a dillydallyknitter: March 2006

Friday, March 31, 2006

Happy Anniversary...to ME!

It was a year ago that I learned to knit...in a lovely yarn shop in San Francisco. My life and my Mastercard will never be the same....


My first FO and my first pair of knitting needles. Looks a little wonky (and yes, I actually wore it out in public!) but I remember how exciting it was to finish.

Flash forward a year: I finished my seafoam pattern scarf made with the Hipknits silk my SP gave me. This was so much fun to knit!




















Well..off to organize and photgraph my Stash for Flash your Stash day. Yes, I am a procrastiknitter!!

Oh! And I want to give a big YOU GO GIRL shout out to my friend Karen, who has busted into the boyz club at work and now heads up one of business units! She doesn't knit (ok, so she's not perfect) but this pic is for her :


posted by cpurl17 @ 9:38 AM   6 comments

Sunday, March 26, 2006

Do You Think This Ever Happened to Alice Starmore?

But I like to nap on objects that smell like wet sheep!

Luckily neither cat nor blocked piece were harmed after the taking of this photo. This is the back section of my Sunrise Circle jacket. I started the left (or is it the right) sleeve/section last night. Both sleeves and body fronts are knit in one continuous piece starting at the cuff so this should be interesting!

There are a couple of finished jackets already on the
Sunrise Circle KAL and they're gorgeous.

Oh, and today I'm starting a sock class! Finally I get to see what all the handknit sock making fuss is all about!

posted by cpurl17 @ 9:29 AM   4 comments

Friday, March 24, 2006

Woman Swallowed Up by Giant Ball O' Yarn

Local authorities reported that a woman knitter was trapped inside a ball of yarn for several hours this morning and rescued by her hungry cat. I'm not sure what happened," the dazed woman said. "I was staring at my Oregon Woodworker yarn swift going around and around and the next thing I knew, I must have fallen in and wound myself into a ball of yarn."

Realizing his lack of opposable thumbs will make it difficult to feed himself, Cary claws desperately at a ball of yarn in an effort to save his caretaker.

"Surviving this terrible ordeal has given me a whole new perspective on yarn stash," commented the Knitter. As she drove off to her LYS, the still starry eyed knitter says she will embark on a new business opportunity by knitting the first ever coffin cozy. "I mean, if knitting is a slice of heaven, why not take it all with you?"

posted by cpurl17 @ 6:05 PM   5 comments

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

F is for...

The Ferry Building


I took BART (commuter train) into to San Francisco to meet some lovely friends for lunch today and arrived early so I could walk around downtown.

This is my photo of the San Francisco Ferry Building which was once, uh, a ferry building and now houses some wonderful shops, markets and restaurants.

On the way out, I stopped off at an amazing yarn shop called Artfibers . This shop is where I first learned to knit so it's hallowed ground for me. Artfibers sells exquisite yarns spun in their own nearby mill (no name brands) and is a great place to just hang out. They'll let you sit in their "yarn tasting" lounge and knit up any of the yarns they sell before you buy.















I picked up a hank of their pink Celtic 100% extrafine merino wool for a friend who has requested a pink scarf. This yarns is super thick and oh-so-very very soft (knits up on size 17's) .

By the way--we had a minor earthquake in the hood yesterday. It's been said that animals can predict earthquakes and I want you to know, just seconds before it happened, my kitties were no exception. Here's Mika's lightening quick reaction:




Oh, and someone needs to tell those cats to clean the windows.

posted by cpurl17 @ 4:18 PM   3 comments

Friday, March 17, 2006

A Quiet St. Patrick's Day

I started playing with the Hipknits silk yarn my SP sent me in my first package and am pleased with the results so far. Knitting with pure silk is a delight. This is my first attempt at dropped stitches (the on-purpose kind) and it's in the Seafoam scarf pattern SP sent me in my second package. I can't wait to see what it looks like after I've blocked it.



Meanwhile, on the other end of the sofa....

She was a perfect lady--just sat in her seat and stared.
--- Eudora Welty

posted by cpurl17 @ 7:33 PM   5 comments

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

My Secret Pal ROCKS!!!

I tell ya, there is nothing more exciting these days Chez CPurl than to open up the mailbox and see a package stamped "Royal Mail".

I apologize for the poor photo quality but I was too excited to hold the camera still.


















As you can see, my SP sent me some amazing and gorgeous British treats from across the pond. And the photo doesn't do them justice. But if I may drop some brand names: Colinette and Rowan. In fact, if I had kids, I might name them Colinette and Rowan.

Gorgeous Colinette in a lovely, yummy purple colourway and beautiful, soft Kidsilk Haze in purple too. And, patterns for each! One is for the Kiri Shawl and another is a seafoam stitch scarf.

Oh, and deliciously scented Body Shop lip balms, soap and cuticle cream. My hands have been so dry that I was thinking the other day, I need to buy some cuticle cream because I'm snagging my yarn and , voila, I get some today!

And, 2 big bars of sinfully good Belgian chocolate ( my SP is smart enough to know the choco-experts). And the gansta kitties even got some catnip toy treats for which they are very grateful.

Colinette Giotto...sooo pretty!


Mohair and silk: Gives a whole new meaning to Purple Haze.


Cary checking out the goods to see if there's something for him.

Thank you SP!! Someone in California loves you!!

posted by cpurl17 @ 7:32 PM   2 comments

Saturday, March 11, 2006

E is for....

the Evil Queen



There's a shop in Disneyland's Fantasyland called the Villain's Lair (currently closed) that featured merchandise with a Disney villain theme. Several years ago I was there and saw this framed print in the back of the shop and bought a copy of the print and had it framed. I love this print because, to me, she represents the evil side of beauty. The Queen, if you recall, is an aging beauty so consumed with jealousy over the young Snow White that she is willing to change herself physically in order to find and kill her. Reminds me of a lot of women I see in here in California--so obsessed with staying young that they torment their bodies in a desperate attempt to hang on to their fading looks instead of aging gracefully.

Currently the Queen hangs over my Stash where she protects it from harm. Unfortunately, she craves more yarn to protect so she has placed a Curse on me. I may knit as long as I wish but can never stop giving her more yarn.

posted by cpurl17 @ 4:51 PM   5 comments

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Gangsta Kitties Vandalize Home...



Continuing with their reign of terror campaign, two members of the suburban cat gang, La Gattos Nostra, once again vandalized the home of their hapless caregiver. Defending their actions, the cats said that the closet bar collapse was an accident waiting to happen.

The homeowner, however, didn't seem to care. She was too distracted by some yarn that had just arrived from Flying Fingers:


Karabella Soft Tweed in Cranberry for the Sunrise Circle Jacket.

posted by cpurl17 @ 10:52 AM   4 comments

Sunday, March 05, 2006

And the Oscar Goes to....

NOT me...


Penny_Karma held a "predict the Oscars" contest and some of the more stupid ballzy of us submitted photos to her website of us in our red carpet finery. I have many choices of sweats but decided to model some of the Giorgio Fugmani I will be submitting to the upcoming Fug Off and, if Bjork can wear a dead swan, I thought a LIVE CAT would add that extra je ne sais pas. Actually je sais but would rather not say.

Unfortunately, I did not win the prediction contest. However, I really want to thank my stylist and say what an honor it was to just be considered with such esteemed knitters as these and that being nominated was really and truly such a nightmare dream come true.

posted by cpurl17 @ 9:28 PM   2 comments

Saturday, March 04, 2006

True Blue Friend Cheers Up Truly Blue Knitter

Y'all, I had a lousy week and my friend Karen sent me some lovely flowers to cheer me up and deserves a big SHOUT OUT on my blog which, on a good day, has a circulation of, maybe 5 readers. But a lovely, charming, and brilliant 5 they are!



I saw this quiz on nimrodel's blog and found out that I'm Kermit.

You Are Kermit

Hi, ho! Lovable and friendly, you get along well with everyone you know.
You're a big thinker, and sometimes you over think life's problems.
Don't worry - everyone know's it's not easy being green.
Just remember, time's fun when you're having flies!


"Ladies and gentlemen, they say the show must go on, but they never say why."

posted by cpurl17 @ 4:27 PM   4 comments

Thursday, March 02, 2006

Post Knitting Olympic Thoughts

I was reading a post Knitting Olympics follow-up on the Yarn Harlot’s website, (She was the one who came up with the idea for the Knitting Olympics), and there were many comments posted from knitters adding what they had learned during the KO. That got me thinking (which is dangerous when one has a migraine) about my personal KO experience and here are some things I learned:

• Even though I’m a procrastiknitter, I can knit a basic sweater in 14 days
• I’m ready for something more challenging
• I know a lot more about Figure Skating than I’m willing to admit
• How great it is to have friends and family cheering for you on the sidelines
• I’m a little smaller than think I am—either that or I don’t measure very well
• That in this media mangled, over-hyped up world, I can still tear up when the underdog wins (I also tear up at Hallmark commercials)
• I can knit something for myself that I love wearing
• I love being part of a knitting community

Behold, my Knitting Olympic Medal!

posted by cpurl17 @ 8:15 PM   3 comments