Yarn Rambles

New Camera!!

Several small irritations with my old camera became too much for me to handle the last few days. First, Ben, our friend from Australia, was showing me his new point and shoot camera overflowing with tricks and gadgets. I can't resist tricks and gadgets! When I showed him my camera, he laughed out loud when he saw that I needed Double A batteries. Having to always have extra batteries with me has always been a pain but I didn't realize it was also archaic.

The Camas Days parade was the last straw. The batteries failed just as the parade started and I had managed to forget spares. Since I have started keeping this blog, the relationship with my camera has become more important. It was fine to tolerate when we were on vacation for occasional photos. But, as a daily companion, the old one was just not up to the job.

Monday morning I headed off to Best Buy and got myself a Canon Powershot SD750. It has a huge viewing screen that I can see without my reading glasses. Changing the settings is very easy. It has lots of extras I am looking forward to exploring. And, I just charge up the battery every night and the camera will always be ready. I took a couple of simple shots today just to play around a bit.

These are the yarns I will be using for Hendrix's little sweater.

The inspirations come from Knits for Babies and Toddlers by Fiona McTague and The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

The yarns are Mist, Cornflower, Eggplant, Petal and Bordeaux in Swish DK.

Camas Days

Tina's home sits on the route for the Camas Days parade. She invited a group of us to enjoy the festitvities and it turned out to be a pleasureable way to spend a Saturday. As you can see, it was a bit like walking through a time machine and heading back about fifty years. It was a bit misty so we stayed indoors until just before the parade started. Xena loves that Tina's windows go down quite close to the floor in her living room.

After the parade, we walked three blocks to the center of town. The library was having a used book sale and Main Street was lined with booths selling crafts. I headed home around 3:00 and took a long nap.

 

   

 

It just looks like we never work around here!

This week we had a catalog planning meeting. Christy, our catalog manager, is on semi-maternity leave so she balances office-time and home-time. Little Hendrix has quickly become used to the talking and laughing in the background. Christy is one of Xena's favorite people as you can see from the possessive way she is sprawled across her lap.

I am not sure what happened to the time this week. I can't believe it is already Friday. The good thing is that I have somehow made progress on the kimonos. I am down to the i-cording on one and then the buttons!! By Monday I will be back to knitting the Pi Shawl.

Tomorrow I am going to spend the day with Tina in downtown Camas, Washington. It is Camas Day and I have never attended the festivities. Everything from an old fashioned parade to a craft fair. Camas is a charming little town that makes you feel like you have gone back fifty years in a time machine. The parade passes right in front of Tina's house and the actual downtown is within walking distance. The weather is supposed to be a little overcast. Perfect for strolling around.

Sunday will be official button sewing day! Maybe not a national holiday but very important in my world. Ben, one of our Aussie friends, has returned to visit for a couple of weeks. Bob is in charge of dinner Sunday night - barbeque - so I will have no responsibilities other than knitting.

Petkun, Petkun and Petkun

Bob finally got to meet Walter on Friday. Only three visitors are allowed at a time so we worked in shifts. We spent about an hour holding, cooing at and generally gushing over the child. Walter happily slept through all the attention.

As of Sunday, he was at home!! Finally, Matt and Jessica will be able to get some rest. It is exhausting to shuttle back and forth to the hospital even without the stress of worrying about Walter. Home is much better!

Is it November already?

Woke up to weather reminiscent of winter. Even though they are summer weight, I could not convince myself to put on a jacket. Then, I remembered my Pi Shawl! Yes, the perfect answer. Warm enough to be comforting but it gives me the illusion of summer couture. The pink was such a surprise for me. A couple of years ago, we featured a square shawl knit in Alpaca Cloud Peppermint. All last summer I kept grabbing it every time the air conditioning became too much for me to handle. Pink is not a color I would have every considered for a shawl for myself but every time I put the square over my shoulders, it went beautifully with whatever I was wearing - chocolate brown, black, turqoise, lime green or yellow. Surprising! That's when I decided I needed a pink Pi Shawl. Surgery in November, with a long recovery time, gave me the perfect excuse to loose myself in the simple Feather and Fan repeat. This summer, I appreciate being able to grab it whenever I need to be wrapped up knowing it will go with my outfit.

A Colorful Collection

No, don't get too excited. I need to sew up the sixth kimono and edge it. The seventh one is on the needles. I just liked the way they looked all piled up waiting to be washed and given to Walter. It sure is nice to have a name and face to think about while I knit.

I still have the buttons which is going to be the true challenge! It looks like we may have rainy weather this weekend so I won't have any golfing distractions. I also get to download my monthly quota of audio books from Audible tomorrow. New books will be good entertainment as I sew.

We had a design meeting this morning and I couldn't resist sharing how Xena contributes to the creative atmosphere. Bob always wonders why we don't use chairs. We think better sitting on the floor.

 

Walter Baker Petkun has arrived!!

Ok, he's a bit early (five weeks) but he is healthy and so is Jessica! Jessica went into the hospital on Friday night and Matt called Saturday morning to let me know things were coming around nicely. To bad Bob had just left for Germany!! Needless to say I sat myself down to frantically work on finishing the baby kimonos.

   I called to check on things Saturday night around 8:00 - still no baby. I was wide awake at 5:00 on Sunday morning and decided action was the best path to take. By the time Matt called at 10:00 to say Walter had been born Saturday night around 10:30, I had cleaned up the entire garage!! Once I knew everything was alright, I was more than ready to settle down for more knitting. I now have five of the seven kimonos finished. Walter, poor baby, will have to stay in the hospital for about a week so I've been granted a procrastinator's reprieve.

It was several hours before I was able to reach jet-lagged Bob at his hotel. When he answered the phone I said, "Hi, Grandpa". He went on to start telling me about his day, got about six words into it and then said, "What!" Then it dawned on him and he was ecstatic and frustrated at the same time. "But, I'm here!" was his response. I quickly explained that Walter wouldn't be coming home for awhile so it was alright. I think it will be a long flight home for Bob on Wednesday.

Check out Jessica's doctor, Dr. Korman. She was the doctor on call so she was new to Matt and Jessica. She had been popping in all day to check on Jessica's progress. About 8:30 Saturday night, just after I had called, Dr. Korman came into the birthing room, sat down and pulled out her knitting. "I think this baby will be coming out tonight so I'm going to stick around." Sure enough, Jessica went into strong labor just a few minutes later. Dr. Korman's response? "This always happens when I start knitting!" By the way, she's working on a baby sweater. Seems appropriate.

Photoshoots are hard work!

I came downstairs during the photoshoot for the next catalog and couldn't resist taking a quick snap of our hardworking crew. Of course, all you will be seeing are the socks but you'll have the complete image in your mind when you receive the next catalog. The lady farthest away is one of our new models, Laura, the lady in the middle is Carissa and Tina is in the front.

I have gotten to the 576 stitch segment of my Pi Shawl. It has been a busy week at work so I feel pretty lucky to have gotten that far. Bob is leaving for a business trip on Saturday. I am going to do a small amount of heavy duty cleaning as part of my August purging of the house. The rest of the time will be spent knitting, with no other distractions.

Busy Little Knitter

It might be best to work backwards in time. On Sunday afternoon I joined my fellow Portland Area Bloggers at Knit/Purl in downtown Portland. What a pleasant way to spend a few hours. There was iced tea, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Oh yes, and knitting. Lots of knitting. It was just what I needed to re-charge for the week. I love all the energy a group of enthusiasts generates.

  Xena, of course, loved meeting new friends.

Sunday morning was spent achieving absolutely nothing!! All I wanted to do was read a few minutes and fall back asleep. I guess I needed some rest. Or, I wanted to be at my best for the Blogger Meeting.

Saturday was a productive day at the office. The weather was cool so it felt rather cozy to settle in with some tea and music. By the end of the day I had finished a pattern for a Felted Fair Isle iPod holder using Palette. We need to have it test knit but I am optomistic that it will turn out well. I've been wearing the original version for a couple of years and I get compliments on it all the time. It is such a handy design but I'm glad to have come up with an updated look.

But, what about my Pi Shawl from the Knitter's Almanac knit-a-long? It is coming along. I have 6 more rounds of the 288 stitch section before the final increase round taking it up to a total of 576 stitches. Forty rounds and then the border. I've decided to use the border from the Spanish Christening Shawl in Folk Shawls. I am amazed at how well everyone is doing. Even those who have to start over a couple of times have been making excellent progress.

A day on the deck

Well, I have to confess I took Bob's laptop computer home to work for awhile on the 4th. And, we had a couple of friends over for dinner so there was a little bit of prep work. I kept the menu simple -

Honey Mustard and Red Onion Barbequed Chicken from Rachel Ray. I have become quite a Rachel Ray fan. Bob loves everything I make from her books and I appreciate her time-saving attitude. The rest of the meal was two chilled salads - Cut corn with red pepper and a Balsamic Vinegar dressing and an orzo salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice with a little bit of salt. Little peach cobblers for dessert. Yum!

By early afternoon, I had done as much office work as I was willing to do and everything was ready for dinner. Time for some Pi Shawl knitting. It is such a nice, relaxing project. I'm so glad I am doing it.