Knitting Update

I promised you some knitting content. No finished objects but some nearly finished objects. I am working on the neck of my sweater. This is a lot of (I know, not good English) knitting round and round, so, although, it comes under the mindless category it is a little too mindless. It's finally at the right length and just needs to be cast off. Having worked a sewn cast off for the first time the other day I have decided that is what I would like to do on the neck but the yarn is not smooth and I will have to have a long length for the neck so I don't know how cooperative it will be. This will be a good Super Bowl Project.

My other nearly finished project are these socks. I am becoming quite a fan of Cookie as the Pomatomus socks are her design and I have decided that one of the sock yarns I bought in the Boxing Day sale will look very nice in one of her other designs. Never thought I would become a clothes horse - or in this case a shoe tree.

Another Record

I was going to write about my knitting today but instead I am going to let you know that we hit another temperature record yesterday. At least this time it was positive. Yesterday was the hottest day on record for January 24th. Some reports said 13 degrees, others 15. Either way, not bad, especially as normal for this time of year is -3.

I'll let you know about my knitting next week.

Saturday Skies

Woke up Saturday morning to a very grey sky that looked full of snow. Snow had been forecast for Friday night but we hadn't had any so I was expecting it to snow at any time. I decided that it was too boring to take a photo. The winds came in during the morning and the sky turned from grey to this



Late in the afternoon the sky had changed to this

The Nastiness of the On-Line World

I am part of the on-line community. I have a blog, I read blogs and I am a member of a Yahoo group and a discussion forum.

A blog is your private house. When you write an entry, you are opening your door and inviting people in. Sometimes what you see is a room tastefully decorated, you may not want to live there but it is pleasant to visit; others are clean and tidy but definitely lived in; or they are so lived in that there is a mess everywhere; and then there are those where you open the door and dirty laundering is waiting for all to see.

A discussion board/group/forum is like a public park. Anyone can use it as long as you follow the rules. Some park keepers rule with a rod of iron, any transgression of the rules results in banishment, others do not worry about minor infractions but wait for the complaints of other users before issuing a warning. There are many different types of users of the park. Some pop in every day, others just at weekends and others are infrequent visitors. People move away and find a different park and other people move in.

Some people like to listen to music while in the park. Of these some will have head phones or have the music turned down very low so that they don't disturb anyone else; some will set the volume at a setting they like but when asked to turn it down, they do so with many apologies; and there are a few who have the music up so high it disturbs everyone in the park. When asked to turn it down they say it is their right to have it at the volume they want and a few are pleased that they are upsetting people.

Something along these lines happened in one of my forums/groups this week. A poster asked a question. The first replies answered the question and then there were some not-so-nice replies, then posters were sticking up for the original poster and the replies got more nasty. The original poster started a new topic asking what she had done wrong to get such hostile replies. You wouldn't believe what that unleashed! Many headphone users, no apologisers, and, unfortunately, a few I can do what I want.

I often wonder if that is what people are like in real life or if they feel that behind the anonymity of the on-line world they can be as nasty as they want. Being nasty is being nasty however it takes place. I hope these people like themselves because they must spend a lot of time in their own company as other people gradually leave them alone.

Out of the Stash

On the 1st January, I posted about my stash. Any stash not used by the end of this year had to be assessed for its usability. As a start to this process I divided my stash into two parts:- stash that could be used for a specific project and stash that I had no idea what to do with.

Imagine my excitement when somebody on Knitters Review posted a request for yarn that I just so happened to have in my stash. She was offering to buy or trade but it was stash yarn so I said she could have it for free.

Good thing I didn't charge her postage. I could not believe how much it cost to send three balls of yarn to eastern Canada. Next time I'll send them individually as I think it will be cheaper. The cost of postage in Canada was already high and has just gone up. I do not know who they are trying to kid when they say it is one of the cheapest in the world. Maybe Canada Post's world has only Canada in it.

Saturday's Sky

Don't tell anyone but this is really a photo of Friday's sky. I took the picture as I liked the cloud formations. It snowed most of the day on Saturday so the true Saturday sky was just a mass of grey. I thought this was a little more interesting.

Where's Alberta In Prime Time?

The other day I posted about the new sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie. My closing line was the above question posed by Bob McKenzie of the National Post.

The answer is very simple - hockey. Albertans live, breath and eat hockey. They have no need for any other shows.

Little Mosque on the Prairie

This sitcom debuted last night. It centers around a group of Muslims in small town Saskatchewan, who set up a Mosque in a church hall and hire an Amaar from Toronto. Poor guy has a lot of trouble ordrering a cappuccino in the local cafe. When he tries to leave he finds he cannot get a one-way flight to Toronto. And of course there's infighting about what to eat during Ramadan and when does Ramadan start.

I did a quick internet search to see what others had written about this new show, mostly Candian bloggers who had liked the show. The funniest I read was a conservative American blog which took the description of the show from the New York Times. Actually, the blog is not funny but when an entry about a Canadian show (only showing in Canada) ends with "Step by step--inch by inch--lunacy is taking over Hollywood"; all Canadians are rolling in the aisles laughing.

One of the best lines in the show was when a local is berating the vicar for letting the Muslims use the church hall, the vicar says "its a pilot programme". The local then goes in a panic becaue he thinks the hall is being used to train pilots.

In the review in yesterday's National Post, Bob McKenzie lists the settings for other shows and asks "But where's Alberta in prime time?" I have my answer to that question next time.

Christmas is Over

Well that's it for another year. Saturday dawned with no idea of what it was going to be, but I knew it was 12th night and the decorations had to come down. No rush, gently, gently, through the day but Saturday morning decided it wanted to be a snow day. So gently, gently turned into rush, rush. Had to get out and take the lights down outside before it got slippery. It was a lot quicker to take them down than put them up. Boy child had the task of rolling up the lights so that they would be easy to put up next year. Not sure if 11 months away is any motivation for a good job.

Our city has collection sites for recycling Christmas trees. Ours was dropped off on Saturday afternoon as morning and afternoon had had an argument about being a snow day and afternoon won.

The house was carefully checked, not an ornament left out. So what was I surprised to see on Sunday night as I returned home? The reindeer was all forlorn on our doorstep. The wreath had been taken in but no one had remembered the poor reindeer. He shouldn't complain he got an extra day in the light before being relegated to the closet.

Saturday's Sky

Have new batteries in camera so back to the regular Saturday feature. For your viewing pleasure there are two photos. Actually, they are of the same thing, can you spot the difference?



Yes they are the same thing. Just different settings on the camera. I always have the camera set for auto flash. When I took the first photo I couldn't understand what the blotches were; I was taking the picture through an open window. Then I realised (I was going to say dawned on me - but that's too much of a pun) that it was the flash, so the second photo was taken without the flash.

Stash Wars

I posted at the start of the year that I wanted to use more of my stash. A number of people have posted on their blogs or on forums that 2007 is the year of using stash or not buying yarn. I am sure that many of them make that statement every year. In 2006 a fellow knitting blogger, Bess declared that she would only be knitting from her stash and not buying any yarn. At the beginning of 2007 she wrote that she had achieved this and how she felt about it. Others have declared their own set of rules for 2007.

Apparently this is not good. For more than one reason.

Did you know that yarn stores will be dropping by the wayside this year as no one will be buying yarn? Yup - bloggers have been contacted by customers and owners blaming the yarn dieters for the future demise of their store. Sounds a tad dramatic to me. Its not as if the whole world is going on a yarn diet.

Then there are those with stashes who feel guilty about their stashes but instead of doing something about it blame the stash busters for making them feel guilty. If you feel guilty about your stash do something with it. Knit it, sell it, give it, throw it. But the feelings about your stash are your own and not anybody else's responsibility.

But what I think is the saddest are those people who feel guilty for not having a stash. Knitting is about doing something you enjoy. It is the end results not how you get there. You haven't lost if you don't have a stash or if your stash is small. There are no rules in knitting.

And that is the problem, somebody posted some fun rules on her blog and stash wars has broken out

Photos

As I had written about most of my completed items, I decided I should post some photos. I was surprised that I hadn't taken photos of a couple of sweaters as I usually keep a record.

Firstly, the two sweaters from Knit Simple.




I hung them over the back of a chair to take the photos and you can see that one has a very loose gauge.

This is the jacket I knitted for my niece.



And here are pictures of the Cinderella doll.

We first see her when things aren't going too well. She is doing the cleaning and has been told that she is not going to the ball.



But let us not despair, this is a fairy story and miraculously she has another head and might still be able to go to the ball.




Here she is in all her finery. And with the wonders of magic she has become a blond without sitting in the hairdressers for hours.


Will she get her prince?

New Year's Resolutions

I have never really understood New Year's resolutions. I'm sure the majority of people treat them lightly as a fun thing like horoscopes. But I wonder about those who make the same resolution every year because they break it before January ends.

I have been reading on some blogs about stash control for 2007 and going on a yarn diet. I have posted prevously that I do not have a real stash, most of my stash is left overs from previous projects. And going through my completed projects I was surprised at how much I worked from my stash in 2006. Just recently and in the summer, I bought yarn in sales so now I have an old stash and a new stash. The new stash is mostly sock yarn.

I am not going to go on a yarn diet. I am not excessive in my yarn purchases plus I have to make a special trip to any of the yarn stores in town so they can be avoided. But the time has come to deal with my stash. Last year, every other project was to use yarn from the stash, which worked well for the first half of the year until I started some complicated lace projects. I am going to do the same this year. Every other project has to be with yarn from the old stash. That should be managable. But this time next year the stash must be reassessed and if I cannot see a project for any of the left over yarns I must find a new home for them.

Happy New Year

2006 Complete

Here we are, the last day of the year, a chance to contemplate the achievements (red sweater), the nearly theres (Santa wall hanging) and the also rans (cross stitch) from the past 365 days.

Firstly, today marks another year of marriage - by me and him. So Happy Anniversary Dear Husband.

When I decided to do this list I was going to do it by theme rather than chronologically as that seemed more interesting but as Maria sings in The Sound of Music "let's start at the very beginning".

We moved at the end of last year so I decided to have an 'it doesn't matter' project on my needles. This type of project is one that you have always wanted to make but you have no recipient in mind. Therefore it doesn't matter when it is completed. My project was Topsy-Turvy Cinderella by Jean Greenhowe. And I used yarn from my stash left over from other projects.

The beginning of the year was spent using up odds and ends of yarn from my stash. I crocheted dish cloths, worked thread crochet projects, knitted sweaters for the Guidepost project, crocheted a tea cosy, knitted a pair of socks.

Then time came for a real project.

I saw a sweater in the Winter 2005 edition of Knit Simple which was a combination of knit and crochet. So I found an on-line supplier of the yarn and was on my way. The main yarn was Classic Elite's La Gran and it is just the thing for Canadian winters. There were a number of sweaters in that issue I liked, so I made myself another sweater; this time with yarn readily available (and on sale) at Michael's. This one is ideal for autumn.

I found myself part of a Yahoo group dedicated to Pi shawls and after much input from the ladies (and men) in the group I made a tablecloth. This also counts as a using the stash project as I started with cotton I already had. Other stash using projects were some crochet coasters and doily and a pair of knitted socks for me.

This year must have been year of the socks as I knitted two pairs for me while on vacation, plus the Pomatomus that I have already posted about on this blog and a pair of socks for boy child plus there is one on the needles right now.

I joined a Secret Pal and received some yarn from my pal in New York State. I made myself a couple of hats and a baby pinwheel jacket from her gifts.

My niece got a couple of things from me. A knitted jacket and a crocheted scarf.

So with the items posted about earlier on this blog, I think that's about it for 2006.

Sale Control

Two of the yarn stores in town had sales this week. So I had some decisions to make.

1. Did I need any yarn -- No
2. Did I want any yarn -- Yesish
3. Did I want to go shopping on Boxing Day -- Maybe

I don't need any yarn as I have a sweater on the gold needles and I am only on the front. I also have some sock yarn.

Although it is always nice to look at and feel yarn, too much yarn sitting around waiting weighs me down.

I wouldn't know if I wanted to go shopping on Boxing Day until that day.

So in advance I decided that if I felt like going out I would and I would only buy sock yarn. And in the end that was what I did. Tuesday dawned bright and sunny, the temperature hovering around freezing. I had managed a walk the day before so I decided to go to the yarn store which was having a sale for just two days. It opened at 10.00 am and I got there about 11.00 am and it was packed with many people already waiting in line. I headed straight for the sock yarn. I really wanted plain colours but for some reason, although manufacturers make plain colours, stores don't stock much.

This is what I ended up buying:-

1. Trekking XXL Colour 106 which is Pastels. I have used this yarn before but not in this colourway. I think it will be OK for a pattern.
2. Super Soxx Colour 630.0049. Don't know colour name. I have not used this yarn before and from the label it is self-striping so may not be suitable for a pattern.
3. Regia Canadian Color. 4741 which is Brazil. Hmm not sure what Brazil has to do with Canada. Another self-striping yarn.
4. Regia. Colour 1258 which is Bright Pink. The only plain colour I could get. I have an idea for a lace pattern for this yarn.

I looked at other yarns while I was standing in line. Most stuff was 20% off but I didn't succumb. And my wait wasn't too long as they had a separate till for cash and for once in my life I had enough on me.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

For Christmas, my big sister gave me a book - The Best of Jackie. Jackie was a teen girl's magazine published in the UK and Republic of Ireland from 1964 to 1993. One of the features was titled "On-The-Spot Interviews" where people were stopped on the street and asked a question with the results published at a future date. It often included responses from a couple of famous people. Subject matter included in this "Best Of" book include "Which jobs do you think of as glamorous?" and "If you were Santa Claus who would you NOT give a present to?" But the one that caught my eye was "What new gadget would you like to invent?". I'm sure some of the answers would still come up today - something to tidy up after you, a genie in a bottle, instant travel machine. But this is the answer I liked - "I'd like to invent a gadget which tells me who's at the other end of the phone before I pick up the receiver."

MERRY CHRISTMAS

With warm wishes for the season to one and all.

Oldest UFO

For anyone happening upon this site expecting to hear about a flying saucer from the Neolithic period; I am sorry to disappoint you, but a UFO is an UnFinished Object. It's that lonely object languishing in the bottom of your work basket. Untouched but certainly not forgotten as it waves to you; "pick me, pick me" it calls as fickle you works on the latest more appealing project.

Actually, I am not the sort of person who keeps on starting new projects without finishing what is on the needles. I have had some projects that take a long time to complete because they require such concentration that I can only work on them in small doses. But out and out abandonment - rare.

The problem with the item in question was its design. And as it is my design I have only myself to blame. Although I must be a real designer as parts of the design were totally impractical in wear.

Let's start from the beginning. Many years ago, on a trip to England, I purchased some yarn that was on sale. Jaeger Odessa. There was enough for a sweater for me and the price was very reasonable. I'm not sure when I purchased the yarn but I started the sweater in February 2003. My basic idea was to knit the front, back and sleeves separately and then join for the yoke with some cables somewhere. My final design was for the front and back to be plain with just a couple of cables along the ribbing, the sleeve ribbing to be worked like shirt cuffs with a button opening, so the cuffs were worked in a small bobble pattern and a cable pattern running up the centre. After the yoke shaping there was a collar in cable patterning. With the yoke shaping there would have to be an opening somewhere along the neck so I made a centre seam in the back with bobbles for a rouleaux opening.

The actual knitting didn't take too long it has been the finishing that made this project a UFO. Once the sweater was finished, I realised there was no way that I was going to want rouleaux button loops on the back. In that yarn I could see the potential for them breaking was high so I decided on a zipper. First delay, finding a zipper. Second delay, sewing it in. I actually sewed it in earlier this year but didn't like how it looked so once again it languished. Finally this month it was time to put the poor thing out of its misery and I set to finish it. I removed the zipper and consulted Katharina Buss's Big Book of Knitting for ideas on inserting the zipper correctly. I told myself that I had waited this long it was worth taking the time to do it correctly.

I worked two rows of crochet slip stitch around the opening, I sewed in the zipper, I knitted the band to go over the zipper ribbon, I sewed in the ends and Hey Presto! I have a sweater.

Photos. What's that I hear, you want photos. Well, there's a slight problem. I started to take photos but the batteries in my camera went. Not a problem, I always carry spare. Except two of the batteries have disappeared. Humm, I bet they are in some musical device somewhere. All I can say is 'photos to follow'.

Saturday's Skies

Here are two photos. Sunrise and just before sunset. Hope you can see the pink tinge in the second one. Temperature was about 0 C.

Caught In The Act

Today, we put up and decorated our Christmas Tree. We always have a real one. Usually, the cats ignore the tree but this year Curiosity Killed The Cat paid a visit.



This is the cat just before she tried to eat the bead garland. Which has been removed as I didn't fancy doing the Heimlich Maneuver on a cat.

Here she is guarding the tree from all comers.