shantha rose

cookies!

2012-02-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

I know it's way past Christmas, but I just found this photo on my camera and I wanted to post it - these were my labour of love this year - cookie love!
I finally found the perfect red food colouring and hand painted these cookies using the coloured icing. It took forever, but it was worth it!

long time, no hippo

2011-08-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much lately, since I've been enjoying the summer in the south. However, I wanted to make a quick post on my latest knitting project.It's my first stuffed animal, and it turned out so well! I am very happy with it and my little nephew seemed to like it too!

roadtrip!

2011-06-05T11:12:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in a few earlier posts, T and I decided to make a big move this year. We picked up in Calgary, AB, Canada and moved down to Alexandria, VA, USA. East to west, north to south, health care to no health care, etc. T flew down earlier as he needed to start working asap. However, I took the leisurely move of tying up all the loose ends before making the drive down. And oh what a drive it was!

Here is a map of the route I took:The trip from Calgary to Winnipeg I've made many times, and although there were a few flash blizzards and a lot of empty fields, it's a pretty good drive. Then mom joined me for the drive down into the USA. Heading out of Winnipeg on a Friday afternoon (after all the pertinent border crossing papers arrived), we quickly got lost in a flooded land of closed roads and detours. Mom thought that making up our own detours would be a good idea. I just thought we were lost. Luckily, a few words with the guys at a small town Rona resulted in a hand drawn map that shaved a full hour off the official detour time.

A relatively quick border crossing put us in Fargo for the night. Next day, we were off through Minnesota and Wisconsin. Although I've been through Minnesota many times, I don't think I've ever made it to Wisconsin before. And it looked exactly as I pictured! Rolling hills, farms, cows, it was quite beautiful in a quaint kind of way. If you ignored all the cheese related billboards. We did make sure to grab some delicious Wisconsin cheese before heading out the next morning though.

The next day brought us to the tri-state toll highway of Indiana, Illinois and Ohio. A relatively uneventful day aside from the death defying drive through Chicago. But we made it through, white knuckles and all. The toll highways, while costing us a total of $42 to get across the three states, were well worth it as there were no stops, no slow downs, and convenient little highway "Oasis" stops with gas, food, restrooms and dog walking areas. Winston made quite a few friends at these stops!

Finally, our last day took us through Pennsylvania and Maryland before hitting Virgina. Here is where we starting getting closer to the mountains, and seeing some very beautiful countryside. That is, until we hit the Washington DC beltway and gridlock traffic! After getting lost twice, we finally made it to our new home in Alexandria!

FO: geodesic!

2011-05-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it took almost a year, but I finished my geodesic cardigan.
Actually, once I had some time to sit down and work on it, it really didn't take long to finish. I finished the top half of the body and both sleeves within a few weeks, which is pretty good for me. And here it is:Although the final product is wonderful, the knitting was quite a process. So many stitches to keep track of! Here is a picture of all my stitch counts:And, because I love pictures of cupcakes, here are some red velvet ones I made recently. So yum!I have now completed my move from Calgary down to Alexandria, Virginia. It is so beautiful here! I love it already :)

My next post will be all about the drive down, and the move, so stay tuned!

abominable snow cupcakes and sweet georgia

2011-04-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

Even though it is almost May, only a week ago I was driving through a blizzard. So I think it's still topical to write about my latest cupcake adventure - the abominable snow cupcake. This is a white velvet cupcake with a hint of vanilla, baked with marshmallows. When the cupcake bakes, the marshmallows melt into the batter and infuse the cupcake with marshmallowy goodness. So fantastic! On top, a 7-minute icing and coconut. This is the first time I've done a 7-minute icing. It was delicious! Almost like melted marshmallows, so it went well with the cupcake.
This cupcake recipe is found in my usual tome, Cupcakes Galore. However, I thought I'd give you a recipe for 7-minute icing, as it is my new favorite icing and I will be using it again!

7-Minute Icing
2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Mix egg whites, sugar and corn syrup in the top of a double boiler. Heat and whisk until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is hot. Remove from heat and beat icing for 7 minutes until it is cool and stiff peaks form. Beat in vanilla. Spread on cupcakes. Lick bowl clean!

I think you could probably replace the vanilla with a different flavour, such as orange or lavender essence, for a different taste. You could also add food colouring to give colour. Although, I do like that the icing is quite WHITE - I find buttercream icing usually takes on the colour of the butter and is more CREAM. So this is a nice, pure white icing for those situations when you really need it!

Aah, being on vacation is nice.

On another note, I visited a local yarn shop a few days ago, and for the first time encountered sweet georgia yarns. I have heard a lot about them, but never seen the yarn in person. It is true to their word, popping with colour! And so soft. Somehow, I caved, broke my "no new yarn" rule and bought the most expensive yarn I've ever bought. CashSilk Lace. 45% cashmere and 55% silk. o.m.g. It is so amazing!The colour is "ginger". I bought it on impulse, so I don't know quite what to do with it. However, it deserves something really special. I'll have to think about it. And squish it lots.

pysanky

2011-04-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

I am not Ukrainian, nor do I celebrate Easter. However, there is a tradition in my family to make Ukrainian Easter Eggs (or Pysanky) every spring, to go along with the chocolate bunnies and cadbury creme eggs -- yum!

This year, due to the hiatus between jobs, I had lots of time. In fact, I had time to make 4 different eggs. My first was a little rough, trying to get back into the swing of it:

The second I did not plan in advance but just tried to make it up as I went along. This did not go very well:

The third I am quite happy with. This time, I got my inspiration from a finished egg I found on the internet. I wanted to do a paisley egg. The colours didn't turn out quite like I planned, but I think it still looks pretty good:

Finally, the fourth I made for a friend. I decided to try something different and do a more modern take on the pysanka. I really like the result! I will definitely try something like this again:

Happy Easter!

3-needle bind off

2011-04-19T17:12:00.000-07:00

I've been working on my geodesic cardigan recently, and today I finished the body. The next instruction: join the shoulders using a 3-needle bind off. Time to learn something new!

As soon as I heard "3 needle", I was sure it was something complicated. But after a quick google search, I discovered it's actually easy as pie! Here are a couple of good resources I was able to find that taught me everything I needed to know about a 3-needle bind off! The first one is a youtube video by Planet Purl, and the second is a knitty tutorial from Techniques with Theresa for those of you that prefer the written instructions.

I took a couple pictures because I thought the result was really neat. From the right side, it is a very neat and even seam:From the wrong side, a very even ridge is created. Since this is a lace weight yarn, the ridge is barely noticeable. You can see it right where my thumb is: What a great new skill to learn, so easy and yet will improve my knitting in many ways!

On a different note, the pictures show very clearly an issue I've been wondering about. I used two different kettle dyed skeins for this project, and in the first picture, you can clearly see the two different shades. When I look at the cardigan, I can see a very distinct line between the two skeins, at about armpit height. I don't believe that it will be very obvious once it is on, but these pictures confirmed my suspicion that it really is there!

Only the sleeves left to knit. Hopefully it will be done this spring sometime!

new spring patterns

2011-04-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

The 2 feet of snow that just fell (and continues to fall) in Calgary wouldn't signify it, but it is now April! And something lovely happened on April 1st. And no, it wasn't an April Fools prank. It was the release of the Spring/Summer 2011 edition of the twist collective. Now, although I've yet to knit anything from this publication, I have many patterns in my favorites list, and thoroughly enjoy perusing the online magazine whenever it comes out. So I thought I'd post the two patterns that immediately caught my eye and were added to that list - for when I get some knitting time again!

The first is Devonshire by Pam Powers.As you may have guessed by now, I am a huge fan of cardigans, and of lace. This is a nice simple cardigan with lace detail. And when you turn around - surprise!More lace!

The second pattern is a blanket pattern called Sunbreak by Margaret Mills. I love that it is yellow. It is so sunshiney and fun! I'd love to do this in a bulky weight yarn - I think it would be a fast knit and a nice throw for around the house. Or a picnic!

I guess while I'm talking about new patterns, I should bring up the Summer 2011 issue of Knitscene. This is another one of my favorite magazines, and I can always find at least one pattern that I absolutely love. This time, it is the Vergennes Pullover by Amy Christoffers.
Love it. And for once it's not a cardigan, which would be a nice change for me! I was thinking I had the perfect yarn in my stash for it, but it uses a sport weight and mine is more of a lace/fingering weight so I think I'll probably have to ... buy more yarn! I have been doing pretty good this year, I don't think I've purchased anything yet and I'm still working my way through my WIPs, so soon I will allow myself to pick one of these new projects and get some new yarn!

And of course, on a post regarding knitting magazines, I can't forget Interweave Knits. I usually love the spring issue (most items I've made have been from spring issues) but the Spring 2011 issue was underwhelming to me. However, there was one pattern that caught my eye and has apparently been very popular in the raverly community as well - the Ruched Yoke Tee by AnneLena Mattison.Very cute.

As for my WIPs, I am still working on the geodesic cardigan. I'm getting closer - have finished the back and left front, and almost done the right front. After that, it's just sleeves! However, I did notice that the second skein of kettle dyed yarn that I am using for this cardigan has a different hue from the first. So in certain lights, it looks like the bottom of the sweater is a different shade from the top. A bit odd. I'm hoping that you won't notice this once it's on!

Well that's all for now. I can't wait to get my stash back - it is currently on a truck somewhere in the US midwest - and start some more spring projects! I'm thinking purple socks ...

moving = stressful

2011-03-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of posts lately, we are in the middle of a really big move from one side of the continent to the other, from one country to another. Needless to say, the stress has been insane. However, I am excited for the amazing things that are going to come from this.

I will hopefully post more soon, when details become more ironed out. Until then, my knitting must wait!

the warmest mittens on earth

2011-01-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

The warmest mittens on earth are ... thrummed mittens. Being that I live in Canada, where "cold" means "really freaking freeze your fingers off cold", I decided that I wanted to knit some really warm mittens. After a little research, I found out that those mittens would be thrummed mittens.

I found a kit at colorsong yarn, which contains 125g of Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester Wool, and 50g of Fleece Artist roving. What is roving? Roving is wool that has been combed and clumped, but not yet spun. It looks like this:It is incredibly soft and fluffy! I wish I had taken a picture of the kit, but sadly I did not.

Anyways, it is an interesting way to knit. You take little pieces of the roving, twist them up into little loops, and wrap the loops around your needle at intervals so as to knit the pieces in. The finished product looks like this:
And the inside of the mitten looks like this:So awesome!!! And so warm. It's like putting your hand into a basket full of kittens. I used the pattern from the kit, but patterns for thrummed mittens can be found anywhere, using a quick search on the web or on ravelry.

As you can see from the photos, I'm done one mitten. The second should be finished this weekend. Hopefully, I can wrap this project up as I am currently looking at 20cm of fresh snow on my deck and I'm getting cold just thinking about going outside!!

A Beautiful Baby Blanket

2011-01-25T20:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the baby this blanket is for is 2 months old now ... but better late than never, right? This was my first blanket project ever, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it!
The pattern is Petal, by Norah Gaughan, from Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans.There are 36 squares to knit, with an interesting textured pattern. Each square is edged with a simple crochet border. Then, all squares are crocheted together and a border is crocheted around the entire thing.By the end, I have to say I was tired of knitting little squares, but all in all it was a fun project. It was very transportable, and easy to do in small batches.

The yarn is super yummy - a cotton acrylic blend that you can toss in the washing machine and dryer. It ended up very soft and cuddly. I hope the baby will like it! Would you?

Another Free Pattern

2010-12-03T14:59:00.001-08:00

A new free pattern from me available on ravelry.

There is a cup version (seamed) and a mug version (buttons). Please let me know if there are any errors, and enjoy!

Another FO and some UFOs too

2010-10-30T16:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted last. Things have been busy!

I did finish another project a while ago, in early September that I never posted about. My two-at-a-time-toe-up-magic-loop socks! They were quite easy, and now that they are done they are quite warm. I liked the two at a time method, as it did get rid of second sock syndrome. However, it also made progress a lot slower than normal.I've started quite a few projects since completing my double v cardigan as well.

1) Geodesic Cardigan - this cardigan is from Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010 by Connie Chang Chinchio. I think it's super cute. I'm making it in Knit Picks Shadow in the Soot colour. It's going to be really nice. I worked on it while traveling this summer, and made it about half way up the body, then it got put on the back burner for a while.

2) Triinu Scarf - from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush.I started this with my Diamond Yarn Luxury Baby Alpaca, and it looks lovely, but it is VERY fine yarn, and VERY detailed lace and when I started it, I was traveling a lot, and did not have the patience or ability to do it on the road. So it got put on a stitch holder and has remained there ever since.

So that brings me to my current project, which I am trying very hard to complete!

3) Petal Blanket - from Comfort Knitting and Crochet Afghans by Norah Gaughan.There are 36 squares to knit - so far I have completed 12. It took me two months to do that so I don't think I'll finish by the end of November like I planned! Here is a picture of one square.
I am making it using Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in HoneyDew. It's such a cute colour. And so soft! I think it will turn out nice, but probably not before the baby it is meant for is born. After all, in order to get all those 36 squares together, I still have to learn to crochet!!!

FO: double-v cardigan

2010-08-20T19:40:00.001-07:00

Well, it took a few months but I finally finished it - my double-v cardigan! It is a pattern found in Interweave Knits Spring 2010, by Melissa Wehrle.I knit it as written, and it turned out perfectly, exactly as expected. The pattern was well written and the lace pattern was easy to memorize. Of course, reading "Do this while doing this and at the same time do that" is always difficult but I'm getting used to it after trying to do less simplistic patterns. The real tricky part was decreasing over rows where the stitch count was inconsistent. You really had to think about how many stitches to decrease, and I ended up re-doing half of one of the fronts because I decreased it a different amount from the other front.
The yarn is Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy - a mix of hemp, cotton and rayon. It is extremely light and in combination with the lace, is a very light and breezy sweater. The yarn is a bit tough in the beginning but softens up nicely with use, and with washing.
All in all, I love it!

newfoundland treats

2010-08-20T19:25:00.000-07:00

I had the most delicious dessert in Newfoundland. I asked for the recipe, and was shocked at the ingredients ... this square is all over the internet already so I thought I'd post the recipe. It's not healthy, but it's dead easy (you don't even need a measuring cup) and scrumptious!

Newfoundland Skor Squares

Ingredients:
1 box Ritz crackers
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 bag Skor chipits
1 tub vanilla icing

Crush Ritz crackers. Add condensed milk and half the bag of chipits. Mix together, and press into 9x11 inch greased pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then cool. Mix together the icing and the rest of the chipits. Spread on top. Cut into squares. Enjoy!

newfoundland

2010-08-20T19:04:00.001-07:00

We spent a week in Newfoundland this July. It was a hell of a time getting there, but once we were there, we really enjoyed it. The purpose of the trip was to attend a wedding, which was very lovely, but we spent the first six days just the two of us, travelling around the Avalon Peninsula. There was a lot of small towns, friendly people, deep fried fish, and beautiful scenery.

I thought I'd put up some of my favorite pictures from the trip. Enjoy!Path along the cliff at Signal Hill in St. John's. We did the 4k hike down the cliffs and back up in our flip flops. Not on purpose ...
The Battery in St. John's, very neat to walk through all the houses.Cliffs at Cape Spear, the Easternmost point in Canada. Very beautiful.Fin whales in the Atlantic Ocean, outside the St. John's harbour. We saw about 10 whales on this boat tour.

Humpback whale diving in the Atlantic Ocean, near Cape Spear. They kept diving over and over again to give us a good tail shot! It was a really nice boat tour, the weather was beautiful, we were on the ocean for the sunset.

Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, a bird sanctuary at the southern tip of the peninsula. My pictures don't do it justice. It was so beautiful, so amazing. There will millions of birds all along the cliffs. You could walk right to the edge and look out over the ocean. It was so breathtaking, especially with the fog.

All in all a great trip, if you are ever waaay out east, it is worth seeing. We loved St. John's as well, a vibrant and exciting little town!

Cupcakes and Buttercream

2010-08-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

I just finished a post on running, and now I'm going to write a post on delicious baking!

I volunteered to make dessert for a get together on the weekend. As usual, I defaulted to cupcakes. I really wanted to try a recipe from my Martha Stewart Cupcakes book, but it was not chocolate. And everyone loves chocolate. So I thought I'd make two kinds of cupcakes. Now, I'm not that self destructive, so I made a half batch of each for a total of 18 cupcakes, which is entirely reasonable. :)

My friend recently brought me back a package of vanilla beans from Bali, and I've been wanting to try them out.
So, the first batch was Orange Vanilla Bean cupcakes from Martha Stewart Cupcakes. I thought this would be a great opportunity to try out the vanilla beans! Here is a picture of the original:
You see that she has even caramelized orange slices for the topping. I did not, as I am no Martha! I thought these ones were very nice. Strong orange flavor with a hint of vanilla. They turned out very well.

The second batch was Red Velvet cupcakes from Cupcakes Galore. They were originally 4th of July cupcakes with red, white and blue decorations. Once again I did not do this. They were nice and moist (and RED!) but not chocolaty enough. This could be because I just attended a wedding with a red velvet wedding cake that was literally LITERALLY the BEST CAKE I'VE EVER EATEN. Sorry, just had to yell. It was that good. So, clearly, these ones did not live up to it. I think they are nice and red because there was not much cocoa, but consequently, there was not much chocolate flavor.

I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the icing on both. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream was creamy and perfect and everyone loved it. I don't care for it, since I'm not a butter person, so I probably won't make it again. But it did work well for both cupcakes.

Here is a picture of how they did turn out!Yum! Next post, travelling and some knitting updates! Big updates!

review: Garmin Forerunner 110W

2010-08-10T19:44:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally got my belated birthday present from T! It is a few months late but it only came out recently in Canada and I've had a tough time finding it in stock. But now I have it, and I used it on my run today, so I thought I'd give it a quick review.

The Garmin Forerunner 110W is a GPS sports watch/heart rate monitor. It's supposed to be targeted towards beginner/casual runners, as there are no programs on board. It's very simple. It gives you distance, time, average lap pace and heart rate. It gets the satellite signal in under 30 seconds, which is very fast. Ask me how I know that is fast (damn Tom Tom).

Although it is a decently small GPS watch, it is still quite large on my "dainty" wrist. However, the band can be sized as small as you want so it fits nice and snug. The heart rate monitor on the other hand was too big. Even for the woman's size, at the smallest setting it is still loose around my chest (or rather, under-chest). I solved this problem by tucking it under the band of my sports bra and it stayed put during the run. However, it did feel like it was going to come off the entire run.

As for the watch itself, I personally loved it. I had auto lap set to 1km, so it showed my pace over 1km. While not exactly current pace, it was enough to see when I was speeding up or slowing down. It beeped to let me know when I hit the km markers. Maybe because I've been running without a watch lately - not knowing how far or how long I run - but it was exactly what I have been wanting.

I still have to figure out the full features of the Garmin Connect website, but in short, you upload the data from your run and that is when you see all the details. It shows you your real pace, elevation, distance, heart rate, calories, maps out your course, etc etc. Fantastic. You can track all your runs in a calendar, do comparisons, run reports and more.

I feel like I'm trying to sell this watch. I'm really not. I just am not a gadget person (as much as my profession / possession of tons of electronics would suggest) and the previous Garmin GPS watches just seemed too complicated for me, with way too many features that I'd never use. When they came out with this one, I was sold immediately. I just had to wait a few months for it to be released!

hot hot heat

2010-07-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well, after two months of wishing for warm weather, it's finally here -- and I'm sooo hot! I would love to have some ice cream and go jump in a pool right now!

Some random updates ... I ran my second 10K race two weeks ago - I did not train for this one, and it was quite a hot day for a run, but I still did pretty well I think. I finished in 1:01, I think. It was not chip timed so I'll never really know. Part of me wants to try a half marathon next, but I think with all the things happening this summer, it may have to wait until next year.

My socks are almost finished, I worked on them on the trip to Vernon, where we spent our Canada day long weekend. Finally, some progress!

Also, my double v cardigan! I finished all the pieces, and decided that I couldn't stand the fact that one front was one stitch off. I think since there is patterning in the fabric it was noticeable to me, and I don't like having errors in my finished project (even though this is not technically and error). So I ripped the front out half way and started again. Finished it pretty quickly, and now all the pieces are blocking, as seen here: I still have to assemble and create the button band, which I know is going to take forever, from my button band experience! But hopefully I can be diligent and get it done before moving on to other projects.

Speaking of other projects, I think I want to start the geodesic cardigan. I'm not feeling the nuppy lace work right now, so another basic project will be good I think. Also, still trying to use up my stash, so I need to pick projects that will work with the yarn I have.

Speaking of stash, I will soon need to buy more as I plan to make a baby blanket for the winter - no, not for me. I'm planning to choose one out of the Afghans book I have and perhaps make it in all white, for a classic look.

Well, off to find some ice cream, and enjoy the sun!

oreos and herbs

2010-06-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

I don't think I've ever bought a box of oreos before ... I stay away from store bought cookies, because why would you eat store bought cookies when you could have HOME MADE cookies?? But today, I bought not one, but two boxes of oreos.Ok, oreos are pretty good. But what is even better? Cheesecake cupcakes made with oreos!! Full size oreos make the base of these cupcakes:From the top, they do not look that impressive ... But check out the oreo on the bottom! And the cheesecake is filled with chopped up oreo cookies! OMG decadent oreo goodness. For anyone brave enough (cookie addicted) enough to want to try this recipe, it is found in the Martha Stewart Cupcakes recipe book. This book is fabulous and makes me want to quit my job and become a cupcake decorator.

Because of all the sunshine lately, I've been slacking on my knitting. I have half a sleeve left on my double v cardigan. However, it is the half sleeve that requires counting counting counting decreases. I will need a good couple of hours to sit down and do the decreases - otherwise I lose track of where I am. Consequently, I have not worked on the sleeve for a while and instead have been plugging away at my socks. I've finished the heel and am now on the home stretch - the leg. I plan to do some calf increases but other than that it is straight knitting, so it's pretty mindless and easy to do in the summer for short bursts at a time. Of course, it hasn't all been sunshine. As you can see, my poor herb garden is currently flooded ... But surviving so far! Come on sun, come back! And finally, a puppy shot because he's such a cutie!

the ice cream man

2010-06-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

I'm at about kilometre 6 of my 8 kilometre run. It's a nice, sunny day, but I'm not having a good run. Whether I didn't eat enough today, or the music on my ipod isn't inspiring enough, or what, my heart's just not in it today. I'm struggling but I continue to keep going. As much as I want to stop, sit down, there's a nagging voice in the back of my head saying "race .. race .. race ..." I'm in training and I have to keep running.

As I come up to the intersection, there is an ice cream truck parked on the road facing me. These trucks are all over the place in the summer. It's idling, waiting for some kids to come by perhaps. I turn right. The ice cream truck starts up, turns to follow me. Must be a coincidence. There are tons of kids in this community, and I am turning to go off the main road deeper into the suburbs.

But the ice cream truck doesn't pass me. No. He turns on his ice cream music.

I'm running at just under 10km/hr. Ice cream trucks usually drive between 20-30km/hr. I know, there are tons of kids around here and the trucks come around often! A transit bus turns onto the road behind me. Okay, maybe the ice cream truck was waiting for the people to come off the bus. He finally passes me and stops in front of the bus stop. The bus comes, lets off the bus people, and continues on its way. The ice cream truck waits until I pass the bus people, and starts up again, following closely behind me. Music still on.

Have you ever been 3 feet away from ice cream music? It is so loud my ipod is drowned out. My head starts to hurt. And all I can think of is getting some of that cold, sweet, delicious ice cream! He is clearly taunting me. Does he think this is funny? I keep running.

He follows me down the entire block - no one else is around. Finally, I turn right to go into the park. He has to turn left. I'm now more motivated than ever to get home, so I pick up my speed. Last 2 kilometres. Then maybe, just maybe, I'll have some ice cream.

first run back

2010-06-08T16:58:00.001-07:00

I took a week off running to heal my battered and blistered feet. Today was my first day back. I did a short 5K run, and my thighs felt like bricks! Not in a good way - like solid, immovable, stone. Bleh. However, I did manage to keep a good pace so it ended up being a good run.

In knitting news ... I haven't been knitting much. I took my socks on a trip to Vegas for work, and only knit about 5 rows. Possibly because I was in Vegas ... I've also stalled on my cardigan. I just started up the last sleeve yesterday after not touching it for about 2 weeks. I did however start a new scarf with the finest yarn I've ever used in a super soft alpaca. However, it has 7-stitch nupps which may yet drive me crazy. So progress on that is slow too.

Summer is always slow for knitting. I'm not too concerned about that. I'd rather enjoy the sun while we have it!

race

2010-06-05T11:51:00.001-07:00

My new year's resolution was to train for a half marathon. I didn't quite make it to running a half marathon yet, but I completed my first 10k race on the weekend. I ran it in 59:13, which is a personal best for me! It was tough, but I felt great, and didn't feel the massive blisters and jarring shin splits until it was over and I was limping home.

I know now that I can be a runner. I just have to train like a maniac. I was running 30-40km a week for the past 8 weeks or so to accomplish this. Next step, start speed training. I want to get a better 10k time, and also to eventually get to that half marathon! I'm taking a week off right now to heal my bloody and broken feet but tomorrow I'll start back up again. I'm so excited!

happy birthday to me!

2010-05-23T15:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while ... I have been meaning to post and I was going to post when I got my Interweave Knits Summer 2010 issue - that was in April. Guess I'm a little slow. Anyways, I was a little underwhelmed by this issue, but I usually am with summer issues in general. There was only one pattern that I liked, the Impasto Shawlette by Susanna IC:I do like it, and it seems like it would be a quick knit. However, I still have to work on reducing my stash!

My double v cardigan is going well, I've finished the fronts and back, and one sleeve. However, with the nice weather lately I am spending less time indoors knitting. So, it's going well but going slow. I also decided to try and improve the slippers I made for myself a while ago, by adding a crochet trim. That's right, I learned to crochet! Sort of ... I have to say, the improvement didn't really work, but it inspired me to try some other crochet patterns.

Which leads me to my latest knitting purchase:
I can't believe I bought a book on afghans! It takes me years to finish sweaters, what was I thinking??? Well, maybe it's time to branch out. And these afghans are beautiful. It has crochet and knitting patterns, so I might try a crochet one first, to try out my new crochet skills. The one that caught my eye is Medidate by Donna Yacino:Oh yeah, the name of my post is because my birthday was last week. I just had a lovely brunch with some good friends to honour ME!

so confused

2010-04-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

I just completed the back on my double v cardigan. I have to say, most of it was pretty easy and interesting to knit. The yarn is turning out to be quite lovely, and the drape of it is spectacular. Seriously. I never thought I'd use the words "drape" and "spectacular" in the same sentence but it really is. I'm excited to see what it looks like as a full sweater and not just a piece.

However ... the instructions for the shoulder shaping were SOOO difficult and confusing! Usually, when I read something the first time and it doesn't sink in, I just have to take a deep breath, and read it slowly, line by line, and it makes sense. These instructions did not make sense!! I read it again and again and nothing. I have no idea what I was actually supposed to do. So I just made something up. It seems to have worked. It looks kind of right. So I'm just going with it!

I'm going on a plane ride tomorrow, so I'm going to pick up my 2-at-a-time socks again - haven't touched these since Christmas. We'll see how far I get, it's a short flight.

FO: whisper, ME: relieved

2010-03-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, I finished! My lovely, terrible, beautiful, dreadful whisper cardigan. In the end, I love it.I really need to figure out how to take pictures of myself better than to just use a web cam. Oh well, this will do for now.

It is so light and airy, yet soft. Love the malabrigo lace and wearing it so close to the skin is divine. However, because it is yellow, it is extremely sheer and so there are probably only a few tops that I can wear it with. Blocking helped with the irregular stitches on the sleeves but did not completely fix it. It's not too noticeable, but makes the sweater look "handmade", I think.

I made up an XS size as the size small was too large for me - mods are listed on ravelry. I also made the back longer so it is less of a shrug and more of a cardigan. I wore it once already, and loved wearing it, however after one wear (full day) the sleeve edges are starting to get stretched out. Hopefully this is a one time shape-to-me thing, and it won't KEEP stretching out or else it will not last for long. Also, I noticed some areas where the thick and thin part of the malabrigo lace is VERY thin. Not sure if this is going to be a problem. I just hope it doesn't unravel. I may go over those sections and reinforce, not sure yet.

All in all I'm very happy with this!

I also completed some quick slippers but they don't stay on my feet, so I'm going to fix them up a bit before saying they are actually complete.

Started my double-v cardigan as well. The hempathy is nice but stiff to knit with so I can't do it for long periods of time. However, you can tell it softens up as you work with it and I've read that with wash and wear it becomes very soft and lovely, so I am looking forward to that!

too many cardigans

2010-03-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

So I've been trying to decide on a new cardigan to knit, since I've recently completed some big projects and only have TWO WIPS on the needles right now! I'm still trying to complete my whisper cardigan, but I have to say I hate knitting it!! Well, no, I hate knitting the sleeves. No, I hate knitting on DPNs. No. I hate knitting sleeves in lace weight yarn on DPNs. I am on month #9 of this endeavor (although the knitting time is extremely limited - maybe 5-10 hours total so far for all the times I've started over) and I am so tired of it. So, I'm going to bring a new cardigan into the fold!

Option #1: Double v cardigan by Melissa Wehrle in IK Spring 2010
I love her designs. This cardigan is simple and classic, and would be interesting to knit because it is an all-over lace pattern (no stocking stitch yay!). It also uses a DK weight yarn, which will be a nice change from all the lace weight yarn I've been using lately. I have the pattern. Only problem, I do not have any yarn for this, and I'm trying to knit from stash as much as possible. It calls for a cotton/linen/rayon blend which my LYS has nothing of the sort.

Option #2: Tissue cardigan by Deborah Newton in IK Spring 2010 This cardigan immediately caught my eye. I has a simple body with an interesting lace yoke. It calls for a lace weight yarn held double, so the actual knitting is at about a sport/worsted weight. When looking at this pattern, I realized I have the perfect yarn for it in my stash - Tanis Fibre Arts Pink Label lace in Chesnut. I have 2000 yards of it, which is just about enough to make this cardigan. Its a tonal hand dyed yarn, so held double I think it would give a really interesting colour texture. I'd have to swatch first to make sure, but I think it would be perfect. Two problems with this one: first, its a lot of stocking stitch, which I'm king of tired of after knitting citron, whisper and socks only for the last few months. I haven't done any lace since before Christmas and I'm missing it. Second, it requires me to wind 2000 yards of lace yarn, which although I do have a swift, would still have to be wound BY HAND and I don't think I have the patience for that right now.

Option #3: Geodesic cardigan by Connie Chang Chinchio in Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010
This cardigan is modern with interesting details, and I could see it being an everyday cardigan. I have some kettle dyed black lace weight merino yarn that I bought with the intention of making a shawl with. However, its not a black black, it's more of a faded black. I feel like with lace shawls and wraps, you really need to have saturated, strong colours. Maybe it's just me, but I like the colour to POP with the lace. As soon as I got the yarn (I ordered it online) I knew it wasn't right for a shawl. So it's been sitting ever since. Once I saw this cardigan, my mind immediately went to the black yarn. This cardigan would totally suit the kettle dyed, weathered look. This cardigan has two problems as well: 1) I do not have the pattern and cannot find the mag anywhere in town or online (sold out or back ordered) and 2) MORE STOCKING STITCH AND IN LACE WEIGHT YARN I don't know if I can take more of this right now while I still have whisper on the needles.

Well, fortunately the solution just appeared out of thin air - my finger wandered to Webs and just purchased 6 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy in navy blue ... that should do the trick for the double v cardigan! I suppose I'll still have to wait a few weeks for this to arrive, but in the mean time I can try to buckle down and finish this stupid whisper (which I'm sure I'll love when I'm done because the yarn is so delicious, but I just can't stand right now). Oh and also to look for a ball winder. And the knitscene mag. So that I can eventually knit all three options. Yum!

a new, hot pink, FO!

2010-03-04T19:10:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't finish my citron shawl on my trip, but I did finish it a week later, while recuperating from a plane-ride-home-developed cold! It's so light and airy and soft, I love it! Not entirely sure how to wear it yet, but here are some pics ...I know, I need better pictures! Oh well.

Speaking of my trip, it was fantastic! We had a fabulous week full of sun, ocean, cities and jungle. We went swimming, kayaking and jet skiing. We saw the Panama Canal. We went zip lining. We went shopping. All in all, a great trip! I came back quite relaxed and tanned, even though I was sick. I was able to go back to work feeling refreshed. Only thing is, now I crave pina coladas all the time!

malabrigo junkie.

2010-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

I had grand plans for this post, to update on all the things I've been working on lately (with pictures!) but there is no time... in 3 hours I'll be heading to the airport for a week of sun and adventure in panama, I'm so excited!

But I digress... I've been working hard on my Whisper cardigan. I bought some bamboo dpns to try and make the sleeves easier to knit, but I found that although both sets were #6, the bamboo ones were 4.25mm and the metal ones were 4.0mm. Grr!! So then I checked my circular #6, and it is 4.25mm too! So I didn't want a bunch of gauge changes in the middle of the sweater, so I went with 4.25mm which required me ripping out the sleeve for the FOURTH TIME. Anyways, knitting with the bamboo dpns went a lot faster, and although I don't have ladders, I do have lots of irregular stitches due to my switching the transfer points around. I'm hoping it will block out. I was going to post some pictures to show but no time!! I am currently at the halfway point on the back. I am doing my own sizing as the smallest size is far too big for me, so I'll post my XS measurements when I am done, if they work.

I decided I didn't want to take the sweater with me on my trip, as it is hard to knit stuff you have to try on as you go on a plane. So I wound my other malabrigo lace into a ball and cast on for the citron shawl! Frogged twice already to get the increases right (I kept getting holes) and I think this time is the charm. I'm thinking even if I don't finish it on the trip, I should get pretty far. It's a small and simple shawl, which for me is easiest when traveling.

Alright, must go pack - I'll post pics of knitting and of the trip when I get back!

finally, a sweater committed!

2010-02-01T18:05:00.000-08:00

After 3 full years, I have finished the big gray monstrosity. Ok, to be fair, it was sitting in the back of my closet for about 2.5 of those years. But still, it is a good accomplishment. Not sure I like it, but glad to be done knitting it!

loco for coco

2010-01-24T17:49:00.001-08:00

I broke down and made some cupcakes today ... pina colada cupcakes! Pineapple, coconut and rum cupcakes, with coconut icing, topped with toasted coconut. Mmm! The recipe is from Cupcakes Galore.I have been focusing on trying to finish the big gray monstrosity that is my cable sweater. I've actually made good progress; I re-knit the sleeves, sewed all the seams, and am now working on the collar. I'm about half done the collar. I was so excited to be so close, then I remembered I still have to make the belt. But that shouldn't take too long, so hopefully I'll be finished fairly soon.

I also used my swift for the first time today to wind some Diamond Luxury Alpaca lace yarn. Here is the finished product! Next on the shopping list - ball winder.I've been good though - have not bought anything this month yet, including yarn. I'm sticking to my no-consumption January again. Although I think this year I will try to not buy yarn for longer than just January, I have a lot of stash I need to start working through.

I plan on making the Triinu Scarf from Knitted Lace of Estonia with the alpaca. I really want to start it RIGHT NOW but I'm resisting the urge in order to focus on the sweater. Soon it will be finished ... Soon!

new year, new yarn

2010-01-07T16:25:00.000-08:00

Happy new year! I know I'm a little bit late but I've been busy being lazy. It's wonderful.

We had a great holiday, the puppy tolerated the 14 hour drive to see family very well. Probably even better than we did, given that he didn't have to drive ... On the trip, I managed to start and finish a new garment for him, the Biscuits and Bones sweater from Patons. It's so cute, as evidenced here:Once he figured out that wearing his sweater and booties (yes, we bought him booties, and yes, he wears them proudly!) lets him go for long walks in the freezing cold, he gets so excited when we put it on him!

An older knitting project, that I could not mention before as it was a gift, is my latest lace work. It was a shawl for my mom, her Christmas present! I used the Sari Lace Triangle pattern by Sylvie Beez, which is painstakingly charted in a series of 10 charts, each from 1 and 3 pages in length. So many charts!! But the finished project is gorgeous:
I've told my mom to send pictures of the shawl in action so hopefully I can post those soon. It is really quite an amazing pattern.

And since I've decided that I need to start working off my stash this year, I started some basic toe up socks. I am trying a new technique for me - two at a time on one needle using magic loop. It is really quite simple once you figure it out. Since I am using my lovely Lana Grossa patterned yarn for this one, I am just doing a basic sock so the pattern comes out.

Also, I've pulled out my sweater from hell. I am determined to finish it. After a year of stalling on the button band, I finished it (then ripped it out and finished it again - buttons go on the left for women!!) in 2 days. Of course, then I decided to rip out the sleeves and knit them again slimmer. The ripping out part was fun, but the re-knitting will take a while. It is not difficult, but it is a large sweater and I am not good at cables. I have also ripped out the seams since I recently discovered the mattress stitch and my old seams look pitiful now.

I also plan on starting up my whisper cardigan again. I have no desire to work on it, I just like petting the yarn, then putting it back again. I was thinking of maybe switching to bamboo needles, as one of the reasons I don't like knitting it is the lace merino slides on the aluminum needles so much, you have to knit slowly and carefully. Maybe with some bamboo needles I'll get more traction and be able to speed up my stocking stitch.

And of course, new yarn! First up, some malagrigo lace I found in Winnipeg at the Woleseley Wardrobe, for knitting up Citron: And of course lots of yarn from the Ram Wools Co-op in Winnipeg, some bought, some gifted by my knitting enabling mom:Last year's knitting was all about knitting for me. This year is about catching up to me! I have bought so much yarn with intentions to knit but I don't like how big my stash is getting. So I am going to resist buying new yarn without some stash knitting. I have many projects in line for my stash knitting so that shouldn't be a problem. I also received this book for Christmas, so I should have some intricate lace projects to work on! Oh, and I almost forgot, my Christmas present from T was a swift! Whee!

Resolutions for the year are small: knit from stash, vacation more, and run a half marathon. Well, train for a half marathon. We'll see if I ever actually get there. But even if I don't, I'll still be in good shape!

february lady sweater finished!

2009-12-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

A photo ...
I'm pretty happy with this one. I made it a bit small, but this yarn (KnitPicks WoTA) grows quite a bit during blocking so it ended up fitting perfectly!

Love. Now, I must resist the urge to buy more yarn so that I can use up some of my stash and finish all those hibernating projects. I just started some socks and some mitts this week but I think the socks are going to win - they are mindless so good for knitting on our road trip. I also want to knit puppy a second sweater, I have one all picked out but would have to buy yarn .. uh oh, dilemma!!

disaster in the kitchen

2009-12-15T20:37:00.000-08:00

My attempt to try some new and exciting baking has ended badly ... I decided to make Stained Glass Cookies - basically, a rolled cookie with a cutout in the middle that you fill with melted candy. I don't know what they put in candy these days but in under 2 minutes (before the cookies had actually baked) my entire house smelled so toxic it's giving me a headache 2 hours later. I will NOT be making those again.

On the bright side, I finished my FLS yesterday. It's blocking tonight. Will hopefully post pictures soon.

i felted my monkeys

2009-11-16T20:38:00.001-08:00

If this were not a knitting blog, the title of this post would be ridiculous. Since it is, it's just sad. I accidentally threw my alpaca monkey socks in the washer AND dryer (i know, way to go me) and they are totally felted. They are super soft and cozy, but all that lace work is GONE! They just look like fuzzy blue socks now. sigh. At least now I know - alpaca lace socks = bad idea.

:(

Happy Halloween!!

2009-10-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

Mmm mm cupcakes! I used a cocoa devil's food recipe from the Joy of Cooking (my bible) and a magnolia buttercream icing. Delish!

bulky yarn, or bulky with yarn?

2009-10-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

I need to go on a yarn diet.

I don't like that word (or two words rather) because I don't really have much of a stash, and I don't intend to get one. I almost always buy yarn with a project in mind, and start once I have purchased the yarn, so it gets used right away. But lately, I've had too many projects in mind. Once I've purchased the yarn, I just don't have time to start the project and it starts to build up. Plus, I've been gifted some yarn lately, the latest being a skein of laceweight silk, from my parents - Alchemy Silken Straw:It is very cool, 100% silk and ribbon like, and I can't wait to knit something up in it, but when will I find the time! So many projects spinning around my head! Still trying to finish my FLS, need to make a hat for T to match the mittens, I want to finish my big grey monster sweater (that's another goal to set), and my whisper, plus I've got the yarn all ready for a pair of 2-at-a-time toe up socks and oh so much more!! In my head, I have a mitten design, fair isle mittens, a cowl, more socks, another sweater, and another lace shawl, and a lace wrap .. I could go on ... And ALSO, I sold a "custom" pair of mittens at a charity auction at work - a friend ended up buying it, and he has requested a substitute for a pair of slippers for his girlfriend. This is actually a good thing, since I've been wanting to make slippers for myself for a while, so it will be good practice. But it will take time! That will take priority over other projects.

Speaking of the charity auction, I also sold a test copy of my cupcake mittlets, they only went for 10$ :( I realize it is the wrong market for this, a bunch of engineers don't appreciate hand crafts! Oh well, it is for charity, so I shouldn't complain.

So the plan is to finish these WIPs - even that evil grey sweater! I'll have to rip out the sleeves I think and start again but I am a much better knitter now than I was when I started it 2 (3?) years ago, so hopefully it will go quicker this time! So, no more new yarn! No more pretty sock yarn! No more lace! None! Until I finish all my WIPs! Well, maybe just a few. Or one. One is good, right ... ?

:)

gingerbread

2009-10-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a few pics of some baking I did for a charity bake sale ... it took 3 days to make these suckers! I used a chatelaine gingerbread recipe and they turned out delicious. I make my gingerbread a little soft so they are nice and chewy, but maybe next time I'll try to make them a little crunchier. And I think I'll omit the allspice and try it with masala spice instead. Yummy! Fall/winter baking is so fabulous, that's one of the best parts of the season!!

lace race

2009-10-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

I completed my swallowtail shawl, hurrah! It was a great little project, I started it while on the plane to and from L.A. Two 3 hours flights got me about half way through the shawl. Then I worked on it exclusively in order to finish it, and in the end it only took me about two weeks, which has got to be a record for me, even with it being a small shawl (shawlette, if you will). The pattern was simple, even the nupps were not too much trouble. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this. Some photos pre-blocking, and post-blocking.I used the knitpicks shimmer yarn, which is so lovely. It is much finer than the gloss, which I did my fountain pen in. It makes a much more lightweight, finer shawl. T says it "looks like a doily", which I suppose it kind of does. I think that was a compliment. I'm going with compliment.

I also knit up some quick mitts for T, have to still make a matching hat.Winter pounced on us so quickly, +30 one week, and -15 and snow the next. Our patio furniture never even made it inside, the hammock is quickly collecting snow and will stay that way until it warms up (hopefully next week). I'm going to get back to my february lady sweater again. I only have a few inches left on the body to complete so hopefully I can get going on that and have a new sweater before it gets TOO cold!!

I'm still not wanting to get back to my whisper, I suppose I just have to pick it up at some point and force myself to knit it. But there are so many other things I want to start too! Oh well, I'm not doing any Christmas knitting this year (due to it being the year of knitting for me still) so I should have plenty of time ... :)

yummy new yarn!

2009-09-22T17:47:00.000-07:00

More new yarn, received in the mail today! The red is knitpicks shimmer (Alpaca/silk and sooo soft), it is actually more of a burgundy than the picture shows. I plan to use if for the swallowtail shawl. The black is knitpicks shadow (merino and still soooo soft). I plan to use it for a black lace stole (to complement any outfit!) Can you tell I love knitpicks???

what woman can pass up a sale?

2009-09-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist. Knitpicks was having a 33% off sale on lace yarn! My new favorite obsession is lace yarn. All other yarns just seem so big and bulky. So I picked up a few skeins. And what a deal! For 20$, I got one skein of hand dyed alpaca/silk and two skeins of kettle dyed merino, including shipping! So cheap, and yet so nice. I have yet to be disappointed with knitpicks. Of course, it doesn't compare to a malabrigo, but it's still a pretty good yarn! I'm thinking of making the Swallowtail shawl with the alpaca/silk. I'll just do the shawlette as I want a shawl that is a little smaller than my fountain pen one.

I've been working on my february lady sweater lately, it's a nice easy knit. I was excited when I was able to memorize the gull lace pattern on the first repetition, but now, I have to say it's pretty boring! Not stimulating my mind at all ... Good TV knitting ... Because it is knit from the top down, I'm able to try it on as I'm going, so I know that once again it's way too small! Fortunately, my swatch grew 25% when I blocked it so I'm hoping that transfers to the actual sweater. Otherwise I'll have yet another too small sweater!Also working on some mittens for T. Have been using a cabled mitten pattern from astroknits, but I don't think I have the right yarn for it, it's knitting up far too small. I like the look of the pattern, but I think I'll just do a basic mitten without the cables so I can get them done quickly and in time for winter. Seems so far away though since it is 30 degrees today! Whee!

Also, my puppy got a funny hair cut ... :)

bootie licious

2009-09-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

Some cute booties I made recently ...Saartje's Booties found here. A nice quick knit!

new yarn

2009-08-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Some pictures of the yarn I randomly bought this month ...

First, some super soft sirdar snuggly baby bamboo. No idea what I'm going to make with it, but how can you pass up yarn that's called "snuggly"? Maybe a lacy scarf.Next, I succumbed to all the pretty yarns on etsy, and bought a skein of handspun, hand dyed bamboo from Spinning Wheel Studio. So pretty! And the colorway is named "Bollywood", I think that's what got me. But it's only 130 yards, it looks like it's about a DK weight, so I'm thinking a shawlette, or something? Don't know.
But now, I have all this bamboo and no ideas!

summer socks

2009-08-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

I finally finished a project! My stripey socks. This was my backup project, I used it while traveling, between other projects, when I needed a small project. But after 5 months I figured it was finally the time to bite the bullet and finish them up! I used Knit Picks Felici yarn, which is incredibly soft, and makes a nice lightweight sock.I used a basic toe up sock pattern, using short rows for both the toe and heel. I really like doing socks toe up - it worked well with the Felici, because I was able to use almost an entire ball for each sock, I just kept going until there was no more!

I've been in a bit of a knitting lull. I haven't touched my whisper cardigan in a while, it drove me so crazy that I didn't want to do it anymore, so I'm giving it a break. I started my FLS, and it's going well but fairly slowly so far. Soon, I'll have to start some mittens for T (my one non-me project this year) and then ... don't know yet. I bought a whole bunch of new yarn with no projects in mind (a first for me!) so I've got to think of something to do with it...

the first furnace of the season :(

2009-08-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

So it's been raining, raining, raining. And cold. This has prompted me to pull out the wool I bought for the February lady sweater and get started so that maybe I'll have a new sweater in time for fall (or maybe winter). I didn't start it at the beginning of the summer as it was too hot to knit with wool. But now it's cold again and worsted weight wool knitting seems like fun again!

I'm not motivated to work on my whisper cardigan. Although I love the yarn and love the fabric it is making, I just can't see it yet and am not convinced it is going to look good. Plus, it's moving very slowly due to the modified knitting I am doing to avoid ladders.

I had an idea the other day. I want to make Owls this fall. I intended to buy some grey wool for it. However, I remembered my super ugly grey cardigan that I will never finish as it looks awful, even though I spent like 2 years working on it and I'm 98% done. I think I might just bite the bullet and rip it out, then I'll have a large amount of yarn to make owls with. It is a wool/acrylic blend, and I don't really like knitting with acrylic (I bought this yarn when I was still a novice knitter and didn't know what I liked) but I think Owls would be a good sweater to use this yarn. It would be less scratchy than pure wool, and for a pullover I think that might be nice. It would be heartbreaking to pull it all out (all that cable work!!) but at the same time, I hate the sweater. I would never wear it in a million years, and really, that is just a waste.

I think I'll try and finish the FLS before I make any rash moves though, so it may be a while. Waiting for my fall IK issue, but I doubt I'll have time to make anything from it right away. I'm still working on Spring - haven't made it to summer yet! Fall will have to wait ...

aarrggh again.

2009-07-17T16:26:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I've knit about 60 rows of the sleeve and I just don't like it. I accidentally cast on 60 instead of 66 so it was significantly smaller than I had anticipated. I also forgot that my bicep is bigger than my elbow and so I had to start doing increases. Then it just looked silly. I think I'm going to rip it out for a FOURTH time and just do 76 stitches all the way - no increases or decreases. I think that will give it a belled look at the elbow since it will be too big for the elbow, but should fit my bicep alright. Maybe I'll scale down to 70 stitches even, I don't know yet. I'm frustrated because every time I rip out this sleeve the yarn breaks. Single ply does not give much strength apparently.

On a weirder note, I just finished vaccuuming my bathtub. It was a strange experience. However, it makes more sense when you realize we just laid a tile floor so it was full of wood chips and mortar dust.

whispers of insanity

2009-07-09T19:47:00.001-07:00

I started the whisper cardigan. Then I started it again ... then I started it again ... Let's see if this one takes.

First try was with 76 stitches cast on for a straight sleeve. Waaaaay too big. Unravel and try again. Second try 66 stitches down to 60 within 12 rows for a slightly belled cuff. Much better. But what's this? Huge, totally noticeable ladders!! I tried a few techniques to solve them and once I had it figured out, unraveled again. Third try is on the go, so far no ladders!

I used the technique of carrying my stitches backwards, which I found here, and it worked! Although, now instead of having a line of loose stitches I have random loose stitches in the fabric. My knitting is usually quite even, so I am a little disappointed about that, but I'm hoping that random stitches will block out easier than ladders and it will look even in the end.

I think I've lost my knitting mojo for a while though, all that work on the fountain pen shawl, I think I need a bit of a break. Once I get into the whisper though I'm sure it will come back, I do love both the yarn and the pattern.

fountain pen photos

2009-07-05T16:04:00.001-07:00

To start, some pictures of my fountain pen shawl during blocking. You can see my funky "urban" blocking mats, they work quite well I have to say.Next, some photos of the finished product. I had great plans for some lovely pictures - we took the puppy to the river yesterday for a picnic in the sun. I brought the camera and the shawl for a perfect setting for a photo op. However, before the pictures could be taken, the sun disappeared, and the clouds broke open in thundershowers. We ran to our friends' car and ended up spending the rest of the indoors ... So these pictures will have to suffice. I absolutely love the shawl though. I love the way it looks, and I can see myself wearing it in all sorts of situations. I never thought I would be able to wear a shawl, but I think I thought wrong!

I have now started the whisper cardigan. However, the sleeves are so wonky, I'm experimenting with them. I started with casting on 76 stitches (down from the 90 in the pattern) and it is still not to my liking. I'm going to unravel and start again I think. Also, using #6 dpns, and getting terrible ladders. I tried using a 12 inch circular but it was too big for the small sleeve, so I'm kind of at a loss. I really don't want those ladders running up the sleeve. I may have to be creative here ...

Anyways, the malabrigo yarn is lovely. I think this will be a slow going sweater but its nice to knit with lace weight yarn in the summer. I cannot bear to pick up any worsted lately.

finito!!

2009-06-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my fountain pen shawl! I am so excited, I think it is going to be just perfect. Here are some pre-blocking photos. I only completed 8 pattern repeats, but it is plenty big enough for me. I estimate the size after blocking will be over 60 inches wide, which is exactly where I wanted it.

Will post post-blocking photos soon. So excited!!

On the border

2009-06-19T14:03:00.001-07:00

So after a few quick measurements and some calculations, I decided to stop my fountain pen shawl after 8 repeats. I am not a very big person, so I think making it slightly smaller will make it more proportional for me. However, 1 skein of the lace yarn got me a few rows into the border so maybe I should have stopped at 7 repeats - could have done it in 1 skein! Oh well. I wound a new skein, tried for the first time to do a center pull ball. It worked, but doing it by hand took quite some time! Looks pretty good though, in my opinion!
Already thinking about what project to start next ... I'm not feeling motivated to work on the february lady sweater, its too warm and wooly. I think I will start the whisper cardigan, it's more of a summer project. I am also not motivated to work on my socks, but maybe I'll sneak in a few rows here and there. I guess I'll also need a lace design to keep me interested, but I'll worry about that when I get bored of the stocking stitch.

Finally, here is a picture of my dog lounging on the couch. He sleeps like people ... :)

A photo

2009-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

Just because it was so pretty ...

macbook and malabrigo!!!!

2009-06-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am writing this post from my brand new macbook pro! I bit the bullet, gave my faithful ibook to my mom, and bought a new laptop! So exciting! It is sooooo pretty ....

In knitting news, I just recently got back from TO, where I had the good fortune of finding a yarn store called Romni Wools. The whole time I was there, I kept saying "I want to move here!" It was so fabulous, I could have stayed there all day. But alas, I had to leave. Luckily, not before buying two beautiful skeins of malabrigo lace merino yarn! I have been wanting to try out this yarn for a while, after hearing so much about it, but I could never find it in town. So finally, I bought some, and I think I understand what all the fuss is about!! It is soooo soft, the whole day, I kept putting my hands into the bag to smoosh the yarn. So lovely. I am planning to use it to make the Whisper Cardigan from the Spring 09 issue of Interweave Knits. It is in the Butter colour, which is so springy and fun.

First, I am committing to finishing my fountain pen shawl though. I am on the 8th repeat, but at this point it is taking approximately 15 minutes for every row. So it is going to be a while before I finish. But I am making a concerted effort to only knit this and nothing else! Once it is done, I will start on the other three projects I've got going, and maybe start another one (or two!)

cookie press adventures

2009-06-08T17:41:00.001-07:00

Made some cookies with my cookie press on the weekend ... I cannot type properly today due to the pain in my forearms!! I apparently didn't make the dough properly - when you make a rolled cookie you need plenty of flour, but if you make cookie press dough using plenty of flour, it does not come out of the press without he-man strength!

After much trial and error, I figured out that I just needed a softer, stickier dough, but man, it was a rough trial and error. Anyways, the cookies look good and taste pretty good too. I didn't decorate them though, I was too tired afterwards!! Here are some pictures from my cookie press adventures:

Also, just a note. I discovered a flaw in my fountain pen shawl so just spent the evening unraveling 2 long rows ... yuck. I hope that is enough unraveling to fix the error, I'm a little confused as to what the error is precisely. So sad, as I am on the 7th pattern repeat and getting so close! Still have not decided how many repeats to do. I think I may do the full 10 as my gauge is quite small, but I am aiming for a 60 inch width, instead of 72. Going to have to do the math ...

birthdays and baking

2009-06-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

A friend emailed me a few days before my birthday and told me she was in a knitting store - what would I like for my birthday? How lovely! She didn't disappoint, not only did I get my knitting gadget wish list fulfilled, but she picked out a very interesting skein of lana grossa sock yarn, that at first glance looks variegated, but at second glance looks like this!!!
Very cool ... I am excited to make socks with it. Must ... finish ... striped ... socks ... first!

In other birthday news, I received a crazy awesome present ...
A cookie press!!! Who has a cookie press these days? I didn't even know they still made them. I am so excited to make all sorts of fun shapes! But first, I must finish the cheesecake, and the cupcakes, and the chocolate mousse cake, and the big bag of whoppers. Not maltesers - whoppers. Hmm, are my pants tight?

Round that out with some awesome tasting tea and some fabulous gourmet M&Ms, and I think my gifts this year describe me in a nutshell. I have some pretty awesome friends ...

knotty puppy

2009-05-28T06:30:00.000-07:00

Holy crap, I come downstairs this morning on my way to work and what do I see? My fountain pen shawl, in the middle of the floor, yarn wrapped around EVERY piece of furniture in the room and a guilty looking puppy. Oh my goodness, I don't think I've ever been that speechless!! I drew in a breath to scream but couldn't figure out what to do with that breath. Puppy is looking at me like "What? I'm just playing", and T stands back because he knows I'm going to blow ...

If he wasn't so small and fast I probably would have smacked him. Instead, I settled on yelling "BAD BAD BAD BAD" over and over again, partialy at the puppy and partially at the yarn in an attempt to let him know what I was yelling about. He behaved immaculately for the rest of the morning.

Luckily, the shawl was untouched. Big phew. If he had unravelled that shawl (I am on the 5th repeat out of about 10) I would have probably cried. Unluckily, he somehow managed to pick up or roll the ball of yarn around the entire room. Honestly, I don't know how he did it, it was would around table legs, the couch, and mysteriously, up over and wrapped around a horizontal bar on an end table. He did some figure 8s in there, some trackbacks, it was quite impressive actually. There is a big tangled mess in the middle of this unravelling, but I didn't inspect it too much because I couldn't deal with it right then. Hopefully the tangles are fixable, I really don't want to have to cut the yarn, joins are going to show in this shawl so I am hoping to minimize them.

Well, I suppose it really wasn't his fault. What puppy could resist a squishy ball of yarn? Or maybe its just more proof of his cat-like-ness. Regardless, I never should have left it within his reach ...

short sleeves

2009-05-22T07:18:00.001-07:00

So I am wearing my coraline sweater today, I am quite pleased with the way it turned out, I think it actually passes as real clothing and not just some crazy sweater I knitted. However, one problem has confirmed itself. The sweater itself may not be too small but the sleeves are definately too short!! A good inch or two too short ... sigh. I'll just have to roll up my sleeves so no one notices ...

The berocco alpaca has a wonderful drape though. I do love this yarn.

my first pattern

2009-05-18T20:14:00.000-07:00

Finally posted my first pattern! It's simple, but cute.They are called Cupcake Mittlets, and the pattern can be downloaded here.

six missings yo's.

2009-05-14T06:44:00.001-07:00

I'm usually pretty good at lace. I don't make mistakes because I'm a counter by nature. I always count when I knit, so lace tends to be easy for me to get right. However, a few nights ago, I managed to mess up a row so badly, I must have been half asleep. I missed not one, not two, not three but SIX yarn overs in ONE ROW!!! Oh my goodness, how did that happen? I've never missed a single yo! Luckily I noticed pretty quickly on the next knit row when nothing was lining up. However, this still means I have to unravel two lacey rows which in my experience will likely be a full night's work.

This shawl is looking more and more like a lengthy, lengthy project ... I am dreading the unraveling ...

a puppy sleeping on my lap

2009-05-10T13:35:00.001-07:00

Some knitting updates...

It's always fun to receive a box full of yarn in the mail!!From this box, I've started the Fountain Pen Shawl from the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Knits. The finished product is seen here:And this is where I am at, after two repeats of the body pattern:I feel as though this will be a long road, I love lace knitting but I am very slow at it. This one requires attention. But I think it will be very beautiful in the end.

I found some blocking mats (play mats, really) at Canadian Tire for $14.99. Much better price than buying real knitting mats! They even come in cool colours such as "Camo" and "Urban" ... I was not aware that pink was an urban colour but whatever ... I used the grey side for now because I haven't tested that the colours won't bleed.
And yes, on those blocking mats in a completely finished Coraline - finally! I have to admit it is a little small but I am hoping that maybe it will stretch out a little with wear. I love it and am very proud of it so I sure hope so!Finally, I re-knit the alpaca shrug ribbing, and it worked! I used size 7 needles for the bind off (4 sizes larger) and I was able to get a nice stretchy ribbing. I think it may actually get worn now, I hope so as the alpaca is soooo soft!
That's all for today! Must tend to sleepy puppy on my lap ...

a slave to sugar

2009-05-07T08:32:00.000-07:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I love sweets. My sweet tooth is so big it has chipped off and the pieces have been adopted by other people. I love to bake, I love chocolate, and I have to have that spoon of sugar in my coffee. I never crave salty food, only sugar. It is my weakness and I have always contended that if I didn't eat sugar like it was sugar's last day on earth, I would be 10 pounds thinner and wouldn't have to work out 6 days a week.

So I have decided, totally randomly, to do a 1 week sugar fast. Usually, people do this for a lot longer - 1 to 3 months - but I just want to see a) if it is possible and b) if it makes any sort of difference in my body/mind. It's like the workout mantra "you can do anything for 30 seconds", I think I can do anything for a week. Beyond that, who knows, but why not give it a try.

So, starting tomorrow, I will not be eating any refined sugar for a week. I can, of course, still consume naturally occuring sugars such as in fruits and potentially even honey, but no white sugar, no fructose, glucose, sucrose, etc. No sugar substitutes like sucralose because that basically negates the whole point of this. So who knows, maybe I'll go crazy, maybe I won't notice a difference at all, maybe I'll substitute sugar with potato chips and beer. Guess we'll see!

creating and destroying

2009-04-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Whole wheat snickerdoodles from One Smart Cookie,and taking apart my lovely shrug.

destruction

2009-04-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I think I might take the plunge and do it. I completed a shrug a while ago using a beautifully soft alpaca yarn. However, I have never worn it because it sits a little funny. I think the edge ribbing is too tight, and have tried to block it looser but to no avail. I didn't want to have to redo it because once something is done, I have trouble starting it again (because its done! I want to be enjoying it!!) However, I keep looking at it, touching it, trying it on, and it has so much potential but looks so terrible right now. I think I have to finally do it.

I'm going to rip out the entire edging. The reason this is a pain is because the edging requires picking about about 300 stitches or so which is incredibly painstaking. But I have 1.5 extra balls of the alpaca left, and its so soft I really want to give the shrug another try. I'm going to try picking up more stitches around the neck and the bottom (where it curves) in hopes that it won't pucker and will lie flat.

Here's hoping. If it doesn't work after the second try I'm giving up. As my stack of unworn sweaters will tell you I am good at this ...

wishing i was knitting instead of sitting

2009-04-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

I like ordering yarn online, because it is sooooo exciting to get a big parcel of yarn in the mail! However, the waiting period is torture, especially when it is coming from the U.S. This time around, I received a tracking number, but when I enter it in the post office website, I get a notice saying it is expected to be delivered by ... one week ago. Bleh. How am I supposed to track that?

I am waiting for some lace weight merino/silk yarn to start the fountain pen shawl, I am very excited about trying that, I've never knit with lace weight before, although I have knit with very fine gauge sock yarn so it's probably very similar. I am also waiting for some bright red worsted weight wool for the february lady sweater. Due to the massive blocking required for coraline, I'm finally admitting that a) swatching is important and b) i am not ALWAYS an extra small and not all sweaters need to be fitted, so I'm hoping to make the FLS a nice, loose, swingy sweater.

The buttons I ordered off etsy are wonderful, but they are raw so i need to coat them before I put them on the coraline sweater. Then, just the button loops and I'll finally be done. I have to say, after washing, the Berocco alpaca yarn is super soft and deliciously smooshy. I will definately use again.

My stripey socks are coming along, but I gave up trying to knit continental with them. It was just too hard with such a small needle, I kept splitting stitches and it looked awful. So I frogged and started again regular style. Also had a minor brain setback that required me to frog the heel FOUR TIMES before I got it right. The sad thing is the first three times I did the exact same thing each time, thinking that I must have made an unknown mistake, not realizing that I was interpreting the pattern wrong. Sigh. Well, I learned my lesson and I will never mess up a short row heel again!

i have the best mom ever.

2009-04-23T16:11:00.001-07:00

I received a parcel in the mail today from my mom ... do you know what it was? An Easter parcel - full of chocolates and home made Easter decorated sugar cookies! Oh, and did I mention that it was shipped half way across the country? Oh and also that I am an adult? I think I need to start repaying all the sugary kindness and send some cookies back her way.
Thanks mom!

Puppy's first sweater

2009-04-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

We took puppy for a hair cut, they kind of butchered his hair, but the end result is still pretty cute ...But then I decided that with no hair, he should really have a sweater ...I knit this up over the weekend. I love it! Puppy does not ... but maybe when it gets cold again he'll appreciate it!

gasp! blocking success!

2009-04-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

I bought more knitpicks yarn. I couldn't help it, it's so cheap yet yummy! I also finally got my DPN WIPs. So I'll be checking the mail in anticipation every day for a few weeks now!

Also, the Coraline blocking worked!!!! I still need to do a second blocking, as the first I was really focusing on length. I got the length! It's perfect and so soft and beautiful, I can't wait to wear it. I just need to lengthen the arms about an inch, and widen the shoulders a little. But it looks absolutely amazing, I am going to love this sweater I can tell ... I ordered some buttons off of etsy so hopefully I will receive them about the same time I finish a second blocking, and then I can take some pictures of the finished product. Love, love, love this one!

pictures of things (or, my busy day)

2009-04-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be full of pictures. So let's just start with a nice yummy picture.Earl Grey cupcakes from Cupcakes Galore .... deeeeelicious!! I've already had two. :)

I've been able to do some baking because I no longer have to focus on my yard, which had been flooded as evidenced here:However, some good ice chipping work has cleared the drainage path and it's starting to dry up. Phew.

In knitting news, I finished Coraline!!! Except for the buttons, of course. Here is a pre-blocking picture.Yes, it is that small. How on earth will I fit into it? Here is a during-blocking picture.I estimate this may be the first of a number of blockings to get the right shape, but so far I'm getting some good stretch out of it. And yes, I do need a better blocking solution, as stabbing sewing pins into my carpet is not working very well.

Here is a pre-blocking picture of my dog.And a during-blocking. He is not that interested in blocking apparently.

i'm such a smocker

2009-04-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

I've started the smocking on coraline, it is taking quite a long time but it is turning out quite nicely, I think. The first smock row I did took me close to an hour. I think part of the problem is that I am not using a cable needle, just a dpn, which requires careful juggling. Here is a close up (as close as I can get) of the first 16 rows. I think it looks pretty neat, and it's going to look great once its all done.While I'm displaying photos of coraline, here is the sweater, hanging out on my coffee table. It's starting to have significant mass now. This is the body and the arms up to the shoulders. Only about 30 more rows until completion. I'm still worried it will be too small though, I really hope the yarn stretches as much as the pattern requires.And just for fun, here is my dog, with a bone that is clearly too big for him, but he doesn't mind!

imaginary blog readers

2009-04-03T11:21:00.001-07:00

I've decided I want to make the fountain pen shawl from interweave's spring 2009 issue. It never struck me as being something I wanted to make when I first got the magazine, but just yesterday I thought it might be neat to make a lace shawl - I don't know where this idea came from, but I went searching for lace shawl patterns, and the one that caught my eye was the fountain pen shawl. Convenient, since the pattern is sitting on my desk. However, I think I am going to try and finish Coraline first or else it may never get done. I'm finished the stocking stitch portion, so now I am about to start the smocking - I'm excited about that, I've never done smocking before.

Once I've completed that, I'll start the shawl, keep the long term stripeys going, and then start on another sweater - either owls or fls. Speaking of fls, the 0 votes on my last post indicate to me that the only ones reading this blog are the imaginary ones. But that's ok, they are the most forgiving and enthusiastic ones! (In my mind at least, they are saying 'Yaaaayyy!!!!')

Anyways, I'm trying to plan projects to keep diverse ranges as WIPs. If I have 3 pairs of socks, I won't work on them all. But if I have a lace project, a mindless project, and a big thick project, I can switch back and forth to keep the variety going. Oh, now I have an urge to start on that shawl, luckily I can't go to the yarn store until next week anyways, so hopefully I can resist for a while!

Looking forward to the long weekend next week, I need a break from all this doom and gloom.

colour conundrum

2009-03-24T11:41:00.001-07:00

I purchased some colour cards from knitpicks for a the WotA worsted weight wool, because at $1.99 a skein you can't go wrong! I plan on using it for the FLS, and probably for other projects as well since it is such a bargain for a basic worsted weight wool that comes in lots of great colours. I feel like I am writing an advertisement, I assure you, I don't work for knitpicks!

Anyways, I want to order the yarn for the FLS, but I can't decide on a colour, so many choices! I generally go with black, brown, beige, etc. I'm a neutral girl ... but this time I want something a little more interesting. I've narrowed it down to a few, posted below. I know there are not many of you that read this blog but if you do let me know which one you think is best for a nice warm cardigan ...

Black Cherry

Claret

Firecracker

Forest

Sapphire

Out like a lion, apparently

2009-03-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

The first day of march was half beautiful day, half windstorm, which left us wondering - did march come in like a lion or a lamb? This was of course to predict how the weather would be at the end of march, because as we all know, this saying is scientifically proven. Well, after spending the whole day saturday pumping flood water out of my backyard (luckily flooding only my yard and garage, and not the house, phew), we spend the whole day sunday sobbing - oh yeah, and shoveling the 2 feet of snow that suddenly fell saturday night! argh, my yard - and my garage - are going to be ruined.

In knitting news, I ran out of yarn for my frostbite socks with just a toe left! I need maybe 50 yards but of course cascade 220 only comes in 220 ... oh well, more leftover yarn for me. T suggested I make puppy a sweater with the leftovers - what a fun idea! Back to working on coraline, which is making me go stocking stitch crazy. I need a new lacy project! Maybe I should buy my FLS yarn ... Hmmm ...

Spring? Pfft.

2009-03-20T06:28:00.000-07:00

I'll believe in this whole "spring" thing when there isn't 3 feet of snow in my backyard. Seriously. However, the impending warm weather means my garage will be flooded by about 2 feet of water soon. Good thing it's the garage and not the house. The weather this year has driven me nuts! I can't wait until the "real spring" arrives!!

I finished one frostbite sock and it's quite fun and warm. Since the pattern I'm using is for slouch socks, I made them about 5 inches shorter so that I can just wear them like regular socks. I mean, it's not 1989 anymore. About half done the second one, they are quick to knit because they are knit flat and seamed. A lot of Erica Knight's patterns are like that - the gloves in particular I am thinking of. Using a mattress stitch, the seam is perfectly invisible. Only problem is the bump on the inside of the sock. Not a big deal though.

Finally got my knit picks order in the mail - yay! The felici yarn is the softest yarn ever, they must make it out of babies or something. Or merino, whatever. I'm excited to start stripey socks but at the same time, I know they will take me a long time to do a) continental knitting b) size 1 needles. I really should get back to coraline but I was a little coralined out. I need another project when the frostbite socks are done - both the stripey socks and coraline are a whole lot of stocking stitch and I think I need something more interesting to work on on the side. Something lacey. I have been meaning to design a lace scarf so I suppose I should do that. Or maybe I'll start FLS or owls! Sweater overload! It's spring, remember!!

Lemon Meringue Magic

2009-03-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

Two and a half hours of labour produced the most delicious cupcakes I have ever made. Lemon cake filled with lemon cream topped with meringue. Deeeeelish! I just had to share. I can't stop eating them. Good thing there is only 12.

Sore all over

2009-03-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

I started a new training program. Oh man, 2 days in and every muscle in my body is sore. In a good way. I just don't know how I'm going to be able to keep doing this every day!! I took the "before" pictures, so there will be evidence if it actually works ...

In knitting news, I started some frostbite socks. I am calling them frostbite socks because they are big thick warm socks, as opposed to the fine gauge ones I usually knit. My doctor recently diagnosed me with Renaud's disease, and while I am convinced he is full of it, I still have the unfortunate problem of purple toes in the winter. So I decided to focus on making some nice warm socks to keep the frostbite off my toes. These ones come up to my knees so maybe I can wear them over my nylons on those cold winter days ...

Sigh. It's March and I'm still preparing for the winter. I need to go to Cuba or something.

Hoot hoot

2009-03-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Although I already have a lengthy project on the go, and a number of small projects started, and a number of other projects brewing, I have the urge to knit Owls:

Found here: http://needled.wordpress.com/designs/ (As I'm writing research papers lately I feel the urge to cite)

It's so alluring. And intriguing. And fun. I love it and I may just have to knit it. The more WIPs the better, right?

Sweet Monkey Love

2009-03-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, did I mention I finished my monkeys? Love them!!

At last

2009-03-07T11:14:00.000-08:00

Well, it was inevitable, but I've finally done it. I've changed this blog into a good old fashioned knitting blog. I figure, why put it off any longer, this blog has slowly transitioned into a knitting blog without me admitting it. So, I've changed the title of this blog in order to finally admit it!

So I have been working on a couple things lately. The most notable would be my first pattern! Yup, I designed and wrote up a pattern. Granted, it is a dead easy pattern but it was good practice for the more intricate designs I have floating around in my head. I recently bought this book, and I'm extremely excited about it. I usually try to design lace in my head (which never quite works) or else try and find examples on the internet, but this is exactly what I need! I'm thinking that when I have a few more designs I will post them on ravelry. I may also try to figure out a good way to post here, we'll see.

I started the first sleeve of coraline, I'm so excited about this sweater, but really hoping that the yarn I've chosen will block to the proper gauge. I did get gauge with my swatch but I'm worried about the sweater as a whole because it needs to stretch a significant amount for it to fit. I think it will have to be a very agressive blocking. Keep your fingers crossed.

I bought some self striping sock yarn last week. I know I keep saying no to socks but I realized how much I love wearing them so I thought I'd try an easy one - self striping so all I have to do it knit. I'm actually going to use this opportunity to learn how to do continental style knitting, because that would definitely help with the whole "slowest knitter ever" thing.

Still working on my other project ... don't want to say anything yet. Hopefully it will come to fruition soon ...

My Feet are Sore

2009-02-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

Well, the bad news is that my flight out of Phoenix was delayed such that I miss my connection in Denver. The good news is that they re-booked me on a non-stop flight to Calgary that arrives at the exact same time. Nice. Only snag is that I am now at the airport 4 hours early. Oh well, love the free wifi.

So I did not get to knit at all on this trip. Finished half of my last Monkey on the plane ride in, but then I proceeded to work 10, 11, 12 and finally 15 hours days, leaving no time for anything fun, such as shopping, sightseeing or knitting. I did however, get to sleep, and also to eat. Sometimes. It was a productive week though, and I am glad I came, as I was able to take on a lot of responsibility, and show a lot of initiative. I really think I made a good impression. But who knows, right?

My feet are killing me. Even though I did not spend most of my time standing or walking, it really is painful to wear shoes all day. I'm used to taking them off after 9 hours or so - 15 hours makes them incredibly sore! So I am relaxing in the airport, drinking some tea, and surfing the internet with my shoes off to kill some time. Hence the reason why this post is pointless. I suppose many of mine are though ... I don't have a lot to say ...

The sun is going down. Phoenix is quite pretty actually.

Plane old knitting

2009-02-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

I'm just full of puns today ...

So some people are still shocked to know that you can bring knitting needles on the plane. How did this come up? I was complaining to my boss how HE got to take the direct flight to Phoenix, while I had to take the 6 hour flight via Denver. Boo! But I shouldn't complain, I will be spending next week in Phoenix where the sun always shines. Due to the 12 hours in the plane and minimum of 4 hours in the airport, never mind 5 nights alone in Arizona, I anticipate a lot of knitting!

Coraline is going much faster than I thought, I am almost done the body save the smocking. However, I think I will bring the monkeys on the trip as smaller projects are always easier to transport. I was hoping to get some WIP DPN tubes, but cannot find any, and they are no longer available on knitpicks. Hmmm.

I also hope to start on my new project. Yes, of course it is a knitting project, but it also is a different kind of project. I don't want to jinx it though so that's all I'll say for now. But I have so many ideas running through my head! Hope they all work out ...

To macbook or not to macbook?

2009-01-27T08:03:00.000-08:00

I have an iBook G4 that I have been using faithfully for four years with no problems, other than those that come with deprecated hardware. Recently, the battery has come to the end of its life. I'm pretty sure it's used up and not just on the fritz as it's been running non-stop for 4 years. It basically charges to 100% but only holds the charge for about 30 minutes before needing another charge. So I know what to do, buy a new battery.

So here is my problem. I always hoped this iBook would last me at least 6 years. For the price, that seemed like a reasonable amount of time. However, now that it is "broken", I'm not sure if it is worth it to buy a new battery at this point or just jump in the deep end and buy a new MacBook. My iBook is just barely running Leopard these days, has no bluetooth, no camera, no wireless n, no superdrive, no virtualization, etc etc and the shiny new MacBook is sooooo appealing!

So should I
a) Buy a new 150$ battery and try to stretch this one out for 2 more years
b) Buy a new MacBook for $1400 (gack!)
c) Keep the iBook plugged in for 2 years, we are in a recession after all ...

I know $1400 is a lot of money, but 150$ is 10% of a new MacBook. So is 10% worth 2 potential years? What if something else dies before that? I've already upgraded the RAM as much as it can go, there is nowhere else this iBook can go.

Sigh. I wish that someone would just give me $1400 on the condition that I buy a new laptop. That would be super.

So far, so good, so cheap.

2009-01-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the 22nd and I have so far stuck to my non-consumeristic month. Although it's been tough to pass up on some of the shopping opportunities, it has shown me what a huge dent in my bank account my personal shopping makes. Although I will go back to shopping in February, I think I will go with a renewed sense of the value of things. I may even (gasp) make a budget. I've never found myself needing a budget in the past due to my frugality (sic. cheapness), but I think it would make a difference now, especially since this recession is making me look at my net worth in a new light. Speaking of this recession, I don't want to talk about it. I currently have a job. That is all.

In knitting news, I finished the baby sweater, although I am not too happy with it. I don't know if it was the pattern, or the fact that I upsized the needles to get gauge with a finer yarn, but it looks really sloppy. Oh well, it is still pretty cute. I finished one monkey sock, which I LOVE, and have started the second. It's not the funnest lace to knit as it required intense concentration, so these are staying a long term project, but it comes out lovely. I now have a thing for lace. I'm trying to find other lace patterns to knit, and I think I want to try designing a lace pattern. For something simple like a scarf, but it is so fascinating to me how it works up. Maybe it's the mathematician in me ...

I also finally started Coraline!!! So excited! But I quickly realized this is going to be another long, slow project. Stocking stitch on size 4s. I've been knitting for a week and I haven't even finished the hem. Loving the Ysolda pattern though, her detail work is amazing and all these beautiful touches keep showing up. I may not have enough yarn but I think it will work out ok, because if a new dye lot is significantly different in colour, I will simply use it for the entire smocking on the top and it should work out alright. I also learned to do a provisional cast on for this project (on size 2 needles!!) and i-cord edges. Very neat.

Finally, I've decided I want to try some colourwork. I don't know what yet, but it seems like a new technique I would like to conquer. I have a huge list of yarn and accessories I'd like to start purchasing in February. Even though I currently have three lengthy projects on the go I feel like I don't have enough going on. I think I need to start something else as well ... Need more WIPs!

2009 ... The year of the ______ ?

2009-01-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

I don't like making "resolutions" per say, but it is always nice to start fresh in a new year.

This year, I have decided that it will be the year of knitting for myself. I started last year, but still ended up making lots of things for other people. This year, it's all about me. At least for a while ... :) Actually, K's new baby came early so I am now scrambling to make a cute little sweater for him. Luckily I started it in 2008 so it doesn't count towards the year of the me.

On non-knitting news, T is getting sick again which is always a sign that we have not been eating well for a long period of time. We haven't been eating poorly, but I guess it adds up. So this year will be the year of taking time to shop and cook properly. Just be healthy in general. Try to stay consistent with working out. Etc. I can't really say its a resolution as I say this every year but hopefully one year it will stick.

We have decided January will be a non-consuming month. Only necessities, no frivolous purchases. Not because we can't afford to but because we don't need to. Guess I can't get those puppy booties after all ... They'll have to wait until February!

I had a decent holiday this year. There were some ups and downs, but overall it was nice to be with family. It was too short though, and I have to say I am not looking forward to getting back to work. I still have too much to do!

For anyone who is actually reading this, hope you and yours have a fantastic 2009!!

These needles didn't fall off the christmas tree!

2008-12-16T08:43:00.000-08:00

So I just won a set of Boye interchangeable circular needles off ebay ... whee! The only reason I bought them is because it is ridiculously hard to find a size 4 circular needle, oddly. Without going to a yarn store, I was unable to find any needles smaller than size 6. Of course, I could have just gone to a yarn store, and paid 12$ for the needles, but that wouldn't be as much fun. And I love the Boye needles mostly because of the colours (not the quality of the needles).

Coincidentally, the same day I won these needles, T asked me if I wanted a set of circular needles for Christmas! I had mentioned the Harmony set from knitpicks earlier and he picked up on that and offered to get it for me. However, the Harmony's don't go smaller than size 6. So I told him he could give me the Boye's for Christmas instead! That worked out perfectly. I'm so excited to receive them, I'm checking the mail every day!

Once I get them, I will pull out the size 4s and let T wrap up the rest ... I really want to get started on Coraline. Other knitting updates - finished my gift gloves and branching out. Blocking branching out right now, it is so beautiful!! I know it will be received well. Started some slippers as a gift but realized it is hopeless to finish them in time so they will be frogged. Went back to plugging away on monkeys. This is the finest sock yarn I've ever used, they are knitting up beautifully but slowly as they require incredible attention to detail.

In non-knitting news: it's almost Christmas!! Whee!!

Do dogs really look like their owners?

2008-12-05T13:23:00.000-08:00

You be the judge ... although I think he is a few years out of date with technology ...

The sweet smell of cinnamon

2008-11-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

You know Christmas is coming when everything starts smelling like cinnamon, and all the coffee shops start selling egg nog flavoured coffee ... mmm ...

So I finished my kitty, so so cute.

Puppy would like to play with kitty but she is just too small, puppy would eat her. Finally received my RYC yarn, started a second pair of gift gloves, and also started Branching Out, which I am LOVING. It is such a fun lace pattern, and it knits up so beautifully, it is a joy to knit. Haven't touched Monkeys or Coraline for a while, as those are for ME and I am consumed with knitting for others right now.

Cleaned up my stash today, I have accumulated more than I realized ... Also managed to clean the rest of my office - I can finally see the floor and it is a huge weight off my mind. I found all sorts of things I had forgotten about!

Tomorrow I am off to Vegas ... I am looking forward to shopping, although the exchange rate is horrible right now so I'll have to keep that in mind. But I am also looking forward to relaxing and to some good company. Will bring my knitting on the plane, I hope to finish at least one project.

I Needles Them!

2008-11-12T18:32:00.000-08:00

Just received the most beautiful needles .... bought them on Etsy, my new favorite site!

More knitting junk.

2008-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

Finally added buttons to Hey Teach, and actually wore it to work yesterday! The first sweater ever worn out of the house! What an accomplishment ... Found my new favorite yarn store this weekend too ... bought some yarn to make Coraline. It looks more difficult than anticipated though so I think I'll start this slow. Will swatch AND wash AND block to make sure my gauge is good because this one will look silly if it ends up too big. Or too small for that matter.

Almost finished my kitty but its ridiculously small so I don't think I'll use it as a gift. Haven't worked on Monkey socks for a few weeks now. Still waiting for RYC yarn for the xmas gift marathon!!! Bleh.

Bathroom is almost done as well ... just need to seal the grout and caulk the edges and hopefully by the end of this week we can have our bathroom back! That would be great ...

I just realized this post is full of nothingness ...

Too Legit 2 Knit

2008-10-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

How does your life get away from you so quickly that you no longer have time to do anything and tasks start piling up on you so that you can't even see the floor of your brain?

I haven't had time to do anything lately, but really, my life is not that complicated. Nor is it that busy. I'm a homebody. I stay at home, walk my dog, do some knitting, and that's about 80% of my life. I think the fact that I have so few time bounded activities at home, I've let it get to the point where it's hard to do anything. It's so much easier to manage your time when you have things to manage. Regardless, nothingness is now piling up. Cleaning, cooking, shopping, finances, all the little things that you fit into your day no longer fit in my day. Is it laziness? Probably. But when you have so many things hanging over your head you just lack the insight on how to get things started. I need to get all the tedious things out of the way so I can start doing things I enjoy again ...

The time bounded activity that's currently running my life is the tiling. Just the thought of it makes me feel like I can't do anything else - if only out of guilt. We're going to push hard this weekend to try and get it done. Then it's time to turn over a new leaf and organize my life. And my office, which I literally can't see the floor of...

panic at the disco - i mean, bathroom

2008-10-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

So we were spontaneous this weekend and ripped up our entire bathroom floor without really having a plan on how to put it back in ... We're going one step at a time, and so far everything is working out pretty well, but I'm still in panic mode.

We just don't really know what we are doing, and relying on wikipedia is hardly the best resource. I just wish someone would come and tell us exactly what to do! Then we could do it! I'm just worried we are going to screw something up that is not really visible, and 2 years down the road we'll have to replace the floors all over again ...

Snuggly socks vs. snuggly puppy - puppy wins.

2008-10-01T08:39:00.001-07:00

Finished and gifted the bonnet, it turned out quite nice. Pictures are all posted on ravelry so I've stopped posting them here but one day I'll put up a bunch of my finished projects for any non-ravelers that want to see ... I think I would make the bonnet again, it was quick and easy and cute.

Starting piecing together Hey Teach, I just have the button band left. I guess I need to go buy some buttons. I feel like the colour got brighter after blocking. Hopefully the colour doesn't run, I've heard of that happening with knitpicks yarn.

Went to the yarn store and was lured in by some beautiful borocco sock yarn - there is this one shade of blue that every time I see it I need to buy it. It's weird, I don't even like blue but this colour is so intoxicating I just NEED to buy it. So I did. And one skein in green. It was my first yarn balling project, and I needed T to help me figure out how to do it, but it worked out well in the end. Started knitting Monkey socks, they are soft and stretchy and snuggly. However, puppy likes to eat the yarn (he must be intoxicated by the colour as well) so I have not been able to work on them much as every time I pull them out he jumps on my lap and munches away.

Speaking of puppy, he was bitten by a slug!! Gross. Since when do I have slugs in my yard? Since when do slugs bite? Soon, winter will kill all the bugs, right?

I love fall. Thanksgiving, halloween, leaves, colours, warm inside, crisp outside, how could you get a better season?

I need some fat babies

2008-09-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, maybe the title of this post is not as witty as I'd hoped, but really, the point of this post is that babies are SMALL. Yet if you try and buy baby yarn, it comes in LARGE quantities. I started knitting a Top Down Bonnet with Anime Character (minus the Anime Character) and it is going to use about 20 yards out of the 5 million yards that came in the ball of yarn. So, once again, I have all this extra baby yarn! Well, now I have blue, white and yellow so I'm ready for anything. Except girls.

Anyways, this bonnet has been a learning experience. Although it is small, it has lots of techniques in it. So far, I have learned to do a figure 8 cast on (which took 5 tries, but looks great in the end!) and am knitting it using the magic loop (too lazy to go out and buy dp when i already had circular). I will also have to learn how to make an i-cord (which I assume will be easy) and maybe even (gasp!) to crochet! I'm almost finished though, this was a nice quick and staisfying project and I hope it fits the baby it's made for. Wouldn't it be ironic if the baby was too fat?

Done the back and front for hey teach, starting the sleeves when the bonnet is finished. I am going to shorten up the sleeves to make them more cappy. Still waiting for my RYC yarn delivery, it is on back order. I have an urge to make socks again. And herringbone mittens. And wrist warmers. All for gifts. To myself.

More Projects

2008-09-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

I finished the gloves, they are quite nice, but far too small for their intended recipient. So they have gone into the box of miscellaneous finished goods. I'm sure I'll think of someone to give them to, Christmas is coming up after all. (Oh god, I can't believe I'm saying that, it's only September) Also ordered more RYC yarn for more gloves. I think they will make good gifts.

Blocked the shrug, it worked a little bit but I think I ruined the stretch on the ribbing. It hangs a little nicer now, still not too pleased though. Maybe I'll try wearing it to see how it ends up hanging. I could also try washing the whole thing and wet blocking it. Hmm.

Got my knitpicks bright green yarn! Started hey teach - I think it looks kind of old lady-ish in muted colours, but in the bright colours its quite funky so I'm giving it a try. It looks like it will be a pretty quick knit. Finally, big needles!

Other than that, looking forward to halloween ... and dressing up the puppy!! It's the only time of the year I am allowed to put clothes on him. Although, I'm trying to work some winter booties in since the snow will be cold on his paws ... :)

Average Ladies Have Skinny Fingers

2008-08-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am about half done the first glove for the pair I am making as a Christmas gift. The sizing stated that it was one size, but that it would fit an "average lady's" hand. However, I have complete 3 finger so far and they are tight on me! I am significantly less than average, especially in hand size! So I'm a little worried that they may not fit their desired recipient. Oh well, may just have to keep these ones for myself!!

Will blocking save the day?

2008-08-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

I realize that this blog is all about knitting lately. That is because I no longer travel due to the ridiculous amount of time and effort it is taking me to procure a new passport. Oh well, the next trip will be a good one!

Anyways, I finished the shrug, but unfortunately it doesn't fit nicely at all. I think the ribbing around the front is too tight some how, not sure how I could have done it differently, since I picked up every single stitch possible. But the front pieces are bunching, and it doesn't sit nicely. I am going to do some research on how to block a cardigan (I have a book!!) and see if I can fix it. Otherwise, it's another project gone bad. Out of 3 sweaters, so far 3 are bad.

Also starting knitting swatch for the cashmere gloves - I am going to start checking my gauge since I think it may have something to do with sweaters never fitting. The wool is so soft, I think these are going to be nice gloves.

I ordered some yarn from knit picks for Hey Teach. I'll check my gauge on this one before I do it because eventually I want a sweater that fits properly!!! I'm already planning on making Arnold with the leftover Knit Picks yarn as a gift for K's baby #2 ... But that won't be for a while, too many projects on the go now!

Third time's a charm

2008-08-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

So I'm making great progress on my little shrug .. done all the pieces, knitting the front band. I picked up 112 stitches along the right front and did a knit/purl ribbing, only to realize I messed up the k/p on the 6th stich. Ok, undo it and start again. Picked up the same 112 stitches again. Got to the collar and was having trouble with really tight stitches. I went on to ravelry to see if there were tips for my particular problem and lo and behold - I have been picking up stitches wrong my whole life!!! I have been reading "pick up and knit" as "pick up" hence the reason for my tight stitches. Ok, have to do it right. Undo again. Finally, I picked up (and knit) about 275 stitches and have officially started the front band! Whew! It took me about 3 hours and my fingers were killing me but it makes so much more sense than the way I was doing it before.

On another note, although I like the way the shrug is turning out, I think if I did it again I would use a more drapey yarn like the silk that was intended for it, or a bamboo/linen/etc type yarn. The shrug does not actually sit on the chest, it kind of hugs the sides of it so it would look nicer if it sort of draped over - I am worried it might end up bunching up on the sides instead. We'll see I guess.

Received my RYC cashmere yarn in the mail yesterday, very lovely! Will start my gift gloves soon.

A New Beginning

2008-07-22T06:56:00.001-07:00

I've abandoned the big grey monster that is my second sweater for the time being in order to be able to knit ... another sweater. Sounds crazy. However, this big grey sweater is shaping up to be another one of those "ugly sweaters" that everyone makes in the beginning of their knitting career. I can feel it, it just looks wrong. And so, although I refuse to give up the project completely after 2 years of hard work and the fact that I am about 85% finished, I just can't bear to keep working on it right now. In order to keep my zest for knitting alive, I've started a new project that contrasts the old.

It's a shrug -- so much smaller. I'm using Sandnesgarn Alpakka DK wool, which is so soft and light and (finally) a good quality wool. It's bright purple and I get excited every time I look at it! On the four flights I had last week I managed to finish about 70% of the back, so the progress is promising. Also, its in stocking stitch so I can finally stop concentrating on lace and cable. Ahhh its relaxing.

The only challenge is to keep it from smelling like dog ...

The last of the socks ... for now.

2008-07-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

Finally! I finished the socks that didn't want to be finished ... First, they were intended to finish up a roll of pink wool. Then I ran out of that wool only to find it was discontinued. So instead of abandoning the project, I re-started them using leftover white wool! Then I made a mistake somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, and had to undo 24 painstakingly tiny and lacy rows. Then I spilled port on the rest of the wool and had to carefully wash it out without wrecking the wool. But finally, finally, they are done!
Not as exciting as their creation would suggest, unfortunately. I vow to not make socks anymore. For now. They make such good gifts though!!

Next project (as the gigantic sweater is still on hold) is a silk shrug. I am hoping to get some silk wool shortly but the lack of knitting stores in Calgary combined with my new puppy tell me it will be a while before that happens ...

Off to the land of the Corona

2008-06-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Yup, that's right, I'm going to Mexico! We decided we really needed some time off together, away from the stresses of the house and so we booked a last minute deal for an all-inclusive in the Mayan Riviera. I'm really looking forward to it ... except ... it's raining!!! Why!?!?!?!

I am really, really hoping for some sun this week. All I want is to relax and sit on the beach. I don't plan on doing water sports, or sight seeing, or shopping. All I want to do is enjoy the sun. So I hope there is sun!!

Wooly Frustrations

2008-02-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Remind me to never again:

a) knit a gigantic sweater with lots of detail and tiny needles. Onto month 14 of project big sweater ...

b) put wool and port wine in the same bag. Especially white wool. And a leaky bottle of port.

c) unravel a ball of wool then try to roll it back up again, AFTER it has tangled itself into a woolly mess.

sigh.

Goa Part 2

2008-01-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

Goa is beautiful and ugly at the same time. I think I have a love hate relationship ... The natural beauty of the place is amazing. The Arabian Sea all along the coast, amazing lush greenery mixed with beaches, hills, valleys, it is gorgeous. However, it is like the Mexico of the British. Although the beaches are amazing, they are filled with old, overweight, leathery british people in speedos and inappropriate bikinis. Everything is way more expensive here because they are catering to tourists. You cannot get good Indian food, but you also can't get good western food.

My favorite part of Goa was getting an ayervedic massage from a lady in her house near the beach, swimming in the waves, and relaxing on a lounge chair in the sun. Once you left the beach it was the worst experience of India. THe worst hotel, and a sightseeing tour that consisted of a bus with no shocks dropping us off at 2 temples, explaining what they were in Hindi (no english) and then driving for 4 hours. Oh and capped off with a "boat cruise" which was a 1 hour dance party on a boat which my mom swears blew her eardrums. I really think in their rush to capatilize on tourism they have ruined the area ... it's too bad.

On another note, indians need to learn about economic diversity. In every city, you can buy the specific things that you can't get anywhere else. THere are always about 500 people selling the same things so no one really makes any money. However, if you go 2 km away, you can't find that thing anywhere. Really, if they just mixed around a bit, it would make a lot more sense ...

Anyways. We are back in Chembur. Now that I amover culture shock I really like it here. It is relaxed, vibrant, and so cheap!! We are doing some last minute shopping and hanging out wiht the family. We are leaving at 2:00 in the morning (tonight) to head home. I have about 40 hours of travel ahead of me. I am not looking forward to that. I am however looking forward to seeing T and to sleeping in my own bed!!