FO

my constant companion since 9/08 and i have parted ways. my version of the multi-directional scarf is now a finished object. returning to that project was really satisfying. it was kind of a meditative sort of knit -- no thinking, and progress was very measurable whenever i worked on it. i had to redo the very last triangle one time in order to get it to match the first one more precisely on the edge.

project summary: size 4 needles, 65 grams of noro sock yarn. i modified the pattern to use seed stitch instead of garter, 33 stitches at the widest edge of the triangles. it ends up being about 6 feet long and about 4 inches wide. now i'll be waiting for next winter to have a chance to wear it!

here it is hanging from my oven. ツ

a hungry fellow

a western bluebird dined in the outfield and watched the smnll giants lose to their classmates and good friends, the padres.

that whatbird.com website is fantastic -- answer a few questions, and the bird identification possibilities pop up!

i took an amazing picture today

this is a koi fish in a pond at descanso gardens in la cañada.  it's an incredible image, if i do say so myself.  sheer accident, may i add.

because thing one has the type 1 diabetes, i get to go on all the field trips.  since i didn't grow up here, it's an awesome way to be a tourist in my own town.  this is my favorite time of year to go to descanso, because the camellia trees are in full bloom, and the understory of the forest is amazing.

here are some close-ups:

this one, i believe, is a pink perfection camellia, planted by almost every pasadena homeowner for decades, starting in the 1920's.  they are ubiquitous, and quite lovely.

you know i can't resist a bud!

redecorating

i decided i wanted a smaller header, so i've changed the illustration completely.  remember my camera-happy days in colorado last august?   we also had a blue to purple and everything in between day i have not documented 'til now:

i'm not sure what these were, but they featured incredible sorts of mulberry purple.

nemesia

i know it's not foxglove, snapdragon or campanula.
do you know what it is?

amazing delphinium

perfect morning glories in cornflower blue, complete with honeybee

my name is elise...

... and i am a start-aholic.

look how many wip's i have on ravelry.  and those are just the ones i have documented there.  as i was putting my sparkly wrap up as a project, i took a look at my page.


oh boy.

ETA:  i finally added the wip ravelry progress bars to my sidebar.  will that shame me into finishing at least one of these before i start another?  doubtful.

a sparkly notion

i have this really pretty black sock weight yarn.  it's spun from merino wool, silk, and (imagine!) sterling silver.  i intended to use it to make myself some opera-length, black fingerless gloves with a lace panel from elbow to knuckle.  they were going to be really pretty -- a way to both bring back gloves AND show off a manicure.

however.

i got sidetracked, and decided i needed a simple wrap to wear to an up-coming event.  and that yarn was beckoning.  i've been inspired by the look of the citron wrap everyone's making, particularly the ruching divided by some structure.  i wanted something lacy, but not too; structured, but not too; easy, but not too.  i experimented with 4 different simple laces and decided upon the 2 i'm using.*  the really fun part of this wrap is that the structure comes from columns of tunisian crochet worked every 16 rows.  it was actually pure laziness that led me to this.  i did not want to perform the calculations necessary to reduce the gauge, and even if i just grabbed a smaller needle and started knitting, i did not want to knit a million little stitches and 50-11 little rows.  hence, tunisian-supplied gathers.

this is a tricky fabric to capture with a camera in daylight.  but here you can kind of see the sterling silver sparkles.  they look like dust.  (click for biggie-smallness)

i am not naturally drawn toward sparkles/glitter/sequins/look-at-me stuff.  but this is very subtle, very restrained, very take-a-second-look-if-you'd-like-but-no-pressure.  i am nervous about not liking it once it's done.  but it's been a really fun experiment, combining the techniques of knitting and tunisian.

wouldn't those fingerless gloves look great with this?

_________

*why 2 different laces?  i wanted the edges to be bigger and rufflier than the middle panels, which i wanted to have as straight lines to complement the really square nature of the tunisian stitches.  moderate method to the madness.

or maybe i got bored...

oh how i ♡ tulips

from trader joe's. (my tj's is the original store -- fun!)

the tulips as the newly appointed key feature of the kitchen window sill gang.  look at the blue vase with the orange flowers -- color contrasty!  picking up the vase color, the dish soap.  highlighting the clay pot of the orchid, the plastic basketball of the 5th/6th grade girls championship basketball trophy.  the yellow pitcher calling attention to the yellows/greens in the orchids.

so wonderful to look out my kitchen window.  ツ

oboe, play me an "A"

this is my biggest azalea bush.  at this time of year, when i look at it, i get the same feeling i do when i hear an orchestra tuning before a concert.  it is the feeling of anticipation.  in the sense of smell, it might be the scent of popcorn.  it's that you know something wonderful is coming, and your senses are sending "ooo!  ooo!  ooo!" signals to your brain.

this is what the buds look like when they're at this "tuning" stage -- the azalea almost looks pregnant.  for me, the anticipation is palpable.

 

the whole azalea is eventually covered with these perfect white blossoms.  actually, some of the flowers have a pink streak, since the hybrid variety came from pink stock.

 

the camellias want some attention, too.

aren't we lucky in socal in march?

ps -- as always, click on the picture to supersize it.  they're a bit blurry as i did not use a flash here at dusk...

olympic fail

ok, well, that's a bit harsh, but i'm not awarding myself a medal.

1. i did not start my project at the opening ceremonies (we were camping in baja --  what opening ceremonies?)
2. i decided 4 days later not to even try to do the "event" i had in mind.
3. i started 2 (count 'em) new projects during the olympics -- the equivalent, i guess, of trying to switch from the US to the estonian team mid-stride of the nordic combined.
4. i haven't finished anything.

so here's where i am on my 2 new projects:

 

this guy is a SLOG!  i'm not that good at stranding, i followed the chart without examining it thoroughly (see the incomplete white "V" there in the front ), and with the antlered creatures, there is no memorizing a chart -- you just have to keep consulting it.  in other words, this is not "stoplight knitting."  on the other hand, what a great-looking hat it will be!

 _________

 

in other olympic distractions, this little scarf is looking quite pretty, it's REALLY easy -- i am just getting a little bored.  but it will knit up quickly if i just DO it . 

 

(does nike need a knitter to feature in their ads?  

the new logo is ready, as is the direct deposit info...)

i have an idea for knitting up a shawl with some lace yarn i bought.  (i also have an idea for some fingerless mitts -- that's why i bought the yarn.)  the mitts may have to head to the back burner -- i need a shawl, and i think i can do one quickly and easily.

famous last words!