Move along there

Finished up Dad's birthday socks at last. Really wish I'd paid more attention to the skeins when I bought them. Oh, well it's done with now.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia 4-fädig
Needle: 2.0mm

Also got the sleeves joined and the raglan decreases started on my Just Pain Blue sweater. It's coming together nicely so far. I did leave life lines where the sleeves joined the body though; just in case. I realize it's a rather plain sweater but I find that is what I want most of the time so I'm going with it.

Next I think I'll start a pair of Monsterbukse by duBedåre. My sister specifically asked for something like this for my Wee Niece. How can I possibly deny such a request?

Here's the yarn, notice how there is no pink. I object to the "pink for girls, blue for boys" thing.

Current Weather:
Mostly sunny and -8C.

Sunday Spinning

I have decided to make Sunday mornings A Time For Spinning. This week it happened on Monday. Oh, well; it was a day off work and it would appear I'm not setting this in stone.

Spinning evidence, complete with Spin-Off magazine in the background.

I'd really like to get more practice in with spinning so I can feel more comfortable with my wheel and maybe take the Master Spinner Level 1 course during Fibre Week at Olds College in June.

Speaking of my wheel, here she is:

Wheel

I bought this wheel second hand  about three years ago and it didn't occur to me to ask the lady I bought it from exactly what kind of wheel it is. Of course, it's possible she told me and just I didn't retain the information. I was just a wee touch excited at finding such a good wheel in working condition for an extremely reasonable price. It was a rare case where the lady knew what she was selling; she had two wheels and didn't need one of them any longer, and wanted it to go to someone who would use it. I swear I'm trying.

However, after a bit of research on the internet I believe she is an Ashford Traditional Single Drive built sometime in the 1970s. Although I'm pretty sure she's a "she", she doesn't have a name but I'm open to suggestions.

Knitting News

I would be finished a pair of socks for my Dad if I had realized the two skeins were completely different before I finished the first sock. I had to rip back and do the heel and toes in the second skein. Hopefully I can finish these in the next day or so. Then I need to start a pair for my Nephew but to do that I need to find some green yarn. I don't seem to have any green sock yarn right now. Well, there is some 15% silk blend but frankly that's not going to kids socks.

My blue sweater is soooo close to being ready to have the arms attached that I might even get to that today.

Gotta love how much knitting gets done when you have some time off work.

In Post Christmas News

Christmas went well. Much feasting was done. It is nice to get back to normal again though.

I think the kids liked their hats, they put them on right away and wore them home. Gift opening was done at Gran and Grandpa's place which necessitated the wearing of hats to go home as it was about -20C Christmas day.

Also my Niece told me she really likes my socks for snowshoeing and skiing. Thus ensuring herself a perpetual supply. Not that she realizes this of course, she's only 7 after all.

Weather Update

Current Temperature: -7C
Overcast and snowing lightly

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

And so this is Christmas.....

Christmas isn't really my favourite time of year. Actually, that's not exactly right, I quite like Christmas; I dislike the commercialization of Christmas.

Moving on.

I don't knit many Christmas gifts, I decided years ago that I'd knit for birthdays instead. Otherwise you end up with far, far too many things all coming due at the same time. I want to be able to relax and spend time with family at this time of year, I don't want to be stressing myself out over finishing knitting gifts. Besides, my family hasn't really exchanged Christmas gifts for years, most of us get something for the kids but that's about it. We made this change years ago as it was starting to seem sort of pointless to buy gifts for each other, if any of us want or need something we go and buy it. And none of us like the whole idea of searching for the perfect gift for everyone. Much less stressful this way.

I do usually knit something for my Niece and Nephew here in Canada though.

My Nephew is getting a hat.

When I asked he said his favourite colour is now green. So I made him a Sockhead hat in bright green, I just hope he didn't mean that his favourite colour is dark green. I modified this one to make it non-slouchy. I wasn't sure how he'd like slouchy so I went more head fitting.

Pattern: Sockhead Hat by Kelly McClure
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Macaw
Needle: 2.5mm

Green hat.

My Niece is also getting a hat.

This is a Wurm. It certainly looks like a warm Wurm. No modifications to this pattern at all, just made a small size for her. He favourite colour is still pink, I went with a dark pink.

Pattern: wurm by Katharina Nopp
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Sport in Rouge
Needle: 3.25mm & 3.75mm

Pink hat.

My Wee Niece will be getting a tonne of things when she comes to visit next summer as I object to the cost of international shipping. At least, I do while she' still too young to notice; we'll see as she gets older.

Unrelated to Christmas knitting, I finished a pair of socks for myself.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: ONline Supersocke 100
Needle: 2.0mm

Having finished those I started a pair for my Dad for his birthday in January. I fished the first one in no time. Unfortunately the second ball of yarn, although it's labeled the same dye lot, looks completely different. I'm going to have to improvise something here. Toes knit with the second ball of yarn are the most likely. I'll just have to see how far I get with the second sock and go from there.

In other Christmas news

My office Christmas party was held at the Banff Springs Hotel. And everyone got to spend the night. Cross that off my Bucket List. "Wow" is all I can say about that place; it's amazing.

There were trees everywhere. Here's just one hallway.

A hallway of trees.

And two Father Christmases were guarding the entrance to the breakfast room.

And the party was wonderful too. Kudos to all those in the office who planned it.

In other completely unrelated news

Soccer has been fighting an antibiotic resistant ear infection for about two months now. Yesterday we made (yet another) trip to the vet and it looks like it's finally cleared up. I'm keeping him on a preventative treatment plan for a few weeks to make sure it doesn't come back.

He seems to have figured out that the phrase "poor Soccer's ears" means he's going to get something unpleasant put in his ears. Yesterday when I said it he immediately lay down and put his head down. If his shoulder joints worked in such a way that would allow him to do so I suspect he'd have put his paws over his ears.

Here he is at the vet; this is also about what he looked like last night after hearing "poor Soccer's ears". At least he didn't run away and hide. Poor pup.

Soccer at the vet.

He also has a growth in his eye. Not sure how well you can see it below but his right eye is swollen and a bit red. The growth has been there for years, apparently it's not uncommon in dogs although he is the first one I've had that developed it, and it didn't really seem to bother him until this whole ear infection fiasco. I suspect he initially irritated it when trying to scratch his ear. Now it's weeping constantly which is causing a rash to grow there, the vet says it's a bit like diaper rash on a baby, and it won't go away because the area is constantly damp. He's now getting eye drops to control the infection as the vet and I are both reluctant to put him under anesthetic to remove the lump due to his age. He's 11 years old now and that's pretty old for a dog which could make anesthetic fatal. Unless there's no other choice I'd rather he didn't have to have surgery.

Soccer still at the vet.

Oh, and if you think there's something odd about his left eye you're right. It's partly blue. Not uncommon in Catahoula Leopard Dogs.

He also lost weight during this whole fiasco. This is actually a much bigger concern for me than anything else as he's been so consistent in his weight for the past 10 years. Plus, he's always been a rather lean dog, he just doesn't have a lot of weight to loose in the first place. I really, really hope it was just because he was on such powerful antibiotics for his ears and he'll regain weight over the next few weeks. I'm giving him a lot of high calorie foods to help with that. I'll take him back to be weighed in a few weeks and if he's still down then I'll have to see about blood work to see if we can isolate what's wrong.

Baked

Today I baked cookies for the office cookie exchange. Whew. Fortunately I only needed half a dozen for each participant not a dozen. 54 was more than enough cookies.

Progress continues on Christmas presents and I just realized I really, really need to get some socks done. I miss commuting to work on the train; I lost a lot of knitting time when I changed jobs.

A Grey Day

In that I finished my new Grey vest.

Love wearing vests although I haven't had any in my wardrobe for some time now. I think they all wore out and never got replaced. Working on fixing that. With a second one completed I suspect I'll be taking a break from knitting vests in order to work on some Christmas knitting. Plus, my sister requested socks; can't ignore that.

Not quite sure about the neck line, I think I'd have preferred it a bit higher but as it's meant to be worn over a long-sleeved t-shirt it doesn't matter too much. Edging is double moss stitch; between this and the green vest I think I've done enough of that for a while now.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport
Gauge: 27 stitches / 4 inches & 35 rows / 4 inches
Needle: 3.25mm

Vest

In other, but related, news:

Yarn! Wonderful, wonderful yarn!!

A wee bit of yarn arrived from KnitPicks, everything is already photographed and entered into my stash on Ravelry. Have to make sure that gets done right away or it can.... linger. In this pile are two hats, a Puffin, a Lock Ness monster, Doctor Who socks, another pair of socks, and 6 sweaters. Some assembly required. Can't wait to get started. Actually, I already started one of the hats. It's a Christmas gift so best to get cracking right away.

Boots

Couldn't resist making some little booties to go with the overalls that I finished the other day. This pattern is terribly cute and stays on fairly well I'm told, although I suspect most babies could get them off eventually. I prefer making separate booties instead of attaching them to the overalls as the pattern calls for; they're cute that way but the kid stands a chance of wearing them a bit longer without attached feet. I think.

Pattern: Baby Boots by Frankie Brown
Yarn: Georga Baby Luv
Needle: 2.25mm

Cutie booties

Here's the whole set.

Is this much cute actually legal?

At Long Last

Something is finished.

Another Pepita for a coworker who is expecting a little one with his girlfriend. Modified the shoulder straps to have a single button on each side at the front; feedback from the first one I made indicates the small double button system is a bit awkward for new parents. The multi-generation button bin came through again for the buttons. Also lengthened the legs again as this kid stands a good chance of being long like my Wee Niece; my coworker is well over 6 feet tall. Expect I'll do some booties using the same yarn.

Pattern: Pepita by Martina Behm
Yarn: Georga Baby Luv
Needle: 2.25mm

Cuteness

The Wee Niece? She has definitely proven me right about being long and lean.

Weather

It snowed. Really glad I'm on vacation and didn't have to try and make it into work today. The hill road out front looks like a skating rink.

The backyard shortly after sunrise

Better

Recovering nicely and feeling much better. Still lacking energy though, I really don't understand how people can go straight back to work a day or so after surgery. Managed to go for a nice walk today but couldn't take the dogs; well, probably could have taken Ahab but that wouldn't be fair to Soccer. And he's the one that needs more walking. Unfortunately, Soccer has not figured out how to walk calmly without bouncing all over the end of the leash. This behavior does not go well with holes in the abdomen.

Work send some lovely flowers.

Lovely

Still knitting away on several projects. Definitely have too many on the go right now, I'm not feeling any accomplishment as nothing seems to be getting done. Probably because I'm splitting my knitting time too many ways. Hopefully I'll manage to finish a couple things soon. And note to self: in future don't start too much at once, it doesn't end well.

Of course, a couple things are needed for Christmas. Will be ordering yarn tomorrow for these.

Surgery

Had my gal bladder removed on Friday; yes, that's Friday, November 13. Recovery is proving less painful than I feared. Lots of knitting getting done. Pictures to come when something is complete.

A New Day

Volunteered for the CSHRA executive yesterday. Should be interesting.

Nothing finished to talk about.

Got some new yarn from Scotland. C Rennie Chunky Lambswool Should make a lovely cozy sweater.

Row, row, row....

All of my row counters are in use. Pretty sure this means I should finish something.

I suppose I could go buy a couple more but then I'd have to keep track of them.

And now a picture of Squish being cute.

Awwww

Progress

Feels like a silly post really since there's only so many ways to say "things are progressing".

Still.

Here we go.

First up, the Ugly Christmas Sweater. I keep having visions of running out of yarn. No idea why but there you go. I think that's why I keep putting off working on it; fear of disappointment. Maybe its the weather too, we haven't had a killing frost yet. Unusual for this part of the world. I'm sure snow would inspire work on Christmas stuff.

Horribly blurry phone picture. Urgh.

Next we have Grey the grey vest. I think I'll make this a square neck since the last one was a v-neck. I do like how the waste shaping came out on Mossy so I'll probably do that again. Hope I have enough yarn, I should but, well..... one never knows.

Grey

Followed by a plain old blue sweater. Probably going to have a hood and I'm thinking of trying something to use a shoe lace or something to lace up an open neck. I said that badly, if it works the pictures at the end will explain it all.

Just Plain Blue.

And finally a co-worker has announced he will have a baby arriving early in the new year. Made an excellent excuse to do another Pepita. Will likely do booties and a hat to go with as that makes for a really cute set. This is made from Georga Baby Luv yarn, I think it's the softest acrylic I have ever worked with. It is just a smidge splitty so you have to watch your stitches carefully if you're using sharply pointed needles but other than that it's pretty nice as acrylics go.

Any excuse for another Pepita.

Coming up soon, once something is finished. I have too much on the needles as it is so nothing is getting cast on until something is finished, will be some Monster Pants at the request of my sister in Scotland. I'm sure my Wee Niece will look adorable in them. She sure makes her Pepita look cuter..... I was actually worried she might never fit the red/gray Pepita since she was born at over 9lbs (and my sister is tiny so I have no idea how she managed to cook up a kid that big) however, I did get some photographic evidence that she wore it a couple times. Thrilling to see hand knits being worn.

Come to think of it that rule about finishing something before starting something might get thrown out in order to do some Christmas hats or slippers or something for my Niece and Nephew. And Wee Niece too come to that.

Finished

Finished up Mossy. Double Moss Stitch for an entire vest is not something I'm in a hurry to do again. As an accent next time for sure. I don't think the picture below captures the texture very well but trust me; it's there. The colour is not very good either, it's actually a rich deep forest green. Phone pics are hit or miss and I'm not much of a photographer.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport in Enchanted Forest
Needle: 3.25mm
Gauge: 28 stitches per 4 inches blocked fairly aggressively

Actually I started another vest right away; I love vests and for some reason I don't have many right now. As I recall it's because all my fleece vests wore out and I never replaced them. Now working on getting myself several pullover vests. Although it's possible that could get mixed up with a cardigan or two; one never knows what the yarn will call for.

Progress continues on the Ugly Christmas Sweater. Maybe I'll feel more pressure to finish this one up once the snow arrives.

Started another Pepita by Martina Behm as a co-worker announced that he and his girlfriend are expecting in January. Using Georga Baby Luv in Red. This is a wonderful bright fire engine red. Love bright red for mystery babies. I think this is the softest acrylic I have ever worked with and although it's the teensiest, weensiest bit splitty it's not bad at all.

In other news Soccer is doing GREAT at Flyball all of a sudden. I took several months off with him and when we tried again he was doing much, much better. This probably says more about the trainer (me) than it does about the dog.

So Close

I'm getting so close I can almost taste it with my green Moss Stitch (which is actually Double Moss Stitch, but we don't need to discuss that). I knit the body, the back and one side of the front, making it a v-neck so I just have the remaining side of the front and the finishing.  Sooooo close.

Splitting Up

I made it to the arm holes on Mossy, the green moss stitch sweater and have split it to work the front and back separately. Yay, progress continues! Now to decide just how many stitches I want to take out of the shoulders. Referring to the notes from my tank top project I think I'll take out at least 12 stitches on each side.

In other super exciting news I renewed my Santa Fe's registration for another two years.

Wordless Wednesday

Restarted

the Ugly Christmas Sweater.

Not sure it will win any Ugly Christmas Sweater prizes but it seems pretty good to me.

Back to the Begining

You know, that place where you have re-knitted all the yarn you wound up from when you frogged. Once you finish that it is like you're making progress again.

I just reached that point on the green moss stitch vest.

Starting Over

Started Blue Moss all over again. I think that one moss stitch vest will be enough and trying to do an entire sweater is madness. Plus I needed something to work on that did not involve moving the yarn back and forth every two stitches. That's hard on the poor wrist. I think I'll rename this one to Just Plain Blue. Check out the folded over cuffs.

Photo Bomb courtesy of Mouse.

Also finished up a pair of socks. I was going to keep these but Mom saw them and dropped a hint. I'll put them in the Finished Box for now until I decide if I can part with them or not.

Pattern: Improvised Basic Sock
Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL
Needle: 2.0mm

No photo bombing cat this time.

The moss stitch vest has reached the waist decreases. Threw in a life-line just in case.

Or this time either.

And the final bit of news. It snowed last night. Not in and of itself anything unusual for September but it did linger on the north side of the house until after noon.

Poor Pansies

Finishing

Really need to finish the current pair of socks. Just the heels left so it shouldn't take too long. Today's Scent Hurdle tournament was cancelled; probably just as well from a sock knitting point of view. I always intend to knit at tournaments and then I always seem to end up judging besides it would be too cold today. Maybe someday I could end up running my dog...... still waiting to find out if the rules will be changed to allow Ahab to run. So far Soccer is a lost cause which isn't a huge shock. On the other hand he's been doing much better at Flyball; maybe there's hope after all.

After the socks onto the green vest, this try seems to be working much better. I guess I just shouldn't let myself get talked into cardigans. I know lots of people like them, heck, I may change my preference at a later date; but for now I like pullovers. I guess that says something about what I should do for the Ugly Christmas Sweater doesn't it?

I slept on it

and changed my mind.

I really, really want to make this dark green yarn into a moss stitch vest. It was my original intention for this yarn anyway, so I'm going back to it. I had originally started it as a cardigan style vest but that wasn't working for me. I ended up frogging that attempt. This time I'll make it a pullover. I hope this works out this time; this poor yarn is just crying out to be knitted up and worn.

In other news

Wee Bairn has arrived! I have a brand new niece. Technically, she arrived on Thursday so this is a bit late. I just got some pictures today and she got her mom's hair for sure.

Since I absolutely hate the whole "pink for girls, blue for boys" thing (blue is my favorite colour!), I won't be making her anything pink unless and until she asks for pink. Maybe this kid'll swim against the stream. I can hope, right?

There's something wrong

with Blue Moss.  I'm not quite sure what; it could even just be that moss stitch is very time consuming. It's resting for a bit. Not frogged or anything, just resting.

Since I still can't decide if I want the Ugly Christmas Sweater to be a pullover or a cardigan I've started another sweater in the mean time. Don't have a name for it yet but it's a lovely dark green. This one will be a pullover for sure; mind you,I'm still on the sleeves so there's plenty of time to change my mind.

Wordless Wednesday

Smoke

We haven't been troubled much by smoke from the fires burning all around us this year. Until today. Today it was quite hazy with drifting forest fire smoke.

Finished

First though, guess who has managed to do Flyball correctly two weeks in a row!! Way to go Soccer! Maybe, just maybe, we'll get to another tournament.

Knitting

Finished the Small Blanket on the knitting board. An interesting technique; I think I'll try using it to make a picture or something next time since I can definitely see how I could use this technique to do some really interesting colour work. I do wish the blanket was made of wool though so I could block it more square. This is one of the reasons I don't care much for acrylic; it doesn't block worth speaking of.

Pattern: Improvised
Yarn: Red Heart Comfort Solids
Gauge: 3.25 stitches/inch

Wordless Wednesday

Halfway

Broke out the tape measure and found that I'm half way finished the Small Blanket. Feels like it's riddled with mistakes.

The Neglected

Had to back track a bit on the Ugly Christmas Sweater, it was too big around so I frogged the body and will remove a few stitches and start that part again. Sleeves are already finished and seem fine. I usually find that if I'm not feeling inspired to work on a project it usually means something is wrong with it. Unfortunately, it can take a while to figure out what it is. Oh well, got there in the end. That's one of the nice things about knitting; nothing will break/end/go bad/damn you to hell if you have to start again. Unless you're knitting to a deadline, which I avoid most of the time.

Also continued to work on the other pullover now called Blue Moss, haven't really been neglecting this project it's just slow. I did figure out how to work the increases in Moss Stitch so I'm sure decreases won't be too hard when the time comes. Almost done the increases on the sleeves. This is definitely a long term project as moss stitch takes forever to work and the yarn is a light sport weight. Wonder if I can finish in time for fall. Honestly, probably not but it makes a nice thought.

And finally; I made some progress on the loom knitted blanket.This is awkward to work on because the knitting board is so long, I definitely see why the larger ones are made into a loop, and there is an ever so slight serious danger of knocking stuff off tables. Plus it puts strain on the arms and shoulders moving it around, on the plus side it works up quite quickly. Although, I do keep thinking I need to mount it on a stand or something. Not sure if any such thing exists though and my handy-(wo)man skills are probably not up to making something like that. The picture below shows the wrapped pegs on the left with two yarns and the worked pegs on the right with one yarn. I'm not posting a 'how to' here, there are plenty of books and YouTube videos out there if you're curious.

A$$ Juice Cozy Part II

For Part I click here.

Here it is in all it's glory. Currently being modeled by a wine bottle. It's wool so it I don't imagine there will be any problems getting it to stretch over the A$$ Juice bottle; I think that one is a bit wider around than a standard wine bottle.

Pattern: see below
Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted Weight
Needle: 5.0mm
Gauge: 6.4 stitches / inch (gauge not critical)

Pattern

(Please note that I wrote this out without testing, expect errors.)

Cast on 6 stitches.
Join in the round being careful not to twist.
Place stitch markers between all stitches.
Rnd 1 - kfb into all stitches
Rnd 2 (and all even rounds) - knit
Rnd 3 - kfb twice, *sm kfb twice, rep from * to end of round
Rnd 5 - kfb, knit to 1 stitch before the marker, kfb, *sm, kfb, knit to 1 stitch before the marker, kfb, rep from * to end of round

Continue until the circle is slightly smaller than the bottle you want it for, you want it to stretch at bit to fit. This does not need to be exact, it will stretch, especially if you use wool. Once you have reached your desired circumference remove the stitch markers leaving only one to mark the beginning of the round.

Switch to working 2X2 rib in the round.
Continue in rib until you reach desired length.
Bind off.
Enjoy beverage.

A$$ Juice Cozy

Sigh.

Due to a slight mix-up at work I find myself required to knit an A$$ Juice Cozy.

Allow me to explain: there is a bottle of truly vile liquor on the board room table and if you miss your weekly goal you are required to drink a shot during the Friday afternoon meeting. And if you are away on Friday and fail to submit a goal to the office manager then everyone else chooses for you.

I did actually submit a goal, I have time-stamped email proof!

I decided to knit the cozy anyway. It's way, way, way better than being required to perform a rap song written by yourself. Shudder.

39 Years Young

Yep, it's my birthday today!

My birthday present to myself was clean dogs. Not terribly exciting unless you were in the same room with them.

Celebrated on Sunday with the family. Also not terribly exciting. But I enjoyed it.

Trial by Booties

Baby booties that is.

Tried EZ's Star Booty pattern this time. Not sure about the cast on I chose, will definitely try another one next time.

They are cute though.

Progress

The latest pair of socks is progressing well. There was a hint dropped when Mom saw them.

Also found some pink/green/gray yarn that is crying out to be made into baby booties. Maybe I'll shift focus this evening.

I Hate Shoes

I know, I know; not exactly something you expect to hear from a Western woman is it?

Nevertheless.

The reason I hate shoes is because they make my knees hurt. Yep, you read that right. When I wear "regular" shoes my knees will start hurting. A lot.

And hiking boots. Torture devices. Used to be I could barely able to walk after hiking for a couple hours in "normal" hiking boots.

So a few years ago I went looking for a solution.

Fist I found Vibram Five Fingers, and this was before they were cool. I ran into a slight problem with these unfortunately. You see, because the toes are separate I kept stubbing my toe on Soccer's leg. The poor dog is extremely insecure and INSISTS on walking too close to me. I was worried I was going to break a toe on his leg sometime. I still have a pair of Five Fingers, they're great water shoes. But I needed something with a closed toe area to protect my toes from my dog. Not many can say that.

So, back to the internet and I found Soft Star Shoes. These are awesome, they have a closed toe area to protect me from Soccer's insecurities, and they have models that look enough like "normal" shoes at first glance that no one will question them. But basically they're just a thin rubber sole with a bit of leather on top. Real leather too although they do have vegan options if that's your preference. I have a few pairs from them and I have even worn my Runamoc Dash's to job interviews.

At about the same time I found Russel Moccasins. These guys have been around for a long time hand making custom fit boots and shoes. They mostly market to hunters but I figure that if you can hunt in them you can certainly hike in them. At the time when I ordered my boots the minimalist sole options  were quite limited, although I see now they have a whole section of the website for it. I have even had my boots re-soled because I walked off the first soles. Hiking is no longer painful with my hand made custom fit hiking boots.

The moral of the story is: if you hurt find a solution.

Wheeeeee

It was party time at work this Saturday. There were fireworks. I left before the cops showed up.

Also did some practicing with Soccer; he's still struggling.

Knitting

So close to being done my UKBiL's socks. It's amazing how fast sport weight yarn knits up when you're making socks.

Socks!

Loves socks. Hate wearing shoes - whole 'nother story.

First up, finished a pair for my sister in Scotland. The one who's expecting a baby; Wee Bairn for those keeping up with the class. Same yarn as the Father's Day Socks I made for my Dad. The colour in the picture is not very accurate, it's actually much darker. I figure new parents might need hand knits too.

Pattern: Improvised/general sock pattern
Yarn: Nova Sock Solid
Needle: 2.0mm

Second up, a pair for my almost-brother-in-law, that would be Wee Bairn's father. Apparently the secret to knitting socks faster is to use bigger yarn. Imagine it. These are being made with sport weight yarn. Only started them yesterday and had to spend quite a bit of time sorting out gauge before really starting since this is the first pair I've done with sport weight yarn. They're also a much looser drape than I usually do socks. I'm sure they'll be fine.

Hat

Finished the baby hat. With the overalls, hat and booties all done in the same yarn does it count as a set?

Pattern: Shibui Baby hat and Socks by Helen Bingham
Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks FX
Needle: 2.25mm

Progress

Scent Hurdle tournament was cancelled yesterday due to thunder and lightening. Just as well as I forgot to write it down and didn't show up.

Did an on-line typing test just for shits and giggles. Turns out I type about 50 words per minute these days. Not too shabby really.

Knitting

Progress continues on the Ugly Christmas Sweater. It doesn't seem ugly enough to win any prizes but I suspect I'll manage to find a few places to wear it. Both sleeves are done and the body is progressing. Decided to make it a cardigan after all. Guess that means I'll need to find buttons for it.

Since that one will be a cardigan I started another sweater. This one will be a pullover. Blue this time, it's surprising how few blue things I knit for myself; especially considering that blue is my favorite colour. Was thinking of doing this in Moss Stitch but I think I'll change my mind and do just the cuffs in pattern, the increases and decreases just don't seem to work right when worked in the pattern. If I do decide to do an entire sweater in Moss Stitch I suspect it'll have to be done in pieces and sewed together. Not my favorite way to make a sweater. No pics yet.

Also started a baby hat with the last of the baby overalls leftover yarn. Anything left once this is done will go into the Granny Square Blanket. It's just one enormous granny square that I keep adding all the leftover bits of sock yarn too.

Reading

Been re-reading my way through Mercedes Lackey's stories about Tarma and Kethry. Always worth revisiting those two; they're a couple of the best characters she's ever created.

Also discovered a new (to me) TV show long since cancelled of course but the library has copies of the DVDs. Sanctuary it's called; saw Amanda Tapping's name on it and figured I had to try it. Enjoying it so far.

Flu

Not feeling at all well today. We had an outdoor Scent Hurdle practice scheduled too and I had to miss it. Really sorry Ahab didn't get to try running outside. Next time.

Still managed a few rounds on my Ugly Christmas Sweater. Working on the sleeves still. I may change my mind yet and make it a pullover instead of a cardigan. Need to decide soon as the sleeves are almost finished.

I Made a Mouse

Again.

I was powerless in the face of all the cuteness. Knit the entire mouse during one episode of Doctor Who. OK, OK, it was a classic episode and so about 90 minutes long. Still not bad, eh?

Went up a needle size for this one as the stitches were a bit hard to work last time. Also noticed that you should not stuff your mouse too much otherwise it can be hard to get the butt stitches to close properly.

Pattern: Nose-up Catnip Mouse by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: 100% wool from Custom Woolen Mills
Stuffing: 100% polyester stuffing & catnip
Needle: 2.25mm
Gauge: not critical for a toy