I finished the center panel of the shawl tonight. I am thrilled that there will be no more purling after this. My left thumb gets tired of purling which is why it took so long to get to this point, I think.
It is being carefully watched over by sock monkey. Space monkey is, however, staring off into space. I don’t know what sock monkey is doing to space monkey, so don’t ask. 
Saw this while knitting and reading the LA Times at Sushi Time. That’s pretty neat, I am going to have to spend some time there. I think I only have one volume of a two book set of Mastering The Art of French Cooking that I picked up for a quarter at a friends of the library sale, but I have always only used it for reference. This woman is preparing the whole thing. Check this out:
The Julie/Julia Project
On my way home from work tonight, I stopped off for some sushi-takeout and while I waited for my food I knit a row on my shawl. My husband has taken a job that is about 4 miles from home, so I no longer get to knit while he drives our carpool. Such a bummer, I lose a good 45 min to an hour of knitting a day now that I have to drive myself to work. So I knit at any chance I get.
The sushi-woman saw me pull out my knitting while I was waiting, and came over to see what I was making. She really liked the color and asked me to bring it back so she can see how I am doing each time I go in for sushi. I usually stop in at least once a week, but don’t usually bring my knitting because I always order the same thing and call it in. Today I felt like something different, but once I got inside I ended up ordering the same thing anyway. (Spicy Tuna Roll and a Foothill Roll, in case you are wondering.
The shop is called Sushi Time, and Foothill Ranch is my town.)
So, that was kind of cool. I have someone actually interested in what I am making.
What was silly is that I went to lunch at Sakura in Culver City and had such good sushi for lunch. I had a scallop sushi, tuna, and sea urchin and they were so fresh. MMMM I wish I could find the good scallops around my home. I haven’t found a fish market that sells dry scallops. The ones I had from Nova Scotia this past summer were so fresh and sweet. The ones you can buy here have been preserved and taste nothing like real ones.
I found a chart for a very pretty celtic spiral sock
here. I started swatching it last night with some Kroy in a natural color, and some Regia Stretch in a forest green. I am doing the background in the lighter color, and will either only do the cuff in pattern with a green foot, or if it goes easily, I will do a pattern down the top of the foot.
These are for a gift for my best friend’s mom, who has a birthday around Mother’s Day, so I have to get started on them.
Why is it that people think war protesters are against ‘The Troops’? I just heard some poor woman on the radio sobbing that her son is in Iraq and those of us that are against the war should stop protesting because we should be supporting the troops. Huh?
Wouldn’t the best thing for the troops be standing on deck in the port of San Diego cleaning windows or the runway or lubing a jet or something, with no one firing on them? Do people really think that one can’t be against the war without being against the soldiers? Holy crap, I don’t want to be a soldier at any cost. I am so grateful that these people have volunteered to do this work for me, and I want them to come home. In fact, I wish their idiot leader had never sent them in the first place.
And while I’m at it, when these soldiers do come back, they better be taken care of, medically and educationally. I am still sick from the news of the last gulf war where it was denied that some soldiers were even sick for years, even though it was clear that these guys were sick. A big chunk of that $75 Billion should be going to the VA.
I am sure she has heard nothing but the shouting of a bunch of unemployed hippie-wanna-bees pounding their drums instead of the views of any of the individuals in the crowds. I wish I could find that woman I heard on the radio and buy her dinner and explain my view. Maybe she would understand that we all know that her son didn’t make the decision to go to war, and that we are against the one who did make that decision. Not against the troops.
I am still working on the center panel of my shawl. I haven’t been having as many errors but still once in a while I lose a stitch and it’s making me crazy. The shawl is for me, so I just march on. I have 56 rows to go, and really want to finish this before Monday, but I don’t see how I can.
Today is the day of the parade when the Swallows return to San Juan Capistrano, and a friend who lives there has invited us to go. I am really going because I like bagpipes – I refer to swallows as ‘those damn birds that leave crap all over my windowsills’. No one ever mentions that the swallow also return to Foothill Ranch and build nests above my bedroom windows and that I can’t touch the damn things so my windowsills get full of dust and crap that they drop while they build there mud nests. What is the big deal with a bunch of birds? Don’t they all migrate? When I lived in Indianapolis, it was Canadian Geese leaving so much crap on the ground you could skate through it.
Anyway.
… from The Knitting Curmudgeon …
The best sign hanging from a freeway overpass I’ve seen all day
Who Would Jesus Bomb? – Anonymous
I spent a week with my Grandparents this summer, and found a book amongst their things. As I was leafing through it, I found a picture of my Great Grandmother and various cousins and such. How cool!
I have been searching for it on line since returning from Canada and wanted to get my own copy, and last week I finally found it. I ordered it from abebooks.com and the author even autographed it for me. Neat-o.
The book is by Caroline B Norwood, called Life On Brier Island Nova Scotia: Stories and Photos About the Place the People and the Boats.
If you happen to have the book, there’s a lovely picture of my Great Grandmother Viola Garron on her 90th birthday, on page 59. She had her 101st this year, and my uncle visited her over the summer. She had a bottle in her knitting bag, to keep her warm. You go, girl!
So, I spent Saturday in lovely, wet, Burbank at the TKGA market. I have to say, I wasn’t impressed. In fact, I walked around the place all day and only spent $100. There was a whole lot of the same stuff at most booths, and the Yarn Lady, which is my LYS, had 6 spaces, but I can just coast down the street to see that stuff so I didn’t stick around there much. And I confirmed my suspicion that she’s over priced on a lot of stuff. Everyone had Trendsetter, there was one booth with some Prism, and lots of books but none that I was looking for.
Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of stuff there, but I was looking for fingering weight wool, maybe some sock yarns in solid colors like pink or mauve (for a gift for someone) and maybe something crazy that might jump out at me. But nothing did. The sock yarns were all boring or baby colors.
It was pretty dead, I imagine because of the rain, and the fact that it was so close to Stitches West, I’ll bet a lot of people already spent their money up in Oakland.
So, what did I get? Some yarn from Shelridge Farms which was almost the only booth without the eyelashy frou frou. I found 12 colors of their Shelridge Soft Touch Ultra – 100% Wool Fingering Weight Yarn, in the colors that I want for my fair-isle design that I haven’t designed yet. I’ll take a photo of it later this week.
I picked up Joan M-M’s Heirloom Lace Jacket which I have been eying forever, but seeing it in person I just had to pick it up. Didn’t decide on yarn for it yet. Giggled at the i-cord butt floss.
The drive to Burbank and back was so stressful! I was exhausted when I got home and how silly is that to all you northern folks who drive in rain all the time! But this was big crazy rain and a whole lot of people who just don’t get it.
I guess I was expecting it to me more exciting than it was. I am a terrible shopper, I have to admit. I hate shopping. But I am happy with the purchases I did make.
OK, I am sure I won’t come up with one each day, but still, I thought I would share when they come up.
Having seen these and these and even some done in cloisonne and gold and stuff, I thought I could come up with a better idea come spring. And I did! Now, I wasn’t as frugal as I could have been, I could have waited til the day after Easter and probably done even better, but $1.49 for a dozen, I think I can swing it. Even if I break a few, I should come out ahead.
If you are wondering why I bought them, it’s because I am new to knitting, and I am sure some of my Kitchenered toes will need some help before the whole sock wears out. I am ready!!