Feeling festive yet? A holiday Meme

Got this from my poor snowed-upon pal on the Sunshine Coast (HA!), Teresa:

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Can't have dairy, so Soy Nog. With Kahlua. :)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? He wraps them. But I think Santa is going to be good and practise some restraint this year!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Coloured on house, white on tree. Easier to hang ornaments that way. If you have coloured lights on the tree you have to hang complementary-coloured ornaments next to them, and it takes away the spontaneity.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yeah, but it's plastic. Still gets me kisses though.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Whenever we can. This year's all messed up because we're moving right before Christmas. I have been known to do a real tree on Christmas Eve.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Our traditional turkey dinner with my non-traditional spiked homemade cranberry sauce. HINT: Grand Marnier. Makes Sauce Good.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: This is lame LAME, but it would be my two older sisters and I dancing around my grandparents' living room on Christmas eve wearing matching mint-green feetie pajamas (the feet and trim were white). We were yelling "FEETSIE PAJAMAS! FEETSIE PAJAMAS!" I probably would have been around 4 or 5, because I can't imagine my eldest sister wearing Feetsie Pajamas past the age of 9. Although I bet she'd dig them now, she's always cold. :)

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Probably when we were real small, and my folks had a pack of rowdy teenagers over from the YMCA on Christmas Eve to assemble/wrap presents and set up the tree after we went to bed. They were LOUD.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Usually just one - usually PJs or slippers or something like that.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? When done correctly, it's: a) lights. b) ornaments. c) garland. d) tinsel. But I am soon to be in a 2-cat household, so we may have to omit the tinsel.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it. Even when I have to clean it off my car. What I dread are stupid people who forget how to drive in it from one winter to the next!

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, badly. Don't like it. Cold, hard, hurts feet. See you at the hot chocolate shack.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Yikes - so many to choose from! Football (who is not a football, he is a bear *shaped* like a football), is probably the one I've had longest that I still remember. The Christmas tree ornaments Peter spent weeks and weeks turning for me on the lathe. Yes, definitely those.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Traditions - remembering old ones, making new ones. Being a kid again for a day, or at least part of one.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Pumpkin Pie with whipped cream. Seconded by my grandmother's suet pudding, which she doesn't make anymore and I really should get the recipe for so I could surprise my mom with it some year.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Well, we don't do it anymore, but it was always gathering around to listen to Dad read "the night before Christmas". We have a Hallmark Pop-Up Book edition of it, and being the youngest, I got to do all the pop-up stuff. Of course, when we got to be teenagers, we heard the Charlie Farquharson version and started ad-libbing it into Dad's reading - merriment ensued. As adults it's kind of gone away, although one year we were all imbibing festive beverages on Christmas Eve and it got REALLY rowdy. I think that was when Dad stopped - you shouldn't mix booze and pop-up books, even in fun. :)

17. What tops your tree? Our family tree has a light-up plastic angel that Mom & Dad bought their first married Christmas together. Her base is broken so she's always "drunk", leaning to one side. The tree isn't right if the angel isn't drunk! I have a pretty gold/gauze dress porcelain angel that I bought for my own tree about 10 years ago, but she usually sits on the mantlepiece or a shelf. She's waiting for her own tree again.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Giving. I love presents, yes, but if I had my way everyone would open their presents from me, first. Then I can relax. :)

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? "Snoopy's Christmas", by the Royal Guardsmen. Actually, the whole Snoopy's Christmas album.

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or yum? Yum, in moderation. Usually two will do me for the season.

In other news, tomorrow is my sister Beth's birthday. She's 29. Again. And, honestly, still the pretty one. :)

Weird stuff on email

No knitting content today - well, ok, I finished a LB Homespun shawl for my neighbour, but that's not exciting. It's a really yuck (to me) shade of green. Now it's done, but I have two balls left over (no jokes, please!). They may go along to my secret-giftee along with the kool-aid scarf.

Now, weirdness. I've recently set up a new email account on a web-based service that I shall not name here (spam-suckers, die!). And so far, spam-free. But the site has advertising. And today, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an ad for "Breastfeeding Bands" - some kind of bracelet thingy that you can wear to help remember which side you nursed on last, for how long, etc. Which is scary, because I right now know at least five VERY pregnant ladies. But I am SO not one of them! And really, of all the weird stuff on the internet, that's gotta be top 10 for me. So, had to share with y'all.

And while I'm ranting, (ok, I'm going to start ranting...) why the holy Hades is it that one CANNOT buy a copy of ANY Erma Bombeck book in ANY of the Chapters or affiliated stores in the Ottawa area? Ok, granted, the lady (god rest her) has been dead for some time. Yeah, so's Shakespeare, and you've got his friggin' books. And granted, most of her books were written in the glorious gawdawful 70s when the phrase "stay at home mom" was a redundancy. But godDAMNit! They're timeless, funny, wonderful books and I REALLY wanted to get a copy of "Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession" for one of my very pregnant co-worker ladies. Not happening. Pissed me off.

And there I will stop, because frankly kiddies, it's been a pretty rough month and December's not looking much better. There will be upheaval and annoyance and more stress and less sleep than November had (which was too damn much and not near enough, respectively). All I can say is thank heavens for my knitting, otherwise I'd be smoking and drinking again - which would probably kill me inside a month. Now, the fact that I'll be knitting from stash for the foreseeable future is a consolation (actually, a challenge! There, how's that for positive spin?), because to be honest, my stash is LOVELY. Every time I open a bin, I get happy surprises because I've forgotten what treasures I have in there. It's like unpacking Christmas ornaments... no, wait, let's not get into that. Christmas is, to be blunt, F'd up this year. (ok, not so blunt, but I try to stay PG on here!). Yeah, my dream Christmas is right out the plasti-filmed window. Screw it. I've got my knitting.

And now, a sigh of relief...

Just got an email from the gift swap organizer. I've been reassigned to a swap-ee who is somewhat north-er than the nice Texas lady, so the original Kool-Aid-One-Row-Harlot Scarf will work. YAY! Now I have to finish it. Fortunately it is portable and I even have three "at home" evenings this week, so I could quite possibly have it in the mail within the week. And I get to keep the Great Big Sea Silk. Double Yay!

Oh crap, time to go to work. Again. But you know what? A month from now is Boxing Day.

scary, non?

Who said I wasn't knitting for Christmas? - EDIT, scroll to end

Somehow I completely spaced on having signed up for the KnitTalk gift exchange. Until I got the email from Margo-Lynn today. Oh. Crap. Now, I love the gift exchange, last year went exceedingly well. This year, I've got a lady from Texas. Which means that the Kool-Aid home-dyed pink One-Row Harlot Scarf is way too hot. Not to mention, half-finished. Hrm. That would be the upper scarf in the pictures. The lower scarf is actually a skein waiting to become a scarf, in Handmaiden Great Big Sea Silk. Which, honestly, is far more appropriate for Texan temperatures. And the colours are gorgeous. And it's likely to knit up quickly (heavy-worsted-ish weight), but I need a quick easy pattern. Dare I go for another One-Row Harlot Scarf in the yummy yarn? I've got the pattern down, I could probably whip it up in a week or two (assuming no new crises arise). Or, do I just send the lovely lady the yarn and let her make something fabulous herself? I'm torn.

Opinions please? I'll take "votes" until Sunday night, then I have to make a decision. For right now, I have to go move my laundry around and check on the nice chicken I'm making for dinner. How do I know it's a nice chicken? I don't. But I have a bottle of wine handy just in case it's not.

EDIT - Hubby says I'm not to give away the Handmaiden yarn. *sigh* He's a good hubby. So now I'm stash-diving. I do have some lovely variegated alpaca - at a loose gauge it would make a nice drapey scarf, not too warm. Stay tuned!

The Energizer bunny comes through - pictures!

Ok, I finally bought batteries for the camera - in fact, a 24-pack, so I should be good for the next year. :)

And look - it's a sweater! Well, it's most of the front of a sweater; I still need to do the left-front bit for the zipper area. The pattern is from Patons "Weekend Retreat" book, the sweater called (oh-so-imaginatively) "Zip-neck Pullover". Here's their picture of what it should look like:











I think I'm doing pretty well, don't you? The pattern calls for Patons Rustic Wool (which I'm pretty sure no longer exists), but I swapped it out for Patons Decor, and I'm really liking how it's working up. But you know what the really cool bit is? It has cables! A whole band of cables, all across his big manly chest (and around the back too). NOTE: Peter's chest is WAY more manly than the model's. He's going to look GORGEOUS in this sweater! But yes, zoom in my friends, here are my first-ever cables!













Now, the really REALLY cool bit - I did the entire band of cabling whilst sitting in the walk-in clinic, waiting to be seen by a doctor. THREE HOURS waiting to be seen by a doctor. Thank heavens I brought my knitting! And you know, people don't even sit close to you when you're whipping a fishhook-shaped cable needle in and out of your mouth every couple of stitches, muttering and counting. :) Cables in public are FUN. You know, I just noticed that the blue looks very royal in this picture - it's actually navy. And the stripe is burgundy, not that weird fuschia-red that it looks like. The first picture has truer colours.

Let's see, what else? Oh, I finished Alison's Moda Dea Aerie scarf, the ginormous pink and orange fuzzy thing. I'll try to snap a picture of her in it next time we work together. She loved it - happy day! And I have a plan for a pair of slippers for Mary, but other than that, no gift-knitting this year. Instead I'm going to try and finish up all the WIPs lying around. I've got the Harlot One-Row scarf in Kool-Aid pink hand-dyed almost half done, my striped scarf almost half done, and various other bits and pieces (ok, they're socks, I admit it) that need reviving. With all that's been going on lately, I need to get things finished, know what I mean?

test of new "beta" Blogger

Hrm, sounds like beta-blocker. Isn't that some kind of medication? Whatever. I've switched, I don't quite know what difference it's going to make, but I did change the "comments" feature so that non-Blogger people (HI KID!) can comment.

Content (and photos, dammit!) on Sunday, I swear. Right now it's beddy-bye time.

The Harlot cometh... (or, why it's cool to be a knitter)

So Thursday last, the Ottawa / Kanata area (well, the two Yarn Forward stores area) was visited by her Royal Knittiness, the incomparable Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee. I was totally prepared to skip work to attend, but didn't need to, as the Kanata event was in the evening. Stupid me, left the house without my camera, so these pictures are courtesy of Tara (thanks again!)

Stephanie arrived to a throng of knitters, packed into chairs and on the floor and pretty much everywhere. The "opening act", Louise (manageress of YF), tempted us with yummy new yarns to admire and fondle before the main performance. When I first saw Stephanie, I had two thoughts:

1) This woman looks tired. Bless her for being here.
2) My GOD, that's the WEDDING SHAWL! And with a t-shirt, how totally cool that is!

Stephanie's "talk" was all about how knitters are not cool, and how that is patently BULLSHIT! I love the idea of being a jock, not a "crafter." Woohoo!

So, the photos: First up is Her Harlottyness fondling my Knitting Olympics Shawl (which was, incidentally, admired by many there, so I had a fat head for that. Other people's stuff was gorgeous, I took the compliments gracefully for once). Notice I hold her book atop mine, as is right - she's thrice-published, I'm a novice. :)







Next, is La Harlot taking a picture of my book, which I signed to her since she was gracious enough to sign mine. Hers to me: "Obsession is normal." Mine to her: "Obsession leads to publication." I felt so legitimate as a writer! Oh, and thank GOD I was holding her sock needle-end-up. How humiliating would it be to drop the Harlot's stitches? Yikes!






Third and final is Me and Steph - two writers, two knitters, two crazy ladies with shawls that we agonized over and probably wear far too little. I'm bending my knees a bit because she was feeling short - least I could do! What a sweet person. Oh, and weird thing - for a little wee person, Stephanie has the most amazing DEEP voice! Of course, that could have been the tiredness. Get some rest, Harlot. We love you for making the trip.

Announcement! Happy News!

Ok, forget all that whiny crap from yesterday. The paper is done (and, it turns out, I was right on the mark with my approach to the topic). The work-crap that's been piling up has been whittled down to manageable and is mostly off my desk. We're having an unseasonably warm spell so the furnace is not (as much) an issue (though still not working, grumble). But none of that matters because...

MY BOOK IS PUBLISHED!!

Ok, it's not my book, it's the compilation of fifteen very talented authors in the Kanata Writers' Group, of whom I am one. (bad sentence structure for a published author, hey?) I am fourth from the bottom on the list of authors here... holy crap, I'm in print!

Now, I've been published before, in a newspaper essay contest when I was a kid, and in a few school / literary society chapbook thingies. But never in a real honest-to-dog book before. So allow me a quick WHOOPEEE! here. :)

If you're local to me, and would like to see the book (and some of its authors) in person, we are having a launch on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 7-9 P.M. at the Hazeldean Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. We'd all love to have you come. If you're not local to me, but want to read my stories (and, incidentally, support local literacy programs), you can order the book here also, and it will be sent directly to your home to share and enjoy. I recommend keeping it in the bathroom, as it's short stories and poems, good tub/throne reading.

So that's my happy news for today. Feel the love. Buy the book.

Very little knitting content - just a 'woe is me' post

Ok, this will be self-indulgent and whiny, I tell you now. If you love me and care about this stuff, read on (or if you want a dose of schadenfreude, whatever...). If you visit me strictly for the knitting, you might want to go away for now.

We have (again) no working furnace in our house. We had no furnace up until about a week and a half ago, then we had a not-quite-working-properly furnace, then we had an inspection by the gas man, who said, "THIS IS ALL WRONG", and now we have no furnace again. It's snowing outside. We have space heaters, so we're not freezing (and hell, I've got knit socks, and knit slippers, and knit sweaters and shawls abound), but it's bloody inconvenient. I'm just this minute hacking up phlegm like a fountain. I like to be warm without this futzing about. I missed work, Peter missed work, and things are still messed up. Argh. The furnace guy assures us that this will be fixed tomorrow (that would be Monday), and thank heavens our sweet neighbours across the street are going to babysit the furnace guys so we can both go to work. It had really better be warm when I get home tomorrow night. I'm tired.

Part of this tiredness stems from the fact that yes, I am working two jobs, totalling about 55 hours per week. Which really is not that much, and I'm having my sundays free. Good thing, because the term paper which is due tomorrow (Monday again), and which I took off work on Friday to do, is not done - because of the idiot furnace guys being here Friday and totally shattering my concentration. The paper will be finished today because it has to be; in order to get my concentration back, Peter is going to run away for a few hours and pick up our freezer (yay!) and a storage unit for the porch (also yay!), which is undergoing a transformation from crowded, drafty dumping ground of stuff to well-organized, insulated and weather-tight 10x12 laundry/mudroom. Have I mentioned that my fiance is the most wonderful man alive? He is, and I'm grateful for him every day. He does the dishes. :)

So, knitting. Little bits here and there. On Friday, when the paper was just not happening, I started a pair of slippers in Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. TOTALLY lives up to its name. Finished one slipper Friday, started/finished the next one Saturday morning (about 3 hours each in total, maybe less). Very warm and cozy (ahem- good thing, we've NO FREAKING FURNACE!!!). Working away on Alison's scarf also - she loves it so far and there is way more yarn than needed for one scarf, so there will in fact be two scarves - one has four blocks of colour (pink/orange/pink/orange, one ball per block), and the other I think I'm going to try alternating the colours every row. It may be too busy, I don't know yet. But that will be after Christmas. The rest of the current WIPs are piled in a Rubbermaid tote to keep them safely out of the way of the furnace guys (dirty/smelly), and from taking over the living room. *sigh* I need more time to knit - thank heavens it's only five weeks until my two-week vacation. Which is not a full vacation, but at least I'll only be working the one job, and no school, which means - JOY! - time to knit.

Now I have to write that paper. Wish me luck.

I really need photos - yet another update...

Yes, I still have no batteries in my camera. *sigh*. However:

1) Remika's scarf - done. Pink and girly, long and warm. To be posted ASAP.

2) My striped scarf - uh, hiding? I can't find the bag it's in. Oops. SO...

3) My new soft boucle tube scarf. About an inch done. Because I got distracted by...

4) Peter's sweater. Growing slowly but daily. This may take a while but I'm loving it (and knitting it with love). Maybe it'll be his wedding present... that give me until May!

5) Blanket. Uh, still in progress. But I don't love knitting it, which makes it difficult.

6) Alison's scarf. One of my coworkers scored an amazing deal on some Moda Dea aerie, the same stuff I used for my fuzzy blue shawl last year. She got three balls each of a dusty pink and tangerine-orange, and wants a long, wide scarf. Easy peasy - 15mm needles, 21 stitches. However, it may take awhile because big needle knitting hurts my hands lately. *sigh*

AND - I really need to get the camera back up, because I have stuff to take pictures of. Namely, SEA SILK! and GREAT BIG SEA SILK! Yes, I splurged at Inspirations on Friday and now have no yarn budget left (who am I kidding, I never HAD a yarn budget!). Seriously - $100 on yarn in one day? I have to stop now. Knit knit knit, but don't buy. Not 'til after Christmas... oh dear, it's another yarn fast. Yup!

Pictures soon I hope!

Still no photos, another update

God, two weeks gone and no post... things have been busy! First up in news is - Peter and I have set a wedding date! Yay!!! Sunday, May 20, 2007. Much to do between now and then, but it will be small and simple so hopefully low-stress and reasonably low-cost. That's the big news.

Now the knit-news:
1) Remika's scarf is coming along GORGEOUS. It's Freshisle Fibers softspun in cochineal pink, carried along with a strand of Vespa (colourway #1644), and it's super-warm-sparkly-girly fun. I'm hoping to finish it this week to send to her at school because it's getting darn cold out! Which brings me to...

2) My scarf. Striped denim and natural Mission Falls wool , 2" wide stripes in 2x2 ribbing, and I think it's about 4" wide. I'm into the second ball of each colour and I'm loving it - but oh, all those ends to weave in later! I'll think about it later. ;) Again, needs to be finished ASAP because it matches the toque and it's getting windy and damp in the mornings and evenings here.

3) The blanket - stalled. BUT - we're getting our furnace installed this week (YAY!) so it's a less pressing issue.

4) Fuzzy Feet - decided against. Will probably make socks of the dye party yarn, when the sock mood strikes again.

5) Uh... what else? Peter's sweater. Still to be started. I need to write out the pattern and make some adjustments and then re-swatch (Actually, I should swatch first, shouldn't I?). I am going to start it soon, honest!

6) N8an and Dan's blanket - well, I've got the yarn...

7) Sandy's shawl - in progress but slowly. Not for lack of love or interest, just really don't like the green. But she does. So it must be knit. I'll have to watch hockey while I knit it. (oh darn!)

And that's about it. OH! Yumi's shawl. That's in progress as my travel-with-to-work and such knitting. It's growing steadily but slowly. Yumi, when's your birthday again? (eep!)

Lots of other "want-to" projects in the bins but I think this is plenty for now... I have a term paper to research and write and other things to do (like, plan the wedding!), so may need to knit a little less. Dagnabit.

However, Ottawa SnB is Wednesday night - YAY! - so I get my quality estrogen time in. Love the SnB gals, they put things in such wonderful perspective for me. Now, back to the books and my scarf. Study an hour, knit half an hour. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

No photos today but an update

First, big thanks to J. for the dye party yesterday! Whenever I get together with the local knitting gals, I always enjoy myself and this was a terrific afternoon. I brought two balls of Patons Classic wool to dye, but first they needed to be skeined. One was taken over by Jo's daughter (a precocious nine-year-old who spins and knits and knows more about fleece than I ever hope to). She niddy-noddy'ed it whilst I wrestled with the other. Note to self - you suck at skeining. Leave it to those who know. Big thanks to Jo for getting me untangled.

So we did Kool-Aid dying, which is fruit-smelling fun. As per my usual impatient mode with dye things (generally, tie-dye tshirts), I did not make nice stripes, or interesting patterns. I squirted on blue, green, purple, and pink and then smooshed it all in to a kind of muddy mauve. However, it's dry now and rather pretty - I'll take a picture and post it later. I was thinking socks, but now it may become Fuzzy Feet slippers because I think the felting will make the coloration look even better.

Peter's neckwarmer, which I had mentally designed last winter, is now knit up and ready for this winter - I just need to sew on the velcro closure. Basically it's a variation on a triangle shawl - I cast on 20 stitches (Patons classic wool, doubled) on an 8mm needle and knit in 2x2 rib, knit two rows, increase one stitch each end for the next two rows, knit two rows, and so on until it was deep (long) enough, then doubled and redoubled all the ribs (with a few work-even rows interspersed) until it was long (wide) enough to wrap 'round his big ol' manly neck. Only problem is, the ribbing makes it kind of... ruffly. Like an Elizabethan ruff. BUT - I knit it deep (long) enough to actually fold over at the top which pretty much flattens out the ruffle. Anyway it's for warmth not looks. :)

Still working away on Kid's shawl, which she made ooh-ahh noises over this evening - that's my "in the bag" knitting. And slow but steady progress on the blanket - White Buffalo, for our queen-size bed. This may be a long WIP, folks...

Now I have a NPD - New Project Dilemma. I want to make a ribbed/striped scarf for me, to match my new toque. I also want to make a pair of the aforementioned Fuzzy Feet slippers because our floors are very cold and we won't have a furnace for at least another three weeks (grumble). AND I have an idea for a pretty pink scarf for a friend who's gone off to school - it'll be chunky weight, with the Freshisle Fibers softspun held together with a strand of Vespa shiny boucle. Supergirly and super warm. Besides, R. is one of the few people I know over the age of sixteen who actually looks good in soft pink.

So I'm torn three ways - I suppose I could start them all and rotate through them an hour at a time or something. Actually that might be wise because they're all different needle sizes and my hands would like that. I should swatch up the LB Homespun I got today for Sandy's shawl too so she can pick which colourway she likes. Thank heavens there's a long weekend coming up! Although I have course readings to do too... okay, here's the plan: For every hour of reading, I get a half-hour knitting break. That's fair, right? Right.

Pictures later in the week, I promise. I'm not working nights at the store right now so I have more time (yay!) for blogging, and reading, and knitting. Life is good.

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. :)

And the light dawns...

Realized today why my knitting (and other) energy has been down. I'm sick. Went to the doctor this afternoon with raging fever, pain in knuckles and back, headache and general blah-ness. I've got an unspecified virus... they took some blood. Tomorrow I go back in the morning (after fasting, NO JOY) and they take more blood.

But for tonight, no knitting, no more computer, no nothin'. Soup and sleep.

Socks and shawls and socks and shawls

This has been a pretty stressful week and not much knitting getting done. I had to frog my Clapotis, Peter's Marble sock #1 is still awaiting a try-on and toe decrease, and I have my Shetland Chunky sock #1 at about the same state. Right now all I feel like knitting is garter stitch on big needles, so I've been working a bit on the triangle shawl for Alison, in Bernat "Harmony". It's soft and pretty and I don't have to think about it.

I have a lot going on these days, and more coming soon, and I have to keep reminding myself that the knitting is for enjoyment and relaxation, so if I've only got the energy and focus for plain garter, that's okay. It's still knitting. I do need to start something simple for take-along knitting, though; while socks travel well, I don't really feel like doing socks. Maybe I'll start one of the Fun Fur scarves that Janice suggested. That will be good breaktime/lunchtime/appointment knitting, I hope. Or maybe a new circular hat. I could use a new hat, with fall coming on.

But, deadlines and knitting right now are Not Good, so I'm not pressuring myself for anything. You know what they say about pressure - it makes either diamonds or dust. Normally I tend to the diamond category, but this past couple of weeks I've been feeling dusty.

Dang and Double Dang!

Karma Chameleon Clapotis is in the frog pond. Ripped back to zero because I (stupidly) was trying to work on it while my idiot landlord was futzing about with our electrical system, and he wouldn't shut up and I messed up my stitch count. Dang!

So I threw it all in a bag (because my ballwinder was also being uncooperative) and it will be in time-out until Saturday when I can untangle and restart. I love the pattern, I love the yarn, I hate my landlord.

In other knit-news, Peter's marble sock #1 is nearing completion - just needs a try-on to check for length and then I can start toe decreases. And the second sock, of course!

But for now, bed. Two-shift day tomorrow so I need my beauty sleep.

Happy birthday to me!

So yesterday, I turned 35. Not really a bad thing, in fact it was pretty good. Spent the afternoon golfing with Peter and our neighbours, Sandy & Dan. Then BBQ / party at Sandy & Dan's later, complete with Steve singing and playing guitar, and toasted marshmallows over the firepit. Any day that ends with toasted marshmallows is a good day.

I also got $75 in gift cards for Yarn Forward; $50 from mom & dad and $25 from Peter's mom. JOY! I did spend a little already on the Marble for Carole's Clapotis (I may have posted about that already?), but the rest I'm saving for something really special for me.

Speaking of Clapotis, I've finished Row 8 (straight section) for the second time, and dropped the second stitch. I still don't like the way they look dropped; I really hope it looks better when the whole thing's done!

Working this evening and may pick up some LB Fun Fur; I've never really been interested in it but Janice at the store said it's great for quick scarves for gifts and right now we've got in on sale for 2 balls/$5. That's a good deal, so I might try to find some colours that aren't too horrific. :)

KC Clapotis - 1st picture!

This week has been pretty busy; tonight is my 4th shift this week at the store along with the usual "day job" insanity (I'll be SO glad when summer is over!) so not much knitting time. Did get out to Bridgehead Stitch'n'Bitch on Wednesday night for a little while at least... so good to see the ladies even though I did have to rush off for a "House" date with Peter. Note: "House" is quite possibly the most addictive show ever. Be warned.

Anyway, this afternoon I finally had time to start on the straight section and dropped my first stitch. No bells rang, no angels sang out. And it looks kind of... sloppy. I'm hoping more will improve the look. We shall see. Here is a picture of the Karma Chameleon Clapotis at the end of Straight Section #1 (following pattern, I did the standard # of increase sections):

It's purty. I enjoy this pattern, and (like others) I already have a second one in mind - in Marble (which you know is one of my favourite yarns) for a friend of mine who, sadly, has a "no animal fiber" allergy. Yay for pretty acrylic! That will be a Christmas gift, I hope.

In other knit-news, I got a package in the mail Monday from Marian at Freshisle Fibers - JOY! Two balls of lilacy-pink softspun and a housewarming gift - a ball of fingering weight in a really neat bluey-green... kind of looks like Lake Huron on a cloudy day, so totally reminds me of Manitoulin. I think I will attempt a lace scarf with it; some kind of waves/water pattern to play up the colour.

Still working away on Peter's socks here and there, but no photos yet. I also got a $50 gift card for Yarn Forward for my birthday - JOY! again. Spent some of it on the Marble for Carole's Clapotis, but some is reserved for a rumoured incoming shipment of Handmaiden. OOOH!

Now, off to work again. Friday night before the Saturday flyer. Should be fun!

The Karma Chameleon Clapotis is underway!

Today we finally got our front porch/storage area cleaned out and (mostly) organized, so I could get into my stash bins and start my Clappy! I'm using Red Heart Soft Touch (they call it a "4" medium worsted, but it feels more like a DK to me) in colour #4612, which is red, gold, and green - hence, Karma Chameleon. :)

I started it on 6.5 mm Addis, but the yarn/needle combination was too slick and the ktbl's were a pain in the butt, so restarted it on 5.5 mm Clover bamboo straights and it's going wonderfully! One little hiccup on the first increase attempt (but that was on the Addis, so no harm, I was frogging anyway), but now I'm sailing along. LOVING the rhythm of the pattern - I've completed my 2nd increase section and like the gauge so far - I think once I get to dropping things it will have a lovely drape. Also using the "purl the 2Bdropped" technique and that makes the fabric much tidier than the markers I tried on the first go-round.

Hoping to do another repeat or two of the increases tomorrow before work, then it will probably rest until next weekend (I'm not confident enough yet in the pattern to take it to midweek SnB!). But I'm pleased so far and the slight nip in the air tonight is certainly compatible with these autumn-y colours.

Got a couple rows done on Peter's Marble sock too, after dinner (we had my parents, Peter's Mom, my sis and neice over for BBQ - house full!). A good reward of knitting after a day of chores.

Now, bed. Working tomorrow - must not buy more yarn!

I'm sinking under WIPs!

All right, there are worse ways to go than to be buried under an avalanche of yarn, but I've really got to rein in this start-itis bout I've been on lately. Confession time: here's the WIP list:

1) Peter's Mega Boots socks: 1 at the ankle gusset, and needs to be ripped back to the heel flap because I totally buggered the stitch count. It's in time out until I get its mate caught up to the heel. Guess what? Haven't cast on the mate yet, though I did pick up the yarn and a second set of the necessary DPNs.

2) Peter's Marble socks: Actually, I'm cruising on these. Just started last weekend for fun and already down the foot of the first one. I really like this yarn and the pattern; I think I can use the same pattern for worsted, like Patons Classic. I've got my Harlot yarn in stash and I think that socks would be appropriate; her paean to handknit socks in Knitting Rules (among other places) really brings home the point about the knit-love connection. Although, maybe I should do something a little... prettier? than a plain-Jane sock? Ok, sorry, I'm digressing like mad here. Next up:

3) My Jaywalkers: pathetic. I bought the yummiest yarn, cast on and have done exactly five pattern repeats beyond the ribbing of the first sock. I need concentration for this sock and I just seem - scatterbrained, I guess, lately. Ah well. They will have their day.

4) Peter's Christmas Sweater: still a swatch. Christmas is slightly over 4 months away.

5) My Clapotis: Well, I dug the yarn out of stash today (finally!) but that was not my fault - our porch (my stash storage) has been kind of a junk repository due to some major home surgery projects in the past week or so. Will be casting this on tomorrow.

6) The office curtain: It's a valance! But growing with every hour at the computer, so at least moving forward.

7) New Shawl (for neighbour Alison): Totally did NOT plan on starting this so soon, but I stopped in to the store on the way home today to get my schedule for the upcoming week and there was a whole bin of Bernat Harmony on sale for $2.00/ball. In a really pretty colourway called "Nature's Blues", which really, just had to be a shawl. So I got five balls. Which, in fairness, is a shawl and a scarf. So I will make the shawl for Alison and a scarf to go in gifting/charity stash. Altruistic knitting! (convinced yet?)

I think that's everything that's currently live or about-to-be live. I did finish Carole's shawl last night and gave it to her today (a week ahead of our birthday, but I couldn't wait). She totally LOVED it - the "Purple Poodle" was Perfect for her. So yay! Peter took some pictures of me wearing the poodle last night, so once we figure out how to get his camera to talk to my computer, I'll post those.

Now, back to reading Knitgroups and working on the curtain. Did I mention that it's about 2' x 2-1/2' of garter, worsted weight? Bleah. But - my honey wants, my honey gets. Love makes us knit funny things. :)

It's my Knitaversary!

It's "civic holiday Monday", which here in Ottawa is called Colonel By Day, in Moncton was called New Brunswick Day, and in Halifax/Dartmouth is Natal Day. I still call it Natal Day weekend, because deep in my heart I wish I could go to the parade, the fair, and the fireworks. Nothing like a holiday to make you homesick. But I digress.

It was on this same long weekend last year that Peter and I had our whirlwind trip to Manitoulin Island (which we totally fell in love with!), and that I learned to knit. I remember I had this "I taught myself knitting" kit that I bought at Michaels (it's a Boye needles/Lion brand yarn coproduction), and a skein of Red Heart super saver in a beige/blue/orange colourway. We sat in the cabin in the woods, Peter with his book (or, most of the time, napping over his book) and me struggling through those first few rows of stitches. The tranquility of it was amazing and I think contributed largely to my newfound affection for knitting. When we got home again I made a scarf for Peter in Habs colours, and that was the week my daughter was visiting from Halifax and she was admiring how fast I could knit... I would knit while she played "Kill All Humans" on the Playstation. Not really a Kodak moment, but our family is weird anyway.

So my starting-out in knitting was all peaceful and happy, and I've carried that peaceful/happy feeling with me nearly every time I pick up my needles, or play with a new yarn, or read knitblogs and knitgroups, or go to a Stitch'n'Bitch with the gals. It's become an addiction, I admit: a day without knitting is generally a cranky day. And I have a huge stash, only about 3/4 of which is for specific projects. And a project list that will take 2 or 3 years, easy, with more new ones added all the time. But - I love it.

I love knitting the way I love reading, but in some ways more; I can be social when I knit, I can watch hockey or read knitgroups or chat with friends, the way I can't when I'm reading. And the things I have made, and will make... scarves, slippers, sweaters, shawls, socks. Hrm. Mostly "S" projects. Interesting. A couple of throws and blankies also. All that beautiful yarn, knit into warm and often pretty things for my loved ones and sometimes casual friends or even strangers. All those stitches, all the things I've learned. Turning my first sock heel, kitchenering my first toe. Figuring out how yarnovers work, and wrestling with buttonholes until I said not-nice words, but perservering because it was for someone I love. And learning, always learning new things. Someone once told me when you stop learning you're dead. No fear!

And now, on my Knitaversary weekend, another stage of my knitting life, which somehow brings it full circle. See, when I first bought that learn-to-knit kit at Michaels last year, I peeked in the book to see what kind of yarn to buy, and it said "worsted weight". And I asked the nearest sales associate, and she was singularly unhelpful: "Oh, it says on the label what's what." And now, here I am working at Michaels myself! I had my first shift this weekend, and I think I'm going to like it pretty well. I'm in General Crafts, which includes the yarn aisles, and on my first shift I got to answer a couple of knitting questions, which made me feel great - I love that I can share all the knowledge I've piled up the last year with someone else who's maybe just starting out, or is at an unfamiliar stage.

Of course, working at Michaels is also tempting me in new crafting directions - I spent some time in the decorative painting section and the beading section and thought "what if I???". So who knows where that will go. But I think knitting will remain my primary craft passion. Because, after a year, I'm more in love with it than ever (kind of like Peter after six years *wink*).

So happy knitaversary to me!

Getting on the Clapotis bandwagon

I've got 4 pair of socks on the needles, a shawl that's 80% done and a sweater in the swatch stage (say THAT three times fast!). So of course, I have to start something new. And for some time now, I've been drawn to the Clapotis - it's a shawl/scarf, which I love, and I've seen enough of them in person and pics on the Net that I'm really intrigued. Also, I've had a big bag o'yarn in stash since last fall that was going to be a slinky sweater but has decided to be my Clapotis instead. It's Red Heart Soft, in a red/gold/green variegated that Peter calls "Karma Chameleon Yarn." He's such an 80s geek, but I am too, so whatcha gonna do?

And now, since the nice people came and took the dead fridge out of our front porch (yay!), I can get at my yarn bins and dig out the Karma Chameleon Yarn. And it's a long weekend - how sweet is that? So, stay tuned for the Karma Chameleon Clapotis (now, say THAT three times fast!). And the socks, and the other shawl, and the sweater... Yeah, I've got start-itis. It's summer, the season of short attention spans. :)

I feel like knitting a sweater today

Last night the temperature dropped to a brisk 14 degrees (celsius) and it's still cool enough this morning at 11:00 to need a sweater in the computer room. I'm really REALLY tempted to dig into the bins and pull out the Bernat Denimstyle to start my back-to-school sweater today. But I have 5 WIPS on the go already... well, maybe I could just swatch for it. Swatching doesn't count as starting something new, does it?

Speaking of WIPs - progress update:

1) the charity shawl - of the original 5 (or was it 6) balls of the eBay yarn, only 2 remain. Another week of computer knitting and this puppy is done and ready to be put away for the Christmas season. I finally peeled the price stickers off the yarn tag ($1.00 at Woolco/Woolworth, marked down from $2.66), and it's Mohair Plus by Grand Moulin Yarns - 70% acrylic, 15% mohair, 15% nylon. It's a nice chunky weight and verry soft.

2) Peter's Mega Boots socks - the heel is turned on sock #1 at last! Now I need to pick up the gusset and get that foot done, and start #2 ASAP. Gusset-picking-up will happen tonight or tomorrow, and then it's back in the bag for travel knitting.

3) The Purple Poodle - yes, the beast has risen again and I was surprised to see how much I'd completed of it! Did a couple more repeats yesterday and it's coming along well - has to be ready for August 19th for Carole's birthday (it's my birthday too!) so will need a couple of dedicated evenings to finish. The yarn is Cora by Lang - lovely microfibre stuff.

4) Shetland Chunky house socks for me - past halfway mark of the foot on #1. I'm only working on these when my hands get sore from the wee needles of the smaller socks.

5) Jaywalkers in KP Sock Memories (S'mores) - shamefully, no progress since the original 2" when I started them. The pattern is not complicated but does take a fair bit of attention, and it's weeny needles too. I do want to get these done but right now am not real motivated to get moving on them. Odd, because I can't wait to wear that lovely wool on my toes!

Yes, I think I will swatch for the Back-to-School sweater today. It'll only take an hour and then I'll get back to the other stuff.

Happy Sunday, Bloglanders!

Socking along...

Yes, it's another of those stinkin' hot weeks, so not much knitting happening here. That's also due in part to a two-day bout of sciatica I had earlier this week - a big ball of not fun. However, today at lunch I finally got the heel flap of Peter's sock done and am ready to turn the heel - huzzah! I love turning heels, it's fun to watch that perfect little 3-d corner emerge out of a flat piece of fabric. So hopefully that will be tonight, though we do have a whack of bookkeeping and other office-y stuff to catch up on, now that the office is finally put together properly (both computers and a printer, all networked and working). However, it is stinkin' hot, so office stuff may wait 'til tomorrow. To Be Decided.

Right now though, it's time to find something quick and easy for dinner - preferably that doesn't involve the stove. Did I mention it's stinkin' hot?

More knitting soon, I hope!

Oh my, what have I done?

What with all the unexpected "little things" that pop up in the first weeks of cohabitation, Peter and I have found that the budget is, to put it mildly, a little strained. We won't starve but the plastic is mounting and that always makes me nervous. See, it is the nature of a credit card to be totally maxed out when something very expensive and essential breaks on your car (which is also essential). So - more income required.

Now, what does a knitter do who needs more income? There are options:

1. Sell some stash. Yeah, right. That's not happening.
2. Knit for pay. Possible, but time-consuming. The hats have not started rolling out yet and I haven't found my market yet, either.
3. Work in a yarn store. Where I will add to stash and bring home no money, but have lots of fun.
4. Work in a crafts store that does sell yarn, but not exclusively, and offers a nice staff discount. WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

Yes, as of yesterday I am now a part-time employee of that blessed behemoth of crafty retail known as Michael's. Which means less time for actual knitting, but more money for - well, everything. I like Michael's - they're not like a LYS (bless you, Yarn Forward ladies!) but they do carry some decent stuff and sometimes have good sales. Besides, I have enough experience as a consumer in the store to know what should be expected from staff - so I think I'll do well. The important thing is that crafts are something I can get behind and feel good about in a way that say, Tim Horton's, wouldn't. Don't get me wrong, I love Timmy's but you can't really connect with a customer over a 30-second double-double transaction.

So, I'm optimistic and looking forward to the challenge. Also the discount, which will come in very handy at Christmas-shopping time when I can buy crafty gifts for certain beloved friends and family members. (That way I don't have to knit for them this year - clever, hey?)

In the meantime, this looks to be my last totally free weekend for awhile, so I'm planning to spend it baking and knitting and watching silly movies on TV. I'm making good progress on a new triangle shawl (now that it's no longer too hot to knit, thank God!) and working away on Peter's Mega Boots sock - I had him try it on last night and it fits his (bold and manly) calf perfectly! So kudos to The Arachne Sock Calculator, it looks like it's working out perfect! Though I still find it odd to be counting rows on a sock, but whatcha gonna do? Going to try to get the heel done today so the foot can be travel / at work knitting for next week.

Something smells good - I think breakfast is ready. Gotta love a man who cooks!

It's too dang hot!

That is, it's too hot to knit. Today is 42 degrees (celsius) with the Humidex, which is stupid hot. Yesterday wasn't much better. Saturday was too busy to knit, with an exam and then general weekend chores. I did manage to get a few rows in today on Peter's sock but that was in my nice air-conditioned lunchroom at work. At home, it's just too stinkin' hot to knit.

Looking forward to Stitch'N'Bitch Wednesday evening, where the coffee shop is generally refrigerated to the point that I feel I should bring a sweater or shawl. Maybe I *will* bring a shawl, just to show off a previous FO and keep from freezing. But right now, it's too stinkin' hot. And it's making me cranky, because today was not the best of Mondays and usually some knitting calms me down and puts me in a better mood. So I'm reading blogs instead, and you know what? EVERYONE is having a stupidly hot day and appears cranky about it.

To heck with it. I'm going to eat a mountain of Jello and Cool Whip and watch silly movies for the evening. And pray for a LONG rainstorm.

EDIT: My day just got 150% better - I got an email from my daughter. Love you hon!

Sock it to me baby!

It's sock time at Chez Kit & Peter - too warm lately to knit anything big, besides which a lot of stuff is still in boxes and socks are fun. :)

First up, another pair of socks in Marble. This yarn is 100% acrylic but is really a pleasure to knit with - very soft and the colour changes are so pretty! These ones are about 2" longer than the first pair and I still had substantial yarn left over - I could probably get knee-highs out of one ball! The next pair of these in the queue though will be for Peter - I've got a nice rusty-autumny colourway that I think will be sufficiently masculine for him. But first...

Here is the start (about 1/2 the leg) of his Mega Boots Stretch sock #1. Here's the specs for the yarn; the colourway is #701, which you can (hopefully) see in the picture goes from navy blue to gray and light blue in very subtle striping. It's a luscious yarn to knit with - I've found before that knitting eeny-weeny sock yarn makes my hands cramp but no problem with that in this yarn. The pattern is from Arachne's Sock Calculator, my first time trying it but it's very thorough! The only thing that has me worried is that the ribbing seems a tad loose, but Peter's got such muscular calves it should be all right. However, if it doesn't fit right I'll frog and try another pattern. This yarn is nice enough to re-knit. :)

Finally, another pair for me - these are heavy-duty socks in Patons Shetland Chunky (my old favourite!), that make for wonderful house socks. I knit them to the full leg length prescribed (9 1/2") and then fold them down to a cuff - perfect slipper socks. Obviously not needed now in the heat of July, but autumn is not far away and I like my toes toasty.

Still having palpitations about assembling the teddy bear - poor thing is stuck in a drawer until I get up my nerve. I really don't like assembly; maybe that's why I'm so big on socks lately? They're self-assembling. Plus there's always the cool factor of the heels and toes. Dang, I love heels and toes!

Van Morrison could never be this drunk...

I found this little game on Kine's blog and thought it was kind of fun... try it if you like:

1. Randomly pick a song from your music library.
2. Find the lyrics for the first four verses/chorus
3. Go to Google translation and translate the lyrics from English into German.
4. Take the new German lyrics and translate them into French.
5. Take the new French lyrics and translate them into English.
6. Post the NEW English lyrics and have people guess the original song

Well, I tried it with Brown Eyed Girl, because that was on the radio when I was driving back from the grocery store. Here's what Google did to Van:

He, where we went, days, as the rains came to the bottom jumping in the cave, Playin a new play, puddle pools and a current He, He to jump and in the fog of nebulous morning our hearts thumpin and you my brown examined daughter, you my brown examined daughter. What also always arrived at Tuesday and thus of the puddle pools of daylight slow down to descend the old well with a radio from transistor are, to slip and to push are dissimulated behind the wall of an elbow of rain all along the water fall, with you my brown examined daughter, you my brown examined daughter. You, we maintained above sing, point out Sha to you Lalalalalalalalalala unit of width my manner find there then strongly, since all myself my am there. I saw you precisely throwing there the other day, my, as you rose, my back of memory, Lord Einmal am me 'the overcome period, of the loves thinking in green grass forms behind the stage with you my brown examined daughter you with my brown examined daughter points out you you, there above when we maintained to sing Sha with Lalalalalalalalalala unit of width.

That hurt my brain. I must go knit a sock now to recover. Mega Boots ribbing is underway!

Bears in progress

Well, the camera is still in a box somewhere, but I now have all the various bits and pieces of my first knitted stuffed toy knit up. The assembly has me a tad spooked (assembly always does!) but the instructions look fairly clear - the pattern is Paton's "Little Bears to Knit and Crochet". Quick knit in Shetland Chunky! Once I get bear #1 put together I have to make up his fraternal twin - the babies for whom these bears are intended arrived last week so I want to get their "welcome to the world" prezzies ready soon.

Also OTN: Marble socks (1 down, 1 past the heel) and soon to be casting on for Mega Boots for Peter. 2.25 mm needles and a size 11 foot. Pray for me!

One more FO

Stopped in today for a sit'n'knit with the gals at Yarn Forward (in between shopping and step-building and then just plain falling down... boy will I be glad when this move is over!). Asked when the Chemo Cap contest/collection was over - I thought it was end of July. Nope, next week! CRAP on a STICK!

So, dug into the yarn bins (already shifted to the "staging area" in the garage) and found the cap-in-progress, and finished it off tonight. Again, sorry no pics but the camera is in a box buried under other boxes. Anyway.

The hat was in Mission Falls cotton, and after having done a bunch of dishcloths earlier this week and finishing up Mom's cotton socks, I've discovered what I believe many others before me have - knitting cotton makes my hands hurt. I don't know why, maybe it doesn't have the same "give" as wool / acrylic / whatever and so the same tension is more ... tense? Anyway, it makes my hands just ache after a couple of hours. So, I think I'll be avoiding cotton in future (except for more dishcloths as necessary, but maybe not a big binge of them all at once!).

That's it for now. Tomorrow the last of the packing happens, and the computer will be unhooked so no blogging until probably Sunday. So, if you're reading this on Saturday...

HAPPY DOMINION DAY EVERYONE!

I've been meme'd!

I was surfing a bit this morning and hit this on "Sock It to Me", so decided I'd play. You play too! Or, if you're here strictly for knitting content, I cast on a new pair of Marble socks yesterday and am halfway down the foot of the first one. Dang, these are a quick knit! Pictures once the move is complete and the camera found again. Now, PLAY!

Book Meme

From here
1. Copy & paste.
2. Bold the ones you’ve read.
3. Add four recent reads to the end.
4. Tag! - you're it!
(I'm adding an asterisk after ones that I haven't read, but are sitting on the shelf waiting)

The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown *
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger*
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F.Scott Fitzgerald *
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger *
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Harry Potter 6) - J.K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) - J.K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden *
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4) - J.K. Rowling
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter 5) - J.K. Rowling
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown *
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Book 1) - J.K. Rowling
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
The Secret History - Donna Tartt *
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2) - J.K. Rowling
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
American Gods - Neil Gaiman
Ender’s Game (The Ender Saga) - Orson Scott Card
Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson *
A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving *
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien *(yeah right, I'll never get through them!)
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
The Unberable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
The Nature of Blood - Caryl Phillips
Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules -Ed. David Sedaris
I Know This Much is True - Wally Lamb *
Empire Falls - Richard Russo
American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley - Adam Cohen & Elizabeth Taylor
Devil in the White City - Erik Larson
Seeing - Jose Saramango
White Teeth - Zadie Smith *
Sophie's World - Jostein Gaardner
Ursula Under - ingrid Hill
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder
In the Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy
The World According to Garp - John Irving
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell
* The Stainless Steel Rat - Harry Harrison
* The Key to Rebecca - Ken Follett
* How to Practice - the Dalai Lama
* Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett

Procrastination in Pink

I'm on vacation this week so that means lots of sleeping in and general lazing-about, mixed with short bursts of productivity. Yesterday I finished a pair of socks (Mom's orange safety socks, sorry no picture - the camera is packed) and sewed in all the ends of my dishcloths for the new house. Then I watched two movies and read a whole book. NICE!

Today I caught up newsgroups and blogs, and saw that Teresa had added this avatar-thingy to her blog, and I thought, "that looks like fun", so I just made one myself. It looks a fair bit like a cartoon-me, except for the figure. They really should have options other than "anime porn princess" for figure type. Note to Teresa: It's sheer coincidence I came up with the same outfit as you. But it's okay, we're in different provinces. :)

Well, the avatar-thingy didn't look right with the old blog format, so I decided to pink things up for awhile, just for a change. Which is helping me avoid the last two assignments of my correspondence course (only for awhile, they have to get done today, period). But first there will be - SHOPPING! I have to buy new bed linens (for the new bed, woohoo), and a few odds and ends of householder-type stuff, because moving day is coming up fast. Still a few things to pack but I've run out of boxes, so they may have to wait for a later trip.

Unfortunately, all the knitting is packed, except for the red&white headscarf, which I frogged back to zero (didn't like the way the edging was coming out), and the beginning of a blanket in White Buffalo, which is hardly 30+ humidex knitting! I could go dig something out of the bins I suppose, but I'm not really motivated to start anything new right now. I had to frog my second purple sock back too - messed up the heel turn and it didn't fit at all, so it's frogged to zero and re-balled as punishment for misbehaving. ;)

Mostly I just feel like sleeping, which I do have the time to do, but opportunity is something else again. Hard to nap here (the old place, aka Mom & Dad's) and we don't have the keys (or a bed) yet for the new place. That's something I'm greatly looking forward to, actually, is being able to have a nice quiet nap in my own home. Provided, of course, that the neighbours are reasonably quiet too - the guy on one side of us might be a problem, but then again maybe not.

Which leads me to another thought - rather than clutter up here with non-knitting content, I think I'll start me a second blog. Ooh, inspiration has struck. More to come...

Pack and purge, pack and purge...

First it was movies, then books, now yarn - the "pack and purge" fiesta continues! Tonight, after running out of boxes in which to pack books (again), I decided to bite the bullet and purge the yarn bins. Managed to empty out one full and about 1/3 of another of the big-ass Rubbermaid totes. Now I can use the totes for packing/storing seasonal clothing (very little closet space at the new house).

So, two big green garbage bags full of yarn, which happily have found a home already - there's a local lady who's teaching knitting to kids at a summer program and was looking for yarn on FreeCycle, so the timing was perfect. And I was ruthless, too - if I didn't have definite project plans, or if ball bands were missing, into the bags it went. Lots of wee part-balls and like that, also some novelty yarns that had lost their novelty! (ha ha I'm so funny...) I hope the kids enjoy it and I've asked her to pass off any surplus to the Project Linus ladies here in town too - I've a feeling that yarn may be travelling for months to come...

Not a lot of knitting time unfortunately but I have finished a few dishcloths for the house and worked a couple more inches on my funky purple sock. Pictures will have to wait - the camera's already packed. The frog and re-knit of Mom's second sock foot I'm hoping to get done this week while I'm on holiday but I don't know if I'll have the patience. Time will tell.

On the upside, the purge/stash dive unearthed a whole bunch of balls and part-balls of Shetland Chunky that I'd been hoarding, so there will be lots more work-boot socks for Peter and house-socks for me come wintertime. I even found the dark green I'd been saving for his sweater collar/cuffs trim, whenever I get that sweater going. I've got two sweaters for him and three for me planned, so I think I'll alternate - once we get settled in of course! Still so much packing to do...

Lots of news!

Here it is, just in time for Father's Day - dad's "Service Cardigan". This sweater gave me more than a few headaches but did come out beautifully in the end. It even fits!

Now that it's done I think I'll do small projects for the next little while - especially since I'll be MOVING! Woohoo, yes, Peter and I are finally "shacking up" and will be moving in less than two weeks - EEK!!!! I have to get packed and organized tout suite - fortunately, the new place is basically move-in ready; just a good going-over with dust & mop and we'll be ready to go. It's a bit on the small side (read: "cozy") and when we were measuring for furniture, etc., I forgot to factor in my stash bins! However, there's a fair bit of storage room in the front porch so they may find their home there.

I'm excited beyond measure about this - we've been waiting SO long to be able to do this, and it literally fell right in our laps just this week. When things are meant to be, they work. :)

In other news, Mom's second sock is finished but requires a semi-frog. Somehow I messed up the decreases at the toe and it's about an inch shorter than its mate. Hrm. So I will rip and restart tonight - hopefully can just rip back to the problem area without going too far!

So, there probably won't be much blogging for the next couple of weeks because there's so much to do. (Like set up Internet at the new place!) In the meantime, think "good weather moving day" thoughts for me and I'll post pics of the new place (complete with my planned knitting corner) as soon as I can.

Happy Father's Day bloglanders!

Christmas in June

The KnitPicks order arrived! Look at these goodies...

At the back, 16 balls of Wool of the Andes in Winter Night (blue) and 1 of Coal (black). These, along with either the two Cranberry (red) or Hollyberry (burgundy) - the four balls at the left - will become Peter's Christmas sweater. Probably the Cranberry, because that will make it perfectly Habs colours. Very cool.

Then from left to right, we have:
Shimmer in Morning Mist
Shimmer in Deep Woods
Alpaca Cloud in Tide Pool
Alpaca Cloud in Stream
Alpaca Cloud in Moss
Alpaca Cloud in Autumn.
All these are laceweight, some of which will become "Elizabeth I" scarves and the rest, something else lacy. The "Moss" has been reserved by Mom for her birthday gift next February (she wanted three, but is getting one. Yes, I'm mean).

Finally at the far right are two hanks of Sock Memories in Smores. SMORES! I'm gonna have toasty feet in these socks, for sure.

And that, my good Bloglanders, is the last yarn to enter this house until August. But ooh, is it ever pretty! I want to start a lace scarf and those Smores socks right away... but other things have priority right now. This evening I will be assembling Dad's cardigan. Mom's second sock is still waiting to be finished, and I really need to start those teddy bears soon. Besides, most of this is in skein form and really needs a swift to be wound properly - which I don't have. Maybe I should ask for a swift for my birthday?

In other news, we have a house! At least, we're at 99% of having a house, still a few details to iron out. But it looks good for cohabitation by the first of September. JOY!

Of course, part of the cohabitation involves each of us weeding out some non-essential "stuff", so the last week of June will be sorting and pre-packing and setting stuff aside for a yard sale in July. All good. There may be some yarn in there - some of the current stash falls under the "what was I thinking" category and really should go to a new home. We shall see.

Dad's sweater is done!

Well, it's all knitted, anyway. Sat down tonight with the last 1/3 of the 2nd sleeve and watched Star Wars Episode III: You wasted your money again. Except I saw it free on TMNOD, so neener. Movie was crap but just long enough (2 1/2 hours) to finish the sweater. Exactly, actually, I cast off the last Sith... er stitch - just as the final credits came up. So woohoo!

Which means now that I have to sew the darn thing up - the least-fun part of knitting (IMO). I think I'll reserve that particular segment of cussing and squinting for Sunday afternoon, since I'll be spending Friday afternoon on bookkeeping, Saturday afternoon on homework, and Friday/Saturday night sleeping - a lot. I've been very very tired again for oh, about a month, and finally saw the doc about it, who ordered the usual blood tests, etc. It's probably just the heat and usual early-June work stress, but it's smart to get things checked out.

So now the sweater is done(ish), there's just that dang orange sock to finish (gods, it's taking FOREVER and makes my hands cramp). Then I can do fun things and charity things and more socks and those teddy bears for the impending twins. Gak. The twins are due any day now, but unlike the Harlot, I will not begin the knitting until they actually arrive safe and sound. Besides, you can't really appreciate a teddy bear until you're at least 6 months old, I think.

Tiger balm and bed. Goodnight bloglanders.

I will buy no yarn in June or July

There. I told Peter, I told Bundy & Kid, and now I've told the bloglanders. I WILL BUY NO YARN IN JUNE OR JULY. Nor any knitting needles, pattern books, magazines or other knit-related accessories. In fact, I may just have to ground myself from even visiting my favourite LYS because I have basically no willpower when I go there. Like zero - I have spent my last $5 on half-price sock yarn just because it was half price. No more of that. Discipline!

'Cuz, here's the thing. Peter and I want to live together. Soon. Then we can be married (JOY!) and all live happily ever after, etc. But this living together thing ain't cheap, and sacrifices need to be made. I currently have 4 almost-full-to-the-brim Rubbermaid totes (big'uns) full of stash. I have stash in my trunk and stash on my bookshelves and somewhere in my closet is stash I was looking for in the totes and couldn't find. So. I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE YARN. Not for the foreseeable future, as I also have a huge project list which will entail knitting up a lot of that stash.

However. (or, if you prefer, BUT - - - )

August is my birthday and also our vacation to Manitoulin Island. While we are at Manitoulin I will be visiting the fine proprietress of Freshisle Fibers, to get more of her lovely Suffolk wool. Maybe even the watermelon sock yarn, if she ever catches up her Harlot-induced glut of orders. :) And for my birthday I totally intend to ask - maybe even beg - for gift cards at Yarn Forward. Because, simply, I love that shop, and the ladies that run it are my knitting-mentors and also good friends. Plus I have a whack of discount points to use so I want to make the most of it. :)

So in August, yes, I'll be getting some yarn. But otherwise, it's time to be responsible (*sigh*, she said) and look at the bigger picture, which involves things like curtains and throw rugs and probably a few gallons of paint and yeah, the car's going to need new tires by fall, etc. etc. But it's all to the good. I'm looking at it as a delayed Lent season sort of thing. So y'all are my witnesses - knit from stash only for the next two months. Pointe Finale.

Oh, and if the Ottawa SnB gals are reading this - I placed my KnitPicks order in May so it doesn't count. Neener.

Tomorrow will be update on WIP time. I knit my tuckus off this weekend!