Secret Pal!

Woohoo, I got my Secret Pal name! Yay. Now I just need to investigate to figure out what to give her. Hehe. :p

And if the person who has my name is reading this, here's the little survey we had to fill out:

1. Are you a yarn snob? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
While I do prefer natural fibers, I am NOT a yarn snob. I knit with everything, as long as I like the colour and texture of the yarn. Red Heart is not my favourite brand but I don't avoid it. And we don't really have Lion Brand here, except for fun fur (which I'm not a fan of).

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I don't spin (maybe someday!). I'm trying to learn to Crochet. I've made a pair of slippers so far (which you can see in a previous post).

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I'm allergic to pets (*cries*), cigarette smoke, the ocean (weird I know) and band-aids.

4. How long have you been knitting?
For about a year, but the obsession began last summer.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
No! Maybe I should get one!

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Hmm. Cucumber melon. Pumpink and spice. Fruity stuff.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yeah but I'm always on a diet.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Well like I said, I'm trying to learn how to crochet. I'm also trying to finish my travel scrapbook. I love photography. And I want to learn how to sew someday.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I love Tori Amos, Björk, Howie Day, Placebo, The Dresden Dolls, Beck, Rasputina, Franz Ferdinand, FrouFrou and a bunch of others. Lots of French-Canadian artists too (Yann Perreau, Stefie Shock, Daniel Bélanger, Jorane, Dumas and many more). And yes, I have mp3 players.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer?
This is difficult to answer because I love colours and my favourite ones vary constantly. I love reds, pink, purple, blues. I love green but it doesn't look good on me so I never wear it.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live by myself. I visit my mom and younger sister every weekend these days because my mom was sick recently and I want to take care of her. As I mentionned, I'm allergic to pets so I don't have any.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
Happiness? Maybe to be able to get close to people.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love Noro yarns. But I need to try more nice yarns before I can decide on this one.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Scratchy yarns. No fibers in particular.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Bags. Scarves and hats. And I'm obsessed with just about a million projects.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Bags

17. What are you knitting right now?
I'm finishing a lacey poncho, a pair of socks (my first socks!), the To Dye for sweater (I just need to buy more yarn)

18. What do you think about ponchos?
I'm probably one of the few knitters who actually think they're cute.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
Both

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I dislike plastic (except for my Denise). I like metal. I want to try bamboo.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
I'm on my first pair but I love it. It never gets boring!

22. How did you learn to knit?
I learned the basics with a "I taught myself how to knit" kit that I got at Wal-Mart. I learned the rest with Stitch N' Bitch and online.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
I started it at the end of June 2004 and I'm not sure I'll ever finish it. It's an illusion scarf.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Animated: I like Emily the Strange, Daria and Betty Boop. And the Simpsons. My favourite animals are cats. I love them. But they make my throat close.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Postcards

***

I decided to FROG the blue shawl. I just don't really like it. I think I want a fancier shawl. Something like Madli's shawl from IK. I just need to get the yarn.

Right now there are so many things that I want to make that I end up not starting anything. It's probably a good thing since I already have a lot on the needles.

I finish my friend's scarf, which is "Mom's Sophisticated Scarf" from Stitch N' Bitch Nation. I adapted it for bulky yarn, so it's not exactly the same. I really like the way it came out and it's very soft. Unfortunately, you can't see the details well on the picture.



I'll be sending it to her this week. She doesn't know she's getting it. She's always been there for me and she's so nice to everyone, I think she deserves a little unexpected gift :)

I also took the lacey poncho out of the bag it's been sleeping in since November I think. I think I have nine pattern repeats left to do on it. I can do it.

And I began sock #2.

That's all for today Caroline's wonderful world of knitting.

I'm a hooker!

Remember yesterday's post where I wrote that I didn't get crochet, despite many attempts?

Well I sat with instructions, yarn and a hook yesterday and for some reason, it just clicked! I therefore present you with CARO'S CROCHETED SLIPPERS!



Aren't they cute?

Thanks to everyone who's given me baby blanket ideas. Keep them coming! Andrea I'll get in touch with you.

Pregnant!

No, not me, I'm very far from being pregnant actually. But my friend is! Yay! I'm not suuuuuuuuuuuper close to her, we mostly keep in touch by email. But still, of course I want to knit her something.

I found some cute yarn in a perfect baby-whose-gender-is-not-yet-determined colour. And now I want to make a baby blanket. I think. The question is: what pattern should I use?

There was a cute (free) pattern close to the yarn in the store (Wal-Mart) so I took it. But unfortunately, it was crochet. Damn! I don't get crochet, unfortunately. I've tried, and I will try again. But I'm not sure I'll be able to crochet an intermediate crochet pattern before her due date.

So anyways, that's where you all come into play. If you have a favourite baby blanket pattern, let me know what it is! I don't mind paying for a pattern, but I'd rather not have to buy a whole book. I'm still not sure how many people are actually reading this blog, but hopefully I'll get a few suggestions. Oh and even if you don't have a suggestion, please post a comment just so I know you're reading :)

***

The Orphan Sock or Caroline will never learn

Months ago, I spontaneously bought this skein of Bernat Sox in purple-blue-green-pink. There was a sock pattern on the label and it said that one skein was enough for a pair. Being a beginner (still am really), I thought it was cool and bought the yarn.

Of course, I then realized that the pattern on the label was for kids sock. I don't have a kid and I'm selfish so I wanted the socks for myself. But it was clear that I'd need more than a skein for a pair of adult socks.

"No problem, I'll buy another skein sometime later", I thought and went on my merry way, knitting other stuff (mostly fuzzy feet for loved ones). Then a few weeks ago, I decided to knit socks and I picked up the Bernat.

The sock is BEAUTIFUL! I love it. Even though it's acrylic, it's very warm. I can't wait to make myself a pair in wool, it will be sooooooo warm. Anyways. But while the sock is nice, I soon realized that two would be better. So I went to Zellers, where I had bought that first skein. Bernat Sox yarn extravaganza! They had every possible colour... except the purple-blue-green-pink. Of course. Today I went to Wal-Mart. Lots of Bernat chunky, Bernat cotton, Bernat satin. No Bernat sox. Poo.

Now I may be able to find the yarn in another Zellers or in a Wal-Mart in Montreal, who knows? But if I don't, the sock will remain an orphan, which would suck (pun totally intended).

***

Mommy wants to learn how to knit

My mom got out of the hospital last Tuesday, but she won't be going back to work until the end of February, at the earliest. She sleeps a lot, but she also has lots of free time (especially since we're all spoiling her to death and doing all the chores... of course she totally deserves it). So last night she asked me if I could show her how to knit! Yay! She bought some chunky yarn and size 10½ needles today and I tried to teach her. Things I realized:

1. I'm a lousy teacher
2. Just because knitting was easy to learn for me doesn't mean it's easy for everyone (though that may be due to #1)
3. Having taught myself how to knit with English books and websites, I don't know the French terminology at all.

That being said, she managed to do a few rows of her scarf, but she won't hold her needles like I do even if I keep on showing it to her again and again. Oh well. Whatever makes you comfortable I guess.

She ended up telling me that she was much better at crochet. I asked her to show me and guess what? She's as bad a teacher as I am! :p Or maybe we're both very poor students ;)

***

I want to change the name of this blog. Caroline's Knitting Adventures is just this silly name I thought of when I registered. I want something shorter so I could make buttons. I like things like Jo Knits but I'm not a copycat so I won't use Caro Knits ;) If anyone has an idea, let me know.

The post with lots of pictures

The Tsunami Relief Challenge is over! Thanks to everyone who participated. The final total is 507$ + one undisclosed amount. YAY! You all rock. :)

Of course, I'm sure you all want to know who's winning the Noro, right? Ok, ready?



Congratulations to Andrea! (I'll get in touch with you sometime tomorrow as it's getting very late and I need to go to bed soon).

***

Here's a pic that shows some recent purchases:



As you can see, I finally got my set of Denise, after months of wanting them! Yay :) I adore them. You can also see the yarn I've been lusting over for some time now, Phildar coquine. It's so cute. I'm going to make a scarf out of it. And last, my new little stuffed friend. I just couldn't resist when I saw it in the store. It was only 10$CDN, and half of it went to the Red-Cross. A good deal, I tell you.

You can see it wearing my Gryffindor beanie here (I look like hell right now so there's no way I'm modelling it myself):



And you can see here that I've already put my Denise to use:


A shawl I'm working on with yarn from La Bobineuse.

***

I went to Mouliné today, hoping to find some Noro Silk Garden. See, I lost my Silk Garden beanie at the hospital. *cries* I loved that hat so much. Unfortunately, they don't carry it. I still have half a skein left and I need only one skein for the hat. So if anyone has a half-skein of colour 34 lying around and you want to get rid of it, let me know :) (Only if you have leftovers though, if you have a whole skein, make the Hat for yourself, it's lovely.)

So yeah, I went to Mouliné and even though they didn't have what I was looking for, I didn't come out empty ended, oh no. It's a good thing that the store isn't close to where I live, or I'd go broke. It has sooooo many luscious yarns, I wanted to buy everything. I didn't though. But I got some Irish wool as well as lovely sock yarn, which I shouldn't have bought.

Why not?

Because I'm almost done with my first sock:


Made with cheap Bernat Sox. It's cute. But how on earth will I be able to make the second sock with the Bernat when I have the other cute new (75% wool) yarn? Self-control, Caroline, self-control.

***

PSA

The girl in charge of Secret Pals 4 is looking for French speaking participants. There are some people from France who are participating and their blog is all in French.

***

Montrealers:

The Indigo bookstore on Sainte-Catherine street has their Suss Kit at 75% off. They usually go for 30$CDN. Now I'm not a fan of the patterns, but they all come with yarn and a pair of Size 9 bamboo needles. The purse one also has handles and there are some kits that have ribbons I believe. I don't think I'll buy any, but I figured some of you could be interested.

Ok I think that's all for tonight!

Quick update before work

I want to thank you all for your good thoughts and encouragements concerning my mother. The doctors think that she has basilar migraines, a rare form of migraine that usually affects teenage girls (I kept telling my mom that she looks so young she gets teenage disorders).

BASILAR MIGRAINE - A form of complicated migraine headache that is characterized by the addition of bilateral visual symptoms, paresthesias, confusion, stupor, rarely coma, aggressive outbursts, slurred speech, double, vision, and vertigo. Alternating hemiplegias (one-sided weakness) have also been attributed to basilar migraine. May also exist with only some of the aforementioned symptoms as a "partial basilar syndrome."

She is doing better now but she still has lots of trouble sleeping and she barely eats. She got out of the hospital yesterday. I'm still worried, but I'm also relieved that she doesn't have a tumor or something like that.

I spent last Thursday through Sunday with her in the hospital. I almost finished my first sock while she was sleeping and got to talk to a knitter who was visiting her husband.

Concerning the TSUNAMI RELIEF CHALLENGE, you have until tonight, midnight (Montreal time) to send me an email with the amount of your donation. I will most likely draw the name of the winner tomorrow as I had planned (maybe even at midnight tonight if I'm still up). Good luck!

There will probably be a new post with pictures sometimes soon.

Update

Hey.

I haven't been updating much lately because I'm going through a difficult time. My mom was admitted to the hospital last weekend. They don't know what she has and everything is just very scary.

I will be back to blog world sometime in the future I'm sure.

As for the tsunami relief challenge, don't worry about it. I will definitely give away the Noro to one of you wonderful donators. It may be a little later than I expected though (then again, maybe not, we'll see how things go). Sorry for not sending everyone an individual thank you note, but I'm sure you understand.

Just send good thoughts to my mom if you can ok?

Socks!

After spontaneously casting on for a blue shawl that I had to put on hold for a lack of long needles, I spontaneously cast on a sock. My first sock! Unless you count the Fuzzy Feet as socks, but I don't :p I'm using a basic pattern on the Lion Brand website (I'm too lazy to link it right now) and I'm using some cheap yarn. Bernat Sox in a cute purple/pink/green/blue colourway. I've heard bad things about this yarn, but I've had it in my stash almost since I've learned how to knit so I figured I might as well use it for Le premier bas. The colour is very cute though.

***

----> Take a look at my menu: the total for the Tsunami Challenge has doubled! Yay! :) You still have 10 days to participate (Deadline is midnight on January 20th). Click the link on the menu to see the details.

In a dream

Last night I dreamed that I had finished my sweater and it was beautiful. I was so excited that I wore it right away and went to work. When I got there, I realized that I had forgotten to weave the ends in. Ooops. :p "Ehh... it's part of the design!"

***

I always have a list of "Things to knit next" in my head. Right now, among the things I want to knit soon, are a modified Chinese Charm Bag, the Klaralund sweater, a scarf made of gorgeous yarn that I will buy sometime soon and a yoga mat bag.

But often, instead of starting one of these million of projects that have been in my head for quite sometime, I impulsively cast on for something else. I did that last night. I used this gorgous blue yarn that I got at La Bobineuse:



And I started a shawl using the KnittingGeek Shawl Workshop.

The yarn is bulky so it's not a fancy shawl but it's incredibly soft and will hopefully be warm. I plan on using it at work where I am *always* cold, even in the summer. I'm using Size 15 needles. I was able to get quite a bit of it done last night (it knits up very quickly as you can imagine), but I'll have to wait until I get my Denise to continue, as I don't have long enough needles to go on. I should get my set sometime next week I think.

***

Gryffindor beanie is currently blocking. That yarn (100% merino, unknown brand) soften up quite a bit when it's washed.

***

Now I need to stop blogging and tidy up the appartment. I've made room to store my mini-stash in the living room (it's all over the place in bags right now). I'll eventually need to buy some baskets or boxes or something. I love yarn. Yes, I do.

Knitting journal

This is something I've been meaning to post since it was first posted on the Knitlist.

Cool webpage with downloadable knitting tools (Knitting journal, Stash Organizer, Needle Organizer). It's really neat, check it out!

***

Tsunami Relief Challenge Update (for more info, see my January 3rd post)

The total so far is 217$ (+ one undisclosed amount). Thanks to those of you who have donated, you're all wonderful. You have no idea how happy I am everytime I see "Tsunami Relief Challenge" as the subject of an email in my Inbox.

The challenge is still up until January 20 so I encourage you all to donate and maybe win some Noro at the same time (it's beautiful I tell you!) :)

***

I have finished my Gryffindor beanie. I can't post pictures right because I've ran out of batteries (it still needs to be blocked anyways). I don't like it as much as the Silk Garden beanie, but it's still cute and at least it fits with my warmer scarf.

I am still undecided as to what I'll do with the sweater. I think I'll probably bind off the sleeves and try to stretch them a little when blocking. We'll see how it turns out. I just don't want to spend that much energy trying to locate more of the yarn, especially since it doesn't even have a colour name on the label. I don't know.

***

I have been reading more and more blogs and adding them to my favourites lately. I really need to make a favourite blogs post and to link it in my menu...

Karma or something

I think the universe wants to punish me for even thinking about buying yarn while I am supposed to not buy anything that isn't necessary.

I was very nervous about the yarn I need to finish my first sweater. I'd need only one little ball. So I went to my LYS. No more. And I can't find it online either. I don't really know what to do.

It is Phildar Laureate 200 in a very pale blue. There is no colour name but there is a number: 72H113. I know not many people read this blog and this is very far-fetched, but if *anyone* has an extra ball of this, let me know.

I really don't know what to do. I guess I could rip it out and make a shawl or something. :( I also thought about buying a ball of a darker blue and just finish the sleeves with a different colour. I think I wouldn't have minded doing that If I could have added some of the darker colour to the body somehow. I'd probably do the single crochet around the collar with the darker yarn too. I don't know. Another possibility would be to bind off the sleeves as they are now and try to stretch them when I block. I don't mind 3/4 sleeves, but I don't think it would look good on this sweater since they're bell sleeves.

*sigh*

More about the challenge

(For more details, check out my previous post)

In order to get more participants, I also posted about the challenge in my Livejournal. I have also offered to make a scarf or a booga bag out of the yarn if a non-knitter/crocheter happens to win the yarn. This offer also stands for any non-knitter who may happen to stumble upon this blog :)

Thanks to those of you who have already emailed me. You rock.

My little part...

Ok I am completely stealing this idea from the wonderful Stephanie. I encourage you to check out her January 3rd post and to participate. Her mittens are fabulous. :)

Stephanie if you read this, I hope you don't mind that I'm stealing your words.

This is the "Tsunami relief challenge". For one week do this:

1. Each and every time you think about buying something...ask yourself if it is a need (food, water, shelter, medicine or safety) or a want. Be honest. Yarn is not (sob) necessary. Latte's are not necessary. A seventh pair of shoes? Fabulous pair of new jeans? Eating out? Could you skip a haircut? Search yourself and ask, do I need this, or would the money be better spent on someone whose home, or village...or children, were just completely swept away.

2. At the end of the week (or sooner...if you don't need that much time to think about it) Donate the amount of money that you didn't need to an organization that helps the people affected by the tsunami. There should be no reason why every single person who reads this blog can't find at least a dollar.

MSF Canada (Doctors without borders)
MSF USA
MSF International
Canadian Red Cross
American Red Cross
International Red Cross
Oxfam Canada
Oxfam America
Oxfam International

3. After you donate, email me the amount of your donation (amarillys@hotmail.com), your name and email. PLEASE WRITE "Tsunami Relief Challenge" AS THE SUBJECT LINE TO MAKE SURE I DON'T ACCIDENTALLY DELETE YOUR EMAIL. I don't care how much your donation is and I don't need any proof that you made the donation. (I believe that that planet would smite you for lying about this sort of thing) I'd like to know the amount that you gave only so I can keep a running tally in the sidebar. I'll know that whatever you give is your best effort, given your unique circumstances.

4. On January 20 (Canadians, please remember that the Canadian government will match donations until January 11), I will take the names of everyone who has given something, I'll randomly draw a name and I'll mail the winner a prize. Unfortunately, I don't have the skills to make wonderful mittens like Stephanie, but I will give you materials so that you can make yourself a little something:



Yes, I am giving away my beloved Noro Kureyon. *breathes* I adore that yarn and I hope one of you wonderful people who will donate will adore it too. It is colour 148. And three skeins are enough for a booga bag. Booga bags are cool. So donate and tell me about it! :)

Denise!

I spontaneously ordered a set of Denise needles last Friday, after seeing a post on Knitter's review that said that prices will go up after January first. I figured a 5US$ increase would mean something like 8$ more for me with the exchange rate. So I got a set for 39.99 + shipping. Not too bad right? I've been wanting a set forever but can't find them anywhere here so I had to go online.

***

Even though I'm not even done with my first sweater yet (will be by next weekend if I can find the yarn to finish it, I promise!), I've already decided that Klaralund will be my second one. Problem is, Noro Silk Garden is expensive. I will buy it from Mouliné Yarn (a LYS in Montreal) but I need 400g of it (8 skeins, I believe). I can't remember how much a skein goes for at that store. I am thinking of two options right now. Either I go buy three skeins this week (I get paid on Thursday), three more skeins in two weeks and the two last two weeks after that. OR, I put money in my piggy bank this week, more money in two weeks and more money two weeks after that and I buy the yarn when I have enough for everything. The first options allows me to start right after I finish To Dye For. The second options means I'll be sure to have the same dyelot. But I think it wouldn't matter that much with Silk Garden since the colours change anyways? What do you all think? I'd prefer to start as soon as possible because I'd like to be able to wear it before winter ends ;)

***

I will end with a picture of the silk garden beanie I made:


I usually don't even wear green, but I really like this hat. I'm currently making a second one with the leftover yarn from my Harry Potter scarf.