...is it blog-worthy?

I don’t have a finished object for you; I don’t have any epiphanies to report. Sometimes words and ideas can be a struggle. A thought pops into my head and I think to myself “Is it blog-worthy?” I capture an object or a flower through my lens and I ask myself “Is it blog-worthy?”

I can understand why some of the more established bloggers lament that sometimes their blog overtakes them, everything becomes about the blog, and they begin to run out of words to express themselves. There are times when we don’t really have anything to say. I have always liked to write – I make my living with it. My blog started out with writing; however, blogging slowly evolved in me a desire to express myself through images as well.

And so, there is no knitting in this post, however there is an image taken with my new camera. I am so excited with this new acquisition and can’t wait to explore the visual opportunities that it opens up. It is my first digital SLR – I don’t know how to use it yet – but it will be a journey. The yarn above, captured through the lens, is the fabulous Regal Silk from Art Yarns - most definitely blog-worthy!!

random lessons in knitting - chapter 1

I am of the opinion that before I can call myself a 'knitter', I need to experience all aspects of knitting - be it socks, sweaters, scarves, fair isle, whatever....Every now and then there is a knit that drives me crazy. I started these endpaper mitts back in late January or early February….I finally finished them.

Lesson learned:

• I dislike fussy knits
  
• I dislike patterned knits


• Fingerless mitts are useless as in Calgary - it is too cold for them in the winter and I would not wear them in the summer - so don't put that kind of effort into a knit that will not be worn


• Fair Isle knitting is not for everyone

Most knitters arriving at the same level of frustration I did with this knit would have put the knit away. I am obviously one of those obsessed people who cannot ‘put things away’…I must finish them or I need to get rid of them – make them disappear from my vicinity.

To illustrate this neuroses let me explain about this sock incident a while back – I knit a sock toe up and hated the way it looked – it did not have that structured shape that dpn socks have – also I did a picot edge and when I cast off, the cast off part was too tight to sew around the picot – anyways, I KNEW I would never knit the next sock - but it bothered me so much to have this orphan sock laying around, that I ended up giving the sock to my local LYS where I purchased the yarn so they could have it as a display sock – I could not stand the thought of frogging the sock or have it laying around. I know – absolutely inexplicable.

before and after

Before....

...after

monkey socks by Cookie A.
yarn - Cherry Tree Hill, Supersock Solids, color: bark
modifications - 8 pattern repeats instead of 7 - I hate short socks!
started during my flight to Spain - finished at home - today.

Monkey socks are the perfect knit on a long flight to somewhere....the pattern feels familiar, is easy to memorize but keeps one interested. The yarn is beautiful to work with and the color allows the pattern to be elegant. I have made them before in a variegated color-way, but I wanted a more sophisticated sock. The rich brown of this yarn gives subtlety to the pattern.

there truly is no better place than home

Home is truly a wonderful place and to me, seems even more wonderful when I have been away from it for a while. My cat is happy to see us...she has been lonely.

We are back from Spain and need to settle into normal life. The Babe and I celebrated our last two days in Spain by going for an awesome seafood feast...bad idea...the next morning The Babe awoke with such bad food poisoning that I did not think we would be able to fly home the next day. Luckily a very nice pharmacist in Madrid managed to medicate him enough that by the next morning he was in flying-health shape and we were able to fly home.

Now I am sitting on the sofa, catching up with every one's blogg and considering what I should pick up and knit. There are a thousand things to do but it's nice to take this time to pet the kitty and just sit and do nothing.

one has to be an idiot to drive in spain

All I can say is ... thank goodness I am still here to blog about this... one must be crazy, demented and all sorts of other things I can't even mention on this blog to be driving in Spain. I think I lost 10 pounds over the last couple of days. The Babe, who was the driver, swore that he would never again rent a vehicle in Spain and actually be the one driving it. Obviously, road signs and speed limits are just a suggestion here, and what looks like a small coastal town on a map, is a city of 556,000 people with absolutely no street signs and lunatic drivers going 100 km/hour in the heart of the city center.

We drove to Granada yesterday morning and we went to see the Alhambra... it was probably about 5C at that location. We froze so badly that our pictures look awful because my hands would not stop shaking. Since it was also pouring torrential rain, I can't say we enjoyed this outdoor place in the way it truly should have been enjoyed. It was a stunning series of structures and gardens. We went through it at lightening speed and then hovered in an outdoor, slightly sheltered area, until they allowed our drenched bodies into the main castle. 

After that we drove in the dead of night to Malaga - just to make our life a little harder - where we were so unnerved by the traffic that we drove into the first underground parking area we could see on the hotel strip (after taking many wrong turns to find that strip).  When our friend Dave, who is traveling with us, mentioned that we might not be allowed to park in that location, the Babe very wisely sputtered that he did not give a flying f!*k, he was parking there anyways (I am not allowed to swear - my mother reads my blog). Obviously whatever gods are out there were watching out for us because it turned out to be an underground parking area for a hotel that was 55 Euros a night, extremely clean and had a woman who - bless her a thousand times - spoke English. Malaga was blissfully warm - about 21 degrees today - and we sat on the beach, looked out over the Mediterranean and drank Sangrias. Ah, muy bien!!

I am certain you may have noticed that drinking is  heavily featured in these reports - trust me when I say I would have been a raving woman by now had I not had copious amounts of red wine to ease the after-effects of consistent, 6-day non-stop rain, a persistent cold and runny nose, and the good feelings that came from the rude signs one receives from local Spaniards who obviously had issues with our lack of understanding of the rules when driving in a three lane round-about. Believe it or not, I spent some money and bought a cute bag because in Malaga I was allowed to touch the goods and actually, was heavily encouraged by the local sales woman to make a purchase - she wanted to take my money - I almost dropped from the shock. 

I am so thrilled that two days before we have to go home we will have some decent weather. I am also thrilled that most likely we will not have to DRIVE in Spain again. The MEN, are off to a bullfight - I am definitely not heartbroken about not going - I am still recovering from the drive and quite honestly will sit here for - like, at least an hour - and knit a sock.

the rain in spain continues

Here are some more pictures from Spain for you. Below is a beautiful reflecting pool from a room in the Alcazar. The Alcazar is a stunning structure. We are doing mostly indoor things because we have had torrential rain here this week. Both the Babe and I are very sick now. Thank you all for your comments. I will respond to you all when I get back...I think we are 'borrowing' our internet from someone somewhere near our hotel...it is very slow and cumbersome. It takes for ever to download these pictures.

I have not found a  yarn store - obviously no one in Spain knits. Even if I did find a yarn store, chances are I would not be allowed to touch the yarn. I needed to buy shoes because both of my pairs are saturated with water - what an experience - I had to choose the shoes from behind the window display, I then had to ask for the shoes, and they then bring you ONE shoe to try on - not certain why only one - maybe they are worried you will run out of the store with the shoes on if you try both. The service is very abrupt - I was scared to ask to see more than one kind of shoe because the service girl rolled her eyes when I just requested another size and then kept tapping her foot while I was trying it on. I tried buttering up to her with smiles - but, no give - she wanted to be rude. This was pretty typical of most of our shopping experience here. 

We just laugh about it because honestly you would get depressed otherwise. Thank goodness I can read in Spanish perfectly (I speak French - very similar) so I can at least consult my dictionary for words if I am stuck. We have seem some beautiful sites, and tonight we are off to the flamenco. We have also been drinking like fish - hoping that enough red wine will cure our flue and cold. We will try to DRIVE to Grenada tomorrow - that should be an adventure...the driving is crazy here.

hello from spain

The rain in Spain stays mainly....in Spain...it has been pouring. We had one beautiful day in Madrid, and since then....rain, rain, rain. Spain is gorgeous, however it rained so hard yesterday and today that I got soaked and now I have a wicked cold. Anyone going to Spain should consider learning some Spanish. It is very difficult as most people here have no English so getting around is a challenge.

We have had some fun adventures, we visited the Cathedral of Seville, which was gorgeous, and the Alcazar. The Alcazar is stunning architecture. I leave you with some black and white photos which look the same in color because of the weather we have had here. However, it stopped raining this afternoon so life is looking up.

i am off....to spain...right now

I am leaving for Spain...today - in a few hours. I hope to take some pictures and maybe post something that will feel and look like Seville. My wish is to find a fountain with a little stone cherub peeing into to it - don't ask - memories of my childhood in Sofia, Bulgaria ...there was a huge fountain with little stone boys peeing into it, and as a four year old child that seemed to fascinate me. I would like a picture of such a scene just for the sake of those memories.

You never know, I may even stumble onto a yarn store. In the meantime I leave these images - serenity, softness - metal, fiber.

breathing freely

My course is done, I got an A, and I am off the Spain at the end of the week. I love that feeling that comes with checking off one more course - bringing me closer to my degree and the absolute glorious freedom from papers and reading boring textbooks. Soon, I will be sitting in an outdoor bar, drinking red wine and eating tapas.

April marks a new element for project spectrum - earth - colors: browns, greens, metallic. My bronze horse sculpture guarding my Blue Sky Suri Merino in the appropriate project spectrum colorway 'earth'. I know what that yarn will become; I just can't start on that yet - I have Mr. Greenjeans to finish.