round trip to Kingston...

We spent part of the weekend in Kingston, Ontario, home of Queen's University.

My husband and father in law are both Queen's grads, and some very good friends of our (whom he met while at Queen's) were going to be in the city, as one of their kids was getting his Engineering Iron Ring. (This is a very big thing for an engineer).

Since it was the end of March Break, we decided to make it a family trip, and surprise our friends. (we told them we may come down, then said nothing more until we were actually at the hotel and ran into them!)

It was the best way to end March Break - we took the boy around the campus, and at 12 years of age,he has decided that he will continue the tradition and go to Queen's. I haven't even had the chance to show him my alma mater, McMaster University!

We also get "Parents of the Year Award" for taking him to one of the boy's houses in the student ghetto - seriously, this is not a place any child or mother for that fact, should see. I had forgotten how university males live! An introducing the boy to the game of Beer Pong will really endear us to his teacher when she asks what everyone did for March Break... (No, he didn't drink the beer - we did that for him... but he did actually sink the winning shot three times! 12 years old and a legend already...)

But one of the best things about a round trip to Kingston from home is the knitting time it affords. When we left, the boy's socks looked like this:

As of Monday morning, they looked like this:

That's another complete sock and one afterthought heel almost complete and another to do - these should be finished up shortly (due to advance blog writing and delayed posting - probably done by the time you read this!)

We need to take more road trips...

final mitten blank post

Amazing what a little steam can do, isn't it? The left mitt is how it came off the needles, the right one has been steamed and lightly stretched.

There is a big difference to the look and feel of the steamed mitt. It's softer and more pliable now that the kinks have been steamed out. Brenda asked how I knew the fibre would stretch - it wasn't actually the fibre itself (although most natural fibres will stretch and soften with some steaming and blocking).

I purposely made these smaller than I wanted because of the kinks in the wool as it unravelled itself from the dyed blank. I could see in the resulting fabric as I was knitting that it was kind of scrunched up, and when I gently pulled it, the stitches straightened up and stretched a bit. So I knit these to come JUST to the tips of my fingers and thumb, then steamed them and stretched them so they were the size I wanted. It also evened out the stitches, and as I mentioned before, softened up the wool/mohair blend, and made them feel wonderful. I wore them with my green sweater and green Chuck Taylors on the 17th. They were a perfect match. (I also had jeans on, in case anyone thought I went to work in only a sweater and Converse running shoes...)

I really love these. Next time I see Wellington Fibres (Knitter's Frolic, probably) I may just pick up a few more - they would make spectacular gifts.
In case anyone is wondering - I used the mitten pattern that lives in my head, with 2.25mm needles and 64 stitches around. I used a side gusset thumb (I hate those palm placed afterthought, straight across thumbs - seriously - whose hand is shaped that way?)
I knit them both at the same time, using two sets of dpns (I have way more sets of 2.25mm dpns than any sane person needs). I would knit a few rows of one, then the other, since the two strands of wool came off the blank at the same time. This also ensured that the thumbs were exactly the same size and in the same place.

And please note - you don't have to have a mitten pattern that lives in your head to use the mitten blank -Donna of Wellington Fibres will provide you with a mitten pattern when you buy the blank. I used my own because I don't have to look at a pattern that way. It's the same with socks - the pattern is in my head, so as long as that stays intact, I'm good.

so funny...

Comic Strip is Rhymes with Orange - by Hilary B. Price - go check her out...

mitten blank - done!

I'm at the cottage for a few days (unfortunately, leaving today...) and got a shot of the almost-finished Wellington mittens in the sun, on the deck.
Almost finished, because I forgot my Knit Kit at home and don't have a darning needle here, so there are ends to sew in, and also almost finished, because these need a good soak to smooth out the yarn - when knitting with kinked wool, it makes the resulting fabric have an almost boucle type look. I know these will grow, so I intentionally made them a little short, both in the body and the thumb.
I'm really looking forward to wearing these - the mohair-wool blend is strong, lustrous and wonderfully soft feeling - these will probably be my go-to spring mittens.
As you can see, there is also enough left in the blank to make a headband to match - I plan on lining it with a squishy soft cotton for comfort. Details to come...

Speaking of the cottage - this was the "meeting of the minds" that occurred on the lake out front of our place yesterday. I was out with the kids, then some more kids came over, their parents followed, beer was procured, and we spent about 3 hours out there, chatting, getting caught up and making plans for Easter. If the weather stays like this, Easter may see us in the same spot, only IN the lake - it was that mild...

For My Mom

My Mom turns 79 this month. She's been a widow for 16 years, and in that time, she and I have become closer (I was always a daddy's girl). She taught me to knit when I was about 8, and I knit on and off up until about 7-8 years ago when something in my brain clicked and I became not just someone who knows how to knit, but a KNITTER. (with the required stash, much to my husband's chagrin - I didn't come with all this wool!) I've been able to return the favour, and get my Mom back into knitting as well - she cranks out socks and hats for the grand kids and herself and for charity.

I talked about what I'm making for her birthday (Koigu and Cashmere, mmmmmm...) and I finally finished them, with time to spare. (How strange is that?)

Meet the Cashmere/Koigu Flamingo Fingerless Mittens. They do match (now, but I wanted to show the difference a little steam makes to colourwork.) The mitt on the right is just off the needles. The one on the left has been steamed with my steam iron (with a towel underneath). I steamed it, then while still damp, patted it down, stretching it a touch to even out the stitches. The birds are more even, and the floats on the inside are more even and sit better. The ribbing sits straighter and the thumb is a better fit.

I'm glad my Mom got to me before I made these full mitts - I think the changes I made to the pattern did not translate well to a full mitt, but they are perfect for this incarnation. They're exactly what my Mom would wear - pink and green - they'll match her Florida house perfectly.

I may just have to go down this spring to see them in action...

baaaa!

Yes. I'm a sheep. I see something, fall in love with it, order it, wait for it, get it, and now I have to knit with it.

(mawata silk hankies in 2 colourways from Blue Moon -

Lagoon for me and Dragon Dance for... someone, I'm not sure who yet...)

I admit it. And I don't think I have a problem. I can stop following the herd anytime... really... it's not a problem...

Besides, I'm going to the cottage this afternoon for a few days (the boy and I are extending the weekend into March Break next week), and I'm going to need something to knit. It's not like I have hundreds of projects to choose from!

Oh, wait...

you've heard of sock blanks...

This is a mitten blank. It's from Wellington Fibres, one of my favourite places. They came to our Guild meeting this month, and on top of the one box of curly locks that I bought (white) and one I ordered (grey), I also picked up this wonderful mitten blank, hand-dyed by Donna. I can't wait to see how it knits up! It's a super soft 50/50 blend of mohair and wool, and I just fell in love with the colours. Donna does some incredible work with dyes - if you are ever in the Elora area, it's a must-see stop.

the mojo returns!

I'm knitting socks again! My father in law will be so happy, especially since these are for him. The finished ones are a Lang Jawoll wool/silk blend, and feels very nice. These are toe-up, and instead of my usual short row heel, I used Wendy's Toe Up Gusset and Heel Flap method. Meh. It's okay, and fits nice (I had my husband try them on), but it's time consuming in that I had to follow the pattern instead of just mindlessly knitting, which is what I like about socks. I know there a re so many great and fabulous sock patterns out there, but I pretty much exclusively knit stockinette socks, toe up. I use it for knitting in tight quarters, or when I can't keep track of rows or patterns, Totally mindless. The new pair at the bottom are for my son. He asked for a pair, and picked this really nice Shi Bui 100% merino superwash. Absolutely yummy to knit with. and I'm following my basic sizing for adults. Seems my baby has gone and done grown up. 12 years old, and he's wearing adult sized socks, his voice has dropped, and he's almost looking me directly in the eye. (and I'm not remarkably short). He'll pass me in height sometime this year, I'm sure of it.
I'm planning on using an afterthought heel. thanks to Needles, I was reminded of this wonderful method of sock heel construction. I've used it before, and have refined it to the point that I'm quite happy with it. Like Needles, I add about 4-6 stitches at the corners to ease some of the tension, and I actually go a little beyond half way around, using more stitches for the heels that a short row heel would usually use, making it cup the heel a bit better.

so cute!

I love knitting for babies. Admittedly, some of the charm lies in the size and speed - this set took under a week - but it's just the fact that babies suit cute knitwear.

I've never met Emma (the mom to be), and will probably never meet her or her soon to be baby. They're in Spain, and we know one another through work. Emma is incredibly helpful to me, so I wanted to do something special. So a sweater and hat, knit in Canada using Fleece Artist (a Canadian wool), seemed right.

Emma's due in July, so we have a bit of time to put a box together from the North American office - this set, some toys and other clothes are the plan. The person in charge of getting the matching jeans and shirt had to wait to see my finished project, so she'll get this soon to go shopping.

 I'm in love with the little bus buttons - and the blue is a perfect match.

No real pattern, just a small top down raglan, garter stitch yoke, stockinette body, garter stitch edgings and button bands.

The hat is a simple stockinette beanie, again no pattern.

I'm pleased with the colouration - the Fleece Artist didn't pool at all on the sweater, and swirled nicely on the hat. Now, pooling doesn't usually bother me, but with gifts, especially for long distance ones, it's nice when things work out, and I don't have to explain what sometimes happens with hand-dyed wool. The whole set took a skein of Fleece Artist merino superwash sock weight - about 350+ metres or so. What a great use for some (rather large) stash of sock yarn. (although, the sock mojo is returning!)

Now if only more people I know would start having more babies...

fun with paper

Because I can't seem to just stick with one craft or pastime, I ordered a bunch of quilling paper to make Moravian Stars. (i have the wonderful notion of doing my Christmas Tree every year in a completely handmade theme - I can dream big...)

I love the stars - I love making them, looking at them, and planning just what the hell I'm going to do with them.

(Here's a small sample of my collection)

But I couldn't stop there - I found directions for making a basket! Who doesn't need a multicoloured paper basket?

Seriously, what the hell was I thinking? I have no idea what to do with this. Yes, it was kind of fun to make, but not enough so that it justifies actually making it.

I think I need to rein myself in sometimes.

Oh, did I tell you I bought some more beads? I fell in love with this, and really need to make some...

Extreme Makeover: Gnome Edition

You all know my feelings about synthetic fibre - I have a very low tolerance for it. To me, natural fibres just make so much more sense - I'd rather get a little less quantity and produce a better quality product, that settle for something.

So you can understand my issue here:

It's no secret I love my Gnomes. And while the pattern itself called for an all acrylic composition, I always made them from wool - one of my favourites being the rustic Briggs and Little wools. (Not this one, however - this is KnitPicks merino). But the beard always made me pause. How to get that look without resorting to Fun Fur? The above picture actually looks okay, but in real life, the acrylic beards don't do it.
When Helga showed a Gnome she knit for her daughter, she twinged an idea. You see, Helga's tolerance for Fun Fur is even lower than mine. She actually hooked natural wool into the face for a beard - almost like rug hooking. It looked fabulous, and got me thinking. I dug around in the stash for some natural curly locks I knew I had - I needle felted a sheep with them way back. A few minutes with the mohair locks, and a super sharp felting needle, and voila!

Extreme Makeover: Gnome Edition!

So much better! I used up most of what I had left of the curly locks, but that's okay - Wellington Fibres is coming to our Guild tomorrow night, and Donna is bringing me more! I can see some more Gnomes getting a bit of a new look!

weekend knitting

This past weekend in Ontario was a long one - Family Day was yesterday. What better way to spend Family Day than with my family at our favourite place - the cottage.
There was snowsledding behind the snowmobile with the neighbour girls:

There was much running and sliding on the ice, as well as some ice fishing (the guys, not me). They were shut out - I guess the fish were not at all interested.

And of course, there was knitting.
I made some great progress on my father in laws socks

he has stopped hinting for new ones, and has come right out and started asking for them. A lot. And often. I thought I'd best get on it. It's been so long since I started these, I have no idea of the wool. I know it has some silk content, and it feels quite lovely. I"m using my traditional toe up construction, but instead of a short row heel, I've tried Wendy's toe up gusset heel. It's okay, but I have to follow the directions, instead of just knitting.
There was also progress on my Mom's flamingo mittens.

I'm not fond of the two circular method of knitting in the round, but I couldn't find my 2.5mm dpns, so I went with it. It takes me longer to do it this way, which is why these aren't finished yet.
Another reason they aren't finished is that I keep picking up new projects. Like this baby sweater.

(sorry for the blurriness - not sure why that happened - better shots to come soon...)

(Raised a few eyebrows this weekend when it was discovered I was knitting a baby sweater, and there are no babies in our family or circle of friends). No worries - it's for a co-worker at our parent company in Spain. She's due in July with a boy (her first) and is so excited. She's incredibly helpful to me in getting info and such out of Spain, so I thought I'd knit her up a quick sweater. I truly believe every baby deserves a hand knit out of beautiful wool, and this Fleece Artist is perfect.

(not the best colour represenation - the colours are much richer and saturated - just beautiful shades of blue)

Another skein gifted to me from the wonderful LuckyCanuck. YOu know my feelings about natural fibres - Acrylic + Babies = Icky. Especially when there are so many wonderful superwash wools and cottons out there.

change of plans

So, I'm knitting away on my Mom's birthday gift, the flamingo mittens, when I get a call form her. (This is not a odd event - I talk to my Mom pretty much daily.) She and I are chatting about this, that and the other thing, when she asks what I'm knitting. "Right now, or just in general?" I ask back. "In general", she said. I told her - the usual, an assortment of mittens, socks, some lace stuff and a sweater or two, why?
"Have you ever heard of fingerless mittens?" she asks, "you know, mittens with an open top".
"I'm familiar with the concept, yes." I answer.
"I think I'm going to make myself some. I could really use them when I go back to Florida. They'd be great for riding my bike in the mornings. What do you think?" she says.
"Sure - that would be a great idea. If you can wait until the next time we get together, I've got the perfect wool for you." I answer, trying to stop her from knitting them herself. (I'm her enabler - I give her the good stuff that she seems incapable of buying for herself. It makes me happy to give her nice stuff to knit with).
"Great! I'd like pink and green to match my bike. Do you have anything like that?"

Ummm, I can probably find something that will work...

Perfect timing. I was just getting to the top of the first flamingo mitten. So I've stopped there. I think I can put her off until her birthday next month. I know she's in the middle of socks for the grandchildren, so plenty of time.

(still have to add the thumb to this one...)

Mom taught me the basics of knitting when I was about 8. We both let it slide for years, then I picked it up again a while back, and retaught her about 3 years ago. Gave her good wool and tools, and she's been cranking out socks and hats ever since. When her sister (my Aunt) came down to visit last year, we got her knitting again too. She's now cranking out Aran sweaters for my Uncle!

The song "Circle of Life" from the Lion King is now running through my mind...

to heck with resolutions...

(originally sent to me via email - origin unknown, or I'd give credit - I'd hate for "anonymous to get on my back again...)This is Gillian McKeith, host of the show “You Are What You Eat” – she’s 51.

I knew I was on the right track...
 








She is a TV “health guru” advocating a holistic approach to nutrition and ill health, promoting exercise, a pescetarian diet high in organic fruits and vegetables. She recommends detox diets, colonic irrigation and supplements, also makes statements that yeast is harmful, that the colour of food is nutritionally significant, and about the utility of lingual and faecal examination.

This is Nigella Lawson, she’s 50.



She is a TV chef, who eats nothing but meat, butter and desserts, washed down with lots of wine.

So the heck with those New Years resolutions!!!

More ripping!

After the success of ripping out the denim sweater, I went looking for other "not so hot knits" to destroy, um, I mean recycle.
And I found one. I knit Tubey a while ago. I bought the hand-painted autumnal coloured yarn at the Kitchener Knitters Fair way back when - It was a see it, love it - have to have it kind of wool.

(seriously, is this not stunningly beautiful?)

There wasn't a ton of it, so I knew I'd have to match it with something. I had some Elann Peruvian Wool in Red Maple that matched beautifully. In concept, this was a great sweater. The colours matched, the style was good. But... it was just that little bit too short, and worse, I hate wool pullovers. I just don't work in an environment where heavy-ish wool is suitable. Cardigans, yes, absolutely. Pullovers - not really.
So this:

became this:

I realized while rewinding that I must have spit sliced the Elann, because that is one HUGE ball! I also realized that ripping out knitted fabric that was knitted alternating two balls is really a pain in the ass. Really. If wasn't so completely in love with this wool, I may not have done it. But I did, and I'm envisioning a cardigan of sorts, using both these wools. As much as I'd like to use some fair isle type colourwork, there's not enough of it to double up like that, so striping or colourblocking it will be.

Now, I just have to stop myself from dropping everything else and working on this...

one day project

I was reading blogs the other day (as I am apt to do...) and I came across Tanis' post on the Anthropologie-inspired braided headband.
Timing is everything. I am not a hat person. At least, I am not a winter hat person - I wear baseball and straw cowboy hats in the summer, mostly at the cottage. But I don't like toques. (note that I'm also not stupid - I DO wear them in times of extreme cold and extended outdoor periods.) I made the hood a while back, but I've always been a headband girl - they keep my ears warm and my hair out of my face. I've been doodling around some fair isle patterns, trying to work out a headband using up my bits and bobs of Cascade and Zara, but I haven't really had the time to spend REALLY working it out. Then I see Tanis' braided one, and the brain all of a sudden clicked. (It might have been the sound of the dryer finishing, but there was a click.)

I was working at home of Friday, so in between running spreadsheets, and putting out fires over the phone, I sat at my knitting machine and cranked out a length of stockinette, using a fabulous skein of Fleece Artist, gifted to me by the wonderful LuckyCanuck. (Lengths of stockinette are about all I crank out on my LK-150 - I'm not that fond of using my machine, and in return, it hates me - it likes to drop the edge stitches, and yes, I use the weights and move them often. Whatever).
Then I took an even bigger and most horrible shortcut - I sewed up the tube using my... SEWING MACHINE!! (I wanted this NOW, and mattress stitching takes too long) Obviously, I was totally embarrassed by these actions (or just reaaaaallllllyyyyy lazy, because there is no photographic evidence of the dastardly deeds).
I then braided it, sewed the edges together, and voila - a headband in less than half a day! I love it. I love the colours, the fit, the concept, everything. I'll make more, and play with the proportions - maybe a bit wider (but then I'll need more than one skein).

the colours are actually brighter than they appear here - the green is almost electric in places. It looks great peeking out under my hair.

It keeps my ears warm, which is the main reason, and it's somewhat stylish, in my opinion. Of which value, I am aware - not to worry.

only in a Canadian Household...

We're not a hockey family. (I know, let the gasps of surprise start...) My son doesn't play (he's a basketball guy), and to be honest, we rarely even skate. In the 20+ years I've known my husband, Ive seen him on skates exactly once. I'm better, but even so, it's been quite a while since I've strapped on the blades. My son doesn't skate that much either.

So with all of this, why does my front hall look like this?

(That would be 2 hockey sticks and a puck amidst the general clutter). There's also a basketball under the black plaid jacket)

Only in Canada...

easy mittens and my boy's birthday

I have a simple mitten pattern that I can pull out of my head when needed. (I think a lot of knitters have those kinds of patterns, whether they're for a hat, mitts, socks, baby gear...) I can do socks like that as well, but since I had all kinds of Cascade 220 hanging around, left over from other projects, I cast on for some simple mittens.

I decided to add the red thumb stripe, just because I had the ball of red nearby. Now, even though this is my no brain required pattern, I did keep some notes, just so the stripe would match. I had no plans for these, I just figured they would find a home eventually. And it seems they have - My MIL wore them home last night after dinner at our place! Now I should probably cast on the reverse set - red with a blue stripe, since I still have lots of wool left...

And the reason my MIL, FIL and my Mom were at the house for dinner was to celebrate their grandson's 12th birthday. 12 years ago today, my boy came into the world. My baby is now 12! I'm having trouble with that number for some reason. He loved his gift - we gave him new golf clubs - he has outgrown his cut down set, and is really enjoying golf and his lessons in the summer, so this was a good thing. The not so good is that my 12 year old now has nicer clubs than I do! I offered to trade and got the requisite eye roll from him.

Yesterday, for his basketball game, I made some candy melt lollipops for the team. No one should be surprised by the mold I used.

the kids loved them, and I even had a few extra for the referees and coaches.

I really am one of those annoying Martha Stewart like moms...

Wow, epic timing...

I got a comment on yesterday's post from "Anonymous"

It really isn't all about you, you know. Spillyjane gets the credit for the pattern. You should be thanking her.



Wow. I'm pretty sure I thanked Spillyjane. I bought the pattern (and yes, rearranged it to suit me), I thanked her in the original post about them, and mentioned her again here. She sure has a champion in Anonymous, because obviously, that person didn't think it was enough.

Oh, and "Anonymous"?? Thanks. Your timing was epic. You managed to take an incredibly crappy day for me and make it worse. Thanks, I really appreciate that. Especially from someone who doesn't have the balls to identify themselves.

For the record, I adore Spillyjane's patterns. She is very talented.

Cashmere and Koigu progress

Nothing against Spillyjane - she writes wonderful mitten patterns, but I'm happy to take her work and rearrange it to suit my own likes. So her pattern became my pattern, and the progress shots are here:

The green Koigu is just slightly tonal, and the pink cashmere pops perfectly against it. The bonus to the colourwork is that there are somewhat longish floats of the pink cashmere, meaning that's what is felt for the most part against the hand while wearing the mitten.

Good thing I adore my Mom - otherwise, I'd be hard pressed to give these up.

what's old is new again

I love denim cotton sweaters. Especially on men, or to be specific, young men. I made one for my son back when he was younger (around age 6 or 7, I think). I loved it, he loved it, but as time went on, the boy grew. A. Lot. The sweater had faded nicely, and I couldn't let it go. Sooooo.... I didn't. I unraveled it,

and will add this beautifully faded denim to my collection of other denim yarns for another sweater for the boy.

(the bits of red cotton were trashed). The problem is at the rate the boy is growing, if I make it to fit now, I'll be doing this again in a month. Not that I really mind (much.) But considering the queue at the moment, I think I'll be waiting a bit. Plus, he's not that much of a sweater kid right now.
S'okay. It's not like cotton goes bad or anything...