Knitting? What's that?

So you probably noticed I haven't been talking about knitting much these past few weeks. I seem to have lost my knitting mojo again. It has nothing to do with my current projects, since I don't even want to start anything new. I do want to place a huge order on Knitpicks though (but I won't).

This past week has been pretty stressful at work. Our weekend news editor is on vacation and I'm filling in for him. Responsibilities = stress. And this past weekend, with all the swine flu crazyness, work was quite stressful (but I think I did ok).

I'm not working today but I have so much to do, I don't have much time to rest. Definite DORMA*. This morning I went grocery shopping and did laundry (I still have a mountain of clothes to fold and put away), then I had lunch. Next on the schedule : the rest of the laundry, gym and cooking. I want to make chicken and broccoli divan, vegetarian chili, pasta salad and carrot and raisins muffins. I need to have meals ready because my work week (starting tomorrow) will probably be crazy again.

My gym is currently having a little friendly competition. Each trainer has a team and each participant log their cardio minutes for ten days. There are going to be prizes at the end of the 10 days. I went yesterday and I want to go again today. I'm trying to go as often as I can during the week since I most likely won't be able to during the weekend.

I'm closing this post with a pic of my Phlox socks:



(They will look much butter when they're blocked). My goal is to get to the heel by the end of the week. Let's see if I can do it!


*Day of rest, my arse (thanks to Tara for the lovely expression).

I didn't want to cry so I chose to laugh

Believe it or not, I missed the Habs game tonight. I can't believe I missed a playoff game! I barely ever miss games during the regular season, and I usually never ever miss a playoff game.

But I couldn't deal with another loss. And as much as I wanted the Habs to win (especially since Robyn was at the Bell Centre to cheer them on), I knew there was a good chance that they'd lose. And they did. We are now 0-3 in the series. I know nothing's impossible, but I don't have much hope.

So what did I do instead of watching an ex-Habs (stupid Ryder) score the winning goal for Boston? I went to a National Improv League game! It felt just like hockey, but it made me laugh instead of making me cry.

We had the national anthem.



We had music.



We had referees.





We had two teams.



We had a good show.



We voted.



The Orange team won.



Go Orange Go!

This post has no knitting content

I am completely addicted to the Genius feature on iTunes. I.Love.It. I have a lot of music on my computer but I'm often listening to the same songs over and over again. Lately I've been choosing my favourite songs on iTunes and generating playlists with Genius and I absolutely love the results. The one I'm listening to right now is based on Sometime Around Midnight from The Airborne Toxic Event (I love the song) and here's what Genius gave me:

1. Sometime Around Midnight (The Airborne Toxic Event)
2. Troublemaker (Weezer)
3. Oxford Comma (Vampire Weekend)
4. Ulysses (Franz Ferdinand)
5. Rebellion (Lies) (The Arcade Fire)
6. Gamma Ray (Beck)
7. I Still Remember (Bloc Party)
8. The Heinrich Maneuver (Interpol)
9. Middle of Nowhere (Hot Hot Heat)
10. Hammerhead (The Offspring)
11. Flathead (The Fratellis)
12. Last Nite (The Strokes)
13. All the Same (Sick Puppies)
14. Lost Cause (Beck)
15. Time is Running Out (Muse)

Ok the list actually has 50 songs in it so I'll stop here but you get the idea. I just wish I could get the feature on my iPod (I have an iPod classic, 5th generation and it doesn't support Genius, unfortunately). But I can save the playlists and drag them into my iPod so all is good.

What are you guys listening to these days?

It's going to be that kind of day...

Anybody watches 24? (no spoilers ahead)

I just wanted to say how disappointed I was at the twist at the end of the last episode! I don't want to say too much, in case some of you haven't seen it yet, but let's just say I'm mad at my favourite character. If you've seen it, you know what I mean ;)

And yes, I am perfectly capable of being mad at a fictional character. That's just the way I am, I get into the stories too much and I come to care too much about people that don't even exist! ;)

That being said, I'm having a bad case of the Tuesdays (which is just like Monday, except, you know, one day late).

It all started yesterday, actually, when I went to the gym. I don't bring my purse with me to the gym, I just shove my keys and wallet in my gym bag. Forward to today, I need to go grocery shopping even though I really don't feel like it. I shop through the whole store and just as I was about to go to the cash, I realized, you guessed it, that I didn't have my wallet with me! It was still in my gym bag. *sigh*

Chris was at work so I couldn't call him to come and bring me my wallet. So I had to ask an employee if I could leave my cart somewhere, run back home and come back to pay. Joy.

Ps/ I finished one Phlox sock! Yay!

Food and planes

Last week, the weather was very blah. Rainy and cold and all. So it made me want to eat soup.

I had seen a yummy looking lentil soup recipe on a blog, and I decided to try it. OMG. Delicious. I loved it so much I ate it for lunch and brought the leftovers at work that same night. I definitely recommend it and it's so easy to make too. You can find it here.

Also, I have news:



I'm going to New York, baby! I've actually never been before, can you believe it? I've almost been a couple of times, but something always came up. This year, it looks like it's going to happen.

We're going in May and we'll only be there for five days. We found a place to stay that looks nice (and it's close to Times Square). I seriously can't wait.

Oh and we have tickets to a taping of the Daily Show!!! Seeing as I'd like to have Jon Stewart's babies, you can guess I'm excited! Of course, having tickets doesn't mean you'll actually get in, but we'll get there early and hope for the best.

Since we won't have that much time, I'm not planning on going yarn shopping, but if there happens to be a yarn store close to where we're at, I'll make sure to go in. So if any of you can recommend good LYS in NYC, let me know!

I feel meh

I had today off and expected a great day but it didn't up being yucky. And it rained all day so I stayed home and knit (that wasn't so bad, I'll admit it).

Last week I cast on for a new pair of socks:



Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good pic and of course the sock hasn't been blocked yet so it doesn't look as good as it will when it's finished. The yarn really is beautiful though, isn't it?

The pattern is Phlox by the lovely Jennifer. The yarn is from Biscotte & Cie. I got the yarn and pattern from Robyn's nest (it was one of the sock club kits).

I can't wait till I finish them so I can show them off. I'm thinking they may become a gift for my sister.

Waves of blue (and white!)

I finished the baby blanket on Saturday morning, just in time for my friend's baby shower!



Pattern: Waves of Blue by Bev Galeskas
Yarn: Bernat Softee
Needles: US 7/ 4.5 mm

The pattern was very simple and easy to memorize. I absolutely love the end result and my friend was very happy and touched that I would take the time to make something for her. The yarn, well it's acrylic that I got last Christmas. It really wasn't bad though. It's very soft and easy to work with.

Next on the needles: Socks, maybe? I also want to finish a project or two.

Glorious markers

I've always thought I had enough stitch markers. I only ever use a few at a times anyways, so I don't need millions of them, right?

That's what I thought until I realized I just couldn't live without Brigitte's Go Habs Go stitch markers.



Seriously, how cool are they? The Go Habs Go beads even look like little puck! She sells sets of 5 stitch markers and the 5th one is custom made to honour your favourite player (TP14, guess what it means?). I love them!

BTW, Brigitte's Etsy shop is named Les TricotLores (brilliant!) and she sells Habs inspired yarn. Profit from the yarn go to the Montreal Canadiens Children's Foundation. It can't get any better than that.

Blankie in progress

I've been meaning to post these past couple of days but I've been so sick! Both Chris and I were hit with a bad bad bad cold (the worst I've had in years). Usually, one of us gets sick first and the other one gets sick right after, but this time, we both got sick at the same time and it was just bad. I'm feeling a little bit better today, but the past three days have been hell. I would just cough and cough and cough and medication didn't help much. And I think we went through 5 boxes of tissues. It was ugly.

Unfortunately, that means I wasn't able to work on my friend's baby blanket much. This is what it looks like now:





I want to have it done by March 28. I'll have to knit a lot in the next week...

A year ago...

A year ago, I took this yarn:



And I cast on for a pair of socks. I knit and knit and knit and progressed:



And then I got one sock. And then I decided I didn't want to knit the second sock. So I didn't.

A year later, I decided I did want a pair of green cabled socks after all so I picked the project back up and I knit and I knit until I got... A finished pair!


Picture 1: Good colour


Picture 2: Blurry, but more detailed

Pattern: Cable Net socks by Ariel Barton (from Knitty, Fall 2006.
Yarn: Reynolds Soft Sea Wool in Olive
Needles:2.25 mm dpns
Modifications: I did 3 repeats of the leg pattern (instead of 4) because I was scared to run out of yarn. I think it's a good thing I did because I didn't have much leftover.

I love the socks and I love the yarn, but I don't know how much I'll like non-superwash socks. We'll see.

I wanted to cast on for my Go Habs Go socks as soon as I finished the Cable Nets, but then I realized that I do want to knit something for my friend's baby shower (March 28th) so I cast on for a baby blanket (Waves of Blue blanket). Being a slow knitter, I doubt I'll finish it before the shower, but I'm going to try. She's due in June, so I have extra time if I can't finish it by the end of March.

Have you guys seen the new Knitty? There are some cute things in there, but nothing that makes me want to cast on ASAP. I really like Decimal and Cachoeira.

Nothing to see here!

Oh blog, dear blog. I wish I had more interesting things to write about. Some knitting pics to share. Yarn porn*. But I have nothing.

I'm still working on that UFO I don't want to talk about until it's done. The good news is that I should finish it in the next couple of days. Yay!

I think I'm getting startitis. I haven't suffered from it in a while, but I've been having a few symptoms these past few days. The main one is that I keep looking at my Ravelry queue. And since I have no pics to share, I'm going to share the patterns I'm liking right now.

Froot Loop socks
Arbor
Central Park Hoodie (Classic. I really want to make it.)
Shifting sands scarf
Jeanie wrap
Après-surf hoodie
Nalu mitts

I've also been thinking about going yarn shopping. Thinking about it. But I'm trying to be good and knit from my stash for a while, at least for small projects, which is all I've been doing for the past year or so. Still, I see yarn shopping in my future.




*Everytime I use the word porn on my blog, I assume I'll get more hits. I'm looking forward to seeing how many people are going to find this blog and be so disappointed to see there are no naked chicks on here. Oh my, and now I just wrote "naked chicks".

Twist and Shout

I've been MIA again, sorry! I thought I had posted last week, but apparently not. I have to admit I don't have any pretty pictures to post. No FOs, no interesting WIPs that I want to share, no new yummy yarn.

I haven't started anything new since I finished my Bella Mittens. Instead, I picked up an old UFO that I plan on finishing. I'll wait till I'm closer to finishing before posting pics though, as I'm scared I'll get tired of it again and set it aside.

I do plan on casting on soon though. First of all, the fantastic ladies from the Go Habs Go Ravelry group are planning a "Sock-u Koivu KAL" (get it? Haha!). I'm going to use my Go Habs Go yarn of course and knit Chris a pair of socks.

I'm also tempted by all the cute Spring-y patterns that are coming out. Have you guys seen the new Twist Collective? I adore the Ardent Jacket and I would make it if I thought I could make one that looks as good. Of course, it would help if *I* looked as good as the model (who is, I believe, the girl who thought me how to spin last year).

I also really like Dulce de Leche, the sleepy monkey baby blanket (though I doubt I'll ever make it), jennie's toys, cherry fizz, Collette, Primrose path and all the socks.

Of course I also got the new Interweave Knits, and I love the Float Stole, Fountain Pen Shawl, Silk Cocoon Cardigan and Soap Bubble Wrap.

We'll see if I ever manage to start (and finish) one of them!

Every single day of forever

Pattern:Bella's mittens, by Marielle Henault
Yarn: Knitpicks Cadena in Mist
Needles: US7/4.5 mm DPNs

I absolutely LOVE these mittens. They are perfect and they were a quick knit (I would have finished them last week if it hadn't been for my injury). They are also the perfect colour to go with my woven cables scarf...


... except that I lost my scarf the same day I finished the mittens. *sigh* I guess I really can't go through a winter without losing some knitwear. And now I need a new scarf.

In other news, my neck/shoulder still hurts and I'm still not sure what's wrong. It got really bad at one point and I just couldn't sleep. I went to an osteopath and it's gotten better every day since. Hopefully it'll be back to normal soon. I want to try and go back to the gym this week (my trainer has designed a program that won't hurt my neck).

Mitts in progress

I gotta say, those Bella mittens are a quick knit:



No, I'm not done yet, but I haven't knit at all these past few days. Imagine being in a doctor's waiting room for 3 hours but not being able to knit because you're in pain. That was yesterday morning. I'm still not sure what's wrong with me. The doctor called whiplash, but I thought that was something you had after a car accident. Apparently not. Anyways, I got me some anti-inflammatory drugs (and no cervical collar, thank God). Hopefully I'll get back to knitting soon.

Green socks!

Look at my beautiful new socks! I love them!



Pattern: Paddy's Lucky Clover Socks by Angela Dominey
Yarn: Shelby B's Designs 100% Superwash Merino in Lucky Clover
Needles: 2.25 mm dpns

The yarn and pattern were from last year's March sock club from Robyn's nest. The pattern was fun and easy to memorize and the yarn is just fabulous. Very soft. I'm wearing the socks right now and I just love them.

I'm trying not to knit too much right now because there's something wrong with my left shoulder/neck. It's been hurting for days now and it's getting worse each day. I don't think it's knitting-related, but still. I'll go to the doctor sometime this week (probably Tuesday). Last time something like that happened (last year or so), I has to take pain relievers and muscle relaxers, but I was better after a few days.

To Angela: You asked me if it's easier to learn to knit with smaller or bigger needles. I think every knitter has its preference (I like to knit socks, so I like small needles) and I think you can learn using any needles BUT my preference for a beginner would be size 4mm to 5 mm needles (US 6 to 8). Bigger needles are cool cause you can use them with bulky yarn and it goes quick, but I find them harder to manipulate. Of course, you also need to choose yarn that will go with the needles (using bulky yarn with 2mm needles wouldn't be a good idea). But for the yarn I sent you, 4-5mm would work great.

Tara (and anyone else who loves Twilight), go and read this (PDF file), it's hilarious! My favourite part is "Rosalie Hale is making dinner…I know, right??"

Another funny. (Not Twilight related)

Yay, package!

Receiving a package is always fun, and I got a brand new one from Knitpicks today. Remember my winter blues shopping? You will see that I have been very reasonnable. This is what I ordered:



I got new size 7 (4.5mm) tips for my Options set. All my other tips are metal, but I thought I'd try the wood to see if I like it. The colour is funny, but I like them. I also got some wood DPNs (2.25 mm, which is the size I use most of the time for socks).

I also got volume 2 (cables) of Vogue' stitchionary. Just because. (I already had volume 1 btw).

Last, I got two skeins of Cadena, in Mist. I want to use it to make Bella's mittens, from the Twilight movie! Because, yes, I too have fallen in love with that story. The books are like crack and I just couldn't stop reading them. I finished the last one, Breaking Dawn, last night and I'm now kind of sad that I don't have any more to read now. But I do love the mittens and I will make them. I will most likely only need one skein, but I didn't want to run out so I ordered two.

That's all for today. Expect a FO post soon (I'm almost done with the socks). Toodles!

Goal #3! Hat trick completed!

We have a hat trick, ladies and gentlemen! Three hats finished in January and I'd still have time for a fourth one (I think I'll stop at three though).



Pattern: Short-Row Hat by Veronik Avery.
Yarn: AmiAmi Faith
Needles: 4mm, US6

I love the hat. Love. But I'm a bit sad because I've used my last skein of AmiAmi Faith. I love that yarn and it's not available anymore (as far as I know, someone correct me if I'm wrong). I'm telling you, if anyone has some skeins of this in their stash, I would be ready to buy or trade for it. I love it that much. This is my fourth Short-Row Hat and they always look gorgeous.

I think I'm suffering from the winter blues again. It happens every winter, but it usually starts at the end of February/beginning of March. It sucks, but I'll manage.

To make me feel better, I decided to shop (of course). I hadn't ordered from Knitpick in a while (I try to buy locally when I can), but I needed some new size 7 tips for my Options set. While I was there, I got new DPNs, a book and a bit of yarn. It should be here any day now. More details (and pics) when I get it!

Two goals for me, two goals for him

Pattern: Zig Zag Beanie, by Dawn Leeseman (IK, Fall 2008)
Yarn: Some acrylic leftover... Bernat satin I think.
Needles: US 8/5 mm and US 9/5.5 mm circulars, US 9/5.5 mm DPNs
Modifications: I cast on for 90 sts instead of 80 because 80 looked too small and I didn't want to change needle size. I followed the rest of the instructions as is and improvised a bit for the decrease.

So this was HAT #2 for the Hat trick knitalong. Only one left! I'm wearing my Habs jersey on the pic because we had tickets to see the Habs play against the Capitals at the Bell Centre tonight. Once again, I was lucky to see a fantastic game. We won 5-4, the game was very exciting (Sergei Kostitsyn scored the winning goal 20 seconds before the end of the game!) and my man, Tomas Plekanec, scored 2 goals and was named first star of the game!



Now I need to choose a new pattern for hat #3!

She shoots, she scores!

I scored the first goal of my hat trick this afternoon, while watching the Habs play against the Panthers (we're ahead 5-3 right now). I would have finished it last night during the Canada-Russia game (what a game too!), but I didn't have the right DPNs.



Pattern: Madge by Jillian Moreno
Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Desert, colour 2027
Needles: US9/5.5 mm circulars and DPNs
Modifications: The hat would have been way way way too short if I had knit it as is. After I finished the 19 rows of the pattern, I knit rows 1-10 again before starting the decreases.

Now I need to decide what my goal #2 will be. Stay tuned!

Hat trick!

Is there anything more fun than starting the new year with a challenge? I'm not taking any resolution this year, but I am participating in the HAT TRICK challenge with members of the Puck this! group on Ravelry.

The goal is to do a hat trick, i.e. to knit three hats, during the month of January. Details here. I was already planning on knitting hats to destash this winter so this is the perfect challenge for me.

I started tonight by casting on for Madge (too bad the Habs lost while I was knitting) and I'm confident I'll finish it during the next couple of days. It's a pretty quick knit. Pictures coming up soon!