Quick WIP's

Here is the beginnings of the scarf for the Red Scarf Project. The yarn is Berroco Alpaca and the pattern is something I put together from a stitch dictionary called a flat diamond stitch (will not need blocking) and bordered by Seed stitches. I am knitting on size 8 knitting needle so that it will drape nicely. If anyone is interested in this pattern I would be more than happy to email them a copy of what I wrote down (free).

My neighbor's son is now in junior high school and recently came through knee surgery successfully. He is such an exceptional person and has been involved in sports his entire youth. His local sports teams have made him an honorary team member and he will support the teams by attending every game, supporting them from the bench. The colors for his basketball team are royal blue and gold. It's going to get a little chilly at some of the practices so I thought it would be nice for him to have a warm hat, this is a nice merino and I am knitting it in the seaman's cap. He is so appreciative of my work and that touches my heart.
I was able to purchase 4 pairs of Addi Turbo circular needles from a dear person who had to retire from knitting. One of the girls from my knitting group gave her my info and now I am so much richer from this experience. It is sad when one has to give up something they love for health reasons, but these knitting needles will be well used for many years to come.
The Grove (behind the LA Farmer's Market) has a Barnes & Noble, but not just any Barnes & Noble, this bookstore has character, it has style, the books are shown in a way that I can only consider Art. I snapped away at so many books and their arrangements, these two stood out.
I just wished I had more time and energy, many authors do books signings and readings at this store, but they are usually during the weekdays, traffic and distance are prohibit me from attending them, why can't they have a bookstore like this in Orange County?

Latte Knitting

Located in the charming old town section of Camarillo is the coffee house "Element" and it welcomes you into its doors like an old friend. This was my first time in this place and Mike greets everyone with a warmth that you just don't find at most places (including my favorite LA coffee house). I studied the coffee board and the first thing that caught my eye was an Agave Latte?
Doesn't it look yummy! I did behave myself and ordered it in Nonfat, and wasn't the least bit cheated - it was creamy and the Agave did not overpower the deep rich flavor of the espresso. This has to be one of the best Lattes I've ever had in my life! I actually had to order a second one to accompany my knitting as the first one was polished off while reading the third book in the series "A Deadly Yarn". I also was exploring my stitch dictionary for an appropriate pattern to use for a scarf for the "Red Scarf Project" that Ellen had shared with us on her blog L.A. Is My Beat. The Yarn I selected is a Red Alpaca and the pattern is mulling around in my head. Should get started on this by the weekend.

Just in case you don't want to sit at one of the tables there were also comfy chairs to lounge on and I noticed many people were on there laptops. Everyone tended to linger here, you did not feel pressured to gulp and leave.
This place has a sense of humor, when I read this sign I couldn't help but laugh, I must have a wicked sense of humor as I could picture the little one balancing an espresso cup in one hand and a kitten on the other.
It appears that they have original works of art on the walls as well (I didn't really notice the little plaques next to the paintings til now) but there were several works of art there on the walls. While I was looking at the art I happened on a fellow knitter who has a knitting group that meets there on Saturday afternoons, so the next time I'm in town I'll have to drop in for a visit. Hope Mike will be there to spoil me with another incredible Latte, they could be addicting!
Why I am including a photograph of Ice you say? Well it's so hot here that I had to prepare my local readers for what is about to follow. Think cool thoughts - no its not nearly 100 degrees any longer you are now in the midst of a cool meadow with frost coming off your breath. In which case you would need one of these.
An earflap hat! I had won the yarn on Ebay a couple of years ago, it came from a farmer/spinner who raised her own animals. The yarn is a very soft natural wool, with a fine yarn of brown alpaca and a strand of fine black mohair. It has such a home made quality about it that I find endearing.

My Hero Gary

Gary is my hero - no doubt about it, he saved my beloved shoes which I had considered replacing this year after being worn to the point where it was just embarrassing to be seen in them. Now they have a second life, this man cares about what he is doing and takes pride in his work. Honestly you have never seen anything like this, a simple task performed to perfection (and this is while he goes through the trials of dialysis - yet there is no self pity in his voice). He has his stand at the Grove (behind the LA Farmer's Market). He carries with him an album full of celebrity photos, all of whom have been his customers, which he will share with you to peruse while he is attending your shoes. He was busy when I approached his stand, a couple from the Sacramento area made sure he was one of their stops while visiting LA. After this couple had left, Gary shared with me that their family had originally owned the Farmer's Market. You meet the most interesting people at his stand!
See - they are presentable again! (Lila thought so too)
The Farmer's Market is so inspirational. Now that I have to work on a quilt for my great niece, I was inspired by so many different things.
The square containers that held the various fruits instantly brought quilt squares to mind - I love the playful color of the fruits.
This is my first attempt at a real quilt. I sewed strips of fabric together and then cut them into small strips. Quilting is hard work and at this moment I am not in love with the process. But I love my little great niece and she is worth the effort, I have never seen a baby that is so happy, she has such a gentle disposition and loves to laugh - her big blue eyes dance with merriment.
I am on a vacation now and will be dedicating my vacation time to this quilt, so will post more photos soon. I also have a few more photos to share of my favorite yarn store and also my knitting projects. Talk to you soon.

Cable Socks

The Cabled socks are completed, sorry about the photo, but the plants have a fine dust of ash on them and I couldn't find a clean outdoor surface anywhere, as soon as the plants dry, they are covered in ash again from the local fires, so I got creative and hung them from a pant hanger - not a glamorous picture, but proof they are done! My friend couldn't stop giggling with delight.
I finally got around to reading this book and was in for a pleasant surprise, it was a fun read. I can actually recommend this book - not too gory and the yarn store described in this book makes me want to move to this small imaginary town.
The author has written a series of these book -I keep surprising myself, I would not usually follow a whole series of books, but actually may this time and have bought the second book in the series and have just begun reading it, hope it is as good as the first book, now I'm torn between reading and knitting. I'll have photos next weekend of my WIP (or perhaps even a completed project if the overtime at work dies down a bit).
Did I mention that I miss cooking? I am getting a new kitchen sink and counter top, which is now on hold until some one's back gets better. So I am in kitchen limbo and hope all will be repaired fairly soon.
The new kitchen counter top is going to be mostly white tile with touches of black and the new sink is one of those smart sinks - still cast iron and very heavy (hence a back injury ensued and the project is on hold until they are mended and able to work on it again).
Flowers seem to always make everything better, you forget your problems (like the lack of a kitchen) and get lost in their color, if they have fragrance to boot, then its a double dose of pleasure.

Wrap = Practicing Patience

I decided to knit the Every Way Wrap from Interweave Knits, it looked like so much fun. So like a good little knitter I made enlarged copies of the chart, read all the directions and then began my project. The ribbing goes very well, then I begin the cable part of the chart and it does not look like the photo, so I'm thinking - Never mind I'm sure it will begin looking like it very soon and as I approached the 17th line of the chart - I realized that I must have gotten something wrong and frog it back to the ribbing. Ever determined I begin again with expectation - watching for the beautiful cables to begin to appear (this time quit by line 10 and know I did not make any mistakes this time). My heart sinks as I realize this looks like mud - no beautiful cables anywhere! So I put it aside and tried to calm my mind. Then it occurs to me to look at their website and BINGO there is a revised key for the chart. So I frogged once again back to the ribbing and this time the chart worked - really it did and I think it will be something versatile and comfortable to wear.

I am knitting the wrap with Frog Tree Merino in a color called Melange. In the photo it appears gray, but the color is a muted antique lavender and at certain angles you can see a glimpse of a soft antique peachy tone, the yarn is so soft and a pleasure to knit with. I am determined to knit this even in the hot weather we are experiencing.


The weather has been simply awful, temps over 100 and with the wildfires the air is smokey and difficult to breath - so I escaped to Newport Beach which was surprisingly warm at about 90 degrees, but the air was good to breath and here are the views from my suite.
We got the last room available and it had different views of the back bay. It was more at an angle to the bay, but the views were still glorious.
From this room you could also see more of the back bay in the distance and in the horizon the homes along the cliffs of the back bay. At night it was really nice to look at the distant lights that twinkled and reflected in the water.
I thought I could show you the completed pair of socks this posting, but as I was about to begin the toe decreases, I proudly held the pair up together to gaze at my accomplishment when I noticed one sock looked a little shorter than the other, I let out a groan and thought, maybe just a little stretching will do the trick - after all they are for a size 10 foot so there must be a little give - but no the sock refused to budge (darn cables). So I ripped the sock back to just above the heel and added the darn 1/2 inch. Maybe by the next post I'll have them done - besides its just WAY TOO HOT to take a photo of my friend in these socks - yes that's it - I'm being a considerate friend and sparing her the trial of donning wool socks in 100 degree weather. By the way to calm my nerves I watched Jets take off from my balcony, the different color planes were so pretty against the blue skies and for some reason comforted me.
I bought this book and want to cook the Beef Bourguignon and can hardly wait for the weather to cool off as the thought of something heavy right now is just not appealing. Hope it photographs well so that I can share it with you. I really do love cooking, usually I stick to Italian, so French style cooking should be interesting. Has anyone made this recipe? If so - what did you think of it?

Surprises

One of my friends asked me for a couple of pairs of socks, I had never knitted a pair for a woman who wears a size 10 shoe and was not sure that I had enough of the blue sockyarn, so I improvised and used some leftover tweed yarn for the top and toe. She loves them - I was so pleasantly surprised that someone would love something that I made, she just kept saying "these are sooo cool", they fit perfectly. I made a couple of alterations as the cable really tightens up the leg, so I switched to from a size 3 to a size 4 needle and went back to the size 3 about 6 inches into the pattern. I've begun the second sock and really must finish them soon while the changes I made are fresh in my mind.
When I came into work on Monday, the girls in my group had surprised me this plant. I love flower plants in the bud stage, to watch them develop and bloom fills me with wonder. The leaves on this plant are glossy and make my little space a much more pleasant place to be.

I was pulling up some of my previous photos and was surprised that I had not used this photo earlier, the flowers remind me of Southern Bells with their full skirts. Does anyone know what these flowers are called?
Surprise! Boy was I , I was taking a photo of the goodies we had from a coffee house when a bird swooped down and quickly grabbed a piece - daring little thing. It liked the berry cobbler so much that it kept landing on the chair across from me and even on the table itself and scolded me severely when I put them in the trash.

Yarn Comfort

I've had a bit of a trial lately and now things are taken care of. So where do I turn for comfort? Why of course I turned to yarn, I practically waded in it and found the colors a friend wanted for her winter hat & socks. I used sheer determination to find wool in these bright colors and searched literally on my hands and knees through milk crates full of yarns in a rather large yarn store and EUREKA!!! buried in the last bin I searched was the two balls above - all I know is they are 100% wool and are a sport weight. Hope there is enough for a pair of socks.
These will make a fine looking hat for her - must have ear flaps, so the search for a great pattern is on. (It's hard to tell, but the dark yarn is actually purple).

RIVERSIDE

I had to go to an area of Riverside that I have never been to before and found this wonderful sign above, I love it when I find these little treasures. It was a 10 mile drive down this road and I just kept running into things that I found delightful.

I came across this fruit stand surrounded by an Orange Grove and it brought back memories from my childhood - after all I was raised in Orange County - which did have Orange Groves then. They had some delicious looking Avocados (had to get them - they are so good for your skin & hair) and also many flavors of licorice (had to get just 1 little bag, tee hee).
Southern California used to have quite a few buildings with kitchy architectural features and I miss them, this was just across the street from the fruit stand. The street was lined both sides by the Palm Trees below.
Which was then backed by the acres of Orange Trees, I hadn't realized how much I miss those trees and wish they could have kept a few of the Orange Groves around. There is something endearing about these trees and I remember the scent of Orange Blossoms in the evening.
Another treasure from the past, an actual drive in, I remember we used to bring my mom's fried chicken, home made bread & butter pickles and roasted corn (with butter and soysauce), the whole car smelled heavenly, accompanied by glasses of Kool-Aid, while happily watching a Doris Day film (Mom liked those) or a John Wayne Movie for my dad or if we were especially lucky a Disney movie for my brother & myself.

Its is nice to remember the good times but for the most part I just live in the moment and appreciate what is occurring right now. Savoring every breath and drinking in life's beauty.

A pair of Socks!

The sock yarn below was such a pleasure to work with, I had never knitted with Koigu before and what a joy it was. The yarn reminded me of Monet's garden paintings (above). This is the second time I've knitted the Embossed Leaf Pattern sock and I loved the interplay of color with the pattern.

I am also over the second sock syndrome and joyfully completed the second one (see below for proof). They looked lovely with the volunteer Sweet Peas that meanders up my Japanese Maple in the front yard and also gently cradled by my gigantic French Lavender shrub.

SOLVANG

While I was on my vacation in July one of the places I also visited was the quaint Danish inspired town of Solvang. Here is one of the cottages (see below) at the Motel where I stayed (alas they were not available during my trip, but I thought them cute). The motel was simple without alot of perks, but the town is a wonderful place to walk (as you can see from the photo above the Architecture gives the town its character). The air is clean as it is surrounded by miles of foothills, there are loads of shops, places to dine and even a yarn/spinning shop (which I won't go into details on as they did not want to become too busy with visitors - a rather odd remark, but I will respect their wishes and they will remain nameless).
The food isn't all Danish either and I chose to have dinner at an Italian restaurant called Cafe Angelica, they have things on the menu that were not your typical Italian menu. So being on vacation I ventured away from my norm and stared with mussels and clams which were so fresh and very very yummy, sopped up with some superb garlic bread!

After dinner the Latte that arrived was simply decadent and what should I have to accompany it?

DESSERT!!!! Now keep in mind that Solvang is full of bakeries, but they had so many fabulous things to choose from here that I just had to have one, It was hard to pick just one, but the aroma of rich dark chocolate that wafted from the chocolate cake was overwhelming (it turned out to be one of the best I have ever tasted). I did not feel too guilty as I had been walking most of the day and strolled about a bit more before returning to the Motel.
Solvang is famous for its Aebelskiver, so I felt it my duty to order it for breakfast, (just so that I could get a photo of it for you - yes I'm so self sacrificing). It's doughy and not too sweet which goes so well with the Raspberry Jam that tops it. (are you drooling yet?)
Thank you for sharing my vacation with me. I love to travel - to experience new places or to revisit ones that have grown dear to my heart.