Roma Wrap/Shawl

I hear you need to keep your shoulders covered when entering churches in Italy...so for fun, I thought I would try a little wrap/shawl and see how it feels. It might be too heavy and hot to wear, but I thought since I already had the yarn, why not? I am not particularly into shawls, but I think I might be more inclined to wear one that is more the size of a wrap and not too busy and complicated. I found this one on Ravelry.  It is called  Azzu's Shawl. Shown in progress, the little wrap...using one skein of a sport weight superwash Unisono merino wool using size 7 needles. I have used this yarn before and it's really pretty, made in Germany. It is self-striping and lovely to knit with. 

This was a fun project to take along and knit while at the beach or in the car. Very simple. I was able to make it to almost the end of the pattern, then was about to run out of yarn so I bound off. 

Modeling  the finished wrap/shawl at the ocean. It is pretty, yet smallish. It looks rather bunchy as it is not blocked out yet. The stockinette edges roll in some. However, blocking can work wonders...so when I get home I will try that.

Kind of cheating here and holding the point down in the back to spread the shawl out for you to see.

Shown blocking (below). I hope to see if I can get some more width and length out of it once it gets smoothed out.

After blocking, shown on a chair:

Before blocking.....

Below, after blocking....I didn't use official blocking pins and do it all exactly the right way, but I did use push pins on mats with a towel over it. Even so, with my not being exact in my methods, blocking still makes all the difference as far as the appearance!

I will model it again later on....for now I must unpack!

Ocean Views

Working on a little shawl with the lovely ocean view is quite relaxing!

At our favorite beach on the Oregon coast with the family...Time for some R and R, great sunsets, food and family!

Our favorite bench is still on the trail overlooking the beach. I even made it down the trail, with some assistance, post surgery. Taking it slow, it is manageable and great to get down for a walk on the beach each day.

No matter the weather, every day is a great day when you are at the beach!

Under the Surface

Recently, undergoing surgery, I found myself in recovery coming out of sedation talking away to a recovery nurse. I found myself having a very coherent conversation complete with giving her instructions on how to properly felt a tote, which yarn to buy and which type of washer to use..."no, a front-loader wouldn't work, need a top-loading machine to properly agitate the tote...get Cascade 220 because the tote will use alot of wool and you don't want to waste your good Noro wool on the whole tote...Here's my email, I'll spell it out for you. My Ravelry name is..."etc. She agreed to tuck a note in my bag with her Ravelry name. I heard her say to the other nurse, "This is Jeannine, she's a nice lady and she's a knitter." Then I felt the puffy blow up pillowy thing they use to lift you up and transport you to another bed. "She's helping," they said as I tried to help scoot over. I learned several things through this. After checking the bag later when I got home, that yes, I did really have this conversation and it was not a figment of my imagination. I did confirm this was truly a real person on Ravelry days later when she replied to my "friend" request to my delight!
I also learned that while under sedation, our brain can still bring up things that are cemented and of value that we have committed to memory. That we can hear things that people are saying. This is a lesson to those nurses out there that we really can hear what you are saying even if we seem to be in a medicated stupor!
It is also an eye-opener that what we value as important, will come to the forefront of our mind, even when we are not coherent.
When we were younger, it was so much easier to memorize poems, songs and scripture. And those things are all still there, right under the surface. A comfort, if we were to ever need to draw on them in time of need. Our minds, body and spirit work together in an amazing way.

Engage and On Gauge

I encourage you to visit this wonderful blog of a good friend of mine:I Choose Joy: Polished Stones Ministry
You will find much inspiration for living and faith there. Take a look and pass it on to someone you know who could be encouraged by it.

You can also view my Guest Posting there as well, entitled Engage and On Gauge.

Canvas Wall Art

If you go to this groovy blog here, you will see an incredible idea for canvas wall art. This is not my own idea. I had a friend who made a very pretty one too which inspired me, then I searched and found this blog on my own. I plan to make a trio to hang in a row on the wall above our TV.

The way I made mine:
Purchase 16 x 20" white canvas from Michaels ( I got a deal on a set of 5)
Black acrylic paint, large bottle
sponge paint brushes of multiple sizes
craft papers of your choosing, cut into leaves ranging around 1-2" in length
Mod Podge-shiny or matte finish, I chose matte

Paint the board all black. Use two coats, letting dry in between coats. Don't forget the edges also. Wash your brushes out well.

Cut the craft papers first into strips, then into rectangles, then into little and larger leaves, according to your tastes and color desires.

I found I preferred smaller leaves in the end....so I cut some of these down smaller. Arrange on your board to get a feel for where you want them. Trace around a juice glass for the center of the flower shape.

I changed my mind on the center color and swapped around the leaves a bit. Then glued them down with a glue stick.

You can overlap the leaves on the edges, just try to secure them down as best as you can.

As it appears before the Mod Podge-ing. (Above) Then I used Mod Podge in matte finish (below) to gently layer on over with a clean foam brush. Careful, you don't want the edges of your papers to lift or get too soaked and buckle. One layer of Mod Podge on:

Two layers of Mod Podge on. If you want a texture or stippled look you can make it so using your brush strokes in that way. I tried to make mine smooth.
Let dry between layers. You can do as many layers as you like or none at all. I may stick with two.
Now to let dry and see how it turns out.

Voila! Wall art!

 

Cinnamon Annabel Cardigan and Felted Poms

A little cinnamon wool and big needles, endless garter stitch and a super easy pattern. Annabel Cardigan, from Quince and Co. I got two skeins of Eco Wool, but barely used the 2nd skein for this one. I did use dpns for the sleeves and you can see where I had the needle changes so I tried to smooth that out when blocking. This sweater is worked from the top down, sleeves put on holders and worked at the end.

Feeling a little crafty, I got some Roving  and watched a tutorial on felting it in warm soapy water. It would've worked better if I used the roving that comes in fluffy sheets instead of the yarn.

 I got my hot water ready with the soap in it and made a ball, and started working it side to side in my hands.

It looked like this:

 Then I added on a color to it. Again, this would work much better if you  had the roving separated into thin strips instead of it being in a twisted yarn.

 My end result was this little funny display of yarn balls, stuck on some floral stems and put in a vase. It added some green and whimsy the table. However the yarn is visible where I wound it. I also tried putting the balls in the washer inside a fabric bag. If I were to try this again, I would either take the time to really separate out the layers or buy the roving in big "batting" type form. But it was fun to try out.

Portlandia and Yarnia

For mid winter break, we thought we'd look for our adventures in Portland this week. I had three goals: Food, Coffee and Yarn! I can say that every goal was met beyond my expectations!

What a great place to get away for the feel of a different city, with fantastic restaurants and all within either trolley or walking distance from our hotel. Shown here, a fabulous meal at Pazzo. Filet mignon prepared "just so"...over braised kale and roasted sea salted fingerling potatoes. Need I say more? My husband had the duck. I was too busy eating mine to ask him about

how he liked his!

   

 House made bread...carbo-licious!

 Tiramisu, of course for dessert...the best we'd ever eaten.

 So, as you can see, the food part of the story was going well. Now for the yarn and coffee hunt.Within a short trolley ride we found ourselves in the Pearl District. And while I waited for a yarn shop to open (they were late!)...pretty views like this were near by.

 Coming back to the yarn shop, after getting coffee, I found they had opened. I had been here once before: Dublin Bay Knitting Company.

They have a lovely selection, though sometimes not the particular brand or type you might find readily elsewhere. I was looking for a chunky wool but ended up finding a chunky worsted cotton from Blue Sky Alpaca instead.

 My little purchase in the color "Jasper", awaiting the trolley. 5 skeins should be enough to do the pattern, Sidecar Jacket.

Besides yarn, the main reason I am walking around out here in the Pearl District is to find the Sisters Coffee, always a favorite of ours when we head down to Bend, OR.  This is one of their newer stores.

 And I was not disappointed...aaah!

 Lots of shops to browse in through the Pearl District. In the Keen store I found this cute chalk art sign and met the artist/clerk. A very fun discovery!

Another fabulous dinner out at the famous "Paley's". A trolley ride into the Pearl landed us practically at the door step. Set inside a large house in huge living room setting, is a gem of a restaurant.

My exquisite 4 oz. rib eye on a bed of farrow, with peppers and beef jus. Delectable!

For dessert, vanilla creme brulee and complimentary coconut macaroons. Our tummies happily rode the chilly trolley ride home.

Our last day, so I must make the most of getting up early and off to fetch my second latte of the trip at Stumptown Coffee, another favorite we also discovered in Bend that has since opened also in Seattle. So I have met the food and coffee goals, indeed.

Though I have a destination point to reach: Voo Doo Doughnuts. I have heard about this place, apparently open 24/7 and it had a line around the block the day prior to my visit. Today, however being a regular work day for most people, I had the place to myself.

It is the quirkiest place you will find, with more sugar on each doughnut than you ever thought imaginable. I came for the bacon and maple bars, their most popular one. I ended up settling for something smaller and just getting a picture of all the madness in the case that you can pick from.

Satisfied with my choice, and now REALLY needing to get in my walk for my "Walk Challenge" that I started this week, in an even bigger way...I headed over to Powell's Books back by our hotel. That might give me, oh 1/2 a mile or so and burn a few calories.

 It looks like even the dogs around here are in need of a little scarf and leggings.

Well will you look at this? This whole entire wall filled with books about knitting! And a little birdie said they may soon also carry yarn here as well.

I settle for a knitting magazine and head out into the rain. It's time to check out of the hotel and we have one last important destination before we leave Portland.....We are headed to the land of Yarnia! Here is is on the other side of town on SE Division street. I had seen it online and knew immediately I was headed there on this trip. Here, you choose from an array of fibers to custom make your own yarn. A sort of do it yourself yarn place! Genius! I set to work to pick out my fibers. Which should I choose? I had a project in mind and they were very helpful in assisting me to assure I had enough fibers to make the appropriate weight for my garment.

I have chosen my fibers: wool, cotton, rayon, linen and together, they will make my sport weight needed to do "Leaving" sweater. Here she is calculating my yarn weight and pricing.

Next she sets the yarn up and readies it for the machine. It's all so exciting!

And away the machine whirs! My yarn is winding up here rather swiftly and in no time flat, I have 1240 or so yards!

It is a lovely light weight and pretty blend of seafoam and mushroom tones. I hope for a great outcome using it for my sweater!

Here is a video clip of the actual "making" of the yarn on the cool machine! Enjoy!