Progress

I am winning the battle of the single socks and WIP. For several weeks, my house has been overrun with socks talking to me. At first, it was just a whisper."We're here. We're waiting."

Then, the socks got louder."Are you ever going to finish us?"
My favorite chair became surrounded by UFOs. I couldn't cast on anything new because all my needles were in socks. The socks were mocking me.

I have now completed more pairs of socks than the socks that need to be knit. I realise that I am tempting fate by declaring this publicly but I feel that the battle has turned in my favour. I will win this war.



The single socks have sent for reinforcements. The STR shipment should arrive on Monday.

"Only in Canada, you Say?"

The May Long weekend is the unofficial start of the Camping season. We decided that even though it was early this year, we would pack everything we needed and escape from the city for the weekend.

We have gone camping during the May Long before so we knew that we had to pack many things. I had shorts and sandals. I had packed rainboots and sweaters. I even had my winter coat and mittens. I thought I was ready for anything.

On Saturday, we drove to the nearby village to get more propane, more beer, and a new ax. (The old one is still in the garage.)


Saturday night, Doug built his fire.


Sunday morning I enjoyed some quiet knitting time in front of my fire.

Sunday afternoon we realised that we forgot the sun screen.

After we listened to the weather forcast, we came back to the city early.

We realised that we had left the snow shovel at home.

One of Those Days

I'm sitting here with my morning cuppa and feeling like I haven't accomplished much lately. Perhaps because in the past week I have started three new pairs of socks and not finished any. I have also added to the collection of sock and lace yarn but haven't finished any lace either. Ditto for the baby sweaters.


Yes, I remember that I did finish Hermia on Tuesday, but it didn't make a dent in the list of projects I want to complete.


I'm not feeling the love for this sweater yet. Perhaps I'm still bitter over how long it took to knit those sleeves.

The first sleeve was almost done when I realised that the gauge was wrong. I used the same size needle but because I had all the stitches squished onto a 12" needle, the gauge was way tighter than on the body of the sweater.

The pattern calls for the sleeve hem to be started when the length of the sleeve was 13". I knit 15" and then knit the hem.

I'm not tall. I will, under pressure, actually admit that yes, I am short. So why did I have to rip back the hem and knit another two inches onto those sleeves.
(Please resist the urge to make comments about "Monkey arms" and "Ape-like appendages")

17" inch sleeves before the picot hem. Sleeves from Hell.



Pattern: Hermia, Knitty, fall 2008
Yarn: Blue Sky Skinny Cotton - Sprout.

Project #10 is finished
file under "What the Hell was I thinking?"

Back in January, The Gillihook Heritage Knitters started a UFO challenge. We listed ten unfinished projects that we wished to complete in the next year. Each month, a number is drawn, and that's the project we are supposed to have finished by the next guild meeting.*

I was optimistic. Okay, maybe I was delusional. I had enough unfinished projects for two lists. I filled one sheet and then I doubled up and put two projects on some lines. I actually thought that I might complete more than one UFO per month. A small amount of sanity came back and I scribbled a line through the second project.**

Project #10 was to be finished by the third Wednesday in May. It's not going to happen.



When pulled my Forest Path Stole out of the closet, I realised that I was only on tier four. There are twenty three tiers in total. After two weeks, I have only completed tier six. In this Entrelac stole, there are 103 lace rectangles. I have completed 27.
It's going back in the closet. I admit defeat.



It is not a total defeat. I did finish the socks that I started years ago...seven or eight years ago.



I also finished this scarf that I started last October. I had planned to give it as a Christmas gift. Now I have my first gift ready for next Christmas.

I would have taken a picture of my Snowdrop Stole that I finished for the April Guild Meeting and rescued from kidnappers but I can't find it right now. I'm fairly certain it is in my house, somewhere, and since the kidnapper hasn't been here recently, I think it's safe....

Project #10 is not safe. I'm thinking of pulling it off the needles. It's mocking my failure to complete it.

*Finishing the project is not our only reward. When we complete a project, our name is put into a draw for a prize. There is also a grand prize at the end of the year. The more projects we complete, the more chances we have to win. My chances of winning this draw are slightly better than winning the 649, but just slightly.

**How delusional was I? The Unst Bridal Shawl, The Frost Flowers shawl and The Beaded Diamond Shawl were listed as second projects. These are all huge projects. I can't believe that I actually thought I might finish them as well as the first project I had listed.

"de gustibus non est disputandum"

I started this blog back in 2006. I really didn't think that anyone would ever read it and until I found Ravelry and linked it to my friends list, very few people did read it. No one ever asked me about the description under the title until this week.

I always assumed that the reason I was never asked about it was either that everyone was a Latin scholar and already knew what it meant, or people really didn't understand a lot of what I was blathering about and that was normal.

The rough translation? In matters of taste, there is no disputing. There isn't a better sentence to describe the variety of knitting techniques, patterns, choices of yarn etc.

I have spent the last hour of valuable knitting time looking for a new quote. Before you ask, No I have not ever studied Latin.

quidquid latine dictum sil altum viditur - what ever is said in Latin sounds profound.

I contemplated this one. Malum consilium quod mutari non potest. It's a bad plan that can't be changed. It could apply to either a knitting pattern or the whole project. It might fit for some people but not for someone who doesn't change patterns.

Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae There is no one great ability without a mixture of madness. No explanation needed for this quote.

Bonitas non est pessimis esse meliorem It is not goodness to be better than the worst. Too vague.

Damnant quod non intellegunt. They condemn what they do not understand. Do you think Cicero was referring to toe-up socks when he uttered this phrase? or was he referring to all non-knitters?

Stecius accident. Shit happens sounds like the perfect phrase for the project that needs to be ripped out or for the socks that need to be tossed because they have developed holes but not quite right for most days.

For now, I will stick with the original description. It seems to still fit the best, especially since I know that out there, in the big world, someone is crocheting toe up socks with purple acrylic yarn.

Omnia mutatur, noset mutamur in illis. All things change and we change with them.

Spring was here on Saturday

To celebrate, Spinknit and I went to a sheep shearing.


We saw the cutest little lambs.


We met Rolf, who really thinks he`s a dog and loves to have his chin scratched.

And we bought fleece. We went vowing to keep each other on the straight and narrow path and not buy any fleece. I was done in by a beautiful gray cotswold fleece. It`s in the garage right now calling my name. It wants to be washed so I can see what it really looks like. And then it will probably be yelling at me until I spin and dye it.


These are my new rubber boots that I bought specifically for the trip out to the farm. They were initiated in the sheep pen. I`m really happy that Doug had the power washer out just as I came home.

Finished a Pair of Socks

Last night I finished knitting my upside down Baudelaires. No, you are not imagining things. They are two different colours. No, I did not choose to step outside the box and knit out of two different colours of yarn.



The sock on the left was my airplane knitting last October. When I returned home and was throwing the laundry in the machine, the sock was accidentally added to the washer and the dryer. I noticed immediately that the yarn had become slightly fuzzy and that the sock had shrunk slightly...still a wearable sock. I threw it in my knitting basket to rest for awhile.

Five months later, I was ready to start the second sock. Once again, I had no written notes for the first sock and I had changed the original pattern.

I pulled the sock out. The colour was so different, I actually went through the stash to see if I had pulled the correct yarn. I had.

Perhaps I should have taken this experience as one of life's little lessons. I could have kept the one sock as a constant reminder of the care needed in washing hand knit socks. I could have turned it into a very nice sock puppet. I could have finally decided that my socks don't have to match. (Come on, let's not get too ridiculous).

No, I have taken a chance. Not quite as drastic as Sky diving or bungee jumping, but considering the valuable nature of time spent on knitting projects, it was still a risky proposition.
I knit the sock.

I'm now off to do battle with the washing machine. With luck, I will be able to recreate the conditions in which the first sock was washed.

No more Monkeys Jumping on the bed!

We're back from a busy 12 days in B'ville. We had received word that the weather in Calgary was, to say the least, crappy. Just to make everyone feel better, I'm posting a picture of the snow that fell on Saturday. Now you might think that this isn't alot of snow but in Southern US, this is enough to call a "Snow Day". K and I went to the local mall and it was empty. The day before, there were lineups at Walmart as everyone tried to stock up for the blizzard. There was a constant warning scrolling on the bottom of the TV screen on Friday and Saturday night. This was the heaviest snowfall that fell all winter.

It was all made much worst because a week earlier I had been sitting in the sun, listening to the birds, enjoying the spring flowers in the parks.



We had a busy vacation. We spent lots of time playing with the kids.


K and I got dressed up and took Paige out for her first party.

Paige loves to cuddle and have someone talk to her. I've heard the you can't spoil a baby by holding her too much. We did our best.



"Gumpa" got to paint pictures, play "hockey", watch "Rats" (Ratatouille) and "Buzz" (Toy Story) and even got to play a couple of rounds of golf.



What did we do while we were gone? Not much. One quick trip into Tulsa. One quick trip to the mall. Three walks in the nearby park. Lots and Lots of hugs and stories and giggles. The time flew by.

The house is very quiet.

Those pink sweaters will come in handy

Our precious Paige Evalise made her appearance this morning.


Big brother is thrilled with his new sister.



She weighed 7lb 9oz and is 20in long.
Mom an Dad are doing fine, even with only four hours of sleep last night. They should all be home tomorrow afternoon.

I love the ribbon in her hair.

A Canadian Care Package

When you spend alot of time in one place, you get used to certain everyday essentials that you believe you will always have access to. It isn't until you move to a foreign country that you realise that certain items are a little harder to find.

Many people believe that Canada and The United States of American are identical, and that anything we can find here can be found in the states. Not True. USA is a foreign country that doesn't have all the essentials.

As I started to pack my suitcase for a trip down south, I realised very quickly that I would have to take the "Big" suitcase.

I had knitting to bring.



And more knitting to bring.


I had been sent a shopping listof essentials. Sunny Boy and Gripe water are purely Canadian. The Small Planet cleanser is made in Calgary.

If you haven't tried Sobey's Raspberry Lime with Vodka drizzler, you really should. Great on icecream or plain cheesecake and worth every bit of room that it takes up in the suitcase.

Vegeta is a soup base that is imported from Croatia and a key ingredient is a certain soup I'm hoping to taste while we are visiting.

There are also a few things in the suitcase that weren't on the list but Cheezies and Smarties are too Canadian to be left behind.

There is going to be very little room in my suitcase for clothes and knitting but I'm not worried since I will have an empty suitcase for the trip home. I'm sure I can find a little bit of time to go shopping to fill it from the other side.

Edited: I need a bigger suitcase.

Things I never thought I'd see in a knitting Blog

Important Safety Note: On Wednesday, I mentioned that I had borrowed a set of needlefelting needles from a friend. Actually, this is not a very safe thing to do—you should never share your needles, as the risk of poking yourself and possibly spreading infection is real—these are VERY sharp tools. So please craft safely, and don't share needles.

Let's be careful out there.

It's all about the Bling!

I got a new sock kit.


I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I pulled one treasure after another out of the parcel.

My kit contained:
A Glinda accessory bag
A Glinda Notepad
A Glinda stitchmarker
A Glinda Bookmark
A Silver Pencil stamped with "Are you a good Witch or a Bad Witch?"
A Good Witch Soap wand
Good and Plenty candies
Cookies cutters in a star and Crown shape complete with the recipe.

Since it is a sock club, I also got a skein of yummy Madelinetosh sock Yarn and Twisted Cable sock pattern.

I now also have my very own magic wand so I can cast spells on the wicked witch. I wonder if the magic is stong enough to repel yarn vomit?

It's a good thing that I finished my Queen of Beads Socks




They were the January Sock from the STR sock club and great fun to knit. I wondered about putting the beads on the foot of the sock but since they fit well in my Birks, all is well. They are tight in my boots but I don't care. The Bling is key. Even if I will be handwashing these socks, so that the beads don't loose their colour, I still love these socks.

I wonder what the Mailman is going to bring me today?

Damn You Food Network!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I was watching Judge Judy on TV and happily knitting. JJ was a rerun so I started flipping through the channels and stopped for a moment on the Food Channel. That was my first mistake.

You may think that watching the food channel is an innocent enough pastime but I'm warning you that it is a dangerous spiral that I may never recover from.

I watched a show on exotic ingredients in everyday cooking. The specific show was on water chestnuts. I have used water chestnuts for many years but always opened a can to get them. I now had a mission; to find fresh water chestnuts and to see how they were different from the canned variety.

Two weeks later and many stores later, I have my fresh water chestnuts. And it only took me another hour to find the recipe on-line that started the whole quest in the first place*.

All of this cooking and going to specialty stores is taking far too much time away from my knitting.

On a positive note, we had a wicked Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta last night and the Pesto Stuffed Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto was pretty good too.

Now if Judy Judy would quit showing reruns, I could get back to more important things.


*I'll be making "Endive Water Chestnut Salad" just as soon as I find the endive.

I've been here before....

dé·jà vu
Pronunciation: \ˌdā-ˌzhä-ˈvü, -ˈvue\
Function: noun
Etymology: French, adjective, literally, already seen
Date: 1903
1 a: the illusion of remembering scenes and events when experienced for the first time b: a feeling that one has seen or heard something before
2: something overly or unpleasantly familiar

I'm knitting a Superman sweater. I've knit this pattern before.

I'm using "Baycrest Sayelle". I've knit with yarn before. This was my yarn of choice for many sweaters I knit when my kids were little and the nieces and nephews were little.



I'm using my straight needles....size 8....old size 8. I'm using Aero needles out of my collection. These were my favorite needles. I was a needle snob. I wouldn't spend my time knitting with poor quality plastic needles.

I've been here before.

Finished Projects and a decision

In this heart, the baby's name will be embroidered.....if she is the kind of baby that likes pink blankets. If he doesn't like pink, this blanket will be put on the shelf to wait.



This blanket was so much fun to knit. The pattern was written on four pages and I had to flip back and forth to keep the heart looking like a heart. The bamboo has a nice weight and I think it will be perfect for those OK evenings.



When I saw this skein of hand-dyed bamboo in New York, I knew that it was the perfect yarn for this sweater. Unfortunately, just not quite enough yarn for the size I decided to knit.



I used a garter stitch hem instead of the picot hem and eliminated ten rows. I wanted to use an I-cord for the ties instead of the garter stich cord the pattern called for.

So now that I've done some Grandma knitting, I can knit a sweater for me! I'm torn between "Hey Teach" from Knitty in a silk yarn that is in my stash, or some new Cashmerino Aran. Maybe I should knit "Hermia" also from Knitty. I have some Cotton Cashmere in my yarn drawer or there is some lovely green cotton at Make 1 that has been calling my name. I started "Loppem" by Norah Gaughan but I'm not feeling the love for it and I will be ripping out the ten row that I have knit.

I have a new STR kit with heavenly blue yarn and beads that my fingers are itching to start.

Or, I could just work on some old UFOs. They aren't nearly as exciting, but it will feel great to cross some more of those off the list.

File under "If you're not going to knit a swatch..."

...you have to be prepared to rip out your project.



Who would have thought that .25mm would make a difference?

Weekend knitting.

I had planned to work on UFO's this weekend but the call of the new projects was too loud.

All these pictures are in the wrong order but the only thing I didn't try was making a separate post for each picture. Read the post backwards if you really must see them in chronological order.



I finished these socks late Sunday evening. They were started in ~2002. For some strange reason, I decided to ignore the suggested needle size for the yarn and knit the 6-ply yarn with 2.5 needles. They almost stand up by themselves but they are never going to wear out.



I cast on for this Blanket on Saturday evening. I am using Baby Bamboo. The pattern is from Sirdar's "The Baby Blanket Book" It's a great pattern to knit with lots of change in the patterns.



This was cast on Saturday morning. It's "Helena" from Knitty and the yarn is hand dyed bamboo that I bought in New York for this sweater.

I'm not hinting by knitting "pink". We still don't know if the new baby is a boy or a girl. I'm just tired of the yellow, green and white knitting.



Finally, or first of all, depending on how you are reading this, I cast on for these fingerless mitts on Friday. They are "Can Cans" and the yarn is SpinKnit's* hand dyed. Now that Balzac Billy saw his shadow and we are going to have six more weeks of winter, I may even get these finished and be able to wear them.

This was I weekend in which I planned to do nothing but watch TV and knit. Cooking meals, laundry, cleaning were all NOT on the planned list of activities. Leaving the house or even getting dressed was going to be optional. My plans changed on Saturday morning when I remembered that I had signed up for a one day retreat with my Stitching Guild**.

I might have knit more if I had stayed home but it was a great day with friends who share an interest...no, passion for all things fibre. When Mary told us she was looking for towels in DMC 223, we immediately could visualise the colour she was looking for. When Ann asked for our advice on the project that was going to run off the fabric, we could all put in our two cents worth since we had all run into similar problems and all had different solutions.

*spinknitthefiberqueen.blogspot.com
**Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts.

File under "I should Have Known Better"

I have a knitting journal with pages for a needle inventory, pages of size charts for friends and family, and many, many, pages for notes on projects. I actually have more than one knitting journal with similar pages in them. They are all pristine. I have never written on a single page. I should have been writing in these books, especially on some projects.



I started these socks several years ago. The printing date on the book is 2001 so I'm guessing that I started them in 2002. I didn't knit exactly according to the pattern which is why I should have been writing deviations down...somewhere...even on the pattern.

When these socks when into the resting drawer, I had pulled out the needles to use on a different pair of socks, and placed the stitches on a thread. I think I have the right size back on the stitches. I'm hoping I have the right size. They look the same. For some strange reason, I believe I used a 2.5 mm needle originally instead of the 2.75 that the pattern called for.

I also changed the heel from the original. Did I write down the changes? Of course not. Did I even look at the heel on the first sock before I had completed the second heel? Why would I do that?

After ripping out the heel, I did stop to look at the first sock (which is just past the heel to realise that I hadn't followed the pattern for the sole of the foot either.

It is much easier to follow a sock pattern than it is to knit a sock from a half finished one.

Am I using the knitting Journal now? Not yet but I will just as soon as I start my next project.

The call of the Cashmere was just too loud.

I had planned to treat myself with knitting one repeat of the border each day. That was on Friday. By knitting one repeat each day, I could enjoy knitting this pattern and this yarn for fourteen day... two weeks of knitting Utopia. By Monday night, I had finished the shawl.



It was worth it.



The next project will be a completed UFO. The Gillihook Heritage Knitting Guild is challenging us to finish us unfinished projects. We are to list ten projects and only ten projects. Each month a number will be drawn and that is the project we are to have completed by the next meeting. I am fairly certain that the first project that I should have to finish will not be a single sock but instead the massive shawl that has been languishing on the shelf for three years.

I made a list. I went through cupboards, and closets and drawers and made my list. I now have to choose ten UFOs off the list. I could put several socks on the list since I have six single socks and when I last checked, I do have two feet.

I could put all my lace projects on the list but that would be silly. I wouldn't be able to leave my house for the year as I knit the seven started shawls and one Christening gown.

Two sweaters, one baby blanket, one pair of mitts and a couple of other projects. Before I knew it, my list was twenty items long and logically,I have no hope of completing them all in a year.

And that isn't counting all the projects that I have the yarn for that I'm just itching to start.

Start? Did someone say "Start"? Now that's a much better idea. I think I'll go cast on the new sock yarn that I got last night. Socks are little. They don't take much time to knit. I'll be finished it in no time.

The story of a conflicted knitter.

I've been working on these socks even though I don't like the color and I'm not thrilled with the pattern. They are not what I want to be knitting.



I've been working on this blanket because the new baby will be here in less than two months. It is not what I want to be knitting.



I really want to be knitting this shawl.


I love this shawl. I love the soft yarn that caresses my fingers with each stitch (Jade Sapphire cashmere). I love the pattern that changes enough to maintain my interest (Harbour Lights by Sivia Harding)



I even love the silver beads that came out of my stash to add the perfect amount of sparkle to the knitting. I love knitting this shawl, which is why I am avoiding it. I love knitting it so much that I don't want it to be finished. I'm sure it will be pretty when it is all blocked out and the lace is shown in all it's glory, but I will be finished knitting it. I won't ever have the same connection to it.
If I knit one repeat of the edging each day and only one repeat, I can enjoy knitting this shawl for another fourteen days.