Introducing...

On October 14, I welcomed into my life a beautiful and perfect little boy who seemed to like his handknit blanket. Say hello to Laurent! And here's his little face: I loooove him! And now our little family is complete :) I also have knitting news, but I'll save that for the next post ;)

Hellooooo!

So. The last time I blogged, I announced I was pregnant. That was back in March. And here I sit today, on my due date (looks like this little one will be late like his brother was) and I realize that I miss blogging. So here I am. I have no idea if anyone will read this, but it's all right. I blog for myself. I've kept this blog since 2004, that's a long long time, and I want to keep doing it even if I sometimes go through weeks or months of silence. But right now, I want to blog. An odd thing seems to happen to me when I'm pregnant. Both times, I lost my knitting mojo. It happened when I was preggo with Julien and it happened this second time too. You would think I'd want to go crazy knitting baby things, but I don't. I barely touched my needles for months. Then at the beginning of september, I had two weeks of vacation which were followed by the start of my maternity leave and I finally finished some things. Pattern: Teddy Bear Baby Blanket, by Barbara Breite. Yarn: 11 skeins of Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Gulfstream (held doubled) Needles: US 11 - 8 mm circular Pattern: Owlie Hat, by Teresa Cole. Yarn: Cascade 220, colorway 8905 Needles: US 8 - 5 mm circular (magic loop) And that's all I knit for the baby! After that, I decided I wanted to work on my socks in progress, so I finished these: Pattern: Grape Vines, by Robyn Grauer. Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonals in Blue Violet Needles: US 1 - 2.25 mm DPNs I'm currently working on a pair of Cookie A's Vilai that I actually started in February! I don't expect I'll finish them anytime soon considering I'm still on the first sock and baby will have to come out soon, right? Right?

Hello there!

I am very much aware that I haven't posted in over a month.

See, this thing happened: I went back to work. OMG! Juggling family life and work life is not easy, I'm sure you all know that. I'll admit it, going back hasn't been easy.

I've had no time for myself, I've been exhausted, and omg the nausea...

Wait, nausea? That can't be work-related now can it? Nope.






















(Please do not mention this on Facebook!)

That also explains why I'm also crazy exhausted. Oh and sorry about the blurry pic, my camera didn't want to focus at all.

I'm not sure when I'll blog next, I haven't been knitting AT ALL lately (funny thing: I also lost my knitting mojo for months when I got preggo with Julien). So I'll see you all around :)

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm f/1.8
Info: f/4, 1/200, ISO 400

I almost didn't post this week. But then I thought I couldn't give up on my project 52 after only 6 weeks. So a picture of my son it is. He's a cutie :)

I promise some knitting content later this week.

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm f/1.8
Info: f/2, 1/200, ISO 400

I don't like this picture, but it was the only one I had for last week. The whole family has been SICK with gastro last week. Boo. Let's just say that taking pictures was the last thing on my mind.

So I ended up taking this pic of my son's music box. I don't like the black frame behind it, but my Photoshop skills aren't good enough for me to clone it out, so there you go. Hopefully next week's pic will be better.

A good old pair of socks!

My friends, I present to you the first FO of 2012.


Pattern: Norfolk Ramblers, by Emma Grundy Haigh.
Yarn: Les TricotLores Wool Alpaca
Needles: US1 - 2.25 mm DPNs
Notes: The pattern would have worked better in a solid or semi-solid yarn, but it still goes well with the variegated I had (it looks better in person). I'm really trying to use up some of my variegated yarn whenever I can.

I knit these socks as part of the December Sockdown challenge on Ravelry. I had until January 31st to finish them, but sadly, I finished on... February 1st! One day late! I would have finished them on time if the whole family hadn't been sick this past week. Julien had a cold, he got gastro AND has an ear infection. Then I got gastro and of course Chris got it too. Everyone is healthy right now, finally (though Julien is still on antibiotics for his ear).

Anyways, now that the socks are done, I want to A) Finish a bulky yarn earflap hat I started a while ago B) Cast-on for mittens C) Cast-on for new socks (I'm thinking of going back to Sock Innovation for my next ones, we'll see).

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm f/1.8
Info: 1.8 - 1/60 - ISO 1600

I didn't take many pictures last week but I really liked that one, even though I had to bump up the ISO because there were no light in his room.

I'm sorry for the lack of post last week. I had planned on posting a FO, but the O didn't get F after all. I'm planning on finishing it this week for sure, so I should post pics later this week.

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm
2.8, 1/400, ISO 100

I really wanted to try and take a picture of something other than my son. Last week was COLD, but it was also really beautiful. I took this pic right in front of my house.

Stop, stash time!

A friend of mine (non-knitter) recently asked me to post pics of my stash in a Facebook group I'm in. So I did. I always like to do this exercise because it allows me to see just how much I have.

It's really not that bad, compared to many, but it feels like a lot. Probably because it would take me over five years to knit it all...

(The pics are beyond bad, I just quickly took snapshots, in bad light too)

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm 1.8 Info: 1.8, 1/100 ISO 800

I went a little bit Photoshop-happy for this, but hey, I have a picture for the week :)

I promise a post about knitting this week!

TO SANDRA: Thanks for the comment on my last pic! I wanted to reply but I don't have your email. I appreciated the tips :)

Let's talk about books!

And I'm not talking about knitting books!

I got a Kindle for my birthday in December and I'm loving it. I'm also loving the fact that it made me want to start reading a lot again. I've always been a reader, but for the past couple of years, I feel that I haven't been reading as much as I usually do. What can I say, I have too many hobbies and not enough time! Anyways, I'll try to post about books I like once in a while and feel free to share your own recommendations also! I'm always on the lookout for good titles!



I'll admit that one was pre-Kindle. I read The Hunger Games trilogy a couple of months ago and I loved loved loved it! It's the kind of series that has you buy the second book (and the third) the minute you finish the first one. It is «Young Adult», but it still found a way to captivate the «Old Adult» that I am.

«It is written in first person and introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where the countries of North America once existed. This is where the government, working in a central city called the Capitol, holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual event where one boy and one girl aged 12 to 18 from each of the 12 districts surrounding the Capitol are selected to compete in a televised battle in which only one person can survive.» (Wikipedia, because I'm lazy)

And there will be a movie soon and it looks fabulous!



******

Ok, second book I've read recently: The Help.

I'm a bit late to the party with that one since the movie is already out of DVD, hehehe. But I had heard good things about it so I wanted to read it before seeing the film (which I still haven't seen).

The story of the book is set in the 60s, in the state of Mississippi, and is told from the point of view of three different women. Two of them are African-American maids and the third one is the daughter of a rich white family.

I really liked the book but I will admit that I had a hard time getting used to Aibileen (one of the maid)'s style at first. It's written in a spoken-style and English isn't my first language so it wasn't easy to read at first, but I got used to it and she was my favourite character.

I'm currently reading the Yarn Harlot's latest book (as well as a book that I hope will help me figure out a way to get my boy to sleep through the night again). But I'm looking for a novel or a good series to read next. I'm open to suggestions... :)

Photo of the week

Lens: 50 mm 1.8 Info: 1.8, 1/125 ISO 200

Ok so I'm very interested in learning about photography. I read about it. I took an intro class. I got a new lens for Christmas that I love (the 50 mm f/1.8 used above) and a cute little subject I can take tons of pictures of.

But the truth is: I suck. Haha. I can take a good snapshot here and there but I feel I don't have "the eye", when it comes to photography. I'm not an artist and you know what? That's ok. And that doesn't mean I can't get better. But to get better, I need to practice.

I've been toying with the idea of trying Project 366 this year, but to be honest, I can't see myself keeping up with it the whole year. But then I heard of Project 52. One picture a week for 52 weeks. Or 51 in my case since I'm one week late to the party. THAT I think I can do.

So there you go, my only goal for this project is to post one picture a week. I can't promise you'll see good ones, but I'm hoping I can see at least a little bit of progress between now and December. I can, however, promise that 90% of my pics are going to be of my son. But he's cute so that's ok :)

A post with yarn is always a good one

Ok so I mentionned in my last post that I wanted to knit from stash for most of the year. That means no yarn porn for a while... after today! Because I did get some new yarn this past month, I just haven't posted about it until now.

First, instead of buying anything at Knit Picks' Cyber Monday sale (where nothing I wanted was even on sale), I treated myself to two skeins of Wollmeise sock yarn. I had been wanting to try it for a while, but as you all know, they're not easy to get. Someone on Ravelry posted that there was still some two-skeins grab bags available and I thought "Why not?" I had no idea which colours I would get, but I knew I would have no problem selling them if I didn't like them so I wasn't too worried.

But it turns out, I LOVE them both. The first one wasn't easy to photograph:



It's a very dark green and it's absolutely beautiful. I'm not sure yet which pattern I could use to show it off, because dark yarns like that tend to hide patterns a bit. I'm keeping my eyes open for the perfect combination.



The second skein is soooooooooo pretty, I like it even more than the first one. I think I'll have an easier time finding a pattern for it.

The following yarns I received from my mom at Christmas. She made a big Knit Picks order in November and gave me some for my birthday (I already posted pics of them) and the rest on Christmas Day. I'm very happy I got some bulky because it's something I rarely buy and lately I've been dreaming of big hats and scarves.



I got three skeins of Biggo (Knit Picks' new bulky line) in Haze Heather. It's very very soft. I'm currently knitting a hat with it (so you should see a FO soon) and I like it a lot. I can see myself ordering more of this (you know, when I'm allowed to buy yarn again).



Wool of the Andes Bulky in Cadet. I have a cowl in mind for it, but I'm not 100 % sure yet.



Aaaaah, my beloved Stroll Tonal, and in Blue Violet, the one colour I was hoping would be on sale on CyberMonday. It's beautiful of course and it goes in my Tonal Collection (I'm obsessed I'm telling you). I think my biggest challenge this year will be resisting the new colours of Tonal when they get released, as well as some of the backordered colours I've been coveting. Oh well. I CAN live without them.

How about some resolutions?

January = resolution time!

I know a lot of people who hate resolutions, mainly because they never keep them. But I like them... even though I fail 99 % of the time. I think I have vowed to lose weight for the past 15 years or so and it never happened. But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying. My mother in law was a smoker for over 40 years. She tried stopping countless times and it never worked. But last October, she celebrated her first anniversary as a non-smoker. And that proves that just because you've failed again and again and again, it doesn't mean you won't succeed one day.

I like resolutions because I like having goals. So I set myself goals, in January of course, but also throughout the year.

I still have my goal of losing weight. I have a lot to lose, since I haven't lost all that much of the baby weight and I was already overweight to begin with. My mom is getting married in June and I'll be the Maid of Honor. I want to lose 30-40 pounds before that, which is a lot but I think it's doable.

I also have knitting resolutions. Or I should say shopping resolutions. I have too much yarn for the little space that I have. And because of that, everytime I do buy yarn I feel super guilty even if it's yarn I'm going to use right away. So I need to knit from stash as much as possible. My goal is to do just that at least until Fall.

I especially want to knit my sock yarn because I have A LOT. And I just so happen to need socks right now so it all works out. I'm shooting for six pairs this year, we'll see how that goes. I already have two on the needles:


Norfolk Ramblers



That second pair is a pair of plain vanilla socks. I was happy to see that I can still knit socks without a pattern, I hadn't made a plain pair in a long time.

Another resolution: to use my sock books! I want to keep knitting socks from Sock Innovation, as well as my many other sock books.

Finally, I also vow to blog more this year. I miss my blog and I miss reading comments. Hardly anyone reads this blog anymore and I understand why. My goal is at least two posts a week, so expect a new one soon! And I can already say that there will be yarn porn (because I did get new yarn before the start of the yarn diet).

2011 in knits

Another year is about to end and it's time for my annual review of the year.

In 2011, I finished 15 projects, most of them in the first couple of months (read: before baby!). Much to my surprise, I only made three pairs of socks! I plan on making more in 2012, as many of my socks currently have holes in them. I need new ones!

My favourite FO of the year include:


Julien's stocking


The Wayna Picchu Hat


My Eunice socks


My Icarus shawl

Of course, there's no nicer FO than this little boy right here:



I can't believe he's almost 10 months old! He's a beautiful and happy little boy and he makes my life better in every way imaginable. I looooooove him!

Bookpost

So I mentionned in my last post that I had some new books to talk about, well here they are.

On top of the great Knit Picks yarn that my mom got me for my birthday, she also got me Cookie A's Knit.Sock.Love book! I've been coveting it for a while so I couldn't be happier. I'm trying not to buy books anymore because I have tons of them and I've made it my personal mission to knit from them as much as possible. I'm currently trying to knit my way through Sock Innovation (though both of my current socks aren't from that book, but I'll get back to it as soon as they're done).

Anyways, I think I want to knit every sock in Knit.Sock.Love except for the German Stockings because I down do knee socks.

A friend of mine also gave me two great books. One is Classic Elite Quick Knits. It has lots of socks and hats and mittens (and other things), including some patterns by Jared Flood.

The other book is Socktopus, by Alice Yu. It has 17 patterns, including some that will work well with variegated yarn. I seriously like them all.

So yeah, I could knit only from those three books for the next decade and be happy. :)

Sorry about the lack of pics in this post, but I promise some great yarn porn in the next!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

I must be the worst blogger ever! I completely skipped November and haven't posted a thing since mid-October! In my defense, Autumn has been crazy here. My son's been sick on and off with colds and various viruses for the past few months and he completely stopped sleeping through the night. His sleeping habits have gotten worse and worse and let's just say this mommy is exhausted. Things have been rough. But I can't be mad at this face, can I?



In other news, I finished something. I wanted to make a very special stocking for Julien's first Christmas.



Pattern: A New Baby's Christmas Stocking, by Dorene Delaney Giordano
Yarn: Knit Picks Telemark in Drift and Bayberry
Needles: US 2½ - 3.0 mm circulars (magic loop)
Notes: I love the FO but I really hate knitting toe-ups. I have to get used to it though as I plan to knit two more (one for Chris and one for me) in the future (not for this Christmas though).

In other news, I have to go on a yarn diet. My stash doesn't make me happy anymore. I have enough yarn to last me for years and years and everytime I buy more I feel I should really knit what I have first. I have lots of beautiful yarn and I hate that I'm not using it because I keep buying more. I got two birthday skeins coming in the mail but I'm hoping to stop buying at least until next Fall. We'll see.

That being said, even if I'm not buying, I can't help it if people buy me things. My mom got me a nice little Knit Picks package for my birthday.



She got me a skein of Stroll Handpainted in Watermelon:



Two skeins of Felici in Firefighter:



And four skeins of City Tweed DK in Rhubarb:



I had never tried City Tweed and I couldn't believe how soft it is. I always expect tweedy yarns to be a bit rough for some reason, but this is like butter. I really like it.

I also got two circular needles (sizes 0 and 1) and a book, but I'll talk about it more in a future post. Gotta go now!

Yarnlust

If you are going to Rhinebeck this weekend, I AM JEALOUS OF YOU! I've never been and it had never bothered me before, but this year, maybe because I've been spending a lot of time at home, I am itching to go! A road trip sounds so good right now, especially a road trip that involves yarn! Note to my friends: if anyone plans on going again next year and if you have an extra space in your car, think of me! I can't help with the driving, but I can help with the gas paying, that's something!

But this year, I shall be living vicariously through all of you and I can't wait to read your blogs to see what you all got. In the meantime, I am window shopping on various online yarn sites. I'm currently lusting after a skein of Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in Strawberry Lemonade. Doesn't it look yummy? But I'm trying to be a good girl and not order. According to Ravelry, I currently have enough sock yarn to make at least 25 pairs. Most knitters would say it's not that much, but it feels like a lot to me. At my current rate of about 5 pairs a year, it would take me... let me count... five years to knit it all! It's crazy when you think about it. So right now, I need to knit more and buy less. At least until Knit Picks' CyberMonday sale (if they have one again this year). I can't promise anything if the Stroll Tonals go on sale.

Speaking of socks and of Stroll Tonal... I finished a pair!


Pattern: Sunshine, by Cookie A
Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal in Springtime (LOVE!!!)
Needles: 2.75 mm for the leg, 2.25 for the foot
Notes: I must have been drunk when I started the toe decreases on these because I made the foot a bit too short. I can still make them fit, but not as well as my other socks. Oh well.



One of the October Sockdown challenges is the knit a holiday stocking and since I wanted to make one for Julien, I didn't hesitate to participate. I'm making A NEW baby's Christmas Stocking in Knit Picks Telemark. I hadn't realized the pattern was toe-up when I bought it, but I've been able to figure it all out so far. Here's what it looks like now:

Let's change the clocks

We need a change. We need to change the clocks so that it has 34 hours insteahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifd of just 24.

I need more time to do everything I want!

Most of my days consist of taking care of a six month old and trying to keep an appearance of cleansiness in my house.

I recently started working out again. From home, because I don't have time for the gym. I'm currently doing the one hundred pushups challenge (doing them the sissy way because I can't do real pushups just yet) and I also bought Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred DVD. It is kicking.my.butt. I never really liked workout DVDs before because I found they were always too easy, but that one isn't, noooooooooo sir.

Julien and I started our mommy and baby swimming classes. We both love it. I'm already looking forward to next Monday to go again.

The same day of the swimming class, I have a photography class. I like it but we have a lot of assignements. It's going to be worth it though, because I really want to know how to use the manual mode of my camera.

Oh yeah, and there's knitting. I manage to find a bit of time for it, but there are too many things I want to make (and too much yarn I want to buy) and not enough time to do it all. I have 3-4 projects going right now and I'm already dreaming of the next 2-3 I want to cast on for. I have a problem.



And I just received the yarn to make these (picture from Ravelry). *sigh* I may have time to make them sometime in 2014...

My Precious!

I received Knit Picks order #1!!!



Yum yum yum! I love everything I got. If you want the details, I got some Stroll Tonal in Summer Blooms, Blue Yonder, Queen Anne and Foliage, a skein of Stroll Hand Painted in Juice Box, two skeins of Stroll in Majestic (a discontinued colour) and one in Wonderland Heather (I wanted two, I made a mistake when I ordered!), three skeins each of Telemark in Bayberry and Drift.

I also got some size 7 16" fixed circulars, size 1 32" fixed circulars (for magic loop for socks!) and some size 7 tips for my interchangeable set.

I had never ordered the Telemark before and I gotta say, the yarn is rough! Definitely not something I'd wear next to the skin, but I want to use it for a Christmas stocking for Julien so it's perfect.

Here are some close-up of my favourites:


Stroll Tonal Blue Yonder


Stroll Tonal Summer Blooms


Stroll Tonal Queen Anne


Stroll Tonal Foliage


Stroll Hand Painted in Juice Box