KnitQuest

If You Can’t Say Anything Nice…

Don’t say anything at all. It’s one of the many lessons my mother taught me that I try to stick to. It’s also one of the reasons for my lack of blogging recently. No need to go into the details (that’s the not nice part) so I will just say that our transition to London had some bumps, a lot of frustration, a few tears, a mind numbing amount of paperwork and a back breaking (or in my case literally an elbow breaking) amount of labor. I can explain it no better than to say that yesterday, I picked up the needles and knit for the first time since July 7th. Three months without knitting and you know things aren’t easy. That is all in the past though, we are safely in London and life is getting back to a more normal kind of chaos.

(our first day in London at Chiswick common)

So far we’ve been in a temporary house, but we have a house picked out, a lease signed and a plan to start moving on the 26^th  of October. We are all looking forward to having our stuff back (we haven’t had it since Aug 15th) and finally settling in somewhere! I can’t decide if I’ve missed my bed or frying pan the most. Although, despite my best attempts, we packed way too much stuff and now I’m going to have to figure out how to get rid of a ton of it. Oh well, nothing to be done about it now, hindsight and all that.

(our new kitchen)

The house has a nice big open kitchen, a queen bed with a nightstand sized guest room (unbelievably hard to find), a master bedroom with real closet space and that will hold our king size bed, and a small garden for Moxie. We were lucky enough that it even has a storage cellar and laundry room. Best of all, it is on a quiet street yet only 2 minutes from the Turnham Green tube station and Chiswick High Street.  Location, location, location! From the station it’s a straight shot to many of the museums and attractions and easy to get almost anywhere in London. No car needed. Thank goodness, I‘m terrified to try driving here since I still look the wrong way for cars when we cross the street.

(out and about in Chiswick)

We were randomly place in Chiswick for our temporary house and I’m so pleased that we will be able to continue living in Chiswick. We all love the area. It’s just north of the Thames and is filled with gorgeous views, scenic walks, beautiful old homes, and surprisingly friendly people. The high street has almost everything we need and is way less crowed than I expected. Most days it’s pretty similar to the crowds I was used to in Redmond. We can walk to and choose from 3 fabulous upscale groceries, 7 fresh produce stands, 2 butchers, a fish monger, and an awesome deli. Walk! We can also walk to the library, pet store, drug store, post office, wine shop, a dozen or more bakeries and at least 25 good restaurants. Chiswick has a number of cool boutiques, book stores and housewares shops, and even a kids gap. There are three large, gorgeous, parks and 3 smaller ones, all also within no more than a mile and a quarter. We can even walk to Kew Gardens, but it’s almost 2 miles. All the walking is pretty much my favorite thing about living here. Most days, the kids and I take a lunch break from school (we’re home schooling right now) and wander out to walk Moxie and run our errands. She can even go with us to the library! If Moxie can’t come in to a shop, the kids play with her in the park while I run in. It’s hard to beat that.

(Chiswick House)

There are still days it can all be a bit over whelming. Where should I get my hair cut? What happens on Halloween and where can I buy kids costumes? What laundry detergent is the best? How do I find Mac a fencing club? Why are all the light switches upside down? You get the idea. There are so many new things to learn and adjust to, but we’re taking it one thing at a time and it is exciting to learn something new every day. Of course the worst is that we miss all our friends and family in the U.S. Nothing can replace that. I’m sure in six months I won’t feel so lost all the time and we will make some new friends, as well as getting better at keeping in touch with our old friends. Plus, we are hoping to have lots of visitors to share all our new discoveries with.

(Moxie loves watching all the neighbors go to work and school in the morning)

While we all really miss our friends, family and the familiar, as you  know there is plenty to like here. We have found that we adore all the parks and museums! They are everywhere, full of truly amazing stuff and a joy to experience. We’ve already visited Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert, Kew Gardens, Chiswick House (we walk here almost every Saturday), Gunnersbury Park, Ravenscourt Park and the Tower of London. Some of them multiple times!  Every week the kids and I have a field trip. We’re studying Egypt in history right now, so on Thursday we went to the British Museum to see the mummies and other objects from that time. Doesn’t get much cooler than that. Tomorrow I want to take the family to the Borough Market for the full foodie experience.

(Tower of London)

Surprisingly the food is another one of my favorite things here. Almost all of it is fantastic quality, fresh, local and with fewer additives. Although it’s sometimes a bit unexpected (what the heck is in black pudding anyway?!)  we are having lots of fun trying it. I’m making it a personal quest to find the best sticky toffee pudding in Chiswick. Mac is similarly determined to discover the best fish and chips. We love the pubs (Sunday roast is an awesome tradition) and being able to pick up inexpensive and delicious food to take home and heat up is fantastic. I can get a five course Indian meal, that is pretty darn tasty for 10 pounds from Waitrose! Good stuff. Even better, Todd’s office is a few blocks from Neil’s Yard. Cheese! Thank goodness for all the walking or I’d have gained 10 lbs already.

To sum up, lots to do, see, and figure out. Wish you were here.

PS – Please check out the kid’s new blog, Moppet Musings. They are writing about our adventures from their point of view as a home school project. This week Gilly put up a post about a trip to Ripley’s Believe it or Not and Mac wrote about all the new words we are learning. Thanks to those already leaving comments. They love getting them!

London Calling

So much for all my intentions and resolutions about blogging more. I do however have a darn good excuse. We are moving to London! London freaking England. I can hardly believe it, but it’s no joke. Wow! Yikes! Yay! Holy crap! I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around homebody, un-cosmopolitan me packing up and moving across the pond to such a big city. I’m trusting it is an amazing city, but I’ve never actually been there. Big step. Huge step. I’m shaking in my boots a bit but I’m taking the leap.

Between moments of doubting my sanity, I’m super excited though. Imagine all the sights we’ll be able to see, the exposure the kids will have to new culture and people, the museums, the travel, the everything. What an adventure we’re going to have. Plus there’s the pretty big benefit of Todd getting an awesome job. Happy husbands and paychecks are good things for sure.

I’d be 100% thrilled with the move if only we could somehow teleport our house and all it’s stuff to a great London location only 15 minutes from Todd’s office and fabulous schools for the kids. Awesome fantasy, but about as realistic as thinking Moxie will start winning obedience competitions.  As it is my primary emotions are hope/trust that I will actually find a home and schools we like and that they will be no more than an hour away from work. Go positive attitude. Then there’s the panic over the daunting task of packing and prepping everything here fast enough for the kids to start school their next school year in London. Two months is not a lot of time to wrap up 20 years of living in Redmond and be ready to start making a home somewhere new. I always say I like a challenge and the universe is apparently listening to me. Food and sleep are over rated anyway.

Now that I can publically talk about the move I hope to be tweeting more and posting a bit about our progress, but knitting content will be pretty absent for a while. Although, keep your eye out for a massive de-stash sale (packing container is only so big). Please cross your fingers, pray or just send good vibes for as smooth a transition as possible.

Look out London, here we come.

Quick Tip: Tracking Decreases

For a while now I’ve wanted to find a way to share some of the little tricks I’ve found that help me make my knitting more successful (and more fun). As I’m working on projects I will record some of the strategies I’m using and do my best to explain how and why I use them. Posts and ideas will be short and sweet for both our sakes. So here we go…

This week I finished a pair of Axis mitts for the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth. The Axis pattern uses a series of paired increases and decreases (I’ll call them the action rows) to create the slant across the front. In the mitt pictured below you can see how the edge leans toward the pinkie.

  

You can also see how it would be important to make sure the action rows are evenly spaced. If they aren’t the line across the front will be uneven and frankly unsightly. Certainly not something you want to highlight. 

To keep myself on track, and to save myself from repeatedly checking my knitting to find my decreases, I used a piece of waste yarn to mark each time I decreased. It takes just a second to thread the yarn through the stitches and I can quickly see exactly where I’m at. Even without counting rows you can tell that sections of yarn in between the marks are the same.

If you want to give this a try be sure to select a waste yarn in a contrasting color and one that won’t felt. Left over sock yarn or anything superwash works great. You can also use embroidery floss or one of my personal favorites dental floss.

To mark the decrease I thread a tapestry needle with my waste yarn and after the action row and the row after it are completed (RS is facing you) I go back to the decrease and put my needle through both stiches and back up through the stitch holding them together. You want to do it after both rows are completed so you don’t distort your stitches. Once your project is complete pull out your yarn and no one will ever know it was there.

With this pattern marking your decreases also has one other benefit. You can use it to help you evenly space your buttons. 

I hope you find this suggestion (and others to come) useful. Let me know if you have any questions or have a tip of your own to share.

Book Bonanza

I’m enjoying my favorite phase of the design cycle right now. I’m finishing up two projects and planning the new ones. There are obvious reasons to love completing projects, but planning is my true love. I adore dreaming of all the possibilities, sketching my ideas, choosing yarn and yes, I even love the swatching. Most of all though I love the time spent with my books. I can hardly think of a nicer afternoon than one spent at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea and a stack of stitch dictionaries or color charts. In fact as soon as I finish this post it’s how I’m spending the rest of the afternoon and it’s what got me thinking about telling you all about some of the latest additions to my library.

Let’s start with the biggest, The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt. 

This book is not only massive in size, it holds an unbelievable amount of content. Covering everything from afterthought pockets to  z-twist yarns. I picked it up in Madrona and haven’t even begun to make a dent in reading it, but I know I’m going to be referencing it for years to come. The book would be worth the cost and shelf space just for the chapter on cleaning and blocking your knits (it even includes stain removal tips!).  All I can say is go get a copy if you don’t already have one.

I also picked up a copy of Knitting with Two Colors by Meg Swanson and Amy Detjen.

I’m not much of a stranded color knitter, but the book has some great content I can apply to any of my knitting. There are sections on shaping within color pattern, using short rows in the round and tons of great ideas for borders. Plus there are lots of gorgeous pictures of color knitting for those like me who enjoy looking at it, but don’t want to make their own.

Since we can’t knit, or even read about knitting, all the time I thought you might also like to hear about what else is taking up space on my nightstand right now. First up, I have to tell you about a book that combines two of my other lifelong passions: cooking and science. CookWise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed by Shirley O. Corriher is an interesting combo of how to do it, why you should and what happens when you don’t.

 

I’m not much of a recipe follower (are you sensing a trend in my personality?) but I can’t get enough of books like this.I’m always happy to do the work if I understand why it’s necessary, but not so great about the whole do it because I said so thing (I’m sure my mom is laughing her ass off right about now). A perfectly entertaining way to improve my knowledge and skill in the kitchen.

We’ve covered three (crafts, cooking & science) out of five of my life long interests and it seems my nightstand is a good reflection of me since it contains a couple representations of another of my obsessions, science fiction/fantasy books (the one missing is dogs). I could go on pretty much forever on this topic since I’ve been reading 2-5 books a week since I was in grade school so I’ll contain myself to what I’m reading this week.

Book 10 from the Hollows series by Kim Harrison, A Perfect Blood .

 

One my favorite characters and series, and this book didn’t disappoint me. I love a kick ass female heroine, page turning action, snarky dialog, and a good dose of imagination. This had all that and foul mouthed pixie best friend to boot.

In a different vain there was Naughty In Nice (A Royal Spyness Mystery).

It’s the latest in the series by Rhys Bowen about Georgie, a British Lady way back in line for the throne in the 1930s. It’s not normally what I read but all the books have a good mystery, witty dialog, and impossibly funny situations.

And last in our book bonanza is Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate, No. 5).

 

I thought my friend Chandria was crazy when she recommend a steampunk werewolves and vampire book to me, but I trust her so I gave it a try. As you can see I’m now on book 5 and I very impatiently waited for it to come out. It has all my favorite things I mentioned before plus some very cool inventions, a unique look at a very overdone topic and it’s laugh out loud funny. If you’re at all interested give the first one, Soulless, a try.

Well, even if you don’t read any of the books, I certainly gave you a long enough post to keep you busy! Have a great weekend.

If you have a favorite book or series please share it. I’m always looking for something new.

See Ya Next Year Madrona

I always have trouble writing these wrap up posts. It’s impossible to capture in words the energy, creativity and general happiness that flows when you get a large group of knitters together. I feel like a bouncing ball or humming bird flitting around trying to absorb it all. So many new people to meet, ideas to consider, fibers to fondle, and friends to connect with. It’s a whirlwind.

(Tina, Deb, Jen – sorry no pic and me were the BMFA crew for the weekend)

Add in teaching, working long days in the booth and evening events and I end up a combination of euphoric and exhausted. By Sunday afternoon I was still all smiles, but also having trouble forming a coherent sentence.  At one point I cheerfully asked a woman if she’d like a credit card for her yarn, instead of a bag. She said she would prefer the credit card. No doubt.

(BMFA booth with a number of my samples – Djinn, Vancouver, Sway and the corner of Seedy Side of Jazz)

I guess what I’m trying to say with all my ramblings is go. Go to Madrona if you can, it’s truly amazing, but just go to a conference. There’s no other experience quite like spending a good long time surround by your passion and people who share it. Plus there is always the market place.

I’ll leave you today with a big load of thanks. Thanks to Suzanne Pedersen for trusting me to teach. Thanks to all my students for signing up and giving me your time and attention. Thanks to Tina, Deb and Jen for making long hours fun. Thanks again to Tina for the yarn and especially the camel and silk roving I came home with. Thanks to everyone who bought one of my patterns at the show or came to my website after we ran out. I truly appreciate the support and hope you enjoy them. Thanks to my husband for holding down the fort while I was gone. And super big thanks to Mac for giving up a friends birthday party so Todd and the kids could come help break down the booth. I am one lucky lady.

Off to Madrona

I’m dashing out the door to Madrona Fiber Arts Festival (I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!). I’ll be back next week to tell you all about it.

And since I have a big backlog of pictures to show you I’ll leave you with Mac and Gilly enjoying iFly for Mac’s birthday.

Axis Fingerless Mitts: Release

Meet Axis (and be sure to read to the end for a special price). A few months ago I needed a quick project for Christmas gifts. While pondering my options and looking for yarn, I came across my button stash and immediately starting thinking about how I could them. I’m all for getting the most bang for my effort and hoped I could come up with something simple to knit and practical to wear, and then add fun and interest with buttons.

I’m pretty happy with what I came up with. What do you think?

(worked in Black Magic with 8 misc. buttons)

The mitts are worked flat, with increases for the thumb and a slight slant. Once the body is finished, you work the thumb, add buttons and seam them up. Practically instant satisfaction.

(worked in Stormy Weather with 6, 1/2 inch antler buttons)

This is a great project for beginners looking to practice increases and decreases. And for those who don’t need any practice the mitts are a great group or especially exciting TV project.

I almost never have time to knit without interruption or ten other things on my mind, so I love a project I can keep track of no matter how scattered my brain, but not so basic I lose interest (I know I always say this, but it so true!). These captured my attention so well I knit six pair.

At 200 yards, or less, of worsted weight Axis is also a great way to use up leftovers or small balls of yarn. Of course I think Twisted is a fantastic yarn and recommend it, but just about any sturdy (remember it’s on your hands a will get roughed up) substitute will do. The pattern comes in three sizes for flexibility and was written to be easy to add or remove stiches so you can switch yarns and customize the size.

If you decide to give Twisted a try you can get 3 pair of mitts (ok not 3 large but any other combo of sizes) from a single skein, or have plenty of yarn to make the mitts and a matching hat or scarf. Pretty good deal if you ask me.

(worked in Jade with 6 flower buttons – sorry no idea where I got them)

To celebrate I’m offering Axis at 50% off this weekend only. The promotion end at midnight Sunday Feb. 12th, 2012 Pacific time.  I hope you like it!

Materials: 170 - 200 yds per pair or 1 skein Blue Moon Fiber Arts Twisted (100% merino; 226g/560 yds per skein). Shown in Jade, Stormy Weather, and Blackbird.
US size 8 (5 mm) needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
Tapestry needle
12 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) buttons
Gauge: 22 sts and 22 rows over 4 inches (10 cm) in garter stitch
Finished Measurements: 7 3/4 [8 3/4, 9 1/2] inches (20 [22, 24] cm) at widest point, laid flat and before seaming
7 1/2 inches (19 cm) length

Price: $3

Unexpected Sabbatical

You know the expression “S#*t happens!”? I prefer to think of it as “Life happens” because all the things, people and happenings that can derail your carefully laid plans aren’t bad, just disruptive. However, either way you choose to look at it there is no getting around the fact that it’s true. I had no intention of disappearing from the online world or even taking an extended break, but as often happens my plans and reality didn’t match up. I could offer you pages of explanations and apologies for my absence, but I won’t. First of all, it’s pretty boring stuff (family responsibilities, health, household chores, etc..) and you have better things to with your time. Second, I’m not really sorry. I’m sad, I missed you all and I feel bad for letting my readers down, but I’d have to make the same choices if I could go back in time. I love blogging, knitting and my online friends but we all have to make choices and set priorities and sometimes I have to put other things first. Plus this is supposed to be a knitting blog, not a woe is me blog.

So if anyone is actually still out there reading, let’s just move on. Ok?

I’ll do my best to get back into a blogging routine and to producing some new patterns and knitting to share with you. You forgive me and read, or don’t. Obviously your choice.

Speaking of new stuff, I’ll have a new fingerless mitt pattern, Axis, at a special into price for you in the next couple days. Here’s a peek at Axis.

If you’d like to see me, or the new pattern, in person. I’ll be teaching and working in the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth at Madrona next week. I hope to see some of you there.

Cruise Report

Who knew it would be sunny, 60 some degrees and completely snow free in Alaska?! I guess if I’d really given it some thought I might have realized that it being September and all the towns we visited being on the coast would add up to a temperate climate that looked a whole lot like the Seattle area. I however, gave it no real consideration and had visions of classic TV and fiction Alaska. Much to my dismay freezing temps, snow everywhere and bears roaming down main street were no where to be found. The wool pants and fleecy gloves I packed were never worn and in fact I had to break out the sunglasses quite a bit. In short, not what I expected weather wise.

People wise my expectations were on the money. Every event I go to I meet fun, kind, inspiring and downright wonderful knitters. I’m beginning to think wool has not only magic powers of warmth and springiness, but the ability to transform normal people into amazing ones.

I had a marvelous time hanging out Sivia Harding (my roomie for the trip), spending more time with the lovely ladies from Serial Knitters, and meeting some new friends (Hi Nanette, Martha, Nan and Caroline!).

I also meet the very lovely and generous Amy O’Neill-Houck in Juneau. She was kind enough to pick Sivia and I up and show us around town. We visited an interesting exhibit of the history of Alaska through it’s hats at the the Alaska State Museum, hiked around the abandoned Treadwell gold mine (all the pics below) and then sent us home with her very own caught and canned salmon.

Besides socializing, eating an obscene amount of food (I miss you breadsticks and chocolate-peanut butter mousse!) and viewing some amazing scenery, there was actually quite a bit of knitting time. Strangely that never seems to happen at knitting events and was a real treat. I finished a pair of mitts and a hat as well as starting a new shawl, a second pair of mitts, and untangling an in progress hat that Moxie had gotten ahold of.

All in all, if you get a chance to cruise to Alaska with a group of fab and fun knitters start packing, you’ll have a great time. And don’t forget your elastic waist pants and lots of yarn.

PS – Yes, I did bring home a ball of Qiveut. Did you really think there was a chance I wouldn’t.

Alaska Bound

I can’t believe it’s actually time, but it must be because I’m packing for my cruise to Alaska tomorrow. I’m looking forward to meeting all the knitters, hanging with my roomie Sivia, teaching and of course seeing Alaska. Cross your fingers that I don’t break my back with all the luggage, that I see some whales, and that I can keep my right and left hands straight while teaching.

PS - Wireless on the boat is ridiculous, so I won’t be checking in unless we get lucky while on shore. See you in a week! I promise to take lots of pictures.