How quickly I break my promises to myself. Have missed a day in posting here, approximately two days after I said I would post every day!!!

My excuse: I was out of town on business. In that time period, relatively little knitting got done but certainly lots of scheming re. a top I’m trying to design and other stash ideas. I also managed to hit what I now believe to be the World’s Best Value Village with a coworker from TO and spent almost $100!!! (quite a feat). I am going to post a couple of treasures from that expedition tomorrow… including a new buddy for Quack. 😉

And – when I got to work today, lo and behold a large box on my office chair from…

KNITPICKS!!!

Contents:
13 Skeins Cot-Lin in Midnight Blue (ETA: actually – Nightfall)
13 Skeins Cot-Lin in Oatmeal (I think) (ETA: actually, Linen)
** obviously my recall of colour names is flagging. Maybe a good thing Handmaiden doesn’t label their colours after all!)
the book A Gathering of Lace
the book The Natural Knitter.

So excited! Will have to start the Brioche Vest for JJ shortly…

Good to be back! Off now to … (I know, I know) … the LYS. Just for one thing. Really.

ETA: actually, four things: two skeins of sea silk (purple) and two skeins of Berocco Zen. SIGH.

kb

Two things to report today… yee-hah!

1. Tuscany

Done and blocked! The promised action photos are sadly lacking as it was raining and I couldn’t take Aphrodite for the forest stroll. However, I just couldn’t wait. I LOVE it. 😉

(a) Full Frontal

(b) Hindsight is 20/20
(c) The devil is in the details
(d) Beads, Beads… good for your heart…
(e) The apparently requisite lace display shot

Specs:

Pattern = Tuscany by Amy R. Singer (No Sheep for You)
Needles = 3.75mm Addi Turbo
Yarn = Handmaiden Silken (2 skeins: one blue, one rainbow)
Date Started = 7 October 2007 (I think)
Date Finished = 14 October 2007
Size = 66″ across by 23″ deep
Pin = bought at Romni Wools in Toronto

Notes

– I found the lace pattern relatively simple and only had to tink once! 🙂
– I did run out of yarn for the full pattern (I had only the two skeins) so the shawl is finished at the 8th row of the 9th pattern repetition (full pattern = 11 reps). However, despite the fact that I used a slightly smaller needle than recommended, the shawl is still close to full size (and big enough for me, I think).
– It is bound off using raspberry sea silk from the stash
– I put beads on each of the side edges, placing one bead on each end every second row.
– Halfway through, I thought I should have gone with one colour. However, now I’m quite happy with the result and like the separate swirls that the colour alternation created 🙂
– I will likely make this again in future as a gift for someone.

I cannot believe that I am someone who is now enthusiastic about knitting and wearing shawls, not to mention lace, period…

2. Payday Booty

Today marked the bimonthly yarn spending binge otherwise known as Payday. This time, I completely overdid it to the extent that I am a bit embarrassed. Not embarrassed enough, mind you, to refrain from showing it off!

I told you I overdid it!!!

From the top left hand corner, going clockwise:

(a) two skeins of Handmaiden Silken (red colourway)
(b) 12 skeins of Dale Svale of Norway (on sale! – 50% cotton, 10% silk, 40% viscose and very lovely and soft – colour no. 4019) – designated for the High Neck Pullover in Vogue Knitting Holiday 2007 (project No. 11)
(c) two skeins of Fleece Artist Italian Silk – I think it’s in the Rainforest colourway
(d) A Treasury of Knitting Patterns – Barbara Walker

Don’t ask how much this set me back.

I almost, almost, almost made it out of the shop (Knitomatic) without buying the Silken after the following internal debate (which I fear was actually not internal but spoken aloud, much, I’m sure, to the amusement of the ever-kind and enabling Leane:

EVIL SELF: (picking it up and examining it, over and over again)

GOOD SELF: You just finished knitting something with Silken! You have another skein of it at home… plus god alone knows how much other Handmaiden stuff… plus…plus…plus…

EVIL SELF: But I don’t have any red Silken. I never have had anyway.

GOOD SELF: You’re buying 12 skeins of the other yarn in lovely poppy red!!!

EVIL SELF: But it’s not Silken.

More of this ensued, and Evil Self finally reliquinshed the Silken and put it back in the basket where it belonged. Good Self paid for the other stuff with the cash she had set aside and which was supposed to be the maximum spent on this visit. Good Self took the bag and started to walk out of the shop…

…then…

Evil Self turned back, grabbed the Silken and said to Leane “Well, I’m just going to come back for it later in the week anyway, so I might as well just get it now.” And out came the debit card.

Moral of the Story: Go not ye to yon LYS on payday. (second cousin to that ever-important rule “Shop not ye for groceries on an emptye stomache”. (Which rule, by the way, both JJ and I broke on Saturday… so I don’t feel so bad.

And, really, if I did feel bad, all I have to do is go and stroke this for awhile:

Wishing you all a wonderful week! (and thanks for putting up with the longwinded blather if you’ve made it this far)

Kristina

I guess it took taking up lace knitting to see the virtues of blocking! (must be getting older though – my knees are now killing me from kneeling on the floor).

Have finished knitting the Tuscany – and was sorely tempted to wear it out this evening since it looked so pretty:

However, it was a tad lumpy looking. So, I gritted my teeth, got out some towels and the measuring tape, put on Dr. House reruns (why am I so addicted to this show? I guess I like thinking that someday I can take the liberty of being as outright rude as he is!) and pinned it out:

The bonus is that finally I managed to reproduce the real colours in these photos!

Will have to get some action photos taken when finally it dries and I get to wear it. (And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but here’s a good reason for liking the winter weather – now that the heat is on and the apartment is less humid, it shouldn’t take too long to block!)

The FO is approx. 66′” wide at the widest point x 22″ deep at the deepest. I had to finish it 24 rows short when I ran out of the Handmaiden (the bindoff was done with some leftover sea silk in the stash).

And now on to the next project – I will be swatching the Oriel blouse from IK Summer 07 before I go out tonight (to a restaurant called The Big Ragu. Have not yet been there but I’m advised it has Nutella cake on the menu so it can’t be all bad!).

I’m also going to cast on for another (mystery) project to use as my travel project when hitting the road for work this week Tuesday. It will be the first time I use Hempathy:

In other news… er, nothing. Unless you want to know what is going on in Law and Order Criminal Intent from two seasons ago! Such a rich and exciting life I lead…

(although I did say this about the Tuscany, and lace in general: so I am probably hexing myself with the word “never”).

WARNING: Viewer discretion is strongly advised if you are squeamish.

Strange But Trewe Project

He even provides a partial pattern! Highly imaginative, I’ll give him that.

I wonder what would come up if I entered “weird knitting” in QuickLaw on the Rental Housing Tribunal database? I should try it next week. Probably something along these lines:

– landlord trying to evict tenant for serious impairment of safety when Addi lace turbo needles are discovered by landlord while “inspecting” (ahem) the rental unit. Landlord described knitting needles on the Notice of Termination as “garottes and sharps)
– landlord trying to evict tenant for substantial interference when a moth invasion of the yarn stash in the storage room allegedly causes a mass infestation of moths in the building

I just realised that I have jinxed myself. I’m doing a front-line shift at the Landlord and Tenant Board for the first time in a long time on Monday. Undoubtedly now some tenant is going to come in with a knitting-relation eviction case. SIGH.

But back to real knitting stuff: in other news, I picked up the IK Holiday edition yesterday. If you haven’t seen it and are interested in needle felting, it has a good “how-to” article. (and a lovely project pattern, but I’ve gone off felting for the time being myself). Sadly, I was rather non-plussed about the rest of the projects (aside from a teddy bear reminiscent of Mr. Bean’s teddybear – here is a free pattern I came across for that one). Perhaps this is because they are intended for knitting for persons other than myself? 🙂

I do tend to have a love/hate relationship with IK, particularly the crochet one. I tend to love many of the patterns and their instructional pieces. I tend to hate the fact that they advertise so many cool products that I either can’t get ahold of locally or don’t need, or both. This month’s contender is their featured yarn, Tilli Tomas Disco Lights. Soft yarn with sequins and sparklies at top dollar! I’m just thankful I cut up my credit card (actually, speaking more accurately, it was cut up for me while attempting to rent a $4 video with it. How humiliating!) years ago, really.

But back to the (rather lame) mag review. I’m also perhaps a bit biased against some of the content of the IK Holiday edition. Those of you who have read my blog for a while will know my personal thoughts on sock knitting. Here is what happened the first (and last) time I endeavoured to knit socks! I think perhaps on a personal level I’ve internalised JJ’s position on knitting socks which I imagine is familiar to some of you.

Oh no, another digression!! Back to the regularly scheduled programme: if you are a sock knitting, IK Holiday has lots of pleasing sock patterns and also a rather cute Christmas stocking which I would definetely knit if I were ever going to knit a pair of socks again. Which I will never do. Never. Ever. Again.

So – all in all I personally found the IK Holiday mag a bit disappointing – but I imagine other people will like it.

On the upside, JJ really enjoyed their article on Stewarton, Scotland (the “Bonnet Toun”). So, maybe I can talk him into funding a subscription! 😉

Cheers,

Kristina

PS. I have decided that I am going to try to blog every day, whether I have anything to say/show or not. Blame Holly for her inspiring blog prolificity (is this a word? If not, it should be!) and great humour in her daily posts. Unlike mine, which are just ongoing stream of consciousness blather. SIGH.

You are The Star

Hope, expectation, Bright promises.

The Star is one of the great cards of faith, dreams realised

The Star is a card that looks to the future. It does not predict any immediate or powerful change, but it does predict hope and healing. This card suggests clarity of vision, spiritual insight. And, most importantly, that unexpected help will be coming, with water to quench your thirst, with a guiding light to the future. They might say you’re a dreamer, but you’re not the only one.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I always KNEW I was a star! 😉

Found this on Chelle’s blog. Very cool. I used to love trying to read Tarot – even had a mini pack on my keychain!

Let me know what Tarot card YOU are (if you do the quiz)?

Cheers,

kristina

PS. Can’t resist posting another photo of the Tuscany in progress. Am liking working on it although starting to hope for the end. Am on the 8th pattern repeat – 3 1/2 to go! 😉

What’s all this then?

Well, it’s that time of year again – when a woman’s fancy turns to coming up with a Hallowe’en costume. I find this so stressful!

Usually I come up with all sorts of great (to me) ideas and then end up dressing as (a) a gypsy; or (b) an old European guy like the one on the italian beer poster:
Moretti guy.

These were all fine and dandy the first nine times or so, but starting to get a bit boring. And – the friends are starting to think that I lack imagination. Can’t have that!

(On that topic, has anyone ever dressed as a knitting UFO for Hallowe’en? I have. The photos have been burned in someone’s fireplace way back when… I thought it was a good idea at the time – that was the year in uni that I fell into a vat of Purple Jesus at the beginning of September and emerged about a week before the December finals. But, yet again, I digress…).

So: this year I’m thinking of dressing as a Solid Gold Dancer!!

I realise I’m dating myself, but hey…

An alternative: I could pretend to be the unlucky kid at Greek school (I’m sure every hyphenated-canadian kid has been haunted by bad, bad memories of “heritage” classes…)

…or I could pretend to be a member the group I was denied access to because I had to go to Greek School instead:

the group to which every girl but me belonged

I’m told well after the fact that I really didn’t miss all that much. However, it was horrible at the time 😉

Hmm…

I’d better go find that fedora hat from wherever I dumped it last year, I guess!

Cheers,

Kristina

PS. In knitting news: still hacking away on the Tuscany, and have submitted my first ever official pattern to an on-line mag! I don’t think this will get me anywhere, but why not wish me luck anyway! 😉

(way too early in the morning – JJ just left for work and I can’t get back to sleep! So these might be well worth their title – i.e. what the cow chewed up and spit back out…).

Just sitting here snacking on my energy bar (which is a giant 85g Tootsie Roll stick. For the really healthy choice I go for those little Polish sesame snaps. I figure the nutritional value of the Tootsie Roll bar + some chewable vitamin C is roughly equivalent to that based in the standard overpriced “energy bar”, actually – if you could believe this, at one point in my university days I thought it would be a great idea to become a dietician.

My other abortive career aspirations:

– prime minister (ages 7 through 12 or so)
– regular politician (age 13)
– eye doctor (up until I was too chicken to take physics in high school)
– archaelogist (for about 2 weeks in the first year of uni, until I realised that this career choice would undoubtedly involve substantial physical labour)
– newspaper columnist (until I realised that one probably had to slog for 10 years at whatever local newspaper across the country actually had any work in order to get anywhere)
– dominatrix (which I actually did for a while – helped pay my way through law school)
– fundraiser (until a stint at a charity which shall remain nameless completely depressed and demoralised me, mostly because of the “Teamwork” posters displayed prominently around the office and on my boss’ tie clip.

So – what did I decide to do with all this panoply of choice surrounding me? Go to law school… the time honoured choice for those who have decent marks, can fare well on standardised testing and can’t really figure out what else to do).

And now – I would like to be a knitting designer when I grow up (shocking, I know!). In this regard, I have a little (probably rather lame) design idea (but it involves Handmaiden Silken, so it can’t be all bad!) which I am going to work on and try to get published somewhere. I hold out no high hopes of success, but it will be a start. Probably starting on it this morning before work.

I’m also still hacking away on the Tuscany. Have not had a lot of opportunity to work on it in the last couple of days so don’t have any significant progress to show you.

I’m starting to get very confused about which project(s) to start next. Too much in the stash, and too many wonderfully distracting pattern books hanging around. Lucky for me, perhaps, I do not do a lot of (any?) Christmas knitting. I did see a lovely brioche cardigan vest in the Best of Interweave Knits book which I will likely make for JJ instead of the 80s style Paton’s cardi I had posted some time back – just waiting for that Knitpicks box to arrive at work.

BROUHAHA’S TIP FOR LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING TO THE OFFICE: get involved in lots of yarn swaps and give your work address. You never know when you might be pleasantly surprised while sitting at the computer trying to figure out why old, long dead white men in England wearing wigs and robes are still exercising such control over your average lower-income Canadian. SIGH.

Meanwhile, I’ve cooked up a big pot of capon stock with the Thanksgiving leftovers. Avgolemono soup tonight! Yippee!! (and a veritable health tonic compared to my usual favourites). I get very excited over stock, perhaps too much so.

And – I think it will be cool enough today to give the River Rock scarf its workplace debut. With all this fanciness, I’ve been asked whether I’ve been going to job interviews! (I have a very cool workplace right now where I could likely show up in pyjamas if I actually had any – so someone wearing dress pants and a fancy sweater is an unusual sight). I do hope I don’t manage to lose the scarf… I never did get around to putting on the idiot string.

That’s enough for now, I think. Sorry I have no pretty pictures to post – I won’t make the mistake of taking my own photo at 6 a.m.! Not a pretty sight in the least.

Well, I’ve blathered on enough for now.

Technorati Profile

Here is my attempt to jazz up the old blog somewhat (stolen from Holly Bee’s blog). Luddites, be gone!! 😉

A non-knitting-related post today just because I’m feeling all wired up and have no knitting stuff to share.

It’s Election Day here and I’m completely demoralised. There is quite literally no one to vote for. SIGH. I’m only dragging myself to the polls because of the referendum on electoral reform … but I’m uncharacteristically apathetic this year.

So, on that topic I searched “between a rock and a hard place” on Google and came up with this fascinating (to me) link: What’s the Meaning of This?. To me, a terrific time-wasting page which explains the actual meanings of all those cliches we spout off.

Am wearing the Intoxicating today. The coworkers all love it. I think I shall have to make another one!

I don’t really have any other wisdom to share (when do I ever, really?) so will sign off.

Edited to add: Holly ROCKS!!!! I just received a care package from her at the office. I had been promised a bag of American chips. This is what I got:

– one bag Fritos Chili Cheese corn chips
– one bag Pringles Select – szechuan chili flavour
– “Recipe from the Heart” cookbook – AND…

one skein Tilli Tomas Simply Heaven in Novea melon colour; and some Sari Silk!!!

Thanks ever so!! I feel so special now, I’m not even depressed about the election anymore.

Cheers,

Kristina

Well, I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf and get over my fear of seaming/finishing.

So, in this regard, I have put off procrastinating on the Intoxicating… the sleeves are blocking and in the process of being dried with a space heater and I have finished the body:

(the fact that it looks pretty good as a vest may not aid my anti-seaming stance any, but hey…). Goal is to finish it tonight if the sleeves are dry enough.

And – in my true waffling spirit I am again changing my Do Something New project for October for the Do Something New KAL – lining not one, but two, knitted bags!! Without an operational sewing machine this is a real chore and between that and my hatred of sewing I have been putting this off… er, for well over a year. So – high time to get to it.

Here are the “before” pictures:

Bag from Big Girl Knits
(can’t remember the name of the bag… sorry – it’s been too long. Yarn= Super 10, doubled)

(b) Denim KB Bag

This was my adaptation of a denim bag from Weekend Knits. Yarn: some horrendous stiff German denim cotton which I will never use again (my hands were stained for almost six months… er, a few days after knitting this):

These will be complete and ready to use by the end of October. Since I have never lined a bag before, I don’t know how great they will be. However, both of these bags really need lining to have any structure, as they are heavy.

And, finally, here are some outdoor pics of the Tuscany in progress – close to the real colours:

Happy Monday!