beebonnet report

Memorial Day

I'm taking a moment to thank those in the military who have laid down their life for others.  Regardless of how I feel about particular wars, I feel gratitude to those who have sacrificed so much.  It's a courage I can't even begin to imagine and I hope that we will all work toward making our world a safer, more peaceful place so that these sacrifices won't be necessary.  Keep up the good fight.

This memorial day I spent some time in the garden.  Since declaring 2011 to be the year I become a gardener, I've been inspired to get out there and battle the weeds a bit.  Dividing and conquering seems to be working a bit.  Today Mr. Bonnet took me out and bought me some stepping stones.

Here is what the side garden looked like before I started.  This is a fine bumper crop of weeds.  I'm not sure exactly what kind of weeds they are, but they are everywhere and very thick.

And here is what the side garden looks like after today's efforts (and several previous days as well).  The stepping stones are just in a preliminary phase, they'll get better organized and set once it stops raining!

You can see that I've cleared out a lot of the weeds, and transplanted some of the bishops weed groundcover to the far end of the garden.  I've decided to let that groundcover blanket this plot (I hope I don't regret this decision as the bishops weed spreads and can become invasive).  In the pot is a lilac bush which is getting the only sunny spot in the garden.

And this is the other part of the garden, where it is still choked with weeds and blackberries and grass.  Lalalalalalala I'm not looking... (but I do have quite a few nice yellow iris out there!)

And here's one of our rhodies in bloom :-)

 

get on the yarn train, the yarn train...

people all over the world
join in
get on the yarn train, the yarn train...

(with apologies to the Ojays)

 

Today some friends from Eugene joined up with knitters from Albany and Salem and we took the train up to Portland for a yarn crawl.  Traveling on the train was brilliant, because, hello! no one had to drive so we could all knit!

We met up with the wonderful Helen from Salem and soon we were following her like a mama duck off to see the wonders of Portland and her yarn stores.  One of the things I really like about Portland are all the lovely outdoor public spaces.  This one had a curvy fence and a wonderful pond as well as a pretty sunken garden where people were sitting on the steps eating their lunch and enjoying the serenity.

First up on our tour was Dublin Bay yarns.

Here Joan and Gail are inhaling the yarn fumes just before they plunge into the sweet interior.
At each stop I bought one yarn that was unique to that store.  This one, Solstice, is Dublin Bay's own brand of hand dyed yarn.  It comes in many different yarn bases.  This one has cashmere and merino.  Yum!!!  The staff were friendly and helpful, and everyone came away satisfied from our first course in this great yarn feast.

Next up was Urban Fiber Arts, another delightful spot.  Each shop was so welcoming and several of them had signs up welcoming our little yarn train. 

At Urban Fiber Arts I spotted two of my favorite new knitting books.

And I came away with the perfect lilac yarn from a local Oregon dyer, Bumblebirch. I already have great plans for this yarn!

And what would a trip to Portland be without a stop at the legendary Twisted?  I've long heard of this shop, but it was the first time I'd visited.  I must say I was not disappointed! 

Here I found a gorgeous emerald green 50% silk, 50% merino from Big Alice Dyes.  This one is just begging to become lace.  The color on this is a deep magical green that reminds me of forests, and moss and leaves.  I can't wait to begin sampling this yarn.

And finally, we ended up at The Yarn Garden, another lovely, lovely shop.  This one is a series of storefronts and is nicely spacious.   The Yarn Garden has a terrific selection of yarns, and the staff were sweet and helpful.

And here I found this fantastic Swedish yarn, a heavy laceweight single ply.  It was so affordable, I got three colors to use for a gradient lace shawl.  I just love natural colors and the feel of this yarn was just right.  Soft, but also crisp.  Perfect for lace.

Throughout the day the weather was gorgeous, springy and breezy, despite warnings of showers and hail.  No drops fell until we were safely ensconced on the train and winding our way home.  Perfect!
 Throughout this entire adventure our fearless leader Helen (in the beautiful red Aran sweater that she knit) kept us on track and successfully shepherded us through the streets, onto the buses, off the buses, onto streetcars and back to the train on time.  We had time for a delicious bite at a teahouse and plenty of time to fondle and inhale the yarn fumes.  Thanks Helen for a great yarn train adventure.  It was the perfect start to a holiday weekend!

 

auspicious

Because our yard is full of trees, it's quite shady.   So I decided that more rhododendrons might be the way to go in our yard, especially if I was aiming for it to look like a world renowned rhododendron garden.  So yesterday I went off to a nursery that was rumored to have a good selection of rhododendrons, Greer Gardens.  From the street it's a nice sign and a little driveway in a sweet residential section of town.  Blink and you'll miss it.  We turned in and stopped in the parking lot then got out to take a look.  We began walking down a path toward some pretty rhodies, and it soon became clear that we'd fallen down Alice's rabbit hole!  The rhododendron nursery turned out to be 14 acres with over 300 varieties of rhododendrons, hundreds of japanese maples and azaleas and numerous other perennials and woody shrubs, and they do a thriving mail order business worldwide.  Aunt Nancy and I kept giggling as we turned each corner and discovered a new vista of rhodies! Part of the nursery was organized as a strolling garden and the rest was a huge nursery. So the upshot of that adventure is that I came home humbled, and realized I needed to study up a bit and get a little more information about which varieties I might want before I went shopping for rhodies again.  But it was a lovely way to spend the morning and I'd go back again just to stroll!  If you're ever in the market for rhodies, I think this is the place!

 






After a brief stop for fish and chips at my favorite fish place in town (salmon fish and chips, yum!) I came home and got to work.  I put in a good amount of effort on the handspun yarn and got the front of a sweater finished.

I love the way this yarn is working up.  It's lightweight and lofty and warm, yet also glossy and lustrous.  And the colors are working out just as I wanted them to.  I can't wait to get more of this sweater finished, but I think I have to go back to the spinning wheel before I knit up the second front, I'll measure later today to figure it out. 

I also started another sweater pattern, and although it's not very far along, it's an auspicious beginning I think.  This is also a BFL/silk yarn, Codex from Sanguine Gryphon.  The BFL/silk combo is like magic I tell you!

My other knitting hasn't been neglected, but unfortunately it's still secret.  Eventually all will be revealed.

Thanks for the movie suggestions - keep them coming!  I'm always in the market for a good movie or book recommendation.

 

groovin' on a sunday afternoon

Yesterday, we had a special visitor.  A very good looking one, who managed to make me feel a bit fluttery inside.  I wasn't sure how I felt about his advances, so I admired him from afar, flirted a bit, then we parted and went our separate ways.  I must admit, he takes a handsome photo!

I don't know where he's from or what he's called, but he kind of matched my current knitting.  I began swatching up my handspun yarn, and I must say that I'm very pleased with myself.  This yarn is truly lovely.  Light, soft, lustrous and just my favorite colors!

Then in the evening I had one of my knitting groups over for a yarn swap!  Everyone brought some yarn they were tired of and swapped for someone else's yarn!  Kind of like shopping but without the money. 

The yarn swapping was a game we were all learning how to do, so we didn't have our strategies figured out, but still we all got rid of some tired yarn and came home with some new treasure!  A good time was had by all... and also a ridiculous amount of sugar was consumed.  This is a party we have to do again!

And now, today I am feeling mellow and happy.  I've got knitting to do, movies to watch and a new ipad to play with!

Yep, late last week, this arrived at my door.  This is the ipad2 with it's magic smart cover.  The cover is really pretty neat.  When you open the cover the ipad turns on, when you close it the ipad turns off.  And you can fold it up to make a little stand for your ipad.

I'm still figuring out which apps to get and what I like.  I do like this one called Flipboard which allows you to queue up your favorite blogs and read them magazine style.  Why!? what is this?  The Beebonnet Report on my ipad!?  It looks pretty nice, don't you think?

If you have any ipad tips or apps that you recommend, I'd love to hear about them.  I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing with my ipad - except I do know for sure I'll be testing my patterns and books on it.

And finally, I watch a lot of movies on netflix while I'm knitting.  I am always interested in movie recommendations, so I thought maybe I'd list my recommendations each week and you can tell me yours!

Sunday's Netflix recap:

Lark Rise to Candleford - I'm hooked on this BBC costume drama and the sprightly Miss Lane.
The King's Speech - I liked this oscar winner quite a bit.  Ummm.. Colin Firth, need I say more?
Glee - season 1.  I didn't watch this when it first came out on TV, so I'm catching up now and having fun.
A Great Day in Harlem - this is a documentary about the making of a photograph with just about every great Jazz musician around.
Babette's Feast - A lovely Danish film
The Pixar Story - a documentary - the name says it all.

What have you watched recently that you'd like to recommend?

I'm so glad the world didn't end yesterday, aren't you?

this is the year I become a gardener

Being a new transplant to Oregon is a world of wonder for me.  Last spring/summer, (my first in Oregon), I was overwhelmed with the yard and finally gave up and let the weeds have their way with me.  But I've decided that 2011 is the year I become a gardener, and now that I've had a year and a half to observe just what I have in that weed patch garden, I've come up with a plan to tackle the forest. Here you can see just how overgrown my yard is!

Pretty daunting when you realize most of the green in these pictures is weeds and blackberries, yet they're choking out desirable plants so you can't just go in and whack everything to the ground.  No wonder I got tired last year!  My goal is to some day have my garden look like this - this is Hendricks Park, a world renowned rhododendron garden here in Eugene (a girl can dream can't she?).  Of course I won't have a million different rhododendrons, but I really love the way this is a carefully groomed and planned park that still looks natural and woodsy.  That is my goal, groomed, but natural and woodsy (and no dandelions).

My plan this year is to start small with manageable chunks.  I started off with the front yard and now I've moved to the side yard that connects with the front.  If that's all I accomplish this year I will be satisfied! So here are the before pictures of the side yard.  Some day I'll look back on these and be impressed with how far I've come!  (I hope, I hope!)

So that's where I'll be this spring and summer!

And while I've been out there weeding and working, I haven't forsaken the fiber arts.  This week I've been doing a little spinning.  I love this fiber, it comes from Dicentra Designs and it's a beautiful blend of Bluefaced Leicester wool and silk.  I wish you could see it in person because this has a sheen that just doesn't stop!  I have a pound and a half of this fiber and I'm spinning it up into a nice DK weight yarn.  I plan to make a vest, or possibly a sweater out of it if I have enough. 

 
I can't wait to start swatching this gorgeous stuff!

 

 

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Today the sun is shining but just 2 days ago it was misty and a wee bit drizzly, a perfect day for photography!  My brother and I took a little trip to Hendricks Park here in Eugene to ogle all of the perfect rhododendrons and other spring delights that were bursting out everywhere.   More pictures are up on my facebook page.

In knitting news, I have been knitting my fingers to the bone, but all on secret projects!  You'll get to see them eventually, but for now I'll just leave you with these pretty spring pictures.

 


 

Happy Spring Thoughts - 2011 edition

Happy Spring Thoughts, 2011 edition.

1.  Hello Bambi, thank you for eating my weeds this time!

2.  Hello Forget-me-nots.  How interesting that your flowers look just like Brunnera's flowers!  As far as I can tell, you're not even distant cousins.

 
3. Oh bleeding hearts!  You are some of my favorites.  The town and country versions both.

4.  Sunbeams!

5.  Dear Portland, I love that you still have a use for those iron horse-tie rings along the curb.

6.  Granada!  The latest sock from the Illuminations sock club.

 

7.  Waterfalls. I love waterfalls.  Especially those with primeval ferns, thick moss and ethereal light.

8. Bicycles.  I think it's time to get out the bicycle.  See you all later! 

 

this one goes out to the mothers in the audience..

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, grandmas and surrogate moms out there. 

My mom passed away over 27 years ago now, and I can't believe it's been so long.  I've now lived longer without her than I did with her.  Yet I still miss her and think of her nearly every day.  We never forget our moms.  My mom was married young and a mother young.  She grew up on a ranch in Wyoming and moved out to California with her family as a teenager.  She was whip smart too.  At the age of 15 she passed the early entrance exam to go to UCLA, but she never got to capitalize on that dream. Instead she worked 2 and 3 jobs at a time to help her family pay the mortgage.  Later, when she was married, she worked just as hard at being a wife and mother.  She was funny, gregarious and adventurous and my childhood was filled with many memorable moments.  My mom was also a big DIY'er.  Everything from stripping and refinishing furniture, to macrame, to crochet, to tole painting and even building the upstairs addition on our house!  She could, and did, do it all!  The one thing my mom did not do is knit.  I learned that skill on my own as an exchange student in Denmark.  What I did learn from her though was the art of telling a story, how to put fun into everyday events and a passion for creating.

Although I lost my mom early in life, I have been blessed with many beautiful women who have filled in those mothering shoes for me. 

My stepmom, Wilma, is caring and nurturing and spunky in a different way than my mom was, quieter, but just as strong.  She is out there saving trees and running 10k's in her 70's.  She has stepped into the mother role in my life with joy and love, and has made my dad's life wonderful too.  She is always supportive and champions many great causes.  I admire and love her.

My mother-in-law is another strong, beautiful woman.  She is sweet and caring and gracious and stylish.  I love spending time with her discussing books and knitting.  We both love the same authors, the same yarn, the same recipes.  She was welcoming and open from the first time I met her, and her generous spirit inspires me to be the same way.

My husband's grandmother was another of my moms.  She was my biggest fan and always interested in what I was doing.  She had a love of life that encompassed just about everything, and she was a spunky lady too.  I'll always remember the time we took her to Las Vegas in her 90's and she took herself into the Poker parlor on her motorized scooter to play poker with the Las Vegas sharks!  Granny is sorely missed.

My own grandmother was one of the most influential people in my life.  She was a woman who, like my mom, could do anything she set her mind to.  She was an excellent cook, and seamstress, and she was always involved in charity work.  I remember when I was 7 she took me to the thrift shop, where she volunteered, and bought me a doll for my birthday.  She presented it to me naked, along with a set of patterns she had made for clothes for the doll.  Then she sat down and showed me how to measure the doll and draft my own patterns for trousers, skirts and blouses with set in sleeves, gathers, collars and buttonholes.  It was one of the greatest gifts anyone gave me, because she gave me the tools to create anything I wanted.  She sewed most of her own clothes, and many of mine, and scraps always went to me to dress my doll.  We must have been pretty cute walking through town with grandma, grandchild and doll all dressed alike.  I still feel her influence every day.

I am so lucky to have had all these great women in my life and I wish joy and love to those that are still with me and those that have departed.  Thank you for making my life richer, I love you all.

 

Eiki - the little pattern that could...

April  has ended and that ends the period of time that I was collecting funds through sales of Eiki for relief efforts in Japan.  The total amount collected for relief efforts in Japan is... drumroll please... $5282!  Thank you knitters for your generous spirit! $3100 has been donated to the Japanese red cross, $1091 was donated each to Doctors without borders and Mercy Corps for disaster relief in Japan.  In the interest of transparency I have posted my donation receipts here.

So what happens with Eiki now?  Well, I've decided to keep it active as a fundraising pattern.  For the next two months (through the end of June 2011), all proceeds will be donated for tornado relief in the U.S. through a combination of American Red Cross and Mercy Corps, so if you haven't bought it and decide you want to knit Eiki, 100% of the proceeds from your purchase will still be going to disaster relief, this time in the areas of the U.S. that were hit hard by record numbers of tornados.

Thanks again for your generosity, I hope you enjoy wearing your Eikis as much as I do!

 

 

kidnapped by spring.

I've been neglecting the blog a bit lately because Spring has hit in full force here in Eugene and I've been having too much fun playing in the sunbeams! I've also been working  on a few secret projects, and I really wish I could show them to you, because I LOVE them!  Instead, I'll show you something else that was secret not so long ago.... this is the new Damselfly sock pattern from my Art & Sole sock club.  The Art & Sole club is inspired by art and this particular installment was inspired by Art Nouveau, which is characterized by organic shapes, flowing lines and a love of nature.  One of the iconic images of Art Nouveau is the dragonfly - think Tiffany lamps for example.

This sock features a pretty little Damselfly (a relative of the Dragonfly) and organic shapes, all in a beautiful multi-green yarn from Kelpie fibers that really reminds me of Tiffany glass. I am totally in love with the Kelpie colors, and this yarn is the Taliesin sock yarn which is an absolutely scrumptious blend of merino/cashmere/nylon that is soooo soft!  The pattern is only available to club members for now, but the pattern-only membership is still available if you feel you must have it!

The Art & Sole club also features a non-sock pattern each installment.  This time around the non-sock pattern is Glastonbury - a pretty scarf featuring a beautiful lily of the valley motif and leafy edges.  The light, leafy, lace is perfect for cool spring days.

 
I have been inspired to get outdoors to enjoy the beautiful weather and I decided that this is the year I am going to become a gardener.  Last year I was a bit overwhelmed by my garden, I put some valiant effort into it, but it was more than I could handle and I wasn't really sure what I was doing.  This year I am taking it slower.  I am going to work on one part at a time until it is to my satisfaction, then move on to another area.  First up, the front yard.  I forgot to take a "before" picture, but I found this old picture of the house when we first bought it.  You can see how overgrown the front yard is.  Now imagine it full of weeds too!

The "after" picture shows where I took out a lot of bushiness, quite a few weeds, ivy choking creepers and even some scrubby trees right in the front.  It looks better already!  But there is still quite a bit of work to do.  It's a manageable size though and contained (unlike the back yard which backs onto a wild common area) so it's a good place to start.  It's also the public side of our house - so the neighbors are probably glad we're starting there.  I'd like to take out a few trees (we actually have about 14 trees in that little bitty front yard - waaaaaayyy too many!) but I'll need to call a tree service for that. 

I hope your spring looks promising too!