It's been so long...

I've been away. Far, far away. I've been to China and back and I mean that literally! Here's proof:


I'm knitting Wisp as a Christmas present for my sister-in-law. Won't it be cool to tell her this puppy was knitted on the Great Wall of China?!

I met 2 other knitters, Charlotte from Omaha and Linda from Maine. Linda thought it would be cool to knit something for myself, as a remembrance of China. Great idea, Linda! So, here I am, cruising down the Lessor Gorges of the Yangtze River, knitting my own hand dyed yarn into Ene's Scarf.

I saw many great things in China. I expected, frankly, that reality could never match up to the fantasy, but I was wrong. China is mind blowingly beautiful, dramatic, history infused and DENSE. There are so many people - can you wrap your head around 1.3 billion people in one country? A medium sized city has 7 million people in it. SEVEN million! That's outrageous, but reality. I spent many moments thanking my ancient ancestors for having the courage to leave China for the US back in the 1800's. Otherwise I would think squatty hole toilets were perfectly normal (eew).

Many of the very chic young women wear very cute knitted hats. these hats are brimmed but have no top - a perfect place for the ever present glossy black pony tail to poke through.


In Beijing, where it is colder, I saw several slouchy hats like this one:


Room for piling the glossy black hair in the hat or open it up and letting the pony tail poke through. I'll have to try my hand at designing something like these hats. Afterall, I have the glossy brownish, reddish blackish pony tail!

I have much knitting to blog about, but I don't want to overload. Here's a link to my Picasa Web Album, should you care to look. If you get the chance to go, do it. It was an amazing experience.

China Favorites

My other life...

I have a new obsession. Shh, don't tell.

In my other life I am a Realtor. Not a "boring, dry as toast, manipulate every conversation for my own monetary gain while shedding dandruff all over the table" sort of Realtor (ewe, I just grossed myself out), but a I do make a living outside the fiber arts.

This blogging thing is very cool, so I thought - "How can I be amusing and still make money?" Bingo - start a Real Estate blog. I had Jon Symons of Ninja Blog set me up - (www.ninjablogsetup.com - he does an amazing wordpress set up for FREE!!!) and I was off and running. Take a look! www.KendylsOpenHouse.com. Anyway, that has consumed most of my blogging time.

So, let's catch up. First - and arguably most important - I finally got a swift! Why, oh why did I wait so long? This is just about the coolest toy ever. Here's a pic of a very happy me winding yet another hank of Silky wool. Since I can't stay away from all the cool yarn on the web, I needed one of these puppies. I just didn't expect it to be so humongous (the swift, silly. Not the web).


So, what is all that luscious Silky Wool for? Ah, the Tangled Fields of Gold aka Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang. I am in total lust with this yarn. The color, the texture, the smooth way it knits up. Pure. Love.

However, the pattern is a bit problematic for the novice. I feel somewhat sacrilegious in criticizing Eunny - but there is an error in the increase section for the body and the directions for joining the sleeves are less than clear. And then there are the 2 completely useless markers one stitch from each edge. Huh? Isn't there enough to worry about without messing with a stitch marker flopping about and threatening to fall off each row turn? Those little ##$@^$^ fell off one to many times and I got rid of them. So there.

Erm... I must be close to that time of the month. Except - I don't do that anymore! Guess I'm just a bitch.

But... isn't she lovely? I am 20 rows away from the yoke. I can't wait, but I am a tad fearful. Will Eunny flummox me again? we shall see....


Next up is Ene's scarf. This is what the hand dyed yarn I made is turning into. It might have wanted to be a Muir, but I wanted a triangle, so there. I was a little concerned when an experienced knitter (you know who you are, girl) said - ooh, I'm scared of that pattern. Crikey! What's going to happen to me? I'll tell you what, first there is blissful arrogance at how easy this is and then **Whamo** Chart 3 kicks in. I am making slow progress to be sure. I am loving every moment of this tangled puzzle (where I seriously question my ability to count past 100 and consider hiring a 3 year old to count for me) and I now understand the allure of knitting lace.

Last up is my MIL's Christmas present - sh, don't tell, again! These lovelies are made with the ridiculously luxurious Fiesta Kokopelli and Water mark. With mohair and wool these puppies will be like wearing clouds. Warm clouds. Since she is Sainted MIL, the luxury is well worth it! After I felt them I think I will do a simple embellishment with a geometric embroidery. Or not.