Thursday, January 31, 2008

What stips me bare, and what makes me: me

Warning: Infant loss discussed


There's this thing about me that a few of you know, and probably, if I had a brain in my head, I would leave it this way. But Oprah is on right now, and it's a show about organ donation. A really great show. Necessary. And it's pushing the only large button that I have.

A mother loses her child.

I cannot bear it, because I know how it feels. My son died 5 years ago. He didn't get to donate his heart, or share his corneas; he never got to draw a breath to tell you the truth. And I learned a very large lesson; that being, when your child dies, you change forever. The pain doesn't actually go away, it just mellows somewhat. Other days it is as intense as if you are currently in the exact moment when you found out that your child is gone.

I have tried so many things, and I have had so much support. And what I have come up with is that this is my cross to bear, and that hopefully I will have empathy and understanding for any other person who walks in my shoes.

That lady on TV today doesn't know it, but as the tears roll down my cheeks, and i clutch the memory of my son to my chest; she is my sister. We are in this together. I wish I had her grace.

If you wear these shoes too, please know that you are not alone. I will take your hand (and you can find me at the email address noted at the bottom of 'about me')



The photo above is a small teddy that was given to my son by the staff at the Peter Lougheed Hospital in Calgary. The Teddy is wearing my son's hat. This hat (and a sweet little jacket) was donated to us by a knitter. I am willing to bet that that knitter has suffered this type of loss in one way or another, or she wouldn't know how important it was that my son had clothing that she made. It is not possible to buy clothing that small; it has to be specially and mindfully created.

On February 8th, at Make one Yarn Studio, I'm going to be that knitter for someone else.

Just in case you don't think that charity knitting is important, I'm here to tell you differently. It's critical. Please take part in a cause that is close to your heart.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Hey, here's a really cool thing...

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Seems like magic to me, anyway. I was reading blogs one day, and saw a similar picture to what I've posted, above. Someone had placed their cake of yarn (previously referred to as a hockey puck) on the spindle of a bulk cd holder - you'll have to click on the picture to actually see what I'm talking about. It works so well, & I'm just thrilled with it. When I wound this centre pull ball (it's the silk/wool that I was spinning a few days ago) it was so tight in the centre, that I couldn't get it to feed... so I decided to work from the outside of the ball, and to try the spindle. You should SO try this! You're gonna love it.

I've been working on a Fir-cone shawl that I found in that list of shawls I posted yesterday. It's going well. I need a lace success. I must have 5 Evelyn Clark shawl patterns on their way, so soon I'll be up to my ears in shawls (or.. I'll have Christmas 2008 handled).

I watched a number of George Strombouloupoulis podcasts; it's either that or stay up too late at night. Do you ever watch Strombo? You ought to give him a whirl; he's totally great.

Mug and I were at Make One this afternoon (by the way.. I don't hate circs at all.. I hate circs that are longer than I need.) I bought a shorter set for a piece of lace I'm knitting; it's a major improvement, and knitting is going well. Anyway.. back on topic... Heather was there with her sweet little puppy. Mug fell in love, and discovered that it would cost many, many hundreds of dollars to have such a puppy. She is totally heart broken. Spent the entire afternoon counting coins, and discovered she had a $600.00 shortfall. She offered to wash windows.

So.. poor thing cried herself to sleep. Reality is a tough lesson. It's hard to be a mom some days.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

The view from my bedroom window


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Originally uploaded by spinknit

I'm serious! This is the craziest, swirly later of ice you've ever seen on the inside of any window. About 1/4" thick, Kate impressed her hand into it last night and made a really cool image. I tried it myself today, and let me tell you... to melt to the glass, it hurts a LOT. So, my hand print is a bit fuzzy.

Just incase you're into a few more free shawl/stole/scarf/wrap patterns, (say.. hundreds) go here!



psst: I blocked Hela. We're approaching steek cutting.

Monday, January 28, 2008

A lot of exciting things

One of which is that it is bitterly cold. My truck is frozen solid, and we discovered that it does not have a block heater (haven't needed one, and didn't have the foresight to look before I did!); so it will sit out front until the weather breaks. I can't work, because I have no way to transport my tools. This isn't that sad, really, because the thought of working outside at a wind chill of -50 (I'm not kidding.. minus FIFTY) doesn't do a thing for me. The sun was shining this afternoon, and gave the impression that it was a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Simultaneously, I let Spike outside to do his business, and he came back in limping. I think we need to buy the dog some shoes?

Have I mentioned that there is no heat in our bedroom? None at all... and little insulation either. At the moment there is a sheet of ice on the bedroom window about a 1/4" thick. I'll take a picture later of the ice on the *inside* of the house. Nothing like a 1912 house, I'll tell you that.

Dida helped me locate some mailing tubes, so one of the final issues of the blocking kits was ironed out. Turns out that the 36" tubes that I had purchased could only contain something 35" long. Handy...

Thank you Mandie for offering to proof read for me. I really appreciate that! I will be in touch.

Finally, and happily... tonight I ended my contract for hardwood service. On February 4th I will be starting a new and exciting job. I'm thrilled, and I'll share more with you next week.

In the meantime; I did some 'cold winter day' knitting today. Made another Funky Chunky Toque for Maddie (a little small.. so it's about to be blocked) and wound some BFL that I had spun. I think I'll take Mr.G. for a spin in a minute, and i need to calculate how much yardage I got from the silk/wool that I finished last week.

I hope all is well at your house, and that everyone is keeping warm.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

A call for assistance

I've just completed the first draft of blocking instructions for the Spinknit blocking wire kits. I am looking for a few people to review these instructions. Also, I need a few pictures of garment pieces and lace being blocked, using wires.

Can you help?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, psssst: I finished plying the silk, and I wet finished all of that (man.. it's going to be a really, really great shawl), and some 3ply BFL that I spun at Make One's last Spin-In. I am just about dying to find out how many yards I got out of the silk. I think it's somewhere between lace and sock weight.

Later in the day I took Anna skating; I sat and fixed two messed up cables. I had dreamed about it all night long, so by the time I actually tried it, I had the process down pat! Knit a few inches on Mr.G. tonight. I have learned my lesson about knitting when I'm over tired. It's just not worth it.

Now... I'm going to stop typing when I'm overtired. And that would be now.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Interweave is my friend.

I love Interweave. Especially today.

I was checking out my email only to discover that I had somehow missed opening a Knitting Daily, and in it was... get this... a list of back issues that are on sale. I just about swallowed my tongue in my haste to get the Swallowtail Shawl issue. Let's not even mention the issue with her Paisley Lace Shawl.

Here's me.. jumping for joy. If there are Evelyn Clark groupies, then I am one.

While I was looking through the tables of contents, I got into Spin-Off, and found a few cool spinning articles. Spinning Basics: Spinning on a Wheel, Drafting for Woolen and Worsted-Style on a Spindle, Plying Chained Singles, and The Art of Plying.

OK, that's it for now; because it's homemade pizza night at the Rabitt hutch, and it's my turn to create. May your Friday night be half as yummy as mine.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Wire blocking kits, etc.


I'm in the last stages of putting together lace blocking kits, and plan to take them to Make One this weekend. I'm excited!

Other than that I've been pretty focused on plying the silk/wool (about 1/2 done.. holy crap there's a lot of yardage when you're spinning lace weight). I also picked up Mr.G after frogging all the cabling I had done. It's correct now, and I've gotten over the trauma. Poor Dida; she started knitting a large, and now she's losing weight and realized that it's a medium that she needs... So.. to the frog pond. In the meantime, she's knitting the Totally Autumn blanket (from Knitty) with wool she bought at the M1 boxing day sale. She didn't realize it was a large version of lace knitting. Makes me smile... she's so bitten by the bug.

I've decided on my next tattoo. Definitely something edgy in the knitting realm. Something with flames and knitting needles. I'm going to put it at the top of my arm. Ya baby. I like the look of that temporary 'Knit or Die' tattoo, but I'll design something of my own.

Here's some fun knitting tattoos for you to enjoy. Not enough flames if you ask me. I'm just sayin..

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Finally, plying

I've been spinning for hours and hours and hours, trying to finish up the silk/wool blend. Finally it's made it to the plying stage. It seems, for the most part, quite balanced, if not terribly consistent. I am simultaneously trying to achieve lace weight, and master a new wheel. I have a fast flier, and that was a complete and utter disaster. Spinning was super difficult (I was treadling my guts out... that doesn't sound right does it?), and the wheel was squeaking. When I took it off, everything equalized, and the weight I was spinning was just as thin. Go figure. I'm sure it's operator error.

I'm going to give it a rest for a while. And myself too; I'm just wacked.

Hey.. the Yarn Harlot is having a blogiversary today; why not pop by with best wishes?

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Beige, I think I'll paint the ceiling beige



There's a cute dog for you. She was once a shivering mess of an abused puppy; but now she's a bundle of love, and brighter than a new penny. Her name is Roxy (aka, Roxy Baby), and we got her from the dog pound. Just look at those eyes. Somebody threw this dog away. And we are thanking God for that every darned day. Not that she was ever abused or discarded, but that she made her way into our lives. I can't even imagine what life would be like without that little face.

Today's post is a bit beige. Or, nicely, cream. Rox is a bit that way, with some apricot for good measure. I've been spinning cream as well. Natural BFL, 3 ply. And now 200 grams of a wool/silk blend, on a natural maple Lendrum.



The BFL I am going to kettle dye when I've decided what it wants to be... I'm thinking moss, or maybe olive. The wool/silk; well, I think I'm going to leave that as is, and knit a shawl with it. At the moment it's driving me insane with fibers floating everywhere and coating everything. It's up my nose and in my eyelashes.

Phew.

OTN: Two different socks, Mr.G., a little bit of the Icarus in the Iris Zephyr, and.. Mystic Waters.

What's on your needles?

Sunday, January 20, 2008

And, luckily, one of *those* days...


There isn't one ray of natural sunlight in my house at the best of times, so my pictures always look like it's the middle of the night. It was, in fact, late afternoon, and BF and I had just returned from Lina's with armloads of good, Italian ingredients. What better thing to do than have a picnic on the ottoman? What you see there is a platter of lean mortadella, tuscan ham, asiago/artichoke dip, bruschetta (which was not, in fact, grey), musco olives, provolone, boconccini, grilled red peppers, thin slices of red onion, and a loaf of bread. We washed it down with bitters, of all things. Later we curled up on the couch and watched a few cooking shows; though I admit that I slept through at least half of Jamie Oliver.

That's a nice Sunday, if you ask me.

Right now I have a Tuscan Garlic/Rosemary roasted chicken in the oven; and because I adore you, I'm going to share the recipe.

1 large roasting chicken (available at Lina's, organic and wonderful)
1 head of garlic
1 bunch of fresh rosemary (also available at Lina's, year round)
1 large or 2 small lemons
olive oil
butter
salt/pepper
roasting pan with rack.

instructions:

heat oven to 475

wash and dry chicken, season interior with salt and pepper

roughly chop the bulb of garlic (don't worry about peeling the individual cloves) and the lemons. reserve 2 - 4 stalks of rosemary and roughly chop the rest. combine the chopped ingredients and stuff into the cavity of the chicken.

breast side up, separate the skin from the flesh (making a pocket) over each breast, above each leg. insert 2 stalks of rosemary and a lump of butter in each pocket. if that doesn't make sense, i'm pretty sure that martha stewart explains it better in her perfect roast turkey recipe.

place the chicken on rack in the roasting pan. drizzle with olive oil, and salt/pepper liberally.

place roaster in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees. continue to roast until a meat thermometer reads 180 degrees (or what you consider to be done).

if you decide to make soup with the carcass, please remember to remove most of the rosemary and ALL of the lemon pieces. i made the mistake of leaving it in and the stock was spoiled because of the lemon oil.


So, there you have it. Sunday was much better than Saturday. I've been spinning, and there's nothing horrible to report. I frogged the cable portion of Mr.G., and that's back on the rails. Thank you Marilynn, for offering to help me out with the Mystic Waters. I'm going to take you up on it, because, honestly, I'm totally in love with it.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

A couple of *those* days?

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I was out of my mind with excitement on friday when I realized that my Jaggerspun Zephyr had finally arrived. It isn't stocked at my LYS, so after some detective work, I found it at TheKnitter.com for a lower price than I had been quoted by another store. AND.. free shipping. So I ordered 'Iris'. I'm really happy with it, 50/50 silk/wool blend, and the colour is amazing. Yippee.

Today I cast on for The Forest Path Stole. Nope.. It just wasn't right; so I tried again with Icarus. Nope. Frog. Cast on again. Nope. Frog. (Rinse and repeat). Note to self: Never try to cast on lace in the dark, while watching a movie. Also, try to use a chart that doesn't need to be viewed through a magnifying glass.

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Earlier in the day, I resurrected Mystic Waters. It took a long while, but I figured out where I had left off; frogged a few rows, and restarted. I think i got 3 rows done before I'd messed it up again, so.. back in the bag with you Mystic Waters.

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I'm seriously considering frogging it once and for all. We don't seem to mesh... Marilynn finished hers the other day, and it's totally gorgeous.

OK, lets discuss the coffee. I'm sure that I mentioned that BF makes me a coffee each weekend morning.. a nice, strong latte to start the day. Well, I reached for mine, and knocked it right into my knitting. Luckily most of it ended up on the floor, and nothing was seriously damaged. The worst risk was my dye book... It's full of all my recipes and patterns. It's a little worse for wear, but overall, everything is still legible.

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Honestly, the worst part was the loss of a really good coffee. (And, yes, I really do know how to spell Dyeing. I even know how to spell crochet most days)

Last but not least... here's a little shot of Mr.G. I realized that I have twice as many rows of cables than I should have. Apparently I cannot successfully read instructions. So, that's in the frog pond too. Pffft

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I'm too scared to spin.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Franki doesn't know this, but


The reason I knit socks is because of her.

We took the same spinning class at M1 a long time ago, and at some point Franki put down her drop spindle and picked up her knitting. The socks were gray with red; I remember that. She was knitting them for the boy. I could not believe my eyes. Why on earth would any person knit with glorified thread on glorified toothpicks?

Me (please note, we are referring to the *then* me).. I knit chunky. Big. Easy. I can go to Walmart and buy myself a fine pair of socks. In fact, they come dozens in a bag if you're in the mood for bulk.

The memory of those stupid socks, of stupid thread, on stupid toothpicks, moldered in the corner of my brain for a long, long time. One fine day I found myself Googling 'sock pattern', because maybe it wouldn't be impossible to knit something so fine.

So there.

Franki; I didn't even have a stash before I met you. I wore socks that could possibly melt. Phew. It boggles the mind.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Avast, me hearties

In case you want to talk like a pirate, go here.

Speaking of Wiki, I wonder how Brenda Daynes did with her everything about knitting initiative? Hmmm... After taking a peek, I would say that it's not going too well. Either that, or I don't know how to properly search Wiki.

I'm going to go look at lace patterns right now. It's that kind of day.

AAarrrrr

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Methods

When I posted about colourwork, Gyda mentioned that she holds both strands in one hand. Here is a link of the way I imagine she does it.

I said I was knitting both continental and English styles simultaneously, holding yarn in both the left and right hand. You will find a good video here.

See, what I think is so cool is that even though I've been knitting since I was 4 years old, I basically knew what my mother knew and that's it. What I have learned in the last 6 months has increased my knowledge base exponentially. It just blows my mind. Now I get excited when I find a new term in a pattern. Within moments I can search for knitting tutorials and find all I need and more. No sweat. If for some reason I didn't quite grasp what I was seeing, I can walk down to my LYS and one of the girls will sort me out in 2 seconds (for example, I needed to do an applied I-cord on the Tulip cardi, and Marilyn showed me exactly how easy it was).

My current knitting goal is to learn a method to purl quickly. I'll never be a Miriam Tegels, but I know that I'll pick up speed.

This same learning concept holds true for spinning. I might tell you that I am self taught (well, regarding spinning on a wheel; Amy taught me how to use a drop spindle), but in truth, I learned almost everything by watching online video tutorials. I started from ground zero, with a broken wheel and a really strong desire. If you have that and a computer, you're really in good hands. In case of an emergency, there's always help just down the street.

Now, the 2-colour brioche stitch, knitted in the round. Onward and upward. I know I can do it.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

I learned this today

Norwegian Purl.

The elusive continental purl. Ya. I can do the Norwegian purl, and it's easier for me to do than the 'normal' continental purl method. But.. how about this. Maybe this is the one?

I'm in it for speed baby. More knitting, faster.

Rushing...


This morning started off great. The plan was to enjoy my Saturday morning coffee while packaging Merino to take to Make One for the Spin-In. I opened a new bag of .. well, bags, to discover that they were all the wrong size. Phew.. jumped into the truck and made an unscheduled trip to Michaels to pick up bags.

I got everything packed and beribboned and headed out. I arrived at M1 with loads of fiber, my spinning stuff, and the Lendrum; a little late, but not toooo late. Didn't take one single picture, due to lack of time, but some of the new colourways are just fab. The photo, above, is the inspiration for the colourway 'Sunrise in Banff'.

If you spin (or if you'd like to) and you haven't been to a Spin-In, you really ought to give it a try. To describe today, there were about 7 of us spinning (one being a newbie with some wheel issues. Amy and Sherry re-arranged her wheel and got her spinning in no time flat). During the time we were spinning there was an incoming and an outgoing Knitting 101 class. The outgoing gals moved from the class table to the couches. At that point there were also customers, Dida, Ike and Nini. Sandra and Heather were wo-manning the till. Did I mention that Careena's three cute pooches also joined in the fun? Sandra went to Tom's house of Pizza and brought back lunch! One of the nicest parts of the day was sitting with Careena and getting to know her a little bit while we ate pizza.

It was a really nice group of people, and I really enjoyed the time and the conversation. Sherry had brought along a skein of Merino that I had dyed. It's so great to see what everyone comes up with.. just amazing.

Anyway, I spun the rest of a bag of BFL that I had on hand, and tonight it's plied and ready to wet finish. I also picked up 200 grams of a wool/silk blend, so i've put the fast flier on the Lendrum and the blend is going morph into a beautiful piece of lace. So far it's a bit glitchy, but it's starting to even out.

Tomorrow I have to spend some time working on my tools. Everything needs to be replentished or have have blades changed or sharpened. But tonight...

I knit. MrG., here I come!

I hope your Saturday was even 1/2 as great.

ps: Denny added me as a friend on Ravelry. Ok... I added her first. That's THE Denny of SOAR drop spindle fame.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Dye tonight



(A before picture.. ie: I dyed this before)

After a relatively easy day working in Carstairs, I spent some time on an easy chair at Make One. I went there to pick up some Merino to dye today.. I did 2 batches of Cafe Au Lait (man.. can I come up with something less cliche?), and 2 batches of Salmonberry flowers (one is mostly blue, and the other is mostly salmon). Everything is steaming right now.

Saturday is the Spin-In, and I'm really looking forward to it. The last one was on Amy's 30th birthday, and it really was fun. I didn't spin that day, because my arms kept going to sleep if I lifted them too long. Some hardwood deal, I'm sure. Anyway, this time I'll be bringing my new Lendrum to introduce to the spinners. She isn't named yet. I've been (poorly) spinning some BFL; natural, if you can imagine! I don't have the hang of the wheel yet, and I'm out of my comfort zone. The Ashford I could spin with my eyes closed. Practice makes perfect, right?

I had to frog some of MrG tonight.. I must have been knitting too fast, and blew by a set of increases. Before I would have had a fit, but now that I'm knitting continental, it's not as big a deal.

Anyway.. the buzzer is buzzing, and I need to attend to the fiber. I hope your day kicked some serious butt.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Mr. Greenjeans is finally victorious.

And over the BSJ, if you can imagine. See, I needed the circs, and there were two choices; bind off the BSJ and cast on MrG tomorrow, or... frog that sucker.

Can't talk. Knitting.

ps: the Julia Child colourway was developed just for me. I know it, because it's too perfect not to be.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Oh, ouch



Introducing Spaceballs (in Alpaca).

So, today was day two of my return to the real world, and also day two of a complicated hardwood repair. *Insert endless hardwood talk relating to saws, hammers, chisels, sub-floor adhesive, diagonal joists on 30" centres, freehand cutting 9 rows of boards because the angle was tighter than the chop saw could cut, and trying to make a squeak go away.* These two days culminated in a happy customer, a slice across my index finger (can you hear me typing? click, ouch, click, click, ouch) and, (how many joints in the human body?) 239 things that hurt when I move. So, knitting? Not very much. The new Miss Priss is crying out my name though; it really is.

I've decided to frog the BSJ - did I mention that I'm at the bind off row?. And, I've also decided that unless some really awesome yarn cries out to BE said jacket, that I'm not exactly pleasantly surprised. I think it was the technical aspects that I was all thrilled about. So. Over. Let's turn the yarn into a project for Dida to undertake.

I spent a little time at Make One tonight; went there to talk with Marilyn and ended up ogling two of her lace pieces. Beautiful.. She's almost done the Mystic Waters, and I thought it was absolutely grand. There were lots of other women there, and I was happy to see Michelle, Heather and Franki.

I came home to Mug doing her homework (did I mention that she never has to be reminded?), and BF cooking tenderloins, baked potatoes, mushrooms and real bacon bits, to go along with a really great Greek salad. All is well in the world, I have to say.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Some special things


Some Special Things
Originally uploaded by spinknit

I have a little tin of alphabetical stitch markers that hang on a heart. BF made them for me for Christmas, and I am madly in love with them. He went to the trouble of talking to Amy to find out how big he should make the loops, and he went out to get a metal box to put them in. I'm just thrilled, can you tell? I also have another set of really special stitch markers that Sandra made, so the two sets live in harmony. I love handmade things, and things that are made with intent.

Also, I've shared my really special ruler with you.

The BSJ is almost cast off (today I re-entered the real world, and it kicked my butt.. so, not much knitting done tonight). I am thinking about frogging it... I'm not in love with the BSJ. We'll see.

Sunday, January 6, 2008

Remember Bob?

Well, here 'he' is before (hey.. Bob could be a girl, right?):




And, after:



Bob was purchased as a Christmas gift for Lori, and she did an amazing job of maximizing 'his' best qualities! Lori has a really great blog with lots more pictures, so make sure you don't miss visiting.

And in the meantime, here's a little Holi Festival to enjoy.



psssssst: The BSJ is almost done. I'm at the button holes.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

And the answer is: In the Shoe Bin

(Question... where is the charger for my camera?)

I have about torn this house apart looking for the charger, and at long last, I gave up and tried to order one from Canon, online. Found what I needed (about $80.00 with shipping.. good Lord. We're talking wool money here), input all the information, and it rejects my credit card expiration date.

Say what? I'm looking right at the card.

I'm telling you, I was hopping up and down kind of mad. BF is on the island and took his camera with him. Mug has misplaced hers. And Canon is messing with my mind. Has anyone mentioned to Canon that I'm peri-menopausal? Hmmm?

So *THE* very last place it could possibly be is in the plastic bin of shoes by my desk. And yes, that is exactly where it was. Way at the bottom. For some reason there were several small balls of exotic fibers I'd spun, and the extra parts from my Ashford Traveler tuneup. I say one of the dogs did it. Or, Canon. Ya. Them again.

That battery is charging as we speak. I have a BSJ wip to show you, not to mention a ruler. While you wait, here's 336 triangular shawl patterns from Vicki's blog.

oh.. and a picture of some fiber I took to Make One earlier this week.

The good, bad and indifferent

Yesterday was a pretty good day, overall. BF is feeling better, and I am too. I took a nosedive into the land of flu on Thursday. Anyway, here's the deal. This summer I saw the Yarn Harlot's version of the Baby Surprise Jacket, and so that caused me to need one EZ book (but to actually buy three - because I'm like that). My plan was to spin for the jacket, and I did, but never felt compelled to cast it on. Plan B involved collecting up bits of extra project yarn and knitting it with that. Well, didn't happen either. However, yesterday, the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted (Sherbet) decided that it wanted to be the BSJ, and so it's cast on, and I'm on row 12ish. I think it would be better in stripes, but we'll call this the test BSJ, and it'll be in varigated instead.

I was really nervous about this knit because of EZ's method of instruction. Pithy, right? Then I remembered that I had copied Dawn Adcock's 'Baby Surprise Sweater Notes' some months ago, and, phew... all is well. I would highly suggest that you do the same if you're about to embark on your first BSJ.

Moving on. There I was, on my hands and knees, digging through one of my craft boxes and I found THE RULER.

Only the other day I was walking down memory lane (this happens when you become 50; you find yourself wondering about some little thing that happened in 1908), remembering THE RULER. My mother had given it to me when I was a compulsive teenage knitter; she'd had it in her knitting basket since the beginning of time. Personally, I can't remember a time when that ruler wasn't in the house. I have had it for probably 35 years or more, and it had become misplaced. I couldn't believe that I had been so careless with an object that was really dear to my heart. Had I become so blase about knitting that I'd just tossed it somewhere? Worse, had I lost it? Was it gone forever?

Thankfully, no. Phew... Apparently I'd taken it from the knitting basket and used it for some paper-related project, then neglected to replace it. Now it's where it ought to be, and all is well with in my little world.

Last night BF needed to pick up a few tapes for his camcorder. He suggested that since we were out that we might have dinner at Tiffins. Ever been there? Man, you ought to. Being a creature of habit, I normally order Butter Chicken, but decided that I'd have me a plate of Lamb curry instead. (Note to self: don't mess with a sure thing).

So that's my story. I'm sticking to it. Turns out that the title of this blog should have been: The good, the excellent, and the totally OK.

And back to bed with me. It's 5am'ish, which is technically the middle of the night if you ask me. Which you didn't.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

I can't believe it...


Hela Zip Front Cardi
Originally uploaded by spinknit

I cast off the Hela tonight. I honestly did. I have never knit a sweater faster, or loved one more. Now I need to sew in all the ends, graft the underarms, buy a zipper, and *gulp*.. cut the steek. I have never even seen one done before, so I think I'll spend a while doing research before I take out the scissors. That, and buy tequila.

My friend Gyda sent me the Lopi from Iceland, and I've had it in my stash for several years waiting for the correct project. When I saw this pattern on a fellow-Ravelry member's finished objects list, I knew it was the one.

It fits well, and the sleeves are the right length. Thank you so much Gyda!

Up until last night I'd never done colour work correctly. I'd just made it up as I went along, and now I've had the benefit of watching a number of YouTube video instructions. I knit this colour work with the dark yarn in the left hand, knitting continental, and the light yarn in the right; throwing. I thought it would take me a few rounds to get the hang of it, but it was completely natural, and makes so much sense. My knitting speed has increased 10 fold.

So.. tomorrow I'll block it. And, hopefully take some decent pictures!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Went for a walk and didn't have sushi


I haven't worked the last few days because the dispatcher at work is away dealing with a family emergency. Apparently when the dispatcher is away, I'm not dispatched. Imagine that. So, I've had a few unexpected days at home. (That sucking noise you hear is my bank balance)

BF is also at home. He came down with a fever and head cold, and hasn't been well at all.

So, the big plan was that we'd walk to Make One and drop off a dozen bags of fiber, and then have some sushi. It was a nice walk, even though we discovered that two more neighbors have sold their houses to developers and they've vamoosed. Little Italy is turning into *big* condo-land... anyway.. we went up the hill and saw a big CLOSED sign at M1. Inventory day. Kindly, Sandra let us in and let me fondle newly arrived yarn.

(You're gonna laugh... I asked Amy to put 4 skeins of Miss Priss aside. Ya.. there's me, feeding the Mr. Greenjeans addiction. Now I'll have enough to knit two.)

After M1, we found that not only was Zipang closed today (no sushi for us), but so was Heartland (no soup either). We ended up with meatloaf sandwiches at home. I had my heart set on miso soup.

On a happier note, I have finished the body and two sleeves on the Hela. Colour work, here I come. Back to the grind tomorrow; I believe I've been dispatched.