Trying To Grow

Did you ever read The Hotel New Hampshire, in which the physically small character Lily refers to her creative attempts as "trying to grow"? That's kind of where I'm at with my knitting right now. I feel I can't keep doing the same old thing. Heck, if I'm going to spend so much of my time doing this, I should at least get really good at it. Time to learn new things, to challenge myself, to not give up when it gets hard. Time to grow.

Thus I am knitting Bombus. When I originally cast this PomPom pattern on a few weeks ago, I thought of it as just a cool cardigan that I'd like to knit. Then the stitch pattern and the construction totally whooped my butt. I had to rip back and restart several times. There is a twelve row Bubble pattern knit over short row shaping and raglan increases - no walk in the park. I was tempted to chuck it until I got a hold of myself.

I went back to basics and practiced the stitch pattern on a separate swatch until I felt I had a good understanding of it. I used whatever wound yarn I had at hand. (I forgot I had this gorgeous Hemp for Knitting and now want to find something special just for it).

The project yarn I chose is a lovely woolly DK that I know will be cozy and satisfying when knit up. It's slightly more warm in tone than I was able tp photograph on an overcast day.

I ended up drawing a schematic of every row with notes that perhaps only I can understand. I marked every increase, every count between markers and every row of the Bubble progression. I am determined not to let the math defeat me and if this is what it takes, then that is what I must do. Taking it one step at a time and with liberal use of stitch markers, I am now off and running. Exciting! Stay tuned. 

Cocina Clean

So, the moths came back. 

On Saturday we finally had to admit that our old bed with its dark rickety drawers was just a moth hotel. We may as well have sent them embossed invitations to stay as long as they like. So my partner went at it, almost gleefully, with a hammer. Then we cleaned and laundered EVERYTHING. The vacuum and washing machine were in constant use all weekend.
A quick trip to Ikea later and we now have a simple metal bed stand covered in sparkly clean mattress cover, sheets and duvet. Underneath are sealable plastic drawers full of fresh clothing.

To reward ourselves for a job well done, we went to our favourite little Mexican Cocina for salsa verde and guacamole. To get there you have to bypass the expensive tourist traps and long lines of our hood, then go four blocks north to the little house with the cute patio. It's pretty much heaven there. Fresh tortilla with five sauces, lots of limes, magical rice and beans. Food and wine always taste better after labour, especially when shared. Don't you agree?

Staycation and Good News

We are very lucky here in Toronto in that there is so much to do, especially in the summer. My partner and I are taking Stay-cation this week and we've done so many lovely things together, many of them free. We rode our bikes to my old neighbourhood of High Park on one day and up the street to Allan Gardens on another. We caught a play at Soulpepper Theatre (definitely not free but worth the price). We drove to Elora to look at the Gorge. Yesterday we walked to the local farmer's market where we bought our entire dinner, meat, veg and potatoes, from local sources. It's been a grand time. Admittedly, a  couple of days we spent lazing about doing nothing and that's been nice too!

Allan Gardens has been around since 1910. It's open all year providing a tropical oasis in the centre of the city.

"There's sometimes an egret in this pond," I said as we turned the corner of the bike path into High Park. And there it was! We watched it fish for several minutes until it caught a snack. 

I visited Taste of Regent Park on Wednesday as part of the local chapter of The Fight for $15 and Fairness. It was Bollywood Night. I had a delicious meal prepared by community members and bought some pea shoots from these young enterprising gardeners. This event continues every Wednesday for the rest of the summer. Come if you can!

And finally, good news! I found my missing sock. I had a chill last night and put on a hoodie. My heart soared to discover that the lump in the pocket was the dearly missed sock. Now how did it get in there?

Sunday Swatching

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon at home after a late and silly night. While my lover napped I, having a little more energy than he, decided to take advantage of the peace by practicing my knitting technique. I got out my old stitch dictionary and cast-on to learn two colour Jacquard.

HOLY MOLY!! Who knew it could be this easy? This is honestly one of the simplest things I have ever done. Look at how amazing and complicated it appears. Just look at it!!

The bottom inch is Bicolour Half Linen Stitch and the top half is Bicolour Brick.

Now, how to incorporate such magic into my actual knitting?

All these effects are achieved by knitting with a single colour in a row
using various combos of knits, purls and slipped stitches.

I picked up this 1978 French publication at a second hand shop for 50 cents.
What a find.

At Least I Have A Photo

Remember this lovely sock.?
Well it is no more. That is, to specify, it is no more in my possession. Yesterday it did an unobserved leap out my bag and no amount of looking could locate it. 
I am so mad I could just spit.

So Many Socks

It seems that all my recent FO's have been socks.Yes, I am using stash and experimenting with new techniques. Yes, of course i love socks! However, there may be too much of a good thing - especially as it's summer and wool socks are not needed. After the current pair, my Business Casual in Orange Octopus, I shall make something other than footwear. 

So many patterns. So little time.

I worried at first that the criss-cross cable pattern would not be highlighted sufficiently with this variegated yarn. Now I think it's just fine. The effect is subtle, but definitely there.

I had fun shooting the Scrappy Socks about town. The bright colour photographed so well!
Here they are at the garden centre the day I was shopping for herbs.

The photo shoot that ended up on my Ravelry page was impromptu. I passed a gorgeous brick nook while out on my bike on a sunny day. I kicked off my sneakers, set the 10 second delay, and got several good shots of my own feet.