Finished Fandango Throw

Finally finished my beautiful throw. Have been wearing it ever since. As yet, Toronto has not seen any summer weather, we are definitely still in spring, which makes it very nice for knitting outside. I have an old fashioned type porch with white wicker furniture and it's perfect for knitting and drinking tea.

We had a soccer tournament in Markham on the weekend so I have almost finished the sleeves on daughter No.3 sweater. Haven't touched the hoodie in a while but oh, the plans I have. Thinking about more sweaters for the girls and wondering about those no-sweat pants in the Spring Interweave Knits Mag. Just don't know how to adjust them for children. My six year old would love them in a cozy yarn. Any ideas out there?

Well, better go. Had some computer probs last week and haven't been on line in a while. Gotta catch up with what's going on in the KW (knitting world).

The Yarnfather

Okay, I think I am doing things a little better. To all of you that have been wanting to post comments but do not want to register you now can as I think I have changed my comment settings.

Now, on to what happened at my garage sale. Yes, I put together a little bag of yarn (odds and ends) and 5 sets of needles. The needles were all plastic so this is the most decent burial I could think of for the little bendy suckers. Anyhow, stuck a $5.00 tag on and waited. However, competition was high. Neighbour's mother was offering Patons wool, brand new, 50g balls at $1.00 per ball. Lo and behold a man, yes, a man says "I'll take all the yarn on your table, just add it up," doesn't she sell the whole lot? No one bought my little sacrifice, it just sat there first in the cold, then in the rain. Oh well, still made almost a $100.00 bucks so I can't complain. But can you believe a guy ends up buying the neighbour's wool. (He said it was for his mom but you know how guys are).

Progress report:
FANDANGO THROW: Doing very well, holding fandango and eggplant coloured Mission Falls together and it is beautiful, have had many comments on it, just need to buy more of the eggplant to finish. I will call it "winter cabbage" or "kale" as the green and the eggplant are AMAZING together.
DAUGHTER NO.2 HOODIE: Half way through back, had to frog some yesterday, saw a mistake but back on track (guarantee 30+ temperatures will hit the moment I finish the sweaters)
DAUGHTER NO.3 SWEATER: Finished back and front, just need to do sleeves and little roll neck
AFGHAN FROM 1970'S PATTERN BOOK: Haven't touched it in two weeks

Bought the new Interweave Knit book and oh the plans I have. I guess I can kiss that $100 bucks goodbye. My neighbour thinks I am going to feed my habit with this money, I wish I could prove her wrong and yet I continue to...

Knit On

Rip It... Rip It Good

Ever try to frog cotton chenille? I've been blowing chenille fibers out my nose since yesterday. Okay, have this great plan with the Colinette Fandango right? Wrong, oh so wrong. Get through one skein/hank/ball whatever and going to start with the Mission Falls and it just isn't working. So I start frogging. Not pretty. I'm thinking stripes of colour instead of the one ball of this, one ball of that strategy. Any comments, please feel free, I'm at that loser stage right now cuz I haven't completed anything in a while and I need that "just finished something" high. Suppose to be getting garage stuff ready and have been procrastinating like crazy. Still can't decide whether to get rid of some yarn yet. It's a big step, I don't know if I'm ready for it yet. Might try one of those crazy flower facecloths from the Weekend Knitting book again, mind you the last one I made almost sent me over the edge (again, I re-state, who's the pecker that invented dpns?) Had this conversation with my knitomatic homies and they quite agreed that it kinda sucked near the end especially(almost took one of my eyes out with those little suckers). Again, if anyone out there is a dpn pro, please enlighten me to the complexities of them, they scare me as much as pattern graphs. They are on my "don't go there" list along with cable patterns and any instructions that are more than a page long. Well GGK, chat you up later.

Raiders of the Lost Yarn

We are having a garage sale on Saturday, which is, indeed, the long weekend here in Canada. It is the weekend everyone opens their cottages and quite a few people go away. However, the neighbours have decided this weekend is it and I am following along. The question is, do I try and sell some old (relative term, only been knitting since October)or continue on with present stash? Went through stash 2 weeks ago and was thinking about getting rid of this and that but I was having a difficult time committing to this. Is that unusual? Is it yarn separation anxiety? Do others have this affliction of not wanting to part with said stash? Will there eventually be a NEED for the yarn you are about to depart with? How do you catergorize your yarn? I am usually a pretty organized individual but on this front I am very unmartha. At the moment there is yarn:

1. In dining room sideboard drawers (sticking out and cannot shut one drawer).

2. Artfully arranged in willow basket in livingroom, but dangerously close to overflowing like Mt. St. Helen.

3. In plastic bags in bedroom closet, corner in diningroom and front hall closet.

Any ideas/suggestions on this quandary, please let me know.

Next Time...
Where To Stick the Needles

Ciao For Now Yarn Diet

I keep trying to adhere to a yarn diet. You know finish off stuff before buying more, wait at least 2 full working days before purchasing more etc. but it ain't happening. Saw some beautiful Colinette last week at lys and did not buy (there was only three skeins) so I didn't bother. Well haven't I thought about that damn yarn all week? So I went back and got it yesterday. It is beautiful, yummy and soft like your favourtite bathrobe. So I do have a plan. I bought more Mission Falls cotton to intersperse with it and I'm going to make a small throw type thing. I also bought a digital camera this week so I will be showing you guys stuff soon as I hook it up. Half way through the back of the burgundy cotton hoodie for daughter No.2 and just finishing the front of pink Mission Falls sweater for daughter No.3. I have looked through the Rowan kids pattern book and have already planned three projects out of there. Also have the Rowan collection book and there is a men's sweater there in a cream that I would like to knit for the better half for Christmas but does the sweater curse apply to those that are married? I'll have to look into that as I am a bit superstitious. I am working with my new needles from http://www.turn-of-the-century.com/tchome.htm and I am loving them. If you love wood like I do you have to go there and fall in love. Have breezed through The Yarn Girls' Guide but didn't really see anything that said, "Knit me!" Well there is a garden out there that is saying, "Prune me, cut me and rake me up!" So my thoroughly boring chat must end but I may post more later.

A Bit About My Addiction

My mother thinks I should enter one of those 12 step programs. You know the kind I mean. She thinks I am too obsessed with knitting. But what exactly is obsessed? I try to knit one to two hours per day. I scan the web for interesting knitting blogs, sites, stores etc. I go to yarn stores maybe once a week. I started a neighbourhood stitch n' bitch group in January that met every Tuesday night, it has since gone on hiatus until October. I attend a monthly West End SNB on the first Thursday of the month. Does this sound like a personality disorder to you? I find knitting relaxes me. I need that. I have a hectic life like everyone else and find it is a terrific release. When I knit, that is almost all I am thinking about. I'm not thinking about the war in Iraq or the air quality, I'm thinking about when to move the yarn to the front and when to move it back again. I should tell you I have only been knitting since October 2003. My mother tried to teach me when I was about 10. Then she used to cast on with her hand and one needle. She would show me and I would knit, but then started thinking if I can't figure out that cast on thing, why knit? But in October she showed me the two needle cast on and away I went. Pixie slippers were my first endeavor and by January I had knit slippers, mitts, scarves (5), the charm bag in the SNB book, and a baby hat for a teacher at the kid's school. I guess my point is I enjoy it, it doesn't hurt anyone (although it embarrasses my 14 year old like there's no tomorrow) and it is constructive. What more can you ask for? Okay, it's not sex but this I can do in public (kip).

Among other rants today, I must speak up about the popularity of knitting! It's everywhere. I open up my Doubleday club booklet and there's this book in there by Debbie Macomber called The Shop on Blossom Street. It's about four lives "knit together." I guess if you like Debbie and knitting you'll like this. Personally, I have never read anything of hers but if it's about knitting I probably will. Also, I took advantage of the Crafters Book Club offer to get some of my knitting books. They offer great deals on knitting books considering the ones I like all seem to be 35.00 to 40.00 CAD. Well that's it for today. GGK (gotta go knit).

Too Damn Hot To Knit Outside

As much as I looove knitting, it is way too hot out to knit. The temperature today is about 27 Celsius but there is a humidity factor that brings me down. I am not a "summer" person. I know it is politically incorrect to state this as a Canadian but I really dislike summer. I am a fall girl. My birthday is in the fall, I love sweaters, fireplaces, hot chocolate and walks in coloured, crinkly leaves. Then I like spring (real spring, not Toronto spring, where it is -2 C one day and 30+ with humidity the next), then winter, then summer. I can only knit inside where it is cooler, although I haven't turned the central air conditioning on yet as better half has not cleaned the furnace filters in a while.

In answer to Angela's questions, I love working with Bella and find it very cozy feeling, I am surprised it was not a good seller in your store. I purchased 5 balls for 8.00 at the Patons sale in February (yes hauled my butt up to Listowel with a Suburban full of blue haired ladies)speaking of which I have a hilarious story to tell about that trip. One of my older passengers, who shall remain nameless, is 87 years old. Sweet lady and verrry crafty (she's a hooker), anyhow, she's sitting in the back seat and traveling the 401 and I am driving in the passing lane trying to pass the middle guy. Anyway, this car comes zooming up behind me flashing his beams telling me I am not going fast enough for him and MOVE. So I pass the car, move back to the middle lane and tell my geriatric audience what just happened. Doesn't she pipe up and say, "You should have told me, I would have flipped him the bird for you." Gotta love it. Planning on going to the August Tent Sale up there, has anyone out there been to it? I hear it is good. They had quite a few brands other than their own when I was there in February.

Also, Angela asked about the afghan I am knitting on the tiny needles, and no, it is not a baby afghan but a leaf pattern from an afghan pattern book published in 1970 (did they have more time in the seventies?) This puppy is going to take me forever, but that's okay, I am enjoying it, and it is good for knitting in the summer as it is in panels and all cotton.

Well gotta go, daughter No.2 has soccer tonight and need to figure out some kind of dinner for the troops.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

So new to this blog stuff, but love to talk and read about knitting/knitters so I thought what the heck there must be more loonies like me so here I am. Was just on the KNITOMATIC site and not much going on there so I guess I'll tell you all what I am doing. Have started a hoodie for daughter No. 2 in burgundy cotton, half finished a sweater in pink Mission Falls for daughter No. 3, quarter way through pink poncho in Patons Bella again for dn3 and still working on cream cotton afghan on 3.25mm needles which I cannot see finishing this decade.