Knit Meter
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
How To Help Your Child Become An Adult
Last month I passed on a parenting tip. But how do you know your parenting skills have worked? After all it is easy to make your child think you are awesome but how does this translate into real life. One sign is when they grow up to be independent human beings making their own way in the world, obtaining information to make decisions secure in the knowledge that they can do this as you have been behind them encouraging and teaching.
And you feel so proud of them when it works out as this example shows.
We are in California and our son is in Calgary. So as I am an awesome mother I sent him a food parcel. The dear child considerately emailed me he had received the notice to pick up the parcel from the post office and he would do so after work. He then asked me what time they close!
One of us needs some work in the growing up to be independent department.
And you feel so proud of them when it works out as this example shows.
We are in California and our son is in Calgary. So as I am an awesome mother I sent him a food parcel. The dear child considerately emailed me he had received the notice to pick up the parcel from the post office and he would do so after work. He then asked me what time they close!
One of us needs some work in the growing up to be independent department.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
July
I thought I had loads of projects to show you that I had completed in July but I have one to tell you about. Agh, what happened? Well, despite knitting a bunch it still doesn't translate into completed projects. And in July I completed one pair of socks and almost another pair. This pair is technically completed but I want to lengthen the foot so I am not counting them as finished yet.
So here they are, the one finished item. I started the first one on 28 June as the designer - Anne Campbell was a featured designer in the SKA group for June and I had previously queued this pattern. The yarn is Fame Trend by Marks & Kattens and was a Christmas gift from hubby.
After completing the first sock, I decided to make the second sock with the same colour sequence. Except this ball of yarn was dyed in such a way that it was not possible to make two matching socks. Even where I found the same colours, it was plyed with a darker colour.
I mentioned in a previous post that there were two projects close to completion that I could finish. Well that didn't happen and now I have three projects close to completion. We'll be house sitting in a couple of weeks so if my memory holds up that would be a good time to finish projects.
Ignoring those projects I have just one thing on the needles which is a beaded shawl. Because I have all this time to knit. Huh!
So here they are, the one finished item. I started the first one on 28 June as the designer - Anne Campbell was a featured designer in the SKA group for June and I had previously queued this pattern. The yarn is Fame Trend by Marks & Kattens and was a Christmas gift from hubby.
After completing the first sock, I decided to make the second sock with the same colour sequence. Except this ball of yarn was dyed in such a way that it was not possible to make two matching socks. Even where I found the same colours, it was plyed with a darker colour.
I mentioned in a previous post that there were two projects close to completion that I could finish. Well that didn't happen and now I have three projects close to completion. We'll be house sitting in a couple of weeks so if my memory holds up that would be a good time to finish projects.
Ignoring those projects I have just one thing on the needles which is a beaded shawl. Because I have all this time to knit. Huh!
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Heading Into The 21st Century
I finally did it. I am now on Facebook. Friends had been suggesting/nagging for many a year that if I wanted to see photos I needed to be on Facebook. With the current loooong road trip there seemed to be little excuse to remain faceless. So today I joined the masses.
It wasn't easy; and that has nothing to do with being a Luddite or old but due to the #@!$ browser I was using. I was in Goggle Chrome and it would not open any of the Edit windows which worked fine in Mozilla Firefox and Windows Explorer. As I had no problems with either of those browsers I did not bother to check for weirdness in Goggle Chrome's settings.
With Ravelry, my blog, the odd immigration forum and now Facebook I don't know where I am going to find the time for the rest of my life.
It wasn't easy; and that has nothing to do with being a Luddite or old but due to the #@!$ browser I was using. I was in Goggle Chrome and it would not open any of the Edit windows which worked fine in Mozilla Firefox and Windows Explorer. As I had no problems with either of those browsers I did not bother to check for weirdness in Goggle Chrome's settings.
With Ravelry, my blog, the odd immigration forum and now Facebook I don't know where I am going to find the time for the rest of my life.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Charity Blankets
I have mentioned before a group that makes blankets for charity – Western Canadian Oddball Blanket Society. Each blanket is made up of 6 sections of 6 inches each plus an edging. Each section is knitted (or crocheted) by a different person and then passed on to the next crafter. Although the name of the group is Western there are now knitters and crocheters from all over Canada involved. Currently the majority of the blankets are donated to the NICU at Foothills Hospital in Calgary.
Last year I crocheted a complete blanket so at the beginning of this year I decided to crochet a preemie size blanket.(Preemie size blankets are roughly 24 inches square.) Basically it is a large granny square with a shell edging.
In February it was my turn for a strip on a regular blanket. I was the fifth person on this blanket and it was being worked in various shades of blue. I chose a chevron pattern in a silver blue shade.
I have to say this was my favourite blanket to work on as the knitting was wonderful and the colours well chosen.
In May I was the second person on another blanket and chose a heart pattern. I love going through my stitch pattern books and choosing a pattern that I think will be interesting for me to knit as well as suiting the blanket and has more or less the right count of stitches for the blanket. The challenge for this blanket was choosing a colour that was in my stash but would go with the colour started on the blanket.
At the beginning of May the board issued a challenge – fast-track blankets – each board member started a blanket and with bribery and cajoling encouraged others to join. I worked on two of these, even though I did not have much time I wanted to do my part. For one of them, it was decided that each person would work their 6-inch strip and send to the organizer to put together and work a border. The yarn I used was highly variegated so I worked a simple broken rib so that there was some pattern but it does not pull in the way that ordinary rib does.
The other fast track blanket was worked in the normal way, being passed from knitter to knitter, and I was the third person. I was in rather a quandary when I received it as the first two knitters had both worked garter stitch and I really did not want to work garter stitch. Because garter stitch has a high rows per inch gauge, it is not actually as fast a knit as you would expect it to be. As I was the third person on the blanket, I decided that it would be OK not to work garter stitch and would also give following knitters a choice. But it couldn’t be an all-over stocking stitch pattern as there had to be texture to go with the garter stitch. Although I had just worked a ribbed section, a rib pattern of some description seemed the best, so I chose this textured rib pattern.
These are my last blankets until my yarn is out of storage and I find another group closer to where I will be living.
Last year I crocheted a complete blanket so at the beginning of this year I decided to crochet a preemie size blanket.(Preemie size blankets are roughly 24 inches square.) Basically it is a large granny square with a shell edging.
In February it was my turn for a strip on a regular blanket. I was the fifth person on this blanket and it was being worked in various shades of blue. I chose a chevron pattern in a silver blue shade.
I have to say this was my favourite blanket to work on as the knitting was wonderful and the colours well chosen.
In May I was the second person on another blanket and chose a heart pattern. I love going through my stitch pattern books and choosing a pattern that I think will be interesting for me to knit as well as suiting the blanket and has more or less the right count of stitches for the blanket. The challenge for this blanket was choosing a colour that was in my stash but would go with the colour started on the blanket.
At the beginning of May the board issued a challenge – fast-track blankets – each board member started a blanket and with bribery and cajoling encouraged others to join. I worked on two of these, even though I did not have much time I wanted to do my part. For one of them, it was decided that each person would work their 6-inch strip and send to the organizer to put together and work a border. The yarn I used was highly variegated so I worked a simple broken rib so that there was some pattern but it does not pull in the way that ordinary rib does.
The other fast track blanket was worked in the normal way, being passed from knitter to knitter, and I was the third person. I was in rather a quandary when I received it as the first two knitters had both worked garter stitch and I really did not want to work garter stitch. Because garter stitch has a high rows per inch gauge, it is not actually as fast a knit as you would expect it to be. As I was the third person on the blanket, I decided that it would be OK not to work garter stitch and would also give following knitters a choice. But it couldn’t be an all-over stocking stitch pattern as there had to be texture to go with the garter stitch. Although I had just worked a ribbed section, a rib pattern of some description seemed the best, so I chose this textured rib pattern.
These are my last blankets until my yarn is out of storage and I find another group closer to where I will be living.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
How To Be An Awesome Parent
This post could have had many titles:- I Wish I'd Been There; Parenting is Tough; This Child Will Be In Therapy For Life and I'm sure someone reading this will believe it was child abuse.
A friend messaged me and told me what she had done when her child was being really annoying. I laughed out loud and had to share.
They were in a mall and, apparently, there are laws, I'm sure set up by busy body do gooders, that you are not allowed to leave your children behind when you depart the mall. Bearing this in mind, what choices were left to my friend when oldest child was being annoying?
She ate his Kinder Egg right in front of him!
That is true parental sacrifice - the chocolate is not adult friendly.
A friend messaged me and told me what she had done when her child was being really annoying. I laughed out loud and had to share.
They were in a mall and, apparently, there are laws, I'm sure set up by busy body do gooders, that you are not allowed to leave your children behind when you depart the mall. Bearing this in mind, what choices were left to my friend when oldest child was being annoying?
She ate his Kinder Egg right in front of him!
That is true parental sacrifice - the chocolate is not adult friendly.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Hitchhiker
The problem with buying yarn without a project in mind is that it sits in the stash for quite a while as there is the tendency to purchase yarn for a specific project rather than look in the stash. This is how my stash is mostly sock yarn as there is always enough in 100 grams to knit a pair of socks.
Except, sometimes you don’t want to knit socks or you just have to knit a certain pattern or you “need” a certain item. So the sock yarn still sits in the stash even though it, ostensibly, has a purpose.
And then there is the yarn that you are not sure if you even want to make socks with. Such was the case with this yarn.
I purchased three “skeins” of this yarn at different times and I paid full price for this one.
The second skein I purchased became thesesocks. From knitting those I found that the yarn is more colour block than self-striping, the yarn looks crinkly after being reknitted and the stitches look a bit odd where the colour changes occurred. (At the colour changes a stitch from the original skein is made up of tw0 colours.)
The yarn is a long scarf and you could just use it as a scarf but really that is too easy – why not knit it into another scarf? This would solve three problems. The colour changes might not look so strange, I had an idea of how the striping looked, I could use the whole skein, no adding small amounts to my stash. There was no point in knitting a standard scarf from a scarf so I chose Hitchhiker. A pattern I had had for a while but I felt needed more than a single-toned yarn. Plus it was an easy pattern and I always like to have one of those on the go. Although I have no idea what will be my next easy project.
I was a little unsure of how big (or small) this would turn out. The original pattern uses 150 gram skein of Wollmeise which is 525 metres. My yarn was 100 grams and 420 metres, enough for a scarf plus I could always unravel it if I didn’t like the end result. Needle choice was easy; for this trip I packed a couple of sets of DPNs for socks and my interchangables, so I used size 3.5 mm, the smallest size in the set.
The crinkliness of the yarn shows much more in garter stitch but it looks like it has been worked in a boucle yarn. I could wet block it to see if that makes a difference but as I am currently on the Washington peninsular I am not going to try.
Except, sometimes you don’t want to knit socks or you just have to knit a certain pattern or you “need” a certain item. So the sock yarn still sits in the stash even though it, ostensibly, has a purpose.
And then there is the yarn that you are not sure if you even want to make socks with. Such was the case with this yarn.
I purchased three “skeins” of this yarn at different times and I paid full price for this one.
The second skein I purchased became thesesocks. From knitting those I found that the yarn is more colour block than self-striping, the yarn looks crinkly after being reknitted and the stitches look a bit odd where the colour changes occurred. (At the colour changes a stitch from the original skein is made up of tw0 colours.)
The yarn is a long scarf and you could just use it as a scarf but really that is too easy – why not knit it into another scarf? This would solve three problems. The colour changes might not look so strange, I had an idea of how the striping looked, I could use the whole skein, no adding small amounts to my stash. There was no point in knitting a standard scarf from a scarf so I chose Hitchhiker. A pattern I had had for a while but I felt needed more than a single-toned yarn. Plus it was an easy pattern and I always like to have one of those on the go. Although I have no idea what will be my next easy project.
I was a little unsure of how big (or small) this would turn out. The original pattern uses 150 gram skein of Wollmeise which is 525 metres. My yarn was 100 grams and 420 metres, enough for a scarf plus I could always unravel it if I didn’t like the end result. Needle choice was easy; for this trip I packed a couple of sets of DPNs for socks and my interchangables, so I used size 3.5 mm, the smallest size in the set.
The crinkliness of the yarn shows much more in garter stitch but it looks like it has been worked in a boucle yarn. I could wet block it to see if that makes a difference but as I am currently on the Washington peninsular I am not going to try.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Gifts
We were blessed with finding a superb, caring vet for our spoilt white kitty and a vet technician who looked after both cats when we went away. Both of them had far exceeded my expectations in a vet and cat feeder so I wanted to say a big thank you when we left. I did this by knitting them each a scarf.
This was an ideal time to use the skein of Punta that I had purchased on the yarn crawl. At that time I had not heard of Punta but my friend was a big fan so I purchased and then as it wasn’t sock yarn I couldn’t think what to make with it. I had just enough to make this scarf. I used size 5.5 mm needles but I did not like the result after blocking as the stitches really opened up, so I blocked it again and just patted it into shape and I much preferred the end result.
The other scarf I made used my own hand dyed yarn see this post. I had wanted to make the cross stitch scarf from 101 designer One-Skein Wonders for a long time but couldn’t find the right yarn. My hand dyed was perfect. I changed the pattern slightly by casting on 4 more stitches and working 4 rows of moss stitch at start and finish. It was easy to use up almost all the yarn and the end result was a perfect match of yarn and pattern. The photo is not very good but I didn’t have the time to take photos on different days with different light.
This was an ideal time to use the skein of Punta that I had purchased on the yarn crawl. At that time I had not heard of Punta but my friend was a big fan so I purchased and then as it wasn’t sock yarn I couldn’t think what to make with it. I had just enough to make this scarf. I used size 5.5 mm needles but I did not like the result after blocking as the stitches really opened up, so I blocked it again and just patted it into shape and I much preferred the end result.
The other scarf I made used my own hand dyed yarn see this post. I had wanted to make the cross stitch scarf from 101 designer One-Skein Wonders for a long time but couldn’t find the right yarn. My hand dyed was perfect. I changed the pattern slightly by casting on 4 more stitches and working 4 rows of moss stitch at start and finish. It was easy to use up almost all the yarn and the end result was a perfect match of yarn and pattern. The photo is not very good but I didn’t have the time to take photos on different days with different light.
Friday, July 13, 2012
On The Needles
As half the year has gone, I thought I’d do a mini round-up of what is not complete. The oldest lace project will stay that way for quite a while as I packed it up and put it in storage. (We won’t talk about the lace yarn I did bring with me.) The sweater is completed and just needs the neck band sewn on. I haven’t rushed to do that as it will need a good blocking and I am not in the best place for that right now. Physical location that is not mental place.
The small easy project I keep in the car is nearly finished and will be (should be) after the two pairs of socks on the go.
If I really put my mind to it I could complete all these items by the end of the month. Let’s see!
The small easy project I keep in the car is nearly finished and will be (should be) after the two pairs of socks on the go.
If I really put my mind to it I could complete all these items by the end of the month. Let’s see!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
April and May
Well it seems that not only am I knitting slowly but I am updating slowly too. So here is another post with two months worth of completed objects. April was very slow on the knitting front but I finished a pair of socks albeit a pair I started on 1 January and I knitted a dishcloth.
I started the socks on 1 January as part of the Ravelry SKA group animal theme for that month. The pattern is The Gardener by Leslie Comstock and I had favourited it a while ago so I took the chance to knit it. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Sock, colour Grapefruit, which I had bought on my trip to Denver and had saved for this pattern. I have now used all the yarn I bought on that trip.
As I like using knitted/crocheted dishcloths, I am using up all my ends of dishcloth cotton. In April I knitted another Hex. I divided the small amounts of dishcloth cotton into two piles – variegated and solid – and then alternated between the two when I ran out. As this was a dishcloth for my use I knotted the yarns at the changes and didn’t worry about which side the knot fell on. Not too bad a result.
May was more successful. I have shown photos of the mystery sock I started in May; I made three sections for WCOBBS blankets which I will post about separately; a scarf, which will also have its own post; a completed pair of socks started in April and I completely frogged a pair of socks that I started last December.
The designer in the SKA group for April was Rosehiver. Her designs are wonderful and still free which is amazing and really she should start selling them. May’s mystery was her design and she also designed these socks. So it was a no-brainer that I would knit one of her designs when April came around.
The yarn is Kypria from The Sanguine Gryphon before they split into two separate companies. I really like the finished article and they are my new favourites.
I started the socks on 1 January as part of the Ravelry SKA group animal theme for that month. The pattern is The Gardener by Leslie Comstock and I had favourited it a while ago so I took the chance to knit it. The yarn is Madeline Tosh Sock, colour Grapefruit, which I had bought on my trip to Denver and had saved for this pattern. I have now used all the yarn I bought on that trip.
As I like using knitted/crocheted dishcloths, I am using up all my ends of dishcloth cotton. In April I knitted another Hex. I divided the small amounts of dishcloth cotton into two piles – variegated and solid – and then alternated between the two when I ran out. As this was a dishcloth for my use I knotted the yarns at the changes and didn’t worry about which side the knot fell on. Not too bad a result.
May was more successful. I have shown photos of the mystery sock I started in May; I made three sections for WCOBBS blankets which I will post about separately; a scarf, which will also have its own post; a completed pair of socks started in April and I completely frogged a pair of socks that I started last December.
The designer in the SKA group for April was Rosehiver. Her designs are wonderful and still free which is amazing and really she should start selling them. May’s mystery was her design and she also designed these socks. So it was a no-brainer that I would knit one of her designs when April came around.
The yarn is Kypria from The Sanguine Gryphon before they split into two separate companies. I really like the finished article and they are my new favourites.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Stitch Markers With a Difference
In my last post I mentioned the gift from my friend Clair. She has now opened her ESTY shop Purple gecko Studio so I can go into more detail. Her gift to me was a beaded bracelet she had made herself but the unusual design feature was the stitch markers. Along the bracelet are lobster claw fasteners with beaded stitch markers attached. So if you are out with your knitting and need a stitch marker you have one on you. Or if you never know where to keep your stitch markers now there is no problem. And they are so pretty the knitting uninitiated will just see a bracelet. Clair has also made some necklace/pendants with detachable stitch markers.
So go on order some for gifts and don’t forget to get one for yourself too.
So go on order some for gifts and don’t forget to get one for yourself too.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Friends
I really wanted a catchy title for this post so that it would turn up in search engines and the whole world would know what wonderful friends I have and generate some traffic for their blogs or ESTY stores. Instead there is the non-imaginative title but the sentiments of this post will be the same even if it was titled Harry.
I informed the spousal unit that I would be out every Thursday until we move so I could spend time with my knitting friends who I have said are a bunch of fun people brought together by a mutual enjoyment of fibreness. The first Starbucks gathering occurred on 25 September 2008. (I know because I blogged about it.) So that is nearly 4 years of knitting togetherness of people who met on the web. And despite the concerns of one daughter, we have not attacked, maimed or murdered anyone with our pointy sticks. People are still joining our group (yes we are that fun), babies have been born and people have moved away. And now it is my turn - to move, not have a baby. I really hope I find a similar group when I finally move into my new house.
But this past Thursday was amazing. They gave me a basket filled with goodies that were so special for me to remember each of them by. I was totally surprised, grateful and honoured. (In other words gobsmacked.)
As we, mostly, meet in Starbucks I shouldn't have been surprised to receive a couple of mugs, a Calgary one from Lacey who came out on Thursday even though she is very pregnant and an Edmonton one from Sharon who actually popped in for a visit last week, so it was great to see her before I moved. From Shannon the awesome crocheter I received some notecards but not just any old notecards, these were her photos of Alberta.
Becca made some stitch markers and although she is American, one of the markers is Canadian and they are so wonderful my husband knew immediately what they were. My pinky bff (I've started to use that expression because it makes me laugh) Clair made me a bracelet with a difference which I won't reveal here in case she decides to sell them. I'm still waiting for the present from her husband as my leaving will increase their disposable income. Clair is easily overcome by yarn fumes and it is not difficult to encourage her to spend money in a yarn store followed by coffee.
And now a plug for Cara's Esty shop Chasing Fire Ceramics. She made me some maple leaf buttons. Short of them being dipped maple syrup, how much more Canadian you can get? So support a new vendor and buy. And Susan knitted me a dishcloth. I am not going to use the dishcloth. One day Susan will be famous and I can sell the dishcloth for loads of money.
And then there was yarn. The ever talented Vanessa gave me some lovely soft baby alpaca. Vanessa joined our group when she worked in Starbucks and now has her own Esty shop - Mochanut. The other Claire gave me Wollmeise sock yarn. Claire is a Wollmeise fiend. She has nearly 3000 items in her queue and over 6000 items favorited on Ravelry, as well as having two small children she finds time to knit big shawls. Mary, another lace knitting and fibre buyer extraordinaire gave me some Juliespins. This is another dyer the group raves about but I have never used and this yarn has sparkles.
And there's more! I also received some handspun. Heather spun 70% dog and 30% merino. But not just any dog, her big, soppy malemute! And Myrna gave me some of FatCatKnits handspun and wrote that she would think of me every time she used her air conditioning. I wonder why?
I wanted the ethernet world to know what wonderful friends I have and that they will be missed. My husband's comment was all these goodies would need a moving box of their own.
I informed the spousal unit that I would be out every Thursday until we move so I could spend time with my knitting friends who I have said are a bunch of fun people brought together by a mutual enjoyment of fibreness. The first Starbucks gathering occurred on 25 September 2008. (I know because I blogged about it.) So that is nearly 4 years of knitting togetherness of people who met on the web. And despite the concerns of one daughter, we have not attacked, maimed or murdered anyone with our pointy sticks. People are still joining our group (yes we are that fun), babies have been born and people have moved away. And now it is my turn - to move, not have a baby. I really hope I find a similar group when I finally move into my new house.
But this past Thursday was amazing. They gave me a basket filled with goodies that were so special for me to remember each of them by. I was totally surprised, grateful and honoured. (In other words gobsmacked.)
As we, mostly, meet in Starbucks I shouldn't have been surprised to receive a couple of mugs, a Calgary one from Lacey who came out on Thursday even though she is very pregnant and an Edmonton one from Sharon who actually popped in for a visit last week, so it was great to see her before I moved. From Shannon the awesome crocheter I received some notecards but not just any old notecards, these were her photos of Alberta.
Becca made some stitch markers and although she is American, one of the markers is Canadian and they are so wonderful my husband knew immediately what they were. My pinky bff (I've started to use that expression because it makes me laugh) Clair made me a bracelet with a difference which I won't reveal here in case she decides to sell them. I'm still waiting for the present from her husband as my leaving will increase their disposable income. Clair is easily overcome by yarn fumes and it is not difficult to encourage her to spend money in a yarn store followed by coffee.
And now a plug for Cara's Esty shop Chasing Fire Ceramics. She made me some maple leaf buttons. Short of them being dipped maple syrup, how much more Canadian you can get? So support a new vendor and buy. And Susan knitted me a dishcloth. I am not going to use the dishcloth. One day Susan will be famous and I can sell the dishcloth for loads of money.
And then there was yarn. The ever talented Vanessa gave me some lovely soft baby alpaca. Vanessa joined our group when she worked in Starbucks and now has her own Esty shop - Mochanut. The other Claire gave me Wollmeise sock yarn. Claire is a Wollmeise fiend. She has nearly 3000 items in her queue and over 6000 items favorited on Ravelry, as well as having two small children she finds time to knit big shawls. Mary, another lace knitting and fibre buyer extraordinaire gave me some Juliespins. This is another dyer the group raves about but I have never used and this yarn has sparkles.
And there's more! I also received some handspun. Heather spun 70% dog and 30% merino. But not just any dog, her big, soppy malemute! And Myrna gave me some of FatCatKnits handspun and wrote that she would think of me every time she used her air conditioning. I wonder why?
I wanted the ethernet world to know what wonderful friends I have and that they will be missed. My husband's comment was all these goodies would need a moving box of their own.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
No Longer Mysterious May
I managed to keep up with the clues each week and have a finished sock.
The third clue was the heel turn, picking up stitches at the side of the heel and the gusset decreases and the last clue was the continuation of the foot and the toe.
A picture of the gusset and a picture of the completed sock.
and the second sock has been started so maybe a completed project in June.
The third clue was the heel turn, picking up stitches at the side of the heel and the gusset decreases and the last clue was the continuation of the foot and the toe.
A picture of the gusset and a picture of the completed sock.
and the second sock has been started so maybe a completed project in June.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Snow
I have mentioned my knitting friends who I met through Ravelry and that we get together in Starbucks or other coffee houses to knit, chat, laugh and pass on tried and tested parenting tips. OK that last one is a gross exaggeration but we do have fun and laugh a lot.
Well it just so happens that there are three of us in this motley crew who moved to Calgary from Denver. None of us are originally from Denver or Calgary, one is American, one is Canadian and one is British but the three of us all knit socks.
So the point - you want more to this post than sock knitters move from Denver to Calgary? I was reading the blog of one of these people and she had written Ten Things She Wished She Liked and number three on that list is snow. Which is hilarious because it snows in Calgary and Denver, although Denver does a much better job of snow removal.
I also think it is funny as snow would probably be on my list too. Not that I really hate snow, I just hate dealing with snow. Wearing the right clothes and shoes, the correct tires for the car etc.
So living in Denver and Calgary does not make one a snow lover.
Well it just so happens that there are three of us in this motley crew who moved to Calgary from Denver. None of us are originally from Denver or Calgary, one is American, one is Canadian and one is British but the three of us all knit socks.
So the point - you want more to this post than sock knitters move from Denver to Calgary? I was reading the blog of one of these people and she had written Ten Things She Wished She Liked and number three on that list is snow. Which is hilarious because it snows in Calgary and Denver, although Denver does a much better job of snow removal.
I also think it is funny as snow would probably be on my list too. Not that I really hate snow, I just hate dealing with snow. Wearing the right clothes and shoes, the correct tires for the car etc.
So living in Denver and Calgary does not make one a snow lover.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Mysterious May
The last time I participated in a mystery sock with the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry was September last year. Mysteries are published every odd number month and I had worked every one since March 2010 apart from July 2010. I must have got a bit fed up with the designs as I didn't feel like working on the unknown anymore. Until this month. I love her designs and have knitted one pair by her which can be seen here and I have another design of hers on the needles. So I had to knit her mystery design.
Here is a (not very good) photo of the sock after the first clue.
And here is a photo of the sock after the second clue.
The yarn is Bugga! by The Sanguine Gryphon purchased at the end of 2010. The colorway is Tomato Frog and I really can't get the true colour to show well in photos as it is bright but not too bright.
The pattern is not hard so I have kept up with the clues so far so maybe there will be a completed sock by the end of May.
Here is a (not very good) photo of the sock after the first clue.
And here is a photo of the sock after the second clue.
The yarn is Bugga! by The Sanguine Gryphon purchased at the end of 2010. The colorway is Tomato Frog and I really can't get the true colour to show well in photos as it is bright but not too bright.
The pattern is not hard so I have kept up with the clues so far so maybe there will be a completed sock by the end of May.
Monday, April 23, 2012
I Voted!
I have lived overseas for a number of years which means it has been a long time since I cast my ballot. As the process to become a Canadian citizen took such a long time, I was not eligible to vote in last year's Federal election which made today's Alberta Provincial election my first chance to vote.
Although I was not on the voter's list, I was able to register today despite the people in charge sending me back and forth to different locations in the polling station. At last I was given my two ballots for marking with a cross. (The election was for your local MLA and potential Senators.)
No hanging chads or problems with electronic voting here. There were tables at one end of the room, with cardboard screens for privacy - one breath and they'd have fallen over - and pencils for making your mark. Marking a cross with a short yellow pencil did not have the same satisfaction as marking a big fat X with a chinagraph pencil attached to the polling booth by string. Just to see them hanging there waiting for you made your decision seem so much more important than 2 short yellow pencils thrown at the back of a desk.
But at least the Election Officer had her knitting.
Although I was not on the voter's list, I was able to register today despite the people in charge sending me back and forth to different locations in the polling station. At last I was given my two ballots for marking with a cross. (The election was for your local MLA and potential Senators.)
No hanging chads or problems with electronic voting here. There were tables at one end of the room, with cardboard screens for privacy - one breath and they'd have fallen over - and pencils for making your mark. Marking a cross with a short yellow pencil did not have the same satisfaction as marking a big fat X with a chinagraph pencil attached to the polling booth by string. Just to see them hanging there waiting for you made your decision seem so much more important than 2 short yellow pencils thrown at the back of a desk.
But at least the Election Officer had her knitting.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
February and March
Half-way through April and now just talking about the previous two months?
February and March were slow on the knitting front but busy in other ways including a trip to Southern California with hubby. This was a business trip for him and an orientation trip for both of us as we will be moving there. Which is rather surreal going from Calgary to Southern California. But someone has to do it.
So although things were slow on the knitting front, I completed two projects in February and two in March. The items in February were both for Western Canadian Oddball Blanket Society. One was a preemie sized blanket started in December which I crocheted and the other was the standard 6-inch knitted strip.
March's completed projects were also small - a dishcloth and a pair of mittens both started this year but at least I completed something.
On the needles as at 1 April:- two long term projects from last year, a sweater started in January, and the second sock of the pair started in January. So not too bad as long as I finish them; although now I should have more time for knitting. Anybody want to buy a house?
February and March were slow on the knitting front but busy in other ways including a trip to Southern California with hubby. This was a business trip for him and an orientation trip for both of us as we will be moving there. Which is rather surreal going from Calgary to Southern California. But someone has to do it.
So although things were slow on the knitting front, I completed two projects in February and two in March. The items in February were both for Western Canadian Oddball Blanket Society. One was a preemie sized blanket started in December which I crocheted and the other was the standard 6-inch knitted strip.
March's completed projects were also small - a dishcloth and a pair of mittens both started this year but at least I completed something.
On the needles as at 1 April:- two long term projects from last year, a sweater started in January, and the second sock of the pair started in January. So not too bad as long as I finish them; although now I should have more time for knitting. Anybody want to buy a house?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
January
There have been other things going on in my life so that I have not had much time for knitting. In fact, although I cast on a sock on 1 January I have only just completed it so I am way off target for a pair a month. But I did knit a dishcloth using left overs as well as finish one I started last year. Also as far as old projects go, I finished a pair of gloves I started last year. I now have just two projects left over from last year, both long term projects and two projects started in January.
This is the dishcloth I started last year. It took a while for me to finish as I was trying to decide on colours. I started with the blue and brown and soon realized that I would not have enough of the brown to complete the cloth so I let it sit for a while. Rather than unpick what I had worked, on the basis that I would still have to mix the brown with other colours if I wanted to use it up, I decided to continue with two other contrast colours.
This is the dishcloth I started (and finished) in January. It is a great pattern for using leftovers. I found it on this website the writer has many dishcloth patterns, many of which seem suitable for using different colours and using up ends.
Finally, here are the gloves. The yarn is Berroco Sox Metallic. Although I liked the colour (obviously as I purchased the yarn) I wasn’t sure it was right for socks and chose a glove pattern by Julia Mueller. The original pattern has a much longer cuff but that is not really practical with my winter coats as any mittens or gloves need to go inside the sleeves.
Some yarn buying did occur in January as there was a yarn purchasing amnesty and I was given a ball of dishcloth cotton. So I really need to find some knitting time.
This is the dishcloth I started last year. It took a while for me to finish as I was trying to decide on colours. I started with the blue and brown and soon realized that I would not have enough of the brown to complete the cloth so I let it sit for a while. Rather than unpick what I had worked, on the basis that I would still have to mix the brown with other colours if I wanted to use it up, I decided to continue with two other contrast colours.
This is the dishcloth I started (and finished) in January. It is a great pattern for using leftovers. I found it on this website the writer has many dishcloth patterns, many of which seem suitable for using different colours and using up ends.
Finally, here are the gloves. The yarn is Berroco Sox Metallic. Although I liked the colour (obviously as I purchased the yarn) I wasn’t sure it was right for socks and chose a glove pattern by Julia Mueller. The original pattern has a much longer cuff but that is not really practical with my winter coats as any mittens or gloves need to go inside the sleeves.
Some yarn buying did occur in January as there was a yarn purchasing amnesty and I was given a ball of dishcloth cotton. So I really need to find some knitting time.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
New Year, New Resolutions?
Same old, same old, really. Knit from the stash. Although as I knitted far more pairs of socks than I acquired sock yarn in 2011, the sock stash is going down, it just doesn't feel like it. The South Calgary Knitting Group is repeating the knit from the stash challenge so it will be fun to see how we each fare. Although as we have a yarn buying amnesty from 25 December to 9 January, few of us should be losing points for buying yarn in the first quarter. And I was one of those who purchased (non-sock) yarn in preparation.
I still have dishcloth cotton left although most of it is leftovers and will be a quick way to earn points in the challenge when I am falling behind. Hmm I wonder if I could end the year with no dishcloth cotton?
And what about the six unfinished projects I mentioned in the last post, you ask? Well, I finished one this morning, another lives in the car, another is a lace project where I need to find a better mix of yarn and needles, two I started in December. So that really only leaves one project that I should hurry and finish.
I still have dishcloth cotton left although most of it is leftovers and will be a quick way to earn points in the challenge when I am falling behind. Hmm I wonder if I could end the year with no dishcloth cotton?
And what about the six unfinished projects I mentioned in the last post, you ask? Well, I finished one this morning, another lives in the car, another is a lace project where I need to find a better mix of yarn and needles, two I started in December. So that really only leaves one project that I should hurry and finish.
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