Tired? You can say that again.

My first day back at work and I have realized one thing while I was on holidays. I can't ever retire. EVER. I really missed being at work while I was on holidays. Not that I really love what I do, but that I just love the whole idea of going to work. Seriously. I love going to work. I love the process, I love the ritual, everything. I think the best part of my day is getting up in the morning (minus the trying to decode all the putting together of a fabulous outfit), the commute (all of about 5 minutes) and especially getting my first morning cup of coffee and enjoying it while reading all my new emails (generally spam). I am in love with the ritual of it all. I have been assured by my family (who looked at me as if I was nuts when I mentioned this feeling of mine) that this too shall pass and that one day I will wake up, hate the idea of going to work daily and spiral into that bottomless void that is made up of all the days that you work until you get to those few (and hard earned) vacation days per year. I hope not. And, frankly, what a horrible thought. I will just have to wait and see I suppose. I will certainly let you know once I get there.


Ok, onto bigger and brighter things... I have been a poor updater - so I am pledging to be better at letting everyone know what I am working on. I still have not finished my smock stitch scarf for mumsy. I thought I would have finished it by now, but given the new carpets, construction, and vacation depression, I have not gotten any closer to a FO. I have (in true ADD and jumping on the bandwagon fashion) started a pair of Fetching(s) and I lurve them. They are so soft and snuggly and done in the most luscious olive/gold color of Malabrigo called Jaen.

I think that these will go well with a cup of hot coco on the back deck in the fall while watching the leaves turn and the sun rise. Very romantic eh? I actually think that these will come in very handy on those days that I need to make the three hour drive to our head office in the middle of winter. A cup of Tim Hortons coffee in one hand and a bagel in the other. Very functional.

Also, this weekend is our first anniversary for hubby & me. Yuppers. One year since we were married. I can't believe that a year has come and gone so fast already. And, in true hubby fashion, he has booked us at the same place that we spent our wedding night at. Isn't he great? I think I will keep him.

Last, but not least, I start my first toe up sock class at Make One tomorrow. Very excited. Bunny helped me wind a ball of Lorna's Laces in the Hawaii colorway so that I would be all ready for class. I will post progress pics as soon as there are some. Also, I will leave you with a photo from the weekend. We all went to Global Fest on the weekend to watch the finale of the fireworks competition. It was wonderful and Bunny loved it. Here we are waiting for the fireworks to start. Doesn't Bunny look happy. Personally I think that it was because she got to stay up until 10:00pm (which is a lot later than her actual bed time).

Renovations. Period.

Ok, so, for those simply interested in knitting, please note, the knitting content will return soon. I promise.

For those wondering what's happening on the home front, boy do I have news for you. This is not what I had planned to be doing on a Sunday afternoon, the day after my BIL's wedding. However, what I planned to do and what I ended up doing are two completely different things.

Maybe I should start from the beginning. Yesterday, the in-laws came over for a visit. They actually came to see the new house. So after giving them the grand walking tour, I casually mentioned that the flooring guys were coming this week (side note: Yahoo!!!) and that we were thinking about taking out the ugly old 80's style banister in our living room before they came, but hadn't really gotten up the chutzpah to take out the railing. To make a long story short, the railing came out. This is what ensued:

Here we are contemplating the railing and then cutting it with the saw.

There it goes...

...and then it's gone.

Ok, so as if that wasn't shocking enough, we then discovered that a section of sub floor needed to be replaced. So, that came up too. Once we pulled up the sub floor, we discovered that it was right above the only portion of unfinished basement in the house.

So, now that we have a plan (and we do have a plan), Terry can start to work on it. He is really excited. I think that once it is finished, it will be amazing. The rough idea is that there will be a small sort-of-wall with three open spaces inside it that will be able to hold a vase, bowl or some sort of other decorative object. He also wants to put some lights in it at the top of each square so that the objects will have a spot light. Et Voila... art! Neat huh?

Oh and the best news of all?" The carpets come tomorrow!! The carpets come tomorrow!! The carpets come tomorrow!!! I am so happy, I could practically wet myself! But I won't. There is enough pee in these carpets already. I can't wait to get them out of here and have a house that doesn't smell like funk all the time. I will keep all up to date on the process of the carpet installation, the wall building and the overall renovations. Oh, and knitting will return sometime soon. I promise.

Here we are...

Ok, so we are out in Invermere on holidays and the unthinkable has happened. I have run out of projects. To be totally honest, I have run out of UFO's. I really didn't think that I would have so much time on my hands and so I only brought two UFO's -- my Mom's smock stitch scarf and Bunny's felted clogs. They are both done and have turned out so nicely.

Patterns: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs -- Children
Yarn: Miss Piggy
Yarn Source: Make One Yarn Studio
Needles: US size 13 (9mm)
UnfeltedGauge: 9st/4 inch over stockinette stitch
Felted Gauge: 12st/4 inch
Modifications: None

I really enjoyed making the felted clogs. They were a quick knit and easy to do. I think that they took all of about 4 hours total to make, including the felting. And, they will be super warm for Bunny this winter. She was so happy that she got to pick out the yarn and helped to felt them as well.

I will be able to put up some pics of the scarf later in the week since I also forgot to bring a crochet hook so that I could add the fringe. I am at a loss today as to what to knit next. I have the yarn and needles to make the Jaywalker socks, but I am having trouble with figuring out what size to knit. I think that given the fact that my calves are fairly um... shapely and my feet are quite narrow, I will need to knit the leg with size 0 needles and knit the foot with size 1's. That way they will fit right. Here's hoping anyway.

So, I am still without a project. No socks, no Fetchings because Mom wants a hat with the leftover yarn I was going to use to knit them and nothing else. I really needed to bring some more yarn, but honestly, when I set out, it really did seem as though I had more than I could ever knit in the week.

I am also a little sad today as this is the last day we have here at the cabin. We Albertan's are so lucky to live both so close to the mountains and some great Canadian lakes as well. Granted, they are nothing like the beaches that you see from destinations around the world, such as Hawaii, but the hiking and mountain biking here is second to none. So far on this vacation, we have hiked to a waterfall (Bunny is just 4 and she hiked the whole 5k!), been to the beach, been mini golfing, and today we are planning to go go-karting. This will be Bunny's first time go-karting so I think it will be well worth the inflated prices that these places always charge.

I am also a little happy today given the fact that when we get home the carpets are scheduled to get ripped out and the new ones will be going in. And shortly after that, the hardwood will be going in and then, I think that Bunny's cough and drippy nose will clear right up. Which, as far as I am concerned is the best justification for the high cost of having all the new stuff put in. The added bonus is the fact that they were so disgusting before and now we will have clean carpet, free from stains. I am also super excited to see how the new commercial carpet will be. Doesn't that say something about how old one is when they get excited about carpet?? Jeez.

Oh, I did forget to mention something else exciting... I am taking two new classes within the next few weeks. On August 30, I am taking a toe up sock class at Make One and on Sept 9, I am taking an intermediate spinning class at Shuttleworks. I am really looking forward to the toe up sock class as I am hoping that it will help me perfect my short row shaping and, I will be able to master the provisional cast on as I did spend a day trying to learn it and got fed up with it. As well, the spinning class will be fun as we will be learning how to spin knot yarns and boucle and what not. I am really glad that I don't have to teach myself to spin boucle. I will however, be spending the next (and last) week of my holidays working on my spinning technique so that I am ready for the class. I was planning on working on my UFO's, but since those are mostly done, I guess that I will just have to start some new projects. I do have some ideas for a new wrap/scarf and for a new vest, I just need to find the materials.

Sweet Georgia....

Yarn!!! Sigh... My first purchase of this fantastic yarn from Vancouver. I can't believe that I was able to get my hands of this fantastic stuff. Can you believe that I had nver even heard of this yarn until Make One Yarn studio opened here in Calgary? And, it is better than imagined.

It's not only softer than buttah, the colors are so rich and vibrant. In short, Sweet Georgia Yarn is the bombdiggity and I lurve it!


Oh, and the house is coming along nicely. We have almost finished setting up the kitchen and yesterday, I not only bought new kitchen accessories in greens & beiges, but I also cooked our very first dinner in the new house. Not a super gourmet meal, but it was nice to eat something not deep fried or sandwiched between a bun with catsup on it.

Want to see a picture?? Nice eh? Loving it.

We are still waiting on flooring, but hopefully that won't be too far off. I can't wait to get that in so that we can start decorating. We leave on holidays tomorrow and are gone until the 18th. It will be so nice to have some time off of work and finally get some f/o's up here. It feels like seriously forever since I have had anything to take pictures of. I am, however, super close to finishing the baby blanket that I have been working on forever. What is it about big projects like that? They are never ending.

I am also very stuck on the tunic top I am designing. I need to sit down all by me onesies and think on the sleeve decreases. I know I need to go from 40 st to 19 on the sleeve caps, but how to do it? Maybe I will have some inspiration once my life slows down a bit and I have some time to reflect on everything. Sounds deep doesn't it?

Otherwise, wish me a happy vacation and look forward to some f/o's once I return.

Design Disaster Averted

All thanks to Amy. Seriously. I am sad to be done though. I will really miss the design class. On the flip side though, I am somewhat close to being done and I learned a lot over the last six (yes, six -- although it really feels like three) weeks. I learned the right way tonight to pick up stitches and even more importantly, I learned that it really is important to pick up the right ammount the first time. Rather than pick up the wrong ammount, fudge it, and end up with a huge, glaring error. So, the sweater (yes. Its a sweater) is coming along well... now. I can't wait to be done and post some pics!!

And, because I was so upset at all the frogging that I had to do tonight, I bought some sock yarn. Yarn therapy. Actually, I bought some sock yarn and Mo bought some sock yarn. Nice hey? Good friends are hard to find and I am super lucky to have so many.

Wanna see my new sock yarn?
It makes me happy just looking at it. Yarn therapy indeed. There are two skeins of Lorna's Laces sock yarn in Hawaii and two in River. I am so smitten with these colors. See all the purple? Yeah, I used to have a problem with purple -- it just doesn't seem very much like a grown up color, but since everyone says that it is very much a grown up color, I think that I am becoming ok with it. It looks grown up, right? Right? Oh, and check out the new stitch markers that I got... They are way cool.


And, I finally got the movie that I had ordered a month ago! I know most of you have no idea what the heck this movie is, but I Lurve it. I watched this movie so many times as a kid and I used to be able to sing all of the songs (yes, it has songs). But its just such a wholesome kids movie and it has such a great story line, that if the Bunny doesn't love it, I think I really will be sad. I can't wait to show it to her tomorrow night. I am going to pop some popcorn, pick up my knitting and finish my tunic while I show her one of the greatest kids movies on Earth. I can't wait! Having kids is so great!

No camera today...

Ok, so since everything we own is packed and I am not able to post any pictures of the knitting I am doing, I thought that I would use this opportunity to get a little personal. So, without further ado, the 150 things that you never knew about me... (this was sent to me in an email, so I figured rather than send it back to just one person, I would post it here in lieu of anything more interesting).

The bolded things are the ones that I have done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it - many times
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights - I have never once seen these
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states - How about all the provinces... I have done that.
41. Taken care of someone who was shit faced
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day - not lately though. Once you have kids, this is all over.
60. Posed nude in front of strangers - see comments above.
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater - I sure miss ours.
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Gone white water rafting
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason - the first time was the moment I knew I was in love with my now husband.
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house - yes. Just. We moved in this past weekend...
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents - I dread having to bold this one. Not for years hopefully.
93. Been on a cruise ship - We took our honeymoon on one in Hawaii. Best vacation of my life!
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children. - She is 4 today
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived - hit a deer and rolled my car. Scary stuff.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane - dated a pilot.
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart - not proud of this one at all.
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse - Many times.
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi - almost daily in college
128. Had your picture in the newspaper - I think my mom still has it somewhere
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about - yup and now I couldn't live without them
130. Gone back to school - best decision of my life
131. Parasailed - not well. This is way harder than it looks
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read - The Catcher in the Rye was one of the best books I ever read... I am so glad I waited until I was an adult.
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language - I dated someone deaf for a while. It took me 2 weeks to learn to sign enough that we could communicate.
139. Been elected to public office - no, but I was asked to run
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

So, there you have it. I really have a lot of things on there that I would still love to do. Maybe I will have to work at crossing the whole list off. Now that's a goal huh?

Anyway, for those that made it through the list, kudos. For everyone else, knitting content will return soon. I promise.

Squee!!

I bet you are wondering about the new house... its been ours for a whole week now and no blog entry about it. Well, that's because we have been so busy LOVING it!! It's fantastic. Dirty, but fantastic. And, to be honest, not nearly as dirty as I would have thought it would have been.

Some discussion of the new paint job? Ok, you asked for it.

We went with Harvest Brown in the Dining Room and Living room. And Baked Scone in the rest of the house. Oh, and as a special treat to Bunny (who will be 4 this Monday!! Already!!), pink and purple in her room. Was she ever happy with it!!


Also, my swap pal sent my stuff to me. Yay! Who doesn't love receiving stuff in the mail. And, so's the better if its yarn stuffs!! And, it works out perfectly with my move from Thursday yarn porn to Friday yarn porn. Thursdays just weren't working for me.

I love everything she sent!! 2 skeins of Paint Box in the most delicious colors. Burgundy, blues, greens. What's not to like?? I don't know quite what they want to be yet, but I intend to find out!! She also sent me a beautiful mole-skin note book and a loverly card with a pop-out birds nest in it. Way cool. Oh, and a very funny bookmark that made me smile as soon as I read it. My swap pal was gimmesanity (Sharon). Thanks so much swap pal. I loved it!!


Ok, and since Fridays (now its Friday, remember) are for yarn porn, please enjoy some shots of the new Malabrigo I bought, courtesy of Make One Yarn Studio. Oh, and though it will be hard, please try not to drool onto your keyboards too much. I know what type of project I want to make with it, but I wasn't sure what stitch pattern I wanted to do the project in, so I wound one of the skeins up into a ball and took it to work with me today. As the day went on, I realized what it wanted to be and can now start on the project. The only problem? It has to be *done* for Monday, and we have to be out of our old house by then. Ergo, we are moving all weekend and I will have to find bits of time to hide away and knit while everyone else is killing themselves moving. Do I feel guilty? Nah, for the same reason that I could justify buying 3 skeins of the softest yarn on Earth... its for a good cause. Hopefully I will be able to show a F/O on Monday and reveal the recipient. Keep those fingers and toes crossed.

Anticipation. Truly greater than the deed?

I suppose we will know in a few hours when we officially take possession of our new house. Yahoo. I am happy and sad and nervous all at the same time. Happy for obvious reasons. Sad because the house that we are moving out of is the only house that Bunny has lived in. And, nervous because I don't know what shape and how dirty the house will be when we get there today.

Moving is so stressful. I recommend only doing it once in a lifetime if you can help it.

Ok, enough about moving. Let's talk about knitting. I was at my design class last night and I have to tell you, the variety of the projects and conversation is amazing. What a wonderful night to myself. I love sitting and watching the projects that everyone is creating. So much talent. All thanks to Amy of course who is teaching the course. And, thanks to her, I am starting to really see my design take shape. I can actually see that my on the needles design is matching the visual creation in my head. I can hardly wait to be finished.

I also joined the Baudelaire KAL and last night I cast on for the toe. This is my first toe up sock and I think that the figure 8 cast on looks great. I am not as keen on how the toe stitches seem a little loose, but I think that given that this is a common issue with this cast on, and that they don't seem overly so, I will leave it and just keep working on the toe. I love love love the yarn that I am using. Its Fleece Artist Basic Merino sock yarn. Its actually much lighter than the yarn in the photo and when I bought it, I didn't see all the variegation in the colorway. Once I wound it though, I was dazzled by the different colors. I think it will be the perfect yarn.

And, last night, of course, I bought some more yarn from Make One Yarn Studio. Thursdays truly are for yarn porn. I really meant to post it last night, but by the time I got home from Knitting Class, watched So You Think You Can Dance and an episode of Law and Order that I had taped, I was too tired to do anything but take the pics and email them to myself.

However, since Thursdays are for Yarn Porn, here ya go....


I bought some Blue Sky Cotton (So soft) in Green. There is enough for an OSK. I am so kicking myself though because last week when I bought the sock yarn, they had just gotten in a shipment of the Blue Sky in a beautiful rich red color (almost a Cranberry) and I passed on it thinking that I would buy it the next week. And, of course, this week it was gone. So, I settled for the green, which, although very beautiful, is not the red.

I also bought another 2 skeins of the Ultramerino from Art Yarns and underneath it all is some Fin roving from Amy. I am going to try and spin and ply it and bring it back next week to the shop. A little show and tell. I wish I had time to dye it and see how it takes color, but I think that will have to wait until we are settled in the new place.

Oh, time to run and see the new house. Wish me luck. I am nervous and excited all at the same time.

6 More days...

The final countdown has begun. We are finally starting to feel as though we may make it out of this house and into the new one without losing our sanity. Although, I must say, its been a bit of a ride. The movers that hubby has hired don't speak much English, which in and of itself is fine. But, when you combine that with the fact that they don't offer a contract, and are coming the second last day before we must be out of this house and it gets a little more nerve racking. Oh, and they are booked for 2pm on Saturday. So, if they fail to show, we will be running around like chickens trying to move everything by ourselves in one day... Scary stuff. Let's hope that all this worrying pays off and I have only good things to blog about next weekend.

Yesterday we had our token garage sale. You know, the one that you have as soon as you realize just how much crap you actually do have that you really don't want to have to move. So, I sat out in the hot sun (and it was hot) and sold off all of the stuff we had bought at previous garage sales. I got one heck of a sun burn, but it was totally worth it. We made a whopping $175.00 (and we only sold half of our stuff!). I figure I will need some serious yarn therapy to relieve the pain of my sunburn.
I also got to knit for 6 hours on and off between the swarms of people driving up to pay us money for all the stuff we didn't want anymore. So, here is the obligiatory pic of me working on the Knit Picks socks. I am doing them using a pattern called "the Ultimate Re-footable Sock" and am making a pair of camping socks for a friend of mine who wears only socks while camping. This way, I figure if she wears out the soles, I can just re-knit them for her and she will be good to go.

I also feel like we are getting closer to having everything packed up. Although, I am starting to wonder why we have all these boxes of stuff when it seems painfully obvious that we can do without them. I mean, all this stuff has been boxed up for 2 or 3 weeks now and I honestly can't even remember what was in them. Maybe it will be like Christmas when we open them again.

Let's see, what else? Oh yes, we went to the flooring place Friday. Squee!! We picked out a carpet sample and the hardwood sample too. We are going with a chocolate colored carpet in the family room and Maple hardwood in the rest of the house. I can't wait. I really think that once we get the carpets up and all the painting and new flooring in, it will all come together nicely.


I think that I will be spending much of this week packing and working on my design project. I can't wait to get that done. I just wish that I had more time to work on it. There are truly not enough hours in the day! And, just because, I will leave you with some pics of the sock yarn that I got last Thursday at Make One Yarn Studio. Thursdays truly are for sock yarn...

See the purple/green sock yarn on the bottom? I think that this yarn wants to be a pair of Jaywalker socks. I am almost sure of it. As for the orange/red and the green/pink colors, I just don't know yet. They haven't asked to be anything specific. If you have any ideas, let me know. I am sure that in time, all will be revealed. I am going now to pack the extra clothes in my closet and then to pack the extra food in our pantry. Boxes and boxes and more boxes...

Am I out of control?

I think that this hobby of mine is getting out of hand a little maybe. Yesterday, I had a spinning lesson at Legacy Studio from the lady who sold me my wheel. I wanted to make sure that I wasn't overspinning my singles, which she assured me I wasn't. So, on my way there, I stopped at this cute little yarn shop and bought some Lorna's Laces in a very pretty pink color. Truthfully, I couldn't help it. I took one look at them and knew that they wanted to be Baudelaire. So really, what is a girl to do? And, because they had so many skeins of Koigu, I just knew that I needed to take a couple home. I couldn't, in good conscience, leave them with that many skeins of Koigu, now could I? So, I did the right thing and took some with me. i promise to give them a good home.

Here's where it gets kinda hinky. I really meant to go out to my lesson and buy some more roving to practice on, but I ended up coming home with a set of Ashford hand cards, some Polworth roving (oh so soft - I can sure tell the difference between this and Corridale), some Corridale, and some Flicker which is a nylon roving that is dyed a number of beautiful colors. I really should be working on my homework for my design class, packing, and using up the fiber that I already have, but I just can't seem to help myself. The flicker was just too sparkly and I weakly justified it by saying to myself that I would spin it and make Bunny a hat and some mitty's for her b-day.

I also got some thread to ply with and I was pleasntly surprised at how lovely the yarn was that I created with the polworth & flicker carded together and plied with the white thread. It made a very pretty, lofty thick and thin yarn. We went last night and bought a DVD player for the Van, so when we drive to Edmonton this weekend, I am fairly confident that I will be able to knit the yarn while she watches a DVD in the backseat. Three hours of knitting there (I will work on my homework for design class) and three hours back. Plenty of time to get everything done right?

Well, we have our first b-day for Bunny to go to. She is super excited. It's for one of her friends from daycare that she adores. Princess theme and all that jazz. Little girls are so much fun...

Oh, and I did pack 2 boxes this morning while I was waiting for the coffee to brew. I think that this week in the evenings hubby and I will need to get through the basement junk. I have a goal.

Warning... Serious Yarn Porn Ahead.

I have made some real progress since my last post. The packing is still weighing heavily on my mind, however, hubby has book some movers. I can now focus less on the move and more on the knitting. But first, since I did promise yarn porn, here it is without further ado.













Recognize any of the yarn in the basket? I'm sure it was easy to identify the Lorna's Laces in Black Purl colorway, especially if you have read any of my previous posts. It's anxiously awaiting its transformation from beautiful soft & silky skein to gorgeous and fantastic Clapotis. I picked this yarn up at the Make One Yarn Studio sale a few weeks ago. I also admit I have a secret weakness for sock yarn and couldn't pass up some stripey Art Yarns Ultramerino in a verigated olive, tan, grey, black and white colorway. So pretty. Oh, also in the basket is the very beautiful yarn that was sent to me by my yarn swap pal. I finally managed to get a picture of it. I also received my Rowan 4-ply yarn that I had been waiting for from eBay. The colorway is called "Ripple", but I don't think that name does it justice. I think that it looks more like "Ghost" or "Cloud". What do you think?

And, I have my 2nd design class tonight at Make One Yarn Studio. I can't wait. I am pretty much done the band part of my sweater and have swatched my gauge swatch with the pattern for the body. I am still having problems posting a picture. Not an excuse I swear, I really can't. Maybe when hubby gets home I will have him fix it. Maybe not. Anticipation and all...

Moving is Consuming my Life

I feel as though we have been moving for the last 5 years. Seriously. Everywhere I go is in disarray and its makin me crazy!! See what I am talking about?? Horrible mess everywhere. Whose big idea was it to move anyway?? Mine??

I must have been out of my mind. Agh. And the worst part? It's only going to get worse. Bah. See all the stuff in the picture with the table? That's all the crap in our house that needs to be garage sale'd. Seriously, just how many empty cd cases does one person need? Not to mention all the weird and ugly coffee cups that we seem to have collected. Very, very strange. I have no idea how all this crap got into our house. Must have been before I moved in. And what's with all the knickety-knackety crap that was caught hiding in drawers, closets, and, believe it or not, under the sink? I hate hate hate knicknacks. Even the word makes me cringe. Dust collectors. And, I just realized that the move is taking over my life so much that it is taking over my knitting blog too.

Let's fix that. We now interrupt your regularly scheduled moving bitch session to bring you some knitting commentary. First of all, I am loving the knit design class I am taking. The gals at Make One Yarn Studio have been absolutely amazing and so helpful. I am taking the class under Amy Swenson and she is so talented! What I am designing will be revealed in good time, however, I will say this, it is cranberry, a garment and will have a band of some sort under the bust. I wanted to post a picture of the gauge swatch that I made, but I couldn't get it to load for some reason, so there you have it. Hopefully by next week, I hope to have the band part finished, but right now I am stuck on what to do with it. I have spent the last 2 days pouring over my stitch a day calendar and Nicky Epstein's "Knitting On the Edge", but so far nothing seems just right. I sent Terry out to get "Knitting Over the Edge". Hopefully inspiration will strike and the band will be finished by Thursday. I promise to post more about the knitting and designing, rather than the moving next time. I promise.

Ok, I have taken my well-earned 15 minutes. Back to packing and intermittent swearing.

I am busy. So busy in fact, that finding time to blog has been difficult. Packing, setting up movers, work, getting the stuff for the lawyer and insurance on the new home, and now the knitwear design course that I am taking has been super duper hectic and taking up all of my time. Such little time.

What am I working on now you ask?? I am making a new a-line tunic shirt for my knitwear design course, making a pair of socks out of knitpicks memories sock yarn in the Cape Cod colorway. And, I have my 3 skiens of Lorna's Laces in the Black Purl colorway (inspired by Johnny Depp's movie - Pirates of the Caribbean - Curse of the Black Pearl) with which to make Clapotis and I am waiting on the 10 skiens of Rowan Cotton 4 Ply in Ripple that I ordered for the Lucky Lace Wrap from SnB Nation.

So, as soon as that arrives, I suppose I will promptly pack it up and put it into the yarn box so that it will arrive at the new house when we move. I feel as though I have too many projects on my plate at the moment frankly, and need to slow down a bit. I think I may be taking too much on and am getting more and more stressed by the day. I simply can not keep up with packing, moving, work, and all the knitting I would like to do. Not to mention the fact that we are trying to squeeze in family and friend visits between now and the move and trying to think about planning for the flooring, painting, and Kalika's birthday in between. Sigh.

On the upside, I am working very diligently at making myself feel better. I have booked a spa appointment for tomorow at Oasis spa and will be getting the "Raindrop Therapy". Described on their website:

Like drops of rain, nine essential oils are applied along the spine. Each oil is layered one upon the other. Your back massage is completed with a hot compress treatment. Your legs are treated to essential oils and massage as well. Toxins are released and the immune system is boosted.

Pure yummm... I will float back home feeling renewed and re-energized right??

I am a Yarn Swapper!!!

I officially got my yarn out to my secret pal (who loved it!) and even though I had to give up some of the yummiest yarn that I have ever seen, I felt so good when I saw that my yarn pal had opened it and loved it! I have some more that I am sending out to her in the meantime, but I am so happy that she loved what I sent her.


Oh and I also got my yarn in the mail! What a total score. I am so pleased with everything! I got 2 skeins of a yarn that I have never even seen before and it is totally fantastic!! There is enough here to make a pair of socks and so I think that once I have perfected the toe up technique, I will make some using this super fantastic yarn. The yarn is absolutely gorgeous in a blue/green colorway called Caribbean Blue. I also got some amazing stitch markers and let me tell you, it irks me to no end to know that we have no battery for the camera right now (it was left at a friends cabin by that guy I live with) and as a result, no picture. I also got what I am fairly sure is a needle holder. Its a small wooden tube with leaves and the like painted on it. I can hardly wait to see what next month will bring!!

And, as if that wasn't enough, my spinning fiber that I ordered online came yesterday as well. I ordered some of the softest top merino in a blue/green colorway called "Under the Sea" and 4oz of pure silk in the same colorway. So shiny. Truthfully, I am not ready to be spinning with this yet, but, I intend to take some of the yarn that I have already spun out to the lady that I bought my wheel from and have her correct some of the errors that I have made. I also intend to buy some more cheap practice yarn and a set of combs at the same time. Soon I will be ready to spin this yarn. I just know it!

And, on the homefront, packing is a total nightmare. If its possible, I actually hate it more!! I am currently at 15 packed boxes (after packing for a whole freaking week!) and the kitchen is in a state of chaos that makes me want to crawl out of my skin every time I go in there. We are putting all of the garage sale stuff in the kitchen until I get my office cleaned out and we can stack it in there. Husband has been a total help... he has packed one box and is currently shredding all the extra stuff in his filing cabinet. Oh ya, some serious help there I tell ya! Still no movers hired yet, but he assures me that he has moved more times than I could ever count and he knows what he is doing. I will keep the updates coming.

Other than that, some misc housekeeping things going on in the house. Got the cats shaved. Romeo looks like one of those freakin hairless cats (or possible a bobblehead of his former self) as his fur was the same color as skin. Pretty freakin gross. Skinny cat with a big head. And, surprisingly, Indica is pretty svelte for a cat. Who knew? Not me. Seriously. Otherwise, all calm around here. packing, packing and more packing. What could be more fun??

I have a new Love

The Lucky Lace Wrap from SnB Nation. Remember the great book that I gushed and gushed over in that it included the schematics for designing anything (I Heart algebra)? Well, I want to make this next from the book since I think that it would make a nice cardigan for wearing to work. I just need to figure out what yarn to use since it calls for a fingering weight yarn (I think).

I also finished my One Skein Wonder and its currently blocking on the floor of my laundry room. I must confess to wearing it for a while before I blocked it, but I couldn't stop myself. The yarn is so dang cushy and soft!! MMMM Misti Alpaca (total yum!). I made it in a very natural color so that I will be able to wear it with almost everything. Now I want to make one in white and one in black. Oh heck, I want to make it in every color of the rainbow. Its such a fast knit and so easy. And, since it requires so little, you can make it in such yummy yarn that I normally wouldn't buy for larger projects.

I have also started packing. I hate packing. No, I abhor packing. I will be happy when its all done and all of the work is done and we have moved. It seems all at once like an eternity and no time at all. I have also been having crazy dreams that there are horrible things wrong with the house and we have moved in and find them. Things like a family of snakes living in the basement and the walls falling down around us while we run away in fear. Maybe the dreams will ward off any actual bad things from happening. Maybe. I will still be nervous until sometime after we are settled in. I worry. Its what I do.

Where Have I gone??

I haven't posted in a while and here's why -- we bought a HOUSE!! Yes, we already own a house, but this is a new house. Well, new to us anyway.... and its fantastic. But, buying a house and selling your own house is a big process and it takes lots of time. In fact, I haven't even knit anything in the last 2 weeks or so because of all the time I have spent looking at houses and getting ours ready to show. plus, we had to stay away all weekend so that potential home buyers could come and look at our house. Don't even get me started on that!! People are so disrespectful of other people's things. In the 2 days over the weekend that our home showed, the back door was left wide open and the soap dish in our bathroom was ripped off the wall! Nice.

Anyway, back to the new house. Here are some pics of it:












Nice eh?? We think so. Personally I hate the colors. I am already in the process of picking out new furniture and thinking about paint options. I can't wait to get started on making it ours. We take possession on the 21st of July (just 10 days before Kiki's b-day) and we have 10 days before we have to be fully out of our house. just 10 days to get the flooring and painting done. We want to paint all of the rooms (they all need it) and put laminate in the dining room and living room. We also need to redo the bathrooms and put in new tiles and a new sink and tub in each bathroom. It needs a LOT of work, but I know that with a little TLC, this house can be sooooooo nice.
Oh, and did I mention the best part?? It has a fireplace!! There is a sunkenn family room just below the kitchen and it has a fireplace and a walk out deck (actually, both the kitchen and the family room have walkout decks!). The fire place will also need some re-finishing, but once we do, it will look amazing!


Anyway, that's what I have been up to. I have just cast on a pair of socks, so not very exciting, but I am doing them toe up this time, so I guess that's at least somewhat interesting. Right? I will include a shot of them sometime this week if I get a moment. Otherwise, I imagine I will be fairly busy for the new few weeks/months. We are taking offers on our house tomorrow night. So, I am crossing my fingers between now and then in hopes that it will sell. Anything could happen between now and then!

Yesterday I had an epiphany!

No. Really. I was at an all day meeting in Edmonton yesterday and on my way home realized that I had a gift card for Chapters from the organization that I work for that I got as a thank you for special project work I did in January and February. So, thinking that I would buy a few knitting books with my free cash (something I would never do with my own money -- books are way too expensive, magazines cost so much less), I went in and spent an hour perusing the books that they had there. Mmmm... green tea frappaccino and knitting books; could there be any better way to spend an hour? Guess what I came out with?? Stitch and Bitch Nation and Special Knits: 22 Gorgeous Handknits For Babies and Toddlers.

So, why you ask, did I have an epiphany? Let me tell you, I didn't realize what a treasure I had until I got to Red Deer and stopped to have dinner. I sat down, ordered a salad and flipped open the SNB Nation and about fell out of my chair!! The first chapter describes in detail how to dissect, examine, and re-work almost every pattern out there. Booyah!! Why did no one tell me about this before?? Or, if they did, why didn't I listen?? So, now, I have had exciting visions of sitting down and creating the perfect fitted garment to flatter my figure and make me look exactly like a super model (well maybe that's a bit far fetched, but you get the idea). I even have a design idea in mind, and will be spending the day searching for the perfect yarn to make my dreams a reality. I am thinking something totally yum in a dk or lighter weight. And, it must be pink. Dark pink in fact. Oh, totally yum.

Oh, and I know that there has been a serious lack of knitting progression pictures posted lately. To explain; I have been uber busy with work and super tired when I get home at night. I also have started working out at lunch and have been unable to knit then too. And, I had to frog Calla (yet a-freakin-gain) and so, I am back on square one with her. And I promised myself that I would try not to do anything else until she was off my needles and on my body. Bah. I *hate* this tank now and if I hadn't (in my infinite wisdom) suggested that I do a KAL with the project, I would have thrown her on the floor, stomped on her and used the beautiful yarn to make something far less evil. So, no pictures of FO's, WIP's or anything else for the time being. Bah. And, given the way that this tank is going so far, me thinks that there will not be any progress pics for a good long while. Although, I can offer one small thing in the meantime, I have been spinning away and have a few skeins which I will take pics of and post once they have been wound and blocked. I may even knit a gauge swatch of each hank this weekend and post those too if I get some extra energy.

If at first you don't succeed...

Frog and Frog again! I am still working on the Calla tank. So far, I have frogged it twice already. I truly hope that the third time really is a charm. I am knitting it in the round right now. I figured if I have to do it all over again, I might as well do it as one piece and hopefully shave off some time. I have also not been able to get to it this weekend as I was outside doing yard work all weekend. I am happy to say that all my hard work has paid off. The flower beds and vegetable boxes have all been weeded and are chock full of seeds just waiting to sprout. As I always do this time of year, I will now walk by them daily on the way to my car and wait for little green shoots. I will water diligently and weed daily. And, in a few short months, I will hate the garden and I will water less and less and I will only harvest half of what I plant. I don't know why, but for some reason, I hate picking the dang veggies. And I especially dislike washing them once they come out of the garden. I really don't mind that my husband has never done any of the gardening every year either, but it sure would be nice if he did the work at the end when it came time to pick and wash. I would even mow the lawn all the time without complaining. (I do it now, I just complain a lot).

I am also at a cross roads with my knitting. I finished my one skein wonder a week or so ago and while I love it, I still want to make one out of a cotton or maybe a more defined yarn. I love my OSK, but would like a summer-y version as well. Pure alpaca (I used Misti Alpaca) isn't really so summer-y. Once I finish Calla (and I will dang it!), I don't know what to make. I would like to make something for the Bean, but what? She will be turning 4, so maybe a little jumper dress or a cute sweater for once it turns colder. I just don't know. See, cross roads. maybe it will come to me soon.

So much for De-stashing...

Last week I had 2 days off work... so, I hopped into my car, drove to my LYS and bought myself some Misti Alpaca... so soft and squishy. Total yum. Then, I sat for 2 days and knit myself a beeeautiful One skein wonder. I would have taken a picture, but I didn't have time this weekend. And, my great hu-band got me a gift certificate to perhaps the nicest spa in town here... ah, absolute bliss! He is truly a great guy!

I am still working on Calla and have had to frog twice so far. I guess that's what I get for trying to work on it while I am watching tv. I hope to be finished by the end of next week and think that I may just be since I am getting the hang of it and the pattern is going so much faster now. I am almost back to where I was before I frogged the first time. The real trick is remembering to make sure the yo's are done before any P2's. Otherwise, its a cinch.

I can't wait to be finished. I also need to get to my LYS and pick up the yarn for my yarn swap friend. Hmmm... so much to do, so little time!

Destashing? De-Lovely!

Well, I went on a major se-stashing expedition and re-sorted through the numerous (and overflowing) yarn purchases that I have made in order to find yarn for 3 items. It was time to re-sort, re-think, and ultimately it seems, re-stash... dang.

1. Clapotis - I have 2 possibilities for this. I originally thought of using that lovely handspun from Peru that I got last week for this, but I don't think that it will be a) the right gauge and b) shiny enough. Sooo... I think that I am going to track down 2 more skeins of black pearl (Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb) to go with the one that I got off of eBay and use that. I really like the gauge/shine/color of the LL's for that and so Lorna's Laces, it will be.

2. This shrug from the soon to be defunct FCEK magazine (which I couldn't find a net picture of to save my life):

Is one that I have been wanting to make for about a month now, but since I only have enough mercerized cotton for about half. The yardage on it calls for 13 balls of "Shimmer" by Coats & Clark, which at 127 yards a ball works out to um... 1651 yards altogether. Even with the most mercerized cotton in the right gauge, I only have um... just under 1000 yards. So much for that idea. And, I know df is going to kill me if I buy some more mercerized cotton since I have 2 different colors just sitting in my stash with pretty decent yardage and no projects for them yet. What's a girl to do. Incidentally, I really like the apple green color of the one on the model in the magazine. Normally I wouldn't contemplate apple green, but I really think that it is a nice color for this type of thing. Thinking on it, I think that when I finally finish Calla, I will be looking for some dk weight mercerized cotton/cotton blend for this.

3. One skein Wonder - Now, this is a tricky one. I have absolutely no bulky weight yarn in my stash. Its not a gauge that I normally knit with. So, what to do? I really want to make this in a dark color like a really really dark blood color/wine color. I originally thought that the one skein of Lorna's Laces Black Pearl would be perfect, but now I don't think it will work, even doubled up. So, once again, I am off to the store to get some bulky yarn in this colorway.


Ok, now that I have the three projects that I am looking to complete, I am determined not to add any more to the cue. These are my summer projects and that is it (ya right... until the next magazine comes out).

Oh, one other very neat thing -- I joined a yarn swap and got paired up with someone from the US. I suppose I will just have to hit a yarn store sometime today and find her something very very neat while I maybe buy the yarn for one of these projects. I just made reservations at Japanese Village for lunch with Ter so I will probably go to my favorite knitting store after on the way home. Or maybe I will get my knitting buddy's yarn at the store and then order some for myself off of Elann.com/knitpicks... so many expensive choices... so little de-stashing. What is a girl to do??