FO: Cowl aka neckwarmer that is not a headband

I made so many cowls for Christmas that I was really bad about noting down any details. Okay..basically, my fingers were too busy to pick up a pen and my basement is still a jumbled disaster of craft supplies, yarn labels and piles of gifts slated for re-gifting. (Seriously? A snowman night light? Why would anybody pay for this?)

This particular one is a simple ribbed neckwarmer I made for R. I also made about three other ones this year. The pattern is easily adaptable to any yarn or needle size.



I used Mission Falls - Superwash Merino Wool. Love this stuff! Super soft and squishy and not itchy at all!

Needle Size: US 8 - 16" circs
Cast on about 88 sts
K2 P2 until you run out of yarn or you feel the tube is long enough.
Bind off in pattern.



These are good to have around in your emergency gifting pile. So far, the cowl is doing it's job nicely and keep R's neck warm. As a far as I know, my dad is still wearing his over his ears :: here ::

FO: Joaquin Cardigan

There has been knitting. Just not many good photos taken and uploaded to the computer. (Takes too long) Plus these ones are a little dim. Ah well.

I finished this sweater for Joaquin back in May, I think.





Pattern:: Felix Cardigan :: here ::
Yarn: Rowan CashCotton
Colour: Blue & White (2 skeins of Blue in order to have one ball doing the edging)
Modifications: I actually made this more difficult for myself by deciding to knit in stripes with the blue border. The skeins kept tangling up with each other. The whole time, I was thinking that there just has to be a smarter way of doing this, but I never figured it out.
Comments: Awesome top down, seamless construction conquered my fear of knitting sweaters. Although, I'm not sure I'm ready to try one for the big boy.

...and because I can't resist, here is Joaquin at four months:

FO :: Dog Walking Hat

There has been a noticeable lack of crafting this week unfortunately. This is due to the number of ideas buzzing around my head and my need to find a used (not-too-crappy) piano for my next creativenture. Anyways, I won't get into it just now.

Thought I'd pop in and show you an overdue FO that's been waiting patiently to be blogged about.

Dayna is convinced these styrofoam heads are dangerous and are about to take over the world. You never know. She might be right.



Pattern: Modified Boyfriend Hat based on the pattern :: here ::
Yarn:: Mission Falls 1824 Wool under two skeins
Colour: Charcoal with the edging done in Black
Needles: US #7

Comments: This is the third time I've knit this particular hat. The other two were gifted over Christmas before I could snap pictures. It was my go-to hat pattern this year. Loved the smushiness of the Mission Falls wool. I got three hats out of five skeins with yarn left over.

Modification: For this particular hat, I ended up making a LOT of modifications just because I wasn't paying attention and ended up knitting the rib in 3 x 3 instead of 3 x 2. Therefore, I had to make up the decreases as I went along. This is what happens when you get cocky because you think you know what you're doing after knitting a pattern multiple times. The knitting gods have their own ways of inspiring humility in their followers.

So when the man of Nori's boyfriend had a birthday coming up, I knew what I wanted to make. I just didn't expect to make such a one of a kind item.



I have to share this picture with you. R took it at the park the other day and I love it!



When Tango decides he wants to eat something, let no man stand in his way of getting that tasty morsel in his mouth and into his stomach; whether it's a kleenex, a bone, a wing, a hamburger or the head of a dead fish or small rodent (...yes, these have all been found in the park) ... good luck trying to get him to drop it. On a cold winter's day, a man's ears can freeze during such an impasse.

Tango's lucky he's so damn cute.

*picture taken by Sanju*

Have a great weekend everybody!

FO :: Baby Bolero

My first sweater! Kinda. If you can call a bolero, a sweater.



Think the colour white is okay for a newborn baby boy?



Pattern: Baby Bolero from the book 'One Skein' by Leigh Radford
Yarn:: Mission Falls Cotton - had a skein and a half in my stash leftover from a swap. There's still plenty left.
Colour: White
Needles: US #7

Comments: I did the modifications that a lot of people mentioned on Ravelry. I learned how to do a three-needle bind off for the shoulders so I wouldn't have to sew any seams and I picked up the stitches around the armholes for the sleeves. Easy Peasy. If anybody wants the mods I did, let me know and I can email it to you. Since it's for a boy, I didn't do the little motif on the back that the pattern calls for.

Which boy??

Why... little Joaquin was born 18 March 2009 at 6:48am. R's sister is happy and healthy and the new papa is euphoric, I'd say. As Tan pointed out, he's my nephew-in-common-law. They call me Natalie-tati in Finnish.

And I just have to share this picture with you. Look who takes after his Aunt Jane.

FO:: feather & fan stroller blanket

I was just trolling through my drafts and realized I never posted the FO for this project. Most of the details are now lost in the wastelands of the back of my mind since I worked on this sometime in early 2008.

I was having some fun with the photo shoot.



Pattern :: Organic Baby Wrapper :: here ::
Yarn: Vermont Organic Fiber Company O-Wool Balance (4 skeins)
Colour: Yellow
Needles: US #7

Comments: I didn't check my gauge so the blanket ended up a little a narrower than I would have liked. I would have otherwise added more pattern repeats to make it wider and longer. The yarn also had a lot of vegetable matter in it, so I was constantly picking out prickly bits while I was knitting with it. Is that what they mean by "organic"?

Here's Alexander being wrapped up in the blanket (and Pete doing his demonic impression of a dog knitting.. don't ask.)
Alexander is now around 8mths old and well on his way to becoming the most beautiful baby boy on the planet. If he can figure out how to get out of this seat, that is.

Careful when you embiggen this picture. His eyelashes might reach out and poke you in the eyes.

FO :: Fingerless Mitts

Much like everybody else, I've been on a bit of a fingerless mitt kick. If you haven't knit one yet, stop reading and go find a pattern or two. I find my snowboarding jacket a bit too short in the arm, so my fingerless mitts keep my wrists warm. I also love that they allow me to do things like change the song on my ipod and juggle my keys, dog leash, house keys and bag when I leave the house. It's extra warmth in the winter and they will be handy when the weather eventually turns milder.

I knit a pair for R, for myself and I was supposed to knit a pair for Mel and one for her man. Somehow it ended up being TWO for Mel and zip for her BF. I was already working on the Evangeline one for her and in picking out the pattern for G, she fell in love with the Toasty one too. (I am currently working on a pair for him)



::Details::
My second time doing this pattern. It's a great pattern and I love the finished results but I've decided that I'm just not a fan of cabling. Might have something to do with the three mitts in the picture.
Pattern: Evangeline :: here ::
Yarn: Cascade 220
Colourway: #8452 - summer sky heathers
Needles: US #7

Modifications: Yes, you do see three mitts there. I was 99% done the pair when I realized I made TWO...that's right... TWO left mitts. That was a neat moment in my life. OY. I never intend to revisit that feeling any time soon, but likely will since I'm inclined to do things like this often. But I am happy to report that one skein of Cascade 220 will yield three mitts... just not two full pairs. So if you or anybody else wants a mismatched left Evangeline mitt, let me know. I also did 12 rows of ribbing at the bottom, three pattern repeats, then the thumb hole, three pattern repeats and then about 15 rows of ribbing which will fold back.

:: Details ::
I did make a matching cowl and gave that to my dad for Christmas. Unfortunately there are no pictures and I recently saw my dad using the cowl as a headband instead.
Pattern: Maine Morning Mitts :: here ::
Yarn: Manos Del Uruguay 
Needle: US #7

Modifications: My standard modification for fingerless mitt patterns. Extra ribbing (in pattern) at the top so that it can cover R's finger tips. He can fold it back if he needs to.



::Details::
Great pattern!! I can see why it's been so popular. It's super simple and basic. The cream one is for my sister and the grey one is mine. I'll likely do a few more of these.

Pattern: Toasty :: here ::
Yarn: Noro Cash Iroha in cream/natural and JoSharp SilkRoad DK in grey tweed
Needle: US #7

Modifications: None!

Now off to finish another pair!

You might as well just put a bullet through my head

My parents and my sis are in Vancouver for a few days. The last time they went away, they brought back some souvenir-Chicago yarn for me. I thought I could put in a request for some souvenir-Vancouver yarn this time around.

------Original Message------

From: Natalie
To: Mel
Subject: Three Bags Full (if you guys happen to walk past it!)

three bags full knit shop
4458 main Street, vancouver, bc
canada v5v 3r3
604-874-wool (9665)

hours
monday-saturday 11-6 (closed tuesdays)
sunday 12-5

If they have Malabrigo Worsted Weight - see if you can pick up one skein of Pearl (white) or Olive and something in a colour you'd like for a cowl.

And a skein of Cascade 220 in a colour you think C and S will like.


------Original Message------

To: Natalie
From: Melinda
Subject: Re: Three Bags Full (if you guys happen to walk past it!)

Mom refuses to buy you more yarn hahaha

FO :: Winter Ready Hat

I have been meaning to post some knitting FO's lately. This is one of the few that I managed to take a picture of before it was gifted.



::Details::

Pattern: Free pattern from Jared Flood - Turn A Square Hat :: here ::
Yarn: Cascade 220 (Oatmeal colour) and Noro Silk Garden - Ermmm...colours, i lost the tag! It was a dark blue, turquoise, green, chartreuse-y colourway. I only used the blue bit of it. Still a good half of the ball left.
Needles: US #6 - 16" circs and US #7-16" circs

Modifications: None. It was a fast and easy pattern to whip up just before Christmas. If you need a great hat pattern, I totally recommend this one!

Comments: R finds it a bit itchy but super warm. At some point, I need to do a lining on the inside for him. It's already well-loved and well-worn, but seems to be holding up okay.



Sorry, I would make this post more interesting but I'm a bit brain dead. Case in point: This morning, I woke up thinking "two babies = twins, three babies = triplets, five babies = quintuplets... four babes....um... four babies....quartlets??" Clearly, not fluent in english without coffee or R's help (he had to fill in the blank).

FO: Pedicure Socks

I thought it was high time I published some knitting content instead of grossing out my three readers with stories about nose hairs. (Although, if you haven't yet, check out Marissa's comment, it's AWESOME.)

I finished these pedicure socks in time for the week following Jane's birthday. Not so good with the birthday deadlines apparently. I think they're too big due to some issues with gauge that materialized AFTER I blocked the socks, however, I believe that Ms Jane hasn't EVEN TRIED THEM ON YET!

I love the colour combination and I will definitely be making a more of these toeless babies!



::Details::

Pattern: Free pattern from Knitty - Pedicure Socks :: here ::
Yarn: Patons Classic Merino - less than one skein each of Paprika and um, "brown"
Needles: US #6 dpn
Colour: Pumpkin and Chocolate (very hot colour combo according to the store window at Le Chateau)

Modifications: A teeny one.

I did get confused at the start of the heel flap when I got to this part:

“Heel Flap
Next Row: Using MC, k11 onto one needle, then slip last 11 sts of previous round onto beg of same needle. 22 sts on needle. ”

If I slip the last 11 sts of the previous round as my heel flap, then won’t I have an extra half knitted row on my heel? Anybody care to enlighten me? Well, I didn’t do that, I just knit the next 22 sts onto one needle and used that for my heel flap.

Then I turned the heel, finished that off no problem and started the gusset. Picked up my stitches, knit across, picked up the other set of stitches and then it said: “then k first 4 sts of heel flap”

So now, that half of the heel has an extra row that the other 4 sts of the heel flap doesn’t have yet. I don’t know why, but my brain STILL can’t balance this out. But everybody just told me that it was fine and to keep knitting. So I did and it all worked out in the end.

"Analysis Paralysis" is what Risto kept saying to me.

Comments: Since it's worsted weight yarn, the pattern goes super fast. It was tricky for me to keep the tension consistent at the exact point of switching colours between the rows. There was a noticeable tightness down that side of the sock. That all evened out after blocking which I was really happy about. Now I just have to get Jane to stick her smelly feet into them and prance around.

Hello Life

Motivated solely by the overwhelming amount of smack talk I've been getting from my readers (otherwise, singularly known as Jane) about how boring my blog has become due to the lack of actual blogging, I find myself writing a quick update post to ...well, how do you say it?

SHUT HER UP.

Since I last posted, this is what I have been up to..

:Planned a surprise 60th party for my mom

:Managed to actually surprise our mom despite our dad being the worse secret keeper EVER

:Turned 31 with a Starbucks birthday breakfast, a BBQ feast and still looking like a 12 year old

:Sewed a tote bag

:Sewed two zippered pouches

:Resigned from my job with a tentative end date that depends on when I get a new job

:Went on my first interview in six years

:Didn't get the job

:Finished five knitting projects: one stroller blanket, two cowls, one pair of pedicure socks and one ballband dishcloth

:Told my parents that R and I are going to move to London and NOT get married

:Stuck to my guns even as my mom tried to bribe me with the grand piano

:Saw two movies - "Wanted" and "The Dark Knight"

:Did not scream during "The Dark Knight" - *cough* Like Jane did *cough*

:Had six weeks of open houses for the condo

:Watched R spend six weeks vacuuming up Nori-fur EVERY. DAY.

:Spent six weeks keeping Nori out of the condo and discovered she has an inexplicable hate-on for schnauzers and most other dogs who rush over to her to say hi

:Laughed at people who asked if the bed was going to be sold with the condo

:Sold the condo; kept the bed

:Spent $75 on a new dog trainer who told us that Nori's fine. She hasn't turned savage on us. She's just telling dogs to screw off because she has no tolerance for inappropriate greeting rituals. Crotch first, then a face -to-face hello. She's a lady, that one!

:Welcomed Baby Alexander, of Pete & Tash fame, into the world of raucous laughter and stupid jokes

:Celebrated R's dad's 70th birthday and did not take any pictures

So it's been a busy summer. I'll provide more indepth details of these events when I can. (Ya, we've all heard that, right?) Well... I'll at least leave you with the details of our Stitch "N Pitch night a few weeks ago.

Jane and I had a rollickin' good time at the Jays game. We went with hundreds of knitters to the Sky Dome (Wait, is it still called the sky dome or did they change the name again?) to watch the Blue Jays play against another team... um, who wore green.

Stitch 'n Pitch was a special event organized by the National NeedleArts Association and I believe there were many of these nights held all over North America.

It was a great blend of interests. Jane got to watch baseball. We got to hang out together (with her cousin, Sarah, who spent the entire time wondering how she got coerced into coming with us) and I got to knit. Jane took out her knitting to show us proof that she belonged in the knitter's section and then didn't touch it again for the rest of the game. She was too busy riding the baseball emotional rollercoaster to knit.


I haven't been to a game in almost 10 years. The last time I was there, I spent the entire time ducking wayward balls flying over to our section. With good reason. The people who had our seats the night before told us that the person sitting in front of them got a baseball in the face. The Hell Kind of Whacked Out Game is This?

I had no idea what was going on with the game. Luckily, Jane knew everything about everybody and why everybody was doing what they were doing. She told me why people were booing. She explained why they were cheering. She jumped up and boogied when everybody else was boogie-ing.

At the end of the game, she turned to me and said: "You seriously just came here to knit?" Yes.

The Jays won the game. (Thank god because I think the other knitters would have pummeled them with their needles if they hadn't.)

I was still knitting when the game was over. I didn't notice that everybody was standing up because somehow...SOMEHOW... I managed to drop a flippin' stitch. It was an intense moment.

Stupid baseball. (Although, note Jane's ecstatic reaction to the Jay's winning and Sarah's "I can't believe we're related" expression)

Global News was there to film the event too. They had the most trite opening introduction to the segment: "At the Jay's Game tonight, everybody was on.... [insert dramatic pause]... pins and needles"

Are you kidding me?

The camera guy got some nice action shots of me knitting my ballband dishcloth. Evidently this was considered fascinating enough for the National News. It did make the segment even though I was very concious of the fact that I was being filmed and I was going to either a) collapse from the pressure or b) swear out loud because the pressure made me drop a stitch or c) start to giggle uncontrollably like the knitter sitting across the aisle from me was doing

I opted for (c) and the segment included the back of my head as I laughed rather hysterically at something Jane said.

Next year ... Jumbo-tron.

I've added it to my list of Life Goals.

Life

Things are moving so fast these days. I lost my blogging mojo again this week. Just didn't have time to catch up with myself. There is so much going on! Work is still busy. Full tilt kind of busy. I went to a Records Management Workshop yesterday and learned that there used to be a librarian on campus who, when he retired, his coworkers discovered that he catalogued his files according to "Lord of the Rings" characters! LOVE THAT. I don't see why that can't be policy.

The hormones continue to fly since another one of our friends just announced that they were preggers. Yes, Dan. We know what you guys have been doing.



We're also eagerly anticipating the birth of 'Spuds' so we can give him/her a baby warming. I'm waiting to see what the baby's name will be. They have a chinchilla named "Chins", a guinea pig named "Cocoa", a hamster named "Hamalot" and a fetus named "Spuds". In the meantime, Tash is evidently nesting and Pete is especially excited as only Pete can be.



I'm planning all of my baby knits but I'm afraid I'm already behind. There's a shower for another couple at the end of the month and I haven't even cast-on for their baby yet.

R and I are purging and spring cleaning. Or at least, that was the goal of last week and for the next few weeks to come. We're going to be helping our parents with garage sales too before the summer's finished.

In the spirit of this, I decided to join a few awesome ladies (blog-less Nan, Carmen & Gwen) I met on Ravelry for a yarn swap/de-stash at High Park. On Saturday, I packed three large bags full of yarn to essentially trade and/or give-away. Hilariously enough, they also brought with them the equivalent of a yarn store. I'm talking bags upon bags. I had mentioned to them that there was a woman who is currently receiving chemo treatment asking for yarn donations (she uses the yarn to make cat blankets for the cats she fosters and to make chemo caps for other patients) and I thought it would be nice to donate all of our unwanted yarn that resulted from this swap to her.

Everybody was so incredibly generous, this translated to a car trunk full of yarn. I only wish I had a picture of it. I'm not even exaggerating. For once.

R didn't say ONE WORD about the haul when he came in to take it to the car. NOT ONE WORD. Even though I made him drive me there in the pouring rain. Even though I told him I'd be an hour and I ended up taking two. (He understood... I was having fun!) Even though I was obviously bringing home more stuff than when I left with and was completely working on the opposite of de-cluttering. He doesn't even know the meaning of the word grouch. I love him.

Precipitiously, I checked out the Toronto Craft Alert :: blog :: this week and noticed a call for donations of yarn and needles. There is a kick-off SnB tonight hosted by a local knitter for a not-for-profit organization called Sistering which helps homeless women get back on their feet. I decided that I had way too much yarn for one lady to take away with her, so I divided up the haul I had from Nan, Gwen & Carmen. Yesterday, I donated four generous bags of yarn to the cause. Knitters are so great. The generosity of this particular species of people is extremely well documented.

My dad is back from Alaska and has been talking non-stop about his trip. Too cute. We're all getting together this Sunday for some family time. I decided last night to cast-on for a small scarf for my mom since my original idea for mani's and pedi's got vetoed. I'm in denial about how fast I can actually knit. Ahh..knitterly delusions. It always works out.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and moms-to-be. It looks like a nice one. I'm going to be spending it with my moms and my baby:

Happy Sunday

Hope you're enjoying a good one!

FO:: baby hat

This is a really old project that I finished as a baby shower gift for my sister's girlfriend. The parents are a super-sweet couple who got pregnant through IVF after a year of trying. They have a beautiful baby girl who is the most relaxed baby you've ever met.



::Details::
Pattern: Last Minute Knitted Gifts - Children's Cotton Hat
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 cotton
Needles: US #7 dpn
Colour: olive

Modifications: none! Although, I may or may not have made a mistake in the yarn overs which created the holes for the i-cord. But it worked out.

Comments: Loved making the i-cord. It was such a cute touch. I whipped up the hat in an afternoon while watching Memoirs of a Geisha. I also really enjoyed the nubbly texture of the yarn. Nubbly. (heh, that word makes me laugh). I recommend this pattern for a quick baby shower gift. The cuteness of it will slay you.

There is no such thing as a perfectly straight line

It's Friday already? Why does the week go by so much faster when you have homework?

Sewing homework that is.

I'm on week five of my sewing class and I've basically come to the realization that sewing is 95% preparing the fabric and 5% actually sewing on the machine itself.

I've also learned that:

:: I'm really good at making bobbin art

:: Fabric must be on grain. If it's not on grain, then dire things will happen to you

:: i like to pin my fingers more than I like to pin fabric

:: sewing is like taking notes in a lecture in that I can easily tell where I've fallen asleep or lost focus

:: my sewing machine is unmoved by loud cussing

:: no matter what the teacher says, sometimes it IS the machine's fault

:: if I think I'm sewing an amazingly straight line: four times out of five, my machine will have unthreaded itself without my noticing and I'm just, in reality, poking a whole lot of tiny holes in my fabric.

:: 6 cm is never just 6 cm: if I measure 6 cm from one edge and pin, then I measure 6 cm from the other edge and pin, then when I hold these two pieces of fabric together, I bet you they won't match

:: linen wrinkles if you look at it

:: linen wrinkles even faster after you've ironed it

:: you can get one, or the other...but not both.

I took two trips to Fabricland in the last month. The first time, I had to get an easy skirt pattern with a zipper and a waist line. Patterns were on sale for $2.99 so I picked up two. When I left, I was told that one pattern had a zipper but no waistline and the other pattern had a waistline but no zipper.

The second time I went to Fabricland, I wanted to get a couple of zippers. We were told to get an invisible zipper for a pouch and a zipper for our skirt. My skirt pattern asked for a 7" regular zipper. Fabricland had all sorts of zippers. Unfortunately, the invisible zippers started at 8" and the regular zippers started at 7". Evidently, it didn't matter what size of invisible zipper we bought for our pouch, so I went with the 8" invisible zipper for the pouch and the 7" regular zipper for my skirt. After all that deliberation, it turns out that I thought it out all wrong. I should have bought the 8" invisible zipper for the skirt and it didn't matter what size zipper we got for our pouch.

I think I'm missing several key chapters from the book of "THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE BORN KNOWING" in relation to sewing. Either that or it's a conspiracy and everybody else is on the secrets.

Picking up knitting wasn't this hard. Buy the yarn. Buy the sticks. Go.

FO: Handwarmers for me!

These are my version of the pattern Evangeline! A free pattern found on MagKnits.

Check out this nifty feature. I can fold it back to wave my fingers!

Or cover them up when they get cold!

::Details::
Yarn: Cascade 220 - less than one skein
Needles: US #7 dpn
Colour: red

Modifications: I did three repeats of the cable pattern before the thumb and three repeats after thumb. I also added a few more rows of ribbing in the wrist, the fingers and the thumb.

Comments: The handwamers rock. The red makes me happy and I love how warm and functional they are. I was having issues with my tension working on dpns and with the cable pattern but it turned out alright in the end. The pattern goes fast. I think they would make great presents if you're stuck for ideas!

FO: Melly's Spring Scarf from NYC

My Stalks and Blossoms Scarf! This pattern was super easy and a lot of fun to knit. The silk yarn was extremely lush, but a little slippery to work with. This became my mindless knitting project on the road trip back from Halifax.

The finished project after blocking was gorgeous and so much fun to photograph.







::Details::
Yarn: Alchemy's - Silk Purse - 2 skeins
Needles: US #7
Colour: Amethyst

Modifications: None!

Comments: Mel picked out this colour during our trip to NYC. I bought the yarn as a thank you for the trip and for being so patient while I browsed all the yarn stores. It's pricey. So be warned. I'm sure you can find a cheaper subsitute. However, Mel deserves something this delectable and heavenly!

Flowers Die but Yarn is Forever

I love flowers as much as the next person... okay, that's not entirely true. I think they're pretty.

Sometimes I toy with the idea of having fresh cut flowers around the place. But then I realize that I'm just kidding myself. My enthusiasm for receiving flowers wans as soon as the water gets murky and things start turning a yucky slimy greeney brown. They were much better off still attached to their roots.

On the other hand.... this would be a bouquet that just keeps on giving.



:: Yarn Gift Bouquet ::

I think this is a fantastic idea for the knitter in your life.

*ahem*

Taking a Time Out

My unofficial new year's resolution for 2008 was to make this year all about me. That's right. I'm putting me in the spotlight. Selfish as that sounds, it's been a good decision. 2007 was all about everybody else around us. Before we were half way through the summer, I was exhausted just thinking about stuff that needed to be done or attended to. My to-do list was a cesspool dripping over my head. Plus I had a rather sick feeling in the back of my mind that I had accomplished nothing that I wanted to do for myself.

So I protested.
Then I boycotted.

And now, I've said no.
To everything.

For the first time in my life, I'm not "all of the above". I'm not working more than one job. I'm not volunteering. I'm not organizing. I'm not going here, there and every where because someone asked me to. For the first time, I'm not being pulled in three different directions. I can relax without feeling guilty. I can take a day off and actually HAVE a day off and not think about work! For once, I don't have to fit myself into my schedule.

Clean plate for 2008.
Nice, it even rhymes.

Last month, I finished a knitting project that was for me. This is the first time I've made something for myself. Everything else I've knitted has been gifted to someone else. How insane is that? My entire stash of yarn is not technically for me. For every project I have in mind, I've already mentally assigned a recipient to it. Ironically, it took me two weeks of planning before I could decide on a knitting project for myself. Who knew it would be that hard? Or that much fun? I didn't. Now I'm halfway through my second knitting project for moi.

Next, I finally opened up the box on my new sewing machine. That only took two years. I love learning new skills. I love new hobbies even more. Instead of talking and dreaming about "some day", I decided that "some day" was going to be "today". I signed up for the introductory course at the Love Sewing Studio :: here ::

Other classes I'm eyeing for the not to distant future:

Hand-dying Yarn at Lettuce Knit :: here ::
Quilting classes at the Workshop :: here ::
Silk Screening classes at Peach Beserck :: here ::
Fabric Printing with ColourVie :: here ::
Clay workshops at the Gardiner Museum :: here ::

There's also weaving (I can just picture R's face when I bring home a ginormous floor loom into our condo), cello lessons, spinning (as in spinning yarn, not sweating over a bicycle), bookbinding, scrapbooking and any other project that plots itself into my brain.

Toronto is a hotspot for artisans and crafters. There are so many people out there willing to teach. And so, while I'm not technically busy running around charged with half a dozen commitments. I am busy these days.

Learning. Doing. Making. Thinking. Dreaming.

With myself.

FO: Woolly Socks!

I finished my first pair of socks!!

They didn't take as long as I thought they would and I thoroughly enjoyed working on them. Despite the fact that at one point, I spent two hours thinking I was going out of my mind. After going to bed still stewing about the anomaly in the pattern, I checked online to see if there were any errata corrections published and sure enough, it WASN'T ME! (for once!).

Since I poured all of my love, intelligence and will power into these socks, I gifted them to R. (collective: "awwww"). He gets one sock as a belated christmas present:

And the other sock as an early Valentine's Day present. (collective: "laaaame")

Indulge me and let me post a close up:

::Details::
Yarn: Patons Merino Classic - not quite one skein in Denim and bits of another skein in grey(?)
Pattern: Basic Sock from Sensational Knitted Socks
Needles: US#7

Comments: Turning a heel wasn't a big deal at all. What confused me was keeping track of which needle was considered #1 and where the round began. I think I might have knitted them a bit too big but they should snug up with a wash. In any case, as I was working along 11 inches of "feet" to knit seemed like a really long way to go. The socks are HUGE.

FO :: Entrelac Scarf

I jumped on the Danica Scarf bandwagon. Learning how to do entrelac was pretty easy. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this pattern even though it was languishing in my to-do pile for months. Anyways, it's finished and it's on its way to Britain for my sister's friend Jules.



Model shot with Nori:



Here's another one. Couldn't resist:



::Details::

Yarn: SWS Patons - Soy Stripes - 4 skeins
Needles: US #7
Colour: Natural Earth
Modifications: Didn't use the yarn in the pattern. Therefore, there wasn't that many ends to weave in! ie. I didn't "cut" where it said to "cut the yarn"... i just kept going.

Comments: I had a lot of fun watching the colours change. It wasn't a big deal weaving in the ends once I learned how to knit and weave in ends simultaneously. Entrelac rocks. It looks like you spent a ton of time knitting something really complex. I'll definitely do this again.