Thursday, July 12, 2012

Nightsongs, and Lovely Blog Award!


Project:  Nightsongs
Pattern Nightsongs by MaweLucky/Jane Araujo, Ravelry free download
Yarn:  Ellen's Half Pint Farm 100% Merino Sock 
Yardage 500 yards
Needles: Size 7
Cast on: June 20 2012
Notes: You can't tell from the picture, but this is a beautiful lace pattern. It starts from the center of the back and knits down. Once I understood the direction and what lines on the chart to repeat, it became very easy. I'm on the edging now (the shorter sides of the triangle), and I really hope that tiny ball of yarn left will be enough for the rest of the 12 rows. 


Our fellow Fiber Arts Friday blogger Kathryn, who blogs at Kathryn's Brain, generously gave me a Lovely Blog Award. Thanks Kathryn! Kathryn is an engineer, and besides her day job, she also tends to her Alpacamundo farm, raises alpaca dogs, and supports her husband in his pursuit of professional racing. Oh of course, she spins, knits, blogs, and collects exotic fibers. I don't know how she does it all.


In order to accept the award, there are a number of things one must do:
1 – Show your Thanks – Thank the person who awarded the honor and link back to them
2 - Share seven things about yourself.
3 – Nominate up to 15 Blogs that you admire.
4 – Contact the bloggers by leaving comments with them about their awards

Over the years I have written "a few interesting things" a few times, so it might be hard to come up with something new and interesting. But here are the earlier versions: 
A to Z

Wow, that's a lot to say about myself! Would anyone actually read them? Now let me see if I can still find seven more to say:

1. My first yoga class was prenatal yoga. We did a lot of child's pose, and kegel. I generally dozed off during shavasana. The class was held in a classroom at Wilson Preschool which Henry and I attended on and off during his preschool years. I remember laying on the floor and staring at the child proof cabinet locks, very puzzled. 
2. I have been alcohol free, or very close to it, for over three years and don't miss a thing.
3. I just discovered how to download and listen to podcast on my phone recently. One very good episode is Americans in China from The American Life. Check it out.
4. I talk to Chinese people about work in English, but do numbers in my head in Chinese.
5. The only game I play, on my computer and on the phone, is solitaire. When my mom calls, I turn on solitaire.
6. In fifth grade I wanted to be a flight attendant when I grew up. Some airline people went to my brother's school to recruit the high school girls, and it sounded so glamorous and spectacular.
7. I have a brown thumb. Once I killed a cactus. 

Blogs I nominate:
1. Otter World -- this blog is near and dear to my heart, because it belongs to Henry. I started it when Henry was in second grade, as a place to park all the cute things he wrote. Over the years he's taken it over and now maintains it himself. We have a few things lined up for the summer and he will be blogging on regular basis.
2. Cat's Tale -- my friend Cathy who I met on Ravelry because of my writing about being Chinese, is Chinese herself but living in Australia by way of Great Britain. We have a lot in common (except for where we live!) and we really look forward to the day when we finally meet in person.
3. Towers Take a Trip -- this is one of the best expat blogs, and it's written by my friend Helen. Helen, with her husband and two boys, followed her husband's job from bay area to India. Her writing is very entertaining and informative. I hope her blog will be featured on one of the major networking sites, because it deserves more attention.
4. Wool love-functional fiber art -- Heather is an exceptional fiber artist. She presents beautiful felt work with comprehensive photos and instructions every week (actually more than once a week). Most of the time I look at them over and over, and say "this is like magic!"
5. Pumpkin Spins -- I don't have many young knitting friends, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see Pumpkin's posting week after week on her knitting, spinning, dyeing and other stories. Her site is well designed, pictures are always nice and clear, and I really enjoy the weekly visits.


Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment! 

9 comments:

Cathy Johnson said...

Your Night Song is looking good and I love the colour too, can't wait to see the finished item. I am so pleased to have 'met' you and have you as a friend, I too very much look forward to meeting you in person ne day!

WonderWhyGal said...

oooh, I love this shawl. I can't wait to see it blocked. The colors are gorgeous. So...how does it feel to knit lace after all of those heavier projects you've made recently?

Heather Woollove said...

Vivian--I can't wait to see a bigger 'slice' of the lace on your latest project!
Thanks so much for the Lovely Blog Award!
It's nice to know that my 'process blog' is enjoyed by other kinds of fiber artists, as well! XXO-

Kathryn Ray said...

That shawl is going to be fab!

I love your lists and I love that Henry has his own blog. :-)

Am definitely going to check out the the blogs you mention. :-)

Voie de Vie said...

Well of course I nominated you too - so your acceptance was nicely timed. I, too, love the fact that Henry has a blog ... and find it hilarious that you play electronic solitaire when your mom calls! Now that's a great use of technology. :)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for my lovely package! How much yardage is in that ginormous skein?!!!! I'm going to have to let the yarn speak to me. :)

Spinster Beth said...

I got a "service unavailable" message the first time I tried to hit your website, and I nearly panicked!! Oh noes, I have to see what Vivian is doing! Luckily I got in the second try. Whew!

I think that Nightsong is the pattern that kicked my rear end when I tried it ... I'm still having flashbacks.

Kim Sonksen said...

First off - I LOVE that shawl, it looks lovely and I agree that once you get the hang of a lace pattern, it is so easy to remember (most of the time)

I also very much enjoyed the list about you. How funny that I do the same thing as you: I speak, dream, think in English and also speak to my German co-workers in English but when it comes to counting I revert back to German...how strange...

AllyB said...

Ooo, it's always so exciting - that time between finishing the knitting and blocking a lace piece. Can't wait to see it blocked out. You picked great colors too.

Pumpkin said...

Thank you so much for nominating me! I'm so flattered, and of course you know that I really enjoy your perspective especially as an expert knitter. I love your Nightsongs, it is going to be beautiful!