We're baaaaaack!

And here are a few pics to whet your beachy appetites

Hasta la Vista

We will be here for a short reprieve.

See you when we get back :-)

Harpy Days are Here Again!

Here I am

My classmates

The view

Today was the last day of Harp Fire. The adults met each afternoon and the kids had all day classes. We had a great instructor, wonderful classmates, a good time and made beautiful music.

Life is good.

Harp Fire and an FO

Today was the first day of Harp Fire 2009. I didn't have enough time this month to practice as I hoped, but life sometimes gets in the way.

Our faculty gave an opening recital that was great!

FO

Here are Janet's Jaywalkers. They were knit in KnitPicks Felici, the colorway is Schooner. I used #1 Harmony DPN's. I wanted identical socks so I was careful to match up the colors where I cast on. Yes, I am happy with these :-)

Last week's concerts were a test of endurance and resilience for all of us. The temperatures were higher than normal and the intonation in the first concerts was difficult.

But the concert last night with Ft. Worth Symphony was terrific. Di Wu (a Cliburn winner) was amazing and the orchestral pieces were two of my favorites. FWSO definitely knows how to make the outdoor concerts the best around. From gigantic fans cooling us to ice water in small strategically placed coolers onstage to the excellent musicians who play beautifully no matter what the temperature. I feel so lucky to be called to play with them.

Have a wonderful week - I will try to update Harp Fire as the week goes on.....

4th of July insanity

It is July.

It is Texas.

And we are expected to play outdoor concerts. And you are expected to attend said concerts.

People - it has been HOT HOT HOT. What are they thinking??? I have three outdoor performances this week: East Texas Symphony, North East Texas Symphony and Ft. Worth Symphony ..... you may never hear from me again since I will surely melt into a little pool of nothingness.

But before I melt - here is my progress on Juno Regina. I ripped back a few times and in frustration frogged it. After licking my wounds and eating my humble pie, I cast on again and this time used a life line. The diamonds are complete and the infamous 42" begins.

Thanks for all your comments - it was fun having Janet here. And yes Lella, we can fit both cars in our garage! The socks are resting right now but after all this craziness dies down, I expect to get back to them. They are ready for me to begin the toes :-)

Mer - it was because of your Juno Regina is so beautiful that I decided to knit one.

If I don't melt this weekend, I'll see you soon.

Friends and UFOs

I can't believe an entire week has passed since Janet was here!

She is a friend of 30 years and was passing by our fair city. We ate, danced (well, the dancers did) and laughed a lot. She also got to see the ballet and hear me play in the orchestra for the first time in 25 years. I think she enjoyed it; I know I did.

Apparently so did the reviewer: "The evening opened with Leonid Lavrovsky's Paganini, a psychological study of the brilliant but tormented Italian violinist and composer Niccolo Paganini. Pianist Gleb Ivanov and the Metropolitan Classical Ballet Orchestra performed the Rachmaninoff score with vivid finesse." She even had nice things to say about the dancing :-)

Since Janet was so intrigued by my knitting, I decided to finish the jaywalkers for her :-)

I cast on for Juno Regina from Knitty with some Knitpicks Gloss. Here is my progress so far:

Broderie is still in the works, but has been resting since it requires mindful knitting and my schedule has been too busy for me concentrate on it. I will get back to it when things slow down a bit.

Have a great weekend:-)

Celebrating 23 years

23 years ago

Broderie Bit

Broderie waistband blocking......

I stopped in at Montgomery Mills again and bought 2 lbs (2400 yards) of Peruvian Tweed - alpaca. At the mill, the yarn is in gigantic skeins in big boxes on the floor with hand printed signs. No labels. So searching turned up this:

"Peruvian Tweed is a Joseph Galler alpaca yarn that is incredibly soft, warm, and lofty, and all of the colors come naturally from the variations in the alpacas themselves—no dyed colors. One ply is a combed blend of colors while the second ply is one solid color. 600 yards of this light worsted-weight, 100% natural alpaca yarn is an excellent value! Hand wash, lay flat to dry.

Fiber: 100% Alpaca
Gauge: 4 (Medium); 20–22 sts = 4"
Needle: US 7 or 8 (4.5 or 5 mm)
Crochet Hook: G or H
Yardage: 600 yds
Weight: 7.6–8 oz"

I hope to knit this for Jim. I think it will look stunning with this yarn.

Got back from NY late last night and I am one pooped puppy! I had gone up for my cousin's funeral so it was a sad week but great to be with family. We had so much love and support I cannot even begin to tell you the comfort we found.

FO: Juicy DK Cardi

It is done and I am planning to wear it on the plane tomorrow :-)

Here is the lace portion

This is the Sirdar pattern 9149. Juicy DK yarn - a delicious blend of bamboo sourced viscose and cotton. (Don't ask me what that means 'cos I don't know!) Since I am such a loosey-goosey, I knit on #3s.

Heading to NY tomorrow and back next week. There will be only limited internet access, so checking this blog may not happen. Feel free to leave a comment anyway :-) I'll look next week.

Have a good week and I'll see you when I get home.

Cast on and Cane

I cast on for Broderie and knit the entire waistband. Blocked it to a ginormous size then ripped it all out. I am down to #2 needles (just call me loosey goosey) and am now knitting a smaller size. Hopefully there will be a picture of success this weekend.

Cane is an ongoing necessity of oboists. Here is 1/2 pound to be processed.

I made some really good reeds from a friend's gouge and decided to buy a machine like hers. This is the Innoledy Gouging Machine. I communicated with the designer and his measurements are exactly what I use! It will take about four months before mine is ready so I guess I will have to muddle along as I have been doing.

Here is a Jeanne machine (my current gouger):

Here is the Innoledy:

Cool, eh? Or am I just a nerd. No need to answer that one :-)

Scallops and Socks

Scallops

Our dinner tonight will be this Citrus Scallop recipe:

Ingredients

· 1 lemon
· 1 lime
· 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
· 1/4 teaspoon(s) freshly ground black pepper
· 1 1/4 pound(s) sea scallops, rinsed
· 3 teaspoon(s) olive oil
· 1 tablespoon(s) finely chopped shallot
· 1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard
· 1 bag(s) (5- to 6-ounce) baby greens
· 1/4 cup(s) fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

1. From lemon, grate 1/4 teaspoon peel and squeeze 2 tablespoons juice. From lime, grate 1/4 teaspoon peel and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. Set juices aside. In small bowl, combine peels, salt, and pepper.

2. Place scallops on paper-towel-lined plate; pat dry. Sprinkle with citrus-peel mixture.

3. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil on medium 1 minute. Add scallops; cook 6 to 8 minutes or until opaque throughout, turning once. Remove from pan; cover.

4. To skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil and shallot; cook 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in Dijon mustard and citrus juices, scraping up browned bits; cook 1 minute.

Toss sauce with greens; place on plates. Top with scallops and chopped parsley, and serve with whole wheat couscous (to make couscous, follow package directions).

Socks

Here is one of the twins:

Fraternal Jaywalkers?

I just started what I hope will be fraternal Jaywalkers.

The pattern is Grumperina's found here.

Well, sort of - you can download it from Ravelry or email her to get it.

The yarn is from that new sampler I just got - KP Felici and the color is Schooner.

The needles are KP Harmony #1 DPNs and I am knitting the smallest size.

The cardi is still in the works - the sleeves are pinned in and ready for attaching. My past few weeks have been too busy for me to sit during the day (with good light) and stitch them up.

I really hope I will have time next week.

My DH and I were getting tired of the old decor in our bedroom, so we made a change:

to this:

We are looking for a new comforter to join in the lightened and

freshened up look.

I am headed up to Wichita Falls today for symphony and the guest artist is

Ricky Scaggs.

Should be fun :-)

My only hope is that the hotel is better than last time.

The housekeeping and maintenance staff were unbelievably negligent - I had to change rooms do to the shower running - it literally would not turn off.

And then in the morning, I pulled back the coverlet to find a disgustingly soiled comforter.

It was really repulsive.

They gave me my money back, but it makes me question the rest of the cleanliness of the room.

This time, I am taking the Lysol wipes and wipe everything I can before touching it.

And I will check the linens as well.

I would not stay there again if it wasn't "the" hotel the symphony puts us in.

Oh well, this is the last concert of the season for this group.

Maybe the accomodations will be improved next year.

FO: Dragonfly Socks

These were a really fast knit.

The pattern is Dragonfly Socks free from Cavyshops and the yarn is Premier Deborah Norville Serenity Sock Weight. This yarn is very soft but thinner than KP Essentials. I knit with #1 (2.25mm) DPNS in hopes the fabric would be substantial enough.

The socks came out very soft but quite thin. They feel wonderful but I don't know how well they will wear. I was going to keep these for myself but decided to send them to Mom instead.

Thanks for your comments on the last posting. The green yarn is heading to it's new home since the color is not at all me. I know the recipient will enjoy it more than I would have.

Our weekend is full as usual - I am driving up to Apple Leef Farm this morning to pick up the rods for the built-in lazy kate on the Scholar. It is almost an hour each way.....

I have a double for Symphony on Saturday then students and a Messiah Sunday. I am looking forward to the Messiah because a former student (who graduated from Eastman and is now working on his Masters at SMU) will be playing second. It should be fun.

Have a safe and wonderful weekend, my friends :-)

Yarn and stuff

After an exhausting but exhilarating week of Easter music, things are back to the norm - teaching, making reeds, practicing and knitting. I ordered one of the sock yarn samplers from KnitPicks (hah - like any of us really need more sock yarn!!!) and it arrived last week. The color palette is beach.

I like most of it... not a big fan of the green in the back but some sock recipient will be :)

I also stained the spinning stool my DH gave me for Xmas thinking if I get it finished I may actually use it.

Then I emailed Leef to see if she could help me get the missing rods for the lazy kate on my refurbished Scholar.

She has them at the farm now so I hope to take a ride up and get them this week. We (and Ashford) think they are the same ones that are on the current models of the Traveler and Joy. Cross your fingers that they will fit, please.

Someone had a Scholar for sale on Ravelry; she was asking $300 for it. Obviously she did not do her research because you can find them for around $150. No wonder there was no response.

There was some knitting on the Dragonflies this week :

I love it after the heel is turned and the gusset is decreased because we are in the home stretch now :-)

Enjoy your week my friends~

Bluebonnets and Dragonflies

It is Bluebonnet season in North Texas. So on the way home from the University, I pulled over and took a few shots. We don't have the proliferation of some years, but they are still pretty. Or in Texan: purty.

Although the Sirdar Juicy Cardi is still waiting to be seamed, I did CO DragonFly Socks. I bought some inexpensive Serenity Sock Weight at Joanns. The color is "Chili" - the color of the skein in the front. It seems okay, similar to KP Essentials. No, it isn't Lornas Laces but I think it will be just fine.

We have been thankfully busy with Easter music though some of our colleagues are sitting at home. We do feel the economic crunch though so far not so bad. There has been a drop in my DH wedding work and neither of us have Maundy Thursday services this year. Hopefully we can continue to do what we do best - make beautiful music.

I hope your celebrations of Easter and Passover are joyous.

FO: Monkey Socks

Here is the link to Monkey Socks. If you haven't knit these yet, go for it. They are easy enough for knitting while watching TV and complex enough to not be boring. That is just about the perfect balance for me ;-) I actually knit these while traveling, so I am dubbing them my airline socks. They were finished in the hotel room over the weekend (had symphony out of town) and adorned my happy little feet yesterday. I love knitting socks and I love finishing a project.

I used KnitPicks Essentials that came in their sock yarn sampler a year or two ago. This is called Meteor Twist.

The needles were #1 dpns.

And you can see how fat and round my foot is - I used the round toe instead of the one in the pattern. That has become my fave since it fits the shape of my feet best.

The cardigan is ready for shoulder seaming, then on to picking up the stitches for the front band. I didn't want to do that in the hotel due to a lack of light but hope to get it finished this week. Pictures soon.

Have a lovely week :-)

Montgomery Worsted Mill

As we are driving back from dropping my husband at the Newburg/Stewart Airport, Mom sees this sign for the Montgomery Mills and says, "I used to come here to buy yarn."

We pulled in and up over the hill was a very old building with an historical marker

We went in

There were wonderful snow white silks, wools, cottons ready for dying. Alpaca, blends, natural colors, tweeds and more. There were so many boxes of yarns I was a bit overwhelmed.

But I did find a delicious wool/alpaca DK blend in a gorgeous charcoal gray. They sell by the pound - 1 lb = 1330 yards. I think it will be enough for a simple cardigan.

I was so intrigued by this place, on the way to the airport the next day I stopped back in and asked if I could take a few pictures.

I was in a bit of a time crunch so I couldn't stay very long to talk to the folks there but definitely plan to stop in next trip and spend more time. I hope it is still there; this is an article on the mill and the dificulty of it's survival. If you would be interested in joining me in a Ravelry group for the Montgomery Mills, I would be happy to start one. Please email me, comment here, or leave a message in my Ravelry inbox - Cecioboe. Maybe we can make more people aware of this hidden gem.

Insanely Busy

I just finished week-long run of The Secret Garden put on at a nearby private school. A colleague is the orchestra director there (and a fine violinist) who did a fabulous job conducting us. The orchestra was pro (except for 3 terrific students) so it made things quite nice. The kids did a bang-up job in 4 performances! We old folks had fun working these talented high schoolers and I think the kids got quite a thrill singing with a real orchestra.

Knitting content is nil - I didn't get home until 11:30pm all week and was too pooped to knit. Next week I will have some new pics for you.

G'night for now -

This FO only took a year

I just couldn't bring myself to finish the seaming.

Now that I have, I really don't know why.

This is Sirdar Cardigan #8872 knit with Sirdar Ocean.

The yarn is a cotton/nylon ribbon yarn.

Makes for a very interesting texture but is not my favorite to knit with.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming now.....