Back to Bloggin'

Dear readers,

I'm sorry to say I've been very lax in posting these past two years.  It has taken me quite some time to turn the corner on my grief of losing my late partner of 12 years, J.  I also had a 'bout with a serious illness (all is well, now).  I feel like perhaps I can start posting now.  If you have experienced the loss of a family member, spouse, partner, parent or (god forbid) child - I have found certain things helpful.  A therapist, a widow's group, friends, travel; for podcasts, I liked "What's your grief?" and for books, for me (and I have probably read enough to get a Ph.D in grief) I particularly liked A grief obseved by C.S.Lewis, and Second Firsts. I also liked the (Joan) Didion books, and could appreciate Cheryl Strayed's book on the PCT but not until after a year had passed for those memoir type of readings; I needed some perspective.

Two of my favorite quotes are "No one told me grief felt so much like fear" (C.S. Lewis) & "Grief is sneaky, very sneaky  . . but life is sneaker and more alive than grief could ever be." (Second Firsts).  Although when you are in the raw mix of emotions, any quotes feel trite.

So back to the point of this blog:  I have been doing all kinds of craftsy things, and meeting my fiber goals.  I've been an active (somewhat) member of the Ventura County Handweavers and Spinner's Guild.  I have learned to weave on a rigid heddle and spin (see pictures below).  I've even been spindling, and finally I have a Mirrix tapestry loom BUT have not been successful (yet):

I've been doing all kinds of knitting, mostly hats as gifts (more on that in a later blog) and am finishing up a sweater now.  On Ravelry my name is pammieandtheps, here is a teaser but again, I will do a blog post on my adventures in knitting:

My sewing has taken a back seat to my other fiber goals but I've made a two skirts and a four blouses.  I've even made some bad forays into bra making (one successful -- one not so much).
My skirt, a rugged linen from stash, followed by a lined sequin skirt - which I completed last minute right before a party:

In other fiber-y things, I even started rug making (latch hook -- remember that?).   Yes, perhaps I've lost my mind!

Dear readers, I'm not ashamed to tell you I know a whole lot more about sheep than I ever used to.

I hope you all are well, and I've been diligently reading my bloglovin' with your wonderful posts.

See you all very soon (A presto!),

XOXO,

P.

Does Absence Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

Dear readers,

Does absence make the heart grow fonder, or, does it grow more distant?  I hope the former.  I apologize for the long absence.  My partner, J. passed away unexpectedly over the Holidays on the East Coast during a visit.  That, with a medical problem he struggled with all last year, left no time or energy for blogging.

Zombies Anyone?

But, now, after an extended absence I am back with a series of posts to show you what I've been up to.  I also have converted a Singer 201K to a treadle, later post on that to follow.  I also bought a spinning wheel from a friend, but have yet to quite spin anything.  

In the photo below, I've displayed all the projects I've completed (in two cases the projects are in progress), appropriately staged on J.'s piano, as usual:

Let me go over the knitted hats, woven scarfs, and cowls, first, with more posts to follow.

First, the Zombie BBQ Felicity Hat -- yarn appropriately named from Lorna's Laces Worsted.  A two day knit from cast-on.   I made it slightly small (cast on 70 stitches) -- next time I might make it slightly larger.  The Ravelry information can be found HERE.

Ready for the Zombie Apocalypse.  Now, if I can just get some life skills!

Second, the Metalico Fresco Slouchy Hat, on Ravelry, made with Metalico yarn that I had left over from another project.  The Ravelry information on this project is HERE.

 Easy, soft and with stash yarn -- yeah!!

This project is Honey Cowl made with Madeline Tosh Midnight Pass Yarns (which my dad jumped that bridge in his car in Sarasota back in the day (it is no longer there)) from A Good Yarn in Sarasota.  Super easy, but kinda boring.  Still, I loved the result.  The Ravelry information is found HERE.

Next, I started making these for both me and  J., but really only finished mine -- my first pair of socks!  The Cow Springs Hiking Socks, made with Lorna's Laces Worsted.  I love the heel on these socks.  Fabulous!  The Ravelry information can be found HERE.

Finally, from my good friend and weaver, Allyson -- she wove a scarf from this fabulous chenille. The scarf is patterned after the first 8 bars of the melody of the song Empty Chairs at Empty Tables from Les Miserables. She surprised me with it after a movie, which brought tears to my eyes, 'cause that is how I roll now.  Perfect scarf for jeans too.  I love it!!!

More to follow -- I have shorts, tights, a v-neck knitted sweater and two knitted pillows.  I am also in love with the new Jalie patterns.  Before that I need to do some stash busting I think.   My sewing and knitting are slow, but I'm in no hurry.

XOXO, P.

Dr. Who Scarf and some Alaska photos. . .

Dear readers,

I apologize for not posting more frequently.  You've probably been wondering what I've been up to.  Well, life, really.  Extensive traveling for work (DC, Alaska, Monterey, Seattle and San Diego), and battling a really bad sinus/chest infection that just wouldn't go away.  So, I'm back - taking some time off this Fall, and hopefully -- BLOG ON!

Below -- six months of working with Acrylic yarn from Hobby Lobby (not fun!) but a good rendition of the Dr. Who Scarf (free pattern from Dr. Who Scarf website.

 Just in time for Halloween this fall!  Obviously, J. is not that excited to pose (although he does love the scarf).

Did I mention we've been having a heat wave in California -- average temps 85 degrees or so -- our hottest summer in Ventura since 1931 (and we don't have air).  So on each of these trips I was expecting cooler temps (and failed!  It was an exceedingly hot and beautiful summer everywhere).

I've got quite a few projects in the works -- a vest for J. (UFO right now), need to make/finish seersucker gray vest and skirt before Fall, the Madeline Tosh Honey Cowl (about 30% finished), a new pair of socks in the Lorna's Laces Spats, color way (below).  This will be my first pair of socks.  It's finally just in the few days cooled down just a tad and I feel that I can get my sewjo/knitjo  back.

 Here are some pretty pictures from Alaska! Below, some riverbed hiking near Exit Glacier.

I had a horrible head cold coming on a the time, but still went hiking.    I think I was infected by some cruise passengers staying at lodging in Alaska (well, I always blame the cruisers).  This is down in Seward (which is STRONGLY recommended -- previously I've always headed North and not on the Kenai peninsula).  I was supposed to do a fantastic hike called Harding Ice Field  -- but it turned out I was just too ill.  Darn it.  I had about half my gear with me too for some short backcountry.   If you are interested in Harding Ice Field, I thought this was a great blog post/Description of the Hike.

 Above, a gorgeous hike just outside Anchorage Alaska at Eagle River Nature Center.  The roads were being worked on so most of this longer hike we didn't see hardly anyone.   The picture is at Echo Bend Campsite (we did Albert Loop, the older Iditarod trail (Crow Pass Trail to Echo Bend) and then return via Dew Mounds.  Wonderful.

This is down in Seward near a place really fun for families (well, that's what it looked like) for camping called Miller's Landing on Resurrection Bay.   This would be the view outside your tents.

 Above, my lodging -- which was reasonable in price and really brilliant.

 I did a short cruise (3 hours or so) and saw some whales!  This was a pair, I believe, of Blue Whales.

I was really just enamored at the wonderful town of Seward and now must to go back!

XOXO, P.

Fetching Fingerless Mitts -- A Tule Fog companion.

Dear readers,

While I procrastinated on the buttons to my Funky Grandpa sweater,  I started an easy but gorgeous fingerless mitts patterns.  Why fingerless mitts?  Well,  I've given all my mitts as gifts - with the exception of one snug pair.

I finished the pair above on the flight to and from DC from LAX (holding a Kalapawai Market Coffee Cup, Kailua, HI).

 Here are the mitts above (with the cowl behind them).  The pattern is Fetching.

Here was my initial cowl -- which I still love and have not blocked.  I have worn it a dozen times at least.

The yarn I used was Fyberspates Scrumptious Aran in Moss.  It is a silky alpaca, wonderful and I love it.  One pattern note is that I recommend binding off with a smaller ribbing on the needle.  My are a bit loose at the fingers (and I took out the design originally with the pattern as far as the little ribs on the bind off).

I'm meeting with some of the LA Sewing Bloggers for a meet up next Saturday -- so I'm pretty excited!  I'm still trying to get my sew-jo on!

XOXO,

Pammie

Grandpa Sweater - Completed!!

Dear readers,

I've been done with the Funky Grandpa Sweater Pattern for about a month BUT I was afraid of the afterthought buttonholes.  More on that (a bit later on my project review on My Ravelry Project Page ).  Let me just say cutting your knitting is scary.  Now, shiny things:

 I'm so thrilled I got this sweater completed.   I love it!!  I took a class -- which took about 8 weeks to complete.   My instructor is a sweetie -- the wonderful Anne from Anacapa Fine Yarns-- her blog is Moonlight Stitches and her revelry page is Moonlight Stitches on Ravelry.   I will post a pattern review on Ravelry with some suggested changes I made.

 I made the pattern much longer so I can rock that librarian look at work (my favorite!)

 So, I'm thrilled with the result.

 Here are some of the photos from the dress form (I could have gone smaller - I made a M).  I've lost some weight in the last two months.

 Below, a wonderful button from Mood (I love Mood).  I bit large for the sweater, if you ask me, after the fact.  I was originally going to make at least two to three of these since this is my go to sweater for work (although RTW I wear cashmere -- this is super wash merino wool.

The cuff at the button had an odd feature -- it required double yarn - I'm not sure if I like the bulk yet.

I learned a ton of new techniques but my favorite was German Short Rows.  I may do a tutorial for for the afterthought buttonholes since I couldn't find any video tutorials on the web.  This technique was difficult to understand spatially. . . . really hard to figure out -- luckily I had knitting expert Anne to thank to walk me through them after the class ended.

Since I got my knit-jo on -- my sew-jo was on hold.  Now, I'm trying to bring it back.

XOXO,

Pammie