view from my room

I am home! And I am very glad to be here.

Friday Harbor was, as always, gorgeous. This first picture is the view from my room in The Lodge at Lakedale Resort. I was on the ground floor and only had to open the door and walk out to be right on the shore. The room was cute and cozy. There was a fireplace with an electronic starter which was appreciated just before bed and first thing in the morning to take the chill off. The rest of the time I didn’t really need it. For one thing, I was rarely in my room. But, as you can see, there are vastly worse places to spend 4+ days.

Since I overslept had so much to do on Saturday morning, I missed the 2:30 ferry. So by the time I arrived in Friday Harbor, it was dark. If you’ve ever been way out in the country away from city lights, then you know, gentle reader, just how dark dark can be. I don’t see all that well at night, so the drive out to Lakedale was… exciting, shall we say? The turn off for Lakedale leads you on an adventure down a 1 lane road over a 1 lane bridge. In the dark. There were signs pointing past the cabins to the lodge, but I couldn’t find a place to park my car. So I parked in front and went inside. And there I found an envelop with my name on it and a set of keys inside. I asked one of the Lodge hosts where to park. Right up on top there, he said, pointed up a wall of rocks to a higher area where I could see a car parked. Just go up that driveway over there, he added. I peered into the darkness, but no driveway could I see. Right up there by that truck, he explained. OK, I replied. I got in my car and carefully backed up until I was near where he had told me the driveway was. Acting totally on faith, I drove up what looked, in the blackness, to be either a wall or a bog. It was a driveway. Whew.

After parking I stumbled around the grounds in the dark, trying to find anyone that I knew. I was rescued by Cat (she seems to rescue me quite often, come to think of it), who took me in to the light and warmth and company and wonderful food.

Wings Of The Raven

The weather was pretty decent. There was rain. And one night there was quite a wind storm. But we did have some gloriously sunny, faux-spring warmth. A fellow retreater snapped these pictures of Wings Of A Raven for me when the sun came out. (Thank you, again, fellow retreater!)

I love this first picture because it almost shows how the colors shift in the light. See how it looks black across my back, but the left wing has flashes of blue on it?

And my hair is almost behaving itself, miracle of miracles! But I could use a little tan on my arms, it appears.

The second shot of the sun streaming through the lace shows off the feather pattern nicely, I think.

Every place I have worn this shawl I’ve gotten lots of compliments. People just want to touch it and pet it and I do, too. Of all of the objects I’ve knit, I have to admit this is one of my favorite. And I’m going to wear it a lot. Because black, you know, goes with everything. It’s the new black, or something like that.

I am not at liberty to tell you about the Visionary Retreat. I can only say that it was an amazingly diverse group of people with an amazingly diverse array of projects / interests, and the energy was, well… amazing. I felt both energized and drained, if that is possible. Although I slept like a log every night, by Thursday morning I was really, really, really tired.

Getting up early enough to be in town by 7:00 for the 8:05 ferry was trying. Thank goodness there’s a little coffee place right next to the ferry dock where decent coffee and breakfast sandwiches can be procured by hungry and sleepy travelers.

Wings Of The Raven

On the way home, I stopped in Tacoma for the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. I wasn’t signed up for any classes. But I’d heard that there might be yarn involved.

And there was yarn. Lots of yarn. Walls and aisles and racks and booths of yarn.

I bought no yarn. None.

I hear your gasps of surprise out there, gentle reader. But it is true. I fondled and petted and stroked all of the yarn. But none came home with me.

I stayed away from the Koigu.

I said hello to Teresa, who did not laugh this time at my lack of sock yarn. I waved at Lucy Neatby, who was in a vast hurry to get somewhere. I spoke to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and managed, this time, not to be a total dork (only partially). And Tina petted Wings Of A Raven and agreed that it was a perfect pattern for that yarn, which was sort of cool.

But, best of all, I got to see the two people I really, really wanted to see. So, in order of actual seeing:

Shelly, from Butternut Woolens, was there with some of her yummy hand-dyed yarn and roving. Gentle reader, if you have a chance, you must see her indigo dyed sock yarn. Gorgeous! Like all of her yarns. Shelly and I had a wonderful chat. I felt sort of bad monopolizing her when there might be paying customers. But it was so fun to talk to her. Shelly is one of the few people I know who understand exactly what I mean when I say things like Island Park and Arco and continental divide, and who isn’t all that surprised that I ended up canoing in a snowstorm one August when I was a kid.

After bidding a fond farewell, I headed over to Tactile Fiber Arts’ booth, where I got to meet Brooke. And then, leaving the marketplace madness behind, Maya and I chatted over a cuppa coffee. Maya, as you will remember, gentle reader, dyed the yummy honey-colored yarn that I am using for the Honeybee Stole. So nice to tell her in person how much I love it! Maya and Brooke are dying wonderful fibers with natural, long-lasting dyes. If you have a chance to see their work, don’t miss them!

Madrona haul

I didn’t escape from the marketplace entirely unscathed. I purchased a lovely new nostepinde from Asciano.

A pair of silver sheep earrings were acquired from JKF, Inc. And how could I resist the matching necklace that has as a pendant a bell with a sheep clapper?

I had planned to stay late and maybe have dinner with Maya and Brooke. But I was so, so tired I was afraid I might not make it home if I drove after dark. So I left pretty early and headed south. And, of course, arrived in Portland just in time for rush hour. Go figure.

Captain Kidd and Moo Cow were just fine, and glad to see me. #1 Son checked in on them during my absence, so I knew they’d be alright. This morning I picked Phoebe up from the vet where she had a radioactive iodine treatment. She is none the worse for wear, and hopefully will now be cured of her problems and back to normal. She will take a little extra care over the next few weeks, though, until she ceases to radiate. Or, rather, her litter will need extra care. It must be flushed for the next three weeks. And she will not be allowed to sleep with me for awhile. 🙁 (It sort of reminds me of one line from Elephant Parts: My house glows with almost no help.)

But the good thing is that we are all home and healthy and happy. And tomorrow I’m having lunch with #1 Son and we’ll have a chance to catch up, too.

I’m not finishing my packing — that’s what I’m not doing.

I should be finishing up my packing and getting out the door because I should have left 10 minutes ago. So instead I’m writing a short note sans pictures.

I’m on my way to Cat Bordhi’s Visionary Retreat up in Friday Harbor. It’s a long drive. There are a limited number of ferries. I did, however, plan a little slack time into the day, so I should be OK. If I miss the ferry I’m aiming for, there are at least 3 more.

I’ve spent the morning oversleeping making sure I had the right projects to take with me, and the samples I wanted to bring and the items I need to show.

The Clown Barf socks have been started over with a whirlpool toe and a different stitch count. They’re not quite so clown-barf-ish, although they do still resemble bright tropical fish that all swam into each other … really hard as ~Kristie noted in the comments.

I’m taking other sock yarn also. Just in case I can’t take the retina-searing any more.

I need to make sure that Moo Cow and Captain Kidd have plenty of food to last until I return. #1 Son will look in on them from time to time, and they will be OK. Phoebe is safely delivered to the vet. The very nice technician has promised to take very good care of her and sneak a little catnip in her cage now and then.

I’m very excited and feeling really scattered. Eek! 😯

I will return next week with pictures and report from Madrona. Keep the home fires burning! 😀

coming home

#1 Son arrived home late last night to much fanfare from his adoring fans.

OK… not so much. Maybe just a bit of fanfare from his adoring mom, who was very glad to see him. Mom, you don’t really need to take a picture of me as I get off the plane after 24 hours of travel. Really.

Yes I do.

He was tanned and looking a bit strung out from Carnival celebrations and 24 hours of travel. I’m so glad to have him back in Portland, at least for a while.

Moo Cow was glad to see him, too.

I frogged the Monkey Clown socks and restarted with a whirlpool toe. I’m still on the toe increases. I may knit these in plain stockinette, because… well… what pattern could possibly hold its own? #1 Son said, Clown barf is a little harsh. They’re not that bad.

We shall see. Film at 11 and all that.

honey and … clowns?

So, with The Wings Of the Raven finished, what was I to do but cast on a new lace project? And, well… maybe some socks. Because two pairs of socks on the needles are obviously not enough, you know.

So I spent Saturday mostly winding yarn. 1350 yds of laceweight and 360 yds of sock yarn, to be exact. It took a long time. But my handy dandy little tinker-toy swift really helped.

Then I cast on the Honeybee Stole and knit one repeat of the center pattern. I love it. I love the way the pattern is knitting up. I love the golden honey color. I love the way the colors are subtly pooling. I love the way that the cashmere/silk blend is exactly like knitting with very soft clouds.

Did I mention that I love it?

I’m a little iffy on whether I’ll have enough yarn or not. I really want to use all of it. But if I run out I can’t really run down to the LYS and get more. What I have is all there is in the whole, wide world. Which is very cool. But a little scary. So I cast on for the larger size of the stole, but I’ve gone down one needle size and I’m planning on knitting one fewer repeat in the center. Keep your fingers crossed.

For socks, I wanted something really colorful. After knitting for a couple of months on black, black, black… color just seemed like a nice thing. So I reached into my stash and pulled out the most colorful yarn that was right on top so I didn’t have to dig too far. This is Great Adirondacks Soxy in High Desert. I really love the colors in this yarn. And, yes, the blue really is that bright.

But, the way it’s knitting up… gentle reader, are you seeing… clown barf?

I’d really like opinions on this. For me, I think the jury is still out. I will knit for a bit further and see if maybe it’s going to be OK. I’m knitting a pair of toe-up Monkeys. I experimented a bit with the toe and ended up with a very pointy, rather strange looking end. But my feet are rather pointy and strange anyway. It’s all good.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your kind comments about The Wings Of The Raven. There was sun today, but alas I was not home to take pictures. It may be a week or two before I can manage that. I’m not sure I will ever be able to really do it justice. But I will definitely be wearing it next Thursday at Madrona. So if you are there, and you see a strange woman with biggish hair wearing a blackish/bluish winged stole, running around and petting all the yarn, do say hello!

#1 Son will be home tomorrow. Even as I type, he is on a plane that is winging its way from Sao Paulo. He has to make a connection and has a rather long lay-over. I get to pick him up at the airport and I’m already excited. I know I have to play it cool and nonchalant and all that. But I will be so glad to see him. And so will Moo Cow. 😆

Raven Wings blocking

But look! The Wings Of The Raven is off the needles and blocking.

It’s done.

I finished it with almost a week to spare. And I should have, because I’ve been knitting on it obsessively. It was a fun knit. But I admit that towards the end, as the rows got longer and longer and longer, I did have to start playing little games with myself… one more row before dinner… that sort of thing.

It came off the needles, a big black blob, at around midnight. I’m sure you will agree, gentle reader, that he only logical thing to do at that point was to start blocking.

I’m blocking it on #1 Son’s bed. He won’t mind. He’s in Brazil. His bed was not quite long enough. So, unseen in this photo, I have a 1′ x 2′ padded board propped up on a shoe box sitting on a garbage can at the end of the bed to hold the tip of the left wing. There’s a book jammed in between the board and the bed to keep it at the right angle and tension.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and all that.

There won’t be any problem with leaving it there while it dries since nobody is using that room right now. And I can close the door so that the kitties don’t feel obliged to investigate. The only drawback is that, since the door is closed, Moo Cow is convinced that #1 Son has somehow snuck in and is hiding in his room. She has been crying outside the door, and I cannot convince her that he’s not there. Poor baby. I miss him, too.

It’s blocking. I’m having a drink and then going to bed.

Thank you, all, for your encouragement on my little maybe-endeavor. It means a lot!

raven progress

Today’s is going to be one of those sort of disjointed, rambling posts. I’m still slammed at work, but I think it’s starting to calm down a little bit. Of course, that doesn’t mean that life in general is slowing down. I used to have such a nice mundane, rather boring existence. What happened?

At any rate, here is a picture of the progress on Wings Of A Dream. (I should probably be calling this Wings Of A Raven, eh?) This picture almost shows how the colors look in the sun. Almost. It’s amazingly hard to capture the Thraven colorway in silk. The color shifts with the light and as the object moves.

I’m beginning to have hope that I might actually finish on time. I’m also fairly convinced now that I will have enough yarn. In fact, I think I’m going to have plenty left. I’m actually further along than the picture shows. I took this picture on Saturday, and I’ve been knitting on it every chance I’ve had since. I’m just about to start the very last chart! And the rows are getting longer and longer. I know that I’m only adding two stitches each row. But it sure seems like I went from knitting tiny little short rows to big, long, many-stitched rows between one row and the next. The good news is that after knitting one whole wing and most of another, the knitting has become fairly mindless and can be done anywhere.

It needs to be off the needles and blocked by a week from Friday because I want desperately to take it north with me. Gentle reader, I have been invited this year to Cat Bordhi’s annual Visionary Retreat, where I will be exploring the possibilities of writing a book. There. I said I very scary thing out loud. Exploring only at this point, because I want to be sure in my heart of hearts that anything I give birth to will be worthy and not die a-bornin’. I am both frightened and exhilarated. Sort of like riding a roller coaster. Except then I’m mostly just frightened. (Not a roller coaster fan.) The visionary retreat will give me a chance to bounce my ideas off some very, very wonderful participants. So we shall see.

Captain Kidd

Usually Moo Cow is hanging around when I’m taking yarn pics, but last week it was Captain Kidd who joined me. He’s incredibly photogenic, so I snapped this close-up. I have no idea why he seems to have grown a solid black whisker amongst the white ones on his eyebrow. I don’t think he has another black hair anywhere.

There’s good new about the third kitty, Phoebe. Her kidneys are OK (yea!) and she has been cleared for the procedure that will solve her thyroid problem. She will be paying a visit to the specialist while I’m away from home and will be ready to come home about the time I do — perfect timing on something for a change. She has almost forgiven me shoving a pill down her throat twice a day, and last night even slept with me.

In other cool news, check out a new addition on the techniques page. The Judy’s Magic Cast-On instructions have been translated into Icelandic by Elín Einarsdóttir (thank you, Elín!) Her translation is posted with her permission.

And, finally, #1 Son will be back next Wednesday, lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. I miss him very much and can’t wait to see him again. Of course, I will leave shortly after for points north. We are becoming ships that pass in the night. I guess that’s what happens when your kids grow up.