Moving again… and again… updates

Moving is like childbirth- you forget the pain after a while. So far I’ve moved 3 times in a month, followed by another move 2 months later (where I am now) and there is yet another move at the end of the month. I hope, for my sanity, that this will be the last move for a long time to come.

We have bought a house! Or at least we’re in the process. Before you shout out your congratulations, bear in mind we’ve just signed the next 30 years of our life away. I think our realtor thought we should have been happier than we were, elated even, but no, we were shock. Later we were deep in buyers’ remorse. Still, I don’t think we’ve made a bad purchase. We’ve seen more than 100 houses and none really met with everything we wanted… well, one did, the one we could not buy (thanks to the snail pace that banks have decided is appropiate when it comes to dealing with short-sales). This house is quite nice and big, so the other short comings might not be too noticeable. I hope we didn’t pick this house out of desperation. After 3 months of living out of suitcases, and 3 years of not seeing our furniture and things from England, we just want to get settled.

What does any of this have to do with knitting? Have you ever chosen a house because you could see a knitting nook in the corner or a sunny room?

In the meantime, my dearest darling of a husband broke my camera on a business trip. So there have been no pictures of recent projects. I have finished a shrug for my daughter, made out of Manos del Uruguay yarn in Wildflowers and a cute little dress in Dream in Color yarn. They are both very cute!

I am trying to finish off some projects and face the reality that I am not meant for lace, at least not at this moment. I tried lace to be able to carry projects around while moving all over Seattle, but with a two year old it’s been impossible to keep track of stiches and yarn-overs, lines knitted… patterns… I need something easy to remember and pick up. I have realised that I love lace and I do have the skill for it- now it’s just a matter of quiet time. After a few months, once we’ve settled into our new house and lives, then I’ll be picking up the lace again for another go.

Picking up the latest Rowan Magazine- their 30th Anniversary edition- I read an article about the British sheep industry’s push to have some yarns made in the UK from raising the sheep to spinning the yarn. The result was the British Sheep Breeds Collection. The pattern book is excellent and the yarn is gorgeous. It is bulky and light- so knits quick and looks fab. I went to Hilltop Yarn in Queen Anne, and bought some yarn and the pattern book. I got started almost right away on Thwaite- a cardi/jacket in a blackish brown- the black welsh breed.

Relax

I knit to relax- to get away and to create something while doing nothing else.  We’ve been looking for a place to buy- and in Seattle it’s a very expensive and time-consuming endeavor.   I think I’m too tense to even knit.  I keep messing up the lace patterns and in the heat wave that Seattle is having, knitting with wool is too warm.  And for the first time in 3 years we have a TV, at least for a time… so I need to make the most of it, and knit!

1 week- 2 yarn stores

I’ve been to the Hilltop and found So Much Yarn - and I just here…

Seattle- a place to sleep in late

I was on Ravelry a few minutes ago joining every group that was in Seattle… because I’m here- finally here!!!  After a rush of packing and more packing, and a lot of very sad goodbyes, we were on the road.  The trip lasted three days- so I got really put some miles in my Blanket Cardigan by Sarah Dally in her Knitting book (my designated easy to knit in the car, in the dark, or anywhere).  Still it was hard to find the energy to do anything because all three of us had caught a very nasty cold.  After the stress of moving our guard went down - and we arrived in Seattle happy to be able to sleep in the next day.   Still, I made some desicions- first that the flame pattern would not look good in the KPPM as beautiful as both pattern and yarn are- together, you can’t see the pattern.   I decided the KPPPM would look very nice as a smaller Clapotis- I frogged the lace and began the Clapotis… and it’s turning out gorgeous!!!

Now that I’m moved and have a decent internet connection, I’ll be able to update this blog’s gallery properly- so far I’ve only been updating Ravelry since it’s what keep me organised.  Of course this will all happen in between finding a place to live, unpacking, and getting lost in this city.   There is so much to do!!! But all I can think of right now is where is the Sudafed?

Saying goodbye…

Today I spent my last day in Mexico- and it was harder than I thought!  I’m not Knit NOMAD for nothing and usually I am looking forward to the new place and the new experiences… but this time it was a little different.  I went to Mexico with not such good thoughts- I have a history there, and not that good of a history- so Mexico had little appeal.  Still I went because “never say never”  - and I am leaving with such happy memories and excellent friends.

Lately some of my friends there had shown an interest in knitting- and I’d been holding impromptu classes.  it was a strange experience translating knitting into Spanish and explaining how things worked, and mainly trying to remember what my mother and grandmother called things back when they taught me.  They picked it up very quickly-knitting prodigies!

The night of my going away party - and my friend Miriam shows up with this—

This started life as her original sample swatch using yarn I gave her and needles I loaned to her to get her started!  In the square at the top she put a photograph of her and her family and you fold it all up.   She did about 5 different stiches on it after I’d just taught her knit and purl.  I cried.  I am so proud and SO sad to be leaving.

What to pack… what to pack for storage?

This is getting complicated.  We’ll be spending about 2 months in Corporate Housing, and most of our things will be in storag.e  We’re also driving up in one car… but I’ve got so many projects!!

Lace is the obvious answer… except I need projects I can do on a 2 day car trip- and can’t follow a pattern closely.

Nomad again

I’m living up to my nomadic roots and we’re once again on the move… off to Seattle in mid-May so we’re up to our eyeballs in planning and packing and packing and planning. This time it means moving things from Ensenada to San Diego and then packing it all up to be moved to Seattle, while at the same time co-ordinating a container holding our 2 bedroom house in England to also go to Seattle… and a tottler… and my stash… I’ve been anticipating this move for nearly a year, but when we were told officially the date- I felt pain instead of joy and relief. I really hate to leave Ensenada and San Diego- two places with the most perfect weather and an excellent mix of friends and friendly places. I wish i could take a few people with me… the worst part about being a nomad is the packing up and saying goodbye (although the REALLY worst part of being a nomad is when everyone else is leaving and you’re left behind!) . So my knitting time had been seriously cut down.

I did manage to knit up a hat from one of my best Ensenada friend’s daughter. I wanted to knit something special for my friend, but I knew that I wouldn’t finish it in time now that we’re also leave (she’s going on the 16th of May- a week before me).

My biggest concern so far in this move… I’m going to be about a month without my stash… I need to start planning projects carefully… and of course, how will we manage two cars in a city where many people have none?

Knitting on a hot day

Today was so hot that just trying to knit some of Natasha’s Accordion Jacket almost made me run to the fridge for a cold glass of …something…. anything! Instead I picked up the not so exciting, but ever so elegant, yet unending Veil by Norah Gaughan which I’m knitting with Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool (from my stash!!). It is light and well, not terribly cool, but light- so I worked an inch or two. I also worked a bit on Kim’s Clapotis which is made using lovely and delicate Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca Silk in Kim’s favorite colour (from my stash too!), but way too hot to even look at the Spring Clapotis- in worsted weight wool. No I ended up sticking with the Veil. It is straight easy knitting, great for watching TV they say… I don’t have a TV. This week hubby is in Mexico and I’m in San Diego, so hopefully I’ll have my nights free to watch movies gallore in front of my computer (or the 7 inch portable DVD player that’s become my new best friend this past year)- and knit knit knit this Veil until it’s done. Then I can wear it in the very slightly cool evenings we’ve had (24C at night! This is April, right?)

Kim’s Clapotis looking a bit mangled because the poor yarn has been frogged a few times in search for the perfect pattern for the yarn and Kim… yarn whispering I call it.

Taking the San Diego Spring with me

JimmyBeans Wool seems to have a special understanding with the powers that be at Lorna’s Laces, and for the last few months, Lorna’s Laces creates a special colourway for JimmyBeans alone. I’ve never knit with Lorna’s Laces before but I’ve admired their colours from afar. When I saw the April 2008 colours, I decided this was going to be my first Lorna’s Laces project with Clapotis. Yes, I actually had a project in mind when I bought the yarn, which doesn’t happen often. I only bought 2 skeins, since I’m on a yarn budget, and hopefully it should be enough for a nice Spring Clapotis. These April colours remind me a bit of Matisse and of Spring here in San Diego. And if things go as planned, my last Spring here. So I’m knitting a warm Clapotis to heat up my cold days in Seattle.

I took a picture of the Clapotis but the colours in the picture are not the true colours of the skeins.

The blues are not so green, and the green is a lot lighter… I hate to say it but in the picture it looks pretty ugly!

Letting go…

A soon to be grandmother in Mexico asked me where I got my yarn, and perked up when I mentioned I wanted to rid myself of some of my stash (sob… gulp…hankys flying).  She came over to my flat the next day and proceeded to pick out some great yarn for her future family member.  I ended up selling some yarn I hadn’t meant to see- 7 skeins of Rowan Denim- and a few other bits.  But in all I was more satisfied by her excitement than a slightly smaller stash.  I realised that letting go is not too hard to do.