Honey, I'm hooome!

Ok so I haven't updated in a while. Bad blogger.

The past few weeks have been odd in that I had no desire to knit. I did knit a little, but most of the time I just didn't feel like it. I still loved to look at patterns online and to read knitting blogs though. But that's why I didn't write in what, over a week now? Almost two maybe. Ouch.

I think I'm getting my knitting mojo back though. I went to Knit Night last night and I had a good time. We switched locations and went to a place called Java-U and it was great. So much better than the Second Cup we usually go to! The power went off for about 10 minutes at some point and we got to knit by candlelight which was nice.

I've been working mostly on theCable Net socks these days:



I'm telling you, they are the most complicated socks I've ever worked on. It's not that it's difficult, it just took me a long time to remember what every symbol in the chart means. Now that I do, it's going a bit quicker. Still, I don't think I'll finish them any time soon!

Tara and Needs-a-blog-Kate decided to do a Cardigan for Merry knit-along and I decided to virtually join them just because it's so damn cute! I looked through my stash and found some Bernat Softee Baby that I didn't know what to do with so I think I'll use it for this project. I'm not super crazy about acrylic but I don't mind using it once in a while. The colour is a super bright blue. I think it's even brighter than the one I used for the Cardigan of doom (I'll update you on that project in another post).

I'll end this post with a link to the spring preview of Interweave Knits. Looks like it's going to be a good issue!

The sock that was

The Cable Net sock? I realized that it was going to be a bit too big. And if I'm going to spend so much time on socks, I want them to fit like gloves. Gloves for my feet. So I frogged it and I'm going to make the small size. I'm starting to really enjoy the pattern anyways so I don't mind starting over.

Tara asked if I'm cabling without a cable needle and the answer is yes. Actually, the way this sock is written, you don't need a cable needle. (Check it out, you'll understand what I mean).

I received my Knitpicks catalog yesterday and while browsing the book section, I found this:



Details here, but the title is quite self-explanatory. Let's just say it's an interesting idea for a knitting book... :)

Weekly WIP report!

Not much to report this week, unfortunately. I feel like I've been knitting a lot since I'm all alone most days of the week, but there hasn't been much progress on anything. My Woven cable scarf is coming along nicely but there's not enough difference between the last pic and today to warrant taking a new pic. I'm almost done with the first ball of yarn and I think I'll use 3.

I've casted on and started working on the Cable Net socks. I've been working and working and working on them and here's what I have to show for it:



I'm telling you, this is NOT mindless knitting! It takes me 30 min. to finish one row!!! I hope I can stick to it, because if I do, I will have made myself some beautiful socks.

I really want to start some baby knitting. Now that the countdown to baby making has officially begun (not to mention that everyone around me seems to be pregnant), I really want to make tiny little things. I'll need to check into the "stash" to see what I have. I know I have enough for hat and booties sets, but I'd really rather make blankets and tiny sweaters. Maybe I'll have to use those gift certificates...

Mittens for my little hands!

The pink fuzzy angora mittens are finished! I now present you my first FO of 2008!



Pattern: No pattern
Yarn: Fleece Artist Peter Rabbit (a gift from my SP10)
Needles: 3.5 mm / US 4
Verdict: They are soft and warm. I love them! But I can never make a perfect thumb :(

As soon as I finished them, I wanted to start a new project. Socks. I haven't knit socks since November! It took all my willpower not to use my new Lotus Yarn, but I really want to make the 3 patterns I had planned (Cable Net, Anastasia and Annetrelac) first. So I used my super ball winder and wound a skein of Reynolds soft sea wool.



And I cast on for Cable Net. I think they're going to be beautiful socks.

*****

Ali at Skeins Her Way is having a contest! She wants us to post about a UFO that we resolve to turn into a FO by January 31st. Of course, when I saw that, I immediately thought about...



THE BLUE CARDIGAN OF DOOM!!!!

I actually finished knitting this cardigan in December... of 2006!!! It's been sitting in a plastic bin in my closet waiting to be seamed. Poor thing. I can't even explain why I have never taken the time to finish it.

So here I promise in front of all of you reader(s) that I will have this cardigan seamed by January 31st. Will it still fit me? Now that's another question...

Santa's little helper

Remember, in December, I wrote a letter to Santa asking, among other things, for some Lotus Yarn sock yarn?

Well it looks like Santa heard me! Look what I got in the mail today:



Sorry the picture doesn't do this beautiful yarn justice. It's Nirvana Superwash Merino in Hydroponic. If the yarn looks familiar, it may be because the Yarn Harlot herself posted pics of the socks she made with it. I totally fell in love with the colour, but because of the new very tight budget, I couldn't buy it. Thank you so much Melanie, you are fantastic!

I think I'm going to use the yarn with a simple sock pattern like this one (PDF file)... What do you guys think?

In other news, I have a little WIP report for you. Unfortunately, I have not yet finished my pink mittens:



The picture shows mitten #2. It's almost done, really. I should finish it in the next day or two, depending on if I'm working tomorrow or not (my boss is a bit late with the schedule this week).

The reason why the mitten isn't finished? I've been working on this:



The Woven Cable scarf (I'm too lazy to link the pattern, scroll down a post or two and you'll find it). I'm using the same yarn I was using with the now-frogged Woven Trellis scarf and let me tell you, I like this new pattern so much more! It's very easy to memorize but it's not boring like the Woven Trellis was. I have no idea if I'll finish it before spring, but I'll try!

I gotta go now but I'll be back later this week to answer some questions that were asked in comments. So if you have any question for me, comment!

Quickie!

Oooh this is my first post of 2008! Again, happy new year to everyone!

This is going to be a quick post because I have tons of stuff to do today. My mom and her boyfriend AND my boyfriend's parents are coming over for dinner. They've never met before. How exciting! But I have a lot of cleaning and cooking to do. I'm making beef in a beer sauce, with rice and steamed carrots. I'll also have bread from the bakery. Yum. And a salad. And for dessert, I'm going to make an apple crisp and a chocolate cake. I promise the diet will resume tomorrow!

Yesterday, I met a friend for brunch and gave him his belated birthday gift, the Fake Isle hat. I am SO going to knit for him again! He loved the hat and couldn't believe I made it for him and he wore it when we got out of the restaurant and he kept looking at it everytime we passed a window. It was great!

Also, I'm a little bit bored with my current projects. I need something new. I'm really liking a cardigan in the new Knit Simple magazine. You can see it here. (It's the first one, in the Over easy section). How cute.

That's all for today! I'll be back in a day or two with WIP pics... maybe even the first FO of 2008!

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.