Weekends

I love this time of year and the weekend! I look forward to weekends to just be out and chatting with the people in the neighbourhood.

The last few weekends we have all been out getting flower beds done, fixing lawnmowers, hanging screen doors. It is just such a friendly and relaxing place to be. We spontaneously BBQ, and help each other carry things, dig holes etc.

Sometimes it feels like our town is stuck in a time capsule (which I love). It reminds me of when I was growing up and you could ride your bike further than your parents could see you without having to worry. People smile and say hello as they walk their dogs ( everyone here has at least one dog it seems ).

This was last weekends gardening.





This weekend we found this cute little table and chairs.



Perfect for a cup of coffee, a glass of *insert beverage of choice here* and some chat with a friend or just some quiet knitting.

A little bit of knitting content. I have made the pattern designs that I have done for Pick Up Sticks available on the side bar. Please check them out if you are interested. Enjoy what's left of your weekend everyone.

Birthdays and Babies

I was making so much progress on the Brooke's Lace Shawl but had to put it aside to work on a few baby gifts and a birthday present.

This is the present for my friend at work. We both have June birthdays. She asked me to make her a blue scarf that was pretty open. So I thought the perfect pattern would be the Leaves of Grass Scarf by Sunflower Designs. And the yarn and the colour was a bit of a debate for me but in the end it was some more of that lovely Jojoland. Melody this time. Again from Pick Up Sticks.

When I finish this scarf then I will be starting another Baby Surprise Jacket (Jojoland Rhythm again--I loved the first one so much) for another girl at work.

Here is Oscar on the couch as part of our Sunday morning ritual. We cuddle on the couch, I knit, drink coffee and watch Coronation Street.

"Mommy come back to the couch, I don't have a lap to put my head on."

Spring In Socks

Size: woman's size 9 ( but the size can easily be changed by adding or removing stitches from the even sections between the pattern repeats)

Materials:

Indigo Moon (100% Merino Wool; 370 yrds/100g)

2.5 mm dpns

Stitch marker for the beginning of the round (optional)

Guage: 7 sts per inch in stockinette stitch



$5.00 USD

Surprise!

What the heck is that?

SURPRISE!!

It's the baby surprise jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

I used Jojoland Rhythm that I picked up (hehehe) at Pick Up Sticks. It took just over 3 balls (figures). So so cute I love it.

I am pleasantly surprised not only that that strange object turns into a sweater but at this yarn as well. Looking at it in the ball it doesn't really appeal to me. Connie assured me that I would fall in love with the yarn and I did!!! The way the colours blend keeps you interested the way Noro Keeps me interested.

I'm have to do it again. I have another colourway for another BSJ. And it just so happens that two of the girls I work with are prego. We are having a shower for them in June so....I have my presents all planned out.

Present #1 = Check!

Knitting not posting

I have been a busy knitting bee the last little bit that is why I haven't been posting. Since the Frolic I have......

1) Finished the Biker Baby Sweater. It is here blocking waiting to be given.

The front

The back

The buttons (not a great pic but you can see the Dream in Color Classy Black Pearl Colour really well - not as solid black as it appears = LOVE IT!)

2) Made progress on the Brooke's Lace Shawl.

I have finished the first panel. And am ready to start the lace section of the second panel.

I would like to say that I was finished the two but I realized that I had joined to knit in the round and had it twisted. I don't know how it took me until I was over halfway done the section to notice my error but I had to go ALL THE WAY BACK and start again.

So feeling discouraged I started......

3) one of 4 baby sweaters I will need to have finished in the next month.

It is a baby surprise sweater..... my first time and I am still amazed. I know the basics of how this works but how does one (i.e. E.Z. ) think this up in the first place? I love this sweater.

I'm back to it now....I can't leave my knitting alone lately.

Oh yeah We Froliced!

Saturday was the Knitter's Frolic. As usual I was there with Connie at Pick up Sticks. Friday night set up was long but fun. I always enjoy seeing yarn galore coming out of boxes and bags and being beautifully displayed.

The night was restless as we were all excited for the show. The morning came early and anticipation was high. This was the picture that I took before they opened the doors to the public.

(I emailed this to my hubby on my phone with the subject "you think I'm crazy?"- his response was "you are all crazy"--yes I suppose we are but...we are happy that way)

This was our booth.

At least these are of two sides of our booth. I thought I had a pic of the back where the Baby Bamboo was but I can't find it.

This is the beautiful basket that Connie gave me as a gift. So cute! And No Lisa I am not going on a picnic!

This is the yarn I bought when I thought my budget was in good shape. There is some Fino alpaca and silk blend ( the green) lace weight from the Purple Purl.

On the left there is some Jojoland Melody for the beautiful Leaves of Grass Shawl pattern from Sunflower designs from Pick Up Sticks.

Those were in the budget! This is what took me over the top.

I bought this one from Needle Emporium and if you can't see it in the picture it is the Brooke's Lace Shawl. I saw it and had to make it. The picture on the pattern does not do it justice if you ask me and the yarn is not something I would pick on it's own. However when I saw it in person I decided I must have it. I also had a few enablers (you know who you are ladies).

I have already started it (because I have no self control) but you can't see much of the pattern yet but ...I love it!

Diana Socks

Size: Women's Size 8-9

Materials:
Apple Laine, Apple Pie (65% Superwash Merino, 20% Kid Mohair, 10% Nylon, 5% Silk)

2.5mm dpns

stitch marker for beginning of round

It may be a little hard to see in the pictures (and I can't for the life of me figure out why blogger sometimes turns my pictures without my say so) but it is a spiral that works around the sock.

$4.00 USD

A whole lot of changes going on

I am going to be playing with the template of my blog the next few days so if you stumble on it and it looks to be in some disarray please just come back later!

Some People's Friends

I have really been enjoying my knitting again. It is all I think about right now and all I do. I have taken a nice big chunk out of a not-so-baby-baby sweater (it is probably more 1-2 yr size)

My husband has a friend who is expecting a baby boy. He is kinda a tough guy and he is into bikes and stuff so I thought he might want a tough baby sweater for the new arrival. Soooo........

This is what I have been working on.

It has been so much fun to work on something like this. I don't do much colour work so it has been fun so far.

It helps that I kinda have a thing for skulls myself! I am using the chart from Domiknitrix. I have made a few little changes to help it fit the back of the sweater but it is such a great chart as is.

So the back of the sweater is the skull and the front needed a little something as well. Time to revert back to childhood crafts and hunt down the Fimo. I never really did Fimo before but I remember my friends making jewelry and things all the time. This was my turn. I made some buttons for the front.

The ones on the right are the ones I think I'm going to use and the ones on the left are my first attempts.

Also my hubby (who is blind without his glasses) has taken to calling me four-eyes because of my new reading glasses. Even though it is a very mild prescription I do notice a big difference when I'm reading in bed at night and working on the computer. These are my new specks.

My hope is that they will help with my headaches. Not the migraines I know (cuz I had one on Thursday) but the little ones I wake up with but go away in a few hours.

I'm am almost done the body of the sweater so sleeve and a hood are still to come. Check back to see more progress!

Rest, Relaxation, and Knitting

It is March Break time again. This time last year I was in Jamaica on my honeymoon enjoying some rest and relaxation. This year that doesn't fit into our budget but I am home enjoying some rest and relaxation. I am also planning on getting a lot of organization done this week (particularly in my office) but I do plan on enjoying my week off and working on a few knitting projects.


One of those projects is great for the relax part of my week because it is close to mindless and it is big enough now that I can curl up under it on the couch. Some people may have seen this project before but it was in the closet for a long time. Oscar is happy I brought it back. He thinks that if I'm working on this project it is time to cuddle up on the couch.



Aaron likes this blanket too and sticks his feet under it on the couch while I'm working. He can't wait for me to finish it. I was surprised that he likes it so much because he talks about being allergic to wool. This blanket is Silk Garden and I love Noro but some people find it a little scratchy so for people allergic to wool it can be like hell in fabric but he seems to not have an issue with it. (he also doesn't have an issue with the hat I made him out of Mission Falls but I didn't tell him that it was wool because I figured it was soft enough--He wears it all the time with no itchy or bumpy reactions).

I'm off to work in the office so I can relax later with some more knitting. There will be some serious sock knitting this afternoon!

Making up for non-knitting time

I have been knitting like mad since I finished the green autumn mitten. (Not that I have knit the second mitten or anything). I have been thinking about knitting and catching up on podcasts when I can't actually be knitting.

I had some pictures of knitting, my new baby snails (and of course Oscar) but through the wonders of technology they have all disappeared. At work I had some pictures of my students that we were putting in a slide show for our grand opening. Between taking my card out of the camera to put in a co-workers card reader they all disappeared. There was no rhyme or reason just one of those crazy technology things. We love and we hate am I right.

So no pictures but I will take some new ones this weekend and post again soon.

Time flies when you don't kill him

I couldn't believe it but yesterday was my 1st wedding anniversary. People still ask me how I like "married life". I don't know how to answer really. I'm happy and .... we haven't killed each other yet. I told him I might let him live another year.

We have been trying to save money. Buying our house and getting married last year was a little much. We know that most people go through the same thing but when it is your turn it feels overwhelming so we planned on only renting a movie to watch for our anniversary. His mother made us a reservation for the restaurant where we had the rehearsal dinner and mailed us a gift card.

I don't know why this picture is sideways because it isn't sideways on my computer and no other pictures are either but....this was our desert.



I also pulled the top layer of our wedding cake out of the freezer. I have heard that you are supposed to save it for the first anniversary or for your first child's christening...however children are not in the plan as yet, some of the icing got a little squished and...it is too yummy to leave in the freezer for much longer (it is a wonder it made it this long).



While enjoying some relaxation time the last few days I finished one of the Green Autumn mittens. I am enjoying this pattern and look forward to casting on my 2nd.

I can even see myself knitting more of these. Perhaps during March break when I spend the whole week on the couch or at Pick up Sticks doing some knitting and other knitting related activities. I did a count last week of my UFOs and I am up to and CRAZY 21. So I hope to knock off a few.

Winter's End Socks

Size: Women's Size 8-9

Materials:

Tanis Fiber Arts (80% superwash merino wool, 20% nylon; 365m/100g)

2.25mm dpns (optional 2nd set)

Stitch marker for beginning of round

Cable Needle

Gauge: 8 st = 1" in st st

$5.00 USD

Playing catchup ---again

Well I have had no routine for a while now. I haven't been doing a lot of the things that I would normally do. I don't really have a reason I just haven't felt like it to be honest.

I haven't been knitting, I have only been doing the minimum at the gym, I have been working crazy hours at work (to stay in town to go to the gym only to half a$$ it when I get there). Yes I guess you can say that I'm getting lazy.

So not much knitting to show but I have finished the next pattern for the Pick Up Sticks sock club and am feeling newly motivated.

Perhaps I should make a nice hot coffee and get some more done. I could use this

My new Cappuccino machine. It was a present from my hubby. He ordered for me with the points that he gets at work around Thanksgiving. Then it seemed like it was taking forever to get here. But he swore up and down that he had no idea where it was and why it wasn't here yet. I was partly convinced that he had it hidden away for Christmas.

Well Christmas came and went and no cappuccino machine so I had to take his word for it. It came in January. I have been enjoying it very much as well as the cute mugs that my sister in law gave me for Christmas (they are perfect in our kitchen and our dishes)

Next time I post I hope it will not be so long in between and that there will be a little more knitting content. I missed reading blogs as well as writing my own. I feel like I haven't even been online much. I'm going to go and put some laundry away now and catch up on listening to a few podcasts.

In my own world

I don't know what has been up with me but I have really sorta turned myself off after the holidays. I have been knitting but I obviously haven't been blogging but I also have not been reading blogs. I have hardly been online at all actually. I was feeling the itch this week I think because I was starting to feel like I was really out of the loop being lost in my own little world.

I'm going to step back into December and show a little bit of my Christmas knitting. Yes the knitting I said I wasn't going to do.

I gave in and made a bunch of those cute little snowmen from Knit Picks. To the point that my hubby said "How many of those are you making?"

This project made me a little crazy as the Christmas Eve hours were passing by (I finished after 1 am on Christmas day). These are slipper socks that I made from some natural wool that I bought at a farmers market once. This market was in the town where my grandparents lived so there was a lot of memories associated with the town, the house there and the weekend trips to the farmers market. Because of the memories I wanted the yarn to be used for something deserving. So the idea of the slippers hit me. I made a pair for both of my cousins, and I plan to do a pair for myself, so that the 3 girls will have them.

My wonderful (and secretly crafty) hubby helped me to make the slipper soles. He took me to the hardware store where we found some roof flashing (? - I think that is what he said it was, it's rubbery anyway), he traced my feet (my cousins and I all inherited those size 10s), he cut them out for me and punched holes for I could sew them on easily. Amazing I know.

He was also a big help around the house while I was trying to scramble and finish those boots. I had one other project that I wanted to do and he helped with that too. I was making little doggy foot wipes out of face cloths. I cut them out and he sewed them together. I told you he has a crafty side. He told me he used to sew hair scrunchies too.

Of course by baby Oscar loved the holiday vacation as well.

After such a long winters nap from the computer I have so much I want to look at. Surfs up!

The holiday spirit

I am in a bit of an interesting situation at the moment. I have had a few requests for knitted items from people who have lost a knitter this year. It is flattering and a little sad. However it gives me that warm fuzzy hand knits feeling.


It started when a man who works with my dad asked if I could knit him some socks. He knew a woman who used to make him hand knit socks but can no longer knit due to arthritis.


Then a woman I used to work with last year approached me and asked if I could finish a sweater vest. It was started for a friend of hers by her sister. Then the sister passed away before finishing the project. The woman could not finish the sweater herself and would love to have something made by her sister. I said I would finish it. Most of it is already done. Even some of the seaming.





I started thinking about prayer shawls and about Christmas knitting. When we knit things as a gift we think about the person we are making the item for. When we knit for charity we think about our work going to a good cause. Many would say that we knit a little bit of ourselves into our work. I like to think that when my friends and family put on socks that I have made them or mittens and scarves that they think of me and are kept warm by my good wishes as well as the fabric. I want to believe that the vest will let this stranger keep a little bit of her sister close to her.


Now everyone go and have a cup of tea or hot chocolate and knit some gifts.

Sparkling Diamonds Socks

Size: Women's Size 8-9

Materials:

Handmaiden Casbah Sock (81% merino, 9% cashmere, 10% nylon; 325m/115g)

2.25 mm dpns

Stitch marker for beginning of the round

Gauge: 8 sts = 1" in st st

$5.00 USD