Friday FO!

Really, I have been knitting... small, quick stuff... here's a photo to prove it.


Odessa by Grumperina
Rowen Cashsoft
Knit according to pattern
Models - my dear, sweet patient husband (I have some sucking up to do over this pic) and me

This was such a fun little knit! My gauge on the first stitch of every repeat got a little wonky when I switched to DPs. That same stitch all the way around looks a little loose. Maybe some blocking will help.

This hat is for my pal Jodi. I love it so much I think I'll make one for me too!

I've also been working away on the Red Scarf Project - 24" in, 36" to go...

Next in the queue:
Arianne from Chicknits. I am hoping to find a colorway in Rowan's Kid Classic that I like. Yeah, I think that yarn will be just right.

The Last Knit

Genius.



I love it that my husband is sending me U-tube links to put on my blog. I'm not sure if watching U-tube all afternoon is part of his job description... I wonder what the guys in the office would think if they caught him watching this one!

Friday Fotos

This is the shrine at the Buddhist monestary tucked in at the end of my block. The "compound" is flanked by trees on the south and east sides. It can be a serene place on the right day, in the right weather. The rest of the time, it's occupied by seemingly everyday people - except that they are all wearing orange robes and have shaved heads. But when it really comes down to it, they are in urban Seattle too and there is trash to take out, cars to wash, gardening to do and they all do it with grace and charm. We're very happy they are our neighbors.

Here is the view from my front steps:


Now here's an interesting one for you. Can you guess what it is?



Ok, ready?... It is the BASEMENT of my boss' new houseboat. Seattle is home to a rich "floating home" community made famous by Sleepless in Seattle. My boss is fortunate enough to own not one but TWO of these little gems. This is the basement and floating part of the home he bought a few years ago. When it is complete (they still have to add foam to the giant moat surrounding "the box" - where the guy is standing), they will attach cranes to all of the hooks you see along the bottom, raise it up, flip it and lower it into the lake. The big "box" on top sink into the water until only about 18" is above the water line. At that point it the base will be floating. Then the rest of the house will be rebuilt on the top. Pretty cool, eh?

Here is an example:

(I lifted his picture from this person's flickr site. Please don't sue me! I'll cease and desist if you tell me to.)

And finally, there's this guy:

I snapped this picture a few weeks ago. This is a City of Seattle water meter reader. I just thought it was so damn cool that he was using a Segway to get around. I dug around online and found out that the city purchased a few of these back in 2002 as a test to see if it would be more efficient for the employees to use Segways rather than CoS trucks. It seems to be working.

These are super fun to ride - I wish they were more practical! Here's Flynno and me on our Segway tour in Washington DC last summer. What a blast!

A Grey kinda night

Finally, the season premier of Grey's Anatomy!

I must admit, I didn't care very much about this show when it first started. Partly this was because we didn't have cable TV and the rabbit ears were so finicky that is just wasn't worth it to invest in any sort of series. My husband, being the trouper he is, stuck with the show through the static and picture distortion from day one. Perhaps this has to do with his little crush on Dr. Grey. Just sayin'. Anyway, by the end of season one, I had Dr. McDreamy fever.

Now, it's season three AND we have crossed over to the dark side of cable-land. I've got my knitting projects lined up and as long as the shop keeps closing at 8:00 pm on Thursdays, my schedule is clear.

I hope tonight's episode is a little lighter than the season finale. Flynno watched the re-run of it last night and I walked in just in time to see the last three minutes or so (after Izzy walked out of Denny's room) and that was enough to get me bawling like a school girl with a skinned knee.

Are you feeling Grey?

Hilltop Ballband Contest

Head on over to the Hilltop Yarn blog to check out their Ballband warshcloth contest. Sounds fun! Also, read this post while you're at it - it should clear up any questions: and finally, thanks, Karen for posting this awesome flickr Ballband inspiration link.



Ok, yes, this picture is totally staged. (And that lid is dang heavy!) But to prove I really do cook with this pot, here is a picture of the scrumptious rice pudding I made last week. I never posted the picture because I realized, well, rice pudding is makes for a rather boring shot.

The Booty!

When I came home from work today there was a package on my door step from Danielle. YAY! With anticipation I opened the package wondering if it was The Good, The Bad or the Ugly... and I get... The Bad! When I figure out to do with it, I'll be a BAD-ASS knitter! Or maybe a BAD-ASS crochet-er - this could be nice for a crochet pillow for the TV room. Hmmm....

Also included in the package was some warshrag cotton (to feed my habit), some delish hazelnut chocolates (to feed my belly - yum!) and some oh-so-cute stitch markers handmade by Danielle. These I do need - in fact, I'll be putting them to good use very quickly. Thanks Danielle! Thanks Ann and Kay!

The new addition of Knitty is up. Lots of cute stuff - but I'm determined to finish up old projects before diving into new ones!

And finally, a shout out to my colleague Jay's mom, (a kindred crafty spirit) who told her husband she'd like to "get herself a blog". He promptly replied "honey, there's no more room in the garage!" HA!

Yarn Divas

Yay! Jennifer and Becky, the owner-sisters of Hilltop yarn made it on the Yarn Harlot's website. There's also pictures of her on the Hilltop blog including this one I swiped from there.
An exciting day all around!

I'm taking the next two days off work to spend a couple of days with one of my dearest friends (YAY!) who is visiting the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center (BOO! for cancer - thumbs up for Fred Hutch - they are the best.) After 6 years in remission from luekemia, the cancer cells are back so she's being evaluated for a bone marrow transplant. We'll look for apartments while she's here (she's traveling from Southern Idaho), just in case they tell her she needs the procedure. Needless to say, I've been in a tizzy the past week over this recent diagnosis, but now I'm just looking forward to seeing her. And, she is bringing her dad along who has been entertaining me since I was 10 years old. He's a hoot!

Yesterday I cast on for the Red Scarf project.

This is the Irish Hiking Scarf from Hello Yarn. The requirements for the Red Scarf Project are that the scarf is at least 5" wide - this baby is just a skosh over. A little blocking when it's done will make it just fit with the requirements, with room to spare. I'm so glad to find a use for all of this red Cascade 220 that I bought last year in a felted bag making frenzy. After I finish this, I need to start getting more serious about holiday gifts and thinking about what I'll make for the various fundraisers that will be held to help out with Jodi's cancer-related bills.

Speaking of frenzy, the two ballband warshrags are finished, but I've got more balls of cotton on queue. I have a feeling there will be at least one of these on the needles at all times for the times when my hands get fidgety for near-mindless knitting.

Eye Candy - Calling all Mountain Goats

I missed Eye Candy Friday becuase I've been a photo slacker lately. Plus, I knew that on Saturday we were heading up to Mt. Rainier and I'd get some big photo ops in. Here's one:



This was on our decent from the Skyline trail - a five mile loop up the base of the mountain and back, starting from Paradise Lodge. I was thinking this would be no big thang as I love to hike. Well, this one was a bit humbling. What I didn't know was that the first mile or so would include a 1400 foot eleveation increase. On such a hot day, that first bit was an ass-kicker, but after that it was smooth sailing. Most of the great photos are on my hubbies camera - the ones where we were at the hightest point of the climb, but here's a few more for now.



Off to work a 10-hour shift in the Hilltop booth at the Indy Market at Bumbershoot. Have a great Sunday!