Justy's Knitting

Hiatus

2006-02-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

I am/have been taking an extended break from blogging.

My personal life is taking up a lot of my time, I have personal issues to work through, and I have been focusing on other pastimes. I recently took my Reiki Level 1 training and have been enjoying the self healing I can now do and the relaxing Reiki sessions that I can give to Family and Friends. I haven't made any futher progress on any of my knitting projects and haven't felt the pull to pick them up in quite a while. I will return to blogging about my knitting once knitting becomes a part of my life again. I know it will happen, I'm just not sure when.

Happy New Year!

2005-12-31T21:09:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

I hope to get snapping with the camera soon. I have the Earwarmer Hat here to take pictures of, but forgot the Christmas Stocking at my Mother-in-laws. Oh well, I'll get it back in time to duplicate stitch my name on before next Christmas... I hope.

Hope Everyone is having a good Holiday Season and looking forward to a Great 2006!

Camera is Back!

2005-12-21T11:05:00.000-08:00

My camera is finally back from the shop! I have it plugged in and charging as I type. I have an 'ear warmer hat' and My Christmas Stocking to take pictures of as well as projects in progress. Hopefully the camera will be ready to take pictures when I get home.

I'm totally thrilled with my stocking. I started it last year for my son, then found out that Great-Granny was making him as well. So the stocking sat unfinished until I realized that *I* could use it for *Me* at this point I continued working on it in odd moments when the other projects didn't call to me and finally put a push on the last 2 weeks. I used a "Knitty Knoddy" to do the i-cord loop and ended up making it 7" long instead of 5" long because it went so much faster than I thought it would. I just have to weave in 2 ends and sew on the loop and the Stocking is Finished! I am quite happy about this. I will duplicate stitch my name on it for next year, for now just finishing the stocking is enough. I made the "Chubby Stocking" the cover picture from Christmas Stockings: Holiday Treasures to Knit.

Hubby is amazed that I have managed to finish it. Since I am a process knitter I seem to always have lots of projects on the go and few that get finished in a timely manner. Oh well, it works for me. Knitting is my therapy, it is more important to me to have the right project in my hands slowly growing than it is to have a pile of finished projects.

Found a link!

2005-11-02T14:32:00.000-08:00

I found a link to the Escalator Pattern that I am using in the Wallaby Wannabe. Even though I still can't take a picture of the actual sweater, you can see what the pattern might look like. The Knitting Fool website has included the instructions in both written and chart format which is lovely! I'm really liking how this pattern is working. I knit till it was the correct length 'unstretched' so as my nephew grows my sister can just pull the sweater down more and it will 'grow' with him. :)
KnittingFool.com Escalator Pattern

Missing my camera

2005-10-29T11:14:00.000-07:00

It is pretty frustrating to have finished objects, one of which needs to be given away, and not have a camera to mark the event! Especially since we dropped off the camera with no accessories because we were told to, and then found out 2 weeks later that they actually needed the accessories to test said camera. Depressing to know that they could have been fixing it while they were waiting to get the extra bits. I just hope that when they return the camera to us, they actually include all the little bits and pieces we will be giving them today.

The 2nd sleeve of the Wallaby Wannabe is almost finished, I will be joining it with the body soon. I will be starting a few hats made out of Paton's Shetland Chunky for winter washable warmth. My sister is moving to Ontario in January and I would normally use Wool for that kind of cold, but I know everything in her house goes into the washer, so 25% wool will just have to do.

Finished Something!

2005-10-14T21:34:00.000-07:00

I finished my little hat! I made the Infant size of the Earwarmer Cap from Little Turtle Knits and it turned out great. The pattern had me do 2 plain rounds between every decrease round at the crown so the hat come to a bit of a point which will be very cute for a baby. I put it on Elliot the Cabbage Patch Doll and it fits well around his head so I know this hat at least will fit a baby instead of a toddler. :)

I wish I could take a picture of it, but the camera is still at the doctors and we haven't heard when it will be released. I am missing that little camera.

I finished the body of the Wallaby Wannabe up to the underarms and have 1 sleeve done. I just have to do the 2nd sleeve and then I can join everthing together for the raglan sleeves. I will decide later about whether to do the hood or not. I think I will, the kids seem to like them and it is nice to not have to worry about grabbing a sweater and a hat on the way out the door.

I was thinking about my ankle a lot this week. It's been raining and icky out and my ankle has been aching. This could be due to the damp and such, or it could be due to the fact that I am soooo close to fully healed that I am doing more and more without thinking of my ankle. This means that sometimes I will suddenly be reminded that I'm not all the way healed and will pay for it the next day. This morning I was actually limping again as I walked from my car to the office. *Sigh* soon I will be better right? The last part of the journey always seems the longest.

Knitting Slump

2005-09-30T08:34:00.000-07:00

I think I managed to knit maybe 4 rows all week on the Wannabe Wallaby. :( It has just been so hard to work up the energy to do more than read a book and go to sleep after putting Cole to bed this week. Of course now I know why. I'm home with a flu, one that hubby was nice enough to share with me. Stuffy nose, itchy skin, headache and all. *sigh*

Back to bed, this time with an audio book so my eyes don't hurt reading the words. Hopefully I will get the energy to knit a bit this afternoon after I have rested up some.

No Pictures :(

2005-09-22T20:49:00.000-07:00

I found out after my last post that the camera was in fact taking a charge, it was actually broken and that was why my pictures weren't working. We sent it to the camera doctor and should find out in the next few weeks whether they can make it better or not. In the mean time I can't share my projects :( I did want to share the "escalator pattern," it is looking really good, I think it will give an old fashioned charm to the classic hooded sweater.

Of course I haven't managed to get much further on them. It has been quite stressful at work lately. People are being "work for reduced" and it's hard to see them leave. Also I have been playing catch up from being off with my broken ankle and then my focus on the job interviews, and now a new big project is fighting for time with my regular work, and of course just when I was feeling like I knew what I was doing again my son got sick for 3 days at a time when hubby couldn't take time off of work. *sigh* It never rains but it pours.

The good news is that my ankle is working almost normal again. It aches a some in the mornings and when I forget and sit cross-legged for too long. But I can go up and downstairs like a grownup again and I can run after my son and do sudden stops without gasping in pain. These are all good things. :) I don't dread physio anymore, it actually feels good to stretch the muscles and tendons on their equipment now. Every week my ankle is better than the previous. I keep thinking how fast it is healing and then remember that it has been over 3 months since I broke it and then it feels like it has been taking forever to heal. It is all about perspective I guess.

Progress Report

2005-09-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

I have made some progress on the "Wallaby Wannabe" for my DN2. I decided not to put on the pocket. Instead I am using the "Escalator Pattern" from p39 of "Mary Thomas's book of Knitting Patterns," it is a variation on a 3 and 3 welt fabric and looks quite stunning, I think. It will take more yarn to knit up than stocking stitch would, but it should be warm and cozy. I will do the sleeves plain as there are only enough stitches to do 2 repeats of the pattern on each sleeve and I don't think that would make as much of an impression.

I will post a pictures just as soon as the camera decides to take a charge.

Shhhhh, don't tell my Sister ;)

2005-09-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated.
At work and school, you do best when you're organizing.
When you love someone, you tend to worry about them.

In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic.
Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management.
You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

Startitis

2005-08-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

nothing like a vacation to get the startitis going. In 4 days off I managed to start 2 new projects, an "ear warmer hat" from Little Turtle Knits and a Wallaby from Cottage Creations. I haven't decided who the hat will go to yet, but there is sure to be another baby coming along sooner or later. I am still deciding if I will put the front pocket on the Wallaby or not. It is a lot of knitting and a hooded sweater would be useful even with out the pocket. My sister says that Nephew #1 used the pocket, but I'm not totally convinced that Nephew #2 will do the same. Plus she says Nephew #2 will just use pants pockets if there isn't a pocket on the sweater. That will save a few days, or at the rate I'm going lately a few weeks of knitting!

Here are the pictures:

Ear warmer hat knit using "magic loop" technique. I think it's almost time to switch to double points for the final decreases, the Denise needle set ends are a bit long and feel like they are getting in the way as the number of stitches decreases. I'll keep going with it though, it could work out in the end.

Wallaby for Nephew #2, just the bottom ribbing is done so far.

Knitting Night in Burnaby!

2005-08-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

The first and third Monday of each month is Knitting Night in Burnaby, and this week I got to be part of the fun! NINE people showed up for the Knitting and Beer meeting at the Metrotown Bread Garden Monday! This is the largest group of knitters I have seen in the same spot since my very first Knitting and Beer meeting at Red Robin way back in November 2004.

There was a lovely "show & tell" sweater and lots of works in progress, scarf, sweaters, and other objects I didn't actually catch the names of. It was a great group of people, the original 4 plus others I had only seen on Knit in the City's June 8th blog entry. I love finally seeing the people I've been reading about. :) I even got almost to the end of the decreases for the 2nd sleeve of my Nephew's Einstein Jacket while being very good at knitting and talking. One of them has to suffer a bit, so knitting went slower and at the end knitting went a bit backwards, but the sleeve will be better for it. I would hazard to say that a good time was had by all.

Today is my first Physio appt after a week off. I hope I don't hurt too much when it was over. My last appt was killer and then I got too busy to go for a week, funny how life gets in the way sometimes. I am now able to walk down stairs like a grownup again, I consider this great progress! Now to get a bit more flexibility so that I can corral my son on the playground more easily and I will be happy. I am constantly amazed at the moves I have to make suddenly to keep my son from running out on the road, or in the way of basketball games, or into walls sometimes. The mind of an almost 2 yr old, I keep saying I need one of those "thought bubbles" like in comic books so that I can see what he is thinking. I'm sure it would be fascinating, to a proud Mommy anyway.

I am hoping to get an action shot or two of the Haiku sweater I made my niece from the Knitty.com pattern. Her 1st birthday is this Saturday and I will be giving it to her dispite the "no presents required" note on the invitation. I am quite proud of that little sweater, it was my first experience with seams longer than 2" and it turned out quite well. My husband couldn't even see where the sleeves were sewn into the body of the sweater. There are advantages to using slightly fuzzy yarn. :)

OT: Interviews Over!

2005-08-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

I know this isn't knitting related but I had my last, hopefully final, interview yesterday!!! It was the one I was most nervous about and it went WAY better than I hoped. The Interviewer actually told me it went well and that his impression of my abilities had greatly improved over the hour of the interview. This is a Wonderful thing. This means that even if I don't get this new internal job, I have still made an impression on someone above me in the pecking order and my chances of advancing in the future and being recommended for special training just went up dramatically. I consider this a "Win" no matter what the outcome. Of course I still want to be hired for the job ;)

No new knitting to report, I've been terribly nervous about this series of interviews and have been pouring over books on how to sound intelligent during an interview, what kind of trick questions to be listening for, and what kind of questions make a good impression when asked by the applicant. I was pleased to find that most of what the books said matched my instincts, but I did learn about a few pit falls that I would have missed otherwise, and was a bit more savvy. Now if only I'd had the Project Management training that someone following to "normal" path to this new role would have had. Then I would have been really prepared. However I made a positive impression even without knowing the key phrases that mean so much to someone who has had that training. Hopefully now that the pressure is off I can get some knitting in before I have to start power training to be most effective in the new role. Look at me being all positive thinking person. :)

Einstein Pictures

2005-08-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the mostly complete Multi-colour Einstein for Cole, it should fit him in about 6 months or a year :)

Rowan thinks it turned out pretty good too!

Here is the blue and green Einstein, there is quite a bit more knitting involved in this one. I was hoping for more of a striped effect to show off the directions of the knit fabric, but I can live with this pattern too. :)

Spooky can't be left out, here he is with the blanket I knit while expecting Cole.

Pictures to come

2005-08-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

I took a couple of cute pictures of the 2 Einstein jackets I have been working on. The almost finished multi-coloured one for Cole and the blue and green one for my nephew which just needs another arm, a collar, and buttons to be called finished. They were very good pictures I assure you. However I can not share them with you.

I just moved to a new computer on which my husband assured me was all the programs I was use to using on my old computer. However he somehow forgot to confirm that he had installed the photo editing software. I will have to wait until he finds me the disk so that I can install the program and edit these photos. I will then be able to post them without taking up an entire screen with part of one picture. :)

Update on my ankle: it has been getting better and better and I was feeling pretty good about it until I went to physio on Friday. My normal physiotherapist is out of town so I had a locum physio person. As I was talking with him I got the distinct impression that he was surprised by how much swelling there still was. (He should have seen it when I started!) Also there were exercises that perhaps I should have been doing already but haven't been. Of course those exercises hadn't been suggested by my normal physio person, but I still felt like all the work I had done wasn't quite enough. He was very pleasant and I'm sure he didn't mean to make me feel bad, I just am a little fragile around how long it is taking to heal. I keep thinking I can do more than I really can and end up on the couch with my foot up again. I did all the exercises he suggested last night and ended up with less swelling around the ankle proper and lots of extra pain. I actually had to take a T3 for the first time in ages. This might be a good thing as I obviously worked the joint and muscles, but on the other hand I really don't like being in pain and not being able to help around the house.

Enough complaining, it's time for a bit of knitting while hubby has Cole out for an evening walk. I'll try and get the pictures up soon.

Physio vs. Knitting

2005-07-30T19:44:00.000-07:00

So far Physio is winning. After a full day of work and then doing my exercises for physio I don't have the time or energy to do much more than sleep. It is really cutting into my knitting time! The good news is that I can walk a lot better now, there much less swelling, and I can see progress being made in my recovery. The bad news is that I still have to go down stairs one stair at a time, my son goes down faster than me sometimes! I can't squat down very far either. Apparently it is a combination of the Achilles tendon thickening and tightening and the joint stiffening. Not a good combination, and the cure isn't much fun either. It will all be worth it though when I can go outside and play with my son for longer than 1/2 hr without my ankle hurting.

I am almost finished with Cole's Einstein Jacket, it just needs 2 ends sewn in and the buttons sewn on then it will be ready for him to wear just as soon as he grows into it! When they say oversized, they mean it! I have finished the body of my Nephew #1's Eistein Jacket and finally wove in all the ends last night. I got a few ridges done on the right sleeve. This jacket is taking much longer than the last one. Probably because I actually have to go to work now.

I haven't been getting any knitting done at work either because I have been taking the bare minimum with me. It is hard to negotiate a parking lot with a briefcase and knitting bag and cane. So I took the cane and my purse and left the rest at home. I am planning to start bringing projects to work again for lunchtime knitting.

I applied for a new job. Same company so it will be a gradual transition if I get it. The new job would mean a lot more responsibility and the pay to go with it. I would be working much harder than I am now, but would have the flexibility to work from home some of the time. I had my first interview on Thursday, I think it went fairly well. It was with the person that just left the job and another person that is doing the same job in a different area. A little daunting to be interviewing with the people that know this job inside out and backwards and forwards too. I just hope they liked my answers. I know I messed up a few questions but I think I did quite well over all. Oh well, I did my best and that is what counts. Next step is an interview with the hiring manager and then maybe an interview with the manager of my internal "Customers." Hopefully I will have an answer about the job by the end of August.

I have to say that most of my nervousness left right after the interview was over. I'm sure it will build again as the next interview approaches. Each interviewer has a different view point and different focus that the answers should reflect. At least now I have one interview under my belt. Before Thursday my last interview was in 1998 when I was hired on contract for this job, when they finally hired me full time they didn't bother with the formal interview process.

KIP Again!!!

2005-07-21T11:07:00.000-07:00

I finally have a chance to KIP after sooo long knitting only alone at home. I will be attending the Knitting Meetup at the lower level Starbucks in Brentwood mall at 7:30pm tonite. I just checked and it looks like there will be at least 2 of us there. That is a very good thing :)

I'm wondering around without a cast now. Just with my trusty cane for extra balance and a tensor style brace for when I know I'll be on my feet for a long time. The ankle isn't hurting much, but it does tend to swell up after a while. I'm not really sure if this is a really bad thing and I should put the cast on, or a not so bad thing since it isn't hurting. I will ask at physio tomorrow. I have been working on increasing the up/down rotation to just the point of pain but not beyond and have been doing a lot of walking up and down the office. This will either be a good thing or it will be considered too much too soon. I guess I will find out.

My boss jokes that my broken ankle is all a sympathy ploy and a way to get out of work. Personally I would not recommend this as a way to get extra knitting time. The first few weeks are a blur of pain and pain meds and the recovery time is way longer than I thought. After 6 weeks the bone has only regrown about 1/2 way across the break. While it is pretty kewl that the bone can re-grow, it also means that I still have a lot of healing to go. By all accounts actually walking on it is suppose to be a great motivator for the body to focus on growing more bone. I wish there was a way to safely speed up the process, or to see inside and know that things are happening. Of course I was the one that wanted a window into my tummy so that I could see my son growing too, but he might not have liked it much. ;)

Right yarn for the project?

2005-07-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

I had pegged my lovely new Sangria Andean Silk yarn from KnitPicks.com for the Cozy shawl from Knitty.com. This is a very rich coloured super soft yarn which just begs to be made into something lovely. I think the Cozy would be perfect... assuming the gauge is the same. I am horrible at figuring out things like that. I think that Andean Silk is a worsted weight yarn, 4.5-5 sts=1" on #7-8 needle, whereas the called for Reynolds Mandalay is, I think, a heavy worsted or Aran weight, 16 sts to 4" on #7 needle.

I wonder just how much that .5 sts inch would be? Should I add an extra repeat or 2? And if I do, will I have enough yarn to finish? When I calculated how many hanks to buy I came up with 8.1 so of course I ordered 9. Now I am wondering if I should have ordered 10 so that I could make it wider. Or maybe I just cast on with a bigger needle and make it the same gauge so that it matches, it's going to get stretched anyway right?

Then again I could just dig out Barbara Walker's "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns," pick a lace pattern I like, swatch it, and make my own custom shawl. Hmmmm, there's an idea... Will have to think on that one.

It's Here!!

2005-07-15T14:14:00.000-07:00

My KnitPicks order has arrived!!

A new book to learn from
Luscious yarns to knit with
A lovely pattern to knit up, Mum has requested this one in the blue/green yarn below
And of course the ball winder to get those hanks into nice orderly center pull balls.

Now that is the way to end a week!

In other news, my ankle is doing much better. I can walk around without my cane most of the time. Though I go much faster when I use the cane for added balance. I look much less like a drunken sailor when using the cane as well. I went in for my follow up appointment today and they said my x-ray looks good and I can take off the cast on Monday. I may have to put it back on if my ankle gets sore though. I'm thinking, and my doctor agrees, that I will put it on for work so that I don't have to pack it back and forth, and then just have it off when at home. This will be a short term thing I'm sure, I really can't wait to totally ditch this cast.

I start Physio next Friday at 8 Rinks the official training facility for the Vancouver Canucks. I'm not sure if that means they use the same physio facilities too. My doctor actually prescribed me more T3's even though I haven't needed them for a few weeks now. She said that I may find I need them to sleep after walking with the cast off, and especially after a round of physio. Something tells me this isn't going to be an easy walk in the park.

Back at work

2005-07-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am back at work now and not much knitting going on.

I have done a bit more work on my nephew's Einstein coat. I have the Right Front done and have started on the Back. Since I am making this one in the 6-8 size it is taking longer than I remember to finish each row of the back. I used the blue/green heathered varigate for the bottom of the coat and will use that again for the sleeves. I am using Heathered Olive for the Top body and I think it will look quite good as the Olive is contained in the varigate so it blends a bit.

My ankle just keeps getting better and stronger. I am walking around with a cane now and can go short distances without it. I made it through the entire day at work on Monday, but paid for it. So I went home early on Tuesday and will do the same today. It will be so strange on the 15th if they say I don't need the cast anymore, all that weight taken off my leg. I think I will still be treating that ankle gently and worrying about it. I can already see the muscle atrophy happening in my calf, it is so much smaller than the other one already.

Live 8

2005-07-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Watch the musicians on the stage, enjoy the music, make your voice heard. Go to the Live 8 Live petition and add your name to the thousands that have already 'signed' the petition. It was the easiest thing I have ever done to help someone else.

For Canadians you can find other ways to help the world's poorest countries at the Make Poverty History site. I was reminded by the entry today on Yarn Harlot's blog that Knitters without Borders is also a great way to do your part.

Finished Haiku Picture

2005-07-02T10:21:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the finished Haiku from Knitty.com!! I learned a lot on this sweater. It is mostly Garter Stitch but knitting it sideways gave it interest and the block stitch looks good with it. I learned that it is ok to have different gauges in the sleeves. Having the 'top' part of the sleeve longer than the bottom can actually look good. It is important for me to know that I don't have to keep everything exactly the same. I learned how to sew a nice seam in garter stitch fabric to close the shoulders, I have always tried to use 3-needle bindoff before this. Finally I learned how to sew a sleeve into the body of a sweater. It is great that I picked such a well written pattern that the sleeve fit perfectly with no 'adjusting' needed!

The colour is off a bit on the picture, the center button is really pink not red, the other buttons are yellow and orange though. I hope my niece and SIL like the sweater. I will be giving it to my niece in August for her birthday.

Haiku Finished!

2005-06-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Photos to come, but the sweater is done! The seams look pretty good to me and hardly hurt at all. Hubby will take a 'long exposure' picture without flash for me tonight so that all the lovely stitch definition will show up.

Next project, sew the sleeves/shoulders of the Einstein coat for Cole. Then I will be able to add on the collar, hopefully documenting the process so that I can duplicate it on Nephew #1's coat, and possibly Niece's coat to be as well. I'm still deciding if she gets one or not. Since the smallest size in the pattern is 2-4 and she is a very small almost 1 yr old, I have time to think about it.

My ankle is doing better every day now. I can walk with just 1 crutch most of the time and can "hop/walk" short distances without a crutch. The only problem is that I'm still learning what a "short distance" is and keep going that little bit too far and then having to sit for a while and take pain killers while my ankle recovers. In any case I should be back at work on Monday. Though I'm sure my manager wouldn't be surprised if he got another "I won't be in next week" phone call on Friday. I'm starting to think about getting a cane to replace the crutches. Would it really help or would it just be another thing to trip me up? Something to think about.

Just one picture

2005-06-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have to share this picture, it is my first ever non-garter stitch mattress stitch seam!!!! My first ever sleeve sewn to a sweater!!! Yay me!! I was so pleased, the sleeve fit in exactly!!! I did sew 1/2 of the other sleeve but didn't like how it turned out so I took it out again. I'll be sure to finish it tomorrow. See the rest of the Haiku here.

The suggestion from "The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques" by Nancie M. Wiseman to start sewing at the top of the sleeve with just 1/2 the length of yarn instead at the bottom with all the yarn has helped a lot! I wasn't sure I would get much out of this book as most of the information is covered in other references that I have; but there are jewels of information hidden in there and the pictures included are very clear.

Permission to Start Over

2005-06-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

The History of "Charlottes Easy Lace Shawl" which I started for my Mum about 5 years ago. Prior to passing it on to me she had gone into a LYS and asked for an easy pattern for her lovely fluffy mohair yarn. She was given this pattern along with slippy addi turbo needles. I would have to say this was a mistake. By the time she wanted to have the shawl finished to wear at work she no longer had time to knit it. So she gave it to her "beginner knitter" daughter to do instead, saying I could keep the left over yarn to make something for myself.

I tried, I really did. I got it about 1/2 done but fought it the whole way. The main strand of the yarn is so thin that I didn't even know there was supposed to be a "box/square" pattern in the lace until I was told by someone on the KnitList. The needles were so slick and the yarn so smooth and light that I kept loosing stitches and having to rescue them before I could do the next step in the pattern. I had to keep each row of the pattern on a separate index card and flip to the next card before putting down the shawl or I would spend much time trying to figure out what to do next when I picked it up again. This was not an easy pattern/yarn to "read" my knitting on. I finally put it away and started making things for my nephew instead.

Last week Mum motioned the shawl again and how much she would love to have something to put over her shoulders at work. But no pressure (insert massive guilt here). We talked about it and all the issues I had had with the yarn/needle combination. Finally it was decided that when I was ready for another big project I would rip out the entire shawl and start over with the lovely bamboo needles I now own and do it entirely in Garter Stitch. I will start at the bottom with just a few stitches and keep adding stitches to each end until it is long enough. This yarn will still be lovely in a simple pattern like that and it will save my sanity no end. I think this is the best solution and the one that the LYS should have given my mother all those years ago.

What I did on the Weekend

2005-06-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend power knitting and shopping for the perfect buttons for the Einstein Coat. I didn't really think about how much more complicated going into a fabric shop with a 22 month old active child and crutches would be. Hubby was great though and kept Cole occupied with the basket of fuzzy nylon spools while I looked at the plethora of buttons at Fabricana in Coquitlam. I ended up getting 2 types of "Paddington Bear" buttons for Cole's coat and green tractors for my nephew #1 since he loves all vehicles construction like. The only thing I regret about that trip to Fabricana is the fact that I found the perfect buttons but neglected to go around the corner to get the perfect thread to sew them on with. That is what happens when the 22 month old in question starts to say "Go" over and over while signing "Car."

I managed to finish all of the knitting except for the collar of Cole's Einstein Coat. I will be adapting the collar from the "woman's" version of the coat, apparently men and children don't need collars to keep their necks warm. I also got a good start on the blue/green coat for nephew #1. It is using up the yarn faster than I though it would, those extra 3 stitches really make a difference. I see a different coloured "top right/left" and "top back" in it's future, good thing I have extra blue and green yarn left over from Cole's coat. I am hoping that I will be able to do the sleeves in the same blue/green variegate as the bottom of the body.

Here is Cole's Einstein Coat which is looking like a real coat/sweater now. I just need to sew up the sleeves and neck, in 1 long seam each side, and then add on the collar.

Here are the cute, cute, cute buttons I picked out for it. Cole is totally into bears right now so he should like them almost as much as I do.

And this is my kitty Rowan, she has claimed Nephew #1's coat as a bed. You can almost see the tractor buttons in this picture. Click the image for a better look.

Confirmed

2005-06-24T12:17:00.000-07:00

I will be staying home next week. During my follow up appointment my doctor recommended that I stay home as I am still dependent on T3s for pain control. It isn't a good idea to be driving myself to work since I get drowsy from the T3s. No need to be on the road an even more drowsy condition than normal in the mornings.

One more week to learn how to walk on this ankle. It is a lovely shade of blue/red/green now with the bruise extending up about 3" and almost all the way around my ankle in some places. At least it is only 1.5 times bigger than the other ankle now instead of the 3 times bigger that it was on June 7th. I will be happy when this is all over and I am finished the physio and can forget I ever broke the ankle. They say if I follow their instructions and take care of my ankle I won't have any lasting affects since the break was so clean and didn't shift at all during the 10 days it was in the splint.

You can see the break clearly in this x-ray, I pretty much broke off the tip of the bone.

Einstein Progress

2005-06-24T07:49:00.001-07:00

This little coat is going so fast!!! Amazing what concentrated knitting time and chunky yarn can do!!! I just have 1 sleeve and 2 seams to do. Which means it should be done by the end of the weekend, then the fun of finding just the right buttons. I should really take a bit of a break and finish sewing in the sleeves of the Haiku today while I have the uninterupted time. I'll think about it. :)

I still don't know if I'm going to go to work next week or not. I *could* go, but I would have my crutches with me and crutches in a parking lot are no fun at all. I am still worried that I will be at work and will fall off my crutches. I have done that a few times here going down the stairs and I didn't like the experience at all. I'm also still needing the relief of the T3s, especially first thing in the morning after my ankle stiffens up all night. I don't think it is a good idea to drive while taking those. I don't know, I guess I'm getting cabin fever. I will be seeing the doctor today to get more T3s and will ask him for a recommendation. I'm going to a walk-in clinic because my Doctor doesn't have any appointments available, so I just have to hope I don't get the doctor that believes that you just have to think about something hard enough and the pain will go away. Hopefully I will get one that is willing to spend the whole 5-10 min talking to me instead of rushing me out after 2 min with a quick answer.

Over did it

2005-06-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Mum came over to visit from the Island yesterday to see how I was doing, visit with me, and of course see her Grandson. We had a good visit in the early afternoon and had decided to pick Cole up from daycare at 4pm. I had the brilliant idea of going to Brentwood mall to pick up some more yarn since the Einstein coat is going so quickly and I wouldn't have to drag Hubby out. We planned it really well, got a spot quite close to Zellers, where I had gotten the Cozy Wool for Cole's coat. I went right to the yarn section got what I needed for another Einstein coat for nephew #1 and a Wallaby for nephew #2, then out again. The problem was that once we were back at the car I realized it was way to early to pick up Cole. So back to the mall for a no fat, no whip Tazo® Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks. Then off we went to get Cole, chat with Wendy a bit about how he is doing, and say "Hi" to Ryan, his buddy at daycare.

By the time we got home my ankle was throbbing. It took a full 1/2 hour for the T3s to have any affect at all. I am really wondering how I will manage next week if I go to work. Getting there will be tricky as I will have to drive myself, and now I am pretty sure I will be needing my crutches as well. This means not taking my briefcase as it will be in the way. I guess I could manage with my PDA and a notebook for quick reference. Can you tell it has been years since I broke a bone? And last time it was my left arm, not quite as essential as my left ankle seems to be. I see another visit to my Doctor in the very near future.

FO Pictures

2005-06-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

One advantage of me being home with a broken ankle is more entries to my blog!

I finished the hat and scarf last week and hubby was supposed to take them outside into the sunshine and take pictures for me, but he never had time. So you get to see indoor pictures again. I think I got the size right for the baby hat this time. Even when I get gauge I have to reduce the number of stitches for the hat or it turns out too big. I'm not sure if my gauge changes as I knit or if there is some strange hat magic going on, but at least I have figured out how to get the result I wanted. I am really pleased with the fun fur "shapely scarf", it is warm and cozy and not the normal scarf.

Baby Hat which will actually fit a baby :)

Baby Hat on Elliot the Cabbage Patch Doll

Shapely Scarf

Internet search engines found me

2005-06-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

I feel a little sorry for the people that found me through MSN and Google Search lately. There were 2 searches that pointed to my little blog "sewing knitting seams" and "how to read a knitting chart" imagine their surprise when they found my blog and realized that I need as much help as they do! I'm not really sure how my blog was found for chart reading though. As far as I know I've never mentioned charts in an entry. Oh well, that is the fun of search engines where you get *some* of the words you asked for but not *all* the words.

Picture Day

2005-06-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

It's time for more pictures. The pictures are just snapshots really, I took them on my living room table. But I did want to share my works in progress with you. I've gone fancy and started to include bigger versions of my pictures, just click on the small image to see a larger picture.

Haiku waiting for it's sleeves to be attached.

The child sized Einstein coat with the bottom panel and top right front completed. The needles are in the stitches for the top back. I included the blue and green sleeve yarns in this picture so you could see how all the colours will go together. This sweater is knitting up so quickly with the chunky yarn and lack of distractions. I might even make another one in a bigger size for my nephew. I saw a cute blue/green variegated colourway in the same yarn that would look good on him, and his little brother of course.

Almost finished & Just Started

2005-06-20T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've decided to use mattress stitch to sew in the sleeves of the pink Haiku sweater. I see many repeats of these seams in my future but they will look good when I'm finished. At least I hope they will. That will be my project for today.

True to form I have started a new project before finishing the old one. I have started to make an Einstein coat from "The Knit Stitch" by Sally Melville for Cole in size 2/4. I am mixing up the colours. I don't seem capable of making a simple single colour sweater for a baby. Even my pink Haiku has a strand of white twisted in with the pink to give it interest. I am using 4 different colours for this new sweater: "Paprika" for the bottom 'rib warmer' section; a nice bright red they call "Cardinal" for the top of the chest; one sleeve will be "Olive Heather;" and the other sleeve will be a muted blue called "Windsor." It should look very cute and, as hubby says, no one else will have one like it.

Since the pattern calls for a Chunky weight yarn I am using Red Heart "Cozy Wool" for the sweater. This yarn is 70% Acrylic/30% Wool and machine washable. All the benefits of acrylic and warmth of wool. It is soft and looks great knit up but I have to work really hard not to split it. It just seems to want to revert back to individual strands. I have got the hang of knitting with it now and don't have to pay quite as much attention to each and every stitch any more. I had trouble finding a website with colour swatches for this yarn, I think it has been discontinued so I hope I got enough for my project. I'm fairly certain I did as the rib warmer section only took about 1.25 balls of yarn. I have 2 balls of the red and 1 ball each of the blue and the green so I should be fine.

It feels pretty strange to be home knitting all day. I am not expected to do any house work or any office work from home because I am healing. I feel like a bit of a fraud taking all this time for myself. That is until I stand up and realize just how painful it is to stand or walk on a broken ankle even with an aircast. I can put *some* weight on my foot now and am working on being able to put more weight on it over time. My goal is to be able to walk without my crutches next week, or at least to need them for only minimal support. I think work would really like it if I came back. I am getting tired of calling in and saying "I need another week off to heal." I know that they understand and they don't really want me there as a hazard with my crutches and the risk that I will fall in the parking lot or on the way to my desk and hurt myself more. But there is nothing wrong with my brain or my fingers. I could still be productive. I bet my manager is wishing he had got me that laptop so I could work from home now! *hehehehe*

Decision about winnings

2005-06-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

You may recall that I won a $15 US gift certificate for Elann.com and was trying to decide what to spend this new found wealth on. I finally decided to get "The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques" by Nancie M. Wiseman. The area of knitting that I feel I need to do the most work on is finishing, so hopefully this book will teach me some new tricks and help me feel more confident.

There are many projects which I have put aside for another day just because of all the seams that would have to be sewn or the special details that are needed to complete it. The knitting is fine, bring on the texture, I'll even do fair-ilse and I would be willing to try intarsia, but not if it means sewing a lot of seams. My greatest fear is that I will finish knitting a project, the fabric will be smooth and even, the detailed stitches perfect, and then I will sew it into a mess that can only be called "home made." I want everything that comes off my needles to be worthy of being called "handmade" and some things might even strive to be "art." So I have stuck to afghans, scarves, hats, and sweaters knit in one piece. The fewer seams the better.

I am working on this. With the Haiku I had to sew the shoulder and the sleeve seams, but I am stuck at sewing the sleeves into the body of the sweater. I don't want to move forward until I can visualize how I will do the seam so that it will be perfect. I know that if it doesn't look right I can just undo the seam and start over, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I just want it to be right the first time. Of course I am willing to re-do as needed, I sewed 3 seams for the 2 Haiku sleeves, it must be perfect you know. :)

On the topic of Elann.com the purchase of the above book, and some knitting related note cards, brought my total Elann purchases to the point where I have now "earned" my first $50 US Elann Dollar Credit! Those of you that shop Elann know what that means!

Almost done

2005-06-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

I just have 2 seams to go and the Haiku is done! I have sewn the shoulder seams and put on the buttons. I have sewn the sleeve seams, wow are there ever a lot of stitches in 1 little sleeve! I did the 'invisible garter stitch seam' and it turned out really good. Hubby was quite impressed, he could hardly tell where the seam was.

I'm not quite sure how to connect the sleeves to the body yet. Hubby thinks I should do the invisible seam again and I really do like the look but I'm not sure how to do that when I have a tube on one side and a circle on the other. My other option is to turn it all inside out and do a crochet slip stitch seam right at the edge of the sleeve and body. It would be quite strong and would look good and lay pretty flat and it would have the added bonus of me being able to pin the sleeve in place before I do the seam. I will have to think about it and probably try the invisible seam option first to see how hard it is before I decide.

Haiku Knitted

2005-06-15T07:49:00.000-07:00

Notice I didn't say it was finished, just knitted, but all the pieces are done and ready to sew together!! I bound off the sleeves yesterday. I'm glad I decided to knit both sleeves at the same time. I was able to just knit and only make decisions about where to increase and when to stop knitting once and when I was done one sleeve I was done both sleeves. No 'second sleeve syndrome" and no worries about trying to make the second sleeve match the first one exactly.

It was fun trying to figure out where to measure for the 7" length, I finally decided on a compromise. The center block stitch panel is about 7.25" and the side garter stitch panels are about 6.75". The center portion will kind of drape over the back of my niece's hand while the shorter side panels will keep the sleeve from getting in her way while she plays and climbs.

Hubby took a picture of the completed sleeves for me. The colour isn't quite right but check out that stitch definition! The sweater is more of a "rose" colour and less of a "peach" colour when you see it in person. Click on the image for the full size picture. You can see the body piece at my March 31st entry.

Tink'ing fun fur

2005-06-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

... isn't fun at all. I was almost finished the 'shapely scarf' Saturday night. I had only 4" of scarf left to bind off when I ran out of yarn. I really should have known better but I did think I had enough. I had to undo the entire bind off row and the previous row, this took almost 3 hrs. Then I could finally start the bind off again which took 1/2 hr. At least I know that the chances of this yarn unravelling on it's own is very remote. This stuff likes to stick to itself and wrap around itself something fierce.

I finally completed the scarf late Sunday night, early Monday morning. I just have to weave in ends and get hubby to take a picture so I can share with you all. This scarf took 3 balls of Fun Fur in the colour Tropical. Based on where I ran out of yarn when binding off the first time I figure there was about 8/10th of a row worth of yarn left when I finished. The ends are only 3.5" wide instead of 4" but it seems fine to me.

I'm Broken :(

2005-06-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

I am a late getting up a new post. I try to post at least once a week and as you can see I'm a few days late. This time I think I have a good excuse though! I broke my ankle on Monday! Just a silly accident, not really looking where my feet were, I was on a sidewalk and my foot hit the edge and rolled and I guess rolled too much because I now have a crack/fracture in the outside bone of my ankle.

Monday night I made a trip to the local medical clinic where the doctor said I could either go to emergency and get an x-ray right away or go home and try to get the swelling down and get the xray done at the radiology clinic in the morning. So I went with the icing my ankle to reduce the swelling option.

Tuesday was more interesting:
9:00am I am at the Radiology clinic to get some x-rays of my ankle
10:00am I am given a CD of my x-rays and told to go back to the clinic
10:15am I am back at the clinic, the Doctor had just come on duty and was asking all kinds of questions that I had answered the previous day. We finally realized that he had only part of my chart, the part that didn't include Monday night. When he got the rest of the chart and realized I had actually broken the bone he said "We don't read x-rays here, that is what the radiologist does. You have to go to Emergency and they will decide what kind of cast to give you."
11:30am I am at Emergency waiting and waiting and waiting. The good news is that I now have a wheelchair so I'm no longer walking on a broken bone. The bad news is that we didn't realize that I could raise the foot rest to elevate the ankle until almost 1pm
2:30pm I am taken to the "Casting" department and told that I will have to; stay off my feet, put no weight on my broken ankle at all, and keep my ankle elevated for 10 days.
3:45pm Finally home again. Did I mention that I had forgotten my T3's at home thinking I wouldn't be out long? Ouch!

I am going to have to be very very careful about what I wish for in the future. I had been thinking of taking a week off of work to rest and regroup. I had not planned on having a broken ankle during that week, but it looks like I will have lots of time to rest now!

Hopefully once the bone heals a bit I will be in less pain and will be able to concentrate on finishing some of my works in progress. I have a "Shapely Scarf" from "The Knit Stitch" which is only 2" from being done. I want to finish off the pink Haiku sweater and take a picture of it to enter into the Knitty.com Calendar Contest. I have a "Cozy" shawl that I might go back to. And of course I still have my Christmas Stocking and the Rambling Rows baby blanket to work on. I won't be bored. :)

I Won!

2005-05-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

A mini contest was run by the ring owner of Handknitters' Blogs, as soon as we reached 15 active members she would randomly draw a name/blog and award an Elann.com gift certificate. Well we reached that magic number on Saturday and My blog was chosen!!

I am now the proud owner of a $15 US, or $18.90 Cdn, gift certificate to Elann.com that I get to spend any way I want to! Now all I have to do is decide what to buy. I could either put it towards some really expensive yarn to play with or a yarn 'ball winder' or a book on finishing. I have a few skiens of yarn so a ball winder would come in handy. Then again I have a huge phobia of sewing seams so a good finishing book would be wonderful. I already have the "Big Book of Knitting" which has taught me a lot, but if there is another book out there which makes finishing simple I would jump at the change to get it 1/2 off thanks to this gift certificate. Suggestions would be very welcome.

Giving stuff away

2005-05-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

Mainiax asked if I end up giving most of my knitting away or if she is the only one that "after working on something for so long ... [doesn't] want to look at it anymore."

Well, I don't mind looking at things after working on them for a long time, but just about every thing that comes off my needles also goes out the door. At one point when I was trying to decide what to make next hubby suggested making something for My Own Son since I had been making things for everyone else for the last 6 months! Looking at my WIP list I think it is now 50% for my son and 50% for everyone else.

My big problem is actually finishing things. I try not to put myself on a tight deadline because I will unconsciously and actively avoid any project that is close to being finished. Case in point: I just have to finish the toe decreases and make an i-cord hanging loop to finish the Christmas Stocking. This would take maybe a weekend, but I haven't even picked it up in months. Does anyone else do this?

Hat #2

2005-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is obviously not a baby hat. The pattern said it was, but it obviously ended up too big. I even got gauge at least I'm pretty sure I did, there is a slight chance that I got 4.8 sts to the inch instead of 5 sts to the inch, that wouldn't make much difference over 100 stitches would it? *sigh* I think my 3.5 year old nephew might be able to wear it, but it's not so good for the 2 yr old it was intended for. You can see it below modeled by a 20 month old, I think it actually fit me better.

18m - 4yr Hat Pattern from The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns

This hat was completed on Monday at the "Knitting and Beer" meeting, great fun was had by all. Maktaaq started her skirt again, we think she might actually finish it this time instead of ripping it out after just a few inches. Janet started a new tank top which she is converting to be knit in the round and will customize to meet her exact needs from a tank top. Christine was working on something new as well, once again on small needles with fine yarn. I wish I had the patience to do fine work like that, but with my limited time I'm focusing on instant gratification projects or at least ones where I can see some progress after only a row or two. I'll be sticking with Worsted Weight or bigger for the next year or so I think. :)

FO Hat Pictures

2005-05-13T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the first baby hat I've knit since my nephew was born in 2001

and again modeled by Elliot the Cabbage Patch Doll

I learned something!

2005-05-10T08:40:00.000-07:00

I taught myself “magic loop” on the weekend. It was a case of necessity being the means to an end. I somehow managed to misplace my Brittany Birch 5.0mm double points. I know I put them back in the needle case my sister made me, but I have no idea where that case ended up. So there I was with an almost finished hat and no double points to finish off the top. I was frustrated and confused and determined to finish that hat somehow. So with my 5.0mm 20” Addi Turbo needles I figured out how to poke the cable between the stitches in such a way that I was able to do my k2tog down to 5 stitches!! I am soooo proud of myself for figuring that out.

The pictures on the websites never made any sense to me, I just couldn’t visualize how it would work, and they always said something like “use a 36” - 40” cable” which I didn’t have. But when the chips were down I figured it out. I am now working on the 4” of icord which will be the knot at the top, still with the same 20” Addi Turbo. It should be very cute.

As you can tell I am taking a break from the pink Haiku sweater. A woman at work recently had a baby and since she moved here from China she has no family here. The office put together a card for her and I thought it might be nice to knit up a hat for the new baby and his big brother. It took between 6 and 8 hrs to almost finish the first hat so the 2nd larger one should hopefully be done by the end of this week. I learned a lot doing this hat. I will definitely use magic loop for the 2nd hat and will do a purl row after the ribbing to make a “fold line” as this one doesn’t lie as nicely as I would like. I will post pictures as soon as I finish.

ISFJ

2005-05-05T16:12:00.000-07:00

This result is very interesting. I took a different personality matcher test a few years ago and got INTJ "Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging." So obviously a few things in my life have changed. Not the least of which is having a son. They say having a baby will "change everything" I just didn't think they meant personality types too :) As you can see below I am now primarily ISFJ "Introverted Sensing Feeling Judging." At least 2 of the letters are the same :)

Your #1 Match: ISFJ

The Nurturer

You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.
A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways.
In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.
You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for.

You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

Your #2 Match: ISTJ

The Duty Fulfiller

You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done.
You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings.
Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you.
Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy.

You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer.

What's Your Personality Type?

Tagged by Books!

2005-05-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Jussi with questions about Books. This is a good thing because I LOVE books!!! It is always good to be asked questions about something that I know the answers to.

Here it goes:
1) Total number of books in your house:
Literally Hundreds!! I haven't counted in a while but the books keep coming in and they never leave! I was a member of the "Science Fiction Book Club" for a while so a lot of my books are hard cover series books. Authors like Anne McCaffrey make it easy to have a huge book collection. :)

2) The last book you bought was:
Crimson Moon by Rebecca York

3) What was the last book you read before reading this?
Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong (are you sensing a theme to my recent reading?)

4) Write down 5 (or 6) books you often read or that mean a lot to you.
- Knitting Without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann - This book helped to shape the way I look at knitting today. It was one of the first books I read on Knitting based on suggestions I got from The KnitList and I haven't looked back since. I will never blindly follow a pattern even if I know it is wrong because Elizabeth gave me the skills to read my knitting and the confidence to follow my instincts.
- Knitting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti - Every new knitter should read this book. She takes the mystery out of knitting and makes the difficult as seem simple and logical as it really is. This book is an important addition to any library if only for the chapter which warns knitters about photos of patterns and how any flaw can be hidden by some sneaky/good photography :)
- The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee - OK, I've never actually made a sweater based on this book, nor have I made the sampler. But I have gotten a lot of inspiration from reading it and used the techniques to improve on the pattern I used for my first and only adult sized sweater. I think it is great to have a book out there that allows the knitter to learn the "why's" of knitting and gives the outline of a pattern to be customized by the knitter rather than the row by row patterns of other books.
- The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean Auel - The whole Earth Children series is great, I have read every book at least 3 times and the earlier ones more often as I "have" to read them all again each time a new book comes out :)
- The Rowan by Anne McCaffrey - This entire series is great, I have read it over and over. I love being able to step into someone else's life for a while and McCaffrey brings this entire family to life. As many times as I read this series I still enjoy and anticipate the next line, page, and book.
- Infant Potty Training by Laurie Boucke - This book has shaped the way I think about babies elimination needs. I just can't leave my son in a disposable diaper and walk away it would feel wrong. Instead I put him in Cloth diapers, often without a cover, and make sure he is changed as soon as he is wet, even just a little. I also give him lots of chances at logical times to use the potty or toilet such as after he wakes and after he has a big drink. Using the processes and philosophies in this book, along with "Diaper Free" by Ingrid Bauer, have allowed me to connect to my son in a way I hadn't even thought of before I read it. Even though I used diapers as backup until just a few weeks ago I know that my son is much more connected to his elimination needs than other kids his age. At 20 months old he is now in training pants during the day. He has been dry during the day for a few months now and dry at night all this week!! I'm sooo proud of my little boy.

5) Who are you going to pass the stick to (three people) and why?
Rabbitch because she was so great about answering my last Meme even though she doesn’t watch TV. Since she doesn’t watch TV she must read books. Right??
Maktaaq because I love her point of view and I know she will have interesting things to say.
Kate from Needles on Fire because I love her blog and she recently said she just bought a bunch of books so she should have no troubles answering :)

Baby's Favourite Picture Book

2005-05-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is knitting related. My son will climb up on the couch and sign "Knitting" until I take my copy of "For the Love of Knitting" down from table behind the couch. He loves to look at all the colourful pictures of yarn, even if he does call them all "ball" which in some cases isn't far from the right word. He signs "baby" for all the booklets of baby knits and "ooohhhhsss" when he sees the pictures of the large lace pieces from "Unexpected Knitting." I think I will make a knitter out of him sooner than hubby expects. :)

Fun with Word

2005-04-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

My eyes are feeling very square today. All I did all day was create letters in Word based on names and addresses in Excel. I was going to get all fancy and "Mail Merge" but I realized that the person who created the Excel sheet hadn't bothered to split out the First and Last names, and had them in the ever popular "Last, First" format. This does not look good on a letter eg. "Dear Smith, John, We are writing to tell you that..." Sigh, back I went to manually typing in all the names and addresses.

The downside of all of this typing was that I was so brain dead by lunch that I couldn't even knit! And tomorrow I will be in a 4 her teleconference/lecture and won't be able to knit there either! 4 hrs of listening and learning and my poor hands will be idle. I may just sneak it in anyway and see if anyone notices. Wait, there will only be 3 of us in there, and at least one of the other 2 would frown on my knitting and mention it not to my boss, but to his boss. *sigh* don't you just love office politics?

No new progress on the Haiku. I have decided once and for all that when I start knitting on it again I will keep following the pattern and just let the sleeves be longer across the back of the hand. It is a hard one to knit at work now that I have both sleeves on one circular needle. The yarn also leaves lots of lovely pink and white lint behind on my dark dress pants so I can only bring it to work when I am wearing my grey dress pants or on Fridays when I can wear jeans.

I am still plugging away on the Rambling Rows baby blanket. I hope to get an updated picture taken and posted soon.

KnitCast

2005-04-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

Go to KnitCast.com and have fun listening to interviews about knitting! The April 18th interview was with Lily Chin, it was great listening to, instead of just reading, Lily's thoughts on Knitting and Crochet.

Puttering along

2005-04-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

I have been slowly working on my Rambling Rows baby blanket. I think I have managed to almost finish 1 rectangle in 1 week, so very slowly.

The Haiku sweater is on hold while I decide what to do with the sleeves. I have already done over an inch with the box stitch in the center 10 stitches so I could just keep going. One person on the Knitty message board mentioned that she liked the effect of the box stitch portion being longer and overlapping the hand a bit. This sounds interesting to me. On the other hand if I start over and do a few ridges of garter stitch and then a few repeats of the box stitch patter around the cuff of the sleeves I could finish off the sleeves in garter stitch which could make them go faster. But then I would have to figure out how to increase stitches in pattern within the box stitch section. Decisions, Decisions.

Still fighting this cold. Starting to wonder if it isn't actually allergies. I got shots for my allergies for several years and they helped a lot. I decided last year that going in every week for the allergy shots wasn't really going to fit my schedule anymore since I would rather spend the hour with my son than waiting in the doctors office. Perhaps it is time to revisit that decision. I am thinking of tracking down a naturopath or alternative medical practitioner to see if there are other options that could help me feel more balanced. In the mean time I am living the Dayquil life.

Not much happening

2005-04-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Once again I am in a knitting slump. I'm not sure if I want to continue with the Haiku as written. The garter stitch pulls in like ribbing and the box stitch lays flat. This works nicely in the body of the sweater but after only a few box stitch repeats on the sleeves I'm starting to notice the difference in row gauge between the 2 stitch patterns.

I posted about this on the Knitty message board , here is a summary of the answers I got:
1. Not everyone has noticed this difference in row gauge
2. It happened to others and they just ignored it and were happy with the results after sewing the seams
3. a couple of people were smart and anticipated this happening and did a box stitch border at the end of the sleeve instead of doing the box stitch up the center 10 stitches of the sleeve.

I haven't done much work on the sleeves yet so I could start over and do a border, or I could keep going and pray that it looks good in the end. In the mean time I am nursing a cold that just won't go away, so I'm not getting much knitting done. Hopefully by the time I'm feeling better I will have figured out what I want to do with the sleeves. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

Haiku Update 2

2005-03-31T20:33:00.000-08:00

Some pictures of the Haiku I am making for my niece. I have finished the body of the sweater and am now working on the sleeves. It is going slower than I though due to other commitments for my time but it will definitely be finished before August and may even be sewn up :)

The haiku spreadout makes a good bed :)

The haiku spread out without Rowan

The haiku folded to show how it is starting to look like a real sweater

Socks Outline

2005-03-25T21:09:00.000-08:00

OK, I am far from the best knitter around, but I did make 6 pairs of socks for Christmas one year. I had a very basic sock pattern and a copy of Folk Socks. The socks were all the same style, I just used the measurements of each person to make them a perfect fit.

Someone on the Knitlist asked how to make socks for a man with Big Feet. This is the basic outline that I sent her based on the experiences I had making all those socks in one year for so many different sized feet. The key is to get all the right measurements and a good gauge swatch. That pesky gauge swatch again, it sneaks in everywhere.

Take some basic measurements:
- ankle bone to the floor (for the heel flap)
- around the ankle and it's narrowest (for the leg of the sock)
- around the ball of the foot (usually about the same as around the ankle, for the foot part of the sock)
- with the heel against a wall, the length of the foot using the tip of the longest toe as the end point (so you know how long to knit the foot of the sock)
- height from floor that the sock should go up the leg (this minus the heel flap is how long to knit the top of the sock)
Do a circular gauge swatch with the yarn and needles of choice.
Cast on (stitches per inch)*(around ankle measurement)
Knit till you have gone long enough for the top.
Then do your heel flap usually using 1/2 the stitches of the sock
- Knit until you have reached the (ankle bone to floor) length
Do the usual tricky heel turn of choice.
Pickup stitches for the gusset.
Decrease down to the number of stitches that would go around the ball of the foot.
*Knit until 2 inches before the length of the foot
Finish with your toe of choice.

* If you choose a "long toe" you may want to stop knitting 3 inches before the end.

You can always cast on a few less stitches in order to have a tighter sock, if you do the body of the sock in rib the exact amount of stitches or a few more will be fine. Adjust as needed to get the result you want :)

There you go, your very own personalized basic sock for any size feet in 10 easy steps :)

Making Progress

2005-03-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

I making pretty good progress on the Haiku sweater. I am doing the last area of "block stitch" on the left front, will start the last section of garter stitch tonight probably and will have the fun of working the button holes as well.

I will definitely be starting the sleeves this weekend. I would really like to be able to do them both at once but only have 1 ball of this pinkish yarn left. I am tempted buy another ball just so that I can do them both at the same time, but then I would have to think of something small to make out of what is left from 2 partial balls. Maybe 2 little hats. Or maybe I will just assume that my gauge will stay the same and do the sleeves separately.

I am really leaning towards doing them one at a time. Probably because the only baby gifts I have seen my sister-in-law use are the ones that we have bought her. I have heard that she put my niece in the sweater I had loaned her that I originally made for Cole, but I have not seen this. I made her a lovely baby blanket out of doubled up sport weight yarn as a shower gift and haven't seen it since. Maybe because I played it safe and made it one strand baby green with pink, blue, and green speckles and one strand pale yellow. Perhaps she doesn't think it is "girly" enough. This makes me hesitant to make more things as I don't really know if she appreciates hand made items or if she really prefers that things come from the store with a nice brand name label in the back.

Oh well. My nephew got 3 Wallaby sweaters in 3 years, this young niece will get at least 1 sweater as well. I will decide later if I want to make her another sweater in a bigger size. Since the 'antique rose' colour is fairly close to pink I'm sure it will be used.

OT: Family/Social Issue

2005-03-22T21:02:00.000-08:00

OK, I know this is a knitting blog but I heard about something today and I just have to vent a little.

I have been practicing EC (Elimination Communication) with my son since he was 4 months old. This basically means that I have been offering him the choice of using a potty or the toilet instead of his diaper at regular intervals and trying to read his signals that tell me he needs to go. This has worked well for us and I feel is a loving way to offer my son some dignity and power over his bodily functions that most children his age aren't given.

One of the main arguments that is brought forward in defense of EC goes something like this: Imagine your Mother has been moved to a nursing home. They care for her well, feed her, keep her clean, etc. She can't talk very well anymore but she can still indicate when she needs to go to the bathroom or if she has lost control and needs to be changed. What would you prefer the caregivers do 1. Listen to her and take her to the bathroom or change her as soon as she signals a need or 2. Tell her that it's OK and that they will be back in 20 minutes to change her?
The usual response is "Of course I would want option 1, she's my Mother, she better be listened to" So then the EC side says why wouldn't you give your child the same respect and take them to the potty or change them when they signal they need to go.

I was talking about this to my Mother tonight. She then proceeded to tell me that my Grandmother who is in Extended Care is not getting this level of care from the nurses there. She doesn't complain because she doesn't want to make waves, and besides in the past when she has asked to be taken to the bathroom or to be changed when she lost control she was told "It's OK those pads are good for up to 4 hours, we'll be back to change you soon." So she has just stopped asking.

This is my Grandmother, the person whose home I went to after I was born, the person who helped me learn to walk, and later taught me to knit. This woman who has been through so much in her life and done the best she could for her family isn't being give the same basic dignities that I have worked so hard to give my son. It is age reversal at it's worst. I am working so hard to keep my son clean and dry and give him the choice of where to eliminate so that he has some control in his young life; and there is my grandmother a grown woman who's only crime is getting old and showing the effects of several small strokes who is being told to just sit and wait and don't worry about the wet pad.

I know the nurses are busy and the hospital is under staffed. It is a small town and they really do try the best they can. The attention they give to my Grandmother is over all quite good and they do care about those in their charge. I just can't believe that my mother now has to go to the nurses and fight to have my Grandmother taken care of with the dignity she deserves. I didn't think this still occurred. I guess I just wasn't looking in the right places.

Thanks for letting me vent. Please, if someone you love is in a Care facility be sure to check in often and at random times. Keep the nurses on their toes, keep them honest, and ask about anything that looks out of the ordinary. This kind of treatment is just part of what could happen in a Care Facility, much worse is possible. Let's keep our Elders safe.

OT: RPG Quiz: Which Polyhedral Are You?

2005-03-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

I had to include this one. It's just too cute, I mean how often am I going to take a quiz which tells me I am Evil? Obviously this one has tapped into my inner hidden self ;)

You are a four-sided die, a d4. Otherwise known as a tetrahedron, a "Caltrop", or (to a lesser degree) "Ol' Pointy". This crap bores you, so I'll get to the point. Others tend to see you as petty, conniving, manipulative, argumentative, defensive, greedy, and needlessly antagonistic. You see yourself as focused, effective, efficient, influencing, shrewd, tactical, and direct. Both points of view are in fact correct. You always know the best way to get things done, a fact that never wins sympathy with others. Whenever you manage to gain control of a situation, your solutions are swift and brutal. Unfortunately everyone else is convinced that granting you such power is, "a bad thing" and often conspire to keep it out of your hands. Such short-sighted fools!

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

Does it Exist?

2005-03-19T17:54:00.000-08:00

I have "the knitter's handy guide to Yarn Requirements" by Ann Budd. It is a lovely laminated folded guide to how much yarn to buy for projects from mittens to sweaters. I love it. It has 5 different gauge options and tons of sizing options so the chances are good that if I follow the guide I will have enough yarn to do my project. The only problem is that I never seem to have it with me when I happen to wander into a yarn shop. The booklet is 4" wide by 9.5" tall so it doesn't fit into my pocket and I don't always bring a purse with me.

My query is, has anyone seen a similar yarn guide for the Palm? Or in Word or Excel format? Something I can put into my PDA and have with me when I venture out. I don't mind paying for such a treasure trove of information so don't feel limited to free sites. I'm sure some enterprising knitter out there has put together something similar.

Update March 23rd: After writing this entry I took another look at the features of eKnit-Kards which you may remember from my agonizing over which electronic Knitting software to buy. Anyway, there is a neat little button calls *Drum Roll Please* "Yarn Yardage Estimator"!!! After clicking on this button there is the option of choosing "I have a swatch" or "I do not have a swatch." Obviously if I am just dreaming about knitting something in a new yarn I would not have a swatch, so that is the option I would pick. This gives some lovely generic yardages based on item to be knit and sizing. Just goes to show that it pays to check out the resources already on hand before rushing to get something new!

Against the Grain

2005-03-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

"Against the grain" is the term I was trying to remember when telling Karen that she was knitting her yarn in the wrong direction at the Meetup tonight. She has a lovely yarn with great colours and a bit of a slub/thick/thin texture and there was a definite direction to it. If you run your fingers in one direction it is pretty smooth and easy, if you run your fingers along it in the other direction it was all prickly and just felt wrong, kind of like patting a cat in the wrong direction. Obviously one would want to knit in the nice easy direction unfortunately the yarn came out of the ball in the prickly direction. This made for a lovely touque but not so nice knitting experience. I'm pretty sure Karen knew what I meant when I described it, but I was really wishing I could remember the actual term for it!

We had a really good meeting, 3 people from the Meetup group and one other woman who just happened to be at Starbucks knitting near us. When Chris saw Molly knitting we immediately invited her over. Please forgive me if I got your name wrong... I'm really horrible with names! Chris brought her daughter Caroline who was very cute and didn't seem to mind all the knitting going on around her at all. It was so neat to see what 3 month old looks like again, she sure seemed small! We all had fun talking about hand knitting, knitting machines, daycare, children present and future, projects in progress, showing off finished objects, and more.

The haiku is coming along well, I am about 1/2 way through the garter stitch at the center back now. I'm still a little worried about the sewing up but I think I will manage to muddle through ok. If I get really stuck I'll bring it to one of the knitting meetings and beg for help, or pay for a Saturday lesson at Burnaby Knitworks. By the way Burnaby Knitworks is putting together a knitting group, if you are interested you should give them a call or email them to get on the list.

Spring Startitis?

2005-03-15T21:59:00.000-08:00

I just realized that while it is fine and dandy to be working on Haiku for my niece, I also have a new small honorary nephew on the way. You know the kind where it's the child of a friend so the whole group of friends adopts it as their own? Anyway I suddenly realized that this child is due in less than 3 months and I don't even have a hat ready! But how to justify starting another project without first finishing one... I may have to power knit the Haiku and then work on a hat and maybe some Mock Booties from Little Turtle Knits. I wonder if I have time for both... Well a hat for sure and then maybe the 'baby einstien coat' from "The Knit Stitch" for when it is older. As you can see I'm very sure of what I'm going to make this new addition to our group. :)

Can I count?

2005-03-14T09:11:00.000-08:00

One day I will learn how to read a pattern correctly, and remember when I cast on extra stitches. Over the weekend I cast off for the underarm and continued along happlily knitting, it was only when I held up the back to see if I had knit enough garter stitch to match the front that I realized I had cast off too many stitches. The back was noticeably shorter than the same section of the front. I was looking at my pattern where it said to Cast On 40 sts to start, then I looked at Cast Off 20 sts for the underarm, so I thought 40 - 20 = 20 and cast off until I had 20 sts left on the needles. What I missed was Cast On 7 sts for the neck, so in reality I had actually Cast Off 27 sts instead of 20. I am now working on the underarm again, this time with the correct number of stitches.

Haiku Update

2005-03-13T21:41:00.000-08:00

I've got some actual progress to report on the Haiku I am making for my niece. I have finished the first decrease for the underarm and am working on the back now. Unfortunately the flash washed out all the block stitch details in this picture but you can sort of see how it is looking.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

2005-03-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Maybe this is why people get confused by me sometimes, I'm not fully Right OR Left Brained!! There is no dominant side so I just flip flop back and forth from creative to logical :) On the upside it means I'm creative enough to see a finished product in my mind and logical enough to map out how to change the pattern to get what I want.

You Are 50% Left Brained, 50% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning.
Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others.
If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic.
Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility.
Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way.
If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art.
Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

KIP!

2005-03-08T21:17:00.000-08:00

In a bar no less! I finally made it to my 2nd Knitting and Beer meeting, and my first one at Connections Bar and Grill. It was fun. 4 other people showed up and we all knit and talked about everything from Vintage knitting patterns (when did the 80's become vintage anyway?), to the commitment made when bringing home a pet.

I got a good start on my Haiku, the first 3" of garter stitch and the first 2 repeats of the box stitch. Then I decided that I didn't like the way the newly cast on stitches were separated from the original stitches, so I ripped out all the box stitch and carefully put the garter stitch row back on my needle. There were a few comments of "what are you doing?!" but it had to be done. There was a noticable hole between the first new stitch and the last old stitch and since it is right at the neckline it would be noticed. I just couldn't live with it so it had to be ripped back. At least all my stitches stayed where they belonged and let me place them back on the needles without trying to run away.

I cast on the new stitches using the "e" cast on or "backwards loop" cast on, it seems to have worked better. I haven't looked too closely though. I'm not quite sure what I will do if I look closely and notice a similar large hole. I may just have to give up on this little sweater no matter how cute it is. Any suggestions on how to get this cast on 'perfect' are very welcome.

Just One More

2005-03-06T23:49:00.000-08:00

I've gone and done it. I've cast on for Another project. This time I'm making Haiku from Knitty.com. I want to make something for my niece who is turning 1 in August a week before Cole turns 2. I don't really want to do another Wallaby, but I still want a fairly easy project that will go quickly. I loved the way the vest turned out and asked if they would like one for Meighan, but SIL laughed and said something about Chandler and Sweater Vests in reference to Friends I believe, so a sweater it is.

The Haiku looks pretty good and I can use the yarn I was going to use for a Wallaby for her. I will be using Bernat DenimStyle in Weathered Rose, a nice soft pink with white twist. This yarn is soooo soft I love working with it! Haiku demands a gauge swatch in order to determine the number of stitches to cast on and off and on again. I actually got gauge with this yarn using 1 size up for needles. I will be using size 9 Addi Turbos instead of the size 8 suggested on the yarn label, but I am getting 4.5 stitches per inch. Now if I could just figure out how to cast on the partial stitches I would be all set :) Just Kidding. I have decided that as long as I am consistent in how many I cast on and off at the various points it will all work out :)

Vest Pictures

2005-02-28T21:46:00.000-08:00

Here are the Vest pictures as promised, one of the whole vest and a close up of the V-Neck which I am so proud of :)

FO To Report!

2005-02-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

I actually finished something!! That's right, I Finished something instead of just Starting something!

The little Vest I was making for Cole is a Finished Object! Ribbing complete, all ends woven in, ready to wear finished! It turned out very cute too. I will post a picture soon so you can all "ohhhh" and "awwwww" over it. :) I am very pleased with this little vest. I used my brain and did all the decreases 2 stitches in from the edge so that when I picked up the border around the neck there is a nice smooth line with a single row all along the edge, no decreases marring the image. I even managed to pick up the center front stitches so that the new stitches line up with the body stitches and it almost looks like it was one piece *Grin*

It all sounds simple and obvious, of course, but I know myself and there were lots of places for this to go wrong and I did it right and I am proud of myself!

In the back of my mind is a small voice telling me that I should have taken a picture of this lovely vest *before* sending it to daycare with Cole. But I'm sure that will turn out OK too ... Really, I'm sure ... Mostly.

I've Been Tagged

2005-02-24T20:01:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged for a TV Meme by auntieknits7 , does this mean I'm really part of the blogging world now?

TV Meme:
1. How much space is left on your Tivo or Comcast box?
Lots of space, virtual space on my virtual systems,
now if I could only figure out how to access it :)

2. Have you ever bought a DVD of a TV series and if so which one?
Buffy, Angel, Babalon 5, SG1, Alias - a nice eclectic mix I think.

3. What was the last TV show that you all watched before reading this message?
Do movies on TV count? The Mask of Zoro

4. List 5 shows you won't miss.
Gilmore Girls, Everwood, Smallville, CSI, Battle Star Galatica

5. Name 3 people to whom you will pass this stick.
knitchick from unravel-me because she isn't afraid to share her wishlist.
Maktaaq because I think she would have fun with it
Rabbitch because I like her blog

Not much happening

2005-02-24T19:07:00.000-08:00

I've been home sick all week and have spent most of that time sleeping instead of knitting. I have managed to finish the neck ribbing for the little vest I am making my son. Now all I have to do is finish the ribbing around the arm holes and I'm done. I haven't decided if I'm going to use double point needles or try magic loop. We will have to see how ambitious I am.

What Planet?

2005-02-17T22:22:00.000-08:00

You Are From Neptune

You are dreamy and mystical, with a natural psychic ability.
You love music, poetry, dance, and (most of all) the open sea.
Your soul is filled with possibilities, and your heart overflows with compassion.
You can be in a room full of friendly people and feel all alone.
If you don't get carried away with one idea, your spiritual nature will see you through anything.

What Planet Are You From?

No KIP for me

2005-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

I don't get to go to my Knitting Meetup today afterall :( I feel quite bad about it since I was the one that bugged the organizer to change the times and the location! But hubby threw out his back and thinks that a nerve might be pinched so I have to stay home and take care of him. He said that he had a muscle spasm today that was so bad he fell down. If I went I would be worried that he was having another spasm like that while holding Cole and I would never be able to relax. Much better to stay home and fetch and carry for him. I will knit here after Cole goes to bed.

I will be thinking of you Maktaaq! I hope the other 2 people show up and keep you company for this meetup!

February KIP

2005-02-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the Knitting Meetup at StarBucks. I'm really looking forward to it. I had fun at the last meeting and this time it looks like we will have an extra 2 people attending. One has even done some work as a Knitting Instructor! That will be great in case we run into trouble... Or I could bug her about how to weave in all those ends on my Rambling Rows Afghan! Then again maybe we will just have fun knitting :)

My thoughts on the ends is to work up along the edge of the block until I find a few stitches in a row and then weave in as normal. I am a little worried that the part where I am working up to those stitches will look funny. Also I have been doing what the booklet suggested for the starting ends, of working the end doubled with main yarn on the 2nd row for about 5 stitches and then clipping. But some of the ends I have clipped are working thier way through already, so I think I need to leave a bit more of an end and work back a stitch to 'lock' it. Something to think about for the rest of the afghan.

A few months ago I was talking about giving up the Meetup meetings and going with the Knitting and Beer meetings. It seemed like they had a more consistant group and the first meeting with them was very kewl. However I haven't made it back to a K&B meeting yet and they have since moved the meetings back to the bar. I just can't quite picture myself knitting in a bar. Also it has been several years since I've actually been to a bar, I know I don't get out much, so I keep wondering if they still allow smoking in Burnaby bars. If they do then I'm really not sure I want to expose my knitting to smoke. The smell just clings and clings to everything. I'll have to ask about that.

So I am thrilled to be able to go to these monthy meetings arranged by Cerabear at the Vancouver Knitting Meetup Group.

It's been a while since I've posted a WIP picture so here you go, one of Rambling Rows in all it's WIP glory and one of Spooky inspecting my work :)

It's cute how he is so serious about checking all the details. He has since decided that the blanket is OK and is sleeping on it purrfectly content. :)

What a Great Idea!

2005-02-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know I'm a bit behind and there have been several patterns like this around for a while. BUT This one looks great and I just found it today thanks to Eboni at "...and an 'eboni' in a pear tree!"! Now all I have to do is buy a hot water bottle and justify casting on for Yet Another Project!

I hope everyone had a great day today. It's my birthay and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I took it easy at work; had a nice long lunch with a friend; hubby brought home dinner and movies and then put Cole to bed while I had a relaxing bath. All good things! Now to curl up with some knitting and watch a good movie. :)

Favourite people to knit for

2005-02-08T11:26:00.000-08:00

I have always loved knitting for my sister and her family. From the first hat I made her, she has used and loved everything I have knit for her family. She wore the hat I made her even though it was a little too small, I had yet to learn about guage swatches. The socks I made her she wears to bed as her feet are always cold and these keep them toasty warm.

I always know that if I knit a blanket for my nephews it will be used and washed and used until it falls apart. My oldest nephew uses his baby blanket still, I made it out of lovely soft blue/green yarn and it seemed soooo big when I first saw it wrapped around him, now it makes an almost decent lap blanket for in the car. These kids sure grow fast! I made the one for his brother bigget to start with so that he would get more use out of it and will be finishing off a replacement for that original small blanky in time for Christmas this year. I had the ultimate compliment when my oldest nephew at age 2 tried to put on a Wallaby sweater that I had made him. That cute little sweater will be passed down to his brother if he ever decides to give it up and move on to the bigger Wallaby I made him. :)

I have pictures of my sister's oldest in the first Wallaby I ever made done in crayon varigated yarn and a charming picture of his baby brother at 3 months under the blanket I made while he was "cooking" in lovely bright red and orange. I just love bright colours on kids and my sister loves getting them so it is a good match. :)

I would love to knit something for hubby but he goes through socks in a week, never wears a hat or scarf and while he might like a sweater it would take me over a year to finish a XXL size sweater for him! So he gets to enjoy the knitting that I do for our son and the fact that knitting keeps me calm and thus makes me a better wife and mother.

What Kind of Needles?

2005-02-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

You are interchangeable.
Fun, free, and into everything, you've got every
eventuality covered and every opportunity just
has to be taken. Every fiber is wonderful, and
every day is a new beginning. You are good at
so many things, it's amazing, but you can
easily lose your place and forget to show up.
They have row counters for people like you!

What kind of knitting needles are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

1/2 way with Rambling Rows

2005-01-30T20:39:00.000-08:00

I am officially past the 1/2 way mark with the Rambling Rows baby blanket! Everything I do on this blanket from now on is a reflection of something I have done before. It will be fun watching the pattern unfold in the reverse as I continue.

Yes or No?

2005-01-26T21:44:00.000-08:00

The Knitlist has had an interesting thread for the last few days talking about "What won't you knit" and later "What do you want to knit" this of course got me thinking about what my answers would be. I think there is some overlap with the some of the answers and some that is new.

What won't I knit?

I won't knit for money, too much pressure. I would want it to be absolutely perfect to make it worth the money, unless of course the offered payment was about $1/hr in which case I would likely resent knitting on the project. I did like the idea of trading 1hr of knitting for 1hr of house work though :)
I won't knit something that was picked out for someone else to knit but they gave up. I have learned that there is a reason that they were given up and I don't need to torture myself by trying to make them work. Case in point: My mother gave me 2 projects that she started but never finished and asked me to finish them for her. 1 I have already given her back saying I didn't think I would ever get to it. The other I WILL finish, one day. I am not giving it back until it is done though, I am about 3/4 of the way through and to give up now means that it has WON, and we can't have that. I think the problem was I was using slick needles with slippy yarn, I now have bamboo needles so it should behave better when I go back to it.
I won't knit pastels for baby shower gifts. I think that babies look much cuter in colours that are not washed out. I have made items in bright crayon colours and they are always well received. The only time I would break this rule is if I know for sure the mother wants pastels and doesn't like all the bright colours.
Intarsia scares me, it would take a mighty fine pattern to tempt me to stray into that territory. I worry that I will end up with a gaping open line between the colour blocks. Maybe it would help to take a colour work knitting class, something to look into.
I won't knit anything with a lot of seams that aren't needed. Even when I see sweaters patterns that are designed to be knit flat, I try think of ways that I could convert them so that they would be knit in the round instead. I am not confident at finishing, probably due to lack of practice.

What do I want to knit?

I want to knit a sweater for myself that actually fits. I have "The Sweater Workshop" and I just know that once I make the sampler "fish type thingy" I will be well on my way to being able to make a custom sweater for ME *Grin*
I want to knit a lovely lacy shawl. I will start with finishing the "Cozy" shawl that I started before Christmas and see where I go from there.
I love to knit simple things that will be appreciated. I have knit 3 Wallaby sweaters so far and each of them was worn to beyond the point where they actually fit. My nephew even tried to put his old Wallaby on even though he has a new Wallaby that fits him better. Gotta love it when a 3 yr old likes his handmade sweater :)
I like to knit things that don't require a lot of concentration. With a 1 yr old and working full time it is nice to be able to knit almost on auto pilot sometimes. Bring on the garter stitch novelty yarn scarves and Rambling Rows garter stitch afghan!

There isn't a lot I'm not willing to try, but it takes a very tempting pattern to get me to leave auto pilot these days. The "Banff" sweater from Knitty.com looks like it might just have to be my next Big project, adapted to be knit in the round of course. :)

Early Approval?

2005-01-23T11:22:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist. Yesterday when I had completed the 2nd small square of the middle row of blocks and had the needles out of the Rambling Rows afghan I gave it to my son, threads dangling and everything. Based on this picture I think he likes it!

He played with it for about 1/2 an hour. Wrapped it around himself like a shawl, dragged it behind him like a long cape, and of course played peek-a-boo with it. I am sooo pleased!! He even put his head down on it and pretended to sleep!! This might end up being the "cuddly/lovey" that he has yet to claim. It would be very nice to have him grab his blanky for comfort in the middle of the night instead of needing Mommy or Daddy and his bottle. We shall see how it goes. In the mean time it looks like it will be a fun toy for him if nothing else.

KIP With Company

2005-01-21T20:58:00.000-08:00

3 of us showed up for the Burnaby Knitting Meetup yesterday and we camped out right in front of the counter with our projects. I was too busy knitting my Rambling Rows afghan to notice if anyone was watching or not but I think we did knitters proud. We shared our projects and our stories on how we got started knitting and what we liked to knit most and generally had a good time. The meetup was at Bread Garden so I indulged in one of their lovely Lemon Tarts, those tarts are my downfall. I would call the meeting a total success.

The next Burnaby Meetup is Thu, Feb 17, 2005 at 7:30pm at Starbucks on the lower level of Brentwood Mall, I can't wait. :)

Quiz - Are you a Knitter?

2005-01-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

You may not be a granny, but you've got the
mentality. Hard work and artistic vision lead
to your beautiful knitted results.

Are you a knitter?
brought to you by Quizilla

Soon to be Knitting with People

2005-01-19T21:34:00.000-08:00

OK, so I guess it could be said that I knit with people when I knit on my lunch break and others are in the lunch room. BUT tomorrow I get to knit with other knitters!! I am very excited about this, I have had to miss the last few Knitting and Beer meetings so being able to go to a Knitting Meetup meeting is a big deal. There are actually 5 people that have said they are going to be there and 6 Maybe's, this might just be the first Meetup meeting I go to that has more than 1 other person there!

I live on the West Coast and we like to talk about the weather and complain about it no matter what kind of weather we get. This month I think we have been justified in complaining though. First we get The Snow Storm where I spent 2 hrs on the road and managed to get 1/2 way to work,. Now we have "Tropical Punch" or as I call it The Rain Storm. We have had Heavy Rainfall Warnings in effect since the weekend, in the past few days we have received more rain than we usually do in an entire month. This is of course reflected directly in all the flooding that is going on. Roads have been closed, farms are flooded out, sewer systems are overloading, and People's backyards are actually washing away. Landslides claimed the life of one woman who's house was washed down the hill during the night, very scary. It is amazing to see pictures of all this happening so close to home. I feel very lucky to have a home that is above sea level and not built on the side of a hill. My thoughts are with all of those that have had to leave their homes until it is safe to return.

Darth Tater

2005-01-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

Trust Playskool to bring us a new and improved Mr. Potato Head. This one is called Darth Tater and comes complete with "lightsaber, cape, helmet, shoes, eyes, nose, teeth and more" I know what I will be searching for when this Sith Lord hits the stores.

Hubby is a total Star Wars geek. The kind that you have to tell at the begining of each Star Wars movie that he is not allowed to say all the lines before they are said by the characters, it helps if he is given a limit on the number of lines that he is allowed to say at the same time as the characters say them too.

I do enjoy Star Wars myself, nice and long with lots of knitting time between the action scenes *grin* I can understand why no self respecting house with a Star Wars geek can be without Darth Tater :) Looking forward to seeing this newest addition in person :)

Rambling Rows - Weaving in Ends

2005-01-18T15:08:00.000-08:00

This is also posted on the Knitter's List, sorry to any of you that are reading this for the 2nd time :)

I am going to the source of all Knitting information. I am almost 1/2 way through my first Rambling Rows Afghan and am feeling a bit daunted by all the ends left to weave in. I have been following their trick for knitting in the ends at the beginning of each block as I go, but that still leaves me with all the "end" bits to weave in.

I usually weave in the ends following the way the stitches are formed. This works great for most items that I knit however with Rambling Rows the ends are at the points of a series of decreases. Is there a nice simple way to weave in my ends that will keep this afghan looking good from both sides?

I have been just working the yarn up till there are a few full stitches and then weaving in at that point but it seems clunky and a bit chunky at those spots. I am very interested to know what other knitters of Rambling Rows have done with their yarn ends.

Thank you

Freecycle

2005-01-15T22:07:00.000-08:00

It really feels good to give stuff away. This week I used Freecycle™ to get rid of an old dining set that we don't use anymore, some clothes, and a microwave starilizer that has been used by both me and my sister, and some toys that Cole has outgrown. I know that I could have given this stuff to a charity but most won't take furniture, and this dining set is Heavy, and also I like the idea of knowing where my stuff is going. With Freecycle I placed my "Offer" ads and picked the person that I wanted to give each thing to then waited for them to come get it. Nice and simple, well a few reschedules but everything out of the door in less than a week. It is a good feeling to be able to declutter and give things to someone that really wants them.

I use a pretty random method of picking the recipient, I go with the one with the email I like best. I try not to give to the first person that asks for an item, just to be fair. I also have to stop myself from outright rejecting anyone with a total sob story. I am jaded, anyone with that much going wrong can't be real. But it might be real, so I gave the dining set to a woman who was going to give it as a surprise to a Single Mother of 5 that has just had a house fire with no insurance. I hope who ever gets it enjoys it. As with the items I knit and give as gifts, once it leaves my house I have to let it go. It no longer belongs to me and I can't worry about how it will be treated or who ultimately enjoys it.

8/8/05: Updated to Freecycle™ in the first instance of Freecyle as requested.

More Scarf Yarn!

2005-01-13T22:33:00.000-08:00

I know that I have more projects than I know what to do with, but I couldn't resist the lovely soft Fun Fur that I saw while shopping yesterday. I picked up 3 balls each of "Capri 215:Medium blue, white and medium green" and "Tropical 208:Green, aqua and hot pink in a vibrant blend" for future scarfs.

I think I will be having a novelty type scarf on the needles as my "2nd" project from now on, they are just so relaxing. Cast on a bunch of stitches and knit till done, what more can I ask for? And people actually like getting them for presents, bonus!

Here is a picture of my lovely yarn with a very curious Rowan looking on. It took a bit of doing to get her stop checking out the yarn and to sit there quietly while I took the picture. I may just have to reward her with kitty treats later :)

WIP Update

2005-01-11T22:03:00.000-08:00

Time for more pictures! I nabbed the camera and took pictures of my 2 most active Works in Progress.

The Rambling Rows afghan is really coming along. I have finished to the point of a perfect rectangle and am just about to start the center section. The next section has 3 big squares, 2 rectangles, and 4 little squares. I think it will go pretty quickly as I won't be "picking up and casting on" for as many blocks in this section. Once the center "row" of blocks is done I just reverse everything I did at the top for the bottom and I'll be done. :)

I'm pretty pleased with the scarf I am making for myself as well. I cast on 25 stitches using the Size 10 points on my Denise Interchangeable needles. They are about 5.5 mm and working up to a nice dense fabric. My Aunt was looking at my scarf yesterday and she said that she had to go down to 5.0 mm to get the same fabric and she thought she was a tight knitter, so I must be a really tight knitter! I just love the way the colours go together in this yarn.

Button Crazy?

2005-01-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Be honest now, do I have too many buttons on my blog? Hubby said that he just stopped looking at all the buttons as he was scrolling down and just looked at the pretty pattern that they made. I am thinking of taking some out and just leaving the text links but I want some input. What do you think?

Thoughts on Blogging

2005-01-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have been reading "In A minute Ago the blog" in the last few days, admiring her crazy quilts learning how she writes and through that how she thinks. She had a great series of posts about blogging and how 'work in progress' blogs may help motivate the blogger to complete the projects faster.

This got me thinking about why I created my blog. I think the main reason was not so much to motivate myself to finish projects, that will happen in it's own time, but to mark what I have done. Since I have a small child every moment of knitting is precious to me, it allows me to be still and productive at the same time something that is in short supply with a curious toddler. :) At the end of the day it is often hard to see that any progress has been made at all. By putting it all down in the blog I can see that I have actually added "x" number of blocks to my rambling rows afghan, a few more inches to my novelty yarn scarf, that I did finish a scarf in time to give it to the intended recipient Before Christmas. Even just that is enough to keep me going, to prove to myself that I am making progress however slowly and that the knitting is still worth it.

My life has become busy with little things that get in the way of joining in with the local knitters. By putting my progress online I hope to be able to share with the greater community of knitters that might appreciate my point of view and watch with me as my projects go from idea to completion. I can look at the stats for my blog and see that my site is being visited and that people are coming back for a second and perhaps third look. This helps to show me that what I write might be interesting for others. Hopefully my blog will keep getting better and will attract more of a following. But even if no one new comes to see it, my blog is still worth putting up for the good it does me. Selfish but true.

It's Snowing!!

2005-01-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

I live on the West coast of BC, it's not supposed to snow here, and if it does it's only supposed to be a little bit. Nothing that would make it hard to get around, maybe a slight delay due to slow drivers but nothing much.

Well, today was different. It took be 2 hours to get 1/2 way to work, the whole trip usually takes me less than 45 min!! I finally ended up turning around and going back home. The snow was starting to fall faster with bigger flakes and the roads were getting icy. Just in that short (2hr) trip I saw over 10 cars skidding, sliding, or just plain stuck. I slid a few times during the trip myself and came too close to other cars for comfort before I got traction again. So I went and picked up Cole and settled in at home. We left the house at 7:45am and didn't make it back home till 10:30am!!

The snow has slowed down to "light snow" now at 2pm but the snow fall warning is still in effect. Snowfall warning for greater Vancouver continued. Snowfall amounts will locally reach 5 cm or more in these regions. 5cm doesn't seem like much, but combined with ice on the roads it's very hazardous! I will have to assess the conditions tomorrow to see if I want to risk going out on the roads again. It's not supposed to thaw out any until sometime next week.

Hey if I am snowed in tomorrow too, that could mean some good knitting time while Cole naps :)

The picture of our winter wonderland was taken at about 2pm. It is a Webcam View of BC Place on the left,to Sheraton Landmark Hotel, on the right, Canada Place with the sails, in the middle. You can see the current contitions at the Camtronic.com Webcam.

FO Picture

2005-01-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

I finally have a Finished Object picture to share!! I have finally got the Boa scarf photo off of hubby's camera and now you can all see how the white/grey/black eyelash yarn worked up. I think it turned out pretty good. Now that I've shared, it's time for me to go to bed!!

Back to Real Life

2005-01-05T22:10:00.000-08:00

It's a funny thing. Usually when I get back from Christmas vacation there is a bit of a lull at work where I can slowly come to terms with actually having to get up with the alarm again. This year things started up as if we had never left. It's a good thing I got caught up on my sleep last week!

Wendy thanked me for her Christmas present and said she loved it. I played coy and said it was "just a little thing I wanted to make for her." Her reaction was lovely "You KNIT for me??" She was even more impressed by the gift, it made me so happy to have that simple scarf so well appreciated.

I have been working on another Boa Scarf. This one for me in lovely dark pinks and purples. They call the colour "Parrot" which makes me think of greens, but not a green in sight, I love how the colours blend. I am about 2/3 of the way through the 1st ball and intend on using 3 balls again, that made a nice long scarf for Wendy. The finished product was almost 6' long. Mine will be shorter though as I am using 25 sts instead of 23 sts and am using all Garter Stitch instead of just a Garter Stitch border with Stocking Stitch for the main pattern. It will still be a nice lovely long warm scarf that I will be able to wear in the "new to me" doubled up and pulled through itself style with extra left over for show.

After Christmas

2004-12-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

I'm finally back and have had my day to recover from being away from home!!

Christmas was exciting this year.

First because we weren't sure if we were going to be able to go to the Island or not. Cole was sick from December 15 till December 22 with a fever and flu symptoms till the end, poor kid. Then he shared his flu with us and I wasn't better until Friday morning December 24th.
We finally caught the ferry to Departure Bay on the 25th at 8:30am. If you ever want to be on a quiet Ferry, the 25th is a great day for it! Hardly anyone on the ferry and everyone in a pretty good mood.
Then we drove to Duncan and visited with Hubby's family for a while and opened presents. SIL didn't believe that Cole was better because as soon as we walked in the door Cole started to cough on his drool. And there was a lot of drool as the kid is working on 4 teeth at once. SIL was convinced that Cole was still a carrier and wouldn't let him near her daughter for most of the visit.
Then we drove back to Nanaimo for Christmas dinner with my family. We were having a good visit and dinner was almost ready when Cole tripped over my cousin's food while holding Thomas the Train. This resulted in a lot of tears and a lot of blood. When we finally got the bleeding slowed down we found that he had a pretty big cut on the inside of his lip. So off to the Hospital we went. After a 40 min wait/visit we were on our way back to Christmas dinner with the knowledge that his lip would heal fine on it's own and that his teeth were all still safe.
Then back to Duncan for bedtime! What a day!
We stayed in Duncan until Tuesday so that we wouldn't be rushing quite as much on the way home.

I had a knitting themed Christmas this year. I got 5 of the knitting books on my list which should keep me busy reading and knitting for a while:

Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick
Vogue Knitting on the Go: Caps & Hats
Vogue Knitting on the Go: Caps & Hats Too
The Knitting Experience Book 1: The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville
Knit Wit: 30 Easy and Hip Projects by Amy R Singer

Oh Yeah, and I did manage to finish the gift boa scarf for Cole's Daycare provider. Just under the wire. I finished it at 1am on December 24th, it was given to her just 12 hrs later at 1pm. She was very surprised to get a gift from us, which make it more fun to give the gift. I will post a picture when Hubby gets it off his camera for me.

Software Update

2004-12-24T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well... It's official. I have no ability to make up my mind. I purchased the license for eKnit-Kards and I do like the software. It is easy to use and has good information. However I can already see a use for having KnitAble as well.

I have been adding in my projects so that I can keep track of what I finish in 2004/2005 and noticed that while both softwares have a projects section they are functionally different. eKnit-Kards shows the project list with all the yarns, so for a few of my projects where there were 3 or more yarns they shows as multiple line items and take up a lot of my screen so there is a lot of scrolling. In KnitAble each project is on a single line item and you can click on the item to see more details about the project such as yarns etc. It might be useful to double enter my projects to keep track of the different informations available in each project and the different views. Oh well that is a decision for next year. I'm not buying any more software for my Zire until after the New Year.

Knitting Software

2004-12-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have finally decided which software I want. I am going to get the eKnit-Kards. I downloaded the trial version of KnitAble and while I like the look and feel of KnitAble better, they really are telling the truth when they say they don't preload anything. With eKnit-Kards there are common abbreviations already loaded for stitches so I will have to type less. eKnit-Kards doesn't have as many measurement options but it has a 'notes' section for each person so that I can add in the foot measurements for those I have made socks for and might again. I think I will be happy with my choice. There is always the option of purchasing KnitAble in the future and get the benifit of both software packages. In the mean time the simple look of eKnit-Kards will work just fine. :)

New commenting system

2004-12-17T17:28:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a recommendation from the creator of I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can, I have installed Haloscan commenting and trackback on this blog. This of course means that all my old comments are gone, but since the blog has only been up for a month that should be OK. Hopefully this means that I won't have any weird comment type errors anymore.

No new knitting to report

2004-12-15T11:17:00.000-08:00

I've been having lots of fun loading my new PDA with ebooks and games. I still have to decide which knitting software I want to load. The eKnit-Kards one looks pretty basic as far as the interface goes, I'm going to download the demo for KnitAble and see if I like that interface any better. I think they both have the same basic options, just different ways of presenting them. If anyone knows different I'd love to hear about it.

The boa scarf is stalled. I have been neglecting it for the PDA. Poor thing, I'll have to pay some attention to it soon or I will never meet my deadline. I have nothing planned for lunch today (for once) so I should get a few inches done at least.

New Knitting Toy :)

2004-12-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

I got lots of nice things for Sinterklaas but the best is my new knitting toy... I mean tool! A palmOne Zire 31!!! Now I just have to decide which knitting software to load eKnit-Kards or KnitAble. I have the demo of eKnit-Kards that gives me 5 Kards to play with and it looks pretty good. The other one has a desktop version that might be easier to navigate but it doesn't come with anything preloaded to I would be typing in everything. The PDA only versions are both about the same price approx. $30 US each, so it's really just a features, looks type of decision. I have seen on the lists that some people have both installed, so there must be pros and cons to both. I will have to do some more research on that.

I am almost finished the 2nd ball of the Boa Scarf, those long drives to and from the ferry really helped!! Now I just have to find more time to finish off the 2nd and start/finish the 3rd ball. I really hope to have this finished by the 22nd. And then there is the poor Christmas Stocking which has been waiting patiently to be finished. I had intended to duplicate stitch in Cole's name but I'm not sure if I will have time, and not sure if I would be able to do it justice. I have never done duplicate stitch on anything yet. I wish I knew if I could make it to one of the knitting meetings this month where someone could show me the best way to get started. There was a rumour of maybe having an extra Knitting and Beer meeting on the 14th which would have been kewl but it was cancelled. Then there is the regularly scheduled meeting on the 20th. I don't know if I will be able to make it to the 20th meeting, we are leaving on Thursday the 23rd for Christmas on the Island and I might be stuck packing that night. :(

I was informed by email that my blog won't let just anyone post comments. This is very sad as I told the "Settings" elves that I wanted Everyone to be able to post. I have tried a possible fix, told it to allow only Members, saved it, then told it to allow Anyone and saved again. Please let me know if this worked, otherwise I will have to bug Blogger to get it fixed. Thanks :)

Almost PRESENT Day!!

2004-12-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

It's the day before our Sinterklaas celebration. Those of you that have been reading might remember that it was to have been last weekend. Well, my sister came down with bronchitis so we decided to postpone to this weekend. It should be lots of fun, the oldest child is 3 and the youngest is 9 months. So lots of noisy fun I think, toys that rattle and roll and otherwise keep the children occupied :)

I've managed to get a few inches past the joining of the 2nd ball of the boa scarf and it is looking pretty good if I do say so myself. My mother came over on Wednesday night and she had on a scarf made from Boa by my Aunt. It set my mind at ease on the matter of washing it. I was worried that it would get all matted and icky if I washed it, by my mother has washed hers a few times and it is just soft and nice. I am happy since I like to wash my handknits before I give them away so that they are clean and nice smelling. I will give this scarf a nice bath in Lavendar Eucalan when it is done. :)

Missing Knitting

2004-12-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to knit since Saturday. I have been busy, busy, busy at work and both days this week they brought in lunch so somehow I managed to not take the full hour away from my desk. I just ate my lunch and went right back to work, no knitting time. My mother is coming to visit tomorrow so since Sunday I have been cleaning up the house. Nothing like parents coming to visit to get me checking for dust bunnies.

I didn't even make it to the Knit and Beer group yesterday. I hope they had a good meeting, the numbers seemed to be dwindling on the Knitting Meetup board. It would have been lovely to sit and knit and relax away from home and work for a while. Hopefully I can make it to the next meeting, Dec 14th or Dec 20th depending on if enough people can get together on the 14th.

I think I am going to give up on the Burnaby Bread Garden Meetup. By the day of the last meeting I think only 1 person was confirmed and there weren't any reviews listed afterwards saying how it went. Not to mention the fact that the Bread Garden on Central Boulevard was closed for renovations, so I'm not sure where they would have gone for the actual Meetup, maybe back to the food court or another coffee shop nearby.

I can' wait to just sit quietly and knit. The boa scarf is just sitting in it's little bag waiting to be worked on. It is a cute furry little strip of fabric, it would be good for it to be finished sometime. It has a fairly early deadline, it must be done before December 22nd as this is the last day that Cole is in daycare before Christmas. I hope she likes it. I have no idea what she wears when she isn't looking after kids. When I was looking at the yarns available I picked the Ostrich colour-way so that it would be sort of neutral. I hope it works that way. Most people that have seen it have liked it. One person said that if she doesn't like it then she will "re-gift" it and someone will enjoy it in the end. *laff*

Deadlines

2004-12-06T22:56:00.000-08:00

I think deadlines are made to be broken, knitting deadlines that is. The closer I get to a deadline the slower I work on a project and the better other projects look. I know that I should be working on the Christmas Stocking, the Vest, the Gift Boa Scarf, but that Rambling Rows afghan is looking pretty good. Nice simple knitting and great colours. But I have to resist the temptation to knit on something else.

I think I have to work in this order:

Gift Scarf
Christmas Stocking
Vest
Then finally the Afghan

The things I do to meet an arbitrary deadline... one that I set myself no less. It is important to have goals, and important to actually finish things. If I left things to what my desires seem to want I would have 20 projects all completed to the point where I had learned all there is to learn about them and then left to the side. I do enjoy completing my projects, but I think it is the process I like the most.

Template Update: I've decided to alphabetize my lists... Alphabets inside of alphabets. I have also added my very own Blog Button. I know, I know, hardly anyone knows who I am or where this site is. BUT it's there and someday when the word gets out about this up and coming blog someone might want a button to link to me with. Any way my hubby made it for me and it's cute and I like it, so it gets to stay in it's only little cozy spot on my side bar. :)

uh oh, it's hurts :(

2004-12-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

It's been busy at work, lots and lots of data entry. This isn't too bad, but it has taken a toll on my wrist. My right wrist hurts just tilting it. Now I have to decide how much knitting to do, how much typing to do, and if I should report it at work. I might have to get a wrist brace and see if that helps, but I hate going to doctor. Oh well, we will see what it feels like tomorrow.
(edit: I think I figured it out. It hurts most when I hold Cole on my hip. I think I have "Held the boy too much" wrist. Well can't hold him too much, but I should have used the Pouch or sling to hold him for so long and saved my arm and wrist.)

On the upside I'm almost finished the 1st ball of Boa for the scarf, it looks like I will need all 3 balls or it will be a pretty short scarf. I'm glad I have my Denise needles for this one, nice light needles and a sharp enough point to dig into the hiding stitches in the furry yarn. :)

And then there were 6

2004-12-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Ok I did it, I would have thought that 5 projects on the go at one time was enough, but I just added 1 more.

I got to thinking that it would be nice to give the Daycare lady something to show how much I appreciate the care she gives Cole. And of course this "something" can't just be store bought; it has to be made by my own two hands. So I cast on for a scarf made of Bernat Boa yarn in "Ostrich Black And Silver Mix" very kewl looking in the skein and it is knitting up nicely. The first row was interesting but it is getting easier to see where the stitches start and the eyelash ends. :) I am making the scarf pattern that comes on the back of the label. I don't trust it though so I bought 3 skeins instead of just the 2 that it calls for. I can always return the extra one if I don't need it, or make the scarf extra long, depends on how much time I give myself.