It's 8:00 on Christmas morning and every else is till sleeping.

I'm enjoying the calm of the morning and knitting...on Christmas gifts. I'm not finished. Not even close.


My plans were to knit four pairs of socks. I have one pair done, as well as half of the second pair, and almost half of the third pair. The yarn for the fourth pair did not even get wound into a cake.

BUT...the gifts are wrapped, and the holubtsi is cooked. The shortbread is baked and the house is decorated. I'm guessing that people will wait for their socks.

Merry Christmas to all. I hope you have a day filled with love and Laughter.

Knitters are wonderful

Within a day of posting my SOS, I had a message back from Anna that she had the book I was looking for.

I had also sent out a couple of messages on Ravelry to people who had knit projects out of the book. I got positive replies from ladies in Arizona and Edmonton. I have not met either one of these ladies but they were both willing to trust that I would knit the sweater and then return their books.

I also got a message from Donna. She had found the link where I could order the whole kit.

I have no excuses now for not casting on on January 1.

ISO

I am on a mission. I decided that with the Olympics being in Canada this year, I should knit a sweater to wear while watching the games. No, I'm not going to Vancouver. I will watch my TV and enjoy the games while knitting.

Of course, the pattern that I have decided to knit is out of print. I could knit another Dale of Norway sweater but I have decided that the only sweater I want to do is the Whistler Sweater*.

So I am on a search for the pattern. I checked sources on Ravelry...no luck.
I sent messages to other knitters who knit projects out of the book....still waiting for replies.
My only other hope is that someone who reads this will have a copy of the book. Or know someone who has the book.

* I couldn't get the link to work. Dale of Norway Commemorative Collection #85001

Imagine, if you will, a 24 piece band and Dean Martin holding a mug of
eggnog-



"Oh the weather outside is frightful

But the fire is so delightful

And since we've no place to go,

Let it Snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!"

I hate winter.

I don't like the cold weather or feeling like a pumpkin when I put on enough layers to keep warm.

I hate being stuck in traffic for three and a half hours when the trip home should only have taken 25 minutes.

I hate the crowded malls and the bozos who don't realise that if traffic rules make sense on the roads, then those same rules are logical when navigating through the mall.

Slower walkers should keep to the right to keep the passing lanes free. Don't come to a dead stop unless you want me to run into your ankles with my shopping cart. Don't stop in the middle of the road to chit chat. Look before you change lanes and SIGNAL!

Rant over.

This miserable cold weather is good for knitting. For several years now, my rule has been that if the thermometer hits -15, it's too cold to go out. There have been many days this past week when I have deemed it too cold and miserable to go out. I have had some good knitting days. I finished Mystic Star.
It's too bad that shawls are easier to wear during warmer weather.

I finished Muffin's sweater for Christmas. I will have to leave the house to go find the perfect button for it. But at least I will have a hat to wear.

I

I did go outside this morning to take pictures. I probably should have been wearing something other than my pyjamas if I didn't want the neighbors to think I had lost my mind completely.

Mystic Star - designed by Anna Dalvi

Wollmeise Lace - Pfefferminz Prinz

Little sweet peas -Sirdar #332

Naturally Merino et Soie

Selbu Modern

Claudia Handpaints - Lipstick

and black something

Dear Hubby:

You haven't dropped any hints for Christmas. Wandering through the malls looking for the perfect gift without any guidelines is seriously cutting into my knitting time. I have socks to knit before December 25 and I am starting to panic.

So to preserve the last bit of sanity, I have come to the conclusion that you would like a new knitting bag wrapped up under the tree. And that you would not complain at all, if that bag was filled with yarn...silk and cashmere.

I have also come to realise that the only thing that you hate more than shopping is returning gifts so your Christmas gift might just land in my sewing room. So, because I am a thoughtful loving wife, I will make sure that I pick colours that I like.

Love, M

A slight case of over packing

I am home from my retreat* and once again, I find that there are projects that I took to work on that never made it out of my bin.

I did start this hat...formerly known as the End Paper Mitts. I'm thinking that if this had been the only project I had taken, I would have been finished it.

This is my 10 stitch blanket...3rd time lucky. If it had been the only project that I packed, I wouldn't be finished but I would be further along than on the second colour.

This was a good choice to pull out of the bin. The pattern is simple enough that I could still visit with my friends and see progress on the shawl.

I also knit on another Lady Eleanor shawl for a short time. The other projects were only pulled out to show other knitters what a yarn looked like. I didn't knit a stitch on them. I also didn't look through the books I brought.

Perhaps the real problem is overestimating how many hours there are in a weekend.

*The retreat was sponsored by The Calgary Guild of Needle and Fibre Arts.

Packing for a Retreat

Yesterday, while I was out knitting with my friends, I found myself in a dire predicament. I ran out of knitting.
It started innocently enough. I ripped out my 10 stitch blanket...my second start at the 10 stitch blanket. This is not a difficult project. I had slipped the stitches purlwise instead of knitwise and it changed the whole look of the blanket. It had to go.
I ripped out my End Paper mitts. They have been hibernating for a year or two and I just wasn't feeling the love for them. They were the next project to be ripped out.
I was left with my Dorothy Gale socks. I knit on the first sock until I realised that I had left the pattern at home.

I was out of knitting. There was nothing I could do except go home. (we will totally ignore the fact that I was knitting in a yarn store and that I could have started a new project...which I just realised now)

This leads me to the subject of this post. I am packing to go on a two day retreat. I will be away from the city and any yarn shops, without my car, and I will have to knit only only the projects I have managed to stuff in my Rubbermaid tote.

Keeping mind that this is only a two day retreat, I have packed

1. Ladybug Socks (they might get ripped out and turned into Nutkins)
2. Dorothy Gale Socks (pattern is packed)
3. Fern Leaf Shawl
4. Mystic Light Shawl
5. 10 stitch blanket (started for the third time...I think I've finally gotten the hang of it
6. Lady Eleanor
7. Raining Cats and Dogs Socks
8. the hat that used to be End Paper Mitts

I was also going to pack Mystic Roses and the Crown Prince Shawl but then I remembered that I was only going to be gone for two days and that I had to leave room for the wine, chocolate and chips.

A Multiple choice Quiz

This is
A) The Breakfast of Champions?
b) the lunch blue plate special?
c) an elegant desert after the evening's dining?
d) a nice light snack?
e) leftovers from the previous night's potluck?

It's a trick question because the correct answer is all of the above.

Pumpkin Cobbler... a great recipe*

And I wonder why my jeans are tight!

*send me a message on Ravelry with your real address and I'll send the recipe as an attachment. No more typing than is absolutely necessary.

Destined to fail?

More Math?

It Ain't gonna happin! All possible titles for this post.

We headed up to Edmonton on Wednesday. I was sure that I was going to have 2 and half hours uninterrupted knitting time on the way there and then again on Thursday. We were heading up to visit a relative in the hospital and since they only allowed two visitors at a time, I would have more knitting time in the waiting room. There would be nothing to prevent me from finishing Dracula's Bride.

As we drove past Balzac, I pulled out my knitting to discover that I had left the pattern at home. I knew exactly where it was. Mr. B asked if I wanted to go home to get the pattern but I realised that I didn't want to add an hour onto the total driving time.
I was disappointed but I since there were only seven rows, I was pretty sure I could finish them when I got home.

Last night three more rows were done and I woke up early this morning to finish the last four rows. It was still doable. Finish knitting before 9, wash and block it and it would be ready to wear to Make 1's Halloween party at 5.

There was this little doubt that kept bothering me. The pattern had no instructions for the final edge. I had printed the original pattern fours year earlier and there were comments on the Yahoo group that the last clue was just blocking instructions. I still didn't feel comfortable. I downloaded the pattern and my worst fears were realised. There was another whole chart that I had been missing. 28 more rows. 17948 more stitches.

I may come up with some crazy ideas, but I do know when to admit defeat.

And what did I do while on my way up to Edmonton? Started a new sock of course. I thought I was packing too many projects for a quick trip, but it pays to have multiple projects around at all times.

edited to correct the math...again.

9 rows.
5373 stitches. I will then cast off Dracula's Bride.

16. The number of new projects that I have planned while knitting this shawl.

I am not a fast knitter

I am an obsessed knitter but not a fast one. So when I decided that I should knit a shawl for Halloween, I realised that I was making an unwise ...no, an insane decision..

I started anyway...last Saturday. Yes, on the 17 of October, I thought I would have enough time to knit a shawl. Finished measurements 84 X 41. Total stitches (not including the ones that I knit twice) are 62,156.

At midnight, I had knit 46224 stitches at least once.

74% of the shawl is complete.

How much time did I spend figuring out the math? Too much! I must get back to knitting now. It's a busy week ahead and I didn't account for blocking time.

Warning -Rant ahead
Does anyone else believe that if the powers that be want us all to get flu shots, that they shouldn't make it so difficult?
Four flu clinics for a city with a population of over a million?
The addresses of the clinics were listed in the paper but if you wanted to know the times that they were open, you had to go on-line. How many people don't have access to computers?
If I go and stand in line at 6:00, will the doors close before I get to the front of the line at 8:00?

*edited to correct the math!

Dare to Dream....

Madrona fiber arts

Nefertiti is done...almost

Early Saturday morning, I finished knitting Nefertiti. Normally, I would have blocked it and then taken a artistic shot with it draped around a manikin or at least over the railing on the deck.

Instead, it is being sent to the bad knitting basket.

When I started this wrap, I thought that I had the perfect yarn. I loved the color and while it was hand dyed, I thought that the variegation in it would not detract from the overall design.

I started knitting and all was well until I got to the widest part of the wrap. Then the colors started to pool. Lucy urged me to rip it out but I though that it would be work out.

I hoped that somehow, magically, bad knitting would turn into good knitting. It didn't. I continued knitting. The pooling continued.

I don't mind pooling. I usually like to see how the spots of color line up with each other and make big spots of color. Unfortunately, the color that was most prevalent was...you guessed it...purple.

The plan is to now dye the wrap. Spinknit said that I should kettle dye it teal, and since she is the dying goddess that dyed the yarn in the first place, I would be smart to listen to her advice.

I'm going to postpone the decision for awhile.

I have started a new shawl. Dracula's Bride is a shawl that I originally stared a few years ago when it was published as a Mystery Shawl. I ripped it out when I realised that I didn't like the beads that I had chosen or the fact that I hadn't mirrored it. I also was disappointed that it didn't have any bats on it since it was called a Halloween mystery shawl.

If you don't see me for the next two weeks. it's because I'm home, knitting. If you do see me, it's because I've realised that once again, this was a really silly idea.

It has been a busy summer!

I didn't think that I had much time to knit but then I realised that I had completed not one but two sweaters...large sweaters.

This is my Camelot Coat....also known as Spamalot. It was knit longer than it needed to be and then fulled in the dryer. Fulling is always a scary proposition. Many, many hours of knitting can be shrunk beyond hope in minutes. Fortunately, that was not the case with this sweater. Fulling it made the stitches tighter and the fabric warmer.

I also finished my top down Swing Coat. I'm so happy that I listened to the advice of my Knitting Friends (although I complained bitterly about it when I was getting close to the end) and knit an extra three inches onto the length.

There is one more button to be sewn onto it. I forgot that I had knit 7 buttonholes instead of 6, went back to Make 1, bought another button and then put it someplace safe. I will find it eventually.

I have two sweaters to wear now that the weather has turned cooler . It's almost as if I had planned for things to turn out this way.
I didn't. I started both sweaters with the idea that I would finish them eventually....next year even. I'm glad my plan was altered.

We had a wedding. Some elements were traditional,

and some were not !

Last Thursday, I decided that I needed to knit a sweater for my Muffin, and bought the yarn.
Friday, I borrowed the pattern and people told me I was crazy (big surprise there). Friday night we had the rehearsal dinner at my house.

Saturday was the wedding. I thought about taking my knitting but realised that it would not be a good idea.

Sunday morning we had a brunch at the house and said goodbye to the out-of-town rellies.

Sunday night. I finally got to start the sweater.

Monday. Stupid cell phones gave up the ghost and we spent valuable knitting time sitting in the Telus store.

Tuesday morning.

We left for the airport at 9:30

Fighting my way out of a Knitting Black Hole

We've all run into it at one time or another, the knitting project that seems like it will never end. I am working on not one, but two black hole projects.

This is a top down sweater in which the number of stitches increased every sixth row.

I knit. I measured. I knit and knit and knit. When I measured the length again, it was still the same length. I had started new balls of yarn and increased the number of stitches, but the length still seemed to not be growing.

I had to resort to putting a pin in on Tuesday morning. By the end of the day, I had proof that I had accomplished something.

Another pin was attached to my knitting on Wednesday morning. I could see progress and was motivated to continue.

I followed the advice of my knitting buddies and knit longer than the pattern said to. It was good advice.

Around the same time that the Swing Coat was started, I fell victim to peer pressure and started Camelot. I thought it was a good idea.
I didn't realise how big this sweater was.

There is a ton of Stocking stitch in this sweater and a shitload of seaming.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and am pretty sure that by the time the weather turns cold, I will have two spiffy new sweaters to keep the chill out.

And if mine looks as good as this one does when it's finished, I won't care if I'm warm.

Counting sheep...

....need to sleep....

How do you store your circ's?

I have decided to give away my old circular needles to my SIL but I don't think that throwing them into a bag with a needle gauge is a really good idea. If I had kept all the individual cases, I could just include them, but in a previous organising binge, I was sure I wouldn't need them.

They currently reside in pencil cases that are linked together with binder rings. I have written the size of the needles on the outside of each pencil case. While there is room for all the needles and the dpns in the pencil cases, I'm not sure if I want to give them away too. It has been a good system but it is really too big to carry around.

My Addis and ebony needles are in a Lexie Barnes circular needle case and it is packed. One day the zipper is going to burst and there is going to be knitting needle vomit all over...and I mean all over everything.

Has anyone out there tried the 'Circular Solution'? Is it something that looks better than it actually is?

I need the perfect organizational system? Does it exist?

Another machine knit done

Recently, a lady came into make 1 yarns where several of my shawls are on display. She said she wanted to make a wrap so Bess suggested that she look at the many shawls that are hanging around the store and that perhaps she could fine inspiration in one of them.

The reply? "Oh well, yes, but they're not very inspiring because they are all machine made."

My automatic response when I heard of the conversation was to laugh. When I relayed the story to others, I got different responses.

Some people also thought it was funny.
Some people thought it was insulting to have hand knitting compared to machine knitting.
Others thought that I should take it as a compliment that she thought my tension was so even that it could only be knit by a machine.

I actually had a knitting machine for a period of time. I bought it at a friend's garage sale, tried it a couple of times and hid it in the closet. After it collected dust for four years, I sold it to another friend. *

The only way I enjoy knitting is with two needles (or 1 or 4 as the project may dictate) not with a hundred hooks in a frame.

I'm not sure how I feel about the individuals who can't tell the difference between hand and machine knitting.

Creideamh (cre-div is the Gaelic word for Faith) designed by Renee Livingstone for Woolgirl Embrace the Lace Club

Hand knit in Miss Babs Yearning in the Sandstone colourway.



*The knitting machine is in a new closet. It still isn't being knit on.

Okay, I've been home for over a week so it's time to post something about Sock Summit 2009. It was AMAZING. It was well organised with tons of activities and classes. We were surrounded by friendly knitters for Five days. We knit.

We knit for the Guinness book of World Records. (900 knitters continuously knitting for 15 minutes straight) That's the Tsarina of Socks sitting beside Trish.

We did the Stroll at the Sock Hop while wearing our Poodle skirts, and had our picture taken with The Yarn Harlot.

And of course, we shopped. We bought yarn. We bought more yarn. And just in case our stashes suddenly disappeared while we were gone, we bought more yarn.

I also found some other treasures.


The perfect project bag.


The perfect stitch markers. This is a great idea for markers. They also had markers for the left and right decreases.

And just for fun, I bought a bracelet.

It's almost as hard to get a good picture of your hand as it is to get a good picture of socks that you are wearing.

There have been all kinds of rumours floating around for the past week or so. Mainly, that there will be another Sock Summit but not next year. The location may be moved...to Toronto?

Portland was the perfect location. The Convention center is huge. There are many hotels nearby. There is a direct flight from Calgary to Portland and driving home was the perfect length of time to get one sock knit.

The only thing that was missing? Next time we have to convince a few more friends that they need to join us.

I don't believe in Conspiracy Theories.

I don't believe that there was another shooter on the grassy knoll on that November Day in Dallis back in '63.
I don't believe that Neil Armstrong took his "giant leap for mankind" on a sound stage in Hollywood.
And I don't believe that 9-11 was an inside job.

I am, however, becoming very suspicious that there is plot against me. People from near and far are conspiring against me in the most nefarious way.


Anyone who knows me, even for a short period of time, realises that I don't like the colour purple. I don't wear purple clothes. I don't knit with purple yarn. I don't even put grape jelly on my toast. It's just too purple.

But is there really a plot against me? The evidence will prove it.

March - My STR sock kit arrived. Fraggle socks could have been red or lime green.

Nope...purple.

My favorite size of needles to knit socks with has always been 2.5mm. Sure, Signature Needle Arts makes wonderful needles and I love knitting with them.
but did they have to make the 2.5mm needles purple?

I heard that the Plucky Knitter is a wonderful indi-dyer. In June I decided to join her lace club so I could see for myself the goodness that is Plucky. Just last week the skein of 'Vintage Glass' came to my door. 900 yards of purple single ply.


Perhaps it's all a coincidence.

Not when the people that I see often, in my own city, are in on the plot too.

I finally got my hands on an elusive skein of Wollmeise in a lovely shade of green. It was gorgeous. I was asked if I would trade it and since I was trading a superwash yarn for a 80/20 yarn I thought it would be a good trade.
Who knew that Petit Poison #5 dark was ...you guessed it ...purple.

I gave up. I ran away to Sock Summit where I avoided any and all yarns with even the slightest hit of lavender, violet, or aubergine.

But the mailman had delivered a package to my door while I was gone. The first sock from the Peanuts sock club had arrived.

Happiness - Schnappiness. The purplest yarn that I have ever seen. It couldn't be more purple. If there was such a thing as a neon purple this is it.

I will not give up. I will not fold. I will continue in my quest to keep my stash purple free.

But maybe, just maybe, 'Men in Black' really do exist.