The DeDe

Baby Lulu's Cardigan and Bonnet

2011-03-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

My sweet niece, Lorelai finally received the cardigan and bonnet I have been working on for her since December. Her mom and dad picked out the pattern and yarn. The yarn looks a bit more green online but it is more of a robin eggs blue in real life. I wanted to go for purple buttons to make it look more girly but her mom chose the bluish buttons which I think work just perfectly.
The pattern is the B-17-1 Jacket and Bonnett from Dropstudio . It is translated into English and thus a bit confusing but I was able to finally figured it out thanks to numerous comments on Ravelry. I skipped the Picot edging on the Bonnet as I just thought it was a bit over the top.
I made the new born size which at 8 weeks fits her with a bit of growing room. No pictures of her in it yet but I will update this post once I get them.

Baby Kate Photo Prop

2011-03-16T14:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of one of the hats I made for my dear friend, Melissa at Melissa Olson Photography. This photo happens to be of her newborn baby girl. Such a beautiful girl!

Abby's Reading Mitts

2011-03-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

One of my coworkers has an incredibly amazing daughter. She is quite the entrepreneur already at 9 years old. In her classroom at school she runs the bank, the tattoo parlor and the library. In fact I recently heard she had to fire some of her staff! She is going to be one powerful business woman when she grows up!
This year she was having her first slumber party and her mom had been wanting me to make her a pair of robin's egg blue mitts. I used a cotton yarn called Loops and Threads that I purchased at Michael's. It was not the greatest yarn, you get what you pay for, but I think the cotton will work great for a little girl.

When I knit with double pointed needles I still have ladders in my knitting. I try to fix it by moving a stitch each new needle but then my ladder just goes diagonal. Any suggestions?

House Slippers

2011-01-17T07:49:00.000-08:00

In June we moved to a huge two bedroom apartment. By New York standards this apartment is gigantic, even by Los Angeles standards it is pretty big. The hubby and I have so enjoyed settling in and are slowly (very slowly) filling in all the big spaces. We don't have a lot of "stuff" and no big rugs to cover the wood flooring. I decided it was time for some house slippers.

I used leftover yarn from my Fair Isle Skirt but since I did not have enough of each color I thought I would just make several pairs in different colors. So far I have only made this pair but I think a few more are in order for when we have guests with cold feet.

Lulu's Blanket

2010-12-09T06:43:00.000-08:00

My brother & sister in law are having a baby girl in January, early February. This will be our first niece! I can not wait to meet her. I have a few other gifts on the needles for baby Lulu (a nickname from the Grandmother) but I wanted to start out with a bright, slightly modern gift. Her mom is a "fashion forward" kind of woman so I thought she'd appreciate the pattern.

The pattern I used is the Chasing Rainbows pattern on The Rouge Knitter's blog. It is knit on circular needles from the center out using the magic loop method. The pattern was super easy, in front of the TV without having to think knitting. I love the asymmetry. Hopefully this will get some good use when baby Lulu arrives!

Trotting off the Turkey

2010-12-01T12:15:00.000-08:00

My dad got to see me run a race this weekend. I signed up for the Santa Monica Gobble Wobble thinking maybe I could coerce him or my husband to go with me but alas they chose to cheer me on from the sidelines. We did get to bring Kira and stop by and sea the ocean. Next time I might have to run with Kira, if she can keep up!

The race was a 5K with about 200 participants. It was just what I needed to start burning off all the turkey. I ran a pretty steady pace until the last 6 blocks. I really increased by pace thinking I had only 3 blocks left...whoops! I was dying by the end but I made myself keep up the pace. My finish time was 26:50. Not too shabby for not having raced in awhile!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-29T06:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! It has been a few months since I have posted but I am still knitting and crafting away, drinking cheap wine and running like crazy! I made the leaves and acorns above using patterns by Linda Dawkins of Natural Suburbia. They were spread out on our Thanksgiving Table instead of having a big centerpiece. It really turned out cute.

We had a great holiday. Several of our dear friends stopped by and my dad came to visit us from Colorado. The shirt I am wearing I made in a class at the Urban Craft Center in Santa Monica taught by Christine Haynes.

I have much more to share so I will be back soon!

Boyish Photo Props

2010-04-10T08:37:00.000-07:00

The girl's baby hats I made for my friend's photo props were a hit but she's had trouble with how light the color was on pale babies. I made these boy hats and hopefully the darker color will work better. They are sooo cute! I can't wait to see photos with them.

I also made her a Boy's Cocoon with a big beautiful button that I bought at The Button Store on 3rd street. I can't wait to see a real baby in it!

Girly Photo Props

2010-03-17T07:02:00.000-07:00

A dear friend of mine who is a photographer asked me about knitting a few prop items for her baby shoots. I came up with a cute baby hat in two sizes that has a detachable pom pom.

I can't wait to see what she's going to do with them!

I also made her an egg/cocoon. This one I'm not entirely sure is going to work. I think because I haven't had any children I'm a little unsure about what size is appropriate. My childhood cabbage patch doll just doesn't quite cut it.

Olympics and Valentines

2010-02-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely relaxing weekend with my sweet husband. We watched the olympics while I knitted and even got in a bit of Valentines dinner and a movie celebration in between it all. The weather was in the 80's and all the flowers were blooming, it was at moments a bit sickeningly sweet. These are the weekends I love living in California!

I finished the first event of the Knitting/Ravelry Olympics Triathalon, Event Sweaterboard. I figured that was good timing as Shaun White goes for Gold today!

I used Rowan's Holiday yarn that I got at Unwind's Superbowl sale last week for a dollar a skien. It's a really weird yarn that has been discontinued but I'm actually thrilled with the way it knit up on this simple t-shirt from Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop. Hopefully I'll have some shots of me wearing it this afternoon, it's the perfect weather here in California to show it off. (Sorry to all you East Coasters getting snowed on!)

Knitting Olympics Opening Ceremony Today 6pm PST!

2010-02-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

I'm participating in the Knitting/Ravel Olympics this year, woohoo! I'm an endurance athlete so I figured I'd shoot for the triathalon. I'm going to make a t-shirt/sweater for me, a baby hat that I design and a baby cocoon that I design. Do you think I can make it in 17 days?!!

I've got everything laid out and I'll be casting on in the first event, the ballet t-shirt, at 6pm EST at my favorite Pub, Essex!

Gauntlets

2010-02-04T07:47:00.000-08:00

A lovely colleague of mine is always wearing her 2$ gloves in our freezing cold office. She noticed me wearing my Wine and Roses Mitts and I volunteered to make her some mitts for the office. She's a stylish girl and loves pink so I used a pattern from Knit1's first issue, Picot Edge Gauntlets. I did have to make a few modifications.

You'll notice that the mitt on the left barely covers my hand and thumb. I figured it defeated the purpose of keeping her warm so I added 10 rows to the hand of the mitt and 7 to the thumb. That version is on the right.

Here is a photo of them both finished...I did make a mistake in the pattern repeat...so I just repeated the error on the other mitt. It's hard to notice, right?!

**Please excuse the photo quality. I took them with my phone.

Bound to Make Mistakes

2010-01-26T20:38:00.000-08:00

It really is inevitable that I will make a mistake on the simplest projects. I knitted some basic ribbed socks toe up. When I got to the leg of the first one I apparently decided that it should match the foot...I didn't rib all around.

My favorite part of the mistake is always the picture of the frogged yarn. Why does that pile of curly yarn give me so much pleasure?!

These socks were knit with some fabulous yarn I got from my Secret Sister right before I moved to LA.

I love absolutely love them. The yarn is so soft and not too warm which is perfect for the warmer climate. I had some yarn left over so I made some fingerless mitts using a pattern I've used before from Weekend knits. However, I need at least a thumb on my mitts so I added one.

Congratulations Beaners!

2010-01-05T20:45:00.000-08:00

Photo Courtesy of Melissa Olson Photography

On October 24th my little sister, whom I affectionately call Beaners, got married! I had the pleasure of knitting her garter. I failed to take any good photos of it but my best college roommate, Melissa Olson took the wedding photographs and got a good one right after we put it on her. The pattern was Eloping from Knitty, super easy and really pretty. I made two; one for her to keep and one for her husband to throw at the reception.

It was a beautiful wedding and she was a gorgeous bride!

4:30:51 - San Francisco!!

2009-11-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

3 Weekends ago I finished my second marathon. It was the San Francisco Women's Marathon and I finished it in 4:30!!! My first marathon was NY and it took me 5:00. I improved by a full :30!
I've never been to San Francisco and the marathon course was the perfect way to see the city. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I had the best cheerleaders to keep me motivated at different parts of the race- my hubby/coach and my dear friend, Heather. My husband has been picking me up at the ocean after my long runs all season! I'd give him my medal if it weren't a Tiffany necklace ;-)

A day off without the husband

2009-10-14T07:26:00.000-07:00

It is amazing what I can accomplish on a day off when my husband is at work. I finally finished the Vogue Multi Patterned Top. I'm so thrilled with how it turned out. I did have to wait until the hubby got home to take pictures and lighting was not ideal. I hope to get some better photos of the top this weekend.

Not only did I get the top done but I finished my homework for a Statistics class I'm taking for work, cleaned the house, ran six miles and caught up on episodes of House.
This weekend I'm running the San Francisco Women's marathon. It will be my first trip to San Francisco and while my nerves might get the best of me I can't wait to get my first tour of the city on foot!

Jaywalkers

2009-07-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this pair of Jaywalker socks for my sister for well over a year now. It was one of those projects that I'd pick up ever so often but then put down for several weeks/months. Well, last week said sister and I departed on a "Just Sisters" camping trip to the Grand Canyon. The drive and setting made for the perfect opportunity to finish her socks.

I used the Austermann Step Yarn with Jojoba and Aloe Vera. After I washed them once they came out feeling incredibly soft and yummy. While I was knitting them up I was a bit worried they'd be too stiff but washing them really loosened up any stiffness in the yarn.

Here's another view of the socks with some curtains I sewed up for my kitchen a few months ago in the background. I love those curtains!

Who knew I'd get so excited about coasters?!

2009-06-17T18:57:00.000-07:00

I tried two different coaster patterns. The blue is really just a basic crochet circle pattern from The Happy Hooker. The brick is a pattern I found on ravelry from Simple Knits.

I prefer the pattern in blue. It looks like it'll be more stable for glasses and soak more liquid. Any other suggestion?

Lock me up

2009-06-10T21:06:00.000-07:00

I'm now officially a knitting traitor. I do plead that "everyone else is doing it!"

Kira looking at me disapprovingly while I sneak in some crochet stitches doesn't help with the guilt!

Secret of the Stole 2 - Completed!

2009-05-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

And finally,

Secret of the Stole II is completed! I am so happy with how it came out.

I think I could have done a better job blocking but this was the first time I've blocked such a large lace project so I'll do better next time.

The stole was gifted to my amazing mother who just graduated Magna Cum Laude with her Bachelors of Science in Nursing. I was so proud of her!

AAAUUGGGHHHH!!!!

2009-05-24T17:30:00.000-07:00

Ummm, I'm ready to bind off the stole I've been working on for my mom for a month, look at the directions for any special instructions...remind myself that last month when I picked up the project again, i hadn't reviewed the instructions and for the last 113 rows(that's over 10,000 stitches) I've messed up on the easy row. Knit 5 Purl to last 5, Knit 5. I've been purling all the way through. I threw up in my mouth a little.

Took a deep breath and tired to fix it:

It didn't work:

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T13:56:00.000-07:00

What better way to celebrate the life of the most beautiful example of how to be a human being than spending it with the people you love.

I hope you get to spend it with the good people in your life too.

Morning Dog Walk

2009-04-02T10:43:00.000-07:00

Kira and I see these flowers on our morning dog walk. They've been blooming since early March. Ahhh, I love LA!

I Love St. Paddy's Day!

2009-03-18T20:16:00.001-07:00

Even though St. Paddy's day isn't as big of a deal in the West as it is in the East my hubby and I find ways to make it a great time!

He made the most amazing corned beef and cabbage I've ever tasted...

...and ended the night with Shamrock Shakes!

I hope you all had an fun St. Patrick's Day!

Knit Together

2009-03-15T18:46:00.000-07:00

theDeDerunsNY

+
theDeDerunsLA

=
KnitTogether

My amazing mother painted the above paintings for me. I can't quite express how honored I felt when I saw these paintings made for me. Tears welled up for sure! My mom is one of those beautiful and amazing human beings that words can't quite describe. She's an inspiration to me and to almost anyone that knows her.

Purl Bee Evening Shrug

2009-02-24T20:08:00.000-08:00

I've finally finished the Purl Bee Evening Shrug. I made the largest size because I thought it looked a bit snug on the model.

Now, I need some spring LA weather to wear it! Maybe next week ;-)

Sunday Wine Tasting x's two

2009-01-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

I owe two weeks of wine reviews, which is good because last week we tried two bottles of red!
First was the Bleasdale 2003 Shiraz/Cabernet. I found that it had a chocolaty nose and to taste it was dry, pruney and spicy(nutmeg spice). The hubby that it smelled pruney, tasted pruney had a dark wide flavor with a sweet n sour bit at the end. As we finished off the bottle we both found it incredibly enjoyable and easy to sip along with our margharite pizza. We will definitely buy this wine again.

This week we tried the Pacific Estates 2002 Reserve Cabernet. Immediately I smelled nail polish remover (or rubbing alcohol). And it tasted... like nail polish remover. Time and oxygen did no good to this wine. We may have been victim to a poorly stored or shipped bottle as others have given this wine good reviews but I'm not convinced enough to try it again.

Momentary Loss of Brain Function

2009-01-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

For the second week in a row I've had to frog the cuff to the second sleeve of the Purl Bee Shrug I've been working on...

I was reading K3 as K3 together...duh.

Weekly Sunday Wine Tasting

2009-01-04T19:49:00.001-08:00

I've been wanting to start a tradition with my favorite Wine Store, Vino 100. Which, by the way, is just two blocks away from my apartment. Sundays tend to be a night to relax, eat good food and watch a good movie at home with the hubster and doggie. Wine is often involved and I figured it should be a good wine that we could add to the wine reviews of my blog.

So, for the first week I went in and asked the owner of Vino 100 what I should try for restarting my wine reviews and she suggested the Stellenzicht Golden Triangle 2005 South African Shiraz.

It was an intense wine that both the hubster and I enjoyed (the doggie was not allowed to try). To me the smell was floral and almost nose clearing, the hubster smelled berries and a sharp fermentation.

The flavor was very tannic, intense on all sections of my tongue, chocolaty with an oaky finish. The hubster experienced a complex, chewy, wide and sharp but fruity flavor.

More information on the wine from the vineyard, including details on harvesting and bottling can be found here and details about Shiraz basics can be found here.

Here's to more wining posts in 2009!

Knitted Christmas Gift

2009-01-01T15:08:00.000-08:00

This year I made one knitted Christmas gift for a new member of my family. It was the Brioche Stitch Hat from Weekend Knitting. I was amazed at how difficult the Brioche stitch would be. I must have frogged at least five times. The decreases were especially difficult as the directions were not very clear. Several other knitters seem to have had the same problem. Nonetheless, I overcame! I wasn't able to personally deliver this gift but I was sent pictures and I think it looks great.

Here's to more knitting posts in 2009!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year

2008-12-31T16:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! I hope you've all had an amazing holiday season. We were lucky enough to have my side of the family come for our first hosted Christmas. I inherited my Grandmother's China from my mom this year and it was the perfect finish to a perfect dinner, made mostly by my husband.

If this year is any precursor we are confident many more good things are coming in 2009. Can't you just tell from the picture below my husband loves our new life in LA?

Spoiled Rotten!

2008-09-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Friday I was spoiled rotten. It was my birthday. It started with Bread Pudding for Breakfast, Sprinkles Cupcakes at Work, Pink Taco for Lunch, Velvet Margarita for Dinner and a homemade Praline Walnut Cake at home for desert! My husband made the bread pudding and cake from scratch!!

So many of my friends came out and celebrated with me. I felt so honored! One of my really good friends who just started knitting gifted me with a great "crafty" book My Style, My Place and some handdyed wool yarn...I can't wait to knit it up!

Secret of the Stole 2 - Clue 6-7.5

2008-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning I woke up and decided it was not a day for work. It was a day for the beach! So, we took a personal day and drove up the coast to Zuma beach. I did some knitting and the hubby did some napping. It was beautiful.

Even though the Secret of the Stole group II has been finished for months and Secret of the Stole III has started I'm still working through II. Only one and a half clues left.

How can you not like California when you get to go the beach in September...

Squeezing Grapes

2008-09-14T19:50:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my husband's cousin had a beautiful wedding in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Instead of having a wedding cake they had fruit pies. One of the pies was a concord grape pie. With fall upon us I suddenly found myself craving that pie! So, I decided to try a stab at making my own.

I used Red and Purple grapes(unfortunately not concord) but they were quite sweet. You have to separate the grape skins from the pulp. This may sound like a laborious process but it was well worth it! Good food is only made with lots of love if it takes a little time, right? (and a little wine ;-) )

Add some sugar, flour, boiled pulp, grape skins and other goodness into a pie crust and top with streusel. The streusel soaks into the fruit filling a bit but it helps to firm up the filling while baking.

After the topping and crust have browned and the filling is thoroughly heated I let it cool for about an hour. When I bake in my oven I use an air bake pan underneath what I'm cooking to keep anything from dripping into oven and making a mess!

The pie tastes delicious!! The recipe I used can use some tweaking but at least that means I get to make it again soon

Summer in Los Angeles

2008-09-01T13:29:00.001-07:00

1. Balance, 2. The Thin Man at Cinespia, 3. Glowing Hands, 4. Tic Tacs, 5. Happy At the Getty, 6. The Getty, 7. Bon Iver Troubadour, 8. Just Do It, 9. David three Palm Trees
Summer in Los Angeles is awesome. It is rarely over 85 degrees, it is cool at night and cool in the morning. There are so many things to do that I almost have some sort of crazy plan for the weekend that my poor husband loathes! ;-)

Enjoy some photos from my summer. Back to posting about knitting and running later on this week.

Happy Labor Day!

Backed Up

2008-08-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

I've got a back log of wines I've been meaning to comment on... Starting with the most recent wine we've tried. This was a Salneval Albarino 2006. I have a particular fondness for Spanish wines and of the whites I've tried the Albarino wines are my favorite. My husband called this wine "the nectar of the goddess"...Now, it's safe to say he probably had a few glasses of the wine before that comment came out. I noticed that it was crisp, appley, pleasant and subtle. It was very easy drinking without any one flavor invading your mouth. Definitely a perfect wine for a hot summer day.

This wine, Bivio 2006 Tuscan Red is a blend of 65% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot. Just those mixed together scream out, "drink me with pasta sauce!". However, I wasn't the biggest fan. It was dry which was nice but it had so much of that meaty flavor it almost tasted salty. My husband said it "lingered on the tongue". Not sure if that was a good linger or a bad linger. This is not one I would try again or recommend.

An australian wine we tried was an interesting blend of Shiraz Viogoner, Yalumba 2005 Barossa Shiraz/Viognier. We tried this one with some friends over for dinner of barbecue chicken, taco salad and corn bread. The pairings worked quite well. Comments were that the spice was nice, true to grap, driy with a bit of fruit(cherry), a little chewy, dry, tannic, licorice, black berry start and my husband said it tasted like a rotten grape should. Again I think my husband may have been drinking another bottle of wine before we tried this one ;-) This was a hit and one I would certainly try again.

And, finally was wine from California's Sonoma County(I have this one on my list to visit!). It was the Cline 2006 Oakley fiveREDS. I've read that this winery makes some great Zinfandel that I would really like to try. This wine that we tried was a Variatel of five grapes(just like the name implies). 74% Merlot, 7% Barbera, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Syrah, and 1% Mourvedre. It was an enjoyable red wine that was very light, very red in color, berry forward and just slightly dry. Considering it was almost 3/4 Merlot I can see why it was so easy to drink but I appreciated the complexity the other grapes added to the flavor. I'll certainly try something from this Winery again.

Happy Wine Drinking! More updates on Summer in LA to come soon.

2008-08-22T12:26:00.001-07:00

The Questions:

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. What is your favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Your flickr name?

Baby Shoes

2008-06-17T10:05:00.000-07:00

I sewed up these adorable baby shoes using Stardustshoe's pattern . I had some trouble getting my fusible interfacing to fuse so I sewed it on the shoes giving them a bit of a quilting effect. I can't believe how well they turned out with my wonky sewing skills! These are for my dear college roommate who I am going to visit this week in Austin, TX. She is due in the next week. I'm hoping to see the little one out of the tummy but if not I'll just have to settle for the pregnant mommy.

I tried them on my own baby... she didn't like it so much.

Yoga Mat Bag

2008-06-08T09:15:00.000-07:00

My running partner's birthday was last weekend and at the last minute I decided to knit her up a yoga mat bag for the yoga mat I got for her. So, while watching the 4th season of the Wire on a Sunday I made this bag from Stitch n Bitch Nation.
(Sorry for the fuzzy picture, I only had my camera phone.)
Lots of other projects in the queue. Keep you posted later.

(P.S. Here entire outfit is from SUSS- The dress, tights & the shrug!)

Wine Tasting In Malibu

2008-04-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Sunday we went out to Malibu to do some Wine Tasting at Rosenthal Winery and Malibu Family Wines. It was an amazing afternoon of good company, yummy wines and good food!

I packed a picnic lunch of chicken salad sandwiches, potato salad and these yummy brownies. All the recipes were from Cooking Light so we could drink all that extra wine with little guilt!

Secret of the Stole II Clue 4

2008-04-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

The Secret of the Stole KAL is over but I'm still plugging along.

Clue 4 down 5 more to go!

Reasons to Love LA

2008-03-24T14:47:00.001-07:00

Kite flying on Easter Sunday in Huntington Beach (80 degrees!)

Watching the LA Marathon Elite Runners run 1/2 block away from my apartment. (Poor guy was so far ahead of the pack... he didn't make it into the top 5. Time for a new coach!)

Sunsets on the water with good food, good friends and good drinks!

The Live's of a Short Row

2008-03-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

I love Short Rows. There are like approaches to life with so many different options.

Some would say you should smell the roses:

Some focus on the "circle of life"

And, I say "bring it on"! I'll take the Corkscrew approach - crazy, adventurous and hey, corkscrew's make for a good wine bottle opener! (Hence, the empty wine bottles on the windowsill.

This pattern is modified from Teva Derham's book Loop-d-Loop.

Greater things to come. But, here we are.

2008-03-06T16:09:00.001-08:00

I love this man, if you've met him you love him too and if you haven't met him you just can't help but love him once you do.
We got some bad news yesterday that he has skin cancer. Not, melanoma and as such should be easily treatable. We go to see a surgeon about taking care of all of it in the next week. Here's hoping it all goes as smoothly and easily as possible.

Locks Of love

2008-03-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

I've been growing out my hair since I started training for the NYC marathon. The idea being that once the marathon was over I'd cut it off and donate the hair to Locks of Love. Well, I finally had the strength to actually do it today.

24 inches of Hair

2 braids later

And now... Bangs!

Secret of the Stole II Clue 3

2008-02-29T09:44:00.000-08:00

Well, Monday I finished Clue 3 of the Secret of the Stole Project...I'm 4 weeks behind. Boo. The big reason for being behind is that I've really stepped up my running again. It's been great. I've got a running partner and when we don't get together I've been running home from work. Now I've just got to stop sleeping so I can keep up on my knitting projects.

This weekend is the LA Marathon. I'm not running it but I do look forward to cheering on those who are from the corner of Hollywood (a 1/2 block from my house!!) :-)

Tonight my husbands music is being featured in a play by Ibsen called "When We Dead Awaken." He's worked really hard on this project and the sound design and songs he created are just beautiful. Sometimes I'm just speechless when I hear what he is able to create.

Have an inspired Friday!

The Oscars

2008-02-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

This spectacle has been blocking traffic on my way to and from work for the past week. But, how can I complain when I live 3 blocks from the Academy Awards! They block off all the streets in our area (except for a few where thankfully we had parking!) to park all the limos for the stars. The actual tent construction has been going on for almost two weeks.

I can't believe I live here! I love life!

Bonny Lass

2008-02-24T15:51:00.000-08:00

Friday night we were invited to a murder mystery dinner party. In the invitation each guest is assigned a different character. My character was a Scottish wine connoisseur. The wine connoisseur was easy... ;-) the Scottish part required a bit of costume and Kira helped me out by wearing a cute little collar I made out of scraps from this skirt. Kira was invited because the dinner party was at the home of some dog park friends! It was a blast!

This was my first sewing project since we've moved to LA and my first article of clothing. I'm pretty proud of this waistband and the darts. It was a simple wrap skirt pattern from S.E.W. (Sew Everything Workshop) by Diana Rupp. It's a great book and the instructions were not difficult to follow. Especially considering I've never taken a sewing class.

I would have taken more pictures of me in the skirt but inevitably I looked like crap in every one...At least this one with Kira and I turned out cute. Isn't she adorable?! How can you not love those big ears?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T09:33:00.003-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone receives a bit of spoiled love today, even if you bestow it upon yourself with some chocolate, flowers or other lavish treat.

I made these cute little cards for my mom and sister after being inspired by Purl's version. If you need inspiration for any crafty project check out other projects on The Purl Bee's site.

Here is a close up of the blue card. I just used some scrap yarn I had left over from my Wine and Roses Mitts. I cut out the heart shape, punched some holes and then used a tapestry needle to make the center and then taped the ends of the yarn inside the card.

And the red card. For this card I cut out the heart shape in the center, cut out a square of fabric and then sewed around the edges and once in the middle with some scrap yarn. The great thing about this card is that the fabric I chose had a little gold dots on it and the card had little gold dots on it!

Have a wonderful day. It's easy for me... my husband is amazing. I've already received a box of See's chocolates (my favorite!). Love you babe!

Secret Of the Stole II Clue 2

2008-02-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I stayed home sick (not badly sick, I just needed some sleep). I'm such a baby lately. I watched movies and finished up clue 2 from the Secret of the Stole Project. I need to have clue 3 done by tomorrow night...I hope that happens!

I'm really loving the way these little donut holes are being created in the pattern!

Here is a shot of the whole thing so far.

I'm in love with this project. I have a hard time going back to sock yarn...too thick!

Pacific Rim 2006 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley

2008-01-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

I joined the wine.com Wine Club again. I've had this Riesling before but this time around because it was from the Wine Club I took a more engaged notice of it. Right upon pouring out of the beautifully designed bottle it has a lemony apple smell. The flavors I caught onto were sweet citrus, honey and apple cinnamon. It wasn't too sweet and enjoyable at first but as the night wore on it started to get a bit tart and harsh. I actually made a face with the last gulp from my glass. It is possible it was a result of mixing it with Curry and next time I may try it with a light seafood dish or light cheeses.

This wine is a screwcap Riesling and aged in steel tanks which you can kind of get a taste of.

If you like Rieslings you may enjoy this and I did notice that they carry it at Trader Joe's though I didn't note the year. It's easy to recognize this pretty bottle in a store :-)

La Hacienda de Quemadas

2008-01-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

As promised, I give you the good parts of my weekend of painting over Martin Luther King Day weekend. We painted a chalkboard with chalkboard paint from Home Depot in the Kitchen. It goes so well with our 2008 vintage wine poster calendar, don't you think? Martha Stewart has some more neat ideas on how to use chalkboard paint or even make your own chalkboard paint here.

I found this amazing side table at the Rose Bowl Flea Market a few weeks ago. It was painted a horrendous shade of yellow so I stripped it down and stained it. I also found this great new handle that reminded me of an old vintage desk. I'm thinking some brushed leather chairs to finish up that side of the apartment. But, I'm really trying to decorate the apartment while spending minimal amounts of money. I look at craigslist everyday for free stuff and plan on going to the Flea Market at least once a month.

This weekend was rainy and wonderful. Friday Night I went to see Au Revoir Simone at The Troubador.

They were ok. I could tell that they were a bit put off by something and it was a less than stellar performance. This may have also be due to the fact that the sound engineer wasn't sure how to mix them. However, there was another band before them, Karin Tatoyan that put on a really entertaining show. I have to admit I danced a little.

Sunday there was a massive downpour but we still made it out to a movie, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. It was so beautiful. If you get a chance, you must see it. The beautiful film work and countryside was very inspirational. It made me want to go home and create. But, instead I cuddled up in my reading corner with a bottle of wine and read for the rest of the evening...yes, a whole bottle of wine...and no, i did not share.

SOTS II Clue 1 Finished!

2008-01-25T20:04:00.000-08:00

Even with the little fiasco I had this weekend with the SOTS II project I was able to finish the first clue by todays deadline! Woohoo!

Here's a picture of the whole thing:

And a close up of the center pattern:

I'm thinking that a color similar to this might work for fixing up the trim in that ugly green bedroom I've been sleeping in...

That Green...

2008-01-23T09:04:00.001-08:00

The bedroom in our new apartment was just to boring with the white walls against the exposed brick.
Before:

I thought green would be a great color for us. I was thinking Sage type green. Somehow we came home with this:

Here's my craft corner which represents how dark the color is a little better:

What do I do with this?? Any ideas?

I did have two successful projects over the weekend. I'm just waiting on one more finishing touch to show you the good stuff. For now I'm weeping quietly in my office cubicle thinking about that green...

Secret Of the Stole II

2008-01-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

This weekend among painting my bedroom, refinishing a side table and some painting in our kitchen I wanted to finish up Clue one of the Secret Of the Stole II project. If you haven't participated in a "secret" type project before I highly recommend it! You have no idea what you pattern making until you get clued in each week with a new part of the pattern.

Last night I'm really starting to plug along and thinking I can most certainly finish this by the end of the night when I look down and notice...the left side shifted over about 8 rows down...

Boo. I frogged to the 6th row. Needless to say I put it down and did a bit of mindless garter stitch short rows on this project.

Hopefully I can tackle the stole again tonight and get clue 1 finished before the end of the day!

Pictures of the apartment painting projects to come. I am a little depressed about it and having to frog the stole didn't help.

Getting Organized

2008-01-15T16:16:00.000-08:00

I couldn't take this anymore:

I didn't have any money so I cut these to fit:

And now I have these:

It's amazing how much easier cooking can be when I can find my tools.

Tapena 2005 Tempranillo - Good Enough

2008-01-13T17:34:00.000-08:00

My awesome new neighbor is really into wine and is constantly bringing over bottles for me to try. He gave me this Tempranillo last weekend and I was excited to try it. I almost always love Tempranillo because it has a fruitiness that is not too sweet and usually just a simple dry ending. Not too intense.

This particular Tempranillo was everything I was expecting but with a little bit of licorice flavor that turned me off a bit. Lots of berry and not too dry but enough tannins to be dry enough... That would describe it well enough. It was enough to enjoy and I would drink it again.

And that's enough on that wine ;-)

Inspiration

2008-01-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year.

I've started out the new year feeling incredibly inspired by a few women.

1. My amazing mother - She's super active and healthy. When we visited her for Christmas we did the following; hiked, snowshoed, skied, danced, and ran. I'm keeping it up and working on turning off the TV more. She never watches TV which accounts for the time she has to do these things. My hubby snowshoed with us and I think this picture just says it all! I love the beard icicles!

2. Alex Beauchamp - If you have never read or visited any of her numerous blogs you must check out her Hygge (pronounced hu-gah) House blog. She has several other blogs and has done all sorts of work with artists. I am completely inspired by her sense of beauty and writing style. I've already started up some decorating ideas in our new apartment with her design sensibility in mind. Check out Alex The Girl and Girl At Play. Be inspired!

I've got some wine to share with you and some knitting as well. I'm still running but nothing too exciting from that other than not having any holiday weight left! woohoo! I'll share all the other goodness with you another day. In the meantime go be inspired!

Handmade Goodness!

2007-12-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

My secret pal spoilee- Mia of Way Past My Bedtime sent me this great skein of hand dyed yarn. She uses food dyes and I love the colors. I'm thinking a cables scarf or hat out of this.

Here is a photo of the yarn close-up. She really does some beautiful hand dying. I've tried to dye and just not had much luck with it. But I have to admit I love a skein of hand dyed yarn.

Yesterday, one of my co-workers brought in some handspun alpaca yarn from her own alpacas! She spun the yarn herself and I just fell in love. She was so sweet and excited to give it to me and she under charged me for it. This picture really doesn't do the goodness she's created justice but hopefully you'll appreciate the loveliness in a future project. I'm thinking cabled mitts and/or neck warmers!

I have been doing a lot of knitting. I finished up the back of the Vogue Knitting Multi-Pattern Top and started on the bottom of the front. I'm really thrilled at how this is coming out. I've had many days of thinking it wasn't going to work but now that I have one side done I can't wait to finish the other. Hopefully it won't take me near as long as the back!

Here is a close up of the patterns. You'll have to excuse the beautiful LA sunshine coming through my kitchen window...but I have to brag a little, right?

Our new puppy Kira is going through some really interesting growth. She is a Standard Schnauzer not a Miniature like our first girl, Dagny and we are really starting to notice some differences. On Friday we came home to this Right Ear standing straight up. It will no longer fold over in the cute button style and just wanted to stand straight up. Isn't it cute?!

Then, Monday we came home to Kira's left ear standing straight up. Her right ear has retreated to a folded "bunny" style and not as cute a floppy as they used to be. Many puppy owners will tape their dog’s ears down so they grow the way the want but we are happy to let her grow naturally.

I take this as a lesson for when I have children. I hope to be a mother who just let's her children grow without forcing them into any specific ear shape ;-) One of my ears... well, my mom is a Star Trek fan and somehow all the Star Trek watching she did while she was pregnant seaped in and I came out with one Spock Ear...My other ear is completely normal. Live Long & Prosper.

Ripped off the Bandaid

2007-11-27T13:14:00.000-08:00

So, I looked at my profile today and I realized that my location was New York, NY. I've been so proud to live in New York City for the past four years it is hard to change it...but I did it. No sense in denying reality when the temperature is 70 degrees on November 27th.

Do I Look Fat?

2007-11-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

Wednesday after work I made a dash to the Post Office to pick up a package before getting started on Thanksgiving preparations and spending time with my Mom. Look at the goodies I received from my SS!

A black cat tape measure, size 10 needles (W/ a black cat on them(, some dark chocolate and a dark colored Berroco Skein of yarn. She also included a pattern for a Silk Lace Scarf from the Stitch n' Bitch calendar. I've been knitting so many complicated patterns lately I was thankful (it was Thanksgiving, people!) for an excuse to knit up an easy scarf... and I finished it tonight already. Kira was patient enough to let me hold her in front of Christmas tree for a chance to show off the pretty yarn she'd been trying to gnaw at all weekend. This scarf is a little short but I think a cute brooch will make it work just perfectly on a "Cool" day in LA...(Cold doesn't exist in LA :-) )

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My mom came to visit from Colorado and we had a wonderful time.
I was so happy to share our new apartment and city with her. It made it feel a lot more like home. I have to admit I really am starting to like here (it'll never be my NYC but it'll do). We tried to keep from putting on too many pounds by running in the Long Beach Turkey Trot and hiking in Runyon Canyon... I might have helped just a little ;-) I love forcing my family to enter races when they come visit me... he he! I think she had fun, though! I had an awesome time and finished the 10K at a personal record time, 54 minutes!

I'll leave you with two photos... One is my mom's quick design of a centerpiece for Thanksgiving dinner and the next is a photograph off of the peak on a trail of Runyon Canyon (only 4 blocks from my Apt!).

Kira!

2007-11-21T11:38:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we made a trip out to see some puppies. Nothing will replace our precious Dagny but we have dearly missed having another member of the family...and God knows I'm not ready for a baby yet.

Needless to say it is just too difficult to visit beautiful schnauzer puppies and not bring one home...Here she is on her second day in our apartment:

And then the poor thing got a hair cut the next day. This picture doesn't do her a bit of justice as she looks beautiful but I love the look on her face!

Kira is a Standard Schnauzer and will be larger than our first schnauzer. I look forward to being able to go on runs with Kira when she gets older. For now we are just having play time in the morning to get her used to spending that time with me. I can't wait!

In case you are wondering, "Kira" is a character from Ayn Rand's first novel "We The Living". Our first dog, "Dagny" was also a character from an Ayn Rand novel. My hubby and I were big Ayn Rand fans in college so it's fun to take that thing we had in common and make it a part of our family... although trust me we are not 100% Objectivist. As much as we ascribe to many of her ideas she was missing out...

Anways, I digress. My mother is in LA for the first time and I'm sitting here at work watching the minutes crawl wanting to get home and get this Thanksgiving weekend started!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

5:00:20 - I Beat Katie Holmes!!

2007-11-09T07:43:00.000-08:00

I made it! I finished the NYC Marathon. I met all my goals--
1. Run the whole thing (no walking except to grab water or gatorade)
2. Finish the dang thing!
3. Finish within 5 hours
4. Finish feeling good.

I did all of those and had an amazing time.

This was a picture of me right at the beginning crossing the Verezano Bridge from Staten Island into Brooklyn. Another runner saw me taking pictures and said "hey! Let me take one with you in it!" The smile and energy on my face stayed with me until the end. Go to this brightroom link to see more great photos. I'm smiling in every one!

I took the pictures you see in my blog today with my new toy...

This was a necessity for the marathon because a few weeks ago I "accidentally" broke my phone and "lost" my Ipod Nano. It is so wonderful and convenient. It really comes in handy when we are stuck in this nasty LA traffic and I want to check on-line for the best route home. The one downside is it feels a little "Big Brother"... is the government watching me closer now??

I flew back into Burbank close to the Warner Bros. Studios. Many of you may have heard about the writer's strike. I'm amazed how I've chosen to live my life in areas with so may news worthy events.

Have a great Friday!

I Thought I Was On A Roll

2007-11-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

I really did. And then it came to a crashing halt... I couldn't find the battery charger for my camera, I was running... alot and well I was being lazy.

I've got lots to share. Finished knitted objects... would you believe it! I finally settled down enough in LA to start knitting again.

But, I'll have to share all of that next week. I'm off today for the NYC Marathon .

I've got a cold and I didn't sleep more than 6 hours each night the past two nights. This has me a bit nervous (As if I wasn't nervous enough!) but I'm fighting through it and hoping I get some sleep on the plane and that Zicam can be the cure everyone claims it is.

See you after 26.2!

Aren't Your Feet Cold?

2007-10-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was wearing a pair of dress flats with no socks... a co-worker said to me "Don't your feet get cold when you don't wear socks"? I said "It gets cold in LA?"...

Today, I threw on a pair of knitted socks (My crawling leaves socks) kind of inspired by Snit 'N' Knit, Mary's post and being a bit homesick for NY fall weather. Big mistake. My toes are all sticky and sweaty...I don't even want to think about how my socks will smell when I take off these shoes.

After a 13 mile run and a fall on the trail...

2007-10-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

I can soak my tired hurting legs in the cold ocean water... (The things I like about LA are adding up.)

Roses and Apples

2007-10-02T22:08:00.000-07:00

Roses- These beautiful flowers woke me up on my birthday (Sept. 26th) along with breakfast in bed from my wonderful hubby.

Apples- These apples are from my bosses tree here in California. He doesn't know what kind of apple they are but they are delicious. They are sweet and crisp. (Not tart like most green apples)

Stewing Apples - I decided that California was not feeling enough like fall so I chopped up the beautiful apples and stewed them up with some Apple Cider from the Starbucks a block from my Apartment. (I didn't have that in NY...I'm adding to the positives of living in LA)

Boiling Apple Butter - I then pureed the apples and added some brown sugar, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. I brought that to a boil and let it simmer until it got really thick and yummy.

Jar of Apple Butter - And now I have 3 jars of this! (This pretty one is going to my boss)

p.s. Isn't the black & white tile in my kitchen cute! (Another plus added to the "Good to be living in LA" list.)

Secret Pall 11 Contest

2007-10-02T14:18:00.001-07:00

As part of a Secret Pal Contest we've been asked to list our favorite of the following.

Actor - Johnny Depp
Actress - Audrey Hepburn
Animal - Dogs
Band - Led Zeppelin
Book - Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Bubble Bath - Green Tea
Candy - Cherry Mash & Cadbury Fruit n Nut
Color - Green
Flower - Daisy
Food - Mexican
Lip Balm - Blistex
Lotion - Green Tea - Liz Arden
Movie - Amelie
Song - Now that is way to tough for someone in the music biz...
TV Show - Weeds
Vacation Spot -Taxco,Mexico

You've been learning a lot about me lately! You need some pictures! Some to come soon!

7 Facts

2007-09-25T19:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite knitters, Mary, of Snit and Knit tagged me for a "meme." Mary is a beautiful knitter from the Upper Westside (NY) knitters group. I miss her (especially) and all my fellow knitters from the group. Let's just say LA knitters have not quite fulfilled the hole left in my heart from the women from UWS knitters.

It's always fun to come up with answers for these things as much as we all pretend to hate them ;-)

The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

7 Facts About The DeDe
1. I grew up in a town with a population of 3,500 . I've lived in NYC- population 8 million. Now I live in Los Angeles - population 4 million.
2. I am half Mexican.
3. I love fresh avocado sprinkled with garlic salt and a little pepper.
4. I have a tatoo of a little flower around a beauty mark on my hip.
5. I was Miss Colorado National Teenager 1998. (I flubbed my piano solo at Nationals...I've had a hard time playing ever since)
6. I went to 5 high school proms...
7. My favorite margarita comes from Harry's Burrito and is made by Travis-the Dj. It only costs 3$. I can't find a Travis margarita in LA.

Have a lovely Saturday evening.

Found the cord!

2007-09-23T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos of the lovely gift that my secret pal sent to me. Some beautiful Noro, mango soap, a cute japanese notebook and some beautiful stitch markers.

Here's a close up of the stitch markers. They are the first "pretty" stitch markers I've ever owned. Thank you pal!

Well, I'm still training hard for the NYC Marathon on November 4th. I feel healthy and ready. I hope it lasts until November. I ran the NYC 1/2 Marathon in early August which was a great warm up for the race in November. I finished in 2:06. The run was so beautiful because it went right through Times Square. That doesn't happen in the full marathon. I feel so lucky to have lived in NYC so I could run in the New York Road Runner races. It was a great time.

Also, the weekend before I left for LA my husband and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe we've been married for 5 years already. We have such a great time together. To celebrate we went up to Lake Placid, NY and enjoyed a beautiful weekend hiking, wining, dining and resting. It was just what we needed before the move.

I am getting used to LA. I even like it a little. I'll always love New York and I'm glad to have such great memories. I hope we can make some really great memories here as well. Here's a little motiviation for finding happiness in LA ;-)

I was going to share some photos...

2007-09-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

but, somewhere in the moving and staying at my brother-in-law's my camera's cable is missing. What really stinks is that both my husband and I are sure we saw it at one point once we got here.

So, what do I have to show you? A beautiful package from my secret pal! A skein of Noro Kureyon (my first!), some beautiful stitch markers (another first), a cute Japanese notebook and some mango soap form the Body Shop. I've always wanted to try Noro, I'm looking forward to it. You know those cheap blue and pink stitch markers? Those are the only stitch markers I've ever had. Isn't great how Secret Pals and friends gift you with things you would never buy for yourself? I feel spoiled already.

That lovely package certainly perked up my spirits. After losing Dagny and all the normal stress of a big move has got me a little down. I so miss New York. I went for a 20 mile run on Saturday and a car bumped into me! That really made me miss New York. New York is so pedestrian and runner friendly, California is smog and car friendly.

Irregardless of the things I miss there have been some really great things. My job is great, our apartment is beautiful, our neighbors are super nice and I'm already connecting with some great people in the music industry.

*here's hoping the camera cable shows up*

Dagny Layne Burns

2007-09-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night our beautiful Miniature Schnauzer passed away. She was such an important part of our family unit. We will so incredibly miss her beautiful personality and loving devotion to us.

I'm in LA!

2007-09-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Hey, All!

Just a quick note to let you know I have arrived in LA! I haven't forgotten about all of you but with the packing, saying goodbye, traveling across the country, a very sick puppy and no internet access at our new apartment it has been a bit busy in my life!

Our puppy, Dagny, was in the hospital for 5 days with Leptosporosis(Sp?) which she seems to have caught right before leaving NYC. She is still very ill but is at home recovering. The first day we took her to the hospital we were told to prepare for the worst, it was heart breaking! Thankfully it looks as thought she will make a full recovery. (Now, if only I could recover from the site of her hospital bill! Over 5,000$ dollars!)

I promise to have more news and postings on Dagny's health by this next weekend. Our internet should be installed on Friday.

Take Care!

Secret Pal 11 Questionnare

2007-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I love most any yarn. I am particularly partial linens lately which may because I'm getting ready to move to a warmer climate. I don't like fluffy acrylic yarn.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a jar.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I'd consider myself an intermediate knitter. I started right after I got out of college and moved to NYC. I was looking for entertainment for the subway.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an Amazon wish list - http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1OU401TZ61JZV/

5. What's your favorite scent?
Green Tea, Earthy, Hippie scents... ok, not dirty hippie scents, clean hippie scents

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love chocolate! Who doesn't?!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I am trying to learn to sew. I'm really bad at it but I'll learn.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I work in the music industry so I love all types of music. I am particular in the respect that the music has to be "good" for me to like it. None of this pop crap where the lead singer didn't write a lick of the music.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I hate pink. I love green and blues as well as earthy tones.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I have the most amazing miniature schnauzer who is spoiled incessantly by my musical husband.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I'm moving to LA... the need for these will be small. I'm really sad about that by the way. *sigh*

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love to knit really complicated things that teach me new skills. But, I always have to have a simply project on the needs for those moments when I don't want to think about it.

13. What are you knitting right now?
A corkscrew scarf, lace mitts, a short sleeved cotton sweater and a pair of socks.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course! As long as it is made with love ;-)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like straight but I have been experimenting with circulars. I prefer bamboo or plastic needles.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I do not.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
1 year

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Wine. I try to collect... it so often seems to be drank instead.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Victorian Lace Today and Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice - I do not have any magazine subscriptions

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'd love to learn to spin... I just don't know if I have the patience.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love socks. I wear a size 7.5 shoe and have wide feet.

23. When is your birthday?
9/26

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Not yet.

Those Wine Bottles Were Empty!

2007-08-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

In my previous post I mentioned throwing away 72 wine bottles...those bottles, empty. Here is another hint.

No babies...

And one more hint...

I'm moving! I'm leaving the energizing hubbub of NYC and heading to sunny LA! In two weeks! augghhh! packing packing and more packing. It will be a big change but one that I think will be really great for My husband and I. He is certainly set to do some great things with his music in LA.

I'll try to keep you all up to date. More to come soon.

Secret Sister Goodness

2007-07-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago I came home to an exciting package from my Secret Sister, AJ. I'm finally getting around to posting about it. My energy has been consumed with big things going on...

Look at all the lovely goodness she has sent to me!

Malabrigo Baby Marino in a beautiful green color. It looks hand dyed. I'm thinking a lacy shawl or cowl.

Some beautifully dyed sock yarn from Scout's Swag.

And some yummy lotion, cable markers and yummy espresso beans covered with chocolate.

Thanks, AJ!

Part of my energy this past week has gone to throwing all of these away.

8 across and 3 deep and 3 cabinets = 72 bottles.

All these are in a recycling bin...why?... I'll share soon, I promise.

Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July America! Today we celebrate our freedom. I'm thankful to have been born and grown up in America. I started a long political diatribe on freedom but... I'll leave that for another day.

Today we went to see the new movie, Transformers. It was so much fun. I was born in the 80's when Transformers were really popular. It was great!

I came home did some knitting on the Vogue Lace Sweater, caught up on Wimbledon (go Justine Henin!) and then out for a run. After I came home I decided it was time to celebrate!

I've been keeping this bottle of wine for a little over a year now. It is a cherry wine from Colorado, Carlson Vineyards. This vineyard is notorious in my family for having a great atmosphere in their tasting room but disgusting bottles of wine once you get home. This particular wine is to be served with melted chocolate on the rim of the glass. The chocolate was spectacular... the wine, not so bad! Thank goodness I was waiting for it to be horrible!

Chocolate, Wine, Cherries...That is just what I needed...

Progress on Vogue Knitting Lace Sweater

2007-06-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

Finally, I've made some progress on the Vogue Lace Sweater. I'm able to do about 5-10 rows an evening because I really have to concentrate on the pattern. I'm very happy in the way it is coming along but it is taking forever!

Close up of the Vanilla pattern:

Close up of Coffee pattern:

Close up of Blue pattern:

Yeah!

Running is going great. Last weekend I had one of four 20 mile runs I have in my schedule before November 4th. It went so well. I felt really beat at the end but I felt good too. Today I only had to do 12miles but next weekend is another 20 miler.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Mama in Town!

2007-06-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hey, All!
Sorry for the short hiatus. My mother-in-law came for a visit and then 4 days later, my mama came into town for a week.

My mama and I had a blast! We started the weekend out with dinner at my favorite burrito joint, Harry's Burrito. The margarita's here (especially if made by Travis) are the best in town! If you come during happy hour they are only 3$!!!

The following day I took mom on a 12 mile walk down the Hudson River. We treked over to the east village for pre-dinner desert at Chikalicious. We had the pleasure of being served by the owners (Chika is in the background). If you have never been here and you live in NYC or are visiting NYC this place is a must. It is a three course desert w/ wine pairing that leaves you satisfied without feeling sinful. Yum!

The next day we went to Church at Riverside Church . Next, we went down to see Grey Gardens on Broadway. It was hilarious. Christine Ebersole got the part spot on. My husband and I own the documentary on the the Bouvier's. After some Salsa Dancing to end out the night we went home to watch the documentary... what a day!

Monday was the Moma, Tuesday the Met and Tuesday evening we ate at Carmine's where we had some yummy drinks and excellent Italian food.

All I can say is I hope I have has much energy as my Mom does when I'm here age...I'd take her energy now! She's crazy! I love it.

The longest run of my life

2007-06-02T17:40:00.001-07:00

Today I ran 18 miles. At mile 12…I got sick…good thing I had a bathroom close(Chelsea Piers public restrooms). But, hey, I’m going to run a marathon in November, it is going to hurt, I need to get used to it. So, I got back into it and I made it!

I have only two more miles to the longest run I will do during training for the Marathon(20) and then, the big 26.2(I have 5 more months until then.

BBQ for dinner. I deserve it!

Lace + Sauvignon Blanc = Success!

2007-05-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

On 5/6/07 I posted about the struggles I'd been having with lace... I blamed it on the beer. So, this time I tried lace + Sauvignon Blanc from Australia (Shoofly Buzzcut) which turned out to be a good inspiration to finish at least one of my Wine & Roses lace mitts.

Here is a close up of the mitts. Can't you feel the inspiration seeping out of our fire escape? I love NY fire escapes, they are kind of pretty.

I hope everyone has had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. This one is a bit more meaningful for me, my brother left for the Army on Thursday. I continue to pray and hope for our troops' safety and happiness. I also continue to pray and hope that the Bush regime (note I call it regime) gets there crap together and gets us out of Iraq and after our "real" enemies.

Personality Test

2007-05-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

*** THE EVERYTHING TEST ***

There are many different types of tests on the internet today. Personality tests, purity tests, stereotype tests, political tests. But now, there is one test to rule them all.

Traditionally, online tests would ask certain questions about your musical tastes or clothing for a stereotype, your experiences for a purity test, or deep questions for a personality test.We're turning that upside down - all the questions affect all the results, and we've got some innovative results too! Enjoy :-)

PERSONALITY
You are more logical than emotional, more concerned about others than concerned about self, more religious than atheist, more dependent than loner, more lazy than workaholic, more traditional than rebel, more artistic mind than engineering mind, more idealist than cynical, more leader than follower, and more introverted than extroverted.
As for specific personality traits, you are adventurous (69%), religious (60%), greedy (57%), romantic (57%).

STEREOTYPES
Young Professional (100%)
Punk Rock (67%)
Prep (54%)

LIFE EXPERIENCE
Sex (29%)
Substances (41%)
Travel (29%)

POLITICS
Your political views would best be described as Libertarian, whom
you agree with around 68% of the time.

SOCIOECONOMIC
Your attitude toward life best associates you with Upper Middle Class.
You make more than 85% of those who have taken this test,
and 5% less than the U.S. average.

If your life was a movie, it would be rated PG-13.
By the way, your hottness rank is 71%, hotter than 86% of other test takers.

TAKE THE TEST
http://www.thatsurveysite.net/take.php?id=eay

Powered by ThatSurveySite - http://www.thatsurveysite.net

Running on Mother's Day

2007-05-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's day to all you Mama's out there. I hope that if you have children at home you were treated to a yummy breakfast in bed. My little brother, little sister and I always found excuses for giving or Mama breakfast in bed. Now, I'm in NYC, my sister is in Texas, my brother is in Eastern CO and my mom is on the Western side of the Rocky Mountains. Sorry we're all so far away Mama!
Here's a photo of my beautiful mother with my little sister. Isn't she gorgeous?!

My mom did get a special Mother's day gift as my little brother earned his GED yesterday... congrats bro! He's joining the Army (scary!) but we are hoping the best for the great things he'll learn and hoping for his safety.
Here is the three of us at Christmas...I'm the shortest and oldest. My brother is the youngest and the tallest. I so got jipped.

On the running front, I'm running a lot! Last weekend I had a 15 mile long run... it hurt, yesterday my long run was only 10 miles and it felt like a breeze after 15! So, far this year I'm up to 202 miles in the Run-a-Go-Go challenge. Now, If only all that running would get rid of this extra weight I'm carrying around... I'm trying to be patient and eat right but it just won't budge!

thedede / 202 mi

202 (goal met!)

Lace

2007-05-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have not been having much luck with Lace lately, I spent a 5 hour plane ride to Los Angeles on 4 rows of the Wine and Roses Mitts from the Winter 2007 Interweave knits. Today, I made a lot of progress only to find several rows later that I had dropped two stitches... I wondered why I had to add two stitches at the end of that last round!

And, this pile of frogged lace has been shoved into a bag until I have a set 12 hours to untangle and pick it all up again...

Although, maybe I should just stop drinking a beer when I'm knitting lace...

What is the oldest yarn in your stash?

2007-04-30T16:42:00.000-07:00

This yarn entered my stash just this Christmas. It was in a closet at my father's house. My mom had started a baby blanket for my sister and never finished it. Since my sister is now 23 I'm guessing this yarn has to be at least that old.

I have to share some more great photos from LA.

This was a seagull that perched itself up on the window ledge at this restaurant in Malibu called Duke's.

This is the view from the Getty Center. We stopped here for a few hours for a much needed escape from work.

This was an exhibit at the Getty Center called Uberorgan by Tim Hawkinson. It was this amazing mechanism of balloons, tubes and a player piano type reader that created an eerie soundtrack ever hour for 5 minutes.

It was a beautiful trip.

Have a great night!

LA

2007-04-26T17:11:00.000-07:00

Well, this photo was actually taken in Malibu on the water. It was a much need dinner at a place called "Duke's". We drank some good wine(the boss let me order!) and had good conversation.
I'll post more later... for now... I'm trying to shed this jet lag zzzzzzzzzz

Should I be feeling guilty?

2007-04-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Oh, my goodness. I have been made to feel like such a jerk for not posting for a over a week. Can I get a break here???

I've had a crazy busy week last week preparing for a business trip to LA, trying to get my running in, hosting a visiting family member and now I'm in LA for a full week and busy with work, special events and networking with some important and very cool people. I've seen Billy Crystal, Sasha Baron Cohen, Nick Lachey, Melissa Etheridge and many many more cool people.

I've taken some great photos and can't wait until I get home and can share with you.

Please find it in your heart to hand me some grace for my absense and i'll catch up with you soon! :-)

Wining in the Country

2007-04-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

While out in the country this past weekend we did some wine tasting and... once back safely at our hotel some wine drinking! ;-)

The first spot we stopped at was the Rivendell Winery. The owners of this Winery also owns Vintage New York wine shop. They have two locations on on 96th Street and Broadway and one in SoHo.
The winery was very crowded and the wines I tasted were... ok. not great. We bought the Salmon Run Petit Noir and opened it when we got back. It tasted much better out of my own bottle.
The second winery we stopped at was El Paso Winery. It was a much more enjoyable experience. The tasting room is in a beautifully renovated barn and the owner is a delightful woman. All the wines we tasted there were drinkable and good by my taste bud standards. We bought two of her Pinot Noirs and two of her Syrahs. One thing she said that may add to the quality of her wines is the time she spends (and love she adds) blending and aging them. She mentioned that she is planning to sell in 2 years... anyone want to invest in a winery and let me run it!?

Have a great weekend!

Weekend in the Country

2007-04-01T16:11:00.000-07:00

The hubby and I headed out of town this weekend for some fresh air and relaxation. We spent a morning in Woodstock enjoying the shopping. We brought the dog along with us. With all the attention she received I think she enjoyed the shopping even more than us!
I took advantage of the hubby's good mood and purchased some yarn goodness at The Woodstock Wool Company.

Two skeins of linen for a shawl and a skien of mohar for some funky handwarmers... I think. Isn't the linen yarn a beautiful color?!
If you are ever in Woodstock you must stop in at the Woodstock Wool Company. The space is super comfortable and people are uber cool.

The Purple Banana

2007-03-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

This silly looking little pincushion used to be this...

My first pair of socks gifted to my mother. Of course I didn't use sock yarn for my first socks... I've learned now, only washable sock yarn, as those socks came back to me like this...

Rather than let such pretty yarn go to waste I stuffed the felted sock with some cotton
and now... it's useful!

On the running front... I AM OFFICIALLY SIGNED UP FOR THE 2007 NYC MARATHON!! Woohoo! I'm in my 5th week of training. I've put two training schedules together cutting off the weeks at the end of the 1st session and tapering back down for the first week of the second schedule. Did that make any sense??? Well... see below for yourself. ;-)

I made the Run-a-Go-Go goal of running a 100 miles by April 1st and by the end of the week I should be at least 10 miles over.

thedede / 101.24 mi

101.24 (goal met!)

Off to eat some dinner prepared by my personal chef... the irish man. ;-)

Yarn Harlot Groupies!

2007-03-25T07:09:00.000-07:00

Most of the community has posted up their pictures of the lovely visit from The Yarn Harlot... I'm a bit behind, as usual. Irregardless, what a fantastic event!

I will never get over the amazing friendliness of knitters. With so many communities broken apart by hatred, money, fear, etc., it is empowering to see so many people connect after knowing one another for seconds!
The day started out at Strawberry fields. The first person I said hello to, Selena, showed off her socks using the Magic Loop Method. The pattern is a really interesting twisty cable.

Here is a picture of the Yarn Harlot and several other knitters chatting it up... notice the muggle in black wondering, "what the hell is going on?!"

The evening ending with the Yarn Harlot's Book Release Event @ FIT. It was roaring hilarious. I haven't laughed that much in... who knows... months! I met up with some of the Upper West Side Knitters who were kind enough to save me one of the best seats in the house. (Mary, Ellie, myself, Pat & Elaine)

I love these women! They are some of the most talented knitters and interesting people I've met in New York. Not only that but they are more than willing to share their knitting wisdom. Ellie in particular spent a whole hour with me on Wednesday night untangling some yarn. I can't tell you how enjoyable an hour of untangling yarn can be. Once we got the yarn untangled Elaine showed me how to start a pair of socks on circulars. I'll post a picture of the socks later on this week. Mary happened to be the one who inspired me to try socks on circulars. Pat is a master knitter who offered advice on the Gentleman's Socks I knit for my mom. Elaine would say we're all just "too cool"

Have a beautiful and relaxing Sunday!

Mama's Socks

2007-03-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working on these socks(intended for my mom) for quite some time and actually finished them about a month ago... but in true "dede" fashion the pictures were accidentally deleted from my camera. Thankfully I haven't sent them to my mom and my hubbie was kind enough to model them for you.

They are the Gentleman's Sock Pattern from Nancy Bush's book, Knitting Vintage Socks.

Here is a close up of the diamond pattern. I used Austermann's Step Sock Yarn w/ Jojoba and Aloe Vera in the Torf colorway. It was great yarn to work with and is supposed to keep the Jojoba and Aloe Vera for up to 40 washes.

Next on the list is to work up some new socks for the
Yarn Harlot's visit to NYC on Thursday, March 22. She's getting a group together at Strawberry fields at noon for a picture.

Happy St. Patricks Day Weekend!

2007-03-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

From my family to you! My Irish Man (Part Irish at least)

I hope you all had a wonderful St. Patty's day. We started our day out with some Corned Beef Hash from our local diner.

Then, we came home and enjoyed some down time before heading down to 72nd street and a favorite pub of ours, PD O'Hurleys. While we were eating our Banger's and Mash (w/ Irish Whiskey and an Irish Beer to wash it down, of course) the parade ended and a group of bagpipe players came in and played for the Pub. It was one of those New York only moments!

After lunch it was time to do some shopping for our Irish Dinner. We came home and watched The Black Donnelly's(a new NBC series about the Irish mob) The hubby made his famous Shepherds Pie,

For desert we made a replica of McDonald's Shamrock Shakes... I forgot to take a picture before we had devoured them... but here's what remains.

Yum!
And finally, to round out all this St. Patrick's Day goodness I leave you with some green knitting. This is the corkscrew scarf from Teva Durham's Loop d Loop. This is a great subway knitting project. The best part is seeing it curl into itself as you get going. I love Teva's designs. They are fun to knit and always seem to teach me something new that inspires me to create my own design using the new technique.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

2007-03-10T15:59:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to have finally made the sign up for a secret pal round! Below are the answers to my Secret Pal 10 questions. Those of you not involved in the swap might enjoy learning a little more about me.
I've been encouraged to blog more... I'll try really hard! I really will!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I don't have a particular favorite. I've enjoyed everything I've knit with and am always willing to try out something new.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Is store the needles I use most often in a basket and the others in a "Trapper-Keeper" for needles that my mother-in-law bought me... Does anyone remember the Trapper Keeper!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting for 3.5 years. I started to knit because I found that I felt unproductive after I graduated from college. I would consider myself an intermediate knitter... I think when I knitted my second project, gloves w/ fingers, I moved from beginnger to intermediate! My friend waited for 4 months for those gloves... it is 3 years later and he still wears them ever day of the winter!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Here it is, created just for you! - https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1OU401TZ61JZV/

5. What's your favorite scent?
I love green tea scents. Clean and springy but not flowery.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love chocolate... good chocolate. My favorite candy bar is Cadbury's Fruit & Nut.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I've just started sewing and quilting. I draw and paint. I haven't yet learned to spin but hope to learn in the next few years.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like music that makes me go "ahhh". I work in the music industry and luckily have still kept my particular taste. The past few weeks have been Arcade Fire, The Knife, Grizzly Bear(amazing musicians) and Over the Rhine. The music has to be good and the musicianship has to be good. Did i mention I'm picky about music... ;-)

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love green. I hate pink.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married to a beautiful man, an artist, musician who looks like Rick Rubin. We have a rambunctious miniature schnauzer named Dagny. (The name comes from a character in Ayn Rand's book, Atlas Shrugged)

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
All of the above.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
What a tough question! I love to be creative and come up with something on my own. Those are always my favorites.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Corkscrew Scarf from Loop-d-Loop & a vintage style blouse from Spring 2006 Vogue.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Who doesn't!! I love to know I am cared enough for to have someone invest their time in me.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I'm moving to circular's know that I've been knitting so many socks. I prefer the warmth of Bamboo but still knit on my aluminums if they are the size I need.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I don't... i want one.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Only 7 months

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas. I love my family and we always have such a fantastic time with old traditions and starting new traditions.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
wine.. yarn... old running shoes

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Handknit Holidays: Knitting Year-Round for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Winter Solstice
I get Interweave knits and the Knitter's Guild Magazine.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Cabling.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I love socks. I wear 7.5 size shoes/socks.

23. When is your birthday?
09/26/81

Baby Bug

2007-01-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I finished up the baby hat and decided to knit up some booties to match. With all this baby knitting I must admit to fully enamored with the idea of having a little one myself to knit for! (Planning on waiting two more years though...)

The baby booties didn't start out too well. I started with a pattern from Knit It for booties knit flat. This was the result which came to a head at my Knitting Group on Wednesdays.

One of the gals, Elaine, suggested trying a free pattern from Fuzzy Galore's site called, Christine's Baby Booties.

Here they are with the hat. I am so please with how they came together. I found out yesterday that my friend's baby was born Jan 13, Amelia Grace. I'm in love with the name. I'll have to beg her to send me a picture of her in the gift.

Today I finally figured out the sewing machine! I've got the back and front side of a pillow sewed up and ready to go. I had to order some muslin to finish up the quilting part of it which I hope to do next weekend.

I'm so pleased with the way the two fabrics came together.

I sewed these up this morning while watching Anne Of Green Gables . It was my most favorite book and movie while I was growing up. My mom indulged my fascination by buying me puffy sleeved dresses when I was girl. I couldn't help but imagine my own little girls watching it... someone get this baby bug off me!! ;-)

Knitting, Running, Wining and now... Sewing!!

2007-01-02T15:03:00.000-08:00

What will I do with the beautiful array of fabrics above? I will make some wonderful crafty goodness with My Christmas present from the hubby???!!!!

My first project will be making some pillows for our living room with the fabric below. But, first I need to learn to thread the bobbin and try out some stitching on junk fabric... somehow knitting sounds so much easier!

"The DeDe Baby Hat"

2006-12-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

While waiting for my Mom and Sister to try on clothes during our "Girl's Out Pamper day" I finished the baby hat for my friend's on the way baby.
I figured all the parents pushing their children around might be disturbed by some crazy person asking their kid to model the hat so I put it on a mannequin.

Here is a closer photo. I added 3 i-cords to the top to make it more fun and a ribbed edge different than my original plan. I used Regia cotton Sock Yarn. I imagine that the hat would work out better with a thicker yarn and less stitches. Next go around I want to change around the decreases at the top of the hat so it isn't so bunched up.

I'm off for one more day of silliness with my mom and sister and then it is back to the Big Apple.

Happy New Year!

White Christmas

2006-12-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

I got a new camera for Christmas - Kodak Z612. I love it. I am so inspired to blog now that my camera doesn't take half an hour to upload pictures to the computer. And, the pictures come out so much better.

By now I'm sure you've all seen the news reports about the blizzard in Colorado and the one that is to come at the end of this week. Well, here we are! We came into Colorado Tuesday evening, right before the blizzard hit. We made it to the east plains of Colorado to visit my dad. We happened to be in the part of Colorado that got hit the worst, over 2 feet of snow. We were snowed in for two days which made us late to visiting my mom who lives on the West side of Colorado across the mountains. We have done a lot of driving. Once west across the Rockies, then east across the Rockies to visit my Grandmother who broke her hip on Christmas eve (She is doing great and walking already!), then west again to spend the rest of the week with my mom. Then, on Sunday I will head East back to Denver for the plain ride to NYC.
On the drives I've been doing a few rows of knitting on a baby hat for a dear high school friend having a baby in a few weeks.
This was heading East across the Rockies.

Heading West across the Rockies I decided that the rolling edge of the Stockinette stitch was not what I wanted, so I picked up stitches and added a ribbed edge.

On Christmas Morning I wanted to go for a run to burn off some Christmas Eve indulgences so my mom took us for an easy hike.

A view from our hike into the city my mom lives.

We also went wine tasting in Grand Junction the day before Christmas eve but I didn't get my new camera until Christmas so no pictures of Wining. Maybe later this week.
During Christmas we had 4 dogs in my mom's one bedroom little trailer. It was a zoo.
My Brother's new puppy, named Kiddy (don't ask). Always the cutest when he is sleeping.

My Sister's dog, Olive.

My Mom's dog, Pepe (Pepe is really my Sister's dog but my mom now has the joy of taking care of the old grouch)

And the most beautiful dog of them all, My Dagny.

Today, is a pamper day for My mom, sister and I. We left my brother and his girlfriend on the East side of the mountains where they live and I sent the hubby back to NYC to get some recording done. I'm so looking forward to some silly girl time with my two favorite women!
Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

Doggy sweaters and cold weather runs

2006-12-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

I'm going to avoid the explanation of my absense the past two months. It was not for lack of things to blog about.

I served Jury Duty in October on a murder(!) trial where I knit a dog sweater with some pink yarn Brown Sheep wool I bought online. I hate pink but it looked more red online. It is really pink. I broke it up w/ a yellow strip so it wasn't to girly. However, for a girl dog with a beard I think it works well.

It was hard to get Dagny to pose so I gave her some treats (notice her licking her lips!)

In late October my little sister had a break from Med School and she came to visit us. While she was in town I dragged her out to the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff 5 mile run. She hasn't run more than 5 miles since high school 5 years ago. So needless to say I pushed her pretty hard, notice the red face!

I am also working on this.

I'm at the second color change but haven't had a good chance for any pictures. I'll get them up in the next week.

Where are my pictures, you ask?

2006-11-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

Seems that my pictures have drifted off into... the great unknown... well, not so unknown and luckily I saved them all on my external hard drive.

I've been utilizing my husband old band's website and server to hold all my pictures... that band has been defunct for well over a year and well we decided not to renew the domain name since my husband is going for a new thing. His band's name was Cassady (Neal's Ghost). The name came about during the bands obsession with Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady was the inspiriation. Now, the only problem is, my husband's name is, Dave. I'm sure you are all getting the dilema in keeping that name.

Anyway, as soon as I figure out where I want to store my pictures now I'll update you on all the knitting goodness going on over here. If anyone has any favorite services they use, please let me know!