a year in stitches

This one was not on me...

2009-06-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is all on my hosting site. It wouldn't let me publish anything.

Although, in full disclosure, I've been pretty busy. More on that after the fiber news.

My neighbor invited me over for an afternoon of felting. It was great fun, so much so, I'm thinking of hosting a similar event.

We felted some soaps and some rocks. I know, weird. But they turned out great. The thing that turned out really well though was this felted box.

After I got home I took a felting needle and felting the word 'smile' on it. I'm thinking of doing some to put up on etsy. My sister, an aunt and I have been toiling away at some kids clothes, so soon there should be more photos. Sorry I've been hoarding, just want to debut when everything is ready.

Here's what the box looks like from overhead, with some little fluff that will probably make it's way to being boxes too.

So besides the formation of the shop (again, details to come when all is a go), I got a J-O-B!

Its still doing graphic design, although most of what I do is design the stuff that goes from your mailbox to your recycling bin, but a job is a job and this one is a pretty cushy one.

And I formed my own company with a friend. We are designing (at least at some point we will) baby announcements and wedding stationery. We get our business cards on Monday. I can't wait! Now that the hosting site is letting me publish my blog again, I'll be sure to take photos and show all of you.

BTW, I want to thank everyone for listening to all my rantings about my unemployment. I really appreciate it.

Remembering I have a blog

2009-05-26T09:20:00.000-07:00

Since I moved to the Pacific Northwest, Memorial Day weekends have meant a time to prepare for the glories of summer.
Living in the South, this prep time happened in March, so by Memorial Day if I didn't have the grill going and a case of bug spray on the deck, I was screwed.

So this past weekend, A.K. restained the deck and made me a planter box. I transplanted the tomato (when I lived in Florida I could have had a vine-ripe tomato with my Memorial Day burger) and prepared for summer crafting-style. (Brace yourselves, it's an actual, honest-to-god finished object)

It's what I'm calling a wristlet bag. Perfect for carrying a few essentials, such as your money, phone and a killer CD. Okay so I have Lisa Hannigan on my phone in MP3 format, but you really must buy the CD. All the lyrics were hand embrodiered by Lisa and her sister. So if you are in a CD-buying mood, this is the one you should buy.

The wristlet is perfect for sunset-watching, you can throw a camera in the bag, and your flip flops to keep them sand free (totally helpful for your car upholstery.) I modified the pattern from a Lotta Jansdotter pattern. Well, the truth is, I think I modified it. The book is in Japanese with very little instruction. So I messed up a bunch of times until it look like it did in the picture.

Hope you had a great weekend. I'm trying this new thing – which I'm calling 'updating my blog regularly.' We'll see how it goes. Thanks for sticking with me.

Thanks for the Pick Me Up

2009-05-19T09:41:00.000-07:00

Thanks, it's nice to know that someone is out there.

So here is a photo of the the singles. It is a mix of silk, cashmere and merino. You know, only the best for family members. The hats in the movie 'The Life Aquatic' are knit pretty fine, so I would like a three-ply yarn for stability, but it means skinny singles. The spinning is taking forever.

Also, since I had spinning things on my mind, I made some ice cream using the kitchen aid ice cream attachment. The ice cream turned out fantastic (French Vanilla from Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'), but the set up was pesky at first.

Wow its been awhile

2009-05-16T15:46:00.000-07:00

I don't think anyone is ready this anymore, but just in case anyone is...

Life on unemployment isn't what I thought it would be. I thought I would have all this time to finish all my fibery projects. The truth is there has been no knitting, a little spinning and lots of time on the computer.

I'll spare you the computer details, but the spinning. My brother has commissioned me to make 'The Life Aquatic' hats for him, his wife and my niece and nephew. One day they want to have a catamaran and they need hats for the crew. So I thought it would be nice to have everything custom made.

I should have photos of the singles on spools, but that would require a bit more work than I have time for, and I thought I should at least post something.

So hopefully, I'll get my act together post some photos of something fiber-related soon.

Thanks for sticking with me. Whoever you are.

More Philippines photos

2009-04-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

This is my Uncle Sonny with my cousin Paola's daughter Chloe. Chloe loves the chickens my Uncle raises, and you can get her to do alot if you promise to let her hang out with the chickens. I myself was quite taken with the chickens, because they are some pretty cool chickens. In fact, I have a little crafty side project inspired by them. I'll fill in details soon.

These were some of the best seafood I have ever had. It might have something to do with the fact that they were eating at a Chinese restaurant that had tanks of live fish and shellfish that you just point to and say 'I would like to eat that tonight.' As the following photos demonstrates.

One of these days I'll show some crafty things, promise.

It's official...

2009-03-24T17:48:00.001-07:00

I'm unemployed. It kind of sucks, but I also got to knit at 2 p.m. on Monday with some other unemployed crafters, so there are some perks to the situation. I know it's been a while since I last posted, but it's been a weird time, time which included a trip to my mother country, the Philippines.

So instead of talking about how it sucked to get laid off, I thought I'd share some photos from the trip.

At the Taipei airport. I was born in the year of the ox, so I totally loved these paper decorations. I wish they sold them in one of the stores, but no luck. However, they did have what seemed like an entire wing devoted to Hello Kitty.

This is my uncle burning the trash. Not the most eco-friendly way to dispose of your waste, but there isn't a nice garbage truck coming every week either, so you got to do what you got to do.

This is the Jollybee bee. Jollybee is the Filipino version of McDonald's, even though they have McDonald's there. I think Jollybee is way more popular. And while I'm here rambling about fast food trivia, instead of referring to McDonald's as MickeyD's, Filipinos refer to it as Mac Dough.

This is my dream house. And it belongs to my great uncle Ben. He is a scientist who specialized in rice. That's right, Uncle Ben studied rice. And actually he does look like the guy on the Uncle Ben's Rice box. I tried to find an Uncle Ben's Rice box in the grocery store to see if they made the 'Uncle Ben' figure with Filipino features and if that 'Uncle Ben' would look more like my Uncle Ben, but alas, no box of rice. It might have something to do with the amount of rice you can fit in a box is a little unpractical to the typical Filipino family, since they like to get there rice in huge woven bags.

Statues in the gardens around my great uncle's house.

This is a shrine set up in the house my father grew up in. The house was built in the 50's when there wasn't indoor plumbing in the Philippines.

This is a sign at a 'resort' (a term I use pretty loosely, it was really just some simple cottages on the beach, with a nice pool) near a piece of property my parents own in the little town where my father grew up. It was pretty sweet to pick up a rock on my parent's lot and saying this is part of my parents' place on the beach.

I took tons of photos, so I'll share more tomorrow.

FIGHT!

2009-02-09T18:04:00.001-08:00

I was at Daiso with my mom yesterday. She's here in Seattle because A.K., me and my mom are all going to the Philippines later this week. The trip was planned before we found out about our future job predicament. Anyway, this was a stamp that went along with two other stamps: one that said 'excellent', the other said 'good.' I just thought this was so funny. I think they meant 'you can do better' but that doesn't fit on a stamp.

I think it came out perfect and it has become my mantra.

And I need a mantra of late. I'm finding it hard to muster any creativity these days. I'm hoping the trip to the motherland will get me out of my funk.

But of course, if not ... FIGHT!

stop the whining

2009-01-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

Okay, no more doom and gloom ...

Things will work out and we will be fine. A.K. and I have a lot to be thankful for and these are a few of them.

A husband who finds can always find a flower in the rockiest of places.

Being able to snowboard on your own street.

Nephews and neices who love slides.

The satisfaction of some well-crafted items in your home.

Dogs on secret beaches.

And awesome knit bags at antiques stores.

And new babies in one's life.

what to do, what to do

2009-01-12T11:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been so silent, so many things have been going on though.

The main one is there is a strong possibility that A.K. and I will be laid off.

I was doing really well on my New Year's Resolution to take better care of myself (i.e. exercise and eat better) then when the news hit, I reverted to chocolate for lunch.

Anyway, I just take all this as a sign that my path was meant to be different and we will find something where we both make more and we don't have crazy hours and we get to spend more time with one another.

When I get some motivation, I'll post some photos of a sweater that I'm knitting. (Even though, I don't think I'll have enough yarn to finish. I know, I've done this before.)

Crocheted with snow

2008-12-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

I found out my friend Marcy is the editor of Interweave Crochet yesterday!

Marcy is the one who taught me to knit, spin and will teach me to crochet, because I'm going to finally crack open her book and start a project!

Yeah Marcy!

I (heart) Flight of the Conchords

2008-12-17T11:49:00.001-08:00

You MUST check out the first episode of Flight of the Conchords second season over at FunnyorDie.com

There is a great bit about weaving in it, for all us fiber geeks out there.

Season 2 Online Premiere - Flight of the Conchords (US Only) - watch more funny videos

brrrrrrrr

2008-12-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

Baby, its cold outside.

Because it totally snowed yesterday.

Not much knitting lately to show, but some baking and crafting have been done since my last post. I silk screened some calendars that I sold at our little employee craft fair (pics to come at some point) and since there was snow on the ground and I have a habit of procrastination, I baked an apple pie instead of wrapping the presents that I need to send in the mail so my loved ones far away from Seattle can have a Merry Christmas.

I know I'm terrible, but the pie is delicious, not to mention warm and my house has a great cinnamon smell to it.

For those interested in the adoption process so far, A.K. and I are still filling out paperwork. Actually, we are begging people to fill out paperwork for us. We had friends, family, our pastor, the police, the fbi and our doctor fill out forms only to have the Philippine government wanting all the information from these people filled out in a letter form. Aye, yae, yae. So we've had to ask everybody to write all the information they filled out in the forms and say it in a letter.

And we did our home study last Monday. They tell you not to panic, but I was terrified. I spent the entire weekend cleaning. It felt more like cramming for a final of a class I skipped the entire semester and I totally needed the credit to graduate. Good news is, by some miracle, I think I passed the exam.

THANK YOU!

2008-11-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

For all your well wishes.

I just finished my solo interview and A.K. is going through his as I write this. Next up... the home study.

I'm kind of freaked out about the home study, even though our social worker said it isn't a big deal. Just make sure to have plenty of smoked detectors and a fire extinguisher. Still, it's no fun being judged.

I've been trying to spruce up our house in preparation. Yesterday, instead of doing any real cleaning up, I made pillows. I'll post photos soon. Just wanted to check in and say thanks to all of you. A.K. and I really appreciate you taking some time to wish us well.

my secret project ...

2008-11-18T21:46:00.000-08:00

So I've been talking about drowning in paperwork and being vague about what I've been up to, but I guess now is as good a time as any to spill the beans.

A.K. and I are in the process of adopting a kid!

I haven't been very forthcoming with this detail because right now, it's just paperwork and the kid part (a.k.a. the fun part) won't happen for quite a while and I just didn't really want to deal with all the 'How's the adoption stuff going?' because it doesn't look like anything right now.

But in prepartion, it's time I did some destashing. Because what is now my crafting room will become the baby's room.

And this is where you can help me out. I set up a store on Amazon. The highly coveted Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt is amongst the items for sell. I would really love to keep it, but adopting a kid ain't cheap and it's a big book and takes up some valued real estate.

So if you have been wanting this book, a really pristine copy of this book, or any other really pristine copies of the books and magazines listed in the sale, feel free to email me and we can work something out. Or you can order through Amazon.

My seller site through Amazon.

And if you have some adoption tips or info, I would LOVE to hear them. Any wisdom you can pass along would be wonderful.

So as my friend Beverly pointed out ...

2008-11-13T22:38:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in a while. To update you on what's been happening ...

A.K. got his wisdom teeth pulled. Except for some funky reactions to the Percocet, he did well. A thousand times better than I when I got mine taking out. I think the difference is having it done by an oral surgeon (the way A.K.'s had his taken out.) rather than by a Filipino dentist who's office is next door to a sandwich shop. (the way my parents' handled my dental care needs.) I was awake the entire time and can remember every painful detail of the extraction and the week of not being able to swallow my own spit.

Okay, that may have been too much information. Sorry.

I've been working on a sweater, but its one of those blanket-type sweaters that look like a long scarf with holes in the middle until you actually finish it, so really not picture-worthy at this point.

And...

I signed up to take a couture knitting class with Catherine Lowe! I'm super-excited, because I hope it means I'll be able to have all my knitting turn out awesome, instead of so-so when I put the sweater on because of my lack of knitting talent. You should check out some classes. But you have to hurry, because they are filling up fast.

Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat

Also, my brother started his own blog. If you like surfing or surf boards or cute pics of my nephew and neice, you should check it out.

Just one more green thing

2008-10-30T21:43:00.001-07:00

A.K. got his wisdom teeth (all four!) taken out a couple of days ago and I stayed home to help him get better. So I got to finish a Clapotis scarf and Lilly begrudgingly agreed to model.

Not green.

2008-10-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

Lately everything I've been knitting has been green, and I thought I needed to break the green habit, so while I was in Portland a few weekends ago visiting a friend who just had a baby (a really adorable one), we took a short jaunt to a yarn shop and I got 10 skeins of the some pink yarn. Anytime I visit Portland I feel like I'm getting a deal, since there is no sales tax and the yarn was 40% off, so I thought I really couldn't pass it up, but now I'm not sure it is the right color for me.

You be the judge...

What do you think? I mean, it isn't green, so it has that advantage, but I'm thinking it would look fabulous if my skin color was a deep, rich mahogany, but since I am no Diana Ross, I'm not sure I can pull it off.

And what should I do if the color isn't right? eBay? Overdye?

What? I author a blog?

2008-10-22T17:46:00.000-07:00

Really? Because you would think I would dust this thing off once in a while.

So the Telegraph Cove sweater. I was going to show you buttons. I thought I would show you buttons a lot sooner, but when I sewed them on and tried on the sweater, the fit was off. Then I looked at the sweater and realized I didn't do an entire set of decreases on the back. I'm such a dork.

So after ripping it back and fixing it, I present the Telegraph Cove sweater ...

and with buttons ...

I am still swamped in paperwork and have tons of things I should be doing other than knitting, but I'm going to make more of an effort not to ignore you.

I'm exhausted

2008-09-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

Paperwork, more paperwork, a quick trip across the country, very little knitting, button issues.

I'm wiped.

I'll talk about the buttons on the Telegraph Cove sweater, I guess when I'm finally happy with the buttons, but just so this blog doesn't go completely to seed, I thought I'd post a photo of a blanket that I made for my neice, Miss S.

And while I'm at it, pics of my nephew, T.R. and his sister, C.R. at the zoo (I know it looks like a playground, but it was in the zoo) that I took on a really quick trip to Florida over the weekend

T.R. taking a photo of my mom and his sister.

Sliding away.

C.R. was fearless!

I got a dehydrated on the way back to Seattle. I guess getting very little sleep and running after these two in the 90 degree sun of Florida on a quick weekend trip cross-country will do that to a person. Or I'm just getting old.

Anticipation

2008-09-03T11:53:00.000-07:00

Its September and this is what my tomatoes look like. This year is the first garden A.K. and I had since moving to Seattle and I am just not use to waiting so long for a ripe tomato. In North Carolina, I would be up to my eyeballs in red tomatoes, trying to can them as fast as I could to make sure none rotted. In the Northwest, I've been waiting all summer to have ONE, tomato to stick in a salad. My lettuce went like gangbusters, but the tomatoes have been slow. REALLY S-L-O-W.

Luckily, being from the South, I know how to make a fried green tomato. This is probably the part of the blog where I would include a recipe for fried green tomatoes, but really the name is really the recipe. You fry slices of green tomato. You may use flour or your favorite fry batter, but I think corn meal is best.

Speaking of green things, I finished the Telegraph Cove Sweater except for the buttons. Why are the perfect buttons so elusive? I've been looking everywhere for a great button, but I always end up using a mother-of-pearl button. I'm so boring. Here's a preview.

And I started a Clapotis with Garden Party that I got from Sundara.

I don't know why I started the scarf. I can't say I was particularly taken with the pattern, but I do like Kate Gilbert's work. I think I just needed a break. I've been drowning in paperwork.

I think I might have mentioned my secret project, which is a professional side venture, and A.K. and I are also working on a personal secret project. If either progresses, I'll share more, but for now I will keep things secret. So I just mention these things to explain why my blogging is erratic and why my photos are littered with paperwork.

I'm a loser, baby ...

2008-08-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is the Van Dyke stitch. The only one I managed during the Olympics. I know, sad.

If you don't want to hear my excuses, skip the next few blocks of text ...

Michael Phelps
Dara Torres
Usain Bolt
Shawn Johnson
Nastia Lukin
Misti May Treanor/Kerri Walsh
Yang Wei
The 33-year-old German gymnast and her family story
The US Men's Volleyball and the tragedy of their coach's father-in-law's murder
The Chinese people during the Opening Ceremony
The Chinese people during the Closing Cermony
My job
A secret work project I've been working on
A secret personal project A.K. and I are working on

oh, and trying to finish the Telegraph Cove sweater. Yeah, I know, I haven't finished it, but, as with the swatches, it's kind of hard to pay attention when Michael Phelps has a race every 15 minutes and he wins by a fingernail.

Okay, enough excuses, I'll post photos of the sweater tomorrow, hopefully it will look like it's suppose to.

oh, and the Van Dyke stitch would make a very nice border. I think it would be a bit much for an entire sweater, but since I only knitted a swatch, I could be totally wrong. Also, I'm not sure why it's called the Van Dyke stitch, I assume it has something to do with Flemish art, although maybe it has to do with Dick Van Dyke and him always tripping. I just dated myself, didn't I. Well, I can say I saw Dick Van Dyke on Nick at Nite, not during its first run.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Stitch 'N' Pitch at Safeco Field

2008-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

The best thing about Stitch 'N' Pitch night is that it brings together two things I love. Baseball and yarn.

Best non-yarn, non-baseball related reason to see a Mariner's game. GARLIC FRIES!

And the M's managed to win.
RAAAAAAUUUUUULLLLLLL!

Recovering ...

2008-08-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

... from crazy hours at work.

... from a pinched nerve that when flared up felt like someone had access to my finger, dipped it in a glass of water and then placed in an electrical outlet.

... from Scrabulous being taken down from Facebook.

So just when things seem to be settling down, I was listening to a podcast of Fresh Air.

After an enjoyable interview with Neil Patrick Harris, Terry Gross comes on and plays
Paul Anka's swing version of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit.'

I think the pinched nerve may be back.

STAY-CATION all I ever wanted ...

2008-07-22T13:40:00.000-07:00

I need a vacation from my vacation. I know all of you are rolling your eyes, and I know I would be calling my self a BI-OTCH right now, but I could use a week to just hang around my house and do a lot of nothing.

I even had an extra day in theory to 'do nothing,' but I had to do a week's worth of laundry and deal with insurance companies refusing to pay for my teeth cleanings. And, of course, I had to organize, tone and post photos from the trip. If I didn't have that extra day, lord only knows when that would get down.

Having some sympathy for me yet? I didn't think so. So as long as you still hate me, let me show you some pictures of my trip.

So now some knitting. Normally, I would have spared you the vacation photos and start with the knitting, but I needed them to explain why the following are photos of the High Neck Cable sweater and not the Feather and Fan sweater that I dubbed the 'Telegraph Cove' Sweater.

It was COLD. I know many of you are experiencing record heat, and again, the amount of sympathy you can extend to me is zilch. But I'm just trying to say I had no desire to pick up a holey, hemp sweater. I needed warmth. The kind you can get from wool. Specifically Manos Silk Blend. Or at least gore tech, which I failed to bring. The space in the luggage I should have packed a jacket I packed a bathing suit.

I hope this news brings a little smugness to your hearts. And soon I have faith, this will bring our relationship to a stronger place.

Things up my sleeve

2008-07-09T22:57:00.000-07:00

It wasn't easy taking a photo of my progress, mainly because this sweater is knitted with the bodice in (more or less) one piece and then the rest is added on afterwords. So it ends up looking like a messed-up scarf or tubular blob. Which I guess is what it is right now. So just image the progress is going well.

In other news ...

Remember when this blog was about me trying to knit every swatch from "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns?" Yeah, I know. Which is why I decided when the Olympics start up in Beijing, I'm going to start some swatches. I know all about the Knitting Olympics, and this really is about the fact that I'll be parked in front of the television for 16 days and 16 swatches seems like a goal that I can accomplish. Who knows, maybe it will lead to me actually finishing my goal of swatching the whole book.

Also, I haven't done any spinning in ages. So during my vacation next week, I'm packing Victoria and some fluff along. There isn't a phone or television where we are staying, and I'm pretty sure that means there is no internet access as well. Because of this fact, I feel like I'm going to be bored out of my mind and so I'm also packing the laptop loaded with DVD rentals and have plans to work on my website. (of course, I can't actually upload anything because we will be in the middle of nowhere.)

I realize that I will be on 'vacation' but I really am lost without access to the Scrabbulous, or getting the answers to the New York Times crossword puzzle when I get stuck. I don't even remember life without Facebook. TV and phone I can take or leave, but I need the Internets (yep, both of them.)

And of course, I'll be taking my dog. Here's a photo of Lilly, in the interest of equal time for cute pet photos.