Patience

I've had a little delay, my camera's battery charger is on the fritz, I've been trying to take photos with it and couldn't figure out why i kept getting the low battery symbol. I tried several times over the past few weeks to charge it, but then I noticed (duh) that the little red light on the charger is not on. So I've been looking around, driven to several stores that should have this charger, but to no avail. I will be victorious and locate a charger (very determined). I haven't been able to post photos of my new adventures - SPINNING!!!!

So far I've done a little spindling (thought I would be more coordinated - maybe it will all come together very soon). I've sat at several spinning wheels and checked out the treadle on them. So far I have liked the Schacht Lady Bug and Ashford Joy, their treadle is comfortable for me. I was absolutely mesmerized by Majacrafts Little Gem and I hope to try it this Sunday, I LOVE the looks of this spinning wheel. I believe that spinning wheels must have some kinda pheromones that cast a spell on you!

Today was a gathering of spinners and knitters at the cutest place, the place is a store front on a main street in Long Beach that has been converted to a charming apartment, the bedroom is a loft space above and my new spinning friends were so charming welcoming me into their home and making me feel like we've been chums for a very long time. These wonderful gentlemen recently rescued two of the cutest dogs, one just two weeks ago was abandoned at a local dog park and came home with them (she is a darling little terrier they've named Lola and she totally captured me - I am putty in her little paws)

I want to thank Jan who has been the kindest of friends - she is full of life and it has been so much fun meeting all these new people. Guess it was time in my life to open the door and live a little larger! Love to you all. REALLY HOPE TO BE ABLE TO POST PHOTOS ASAP!!!!!

I'M BACK!!!!

I just received a rebuilt computer and still have to see if I can install my camera software, it has Windows7 and I will be given a cd for the Office products shortly. I have to rethink this blog again. I am pondering if I should create a new blog as I am contemplating exploring my interest in writing - maybe try my hand at some short stories that I could share with you my dear readers (if there are any left).
Transportation
So many changes in my life, I've decided to give up the luxury of driving to work (in an ancient car) and taking the train. I'll have to be at the train station at 4:40 am, after arriving at Union Station there will be an hour wait and then there is a free shuttle that will drop me off directly at work. This will substantially improve my finances as the total cost for going to work will be reduced to only about $47.00 a month!!! (My company pays 75% of the cost which is about $188 for the montly pass) Wait time = knitting time and I'll get used to the early hours.
SPINDLING
I was given a Ledbetter spindle, it is quite a thing of beauty. I've never used a spindle before and I found through Ravelry that there is a local spinning group, they welcome even newbies like me. I plan on attending their group tomorrow night (photos will be pending once i'm comfortable with this new group). Can you imagine, I could actually be creating homespun yarn. Wonder what the learning curve is on this.

I am so happy to be back and I'll be able to visit your blogs again too! Please leave me a comment so that I can follow it back to your blog. If you don't have a blog, I would still love to hear from you, its always nice to see what you have to say.

Opulent Handwarmers

Well I've finally dove into knitting handwarmers and they turned out no so bad. Still have to work out the little gap that is at the thumb and the main body, does anyone have a solution for this? I found this pattern on Ravelry "Opulent Handwarmers" and they hole your interest while you are knitting. This yarn is fab, its a superwash merino by Avanti and was made in Germany, I had picked this up in a sale bin as the yarn was discontinued. It is a wonderful dk weight and should be useful for the morning drives and should keep my hands toasty.

THE HUNTINGTON

More photos from my last stroll, seems I took several decent pictures and I can't take the credit for this, the flowers seem to almost pose for the camera. I had a hard time selecting between these two photos that I took of Magnolia blossoms. I've been watching this tree forming for a couple of years now and the shape of it is so wonderful. I love the blossoms against the bare branches, its petals curled with the sunlight playing off of them.

This bust of Shakespeare has been softened by time, its beautify only magnified by the touch of the elements.

I did attend the Chasing the Sun powwow and did not take photos. It didn't feel right at the time. I had incredible conversations with the Natives, most of the ones that I spoke to were from the Navajo tribe, most lived on a reservation. I met a native from the Huichol tribe that came from Mexico from the state of Nazarit. These two gentle men seemed to reflect a deep sadness in their eyes while their lips held a smile, I can imagine that they missed their mountains. I also met the granddaughter of a spinner, the sheep are hand sheared and her grandmother lap spins the wool into yarn, it was thick sturdy stuff that would wear generations. This was a time for to listen and absorb which brought on quiet reflection. May your day be peaceful.

You're A Gem Cowl

My first attempt at designing so I thought I would stick to something simple like this cowl. I've been trying for a couple of weeks not to get a decent photo and these are the best I could do. The question is should I write the pattern for this on my blog? (it would be free of course) I'm not sure that anyone would be interested. The cowl has a nice drape and I made the top a little narrower than the bottom by changing the needle size. The yarn was Lima by Rowan which was delightful to knit with, 84% Alpaca, 8% Merino and 8% nylon, and is described as a worsted weight. I used 3 skeins of yarn and had some left over in each color, though I think this would make a fine looking cowl in a single color as well.
Huntington Library was quite warm today with temps in the 80's I tried to find cool places along the path and stopped to rest in the shade when possible. The air was clean and so many plants benefited from our recent rain, they just couldn't wait to show me all their glory.
I loved these Red flowers against the blue sky.
The blast of Spring flowers in all their soooo vibrant in the brilliant sun.

Chondropetalum tectorum S. Africa
These flowers were startling - yes these are the actual colors, the leaves looked like chocolate the the flowers looked as if they were made of candy. I even noted the name to share with you. I will be posting a few more photos in the next day or two of a couple of fingerless mitts that I am knitting (didn't realize it would get so warm so soon). I'm giving a set to my hair stylist Kim this week along with a slouchy beret. Also more flower photos from my walk today.

Redondo Beach Pier

The sun was out and after being cooped up all week with the rain it was time for an outing. After breakfast at CJ's Diego & I took a spontaneous detour to the pier and met this beautiful student from China, she was so full of life - her eyes danced with merriment (oh to be young again). I enjoyed talking with her and her two friends, they are here to study English and in two months time they spoke pretty well. They were delightful.

The pier has so much character, it's not all scrubbed and hygienic (some Orange County beach areas lost all their individuality, they tore down the quirky fun buildings and made them bland and beige) this pier is funky don't you love this sign and I bet it would be a really great photo at night with the neon all lit up

Red Yellow and Blue - just looks like fun, if I hadn't been so full from breakfast I would have had to try this, well that just gives me another excuse to go back. Maybe on a warm sunny afternoon I'll grab one of their lemonades and a corn dog too - sounds yummy!

This fellow was sizing me up, probably thinking "you got something for me?" The birds at the pier are brazen, they will walk up to any tourist and demand food from them - hmmm maybe walking the pier with a corn dog may not be such an attractive idea now, I can imagine them stalking me and demanding my food from me. I watched them following a family that was eating ice cream cones, more and more gulls were landing near this family and following them, it looked like a seagull parade.
From the end of the pier I watched in wonder at the spray that washed upon the rocks. This never ceases to amaze me and I could never grow tired watching the movement of water, in all its different forms.

I have some projects on the needles now, another pair of Mosey Legwarmers (I love wearing the pair I have now) and Kim my hair dresser gave a subtle hint that she loved the Star Crossed Slouchy Beret that I had given Melissa, so I'll have to knit one this week and drop it by for her. Will post knit photos soon.

Slouchy Beret

The weather in Southern California has been quite stormy so this darling Slouchy Beret will not have a proper photo as it will be given to a someone who has been so kind to me, early Saturday morning at the Salon I go to. Over the years Melissa has gone out of her way to do so many countless little things for me and I am embarrassed that it took me so long to appreciate her efforts. This is one of the free patterns on Ravelry called Gwen Slouchy Beret. The yarn is by Nature Spun and the color will look great as Melissa is a vivacious Red Head.
I miss taking my garden and flower photos (you know when you are desperate when you start playing with your book and the plate blocked beret). Then it became symbolic as I realized that knitting has taken the forefront to my reading, both are joyful to me and I am lucky to be able to do both. I vow to make more use of the Library, especially after reading about the Central Library in Los Angeles I am really tempted to go.
I've been enjoying the Mysteries by Monica Ferris, fun to read and easy to pick back up again. I know that I'm in for a bit of trouble if I can't wait to get to the break room before I start reading. Wandering aimlessly down the hall while engulfed in the story (gotten a few goofy smiles as I look up startled and just missing someone passing by). Well I'd better get off the computer now, lightening is starting and I can hear the thunder approaching. Happy Knitting!

Bamboozled headbands

Sometimes being economical can lead to a new discovery. Its only fair to warn you - these headbands are addicting, not only do they look great on, but are fun to knit. I purchased some Paton's Classic Wool (on sale ) and found I could get a Star Crossed Slouchy Beret and a Bamboozled head band out of one skein (both free patterns on Knittingcentralpattern.com. Taking photos right now is incredibly difficult, rain is forecast for the entire week and today there is even a hard wind with very heavy rain. I could not wait for nicer weather and I wanted to share them with you. My current wip is a beret and should have it done by this weekend (will share photos). By the way I hope the weather forecast is wrong - they said we could get as much as 20 inches of rain by this weekend (that would be more that we get in 1 year in less than a week).

Flying XD

I woke up a little early this morning (4:30 am) and thought I'll do a quick little post, just a photo or two of my last trip to the Huntington, a nice way to start the morning. So a little bleary eyed, I fished out my camera and extracted the XD card - only to see it flying through the air, then thunk as it hit the floor and slid under a piece of furniture. Well I thought they would be a little heartier than that and did not realize that it would not want to work any more. So I must begin again with a new XD card, the bright side is I'm going to go take photos this weekend using my Monopod and should be able to get even better photos. I did take a photo of my new Bamboozled head band (a wonderful knit) and I'll be sure to take new photos of it again. At least this is an easy fix and I'll be posting very soon with photos just for you -my gentle readers.

Yipee Photos at last!

For all my snowbound friends I felt the need to post photos I took last weekend at the Huntington Library. We've had warm weather (in the upper 70's) and nice cool evenings, so the flowers are in abundance. The Iris above was so beautiful, its petals rendered me speechless (quite an accomplishment, do I hear the men out there thinking where can I get me some of those?).

This kale shared it's bed with other beauties and I loved how there was a soft rose tint in the middle beckoning me to draw a little closer and stare into the depths, do you see the little specks of green?
The Japanese Gardens at the Huntington is very popular and the maturity of this garden gives it a majesty. The Huntington recently installed a Chinese Garden, but it needs time to mature, it feels like its missing something and I just can't put my finger on it. All of the gardens at the Huntington are lovely, each special in their own way, I'll be sure to take more photos to share with you, maybe the Cactus garden should be next?
I've been knitting up a storm and am beginning to learn how to use this camera, I am hoping to find a better place to take the photos, the sun is still pretty harsh and most of my photos were not great. The slouchy hat above is for Melanie who sometimes can squeeze me in with my hair stylist (its almost like winning the lotto). She has always gone out of her way and takes such good care of me that I thought a hat or two would be a simple way to express my appreciation for all she does for me.
One of my co-workers Olga has always loved my knitting, we share coffee from my little coffee pot every morning (Pete's Coffee - yum) and she's been teaching me little phrases in Spanish. Always kind hear-ted so this neck scarf is for her. I gave it to her just after I took this photo and she tried it on right away! I sometimes feel a little selfish, it gives me such great joy to give someone something I've made, even anonymously - it doesn't matter, just makes my heart smile.

The last hat is knitted from Baby Alpaca and is so soft and squishy, I'm sending it to Marie who is the dog breeder for my three Standard Poodles, she shared her knowledge and given me so many tips on caring for my dogs and I just can't thank her enough.

Last of all I am so happy to be blogging with photos again. I do hope to take better photos of my knitting as I study the manual that came with my camera and experiment with the settings - so there's still hope for me yet! I just realised that I gave very little details about my knitting - I guess it's the excitement of it all and promise I'll do better on the next post.

New Year

I haven't been able to post any photos as the USB ports on my computer are not working and I don't know what's wrong, there aren't alot of funds right now so I'm not sure when I can get it fixed. I have a new camera and have taken some photos at the Huntington, the flowers were amazing and I love the way this camera allowed me to show some of their detail. I also took some photos of my knitted projects and a want to post new pattern I wrote for a cowl - complete with photos,

My dog Wooster is still fighting this abcess thing and I am doing my best to help him with hot packs and antibiotics, I'll be increasing the hot packs this weekend to 4 times a day, he is the most loving dog and a great patient. Good luck to everyone in this New Year, I wish you all the best, things are bound to get better and I do have things to be grateful about, a job, a measure of health and a few good friends and my fellow bloggers whose encouraging words and beautiful blogs encourage me greatly.

Wooster

I've been taking care of my Standard Poodle Wooster, he has a sore that is infected and needs tending. Will be back to blog soon. Wish me luck.

Where did the time go?

I had bought a really nice pair of black Mary Janes and was trying desperately to find a nice lacy sock, what I found was that most of the patterns are toe up and try as I may I COULD not get the provisional cast on. Does anyone know of a good You Tube for this? Well anyways I found the Hedera pattern on Knitty and decided to make them into knee highs (hopefully have enough yarn). I started them on a size 3 needle (cast on 60 just like the pattern states) and plan to move down to a size 2 for the lower calf and then the foot will be knitted in a size 1 (hope this works). Using Rowan 4ply has been a blissful experience and so far it fits my calf just fine.
Here is the Mansey legwarmer, its so cool looking on, adds an edge to these worn black denim slim pants (hate to say skinny). I love the way they lay over the boot, if you love leg warmers you should give this pattern a try, the cables make it interesting, I did amend the pattern a bit to account for being just a hair under 5'2" by eliminating one of the cable repeats, added a slouchy effect by using a size 8 needle (verses a size 7 the pattern calls for) and knitted using the directions for the size small. (To get a better photo I think I need to practice gymnastics a bit.)
I'm hooked on reading mysteries again, I am growing fond of Monica Ferris's books that center (at least in my opinion) around a store called Crewel World, the books are very entertaining and an easy read, as the series goes it feels like the characters have come into their own and I grow fonder of them with each book. I am also almost through with Maggie Sefton's series and with only two more books to go - I thought - better find another series to start, so it will be the Tea Mysteries by Laura Child's (this time I'm doing it right and starting at the beginning).
Isn't it PRETTY!!!! A very dear friend knows how much I've enjoyed blogging bought me a camera that can take macro shots - so this will hopefully improve the photos of my knitting. I will dedicate some time later this week to read the manual and then next weekend I'll have to find time to actually play with it (hope its user friendly). This dear friend would wish to remain anonymous, but I am so grateful as I could not afford this myself right now. At the end of this week I will turn another year older and will be 51 years of age (still got carded 2 years ago though - tee hee). It is so surprising how quickly time flies - really amazing how could I be this old?