Meme, Photos

Edited to add: many of you have asked about the pictures I submitted for the company contest - thanks for your interest and kind comments! I posted the photos and a few others to Image Zone.

I've been tagged by Agnes with a knitting meme! Although it is a rather dubious honor to be tagged because I sound depressed :-)

What is your all time favorite yarn to knit with?
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. Super soft, easy on the hands, luxurious.

Your favorite needles?
Addi Turbos, hands down. I hardly knit with anything else except for birch DPNs or bamboo circulars if the yarn is extra slippery.

The worst thing you've ever knit?
There's a tie between the Tivoli Tee and the Diane tank because I messed up both of them so badly, although with Diane you can't tell.

Your most favorite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)
Toughie. I guess I would have to say the Not-Knit-Round-Scarf, aka lacy capelet, from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch. I had a tough time with the yarn used in but I really enjoyed the pattern itself.

Most valuable knitting technique?
Knitting continental style. I spent a month practicing this and will never go back to the English style.

Best knit book or magazine?
In terms of techniques, Vogue Knitting Quick Reference. I carry it in my knitting bag at all times. It's been a lifesaver when I've forgotten how to do something. For designs and photography, I love Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick and Interweave Knits. Very inspiring. I look through both when I need a pick-me-up.

Your favorite knit-a-long?
I've only participated in one, the Tivoli Knit-a-Long, and didn't fare too well. Doh.

Your favorite knitblogs?
My favorite blogs are a mix of knitting and life experiences. I love knowing how knitting fits into people's lives and reading about the other experiences that shape the writer. So with that in mind, I have to say A View From Sierra County written by Birdsong and Knotted Thread written by Kelly. And Knit Knack by Rebekah is a hoot!

Your favorite knitwear designer?
Veronik Avery who designs for Interweave Knits.

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!)
The item I wear the most is the Give the People What They Want cardigan from Yarn Girls Guide.

But my favorite to wear is Marilyn by Debbie Bliss.




Who to tag?
How about it, Birdsong and Roberta?

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I leave you with this photo of my camera-hogging cat, Little Kitty. She loves being photographed and is one of my favorite subjects.

A Bit of This, A Bit of That

I haven't fully recovered from the knitting doldrums but managed to work on the Zippered Cardigan a little bit. I have to finish the decreases on one more front and then it's seam time. I said that to myself a few days ago, though.

Recently I've been distracted by the thought of knitting a shawl. I have the Shoalwater Shawl pattern in hand plus some lovely Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Iris Garden, but the Leaf Lace Shawl is so pretty too. Stop! I must stop! I can't finish the cardigan and I'm thinking about a shawl??? Just because it's freezing in the office? Stop.

In other news, I am one of the winners in a photo contest sponsored by The Company I Work For (TCIWF). The theme of the contest was Corporate Values. TCIWF has 6 major values that everyone is supposed to adhere to, with several mini-values in each category. I submitted 4 pictures and 2 were selected out of a pool of about 600 photos. Not bad, eh? TCIWF will professionally print and frame the photos poster-size. They will be displayed at the annual awards banquet and then given to the contest winners afterwards.

That's about it for any interesting news this week. It's finally cool in Sacramento and I'm happy to be wearing sweaters, corduroys and tall boots. Hope you're happily knitting or wearing your knitting wherever you are.

Until the next day in the life...

Random Knitting Thoughts

Thank you all for your encouraging words about this dratted knitting funk. Cassie said to do what moves me right now, which is spot-on with how I feel at the moment. What moves me is reading. Suddenly I have a voracious appetite for books! This makes me happy. Reading has been a dear pasttime. This past weekend I eschewed a 10-mile hike in Lake Tahoe to finish Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was a satisfying read, not too heavy but certainly the most serious and thoughtful book in the series so far. I won't ruin the story for anyone but if you liked the previous Harry Potter books, you should enjoy the latest. There are interesting twists in the end! New books have been added to my shelf: The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt and The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. Both should be good snuggle-down-under-the-blanket kind of books. Perfect for autumn reading.

So these books had nothing to do with knitting except I noted the knitting references in the Harry Potter book - many sweaters from Mrs. Weasley. Will be interesting to see what they look like in the movie. Speaking of movies, I saw Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit over the weekend. Gromit knits! There was a cute scene where he picks up his needles and knits a bit on a jumper. Everyone looked at me when it happened.

The last random knitting thought - Katie Holmes, as the whole world knows, has been impregnated by the sly Tom Cruise; in an interview picked up by CNN, she says she is organizing a baby room and learning how to knit. Eeeeww. I don't know why this bothers me but it does. I don't approve of the Holmes/Cruise thing because I think Tom Cruise is a total control freak who brainwashed this young woman but WHATEVER, now she wants to knit. For the baby. It's just too, tooooo sickeningly pefectly young motherly.

I hope I didn't just offend anyone with that knit rant. I think knitting baby things is cool. Just the whole learning how to knit because I'm pregnant sounds so fake to me.

Oi. All right, things for you to think about on a Monday.

And Vicki, I plan to be at the Guild next Thursday!