Happy New Year!

Highlights of 2008:

The Peanut turned two in June, and is now "two and a half old". She visited Santa Claus this year and it was one of the most precious moments of her little life so far. She is such a joy! ... and feisty... :)



The day after her birthday party, I completed my first (half) marathon, The Seafair Marathon. Here I am coming across the finish line with my dear friend Tina. Never thought I'd do that...




I was featured on Seattle's Child magazine, worked toward and achieved (shut up!) National Board Certification. Never thought I'd do that, either. :)



Visited NYC in November with the Mr. It had been a long time. Got to visit with my dear friend Debbie; she was one of my travel friends when I was in India. Went to a show at the Village Vanguard. Ate the most incredible pastrami at Katz's.

And who will ever forget where they were on Election Night 08? What a year, what a year!

I'm incredibly grateful for my friends and family, my home, my work... I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

Hello!

November is always a busy bee time for me. But inbetween the parent conferences and holiday prep I have found little bits of time to knit.

I went to Portland with my girlfriends and had so much fun. It was my first time away from the peanut and the timing was perfect. I went to Close Knit and bought the Peruvia for my Tilted Duster. Sally, the owner of the shop, is wonderful. I had such a good experience there. Another woman who worked there offered to wind up my yarn for me, without my asking. I told her one skein would be plenty for me to start swatching with but she insisted on winding at least two. I've never experienced that at a yarn shop before.



I finally got to meet Blue Garter Sarah that same day. Sarah is just as intelligent, graceful, witty, and fun as you think she is. She has such an interesting story to tell and I loved having some time to chat together at dinner.

My Peruvia swatch is lovely. I'm trying out the recommended size US10 needles and they feel like big Lincoln Logs in my hands compared to the very reasonably sized US4s I'm using for the Tangled Yoke. But the camera has a really hard time capturing the nuances of this color: Aquamarina 7143. It's a rich, deep teal color which, at first glance appears to be solid, yet a good bit of sunlight reveals the subtle blues and greens. In this photo, the color appears much brighter than it should, but you can see those color variations better.

I'm coming along with my Tangled Yoke Cardi, as well. The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool in Graphite, reclaimed from the Not So Shrunken Cardi that never was. This yarn is lovely to knit with. I made The World's Biggest Swatch because I wanted to try it out on four different needle sizes and I enjoyed each of the different fabrics that resulted. At first, the garter rib was a pain because all the action happens on the wrong side where you can't see if you're lining up your knits and purls properly. But it didn't take long to fall into the rhythm of the pattern and start to admire the way the waist decreases disappeared into the faux side seam. I'm just now finishing up the ribbing at the hem and beginning the miles and miles of stockinette stitch for the body. Should be just the thing to knit during the new episodes of Project Runway!

Also, I've finished the Excellent Jacket but need to block it and figure out how to close it. Hopefully I'll be sharing that soon, too!

Here's a bit of a puzzle for you... you know my issues/lack of confidence with choosing the right size pattern for myself... my brother gave me this cute cardi for my birthday, which measures 36" at the bust. It's a great fit, there's no button band gaping. Most of my sweaters and cardis have negative ease. I am a 34 F, so I have a smallish torso in relation to my cup size, and a 39-40" bust measurement. Help! I'm waffling about the Tilted Duster. Since it's a bulkier yarn and an outer layer garment, I'm leaning toward the 40.5" size. Plus, the versions I've seen around Ravelry where the front points don't match up well or the size seems too small are very off-putting to me. However, I don't want to swim in the thing! Norah Gaughan recommended a little ease, maybe an inch or so, so again, the 40.5 seems right. Any advice?

Oh yes, I did mention my birthday. It was on 11/14... and I got myself the best birthday present of all: meet my lovely little MacBook! So helpful for working on National Board Certification wherever I happen to be. Nice to have my online and electronic knitting patterns, etc., right at my fingertips when I'm lounging in the living room. And thank you to the people in my neighborhood who, even though I do pay for DSL, have an unlocked wireless network that helps me zip about the 'nets as fast as you please. (Is that wrong?)

My MacBook is accessorized by the cuff of a mitten. Holiday pressies that I will reveal later.

Happy Thanksgiving! May you be surrounded by loved ones and blessings all weekend. I'm bringing the scrumptious Sweet Potato and Sausage Gratin with Thyme to my mom's house today. So yummy. Here's a snap before it's plopped in the oven.

MIA

Wow, it's been a month since I posted! Whoops.

My Rusted Root is all done now, blocked and dry and everything, just in time for the weather to abruptly turn chilly this week. No kidding. Suddenly, Mother Nature turned down the thermostat. I think there will be an opportunity to wear it later this week, though, and maybe get some kiddos at school to do a photoshoot since 7 and 8 year olds have done a better job than my own dear hubbo lately! I love Rusted Root, and will share all the details of my modifications with you soon. Let's just say it's very hourglass shaped.

I was fortunate enough to meet Melissa and Jenna a couple of weeks ago; they're two of the nicest gals you'll ever have a chance to meet. They came over to knit and we watched Tim Gunn's Guide to Style. They assured me that Wren looks quite dandy and that I should give it a chance. They brought cake. I think I'm going to keep them. :)

And look at what was in my mailbox recently: A picture of Baby Julia modeling her February Baby Sweater! I think the sleeves ended up a bit short, but her mama actually liked the length; Julia is beginning to eat solid (messy) foods.



I'm finishing up the Baby A Cardi and Hat from Yarnplay. The Kraemer Tatamy Tweed is just right for this project and will look great on the little boy it's for. I'm feeling a little uncertain about what to start next. I have lots of ideas and projects on my Ravelry queue, but none of them are jumping out at me right now. I think it might have to do with the fact that I loved knitting Rusted Root so much -- the top-downness of it! the fit and color! -- that I want to pick something else that's going to be a sure winner. So I've spent a lot of time cruising Ravelry and my Bloglines hoping for some inspiration to hit. I have a feeling it's going to be the Tangled Yoke Cardi in Silky Wool.

Meanwhile, I'm keeping busy with my daughter's social calendar (chuckle), work, and National Boards. We went to the local Kids Day at the Firehouse, look how cute my little firefighter is!





I'm definitely getting psyched up for the annual girly road trip to Portland; it's coming up in about a month. I've never spent the night away from the peanut and I'm ready for it. Let me tell you, I adore this girl! But I'm also ready to get away and have a cocktail or five. I'm also planning on buying a new MacBook (tax-free! woot!) while I'm down there. But mostly, it's a tradition that I cherish, spending a whole weekend with my buddies. Can't wait!

Sometimes The Pattern is Written That Way For A Reason

The ridiculousness that is my unfinished Wren, oh my. I thought Lolly had such a good idea when she picked up and knit her collar instead of knitting it separately and seaming it on later. I've reknit this collar a good three times now, trying to replicate the shaping of the original... Long story short, I'm still not really sure that I love it. I'm not so sure I love Wren at all. Anyway, I'm going to finish the collar tonight and weave in those ends and get 'er done. Hilarious how much time and energy has been spent on one of the simplest designs I've ever seen.

On a happier note, the peanut and I went to Eugene, Oregon to visit my dear friend Andria and her little girls. The girls have been featured here before, when I knit Anya's Snuggly Lace Hat and Julia's February Baby Sweater, and a couple of other times when they were just plain cute. Anywho, my girl and I had a lot of fun!

Watching the big girl catch bubbles,



Showing the baby girl how to catch bubbles,



Cracking oneself up by sitting on a trampoline for the first time and falling backwards. Over and over again.

I was hoping to do some yarn shopping while in Oregon, tax-free retail, you know, but No One I contacted in Portland or Eugene or even one or two inbetween carried the Berroco Peruvia I'm looking for to make a Tilted Duster. Dangit. I'll get it from WEBS when I'm ready; I just wanted to see it up close and personal and get it tax-free. I did stop over at Knit/Purl on the way home for a good old stretch of the legs. Although the shop is lovely and the folks there are fabulous, I was too busy Peanut wrangling to stop and smell the alpaca much. I'll be happy to go back there again someday. They were wonderful about directing me to the Three Lions Bakery for lunch; delicious huge sandwich and fruit cup too big for the Peanut and I to eat together in one sitting. I'll be going back there again, too.

Woah, I'm a Mom!

For the first time, I didn't plan Mother's Day for everyone else. And by that, I mean for my husband and my brother. They're the kind of guys who mean well but wait until the last possible moment to even think about cards or gifts or plans.

This year I just sat back and let them figure it all out.

After my brother (I almost typed "bother", how 2nd grade) treated mom, Peanut and I to a lovely brunch, I took the little one to one of my favorite yarn shops for their Mother's Day sale. I treated myself to four skeins of Cotton Fleece in Caribbean Sea, as I've been considering a Rusted Root for myself, with a few tweaks now that I've done my homework and re-read my Barbara Walker (Knitting From The Top).




I don't know from Caribbean Sea, but I do know my Adriatic Sea...



...photo of Croatian Isle of Vis, Village Komiža, on a trip with my mom... we went together to find our roots a few years ago. Talk about coming full circle on Mother's Day!

I Have Super Powers

Note to self:
Never, ever, ever let Mr. Goodkarma take away the computer to "upgrade" it until you've done the following:

1. Uploaded the vacation pictures

Here are a couple of shots from the big island on the day we explored the volcano park. We looked all around at the vista points in the daylight and, as the sun was coming down, walked further down past this threatening sign to where the lava flowed over the road (and a town) a couple of years ago. You can hike down over the "old lava" down to see the molten lava flowing. The actual flowing lava was still a couple of miles away but we could see it spewing into the ocean, and the park ranger let us look through her telescope for a better view. It was really cool. There are daredevils who hike much much farther down there at night, which I think is crazy, because the terrain is difficult... lumpy, cracked black lava, with deep ankle sized niches and nearly 50% silica content (read: glass, so don't fall down and catch yourself with your hands unless you want grated skin). In fact, a few days later we heard about a guy (tourist, prolly) who got lost by himself and was rescued after a few days out there. He flashed a mirror at a little airplane and a kid on the plane saw the light.


Say hello to my little friend. Sea turtles are so big! And cool! And they love to bask in the sun.



On our anniversary, we went on a sunset sailboat dinner cruise. It was gorgeous and fun and romantic. There were only about 6 couples on the boat and we chased the sunset together.

Here's a shot of the Mokulua Islands just off Oahu near Kailua. This was one of the views from our apartment! No kidding.



Okay, just one more: this one's for Cara. This little sweetie lives in the Orchid Garden at a botanical garden near Hilo:

2. Blogged about The Yarn Harlot's visit

As you've all read on other blogs, many, many times, Stephanie Pearl McPhee is hilarious. I'll give a quick synopsis of my surreal evening at Weaving Works. The strangest thing was walking into that classroom chock full of knitters... I've never been in the presence of so many people knitting at once! There was a buzz in the room, the energy of people who were excited to see/hear The Yarn Harlot that they'd all come to virtually know and love.


She spoke about knitting and about how her "book tour" was really an excuse for a North American yarn crawl. She told the funniest stories and we all nodded along when she said things like, when someone says that knitting is boring or not fun, they're just not doing it right!

After the chat, everyone filed downstairs for a gorgeous cake and lemonade while they stood in line and waited to get their bookbookbooks signed. While in line, I finally spotted and spoke with Carry, met Jessica and her friends Debbie and Pat, and sighted Diana, but didn't get a chance to say hello. When it was my turn to meet The Celebrity, she saw my name but didn't ask what everyone else asks*. Instead, she said, "Karma, that's your name? Wow, then you have Super Powers." Then I had a photo taken and that's about it. It was so much fun. Oh, yeah, and Jessica and I dropped my camera into the garbage. No biggie, it was "lovely, soft garbage," according to the Harlot. ;)




While I was there, I bought this Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn (color: Winter Sky) for the Knitting on the Road knitalong... right now everyone's working on the Friday Harbor pattern. At the rate I'm collecting new projects, I'll have these finished for my future grandchild's college graduation.

Later, I realized that not only did Stephanie remember who I was and include me in her blog entry (see the picture of the group? Above the picture of Cassie? Look at the sock, then look straight up and there I am, smiling like a big dork), so did Jessica. So I wish I had not given the computer to my husband, because all those nice people who clicked on the links didn't have much new to read! ha!

3. Shared other goodies:

I bought this Madil Silky (it's made out of Lenpur! That's plant material! See, Atouria, I bought vegan yarn!) at Little Knits to make the Wrap Front Short Sleeve top from this summer's Vogue Knitting. You like?



Well, that's about all she wrote. I'm *this* close to being done with Aprikot Cardi. Working on the last sleeve. Yippee! I'll share pictures soon.

*whenever someone learns that my name is Karma, they ask one of two things: 1) Were your parents hippies? or 2) Are you Buddhist? Otherwise, they make comments like: Are you *good* karma? Don't worry, I'm used to it. I've heard 'em all. :)

Hey Luuuucy! I'm hoooooome!

Ahhh. What a glorious two weeks of fun in paradise. We spent a week on the big island and a week on Oahu... I enjoyed the big island but WILL be going back to Oahu, again and again. Some highlights:

- trillions of goofy self portraits with amazing backdrops


- high speed catamaran ride from Waikiki at mid-day = wet and wild fun in the sun

- snorkeling for the first time ever and LOVING it so much that I did it 4-5 times

- seeing fabulous sunrises like this one looking out over Kailua Bay:


- night hiking down at Volcano National Park to see the lava spurting out into the ocean

- sunset dinner on a sailboat for our 5 year wedding anniversary

- finding out that boogie boarding is not only fantastically fun and exhilarating, but is also an awesome triceps workout

- basically hanging out in places like this every day:



Remember that Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock I bought to make socks with while travelling? Yeah. I knit about an inch of one sock on the way to Hawaii, and that's it. No kidding. I haven't done any knitting for TWO WEEKS! We were so busy the whole time. Which is good. I did read The Kite Runner (excellent), About a Boy (hilarious), and Talk Before Sleep (don't bother).

Today I got to visit with Fulay at Little Knits -- she was having a sale and I offered to help out a bit -- I got to meet Samantha (I hope to see her again soon!) and bought 10 skeins of Classic Elite Gatsby in this pretty robin's egg blue tweed... yummy... bought it to make the Diagonal Twist Princess Seam Jacket from Loop-D-Loop. Little Knits has the best price on it ANYWHERE (41% off!!) and Fulay prides herself on speedy delivery and spot-on shipping fees. Go check it out!


Now I feel the need to knit. Good to be home, even though I had 872 Bloglines posts to catch up on... You guys are chatty! :)

Pack Your Suitcase

Getting ready to leave for Hawaii. Aaaaahhhhh...

Leah asked what yarn I'm using for the Union Square Pullover. I did kind of tease and then drop the ball, didn't I? Well, I'm going to be using Misti Alpaca Sport in grape for the body and lime for the contrast. Sounds fun, eh? I'm getting it through Little Knits. They don't make sportweight in lime, so I'm going to experiment with double and triple strands of laceweight to get gauge. The contrasting color is so minimal that it shouldn't be too big a deal, right?

Misti Alpaca is like buttah. No kidding. And Sue has the color cards for all the different weights so you can see all of your options if you decide to use this yarn for Union Square or anything else, for that matter.

We leave on Wednesday morning and will be gone a couple of weeks. I'll leave you with a couple of travel photos from a different part of the world. Last summer I traveled all around eastern and southern Europe; part of my mission was to visit the small village of Komiza on the island Vis in what is now Croatia.

When my ancestors left there at the beginning of the 1900s, it was considered Austria. This is a picture of the family shortly after arriving in the United States. The little boy, who was named Mateo, would grow up to become my great grandfather John. So ridiculous how folks changed their names to sound more American.







His mother, also seen here in this photo where she's enjoying a visit to Vashon Island, was named Tomazina, and was probably Italian.

My mom met me in Budapest and traveled to Komiza with me -- it was her first time abroad. We stayed a week in the Dalmatian Islands, not just on Viz but also visiting the isles Hvar and Bisevo. Here's one of my favorite shots from our hotel room in Komiza.



And below is what the much of the town looks like... very small windy lanes with a little shade (it's HOT there in the summertime!) and little flowerboxes. It's a little bit like what I think Greece is like; the island is very arid and rocky with no real chance for agriculture except for vineyards. The economy depended upon wine and fishing, politics and wars affected this area quite strongly, so over the years, a good number of families left for better oppportunities. The population took a dramatic dip after World War II. The island was used as a military base until pretty recently and tourism has been nil until the last ten years or so. Which was nice because the water and beaches were still pristine. Gorgeous.



Enjoy and I'll post again in a couple of weeks!

Back and Undefeated!

First off, thanks to everyone who sent a supportive comment about the miserably unattractive Ribby. After a day or two of supreme funk, I understood that the sweater could either be fixed, donated, or saved for future maternity wear (ha!), and to hell with it, I'm going to keep working on Lucky.

So that's what I've been doing this week, knitting Lucky and becoming chemically dependent on Jack Bauer and 24 on DVD. (Also, Mr. and I went to see Hitch at the cheap theater the other night. It was a cute, funny, romantic date movie. Kinda predictable, but the actors kept it fresh.)

My luck is changing, though, which makes me feel all cosmically good. I'm buying a great car from a friend who's leaving with her husband and 3 year old to teach in Tanzania. I'm moving to 4th grade next year with an awesome new teammate. I'm looking forward so much to going to Hawaii with my husband next month, where we'll also be celebrating our 5 year anniversary.

Now back to the mundaneness of home ownership: scrubbing the kitchen floor while hubby blasts Mars Volta from the basement as he stains the new wood cabinets he built in our laundry room. I don't know if I'll drop first from the fumes, the noise, or the shock that I'm scrubbing my kitchen floor. :)

goodkarma go again

Someone asked if I'm a "real Karma" or if "Karma is my stage name". As much as I like the idea of a stage name, I am a real Karma. That's really my name. Usually when someone meets me, they ask one of two questions:

1. Were your parents hippies?

2. Are you Buddhist?

I get these kinds of questions a lot, and it's okay, it comes with the territory. I usually mess with people and tell them that my brother's name is Dharma. (It's not.) Yes, I guess you could say my parents were hippies, or at least very, very young when they had me in 1971. I'm not officially a Buddhist, but am very interested in eastern religions and Buddhism in particular, which might be precipitated by growing up with my given name.

Here's another travel photo. This one is from Amsterdam in 2003. I've been to Amsterdam a few different times and love it more and more each time. It's a really diverse city with a completely different experience for each visitor. I've done the "museum Amsterdam" with a girlfriend, a more "red light Amsterdam" while traveling during my honeymoon, and this last time it was more of a "snapshot Amsterdam" while on a day-long layover on the way home from India. There are bicycles all over the place (parts of the Netherlands are made up of reclaimed land, and are therefore very flat and condusive to bicycling), and flower pots on everyone's doorstep or window.

Sneak Peek

The fact that I haven't posted for a whole week means that a) my work world has been shaken up and busy, and 2) I wanted to post a finished Mariah the next time I posted here (let's get real!). The weather this week has been fantastic, though, with thunder storms, hail, wind, heavy rain, and sunshine inbetween it all. I get really excited during thunder storms! ooh! ahh!

I spent the week (knitting-wise) finishing Mariah's hood, which I thought would take an evening in front of Law and Order, but who was I kidding, it took several sessions to knit. Hoods are big. Yes, they are. But guess what? I not only finished that hood, but I also got about 1/3 of the seaming done. I'm planning to order a zipper for it and for Ribby today, and have a couple of finished sweaters soon soon soon.

I was out and about yesterday and took a chance at my neighborhood Hancock Fabrics to see if there was any more Cotton Ease. It's now 30% off, so I got 6 skeins for around $17. Not bad, eh? This color is called Blue Ice; it's a soft blue with a little lavender tint to it. Periwinkle? We'll see what it decides it wants to become.

I took an even bigger chance and dropped by my neighborhood yarn shop, Seattle Yarn Gallery, to see if they had the new Rebecca. I've been dropping by or calling every week or two for a couple of months, just for this reason. They finally got it in! The day before! I was so happy. I don't know why the whole Seattle area got their magazine shipment so much later than the rest of the world, but I'm over it now. :)

This afternoon I'm taking my grandma to see a play... The Seattle Shakespeare Co. is putting on an all male version of The Taming of the Shrew, and I've heard good things about it so far. We'll have lunch somewhere first... should be fun!

And how could I possibly end this post without the big news of the week? Mr. Goodkarma and I finally bought our tickets for our vacation in Hawaii this July! I haven't been to Hawaii yet, but Mr. has. His parents have a condo on the big island, so we'll stay there with them for a week, and we're also going to visit Oahu for a week, where I have a dear friend to visit. Are we excited? Oh yeah! I'm already starting to think about airplane knitting. But mostly, I've had a rough couple of months at work and am really ready for some beach time. This will be my first relaxing summer in a few years... the last two years I've done major travel that hasn't been very relaxing at all. Hawaii, here we come!

goodkarma... go?

No one has asked me about my blog's title, but I thought I'd tell about it anyway. The "go" part points to my love of travel. When I started this blog, I imagined it to be a place where I would document my travel experiences, but it soon turned into a knit blog instead.

Here's a snap I took in Kolkata ("Calcutta"), India. This is the only city in India where foot powered rickshaws are still allowed. (In other regions, bicycle rickshaws or "auto" rickshaws (motorized) are very common.) This man just seemed like a relic of an older time, still plugging along, trying to make ends meet, living life harder and faster than any of us can imagine.

goodkarma

The Motherland.

During the last couple of years, my mother's cousin and I have been doing research into our family's history. Gerry found out that my great-grandpa Marson (nee Mardesich) emigrated with his mother and sister from Komiza, a town on the isle of Vis, in what is now the Dalmatian Islands of Croatia, when he was a young boy. I was invited to a conference in Slovakia this summer and thought it would be the perfect time for someone in our family to return to the motherland and check it out. I had no idea what to expect. Mom decided to make her first overseas trip with me. Here's what we found:



And that's just a view from our hotel room!

We wondered -- ignoring the 90-100F heat, the humidity, the absense of resources and good soil for planting any sort of farm but vineyards, the fact that the only industry at the time was fishing and winemaking -- why would anyone leave??