.

I'm also enjoying the pop of black and white check surrounded by that lovely darker green.

Day 11 (above) is a couple of shades of lighter greens 

mixed with a bit of yellow green.

Gorgeous colors.

Amanda Rios of Buku Knits in La Verne, Ca.,

 you are a genius with your dye pots!

Oh and Day 10 came with a bonus surprise,

the black and white check yarn surround for the white ball.

Love it!

ADVENT UPDATE

Well I'm really truckin' along now boy!

Ha ha

Only 42ish days behind.  :(

Here are Days 7, 

a gorgeous shade of dark turquoise,

Day 8,

a solid black

with day 7 knit up,

and Day 9.

I personally would never be brave enough to put this luscious dark green

with the turquoises,

but wait till you see it knit up in a couple of days.

It really works!

Bravo Amanda for choosing such bold colors together,

and then dyeing them up for us.

I think I'm currently knitting across almost 300 stitches in each row.  

I should time myself.

ADVENT KNIT DAY 5 & 6

Finished up Day 5 here with a close-up below...

Love those tiny pops of color.

and opened Day 6 which looks so much like Day 5.

But after knitting with it I do see a subtle difference.

Above (from bottom to top) you are seeing the remainder of Day 4 & 5

with Day 6 not balled up yet.

Oh, and there was a surprise in day 6's bag,

the cutest little tin of rubber loops for putting on the end of your needles

to prevent the stitches from falling off.

Just finishing up Day 7 tonight.

A BELATED XMAS PRESENT

After knitting on this day and night I finally got my son's hat done,

sadly,

3 days after Christmas.

So what to do for Xmas Day?

I wrapped it beautifully Christmas Eve with the knitting needles still in the rim.

When he opened the box Xmas morning his first reaction was what's this

because the springy needles popped right out of the box lid at him.

Hee hee 

But he was surprised and loved it!

Yay!!!

It also needed blocking and drying,

for another 3 days of work.

So off to the post office it will go on Monday morning to his home in the Valley,

just in time for his skiing adventure next weekend.

I received a really nice comment about the colors in this hat,

so I thought I'd show and talk about my process.

I first asked my son's wife what colors she thought he'd like. 

 She told me blue and some greens.

So I pulled this leftover multi blue-green ball from my stash.

Then I began looking deeply at it to see any other colors.

I noticed a rich dark brown, and those light shades of green.

And buried deeply was a tiny tad of burnt brick.

Do you see it in the photo above?

I also like to use different values when composing a project like this

 from a dark dark to a light light.

Then after I'm happy I take a pix

 and look at it in my gallery of photos on my phone.

That gives the illusion of depth as if I'm looking at the colors from far away.

I used to tell my students to squint at their color choices and designs

 from a distance.

It really helps to see balance, texture and value.

The pix above was actually the last one I shot.

There were 4 other color choices 

but seeing them all on my phone helped me to chose this one.

We continue to get more rain and snow

and the ground just keeps soaking it all up.

I believe we are officially out of our drought. 

Finally after so many years of water conservation.

Enjoy your new hat Zach,

hopefully for another 30 years.

And it's ok to ditch the old one.

LOL

DID I MENTION...

that I saw the perfect winter knit hat on the Knit Stars newsletter last week?

The pattern calls for using up your scrap yarns in a fingering weight,

holding them double with a slip stitch design to get a marled look.

How could I possible resist? 

Love using up leftovers from other projects.  

The pattern is from a new designer,

 Ross Taylor of Twisted Ambitions Yarn.

The sweet backstory is I knit the ugliest hat for my son 

out of nasty acrylic yarns when he was a young pup.

This was before I knew about the natural fiber world of knitting yarns.

Anyways,

my son Zach recently told me he still wears that hat

 when he goes to the mountains skiing with his wife and friends.

Oh nOOOOOOOOOOO.

I was so touched that he still even has it,

 let alone wears it as a 34 year old adult.

Ha ha

What a wonderful boy I have.

Anyways I was so embarrassed for him 

and I've been looking for the perfect pattern and found it.

Even got his wife's approval on pattern and colors.

Below is Ross Taylor in his hat and the colors he used.

Pretty cool, 

huh?

 

I've been knitting on it everyday at stop lights as I run all my Xmas errands,

while waiting in line at stores,

and while waiting on my husband at his doctor appts.

I'm also trying to work on my Advent Scarf at night,

so that the hat is my daytime project.

It calls for a 6" brim that folds over to 3".

Because he recommends a 1 by 1 Twisted Rib pattern 

it's taking me FOREVER to get to 6",

but hopefully once there it should be smooth sailing as it decreases in size.

Wish me luck!

ADVENT KNIT DAY 4 &5

Day 4's yarn brought out darker values of aqua with a smattering of green

along with another prize,

a collapsible scissors in the sweetest pouch.

Have I mentioned I collect scissors?

Love them,

 especially antique ones.

I like the idea that someone used them before me

 and I'm bringing them back to life again.

Day 5's envelop is showcasing many variants of light to medium blues.

So very pretty.

In the photo above I've started my first row with #5.

I wish you could reach thru your monitor and feel the squishiness of the shawl.

It's so yummy!

ADVENT KNIT DAY 3 AND A BIG OOPS

Like I've said many times,

not the first time to mess up a pattern.

Above is Day 3's lovely and subtle mix of light blues and aquas.

And below is my oops.

Pattern makers always tell you how important it is to check gauge.

That means how many stitches across a row are there per inch.

The required number in this pattern is 6.

But as you can see below it looks like I only have about 5 1/4 to 5 1/2 p.i.

I really did think I had made gauge when I first started but apparently not.

I guess my tension loosened up as I kept going.

So what bad thing happened as a result?

I began running out of each color way of the previous day's yarn

 in the last row and a half before it was time to.

What to do?

Rip everything out?

NO WAY!

Ha, not me.

Way to lazy to start over again.

I got really lucky on the 3 colors I ran out of.

I scoured thru my stash and found scrap balls from other projects 

that were similar enough that it's not noticeable unless you point them out.

Designer Amanda recommended I go down a needle size for rest of project,

and tah dah,

it worked. 

 I'm no longer running out of each color.

Phee Shoo.

And I will be able to even it all out when I block it

 since it's a forgivable stretchy pattern.

OK,

back to knitting.

Oh, btw,

I started a new series on Netflix called The Empress.

Binge worthy and Fabulous!  

TALK TO THE PAW

 by Casapinka on Ravelry

is a wonderfully fast, asymmetrical cowl scarf,

knit almost entirely in garter stich.

 And a few yarn overs at the side for a lace edging.

Trying to remember where I first saw this pattern/kit 

and I 'm pretty it was on Knit Stars Newsletter from their store in Tulsa, Ok.

I honestly don't remember when I started or finished it

but my guess would be at the beginning of 2022

and done by March 2022.

The yarn the kit came with is a lovely and soft single ply with a slight halo.

And the Cat Paw Stitch was fun to learn 

then incorporate in between the color shifts.

After I completed the piece I realized I got the colors out of order.

Not the first time I've goofed up a pattern,

but I still loved it.

I sent it thru the mail to my son's dear mother in law, Mary.

I had seen her a month earlier and she had lost so much weight and it was chilly.

I noticed she was bundled up even in the house,

 so I thought she might enjoy the scarf around her neck.

Her daughter Nicole told me she wore it everyday until she passed in May.

It was meant to be.

Nicole wanted to give me the scarf back the day Mary left us 

but I wanted her to keep it for herself.

I haven't been brave enough to ask Nicole what she did with it.

I was so hoping she put it around her mothers neck to be buried in.

One of these days I may ask.

But right now at the Holidays it's just too soon and we are missing Mary too much.

But I know Mary has hooked up with my Mom

 and they are working their magic to watch over us all.

I'm sure that's why my ex and my husband Jim

 are recovering from their terrible ordeals.

More to come on that topic on another post.

ADVENT KNIT DAY 1 & 2 & A TINY BIT OF DAY 3

Only ripped out Day 1 three times before I got the hang of the pattern.

When opening Day 2 packet I found the cutest Xmas stitch markers.

You can see below I'm already using the red one to mark my center of pattern.

And also in the much nicer picture you can see

not only the colors in the yarns better, 

but how the fade is flowing from Day 1 into 2. 

Loving the change in stitch pattern too.

And didn't realize I photographed Day 3's start here 

without showing the packet first. 

Oh well.

I was surprised at the big jump in color families already.

I just wish I could keep up.

But I did find out from owner Amanda 

that there are others who are even further behind then me.

Yah!!!!

TIS THE SEASON WITH AN ADVENT KNIT

Ok, 

I know you are thinking,

doesn't she already have at least,

I don't know,

25 projects on her knitting needles?

Perhaps even 50ish?

Probably.

I've even finished 1 or 2 projects that I haven't posted yet.

I'm trying to get better about being more present here.

I know, I know, I always say that.

So anyways,

super excited about this new project

 put together by owner and designer of Buku Yarns in La Verne, Ca.,

Amanda Rios.

I picked up my basket of surprises a few days before December 1st,

hoping to get a head start.

But it turns out I'm much slower then the average participant in these things.

I want to blame it on my hearing loss.

Even though I finally broke down and got hearing aides a year ago,

I still find myself reading the closed caption

 on all my newsfeeds and Netflix shows 

which slows down my production time a lot!

Oh well,

I've got to do what I have to do.

It only took me five days to get through Day One,

ha ha!

Package One (top photo) not only came with this delicious subtle multi-shade of aqua and yellow greens,

but Amanda included a very sweet combo ruler and needle sizer

which I immediately hooked onto my knitting bag that goes everywhere with me.

Currently I'm supposed to be on Day 16,

but sadly it's Day 5 bag that I'm hoping to get to tonight.

Hoping to do a post everyday till I finish this gorgeous piece.

A BIT DISTRACTED

Good news first!

It's been awhile since I last opened up my blog and did anything with it.

Life has thrown us a real curveball,

but before I talk about it let me introduce this very handsome and chill fellow,

2 month old Jax.

He is the infant of my dental assistant Rhea,

who I've known since her Kindergarten years with my son.

The two of them went thru Elementary, Jr. High and High School together.

What confidence and knowledge Jax is displaying,

almost like an old soul who's been around the block a time or two. 

LOL!

Rhea has him snuggled beneath the baby blanket I knit for him.

Now for the bad news.

My husband was in a terrible car accident recently,

ran into a tree, and flipped our jeep.  

It's really a miracle he's alive,

that's what all the doctors and nurses are telling me!

He was ejected we believe thru the soft top roof of the jeep,

and broke his fall all along the right side of his body 

from the top of his shoulder to his hip and thigh,

and is black and blue all the way down with multiple scratches over entire body.

He landed in the dirt and was covered in blood when 911 was called.

Not buckling your seatbelt really matters!

Ha!!!!

For 3 days his right eyelid would not stay open or would his eye track,

but that has resolved itself.

And if that wasn't enough he split open his skull, was concussed

 and had 8 staples put in.

We think his head hit a nearby sharp rock.

I actually went to visit the tree and crash site.

But sadly there is even more.

We don't know how it happened but he completely ripped open 

his left calf and muscle all the way down to his ankle.

The surgeon said it was peeled back like a banana.

WARNING:

THESE NEXT PHOTOS ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.

These photos were taken after his 6th surgery,

and bandaging was being changed.

It was actually even worse then this but I've decided not to put those pix up.

Now some much needed good news after those photos.

Jim has not smoked or eaten fast food in 22 days.

He has lost at least 20 to 30 pounds in his mid section.

And because he is a diabetic he has not had any sugar either.

So cold turkey for all 3 vices.

He is going to be one healthy young man when he gets home.

A life changing experience!!

He has been in two trauma hospitals.

One in Santa Ana,

 and now he has been transferred to Mission Viejo.

He has had 7 surgeries on his calf and will continue to have more.

Plus extensive skin grafting yesterday that I have not seen yet.

(He is saying tonight that the graft is more painful then his calf injury)

Staples in head were removed and head has healed nicely.

He is so lucky to be alive.

His hair is growing in nicely and he has not shaved either.

He looks kind of like a captain of a ship.

Here he is with his grandsons last night.

It's the first time they have seen him since the accident,

and I know it really lifted his spirits,

that's for sure.

The state of the art hospital he is in now.

Our insurance's Trauma Hospital.

The place takes up a whole city block 

and each room is decked out like a hotel room with a couch/bed

 and deluxe bathroom. 

And the nurses aren't hiding behind a bullet proof glass partition

like in the first Trauma Hospital. 

What a difference and a blessing!

Who knew?  

Sometimes life throws you curveballs.

This was a BIG ONE!!

And still a long way to go towards healing.

And from now on, no seatbelt, no go.

FINDING HAPPINESS WITH GRACE KIM

Every so often I like to do an update on some of my all-time favorite students.

Recently I had a request from Liz to do another.

So let me introduce you to Whitney High School 2007 Alumni Grace Kim.

Sadly,

 Grace's art work was never featured on my blog since she graduated before I built the blog in 2009.

But I want you to know her as I do,

a remarkable young woman back then and now.

She took both my Beginning and Intermediate Crafts Classes and excelled in both,

with many of her pieces being displayed at our annual Open House.

And before my blogging days,

 I took several photo/slides of her work and taught with those for years.

In High School,

 Grace crushed so many arenas;

Academics, Languages (she speaks at least 3 that I know of), and Athletics.

She was one of our strongest competitors in Cross Country and Track and Field.

After Grace graduated I really missed her vivacious energy and laughter.

We had grown close and formed a bond after teaching her throughout her 6 years at Whitney.

And what made her even more special to me was that from 2007 to now,

she has shown up on my radar about every 2 years.

When I was still teaching she would run from her home in Cerritos to the school, 

and surprise visit me.

She'd be in a complete sweat but I didn't care because just to be able to hug her

 and be around her has always brought me great joy.

Grace went to college and did her Major in International Business 

with a concentration in Spanish Language Communications,

and now works for a Public Accounting Firm.

She has also met the love of her life, 

Soul,

 and I've never seen her so happy and content.

Recently she caught up with me again and brought Soul to my Tues. Nite art class

so I could be introduced.

The both of them are like two peas in a pod,

perfect together.

They told me they love to travel, go car camping and explore the U.S.

Soul works for an Aerospace firm,

 but like Grace has a favorite creative outlet,

 sculpting in wood.

Grace has gotten herself back into knitting

and takes it everywhere she goes.

She just finished the pair of socks above.

And she really thrives on reading difficult knit patterns and figuring them out.

Isn't she just a doll???

Dang I love you Grace!

xoxoxox

Before I wrote this post I asked Grace if it was ok,

and she said yes,

but that I had to tell you all that my classes were her favorites in High School.

Ha ha!

That makes me so happy Grace,

thank you for that.

She also wants everyone to know that knitting has reminded her 

how important it is to create with your hands!!