The Most Beautiful Thing

Star Trek Yarn. It was those three words that hooked me and reeled me in. A fellow Ravelry member was paring down her considerable yarn stash by letting a few go. The "Star Trek yarn" turned out to be a limited edition colorway from hand-dyer Lorna's Laces called "Live Long and Prosper". The colorway was bright bold colors - gold, red, blue, and brown - the uniform colors of Starfleet. 

As you know, I do enjoy Star Trek and I do love yarn but I was hesitant to purchase more yarn as my yarn baskets runneth over.

At the same time I was admiring the yarn, I read about how certain hand-dyed yarns could be woven with a pooled warp - a technique by which blocks of colors are lined up and create controlled symmetry.

The clincher for buying the Star Trek colorway was that I could make an accompanying scarf to David's hat. I'm not sure if he's a scarf guy (or a hat guy for that matter) but I know he's a Star Trek guy. He and his wife Lori have their own American Cancer Society Relay for Life team called, the "Star Trekkers". I had to make a prayer scarf for them.

The warp turned out to be magic. Lorna's Laces hand-painted yarn was a true palindrome skein: brown-blue-red-gold/gold-red-blue-brown/brown-blue-red-gold, the colors repeated itself forwards and backwards. (I'm geeky about palindromes too. You know, like: "Madam, I'm Adam" or Nurses Run.)

Halfway through warping the 10" Cricket loom the color blocks started shifting and getting wonky. The lightweight Ikea table was moving and being pulled in by the warp tension. The heaviest thing in my craftroom was my sewing machine and it worked well for holding the table in place.

I chose mmmMalabrigo sock in the colorway Chocolate Amargo for the weft color because, well, chocolate. It turned out to be thicker than the Lorna's Laces and the weaving was becoming more weft-faced, i.e. the warp was being hidden by the vertical brown yarn. It was starting to look like a secret Star Trek manly scarf.

The scarf took a little over a week from start to finish and yesterday I cut the scarf off the loom and twisted the fringe with my nifty Conair hair-braider.

I gotta say this woven scarf is the most beautiful thing I've ever made. It's soft, drapey, and the pooled colors are amazing. The Chocolate Amargo ("bitter chocolate") is shades of brown with streaks of silver - like the tails of shooting stars.

Just when I thought the weaving experience couldn't get any better - the prequel Star Trek movie played on TV last Sunday - twice - while I was weaving. Then a few days later I watched Into Darkness via Netflix streaming. The scarf was truly infused and woven with Star Trek virtues: Goodness, Courage, Friendship, and Hope. It's a beautiful thing.


David and Lori, my dear old friends, Live Long and Prosper.

But Wait, There's More

"F" is for . . . 

furry (wet) friends. We're having a last-ditch heat wave (at least we hope it's our last). The unusual weather pattern has kept away the marine layer and the coastal areas have been in the 90's, instead of the usual 60's. Although we're ready for cooler temperatures - and rain - we took advantage of the perfect beach weather and loaded up the dogs and headed to dog-friendly Cayucos beach.

We brought along our new Chuckit! dog toy. I bought it online and didn't realize it would be almost 2½ feet long and very heavy-duty. There's a learning curve to using it which I haven't figured out yet. I'm calling it Chopit! since I hold it over my head with both hands like I'm swinging an axe downward, that's the only way the ball releases for me.

No matter, The Man and the dogs have it all figured out.

feather(less). It's a good thing it's warmed back up because we've got a naked hen. The Girls have been slowly molting for weeks, loosing a few feathers here and there. But last week Sophia lost most of her feathers seemingly overnight.

I had to do a head count to make sure everyone was accounted for when I found two big piles of feathers in the goat house. In addition to feather loss, egg production has drastically changed and the only layer still in service is Mrs Jane Bond - the feathered black and white hen.

"F" is for . . .

free fall. All of a sudden it's autumn: The nights are chilly and the cool cotton sheets have been changed to warm, cozy flannel. The days are getting shorter and outdoor activities have being replaced with indoor . . . knitting.

Last week, I knitted up an easy-peasy-but-looks-complicated hat. It was a free pattern, knitted with the lovingly soft Leché yarn in color Mocha; it will make a nice chemo hat for my friend, David.

foodie fest. This weekend is Sunset Magazine's "Savor the Central Coast" event. I love the idea that folks come from near and far to hang out at Santa Margarita ranch to be wined and dined. As the crow flies the Ranch is just a little bit over yonder.

fun fur and novelty yarns. I've got a box of eight comfort scarves ready to be mailed. The magic ball scarves have been on the knitting needles for several months. So, yay, for finishing. (And, yes, I've already received another box to knit up.)

a fond farewell. We were saddened to read in the newspaper that the Templeton Livestock Market will be closing. The last auction will be held this Saturday. The property was sold in August, and after 70 years, the Market is closing to make way for a housing development. Since Hoover's Beef Palace Restaurant is also on the property they'll be needing to vacate as well. I've been wanting to eat at a Beef Palace for a while now (how could you not?). I guess we'd better make it quick, er, fast.