Finished!

So when I uploaded the blog yesterday, I realized that I hadn't posted any FOs since February! Eeek! It sort of inspired me to finish these:



I love new socks!

I'm sure most of you knitters have already looked at the latest issue of Knitty. I gotta say I absolutely adore the little girl cardigan and I like the Hedera socks too.

Oh and if you don't know, the IK summer 2006 projects preview is up right here. Now I always prefer Fall and Winter knitting, but I gotta say this summer issue looks promising. Dows anyone know when it's coming out?

You know you're a knitter when...

... you're going to Europe and one of the first thing you think about is "What knitting project am I going to knit?"

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to Europe. The first two weeks will be spent in Paris and it's going to be a business trip (I just love saying I'm going on a business trip, especially because I look about 12 and definitely not business-trip-like). Just like last year, I'm going to the Ville lumière to help with a special newspaper made just for the Cannes festival. I'm really excited as I had so much fun last year. But I was wise this time (probably because it wasn't short notice like last time) and planned to get there one day early. I may have a little bit of time to shop (read: find a yarn store). We'll see. I'll admit that finding yarn will not be the main event of my trip (so maybe I'm not a real knitter after all). I'm going to be in Paris from May 13th (leaving Montreal the evening of May 12th) to May 28th.

I added one week of vacation to the trip and I will spend it in England. I'll be taking a plane from Paris to London on May 28th. The last time I was in England, I really wanted to visit the city of Bath, but didn't get the chance so I'm planning on spending a day or two there. And then I'll come back to London and I'll take a plane back home on June 1st. How is that for a business trip/vacation?

So yeah, knitting projects. Right now, I have on the needles a pair of socks that should be finished by the time I leave. Ditto for the Big Bad Baby Blanket (I only have a couple of inches + the border left to do).

And then there's Mariah. When I began joining all the pieces together, it just didn't work. The sleeves, despite being all wrong, looked pretty nice when by themselves. But when I started piecing the sweater together, I didn't like the way they looked. So I frogged them and started over. I have maybe 4-5 inches done. But I don't want to bring that on the plane.

So... it will be a new project (yay!). Maybe the alphabet blanket? (You can see a finished one here. We'll see...

Projects update

Since the last time we spoke (or whatever) I worked a little on the blue socks, a little on the neverending baby blanket (I'm now past the halfway mark) and quite a bit on Mariah.

I've now finished knitting all the different parts (except from the hood) and I've joined them all and started the yoke. I can already tell that this will be my least favourite part of the project. That and the seaming. And the sewing of the zipper...

So this post is picture-less, sorry, but hopefully I'll have a finished Mariah soon enough.

I'll end by saying that I want this. And a ball winder.

WIPalooza

This is a boring time to be a blogger. The reason is that I don't finish anything! It's not that I don't want to. I'm dying to finish some of these projects. But I'm a slow knitter and I'm currently working on longer projects. The exception being:



These are the still unfinished second pair of Olympic socks. Taking the picture, I realize that I should really start working on them again. They're cute.

Then we have Mariah:



You see two sleeves and part of a back. If the sleeves look weird to you, well... they are. See, I learned how to read a chart correctly (really, I did!), but then all my projects involving charts were done in the round. So when I started the sleeves, I immediately began reading the charts as I had always done, from right to left... on both sides. Eeep! I realized the mistake halfway through the sleeves, but I sort of liked the way they look so I kept going. :p

I'm almost halfway done with the Big Bad Baby Blanket:



This is taking longer than it should, because while it's lovely, it's quite boring to knit. And I'm pretty much only working on it when I'm at a knitting meet-up. But it will be done before May. That's my goal.

Finally, the socks-that-may-never-be-finished:



My first try with fair-isle. They take forever. And they will most likely be too small. I'll try to block them bigger, or I'll just frame them or something.

Hopefully, the next post will have a FO. Yeah like that's likely ;)

Yarn and Hookers

I received the cashmere yesterday. Yummy! I gotta say the shipping was incredibly quick. I like that.

The colour is significantly darker than on the picture, but I really don't mind because:

a) I expected it (it's never really like on the monitor)
b) I really like the real colour anyways

I washed some of it and it's drying right now. I wanted to divide the cone into two hanks, but after I started to "de-cone" it, it got a bit tangled at one point so I cut it. So what I have washed is only a tiny part of what I bought, but I'll get to see what it's like when it's washed before I do the rest. Maybe I'll post pictures too.

Oh yeah, and Jennifer asked me about the seller. His (her?) name is Colourmartuk. Of course, I'm in no way affiliated, just a happy customer.

This week, I also got this:



I know there are some Debbie Stoller haters out there. I also know there are some crochet-hating knitters out there. But I'm not. The first Stitch N'Bitch book is what made me want to learn to knit. I loved the kitty hats, the Under the hoodie sweater and the socks so much. Of course I haven't made any of these items :p And since then, my tastes have changed and I'm not as much into the hip stuff. Maybe because I realize that if I'm going to spend so much time knitting something, I don't want it to be out of style after a couple of months ;)

Anyways. I still got the Hooker book, because I really want to learn how to crochet and I figured the instructions will be easy to understand. It looks like they are. I'm not too crazy about many of the pattern, though I really really like Froufrou and the jacket (can't remember the exact name right now).

Unfortunately, I only seem to want to knit Mariah right now so no crochet for me for a while. I'm almost done with the sleeves now. Finally. I think I'll have them done by Sunday.

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!

Lesson in blogging

Today's lesson will be "How to increase traffic to your blog". You have two options:

1. Write witty and/or funny and/or intelligent posts.
2. Have your blog mentionned in a very popular blog

I knew my wit wasn't enough to bring in 91 visitors a day. Wow! Sorry it happened on a day I really had nothing to say :p

***

I ended up going to today's meetup and didn't regret it at all. Because everyone is so nice. And seeing people is healthy. Plus, I was able to see Lee-Ann for more than 30 seconds.

I took a few pics. I wanted to post them but I always feel bad posting other people's pics even if they did see me taking it. So they're aware that I plan on posting them. So yeah, I decided I wouldn't post them until I saw this:



Hmmm. Could it be? (For those not in the know, Molly-Ann got her wallet stolen while we were there). Seriously, I have no idea if that person took it (I'm still hoping Molly-Ann will find it somewhere in her bag. I have this theory that some bags have this vortex that sucks objects in and spits them out at random. I know my bags do).

***

And just in case some people are worried about me (sorry about that), I got a lot of rest this weekend and I feel much better. My mood still goes up and down and up again but right now I'm feeling ok. <3

A quick update

Hello world!

There is a reason why I wouldn't be able to stop going to the knitting meeting: everyone who goes there is so nice. Thanks to everyone who replied to my last post (Montrealers as well as everyone else of course). I meant to reply to everyone individually but I barely have time to breathe right now.

I requested a day off on Sunday, which will do me good for sure. I'm not sure yet if I'll be in Montreal, but if I am, I'll see some of you at the meeting (and for once I won't have to leave at 3!).

Silence

I finished Hubert's sock:



I'm working on #2. If I keep up at this rate, I won't be giving away many knitted gifts next Christmas.

In other news, today was knitting meetup day, which happened at the Second Cup on Monkland. My tiredness and depressiveness makes it difficult for me to attend any sort of gathering or to do anything at all, really, but the last time that happened to me I isolated myself for months and I'm trying really hard not to let that happen again. But then I realize just how boring of a person I must seem. So I'm not sure what's best, really. Do I keep on going to keep me sane or do I not go so I don't subject other people to my presence, because I do realize that I'm no fun to be around these days?

I can be such a drama queen in online journals. I think I just need to take a little break. Especially since I just admitted on my blog, which some of the Montreal knitters read, that I'm really a sociophobic fruitcake. What a winner.

All that being said, seeing Veronik's blue shawl (the one that she gave to Margaret) at the meeting, as well as Molly Anne and Anny's shawls-in-progress made me want to make one too. So I'll just add that to my list of things to make sometime. Later.

All your yarn are belong to us

Someone posted this in the Knitting Livejournal community:



I thought it was funny, even though I really shouldn't be laughing at people who make English mistakes because it's not their first language. God knows my English is far from prefect (yeah I noticed the typo, I just thought it was deliciously ironic).

And I wish you all a very useful knitting time.

***

In the knitting news:

1. I gave the baby hat to my friend. She loved it. I'm happy.

2. Clapotis is definitely being frogged. I'm not sure what I'll do with the yarn. I'm in no rush to use it right now. I will, however, go out and buy yarn to make a better Clapotis. Oh yes I will.

3. Poster boy girl is going well. I think.

4. I've been so busy lately I've had no time to blog and even to knit that much. And I feel like it's going to be the same until I can finally take some vacation mid-August.

Baby!

Next week, I'm having dinner with a friend who's going to have her first baby in August. So I made her this:



Awwww. Isn't it cute? I hope she'll like it.

***

If you want to win a shawl knitted by Veronik Avery or cool yarn AND give to a good cause at the same time, I urge you to check out the Montreal Knits blog. Details are all there. Go now!

***

And now, ladies and gentlemen, here's a little praisin':

I bought a Denise needles set a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, I broke one of my cords (it was a total accident, I swear!). I had heard that you could get a replacement if you sent 1$ for postage to the company, but since I live in good ol' Canada, I figured I'd email first to ask if I need to send extra postage. Well the lady who answered my email asked me to just email her my address and tell her which cord I broke and she'd send a replacement to me. No postage to pay. Now that is good customer service. And I LOVE my Denise set. Therefore, I recommend it to everyone. Go buy it. Now.

Too hot for socks

So yesterday was Knit in public day and I met with three Ms -- Mona, Molly and Mary -- in a coffee shop. I LOVE TO KNIT WITH OTHER PEOPLE! There, I said it.

I actually got a lot of knitting done yesterday, at the meet and afterwards. I finished the socks:


(I only wore them long enough to take the picture. You can't wear wool socks when it's 30 degrees (Celsius) outside, no matter how soft and comfortable they are.

I also casted on for the Poster Boy bag from Stitch N' Bitch Nation. Except mine will be Poster Girl (or something else entirely if I can't make it work). Yay, Caro's doing Fair Isle! Of course, I'm nowhere close be making these gloves, but I'll get there... someday.

Random annoyance: I'm on a yahoo mailing list for a knit-along, and it looks like one of the members is on vacation right now. So every time someone sends a message to the list, we get an automated "I'm away on vacation" reply. Every time! Grrrr!

Look at it and weep...

...because this, my friend, is a work of art:


Feather and fan sock from Socks Socks Socks, made with love and some yummy Fleece Artist sock yarn.

Sock #2 is on the needles. The sad thing is that it's now way too hot for wool socks. But no sock in the world, no matter how pretty it is, is going to make me wish it was winter right now.

Do you KIP?

June 11 is International Knit in public day!



I'll make sure to do some public knitting on that day! If any Montrealer wants to participate, let me know and we'll meet somewhere. Hey maybe the weather will actually be warm and sunny then and we'll be able to finally meet outside!

Just one more stitch

I changed the name of my blog, because I didn't like the last one. Not sure about this one either, but it does describe me well. I can't count the number of times I went to bed wayyyy too late... "Just one more stitch", I'd say. Yeah.

I was in big need of retail therapy last night so I coupled it with sock therapy and got myself a new book:


It's Socks Socks Socks, edited by Elaine Rowley. I LOVE so many of the patterns in that book.

As you can see in the pic, I've already cast on for a pair: the feather and fan socks, inspired by a recent post in The yarn harlot's blog. I'm using the fleece artist yarn that Amanda, my not-secret pal sent me. I had never knitted with size 1 needles before. Tiny. And I realized that I must be a tight knitter, which isn't good when you're dealing with tiny little sticks like that. Oh well. You may also have noticed that my needles are aqua. I think that makes me cool or something.

Of course, while I was in Chapters yesterday, I couldn't help but look at every single book in the knitting section (is it just me or it's getting bigger every week? not that I'm complaining or anything). I had seen it numerous times before but I had never really looked at it. But last night I did. Meg Swansen's A Gathering of Lace. I LOVE IT! I WANT IT! IT'S 45$! Eeek. Ok, I want it. I'll get it. Someday. I badly want to make a shawl anyways.

Another book that I want. Except this one wasn't in the store, unfortunately. I doubt I would have resisted. Socks! If, by chance, there's a millionnaire reading this, it will be my pleasure to offer you the gift of giving by letting you buy me a few knitting books. I also accept yarn. Email me. We'll talk.

I finished the RibbonXback top from Knitty!



Analysis

1. It is not flattering. I should have made the XS.
2. You can't see it but it's sort of see-through. Ooops.
3. It should have been longer.
4. I should do more crunches.

Here's the back:



***

I still haven't decided if I'm going to join the Secret Pal 5 thing. I had so much fun in the past two SPs that I really want to do it again, but money is a bit tight... hmmmm. *ponders*

Ah well. Probably not.

***

Meeting the Montreal knitters on Sunday, weee!

Did you miss me?

Honey, I'm home!



I gotta say that it was much more work than a vacation. I worked 12+ hours every day (yes, on weekends too) and I visited Paris in the morning and on my only day off (the Sunday before I left). I got back home last night at 9:30 but it felt like middle of the night to me so I fell asleep right away. I got up at 6:30 this morning thinking it was the middle of the day of course.

I was working in Paris' Red Light district, can you believe that? The street was like this: sex shop, porn DVD store, office, peep show place, yarn store, more sex shops, french hookers...

Hmm did I mention yarn stores on my street? Yep. But unfortunately, they were always closed whenever I had some free time to actually go out. So no French yarn for me. I worked a little on the ribbon top while I was there, mostly while watching bad French TV in my hotel room at night (now i'm not saying that all French TV is bad of course, only whatever was playing between midnight and 2am. I did get to see Lost in Translation, one of my favourite movies ever, though).

Next Sunday = knitting meetup! I really can't wait. I doubt that the ribbon top will be finished, but maybe if I knit non-stop until then... ;) (Unfortunately, I have to get back to work tomorrow and Thursday so that's leaves me only a little bit of knitting time since Sunday).

Special message for Lee-Ann: I just learned the news while reading past messages from the montreal yahoo group. I'm keeping you in my thoughts and wishing you the best. I know things will be all right for you. Oh and I refuse to believe you're 38, just like I refuse to believe that any of the girls in anti-wrinkle cream ads is a day over 25.

Markers and ribbons

I finally got around to taking pics of my last Secret Pal gift:


Some yummy Lamb's pride, bamboo circular needles, beautiful stitch markers and equally beautiful earrings. There was also a notebook with cute cats on it but I forgot to add it to the picture :(

A close-up of the stitch markers:



***

Yesterday, I went to my second knitting meetup. And once again, I had lots of fun (I think I talked a little bit more this time). There were six of us, all happily knitting, talking about tattoos, piercings and the habit that old people have of talking about constipation all the time.

I had made a mistake in the fleece artist socks and frogged them. Instead of starting over, I decided to cast-on for the ribbon top from the current issue of Knitty. I am loving this project. It's going on quite fast. I think it'll come with me to Paris.

Progress:



I'm already looking forward to the next meeting!

***

So this blog is taking a two-weeks break! See ya around the 23rd!

I sock a lot

I finished the socks at the beginning of the week but I was too busy to post a pic until now. Here it goes:



Very comfy. They'll keep my feet warm in the plane on Monday.

And I began a new pair, with the Fleece Artist yarn that my Secret Pal sent.

Did I say Secret Pal? No, I mean Amanda, my not-secret-anymore Pal!

I got another great package on Thursday. Not only did I get a card which revealed her identity, I also got a bunch of cool stuff! Unfortunately, the batteries of my camera died so I don't have a pic (maybe tomorrow). I got two skeins (1 red, 1 black) of Lamb's Pride Worsted so I can make the Poster Boy bag from SNB Nation. I also got the necessary needles to make it (bamboo of course, now I'm addicted ;) ). I got a cute notebook with cats on it. AND I got some awesome stitch markers and a pair of earrings that come from Amanda's online store, Homebaked. The earrings match perfectly my favourite ring and necklace. I love everything and I'm pretty sure that I got the best Secret Pal out of all the participants. :p

I have no willpower

I know I said I wouldn't cast-on for the second sock before I had worked on some other WIPs, but... well let's just say I'm only a few inches from decreasing for the toe on sock #2.

But it's not my fault, I swear! My mom kept teasing me for wearing just one sock yesterday. But but mom! The sock WANTED to be worn!

The good thing about that is that I'll have a new pair of socks to bring with me to Paris. YES!

Sock Therapy

This week has been full of ups and downs.

But I've had some good news: I'm being sent to Paris for two weeks to help on a project there. I'm so happy, since travelling is my favourite thing in the world (yes, I do like it more than knitting, but only slightly ;) ). It's silly because I'll be working the whole time I'm there, long hours every day, so I won't even have time to visit anything much. But still. I'll be in Paris!

Now I'm trying to figure out what knitting project to bring. I'll be finished with sock #1 for sure, but my goal was not to start #2 until I have at least one of my other projects done (does a frogged project count? Because I think I'll frog my baby blanket soon). I think I'll bring sock #2 on the trip, but I need something else in case I finish it (hey, I will be there for two weeks). I don't want to bring my current WIPs. So what else? More socks, maybe? A shawl? I'd like to do a shawl. Or maybe a top. I like the ribbon top from the current Knitty. *ponders*

***

In other news, I've been depressed lately (what's new?). Suffering from big self-esteem/body image issues. I'm not gonna go into it here, as I'm trying to keep this mostly knitting-oriented (I use my Livejournal for the annoying whiny posts). But I realized that there is such a thing as knitting therapy. You can't be depressed while you're knitting purple socks. Try it, I dare you.



It works.

(I know there is more blue than purple in the sock, but I tend to notice the purple more than any other colour).

***

Finally, in other news, the fabulous Lee Ann has a brand new blog. It's funny, it's witty, it's perfect... the only thing missing is a link to my blog really ;)

Speaking of links, I need to post my favourites in the menu of my own blog. Someday, I promise. For now, back to the sock therapy.

One round of applause for Montreal knitters

I had a fantastic time at the meetup today. I don't think I had ever been in a room with so many knitters before. Now that I think of it, I don't know any knitters (other than those of you I met today of course) so I never see any unless I'm yarn shopping.

It was just great to meet so many women who are passionate about my favourite hobby. It was fantastic to see other people's work (and to touch their yarn, I really couldn't resist).

I had been in a knitting slump lately and going there made me want to get back into it in full force (hopefully I'll have a whole sock to show at the next meeting).

Things I learned today:

1. Gauge is not pronounced how I thought it was.
2. Knitters make cute kids
3. Jo's husband knows I exist
4. Pink is a great colour for socks
5. I actually enjoy the "who are those freaks?" looks that people give to a group of knitters in a public place

Oh and there was also a discussion on shrugs. I think the consensus is that they are not liked, but I'm still undecided on the subject.

Traditions

Keeping up with the tradition*, here's my mini-review of IK's summer issue.

I thought there were a lot of cute things in this issue, but not that many things I want to make. I'm more of a fall-winter girl when it comes to knitting anyways.

Did you guys see the lace baby gown on page seven? If that thing won third prize, I want to see the second and first place! Wow!

Ok now the patterns:

One-button cardigan: I really like the way it looks on the picture on page 17 (when the model is sitting down). But it's terribly unflattering on the other pics. I definitely don't need a cardigan that will make me look bigger, unfortunately.

Isis wrap: I'm still not sure what I think about wraps, shrugs, boleros and all these things that I can tell apart one from another. Sometimes I think I really need one to go over summer dresses, other times I don't like the way they look. I think the Isis wrap is pretty, but I don't like the way it ties up.

Summer Sundress: I love it. It's very pretty. I wouldn't make it though.

(I'm going to make a little pause here to say how much I dislike the bathing suits on page 27)

Bed and bath duo: I LOVE THIS! I think it's my favourite thing from the magazine!!! But it would take me a lifetime to make, so I'll just look at the pretty picture.

Two-tie striped cardigan: I think I would consider knitting this, but maybe in different colours.

Viennese Shrug: It doesn't do anything for me.

Padded footlet: I prefer real (longer) socks. They're cute though.

Sketchbook cover: Very pretty and original. I don't think I'll be making it but it would be a good way to use leftover yarn I think.

Polka-dot bag There are about one million bags I want to make and I don't like this one enough to add it to the list.

Lacy Kerchief Scarf: Nothing to say about it, really. It's ok I guess.

Triada Scarf: I really disliked it when I first saw it worn as a cowl on the picture, but I love the way it looks as a little caplet thing.

Acorn Camisole: I don't really like it but maybe if I saw it in another colour, I'd change my mind.

Fiery Bolero: I can't decide what I think of it.

Premiere Pullover: I like it, but it really doesn't look summery to me. It's cute though.

Buffalo Girl: I've never seen anyone wearing something like that in the summer. I know it can get cold in the evening, but I don't think I'd wear that.

Lace Lead Pullover: Definitely not a summer item! But I LOVE it!

Fan Clutch and Fun Fur Collar: So not my style

Sleek Ribs Tank: No opinion.

Dylan Goes Electric: I LOVE that sweater! Too bad I don't knit for men.

Shoulder Shrugs: I think I like the one by Mary Jane Mucklestone the best, but I can't say any of them screamed "Make me!" to me.

Go with the flow socks: IK has such lovely sock patterns! I really like them.

Baby Gifts: Cute but I don't knit for babies much.

Do you guys think that the shirt in the Elsebeth Lavold ad (p. 53) looks like a Clapotis shirt? I think it does!

Oh and where's the token IK model? She's not in this issue at all (save for the Crochet issue ad). I like her, I want her back! :p The red-head is absolutely gorgeous too though.

*When does something becomes a tradition? I guess doing something twice doesn't qualify as tradition, right? Oh well, let's say it's a tradition-to-be.

***

So, tomorrow's the Montreal knitting meetup. I'm so excited! I'm super shy in groups and it looks like many people know each other already and are experienced knitters. I hope I can fit it. And I have no idea what WIP to bring. Most of them are too big and I need to carry my gym clothes and stuff for work... hmmm. I'll probably end up bringing a sock that I just started.

I'm really looking forward to it.

Montreal Knits!

Yay, there's now a Montreal Knits community! Thanks to Jo for sharing the link. Of course I had to join right away and then I had a silly thought for a button:



Since the Expos are gone, we might as well use the stadium for something ;)

Oh and if you check out the Montreal blog page, you'll see pics of the inside of my favourite LYS.

***

In other knitting news, I casted on a pair of socks, using the pattern on the fleece artist yarn that my Secret Pal sent. But I didn't use the gorgeous yarn, because I want to practice on another pair first.

I did, however, use the bamboo needles. My Secret Pal warned me that I could develop a bamboo addiction. And I gotta say that I really like to hold them in my hands. Hmmm...

Yummy

I have been on a knitting hiatus lately. It's not that I'm bored with knitting, I think I'm just bored with my current projects.

Clapotis is a lot of fun. But it does get repetitive when you're in section three. It is still my favourite current project though, and I'm hoping I can find better yarn for it for the next time (yes, there will definitely be a next time).

Then, there's Kyoto. The lovely Yarn Harlot put it best in her bookbookbook.
Everyone has one -- a knitting monstrosity.(...) What is a surprise is how long the knitter must have ignored the writing on the wall. To get a finished monstrosity, hours and hours of patient denial must be put in.
See, I know that Kyoto is going to be too big. I've known it for a long time. Did it stop me from going on? Noooo. Why? I don't know. I think the idea of frogging it was disgusting me more than the idea of having a much too big finished object. I'm still hoping it will fit my sister. But it's getting more and more difficult to finish it.

Last, there's a baby blanket that I'm making for my friend. Is there anything more boring to make than a baby blanket? I didn't think so.

Now there are a lot of projects that are appealing right now, but
a)Starting a new project means that it will take me even longer to finish the WIPs above.
b)Many of these future projects ask for yarn that I don't have. I just invested in a kick-ass new gym membership so I'm a bit low on funds. So no new yarn. At least I'll try :p

I do, however, have yarn for a few new projects that are really tempting. But my goal is to finish at least one of the current WIPs before I start a new one. We'll see how it goes.

***

Montrealers: If you're looking for the Yarn Harlot's book, there were 8 copies left when I bought mine at Indigo (on Ste-Catherine W) last Thursday. It's a very fun book, and Stephanie rocks (I'm addicted to her blog) so go get it! Of couse, you can also buy it here.

(And for the record, she didn't pay me to write this ;). We don't know each other.)

***

I kept the best part of this post for the end. I got a gift from my Secret Pal! Now I was looking at the Secret Pal homepage, and there are A LOT of participants. What were the chances of me getting the best Secret Pal ever? But I did! HA! Lucky me!


So what do we have here? Let's see: A cute stuffed lamb, a cool little box of mints, a sheep pin, Clover bamboo DPNs (I've never had bamboo needles before!) and the most gorgeous sock yarn ever (with a sock pattern, woo!).

See what I meant when I said that I had other patterns that were appealing to me? I so want to knit socks right now. But I've only knitted one pair so far (not counting the millions of fuzzy feet I made last Christmas) so I think I'll use the pattern with another skein of (less gorgeous but nice nonetheless) sock yarn first, as practice, and then I'll knit with the new gorgeous yarn and enjoy every second of it. In the meantime, I think I'll spend every second of free time petting it.