Rear Window

It poured and thundered most of yesterday. Then suddenly, from my kitchen window, I spied a double rainbow. By the time I got my camera and went outside, the second rainbow had faded some. But it was quite a spectacular view. You can barely see the second one, but it's still nice.

Had to knit me a Citron. It's just so pretty.


My Flammulated Citron knit in Zitron Trekking Hand Art in Fire. It's a lot of stocking stitch, but it was a fun knit for me. And, well, the end result speaks for itself, dontcha think?

It's been just gorgeous out today. I'm thinking it's time to take a little stroll in the neighborhood. Then back for some hot spice tea. A good night to sit and finish projects. Not knitting tonight, just writing and charting. Nice!

Thunderbolts & Lightning!

While I suppose lightning, thunder and pouring rain are mild weather conditions compared to what other parts of this nation and the world are enduring, it's still disturbing for us in So Cali. I can hear sirens galore. Mostly because people forget how to drive as soon as there's a drizzle much less this kind of rain. The consolation is that we sure could use the rain.

On the knitting front, I finished these fingerless mitts a while ago, but just now getting around to posting about them. Pretty basic, and, well, my favorite thing to knit. The Fingerless Blues were for a friend of my niece and the Basic Blacks are for her BF.




I managed to bake a cake last week. A banana cake. Pretty simple recipe and tasty.
Before baking.
Fresh from the oven!
Half devoured!
Lately it seems baking and cooking are running a close second to my knitting.

I have a major project I'm working on. More about that a little later. Yes, knitting related. And I have a pair of socks to design for the Sock & Fingerless Mitt Club from Robin's Nest Yarn. Indie dyers and designers have teamed up to make up a great year of knitting. Stay tuned! More about that coming as well.

Only 93 days left until The Hands On Retreat in Chicago! Did I mention how good I've been feeling lately?

Feeling Good

That about sums up my life right now. It's been a long haul, I see nothing but uphill from here.

So many good things happening for me right now. I'll be posting regularly (I know, I've said that before) with updates and news as things progress.

I can tell you that the Hands On Retreat is coming up real soon, May 13 - 16, 2010, in Chicago, IL. I'm very happy to say not only will I be there, but I'm teaching some classes as well. Some classes still available, so check it out if you're interested in coming.

My knitting is coming along fine. Updates on all that's new and good soon. I have numerous patterns available on Ravelry. And, well, overall.... I'm Feeling Good!

A Most Fitting Reason To Come Back

I've been away. Not from my usual life, nor from my crafting life. Just from my blog life. So I've had some time to reflect. On many aspects of my life. And even with the unpleasantness that has been hovering around me for a while, I realize that I'm still quite fortunate in so many ways.

Today is April 24, the day in history that commemorates/ mourns the Armenian Genocide. I just wanted to do my small part in recognizing this day.

My grandpa on my mom’s side was a Freedom Fighter during this time keeping his family's village/territory as well as surrounding areas fairly incident free. He spent months at a time fighting this aggression as well as fighting communist aggression. He continued to fight for human rights and freedom until 1928, when he and his driver were killed when his vehicle was sabotaged and run off a mountain road.

I salute the people, throughout history, during any conflict, who selflessly give to assure others the simple right to live peacefully, and mourn those who’ve lost their lives needlessly due to human greed and power.

It Was A Feast

Non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We decided to do it different this year. And though I did miss all of the pleasant scents of the traditional holiday dinner wafting throughout the house, I truly enjoyed what we had. Marinated chicken and beef kabobs, and an amazingly tasty ground beef mix kabob done to perfection by my sister.


Grilled Asian eggplant, poblano peppers and vine tomatoes. So amazingly tasty.


Savory turnovers made with puff pastry filled with a delicious spinach and feta cheese combo.


The green onions (for grilling) and fresh herbs. Feta cheese. I didn't get pictures of everything. Or any pictures of dessert. Anyway, it was great and we had a lot of fun. Another dysfunctional Thanksgiving under our belts.

On the knitting front, so much going on. But first a pic of my niece wearing my Arboreal Cowl knit in Wool-Ease Thick & Quick. What a great pattern and nice cuddly warm cowl.


I knit my Lady Emily Fingerless Mitts from Off The Cuff in STR Korppi lightweight.


Oh, I've also sewn a few needle rolls, or as they've come to be known in Ravelry, Nano-Rolls. More on these later.

Cobwebs And Dust...

All of the cobwebs are cleaned up and I've dusted and swept. Amazing what happens when something is left untouched.

It's been awfully busy around here. Not that anyone would know. I haven't really had any inclination to write or update, but now there are some things worth mentioning.

First, I have two patterns coming out in a book, Off The Cuff, which will be available around October 1st. It's currently available for pre-order. You can preview some of the designs here as well as order. Both of my designs are on the cover! How exciting is that? Has me grinning ear to ear, but I can't help myself. They're also having a contest for anyone who is a member of Ravelry's Fingerless Gloves Fanatics Group. Pre-order a book by September 15, give your Rav name and be entered to win $100 worth of yarn and goodies.

On a calmer note, but still very excited, I finished my Chevron III. I can't believe it's off the needles. And so pretty.

Knit with Austermann Smaragd Classic from Elann.com. Great yarn and price. Washable too. This is for the lovely Omega. I meant to have it done by last Christmas, but hey, at least it's done before Christmas '08, right?

The next BIG thing I finished was my Kusha Kusha Scarf. Over one year on the needles. It was tedious, but I love the end results.


Finally, for now, my Luna Moth Shawl. On my needles since May '07, I really didn't think I'd ever get the gumption to finish it. But I did. And I love it!

Knit in Elann Callista, a rayon/ cotton/ linen blend. It hasn't been blocked yet, I'll get pictures when that's done. It's just been too hot to do anything like that for a while.

Special thanks to the Ravelympics for the motivation to finish these three items. I'm so glad I had a last minute change of heart and decided to join the WIP Wrestling team rather than cast on something new (which I do all of the time anyway).

I have quite a few more finished objects, but I'll get to them later. Ravelry takes up some of my time, and I have a couple of other projects keeping me busy as well. Other than that, all is well, the usual ups and downs, but life goes on.

What's This? More Than One Post In a Month?

It was a bit of a challange knitting gloves for my friends daughter. She's getting married Friday, yes the 13th. But she's unconventional like that. I decided on cotton because it will likely be a warm day. After trying a few patterns, it just wasn't working quite as I envisioned. So what else could I do but wing it. After knitting the first one, I was so impressed, well, I had to write the pattern up. It's pretty, feminine while not too frilly, and best of all a quick knit. The pattern for Always & Forever is available here as well as a PDF download on Ravelry. Knit with Patons Grace, which was a very nice experience. I'm not usually a 'cotton knitter', but this yarn may have changed my mind.


The Jasmine Mitts, which came before the wedding mitts but were left on the wayside while I worked the white ones, are so soft and comfy in Dale Baby Ull.

The pattern is here as well as a Ravelry download.

Other than that, the weather is lovely. Life goes on without much interruption. And, well, I think I'm on a roll. I've been knitting pretty regularly. Makes me happy.