Yum

A few people on the socknitters list mentionned this seller on Ebay who sells cones of cashmere yarn. Of course I couldn't resist. So I got this cone up there. 1300 yards (4-ply), 100% cashmere for 38$CDN and that includes shipping from the UK. I'll be sure to let you all know if I like it when I get it. I've never knitted with cashmere before so I'm quite excited.

I don't think I've mentionned that I ended up not finishing the socks for my Olympic knitting challenge. I had just turned the heel by the time the closing ceremony started. I'm a little disappointed but I'm still glad I tried. The socks aren't even finished yet, I haven't touched them since the Olympics ended. I just couldn't wait to get back to Mariah.

I love that pattern. LOVE IT. I've been looking at finished Mariah online and I just can't wait till mine is also done and I can wear it. Hoping it'll look good enough. I'm more than halfway done with the sleeves. They're going so slowly, but I'm glad I started with them and not the body. I also find that I'm loving the Wool of the Andes more and more.

Once in a while, I become obsessed with a pattern and that's happened lately. I really want to make Tubey from Knitty. Maybe it'll be the next sweater, after Mariah (which means it won't happen until next year or so and i'll probably have become obsessed with a million other patterns by then).

Going for Silver, maybe?

Well here are the embossed leaves socks:



I love them.

As for the second pair, well... One sock is done. The other one only has a cuff. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to make it. Damn me for trying to have a life while doing this Olympic thing ;) I'm still going to try to make it, but seeing as I have a pretty busy weekend planned, I doubt it's going to work.

I was going to post a pic of my progress but my batteries died right after I took the embossed leaves socks picture. Batteries are charging right now so I'll be able to take a pic later.

Back to the knitting. Oh yeah, and GO CANADA! Gold medal in men's curling today, yay!

Finally!

I can finally update the blog! First my computer refused to work and then the blogger site wouldn't let me update. Grrr.

Before I start on my progress, I'd like to congratulate Mr Gibson and Mr Pain, who just won Gold and Silver for Canada in the skeleton competition. GOOD JOB!



Here's sock number one. I'm at the gusset on sock #2. Which means I'm late, since I have another pair of socks to complete before the end of the Olympics. But I'm not too worried since the second pair will be a plain pair, so it should take me less time to complete it.

I hope that all the knitting olympians are doing well. I'll admit something: I miss Mariah! I'm itching to get back to those sleeves. Oh well, I'll get there soon enough and by then I'll have two new pairs of socks to wear :)

Canada : 1

Canada got the gold today, yes!

Just a quick update now that I can. I was computerless for a couple of days so I couldn't say that I modified my Olympic knitting challenge. I'll be making two pairs of socks instead of one. Funny thing is, when I finally was able to get to the computer today, I noticed that Jo also doubled her challenge. Great minds think alike (except her projects are quite more challenging than mines I think) ;)

The first embossed leaves sock is going very well. The pattern is very easy to follow. And it looks absolutely gorgeous.

More later, I gotta run. Good luck to everyone!

Missing the socks

I was so sick of knitting socks after I finished the Christmas pairs, I didn't want to touch my small DPNs for a month. But now I admit that I'm missing my sock knitting.

And I really don't know how I'll wait until the beginning of the Olympics to begin the Embossed Leaves Socks. I just googled the name and saw many finished pairs (not to mention a pair in person made by the designer herself last Wednesday :) ). They're so beautiful, I want mine now!

Meh. I'll wait. At least I was able to swatch and I think I'm all set now. I have really small feet so I usually try to get gauge and then I use needles one size smaller than what I got gauge with. It has worked very well for me so far.

Ok I'll go work on my sweater now (does the fact that I'm actually happy to be knitting on a Friday night instead of going out make me a loser?).

Olympics!

The other night, I dreamt that I was knitting the Embossed Leaves Socks for the knitting olympics (yeah, I dream about knitting sometimes). So that's what I'm going to make.

New yarn, new yarn!

Today's knitting meetup was great (as they all are of course). So many people, including lots of new people, showed up. I think there were 15 of us at one point. It was very nice. We even got to meet Kate Gilbert's daughter, who is the most adorable thing.

Jessi sold me a skein of Fleece Artist merino that she didn't want anymore:



Then, Kiyoko from AmiAmi came over with bags of yarn and I couldn't resist. I got this:


The yarn is called Faith and I will use it to make Veronik Avery's Short Row Hat.

And I got this:


I think the name of the yarn is AHS Slub Kasuri and I have something like 900m of it. It's incredibly soft and it will most likely become a shawl.

***

Also, I'm crazy and I'm thinking of participating in this:



Even though I shouldn't start a new project. But I can't resist a challenge so I most likely will. Now, I only need to choose a project, and that's when YOU have a role to play.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO MAKE!!!

I have a few ideas.

1. Mona's socks from the last issue of Interweave Knits.
2. Clapotis
3. The Peppermint Twist shirt from Stitch N' Bitch
4. Kyoto (I'm currently in the process of frogging the one I started in the hope of maybe starting over after rechecking my gauge).
5. Madli's Shawl, from a past issue of IK. I'd love to make that but I doubt I'd be able to make it in 16 days (same with #3 and #4 actually).

So if you have a suggestion, let me know. I just would rather not buy any yarn and I could make the above projects wiht yarn that I already have so it would be good.



***

I was tagged by Kadi (that is, if I'm the Caroline she tagged!), so here we go:

Four Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:

1. Journalist
2. Translator
3. Technical Writer
4. Communications Agent

Four Movies You Could Watch Over and Over:

1. Lord of the Rings (the whole series)
2. Harry Potter (all of them)
3. Amelie
4. Shallow Graves

Four Places You Have Lived:

1. Montreal
2. Hull
3. Sherbrooke
4. Cowansville

Four TV Shows You Love To Watch:

1. Tout le monde en parle
2. What not to Wear
3. Les Bougon
4. 24 (got Season 1 for Christmas, now I'm hooked)

Four Places You Have Been On Vacation:

1. Germany
2. Paris and London (one trip)
3. Cuba
4. Columbia

Four Websites You Visit Daily:

1. Hotmail
2. Livejournal
3. Atforumz
4. Knitter's review Forums (not daily but often)

Four Of Your Favorite Foods:

1. Lasagna (with my own spaghetti sauce)
2. Homemade pizza
3. Tuna or smoked salmon paninis
4. Penini Romanoff

Four Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. Out
2. Of
3. The
4. Country

Four Bloggers You Are Tagging:

1. Jo
2. Mona
3. Julie
4. Elisa

***

I'm ending this with a pic of the progress on my sweater's sleeves:



I wish you could see it better, but it'll have to do.

Hey what's up?

I just realized that I haven't blogged in half a month. Eeep! Thing is, I kept on meaning to take pictures but never really got around to do it until now, so...

But here they are! First, my last finished object of 2005, a hat for my boyfriend. I made it with Noro Kureyon (colour 51) and this pattern after seeing a post on atforumz (thanks Maureen!).



And I've made two things in 2006. First is the Basic cables hat from Stitch N' Bitch Nation. It was my first time making cables. I was actually hoping to use the yarn to make Veronik Avery's short row hat from the latest Interweave Knits, but it didn't work very well with the pattern. I also made a very basic garter stitch scarf with chunky yarn to go with the hat.



As to what I'm working now, well...

Other than the two projects (socks + a bag) that I already had on the needles, I casted on for the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch N' Bitch. It's for a pregnant friend, and since the baby is due in June, I have plenty of time. I'm using some Patons Decor yarn that I had in the stash. I'm not too crazy about the colour (I loved it in the skein, but I found out it has too much brown), but I think it'll look nice enough as a blanket. We don't know if the baby's going to be a boy or a girl and I think the colours are neutral enough.

I also decided on a sweater. Hopefully, it'll be a success and I will end up actually wearing it. I chose Mariah, from Knitty. I love the pattern but it's quite a difficult one for me. I'm only on the sleeves (I'm making both at the same time) and I can already tell it's going to take me forever to finish. Oh well. I'm using Knit Picks' Wool of the Andes for the first time. In Cranberry. It's lovely.

2005 in knits

It's funny how I was so looking forward to finishing my Christmas gifts so I could finally knit something for myself. Well after Christmas, I started two projects: a hat for my boyfriend and a baby blanket for a pregnant friend ;)

I actually finished the hat and will give it to the giftee when I see him on January 2nd. I'll post a picture then because I'm currently camera-less at my mom's house until Monday.

So I think 2005 was a pretty good knitting year. I finished 20 projects. I made my first sock (and many others) this year. I tried fair isle (though I have yet to finish a project with that technique). I've done a bit of lace too. But the best thing about this year is that I had the chance to meet other knitters. And they're all fantastic.

Hopefully, 2006 will also be filled with knitting goodness. I'm hoping I can finally make a sweater that I'd want to wear. And I should really try cables. I'm not scared of them at all (doesn't look really difficult), so I don't know why I haven't done them before.

Currently on the needles: fair isle socks, a bag and a baby blanket. Mona has really inspired me to try to make Veronik Avery's short row hat. I'm itching to start it now (I brought yarn for it at my mom's). And I want to make felted clogs for my boyfriend and for me. And many other things.

I wish you all a very happy 2006!

Done, done, done, done and DONE!

The gifts are knitted and wrapped. Two of them will be given out tomorrow, the other three will be on the 25th.

I wish you all happy holidays. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it :)

Will I be done on time?

Yes, I think I will be done on time for Christmas. Of course, I had to accept the fact that I wouldn't knit all the gifts I wanted, but those I wanted the most to finish will be... I think.

What I have left:


A scarf for my godmother. This one is pretty much done as it is long enough to be a scarf. But I'll add a few more inches if I have the time.


These are socks for my godfather. I finished the first one... I think it was on Friday (oh and I used Mona's toe decrease from her sock pattern in the latest IK. LOVE.IT.)

And this is a WIP that I'd really like to be working on right now but it'll have to wait until after the holidays I think:


(This is half-sock #1 of the Best of show pair from Socks Socks Socks. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to wear them until... I don't know, 2007? But I love what I have so far).

And to end on a non-knitting note, here's a pic I took last Saturday, the day after a big snowstorm hit Montreal:



Ok time to go back to the sock knitting!

Quickie

I was in the metro today, coming back home from work and happily knitting on a sock. At one stop, a lady came up to me and asked me if I had knitted my hat myself. I said yes and she told me it was beautiful.

Awwww!

Bunny clothes!

I made the 5 hours baby sweater but I wasn't entirely satisfied with it, so I gave it to my stuffed bunny instead:



It looks cute on him doesn't it?

I only have 1.5 pairs of socks left to make before Christmas. I think I'll be able to make it. Then I'll try to make something for my boyfriend (either a hat or felted clogs, not sure yet). And then I'll only make things for ME for a while. I've made about a million pairs of handknitted socks this year and I only own two pairs. And I've made a bunch of fuzzy feet last year and I don't even own a pair. That, my friends, need to change. I'll be selfish in 2006, but I promise that if people ask me to knit them something, I'll offer to teach them how to knit it themselves.

Yummy Yarn

I don't have much time to post, but I do have a couple of finished objects to share.

First, I finished my sister's socks:


And I also made a new Silk Garden Beanie to replace the one I lost last year:


(I know, bad picture)

You can find the pattern for the hat here.

On Friday, I went to a store called Paisley Textile (it's on 7489 St-Hubert in Montreal). People on Montreal Knits had mentionned that she sold Fleece Artist yarn. Well she does! Unfortunately, she didn't have that many colours left when I went (she told me she'd receive more next week) so I only bought one skein to make socks for my mom. But I will definitely go back to get more for me. Hmmmm yummy yarn.

Home and safe

Well I'm not in Mexico as planned. I actually took a plane to NYC this morning, but then I got paged at the airport only a few minutes before I was going to board for Cancun. The weather is too bad, the award show is canceled and I was sent back home. So I took a plane back (and had to run quite a bit to make sure I wouldn't miss it). Oh well. I'm just happy I'm not in the middle of a hurricane right now.

So I did not go to Mexico BUT I got great news: one of my good friends is pregnant! I'm so happy for her. And of course I want to knit something for the baby so if you have any favourite baby pattern, please do share them. She's only seven weeks along so I have plenty of time.

She lives quite far away from me (she's in New-Brunswick, I'm in Montreal). She usually only comes here a couple of times a year, on business trips. She'll be here in November and then who knows when I'll see her. I unfortunately don't have much time off from work to go there and visit (not to mention NO MONEY!). And she won't be able to come here when she's farther along in her pregnancy. And then she'll be on maternity leave for a year.

I was hoping I could finish something for November, but with all the Christmas knitting I still have to do, I don't think it'll be possible. So I'll probably end up making whatever I will be making for the new baby. I'm so excited!!!

How do you say knitting in Spanish?

Hola!

I'll start with non-knitting content: I'm going to Mexico! But those of you who are going to see me at the next knitting meetup (probably on Sunday) shouldn't expect to see a tan, as I'll only be there a couple of days. I'm leaving Wednesday at 6am (yikes!) and I'll be back on Friday. And I'm not going to spend the days on the beach, I'm going there to cover the MTV Video Music Awards Latin America. Woohoo! It should be a lot of fun. Yes, I will take pictures.

Speaking of pictures, here's one that I took at the knitting meetup last Sunday (one week ago):



You can see the lovely Mona holding the original Clapotis. Of course, I didn't only meet the creation, I also met its creator. But I didn't talk to her much because... well I just don't talk much in general.

I'm making good progress on my sister's socks. I'm not sure I'll have the second one finished before I leave on Wednesday, but I may finish it before the meetup on Sunday (which means I'll have to find a new project to bring... probably socks cause I'm predictable like that).

I should really go to bed because it's late, but before I do, I need to ask for some suggestions. I have 600m of Alpaca Peru (Luxury Collection).



I'd like to make a shawl or wrap, something like that. I think. I could probably get a few more skeins of it if I need it. Any idea for a pattern? I wouldn't mind paying for one, as long as I don't have to buy a whole book just for one pattern (can't afford it right now).

Speaking of books, I went to the bookstore with the boyfriend yesterday and I casually showed him a couple of knitting books that I liked. Hey, my birthday AND Christmas are coming up, the poor boy needs some ideas ;)

Ps/Thanks to those who helped me solve my spam problem :)

Let's call it the knitting room!

I had to spend THREE HOURS in a waiting room this morning. But the good thing is that I managed to finish half of my sister's Christmas present:



One lady there asked me what I was making and then she told me I must have a lot of patience, which was very funny considering she had been waiting as long as I had while doing nothing. I think she's the patient one ;)

I also made this scarf:



I has everything you absolutely HATE about yarn: It's sparkly, fuzzy, not soft, very fushia... I love it anyways :p

I also crocheted a red skinny scarf just because I saw some in the stores and didn't want to pay for them. I suck at crochet dammit. I'll post pics later.

In other fun knitting news, I finally managed to go to a Wednesday night meetup! Yay! And I didn't have to leave before the end. Double yay! I met a few knitters that I had never met before, which was great, and saw some of the lovely regulars, which was also great.

Lastly, in blog-related news: why the f* do I keep on getting SPAM in comments and how do I prevent this? It's very annoying. As soon as I make a post, BAM, I get two or three anonymous comments that say "Hey, that's a lovely blog you have. Now please come visit mine *adds link to a hunting blog or some other non-knitting related site* Now if it had happened only once, I would have thought it's simply a visit who likes to hunt (and to blog about it) and who also appreciates reading about knitting. But it happens all the time, with different blogs, and always a few seconds after I post. SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!!! :(

I'm still alive and well!

Finally, an update! I swear I'm not neglecting you on purpose, dear millions of readers, it's just that lately life has really gotten in the way. My job still takes a lot of my time (I'm thinking about trying to find a new one but I don't have time for it. I can't win). And I got this new boyfriend that I like to spend time with :)

But I'm still knitting. I'm mostly trying to succeed in my "Everyone gets socks for Christmas this year" mission. But it seems pretty unlikely that I will. It's all right.

So far, I finished my mom's boyfriend's socks. I also finished the Go with the flow socks that will go to my godmother.

I've been working on the Best of show socks from Socks Socks Socks for my mom:



They're taking me quite a bit of time and I'm not used to Fair Isle so there definitely are some mistakes in there, but I know my mom will be happy nonetheless.

I've also started socks with some Regia self-striping yarn for my sister while at the last knitting meet-up.

I also want to make a pair for my godfather (probably using thicker yarn). My boyfriend and my best friend Pierre will get socks or a scarf if I have time to make them. We'll see.

And I've already decided that I'm NOT knitting for Christmas next year. There are so many things that I'd like to make for myself and call me selfish but I know I appreciate the knitting items more than anyone else :)

Go with the flow

I'm on vacation!!!! Weeee!!!

I think it's the first time in my life -- ok not in my life but since I've finished school -- that I've taken a week of vacation without having anything planned. My goal this week is to sleep, watch movies, make spaghetti sauce, KNIT... and some snogging with this new boy I've been seeing.

I spent a good part of this evening finishing sock #1 of a pair of Go with the flow (from this summer's IK).



The pair is going to be a Christmas gift. I'm just not sure who's going to get it yet.

Tomorrow = knitting meetup! Yay! And since I'm on vacation, it means I won't have to leave early, woohoo! Hope I'll see some of you there :)

Socks and other things

I feel like every post I write starts with "I'm so sorry for not updating". That's because I am.

My life has been so weird lately. Lots of feelings, lots of stuff happening. Nothing dramatic but enough so that I don't have much time to myself. But I'm ok, really.

I've been working on the Go with the flow socks from this summer's IK.



They're going to be a Christmas gift, I'm just not sure who's going to get them.

I'll probably see some of you on Sunday :) Cheers!