"Properly practiced, knitting soothes the troubled spirit, and it doesn't hurt the untroubled spirit either." ~ Elizabeth Zimmerman

9/26/14

Emme 'Energy'

A new girl has joined my little doll family. Meet Emme 'Energy' from the Tonner Doll company.



She was released in 2002 and inspired by/based on the popular plus size supermodel EMME. This doll has what I would call more realistic body proportions, compared to most fashion dolls.



She's 16 inches tall and I adore her! Unfortunately, this particular version does not have jointed arms and legs, which was a huge surprise because on the Tonner web site it says different. However, I've found pictures of other versions of her, like Emme 'Eternal' that don't, so I guess they must have had both types of bodies. This particular Emme is not on the Tonner Archives web site, so I really haven't found much more info on her.



There is another version of Emme that I am now searching for, Emme 'Red Carpet Walk'. She's super gorgeous, and super hard to find. I will keep looking and some day I will run across one.

Live long and prosper. \\//

9/24/14

WIP Wednesday 9/24/2014

Time for a WIP Wednesday post. My moose sweater is coming along nicely.



I'm loving it so much that I'm all excited to get it done now.

I got some new yarn! It's Madelinetosh Twist DK in Arctic blue. This pic does not do it justice.



It's such a rich saturated blue in real life. I fell in love instantly.

Spent some more time on the deck knitting. The weather has been so warm. It got up to 90 degrees this week! Anyway, I mentioned a weird Petunia in my last post that I hadn't been able to get a pic? Well, surprise! There was one open yesterday and I took a pic.



I also noticed another odd one. It's very pretty. The pointed petals are interesting.



Sweet Hubby has been on his ride for just over a week now. He's in Phoenix, AZ. He gets a rest day there, which he really needs. He is enjoying himself, though the ride is harder than he thought it would be. He's doing fine. I'm missing him. The house stays clean when he's not here.




If you're interested in participating in WIP Wednesday, please join us.

Live long and prosper. \\//

9/22/14

Peculiar Petunias

I've been experimenting with various plants in the planter boxes on the deck the past few years, ever since I discovered the moose and deer won't eat Marigolds. This summer I filled them with Geraniums. They were very pretty, though they didn't thrive as well as other plants I've had in the boxes, so I probably won't be doing them again.  I've found moose won't eat Geraniums, Dwarf Dahlias, or Petunias either. I tried the Petunias last year, and they did very very well. I think I will go with them next year . Which brings me to today's post.

After planting the Geraniums last May, weeds started sprouting in the boxes. I decided to let them grow, out of curiosity, and in the end I allowed them to co-habit with the Geraniums.

Blood red with bright yellow stripes

They turned out to be what I call volunteer Petunias. Plants that sprouted from the seeds made by last years Petunias.

Burgundy with smaller yellow stripes

They were so pretty and made up for the apathy of the Geraniums. They were highly unusual too. Besides the unusual stripes, several of the plants had more than one color of flower on them.

This one was my favorite.

A lot of the plants we buy to put in our yards are hybrids. This is a perfect example of why hybrids aren't the best to save seed from to plant the next year if you want the same thing, because they can be unstable.

Wow! Just wow!

In other words, the genetic make up of the seeds produced by hybrid plants will not necessarily produce plants like the parent.

So pretty

Thus is the case with my Petunias. The seeds from last years hybrids have produced some very unusual flower colors. I took pics before they all got frozen.

This one was blooming on the same plant as the darker Wow up above.


This one, though, is the most unusual. It's a mauve color with deep fuchsia colored veins. I've never seen a Petunia like this before.

Peculiar

There was one other that I didn't get pics of that was downright weird. The flowers were a dark mauve color with very pointed petals. They looked like stars. Unfortunately, the first frost did it in before I took these pics.

I'm hoping some more sprout next year. I am interested in what the flowers will look like.

I got lots of knitting done over the weekend. I bound off 4 projects! Pics after it's all been blocked.

Live long and prosper. \\//

9/14/14

My Mermaid Hat

I've got a FO!



My Mermaid Hat

Pattern: Regina by Carina Spencer

Yarn: Quaere Fibre Worsted weight 100% SW Merino
Content: 100% superwash Merino wool, worsted weight
Color: A Tardis in the Park

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash
Content: 100% superwash wool
Color: 1973 Seafoam Heather

Needles: Addi Turbo circular size 6 and 9

Cast on: September 5, 2014
Bound off: September 11, 2014

Comments: This was a fun knit, and slightly challenging. The band/fan is knit first, then sts are picked up along one edge and the body of the hat is knit inside out. I plan to teach classes on how to make this hat. The yarn is awesome. Especially the Quaere. I wish I had a sweaters worth of it.

Side view. Doesn't it look like a mermaid tail in the sea?




The other side. The back is just a little slouchy.



I love the slip stitch columns that form a star.



I really love this hat.

Now on to news. My husband is out of town for the next 2 months. I took him to the airport early Friday morning. Then I went home and had a good cry.

Such a cutie pie.


He, and his bicycle (in the black case just behind him), flew to San Diego where he's starting a bike trip across the country tomorrow. The whole country. He is going with a group. They are starting in San Diego and ending in Jacksonville, Florida.

He's been wanting to do this all his life. He has talked about it constantly for the entire 34 years I've known him. He finally talked me into it. At first, he wanted to go by himself. I said NO WAY! I want someone with him just in case he has an accident, or a bike break down, or something. He wanted to do the 3 month trip which goes across the top part of the country, but I couldn't bear the thought of him being gone that long, so we compromised: I let him go, He went with a group, and he's doing the southern trip which takes a month less time.

I'm missing him terribly all ready. I'm also really thankful that our daughter, Ruth, lives with us. I'm not all alone with her here.

If you're interested in that kind of thing, my husband has started a blog about his trip which you can find here:  Adventure Cycling Southern Tier 2014. Other members of his group, which consists of 15 people counting their guide, will be posting on it too.

Live long and prosper. \\//

9/7/14

I've Got WIPs

I have been starting new projects like crazy the last 2 weeks. I have started, and made slow progress on my purple moose sweater. It is slow going  because I've got 312 stitches in a round. I just have to keep telling myself I'm knitting the whole front and back and not separate pieces. I'm using Madelintosh Tosh DK yarn and I'm luvin' it!



I really wanted to get back to knitting for Knit Wits, so I've started a pair of mens mittens using my Little Garter Checks pattern and some Berroco Vintage in black.



You know my eyes are doing better if I'm knitting with black! And yes, they are doing 100 times better. They don't hurt at all. Yay!

I also started a fuzzy shrug for Knit Wits. I'm using my Fancy Flossy Shrug pattern with a modification.



I have also started a rather unusual hat pattern named Regina. I want to teach a class on how to make it, so I'm knitting up a sample. This is the bottom edge, or cuff, of the hat.



When I get it done, it should resemble this.



Last Wednesday it was so cold I actually turned on the furnace. It was only 46F degrees and raining when I got up that morning. Brr. Thankfully, the warm weather returned over the weekend. But summer is definitely over. The air smells like autumn, the Pine beetles are out in force, the leaves are turning, and the neighbors are shooting their guns a whole lot more than usual. Target practice for the coming hunting season, I assume. I really hate the gun noise. It's very very annoying and obtrusive. Phooey! Winter is coming.

Live long and prosper. \\//