Broccoli Bomb

A little kitting content for a change.
Mrs. Twisted finished her "Broccoli Bomb" last week and I was a little slow in presenting the FO so she wrote her own post to present it. First of all if you haven't knitted with Tilli Tomas silk then you owe it to yourself to try it. Very nice yarn and not that expensive if you figure you get 260 yards per hank.

Guest segment by Mrs. Twisted:

Cherry Bomb – B.G.K. by Joan McGowan- Michael

Yarn Used: Tilli Tomas Pure and Simple – color Jade - approximately 3.5 hanks

Modifications: Slightly rounded the square neckline, lengthened straps, lengthened body.

All in all, I am really happy with this tank. It is the first thing I’ve ever made that is actually truly wearable by me! It’s not too hot, or too fuzzy or too loose or too tight – it is a perfect fit in a wonderful yarn. I do have one small gripe about the yarn however. One of my hanks had quite a few knots in it. My first hank had one – that I can deal with but in the third hank – I ran into 6 knots! I’d find a knot, cut it out, start anew and 3 rows later, another knot. This did not make me happy as I was trying to avoid a million ends to weave in. I ended up balling up the remaining yarn by hand so I could feel for knots. And I had to cut out quite a few yards of yarn! If I were short on yarn, that might have been a huge problem! I didn’t have problems with the second hank and I do have one hank left which I’ll be using for a mobeius, so I hope that hank is ok. Hopefully it was a one time issue, because I have to say – this is some of the most gorgeous knitted fabric I’ve ever seen. The variation of tones in this color way is so pretty. I’m glad I didn’t “fancy” it up with a stitch pattern – it would have taken away from the beauty, I think.

It took me much longer to knit this tank than it should have. I was rocking away on it and hit issues when I decided to sew it together for a fitting. Well, that is when I discovered that 9” for the armhole bind off for the straps was about 4” too short for me! The front of the tank rested in an uncomfortable place around my neck and the armholes were cutting off arm circulation. So, either I misunderstood the pattern or those girls in the book are very short from armpit to the shoulder! I ripped back and lengthened the straps and tried it on again. Much better. Then I sewed up the sides again. Ok, still too short – I didn’t want this thing riding up and exposing my tummy, so I added a couple of inches to one side – pretty good. And then the bind off. Perfect. Then to finish the back the same way, sew up the sides and ta-dah! A lot of my anguish could have been avoided if I had only MEASURED the distance from my armpit to my shoulder! And likewise - the distance from my waist to where I wanted the tank to end. A dressmaker’s mannequin might have helped also so maybe Mr. Twisted and I will attempt to make one of those home grown ones soon. It would be a lot easier to pin things on a dummy who isn’t me since it seems such a hassle to keep putting things on waste yarn and trying on etc.

Happy May

not much real content, just some ramblings

Their was a fire tonight near the Griffith Observatory and the local TV stations said "Breaking news" all night and that pre-empted Gilmore Girls. I think they just like to say crap like "Fire Watch 2007". Ok, we have all seen a fire. show the flames and get back to the regular scheduled programming. If you haven't heard GG was cancelled and will end next week. :-( We're having a heat wave here and it's hard to get excited about knitting. I did update the flickr pad on the right to reflect the yarn we bought in the last 4 months (293 pics of stash. Please feel free to ask what it is if you see something you like). Two weeks till the end of little league season Tonight we had batting cages for two hours where only 5 of the 12 kids showed up. The 5 kids who came to batting practice tonight were the better more consistent hitters but you would think the other 7 would want the extra attention but maybe that's why the 5 are the better hitters. Well we have a game Wednesday night and another regular practice on Thursday night. My knees are acting up again and it really sucks to get old. Wednesday night after the baseball game we are planning to go to our knitting group who used to meet in a bank/Starbucks in downtown Orange that had to find a new home because the are remodeling and changing the store hours. Good for us the new meeting place is just a few blocks from home. I have an order coming from Knit Picks that should be here Tomorrow. Not much contact from my Secret Pal lately, but it's not over yet. If you have any questions feel free to ask OK? I plan to get some Suzanne's rosewood and Ebony DP sock needles next month. I've fallen in love with the wooden needles and Bamboo isn't doing it for me. The Holtz & Steins, my favorites, are hard to get in sizes lower than US3 ebony.

Maps, We Dont Need No Stinkin Maps

Mrs. Twisted plans to retire in the home for the millinery challenged. Only kidding we took a few pics and I thought it looked like the blog title.....

Well we had plans for a Sunday drive after talking to an amazing fiber knitter/spinner/weaver/ dyer extraordinaire Lori Lawson http://www.paintspinknit.blogspot.com/last week about a the Lavender fields. We looked up the directions and had it all worked out but I thought Mrs. Twisted had the directions and she thought I had them and we quickly realized that they were sitting on the couch as we were almost an hour down the coast. Hey, we don't need no stinkin maps. hehe

Would you be worried driving almost 2 miles down a poorly marked dirt road with no map with just a good feeling of where you are going? It's all part of the fun of a road trip.

Well we made it and what a beautiful place

The fields are still 3 to 4 weeks away from fully blooming but it was still a beautiful place to come visit. We plan on coming back next month to see it in full bloom.

The have a distillery to extract the oils to make lavender candles, creams, soaps and various scented products. The couple who owns the farm also raises a few llamas and sheep because she spins knits and weaves too.

Everything is kept organic and natural. Lori Lawson was browsing in the gift shop when we arrived and she told us of the special bugs that cling to the prickly pear cactus here who produce a red dye, Cochineal, that is used to naturally dye fiber.

The floweres that were in bloom were so very pretty and loaded with bees. There were benches all over to just sit and enjoy the peaceful beauty and relax. Well we had our knitting so why not take advantage of the opportunity.

Well he had to go into the "Wool Shed" to see what was available. a little wool and some Lama from the guys on the top of the hill.





it's nice to see the animals and get it fresh from the source. Hand spun and natural color Llama




This was on the next farm about a mile away. Can you say Partridge Family?





It was only 1:30 so we decided to go find another yarn shop, south to San Diego we go. We had the knitting travel directory and found a shop in La Mesa Two Sisters and Ewe. Nice shop in the older downtown district. Beautiful selection of yarns and they even had a knitting book loan program

Yes we did buy some yarn

Diakeito Diarufran wool ribbon that feel like alpaca it's so soft and light of hand.

The prettiest lavender/lilac /blue lace weight wool from Kaalund Yarns Australia.

oh yes we love the cheesy photos. The worlds largest Bar-B-Q at a street fair on the way back up the coast. Encinitas had a street fair and we stopped at the Black sheep and checked out the sale items.

"Beat On The Brat With a Baseball Bat"

Not literally, just a line from a Ramones song but a tie in to the two themes . Punk Knits by Share Ross and assistant coaching a little league team when the head coach was away for a one game.


Friday night we went to A Mano Yarn Centerand for the next installment of Bad Girl Knit Night. Share Ross displayed her samples from the book and had a little hands on demo of the techniques of deconstruction she used in the book.

You caught me reaching for a maple covered Crueler from the pink box of doughnuts .... I didn't eat the fancy finger foods or the wine. I'm the designated driver

Nice variety of people there that night. Some new to us and a few of old friends.

What a treat to knit with the author, share her inspirations and not just be a spectator.

Shannita modeling one of the fashions from the book.

The obligatory photo with the author. I like the cheesy pictures.

Always a wonderful time at A Mano. I did by a skein of purple Manos for the never ending mitered rug but we were good besides the book.

I volunteered to help coach a little league team last month when Mrs. Twisted found out about a team that was a little short handed at times from a co-worker. Well, I was told the head coach was going to be out of town with his son this last weekend and I would get a chance to be in the dug out again since my kids grew out of the recreational leagues.

Arrived early and warmed up the starting pitcher with a little catch.

A little pre-game meeting... Going over the signs and having fun.

I missed being in the coaches box a little bit. It was more fun that I thought. Cheering them on and seeing the look on their smiling faces as they rounded 1st base after a hit.

This may not seem like much to most but I loved warming up the pitcher while the catcher was putting on his gear and it reminded me of all the games I did the same thing while my Son and Daughter were pitching not may years ago. Oh yes I was hurting on Sunday morning. Age + lots of squatting makes you hurt the next day.

A bitter sweet end to a great day. The kids had fun and so did I.

Gottahavitittus struck today

With all this talk about going to Purl Soho to do some yarn shopping or picking up orders had me on the fence until Mrs. Twisted sent me an email about the Lobster Pot whale of a skein yarn she saw on their website. Well that's all it took for me to run over at lunch and go perusing the hanks. She was looking at the hydrangea and the lobster bisque and I could decide which one to get so I bought both.

No plans or projects for this yarn. 80% lambswool, 10% dehaired angora 10% cashmere 740 yards each. I know there are two pics of each color, but there is only one skien of each color way.

http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/yarnlist/company,65

Lady Hockey fans

Before we start I want to send my best wishes to Inky on her surgery. Get well soon!!!

Well it's been a few days since my last post. We went to our Pub Knitting group on Wednesday night and it was fun to bring out last purchases. The Crafty Canadian brought her new Sweet Georgia sock yarn to taunt us. The conversation went from creative uses for sock blockers to the results of lab experiments where they work. There were only 5 of us but it was quite fun. Four ladies and myself and they seemed more interested in the Ducks Hockey game at times than what was on the needles. There was one lone basketball fan but she was out numbered. Seems odd that there were so many hockey fans here in So California, but they were all transplants. I must admit it was fun to sit with 4 ladies who were bigger sports fans than some of the men in the bar(myself included). We were all knitting socks `cept for Mrs. Twisted who was putting the finishing touches on her Tilli Tomas Cherry Bomb.


OK since we last talked We bought some more hand dyed yarn from a local artist that will go on the sock shelf to confuse us on what yarn to knit with next. It's all so pretty. No I didn't reorganize flickr yet.

Group hug

Malachite

ohhhh so pretty

Redish purple

This one looks so pretty knit up. I saw a swatch/ sample sock.....

Mrs. Twisteds colorway

Can you say Sock yarn?

The new sock yarn arrived and we were very pleased to see what was inside. The pictures on the website were very accurate and the fiber was so soft. Oh and nice packaging too.

Beach Glass in merino and Tencel

Sunrise in Superwash Merino

Well that was last Wednesday and I saw the goods on Thursday so by the weekend we needed to go shopping again.

We had planned a trip to La Petite Knitterie for a couple weeks now. We knew that their was a new shipment of sock yarn from Lori Lawson of Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio delivered and that's all the reason we needed. If you haven't knitted with this fabulous hand dyed yarn you owe it to yourself take a drive to 25642 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite E3 • Ladera Ranch, CA 92694 • 949.347.7073. If you can't make the drive, give her a call and I'm sure she can ship to you what you are looking for. Kat, the owner and I were talking on Saturday and she told me she is going to open her online store next month and make her specialty and hand dyed fiber available.

I know I know more purple. This is a very soft and rich lavender.

Here is a jump to a new and different color. Summer Peach

This is a deeper and darker purple with some flecks of light.

This was for picked by Mrs. Twisted We are calling it Good & Plenty (like the candy)

Where else can you find such beautiful hand dyed yarn for less than $12.00 a skein? Please let me know and I'll check it out too :P

Next week I think I will be changing the Flicker to have the yarns separated. The sock yarn is starting to take over. I need to update Flicker anyway.

THE MAILBOX HAS REPLENISHMENTS

I love the second week of the month, my sock club yarn comes. When I open the mail box and see this little pink bag I know it's going to be a good day.

Posh Yarn has sent me some really pretty yarn every month since it started in January. Last month was an off month as far as colors I would pick for myself, and this month was going to be the make or break month for joining the sock club next time. I love the attention to detail, the pink tissue paper acts like wrapping paper for
this monthly pre-paid yarn gift to myself.

We had talked about what colors we would like to see and I was very happy to see a (I hate to use this term all the time) Monochromatic, less variegated color. Well I guess the yarn is still variegated it's just colors that are closer in shade to each other. Slight tinges of green and grey with a sheen on the blue.



Here is the WIP pic of Mrs. Twisted's Cherry Bomb in Tilli Tomas Jade. The Rock Star is laying over it. That's going to be the Mobius



The color is going to be amazing if this is any indication. The color is so rich.....

Oh we are looking at another really special sock club.
All hand dyed by six different fiber artists.
Speaking of new yarn and don't we always, this was ordered tonight

Seacoast Superwash Sock - Sunrise
SKU: SCSupSock-Sunrise
Content: 100% Superwash Merino Wool----- Weight: Sock-----
Yardage: 560 yards/approx. 4oz
Recommended gauge: 7-8sts/inch, #2 needle
Care: Machine Wash, Cool, Gentle-----
This yarn is a beautiful array of cheerful yellow, oranges,
pinks and purples.
Seacoast Handpainted Yarns
Price $22.50

and this one too


Seacoast Merino/Tencel- Beach Glass
SKU: SCMerTen-BchGlass
Content: 50% Merino Wool,50% Tencel ----- Weight: Sock-----
Yardage: 400 yards/approx. 4oz
Recommended gauge: 7-8sts/inch, #2 needle
Care: Machine Wash, Cool, Gentle-----
This yarn is a beautiful array of pale pinks, lavender and teal blue.
Seacoast Handpainted Yarns
PRICE:
$20.00
From http://www.localneedle.com/