Socks, Gourd, Yarn and Buttons

Finished the Broadripple socks last night and we shot them in the early morning sun.

Everybody loves a decorative gourd!

My latest stash enhancement - 500 grams of yummy purple laceweight alpaca from Peru4less.

The daughter's pinback collection. My favourites are Blythe, the sushi, and, of course, Knitty.

Alice wanted in on the yarn love. Look how healthy she's become!

Everything Old Being New and All That...

Paton's FASHION KNITS 1975

VOGUE KNITTING Holiday 2006

True To My Word

Yes, I did manage to finish something from the pile. What I did not manage was to take a decent photo of said something. The late evening sun casts loong shadows and sucks away the lavender colour. Ah well.
Behold the daughter sweater vest. It was originally the daughter sweater, but one happy day while I was holding a piece up to her for fitting, she says,
"I like it like this. Can you make it without sleeves?"
To which I replied,
"Yippee! That's less 2 x 2 ribbing for me."

Tangled Mess

Frustrated with my jumbled WIPs, I dumped them onto the floor for a photo shoot. Here we have 98% of daughter sweater vest. one and three quarters Regia Broadripple socks an all the bag pieces. It's been catch as catch can subway knitting for the last ten days. Small bits that require little elbow room have been the only possibility. Details like grafting and finishing have been on hold. This recent long haul of work has me too exhausted to knit tonight.

I have a glorious day off tomorrow! I intend to finish one item, probably the sweater. I'll likely block the purse pieces as well. I shall play the stereo very loud while doing this. Let's see...The Band for sure and also Blondie's Parallel Lines will be on the turntable. Wanna come over and dance?

Clarification

To clear up a bit of confusion - the photo in my previous post is linked from the Knitty pattern site. I did not make that bag and don't wish to appear to take credit. The bag I'm working on will be green and pink. I've not taken any photos yet.
I'd hate to be sued by a designer!

Three Words

Cute, cute, and cute. How cute is this? I felt like a quick knit after two sweaters dominating so much of my energy. This is Twiggy Tweed from the current issue of Knitty. I cast mine on last Thursday and so far the back, front, and one insert panel are complete. I'd predict a super soon finish date except that the lining instructions include a dirty word (sewing...shh).

I've been using some Briggs and Little Heritage from my stash and am really enjoying it. What a tactile experience. Here is a truly wooly wool - perfect for a bag. It's thick and slightly rough. Rather than the soft, airy yarns about which one usually waxes poetic, this stuff feels somehow reliable and warm, rural even. And the scent! Wooly coats in Canadian winter.

What fun to use a traditional, seemingly old fashioned product to make this funky little bag. If it goes well, I may make a couple as Christmas gifts for the nieces. Pictures soon.

A Toast

From Maria, last night at the monthly Dick night.

"I'd like to propose a toast to the drunken knitters! Because we knit! And we drink!"

Right on.

Warning! Sappy personal stuff...

I realized earlier this evening that I had missed my blogiversary by about a month. What a shame not to have marked it. I've just spent the last while going over my archives and can't help reflecting on how far I've come in the past year.

I try to keep my blog mostly about knitting, with a bit of gardening and cats thrown in. It's not often extremely personal and that has been a conscious choice. It's just who I am. Then, going over my old entries made me feel that, tonight anyway, I should get a wee bit personal.

This has been a tumultuous year for me. There has been a lot of struggle, change and some sadness. Call it cracking up, breaking down, just growing or whatever. Not to sound overly dramatic, but there have been times when sitting and rocking with the needles in my hands, chanting the pattern...k2, yo, k3, ssk.. over and over, has felt like all that could calm me. Then it was "Hey, I got a blog", followed by "I have a secret pal!". And then, I met you guys. I remember how nervous I was to go to the first couple of events...the fancy dress evening and the Knitting Olympics opening ceremonies. Yet, without fail, every knitter I've met this past year has been warm and gracious and fascinating. It's hard to remember a time when I didn't know Jen, Michelle, Kelly, Stephanie, Sophia, Sandi, Aleta, Drea, Kelly, Denny, Meagan, Jackie, Sharon, Krista, Erin, Laura. . . and on. I can't tell you how I look forward to our gatherings and how much they mean to me. Then of course there's Amy Singer, whose creation Knitty has been a little sun around which so many knitters orbit. Her passion and grace have been a teeny bit of an inspiration to me - and she's funny too!

Ok, some may think craft is a hobby, but really, it's a community, one for which I am ever grateful. A return to the usual knitting stuff tomorrow.

The above photo is my desktop wallpaper. It's Anna Akhmatova (1889-1966), one of my favourite poets. Read Requiem and March Elegy.

Feline Update

We appear to have become a three cat family. The boys, Francois and Malcolm are just coming around and are now speaking to us again. The wee girl is looking healthier everyday and is exploring the house tentatively. She no longer hisses at the other cats, though she does give Francois, who is three times her size, a wide berth. Francois is appreciative of such deference.
The daughter has named the girl Alice.

Malcolm's health seems to be improving as well. When he was at his worst, there were swollen glands around his hip area - an indication of whatever weird infection he was fighting. The swelling is now gone and his fur looks much shinier. The hypo allergenic diet seems to have calmed his digestive difficulties. In the morning, when no one else is looking, he also gets a bit of the high calorie yummy stuff mixed in. I believe he's gaining weight! Thank goodness. I love the goofy little guy to distraction and was ever so worried about him.

The Miracle of Blocking Strikes Again

Her it is at last: the floppy brown sweater. While I'm not in love with it, I do like it. The blocking helped immensely. I was going for the comfy, lived-in look and I did achieve that. The element of which I am the most proud is the neckline. The pattern called for a cowl but I substituted a 2x2 ribbed collar It looks smashing. Another modification is the plain sleeves. The scallop pattern was supposed to be carried throughout, but there is such a thing as too much pattern.

Pattern: Relief Pattern Sweater from September 2005 Sandra Knitting
Yarn: Recycled 100% cotton from a thrift store man's sweater
Needles: 5mm straights for body and 4.5mm circulars for neck

Found Kitty Update:
No calls yet. In the middle of the night she was crying loudly from her bathroom "hotel room". I opened the door to check on her and she headed straight for the daughter's room. Jumped up onto the bed, behind the sleeping daughter's knees, rolled up and commenced purring. Who am I to argue with such cuteness? I went back to bed.

Found A Kitty

She was meowing in the bushes at the park next to my house(Dufferin and Brandon if anyone recognizes her). She's just the skinniest little thing and it was raining so, of course, I had to bring her home. She's super friendly with people, thus she most likely has a home and is just lost. We put up FOUND posters in the neighbourhood and are waiting to hear. Until then, she's living like a queen in our spare bathrooom with a bed, food & drink, and a litter box.

Ten Months Later...

So, the damn never ending brown sweater has ended. It looks like crap.
The daughter, who is nothing if not honest, says,
"No offense, but it makes you look fat."
She's right. The bottom edge goes across the exact widest part of my hips giving the effect of a giant, squarish cushion. After much posing in front of the mirror, it was decided that it has to be cut and made a whole lot shorter or stretched to become a whole lot longer. We're going with longer. Hopefully the miracle of blocking comes through here. Pictures soon.

Also, I spent $40.00 on specialty cat food today in an effort to plump up my rapidly shrinking Malcolm. This after $400 dollars worth of tests to find out everything that's not wrong with him. He doesn't have a parasite, or thyroid problem or kidney failure or leukemia. He's just intestinally challenged for no obvious reason and not absorbing nutrients. So he is now eating a mix of hypo-allergenic for intestinal health and developmental for weight gain. I hope this helps.

Everyone Should Own A Copy of This Book

Dishonest

Floating along the edge of a party, hearing
the stories you are a part of. All of it resists you.
Or you resist it. It's not clear anymore. A light
in the backyard seeps down; it's a streetlamp
behind a tree. The shadow inside the branches
looks like a hanging man. Now, this is a story
you could tell, but you don't. Something
you are afraid of, that stalks you
every minute of your life. So
return to the party and be among friends.
Tell a story, your back to the window.

Michael Redhill
Light-crossing
House of Anansi Press
2001