Beautiful Flowers and a little spinning video

Here is a little post to show why we live in Southern Ca. My condolences to the people elsewhere who are fighting the poor weather. We love to take a trip to Rogers Garden's around Christmas because they always make everything extra special. It's not far but it's worth the trip. The sun was warm and the air was a little crisp but it was wonderful. We had 65 glorious degrees of Fahrenheit today and expect 70 tomorrow. If you click on the pictures they will fill the screen with color.

They always add some Kale to make the landscape look pretty. The rest of the pictures were just the pretty flowers of which we love to go see. Oh they have Christmas ornaments inside too. We try to buy one each year to commemorate our visit. The grounds looked as immaculate as always but what an amazing job they did if you knew that we've had rain and wind off and on for the last week.


I love the Poppy Flowered Anemone especially in purple.

The honeybees don't know it's winter time here.

This was my favorite flower this trip.

I thought I would share a little spinning video of me relaxing in the Ikea chair wearing my basketball shorts and man-monkey socks in front of the fire. The fiber is superwash Merino and I'm spinning long draw woolen style. I'm not sure what the end product will be yet but probably something small because it's only 8 ounces.

I hope I didn't scare you away with my legs lol

Life is Good

Here are few post rolled all into one.

First I was tagged by UndyedYarnpire to share a picture.

The instructions were to go to the pictures folder on the computer and take the 4th picture in the folder and tell four things about it.
Here is the picture according to the guidelines. I found this online while researching a plate we bought 5 years ago.

Now I'm supposed to tell 4 facts about this picture.

1. The castle on the plate is called Stokesay
2. The plate in the picture was produced in approximately 1921 in England by Enoch Wood & Sons
   
3. It's in purple transferware that isn't all that common but we love it.
4. We paid less than $20.00 at the Rose Bowl Swap meet/Flea Market and found it it retails for about $100.00 on various online sites if you can find it.
   

I don't typically tag others but if you want to do this let me know so I can read about it.

Next up is the handmade Christmas gifts that for my kids.

The scarf was an idea from over a year ago and the decision to cast on was easy after last Christmas. My daughter loved her pink feather and fan socks so I wanted to give her another hand knit gift.

It's a little long but this is for my daughter and she loves the double wrap around the neck.

The pattern really looked sharp and distinct after the blocking.


My second project was a lot more interesting because it also included hand dying the yarn prior to knitting.

I bought almost 2,000 yards of Henry's Attic superwash merino a few years back in sportweight without a project in mind and this looked like a good fit. We picked the Syncopated Cap by Kate Gilbert. After looking through all the 100 plus projects on Ravelry and taking my Son's preference in mind I wanted to make a three color version in black, dark gray and light gray.

The shades I wanted are close to what you see here. Not solid but rather subtle changes in shade to give the effect I had in my head before we ever began to knit. I've heard or read somewhere that getting black was hard to do when dying. I had issues getting the light shades of gray, they always seemed too dark. I did numerous samples before settling on these.

Here is the WIP pic taken last Saturday evening. The knitting started late Friday night and had to be finished to hit the mail on Monday to make it there for Christmas.

The end product looked so good we want to make one for me. I want to thank Mrs. Twisted for her speedy needles when I needed it and all her help or these two gifts wouldn't have been finished in time.

After my phone call Christmas evening with the kids I knew they loved the gifts.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas.

We spent the day at the Beach or a portion of it. I know it was a little cold but we make it to the beach every year on Christmas and it's sort of our tradition because she comes from the North East and it's usually bitter cold and snowy there. The weather was cool and a little windy with very few joining us but a few kite surfers who were enjoying the wind and the recent storm swell.

The waves were a little blown out and unsurfable but it still felt good to enjoy the fresh air and get out of the house.


A couple weeks ago I joined a new group on Ravelry that is focused on all of us spinning the same fiber and knitting the handspun in the same pattern to see the interesting variables we all come up with. A few of my friends have been asking when I plan to knit with my handspun yarn and I guess this will be the first real project. We are planning to knit the Morning Surf scarf because it's adaptable to multiple yarn weights. I'm sure this will make at least one person out there smile, Lori of the painted fiber. :) More info after the fiber arrives in the next few days.

Life is Good

I was tagged with another Meme

Yarnpiggy tagged me Sunday morning but even though I've done this meme at least once I thought why not.

Here's how it works:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.

5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.

6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Six random things about Twistedknitster:

1. My feet are cold most of the time. They have been referred to as cadaver dogs, cadaver toes and popcicles. Even in the warm weather my feet are cold. The rumor about big feet is true... They usually have poor circulation. Ha Ha I don't even realize how cold they are because they are in some state of numbness from the cold so it's all good.

2. I have a purple transfer ware plate with the scene of a British Castle. It's from the early1920's and we found it at the Rose Bowl swap meet. I've spent many hours online looking for the other pieces in the set of 12 castles, yes in purple transfer ware.

3. My parents rented a car for me to drive to the High School Prom because my Mom didn't want me to take our 8 year old Volkswagon squareback or our 2 year old Chevrolet pick up. She said it it just wasn't right to bring a girl to the prom that way. They rented me a brand new cream colored 1977 Chevy Monte Carlo. Thanks Mom! and yes I'm that old

4. I once ate 12 Jack in the Box tacos in one sitting. (not recently, I was 17 at the time when I had 4% body fat)

5. Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite meals. We occasionally go to Norms at weird times of the day or night just to have breakfast, they're open 24/7/365.

6. My favorite gemstone is Pietersite. I first saw some while attending a gem/jewelry shows with my wife. I have a small, chatoyant collection and have dreams of one day doing a fretboard inlay on a guitar. oh I prefer the blue variety.

If you haven't done this yet here is your chance. I won't tag others since I've done this before.

We went to the spinning group tonight a little late because we had a previous obligation. I started spinning some really pretty yellow superwash merino that I carded a month or so ago. Not sure what it will become but it's very soft spun woolen style. Pictures to come soon.

The Christmas gift scarf was completed tonight. Very soft and pretty, thanks to my wife for her help knitting a little when I wasn't in the mood or busy.

Life is Good

Loss of a legend, spinning and 2nd guessing a run.

Yesterday we lost an icon from another era. RIP Betty Page. One of the original pin-ups from the 50's. . While she faded into obscurity in the 1960s after converting to Christianity and serving as a Baptist missionary in Angola, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s and had a significant cult following. Her look, including her jet black hair and trademark bangs, has influenced many and so many who didn't even know who they were emulating.

more info here
and here.

One of her last appearances was 5 years ago, where she agreed to attend the 50th anaversary of the Playboy magazine. She was quite reclusive and the mystery was perpetuated because she never granted interviews. She posed with Anna Nicole Smith and Pam Anderson. Thanks to thebettiepage.com for the picture.

Interesting how 50 years ago this pin-up had a college education and later dedicated her life to helping others while one of the latter had problems finishing HS and lived her life one embarrassing moment after another in the tabloids to a tragic self destructing early death.

The knitting is going famously or should I say it looks like the scarf will be finished this week. :) I've been watching the wife knit her new sweater the last few days and it's looking very pretty. We named it "The Velvet Grapes of Wrath"

On the spinning front, I was asked to run the programs in our spinning guild next year but I will probably decline because of my possible limited availability. Following Janel Laidman would be difficult anyways because of her many contacts in the spinning world.

I did join a new spinning group in Ravelry. One of the ladies I know on Plurk started this group where we voted on a pattern to knit from our hand spun then the fiber content and finally the colorway. It's a 4 once pattern that many of you spinners already know because it was featured in the Fall spin-off. We voted on a half dozen patterns and the Morning Surf won easily. The fiber content is superwash merino and colorway is Sunshine of Your Love. Not my 1st choice of color but I know it will look nice so it may end up as a gift or blog give-away.
The purpose of the group was in the first round we all spin and knit to the same pattern that would facilitate a wide variety of yarn weights and all in the same color. I plan to spin a 2 ply woolen style lace/light fingering weight. Others have already expressed interest in Navajo plied and chain plied so the color effects from these different methods will be quite interesting to see.

A few nights ago I thought I would try running with some mixed results. I ran about 3 miles while it felt like 30 miles. During my run, I felt pretty good as far as the legs and feet but the inability to breath made it hard to continue at a brisk pace. Yesterday I realized the last time I did any kind of running, it was at the gym we used to belong to almost 3 years ago. The good news was I was clipping along at a 6 1/2 minute mile pace. Not too bad for an out of shape almost 50 year old man. The bad news is that I've been soaking in the jacuzzi each night since and taking anti-inflammatories because I feel like I'm a hundred years old. I know I have some knee issues including but not exclusive to the lateral meniscus the ACL and MCL in both knees. The last two days have been a nightmare going up and down the stairs leading to our Condo. No swelling but pain like I'm not used to and in places I've never felt. For years my knees have been letting me know that arthroscopic surgery was in my future. When its really quiet and I'm walking up a flight of stairs you can actually hear what sounds like "rocks in a bag" or my knees grinding with each step. Maybe I should take it easier next time?

One last thing. We have been clipping through the Netflix queue and found a gem based on recommendations from movies we've already seen. We watched the first season of Doc Martin over the last couple days and thoroughly enjoyed the show. It's life in a picturesque English town nestled in a bay with a cast of colorful locals and the idiosyncrasies of a surgeon who left a prominent position in London for the simple life of a small town doctor.

more more more

I found this on Elspeth's blog

and thought I would share with all of you

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
I was the 3rd child and my Mom was hoping for a girl so nope .

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Probably while watching a movie.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I'm left handed and no.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Black Forest Ham

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
A son who doesn't resemble a child anymore and a teen Daughter.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
No, unless I had a split personality and then I would only be friends with myself. :P

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
See above.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
nada

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
fear of heights so nada

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Oatmeal

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
yes

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
I have microburst of strength.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Strawberry Cheesecake

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
mannerisms

15. RED OR PINK?
Pink if it's lingerie or deep red otherwise

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My creaky old body

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
My Mom who passed and my kids who live in another state

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO DO THIS?
It's always fun to learn a little about others.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Tan leather flips

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Double Double with cheese and fries from In-and-Out.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Army Navy Football game

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Best Friends #D600FF that used to be called Orchid but I would want to be next to the purple in the box.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
The smell of Victory, Coffee before it's brewed, two stroke motorcycles, nitromethane exhaust.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My son

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
I stole it from Elspeth

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Baseball and college football

27. HAIR COLOR?
more gray than brown

28. EYE COLOR?
Caramel

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
no

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
my cooking (mexican)

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
happy endings

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
The Ghost & Mrs Muir

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Oatmeal

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Spring

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
both.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Pumpkin bread, Pumpkin chiffon pie, Jello pudding cake

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
not sure

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
not sure

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Marcel Proust

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
it's a ThinkPad, no mouse pad

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
disc 3 season 7 of Gilmore Girls

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
the ocean waves

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Selected songs from both.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
The Netherlands or Asia

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I notice things that that many tend to miss

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Garden Grove Ca

Have you had your Phil today?

Today is the last post for the NaBloPoMo mini-marathon. My goal was to get back into the swing of blogging more often and I'm not sure I could continue the daily barrage but maybe 3 times a week is possible.

So, my day was not really exciting but it was productive. Multiple loads of laundry, I know not very exciting but necessary. While the clothes were doing their thing, I re-organized my share of the closet. Pulled everything out, re-folded the concert tees, sorted the different shirts and sorted everything the way I want it.

Later in the afternoon I went to the pool and read almost half of My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather. What a wonderful day, mid 70's no clouds and the slightest ocean breeze.

My wife thinks I should be cloned and she already has a name for him. Phil, since his job would be to "fill" in for me when she wants something and I'm not readily available.

I picked up Season 7 of the Gilmore Girls today because of the Christmas sales and to fill out our library. We already had the first 6 seasons but we needed the 7th instead of skipping back to the pilot without seeing the ending.

Tonight I did 5 pattern repeats (30 rows), I had to tink back one row but it's all good now. The scarf is looking better now and I'll be adding another ball of yarn tomorrow.

No great nuggets of wisdom or stories of day trips today :(

That's enough for tonight, I hope you all have a great week.

Life is good