28 February 2006

Olympics Ended


The Olympics, both kinds, have come to an end. Now, I can get off my couch.
Seriously, it was a truly amazing time. I met some great people and their blogs. The closing ceremonies were a blast, though I forgot to bring my camera. Great food and better company. I finally met Stephanie, the Yarn Harlot herself. The highlight of the afternoon was probably Denny running in with her toilet brush torch.
The scarf is in the mail en route to its new owner (although I did wear it all day at the closing). Here's wishing it a safe journey. Now, I need to choose a new project and reduce my stash a wee bit.
I've posted pictures of the squares we made for the Linus blanket. I see we, because the daughter helped. Pay attention to the square that's fully visible at the bottom of the photo. It's baby's first stocking stitch. I'm so proud!

24 February 2006

Yarn Meditation


I experienced that thrill yesterday - the one that occurs when you open the mailbox and there is a package with your name on it.
Now, in this case, I knew what was inside. I purchased this yarn on eBay two weeks ago and the seller had a photo and detailed description on her page.
Yet, the thrill remains the same. Opening the package, seeing and touching this gorgeous yarn for the first time. Even photographing it for this blog was a treat. It's my first purchase of handspun and what a beauty - a wool/silk blend and just look at those colours.

Owning this yarn makes me happy.

Now that sounds trite but I've been thinking a lot about this lately. I've been having a bit of a rough time the past few months (personal stuff, you know). During this time, I have found that many of my happiest times have involved craft. Appreciating the beauty of colour and texture has brought me such comfort. Taking these beautiful yarns and turning them into something else with a rhythmic motion of my own hands has calmed me down. Then, finding other people with whom to share this crazy passion - how special. So, I've stopped worrying about why this is, and whether it is trivial or not, and have decided to just be grateful.

So, owning this yarn makes me happy and I'm glad I bought it. Isn't it lovely?

21 February 2006

I Am an Olympian!


It's done and I quite love it. I ended up doing only nine repeats of the pattern plus 4 extra rows to make the two edges match. It's plenty long enough.

To the left is another close up of the stitches - a better photo of the colour than my previous attempt but, still not quite capturing the depth and beauty of this yarn.

Below, the lovely scarf is enjoying this afternoon's chilly sunshine in my disaster of a yard.
On to the closing ceremonies!

18 February 2006

A Setback

My waves started waving in the wrong direction. Oh no! I couldn't figure out where the mistake was, so I had to frog back quite a bit. I finally found the spot where I had inadvertantly repeated a row. I'm back on track now but a day's worth of effort was wasted.

I'm so pleased for Jeff Buttle, the bronze medal winner in figure skating. The daughter and I saw him skate at Canadians in Hamilton 2002. He stood out then and I've been a fan ever since. Way to go!

14 February 2006

Olympic Project at 40%



Pattern: Wavy Scarf from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 colour# 4009
Needles: 4mm
Completed: 4 repeats of 10


So pretty. It's remarkable what knits and purls executed in a particular order can do. This is my first time with Cascade yarn and I like it very much. I haven't often worked with 100% wool in the past.
My one problem is that the pattern calls for 2 skeins of yarn and 10 repeats of the pattern. It has become obvious that 2 skeins will do only 9 repeats. Now, I must decide if I buy more yarn or settle for a shorter scarf.

I absolutely adore this colour. I've tried to photograph it but really, the camera does not do it justice. It's actually a combination of different flecks of blues and green. Lovely as can be.

12 February 2006

Go Team Go!

The Knitting Olympics opening ceremonies went off amazingly well. What a cool bunch of people. Topics of discussion besides knitting included whether or not the Canadian Olympians hats are ugly or fabulous (I'm in the fab camp), computer tech support and gender roles in relationships. Above, we are all glued to the giant screen.
I have no idea who these women are but it's such a nice photo of them! Perhaps somebody can identify them?

Dave The Beer Man - waiter extraordinaire. He claims we were more rowdy than most sports teams. Way to go Team Canada!

My Knitty scarf is coming along beautifully. At first I was worried that a scarf is not a sufficiently challenging project, but after working on it most of the day yesterday(very few customers at work), I can see that I have my work cut out for me. There are 440 rows in the pattern and I've done about 80. Fourteen days to go.

08 February 2006

She Did It Again!


Another amazing package from my Secret Pal. I've really lucked out. Included this time are the current issue of Vogue Knitting, a dishcloth pattern, another pair of Clover needles and a beautiful needle case. Check out the green cotton yarn and the beautiful (homemade?) card! Happy, happy me. Also, the daughter took this photo and wanted to make sure I told y'all. She's enjoying the exchange as much as I am.

In other news, I've caught Knitting Olympics fever and have joined Team Canada. What an amazing phenomena - a cute idea turns into an international event! Let's all hope that the actual Olympics are as peaceful as our knitting community.

06 February 2006

Toronto A Knitting Hub?

I came across a fun site by writer Sarah B. Hood called Unknown Toronto. Read her entry about the local knitting community here.

01 February 2006

Some Scans


I spent over an hour this evening beginning to knit the front of the brown cotton sweater. I had just finished the bottom band and was about to start the pattern stitch when I realized that I had cast on 10 too few stitches. This after I had already restarted once before because I couldn't remember which method of cast on I had used for the back.

Obviously, it wasn't meant to be tonight so, now for something fun. Seeing
Kelly's post today of her retro slippers gave me the urge to flip through my pattern collection. (I have those same slippers in Beehive BTW.) Here are some of the highlights.

Punish your daughter when she misbehaves by making her wear this beauty to school. Nothing reforms a wayward child like being callet "toilet seat cover head" by her friends.




Then, show the man in your life how much you love him by knitting him this fashionable dickie. So what if Christmas just passed? Surely he has a birthday coming up?








After your partner leaves you because of the dickie incident, put on you flattering tailored hat (bright blue, I think) and go on a date with this handsome fellow. Don't cuddle too close though or that nylon cardigan yarn will leave marks.








(I am secretly desperate to knit this hat. However, I don't think I'd have the nerve to wear it in public. Ssshhh...)