Hi, Charlotte and Olivia

Hello, Everyone,
I tried to leave a posting on a blog this morning, but blogsdpot wa having a bad day and woulod not post it. So, I'll leave it here and hope she finds it after I clicked "follower" on her blog.

Hi, Olivia,
You probably do not remember me, I was a friend of your mother's in the SGI in San Diego.  This morning I found a piece of paper with your mother's name on it in an old purse and i decided to search for her.  I found you instead.  It looks like you are getting a great education.  I'm so glad for you.  Please tell your mom Julie Stanley Lanner sez Hi.  I'm at juliest@san.rr.com if she wants to say hi to me.
Thanks,
Julie

Nice day today, I'd better run.  Lots to do.
Julie

Zig-Zag

Hello, Everyone.

It's a lovely Sunday evening after a coolish overcast kind of day.  I'm listening to Cole Porter on Iceberg radio.  I had a nice dinner with family at China Chef 2 on Mira Mesa Blvd., very hot Szechuan Chinese food.  But Good.

This is what I found in my knitting and decided to show you.  I'm writing up the pattern ad we speak.  I'll post it to Ravelry later tonight.

Ziggety-Zag Scarf

This soft, yummy-warm, rich, alpaca scarf is not identical on both sides, but it is reversible as both sides look nice. The tubular edge adds a refined charm. The zig-zag pattern adds interest to the ends, the center is quickly knit in stockinette.   It is suitable for either a man or a woman, so a very versatile item on your gift list.  Make one for someone special in your life.  Or make several.

Size: 60 inches X 12 inches



Gauge: I got 4 stitches/inch, but gauge is not important for this project.

Materials:

2 balls Classic Alpaca Yarn Co's Classic Alpaca sport weight  (100 % alpaca )

size 9 needles

I'd better go finish the pattern and post it.


Lilo is helping me post ad sez to tell you G'night.


Julie

Polly's

Hi, Everyone,
It's a balmy Friday night in San Diego.  I feel good, except for the fact that I ate too much.  We had a Mother's Day dinner with the kids at Polly's in Huntington Beach.   It was really great.  This is the wedge salad.  Lots of bacon, dried cranberries and glazed walnuts.

The food was good and inexpensive and the pie was great.  The Rotisserie chicken is moist and tender.

I'd go again anytime.   I even got a jar of their mixed berry jam for a Mother's Day prez.

Lilo is bumping me with her head,  trying to interrupt me to tell you all how beautiful she is.  OK, OK,  Lilo, I told 'em.

Not much action on the knitting front today.  Too busy with other stuff.  Tomorrow will be a great day to knit.  I have another pattern just about ready to post to Ravelry.  Tomorrow I'll get it up there. Check 'em out here http://www.ravelry.com/designers/julie-lanner  Cross your fingers for me that I get through all the technical hurdles to get it actually up and live tomorrow.

See you,
Julie

Bridal Shawl pattern is live on Ravelry

Hi, Everyone,

Shannon's Bridal Lace  Shawl pattern is live on Ravelry for purchase! Check it out at  http://www.ravelry.com/designers/julie-lanner  So far (24 hours) 48 people have hearted it, and I just got the first sales receipt from Paypal!!!   I just added Ramsey, and he has 3 hearts in just a few minutes.    I'm so excited I can't stand it!!!

Now I'll have to work on adding some of the other patterns I have written.

Ta, ta, gotta go for my swim class,
Julie

Bridal shawl pattern posted to Ravelry

Hello, Everyone,


It's a lovely sunny, breezy Wednesday afternoon in San Diego and I'm feeling great.  I'm listening to Roy Orbison's greatest hits.


Yesterday afternoon the strangest thing happened.  I heard a loud ruckus outside and when I went out on the porch to check it out, there was a flock of about 15 bright green parrots flying about the neighborhood screeching.  They had red patches on their heads, yellow around their eyes and were really BIG, maybe twice the weight as a pigeon.   They were perching on telephone lines, playing upside down as parrots do.  They were eating the ripe, sweet loquats from the neighbor's tree.  And generally making a great noise.  Then they flew off and disappeared as suddenly as they came.  Not native to San Diego, I wonder where they came from?  I wonder if they are escaped pets who are now breeding in San Diego?   We are not so tropical as Florida, where I hear various parrots are freely breeding in the back yards. 

They looked like these conures I found on the web who are living wild in San Francisco.  

Last night I finally figured out how to post Shannon's Bridal Lace Shawl to Ravelry.  I took the installment bits from the blog and used them to write up a proper pattern.    I decided not to wait for better pictures, but to post now and add the better pictures when I get them.   So check it out.  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shannons-bridal-lace-shawl


I bought some Mother's Day cards today and made a hand drawn one for my daughter.  

I hope she likes it.


I'm going to knitting guild tonight.  I'll let you know if anything fun comes up.


See ya later,
Julie

French toast

Hello,
It's a beautiful spring Tuesday morning in San Diego, the birds are singing, there is a warm sun and a gentle breeze so it doesn't get too hot.  Perfect! I'm listening to Dvorak's Carnival Overture on XLNC1.  Earlier they played Khachaturian's Spartacus (did I spell that right?)   So romantic.  I need to buy that so I can hear it whenever I want.

Today I am working on finding out how to post a pattern on Ravelry.  I want to share Shannon's Bridal Lace Shawl there, too.  Cross your fingers, I'm not so good at these things. 

We had the yummiest French Toast this morning.  Very eggy and puffy.  I had cooked up some fresh sliced strawberries with some sugar yesterday to make a strawberry compote, so I poured that over the French toast 

French Toast
3 large pieces of white Italian style bread. 
2 jumbo eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix the custard up in a flat dish and let the bread soak, flipping it over once, until the mixture is completely absorbed.
In a large frying pan melt 2 pats of butter. Slide in the breads and let them cook until puffy and browned, then flip and brown the other side.  Serve hot with strawberry compote.

I have this quote on the Butsudan:
"Inside of us we are constructing a happiness that is not influenced by external change.
Even in the abyss of anxiety or in the moments of rapture, in the center of our being there will always be this indestructible treasure.
Then we will be able to fully participate in the joys and pains of the world without being dominated by them, with the power to overcome adversities without being crushed by them and to enjoy prosperity without being corrupted by it. "
-Daisaku Ikeda

I like the connotations of the word "constructing".   It allows me to be a work in progress.   Under construction, that's me.  Some days better than others.   It's written on a bookmark card that I got as a take-away gift at a WD meeting, so I do not know where it originally appeared.   I'd love to know where it came from so I could read the whole thing.   Anybody recognize it?

Lilo's in the "dog house", or maybe it's a cat house in her case .  I was listening to my messages on speakerphone so I could brush my teeth at the same time (you ever have a day like that?) and she found the volume just "Too Piercing" so she flattened her ears back and came up and bit my foot.  That cat!  I threw her outside and scolded her.  So now she is sulking.  I never had a cat like that before.  All my other cats were sweet and nice.  She was taken from her mother too soon and it was a struggle to raise her when she was very little.  Maybe that is why.  Maybe her mother never got a chance to teach her manners.  Bother!   After all these years she still thinks she can do that!  Bad kitty...

Tschuss,
Julie

Mockingbirds singing in the night

Hello,
It's a mellow, cool night after a bright and sunny Sunday in San Diego.  Now I'm at home knitting and  listening to Seal 4.   I'm feeling a bit better, the head cold is almost totally gone.   Tomorrow I hope be be 100%.  Heavenly...

The mocking birds are singing in the night, really belting it out.  It sounds like a vocal contest of some kind.  Interesting.   One is on the house next to me and the other is across the street.  They sing a series of sounds over and over, copy each other, then switch to a new tune and do a new series, and keep the sequence up for a long time.

I had dinner at Pho Cadao.  Nothing like a big hot bowl of soup for my cold.  I love the "tendon" part.  I must have been Vietnamese in a past life.  I really love Vietnamese food.  For an appetizer we had the beef spring rolls, yum.  Pho Cadao does a good job with the soup and the wait staff is nice.  Freshly squeezed OJ for my cold, too.  Then wash it all down with some Jasmine tea.  Yum.

Dan had the flame grilled chicken, it was good, too.  They pound out a chicken breast, marinate it and then grill it over charcoal. 

I talked on the phone to Nate.  We'll see him next weekend, if all goes as planned.   Happy little guy.  Talks so fast I can't understand a word, LOL.  Love is another word for grandchildren.

I'm knitting on a pair of socks for Heather in magenta and a white lace Fichu.  I trade off so that the size 2 sock needles are not so hard on my hands.

The Lace panel starts on top of the foot, then swings back at the ankle to go up each side. Eye of partridge heel flap.   German heart heel with the heart in light pink.     These will be thigh high by the time they are done, with a ruffle at the top and a fancy ribbon garter with beaded ends to draw them up tight at the top.  Should be very pretty.  Coming along nicely.

The yarn was knit once before so the texture looks a bit rough right now.  The size was too big the first time.  The pattern called for 5's and did not specify a gauge!  So, now I'm doing them over on size 2 needles.  Well, now they're the right size and the rough texture caused by the kinked yarn will smooth out the first time I wash them and block them out.   Since the size is unusual, I might have to make a custom sock blocker from a wire coat hanger.  We'll see when the time comes.  Notice the markers to keep me straight on the lace panels.  It's the only way I can both get it right and keep my speed up.

Lilo came by to be admired a bit and then headed out to gopher hunt.  This morning she and Dan found the gopher she "misplaced" in the living room yesterday.  She ate all but the head and then Dan threw the head outside.  Thank you, Dan. Better him than me!  At least we do not have any stinky "missing  gopher" mysteries to deal with! 

Goodnight,
Julie

Bridal Shawl Pattern, Part VII

Hello, Everyone,

It's a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon in San Diego, a bit breezy and cool, but just lovely.  I have a cold today, so I'm drinking tea and resting and trying to shake it off.  Listening to Bream peacefully play Isaac Albaniz (Classical guitar).  Dan made lunch for me, grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.  All gooey with melted sharp cheddar cheese running out everywhere.  You know,  he does a great job when he cooks.  The official myth is that he can't cook, but don't you believe it.  When I'm under the weather, he comes up with some great stuff. 

Well, it's time to finish the Bridal Shawl pattern.   Now that you have it all blocked out and can see just how wide the corner lace turned out to be,  it's time to address the slits at the corners.   I used the tails I had left dangling to gently stitch them up.  Don't pull it tight, just gently float the stitches in there and hide the ends.   The stitching needs to have the same elasticity as the shawl.   Yes, I could have done the edging all in one piece and there would not have been any stitching required, but it would have been rather unwieldy with 1200+ stitches in the edging rows.   This method is rather easier to handle, but does require 2 tiny little seams at the corners, which probably strengthens the shawl where the bead tassels attach anyway. 

Then I stitched the bead "tassels"  firmly onto the corners,  make this stitching good and strong.   The 3 strands of beads for each corner Heather had prepared in advance, so they just needed to be stitched on.   The beads will pull on the corners, so several stitches through each, please.

I'm searching on my hard drive for the photo of the shawl tassels in place.  Kodak uses this really evil hyper-aggressive software when it develops your pics and when you upload them, it puts the photos where IT wants them, not where I can find them.  It is so hyper-aggressive it acts like a malware program.  I may have to add the pics in when I find them.  Phooey on Kodak!

Found it! here it is...

Then all the ends were worked in, which was not many as I tend to arrange the order of work so that I do not generate so many ends.  All done!  Wear it and look fabulous!

Lilo caught a gopher in the yard last night and brought it into the living room.  She was playing with it and "lost" it as it crawled away from her behind something.  Big sigh.  This afternoon, I need to tear the place apart and find the (by now) dead gopher.  Lilo is a newbie, just getting the hang of hunting, and is not clear on what to do after she catches them.  BTW, a live gopher bites with big long nasty orange digging teeth, so I have learned to use the long BBQ tongs to pick them up when I find them.

See ya,
Julie

wet blocking a big shawl, Bridal shawl part VI

Hello, Everyone,

Tonight is a nice, calm Thursday night after a very windy day.  Unusual for San Diego. I feel fine, listening to Julian Bream's classical guitar.

I was out of town for a few days, but I'm home now.   A friend came into town and wanted to see Palm Springs, so he said he'd pay expenses if Dan and I drove him.  So I had a nice little mini-vacation in the desert.  The desert is lovely right now, not too hot yet. This time of year it is usually already hot, but not this year.  Since people schedule vacations bassed on the usual weather, the town was empty, even though it was nice and cool.  Kind of Twilight Zoney.

On the way there we went over the "Palms to Pines" road, the one everyone remembers from the movie, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World".  We had a great meal at Agua Caliente casino, biggest, fattest shrimp I've seen in a long time.

Then we had a great breakfast at Elmer's.  The homemade biscuits are great. The classic Dutch Baby combo was amazing.  http://www.elmers-restaurants.com/images/menu/ELCoreMenuBrkfstSB.pdf

Date ice cream at Shields is a must do for us, too.
We stopped in the Red Earth Casino just for a break by the Salton Sea.

On the way back we went over Borrego Springs, then up the Banner grade to Julian.  More intense switchbacks.

Desert to pine forest in a brief drive.

Julian was cold, 36 degrees.  We had a great dinner at the Rong Branch Cafe.  The chicken livers appetizer was fun, Dan liked his trout and I enjoyed a pulled pork bun with Bumsteer BBQ Sauce (they sell it there, too).    Very good.  The homemade Apple pie was great, of course.

Enough about our mini-vacation.   Now, let's talk about wet blocking.    This shawl needs to be wet blocked.

We washed it and put some conditioner in to the rinse water and let it soak at least 20 minutes to make sure that the water had penetrated to the very core of the thread.  We had tea and talked and in no time it was ready.  We lifted it out of the water and let it drain.  Then we rolled it up in a towel to remove excess water.  We zipped it into a 1 gallon Zippy bag for transport. 

Then we went to a park where they had a 10-foot table big enough to stretch the shawl out (it turned out 8 feet long after blocking).  We laid a sheet on the table to keep everything clean and stretched it out until it looked like lace.  Then we pinned the center top, and then the bottom center.  Then we worked out way out to the ends of the "wings" pinning each point out with a rust-less safety pin.  This yarn is so fine that the dry time is next to nothing.  We left in the fresh breeze to dry in no time at all. 

When it was absolutely 100% dry we folded it up in the sheet and took it to Heathers, where we unpinned it stretched on the back of her sofa.   No joke on the 100% dry part.   If you unpin them too soon, the blocking doesn't hold and they collapse into their unblocked state again.   Ask me how I know....  Well, I got it right this time.

Heather unpinning.

Ta-da, all unpinned.   Lily of the Vally branches waving back and forth.   Hearts in the edging.   Points with beads.

Next time we will talk about the final stitching of the corners.

Lilo is helping me post again tonight. She is strutting back and forth rubbing against my legs and wants to be sure I tell you how beautiful and silky soft and white she is.  OK, Lilo, I told 'em.

Goodnite,
Julie and Lilo

Bridal Shawl Pattern, Part V

Hello, Everyone,

Today is a mellow overcast Tuesday morning in San Diego.   The sun is trying to break through and I'm sure it will soon.    I feel great.  I'm listening to Drew Tretick play violin, A Summer Serenade.   We heard him play live on our honeymoon, so his CD brings back nice memories for me. 

Before we get into the wet blocking, we need to add lace edging to the curved edge.

Pick up stitches as before, picking up 2 stitches for each 2 rows until you reach the safety pin marker you left at the edge (one in the "bee's knees and one between).   Then pick up 2 plus make 1 with a backwards loop for each 2 rows until the bottom section, which gives you 3 stitches for every 2 rows.   Then across the bottom pick up 1 for each stitch plus a few extra for ease.  If you held those stitches aside and did not bind them off, just knit them and add in a few for ease.   Now proceed as for the heart lace edging on the straight edging side, with the same calculations  for the fudge row.   Then add points as before and bind off with or without beads, as you choose.   Do not sew up the corners yet.   We will sew them up after blocking to make sure the stitching is loose enough to not pull in during blocking.   The corner tassels go on last.

Next time we discuss wet blocking.

I have written up a proper pattern and now offer it on Ravelry at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search?query=Julie+Lanner

Lilo is out chasing gophers again.

Bye,
Julie