Sereknitty Rules!

"Skating" Slippers ...

2010-11-25T16:46:00.000-08:00

A certain young man, who is 3, declared that he needed new slippers so he could practice skating in the house. Besides skating, his current favourite thing is Spiderman, hence the colour combination choice. "Please can you make me some new slippers, Grandma?" (Insert big, pleading, brown eyes with long lashes, here.)

I had used this pattern previously and quite liked it, although all the m1's were a little hard on the wrists. Also, since the time I last made this pattern, we now have a front load washer/dryer set, which as you all know, makes felting something intentionally, a little more challenging. (Although the handwash cycle managed it perfectly on my Tea Leaves Cardigan, unintentionally :P****)

I set the machine to 'hot wash' and then added some more boiling water from the Kettle. Added a drop of "SOAK", put the slippers in a lingerie bag and let it run, until just before the spin cycle. Took at look at it, decided it needed more and canceled the current cycle and reset to 'hot wash' and repeated. Did this 4-5 times, before I was satisfied that it was as felted as it was going to get and the stitch definition was blurred. Needless to say, not much else got done during the HOUR it took to do this, as I was standing in the middle of the laundry room with a cup of tea, ready to pounce on the door.

Turned out just the right size, with a 1/2" of grow room. Said child has been threatened :) that these are for inside use only and not for touring the garage or new property (1 acre on greenbelt, overlooking a ravine with a creek). Yah, right? At least I don't have to watch him do it.

Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs for Children
Yarn: Cascade 220 - 1 ball each of red and blue (Spiderman colours!)
Needle: 9mm
Size: 8"

Opened bag and tried them on immediately! Don't you just love it when folks are excited to receive the knits you make them?

They fit!

Practicing skating on our tile, in front of the mirrors. Thumbs up, all the way around!

Another Meret!

2010-11-20T09:45:00.000-08:00

***Updated 11/23 with photo 'stolen' from recipients Facebook, to show her wearing it at school, with many covetous comments from her friends ... :)

"Grandma, I need another hat please, in purple", was the plea. This, after having worn last year's cream coloured beret nearly on a daily basis. How could I refuse?

Pattern: Meret
Yarn: 1 ball Cascade 200, in 'Amethyst'
Modifications: made size L, with 2 extra repeats of lace for added slouch.
Finishing: Lightly blocked over a dinner plate, taking care not to stretch the ribbing.

Having recently coloured her hair much darker than intended, it was actually perfect with the purple!

I'm not sure how I feel about the way it's worn here, dangling off the back of the head. I'd prefer to see it worn a bit further forward, but it's all about the hair and not about the warmth, right?

SPARK

2010-11-06T08:46:00.001-07:00

I'm test knitting a new child's cardigan for knitting designer Samantha Roshak. It's really a child sized version of her Flint cardigan design and will be available on Ravelry November 21st.

This is a top down cardigan, with easy lace detailing on the sleeves and hem. The tie closure can readily be replaced with a button, or even a zipper, for ease.

More details and pictures to follow!

Strawberry Tea Leaves Cardigan

2010-09-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Details:

Pattern: Tiny Tea Leaves Cardigan
Size: 2
Yarn: Artyarns Supermerino ( 3 skeins)
Needles: 4.0mm & 4.5mm

First time using this yarn and I absolutely loved it! Soft, squooshy, perfect stitch definition -- all of the superlatives. I'll definitely be looking for it again. It was on sale and looked a bit garish on the skein (as some variegated yarns can do) but I decided to chance it and was very pleasantly surprised how softly the colours blended.

The buttons were absolutely perfect -- hand carved -- sigh! They were found at a yarn store in Pt. Moody called Black Sheep Yarns. It's about a 1/2 hr. drive from my place in a beautiful spot and is filled with one treasure after another. Sometimes I go into places that are so crammed full of yarn that all I see is a blur and I walk out with nothing. Not so, here! I don't think I've ever left empty handed :)

The pattern was a joy and I've already made another larger, longer sleeved version in a different, equally fabulous yarn that I'll tell you all about later!

Beaded Annis

2010-09-03T11:51:00.001-07:00

Pattern: Annis, Knitty.com
Needle: 5mm, 6mm knitting needles and 1mm crochet hook
Yarn: The Woolen Rabbit Lace Merino, Colourway "Arabian Nights" (1/3 of 1200 yd. skein)

I decided to use beads instead of the nupps designed for the pattern, simply because I don't like the look of nupps and had been dying to try something with beads.

I used a teeny, tiny crochet hook to work the beads -- so easy and very pretty!

This pattern doesn’t use as much yarn, so I have lots left to make another one or two :)

I definitely agree with other comments on Ravelry, that in future, I would prefer to do w&t and pick up on return side to avoid long ‘slash’ stitch. Thankfully, it doesn’t show too much on a yarn this dark, but you’d definitely see it on a lighter colour.

Found the suggested bind-off a bit loose, even after blocking, so am thinking I may take it out and re-do. Definitely would choose an alternate bind-off for my next one -- probably just a regular bind off, but use a larger needle.

Country Fair

2010-08-24T09:36:00.001-07:00

This year, I entered into 3 categories: Knitting, Photography & Scrapbooking. All in all, I had 10 Firsts, 6 Seconds and 1 Third. Not too shabby!

Above is a cardigan I knit previously, using Paton's Katrina yarn, corresponding pattern and many, tiny pearl buttons. This yarn is no longer available, likely because it pilled and snagged if you even breathed near it!

There was only one, open category for knitting this year and I had a tough time narrowing down what my submission would be. I showed up at the drop off with 3 projects and made a decision on the spot.

In the second year that you enter the photography competition, you are no longer considered "Novice", which means you can be competing with someone who may earn up to 50% of their salary from photography. I was pretty excited to see that I'd earned a few firsts, seconds and even a third in this division!

The above photo was submitted in the "Seasonal" category and was taken down the road from my home.

This is my photo from the "Olympic Memories" category -- I thought it was such a dichotomy -- Winter Olympics ... no snow ... February ... and the cherry trees blooming at least a month early!

This is the "Series" category. Photos taken at Minter Gardens in the Fraser Valley, last summer.

The photo in the middle was also entered separately in the "Flower Power" category and took 1st place.

These are actually 2-page layouts, with the 2nd page hidden under the 1st, to save space, so it looks a bit odd to me. This page is for the "People" category and showcases my Scottish aunts and cousins from my trip 2 years ago.

The top 3 hanging pages are all mine. This is the 1 page division in (L-R) categories: "People", "Pets & Animals", "Seasonal. The left one is our grandson, Josh, celebrating his 13th birthday, the middle, our former dog, "Brinkley" and the last, our B-I-L, nephew and great niece ice fishing on the lake in Alberta. It was tough to take photos in the barn, as it was so dark, but couldn't really use a flash, either, as it bounced off the plastic covers ... grrrr!

2-page division: "Pets & Animals" - our great nieces, with Brinkley

2 page division: "Seasonal" This is our house in the freak snowstorm we had 2 years ago. This was the first time all of Canada experiences a "White Christmas" in something like 40 years!

2 page ... can't remember the division!

The crowning glory ... I couldn't believe it when this page won "Best in Show"!!! It's of my parents, sister & I, plus husbands, celebrating my folks 50th anniversary last summer.

All in all, I was very happy with the results and made a little extra cash, so not too shabby!

Combo of Knitting & Scrapbooking

2010-08-19T19:55:00.001-07:00

I realize I've been off the radar lately -- too busy with knitting & scrapbooking projects and just plain enjoying finally having summer!

Above is sweet Miss Ella, in her very first photo shoot, just days after she was born. She's modeling the hat I designed for her, which her mom LOVES and has requested "2 more please" in different colours and sizes. Happy to accommodate!

Ishbel in blues ...

2010-06-14T12:59:00.001-07:00

This is my second kick at the can with this pattern and I still love it!

Pattern: Ishbel
Yarn: Ella Rae Lace Merino Colour #106
Needles: Circular 4 mm
Blocked: 50" x 23"

I did the small size stocking stitch and then switched to the large size lace. I ended up with about 13 gm of yarn left over.

This yarn is so amazing for lace knitting! It's even, smooth, tightly twisted and blocks like a dream. I've never encountered a knot, or even a slub and the colours are so rich and vibrant with short colour changes ... it's simply divine.

Funky Owl

2010-05-27T14:53:00.001-07:00

I'm having so much fun with these knitted animal toys!
This pattern is also from Amy Gaines and I've used a variety of Lion Brand Cotton Ease colours to create it. I found some plastic cat toy balls at the dollar store, which are about the size and shape of a golf ball, yet lattice style and have a small bell inside. I stuffed the main body from the head down and placed a ball inside, surrounding it with stuffing. The baby who receives this as a gift will also have the pleasure of listening to the lovely tinkling sound of the bell.

The Unthinkable ...

2010-05-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

I have a front load washer and dryer set. On the washer is a 'handwash cycle', which has been a godsend for washing all my cashmere or merino sweaters. I didn't even hesitate to use it to block my Earl Grey.

After the cycle was complete, it looked perfectly fine, but I thought it could use an extra 'spin cycle' to get rid of excess water, prior to blocking. Big mistake!!!

Above and below, you will see that yes, indeed, you CAN felt in a front loading washer ... :P******!!!

Cropped, Earl Grey, anyone?

Family from abroad ...

2010-05-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

My Aunt and her friend are currently visiting from Scotland, for two weeks. It's been 1 1/2 years since I was over visiting her, so it's been wonderful to reconnect. So much better in person, than over the telephone :) They stayed here for five days, and have moved on to my parent's house so Aunt Chris and Dad (her brother) can catch up. The Scottish accents have been flying! She's amazing, for almost 80. This woman can shop me under the table. I was flagging long before she was!

We had a big family gathering yesterday at our place and the weather was gorgeous! All the kids and grandkids, along with my sister, her husband and my mom were in attendance. Dad was down with a sinus infection, so decided to pass. It was wonderfully chaotic, with lots of laughs and good food.

Scrambled to have this finished for a baby shower for our newest grandson, seen in the previous post. This turned out so cute, but my goodness, what a lot of pieces and sewing up, plus stuffing to do! The finishing was deadly, but worth it! It was a big hit, with the pregnant friends of our daughter putting in requests for similar items and anything knitted, please and thank you!

It's a pattern by Amy Gaines. I happened on her patterns while surfing Etsy and noting that she had a sale on, promptly purchased at least 6 of them! She's also on Ravelry, if you're interested.
I couldn't find the safety eyes that she mentions, so I just embroidered them on. I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease, so it could be easily washed. I preferred the face "smirkless", so left off the smile. All in all, I'm very pleased.

"Mom" requested another pair of booties, please, so I made some in warm weather colours. Modeled below ...

His older brother requested some new slippers, so he could "skate" in the house on the wood floors! Then he decided he'd like to help me make them -- too cute! He'd stayed overnight and had woken up at 2AM, wondering where he was! Hence the look of exhaustion on my face :)

Next post, the saga of the Tea Leaves cardigan ...

Big News...!

2010-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

A new Grandson!

Levi Vincent Mark R.
7lbs. 10oz.
Born April 16, 2010

He's about 2 hours old in this photo -- mom and baby are now home and doing well!

While I've been a woefully lax blogger, I have been knitting and will have some F/O's to show you in the near future!

One Skein Baby Hoodie

2010-03-01T12:00:00.001-08:00

Pattern: One Skein Hooded Baby Sweater
Yarn: 1 skein of Dream in Color Classy "Midnight Derby" (left over from my FLS)
Needles: 24" 6 mm circulars
Button: Left over from FLS - 1". Crocheted loop to edge of button band for closure.
Mods: Sleeves: omitted decreases prior to ribbed cuff, so it wouldn't be so tight. Added 1/2" to length of sleeves and 1" to s/s portion of body.
Size: Approximately 0-3 months.
For: New grandson, arriving mid April :)

This may well become my current 'go to pattern' for a quick knit for babies. The pattern calls for 6.5 mm needles, but my swatch proved to be better with a 6.0 mm. It uses around 220+ yds. of worsted weight wool. The DIC yarn has 250 yd/skein and I have a large golf ball sized ball left over. As this 100% wool yarn is both machine wash and dryable, as well as very soft, it is the perfect thing for newborns who spit up a lot.

Note: I have found that my FLS has 'pilled' significantly with machine wash/dry and that's even with the 'hand wash' cycle on my new front loader! So, while I think it's lovely yarn and perfect for a baby sweater, I would think twice before using it again on an adult sized project. Thankfully, because it's a dark colour, it doesn't show too much, but under the arms (where there is naturally a lot of friction) it is definitely noticeable on my sweater.

I hadn't decided what kind of closure to use, so omitted button holes and waited until the end. Initially thought I might make a 'frog', but when I found the left-over button, decided to simply do a chain stitch loop for closure and am pleased with the results.

Did a full block, using "Soak" washing liquid and laid flat to dry.

Final verdict: stinkin' cute and I'll definitely be making more!

Olympic Red Meret

2010-02-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

Pattern: Meret size L.
Yarn: Mirasol "Tupa"
Needles: 4 mm
Mods: 2 extra pattern repeats to achieve desired 'slouch' effect + I-cord loop at crown

Modeled with the appropriate Vancouver 2010 mitts!

I know -- I look like I'm dressed for winter, but it was actually a very sunny, balmy 14 C today -- wonderful for us; not so happy for the mountains in desperate need of snow!

I've had the flu since a week ago today and haven't been ANYWHERE except for a brief trip into the market yesterday. There was a moment where I thought my "wet noodle" legs were going to give out on me -- not a great moment.

Most of my time this past week has been spent indoors, watching the Olympics and knitting, or reading, so, today we spent a couple of hours this afternoon in our lawn chairs, on the back patio, enjoying the sunshine and admiring my crocuses (in full bloom!). I actually got a bit of pink on my face and chest -- sooooo weird, for February! Hopefully, I'll be recovered by the weekend as I am fully determined to be at several Olympic venues next week -- no way am I missing out on this once in a lifetime chance!

Spray mist blocked over my Ikea dinner plate. Worked out really well. As you can see, I did a small I-cord at the crown. After I decreased down to the last 4 stitches, I did an 8 row I-cord, flipped it in half and tacked in to the inside, to finish it off. This is far more stable than simply drawing the yarn through the last few stitches and knotting off. I've had a previous one explode on me and spent the better part of an hour scrambling to recover the stitches :P******!

I probably could have gotten away with having made the size M, but I would rather have a hat a bit loose, so as to avoid the whole "hat head" drama. If it stretches too much, I'll simply thread some red-coloured elastic thread through the back of the ribbing rows.

Here's my hubby, on his way out the door to the Olympic Women's Hockey Game last night. Not tooooo excited ... :)

Our daughter called in the a.m. to say that she'd won a pool at work and was presented with two tickets, and did her Dad want to go???

Here he is, back at home, after the game and having a celebratory drink ... in his Olympic mug, of course! Doesn't matter if it isn't from this particular Winter Olympics, does it?

Ishbel ...

2010-02-13T18:56:00.001-08:00

Loved this project ... although the photos, not so much. Looks a bit like I'm wearing a bib or an apron in the second photo ... I was going to do a 'slung-across-the-chest-to-the-other-shoulder kinda thing', but my photographer was "done", if you catch my drift :)

Handmaiden Casbah Sock yarn in "Wine" -- amazing yarn! I promptly put in an order for another skein, once I'd finished with this one. I actually had a good 2" ball of yarn leftover, which I'm sure could be used up in Saartje's booties, or something equally tiny and darling.

There is nothing bad to be said about either the yarn or the pattern -- only superlatives.

Tutti Frutti ... "ICING"

2010-02-10T14:48:00.000-08:00

Pattern: "Icing" by Samantha Roshak
Yarn: Ella Rae 100% Merino Lace in #119 "Wine Cooler" (used about 250m of 400m)
Needles: 3.5mm
Dimensions: 71"L x 11"W
Started: February 5 - 9, 2010

As I mentioned in the previous post, this was a test knit of a new pattern to be released shortly. It's a quick knit, with lots of yo's and k2tog's, which made it fast and easy, but not boring. The perfect TV watching project!

It's unusual shape caused my husband to comment that it looked more like the bottom of a kayak, and therefore would have been more appropriately called "kayak", rather than "icing"! Thanks for taking an interest in my work, dear :)

BTW, did you notice how high my daffodils are in the background of the photos? Everything is at least 6 weeks ahead of normal here ... I was out pruning my roses yesterday and that would typically be a March task. It's been very mild, with some sunny days and we're very grateful! Typically, February is my least favourite month in B.C., but this one is proving to be an anomaly, and happily so!

Now, to get back to my Tea Leaves Cardigan and get it completed, so I can start my Olympics project, which is yet to be determined ... I'm dithering between the Wedgewood Blouse in a dark burgandy cotton and the Gail Shawl in Handmaiden sea silk -- Nova Scotia colourway ... hmmm.

Sssssh ... Top Secret Project Underway !

2010-02-06T13:26:00.001-08:00

Knitting Designer Samantha Roshak has a new pattern on the way, and it has a delicious name - "Icing"!

Myself and a few others have been tasked with the test knitting of the pattern, and it's well underway.

I'm using a perfectly yummy 100 % merino lace yarn that I discovered at a not so LYS last week. It's by "Ella Rae" yarns in colourway #119 "wine cooler". It's heavenly to work with (very sproingy) and the colours remind me of a bowl of Fruit Loops, minus the green!

More to follow!

Earl Grey Update ...

2010-02-03T16:37:00.001-08:00

I haven't worked on this in about 3 weeks, due to being sidetracked by the baby cobblestone (detailed in last post) and then the Ishbel shawl, which I'll save for the next post.

When there is nothing but endless stocking stitch, I tend to come down with "knitter's ADD" and find myself gravitating to another more interesting or complex pattern. Usually, I will go back and forth between the two (or sometimes 3 or 4) different patterns, so my interest doesn't wane and I end up with yet another UFO in my knitting basket. However, this time there has been only 'forth-ing' and no 'back-ing'! Even the desire to wear the cardigan hasn't been sufficient motivation to get it completed.

Note to self: I will finish this cardi ... I will finish this cardi ... I will finish this cardi!

Side-tracked, again!

2010-01-19T08:31:00.001-08:00

Did I mention that I have a new grand-son on the way? He'll be here by the end of April -- can't wait!

It struck me that although he'll have his brother's hand-me-down hand-knitted items to wear, he'll need some of his own, too. Then, I realized that April is not that far off, so I'd better get at it!

It's still a little chilly here in April, but not quite enough for a full on cardi or sweater. As I was going through my seemingly endless queue, I came across this pattern and knew it would be the perfect thing for a newborn. It will slip over a tiny sleeper and not only provide core warmth, but also dress up what are basically p.j.'s.

The pattern is on Ravelry, and is called Henry's Manly Cobblestone -- basically a take off on the Cobblestone pullover by Jared Flood.

I had a ball of James G. Brett "Marble" on hand, which I must say is quite nice, for an acrylic. Normally (as you know) I abhor all things acrylic, but I've used this one in past and it gets top marks from me! I needed this to be very washable as newborns spit up a lot and I knew mom was not going to be spending any time hand-washing! I used about 1/2 of a 100g ball, with enough left to make booties and a hat, if so inclined.

The top picture is little darker than actual ... the bottom one is closest to reality.

Actual dimensions of vest: 7 1/2"w by 9"h -- exquisitely tiny!

When the new, big brother-to be(who's just 2) was asked if he wanted a little sister, or a brother, his response was a very adamant ... "NO GIRLS"!!! We were all waiting on pins and needles until the ultra sound came back and thankfully, confirmed a boy.

Next up, a progress report on the Earl Grey sweater ... I promise!

Helmet Liner Updated Info ...

2010-01-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a link that I found on-line, which gives info. on how to send 'donations' to our Canadian Troops.

It's not very encouraging, frankly, as it (for appropriate reasons) states that the aircraft carriers are to be used for military related products and don't really have room for anything else. They discourage care packages.

However, if you are a family member, or a friend, you are still able to send packages -- just follow the instructions in the link below:

Canadian Forces Donations

We Interrupt the Scheduled Broadcast ...

2010-01-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

I put aside my 'Earl Grey' temporarily this week, for a very important knitting mission.

Friends from our church have a son with the Forces in Afghanistan. He was given a temporary leave this week to come home to be married on Saturday, then a brief honeymoon and back to the front lines.

His mom was telling me how cold it is there, when it dawned on me that I could be of assistance ... the Helmet Liner pattern! I only had a couple of days to do it in, but I knew I could do it. The pattern says that it fits an 'average' soldier's head. I did some searching on Ravelry and determined that that would likely be too small, as this is a big boy. Actually, most men found the original pattern to be too small/tight. Fortunately, Meilynne modified the pattern to suit (as she puts it) 'linebacker size', which I knew would work perfectly. An aside ... I don't think I have a particulary large head, but the large size was only slightly big on me.

Heads up -- the original Paton's pattern says that it takes 2 hours to complete -- who are they kidding??? I'm a fast knitter and I'm telling you that it took me at least 8 hours to knit!

Anyway, it feels very gratifying to do a little something for our troops and show them that we care. If you're in the US, the Paton's pattern tells you the specifications for knitting, plus where you can send them. I'm looking into the requirements for Canada and will let you know in a future post.

Earl Grey

2010-01-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

This is the Tea Leaves Cardigan, however, I'm choosing to call mine "Earl Grey", for obvious reasons. My sister gave me 5 balls of Malabrigo Worsted in the "Polar Moon" Colourway (sigh!) for Christmas, and I immediately cast on for this on Boxing day.

The colours are so subtle and look completely different in alternate light. I was actually a bit concerned when I opened it, because at my parent's place, it looked like a baby blue colour ... even my sister thought so! However, when I got it home and wound it up, it became the gorgeous dove grey that you see above. There are also hints of a sea green and a bit of a lavendar pink, which add to it's beauty and lustre. There are 3 of 1 dyelot and 2 of another, so I am alternating every 2nd row to avoid pooling. I was somewhat surprised that the vendor didn't make that known on the website ... I mean, really -- if someone is buying multiples of the same colour, wouldn't you think that they're making 1 large project and that they'd need all the same dyelot? On many of the other ebay websites, they will flat out tell you if they are different dyelots. Anyway, enough ranting -- the colour is gorgeous, and the FEEL is unbelieveable!

I'm past the arm holes and am currently knitting the body. The ruched design at the yoke is pure genius and so easy! Combo of increases and decreases, plus changing of needle size. Can I just tell you how much I am loving this pattern and the knitting thereof?!! I mean really ... how could I not!

Malabrigo + a great pattern = bliss!!!

Multnomah in Malabrigo

2009-12-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry people, it is just too cold to be taking outside shots currently! Although there is a hint of green showing through the back door, it's in the 'minus' category, temp-wise.

Pattern: Multnomah
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino in Teal
Revisions: I chose not to incorporate the F&F pattern into the 4th and 10th repeats of pattern

Not usually a 'fan' of the feather and fan lace pattern, I surprised even myself by being drawn to this shawlette. The F&F pattern is sooooo reminiscent of something someone's grandma made them in an afghan -- except in this case. It's clean, pretty, fun, classy and a little sassy, too!

This shawlette is so versatile. On Sunday, I wore it to church wrapped around my neck front ways, as a scarf, seen below. After taking off my coat, was feeling chilly, so I just reached over for my little shawl, slung it around my shoulders and was snug as a bug -- not to mention the obvious, that it looked fabulous and the knitter sitting behind me, audibly gasped!

Off to soak!

The yarn bled a LOT during soaking!

I've got some of the yarn left over and am thinking a Meret for me is calling my name! It will have to take a number, though, as I've got a few other things on the go at the moment :)

BTW, I'll be doing some baby knitting in the blue, brown and green colours for the end of April...!

Hat Crazy ...

2009-12-26T12:58:00.001-08:00

This is my sister modeling her "Meret" -- a pattern I've had in my queue for awhile, only to discover that since I made it, everyone and their dog is also currently knitting it ... so much for originality! BTW, she loves it! I used almost 3/4's of 1 - 100g ball of Sirdar's Denim Aran from my stash, which is a combo wool/cotton/acrylic blend and is apparently machine washable. I made the large size and after researching further reviews, decided NOT to block it as it tends to grow. I did one extra repeat of the pattern to get the desired "slouchiness"

Honestly, this woman never takes a bad picture! And, to her credit, immediately stuffed it on her head upon opening -- hairdo be darned!

Next up, the "Armando" pattern. Both of our daughters have men who work outside: one as a roofer and the other in his family's granite business. Needless to say, when it's cold and wet, they really appreciate having 100% wool hats that cover their ears and foreheads. The roofer found that while using the torch, his current hats were melting. I did some research online and discovered that 100% wool is less flammable -- in fact, if you're doing any helmut liner knitting for our troops, they specify that it must be 100 % wool, to avoid any fire hazard/melting. Also, as you likely know from EZ's books, wool is practially waterproof and keeps them much drier, longer, in the rainy Pacific Northwest. I used Malabrigo Worsted in a burnt orange colour, for the Harley Davidson lover in the family :)

There was enough to make two hats from one ball, so our 13 year old grandson got one as well, with a slight variation that included a scrap of "Vaa" Malabrigo to make it his own (and also so he and dad could tell theirs apart).

S-I-L modeling his hat in the "Fading Cables" pattern, using Jaeger Matchmaker yarn in a glossy brown, from stash. I find this pattern a little 'short', so I added an extra good 1/2" to the rib at the beginning.

The rear view -- I had to stand on my tippy-toes to get this shot -- he's 6'4"!

Mike modeling his hat ...

And one more that used up my scraps of Vaa and Lettuce Malabrigo and turned out quite well, I think!

It was comical ... I always have my camera at the ready for family get-togethers. The instant the recipients discovered a hand knitted item in their gift, it was on their head in a flash and a pose was struck, without me even asking! I overheard our daughter telling a girlfriend, "she'll make you anything you want ... you just have to let her take a picture for her blog!!!"

A new look on life ...

2009-11-07T11:57:00.000-08:00

Yup, new specs. and a 2nd completed Damson. I really love this colour of Dream in Color Smooshy, called "Happy Forest" -- bright green is soooo my fave colour!

The upside down heart design is a little off centre, but you get the idea!

This time I went down a size in needle and ended up not only completing the entire pattern, but had a wad left over!! Likely the leftovers can be attributed to the 10 yds+ extra yarn that is in the DIC as opposed to the Malabrigo. Go figure. So, either I had a 'dud' skein the last time, or going down a size in needle made all the difference. Hmmmm, it might be interesting to weigh both of the shawls and see what (if any) difference there is ... note to self.

On a sad note, I'm on a flight to Winnipeg tomorrow a.m., to be with my bff as she buries her husband on Tuesday. So difficult ... so fast ... literally 2 months after diagnosis, he is gone. They are so grateful for the past 4 weeks that he was able to be at home with them, but still, the loss is great. Please pray for Connie and her kids: Kerri (Ken), Ryan & Adam.

February Lady Sweater, finished!

2009-10-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Size: Medium
Yarn: Dream in Color Classy; Colour: "Midnight Derby"; 4 skeins.

I was exhausted when these photos were taken, but was desperate to get them done outside, between rainfalls.

I am deeply smitten with this cardigan -- I absolutely love everything about it -- the colour, the pattern, the yarn, the way it looks on me -- everything!

I did 23 repeats of the lace pattern on the body, and the same on the sleeves. I have a 'petite' sized upper body, so the length was right for me, but if you're longer waisted, then you'd likely want to add a few more repeats.

I had originally purchased sufficient yarn to make long sleeves, but when I commented to my husband that I though I would do shorter ones, he said: "good idea, then it won't looks so much like a 'granny' sweater!!" What does he know, anyway?

I washed it in my front load machine, on 'hand wash', as the label says it's washable. I was a little surprised to see so many fuzz balls on the sweater after washing, but they easily picked off. I put it in the dryer for several minutes and took it out while slightly damp and blocked it out.

Yay! Another FO -- onto the next one!

Damson

2009-10-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

All in all, this was a great knit. The pattern was well written and very clear. Rather than the Malabrigo sock called for, I used the Dream in Color Smooshy (sock), which has an extra 10 yds. on it. I was thinking that would be a good thing to have (just in case) although, I'd pretty much determined that I wouldn't be doing the frilly edging. So, here I was, knitting along, feeling quite confident -- until I got to the 103 row, still had at least 6+ rows to go and realized I was running out of yarn. I just had enough to cast off, with 14" to spare! As you can see in the middle photo, The centre heart-shaped pattern didn't quite get completed and there was no hope for the frilly edge. This has NEVER happened to me before, so came as quite a surprise. I was not spending another $25 dollars to do 6 rows, so cast off and decided it would be fine as it is!

While not really a 'shawl kinda gal', I do like this one. The "U" shape keeps it on the shoulders, without constant adjusting; it also doesn't draw attention to the backside like the typical "arrow pointing down" shawls. I would likely make it again, but would either go down a size in needle, or ensure I have a lot more yarn to work with.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-10-12T11:55:00.001-07:00

A new yarn shop opened up last year, about a 1/2 hours drive away from us. For various reasons, I'd never been there, until last week. They have a lovely selection of Dream in Color (it really goes against my Canadian grain to not put a "u" in the word 'color'!) yarn.

First in line is Dream in Color Smooshy (sock yarn) in the 'Happy Forest' colourway, which is slated for the Multnomah scarf/shawl.

Second, is Dream in Color Smooshy (sock yarn) in the 'Gothic Rose' colourway, which is currently on the needles and about 3/4's done, using this pattern called 'Damson'. I'm really enjoying how this yarn knits up, although I did find the large swath of garter stitch at the beginning a bit brain-numbing. I have a feeling that I may omit the edging as it's just not grabbing me at the moment. We'll see ...

Third, is Dream in Color Baby Lace in the 'Petal Shower' colourway (white/pink/taupe) and I'm planning to use it to make the Ishbel pattern.

This is Handmaiden Sea Silk in the Nova Scotia colourway and it is slated to become the Gail Shawl ... as you can tell by my current knitting, I'm on a bit of a 'lace' kick at the moment -- something I never thought would interest me. Never say, 'never'!

I have also discovered that while I like to have something warm and soft around my neck, I don't like the look of long scarves on me ... the scarf/mini shawl size seems to be the perfect solution and I love that it does double duty.

I seem to be slower to get excited about patterns or yarn that others jumped on many months ago already -- I think it takes me a little longer to warm up, for some reason. I certainly am not on the cutting edge, and while a lot of people have already 'been there, done that', I'm just starting to get interested. Maybe, too, I want everyone else to work out all the bugs first, before I tackle a pattern -- who knows?

In answer to my question in the last post, the answer is: "The February Lady Sweater", which should be finished very shortly. I'm half way through the last sleeve and definitely coming down the home stretch.

I find that about 1/2 - 3/4's the way through a big project (like a cardigan), I completely lose interest and start planning my next project and in this case, actually already started it (Damson). Then, I switch back and forth, simply because I can't stand to have a wip that's not finished, but really, the enjoyment of knitting it has passed and I just want it DONE!
Does anyone else feel this way? Or, do you, too, get distracted with the thought of what the next project will be?

Can you guess ...?

2009-10-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Just a little something that I'm working on for myself ... more to follow!

Owl Vest

2009-09-20T22:23:00.001-07:00

A certain young man will be turning 2 in the coming week, and needs a little something to take the Fall chill off ... this owl vest has been in my queue for some time and I finally got around to finishing it. The pattern is for a smaller child, but I took a tip from another blog pal and added in a seed stitch strip on either side, substituting the seed stitch for the ribbed border.

I was fortunate to find the perfect buttons for the eyes, at only .99 for a card of 7 -- bargain! This yarn was leftover from hubby's cowl/fingerless mitts, so the whole thing was truly very thrifty.

I've been away from blogland for the last several weeks as I was out of town in Winnipeg, for 2 weeks, and then the last two weeks have been nose-to-the-grindstone, designing scrapbooking classes for the Fall/Christmas Season at the store. Oh, by the way -- take a look -- this magazine contacted me and asked me if they could publish one of my designs in their blog -- wahoo!

I made a last minute trip to Winnipeg to visit my best friend, Connie. Her husband had gone into emergency with severe back pain, which was determined to be as a result of a crushed disk. The doctors decided to do some further tests and the outcome wasn't good -- he was diagnosed with bone, brain, liver & lung cancer. He just turned 50 in April. Needless to say, it was all very unexpected and a complete shock to all. While I was there, he had surgery to replace the disk and then gamma knife surgery to deal with the lesions on his brain -- all quite successfully. We are now waiting, while he heals from these procedures to hear what/when the next course of action will be. If you're praying people, please remember Byron, Connie and their kids: Kerri (Ken), Ryan & Adam in your prayers.

Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

2009-08-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

On August 15th, my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary, and what a celebration it was!

They invited my sister and I (plus husbands) to an overnight stay at Harrison Hot Springs, with dining and dancing on the Saturday evening and then brunch and a tour at Minter Gardens, on the Sunday.

Hubby surprised me by booking us in for the Friday, so we had a whole day to play before the others arrived. What a beautiful place! I hadn't been there in almost 9 years, which is scandalous, considering it's only about an hour's drive from our place. A beautiful lake and beach, a provincial park, lots of mountain scenery, hiking, biking, boating -- you name it!

We took a long walk through the mountain paths (about 2 hours) and discovered the actual hot springs along the way. Very steamy and sulphuric smelling (read: 'rotten eggs')! It was overcast, but comfortable on the Friday/Saturday and then sunny and warm on the Sunday. I took 168 photos -- thankfully, you'll only have to look at a few :)

This is a shot taken at Minter Gardens -- I thought the church was so tiny and adorable, until I went around the back of it and realized that it was a 'staged' facade, only!

Here we are, all dressed up, just before we went to dinner. How cute are they?
My mom is 70 and my dad is 75 -- not bad, eh? Hopefully, the good family genes will continue!

Hubby and I, in dress clothes -- a rarity, for sure!

And my gorgeous sister and hubby ...

The whole family together, at the restaurant. We had an amazing waiter and a fabulous meal, which was spread out over the evening, allowing us to enjoy each course, a little dancing inbetween and a lot of good laughs.

And a wonderful, memorable time was had by all! I'm not waiting until our 50th to go back there (we're only at 13!)-- I'm thinking that we should celebrate my 50th birthday there in a couple of years :)

Leaf Lace Scarf ...

2009-08-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

During our recent heatwave, it was just too hot to do any knitting, with anything heavy. The last thing I wanted was to have a load of knit up yarn in my lap. So, I put my current projects aside and started a new one! I've had this skein of Malabrigo Lace Yarn in the 'Pagoda' colourway, wound up and ready to go, but no project assigned until now. The Leaf Lace Scarf is the perfect pattern for this yarn! It is so lightweight and airy, I hardly notice that it's there. The pattern is only 12 rows long, and bonus, the wrong side rows are all 'purl'. BTW, if you're going to knit one yourself, I highly recommend using markers between each repeat of the pattern.

I've been looking for an alternate, lace weight yarn to the Rowan KidSilk Haze, which I loved deeply until I developed a sensitivity to wool and especially, mohair. I think I've found it! The Malabrigo lace (merino wool) has the same soft feel, weight and lovely halo that I had with the RKSH, with very rich colours and only $9.99/470yd. skein -- enough to make this scarf. Yippee! Happy dance!

Thank you all for your very supportive comments on my last post -- your loyalty is much appreciated!

Summertime ...

2009-07-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

My husband is fanatical about his grass ... it is the envy of all the guys in the neighbourhood ... plush, velvety, soft and lush ... sigh! And for the last 2 weeks, it has been devoid of humans, due to an unbelievable heatwave -- upwards of 40+C -- I saw 104F and 111F on our old thermometer -- ghastly. The fans are on overtime and we are lusting after A/C -- grocery shopping has taken on a new appeal.

I entered my scrapbooking, photography, knitting and dill pickles into our local country fair last weekend and came out with 6-1st place ribbons, 3-2nd place ribbons and one third, resulting in $35 prize money. Before you become unduly impressed, read on!

This is going to sound like sour grapes, but you're not going to believe this -- my gorgeous 'Alhambra' scarf came in 3rd to ... wait for it ... an eyelash yarn scarf!!! Yep, you read that correctly! Apparently my 16 row, lace pattern on both sides, stick a needle in your eye took me three months to knit scarf just didn't cut it. The judge preferred the garter stitch, red eyelash yarn scarf, instead. First place was given to a shawl, which was somehow entered in the 'scarf' category (go figure!) and then 2nd went to the eyelash scarf. I was scratching my head for a moment, until one of my knitting pals who volunteered at the fair whispered to me that the judge was actually a 'non-knitter' -- can you believe it???

My February Baby Sweater came in 2nd to a 'swallowtail shawl' which must have literally been cast off in the car, on the way to drop it off, because it hadn't even been blocked out! It was still in the 'before its glory, lace blob stage'.

Needless to say, it was a learning experience ... I was wise enough to keep my mouth shut while I was there, for fear that I'd get roped into judging next year's competition, which would really mess me up, because then I wouldn't be able to participate :)

The kids were away for the weekend, so we had the 'granddog' for a few days. He's very sweet and a joy to have around. My garden took a beating, but I was prepared for that. His only other foible is that he loves to chew on tennis balls. I went to the dollar store and bought 3 sleeves of balls because he can chew through one in only 10 minutes. Once he's popped it, he proceeds to shred and spit out the pieces. Once he's done that, he gets up and walks away, as if to say 'that job's done'!

Vulcan, Alberta

2009-07-14T09:25:00.000-07:00

WARNING: Picture heavy!!!

We flew to Vulcan, Alberta at the end of June for 10 days, to visit hubby's sister. The Starship Enterprise, is the town monument and its claim-to-fame! When the recent StarTrek movie premiered, the residents of Vulcan were given 300 tickets to auction off among the inhabitants and those who won, were treated to a buffet dinner and then bussed to Calgary (an hour away) for a special viewing.

We timed our visit so hubby could go to an airshow in Nanton, about 30 minutes from Vulcan. (That's my b-i-l on the right) They were going to start up an old WW 2 bomber plane, and being an airforce brat, he couldn't resist. Also, two of his uncles were bomber flyers in WW 2 and were killed within a couple of months of each other - both were in their late teens/early 20's. They had a huge memorial wall of all the Canadians who had served and both of their names were listed.

This is the actual bomber. I have a video feature on my camera and promised to get the whole thing on tape for hubby and his one surviving uncle. My arms nearly fell off holding the camera high and for at least 5 minutes, but I got it all!

I won't bore you with further pics, but I got inside and photographed from every angle possible! It was actually quite interesting.

We noticed that there was a farmer's market happening, so we walked over to check it out. We discovered hubby's cousin (on the right) with all of her handmade jewelry for sale. She makes beautiful stuff -- I bought 3 pieces!

This is a town lost in time. It hasn't been created to look this way, it IS this way. The fenced building has a real, honest to goodness saloon on the main floor. Gotta be at least 200 years old!

I love the colourful grain elevators! They're almost becoming extinct.

Me and one of my nieces. On Canada Day, we got up early and drove to Rosemary, Alberta about 1 1/2 hours away. This is a tiny town, population 300, that for one day is at least 10x that! They have a big celebration, parade and all, and people come for miles to participate.

Here's another niece, flying the flag!

The whole gang, on the sidelines, watching the parade ... it circled the town twice, so you didn't miss anything! Volumes of candy was tossed out, so the kids had a blast scrambling to retrieve it.

Hubby, who climbed out of his comfort zone and dressed for the occasion, tattoo and all! Yeah!

Mud bog truck races ... notice the flying mud, which sprayed up and landed on those of us standing at the fence line, taking pictures :P*****
On-land, ski do races -- can you believe it?? I was down in the pit, taking photos, before someone noticed me and told me to get lost :)

And a very fun time was had by all!

The Golden Ears Bridge

2009-06-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

History in the making! Here's what we did yesterday ... we and circa 50,000 other people walked across the new Golden Ears Bridge! This bridge spans the Fraser River, joining Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows and Fort Langley. It was opening day and only pedestrians were allowed on -- what a zoo! Unfortunately, they hadn't planned for the volume of people and actually had to close the bridge down a couple of times, for several minutes, due to over-capacity on the bridge deck. Not for the claustrophobic, that's for sure! At some points, it was wall-to-wall people -- the emergency vehicles had challenges getting through, which was an issue, as one lady went into labour!

Here's a photo of our new neighbour -- a yellow lab puppy named, Sasha. I'm puppy sitting Wednesday - Friday in the a.m., until school's out, as 'mom' is a teacher. I'd forgotten how busy and exhausting puppies are -- if I was even thinking that I might want another dog, this is definitely making me sit back and think again! Although, she is very sweet ...

Look what landed in my flower pot! I couldn't believe how tame it was ... posed for several minutes while I took all the photos I wanted!

I've had a bit of 'start-itis' lately -- this is another 'Hey Teach' from Knitty.com. I made one last summer in Rowan All Season's Cotton and was disappointed with the mega-stretch factor. Also, I think the body section needed to be at least 2" longer and I'm short-waisted! It's since found a new 'home' and I've begun another one in Jo Sharp Desert Aran -- a light lilac, almost grey colour. Very neutral and should go with everything. I came down a size in needle to 4.5 mm to make a denser fabric and I'm doing the body all in one piece this time, to avoid the whole sewing up thing, using markers to separate the fronts and back, plus I'm also knitting on the button band, simultaneously. Talk about lazy, huh?

The LYS had a huge 40% off sale recently, which I noticed as I just happened to be driving by!
Picked up some Noro sock yarn with the intention of using it to make scarves. This one is coming along nicely -- an entrelac style, also from Knitty.com -- but the name escapes me just now. I'm making it a little wider than the pattern calls for, as it was too long and skinny for my taste. As there is some wool in this yarn, I tend to knit outside in the shade, when there's a bit of a breeze blowing, to avoid the itchy sneezies -- so far, so good!

Oh yes, and a few more purchases ... All yarn 'Diamond Luxury' merino. The variegated sock yarn is designated for each a male & female BSJ and the two solids in the background for February Baby Sweaters.

Sigh ... Malabrigo Silky yarn ... need I say more? The rich red yarn on the right is also a merino/silk, but from Meribel yarns. I love that they are women run, and that the proceeds help women and children in developing countries. Nothing like paying it forward!

And one more Noro sock yarn, destined for a funky scarf -- so colourful!

Another change in life ... recently my sister and I discovered that we have Celiac Disease -- an intolerance to anything with wheat, barley, or rye in it. It is apparently genetic and 1 in 133 people may have it without even realizing it.

That has meant a drastic change in diet, as we eliminate all of these items, not to mention a lot of searching and reading labels to see where it's 'sneaked in'. You'd be amazed where it lurks! The frustrating thing is that we've likely had it since we were kids, but it apparently is challenging to diagnose.

The average age of diagnosis is 46, which isn't great as a lot of internal damage can take place in that space of time. Thankfully, by eating a gluten-free diet, we should be able to turn around at least some of the symptoms. Eating out is likely going to be a thing of the past, but thankfully, we're both good cooks and enjoy trying new things. Never a dull moment around here!

BSJ ...

2009-06-02T22:46:00.001-07:00

Amazing how this reptilian looking blob, suddenly morphs (with a few strategic folds) into a completely reversible, cute little jacket!

My first BSJ (Baby Surprise Jacket) from Elizabeth Zimmerman. I figured that since I was on a roll with the February Baby sweaters, I may as well graduate to the BSJ -- what a lot of garter stitch -- at times, it seemed endless, but quite gratifying once finished.

Yarn: 'Fat sock' from Hello Yarn - can't remember colourway.

A special thank you for the very kind comments you left on my last post ... we are so appreciative of your thoughtfulness. We have amazing friends, family and neighbours who have been so kind and supportive to us over the past few months as we have dealt with so much loss in our immediate family, most recently with our much loved dog, Brinkley. The children from next door came to the fence with tears in their eyes to say how sorry they were and how much they'd miss him and promised to share their new puppy with me, once it arrives. Too sweet! It's been lots of shared tears, hugs and memories ... amazing, really, how one dog touched a family and a neighbourhood in a very special way.

We are healing ... day by day, it gets just that little bit easier on the heart. We are trying to find a new 'normal', as the past 9 years revolved around a dog and although we are finding the house a little too empty, visits from the grandbaby give us joy and we are rediscovering what it is like to just have each other. Not a bad thing, at all!

Good-bye my sweet, special boy ...

2009-05-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we had to make the horrible decision to say 'good-bye' to our beloved Brinkley, one week after his 9th birthday.

It all happened suddenly (shockingly so). One minute he was fine, laying on the floor with the grandbaby and then the next minute, not fine at all. After doing some x-rays, it was discovered that there were other cancer masses and one of them which attached to his spleen, had ruptured. It would have been terribly selfish of me to put him through surgery again, with a not very optimistic outcome, so we made the decision to put him down.

I am devastated.

February Baby Sweater # 2 ...

2009-04-28T18:21:00.001-07:00

Yes, another one ... I'm loving this pattern! Made with 'Donna' by Scheepjes, a lovely merino/acrylic blend that has a little sheen to it and washes up beautifully.

See specs. in previous post, if interested. One modification that I should have mentioned in the previous post, is that I omitted the decreases at the bottom of the cardi and just knit it straight down, instead. I much prefer it this way.

Life has been tres hectic at our house over the past month. We had to have hubby's parent's place cleared out by the end of April, so his sister, brother-in-law and great niece came out for a week over Easter to help out.

The day prior to their arrival, our dog was scheduled for surgery. See the lump on his back, right hip? Larger than a softball! That's him begging for a bit of hubby's lunch -- he's such a mooch!

Head's up ... if you don't do post surgery pics, skip the rest of this post and I'll see ya next time :)

Look at the poor thing! A six inch incision, complete with a drain, where the largest lump site was, and a 3 inch incision on the top of his spine, at the back of his neck. Nearly broke my heart! The drain was a real nuisance and after needing to mop up the floor every time the dog shook, I got smart.

I jury rigged an XL men's t-shirt for him to wear and it absorbed the drippings from the drain, for the next 7 days. Pretty clever, huh? He had a wardrobe of at least 3, so that when one was in the wash, he had a fresh one on, plus a back up.

He was confined to the kitchen, as it's tiled and easy to clean. We came home with one of those 'dog lampshades' that they're supposed to wear, to ensure that they don't chew on anything, or heaven forbid, pull the drain out. That would just cause him more stress, so we decided to 'pass' on the lampshade. Instead, we put on the t-shirt and decided that I'd sleep in the kitchen with him, so I could monitor if any attempts at chewing were made. Not the comfiest sleep, but the peace of mind was worth it.

The next night the company arrived and the bed was required elsewhere, so I spent that night on the couch in the family room adjacent. What we don't do for our pets, huh?

I used to work at our vet's, so they let me bring him home the same day -- I was confident that I could cope, plus it was the long weekend and the thought of leaving him there wasn't appealing.

Sometimes the tough part about having worked at the vet's is that I know too much ...

The pathology report came back and told us that along with the fatty tissue we already knew about from the needle biopsy, there was also a soft tissue sarcoma underneath it all. Knife through the heart! On the plus side, it was completely encapsulated, so it hadn't spread and they took a whack of tissue out surrounding it, just in case. The vet tells me that there's a 10% chance that it will grow back, but for now, he's healing well and back to his perky, lovable self!

February Baby Sweater

2009-04-03T14:45:00.001-07:00

Pattern: February Baby Sweater by Elizabeth Zimmerman
Yarn: Lana Grossa 'Big' 100% Merino - 3 balls in stash
Needles: I used 4mm 24" circulars
Buttons: 3 , 1/2" mother of pearl
Size: I'm guessing, but I would say it would fit a 0-3+ month old
Adjust: I chose to only do 3 button holes

This is my first shot at an "EZ" pattern ... can you say 'vague'??? There was an awful lot 'assumed' which left me feeling like I wished someone would fill in the blanks for me.

After a couple of false starts (including nearly finishing the yoke when suddenly it told me I should have been putting in buttonholes) everything finally 'clicked'.

I loved that it's knit 'top down', as you know that I detest the sewing up at the end. All I had to sew was 5" up each sleeve and then of course, the buttons.

It's really quite an ingenious construction, however, it does require concentration and some sorting out in your mind. Until now, I've been mindlessly following patterns, with adjustments to suit my taste, but this one blew me away! I finished this one and immediately cast on for a second, so I could cement the construction of it in my brain.

Irish Hiking Cable Cowl, + Fingerless Mitts

2009-03-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

Pattern: Irish Hiking Cable Cowl
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2) Stash Buster!
Needles: 3.75 mm

Note: as I used DK weight instead of Aran, I added 2 extra repeats to the pattern, making it about 10" across when it was finished.

My hubby works from home and has been feeling quite a chill in his office, likely due to the fact that he has a large, outside wall and it has been freezing cold and even snowing. "Can't you make me something I can wear around my neck to keep me warm", he queried? I have NEVER had a request from him for something knitted. He's not a 'cable guy', so I was a bit hesitant to show him this pattern, but he seemed to 'warm' up to the idea when I pointed out the ribbed portion, which he loves. I have been wanting to knit a cowl for some time, but knew I would never wear one that didn't have a button -- you know, the whole hair-do thing! Anyway, this one fits perfectly!

Pattern: My own
Yarn: 'Dolly' by Laines du Nord (140 m/ball x 2)
Needles: 3.75 mm

Then, "my fingers are so cold I can hardly type" was the next cry. To the rescue with my own pattern for fingerless mitts, featuring his beloved ribbing. He also requested that they come up to his second knuckle, which is a bit longer than I would normally have made them. I kept having him slip them on so we could get the length to his liking. These are perfect, as they give him the warmth he needs, without impeding his typing or 'blackberrying' capability.

Such an accommodating model! You're probably sick of seeing all the patterns lately for mitts, but if anyone is interested in the pattern for these mitts, let me know and I'll try to remember what I did and put it in a future post.

2009-03-03T15:12:00.000-08:00

Here's what we woke up to last Tuesday ... freak snowfall! We had about 3-4" which was totally gone 2 days later, when things warmed up again.

And here I am today, 1 week later, in my finished Garter Yoke Cardi, outside in the beautiful warm sunshine -- hence the squinting :)

Working it ...

Trying not to smile lopsidedly, considering my mouth was still frozen from having had a new crown installed an hour prior -- that's another story, for another day :P***
Photos courtesy of hubby ...

Wanted to know if he should get a shot of the cool 'bumpy' stuff at the top ... I'm assuming he was referring to the garter stitch yoke ... :) !

Pretty darn pleased with myself! It's been a long time since I finished something that actually fit me! The colour is perfect, the yarn is fabulous -- too bad they've discontinued it :P***

Details:

Pattern: The Garter Rib Cardi from Fall/Winter 2008 Knit 1 magazine
Yarn: Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran Shade #557 (Aubergine) 13+ balls @ 87 m each
Buttons: 11, pewter coloured/carved (purchased from Ram Wools in Winnipeg)

Because I'm a 'curvy pear' with small shoulders, this style works really well for me -- I especially loved the top down styling, as I detest finishing. All that sewing and weaving in of ends is simply not my favorite thing to do! I made a smaller size for the top, and then after the shaping, where the increasing begins for the hips, I simply kept increasing until I had the next size up. If I had known it would block out bigger, I would have started with an even smaller top and then increased as before on the hip portion. It was quite snug, as I wanted a fitted look, so I was a bit concerned that it might be too small, but it grew a bit in the blocking process.

I made the sleeves the length called for (15.5") which ends up full length for me on my short, Scottish arms. Bracelet length makes my arms look even shorter, so I opted for full length. The sleeves naturally 'bell', so no shaping was required from the armhole down. Easy, peasy!

Another change I made, was to go a bit longer so therefore needed 11 buttons, rather than the 10 called for in the pattern. I made a buttonhole every 16 row (8 garter ridges), but when I got to the bottom, I knew that I wanted the button in the middle of the edging, rather than above it, as shown in the pattern. I didn't want it to split open after the last button. After the 10th button hole, I did 12 more rows of garter stitch on the button band. Then the pattern goes into the garter edging. I simply did 4 rows of the edging, then made a button hole, and then did 4 more rows of edging and cast off. Worked out perfectly!

A new technique for me, that I have read extensively about in other blogs, is the 'spit splice'. Previously, if I knew I was going to run out of yarn, instead of making a join in the middle of my project, I would simply join in a new ball at the beginning of a row. This time I decided to try the splice. While I didn't enjoy hauling excess bits of fluff out of my mouth for several minutes after, I must admit, it was a very effective and invisible way to join in yarn. I was concerned that everything would come undone in the wet blocking process, but it held up well. I know others have tried it on various yarns, but I would have to say that I would be a little leery about doing this procedure with anything but 100% wool.

I would definitely make this pattern again, although not for awhile -- it was a LOT of knitting. Just an aside ... have you ever noticed that the bloggers who manage to pump out a pullover or cardi every other week, are all size XS ?????

Garter Yoke Cardi

2009-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

Although you haven't heard from me for awhile, I have been getting some knitting done! The above is the Garter Yoke Cardi from the Fall/Winter 2008 knit.1 magazine. The yarn is the now discontinued (grrr!) Jaeger Extra Fine Merino Aran, which I heart, big time, mainly because it's wool and it doesn't give me the itchy, sneezies. The stitch definition is to die for! The colour is most accurate in the above photo -- a deep, rich plum.

As you can see, I've finished the body and have begun one of the sleeves. There seems to be a line of demarcation where I had the stitches on 'hold' -- I'm really hoping it disappears in the blocking process.

Love the curvy shaping! All in all, this has been an easy knit thus far -- and even better, it fits!!!
I ordered some buttons from Ram Wools in Winnipeg in an antique silver colour, which I think will be the perfect finishing touch.

Here's one of the yarns I bought at Ram Wools when I was out visiting my BFF in Winnipeg. 'Tussah' silk, by Hand Maiden! I was actually going with the express purpose of buying seasilk, but wasn't thrilled with the colour choices -- then, I spotted this rich, autumny lovely and was hooked! It's aran weight and about 300 yards, so I'm thinking a lace scarf. It's actually a HUGE skein when it's wound up -- almost 8" across! I'm forcing myself to finish the cardigan first, before I embark on this project and yes, it's killing me!

It's been a tough start to '09, with my m-i-l passing away on December 31st and now, my f-i-l on January 30th. He had been feeling so much better and was looking forward to getting out of the hospital and starting over in a beautiful, new assisted living residence. However, the pneumonia returned and sadly, he succumbed to congestive heart failure. I am so thankful for all of the photos I insisted on taking of reluctant parties, as now they are so meaningful for those of us who remain and remember.

For a Princess to be ...

2009-01-20T11:01:00.000-08:00

Sorry these are so dark ... I tried it with a flash, but it literally 'whited out' the pink.

A client friend from work is having a little girl next month, so finally, after all the baby boy knitting I've been doing, I got to make something 'girly'!!

These are my very favorite, standard baby shower gift, "Christine's Booties" along with the Pumpkin Hat from 'Itty Bitty Hats'. As you know from previous posts, the booties are my faves because moms tell me that they are the only ones that stay on the baby's feet, plus they grow a bit with the baby.

I love the hat pattern for a similar reason. In the photos, I've rolled the brim up quite deeply. This allows the hat to be worn as a newborn, but it then unrolls to fit again, as the baby grows. This hat should fit up to 5 or 6 months, depending on the size of the baby's head. I used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (under 2 balls) for both the booties and the hat. I made the 3rd size for the hat, as the pattern calls for DK weight, and I was using a lighter weight of wool. I then made it the length of the 2nd size, to compensate. Size 4mm 12" circular addi's for the hat and size 3mm dpn's for the booties.

The floral embellishments were discovered in my scrapbooking stash and I believe were originally purchased at Michael's. Perfect touch, huh? They're stitched on very tightly and as they are for a newborn, I'm not concerned that they'll get pulled off and swallowed!

... and life goes on

2009-01-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is my BFF, Connie, shoveling snow in Winnipeg -- she thinks it's hilarious that we have more snow than they do! I'm thankful we don't have their -42C temperature to go with it -- I can't begin to imagine!

I am on a creative roll (work wise) at the moment. The scrapbooking pages are rolling from my mind's eye, to a layout design, in record time. I've been doing at least one layout a day, and while I'm doing it, I'm planning the next one! This is of my cousin Hannah, her daughter Niamh (say 'Neve') and myself, on the beach in Scotland, this past September. Such a cutie!

We needed some fresh, new displays for the store, so I volunteered! The boss was so delighted with this one, that she put it on the store blog -- scroll down to take a look!

A little knitting has been happening, although (I admit), not much. I've completed about 8" on the Woodland Shawl and am still loving it. This is the "Fading Cables" hat pattern. I made two of these, one for each of our girls. Both were made of 'Malabrigo' -- this one is 'Cognac' and the other one was 'Lettuce', which disappeared so quickly, I didn't get a chance to take a photo! The only mod I made to the pattern, was to the 2nd hat -- I lengthened the first portion by about 1/2", so now it covers the top 1" of the ear. I really like this pattern and will likely make it again. It's very stretchy and would be suitable be for either a man or woman -- there's even a child size, if you like.

We said 'good-bye' to Eileen (hubby's mom) on December 31, 2008. We'd been going over to her place, daily, for the past 2 months, bringing her dinner and keeping her company, as hubby's dad is still in ICU, recovering. Went over NY day, to discover that she had passed, peacefully, in her sleep. We were concerned that this may set back his dad, but he seems to be even stronger. Last week he was removed from the respirator, and this week, they took the trach tube out, so he's breathing on his own, and talking for the first time in 2 months. He's even taken a few steps! He is so motivated to get out of the hospital and continue living ... we'll wait to have a service until he is able to attend.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-30T11:43:00.001-08:00

Captured the above photo in the a.m. when I let the dog out the back door to do his thing ... These trees surround our property and provide a lot of much needed shade in the summer, but can be treacherous when we get snow. One of the branches on a tree at the side of the house (the neighbor's side of the fence) got too heavy with the snow and broke off, coming through our tile roof. Not impressed! This is the very same tree we offered to go halfers with our neighbor on, last summer, if they would cut it down. They decided to just top it and have a few branches taken off -- bad decision! Hubby and another neighbor were up on the roof replacing cracked tiles, and then 'jury-rigged' an A-frame to protect the peak, where several more tiles were destroyed. Thankfully, the branch only went through to the attic, and not through the laundry room ceiling, where my brand new washer and dryer reside!!!!

People, this is the south west coast of B.C. ! We don't get this kind of snow on a regular basis! We might get 4" once a year, but it's gone the next day ... We've had over 3 feet in the space of less than a week! This is the pile next to the driveway -- Note: I'm 5'5" tall! The last time we had snow for Christmas, was in '96, the year we got married. Apparently, this is the 1st Christmas in over 40 years, that all of Canada had a white Christmas.

Hubby did the bulk of the shoveling, but I did my share, too. It was endless! The above photo is at the beginning of the week, before the next 12" fell! He declared (yet, again!) that this is the last year that he is going to shovel snow -- he says that a snow blower will soon be residing in the tool shed.

Here are my 'boys' on Christmas Eve, getting ready for the visitors. Brinkley absolutely loves the snow and cavorted around like an idiot in it!

Here's our little man with his grandpa -- so cute in his 'big boy' outfit! Rosy cheeks courtesy of upper molars coming through and a head cold, which he kindly passed on to grandma :(

BTW, his mom had been working with him on the ride over to the house. He came running through the door when he saw me and said, wait for it ..."guh-i-ma"! ... I almost cried. I know, pathetic.

From the youngest, to the oldest 'grand', opening their Christmas gifts ... a talking train set for E*than,

A rocker chair for J*osh to plug in all his electronics and listen to his IPod, or play PSP games with surround sound. We handed him the cords and he had the whole thing hooked up lickety-split and soon we were listening to the theme song from "Twilight" (that reference is just for you, Tara!)

C*icely in the "I'mtoocooltoletyouknowthatIreallylovemynewlaptop" phase. The joys of being 15.5 yrs. :P******

Oh yes, there is a little knitting content. Here is my Woodland Shawl, in the "Fiddlehead" colourway from 'The Woolen Rabbit'. It's a semi solid lace weight merino, with subtle colour changes -- love it! Once blocked, all edges will have a lovely scallop to them -- so pretty! And what I like, is that it doesn't require a Kitchener join in the middle of the shawl. I really am not crazy about that, for 2 reasons: 1) I don't like doing that procedure and 2) it's always so evident, even when you do it well! The pattern is well written, easy to follow and easy to memorize, so I can actually watch TV while knitting.

BTW, we rented "Made of Honour" last night, with Patrick Dempsey (Throb!) It was hilarious! Just go rent it.

Happy New Year to you all!

Ascot, et al

2008-12-16T18:03:00.001-08:00

Love this pattern! It's basically garter stitch, with a ton of wrapped stitch, short rows to make the ends flare out. Then, you knit on a border with bobbles, to finish it off. The pattern is called 'Ascot' and is from Interweave Knits Holiday Gift Guide 2007. This is Manos del Uruguay yarn which I had purchased on my recent trip to Scotland. There is still enough of the one skein to make at least a baby sized hat. It's wonderful yarn -- silk and merino blend and the colourway reminds me of the ocean.

One Tudora down, with Fetching mitts to accompany (pattern courtesy of Knitty.com) in Malabrigo, natch!

And here are the rest of them -- I'm done with this pattern -- soooooo done. There's nothing wrong with it -- in fact, it was fabulous -- I've just made so many that I'm over it. All in Malabrigo, with buttons purchased at Ram Wools, in Winnipeg, from my recent trip.

There was a lot of this in Winnipeg -- and in addition, -26C! Coming from the Southwest coast, this took some getting used to! Although, it is a very dry cold, so not as hard to bear. I was very grateful for my down coat, lined boots and knitted accessories, I'll tell you!

My dear friend suffered through a trip to the yarn store and very patiently waited and listened while I went into raptures over the wonderful finds! We pulled into the parking lot to discover that there was a store-wide sale on that day only -- can you say 'happy dance'????? I picked up some silk "Tussah" (pictures to follow at a later date, and some lovely Peruvian merino, along with a ton of buttons -- what a selection!

Here's my best friend, Connie, making Christmas Cards. I brought a ton of gear with me so that we would be able to do all of our cards together. I thought for sure I was going to be over the 50lb weight limit at the airport scales, but thankfully, the case was 4 lbs under! Although, they did put a 'Heavy' label on it.

And here's a sampling of some of what we accomplished! These are Connie's cards and I had about the same amount of my own. I also helped her get a start on her daughter's wedding album, so we really got a lot done. Whenever I come to visit, we always find a project to do -- I think her poor hubby lives in fear of my visits, as he knows something's going to change before I leave! One year, Connie decided she was done with the look of her table lamps, so we bought special paint and went to town on them. They turned out beautifully!

And here is a photo of Connie's daughter Kerri and I together. We have so much fun when we're out together and people realize that we have the same name! Although, I spell mine with a 'y' at the end. It's scary ... I remember when she was born, and now she's a young married woman. Please tell me I'm not that old ..... :)

Connie and I met when we were barely 20. We were assigned as roommates at Capernwray Bible School in Austria, for 3 months. We immediately hit it off and were inseparable for the whole 3 months. When school ended, Connie went home and was married within 6 months, and I stayed on and traveled for another 1 1/2 years with a band as their lead female singer. Even though our lives were very different, we still kept in touch all through the years and found time to visit each other, in between the births of her 3 children (all of whom are now 18 and older)! It such a gift to have a friend who's known you through your past and present and 'get's you'. Ok, this is bizarre ... as I was just about to hit the 'publish' button, she phoned!

This and that ...

2008-11-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

We've spent the last 17 days going back and forth to the hospital and also to my m-i-l's place. My f-i-l was hospitalized with severe viral pneumonia and had a heart attack the same day he was admitted, due to the fact that he wasn't getting sufficient oxygen into his body. He has been in ICU, on a respirator ever since. He's holding his own, although there has been little improvement, so all prayers are appreciated! My m-i-l is particularly finding it difficult as he was her primary care-giver and she finds it lonely without him, so we're over there everyday. We've been having challenges getting home help set up, but may have rounded the corner on that one today, thankfully!

Although I've been knitting like a fiend, I can't show you much as they're all Christmas Gifts! I can tell you that many a Tudora, Fetching, and Foliage (from Knitty.com) has been made (using Malabrigo, of course!), along with 2 Ascots (from Interweave Gifts '07) ... love this pattern!!!

Below also are two Knitting Magazines I picked up while waiting in the Edinburgh bus depot ... look at all of those fabulous knitted ornaments! I've yet to make one ...

BTW, to my American friends, "Happy Thanksgiving", coming up later this week!

Thought you might enjoy a few pumpkin pictures, in honour of the upcoming occasion.

Alhambra is Blocking!

2008-10-28T21:58:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how much I love, love, love the colours of this yarn ... it shows up much darker when it's wet, but the dark spots are actually a fabulous plum colour. BTW, I'm very happy with the blocking wire kit that I ordered from Knitpicks. It sure makes life easier, especially when I'm currently addicted to lace knits :)

I may have never shared this about myself before, but I have a 'thing' about doorways & entrances ... to houses ... hidden side streets, you name it. Here are some more pics of my recent trip to Scotland, starting in Falkland Fife, where I spent the day visiting my cousin.

First stop, the local church --notice the gorgeous stonework at the arched entrance.

Love the herringbone brickwork with the wrought iron gate -- so classy!

I especially like this one ... my cousin explained that in the old days, when folks got married and moved into their new abode together, they would carve both of their initials above the door post, along with the year of their marriage ... how sweet is that???? What's truly amazing, is that the building is not only still standing, but inhabited!

The tiny round sign on the left says 'The Weaver's Cottage' ... also built in the early 1700's and currently occupied by someone who loves container gardening! Look how old and worn those steps are ... imagine how many pair of feet have climbed those stairs over the years??

Falkland recently won the award for best decorated town in Scotland. Can you guess why??? Every house is overflowing with gorgeous flower pots/gardens! I couldn't believe the size of some of the begonias -- the colours were stunning!

I was all set to buy up and move there, until my cousin told me the price -- a tiny 600 sq. ft. cottage goes for 250,000 pounds -- that's $500,000!!! It's a very desirable place to live -- so pretty, plus it has it's very own palace on the main street. Like a fairyland.

I was walking the walls in Berwick, England one day and came across this doorway -- soooo pretty! My dad grew up only 6 miles from the English border, so it's nothing for us to cross on a daily basis (no passport required!) and go shopping, sightseeing, have lunch, whatever, and then back to Scotland in time for dinner. Pretty amazing!

I'll leave you for now, with my favourite 'entrance picture' of my entire trip. At the end of the road where I was staying with my aunt, is a private residence/property solely geared for retired gardeners. It's absolutely gorgeous! There's a wonderful winding, forested path that takes you around the outskirts of the property and at the end of it was this sight -- stunning in it's simplicity.
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Birthday Boy

2008-10-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

A certain young man recently had his 1st birthday and was soooooo not impressed with having to wear a birthday hat ... if he could use his words, he probably would be saying, "Get this thing off my head, right now!!!!!"

Alhambra

2008-10-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

I really like the Alhambra pattern ... although, I must admit, it seems endless!!! I feel as though I've been knitting this for years. I'm using a sock weight silk/merino blend that I got off etsy and absolutely love. The copper and plum combination is even more gorgeous in real life. I usually do at least one pattern repeat in an evening (16 rows), but honestly, it doesn't seem to be getting any longer. It's getting cooler here, so I would like to start wearing it!

Yuck, yuck and double yuck. I loved this yarn when I ordered it from Hello Yarn, but clearly, this wasn't the pattern I should have chosen. Now, I absolutely hate it ... all that work for this end result :P*****. It's been suggested that I could dye it and I have given that some thought ... perhaps a cranberry? Would you care to weight in? What are your thoughts? Or, does someone really love it and want to trade me some great yarn for it? I'm open to suggestions!

More pictures of Scotland ... above is what is commonly known in Scotland as a 'Heilin Coo' ... translation, a "Highland Cow" (actually, 'Bull', in this case). These things are hairy, massive and tres smelly. It was suggested that the fur could be spun into yarn, if I cared to and I could knit myself a sweater, but all I could think of was how I would smell on a rainy day, once it got a little wet. Blech!

Here we are, back in Eyemouth at the harbour's edge. Above are Jock & Jenny, with their 4 cygnets. It's a lovely story, really ... swans mate for life ... but one year, Jock came back by himself ... no Jenny. It was assumed that she met her demise. The next year, all were surprised to see Jock return with a new wife, also now called 'Jenny'. This year, they became the proud parents of 4 cygnets, who are now almost full grown and starting to grow their white feathers. The town has adopted them all and treat them as though they were their own.

I was walking along the pier, on my way into the village, when I spotted these fishermen and asked if I could take a photo. I love the quick Scottish wit ... without even a pause, the one on the right said 'yes', but that it would cost me 4 hours of "X.X.X" in return. It was on the tip of my tongue to suggest that the likelihood of him even lasting 20 minutes was slim, but I did want the picture after all, so all I said was "you'll have to speak to my husband about that"!!!

I could sit on the pier all day long and just watch the fishing boats coming and going ... you can always tell when they've got a big load of fish as the seagulls are swarming, looking for hand outs.

I'm B-a-a-a-c-k!!

2008-10-03T09:47:00.000-07:00

I'm still recovering from jet-lag (a week later!) but thought you might like to see a few photos of my trip to Scotland. Warning: no knitting content ... but I promise there will be some in my next post, as I did actually find a knitting shop in Scotland (no small feat!).

Acres of heather, all in bloom.

This is the fishing village where my dad grew up ... on the east coast of Scotland, right on the border of Scotland and England.

That's the harbour, with the North Sea beyond, taken from the highest point of the local golf course. This is a deceptively beautiful sunny day ... the area has a climate zone unto its own. Gale force winds and driving rain are the norm. I gave up on having any semblance of a hair-do while away, unless it was nailed down with Joico Ice-Mist (wonderful stuff, that!). If it's windy, while raining, you don't hold your unbrella over your head, or you'll take off like Mary Poppins! You need to hold it like a shield in front of you, as the wind causes the rain to come at you horizontally!! Thankfully, those days were very few and we actually had quite mild weather.

The white house (life/coast guard) at the far right is at the end of the street from where I stayed with one of my aunts. My cousin & husband live at one end of the street; my aunt lives in the middle and until last year, my granny lived at the other end. Sure made it easy for visiting! It's the strangest thing to be related (albeit sometimes distantly) to just about everyone in the village ... stranger still to see your last name on many of the tombstones in the local cemetary.

This is the beach with the tide out ... the large white house in front is where one of my aunts lives. This house is over 200 years old and it is reported that Robert Burns -- the Scottish poet (think 'Auld Lang Syne') resided here at some point. My uncle was an architect and he redesigned the interior of this house as well as designing several homes in the area.

More to come!

Break

2008-07-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a little break from blogging, but will still be checking in with the rest of you. See you in a while!

Rainy Sunday Afternoon ...

2008-06-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

Have you all seen this adorable pattern yet by annypurls?

I had to have it! Plus, I already have Rowan All Season's Cotton (loads of it, actually) in my stash ... in Chocolate, Denim, Cream & Lilac colours. Since I'll be making it for the adorable grandson, Lilac is out, but the others are an option ... hmmmm, what shall I choose????

For those with inquiring minds, I'll be making my Alhambra out of Malabrigo Baby lace, in the 'PAGODA' colourway ... kind of a pinky, brick red colour. Very rich and so soft!

Wherefore Art Thou, Blocking Wires????

2008-06-04T10:38:00.001-07:00

As you can see, I've been testing out new background templates for my blog ... I think this is my favourite, so far. Feel free to weigh in with your opinion ...

Your comments on 'What I know to be true ...' were so appreciated ... I was thinking that I likely should have added an 11th ... "When you bolt out of bed in the middle of the night to attend to the baby, rest assured that the dog will be lying precisely underfoot and will jump up in alarm, causing both of you to overbalance and collapse to the floor in a heap, loud enough to waken the dead!"

Here's our little flirt (notice the wink!) modeling his top down cardigan from f. pea ... a button has since been added, with a loop closure.

Thank you for your comments regarding blocking wires. I went to the KnitPicks website last week and ordered their kit for $29.99, which I thought was very reasonable. Now, I'm waiting (not so) patiently to receive them so I can finish up this scarf and show you a proper F/O!

I'm also waiting to start the Alhambra Scarf from KnitSpot. I also needed lace needles to go with the Malabrigo Baby Lace yarn I bought and had looked at the Addi's and nearly fainted at the cost! So, while I was buying the wires, I noticed that KnitPicks has some for only $4.99!!! Compared to what I would have paid for Addi's, that's a steal. I'm going to give them a try and let you know how they compare.

So, until the blocking wires arrive, this is the lumpy mess I have to look at. Once it's finally blocked, I'm expecting it to explode from it's ugly cocoon into a beautiful butterfly!

Note: My dad came through his cancer surgery beautifully and is now home, enjoying the peace and quiet, as opposed to the busy, noisy ward. Thank you for your prayers on his behalf!

What I know to be true ...

2008-05-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

In no particular order ...

1. There is definitely a reason why most women have babies in their 20's or 30's ... it's exhausting! But, no matter how tired I am, this adorable face just melts my heart and makes me smile!

2. Exer-saucers are God's gift to moms (or grandmas) who have supper to cook, or laundry to do

3. Moist Arrowroot cookie residue must be wiped up immediately or it becomes the equivalent of concrete cement .... perhaps they could use it as mortar in arid countries? Hmmmm...

4. The baby who sleeps 12 hours through the night at home, will awaken every 4 hours, requiring complete clothing/diaper changes and a bottle

5. I can completely change a baby,who is sleeping and drinking from a bottle, from head to toe, without ever having to remove said bottle from the baby's mouth and using only one hand.

6. Oxyclean laundry additive removes all current and even former stains, acquired from formula spitups, or feeding mishaps ... YES!

7. When the baby isn't interested in eating from his high chair, he will happily sit on the tile, in front of a large mirror and eat it there! Whatever works.

8. When there's a baby in the house, nothing else gets done ... and that's OK. It will still be there to do at a later date.

9. Golden retrievers are wonderful with babies ... great babysitters, spill licker-uppers, pillows, pull toys, guards, play mates, etc.

10. It was the best, most exhausting 10 days of my life ... a real gift to a women who was never able to have biological children of her own ... and I'm already missing him immensely.

I'm still working on my scarf and am making progress, but it doesn't look any different from the last photo, so I won't bore you.

I'm thinking about getting a lace blocking wire kit. Do any of you have one? Would you care to comment and let me know which kind you have and where you got it, and whether or not you would recommend it?

Sitting in a tree ...

2008-05-13T10:38:00.001-07:00

Here's our cutie , nestled in the trunk of the tree, with mom holding him from behind. He was more interested in trying to grab my camera, than noticing his surroundings. I was thinking that in a few year's time, I'll likely be getting after him for climbing that same tree!

Tomorrow, he comes to stay with us for 10 days while his parents are on vacation. I'm all organized ... hauled out all the toys from the last grandbaby; gave them all a bath in vinegar water; found all the 'Veggie Tale' movies that had been stashed away (they are so fun!); and my boss, bless her, offered me an exer-saucer that she no longer needed. Here's E*than given it a test drive ... seconds later, the fish was in his mouth.

My mom cleaned out her hope chest and came across a blanket that my granny in Scotland had knit for me, when I was born. Don't even ask how long ago that was! It reminds me so much of the pinwheel blanket I made recently ... the lace edging is unbelievable! There are a few holes in it that I'll likely fix, but other than that, it's gorgeous. How the moths managed to get into a cedar chest is beyond me!

Fabulous edging!
I had a skein of hand dyed yarn in my stash that I had purchased last year from Hello Yarn, intending to make a BSJ. I decided that I would use it to make a lace scarf for myself, instead. I can't seem to get the colour quite right in the photo. It has lime, lilac, cranberry& chocolate in it ... I think it will be perfect with my chocolate down coat. It would also do as a summer shawl. The pattern is a free one from Lion Brand 70337AD that I modified to make narrower. I did 4 panels of 17 stitches each, in merino/sock weight yarn. I like how the edge scallops, almost like a feather and fan pattern, but it's quite different. You'll see what I mean once it's finished and blocked.

You'll recognize the next thing ... It's amazing how odd it looks while you're knitting it and then it turns into ...

This! Yes, it's the Tudora from Knitty (minus a button). One ball of Malabrigo made both the foliage hat and the tudora, with about 2 yards to spare. Gotta love that!

That's it for now! I may get a chance to post while the baby's napping, but likely I'll be conked out too! Thank you all for your prayers and comments regarding my co-worker's niece. She's recovering well and will soon leave the hospital to go to a rehab centre to relearn how to walk, etc.

Knitting and Spring

2008-05-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

Just needs a loop and a button closure for the front and it will be finished. This pattern was a fun one that I'll definitely be making again. The only change I would made would be to cast off 4 stitches under the arm, before putting the sleeve stitches on 'hold' while completing the rest of the body. That way, when I return to complete the sleeves, the stitches under the arm won't have stretched and I can simply pick up the 4 stitches from the cast offs and continue on. Other than that, this knit was a complete pleasure. The pattern doesn't call for quite as deep a 'V' in the neckline, but somehow I'd missed the 'At the same time' ... and continued increasing at the front, when I should have stopped already. I decided to carry on and it turned out fine. The only thing is that the fronts now overlap slightly, instead of simply meeting, but considering little 'pot bellies', I would think that could be an advantage!

I made another Foliage hat, but in the Pink Frost shade of Malabrigo and gifted it prior to taking a picture. Also made the Beaufort hat shown here, in the same exact shade of cream (I used Rowan All Season's Cotton) but it too was gifted to a very worthy recipient.

Both of these hats went to a young woman named Megan. About 8 weeks ago, her boyfriend and his friends were on their way to the airport for a trip to Hawaii. They were run off the road by a man suffering from 'road-rage'. The boys got out of the vehicle and were struggling to get it back on the road, when the guy turned around and deliberately ran his truck over Megan's boyfriend, Silas, killing him. It was all over the news, so you may have already heard about it.

Four weeks later, Megan was in the US shopping for the day (she lives right near the border) and suddenly complained of headaches, nausea and then fell unconscious to the floor. Turns out she was suffering from an aneurism in her brain. She was flown back to Vancouver where a specialist had to do emergency brain surgery. She's doing ok now, but we nearly lost her 3 times and she's got a long haul of physio ahead of her, to get her arms, legs and brain functioning normally. So, not only is she grieving the loss of her boyfriend, now she has all these health issues to deal with.

I work with Megan's aunt, and asked her if she might need some hats to keep her head warm until her hair grows back, so that's where the hats went. Please keep Megan and her family in your prayers!

Off to the frog-pond with my blue 'Silver Belle'! I had both sleeves and fronts done and after all that work realized that while I was enjoying the cables (process), I could not see myself actually wearing the finished item. From all the photos I've been seeing, it seems to only flatter those with very tiny bodies, which doesn't apply to me, and I have no intention of going to all that work only to end up looking like a Beluga!

Here's our smiley boy taking a tour of the back garden with Grandpa. Pretty much everything is up, if not already blooming, and we actually had a bit of sunshine last week. Normally, it would have been hot for a month already, but it's still very much like early Spring.

This is pretty much how he looks, all day long, unless he's hungry ... He goes from happy to crabby in about 3 seconds flat!

He loves Brinkley, who gives him lots of kisses, particularly if the baby has just finished eating a cookie. Oh well, saves me getting out a face cloth! :)

He's coming to stay at our house from the 14th-22 while his parents are away in the Dominican Republic ... don't plan on seeing any new blog updates during that time!

We have a 40 year old flowering ornamental cherry tree in our front yard. It's probably 30 ft or more, wide and when it's in full bloom, it's spectacular! All the lookie-loos are standing in our driveway, or driving past slowly to see it. Amazing!

Laptop Privacy ...

2008-04-24T18:35:00.000-07:00

My DH found this photo and thought I might like it for my screen saver ... ??? What some folks come up with!

I'll have some F/O's to show you in my next post, but thought we could all use a chuckle ... I don't anticipate adding this project to my queue anytime soon :)

One F/O, plus two WIP's

2008-04-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

I know, winter's over, but while it's still a little cool, I want to get some of my Fall/Christmas wool knitting on the go, so I'm not too overwhelmed and find myself on Christmas Eve, frantically trying to finish off projects to gift!

This is the Foliage hat from Knitty, knitted in Malabrigo Worsted , in 'Sunset'. I followed the pattern exactly ... no modifications of any sort. I'm NOT modeling it, as I look absolutely ridiculous in beanies of any kind! I did try it on for size and found that the hat is quite roomy, so you might want to go down a needle size to make a slightly smaller hat, if necessary. All in all, it was a fun knit! I used just over 1/2 of one skein, so am thinking I may get a child's hat out of the remainder. This yarn is a dream to work with and the colours are just so vibrant, without being too harsh or offensive. Love it!

On to the Spring knitting! I have started the Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell { Scroll Down}
from Interweave Knits Summer 2007 and I'm using Sirdar Just Bamboo from my stash. I was given 3 balls for my birthday last year, and I picked up another 4, just in case I might want to make a top, rather than a scarf. I'm really glad I did, because it's perfect for this pattern! I'm not crazy about the rolled edge on the bottom ... I may block it so that only the very edge rolls, and not the first 1 1/2"!!! I don't need any belly peaking out :) I may have enough yarn to lengthen the torso a bit ... I'll have to see how it goes.

I haven't worked with a flat ribbon yarn before, so it has taken a little getting used to, but I'm really liking how it knits up. It's not hard on the hands and knits up beautifully on my Clover Bamboo circulars. The stitches are surprisingly uniform and there's a lovely, subtle sheen to the yarn. It looks quite 'dressy', so this may not end up an 'everyday' kind of top, as I was originally thinking. The pattern calls for a yarn that is 50% cotton and 50% microfibre, in an aran weight {not unlike Rowan All Season's Cotton}, but having had some experience with this type of yarn, I was concerned about the 'stretch' factor, hence the substitution. It's 'bang on' for gauge, and seems to be sufficiently stretchy, while having memory, so I think it's going to work out perfectly. I'll keep you posted!

I had this Lion Brand 'Cotton Ease' in 'Stone', 'Lake', & 'Taupe' shades lying around in my stash since last year and actually had another pattern in mind when Danielle (thank you very much! Check her's out ... so cute!) brought this one to my attention. It's a top-down cardigan, with absolutely no seaming ... bring it on! I detest the whole seaming/finishing process, so this was perfect for me. I've omitted one stripe section and have gone straight into the solid chocolate portion. I didn't want to have to change to another colour at the top of the sleeves. Is this ever a quick pattern! I started it last weekend and would likely be finished it by now, if I hadn't got hooked on the Lutea.

I like the colours of the cotton ease, but found it a little hard on the hands while knitting. It just doesn't seem to 'glide' along the needles. I guess that's pretty typical for cotton.

I love my Denise needle set ... I just slide all my 'on hold' sleeve stitches onto a cable, add buttons on the ends so the stitches don't fall off, and I'm good to go.

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate all the lovely, encouraging comments that you leave.

Sunglasses optional

2008-04-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

Check out what the mailman brought me yesterday ... 6 skeins of Malabrigo! What delicious colours, sigh! I'm thinking ahead to gifts of perhaps Koolhaus or Tudora or Foliage
I can hardly wait to get started!

What is this, you may ask? This is the easiest, quickest most luxurious scarf I've ever made ... actually, over the past 4 years, I've made at least 20 of these as gifts, all of which have been greeted with squeals of delight. I must confess, I am not a chenille fan, nor even a novelty yarn fan, however, I've made an exception when it comes to this yarn. The colours are so rich and the texture unbearably soft.

Here's how easy it is:

(Note: the original pattern was a freebie from Paton's, but I've modified it somewhat)

Requirements:

2 balls of Paton's Bohemian Yarn (the last, from my stash!)
8 mm needles (check out my fab Lantern Moon needles!)

Cast on 13 stitches. Knit plain garter stitch until you have almost finished the 2 balls, or have reached desired length. Sometimes, I buy 3 balls and create 2 scarves from it, casting on only 11 stitches in that case.

When you have about 2 feet of yarn left, you need to cast off. Slip the first 2 stitches, knitwise, to your right needle, then knit 2, cast off 1 and continue until you have 2 stitches left on your left needle. Cut your yarn and draw it through 3rd to last stitch, leaving the last 2 stitches hanging. Then all you do is tug and loosen the stitches all the way down each side, until you have wonderful loops all the way down. I hold the fabric in the left hand and then at the end of each row, give it a sharp tug to the right and loosen the stitches. Turn it around when you reach the end of the one side, so fabric is always in your left hand and repeat. Weave in ends and that's it!

Note, if you want longer loops, slip 3 stitches, instead of 2 and continue on as previously stated.

I particularly like that this scarf is so warm, yet not bulky around my neck, as the centre section is actually quite narrow. Beware, this scarf will 'grow' in length with use, so don't get sucked into thinking you need a third ball!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-22T17:28:00.001-07:00

I happened on a blog this afternoon, with a terrific contest going and the prize is Malabrigo yarn! Check it out here. She wants me to let you know that my favorite flower is white roses.

A herd of place markers for Easter dinner have taken over my workroom! I had fun making these with the Accucut die system at work yesterday and then decorating them at home with chalk, ice stickles, glitter glue and Quickutz Blossom set letter dies. I had invited the girls from my work to come to Good Friday Service with me yesterday and all but one were able to join me. I was so blessed. In the afternoon, the boss let us have the key to the store so we could scrapbook to our heart's content at the class tables. I left around 5:30 p.m. but some of the die hards were going to be there well in the night ... you go girls!

I still had a ball of Malabrigo left over from making the fetching mitts, so thought I'd try out a Koolhaus hat for our s-i-l. He works outdoors in the wet and cold and as this is pure wool, thought it would keep him warm and dry. I've just started the decreases for the crown, so should be finished soon. The colour is Vuu ? and is a really dark green, with a bit of blue and lime in it. So soft! This is an interesting knit ... although I'm reading a lot online lately about how to knit a cable without a cable needle, I am using a cable needle as the yarn is so dark, I didn't want to chance on loosing a stitch. Plus, it's so ingrained, I don't know if I could make the change at this point. We'll see.

Blessings to you as we celebrate our risen Lord!

Onward and Upward ...

2008-03-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

Further to my last entry ... well, after scrutinizing the pattern again, I finally found the error! On the back, after the decreases for the raglan, it says to then knit 21 rows of st. st. however, on the sleeve, it said to only knit 5 rows. So, after frogging (rip it, rip it) back to the end of the decreases, I added another 16 rows of st. st. to add up to 21 rows,and the sleeves are now the correct length ... thank you very much! Now all I have to do is sew them in and I'll be done like dinner.

We were babysitting last night and of course had to take some pics of our little cutie with both grandma ...

and grandpa ... who was whispering rude noises into E.than's ear, hence all the hilarity!

Although this cardigan has been completed and blogged about previously here, I hadn't got around to finding buttons for the closure. At first, I had thought I would want a toggle shaped button, but when I saw these ones, changed my mind.

I borrowed this pattern from a friend ... I believe it was in one of those little Vogue hardcover books ... it's called 'Baby Bunny Jacket' (I chose to omit the ears) and was designed by Darlene Hayes ... sorry, that's all the info I've got!

It's a size one, but I think that if we roll the sleeves up a bit, it may fit the baby sooner. His dad had a deja vu moment when he realized that he'd had a very similar hoodie as a child.

I was at Costco last week and discovered a huge bag of jerky treats for the dog that are made solely of duck. B.rinkley has food and environmental allergies, which often turns into hot spots and staff infection, so I have to be careful what he eats, particularly avoiding wheat products. I was really hoping that these treats would work, and that he'd like them. I didn't need to worry ... he blasts in the living room, glares pointedly at me, thumps me on the knee for good measure and then, when I asked him what he wanted, immediately starts heading for the kitchen. It's almost as though he's saying "come on mom ... I'll show ya!" He parked himself in front of the cupboard (he knew exactly where they were kept) and then pointed at it with his paw. My hubby couldn't believe it when I told him to 'watch', so he had to take a photo.

Warning: Annoyed Knitter on the Loose

2008-03-07T16:06:00.001-08:00

Well, I have all but given up on my D.B. (not) embroidered cardigan (see last blog entry below) I completed both sleeves (again) this week, after exactly following the pattern, only to discover that the raglan on the sleeves is about 3" shorter than the corresponding back/front raglan. First, I tried to log on to the Debbie Bliss webpage, only to get an error message that said it was 'unavailable'. Then I went on to Ravelry to see if anyone was knitting this ... nope. Then, I googled D.B. to see if there were any comments elsewhere ... there were ... 16,500 of them, and not a one related to the pattern I was looking for. Can you imagine? 16,500 comments on the internet with regard to erratas in her patterns? Does she not bother with test knitters? What the heck is going on? Can you hear my frustration? Here we are, paying good money for patterns that are WRONG ... what's the deal with that? I may plan a revolt. Now, I need to rework the sleeves from the armhole cast-off and up. I'm not in the mood to be even looking at it right now, so have put it out of my mind until I come up with a suitable solution. In the meantime, I'm working on this:

The Icarus Shawl from Interweave Knits. I like a shawl with some substance to it ... not so it looks like a cobweb (although, some of those are very pretty), but with a bit of heft to it. I scored 4 balls of RYC Cash soft 4ply from Elann not long ago, and it's working beautifully. I'm only going to go as far as the 4 balls will take me, which means that I will likely remove a couple of the pattern repeats, before tackling the lace edging. That's fine with me, because I'd be just as happy with using it as a small shawl, or scarf.

I was blissfully watching TV in the evenings this past week and knitting, completely unaware that I'd messed up and had to 'frog' 2 evenings worth of knitting to correct the error ... double :P*********. Now, I'm back on track. This yarn is so soft and lovely to work with. I also picked some up in plum at the same time, initially thinking I'd use it for a baby 'February' sweater (e. zimmerman), but I'm thinking it would look fab in this pattern.

I have to tell you, I have the smartest dog. Last night, he came up to me to announce that it was bedtime and he wanted his treat, plus his last stroll around the garden. I looked at him and said, "wait 'til I finish my row". He plopped his butt down and sat there patiently, until he saw me put the knitting down and get up and then he bee-lined for the door ... amazing!

Here's my dear friend modeling the 'fetching mitts' I made her ... they fit perfectly and she loved them!

Spring Has Sprung

2008-02-28T15:41:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised to be presented with this award from Stacey ... gee, shucks ... thanks a lot ... I'm honoured!

Now, I'm meant to pass it along to ten others whose blogs make my day ... thanks to all of you who work so hard to bring so much pleasure to those of us who read your blogs!

Rachel
Mamie
The A.D.D. Knitter
Saartje
Anne
Tara
Laura
Marianne
Anny
Adam

Hard to believe that less than a month ago, all of this was covered in 8" of snow ... now, we have all this wonderful colour!

I love my winter pansies! All winter, they've been sitting in a pot, just outside my patio door, so I can look at something colourful and happy while I'm knitting.

Now, for the knitting content! Here is another recently completed pair of 'fetching gloves' made from Malabrigo yarn in a really dark green/blue combo. I know, it seems odd to be knitting mitts when the Spring flowers are blooming, but the a.m.'s can still be chilly, especially when you're walking to school. Our granddaughter, who spent the weekend with us, scooped these up for herself. This yarn is sooooo yummy ... I could easily get quite addicted. Thanks a lot for the enabling, Stacey. She loves this yarn, too. It took about 1/2 a skein to make a pair, so hopefully, I'll get another pair out of it for me.

I've been working on the sleeves to my D.B. cardigan which should be finished this evening. Next blog update will likely be the unveiling of the end result! I can hardly wait to wear it ... this yarn is incredibly soft.

I found this photo in my archives of our oldest, with her youngest, wearing two of my handknits. The shawl was my own pattern, knit from Super 10 cotton yarn on huge needles ... basically garter stitch, with a yarn over on the edge to create both the increases and the lacey edging. The pullover was my first official attempt at cabling. The entire body was moss stitch (yawn!) and then the yoke, back and front, was all cables. This is the sweater that got me hooked on cables! If memory serves me correctly, it was a Sirdar pattern, and the yarn was Sirdar Country Style in an tweedy brown.

A little of this and that ...

2008-02-18T10:39:00.001-08:00

We're not that big on "Hallmark Holidays" around here, but take a look at what my DH presented me with at the beginning of the week ... 2 whole dozen of them ... my very favourites. All together now, "awwwwwwww".

We decided that we would each have our favourites for dinner, as well. His ... t-bone steak (well, really, any steak, in any form is his favourite!) plus, steamed spinach with a drizzle of vinegar (go figure!) and a skewer of lemon garlic prawns, with double stuffed potato.

Mine ... lamb chops with freshly steamed asparagus, et al. So yummy! Topped off with a lovely French Merlot we had bottled ourselves. Hubby had even set the table with the fancy china, crystal and candles. Big points!

He had been salivating over a DQ commercial on TV for a chocolate/cherry B*lizzard, so I dragged myself out, sans makeup, in sweats, in all my 'I have a wicked chest cold glory' at 10:30 a.m. to pick one up. He was at the mechanics, so it was the only time I could sneak away. Apparently, it was all worth it :)

Now, onto the knitting. I had purchased a bag of DB Cashmerino aran from across the pond, in a lovely teal colour, for an absolute song. I picked the pattern out, which had originally called for DB aran tweed (translation: yarn with the texture of straw), so had made the substitution, having carefully calculated out all yardage requirements. Below is the pattern I chose ... minus all the gaudy embroidery.

I figured that I would only need 9 balls, based on the size requirements, etc. and would have at least a portion of one ball left over. Anyway, you can probably foresee where this is heading ... Here is the pathetic sleeveless cardigan, and it has been in this state for at least 3 months now. I got 3/4's through the sleeves (which I work at the same time) only to discover that no, I would not have 1 ball left over, in fact, I did not have enough to complete said sleeves!!!!! Grrrrrr! I contacted my supplier who sadly advised me that she didn't have any left, and not only that, it was now a discontinued colour. Not to be entirely defeated, I have been checking out ebay over the past few months, but no luck, until recently ... 2 balls showed up ... and it seemed that half the world was bidding on them, too. However, skillful ebayer that I am, I was able to scoop them up within the last few seconds of the post, which likely ticked off many a bidder ... TOUGH! They were even from the same dyelot ... what are the chances of that???? There are the little lovelies, just waiting to be knit into sleeves ...

Notice the pretty side shaping, for we gals who don't care to wear boxy, potato sack looking items.
Such a nice sheen to the yarn, sigh! As soon as I finish the 2nd pair of fetching mitts I'm working on, the sleeves will be next in line. Then, the next challenge ... what kind of buttons shall I select??? Perhaps a wood, or bone one, or pewter looking? TBC ...

I've been memed ...

2008-02-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

I've been memed by Tara and am supposed to tell you all 7 random things about myself, so here goes:

I didn't get married until I was 34, and instantly went from single, career girl to: wife, step-mom & grandma.
Although my husband and I knew and worked with each other for 5 years, we actually only dated for 8 weeks prior to our wedding (4 weeks dating; 4 weeks engaged)!
In my early 20's, I spent 2 years traveling in Europe as the female lead singer in a Christian Rock Band.
My grandma taught me to knit when I was six, but it only became my passion within the last 5 years.
I had cancer (Hodgkin's Disease) when I was young and have been clear for 20 years ... thank you Lord!
I was very quiet/somewhat shy before I married my husband (who is extremely quiet!) When a co-worker remarked how chatty I had been (in a group where I didn't really know anyone) my dear husband replied that, "she could strike up a conversation with a fence post".
I love dogs ... the bigger, the better! I have a wonderful golden retriever, whom I love to bits ... but one of my dreams would be to have an English Mastiff with a light coloured coat and dark, wrinkly face ... slobber and all!

Ok, so now I've supposed to tag 7 others to participate, so here goes:

Danielle
Marianne
Jackie
Gaile
Stacey
mamie
Craft chick

When you've finished your 7 random facts about yourself, tag 7 others and leave them a message in their comments to let them know what you've done!

Now that that's done, onto the knitting! I was babysitting the grandson last week, for two days, as poor mom was down with flu/chest cold. We had so much fun! I finished the second 'Toasty Topper' from Knitty and while holding him in one arm, managed to snap a photo of him wearing it with the other hand. So cute!

See last blog entry, for specs ... please scroll down.

And onto the 'fetching mitts', also from Knitty .

I knit these in Debbie Bliss, cashmerino aran, exactly to pattern specs, however, after I finished the picot bind-off, wasn't impressed, as it was too wide and looked floppy/flared out, so I undid it and just did a normal (somewhat tighter) bind-off. I'm delighted with the results! Such a quick knit ... did one last night, and one the night before. We actually had a sunny day here, so I was able to take the photo outside. Notice the lovely, clean, white stucco siding, which I freshly painted last summer :)

I like that the mitts are a matched set, meaning that the twists on the cable are the reverse for the opposite hand. Clever pattern!

This was my first attempt at mitts, and I think I'll definitely be making this pattern again. It's definitely one of the nicest I've seen around.

They will be gifted to a friend of mine for her birthday. She has a serious liver disease which affects the circulation in her hands (which are always freezing), so I thought these would be perfect as she can even wear them around the house, but still have her fingers free to do whatever.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Back in the saddle, again ...

2008-02-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry about being incommunicado for so long ... I was down with the flu ... the kind that makes you feel as if you are completely 'boneless', and even your hair hurts. Even though I wasn't particularly interested in food (all I wanted was sourdough toast) I didn't lose even a pound ... what's the deal with that?? I mean, really, if you're going to come down with the nasty flu, at the very least, the benefit should be that you drop a few pounds, right? Well, the one good thing about having the flu for a week, is that I got a fair bit of knitting done in between numerous naps and lying around on the couch.

Since last June, I (along with many others) have been praying for a preemie baby named Emma, who has been in ICU at Children's Hospital since her birth, due to complications with her heart. We had hopes she might be able to come home for Christmas, but things took an unexpected, nasty turn. We almost lost her several times. Since then, her situation has improved dramatically, to the point where the doctors have said she will likely be released in the next 2 weeks ... amazing!!

So, I decided that Emma required a "coming home" outfit to celebrate. I had scored 6 balls of purple Rowan All Seasons Cotton for only $2 a ball during a sale last Fall at my LYS. I couldn't believe my fortune when I found it tucked away in the clearance section. This little hat is from the 'One Skein' book

And this adorable wrap sweater is from Debbie Bliss 'Special Knits' ... it's the one on the front cover. I made the 9-12 month size, as Emma is finally starting to catch up to her age/size, and I though that since it is cotton, she'll be able to wear it now and likely through Fall.

This was an easy, interesting knit due to the unusual construction ... it's made all in one piece, starting at the bottom. When you get to the armhole, you simply cast on extra stitches and start knitting the sleeve, which then gets folded in half and sewn up along the bottom edge. Other than that, the only sewing required is the side seams. The ribbed shawl collar is created by picking up stitches around the front portions and the neck. I'm thinking I'm going to add a tie to the front, to help keep it closed.

Emma's mom and dad are going to have an open house for all the folks who prayed for and supported her while she was in the hospital ... it will be the first time I'll be able to see her in person and I'm so looking forward to it!

We had a baby shower for one of the gals from work who recently had a boy. What is it with all the boys lately? I think that's 4 now. Anyway, it was the perfect opportunity to try out the "Toasty" pattern from the latest Knitty.

I used the only acrylic yarn that I like (Marble by James Brett) which cost $5.99 for a 100 g ball, and was able to make 2 hats (with a golf ball size ball of yarn left over) one for the shower which was held last night, and another one for our grandbaby. I really like the varigation of various greys, to a dijon yellow. So cozy!

So very cute! We immediately had to try it on the sleeping baby, while everyone ooh'd and aah'd and several picture were take (not by me) which I'll hopefully get a copy of.

Well, it looks like I'll have our grandbaby for the next couple of days, as our daughter has just phoned to say that she's now down with the flu and her husband is out of town ... go grandma!!

Sunny Day

2008-01-22T15:10:00.001-08:00

The Soiree was a big hit, with all attendees thoroughly enjoying themselves and lots of great compliments on the 'make and take' projects. I'm definitely due for a raise!! I was so pooped out after the event, that I was completely useless the following day and did nothing but lay around in my sweats and drink tea. All is well now, and I'm up and at it again! Thanks for your lovely comments about the projects! I've yet to meet another knitter who didn't have another craft or talent up his/her sleeve. We're just a multi-talented bunch!

It's a beautiful sunny day, here in the Pacific Northwest, albeit freezing cold. It was -6 C this morning when I woke up. Thank goodness for down duvets! Too bad I'm not finished my Silver Belle yet, because it would have been the perfect day to wear it. The first sleeve and one front are finished and the 2nd one is about 3/4's complete. What an enormous amount of knitting! I have a permanent cramp in my mouth from holding onto the cable needle between required uses. My husband is actually starting to understand my clenched responses to his questions. It took me awhile, but I've pretty much memorized the pattern which makes it so much easier. I'm about 'done' with the seed stitch pattern, though. Definitely not my favorite. I can see that I'm going to have to do some serious blocking once I'm done knitting this. That ripple has got to go!

To me, the edge of the sleeve looks a bit too unfinished, so I think I may do a horizontal cable trim to finish it off. I saw it elsewhere and thought it was brilliant, so I'm just going to be a copy-cat!

I finished knitting this bamboo lace scarf ages ago, but didn't get around to blocking it until this week. I decided to take the plunge and do a full wet block, which worked out beautifully! This pattern was created by a friend of mine and is quite effective and easily memorized.

Modeling, while taking a self portrait is no small feat! I love the softness and sheen of this yarn ... it was purchased as a gift for me by a friend while she was in Germany.
Lastly, a package arrived from 'over the pond' yesterday, with 20 more balls of Jaeger Extra Fine Aran in a lovely Aubergine shade. Think 'merlot' rather than purple. I really like this yarn and since it's been discontinued thought I'd take the opportunity to snap it up. I'm thinking it may become a "Rogue Hoodie" (minus the pouch in the front). I'm definitely on a 'cable kick' at the moment.

Soiree

2008-01-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

I think I've mentioned before that I work part-time for a large photo finishing/scrapbooking store as a designer. I've been tasked with organizing and designing the product for a 'Soiree' at work for our top 30 clients, so have been hunkered down in my workroom at home, all week. We are going to have various stations at which each client can create a 'make & take' project, using a variety of Quickutz tools & die cuts. The theme is "Pink, Black and Hearts", in honour of upcoming Valentine's day. Every one will come wearing the above colours and the store will be decorated the same. All food will be pink/red ... example: red/white veggie tray; red fruit, pink mini cupcakes; heart shaped cookies, etc.

I had the idea that each attendee create a valentine card as their entry into the big draw, which would then be sent to our soldiers serving overseas, with a message inside that says something like: "With heartfelt thanks for serving our country". We are also going to open this to all customers and have told them that they can drop a card off at the store up until Jan. 25th. Then, I'll collect them all and send them off to the troops ... likely in Afghanistan. Whether or not they agree with the war, we want our soldiers to know that they are thought of and have our support here at home.

Here are a two of the 6 projects that I designed.

This 'french fry' container was created using the Silhouette die cut printer which attaches to your computer. You can get download cards with all kinds of die cuts, plus there are lots of free downloads on-line. This is currently on my 'wish list' and next time it's on special offer, I think I'll have to indulge myself :) It retails for about $390.00. It's tough having two obsessions (knitting & scrapbooking) ... too many toy options and too little space/time!

I've been working on my "Silver Belle" in the evening ... boy, what a lot of knitting with all those cables!! I've just about finished the first sleeve/bodice, so will have pics to show you very shortly.

I went to an Intro. to Photography course Wed. night and learned a lot about programming my camera, when to use the flash, etc. If I even retain half of what I heard, I'll be good to go!

Enjoy your weekend!

Cutie Pie

2008-01-03T21:52:00.001-08:00

Didn't get any knitting done today as I was too busy taking pictures of our grandson! Then, it was kind of hard to knit, considering he was konked out in my arms for over an hour ... didn't dare move him for fear he'd wake up :). Oh, but there is some knitting content ... notice the Christmas booties????!

Next post, I'll show you how far I've got on my "Silver Belle.

A WIP ... with a problem ...

2007-12-29T23:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you to all of you who take the time to leave such lovely comments on my blog! It is such a pleasure to read them all.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is already past ... I hope yours was enjoyable. I got one of those once-in-a-lifetime gifts where you open it up and absolutely freak out! Firstly, I was handed a package from our daughter which contained the new Celine Dion CD ... I thought "sweet", I'll enjoy that. Then came another package and it nearly blew my mind ... a ticket to her concert next October in Vancouver!!!!!! I couldn't believe it ... talk about doing the 'happy dance'! The best part will be the anticipation as it's still a ways off. She bought a ticket for herself, too, so we're going together, which is the other 'best part'. What a great kid.

I've started (and restarted!) the sleeve on my "Silver Belle" at least 3 times ... I thought I'd cracked it the 2nd time and was motoring along thinking this wasn't so bad :) until I got up this a.m. and looked at my progress, only to discover I'd wrongly crossed the cable on the left ... big fat raspberry :P********!

Phooey! There's no disguising that boo boo ... it's quite apparent. A frogging we will go ...

Anyhow, got that all sorted out and then knit about another 6 inches on it this evening. Hopefully, I won't have a repeat performance.
Our dog could be in a full 'coma' down the hall and all you have to do to wake him up is open a bag of chips somewhere in the house and he springs into action. Don't plan on opening one unless you plan on sharing! Hubby had the chip bag out, laying on the couch beside him. The dog stuck his head inside and was intently licking the salt out of the bag when it became attached to his face! It was on so tight that it would expand and contract with his breathing which gave him quite a fright, but didn't deter him from extracting every possible grain of salt.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

2007-12-25T09:03:00.001-08:00

"For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given,
And his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace ..."

Isaiah 9:6

"Silver Belle's, Silver Belle's"

2007-12-20T08:42:00.000-08:00

No, that is not a spelling error ... I'm referring to VK Debbie Bliss Silver Belle pattern. Go here to see and download the free pattern. Stacey at Crimson Purl let me know that she has a KAL for this amazing sweater ... so heads up girl, I'll be joining!

Last week I did a little online ebay Christmas shopping for myself :) and discovered this fabulous deal from one of my fave British vendors. Although the pattern calls for Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (my all time favorite!) this is a comparable quality yarn at half the price and, wait for it ... the shipping cost was included!

The yarn is called: "Jaeger Extra Fine Merino" and the colour is "Blue Star". Best of all, because it is extra fine merino, I can happily knit with wool without getting the sneezy, itchy, runny nose grumpies! Could life be any better? My sister is likely reading this and shaking her head. Not a knitter herself, she sometimes thinks I'm 'a brick short' ... when I 'wax eloquent' about my wool scores.

Oh, and a pair of Christmas 'Christine's booties' to go with the hat previously shown here. We're still waiting for the arrival of our son-in-law's, brother's first baby, who is actually due today. We don't know the sex, but I thought, being Christmas and all, that red would work for either and be kinda cute.

Specs:

approx. 1/2 ball Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in red
Set of size 3mm metal sock needles
Pattern: Christine's Booties
Changes: 2 x 2 rib for cuff
Crocheted a chain stitch for ribbon. Used yarn doubled.

As you know, I've made this same pattern several times over in the past few months :) and have to say that this yarn beats out any other to date. The stitch definition is incredible; the softness you want to drown in and best of all, it's machine washable! Just don't put it in the dryer. Also, it's the perfect size for newborn, but will stretch to fit to at least 3 months +, so they'll at least wear it longer than it took me to knit it!

Well, you may or may not hear from me again until after Christmas, so I'll take a moment now to wish you a happy holiday season as we celebrate the birth of the Saviour.
"May the Spirit of Christmas fill your heart with love and joy; and may the joy of the season last all year."

2007-12-13T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a card I designed this morning to go along with the pinwheel blanket shown below in last entry. As my cousin is from Scotland, I thought the argyle paper appropriate! The baby is named after his grandfather, who passed away at the young age of 33, so it makes it even more special.

Guess who came to visit for a couple of hours last night, while mom and dad went to the dentist?

Here he is with grandma, modelling his new hat on which I embroidered a snowflake. I got the idea for the pattern from my christmas tea towel. I basically just eyeballed it and stitched it onto the front of the hat. Pretty cute, huh! BTW, how do you like my new 'do'?

That was the last smile we saw for over an hour ... he basically screamed, at full volume, until his parents returned. What a pleasure?! The dog was very agitated and kept running up to me as if to say 'can't you fix this'???

He hasn't been away from his mom much and he was positive that I wasn't her! My husband and I took turns walking the hall and I sang every Christmas carol (all the verses, too) I knew ... no go. Finally, after he'd worked himself into a real state, barfed on me & had a diaper change, here we are, 5 minutes before his parents returned ... out cold! Grandma needs a drink! And, guess what? We get to do this all over again on Saturday evening and maybe even overnight :) All you moms have my utmost respect. I was shattered after 2 hours and you all deal with this 24/7 ... wow.

Baby Pinwheel Blanket ... at last!

2007-12-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

THE DETAILS:

Baby Pinwheel Blanket Pattern
Edging pattern from Debbie Bliss 'Special Knits'
"Marble" yarn - 3 balls + 1 ball for edging ('Autumn' shade)
Denise Needles: Size 5mm
Susan Bates Bamboo sock needles: Size 5mm

Here's a reminder of where I was at with the blanket the last time you saw it.

This blanket is started in the middle and then you work your way out. I had such a dickens of a time getting this thing started in the round, until I tried bamboo needles and had success. They aren't as slippery as metal and made the job much easier. Once I reached the point where I could switch over to circular needles, I used my Denise needle kit, plus the extra cable accessory kit I found on ebay, which goes up to 52" around! The Denise needles made it so easy to change to a larger cable, when necessary. Love them!

The Debbie Bliss edging pattern finished off the blanket perfectly, without being too frilly, as the recipient is my cousin's new baby boy.

Here it is in it's entirety! While the colour is pretty close in the above pics, this one is looking a bit 'halloweeny' instead of more accurately, autumny. Oh well, you get the idea :)

Christmas Knitting

2007-12-04T23:01:00.000-08:00

A knitting pal sent me the following link to a new pattern every day for the month of December ... too fun! Hope you all enjoy!

More Baby Hats ...

2007-12-03T10:48:00.001-08:00

With the recent chilly weather and a huge snowfall to top it off, the requests for hats from my stepdaughter and her 'new mom' friends keep rolling in. The red one (debbie bliss baby cashmerino) is for a baby yet to be born, but due in the next couple of weeks. Thought it would be appropriate for the Christmas Season and would work for either a girl or boy ... Christine's Booties yet to to started/completed.

The green one (Elann 'Espirit') is for my growing grandson and will eventually be accompanied by another pair of Christine's Booties (which my step-daughter loves because they stay on so well) . I'll be embroidering a huge snowflake in cream yarn on the front of the hat, with matching tiny snowflakes on the toes of the booties :)

This hat is for a 5 month old, who has a massive head! To my mind, it looks as though it would fit a 2 year old ... I love the olive and pumpkin combo ... yarn: Scheepjes 'Donna' (love this stuff!)

My new camera (Canon S5IS) has arrived, along with 3, (count them!) instruction manuals :( ... I so-o am not good with manuals. So far, I've figured out how to turn it on (there are actually 2 'ons'!) and use the zoom and have taken a couple of pics, but I really need to spend some time with the dreaded manuals. The guys at work promised me there would be an intro to photography course for dummies in the New Year, so I'll be first on the list.

80th Birthday

2007-11-22T15:09:00.001-08:00

Here's our grandson, Josh, helping me present Great Grandpa Lorne with a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake in honor of his 80th birthday, this past Saturday. There were 13 of us, including the new baby, on hand to help Lorne celebrate his birthday... 4 generations were represented at the table ... how special.

We feasted on baked ham, scalloped potatoes, pineapple sauce, salad, prawns and loads of raw veggies and dip until we were absolutely stuffed! Even Great Grandma surprised us by having seconds ... but, she saved a bit of room for the ice cream cake, which was very yummy! We were to also have a fruit platter, but I didn't discover I'd forgotten about it until after everyone had left ... classic me!

I'm currently 'miffed' with my knitting project (a cardigan) ... it's a Debbie Bliss aran pattern which called for aran tweed, but I subbed cashmerino aran. I had 10 balls, and by the pattern (& my) calculations, I should have only required slightly more that 9. Well, the back and two fronts are done and I'm 3/4's through the sleeves and I'm down to practically nothing yarn-wise. I guess I'll have to take the sleeves out, speed up the increases and have 3/4 sleeves, instead of full length. I'm not in the mood to deal with this right now, so I've tossed it in my basket and am doing my best to ignore it. Yes, I've already contacted the store where I purchased it to see if I could get 1 more ball in the same dyelot ... no go ... :P*******

Creative DNA

2007-11-11T14:03:00.001-08:00

There is definitely an artistic or creative gene that runs in our family. My dad is so amazingly talented, it's scary. He learned how to be a 'joiner' or finishing carpenter, as a young person in Scotland. He always had a project on the go around the house, either furniture or some kind of home improvement, and it was always done flawlessly. When he retired, he was looking for a new hobby to fill his time, so he took up wood turning. Within three years, he reached 'Master' status and took third place in North America in a local competition. Since then, he's been published in a British wood turning magazine, sells his pieces to folk world wide and is highly respected and renowned in the wood turning world. Apparently, Diana Krall has one of his pieces!

He loves to come into my workroom and see what I'm doing and to see if anything I'm working on would cross over into his world. I was showing him a card making class that I was putting together, using Basic Grey rub ons for embellishments. He wondered if they would work on wood, so I gave him one to try out. Here's what he came up with ... it's called a Japanese Wish Pot and it's stunning. It also helped me with my course, because I could show yet another way to use these fabulous rub ons.

Dad also made me a few gorgeous shawl stick pins, so now not only does his craft have a correlation to scrap booking, but also to my other favorite thing ... knitting! I once needed size 25mm needles to do a mobius cape and couldn't find them anywhere. So, I went to the hardware store and bought a 25 mm dowel and took it over to Dad. He cut it, put it on his lathe, made a point at the end and then capped the other end with an adorable hand made wooden button. Ta-da! So talented

He gave us a scare this week when he needed to have another angiogram/angioplasty done, with a new stent installed in his heart, but all is well and he's back home, feeling great and thanking God for His goodness to him. Love you, Dad!

Pumpkin Day

2007-11-04T18:10:00.000-08:00

Here's our little 'pumpkin' wearing his new hat for the occasion. He's up to 8lbs. now, and 6 weeks old, so the newborn sized hat from "Itty Bitty Hats" now fits him.

Grandpa was working from home and took some time out to snuggle with Ethan when he and his mom popped in for a visit. Brinkley wanted in the picture too, to show off his costume!

A Cardigan Grows ...

2007-10-24T17:15:00.001-07:00

A year ago September, a certain little miss who lives next door, was soon off to her first day of kindergarten, but announced that she needed a new cardigan (in purple please) to accomplish the task effectively. She came over and we went through various patterns (plus the stash) and discussed at length what shade of purple and which pattern it would be. She decided on the Rowan Wool Cotton, in lilac (kid has good taste!) and then Sirdar Pattern #1559. It turned out very well, and much to her liking. The first day of school '06 was a scorcher, but little miss wore the cardigan proudly, anyway, announcing to all (interested or not) that Kerry, her neighbor had made this sweater for her!

Fast forward to this September ... kid must be eating straight fertilizer as the cardigan is way too short in length. These 'seal eyes' were pleading with me over the fence to please make it longer. Of course I caved. I got out my crochet hook, blew off the dust, and got cracking.

So, I made it a tiny bit longer here ...

And a tons longer here ... (like about 3")

And ta-da, the cardigan reinvented!

The original cardigan ended with the seed stitch just below the bottom button.

I'd forgotten how quick the inches pile up when you crochet ... if I'd decided to knit the edging, it would have taken me several evenings. The bottom edging only took 1! Not that I'm thinking of converting anytime soon.

Now, all I need to do is give it a bit of a press and it should be good to go!

Help!

2007-10-21T09:29:00.001-07:00

I recently read over at annypurls' blog about her experience with wet blocking a bamboo knitted lace item and how disappointed she was with the outcome. It seemed to go a bit stiff and misshapen. A friend previously gifted me with this lovely soft bamboo/cotton blend yarn, with a beautiful sheen (purchased in Germany) which I've just finished knitting into a lace scarf. It definitely needs blocking, but I'm loathe to go the 'wet' route, after seeing anny's blog. Plus, the label says 'no ironing', so I assume that rules out 'steam' blocking. Any suggestions? Can you help me out?

Little Man

2007-10-18T08:21:00.000-07:00

Goodness! Has it really been a week since I last blogged??? For those of you who were wanting to see the knits modeled, here you go! This is my own hat pattern, and Christine's booties, made 'preemie' size in Elann Espirit yarn. Photo was taken yesterday when we had a visit from the little guy. He's now 3 weeks old!

Last Sunday we held a baby shower in his honour ... here's what he did through the whole thing!

He was literally passed from hand to hand for 3 hours and never once made a peep. However, he made up for it a day later when he did nothing but howl all day long ... poor mom!
Here's his lovely cousin, Cicely, enjoying a snuggle with him. Notice the hat shown here previously which has a matching 'baby bolero' ? It's a little big yet, but he'll soon grow into it.

Went to the doctor's this week and we were pleased to see that he's gained 1/2 lb this week ... now up to 6lbs 14 oz. Go baby, go! On the way home, we stopped in to have a first visit with Great Grandma Eileen. She was pretty pleased to see him!

A little of this and that ...

2007-10-10T16:50:00.001-07:00

Check out this yawn! Ethan is home and doing well. He's up to 6lbs 7oz., and everyone is pleased with his progress. Grandma got in some 'cuddle time' while everyone else cleaned up after I cooked Thanksgiving Dinner. I even got to change a couple of diapers!

A new hat for Ethan ... started out as Alison's bell bottoms, but I realized my gauge was out so I turned one of the legs into a hat instead. I used Lion Brand's cotton ease for the first time and am very impressed! It doesn't split like a lot of other cotton yarns and is very soft and easy to work with. I'll definitely use it again.

This is the Baby Shrug pattern from the 'One Skein' pattern book. This one turned out intentionally smaller as the Lion Brand yarn is finer than the one called for. This was OK by me as Ethan's so thin and tiny that it fits fine now and will last him through his first month.

Here's the set as it's blocking on the bathroom counter ... the angle is a little 'off', making the one sleeve look much wider than the other ... in reality, it's not!

I'm about 3/4's the way through the edging for the baby pinwheel blanket. I was smart to leave a whole ball for the edging as it looks like I will likely use all of it. Now I need to finish knitting the edge, then get the edge sewn on and the blanket blocked before the baby shower on Sunday!

Happy Dance & Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-10-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

I was dancing/jumping around my workroom last evening and shouting woo-hoo! (very loudly) when both my husband and dog came running to see what all the excitement was about. The source??? I finally got my invitation to Ravelry!!!!! Honestly, my husband looked at me like I'd grown a horn! I'd only checked the night before to see where I was on the list ... #490. So I knew I didn't have long to wait, but what I didn't realize is that they are now trying to add 500 new testers per day, so it's moving much more quickly. Yippee!

On a more solemn note, it's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, so am up early to get the turkey stuffed and into the oven. So much to be thankful for! A wonderful place/country to live in; family (plus a new grandbaby!); friends; healthy enough to do what I love; have a job I love; the grace and love of God; and the list goes on! I once heard a saying that I've tried to adopt in my life: "Have an attitude of gratitude". When we look for things to be grateful for, instead of complaining, our life takes on a much more positive stance. That's what I'm shooting for. Happy Thanksgiving!

Dog Mischief!

2007-10-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

I was unpacking the groceries and was on my way down the hall with a new box of toothpaste when my husband needed my immediate assistance. I dropped the box next to my purse and went into the other room. Seconds later, the dog blew past me averting his head and looking highly suspicious. The next thing I knew, he'd managed to pop the box open, dump out the toothpaste and had begun to shred the box to bits (his favorite pastime). Thankfully, while there were dents in the tube, no teeth penetrated. Look at that face! How could I be angry??? The rule in our house (as it regards the dog) is: "If it's on the floor, it's fair game". My first thought was, "quick, grab the camera"!!!

How cute is this dog?????

A Blanket for Ethan ...

2007-10-02T11:04:00.001-07:00

Finished, pressed and all ready to be packaged up with a cuddly stuffed bear for our new grandbaby! See here for pattern/yarn details ... scroll down :)

I used to have a gift basket business and prefer to use practical or unusual containers to package gifts in. In this case, I have a 'winnie the pooh' acid-free, photo storage box that comes with index divider cards. That way, mom can store Ethan's photos by month/age and they will be all at her finger tips when she's ready to put his scrapbook together (or rather, when she has me put his scrapbook together :) ! Or, she can use it decoratively to tuck out-of-sight small baby items, yet have them at the ready when she needs them.

It's A Boy!!!

2007-09-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

After inducing, 30 hours of labour, 2 hours pushing, 1 emergency c-section, 2 weeks early ... may I present:

Ethan David Luke Raymond
6 lbs. 4 oz.
20" long
September 26, 2007
11:07 p.m.

Mom, Dad and baby are well!

Grandma and grandpa are delighted but exhausted!

WIP Wednesday

2007-09-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

Here's the current status on the baby pinwheel blanket. I started with a 1/2 ball of James Brett Marble yarn ('Patagonia', in autumn colours), and have just joined in the 2nd full ball. I think that once I've finished with this ball, I'll save the last one for the edging ... pattern yet to be determined. The blanket is about 3 feet across, currently, and will likely be about 4 feet once completed. Thank goodness for the Denise needle set I bought last year! I found extra long cables in 40" and 50" sizes on ebay, which are really coming in handy for this project. When the stitches get too cramped on the current length, I just hook in another cable and away I go ... love it!

The Invasion of the Monster Zucchini

2007-09-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

This thing has to weigh at least 10 lbs!!!!! We've had quite a bit of rain this week, so I haven't been out to check on the plants. Last time I looked, there wasn't even a tiny one to be seen ... then look what happens. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day today so as I was wandering around the backyard with the dog, I thought I'd take a look under those HUGE leaves and see if there was anything lurking ... oh, yeah.

Check out how many I picked ... three monsters and 2 small ones. Thank goodness I happened on Adam's blog this a.m., where he was extolling the virtues of his zucchini cake recipe. Guess what I'll be making tonight????? ... and likely for the next week and beyond!

Here's a peek at the EZ Surplice Sweater found in the Summer 2007 Vogue. I didn't really give it a second glance when I flipped through the magazine initially, because truthfully, I wasn't overly impressed with the stripey pattern or the colour choices (alright, I thought it was downright ugly!!!). However, I have since become enthralled with all things "Elizabeth Zimmerman" and decided to give it a 'go', minus all the extra colours/way too many stripes. I'm using my ever favorite Scheepjes 'Donna', in an olive and pumpkin combination which should be suitable to celebrate the upcoming birth of my cousin's son-to-be. I like that it 'grows' with the baby and therefore should fit him for at least a little longer than it took me to knit it!

A Hat for Emma

2007-09-20T18:12:00.001-07:00

Back in June, I wrote about little Emma who was born very prematurely, here (scroll down a bit). I had made her tiny preemie hats to protect her little head. The first one was for a baby 24 weeks pregnancy size ... man, was it ever small ... not even doll size! Well, I got the word this week that Emma is growing and is now 8lbs and needs a new hat. Her head has been kept shaved, so that all the various tubes/monitors, etc. could be readily attached. She's still in Children's Hospital, but this week had the pacemaker and all associated tubing removed and seems to be doing OK ... thank you, Jesus! Her Grammie tells me that she's quite the little fighter!

In every stitch, in each hat that I've made for Emma, is a prayer for her well being, that God would restore all systems and functions in her body to optimum health and that her mom and dad would be able to bring her home soon!

On 'Baby Alert' ...

2007-09-19T09:02:00.001-07:00

Cell phones are fully charged and turned 'on'; pagers are at the ready; we're on 'baby alert'!!!

It looks like the baby may be delivered early. It's at the 36+ week mark, but Kala is having some toxemia/blood pressure issues, so we were at the hospital yesterday having yet another stress test. This past Sunday there was concern that she'd have to be induced or perhaps have a c-section as her blood pressure was steadily rising. However, yesterday, it had come down 6 points, and the baby seemed 'happy'. The doctor (who is actually on holiday!) is quite concerned and has called her several times. He has put her on blood pressure medication and ordered bed rest in the hopes that we can keep baby inside for at least another week, or longer. Not an easy thing for someone who has no hobbies and is already bored out of her mind. So, while she was over yesterday, I got out some big needles and chunky yarn, cast on, and taught her how to knit. She picked it up so quickly and is well on her way to having a lovely red tweed scarf for winter.

W I P Wednesday

2007-09-12T22:22:00.001-07:00

Another 'pumpkin' hat from Itty Bitty Hats ... minus the pumpkin colour. The wide ribbing doesn't really show well in the photo ... much better on an actual head.

And ... I've successfully re-started the pinwheel baby blanket -- whoo-hoo!!! After botching it back here, and trying numerous times to get it going again, I've finally been successful. Who would have thought it would be so difficult to work with 5 stitches in the round????? I mean, good grief, I've conquered cables, colourwork, steeks, etc. surely a little thing like this shouldn't be the death of me??? However, it very nearly was. I've started this thing at least a dozen or more times, only to botch it shortly after casting on. I found it so awkward. Finally, I switched to bamboo needles and then only cast on to 3 needles (instead of 4) and then added the 4th as I increased to more stitches. Success! I guess, initially, it was a bad combination of metal needles (too slippery) and then using too many needles. Whatever -- it worked; I'm happy; that's all that matters!!

Hubby's Birthday!

2007-09-08T19:48:00.001-07:00

This past Thursday, it was Hubby's turn to wear the famous 'birthday hat'. He's not one for a lot of fuss, so it was just us, my sister and her dog, 'Leopold'. We had a relaxing afternoon, sipping G & T's with lime :) in the backyard, while our dogs wore each other out.

Supper began with prawn cocktail; prime rib roast with all the trimmings; then a heavenly lemon meringue pie which my sister made and brought ... one of hubby's favorite things. He doesn't see pie very often in this house, and certainly not made by me. Pie crust is not one of my many talents and I don't even pretend anymore. It's either store bought, or family brought.

Here is my 'nephew' Leopold, chewing on one of Brinkley's bones. This little monkey, who's all of 8 pounds is quite the little toughie. I'd hidden the bones at the bottom of Brinkley's toy wheelbarrow. Leopold climbed up the side of it and proceeded to haul every last thing out until he reached the bones on the bottom. I swear the bone was very nearly heavier than he is! He then dragged it all along the family room carpet, across the tile floor in the kitchen (where it made an awful clank when he dropped it for a moment) and then finally into the dining room where Brinkley was lying and then all but thumbed his nose at Brinkley and sat down to have a good chew. Cheeky thing!

He decided to push the envelope just a tad, by trying to acquire the second bone, which Brinkley was guarding. Needless to say, a 'discussion' ensued, with neither party backing off (100lb retriever vs. 8lb. floor mop (shih tzu) which then necessitated a time out in opposing corners for each of them.

And a good time was had by all!

OOOPS!!!

2007-09-04T19:14:00.001-07:00

The following is clearly a case of "what not to do"!!!

Don't put eggs on to boil early in the a.m. and then suddenly have a brainstorm for a new design; run down the hallway to your workroom; start designing a new project; completely forget that eggs are on the stove. :(

I heard a big "thump" on the tile floor in the kitchen and thought my husband must be up and has dropped whatever on the floor. Then, there was an almighty crash. I'm thinking "that's two ... what a bumble-futz! After the third crash, I thought I'd better investigate. The lid had blown off the pot and was sitting in the middle of the floor, followed closely by one shattered, very hard boiled egg. The others were cemented to the bottom of my non stick pot. The pot had boiled dry and all of the eggs had exploded. The worst part??? I didn't even remember that the eggs were on to boil until I saw them splattered all over the floor!!!

The pot wasn't redeemable and has been given a decent burial.

I guess my days of multi-tasking are over :(

Pumpkin Hat

2007-08-31T18:19:00.001-07:00

A little pumpkin hat, in 'newborn size' from the Itty Bitty Hats Book. It's generously sized, so I'm thinking this will fit at least until 3 months + of age ... just roll the brim up or down to make it smaller/larger. I used yarn from Scheepjes "Donna' in a merino/acrylic blend, in both a pumpkin and olive shade. So incredibly soft! This little number works up quickly ... completed in one evening! I know of three babies who will arrive in the Oct/Nov time frame and am thinking that this would be a cute little gift for each of them. Fun for a Halloween costume, too!

She Scores!

2007-08-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

I taught my first class this week and was very pleased with how it all turned out. One of the ladies (who is also a knitter) was bemoaning the fact that her favorite baby yarn has been discontinued and she couldn't find it anywhere. I asked her which one it was ... Sirdar Chunky Magic ... and it turns out I had a stash of it from when I worked in the yarn store. I was happy to part with it and she was so delighted, she bought it all! Which of course, gave me some play money, which I, of course, used to purchase more yarn! Feast your eyes below on Hello Yarn's Fat Sock in the 'Green Man' colourway. I'm thinking this will become a "Baby Surprise Jacket", by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I currently have about three of her books out of the library and am amazed at her thought process.

Next up is a major 'score' from Elann! I got the last 4 balls of Rowan Cashsoft in this wonderful sandy colour and it only cost me $18 cdn!!! It's the first time I've bought this yarn and can't believe how amazingly soft it is ... and thankfully, made of extra fine merino and cashmere (along with something synthetic) so no itching, sneezing or hives. Bonus!

I spent some time today designing some cards for an upcoming class. It will feature the Basic Grey Rub on flourishes, which are so fun to work with and add such a nice touch to the cards.

Pirates!

2007-08-21T20:42:00.001-07:00

Josh announced that he needed a 'Pirate' costume for tomorrow's camp, so here's what we came up with. Grandpa donated an old dress shirt, which we slashed up to look as though it had been in a knife fight; add to that one of Grandma's silk scarves and a bandana. Tomorrow we'll add the blacking, an eye patch and a hoop earring.

Josh and I went to Dairy Queen to have an ice cream and catch up on his day. We were in the car on the way back when he paused for a moment and with a very serious face announced that I was a 'cool' Grandma and he wasn't embarrassed at all to be around me!!! Oh yeah, Grandpa was in the 'cool' camp as well. High praise, indeed.

Blogging Blah's ...

2007-08-18T22:23:00.001-07:00

I have nothing new to show you. The blanket is still a WIP; I'm working on another pair of Christine's booties; I wound up my new skein of 'Tenderheart' from Hello Yarn tonight, using my husband as a very handy 'swift'; and that's about it. We hung some curtains in our bedroom today as the new neighbours are night owls and can see straight into our bedroom. Then my husband handed me a walkie-talkie and told me to stay put, while he went out to the backyard. I turned on the light and walked back and forth in front of the patio doors, where he assured me that from the outside all he could see were 'faint shadows'. I switched places with him so I could see for myself -- it's all good.

It's our oldest daughter's 30th birthday today and we'll be going in to see her tomorrow and also to collect our grandson, Josh, who'll be spending the week with us. A local church has a "Pirates of the Caribbean' themed children's day camp, which I've signed Josh up for. Hopefully it will poop him out for the rest of the day!

I had a couple of exasperating days at work this week which really got to me, but I'm trying to blow them off. So far, it's not effective. I'm teaching a course on Thursday p.m. so need to finish off a few last details for that and I'll be good to go. I spent part of the day today, designing some cards for a future course. Got to strike when the inspiration hits!

We popped in to see my husband's parents this evening and stocked up their freezer with home made meals that only need to be microwaved. They were down to their last one, so were happy to have more. Then, we stopped in at WhiteSpot for a burger -- yummy!

Eye Candy

2007-08-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

The wonderful fruity colours of this yarn just begged to be displayed with my ornamental fruit bowl. This is 'Tender Heart' merino hand dyed/spun sock yarn from 'Hello Yarn'. It is a lovely blend of lavender/burgandy/chocolate/lime, reminiscent of my other favorite yarn, 'Koigu'. I had a little birthday money left over and decided to treat myself. The yarn itself was reasonably priced for artist yarn, but the shipping fee of $9 was a little much, considering the postage stamp on the box said $3.76! Oh well, it's not an 'every day' kind of purchase and the yarn truly is lovely. I haven't decided what it will be used for yet ... originally, the plan was to make the 'Baby Surprise Jacket' (BSJ) from Elizabeth Zimmerman, however, I'm thinking of holding off until I receive my next shipment of 'Hello Yarn' which is the Fat sock in the green/chocolate/cream combo. It could go for either a boy or girl. Then, if the new grand-baby is a girl, I'll still have some fabulous yarn to look forward to and I'll just have to make another BSJ!