Seattle Seahawks and Sickle Cell Walk Fundraiser

I took Rob to the airport at 3:45 am on Saturday for him to catch his flight to Colorado. He began his "hut to hut" mountain bike adventure from Telluride to Moab, Utah with 5 others. He will be out of cell phone range and essentially in the middle of "no where" until next weekend. Whimsy and I drove to West Seattle to Little Knits. A yarn store in a house in the middle of a neighborhood. They had sent me an email that they were having a sale. Any excuse to paw through yarn. I found quite a bit to buy (sock yarn, needles for magic loop and handpainted mohair) but as luck would have it, none of what I chose was on sale. I almost purchased some cashmere and silk yarn in a beautiful heather pale green color but when informed the cost was $22.00 each for a 125 yard skein I quickly came to my senses. Even I have my limits! Whimsy and I got lost on the way to Alki Beach and ended up on the on ramp to the freeway home, so we continued on and then went for a walk in Lakemont Park instead. Down to the grocery store to get crab cakes, salad and twice baked potatoes for dinner. Rob's mom, Marilyn came over for dinner and "movie night" since we like to watch what Rob calls "chick flicks" when he is out of town. The movie featured Kevin Costner as a serial killer so I don't know if the selection fits into the category of "chick flick" after all. I have never liked the term "chick" so I'm surprising myself by even referring to it. I started knitting a baby sweater using a pattern from a favorite Bouton d'Or book. The stitch pattern is an off-center basketweave look and I like it a lot. The cast on of 101 stitches for the front of a worsted weight baby sweater seemed excessive. How wide is this baby going to be? I knit on, putting full trust in the pattern. In the morning, under the light of day and without the distraction of suspenseful moments from a movie, I realized that even with the "correct" number of stitches cast on, the sweater seems quite wide. It would be more likely to fit a pre-adolescent child since the sweater is 17 inches across the front and 34 inch circumference. I've tried 3 different baby sweater projects and have struck out each time. That settles it - I'm going to design my own rather than use a store pattern.

Sunday morning, Whimsy and I went to Seward Park alongside Lake Washington to participate in the 3rd Annual Sickle Cell Walk sponsored by the Bobby Engram Foundation. Bobby is a Wide Receiver for the Seattle Seahawks and is an amazing person both on and off the field. He started the foundation after learning his young daughter had the disease. Whimsy and I arrived earlier than anticipated since traffic was light and it was easy to find a place nearby to park. I signed up for Bone Marrow Donor screening and had a brief conversation with Bobby while he signed my T-shirt. He is a charming man - what a class act.

At least 10 other Seahawk players were there to interact with the small crowd by signing shirts, autographing caps and posters to support the cause. Whimsy likes to participate in philantrophic activities such as this. She howled during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner before the race and had fun meeting the other dogs there. Whimsy (always the Seattle Seahawk groupie) wanted her picture taken with some of the players. We especially liked being next to tackle Walter Jones (6'5", 325 lbs) as we felt SMALL next to him. Leonard Weaver was very sweet and had a playful sense of humor. It was an intimate, family oriented, genuinely warm and friendly event with vibrant music, cookies, water, muffins, snack bars, and barbeque. It was a wonderful way to spend the morning - in support of a fantastic cause and getting some much needed exercise at the same time. I am glad we participated and will plan to do so again next year.

San Francisco

Am in San Francisco and will be back here again next week for company global sales meetings albeit with quiet 3 day holiday weekend in between trips. I have been safely ensconced in the Moscone Center for the last 3 days so I haven't been subjected to the unseasonably warm weather that has descended on the city by the bay. Speaking of bay - have you ever driven over the Bay Bridge? I did so on one of my last trips and it it hadn't been for the gentle assurances of an employee in the rental car with me, I'm not sure I would have made it. Over the years I have sufferered from mild to moderate anxiety when driving over the Tacoma Narrows bridge and some of the bridges in Portland. Something about all that water so far below scares me. Crossing the Bay Bridge terrified me and I drove over it at half the suggested speed limit while gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. Oh my. My mild bridge anxiety has escalated to fear. I never want to cross that bridge again. Once is enough to last me a lifetime. I am much more comfortable driving over the floating bridges in the Seattle area. The fact that two of them have sunk doesn't bother me at all.

The battery in my favorite Raymond Weil watch died and I ventured out to a downtown San Francisco shopping mall to get a replacement battery. My son doesn't wear a watch and uses the clock on his cell phone to check the time of day but that method doesn't work well for me and I was obsessed with getting my timepiece accurate again. A dear colleague who is in the first trimester of pregnancy joined me on the outing and we went into a trendy children's clothing store midroute to a jewelry store. She observed $34.00 wasn't too much to pay for a tiny pair of pants. I didn't want to tell her the baby pants would be outgrown in a matter of mere weeks but I did inform her that multiple outfits would be needed by the baby each day. Amazing how much laundry one does with a baby in the house! Neither she nor her husband have ever changed a diaper or babysat so an adventure awaits them both... I am sure they will very quickly master all the learnings that come with having a newborn and raising children! I admired the detail on an obscenely priced baby sweater but closer inspection revealed dubious execution of knitting technique. Not a surprise given mass production. I did like the scallop crocheted edging and the tree and bobble design. I took a photo so that I could design something "similar but different" someday.

Unfortunately, I have been very uninspired by the knitting projects I have been working on and the thought of flying home tomorrow with nothing to knit on is more than I can bear. I am quite fond of the design and yarn choice for the Forest Canopy shawl but Rob's comment that it looked like something an "old lady" would wear put a damper on my euphoria . I have essentially abandoned the ladybug sweater. The fair isle may be too tight in sections and I didn't have the energy to block it to see if it would be salvageable. Denial or perhaps ignorance really is bliss. I did start knitting on a puppy intarsia sweater but for the life of me couldn't figure out how to do the intarsia design. I get the "twisting" of yarns to avoid holes but my colors soon ended up opposite of where I needed them and I was too frustrated to continue with confidence. Desperate to take something on the plane with me, I grabbed some Cascade Superwash Paints to knit up Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Sweater. I wasn't sure the best cast on for it and started it using a cable cast on. I'm 2/3 finished with the garter stitch sweater and the cast on edge seems to pull in too much. Three baby sweaters started and tossed aside. I need to get my head in a better place or baby boy Miles may have to get a store-bought gift after all. Yikes.

Belgium

My seventh trip to Belgium and my second meal at the Belga Queen restaturant. It is located in a landmark building dating back to the 18th century and previously housed the Hotel de la Poste and the Credit du Nord Bank. Baroque and contemporary architecture were combined to provide contrasting design elements. "The structure opens to an impressive entrance hall with late nineteenth century stained glass windows and visitors' eyes are drawn to the ceiling or more precisely the cornice. A restaurant, oyster bar, beer bar and a cigar lounge are accommodated in the building that uses club chairs and guest tables. A somewhat mysterious staircase leads down to the club, done in the grand colonial style of the former Belgian Congo, which provides a haven for lovers of fine cigars and exquisite wines." Needless to say, I didn't venture downstairs.

Some would say this bathroom at the restaurant is more impressive than the food. I was so intrigued by it during my first visit that I took my camera this time and waited for the single gentleman to depart before taking pictures. A gentleman you say? Why would a man be in the woman's bathroom? The UNISEX bathroom behind velvet curtains shares a common trough like sink. Clear glass doors to allow admittance to a gender specific water closet. The clear glass is quite intimidating. Lock the door and the glass instantly becomes opaque. No need to be intimidated any longer. It is a memorable experience for those of us used to having separate public bathrooms.

With business meetings finished and a flight that is not scheduled to leave for 22 hours, I took the train from the hotel to the Grote Markt (Dutch name) or Grand Place (French name). This is the central market square of Brussels and is the city's most memorable landmark. The square is surrounded by guild houses, the Town Hall and the Bread house. The Town Hall was constructed between 1402 and 1455. On top of the gothic tower stands a statue of St. Michael, the patron of Brussels. Unfortunately, I just missed the Flower Carpet in the square. The event takes place every other year and only lasts for 3 days. Hundreds of thousands of flowers are tightly packed together to form a carpet over the entire square.
http://www.flowercarpet.be/site/main.php?lg=en

Venturing outside of the square I went into tapestry shops, lace shops, chocolate shops and lastly, ate a Belgian waffle with praline ice cream. So much for the diet plan Scottie and I had agreed upon last weekend in Camano. A store selling Murano chandeliers captivated me and I was very tempted to bring one home. I resisted and wandered on. But I do have their card still! Drawn into the tiny Klaus Duffy store because of colorful shawls in the front window, I was soon joined by two others. After hearing their American accent while they were speaking with Isamira, the sales cleark, I struck up a conversation.

Me: "Where are you traveling from"

Them: "We are from Seattle and are here for a cruise between Brussels and Vienna"
Me: "Oh, I am from Seattle too"
Them: "Well, actually we are from Bellevue"
Me: "Oh, I am from Bellevue too".
Quite a small world. 4 people in a tiny store in Brussels and 3 of us are from the same general area, thousands of miles away. Happy travels to Vienna, Linda and Carol! I then boarded a train from the Central Station in Brussels to Antwerp. The train station there is spectacular. "The Antwerp Central Station is the terminal station of the oldest railway line in Belgium (Brussels-Mechelen-Antwerp). Dubbed the 'Railway Cathedral', it is one of the main landmarks in Antwerp. It was built between 1895 and 1905 and replaced a wooden train station built in 1854 by engineer Auguste Lambeau. The complex consists of 3 parts: the station building, the metal and glass vault and the elevated rail track.The monumental main building was designed by the Bruges architect L. Delacenserie. It has a huge dome and used to have 8 smaller towers of which 6 have been demolished. The colorful interior is lavishly decorated with more than 20 different kinds of marble and stone. The main hall and the railway cafeteria can match the interiors of many palaces. Not a single square meter either inside or outside the building is not decorated." I tore myself away from the astounding train station and went outside into the dazzling light of day. The dazzlement wasn't from the brightness of the sun- it was from the countless diamond stores lining the sidewalks. Antwerp is known for their diamond trade and I was right in the middle of it. I window shopped and then made my way to a basement level (-1 level in Europe) that held a bookstore, discount deparment store, toy store and shoe store. In the department store, I happened upon a yarn display nestled between children's clothing, towels, school notebooks and music CD's. Not such an exciting find after all. A bit pathetic. Actually, a lot pathetic.Despondent, I went outside and followed the light. Diamonds, remember? Klassa Diamonds did not disappoint. Small post diamond earrings that are tension set with the diamond suspended like my "the band was fine at the beginning but 3 years post wedding ceremony a diamond would be nice" ring. Eyal, the son of the store owner assisted me with the purchase. He showed me pictures and explained the diamond purchasing process in Congo, Africa. Fascinating story wrapped in danger: cases of cash, bodyguards, company jets, piles of diamonds. His mother looked young enough to be his sister. Wonderful experience in that store. Even with the pitiful exchange rate between the dollar and the Euro, the earrings were a good deal. Yes they were. Really. Trust me. It's true.

Weekend at Camano Island

I took Friday off from work to head north to Camano Island where Arlene hosted several friends (Elaine & Donna from California and Pat from Seattle) in addition to Scottie and I. Scottie rode with me and worked on her crochet project for Nihon Vogue while I drove. We ventured a bit farther north and stopped in Mt. Vernon to get lunch as well as explore two yarn shops. The Lunch Box is a little deli off 1st Street that lured us in with promises of delicious sandwiches. They did not disappoint. I was tempted by the aroma of the Friday "special" burgers grilling in front of the restaurant but the sultry 89 degree heat dissuaded me from eating anything hot. I got a chuckle out of the dozens of metal lunchboxes that were displayed throughout the dining area on shelves. Some of them looked like they could be vintage from my own childhood! The prints on the wall from the annual Tulip Festival reminded me of the years that I have done the pilgrimage to Skagit Valley each spring with family members such as Rob, Marilyn and Whimsy or my friends Terri and Ingrid.

The first yarn shop we went to was Wild Fibers. They had a nice selection of yarn, buttons and very amusing note cards about knitting that we laughed out loud at. I spent quite a bit of time looking at the sample felted bags - I aim to try my hand at such endeavor someday soon. I purchased two patterns for children's sweaters - one with an intarsia pattern of a puppy and one depicting a kitten. We walked two blocks down the street to Hellen's Needlework which is a venerable institution for needleworkers. She has been in business nearly 30 years which speaks volumes about her knowledge of knitting, crochet and sustainabilty of a storefront location throughout varying economic conditions over the decades. I bought some more ladybug buttons (whatever for?) and a set of Addi needles 40 inch in length. I like to support my local yarn stores - even if "local" ends up being 70 miles from home!
5 miles outside of Mt. Vernon towards Camano Island, I thankfully had the instant state of mind to carefully maneuver my vehicle in such a way to avoid being rear ended by a distracted teenager in a huge Ram truck who screeched to an angled stop mere inches from my bumper. Scottie and I were not concerned with our own personal safety but rather with the project bags filled with knitting in the back cargo area in proximity to possible mishap. We arrived at Arlene's house about 10 minutes earlier than the rest of the group. It is such an enchanting location on a bluff overlooking the water with a glimpse of distant mountains and the eastern edge of Whidbey Island. Eagles were soaring, verdant trees held vigil over the oceanside cliffs, and the backyard orchard held promise of apples, figs, pears and grapes. I was in a state of bliss. So calm, peaceful and beautiful. Just what I needed to reconnect and take temporary respite from the working world.

I ventured out for two extraordinary walks on the beach - one with Scottie on Saturday morning and one early Sunday morning with Arlene. Being close to the water and looking at the shells, round rocks, driftwood and seaweed brought back memories of Adak Island where I grew up in the Aleutians. Site is similar also to Richmond Beach, which was close to my first Seattle home many years ago. Over the weekend, I spent almost as much time eating as I did knitting. How could one resist? We had some amazing meals: Salmon Saute with green beans, corn and tomatoes, Tangy salad with cilantro, edamame and oranges, Portuguese soup, Crustless-quiche, Spinach soup, Chocolate chip cookies, Scones, Blueberry crisp and chocolate-cherry tort. I will later post the recipe for the Salmon Saute and salad on this blog. I know my mom will love them!

I spent most of the weekend knitting on the ladybug sweater and on the Forest Canopy shawl. Donna gave me an excellent tip to use dental floss as a lifeline on the lace shawl - that way if I need to rip back I can do so to a section of the lace that I know has the correct number of stitches. I did that several times and after much knitting and ripping out have essentially the same amount accomplished as when I showed up on Friday. De Ja Vu - so not much progress to report on the shawl. The ladybug sweater is coming along slowly and I admit, I was a bit frustrated with it. The pattern directions changed from fair isle in the round to binding off at the neck and working the shoulders separately, back and forth. I have no idea how to do two color stranded on the wrong side so I did the best I could with minimal guidance. I felt compelled to take advantage of the magnificent vista while working on the ladybug sweater so I share both below:

The big development over the weekend was not knitting but adopted animals! Scottie is the proud owner of two baby kittens (Hank and Erin) from the Camano Island animal shelter. The felines are still awaiting spay and neuter so Arlene will be transporting them back to the Big City in a week or so. On Sunday we packed up the cars and headed back home. Donna, Arlene and Elaine had collaborated to teach me the Magic Loop method. I had bought the wrong size needle at Hellen's two days before and wanted to find a yarn store on the route home so that I could use the needle and knit the sleeves during travel on my business trip this week. Alas, the stores in the vicinity that we were familiar with were closed on Sunday so we went to a store in Mill Creek called Main Street Yarn. We were so ecstatic to be in a yarn store again (after 34 hour break) that we called Arlene and recommended she and the rest of the entourage take the detour as well. The sales clerk in the Main Street Yarn store was simply darling. She was friendly, knowledeable and extremely helpful - especially to the 5 of us who were like locusts as we descended upon the shop. The sales clerk's mother was in the store knitting at a nearby table and she was lovely as well, especially having taught her now adult daughter to knit at the tender age of 7. I was so envious of that transfer of skills and the creation of a lasting bond over a common activity. The store was very attractive - lots of books, patterns, spacious aisles, a wide variety of yarn, standard and unusual knitting assessories, well organized creative displays and an abundance of natural light. I would highly recommend the store for anyone in the area - it was quite a treat. Speaking of treat, I did so for myself by purchasing some exquisite rapsody yarn in an pale iris color with tiny, shimmery beads. It reminded me of my grandmother and I didn't want to leave the store without it in my possession! My ambitions are to turn it into a rectangular lace shawl but the investigation of such will have to wait until the future when I can consult with Naomi, my lace guidance counselor. I also bought some variagated-but-mostly-purple sock yarn and Lucy Neatby knitting essentials DVDs. What a wonderful weekend! It was perfect. Great scenery, food and comaraderie. Who could ask for anything more? Rob and Whimsy greeted me with a warm welcome home and dinner of grilled salmon, rice, salad and blackberry cobbler. I wish I could stay home and play with my new toys but I have to pack for an early morning flight to the land of diamonds, lace and chocolate - Belgium!

Sweater for Baby BOY

I finished the Debbie Bliss baby sweater for a co-worker who lives in Europe. His first child is due in just a few weeks. I will be leaving Monday for a business trip to Brussels, Belgium and will deliver the gift personally to him and his wife. I am happy with the end result regarding the sweater, but after a year of Nihon Vogue training, I found it very difficult to simply "go along" with the less than adequate guidance as provided on the pattern. The majority of patterns are written to appeal to the knitting masses and have limited space for directions as mandated by the publishers. I did modify the sleeve insertion technique by seaming them first and then crocheting each into the armholes rather than sewing the side seams and sleeve seams as one effort. A twisted crocheted edge on the bottom and cuff edges to cover the long tail cast on completed the sweater. If I had had more time or energy to "re-write" the pattern I would have placed three buttons rather than two. Unfortunately, the pattern directions for short rows on the collar left a lot to be desired. There was no slip of a stitch or wrapping indicated, thus an expected hole formed. So I ripped it out and did my own version of short rows based upon what Jean taught us in Nihon Vogue. The Nihon Vogue investment is paying off!

When I showed the sweater to Rob his response was "I'll take one of those". I almost fell over with surprise. Rob is usually "warm" which is why he seldom wears sweaters and why our house is held at 62 degrees. To take advantage of his willingness to have a Henley style sweater designed and knit for him, I immediately pushed him into the car and drove to Cultured Purls in Issaquah. Whoo hooo - a sanctioned opportunity to BUY more yarn! He was considering yarn in solid blacks to which I informed him my poor eyes could not possibly survive knitting an entire sweater in solid black. Not to mention I would have gotten terribly bored with it in short order. He chose a nice charcoal tweed from Cascade Yarns that will be fantastic. I already have in mind some horn buttons from Nancy's Sewing Basket in Queen Anne/Seattle.

Toronto

I left early in the morning on a Monday to travel to Toronto for business. I have no idea why I chose such an early morning flight - it was painful to get up at 3:30 am to finish packing and head to the airport in utter darkness. Monday mornings are my least favorite time to fly because the airport is packed and the security lines (even with my Alaska Airlines Gold in hand) are torturously long. For a change, I was in an ideal seat on the plane to view majestic Mt. Rainier and its southern companions - Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood.

Upon arriving in Toronto after a short layover in Minneapolis I checked into the Westin Hotel. My room had a beautiful view of Lake Ontario and in the evening I spent a few hours alternating between knitting and watching the ferries.

I went in search of food but there was surprisingly few eateries in the vicinity. I rejected the sidewalk hot dog stands and strode on until I stumbled upon a deli and with luscious raspberries for only 99 cents. Even with the Canadian dollar at an all time high against the US dollar it was a deal I couldn't resist. Some hard boiled eggs, a pear and bulgar wheat salad also found its way into my basket for the "in room" picnic. A sign proclaiming "world famous" Greek food beckoned. The lone table and chair in the establishment did not for a party make. Should I stay or should I go? If I had made a decision based on the ambiance alone of the tiny ramshackle restaurant I would not have had the opportunity to enjoy the delicious tomato, feta, green pepper and cucumber salad. Who says I am not a cheap date?

The next day I met up with my group at the Rogers Centre for a project with the local sports team. We watched the parts of the game from a luxury suite strewn with computers, cables and digital media equipment. Last time I had been to this venue was for a company sales meeting in 1997 when it was known as the Sky Dome. It was interesting to see the "behind the scenes" workings of scheduling and producing media for a major league sporting event. Next time I'm in Toronto I will set aside some time to explore this vibrant city.

Blue Angels

From the pirates landing on the beach in West Seattle, the torchlight parade, the Blue Angels and Hydroplane races on Lake Washington - Seafair lasts about a month. Rob and I met 19 years ago when the ship he was stationed on (USS New Jersey) was in Seattle during Seafair weekend. Seafair is a special time of year for us and the events hold a lot of memories. Yesterday we went to Bob and Jean's house (Cascade Yarns owners) on Mercer Island to watch the breathtaking Blue Angels. I love the Blue Angels show and look forward to it every year, despite the chorus of complaints from citizens who don't like the noise or the I-90 bridge closures associated with the practices or shows. This morning Rob brought me the Sunday paper and breakfast in bed. Later in the day, I picked Marilyn up and she accompanied me downtown to Lauren's shop "So Much Yarn" to trade out a lavender skein of yarn for a orange colored one. I am still working on the Dale of Norway ladybug sweater and I didn't like the how the blue and lavender colors looked so close to each other, hence I decided to swap out two colors. I also bought some washable Cascade painted yarns in sherbet colors and a skein from Mountain Colors to do a Forest Canopy shawl in greens and purples. I was surfing the web figuring out which type of cast on to do for a lace shawl. Seems like a cable cast on would be appropriate. I also saw a blog in which a very cute lace and garter stitch baby jacket was featured from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitter's Almanac. hmm, I have that book and I don't remember any sort of good looking baby sweater or good looking anything else in it. I pulled the book off the shelf in my home office. I found the baby sweater and liked the combination of garter stitch yoke and a lace gull stitch sides on the front and back. Might be nice. For a baby. I have never knit from any of EZ's fine works. Her directions always seemed a bit short of specifics and long on musing thus I found her books more entertaining than functional. The photo of the baby sweater in the book is small, black and white and difficult to see the details. I'll have to think about this one. I am in the process of knitting two baby sweaters in which the babies are imminent - one due in mid August and the other one due early September. One sweater is the ladybug one - it is coming along slowly but surely. The second is a cute stockinette Henley from Debbie Bliss. I was attracted to it because of the stylish simplicity for a boy. The yarn for that one is Baby Cashmerino. It sounds impressive but I am not sure I like working with it. It is a combination of merino, microfibre and cashmere. It feels like acrylic to me and it splits a lot. Yikes, I just realized that my flight to Toronto leaves at 7 am tomorrow so I have to get moving packing business clothes and appropriate knitting projects to take on the plane. More later...