February 23, 2012

Stitches West...

I will be heading off to my mom's today. The plan is to have dinner with my Grandma tonight and then tomorrow morning we're off to Stitches West.

The plan...don't have one. I'm not really shopping for anything in particular. I’m sure I’ll pick up some sock yarn, it doesn’t count as stash, and maybe some stitch markers. And if I’m really lucky, I’d like to get some sock blockers with Doxie cut outs. But if I don’t buy anything at all I’ll be ok with that.

February 22, 2012

I Finally Got Out...

with my camera last Friday. There are days on my way to work that I wish I had my camera with me and that I didn't have to go to work because the light is so beautiful and there are so many migrating birds. There are perks to living right in the middle of the Pacific fly way for migrating birds. During the winter months we see geese by the millions. This flock was a mix of Snow Geese and Canadian Geese.
This one was a brown goose and snow goose mix but I'm not sure what the brown geese are. And of course I can't find my bird book to look them up.


They were feeding in this mown corn field and they didn't appreciate me driving up next to them on the road.


We also see thousands of Sand Hill Cranes. They are so beautiful with the red patch on their head. The mountain in the back ground is Mt. Diablo.


Red Tail Hawk perched in an oak tree.


Again, can't find my bird book so I have no idea what kind of duck...I really need to find that book.


The duck in the back is a Spoonie and the one in the front is a female mallard.


Cat Tails.


Another Red Tail Hawk.


And of course cows. We've got a lot around here. Even though we're only about 30 minutes outside of Sacramento, we still live in the middle of agriculture. It's one of the things I love about living here.

February 21, 2012

Book #23 of 2012...

Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody




From Goodreads.com:

After the nuclear holocaust of the Great White, the surviving humans condemn all Misfits (mutants) to either death by fire or exile to Obernewtyn, a remote mountain institution where mysterious experiments are performed on some exiles. Elspeth Gordie is a Misfit, struggling to hide her mutant mental abilities and earn a Normalcy Certificate. But when her secret is betrayed, she is sent to Obernewtyn, from which no one has ever escaped. At Obernewtyn she finds not only dreadful experiments, but ambitious overlords who seek to use the Misfits' paranormal powers to recover the devastating secrets of nuclear war.


My take:

4 out of 5 stars. Decent story but I'm not sure that I'll read the next one.

February 20, 2012

Book #22 of 2012

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking



From Goodreads.com:

"This is the way the world ends - not with a bang or a whimper, but with zombies breaking down the back door." Nineteen-year-old Remy King is on a mission to get across the wasteland left of America, and nothing will stand in her way - not violent marauders, a spoiled rock star, or an army of flesh-eating zombies.



My take:

5 out of 5 stars...this is THE BEST post apocalyptic/zombie book I've read this year. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Can't wait to read the second one. This not a long book but the characters are good, the plot is good. Keeping this one to read again.

February 19, 2012

Book #21 of 2012...

Strange Places by Rob Heinze


From Goodreads.com:

After Seth dies at a place called Widow's Peak, Tracy Mitchell takes a reporter's job at a magazine called Strange Places. The job description is simple: visit so-called "strange places" in New Jersey and write about what you find. Tracy has another motive for taking the job, and that is to understand how Seth, her best friend's brother, had been killed by a lightning strike on a clear day at a strange place called Widow’s Peak. And to understand this will allow her to process her friend’s subsequent death.


What Tracy discovers is a terrible evil linked to all the strange places...an evil that does not want to be discovered.


My take:

5 out of 5 stars on this one. This was another Amazon freebie I picked up on a whim but it was really good. Scary and a good mystery. This was not a book that I figured out the ending before I got there. Interesting character development and just all around good story telling.

February 18, 2012

Pinterest Anyone?



As usual, I'm late to the Pinterest party. But like most things, I get there in my own good time. I signed up for an account this week and have been happily pinning away and viewing others pins.

So far, I'm liking it.

It's a nice way to "store" all the images and items that catch my fancy without having to try to go back and find them later. I always find things I like and either bookmark them or try to save the image off on to my computer but then I can’t credit the source because I can’t remember where I got it from.

Plus it’s fun to see what other people are pinning too.

If you’re so inclined, you can follow me on Pinterest. I’m under my Ravelry name of WeezieKnits.

February 17, 2012

Book #20 of 2012...

Tales of Mystery and Terror by Arthur Conan Doyle


From Goodreads.com:

This volume presents some of Conan Doyle s unduly neglected masterworks. Each begins in a quietly factual way, making all the more dramatic the crescendo of fear and puzzlement that ensues as each new circumstance is revealed. Even without his supremely logical brain child, Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle shows that his tales are unbeatable for thrills and excitement. This is a great opportunity for the listener to discover a new facet of this master s ability to mystify and enthrall.


My take:

3 out of 5 stars. This is a collection of short "camp fire" stories. I'm sure they were pretty scary when they were originally published but by modern standards they're pretty tame. I enjoyed most of the stories by my favorite was The Brazilian Cat and The Lost Special. I think this would be great "scary" stories to read to children. I don't think it would freak them out but it would be fun to see if they could figure out the endings before you got there.

February 16, 2012

Book #19 of 2012...



From Goodreads.com:

In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family’s salvation—or its downfall.


My take:

3 out of 5 stars. I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. But the whole time I kept wondering if I'd read this book before. I'm sure I have but I don't remember when or where.

February 15, 2012

New York Cardigan...

Time for my next knitting project...New York Cardigan by Erin Harper. This is going to be a very nice sweater for spring.



This model is adorable! I love the dress she's wearing in the first picture. I think I'm going to have to make myself a similar one.



Hubbs and I were up in Rocklin last Saturday running some errands. Hubbs has gotten really into hunting and we were checking out some gun stores, window shopping. I can only take so much boy stuff before I need a does of either girly stuff or fiber stuff. I think it's safe to say that Hubbs feels the same way about girl stuff. LOL.




I love my smart phone. I googled knitting and it came up with a yarn shop right across from the gun store...right across the street. Sweet. After we drove around a while due to bad GPS directions, we called the shop and got better directions. Turns out it was across the street.

The shop is called Filati Fine Yarns. Let me tell you, this is an amazing shop. It was huge and had tons of yarn. My local yarn shop in Elk Grove is nice but this place carries a lot more yarn and the prices were very reasonable. I'm very in love with this shop. I didn't know that there was a place so close with a very extensive collection of yarns for sale. They had everything from acrylics to expensive luxury yarns.


I picked out Cascade 220 in colorway 8012.


I've knit with Cascade 220 before and I'm sure that New York Cardigan is going to knit up beautifully in this yarn. I can't wait to get started on this project.

February 14, 2012

Happy Valentines Day

I your everyday is as filled with love as Valentines Day.

February 13, 2012

Baby's First Malabrigo...

Birthday yarn, is there anything better? I don't think so...except for maybe Christmas yarn or Valentines Day yarn...or yarn bought on any day that ends in Y. Fine, it's not a secret, I like yarn. I spend hours picking an pattern and the spend hours and hours more picking out just the right yarn. I research online, I go to the shops, I search the Internet for shops I haven't been to yet. Every city I visit, I make a point to find a local yarn shop for souvenir yarn. I like yarn.


Hubbs and I went to San Francisco for my birthday last Thursday. We spent the entire day at Alcatraz and Pier 39. Visited the Harley Davidson Shop for Hubbs and then went to ImagiKnit for me. I was allotted $100 worth of birthday yarn but only came away with a single skein of Malabrigo. It's not that they didn't have yarn...they have tons of it. They have all kinds of amazing, beautiful yarns but I don't like to buy yarns (excluding sock yarn) that I don't have a specific use in mind for. Shocking, I know.


Sock yarn, of course, doesn't count as stash.

I could have spent hours in ImagiKnit, easily. The store is beautiful and well organized. The staff was very friendly. But it was getting late and we needed to head home.

Traffic was terrible on the way back due to...it being the bay area. But it was worth it to take the time to visit ImagiKnit.

February 12, 2012

Gnarled Oak Cardigan...

Is blocking. Finally. It seemed like for a sweater that is mostly stockinette, it took a long time for me to knit. Running is really cutting into my knitting time...


I'm super happy with the way that this turned out. I love the color.

I had these buffalo nickle buttons on hand but I'm not sure I'm going to use them.

I love the yoke.


The oak leaf motif is really beautiful.




I tried it on before I added the button band and it is a bit big on me. I wanted a closer fit but looser is ok too.



I didn't end up using all 5 of the skeins I ordered for this project. I still have one full skein and about a third of a second one. Now I have to find a small accessory project to use it form Madeline Tosh is too beautiful to let languish in my stash. As soon as it's dry and we have a clear day, I'll be sure to get pictures of the sweater on.

February 11, 2012

Alcatraz...

I had the best birthday trip to Alcatraz...


Welcome to Alcatraz...


Leaving the dock, we could see Coit Tower and the Trans-America building.

The weather was amazing. It was clear and in upper 60's all day. Amazing weather for February. We had tickets for 11:30 but managed to get on the 11am boat.


Getting ready to dock on the island...


This is the oldest building on the island, it was built in during the Civil War as an outpost.


The views from the entire island were amazing.


Another view of the oldest building...


The weathering on the buildings were so pretty and the light was so soft.





This was the social hall used by the guards and their families.


There was an amazing amount of flowers and trees on the island.


The prisoners used to tend the gardens here.


You could see the Bay Bridge from all over the island.



The light was so beautiful all over the prison.


Alcatraz has one of the oldest light houses on the west coast.


The views of the city were stunning.


Just amazing.


There were gulls and other birds everywhere.


The golden gate.


Of course Roheline made the trip too. That sweater goes everywhere.



Hubbs with the Golden Gate in the background.


After lunch we went down Pier 39 to see the sea lions.

I loved the baby one cuddled up with the mommy. Too cute.


Since the sun was starting to go down, it was time to head away from the wharf and on to see SF Harley for Hubbs and to ImaginKnit for me. I got a skein of Malibrigo sock yarn (pictures and post to follow) for my birthday from ImaginKnit. It was a great trip and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was a great day. Best birthday in a looooong time!