Kniterly gifts...

Santa was wery busy this year, and he didn't have time to go to both Lettuce Knit , and Romni Wools. to do his Christmas shopping. Mind you, he got me a 22" flat screen monitor, so I forgave him. Also Romni Wools had a great boxing day sale, which I'll get to later on. So Santa got me four balls of Noro Silk Garden, a cute little sheep (so soft), and The Knitter's Book of Yarns by Clara Parks. The book is amazing. It discusses everything about yarn: fiber types, processes from shearing the sheep to your lys, knitting techniques, and of course it has patterns.

While we were at my sister's for the past few days, I knitted a few scarves for my nieces' Webkinz, despite the fact that they got plenty of clothes for Christmas. Also, to the anonymous reader who asked about the Webkinz sweater pattern, I will post it but I never wrote patterns before, so please bear with me.
Romni Wools had a 25% off on everything at regular price(sorry you're missing out on it, Elizabetha) for Dec. 27th only. Let me tell you that the store was packed! For 80$ I got three balls of SWS in Natural Denim and three in Natural Plum, and three balls of Wisdom Yarns Poem colour 571(a grey to black gradient), and another three balls in 534 (denim gradient). Not a bad deal at all! And just in case you wonder what I'm planning with these: it could be a cold winter this year, so I'm making scarves.

Happy New Year to all!

Happy Holidays to all!

Cold, and felting project

This is what my windows looked like this morning. It looks like some mutant white fern is growing in my windows, but unfortunately, all that beauty is an indication of how it feels like outside: cold. Southern Ontario is under snow storm warning, and we're expecting about 25cm of snow for Toronto, and a bit more in the areas surrounding the city.

This my pre-felted Nintendo case. I currently only have a slider to protect it, so I've knitted this for it. I also thought it could be a quick first felted project. I must admit that I'm a bit intimidated by the felting process, as I've never done it before. Yes, I am a felting virgin!

Two books and two scarves

My husband just gave me these two books as Channukah presents ( to make a long story short, he gives me a gift for each day of Channukah, and this is what I got for Friday, and Saturday). The Wrap Style will come in handy as the office gets really cold (my cubicle is close to the warehouse, where they keep the doors open most of the day, even in the winter). I haven't had a chance to thoroughly go through the books, but I saw a few projects I like.



With the yarn I bought last weekend, I knitted two scarves (well, the top one is not completed yet, but it's 80% done). The bottom one is the Katia, Dulce Plus, and the top one is with Wisdom Yarns, Poems. Both scarves were knitted with a simple K1 P1 pattern, but somehow the stitches look different.

Message for Santa...

Need Yarn!

For some strange reason, I had a craving for colorful yarn yesterday. I have a reasonable stash, but somehow nothing seemed colorful enough. So, I braved the snow storm and made my way to Romni wool ( and managed not to get the traditional parking ticket). My eyes were satisfied with the colour feast, and I managed to come back home with enough yarn to make three scarves: from Wisdom Yarns, Poems colour 553; from Patons, SWS in Natural Earth; from Katia, Dulce Plus in colour 52.

On with the scarves...

Scarf done

Although I had finished this scarf last week, I was being lazy about weaving the loose ends in, and posting it. I finally gave myself a good kick in the behind, and finished the project (and might even wrap it tonight). The yarn is Paton's SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) in Natural Navy. The colours are more accurate on the pic where the scarf is rolled. I liked it so much that I added a few balls on my Christmas wishlist.

More Christmas knitting to do.... and planning on some knitting for myself for the new year.

New needles, and another Webkinz sweater

Here are my new customized needles. Signature Needle Arts. lets you chose the size, tip, lenght and cap of your needles. I chose the stiletto tip, and it's just perfect for the my "tight knitting". The colour of the needles is determined by the size. Mine were 4.5, and the cap is spiral. They really slide well, and I'm thinking of investing in another pair. Including shipping, it's an affordable $38 luxury.

I have made another sweater for my nieces Webkinz. I may knit one for each of their pet (eight in total, not counting what they'll get for Christmas). One of them asked me if I would knit one for her friend's Webkinz too. I may knit a few so they may give them as Christmas presents to their friends.

Webkinz sweater

Like so many kids all over North America, my nieces are just crazy about Webkinz. I must admit, I like them too, and I log into their account every day to make sure they don't miss out on their "regular maintenance". Of course, the nieces were thrilled to hear that a clothing line was launched. They each got a pair of pants, and a sweater. I borrowed the "handknit" sweater(totally machine made), and I just knitted another one with leftover yarn. First pic is the Webkinz version, second is mine. The model is a Christmas gift for one of the nieces. Shhhhhhhhh, don't tell!

Soooo tired this morning...

Yummy yarn

I just received some new yarn I ordered from Pick up Sticks. The colours are just yummy, especially the Applelaine "Cotton Candy". The red next to it is "MacIntosh", and the brown tone is "Godiva". All these food inspired names make me hungry, but let's not forget to mention the Cherry Hill "Spanish Moss". Not as tasty, but very pretty.

Socks and a scarf

I liked the Applelaine's "Army Surplus"so much, that I ordered more yarn and made another pair for my friend's husband for Christmas. Both their Christmas presents are knitted now, and I feel a little less stressed as I cross off the names on my list. Sophie and hubby are modeling the new socks. There's probably enough left to make another small adult pair. After the rush to meet the Christmas deadline is over, I will have to knit a few pairs for myself, as I've noticed a few pairs that look worn out, and almost past the darning stage.

A while back (March I think), I had bought a soy yarn by Patons, called SWS (for soy wool stripes). I was going to knit "My-so-called-scarf" with it, but decided against it last minute (please don't laugh, I tried to figure out the stitch from the pattern for a half hour then gave up), and went for this instead. I really like the stripes effect (the colour is called Natural Navy), and it's soft enough for my sensitive skin hubby. Yup, Christmas gift!

Yes, another pair of socks

So this is what I've been up to recently... Not much knitting, I must admit. One pair of children's socks for my niece Jessica, and yarn winding. All Applelaine. The socks are in "Army Surplus", the first colour of ball is "Purple Haze" and this will knit up a pair of socks for me. Next up is "Garden Party", and then "Winter Dawn" which I used in a previous pair of socks.

Two sad things happened in the past month, which I find hard to post about. My husband's aunt died, and a friend of mine has been diagnosed with stage four cancer... There, I've done it, I've posted about it.

B.W.O

I came across this and I must admit, I like it.

Really, my knitting has suffered since my last post, and I don't have much to post about. I'll be getting back to my knitting this week, and do I ever need to catch up.

I can't believe October is here!

I can't believe October is here! With this beautiful weather, it still feels like August. That would explain why I'm late starting my Christmas knitting. Yes, it is time to knit for Christmas gifts. Just less than three months to go.

Since this warm weather is bound to come to an end (as early as tomorrow), I decided to pick up an almost forgotten project, and complete it: Sophie's blanket. Despite the breaking record heat outside, Sophie insisted on trying it out to "see if it fits". Looks like it's to the queen's satisfaction, and won't be frogged.

I also have been knitting (surprise, surprise) a pair of socks. The yarn used is from Applelaine and the colour is appropriately called blueberry. Ir really reminds me of the different hues of a blueberry. The new socks are modelled by my husband, as the recipient has much larger feet than me.

Sophie's been cheating on me!

You read right, she's been cheating on me. With my own sister! She spent most of the weekend on my sister's lap as soon as the crochet came out. Admittedly, she looks real good in red, and I was only knitting on a pair of socks, so not much to keep her warm. My sister's throw is much bigger, but it's not for Sophie.

In a previous post, I mentionned strarting a sweater for my mom. Here's a picture of the pattern. I've had it for at least six years, if not more. Of course, the original yarn used in the pattern must be discontinued, but I got got a similar gauge with Amazon DK, an oatmeal mercerized cotton.

And it's done

Well after my fifth time frogging the one sock, there it is, the completed pair modeled by my sister. In a previous post, I had mistakenly mentioned the colour as Angels, but it's actually Libertine (quite a difference in terms, sorry if I offended any angels or libertines!).

In other knitterly news, I have started a sweater for my Mom. We were discussing projects we had knitted in the past, and she mentionned that sweater. She remembered it was quite comfortable, but unfortunately it is now a bit too short around the waist area. Luckily, I had some cotton waiting to be knitted into something.

Just frogging....

For some reason, my Sweet Georgia socks are not looking the same. For years now I've been knitting both socks at the same time, just to make sure they're (almost) exactly the same (sizewise, and patternwise). For the fourth time, I've frogged the one sock that had an area where the stripe pattern was breaking and forming a spot instead. I think this time it's looking like stripes, but a bit more diagonal than the other sock. Oh well, at least it's stripes...Grrrrr!

New sock goes to Thousand Islands

I got my repaired camera back on time for our weekend trip to Thousand Island. I have also started a pair of socks, and decided to pull a Yarn Harlot shot. The shot was taken after it got too dark to knit, and when traffic started slowing down. What was supposed to be a three hour drive, took almost an extra hour (and that's with one fifteen minute stop). The yarn is Sweet Georgia, and is called Angels. It was part of my birthday yarnmania purchases.

The town where we stayed in the Thousand Island area is called Gananoque. It's a beautiful town, but it feels empty without a yarn store (or at least not in the main part of the town). We went for a boat tour in one of the big tourist boats the first day, and chartered a small boat the next day. The chartered tour was much more pleasant and Captain Dave, a lifelong resident, had lots of interesting annectdotes about the area. On top of all the expected cottages owned by rich and/or somewhat famous people, Captain Dave added some local history and ecology.

Unfortunately, Sophie didn't come with us, but here's where she would have waited outside when we went for ice cream at Nana Splitz.

This is the cottage I really like, as it reminds me of my grand-parent's house in New-Brunswick. Of course, their house wasn't built on a semi-private island.

Broken camera

I have been without a camera for about a week now. DH took it for a long bike ride, and surprise, when he got to his destination the camera wouldn't turn on. Luckily, it's still on warranty and will either be repaired or replaced.

The day before the infamous ride, I had finished a pair of socks and took some pics. This is now my third pair of socks with Applelaine (this colour is called Winter Dawn), and I just love this yarn. I'm quite happy with the way the colours blend with each other, with no big patches of colours. I don't quite like to have big patches of coulour that move around the foot. I will frog and start all over until I get an acceptable spread of colour.

Until I get a functional camera, here are my latest yarn purchases. Two skeins of Applelaine's Apple Pie Army Surplus, and two skeins of Apple Pie Blueberry.

I've also been knitting a sweater for my Mom, and another pair of socks with Sweet Georgia yarn. Pics at a later time...sigh

Overdue post

Wow, I can't believe that a month has gone by since my last post (if you can call that a post).

My new job is going great, and it's so nice to only do my job (as opposed to do a quarter of everybody else's (sales rep) on top of mine). I now take my full lunch hour, and I'm not eating at my desk and working at the same time either. Amazingly, times goes by quickly and at the end of the day I can say "Great! All my work is done, and everybody is happy". It's so much better than saying "I've gone through half of my workload for today, and tomorrow I can start the day by completing this afternoon's work (providing I don't get a mountain of e-mails during the night)".

As a result of feeling less stressed, I don't feel the burning need to get my needles and knit away some of the frustrations. Instead, I just enjoy the knitting, the feel of the yarn, and the colours. I guess I'm not in "high production" mode, just in a "relax and enjoy" mode.


I've noticed that there are now more and more knitting novels, and knitting mystery books. I actually bought a few, and just finished reading "Knit Two Together". When I bought the book, I didn't realise that it's a Harlequin book. When I later saw the logo, I had a chuckle and decided that a bit of trash reading can't hurt anybody. It wasn't all that badly written, but very predictable....

Libby Cartwright hadn't planned on inheriting a yarn shop from her estranged mother. But that was before she found her favorite childhood stuffed animal amidst the dust and moldering yarn. And before she encountered a motley crew of locals determined to resurrect the store. So what else had Mom been hiding?
Running Metropolitan Knits means Libby still has lots to learn. About knitting. Motherhood (who ever said raising a daughter was easy!).
And even romance. For quiet Hal O''Connell, an unlikely—and unattached—new customer, turns out to be a kindred spirit. As the Grand Reopening approaches, Libby learns to knit two together— in knitting and in life.—

Changes...

Did you notice something different? Let me know what you think...

Proof that there has been some knitting...

Even though I haven't posted much knitted items recently, I have been knitting, just not as much as usual. I find that usually I don't knit as much during the summer, as I get more social for some reason(or maybe people have more parties).

I have completed my friend Nathalie's baby blanket, but forgot to take a picture of it for my blog before giving it to her. I'll take one next time I see her. I still have enough of that yarn to also make a sweater for the baby, along with a hat and booties, and would still have yarn.

I had bought this Apple Laine yarn called "Eye Candy" this spring and finally got around to make a pair of socks. It's a great sock yarn, and I really enjoy knitting it. It has a nice sheen to it, and the sheen stays even after the socks have been washed.

This is another pair that I completed last week. It's from the Knit Picks discontinued "Parade" line (if not discontinued, I didn't find it in the sock yarn section where it used to be). These are way too big on my little feet, but will fit my friend perfectly and keep her arthritic toes warm. I just can't wait to send them to her, as she really appreciates and cherished any handmade gifts that come her way.

Wishing you all a nice week...

Black Creek Pioneer Village

Last week I gave my employer my two weeks' notice. Since I am going to a competitor, I got escorted to the door the next day with my two weeks paid. I fully expected that to happen, and was even dissapointed when it didn't happen on the same day. I'll start my new job this coming Monday, and I'm looking forward to a lighter workload, and more free time for myself (and knitting of course).

Since I had the free time, I spent some time with my nieces. I took them to a farmer's market on Thursday, and Black Creek Pioneer Village on Friday. Everybody's favourite house was of course the house with the craft-related presentations: quilting and knitting (the rug is handmade as well but the hooker wasn't there that day). Of course they had their own sheeps, spun and died their own yarn. In order to fix the died yarn and keep the colours bright, the urine of twelve year old boys and younger was prefered. We were relieved that no sample was available for the presentation.

Yarn drying outside...

Picture perfect.....

Alpaca shearing

The past two weeks have been really busy, and I didn't get a chance to post. Sunday the 10th was just a fantastic day for my husband and I: we went Alpaca shearing. Well the actual shearing was done by a professional (I wouldn't trust my clumsy husband with a sharp razor around those sweet animals), who did a great job shearing and teaching us all sorts of things about the alpacas. He was a very interesting man, who had an interesting life, but managed to keep a certain balance between a career in finances and consulting, and shearing and owning a sheep farm.

The alpacas each have their own character, and each one reacted differently to the shearing process. Some were absolutely petrified and froze, others fought with all they had, others became a nervous wreck and started barfing, as other angrier would start spitting at anybody who dared come close to them. For the nervous, the timid, the angry, there was this wonderful lady that would calm them down, massaging their neck, talking to them and reassuring them, putting a towel over their head so they wouldn't see what was happening and freak out. My husband and I called her "The Alpaca Whisperer".

There were quite a few volunteers (at least five of them teachers), and everybody was full of enthusiasm. There were both knitters (or crocheters) and non-knitters, a weaver, and some alpaca owners. Everybody pitched in and completed the tasks assigned with equal effort and enthusiasm. My husband and I got to clean the alpacas, and we couldn't believe what a messy little alpaca California Girl was (more on that shortly). I also got to sort the fleece (so amazingly soft), trim the hair on their paws and head (some pretty funky but stylish alpacas run around Brantford now), and herd them as well. My husband specialized in leg-holding for a while, after helping me clean California Girl for half an hour. As you can see (click on the pic to enlarge), she had hay, dried grass, and mud all over herself. She must have had quite a party earlier that week. To add to that, after we finished cleaning her, we took a break and had lunch, and came back to .... California Girl rolling in the hay again. What could we do but laugh.

Despite being messy, California Girl's fleece has an amazing texture, and variety of colour. I just can't wait to see the finish product! And speaking of finished product.... here's the CG herself after a little trim. She was actually pretty good on the table for a first timer. She put up a respectable fight (afterall, one must at least pretend not to like it, but it must be quite a relief to get rid of that heavy coat), but then quickly relaxed in the gentle arms of the Alpaca Whisperer.

Tagged

I got tagged by KB, for this one...

Here are the rules:Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

1. I had my first Chihuahua when I was fourteen. She was the same colours as Sophie. I called her Ozzy after Ozzy Osbourne (dating myself here). She was a great dog, and I taught her many stupid tricks, like to bark at the moon. She died two days after turning sixteen.


2. I only have one ovary. About eight years ago I had this mysterious pain in my abdomen, and after multiple laparoscopies to remove any possible endometriosis, my gynecologist suggest the removal of the ovary. At that time, I just couldn't cope with the pain, and multiple failed treatments, so I agreed, but unfortunately the pain came back again. One day, I was chatting with a friend on Yahoo, and he said my symptoms sounded a bit like when he had a hernia and I should get checked. That's what the pain was: a hernia in my appendectomy scar!


3. My sister and I are dreaming about having our own sheep farm (or any other animal that produces yarn), or a yarn shop, or both. We've promised each other that if one of us wins big at lottery, that's our first expense. I think that the yarn store is more practical, as we can travel to find new yarn for the business.


4. I absolutely LOVE lilacs. Unfortunately, living in a condo doesn't allow for a backyard where I may plant to my heart's content. However, I have found a dwarf variety of lilac that can grow in pots, and my tree is now blooming for the third year.


5. When I was about eight, our house got hit by lightning. That was a very scary experience for the whole family. To this day, I still hate thunder storms, but I have learned to enjoy their beauty.


6. This is my 105th post, and my bloganniversary was in March but I forgot about it.


7. I shop and knit for Christmas all year long. I try to have my shopping all done by October, because I hate busy malls. I try to knit gifts for as many family and friends as possible, even if it's a quick knit. People usually seem to appreciate the hand-made gifts more, and I like making them feel special.

More Applelaine

About two weeks ago I ordered more Applelaine from Pick-up Sticks, but just didn't have much time to post about it (also had to play with my new camera). I bought 3 skeins of each colour. The top colour is called Eye Candy, and the bottom is Winter Dawn. Of course, this is going in the sock yarn stash and someone will have new socks for Christmas. Hubby really likes the Winter Dawn, but so does my sister. I must admit I really like it too.

My sister-in-law had hinted that she wouldn't be upset if she got an alpaca hat. A while ago, she lost her favourite hat ever, which was made of alpaca (not hand-knitted, mind you) and kept her real warm during those nasty canadian winters. Although she claims to hate winter, they've always lived in cities that have heavy snowfall during the winter. As she kindly reminded us on our wedding day, we mustn't forget that it's not only our anniversary, but also her birthday. So here you go, happy belated birthday Sandra! (Yes I know I haven't mailed it yet, as I just finished it.)

Lilac festival

This weekend was our fifth wedding anniversary. My husband decided to do a surprise day trip to the Royal Botanical Garden's Lilac Festival. It was stunning! Sadly, since my chronic sinusitis, my sense of smell has been greatly affected and I could only smell the stronger varieties. Still, it was fabulous and just perfect for me to test my new digital camera. Much better close-ups!

Meeting Elisabetha from Bamboo Sticks

On Saturday, Sophie and I met Elisabetha from Bamboo Sticks. She was part of a Craft Fair at Good Catch. Unfortunately, Sophie was a little grumpy (and I'm being generous here) that day, and was not showing her best behaviour. For some reason, she doesn't like hands moving much, therefore people who speak with their hands got barked at (bad pup!). So when Elisabetha tried to shake hands with me, she got barked at (and I was really embarassed). When I paid her for the wonderful things I bought from her (see here), (and here), and she handed my change back.... bark, bark again. Elisabetha, I'm so, so sorry Sophie was so badly behaved! I was so looking forward to meeting you, and this rotten little pup's behaviour rushed our meeting. You were really nice about it and didn't make a big deal about it, but really Sophie was a little pest that day. So sorry!

Sophie's new friend

Here's Sophie's new friend, Mila. She's a mini Daschund, and almost three months. Sophie insisted I knit a little sweater for her new friend, so here it is...

I'll have to knit her a new one when fall comes, and this time I'll make it longer to cover her body properly, and I'll have to watch for the leg location. I think this one's legs were too close together. Her movements seemed restricted when she was walking with her sweater on. Maybe I'll look for a breed specific pattern. I wonder if it exist...

Wild yarn

Knitters are definitely a wild bunch! I had read about Nomad Yarns (camel hair that is gathered, and handspun by nomads in Mongolia) in Vogue Kitting, but when I looked at their website, it was just at it's infancy and hadn't much information and no retailer list yet. Now it's full of information on the yarn, the process, retailers, kits available, etc.

Then I started thinking "Hmmmmm I wonder what other "wild yarn" is available?". So I started googling and found: Muskox, and Buffalo, Guanacos, Llama, and Yak, I even thought I found Moose yarn but then found out it's the name they give to the yarn, it's not actually made of moose.

Let me know if you find more...

Long due update

I've been real busy for the past few weeks. It's our fiscal year-end at work, and they are extremely thorough about it. Nothing must be left uncompleted, unexplained, and everything must be documented. Mind you, the perfectionist in me has nothing against it, except it took away a fair bit of my knitting time. I was glad to see Friday evening arrive, but was too tired to knit.

In knitting news, I completed Sophie's blanket, or at least the knitting part of it. I still have to take care of those loose ends. I've also learned that my friend Nathalie will have a baby boy, so I'll be knitting boy clothes for the end of August, or beginning of September. Saturday I started a little blanket, and will probably be posting pictures later when I buy a new camera. I'm getting tired of my camera not taking good close-up, so if yours is great for close-up please drop me a line and let me know what model you have. Back to knitting, YAY!

Book purchases

Chapters-Indigo had a book sale, so I went to spend time on their site on Friday...

I found two Debbie Bliss books at $4.99 each. Of course I couldn't resist, and besides I'll need ideas for Natalie's baby (ultrasound will reveal gender on April 12th, mommy's birthday). The first book is Nursery Knits, and the other is Quick Baby Knits.

Then I got Vogue Knitting on the Go: Chunky Scarves and Hats for $14.40. Not exactly a huge saving, but I could use some new ideas for next Christmas. Yes I start planning the gifts early.

The book I'm most excited about is actually a Knitting Journal. I've been looking for a practical one for a long time. This one comes with a place for notes, photos, labels, and yarn samples. It also has a needle inventory sheet, ruler, and measurement conversion chart. I was glad to see that all four were available, and ready to ship. I guess sometime during the week I should get them.

Dulaan update

My Dulaan items are ready to ship. I was hoping to knit more items than last year, but I know I won't have much time to knit anything else but baby clothes, and Christmas gifts. I didn't do better than last year, but at least I didn't do worse. I knitted exactly the same amount: eight.

I have four scarves, three hats, and pair of socks. I can now e-mail Ryan at Mossy Cottage Knits, and let her know I've finished my five items.