Does he ever blog?

Hello! The answer to that question is when I make the time and always right after reading my friend Velvet's blog http://atyarnsend.blogspot.com/! The woman is amazing! She can pack more spinning, dying and LIVING in one day then most do in a week!! Work has been crazy...as you may remember I work in the accounting office of a retail location in Beverly Hills.....so needless to say...holiday time is pretty much working long hours....riding home on the train and bus....grabbing a few bites, trying to have a conversation with Abraham then bed then doing it all again!

This season I had several hand knit orders to fill...some got filled...some didn't!! LOL! Thankfully I have the best clients in the world! "That's okay! I'll give it as a New years present!"

So....today I paid for my Christmas present to myself.....with Abraham's reluctant blessing! I bought myself a Mach 1 spinning wheel made by http://www.spinolutions.com/ from Janice of http://janicerosema.blogspot.com/ . Her Etsy store is http://www.janicerosema.etsy.com/

Class Pictures

Hello! It's been a few days but I finally have time off and took a few moments to download the pictures from Abraham's phone from Saturday's Learn to Knit Workshop.

This is Marisol, our hostess and friend.

She has a unique way of holding the needles! She would NOT let me change her hand position!! LOL!!

That's her sitting with her friend Sara...a funny, warm person who was determined to do it RIGHT! Don't know know how many times she took her knitting out and started over!!!

This is (from left to right) Patty, Lorena helping Carrie. Three friends who took the workshop together to spend some 'girl time'. Giving Marisol the idea (did I mention that Marisol likes to make things happen?) ....Marisol's idea is that I should start doing home parties!!! I'll keep you posted on how this pans out!!

This is my buddy Geanine who I thought was a pity registration! Figured she was helping out her friend....well...when she was having difficulty, I joked that I would have her scarf done for her on Monday. She got VERY uppity as she told me SHE would do her OWN scarf!!

The class was held at Marisol's gallery and the paintings you can see are from her current show "'Casualites of War".

Spinning, Knitting and Teaching!

hello and again.....apologies for such a long time between posts.

What's been happening??? Spending time at my favorite LYS LisCat in Long Beach CA, with my fiber friend Velvet (Velvetinna on Ravelry) who is an amazing spinner/dyer. Check out her yarns! I've been honored with gifts of some of her yarns (pic to follow) and some wonderful purple fiber she and her husband dyed/blended! again....no pictures here at work but I'll get those up!!! LOL!

I've been working on getting orders out for clients and working on my spinning....not nearly as much as I need to!! I also have been working on some silly knitting projects that just HAD to be done!!!

We (Velvet and I) got Cathrine (pronounced Catrina) at LisCat spinning and soon she'll be carrying spinning supplies including fiber from the mill my sister works at! Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool Co. (By the way.....Cathrine was making yarn within minutes....such a show off!!!)

Yesterday I taught my first Learn To Knit Workshop and it was fantaztik!!! My students were wonderful and more importantly....FUN!!! We did a lot of laughing in between the frustrated moments of learning to knit for the very first time! I had grand ideas of them leaving wearing a wonderful drop stitch scarf I designed.....in reality they all left with a few inches of garter stitch. But every one of them left PROUD! I am still bursting with joy!

Lorena, Patty, Carrie, Geanine, Marisol and Sara.....the best students anyone has ever had!!

My partner Abraham came along and was a great help to me....making sure I didn't forget important hints!

I did forget my camera but everyone else took many so I'm sure I'll have some posted soon!

to be continued..............REALLY!

Where the heck did he go????

Nothing like guilt to get you off your duff and post! I was reading Velvetinna's blog and realized that she had linked to this one....."AHHHHH! THERE"S NOTHING THERE!"....So ...here I am LOL!!

So..what's been happening lately? Well.....I've been knitting and spinning. What! You say? Knitting????!!!

For years now our friend Marisol has asked me to put some of my finished pieces in her Picture This Art Gallery & Custom Framing store. I did and the sales have been great! Special orders are coming in and taking a lot of my time! Since I ride the train to and from work it gives me almost 2 hours of knitting each way. I've been selling yarn and fiber for my favorite source Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool Co. ... the ladies here are fiber fanatics like us!! Their colors (both natural and hand dyed are incredible. Thier spinning fiber is already pre-drafted! Flies out of your fingers. I just recently (June) started back spinning and am still not even close to consistent yarn....but enjoying it! I'll do my best to stay current here.

My apologies to all who stop by to check on my ramblings!

Until next time......knit on!

added 10/13/08......Above links have been repaired...sorry and thanks to Auntie Pita for showing me the error of my ways....again!!

What is the date????

As a person working in an accounting office of a retail store, I am always amazed at how time flies! "Time to do payroll AGAIN"? "Month end reports THIS weekend?"......"I last blogged WHEN?"!!!!

A lot has happened since I last was here. I received a shipment from my new friend Joyce http://www.elliebelly.com/ two wonderful skeins of her hand dyed yarn in the Judea coloway and a bump of top to play with! All tied up in the bag with a piece of her hand dyed ribbon!!! Take a moment and go see her site! Her artwork is as amazing as her fibers! You haven't gone yet? !!

I've completed several pairs of socks for the 52Pair Plunge II on Ravelry. This past week I did a sock from two different pairs as I'm taking the train to work and there are just some days there is NO way I can follow a pattern no matter how simple the repeat is!!! The yellow/green/blue is more vibrant than it appears here! The brown one is alpaca and I can't wait to finish the second one this week!! Those are NOT going to be up for sale!!!

On the business side of things, I've been working with my sister trying to promote the yarn and fiber at her 'job'. I put it in quotes because she has to slave away playing with fiber...processing it and helping to dye and sell while looking out at the sheep in the pastures! Don't you feel sorry for her??? LOL!

Ok....I'll try to get on more this week....now back to work!!!

Time Flies!

Wow! So much time has passed since my last post! 20 days to be exact!!!
So much has happened in that time....so much hasn't!!!

Several pairs of socks done for the 52 Pair Plunge II!
Neither the Knitting at Night Voyager Stole nor the Goddessknits KAL Mystery Shawl have grown by even one stitch. I started taking the train to work and back and knit for a good hour on socks. When I get home I try and get more knitting done but by then it's 7:30pm or 8:30pm depending on my schedule and after getting dinner done etc. I'm not left with a lot of energy and certainly no patience for lace!! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Here is Pair #3... a great pair of socks we call "Abraham's Not a Chance Sox".
At World Wide Knit in Public Day I was gifted with this skein of 100% ORANGE wool. I was being good and saying no to more yarn...my stash takes up a whole room...REALLY! But Abraham insisted. So I said yes and as I was making these for him he said he would NEVER wear them in public. When I suggested I give them to someone else he started to whine that I had already given them to him!!

This is a pair I made from some Alpaca/Wool blend that I found hiding in my stash! I made another pair last year and my sister submitted them in the New York Sheep & Wool show but they didn't place as they were in the wool catagory not "other fiber". My other two pair won a Third Place and a Fifth Place ribbon!! This was pair #3 for the 52 Pair Plunge.

I'm short a pair and don't have the picture for the pair I'm working on now out of 100% Bamboo yarn....love it!!! So soft with a great drape. I've received mixed reaction on how good it wears as a sock. We'll see!!!!

Also, this past week we were lucky enough to meet a new fiber friend from Ravelry! Joyce posted on our Stitch and Beach group to ask if there was a place to knit while she was here in Long Beach for a conference. Abraham and I offered to pick her up and take her with us and we haven't stopped talking about how funny and warm she is! Not to mention talented! Her website is full of wonderful art she's created: hand painted yarns and ribbons and silk, wonderful collage multi-media art and jewelry....an amazing assortment of wonderous fun! As we were looking at her site last nite we were making a list of what we could get for Christmas gifts for those nearest and dearest to us!!! We felt like we made a lifelong friend! go see her site http://www.elliebelly.com/ and do some shopping! http://www.joycevance.typepad.com/ is her blog site.

Let's see.....I know there is more.....I'll have to add more later. Lunch hour is over!!!

A day late and a sock....and a bit short!

Okay...so it's going to be a weekly posting! I started last Saturday with the KAL (knit along) 52 Pair Plunge on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/ which is 1 pair of socks every week for a year! Well.....it's now Sunday and I'm at work sneaking in rounds on Sock #1 of Pair #1 of Week #1 on the first day of WEEK #2!!!!!! AHHH!!

I'm making it out of Flat Feet sock yarn http://www.conjoinedcreations.com/that is a machine knit flat of yarn that is then hand dyed. You actually knit unraveling the piece! Such fun and the mystery of how the pattern will work up is fun too! The sock pattern I'm using is Gentleman's Sock in Railway Stitch from KNITTING VINTAGE SOCKS. The pattern was a bit challanging and especially so when you factor in the time crunch! The patterns in this wonderful book are (as it says!) vintage patterns re-written for today's knitters! I've changed the pattern slightly by not continuing the pattern down the top of the foot as my feet are sensitive (diabetic neuropothy) and I figured it would work up faster! I have 3 socks to knit this week!!

I started riding the train to work as it's getting too expensive to drive the 30 miles each way to work with my 'cheapie' gas station now getting $4.45 for regular! My car requires high test...although I've been cheating and giving her the mid range! Shhhhh! The train gives me about and hour each way to knit undisturbed...well, most of the time!! Can't knit on the connecting bus runs due to the bumping but I'll work on that!

Other knitting news....our friend Mattie owns Picture This Framing and Art Gallery, a wonderful happy place where she (duh!) does picture framing but also hosts wonderful art shows promoting usually unknown artists. She's been after Abraham and I for years to bring our work in. I finally did and most of it sold!!! So, I've been working on getting more scarves done and a few other fun things! It was exciting last nite to go to an opening and watch people look at my work and tell me how much they liked it!! I even may have a gig next year demo-ing spinning/knitting at a local tourist attraction! One of the people in attendance books the 'talent'! Exciting isn't it!!

Well, as usual I'm posting this at work. So, better actually get some done!! Being a Sunday it's very slow today, giving me time to knit and say hello to all of you!! Thanks for the comments you've left!!! Amazing how many of you are reading this!!! Have a great week and do something that makes you smile!

A whole week already?

Wow! A whole week has flown by and I'm back at work blogging. Sensing a pattern here?

So, I had three days off with the Memorial Day holiday. So I swore I would do nothing but fiber related projects for all three days!! Except for one outing for groceries and one outing to take a friend to our favorite Chinese buffet (Hi Sharone!).mmmm sushi! ..that's what I did....I knit and spun for 3 whole days!

Then back to work and home to knit some more! I worked on the test swatch for the Goddess Knits mystery stole KAL that I thought started on the 1st but actually starts on the 14th!

I also worked on the Voyager Stole KAL that I'm doing with Casey of Knitting At Night podcast fame. Love the podcast and I'm going slow on the KAL but enjoying it!

I also started and finished a last minute gift scarf for a co-worker and finished up a few other small things I had in the final stages... a sock....a scarf...a hat....of course found many others that I need to finish! When did I start all these projects??? LOL! I also did a few hours of spinning. I'm so out of practice I'm back to beginner status!

Tonite my bestest bud Margie will be over to do some fiber-ing and in the morning we will be taking her to our favorite Indian buffet (sensing a pattern here?) for brunch and back home for more knitting and spinning! Well back to work so I can afford more yarn!

Finished socks, more projects to start!

Here is the finished pair of socks! Got up at 5:45am with a NEED to get the toe done on sock #2!
Done by 6:30 with plenty of time to photograph them and get ready for work!
I'm now at work trying to get paperwork out of the way so I can work on my Voyager lace stole that others in my KAL group are 1/2 done with!!! I'm on row 2 of the first of 40 repeats!! AHHHHH!
My 52 Pair Plunge sock KAL and my Mystery shawl KAL start on June 1! Sorry...for those that don't know....KAL is Knit a long--online people knit same project. Mystery KAL's are where once a week (usually) a part of the pattern or chart are revealed. No one knows the final outcome. You have to KAL to find out what the finished project looks like! I've always wanted to do each of these and had to click on JOIN for each one!!!! The 52 pair plunge is one pair of socks per week for a year!!! Wish me luck!!!! Also this past week I finally put some of my finished work in our friends picture framing/art gallery and I sold some things!!! I even bartered a scarf before I left for some art for Abraham and I from an artist who brought in her goods while I was there for an upcoming show! I'll find out everyone's links and post them here later! Well, have to get back to work! Talk to you all later!

Ok...I'm a yarn geek

Happily admitting here that I am a yarn geek! I was taking pictures of the sock in progress to show Margie and I noticed how the pattern was working up with the Royale Hare http://www.royalehare.com/ Freestone Firecracker colorway. Isn't it wonderful?!

Knitting at Work

First there was KIP (knitting in public) now there is officially (at least in my little world) KAW (knitting at Work).

It was on my lunch hour so I'm not feeling the least bit guilty!! This is the Voyager Lace Stole KAL (knit along) I'm doing through (?with?) Casey- one of the most down to earth knitting podcasts out there!

http://knittingatnight.libsyn.com/

or found on Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-at-night

I had started this a day early as a matter of fact and had to rip it back (take out finished knitting) to the garter stitch rows! No tv while knitting lace for the first time in a long time!!

FINISHED Sock #1 Freestone Firecracker!

Finished the first Freestone Firecracker sock! http://www.royalehare.com/

I made this one a tad roomier as I'm diabetic and never liked tight socks anyway!

The cuff was to be done in a size smaller needle than the sock. I did the whole sock with my

beloved KnitPicks Harmony wood dpn's (double pointed needle) size 3.

The toe is roomier as well. I normally decrease to a total of 16 stitches but this time decreased to 24. Much nicer! Finally I have the dreaded Kitchner stitch memorized! WOO HOO!

Sent a picture to Margie as she's the yarn pusher that showed me this yarn ... her reaction? "Sweet"! I have to agree! I wasn't thrilled with the black at first but it quickly grew on me and now I'm in love with how it patterned on the top of the foot! One of the many things I love about Royale Hare yarn is that it's not striping! Abraham is still of the opinion that hand knit socks wear out too fast. Of course has he ever worn one pair and the yarn wasn't the best. Don't remember the brand but I'm now challanged to make him a pair that will last!!!

Here is a picture of two of Abraham's cross stitch projects on my wall at work. He has amazing patience and his color work is inspiring! The cell phone picture does not do them justice. The larger piece is a very deep purple and bright orange, while the smaller piece is a very royal blue.

Knittin' while we walk.....

Hello all! Been a few days...just working and knitting! I'm trying to finish my socks and get going on the two lace projects I have in my very near future! Today Abraham and I went to the Beverly Hills Art Festival. Lot's of great art of all types! We ran into a favorite vendor, saw many pieces we wish we could afford! I got a few great reactions to the sock I was working on as I walked. My favorite had to be the gentleman who said as he passed "I'll take a size 12!" Almost handed him my business card!! LOL!

Started a Lace Stole KAL

here is the pic of the Voyager Lace Stole KAL (knit a long) that I started last nite.....Abraham was reprimanding me because the start date was actually today!!! The yarn is from Mickey at http://www.hudsonvalleysheepandwoolco.com/ and is a much deeper blue than the picture shows! I had to re-learn how to do a crochet provisional cast on!! Much cursing before the "a-ha" moment!!!

This is the sock I started yesterday while waiting for Brenda to have her cataract surgery. She's doing great! This yarn is Freestone Firecracker from

www.royalehare.com

Day off hanging around!

Here is my friend Brenda working on another of her amazing art projects. I'm sitting here realizing how many talented people I have in my life!! I'll have to post a "gallery opening" and show off some of their work!!

Today is a day off from work, started the day by running errands and then home to do such fun things as fix the toilet-no more dripping sound- finish taking out the false ceiling in the bathroom-now scraping and painting to do! I am now starting another pair of socks which I'll post later!

Important people...

Just wanted to add a few more pictures to say hello to those in my 'inner' circle! It takes a lot to get there and even more to stay!!

First....my best friend and life partner Abraham...

Here is my sister-friend Mickey at work...I'm so jealous!!

www.hudsonvalleysheepandwoolco.com/

Here is my bestest bud and fiber mentor Margie in character as Auntie Pita at Renaissance Faire selling her wares.... yarn and spinning fiber of course!!!

www.auntiepita.blogspot.com/

http://www.royalhare.com/

A closet fiber addict or What color for my gift?

Here I am at work having my lunch thinking about something I heard the other day.

How many of us smell the yarn or fiber as part of the introduction process? My buddy, Geanine, gets just as excited as I do when a package of yarn or spinning fiber comes to our office. The first thing she does is smell the fiber, thrilled when it shares the smell of the animal and the farm from where it came. The best part? She isn't a knitter or spinner - unless you count the many hundreds of miles she does in her spinning class...the other type of spinning!

Here is a picture of her 'trying on' some yarn my sister sent. http://www.hudsonvalleysheepandwoolco.com/

A night out with my best friends!

Here is our oh-so-excited friend Gisel checking out my blog!

We were doing the monthly Downtown Long Beach (CA) Art Walk and found this great coffee house with free internet service! Gisel graciously bought drinks for Abraham and myself and agreed to become part of my blog! I'm going to start 'borrowing' some of the wonderful photographs she takes to share with everyone!

I'm at work again....just finished payroll and am taking a much deserved break! I'll get back to the paperwork in a minute! I also have to send out an email to my sister Valerie in New York. HI VALERIE!!!!! Haven't been that good with the communication and want to send her a link to this blog!

So...back to work....then home to get some knitting and spinning done!!! More on that later!

Have a great Mother's Day!!!

Last minute add!

Hello all!
I'm about 15 minutes from starting to end my work day. I work in the accounting department of a great family owned store in Beverly Hills, CA. www.gearys.com I've spent my day doing paperwork and listening to Casey's podcast "Knitting at Night" www.knittingnightly.blogspot.com

I have to tell you I'm addicted! It's like hanging out with a good friend sharing ideas! Sure helped make the day go! Of course now I'm feeling terribly inadequate with my knitting production! I've been in a bit of a slump lately and am just now coming out of it!

My sister Mickey, referred to as Sister-Friend, just sent me an update of her boss's website http://www.hudsonvalleysheepandwoolco.com/. I'm so jealous of Mickey! She works at a small fibermill in upstate NY where we grew up and most of my 7 siblings still live. I'm the rebel that moved across the country!

Ok...have to go close the registers! I'll post more later!

Happy knitting!
Jamie

I HAVE A BLOG!!!

Hello there! I'm setting this up because I've been told you aren't somebody until you have one!

I'm a 45 year old guy living in Long Beach Califorina with my partner Abraham and our "kids": Dogs Al and Brillo (Breeyo) and our Cats: Diablo and Rutherford.

I'm a compulsive knitter and fiber-stasher and Abraham does amazing cross stitching.