Birthday SEX

Since it's my birthday today, I decided to book off work early and go blow some money. I walked down to Romni and spent a good long time flipping through patterns and touching all sorts of neat yarn. I made a whole bunch of purchases there, which I can't show quite yet because they're for Christmas presents ^_^ I did buy some size 10 dpns so I could make that kitty hat. I decided that even though my needle size is really different from the book, I'd just go with it. I mean, the size of needle I use probably isn't as important as getting the right gauge, right?

Then, I decided I was going to splurge on myself, and headed over to Lettuce Knit to buy that Rowan Kidsilk Haze for that awesome lacy shawl that I was thinking of making. I was really flip-flopping between the wine/red colour, and the soft blue. During my walk over, I decided to go with the wine...only to find that when I got to the store a lady who was there just before me decided to buy 3 of the last 4 balls. So, I ended up getting the blue. I think it was fate for me to get the blue, considering it's my fave colour and all.

So, here's what I got (well, what I can show anyway)

The ball in the top right is the kidsilk haze. The ball on the lower right is some Katia Mississippi that I picked up at Romni. It's 60% cotton, 40% acrylic and feels pretty nice. I'm going to try making some washclothes with it, or maybe a headscarf. It'll be my trip knitting. Don't tell Air Canada, but I'm going to try and smuggle my bamboo needles on the plane. We have a 6 hour layover in Dulles, and I'm going to need something to do! Oh yeah...and I bought a Noro pattern book because there were just too many fun patterns in it. Plus I just love Noro yarn.

I think all this should keep me nice and busy for a good long time!

SEX, anyone?

OK, so my intentions were pure. They really were. I left the lab a little early today, so I decided to take myself on a little trip to A Good Yarn, intending to buy some Mission Falls yarn for my kitty hat. Turns out that they only sell Mission Falls cotton, so the quest for a replacement yarn began. And that's when the yarn fondling began, and after that it was pretty much all downhill from there. So much for a quick single-minded mission!



So what did I buy, exactly? First of all, a skein of Cascade 220 yarn in colour 2410 for the kitty hat, in the picture it is next to the scarf that I'm matching it to. I forgot to get dpns though, oops! Also, Rowan's new book Vintage Style which is very droolworthy. I think there are at least 3 or 4 projects which look yummy after a first pass through.
After digging through the bargain bin, I also glimpsed 4 skeins of Rowan Linen Drape, colour 851 (Amazon), and it was marked down, so of course I had to grab it! I don't exactly have a pattern for it right now, but I think it should be enough for a spaghetti strap tank top, after looking at the yarn requirements for other garments knitted with the same yarn.

Lastly, 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM in colourway P115. It was too gorgeous not to buy. It is sort of hard to see in the photo, but it's a mix of pinks and greens and a bit of purple and orange too. There were 5 skeins there, and I could practically hear them calling to me, "Take us home please! We love you!!" 5 skeins would have been enough for a lacy shawl, 3 skeins enough for a lacy scarf, but a little bit of my common sense prevailed so I only bought 2. I couldn't have just bought 1, then the lonely skein would have no company in my drawer! Not sure what I'll do with it yet, though. They are definitely not destined to become socks, they are too pretty to be put onto stinky feet. Maybe I'll turn one into a pair of mittens. Or maybe a lacy headscarf. Or maybe both. Maybe I'll just keep both of them to pet and admire. =)

I also got to touch some Debbie Bliss alpaca silk, the new yarn. Very very soft. Very very tempting.

In knitting news, I have just been playing with my ball of Calmer. It's a fantastic yarn, super-soft, and it definitely lives up to its name. I took pictures of my swatches, but the stitches are really hard to see after I shrank the photos down (they look like boring pink squares) so I won't post them here (boo). I will have to buy more of this stuff in the future.

Ribbit, ribbit....

I ended up frogging what I had made of that scarf. I decided that I made it too wide. Sure, it would be good for a winter type scarf, but the yarn isn't exactly the warmest anyway, so instead of a 40 stitch scarf, I've made it 28 stitches. It definitely looks much cooler now, but I guess it won't be as warm. Oh well...guess it can be just for fashion! Jamie called me crazy for taking apart all my work, but I think it was a good choice in the end.

Post wedding knitting

So, amidst all the wedding preparations, I did manage to finish that green-ish baby hat that I was making for my cousin. I even passed it off to my Auntie Melanie to deliver. I didn't take a picture of it, but it looks pretty much the same as the other hat, just a different colour. I've also started on a scarf out of that blue eyelash stuff that I got at Romni. It is a bit difficult to work with sometimes, but I'm really liking the result so far. I'm just using garter stich right now, but I'm wondering if maybe I should've used a more lacy type stitch. I don't know if I'm going to keep it for myself, or if I'm going to give it away yet. I actually have a lot of scarves already, so I really don't need another one. I'll put up a picture when I'm closer to halfway done.

Oh my gosh...can I just say that going to Romni was, like, one of the funnest things ever? I can't wait to go back!

Toronto knitting

First of all, I finished my first sock! Here are some pictures:

The pattern is Fiber Trends' Hellen's Favourite Socks, with a 3x1 ribbed cuff. I modified the pattern slightly so that the toe wouldn't be so narrow. It fits ok, but there are a lot of things about it that are less than ideal. I'm not too happy with the ribbing at the cuff, it's a little loose, that may have been caused by my unfamiliarity with the dpns at first. I did reinfoce the heel with some nylon thread, but I forgot to do the toe. Oops. I also totally suck at grafting, so the toe isn't the prettiest thing in the world, but practice makes perfect, I guess.

Anyway, now onto the second sock!

So I've decided what to do for my Toronto knitting, since I won't have that much knitting time I'm going to bring my single lonely sale ball of Rowan Calmer to play with. Maybe I'll make some face/dish towels or something. Mostly I want to try working with the yarn to see how I like it. I got a pretty pink colour:

Procrastination

Well, I was procrastinating earlier this afternoon (and am still doing so right now), so I decided to finish knitting up the sleeve to my short-sleeved mohair-stripe sweater. I don't have a picture because it doesn't look all that different from the other sleeve, tee hee. =P Anyway, the sweater is ready for blocking before I have to do the neckline and sew it up together, but I probably won't get to it until I get back from Toronto.

So I was checking the Air Canada website, and apparently knitting needles are not allowed on their planes. Boo. I am digging around for a super-mindless project to work on while in Toronto, not that I'll have much time to do much knitting, but maybe a really really easy novelty-yarn scarf would be good. Or another headscarf, since I gave the first one to my sister.

Brush with knitting fame...

Okay...this is going to be long post today, so please bear with me.

Today, I went by Lettuce Knit to look at yarn (ended up buying some too, but more on that later!) and met Amy Singer, the editor/publisher of knitty.com. Pretty wild, huh? She dropped in to visit the lady who owns the store and brought along a copy of her new book 'Knit Wits'. The book isn't due to be released until October, and they're having the launch party at the store on October 2nd. How cool is that?!

I also finished up that baby hat I was making.


I put that Good Luck Bear in there to give an idea of scale.

So, just what did I buy at the yarn store? 3 skeins of Mission Falls Wool. I'm going to use it for the Kitty Hat from Stitch n' Bitch.


Finally, I need some help. I have 4 skeins of Patons Divine (79.5% Acrylic, 18% Mohair, 2.5% Polyester) that I bought intending to make Grace, but have since decided that I don't want to make that sweater anymore...actually, I'm just being indecisive about it. If I don't make that sweater, I don't know what to make. So, I just need some outside opinions on what I should do. Here's a picture of the yarn.

Do you think it would look nice knitted up as Grace? I can't seem to decide!!

Knitting plans for many months to come

I really love short-sleeved sweaters. They are probably my favourite type of top to wear in the spring and fall and early winter, sort of a happy mix between a t-shirt and long-sleeved sweater. Unfortunately, all the short-sleeved knits I own are getting too old and ratty, and it doesn't seem to be a very popular style of top to be found in retail stores at the moment, and that makes me really sad.

But not entirely, because right now I've got about 4 different short-sleeved sweater projects planned in my head (yay!). The first being the short-sleeved sweater with mohair stripe from Vintage Knits mentioned before, as well as two other patterns from Vintage Knits, this diamond-patterned sweater, and this lovely lacy top. Also, there's a very yummy sweater in the upcoming Vintage Style which is calling my name, and it's even knit in 4-ply soft, mmm.

I'm not a particularly fast knitter, and all those projects are done using tiny needles, so that should keep me occupied on and off for oh, maybe the next year or so! But, at least I will eventually amass enough short-sleeved sweaters to keep me happy again. =)

In sock news, I'm just about up to the toe shaping. After that, it's onto the second sock!

Counter added

Okay...so I know I should totally be going to bed now...but I really couldn't resist trying this out. Signed up for an account with coolCounters.com and put up that cute Hello Kitty counter. There are lots of other really, really cute ones that we could use, but I thought I'd stick with the pink theme for now.

Against my better judgement...

Even though I probably shouldn't have, I started another project. I know I still have that sweater that still sits unfinished, but I just couldn't resist giving my new purchases a test drive ^__^

So, I've started a baby hat for a research associate in my lab who had a baby about 4 months ago. She's still on maternity leave, but her hubby is a prof in my department so I can easily pass it on through him. It's the umbilical cord hat from Stitch 'n Bitch, and I thought it would be so appropriate considering the field of research that we're in. It's still a work in progress, but it should only take me one or two more days to finish it.



This is the first project I've ever used dpns on!! I'm using two strands of Paton's Look at Me in baby blue and white (yup, I bought too much of the stuff when I made that baby blanket). I started the project on size 8 circulars instead of the size 7 that they recommend because the gauge worked out better that way. The dpns I have are size 7 though, but it doesn't really affect things all that much. You can barely tell where the change happens.

I've had a lot of fun with this one. It's nice knitting baby sized stuff cuz it goes by way faster than the adult versions. Oh, and those Denise Interchangables are the BOMB! I can't wait to use them again for another project!

Thoughts

Well, I don't have a picture right now (I'm still at the lab), but I turned my first sock heel yesterday! It took about 3 tries though, I kept getting the short row decreases messed up. Apparently I can't count. Ugh. I was thinking though that a skein of Koigu would probably be enough to make a fun pair of mittens. And it wouldn't break the bank as much as a pair of socks would; I don't think I'd ever pay $20 for a pair of socks from a store, no matter how gorgeous they were, but somehow yarn at that price seems just fine. =)

I am debating whether or not to bid on some yarn from eBay. I've been meaning to for some time, but I'm starting to feel a little guilty about all the yarn I've accumulated for various reasons. It's Rowan linen drape, and I already have some for a project I have in mind, but I sort of want more because it is discontinued and for a good price and I'm sure I could make something from it because I like a lot of the patterns. Which I suppose is as good a reason as any. Tee hee. =)

New tools

So, I dragged my poor friend Barry over the Kensington Market where they have this cute little yarn shop called Lettuce Knit. The reason for this trip was because I'd been thinking about getting a set of Denise Interchangable needles and decided that now was as good a time as any to get them. So, I phoned up the store and sure enough they had them! Yay! So here they are!



Aren't they beautiful?! Even though they were $80, I still think that's pretty good because I pretty much have all the combinations of needle size and cord length that I'll ever need!

But then I noticed that I don't have my dpns covered at all. So, since I was already splurging, I figured I may as well get myself some of those too.


They're size 2, 3, and 7 bamboo ones from Clover. I love bamboo needles, so really couldn't resist. Now I'm all set to knit socks and hats!

So, poor Barry that got dragged into the store actually had a pretty good time. Turns out that he saw some cool spools that he could use for spool knitting, which he has done to make a hat. When he saw that picture on the packaging that showed a yarn bunny rabbit that could be made using the spools, he exclaimed "Aw man! I shoulda made cool toys instead of that stupid hat!" I'm making it my mission to get Barry to start knitting too. I mean, he's pretty much half way there already!!

We looked at all sorts of great looking yarn, and I actually managed to resist buying any. I usually like to decide on a project first before going out to buy yarn...but it's just to pretty, and soft!

Speaking of blankets....

Since Karen showed her fabulous and nummy baby blanket, I thought I'd post a pic of the blanket I made for my cousin's baby, which took me 6 months to make (well, I took a looong break before sewing it together)! Luckily I finished it *just* before the baby was born. It's made from 4 skeins of Paton's Pixie yarn, and the pattern is Sirdar pattern 3980, with a few modifications for gauge changes. The yarn is fantastically soft and fuzzy, but not that fun to knit with! No stitch definition whatsoever. =)

My current "large" project is a sweater from Vintage Knits by Sarah Dallas (which was a gift from the lovely Karen), the short-sleeved sweater with mohair stripes. Here are the front and back, in all their unblocked and curly glory:



And here are the sleeves so far:



The yarn is Rowan 4-ply soft in Buzz (sooo soft! I love it!!), and the stripes are Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Pearl (it looks really yellow in the photo, but it's actually a pale off-white colour). It's my first sweater, so I really hope it turns out ok!

Oops...forgot the details

Ha ha...I forgot to say what I made that blanket out of! I used Paton's Look at Me yarn and size 5 Addi Turbo circulars. I don't remember how many balls I used though. You can get the pattern at http://www.lewiscraft.ca under the 'Projects' section. The pattern calls for size 7 needles, but I cheated. I did make the same blanket for another expectant mother (well, that was back in March, so she's a doting mom now. And sorry, no pics!) using size 7's, but I think the squares look better when knitted on the 5's. However, the blanket did turn out smaller, and I forgot to compensate by making more squares (i.e. 6x6 blocks instead of 5x5). Oh well...hopefully the baby isn't very big! *sheepish grin*

hello? is this thing on?

Okay...I hope I've got this figured out...I can be such a doofus when it comes to these things sometimes...

Here's a baby blanket that I made for my cousin. She's due in September, so I needed to get this done pretty fast. I think I spent about 2 months on it. I had to drop all my other projects though. I know that she's having a girl, but I still used lots of blue. Can I help it if it just happens to be my fave colour? At least I edged it in green...



I just realized that the direction that I took the picture in wasn't the best. I tried to alternate the stripes, but it doesn't quite work in the orientation that I took the picture in. Oh well...it's still a fun blanket.

Picture test

Pretty koigu sock leg!



yay, it worked!

OK, some more comments on the sock, now that we've got this thing more or less working. It's done in Koigu KPPPM yarn, I think colourway P802. It looked a little different in the skein versus how it looks knitted up, but it's still cool to watch it develop. I think it's turning out ok for a first sock so far. I'm not too pleased with the initial ribbing at the cuff, but it was hard to start on the dpns! =)