Finished Started New

Hello.

I realise I've been missing for a little while, I'm going to blame mid-winter. The weather has been warm and sunny and cold and blustery in turns and that means the streets have been mostly icy and wretched. Makes me feel like pulling the covers over my head. However, the birds are starting to come back, I can hear them chirping, and the sun (when it bothers to show itself) is intense and yellow, that can only mean that spring is considering when to arrive - though everyone around here knows that means no sooner than mid-April.

We've been busying ourselves with Nigel's birthday and meetings with our contractor and architect for the upcoming reno. I'm not sure if Nigel is swooning more at being a whopping 42!!! or the looming cost of the addition - perhaps he should take up knitting. It can be very therapeutic.

And look at all the projects I've finished lately:

the Deep in the Forest mittens



the Clapotis



a neck warmer called Tudora, made with the rest of the pink Debbie Bliss Luxury Donegal Tweed I bought while in Dublin with Elly



a little hat called Sprout, which is green with a little curled I-cord at the top. I'm not thrilled with how this one turned out, so I didn't take any photos of it completed. It still counts as done though!



And I've started (again) on the Union Jack Slipover. I've finished the back and started the front, and this time it's staying with me until it's all finished. It's knit using a dozen little bobbins of yarn - very irritating. Cute though, yes?



And since the Union Jack is such a pain, I have another project one the go, something simple to knit that can be worked on while yapping to friends or watching television. The Aletia Shell from Interweave Knits Spring 2008 magazine.



The yarn is MaggiKnits Maggi's Linen. This is the same yarn I used to make the Molly Ringwald shell last summer, from this post. It's the VERY same yarn. Poor Molly never did get any smaller, and I've decided not to get any bigger (in fact, I'm trying to shrink myself a little bit), so I tore out all that work and gave the yarn a good soak and now it's being re-worked. I'm feeling very hopeful about this project.

And what else?

Ooooo, so delightful. There's another new elemental from ambermoggie. This one is Airmed, the goddess of the Tuatha de Danaan of Ireland. She's bright green and yellow and is full of the promise of spring and new growth - very apropos I think, considering the new addition.



Isn't she lovely? Here she is with her friends.

A Little Christmas

Aren't these adorable little birdhouse ornaments for the tree? I was very pleased with this little purchase back in November. Sears had decided not to sell any more Martha Stewart products, so they were clearing out all of last year's Christmas stock at drastically reduced prices. I think these may have been originally marked at $8, but they were marked down to $1.94 and then had ANOTHER 75% off that! Wow! I won't bore you with the math, but I bought all they had - seven - and still had change from a five. I love a bargain, and was very pleased with myself.

'Course, you can't please everyone, and Nigel frequently shudders when I veer off to the bargain bin (I think he thinks it's beneath him). When we decorated the tree the other night I told him the story of my great bargain and there was some wise-ass remark about looking like Blitzen threw up.

Well!

I went out today to a lovely little boutique down the road, and before you could say, "they cost HOW much?", out came the Visa card,



and there are now THREE of these on the tree.

Only 'cause I'm trying to please everybody, don't you know.

I've got a little bit of last minute Christmas knitting on the needles, so I decorated a little (large) basket for myself.



And here's two snaps of what's in the works,





but no guessing as to what, or for who. You're just going to have to wait and see...

Wendy Boston

This is Wendy Boston. She was a Christmas present for me when I was two (that's going to make her 41 years old this December). I'm not going to tell you she's the most beautiful of the dolls I have, but she's certainly the one I've had the longest and I think she's probably my most beloved. Originally she was wearing a pale pink organza dress. I have a vivid memory of this despite my possessing a poor memory for many other things, and she was gifted to me by my maternal grandmother. She also had shiny black button eyes and a red button nose. Unfortunately, I was a little monster when I was younger and I pulled off her eyes and nose! My mother, being more thoughtful than I, kindly embroidered her some new features

I made her a dress recently (not that that makes up for past sins).



This pattern, this view. She also has matching knickers, but she's a modest old girl and won't show them to you. As the weather has turned now, I knit her a little cardigan too:



A girl's got to keep cosy.

I didn't have a pattern for this, I just made it up as I went along (dolls never complain about the fit). I used some leftover Fiddlesticks Country Silk that I had used to make a clapotis shawl last year.



I've decided I'm going to bring her with me whenever I wear this shawl.

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

The family took a road trip to Souris on Labour Day. It's almost three hours to drive there, so I took some knitting with me (I wasn't the one driving).




It's the Tangled Yoke Cardigan I've been working on, though I suppose one could call it the Tangled Mess. I'm going to come clean about this project, as the knitting group is starting to snicker every time I mention it.

I decided in late spring that it was time to make myself a SIGNIFICANT PROJECT. No more hats, mitts, scarves and the like, but a real commitment. A commitment to myself and (for shame) to the size I currently fit. I chose a pattern from Fiddlesticks Knits called Caress.It was so pretty, all soft and flouncy. I began this project and finished the back, both fronts and both sleeves. I still had to make the large, flouncy border around the edge, when I decided that it was really all wrong for me. Too soft, large and flouncy of course. So I unraveled the entire work.

Then I decided to knit the Katherine Hepburn Cardigan from the book Lace Style. Well, I decided, instead of kntting the back and fronts separately, I'd be clever and knit them all at once. So, off I went with something over 260 stitches on my needle, and knit , knit, knit the first 10 rows when suddenly I realised (this was late at night) that I had reversed the directions of all the cables. I left it overnight and first thing in the morning, I unravelled the entire work (without looking at it first). I started the same sweater again, but rather than be clever, I only cast on for the back this time. Well. Of course, I reached to the end of 10 rows and realised that the original cables had been all correct to begin with! A little bit disgusted, but undaunted I continued up the back. After about four or five inches I had a good look at my project and decided the pattern, though it would suit me fine, really needed to be done in a cotton or silk yarn that would give good stitch definition and the alpaca I was using was just too soft and fluffy for this pattern. Yes, I unravelled the whole work. Again!

When the Interweave Knits Magazine arrived in the mail I knew immediately that the Tangled Yoke Cardigan was perfect. It needed a soft touchable yarn, it wasn't fussy, and in was sized to fit a hefty lass. I began the project, and away I went.

The main part of the body is finished.



The first sleeve has been started.



And so, one last confession: I started a sleeve, worked an inch and a half, decided I had done it all wrong, unravelled and started again, worked three inches, thought I had done it wrong AGAIN, unravelled and finally started a third time, realising I had been doing it right the entire time. I should know to trust Interweave patterns and not my judgement late at night.

I'm not sure if I'm exhibiting a mental block about self-worth, a neurotic perfectionism, or a maybe just a really, really deep psychosis.

I wonder if those big bales of hay are ever "just not right" and someone says "no, no, no let me try that again". Or, "I think that one needs to move to the right", maybe, "People, People, we need a odd number, bad feng shui you know".

I'm sure glad I'm not a farmer.

In my next post I'll tell you about our trip out to Souris.

My Own Wee Wonderfuls

My young niece Thea (she's just ten) took up knitting in the last little while and, while visiting us this summer, presented me with her very first completed project. A little pouch from the Klutz Knitting for Kids book.




I was very impressed with this project. Her tension is perfect and I really liked the colour of yarn she chose. Look how well it goes with my ipod, I'm going to use it as a wee ipod cozy this autumn(it helps the battery last longer). Thank you again Thea. Really well done.



I have great plans to have all kinds of links and lists on this blog, but I still have to learn how to do all those things. In the mean time I thought I would tell you about my favourite blog, Wee Wonderfuls. Operated by a woman in the States named Hillary Lang, it always has the sweetest projects going on. She sells her patterns on-line and, though I don't sign up for everything, I've never been disappointed with her instructions. Last autumn I purchased her Make-a-Long Story. Too, too adorable.

Here are Olive and Archie:




Their backpacks:




Their friend Mr. Paws:





And their sleeping rolls:





There is still more of the story to come. I can't wait for the next installment of the story of Olive and Archie (all about their first day of school). You can check out Wee Wonderfuls on-line, just Google it.

Progress continues on the pink sweater and the Asian cross-stitch, but I'll wait to show you photos when progress is more easily seen in a photo.

To Begin With

Hello to all.

My first blog post.

Exciting, no?

Well, perhaps not so much for you, but I'm feeling a wee bit intimidated by all the machinations. I'm currently having one of those occasions when I want to chuck the entire computer out the window. However, I will soldier on...

My purpose for this blog, if one is required, is to keep the world - mostly family and friends - abreast of the glorious banality that is my life. I plan on sharing with you my various craft projects, and my varied interests.

To begin with I'm working on the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from the new issue of Interweave Knits (Autumn 2007).




I'm knitting it in two strands of Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud - the pale pink shade. I believe its called Peppermint Heather. I've worked with this yarn before and am always amazed at both its softness and strength, its also fantastically inexpensive.




Also, I'm working on a cross-stitch called Wisdom from Joan Elliott's book Oriental Odyssey.




This project will be quite a long time in the making, but I will update my progress from time to time with photos.




Deary, deary. I've been struggling to create this post for hours. I'm going to take a long, hot bath and eat some chocolate. I'll post again someday soon.

Until then.