Knitting Memories

I find that certain projects have memories knit into the fabric. For example, the scarf I'm wearing will always remind me of Simcha and how he came into our lives. It's a scarf I've knit before so it was easy to get lost in my thoughts as I knit and purled my way through the pattern as events unfolded around me.

I haven't told you how Simcha came into our lives. He almost wasn't the one. Life is filled with so many "almosts". The step that you didn't take that would have taken you in a different direction.

I knit on this scarf during two flights that eventually resulted in Simcha coming home with us. As a preface, the criteria for our new puppy was primarily focused on good health as our first German Shepherd (adopted 20 years ago) had a lifetime of surgeries and health problems. Steve found a breeder in North Carolina who had healthy dogs and a new litter of "working" German Shepherd puppies. We were almost positive that one of these puppies would come home with us. We paid a non-refundable deposit, we were that sure. But we hadn't understood that difference between a working German Shepherd and a show German Shepherd until we saw the dogs in person. Working dogs are bred primarily for protection and police work and are not well suited to be a family dog. That became clear once we met the dogs in person and spoke more with the breeder. We almost made a misstep there.

So we took another flight, this time to Dallas, Texas and I knit more on my scarf. On this trip we found the puppy we wanted. A healthy, highly intelligent, and beautiful show dog. He was almost what we had in mind not understanding at the time that a pure blooded West German Shepherd would be so different than a domestically bred German Shepherd. It's almost a different breed. Almost like a wolf, some say. Do we have regrets? We did in the beginning, when he first came home and was biting like a wild animal and rampaging about the house. But not now, even though he will still go on a rampage unless supervised at all times. But life has settled into a routine and is back to normal, almost. I have time to knit once again and, finally, I finished my scarf.

PS Steve took the above pictures on the San Clemente pier after we had dinner at the Fisherman's Restaurant in San Clemente, California.

Particulars: A Very Nice Scarf, Designed by Linda Romens, purchased as a kit from La Lana Wools, 2 skeins La Lana's Phat Silk Fines. US 5 needles ~I used special short needles (9 inches long) specifically for scarfs (seen in the picture above). They are particularly light weight and enjoyable to knit a scarf on. Finished Dimensions: 5" x 56." I love this yarn but it is handcrafted and highly variable with "flaws" within the skein. I like the rustic appearance of the yarn and am not bothered by the slubs of silk and thick and thins spots. My first version of this scarf is blogged here and a shawl I knit also designed by Linda Romens is blogged here (both projects use the same yarn). I find this an interesting pattern to knit and I particularly love the serpentine cable which is unlike any other cable I've seen in patterns for handknits.


Simcha at 7 Months

I would have liked to have had Simcha model my new scarf which reminds me so much of him. Except he's still a wild thing and knitting and yarn are not safe anywhere near him. You'll just have to use your imagination and pretend he's wearing it.


She Plays With Fiber

I don't believe in hiding myself under a barrel. At my age, it's more about expressing my personal style than anything else. I love the drama element this flower adds to my plain black top. Plus I made it myself and therefore I wanted to wear it and (trust me) it looked better pinned to my top than any other conceivable way of wearing it.

I made this flower by following a tutorial I bought on Etsy from Ingermaaike a very talented fiber artist who writes the blog Daily Fiber. Her instructions are wonderfully clear but I've so much to learn about felting that it even resembles a flower I think is a huge achievement! I'm new to the experience of playing with wool tops and roving that the spinners swoon over. Now I get it. The love of playing with fiber. Maybe someday I'll even learn to spin.

Until next time, be well and love well. I know it's hot out there, but it's almost Fall and time to assess what you will be knitting to wear come the cooler days of October!

A Weekend Shawl

This is my interpretation of the La Lana Wools Sea Foam Shawl using their Phat Silk Fine (sport weight) 50/50 bombyx silk/fine wool. The silk wool blend with the plant dyes gives this yarn a wonderful feel and a very elegant look. Simple but beautiful. It is one of my favorite shawls, although I haven't had the chance to wear it too often. For those familiar with the design, you will notice that it is missing the fringe! I decided it fit my personality better without the fringe.

It is a great shawl to take on a weekend trip as it can be dressed up or down and does tripple duty as sweater/blanket/jacket and that saves me tons of packing space! In fact, I'm taking it with me this weekend to Northern California on a quick trip to visit with some of Steve's family who live in the lovely town of Sebastopol. We are staying at a place where they have mud baths ~ should be interesting.




It's awfully hot here in Southern California. But, never fear, I continue with the ritual of tea regardless! However, at this time of year I keep my tea treat very simple, such as a shortbread cookie. This is a pretty basic shortbread cookie and can be jazzed up a bit with the lavender as I've done or with any type of seed/spice. They are also wonderful plain, and are more traditional that way.




Lavendar Shortbread Cookies
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1/2 Cup Extra Fine Baking Sugar (White Granular Suger)
1/2 lb. Unsalted butter (sweet butter)
1 tsp. Lavendar that has been crushed (may be omitted for plain shortbread cookies)
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
extra sugar for sprinkling on top

Steps:
1. Melt butter and cool slightly.
2. Finely chop lavendar and mix with sugar (I find a coffee bean grinder works great).
3. Combine flour and sugar mixture (lavendar, lemon zest and sugar).
4. Add melted butter and mix until evenly combined.
5. Form dough into a log (wrap in waxed paper) and refridgerate until firm.
6. When ready to bake - set formed log on counter to slightly soften to allow easier slicing.
7. Slice into rounds and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheet.
9. While still warm, sprinke with white sugar.

This recipe can easily be halved or doubled, as need dictates. While I imagine you can pick lavendar from your garden ~ I am a fan of the Lavender Lounge Tea Company's French Lavender. The Lavender Lounge is a tea company based right in San Clemente ~ it's so cool to have a tea company so convenient. I also like the lavendar to sprinke in my drawers to fight you know what!

My Life as a Pioneer

I'm not usually one for pictures of mere yarn. But what arrived in the mail this week could hardly be described as mere yarn. At long last my kit from LaLana Wools arrived and, while prepared to be pleasantly pleased, I was absolutely thrilled instead. This yarn is drop dead gorgeous and so soft to the touch that I simply had to wear it, as is. Well, actually, Mr Puffy did.

One gets tired of the perfectly formed, uniformly wound, standardized colors of yarn available in every LYS. But it goes a little deeper than that. During my recent visit with my parents, I read a book I haven't read in close to 40 years. I read The Long Winter (6th book in a series of 8 by Laura Ingalls Wilder) ~ hoping to feel better about my long hot summer. What struck me was how my personality was influenced by this writer. It's actually a rather sad story, but is filled with references to things that I find myself doing, and enjoying, in a different century. For example, I bake bread with a sourdough starter, I love to bake pies, I bake whole wheat bread during the winter, I knit mittens, socks, and hats. I enjoy knitting lace, embroidery, drinking tea and sitting around a cozy fire. All of these things are mentioned in the book. Come to think of it, I would have made a marvelous pioneer. Although I'm not sure about using an outhouse.

A Scarf by Any Other Name

If you have ever been tempted to try La Lana Wools plant dyed yarns I highly recommend this kit. It has the hum drum name "A Very Nice Scarf" which does not do credit to the elegant and sophisticated cable design combined with their stunning Phat Silk Fines (50%silk/50% wool). It has that quality that compels complete strangers to comment on how beautiful it is. While I'm not really big on wearing summer scarfs, this is a nice weight (US 5 needles), has great drape, and gives a fun pop of color to a summer outfit. I do love La Lana Wools ~ I have also knit their Sea Foam Lace Shawl ~ and I have a sneaking suspicion that Mr. Puffy is going to *surprise* me with their gaucho vest kit for my Fall knitting.

N.B.  I love this scarf so much I knit it again in the same yarn but a different color ~ blogged as Knitting Memories.

Is it time for tea? This week my good friend Jane came for a visit (usually our friends want to visit it us at the beach, but as Jane is our neighbor at the beach, she wanted to come to the mountains for a change). In honor of her visit I baked a traditional Victoria Sponge Cake for our tea. The recipe is from Saveur (my favorite cooking magazine) and I used my favorite filling of strawberry jam and double devon cream. We hope Jane will someday be our neighbor here in Topanga as well!