HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGIDITY JIG

6163 - Total Kilometres travelled.

States driven through - Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kansas. Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana.

Hours spent in the truck - too many to count.

Surprising sites - The windmills in Montana. There are fields full of windmills, that looked like some creature from outer space. Those things are huge.  And they looked even stranger on Tuesday when they weren't moving - at all.

Antelopes on the prairies.  There were hundreds and hundreds of antelopes. There were more antelopes than cows in the pastures.  We saw so many that we stopped pointing them out.

The Feed Lots in Kansas. Kansas around Dodge City is home to many many feed lots.  I'm not talking about small feed lots either.  They were huge!  Fortunately, on our trip home we drove through a very different part of Kansas that was very picturesque, with rolling prairie, and sunflower fields.

Mount Rushmore. Defiantly worth the trip.

And why did we drive to Bartlesville?


So that Grandmas could walk to the park.


So someone could crawl through the tunnel.


And since the one of the reasons for this road trip was to see sites that were written about in Western Novels, someone had to ride a horse.


We went to Bartlesville to visit, and relax and hangout.


The typical tourist photo - no sock included.

KNITTING ON THE ROAD - PART 2

I had planned to knit my Tilted Duster on the way home.



My plans have now changed.

Knitting on the Road

Day 1 - I thought I would start simply with a sock. Of course I didn't have a pattern and had to guess on the size.


536 kilometres later we were in Great Falls, MT and I had a sock. Just one. I left the second one until I could try on the sample sock.

Day 2 - and a second project to start. This time I had a pattern. I was determined to complete the body of the sweater before we stopped for the night. I also had a broken knitting needle. Each time the needle came apart and five or six stitches dropped off, I wondered if I should admit defeat. It was after all, a little difficult to pick up stitches in the dark.


I'm no quitter. 1101 kilometers later we were in Torrington, WY and I was finished the body of the sweater.

The sleaves should be finished easily in ine day.



Lamar CO, 759 kilometers. Two sleeves, neck ribbing and a correction from the day before.




I finally got around to trying on the sweater today. LD has grown more than I thought and tomorrow I will lengthen the sleeves by couple of inches.

The socks also need to be bigger.

The last 749 kilometers I knit my Tilted Duster. I should have pictures after the trip home.....we're taking the long way home.

Packing for a Road trip

My dilemma - what to pack? What would be the best projects to work on and still enjoy the scenery and conversation. I'm not driving and therefore will be able to knit for 30 solid hours. The possibilities are endless.


My daughter warned me that the in-laws might not appreciate being impaled with a needle if I get frustrated and choose to throw my knitting. Putting beads on lace will not work in the back seat of the truck.

Simpler projects are key.

While it may appear that I am bringing far too many projects, I know that the driver of the truck may be convinced to stop and look at mountains, lakes or historic viewpoints. I can also convince him that we need to stop for food and a bathroom break. I doubt that we will be stopping for a set of dpns in a different size or an extra ball of yarn if I run out.

I need a bigger suitcase.

Two years later and still learning

It was two years ago today that I started working at Make 1 Yarn Studio, and in the time spent there, I have learnt many things.

I used to knit all my sweaters from the bottom up. I have learnt that they can be knit from the top down.

I used to knit all my socks from the top down. I have learnt that they can be knit from the toe up.

I used to believe that pairs of things like socks, should match. I would pull the yarn out of two balls in order to make sure that both socks matched exactly. I now know that socks don't have to match. They can even be knit from two different balls of yarn.

That is the reasoning that I am going to use to explain why I went out shopping today like this.


Some people might suggest a different reason for me forgetting how to dress myself but I believe that artist creativity is the best reason and I'm sticking with it. At least I'm still wearing my underwear under my clothes. (ask Knitting Grammy about that one!)

I have learned that some questions that arise out of discussions on Tuesday evenings are better answered by Wikipedia than by family members.

I have learned that top down socks is the best way to knit socks.

I have learned that if I don't want to swatch, I must be prepared to rip.

I have learnt that not all acrylic is bad.

The most valuable thing I have learned is that the new friends that I have made during the last two years are some of the most fun loving, crazy (in a good way) big hearted, generous people that I know.

It has been a great two years.

Heritage Park Fall Fair


will never be they same. The Volunteers, staff and many tourists from Canada and other countries were serenaded as we walked from the Canmore Opera house where our knitting was displayed, to the Bank where we picked up our Prize Money and then back to the Opera house to pick up our entries.

What song did we sing? It was an charming ditty, that was made up as we walked. The words and melody changed each time we sang. "We won! We won! We picked up our money from the bank. We have ribbons! We have 14 dollars and 50 cents. We bought candy from the candy store."

It was a great afternoon spent with friends. Next year, we can create a greater scene when there are even more knitters at the Park. Fifteen - no twenty knitters all singing "We won! We entered the Fall Fair and we won! We won!"

Long Weekend Camping

We headed out this past weekend for the last long weekend of the summer.  The weather forecast was for rain in Calgary so we drove up the QE2 towards Edmonton, turned off at Lacombe, and headed north again until finally we came to to our camping spot for the weekend.

We found sunshine, and wind and no rain. The golfers were thrilled.

I skipped out on the golfing to start this.  I love the Jade Palace cashmere yarn. It is so soft and cuddly that I was stopping everyone who walked by to make them feel the yarn.  It's wonderful.

I finished two socks on the way to New Norway so I had to start another on the way home. This is "Baudelaire revisited" It's also known as "Upsidedown Baudelaire". I happy with the third start on the sock. I hoping the heel I have planned will also work out.

The Tina shawl is done!I started this shawl in 2005 or maybe in 2004. Who's counting?Kathy Baker from Nier Lake Farms saved the neck wool from her Shetland Sheep for two years until she had enough to take the fleece to Innisfail to have the yarn spun into 2-ply lace weight.I found the pattern for this wonderful yarn and started knitting.I got side tracked by other patterns and other yarns. The shawl rested. It sat on the shelf for years, patiently waiting. It knew that it would be brought out to be finished one day. That day came three weeks ago. Once I started working on it again, I realised how much I had done on it. I also realised that I could actually finish it in a reasonable amount of time.
I think I'll go look through the shelves to see what else is there waiting for it's day in the sun.

Once upon a time... There was a house that had a kitchen. It was a new house with a nice new shiny kitchen. But many years passed, and the machines in the kitchen weren't working the the way they once did. The dishes no longer came out of dishwasher being very clean. The microwave worked, but at the speed of a conventional oven. The fridge kept food cold but was suffering from incontinence. Life would have continued on in the house if the owner could have found some giant sized "Depends" for the fridge. Change had happen. New Appliances were found. Of course, they didn't fit into the spots that the old appliances were in. New cupboards were next on the list of necessities. Oh, and by the way, the seals are gone on the windows so those might as well be changed too. Money Pit sound familiar?This is what my kitchen looked like on Thursday afternoon.This is where the fridge and stove used to be.This is where everything that was in my kitchen is now. And the fridge is in the garage.

Just another typical windy day in Calgary.

It's almost August. Let's knit socks

In a never ending attempt to increase my physical fitness, and to loose ten pounds, I have been walking. An extra 10,000 steps per day. Okay, I'll admit it, some days are closer to the 10,000 number than others but I'm trying.
While I'm out walking, my mind wanders and I contemplate buying resort property in Huatulco. I design lace patterns in my head. I renovate my kitchen. (that last one was a really bad one to get started on.) Today's thought was that we should have a sock exchange.

Crazy? Yes! but it's almost August and a time for crazy ideas. If you read this and want to take part, Send me your name, email address, shoe size and a secret code name. If you have any other colour likes or dislikes, or other preferences, include thoses as well. I'll pass that info along to the person knitting your sock. There are no guarantees. It's just fun to have someone else knit a pair of socks for me.

I'll be conning an unsuspecting member of my family to help me organise this so I can play too. You won't know who is knitting socks for you but you also won't know who you are knitting socks for.

There is a short deadline because I didn't think of this until today. Get your info to me by Friday. You already know if you want to participate or not so just send the email today. I'll get the sock requests to you by the end of next weekend and then we can start knitting.

Completion date for the socks will be Sept. 13. We can get together and drink wine and try on our socks in my new kitchen which hopefully will be done too.

my email?? yarndiva05athotmaildotcom or send me a message on ravelry.

I'd like to think that I'm not the only crazy knitter out there.

I'M GOING TO RHINEBECK!!!!

The following conversation occurred in our house, early Thursday morning when D was trying to get out of the house to make enough money for my crazy schemes....often the best time to have conversations.

M - I'm thinking of going to Rhinebeck.
D - Germany?
M - No, Maryland.(It's okay, I've got it figured out now) It's a Sheep and Wool Festival.
D - When? (said slowly with a great deal of trepidation)
M - October.
D - Sounds good. You go in October and I'll go the Grey Cup in November.

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to which event is going to involve more wine drinking?...and shopping?....and fun?

BIG Weekend
Campers came from near and far for the fourth annual Bonar Invitational Golf Weekend. Many golfers drove into Silver Creek Golf course on Thursday and the weekend was off to a flying start. My team did not fare well in the final standings.But we had fun.
Perhaps someone should have told me earlier that Oven mitts do not necessary to achieve the longest drive.
I did have one perfect shot for the day. I took out my toaster-on-a-stick for the par 3, 85 yard drive. My teammates thought I had lost my mind as they had used their 5 woods. Mine was the only ball to land on the green and Mark easily made the 6 foot putt for the Birdie.

We didn't come in last.

Their reward for a hard day's work was to have someone suggest that they should take up a new sport.

Count for the weekend 28 Golfers, 6 campers who only came to visit, 1 photographer, 8 mice who decided that they needed to share our trailer, 4 new knitters!

Parade day Road Trip

The day dawned bright and sunny. It was the perfect day for a Parade. It was an even better day for a Road Trip. The group of intrepid knitters followed their Supreme Leader out to the wilderness that is known as Banff, with a few stops along the way.


We were stopped by some surly construction workers and Michelle took advantage of the time to knit a few stitches on her sock.



We fought the Wiley Muskox and came away with yarn. To protect the innocent and the guilty, pictures of the Stash will not be displayed.



Sandra enjoyed a different Road Trip.

This shawl is going to the Bad Knitting Basket

It's not that I haven't been enjoying knitting this shawl. The pattern has been easy and fun to knit. It's not that I don't like the yarn. It's soft and cozy and knits up nicely. It's not that I don't have the perfect beads for the edging. After three tries, I found the perfect beads.This stupid shawl does not want to be finished and has conspired in every way to make my knitting life miserable.

The first clue. What I thought were the perfect beads had too much yellow in them. I went to a different store and bought new beads...still too yellow. I dug through my stash and found some other beads that would have been perfect. I moved on to the second ball of yarn.

Second clue. Instead of winding nicely, I had Yarn Barf. It should have taken 5 minutes to wind the ball of yarn not 45. Same dye lot....different colour. Ironically, the second ball of yarn was more yellow so I was back to picking new beads. I knit on
Third clue As I was about to start the final set of charts, I thought I should count my stitches. The number was out - way out... not even close. Well past fudging. I checked previous charts and found my error. Way back. Near the beginning. This one will reside in the basket while I decide it's fate. I hate to admit defeat but some projects just don't want to be knit.


So now I can work on this stole. This is the second project from The Year of Lace. I love this stole. The colour is gorgeous and the pattern is so ingenious. Joan Schrouder is my hero. If I had to describe her, I would call her a "Thinking Knitter" She has designed this stole in a way that will use most if not all the yarn, and it looks amazing. The relatively simple patterns are combined in a way to make one in which all the elements just fit.

But of course even though I had on shawl that I was working on and another that I wanted to work on, I had to cast on a pair of socks. Spring forward in STR.

Sneak a Peak

Thursday night, before the parade and before the Stampede officially starts, we can go down to the grounds and get into the Calgary Stampede early. This is the event that is known to all as Sneak a Peak. To people who have entered articles into the Creative Arts and Crafts display, Thursday night is the night we go down to see who has won ribbons.
Yippee! Yahoo!
That Red Ribbon is for first place in lace knitted accessories. The Silver Medal beside it is for first place in knitting. While I may have knit the shawl, some of the credit has to go to the designer Sivia Harding and to the Claudia's Handpaints for dying the gorgeous yarn.

Congratulations Annie. Your Bison shawl is wonderful.

Congratulations Michelle. Your mom is lucky to receive such pretty socks....even if you did take back her Mother's day present.

There was another person who entered the Stampede. Amy will just have to make the trip down to the grounds.

Have you started your project for 2009 Stampede yet?

Three years = 1095 days

But only two months until we go on a road trip to visit!

And the first steps were taken in Canada!

The tale of the talking yarn

Every so often,I end up with a yarn in my stash that mocks me. Sometimes it is because I bought too much of a particular yarn and end up after knitting the project with a few balls left over...not enough yarn to knit another large project, but too much for a scarf.Sometimes the yarn mocks me because it is the wrong weight for the project for which it was purchased. Sometimes a yarn will quietly whisper "I'm here. You bought me with no project in mind and now you are forgetting that I exist."

One yarn in particular was very noisy in it's never ending rant that it had been bought in error.

Before you ask, I bought "Mother-of-the-Bride" purple zephyr because it was on sale. A momentary lack of sanity.

I knit with the yarn and gave the shawl away, but I still had eight ounces left. (Yes, it was a very good sale). I tried giving it away but no-one in their right mind wanted this yarn.
But I was rescued from my shopping folly.This is the result of Annie's dying.It's gorgeous and I love it. The yarn is dancing with gee. It's still talking, but now it is saying "you must find the perfect pattern to showcase my glorious colors".

We interrupt the previously scheduled knitting content to bring you this important message.Our Little Buddy is 1.
He enjoyed his cake...
...and the sugar buzz.
We can't imagine what life would be like with out his giggles, his inquisitiveness, and his hugs.
Happy Birthday.

...and I am dead...

On Friday, I drove up to Olds To Attend Fibre Potpourri which is sponsored by my local guild. I took the SIP to hopefully finish them and mail them off to the next victim. I thought it was a good idea to take a break and phone home to check on the mail.
Bad idea. Instead of being greeted with "Hello", I heard "You're dead!"
"Did you get the mail?" I asked.
"No, but you're dead."
"How do you know that if you haven't picked up the mail yet?"
"Fex Ex. It was delivered to the house and YOU'RE DEAD!"
So, I quickly packed up the socks I was knitting and ran off to the Post office before it closed.


And these are the instruments of my destruction. The weapons of choice. My final demise.

SOCK WARS III CONTINUE

I received my first SIP and when I opened the envelope, I saw a half knit dark green sock.
There was more sock knit than I thought there was going to be. Then I turned the sock over.


The pattern was only knit on the front of the sock. It was going to have to be ripped back to the ribbing. The yarn was a ball of kinky recycled cotton, not sock yarn. There was a note included.

"Recycled 100% cotton. Sorry about the lack of progress. I'm slow."

Bull Shit!

Since Sock Wars Started, I have be reading blogs, and the Sock Wars forum, and Ravelry pages in an attempt to find out about my fellow warriors. My first victim was a lovely lady who spent the first weekend knitting so she could mail her socks and record her first kill. Unfortunately, when she sent an email to the knitter that is referred to as the Dipstick, he quit knitting. He was bored with knitting socks and the yarn wasn't working out the way he anticipated. Of course not! It's crappy recycled yarn that hasn't been reconditioned properly and it will never be suitable for a pair of socks! NEVER! So he sat back and waited for his new pair of socks to be delivered. When he received them, did he run right out and mail them so that the next Assassin could finish them....eventually, three days later.

....take a deep breath Tink...You are starting to rant...

I am an understanding person. I realise that many times the project we envision doesn't turn out quite the way we planned. What I find so aggravating in reading The dipshits blog and forum posts is that he was bragging about not knitting and instead was waiting for his socks to be delivered. He even had the nerve to complain that his socks were pink and purple and those weren't his favorite colors. Oh boo hoo.

...take another breath..

I am now knitting a new pair of socks out of a lovely sock yarn. I hope my victim appreciates the weapon of her demise and enjoys these socks in her afterlife.

(said in my best imitation of Monty Python)
I'M NOT DEAD YET!
I mailed the socks bright and early on Monday morning and I'm pleased to say that my victim was struck down by the weapon of sockly distruction yesterday. She had already mailed her completed socks off to her victim...someone who reminds me of a kid on the playground. Since he knew the socks had been mailed and that he was soon to be killed off, he quit knitting. A lot of sock can be knit between Monday and Thursday unless you are picking up your ball and leaving the playground.
I will now resume my waiting for the Mailman.

THE SOCKS ARE IN THE MAIL
It was a hectic weekend of knitting in the Rockies.

LET THE WARS BEGIN!

That's right! I signed up for Sock Wars 3 and now I wait. It snowed last night so it is a perfect day to work on my weapon of singular distruction....my socks. I am waiting....for my victim's name. Will it be someone I know? Will my victim be waiting for the fatal blow to be struck? Hopefully the dossier will show up before I hit the send/receive button one time too many and fry the computer! Nothing else to do while waiting. I guess I'll shop on-line.

NOW YOU SEE IT











AND NOW YOU DON'T!



This is one of many projects that were started and then ripped out. Since January, Tuscany, Juno, Lacy Lattice, Mystic Light, Gothic leaves have been started and then ripped out when I decided that I didn't like the yarn for the project, the pattern, or the needles or some other unknown reason.  Secret of the Stole will probably meet the same fate.  I also restarted Waves in the Square but at least I finished that one while the desire to finish it was stronger than the desire to rip.

Socks have been knit and ripped as well. Thistle is back in the closet in a nice neat ball of yarn. Beaudelaire was reduced to a pile of yarn this morning.  Monkey is hanging on by a thread.

I'm beginning to think I have lost my Knitting MoJo.  I haven't lost my need to add to my stash of yarn or patterns but I almost think I could just sit in front of the TV and actually watch it rather than listening to it while knitting.

I don't like feeling this way.  I enjoy knitting and I enjoy finishing projects.  I love the feel of a new pair of socks.  I love unpinning a new lace shawl and seeing the open lace that was a crumpled mess before it was blocked.

The cure might be drastic.  I think I'll go reorganise my yarn and wait until it speaks to me. 

WHERE IS THE SUN???
I'm sick of the snow and cold weather. I'm also fairly sure this is going to be one of those years in which we go from freezing cold temps to blazing hot with no spring in between.
Spring is the perfect season for wearing new shawls....like Phoenex Rising.
I am finished. I had plans to be finished about three weeks earlier but forces (family) conspired against me. Every time I planned to spend the day knitting, DD#1 would show up with the Little Dude and I would have to spend time watching him exploring the house, learning to stand and laughing at his reflection in the mirror. What a hardship!
Year of Lace Project #1
Sivia Harding pattern -Phoenix Rising
Claudia Hand paint silk Lace - Make 1 Colorway
I used smaller beads from my stash.

Since the cold weather is going to be sticking around for another week or longer, it's a good thing I finished D's socks too. He actually had the nerve to complain that the last one's were itchy so these ones knit out of Tofutsies should get lots of wear.

One of those days...
I thought that yesterday would be a normal day, running an errand or two, going to work, sipping on a glass of wine after work....a well planned enjoyable day. Obviously, I did something to screw up my Karma.
In the morning, I loaded my car with all my recycling. There is a depot on the way to work and it has been easy in the past to stop by, unload and then go home to a clean garage. All the big green bins have been moved. It appears as though the depot has become a victim of more construction in Bridgeland. (I'm actually afraid to drive down that road again , just in case it were there and I was driving by too fast to notice)
I phoned a another YOL knitter to help her interpret the edging pattern on the Phoenix Rising shawl. While talking with her, I realised that I had made a mistake in the way I had read the pattern...20 rows back...20 long rows....at least 10 hours of knitting. Everyone, and I mean everyone told me to leave it. A blind man galloping by on a horse wouldn't see it. It was a design change. If I wasn't going to enter it into the Stampede, no one would notice that it was different. It bugged me. I thought about it all day long.
The knitters came for S'nB and Trish had made the run at the Sushi restaurant. I had just started to enjoy a tasty order of Tempura before I had a glass of wine and finished D's socks. The styrofoam container slipped off my lap and landed upside down on the floor. A more prepared blogger would have the camera ready and taken a picture, but I was to busy cursing.
I went home in defeat, with my old newspapers and tin cans still in my car. The wine would have to wait. I had a shawl to rip. By midnight I had all the stitches back on the needle and had re knit the first row. Everyone was right. I should have left it.
Today will be better.