Easter at the cottage

With the amount of chocolate I consumed, this CAN'T be a surprise...

Although, my hair was not this tamed, and I'll never tell what' s in the coffee cup... (but you can guess, from the smile, I would think.) Flip flops are definitely the show of choice (if there are even shoes on... however, this weekend it was wool socks and slippers - it was COLD!

We got up there on Thursday night, and it took a while to warm the place up - we had the fires going full blast, and the heat turned on. Throughout the weekend the small boys (son and nephew) played together and the big boys (husband and BIL) played together and I was blissfully left alone with my knitting and the TV! World curling championships, Masters golf, and a bunch of movies - talk about heaven.

I finished Hubby's Austermann Step socks - the aloe and jojoba wool feels really nice. I actually did the sewn cast off in the car on the way home, and I guess my sewing action kinda freaked Hubby out. He kept seeing the darning needle coming towards him out of the corner of his eye!

I also made great progress on the Sea Silk Tuscany shawl, and started a new sock out of Fleece Artist - after all the grey and brown, I needed a jolt of colour. Although you can't really see it here, it's a bright yellow, black and coral colourway.

For those that don't get the season changing that we do (CBM...) here's two shots of the ice on the lake - at this time of year, the ice is melting and changing on a daily basis - the first shot is Friday morning, the second Saturday morning:

And. so you can see what the boys do when left to their own devices, (and to prove that I did get off my arse and get outside...) Here's the boys "whacking the ice". Because everyone knows the ice will melt that much quicker when two 8 year old boys whack it with sticks...

which explains our laid back attitude towards today...

You Are A Realist

When it comes to romance, you tend to take a realistic approach. You believe that love takes time, and it's something you have to work hard for. A bit cynical, over the top romance tends to get under your skin. Your heart is difficult to win ... but it's totally worth it.

Are You Romantic or Realistic?

15 years ago, I married a man I loved. And I love him more today. We are parents, and we are friends. (we are a lot more than that, but you all don't need to know about it...)

We had the church wedding (much to my mother's and my MIL combined relief), and it was fun. The reception part was more fun. We didn't partake of a lot of the "traditional wedding things". we had good friends and a good party. The whitish toned dress was a bonus. (I look crappy in pure white). My Dad was there for me, and he was the one who said "as much as I'd like to lift your veil to give you a kiss, I think the whole veil thing is antiquated. Plus, I'll be standing too close if anything DOES happen." (Folklore has it that the TRUE symbol of a girl's purity is not so much the white dress, but the veil across her face. Dad lifting it is sort of the "permission" to the groom to have at it.) I think Dad was worried about the potential for a lightning strike... My Dad was pretty cool - after all, Hubby and I had been cohabitating for while by that time.

Our lifestyle is such that we don't do anything special on this day. I'm pretty much of the mindset that the wedding was fun, but the marriage is what's important, and a marriage is based on day to day respect and commitment. We'll probably take an extra nice bottle of wine north with us on the weekend to toast with over the turkey, but that's it.

Oh, and we'll buy each other lottery tickets. Nothing says Happy Anniversary like 38 million dollars...

just because it made me laugh...

Your 80s Theme Song Is:

Turning Japanese by The Vapors

What's Your 80s Theme Song?

Do you REALLY need to know how much bad dancing was done to this song among my circle of friends? (Along with "Bette Davis Eyes"). Ah, good times. I am SO not that person any more...

The Tuscany shawl continues along - I'm about halfway up (not halfway through, as each row gets progressively bigger, but it gives a good indication of the pattern).

Up close, you can see the luminosity of the Sea Silk. My husband was looking at me strangely last night - I was sniffing the yarn. Actually, I was inhaling it - I love the smell of silk

Oh, and while I complain a lot about work, you may remember that my immediate boss is a sweetheart, and the reason I am still here. Example number 4,697 of why. He told the HR idiot that HE was giving me this Thursday off. As my supervisor, he doesn't need her approval. Woo, and Hoo! So we will be heading north immediately after Hubby gets home on Thursday! (Can you say "picnic in the car"? I can't wait - it's been so long since we've been there, and it's a place we seem to NEED to go to. (I now, lousy grammar and sentence structure there, sorry.) We recharge when we are there, so I'm looking forward to it. And my BIL and nephew are coming as well. The two small boys will play together, the two big boys will play together, and I will be left in peace, only having to feed them. I can do this. Happily. Especially since it means tons of knitting time for me, while I gaze out at the lake. I will interrupt this time for hikes in the woods, and games with the boys. I've said it before - we know how incredibly lucky we are to have this place, and we try to use it whenever we can. It has been tough to get there this winter, with weather issues, and other commitments. Easter marks the start of what we hope is many weekends and holidays spent there. If I don't post tomorrow, I hope everyone has a Happy Passover, Easter, Sizdah bedar, or whatever your holiday of choice is.

Monday. blech...

Other than more of the same of the Tuscany shawl, I've got nothing. I turned the heel of the second of Hubby's Austermann Step socks, knit another mitred square, and fell deeper in love with the Handmaiden Sea Silk. I am very happy with the combination of the Tuscany pattern and the Sea Silk yarn. It's the perfect match.

I'm hoping for a short week (shorter than most!) I've asked for Thursday off, so I can get everything ready for the cottage and we can take off as soon as Hubby gets home from work. We want to cook the turkey on Friday so we have leftovers for the rest of the weekend! Of course, I haven't heard back as to whether or not I'll get Thursday off - or HR idiot may wait until the last minute and squash my plans, just because she can. Bitch.

Lots to do in the next three days - I'll try to show some updated progress of Tuscany soon.

Otherwise, I'll leave you with some profound words...

heading to the weekend...

A late start today - Hubby had to go to London this morning, so I was on school drop off duty, which of course got me to work late. Luckily, there are a ton of people out of the office today, so it really wasn't noticed much, except on our attendance report. Yes, you read that correctly. We have a daily attendance taken and sent company wide by email. It's the most degrading thing, and people have quit because of it. Oh well.

I took pictures of the Tuscany shawl. It's actually further along than this, but I couldn't take pictures this morning, because my husband was awake, and well, it's hard to explain why I'm taking pictures of the first 4 inches of a shawl. (He doesn't know about the blog, yet. No one in my family or circle of 3D friends, other than the knitters know.)

Here's the progress as of early last night - another repeat has been added by now.

Here's the up close shot - hopefully your monitor will let you see how beautiful the Handmaiden Sea Silk is. The colours just seem to shine from within. I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of this when it's done.

Have a great weekend - we'll be celbrating the birthday of my very own April Fool on Sunday. I knew it when I married him, and it's been great. (It will also be 15 years of marriage 3 days after that!)

Cute story - MIL had been a nurse at the hspital in their small town, and the staff liked to play jokes. Hubby has two older sisters - when he was born, the nurses brought out twin girls to show his dad. FIL told them to take them back, he already had two of those at home! I feel for the ACTUAL father of the twin girls - can you imagine what they said to Hubby's dad? April Fool! these kids are actually for THAT guy over there...

breaking the boredom

So what do you do when you feel bogged down by projects? I can't come as a surprise that my remedy is... casting on something new! Running with my love of the book No Sheep For You, as well as my absolute adoration of my 2 skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk, Tuscany has made it onto my needles. - Sorry, no picture, my camera and it's batteries were sadly not speaking this morning. I'm on the third repeat row, and can honestly say that this pattern is brilliant. Easy to memorize, simple to do, yet very effective. I'm not a real ruffly type of chick, but oddly, I love knitting lace. This is a great lace pattern for me - not too fluffy and lacy, yet enough interest to make a nice shawl. Plus, the shimmery colours of the Sea Silk - my colourway is a black, silver, brown combination, and I love it. I wear a lot of black and brown, both in the winter and summer, so I'm sure I will get a lot of use from this - especially in the summer when air conditioning makes life hell at work. You know how it is, hot outside, freezing inside.
I'll take some pictures soon - once it starts looking like something.

On another note - my Mom needs more surgery. If you remember back in October, she had some fairly major cutting done to clear some arterial blockage in both her femoral arteries. After a few weeks of recuperation, she was doing great, and all was well. Then her surgeon decided to ultrasound all the major arteries, just to make sure. I agree with this - I mean, if one is blocked, who's to say more aren't? (Mom had a quadruple heart bypass about 14 years ago). It seems her carotid artery is showing some blockage, so she's going for the "Larry King" surgery, as we're calling it. The actual name is a Carotid Endarterectomy, and compared to everything else she had gone through, this is a cake walk. In one day, out the next, and they only keep her overnight because of the risk of stroke. Nice. that's what my overanxious mother needed to hear! There should be a rule that anyone who worries as much as my mother does is not allowed the hear the words "Stroke", Attack" or anything ending with "ectomy". But I digress. She's going in April 19th, and I will again stay with her for a few days. (a good excuse to watch TV and knit all day).

And on a totally random tangent... is it wrong to enjoy "Dancing with the Stars" as much as I do? I mean really! It's fluff TV at it's best, and I'm really not into fluff TV. OK, I watch Survivor and The Amazing Race. Maybe I do like some fluff...

ho hum...

I'm feeling bogged down - nothing is getting finished, everything seems to be in the black hole of "midway through".
The River Rock scarf is coming along - I'm almost finished the first ball of yarn. The nice thing about using pure merino is the spit splice option. I can string on a number of beads, and once they are used up, I can cut the yarn, string some more and wet splice it back together - no ends to weave in, and no huge amount of beads getting in the way.
I actually did finish the second pair of fingerless mitts using the Lindenhof wool mohair blend. These will be for Son's friend E who's birthday is coming up. She goes to the same sitter as Son, and since I gave the first pair of Lindenhof mitts to J the sitter, E demanded (as only 8 year old girls can) a pair just like them. I love this kid - she and my son act like an old married couple, best friends one minute, bickering the next. It's funny. So, she's getting the mitts for her birthday in April.
Speaking of birthdays - Monday past was my Mom's 75th, and my nephew's 11th, This Friday is another nephew's 9th, April 1st is Hubby's 48th, April 4th is our anniversary, the 14th is another nephew's 13th, and the 28th is ANOTHER nephew's First Communion! Geez, Hallmark makes a mint off us in April...
Lucky will note that the First Communion coincides with the DKC Knitter's Frolic - no worries - the family thing is later in the day - we will still satisfy our cravings for yarn...
I'm working away on a couple of pairs of socks - the Austermann Step for Hubby and a cotton pair for BIL. Plus, I have some Cotton-Ease for another sweater for Son - he loves his Spider sweater so much, I will make him one in tones of dark taupe, grey and green - I'm thinking of cables or some such thing... I will probably start this on Easter weekend - a rarity for us in a family that shares a cottage - we get it to ourselves for the long weekend! The rest of the family is busy with Easter-type stuff. The benefit of being the heathens of the family, Easter to us is really just about turkey, chocolate and a long weekend!

free laceweight!

Yup - free. The one perk of this job that I have discovered so far. (Actually, second perk - I can blog from work, during down time, that's first.)*

I work for a rug company - we manufacture and import. In the manufacturing process, obviously, we use yarn. Most of it is heatset polypropylene, or bulk continuous fibre (BCF). Neither of these has a particularly pleasant feeling. Long wearing and great for rugs, but for knitting? Not so hot.

However... we also get samples of yarn from yarn manufacturers. The stuff above? 100% viscose. Still not the top of the line wools and silks, but acceptable. Our buyer and I eat lunch around the same time, so she always sees me knitting. She asked if I wanted this stuff. I rarely turn down free yarn, so I grabbed it. I haven't swatched yet - who knows, it may knit up horribly. If so, all I've lost is the time it took to swatch. It may be a hidden gem. I'll keep you posted.

What I'm really after is the viscose still on the Buyer's desk - luminous gold and scarlet cobweb weight. Slippery as all get out, but I think it would be fabulous. She is holding on to it - it's very pretty sitting by her monitor. I may have to promise her something made out of it to get my hands on it!

*For those keeping track of the trials and tribulations of my job, things seemed to have evened out. I have taken on an entirely new job in addition to my present position, and I am finding that not only do I sort of like what I'm doing, I'm pretty good at it. And it's been noticed by the higher-ups. So, that's a good thing. However, I am still at odds with The Most Useless HR Person On Earth (TMUHRPOE) - that will never change until she realizes that my family will ALWAYS come first. She doesn't get that, and probably never will. (Should I mention that her 20-ish daughter is estranged from her?) The point in my favour is that I work here in the Toronto office with all the big guns. She's in the Montreal manufacturing facility. That and the fact that I really don't care what she thinks. As long as my boss is happy, and his boss is happy, then things are good. She's an HR person who only sees things in Black or White. There are no shades of Grey in her world. She also reports anything told to her to management. Is it obvious that she had no HR training?

river rock scarf

I'm glad to hear that Amy wasn't upset that I'm using wool for one of the projects in the book - not that I had any worries, I knew she wouldn't be mad at my choice, just peeved that she couldn't touch it! (A severe sensory wool allergy - man, shoot me before that happens to me...)

I worked a little more on it yesterday, both at lunch and at home. At lunch was kind of useless - everyone wanted to look at it, and fondle it, and well, that makes it hard to knit. So I'm back to my basic socks for lunchtime knitting!

Here's an up close of the beaded ribbing, as well as an up close of the rocks:

One more thing I am doing differently with this pattern (other than a complete change of fibre...) I'm not following the pattern. (I can hear the gasps of indignation from the pattern purists). When you look at this pattern, it's not symmetrical. The beaded rocks are placed throughout the scarf. One of the beautiful things about this pattern is the simplicity of it. It's really just a 2x2 rib pattern, with these "rocks" thrown in the middle of the knit rib every now and then. And, the beaded pattern is so simple, once you do it the first time, you can do it without reading. Brilliant. So, instead of sweating the pattern and making sure each rock is placed exactly, I'm placing them where I want. Some are in a vertical sequence like the pattern shows, some are solitary, but they are evenly (sort of) distributed throughout the scarf. I like it. I also don't have the same yardage as called for in the pattern, so the adaptation will allow me to make the scarf to the length I want and have the rocks placed equally-ish through out.

LuckyCanuck was asking me if this book was worth picking up. From just looking at it, and now making one pattern, I can unequivocally say YES. Any time a pattern book can educate me (the info on non-woolly fibres is fascinating) and provide me with multiple patterns I want to make, in my opinion (for what it's worth) is worthy of a spot in my bookcase. Although I don't see this one hitting the bookcase for a while. after the River Rock Scarf, Tuscany is calling! And no, I have no affiliation with the book, other than having had Amy up to our Guild for a talk and dinner, and finding her utterly charming. She's welcome back any time. Gush over.

Hope the weekend finds you having fun. I will be watching basketball (live and March Madness), and seeing at least one movie, I'm sure - The Last Mimzy or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Son wants to see both, so we will decide that on Sunday.
Happy Friday All!

my apolgies to Amy Singer

I know the book is called No Sheep For You - I am staring right at it. I love this book - the patterns are phenomenal. My husband wants the hemp sweater, I think the silk mosaic sweater with the lace sleeves is delicious.

I adore the River Rock Scarf - so much so, that I strung beads last night while watching Survivor. So why am I apologizing? Because I'm making the scarf from (gasp!) merino. Don't get me wrong, I love the protein and plant fibres - cottons, hemps, linen, silk - especially silk. But I had the wonderful Shelridge Farms Handpaint Merino, and these silver lined rocaille beads, and they went so well together... I caved.

But - don't they look smashing together?

And Amy? Not to worry - I have two luscious skeins of Handmaiden Sea Silk set aside for Tuscany. That's going to happen very soon...

what I did on Spring Break...

I knit a sweater. Yup - an entire sweater. OK, so it's kid sized, but still, it's a big kid, not a baby sweater!Not only did I knit it, I designed it (Yes, I'm preening here, what of it?)I had seen this spider chart in my Third Barbara Walker (the yellow one). I have an 8 year old boy. Spiders, snakes, lizards - all good. I knew I wanted to use this spider chart, and when I was cleaning out the yarn storage, I found a sweater's worth of Plymouth Stone Cotton (half cotton, half acrylic - nice and nubbly) in denim blue. I bought a ton of this from Elann a year or so ago - green, rust, lavender, grey and blue. All the other colours were used long ago, and this beautiful blue was put away and forgotten. When I found it, I knew I had my spider sweater yarn. I corralled Son long enough to measure him, and sat down with Sweater Wizard. 5 minutes later, I had a pattern. I wanted a raglan, with hems at the bottom and sleeves, and a split neck. I still sort of winged the hems and neck, and placed the chart where it would (hopefully) look right. I think I succeeded. I like it, Son loves it, and even Hubby is impressed.

The colour here is a little off - it's really a richer, more denim-y blue, with a slight tweedy fleck to it. THe bottom hem is also not as noticeable as it seems here. All in all, I'm quite proud of this, and best of all, Son loves it and wears it! What more could a mom ask for...

I made this while still finishing up the other items I found, and even found time to work on some socks. I think the stress of the week worked itself out in my knitting. I have discovered that if you dump a lot of crap on me, I will deal with it while knitting. I have to have the knitting. It keeps me sane. I think Hubby even noticed this - He had a madly busy week of work, with a deadline looming, and felt bad that he was not available to help much with dealing with everything else that was going on. (the wake and funeral were from my side of the family, the health crises are on his side). I think he was surprised that I was as calm (relatively speaking) as I was when he got home. Then he saw the quantity of knitting that was going on. He understood. I 'm sure I can buy more yarn, and he won't say anything. This is a good thing, with the DKC Knitter's Frolic coming up...
Speaking of buying yarn - here's a situation that arose last week. What would you have done?Wednesday, I was out doing errands, and stopped by a new yarn shop that has opened in the area. I had heard about it and wanted to stop by, so when I found myself driving by, I pulled in. Very nice and bright, lots of yummy yarns - a whole section of Fleece Artist / Handmaiden and a section of Koigu. Now, I can't get Koigu easily locally, so this was nice. The two owners were there, and, other than hovering too much and talking too much (Yes, I see the sock yarn. yes, I see the Fleece Artist), it was very nice. I had a couple of skeins of Koigu in hand and was heading to the Handmaiden, when they mention that starting the next day, they were having a sale - 25% off everything, and other specific discounts on certain things. Great, says I, however, I can't come tomorrow or the other two days of the sale, as I have some family issues to deal with and will be out of town for awhile. Now, it's afternoon, just before a sale. No one else in the store. I want to buy yarn, but not when I know it's going to be much cheaper in less than 24 hours. I mention this, saying I'd probably buy more Koigu and some of the Handmaiden Silken if it was on sale.Would you have given me the sale price then? Even though the sale didn't actually start until the next day? They didn't. I walked out empty handed. (I hate paying full price knowing a sale is imminent) Maybe they thought I would come back during the sale (I had told them that was impossible). Oh well. I don't fault them - they are trying to make a go of a business, and giving discounts is not always viable. However, from my point of view, it would have been a nice goodwill gesture, and would have resulted in some extremely positive word of mouth from me. It's a much longer drive to get to this store than either of the other two in my area. I may not make it often. Just sayin'.

tying up loose ends...

So, I'm back. I took a week's vacation, and while it wasn't exactly relaxing, it was still considered vacation.
I had a wake on Saturday and a funeral on Monday (which entailed a 3 hour drive each way - it was a loooooonnnnngggg day. I was the driver, so I couldn't even knit in the car!).
We are also dealing with a somewhat catastrophic health issue with a family member, and Hubby's uncle is still at death's door.
How's that for a cheerful Monday?
On the high side, I spent part of the week with my son - time we both needed and enjoyed. And I cleaned out my yarn storage while re-arranging two rooms of the house. (We moved a couch out of the master bedroom and moved in two chairs instead. I also rearranged the bookcases, and have ended up with a rather nice nook for me. Hubby got storage space.) The home office/yarn storage got some much needed attention as well. I consolidated our three computers down to two, yet we have decided to add another one soon. It never ends. (That's why I was only in touch sporadically last week - half the time, I had no email and no Internet. I was lost! I garnered two big bags of giveaway yarn - Son's school gets first crack at it, and the rest I will bring to my Guild and see if anyone wants it. I also found some stuff I forgot I had. It was like a shopping spree that cost me nothing! Nice.
Of course, I also found MORE UFOs - like I didn't have enough already. Can you believe there were 4 circular dishcloths that only needed seams? They've been sewn and given away. Another pair of thrummed mitts (quel surprise!) that needed one thumb lengthened and another thumb knit. So I sat down and did it. It took me all of 30 minutes. They've been sitting for months. I'm such an idiot - these are Fleece Artist, no less! Probably will be given away, but I may keep for myself - haven't yet decided. I also finished a yummy alpaca hat, one more fingerless mitt for a friend of Son's that will be having a birthday soon - she specifically asked for these, and who am I to turn down a strong willed 8 year old? I also whipped up a slingshot from Knitty - perfect for a take out coffee. This is for a SIL who LOVES her Tim Hortons coffee.
I tried to do some colour correcting, but obviously, the software I'm using doesn't allow for much - the mitts are a much more vibrant turquoise, the hat is earthy shades of navy, brown and beige, the slingshot is a brighter pink, and the fingerless mitts are the same Lindenhof I used befire - a mix of rose, blue and brown.

I also did something big - you'll have to come back tomorrow for that one...

Not an old dog...

I guess I can learn new tricks, after all...

I've always been a sock knitter. I started with a Paton's Kroy "Learn to Knit Socks" Book - Top down, heal flap and gusset, wedge toe, kitchener stitch close. A great, all-around, can't go wrong sock pattern. Back when I started, there really was only Kroy sock yarn - again, a great all around, can't go wrong sock yarn. (I still have some. Obviously, my stash habits were learned early!)
Since that time, I've evolved in my sock yarn choices - how can you not? Have you SEEN the sock yarns out there...
I've also evolved in my style of knitting them - I discovered the short row toe and heel. Provisional cast on, yarn over style of short rowing the toe, pick up the provisional stitches, foot, short row the heel, knit the leg until you run out of yarn. Genius. No more running out of yarn before the toe is done, or making the leg too short because you want to make sure you have enough, then you have a ton left over. So now, I'm set, right? Got my basic pattern, don't need to write it down, can knit socks without thinking. Then I took a casting on class and learned (among many) the e-wrap cast on for provisional stitches. Goodbye crochet chain! I'm happy again. There was still the hassle of picking up the stitches for the toe, but still, easier than the crochet chain. Short row heel is good - the choice of husband and FIL, my main sock recipients. So NOW I'm set?

Then I saw the Turkish Toe Cast on. (I think it was from FluffyKnitterDeb) - sorry no link, this computer is eating my posts when I try to link things...
I've started two socks with this - one in grey cotton/elastic, and one in Austermann Step (the one with Aloe and Jojoba).

look at the side increases - no holes!

and the toe tip, up close...

Can I say something here? It's genius. Absolute genius. No provisonal cast on. No picking up stitches. Start at the toe, and increase - either equally all around for a star toe or at the sides for the basic wedge toe.

I've also switched from the yarn over style of short rowing the heel to the wrap and turn method. Both are equally easy for me.

You can teach me new tricks any time...

random odds and ends

I had promised Tracy that I would show the Shelridge Farms handpainted fingering weight that I picked up during one of my forays to Needles and Knits.

Lovely, n'est-ce pas? Unfortunately, Shelridge, like Koigu uses a numbering system for naming their colourways, so I can't tell you what they are called. I haven't yet decided what they are destined for - maybe socks, maybe mitts, maybe a scarf or small shawl. There are two skeins of each of three colours - The left hand ones are a lovely blue mix with some camel thrown in. The middle ones are black and white, and probably destined for my FIL - he's not one for a lot of colour. The right hand ones are very fresh and springy - a mix of pinks, oranges and yellows. There are any number of women in my life that would love socks or mitts in this.

Next week is Spring Break for my area, and I am taking the week off work. (Our fiscal year ends April 1, and we have a "use it or lose" policy - if I don't take the week's holiday I can't carry it over, hence, I'm taking the week off!) Some of the week will be spent with Son - we are doing some stuff with his cousins, as well as some of his friends, and some of the week, he will be off to the sitters and his friends so I can take a backhoe to our home office/yarn storage room. I'm not sure I am as brave as Steph to post the before pictures, but there is a ton of work that needs doing in there - between my yarn storage needs, Husband has a ton of files that he keeps in there. Plus there are three computers that need homes until we consolidate the info stored on them. Just the way I envisioned a week's holiday... Seriously, it is a good thing - this has been hanging over us for a while, and well, Husband is useless when it comes to organizing a room like this. He will empty the whole thing and try to put it back in an organized way. It never works. So I do it instead, and I feel great once it's done.

Lucky posted pictures of her adorable handmade bears yesterday - go take a look, I'll wait here. Are you back? Are they delicious or what? It made me think of the bears I used to make years ago. Not nearly as nice as hers - I used a pattern (Vogue, I think), and synthetic fur, but still, they are cute. I gave a bunch away to friends - this was a university thing, and I knit sweaters for the bears in the school colours. One I kept, and it sits in my son's room. He wears a sweater I knit for my son when he was about two. As you can see, I come by the name curlerchik honestly - I used to curl a great deal, and I designed this sweater for Son to wear when he came to the club to watch Mom and Dad. I wanted to keep the sweater instead of passing it on as i do most of the outgrown stuff, and the bear seemed like a perfect place for it, although the arms are a little long.

For those not in Canada and watching the Brier right now, or have never seen curling, the patterns top to bottom are the curling rings (or house), brooms, and curling rocks. It was a fun knit and I got a lot of compliments at our curling club whenever he wore it. I also got a lot of requests to knit it for every one else's kid - and we all know how I feel about those requests! Needless to say - this is a one-of-a-kind!
Speaking of the Brier - as much as I'd love to see Glenn Howard win (I've met him, and he's a really nice guy..) how can you not cheer for Team Gushue? Talk about a great team! And they curl well, too...

Amy Singer!

First off,thanks for the nice comments and kind thoughts on the loss of my "Other Mother". She was a wonderful person, someone I will miss dearly, but we have to go on. We have aprivate family thing this afternoon, then a wake on the weekend.

Well, Tuesday came and went, but not just any Tuesday - last night was our Guild meeting, and we had another fabulous speaker - Amy Singer, editor of Knitty.com, and prolific knitting author!

Here's where I would have inserted a picture of Amy, however, dork that I am, I forgot to bring my camera. Bad blogger! Suffice it to say, she was lovely - warm and friendly, and we had a great time.

I have all three of her books - I'm beginning to think I'm a bit of a knitting book author stalker. First Stephanie, now Amy. Did I mention Fiona Ellis is coming back to speak at our Guild again? Yes, I have her book as well. Yes, I've had her sign it for me. Okay, I think I need a 12 step programme for knitting author stalking...


Amy's talk and Amy herself were incredible.It started around 5:30 - Amy and I met at Needles and Knits, then we headed off to dinner with the rest of the Guild executive. Dinner was so much fun, it was hard to leave, but the rest of the Guild may not have appreciated us bailing on the meeting, so we hauled ourselves back to the shop for Amy's presentation and trunk show. How someone with a diagnosed wool allergy ever became the prolific knitter that she is is beyond me. I mean, really. Nowadays, it's not so bad - lots of luscious, non-wool fibres are available, but in the not too distant past, Amy would have been limited to Ack!rylic, or kitchen cotton. Yes there was some mercerized cottons available, but they were either thread like for crochet, or white. Maybe beige. The "fashion" type non wools were hard to come by. The samples from the book "No Sheep for You" were amazing, and I know a lot of people changed their minds about knitting with non animal fibres. Who knew hemp would knit up into such a deliciously drapey, fabulous sweater. And the silk robe! Man! I wanted to walk out of there with it, but then Amy would have got mad, and she probably wouldn't have wanted to come back. And we want her back! Thanks, Amy!!

All this talk of non animal fibres reminds me - I've finished another Moebuis, using Paton's Soy Wool Stripes. Is it just me, or does Soy strike you as a little odd? How can something be yarn one day, a meat substitute the next, and a milk product the next? Just wondering... But the yarn is nice. Very thick, loosely plied (actually, it's more like a single ply - very Lopi-like). The colours are lovely, and the yarn has a little bit of a sheen. I can see this stuff felting well - I found the ends started getting a little fuzzy, just hanging there waiting to be woven in. So I'm not sure how well this will hold up to use. I won't find out for a while - Pink is not my colour of choice, so this will be a gift, probably for my Mom. Maybe I'll give it to her this weekend before we go to the wake.

the loss of an amazing person

I had a couple of posts ready for today. I took a picture of the Shelridge handpaint for Tracy. I was going to talk about Amy Singer's visit to our Guild tomorrow night. I was going to gloat about free laceweight.
But I've had a death close to me this morning. My best friend's mom, who was also my Mom's best friend died. And it sucks. I know it's for the best, and I know she was hurting, but that doesn't mean I don't want her here. Now. She was an amazing woman, someone I considered to be another mother. As kids, summers were spent at their cottage - 2 moms and 4 kids, and 2 dads on weekends. Growing up, her daughter and I were closer than I was to my brother and she was to her brother. And there's nothing I can do for her except hold her and let her cry, while I bawl myself.
I will be at the Guild meeting tomorrow - spending time with friends is the best remedy I can think of, and she loved my knitting, so I think it makes sense. I don't know how much time I'll spend at work for the next few days - my Mom could use some support, and there are things that need to be done. Plus, I'm off work next week, so posting may be sparse. Or it may not, I can't really get my head around things right now.
If you so feel, raise a glass tonight in honour of someone I hold near and dear. She loved a good martini, and I know my Dad is waiting for her, with a frosty one with two olives.

Cheers.

storm aftermath

So last night, the Toronto area was getting warnings and alerts and everything about a major Winter storm. Usually, when we get that many alerts, we get a dusting of snow that means nothing. Yesterday, they got it right. Right enough that the boss at my work sent us home at 3pm. Let me repeat that. He SENT US HOME. This is the same dick that gave me grief for "excessive time off" when I took 4 days to help my Mom after major surgery. I was in shock. I was also not stupid, and was in my car by 3:05pm. Surprisingly, the drive home, while sloppy, was OK - yes it took me double the usual amount of time, and I had to stop twice to remove ice from my windshield wipers, but I've driven in worse. Overnight, it was supposed to change to freezing rain then just rain, and again, they got it right. But I guess enough people stayed home that my drive to work was actually not bad. A little slushy, but not bad. So, the end result of that is, I'm at work. Crap. I'm hoping for a power outage - I have enough knitting to keep me occupied.

But I did manage to take some pictures around my yard before I left.

My poor rhododendron - completely ice encrusted, although it may be tough to see. Here's the sugar maple that is right beside our driveway (and hangs over my car - a scary thought...)

And My lilac bush - this baby has had a hard life - The Mommy bush fell over in a windstorm 2 years ago, and this little guy is trying his best to take her place:

And, just be cause I'm at work at a job that tries my patience most days, I thought this was perfect for today:

Your Career Personality: Quiet, Service -Oriented, and Practical

Your Ideal Careers: Artist Chef Concierge Esthetician Forest Ranger Gardener Geologist Jewelry designer Pediatrician Teacher

The'>http://www.blogthings.com/quickanddirtycareertest/">The Quick and Dirty Career Test

Obviously I'm in the wrong line of work. Although I did (at one point) school to be a Graphic Artist, something I did do for a number of years. I still draw and paint, but not as much as I did when free time was more available.The big problem with most of these jobs is the required weekend work. And when you have a cottage and a family, weekend work doesn't work.The jewelery designer sounds fun - too bad the only jewelery designer I know does it as a hobby, because she can't make a living doing it. Sad.

one that almost slipped by you...

I started and finished a new hat without even mentioning it here. Strange - I'm usually so very chatty about my knitting, I almost let this one slide by.

A little background information on this - At my son's school, they have set up a "Kiss and Ride" type of thing. Before this, you would have to try and get into the (smallish) parking lot to let child out, and then try and get out while the other parents were trying to get in. And of course, while doing this, you were trying not to run over the hundreds of kids running around. Thankfully, there were never any accidents (that I am aware of), but still - it was waiting to happen. So when Son was in SK, they set up the "Kiss and Ride". You drive up, the principal is there (rain or shine) to get kids out of cars, grab knapsacks and assorted other stuff out of the cars, and off you drive. For the younger kids, they have "walking buddies" - grade 6, 7, and 8 students that take safety training, and walk them to the kindergarten class. It's a fabulous system, and the Principal, Mr. L, is the main reason it works so well. He knows all the kids and the parents. Usually, it's Hubby who drops off Son, but the odd days when I do it, Mr. L always comments that Hubby must be off on one of his fishing trips!

So, I knit up this hat for Mr. L - it looks a little crumpled here, because I have knit the name of the school along the bottom, and I don't really want to show that - along the lines of too much information, I guess. Son was going to give it to Mr. L this morning, so I'm looking forward to hearing about the reaction.

I've also started another hat - out of some yummy handpainted 100% alpaca I picked up at Romni when out with LuckyCanuck - if FIL is getting a new hat for the fishing trip, hubby should, too! Pictures soon...

I think I'm in love...

Mitred squares. Love these things. Quick, easy to do with a modicum of concentration.

There's no real reason for these squares, except to prove something. I'd seen this particular yarn knit up int these squares over at Mason Dixon Knitting. And I remembered seeing this yarn (Katia Jamaica) at my LYS, Needles and Knits. It has very long non repeating colour changes, and there really wasn't any pattern that it seemed to suit. When I was there on the weekend (picking up 2 sets of needles that cost me over $100**), I decided to try some in the mitred squares that I had seen Kay make. Each one takes around an hour, depending on how distracted you are during that time.

Well. I'm in love.


I figure to get 4 or 5 squares from a ball, and now I need to find some solid blue, green and/or turquoise. I feel a blanket or something in my future... And god knows, I needed another project to cast on...


**No, Tove does not charge exorbitant amounts for her needles. I went in for two short 3mm circs to do a turkish toe cast on for some heavier cotton socks. Tove showed me the new Sheldridge Farms handpainted fingering weight. Somehow, 6 skeins found their way into my life. (And some new magazines. and maybe some other stuff - I can't remember...)

cleansing...

Coming up for air...
Man, I meant to have this ready for posting yesterday, but yesterday, things just exploded at work! It's OK, it was in a good way - I just got massively busy, and every one wanted a piece of me all at the same time. You know you're busy when you blow off the owner (and signer of my paycheque!) becasue I'm talking to a guy in Egypt, with guys in China and India both on hold and refusing my voice mail - they need to talk to ME, NOW! It worked out OK, and made some people realize part of what I do, when I can put out three fires on the other side of the world, all before my third cup of coffee!

The Cleansing Part...
So who knew that posting pictures of all my WIPs would make me take a good hard look at them?

Total count so far of the 11 or so poor neglected WIPS:

3 frogged. (In addition to the silk shawl and the leaf lace shawl, I also frogged the dark green alpaca Moebuis cowl. I wasn't feeling the love. Love the pattern, love the yarn. Just not together.

4 finished. In addition to the red ruffle and the fingerless mitts, I also finished up my STR socks (colourway Metamorphic) and the fish hat.
The fish hat will probably go to my Father in Law - he is joining Hubby on Hubby's annual fishing trip this year, and it will probably be a little chilly way up north in May, so this should come in handy.
And the socks. I'm in love with these socks. I love, love, love them! The yarn is stellar - Socks that Rock really do rock! It's sproingy, lush and perfect for socks. And the colourway is beautiful. LuckyCanuck picked this out for me, and she did a great job. I am keeping these. For some reason they look a lot shorter in the picture than they are in real life.

So what's next on the finishing parade? Well. possibly one of the three new projects I cast on this weekend... What? You thought I would change my ways?? Fat chance...

two done - two gone...

I had a little extra time to knit yesterday - Young son was home sick. He's OK, Dad stayed with him in the morning and took him to the doctor - small chest congestion and infection - on the Zithromax for 5 days, and hopefully, we're good. So I came to work, gathered up some stuff to work on at home and was home by noon. Finished up the work I brought home by 1pm, (the nice thing about no one knowing exactly what I do or how I do it, is no one knows how long it actually takes me to do things!). Spent the rest of the afternoon with Son on the couch, watching movies and knitting.

The ruffly red scarf is done for my friend's charity auction - Ovation from S.R. Kertzer - 75% kid mohair, 25% silk - a dead ringer for Kid Silk Haze at half the price! I started with around 60 stitches on an 8mm circular, then doubled that to 160, knit a few rows, doubled it again, knit a few rows, did a knit one, knit into f and b of next stitch row, knit a few rows, the a knit 2, knit into f and b of next stitch row, knit a few rows, then cast off. Or something like that. Basically, start with a base row then keep increasing and knitting. The more stitches you add, the rufflier it is. This one is VERY ruffly. I wanted it lush, since people will be bidding on it.

And yes, that is another pair of fingerless mitts completed! They need a wet blocking to bloom the yarn, then off to my sitter. But I may have to take them back for my next Guild meeting to prove to the ladies that I can actually finish a pair of mitts! (There was some good natured ribbing at the last meeting!)

And the frogging has also commenced:

Yep, the silk eyelash shawl has gone, as well as the leaf lace shawl. I will make the leaf lace shawl, as it's a great pattern, just not in a severely variegated yarn. He silk eyelash will become something - I'm just waiting for the right pattern. Any and all suggestions are welcome!

And for those following the soap opera "As the Work Turns"... One of the new hires is already gone. Something happened yesterday while I was at home. Attitudes are a little glum around here, so I have to do some digging and find out some details. One of the long time, most loyal employees is starting to feel as I do. She and I had a conversation this morning, and I've never heard her so down. A sign of things to come??

And then there was my drive in this morning - On a morning when I had half a mind to stay home and keep Son home (He really wanted to be at school today - it was Beach Day, and he really was feeling (and looking) better), this is what I faced on my drive.
CatBookMom is always after autumn leaf changing shots, so I thought I'd share the whole gamut of weather in the Toronto area! For those that don't know, CBM lives in Burbank, CA. She says she's coming to visit, but only in the summer. I wonder why that is??

The truck above is the dick that passed me on the right shoulder to get in front of me. It's not like he was going anywhere - there were about 200 cars in front of him, single file, doing 30km. But, he has a big truck, so I guess that makes him better than the rest of us! I swear, if my husband ever did that in his SUV and I saw him, I'd smack him upside the head!

frog or finish??

OK, so last night, I go around the house, gathering up UFOs. I'm pretty sure I got them all, and this does not count the ziplocs of yarn and needles set up for projects just waiting to be cast on. These are the ones here a commitment has been made. Stitches have been formed. Time (such a precious commodity) has been spent. SO now it's time to decide. Sh*t or get off the pot, as they say.

First group:

From the top right...

A grey cotton sweater for Hubby. Pieces done on the machine (LK-150) back when I first got it. Cotton coned yarn from Camilla Valley Farms - grey body and dark green Fibonacci stripes. All I have to do is hand knit the bottom ribbing and the cuff ribbing. This is a definite finish, and to be honest, should have been done months ago. I just have to get going on it, but I hate ribbing.

Wellington Fibres Alpine Mitt. This baby has been seen before - I will finish it, but it's not a high priority.

Marina Sweater - design from Knit Picks. I love this design - You knit the sleeves across from cuff to cuff, with an cable up the middle that splits for the neck, then knit the body in the round down. I will probably finish this - I do like it, but Christmas knitting got in the way. The sleeves will be this camel colour, and the body is planned to be a dark oregano green.

Silk Eyelash Shawl. Welcome to the first frog item! I love this yarn - it's silk eyelash by Handmaiden. I've had it forever, and nothing seems right. It's very light - very, very light. I calls for a shawl or a scarf, but nothing to textured or lacy, because the tiny eyelash yarn will obscure anything but the most basic. I will frog (and regain some Addi needles...) and wait for inspiration.

Yarns Plus Silk Noile in Flame colourway. This is a Machine Knit experiment. I'm knitting wedges on the machine using this delicious silk. Then I will probably sew them together, but I'm not sure if I will just mattress stitch them all, or if I will sew them to some silk ribbon or something. Not yet a frog project, but again, not a high priority.

Second Group:

again, starting at the top right and working clockwise...

Red ruffly scarf - definitely a finisher. This is for a charity auction for a friend of mine. I gave her a similar scarf in bright pink, and all the women at her golf club went ape over it, so she asked me to make one for their auction. The money is going to Breast Cancer research, so of course I said yes. I should have this baby done this week.

Green Leaf Lace Shawl. I'm not feeling the love. I love the pattern, but the variegated Knit Picks yarn is TOO variegated for me for this pattern. It's been sitting forever, and will be frogged. Probably tonight. Hey! a 4mm bamboo circular freed up! Yay!

Pink Hemp Angel. Again, not really feeling the love, but all I have left is the skirt, so I will finish it. But the hemp is not great for this - too stringy. I know, cotton is stringy as well, but this hemp is STRINGY! Once it's put together and starched and all, I'll probably fall in love and make another. (Yeah, right!)

Lindenhof fingerless mitts. My current project - still loving it and will finish this week.

Fiddlesticks Whisper Scarf in Ivory Zephyr. Again, a low priority finisher. This will make a nice Christmas gift for Christmas one year. The Fiddlesticks patterns are beautifully charted and very easy to do - a definite recommendation for someone wanting to start with lace.

Green Alpaca Moebuis - not sure here. Probably a frog. I love the Moebuis pattern, and I love this yarn, but I don't think they go together. I'm using a 2.25mm needle and it's fingering weight. I may save this yarn for something out of the Arctic Lace Book instead. So... FROG!

Socks that Rock Metamorphosis colourway socks - Just need a couple more inches of leg and the picot hem and these babies are MINE!

Fish Hat - another finisher. This will be a good back up hat for my son for when his alien hat is soaked. He loves this pattern (as do I - love that hemmed edge!), so it's a keeper.

One last project:

Poor little forgotten stripy sock - I'll finish her and put her in the Christmas box. Someone will love her!

So that's it. As I said, this doesn't even touch on the "I really want to start" projects - The Handmaiden Sea Silk, The New Zealand 12 ply, the brown cotton for a Soleil tank, and so on...

But I will gain a few needles back, and wind up some yarn to put away. Maybe I'll even finish a few of these before starting something new...

(And for those that remember another lonely mitten - yes, there is the green and yellow thrummed mitt still out there. I found the yarn and the roving for the thrums. I can't find the finished mitt. How bad is that?)

Conversations with an 8 year old, and breaking the curse...

last night's conversation with a just-turned 8 year old...

Son: Mom, I didn't get everything I wanted for my birthday.

Mom: Oh, really? Let's see, you had 15 kids at your party, and each of them gave you something pretty nice. Nanny (my mom) gave you a new computer game. Gramma and Pops (Hubby's parents) gave you a Mastermind gift card. Daddy and I gave you a Playstation 2 and 25 games (we bought the whole package off the treasure hunt channel - such a deal!!)

Son: but I really wanted an iguana. Or a snake. Can I get one? Please?

Mom: No. Have you fed your fish lately?

Son: I forgot. But I really want an iguana. I read all about them in the library books.

(Note here - Son took a bunch of reptile books out of the library, assuming we would then allow said reptile into the house. He also had a few books on welding - we didn't get him MIG, TIG or ARC welding equipment, either.)

Mom: If you can't remember to feed your fish, how can you look after an iguana?

Son: I will! Really I will! I really want a snake! Or an iguana!

Mom: If an iguana or especially if a snake moves in this house, I am moving out. Mom doesn't like reptiles, especially snakes. So you can decide - Me or the iguana.

Son: (thinking) Well, Daddy doesn't cook as well as you and you always remember to feed my fish, so I'd rather have you.

This was followed by a hug. Life is good. Of course, not ten minutes later, we were having the progressively getting louder "Have you done your homework??" discussion, which becomes the "I gave you that Playstation - I can take it away just as easily if you don't do your homework first!" discussion...

I've broken the curse - maybe...

Lookee here...

yes, that would be an (almost) finished fingerless mitt - just the thumb to do and I should have that done at lunch today and the second one cast on! I am going to give these to my son's sitter J. J is the best thing that happened to us when my son started school - she picks up Son and another girl (his best friend / best enemy, depending on the day) and is such a fabulous influence on them. J also works part time at the library and it's often cold in there. When she saw my Koigu mitts, she loved them, so right away, decided to make her a pair. She'll love them, and with March Break coming up, a little extra love to the sitter is always a good thing!

Instead of the Saxon knot I did on mine, I've done four columns of cables up the back - I like it, although the hand painted nature of the yarn hides it a bit. Still - it's a nice textural aspect. I bought this yarn at last year's Kitchener Knitters Fair - LuckyCanuck showed it to me and I had to buy some - she got some too, and made socks - it's a wool / mohair blend and it's a locally produced, one of a kind - I love that. My only complaint is that it is loosely plied, and therefore a little splitty, but that's it. I'll look for more of this next time at Kitchener.

notes on the gauntlets / fingerless mitts / wristers...

First off - thanks for the nice comments on the gauntlets / fingerless mitts / wristers - There's nothing better for a knitter's ego than praise from her peers... Some quick notes: It seems I have fat hands. OK. maybe just WIDE hands. The saxon braid has pulled towards the thumb and is not nicely centred on the back of my hand. No big whup, but next time I would move it over by one rib. The thumb cast off rolls a bit. I used the "knit 2 together, slip stitch back onto left needle, repeat" bind off. While I love this bind off, I probably should have done a row or two in ribbing to stop the roll. It's not much, but it does roll a touch. LuckyCanuck asked if I was wearing them today - Damn right! and not just outside. For whatever reason, my new section of the office is about 10 degrees colder than my former area. It's noticeable enough that 4 of us in this specific area are way more bundled up than we should be inside. I've got my gauntlets on, my Argosy scarf wrapped around my neck, and my leather jacket over my shoulders. While I'm getting tons of compliments on my knitwear, I'd really rather not HAVE to wear it inside. But, the gauntlets are performing beautifully I am typing this with them on! I've already had 3 people ask for a pair. Nope. sorry. I don't knit on commission. CatBookMom was asking about the paired long tail cast on. Now ou have to understand - I had never done a long tail cast on before - I was a cable cast on chik. So the paired long tail is described a couple of ways - Elizabeth calls it the "Your Way, My Way", but since I didn't have a "My Way" that didn't work for me. I call it the "Inside Outside" Basically, when yo udo a long tail, on the "Inside" part, your thumb goes on the inside of the yarn triangle. For hte "Outside" , you wrap your thumb around the outside of hte yarn. It's easier to do than to explain, so all I can recommend is that you take Elizabeth's class when you can. I know she's teaching at Stitches West this year - look for Elizabeth Fallone. And believe it or not - I've started another pair. I;m using a locally obtained wool - mohair blend sock yarn from Lindenhof - LuckyCanuck was with me when I bought it a the Kitchener Knitters Fair. I was going to make socks, but really, my sock yarn stash is large enough that I can scoop from there without any noticeable dent. Plus, the lindenhof knits up nicely on 3mm needles, which makes it perfect for these. Instead of the full rib, I will probably just do a couple of inches of it, then stockinette, and I'm thinking of a few columns of cables or a WIDE cable all the way up the back. I may have broken my mitten curse...

Ta Da!

Who knew it would only take a dare... Wannietta put the challenge out in the comments on the last post - Well, if you've known me for any length of time, you know I've eaten my share of bugs as a kid, climbed trees they said I couldn't (yes, this was the cause of at least one skull x-ray), and skied where I shouldn't have (no, I don't ski anymore - that caused a few more x-rays and plaster wristers). But don't start daring me to finish everything! Even I have limits...

But every now and then, a dare seems to work:

Tracy asked me about these - where did I get the pattern, what yarn am I using, whether or not she should stop reading me since she wants to make what I'm making... The pattern is sort of cobbled together - I got the idea from Fluffy Knitter Deb - she got the pattern from someone else and made some modifications which I really liked, so I made them. Hey, look at that! I just checked Deb's site, and I guess she has had numerous comments about the pattern that she has written it up with the mods she made. Look here. Now, my modifications from her modifications... I used Koigu KPPPM in the incredibly well named colourway of P716 in dye lot 42. Well done Koigu - it really gives you an idea of the colours... I also used 3mm needles. The nice thing about this pattern is that the ribbing allows for different sizes of yarn and needles - I could have made these smaller, but the ribbing pulls them in nicely, and the 4mm's made quick work of them! This yarn is delicious - nice and sproingy, and soft as all get out! I used the paired long tail cast on - Elizabeth - you are genius!

It looks fabulous, and is nice and stretchy for this 2x2 rib. Way better than my usual cable cast on. I kept the thumb increases as per the original - 18 stitches increased between the ribs and 4 cast on over the thumb opening. I basically knit the thumb until it was a length I liked - just the tip of my thumb sticking out. Once I put the thumb stitches on a thread, I picked up the two stitches that were taken up from the thumb. The thumb join is nice and neat. I'm not sure if this is a factor of the pattern, or just dumb luck on my part. I'm not normally known for my tidy thumb joins. Maybe that's why I never make the second one... The overall length of them is good - at the top, it just stops short of covering my pinky. The cuff length could be shortened a bit - If I had taken out and inch and half or so, I could have got two wristers out of one ball. As they stand, I dug into the second ball a bit. Of course this leaves me with less than one ball of the Koigu, but I will make more of these (with different mods, probably) and will pair what's left of this with something that coordinates. The joys of a large stash - there's always SOMETHING that coordinates... Now, if you need a pattern that walks you through stitch by stitch, row by row - this may not be for you. It assumes that you can figure out where and when to place the increases and the braided motif. (Which, by the way, I LOVE!) Hey, I'm just impressed that I finished a pair. I'm on a roll - I wonder if I can find the Wellington Fibres fair isle mitten...

Ah, the suspense...

Okay, so I come by the name One Mitt Wonder honestly. I have rarely finished a pair of hand coverings, whether they be mittens or gloves. Unlike LuckyCanuck, I seem to have mental block when it comes to mitts. But, I can hear you saying (or is that just the voices in my head?) "Chik - you knit socks! We've seen them! Socks are just thumbless mitts with heels! If you can do socks, you can do mitts!"
I know this. I know it to be true. I know I can knit a pair of socks without a problem, yet I also know that the second mitten will continue to vex me.
one done. I'm good at getting to this part - I've done it many times. But can I get past it?

Only time will tell...

Oh,

and in case you thought I was pulling a fast one - there really are two of them...

blog filler...

I got nothing. I stole this from Marcy at Purls Before Swine - a new favoutite blog - I'm working my way through her archives - Man, she makes me laugh out loud...

Yes, work still sucks. I expect next week to be worse. Yes, I am sending out hundreds of resumes and getting in touch with a head hunter this weekend. Yes, I am buying lottery tickets in bulk...

A - Age: 45 later this year.
B - Band listening to right now: Lynyrd Skynyrd.
C - Future Career: retired (could be sooner rather than later!).
D - Dad's name: James Edward.
E - Easiest person to talk to: Sue.
F - Favorite song: Wow. too many to choose from. A lot of songs will transport me back to a moment in time, and I will enjoy the ride. I love Kate Bush, Old Genesis, Skynyrd... plus lots of new stuff. Our wedding songs were Extreme's More than Words, and Harry Connick's It Had To Be You. I can also belt out Ella Fitzgerald while I drive (alone).
G - Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Not that fond of the gummy stuff.
H - Hometown: Aurora, ON, but born in Montreal, QC.
I - Instruments: ummm, I took some guitar lessons once... I rocked the recorder in grade seven...
J - Job: Senior Sales Analyst (for the moment...)
K - Kids: 1 son - 8 years old
L - Longest car ride ever: From Toronto to St. Louis to see some friends - we stopped in Columbus, Ohio to see my University roommate and stayed over. I never did the Florida drive - I always flew down...
M - Mom's name: Marie Jeanne Pauline Liliane
N - Number of people you’ve slept with: Not going there, thank you very much!
P - Phobia: driving over a bridge. Just driving. I can walk on a rope bridge above a gorge, but don't put me in a car over one.
Q - Quote: "Sanity is overrated"
R - Reason to smile: My family and being at the cottage with friends
S - Song you sang last: Gimme Three Steps by Lynryd Skynyrd - very loud, and very badly!
T - Time you wake up: 5:30am Monday to Friday, otherwise it's whenever my son decides it's time., usually around 8:30 - 9:00am
U - Unknown fact about me: I am part plastic. And NO - I do NOT have implants of the boobage kind! Think urinary tract rebuild and it's keeping me alive.
V - Vegetable you hate: Brussels Sprouts - they smell like my old high school locker room.
W - Worst habit: hmm... so many to choose from... Procrastination maybe? Oh well, I just think about this one later...
X - X-rays you've had: Let's start at the top and work down. Two skull - to see if I had concussions - yes both times. Neck after whiplash in car accident. Left shoulder after dislocation. Left elbow after dislocation. Left wrist after break. Right wrist after sprain. Both hands after numerous finger breaks. Numerous chest and pelvic ones when I was a kid to try to figure out why I was so sick. They finally found out and rebuilt my urinary tract. Left hip after dislocation. Left knee numerous times - it's had some surgical work done. Left ankle after sprain. Right ankle after sprain. Left foot after break. Left foot after broken toes. Man! It's amazing I'm still alive, isn't it??
Y - Yummy food: Pasta with almost any homemade sauce. Veal Chops my husband barbeques. My own risotto with spinach and shrimp. Anything my Dad used to make. Homemade bread, still warm. chocolate.
Z - Zodiac sign: Sagittarius on the cusp of Scorpio. I have no idea what any of this stuff means, but my Mom is into it.

They just keep pushing me...

CAUTION: another work rant ahead. Feel free to come back tomorrow for possible knitting content!

So, with all the turnover around work (what a surprise!) we have 3 new people starting next week. This entails moving people around, in order to slot the newbies into the best possible place. I should mention that we are cubicled here with a few offices around the perimeter. It sucks. Hugely. But whatever. I have a single cubicle - three walls and a modicum of privacy, but still, my back is to the general population and I hate that. But, I have it better than others. Actually, I guess I should say I HAD it better... As of today, I have to move. I lose a wall, half my horizontal working surface, and a ton of privacy. I have to share an open area with two others - one of whom is a loud talking salesman. I am seriously pissed. SERIOUSLY PISSED. So, having the word Senior in my title means squat, obviously. All these new people coming in are getting the prime areas and we are being shuffled off to Buffalo. I told my boss that it feels like a kick in the teeth, just before I left last night. He wanted to talk, but I had no time - Son had swimming lessons, so I bailed. He will want to talk it out today, but there is very little he can say. They have no concept of personal space around here. We are treated like possessions that can be moved at will - their will. I think I've heard the final bell. I know I've said it before, but this could be the end.

comment comments...

I've been a little lax in answering some questions from the comments - bad me. If you take the time to comment, the least I can do is take the time to answer you if I can. Note that I will not be taking time from my knitting time - I guess something else will have to suffer...

J. Layne from Aurora - thanks for delurking! And if you're in Aurora, I hope you'll consider checking out the York Region Knitting Guild. We meet the first Tuesday of each month at Needles and Knits on Yonge Street in Aurora. (Yeah, that would have been yesterday, sorry about that...) But our March meeting should be great - Amy Singer, editor of Knitty is coming! Either drop by the shop (Needles and Knits) or email me at curlerchikATyahooDOTca for more information on the Guild - who we are and what we do. We love new members.

CatBookMom wanted to know what answers I gave to become Aragorn in the "Which Sci-Fi Character are you". I wish I could remember. I tried it again, and I too was Captain James T. Kirk. I'm sticking with Aragorn - as much as I love Star Trek, Kirk was not my fave. GIve me Picard any time... CBM is also good for the ego - " you are being SUCH an inspiration!" is a direct quote. Geez, it's enough to make a chik blush... Thanks CBM. She's going to make an Argosy, using the same Mille Colori I used for my Moebuis - great choice - I'll bet it's luscious! As far as the Moebuis pattern - I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah, I guess I can write it up. Give me some time...

Mary Tess was curious about how you would replace a provisional cast on with an e-wrap cast on. Simple. Istead of the crochet chain provisional, simply e-wrap. For example, I use a provisional for toe up socks. Now, instead of fiddling with the crochet chain, I would simply e-wrap the number of stitches I need, and knit my toe. Then, where I would normally pick up the provisional stitches, and unzip the chain, I would just slip me needle through the e-wraps. As was explained to us, an e-wrap has no "gender". It is neither a knit nor a purl, so you can pick them up as you need them. One proviso - the picked up stitches will be offset by half a stitch. If this bothers you, well this may not be the technique for you. I can just put them on the bottom of the sock where no one sees them, and voila! no need for a provisional! There are many other uses for this as well, but I'll let you take Elizabeth's class to learn them all...

Lucky Canuck asked somethings about the Argosy scarf - 2 full balls of Noro Silk Garden made a scarf about 6 feet long and around 6 inches wide, after blocking. A great stash buster. Plus, One ball would make a really nice little neck warmer scarf...

My thanks to the ladies of the York Region Knitting Guild - they all had such nice things to say about the scarf. We did a little workshop on the Moebius cast on as well - I expect to see all kinds of Moebuis's (Moebuii??) next month!

Argosy

I finished Argosy, and I love it!
Here she is, blocking:

Now, normally, I would not block a scarf - I mean, really, It's a long rectangle that just gets wrapped around your neck. However, anytime there is lace, or openwork involved, blocking is a necessity. Argosy really opened up, and the Noro Silk Garden softened up beautifully. I really like this colourway - nice and muted, with that jolt of teal running through it. I think it looks great with my brown turtleneck, especially since it's minus four thousand degrees today!

Yeah, just a little chilly today. But my office will be about 3 degrees below the Hell setting, which puts us in the Tropical Rainforest Zone. That's compared to the summer when it ranges around Meat Locker Temperature. Very easy to get dressed in the morning...

A couple of random thoughts - Today is my son's 8th birthday. I guess we are halfway to driver's license now! We had the party on Saturday - 14 kids at the bowling alley and that was great, but tonight he has basketball practice, so we couldn't let that pass unnoticed:

We made the basketball cupcakes last night, and these will be popular after practice tonight. Of course, right after that, Son stays with Hubby while I race off to my Guild meeting where I get to show off the Cape Cod socks, and the Moebuis. I will also open myself up to ridicule by publicly showing off the start of a pair of fingerless mitts. Yeah. Remember me? The One Mitt Wonder? Think I'll get through two of these? There are points in my favour - I'm using Koigu, which is delicious, they are fingerless, which is different, and the back has a nice Saxon-type cable pattern which should hold my interest. Fingers crossed...

another WIP...

Noro Silk Garden + this

EQUALS


I love this scarf - the pattern is great - as most Knitty patterns are. The repeat is easily remembered and the diagonal aspect of it changes the way the Noro stripes. Nice. While I love my Noro Harlot scarf, I was looking for a slightly different colourway - you know how Noro is, it looks completely different in the skein than it does once knit up. The Harlot scarf:

is really nice, and I wear it alot, but I'm not fond of lavender, and that's the part that sits near my face when I wear it knotted near the neck. The Argosy scarf is more muted tones with one major jolt of a turquise-y teal-y green that I love! It's much more vibrant than it appears here - there is no sun around when I am taking pictures these days... I think I've placed it in the right spot. A few more repeats of the pattern, and a good blocking, and we'll see. I'd like to have it done by Tuesday to take to my Guild meeting - keep the fingers crossed! I still have to get through an 8 year old's birthday party this weekend...