Going, Going, Gone

If this is not one of the ugliest Douglas fir trees you've ever seen, I don't know what is. Last winter's wind storm really took its toll. So, it's good-bye fir tree.

Watching professional tree trimmers who know what they are doing makes you realize that there is no good reason why amateurs should ever attempt this. First, Mike limbed the tree from the bottom up while Sam the Boss and Frank put the limbs in the back of a truck to be hauled away.



Working around the power line required tree-trimmer ballet.

The top came down:

The debris piled up in the truck:

And this is what is left:

The whole process took only two hours. It appears that the plants underneath (rhododendron, barberry, juniper, fatsia) will survive.

Retirement: Day 1

Retirement is great so far. At work, the traditional retirement send-off is a coffee-and-cake reception. Then I celebrated with work and non-work friends at a local pub. One of the great things about my job is that many of my colleagues are also friends. I thoroughly enjoyed my career. I'm optimistic that retirement will be equally enjoyable.

Retirement!

Today is my last day of work, after 30 years with the same organization. Whew! It's been fun and rewarding. But it's time for something else, whatever that is. Knitting, of course. More time in the garden and at the library. Travel in the U.S. and the rest of the world. Who knows what else is in store?

And what better way to start my retirement than with beautiful handmade gifts! My friend Debbie made this gorgeous quilt hanging. Yes, the flower is 3-D.

She also gave me this intricate and lovely pine-needle basket made by an Oregon artist. It's about 7 inches long and very tightly woven.

The Flowers that Bloom in the Spring, Tra-la

The flowers that bloom in the spring in the Northwest are fabulous. Early bloomers include daffodils, tulips, lilacs, camellias and rhododendrons, plus the flowering fruit trees. The color riot in our garden begins in earnest in May and June.

Columbines and pansies. The pansies survived our cold winter and the columbines take care of re-seeding themselves every year.

Pink jasmine. You really need to smell this one for its full effect. This is a new addition to the garden this spring, replacing a clematis that succumbed to winter.

Roses. This one is Double Delight. If you want a beautiful, fragrant rose for cutting, this should be at the top of your list.

And, surprisingly, a Christmas cactus. I have no idea what I did to prompt a May bloom, but there it is.

Score!

I love thrift stores and used books stores. Not every visit results in a big score, but one did — two 1985 "Knitters" magazines. I especially enjoy reading the articles by or about some knitting legends: Barbara Walker, Lizbeth Upitis, Mary Walker Phillips and Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, for example. The articles are still relevant and most of the patterns are as wearable today as they were 22 years ago.

I wonder whether knitters in 2029 will say the same about today's knitting magazines?

A New Visitor

This guy showed up at the bird feeder today. Black-headed grosbeak, maybe? Haven't seen one like this before at the feeder.

Two New Yarn Stores

Two new yarn stores in nearby Lakewood opened in recent weeks: Yorkshire Yarns and Shibori Dragon Knits. Based on my first scouting, both shops are spacious, well-stocked with space for more and with space for knitting groups or classes. And the people at each seem interested in stocking what knitters want. Each carries basic, all-purpose yarn (Cascade 220, Encore, for example) plus some of the more luxurious yarns (Luisa Harding, Rowan, Debbie Bliss, Artyarns, for example). Yorkshire Yarns has a lot — a lot — of sock yarn. Shibori Dragon carries Mountain Colors.

My only complaint is that I can't find my way around Lakewood easily.

Heartland Shawl

This is Evelyn Clark's Heartland Shawl, published in the winter 2007 issue of "Wild Fibers" magazine. It was the winner in a contest for Buffalo Gold fiber. Written instructions are in the magazine and you can e-mail Buffalo Gold for the charts.

I'm a big fan of Evelyn Clark, and I normally don't riff on her patterns. But I did on this one.

• I didn't have any Buffalo Gold but I had a pile of this unidentified wool (maybe washable wool) from a thrift store. I used US7 needles with it.

• I knit seven (maybe eight, I lost count) repeats of the Bison Tracks pattern; the original called for four. One of the beauties of recent Evelyn Clark shawls is the ability to add or reduce the number of repeats and still come out with a great shawl. The shawl is 45 inches long from the center neck to the center point.
  

• All of the double decreases specified are left-leaning, which I think detracted from the pattern. So I changed some of them to right-leaning decreases. In the River of Life border, I changed the left-leaning double decreases to centered double decreases. To accommodate all of this, I recharted the pattern.

• I made the second half a mirror image of the first half instead of a straight repeat of the first half. It made a difference in only a few places but felt more symmetrical to me.

• I added a small bead at the points of the border, borrowing the idea from other Evelyn Clark shawls. I think it helps the point stay pointed a little better. And I like beads. The bead color is black diamond luster, which I think complements the turquoise (turquoise is a hard color to match, so I went for complement instead of match).

And I think the turquoise shawl and red lace-leaf maple complement nicely.

Doily Discovery

Yesterday was a good day for treasure hunting. At a library book sale I found a 1984 issue of "Magic Knitting." It's from a French publisher, although the magazine is in English. I was pleasantly surprised to find this doily pattern, which the magazine describes as "a bouquet of arum flowers." No attribution to a designer is given — does it look familiar to anyone? It's full of twisted stitches and mesh, which could make it an interesting project. And it's charted — hooray!

It doesn't seem like the mid-1980s was a high time for doilies, which makes this an unexpected find.

At my favorite thrift store, I found a skein of tweedy Rowanspun for $4 (original price $13.50), which will make a nice hat for someone, and six skeins of Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool for a grand $3.

Hi, Seema!

Our friend Seema visited yesterday, which, as usual with Seema, results in lively and interesting conversation. She needs all of that energy because she is founder and artistic director of Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego. She also is an actor, singer, playwright, fundraiser, office painter, business manager, mentor, educator, public relations agent and — whew!

Mo`olelo provides some interesting theater experiences. Read all about Mo`olelo and, if you are in San Diego, give it a try.

Selbuvotter

I just bought this book because it looked very cool. I haven't knit mittens for years, but this appealed to me. I think many of the designs could be adapted for hats, Christmas stockings and other knitted items. I also like the historical information.

I wish more of the pictures were in color, but that's just a small quibble.

Selbuvotter.

A Welcome Spring Visitor

Imagine our surprise when we found these growing in the front yard — morel mushrooms! First time we've seen them. Fortunately, no one who passes by on the sidewalk noticed and picked them. My mushroom-expert friend assured me they are morels.

Bring on the butter!

Landscape that Rocks

Two of my favorites: the Fiber Trends Landscape scarf and Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock lightweight yarn. This one is the Farmhouse color, US6 needles, alternating garter and stockinette sections, with picots.

My friend Debbie "made" me buy the yarn. Thanks, Deb!

Diamond Fantasy

Long time, no post. I haven't finished anything in a while, and when I did, I had trouble taking a picture worthy of its beauty. I finished Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy Shawl in some beautiful laceweight from Black Bunny Fibers, a Christmas gift from my friend Bridget, who is friends with Carol, the genius behind Black Bunny Fibers. The color is called Sue's Puppy (click on the photo to for a better look at the colors). Sue's Puppy is based on an earlier Carol color called Puppy. I'm not a dog person, but I am a Puppy person.

I wanted a big shawl. The pattern calls for 10 pattern repeats for a shawl. I did 14. I used US5 needles.

I had a difficult time photographing the gorgeousness of this yarn and pattern. The light wasn't right, I couldn't get a good background for the colors — just one thing after another. The photos still don't do justice to the final product, but there you have it.

More Duchrow

I find the Christine Duchrow patterns fascinating. This one is in Volume I of the Lacis series, "The Knitted Lace Patterns of Christine Duchrow," Leaflet 25, design 1. I knit it with Clark's Big Ball thread, size 30, ecru, on US1 needles. It took one full ball (550 yards) and part (a quarter?) of a second ball. It is approximately 28 inches in diameter.

Duchrow's instructions call for three purl rounds before the bind-off. If I were doing this again, I would purl a round, knit a round and purl a round before the bind-off to reduce the curling. As with several Duchrow patterns, the bind-off instructions in this one are vague; all she says is to bind of in chains and picots. I crocheted off in groups of three stitches with a five-stitch chain in between.

Spring Flowers

It's spring. At least the violets think so. It looks like I need to get in gear and do some weeding.

Haiku

Alchemy Haiku — amazing, amazing stuff, mohair and silk. So light, so ethereal, at 325 yards in 25 grams . This is a small Faroese shoulder shawl in the color Spruce, with garter stitch borders and stockinette body, knit on US7 needles. I thought this would be mindless knitting — garter and stockinette, after all — but the yarn is so lightweight that attention must be paid.

Marie's Birds

Our friend Marie was a great lover of birds, both real birds and art birds. Marie died a few years ago, at age 90-something. At some point — probably at many points — I admired this embroidery work. Marie said her English-born mother made or acquired it in her (the mother's) young adulthood.

It's the finest silk thread I've ever seen. The detail is astonishing. Each stitch is perfect. It has what appears to be French knots that are the size of a pencil tip. The colors are still vivid.

I'm honored that she decided to leave it to me. Next step: find some professional advice on how to conserve it.

A Roof Over Our Heads

When last we visited the Hut on this blog (late December), it looked liked this.

It now looks like this. Not only is there a new roof, a clump of trees has been removed.

Last weekend, the view from the porch looked like this. Hood Canal is underneath all of that fog.

Vested Interests

This is Mike's Tandoor vest. It's made from K1C2's Paint Box in a colorway called Tandoor. The ribbing is 1x1 and the body is 7x1. I am fortunate to have a husband who likes and likes to wear hand-knitted items. He's fortunate to work with some people who notice hand-knitted items and ooh and aah appropriately.

More Knitting on the Agenda

The idea of knitting from stash this year fell apart in the first month. My first purchases were at the Madrona Fiber Arts market: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock in Farmhouse and Zephyr wool-silk in Elderberry. Love 'em both. The Socks that Rock will become a Landscape scarf and the Zephyr will become a shawl to be determined.

My friend Bridget lured me to Black Funny Fibers. Black Bunny (a.k.a. Carol) has a great eye for color and a deft hand with dye. I told her I liked some yarn that she named Puppy. Ta-da! Sue's Puppy. This will become Sivia Harding's Diamond Fantasy Shawl.

New Lace Museum

One shining star in the lace knitting constellation is Lacis in Berkeley, California. It's a treasure of threads, needles, supplies and inspiration. But now, there's yet another reason to visit:

The Lacis Lace Museum.

I won't say more. Look for yourself.

Another Snowflake

I would rather have thread snowflakes than real ones. This one is design #64 in Lavori Artistici #11. It's made from this, found in a thrift store, on US0 needles:

Blocked like this, a brilliant technique invented by Pat S.:

And now looks like this, approximately 11 inches in diameter:

How Do You Say "Gorgeous" in Polish?

My friend Dagmara, who lives in Poland, is brilliant, beautiful and very generous. She sent me this wonderful book of Polish needlework. I d0n't need to know a word of Polish to appreciate the beautiful embroidery, crochet, lacework and other needlework in this book. I could, and will, spend hours admiring the beautiful work. If her goal is to persuade me to visit Poland, she's doing a good job of it.

Good Friends

Our friends Michael and Nancy spent the last 16 years sailing around the world. They and their boat returned to Tacoma just in time for rain, snow and ice. Fortunately, their boat is warm and cozy. Nevertheless, a warm hat is always welcome. These hats are made from Lamb's Pride Bulky on US9 needles. Michael and Nancy are the kind of people who will like the hats even more because the yarn came from a thrift store.

It's snowing again, maybe another 2 inches to 3 inches of snow so far. M&N, you're not in the South Pacific any more.

A New Bird

This guy showed up at the suet feeder today. Some kind of warbler, maybe? He's not quite as yellow as the picture might show, but more olive-yellow. If you know what this is, or have a good guess, please leave a comment.

The juncos, chickadees, nuthatches, sparrows finches and flickers are regular visitors.

Snow Plus Cold

This is what what we woke up to this morning in the back yard.

And in the front yard:

It never rose above freezing today and is supposed to drop to the teens and '20s tonight, which means that anything that melted slightly today in the sun, such as snow on the roads, will be frozen tomorrow. Looks like the bus or foot power for me. Yes, we are weather wimps.

The snow and cold didn't seem to bother the Northern Flicker that visits the suet feeder.

Snow

This has been one crazy winter in the Northwest. Record-setting rain in November, followed by record-setting wind in December, and now... snow.

Our area is expecting 2 inches to 4 inches of snow tonight; areas farther north are looking at 5+ inches. This is most unusual for the lower elevations around Puget Sound. We don't cope well. We don't drive well. We close schools as soon as the first snowflake hits. Tomorrow should be interesting.

Bits and Pieces

My "big project" is still the Knit One, Crochet Too Paint Box Tandoor vest. With luck and attention, it could be done by Groundhog Day. It would get done more quickly if I were not so easily diverted to other, smaller projects.

I would like to knit mostly from stash this year, which has a lot of diversions. One diversion was some Cascade 220 leftover from something. I started with the Summer Lace Shawlette from Interweave Knits Summer 2006 Sweet Somethings. Although it looks bunched up in the picture, it hangs nicely across the shoulders.

Then I was watching my friend Chris (she's also the new boss, but she was a friend before she became the boss and friend trumps boss any day) sit in her office wrapped in a blanket, freezing, teeth chattering, ice forming. Our office space is not particularly cold to me, but it is to her. So I decided she needed some Fetching mitts from Knitty, with longer tops to reach the first knuckles. I don't think she'll wear them for her upcoming wedding, but they should keep her fingers warm while she works.