the Akamai Knitter

Last week, a few of my friends and I got together for coffee and lunch. The local Starbucks was really crowded and the only table we could snag was way in the back next to the blenders and coffee machines. It was a little hard to hear each other over the noise. As you can see in the pictures, the lighting also sucked.

Kim is on the left knitting away on her Februaray Lady Sweater, while Joy is doing mystical things with her phone when she should have been working on her Garter Yoke Sweater.

The lovely Barb worked on her Two Hearts sweater which she has since finished.

Eventually we all got hungry, so we went to BluWater Grill for lunch. The food there is amazing and it’s only about 5 minutes away from my house.  You’d think with it being so close I’d have been there more often, but this was only my third time there in the 5 years it’s been open.

I ordered the fried fish sandwich.

It was fabulous and so were the fries.

In other news, we can sleep better at night now that Castle and Dollhouse has been renewed for second seasons.* At least that’s the scoop according to one source. Another source isn’t so optimistic about Dollhouse, but it seems more then one site is saying the same thing about Castle. Yay!

Bones was a little strange, but overall I kind of enjoyed it. Of course I missed the couple of minutes of the show. My stupid DVR didn’t catch it all and I haven’t gotten around to seeing it on Hulu. Evil DVR.

The last 10 minutes of Grey’s Anatomy made me cry. Evil Shonda Rhimes with her evil cliff hangers. Even though I knew something like this was on the horizon, I’m still dying to know who’s going to be back for the next season and who’s not.

Look! I took a picture of the sky! On a Saturday! Isn’t it boring?

I hope you’re all having a great weekend! Go Magic! Go Rockets! Woot!

*Or at least I can. :P

It’s a little late, but I finally finished the pair of socks meant for my mom’s Mother’s Day present. Luckily, she knew I was knitting them and she didn’t really care that she wasn’t getting them in time. It’s not like she really needs them with temperatures in the upper 80′s during the day and in the 70′s at night.

Pattern: My own toe-up 2×2 rib pattern with short-row heel from Sensational Knitted Socks.

Yarn: My own handspun from CJ Kopec‘s Montana Moon 100% Merino fiber.

Needles: Size 2US/2.75mm

Started: April 8, 2009

Finished: May 13, 2009

Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of how the colors played out in the beginning, I enjoyed how soft the yarn was. Eventually I even came to like how crazy the colors came together as well.

I don’t do a lot of toe-up socks, so this was an adventure for me. I used the Turkish Cast-On for the toe. That didn’t give me any grief. I was more afraid of how the heel was going to work out.

Thank goodness for the book Sensational Knitted Socks. I swear that book is like a sock knitting bible. It’s got just about everything you need to know in there. And in the end I was quite pleased with how my short-row heel turned out.

The most important thing is that my mother loves the socks. So even if there are minute details that irritate me (like the yarn isn’t as consistent as I’d like or there are a couple of holey bits in the second heel) all that really matters is that it pleases the recipient.

Yesterday, Dee said she couldn’t help but notice how well Sammy coordinates with my curtain.  I do have to agree with her. Now I can never change my curtains, because I’d really hate to have my cats clash with my decor.

O.o

Now I need to go and watch the season finales of Bones and Grey’s Anatomy. From what I hear, they won’t disappoint.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Has it been nearly a week since I last blogged? Really? That long?

It hasn’t been like I haven’t had anything to blog about. I’ve just been resting up and vegging in front of the TV and I’m feeling much better now. Thanks for all the wonderful get well emails and comments.

Speaking of television,I’m disgusted with the fact that Dollhouse has been canceled. I’m hoping that Castle and The Unusuals will get picked up for a second season.  Although it looks like Castle is the only one with a fighting chance.

I’m excited about tonight’s season finale of Bones. If you’re a fan, you’ve seen the trailers. It could be great or it could be a monumental disaster. Let’s just cross our fingers and hope this episode doesn’t end up in the toilet like last year’s finale did.

Also, I was shocked with last night’s American Idol results. I know Kris Allen is a very talented guy, I don’t want to take anything away from him, but I always believed Danny would be right there with Adam. In fact, I’m still in a state of disbelief.

During all this insane TV watching, I had to keep my hands busy.  I finished a few things and hopefully I’ll be able to show them off in the next few days.

Then the unbelievable happened. I actually blocked a shawl!

Pattern: Caricia by Anne Hanson

Yarn: Dizzy Blonde Studios Sock Yarn in Olivia

Needles: 4US/3.5mm

Date Started: April 4, 2009

Date Finished: May 17, 2009

This was a really fun knit. I love Anne Hanson’s patterns. Her instructions and charts are so consistently easy to follow. In fact, I may have just started another of her patterns.

But I digress.

The yarn was a real pleasure to use. It reminded me of Fearless Fibers base yarn, which I adore. The Olivia colorway just made my toes tingle with its saturated goodness and its subtle variations.

Today I plan on blocking another shawl.

Tomorrow there may be socks.

I do believe I’m back in the saddle.

Sammy defies you to disagree.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Remember that headache I had? It’s bloomed into a full-on flu. When I’m not napping, I’m resting up in front of the TV and knitting. And since I really loathe napping, I finished up Caricia yesterday.

So it was time to start a new shawl.

In my fevered state, I decided Kiwassa* would be a nice easy knit. I really should have looked at the pattern before I started, because keeping track of a 16 stitch pattern repeat hurt my brain.  So I stopped.

Once I stopped, I took a good look at it and I decided that I’m really not happy with the way it looks.

After consulting with one of the lace experts I have on hand, we decided there’s just not enough stitch definition. I should probably leave this for when my head is clearer, but I’m going to try to see how going  down a couple of needle sizes works after I finish writing this post.

Since I stopped working on the Kiwassa before the day was through, I started another shawl that I knew would be easy peasy. I think I’m much happier with the stitch definition this time.

Just like I’ve heard, the Shetland Triangle** pattern (Ravel it!) truly is as effortless as breathing. It’s also very hard to put down. I really had to force myself to go to bed last night. Reminding myself that I was sick and that I need to get better by Saturday helped.

I haven’t forgotten about the Lyra(Ravel it!). I’m anxiously waiting for the day my brain clears the fog so I can start working on it again. I just think that working on it right now is a recipe for disaster.

Surely I can juggle the three projects without my head exploding? It’s doable, right?

Right?!

Phew. Deep breath.

Here’s a distraction from the crazy.

I have a kitty shot of Scheyer. Can you find his head? :P

Have a great weekend, everyone!

*For those curious, the yarn is my own handspun.

**Again for those curious, the yarn is Fearless Fibers Lightweight Superwash Merino in Lust.

Did you know that working with seed beads means projects take forever to finish? I’m working on a necklace for my mother and I swear it takes an hour to create an inch.

I do have a couple of bracelets that are nearly finished. They just need pretty clasps. Hopefully I can get that done tomorrow night.

Another thing that I’ve been working on is two-needle beaded beads. Only I ran out of crystals, so this is yet another unfinished piece.

My eyes can only take so much of the tiny beads.  So I’ve done a little bit of spinning. The roving is from The Yarn Wench and it’s called Gypsy.

This is all I’ve got on the first bobbin.   (Excuse the crappy photo. My wheel is in a corner with bad lighting.)

I also managed a few rows of the Caricia Shawl. I only have one more repeat until the bind off. What I really need to do is put the beads away and a good dose of TV to finish it off.

Ha!

I scoff, because we have nasty southerly winds (Kona winds) which blows in all the vog from the Big Island. It’s like the smog in Los Angeles from what I hear.  It gives me nasty sinus headaches and it really throws me off my game.

This nasty stuff is supposed to clear out tomorrow. I’ve got all my fingers crossed. Figuratively speaking.

Happy Tuesday, people! I hope you’ll keep your fingers crossed for me too! :D