Swatching is good for you...

Here we see 4 hours of knitting the classic "feather and fan" pattern, in Alpaca Peru on 8mm needles. This is my swatch for the Knitting Olympics and it doesn't work. Dang. After consulting with the nice LYS-lady, I will re-swatch on 5mm needles and add an extra pattern repeat. If that doesn't work, I will re-swatch on 4mm needles and cuss a lot. But I will be ready for the Olympics. The pleasant surprise of this is that FnF is really simple and relaxing to do, once you get into the rhythm of it. Yay for that!


In other news, Jen's Baby Blanket is officially a Finished Object! Here's an up-close of it, showing the yarn label ("Melody" by Patons) and the seed stitch which is pretty cushy in this yarn.










Here's a shot of the whole blanket, draped over the loveseat in the sunroom - note that it is in fact sunny! Saturday was a lovely day. The yellow doesn't show very well in the pictures but it's a true lemon-yellow yellow, which looks like a very small box of crayons with the red and blue. I love it, I hope Jen does too.







Also in FOG-land, here's the hat I made for Peter's mom (aka MIL2B). She declared it "gorgeous" and her "favourite colour" (which one, says me, it's variegated for heaven's sake!). Happy MIL2B makes for happy DH2B makes for happy me. And I'm off the hook knitting for her now until the fall. YAY!

Current WIPs are:

1. Peter's sock #2 (half done)
2. baby-blue wristers for Julie's niece (half done)
3. Karen's "dragonfly" shawl (uh... 1/3 done? hard to tell with a triangle shawl)
4. my sweater... my poor neglected sweater which keeps getting pushed aside for other things. I will finish it, I will I will. And in time to wear during this winter, too. I hope.

For tonight, though - no knitting. Maybe none tomorrow either as I seem to have developed tendonitis in my right wrist from a combo of knitting/shoveling/lifting heavy things on the weekend. Dang again. And typing is NOT helping matters, so that's enough blogging for today.

Someone send me a comment, I'm lonely! :)

So many WIPs, so little cake...

I made a Bundt Cake, lemon-poppyseed. It's very yummy and almost all gone. Whilst waiting for the cake to bake on Friday night, I finished these wristwarmers, which are a variegated brown, for my Starbucks friend. (Here they are modelled by Dad, who has larger hands than I!) When I delivered them, the response was "Are You Crazy? You made these for ME?" Very cool.. . and now the rest of the Starbucks people want them. (sigh) So I need to make a pair of Medium and of Small, so everyone is covered (they will share, they say). Still , very satisfying.

Saturday / Sunday WIPs are shown here. The purply-blue thing is half a hat done in Shetland Chunky in shaker rib stitch. Yes, that shaker-knit sweater fetish I had in the 80s has come back to haunt me. Tricky to learn but not too difficult once you get into the rhythm of it. Speaking of rhythm, Wilson Pickett died last week... that sucks on so many levels. I am very pleased that I got to see him perform once live (at Bluesfest here in Ottawa) - on the same bill with Ike Turner, no less! Wilson F'n Pickett. RIP, big guy.

Sorry, digressed there for a minute. Also shown here are yet another pair of wristwarmers (needing to be seamed, but done knitting), in basic black for Julie's son Joseph (currently at Disneyworld/land, one or the other, where you don't need wristwarmers). These were dinner-and-hockey knitting while spending the evening with our favourite couple, Bundy & Kid (aka Jason and Yumi). Yumi/Kid has graciously agreed to be my matron of honour at the wedding this summer, and Bundy has agreed to be Master of the BBQ. This wedding will be awesome!

Finally, here we see Sleeve #1 of my (MY) sweater, finished increasing and needing about 4" before I start the decreases. Or maybe I've started them already - I need to check the pattern. Anyway, I'm loving how the variegated yarn works up differently in different parts of the sweater; check the cool diagonal-stripy thing on the cuff and the big diamond in the middle (which, if I recall correctly, hits right around the elbow-ish). The whole thing put together may look rather odd but I love it and it'll be warm, so F8ck 'em if they can't take a joke.

Speaking of jokes and funnies, I have to scan a couple of New Yorker page-a-day cartoons and get them up here, very funny knitting-related 'toons. And this afternoon I saw the weirdest/funny/cool movie, "Elvis has left the building". Random acts of death and comedy. Elvis impersonators. John Corbett (DROOL!). Lots of fun.

Right. Enough for today. Tomorrow here in Canada it is Federal Election Day. So remember, if you don't vote on Monday, you lose your right to complain on Tuesday. That's all I'm gonna say on that.

I am a (knitting) Olympian!

Ok, this post is a mishmash of other-place posts, so apologies if you've seen it before - I'm lazy in some things but since this is a record for me, I want to record the important stuff!

First - the Knitting Olympics. All hail the Harlot, and her twisted, enabling genius. :)
She has created, for our pleasure (or torture), the Knitting Olympics. Complete with logo!




Here was my initial reaction:
I am *so* in for this! What a terrific idea - thank you, Stephanie, for once again inspiring me! I will, for the Knitting Olympics, make my first-ever Feather and Fan shawl, out of "Alpaca Peru". I like the idea of a shawl for this, kind of like the towel around the neck or blanket over the shoulders at the end of an athletic event. Symbolic and warm and so so soft... wow, I'm looking forward to the Olympics even more now! Although I'm not sure how I'll do during the hockey games - I may need to switch off to something simpler whilst we Canadians capture double-gold hockey sticks again! :)

Here was my super-enthused public reaction:
The Harlot has struck again - she's posted a challenge to all to participate in the "Knitting Olympics"! One project, 16 days!

I'm "competing" in the Shawl event, with my first-ever Feather and Fan. There seems to be a big field in the Sock event, several Sweater athletes, and some crazy full-size Blanket/Afghan ultra-knitters. This could be VERY interesting, and fun too!

I may have to break the yarn diet to grab a couple more balls of Alpaca Peru - it's only 109 yards/ball and I have 4 balls... probably need a couple more? I'll have to go see Louise and Kelly (aka the LYS Wise Women).

And here is today's development:
Ooh man am I excited! I had decided for the Knitting Olympics to make a feather and fan shawl of Alpaca Peru. I had four balls in stash. A shawl will take 10 balls and no way to match the dye lot. This stuff is expensive... ouch!

So I pondered, and I argued with myself, and I finally made up my mind to just treat myself and buy 10 balls on the next paycheque. And then... and then... and then I checked eBay. And found 10 balls of Alpaca Peru at less than half retail price. *oh my!* I bid. I got the high bid. The auction closed less than an hour and a half later. YAY! I won I won I won! And then... and then... and then the nice lady who is selling the yarn says (via email), "oh by the way my hubby works right around the corner from you, how's about I get him to drop it off to you and save having to pay shipping and Pay Pal charges?"

SWEEET! My Olympic shawl-to-be is being delivered to my door on Friday. I am PSYCHED - this must be a good sign, right? Ooh, it's gonna be Pretty, and Warm, and Fuzzy, and WARM, and YAY!

SUCH a terrific end to the day. I can't wait to swatch (but I must, because I have 3 pair of wristwarmers and 1/3 of a baby blanket to finish first). But OOOOH BABY! Score!

Finally, here is a picture of that same eBay yarn. Isn't it pretty? Mmm... alpaca-y. So soft, so warm, so decadent, so - CHEAP! Woohoo! Honestly, I paid more for the Moda Dea "Aerie" for the Blue Fuzzy Thing than I will be paying for this. And this will probably last longer, wear better, and be far superior in every way. Assuming, of course, that I can figure out the darn pattern. *ahem*

I will remember to swatch... the swatch is my friend.

Non-knitting content - need to vent

I just got home from work. Take off coat and boots, dump bag, pick up mail. Phone rings. Answer. Voice on the other end says, "Is that the damn housekeeper?"

I'm flabbergasted. This is my grandfather on the phone. Yes, he's old. Yes, he's crotchety. BUT:

a) we don't have, and never have had, a housekeeper;
b) since when is swearing at someone an appropriate way to start a telephone conversation? and;
c) I'm nearly 35 years old. He should be able to tell my voice by now.

I was so furious, and hurt, I just handed the phone off and made a cup of tea, then came down to the computer. I feel like crying. I feel like calling him back and telling him off. I feel angry.

That's it. I'm going to drink my tea and as soon as the red mist of rage clears from my eyes, I'm going to knit something. That's all.

Sock and scarf

Here it is, in all its chunky glory, the First Sock!
In photo #1, you see it at final-fitting stage on Peter's foot, with the toe all kitchenered up but not yet darned in and trimmed. Perfect fit.











Photo #2 here is the sock alone - note the extra length in the foot (8 1/2 inches instead of the usual 5 3/4), and how beautifully rounded the kitchenered toe came out. :) I really am impressed with that technique.










Photo #3 is Peter's leg again - here we were making sure that the ribbing was snug enough but not too snug. This custom-fitting business is finicky, but totally worth it. Next to the foot is a 'store-bought' sock of the type Peter prefers - but the new one wins, it's actually warmer! Woohoo!








Finally, the OFA Red Scarf. OFA is Orphan Foundation of America, who do good things for kids without families. Their website is at http://www.orphan.org . This red scarf will be winging its way to a student in post-secondary education as a Valentine's gift. It's long enough and wide enough to keep the neck warm or even to wrap around the head - musn't let the brain freeze! It was made in garter stitch on 10mm needles of a doubled pseudomohair acrylic that's actually quite snuggly. I'm glad I made it.



I'm feeling really good about my knitting this week; the wristwarmers for my coffee-pouring friend are underway (in appropriate coffee-tones, TLC "Essentials" in "brownberry" variegated), and are perfect lunchtime knitting. The baby blanket may be finished this evening (if I'm not at the computer too long), or tomorrow latest, so I can give it to Jen at writer's group on Wednesday. Then I will start on sock #2.

New topic: should I be writing about non-knitting stuff on here? Is anyone interested in the minutiae of Kit-land? Or is it like the comedian said:

"You know who cares less about your problems and your life than you do?"
"Everybody!"

I'll have to mull on that.

Two blue hats and a long post...

Yesterday was a productive hat-day; today, we see the results - two blue hats! The one on the left is in "Aerie" by Moda Dea, about 1 1/2 balls, which was leftover from the Moebius wrap. The fuzziness shows well in the picture - it feels like a Muppet! This is for my friend Shirley at work, and it's a dang-near perfect match to her blue winter coat. I hope she likes it.

The one on the right is yet another Tim Horton's toque, and to be honest folks, I'm sick of this hat now. I've lost count of how many I have knit and even though it's quick and easy, it's grown kind of boring. So this will be the last "roll up the rim" hat for some time. However, this one was promised to my friend Sharon (also a work-friend, though she and I work in different places) before Christmas and it's long overdue. She will be pleased to see it complete at last!

Speaking of completions, I have to figure out how to set up my sidebar-thingys on here so I can list my WIPs and FOs more efficiently. So far, since Christmas I have done:

1. Hat & scarf set for me in "Tosca" by Lang (soooo yummy! I love this yarn!) - Done Dec. 29/05
2. Toque for my dear dear friend Yumi, in Patons Decor - this has all kinds of happy-tipsy New Year's Eve vibes knit into it, as I worked on it at her New Year's party and finished New Year's Day. - Done Jan. 1 /06
3. Wrist warmers for a work-friend's daughter, in "PINK" Patons Canadiana (wow, were they ever pink!) - Done Jan. 12/06
4. Sharon's hat, Patons Shetland Chunky - Done Jan. 14/06
5. Shirley's hat, Moda Dea Aerie - Done Jan. 14/06

I've also been working on a red scarf for the Red Scarf project, which will be sent to an orphan/foster care person who is now attending post-secondary education. That concept just seems right to me. The scarf is a little over 1/2 done so I must work on that and get it done quick quick. And a baby blanket for my friend Jen, in "Melody" by Patons which is FAT quick yarn! Loving the Melody!

And... SOCKS! Well, sock. Today I will finish my first-ever sock (and IMMEDIATELY get started on its mate, so as not to have fatal second-sock-syndrome). I had to rip out the heel flap / foot part the first time, and have still got two holes where I picked up the stitches the second time, but I'm just going to put in a stitch or two of darning to reinforce them and call it done. The second one will be better. These are also in Shetland Chunky and will be very VERY warm. Peter's excited about getting his socks finally.

The other WIP is my own sweater, begun on Christmas night and I keep picking away at it between other small projects. The back and front are done (and the same size - YAY!), and the first sleeve's cuff is done, ready to start the LOOOONG stretch of stockinette to get to the shoulder. I want this done by the end of the month so I can wear it in February when it's all yucky and grey out. The sweater is also (surprise, surprise!) in Shetland Chunky. I have to admit I'm getting a wee bit tired of this yarn too but I do love it. Just need to not have multiple WIPs in it at the same time, I think.

The "to be knit" list, despite 5 FOs and 4 WIPs, seems to be growing rather than shrinking. The latest project added is a shawl for my sister Karen, which we have dubbed the "dragonfly shawl" since it's in a pretty blue ribbon yarn that looks like dragonflies! Simple triangle, should be fun. So, with that added in, the current "to be knit" number is... *drumroll please*...30. Some little, some big, and yarn in hand for all but about half a dozen.

So, to quote Terence Stamp in "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert": Time is against us, and we have much to do!

Happy Sunday, Bloglanders!

A Friday Night Miracle (posted on Sunday)

Originally posted to Yahoo "KnitTalk" on Friday night:

I got home from our biweekly stitchnbitch about an hour ago and
settled in to catch up on the post-holiday posts. Grabbed my friend's
hat-in-progress from the bag to work on between page loads, etc.
Read, knit, read, knit, read AND knit, read AND knit...

WHOA! I can knit without looking! Woohooooo! Too cool, because I
was just saying to Daisy tonight that I was jealous of how she could
knit without looking (socks, even, on teeny weeny DPNs). And now here
am I knitting without looking!

Now, it's a plain knit hat on an Addi Turbo circ, but still - no
peeking! Woohoo!

This is a very cool thing and I had to share. Rock on, Knitfolk!

Now, for our Sunday content...

Yesterday I finished the front of my Shetland Chunky sweater, and - JOY! - it's the same size as the back, the armholes line up and everything. Very exciting. Wanted to start the sleeves right away but I've got some "commissions" to work on and also a baby blanket for a baby due next month. Got 1/2 of one commission done - it's a pair of wristwarmers for a little girl in Canadiana "Pink" (which is REALLY pink!) - except I don't have a little-girl sized pattern so I made the usual ones and will just get her mom to measure for me for placement of the thumb hole. I figure they will probably come close to her elbows - good to keep her warm!

The other commission is a poncho in Cottontots that I may start on later this week - it looks simple but challenging too. Will have to see. And I have a hat to finish and another one to start this week, as well as Peter's socks. Busy busy!

I'm really loving how I plan out each week's knitting projects and then (mostly) stick to that plan; I feel like I'm accomplishing a lot more. Of course I'm planning / scheduling my other "to-dos" also so the year is starting well. I even exercised four times this week. YAY!

Time for breakfast - have a groovy day, Bloglanders!

Kathy

Happy New Yarn!

er... New Year. Yeah, that's it. :)

Happy New Year, Bloglanders; I think that 2006 is going to be very good, knitwise (and purlwise, too!). All the Christmas-knit presents were well received and my neice is even making interested noises about learning to knit. Spread the skill, spread the love, thinks I! There are pictures but they're all on Peter's camera and I forgot to get the download/disc burning-thing done today but I will post photos soon. So yeah, Christmas rocked.

Christmas night I started my first sweater (first for me, and first for me, if you know what I mean)... it's a sweatshirt-style in Patons Shetland Chunky variegated and so far I love it - the back is done and the front about 1/3 done. Although I must admit that the sleeve shaping has me a little nervous because it seems a HUGE curve. Which begs the question: What the heck is a raglan sleeve anyway? 'cuz that's what these will be, apparently. Anyway, I'm not going to worry until it comes time to put it all together. Cool thing with the sweater - I learned a new decrease method involving slipping to and then knitting off a cable needle, so I'm thinking cables are not too far off in my future. Maybe. There's this vest I want to do that's got rows and rows of wee cables in it...

Also OTN during this holiday break, a hat for my good buddy Yumi (she of the Gryffindor scarf and great cleavage), which I finished today after knitting New Year's Eve happy/tipsy vibes into it at her party last night. Where, weirdly, I saw a fellow-knitter who I hadn't seen in years. World spins oddly but well, I say!

AND (drumroll please), I have started Peter's Socks. Yes, I am forgoing the "prototype pair" for me and doing his first. They're going much quicker than I thought and he loves the look of them so far. Still on the calf-ribbing, but who knows, maybe I'll turn my first heel this week. Cross your fingers. The fun part of the socks is that he is very impressed with watching me knit on DPN's, which I told him is called "wrestling the porcupine" and he agreed that was what it looks like. I like impressing him. :)

Finally, in a fit of pre-New Year's organization, I sorted the stash and made up a project list of everything that's promised, planned, and just plain looks like fun, knitwise (and purlwise) for 2006. I have 28 projects listed and yarn in hand for all but about three of them. So yarn diet starts NOW (which goes hand-in-hand with the "save money for buying the house this year) plan).

I did, however, HAVE to (no, really, I HAD to) buy 4 skeins of Tosca by Lang for a new hat/scarf combo for me, which I knit up on the day after Boxing Day. See, Peter bought me this stunning (and very very warm) new red/black winter coat, and I had no hat/scarf combo that worked with it. So I knit one. Had to be done, you understand. But seriously, that's it for buying yarn for a while... in addition to the 2 bins full of project-specific yarn, I have 2 bins full of non-project-specific yarn. Stash-shopping is the plan, methinks.

Oh, and I got a ballwinder for Christmas - YAY! (to quote Louise from Yarn Forward, who greets every statement with YAY! Louise rocks.) So all the eBay yarn and other odds 'n' sods are slowly getting unwound, untangled, undone and neatly wound up into lovely little flat cakes - which store very very nicely, BTW. Ballwinders rock.