RT Does Eugene

Roaming Tigger and I had fun in Oregon last weekend. We stayed in my very favorite hotel. Why is it my favorite? Let me count the ways.


Let's start in the lobby. Now really. How many hotels have an 84" saw blade in the lobby? How freakin cool is that? Remember, this is Oregon and the lumber industry is a big deal.


So this is the other reason I love the VRI. There's a kick-ass paved trail along the Willamette river just a few feet outside the door of the hotel.


RT and I tried to take a walk after Saturday's game, but we got about 400 feet away from where these shots were taken and the skies just ... opened. A super cold rain. We wussed out and went back to the hotel room, waited for it to slow down a bit, then went over to the mall across the parking lot. No sales tax in Oregon. Woo-Hoo!


On Sunday, RT and I took a walk just before the game. The bathrooms for UO's softball field are in "Mac Court" one of the amazing old gyms still in use. Wood flooring. Wood seats. Balconies that are right on top of the court. Really cool.


From what I understand, when they get a full house for a men's basketball game, the gym literally MOVES. It was built in 1926. They are gonna replace it soon, and that will really be a shame.


After we got our pre-game duties completed, we took a walk around the block. First, we walked down to Hayward Field, which is the coolest place you could see a track meet. I went to the 1996 NCAA Championships at this venue and it just blew me away. If you are a fan of sports in general, put a meet at Hayward on your life's to-do list. Stay for the distance races. You won't be sorry.

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials will be at Hayward. So will the 2010 NCAA Championsips. Go.


Across the street from Hayward is UO's School of Law. Cool looking building, and since it was the only academic location on the route, we took a photo op.


But the coolest thing was just out in front of the law school.

We had fun in Eugene. Bay Area this weekend. Almost done with the 2nd sock. Woo-Hoo! :)

wound care
Lisa asked about my wound. Two weeks ago, I was shagging for the early hitters at practice (they hit, I collect all of the balls in the outfield so that when they've hit their three buckets of balls, the next kid can get started faster) when a ball glanced off of my glove and nailed my right shin.

It started out as just two very small softball seam-sized cuts. About two days later, it became obvious that the darn thing just wasn't healing. Over the weekend, I started reacting to the glue on the band-aids I'd been using for 10 days, 24/7. Now the entire "red area" is about 1.75" wide and 1" high. It's not infected, so it's just gross, not scary and gross. I have my marching orders on how to take care of this thing, and have an appointment with a wound care specialist early on Monday morning. I'll be fine. I promise! (and it isn't affecting my knitting at all!)

Curses! Foiled Again!

This shot was taken on Friday night at my favorite hotel after my first of three attempts to turn the heel of toe-up sock #2. I was on about row 37 of the 40-row turn when I got it totally screwed up. I can tink and fix lots of things. Short-row patterns are not in my repertoire. Yet.

I screwed it up again on Saturday night, buried Roaming Tigger in frogged yarn again, then got it right on the third try. I have holes at the end of the short-row heels same as I did on sock #1. Any suggestions? At this point, nothing is going to change on this pair of socks since I'm almost 3" into the ribbing, which is good. I'm itching to get started on the koigu jaywalkers.

Sorry for the long absence. It was a long busy weekend at my favorite hotel in Oregon. Roaming Tigger had a fantastic field trip with lots of photos. I'll do a longer post tomorrow when I have (hopefully) slept off my headache. It was also a short day in the office today ... left early to see a doc about a cut on my shin.

I don't want to gross anyone out, but two weeks after the injury it's still pretty icky, hence the trip to a doc. The good news? It's not infected, just having trouble healing since there isn't a lot of extra skin right on the shin bone. FYI: that's not a good place to get a cut, and if you do get a cut there, go straight to a band-aid with neosporin or something of that ilk. Get that thing healing fast!

New Toys

Baxter's "leg warmers" are done. No new photo, because they look exactly the same as they did in the last post, just without needles in the 2nd cuff.

Anyone want to place a guess on when I might do the felting? *sigh*

I also picked up my traveling sock yesterday for the first time in a few weeks. No new picture of that either, since it looks exactly the same as it did in its previous photo-op (here).

My latest KnitPicks order arrived yesterday. Woo-Hoo!

It was half needles and half sock yarn.


I bought the two colors of Memories that I had seriously considered, then discarded, for the slipper socks projects. On the left is "Cape Cod" (more impressive in person) and on the right is "Fly Fishing" (way more disappointing in person). In the middle is 2 skeins of Gloss in dusk. I like that one. About as much as Cape Cod. The Fly Fishing? Not so much.

But the really fun part of the order was needles.


Knit Picks 6" DPNs in US 0, US 1 and US 2. Two pairs of 16" circs in a US 2. I did a Koigu swatch last night on the 1 and 2 DPNs. WOW. I LOVE THESE NEEDLES! They are exactly what my sock knitting mojo has been missing. I hope to zip through the remaining sock on the icky bendy Bryspuns I'm currently working on (I'd switch needles, but I don't have any other needles in this size) and cast on in the light blue Koigu for a pair of Jaywalkers.


Here's the back of the V-neck sweater, finished and awaiting the front for a three-needle bind off. Love the patterning on the top and bottom. Not over the moon with the pooling in the center, but I can live with it. I'm mildly nervous that it's a little too narrow, but I'm just gonna go with it.

That's it from chez DPUTiger tonight. Gotta get packed for a work trip. Three work trips in the next 12 days as a matter of fact. *sigh*

Making Progress

After a quiet Sunday that was highlighted by the fact that I never changed out of my pajamas, I have survived the bulk of the first two weekdays.

In between, I have finished some pieces of projects.


The first sleeve for the brown cable sweater is done. One more sleeve to go, plus front neck decreases and various other stages of finishing.

Then, I moved along to the "stretchy cuffs" of my slipper socks.


Modeled by Baxter. If the slippers never get felted, these could be legwarmers for him. The cuff still on the needles is at about 3.25" and finishes at 4.5" so it will probably be done tonight.

Yes, this is the famous KnitPicks Memories in Yukon colorway. I have enjoyed this yarn ... enough so that the other colorways I was picking from for this project are now winging their way across the US along with some sock needles. *sigh* yes, it's a sickness!

I still need to get my V-neck on a holder. Forgot to take a picture of that one. sorry! The back is done and when I get back from my weekend road trip, I'll probably cast on for the front of said V-neck sweater. I also want to get Sleeve #2 for the brown cable going since I'm mildly concerned that my stash is a skein short of this color to finish the sweater. Egads!

Well, I have one or two small things to take care of before I can leave for home, so I'd better get to that. Have a great evening!

Cute? Baby Ducks are Cute! I HATE Cute!

Extra points for whomever can name the movie that the post of this title came from :)

Yeah. Baby Ducks are cute. Especially on a great Moda flannel on the back of a finished baby quilt!


OK, so the binding isn't sewn down yet. Gimme a break, I just sandwiched, quilted and sewed on the binding last night!


Besides, I have to wait for the new schmoo to make his appearance at the end of May before I can present, anyway! ;-)


The softball background is particularly appropriate for this particular quilt, since Mom has her picture on the outfield wall! The banner is blurry in the background, but it's No. 9 and mom-to-be is on the left-hand side of that 1999 banner. Arrow provided for your viewing pleasure since the focus is on the quilt, not the outfield. :)

Of course, I also owe that mom-to-be a T-shirt quilt, so I might have to suck it up and finish that damn thing. I hate the process of making those things, but the finished product rocks.

We have kick-ass new faucets installed, but I'm not up for that saga today. Tomorrow is a "true" day off, and I can't wait. I'll be watching the Masters, fusing t-shirts and plan to embroider three baby quilt logos. Wish me luck!

I’ve Got a Fever and the Only Prescription is More Cowbell Sock Yarn!

Edited Saturday night to add the Yarn Pr0n photos. Better late than never, I hope! Especially since I got LOTS of strange looks from my coaches when I was taking these photos over by third base post-game yesterday. :)

OK, so I went a little nuts yesterday. I jerry-rigged my afternoon responsibilities and got to the Cotton Shop in plenty of time. Got two fabric options for the back of the X-block quilt, and I’ll get my friends to help me pick tonight.

Then, I went over to Beach Knitting. Where they are having a store-wide 25% off sale through tomorrow. I came home with this.


Two skeins Trekking XXL. One of Sockotta. Two of Cherry Tree Hill. One of Jitterbug. Plus a skein of chocolate brown Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (not pictured) that will eventually be another pair of Fetchings.

I’m going to take some better Pr0n shots shortly and will edit them in tomorrow. I appreciate your patience (and once again, this is why I’m not on Turtlegirl’s Yarn Pr0n blog ring!)


Fun with Photoshop!


Pretty!


Mmmm ... me likey!


Possible socks for the Hubster


This colorway is just too fun. Had to bring a hank home!

I also got a copy of Vogue Knitting.


Your lovely models are Derf on the left, Baxter on the right.

Remember, everything listed above was 25% off!

Then I went to Borders. Ugh.


Well. I went a little overboard there too. *sigh* Four knitting books, including the new one from the Harlot. I checked the computer and it said that it was in stock in the store but I couldn’t find it on the shelf. So I found a human, who checked the computer. That said they had 14 copies in the store. She wound up going in and finding it in the back in about 2 seconds. They didn’t have it out on the shelves at all!

Tomorrow I will have pics from “Adventures in Home Improvement.” All I have to say is ICK!

Oh, and by the way, SJ is such the Queen of Socks that she even ID’d the yarn in my slipper socks correctly! Yikes! ;-)

This, That and the Other

I got home early on Tuesday afternoon. I was sure that the Cotton Shop was open until 7, so I hung out with the hubster for a little bit until he went to get in his workout, then went on my merry way to go get the flannel for the X-Block baby quilt that I want to sandwich and quilt tomorrow (Friday) night at Bearly. Apparently, they close at 6, not 7. Shazbot!

Yesterday went slower than I wanted/needed it to, and I couldn't get back down to Redondo before everything closed up at 6. So I planned for today. I came in early, plan to get all of my work done and leave early afternoon so I could check out the big sale at Beach Knitting and get my flannel for said baby quilt.

Now I have to go to the end of practice. SHAZBOT! I have a jerry-rigged backup plan. If that doesn't work, I won't be able to leave campus before 4:45 if everything works perfectly. With our lovely LA traffic, I have a snowball's chance in hell of getting the 16 miles to the Cotton Shop before it closes at 6.

Not quite sure what I'll do if I can't get to the Cotton Shop tonight. Maybe I'll hope that the traffic gods will smile on me once again, so I can hit Quilters Dream (their website seems to be down at the moment) on my way to Bearly tomorrow night. Why not just get the flannel back at Bearly? They don't carry flannel! Can't go to Cotton Shop tomorrow morning b/c I have a game tomorrow and have to be at the field by 11 am.

Meanwhile, I picked up my traveling sock yesterday for the first time in weeks. I even got about 1.5" knitted on it! I'm thinking with my travels over the next few weeks, I can get this done in a decently timely fashion. Then, helped on by the advice of sock guru SJ in Pittsburgh (a great new--to me--blog I found via The Harlot) , I plan to cast on Jaywalker in the light blue Koigu:


Whaddaya think? Sound like a good idea?

Meanwhile, back in reality, I finally finished the second KnitPicks Slipper Sock. Pictured with the first 1/6th of the I-cord. Need another 30" of I-cord, then can have a BIG felting party. I have three pairs of Fuzzy Feet to attack (felt) along with these slipper socks. Also need to knit the non-felted cuffs for these puppies. Favorite tape measure included for scale.


Love the yarn. Pattern is fun. I always get stuck trying to find the time/energy to actually do the felting. *sigh*

After I-cording for a little while, when the hubster got home (he worked mens' volleyball last night), I figured I should go ahead and join the second ball of yarn for my Alpaca V-neck


I was quite pleased that although the patterned pooling seems to be continuing, It doesn't scream "HEY! HERE'S WHERE AMY JOINED THE NEW BALL OF YARN!" that was probably my biggest fear.

If you can't figure out where I joined the new ball of yarn, 1. YAY, and 2. I photoshopped in a little blue arrow on the right to help you out.

Please cross your fingers that the re-worked afternoon schedule in my head winds up being feasible, and that nobody decides to have a Car-b-que on the 405 this afternoon.

Faucets

Yep, faucets. The kind you find in your bathroom and kitchen. That's what the hubster and I were doing last night during the game. Went to Lowe's, where we sat around for a lifetime about an hour to get the work order done since neither of us has the time/interest/tools to install said faucets by ourselves.

If I wanted to stay in this house for any length of time, I'd be pushing for either a full master bath remodel or a kitchen remodel. Instead, we're replacing the fixtures for both upstairs bathroom sinks and putting tile on the bathroom floor, plus a new kitchen sink fixture. Major improvements for minimal cash output that will help with resale. Let's just all cross our fingers that we'll be trying to sell the place before too much longer, OK?

After splitting an entree at Claim Jumper (yum!), we got home at about 8:45, just as the hoopage was coming to an end.

I knitted a very little bit, we watched Dancing with the Stars, I started reading back entries on a new Pittsburgh knitting blog I found via the Harlot, and that was that.

I do have some progress shots, though, and one needs an opinion!


This is the first sleeve for the brown cable sweater. Exciting, huh?


This is the back to the misti alpaca v-neck. I'm not sure I'm in love with the "X pattern" that it's making. It's obviously releated to my gage, which has been pretty consistent since I got about an inch off of the 1x1 ribbing.

Do I frog it? Do I live with it? I really don't want to do the "alternate balls of yarn" thing. Since this is the back, I may just live with it and hope the front doesn't stripe the same way.

HELP! What would you do?

Fabric vs. Fiber

I've been itching to quilt lately, but my inner sloth has vehemently resisted the effort required to set up for sewing at home. This leaves me with way more knitting time than quilting time.

But, the home conference softball season is here. We play a single day game on Friday, and as soon as that's over, I can high-tail it out to Pasadena for the last few Friday Nights at Bearly Stitchin.

When I got in my car post-game on Friday, I was pretty concerned about the Hollywood Fire, but in one of those traffic anomalies that can only be found in Los Angeles, I sailed from Westwood to Pasadena in an hour. AN HOUR. On a normal Friday, it takes at least 90 minutes.

Once I got out to Pasadena and procured my sandwich from Whole Foods, I zipped on over to Bearly and got cranking on my project for the evening, a baby quilt for a kiddo who is scheduled to make his appearance in about two months.


I bought a few patterns and the X-Block tool at the Road to California show. Then, that Saturday, the hubster and I field tripped out to the Fabric Patch and I bought the kit for this quilt.

I have the "scrap" pieces sewn together for the pieced border, but when I had the blocks and small border sewn together at about 9:45 on Friday night, I looked over and saw this fabric from the Moda Sunshine line sitting on the shelf. I immediately ripped through the train of thought saying "This is a baby quilt. It is going to get dragged in the dirt and puked on. If I do the pieced border, I probably won't be able to finish the top tonight. If I do a plan fabric border, I'll be done tonight!"

Easy decision. 3/4 of a yard later, I had the top done by 11:30 (including snack time) and it's now sitting in my crate waiting to be taken to the Cotton Shop to choose backing flannel. The binding is even cut out, pieced and pressed. I'm hoping to sandwich and quilt next Friday.

The most fun thing that was finished on Friday night was this quilt:


Anne had been working on this for a while and got the quilting finished and binding on that night. It's the Lucky Stars pattern from Atkinson Designs. I have this quilt started in purples and greens. This inspires me both to finish that quilt and possibly start a new one with my batiks stash and either a white or black background. Awesome, eh?

I have a dentist appointment this afternoon. I was up at 5:40 to start my week early, so I'm hoping I don't fall asleep with a hygienist's hands in my mouth. Wish me luck! Otherwise, I'm hoping to cruise the Beach Knitting sale this week, get that backing at the Cotton Shop and be ready for my two home games this week.

Best part of the whole week? No game on Sunday. Three cheers for Easter, my last day off until the season is over!

Of Sneezing and Stockingette

I had a home softball game on Tuesday. It was very windy. At least twice during the game, a particularly large gust of wind blew a WALL of pollen off of the trees in the outfield. It was so thick that for a split second, the scoreboard in left field was obscured.

Our PA announcer asked what that was. When I informed him that it was a cloud of evil yellow pollen, he remarked that "Damn. That tree should be having a cigarette about now!"

Well, I thought it was funny. ACHOO! Now if I could only find an allergy med that worked that I didn't have to spray up my nose, I'd be happy camper!

On to the knitting ...


I've gotten a few inches into my alpaca V-neck sweater. I wanted something plain so that the pattern wouldn't "fight" with the yarn, since I happen to think that this yarn is amazing all by itself.

Lots of people complain about how they get bored with plain stockingette. I have to admit that most of the time, I'm not one of them.

I get so busy with ... life. And work. The Mountain of softball season doesn't seem very daunting when you're in the middle of the hike. But when you're standing at the foot of the Mountain about to start the climb ... well, it has a tendency to bum me out. Stockingette sweaters are simply perfect to fight the mid-season blues.

And let me tell you, I have a five-star case of the blues right about now. I'm tired of my life being unsettled. Although I love my quilting and knitting friends and the resources for those hobbies here in LA, I'm so over this place.

On the drive back from San Luis Obispo last weekend, the traffic changed as soon as we hit Santa Barbara. It got more crowded. More cutthroat. More aggressive. Then we topped the hill on the 101 coming out of Camarillo. BOOM. Sprawl. The Hubster and I just signed and agreed that we're ready to get outta here. Keep your fingers crossed. I think he has an iron in the fire that's starting to get warm.

Oh, and rather than leaving my brown cable sweater in pieces to sit as a UFO forever, I cast on for Sleeve #1 last night


More stockingette. This is not a bad thing in my life right now.

[NOTE: To all of my quilty buddies heading north, have a wonderful time in Asilomar. I want to hear all about it and see pictures when you get back!]

Weekend at the Coast

The Hubster and I spent the weekend in San Luis Obispo. The spark for the trip was that my softball team resumed its schedule with a doubleheader up there on Sunday at Cal Poly, but the bonus was that we were able to stay with friends. And their golden retriever, Kalie!


Ain't she cute? She's nine months and quite well behaved, although there are definitely chunks of "puppy" that come through.

If I could figure out how to fix puppy red-eye without spending a big chunk of time on it, she wouldn't look like Exorcist Dog, but you get the idea. :)


Here is the hubster and I at Pismo Beach. Unfortunately, the free day we had happened to be the overcast day of the weekend. Oh well!

No pics, but I finished the back of the brown cable sweater and have cast on with the vareigated alpaca for my v-neck. I'll try to get some pics in the next few days, between LOTS of softball. *sigh*

The grind isn't so bad when you're in the middle of it, but when you're staring the start of it in the face, that's when it pretty much just sucks.

Yarn Pr0n Thursday?

OK. I didn't even think about joining Turtlegirl's blog ring for Yarn Pr0n Fridays, because I know I'm not reliable enough for her (perfectly reasonable) expectations. If I had a "normal" 9-5 job, I could probably pull it off, but that's just not my world.

However, in the last week, I have acquired some pretty great fiber, none of it at full price. So I'm gonna share some pics!

First, last Saturday the Hubster and I attempted to go to Santa Anita for a day of racing. He likes going to the races. I like the horses and history. He usually goes to Hollywood Park, which is a lot closer to our house. The day was a disaster. We didn't get there as early as he wanted to (maybe he should have set an alarm? Whatever.) and we were unable to get a table in the club area. From that moment on, I wasn't spending a day with the Hubster, I was spending the day with Captain Cranky.

After three races, we decided to punt. At that point, I was willing to do anything to improve the day and not finish it by shouting at each other. I loved Santa Anita. It's a beautiful track and you can see its heyday as you walk around. There's a statue of Seabiscuit in the paddock, and after having read the Laura Hillenbrand book several years ago, being in that place made the story come alive in a way the movie never would.

Anyhoo, after feeding the hubster a yummy lunch, I asked if we could make a stop at Unraveled since we were in the neighborhood. Captain Cranky agreed, so I dashed in and took advantage of their 30% off sale.


This was the yarn that I had in my head that pushed me to ask if we could stop. It's Koigu KPPPM in the "Arctic" colorway. The only problem I have now is deciding if my next pair of socks is going to be out of this color or the green I showcased a week ago.


Isn't it awesome? I can't wait to play with it. Gotta finish the second toe-up short row heel sock first.


After confirming that there really was a sale going on, I explored a little bit more. And I found this. Malabrigio Worsted Weight. 216 yards. Color is "Oceanos"


I got two skeins, so I have about 430 yards of it. Any suggestions? I'm kind of thinking about making this scarf. There is a green that's amazing too, but this blue ... I just couldn't resist.


And finally, last night I went to Beach Knitting for their super-secret Spring Fling sale. I went in specifically to get this yarn. It's Misti Alpaca, baby alpaca in worsted weight. The close-up (below) is almost perfectly "true" in color.


It's going to be a V-neck pullover sweater in stockingette. It's such a beautiful variegated colorway that I don't want any pattern that's going to fight with the yarn. Just let the yarn be itself and shine.

The store wound up getting SLAMMED, so I wound up staying an extra hour or so and just helping all the customers that wandered in for the night. It was fun!

The hubster and I are going up to San Luis Obispo for the weekend. We are planning to stop at The Treasure Hunt in Carpinteria on the way up there tomorrow. Don't I have a great hubster? We're spending Friday and Saturday nights with friends who live in SLO. Then my softball season starts up again on Sunday, and my free time will disappear into nothingness. Oh well. At least I have plenty of yarn to keep me busy between then and when I get my life back at season's end!

All Socks, All the Time!

Well, not really. But I did finish my first ever toe-up short row heel sock last night. Tah-dah!


I'm pretty happy with it. I think I ripped and re-started the toe about a half-dozen times. I'm quite happy with how the toe turned out and am halfway through the toe of Sock #2.


The short row heel, however, has issues. You can see the hole at the "apex" of the heel from a distance. *sigh*


I bow at the feet of experienced short-rowers and beg for enlightenment! What am I doing wrong, or maybe just not quite so right?

Gotta run. Off to an afternoon blood test that required fasting. Few things worse than that. Ugh.

Chicken Little

Every time it rains in Los Angeles, even if it's just a very light mist, I think of Chicken Little. The sky is falling! The sky is falling! (Loved the recent animated move, BTW ... BNL doing the title track is just a bonus!)

It rains so infrequently here that people just freak out when it rains. If it's what I consider "actual rain" then it's the lead story on the news with STORMTRACKER 7000 and people either refuse to get in their cars to drive anywhere (because it's too dangerous) or drive like idiots because the roads might be slick. It's a mess.

It has rained here today, but it's an exceptionally light rain. Only qualifies as rain in an area like this as far as I'm concerned. I managed to force myself to go work out (and got in a really good sweat thankyouverymuch) and am now trying to psych myself up to complete the work that must be done today.

In lieu of actual sock or sweater pictures, I give you a meme.

I got tagged for this meme when I was keeping track of floribunda’s blog. I thought it was pretty interesting, so I didn’t mind the “you read, you’re tagged!” caveat.

Have a go at this - and if you spot any you think I really should have read tell me which one(s) and why........

Look at the list of books below: Bold the ones you’ve read; Italicize the ones you want to read; Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.

If you are reading this, tag, you are IT!

The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) – May have read this as a kid, but don’t think so (and don’t remember. Same with whole series
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
The Stand (Stephen King)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
The Hobbit (Tolkien) -- just re-read in advance of the movies
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) -- first book I ever read that my mom recommended. I read it in ONE SITTING (yes, one sitting) and left a circle of Kleenex around the spot on the couch where I was sitting. I now try to read everything that my exceptionally well-read mother recommends (hi mom!) :)
The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold) -- have it, need to read it
Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) – read parts when I was a kid. More my brother’s cup of tea than mine.
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) -- re-read in advance of movie
East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
Dune (Frank Herbert) – Again, more CE’s cup of tea than my own.
The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
1984 (Orwell)
The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) – Tried, but … yechhh
The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
The Bible – read it? No. Familiar? Yes.
Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
Great Expectations (Dickens)
The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood) – Don’t remember, but I REALLY think I’ve read it.
The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
War and Peace (Tolstoy)
Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
Les Miserables (Hugo) – Haven’t read it, but the musical is what hooked me on Broadway
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
Shogun (James Clavell)
The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) – Did I? Don’t remember!
The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
The World According to Garp (John Irving)
The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
Charlotte's Web (E.B. White) a kid-hood favorite
Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
Of Mice and Men (Steinbeck)
Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
Emma (Jane Austen).
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
Blindness (Jose Saramago)
Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
Ulysses (James Joyce)

Free Time Distribution

I want to be sewing, but can't motivate to get my quilting cabinet cleaned off so that it will accept a sewing machine. **sigh** Instead, I have been knitting like it's going out of style. Warning, I took these photos on Friday morning. Much progress since then. I'll try for new photos tomorrow.


Here is my sock-in-progress. It now has a short-row heel and about 1/4" of cuff ribbing started.

I have holes at the end of my short rows. Any experienced sock knitters have a suggestion for how to prevent this on future socks? Didn't have holes when I closed the toes, but I certainly have holes on my short-row heels.


This was my cable sweater about an inch before the armpit decreases. it's a modified drop shoulder, so it was a BO 10 stitches each side, then knit away until I get to 8" of arm hole. I"m probably 5" into that process now.


And here's a close-up of the cable. It has been fun and easy to memorize. Plus, the mini-cables on each side of the large motif have been perfect for cabling without a cable needle. Bonus! This yarn, Classic Elite Wings, has also been a pleasure to work with.

This is my last week of general enjoyment for the foreseeable future. I hope to spend it sucking the marrow from life and enjoying this time as best I can. This plan may include a weekend trip to San Luis Obispo with the hubster, but we'll play that by ear for now. I just know it comes to a screeching halt on Sunday morning, since softball season starts back up at 1 pm in SLO that day. Wish me luck!

A Chapter Closes

Seven years ago, almost to the day, I took the first steps towards becoming a Quilter.

In March, 2000, I went to the Glendale Quilt Show. That year, I went on Sunday, the last day of the show.

When I moved to Los Angeles in June of 1999, I was a cross stitcher. I was working on a hardanger wedding sampler as a wedding gift for my best friend from college. Once I finished that project (in November or December if I remember right). I was looking for a new project and was shocked stupid to discover that there are no cross stitch stores in Los Angeles County. None. Zero. A metropolitan area of about 10 million people, and there aren’t enough cross stitchers to have a local store?

My solution to this problem was to change hobbies.

My mom, who taught me how to knit and cross stitch when I was a schmoo, had been making quilts for quite a while. Totally hand-pieced and hand-quilted. While the thought of doing all of that hand work gave me hives, quilting had always been a hobby that I aspired to.

So during mini-breaks during that first Bruin softball season, I started researching sewing machines. Boy, was I ever surprised at how much they cost!

Still, I went to the Glendale show that Sunday in mid-March of 2000. Admired the quilts. Gazed at the vendor booths having no idea what I was looking at. And then, at the end of my journey, I found the Bearly Stitchin booth.


I got lucky. Really lucky. I started talking to the owner’s daughter (Melinda), who wound up selling me a Bernina 150 QE. I walked out of the show bewildered, excited, and with a sewing machine in the back seat of my car. It had been a classroom model for use at the show (not that I knew what that meant), but I figured I got a reasonable price and the payment on the financing was well within my budget. I was already sucked in.

I went back to my apartment. Stared at the still-closed box for a few days. Almost a week later, I ventured to Pasadena to visit the actual Bearly Stitchin brick-and-mortar store, about five miles west of their current location on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena. Again, I was bewildered and overwhelmed.

Then, this amazing little woman came over and introduced herself. Her name was Joann, and she worked in the store. She chastised me, in a very kind, humorous and friendly way, for having not played with my shiny new machine yet. She made sure I got some thread (Mary Ellen gray, of course!), she got me signed up for a Quillow class with Melinda, and she suggested a good first quilting class once I successfully negotiated my Quillow experience.

My first-ever “real” quilt was “My Friend’s House” from some Thimbleberries pattern. It was my first ever Mary Ellen class and the finished product is currently hanging in my dad’s office in Pittsburgh (Sorry! Thought I had a digital photo to share, but I don’t!).

From there, I was encouraged to come to a Friday night “Pick a Project” class. People come to the store and sew from 6-midnight? Really? Wow!

My first Friday night, nobody really brought snacks (a rarity, I would come to find out), and everyone chipped in $5 for pizza at “halftime” around 9 pm. I was planning to leave around 10, so I didn’t contribute for that reason and because Abe Lincoln was absent from my wallet. Everyone was friendly, but I was still very much on the outside.

Somehow, I decided to continue coming to those Friday night classes whenever I could. I kept signing up for most of Mary Ellen’s classes. Eventually, that group of people turned into my best friends in California. I managed to suck a kindred spirit into the group when Beth landed in a random Mary Ellen class with me.

Our Melrose Mondays mini-group is born from that group of Friday night quilters. Beth. Carol. Lisa. Anne. Sandy. Denise. Nonie.

People I see occasionally, but enjoy tremendously show up at Friday nights at Bearly. If I didn’t suck so badly at names, and if it hadn’t been 3+ months since I had shown up for a Friday night (work, this was not a conscious choice!), I’d rattle off a bunch of those names too.

My habit has exploded since I started down this quilty path. I have a cutting table (well, it’s covered with non-quilty crap at the moment, but that is its intended function), a sewing cabinet (same), even a pile in the garage. Four sewing machines and a serger, all from Bearly.

I have even started to knit again, encouraged by Beth, since it’s her fault I discovered her friend Irma and Beach Knitting.

Why the trip down memory lane, you ask?

Bearly is closing. They have to be out of the store by the end of May and will shut their doors for good in mid-May. The last Friday night is May 11. Sadly, I will be in Phoenix (work) and won’t be there for the official closing ceremonies.

This makes me extremely sad. Yes, I have a perfectly great quilting store walking distance from my house in Redondo Beach in Luella’s, but it isn’t my quilty “home base” the way Bearly is. [Bearly's owners are moving to Phoenix in order to be closer to their daughter and grandkid. A motivation I certainly understand and empathize with, and the sudden departure is related to their lease, not a desire to "dump and run."]

Everyone should have a place where they can be Norm from “Cheers,” and in a way, I hoped Bearly was one of mine. I hope that my friends and I can find a new Friday night hangout. I hope that Mary Ellen can keep up her teaching schedule at a new location. Any store owner should certainly be happy to have her, since she has a very loyal following. I just hope that the gang doesn’t move much farther east, or it will be too damn hard for me to get there on Fridays.

Last night, I attended my first “Friday Night” since November. It’s sad to think that Bearly will be gone very soon. I feel badly for Bearly’s employees, who range from my age to retirees. Some will need jobs immediately and won’t be able to ride it out until the store closes. Regardless, all of these great people will fall to the winds. Hopefully many will be able to find new places that make them happy.

I hope that the store's loyal customers can take a chill pill and stop asking everyone what they're doing "after" It's a tough situation for everyone, particularly people whose livelihoods have been compromised in a big way

Nature abhors a vacuum, and this void will be filled. Here’s hoping that the resolution becomes clear quickly for all.