More Tags

After a long dry spell, I've working on my crafts again. These are two tags I made from grunge paper cut in a sizzix

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Create Something

Wow. I haven't posted in a long time. Nothing has been going right with knitting. I finished a sleeveless top to discover that I will have to rip about two-thirds of it out and re-knit because the top part is too big, even tho' I tried to take make adjustments to the pattern to make it fit better before I started. Next time, I think I'll make a muslin.

I did make two cards this week, and two today, just to do something creative. These are the two that I made today.

Another FO

My knitting is suddenly yielding some finished objects. In just a few days of steady knitting, I was able to finish a Storm Cloud Shawlette out of some mystery purple sock yarn from my stash (probably from Ebay or Etsy). I'm not sure how useful this will be, but I will figure out how to wear it when it is cooler.

Truly Tasha

May has flown by! I bit the bullet and finished the Truly Tasha shawl pattern by Nancy Bush. I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Black Cherry, almost 8 full skeins. I love the way it turned out, and it was pretty easy to knit -- lots of mindless garter stitch and an easy garter stitch edging once I got the hang of it & memorized it. It will be a nice, warm shawl -- too bad I finished it just as the weather is getting warm!

MDSW

I finally made it to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival for the first time today. Jeff drove me up, and was shocked at the half-hour back-up of cars to get into the place at 9:30 a.m. (it opened at 9, and my friend Trudy had gotten there at 8). It was raining when I first got there, but it let up. I ran into Trudy a little after noon, and while I was talking with her, a coworker of hers (JessMary) and her friend came up. They had gotten there at around 10:30 and had just come from the Ravelry meet-up. I'd completely lost track of the time, so I missed it.

The crowd was huge. I did manage to buy some yarn -- my first purchase was at Carolina Homespun. 2 skeins of Curious Creek Fibers Meru in the Moonshine colorway. 51% wild tussah silk, 49% merino wool 50 g - 450 m. Hand painted. Lovely lace yarn. Next purchase was 5 skeins of Silk 'n Kid yarn at Kid Hollow Farm. 40% kid mohair, 40% silk, 20% wool. 2.2 oz and 165 yds. Tie dye colorway. Third and final purchase was 3 skeins of solo silk at Brooks Farm. 4 oz. and 400 yds. 50/50 fine wool and silk in a mix of blue & green.

Queen Anne Afternoon

After I finished work last Friday, Kathy and I spent the afternoon together. It worked out perfectly! She got finished with the training she was doing in the morning, and called me as I was in the elevator going up to my hotel room. She was outside the hotel! So I merely dropped my work things in the room and drove off with Kathy -- first to Pike Place Market for some pad thai lunch, then up to Queen Anne hill for the afternoon. Her blackberry with Internet access and GPS navigation is very impressive, and we found Hilltop Yarns without having to go back to my room to pick up the information. After a lovely browse in the yarn store, we went down to the corner to Teacup for a pot of fragrant tea. So relaxing! We decided we liked the ambiance of Teacup -- clean and modern -- better than the chintz-y frou-frou of the tea shop near Acorn Street yarn. We just aren't the tiara type. Then we went to Nancy's Sewing Basket, where Kathy used to shop when she lived nearby. We had a nice chat with the woman in the ribbon room. I found so many ribbons I would have bought, but restrained myself. Everything from woven ribbons with flowers to hand-dyed silk ribbons to woven measuring tape ribbon. Plus beautiful buttons made from old molds. After checking out the fabulous fabrics, we hopped back in her car and found the house in which she and Chris used to rent the upstairs apartment. I have vivid memories of the large corner window. She pointed out all the changes in the house and yard, and we were astounded by the new rental price on the sign propped against the house: $1,450 per month! Then we found the little overlook park with a classic view of the Seattle center and downtown. Kathy took any of us who visited her on Queen Anne to that park for pictures back in the old days. The woman in the ribbon room had given us directions. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on a bench in the sun, enjoying the view and talking. The mountain was out and it was beautiful. As dinnertime came, she stopped a couple walking their dog and asked for a recommendation of a local restaurant. We went to Sorrentino on Queen Anne Avenue. We split appetizers of classic tomato bruchetta and warm eggplant Parmesan. Then she had gnocchi in a cream and Gorgonzola sauce, and I had thick spaghetti in a sauce of pork and cauliflower. It was delicious and the service was very nice. It was a great choice for dinner. I was back in my hotel room by 7 p.m. to pack up and sleep before flying home early the next morning. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Tulips & Turkeys

The first weekend that I was in Seattle, Kathy & I went up to the Skagit Valley to see the tulip fields. Unfortunately, the unseasonably cold spring weather had delayed the tulips, so that the tulip fields were just beginning to blossom, but the daffodil fields were seas of yellow and the tulips in the demonstration garden were beautiful.

We also went to LaConner, where we discovered that there is a flock of turkeys that roams the streets of the town. I have never been so close to a live turkey in my life. A lady came out of here house and fed them bits of bread.