Quill Lace Socks

Another knitty.com pattern, and my favorite sock yarn.



The yarn is Yarn Pirate (surprise!) in the colorway Smoke Rings. I knit these in four days. The pattern looks like it would be difficult, but it was easy-peasy! Pity the weather is getting warmer - at least too warm for socks.

Rare Happenings

We don't often have company. It seems our friends don't travel much, at least in our general vicinity. (LOL) My BFF visited this weekend!



Sun burnt from driving up here with the top down in his Mustang, Mr. Powers seems suited in this element. He looks a bit devilish in this photo. Chris, Kevin and I spent the day in Gold Country visiting San Andreas, Black Chasm Caverns in Volcano and finishing the day in Angel's Camp and Murphys.

In Murphys, we had dinner at Growler Craft Brewery. They share the space with a pizza place, and the combination was good. We enjoyed a round of tasters and then settled on individual pints. We all picked something different, which is fun. All of the beers were good, but nothing stood out as exceptional. My palate is becoming too refined! Over the last year I have been spoiled by the riches of micro brews we have tried. We ordered a half and half pizza, which was excellent.

Here are some more photo's from our day in Gold Country...



These were throughout Angel's Camp, but this one was in front of Growler's.



My Prince Charming kissing a frog.



Inside Black Chasm Caverns - this part of the cavern is "dead", there is no more water coming into it.



I love these formations!



It's hard to believe this is rock.



This is the entrance to the cavern. The stairs about killed me coming back up. My left knee just hates stairs.



Tranquil scene from the bridge in San Andreas.

It was a wonderful weekend, made more so by the company of a friend.

I Don't Know.....

..... I think it needs more chrome....

you don't see one of these everyday

Just when I start to think that my beast is getting old, I see something like this....



A 1973 Datsun 610 - parked across the street from my house. It looked pretty good, considering it's 36 years old! Seeing old Japanese imports warms the cockles of my heart.

Weird Encounters

I had to go to Walgreens last night to pick up a prescription. Besides being there for 45 mintues to pick up a refill that was supposed to be ready half and hour before I got there, I had time to "shop".

Is it just me, or does the thought of patriotic pain killers just seem wrong?

Matthew Shepherd - Time For Justice

For anyone who is reading this, take a moment to call your Senator and ask them to support the Matthew Shepherd Act, which would provide hate crime legislation based on sexual orientation. You can read about Matthew Shepherd here.

Republicans and right wing conservatives, such as FOF's James Dobson, are vehemently speaking out against passage. In a message posted to his followers, he states "As I'm recording this video greeting, there's a so-called hate crimes bill that's working its way through the congress that contains no adequate safeguards to protect the preaching of God's word. Because the liberals in Congress would not define sexual orientation, we have to assume that protection under the law will be extended to the 30 sexual disorders identified as such by the American Psychiatric Association. Let me identify some of them: bisexuality, exhibitionism, fetishism, incest, necrophilia, pedophilia, prostitution, sexual masochism, voyeurism, and bestiality. Those are just a few. And I have to ask, have we gone completely mad?"

Last week, North Carolina Representative Virginia Foxx stated that Matt's death was a "hoax".

On the stoptheaclu.com website, they continue to propagate the "protection for pedophiles" angle and states that the Matthew Shepherd Act "specifically denies such protections to other targeted classes of citizens such as pastors, Christians, missionaries, veterans and the elderly".

Under Federal Law, current statutes permit prosecution for hate crimes based on a person's race, color, religion, or national origin when participating in a federally protected act. Current law protects pastors, Christians and missionaries.

The Elder Abuse Victims Act is making it's way through Congress for the third year in a row. The House has passed it twice. I've heard nothing about this from either side, and isn't a horrific shame that Congress has been unable to pass legislation that would criminalize elder abuse. At least California has taken care of that, along with hate crimes based on sexual orientation.

What I would like to emphasize at this point is that Wyoming has NO hate crimes legislation - not even for crimes based on race. It's for this reason that we need to pass Federal Laws to protect victims of hate based crimes.

I propose this scenario: if Matthew Shepherd had been Jewish and the two men that tortured and killed him had been White Supremacists, would we even be having this discussion 11 years after his death? Matthew was killed because of who he was. I'm sorry that there are those who think his "choice" of being gay is against God's teaching, but then again those same people made a choice to follow those teachings. Their "choice" is protected under US Law.

Call your Senator. If you need their phone number, you can look it up here. And while you're at it, tell them that it's past time for them to pass the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act.

New Project - Lettuce Vanda

It's been a while since I used Knitter's Magazine for anything other than "oo, pretty" moments. However, when my Eat.Sleep.Knit Malabrigo club shipment arrived last month, I went in search of a pattern I liked. (The one they sent would not complement my figure, if you know what I mean.)

I found a pattern in the Summer '08 issue called Vanda. The model was shown in what appeared to be a kettle dyed yarn, and I thought the Malabrigo would be prefect. I brought it with me to cast on while we were gone for our trip, but the sock took all the time. I finally cast on tonight, and I am loving it.

I am working on the sleeves first, both at once.



I had such a headache when I started this earlier tonight, but now it's almost gone. I became so engrossed in my progress, I forgot that my head hurt! Isn't knitting wonderful.

Going to bed now - nite!

Everlasting Bagstopper

I've been looking at this pattern on knitty.com for a while now and thought, "I should make that". So, I did.



I bought some no-name cotton yarn at Stitches West last year, for this specific purpose. I started it when we were driving through the Sierra's a few days ago. Now, I just have to add handles and head down to the farmer's market!

Weekend Adventures

We went to Boise for the weekend to attend my Sister-in-Law's wedding. As I posted on Facebook, it was a whirlwind 72 hours, 1200 mile road trip with an awesome celebration. I will post a picture of the happy couple later.

As we typically do now, Kevin drives and I knit/supervise the iPod/prepare and administer refreshments. This trip was dominated by one knitted item - my Faceted Rib Sock. I finished the first one several weeks ago and then got busy stitching. I was still on the leg of the second sock when we left home Thursday night. I worked on it on our way to Winnemucca.

Friday morning we headed out and passed through Oregon (posted speed limit 55 miles per hour in the middle of frakkin' nowhere and if you're in Nevada or Idaho, it's 70 or 65 respectively on the same damn freeway. Bastards. 2000 meandering sheep my ass.) We had rain almost the whole way, and I can say that this particular stretch of road is only slightly more interesting than I-40. In other words, other than changes to topography, this is a long stretch of ab-so-lute-ly n-o-t-h-i-n-g.

I knit on my sock.

We got to Boise, and we descended on the court house en masse. There were at least 20 people there to watch Kelli and Adam tie the knot. The judge even noted that this may have been his biggest audience. Afterwards, Kev and I went had some lunch at Goodwood BBQ with his mom and step-dad. Those were some of the best beef ribs I have had since the last time my Dad made them (in other words - forever).

We headed back over to Kelli and Adam's and made origami cranes for the BBQ reception decorations for Saturday. I discovered that paper folding is not my forte, so I strung them on fishing line. Then the ladies settled in and chatted while some of the guys were watching Iron Man. Adam was making cookies. Kevin and Larry went to see if they could find an old friend. I had the opportunity to knit on my sock.

The next day we were kind of lazy and got a late start. We had brunch at the Cracker Barrel. I haven't been to one of those in over 20 years. It was as good as I remember. I picked up small gifts for the girls at the office and 45 minutes later we were back with Sharon and Larry so they could get a bite to eat. Kevin and I had some dessert.

Headed back over to the Kelli and Adam's. We spent a lovely afternoon getting to know family and friends. The food was great! The rain held off for most of the afternoon, thankfully. We didn't stay too late, since we had to be on the road early the next morning. I'm so glad we decided to go. Spending time with family is priceless.

Sunday morning we're on the road by 6:30. The weather isn't too bad. We're in Winnemucca by 10:30 and had a bite to eat. By 3:00 pm, we're passing through Reno. We stop at Boomtown - and I'm done with the sock! Finished the toe while Kevin was pumping gas.

See...........



Not a great shot, but you get the idea. I've never knitted on one project while traveling through 4 states. That was kind of neat.

Anyway - road construction slowed us down and we lost about an hour. When we drove through Thursday night, we didn't see much snow on the ground. Not so by Sunday. The storm that went through dumped quite bit.



Again, not great, but I took it from the car and there's little contrast due to the clouds. But you get the point. It was strange to see all that fresh powder and no one on the slopes. The resorts closed last week or the week before.

We were back in Concord by 6:00 pm and had dinner out before heading home. What a weekend.

Here is a shot of the pair of Faceted Rib Socks by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott, from the Little Box of Socks. Yarn by Yarn Pirate in the colorway Patina.



This one certainly fulfills the moniker of traveling sock!

April Stitching

I caught the stitching bug again this month, and I managed to get a few things done.

Here we go...

Janlynn Mini Disney Kits



These are about 2 1/2" by 2 1/2" when they are finished. I have around 2 dozen kits. When they are done, I plan on making a wall quilt that I can use to display by Disney Pin Collection. I think it's going to be fabulous!

I also worked on something different.



This is an all over Smyrna Cross Stitch design in colors I'm not used to seeing in a Norwegian kit. It took me less than a week to complete, which made me very happy.

Last was Bent Creek's Big Zipper. I finished two more charts. I need to get back to this in the next week or so.



The griding was tremendously helpful when I was doing the border, but now that I'm working on the smaller sections, it's throwing me off. I matched the grid lines to the master pattern, and the grid lines are different on the smaller charts. Argh! I haven't screwed things up too badly thus far.

I have now officially completed more stitching charts than socks this year. That's the first time in 3 years that has happened. Maybe my stitching mojo is back. It certainly has been on a long vacation.

An open letter to John Ratzenberger and Tea Party Supporters

This morning I read an article from the Sacramento Bee, in which the following quote was reported to have been made by Mr. Ratzenberger:

"I worked hard and I went for the American dream and I did OK," he told the crowd. "But now I'm confused … why does the government want to take my money and give it to people who don't work?"

In all fairness, I would like to hear the whole speech that was provided by Mr. Ratzenberger, but since that is unavailable, I will make a few points to this comment specifically.

First, Mr. Ratzenberger has been a strong supporter of American manufacturing and he is an advocate for children with Diabetes. These are two things that I commend him for. I wish him continued success in promoting these endeavors.

Prior to 2006, the longest I had been off of work was 9 months. This was from 1996-1997, when I went out on disability and then had to file for unemployment before securing a new job. I have held jobs since 1982, and had to file for unemployment only once before 1996.

Since June 2006, I have exhausted Unemployment Benefits twice, and collected wages for a total of 12 months (out of 34) under 5 different contracts.

On average, I have sent out resumes or applied for 40 jobs a week.

I registered with 26 different employment agencies and reapplied to 12.

I have 14 different resumes and 26 different cover letters.

I am registered with 16 different job posting sites.

The last full-time, permanent position I held was as a Vice President of Operations.

I have worked primarily in the Mortgage industry since 1992. I worked admin and ops. I wasn't a loan officer. I didn't make the big $$.

I have dumbed down my resumes, scaling back job titles and using generic explanations for my job skills.

My background includes accounting, human resources, project management and auditing.

I have been told more times than I can count that I am either over qualified or my background is too industry specific.

Though I have been an Executive Assistant to C-level executives, I couldn't even find a job as a secretary.

Under the Bush Stimulus Bill from the Spring of 2008, I received an extension of my unemployment benefits. I was entitled to an additional $1,300. I received $111 a week. That's less than half of what I used to get paid for 1 day of work. It was humiliating and quite depressing.

The last 3 years have been depressing and humiliating. It doesn't help when people of note make callous comments such as Mr. Ratzenberger's.

I have read and listened to comments made by Tea Party supporters, and I can understand their feelings on the current state of our Nation. This problem didn't start on January 20th. It started in 1998 and has gone down hill from there. See Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1998.

The national unemployment rate is over 8%, and it is estimated to surpass 10% by the end of the year. In California, it is already over 10%. This takes into account those filing for or receiving unemployment benefits. It doesn't take into account those that have exhausted benefits, or are under-employed. That would bring the total to over 15M Americans. I am one of those 15M.

I don't reject your right to protest, but I can reject your rhetoric and callousness. To blame those that have lost their jobs to corporate greed and mismanagement, to having their jobs shipped overseas, or to downsizing due to reduced revenue, shows a gross lack of understanding and empathy.

Simply put - I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone. To walk in my shoes for the last 3 years would be a completely demoralizing experience.

It would be nice to hear some solutions for a change, instead of blame. Do you, Mr. Ratzenberger, or any of the Tea Party Supporters, have thoughtful solutions for our future? We're all waiting.

Recap - March Madness

Last month I went a bit nuts with the dishrag cotton. I found out that there would be a new baby in the family, and I went to work. Unfortunately, this little one wasn't meant to be. Nature sometimes makes that decision, but it's still a hard thing to accept. So I will put them away for the future.

I had a huge stash of Sugar n' Cream, and a lot of little balls of the same and Peaches & Creme. I was determined to put a dent in that stash. Using my favorite patterns from Mason Dixon Knitting, here are the results:

Bibs O' Love



Between these two, I used up 5 balls of leftovers. The one to the left includes solid yellow and white stripes interspersed with the variegated yellow/green/white.





I was shooting for a dozen in total, but settled for ten. I had better luck in the scrapbook section finding buttons that I liked than at Joann's. I very much miss the old fabric stores.

Baby Genius Burp Cloths







I have more of these I would like to make, but they will be done at another time. I still have about 6 balls of Sugar n' Cream set aside for burp cloths.

Ballband Dishcloth













What I like about these is that I can mix and match and use leftovers, which I did. I want to make more of these, as they make great gifts and of all the washcloths I have made, I like these best.

So, that is my March Madness recap!

Saturday Night Movie

It's been a while, but this was worth it.

And then there was needlework

I took a break from knitting. I know - shock - she can resist the pointy sticks.



It's been a while since I posted an update on one of my needlework projects, because I haven't picked one up in a looong time. But if I want to have something to compete with at State Fair this year, I better start being less monogamous. ;-)

The pattern for this part is in the picture, so you can appreciate scale. The pattern is 8.5 x 11 - that should give you an idea. And I'm working it in hand - no hoop, no stretcher bars. I'm doing it old school - like I did when I was a teenager. I was pretty proud of myself when I finished the Love Grows section. It's like riding a bicycle, almost.

Loving this......

I've mentioned that I love Yarn Pirate - you could say I'm a little over the moon for Georgia. She is an awesome dyer! I get giddy when the package is in the mailbox because I know there will be yarny goodness to fondle. I know, it's an illness. The Booty Club is one of my guilty pleasures.

This is my latest sock in progress.....



The colorway is Patina (Yarn Pirate Merino/Tencel Sock). The pattern is from The Little Box of Socks by Charlene Schurch and Beth Parrott. The pattern is called Faceted Rib. Isn't is awesome!?

Seven years ago...

... today my father passed away.



Miss you, Pappa.

I knit a jumper - for me!

Jumper - pullover - genser - whatever you want to call. I did one for me! And I did one earlier this year, but I didn't work on this one for, like, 5 years. This one was started and finished in one month!



This is the first time I have knit a neckdown sweater of any kind. I kind of liked it. I didn't try it on or anything, but it allowed me to gauge the amount of yarn I had left, and could make adjustments accordingly. The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple, #9726. The yarn is Classic Elite Classic Silk, #6919 Rose.

A simple knit, but very satisfying.

Lucky Leafling

Yeah - I've been on a sock knitting jag again.





There is something to be said for being in the Socks that Rock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. You have the opportunity to knit socks that you normally wouldn't. This is from last year, the colorway is Lucky in Mediumweight, the pattern is called Leafling by JC Briar. The heel design is a la Cat Bordhi. I have not tried doing one of her sock architectures, and this gave me the opportunity.

The socks are thick, and I had to rip out the 2nd sock back to the leg because I managed to add an extra pattern repeat, so the sock was huge! Yes, it's true, even I make mistakes.

I am curious to see how they work for me. Kevin is concerned that the bulk in the heel may be uncomfortable for me, and I am concerned that they will bunch. The socks fit tight enough, but I'm just uncertain. I'll keep you posted.

Sweet Lime Salida's

There is this group called Sock Knitters Pentathalon, and it started up again in February. They come out with a new pattern every two months, and you're challenged to get them completed before the next pattern comes out. I've liked the patterns in the past, and this one is no exception.





The pattern is by Janneke Maat. The yarn is Yarn Pirate Bamboo/Merino/Nylon in the colorway Sweet Lime. I totally love them - and the rose color matches the sweater I'm working on. Woohoo!

Duckies and Bee Stitch

Finished another pair of socks. Surprise! This pattern is from Samantha Hayes and is called Duckies. The yarn, from one of my favorite dyers, is Yarn Pirate BFL DK in the colorway Hope. They feel wonderful.

The other thing I finished was another washcloth, because there is little else to do with dishcloth cotton, and I have a gazillion balls of it.



The pattern is by Rhonda White and the yarn is Sugar N' Cream Patio Pinks.