Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap - with pictures!

OK, well, it wasn't really "tomorrow", but I did dig up batteries for the camera and take pics of my swap goodies! I needed to, since I wanted to start using the towels, dishcloths, and vanilla lotion!

In fact, this morning we did some volunteering at our local middle school with the local volunteer group SOLV. We do this twice a year (at different parks and schools in the area), and are never sure quite what to expect. In the past we've planted trees and flowers, spread mulch (barkdust as they call it here), helped put together a walkway at a school, and pulled tires out of a local wetlands. Today we cleared a ton of wet, soggy leaves out of the courtyard of the school (amusingly, the courtyard isn't covered by their grounds contract since it is technically in the school!), trimmed the bushes and trees in there, and pulled blackberries from the corner of the grounds.

In short, it was cold, wet, very tiring, and rewarding. Even Andy admitted it was "a little fun", even though he'd had to be cajoled over when we woke up and it was pretty much pouring. So... when we got home, I immediately headed for the shower and used the lovely vanilla shower gel from the swap. It smelled so good! Thanks again, Cynthia! Hopefully you are having a wonderful time on vacation!

And... I got my swappee's gift mailed out today. And in the process of visiting for the first time a post-office-inside-new-mini-mart down the street, I discovered a great-looking independent coffeehouse. They've been there for 6 months and I had never noticed them! I forsee some visits in our future - with free wireless, board games, and comfy couches, they're comfier than our neighborhood Star$$, even thought they're not quite walkable.

Phew! Not a ton of knitting content, sorry. I'll post more once present packages arrive! Oh, well, if you insist - here's a sneak peak at a corner of the dishcloth I made for my swappee. It's taking its first bath in the hotel sink in Phoenix last week :)
(hmm, blogger's image upload is not working. Well, here's a linky instead.)

Edited because I forgot to add - it's the beginning of game six - go Red Sox!

Fall into Autumn goodies!

My F into A dishcloth swap package arrived today! I swear I'll post pictures tomorrow (tonight I have been busy getting my swappee's stuff ready to send - and I need to dig up fresh batteries for the camera that eats them), but I just wanted to send a quick "thank you so much!" to Cynthia! 2 adorable dishcloths and several patterns, a great variety of kitchen towels to replace our ratty old ones, yummy smelling vanilla body butter and shower gel, yummy tasting halloween chocolates (from a gourmet tennessee candy store!), and of course yarn! I love the sugar'n'cream colors - the blues in them will go extremely well in our guest bath.

Thanks so much! Pictures tomorrow, I swear :D

Cactus Pr0n

I wanted to just post a few (heh!) pictures of my week in Phoenix. The work I was doing was really sporadic, requiring me to BE THERE NOW! but only occasionally - most of it was waiting for the times I had to BE THERE (which oddly almost always ended up at 3AM). I know this is very vague, but it's really not all that interesting; it was just annoying and a bit amusing. So I did manage to do some desert hiking / geocaching in South Mountain Park on one day, and to visit the awesome Desert Botanical Garden on another. Thus, I have many pictures of cacti to present. I also visited a very nice LYS (not much of a website, though) where I picked up yarn for hats for Andy and myself (baby alpaca for me; non-wools for him), and sat and knit a spell with the locals.

But anyway. I want to show off these cacti! So, so different than the vegetation in rainy Portland!

These are growing wild in South Mountain Park, encountered while geocaching. I was very grateful that the AZ analog to a parallel pile of sticks is an artfully arranged pile of rocks, and not a spiky pile of cacti!


(self-portait in the desert with camera balanced on a rock)


From the Botanical Garden (which conveniently has a take-your-own-picture stand):


(there was also a butterfly exhibit in a nice humid tent-type thing)




I should note - not only does the camera lens have spots, it is now deciding that perfectly good batteries are drained after a very short time (and when we put them in another device, they are still "full"). So we are probably in the market for a new camera - any suggestions, either raves or cameras to avoid, are welcomed!

Flock and Fiber!

Well, after a rather icky day Saturday (broke my laptop; things fell apart at work and I had to go in twice; many pages during the day and overnight), Sunday was rather better. I made good progress on my diagonal silk garden scarf (almost half done!) - though in fairness, I had brought it in to work when I went in the second time Satruday and did a few rows during some dead time (at my desk! Yarn not allowed in the fab!). Here it is modeling in far and near view. I am loving the colors - from pastel to intense, this yarn has it all, mostly in blues and purples with some greens and golds thrown in. It also has really uneven plying, bits of hay and thread, and some knots for joins. All of which I had read in others' blogs... but I think it will be worth it in the end.

Sunday afternoon I dragged Andy not-too-unwillingly to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, which was about 25 miles away in the rural area outlying Portland to the south. It was really nice - kind of a cross between a huge yarn and roving bazaar and a county fair. I got to pet a camel! We said hello to many llamas, alpacas, goats, and sheep. We saw lots of spinning, and I fondled lots of yarn and petted lots of roving, and did some stash-increasing. Almost everything has a purpose, either a project in mind or as a gift, so I don't feel so bad. I am not sure what to do with the 100 yards of bamboo that was on sale for $4, though! (I thought about a preemie hat for the 20 hats project, but it's not machine-dryable :( ).


Here are a few quick pics and yarn pr0n for my loyal readers...


Hello, llama!


Mother-daughter alpacas. Nice haircut, mom!

The real reason goats have horns (maybe he's allergic to wool? heh, heh, heh)




Pair of antique spinning wheels for sale. From Germany and Maine!





Amazing colors of roving - I think that's what it called, anyway the really soft fluffy stuff that isn't quite yarn yet. This was just one of many, many vendors, but I didn't take any other vendor pics - I was too busy inspecting the goods!


Prize-winning hand-spun skeins. It was fun to read some of the judges' comments, especially comparing the "novice" and "expert" categories.


Career opportunity?







And finally... stash enhancement /yarn pr0n :)
















Some good sturdy Idaho wool in significant colors, Socks that Rock (Oregon local, of course!), some nature cotton that was only $4/skein (I'm thinking dishcloths), and the aforementioned Madil Eden bamboo. And yep, that's some Oregon coast handmade soap for my swap pal. The nice older lady who makes the soap was a bit bemused by the idea of strangers on the internet sending each other dishcloths and soap, but she was happy to give me tips on what my partner might like.

That's all for now - I still need to blog Japan and SF, argh! Too much to do! But now I'm going to finish watching Monday night football and work on the silk scarf :)

Fall into Autumn Dishcloth Swap!

So, I've joined my first online knitting swaparoo thingy! It's for dishcloths, which means I get to go to a yarn store (or several - there are a ton in Portland that I haven't been to yet), fondle some cottons, pick a neat pattern, and knit something up for a swappee by the end of October (staying anonymous as I ask her questions on her blog about what kind of dishcloth she would like, and what other goodies should be included in the package). And someone will be doing the same for me. So to elucidate my dishcloth preferences, here are the answers to the mandatory questionnaire required for the swap:

1. Do you knit or crochet? How long have you been doing it?
I knit, just since January this year.

2. Have you made dishcloths before? Do you use them yourself, give them as gifts, or both?
Nope, never made one, but I've made scarfs, hats, a tank top, a bag... I am looking forward to using them as actual dishcloths/kitchen towels - the ones we have are getting a bit ratty.

3. What's your favorite cotton to make cloths from? What cotton would you like to try that you haven't before ?
Since I haven't made any before, I dunno. My SIL gave me a skein of Araucania 'Pomaire' for my birthday in March, and a I enjoyed making a little lacy bag from it - it's nice and soft. That's the only 100% cotton I've yet used. I'll have to consult experts whether it would be appropriate for a dishcloth. So I'd love to try either the "classic" dishcloth yarns, or anything interesting and unique

4. If you knit, do you prefer circular or straight needles? For all, do you prefer wooden, metal, or plastic needles?
I tend to use circulars - with a fair amount of prompting, my husband got me a set of Knitpicks Options for my birthday (yes, it was a knitty birthday) and I love how smooth the metal needles are, and how convenient they are for doing things like Magic Loop socks. I use them for flat knitting too.

5. What are your favorite colors? Any colors you don't like much?
I'm not big into pastels - I prefer deeper or more saturated colors. Blues and greens are my favorites but I've been known to wear purples and oranges reasonably often. Favorite fall colors - browns, forest greens, dusky blues, crimsons, with accents of bright red and orange. Basically, I like most colors except pastels and maybe neons.

6. What do you like best about Autumn?
When living and going to school on the east coast, this answer would have been easy - the crisp in the air, the feeling of anticipation (new school year, new classes, football season for those of us in the college marching band..), the leaves turning. Here in Oregon, in the workforce, with no school ties - the seasons are more muted, and autumn means anticipation of the rainy season. But after a hot, bright summer, the gathering clouds can feel familiar and comfortable. Mist gathers on the fields in the morning on the drive to work. The lawn greens up. Mount Hood turns bright white (instead of dirty-glacier-grey) after the first rainstorm - but I won't notice for a few days because of obscuring clouds. Apple picking in Hood River. And of course, our anniversary - September 14th, 5 years this year! - starts it off.


7. Pies: Pumpkin? Apple? Pecan? All of em? or No Thanks!
Yum! Any fruit except Pecan - the usual version (mostly corn syrup) is too sweet for me. I especially like a nice spicy apple or pumpkin pie. If both are offered, I'll take a slice of each :) Oh, and as a nice twist, my mom's "apple pie cake". Yum!

8. When you were a kid, were you the one who couldn't wait to get started with school , or the one who overslept on the 1st day?
Heh. I was an academic until 4.5 years ago - college, grad school, the works. I enjoyed school and couldn't wait to get started. And I do miss that, sometimes.

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? (The real key here guys is especially knowing if you have an aversion to the holiday or little goodies/decorations associated with it, given the timeframe of the swap)
We don't usually dress up or party, but we do buy excessive amounts of candy to give away, and then are forced (forced, I tell you!) to eat the leftovers. I have a few Halloween decor type items, but not many. We're not really decor people. Goodies are great, though!

10. If you had to choose just 3 edible 'goodies' to eat for a full year, what 3 would you choose?
Hm, that's hard. Let's categorize: Chocolate, citrus, and what the heck, apple pie cake. So probably dark dark chocolate bars, lemon-mint gelato, and apple pie cake (hot, with cream). Mmmmm.

11. Do you have any pets? Kids? Husbands who seem like kids? ;)
One husband, two cats (they are both bad and good, as most cats are), no kids.

12. If you were to describe a particular yarn that shares traits of your personality, what would it be and why?
Hm, I'm going to stick to yarns I've actually knitted with, rather than just drooled over on the internet. I'd say K1C2's Second Time Cotton (from which I made a tank top) - it's practical, ecologically minded, a blend of natural and manmade (I love nature but I am a scientist by training and an engineer by profession), and comes in some interesting, variegated colors (well, I'm not actually variegated in color, but I like to think I'm interesting :)

13. Do you use your cloths mostly for dishcloths, or as facecloths?
I think I'd use them as dishcloths. Dishtowels, really, though don't feel obligated to knit something long - I am planning to keep a stash of facecloths for guests who like that sort of thing.

14. Favorite Fall Holiday: Halloween or Thanksgiving and why? (Feel free to share another fall memory if you do not celebrate either of these holidays)
Thanksgiving! What could be better than a big, happy family gathering (or the occasional intimate one: just me, hubby, the cats and the turkey) with great and copious food? Halloween candy is nice and all, but having grown up, I can, after all, buy a candy bar any time I feel like it (I think this is one of the clear boundaries of adulthood, when you realize this but also realize that you don't often feel like a candy bar any more).

15. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should know about?
I can't wear scented lotions on my face, though on my hands/body is fine and fun. With scented soaps, hands/body are fine, and a few scented soaps are OK on the face, but not if they're heavy or "perfumey". I love bright scents, especially citrus, ginger, and mint. Sometimes vanilla, but only if it's clean and not heavy. Don't tend to like flowery ones or typical perfumes. And I don't do candles :)


Wow, this also turned into quite the treatise (it was supposed to be a break from Japan blogging - part II of that soon, I promise!). Sorry about that!