I joined this KAL and 'borrowed' the button. If anyone can tell me simply how to get this button to show up in the margin I would be most appreciative!! Where is a 12 year old grandchild when you need one?

Never Have A Muffin and Hot Tea Tasted So Good!

I am back to solid food! My tummy, as I write, is rocking and rolling over the delight of having solid food to work with. I did not mind the prep, but I love to eat and had nothing solid since Tuesday! Once I came out of the fog - the drug they give you is the 'date rape' drug - I was asked if I would like a muffin and coffee or tea. I do not eat baked goods with sugar, usually, but I was so hungry I did not ask if it was sugar free or not! It tasted so good and tea with milk - well that was a true treat! Cannot have milk when you are on a clear fluid diet!

I did go to my LYS today and got some Brittany wooden needles. I have been knitting Ultra alpaca on steel needles, and it is just too easy to drop stitches. I must say that knitting with wood is my preference - it must be because my Dad ran a lumber mill and I spent a good deal of the first three years of my life in the cook house of a lumber camp - but I love the smell, feel and look of wood. My Mom was the cook in the lumber camp! If we were younger, we would build a timber frame house, but I can just add things that are wooden and stay in this house. After moving 24 times, I really want to get my roots deep into the soil! I also picked up some SARI cotton. The label is odd - it says Combed, Mercerized, Double Gassed - what does that mean. I got4x50 gm balls in a soft mauve and four in a soft light grey/blue. They were on sale for $2.00 a ball. I also asked about the pattern for the little hats for children that are strawberries, watermelons or pumpkins! It was a handout from my LYS and so I got some Red and Green to make a strawberry hat for my best friend's granddaughter!!

Thanks for your thoughts. I want to remind you all to have regular mammograms and if you are older and have a history in your family of bowel cancer - have a screening colonoscopy. It is much easier to deal with cancer when it is detected early. Now I will step down off my soap box!

Another Way to Knit!

My DH is a Rotarian and this picture and story was in the latest issue. I just had to put it on my blog, as I so admire that young woman Emine, who lives in Turkey.



Emine was born without arms into very poor conditions and kept at home with no education until she was 18. At that age, she learned about a Rotary sponsored programme called a concentrated learning encounter! She was so excited about learning to read and write and then to pass it on to others. What a remarkable young woman and her face is so beautiful. You can see the goodness in her eyes. Can you imagine knitting with your toes? I am also amazed at the delicacy with which she is holding the tea cup! Just had to pass along this story.

I have been continuing to knit on Picchu Picchu, as I did the prep for a colonoscopy yesterday and will have the procedure today. I thought I would be very hungry, but the purgative you have to take does not make you feel 100%, so hunger was not the problem I had expected. I have not strayed far from the bathroom, but knitting was possible and did happen!

A Quiet, Warm, Beautiful Saturday evening!

This is the sky last evening, as it is now Sunday. I put in the top of the weeping birch across the street from my house. Isn't that a beautiful blue?



I came here to check the knitting blogs. I had a couple of glasses of wine with my dinner (my DH enjoyed the meal with me) and now I don't feel like knitting as much as I feel like sitting and chatting!

I did go out and take a picture of our beautiful BC (British Columbia) sky and when my DH gets it on the computer, I will show it and try to win yarn from Sandy and her Saturday Sky watch! I must also learn how to put the Saturday Sky button on the side of my blog!

Today I got Yarn Harlot's latest book from the library. I want to peruse it first and then see if I want it in my knitting library. I find books to be a bit expensive, so I try hard to only have books that I really love there and I have borrowed a few, but did not feel the need to have them live with me. I did buy Erica Knight's book 'simple knits for cherished babies'. There is a delightful teddy bear in the book made from Cashmere. To die for, as they say! A little girl should have the Traditional Mabel Dress. I love baby projects!

I bought a 2 ounce ball of 2 ply sport weight aplaca from a gal in Oklahoma City and I hope to make a small bear as a souvenir of my trip! The pattern calls for 50g of 4 ply yarn and I must get my thinking cap on to see if I could squeak a little bear out of my small hank of yarn. There are 91 yards of the Alpaca and I want to give it a try - I love small souvenirs like this from a trip! The yarn company in Oklahoma City is called Awesome Acres and they also mix 'paca yarn with fleece from the Great Pyrennes dogs. Wouldn't that be soft?!Anyone reading this blog with suggestions of how I could get a small bear out of 91 yards of 2 play sport weight - suggestion of needle size, etc. - would be appreciated! By my estimate, I have 56 grams of yarn! I think I should quit this cyphering while I feel ahead. The dinner, wine, coffee and sunshine are all working against me!

It is now Sunday and I have the Saturday sky photo ready. The sky today will be the same clear blue. Today is a bit sad here, as our daughter and her family will have their last family dinner with us before they leave for four years in Germany on the 29th of this month. I am so pleased for them. Our grandaughters are 16 and 13, so they will really enjoy all they see and learn in Europe. I am pleased for our DD and SIL too. Now we have another nice spot to visit. The time will go so quickly. Our son and DIL left for Oklahoma two years ago and now they only have two years of a four year tour left. They are planning to retire here, so I am one lucky gal.

I am in the process of knitting Picchu Picchu as I have mentioned before, so here is a photo of the progress. I tried to put it on two circular needles, but dropping stitches was part of the process, so the back with the two sleeves looks strange. The sleeves look like fallopian tubes!! I have included the button that I plan to use with the sweater. My DIL helped me to choose it and I think it is perfect. I planned to go with a smaller button, but she was right - this is a button that makes a statement! The button is more of a caramel and black colour than shows in the photo. Black does not photo well!



I hope my ramblings do not feel as disjointed as I feel at the moment. I started it last evening and finished it this morning! I am now on my way to sit outside, listen to 'The Garden of Good and Evil' on my MP3 player. What a way to spend a beautiful morning in my garden doing the two things I love - knitting and 'reading'. Actually, there are more things I love, but two of them at a time is pretty nice!

Stockinette Stitch - Just what I need now!

I am working on Picchu Picchu and have 257 stitches on a circular needle and it is okay by me that it is all stockinette stitch for 3 inches. The pattern is interesting in that you knit the back and then slowly cast on the sleeves and with the back knit half of the right and left sleeve - thus the 257 stitches. Each front has the other half of the sleeve. You do a three-needle bind off of the centre of the sleeve stitches and then pick up around the end of the sleeves and knit 3 inches of ribbing. Sew up the underarm and side seams and pick up for the neckline. It has one huge button which I have in hand and the stockinette stitch is just what I need now. I have been working on a Habitat for Humanity house for the past three days - sanding, painting, etc. and when I return home, shower, make supper, eat and then crash - stockinette is very relaxing - the clicking of the needles, the feel of the beautiful Ultra Alpaca and listening to my audio book and I am one happy gal. Some days it does not take much to bring a smile. Helping two families finally have a home is also a smile maker!!



This is the house as of Thursday morning, June 15. It was started the previous Monday and as of today, it has most of the siding on and is ready for painting inside. Guess that is where I will work tomorrow!

Not much else to report on knitting, but that is okay. Know that the needles are getting a work out!

Knitting with Black Yarn!

I just started my Picchu Picchu sweater today and I am knitting it with black Ultra Alpaca. It is so soft, but I am finding black is not an easy colour to knit with and I need very good light to see the difference between the knit and purl in the ribbing! Now, I am onto the stockinette part, and the need for light is a bit easier. I am including a photo of the Ultra Alpaca and that I bought at SWAK - Sealed With A Kiss!



The red Ultra Alpaca is for the Wool Peddler's Shawl. I have tried to put a link in for this shawl, but it does not seem to work for me. It is in the book Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. I have fallen in love with shawls!

The other yarn I bought at SWAK was Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold. Isn't it a beautiful colour and that is the pattern beside the yarn. I will start this pattern once Picchu Picchu is off the needles! It should be perfect in winter with black slacks or skirt!



While in flight to Dallas/Fort Worth from Vancouver Island, I finished my second pair of Jaywalker socks. They are from the Merino from Fleece Artist. A terrific yarn to knit with and I am happy with the socks. Grumperina is having a bit of a contest with Jaywalkers, so I will link to her site with my socks.


Another pair of socks I completed was Cascading Leaves - at least I think that is the name of the pattern. You know, I am getting a mite tired of striped and variegated yarns and will knit more socks for a bit with plain coloured yarn. I do love this pattern though!



I continue to work on Picchu Picchu and I have never worked with Ultra Alpaca before, but what great yarn to knit with and so far I am very happy with both yarn and pattern.

I Need a Short Mini-Vacation!

I have been home a few days, but the garden, laundry, etc. have kept me busy. I have no lawn in my backyard, so there is a lot of garden! The roses went wild while we were away and I had to do a fair bit of staking. I have some Cardoon plants - they are a yellow Scottish Thistle - also will include photos later - and they are taller than my 5'8" body! We did not have many clothes to wash - our son has a washer and dryer - but we shopped almost 'til we dropped and so lots of things to press after being squished in five suitcases! Oh, but did I have a wonderful break with our son and DIL. I managed to bring home lots of yarn and I will get photos to post in a few days.



I had a few hopes when we got to Norman, OK and they were to visit the Oklahoma City Memorial and to visit Sealed With a Kiss in Guthrie, OK. Both things were accomplished, along with many others. Here is a photo of the mini Cooper that belongs to the owner of Sealed With A Kiss!




I did buy some beautiful Wool Silky for Tilia from Enchanted Garden by Elsebeth Lavold. It is a lovely teal colour and I want the sweater to 'wear for good"! Where did that term come from? I am sure many of you heard that as a child!

I selected a nice red for Cheryl Oberle's Wool Peddler's Shawl. I love red, but most of the reds I saw in the local shops were a candy apple red and I wanted a red more like a brick red. It was there in Ultra Alpaca by Berocco and also got some black of the same yarn to knit Picchu Picchu. The pattern is a free one from Berocco, but I am having problems doing a link. Guess I am still not over the jet lag.


I did get to see the collection of glass by Dale Chihuly at the Oklahoma Museum of Art and it was a highlight. I had studied a bit about this man's work in an art appreciation course and never thought I would get the opportunity to see his work. To say it is spectacular is an understatement. I have included a photo of the 55 foot tree that stands in the entry way of the museum. The works on view are a permanent collection for OK.href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4854/2586/1600/20060611-Dale%20Chahouly%20Tree.jpg">

I seem to be so slow at enclosing photos as links - guess my own computer dumped the info it had stored in my brain.

However I could not do this post without including a copy of a photo of the chairs at the Oklahoma City Bombing Site. This is the 10th anniversary. The museum is quite moving, but I came away with the feeling that - Yes, there is evil in the world, but hands down humanity does good when it sees a need! The small chairs are for the children who died in the bombing.


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I have worked way too long at this post and my brain hurts, so here it is faults and all!