it's finished!!! (i think...)

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finally, i put together the 2 pieces of entrelac and 2 pieces of mitered squares.  there are 2 sections with intarsia and a couple of areas of just garter stitch plain.  there is a possibility that i may put some kind of border on it... but this sucker is l-o-n-g, and the thought of borders on both sides is rather daunting!  it feels SO luscious with all those different yarn blends (merino with tencel or silk or alpaca) mmmmmm.  Entrelac is such fun to knit that i'll probably do a project with it again... maybe socks?

edited:  just a little addition since it's been so long since i first talked about this project.  In the beginning,  (besides light) I had some lovely sock weight yarn of various fiber blends dyed by Lynne Vogel and Lori Lawson and me, and I just started out knitting some entrelac just because it's fun to knit!  and pretty soon i had 2 pieces knit, plus a piece of mitered squares.  i had no idea at the time what i'd make ... so put it in the basket with the yarn and went on to other things.  it got pulled out occasionally, admired, wondered over as to what it would become... then returned to the basket.  it went to BSG with me because i knew Lori would have some ideas/suggestions for a project using these random pieces of knitting, and of course she did!  she said it would make a wonderful scarf or shawl,  so i started... and this is the result after picking up stitches and attaching the pieces together with some garter stitch and intarsia in between.  there were a helluva lot of ends to deal with in finishing it, but i forced myself to do it right away rather than put it back in the basket!  bravo for me!  it's finished!!  and i'm ready to start another entrelac project... when i decide just what it will be.

part 2 of the party

Several Twisted Sisters came with their spinning wheels and/or knitting projects.  Although this was a "no gift" event, they did bring this wonderful ceramic plaque to me, and it couldn't have been more appreciated... or more appropriate.  i will treasure it always.  Leaving the twisteds is one of the very sad things about this move we are about to make.  they have all been a very important piece of my life for a very long time and i'll miss them dearly!!  We've shared many of those "life moments"... triumphs, losses, births, weddings, an adoption, and lots of parties and Black Sheep Gatherings.

My best friend for 35 years, Anna, came from Boise for the party... a day early and got pressed into pre-party preparations, including mopping floors.  Now that is friendship, wouldn't you say?  

Anna, Pam and Larry on the patio....

I finished the scarf which began with the 2 entrelac pieces and finally evolved into something.  

Anna and i posed with the scarf.

Kate's new Louet Julia was delivered here last week and she put it together and got to spinning as soon as she could!

lovely sunflowers.... my most favorite flower....

which Pam brought from Friday Harbor.

Zylie was fascinated by the bobbins.  I wonder if that's any indication she'll be a spinner....

there are a few more photos which I'll put up later.  What a great 70th birthday party it was!  and i can't begin to put all the fun into words on a blog!

words to live by...

"Life is uncertain.  Eat dessert first!!"  and that was the theme of my birthday party on saturday!

i was having so much fun that i totally forgot about taking pictures throughout the event, and that is why i missed capturing the decadence of the dessert table before it was attacked by the dessert-seeking hordes.  the array was quite spectacular and delicious... with plenty of chocolate.  this shot does not come close to showing  all the goodness that was there!  i'm hoping someone thought to take some photos and will share them with me.  Jim planned this gala event for me, and bbq'd salmon and created a lovely caesar salad (very garlic-y,thank you)  He asked the friends to bring a dessert or a salad, and believe me, we dined WELL!

a plate full of dolmades which i made for dinner tonight.  what looks like speckles is the Cretan olive oil glistening on them.  they were delicious!  as i was picking the grape leaves, i had a sweet memory of the day before Easter in Crete when i saw some of the village women out picking grape leaves from the vines on the lot next door, probably for making dolmades for their Easter feast!

stash reduction of all types of "stuff"

seems that lately my days have revolved around or included the dispersal of lots of that accumulated stuff... some of which has been sitting right out there in the open begging for some decision on destination... some which has been buried in closets for YEARS.  I really hate making the decisions required, because in the back of my mind there is always that voice lurking and whispering "well, that is certainly still usable and might be needed some day".  sounds kind of like my mom in all her Scottish and Depression Era frugality, whose genes keep coming thru in my being!  Now, really.... that drawer full of zippers still packaged and kept around just in case i decide to sew clothes again (that will never happen and i've known that for a long time) should really go in the Good Will bag.  and zippers are probably the least of my concerns.  What about the boxes of tax returns from 15 to 20 years ago... hmmmm?  and boxes of cancelled checks to match??  and knitting patterns from the 80s?  my inner martyr reminds me of all the time and hassle we save our DS by doing this now, ourselves.  It is a comfort (of sorts) to know that at least i haven't become the little old lady in stories i've heard who saved everything that came into her life, to the point of only having a path between stacks of saved stuff to get thru rooms in the house.  and my mom saved string.... all string.. and even had a box for string that was too short to save! no, really, she did!  My very dear dh/spousal unit has completely endeared himself to me... what a guy!  I was bitching about having to make decisions as to which fibers and yarns to keep and which to give away/sell/trash... and the dear man seemed surprised.  He thought i'd just put it all in boxes and keep it.  obviously, he has no clear idea of just how much stash i have!  and even after parting with quite a bit of the fiber, Kate and i will still have more than enough to last us thru any potential fiber famine, and a couple of lifetimes!  

one word

daylily

(or should that be two?)

those entrelac pieces

 some time back there in the past, i put up photos of entrelac pieces i'd knitted.  they've been aging along with a couple of pieces of mitered square fabric, and i took them to BSG with me to get suggestions from Lori for what might be a good way to use them.  she mentioned a scarf/shawl by Katherine Alexander in Interweave Press' "Scarf Style", and i looked at it and saw possibilities for this fabric.  so, i picked up stitches at one end of one of the entrelac pieces and got started.  there is a quite abundant stash of these yarns, from several sources (Lori, Lynne, me and maybe others).   this is how it looks now, complete with abundant yarn ends which will have to be dealt with sooner or later.  when it gets to the length i like, i'll probably put some kind of border on the sides, maybe 2" or so wide.  i'm thinking a kind of varigated solid might be nice, but we'll see.....

bravo!

DS Chris went fishing last week and look what he caught!!  Bravo!