Aiming For Balance In The New Year

Christmas morning found me in Knitting Headquarters learning how to spin balanced singles. Instead of spinning in one direction and plying in the other which automatically balances out all of the twisty bits, single ply involves spinning carefully one way and hoping that the yarn is neither too twisty to knit or so soft that it disappears through your fingers. The judicious use of boiling water and an icebath helps things along, felting the yarn a little and making things less kinked. This way I can get the colour combinations I want, a la Noro without striping them out of all recognition.

The rest of Christmas day passed in a blur of food, family and fog. My mother's buffet never lets us down but the weather was more grey than festive white. One little figure shining out of the gloom was the old family fairy. More akin to the bargain basement than the realms of glory, but much loved for all that.


And if Tom is reading this, it's my turn to put her on the tree next year!

Christmas, Solstice, Hanukkah or Humbug

Whatever you celebrate, or not at all.

Thank you for reading my nonsense this year, I've really enjoyed sharing it with you.

I hope that 2009 brings good things to everyone.

Jetlag dishcloths and a gentle man.

Time is gradually slipping back into it's familiar ways and the brain along with it. For most of the week I could only be trusted to undertake the simplest of activies - eating sandwiches and making garter stitch dishcloths. There is a lot to be said for the simple beauty of garter stitch made into a cotton square, especially when topped with these lovely stitch markers made by Ravelry chum Wyndwitch.

I've woken up enough now to spin a little - this is a mix of shetland and rabbit from a local spinner and funnily enough, rabbit owner. I used some of my Kool Aid that was smuggled through customs from the USA to dye it and the mix of a darker shade of yarn with the zing of the Kool Aid creates something rather subtle. Or at least subtle-ish.

The gentle man of the title refers to Oliver Postgate, co-creator of some of the best childrens' television ever. He died some days ago and his leaving makes the world a sadder place. Thank you Oliver, for Bagpuss, for the Clangers, for Noggin the Nog, for Ivor the Engine and for all of the joy and imagination that you brought to my childhood. Here is an obituary in the Guardian, I defy you to read it and not wish that this man had been your friend.

Jetlag and Happy Memories

I am shimmering with tiredness. We flew home on Monday night, arriving in London Tuesday afternoon and finally home to Mog Towers on Tuesday night. Everything here is cold and frosty, such a contrast to the Californian sunshine.

There are so many stories to share and photographs to post that I couldn't possibly do them all justice. We had a wonderful time and felt right at home.

The inside of my fortune cookie from Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden sums it up rather nicely.

So Little Time

It feels like we should still have weeks to go on this trip but in reality we only have another seven days. A lot has been squeezed in so far. We visited Tom's Beau Pere -to-be in Ventura where the sun shines onto the sea, the phone rings with calls from Lebanon and  Paris and the garden is filled with healing herbs.  

I had my first Flickr meet-up with Christine who showed me the wonders of Lafayette and Walnut Creek, complete with yarn stores, patchwork shops and   ( view the photo large ) candy stores. She also made me a beautiful project bag which is just right for sock projects.

We ate soup in the cafes of San Francisco's North Beach,  revelled in the peace of the Japanese Tea Gardens and watched the passers by till our eyes were sore. This week we head off to Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving and Tofurkey. I hear there is snow forecast - just like home! 

10 Things I Like About You.

So, we survived the flying and the jet lag.  Immigration was slightly tricky as there had been some mix up with another ticket belonging to someone with a name similar to mine. This meant a visit to the Scary Immigration Office.  Luckily I passed and then made it through Customs without having my tin of shortbread confiscated.

Here are some first impressions:

1. Blue skies - lots of.

2. People in Oakland, especially women will smile in your direction if you catch their eye.

3. Blue Jays.

4. Hummingbirds.

5.  Raw food smoothies at Cafe Gratitude.

6. Post Halloween pumpkins still on porches.

7. Many bookshops.

8. At least one yarn store in walking distance.

9. A lovely light filled apartment.

10. So much good coffee I might never sleep again.

Best of all, we get to hang out with Tom and Lara!

Second Cousins?

I had great hopes for Socktoberfest but reality hit and I only managed two pairs of socks instead of the hoped for thousands. Two pairs more than I might have knitted without the 'Fest though. This pair are the least matching fellows I have ever made, lovely solid green Jawoll and the odds and ends of my Noro sock yarn. Obviously I could have fiddled around and made the stripes a little more fraternal but I thought I'd leave things to serindipity. Serindipity seldoms lets you down.

The hat is Felicity, a free pattern found on Ravelry. A lovely simple knit but tricky to photograph without assistance. It is perfect for a person going on holiday. We have bags packed, an in house cat wrangler organised and all that is left is to fly for hours and hours tomorrow until San Francisco appears. Magnus as you can see, is not pleased at being left behind. He gets terribly car sick and it doesn't bear thinking about what might happen on a plane.