And it's hat season!

A new toque, hot (well, snuggly warm) off the needles. This is what I'd call a luxical toque - luxurious but practical. It's a very good yarn but easy care. Mission Falls superwash wool, 1 ball each of "Denim" (#21) and "Natural" (#1). 2x2 rib on 5mm bamboo needles. A pretty quick knit, less than a week in "here and there" stints with a finishing push on tonight.

The stripes are approx. 2" wide and I must say a very special thanks to the gang over at KnitTalk, especially Adele, for helping me preserve the ribbing over the decreases at the top. Adele, your math rocks and I love you for it! Although I admit (and you can see in the picture, the email printout under the hat) that I only went to decrease row 7 and then fudged it because I was running out of yarn. But it's long enough for an ear-warming foldup at the bottom, so it's all good.

I loved this colour, stripe, and stitch combination so much that I splurged and bought another six balls (3 of each) to make a matching scarf. Simple but special, and the blue is a near-perfect match to my fall/early-winter coat, so it'll be getting lots of wear over the next few months (until heavy parka weather hits and I bring my lovely Tosca set back out of storage!). So I will start the scarf tomorrow night. I may not love 2x2 ribbing over 60" as much as I did over 10", but I really want the scarf, so motivation and pure stubbornness will win out!

Now, go knit yourself a hat. You know you want it!

PS, Yumi if you're reading this, your shawl in the laceweight blue Fleece Artist is underway; it's going to be my "travel-in-the-bag" knitting for the next while. :)

PS #2 - Sorry for the sudden change folks, I've reverted to the soothing lighthouse picture now that summer is over. Hot pink just doesn't work for me in cool weather.

It's scarf season!

It's been dipping down to single digits in the overnights and mornings this week, which means time to knit new scarves. Actually, I have a new toque on the needles now too, but it's not toque weather until it goes below zero, for me. So. First up we have the Lion Brand Fun Fur Stripes scarf - 3 balls x 24 stitches (I think?) , straight garter stitch, and it's about 4 feet long by 4" wide. About. Hard to measure fuzzy stuff. Anyway it's doubled up on the shoe rack here and that's about 2 feet (ha ha!) wide, so it's a little under 4 feet.

Interesting stuff, the Fun Fur. I resisted it for the longest while because in the ball, it's nasty stuff. Not cuddly and soft, not sleek, just - fuzzy. And artificially fuzzy, too. But as I knit it (a bit fiddly to start, but then you get the sense of it), I grew to appreciate its qualities. It is "fun" - you can't be in a scowly mood knitting this stuff. And it does make a funky scarf. And, that's about it, but for the price that's enough. This one is going to be a Christmas present actually for the spouse of a co-worker, who really is the perfect person for blue-striped Muppet-y-ness. I may make another - I bought 3 more balls in a rainbowy colourway. Might be nice for spring.

Now, scarf #2 - for ME ME ME!! This is in the new Patons "Rumor" yarn, which I was very much irresistably drawn to after Nancy pointed it out to me. Nancy, thank you! This colourway is called "Hawthorn Heather", and it's a beige-y, taupe-y marl... the shiny taupe twisted around the fuzzy beige. This picture really doesn't do it justice, but it's lovely stuff.

I used two balls (last two of this colour in the store, so that was that!) and the scarf is 9" wide by 36" long. Which, admittedly, is really wide and rather short. BUT - the width allows it to be folded over and it's just long enough to tuck inside the collar of my fall coat. So it's perfect for me. Prescribed needle size was 6.5mm, which worked just fine - I did a Shaker Rib stitch which is open enough to give it some drape and which also allows for the folding to happen without bunching up. I like this yarn a lot - it's very soft, retains body heat amazingly quickly, and is lightweight. One caveat - it sheds like a puppy in springtime when being knit up. I'm hoping it will stop shedding once it's been worn a few times. But I don't mind the shedding really - it's animal fiber (at least partly - 15% alpaca) and animals shed!

I could see making a sweater of this; there's a nice leaf-green colourway called "Fern Heather" that I think would make a flattering sweater. Now I just need a pattern for a chunky-weight sweater that doesn't look like a sweatshirt (my first Shetland Chunky sweater, which I love, is a turtleneck sweatshirt - let's be honest). Actually, this would be terrific for a cardigan for the office... in which case I might go for the "Spanish Heather" instead, because it's got a red marl to it that is really eye-catching. Hm - maybe after Christmas. If it goes on sale, definitely! I don't remember the price; about $6/ball if I'm right. So a cardigan's worth would probably go about $60-$80 bucks - the scarf, draped over one arm, is a sleeve plus a little. So 4 balls for 2 sleeves, at least 6 or 8 for the body. Yikes. Time to start dropping Christmas gift hints, I guess!

Current OTN: stripe-y toque in navy blue and cream, for me, and a laceweight Fleece Artist shawl for Yumi. I want to start Peter's sweater soon, but I have to rewrite the pattern to reverse all the knits and purls so I don't space out midway and screw it up. This is probably going to be a birthday sweater (March), not a Christmas sweater. Oh well. He's gonna look GORGEOUS in it whenever it is done!

Ok, laundry and another stripe of toque-y goodness. Interesting sidenote: my head is 22" diameter. Is that normal for a medium-tall, medium-weight woman? I have no idea. Where's my Knitting Rules, I need to look this up... ok, small adult = 20", large adult = 24". So yes - I am a medium-sized adult. On the other hand, Brent Butt's head is 29" around. This is true, I heard him say it on one of his TV specials. That's bigger than my waist. Wow. I wonder if anyone's ever knit him a toque? Well, probably his mom. But as an adult, I wonder. Perhaps I should knit him a nice Corner Gas red/yellow/green toque.

Ok, laundry and another stripe. Now, really now. I can hear my socks wrinkling in the dryer. HAH! gotcha!

Update: the Kit is a gimp

I tore a ligament in my knee. Ow ow ow. Which means I'm not at the store tonight, but will try very hard to be there for tomorrow night (i'm practicing my cane walking). On the upside, being forced to sit and keep the leg elevated means lots of knitting time; I finished a pair of slippers for my grandmother yesterday. Today I'm working on finishing Alison's shawl before I launch into Peter's sweater. So if you're coming to the store tonight, just ask at Customer Service if you can have a Friends and Family coupon - they should give you one. Or see me tomorrow, I'll be in from 5-9 - easy to spot, i'll be the one with the cane!

Important Flash to Ottawa people!

Hi everyone, if you're local to me and there's a chance of seeing me between now and next Saturday, please arrange to do so. Michaels is having a special "Friends and Family" event from September 14th to 16th (so Thursday through Saturday) where, if you have one of the special invitation cards, you get 25% off your ENTIRE order (not just one item like the usual crappy coupons). I have 40 of these cards - if you want one, email me at kthurber*at*rogers*dot*com and we'll try to arrange a hook-up. Worst case scenario, I'll be working at the store (South Keys location) Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights this week, 5-closing (which is 9). So you can come see me there, I'll keep a few cards in my apron just in case.

Can I flog a few products? Of course I can, it's my blog. :)

We have the new Soy With Stripes (soy/wool self-striping) and Rumours (alpaca/acrylic) from Patons, which are yummy and very neat colours. We have Takumi bamboo knitting needles. We have lots of pattern leaflets and a few of the bigger yarn books (sorry, titles escape me). And of course scrapbooking stuff (*cough*Kid*cough*) and all manner of other crafty things.

So come visit me at work! Or email me, or something! Because really, I like to share such goodies with my friends.

That's it for now - "peace out" as the kiddies say.

And time flies...

So much to do, and the days are literally getting shorter all the time! So odd now to be finishing up at the store (or not even finished) and it's already dark outside, and it's near-dark when getting up in the morning too... the light is leaving and sweater weather is upon us. Which means I really need to knit some sweaters! When stash-diving for some shawl yarn last night (more on that later), I found the bag-o-KnitPicks for Peter's Christmas sweater, and kept it out of the bin, hoping that its visible presence with get me motivated to start the dang thing. It's going to be gorgeous, I just need a quiet hour or two to get started.

I also need to (dang quick) make yet another pair of bootie slippers for my grandmother. Apparently she's worn out the last two pairs, made of Softee Chunky, so I think it's time to move to something more durable - Red Heart Supersaver. Mom & Dad are going to visit the East Coast branch(es) of the family in about two weeks, so these slippers have to happen ASAP. Probably tomorrow before work, as my only free evening this week upcoming is Thursday and we'll be having MIL over for dinner that night.

Speaking of dinners, last night we had one of my favourite people out to eat and movie with us, the beautiful and charming and generally wonderful Kid. Kid is the rarest of all people-creatures, she can inspire me to total childish silliness (knock-knock jokes abounded last night, followed by a severe gigglefit) and can also share the most serious topics of conversation, life issues (hers and mine), and just about anything else that comes along. She loves stuffies. She's a total Buffy geek. She really appreciates a home-cooked meal (Praise for my cooking is a joy to me). She, basically, is a small burst of happiness in this odd old world. I love her like a sister, maybe more because she's never hit me with a ukelele or kneeled on my chest trying to choke me to death. But I digress.

Kid is also a wonderful person to knit presents for - I've made her a couple of hats and a scarf and her enthusiasm makes me feel terrific. So in passing the other day (it may have been at the wedding), I asked her if I had knit her a shawl yet. No. Ok. So last night after dinner and movie, we dove into the bins and came out with two balls of Fleece Artist - one is the remnant of the stuff I used for Teresa's going-away shawl (still oodles of yardage left, blue/pink/green shades) and the other is a new one just picked up last week, goldielocks in rusty/plum/gold shades. We couldn't decide which was better, so I'm going to make her one in each. She looks fabulous in pretty much everything she wears, so I'm looking forward to her wearing Fleece Artist shawls knit by me! So I need to start one of them soon too... that may become travel/lunch knitting, since shawls are fairly portable for the first while, anyway - especially that laceweight. Hm.

Sadly, I've passed out of the sock-frenzy I was in last month and did not actually finish any socks. They're all in time-out for now, waiting patiently. Probably until Christmas when things quiet down a bit. Oh, crap - look at the time. I have to be downtown in an hour for a Books'N'Brunch with my bookcrossing group. Time flies!

My Best Friend's Wedding

Well, one of my best friends, anyway. Today N8an and Dan are finally (and legally!) tying the knot. N8an and I have been close friends since oh, about 1997 or so, I guess. We've seen each other go through good and bad relationships, jobs, haircuts, roommates. Now he's in a career that makes him happy, living in a beautiful home, with the man he loves (and really, has been saving himself up for all these years). I'm beyond happy for him - I'm thrilled!

Sometimes, the good guys win. I'm glad this is one of those times. :)

Unfortunately, I won't be able to knit at the wedding - I think that's one of those Emily Post no-nos. ;) But it won't be dull, for sure - some of the guests are folks I haven't seen since our shared wild university days, and most (if not all) of us have pretty much settled down and grown up by now. So now, I have to go get all dolled up for this; I know all eyes will be on the grooms but I still want to look good! I'll be wearing my Bronze Butterfly shawl or the Olympic shawl - can't decide yet - with something slinky and black, I think.

Get me to the church on time!

Wow, 101 posts!

I just noticed that I've made 100 posts to this blog since I started it, and now this will make 101. So, to celebrate, I will show you actual photos of me - and Peter - with Joe L'Erario. We met Joe at a booksigning last year and it took me this long to (a) find the pictures on the computer and (b) get them to show properly.

You may remember Joe from the supremely educational and wildly entertaining TLC show "Furniture to Go / Furniture on the Mend" back in the early 90s. He did the nifty paint stuff, his partner/sidekick Ed Feldman did the nifty upholstery stuff. Together they wrote the Furniture Guys book, and last year Joe released "Creating the Perfect Wood Finish", which you can see in the corner of the photos. Wacky and useful goodness.


So, here we are - me on the left, Joe the Magnificent in the middle, and Peter on the right. To emphasize the special-occasion'ness of the evening, note that Peter is holding a double-tall latte from Starbucks instead of his usual large-double-cream from Tim Horton's.

And no, I am NOT pregnant - it was winter and I was wearing a big sweater. I also weighed about 20 lbs. more than I do now. But please note the lovely Tosca striped scarf, handknit by me. As usual, Peter looks all rugged and manly - "so construction-y", as he puts it. Gotta love a guy with power tools. :)