I finished my first handspun Baktus Scarf.  I can already tell that it won’t be my last. These things are like potato chips – you can’t have just one.

The wood pile is an excellent model in the absence of the human variety. The yarn and the wood act like velcro – pose and shoot, repose and reshoot.

I took way too many photos, in fact, because the light was right and the colors looked beautiful and I snapped 30 before I even blinked.

I made a vow to use more handspun and this scarf is perfect for handspun. In fact, I adore it in my handspun. It almost looks woven, I think.

I knit it exactly according to the pattern. I weighed my yarn first, knit until it was half gone, and then started decreasing. No waste, no fuss, just a great scarf!

I’m already planning my next one.

Spring!

Today’s topic, 10 Movie Stars You Would Like to Meet, is inspired by this week’s Academy Awards Ceremony. No big surprises on my list, I bet.

1. Meryl Streep. I’m putting her right at the top because I honestly think she’s the finest actor of our generation. She nails every part that comes her way.
2. Mo’Nique. She certainly has a different take on things and I’d love to learn more.
3. Sandra Bullock. I think she’d be a lot of fun – I’m thinking we could get mani/pedis together.
4. Julia Roberts. We watched Pretty Woman the other night and it made me fall in love with her all over again. Plus, she knits.
5. Gabourey Sidibe. The girl is just full of life and optimism.
6. George Clooney. I think this one is self-explanatory.
7. Jeremy Renner. Perhaps he can explain the appeal of The Hurt Locker to me.
8. Stanley Tucci. But only if he promises to keep his Lovely Bones character well hidden.
9. Colin Firth. I’ve loved him since Bridget Jones’ Diary. And he IS Mr. Darcy, after all.
10. Morgan Freeman. The voice. It’s all about the voice.

It would truly be such an honor to meet any one of these talented individuals. I’ll just keep dreaming. In the meantime, if you want to be included in the weekly Ten on Tuesday topic emails, please let me know.

In no particular order, my random thoughts on the 82nd Academy Awards.

• Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin weren’t nearly as funny as I thought they would be. Bring back Billy Crystal.
• Sandra Bullock looked lovely. I thought her dress was elegant and her hair was simply beautiful. I’m happy that she won for Best Actress.
• Precious won several awards and I think that’s awesome. It’s not an easy movie to watch but the overall feeling is one of hope and you can’t go wrong there. Hooray for Mo’Nique.
• My opinion of Charlize Theron’s dress: here are my boobs! look at my boobs! they are RIGHT here!
• I predicted 13 categories correctly. I think that’s pretty good.
• I saw all 10 best picture nominated films. Hooray for meeting goals.
• We played Oscar Bingo but I never got bingo. All I needed was someone to “thank God” and no one did. Bunch of heathens there in Hollywood.
• I loved the way they introduced the nominees for Best Actor and Best Actress. It was touching and wonderful to hear the things said about each nominee.
• Good for Kathryn Bigelow for breaking through and winning Best Director – the first time for a woman.
• I did not think Hurt Locker was the right movie for Best Picture but I’m not surprised that it won.
• I was hoping for a win for Avatar but it was not to be. James Cameron is laughing all the way to the bank, I’m sure.

And finally, I made Oscar cookies.

They were yummy!

And this way . . .

We all got to have an Oscar!

Still winter here in New England. BUT the Oscars are this weekend and that makes me so happy!

Have a good one, friends!

I finished the Mondo Cable Pulli just in time to wear it at SPA. And, luckily for me, my favorite photographer in the whole world agreed to do a photo shoot of me and my sweater.  Cheryl, baby Eloise and I headed outside right after lunch on Saturday. The lighting was good and there was a cute little park bench right next to the hotel.

I was instructed to sit down. So I sat.

And I was instructed to laugh. So I laughed.

Okay, so about the sweater. I love it! The color is perfect with black jeans and that’s just what I wanted. It’s a little bigger than I had hoped but I think I can fix that by re-blocking it.  And it’s comfortable! The Beaverslide yarn is soft enough for me for next-to-skin wearing but I do have a pretty good tolerance for scratchy and someone else might want a shirt underneath.

I did make some modifications, which is fairly unusual for me. I repeated the cable twist every 12 rows instead of every 18 rows as the pattern stated.

And I changed the bottom and sleeve edgings to 2×2 ribbing. I tried it first as written but ripped it out and I’m much happier with it this way.

This sweater is an unqualified success. I can see myself wearing it over and over again. A knitter can’t ask for more than that.

As always, SPA was fantastic. How could a weekend away, full of knitting, spinning, eating and drinking with my best fiber buds not be?

Sharon and I headed up on Thursday and had lunch at the Harraseeket Inn. We wanted to check out the new spinning space and we had heard the food was good. The food was excellent – we both had lobster stew and salad – but it was also fairly pricey. And the spinning room, while large, was  quite a distance from the parking lot. Even if Sharon had dropped me at the front door, it would have been  a real challenge for me (in my breathless pneumonia laden condition) to walk that distance with my wheel. We decided then and there that we would make the best of it at the Hilton and find a space to spin. The rest of Thursday was spent meeting up with other early arrivals, enjoying a cocktail (or two!) at the Hilton bar, and spinning in the lobby.

Friday’s spinning

Friday morning we woke up to no power in the hotel. Our room wasn’t cold at all but others were pretty chilly. We gathered in the lobby and found coffee and set up our wheels. Basically we staked a claim! The morning passed quickly but not without drama as vendors and hotel guests worried about what would happen if the power was not restored. Fortunately, it came back  on right before noon. I never saw a look of relief like the one on the hotel manager’s face, I can tell you that! It wasn’t long before the rest of our friends arrived and the vendor room opened. We shopped for a bit and went back to spinning in the lobby. It was crowded but manageable and we had a nice (but long) dinner in the hotel dining room.

Saturday’s spinning

On Saturday we decided to skip trying to find space in the lobby and we spun in Martha’s room as she had a suite. It worked out beautifully. It was peaceful and there was plenty of room for anyone who wanted to be there. The day passed quickly and we headed to the Azure Cafe for dinner. The food was great but the service was poor – and I’m being kind. I was quite disappointed as I was the one who suggested we go there because it was so great last year. Looks like we’ll be on the look out for someplace new next year. We spent the rest of the evening spinning some more in Martha’s room.

Sunday’s spinning

Sunday came all too quickly! We visited the vendors one last time and then found a corner by the hotel bar for spinning. It was nice to hang out with people I hadn’t seen much all weekend and I finished up another 4 oz braid of fiber before it was time to head home.

I am not exaggerating when I say that SPA is one of my favorite weekends of the year.

Spring really is coming!

This week we are doing 10 Things You Want to Knit RIGHT NOW. Another easy topic, I think I’m sensing a theme.

1. Hamamelis. I think I might even start this one this week.
2. Brainwash Bag. I promised myself I would try intarsia.
3. Spartan Pullover. Dale needs a new sweater.
4. Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf. This will look great in handspun, I think.
5. Morning Surf Scarf. Another scarf for using up the handspun.
6. Entrelac Scarf. I’ve wanted to make this since Hillary did.
7. Fountain Pen Shawl. Susan designs some of the best shawl patterns.
8. Maplewing Shawl. I’ve put this off because it looks overwhelming but I know it’s a project I can sink my teeth into. Plus, it’s gorgeous and I want to wear it!
9. Ulmus Shawl. I have a bit of sock yarn and I think this pattern fits the bill.
10. Simple Things. Again with the handspun projects.

That’s my list. Of course it’s subject to change the minute I see something newer and shinier on a blog or Ravelry. I know you all know what that’s like.

I forgot to post on Friday! I guess I was so busy packing and getting ready for SPA that it completely slipped my mind. It works out to my advantage, though, because I can use the picture I planned to use today and I get another day or two to process photos and memories before I talk about SPA.

So there.

I have rules about my knitting. They are self-imposed rules, obviously, and they work for me. For instance, I always have a sock on the needles and I start the second sock as soon as I finish the first sock. I have another rule about not wearing a handknit until I have blogged it. This means I haven’t worn Flyingdales yet and while I’d love to be wearing it, I don’t break my own rules.

Anyway.

I have made a new rule for myself. I will (try) to always have a handspun project on the needles. I love spinning, I love my handspun, but I so often just throw it in a basket and forget about it. That’s not good because then a weekend like SPA or Rhinebeck comes up and I want to buy more fiber and, well, it’s hard to justify buying more stuff to spin when there’s a lot of handspun just sitting around.

In keeping with this rule, I started Baktus.

And I’m using handspun. Don’t ask me what it is, I’m terrible about labeling my handspun. Maybe I need another rule.