Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair

The annual Bellevue Arts Museum Arts Fair is one of my favorite events each year in July. It is the Pacific Northwest's largest juried art show with over 300 featured artists from near and far, lively entertainment, food booths, and demonstrations. The wide range of mediums represented are ceramics, glass, furniture, wearables, metal and jewelry, painting, fiber, photography, printmaking, mixed media, sculpture and wood. I vigorously support the arts community and make a purchase each year - sometimes a small item, sometimes a large one. Sometimes an inexpensive item, sometimes a more expensive item. In the past I have purchased art glass, prints, fiber arts, paintings, ceramics and wearables. In addition to the selected 300 artists, there are dozens of artists displaying their craft wares in booths and tents that line nearby avenues. This year I almost got by with a few purchases that easily fit into my purse but then I saw a whimsical, framed oil pastel that "spoke to me" by Liz Collins of Nevada City, CA. I'm not quite sure where I will hang it in the house but I just had to have that painting! The purple car (my favorite color, remember?) at the scenic lookout makes me think of the "someday" potentional of post-retirement from high tech when we can do whatever our hearts desire and explore wherever we want to go. New adventures with family, friends, recreation and career are just waiting for us all to make them happen! I also purchased up a lamp worked bead bracelet by Anne Havel from Vermont, some wood buttons by Straycat woodworks on Vashon Island and a pewter spreader type knife with a pea pod shaped handle from an unidenfied San Francisco artist.

Nihon Vogue Year One Complete!

Six of 15 students completed and received the Nihon Vogue certificate of completion for Year One: Sarah, Candace, Arlene, Naomi, myself and Melinda. The other students are close behind in terms of obtaining their certificates as well. They have the luxury of working on their remaining sweaters to turn in early September when Jean begins the second Year One class or in early October when the first Year Two (that's us!) commences. In true "drive myself crazy, overachiever to the point of pain" fashion I was almost obsessed with having all projects complete prior to the end of the last class. I wanted the flexibility that 9 weeks of knitting freedom will bring during the break between classes. Knitting freedom doesn't mean I won't knit at all but it means that I will have the liberty to do other activities than just working or knitting during my waking hours. I am planning to limit my knitting to those projects that do not involve short rows, gauge rulers or drafting. It feels so incredibly liberating! Whoo hoooo

Top 15 list of how to spend my free time in the next 9 weeks

15. Plan next vacation trip... South America? Italy? Alaska? Hawaii?

14. Read, read, read

13. Train to Portland for weekend getaway

12. Wash and clean my car

11. Sleep

10. Long, hot bubble baths

9. Pull my sewing machine from the attic, try to remember how to wind the bobbin and sew something!

8. Plant flowers in the urns at the front door

7. Knit two baby sweaters; a lace shawl and a pair of socks on two circulars

6. Jewelry projects - beading and wire work

5. Seattle Seahawks!

4. Spend time with friends

3. Help my son paint several rooms at his condo

2. Walk Whimsy dog more frequently and at a faster pace

1. QUALITY time with Rob, who has been extraordinarily patient with far too many excuses of "no, I can't do that, I have to knit"

Nihon Vogue - Parade of Sweaters

During the celebration for the final class of Year One, each student displayed a few or all of their finished garments. It was astounding to see the different designs, stitch patterns, fibers, colors and textures. It is humbling to think of how far each of us has come on this journey called Nihon Vogue. No doubt, this past year has been time consuming, stressful and sometimes frustrating but... those moments have been translated to real experiential learnings and pride. We have bonded as a group around a collective experience and lifetime friendships have been forged. Jean is a wonderful instructor - extremely knowledgeable and very patient. I am so grateful she makes the trek to Seattle from Vancouver, British Columbia to teach this class and offer this unique opportunity to those of us in the class.

Interesting enough, I have a huge stash of yarn but kept going back to my 220 and Heathers from Cascade Yarns for most of my Nihon Vogue projects. I love doing texture work and I have found that yarn to have the widest range of colors in jewel and muted tones as well as enough yardage in a skein to produce a heavily textured garment. The color of the Cascade Quatro yarn (9436 I think) I knitted Project 8 up in is striking. Several people told me (while I was knitting that garment in public) that the color and texture was beautiful. I prefer bright jewel tones to earth tones or muted colors but I must admit the color is stunning. It is a heather blend of pinky orange colors and not as bright as it appears in photo's. Several classmates were converted to trying Cascade yarn - Melinda's beautiful round neck cardigan in blue and Scottie's pullover sweater in a deep purple heather below show the results. I have some other heathered colors that I ordered during a recent sale at Webs that I am anxious to use in a Year Two or special design project - 2420 deep amythyst, 9451 a rich green and blue heather, 2419 orchid, 9452 aqua and 9407 rich celery green. I can't seem to stay away from purples, pinks and greens and blues - which is why knitting an entire sweater in orange was such a feat for me!

Nihon Vogue - Last Weekend Class for Year One

The last weekend for Nihon Vogue Year One was spent with little classroom instruction but ample one on one assistance by Jean. This weekend was the last class until Year Two which starts in early October - many of us were bound and determined to be finished with each garment and to have it's corresponding quarter scale design notes signed off by Jean. Each student has to completely finish all 8 garments in order to officially finish year one and obtain the certificate of completion. I had finished Project 8 and was slowly working through the final stages of seaming and edging a crocheted tank top which was Project 7.



Andrea's husband Tim, my husband Rob, Melinda's husband Paul, Naomi's husband Greg and Phyllis' husband and darling 5 year old son arrived to help show their support and partake in the celebration dinner that Suzanne prepared. The dinner was a scrumptious feast based on Spanish Tapas with salmon taco's, salad, gazpacho, sangria, hors d'oeuvres and fruit tart. It was a perfect way to celebrate the end of class.

Nihon Vogue - Project 8 "Almost" All Nighter

I took Wednesday and Thursday off from work to finish Project 8.
The neckband was knit using size 4 US needles and after completing the invisible bind off I thought it was looser than what I liked. So I cut off the top rows and ripped it out. 3 hours wasted. Seems like I have reknit a good portion of this sweater more than once. Trying to hurry just creates mistakes and takes more time in the end. I proceeded to reknit the neck using size 3 needles. The size difference in the needles and strategically placing the 10% decreases did the trick. I executed 10 button holes by utilizing short rows in the evenly spaced purl sections of the 2x2 ribbing. I crocheted in the sleeves, sewed on the buttons and backing buttons and wove in the ends.

Long after the clock struck midnight I declared victory. It was a silent declaration since Rob and Whimsy were fast asleep. Nihon Vogue Project 8 was done. Completely. Whew. What a relief. What a huge relief. I only have to finish the dreaded crochet tank top and then I will be completely done. My goal was to turn in both items for Jean's review during the last weekend of Nihon Vogue Year One and to get my "graduation" certificate.

This cardigan is far and away one of the most beautiful sweaters I have ever knit and I am quite pleased with the end result.





I sure hope the recipient will feel the same way! Cross your fingers and wish upon a star!

Rob's Birthday picnic at Lake Sammamish

When I asked Rob if he wanted to do anything special for his 44th birthday he said 'no, not really'. He would rather cook at home than go out to dinner. With our intentions (his more than mine) to de-clutter our home and simplify our lives, his preference is to have "experiences" instead of "things". Other than my yarn, my beads, my books, my dishes, my linens, my paintings, my art glass, my chandeliers, my Dansko shoes, my jewelry and my furniture, I would heartily agree with him! He suggested celebrating his birthday and the dog days of summer at nearby Lake Sammamish State Park. His mother, Marilyn made potato salad and I went to Costco for my contribution of jalapeno mango bratwursts, various salads, lemon tarts and other goodies for the birthday picnic feast. We found a grassy area between the lake and the river to set up the grill and arrange our lawn chairs to take full advantage of the view of the lake, the ducks and the eagles. It was a very relaxing, wonderful evening. It was refreshing to for me to put Nihon Vogue time pressures out of my mind for short while. Happy Birthday Rob!

Nihon Vogue - Project 8 disaster update

I am way behind on updating my blog. I have been putting in a lot of hours for work and had to travel to California earlier in the week. I am now storing my photos on the home computer and am unable to access them while traveling. The home computer is a technological relic. The keyboard seems to "stick" and the dim monitor's font size is set for Rob's vision and not mine. I must have 20 pairs of reading glasses strewn throughout the house and I am always searching to find a pair for reading, knitting or working on the computer as I can't seem to function without them anymore. My favorite pair of reading glasses were prescription and had black and pink frames. They were lovely. They fell out of my pocket near an elevator and I accidentally stepped on them. The stepped on pair had been an exact replacement of an earlier pair that I had the misfortune of leaving on a flight in the seat pocket in front of me. Now I buy the reading glasses that come 3 to a shrink-wrapped-pack from Costco.

In the last 2 weeks almost every non-employer sanctioned hour has been spent trying to recover from my knitting disaster, also known as Project 8 for Nihon Vogue. Recall that Project 8 is the LAST project for Nihon Vogue Year One. I was bound and determined to have that project and the crochet project finished in time for the last class which is scheduled for the weekend of July 26-27. I had completed the back, right and left fronts and blocked each piece outside during our beautiful summer weather for quicker drying. Rob seemed to be surprised at the scent of wet wool and wrinkled his nose up.

Alas, after drying, the sides of the sweater were longer than I had originally envisioned. I re-measured and realized the row gauge measurement for my washed swatch was significantly different than the row gauge on the washed sweater. No big deal. The intended recipient, (my youngest sister) is tall and slender and at that moment I decided tunic length would be a VERY fashionable look on her! I then went to work adjusting the sleeve pattern so that the "yet to be knit" sleeves would accommodate the larger armhole of the sweater. Hmm. There are key formulas and rules to consider when drafting set in sleeves for knitting and with the new measurements I was at the outside edge of what would be an ideal fit. In denial, I decided to put that concern out of my mind and started sewing up the sides of the sweater. Uh oh. Something was seriously wrong. The side seams were off by a few centimeters and didn't match up. I counted and recounted the number of rows up to the armhole shaping. They were not the same on the fronts and back, thus I had an extra amount of length on the back where the armholes began. I was baffled. Where had I gone wrong? Why didn't they match? Arrghhh. I realized with astounding clarity where my mind had strayed. At the very beginning. I had not counted the 8 rows of ribbing on the back since the stitch pattern began directly above it across the entire back. I had counted the beginning of the stitch pattern as row 1. On the fronts of the sweater, however, the 28 stitch cable pattern begins at the same row that the ribbing begins and I had counted each row. The result being the back ended up 8 rows longer than the fronts.

I briefly considered some creative sewing and cutting of the knitted fabric to get the sides seams to align perfectly at the bottom and top but then realized how futile that would be because:
1. I would have to again adjust the armhole on the sleeves which would have ultimately made them too wide
2. Nihon Vogue instructor Jean would probably not be too fond of my creative approach
3. I really, really, really wanted this sweater to fit my sister well and given the gravity of the combined mistakes, a good fit could easily stay a fantasy and never become a reality.

So I did the only respectable thing left to do... I undid the shoulder seams, the side seams and unraveled each piece down to below the armhole bind offs. Nothing evokes an image of wasted hours like frogged yarn. All I had to show for 35 hours lost was piles and piles of crinkly yarn.

Almost overwhelmed with the amount of work still to be done, I began the task of re-knitting most of the back and the fronts again. I pushed through and washed and blocked them before heading to California so that they would be dry upon my return. Everyone in Seattle seemed to be outside enjoying the incredible summer and I was sweating it out in an un-air-conditioned house with worsted weight wool in my lap. At one point I lamented the fact my sister had arms but thankfully, that was just a fleeting moment of sheer despondency! While I was traveling and late into Friday and Saturday nights, I diligently knit the sleeves. I am happy to report the sleeves are finished and are currently blocking on a towel on the floor in the media room. Next tasks: shoulder seams, side seams, neck band, button band. This week's deadline looms large. I think I can make it.

4th of July weekend

The 4th of July weekend in Seattle arrived with glorious weather. We walked down to a nearby neighborhood park to observe 240 goats foraging through blackberry bushes and brambles. They were brought in from Spokane to spend 4 days in the meadow as a natural weed control mechanism. I would guess that they could have easily had 40 days of work ahead of them on the expansive acreage of the park, but alas, they were soon scheduled to be elsewhere in the state. The owner of the goats used to work in high technology but decided he wanted to be free from the confines of an office and spend more time outdoors. I like the idea of pesticide free weed eradication, especially since we live above Lake Sammamish and Coal Creek which provide run off to areas critical for salmon survival.

We had a wonderful 4th of July picnic that included one of my favorite recipes for potato salad. This recipe comes from the "Pacific Northwest - The Beautiful Cookbook" which was given to us by Ann Alesna-McClellan (high school chum) at the time Rob and I were married. The gathering of truly unique recipes, magnificent photography, historic narrative and illustrations makes it one of my favorite cookbooks of all time. Too bad the cookbook is out of print, since it is filled with delicious, easy to prepare using fresh Northwest produce in categories such as fish/shellfish, meats, fruits, vegetables and grains.

I have made the following recipe from this cookbook several times - for picnics, summer barbeques, and my mom's 70th birthday party. The magic ingredient is the dried savory. I get the ground version at Pike Place Market Spices but I'm sure it can be purchased at any grocery store.

Island Picnic Potato Salad

8 large (2 lb) unpeeled Nordland or other red potatoes, cooked and cut in 1 in cubes
8 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 large dill pickle, chopped
1 tsp dried savory
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
4 tablespoons American yellow mustard
fresh parsley sprigs and paprika for garnish

Place the potatoes, eggs, onion, celery, pickle, herbs and salt in a large bowl. Toss gently. Add the mayonnaise and mustard and fold with a large rubber spatula until well blended. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish the salad with parsley springs and dust lightly with paprika.
Serves 6-8


In the evening, Rob wanted to go to the main city park to watch fireworks and listen to the live Bellevue Philharmonic Orchestra. We gathered up lawn chairs, a blanket, my essential knitting for Nihon Vogue Project 8 and headed to downtown Bellevue. It was a wonderful display accompanied by beautiful, patriotic music. The park was filled with people of all ages and nationalities. I heard at least 4 different languages (Spanish, Russian, English, Chinese) in the small vicinity where I was sitting and that made me proud.

Fridrik Fridriksson's birthday is on the 4th of July. I'm not sure why I remember that tidbit but his parents and mine were close friends when we were living on Adak and the kids in my family grew up with the kids in his family (all truly amazing boys... now men) He is an officer in the Marine Corps and I recently heard he was going to be deployed from Camp David to Iraq soon. Happy Birthday Fridrik. Stay safe and come home soon.

Pantone Color Palette for Fall 2008 & Rumination on Purple

Fall '08 Palette: "Best described as a season of change, fall ’08 is defined by rich, elegant hues that offer a vibrant selection. New York's fashion designers emphasize cooler blues, greens and purples in the top five tones used in their collections, followed by variations of warm red, orange and yellow."
For more detail go to:
http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20557&ca=4

I've never been a slave to fashion, despite evidence to the contrary by my embarrassingly overstuffed closet. Growing up in Adak, Alaska where fall or winter conditions prevailed "year round"- one was more likely to be seen clad in hiking boots, denim jeans and down jackets or parkas than any lovely garment inspired from a fashion designer runway. I admit that the idea of "purples" becoming a staple color in universal wardrobes rather than just my own is quite liberating to me. My dear grandmother loved purple and as a child, I followed this favoritism by keeping up the adoration of all things purple. In my grandmother's abundant garden I found special joy in every violet, lilac, iris and pansy. I think of her fondly whenever I see irises in bloom. As an adult, I have dining room walls, granite, pillows, artwork, upholstered chairs, sofa, linens, jewelry and many articles of clothing that all incorporate some shade of my favorite color. Last year while traveling in Asia, I purchased silk shawls in various colors, including two in a vibrant amethyst hue. I sent a box of wrapped packages to my mom and my middle sister in Anchorage, AK for Christmas. For some reason I can't begin to comprehend, the gift packages got mixed up and my sister opened my mom's present and my mom opened my sister's present. I had thought my mom would enjoy a blend of exotic teas from my travels to England and from the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore. My sister was to receive the purple shawl and a crystal bracelet I made. My mom was so enthralled with the shawl (and seemingly much less so with the tea I might add) that I relented and sent her the remaining purple shawl I had intended to keep for myself. Little did I realize until this incident that my mother and middle sister were also fond of the color purple. Perhaps I was too boisterous in my own preference for the color that I did not notice theirs? In retrospect, it was quite an amusing turn of events.

Given Pantone's color predictions for Fall 2008 I'm happy to discover my color selections of yarn for most of my Nihon Vogue projects this past year will be in fashion for at least one upcoming season!