FiberTribe

Poetry on the Half Shell

Well, actually, poetry between two shells... Here's Mr. or Ms. Hawksbill, somewhere on a reef off one of the British Virgin Islands... and no, it doesn't have a damned thing to do with knitting except maybe the pattern on the flippers would be lovely knit up.

If you've ever swum next to a sea turtle at 60 ft or so, you'd sigh along with me as I gaze at the photo. Sweet turtle dreams, all...

Just Another (Ahem) Day in Paradise

I made it over to the Bay (Biscayne Bay), behind my office building, for lunch. It's just another f*ing day in paradise, fer shure. sigh. This morning the Bay was flat calm, I mean glassy, mirror smooth. The wind has kicked up but trust me, the day is even more beautiful with waves and seabreeze. And it's 88 degrees F. in the shade. Summer in Miami has arrived. All that is missing is our afternoon rainshower. The rainy season is late which worries us here. Usually means a worse than normal hurricane season. Yes, Virginia, there is a downside to paradise. About every 10 to 20 years you and everything you own gets blown off the face of the earth. Hey, you pays yer money, youse take yer chances...

So what does this have to do with knitting, you may ask? Only that it's just about too hot to even knit on the ribby cotton halter for mom. and her birthday is in 8 days. ooops. Beach knitting, here I come. If it were you, you wouldn't mind a little sand in your scrumptious pale cotton candy pink halter now would you???

Promised pictures of the mother of all stash enhancements later tonight. Of course, if Patrick comes through with the type of sea turtle in the pic I want to post, you'll get to see that, too. Later, beasties...

Sea Peeps Have Attitude

Another sea peep picture by request of Cari. Who knew that sea creatures had such funny and discernable facial expressions?! Patrick sez that most of them do. Don't you just read SOOO clearly this ray saying, "Whaddaya want now? Or, "You again?" Click to enlarge to get the full effect...

I can tell you that I've seen a free swimming green moray do a great, Man, am I pissed, now get the fuck out of my way! facial expression. It had to do with mouth gaping open, maximum dentation display and headed right at me... I inadvertantly got between him and his proposed new hidey rock whilst he was losing a territorial dispute with another bigger green moray... heh.

So here's a baby queen angel protected by a sea urchin guarding its hole in the reef...again, click to enlarge.

and I leave you with a very cool crab...(MAJOR ooops here... Patrick has threatened to bring down the wrath of his fat cat lawyer bro on me if I don't correct this) This is NOT a crab but a Banded Coral Shrimp. Really. MMC (Mea Maxima Culpa), heh.

All pictures by either Patrick Quinn or Claire Stanton, both dive instructors at Paradise Watersports on Peter Island, BVI. (No affiliation, I just love 'em all...)

Back to knitting tomorrow...

How to Pet a Stingray...

Here, courtesy of my friend, love, curmudgeon, dive instructor extraordinaire, and general all around sealife softie... is how to pet a stingray. NOTA BENE: Do NOT try this at home, kiddies... we do not distoib the wildlife or the wildlife can get a tad, wild... so this is definitely a do as I say, not as I do photo... click to enlarge...

I think it's only fair to showcase Patrick and his undersea buds since he's the one who first managed to get me under the waves despite gross ineptitude on my part and severe past life flashbacks on multiple deaths by drowning... The scene of the fateful first dive was Rainbow Canyon off Pelican Island in the British Virgin Islands. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of that site but I do have a happy face pic of me diving French Reef off of Key Largo, Florida... so there.

The promise of dive content fulfilled. I can't wait till the ribs heal and I can get back underwater...3-4 more weeks and counting. As anyone who dives will tell you, it's meditation, peace and solace all in one. It becomes necessary to sanity and one gets terminally twitchy if deprived of it. For a frame of reference, I first dove at the end of May 2003. Starting with my certification dives in June 2003, I dove for six months straight, every single weekend, some times both Saturday and Sunday. I stopped a few months ago for some dental surgeries and then due to the car accident three weeks ago... soon to return, I devoutly hope... If there are any other diving knitters out there (or knitting divers?) I'd love to know... drop me a comment.

King Tut + Paper

So last night I was listening to Caroline Myss and knitting on Pretty from R2. It's the peach colored yarn below. Paper is fun and quick to knit, really does feel paperish though it's 100% nylon. Am a little concerned about how sheer it is at gauge, but hey, I live in Miami and the object here has always been to wear as little as possible without getting arrested....a little skin-colored demi-bra and no one's the wiser, eh? Here's the progress so far along with the pink King Tut ribby halter from the Filatura di Crosa spring/summer 2004 book for mom.

The pink King Tut is not so shiny to the eye as it is in the photo. And it's very soft and springy. Hmmm, I'm detecting a pastel trend here. Oh, you can click on the photo for a close up, but again, it may take time to load due to the size of the original. I need to study up on photoshop, clearly...

Zen Pictures, finally...

Well, there was enough quiet this weekend to install the camera software on my computer. Not enough time, though, to get good at taking photos nor to seam up the Side-to-Side Pullover (from Spring 2004 IK) in a multi-color Zen ribbon. But here, in it's near-to-FO glory is the pullover with a close up of the ruffled sleeve. It was fun and fast to knit. The yarn 'painted' nicely, don't you think? I'll do my best to get a shot in natural light to post later, maybe a close up. I was a little unsure about all the yellow and black in the yarn but the blues and pinks won me over. And since I'll be wearing it with jeans, that should draw the eye to the blues. At least that's the theory...whatever...here are the pictures...click for the full size images (beware, they are huge. am too tired to figure out how to scale it down just now)...

Lazy, so Lazy

No excuses, no guilt. Just too damn lazy to install the new digital camera software on my PC. Have been out to dinner 3 nights in a row now and am just too sated and happy to fool with it. This weekend promises to be quieter with much time for knitting and software installation. Knitting on the beach, anyone??
But I have to tell you that I squeezed in a visit to the LYS, Elegant Stitches, on Wednesday night. The errand wasn't the most cheerful, to pick up some DPNs and purple and red yarn for chemo caps for a friend. sigh. Way too many of us are fighting this battle. I send love and light to all who are or who have friends/family who are and that is probably all of us. Anyway. Guess what LYS had??? OMIGOD, the R2 book AND all the Rag and Paper yarn to go with it. So of course I succumbed and bought peach and white Paper (great yardage and price) to knit this simple tank, Pretty.
And it only takes 2 balls of Paper. I'm not sure how it will feel against the skin but the Paper feels nice and squooshy in the ball. And it knits up on size 15 US needles (or size 13 US needles for loose knitters like me). Instant gratification to the max.

And there's more. Susan, one of the LYS staff, knit up Lola, the crochet/knotted poncho from Rowan 35, in Berrocco Suede in a beautiful golden color. Uh, oh. I tried it on. I have never been a poncho person, never thinking I looked good in them. Wrong. The oohs and aaahs from the assembled knitters pushed me over the edge. I bought the same color Suede AND some Debbie Bliss DK cotton in icy white. I think I need to beg Jillian to open up her blog again so I can buy a Yarn Ho t-shirt. That surely would be truth in advertising.
Assuming the software gets installed this weekend, I'll post progress pics on Willow (Mom's b-day present ribby halter) and pics of the major haul of yarn.

If you want to see the book whence came the Willow ribby halter, check out Bonne Marie's blog for today's post. She has up the Filatura di Crosa book that has the pattern.

Planet Jupiter

Well, it wasn't the Keys after all, but lovely Jupiter, Florida as destination. Despite being a native Floridian, I had never vistied this part of the Florida coast. For reference, it's about 2 hours north of Miami, 45 minutes north of West Palm Beach. This was originally land of the Florida Cracker (email me if you need an explanation of that or you can rent John Sayles' movie, "Sunshine State"). But with the extreme population influx and Anglo flight from majority-Latino Dade county, real estate development in these formerly tiny, sleepy & scruffy beach towns has turned them into the land of gated communities, planned town centers and Celebration clones (the uber-planned, whitebread Disney-created town). Don't get me wrong, it's pretty and orderly and squeaky clean. It's just that it's a little too Stepford Wives for my taste. (for readers not alive in the 60's I mean land of the Pod People. sort of.)
Whoa, this is turning into a travelogue but at least you have a frame of reference for the knitting surroundings. So. The great part? The beach is beyond beautiful. Almost vacant and with huge dunes and crashing waves. This is the part of the coast all the surfers migrate to for the wave action. We sat on the beach for a while before being chased off by rain spritzes. It was so wild and lovely that I just know I'll go back again. Well worth the drive. That said, I didn't make too much progress on mom's ribbed tank. The wind and the waves and the beach turned me into a puddle of bliss and the needles were just tooooo heaaavy...Pictures at 11.

Romeo, O Romeo

Ok. I lied. No knitting update pictures today. But I have a very delicious reason. I had one of the best meals of my life last night at a tiny storefront restaurant on Coral Way in Miami (near my house) called Romeo's Cafe. Romeo is an Italian/Salvadorenan (more usual here in Miami are Italian/Argentines, Italian/Venezuelans or Brazilians), fairly unique even in this outpost of Latin America. Anyway, that's neither here nor there. If I weren't already in love in several directions I would chain myself to the ankle of this rotund and wonderful chef-person forevermore... It was 7 or 8 courses, I lost track. Began with salmon carpaccio so thin as to be Bonne Marie-pale translucent pink and finished with a divine cupcake-sized chocolate orgasm, ahem, souffle... in between, my dazed tastebuds recall duck with raspberry coulis and mango slices, a pasta dish with tips of filet mignon and black truffles, a risotto to die for.. you get the idea.
The wines were equally exquisite. Sigh. So. Am I forgiven for no knitting pictures??? Jailhouse lawyer that I am, I could point out the subtitle to the blog re: "...and whatever else my little heart desires" but nah, I know I can count on the crossover foodie-knitter's nexus to support my blogging detour.

And best of all, the bruised ribs (mine, from an accident two weeks ago) are finally starting to feel much better. And it looks like the right arm turned to hamburger by the airbag will have only minute scars, no surgery required. YAY! Nota Bene: If you're planning on having a car accident, wear long sleeves. Airbags save your life but routinely chop your arms up so badly you are left with lifelong scars. The EMTs at the scene took one look at my arms, nodded and said, "Yup, airbag deployed." Heh. Please keep me far, far away from the auto execs who have collectively approved this totally shit design/money compromise.
Tonight and tomorrow are the Keys and I promise I'll knit in the car. Really. Be gentle.

Coconut Grove Morning

Does anyone else remember Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning?? Well, I woke up and it was a Coconut Grove morning...that's the part of Miami I live in and this morning the palm trees are sparkling and the wind is making BIG HAAR out of them. and glittery sun everywhere. Oh, and did I mention the gardenia tree blooming outside my bedroom window? Sigh. I really do live in paradise... The catch? Off to the orifice (office) I go...

Made good progress last night on Willow from the TahkiStacyCharles Spring 2004 book. It's a ribby cotton halter for mom. Pictures tomorrow, I promise...