Spoiling the Spoiled

Ever since Winston was diagnosed with mouth cancer in April we have been spoiling him almost beyond measure. Whatever we eat, he gets some. If he likes it, he gets more, up to a point, but far more then I would ever dream of giving a pet. I also was pretty strict about waiting until the meal was over before he would get table scraps.

So yesterday was Winston's 13th birthday. With the kind of cancer he has, we were told that 3 months would be a good outcome and 6 would be great. He's approaching 5 months since surgery with still no signs of tumor regrowth. Technically he's in remission, at least for the time being. Since it will likely be his last, we wanted to do something really special for him. Two things that will always make him happy are food and catnip.

I was thinking steamed fish for food, since we rarely eat fish at home. We do eat steak and chicken which he gets a small indulgence of about once a week, so we needed something to top that. However, after asking my husband what he thought, and him being the treat/table scrap giver, he said, "sashimi". Nothing but the best for a very special cat. I went to the not so local Mitsuwa market and picked up 3 different types of raw fish and some yellowtail collars. For the humans, we had a Korean style rice bowl called hwe dup bap. It's rice, lettuce, raw fish, seaweed (aka nori) and a spicey/sweet sauce all mixed together. I broiled the yellowtail collars with just some salt and pepper and we dipped it in purchased ponzu sauce. My husband told Winston to have birthdays more often. For dessert Winston got a bit of muffin. When Winston lived with my family, my older sister would try feeding him everything. The two more unusual items he really liked was apple pie and muffins, we already knew about the cantaloupe and salt & vinegar chips.

Winston also got a fresh catnip toy tonight and I think he had a really great birthday. He doesn't know why he was spoiled, but it just makes us happy knowing that his probable last birthday was something really special. We have come to terms that our time is limited with him, and are no longer upset, just thankful he's so far living past what was expected. We took videos of him enjoying his day, but I will abstain from sharing.

In other news, I opened up a small etsy shop. I'm still on a big spinning kick and started dyeing some of my own fibers. I'm not using what I've been spinning, but I'm enjoying dyeing things up and seeing how it turns out. I have also meant to get my stitch markers up for some time, so it was a good kick in the butt combination to get me moving. The store is Simply Basics and I also started a blog for it here.

I wanted to separate my excessive cat talk and personal stuff from shop updates and miscellaneous back story to some of what I do over there. This blog has mostly been ignored the past year, so we'll even see if this blog survives.

Happy Birthday and Bad News :(

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SALLY!

I still can't believe it's almost been a year since I got the call that tiny kittens needed a foster bottle mom. I estimated that Sally was about 10-14 days old when I rescued her, so today is the day I've been putting down on her records.

Although she looks tiny in the picture, when standing side by side with Winston she is slightly taller than him but a little bit shorter in length. She was born in the year of the pig, along with my husband and Winston. I'm surrounded by pigs!! Sally is considered a golden pig which apparently means that babies born in that year (happens every 60 years) will have a prosperous and wealthy life. If you can tell by the person's belly then Sally is definitely a golden pig ;)

As to the bad news, almost a month ago we found out that Winston has terminal cancer. My veterinary oncologist sister found a mass under his tongue as he was hissing at her. She had suspected from what I was telling her the week or two before her visit what he probably was suffering from, but it was verified when she came. The cancer is called squamous cell carcinoma and is typically found in older cats under the tongue and normally in lighter colored cats. This cancer manifests itself differently in different species, and in cats its just a bad thing. The cancer won't metastasize but the tumor will continue to grow until the cat won't be able to eat or drink, and this type of cancer does not respond to chemo and radiation.

Winston's tumor was on the big side, about the size of a pea, he was not grooming so well and his eating was getting messier. It was truly kismet how everything came together, from my sister visiting, to her colleague working nearby to the oral surgeon being in. They were able to not only get a biopsy but remove some (not all) of the tumor. Since Winston had not been grooming himself very well, my sister gave him a lion cut and a bath while he was under anesthesia. The first couple days after the surgery were rough, but he is now pretty much back to his old self. He is playing with Sally again, eating well, drinking well and grooming. We don't know how or when the cancer will come back, but we know it's just a matter of time. So Winston will just be a spoiled cat until we know it is his time. This picture was taken a couple days ago and his hair has already started to grow in a little bit.

what I've been up to

A lot has gone on since I last posted so here is a little catch up.

I went to see the Yarn Harlot which many people have already posted about. I had a great time and she was a great speaker. One of the more amusing parts of the day was when Wen got the Yarn Harlot to look over her big signing podium to look at my shoes. She looked over to see these:

Unfortunately it also made her stick her backside up in the air. Fortunately we were at the end of the line and most cameras were far far away. It was a great day, albeit long and mostly without incident. Hooray to knitting days out.


Since then I've dusted off my old Ashford Traditional wheel, gave it a nice wax and have gone completely obsessed again with spinning. It's been quite a while since I have spun, and this time around I'm enjoying it a lot more. I think it is because I'm much more comfortable with my knitting and also more comfortable with my designing abilities. I know now, that whatever weight the yarn comes out, as long as I'm consistent, I'll be able to figure something out with it.

My big goal is to spin sock yarn, so I've been doing a lot of sampling. Back in 2002 I was part of an instant gratification dye swap. In this swap we sent 8 or 10 oz of yarn or roving that we dyed and bagged them up in 1oz increments. Then according to your group assigned, you were sent back 1 each of the contributions in your group. I had kool-aid dyed some merino and that was the first of my experiments. I aimed for a 3-ply and this is what I got:

twine.

It doesn't even feel like merino. In this sample, I learned that you need to not spin the singles quite so tight if you are going to make a 3-ply yarn. However, I did get the wpi I wanted and some practice on navajo plying.



The next experiment was a 2-ply fingering weight with another roving from this swap. I've lost the tag that came with this roving, but I know it was dyed with wash fast dyes and it feels like merino. Here is its progression:

























I spun this up using the fractal stripe method. I cast-on immediately because I wanted to see how it would knit up.

After that I decided to go back for more punishment and went back to trying a 3-ply but this time with beautiful merino tencel dyed by Chasing Rainbows in Dove. I was successful this time:
I have a tad over 150 yards and I'll probably make a simple lace scarf with this.

During all this I joined Spunky Eclectic's fiber club and I'm in the midst of spinning this month's offering called Goblin Eyes and is Romney. Love the colors, but the fiber is scritchy. I think once it is spun up I'll have an idea what I'll do with it.

I also went to a spinning/weaving event and this was my haul:





1lb of mill end beast Brown Sheep roving bits
2 - 4oz bumps of blended superwash merino roving from the ranch
4oz of bamboo roving from Stick and Stone Fiber Arts
4oz of Capistrano Fiber Arts blue faced leicester

This isn't my only fiber acquisitions lately, but that's not something I will 'fess up to right now.


I've had a really good time lately spinning and also hanging out with the OOPs knitters. I think fiber and kittens have been a good way to keep sane lately.

:)

Mr. Brown's New Home

This past week I was able to visit with a college friend that lives in Philadelphia. Prior to her coming out I heard sad news that her 3 year old cat Noah had passed away suddenly.

R and her husband were devastated and having it happen with no warning made everything worse.



When they visited us and the kittens, I gently suggested that Mr. Brown would be a good fit for them. Ever since coming home from Alaska, he calmed down and became a very affectionate mellow cat. After thinking about it, R & C decided that they would like to adopt him. I was so happy to find a good home for him and with someone I know well. Selfishly too, I'll be able to see him when I visit Philadelphia and hear updates about him.

Yesterday my friends flew back to Philadelphia with Mr. Brown. I went to the airport to hand him over with toys, food and vaccine information. I did not think it would be as hard to give him up even though I know it's the perfect home for him. The whole house including torty are adjusting now to his absence. The little one was really needy yesterday, which made me cry yet again. However, I knew this is what is best, and I knew it was going to happen. I didn't think I'd be so damn emotional!

I'm taking a small break from my Broadway cardigan and started this:


This blurry bunny is from Mr. Funky's Super Wonderful Crochet. I also found this pattern for free here. I'm using Bernat CottonTots yarn in light blue. I picked up hand blown glass eyes from the Dollmakers in Monrovia. The eyes are really hard to use though, and I'm going to have to do quite a bit of fussing to get them to stay. Both eyes were on opposite sides of a wire that I cut then folded over, now I'm bending it to fit the curve of the head and trying to sew the wire down as best as I can without the wire popping out of the eye. The nose is a 9mm plastic nose with a washer that I got from Joanns. The rest of the pieces are done, I just need to sew (?!@$*) it all together. The pattern does not have a tail, so I made one myself, because how can a bunny not have a tail! I'm currently stash diving for a yarn to make her dress with.

Moving On

Although I gave notice at the two shops I teach at a little while ago, I finally had the courage to post something on my website.

I am someone that dislikes change, and it is an uncomfortable feeling knowing that I am gearing up for a new stage in my life. However, it was the right thing to do for me at this time and I am curious to see what comes next.

It is a novel feeling knowing that I can knit whatever I feel like in whatever color I choose without some work related knitting looming over my head! Right now I'm working on mystery stole 3 in Alpaca with a Twist, Fino in a light grey/blue and iridescent blue/green beads. I am also working on a cabled cardigan from Rowan Classic Cafe in a rich dark brown merino superwash yarn by Knitting Fever called Sublime.

Bad Human, Bad Bear

AKA, what the Kim family does on a family vacation.

Bad Human

Bad Bear

The last time my family took a family vacation was 25 years ago to Marco Island when I was still in grade school. So we all met up in Anchorage at the beginning of July coming from Philadelphia, New Jersey, Manhattan, San Francisco, and Los Angeles for 7 straight days on a somewhat confining cruise ship. The best thing is, we all survived each other! Actually, we are a very close family and it was great to be able to spend time with all of them. Especially since the most time we seem to get the whole family together is for maybe 2 overlapping days every 2-4 years. I'll try to post more pictures of the actual trip when I have more time!

The kittens are still with me and we are still looking to find the perfect home for the little boy. Little Tortie almost didn't make it 2 weeks ago due to a possible vaccine reaction, so we're holding onto her at least through the next round of vaccines.

I'm trying to get off my butt because I want to post pictures of what I'm working on and more Alaska pictures.

Spread the Word

The kittens will be ready for a new home in a couple weeks, and I want them to go to a good home, so if you can, please spread the word around. I made a little flyer for them that I posted around town, but here is one for the 'net.

Kitten Flyer (pdf file)

Also, Marie's friend has an all black bottle baby that will be adoptable soon too and urgently needs a home.

And this ends the pleading ;)

Rusted Root is done! I hope to post pictures soon. Started a new project last night, but I'm afraid to say what it is and jinx that it'll never get finished!

Under the Wire

Annette posted a contest at Skeins Her Way and I thought I would join in.

Here are my summer knitting goals:
1. Finally finish my Rusted Root sweater. All I need is to finish the bind-off and do the ribbing on the sleeves. Here it is so far (picture courtesy of KnitDevil)


2. I want to make another summer top, and I have a couple ideas in my head for a design but I'm looking for the perfect yarn. I really should check stash first.
3. Find my papers that I wrote down most of my older stash on and figure out what I really have. However, denial is probably going to win on this one.

That's about it, I have other summer goals, but they don't involve knitting.

And I'll sign off with a shameless kitten picture that I really liked.

who are we?

I never said who these sweeties are! They are foster bottle kittens from the local humane society. I had signed up to foster I think over a year ago specifically for bottle kittens, since I have the time to take care of them and a little prior experience helping my sister with her many fosters. I also believe that young kittens don't deserve to be euthanized because they are too young or too small, it was not their fault. Responsible pet parents should fix their animals, and for strays there are great catch and release spay/neuter options. Pasadena has a great program and an explanation of how and why it works.

I picked up three kittens on Friday when they called and needed someone immediately. The tortoiseshell little girl came with a brother, and the brown tabby had an unknown mom. The siblings also had 3 more litter mates that are being fostered by someone else. Their mom had gone dry. Unfortunately, the little boy had trouble breathing on Saturday night and ate very little, although he did purr quite a bit until he became very weak. It was very sad, but I knew going into it that they don't all make it.

None of the kittens have names, because I was trying my hardest not to become attached, just in case. However, if you have suggestions, I think they are strong enough now that they should make it. The brown tabby is very active and curious, he's also a little older. The tortoiseshell is calmer but has quite a set of lungs when she's hungry. She's learning to hold her own against her older active friend too. The little one is probably around 3-4 weeks old, and the tabby is somewhere around 4-5 weeks old. I'm trying to think of some well known or make believe couple to name them after, but the lack of sleep is starting to prevent me from rational thought. So suggestions are welcome! And no, I will not be keeping either of them. King Winston deserves to reign this household alone, as he likes it.

WIPs

No knitting getting done, because I have these works in progress to take care of:




I was away for a little while and this is a preview of what went on:



Hopefully more to come!

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Still not feeling like I'm quite on the planet, but thought I would share this for your viewing pleasure.

Venezia and NY

I've been so wrapped up with the holidays, traveling and teaching (my busy time just started) that I almost forgot I had a blog! This swatch is actually a pre-swatch for my Venezia Pullover by Eunny Jang. I just wanted to see if the colors I chose work. There was concern that the browns instead of the golds would be too bland. This is from the Winter 2006 Interweave Knits. I fell in love with the sweater because the construction is incredible. It has a shaped waist and fitted sleeves, and the pattern on the sleeves even match up with the body! However I didn't like the baby poo yellow and the gold just looks funny on Asians, so I changed three of the colors. The two golds are now browns and in the picture on the website/magazine the contrast with the yellow looks like a sage green, but the actual yarn is grey. So I changed it back to green. I purchased the yarn from Two Swans Yarn and the service was great. This was my Christmas present to myself. While I was in NY, my husband called me and said, "Thanks for the Xmas present!". He purchased his own gift, so I did too :)


This photo by the way is courtesy of Dim Sum Knitting. I've been far too lazy to actually find the camera and download pictures to my computer!

Since I never got back to my report on NY here's a synopsis and I'll try to be brief.

Crafting in NY is so-so. I visited 3 yarn stores. Purl was by far the most beautiful. The yarn was laid out well by type and the bins were full. What I liked is that they had plenty of each color to do a project and the store was very packed when we visited it. The yarn selection was good and it relied heavily on basics. Not a lot of novelties and if I wasn't on yarn overload I would have definitely picked something up. I did go to their sister fabric store and picked up some fabric for my secret pal and a little piece for me so my sister can make me a crochet hook case.

The Point had a completely different feel to it. Where as Purl would be a place I would buy yarn, the Point is somewhere I would hang out. The yarn selection was not quite as good, and a lot of the yarn it seemed that there wouldn't be enough for a project. However, it was a bigger space and not as cramped on the inside. It had more of a community feel to it. They had some different yarns from Purl, and since they are so close to each other it's worth it to visit both. I think this is the store my sister goes to the most. People were very nice at both stores.

The last store I visited was Gotta Knit. The yarn selection was eclectic, relying heavily on luxury fibers but it seemed like there was only 2-3 balls of each color of yarn. It had a very barren feel to it and I'm not sure if it was because of a holiday rush or that's just the way the store is. The owner was very friendly but I'm not sure if I'd go there again.

New York yarn stores really surprised me because the prices were so good. You would think since rents are high they would do the typical slight raise of price over standard retail for the cost of shipping, etc. However the prices were right at retail and for the size of the spaces Purl and the Point really maximized the usage to the feel they wanted.

As for bead shopping, I prefer LA. I visited the diamond district and went to Metalliferous and Ross Metals. Both recommended on-line for chain and findings. I found that prices were higher on some things than Los Angeles, especially chain. I was looking for gold filled chain and couldn't find the chain I wanted. The bead shopping on 37th street was better, but nothing really stood out to me. I did find the gold filled chain I wanted at a small side shop. The highlights were Toho Shoji, which actually had good bulk swarovski prices if you purchased a gross. I also want to go back to Phoenix Beads since by the time I got there I spent too much to want to hit their minimum. I walked into a lot of smaller shops, but I think next time I visit NY I won't spend much time searching for bead shops. I wish my mom had been with me though, I think she would have enjoyed it.

Coffee in NYC

I really love coffee but I only permit myself to have one (good) cup of coffee a day and will cheat with a second every now and then. So I had 4 mornings to check out the coffee scene and I decided to stay close to my older sister's West Village apartment.

The first day was dictated by my older sister since she did not want to walk far for a cup of coffee. I had done some prior research on coffeegeek about local coffee houses and also found this site. I decided since one branch of Joe the Art of Coffee was so close to my sister's we would go there. With high hopes of good coffee, no address written down and a call to the other sister for the address we found the Waverly Place location. It was packed full of people in a small space and definitely felt like a community coffee house. You could tell that most of their patrons were regulars and the service was friendly and efficient. The baked goods looked delicious too.

Since they are more known for espresso, we both got americanos, in hindsight I think we should have tried different things. I'm not really knowledgeable in espresso, but my americano tasted over extracted and a little sour. I appreciated the strong cup, but I'm used to ordering americano's to get a fresh coffee taste. But we were caffeinated and my sister found a nice community based coffee shop to hang out in.

That day we went up to Chelsea Market, did some grocery shopping, went back to my sister's place to drop everything off. Ate at Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft restaurant for lunch (more to come on that), walked through SoHo to Chinatown and then back to my sister's via some small shops and tour of the area. It was a lot of walking but it was really nice to see places you've only heard about. The highlight of Chelsea Market was the Italian goods store that I had seen on a couple Food Network programs. Chelsea Market wasn't a huge open space like I expected but more of a meandering indoor pathway with all different types of food stores and a flower shop along the path.

But back to coffee. Based on a recommendation by my sister's friend the prior evening over great Italian food I went to Jack's Stir Brew coffee. It was busy but not crowded and again the staff was very friendly. This place had a much warmer feel to it and when I go back to visit my sister I could definitely see myself hanging out here. The coffee was fresh and yummy although not as strong as I make it at home. Still it was a great cup and I appreciated that the coffee was fair trade.

My last two mornings though I went to Cafe Grumpy in Chelsea which I did not realize was a brand new location for them. This place made me truly happy. The space is very minimalist which was refreshing because with space being at such a premium in Manhattan I was feeling claustrophobic by all the cluttered shops. It also meant that they were focusing on one thing and one thing only, coffee! This shop has the only Clover machine in NYC and I heard so much about it that it was high up on my list to check out. I've read that the coffee is comparable to an Aeropress coffee, which I own but am still not a fan of. The great thing about the Clover is that the coffee is brewed just for the individual consumer. So upon entering the coffee shop there is a menu of coffee varietals that you can order, and there is a different price point for each cup based on their price.

I had walked more then 10 blocks to get here, and I have traveled further for coffee but I could almost hear my sister saying, "you walked 10 blocks 1-way for a CUP of coffee???". YES.

And it was well worth it. M'Lissa helped me and I told her how excited I was to check them out and that I heard about them through coffeegeek and I roasted my own coffee, and I basically babbled because I was so giddy. I asked a couple questions about the offered coffees and it was clear that she really knew her stuff and she asked me a couple questions about my roasting. The Clover was acting up a bit that day but I decided on a cup of Bolivian coffee since it's not something I have tried. Even though she said she was pouring excellent espresso I came for the Clover. The coffee lived up to expectations and they were by far the nicest and the most customer oriented. As I left I saw M'Lissa pour a beautiful rosetta on a latte.

The next day I dragged my twin sister to Cafe Grumpy where I was able to get my own latte with beautiful rosettas on it. The coffee scene in NYC was exciting and I can't wait to visit again and check out some other places that were on my list but a little further away. I also now have the itch to go to Groundwork coffee and check out their Clover.

good to be home

I'm just back from an 7 day trip to the east coast and it is good to be home, although I had a great time. I was in lower Manhattan for 3 1/2 days and Philadelphia at a wedding for 3 1/2 days. Equal time with each of my two sisters and non-stop activities that I'll have to separate up in different posts.

A major highlight of the trip was being able to see people from my later college days and catch up with them. Many of the people I saw were only sophomores when I graduated and seeing how much they have all changed was really amazing.

I'm back just in time to celebrate my own wedding anniversary (tomorrow) and then off again this weekend to be with family. It's nice to have a lot of today to just sit at home leisurely and catch up with the fluffy cat.

More to come hopefully soon. I had many good coffee, eating and crafting adventures including a cup of coffee from the only Clover machine in NYC.

*sigh*

It's been a long couple weeks with family around and other obligations, and hopefully I'll get a little time to breathe before heading out to the east coast next week.

My secret pal sent me something again! Last week I received it, and I have not had time to even check my email. Again I'm sorry for being such a flake secret pal! I'll take a picture later this week, but I received a maple leaf cookie cutter, a set of 3 pretty pens and stitch markers! My sisters were very jealous!

Siblings

I think there is a slippery slope with siblings, at least in my family. We are a very close family and I'm so thankful to be so close with my sisters and brother. However, learning they will all visit for Thanksgiving with about 2 weeks notice is a little bit of a shock (a welcome one though!). First my older sister bought a ticket, then my brother decided to drive down from the Bay area and then my twin sister who didn't want to be left out, buys a last minute ticket. With all the scheduling and last minute tickets the only day all 4 siblings will be together is Saturday so that's when we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving.

As stated in my secret pal questionnaire, it is my favorite holiday, and I get to do a lot of the cooking, which I actually enjoy. My older sister will also help out a lot. It'll be really nice, although fitting 6 adults, a small boy and a furry orange cat into a little over 1200 sq ft, should be interesting.

We're lucky we're close :) I'm looking forward to it!

Coffee Package :)

As stated in my last post, I have THE BEST sp9 spoiler. This is the contents of the package I found on the doorstep Tuesday:


This package is the the most thoughtful gift I have received in a very long time. It's clear my secret pal took a lot of time and caring putting this together and I'm thrilled. The yarn is on-line Goby and is a cotton/rayon blend. The bar chocolate is dark chocolate with espresso beans and lemon essence. The coffee is from a local coffee roaster in her area, and she said she's a tea drinker, so I even more appreciate the effort she put into it and finding a local coffee. (I'm assuming my secret pal is a she!) There's dark chocolate covered espresso beans, double espresso soap and a beaded keychain that looks like coffee beans. I wanted to rip into many parts of this package, but I also wanted to get a good picture of everything first, it did take quite a lot of self control though! The package is just so very cool and the theme is so perfect with my renewed coffee obsession. So if I haven't gushed enough already, thank you secret pal!

On the coffee side of things, as Madge put it, I MacGyver'd my larger roaster together. Last Friday it had it's first roast, and I was fairly pleased with how things turned out. I had to tweak the order of nuts and bolt around so it would fit nicely. This is what it looked like before the final tweaks:


The only things my husband did was enlarge some washer holes for me and I had trouble disconnecting some wires that he did for me. This part of the center shaft fits into a metric socket that sits on top of the motor. The original piece is all plastic, and I didn't want to risk it melting. It seems a lot of people just cover the top of the plastic piece with a metal cap, but I just wanted to be safe. Plus it was kind of cool to do it myself.

I was a little too excited when I did the first roast and kept on lifting the lid to look, which resulted in a slowed roast, but the coffee doesn't taste baked. The oven top slid around on top of the spring form pan and wouldn't stay put, so my next purchase will be some high temperature gasket goo to prevent it from slipping so much. I also need to find a way to get rid of all the chaff. On the whole though, for a first run I was pleased.

Spoiled Rotten

I'm a bad sp9 recipient, but I have the best sp9 spoiler. I've been so busy with work, since I taught 2 new classes for me this weekend, among other stuff going on. There are literally hundreds of emails in my box from 2 busy lists I subscribe to. I also was on duty for a list I help moderate last week so was even more overwhelmed. But I'm finding time now before I pick up my mother in law from the airport.

Last week I received this:


I was so surprised to see another gift from my sp9 spoiler! The air freshener is hanging up near my desk, and the yellow package contains a quilt block. When I get around to it, it'll probably end up being a small pillow. And I love the card, so sweet for her to put Winston look alikes on the homemade card. In a really busy week it's so nice to get surprises.

However, yesterday I was heading out the door, slightly late for work when I saw a small box by the front door. And it was another sp9 package! I couldn't believe my eyes, and even though I was running late, I tore the box open to look what was inside. But that will have to wait for another day when I have more time. I don't feel worthy for all the care she put into this package, and I really like everything in it. THANK YOU SECRET PAL!

I'm so lame

I was heading to bed last night and suddenly I realized just how lame I was. So I apologize. I'm giving away a reject, that's really crappy.

So to sweeten the deal and make me feel better that I am not being so lame, I would like to add 2 balls of sock yarn to the little sock. You have your choice of 3 stash regia sock yarns:

The regia stretch on the right has been swatched a little bit, but the other two sets are untouched. They've been stored in a ziplock bags and have been kept preserved in a rubbermaid bin deep inside my closet and have a slight hint of lavendar on them.

So hopefully this will get me out of the feeling so stupid!

Miniature Socks

When I knit, I normally knit compulsively. Any sweater that gets finished is done within a month, anything that does not is languishing in various rubbermaid bins. Last week I received 6 sock blocker keychains from Felt Up Designs.

I have yarn bins in the garage and my closet, and after going through at least 4 or 5 of the bins, I finally found my sock stash. In the 2+ years we've lived in this townhome, I have not gone through my stash. It was a little scary. Anyway, the sock stash was much more substantial than I thought and I could not remember when I purchased some of this yarn! But I found many great yarns to use for the keychains. From Saturday night to Tuesday I made 7 miniature socks, here are 6 of them:


I don't think I've been this compulsive for a long time, and I rarely make the same thing twice unless I have to as a sample. It really surprised me that I enjoyed making these so much, and my fingers are itching to make more. But I ran out of blockers. The pattern included with the blocker was pretty good, however I had to change my needle size a couple times to get one that fit the blocker like the picture and I substituted ssk's for k2tog tbl. There was no gauge so I set my own. With size 2 needles, after the first 16 rows the piece should measure 1/2" wide and about 1 1/2" long. Some were exactly 1 1/2", a couple were approx. 1 row shy of 1 1/2".

I was originally going to make one for my secret pal, but after further looking through her blog, I realized she already had one :( They all will have good appreciative homes and I'll think of something else for her.

The lonely seventh sock is from some striped regia and looks like this:


Compared to the others, I did not find it very pretty, so it was not blocker worthy in my eyes. I showed my SnB group and some people did like it, so if anybody would like this sock, please let me know ( basicknits [at] yahoo [dot] com ) and if I have more than one person that wants it, I'll draw a name next Friday, October 27th.

On the coffee side of things, I'm really excited because I'm building a larger capacity roaster. I'm loosely using the tutorial from here. My Fresh Roast has less than a 2 ounce capacity, this new roaster will be able to roast 1 1/2lbs. We ate dimsum last week in Rowland Heights, and Sunpentown is only 5 miles away so we were able to pick up the oven (top only) from their offices. I'm going to use a different spacer and I modified the all metal shaft a little. I have all the pieces, I just need my husband's help enlarging the holes in some washers, disconnect the heating element and it'll be ready for a test run. Hopefully Sunday I'll be able to give it a try.