Holiday Snaps

That was so fun. I have a great sister. I keep mentioning my Mom and how extraordinary she was, but did I mention that I have an equally extraordinary sister? All the women in my family are awesome. Brilliant, beautiful, creative...extreme cooks, artists and gardeners . We invented the Stash Expedition decades ago, and although our mother has been gone for 15 years, we're still keeping the faith. Anyways, before I wax emotional, on to the pics:

As you can see, I wasted no time. I went to 3 LYS in Toronto: Romni Wools on Queen St, which is my favourite LYS to date, Lettuce Knit in Kensington Market, and The Naked Sheep in the Beaches. This picture is about half of what I came away with. Am I ashamed? Not in the least. It will all get used!

After Stash Ex. #1, we headed up North to Georgian Bay, specifically to a tiny island on the Naiscoot River where my sister has a beautiful cottage. Here's my DS driving the boat, supervised by my sis:
Me being driven!
We picked blueberries. I could make a pie out of these colours alone. We did make pie. It was the world's best blueberry pie. And here it is along with my Georgian Bay project. I made Troubador Socks for my sister, using this beautiful Noro sock yarn.
Back in the city I finished these Veritas Equitas for my stepmom. She has Reynaud's Syndrome where your hands get cold and turn white, so she needed these: in fact, she's been at the back of my mind since I first started making wrist warmers. They turned out prettier than in the photo, but I didn't have a chance to take FO pictures before coming home to Spain.
I wish I had stayed much longer. Sis and I only made 4 pies (sour cherry mmmm accounted for 2 of them) and we bought beads but never got around to beading, stepmom needed more cheering up and more fattening up, and Toronto was a symphony of greens that made me catch my breath about 8 times a day. My Dad needed my DH who always cheers him up, but sadly DH was home in Spain, poor lad. I returned home to find him very skinny. What is this, nobody eats unless I'm watching?

On the other hand, I gained 2 kilos in 2 weeks and would have gained a few more by now if I'd stayed. In my family we are seriously good cooks. And I would have had to send my stash by boat if I'd been allowed anywhere near another LYS.

Arrows by Annette Petavy, and I've been tagged!

Arrows is finished and I'm in love with it. It was so interesting to make, and the Malabrigo was so soft, the colours so dark and intense, that I'm considering making another one just like it. But no: one more week and I'll be free to work on my own stuff again, which I miss terribly.


But wait! I've been tagged by Skamama! That was over a week ago, so here goes:

The rules; Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

More or less what I'm doing now! Living in this house which I love in this village which I love, only it was smaller then. Playing concerts, teaching and conducting. DS was five then so I was still in Mommy mode. I wasn't directing a school (oh, happy days...) but neither was I crocheting, so I didn't know what life was about.

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

Take rugs to dry cleaner. (done.)
Pay for airline tickets to Toronto. (done.)
Take pics of Arrows Stole. (done.)
Update Blog. (doing.)
Prune front garden.
Laundrylaundrylaundrylaundry
Make sour cherry pie. My sour cherry tree has produced its first crop this year: about 25 cherries. Enough for a very small pie.
Choose a crochet project small enough to keep my mind healthy for just over a week.
Do NOT think about my to-do list for Monday.

3. Snacks I enjoy.

Olives.
Pa amb Tomaquet, the crowning glory of Catalan cuisine: Toast (or even better, grill) a slice of country bread. Rub lightly with a cut clove of garlic. Halve a ripe tomato and rub it all onto the bread. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a bit of good olive oil. Unbeatable, addictive, very good for you.
Mmmm cheese. But not goat cheese.
Spiced sunflower seeds, another great Spanish invention. The shells are covered in salt and spices. You suck on them until all the good stuff is gone, then crack them and eat the seed.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.

No idea. I can't even imagine it. Classical musicians just don't become billionaires! It's like that joke, what's the least-used sentence in the English language? A: "Isn't that the banjo player's Porsche?"But I know what I'd do if I had 200€ to spare: buy a dressmaker's dummy.

5. Places I have lived.

Toronto
Barcelona
Here.

6. Jobs I've had.

Waitress. Worst waitress in the Greater Toronto Area.
Plant-Waterer in fancy office buildings.
Sandwich girl.
Picture Framer.
English teacher.
Musician.

7. Peeps I want to know more about:

All of these are fantastic crochet designers and bloggers from around Europe.

Annette Petavy, only once again I can't seem to access her blog.
Pyogazel (turns out she's already been tagged!)
YarnJungle
SylvChezPlum
Milobo
Since Pyogazel is already spoken for, I tag the talented Pimpampum!

She's Back!

Oh, holidays! I was born for holidays! After a week off work I actually have the mental bandwidth to post to my blog! Well, that's one excuse: the other is of course Ravelry, which is the fiber lover's new DRUG, extremely addictive.
Despite the annoyance of having to actually work ugh and worse still, think about work problems even when not working, I have been crocheting. Just enough to stay sane. Not enough to make the new Interweave deadline for submissions!
Here's what I did: my Guantazo!
Here's what else I did: a hat! ETA: I forgot to mention something really important: this hat was designed by Annette Petavy! I just added the band of jacquard.
Wow. What a day. I left this post half-finished and sped off to Barcelona where I made a special detour to Persones Llanes. I saw the wonderful, delightful, funny and giggly Tura who I swear said her first word in my presence: "Ball-Winder!" And then, in walks my long-lost Pushka! And as if this were not enough, she informs me that today, which is a Wednesday and not a Monday, there's a Special Session of my even more Long-Lost Barcelona Knits! We braved the drizzling rain and went thither where I saw some old friends and made some new ones.

But it's a secret.

It's not like I've stopped crocheting, on the contrary I've been at it furiously since my last post. Only I'm not allowed to show you what I'm doing until it comes out in Interweave Crochet in Spring 2008! Wa-hoo!
It's been an exciting couple of weeks, writing and receiving emails from the amazing Kim Werker and feeling myself to be a Very Important Person indeed. She helps to decide on the yarns to use, and then, get this, she sends the yarn to you! And it hasn't arrived yet! So here I am, all my test runs completed, with my 3.5mm hook poised and ready to go at lightning speed as soon as the loot crosses my threshold.
And I got my Ravelry invite. So I log on and who do I find? Debolsillo, Danni, Ojos Verdes, Mae, Flavio, and Kim Werker too! What a strange sensation. It's like traveling to New York and running into them on Fifth Avenue.










And I ordered this exquisite, unbelievable, sock yarn from Colinette and am having trouble not eating it.
And I'm working on a new design for a vest which if I can actually figure out how to make is going to be beautiful-to-die-for. However, considering the number of test runs I seem to do before making anything, it may take a few years.
And Persones Llanes has announced the Lara Croft Tapestry Crochet Course. Somebody please sign up, so far there's only 2 people on the list. If I promise to bake cookies, will they come?
And I took the lolcat test, with this result:

Your Score: Lion Warning Cat

74% Affectionate, 57% Excitable, 42% Hungry

You are the good Samaritan of the lolcat world. Protecting others from danger by shouting observations and guidance in cases of imminent threat, you believe in the well-being of everyone.

Link: The Which Lolcat Are You? Test written by on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test