Bye bye 2007!

Wait, where did 2007 go? Seriously, could this year have gone any faster? I can't believe it's the last day!!! Now let's hope that 2008 goes by as quickly. Why? Because I have a very personal reason to want to be in 2009 now! My boyfriend and I talked and we will probably try to start our own little family in 2009. In one year! I can't wait. And I think I just shared too much, I hope I don't jinx it!

2007 in a flash:

-I finished 16 projects. My favourites : Coachella, Shedir, the endpaper mitts and the Fake isle hat.
-I made 8 pairs of socks. My favourites: Monkeys and Roza's socks
-I tried Fair isle (and I love it!)

And on a more personal level:

-I moved in with my boyfriend
-I quit my full time well paid job (that I hated) for a part-time job (that I love)

I was just looking at my last post of 2006 and I looked at my knitting resolutions. I wanted to try colour work and I did it. I wanted to learn to seam well and... well I didn't really. And I wanted to finish Kiri's shawl and the blue cardigan and they're still in a box somewhere. Oh well. Oh and I also wanted to knit a pair of socks a month. I knit 8. Not too bad.

In 2008 I want to:

-Learn to seam well
-Try entrelac

That's pretty much it. I already have knitting plans for the beginning of 2008. Right now, I still have the pink mittens on the needles. They would have been done had I not cast on for the Woven Cables scarf. I also want to knit socks: Cable Net, Annetrelac (from IK Holidays 2007) and Anastasia. And then there's the Streakers shrug that I've been meaning to make a while ago.

That should keep me busy, and out of yarn stores, for a while. Speaking of yarn stores, guess what my mom got me as a Christmas gift? Yes, another gift certificate to Effiloché! I'm going to buy the whole store!

Happy New Year everyone!

'twas the night before Christmas...

Aaaaah. Christmas eve! The decorations are up, there's a sugar pie in the oven, presents are under the (mini) tree... and I'm going to work in an hour! *cries*

I'll be all right. There are a lot of people who have to work tonight. Doctors. Taxi drivers. And me.

I've been in a knitting funk this week. I started the LaLa mittens and the pattern just wasn't right for the yarn. That and I didn't like the fabric I had with 4mm needles. So I frogged and cast on again with smaller needles. I didn't really use a pattern (though I did cast on the same amount of stitches than the Lala pattern required), I just knit by ear. And I really like the end result. A mitten!



Ok so there are still ends to weave in. And a thumb would be nice too. But I'm almost done.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it!

It starts with a W, ends with a W and there's an O in the middle...

I got my last package from my Secret Pal!!!



I am SO SO SO SO lucky! Seriously, did you see that bag? I can't believe she took the time to make it for me, it's absolutely gorgeous! (It's even more beautiful in person too!). I love it.

Then there's Lorna's Lace. You can never go wrong with that yarn. It's beautiful. And on top of that, I got Raspberry-Chocolate flavoured coffee. My favourite flavour!!!!

Thank you Brooke, you've been a fantastic Secret Pal. I can't believe how spoiled I have been!

Not really a Fake Isle Hat...

Pattern: Fake Isle Hat, from Magknits
Yarn: Warani (Susan Andrew Collection). 50% Suri Alpaca, 50% extra fine merino wool. I bought it at Ariadne** and I was told the green was being discontinued so hurry if you want some!
Needles: 4mm (US6) 16" circular (I used my Denises) and DPNs in the same size.
Modifications: I used solid yarn instead of the Noro. And I chose not to do chart B at all because I didn't want too much white. I think it looks great. I am so pleased with that hat! And I had bought two balls of the green but I only needed one and I have more than half of the white left over so I will be able to make another one!

So I am now DONE with all my gift knitting! Yay! This year, I'm giving:

-A scarf to my boyfriend (already given)
-Socks to my mom
-A scarf to my mom
-Socks to my sister
-Socks to my stepdad
-A hat to my friend (technically for his birthday, not Christmas)

And since it's all done, I am now free to knit for myself! And I'm starting with a pair of angora mittens:



The pattern is Lala's Mittens (pdf here). I'm not sure how the cable will look in the fuzzy yarn, but we'll see.

**Those of you who had trouble finding the address for Ariadne's store, it's in the blog section of the website. They are probably too busy with the store to update the site and add the address on the main page. The store is at: 3837 Rue St. Jacques Ouest, Montreal. It's close to the Place-St-Henri metro station.

Weekly WIP Report (+FO!)

Hello readers! Today is a snow storm day. Since I don't drive, I love snow storms! I especially love to knit during a snow storm. So I did some knitting this morning and I have a fabulous WIP to show for it.

But before we get to the WIP, here's a FO:



Pattern: I cast on 48 sts and did a 2x2 rib until I ran out of yarn.
Yarn: Misti Alpaca (100% baby alpaca hand dyed, worsted weight). LOVED the yarn. It was incredibly soft.
Needles: 4.5 mm (US7). I used my Knitpicks options.

The scarf was supposed to be a Christmas present for my boyfriend but he was so impatient to get it (and it's cold outside) that I gave it to him right away. He loves it I think.

Ok, now the WIP. I mentionned a few posts ago that I wanted to make a hat for my friend's 30th birthday. After looking for the perfect pattern, I finally chose the fake isle hat.

I love the look of the hat in Noro, but I'm not a fan of the scratchiness of the yarn so I wasn't sure I wanted to use it. It's not *that* scratchy (I've used it for hats before), but some people are more sensitive than others so I preferred not to use it for a gift. So I considered using solid yarns. I saw some solid Fake Isles on Ravelry and they looked good, but I still wasn't sure.

Then I found solid yarn that were exactly *him* so I thought what the heck, let's try it! Boy, I'm not regretting my choice, I'm LOVING the result!



What do you think? The yarn is "Warani" and it's 50% suri alpaca, 50% extra fine merino wool. It is SO SOFT! I'm now at the point where I should be starting the second chart with the white/cream yarn, but I think I'll just keep knitting with the green. I like it the way it looks now.

I'll probably finish the hat this week and then I'll be knitting for MOI only for the next couple of months!

The best way to spend an afternoon

Here I am on my last day off before I get back to work for 4 days. Time goes by quickly when you have nothing planned!

I had the loveliest day yesterday. I had decided to go see the new Ariadne store and I wanted to bring homemade cookies so I baked some decadent double chocolate ones:



I think they were pretty good, if I do say so myself. So off to Ariadne I went, and I was so pleased to see Jo there! I hadn't seen her in like a year! Also there were Celia and her adorable daughter Morgan, as well as the two owners, Mary and Molly Ann. I actually took a picture of the group but when I opened it in Photoshop, I realized that I'm really bad at taking pictures and that I can make good looking people look, well, not as good. So I'm not posting it!

But I do have pics of the store! Lookie!









(I made sure I had Molly Ann's red shoes in that one. I love them!)

I spent the whole afternoon there, knitting and chatting and it was so nice. I'm definitely going back, probably next week. There's a knit night on Thursday but I'll be working so I can't go. :(

After the knitting goodness, I met my boyfriend and we went to eat some Indian fast food before the Habs game.



We didn't have the best seats in the house, but we still had fun, even though we lost. I still like to think that Tomas Plekanec (my favourite Canadien player) scored just for me. Oh and they had a little problem with the scoreboard...



41-0? Haha. I wish!

I think we have a winner!

I've been looking and looking for a hat pattern that I want to make for a friend for his 30th birthday (December 27th) and I think I found a good one : the Fake Isle hat from Magknits. If you're on Ravelry, go look at all the different versions, they're all beautiful. And a lot of people mention that it's a quick knit so that's good. I don't want to start on it until I'm done with the boyfriend's scarf, because I promised him he would have it in time for Christmas. But I have less than half a ball to knit so it's not that bad.

I also keep finding new patterns I want to knit but they'll have to wait a bit because I'm being careful with new yarn and pattern acquisitions. But look how adorable Kate Gilbert's Bird in Hand mittens are? And how about these mitts from karendipity? Look on her site, she has gloves too. Beautiful! (NOTE TO MY BOYFRIEND IN CASE HE READS THIS: Clique sur les liens, si jamais tu cherches quoi m'acheter pour Noël!!!)

So yeah, like I said, I'm trying to be careful but I will buy some yarn today. I'm planning on visiting Ariadne's new brick and mortar store and I have saved a bit of birthday money just for this. Not much, but enough for a skein of sock yarn. I know I can't go there for the first time and not buy anything!

Santa Claus is coming to town

Dear Santa,

I have been a very good girl this year. I've been nice. I've helped others whenever I could and I really have been eating my vegetables. I feel like I need a reward.

Now what I want the most in the world is peace and happiness for all, of course. But "all" includes me, so here's what I think would make me very happy:

-A kit of Knitpicks sock sampler. Now I'm not sure if I prefer the warm, the neutral or the cold colours, so just surprise me. Or even better, send me all three.

-The Carnival Baby Blanket kit, because it's just so damn adorable.

-Sock yarn from Lotus Knits.

Thanks in advance Santa, I will leave cookies for you on Christmas night.

~Caroline~

Ps/I want to know what my knit blogger friends want for Christmas! Tell me in the comments or write it on your blog!

Knit night... at home!

I thought for sure that I would go to Knit night tonight, but I had forgotten how draining a first day at a new job could be. I'm so tired I could sleep on my keyboard! I really don't have the energy to go on the other side of the town, even though I really wanted to!

I know for sure that I will love this new job. I like everything about it already, except for the shitty hours, but that's journalism for you! But I'm really looking forward to being a month from now and to know my way around everything.

Also, I'm sure you all know by now, but the new Knitty is up! I have to say I expected more sweaters, but I'm happy no matter what. New patterns! I like that there are lots of socks and I love Halcyon and Jeanie. Oh and the Eco Fairy is adorable.

On my last post, Kate-the-blogless-enabler asked if I will show pics of the yarn I'll buy with my Effiloché gift certificates. Well of course! But I'm not planning on spending them just yet. My yarn money will be very limited this year so I'll have to chose carefully. I know I plan on going to Ariadne's new store sometime next week and I want to buy a little something there with my birthday money. Effiloché will wait until... at least after Christmas!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

So we had the first big snowstorm of the season today. It was wonderful. I know, not everyone thought so, but since I don't drive, it didn't affect me as much. I thought the snow was beautiful. I just hope it won't all melt before Christmas!

I'm not going to talk about WIPs this week. My boyfriend bought Guitar Hero for the Wii last week, and let's just say I feel like I sold my soul to the videogame. Christmas knitting? What Christmas knitting? Look, I'm playing My Name is Jonas!

Despite the lack of knitting, I have some fibery goodness to show you. I got a package from my Secret Pal and it was better than anything I could have expected!



My very own spindle!!! It's beautiful and I've always wanted to learn how to spin! Oh but wait, there's more.



You can't spin without fiber! The spindle was actually part of a kit and it comes from Maine Woods Yarn & Fiber and I love the colours.

Now I just need to figure out how this all works. Hopefully I'll have more time to learn after Christmas. THANK YOU SECRET PAL!!!

In other news, as I mentionned in my previous post, I turned 30 today. I gotta say that today was pretty uneventful. My real birthday celebrations happened on the weekend. On Friday, I had a party with friends (including one that I hadn't seen in over a year!) and on Saturday, I had one with family. I had a great time. My mom made me a scrapbook (it was her first one) and it's probably my favourite gift... that and my new iPod. I love it I love it I love it. And my boyfriend got me a set of speakers for it so it will be great when we have people over. I also got a few gift certificate including these:



Sorry the pic is so blurry. They are Effiloché gift certificates! I'll be able to buy some yarn! Woohoo!

Finally, another great gift was a picture that my friend took when he went to Chile this Fall and that he got framed. I love it and it made me want to make something for him. Like a hat. His birthday is on December 27 and my new goal is to finish my boyfriend's scarf and then make a hat for this friend. I need pattern ideas now!

December 3

I am now officially 30 years old (ok not really. I was born at 8:52am on December 3 and it's only midnight. So I'm still 29. Technically.)

Who knew changing jobs would take so much of my time? This week, I'm working everyday from Sunday to... next Sunday! Thank God I'll really be part-time after that.

I have lots of things to write about but no time for it. Hopefully I'll be able to write up a longer post tomorrow with pics of fibery goodness thanks to my Secret Pal.

Weekly WIP Report (+FO!)

I finished the socks for my mom's boyfriend!



Pattern: No pattern
Yarn: Ehh.... Regia something?
Needles: 2.25 mm dpns
Comments: I'm so NOT USED to knitting socks for big feet!

I'm glad they are done though. Now I only need to finish my boyfriend's scarf and all my Christmas gifts will be done. Here you see me working on it:



Yes, it's very cold in the house! I have half of the scarf done, I just finished the first skein and I have two. I love how there's a zigzag in the colours.

Last night, I used my ball winder for the first time to wind the angora that my SP10 pal sent me. The next project will be mittens (for me!) I think.

News!

This past week has officially been the craziest week ever. But at least I have great news: I finally quit the job-that-I-hate on Tuesday! I gave them my two-weeks notice so I'll be out of there forever on December 4 (a day after my birthday!).

You have no idea how happy it makes me. I never knew what "hating your job" really meant before working there. I can't believe I stayed there a year! I will miss a few of my coworkers but that's about it. I feel so unbelievably free!

I'm leaving because I found a new job that looks absolutely fantastic. I spent a day there this week and I loved it. So it's promising. BUT (yes, there's a but) it's only part-time. That means that I will have to find some freelance work too (anybody needs a French translator or proofreader?)

It looks like 2008 will be an interesting year. Working part-time means that I'll have a lot of time to knit and blog (yay!) but I'll have no money to buy yarn (or much of anything at all). The good news is that my boyfriend just had a promotion so I don't have to worry about not having enough money for the bills too much, but still, I don't want him to pay for everything so most of the money I'll make will go towards bills, rent, food, etc. I do think it's worth it in the end because I'm pretty sure I will love this new job and hopefully I'll get a full-time position someday (I just don't know when, it could be months, or years, you know?). But no new yarn sucks, especially since I don't have that big of a stash. Oh well.

My birthday and Christmas are coming up and I'm pretty sure I'll get *some* yarn money, so hopefully I'll be able to buy enough for a sweater. Then it's going to be a "knit from your stash" year!

M.I.A.

Sorry I've been missing in action lately. I couldn't do a WIP report because my camera has no battery and things have been CRA-ZY! Everything should be back to normal soon and I'll be back to regular blogging.

In the meantime, check out the the Fearless Knitting KAL, hosted by Melanie of Lotus Knits! (who has a contest going on on her blog btw, check it out!). It's a year-long KAL and the goal is to conquer your fears. You want to knit socks but DPNs scare you? You want to try fair-isle? You want to master steeking? This KAL is for you. We'll encourage each other to learn new skills in 2008.

I already have a few goals in mind, but I usually post them in my end-of-the-year post so they will have to wait.

I'm feeling it...

I'm seriously thinking of frogging the Woven Trellis scarf and use the yarn for this scarf instead. Similar look, less tedious knitting.

Weekly WIP Report (+FO!)

The mitts are done! They are cute, I love them!



Pattern: Endpaper Mitts, by Eunny Jang.
Yarn: The pink is the merino sock yarn by Fearless Fibers. The grey... I'm not sure! It was the yarn from my Fair Isle socks, that I ended up frogging. I think it's Patons Kroy but I'm not 100% sure.
Needles: 2.75 mm and 3 mm DPNs
Notes: I love them and they were very easy and quick to knit. BUT if I were to make them again (and I just might), I wouldn't do the faux seam. I hate that grey line in the middle. Oh well.

And I need to say again that I LOVE Fearless Fibers. The yarn is soft, it has great colours and the skein is HUGE! Seriously. With one skein, I made a pair of Roza's socks, then I used the leftovers for the mitts, and I still have this much left:



It's still a pretty big ball in my hand. (And now I imagine all the Google hits I'll receive from people looking for big balls in my hand HAHA. Fooled you!)

Okay. Now the WIP. Since I'm done with the mitts, I need to finish those Christmas presents. I've worked on the socks for mom's boyfriend:



I want to finish them and my boyfriend's scarf ASAP so I can knit for me again without guilt. I see more fair isle in my future, yes I do!

I call that willpower

I went to my LYS today and I'm pretty happy with myself. There were sooooo many nice things and I really wanted to buy. But I only got the new Interweave Knits and yarn for my Secret Pal. And because it will be the last gift and I'll reveal myself in the package, I can post a picture of it!



The picture doesn't do the yarn justice. It's 100% cashmere and it's a dream to knit with. What can I say, I'm a good pal and I always keep the great gift for last :)

No yarn for me, but like I said, I did buy the new IK. Am I the only one who thinks the girl on the cover looks a little bit like Jennifer Garner? There are a lot of cute patterns in it (I esp. love the celtic bag) but nothing that I want to cast on for right now.

What I do want to cast on for right now, is the Cardigan for Arwen. The funny thing is that it wasn't even in my Ravelry queue (which now contains 74 items) until this afternoon. But I saw Kate Gilbert at the LYS and she was wearing hers (the original) and it was BEAUTIFUL. And now I want one. Like now. Maybe I will end up buying yarn for my 30th birthday after all. (I think it would look perfect in Andean Silk, in Bluebell. Or maybe Hollyberry.

My Endpaper Mitts are done and being blocked. You'll see them tomorrow.

The new Clapotis?

It seems like there's always a pattern that becomes the "it" pattern. The pattern everyone knits. Multiple times. Clapotis was one. The Monkey socks was another.

Today, Knitty revealed the surprises for fall. There's a cute hat and a great cardigan. And then there's the Juno Regina stole.

I.am.in.love. (And I have cashmere for it.)

I went to add it to my Ravelry queue. I was #516 to do so. I think we found the new Clapotis!

To shop or not to shop, that is the question

I have this little yarn closet (I've posted pics before) and in it there are two big baskets of yarn, a smaller one with sock yarn lots of books, a couple of project bags and a plastic container with some more yarn.

I've mentionned it before, I don't have a huge stash, but I don't want one. I don't want yarn everywhere in my appartment (now if I had the space for a yarn room, things would be different). The problem is that while I don't WANT too much yarn, I still itch for new yarn. I love to shop for it, I love to buy it, I love to bring it back home or to get it in the mail. And with the strong Canadian dollar, I'm even more tempted to buy the whole Knitpicks inventory. Currently in my cart are some Essential sock yarn in Ash and African Violet, enough Swish Superwash in Camel Heather to make a Central Park Hoodie, as well as some Knitpicks Harmony DPNs (2.25 mm) and the book Fitted Knits.

*sigh* Why can't I be happy with what I have? I'll try to be. My goal is to not buy any new yarn (for me, Secret Pal does't count) until I finish:

a) Two projects currently on the needles (Endpaper Mitts and boyfriend scarf)
b) Kate Gilbert's Fireside Stocking (but only if I feel I have the time to finish it before Christmas, after I finish the above projects)
c) A pair of mittens
d)the Streakers shrug
e) A hat

Sock yarn is not included in the above BUT I can't buy any new yarn until I finish FOUR pairs using yarn that I have.

That's a lot of knitting for me and if I succeed, I probably won't buy new yarn for MONTHS!

(Now that I think of it, I'm sure I'll want to go yarn shopping to celebrate my 30th birthday next month... oh well...)

Weekly WIP Report

This weekly WIP report will be about one WIP and one WIP only : my endpaper mitts, which I've been knitting obsessively for the past week.

And I'm proud to say I now have half a FO!



I love it! And I want the second mitt now! I'm almost halfway done with it too. Expect a FO pic real soon!

Now go and cast on for your own pair, they are lots of fun!

Things I need to share

Ok, readers, drop everything you're doing and go on Jennifer's blog to see the fantastic costume she knit for her son. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen anything more adorable in my life. (Now Jennifer, I dare you to knit the same one for your husband next year. ;) )

Also, Cass at Shut Up, I'm counting is holding a contest. With some yummy prizes. Go participate and tell her I sent you! And read the replies while you're there, they're interesting.

Finally, someone found my blog by searching for "little porn" and it made me wonder what that person was looking for exactly. Just a little bit of porn? Porn with little people? (It exists. I sort of accidentally saw some a while ago.) I also got the fat legs request again. Oh well...

(Stay tuned tomorrow for a completed Endpaper mitt. Now I need to cast on for #2.)

Edited to add: In exactly ONE MONTH I will turn THIRTY!

Weekly WIP Report - A day early

Before I start, I must say this: THANK GOD THE HABS WON! I would have been so pissed if they had lost after leading 3-0!

The only WIP I feel like sharing this week is my newest one: Eunny Jang's Endpaper mitts. It's sort of my first fair isle project (I've tried fair isle socks before but I failed miserably and frogged). I thought it would be a slow project because of the colour work, but it goes surprisingly quickly.



I'm using the leftovers from the Fearless Fibers yarn I used for Roza's socks. I have tons of leftovers, probably enough for another (shorter) pair of socks. But I chose to use it for the mitts instead. The grey is one of the three colours I had used in the failed fair isle socks attempt. I don't remember what brand it is. Patons Kroy maybe?

I love the two colours together.

Also, one of my other projects, the brown striped socks, is coming along nicely. I turned the heel and I'm now at the gusset. I just don't feel like taking a picture.

As promised...

Here's the recipe for the great (and easy!) crustless apple-chocolate pie!

1. In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

2. Add 1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1/4 cup of melted butter, 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, 2 cups of apples (peeled and cut in cubes). Mix well.

3. Bake at 350 F (180 C) for 20-25 min.

4. Enjoy!

To add knitting content to this post: I bought the Holiday issue of Knit Simple. I'm not crazy about this magazine so I usually don't buy it, but I was pretty impressed with this one. You can see a little preview here. (Montrealers, I bought it at Indigo, on Ste-Catherine st.)

Weekly WIP Report

I'm a little late with the WIP Report again, but I have a good reason : I wasn't home last night (Sunday) because I was at a Tori Amos show. It was great!

So, the WIPs. I ended up not casting on for the Endpaper mitts yet because I need to learn how to make that Italian tubular cast-on first. I'll probably do that later this week when I have more time.

Instead, I cast on for a new pair of socks. They will be a Christmas present for my mom's boyfriend.



Simple, mindless knitting.

That's pretty much it for the WIPs. I also worked on the two scarves, but there's not enough progress to warrant a pic.

I do, however, have permission from Robyn to post a pic of her sock club yarn for October, which I got last week.



Isn't it pretty? It came with a pattern but I have something else in mind for the yarn. It won't happen for a while though.

Stay tuned a little later this week, when I will share the recipe for a fabulous crust-less apple pie!

More than I can chew

I just noticed today that I have 63 projects in my Ravelry queue! Sixty-three! I'm trying to think of how long it would take me to knit them all if I stopped adding any new projects now. Years and years and years!

For your information and your amusement, here are the first ten:

1. Endpaper mitts by Eunny Jang.
2. Cable Net socks by Ariel Barton.
3. Streakers shrug by Pam Allen.
4. Anastasia Socks by MintyFresh.
5. Alphabet Blanket by Debbie Bliss (the link goes to a random store that sells the book, but you can see the blanket there. And many other cute baby things).
6. Belle Cardigan by Wenlan Chia.
7. Tweedy Vest by Mona Schmidt.
8. Greenery Hat by Lilith Parker.
9. Tubey by Cassie Rovitti.
10. Esther socks by Stephanie van der Linden (the link goes to a German sock knitting group, but you have to join the group to get the pattern, which is available in English).

The good news is that I have yarn for all these projects except the Tweedy Vest and Tubey. I may cast on for project #1 today.

Two posts in one day!

Well I didn't expect to finish the socks today but I did!





Pattern: Marina Piccola by Kate Gilbert.
Yarn: Fleece Artist Merino
Needles: 2.25 mm bamboo dpns
Made for my sister for Christmas.

Twenty knitters in a coffee shop...

Knit night was totally crazy on Wednesday. I hadn't been in a long time but I know there weren't that many people the last time I went. I don't know if there were 20 of us, but I counted 18 at one point.

I got my October sock club yarn from Robyn's nest and it's beautiful. Very soft and the colours are great (very Fall). I would post a pic but I don't know if I can since some people may not have receive theirs yet. I don't want to spoil the surprise. But trust me, it's gorgeous. And I love the pattern and stitch markers too.

I also got to see Karine's afro sweater in person. Very impressive! I wish I was that creative.

I looked at the stats for my blog and in the last week, someone got on my site by searching for "fat legs photos". Should I be insulted? And why would anyone look for fat legs? Maybe some kid is doing an oral presentation on fat legs and a picture of my legs will be used as visual aid?

I'm almost done with the Marina Piccola socks! Expect a FO pic on Sunday at the latest!

Weekly WIP Report

As promised, I finished the leg of the second Marina Piccola sock. I even turned the heel.



I'm now confident that I'll finish it before the end of the month for SAM4. Woohoo! So I allowed myself to cast on for my boyfriend's scarf.



Very simple: CO 48 stitches. Knit in 2X2 rib until you're out of yarn/the scarf is long enough/you're sick of knitting it. I love everything about the yarn (Misti Alpaca). It's soft and the colours are great. The scarf is great for bus/metro knitting too.

So, according to my poll, two posts down, most of you think it's ok to knit baby stuff for your future baby even if you're not pregnant. I'll be honest, I would have knit baby stuff even if the results of the poll had been the opposite. I was just curious. Kate-the-enabler (who, I think, is blogless) commented: "You could always mentally label it 'for me, or for someone else deserving who comes along' - then it's not officially yours" and that's what I had in mind. Knitting baby things = presents for future babies, whether they are mine or not ;)

I'll leave you with a few cute baby patterns that I want to knit:

The Alphabet Blanket (link goes to a Ravelry page - sorry). The pattern is from The Baby Knits book by Debbie Bliss.

The Pea Pod baby set by Kate Gilbert.

A cardigan for Merry, by annypurls (the pattern is free but you will need the Winter 2006 issue of Interweave Knits for the cable chart).

Haiku by Kristi Porter

Feel free to share your favourites!

Something old, something new

My SP hostess Robyn asked us to post our oldest FO and our newest and to talk about how our knitting has improved between the two.

I therefore present you with : the obligatory first scarf:



It is:
a)ugly
b)uneven
c)scratchy as hell (I think I chose the scrachiest acrylic ever made for that project)

It is your typical bad first scarf and is uneven because stitches kept adding themselves to my work. I'm glad I took a pic though.

My latest FO is, of course, Shedir (click the link to see it.)

It is beautiful and well-made if I do say so myself. I think we can definitely see an improvement. The first one being that I now know good yarn. :)

I bought the Holiday Gifts issue of Interweave Knits yesterday (see preview here) and I have just one thing to say : good work! I wasn't too crazy about last year's edition (I didn't even buy it) but this one is great. There are several patterns I'd like to make : the Sweatheart socks, Socks for Véronik, the Twisted Stitch Gauntlets, the Little Gem mitts (LOVE!), the Wisp afghan (without the tassels) and the Fireside stockings (stunning!).

The teddy bear is absolutely adorable. I LOVE the dragon skin wrap (Do, if you're having a girl, I'll be knitting this for her!). The Koolhaas hat is great, but it really reminds me of Shedir (esp. since the colour is similar to mine).

Thanks to those of you who have voted in my Baby fever poll (if you haven't voted, see the post just below this one). So far, 75% (i.e. 3 votes ;) ) think I should go ahead and knit baby stuff. One person is superstitious just like me I guess. I may decide to start the alphabet blanket. I have yarn for it. But that probably won't happen until the new year, since I have so many things to finish first. Like my boyfriend's scarf, which I started yesterday. I love the yarn so much I'm thinking of knitting me some underwear with it. I kid, I kid, but it is incredibly soft (it's baby alpaca).

Yarn and a poll

I went to the yarn store today to buy something for my Secret Pal. And I broke my promise not to buy more sock yarn BUT I had a good reason to. I decided I wanted to knit socks for my mom's boyfriend (who is like a father to me) and I didn't have any "manly-coloured" sock yarn, except maybe the green Reynolds Soft Sean Wool, but I already have a plan for it. So I got some Regia in brown stripes (colour is Sierra).



Manly enough? I think so. Oh and the sock on the ball band is not made with the same yarn. Mine has no teal or red/orange in it!

Ok now a poll. I think I've mentionned before that I've been struck with a bad case of baby fever. I'm definitely ready to start a family but... my boyfriend isn't quite there yet. I'm ok with it. We've talked about trying in a year or so. But I'm seeing pregnant women everywhere, and cute babies and it's driving me crazy! And of course, I'm itching to start knitting baby stuff. Then I thought : why not? There are many patterns I'd like to knit for a baby, including a few blankets. And let's be honest : I'm a slow knitter, there's no way I can knit all of them in 9 months. I could start knitting baby things now in neutral colours. But then I feel superstitious and I'm scared that knitting stuff before being pregnant would be bad luck. What do you think?



Thanks for your help! No matter what the results are, I still need to finish some things before I start with baby knits anyways. I'm halfway done with the second Marina Picola sock (and after that I'll cast on for my mom's boyfriend socks). I'll probably start working on my boyfriend's scarf tonight. Expect a new WIP on Sunday.

Oh and stay tuned tomorrow for a post about my first FO ever (beware, it's going to be ugly).

Weekly WIP Report - Short and Sweet Edition

I don't have much to report this week, as I've been mostly working on Shedir and the FO has been posted a couple of days ago.

I'm now itching to cast on for my boyfriend's scarf, even though it's going to be a very simple 2X2 rib, for as long as I have yarn. But the yarn! Misti Alpaca. Incredibly soft.

But in order to have something to show for SAM-knitalong in October (since I couldn't finish a pair in September), I must keep on knitting the Marina Piccola socks. Therefore, I promised myself I wouldn't cast on for the scarf until I'm at the heel of the socks. I've made good progress on the leg:


(yeah, blurry, I know)

I'm confident I'll cast on for the scarf by Tuesday.

In other news, I discovered the joy of digital scrapbooking and I've made my first layout, kinda. I'm not talented but I like it anyways. I used an old sad pic of me.



Don't worry, I'm not sad anymore!

FO: Shedir

Today was a beautiful October day that felt just like summer.



My boyfriend and I went for a long walk and it was just so beautiful outside. We went to the marché Jean-Talon to get some fruits and veggies and we just enjoyed walking outside.

We figured we should take advantage of the great light to take a picture of my brand new Shedir hat.



Pattern: Shedir, from Knitty.
Yarn: Rowan felted tweed
Needles: 3.25 mm Knitpicks circulars (metal)
Comment: I absolutely loved knitting this. The pattern was interesting and the yarn was great. I thought it was a little bit scratchy at first, but wearing it on my head, I find it quite soft.

Next on the needles: a scarf for my boyfriend. But before I cast on, I want to get at least to the heel of the second Marina Picola sock.

I have new ya-arn!

Earlier this week, I found a cute little package in my mailbox : it was a gift from my Secret Pal! Yay!



You see yarn, of course, and a little white mystery box. What could be inside?



Stitch markers! Woohoo! I love 'em!

But let's look at the yarn again:



Don't you just love the colour? Oh and it's merino by the way. But the colour! It screams baby stuff to me. Now I don't have kids, but I have the worst case of baby fever you've ever seen. It's all I can think about. And I feel the urge to knit baby things. Maybe I will...

THANK YOU SECRET PAL!!!

Ps/Shedir is done and I'll post a picture soon.

Flash your stash for some cash!

^^ Ok so there's no cash involved in my stash flashing, but wouldn't that make a great TV show? I know I'd watch!

My Secret Pal 11 hostess, Robyn is holding a little contest and to participate, I have to flash my stash. So here it goes. I'll let you know first that my modest stash isn't going to make anyone jealous. But I'm happy with what I have (and don't even know what to do with it all).

So here's my knitting closet:



That's where I store my yarn (in the baskets!), my books and my magazines. But not my WIPs. They are all over the appartment.

I didn't want to take out all my yarn to take pics, so I just took one of my little sock yarn basket. I don't have that much, but since I don't really knit more than one pair of socks a month, I feel I have plenty.



Weekly WIP Report

I have ignored pretty much all my projects except for Shedir (link to pdf file). I'm not going to post a picture though because it's almost done. So you should have a FO pic later this week. And I can now surely say that it's BEAU-TI-FUL!

I have totally ignored my second Marina Piccola sock (I haven't even cast on for it yet). Don't worry, I don't suffer from Second Sock Syndrome. I just was too into Shedir. As soon as I finish it, I'll start the sock. But it's safe to say I won't have a pair for September ;). The good news is that I'll only have one sock to knit for October! (I make it sound like I don't like to knit socks but it's actually my favourite thing to knit).

I've made some progress on the Woven Trellis scarf, because you can't work on anything with a chart while watching Heroes (the scarf, however, is the perfect TV-watching project). Last time I measured, I was at 40" on the second tube. I'll get there, even if it's not until 2009!

Food!

I love Autumn, it's my favourite season. I love to cook in Autumn, there's something really comforting about it. And I love squash! Yesterday, I tried this recipe for a stuffed squash. It was great, though I replaced lamb with beef because it was what I had on hand. I also added cheese. If you try it, I suggest you use your favourite spices (though the ones suggested work great). Whatever you have on hand will work.

Weekly WIP Report - A little late edition

I'm home, sick with the flu. I was too tired to post yesterday so I'm giving you this late WIP report.

I've been in a knitting funk lately. I like all the projects I'm working on, but they don't interest me as much as... everything else I'd like to knit! I'm itching to start new projects, but I want to finish some of the current ones first. I keep on working a little bit on every project, so everything progresses, but slowly.

I've worked some on the neverending Woven Trellis scarf. I haven't measured it or taken pics, but I probably added 5" to it since last week. I'll probably work on it tonight while watching HEROES (woohoo!!!!).

I've added a pattern repeat to Shedir, and all I have to show for it is this blurry pic:



It's going to be a beautiful, but a little scratchy, hat.

I've also finished the first Marina Piccola sock:



Again, the pic is not too great. I wish I could take better photos but I don't have that talent it seems.

I haven't bought any new yarn/knitting books/accessories this week, but I have been oh-so-tempted. With the fantastic exchange rate (the Canadian dollar is pretty much equal to the US one right now), I would have a lot of yarn for my money. I filled my Knitpicks cart but I signed off before I bought. I did the same at Blue Moon Fiber Arts (someday I'll try some Socks that rock... someday). I'll buy more yarn when there's more room in the yarn closet. Or not. We'll see.

Weekly WIP Report

It's time for yet another WIP report. Again, it'll be picture-less, because frankly, I haven't made enough progress on any WIP to bother with pics.

I have mostly been working on the Marina Piccola socks and I'm still in love with them. I just finished the heel flap on sock #1. It's going slowly but there's a part of me that still foolishly hope that I'll finish them before the end of the month. If not, oh well, they'll be my October socks.

The Woven Trellis scarf is still boring. I must have... maybe 25" done on the second tube. I knit on it a bit in the metro today. Soon, it'll be too heavy to carry with me for public transportation knitting.

Shedir has been put on hold I guess. Not because I don't like it, it's just that the socks take all of my time. I'll get back to it soon enough.

In other news, I'm sure most of you have seen the new Knitty. Oddly, my first thought when I looked at it was that there was nothing in it I wanted to knit. Muir is gorgeous, but I don't see myself knitting a lace shawl anytime soon. But slowly, some patterns have grown on me. I think the problem I had with most of the sweaters/cardigans was that they were made in variegated yarns and I prefer solids for sweaters. Now I could see myself adding Roam, Cherie Amour and Mr Greenjean to my queue, but I'd definitely make them with a solid coloured yarn. I think the Foliage hats are totally cute too.

What about you guys? Are you planning on making something out of a fall 07 Knitty pattern?

Roxham Wool Gathering

I woke up early this morning to go to the annual Roxham Wool Gathering with Robyn, Mona and Janet (blogless, I think).



It was my first time going and I had a lovely time. But I was a little disappointed, there definitely wasn't that much wool. It was more like a craft fair with some wool than a wool gathering. But I love craft fairs so I was happy. And there was some wool:





(Robyn and Mona, looking at the wool)

There were knit rats:



And super cute hats:



There even were sheep!



And the most adorable dog (I heard someone say her name is Phoebe):



She's totally smiling at me isn't she?

I didn't buy any wool but I did get some roving for my Secret Pal. I don't think she reads my blog, but just in case, I won't post a picture. I also bought a bottle of wine (very good, I got to taste it beforehand).

So it was a nice day. And since I didn't spend much money, I have some to spend at Effiloché! But not now. I just bought a ball winder (yesssss, I finally have one) and I want to knit from the stash before I buy more. I'm not really on a yarn diet, but I do have yarn that I want to use so I really don't need any more. I would like to finish my current projects, knit a scarf for my boyfriend, the streakers shrug, the endpaper mitts and at least 3 pairs of socks before I buy anything new. Will I succeed? I doubt it, but I'll try!