Stitch-n'-Pitch, Part Deux

Stitch-n'-Pitch, as I said last night, was a blast. We came, we saw, we knitted (Okay, Tim didn't knit). But he did get a t-shirt, oh yes he did. He did not, however wear it. It will find a permanent home with my mother.

First, there was knitting:


There were also nice people, many of them knitting:

I'm classifying myself among the nice people, do with that what you will.

Then...there were prizes.


Between the two of us, we won
1. Size 9 Takumi bamboo needles
2. 2 skeins of Classic Elite Phoenix
3. 3 skeins of Bernat Envy
4. 4 knitting pattern books
5. A commuter mug for Tim that says "Don't Knit and Drive" from Knitters Anonymous

6. And, most spectacularly, a full set of Susan Bates needles, in leatherlike case, sizes 1 to 11. Admittedly, there are 3 size 10.5 needles, and only one size 10 needle, but I ain't complainin'. Unbelievable.

I have not, up to this point, been the kind of person who wins drawings. Maybe my luck has changed. Tulalip Casino, anyone?

And finally, Lily's share of the winnings, a needle gauge to chew on and a cellophane bag.

Stitch-n'-Pitch Update

Well, we lost, but I met some very nice people, and WON a DRAWING! So did Tim, which is pretty amazing considering we were sitting right next to each other, and out of 1000+ entries we both got drawn. I will give a full rundown tomorrow morning when I'm a little more awake. Adios.

ACTUAL KNITTING CONTENT

Yes, in a freak reversal here at Blue-Dyed hands, there has been ACTUAL KNITTING going on. It all happened when we got internet access again, and I started being able to read my knitting blogs. You know Wendy, Claudia, Kristine, and Alison. They do so many incredible things. And...well...it's so hard to READ about knitting and not actually BE knitting...so...I started a couple of projects.

Project #1: Tivoli T-shirt
A lovely, irresistable pattern in a variety of yarn weights and sizes. I may be late to the bandwagon, but I make up for it with sheer enthusiasm. I love this pattern. It is beautiful. I am hoping against hope it will fit my somewhat erratic proportions. Progress thus far in "Blue Bass" from E-bay's own Life's an Expedition seen below.

I'm 2 rows away from casting off the sleeves and casting on the underarms. Lily would like to eat it all.


Project #2: Lace scarf
Wendy's Summer of Lace has infected me to the point where I could no longer stand it. Yesterday, I spun 463 yards of Corriedale lace-weight singles:

After a nice hot-water-and-hair-conditioner bath, they were carefully blocked straight and wound into a center-pull ball on a Bic pen. Today, they have begun becoming a lace scarf in Barbara Walker's "Bleeding Hearts" lace pattern: I have completed 1.5 repeats.


And finally, Lily would like her own blog.

Stitch-n'-pitch

Tonight, Tim and I will be attending the Seattle Mariners game during which, much to his shame, my darling husband will be forced to sit with over 1000 of Seattle's KNITTING PUBLIC! Yes, we're going to Stitch-n'-Pitch, which, in addition to being darn hard to type (you try it), is just about the coolest thing ever. I usually knit at games, and usually garner dirty looks doing it, so it's nice to know that there are others out there who share my pain, and are willing to do something about it. Wooo!

Ouch

We got back from the Cady Creek, PCT, and Cady Ridge loop last night. It was incredible. Speaking, of course, as a slightly biased Northwesterner, I have to say that there must be little on this earth to rival the beauty of the Pacific Crest Trail in July. The wildflowers were out in force, painting the high meadows purple, blue, yellow, and white. The sun was shining through a sky so blue it hurt to look at, the huckleberries were ripe and in abundance, and the grass and salal were green-green-green, just as they should be.

The trail itself is more of a triangle than a loop, climbing slowly along Cady Creek, meeting the PCT at about the 5.5 mile mark, climbing more steeply to the crest of the North Cascades, then trolling along through alpine meadows and over rock-falls from 7 miles to about 10 miles. We stopped for the night at Lake Sallyann, an aqua-blue tarn tucked into a dip on the side of the trail. We had been warned that the mosquitoes were terrible, and they certainly weren't great. I have 32 bites on my legs alone.

The next day we headed out along the Cady Ridge trail, which passes through an achingly beautiful saddle meadow and up along a high ridge, from which we could see the North Cascades stretching out around us for 360 degrees, with Glacier Peak in the North and Mt. Rainier in the south. The trail kept a steady elevation for about 3 miles, then plunged rapidly for the last 3 miles, losing over 2,000 feet in elevation until we reached our starting point at the bridge over the Little Wenatchee River.

All in all, it was a glorious hike and a wonderful weekend, despite the fact that I now groan like an old woman whenever I have to walk up stairs or get up from a chair. My knees don't like hiking very much, but I should be back to normal in a couple of days. I highly recommend this hike from both an aesthetic and an athletic point of view. As long as it's completed in a clockwise direction, the elevation gain is reasonably slow (I wouldn't want to attempt to climb up the Cady Ridge trail unless you enjoy scraping your nose along the ground as you climb.) and the 16.5 mile length is a nice stretch for a two-day weekend.

Now I've got to go find some calamine lotion for all those mosquito bites...

Internet, Unpacking, and the Half-Blood Prince

We finally have internet at the new place. A wireless network that I set up myself, to be exact. All my yarn is still buried in boxes, but I did pause in my unpacking long enough to read Harry Potter #6, which was, in my opinion, not that bad.

Now, I'm not what one would call a rabid Potter fan, but I have enjoyed the books immensely, and have made a habit of doing the whole Amazon pre-ordering thing so I can get the books the first day they're available without having to wait in line. Accordingly, after the wedding on Saturday, we tripped over to the mailbox and pulled out a lovely box of book. 4 reading-hours later and I was feeling mildly depressed, like every other member of the Potter-reading public.

I don't like sad books and I don't watch sad movies. I realize this makes me some kind of emotional cripple, but I would just rather get kicks than sniffles. Half-Blood Prince, thankfully, had enough swashbuckling to make up for the fact that Rowling has now murdered a sympathetic character in each of her last three books, but I'm somewhat apprehensive about Book 7. First Cedric, then Sirius, then (spoiler warning) Dumbledore, at this rate, both Ron and Hermione will have to die in Book 7 to keep up the pace. Maybe they'll commit shinju when they realize they're really first cousins or something.

Blackout

Sorry for the posting blackout. We have no internet at the house yet, so the computer is still set up at the apartment, but it's just too inconvenient to come down here all the time to post and check mail.

Moving has also created a temporary knitting blackout, though I did make a shrug to match the dress I wore to Ryan and Heather's wedding yesterday. Lovely wedding, beautiful bride, awestruck groom, adorable freckled groomsman. That would be Tim, of course. Boy, cut his hair and slap a tux on him and my hubby is a force to be reckoned with.

In other news, we got a new kitten, named Lily. She's a blue shorthair with white feet, bib, and belly. She's about two months old and snagged me at the Seattle Animal Shelter by purring the instant I put my finger in the cage. I am a firm believer in spayed and neutered shelter pets. Why pay a bundle for some trumped-up white Persian named "Lady Fluffers Violente Pearl" when you can have a perfectly adorable, perfectly sweet cat that would never have a chance in the world if it wasn't for you.

As soon as we have both the computer and the camera in the same residence I'll post pictures of my new little darling. And she is a darling. Stinky, though. I can't wait until she's old enough to put the cat box outside. Sheesh.

Home

Home, home, home after a week of on-again, off-again camping. The off-again was when we spent one night at the apartment to sign the final papers on our NEW TOWNHOUSE. Yes, we did it. Of course, we'll never be able to afford to eat again, but at least we'll have someplace to starve to death that we can call our own.

Oh, and we also got a dog. Or rather, she got us. A cute little stray red hound-dachshund-something mutt came to our campite over in Bridgeport and adopted us. She's a cutie, and well behaved. I'll be taking her to the vet later today to see if she has any horrible diseases. Her name is Abbey, and she is beloved by all children. I think it's because she's small, and they can look down at her. She's also very soft and very friendly and doesn't bark, so all children, with or without permission, pet her as we walk past with her on the leash. It's very cute, actually.

Today: Wal-Mart, in-laws, vet, packing. No knitting during moving week. I did finish my shapely tank, though, on vacation. I'm going to make a shrug to match so I can have a bang-up-to-the-minute twinset. Pictures to come.