Another Day, Another Sweater

Shortest and Longest Move

Finally, I feel as though I have moved in to the new place.  I still have many things to unpack and organize, but it will all come together soon.  This was one of the shortest house moves I've ever had, just about 2 miles....but it took the longest, about 2 weeks.

I plan to pour a nice tall glass of something cold and go enjoy the new view for a while.

Yarn Store Reviews: Houston

Ok, so I visited 6 yarn stores on my travels last month, I only got to see 2 in Houston, I know there are lots of wonderful stores out in the burbs, but I was only there for 2 days....so we stayed in town.

Houston, Texas:  Yarns 2 Ewe
These two stores were chosen because of their proximity to my sister's house in West U.  We came across Yarns 2 Ewe kind of by accident.  It was my first day there, I admit to being a bit jet lagged....only a couple of hours sleep in 48 hours so I might have been hallucinating...but as we were speeding along toward lunch at Mi Tierra (...spelling?) I spied a sign for a yarn store.  The building looked deserted (it was noon on a Tuesday) and the sign showed signs of neglect.  We decided to stop in after lunch (starving children in the car...feed them first).  I am glad we made the effort.  The store still appeared to be closed, there weren't any cars in the parking lot on the street side, but I will always persevere when it comes to yarn.  I was encouraged when I saw a Rowan sign in the front door.  The sun in Texas can be quite brutal, so all the blinds were drawn tight and the signage in the door's window was quite faded.

(imagine this store on a gray cloudy day with no cars parked in front or the side lot...what would you think?  click to make it bigger...that sign needs some life!)

It was really quite a large store....lots and lots and lots of needles, no short circulars though, 16" is the smallest.  They had tons of accessories, bags, kits, books and just about anything else the knitter could want.  I could have stayed there for hours....not that easy when you have a 4 year old in tow, so we had to leave.

Houston Yarn Shop #2:  Mary Charles

My second stop was more intentional, I had found the website for Mary Charles online, realized it was really close to my sister's house and made plans to see it before leaving town.  It is a delightful little shop.  Cute location, loads of natural light, and the few yarns they have are lovely.  It's not really a yarn store though....they don't even carry stitch markers.  They don't stock very many needles either.  There is lots of potential there, if you want to knit a cashmere scarf....this is the place, so it's not a write off...but how often do people in Houston wear cashmere scarves?

So.....Yarns 2 Ewe, four and a half stars....the half star deduction because of the exterior aesthetic that made me think it had gone out of business.

Mary Charles, 3 stars

Yarn Madness

Since my last post, I have been to Texas, Florida and Kula....not necessarily in that order.  I flew to Houston to see my sister and her family for a few days and then on to Sarasota to see my parents.  Of course I managed to visit several yarn shops....more on that if I remember to write the reviews.  I was really only kicked out of one of them.....or asked to leave anyway.  So my reviews will include 5 positive ratings and one negative.
I have also been approached by a local feature writer...she would like to feature me and my Maui Yarns in an upcoming issue of Maui Time. 
Two weeks from now the new Lahaina/Ka'anapali/Kapalua dining & shopping guides will be out with this picture of my yarn proudly displayed:

Yarn Winding

I am very accustomed to winding yarn around here, lots and lots of yarn. 

Just not with a ball winder. 

It took me a good 20 minutes to figure out where I had stashed the silly thing.

Knitting Again

Today I decided it was high time I knitted something besides samples out of Maui Yarns.  So I found a pattern, shuffled some colors around and came up with this:

There are two colors missing from this photo....Whale Watch and Wow Sunrise.  In case the small little pattern is not obvious to the naked eye....I am going to knit Revolution with Maui Yarns sock yarn on a size 6 needle.  I have knitted two of the center wedges so far, and it seems like a very quick knit.

Notes from the kitchen

So last night I dyed wool for a couple hours, and a good friend brought me a special gift....ricotta cheese and some San Marzano tomatoes.  Four pounds of ricotta and 273 ounces of fabulous tomatoes.  I already have giant cans of San Marzano tomato puree, so the cans of whole tomatoes are a welcome addition to the pantry.  OK, OK.....one can didn't last very long in the pantry. 

A couple pounds of Italian sausage, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion and some basil, oregano and half a giant can of San Marzano whole tomatoes.

Oh, by the way, I am cooking in what looks a bit like a war zone.  We are slowly getting new countertops, so part of the kitchen has some granite tile....and some just has plywood.  This lovely part next to the stove has some of both.  Sometime next week they will finish and install the onyx backsplash.  Here' s hoping they apply a really good sealer to the backsplash....these tomatoes are messy.  By the way, the sauce is awesome....yummy.

Maui police encounter

Happy Easter Officers....

Today as I was speeding home from Safeway with my Easter dinner goodies securely packed in the trunk, I glanced over at the little cove near Canoe Beach, and lo and behold, a mother whale and her calf were goofing around really close to shore.  So I pulled safely onto the shoulder...aka bike lane and enjoyed the view for a few minutes.  I was joined by three or four other cars...all rentals. 

Another 5 minutes go by, and along comes the Maui Police Department....two cars, just in case there might be trouble.  They were so sweet, checking on me to make sure I hadn't had an accident....surrounded as I was by all the rental cars, what else could it be?  The whales had moved on by this time, so the show was over and everyone was moving on anyway.  The nice officer wished me well, and drove on....with me calling out, "Happy Easter" at the top of my lungs. 

So Happy Easter from me and the whales here in Maui! (small disclaimer, not my photography....pacific whale foundation image)

And Now for Something Knitted

I finally brought out the camera to document some knitting.....

I love these things....they aren't mine, I knitted them for my roommate, so they are still in the house, but they do not belong to me.  I will probably have to knit some for myself one day.

The pattern is from Melanie Falick's book Handknit Holidays and the design is Annie Modesitt's.   I loved kntting these so much, I knitted a second set for someone else last Xmas.  I obviously did not have the camera out the entire month of November or December, while these were coming together.  I actually had to buy needles for this project.  I know, and me with more needles than you can shake a stick at...ha ha.  Actually, I bought Aluminum needles and they worked great with the wire.  It took a while to find the wire here in paradise, because a shopper's paradise it is not.  Luckily, I met some nice people along the way to finding the beads and the wire.  There are several bead shops here, but only one carries the 24 gauge wire.

Now then, since the camera was out and about....here's one of the sunsets I blame for me not producing alot of finished objects: 

note the teenie tiny sliver of moon

Shameless Yarn Plug---Wow Sunrise

Ok, so I have been working my way through the sunrise series....with this as the latest entry:

Wow Sunrise
100% Superwash Merino Fingering Weight Wool
100g skein, 440 yds +/-
Gauge:  28-32 stitches per 4 inches on US 1-3 needles
First Quality 3 ply yarn, perfect for socks, clothing or lace
Maui Yarn Color: Wow Sunrise

This color was inspired by the Wow factor created by the bright sunrises here in Maui. This wonderfully soft yarn is a multi colored yarn. It will knit up as a multi-colored yarn ranging from pale pink orange and yellow to brighter tones.

***Talk Story with Maui Yarns***

I see visitors in restaurants all the time, nearly falling out of their chairs at 8 pm, their body clocks telling them that it's midnight or later. These are the same visitors who wake up at 4 am, and cannot go back to sleep. These people are at loose ends until anything opens, so they are out walking before sunrise. I see them walking along the road on my way to work. I've even nearly picked off a few backing out of the driveway in the morning. They like to stop at the top of the driveway and watch the whales. If I have the top down on the car, I have a chance of seeing them, but if the top is up....look out! At any rate, I have actually seen the walkers become gawkers in the middle of the road while watching the sun come up over the West Maui Mountains. They risk life and limb...literally standing in the middle of traffic, their faces all wearing the same expressions, mouths wide open saying "Wow." You should come and see it, really you should.

So what's happening here? No Knitting, that's for sure

Lots of little stuff, crazy landlady left, and tile guy came and made this mess in our yard:
 

The yard looks like it's distressed right now, as the landscapers have been here and aerated and then sanded to level everything out.  Then our nasty tile guy came and dumped his gunk in the yard.  Keep in mind this washes directly down the hill and into the ocean.  YUK.
So we are angry and concerned about what will happen when he installs the kitchen countertops and onyx backsplash.  Nightmare mess, I am sure.