My Own Design

Ok, so now I can post about it...

I wrote my first pattern!!! And, it's being used by Make1 Yarn Studio for their sock club as the first pattern for 2007. **Gulp** I am both totally elated and totally nervous at the same time. I mean, what if there are glaring errors in the pattern? What if people hate it? What if? What if? This pattern is going out to a lot of people... too scary and cool all at the same time.

Ok, deep breath. As the ever wise Claudia puts it... well, check out #6. I guess no one will really die or go to jail if the pattern is a bit off... ok.

If you want to check out the pattern, check out the Make1 website.

This has been such a great week for me, truly. Besides having my pattern used for sock club, I am pleased to announce that I got the promotion that I was hoping for has been awarded. When I come back to work after my mat leave, I will be in a new position with a nice raise. The letter came today and I am totally thrilled. I have been working for the last two years to get this position.

So, on that happy note, I have two more weeks of work left and then I have the next while to spend at home with Bunny and the New Bean. Life is sweet.

Edited to add: I totally forgot - my sockapalooza pal left me a message asking how big my calf is around - it's 15.5" and from heel to back of knee is 15". Thanks sock pal! I can't wait!

Spring has Sprung...

...for the most part.

Ok, not withstanding the fact that it snowed a lot last weekend, I managed to get some planting done this weekend. This is our first summer in this house and I am so loving how the yard looks now that the grass is mowed and the flowers are in. I stepped out this morning and took some shots of the new hanging pots and boxes that Hubby made me.

And, thanks to the snow, I did get the Jaywalkers off the needles. I am so happy to be finished these now that spring is here.

Pattern: Jaywalkers from Magknits done toe up

Yarn: Lily Petal from HL Miller Yarns.

Small Progress

I have been working on mainly smaller projects lately because of the intense fatigue that I am finding goes along with creating a human. You would think that would make for fast knits, but sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case. I have made some progress on the Lily Petal Jays that I was working on, but I feel like they possibly won't be done in time to make the SAM3 KAL for May. I am going to try to push through the next few days and get them off the needles asap.





Its taken me this long to admit to myself that I may have taken on a bit more than I can handle as far as knitting projects go; especially given my ever looming due date and the things that also need to be done around the house to prepare for the new babe. I currently have to finish:

• a chevron scarf to finish for the end of July (although this was originally intended for Mother's day)


• another pair of socks (Trekking XXL) for the same time


• Baby projects out the wazoo (no pun intended, heh) which all need to be ready for mid-July


• a pair of socks for my sockapalooza pal for the beginning of August


• finishing on the Monica tank that I knitted for Bunny to go in her "Big sister kit" for when the baby arrives


• a scarf that I have been working on as a store sample for Make1


• and finally... a sock that I am working on for Make1... that has *gulp* somehow disappeared. It just walked off. Luckily, it's in a plastic bag so it won't come undone. I think it's probably in my car as I have been knitting on it during my lunch hours in an attempt to get it done as quickly as possible. Have no fear, I will find it this weekend and plan to have it done for Tuesday knit night.

I must admit that the projects I am finding most enjoyable lately are for baby... go figure. They are quick to knit and are such a change from socks! I have some trouble justifying buying an entire sweater's worth of yarn for me, but somehow buying for the babe is no problem. I am working on the Sirdar pattern that I talked about in a recent blog post and it's flying along. I finished the back in record time and am slowly working on the front cabled piece (this thing has about 8 different types of cables!) but I have forced myself to put it on hold until the socks get done. Must resist baby cuteness...

And, speaking of cuteness...

Where do I belong? Well, now you know...

Turns out I belong in Amsterdam.... no big surprise there hey? Check me out.

You Belong in Amsterdam

A little old fashioned, a little modern - you're the best of both worlds. And so is Amsterdam.Whether you want to be a squatter graffiti artist or a great novelist, Amsterdam has all that you want in Europe (in one small city).

What European City Do You Belong In?

Oh and I have been tagged several times over for the 7 weird things meme, but since I have already done the six weird things meme, I am just going to say I am lazy (and like 20 months pregnant) and only add one more thing to the list:

7. I want a monster truck. I have wanted one for as long as I can remember. It has to be really big, with those huge tires and a lift kit and a roll bar with lights along the top. I probably wouldn't ever be able to park it or drive it down a narrow street as I have no depth perception, but I still want one... go figure.

Home Sweet Home

I am back! It feels so nice after being away for so long to sleep in my bed and wake up in my own house. I am getting to the point now, at 32 weeks pregnant, that hotel beds and working 12 hours a day is a little more than I can handle. However, I received some amazing news the other day that I will hopefully be able to share in a bit. No, we still don't know the sex of the baby...

However, I will admit that everything I seem to be making is blue. I am not drawn to green or yellow at all. I feel like this baby will be wearing blue for some reason. Although, I am trying my darnedest to pick gender neutral stuff, it sure feels as though I am unconsciously leaning one way.

I did finish the baby sweater that I was working on the weekend before I left to go to Canmore for work. I absolutely love it! I also made a matching "fruit cap" hat from an Ann Norling pattern that I picked up at Make1.


Pattern: Baby Placket Neck Sweater - Last Minute Knitted Gifts - size 0-6 months
Yarn:Rowan Handknit Dk Cotton
Modifications: I didn't sew the placket the same way as the book asks for. Instead, I sewed it closed at the bottom and sewed 2 mother of pearl buttons in permanently so that the neck would fold over or stand up on its own.

I didn't make any modifications on the fruit cap, however, I do plan to make another one using seed stitch instead of a rolled brim. I think I will also make the next one somewhat smaller as this one came out a little larger than I thought it would.

I also treated myself to some new yarn and a pattern at the one yarn store in Canmore. I bought some Sirdar snugly dk yarn in a light greeny blue and a cute baby pullover pattern. I can't wait to get started on this. Just as soon as some of the other things that I have committed to do are off the needles. I am having a hard time deciding if I want to knit it with the hood as the green photo shows. I think I am leaning toward the hooded one and I did buy enough yarn just in case I decide to make it that way.

Remember the Jaywalker that I started on at the end of April? I have had this half finished sock on the needles for a while now and am just getting ready to turn the heel. I am hoping to have this pair finished for the end of May for my SAM 3 KAL.

Of course, I did get some new yarn in the mail while I was away. The day it arrived, I had been working since 8am and called hubby at 11pm (still working!) for some sympathy. He was also seriously grumpy and we ended up getting into an argument. By way of making peace, he let me know that I had gotten some yarn that day and when he opened the box, he loved the colors so much that the argument was forgotten. We talked about yarn for a few minutes and I went to bed happy. See, yarn really does solve problems :) What did I get? Some new custom dye sock yarn from HLMiller (again, if you get a chance, check her out - her yarn is amazing) and some Louett Gems Pearl in a light pink color. I have no big plans for these yet, but once I have some time off, I'm sure that I will have it all figured out. For now, they will go to the place that all good sock yarns go... the stash shelf.

Only 4 more weeks until I am off on maternity leave... the needles will surely be flying then.

A Work in Progress

I do have a number of things on the needles right now, but nothing seems to be finishing very quickly. As I get more and more pregnant, I am finding that I am more and more tired and unable to complete more than a few rows a night. Thus, today I have only works in progress to show to you.

I have actually started knitting some baby things. Now, don't get excited because it's blue... we still don't know what we are having, but I figured since we have so many left over pink clothes from when Bunny was a babe, I would try my best to even things out a bit. Anyone recognize this? It's the placket neck sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I love this book. I originally wasn't going to get it, but I became sold on the book when I saw the number of amazing chevron scarves that were being knitted out of it. I am knitting the sweater in some Rowan dk cotton that I scored off of the Destash blog.

I am also making some headway on the Chevron Scarf that is being knit for a special someone. I don't think that she reads the blog, but just in case, I won't mention her name. Of course, if she does happen to read the blog, she will know instantly that it is for her... no one else I know wears this much pink!

I am also about halfway done the secret project that I showed you a few days ago. I can't wait to get this off the needles and into the hands of the person that needs it. I am woefully behind on delivery, but there are some reasons for that which I will share in a minute.



Ok, onto the real reason that I am so behind on my knitting. (Warning: baby stuff ahead...)

I went to the doctor yesterday and found out that my iron is seriously low. This means that there really is a reason for my being so tired all the time. I need to get an iron supplement and take it daily and hopefully that will help.

And, we also got some somewhat scarier news... turns out between my last 2 sets of bloodwork, my white blood cells and platelets have dropped and this puts me in the low end of acceptable for these numbers. What they are telling me is that I will need to have my bloodwork done regularly and that they will monitor these levels closely. The bottom line is that if it drops too much, they will need to deliver the baby early. And, if I make it to term and the number is too low, they won't be able to give me an epidural. I guess that this can happen to some pregnant women and that the concern is that it affects blood clotting. So, we are keeping our fingers (and my knees) crossed in the meantime. If I can make it another 6 weeks, I will be considered full term. Wish me luck.

A Real, Live, Knitting Meme

Another Meme... This time actually about knitting...

The instruction part:

Mark with bold the things you have knit, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

AfghanI-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (=modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Baby items
Knitting with your own hand-spun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Participate in an exchange
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Buttonholes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cosies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on one or two circulars
Knitting with someone else’s hand-spun yarn
Knitting with dpns
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener stitch
Knitted flowers
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac - have a pattern for a bag
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self patterning/self striping/variegated yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
JewelryKnitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Free-form knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mits/arm-warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an on-line knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public


What have you learned to do that has marked a definite change in your knitting life?

I think that the day that I realized that I could create my own patterns and tailor patterns to fit my needs/ yarn on hand/ personal style & size made the most difference in my knitting to date. I owe this realization to the SnB Nation Book which broke down the math that goes into designing patterns. Until that point, I didn't really have a very deep understanding of gauge and how the pieces fit together. Once that all came together, the class that I took at Make1 helped to solidify the basic knowledge of how a garment is constructed and how to put all the pieces together.

I came across this Knitting Survey over at Yellow House Treasures and thought it was interesting.

HOW ABOUT YOU?!!
Place this on your CRAFTY Blog and link to me.. I’d love to see how many different techniques you’ve done or hope to do and what knitting has meant to you!!

TGIF Baby

Just a few quick things to show today...

Since it's Friday, I figured I would show you something pretty. This is something that I am working on for someone else and it must remain a secret, hence the abstract picture. I really wanted to share the colors of this yarn though. Beautiful, no? I am totally into the jewel box tones mixing with the rustic browns and greens.



I also finally finished the Socks that Rock Inside Out socks that were February's kit from the rockin sock club. A big thanks to Dana for helping me figure out where I went wrong on the cables. A little time out, some quick frogging, and re-knitting, and they are finito. What do you think? In case you are wondering, I took the pictures with the socks on inside out...



That's really all I have on the needles right now that is blogworthy. I am still working on the Chevron scarf and have another scarf on the needles right now that I keep putting off (bad, bad, me), but otherwise, I have nothing. I am at an impasse. I really feel like starting a baby project, but am lacking the motivation to jump right in. You see, I am so tired these days that knitting is actually a chore of sorts and so I am trying to work on very small projects that require little thought. Maybe once I am off work life will be a little easier.

Actually, home is where the yarn is...

Let's talk about stash. I know that this has been discussed ad nauseum on other blogs, but let's face it; every knitter finds themselves looking at their stash once in a while and quietly contemplating whether or not it's over the top. I had that exact moment last night when I went to the post box, found the magic oversized parcel box key, opened the box and found... 2 bags waiting for me to take home and open. What was in the new bags? Well, in one I found my new STR rockin sock club shipment for April. I am totally in love with this pattern and the yarn is simply stunning. The pattern appears to be well written and thought out (there was a lot of criticism over the last pattern regarding gauge, instep issues, and pooling vs striping - some people are never satisfied) and the yarn - yum, yum, yummy. Silkie is my new favorite sock yarn I think!!! So soft and I love the stripe-y effect that it has. MMMMMMM.

Of course, if that were all, I wouldn't have had the moment of stash contemplation. Oh no, it didn't end there. Also in the mail box were the two skeins of STR that I had ordered previously. One is a colorway that was specially dyed for me by the nice ladies at STR (and so I can't mention the name of the colorway) and one is Lucy, which you may or may not know was aptly named by the oh so smart ladies at STR after Wendy's cat, Lucy. Gorgeous, no?

Now, I don't normally ask for custom dyes, but in this case, I was running out of options. See, I have been working on a secret project for a very special person in my life. Someone who has been my best friend and support system since, well, forever. This person, therefore, deserves a very special project. So, I choose the chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and picked up two skeins of STR in Chapman Springs and Garnet Dreams. Well, when I started to knit these two yarns together, I wasn't pleased with the results and went in search of something that would offer more contrast compared with the Chapman Springs. I didn't find anything on either the Bluemoon or the Fold Website, so I decided to see if I could get a custom dye and the ladies at STR came through for me. All that remains now is to frog the scarf and re-start it in the new colors.



See what I mean? Muddy on the one end. Don't worry, soon I will have photos to show you of something decidely un-muddy.

As well, the order of Duet sock yarn that I bought last week came in. Amazing, no? This yarn is so vibrant and soft. I can't wait to see how it knits up. I promise a full review as soon as I get some of the other things off my needles. Oh and how cute is the little sock blocker? This came as a gratis gift. Too cute!!

And, last, but not least, I was at SnB night the other night and happened to be persuaded to buy 2 skeins of Tofutsies. Now, I have heard such great things about this yarn and the fact that it contains chitin swayed me. Not to mention the colors... so cool. They seem variegated and yet not. Its also amazingly soft and plushy - almost like velvet. I can't wait to give a review of this yarn too.

Ok, now comes the embarrassing part. I still am waiting on at least 3 more shipments of yarn to come in. I know. I know. I am actually turning red thinking about it. But, honestly, in my defense, it was all bought so quickly and when you are shopping online, it doesn't really seem real because of the waiting time between purchase and package. Right? So, it really comes as a shock when all of the packages seem to arrive at the same time. That's when it becomes a problem.

Also, in my defense, most of the rest of the yarn coming in has been earmarked for baby clothes and other various baby items. We have 3 babies arriving soon in this family and they will all need some togs to wear once they are here. Anyway, that's my story and I am sticking to it. I have officially put myself on a sock yarn diet, because although as we all know, sock yarn doesn't officially count as stash, but I am starting to admit to myself that maybe if sock yarn is the only thing you stash, it really does count.

I am also pledging to get rid of some of my sock yarn. In fact, if you click on the "destash" button in my sidebar, it will take you to the place that I do most of my destashing. It's a great site and the ladies that run it are amazing.

Of course, it was all put into perspective for me last night when Terra from SnB mentioned that she was over at another knitter's house the other day - apparently this knitter (who shall remain nameless) has two rooms of her house that are dedicated solely to her yarn... who knew? Maybe my addiction isn't really that bad... right? right?

Sock-lobster

Seems as though I am sticking to my pledge to knit a pair of socks a month has been working. Since I made the new years resolution in January, I have knit 4 pairs of socks and 3 singles. Not too shabby. I also have some WIP's to show you. I started on the STR socks and got hopelessly stalled after the first sock. For some reason, my cables didn't turn out quite right and so these socks were sent to time out for a while. I figured since the new months yarn was shipped last week, I better get to it, so I cast on for the second sock and am as far as the cable section. I have smartened up somewhat and threaded myself a lifeline so that if I mess the cables up again, frogging will be easier. I can just zip down to the lifeline and start over again. At least, that's the theory. Hopefully this time the cables will miraculously work out and I can frog the other sock and re-work the cables in the same manner. Wish me luck. I would really like to have these socks done before the next kit arrives.






Then I got some sock yarn in the mail from HL Miller and started my first pair of Jaywalker's. I know I am late to jump on the Jay bus, but this is such an amazingly easy and quick knit pattern that I know I will use it over and over. It compliments the yarns that I like to buy - namely self striping or verigated- so well and the finished product is fantastic. I even started a pair of baby Jays in the left over "Malamute" Yarn Pirate yarn. I think it's so neat how the different patterns showcase this yarn. I have seen this color knit up in at least 3 different patterns (including the Embossed Leaves socks that I knit with it) and each pattern shows it so well.





I also got some more sock yarn in the mail yesterday that started out being a great deal when I first bought it (10.00 a skein for hand dyed 100% bamboo yarn) turned out to not be such a great deal. I payed about $6.00 shipping for the 3 skeins when I first bought it. Then it was shipped by accident to our old address, and sent back by the new owners (despite my going over there and explaining to them what had happened, leaving my number and asking them to call so I could come pick it up when it arrived - but that's another story, grrr.). So, when it arrived back at the original location, the seller re-sent, but I had to pay another $7.00 for it. And, of course, when it came in, customs wanted another $7.00 for it. So, the grand total for these 3 skeins of yarn came to a whopping total of $50.00 US, which I am aware is not a lot for hand dyed sock yarn, but still $14.00 more than it should have been. However, it is lovely and will be put to good use shortly.





I do have some more amazing sock yarn coming in soon. Husband seems to have relented on his yarn ban, plus, I made over a hundred dollars de-stashing some of the older yarn that I had which I knew would never be used for anything, so I was able to splurge a bit. I did get some of what I believe to be the very last shipment of Sweet Georgia yarn (I hope she enjoys her well earned hiatus), as well as some other yarn that I will be able to show you as soon as it arrives. Hopefully it won't be too long in coming.


Other than that, nothing much is happening here. Yesterday, we took Bunny to a birthday party at a friends house and she played herself out. In fact, she was so tired that she asked to go home at 8pm and went straight to bed. Not like her at all. Turns out, she was getting sick and now we all have sore throats. Everyone is staying home today under soft blankies and much cuddling is happening at this house. I guess the cleaning will have to wait another few days. Oh well. On the baby front, the littlest-little is expected in just over 12 weeks! Time has flown by this time around. Being pregnant the second time around sure is different. I remember with Bunny, I stressed out about everything! I was worried when the baby moved too much or not enough, I watched what I ate, and I made sure that I read as much as I could. This time around, the weeks are flying by, I am still eating many of the things that I shouldn't be (coffee, sushi, and lunch meats - although in moderate ammounts), but I still can't wait to meet this babe... Soon, soon.

Feeling a bit Sentimental

Today I am feeling somewhat nostalgic. Maybe it is the heady combination of pregnancy hormones and copious ammounts of sugar, but I woke up this morning with the strong desire to look at photos and possibly do some serious weeping.

Actually, in truth, I realized with some surprise that I hadn't blogged since April 2 (!) and was desperate for something to blog about. I must confess to not having taken any new photos since my last blog post. Lazy, lazy, me. So, instead of taking new photos (please don't flog me), I went through my old photos and looked at pictures of Bunny from birth to now. Oh, how she has grown. I can't believe that she went from this:

To this:

Can you believe how much she has grown? It seems like just yesterday that I was 300 months pregnant and waiting for her to appear. Now, while waiting for the next babe to arrive, it becomes abundantly clear to me that kids. grow. up. fast. People say this to you when you are pregnant for the first time and you think that you understand this, but really, you don't actually get it until your child starts to grow. I look back on this now and think where did the last 5 years go?? When did she get so big?? Where the heck was I??

I can't wait to see what the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years are like for her. I hope that they are all as wonderful as these first 5 have been.

Ok, for those of you who have made it to this point without throwing up your hands in disgust at the lack of knitting content, I promise to take more pictures of the knitting in progress and have something wonderful and knitting related to post shortly.

Socks that Rock...

I have been dying to start the Chevron scarf that everyone seems to be doing right now using 2 skeins of Socks that Rock, and since we happened to be in Edmonton this weekend, and since River City Yarns happens to be the only store in Western Canada that stocks STR, I just had to get some. I wasn't sure what gauge people were knitting the scarf in, so I picked up two skeins of lightweight in Chapman Springs and Garnet Dreams.

When I got back home, I was able to do some searching on what people are using for color combos and realized that if there is not enough contrast between the yarns, they tend to pool funny and look muddy. I am hoping that there is enough difference between these two colorways so that this doesn't happen. What do you think? Feel free to let me know.




Of course, I also had to buy something for myself. So, I got myself a skein of Watermelon Tourmaline in the Medium Weight. I have no idea what pattern I will use this with, but I'm sure that if I stare at it long enough, inspiration will come to me.




I also started on the Jaywalkers using this yarn from HLMiller. They look great and I would like to show you a photo, but they are in my purse at the moment and I am too lazy to go and photograph them. I will take some pics this week and get them up for your viewing pleasure as soon as possible.

Otherwise, going back to work was as crappy as I thought it would be. I still really like my job, but the joy that I posted about a while ago has gone out of it. I am tired beyond belief. I think that this pregnancy is getting the best of me and I am worried that I won't be able to get back on my feet as quickly as I would like to once the baby arrives. I am thinking of suggesting to my boss that I maybe only work part time from May onwards. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Friday...

Ahhh, Friday. I have to go back to work on Monday and I am so not looking forward to that. More and more I am becoming comfortable with the idea of working from home some how. Must work towards making that a reality. I mean, just look at all the knitting I have gotten done over the last two weeks:

I finished Bunny's sweater. She is thrilled.

And, I started these socks yesterday:




This is how far I got in one day! Amazing, no? Please excuse the cat. She wanted to be a part of the process evidently. Actually she just wouldn't move. These are the Embossed Leaves socks from the new Interweave book - Favorite Socks. The stitch pattern is amazing, easy, and fast. I love them. I am using Yarn Pirate yarn in the Malamute colorway. So pretty. I can't wait to see how they will look once they are blocked.

Here is a close up of the stitch pattern:







I also finished these socks for the SAM 3 KAL. They will be a gift for my Mom's b-day this July.







Pattern: Vanilla Toe Up Socks (using the Summer 2006 Knitty pattern). I base all of my toe up socks on this worksheet. Pure genius.
Yarn: Trekking XXL in some random colorway (I lost the ball band)
Needles: Size 1 US

In baby news, I am 24 weeks as of this past Tuesday. Six months already. I can hardly believe it. I have a guilty confession to make though. I am still drinking coffee. Every morning I have my large, regular, Tim Hortons coffee and savor every minute of it. It's funny, I didn't drink coffee until I started working full time two years ago and now I can't imagine having to give up my one cup a day. I send Husband to get it each morning because I can't stand the dirty looks that non-pregnant people give me when I order, gasp, coffee. I did give it up in the first trimester (mainly because of all the vomiting) so really, I think that I did well. Sheesh. I know I am not alone in this - there must be plenty of pregnant women drinking coffee out there? Right. Either way, I am not giving it up. Bad me.

Remember the snow I showed you the other day? Gone. Totally gone. Calgary weather is crazy weird. See?










In one day all the snow melted. I think this calls for BBQ. I have convinced Husband to let me buy a Webber BBQ this summer (I am crazy for BBQ... I cook dinner almost every night this way in the summer). I can't wait. In case you aren't familar, these are the Cadillac of the BBQ and I. Want. One. They are the most even heating, durable, and user friendly BBQ ever.

We are off to Edmonton this weekend to visit friends. See everyone next week!

A Change in the Weather

Snow today. Snow?!? The last two days have been so nice that we have had the patio doors and all the windows open. Today, snow. Calgary weather sucks. Isn't it supposed to be spring?? I am really getting twitchy waiting for the snow to stop, the buds to come out, and the birds to come back. I want to plant my garden. I want to take the cover off my patio set and have dinner outside on our deck, I want to work in the back yarn. I want to have Husband build the new deck he has promised me and I want to put up a hammock and plant some new trees. You see, the previous owners of this house didn't do much with the landscape, so we have so much to do. I can't wait. Right now, the backyard looks like this:



It's very plain. I can't wait to take it from plain to amazing over the next few years. I also love that the back fence is on a retaining wall and so, we are higher than most of our neighbours. Instant privacy. Add a few trees and this place will be a really nice place to raise the kids.

I took last week and this week off of work, which allows for more knitting and finishing of projects. I must have needed this rest. I have cooked for the last two days in a row and feel so much better. Husband is relieved to be fed again. He was getting really sick of fast food.

With my free time, I decided I would start on this:





It's Monica from the spring Knitty. I can't wait until it's done. Its been a great stash buster as I am using the Patons Grace that I bought for another project that I never got around to. We are trying to put together a "love package" for Bunny to open when the new baby comes. So far, I have a ton of clothes that I bought for her at Old Navy, a huge thing of new coloring markers, and now this tank once its done. I really want to add a bunch of things that she will find special so that she doesn't feel left out. As the baby date gets closer, I have begun to worry more and more that she will have trouble adjusting to this baby. She has been an only child for so long now that I hope the transition will not be too hard for her. I worry so much about it that I almost drive myself nuts... and then she does something like this and I feel so much better...

Home Is Where the Heart Is

Well, here I am, which means that we are not in Virginia. I am both bummed beyond belief and relieved beyond belief at the same time. What happened? Well, on Friday Husband desperately tried to get Bunny an emergency visa. We got all the documents filled out (including spending 2 hours trying to track down a guarantor), got pictures taken of Bunny (which turned out to be too dark... grrr) and then Husband went to apply and was told that if he came back with either a plane ticket or valid travel itinerary in hand, he would be issued an emergency passport in under 24 hours. Yea, so this is when it all broke down. See, we were going to use our built up Airmiles to fly, but because we had 2 days notice, not 2 week, the amount of miles would be significantly reduced. So, our out of pocket cost for flights alone went from about 500.00 to about 3500.00 for the three of us to fly! Way too much. So, we have decided to save those miles for a trip to either Hawaii or Disney World in the new year. A little planning goes a long way.

On the needles at the moment are the socks that I am in the process of designing. I am almost finished the leg of the first toe up sock and will be on the hunt in the next few days trying to figure out what bind off would look nice with them. I want something different from the standard ribbed bind off that I normally do. I have no idea yet. I am hoping something will hit me soon.

I am also almost finished the toe up socks that I am making for my mom's b-day. She requested the yarn and I am confident that I will be able to post them as my March socks for the SAM 3 KAL. I can't wait to get them to her.

I still need to seam Bunny's sweater. I have it sitting on the back of the couch and feel so guilty every time I look at it. Hopefully I will find some motivation this weekend and just get it done. I really should. Soon it will be too warm to wear.

I really only have one thing to show off this weekend. I bought a skein of yarn that I just loved from HLMiller yarns. You really must check out this shop. She knit a pair of jaywalker socks in "Lily Petal" (her own colorway from her Etsy shop) for the SAM 3 KAL and I fell in love with them. You can see more pictures of how this yarn knits into jaywalkers here. She does do custom dying so if you feel you must have this color too, be sure to check her store out. Trust me, the jaywalkers that this yarn makes are to die for. You can see a better photo on the SAM 3 KAL blog in the February sock archives.

Socks, Socks, and more Socks!

I think that I've been bitten by the sock bug that is going around. I have been compelled to start several new socks over the last week and I have even taken to designing my own pattern for a pair using my stitch a day calendar.

Last week, while cleaning out my knitting basket, I found several things that I didn't even remember that I owned! One of these is this skein of Schaefer Anne sock yarn. So, while I finished up other projects, I sat the skein on the end of the couch that is my knitting central and found myself entranced by it. I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing it would look knit up into some toe up socks, with an eyelet lace type pattern up the front of the foot and around the leg. So, I dug through my stitch a day calendar and found the perfect pattern for this yarn; a lacy cabel-y pattern that perfectly flatters the yarn. But, I do have some tinking to do this morning as I somehow dropped a number of stitches last night at Make 1 and will need to go back about 4 rows as a result. I am loving how quickly this pattern knits up and am really enjoying the yarn overs and k2tog that come with a lace pattern. The only kink that I have run into so far is that the pattern is not meant to be used in the round, so I had to re engineer it somewhat to make it into a viable pattern for knitting in the round.

See all the little stray wisps that are coming off the yarn? That's the Mohair. I haven't worked with a sock yarn that contains mohair before, and I was worried that I would get itchy because of it, but it seems fine and I love the loft that it brings to the finished yarn.

I am also finished my first of the pair of Socks that Rock February socks from the Rocking Sock Club. I love the toe, foot, and heel part of the pattern. I hate the cable part from the heel up. My cables look off. I don't know why. I have frogged once already and have re-done the cables, but for some reason they aren't lining up like they should and I can't quite figure out why. Sigh. I was hoping that these would be my completed socks for the SAM3 KAL, but it looks like that won't happen now as I need to go back and re-do the entire leg portion. Luckily I do have some socks that I am making for my Mom that are almost done that I can post as my March socks, but I was really hoping to have them done in time. Oh well, I suppose as long as they are finished by mid April (when the next yarn and pattern comes from STR) I will be ok.

Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong??

And, finally, someone won some sock yarn last week and I have been too lazy to post the winner. Bad me. Actually, I have already notified the winner (Dana) as I happened to both pull her name (using a random number generator last week) and see her (totally coincidentally) at the LYS last night. Too cool. So, here is the yarn that she wins:

I, for the life of me, can't recall where or when I picked up this skein of Sweet Georgia yarn. It appears to be in a colorway (Snapdragon) that is not commercially available on her site and it is enough to make a pair of socks (420 yards) all wrapped up in one skein. No clue where it came from, but I do know where it is going. Yay Dana.

It looks like we may well be going to Virgina next week for Husband's work stuff. So, in light of that, there will most likely not be any blogging for at least a week. I am still trying to decide if I really want to go or not. It will be hot (and pregnancy does not mix well with hot), Husband has been uber grumpy lately (and pregnancy does not mix well with that either), I will be by myself (with Bunny) every day until supper time and I do not know my way around Virgina at all. However, there are some pros to going away. This probably will be my only vacation this year as we will have a new addition to the family in July. Husband is going with a colleague that also has kids. Lots of kids. One of which is Bunny's age and they get along famously, so I won't be alone all day. We will actually be in Richmond, which is a pretty big centre. So, I think that the shopping will be amazing. There is a makeup store that I am told is a makeup utopia, which I will be sure to go to. There is also Target, Victoria's Secret and plenty of Local Yarn Stores. So, you can see my dilemma. I guess by next week, it will become apparent as to what I have decided based on my blogging or lack there of. If I do go, expect a review of the LYS that Virginia has to offer.

Another Meme... 100 Things

Ok, ok. I know that not everyone is a big fan of the Meme, but I am... and it's my blog right? So, in lieu of a picture of my Socks that Rock SIP(sock in progress), here are the details of the 100 books Meme.

Look at the list of (100) books below.
Bold the ones you’ve read.
Italicize the ones you want to read.
Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in.
Movies don’t count.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell
)5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien
)6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon) - Just as an aside, this is my favorite series that I have read to date. For anyone that loves historical fiction, I strongly recommend this book!
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry) - This is a great book too. Very disturbing though.
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden) - Much better than the movie.
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25 . Life of Pi (Yann Martel) - Amazing!!
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) - I started this, but couldn't get into it, which is rare for me. Normally I will read anything.
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky) - Believe it or not.
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

The Socks that Truly do ROCK!!

*Before I start, let me preface by saying that I didn't expect
to post so soon, so you all have until March 15/07 to keep entering
the contest that I started in my last post*

OK, so I will admit to being a little
sock crazy. Those of you who read this blog know that. So, what
better thing to get a gal for her birthday than a membership to the
Socks that Rock
Club! Unfortunately for us members, the gals
and guys at STR have hit some snags this year in
sending all the stuff out. First, STR members experienced a bank error
in their favor when a local bank decided that there couldn't
possibly be so many people signing up to a sock club
(turns out the final number of members is somewhere around 2000!)
so they refunded every one's money! You can read all the
details here.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, a blizzard hit STR headquarters
and the shipments were a smidge late as a result. However, despite
all this, I still got my first shipment, complete with yarn,
key
chain, bumper sticker, button, dyers notes and binder, and
of course a wonderful pattern called "Inside Out". I wanted to
share some pics and let those of you who are sitting on the fence
about STR know that this is a great club to
belong to. The support and excitement of everyone involved has
been amazing. Well worth the money! Ok, on with the
pictures:

Click me for STR SPOILER

Come Out Come Out Wherever You Are

I recently read a friend of mine's blog who made the comment that she sometimes feels as though the words that she writes go into a void and are read by no one. Now, while she appears to prefer the anonymity, I must admit, it rather bums me out. I know, through my stat counter, the aproximate number of people that come to this site, but I don't know who you are. I will never get to meet you and I will never get to determine what you think of what you read here. The problem? I would really like to get to know all of you. I would like to have you comment and be able to track back through that to your blog or website and find out what you like or dislike and what you are working on at the moment. I would like to be able to leave you a comment so that you know that while you are reading what I have written, I am also interested in what you have to say. Cheesy? Maybe. But, I still want to meet you all, damnit. So, to that end, I say, "delurk, damnit". And, I challenge you to show yourself. Not only that, but I am going to run a contest to see how many of you I can entice into commenting so that I can "meet" you.

I am going to randomly give away a skein of Sweet Georgia Yarn in a very special colorway to one of you who comments on my blog between now and the next time that I post. I don't expect many comments, so this may be a particularly easy contest to win. Good luck to all.




In other news, the work on Bunny's intarsia sweater is almost complete. I am 3/4 of the way through the second sleeve and simply have some finishing after that to make it complete. Since finishing is not my strong suit, I will be taking myself to the LYS to have them sit with me and hold my hand while I finish everything off. I am a bit of a wuss that way and need constant hand holding and validation while I am working on seaming something.




Also, while I am trying patiently to wait for my Socks That Rock Shipment so that I can start on the first sock of the Rockin' Sock Club, I recently learned that they have shipped international orders a tad later than the domestic ones and therefore, I will have some waiting to do before I can get the yarn on the needles. So, in the meantime, I started a pair of socks from the new sock book that I bought in the Malamute colorway from Yarn Pirate.



I can't say enough about how happy I am with the combination. I love the way that the yarn is striping and yet pooling on the cuff all at the same time. This is my very first sock knit without using the standard vanilla pattern (i.e. Knit toe up in stockinette with a ribbed cuff). And, I am so thrilled with the ribbed cast on that the pattern calls for that I will be using it and the twisted rib stitch pattern again and again I think. This is the first time that I have used this cast on and I love it. However, since I really do admit that I prefer socks made toe up, I think that I will dedicate some time to searching out the cast off version as well. Want a closer look? Of course you do! You can sort of see the ribbed 1x1 cast on if you look closely at the bottom of the sock. And the colors are amazing. I can't wait to see how the rest of the pattern comes out. This will be my first lace sock (and really my first lace pattern), so if anyone has any helpful hints, please feel free to leave them. I can use all the help I can get!

Off the Needles

Well, I have hit the mid point pregnancy wise. I am now 20 weeks and happy that this is half way over. I know the next 20 weeks won't fly by or anything, but I can't wait to get on with the best part of being pregnant - actually having the baby.

Oh, and I think I am nesting - except, I think that it's a weird form of nesting in that all I want to do is finish older knitting projects. For instance, I started this sweater for Bunny back in November and I am just now getting around to finishing it off. I am a bit ashamed to admit that for some reason, although the pattern so clearly calls for intarsia, I was fair-isling. I don't really know what I was thinking, but after being frustrated that the flower motifs were too tight, I ripped it back and finally realized my mistake. Derp! As well, this is my first intarsia project and since I had to teach myself this technique, I am not sure it turned out as well as it could have. Please don't be too critical. I am not so sure that I like the fiddly nature of intarsia either. Perhaps with some practice and a whole lot more patience, it could have turned out a little better. I have a ton of ends to weave in still. I am pretty sure that there shouldn't have been so many ends to weave, but whatever, I still like it. I still have the sleeves to complete, but I am sure that Bunny will like it no matter what too.

I have also been working hard on this entrelac scarf. What with Eunny Jang's pattern for entrelac socks in the new Spring Intreweave Knits, entrelac seems to be all the rage. I found the pattern for this scarf and fell in love. I am thinking that I need to use up the leftovers from Bunny's sweater and make a baby blanket using this technique too. I used four skeins of Noro Silk Garden in colorway 221. I had never used Noro before as I find it very scratchy, even with the silk in it, however, I have spoken with lots of people who have said that it softens up quite a bit once it is washed. I will be sure to let you know once I have washed it.

Finally, I am almost done this pair of socks too. I am trying so hard to get all my socks finished and off the needles as there is a skein of Socks that Rock on its way to me right now and I want to be able to cast on for the corresponding pattern as soon as it gets here. I can't believe that I got the STR club membership for my birthday from Husband this year. What a great guy he is!

Otherwise, I think I have very few projects still left on the needles that need finishing. I have the tail end (or I guess I should say the top end) of a pair of toe up socks that I am making for my mom on the needles right now that need finishing and that's pretty much it. I placed an order at Knitpicks yesterday and included is a pair of needles to work on a lace scarf which will be a gift so I don't want to post too many details about it, as well as Last Minute Knitted Gifts which has a pattern for a chevron scarf that I am dying to try next. As soon as that shows up, I will cast on for it and post some pictures.

I guess that's it for now. I am hoping that we will get the room that is intended to be the nursery painted this weekend. As soon as it's done, I will post some pics.