Bye Bye 2008

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I hope each and everyone of you had a great 2008 and I wish you all an even better 2009!

I'd say this year was a pretty good one for me, despite some difficult time at the end.

Knitting-wise, it was pretty quiet. I only finished 12 projects, all of them small (5 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of mittens, two hats and a scarf). My favourite FO is definitely my Bird in Hand mittens. I'm hoping to knit bigger things in 2009, but that will be for another post.

On a more personal level, as I mentionned, I had a difficult end of the year, which started with a miscarriage in November. I know I haven't mentionned it (despite it happening during NaBloPoMo), I just couldn't really talk about it. It happened very early and quickly. I barely had the time to be happy I was pregnant and then suddenly, I wasn't anymore. I'm ok now, and I'm hoping for a different outcome in 2009. I'll keep you posted.

In December, my family suffered a loss when my aunt (mom's sister) died quickly and quite unexpectedly. At the end of November, we learned she had lung cancer and by mid-December, we found out she only had days to live. She died peacefully on December 21. My mom has 11 brothers and sisters and my aunt was the first to go so it was especially painful. She was only 57 years old.

Ok I am all done with the bad. I thought I'd keep the good for the end so you won't leave this blog feeling all depressed! Because despite the bad, I had a good year. I found a job that I really really like (and it looks like I'm quite liked there too). They're giving me responsibilities that I thought I wouldn't have for years and I'm loving it.

Chris and I celebrated our three year anniversary in August. Can I call it anniversary if we're not married and don't ever plan on getting married? It doesn't matter, I'll call it whatever I want. So we've been together almost 3.5 years now and in a couple of months, this relationship will become my longest ever (his longest is seven years though so we have a long way to go until that). I love him with all my heart and I consider myself lucky to have found him. Oh and we had our first (and only) fight in September this year! It happens so rarely I almost want to celebrate it next year ;)

2008 is also the year of our fabulous trip to Europe. We went to Italy, France and Spain and it was fantastic and magical. I don't know if we'll travel in 2009 but I sure hope so. We have tickets to a taping of The Daily Show in New York in May so hopefully I'll be able to get some time off to go! I want to have Jon Stewart's babies!

That's all I have to say about the past year. We're going out tonight with friends to celebrate. It should be fun. I hope you all have fun celebrating too!

In-between

We're at this period of time between Christmas and New Year's eve where all I want is to eat healthy, NOT drink and NOT see people. Too much of a good thing is never good. I think I'm this close to a sugar overdose.

So, I'm sure you all really want to know if I finished my gifts on time. Well I did! Ok, I finished the hat in the car on my way to my mom's, but still, it was done when I got there. Unfortunately, as I was knitting it, I realized there was a good chunk of pink/lilac in the skein I had bought, and I knew the recipient wouldn't be too crazy about that. So I cut it out. But then I ran out of yarn and couldn't get anymore because it was Christmas day. So I took another skein of Noro I had and tried to find a colour that wouldn't look so bad. It's not perfect but it's ok and the giftee loved it so all is good.

Unfortunately (again), I only had time to take a quick picture so it's all you're gonna get.



Pattern: Quickie Silk Garden Hat, by Isela Phelps
Yarn: Noro Kureyon (I didn't note the colour)
Needles: 4,5 mm/ US7, circulars + DPNs

I am so glad Christmas knitting is over! I think I'll want to make me a hat and new mittens next, but I'm not sure. I've picked my lucky clover socks back up and I finished the first one.



I'm really enjoying the pattern (by the lovely Angela) and the yarn (by Shelby)) is so soft I'm almost sad to be using it for something that will go on my feet. Sock #2 is on the needles and I hope to finish it soon.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Yes, I am aware that I haven't been writing much. No, my disappearance has nothing to do with the book (I've only read a few pages so far, I'll get to it after Christmas).

I have been working, knitting, and dealing with the lemons that life decided to throw at me these past few weeks. But I'm ok.

My knitting has suffered and I only just finished my mom's mittens yesterday:



Pattern: #03 Green Autumn (Druid Mittens), by Jared Flood (Vogue Knitting, Fall 2008)
Yarn: Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn in Glorious Green
Needles: 2.75 mm/US2
Modifications: I made them for my mom and she has big hands. So I added an extra pattern repeat. I also added stitches to the thumb (I picked up 16 instead of 12).

The top looks weird on the pic but it's all right in person. I love the mittens and I hope my mom will like them too. I think I want to make another pair for myself (maybe next winter).

Now I only need to finish a hat. I don't need it until Dec. 26 and I have three long car rides coming up so I'm optimistic.

Happy Holidays to everyone and Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. Me? I'm gonna be working 4pm to midnight on Dec. 25. Joy.

Wanna see some yarn?

Today is election day in Quebec and I hope those of you who can vote did. There's a good thing about working weird hours: I left to go vote at 10:21 this morning and I was back at 10:30! Tonight is going to be a crazy night but it should be fun. I'll be in charge of "reactions" all evening. It shouldn't be too stressful. I hope.

I know I mentionned yarn in the subject line, so here you go. I still had one Effiloché gift certificate left and I had to spend it because it expires on Christmas day. So I went on Friday. I didn't buy anything terribly exciting, but I'm happy:



I got some Dale of Norway Baby Ull, that I want to use to make the Postwar Mittens. I'm still not 100% sure about the colours, but I'll give them a try and we'll see. I have to wait until I'm all done with Christmas knitting to start them (cause they are for sure going to be for me!).

Then, I got a skein of Noro Kureyon, colour 233. I want to use it to make the Quickie Noro Silk Garden hat for my stepdad.

I also bought the winter issue of IK and I still had some money left on the certificate, so I added two skeins of Regia sock yarn. I need to buy more solid coloured sock yarn so I can knit some of the beautiful patterns I have in my queue.

Re: Christmas knitting, I just finished Druid mitten #1 and I.LOVE.IT. I want to keep it for myself. I just hope it fits my mom's hands. She has big hands. They're a bit too big for me, so I'm hopeful (I had to add an extra repeat of the pattern on the hand to make sure it's going to be long enough. I might have to redo the thumb though). Pictures coming soon.

Now I just hope I'll be able to finish them AND stepdad's hat before Christmas. Wish me luck!

Days of our Parliament

Things are completely crazy in Canada right now, ladies and gentlemen. Never before has federal politics been so exciting for me! And apparently, the US medias don't talk about it so I invite you all to read this blog post by the Yarn Harlot. She explains the whole thing very well.

Our prime minister is with the Governor General right now (probably asking her to prorogue parliament). My thoughts:

1. Stephen Harper is arrogant deserves everything that is happening right now. Governing like a majority when you're a minority could only work for so long.

2. I would personally like to see what the coalition could do, despite the fact that I strongly dislike Stéphane Dion (who is an intelligent man, but a very weak leader). I don't know if there's any chance they could replace him before May (Michael Ignatieff would be my choice), but I think it would be best.

3. Separatists =/= evil, dammit! I've been reading forums and watching TV and there seems to be quite a bit of Quebec-bashing going on outside of our province. And people wonder why few Quebecers are federalists...

4. Quebec will be electing its prime minister on Dec. 8, but no one is talking about the campaign right now because what's going on in Ottawa is so much more interesting. Jean Charest (our current PM) must be so happy. He's ahead in the polls right now and he could spend the rest of his campaign in Florida and no one would notice...

When did that happen?

So it looks like I'm 31 today.

I feel like I've gone from 21 to 31 pretty quickly, where did all those years go? And why don't I totally feel like an adult yet?

Despite getting older, there are good things about birthdays. Like cake (though I don't have one... hopefully I will this weekend). Gifts are good too. Chris got me a CD I wanted, a knitting book* (he says it doesn't count as a gift because he got it for free at work) and a HABS shirt!!! I'm so happy about that one. I don't have it yet, though, because he wants me to go with him to pick it out. I'm going to two games this winter and I'll have a shirt, woohoo!

*For the curious, the knitting book is in French and it's called "Elle tricote ses grigris, ses écharpes et cie". I haven't looked at it that much yet but it looks ok.

Day 30 of 30

I did it! I blogged for 30 consecutive days! It was a fun experiment, but don't expect me to blog daily from now on. There were days when I really didn't have anything to say and I still prefer not to write anything on these days. But I do plan on blogging more than I did before November, so stay tuned. (Don't expect a post tomorrow though, I'm due for a break!)

Tara, you will be so proud of me. I have a birthday coming up and when I was asked for gift suggestions, I thought I'd ask for this:



Chris' parents came over today and gave me my gifts early and I got book #1 and #2 of the series. Yay! I hope I'll like it as much as everyone else! Like many women, I have a vampire fetish so I'm sure I'll love them.

Speaking of fetishes, I also have a tie fetish and I gotta say I LOVED seeing Mike Komisarek in a suit and tie behind the bench during yesterday's Habs game. What a hottie!

Day 29 of 30

Another long and crazy day at work. I can't wait till things go back to normal and I don't do as many weekends anymore. I'm not sure it will ever happen, since the company is trying to cut costs (which company isn't?) and will have to give our part-timers less work, which means us full-timers will have to cover shifts that are usually covered by those who work part-time, like weekends. Oh well. You gotta do what you gotta do.

I'm all by myself tonight, as Chris is going to a friend's 30th birthday party outside of Montreal and I couldn't go because of work. I intend to knit while I watch the rest of the game (we're behind 0-1 against the Sabres right now).

I need to go Christmas shopping. I have no idea what to buy for anyone this year. I'm sure I'll find something, but I bet I'll have to spend quite some time in the stores.

Ok that's all folks. See ya tomorrow for my last NaBloPoMo post!

Day 28 of 30

Oh my, will it ever end? I thought the crazyness that is my professional life would calm down once the provincial election is over on December 8, but now it looks like Ottawa is in the middle of yet another drama.

Basically, our current conservative government, which was just elected on October 14, could be overthrown by the opposition (for valid reasons if you want my opinion). Read about it here. That means that we could have ANOTHER election. But most likely, unless Harper and his team can come to an agreement with the other parties before the confidence vote on Dec. 8 (yep, same day as the provincial election), the opposition will propose a governing coalition. A coalition probably wouldn't work long term, which means we would end up with an election later in 2009 one way or another. *sigh* I find the whole thing very interesting, don't get me wrong, but I'm tired! An election is exhausting (moreso for some of my coworkers than for me, but still). I want a little break, mmkay?

In knitting news: I forgot to mention yesterday that I received the second Go Habs Go skein. That's what I call great customer service! Louise (from Biscotte & Cie) also sent a magnetic 2009 Biscotte & Cie calendar. It's already on my fridge!

Oh and speaking of the Habs, Chris just called from his office's x-mas party to tell me he won tickets for a game, on January 6 against the Capitals (I think). Woohoo!!!

Day 27 of 30

My (I mean my mom's) green mittens are going to be absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, as I mentionned before, they just don't photograph well. Especially since I took the pic too late to get natural light. Here's what they look like anyways:



That's all I have to say today. I'm too tired to think of anything else to write!

Day 26 of 30

Did you know that...


... there's a group on Ravelry called Almost Knitty, with patterns that have been rejected by Knitty? Just because it's been rejected doesn't mean it's not a good pattern (I found a cute hat on there).

... you can add reactions to your blog posts in blogger (similar to what we have in the Ravelry forums). At the bottom on my post, you can see "funny", "interesting" and "boring" and you can click on it and a (1) will appear.

... I ended up knitting THIRTY rows yesterday. Go me!

Day 25 of 30

November 25. We are exactly one month away from Christmas! Eeeek! I so don't feel in the Christmas spirit yet. I'm sure it'll come once we start decorating and once I get back to regular work schedules and all. It will also be my birthday in about a week and everyone is asking me what I want for Christmas AND my birthday and really, I have no idea. I know I could ask for yarn money, but to be honest, I still have one gift certificate I have left from LAST YEAR. I'm trying not to accumulate too much yarn, due to the lack of space in our appartment.

Anyways. One month left before Christmas and I'm far from done with the Christmas knitting. I know I'm in a better position than many, but you have to remember that I'm a slow knitter. And the mittens I've chosen for my mom... well let's just say choosing thin yarn with small needles maybe wasn't the best idea for me ;) But I like how they're coming along and I'm sure I can finish them in time. Here's where I am right now:



I wasn't sure about the yarn at first because I find that it doesn't show patterns as well as other yarns, but I still like the way the mittens look. The yarn doesn't photograph well though, I couldn't get a nice pic of the WIP! But trust me, it looks great so far. The pattern is fun and definitely not boring. I gave myself a goal of at least 10 rows a day (it doesn't sound like much, but with all the symbols on the chart, it takes me quite some time). I'm hoping to finish on or before Dec. 15, so then I'll have 10 days to knit the hat for my stepdad, which should be plenty.

I've already knit 9 rows today, so I'm sure I'll go over my goal tonight. Go me!

Day 24 of 30

This post is brought to you by the word YUMMY!

First, I got my Go Habs Go yarn!



Thanks to Robyn, I was able to get this yummy sock yarn from Biscotte & Cie. Unfortunately, there was an error with my order and I only received one skein instead of the two I ordered (cause I want socks for me and another pair for Chris). Louise, from Biscotte, is great though and she replied promptly to my Ravelry message to apologize and told me she'd send my other skein tomorrow. So all is good and despite this little mistake (it happens and as long as it gets fixed, I don't mind), I gotta say I'm very happy with my purchase. The yarn is soft and just yummy.

Speaking of yummy... The girl who writes this blog mentionned these cookies and I just had to try them. She made them with peanut butter chips instead of the recommended semisweet chocolate chips. I'm sure both options are delicious, but I made them with white chocolate chips and there are just no words. It takes all my willpower not to eat them all (and the recipe makes a lot).



Let me know if you make them!

Day 23 of 30

Dear Alouettes,

Why, oh why, did you lose the Grey Cup tonight, here in Montreal? I'm so disappointed, I was so sure they were going to win. I'm not a super huge football fan, but I still like to watch the game and ask my boyfriend a bunch of questions. I prefer when they win though.

On top of the Alouettes game, the two-hour special of 24 and Colbert's Christmas special were on tonight! Thank god for recorders!

Despite all this TV, I didn't knit a stitch. I just didn't feel like it. It happens. I'll be able to knit for the next two days since I'm not working. Woohoo. I was really looking forward to the days off after a rough couple of days.

Ok so this post was very random. I'll try to think of a good post for tomorrow.

Day 22 of 30

Working on weekends sucks. I'm used to having unconventional work schedules, it's pretty normal in journalism. But still, I prefer the regular Monday-Friday thing. Fortunately, I should be getting back to that once the election is over. Soon. And I have only one day left and after that I have two days off, which is good.

I'm watching the Habs play the Bruins and even though it's still 0-0 after one period, I'm happy with the way they're playing right now. I hope they'll win!

I'm working on the Green Autumn mittens during the game. As promised, here's a progress pic:



It looks much better in person.

(The Habs just scored while I was writing this. 1-0! Woohoo!)

Ps/Thanks to everyone for your good thoughts after yesterday's post.

Day 21 of 30

NaBloPoMo should allow for a no-blogging day for when you have the worst.day.ever. Today was bad news after bad news after bad news. Nothing I want to talk about here, but yeah. Let's just say I don't feel like blogging.

I'll add a little bit of knitting content by saying that I finally found the right needles for the mittens I'm knitting and I've done the cuff on #1. I plan on spending the rest of the evening on the couch, knitting.

I'll be back tomorrow, ok?

Day 20 of 30

Day 20, already? Where has the time gone. In 10 days, I'll have succeeded NaBloPoMo. Go me!

So, yesterday, Robyn posted about the Go Habs Go sock yarn she bought.



Of course, I had to have some of that. I looked at the seller's Etsy shop, but I couldn't find any, so I sent her a message through Ravelry and she replied to tell me she had two skeins left! Yesssssss! So I ordered them. I'm gonna make me and Chris some Habs socks!

I'm in a fabulous mood today.

Day 19 of 30

So I did not go to the yarn store after all. Like I said yesterday, I really want to try and use yarn from my stash for my Christmas gifts. So yesterday, I was browsing my (enormous) queue on Ravelry and re-fell in love with the Green Autumn mittens (Ravelry link). I decided I wanted to make them for my mom AND I realized I could use something from my stash:



Fearless Fibers Superwash Merino Wool Sock Yarn, in Glorious Green. I'm not 100% sure it will work, as it is a light fingering weight but it's worth a try. I knit the cuff with 3 mm needles yesterday, but I think I'll have to get down to 2.75 mm (the suggested needles are 3.25 mm). Hopefully it'll work.

Day 18 of 30

Oh my, it's the 18th already? Time flies, really. Only 12 days left to NaBloPoMo. I think I'm gonna make it.

Today, I'm presenting you my third FO this month (quick projects are fun):



Pattern>The Boy Hat, by Elizabeth Heath-Heckman.
Yarn: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted in black
Needles: US 7/4.5 mm circulars and DPNs

It's already on my boyfriend's head. I finished it last night and he immediately asked if it was for him. Oh well, I still consider it his Christmas knit gift.

I only have two gifts left to knit. Yay! I spent part of this morning going through my stash, because I'd really like to use yarn from it, but it looks like I won't. I have a small stash but it feels huge to me cause I don't have that much space, but most of the yarn I have don't fit any of the projects I want to knit. *sigh* I'm really trying to be better and only buy when I'm ready to cast on, but I still need to find projects for what I already have. I guess my New Years knitting resolution will be to try and knit from stash more. The good thing is that I used yarn from my stash for the two gifts I knit this year. But for my mom and stepdad's gifts, I'll have to go to the yarn store.

Day 17 of 30

This is my 300th post! Weehee! It really doesn't seem like a lot, though, considering I've been writing in this blog for over four years! Let's just say I've had slow periods.

Here's my first post (and my first scarf!).

I had today off and I'll be off tomorrow too. Then I'll be working from Wed-Sun. I've been tired all day so I wanted to be lazy, but I ended up going grocery shopping, doing many loads of laundry, cleaning the floors and cooking. Not too bad. I also crashed on the couch for an hour this afternoon, but I figured I deserved it. Especially since I had gotten up at around 7am this morning for no reason except the fact that I couldn't sleep.

I'm sorry I was hoping for a better post for my 300th, with a glorious FO to show off, but I've got nothing. So I'll leave you with a pic of one of the cutest creatures ever:

Day 16 of 30

Remember when I talked about suddenly wanting to knit Christmas gifts, even though I had said I wouldn't knit any this year?

Well right now, I'm knitting Christmas gifts and suddenly wanting to knit something else, anything else, something for me. And I haven't even been knitting big Christmas gifts like some of you have. I'm guessing the boredom may have something to do with this:



The boy hat. I know he'll like it, but it's boring. And there's a reason I hadn't posted a pic before. It's just a black blob.

I'm not working tomorrow and Tuesday, so I'm hoping I'll be able to finish it by then. After that, I just may have to go to a yarn store to find the material for mom and stepdad's gifts. I promise I'll look in my stash first, but I doubt I'll find anything.

Day 15 of 30

I talked about the new Twist Collective in my last post, but I didn't mention the new issue of IK that is coming out soon. The winter preview is here.

So, what do you all think? I think that the patterns don't look as good as the ones offered in Twist, but there are still some cute things. I like the Blooming Cardigan, as well as the Harvard Square Caps. The pillows are beautiful and the hooded scarf is very interesting. The Victoria Yoke pullover is simple and nice. I also like the socks and the Welt and Rib Raglan. Not bad at all! I'll get the issue for sure.

I've been making some progress on Chris' hat, but it's a pretty boring knit. I should be able to post pics tomorrow or Monday. I'm hoping it'll be finished on Tuesday, but it may be just wishful thinking...

Day 14 of 30

I need to go shopping. I need pants that fit. But the thought of going out and actually trying on stuff makes me want to cry. I hate dressing rooms. And I just want to spend the day sleeping.

On a more positive note, have you guys seen the new issue of Twist? Oh my freaking God, they've done it again! There are so many great patterns in this issue it would take me a lifetime to make everything I like (I am a slow knitter after all).

I loved loved loved the first issue of the mag, but I had promised myself I wouldn't buy a pattern until I'm ready to cast on for it. Otherwise, knowing myself, I'd buy everything I like and end up with over 50$ worth of patterns that I wouldn't all knit. Therefore, I haven't bought a Twist pattern yet. But I will. Oh yes I will. I know, for sure, that I will buy the pattern for the Postwar Mittens. They're beautiful, they're perfect, I want them now.

I also really like the Lotus Leaf Mittens and the Licorice Stick Socks. As for sweaters, they're all beautiful, but my favourite is Vivian. But there's a zipper, and I've read on Ravelry that there are steeks too, therefore it's too complicated for me. I haven't yet managed to make a garment that looks good enough to actually be worn in public, so I think I'll try some less complicated ones first. But the sweater is beautiful, really.

Day 13 of 30

I've been feeling a bit under the weather since yesterday. It was so difficult to work yesterday because I was so tired and I had a headache and I just wasn't feeling too well. I felt the same way this morning and I really considered calling in sick for work, but I hate doing that when I'm not *really* sick.

But a few minutes ago, a coworker called to ask if I could fill in for him on Saturday and I asked him if he could work tonight, so we switched. I don't like working weekends, but I'm so happy I don't have to work this evening.

Now I'll just spend the afternoon on the couch with my computer and my knitting and hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow (I'm not working tomorrow either).

Speaking of knitting, I don't think I've mentionned what I'm working on now that I finished the mittens. I'm knitting The Boy Hat (Rav link) for Chris. I don't have a pic because I've only knit a few rows, and it's all black so it looks like nothing right now.

Day 12 of 30

I'm having a lazy day. I did go out grocery shopping this morning, but other than that, I've just been wasting time online and watching the news on TV. I needed that after the past two stress-filled days at work. I work at 4pm tonight but I don't expect any stress, which is good.

I promised you a pic of the finished mittens, so here they are:



Pattern: La La Mittens, by Gina House
Yarn: It was yarn I had in my stash and I lost the label, but I think it was Plymouth Yarn Galway Worsted.
Needles: US 5/3.75 mm
Modifications: I didn't read the abreviation part of the pattern and I realized only after I was almost done with mitten #1 that I didn't do a few things correctly. I didn't mind much anyways.

I'm sorry about the bad pic, Chris took many but navy blue yarn can sometimes be difficult to photograph. The mittens will be my sister's Christmas gift.

Day 11 of 30

What a day! I had a very long press conference this morning, and I had all sorts of trouble with my recorder so I wasn't able to get sound clips (I work for a press agency that does written press AND radio news so I need to get clips everytime I cover something). I felt bad about that, but it turned out it wasn't too big of a deal. Oh and I almost forgot my new scarf at the conference! I realized I didn't have it as soon as I got out of the building.

Later, about an hour before I had to leave (and I was really looking forward to getting back home), my boss asked me if I could work a little overtime so I could go cover another press conference. So I did. But it was a conference on the province's finances and that's SO NOT my favourite topic. I'm not too good with numbers. I'm pretty good at translating business stories done by the English service, but writing something on economy/finance/anything to do with numbers from scratch is much more difficult for me. Thank God, I only had to use the quotes I got at the conference to update a story written by another reporter!

So now I'm TIRED and I'm happy I'm working the evening shift tomorrow: I won't have to wake up early!

I'm currently watching the Habs game and we're ahead 3-0 almost halfway in the third period. Woohoo! Go Habs Go! Chris is currently at the game (his best friend had an extra ticket). I wish I was there too!

I know I promised pics of the mittens I finished, but they look better when they're on my hands and I don't have anyone to photograph them right now. Tomorrow! Next on the needles will be a hat, I just need to decide which one I want to make.

Day 10 of 30

I've got 1/3 of NaBloPoMo done and I gotta say... well I'm running out of things to say! :P No, not really. I'm just quite busy these days and I have less time to blog.

I'm actually writing this during the commercials of Heroes. Anyone else is watching? What do you think about this season? I gotta say, tonight's episode looks quite promising, which is good because so far, I haven't been that impressed with this season. Too many heroes, too many people able to just go back in time to fix things, too many people who seem to come back to life. Oh and Hiro's storyline has been boring for the past couple of episodes and he's one of my favourite characters. I gotta say, though, that I absolutely love Daphne (the speedy chick).

On the knitting front, I'm about half a thumb away from finishing the mittens. Expect pics tomorrow!

Day 9 of 30

Is it bad that seeing a kid receive a giant snowball on his head makes me laugh? I'm so evil...



Ok, I really don't have much to say today. I've been training for a higher up position at work. It's not a promotion, I'm just being trained so I can help when someone is sick. Or during elections. Tomorrow is going to be the first day I'll be in charge, alone. I just know I'll have trouble sleeping tonight, I always do when I'm nervous.

I'm almost finished with the LaLa Mittens. I'll probably post pics tomorrow. Or Wednesday. Or Thursday. Soon, I promise.

Day 8 of 30

That little post-Halloween party I mentionned in my last post ended up being quite fun, but today I realize that I'm so not 20 anymore. I didn't get drunk or anything, but people left our appartment around 3 am and I'm so freaking tired today! It's a good thing I don't have anything planned except watching the hockey game tonight. AND, when I got up this morning (around 11am), Chris had cleaned up the appartment! Is he wonderful or what?



With the holidays approaching, what do you guys think I have in mind? Christmas knitting of course! EVERY SINGLE YEAR, I tell myself I won't be making any gifts this year, and EVERY SINGLE YEAR, I find something that I really want to knit and that someone I know would love. And then I feel that if I knit, say, my sister something, I just have to knit for my mom too so she won't feel left out. And I end up knitting a bunch of gifts.

Of course, the same thing happened this year. But I decided that my Christmas knitting list will be short and simple. And no pressure: if I don't finish things, it won't be the end of the world. I always buy gifts anyways, to add to the knitted ones.

So here's my list for this year (all Ravelry links):

1. La La mittens, for my sister (they're halfway done and I expect to finish them in a day or two).
2. Instant mittens, for my mom
3. Quickie Noro Silk Garden Hat, for my stepdad
4. The Boy Hat, for Chris

That's it! Of course, I also would LOVE to make a couple of Yuletide Gnomes, but we'll see if I have time. If not, there's always next year.

I think my list is very reasonnable. The only problem is that there are also about a million things I'd like to make for myself. I can make me a Christmas present too, can I?

Day 7 of 30

Unfortunately, this post is going to be short and picture-less.

Even though I have today off, I'm busy, busy, busy! We're having a little post-Halloween party tonight and we need to get the appartment ready. Let's just say I wouldn't want to have people over right now. So I'll be spending the afternoon cleaning and shopping (we have a few things left to buy for tonight).

I'll be back with a (hopefully) longer post tomorrow. Meanwhile, for those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a little something that should make you laugh:

Theoretical knitting?

Day 6 of 30

I know more than one States were voting on gay marriage at the same time as the presidential election, but I've mostly heard about California's Proposition 8. Now it's still not clear too me whether or not the proposition has officially passed, but it looks like it has.

"On the day after the election, the results remain uncertified, and with 100% of precincts reporting, the vote was 52.5% in favor of Proposition 8 and 47.5% against, with a difference of about 504,000 votes; as many as 3 million absentee and provisional ballots remain to be counted." (Wikipedia)

This makes me so sad, I don't even have words. I'm sad that there even was a Proposition 8 to begin with, but to know that half of Californians think they have the right to take away other couples' right to be married infuriates me.

I guess I just don't get it. Seriously, can someone explain to me why a couple shouldn't have the right to officialize their union just because they were born gay? Just because they happened to fall in love with someone of the same sex? I have yet to hear ONE SINGLE good answer. (Read 12 reasons why gay marriage is wrong. It's sarcastic, don't worry :) ).

But seriously, if someone can give me a reason why this is legal:


Pamela Anderson. Married three times. Divorced three times (twice after only a few months of marriage).

And this should not be legal:


Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. Married in California this year. They were together 55 years (Del Martin has passed away since, unfortunately).

I know which wedding I would have liked to attend...

Day 5 of 30

You can see the front page of newspapers from Montreal, Quebec city and the Ottawa region this morning. Every newspaper in the province (and, I'm guessing, in the country) has this on the front. And we're talking about the president of another country!

As you can guess, I'm very happy with the outcome. You could just feel the hope coming out of the TV screen as the results were announced. I can't wait to see how America will transform in the next four (eight?) years.

Unfortunately, we are still stuck with this dude:



Oh, and remember when I was all tired because I was working like a maniac during the federal election, which concluded on October 14? Well, guess what? I'm going to be working like a maniac again for the next month, because our darling Quebec prime minister decided it would be oh-so-fun to have a provincial election too! *sigh* The campaign was just launched this morning and we're going to vote on December 8.

Just so you know, it will be the SEVENTH election for Quebecers (counting both federal and provincial elections) in FIVE years. Crazy! And expensive. Just what we need right now, in this economy. Can you see I'm not happy?

Day 4 of 30

I'm not American, but I am fascinated with American politics and I really cannot wait to see the results of tonight's election. I hope all of you who can vote did or will do it today (I've heard the lines can be long... guys, that's why we're knitting!).

As you have guessed with the pic I posted above, I am crossing my fingers for Obama. But no matter who you vote for, I think the important thing is to let your opinion be heard. But if you guys don't elect Obama, can we borrow him for our next federal election? I'd gladly take Obama over Stephen Harper any day (I think I'd even take McCain over him. But not Sarah Palin, oh hell no).

Anyways, in honor of the election, I'm gonna leave you with links to my favourite Obama-related projects:

-Gloves for a change (scroll down) -Ravelry link
-Obama-rama -Ravelry link
-BARK OBAMA Dog Sweater -Ravelry link
-My Jewish Grandma is voting for Obama (that one is a MUST-SEE, but I only found a Ravelry link). BTW, if you're on Ravelry, take a look at all that girl's projects, she's very talented (and there are many more Obama-related ones).

Day 3 of 30

BACON DANCE!

I'm doing the Bacon Dance because I got the best news ever yesterday (and what a better way to show joy than to bacon-dance, I'm asking you). I found out that one of my good friends is pregnant! And what makes it the best news ever is that she had been trying for 1.5 year! I'm so happy for her, I can't stop smiling! She deserves it so much!

Of course, now I want to knit a baby blanket for her little one. I have plenty of time (she's due June 11), but seeing as I'm a slow knitter, I better get started soon. I've been browsing patterns on Ravelry and here are my favourite ones (all Ravelry links, sorry, but you should sign up if you're not on it anyways):

-Alphabet Blanket
-Blanket with lacy pattern (I'm actually in love with this version of it.)
-Teddy Bear baby blanket
-Luca - Cabled Baby Blanket

And I also have the patterns for the three blanket in this picture. I like all three.

I'm opened to suggestions if there are other patterns you like! I also would like yarn suggestions. If you've made a baby blanket before, what did you use? Did you like it? I'd like something machine-washable and not too expensive. Natural fibers would be best, but if you've tried an acrylic that you really liked, I'd be willing to try it. I'm not sure which colour I'll choose (I guess it'll depend on when I cast on. I may wait until she finds out the gender).

Day 2 of 30

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a big Montreal Canadien fan. I love watching hockey, either at home with my boyfriend or in a bar with friends (or, even better, at the Bell Center, but that rarely happens unfortunately).

So we watched the game against the Islanders at home last night and man, did they play badly for 2 periods! They were down 4-1 at one point and I was sure they were going to lose (which sucks, the Islanders should be easy to beat!). Then they woke up during the third and ended up winning 5-4! Woohoo! AND, my favourite player ended up scoring two goals and also got two assists.



Thanks to him (and Markov (2 points) and Kostitsyn (1 point)), I managed to score 7 points in my office hockey pool with that game alone. *happy dance*

Those of you who came here for knitting content: I'm sorry! But you'll be happy to know that my hockey-watching time was well-spent, as I made good progress on a new WIP:



The pattern is La La Mittens, by Gina House. I'm knitting them for my sister for Christmas. Of course, I didn't read the abbreviation part of the pattern (I always mess up something) so I didn't realize that I had to slip stitches purlwise with the yarn in BACK, so it makes for funny looking cables, but I sort of like the way they look so I'll just do the same for mitten #2. I'm sorry I don't have a better pic, navy blue is difficult to photograph!

Day 1 of 30

Ready, set, go!



So, as I said, I'm gonna try this "blogging daily for a month" thing. But please, don't expect long, insightful posts. It's not my style. Most of them will be silly or boring "here's what I did today" type of posts (I say boring because my life is pretty boring in general).

I figured I'd start the month with a glorious FO! Therefore, I present you the Bird in Hand mittens:





Aren't they beautiful? They're so warm too. I love them!

Pattern: Bird in Hand, by Kate Gilbert.
Yarn: Frog Tree Worsted Alpaca (yummy!)
Needles: US 2 / 2.75 mm
Modifications: As you can see, I didn't do the embroidery on the little birdie. Maybe I will, I just don't feel like it right now.

I already started another pair of mittens. I'll tell you all about it... tomorrow! (Hey I have 29 more days of blog writing ahead of me, I need to save some blog fodder!)

One thumb short

I am one thumb short of a pair of mittens! No problem, I thought! Today's Sunday. Chris is working. I have a whole day of knitting, cooking (and unfortunately, I had some cleaning planned too) ahead of me. Plus, the weather is gorgeous and I thought I'd go out and take a walk...

... and then my phone rang and, fool that I am, I answered. It was work. Someone is sick. They ask if I can fill in tonight. *sigh* I am nice, so I said yes. The good thing is that I'll get paid overtime.

I'll probably finish the thumb tomorrow, and then there will be pictures.

I also wanted to write about Christmas knitting, but I think I'll save that for November. See, I'm a bit nuts, so I signed up for:



One blog post a day for a month. It will be quite the challenge since I can barely manage to write a post a week right now. But it should be fun. Anyone else wants to join?

Mittens in progress and a little bit of yarn

So, while the whole world (or so it seemed) was getting ready to go to Rhinebeck (NO, I'm totally NOT jealous), I decided I needed my piece of knitting goodness too, so I went to Ariadne's knit night on Thursday.

It was well worth it, cause I got to see Mona's beautiful daughter Hannah, who is only a couple weeks old. And beautiful, let me tell you! Congrats again, Mona.

I had planned on buying myself something, but I ended up being VERY VERY good! I only got:



A skein of Classic Elite Desert, 3mm bamboo circulars (not pictured) and Steppin' Out Too, since I already have the first one and love it (I've only knit two patterns from it so far, but I will knit more for sure).

As for the Desert yarn, I want to make a hat out of it. There was a beautiful one on display in the store, and I found out I already had a pattern in my Ravelry queue (Halley's comet hat)! But then, while browsing Ravelry, I also found out about the Madge hat, and I sort of want to make it too. So I don't know which pattern I'll choose. We'll see.

I've been knitting on socks, and also on the Bird in Hand mitt #2. As promised (I think I promised it), here's a pic of the first one, with the one I'm working on.



I can't wait till they're done! It's getting colder and I want brand new mittens!

I also want to write about Christmas knitting, but it'll wait till next post!

The Day After

I'm soooooooooo happy the election is over (but sooooooo sad Harper won again).

Election night went very well, we didn't have any technical problem and I was able to send three stories. Because I got the results for my candidate so late, I didn't have to do a radio interview, which is good because I was nervous about that.

I think I'll go to Ariadne tomorrow. I need to reward myself with yarn!

BTW, 2009 will be here soon, do you have a calendar? If you don't, here's a suggestion:



Hehe. You can buy it here. (Oh and I got the link from Lime & Violet. Gotta give credit where credit is due.)

Is it October 15 already?

I gotta say, I can't wait for the Canadian election to be over. I am stressed out like you wouldn't believe! Now I've worked election night before, but always in the newsroom. Tomorrow night I'll actually be at a candidate's HQ, I'll have to write two stories, get sound clips and send them AND I'll do a 5 min. thing on the radio. It may not sound like much, but it's going to be stressful and I'll be praying that I won't run into a technical problem.

I've been stressed for a week now, so yesterday, Chris and I decided to go for a relaxing walk on Mont Royal. All you Montrealers know how much fun can be had on the mountain on a Sunday.

There were tamtams (how do you say that in English? Drums?):



There was beautiful foliage:





And there were Dungeon and Dragons fanatics pretending they were in a real battle (or something):





I thought one of them really looked like Sayid from Lost, so I had to take a pic. :)

As far as knitting goes, since I finished my Woven Cables scarf, I decided it was time to knit the second Bird in Hand mitten. I had finished the first one last spring and decided to wait till Fall for the second one.

(I was going to post a pic of the first one, but I realized I don't have one. You'll get one next post).

Everything was going well with mitten #2 -- though I still hate to make the braids and there are three of them on each mitten -- until I realized I was following the instructions for the right mitten when I was making the left one! So I had to frog an entire chart repeat, which was not that long, but it still sucked.

That's it for now! Canadians, don't forget to go vote tomorrow! I think I'll buy myself some new yarn after the election!

Best scarf ever

I finished my Woven Cables Scarf!!!



Pattern: Woven Cables Scarf, by Keri McKiernan.
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Needles: US 7 and US 5 circular needles

I love love love it! It's warm and soft and just perfect. And I realized that I didn't have to knit it as long as my usual scarves, because it's very thick so I don't need to wrap it twice around my neck.

Next UFO that I want to transform into a FO: the Bird in hand mittens!

Also, in honor of Socktoberfest, I started a new pair of socks.



It's the lucky clover socks, that I got in the Robyn's nest sock club last March. I love the yarn and I love the pattern so it's going to be a fun knit.

I found my knitting mojo

So it looks like the key to getting back my knitting mojo was simply to not have access to any knitting for a few weeks. Since I got back from my trip, I've been knitting and knitting and knitting.

Or maybe it's simply the fall weather that is inspiring me? I don't know. But I know the thought of a warm scarf makes me very happy. This past week, I've been working exclusively on my Woven Cables scarf.



It's going to be a great scarf. In a neutral colour, so I'll be able to wear it with any hat and mittens. And soft. And warm. Yummy.

And just because I had not posted a pic of it yet, here's one of the Montego Bay scarf that I was supposed to bring with me during my trip but that I stupidly forgot.



I didn't swatch and I should have, cause I think it's way too wide. I'll frog it and start again.

I'm itching to start a new pair of socks and I think I know exactly what I want to make. Stay tuned!

Guess who's back!

Honey, I'm hooome!

After three weeks of pure bliss in Europe, I got home on Sunday and it looks like I brought back quite a souvenir: a huge cold! I haven't felt that sick in a while, though it's a little better today (which is a good thing since I'm going back to work).

Fortunately, I felt fantastic during the whole trip. I had a great time, drank good wine and met nice people. We first went to Rome.



I loved seeing the city and I'm glad I did, but it's definitely not a city where I could live permanently. I found it a little bit too chaotic. I loved the Vatican too (the Sistine Chapelle is definitely breathtaking).

We really wanted to see Pompei, so we took a long daytrip that was totally worth it.



I couldn't believe how HUGE Pompei was, even though I had read about it a lot. Very impressive.

Then we went to Florence, but we took advantage of our rail pass and stopped in Pisa first.



No matter how many time you've seen the leaning tower in pictures, you will still be impressed when you see the real thing. I loved it.

I also LOVED Florence. Much calmer than Rome. Our hostel was great and served fantastic free breakfast, had free walking tours with a great guide and also sold good wine for only 5 euros a bottle. The city itself is beautiful.



And it has the BEST gelato!



After Florence, we went to Venice, but we could only stay for a day, due to an error in planning on our part. The city was beautiful, as expected.



We also took a boat to Burano, a little island that is actually part of Venice but you have to take a 40 minutes vaporetto (boat public transportation) ride to get there. It was so cute! All the houses are very brightly coloured and it's just a very peaceful place.





We came back to Venice at sunset.



We left Venice and Italy to go to Nice, in France.



Our goal was to just rest and spend our days on the beaches there, which we did in part, but I really disliked the pebble beaches. I need sand! We also spent a day in Monaco (30 min. bus ride) and it really is a place filled with tourists and rich people. You wouldn't believe how many fabulous cars and designer clothes we've seen there! But my favourite part of the day was the visit to the Oceanic museum, where we found Nemo.



Nice was our only stop in France, and we left for Barcelona, Spain, after a few days. I totally fell in love with Barcelona (I wish I could live there!). We had a lot of fun. We were very impressed with the Segrada Familia church.





We went to the beach again (yay, sand!).



We went to Park Guell.



And, finally, we took a Spanish cooking class where we learnt how to make sangria, tapas and paella! Yummy!



As you can see, I loved my trip! And as for knitting, well... I actually forgot my scarf at home!!! I couldn't believe it when I realized it. I didn't have much time to miss knitting though, except during the long train rides. But I was happy to pick up my scarf when I got home. I had never spent three whole weeks without knitting a stitch before since I first started knitting!