words starting with "p" are cute

A warm blankie for the newt

2009-09-17T16:31:00.004-03:00

It didn't take long to finish the newt's blanket and, since I finished it on a sunny day, I dunked it in the sink and spread it out on the patio to block in the sun. It was dry and ready to photograph in no time.

Pattern: Baby Chalice Blanket by Lykkefanten
Materials: 3 skeins of Green Label Tanis Fiber Arts in Spearmint
Needles: US 10.5/6.5 mm
Started: August 29, 2009
Finished: September 16, 2009
Raveled here

Mods: I cast on an extra 20 stitches for two more pattern repeats after reading that the blanket is rather narrow. I wanted to end up with a square blanket and I accomplished that.

I really like the way this turned out. It's really soft and squishy and will be nice and warm this winter. The lace pattern is pretty and simple, and the colour! I'm a fan of turquoise.

And I seem to be forcing my colour preference onto the unborn. I whipped up a little snuggly swaddler for the newt on Sunday from a turquoise Echino damask and white flannel. The pattern is from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for Baby. Very smart design -- you stick the baby's feet in the bottom pocket and wrap the two velcro-ed flaps around the baby. I hope it works!

I learned an important lesson whilst sewing this. Now that my body is changing, I need to stop cutting my fabric on the floor and move to a table. I had an awful backache after spending an hour or so plunked down on the floor and bent over my cutting mat. Ouch!

The newt will not be short on handknits

2009-09-15T16:41:00.002-03:00

The parade of baby knits continues chez words starting with "p." In a fit of nesting, I've been churning out the handknits at a steady clip.

First up, the cardigan that every baby born to a knitting mama is required to have: the BSJ.

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Source: The Opinionated Knitter
Materials: less than one skein of Fleece Artist Trail Socks
Needles: US 4/3.5mm
Started: August 5, 2009
Finished: August 12, 2009
Raveled here

No mods. Brilliant design. What more can I say?

I had some yarn left over, so I knit some booties (which I've somehow neglected to photograph) and an elf hat.

Pattern: Stella Pixie Hat by Kristen Rengren
Source: Vintage Baby Knits
Materials: bits of Fleece Artist Trail Socks and Koigu KPM
Needles: US 4/3.5mm and US 3/3.25 mm
Started: August 24, 2009
Finished: August 29, 2009
Raveled here

The only problem is that the newt will never be able to wear the matching set at the same time . . . unless he/she has a really, really humongous head and a wee little body. I realize babies have big heads, but I hope (for my own sake) that the newt has a normal-sized cranium.

Since I'm having a winter baby, a woolly hooded sleeping bag would be nice, no?

Pattern: Hooded Carrying Bag by Debbie Bliss
Source: Essential Baby
Materials: a little more than 4 skeins of Wool Gatto by Lana Gatto in Brick
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Started: June 30, 2009
Finished: September 7, 2009
Raveled here

I finished knitting this long before September 7, but it languished in the knitting basket for a while whilst I contemplated sewing in a zipper. I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on the sewing machine because garter stitch is so stretchy and my sewing machine is a little too "basic," and my hand sewing skills leave a little to be desired. My Gramie, however, is a very talented and well-rounded crafter. I figured she might even want to put a zipper in the bunting since it's for her first great-grandchild. She happily took on the project until she, ahem, realized that it was probably the most frustrating sewing task she's even undertaken. I'm so sorry, Gramie! But I'm really glad I didn't try to do it because she did a flawless job. The newt thanks you.

Jesse and I were at The Loop a few weeks ago and, while ogling some yarn, I asked, "Will our baby need a handknit blanket?" He said, "Of course." I bought some delicious, squishy merino. I have the best husband ever.

I have about seven rows left on the blanket and then I have to figure out where I'm going to block the darn thing. Oh Annie. Why did you have to move away and leave me without a decent blocking space?

I'm an award-winning knitter

2009-08-05T21:02:00.003-03:00

One of the ladies in knitting group has been entering her work into the local exhibition for years and has been appalled at what has been passed off as "award-winning" knitting. She explained to the rest of the ladies that if we were to enter some of our work in the fair, we would all come away with some fancy ribbons and could call ourselves "award-winning" knitters. Sounded good to me.

So last week, I went to the exhibition office and bought myself a $25 membership. That allowed me to enter as many knitted objects as I wanted (it's usually $5 per entry) and I'd get free admission to the fair. I picked out five of my best FOs, filled out some paperwork, and handed my items over to the exhibition staff. Jesse and I went to the fair this evening and, lo and behold, there are ribbons attached to all of my entries.

I am an award-winning knitter.

First place for Dad's felted blue jay!

First place for Mum's Porom tam!

First place for my Ishbel neckerchief!

Second place for Mr. P's Trellis! (ahem. Some pink acrylic atrocity won first place.)

And third place for Gramie's Forest Canopy Shawl!

Since the prizes are ribbons AND cash, I'm pretty sure I won enough to cover my entry fee.

But the real honour is being able to call myself an award-winning knitter. I like the way it sounds.

FO: The newt's vest

2009-06-24T11:42:00.002-03:00

Baby knits are so quick! Especially when you don't have to knit sleeves.

Pattern: Vest by Debbie Bliss
Source: Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss
Materials: 1.5 skeins of Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Sea green
Needles: US 4/3.5mm
Started: June 12, 2009
Finished: June 17, 2009
Raveled here

I love a nice sweater vest. I love them on kids, women and especially on men. Nothing is cuter than a grown man in a sweater vest. Give him a beard and I melt. Speaking of beards, I had a dream that I gave birth to the newt and it was a boy who looked exactly like Jesse except he was blonde. Sounds kind of cute, but instead of looking like baby Jesse, the newt looked like a teeny version of grown-up Jesse, complete with a beard. I also had a dream that Jesse met a couple who had been trying to conceive for ages so he decided to sign away our rights to the newt and give him/her to this couple . . . without asking me! I was pissed.

More baby knits are in the works. I am over the moon about knitting for the newt!

More spinning

2009-06-14T12:21:00.004-03:00

This alpaca/silk/merino blend from FreckleFaceFibers . . .

turned into this . . .

and then into this!

I'm getting better at this spinning business!

I'm thinking of knitting something for the newt with my handspun. I don't think I have enough for a sweater, so it might become some booties and a hat. This kid's going to be born in December so he or she will need lots of warm woollies!

Oh! And you can keep track of my weekly belly bump pics over here!

FO: Gooseberry Hat

2009-06-06T16:30:00.002-03:00

Just a little FO to show you.

Pattern: Gooseberry Hat by Suvi S.
Materials: bits of leftover Louet Gems Sport in Chickadee
Needles: US 4/3.5mm
Started: April 20, 2009
Finished: May 22, 2009
Raveled here

I knit this up for my friend Ashley's baby, Isac. It's a little big on him now, so I'm hoping he'll get some use out of it this fall.

And you'll be seeing some more baby knits here in the near future because I'm working on building my own little person!

The newt is due to arrive in early December!

I'm a winner!

2009-05-05T18:54:00.002-03:00

A lovely prize arrived in my mailbox yesterday! Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. Ooooh!

I won the book in a contest on the the craft blog, Make+Do. Austen is doing regular giveaways, so you'd be smart to subscribe to her blog and try your luck at winning a crafty book too.

Seriously, this book is incredible. It's got a wide variety of patterns (not just your regular placemat, handbag, napkin, remote control holder and tissue box cover) and I kind of want to make everything in here. Sherrie had her heart set on winning this book, so I've agreed to share custody. :)

I seems that I won't have a whole lot of time to craft over the next 34 days. A provincial election was called today, so I'll be managing a campaign and working my butt off! Sherrie: the book is yours for a month!

Thanks again, Austen, for the lovely book!

FO: Ishbel

2009-04-11T15:55:00.002-03:00

All the cool kids were doing it, so I jumped on the bandwagon.

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague
Materials: 1 entire skein of Handmaiden Double Sea Silk in Midnight (?) plus a little tiny bit of Fleece Artist Nova Sock in a similar colourway to bind off
Needles: US 6/4mm
Started: April 3, 2009
Finished: April 7, 2009
Raveled here

Verdict: Love it. First, the yarn is really, really beautiful. It's soft, silky and has a lovely drape. It's ideal for a shawl/scarf/neckerchief/whatever Ishbel is supposed to be. The pattern is easy and well-written and the finished object is classy. I love everything about it.

Now that Blogless Annie (who, incidentally, now has a blog) has moved to Brooklyn, NY, I've lost my old blocking space! I used to block shawls in her attic because the old wood floor was the ideal spot to quietly leave a damp handknit where no kitties or husbands could disturb it. I decided to pin Ishbel down on the linoleum kitchen floor by the patio door in hopes that no one would step on it/wrestle it away from the pins and it was a success! Moustache didn't even look at it.

I ran out of yarn just before casting off, so I hauled out some bits of Fleece Artist Nova Sock in a similar colouway (leftover from this cowl) and bound off. It's blends pretty well and is hardly noticeable. It's actually kind of satisfying to use an entire skein on a project and not have any bits leftover.

Foray into a new craft

2009-03-22T20:42:00.003-03:00

This thing of beauty showed up in my living room one evening after I went to knitting group. A guild member who says she hasn't touched her spinning wheel in months offered to loan me her lonely wheel for a bit. I, of course, jumped at the chance of being able to spin in the comfort of my own home.

I fiddled around with the wheel a bit to familiarize myself with it and then jumped right into spinning with both feet. I got this braid of 3.7 ounces of merino combed top in "Lunamoth" from Freckle Face Fibers, drafted it a bit and started making some yarn.

And I came up with this gorgeous skein of handspun.

Sure, it's not perfect, but I love it. It's approximately 166 yards and 100 grams of worsted weight yarn in shades of purple, brown and grey. I have no idea what I'm going to knit with it yet, but I've got enough for some mitts or a cowl or a beret.

Right now I'm happy wearing the lone skein on my head. Fashionable, no?

Porom for Mum

2009-02-01T18:09:00.002-04:00

Mum asked me to knit her a tam or a beret, so I went to Ravelry right away to show her some patterns. At my insistence, she chose Porom. She wanted it in green, so I was excited to pick out some new yarn. I went to the Loop last weekend and found a gorgeous skein of Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label yarn -- a light worsted merino dyed in a semi-solid green. Perfect.

Pattern: Porom by Jared Flood
Materials: 1 skein Tanis Fiber Arts Green Label in Moss
Needles: US 6/4mm and US 8/5mm needles
Started: January 26, 2009
Finished: January 28, 2009
Raveled here

I didn't do any modifications -- the pattern is perfect the way it is. I did, however, run out of yarn on the last row and had to use less than one yard of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a similar colour to finish off. It's not noticeable at all. In fact, even when I pointed it out to Dad he couldn't see it.

Mum loves her Porom and it looks even better on her than it does on me!

Like cozying up in a basket of Fleece Artist

2009-01-29T21:20:00.002-04:00

Remember way back when Lolly was visiting and I bought that to-die-for Fleece Artist kit? It wasn't long before I cast on and started creating my very own Lady of the Lake cardigan (rav). But then I lost the pattern. And then the kind ladies at Fleece Artist sent me the pattern. You'd think that would mean that I could finish the cardigan, but no. Then all that Christmas knitting happened and the ol' Lady fell by the wayside.

But after Christmas, I promised to pick up that ol' Lady again and finish her. It didn't take long once I got started again.

Pattern: Lady Of The Lake
Materials: 1 skein Fleece Artist Curly Locks and 2 skeins Fleece Artist Kid Aran
Needles: 7mm circular
Started: sometime during the summer of 2008
Finished: January 21, 2009
Raveled here

I didn't make any modifications. The cardigan looked kind of short when I finished piecing it together, but I wasn't worried because according to Ravelry, a good blocking does wonders. And it did.

I am so happy with this cardigan. It's incredibly cozy, not itchy at all, and wearing it is like cozying up in a basket of Fleece Artist yarn. Jealous?

All of this FO talk got me thinking that I forgot to blog about a couple of hats that I've knit in 2009. Remember Jesse's Hubby hat? Well, before Christmas he told me it wasn't quite long enough to cover his ears completely and he wondered if I could pick up some stitches along the brim to extend it a bit. Sure. Then he showed me the hat. He had felted it! Sure, it was superwash yarn, but that doesn't mean you can put it in the dryer! I agreed to make him a new hubby hat out of leftover bits and bobs of Mission Falls 1824 wool, but only after I gave him a stern warning about washing handknits!

And this little guy wasn't knit for anyone in particular, I just had that mini-skein of Koigu KPM burning a hole in my stash and needed to knit with it. I still have enough for some booties or baby socks.

Comfort Week: Image

2009-01-25T10:52:00.002-04:00

I'm a little late with this post -- I was on the road all day Friday and in Halifax yesterday (both days spent without my laptop! Oh the horror!) and I forgot to post first thing Friday morning. Better late than never?

I took this self-portrait in July and it just screams comfort to me (despite the puzzled look on my face, I was feeling quite serene). It was a warm day and the grass in our backyard was dry. I just plunked myself down there with some Noro Kureyon sock and knit for the afternoon. Bliss.

For more comfort, mosey on over here. And a big thanks to Sherrie for hosting this!

Comfort Week: Habit

2009-01-22T16:15:00.000-04:00

My favourite ritual is the 45 or so minutes I spend every morning with the paper and a nice, big cup of tea.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Place

2009-01-21T20:55:00.000-04:00

Yeah, it's corny, but this is my most comfortable place.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Home

2009-01-20T18:30:00.003-04:00

Day 2 of comfort week is devoted to the most comfortable thing in your house. Mine is the recliner I got for free (!) from my Mum's best friend when she got a new recliner. I spend every Sunday morning sitting here, doing the crossword whilst listening to The Sunday Edition.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Comfort Week: Food

2009-01-19T21:08:00.002-04:00

Sherrie's hosting Comfort Week on her blog, so I'm bringing you a "comforting" photo each day this week.

Today's photo is about comforting food. I made leek and potato soup. It doesn't get more comforting than that.

For more comfort, mosey on over here.

Colour Week: Stripes

2009-01-16T12:56:00.001-04:00

It's the last day of colour week!

Happy Friday!

Colour Week: Pink

2009-01-15T14:57:00.001-04:00

The curtains in our bedroom are pink.

Colour Week: Yellow

2009-01-14T15:50:00.002-04:00

I'm continuing with the dishes theme.

The little box behind the glass is filled with little yellow coasters that my Gramie gave me.

Colour Week: Purple

2009-01-13T18:41:00.001-04:00

There's no shortage of purple in my kitchen.

The new purple mug was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. It's the perfect shade of aubergine.

Colour week!

2009-01-12T21:55:00.003-04:00

Leya is hosting another colour week. Today is blue.

I love our blue dishes. We got them as a wedding present and I don't think we've broken one yet!

30 finished knits!

2008-12-31T17:27:00.001-04:00

Wow! I had no idea I finished 30 knits in 2008! Looks pretty impressive when they're all together in a pretty mosaic.

Have a safe and happy New Year!

More Christmas knits

2008-12-30T13:10:00.003-04:00

Now that the holidays are over, I can expose the rest of my secret Christmas knits. My cousin, Andrea, has two Guinea pigs that she loves more than anyone could ever love a rodent, so I scoured the Internet for a decent Guinea Pig pattern. Not an easy task. Most patterns are too cartoon-y and cutesy. When I was just about to give up, I came across this pattern on etsy. I bought the most disgusting yarn known to mankind and whipped this up at the eleventh hour.

Isn't she just the cutest thing in the world? My uncle said she stole the show on Christmas morning!
Raveled.

My fourth and last Gloria Cowl went to my sister-in-law, Hannah. She loved it! But really, can you blame her? It's knit from beautiful Fleece Artist Nova Socks yarn. Mmmm.

Raveled.

And, surprise, surprise! Mum got a Forest Canopy Shawl too! She knew about Gramie's shawl and Gramie knew about Mum's shawl, but neither of them knew they were getting their very own shawl! Heh heh.

The colour is just perfect on her. It's knit from Black Lamb City Silk.
Raveled.

Dad is an avid birdwatcher. Well, I guess avid might be kind of an understatement. He's not one of those guys who'll drive 500 kms to see a rare bird, but he will devote several months each year to monitoring certain species of birds. If you want to know more, check out his Web site.

I found this blue jay pattern on Ravelry and couldn't pass it up -- it's just way too flippin' cute. I didn't really expect it to turn out as well as the pattern picture, but it did. It's just perfect!
Raveled.

My brother, Nigel, couldn't be left out. He casually mentioned that he wanted a knit gecko after I gave him Myrtle for his birthday. So, again, I scoured the Internet for the perfect pattern. Who knew Fiber Trends carried an adorable gecko pattern? The only hitch is that it cost me $15USD to get the pattern mailed to me. Ouch.

I knit the gecko and needle felted some markings to make it look like his late pet, Zia. I think he was pretty darn happy with her!

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a fantastic 2009!

Lots and lots of Christmas knitting

2008-12-17T09:14:00.004-04:00

Sigh. I've almost finished all my Christmas knitting. I wish I could show you everything I've knit right now, but too many of those FOs are still top secret. However, a few recipients don't read my blog or have already received their handknit gifts, so here's a quick round up of all the not-so-secret knits.

I knit this tam for my friend, Sarah. She lost her beloved tam while back, so I whipped this up for her. It's a Drops pattern knit with one skein of Drops Alpaca. Raveled here.

Since Gramie isn't Internet savvy, I can blog about her top secret gift. It's the Forest Canopy Shawl in beautiful Fleece Artist Somoko. I almost want to keep it for myself, but I know she's going to love it so I guess I'll part with it. I will, however, have to knit myself one of these in the future. Raveled here.

I've knit a number of cowls over the past few weeks, mainly Gloria Cowls. It's a quick, easy and elegant pattern and doesn't bore me. The recipient of this one is still top secret, just in case she happens upon my blog. Raveled here.

Sherrie and I exchanged gifts the other evening, so I can reveal her handknits. She asked for some charcoal coloured fingerless mitts in a "heavy" type of yarn. If you know Sherrie at all, you know that she's quite particular about what she likes, so I spent a great deal of time picking out the right yarn and pattern. I chose Drops Silke Tweed because the silk gives it that "heaviness" Sherrie wanted and the colour was spot on. Plus, I know that she likes tweed. (Who doesn't?) I found the pattern on Ravelry and fell in love with that cable. Sherrie seemed to like it too! Raveled here.

She also asked for a matchy-matchy cowl and since I had some yarn left, I whipped up yet another Gloria Cowl. Raveled here.

And just in case the recipient of these slippers reads my blog without telling me, I'll keep her identity a secret. These are the Yoga Slippers from Erika Knight's Classic Knits At Home. I had planned to sew on some suede soles, but I tried to do it by hand and on the sewing machine and it just looked sloppy. They're still pretty sturdy without the soles and if someday they get holey, I'll darn them. Raveled here.

Come back after Christmas and I'll show you the rest of the top secret knits!

my Socktoberfest socks are a little late to the party

2008-11-18T17:03:00.002-04:00

Well, I guess I was a little late getting ready to go to the party. I didn't think I was going to take part in Socktoberfest this year because I was so busy with Christmas knits, but I saw Kelly's Interlocking Leaves socks on Knitty and I had this Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn that I bought in Montreal calling out to me. They seemed like a really good match so I cast on for some Socktoberfest socks on October 23.

Pattern: Interlocking Leaves by Kelly Porpiglia (rav)
Materials: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Java
Needles: 2.5 mm addi turbos
Started: October 23, 2008
Finished: November 16, 2008
Raveled here

I really couldn't be happier with these socks. The pattern is just beautiful and so perfect for fall. It reminds me of crunchy brown leaves -- something I haven't seen much with the wet weather we've had. All that's left are soggy leaves and I don't really want to knit anything that evokes that image.

The socks aren't for me. They're a Christmas present for someone who is totally oblivious! Heh heh.

Pimp my bird

2008-11-10T17:50:00.002-04:00

I signed up for the Holiday Ornament Swap hosted by freshly{blended} and cake & pie last week. I thought I would sew some kind of Christmas tree with a nice star-shaped button at the top, but I changed my mind when I saw this ornament in Martha's special Handmade Christmas magazine at Sherrie's house on Saturday. Sherrie told me that Wal-Mart carries Martha's glitter, so I took a rare trip out to Wal-Mart and filled my basket with glittery goodness.

And then I got to work. I made the cinnamon dough and cut out 18 cardinals from Martha's template. Once the birds were dry, I sketched out an outline of each coloured section with a blue chalk pencil (you can still see some of the blue on the bird below) and started gluing and glittery and gluing and glittering.

It took me two days to finish them all, mostly because I had to wait so long in between each glittery colour, but I'm so happy with them. I made way more than I'll need for the swap because I want to keep a few and give some away as Christmas gifts.

This and that

2008-10-20T17:35:00.002-03:00

I have a couple of FOs that I haven't blogged about yet. Not sure why I keep putting it off . . . maybe because I've already posted them on Ravelry and Flickr and forgot about the blog.

Sherrie is selling so many of her beautiful soaps at a craft fair in Yarmouth this weekend. It's at the Grand Hotel, in case you're local, on October 25 and 26. If you're there, please stop by her booth and say hi! I'll be helping her all weekend, so I knit up a little bath mitt to give away as a door prize (as if her soaps aren't enough to draw people to her table!).

Pattern: Wash Mitt by Erika Knight (rav)
Source: Classic Knits at Home
Materials: less than half a skein of Louet Euroflax Originals in Champagne
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Started: October 15, 2008
Finished: October 17, 2008
Raveled here

Modifications: I changed a few things. I knit the front and back separately, but didn't bind off the end, rather I kept the ends on the needles and grafted them together. If I knit this again, I'll do it in the round and knit the end like a sock toe.
I also knit up this little darling with bits of leftover yarn for my cousin's baby boy.

Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap (rav)
Materials: bits of Oceanwind Knits Merino in Blu and Black Lamb City Silk
Needles: 2.5 mm addi turbos
Started: October 8, 2008
Finished: October 10, 2008
Raveled here

Apart from that, I've been busy knitting lots of Christmas gifts. For a sneak peek, you can visit my Ravelry page. Since none of my family members knit and most of them read my blog and keep tabs on my Flickr page, Ravelry is the only safe place on the internet to post my secret projects!

Craft Swap!

2008-10-06T18:16:00.002-03:00

I had read about craft swaps on house on hill road and thought it was a great idea. So I sent off an e-mail to my two favourite crafters, Sherrie and Blogless Annie, and asked them if they were interested. Of course they were! We set a date (last Thursday -- why has it taken me so long to blog about this?) and got crafting.

Sherrie had shown me these lovely little birds on spool a while back, so after mulling over several different crafts, I set about making a flock of these guys. I just used some leftover fabric from different projects, found some branches on the trail behind my house and used some 18 gauge wire for the feet.

Aren't they sweet? I may even make a few of these for myself.

Sherrie, maker (and seller!) of everything soapy and sweet smelling, made the loveliest milk baths (mine isn't fizzy because citric acid is the fizzing element. Since too much citric acid in foods makes my tongue swell up, I don't even want to think of what a citric acid bath would do to me!) and Raspberry Coconut sugar scrub. I've only used the sugar scrub so far, but Lordy, is it ever divine!

Blogless Annie made us these re-usable feminine hygiene products. Fashionable and Earth-friendly! Annie swears by these, so I'm interested to see if I'll become a covert too!

We also cooked up a great meal before the swap. It was sort of like a really fancy potluck. We chose the theme "autumn" and each brought a course. We started out with my curried butternut squash soup (accompanied by some Nova Scotian Tideview Cider -- can we just take a moment to talk about how amazing this stuff is? It's like wine, only apple-y with a little sparkle. It's so-so-so good. Too bad you can only get it in Wolfville, NS.)

Blogless Annie cooked up Penne with Summer Squashes and Sweet Corn. It was so good. I'll definitely make this sometime.

And Sherrie made an apple tarte tatin from Donna Hay's Modern Classics #2. So, so delicious.

All in all, a great swap. I hope we can so it again!

FO: Charades and Pacafiesta!

2008-09-29T18:53:00.002-03:00

I feel as though I've been working on these Charades for such a long time, and it's not because I didn't enjoy knitting them, other projects just seemed to get in the way. I started knitting these way back when we went to Montreal and Ottawa (where we saw Claudia and Nicole!), so they might look familiar to a couple of you.

Pattern: Charade socks by Sandra Park (rav)
Materials: two skeins of Oceanwind knits merino sock in Sienna
Needles: 2.5mm addi turbos
Started: April 27, 2008
Finished: September 27, 2008
Raveled here

Modifications: I extended the pattern to the heel flap just to add some more interest.

Verdict: I know I've extolled the virtues of Oceanwind knits sock yarn before, but I love it. It's the perfect sock yarn, as far as I'm concerned. And this pattern was fun, easy and addictive (even though it took me six months to finish them!).

Blogless Annie and I went to Pacafiesta over the weekend and super giddy on yarn. It was such a fun time. We saw real live alpacas and we might have hugged one or two . . .

And we saw alpacas wearing hats (!) because, frankly, what's an alpaca without a funky hat?

Of course we came home with some yarnz! I picked up this beautiful skein of handspun silk and merino, but the über talented UberWench. If I wasn't already married, I would consider eloping right now with this skein.

This skein of Black Lamb city silk (50/50 silk and merino) is destined to become a super secret knit.

And I also brought home with me a skein of fingering weight handpainted alpaca from Sunrise Mercantile. It's only about 60 grams, but I think I might pair it with the Koigu I picked up at London Wul and knit up a pair of socks with grey cuffs, heels and toes.

FO: Election Scarf

2008-09-23T09:41:00.003-03:00

Ahhh, elections. I'm sort of going election-crazy here. Up here in Canada, we're in the midst of a federal election and four short days after E-Day, Nova Scotians go to the polls again to vote in the municipal election. To make things even crazier, the advance polls for the municipal election are the same day as the federal election! Aaaaaah! I'm trying to ignore the American presidential election because, frankly, my brain can't handle any more election fodder. The only saving grace is that we're not in provincial election mode yet, but since I work for the provincial NDP, I'm always gearing up for an election just in case.

But because I'm a good New Democrat, I've decided to embrace the election craziness and knit myself a commemorative scarf. The provincial and federal New Democrats have a thing for orange (just check out the federal site) and I had a skein of worsted Malabrigo in Bergamota in my stash, so I quickly knit up a doppelganger of Heather's Mabel's Scarf.

Pattern: Mabel's Scarf by Larissa Brown (rav)
Materials: one skein of Malabrigo worsted merino in Bergamota
Needles: US 8/5mm bamboo circulars
Started: September 18, 2008
Finished: September 22, 2008
Raveled here

The pattern says one skein will give you 13 repeats, but I only got 12 with fewer than three yards of yarn to spare. It is sort of short, but I'm happy with it nonetheless. The pattern is so ridiculously addictive, which is why I finished it in under five days. And the scarf is so deliciously squishy, soft and warm. It'll be great for all the running around I'll be doing on E-Day (the federal E-Day, not the municipal E-Day!).

Oh! And have you heard? Our own knitter-extraordinaire Whistlepea Amy is the NDP candidate in Ottawa-Orléans? I really, really wish I could drop everything and move to Ottawa for a few weeks to help her campiagn! Good luck Amy!

FO: Myrtle the turtle

2008-09-16T15:48:00.002-03:00

I think I've started a tradition where I knit my brother a secret (well, maybe not-so-secret) stuffed whimsy of some sort for his birthday and Christmas. Last Christmas it was Naughty Lloyd and for his birthday I knit Myrtle.

Pattern: Sheldon by Ruth Homrighaus (rav)
Materials: bits and bobs of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in Lime (210) and Mission Falls 1824 Wool in 028 and 007
Needles: 3.25 mm dpns and 3.5 mm Addis
Started: August 28, 2008
Finished: September 3, 2008

Raveled here

Although the outcome couldn't possibly be cuter, this turtle wasn't the most fun thing to knit. I found the shell to be rather annoying, especially that goshdarned applied i-cord. A few screams may have slipped through my lips while knitting that i-cord. But, of course, it was so worth it. C'mon, my brother made me a swift! The least I could do is knit him a turtle.

Myrtle will be on display in the window at Hands On Crafts during the Craft Splash. Say hello to her if you see her!

Thank you Fleece Artist!

2008-08-20T13:07:00.001-03:00

I e-mailed Fleece Artist and they sent me the pattern! I am as happy as a clam!

A plea

2008-08-20T09:54:00.002-03:00

Okay, so I'm working on the Lady of the Lake (ravelry) coat and I just finished the body last night. I went to the hutch in the kitchen (where I keep some of my yarn) to get the pattern so I could figure out how it wants me to bind off and I couldn't find the pattern. I tore the house apart looking everywhere I could imagine it might be and I found nothing. It's a Fleece Artist kit, so it's not like I can just hop on the web and download it again or something. I am so mad at myself for losing the damn pattern!

So here's the plea: If you or anyone you know has knit the Lady of the Lake coat and has the pattern, can you please, please, please e-mail me the instructions on how to bind off the body and how to knit the sleeves and collar. If this doesn't work, I'm e-mailing Fleece Artist directly.

eta: I have e-mailed Fleece Artist. I'm just too impatient! I'll let you know what happens.

Crossed the finish line!

2008-08-16T15:05:00.002-03:00

My Ravelympics cardigan is done in plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the games! It took me all of a week to knit this, but I did work on it nearly everywhere I went (including a game of kickball).

Pattern: Shalom by Meghan McFarlane (rav)
Materials: 1.7 skeins of Malabrigo worsted merino in Pearl Ten
Needles: 7 mm circulars
Started: August 8, 2008
Finished: August 14, 2008
Raveled here

Modifications: I added about 20 rows of stockinette st to the bottom before doing the garter st edge because it didn't quite look long enough. It stretched when I blocked it, but I like the length.

Verdict: I really, really like this. I realize it's not terribly practical as it doesn't have long sleeves or much of a front to keep me warm, but it does look nice over a turtleneck (which is probably how I'll wear it most often) in a decorative, vest-y sort of way. I love the colour, it's so beautifully soft and the fit is quite nice too! It's a winner!

Moustache insisted on being in one shot. But what he really wants is to get his paws on what's left of the Malabrigo . . .

FO: Rainbow socks

2008-08-09T08:17:00.002-03:00

I picked up some Noro Kureyon sock yarn in Liverpool, of all places, earlier this summer. I had heard over the Internetz that a little shop called Ball N Skein carried Noro sock yarn and, lucky me, I had a gift certificate to that very shop from my swift-building bro. The yarn shop ended up actually being a photo shop with a little corner of yarn. They carry mostly Patons and Briggs and Little, but, tucked away on a shelf were a few skeins of Noro sock yarn. Score!

Pattern: just your basic 64 st, top down, plain stockinette sock with a short-row heel
Materials: 2/3 of a skein of Noro Kureyon sock yarn in #184
Needles: US 1.5/2.5 mm
Started: June 21, 2008
Finished: August 6, 2008
Raveled here

Since I am a type A personality, a control freak and a perfectionist, I couldn't have mis-matched socks. I had to do a bit of engineering to make them match, like adding a few metres of yarn here, taking a few metres away there, but it was all worth it. They still don't exactly match perfectly, but I don't think you'd really notice unless you were examining them closely. During regular wear, I think they'll look like matching socks.

Yesterday morning I cast on for my Ravelympics project while listening to Olympic coverage on the radio! I'm knitting the Shalom Cardigan in beautiful Malabrigo.

Trip to New Brunswick

2008-08-06T16:46:00.002-03:00

Jesse and I went to New Brunswick over the long weekend to attend a music festival. We lived in Moncton for two years from 2004 to 2006 and this is the first time we've been back since then. It was great to see all of our old friends and all the bands that played the festival. I had just started knitting right before we left Moncton, so I never had the chance to visit London Wul in Dieppe when we lived there. This was finally my chance! As soon as we got there, we discovered that they have these great sheep cutouts outside the yarn shop!

Hello. I am a sheep.

I managed to pick up a few things at the shop. The had several skeins of "odd lots" of Fleece Artist yarn in a bin along with two skeins of this unnamed mustard-y merino sock yarn. It's buttery soft and much yellower in reality.

I had heard that London Wul carries Koigu (as per the Web site), but it appears that information is old because the sold out of the stuff several years ago. However, I did manage to find this lone skein of Koigu KPM in light grey after digging through that sale bin. It's only 45g but it was also only $3. Yup, that's $3 Koigu. I know, right? I snatched it up.

And, in other knitting-related news . . . I got a Ravelry t-shirt in the mail! Now I can show off my inner knit-geek.

Rockin' the Rav.

New camera strap!

2008-07-10T18:52:00.002-03:00

I was tired of the old strap that came with my camera, emblazoned with huge white letters spelling "Canon." After I saw Caro's straps (I hear there are a few left in her shop!) I examined my own to see if I could duplicate her work. I grabbed some cute echino fabric and got to work. And this is the end result!

It was super easy! I just ripped the stitching on the little leather bits, removed the old strap, used it as a pattern to cut my fabric, left a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sewed up the new strap and attached it to the leather bits. Easy as pie.

My very own chocolate Hourglass

2008-07-01T20:53:00.005-03:00

I finished it on Sunday morning and it two more than two days to dry. Two long, foggy days. I tried to will it to dry, but it was futile.

I just had to wait for the sun to come out today!

And now I have my very own chocolate Hourglass!

Pattern: Hourglass Sweater by Joelle Hoverson (ravelry)
Source: Last-Minute Knitted Gifts
Materials: nine skeins of Noro Cash Iroha #108
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm
Started: February 19, 2008
Finished: June 29, 2008
Raveled here

Mods: The sleeves were going to be way too short, so I knit them to be 21 inches instead of the suggested 18.5 (Mum calls me "Monkey arms" for a reason). As it turned out, after blocking, the sleeves grew a bit in length, but I sort of like long sleeves since they're so rare on me. Because of that, I ran out of yarn shortly after attaching both arms to the body, so I ordered more (in a different dyelot, mind you, but it's barely noticeable). I also did four extra decreases along the neckline because the original pattern tends to look a little "Flashdance!"

Verdict: I really like this sweater. It fits really well and I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of it. It's also really warm, so I really don't want to have to wear it in the summer again -- I was getting quite hot while shooting these photos.

Party time!

2008-06-29T11:01:00.002-03:00

It's the tail end of my summer vacation (we went camping in Keji for a few days and the rest of my holiday was spent reading and knitting. Good times.) and time for show and tell. "What did you do on your summer vacation, Ingrid?" I made an inedible cake.

I picked up The Softies Kit the other day. Unlike Therese Laskey's other softies book, this one comes with supplies: embroidery floss, felt, fiber fill and a pompom -- just enough for making a sweet little party cake!

It looks almost good enough to eat, don't you think?

Swift tutorial!

2008-06-15T13:55:00.003-03:00

The best brother ever is doing his part to share his awesomeness with the world. He has posted a tutorial on making your very own swift! See it here.

And maybe you too can have the best brother/husband/boyfriend/Dad ever.

I have the best brother in the world!

2008-06-13T13:55:00.002-03:00

I told Nigel about swifts a while back and he was interested in finding out more about them. He went to Hand On Crafts to check out their swift and took several digital photos for reference. One day later, he had a finished product for me!

It's a nice, full-sized swift on a stand (because he couldn't figure out how to make a clamp) made out of maple. It's a little fiddly to get started, but once the skein is on the swift, it's smooth sailing (rather, smooth winding). The swift itself is held up by a CD, a clothespin and a bulldog clip -- a little unorthodox, sure, but it works. I have already wound two skeins and I plan to wind some more this afternoon!

Thank you Nigel! You have no idea how many knitters are drooling with envy!

Mr. P's Sweater: The Reveal!

2008-06-06T17:44:00.002-03:00

Way back in January, I finished a sweater for Mr. P's first birthday. I kept it hidden from his Mom and Dad until last week, when Mr. P finally became one year old!

He proved to be quite adept at opening presents.

And here he is, making a funny face, with his new sweater. The funny face is most likely due to the fact that he'll probably have to wait until autumn before he can wear his new sweater.

And finally, a full shot of the sweater.

I can't wait to see the little guy wearing this! Happy Birthday Mr. P!

I met Lolly!

2008-06-02T20:24:00.002-03:00

Several months ago, Lolly posted this photo in her Flickr photostream. Right away, I asked her to consider visiting Yarmouth so we could meet in person. I've been reading her blog ever since I started knitting in the round (circa Nov 2006) and we had e-mailed back and forth a few times. When she said she'd love to come to Yarmouth, I started scheming. I knew that she and Kris were outdoors-y types, and since my Dad is the "Tern Man," I thought they might like to see Canada's largest colony of the endangered Roseate Terns. Dad agreed to take them out for a ride on the boat as assistants to monitor the colony.

Since I'm a bad blogger, I didn't get any shots of Lolly and Kris on the North Brother (the island the Roseate Terns call home), but I did pull out my camera when we reached our second destination, Gooseberry Island, just off the coast of Argyle Sound. There were lost of cormorants, a prehistoric-looking bird that kills tress with its poo. (I know, it sounds charming.)

And we saw baby Black-backed gulls. They were so fluffy and cute! Too bad they turn into dirty, garbage-eating seagulls. Dad encouraged Lolly to pick up one of the chicks, but he neglected to warn her that they "squirt" when they're nervous. Poor Lolly had a handfull of gull poo. (Another charming image, no?)

The island also has a small flock of sheep. Dad, being the witty guy that he is, proclaimed them "Marino sheep." This little guy was a little too slow to keep up with his Mum, so he stuck around while we photographed him. I think he may have been a little gimpy too . . . his front legs buckled under him a few times.

After the boat ride, we went to see the 17 windmills at Pubnico Point.

Then we visited Le Village Historique acadien de la Nouvelle-Écosse, where we ate homemade molasses cookies, played an old pump organ, admired antique quilts, learned about lobster plugs, and . . .

. . . saw piglets! There was a sign warning that "Pigs Bite!" but, frankly, I don't think this guy could bite very hard. Interesting tidbit: Kris speaks piglet-ese. Every time he snorted, the pigs would run over to him.

The next day, we had breakfast at the Old World Bakery (I go there every Saturday morning) with Blogless Annie!

And then, the required stop at Hands On Crafts. Apparently we get giddy when we're surrounded by yarn!

Lolly picked up several skeins of Briggs and Little (the pride of New Brunswick) yarn for a sweater, I had a couple of gift certificates so I got the Lady of the Lake (ravelry)Fleece Artist kit and Blogless Annie bought some roving for her thrummed mitts.

I had so much fun with Lolly and Kris. I wish they lived closer (I tried to sell them Blogless Annie's house, but they wouldn't bite) so we could hang out more often! Lolly and I have so much in common (we both happen to be major klutzes, so we shared stories about broken bones and bruises) and Kris is really witty (dark humour, anyone?).

Enjoy the rest of your vacation in Nova Scotia guys and come back soon!

Birthday fun

2008-05-20T14:45:00.003-03:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes! I had a great time at the awards show, even if I didn't win the award (I wasn't expecting to win, so I wasn't disappointed!). In lieu of the award, I got some great birthday presents! Jesse got me the Cadillac of tripods with a crazy joystick head to match. Now I no longer need to perch my camera in a tree to get a decent shot.

The in-laws also got me something I have long been yearning for. A ball winder. Yes. Now I can wind centre-pull balls to my heart's content. (or is it "til my heart's content"?)

Worsted Malabrigo in bergamota. Delicious.

Blogless Annie, when are you coming over to wind up some yarn?

somebody's birthday . . .

2008-05-17T17:32:00.002-03:00

is today!

No, I'm not in my "birthday suit," I'm wearing my fancy awards show dress!

Wish me luck at the ACT Awards tonight! Here's a pic of my birthday cake. Mmmmm. Chocolate cheesecake . . .

It was delicious!

FO: Swiffer cloth

2008-05-15T17:00:00.003-03:00

Sherrie mentioned wanting a reusable Swiffer cloth, so I checked Ravelry, found a pattern I liked and in no time, I had a finished object!

Pattern: Swiffer Re-Usable Cloth by Birdy's Knits
Materials: Casco Bay worsted cotton in Olive
Needles: US 6/4mm
Started: May 14, 2008
Finished: May 15, 2008
Raveled here

I should have taken more photos, but I'm sure Sherrie will post some. It has little bobbles that slip into the grips to keep the cloth on the Swiffer. It seems to work really well too. Just when I was taking these photos, it picked up bunches of cat fur. I had to pick it all off before I brought it over to Sherrie's house!

Linen clutch

2008-05-15T16:37:00.005-03:00

I'm going to an awards ceremony this weekend at our local theatre. They're giving out awards for each of the productions over the past year and I'm nominated for Best Actress for The Boyfriend. I'm quite sure I won't win, but I'm excited nonetheless since it's an opportunity to get all gussied up for a party.

I bought my dress from a Canadian designer through the online shop, Maison de Moi, but I needed a handbag to go with it. I saw this great pattern, but I didn't have any fabric that would match my dress. That's when I spotted some neutral linen in my stash. I figured if I made a linen clutch, then I could add a few decorative buttons and make it match my dress. I also happen to have an "in" with a button collector.

I think I've mentioned Gramie's button collection before. She has scads of buttons in a drawer in her sewing room and they're all sorted by colour. I asked her for her red and gold buttons and she delivered. Check out those piles!

I picked some buttons that match my dress, sewed them on and, voilà! A clutch that perfectly complements my fancy togs.

FO: Hand Towel

2008-05-10T19:36:00.003-03:00

I whipped this up last night for Mum for Mother's Day. She has a couple of knit hand towels and she mentioned how much she liked them. I had planned to make one out of the Ecoknit organic cotton yarn I bought in Montreal, but I had this idea that Mother's Day was further away than it actually is. So, I searched Ravelry really quick and found this pattern.

Pattern: Kitchen Hand Towel (pdf) by Clara Masessa
Source: Kraemer Yarns
Materials: every last bit of one skein of Ecoknit organic cotton in Coffee.
Needles: US 6/4mm
Started: May 8, 2008
Finished: May 9, 2008

Mods: I made the towel part an inch shorter because I didn't want to run out of yarn.

I gave the towel to Mum today and she loved it. The cotton is really soft -- not like that crappy Bernat cotton yarn. I'll probably make another one of these for me, because I found it kind of hard to part with this one . . .

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there!

Bloggy meetup v2.0!

2008-05-06T12:06:00.004-03:00

Last Saturday I met my second "Internet friend," as hubby calls them. I've been reading Nicole's blog ever since her first post. If you're not familiar with her, please check her out! She has knit some beautiful garments, like this.

We met in downtown Ottawa and went out for a lovely lunch at Wasabi. We sat and talked for a long time, as if we were old friends. It was great! Apparently all the good yarn shops are just outside Ottawa and neither of us had access to a car that day. Nicole felt bad, but I didn't really mind. I mean, I didn't really have any room in my suitcase for any more yarn! But she mentioned a shop within walking distance called Knit Knackers that has Malabrigo. Wait, what? Did you say Malabrigo?

I went straight for the worsted stuff. I touched it. I fell in love. I left with this incredibly smooshy, soft, cushy skein in Bergamota. It's like buttah. Bright orange buttah.

As I was swooning over the Malabrigo, something else caught my eye. I think both Nicole and I rushed over to the same shelf at the same time. What did we see?

Yup. That's Noro Kureyon sock yarn. I had only ever seen this stuff on the Internet! Apparently they just got it in at Knit Knackers. Neither Nicole nor I could leave without a skein. I got this beauty (#188) in purple, navy, grey and green.

One of the kind shopkeepers took a photo of us fondling the Malabrigo lace weight yarn. It turned out a bit blurry, but I like to say we were in a "yarn fog."

It's a good thing yarn is squishy. I was able to squeeze the two skeins into my suitcase without too much difficulty (okay, I had to stand on my suitcase in order to close it). Thanks again Nicole for a fabulous visit!

A post-script to my bloggy meetups: I was also supposed to meet Amy on Sunday, but we unfortunately ran out of time. I'm hoping that since she is originally from Nova Scotia, we can meet next time she comes home to the East coast!

Bloggy meetup!

2008-05-02T18:58:00.003-03:00

I had my first meetup with a blogger I had only previously known through this computer screen yesterday. Although people told us both that it's creepy to meet someone you only know on the Internet, we knew it was okay. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? She might take my eyes out with a knitting needle . . .

Claudia is a fantastic sewer and great photographer. She surprised me with this adorable box bag that I filled with . . .

a half of a charade sock!

We stopped at Ariadne Knits where I picked up two skeins of Cherry Tree Hill supersock merino,

one skein of EcoCotton,

some lace Addi Turbos and the Soak, as seen in the blue post.

Jesse obliged by taking a photo of us while we were still giddy from the yarn shopping!

We also stopped at a little shop called Atelier Woodenapples where I picked up this tee!

Yeah, I love this tee.

We capped off the day with an amazing dinner at Byblos, a trendy Iranian café.

Thanks again Claudia and Dan for such a fun day!

Colour Week: Blue

2008-05-02T17:55:00.002-03:00

Colour week is coming to an end and I really enjoyed it. Here are today's blues.

Macaws at the biodome.

I had never seen this stuff in person until I visited Ariadne Knits. I had to get a bottle to see what all the fuss is about.

And this, just because everyone is so Habs crazy here.

Colour Week: Red

2008-05-01T22:23:00.003-03:00

We had a fantastic day in Montreal. We went to the biodome and the insectarium and then met up with one of the greatest gals I have ever met . . . but I'll save that for a subsequent post. Here are some of the red objects I spotted today.

some unidentified red flowers in the biodome's tropical forest.

a roseate spoonbill.

some ladybug magnets in the insectarium's gift shop.

Colour Week: Orange

2008-04-30T20:27:00.002-03:00

More colour week fun! Thanks again to Leya for hosting. You can visit her blog for the list of all the colour week participants.

I don't know whether these onions are orange, but I liked the way they look against the blue wall.

I've noticed that orange signs in Montreal are particularly bright. Perhaps that's so they don't get ignored . . .

An ornate orange roof on Ave. des Pins.

Colour Week: Yellow

2008-04-29T18:12:00.002-03:00

I'm really enjoying colour week. I've been seeing yellow everywhere today!

Yellow yolks for breakfast.

We took the train from Ottawa to Montreal today and, of course, our tickets were yellow.

We'll be staying with some fantastic friends in Montreal until Saturday morning. One of those friends happens to be a former German professor.

Colour Week: Green

2008-04-28T17:03:00.004-03:00

Leya is hosting a colour week and I've decided to take part in order to force myself to take more photos while we're on vacation. Hubby and I are in Ottawa today and we're going to Montreal tomorrow. I'm planning to meet up with a couple bloggers while I'm in these parts!

I love Nunavut's crest. And I love how so many things are coppery green in Ottawa.

The tulips are almost ready to flower!

I bought this in Halifax yesterday. I am so looking forward to reading it! Weren't we all Anne-aholics when we were little girls?

Flu and gifts

2008-04-09T16:44:00.003-03:00

I'm on my sixth day of battling the flu from hell. Will you do me a favour, blog friends? Remind me to get the flu shot next year. No procrastinating. No excuses. I must never get a flu like this again. Thanks.

Way too long ago, I got this lovely "petit oiseau" in the mail from Claudia. I kept meaning to blog about it, but I got really busy with work and then pummeled by this flu . . .

Claudia really like the snowgirl with camera ATC that I did for Project Spectrum, so I told her I'd make a special one for her. She said she'd send me something sweet in exchange. I was really happy to receive this bird because I had secretly been coveting it (as seen in her Flickr profile pic). Thanks again!

Sherrie is selling some beautiful shaving kits in her shop. I bought one from her for Jesse (no special occasion, just an "I love you" gift).

When he was opening it up, he first saw the mug and said, "I don't drink coffee!" Then he saw the soap and said, "I don't care about soap!" Then he saw the brush and said, "Oh! Cool!" His old shaving mug has a cartoon pig on it and the brush is ragged. It was definitely time for an upgrade. Thanks Sherrie!

And speaking of Sherrie, she just had a birthday. I am giving her the Birdie mitts, but I had to wrap them up unfinished. The second mitt still looks like this. I haven't worked on it at all this week because my fingers still ache from the flu.

I see a white wall and I want it painted . . .

2008-03-29T18:04:00.004-03:00

Mint green!

And aubergine!

Blogless Annie came over today to impart her vast knowledge of painting (She has painted her entire three-storey house. She knows a thing or two about painting walls.). We started first thing this morning and finished the kitchen by supper time! All the walls in the house were stark white when we moved in. I knew right away that I wanted to do some painting, but I thought it would be hard. Guess what? It's not hard at all!

Next up, painting the living room.

Happy Easter/Joyeuses Pâques

2008-03-23T08:56:00.004-03:00

Easter egg cake recipe from Nigella Lawson's Feast.

*I just realized I made this same cake last year.

Six pack

2008-03-13T19:46:00.007-03:00

Brenda tagged me for this "six random facts" meme. I have so many quirks, it's kind of tough to narrow it down to six!

1. My arms are incredibly long. They span nearly six feet . . . and I'm 5'5". This is why I think I may run out of yarn before I finish my Hourglass Sweater.

I love you this much!

2. As stated in a previous post, I yodel.

3. I'm allergic to kiwi, pineapple, all citrus fruits and most other tropical fruits. Yeah. Deathly allergic.

Don't worry, Mum! This isn't a real lemon.

4. I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just a picky eater. I don't like red meat and I haven't eaten any since Grade 8.

5. I can touch my elbows behind my back. It's supposed to be humanly impossible. Why can I do this? See quirk #1.

Freakish.

6. I am accident prone. As I type this, I have Band-Aids on two fingers. I seem to break my big toe yearly (I'm due for another break either this month or next, so watch out!) and I've dislocated both of my shoulders (not at the same time). I could go on and on . . .

I'm not going to tag anyone, but please, share some of your freakish quirks in the comments!

Pillow talk

2008-03-10T16:18:00.005-03:00

When I ordered the fabric for Andrea's backpack, I may have ordered a couple half yards of some pink Joel Dewberry prints to make throw pillows for the bedroom. This weekend, I had the chance to make those pillows -- my first foray into patchwork. I think it went well.

I bought a couple of pillow forms at Michaels and loosely followed this tutorial to make these. I think they look quite happy nestled on the bed with the original big pillow made out of those place mats Sherrie gave me.

I haven't left knitting by the wayside! I've been diligently working away at an Hourglass sweater (ravelry link) in chocolate brown Noro Cash Iroha. It's so much fun knitting with this yarn. Mmmmm.

And I think my mitten mojo is coming back. I felt the urge to finally knit that second Birdie mitten the other day. I know, winter is almost over, but it would be nice to have two mittens. I'm just sayin'.

Like a teddy bear on heroin*

2008-03-04T16:25:00.003-04:00

That's how cute this backpack is. I promised my cousin Andrea that I'd make her anything she wanted from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing for her birthday. She chose the simple drawstring backpack and she said it could be in any colour, as long as it's not pink (she's hardly a girlie-girl).

I ordered some fabric from purl and decided to splurge on an Echino print since it's her birthday.

I love the way it turned out! It is painfully cute and I'm sure she'll like it. I sort of think I need one for myself . . . it's a good thing I ordered extra fabric.

And what am I toting around in this backpack? I'm strangely in love with this record. I had a thing for Robert Plant when I was about 5 years old. For some reason, I really liked his solo stuff from the 80s . . . even though it was absolutely dreadful. Back then, I had never heard of Led Zepplin and I loved this song. Then again, when I was 5, I also thought my Dad was John Lennon and Freddie Mercury was my best friend.

Yeah. I was an awesome kid.

*lyric from this tune.

She's got the look

2008-02-22T16:04:00.005-04:00

New bangs for the weekend! Have a good one!

FO: Mary Jane slippers

2008-02-19T15:08:00.002-04:00

I definitely needed a break after knitting the Bird In Hand mitt, so I decided to indulge in some Artyarns Supermerino and knit myself the cutest slippers ever.

Pattern: Mary Jane Slippers by Whitney van Nes
Source: the purl bee
Materials: 1.2 skeins of Artyarns Supermerino in colour #127 and bits of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Victorian Pink
Needles: US 6/4mm and US 5/3.75mm circular needles
Started: February 13, 2008
Finished: February 19, 2008

I love these. The toe looks a little funny because the sole peeks out a bit on top, but that doesn't bother me. I think it actually looks sort of neat. What can I say? It's a super pattern teamed up with super yarn.

And here's a gratuitous Moustache shot -- he's angry that I've turned his ball of supermerino into slippers.

1/2 FO: Bird In Hand mitt

2008-02-14T12:49:00.002-04:00

As soon as I saw the Bird In Hand pattern, I knew I had to knit it. I had some red Briggs and Little yarn on hand that Sherrie picked up for $3.99/skein, which fits perfectly into Project Spectrum's fire theme. I've never tried colourwork before, but it was one of my goals for 2008. I'm happy to say I can cross that goal off my list!

I had visions of taking a photo like this, but torrential rains melted away all the snow yesterday, leaving only this tiny patch of dirty snow on our lawn. Sigh.

And, of course, here's the birdie!

You'll note there's only one mitten. Yeah. I will knit the second one soon, but I need a little break first. I'm sorry to say, this was not a fun knit. I used worsted weight yarn (as per the pattern) with 3.25 mm dpns and got gauge, but the fabric is so tight and was really hard on my fingers. The braid was a huge challenge for me. It took me an hour to work each braid. Maybe I'm slow, I dunno, but I found those three braids really friggin' tedious (they look great, though!). Also (this is my last complaint, I promise), the mitten was so lumpy, bumpy and ugly after I finished it, I almost frogged the whole thing but I decided to try blocking it before giving up entirely -- I'm glad I did! A very rigorous block was just the trick and I'm happy with the way it looks now.

But I'm still not ready to knit the second mitten yet.

Oh! and Happy Valentine's Day!

Generosity

2008-02-12T13:04:00.001-04:00

I was the lucky winner of a couple of books on Alison's blog (Thanks again!) and they arrived in my mailbox today!

I must say, I really like Classic Knits at Home, but Glamour Knits at Home is a little too frilly for my taste. There are a couple of patterns I like, but most of them are too fussy for me. Nevertheless, both books are filled with beautiful photographs.

Alison also included a couple of bookplates, which I love.

I casually mentioned to Blogless Annie how deeply I love the way rosemary and mint smell together, as in the Aveda shampoo. She surprised me by whipping up a batch of Mintmary soap! Folks, I wish this was a scratch and sniff blog because this soap smells divine. I want to keep a bar in my pocket at all times, just to take a whiff every few minutes. Mmmm . . .

I still have a few pieces of cake leftover. Who says you can't have cake for breakfast?

P.S. I am still knitting. I have a fiery WIP for Project Spectrum to show you soon!

When it's a blinding blizzard outside,

2008-02-11T11:42:00.000-04:00

it's the perfect day to hunker down and bake a cake!

This is my all-time favourite cake. It's Nigella's Chocolate Raspberry Heart from Feast. I could eat this entire cake by myself, but I think I'll take it over to Sherrie's for knitting group tonight.

Oh yeah, and I also made the local rag last week. Yup. That's me, yodeling up a storm.

Antique sale find

2008-02-09T13:37:00.000-04:00

Sherrie, Blogless Annie and I went to a antique sale this morning and I came home with a pink glass bedside water carafe. Here it is with the cover on:

And with the cover, which doubles as a glass, off:

I always have a glass of water on my bedside table, but it inevitably gathers dust on the surface overnight. This little carafe solves that problem and looks pretty darn cute too!

FO: The Hubby Hat

2008-02-06T13:19:00.000-04:00

Jesse has never wanted anything hand knit. On occasion, I'll show him patterns I think he'd like (Cobblestone, anyone?), but he always scrunches up his face and shakes his head. So, you can understand why I was so surprised when he asked me to knit him a hat. What kind of hat? He didn't know. I showed him a few patterns, all of which got the same response as Cobblestone, until one day when we were driving in Halifax I spotted a pedestrian sporting a ribbed hat with two stripes. Do you want one like that? Yes, he said. So, I started searching Ravelry for a nice pattern. He approved this one:

Pattern: The Boyfriend Hat by Stephanie Nicole
Source: Stephanie Likes to Knit
Materials: 2.25 skeins of Mission Falls 1824 wool in Ink and scraps of the same yarn in Stone
Needles: US 8/5 mm bamboo dpns
Started: February 2, 2008
Finished: February 5, 2008

Mods: I knit the hat one inch longer, so it covers his ears.

Check out those decreases! They're the reason I chose this pattern. I just love the way they look.

Jesse models his hat while Moustache looks on

The hat is a hit with its new owner. He couldn't model it outside today because it's raining, but he says he's looking forward to wearing it while skating on the lake.

FO: Monkey socks

2008-02-02T12:20:00.000-04:00

I can just barely hear my feet sigh when I slip on these socks. They're lovely. I've been wanting to knit a pair of Monkeys for a while and they were a joy to knit -- 3683 Ravelers don't lie.

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.
Source: knitty
Materials: 2 skeins of Oceanwind Knits merino in blu
Needles: US 1.5/2.5 mm Addi Turbos
Started: January 23, 2008
Finished: February 1, 2008

Mods: The cuff. I hate knitting through the back loop, so I just knit a standard 1x1 rib.

The yarn: I fell for this yarn when I knit Mum's Hedgerows. People! This yarn is perfect! Squishy, soft, shiny, bouncy, the perfect semi-solid colourways -- I can't say enough about it. I sincerely hope it wears well, because I want to wear these socks everyday.

The pattern: One word: addictive. It took me 10 days to knit these and I'm not the speediest knitter, but I couldn't put these socks down. The pattern is easy to memorize, which is nice because it looks impressive, but it's not hard at all.

Verdict: I don't want to take them off of my feet.

FO: Un-cashmere neckwarmer

2008-01-30T10:16:00.000-04:00

ETA: Sherrie has since posted some new photos of her wearing the neckwarmer properly!

Sherrie e-mailed me a link for an "un-cowl" that she thought was cute, so I sat down an knit it for her and surprised her with it last Friday night. She posted a photo of it on her blog, but I don't think she's wearing it right (she knows -- I told her). I think it should be flipped over so the toggle is toward the bottom of the scarf instead of at the top. But, whatever. It's hers and she can wear it any way she wants!

It took me a morning to knit. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Cashmere Neckwarmer by Kim
Source: Yarn Abuse
Materials: leftover bits of Manos del Uruguay 100 per cent wool in Natural and Green
Needles: US 11/9 mm
Started: January 25, 2008
Finished: January 25, 2008

Fugly to fun

2008-01-25T08:59:00.001-04:00

I changed my mind about what to do with those Frenchy's place mats. We haven't done anything to our bedroom, decorating-wise, and I thought those place mats would be a good springboard to start a bedroom theme. Here's the very plain bed and fugly curtain (belonging to the former owner of our house) before:

And after:

It's a start. I still need to paint the walls someday (and decide on a colour), but right now, I'm happy with the way it looks.

FO: Manos mitts and cowl

2008-01-23T14:07:00.001-04:00

I've gone too long without proper mittens and the recent cold snap reminded me once again that I am in dire need of warm, woolly mittens. With the Manos yarn that Blogless Annie gave me for Christmas, I finally knit myself those mitts I so desperately needed.

Pattern: I used this pattern as a guide, but I changed so many things that it might as well be my own pattern.
Materials: 1 skein of Manos del Uruguay 100 per cent wool in colour #114 (Bramble)
Needles: US 8/5 mm dpns
Started: January 18, 2008
Finished: January 21, 2008

Notes: They are warm and look oh-so snazzy with my turquoise jacket. They've already started to pill because I've worn them so much in three days, but that doesn't bother me.

I needed a scarf to match the mitts, but I didn't have enough yarn for a full-length one, so I decided to knit a cowl. I just cast on 75 stitches with US 10 circulars and knit until I ran out of yarn. I also got to use that great bind-off method again. It may be more time consuming that the traditional bind-off, but it makes such a nice finished product.

Here's a happy gal with her new winter gear! However, you'll notice now that I'm finally properly outfitted for winter, the snow is all gone and the sun is shining. My timing sucks.

Frenchy's finds

2008-01-19T14:34:00.001-04:00

Last weekend Sherrie, Blogless Annie, Phillip and I spent an afternoon rooting through the bins at Frenchy's. I scored this skirt that Annie found in the costumes bin (is this really a costume?). I thought it was the cutest thing in the world. Rick-rack and an appliquéd bird? Yes please.

I removed some ugly "pearls" from the bird's neck (really? Do birds wear pearls?) and now it's perfect. I love it!

And this morning I scored an even better Frenchy's find without even visiting Frenchy's! After my traditional Saturday morning visit to a local cafe and bakery, I decided to stop at Sherrie's house for a visit. Little did I know she was searching for my phone number at that very instant to tell me she found these glorious oversize place mats for me! Eeeeeee! I won't use them as place mats, but I will cut them up to make other things. I'm thinking another handbag . . . a girl can never have too many handbags, right?

I also have a new obsession. I spent all day yesterday listening to Sia. She's friggin' nuts, but she has the most incredible voice I have ever heard. And then when Jesse came home from work he had picked up her new album for me!

Phillip's sweater

2008-01-18T11:13:00.000-04:00

Last night I finished the seemingly never ending seaming of Phillip's "can de pois" sweater (the colour is very reminiscent of canned peas, hence the nickname). Since it's a gift for his first birthday, which is in June (I know, I'm a keener), I'm not going to post a full shot of the sweater. I want it to be somewhat of a surprise for his Mum and Dad.

Pattern: Shawl Collar Sweater by Debbie Bliss
Source: Essential Baby by Debbie Bliss
Materials: 6.25 skeins of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in 210 lime
Needles: US 8/5 mm and US 7/4.5 mm circulars
Started: December 29, 2007
Finished: January 17, 2008

Notes: It's a pretty straightforward sweater. The only weird bit is that it says to put the uppermost back stitches on a holder while you work the front and sleeves, then you pick up the held back stitches and work the collar. Why not just work the collar as soon as you finish the back, and skip the holder altogether? I dunno.

I also used a new-to-me bind off for the collar to make it stretchier: Zimmermann's Better Bind Off. It worked really well. This would be an ideal bind off for toe-up socks. You can sort of see how it looks in the photo below.

The yarn is very nice. I like it better than Cashmerino Aran because it seems to pill less and it's equally soft. It's also superwash merino, which makes it ideal for a baby who will most likely drool and spit up on it from time to time.

Now I have to hide the sweater from Sherrie until June!

FO: Simple Bag

2008-01-05T16:22:00.001-04:00

Blogless (Blog-free? Which do you prefer?) Annie borrowed Last-Minuted Patchwork + Quilted Gifts from the library and she was kind enough to loan it to me while she's away. I love this book. There are so many great patterns in here. So, with a tummy full of my favourite salad, I sat down and made the Simple Bag while watching cooking shows on PBS.

I used some floral fabric from my Gramie's stash and some linen that I picked up at Le's Fashion this morning.

I love the way the straps use both fabrics.

And here's a shot of the bag's interior. I love everything about this bag! I can't wait to try out some more patterns from this book.

Favourite salad

2008-01-05T13:35:00.001-04:00

I've been making this salad for lunch everyday this week. It was inspired by a salad I used to eat at a restaurant in Moncton. One day, I told the chef that he should never change that salad because it was so good. Of course, the next time I went in for a salad, they had changed their menu and eliminated my favourite salad. I experimented in the kitchen to try and recreate the dressing, and this is what I've come up with. It's my take on a Greek salad.

Get yourself some lettuce (any kind, I like romaine), tomatoes (I know, it's stupid to buy tomatoes in January, but they were at the grocery store and I brought them home. They actually taste really good), cucumber, feta and Kalamata olives (I happen to have run out of olives).

Make the dressing. I use a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, the same amount of olive oil, a drop of honey and a couple of pinches of dried oregano (rub it between your fingers to crush it up a bit).

Whisk it up.

Drizzle your dressing over your salad, and you have Ingrid's favourite salad. Yum.

Banner year

2007-12-31T13:34:00.001-04:00

Wow. Considering I just started knitting last November, I'd say I accomplished quite a bit in 2007. It's neat to see all the FOs up there in that mosaic. I can see a colour trend -- there's a lot of pink and turquoise, arguably my favourite colours.

In 2008, I plan to try colourwork (I have this in mind) and maybe even knit something for Jesse. Whenever I show him a pattern for something I think he might like, he scrunches up his face and shakes his head. But I recently found a hat that he has said he'd like to have and I can't tell you how excited I am. Finally, I may get the chance to knit him something!

Happy New Year and happy knitting to all.

Yarn binge

2007-12-30T10:31:00.001-04:00

I've never had much of a stash. My "stash" mainly consists of a small Rubbermaid bin filled with bits of leftover yarn from past projects. My rule is to only buy yarn when I've finished a project and need something new to work on. That all changed after Christmas. Armed with $40 in gift certificates for Tangled Skeins in Dartmouth, I braved the freezing rain on December 27 to take full advantage of their Boxing Day sale.

I knew I wanted sock yarn and some yarn for a sweater for Phillip's birthday (he's outgrown the Trellis I made him, so, naturally, he needs a new sweater). Here's what I brought home with me:

Oceanwind Knits superwash merino in blu at 30 per cent off.

Artyarns Supermerino in colour #127 (it reminds me of watermelons), also at 30 per cent off.

Eight skeins of Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran in lime, again for 30 per cent off. I've already started knitting the Shawl Collar Sweater from Bliss' Essential Baby for Phillip.

As I was winding up my sock yarn, I spied some Noro Cash Iroha at 50 per cent off. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you see a pile of Cash Iroha? The Hourglass Sweater, of course. Seeing as I don't own a copy of Last Minute Knitted Gifts, I raced around looking for it at Tangled Skeins. I found a "store copy." I had a plan. I asked the kind clerk whether I'd be able to photocopy (I know, sacrilege!) the pattern if I bought eight skeins of Cash Iroha. She complied, and I ended up with yet another large bag of yarn!

Blogless Annie also added to my newfound stash by giving me two skeins of Manos in colour #114 (Bramble) for Christmas. I haven't yet decided if these will be mittens of a scarf. Even though it's been sort of overdone, I do like My So Called Scarf.

So, there it is. Now you know what's in my stash. I think it's time to pick up a bigger Rubbermaid bin.

Handmade gifts

2007-12-21T11:25:00.000-04:00

Frenchy Sherrie and I had a little gift exchange yesterday. You can see what I made for her family here.

And what did I get?

The most perfect Christmas tree ornament for a knitter.

Some homemade vanilla (it's just a vanilla bean and some vodka. So simple!).

And some of Sherrie's soap (mint chocolate), a tiny grater and some nutmegs. What's weird is I just ran out of nutmeg this week and was planning to pick up another nut at the health food store yesterday. It's creepy how Sherrie can read my mind.

Thank you Sherrie for all the fun handmade gifts!

Sigh.

2007-12-17T14:33:00.001-04:00

I finished all my Christmas knitting early last week.

The presents are all wrapped.

Our first ever full-sized, real tree is up.

And now I'm just relaxing, making some mindless moss stitch face cloths for myself. I am 100 per cent ready for Christmas.

Potpourri Post (cute "p" words)

2007-12-08T15:15:00.001-04:00

I have a whole lot to tell you about, so I'm going to throw everything into this one post. Christmas is almost here and I'm too busy to break this up into several tidy, little posts. Here it goes.

First things first. Hand-knit socks + party shoes = a match made in heaven.

Yes, that's right folks. Once I let the sock yarn from hell mellow a bit, it gave me some pretty snazzy socks. Sure, they didn't end up striping evenly, but it's winter, it's snowing, it's cold and I need to warm my tootsies (especially when they're in party shoes rather than big, woolly boots). This is, of course, the Jaywalker pattern, knit up with Claudia Handpainted Yarn in chocolate cherry.

Next up, I fell madly in love with Noro this week. I spent two days knitting a couple of secret Christmas projects from two balls of Noro Kureyon #134. Wow. Could this stuff be any more beautiful? Seriously, Noro is to knitters as crack is to junkies.

After I told you about my blank moo greeting cards, I received a sweet note from a lovely moo employee named Daniel. He said they spotted the error shortly after sending the cards, so they were repirnted and reshipped right away. I got the new cards in the mail this week and they look quite sharp.

And see? My message is printed on the inside!

I also finished these wristers for Sherrie's Dad for Christmas. If you take a trip in the wayback machine, you'll see I knit him some wristers in February. Sherrie does a good job explaining what wristers are here.

And speaking of Sherrie, look what she gave me in exchange for the wristers!

Some of the sweetest smelling soap ever. It's minty and oh-so refreshing. Mmmmm. I could sniff this stuff all day.

She'll be opening an etsy shop soon, but if you hop on over to her blog, you might be able to snag some soap from a test batch at a rather substantial discount.

A little something special

2007-12-04T09:42:00.001-04:00

Becky over at moonfrog is having a "little something special" contest for the holidays. She's asked bloggers to post a photo and a story about a special decoration that makes your holiday season special. Here's my entry!

When I was a student intern at The Herald in 2003, the first assignment I got was to write a story about an "interesting" crafter at the Dalplex Christmas Craft Market in Halifax. The assignment had been pawned off on me after all of the seasoned reporters pooh-poohed it as a lame holiday story. I didn't have the luxury of declining the assignment since I was the lowest on the totem pole, so I accepted. Lucky for me, I have a knack for making the most boring, eye-rolling story ideas into award-winning, front page stories (it's true! The only award I ever won was for a story with the headline, "1,000 cookies a day.").

Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up interviewing Elizabeth Brown, an artist from Liverpool who saw "faces" in other people's woodpiles. She used her wood carving skills to bring those faces out and was selling her carvings at the craft market. The story didn't make the front page, but it did end up on page A3, above the fold. (click on the image to enlarge it and read the story.)

I went to the craft market on the day of publication and found Elizabeth Brown. She had picked up The Herald before setting up her shop that morning and she said several people had stopped into her booth after having read the story. She was so thrilled with what I had written that she gave me one of her old world Santa Christmas tree ornaments.

The ornament is still one of my favourites and I smile every time I see it. I usually keep it hanging around year-round as a reminder of how I was able to turn what could have been a really lame story into one that brought me compliments from those hard-ass reporters who wouldn't touch the assignment with a 10-foot pole.

Crafting day!

2007-12-02T10:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, a bunch of us gals got together to spend an afternoon crafting for Christmas! Here's Sherrie working on some handmade cards.

Rebecca and Annie worked on some hand-knit gifts.

And I worked on a top secret project that kind of turned into a disaster. I'm not sure if it'll be a Christmas gift or not. It depends on how butt-ugly it is when it's finished.

We also indulged in some sweets!

I made this tart from November's Martha Stewart Living magazine. It was divine!

We are snowpeople. Take us to your freezer.

2007-11-30T11:45:00.000-04:00

What's this cult of snowpeople that has invaded my kitchen floor?

Why, they're the Christmas cards that arrived in the mail from our good friends at moo!

I painted a special Christmas snowperson a few weeks ago and ordered a bunch of greeting cards. The only problem? The little elves at moo forgot to print "Merry Christmas/Joyeux Noël" on the inside of the cards. I sent an e-mail to moo to let them know, but I don't want to send these back because I'll never get the corrected version in time for Christmas. Oh well, I guess that's what happens when one tells machines to write in one's Christmas cards instead of the lovely pen strokes of the human hand.

And speaking of snowpeople, I've already sold a few through etsy! Thanks to everyone who ordered snowpeople and thanks to those who have e-mailed me with special requests for bigger snowpeople or custom snowpeople! You've made me oh-so happy!

I can't blog about most of the crafting activity that's been going on here chez "words starting with p" since much of it is secret, but I can tell you about this little baby set I made for yet another friend who had yet another boy.

This is the sweet baby cap and Sarrtje's bootees. Both great patterns that I will keep coming back to. (Anyone recognize the yarn? It's every last bit I had leftover from the clap!)

Get your own snowpeople print!

2007-11-23T16:26:00.000-04:00

1. Shannon and Courtney, 2. Tim, 3. Mike, 4. Marc, 5. Jill, 6. Janesta, 7. Ingrid, 8. Amber

The snowpeople are up in the shop! Please stop by and have a look.

I apologize for the unexpected hiatus

2007-11-22T11:21:00.000-04:00

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? It's hard to believe, and it's not because I lack things to blog about, I guess life just got in the way.

I've been working on a few secret, unbloggable Christmas presents, thanks to a lovely afternoon spent crafting at Sherrie's house. Since the coffee sleeve I made Jill went over so well, I decided to make a couple more. This time, I put experimental embroidery aside and tried out a little bit of appliqué. I think it went well.

I also tried a couple of different closures -- a button from Gramie's stash with a sewn loop from Ysolda's tutorial and a couple of snaps. I think the snaps are rather snappy (couldn't resist). I'm not sure who I'll give these sleeves to yet, but they might be Christmas presents.

And speaking of Christmas presents, I received my first early gift! My brother made me some steps for our back door. The steps that were there when we bought the house had almost become compost, they were so rotten. So, a big thank you goes out to Nigel for his handy skills!

Oh! and for you ravelers out there, you can see one of my secret knitting projects here.

Little things

2007-11-08T14:35:00.000-04:00

I have left my evil sock yarn to marinate while I think of another pattern that will suit it (some of you suggested Jaywalkers since they're similar to the Bordello socks but have more stitches and, while I have already knit a pair, I just might do that. However, I am still too angry with the yarn to cast on.).

In the meantime, I've been knitting some little things.

These are Saartje's Booties, knit up with leftover bits of yarn from the Hedgerow socks. They are ridiculously small. Are babies' feet really this small? I guess I am about to find out because one of my good friends just gave birth to a baby boy. His tootsies will be warmed by these tiny creations.

I also finished a secret knit. It's a Christmas present and the recipient reads this blog, so I'll just show you an extreme closeup. This person is not on Ravelry (and probably never will be), so all you ravelers can check out this FO here.

Since we're talking about little things, here are some other little things that I love:

-waking up and seeing that Jesse has cleaned the kitchen.
-early morning cuddles from a purring kitten.
-a big mug of hot tea on a cold day.
-an invitation to an afternoon of pre-Christmas crafting with some great friends.
-unexpected phone calls from people I love who live in three different provinces.

The curse of the evil sock yarn

2007-11-04T14:32:00.001-04:00

After finishing the Hedgerow socks, I couldn't wait to dive into my chocolate cherry Claudia Handpainted Yarn.

First, I cast on for some Monkeys. I knit the ribbing, took a look at it and realized all of the chocolate was on one side and the cherry was on the other. (I wish I had taken a photo of the ugliness, but I'll leave it up to your imagination.)

Okay, so I need a pattern with more than 64 sts. So, I cast on for the Bordello socks (pattern comes with Fleece Artist Sea Wool) with 68 sts. It was striping nicely and I liked it.

I just went to try it on and guess what? It doesn't even fit my size 6.5 foot!

I am so frustrated! How can yarn be so lovely in the skein and turn out to be an evil bitch when knit up? Argh!

All of my hedges in a row

2007-11-02T14:12:00.001-03:00

One day late. I finished the Hedgerow socks one day after the Socktoberfest deadline. Will you forgive me?

I logged a lot of knitting time yesterday. Jesse had his first chemo treatment (which went well, thank you for all of your kind notes!) and I knit through most of it. It took three hours, which was just long enough to finish my second sock.

Pattern: Hedgerow by Jane Cochran
Source: Knitter's Review
Materials: two hanks of Oceanwind Knits Merino in sweetgrass
Needles: US 1/2.25 mm bamboo dpns
Started: October 2007
Finished: November 1, 2007

Verdict: The yarn is very nice to work with. The squishy factor is high, especially when knit up in a fancy rib like this. I'm not sure if I'll keep these socks or not. I really like them, but I might throw them in the Christmas present pile.

I also whipped this up the other day. I will not try and pass the idea off as my own -- I shamelessly stole it from Erin.

Here's the button, from Mum's (can you believe we have two generations of button stashers in my family?) stash.

It's going to a good friend who's birthday is today.

I hope she likes it!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T11:21:00.000-03:00

What am I dressed as today? A turtle, of course!

I have dressed up as a turtle every Halloween since 1999. Why, you ask? Are you sitting in a comfy chair? Ready for a silly story? Good. Here it goes.

I was in my first year in university and my best friend, who was in Grade 12, came up to visit me for Halloween. She wanted to pick up some decorations and a costume at Value Village and, although I already had my strawberry costume, I went along with her.

While Courtney was off looking at festive trinkets, I was perusing the kids Halloween costumes. I found this adorable turtle costume marked "Ages 3-5" and picked it out for a closer look. It was meant to cover a child head to toe. I studied the costume for a moment and thought, "Hey! That would fit my tiny frame. I wonder what it would look like?" I didn't bother to remove the hanger from the costume, nor did I take off the cardboard label that covered the costume like a sandwich board. I slipped it over my head and squeezed into it. I walked over to a mirror to take a look at myself in the turtle suit. "Cute," I thought.

I strolled back over to the rack where I found the costume. I tried to pull it back over my head. Uh oh. It wouldn't budge. I started to panic. I ran over to Courtney. I told her I was stuck in this costume meant for toddlers. She laughed. I was not as amused. I asked her to help me pull the costume off, but she couldn't get it to budge either. I looked at price tag and it read $14.99. Shit. $14.99 is a lot of money for a student. Do you know how many boxes of Kraft Dinner $14.99 could buy? But I had to buy it. I couldn't take it off without destroying it.

You know where this is going, don't you? I walked up to the counter and told the cashier I had to buy the costume that I was wearing. She scanned it. I paid. When we got back to my dorm room, Courtney broke the plastic hanger in two and retrieved the pieces while I cut the cardboard label off the costume. Only then, could I pull the turtle suit back up over my head.

And that's why I've worn this costume for 8 years. I need to get my money's worth.

Of course, this story is only to distract you from the fact that I haven't finished my Socktoberfest socks. I guess I still could finish the second sock today, but, chances are, it'll have to wait until early November.

This is the Hedgerow sock pattern knit up with Oceanwind Knits Merino yarn in sweetgrass. I really like these socks.

Another FO: Urchin

2007-10-24T13:21:00.001-03:00

First off, thank you so much for all of your comments on the cabled jumper (which I've taken to calling the "jumper cable" because it amuses me).

Just like most of North America, it has been unseasonably warm in Nova Scotia. However, I know the cold weather is just around the corner. And when those frigid temperatures wash over us, I will need a hat (remember how I had to sacrifice the Kittyville Hat?). That's why I picked up that skein of Manos del Uruguay wool when Annie and I visited Gaspereau Valley Fibres last weekend. I present to you one of the quickest knits I've ever completed.

Pattern: Urchin by Ysolda Teague
Source: knitty
Materials: less than one skein of Manos del Uruaguay 100 per cent wool in Natural
Needles: US 11/9 mm straight needles
Started: October 22, 2007
Finished: October 23, 2007

Modifications: I had to increase the needle size in order to get gauge and I'm still not sure my gauge was accurate. I knit the largest size and while my head isn't anywhere near large, the hat fits very well.

Verdict: Yummy. I love the way garter stitch looks with a slubby yarn like Manos.

And I think it's really neat that the hat looks like a sand dollar when it's laid flat (and, yes, that's Moustache's tail in the upper right corner).

FO: Cabled jumper!

2007-10-21T15:57:00.001-03:00

The straps were a lot easier and less tedious than I thought. Last night, after our trip to the Annapolis Valley, I finished sewing on the straps and the buttons. My Dad was kind enough to take some photos of the finished cable jumper this afternoon!

Pattern: DROPS Dress with shoulder straps
Source: Garnstudio
Materials: 4 skeins of Galway Irish Worsted Wool in colour #1080
Needles: US 8/5 mm and US 6/4 mm bamboo circs
Started: September 2007
Finished: October 2007

Modifications: Instead of knitting the cabled portion of the dress 45 cm long, I knit it about 55 cm long. I also used a different yarn than the pattern called for.

The buttons, as usual, are from my Gramie's stash. I had picked out buttons in three different sizes and brought them home to try out. The smallest ones seemed to fit best.

Verdict: I am SO in love with this jumper. It is the nicest thing I've knit yet. I think this is going to be my go-to outfit for the winter. It's so warm and very comfortable. It's a big winner.

Yay! I am a happy gal!

And now we're yarn-comatose

2007-10-21T12:14:00.000-03:00

Annie and I had a wonderful trip to the Annapolis Valley yesterday. We had a great lunch, visited a nice bookstore, picked up some fresh produce and, of course, went yarn shopping.

Annie pets the black sheep at Gaspereau Valley Fibres while the antisocial alpaca looks on.

I had been to GVF before, but I didn't spend nearly enough time there the first time. I was in Wolfville on business and my meetings ended at 3: 30 p.m. The yarn store closed at 4 p.m., so I rushed over there, quickly scanned the shelves and picked up some sock yarn. This time, we had plenty of time to touch, squeeze, sniff and caress all the yarn we wanted.

We are happy shoppers!

After walking around the store several times, hemming and hawing, we each settled on our purchases. Annie walked away with a skein of Fleece Artist Sea Wool and I picked up a skein of Manos del Uruguay wool (40 per cent off!!!)

and a couple of cones of Casco Bay cotton worsted to make matchy-matchy dishcloths for my kitchen.

It was a happy day.

And now the end is near

2007-10-19T12:05:00.000-03:00

The cabled jumper is almost finished! I bound off the body this morning and it fits like a dream. It's looking like this is going to be my favourite knit garment yet!

Sorry for the fuzzy photo. But doesn't it look spectacular? I am so impressed with myself. And I love the way the cables flow into the ribbing. It's so neat.

I've started knitting the straps. I can already foresee they're going to be the most tedious part of knitting this jumper. At approx. 40 cm each, I think I'll be knitting straps for a while . . .

In other news, I've set up an etsy shop. I need to go to my local framing shop and find out where I can get prints done locally, and then I'll put 'em up for sale in the shop. It's kind of scary, but really exciting.

Tomorrow blogless Annie and I are off to Gaspereau Valley Fibres for a yarn pilgrimage. Stay tuned for photos of our adventure.

Travel knitting

2007-10-16T14:09:00.001-03:00

I've been doing quite a bit of travel knitting lately. On the weekend, Jesse and I drove to Carleton for a bonfire by the lake. I knit while Jesse drove there and then I knit by the fire until it was so dark that the giant fire wasn't bright enough for me to see my needles.

Yesterday, we went to Halifax and I brought both of my projects with us. I knit in the car, I knit in the hospital waiting room and I knit in the doctor's office. I got a lot of knitting done.

The cabled jumper is almost done. I am so excited to see the finished product! I tried it on over the weekend and it fits so well. Just a few more centimetres and the body will be complete. Then, there's just the straps left to knit. I already have cute buttons from Gramie's stash ready for this dress.

And since the dress is a little too unwieldy to carry around, I also have socks to knit while I travel. This is my Socktoberfest sock. Oceanwind knits merino + Hedgerow sock pattern = love. Moustache is also in love with this sock. I think his love affair started when he attacked the hank of sock yarn. He must be so attracted to the yarn since the colour is, as Steph pointed out, a perfect match with his eye colour. Now, he's determined to steal this sock away from me and keep it with his little collection of toys. Little does he know, I am bigger than him and will be victorious in the sock fight.

You might be wondering why I've been sitting in hospital waiting rooms and doctor's offices. Well, a few months ago Jesse had a lump removed from his neck. It turned out to be a tumor and now we know that it was cancerous. We haven't been telling too many people about this, but since he'll be starting treatments soon, it will become apparent that he's a cancer patient. He's been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and will be starting chemotherapy Nov. 1. The good news is the cancer is in stage 1A, so we caught it as early as possible. He doesn't have cancer anywhere else in his body, so the chemotherapy will just be to kill off anything that was left in his neck when the tumor was removed. Chances are, he'll have the chemotherapy and will be cured, which is very encouraging. He's also feeling fine (as am I) and we're very optimistic about everything.

I'll be doing a lot more travel knitting in the near future as he'll be getting all of his treatments in Halifax. Of course, I'll be doing most of the driving, so I guess I'll be doing more "waiting room knitting" than travel knitting. In order to make that "waiting room knitting" more pleasurable, I went out and bought myself a gift.

Addi Turbos. My first pair. It's all very thrilling. The next pair of socks on my needles will be knit using the magic loop method.

Also, thanks for voting on the "Amber" paintings. Right now it's a tie between the light and dark backgrounds!

More snowpeople

2007-10-12T14:03:00.001-03:00

A few days ago, I sat down and painted four more snowpeople.

Meet Tim:

Shannon and Courtney:

Mike:

and Amber:

and Amber again:

I wasn't happy with my first rendition of Amber, so I painted a second. Now I don't know which one I like better. Jesse's original colour scheme had a dark grey background (like the second Amber) but I didn't like the way the painting came out all splotchy. But I'm not sure whether I like the less splotchy lighter background either. Hmmmm. Time to have a vote!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-10-07T10:41:00.000-03:00

One thing that's nice about living in Yarmouth is that we're close to both of our families. Today, we get to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family at lunchtime and Jesse's family at dinnertime. I only baked one apple pie, so I hope to be able to serve half to each family. We'll see how that works out . . .

Happy Thanksgiving/Bonne action de grâce!

Finally! A knitting update!

2007-10-05T09:38:00.001-03:00

In between the sewing and painting (thanks for the lovely comments on the paintings, by the way. I just switched to Haloscan commenting and I'm still working out the bugs, which is why I haven't replied to you personally yet. I'm now seriously considering making a whole bunch of snowpeople paintings and opening an etsy shop. It's all very scary, though.), there has been some knitting. I've been diligently working away at this cuterrific jumper from Garnstudio.

And I picked up some sock yarn at Tangled Skeins when I was recently in the Halifax area. I just couldn't leave it there. It's Oceanwind Knits merino in sweetgrass and will become my Socktoberfest socks. As soon as I put it down to take some photos, Moustache came running and started eyeing it up.

Then came the attack!*

I swear, this kitty is the biggest yarn snob. If you put a skein of acrylic yarn in front of him, he won't even look at it. He also passes up cotton. He might take a second glance at 100 per cent wool, but if there's merino, alpaca or cashmere near, he attacks it.

*no yarn was harmed in the making of this blog post.

Snowpeople

2007-10-04T15:31:00.000-03:00

Jesse had drawn a series of snowpeople on the computer a while ago. I decided to recreate four of them in watercolour and give them to him for his birthday.

I used to paint a lot when I was younger and haven't done it in a long time. It's surprising how easily it came back to me. Jesse was so excited when he saw my paintings -- he said he always envisioned them in watercolour (which I didn't know). Now he's bugging me to make more and sell them on etsy. I dunno -- what do you think?

FO: Charming handbag

2007-09-26T10:54:00.001-03:00

Making that Artsy Clutch and getting all that fabric from Gramie really spurred my sewing mojo. Yesterday, I sat down and started making the Charming Handbag, also from Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing.

All of the fabric is from Gramie's closet and the buttons are from her button drawer. Aren't they cute?

This is the most complicated thing I've ever sewn. I'm definitely a novice seamstress, so my seam ripper came in very handy yesterday. I must have sewn every stitch on this handbag twice. But you know what? I don't really mind. It was worth learning from my mistakes and I'm so glad I ripped the ugly bits and re-did them. It makes for a much nicer bag.

I had a little bit of trouble with some puckering around the "U" shaped top, as you can see below. I tried to keep the puckering to a minimum, but I wasn't able to eliminate it altogether. Any idea what I could have done to prevent it?

Verdict: I love this bag and I'm definitely keeping it for myself. Expect much more sewing from me in the future but don't worry, I haven't given up on knitting. I actually have a big project I have yet to blog about and I recently joined Ravelry! It's everything I hoped it would be. You can find me there as knittinging.