More finished objects

Hello Everyone,

It's a cold, breezy, overcast, foggy summer Tuesday in July!  What a strange day in San Diego!  We are having the weirdest summer I can remember.  There was a  show on the cable educational channel recently featuring a local meterology  prof from SDSU.  He was talking about how global warming had changed things in the ocean off the coast of Alaska, which increased the volume and changed the angle the Humbolt (cold) current comes down the coast of California.  As a result the cold current is flowing inside of the offshore islands, close to the coast, rather than the usual path outside the islands.  As a result the ocean close to the shore is cooler, casusing the coastal cloudiness and fog.  The end result is that the earth as as total is warmer, but that makes the California coast cooler this summer.  I dunno.  At least we do not have the killer bone dry heat waves, knock on wood.  If we have a cool, damp summer, we may escape the usual autumn wild fires.  That would be good.   I feel fine except for the pain in my knees, they don't like this dampness.  Funny that I am blogging a weather rant.  San Diego is usually immune to such, LOL.

I'm listening to Sergio Mendez's Encanto.  For those of you who remember the Sergio Mendez Brazilian beat from the 60's, this is a younger relative, I think his son.  Kind of super laid back dreamy Brazilian dance music.  Goes well with my cardamom tea. 

Here are some more finished objects.

I found the light blue mohair knitted lace scarf in an UFO pile.  I finished it off and then did a cute little hairpin lace cousin.  The three hats are another peach cable job, another tweedy one and  one I like very much, one in a colorway called Peruvian Mix. My gift drawer is filling up nicely.

Lilo slept with me last night, she hates the cold and fog,.  I think she is still on my bed, snuggled in the blankets to keep warm.  She's so spoiled. 

Tomorrow I'm going to a potluck luncheon, so I'd better think about what I'm bringing. 

See ya, happy knitting,
Julie

Dare's socks

Hello Everyone,
It's late. Warm, foggy summer Sunday night in San Diego.  I'm listening to an Argentine radio station that plays gaucho music.  Country western to the Argentines.   I slept earlier and then got up, so I guess my sleep is in 2 pieces today, LOL.  I'm ok, just a little stiff after tripping and falling flat on my face Saturday night.  Thank heavens I did not break anything, or otherwise seriously injure myself.  I stepped on a piece of paper, that slid on the carpet and  slipped out from under me.  Careful, paper is slippery and loose papers on the floor are dangerous.  

I finished Dare's belated birthday slipper socks, but then we did not end up having dinner together in the evening after all.  Oh Well, I'm sure we will get together soon.  BTW, for you sock knitters...  The trick to "no-holes" at the corners of the short row heels is to pick up 2 stitches  at each corner when done with the short-row heel and resuming rounds.  One is in the bottom of the gap between the two needles, and the other is on the side of the fabric held by the left hand needle.  It almost looks like an extra row on that side, so pick up a stitch in it.  I hope I am explaining that clearly.  Then the extra stitches are decreased like mini gussets.  I also increase a couple stitches on each side of the heel in the last row before the  heel starts.   This makes the heel deeper and it fits Dare better.  I do not do it for everyone.  The extra stitches are also decreased in the mini-gussets. 

Lilo is happy, I shared my roast chicken with her at dinner.  She opened one eye to say "Hi" to all her fans and then went back to her nap. She lost hr collar again, sigh.  Have to get her yet another one. 

Good night,
Julie

Girly, Girly

Hello there, Everyone,

Today is a coolish overcast breezy morning, as unlike San Diego in July as I can remember.  I feel great and I'm sipping a  lovely cup of cardamom tea. Drew Tretick is playing romantic violin on my player. I'm fightin' back, you gloomy weather, you. 

Heather and I had a girly day yesterday.  First we swam.  Then we  had Vietnamese food for lunch from the little Pho place across from the nail salon.

Then we got manicure/pedicures.

We were testing out the plum polish that is planned for the wedding in October.  It was so much fun.  We told Susan and Mimi (the manicurists) that we were doing the same plum polish and we both wanted flowers, but that there was a competition to see who did the best flowers.  They really got into it and had a big laugh.  Susan won.

Those are my swim booties drying in the breeze on the porch. 

I'm playing with more hairpin lace. Pink and foo-foo.   Lots of fun!

Lilo opened one eye to say hello.  She is sleeping on the foot of the bed.  That's what SHE thinks of this gloomy weather.I think I'll do something silly, like go and have a hot dog for lunch at the Price Club. 

See ya,
Julie

Hats, a scarf and a beautiful new shawl

Hello, Everyone,

It's a strange cool, cloudy, moist summer day, very untypical for us in July in San Diego. The music playing is Audrey's Kitten with a Whip.   Too bad that band broke up.

I feel fine and I'm heading out soon to swim with my sister.  Lilo is helping me blog as I am eating some yummy Mexican-style turkey soup and she is hoping I will give her a bite of turkey.  Nah!  Hmmm....        Oh,  Alright, here's a tiny bit for you to taste, Lilo.  She and I both love turkey.  Her digestion is so tricky I can only give her tiny tastes of "people food".  Now she's happy.

But I just had to stop and blog the pretty new shawl I finished late last night. 

It's hairpin lace, which I have not made since the 70's.  It's delicate lace weight, fine and ephemeral.  I just love it.  Tell me again, why did we stop making hairpin lace???  I love it.  And it works up fast.  Here's a detail.

The pattern is not entirely mine, although I made some changes.   It's a riff on the free pattern by Coats and Clarks.  The lace strips are 4 inches wide instead of 3, and the strips are  finished in swirling loops instead of points.   I think I'll make another one incorporating the ideas that came out when making this one. Let's see of I find time.

Here are the knit hats from the hat-jag I went on.

The tweedy ones are great for using up scraps. 

This is a pretty beaded keyhole scarf in a wavy lace pattern. Here's the detail.

 It's fun to do beads like that.  I'm trying to think what else I finished during the time I was too busy to blog.  As I think if things, I'll blog them. 

Here's Nate at Mission Bay Park, eating a strawberry paleta on a hot day we had last week. 

Got to run and swim. 

See ya!
Julie and Lilo, who thinks she is now my very best friend..

I'm back, again....

Hello, Everyone,

Well, I'm back.  I got real busy supporting a youth peace festival. Check it out. Here is the Taiko performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8xfzXyeEaI&NR=1
The song, Rise, at the end made me cry.  Maybe I can find a clip of it.  Wow! It was so great.

It's a hot evening after a hot day in San Diego.  I'm listening to Carlos Santana's Supernatural.  Maybe after I post we'll go somewhere air conditioned to cool off.

Heather gave me some pics of the 2nd pair of long stockings I knit.

These are for her daughter-in-law-to-be.

I was on a hat jag, since they are small and portable.  I made a whole bunch of them.  I'll post as soon as I get pictures.

Lilo is too hot to stay in the house.  She'll be back later.

See ya, keep it cool!
Julie

Hugg Me Baby Boots

Hello Everyone,

It's a mellow late night Tuesday after a lovely, sunny day.  I'm feeling good,  listening to Jazz 88.3 play Rebirth Brass band.

I just finished some cutie patootie baby booties.  So I wrote them up and  I'll be posting them on Ravelry as soon as I get to it, probably tomorrow. 

Hugg Me Baby Boots

These cute little high boots are suitable for either a boy or a girl. They look just like the famous sheepskin boots, but are knit of practical machine washable brown wool, with a creamy faux shearling sheep cuff, knit in loop stitch to look like sheepskin. Altogether much cute baby snuggliness.

Size: 4 (5) inches long, about 6 (9) months. Baby feet vary, better to be too big and grow into them. Instructions for larger size will be given in paren.

Gauge: 4 stitches to the inch in garter stitch

Materials:

1ball, cream worsted weight washable wool yarn, I used Lion Brand Collerction Superwash Merino, Antique

1 ball smooth chocolate brown Worsted weight washable wool yarn, I used Lion Brand Collection Superwash Merino, Mahagony

size 5 circular needle. I know this is small for the size of the yarn, but it needs to be knit tightly if the loop fabric is to look “sheepy”

1 marker, I used a coilless safety pin

large yarn needle to sew up heel

Special stitches:

Knitted-on cast on: Slide a slip knot on the left hand needle. Insert the right hand needle from heel to tip of the left needle through the loop. Bring the yarn around the needle and pull it through the first loop as if knitting the first stitch. *Do not remove the first stitch, instead, rotate the right hand needle so it lies parallel with the left hand one, heel to heel and tip to tip. Slip the left hand needle through the new loop, so both needles lie heel to heel and tip to tip again. Snug up the yarn around both needles. Draw the yarn between them and draw up a loop as if to knit a stitch. Repeat from * for desired number of stitches. This creates an open, lacy cast on.

Loop stitch: *Knit a stitch, but leave it on the left needle, draw the yarn to the front between your needles and sling it around your left thumb, using the thumb to hold a long loop. Bring the yarn back between the needles to the back and knit the stitch again and this time pull the "old" stitch off the left needle. Pull the first stitch over the second one on the right needle to lock it down. Tug on the loop to pull all the slack into the loop. Knit the next stitch plain. Repeat from * across, alternating every other stitch with loop and regular knit. Knit the next row plain. So, every other row you have a row of loops, every other stitch. If the loop rows alternate the loops so that they do not stack up, but instead alternate like an eye of partridge heel flap, why, that is a nice touch. If you can't make that happen, don't worry. Nothing shows in all the loops!

3 needle bind off: with a third needle knit 1 stitch from each side together, *knit 1 stitch from each side together again, pull the first stitch over the second to bind off 1 stitch. Repeat from * until all stitches are bound off.

Lilo sez,  "G'nite, Mates!"

Bye,

Julie

knitted-on cast on

Hello, Everyone,

It is a beautiful, clear Monday night.   I'm listening to En Aranjuez con to Amor by Joachin Rodrigo, London Symphony, James Galway, Flute.  So beautiful.  I copied this from the XLNC1 website and it gives me interesting blue bars and boxes I can't make go away.  Hmmmm, I'll push them to the bottom of the page.  No extra charge.

Yesterday I talked about a knitted-on cast on and I got questions about how to do it.  So here is the 411.

Knitted-on cast on: Slide a slip knot on the left hand needle. Insert the right hand needle from heel to tip of the left needle through the loop. Bring the yarn around the needle and pull it through the first loop as if knitting the first stitch. *Do not remove the first stitch, instead, rotate the right hand needle so it lies parallel with the left hand one, heel to heel and tip to tip. Slip the left hand needle through the new loop, so both needles lie heel to heel and tip to tip again. Snug up the yarn around both needles. Draw the yarn between them and draw up a loop as if to knit a stitch. Repeat from * for desired number of stitches. This creates an open, lacy cast on, especially useful for lace work.  

The painter finished today, but he messed up the front door.  I'll have to talk to him. 

Lilo is far away sitting on a gopher hill, I'll see her later when she gets cold.  Interesting, I typed her name and she came inside the car door.  I swear that cat is psychic.  

More tomorrow...

G'night ,
Julie

Kissing Cousins - the beginning

Hello, Everyone,


Well, it's a cold and windy Sunday night in San Diego.  I feel just fine.  I'm listening to Chris Botti play a very sweet trumpet.  I had a nice dinner at Szechuan House in Mira Mesa, thanks to Dare.  You know you lived right when your kid picks up the check.  Eating there reminded me of why we used to go there often, the food is really good.  I especially like their take on Peking duck, juicy meat and crispy skin.  The Sizzling Double Happiness is shrimp and scallops in a spicy black bean sauce, yum.  Kung Pao Beef, spicy and full of peanuts.  Nate loves to go there, he has the house special Lo Mein.  That boy loves his noodles.  Nice wait staff, too.  


The bedroom is the warmest room in the house and the computer is in the dining room, hmmmm.  Maybe I'll go get the electric lap blanket and plug it in by the computer.  Be right back.


Ok, That's better, nice and warm despite a drafty house.


The Kissing Cousins Shawl is maybe 1 hour from done, which is nothing on a big lace shawl.  Time to write about it.  It is a horseshoe shape in oh-so-soft lime green baby alpaca lace weight from Misti Alpaca with a bit of mohair (Kid Merino ) for interest half way through.  The ends are rectangular and the center section is a semicircle.  

Kissing Cousins is worked from the outer edge in to the center edge.  I cast it on in the alpaca by making the pretty beaded lace outer edging and then picking up stitches all along its top edge.  There are stitches on each side edge kept in garter, some along each of the straight rectangles, and more in the center section.  Periodically the center section is reduced by K2tog across.  Several straight forward patterns create bands of beautiful lace between the decrease rows.  Half way through the yarn switches to cloud soft, fuzzy, baby mohair.  After a bit of fluffy mohair lace, the yarn switches back to the alpaca and finishes off with more lace.   The top edging is for the most part a simple eyelet edging, with a bit of beaded lace at each of the ends to visually tie into the beginning outer edge.  It turned out great!  I can't wait to see it blocked.


The edging, Beaded Lace:

It begins with a knitted-on cast on and goes for about 1000 rows, LOL.

This is the end of the first installment.
More to follow later...


Lilo sez g'nite!

Bye,
Julie


 

Kissing Cousins

Hello, Everyone,


It's windy, overcast and cool this afternoon in San Diego.  More like the central California coast than the Southland.   Let's all pretend we're in Solvang instead of San Diego.  I'm listening to 30 greatest hits from Elvis and drinking hot tea to keep warm. 

I'm working on the edging of the Kissing Cousins Shawl.    The edging is a quick way to bind off that provides a very narrow lace edging.  It is a straight  edging, but could easily be blocked out to points if desired.  

Here is how I am working it:

Eyelet bind off: 

Pithy version :
Row 1: Slip 1, K1, YO, K2tog, P2tog, turn
Row 2: Slip 1, K4 turn. Repeat rows 1 and 2 until all shawl stitches are consumed. Bind off 5 loosely.

In playing with this I came up with a version I did not use for the shawl because it caused the edging to fold over and flip back to the wrong side.  Eureka! This is not useful for this shawl, but it is perfect for many hemming situations... Here it is written up:


Eyelet hem

Row 1: Slip 1, K1, YO, K2tog x 2, turn
Row 2: Slip 1, K4, turn Repeat rows 1 and 2 until all shawl stitches are consumed. Bind off 5 loosely.  Let the edge curl to the backside and stitch it down to the main fabric, creating a neat hem.  It flips back on the second K2tog.

I like the eyelets on the inside of the hem because it is easy to insert the elastic or drawstring if one is being used.  There are eyelet holes everywhere to use.  Easy to replace the elastic, when needed, too.  

The house smells so good.  I'm cooking a vegan dish from Tibet for Curried Cauliflower (and some other veggies).  Last night I was watching a travel show on Tibet and it reminded me that I have this dish I like and some cauliflower in the fridge.   I'm not usually vegan, but I like this one.  So here we go.


Curried Cauliflower

Put 1/4 cup good EVVO in the crockpot and set to high.  (This can also be done in a regular large pot if you are careful to regulate the heat.)  Now, if we want to be really authentic we can use yak butter, but I thought the olive oil was easier to source at the local megamart, LOL. 
Cut up 1 head of cauliflower, including the stems, core and leaves.  Be careful to cut any woody stems thinly across the grain. Add to the pot.  The pot will be more than half full, but as is cooks a bit it cooks down, so you will be ok on volume by the time you get everything cut up and in the pot. 

Trim, chop up and add to the pot:
10 ounces Crimini mushrooms (the brown ones, but any mushrooms are good.  Never met a mushroom I did not like)
4 stalks celery
3 carrots
1 large onion
3 large cloves garlic
2 dried California Chili pepper pods
1 red bell pepper
2 large potatoes 
3 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
freshly ground black pepper to taste (Dan likes it so I add a lot)
Stir and let brown a bit.

Add in:
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups water (more in a regular pot, the crock pot hold moisture in very well)
salt to taste


Let cook until soft (couple of hours in a crock pot) and enjoy the smells in the house!


Serve over rice.  Try not to spill the sauce on yourself, it stains bright yellow like the dickens.  Ask me how I know. 

Someone in my crochet group made this.

Cute, huh?

Lilo is hiding from the painter again.   She'll be back later. 

See ya,
Julie

Lime Llama?

Hello, Everyone,


It's a nice mellow early Sunday morning.  I can't sleep, so I may as well knit.  And blog about knitting, LOL.  Music is Austin City Limits on KPBS.

I had Nate for a day and that was great!  Took him back to his mama after dinner with Anita and Peter.   I'll have to do a toy roundup tomorrow before I step on something sharp.  He was so cute.  Anita ordered a nice, healthy salad, so he offered to share his french fries with her.  Sweet boy.


I was looking for a pair of #3 needles, the ones I had just gotten were not working in the sport weight stockings I was making.   The slippery texture of the new #3 needle caused the gauge to open up so it was as if I were using #4 or bigger needles.  Couldn't get the fabric I wanted for the stocking to save my life.   Ever had this happen?  Frustrating, as these were new #3's bought just for this purpose.   So I started digging about in a bag of UFO's looking for something on #3's I could steal use.   I found this lovely lime green horseshoe shaped alpaca shawl and realized that (a.) it only needed a lace edging bind off to be done and (b). it was on #3 needles, nice wooden #3's with a normal texture that would work great in the stockings. 

So I started in merrily in to finish the lace edging muy pronto, only to find that I hated working it.  So I changed the edging to a simpler one I made up that I call an eyelet bind off.  I like it much better and I'm about 1/2 of the way done now.

I was working on this at a friend's house and she said it reminded her of her lime green llama.  She is a partner in a wonderful deli in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego called the Deli Llama.  (Great sandwiches, BTW, stop by if you are ever in the area.  She doesn't skimp, only the best of everything.  Yum!   And the sweets are really yummy, too.)  The deli has a circus theme and painted on the mural above all is the lime llama, as I recall.  Well, the shawl is close to a lime llama, it's lime alpaca, with a lime mohair (goat) band in the middle.  Cousins of llama.  Cousins of camel.  Just cousins.  Maybe even kissing cousins.

So, as soon as I finish the Kissing Cousins Shawl,  I'll post pictures and then write up the pattern.  It's my own design, so I may as well write it up and offer the pattern on Ravelry.  Here are a few detail pics to tide you over. 

The impossible fussy lace edging  on the outer edge (with 3 pearls placed with a crochet hook per repeat).   I did not want to repeat it on the inner edge.

The eyelet bind off I did on the inner edge.   Floral design below the edge is one you have seen recently....Remember?

1 skein Cousin mohair (Crystal Palace Kid Merino) kissing 2 cousins Misti Alpaca Lace.  Estonian Nupps in the section below.  More details to follow.  Just wait until you see it all blocked out and showing the pattern...  Hmmmm....  I wonder how you block out a horseshoe shape?  I'll find out, won't I?   News at 11!


Lilo sez "G'nite".  She's wanting to to sit on my lap a lot and tell me how terrible it is that there is a painter putting lime green paint on the house trim.  What's with the lime green right now?  Must be mystical, LOL.

Bye,
Julie