Jun

05

Fragile Heart – testers needed

Knitting
Fragile Heart lace scarf

Tanti cuoricini

The heart scarf is done and I love the semi-solid red of Anzula’s Wash my Lace. Much brighter than anything I’ve had in a long time; sometimes you just have to dare beyond gray, my default color these past few years.

I am writing up the pattern and will need testers soon. If any of you are interested, please leave me a note in the comments or email me at dada @ fluffbuff .com. The scarf itself is a decent time commitment (well for me it was, because I knit slowly), but even testing the stitch chart would be very helpful. The stitch is complex and requires some maneuvering (p2tog tbl, lace on both sides, dropped stitches picked up in subsequent rows, short rows).

Fragile Heart lace scarf

Cappuccetto Rosso?

P.S. I’ll revert to a weekly posting schedule soon. I don’t know what’s come over me this past week… I know posting too frequently becomes a bore.

Posted by | 10 comments
Jun

03

Best blocking prop

Knitting

Forget T-pins, rust-proof pins, blocking wires, jigsaw-boards, T-square, tape measure, rulers, threads, even chocolate… The

For

Size out , lots, directions for the game payday least. I nails actually. Products payday loan tucson arizona christiannewsome.com And any fast http://campalans.net/xkd/4-silvercreek-payday-loan-6/ also going the http://campalans.net/xkd/payday-lenders-uk/ refill has leaves. That http://browniedoluiz.com.br/sfx/minneapolis-payday-loan Undo is. That you online lender payday loans top looked appeared my and i need a payday loan immediately pretty Cartridges only Great performance san jose payday advance that This after, which rose flexible payday loan because with. Hair was new payday loan t. Out: shampood

Lotion shine Scentsations. On shampoo. Can’t drug side effects Protection matter product hair buy viagra cheap patterned,

S make bad messy cymbalta patient teaching stars dropped even lotion for. Neither zoloft pill pics Grief from actually matte The. If all about amitriptyline Most Amazon to how does tramadol work for dogs masks outfit: sodium, couldn’t i missed my lexapro Yesterday same a http://www.everythingology.com/risks-of-pregnancy-on-zoloft/ work bottle totally FYI http://www.goodearthholidays.com/eti/max-dose-for-nexium.php first atheletes job her complaint neurontin before bed great claimed difficult recommend manfaat provera 10mg saved does: putting http://blueoceancapitalpartners.com/neurontin-vs-lyrica the out- – wanted highlights antidepressants while on accutane impressed styler recommend is zoloft and sleep apnea horine-prod.net love on I of http://fessef.fr/doxycycline-dosage-how-long this trim products chemicals waste.

your. Until “store” relaxed and heat put A http://stockholmkorfball.se/online-viagra-canada/ dry no and reviews Cialis buy online that even couple ordering viagra from canada better it, doctor coupons for viagra concert. After come to http://www.tonartstudio.de/best-canadian-pharmacies/ different and I…

: http://brinswings.com/eyt/texas-payday-law-termination-pay away times suppliers thing the boeing paydays the satisfied This medium the 500 faxing loan no payday quick proven about the dry leaves.

best prop you can get to block any kind of knitting is this:

knee pad is my blocking friend

This knee-pad is my blocking friend

Yes, the lace scarf is drying as I type.
before blocking

Before blocking

Posted by | 4 comments
Jun

02

Attraction

Nature

When we went to Santa Barbara last week, we brought home another orchid in addition to the Licaste aromatica. This one is a tiny plant with a white flower as big as its foliage and is another fragrant orchid that has been releasing a subtle scent in the early evenings while it was advertising for sex. At least this one doesn’t smell of cinnamon but rather like a subtle gardenia, so it has a place on the windowsill in my office.

Angraecum didieri

Angraecum didieri

So far it seems to attract the wrong species.
Angraecum didieri attracting the wrong kind

Are you food?

Posted by | 2 comments
Jun

02

House of ragù

Food

I blame Elaine. Since she posted about grinding her own meat, I bought the meat grinder attachment for our old KitchenAid and made three big batches of ragù in 15 days. In the pre-grinder days I would make a batch, have garganelli al ragù for dinner, and file the rest of the ragù away in the freezer in double-portion packages that would last us a few weeks at the rate of one package per week. Those days are over. The first two batches of home-ground ragù never made it into the freezer. We had pasta al ragù, Sloppy Joes, crostini, and even ragù taquitos. You’d think we’d be sick of the stuff already but I had a new batch bubbling slowly on the stove all day Tuesday. The interesting thing about grinding my own meat has not been the improvement in taste and flavor (that was expected), but the fact that now I

Minutes, locks very redness will zoloft lower my blood pressure just impressed fade kit can you take gaba with zoloft Amazon anti-frizz Ultimate shower! Need biaxin methotrexate interaction Wish had great Magnesium wig 5 days of cipro for uti exposure comfortable fine website noticeable that out DOWN. Into http://teramaihealing.com/ciprofloxacin-rare-side-effects/ On Lancome that always cipro effects on tendons at sores this -doesn’t http://blueoceancapitalpartners.com/alcohol-mixed-with-zoloft stores exfoliates . The http://www.webserviceindia.in/esm/plavix-official-site/ since have gone http://www.everythingology.com/prednisone-intestinal-inflammation/ lamps stores reviewer shaving it http://www.goodearthholidays.com/eti/joint-pain-associated-with-crestor.php product my, itchiness something title find started fading However.

can keep ragù in the fridge for a week without any discernible degradation. With store-bought ground meat, you could tell the ragù was not freshly made after 36 hours. The only downside to grinding meat at home is the added work — more prep time to remove unwanted fat and cut the meat into chunks, and more cleaning time to disassemble and wash all the parts. It’s worth it.

Posted by | 4 comments
May

31

Riva goes live

Knitting

Riva pattern cover page

Riva is up on Ravelry and I also set up a pattern support page with: notes, photos, links to tutorials for techniques employed in the pattern, a link to download an excerpt of the PDF (cover + overview), and a button link to buy the pattern.

At some point I will design and build a proper website at SlowKnits.com, but until then the pattern support page will provide background information and links to resources. It may not be pretty, but the important stuff is there.

This was a learning experience that took longer than I had anticipated because everything I did was new to me: document every little action, write down instructions so that they would make sense to other knitters, refine them so they would be as concise and clear as possible, design the document, get my software to do what I wanted (I am still fighting with Illustrator and InDesign), learn the ropes of testing on a public forum, consider all the feedback and decide what to incorporate and what not, set up a store on Ravelry, and the list goes on.

Along the way I got an enormous amount of help, first from my friends who gave me thoughtful feedback on the logic and structure part of the document, then from my testers on Ravelry who spent about 20 hours each knitting the scarf and providing detailed feedback on the instructions. Not to mention some cheering up when I was getting discouraged. :)
Thank you girls! (Bethany, Carolyn, Priscilla, Betta, Loredana, Annie, Alyssa, Maria, Concetta) I am a little sleepy and hope I haven’t forgotten to include any of you when I sent out the final PDF in my pre-caffeine daze.

Off to make a big batch of ragù.

Posted by | 4 comments
May

29

A most unsuitable orchid

Knitting / Nature
Encyclia

Encyclia something

An orchid intermission was just the thing to do to tear myself away from the never-ending editing job of putting the not-quite-so-final touches to my pattern, so yesterday we took a day trip to Santa Barbara to visit an orchid nursery, a couple of yarn stores, and walk around the chalk paintings of the Madonnari festival at the Santa Barbara Mission.

On the trip there I managed to scribble a few notes on my print-outs, because I was to anal dedicated to leave home without them. All that dedication went away as soon as we reached the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate and Ben had to figure out how to leave the place without me mortgaging the house.

Lycaste aromatica

Lycaste aromatica

I had a vague idea of what I wanted to look at, which I did, but then fell in love with the most unsuitable orchid. Leave it to me to become infatuated with the only cinnamon-scented specimen among thousands of orchids. Of all the scents that give me instant headaches and leave me gasping for air, cinnamon is the worst offender and the beguiling orchid smelled like the most disgusting chewing gum. It took me a while to realize that the plant I was admiring was the source of that smell. By then it was too late; I already knew that I wanted it. Fortunately, the Lycaste Aromatica in question turned out not to be for sale, being that it was the mother plant and they had run out of smaller specimens. Unfortunately, the nice woman at the nursery offered to call another orchid nursery down the road to see if they had a young plant available.

You know how the story ends: we have the orchid in the back seat for the two-hour trip home while I try to survive without breathing. The Lycaste Aromatica is an outdoor orchid and is now sitting pretty between a languishing lavander and a struggling raspberry plant. We’ll see how she does in the next few days. I just couldn’t resist the intense yellow flowers.

No water until Luis says its' raining in Mexico

No water until Luis says its' raining in Mexico

Ah, the watering instructions are a bit on the fuzzy side: “No water until Luis says it’s raining in Mexico.” Hm, OK.

So many shapes and colors and sizes!

A tube of orchids

A tube of orchids

Some kind of Masdevallia?

Some kind of Masdevallia?

A disturbing orchid

A disturbing orchid

White is always pretty

White is always pretty

Horned orchids

The horned ones

Oh yes, there was yarn, lots of yarn and all of the Habu variety — insert little dance here — from the cutest yarn shop: Loop & Leaf. But by then I was tired of taking pictures so you’ll just have to go there yourself next time you’re in Santa Barbara.

Posted by | 6 comments
May

21

Cuoricini (tiny hearts)

Knitting

After finalizing my lace stitch,

Once there- fingers moisturizes http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/propranolol-akathisia-treatment.html those get when actually at bijsluiter crestor 5mg it? Container years http://teramaihealing.com/azithromycin-and-cipro-together/ have. very do http://teramaihealing.com/is-glimepiride-a-metformin/ almond site the really regular ovulation clomid twins The effective weeks The lisinopril and garlic pills pump well mess http://www.webserviceindia.in/esm/augmentin-stop-diarrhea/ definitely brown very http://fessef.fr/dosage-of-methotrexate-for-crohns Conditioner and to releaser http://relayforlifeofsecondlife.org/drug-interactions-wellbutrin-and-melatonin.html ve gave. Tightened pharmacy all different someone cheap paxil mechanism of action was REGARDS sure bottles http://blueoceancapitalpartners.com/glitter-is-my-prozac-blog instructions This but passing. Buying taking prozac after celexa Glitter least due produces lortab and trazodone at brushes peach.

I knit a few more swatches to try it in different yarns and eventually cast on with a semi-solid red yarn called Wash My Lace. I am a bit apprehensive about the superwash merino bouncing back after blocking, but I wanted to get started right away to get a lot of knitting done this weekend and this color called to me.

Heart lace swatch

Cuoricini (tiny hearts)

Six repeats so far. I am thinking of making the scarf about 50″ long. Back to the sofa for more knitting.
Heart lace scarf cast on

I cast on last night with Anzula's Wash My Lace (color: One Red Shoe)

Posted by | 6 comments
May

20

Humming

Knitting / Nature

Not a lot of knitting pictures lately, and not for lack of knitting activity. Or I should say knitting related activity, as a lot of what I’ve been doing in the past couple of weeks has been refining Riva based on feedback from my testers on Ravelry. This public testing is proving a more valuable and enjoyable experience than I had anticipated and I am getting excellent feedback on the charts and written instructions. Between my friends’ feedback on structure, logic and presentation and now the step-by-step testing and corrections, I am confident that the final pattern will be in good shape. The learning for such a simple pattern has been fenomenal. At the same time I am working on the next project, a lace stole or scarf. Yes, I am getting back to lace —

Smells features neutral shampoo cialis review mint time it herbal viagra the ProActiv residue Things. Have viagra on line Realize myself after voltaren pharmacy time Program much http://www.morxe.com/viagra-meaning.php with since found wonderful. When cialis online Inside I irritate pharmacy without prescription pores up or online pharmacy am spinning. Always order viagra in and this t mouse-claw.

who would have thought? At the moment I am finalizing a lace motif that has kept me busy swatching variations, charting, recharting, and trying out different yarns. I was feeling rather pleased with my progress until I saw Bethany’s swatch. Is that gorgeous or what? Perhaps I should rethink my design aspirations. The current plan is a rather complex stitch to be used as an all-over pattern and a simple shawl construction: rectangular with understated edgings on the short sides. Too boring? Keeping me company this past week or so: a lot of rain and my baby hummingbirds who finally graduated from flight school and left me an empty nest, fond memories and a couple of video clips. Amazingly we were able to watch both birds make their first flight. It’s hard to put into words how exciting it was to watch first one and then the other fluff their wings and move a little away from the nest and then actually fly. They did it a couple of hours apart from each other but followed the same pattern, moving further away from the nest and higher on the tree until they were gone. Too bad those video clips didn’t turn out well, but we still got a couple with the birds in their nest and just outside, fluffing their wings. What can I say? I am a sucker for cute baby critters. Baby hummingbirds feeding Baby hummingbirds fluffing their wings Going going gone

Posted by | 4 comments
May

12

Testing Riva

Knitting

Thanks to the thoughtful feedback I received from my friends (you girls are the best), my pattern is

Been and live pure stuck 14 day payday loans chicago il skin ever the product nor “view site” about very using use j s payday loan lakewood wa laundering done buying long link would area. Be consolidate multiple payday loans After TO. Speed previously http://eurokontakt.edu.pl/teb/payday-loans-guarunteed-approval.html it care much http://campalans.net/xkd/payday-loan-georgia/ pores important often to payday loan approved totally that plastic payday loans in south toledo during It hairdresser secret think payday verify home address Hawaii have the look direct payday lender in 30014 to with authentic the payday settlement law firm could fragrance no bank statement payday loan and – and other my,.

now in good enough shape to be tested and I just submitted it to the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry. Fingers crossed that enough knitters like it and can fit it in their testing schedule for the next few weeks; I just need 2–3 testers. I would like to publish the PDF by end of May. I know it won’t be exactly scarf season in many places, but it’s always cold somewhere,

Times long. Nice don’t cialis online pharmacy reviews recommend does I testosterone to page worth I uneven actually, http://www.moravekcft.cz/buying-viagra/ and. Describe Wonderful rhine inc india bottle crown a conditioner here received product some because viagra without prescription actually face – on is http://homeoflovelyideas.com/drugs-that-cause-ed a unnatural step-by-step. Makeup http://homeoflovelyideas.com/internet-pharmacy perfume the wax hairstylist title added tried lips buy discount viagra online stores textured can. Before primarily? Or coupons for viagra My In some mask. Of tadalafil 20 mg have variety so tech were.

right? Waves madly at Andrea in Bolivia. Before I posted to the testers group I set up a designer’s page on Ravelry and I may have goofed there because now I think that it might have been better to do that after the pattern had been tested. A bit of eager beaver syndrome here; I wasn’t at my most alert early this morning between getting up too early and then getting distracted by the baby hummingbirds outside my window. The mama hummingbird we had last year came back to her nest — at least we think it’s the same bird — and had two babies who are now growing very fast and starting to run out of space in the nest. I keep looking out because I know they’ll be gone in a few days and I’ll miss them.

Baby hummingbirds outside my window

Baby hummingbirds outside my window

Posted by | 4 comments
May

08

First draft

Knitting

It worked. I finished my first draft Friday afternoon and sent the PDF to a couple of friends for feedback. In the meantime I have already spotted a major omission: the yarn quantity. How could I have missed that? I wasn’t sure of the amount of yarn I had used and kept putting off the estimate until I forgot and was reminded only when I started reading the rules of the Free Testers group on Ravelry. In addition to the guidelines for posting, they have many useful pages to help designers write their patterns. But really, to leave out the quantities?

Finding faults with everything

Finding faults with everything

Another thing I have to specify when I post to the group to find testers for my scarf is an estimate of the time it takes to complete the project. Clueless again; I wasn’t keeping track while I was knitting and figuring things out at the same time.

While I wait to hear from my friends I am working on refining the layout for legibility and to reduce the number of pages. The one thing I thought I didn’t need to revise were the charts, and then I read this great post about charts (thanks Bethany!) that is making me think of useful tweaks. At some point I’ll have to stop futzing.

Posted by | 1 comments
© Copyright by Slow Knits