My first Garterlac & tea

I finally decided to give the Garterlac a try. I think it looks wonderful, but it is tedious to knit with all the turning back and forth, plus tedious if you're like me who has to pick up & put down at a drop of a hat. It got confusing when picking it back up, trying to untangle the yarn, and trying to figure out which direction I'm supposed to continue knitting in. This cloth would be easier to knit if I just had a long dedicated time slot for concentrating on it. However I must say that the Garterlac pattern is well written and easy to follow.

The picture above was taken with the Horse Cloth which I am going to give to my father-in-law (because his Chinese Zodiac sign is the horse). I thought that this Garterlac done in Country Brown ombre (I think that's what it's called) would "go" well with the brown horse cloth.

In the background you see part of my 6-cup Chatsford Spongeware Sheep teapot. This is my favorite teapot, it's such a great design with it's little basket inside. Yes, I know there are other teapots with baskets as well. I don't know, I just like this one the best. There's something ineffably delightful about a good cup of tea. One of my favorite places to get tea is Imperial Tea Court which is located at Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco. They have a wonderful selection of quality teas and great knowledgeable staff, plus you can buy a cup of tea to try before you commit to purchasing it. I like how you can do this, it helps you decide whether to spend $30+ on 1/4 lb of tea. I used to work within walking distance to Imperial Tea and would stop by there often. I haven't gone back there since I quit my job a couple years ago. :-( I was thrilled when I heard that there would be a new tea shop at the Stonestown shopping center, as it is more accessible to me. Free parking doesn't hurt either. ;-) Lupicia opened there not too long ago and I picked up a few teas to take home. I was impressed at how knowledgeable their staff is. I can't read their website (I think it's in Japanese? I just get a whole bunch of question marks on the page), but from their flyer, I gather that they're as ubiquitous as Starbucks in Japan (with 80 shops!). They only have three stores in the United States, one in Hawaii, and two in San Francisco (San Francisco Centre and Stonestown). They have 4 shops in Taiwan and 2 in Australia. The other tea vender I go to is Teavana. They have a store in SF, but I find it easier to go to the one at the Stanford Shopping Center or Hillsdale Shopping Center (again, that free parking thing). Teavana seems a bit more "trendy" with some of their tea blends, and their staff is not as knowledgeable as the other two shops. Ok, enough about tea...

The picture below shows a closeup.

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