It's beginning to look a lot like

Christmas!

I'm def in a winter wonderland today.  Tried to make it to work this morning, but had to turn around after getting stuck not once, not twice, but three times!  At the moment there's a blustery scene outside my window - easily a 30 cm blanket of snow covers the ground and my neighbour is negotiating a tidy drive with her snow blower (it seems to be taking a bit of coaxing, but she's a superstar).  The cats are curled up under the Christmas tree and I'm off work because of a snow day.  Winter has definitely arrived.

With it, comes holiday knitting - naturally!  The blog will certainly be sparse for the next few weeks as my knitting time has been swallowed up with gift projects. 

So instead, I bring you pictures of the season!

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   Mr. Cash LOVES the snow!  (my personal belief is because he gets to have snow beard)

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Annie bids you adieu!



Smitten with mittens!

 

I'm a big list person.  To do lists, to buy lists, to knit lists. 

With that in mind, I set out to plan my Smitten project before ever casting on a single stitch. 

- 3 red mittens
- 3 green mittens
- 4 red mittens with green stripes
- 4 green mittens with red stripes


... you get the point. 

I started this project with such gusto... until I realized I didn't have enough green yarn on hand to complete the project (and who wants mismatched mittens!). 

Project progress    meet    grinding halt!  

And it wasn't for lack of trying on my part.  It seems the few stores I tried just didn't have the right shade of green on hand in the appropriate fibre (ironically enough, I'm just using acryllic, the most prolific (well, colour-wise, anyway) yarn out there).  I plan to stop off at another store today with high hopes of snagging the elusive Christmas green shade I've got in mind.

In the meantime, I've decided send my Garter stitch kimono baby cardi to the frog pond.  Dividing one ball into three just wasn't my idea of soothing knitting (mainly because balls 2 and 3 kept running out of yarn!).  Instead, I've rewound the yarn back into a neat little cake and have started:

The Child's Placket Neck Sweater
Yarn: Handmaiden casbah sock yarn in blue and green
         Knitpicks Swish dk kettle dyed yarn in green
Needles: 4.0 mm (size 6)

Knitting is quick and mindless (stockinette in the round is just about one of my favourite things!).  The yarn is so soft, but this guy will need some serious blocking to even out my tension problems (I think my needles are just a bit too big for sock yarn).  Nevertheless, I'm pleased with my progress and am excited for the finished project.

One knitting MOJO - found!

Umph, gumption, get go, motivation.  Mojo.

When it comes to knitting, I had lost all of these things.  I always seem to stall in late summer and can't seem to focus on completing my ever growing To Knit list. 

I'm happy to report, it's returned!  To what to I owe this great pleasure?  Christmas!

I was surfing Ravelry and discovered the most enchanting project:

It's Smitten, a Mitten Advent Garland by Emily Ivey (Ravelry link found: here).  A free pattern, c/o KnitPicks (how I love these people dearly!).  I've already started working out my colour scheme, and plan to finish this guy within the month just in time for December. 

I'm off to go root through my stash and round up all of my red and green yarn.  Tis the Season!

Why I love weekends

  This weekend we took Mr. Cash (our black lab) for a hike in the woods.  He got to run around like a madman and I got to take some pretty pictures of the pretty scenery.

We hiked for about 2 hours in the early am.  It was nice because it was perfectly quiet and we only ran into a few people.

This one was taken just after he had

run into the river to say hi to some ducks.

Surprisingly enough, the ducks were not as
thrilled to see him as he was to see them.

As for knitting, I'm currently working on:

The Garter Stitch Baby Kimono by Joji Locatelli
Yarn: Hand Maiden Casbah sock yarn in blue and green
Needles: 3.5 mm

I decided to knit it in stockinette because I thought some of the variegation would be lost in the garter stitch.  It's turning out quite nicely.  The yarn is an absolute treat to knit with.  It's soft and I'm really enjoying the colourway.

Tha pattern itself is relatively mindless.  Definitely suited for knitting in front if the TV.  It's knit from the bottom up and the body is completed in one piece (Advantage!).  After you reach the sleeves however, it has you working with three separate balls of yarn - one for the left front, one for the back, and one for the right front.  I wouldn't have minded this one bit if I was making this out of more than one ball (Disadvantage!).  I had to break yarn and divide my ball into three, which made for a lot of ends to be sewn in (big Disadvantage). 


I'm hoping to pick up the pace on this guy because as the temperature drops, there seems to be so many more projects I'd like to complete before the winter comes.  With that in mind, bye for now!

Two of my favourite things: Tripping and Swapping

My boyfriend and I just got back from visiting his parents in New Brunswick.  If you haven't visited the East Coast in late summer, you must put it on your To-Do list right away!

While there we went berry picking... along the side of the road!  Imagine that, fresh blueberries, blackberries and raspberries right at the end of your driveway.

Even Cash was getting in on the action eating the berries right off the bushes!

Cash and I like to take our time when getting things right... expecially pictures.  These were taken on the dirt road in front my boyfriend's parents' house.  To the right, just past that brush, is the Bay of Fundy. 

       Almost...

That's better!         

While on the East Coast, we drove to Halifax and spent the night.  It is such a beautiful city filled with hills, a bustling Wharf, and great seafood restaurants (if you ever go, you should check out The Economy Shoe Shop.  We stopped in for dinner and were amazed at not only the fresh seafood, but also how much there was of it.  We ordered Mussels as an appetizer, and were SHOCKED at how big the bowl was - 64 mussels in total, for only $10!).  Everywhere you look, you are reminded just how steeped in History the city is.

And Peggy's Cove - well it speaks for itself. 

Standing on the enormous rocks beside and even larger ocean certainly adds some perspective to your life.  If you've never visited this amazing spot, you should definitely make a plan to.

                                          

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On the flipside, I entered a Birthday Swap on Ravelry, and received my package when we got in from our trip.  Sheer magnificence!

Opening it up:

So many goodies, so little time:

A lovely card from my partner:

A beautiful row counting bracelet:

A hand knit Tudora, some chocolate, and a Rav button nametag:

Some chocolate covered almonds (my favourite!), cashews, and cleanser for hand knits:

A hank of malabrigo, which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!, and have already started thinking of what project to make with it:

AND, a hank of Hand Maiden hand painted yarn. It's so soft and squishy, I can't wait to make something with it:

I truly am a lucky birthday girl!

Thanks Vespa!!

just lovely...

but lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless
and lonely is healing if you make it

A Very Knitty Birthday!

My boyfriend hit it out of the park this year!  Grand Slam-a-lam-a-ding-dong!






Among the gifts he ever so thoughtfully picked out for me were:

A beautiful bouquet of flowers, including my absolute favourite, daisies! 

A bag to display that I am not only patriotic (Woo hoo Canada!), but also a knitter!  And it's HUGE!  Carry a sock project?  You bet!  How about a hat?  Of course!  A sweater?  No sweat! 

All three?  You better believe it! 

 Will be getting A LOT of use out of this one.

A new mug for work!  All the ladies (and gents, I'm sure) will be green with envy!

I've been coveting this bumper sticker since I first stumbled upon the Knitty website. 

True story: Last night I went out for a couple of drinks with some friends and was DD, since the bf and I are playing (early!) in a softball tournament today.  As I was driving one of my friends home, a cab driver slowed down in the lane beside me, pulled back a bit, and was reading the sticker.  He loved it!  Asked us if we would make him a sweater.

Knitting related gifts are the best!

I've finished shell #2 and have started working on the body for my Sheldon project.

Progress has stalled a bit, but continues on.  It's so hard to stay focused in these dog days of summer.

Annie                                                                              

and

            Reesey

say Hello!

 
 
 
 
 
 


Now, off to play the last two games of our tournament.  Wish us luck!

The Smoke Ring and the Shell

Finshed my Wavy Feathers Wimple, and can't wait for the cooler weather to get some wear out of it.

I've started working on Sheldon and am really excited with how well he's turning out!

Specs:

Pattern: Sheldon from the Winter 2006 issue of Knitty

Yarn: Cheapy acryllic gathering dust in my stash

Needles: 3.75 mm 24" circ; 3.25 mm dpns

To echo many other knitters who have knit this before me, so far I'm finding this to be a really finicky pattern. There is a lot of finishing involved, from crochet edges to simple seaming and stuffing.  I was prepared for this, so I haven't let it bother me (too much).  I'm planning to create a variable wardrobe for this happy little turtle, complete with three different brightly coloured shells.  When I'm finished, GQ will be knocking down this turtle's door! 

Modifications: I started this project before I had a chance to buy the right size of dpns, so I didn't bother with the i cord to connect the top and bottom of the shell.  I don't really notice a difference, and have a sneaking suspicion the recipient won't either. 

Until next time!

Purple Smoke Ringer

Aren't cowls lovely?  Both in the making and in the wearing. 

They knit up in a snap, or seem to anyhow, in most cases can be made in the round (which just happens to be my most favourite way to knit items) and make for small light projects that are easy to pack up and go.  I hopped on that bandwagon long ago.

My latest project:

Wavy Feathers Wimple by Caryll McConnell

Needles: 4 mm 16" circ

Yarn: Americo 100% Pima Cotton (fingering weight)

This project is just what I needed.  I've been having trouble finding knitting inspiration as of late.  Between the heat waves and our busy schedule, I easily went two weeks without picking up the needles (I hardly recognize myself anymore *shakes her head*). 

I've had this oh so lovely yarn in my stash for 2 years now.  A splurge item on a shopping trip while visiting my friend in Toronto: 

It's soft and squishy and the colour is so warm and rich.  As cold as the winter was, and as much as I hate to wish my life away, I find myself counting down the days until Autumn arrives for more occasions to wear my new (soon to be completed, that is) garment.

I started last night, and have already made much progress:

The lace pattern is much easier than you would think upon first glance.  It is comprised of 4 repeats of 28 rows (28!).  The good news is it is mainly yarn overs and simple decreases (ssk and k2tog).  The rows are straight forward and easily memorizable.  Difficult to get lost in.  All in all a nice pattern for the hot hazy (lazy?) days of summer.

Bye for now

This and that

Summer.  Not a good time for knitting...  There always seems to be so many things going on.  Try as I may to get excited about it and finish off the lingering projects, they seems to be set aside for more exciting things.

This is what has been keeping me away...

We had a couple of uninvited, but welcomed nonetheless, guests in the tree in our backyard.

We've gone on many trips to the park with the leading dog of my life, Mr. Cash.

 

We've taken Mr. Cash and his best good dog friend, Madison, swimming at a nearby pond,

And some extra friends showed up to join in on the fun. 

I was in a golf tournament and our team didn't come in last place.

And Joe, my boyfriend, and I got all spiffed up for my cousin's wedding. 

He cleans up pretty nicely, if I do say so myself.

I'll keep you posted if any actual knitting related life events crop up!

█ ♥ █  Happy Canada day!!   █ ♥ █

Battle of the hobbies

Every year the CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (my favourite broadcasting company) hosts a challenge... nay a Battle of Epic proportions.  The Canada Reads competition.  In a Survivor-esque fashion, five panelists each choose one Canadian book to defend and debate over the series of five shows.  At the end of each show, there is a vote to see which book is placed on the chopping block - to get the old heave ho.

Why am I telling you this?  After all, what does this have to do with knitting? Well, shortly after the competition ended and a winner emerged, I visited my local library to check out as many of the contenders as I could get my hands on.  When my Girl Friday sweater project was pitted against Marina Endicott's Good to a Fault, the book almost always won my time.  Hands down.

This leaves me with little progress to report on my sweater.

It's been nearly a month since my last post, and although my progress has not entirely stalled, it is really slow going.  I finished the front panels and have started the sleeves (pictured above).  Like the front panels, I'm knitting them at the same time for the same reasons.  Because they're knit from the cuff upward, I started with a provisional cast on, just in case they're not long enough. 

Up next: Wayson Choy's The Jade Peony.  Let's hope my knitting fairs a bit better with this one!

If you're interested, details about the competition can be found here .  Sadly the winner, Nikolski by Nicolas Dicker, had already been checked out of the library.  Not to worry, I'm keeping a close eye to see when I can get my hands on it!