Fall in love Fridays: Downpour

The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath. It is twice blessed- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
~William Shakespeare

Another blast from the stash!!! This is STR 'Downpour' in mediumweight. I broke it out just in time to celebrate the return of precipitation in liquid and frozen form! Don't let the sunlight in the top photo fool you...it was fleeting!

The sock pattern is something new to me actually...Child's First Sock designed by Nancy Bush. The yarn might be too busy for it, but I think it'll work by the time all is said and done.

Mr. NK and I want to thank you for all your lovely and kind comments about our Keeley. Needless to say, we read them to her last night, and well...I think she was actually beaming!

And let's not forget about AI...I'm ok with the picks from last night. I would've liked to have seen Kai up there...but perhaps he'll be back as a wild card.

Jen and I are off to Stitches after work! We can't wait! We're going to hook up with Carrie, Leslie, Celia, Debbi and Susan and many other wonderful knitters and soon to be friends!

Have a most awesome weekend!

Keeley

Ahhh...the title of this post should make you catch your breath and strike awe into your very soles! At least a resounding round of "yippy skippy" should be cast. Yes, the rarely seen and frequently doubted existence of our third cat has been documented for all of blogland to witness...well, my three readers at least!

We think Keeley is stunningly gorgeous. Adorable at the very least. She is tempermental and painfully shy. Most of her days are spent in the closet or under the bed. We love her and wish she would surface more frequently. She comes out to snuggle with me at bedtime because, 1) well, you know...she's the boss, and 2) the best place to cuddle is to plant herself between me and my reading material (Breaking Dawn at the moment).

How fitting that she should share her time on the blog with another Rare Gem...this Tesserae sock.

The other morning she was sitting in the chair at the dining table (aka photostudio/computer desk) and the light was perfect. She was very patient and still as I gathered my camera and tripod. I had to stealthily divert Mr. NK as he padded down the hallway as I knew she would bolt if he made it all the way to the dining room.

She was patient.
I was as fast as possible.
20 some odd shots were taken, and then she flew down the hall.
Diva.

There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.
~Albert Schweitzer

socks in the city

I was in downtown PDX Saturday, taking a little break after a wee bit of work in the morning. There is a cool one block park in The Pearl, an artsy and eclectic area of the city, that I wanted to investigate. There are stone paths, water features and a very cool rust wall...complete with a wave element to its structure.

Hidden within the waves are these panels of glass.

I couldn't resist photographing this Tesserae in this backdrop.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Happy Monday!

Fall in love with your stash Fridays

Romance redux...A lovely STR Rare Gem from the stash.

Rebounding with the perfect pattern....Tesserae.

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love.
~Albert Einstein

Thank you Carrie for coming up with this idea...I hope I got the blog title right! :) And I hope you don't mind my following your lead!!

Happy Friday!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

I'm not worthy

Oh my!!! I have been honored with two blog awards! Count 'em...Two!! Thank you, thank you to Anita and Courtney! You are way too kind! Blush!!!

Now it's my turn to pay it forward.

There seem to be three types of blogs I read lately...well....look at really. I seem to have an attention span of a gnat, so the more pictures the better. I hit those blogs which are focused on knitting (kind of a duh, huh?), food with an emphasis on the photography, and straight up photographic eye candy. So, I'm going to pepper my list with blogs from each of these categories. It's hard to generate a short list from the wonderful blogs that I read regularly, but here are 7 blogs that if you haven't run into yet, you should take a detour to check out!

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman Ree is a hoot. She is a mother, wife, cook, writer, photographer. She lives on a working ranch...a luscious backdrop for many of her stories and images. Her blog is a striking amalgam of humor of the ROTFLOL kind, forthrightness, and compassion. She will keep you entertained until the cows...er, horses, come home!

Simply Photo this blog is anything but simple. Jen is amazing. What is super fun is that she scours the internet looking for inspiring images and photographers to share with her readers. You can also catch up with her previous projects here and here.

Pictures and Pancakes One food stylist + one food photographer = FANtastic!!

Moonstitches Alex is the hostess of this lovely blog. She is a lovely knitter and an all around creative person. Her photography is in a word ~ 'pure'.

Domesticrafts OMG! Li is an amazing photographer and knitter. Her kitty pictures are fabulous. I've never seen anyone capture the essence and soul of a cat the way she can. She has recently started her own pet photography business...I'm anxiously waiting for her to make a trek to the west coast...Gibson deserves only the best!

sixoneseven Parikha is a master knitter, cook, seamstress and photographer. I heart her imagery. Heart it. She is an inspiration. If you haven't come across her work yet...go now!

t does wool I'm new to Theresa's blog. I love her photographic style and her words are poetic. If you need a respite from the chaos of the world, take a quick trip to her blog. I promise you your shoulders will relax, your brows unfurl, and your breathing will slow. You'll feel renewed and rejuvenated. Her blog is a virtual spa!

That's it. Grab yourself a cup of your favorite drink, curl up with your 'puter, and go on a virtual road trip around blogland! I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do!! And don't forget to click on the blog links within each of these sites...you'll find many treasures, I'm sure. They don't call it a "web" for nothing!

OT: AI: I'm pleased with the first set of picks for the top 3! Go Danny, Go!! Woot!!

Happy Thursday!!

pas de deux

Starring two STR Rare Gems

Choreography by Anne Hanson

Music by Papaver Sok and Tesserae

To be continued...

(A little AI speak...Danny Gokey is the man!)

Madrona 2009

We had our very own Guardasaurus at the booth at the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat. When pet, he growled...then purred. Very cute!

The days were full...

Early to wake, work-out, dress and have breakfast before the show started!

Gingerbread french toast...yum.

The market was a blur of color

and sound as people hustled and bustled to make their purchases, go to class

and just sit and visit among the colorscape.

Chocolate bread pudding (and a wee spot of Guinness) shared by four friends at the close of the show.

It was another wonderful winter retreat and it was nice to rekindle acuaintances from last year. Sadly, I have no new yarn stash to share...none. Nada. I was fondling three skeins of STR for the whole weekend, and at the end decided that I just needed to work on some projects already in the queue. I think I better check for a fever. Alas, I know where to go when I change my mind!

It's back to work this morning. No gingerbread french toast. Reality is settling in. Until next year...

Happy Tuesday!

Red Velvet Love

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints.

I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life;

and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Happy Valentine's Day!!

p.s. check here for the recipe and here for the frosting (and inspiration!)

Be mine

No soul is desolate as long as there is a human being for whom it can feel trust and reverence.
~George Eliot

My friend Jen loves us! Ooohhh how she loves us. I was surprised out of my socks when I came home last night to find this indecently stunningly gorgeous package waiting for me. It's her special Be My Valentine Sock kit...complete with Madelinetosh sock yarn in the 'Valentine' colorway, chocolate, a set of custom notecards, chocolate, a darling box, did I mention chocolate...and the many wonderful goodies that are the hallmark of a Woolgirl kit!! What a wonderful gift from a dear, dear friend who spoils me rotten with her never ending generosity! I'm sooooo not worthy!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jen! I heart you!

p.s. I had to chase Gibson around the house to retrieve that chocolate!!

finito

The Holidazed socks are finished! As this is the third pair I've knit since November...I will leave you with just these few parting shots. I like love this pattern...alot!

Nature will bear the closest inspection. She invites us to lay our eye level with her smallest leaf, and take an insect view of its plain.

~Henry David Thoreau

catching calm

I caught a few minutes of the setting sun on the river yesterday evening.

Very quiet.

Very calm.

I think I'll go back...soon.

The second Holidazed sock in STR Basan has a heel and almost a toe.
Completion is imminent.

Thank you, thank you for all your kind words about the honey bun cake. It was indeed yummy!! The recipe came from the Cake mix Doctor cookbook by Anne Byrn. Very easy, very tasty!

of baking, knitting and super bowls

I love taking pictures of ingredients used in baking. Eggs are too much fun. Go figure. The butter was actually for a chocolate cake (with Andes mint chips and a butter cream frosting) that is now history with no image of the finished product. Too bad. I have it on good authority that it was tastey so I'll be making it again!

The eggs contributed to this lovely confection--a Honey Bun cake with a cinnamon glaze. Yum. Sunday morning just wouldn't be Sunday morning without cinnamon wafting throughout the house. Happily, there is quite a bit left.

Super bowl festivities took place at my sisters' home. We drowned our sorrows in cake and ice cream. Sigh. Lest you think knitting was completely abandoned this weekend, I'm hear to tell you it was not! The Leyburns are done...an official FO post will show up later. The second Holidazed sock is well underway, and I worked a few more rounds of the Papaver Sok.

Wishing you a sweet week!