Wool in my soup

2007-10-18T11:30:00.001-07:00

I Am Alive and Well!

Hi to all who visit this blog. I am alive and well and still knitting!!

I have heard about 'blog fade' and I know I am suffering from this ailment, but I am not really ill, just busy.

I am on Ravelry as Swimmingpeg - don't ask why I did not use Woolinmysoup - I have asked myself that question far to often to count!

I spend too much time reading blogs, checking Ravelry, taking six courses a week and living to even apologize for not blogging.

I will blog again, but for now I am taking a break - not sure when I will return, but I will!

Thanks for any concerns you might have had about me - I am just fine! Now to tend to the knitting needles and yarn!

2007-10-02T17:50:00.001-07:00

Do You Remember Your Semaphore?

If you remember your semaphore from Girl Guides or probably Sea Cadets, I have spelled out (I think and hope) the name of this little sweater. If not, and you remember, let me know - not that I have much use for semaphore anymore, but I thought it would be fun to let the little sweater signal to you!

I learned semaphore in Girl Guides, but have never had a use for it! I also got my Knitter's Badge or something like that. I can remember having to knit a 'square' in Brownies and it was absolutely filthy when it was finished, but a wash and a prayer and I got my badge!!

I used some reclaimed yarn from a sweater and left overs from sock knitting to make this little sweater for - well, a good reason will come along!! The blue is cotton, but it is so soft and the colour is wonderful, I think. I am now knitting the February baby sweater (my 4th, I think) from EZ's Knitter's Almanac, with the remainder of the blue cotton! I have been trying to use up some stash!

I did order the Wool Gatherer from Schoolhouse Press and also a DVD and a copy of the book 'Knitting Around' by EZ.

Now, time to get back to my knitting!

2007-09-30T09:39:00.001-07:00

Hats, Scarves and Vests!

These two little hats - completed in a day and a half - are for the little twin boy and girl that I have made a few sweaters for and since this is their first Halloween, I thought these might be cute. The cotton was on for 40% off in July - who thinks pumpkin hats in July - and I had some green left over from some 'strawberry' hats, I just grabbed up yarn and needles and had fun! I think that if they only wear them for an hour that their parents will still appreciate the effort. Their Daddy looks after our computer, and although we pay him for his work, he always goes above and beyond, and we appreciate that, so a few little hats and sweaters are an easy way to say thanks!

If I had paid full price for the yarn to knit the scarf above, it would be the most expensive scarf to date. The yarn I used is one of the fun yarns that originally sold for $17.95 a ball and I used 3 balls!! It is made by (I think, as the name is obscured by the sale tag) Godlifra - and I saw it in one site called fetuccine, as it is rather flat with a bit of glitz sewn up the middle of this 'unspun' yarn! I got it for $4.50 a ball and it only has 30 metres to the ball! It will be tucked into a Christmas present! It has more orange, brown, rust and gold than the photo shows, and it will be a warm scarf - I cast on 12 st. on a 9mm needle and knit until I ran out of yarn!!

The green scarf below is similar to the orange one that our dog, Isla, modeled for me. She does not think she looks good in green, so I just placed it on the work table! Instead of starting with 80 stitches, I cast on 100 stitches for this one. I think it is a better length for an adult, but it all depends on how long you want the scarf - for decoration, but no real warmth.
This vest was knit from Takhki.Stacy Charles Santa Fe yarn that I enjoyed working with - again bought at a 50% off table. This vest - size XL - does look good with jeans, so what more can you ask of a garment. I also knit the same pattern up in a small size in the same colours as the Rib Warmer Vest below. I like the buttons on the black/grey/cream/brown vests better than the other vest. I find purchasing buttons can be a bit of a trial and do not always look forward to that little shopping expedition - much easier to buy yarn!!
Who said I loved the Rib Warmer Vest pattern? This yarn is 95% Extra Fine Merino Wool and is wrapped with 5% nylon. It is so soft and warm and I know it will get lots of wear this winter. I showed a close up of the button!! That little snip of red on the lower left corner is my MP3 cover. I listen to books and podcasts as I knit - oh yes, I usually have classical music playing in the background.

I did finish the knit of the XO Irish Vest by Cheryl Oberle, but trying to get buttons has not been successful just yet. One of my LYS has some bone and also wood buttons, so I will make a trip there and then show the vest - buttons and all! This vest may not be the project I am most proud of from the point of view of beauty, although it is very nice, but from the point of view of the final cast off - I was over the moon when I cast off the last stitch!! I washed it in Woolite on cold on a gentle cycle and it is so much softer. It has taken two days to dry! As I said, this will be my Irish wind breaker!!

2007-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

So You Don't Have Any Pics!

I have decided that I can still post without pics, as that seems to be some of my hold up lately.

Is it the time of year, or is it me? I notice someone else who happens to be a 'cancer' stated that her mood was not great just now. Perhaps my planets are in the wrong position!!

I was just looking at my library's new acquisitions, and they have Elizabeth Zimmermann's DVD. There were not a lot of details on it, but my name is on the waiting list. I am third in line, so it will be a week or two, but I want to see it and perhaps then order a copy for myself. I have done that previously with knitting books - I like to handle them a bit longer than the bookstore owner wants me to, so the library will loan them to me for three weeks and I can sit and stare as long as I wish!! If I like more than a couple of patterns, I order from my bookstore or online!!

I am currently working on an EZ Rib Warmer Vest and a Baby Surprise Jacket - restful knitting, and just what I need for the moment.

For any gals who get the Canadian Living magazine, there was a nice little kimono-style baby sweater in the last issue. I tore it from the magazine and stashed in my binder. I have taken several binders and I store patterns from the internet; enlarged charts; hints on knitting practices and handling of stash, etc. in them. I worry that 'free' patterns on Knitty.com might disappear. Probably not likely, but I want to be safe - rather than sorry.

Just a quick post and I will get the camera out and get busy, as I have a few FOs to photograph!!

2007-09-25T06:47:00.001-07:00

I Am Still Here!

I just wanted to let the people who read the blog know that I am fine. I am busy knitting and trying to put together a music appreciation course for our ElderCollege for the Feb/Mar semester.

I have completed three vests in the past two weeks, but alas no photos. One of the vests was the Irish XO Vest from Cheryl Oberle's book, Folk Shawls! Hooray! Ever had one of those knits that you thought would just never end? I must admit that I had only started it on 8 August this year, but it did seem to go on forever. I am so happy! I was told by a wonderful Irish lady in my LYS the other day that if I gave it a machine wash on gentle with something like Woolite, that it would really soften up. That is how I will block it. A good wash and then a rest on a towel while it dries and blocks!! Then the fun of choosing buttons!!

Oh yes, I finally got my invite to Ravelry. I also listened to a wonderful podcast from Stash and Burn of Jesse and Casey, who started Ravelry. What a success story!!

So you see, I am here, but busy. I do read some blogs, but do not post. Oh yes, in the last few weeks my DH has been putting together a wine course that he gives and that means he needs the computer lots. We only have one car and one computer, so we share. I then can sit and knit and not be distracted by wanting to look through Ravelry. I put in my name for Ravelry, and now I want to change it and am not sure if that will work, but I will try!

Thanks, Ann, for your concern. Life just happens!

2007-09-16T19:00:00.001-07:00

This is embarassing!
Hi knitters! My name is Isla and I am a Cairn Terrier. I would rather be sleeping, but the knitter in the house needed a model for this scarf she knit yesterday! She got the pattern from someone named Kate who also has a blog - whatever that is!! She made this for my buddy, Madeline, who moved away - darn, 'cause I really like her.

She is not much of a photographer, and she did crop these photos, but that did not work for her either. She also does not know how to set up the 'photo shoot', so I will just rearrange this darned thing! However, I must admit that I do look good in this orange boucle!

There, that is much better. You know, I am a reluctant model, but I am not anorexic, and I do only get paid in dog cookies.

Perhaps the knitter in this house will put down the needles, books and garden tools and write in this thing called a 'blog' a bit more often!

2007-09-10T17:49:00.001-07:00

Knitting - wish there were more hours in some days!

I finally knit up the first skein of Sea Silk that I bought while visiting Nova Scotia a year ago. The IK Summer 2007 had a wonderful pattern designed by Amy R. Singer and she called it Montego Bay Scarf. Since I was at Oak Island in NS for my nursing school reunion last year, it is my Oak Island Treasure Scarf!

I have about 2 yards of yarn left, so that is good use of a skein of a wonderful souvenir yarn and I know I will get lots of wear from it! The Sea Silk was just so wonderful to knit with and I am so happy that I have three more skeins in my stash. One skein is a deep raspberry with only a small amount of variegation in darker shades of raspberry. The other two skeins are a subtle variegated cream and I think they will become a shawl!

We are having eight people in for lunch on Wednesday, so I got out my pans and made some Peanut Butter Cookies today. As I was making them, I wondered where the cross-hatching with a fork ever came about - my Mom always did it that way, and I know many others do too! I did not roll the cookies in balls, just used my little scoop and thus the ragged edges, but my DH says they are delicious! I don't eat sweets, but I love to bake.

I did make some banana and oatmeal muffins that I can eat. The round cookie jar sitting behind them was around when I was a little girl. In fact, we lived in an older home that always had mice come in the cellar in the fall. My Mom had told me to stay away from the cookies, but I thought she would never hear me pull out the jar and just have one - now would she? Well, I carefully start to pull the jar forward and a little grey mouse scampered out from behind. My scream gave me away, and my Mom caught me in the act. When Mom asked me if there were any things from our home that I wanted, I asked for the cookie jar, the honey dish and two little porcelain rabbits that have openings in their backs and can hold water, so they get tiny blossoms in them, especially in the spring. Memories - money is nice, but memories last forever!

I have been busy tidying the garden - don't want the company on Wednesday to think I am an untidy gardener! Anyway, I picked these cosmos - I think they are one of my favourite flowers, along with lilies and roses! They are such a simple flower and they always make me smile!

2007-08-29T20:03:00.001-07:00

What to knit with gifted yarn!
We had a beautiful summer day today, thus the sleeveless dress and sandals. However, I had just knit the beret and scarf and wanted to get a picture to send to my DD and her family. They sent me the yarn from Germany for Mother's Day.

The yarn is Rowan Summer Tweed and contains 70% silk and 30% cotton. I had three skeins to work with and so it took me some time to decide just what I wanted to make. The beret is from IK Winter 2006 and this is the third time I have knit that pattern. I am happy with it! There was enough to knit a scarf, so again I went to a tried and true pattern. The scarf is the Shape It Scarf from Sally Melville's 'Book 1 - The Knit Stitch'. I don't have enough yarn left to make a pair of booties for a Barbie doll! I started both projects yesterday and finished the beret and started the scarf! Today I finished the scarf. I must admit that I did call a strike on cooking dinner, so my DH made us a delicious omelet! I just kept knitting!

I am very happy with both projects. The plant I am standing beside is a Brugsmania and it smells heavenly in the early evening and morning! As you can see from the back, the yarn is a nice gold tweed with wee flecks of orange and brown. I have been looking at a 'barn coat' from LL Bean, so perhaps I will get one in brown to get a lot more use from this combo!

2007-08-27T18:37:00.001-07:00

A Few Projects off the Needles!

Here is my Lacy Prairie Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Shawls". It appears to be a solid off white in the photo, but it is a grey and charcoal mix! That is on our front deck, and I am not a fan of painting railings, especially when you use cedar. I like the 'silvering' of cedar with age!This was a great project. It is the same on either side, and will make a nice cosy shawl for winter, or the cool evenings that we have been experiencing this summer. The pattern can be knit all in garter stitch, which I think would be great with a hand painted yarn! I like to let either the stitch or the yarn do the work, and here it is the stitch!

Below is a little shawl that comes from Knitting on the Net. It was a free pattern and came at just the right time.

I was at my LYS last week to show her my Pi Shawl and this yarn was on sale. It is Rowan Ribbon Twist. The content of the yarn is 70% wool, 25% acrylic and 5% polyamide. It is a 100g ball which only has 66 yds. The original cost of the yarn was $14.95, but I was lucky and got it for $3.75 a ball. The vest took four balls. The pattern shows a fringe, but this yarn would not be suitable for a fringe, so I did not make one. I will knit this pattern again, but I learned that the back is a bit large and the shoulder seams do not seam up well. Next time, I will do short rows on the shoulders and then leave the stitches live and do a three-needle bind off!

I have five balls of the same yarn in a deep burgundy with a blue and pink ribbon running through it! I will tuck them away for gifts for my GDs. Knitting with bulky is okay, but I would not want to make a big project. It is tiring for my hands, and I don't have any arthritis.

Now to put a few more hours into the Irish wind breaker!

2007-08-22T17:04:00.001-07:00

EZ - Another wonderful design!I just felt like having a bit of easy knitting while working on my Irish windbreaker, so cast on this soft cotton for a simple Elizabeth Zimmermann baby sweater. I like the gull stitch on this little cardi, but with this variegated yarn, the lace and colours did nothing for each other. The simple stockinette suited the yarn so much better. I came to the part in the pattern where you take off the stitches for the sleeves and then cast on stitches at the armhole and continue on down the body. I decided that two buttons were enough!

After I completed the body, I went back and with my dpns, I picked up stitches where I had cast on for the body and took the life stitches off the stitch holder and knit in the round down the little sleeve. SO - no seams to sew up! I don't know why I dislike sewing up my knitting, but I do. I had enough in that 'cake' of yarn to knit a little hat. This is in the FO box, and a baby will probably come along soon, or it can go in the Christmas hampers!

I have another 'cake' of the same yarn - I've lost the ball band, but I am sure if I took it in to my LYS they would tell me what it was. It is a beautiful soft cotton, but weaving in ends where there was a new ball added is still not easy in cotton!!

2007-08-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Knitting an Irish Wind Breaker!
This is showing further progress on the XO Vest! It is one of those knits where I set myself so many rows to do each day. I try to do 8 rows, but that is the two fronts and the back you see there ladies and gentlemen! If I knit more than that, my wrists ache and I don't want to do anything uncomfortable to my wrists - can't get new ones that I know of!

I had always thought of a windbreaker as a jacket made of nylon or some other material that was impenetrable by the wind. I think that is so, but this vest knit from Bainin on 4 mm is also a wind breaker. A raging gale off the northwest Pacific, and I will not feel even a cool breeze on my torso. It will be a nice warm vest when completed.

I have thought many a time about the Irish ladies who knit those beautiful Irish sweaters and vests. I would not get into an arm wrestling competition with them - not that I have ever arm wrestled with anyone, but this knitting makes for very strong wrists.

I love the pattern, but I have changed one thing on it. I am always amazed at how small the buttonholes are on some garments. A k2tog and yo makes for a very small button and with a nice sturdy vest like this, I do not want 'baby' buttons. I did it on the first buttonhole, but I am NOT, NOT, I repeat NOT, frogging back to change it. The remaining buttonholes are cast off 2 st. and then cast on 2 st the next row. I have decided to do this on more garments. I hate to see buttonholes too small and the buttons never lay nicely on the garment. If the buttonhole is a wee bit too large, I can always make it smaller!!

We continue on with the vest, but I am knitting a wee baby sweater from EZ's Knitter's Almanac. I need to get it in the mail this week, as Amanda came into the world on Friday at the bouncing weight of 11 lbs and 5 ozs. The hedgehog is already knit for her big sister, Cate. I am almost finished the first sleeve, so only have one more sleeve to go and then a little rolled brim hat with Icord on the top!

2007-08-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

A Good Source of Free Patterns!

I received a request on the last post for the pattern for the jade green lacy short sleeved sweater in a recent blog. The pattern came from Garnstudio, who is also the manufacturer of Muskat, the yarn I used. You go to www.garnstudio.com and then there are flags at the bottom of the first page. Choose your language of choice and the pattern for the sweater is in book 101 and is pattern #32. You just print off the pattern! As easy as that and you have a wonderful pattern.

The symbols on the charts are a bit different from what we are used to, but I enlarged the charts and then at the bottom hand printed out the symbols and the details. I do find it tricky to knit patterns that are translated, as sometimes the translation leaves me wondering if all the details are included. I like a few other styles from Garnstudio, so may give them a try in future.

I thought about a couple of the comments regarding perhaps spending too much time reading blogs. I think that Marsha is correct in her explanation of how this is how she learns new techniques, new patterns and, best of all, gains new friends.

Margene, who often comments on my blog, was one of the first blogs I ever read, and she is a very faithful blogger - I mean faithful to posting most every day. Her pictures are so beautiful and she does such lovely work. She also spins and I am enjoying her adventures with all the wonderful fleeces she acquires. She is also one of the most generous of bloggers and I would never have met her without blogs, so Marsha, you have convinced me to keep reading, posting and commenting. Bloggers love comments!

I have met so many bloggers, and I have also had the privilege of commenting to a wonderful gal, Jeannie, who is currently going through breast cancer! I have been there, so I know some of how she feels. Sometimes just a little comment about how you hope things are going well can help, or the little joke I told Jeannie the other day! Want to hear it! It is rated 'family'!

It seems that little Johnny and his Mom and Dad were at Grandma's house for dinner. Grandma puts the food in front of Johnny and he starts to eat immediately. Mom is taken aback and tells Johnny that we always pray before we eat. Johnny's comment was, "Mom we are eating Grandma's food, and she knows how to cook!"

Karen helped me with a much needed bit of yarn, others have links to blogs, shops and sources of knitting supplies that I would never have known about.

I have learned so much about books and You Tube from another Karen in Edinburgh. Jo in Ireland, who I had the privilege of meeting in the flesh and she is as delightful in person as she is on the blog, has sent me Bainin, from which I am knitting an Irish vest! I have met and enjoyed the company of bloggers in my area. Without the blogs, none of this would have happened, so I will be reading blogs - maybe I will cut back some, but darn I enjoy it!

2007-08-16T18:25:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Karen! You saved my shawl!
Here is my completed Pi Shawl! I really like it and I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the yarn that Karen sent to me. I do have to apologize to Karen, as I cannot remember her blog name, and I had just done a clean up of my blogs on Bloglines!

I knit it with 6+ skeins of Lang Jawoll sock yarn! I knit it on a 4 mm circular needle. The edging is from the Spanish Christening Shawl in Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls book. I love the design and would knit it as an edging again.

Do any of you ever restrict the time you spend reading blogs and checking our knitting shops on line? I sometimes just have to pull away, as I think, "Darn, look at all the time I could have been knitting!"

I also got my IK Fall 2007 today. I have only just perused it, but I think I will knit the Cobblestone sweater by Jared Flood of Brooklyntweed blog. He is currently knitting a beautiful afghan! He has done some fantastic knits from Elizabeth Zimmermann patterns, so you know I like his style right away. Anyway, if you don't go to his blog, go and take a look!

2007-08-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

Keep it! It will come back into fashion!

I was reading the paper this past weekend, and there was an article on the fact that 'silver' hair for women is back in fashion! I have been collecting this silver hair for just over 50 years, and I never thought it was 'in' or 'out' of fashion! Who knew? I have never had the desire to colour my hair and I note that a few visitors to my blog like the 'silver' hair. I love it and have no desire to change it, but it is nice to know I am now 'in fashion'!!

I have been busy with two projects. This is the XO Cardigan/Vest from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Vests. It is a vest design from Ireland, and the yarn is Bainin, which was sent to me by the dear Irish lass, Jo. You can see the X's and O's starting to form. I must admit that it is a knit that is a bit hard on my wrists, so I only knit about eight rows per day. The body is knit seamless, so eight rows is accomplishing something! I am finding the buttonholes a tad small, but worry that if I make them larger they will get baggy. Now that I think of it perhaps it would be better to start bigger, and if they enlarge too much - just take a quick stitch or two with a darning needle and yarn! I have only done one buttonhole so far, so rest assured the next ones will be larger! Isn't that why we knit - so that we can have garments just the way we want them?
The other project is Cheryl Oberle's Lacy Prairie Shawl. I must admit that the photo has it looking beige in colour, but it is actually a light grey!

Way back in the spring, Outi, of White Country and I traded seeds for pelargoniums, or most folk call them geraniums. These geraniums are the result of our trade. They are much more red than the photo shows, but I am so pleased with them. I hope Outi's geranium seeds worked for her too! This is another plus of blogging, I'd say!

2007-08-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Another FO - so let's go out to the theatre!

This is a sweater I had downloaded the pattern for way back in early May. It is a pattern from Garnstudio knitted with Muskat - 100% Egyptian merserized cotton in a beautiful jade colour. The sweater is deeper in colour than it shows in the picture. I thought I was smiling more than this photo shows, as I am so very pleased with this sweater. I'll have to make sure the photographer makes me smile more for photos! I think it is perfect with the 'little black dress'. You know, the type of dress that takes you anywhere. I was off to see 'Cabaret' at our local theatre - it was wonderful and so nice to hear the music again!

It was a relatively easy knit, but the symbols are Scandinavian and a bit different, and also sometimes when a pattern is translated, you feel there are some things missing between the lines. I like the fit, the colour, the feel of the yarn and my knitting. All in all, a perfect FO!
You can really see the pattern on the back! Perhaps I should have pinned down and then soaked those little points a bit more, but never mind, I am still thrilled. I am always amazed at my 'swimmer's shoulders' when I see a back view. A small problem, really!

Now, what to cast on next. I have had some 100% Turino silk from Plymouth yarns and I had planned to knit a sweater. Once I read the book, 'No Sheep For You' I realized that this silk would not be the best choice for a sweater. It might grow on me, and I definitely did not want that to happen! So, as the yarn languished in the stash, I thought of what would be the best use of it! I had ordered Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Shawls" and when I saw the Prairie Shawl, I knew the mix of pattern and yarn would be perfect. I have lived on the prairies of Canada and know that a mohair shawl in winter would not be a great match, especially if you lived long ago in a sod hut! I like the earthy feel and look of the yarn and the pattern is reversible. Lots of garter stitch, but if you have been reading my blog for long, you know I love garter stitch!

I have 12 balls of this light grey, so there is no fear of me running out. Now, I also have two balls of medium grey, two of a dark grey and one of a lovely jade! I am wondering about trying it double for a Rib Warmer Vest! I'll see how much is left over from this shawl. I am not that thrilled with the work at the start, but I plan to put a good bit of blocking there and perhaps a tassle!

Oh yes, I love Cheryl Oberle's books, and I also have her 'Folk Vests' and cast on for the Irish XO vest with a Bainin I got from Jo of Celtic Memory Yarns!

2007-08-10T09:29:00.001-07:00

Doing some blog housekeeping!

Before I get on to answering a few questions from my previous post, here is a picture of what I have been working on. This is Rumple 100% Silk from Handmaiden yarn and the bias shawl was a pattern on the yarn. It is a simple pattern, but the yarn is best done with no real pattern and at $42.00 a skein, I wanted to have something I could wear as a little shawl or a scarf. I loved knitting with this yarn and I used my Rosewood needles - such a pleasure to knit! The needles are a souvenir of my first knitting retreat back in March!

The colourway of the yarn is called 'Mineral', but the post on the Handmaiden website shows a bit more 'silver' in the sample than my skein had and I am not at all unhappy with my skein.
This is a bit of a closeup, and the truest colour is where the scarf is folded onto itself. I think I need a new camera - you have all seen this table before. It is great table about 4'X8' and my DIL gave it to me. It is great for sewing, blocking, parcel wrapping, etc. and I often lay my knitting on it to photograph it.

Now to answer some questions - the Baby Surprise Jacket (the little green and yellow ones) is a pattern by the wonderful Elizabeth Zimmermann and it can be bought through Schoolhouse Press or it appears in the book, "Knitter's Workshop". I find that there is a good deal more info on the sheets than appears in some of the books. For instance, I have knit 7 Rib Warmer Vests and the sheet contains the method for knitting the vest without a back seam. This method does not appear in the 'Knitter's Workshop". I am a true fan of EZ and, in fact, I am hoping to go to an Elizabeth Zimmermann camp in 2009.

Why 2009? Well, I am a breast cancer survivor of a rare form of breast cancer, which has a very high survival rate, but it can return even up to 12 years post treatment. In 2009, it will be year 13 for me, so I may, I repeat MAY, finally stop looking over my shoulder for the cancer to return and so I want to celebrate. I suspect I will always be concerned about its return, but I will not let it stop me from doing all the things I want to.

One person wanted to know about 'Bertha and Beulah'. For those who have read this blog before, you know the story, but for the new folks, here it is.

If you have a problem in your life, and who doesn't, then you find yourself lying in bed in the dark and going over, and over, and over, and over, in your mind the problem and a hoped for solution. Well, the breast cancer was one of those times that there were many restless nights, and these voices would nag at me about whether or not I should believe, the surgeon, the oncologist, the nurses, the family doctor, my family - you get the picture. The voices were very negative and telling me that I was being overly optimistic! Of course, a night or two of these nagging voices and I was less than a happy camper the next morning. My DH was baffled by this and wondered why I was so optimistic most of the time, but at times I was not the easiest camper to share a tent with.

I struck upon the idea of giving the voices names - Bertha and Beulah - which are two names I do not care for. Sorry, to all the Berthas and Beulahs of this world. Anyway, in my mind they were nags of the first order and so on the mat I made them with long straggly hair, dull clothing, ugly hats and sour faces! Then in the middle of the mat, I had them dressed up with wild hair, (eyelash yarn was used) brighter colours, attractive hats, etc. Because you see, I think both Bertha and Beulah were really meant to be guardian angels, but they were so new at it they did not know what hit them when they took up temporary residence with me. I gave them a run for their money, and eventually they changed their ways and we got along fine. They were given fair warning to go off and help other women in the same boat, but to be supportive, not nagging or nasty. I could not send them out in their dull, drab, dreary and disgusting garb, so I sent them to the Sally Ann (Salvation Army) thrift shop to buy new outfits. They were not rich financially, so I sent them to $1.00 Day - every piece of clothing is $1.00. They actually scrubbed up quite well, I think. The saying on the mat/rug is "Bertha and Beulah go to dollar day at Sally Ann!" The mat/rug appears in full in either September or October of 2006, but often shows up behind me as I model a sweater!

This may seem like a very simplistic way of dealing with a problem, but it worked for me and that is what matters. Once I told my husband about the voices and that they were called Bertha and Beulah, it became easier for him and me - not your usual chippy self - Bertha and Beulah had visited the night before.

Hope that clarifies Bertha and Beulah and how they helped me deal with a trying time in my life. If they have visited you and gone back to their old ways, then give them a talking to and tell them if they don't smarten up, you will send them back to me for a bit of a refresher!

2007-08-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

This is in place of a hug!
If I were near my niece, I would give her a big hug, but I am on the other coast from her so this will take its place. This is the Comfort Shawlette from Daily Knitting. I had some Berroco Ultra Silk left over from a project and this was perfect, I think. It feels so soft and I love the colour. I had just got home from the pool, so excuse the outfit!!

You can see on my right shoulder area where I misaligned the yo's - about four inches up from the bottom. Is this what makes something look like it was lovingly knitted by hand? I did not notice it until I was casting off and I had no intention of frogging it back. It will get a little steam this morning and then go off in the mail!

That is Bertha and Beulah in the wall mat behind me. Perhaps my niece gets these terrible women and their nagging voices in the night like I did! If so, give them their walking papers. Why can things be so troublesome in the dark, when you are completely alone with your thoughts, but so much more bearable when the light of day arrives and you have others about?

I will knit this pattern again. The cast on for the neck area was a bit tricky, but once I got that worked out, it went along well! It would make a great gift, as size does not matter, and I would not be overly concerned about gauge!

2007-08-02T10:24:00.001-07:00

What Would EZ Think?!
I picked up the most recent copy of the "O" magazine and while leafing through it, I happened upon this sweater. It is not exactly the Rib Warmer with sleeves, but I am sure that the wonderful vest that Elizabeth Zimmermann designed influenced this pattern. This little sweater/vest sells for $475.00 at Barney's in New York City. I will not be ordering one, but I just thought how the fashion folks must look and see what is popular among knitters and then put their own touch on it!! I will perhaps think about sleeves on a Rib Warmer, but not in a bulky short sleeved sweater. Have I done everything correctly here, so as not to have some form of police call at the door?

I just completed a Comfort Shawlette from a pattern that came from Daily Knitting. If you are not aware of this little email newsletter, it is through Interweave Knits and has some wonderful hints, news in the knitting world and free patterns! There were two shawlette patterns and I made one with some Ultra Silk from Berroco which I had left over from another project. I learned something from this project. I started out with a circular needle - size 6 mm and once I got several stitches into the project, I noticed that it was difficult to slide the stitches from the filament back onto the needles. It was as if the stitches became smaller. I think the problem is the softness of the yarn and also the weight of the shawl. Once it got any size, the weight pulled the knitting 'down' and made the stitches 'smaller' on the filament. I ended up putting them on a straight pair of birch needles. The circular would have been quicker, but not when you had to struggle with moving the stitches along. Once I get a photo of the shawlette, I will post it to the blog!

I think this proves that with each project we learn something new. In this project, I also learned another new cast off! The edges of the shawl are in seed stitch, so at the beginning of each row, I slipped the first stitch in the 'purl' way and then proceeded on with the knitting. This made that wonderful 'chain' edge. Now how to get that along the bottom on the cast off. You k2tog through the back loops of the first 2 st., then put the remaining stitch back on the left needle and go through the back loop of the 'new' stitch and the next stitch and continue on. It gives that lovely chain look to the bottom of the shawl! This was a great project, and I can see myself knitting this shawlette again!

I have cast on some Silk Rumple from Handmaiden Yarn to make a simple scarf/shawl in a simple pattern - 1 row knit and the 2nd row k1, yo, k2tog to the end. You need an odd number of stitches on the needle. I am very fond of the tunic shirts, especially in winter, and these scarves tied in a loose knot in front or just left to hang make a nice 'fashion' statement. Like I know much about fashion. I do know at my age what I like and what I think looks good on me, so that is all that matters. I do have a DD and a DIL and I have told them both to please let me know if I was dressing too old or young for my age. So far, I seem to be okay!

Oh yes, for the Silk Rumple scarf, I am using a pair of Rosewood needles. What a joy to hold in my hands. They were not inexpensive, but well worth the cost. They are a 6mm needle, not overly long - like about 12 inches/30 cm and they are perfect for loose scarves. I bought them last year at Fun Knits as a souvenir of my knitting retreat. What a wonderful souvenir.

Gail of Gail's Good Yarn commented on my blog about the Elizabeth Zimmermann knitting camp that is a continuation of the camp EZ started and now continued on by her daughter Meg Swenson. That has truly peaked my interest, and I must look into it for next year. Imagine being able to wear, even if only for an hour, something that EZ herself knit! Heaven!

2007-07-28T11:31:00.001-07:00

Three FO's in a morning!
Remember the little boleros and hats I made for the girl and boy twins? Well we have been invited to a shower for them tomorrow, so I already had the yellow Baby Surprise Jacket finished and the yarn for the green sweater. I got busy this week and finished the little green sweater. I had picked 'orange' flower buttons for the yellow sweater, but I though if it fit the little boy then the simple little round buttons would be better. I used a 3.75 mm needle for the green sweater, so it is smaller than the yellow that was knit on a 5 mm needle. The yarn is Basics by Lana Grossa and contains 50% viscose and 50% acrylic. It is machine washable - who would have time to hand wash many things when caring for twins?

I am sure some of you already do this, but I use embroidery floss to sew on buttons. You can use as many strands as you wish, depending on the size of the button, and since the floss comes in so many colours, you are sure to find a colour that matches your yarn! I used to be a cross stitcher and have boxes of the different colours - all neat and tidy, I must admit. I used three strands to sew on these little buttons. I know that both sweaters are buttoned from the left to the right, but I was thinking more of the buttoners - both Mom and Dad are right handed!!

Then I got busy and put some buttons on this milk-chocolate brown Rib Warmer Vest. It appears more grey in the photo, but I assure you it is the colour of milk chocolate. I got three nice bone buttons and made some cord and left long ends! I am not sure but what the vest might not be a bit large for the wearer, so I thought the buttons and ties would keep it from 'flapping in the breeze'. There are knots hidden by the buttons. I had thought of having to tie the cord after securing it around the button, but this might be a problem, as the intended wearer will be working with young children and will want to get it on and off quickly. Sometimes when we make things that don't turn out quite the size we wanted, we can find various ways to make them be the size we want.

Knitters and bloggers are just the best. Thank you very much to all who gave me some sources of the Lang Jawoll yarn. I am now in the process of exchanging some yarn for the same colour Jawoll - different dye lot, but I am not concerned about that. I have some sock yarn that she may be interested in, so we will make a swap!! Then I will have a fourth FO!

2007-07-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

A Lesson Learned!

Thanks to those who are trying to find me some yarn. I thought I had found a source for the yarn, but I now have learned that Jawoll has discontinued that colour - 820164 and so my chances of finding any are slim.

However, all is not lost. You know those little spools of reinforcement thread that come with the skeins - if all else fails, pray that it is enough to finish the shawl. Since it is a round shawl I would carefully fold it with the odd bit underneath - works for me!!

Necessity and no more yarn of a certain colour makes a knitter become very inventive!

NO, NO, do not even tell me to frog it back and make the border smaller - it is just not going to happen in my life time!!

2007-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

Can anyone out there help me?

I forgot to mention in the previous post that I am looking for a skein or part skein of Lang Jawoll colour # 820164. I am not fussy about the dyelot, but mine is 46188. I tried to get some from an out of country source, and it would have cost me $15.00 for shipping. That is a heavy price to pay for a skein of yarn!

Thanks, Peg

PS If you know of any yarn shops in Canada that carry Lang Jawoll, let me know and I will write and see if they can help!

2007-07-21T10:11:00.001-07:00

There are three pairs of socks in this shawl!

Yes, there are six balls of Lang Jawoll superwash in the shawl so far! Look!! Sadly there is a 'bite' out of the shawl! The LYS I bought this yarn from has no more, but there are a few other sources to be checked out, so all is not lost! However, I might not be finished by the end of July - all depends on how long it will take for the yarn to get to me!

Here is a close up of the 'bite'. I cast on for the Elizabeth Zimmermann Pi Shawl and knitted plain with a few little yo, k 2 tog for interest. By the time I got to 288 stitches, I wanted a bit of variety, so I knit in the 'diamonds' which are an option in the pattern. At 566 stitches, I changed to the gull stitch, which is the pattern used in the February baby sweater in EZ's Knitter's Almanac. The diamond and gull stitch patterns were all suggested in the pattern, but the edging is the same edging of the Spanish Christening Shawl by Cheryl Oberle. It is a clever pattern and very quickly memorized. I can see myself using this edging pattern again.

However, thinking six balls of the sock yarn would be more than enough was a bit of a simple mistake. There was no way for me to know just how much the pattern would take, as there are so many variables. Not a big problem, because as long as I can get the same colour - which is entirely possible - the need for the same dyelot is not crucial - at least not to me!! The shawl is 42 inches across and that is with no blocking!!

I got a phone call from Jackie, who owns another LYS that I frequent, to tell me that she was having a little pre-sale shopping for valued customers!! Turns out less than eight gals were there, but it was great to shop without a store full of bargain hunters. I had gone in hopes of finding some yarn to knit two cardigans I have in my to-do list, but there was nothing in either the beige/tweed/oatmeal colour or the just-right red, so not wanting to come away empty handed, I did buy some goodies.

Being a valued customer may be stash enhancing, but it is so nice to know other knitters (there were four of us in the shop at one time who will be going to Fun Knits knitting retreat in October) are good at keeping the stash from having a 'low-level' light flashing!! It was nice to see all the other enthusiastic knitting and so nice that Jackie has been in Cumberland for a whole year. Well done, Jackie, and I hope you are there for many years to come!

These two balls are Santa Fe from Tahki Yarns. I got 7 balls of the orange/violet/green/beige colour and 8 balls of the charcoal/grey/beige/brown colourway. I think that will be enough for two Elizabeth Zimmermann Rib Warmer Vests!! It is 95% Extra Fine Merino Wool and 5% Nylon. The nylon wraps around the yarn and has a wee bit of a shine. There are some large slubs here and there, but I think they will make great vests!! This was on for 50% off, so what is a knitter to do.

This is saving the 'best for last'. Here is a skein of Hand Maiden Sea Silk. Isn't it just the colour of raspberries, my favourite fruit? I plan to knit Montego Bay Scarf by Amy R. Singer which is on page 47 in the Summer 2007 Interweave Knits! The display of Sea Silk had a bit of knitting in the basket and Jackie, the clever LYS owner had this particular scarf on the needles and it looked wonderful. How many of you get sold on a yarn when there is a sample of it knit into something that you know you would be able to wear or gift? I, for one, have bought many yarns because there was something knit up in the yarn that I liked.

Clever shop owners, I say, who show you what a yarn will look like knitted up. Both my LYSs say that this bit of marketing does sell yarn. I say good on them! I am so lucky to have two wonderful shops withing less than 30 minutes of driving and another one where I can take a 10 minute cruise across the Strait where folks sail past to get from the South to Alaska on cruise ships. Lucky knitter, me!
Thank you to all who dropped by to wish me a Happy Birthday. It was a wonderful day and I continued to celebrate for a few days after!

2007-07-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

Summertime and the living is easy!

This is my Pi Shawl in progress. Down in the left corner of the picture, you can see the border I am knitting - it is from the Spanish Christening Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's book, 'Folk Shawls'. The white you see amongst the stitches is the piece of cotton yarn that holds the 576 stitches that will be picked up as I do the edging. I got the idea from Kelly Petkun, who is the gal that came up with the idea of knitting each month's project from Elizabeth Zimmermann's 'Knitter's Almanac'. It must have been cooler where Elizabeth was living in July, as there were a few days last week when this project was entirely too warm to be knitting on it!

I am using 3.75 mm needles and Jawoll Superwash sock yarn to knit the shawl. So far, I am on the 5th ball and I will definitely need the 6th ball to complete the project. I knit the circular part on a 3.75 mm circular needle, but for the 20 - 24 stitches (they vary with each row), I decided that two dpns were better! I have enjoyed this project, and have sort of put other things aside to finish it before the end of the month. There are two projects so far in the 'Knitter's Almanac' that I won't do, but will substitute another EZ pattern. I do not need anymore Christmas ornaments, although I might try the star and the tree, and I certainly have no need to knit myself wool leggings. I think EZ would not think it wise to knit things you had no use for, nor did you have anyone that you wanted to gift them too - just my thought! Instead, I will knit another Baby Surprise Jacket, another simple baby sweater by EZ and probably another Rib Warmer Vest! I think Elizabeth would give me approval on this plan!

Before I go any further, I must say a big Thank You to all who commented and wished me a Happy Birthday. Much appreciated, much celebrated and much enjoyed. I will try to write to all of you, but in case I don't get to everyone, thank you! We really should celebrate all occasions, life is short and should be sweet!
Above is my salad garden. We have such a problem here with slugs and earwigs that I try to keep things off the ground where possible. The 'table' they are sitting on is made from old fence boards on top of an old Singer sewing machine treadle base! In fact, once I post this note, I will go out and pick some lettuce for a salad for dinner!

The salad above is made from basil from the garden, tomatoes (both fresh and sundried), my own freshly made Mozzarella cheese, pine nuts, etc. It is perfect on a summer day with crusty rolls.

This is a tray of Mozzarella Cheese with fresh fruit. The little mouse sitting on the cheese is a pewter mouse I brought back from my holidays! The cheese looks like he might have taken a huge bite out of it, but I made it into balls and put them in a circle with one in the middle in a casserole, so that is the shape they took on! It was eaten with the Chocolate Bread below and a glass of wine. The bread was made in a local bakery and had a bitter chocolate flavour with chunks of chocolate and dried apricots through the slices. It is delicious!! The bakery has a huge brick oven that she gets up to 700 degrees and then puts in the breads. They are wonderful!

You can see I am not a food stylist, as they would never leave crumbs on the cheap vinyl cutting board! This bread will also be great toasted with cream cheese spread on it!
Lastly, this is a trug that my DH made for me, and yesterday I picked my lavender and got 15 bunches to dry. They are hanging in the shade of the shed, which I go to often, as it smells heavenly! There are several lavender farms here on the Island, but I am no competition for them. Oh yes, the deer do not eat lavender!! They do eat phlox and sunflowers - I went out last week and the phlox were just about to bloom, but the little 'dears' had nipped all the buds off. They do it neatly, but I was not amused!

2007-07-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

Would someone like to give me a birthday present?!

Help! I turned 67 today, and so I need to change the header on my blog, but it might be the age, but I do not know how to do this!

I swam my age this morning - 67 + 1 lengths, as I needed to get back to the end of the pool I started from. I usually swim 64 lengths (1 mile), but want to swim my age each birthday. Do you suppose I will be able to swim 80 at age 80? I certainly plan to and if you had told me that in December of 1996, when I first learned I had breast cancer, I would have never believed you!

Here in Canada, we get our 'gold' card - which is our health care card, but at age 65, you get a gold one and it is quite significant - you start getting your pension from the government. So to mark that birthday, I swam 3 miles non-stop! It felt great! I have always been a goal setter, and now my goal is to live well and live long, oh yes, to finish the Pi Shawl before the end of July!!

Life is great and I plan to have a wonderful day!

2007-07-10T20:01:00.001-07:00

I am still here - just not much knitting to show!

This is our back patio with the newly painted house in the background! I usually sit at the patio table and listen to podcasts or audio books and knit. Today I took my Pi Shawl outside to knit, but the heat drove me inside. Now I know it is not that hot here, but we were looking for long sleeved turtlenecks to wear last week and this week we needed minimal clothing!

I would show you some knitting, but 576 stitches on a circular needle that will become a Pi Shawl that looks like a 'bag' is not pretty. It will be, but at the moment, it is not much to show! I did borrow Cheryl Oberle's book on Folk Shawls from the library, as Kelly Petkun
of Knit Picks, who has a most wonderful podcast that I have mentioned before, said that in looking through this book, she found the most beautiful knitted cast off in the Spanish Christening Shawl that would be great for the Pi Shawl. I like it and I am going to use that method. I have about 30 more rounds of 'gull stitch' to do on the Pi Shawl and then the adapted cast off! Once it is completed, I will show you and it may be a birthday gift! I will have used 5 balls of Jawoll sock yarn to make the shawl, so it gives me a new appreciation of sock weight yarns!

It is things like finding a way to make a beautiful finish to a piece of knitting that makes reading blogs so worthwhile. If you had looked at Rambling Rose in the Interweave Knits magazine of Summer 2007, you will be surprised when you go to Lisa's blog to see how it looks without the scallops. I like Lisa's version and I now like the sweater much better. I have learned about terrific books, yarns, gadgets and possibilities in knitting by simply checking out blogs. I have laughed, smiled, frowned and cried, but I always come away wiser. Sometimes I think I waste a lot of valuable knitting time by reading and posting on blogs, but this is my 'knitting group' and how will I know what everyone is up to, if I don't check in regularly? Knitters, readers and bloggers are just the best!
This is a view of the back again and you can see the wider trim in the charcoal grey (Evening Hush) that my DH put around the windows. He did most of the work and I was the helper. It is great to have this job finished. There is still some work to be done inside on the new windows, but we will take our time with this and not kill ourselves in the heat!

2007-07-01T13:13:00.001-07:00

Happy Canada Day - Our 140th birthday!

I have mentioned, I think on this blog, about how much I admire Elizabeth Zimmermann. This is her Baby Surprise Jacket and I was skeptical during the knit, but after a bit, I could see just what was happening! How did this woman's mind work? I have also said that if I were having a dinner party and could invite people alive or dead that I would invite Elizabeth. I am sure she would be a witty and enjoyable dinner guest. I would ask her about how she came up with her wonderful patterns and what does she think of blogs, podcasts and all the renewed interest in her gifts to the knitting world. Would you like to join us!

Above looks like a 'marigold' blob, but below is the sweater folded. I have not blocked it and the buttons are just lying on the sweater. I was not sure about one part of the knitting - the part that after you m1 on either side of stitches 44 and 135 and then there is talk of 3 ribs. I am beginning to think the 3 ribs are the ones created when you are increasing and you do not need to knit 6 more rows to get a further 3 ribs. I knit the six more rows! However, I am happy with the sweater and think it is brilliant. This is not the last baby surprise sweater I will knit. I have not sewn on the buttons, as I will await the arrival of the baby and also get some turtles or something boy like! I found it interesting when a gal wrote in to a website and asked why Elizabeth put buttons on both sides. Young women probably know the sex of the baby they are awaiting, but way back in the 'good old days' you did not know until the baby was born. Also some folk are not aware that boys/men and girls/women actually button their shirts on different sizes. It is not important to me which side it buttons on, so long as it fits!!

I will say this about Elizabeth Zimmermann's patterns - they are short, to the point and you have to do some thinking for yourself. All that said, they are just the nicest patterns and get the most compliments of any patterns I have knitted!

I am following along on an Elizabeth Zimmermann KAL that uses her 'Knitter's Almanac' book. For the month of July, the project is a Pi Shawl, so I will post some pictures later on. It is knit on a circular needle, as was Elizabeth's favourite tool!

2007-06-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

Last evening Bette and Audrey went with Peg to a party!If I could change the pattern on the sweaters, then I could certainly change the way I wore the sweater. The pattern in the book showed the cardigan being closed with a shawl pin or a nice button, or I-cord ties. That looked great on the model, but she was sitting still! Sometimes with these closings, they make for pulling, bunching and other happenings that don't look great on the model - me! So, I simply let the cardigan hang open and was much happier. I am so glad that I did the three inches of ribbing on the shell as is on the cardigan, as they flow together nicely. We had a nice time. It was an installation dinner for the new president and board of the Rotary club my DH belongs to! Thankfully it was a cool evening!

Now let's take some time out from knitting to make some cheese!

I have been listening to podcasts from Geek Farm Life and Andrew made some 30 minute Mozzarella cheese - he even put pictures on of each of the steps and I thought that is doable, so I sent away for the ingredients. Today I took a half hour and made some fresh mozzarella. Tonight we will eat it with tomatoes, fresh basil, sundried tomatoes, black olives, balsamic vinegar cream (reduced balsamic), olive oil and a crusty bread!

The first photo is of the different ingredients all laid out for the cheese making! It requires citric acid, rennet and Lipase (this is optional)! Any milk that is not ultra pasteurized is suitable, including milk made from milk powder. Andrew uses goat's milk, as he has a few dairy goats that they get their milk from and I would use that too, but no goats live with me!
You can see the milk heating on the stove!

You can see the curds forming in the milk after the rennet was added. In the white bowl is the cheese after it has been in the microwave twice and had extra whey poured off and it has been kneaded a bit! Now it is starting to look like cheese!

Below is the finished product, and then it sat in the bowl in a sink full of cold water. It is looking a bit more golden now - on the surface only, but it smells like fresh cheese and it is probably very much like cheese curds - don't try them - they are addictive!!

The book the recipe came from is Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carroll. There are lots of recipes and the instructions are simple and easy to follow. I want to try some of the hard cheeses in the book, so this could become as addicting as knitting. When I went looking for cheese making supplies, I just 'googled' and found a great company to deal with. Thanks to Andrew and Misty of Geek Farm Life for making the entire procedure sound like it could be done in any regular kitchen with minimal supplies and tools!

2007-06-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

The set is completed and so the temperature is expected to get to 25 C!The set is complete. I am pleased and happy to have two FOs and ended up with a nice addition to my wardrobe. I am also wearing a different shawl pin - this one is of antiqued silver and I think I will stick with it and save money on the button I had thought about! I probably will add a button loop on the left side and a button on the underside of the right side!

Just to prove that Audrey is not just a flap under the sweater, here I am with Audrey on her own! I knit it shorter than the pattern, as I did not want it to hang below the cardi. Audrey was supposed to be knit with Silky Wool or Silky Tweed. Shan asked me about Hempathy, but I am afraid, Shan, that I cannot tell you much about this yarn, but I think you could use it for Audrey! Just do a swatch!

Thanks to the good responses. It seems that most people prefer to cast on right away for the 'mate'. One knitter knits the two socks in tandem! Usually I knit the two sleeves at the same time, but the two fronts can be distracting, as you make different shaping on each side. Knowing me, I might just get it wrong, and I will really not have saved any time. Frogging does take time!

Now I am off to finish up the Rib Warmer #7 and also the Garnstudio lace cardi! It may warm up soon and a lace cardi would be nice!

2007-06-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

Here is, Audrey, Bette's twin!This is the back or front of Audrey - they are both the same. You can see that I am doing the baby cables up the front and i did 3" of baby cables for the bottom of the sweater. The details around the armhole makes for a bit of interest and a change in knitting - both of which I enjoy! It is a cascading leaf pattern, but there was a mistake in the chart and I read it over and over - worst of all, I knit it over and over! What is it they say about stupidity - "It is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results". After a few attempts, and a brief period of second guessing my skills, I just sat down and Googled the pattern - Hooray! I was not wrong. There was a mistake and once I had the correction in place I was on my way.
Here is a close up of the cascading leaves! It mentions in the pattern that you can do a single crochet around the edge of the strap, if you wish. I am thinking I will leave it, because sometimes it makes the edge more prominent than you would like! this picture is closer in colour to the true colour of the Cotton Glace!

We have something to go to on Tuesday evening, and I am wondering if I can finish Audrey so that she and Bette can make their debut! As I say, I have about 1/3 of the 'ribbing' done, so it should be possible.

Something I wonder about other knitters - when you have a pair of something - like socks, fronts for sweaters, etc. do you cast on immediately for the second one or finish one, sit in a bit of a glow and wait for another day to start the second? I have learned over time that it is best to at least cast on for the second one, ASAP after finishing the first. I can often procrastinate if I have to cast on and not do any knitting for some time - if I have cast on and I have 15 minutes to knit, I will sit and knit!

2007-06-18T08:32:00.001-07:00

Peg and Bette on their first outing!
I am pleased with Bette and I know we will go to lots of things together. I do not intend to use that particular shawl pin as a closing device, but it works for the photo op!!

I was not looking forward to the sleeves with all the 'baby cables' but they went very well and do make for a nice fitted sleeve! I am also pleased with the change I made in the directional cables on the borders! All in all, I love the yarn, the pattern and the finished sweater. I used 10 balls of Rowan Cotton Glace and it took me about two weeks to knit the sweater. I spent $73.00 on yarn and I plan on a beautiful antiqued silver button that will bring the cost of the sweater to close to $85.00! What would you charge if someone wanted you to knit one? Probably very few people would pay you the price you would need to even make $5.00 an hour!~ Bette is not for sale, because to me she is priceless!
This little shell is called Audrey and she is in the same Elsebeth Lavold pattern book as Bette. I am now knitting her to go with Bette, but I am doing the three inches of baby cable on the bottom of the front and back and changing the interrupted ribbing up the front and back of Audrey to the 'baby cable' pattern. I will knit the body the same length as Bette. I will keep the cascading leaves about the armholes, as I really like it and I think it will add something to the sweater! If I have enough yarn, and I probably will, I might also make a short sleeve for Audrey. She is shown with detachable sleeves - sort of 'arm warmers', but they would look good on a younger body than mine.

I have never had a really nice sweater set, but I think I will enjoy this set and it will be going to lots of nice gatherings! As it is a matte cotton, I have no qualms about wearing it in all four seasons - I love to get as much mileage out of something like this as I possibly can.

Have you gone to the latest Knitty patterns? I received an email to state that new patterns had been posted and I took a look. Many appeal to me, but I fell in love with Tangerine Twist
I do not plan to knit it in a tangerine colour, but I have about ten balls of the same Grignasco Merinogold that I knit my granddaughter's shrug from and I would like to make Tangerine Twist and knit it with long sleeves! Seems I am on a roll with changing patterns to my liking. That is why we all knit! I would never have had the confidence early in my knitting life to change anything on a written pattern, other than perhaps the length of something, but now I feel confident enough to make changes where I know they will give me the finished garment I want.

Thanks for the compliments on my blocking board. As a few people said, sometimes the simpler the better! It works for me! Also, I got a very nice note from my granddaughter to say that she loves the shrug and it fits - a little loosely, but that is okay! She is becoming a knitter and she seems to appreciate the finishing details on her shrug. That makes Nana happy!

2007-06-15T10:33:00.001-07:00

Bette has hit the 'boards' again!
My blocking board is complete! Here lies Bette's back and both fronts. I have completed the first sleeve and have started the second sleeve!!

I do my blocking by pinning the piece of garment to the board - of course, now I can use the gingham for measuring!! After it is pinned in place, I take a mister full of water and give it a good misting, cover with a towel for a bit and let it rest and dry!

I have tried 'wet' blocking, but I do not like this method, as I found that the garment piece stretched too much and was difficult to work with. If anyone has any hints on blocking, I would love to hear about them! This works for me, so that is what I use. I have thought of getting a book on finishing, but so far I have done it 'my way'.

On the previous post, I got many compliments. Thank you, but I got the idea from the days when I used to do needlework. Somewhere I found out about using gingham, then your measuring is done by counting the blocks on the fabric! I used to 'stretch' my needlework on the old frame, but it got lost in moving - probably I just took it apart, as I had used styrofoam that was about an inch thick! I also had my DH make me a board when I was quilting. We used the large sheets used for insulating - they were about 1.5 inches thick and I covered it with flanelette. It did not even need pins, when I was trying colour configurations in a quilt. I could pin the pattern to the board, or pictures for inspiration! This board is particle board, and when not in use, it will be stowed away and since it is a fair size, it needs to be sturdy.

That is my yarn baller in the upper right hand corner!! Another tool that I love, but my DH did not make it. He made me a swift that I talked about in a much earlier post! If you go to May 25, 2006, you can see my swift in action. It is wonderful for me to have a spouse who is willing to make the tools I want for my hobby! Thanks, J.

2007-06-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

A Blocking Board! Using up our Stash!

I had read on a blog, or heard it on a podcast about making a blocking board! I know, I could buy one, but we have lots of stashes - wood, old blankets and, of course, yarn! This piece of particle board was cut into two pieces, and then my DH put it together for me. We also need to add the pieces on either side, or when I have it on the table to block, it would rock. Perhaps you do not understand, but trust me, I am sure it will work.

As some of you know who have read my blog before, I used to be a hooker. I always haunted the Sally Ann for old woolens and blankets. I often made pillows and used the old blankets for the backing of the pillow, and the hooked burlap for the front!!

Now we have it all stapled in place and we turned it over. It looks like a table top, but it actually is sitting on a table we made from an old sewing machine base! The table comes in handy in the yard in summer - even for making blocking boards!

My DH had to go to a meeting, so I have just placed the gingham on the top to take a picture for you. I went shopping for the gingham and lo and behold this is actually decorating fabric and it is nice and wide and the squares are exactly 1". I had a blocking board from the days when I did needlework, but I had not used it for quite a while, so I got rid of it! Oh well, it was the much smaller gingham, and I am thrilled to have found the 1" gingham.

I thought you might like to see a pot of coleus that is sitting in a pot on our patio!

Tomorrow we will finish off the blocking board and then I can block the back and both fronts from Bette! I have a huge table that this board will sit on and now I can block my knitting without crawling around the floor on my hands and knees!

2007-06-11T10:40:00.001-07:00

It Works! Should I write to Elsebeth Lavold!

I posted yesterday and mentioned that in the sweater design the cables in the panel on the edges of the front were designed with the cable spots both going the same way. I kept looking at this in the book and thinking about it and decided that I would reverse these cables. I mean the large group of cables in the middle that do not really show up as cables, but that is how they are knit. On the left side, you put the 3 stitches in back. On the right side, I put the 3 stitches in front. I think that is a nicer effect and I am sticking with it!

If you want to see how it goes in the pattern, you can have a close look at two posts ago and see the picture from the front of the book. Would Elsebeth mind that I changed her pattern a wee bit? Sorry, Elsebeth!

2007-06-10T12:52:00.000-07:00

Bette's Moving!!

Believe it or not, this is the same sweater. You can see that my camera, or perhaps the operator, does not always come up with the best colour. The one on the right is more the true colour, but not even it is perfect!

In the closeup, you can see the details of the three' angled bits. These are accomplished by doing 6 stitch cables. You put the first 3 st to the back and then knit. First one is the 6 stitches in the middle, then 4 rows later it covers a combination of 12 stitches, but the exact same cable. The next time, you do the 6 stitch cable completely across the 18 stitches between the baby cables. I like the effect, but on the sweater it is the same on both sides. What I am wondering is if on the right side I change and bring the first 3 sts to the front if I can get the angles going the opposite way. I will try it for a row or two and let you know. I would think that Elsebeth Lavold would have done this if it works, but perhaps not. I can always frog back a few rows and at least satisfy myself that I tried. I am really liking this pattern and I want to finish it soon, as I am hoping there will be enough yarn to knit a simple shell to go under the cardi! There is a shell in the same EL book and it has interrupted ribbing down the front, but it could easily be changed to the baby cables! Now, if I knit faster, will it make the yarn go further?

I have been thinking about answering people who visit the blog and comment. If I can find an email address, then I will certainly email the person. If no email is available, then I will thank them and answer questions on the comment section of my own blog! What do people like Yarn Harlot do? I am sure that with the number of comments she gets that no one expects a comment back.

Last post, I was asked what pattern book this sweater was from, and it is in (actually it is on the cover and that is what sold me on the book; also it was marked down at my LYS) Elsebeth Lavold Designer's Choice - Book Four - The sophisticated Lady Collection. There are a few more patterns that I would like to try in this book, so I am happy that it is in my knitting library.

Hettie thanks you for all your kind comments. She is about 9" tall and I won't insult her by telling you her waist measurement. She sits on the top of my knitting cupboard, and I hope to have another knit before Hettie heads off to Edmonton, Alberta. I have seen a few on blogs that were knit in 'funky' colours. Lime Green bodies with pink variegated 'spines', etc.. They are cute and I can see a teen loving one to sit on their desk!! Now is probably a good time to get some of the eyelash yarn on sale. It is not exactly scarf weather!

2007-06-08T13:55:00.001-07:00

Please Meet Hettie the Hedgehog!

It has been awhile since I last knit toys or felted! This was a quick knit, but one of those where each row was different. It was difficult to see on the 'back' of Hettie just where I was, as the 'Funny' eyelash yarn combined with the Galway wool makes it a bit trying at times. However, it did not take me long to do it and I think she is cute. I made her for the big sister, Cate, of a new baby due in a couple of months. I have an Elizabeth Zimmerman simple sweater ready for the baby, but I always like to give a little something to the older brother or sister. It gave me a chance to have some 'knitting fun'.

Below, Hettie, is wearing a little red hat from Kristin Nicholas' book, 'Knitting for Baby'. I did not have much of the superwash merino left after knitting the little hat, but I did pick up stitches along the edge and knit a brim - I just hate having those little tags of yarn left, so this way I could use the entire ball! Take a look at the photo of the baby on this book of Kristin's knitting! Isn't that just the most precious little guy! He reminds me of my son, who is now almost 46! The pattern for the little aran style sweater he is wearing is in the 'Knitting for Baby' book. I ordered myself a copy of the book, as I knit the hat from the book while I had it on loan from the library. It is a book I want to have in my knitting library!

2007-06-04T08:30:00.001-07:00

Four Projects - Remember - no more than Four (4)This yarn - Rowan Cotton Glace is going to become the sweater on the model below, I had started to knit a Debbie Bliss Moss Stitch pullover with the yarn, but it was not working - I think wool would be a better selection for the moss stitch, as the cotton was showing where I might not have perfect tension! Now perhaps this would have blocked out, but I just was not feeling it with the pattern. So, I wrote down the gauge marked on the ball band, how many balls I had and went looking. I had admired this sweater before and when I came upon it and realized that the gauge was obtainable and I loved both the sweater and the yarn - it all sounded like a good plan to me. There is also a pattern in the same book for a sleeveless tank that could be changed to match this cardi! I have enough yarn, and a sweater set! Perfect!

The picture is of the 'Baby Cables' in the pattern - they are easy, as every fourth row on the RS, you k2tog, leave the two stitches on the left needle. Insert right needle between the two sts and knit the first st again, slip both sts off left needle at same time and proceed on! It is great that they are 'easy' as both sleeves are completely done in baby cables. I am hoping that something like this pattern will keep the cotton from 'stretching' too much.
I love the closing on the sweater. Here they have used a 'shawl' pin with a beautiful shell backing. My LYS got a shipment of new buttons and there is one that is pewter with a few details on it and about the size of the shell backing on this pin. The button is about $8.00, but I think a sweater like this deserves a distinct closing! Now I am happy with the Rowan Cotton Glace. It is very nice to work with and does not split, tire the hands or feel rough. It is soft and smooth and just the nicest colour!

Isn't this just the most beautiful red for a wee baby's hat? The yarn is Grignasco's Merinogold. I have knit a lot of projects with this yarn and I love it! In fact, I love the colour red so much that I might get my LYS to order enough to replace a wonderful red cardigan I bought and wore out - like leather patches on the sleeves to cover the holes out - a few years ago. The baby in the photo below is modeling the little hat. It is from "Knitting for Baby" by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas. I am beginning to realize that I truly love garter stitch! I have linked you to Kristin's blog 'Getting Stitched On the Farm'. She has co-published several books, and is due to come out with a book soon. She does lots of embroidery on knits as well. I have one of her books on order and also plan to get her latest book - the title escapes me now. It could be from the paint fumes!!
This is EZ vest #7. It is for my DD and she is a little bigger than I am and a lot taller, so I added a few stitches and then added a few more ridges. The point where the needles are is where you start to go up the back. I will stop when I finish the first half of the short rows, go back to the stitches I cast on for the neck, get rid of the waste yarn and knit the other front and then meet at the second turn where my needle is now and proceed up the back! This is a great knit for just picking up when you are so tired you do not want to think, but really want the joy of the rhythm of the needles and the lulling effect that can have on me!!
This is my fourth project and it is the Muskat yarn from Garnstudio and this pattern from Garnstudio! Click on pattern #32 and you will see this little ss lace cardi! The beauty of the Garnstudio patterns, is that you choose one and print it off - all for free! Now don't be alarmed if you do this and the pattern has a chart and the symbols are in another language. In the body of the pattern, they show you what the different symbols are in English, so I just enlarged the chart and then typed in the English terms and drew in the little symbols. There symbols are a bit different than what I am used to, but it works! I always do this when I knit from a chart - enlarge it, as I can then mark it up if I wish and keep the pattern book clean. Also, it is easier on my eyes.

Most of these patterns were started before the house painting, but the little red hat I just wanted to try! I have a charity that will gladly accept baby hats, sweaters and blankets! It is a clever little pattern and I know I will knit more than one of these. The little sweater is a cutie too!

Now that I look at them, I realize that I do have a bit of diversity in the four projects, but two are much easier, and that is always my goal. When I have something with a bit of a challenge - like having to pay attention - I like to have at least one project that is like the vest - just knit for that pure joy of moving my fingers, the lull of the needles - wood is actually soothing in sound - and the ability to look away and dream!

2007-05-29T15:18:00.001-07:00

Even the lady in the yarn store gets comments!My last post about less than nice comments got me the most comments ever. I was in my LYS today - actually to buy a 3mm bamboo circ about 60 - 80 cm long - and I mentioned to her about comments people make. She is a beautiful knitter, gives classes, and her daughter owns the yarns store, and she also gets these snort of 'snarky' comments! What is it about people who don't craft? Yarn Harlot calls them 'muggles'.

Thanks for the comments - I will continue to knit and just comment nicely - maybe I can offer them knitting lessons. I still think my Mom was right - say something nice, or don't say anything!!

I included the photo of the witch hazel in bloom, just so you could see the old colour of our house. The painting is going well, but bad news - the front of our house is the weather side and at least four windows need replacing - one is in rough shape, and the other three are not far behind. This we had not bargained for, but we will just go to the window shop, have them then come out and measure up and then we will have new windows. The current windows have wooden frames, but they would be terribly expensive, so perhaps it will be vinyl - like the picture window in the picture (which is on the back of the house)! If we go with vinyl, that will mean replacing six windows in the front and then my DH wants to have a real good look at the windows in the back - "while we are at it" - to see if they need replacing - well you know how it goes. Owning a home is a life time committment. You know you own a home when your car automatically wants to turn into Home Depot or other DIY outlets!!

I did buy a bit of yarn on the sale table and also the pattern and some yarn for the Fibre Trends Hedgehog!! It is rather cute and I have wanted to make one for some time. I am still a child at heart. I did not have a teddy bear as a child, and so about 15 years ago, I decided to make teddies (jointed) and after making about 85, I had that out of my system. I can promise you there will not be anywhere near even 5 hedgehogs! Maybe I should be careful what I say!

2007-05-28T16:21:00.000-07:00

Perhaps knitting will slow down a bit!

This is another of Elizabeth's Zimmermann's simple baby sweaters from the Knitter's Almanac. If you think the little neck being turned down is a design item - you are partly right! Actually, I forgot to make the first buttonhole, and I was not prepared to frog back, so I made the next buttonhole and decided to just turn back the neck a bit. I think this may be better, because if I remember, babies do not really have a neck and sometimes it is difficult to get in under the little chin to button a sweater. Also, I did not think it necessary to put buttons down the entire front.

This is made from Sari cotton and is a beautiful shade of mauve, which does not show up as well as it might.

The window below is on the front of our house. About four days ago, our house was a California Rustic with chocolate brown trim. Our home is covered with cedar channel siding. After all, we live in British Columbia, where the cedar tree is king!! It is time to repaint, and I always thought the trim on the windows was insignificant - it was only about 1.5" and not enough room to put some decorative shutters beside the windows. My desire was to have something more significant around the window.

Now I am not great at picturing things in my mind, and John, who I have been married to for almost 47 years, is not always able to read my mind!! So when we were discussing how wide to make the new trim and how to have a little detail on the top board, John decided that a bit of cardboard tacked up would give us an idea of just how wide the board should be. That plan worked well, as I love the new window trim. The off-white on the inner window had only one coat of paint at the point the picture was taken , but now it has a second coat and the paint is scraped off the glass. The grey of the body of the house is not quite as blue as the photo shows, and the trim is more of a charcoal grey. We plan to paint the front door a cranberry red!!

So, as you can see, the knitting may not get as much attention in the next few weeks. However, I do not do heights, but I do do gardening! While John paints, and I can fetch and carry for him, I do that; otherwise I have been doing some gardening!!

2007-05-26T15:16:00.001-07:00

Can't you say that in another way!

Something that I have been thinking about lately is how people comment to you when they see you wearing something that you knitted!

Not everyone was taught by their Mom's like I was - "If you cannot say something nice, just don't say anything!"

Have you ever had people say to you in a tone that makes you feel that they are annoyed that you can do it and they can't - "I suppose you made that too!" Is my skin a little thin? This hurts on one level, but on another I want to say, "Don't you wish that you could too?" Now I know this is a very small number of people who react this way, but why do they do it, and do they do it to you?

I just wish people would either not comment or say something as simple as I like the colour of your sweater, socks, scarf, etc. Now don't think I worry about this too much, I just wondered if any of you had come up with some idea of why some folk will say things like that to a knitter.

Now to be fair, when people comment favourably, I sometimes will say, "Oh it is just a ...... I caught myself saying it today when someone commented on my EZ simple little cardigan! I try to stop myself, but why do we sometimes as knitter's feel we cannot say a simple, "Thank you, it is a lovely little pattern by EZ or don't you love the colour, or won't it make some baby feel warm and loved, or, or, or."

I know this is not something to make us stay awake at night, but I just have been wondering about it. I was raised in a time when it was not considered polite to ever say that you could do something well -- after all, who would have any faith in someone who blew their own horn?!

As a knitter, I am going to try very hard to stop underselling my skill and just say thank you where appropriate and perhaps say nothing where that is appropriate!

Now to sew up the sleeve seams, underarm seams and put the buttons on the beautiful little mauve baby cardi!

2007-05-25T08:27:00.001-07:00

Rib Warmer #6!This is the 6th Rib Warmer I have knit so far. I say so far, as I have #7 on the needles. Apparently these vests are big sellers at bizarres. I can see why, as they need little help in the way of sizing. I am making one for my daughter at the moment and it will be longer and a bit wider, but with the simplicity of this pattern, that is not a problem. It could also be knit for men!

I bought Elizabeth Zimmermann's 'Knitting Workshop" and it has the Rib Warmer pattern in it. However, I started knitting the vest from a pamphlet I bought from Schoolhouse Press and it has more details on the rib warmer than are in the book. In the book, they do not tell you how you can knit the two sides (I pick up the live stitches at the neck) and then join them together at the start of the second half of the second turn and knit up the back. That is a real shame, as it makes for no seaming, as I also bind of the back to the shoulder and back neck seam with a three needle bind off - or a variation of it.

Instead of three needles, I knit through the stitch on the 'back', then knit into the stitch of the shoulder or neck seam and knit these two together and then with the stitch I already have on the right needle, I pass the stitch to the right over the left and then do the k into st on left needle; k into stitch on shoulder/neck seam and k these together and so on. You can see I really do not know how to write a pattern, but experience has taught me easier ways to do things. I am seeing more knitters slipping the first stitch on the left needle as if to purl and then knit across row. This makes a nice 'chain' finish and also when I do the 'seam' across the back/shoulder, it is so much easier to pick up the stitches! Now, that should all be as clear as mud!!

That would be an interesting discussions - things I have learned from my time knitting that make many procedures easier! I know I learn something from one pattern that I use in another and so on!

After knitting all these vests, sure hope the family likes them!

2007-05-23T09:01:00.001-07:00

I Did a Bit of Shopping!The two 'fun' yarns were on for 50% off, and I thought my GD, Kate, would love knitting scarves with these two balls. The book was on for 50% off at a garden store - you never know what you will find in these stores! Anyway, they are part of Kate's birthday gift. I mailed it off yesterday, along with that beautiful robin-egg blue shrug and a pair of 'spa' socks and some foot cream. I remember teens love to have a 'girly' day and so I thought the cream and socks would be fun. Never mind, grandmothers love 'girly' days too.

Kate is a knitter, so I try to encourage her wherever and whenever I can. This yarn was originally $9.95 a ball, and I know she would never buy it, but grandma's can buy it. I know now that I would never ever buy 'cheap' yarn to teach someone to knit! I am realizing more and more that quality in yarn really makes the difference. That does not always mean you have to buy the most expensive yarn either.

For any of you who listen to podcasts, I would highly recommend the ones that Kelly is doing for Knitpicks. She is the owner, but her podcasts are great. Podcast #4 is about wool. She talks about the various terms for the strand of wool, the properties of wool, and the reason some of us find it 'itchy. Now I know why I do not find superwash merino itchy. Listen and you will know too, or if you don't listen to podcasts, write and I will give you the secret - well it is not really a secret, but I often wondered why and she told me!!
This Rowan Cotton Glace was on for 25% off and I just could not resist the colour. It is similar to the jade colour of the Garnstudio Muskat that I am making the 'lace' ss cardi from for myself. This has no real sheen to it, but the Muskat has real sheen. I want to wear the Moss Stitch pullover that I am using the Cotton Glace for all year round, so I think the lack of sheen is a good property! The pattern for the moss stitch pullover is in the book Debbie Bliss Easy Knits. I do not have the book here now, as it is a library book. It is a simple long sleeve pullover with a simple neck with a bit of a 'slit' in the front. The slit is only about two inches, so it is not revealing and that is exactly what I want. I have one question about the pattern though - for the large size, it asks for 1800+ yards. Now I think that is quite a bit, but just to be sure I do not run out, I have just over 2000 yards - there will probably be enough left to make a hat, baby sweater or some other small project!!

This sweater is in the queue after the simple baby sweater and lace cardi - once one of them comes off the needles, then I can cast on for the moss stitch. I made a promise to myself to never have more than four projects on the needles at once and so far I have kept this promise. I know that I knit a lot and am reasonably fast, but I get easily overwhelmed! If I have too much on the go, I accomplish a lot less. If I keep things organized and down to a reasonable number, I get lots more accomplished. It took me about 60 years to learn this - well I always knew it, but it took that long to accept it and just get on with the way I operate.

You know, now that I think about it, getting older is not bad at all - I do not think about the alternative. I know myself a whole lot better than I did at say 30, I like myself a whole lot better and I have almost stopped trying to please others. It is tough enough at times to please myself, so why bother with others. There was a great quote in our newspaper today - actually it was in the insert for the graduation photos from our three local highschools. Here it is ......

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind! ~~ Dr. Seuss

This is another Handmaiden yarn - Scrunchy Silk and it is designated for a large shawl/scarf. I had admired this yarn - due to its colourway - for some time, but when it was 25% off, what is a girl to do!
These two yarns are designated for EZ simple baby sweater - they are 50% viscose and 50% acrylic. The yarn is soft and washable - all things needed for a baby sweater. Besides, the colours are great for a wee one.

I think I did very well at the yarn sale, and I supported another LYS in my area. I see lots of buys on yarns on the internet and I have bought from those shops too, but I would be so lost without my local shops and so I need to help them by shopping there. I also take in articles I have knit to show them, because when I worked in a quilt/fabric shop, it was always so pleasant to see the customer come back with their finished item! I also tell them when I read a knitting book that I think they would benefit from, such as "No Sheep For You". I think that the information on the various fibres is invaluable to a yarn shop owner, because I know that I have been there and customers want to know and also when they want to knit something with a yarn that just would not be suitable, it is great when the shop owner can tell them why another yarn would be better. Sometimes they cannot persuade the customer, but then again we have all knit things from the 'wrong' fibre. Is that a class in the School of Hard Knocks?

2007-05-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged!

Here goes for 8 things about me that are habits, or perhaps strange. I was tagged by Jan.

I will try to post 8 things, but I did tell Jan that I will not pass it on. I never pass on chain letters either.

1. I do not pass on chain letters. There that was easy!

2. I love to read, but I love to be read to even better. Thus my love of my MP3 player and audio books!

3. I used to be a hooker - come on now - out of the ditch - I was the kind that hooked rugs!

4. I have snow white hair - my Mom died at almost 90 and she had very little white in her hair. My Dad had white hair, but very little of it.

5. I wanted to be a Home Economics teacher - now known as Family Life Studies!

6. I never wanted to be a nurse.

7. I used to do cross stitch, crewel, gross point and petit point and quilt and sew most of my children's and my own clothes!

8. I use the name - Wool in my soup - because I used to dye old woolen clothes from thrift shops in a big old soup kettle for my rug hooking!

There, I did it, but now I read them they are not very interesting to me. However, they may be interesting to other people!

Here is the Picovoli sweater on the model. The picot edging did sort of 'shrink' the neck opening and the sleeve length, but I am happy with the sweater. I probably could have knit a size smaller, but I do not like things that are 'snug'.

2007-05-19T15:22:00.001-07:00

Picovoli - finished!This is the completed picovoli - I could have knit a few more inches - well, I could have if I had more Cathay, but as you can see from the photo below, I was finished. I know the picot edging used up a bit more yarn than a plain edging would have, but I like the edging and I will show a picture of the sweater on me, once it is dry. I sort of steamed it with the iron and it looks different than it will on the body. I have already tried it on, and so far, so good.

I used the Debbie Bliss Cathay (6 balls) as was called for in the pattern. I had looked at Grumperina's pattern many times, and I know it was one of the very popular patterns a year or so ago. I can see why it is a good sweater to have in your wardrobe. I did not change anything in the pattern, so I will probably knit it again!! I knit this sweater in about a week, and I like it! I was itching to finish it, as I want to start another project with the Garnstudio, Muskat.
Yesterday the postman brought me a book I had ordered and I am thrilled with it. It is "No Sheep For You" by Amy R. Singer.
I have heard this book reviewed on a few podcasts, and was pleased that I had ordered a copy. Now that I have it in my hands, I am even more happy.

At the beginning of the book, Amy tells us all about all the 'non wool' fibres available for knitters. The process of 'designing' these yarns is clearly explained. She gives the good and not-so-good points of each yarn and then later shows some blends that enhance the yarn by combining the good and no-so-good into one perfect yarn. I hope this is not breaking any laws, but one thing that I learned from the book is - if you have a slippery/soft yarn and it seems to collapse on itself when you wind it into a centre-pull ball, take the inner tube of a toilet paper roll and put that over the post of the ball winder and then wind your yarn onto the roll! She also says that with these slippery yarns to NOT pull the yarn from the centre, but to use it from the outside of the ball. I knew about using it from the outside of the ball, after knitting with lace weight mohair! It is a very clever trick, I think, and if I only had learned about that, I would be thrilled with the book.

There are many patterns in the book that appeal to me. I want to knit a gansey - nice pattern in the book! There are patterns for a purse, jackets, cardigans, pullovers and socks. I am so happy to have it in my knitting library and I salute Amy for a terrific book. I have learned so much about the fibres for knitting, other than wool, and, if you are lucky enough to be able to use most wools, then the patterns could be used with wool as well. Can you tell I love this book!

Oh yes, I was in Cumberland, a small village near here that is celebrating the May Empire Days (Queen Victoria's birthday) and the LYS had a great sale. I will save my purchases to show you another day. A girl has to support both yarn shops near here, now doesn't she!

2007-05-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

So you think you will be able to wear this?
Sometimes while I am knitting, I think that I will never be able to wear my project. While in process, knitting can sometimes look like a blog and it takes a leap of faith, or belief from past experience, that this will be something you will be pleased to wear.

My Picovoli, from Grumperina, is shown above in a beautiful rose pink Debbie Bliss Cathay. This is the yarn that is called for in the pattern and I had the exact amount in my stash. I had copied this pattern moons ago. I always have a fear that if I don't copy the pattern that I like when I see it, it might be gone when I do want to make it. Anyway, the pattern and the yarn have come together and it is a pleasant knit, even if the Cathay does tend to 'unspin' and can be split in the stitch! I have chosen to make the 'picot' edging. If I can eke out enough yarn (I will try it on for length), I want to pick up the 'sleeve' stitches and do a bit of short row work to make a bit of a sleeve cap.

I have a chocolate brown summer skirt and I have seen yarns on different blogs with browns, pinks and cream, so I might just be near the cutting edge of what is in fashion with my pink Picovoli and brown skirt! The brown/pink/cream combination reminds me of Neopolitan ice cream that was around when I was younger - probably still is, but I have not bought it in eons. Do any of you remember buying ice cream in 'bricks'. It was a 'box' that the ice cream was in and you could pull the sides of the box down and 'slice' off portions of ice cream and then you would really see the blending of the colours! Perhaps I am older than most of my readers, so buying ice cream in bricks is not something you know about! As my children would say, "Was that in the good old days, Mom?"

I have a new visitor to the blog, and she lives north of me, here on the Island. Thanks for visiting, Kate, and perhaps we can meet in person when you next visit my LYS.

2007-05-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Zimmerman - I love her patterns!!
This little sweater is from EZ's Knitter's Almanac and is the project for February. I probably will give this little sweater to a couple expecting a baby in August, but I have started another one for charity in a soft mauve cotton - again from stash. In the pictured sweater, I used some left over Orchide with a silk, merino wool and acrylic content and it is so soft and I have enough to knit a little hat - probably will use the pattern from Oneskein by Leigh Radford that I have knit before. I will need to double the yarn, but that is okay by me - I have enough of this Orchide yarn in a brown to make a sweater and I think with buttons such as a little turtle, truck or something not too babyish (not probably a word, but you know what I mean) will be fine for a wee baby.

I am also knitting a Picovolli by Grumperina from six balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay that I had in my stash. I had copied out this pattern, found in Mag Knits, many a moon ago, but when I was in search of a pattern to knit up the Cathay in a beautiful rose colour, I came upon it again. I used Cathay in the Green Gables sweater I knit a few months ago and it was a deep raspberry colour and it is a wonderful yarn to work with. I love cotton, but when it is mixed with a bit of silk and/or viscose, it knits up so well and the stitch definition is perfect. The other good point was that I got the Cathay on for 50% off. I like a bargain, especially when it is for a delicious yarn that I might not buy at full price.

I frogged the Muskat cotton sweater that I had been knitting in the beautiful jade colour. It was just too 'stiff' and I was unhappy with the garment. I really love the colour, so I went in search of a pattern for myself. While at my LYS yesterday buying buttons for the EZ baby sweater, I asked about some patterns for the Garnstudio Muskat and was directed to some lovely pattern books. The problem with the books is they are in a language I cannot read. This is not a problem, as the LYS owner told me to go to www.garnstudio.com and look for the pattern I liked in the book and then I could copy it in English! It works!! I now have a pattern for a short sleeved cardi for summer and enough yarn for the project. It is in the queue after Picovolli!!

After I told you about Kelli Robinson and the podcast Unwound, I learned in her latest podcast that she will be unable to continue podcasting. I am sorry, as I will miss her, but she is a new attorney and starting out in a large practice, so she needs to devote her time to her career. I like the fact that she told her listeners up front and did not just float away into podcast ether!!

2007-05-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm Very Pleased!!

This little shrug is a birthday gift for my GD, Kate, who will turn 17 in July. I know it is done a bit early, but it has to be mailed to Germany! I would hate for her birthday to arrive and Nana not have the gift there for her to open. The spot on the lower right arm is just a water spot, so no need to worry!

I knit this beautiful shrug using Erika Knight's book 'Classic Knits'. I used this beautiful shade of Robin's egg blue, as Kate is a red head, and I think this will look great on her.

I mentioned in an earlier post about how I liked the suggestion of putting your increases or decreases in a few stitches from the edge and using them as a style detail in the knitting project. There are three different pictures here of the same sweater and they are all different in colour. The full view is the most true to colour!

On these two photos, you can see the wisdom of the decreases being in those few stitches, as it makes a nice finished edge. The photo on the left is the side seam and the one on the right is the seaming of the sleeve. I used the mattress stitch for seaming, and I couldn't be more pleased. It really does pay to have good materials to work with. I am even pleased with the stitches I had to pick up around the fronts and the neckline. The only thing about the pattern I do not care for is the treatment at the underarm. You cast off 6 or so stitches when knitting the fronts and back at the armhole, but on the sleeve, you gradually cast off along the edge, and it seems to pull a bit and not lie as flat as I would like. It also shows a sort of draping from this particular join in the photo in the book. However, other than that small point, I think it is a wonderful project and I hope that Kate gets lots of wear out of the shrug. Kate is a knitter, so I think she will appreciate the work. I know that I will use the mattress stitch wherever possible in my future knitting.

You can also see the decreasing you did for rounding the front of the shrug, and again it makes a nice detail on the knit.

I have done a bit of knitting in the past few days, and while I knit, I listen to podcasts or books. I just found a wonderful podcast, in fact two podcasts, and the first one I want to tell you about is Unwound . It is moderated and read by Kelli Robinson and it is a must listen. She tells you about some of her projects - she is a self taught crocheter and knitter, and also about her experiences with different fibres. Her book reviews are wonderful as are her review of different yarns. But perhaps the best part of the podcast is her question or poll she puts out to listeners. For instance one poll was about how you held your needles or hooks and how you knit or crocheted. The next podcast would have the voices of different knitters giving their method of working their craft. She also reviews books and has a little library of these books and if you call in to her poll, your name could be drawn and you could have a book or yarn of your choice. If you chose a book or fibre, she asks that you then please send in your own review of the prize. I am pleased that most people, so far, have indeed called in a review and it is great to hear others tell of a book - we just cannot afford them all, or then the yarn budget takes a beating!

She is an attorney, and so her research is terrific and when she gives a biography of a knitter, it is very well done and informative. There is no change in the volume in her podcast, which can be annoying if you listen to as many as I do and I just am so pleased to have found this podcast.

Oh yes, one feature on her podcast is a piece on finishing. It is done by Rene, who has a business in Seattle, WA and she finishes garments for knitters at a very reasonable cost. She gives some good hints on finishing your knitting and one I listened to yesterday I found interesting. She said that on knitting pieces for a garment, to treat the first and last stitch as a garter stitch, as it made seaming much easier, as the little 'bump' formed by the garter stitch made aligning the pieces so much easier. Fortunately I had already been doing this particular method of knitting. Give her podcast a listen, and I think you too will enjoy it and come away informed!

Another podcaster I am enjoying is David Reidy from Australia. He is a science teacher and does most of his knitting on the two hour train trip into and out of Sydney to work. He also reviews books, yarns and I am looking forward to his different interviews he did while at the Easter Show in his area. He will talk to fibre artists, knitting judges, etc. A great listen and very informative. His volume is good too, but sometimes the cats tussle and play in the background and I have thought that something was happening in my house, until I took the buttons out of my ear and realized it was on the podcast.

I also enjoy Cast On by Brenda Dayne. Unfortunately, Brenda has been having some health issues, but she is well worth a listen. She plays some great music, has done some wonderful interviews and shares her knitting experience with you in a wonderful way. I hope she is well again soon, as I miss her when she cannot broadcast regularly. She is American by birth, but lives in Wales and so you learn a bit about the fibre situation in that country. We should consider ourselves very, very fortunate in this part of the world!!

2007-05-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

That was a long 48 hours!!

I am back in the swing, but we have had a guest from Brazil staying with us this week, so I have read blogs, knitted, listened to podcasts, but did not post! I realized that I would not be a great knitter if I lived in a very warm climate! Ana, our guest, said there would be no need for even fingerless gloves! I know they knit in Brazil and there are parts they need wool for warmth, but not where Ana lives!

This is a new baby sweater. I saw this little sweater on Iris' blog . It is the simple baby sweater from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac - I had the book and I wanted to do some charity knitting, so I cast on! The yarn is going to be substituted - I was sure I had 3 ounces, which is what the pattern called for, but I have looked high and low and only have 2 ounces. However, I now have the pattern down pat, so all is not lost. After all, isn't it all about the process! It also keeps me away from finishing my GDs shrug. I have the shoulder seams completed, the picked up stitches around the front and neck area all worked into the ribbing called for and now it is time to set in the sleeves!

I am always impressed with the simplicity but beauty of EZ's patterns. I like the way she does the increases about the neck of the little sweater! There is a simple, but effective, little drawing of the process of M1 (making 1 more stitch) and the instructions are very simple. You make a firm backward loop over the right-hand needle and then work it in pattern on the following row! There are absolutely no 'holes' for the increases and it is really simple and looks wonderful!

I also think this little variegated yarn does not do justice to the 'Gull pattern' that is on the body and the sleeves. I have some wonderful Marks and Kattens Orkide from my French Vanilla sweater and it will make a beautiful creamy white sweater for a baby and have some warmth, as it is 40% merino wool and the silk in the yarn makes it just so soft! The variegated yarn will make wonderful hats for babies!!

I am a big fan of podcasts and I found a new knitting one - well new to me. It is Unwound with Kelli Robinson from Birmingham, Alabama. I have learned so much about knitting, books available and the pole she conducts each podcast. Give it a listen, if you like to knit by listening to podcasts or books on your MP3 or IPod!!

Oh yes, that beautiful little Rosebud sweater I was going to make with the jade coloured yarn - frogged! The cotton was working out to be just to 'stiff'. It has been added to (the yarn, not the sweater) and so I have enough to make myself a little summer sweater!

2007-05-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ouch! I had two wisdom teeth out!

How I got to be nearly 67 and still have all my wisdom teeth is a puzzle even to my dentist. As we moved 23 times, you can be sure I have seen more than a few different dentists, but no one ever remarked on my wisdom teeth until the last few years.

My dentist put them 'on watch' about two years ago, but last visit he stated that the tooth was starting to crumble, and I was having the odd ache and twinge in the tooth! He referred me to a dental surgeon, and yesterday I came away minus two wisdom teeth!

I did not knit yesterday, as the drug to knock me out left the brain a little frazzled and it is hard to knit and hold an ice pack on your cheek! Today I have done some knitting and also some reading. The book I am reading is the latest Alexander McCall Smith book, "The Good Husband of Zebra Drive". It is the perfect read for someone who just wants to lie about and drink smoothies and warm soup!

This too shall pass and I will be back in full swing in the next 48 hours!!

2007-04-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

Knitting in Progress

My granddaughter, Kate, is celebrating her 17th birthday in July and I wanted to knit her something, as she loves to knit herself. I had looked through many books, and when I borrowed this book from the library and came across this pattern, I knew this would be for Kate. The book is "Classic Knits" by Erika Knight. I like Erika's designs and the yarn I am using is Grignasco Merinogold . This is a favourite yarn of mine, and our Kate is a redhead, so I think this Robin's egg blue will be perfect.

I like one of the details that Erika suggests! Instead of making increases and decreases at the first and last stitch of a row, she suggests - K3, k2tog (or Increase 1), k to last 4 or 5 st, k2 tog tbl (through back of loop) or increase 1 and then K3. I started some time ago to k1 and then do my increase or decrease, but I like this method too, as you use your increases and decreases as part of the design element!

This is a little sweater from another Erika Knight book - "simple knits for cherished babies". If you read Knitting Iris's blog, you will see that she has knit this little rosebud sweater at least 17 times. A while ago, she had some notes on her blog about some of her adaptations she has made to the pattern, such as knitting the back and two sides together and then using dpns to knit the sleeves. Also, instead of only 4 stitches in the button/buttonhole band, she uses 5. One thing I learned from a Sally Melville book many eons ago was that when knitting garter stitch to start the first stitch by slipping it purlwise and then you get a nice little chain stitch along the edge. Iris pokes a knitting needle into the buttonhole band after knitting the sweater and in several sweaters she made a little daisy to keep the little hole open. However, I am only going to put two buttons near the top, so I will knit them onto both sides near the top and then once I know the sex of the baby (due in August) I will sew on the button to the appropriate side.

I am knitting this little sweater in a deep jade colour using Garn Studio Muskat 100% mercerized cotton! Of course, this little baby already has a big sister and I would like to make big sister a little shrug!! There is lots of yarn in the stash for such a project!

Both these knitting projects are great for taking out into the sunshine to knit. In fact, I just got in from the garden and once I post this, I am off to make some lunch to take outside to eat and one of the knitting projects - probably the shrug, as it needs to be in Germany by July 10th. How did I get so lucky to have grandchildren?!

2007-04-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Two sweaters and hats in two days!

I wanted a quick little gift for our friends' twins. I remembered these patterns in the "Oneskein" book and went to my stash to see what I could find.

The little raspberry pink set for Megan is knit using 1 2/3 balls of Debbie Bliss Cathay! It is lovely and soft, as one would expect from 50% cotton, 35% viscose and 15% silk. I wonder if any of you have difficult seaming cottons - they do not give the nice effect of wool!

The little navy set was from a cotton I had in my stash - ball band long gone and I had only about 12" of yarn left after I completed the project.

As the twins have just reached 6 lbs. I think these little boleros will be fine. The thing about them that I really like is that they are nice and large in the sleeve, so no pulling and tugging on the baby's arm to dress them.

I will pick up a couple of 'board books' - one will be "Goodnight Moon" to add to the gift and take them to their Daddy's office tomorrow. At this time, I do not feel the parents need to contend with visitors. Megan is just home from hospital and Conor, or perhaps it is Connor, has been home a week. I remember company when my babies were little - not always fun!

2007-04-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Kn itting from my stash!

I was sent some beautiful Irish Bainin by Jo and then when I borrowed Cheryl Oberle's book "Folk Vests" and saw this vest, I knew immediately that my Irish Bainin would be made up into this wonderful vest! I am definitely going to buy Cheryl's book on vests, as there are about three more that I want to knit! I had planned to knit the Bainin into a cross over vest from Sally Melville, but you know these cross over garments look lovely in the photo, but tugging and re arranging them does not look lovely! It is like tied scarves - looks easy in the books and some women can pull it off, but not me. Now why this is underlined - beats me!!Friends of ours, actually Bob is our computer 'geek' , just had twins. A dear little boy and girl! I wanted to knit something for them, and I was thinking about it and remembered my book by Leigh Radford - 'Oneskein" and I knew what I would make for the twins. I have some left over deep raspberry cotton from my Green Gables sweater and a ball of a beautiful navy cotton - all in my stash. The little hat, I have made it before, and it is easy, fast and really cute. The sweater is going along well, so I think I will have these little garments finished really soon. The little boy is home from hospital, as he reached the magical 'six pounds'. The little girl is still in hospital, as she has a cleft palate, so her feeding problems are being sorted. She can suckle well, but if she regurgitates, it can go up through the nose and that is not good. She has also reached the magic number, but should be home in the next few days!

I think they will get some use from these little clothes, and it is so nice to knit small things!!

2007-04-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

Heavy on photos, but light on knitting!

For all who were sending good wishes about our sale - we raised $18.900 plus small change! However, we are pleased with our efforts - tired and exhausted, but proud and pleased. This was our most productive sale in the 22 years that the Friends have been in existence. We are the only Friends of the Library on Vancouver Island that can raise these kinds of money for their libraries. We purchase all the little 'extras' for five libraries with our efforts.

There are two large libraries in our Valley and three small ones. We buy furniture, stands, micro fische readers, magazine holders, computers for the patrons, prizes and a party for the summer reading programmes, etc. When we buy furniture, we have to buy commercial grade, which can make a comfortable reading chair cost in the vicinity of $1,000.00 - we usually go with leather or a heavy woven fabric that can be cleaned once or twice a year. It is my main volunteer activity, so I give it my all - three days in a row of eleven hours each day and a few five hours days at the beginning and the end makes a knitter tired. However, every evening I did a bit of knitting. It is so relaxing and even though my hands are swollen from handling so many books, they can still hold the needles and twist yarn about!!

This photo is of Nathalie and I standing at the table for bagging and tallying just after the crowd has entered. We tallied each customer and then gave them a slip with their amount owing and then they moved up to the cashiers. paid and returned several times during the sale. We love return customers! That system seemed to work well and I know other sales of plants, books, fleas, etc. use this system. We had about six tally people on Friday morning and two cashiers. Friday we get folks who buy $200+ of books - they are dealers, but their money helps our libraries too! After the big push on Friday, you can get buy with one cashier and a helper or two to bag and tally! Yesterday, Sunday, it was simple - everything you could put in a grocery bag for $1.00 - many folk bought 15 or more bags!!

A view of the crowd - as you may have gathered, we held it in our gym (actually we used both gyms)! The Friends are easily identified, as we were yellow or neon green t-shirts!!
One of our local grocery stores sent us this tray of meats, cheeses, pickles and some crackers for the workers! Much appreciated! We also had lots of bottled water, apples, strawberries, bananas, cookies, homemade blueberry muffins and tea and coffee!
Another view of the crowd. We get boxes from our local dairy and stand the books with their spines up in them. It works well. Of course, with the children's picture books, we just stand them up straight!! We make good use of 'liquor store' boxes for packing away our books as we sort and also cut down smaller boxes for holding paper backs, etc.

Oh yes, in case I did not mention it, our children's books are 25 cents, pocket books 50 cents, CDs, videos $1.00, jig saw puzzles 50 cents and everything else (except specials) is $1.00.

This is why we have the sale and also why all our children's books are only 25 cents.

This is Charlie and he is just enjoying his new book! You cannot see his face, but you know that little boy will probably become a reader!

Thanks for the wonderful compliments on French Vanilla. Annie, I hope you enjoyed your visit to our beautiful province. Also, if you knit French Vanilla, I suggest you try what I did. Instead of picking up stitches for the button and button hole bands - add about 6 or 8 stitches to the fronts. Knit the left front first, mark the button spots, then knit the right front and place the buttonholes to correspond to the marks on the left side! I think it is easier and neater and I will certainly use that technique on more of my cardigans.

Sorry I have not always responded to my visitors lately, but the sale had taken over my life for the past few weeks. As you probably gather from my knitting - when I do something, I do it with gusto!

2007-04-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

French Vanilla with Pearls!

I know, I am busy getting ready for the book sale, but I need some down time too. I started French Vanilla on April 5th and completed it on April 16th. These photos were taken last evening in the garden and so they are a little 'dark'. I am thrilled with this knit. I like the simplicity of the design on the bottom of the body of the sweater and the sleeves and then a nice collar with the pattern! I tried mattress stitch in closing the side seams and I really like the result.

This sweater was knit from Marks and Kattens Orkide. The yarn is 20% silk, 40% Merino Wool and 40% acrylic microfibre. It was lovely to knit with and feels so nice next to my skin. The yarn was on sale for $2.00 a ball, so a sweater for $14.00 + $4.00 worth of buttons is a great little addition to the summer wardrobe. It can be worn open as well. I knit it according to the pattern with only one small change. I did not pick up stitches for the button and buttonhole band. I first knit the left side and added 8 stitches to the front edge and knitted them in seed stitch. When the left was completed, I marked the button spots and then knit the right side and worked in the buttonholes to correspond. I am thrilled with this and I think my method looks better than the picture in the book. The pattern is in Knitter's Magazine Summer 2006. I got this summer skirt I am wearing and it was one of those colours that you just could not seem to get a t-shirt or sweater to go with it, but voila, I am all set. Glad my DH did not get my 'white' legs. I think I must get out and get some self tanning lotion for the legs, as hopefully bare legs and toes will be possible!
Thanks to all who commented and wished us luck with our book sale. I, for one, think that libraries and books are the best!

Finally my hair is growing down past my back hairline. The hair at the bottom is dark, but the longer hair is white, so it will soon win out and the dark hair will be covered! I am still adjusting to longer hair - it has taken time to grow it, but every once in a while when it moves from its own weight, such as when you bend over and the hair swings forward, I am surprised!! Of course, it was only about two years ago that I had my head shaved!!

Also, I think I have swimmers' shoulders - how did they get so broad!? Swimming three miles a week will do that, I guess.

2007-04-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting!

Perhaps you thought I had gone on vacation. No, I have been knitting and reading and listening. I saw so many knitters doing Calorimetry from Knitty this past winter, and I thought it would be a good little gift for my granddaughters. I did knit them the Fetching
gloves last Christmas and they were apparently popular. I do not see them as much, as they live in Germany just now and I am in Canada.

This little set in Chartreuse - the name on the ball band - is almost identical to the pair on Knitty. To make the hat and gloves, I used 2 balls of Phildar Pegase+ and since it only cost $2.99 a ball, I think that is good value for the money. I know there is a high proportion of Acrylic in the yarn, but I never buy yarns that need extra care for teens. The tears shed over ruined garments made from those special yarns are just not worth it. The aim of the game is to give them something hand knitted by Nana that they can enjoy and Nana does not worry!! My one GD is a beautiful red head, so perhaps this set will look good with her colouring.

The yarn for this set actually looks more 'rosy' than it appears in the photo. I did not do cables on these gloves, as the yarn was just so 'fuzzy' in places, but in hindsight, perhaps the cables would be better. This is not a yarn that will frog well, I think, so straight ribbing it is!! For this set I used Phildar Midland, which also has a high percentage of acrylic. It took 2 balls that were on sale for $4.00 a ball. I do not think I would work with this yarn again - I just did not care for the fuzziness, but it looks good and I think my beautiful blond GD will enjoy this set. My family does not read my blog, although they know about it!

I have admired this soy/wool yarn from Paton's for some time, so I bought one ball and I have another Calorimetry. With this one, I did not do as any short rows, so it will not be as wide, and perhaps that will be better. I have some black yarn and I think I can eke out a pair of Fetching with the cuffs in the Paton's and the body of the glove in black. I am glad I tried this yarn on a small project, as I find it almost 'unspins' in working and is very splitty! However, it does have beautiful colourways. It is Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) and is 70% wool and 30 % soy. It recommends hand washing, so perhaps this Calorimetry will live with me. It is very soft, and should be great to cover one's ears on a windy day!!

All these hats were knit with a 5 mm needle and the gloves done on 4 mm dpns. A quick and easy knit, and I can see lots of yarns in my 'charity' knitting tub that will be great for these sets.

This may be the last time I post for a bit, as I am a Friend of the Library in our Valley and next weekend is our annual sale. We ask for donations of used books from the public, sort them into categories, and then mount a 2.5 day sale. It is hard physical work, but we raised almost $19,000 last year to buy those things for the five local libraries that are not covered in the regional library system. On Vancouver Island, there is the greater Victoria library, and then all the rest of the Island and some of the Gulf Islands and even the Queen Charlotte Islands are covered by the Vancouver Island Regional Library system. Actually, I think we are very, very lucky belonging to such a large library system.

Three years ago, we got a new library in Courtenay, the city in the valley, all the others are towns or villages. We put in a gas fireplace, leather seating (most comfy) and locally made tables. We also have local artists place art on the walls above and beside the fireplace. It is a very popular area in the library, as many people go there to sit and read the daily papers.

This year, we are hoping to do something similar in the new library in Comox, the town I live in. Perhaps you can realize just how large an effort this is, when you find out that we sell all hard and soft cover books for $1.00, pocketbooks for 50 cents and all children's books for 25 cents. We do have some 'specials' and they consist of old, special, coffee table, or books of local interest. As three of the main industries/interests here are the military, logging and fishing, I am sure you can appreciate that any books on these areas are sought after and we can get a little better price. The new 'trade backs' are really starting to come in with great regularity. You might be interested to know that 'The Da Vinci Code' has about 40 copies in our 'stash'. For the past two years, the big book in was 'Angela's Ashes' - sorry Mr. McCourt, but they just do not sell now even for 50 cents! We also sell magazines ($1.00 a bundle of 10 or more), CDs, DVDs, puzzles and games.

The lounge in our Comox library is well used, as we are a five minute walk from our Marina, where fish boats (commercial) and pleasure boats tie up. The fishermen and visitors use the library to read the paper, use the internet and borrow reading materials. Also the sale is popular with the loggers and fishermen and those who holiday in RVs and trailers. They can fill a box with pocket books and they have enough reading for a year. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that on the Sunday for four hours, it is everything you can put in a bag for $1.00! That is when the romance novels 'fly' out the door!!

At the cost of our children's books, we get lots of homeschoolers come in and stock up their little libraries. We also get lots of books on homeschooling that are popular. It gives all the Friends a big smile when we see a child off in a corner, or even sitting under the table surrounded by buyers legs and feet, reading their new book!

I work all the opening times of the sale, as I can lift boxes of books, and many of our workers just cannot. Our average age is about 52 - and we have two workers in their 80s!! It is a great opportunity to buy some excellent reads, knitting books (not many come in) and to chat with others who love books! I am always on the hunt for new authors!

One thing I want you to know about my library - in the past two months, we have got E-Audiobooks - which means that I can (well actually my DH does it) download books from the library without ever stepping my foot in the door at any hour of the night or day. I just finished listening to 'Family Tree' by Barbara Delinsky - it has a yarn shop in the story! I also listened to 'Nature Girl' by Carl Hiaasen, an author recommended by two other sorters! I think I have it made when I can sit and knit and listen to a book.

As I get older, and that is what I pray for everyday, I realize that the nicest things in life are 'priceless'. When you read about what economists tell you is the amount of money you need to retire, you get the feeling no one can ever afford to retire. We retired about 12 years ago from going out to earn a paycheck, and I think we live very well and probably an amount that is less than an economist would recommend. I heard an article on the radio last week that said that if you had five economists in a room with a problem to solve, you would get seven different opinions. I agree, as I have taken the odd economics course!!

2007-04-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Drum Roll, Please!

Here is my finished version of Cul de Sac. Unfortunately, the photographer did not tell me that the fronts were not lined up, as they truly do line up!! The vest is a bit too big for me, and I want suggestions about making a larger side seam! I wonder if Silk and Cashmere would steek well, as the vest could have a one inch seam on each side, which would lose four inches in the body of the vest. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Cul de Sac is quietly resting in the cupboard and probably will be there for a bit. I have moved on and think we need a bit of space.

This is a view of the back - again, I do not have a dropped shoulder, at least I do not think I do, but that is what it appears to be in the photo.

This is one of those projects that the best thing you can say about it at the moment is - it's done!

I look forward to comments on making a larger side seam, but somehow getting rid of the bulk!!

2007-04-09T10:12:00.000-07:00

A Little Stash Enhancement!

While I was at the Knitters' Retreat, I did buy a little bit of yarn for the Stash! This white 100% silk, lace weight from Pagan Creations is for a shawl for my GD, who will graduate from high school next June. I am planning on a long rectangular shawl, as I feel that if she does not wear it, she can always use it as a runner on a dresser or table. I am awaiting the book on Victorian Lace Today to choose a pattern.

Pagan Creations is a little shop run by a gal in the Campbell River area of BC and so if I need more I can easily get it for the shawl. There are approximately 593 metres on this skein, so I will see how far it goes with the pattern I choose.

These five skeins are from The Plymouth Italian Collection Turino Silk. I was told that it might drape a bit, but if it is washed in the machine, tossed in the dryer for a wee bit and then put out flat to dry that it would 'get back into shape'!

The lighter colour grey mix will comprise the body of the sweater, and the dark and medium grey mix, along with the deep turquoise will give me a bit of colour work! I have been seriously thinking of making a Sitcom Chic cardi with some colour work on the bottom!

I am loving this sweater that I made from the blue denim and I will change a few things on the pattern and I think it could be a winner. I will knit the entire sweater with the same size needle - using a smaller needle for three rows of ribbing on a 3.75 mm needle and then changing to a 5 mm needle gives a 'pulled in' look to the bottom of the sleeves and body. I will change the ribbing to a seed stitch finish for 5 or 6 rows on the body and the bottom of the sleeves and knit about 6 stitches in seed stitch up the fronts of the body - there is only one button near the top, so button placement is not a big issue. I think I may have written about this before. I will finish the neck with an I-cord treatment. In the original pattern, you picked up stitches for the front - no need to go there again!

I finished stitching up the Cul de Sac vest, and I am so not liking this picking up stitches around finished work. I changed the pattern on the French Vanilla I showed you, as it was designed to knit the two fronts and then pick up and knit the button and buttonhole bands. NO!, I refuse to do that - I am knitting the left side first and I added eight stitches to the front edge which I am working in seed/moss stitch. Once the left side is completed, I will mark the spots on it for the buttons and then on the right side knit the buttonholes into the band as I work up the sweater!

I was telling Shelley, who ran the Knitters' Retreat that I would appreciate a workshop on finishing edges, along with the various methods of casting on and casting off and when they are the best method. I usually knit the side edges of stockinette stitch by knitting garter stitch on the first and last stitch of the back and then the side edge of the fronts, as I find this edge to be neat to sew up. Now what about an edge that needs stitches picked up when the body is knit in stockinette stitch? I learned from Sally Melville books that when knitting garter stitch to always slip the first stitch as if you were going to purl, put the yarn to the back and knit across. This makes for a lovely finished edge and an edge that makes picking up stitches so neat and easy.

I know there is a book out there on finishing, and perhaps that is what I need, but I wonder how you finish your edges.

Jo, of Celtic Memory Yarns and I did a swap of dyes and yarn and I got the beautiful Silk and Cashmere that I knit Cul de Sac from and she was also finishing off her Cul de Sac off yesterday as well! I know she had tried other methods, and was talking about an I-cord finish, so I will be anxious to see how she made out.

Am I thrilled with this vest! The fact it is completed, except for the buttons, puts my mood high on the scale. The finishing, I am not thrilled much - could I have done better - I am not sure - mood a little lower on the scale! Will I wear it, probably next fall/winter when the agony of this vest is a memory - mood mixed! I want to do another garment with Celtic Knots and it will probably not be for a bit! Today I plan to visit my LYS for some simple buttons for the vest and once they are sewn on, Cul de Sac will make her debut on the blog.

Jo and I were not sure why Elsebeth Lavold called the vest Cul de Sac, but after time spent with the finishing, Jo, I begin to think it could be a cul de sac that you enter and then can never find the exit!! That is how it felt yesterday, as I knit with ever diminishing amounts of yarn. I did not knit four rows on the two arm openings as called for, because I would have run out, but I am happy with the number of rows I knit - a pick up row, k 2 rows and a cast off row! She's done - 'nough said!!

2007-04-07T09:12:00.000-07:00

Do you like French Vanilla Ice Cream? I do!

I purchased this Knitter's magazine (Summer 2006) last year and had always admired this sweater, so I decided to cast on, as a short sleeved, off-white cardigan is always useful.

I am using Marks and Kattens Orkide from my stash. I love this yarn, as it is so soft and easy to knit with. It is 20% Silk, 40% Merino wool and 40% Acrylic Microfibre! It is a 'spun' sort of yarn - or rather twisted, but it is not splitting much and flows through my fingers nicely. There are now at least 6 more inches on this back, as it is rather a quick knit, even though it is on 3.75 mm needles!

It would probably be lovely in a purple, but this off-white was one of those buys a girl just cannot go past as it was regularly $7.99 per ball on sale for $2.00!

In the pattern, the top button is down about 1.5 inches, but I think I will plan on moving it up nearer to the top and the selection of a button is going to be difficult, as it can make or break the sweater! Again, like Cul de Sac, the front button bands are picked up and knit on - perhaps I will knit the left side first and add four more stitches in garter stitch, mark the button placement and then knit the right side. I am never that pleased with picking up stitches and then knitting button bands - you often, at least I, have to press the devil out of the band to get it to lie flat. Any suggestions welcome.

The sweater is called "French Lilac", but I will call mine "French Vanilla", like the delicious ice cream!

2007-04-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Sitcom Chic - completed with a few laughs!!

I was lucky enough to 'win' this blue denim cotton from Jo on ebay. That was my first ever purchase on ebay, and I am afeared I might get caught up in the crazy bidding, etc. so I am now sticking to my knitting, as they say.

The yarn has a real slub to it and I tried a lacy pattern, but this was not going to work. I had printed out Sitcom Chic from Knitty many months ago, as I liked the simplicity of it and that is what this yarn needed.

The sweater is knit from the bottom up, sleeves knit on dpns, all joined and then you knit to the neck. I will change some things on this pattern the next time I knit it, as I like the design and it is very adaptable. The pattern called for 3/4 sleeves, but I wanted long sleeves - an easy fix. You picked up stitches on the fronts and neck, and I would do something else in this area - probably three or so garter stitches at the front of each side, and then work the button hole at the pattern detail. I might do an I-cord finish for the neck.

It is a sweater with lots of possibilities. you could knit a pattern of stitches, or even some colour work at the bottom and up the fronts. There could be a bit of pattern at the sleeve cuffs. The next sweater will be all knit on the same size needle and I would do some garter stitch or seed stitch for the bottom of the sweater and the sleeves. I find in the cotton that the ribbing (even though it is only 3 rows) knit on a smaller needle does not lie flat. In another yarn, this would probably not be a problem. I think this sweater will be given a good wash from time to time, tossed in the dryer for a few moments, and then put flat to try. I think it will lose its shape easily, which is probably from the fact it is 100% cotton! I love the sweater and can easily deal with these little problems.

Today I finally finished the back and both fronts of the Cul de Sac vest and it is now blocking. When it is dry, which won't take long, as I put the pieces fronts down on a towel, pin and then mist well, I will sew the shoulder seams. You leave the cable stitches up the front live and then knit around to join them at the back of the neck. Now with - well, never mind, you probably would look forward to this picking up of stitches as much as I do!! You also need to pick up stitches about the arm openings. I am ready to part company with this vest, so it is probably for the best that summer is coming and Cul de Sac can rest safely in a drawer and by fall/winter I will love it again!!

I am going to have to make a large side seam in Cul de Sac. I was afraid that if I made the 39" bust it would be too snug. The next size is a bit too large, but I will see how it looks when sewn up and some nice buttons are applied!

2007-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

I loved you before I knew you!

Many months ago now, Berroco had sent a sample of this sweater (in this colour too) to my LYS along with the Ultra Silk that the sweater required. I loved the sweater then, but when my mind figured that the sweater would cost over $150.00 to knit, I thought for a moment and decided that we would have to love each other from afar! I would lovingly look at the sweater each time I was in my LYS - and touch her and the yarn required, but come home empty handed.

When I went in one day and the yarn was 50% off, I knew we were to become bosom buddies!! I quickly went past the beautiful pink and cream Ultra Silk and bought the blue that had won my heart from the beginning! I did not get the pattern that day - a girl's heart can only take so much at once!

Another time I went in and now the pattern was 50% off - so home it came with me! I read the pattern over a few times, felt the yarn and finally I cast on! Oh my, the Ultra Silk was such a dream to work with and behaved so well. I started the sweater on March 4th and finally seamed it up on April 1. I probably would have been done sooner, but there was a problem in the casting off of the sleeve. The loops that are carried up either side of the centre panel of the sleeve go right to the top and then when you start casting off for the sleeve, you also do the loop pattern. The problem was that at the top of the sleeve, the loops were getting too close together and the pattern was being lost! I took the sweater to the knitters' retreat and asked Shelley to help me. She did and agreed with me to continue the decreases on the sleeve cap, but to discontinue the loop pattern further back, before they started to cross over each other.

You know, sometimes we doubt ourselves in knitting patterns. I read this pattern on the sleeve cap several times, but I felt that I was doing something wrong!! Anyway, I am so pleased with the result. She is beautiful and Berroco calls her, "Cindy". I call her MINE! You know, if someone asked you to knit this sweater for them using the full priced Berroco, you would have to charge about $300. The yarn would have cost you $150.00 and the pattern $12.99. Your time has to be worth something, but that is where knitters sell themselves short! She is definitely not for sale!

Just a bit of a close up of the sleeve and you cannot really see it, but there is a similar pattern at the side seam and a bit of a side slit! I want to get a nice piece of fabric to make a summer weight skirt to wear with 'Cindy'. That is my earliest rhododendron I am standing in front of and it is called Rosamunde. My toes were cold, as my DH took this photo. Yesterday, being April Fool's Day, Mother Nature got in on the fun. From awakening to bright beautiful sunshine, before evening we had cloud, rain, snow, hail and variations on all of these. This morning I could not even really 'scrape' the car, as the final rain of the evening became frozen overnight and I would have needed a chisel - so I just sat in the car with the heater on and waited! She, Mother Nature, is supposed to be kinder to us as the week progresses, but I do not think it will be bare foot weather for me for several weeks. Blue/red feet do not go with any of my wardrobe!

I bought lots of extra yarn for Cindy - I ended up using one less than the pattern called for, but when you know your LYS is not getting any more of a yarn, I like to err on the side of having too much. I have 7.50 skeins left and I went to Knitty and found the pattern for Grace. It is a bit short, but I htink making it longer would not be a problem. The yarn has beautiful drape, as it is 20% Silk, 40% Rayon and 40% nylon. I have a few other sweaters in the queue, so Grace be patient and stand in line nicely!

Just now I am knitting with 100% cotton, which I can tell you after Ultra Silk is different, and that is putting it nicely!

2007-03-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

It was one week ago today ...........

Before I show you some of the samples I got last week at the retreat, I wanted to show you two of the Rib Warmer vests that I knit for gifts. The colour on the right does not show up well, as it is a lovely soft mauve colour! They are just the best project to take in the car or to knit while watching TV. I have two more to knit in this same yarn - one in a denim blue and one in a lovely milk chocolate brown. By then, I will have this pattern firmly established in my brain!

Now on to last weekend!

Yes, it was one week ago today that I was getting settled in at Camp Homewood and today I thought about the weekend. I thought I would share some of the samples we received on the Saturday afternoon.

Sample 1 - Mango Moon Recycled Silk from Nepal. These yarns are made by women who are living in some very bad situations. The saris are made into yarn that we can buy and some of the money goes to help these women. I would have thought it would be a much 'stiffer' yarn, but it is lovely and soft! I certainly plan to buy some to make a scarf or something. Anything that helps underprivileged women is something I want to participate in!

Sample 2 - also from Mango Moon - Bali Sky and is 100% Viscose. Now this is not a man made fiber as such. Viscose comes from wood fiber and is again from recycled clothing and also from Nepal

Sample 3 - Corn yarn - 100% Corn and from China. Corn has a naturally high amount of starch in it. The Corn yarn is formed from a superfine strand of fiber that has been knit into a tube. It's a relaxed enough fiber that the tube collapses on itself, producing a flat strand of yarn that look remarkably similar to homemade pasta. It is hard wearing and very easy to care for and it can be machine washed and dried. It is relatively new on the market and its uses haven't been fully explored as of yet. I was thinking - not that I would knit them for me - about the undies that were in the Spring IK - remember the thong! The yarn has a slight dried-corn smell - not unpleasant, and has that feel of cornstarch!

Sample 4 - 100% Soy and again from China which is made from the residue of soybeans from tofu manufacturing. The process is 100% natural. Soy is eco-friendly and is biodegradable. The United States is currently the largest exporter of soybeans in the world. I have not knit with as yet!

Sample 5 - Bamboo - 100%- another eco-friendly yarn that is biodegradable. I have a ball of this to knit and just now I love to feel it. It is a yarn that always has a 'cool' feel to it. It is unusual for its breathability and coolness. It is great to wear and I can see that this will be more and more available in the market place!

Sample 6 - Malibrigo - 100% Merino wool from Peru. This is delicious - need I say more!

I think these samples (there are 19 more to show you) are invaluable to me. I can knit up to try for gauge, wash them, see if they suit my project and then simply frog them; order the amount I need and I just rewind my sample.

We were given sheets with the corresponding numbers and the facts on the different yarns! Some of these are not available in our LYS here, but in the fullness of time - who knows!

2007-03-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Just bits of this and that!

I thought I would show you some of the beautiful hats that Roger, who was on the retreat this past weekend, knits. His wife spins and dyes the yarn and then Roger knits these beautiful hats. He gives - yes, that is correct - he gives them to the boys about the Island he lives on and the men and boys (probably women too) who go out on the boats love the warmth. You can see that with 100% wool and layers being made by the patterns that they would be warm. He has knit a Bohus patterned hat, but unfortunately I did not get a picture of it. Roger's wife was there, but she is not as in to knitting as Roger is and so it nice that their skills compliment. They live on an Island between Vancouver Island and the mainland that is accessible only by private boat. If you need large items, such as lumber, appliances, trucks, etc. moved to the island, a barge can do that for you!

I wondered how Roger and his wife felt when they returned home. Their island is home to about 50 people and with the staff at the camp and knitters we were about 50 in number. Can you imagine the over stimulation of that many people in a small place to Roger, who probably may go a day or two and see no one but his wife !Just had to include this photo of my friend, Charlotte. On Saturday evening for dessert, the staff brought out a large tray of fresh fruit - some strawberries as large as plums - and in the centre was a lovely bowl of melted chocolate! I loved watching Charlotte as she enjoyed this delight. Remember being able to eat just anything you wanted and the word calorie never entered into your mind!! Young people make us remember the world anew and also give us delight to watch them enjoy their world! I have two delightful granddaughters and a step-grandson, and it is wonderful watching them as they make their way in the world. My family enjoys a chocolate or butterscotch fondue too!!
I just had to share this little story. It was on my Stitch 'N Bitch calendar for today!!

Knit Bit

Oil spills threaten the lives of many sea creatures, among them the "fairy penguins" that live near Melbourne, Australia. Experts have found that wrapping the penguins in wool sweaters helps keep them alive! It prevents them from preening themselves and possibly ingesting the harmful chemicals contained in petroleum-based oil, while also keeping them warm until their bodies can regenerate natural oils. After a spill in 2000, knitters all over the world donated their time and extra yarn to aid the Australian penguins in need. The penguins received thousands of sweaters, which not only kept them healthy but also served as a welcome wardrobe change from the been-there, done-that tuxedo.

I love the story, and since I have a quirky side to me, I could just hear the conversations among the penguins!! There would be great discussion about the colours, pattern and yarn. I wonder how much effort was involved in getting the 'sweaters' on the penguins and if they just let them 'fall' off or wear out! I can imagine a sweater knit from the wools used in Ganseys would last for ever! Jo, the wonderful Irish Bainin you sent to me would be perfect, if you wanted to knit a 'penguin' sweater. However, the fashionable 'fairy penguin' might like the yarn to go into the dye pot for a beautiful mix of colours. Wonder what is fashionable in the penguin world these days?

I can just hear one penguin, "Do you think these stripes make me look fat?"

2007-03-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am busy next March 28 to 30!!

Oh Shelley's blog today, she announced that she has made arrangements with Camp Homewood to have the facility for next March 28 - 30! I sent off a post right away and said sign me up. She has not set the price, but this retreat proved to me that another one would be priceless!! It is just the most beautiful setting, Shelley and staff have a hard act to follow after this year, but I know they will come up with something to fulfill all our wishes and we will learn a lot from Shelley, the staff, and each other. Even if I only get that precious time to knit where the stove, washer, dryer and telephone are not interruptions, that is good knitting time for me!

This is a circular sweater that Shelley knit for her daughter, Megan. It looks different, but when it is on and the model is beautiful, it is spectacular. She even knit one for Meika, her granddaughter and we also got the pattern for the sweater for our bears!

Here is Meika in her circular sweater! What a delight this little girl is and a future knitter for sure. At this age, almost 2, her favourite words and 'No', No Way' and 'Mine'! Remember those times, if you have children! She knits with Grandma by taking the yarn and wrapping it around the needle!

I think this is such a lovely pattern, but it truly suits slim people, little girls and bears!!
In the tumble of teddies below, you can see the front view of the circular sweater on the teddy that is on top to the right. Many of the same colours appear in the bear's sweater as are in Meika's sweater. I think on Brenda's blog you will find a great photo of the group and some of our teddies on the couch with their new sweaters! Not all the teddies are present, as some gals had to leave early to catch ferries to Vancouver Island and then to the mainland!

Below are the bears with the various sweaters we could chose to knit. There is a dear little mauve cardigan which I thought had beading. It turns out that you just work a bit of 'ladder' yarn into the ribbing and a bit of the body and where the silver in the yarn and then bits of shiny colour show, it looks like beads. This sweater also included that step most of us do NOT enjoy - picking up stitches up the fronts, around the neck and ribbing or seed stitch. You also knit buttonholes in the ribbing, so you can see there were many different steps in sweater making that could be learned in making a small bear's sweater.

Oh yes, in case you wonder at the patterns of the couches - you know how you tire of that couch and buy a new one! What to do with the old one that still has some wear in it - give it to a church camp and they work a treat, as this is a large room with a huge fireplace front and centre and on the opposite wall the windows with the view!!

2007-03-27T08:06:00.000-07:00

Please fellow knitters, meet Fern!

This is my bear, Fern. Since I enjoyed being with Charlotte and I love the story of Charlotte's Web, I named her after the girl in the story. Seems appropriate too, since Fern's first sweater is a lovely green! The little cables went up the sleeve and then made a saddle shoulder. There was a bit of seed stitch in the pattern and I remember that I like seed stitch. The top row of the hearts was the 'pig' row - you know how there is always a row that you are happy to have behind you in your knitting, well this is the row! I enjoyed the cables as well. Now I must look in my stash for two compatible yarns that are 100% wool and try the Norweigan sweater for Fern. Also, there is a little pattern for a top with straps - the use of a funky yarn for the top and bottom of the tube and the straps give it that added bit of bling! Then you knit a wee lacy shawl. It is getting that time of year when Fern may wish to go out in style. How can a grown adult have such fun with a teddy bear - I guess that is why they are timeless!

Friends and blog readers, please meet my new friend, Charlotte and her bear. This little sweater was knit from the top down and it is such a nice pattern for a relatively new knitter. This little bear is actually one that Charlotte brought from home, so it may already have a name. She did get a bear just like Fern, but I think her bear is a lovely cream colour. The best part is that when I opened my emails this morning I had a note from Charlotte. Oh, but my heart did a little leap! She is such a charming, gracious, funny, polite and lovely little girl, but I am sure she gets that from her parents and that her younger sister would be just as nice. Anyway, I am so happy to call Charlotte a new friend and hope we can write back and forth a bit and when I go up to Campbell River to their market or I make a trip over to see Shelley at Fun Knits that perhaps Charlotte and I can spend some time together again. I read about women and girls having friends of very different ages, and I am beginning to see that this is a very good thing! Charlotte, my friend, cherish this little bear always and keep the sweater forever. After all, it is your first sweater that YOU knit - albeit with a little bit of help!

Diane, Charlotte's Mom, is knitting a very simple pullover that is completely seed stitch. The beauty of seed stitch, I think is that it makes for a sweater that keeps its shape! I knit a little 'Chanel' type sweater for my older granddaughter when she was little. It came from a Debbie Bliss pattern book and was all seed stitch, had pocket flaps and I knit it in red!

Now knitters and bloggers, I want you to meet another new friend, Helen. Helen is 82, but just look at that beautiful face, she is so young, vibrant, funny and cheery and I liked her from the first minute we met. She told me the story of her coming to Crow's Nest Pass (in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia) as a war bride in 1945. Her husband was still in Germany, and through a mix up of the railway's, she ended up in Calgary with no one to meet her. Her mother-in-law was in Lethbridge, Alberta, where the train was originally supposed to stop. Anyway, the kind folk looked after Helen - she would be an easy person to help, as she is so lovely - and she spent the better part of a day in Calgary - as she said she got to have a bath and do a bit of shopping. That night, she was on the train again and on her way to Crow's Nest Pass, where she was met by her FIL and his sister.

The next evening she was out at the train station awaiting her MIL, who came back from Lethbridge. For a gal who was born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland to sail first to Halifax, NS, then get on a train and travel across Canada to BC, she must have thought that perhaps she was going to fall off the face of the earth. Helen is one of those people who 'fall on their feet' after any sort of adversity! Helen does a lot of knitting via a knitting machine and I have asked her to call me when she is going to use the machine, as I would like to see how it works - I don't want one, but want to see how it works! I hope to see Helen again next year! Oh yes, something so great as this retreat must be repeated.

I Just wanted to share some of my new friends. We need people of all ages in our lives and the enthusiasm and joy of youth and the gentleness and wisdom of age are those qualities of life I want in my heart and soul.

Guess what? Today Blogger let me use exclamation marks. What is that all about! How is a person like me to write if I cannot use all the punctuation marks - not always properly, but - it is like not being able to use your hands when you speak!!

2007-03-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Just a wee taste of my past weekend.

This is the wonderful view we looked out on all weekend. That is Mount Washington way off in the distance and we are on Quadra Island, which is out in Johnson Strait off Campbell River. I know, I need a better camera, but use your imagination and just know that it is spectacular. This photo is of me at home (it should be cropped, but my DH is away just now) and that is my bear with his hat. I finished him last evening. I will try to get a better close up of him in his finery. I want to make him a Norweigan Sweater that requires steeks for the sleeves. I may never make a large sweater of this style, but I want to know the technique. That is what I think is so wonderful about a retreat. You get to learn so much and can apply it in many projects. For instance, I used Sally Melville's "Knit 1" book and I like the way she does the first stitch when knitting garter stitch. In case you wish to try it, you always slip the first stitch as if you are going to purl it, take the yarn to the back and knit to the end of the row. By doing the first stitch this way, it appears as a crochet chain on the edge and it is terrific for picking up stitches or seaming your pieces. When I knit the Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer Vest, I used this method of working the first stitch and it makes a nice finished edge, which other knitters asked me about, as some thought I had crocheted the edge. That is what I mean about learning a technique and then using it in other knitting.
Here is my bear - sweet as can be, don't you think - holding the 25 samples of yarn we received at the retreat. That is one wonderful treasure he is holding and I will display them all in the fullness of time and tell you about them. I just was overwhelmed with the fact that we all now had 25 different types of yarn to try. There is enough to knit a small swatch; see if you can get gauge for a project and also launder it to see how it behaves. This to me is a treasure beyond belief and I know it will be priceless. We have a sheet with the numbers and the name and variety of yarn and then there is a little numbered tag on each sample. I will give some a try and then there is room to write notes about my findings.
This is not a terrific photo of my roomie, Brenda. She is a terrific gal from Victoria and I really enjoyed meeting with her. She owns 'Satin Moon', which is a wonderful quilt shop in Victoria and when I lived there and was actively quilting, I went to the shop many times - that was pre-Brenda.
Well laundry awaits, my weekly update to family and friends (a letter that I have been writing for about 20 years - about 5 were sent out each week at first and then they were hand written - now about 16 go via email and 8 via snail mail), a quick bit of ironing, some lick-and-a-promise type of vacuuming and then I can play with my yarn.

Guess what? I just tried to post this and they said I could not use exclamation marks. Now for any of you who have been reading my blog - this is tough. I can adjust, but it won't be the same.

2007-03-25T16:20:00.000-07:00

I'm Home and It Was Fabulous!!

Just a quick note to let you know I am back from my retreat. No photos just yet, but I promise I will post some in the next few days.

It was just a wonderful experience. Shelley Mackie of Fun Knits and her family and staff just put on a weekend beyond my wildest expectations. We were all given a teddy bear and six different patterns to make our bear a sweater. You could use her needles, yarn, experience and help each other. There is even a pattern for a Norweigan sweater with steeks - that is not what I tried this weekend, but I definitely am going to give it a try! How scared can you get over a project small enough to fit a teddy? Oh yes, we were all given 25 - YES 25 - samples of different yarns and a write up on each type of yarn. There is enough yarn to knit up a swatch! So you can try a yarn to see if you get gauge, or like the feel or see how it washes or just rub it on your cheek!! There is even a yarn made from corn - it has the same feel as cornstarch! I will include photos of the samples and some words on the yarns when I am less tired - but a good kind of tired.

The youngest knitter there was 11 and the oldest 82 and we had a wonderful man and his wife. The man knits the Bohus pattern on hats and other wonderful hats from his wife's handspun pure wool! Charlotte, age 11, knit a top down sweater (with minimum help from her Mom) out of a patterned sock weight yarn. The look on her face when she put it on her teddy and I took a photo made a more experienced knitter feel that our craft of knitting will be carried on by the next set of young girls. My granddaughters are becoming knitters, and that makes a Nana feel so good!

I think that is enough of a teaser for today. I met the most fun group of knitters, did not cook any meals, no telephones to interrupt, shared ideas, knitting experience, and just enjoyed the rhythm of our knitting. I am unpacked, tired, but very, very happy and my DH has planned a wonderful dinner. How did I get so lucky!!

Oh yes, a few gals who have read my blog said that I was very much like my blog! Not sure what that means exactly, but it sounded very favourable to me, and a gal takes compliments where she can get them!!

2007-03-22T12:43:00.000-07:00

What to do? Move or not?

I have been busy trying to decide about my blog. It may be me, but sometimes I could throttle blogger with a bit of yarn!

Anyway, here is some knitting to show!

This is the back of Cul de Sac - since this photo, I have completed the left front and am ready to cast on for the right front. I think this is the most challenging knit I have undertaken so far. On the front, you would be knitting cables on either side of the front, decreasing for the armhole and also for the front, but not on the same row! I hope to get lots of wear out of this vest, as it is certainly blessed!!

Here is another EZ Rib Warmer vest. I am knitting it for a gift and, as I write this, it is finished and another RW vest is on the needles in a soft rose. This vest looks beige in the photo, but actually it is a soft green!

I am off tomorrow to a knitters' retreat on Quadra Island - those of you who have taken a cruise ship to Alaska will go by Quadra Island on your way north! There will be 40 knitters there, so it should be fun. I am really looking forward to the weekend, as today we go to the third funeral/memorial service this month! I want to have a break and laugh and knit!! Will bring you up to date on what happens next week!

2007-03-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'm Knitting, when the rains come!

Just wanted to let you know that I may be gardening, but then the rain comes and I get some time with the needles. The dark will also send me inside to knit, but I have know gardeners who garden with a miner's lamp on their heads!

This is the Ultra Silk Berroco sweater. I am loving working with this yarn. It is so soft and buttery and does not split, as it is a tubular knit with a core of nylon! However, out of the six balls I have used, three of them have had a break and a knot! Discouraging, when you consider that this yarn was originally $13.99 a ball - lucky me, I got it for $7.00 a ball, but I am not happy about the knots. I have been knitting along and then had to frog back a row, as I like to make my joins at the beginning or end of a row.

I have the back and front completed and that is a sleeve on the top. I like the fact that the decreases for the armholes on the body and also on the sleeve are done in pattern. However, with decreases that have four rows in the pattern and then the pattern in the centre panel have four different rows, it is a knit to do when you have no distractions! The sleeve has been at the frog pond - well for just a few rows - more than once! One more sleeve - I usually knit both sleeves together, but these sleeves would probably have been my ruination if I had tried to do them together. As you can see, the sun was shining the day I took the photo and I had been out in the garden earlier!!

2007-03-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gardening - one of my passions!

I have been busy in my garden - one night after five hours of gardening I was too tired to even pick up the needles!

My question to anyone who cares is - why does my mind seem so much younger than my back? I get outside and the sun warms me and the birds sing to me and the garden feeds my soul! I think I will work for an hour and then go in and knit! Well, when you are doing something you love, the time slips away and before you know it five hours have elapsed. Now I did have to come in to use the washroom, but my DH made me tea and lunch, so I sat outside in the sun and enjoyed the love!

I will post a few spring things for you and hopefully I will show some knitting in
the next few days. In our weather this morning (in our local paper) I saw clouds and raindrops for the next five days. Now that could be wrong - weather forecasting is better than it used to be, but when you live on a coast the ocean can really change the weather in a hurry!

My DH named this photo 'violets' but it is Primula Wanda and it is a great little plant - it comes back year after year, stays close to the ground, is not bothered by slugs, and is a real harbinger or spring!

The yellow Rhododendron is Haida Gold - the Haida are an Indian group on our West Coast. This Rhodo is scented - which is not so very often in the Rhodo world. It has that beautiful fresh scent of lemon and freshly cut cucumber. The shrub on the left is Fothergilla - it blooms in spring with a lovely white 'bottle brush' type of flower, but its true beauty is the colouring of the leaves in the fall - anywhere from gold to red and in between.

You can see the colour of my home in the background. Just now it is painted "California Rustic", but we are planning to paint it this year and want it to be a nice dark grey with charcoal trim and perhaps a very light grey just on the window area - our windows are wooden! We also plan to make a wider trim around the windows to take the charcoal colour. I hope to paint the front door a cranberry red! Our deck is cedar on the front, so we will leave it unpainted, as it has now reached that beautiful 'silver grey' that cedar gets and I do not fancy painting all those little spindles - which are mostly covered by shrubs!!

Oh yes, the Rhodo and Fothergilla are not in bloom just yet, but if the mild weather continues, perhaps by mid April! The bark mulch shown there was new when the photo was taken, and it is now more silver grey! Yesterday I raked all around these shrubs and many others. I try to leave the small leaves on the garden over winter. Many just decompose into the earth and I suppose some harbour 'bad' insects and slugs, but gardening is not for the faint of heart!

2007-03-11T13:51:00.001-07:00

My Kitchen Window

I thought I would show you what I see when I look out my kitchen window, which is over the sink. The three little vases on the right hold two varities of Helleborus! The little white pot in the centre holds a small orchid, which my DD left with me when she moved to Germany. The little bottle on the left holds two cutting from a grape ivy - I cut it back as it was getting a bit straggly and I will root these up to add to the pot! The tiny little mouse I got last year when I went to Amos Pewter's in Mahone Bay, NS. I often put him on a cheese tray for fun! The little pewter birdfeeder hanging on the inside of the window and the dove also came from Amos Pewter's. When you look outside to the right, that is my greenhouse/shed. On the left is the greenhouse and it needs a good old tidy, as it is getting time to start a few seeds and I have an old laundry tub with running cold water. I love my greenhouse and will spend many a happy hour in there soon. On the right of the building is a shed, where we store our summer furniture, extra pots for gardening and tools. The garden is a bit sleepy in the photo, but daily I can see a difference, as the plants start to grow again with the longer ours of daylight (not caused by the change to DST!!) and also the warmth of the sun! There, this is what I look out at many times a day! I tried clicking on the photo and I did get a larger image!!

I took a cooking course this week on Moroccan Cooking, and this mushroom soup is not from the course, but I had lots of mushrooms and I had cut a recipe out of the newspaper, so today seemed like the perfect day to try it. I will blend this all with my immersion blender, add some yogurt and lemon juice and make an Irish Soda Bread to round out a nice light Sunday dinner. Last evening I tried several of the Moroccan recipes from the course, and they were really tasty!

I took a few more pictures of the helleborus and wanted to show them up close. The two burgundy plants on the outside of the group come up this beautiful colour and then slowly turn to green. This helleborus, which I do not know the name of, is not as easy to get seedlings from, but I do have one in another area of the garden that seeded itself and then I moved it. This helleborus will probably never produce enough seedlings for me to give them away. However the other Helleborus - Helleborus Orientalis or Lenten Rose is prolific at giving me seedlings and I have given them away to other gardening friends and also moved them to other spots in the garden. Do you get the feeling that I love Helleborus - you are right. The real close up is of the centre of the Lenten Rose and I love the stripes and blotches. It will get a deep rose as it ages and then will develop large seed pods. I let them be until fall and this is a plant that never really needs dividing. I would say it is a real easy plant to work with in any garden.

I have been corresponding with Cornflower and I had mentioned that I love Helleborus, as she seems to, and also that I would try to cut them and bring them inside to enjoy and they would droop. Cornflower/Karen wrote that she had heard that if you cut them, put them in tepid water (and I submerged them) for 6 to 8 hours that they would not droop! Now, I know they appear to be drooping, but they are not - that is the one unfortunate property of my Helleborus - they hide their faces. This one of the things I love about blogging - so much help and so kindly given!

Here is a photo of a gardener's faith. These are sweet pea seeds and I will take them out later today and plant them. My garden always has sweet peas and I pick bunches almost daily while they are blooming. There is really nothing that can compare to the fragrance of sweet peas! I will also share a photo of some beautiful orange tulips that are gracing our dining table!

2007-03-08T12:25:00.000-08:00

Tete a Tete - small but beautiful!

These little daffodils, or as I call them 'daffs' are from my garden! I have only ever bought one package of the bulbs to plant, but every spring in our local grocers, there are pots of these little daffs and I bring home a pot or two and enjoy them on my table! After they give me their beautiful blooms for that spring, out they go and are dug into the garden. The offering the next spring may not be too spectacular, but after that they do give me the most beautiful show in spring.

I like them in combination with the ceramic pears. I love pears to eat, to display, to needlework, just any way at all, I love pears. My all time favourite eating pear is the Bosc pear!

I have been knitting, but not much to show for my time spent just enjoying the rhythm of the needles. Perhaps another day - I so want to start the EZ vests!

2007-03-07T14:22:00.000-08:00

I know, this is really sick!!

I was in my LYS yesterday, just going by, and what is a girl to do - drop in and see what is new and what is on sale!! Well, this Sirdar Chunky wool and acrylic was on for $3.00 a ball. I looked at it and thought about that holiday at the end of December - you know the one with gift giving! I bought enough to knit four of the Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer Vests! That means that I got four vest for under $76.00 - do have to pay the tax man some! I have two GDs (age 17 & 14) and a DD and DIL, so guess what they are going to get? I have had so much fun wearing the rib warmer and so many compliments that I thought I just could not go wrong with knitting it for my girls! Also, it is easily washed, even in the washing machine, and my DD is not great in the laundry room so at least this yarn will work for her and the GDs.

I even ordered EZ's Workshop book which has the pattern in it, plus one for a friend! I am beginning to realize that I do have a thing for simple patterns and that is probably why I have such a liking for any design by Elizabeth Zimmerman or Sally Melville.

I will not cast on for the vests until the Cul de Sac or Berroco sweater are off the needles! I am voting for the Sea Foam Berroco Ultra Silk to be off the needles first. I have a friend who needs help casting on for scarves, and she is determined to knit Cul de Sac. I think once she truly sees the charts and reads the pattern, she might try a Rib Warmer instead. I have knit for a long time, and for the Cul de Sac, I had to get help on hiding the wrap on the short rows!!

2007-03-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

My Version of Green Gables!

Here is my version of Green Gables. It took me a week to knit it from Debbie Bliss Cathay! I love the colour and I know it is not as snug as the original, but I prefer things a bit less revealing of my figure. I also did seed or moss stitch instead of 1x1 ribbing! I hope to get lots of wear from it this summer and now will watch for a nice black rayon/linen to make a pair of drawstring pants with a loose leg! I have some nice black sandals and a bit of jewelery to go with it - now just bring on the chilled white wine and a BBQ!

Here is another project I have on the needles. It is the Ultra Silk from Berroco I had mentioned. I love the colour and I call it Sea Foam - better than just a number; and it would also go perfectly with the black pants - maybe another pair of pants in a taupe or white would give me a couple of outfits for summer!!

This yarn, Ultra Silk, is a dream to knit with and it has terrific stitch definition. I am so pleased that the yarn went on sale, and when I was back at my LYS today they still had some white and soft blush pink on sale! No - I did not buy it, but I will show you tomorrow what I did buy!

Oh yes, I am no longer an ebay virgin! Is that too much information? Anyway, Jo, of Celtic Memory Yarns had some blue denim cotton on ebay and I was the lucky winner. Oh yes, I was also able to order some extra for a cropped cardi for summer, fall, winter and spring. Isn't it true that denim is in season all year long. When I grow old I shall wear purple and any other thing I want to!

Now off to knit!

2007-03-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Not just about knitting today!

I know, I started this blog because of my knitting, but I do other things in life, so I will not be just about knitting anymore! I enjoy a bit of diversity in other 'knitting' blogs, so hopefully this won't be a problem - anyway, it seems I write this blog mainly for myself, about myself and what I love! I do enjoy all those who visit and comment! I have made some good blogging friends through this adventure. How would I learn about new books; new recipes; the weather in Lapland; what young women are thinking these days; and I could go on and on! Still, it is much like keeping a bit of a journal and this is the longest stretch that I have written. I have been writing a weekly update letter to family and friends for over five years on the internet, but about 10 years before that by hand writing! I have kept all the letters I sent via email, and it is a journal of sorts!

I love to garden. I went into a shop the other day and there was the rack with seeds. I always grow sweet peas - and could not resist this package of a variety of orange/red sweet peas. I always save some from the previous year, so these should be a nice addition to the mix. Soon, I will soak the seeds in tepid water and then make a trench in the garden and plant them - they will take time, but so long as we do not have too much rain in the next month or so (who am I kidding, it is March and then April) I will have sweet peas in bloom in late June!

The other pack of seeds is double morning glories! I usually grow the beautiful blue single ones, but decided I wanted to give this new variety a try! I do not plant them early, and usually start them in pots in the greenhouse first and then transplant!

I have been knitting! I finished "Green Gables" in the beautiful raspberry cotton. It is at present blocking, so a photo will appear in a few days. I started another summer sweater in a Sea Foam Green (my name for the colour) from Berroco Ultra Silk. The sweater I am knitting was sent to my LYS as a sample! I admired it and then looked at the yarn and realized that it was a bit pricey! The sweater would have cost me over $150, but then the pattern and yarn went on for half off - I was in at the drop of a stitch and bought up the yarn. It is so wonderful to knit with and tomorrow I will show you the top in progress.

2007-03-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

Five things to be grateful for today!

1) I am well, as is everyone in my family
2) The sun is shining and the birds are singing
3) I have some beautiful knitting to work on
4) I have a safe home that I share with a wonderful man
5) I have beautiful Friends - what would any of us do without them?

Can you believe it? I wrote in my blog about "Pause" by Katherine Gibson, who lives down the Island from me and she found my blog and sent a comment. How neat is that?

Well last night was my book club! There are nine gals in the club and seven got together last night to discuss a book - any book - and I, of course, discussed "Pause". It turned out that one gal had read the book and the other had purchased it to read! Not bad for a small group, but then the author also sent me an email! I, of course, had sent her an email, as she has a website - www.katerinegibson.com and I wanted to tell her that I was presenting her book last evening! She emailed me back!! I heard Katherine speak at a Women's Day a few years ago and I was impressed with her then, but her attention to detail is amazing. Another thing to be grateful for - people who take a moment to answer an email when it is not expected,

I emailed Katherine today and told her of the story of my book club friend, Barb, and her DH, Terry. Terry, aged 64 or so, is in a nursing home with ALS. Barb has used positive reinforcement with Terry for many a day - Terry was diagnosed about four years ago and has the slow developing form of ALS, but at this point, he cannot move any limbs, but can move his head, swallow and talk and, of course, has his wits! Anyway, Barb mentioned that sometimes we are not sure the guys in our lives get it when we try to find positive things in day-to-day occurrences. But, she realized it was working when she had taken a trip to Scotland, brought back a little plaid book and pencil for a ten year old girl that comes into the nursing home and plays computer games with Terry. When Terry gave his computer buddy the book, he told her that he wanted her to write five things in the book everyday that made her happy! Terry is at the point in life where a visit, a hot cup of coffee (albeit drunk through a straw), wind on his face, sunshine, a smile, his computer buddy showing up - all these small things are very gratifying.

When the chips are down, as they are for Terry, money and 'stuff' don't matter - it is the little things that matter!

Now I hope I remember this everyday and think about the feel of today's sun on my back as I sip my tea and wander through my garden! Also when I pick up my beautiful raspberry cotton sweater and knit; or when I read the blogs of other gals and realize what a wonderful group of women I have come to know through this amazing world of blogging.

2007-02-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Glad to help!

Here is the page you can go to at Ram Wools, which happens to be in Winnipeg, Manitoba - where I lived for many years - http://www.ramwools.com/onlinecat/spring07/RamSprg07_pages_29_to_32.pdf to view and order the book that has the pattern I am planning to make. The book is back ordered, but you know there is plenty to knit with here at my house, so a bit of a delay is okay by me. Ram Wools also carries Rowan (one of my favourite yarns) and they have some good discounts on their yarns.

I picked up a good book from the library yesterday. It is called "Pause" by Katherine Gibson. I have had the opportunity to hear Katherine speak, as she lives in Victoria, BC. The talk she gave was on de-cluttering your life - I came home and got rid of so many things I had been hanging onto for - well the reason for hanging on had escaped me!! Anyway, this book is about talking time to pause and enjoy the small things in life, the moment, the joy of being alive, etc. It certainly hit a chord with me, as sometimes I can get too busy and forget to stop and smell the roses.

Yesterday, for instance, I volunteered for the music festival. Now this was a very pleasant experience for me, but I learned a few good lessons from the children and some of the poems they recited. First a young Mom and her son, who I have seen at a few productions with the other little boy and his Dad - confusing - there is a Mom, Dad and two little boys! Anyway, she brought in her little boy early, took him up on the stage, (he is 5 years old and this was his first performance) showed him where he would stand, what the lights looked like, what the sides of the stage looked like, and generally made him feel comfortable! This made me think about how many times we rush children - trying to keep to our schedule. We do not always take the time to remember what it was like when we were small in a BIG world! So many times I want to say to hurried parents who do not want to show their children what is up at the adult's level of vision - "How do you think the world looks when you only see feet, knees and crotches!"

The other moment for me was a poem about 'new clothes'. It was about how they make you feel special, shiny, happy, pretty, etc. - then it talked about the 'old clothes' how they make you feel hugged, happy, relaxed, comfortable and they 'know your shape'. It made me think - I love new clothes too, but the old ones do give you a 'hug' when you put them on and that is nice and we all need 'nice'.

I am not sure why some books and people come into our lives when we most need them, but this book is perfect for me just now and I plan to order a copy to keep on my bedside table to 'read at' when I have a few moments! A few bloggers have come into my life in the last months, and perhaps they do not realize how much they stimulate me to think, read and knit or how much I enjoy their work, outlook on life and friendship. Good things, like buses, come to those who wait, the secret is being at the right bus stop! I rode a bus to school and then to work for many years. I know lots of people have an idea that taking the bus is for those not fortunate enough to have a car, but bus riding is great - you don't need to fight the traffic, you are forced to slowdown in your life - you can knit on a bus, read on a bus, listen to music or books on a bus, and best of all people watch on a bus.

Have a great day and ride a bus if you can!!

I just re-read this post to check for errors, etc. and you know what puzzles me, the word 'okay' is underlined as it seems to not be recognized as a word! Go figure, I say! How many times in a day do we say 'Okay!'?

2007-02-26T19:34:00.000-08:00

Finally, IK Spring 2007 arrived!

I have been watching on other blogs and thought my postie had turned into a knitter and was borrowing my IK! It did arrive today and I was excited, as the preview really intrigued me and I thought there were a couple of patterns I might like to knit.

I was a bit disappointed, and now I can see only one I might knit and that is the Cable Down Raglan on page 42. I love the colour, but I would make the sleeves longer. Most of the other patterns I find just too young for me. I do like the Roza's Socks by Grumperina - and maybe I will knit a pair of them.

The one sweater that really caught my eye was this one on page 71. I googled, after finding out that Westminster Fibers is a wholesale operation and my LYS does not carry those yarns. To make a long story short, I was able to run the pattern to earth. I called Ram Wools and they have the pattern book that this sweater is in! It is back ordered, but that is not a worry, as I have lots to work on at present.

2007-02-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Another One!

You may think I have had an obsession about Elizabeth Zimmerman's Rib Warmer vest, and you would be right! I really like this pattern and of all the knitting I have done and worn lately, these vests get the most comments - all favourable! It is a winner and for a gal who rarely wore vests, I seem to have one on every day! I am wearing the 'blue denim' vest today, so that is why I am wearing blue pants and turtle neck in the photo. If I had seen the photo previously, I would have lined the centre of the vest back up with the centre seam of my pants, but you get the idea!

That is is for Rib Warmer vests for a bit, but I know I will knit more of this pattern!

2007-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Dogs and Tulips!

Here are my dogs. Isla, known as the 'couch queen' is found in her usual spot, doing her usual thing - resting! She is 9 years old and is the aunt of the other Cairn, Tibbie. Tibbie has become very fond of this pillow that I hooked a top for and now she claims it as her own. I know that many think dogs should not be on furniture and there is some they are not allowed on, but they have claimed these chairs and we have let them - of course, we could teach old dogs new tricks!.

In this photo, it looks like the couch needs a cleaning - a small price to pay for a happy dog! I plan to get the carpets cleaned next month, so will have the chesterfield/couch done at the same time.

These tulips are 'full' open and I think they are beautiful. I will buy another bunch today to replace them, but I also love the tulips at this stage - blowsy and arranged by themselves - I just stood them upright in the vase! Once my tulips in the garden start to bloom, I bring in one bloom at a time! I always have wanted a cutting garden, but tulips are just too beautiful in bunches in the garden to bring in too many at a time. I do not like bulbs planted in rows, I tend to put them together in a 'bunch', and I think they give greater impact!

2007-02-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

My "Green" Vest!

I know, it is not green, but denim blue. The 'green' about it is the fact that I had bought a man's cotton sweater at Sally Ann, took it apart, wound the yarn onto my swift, soaked it and hung it to dry with a weight - that straightened it out very well, then balled it!! So it is 'green', in that it is recycled!! I used three strands and it knit up very well, I lost the 'content' tag from the recycled sweater, but I did remember it is cotton and it almost feels like it has a bit of silk in it, as it felt so much nicer than most cottons and has a beautiful drape to it.

Now to finish Rib Warmer #3 - all these vests for a gal who hardly wore vests before. This is just a neat pattern and it went so well while watching about three British murder mysteries back to back yesterday!!

Sorry about your having to turn you head to view the picture. My other HELP button, namely DH, is busy using his wood working tools, and turning it is beyond me - you probably needed a bit of exercise anyway!

2007-02-17T14:09:00.000-08:00

A Saturday Sky!

I wish I could show you how quickly the clouds were scudding along when I took this photo. It is now grey, showery and still windy.

Sure hope it stops raining by evening, as we are going to a village nearby that is having a lighted lantern foot parade and then a launch of lighted huge lanterns into the night sky. If you live near the Arctic Circle, and we launch the lanterns, you just might see them!!

2007-02-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

This is a winner!

When I first saw this vest on Knitorius blog in her January 2007 posts, I knew I wanted to make the vest. I ran the pattern to earth and ordered it from Schoolhouse Press! I read the pattern, scratched my head, read it again and thought this is not easy, but perhaps if I just get the needles and yarn in my hands and think it out carefully, I can have this vest. I was right. I have found that with other patterns - when I read them they are as clear as mud, but once I carefully work the pattern through 'step by step', the muddied waters clear and I get it.

I knit the vest on a 5mm circ needle and used Paton's Chunky! I know, I know, it is an acrylic, but that is a 7 letter word, not a 4 letter word. I was not sure of the yardage needed, and I love the colour! Enough said about my Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer Vest. I can see why the lady has become an icon in the North American knitting world.

This is now a favourite and, in fact, I have another on the needles from some reclaimed silk and cotton that was once a man's long sleeved sweater. It is a beautiful denim blue, so I know that I will get lots of wear from it. It is warm, easy to wear and in the two times I have worn this burnt orange vest, I have had at least three compliments. I even impressed the gals at the LYS!

I was writing to Jo about yarns and she has some beautiful Silk and Cashmere on ebay that she mentions would be perfect for a lace shawl. I have knit a few shawls, and love knitting lace, but you know for the effort, I do not get much wear! Now with a vest or a sweater, I get a lot of wear and so my question to Jo was whether I could double strand the Silk and Cashmere to get a weight that would be perfect for a sweater or vest. She was in agreement with me about how much we wear a shawl and yet we spend considerable time on knitting a shawl! Right now, vests are in with me!

Now I leave you to knit a bit on Cul de Sac. She is a demanding lady and cannot be knit while watching 'Silent Witness'. She wants your undivided attention, especially when you are making the Celtic knots! I am loving the pattern, however, and perhaps more patterns with Celtic knots will be in my future.

2007-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Elsebeth Lavold!

I knit another of Elsebeth's patterns, remember that beautiful turquoise/green Silky Wool that made up Tilia, as shown in my October 12th post? Well, this is a different kettle of fish! The yarn I am using is soft like butter, the pattern is a bit challenging, but not too much and the gauge seems to be staying true. It is not a long enough (body length) project to 'sag' like Tilia seemed to do, so I am hoping and expecting better things from Elsebeth's Cul de Sac pattern.

If you want the Cul de Sac pattern, it is in the Fall 2003 issue of Knitters magazine. I had to back order, but it was well worth the effort.

I finished the burnt orange vest and only need my photographer to return home to take a photo. It was a quick project, and now I know how much yardage I need to make another. That is one downfall of the older patterns - they often called for so many ounces, and not all ounces give the same yardage. I am pleased to see in lots of newer patterns that yardage is given. It makes more sense to me.

2007-02-14T17:17:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I first met my DH while working in his Dad's flower shop! John, my DH, knows I love yellow roses, as that is what I had in my wedding bouquet (made by my FIL) and so he surprised me today with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and even bought that beautiful large vase for them too! What a treat - he is a real keeper after 46.5 years of marriage!

I have the burnt orange Elizabeth Zimmerman vest on the needles still, but when I have some time to myself, I work on Cul de Sac by Elsebeth Lavold! I have never done Celtic knots before, but I loved that part, as it kept me on my toes! The yarn is a beautiful Silk and Cashmere that I got from Jo. I always tell Jo that anything that is that beautiful needs capital letters, thus Silk and Cashmere! It can split a bit, but it just feels like butter moving through the fingers. I saw some deer horn buttons at my LYS, and I think they might just be perfect for Cul de Sac. What do you think? What you see here is the back.

2007-02-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Has this ever happened to you??

What you are seeing is my version of Elizabeth Zimmerman's Rib Warmer Vest! I was knitting on it last evening as I watched a murder mystery on TV, and you can see I have a problem. Is this problem fixable? I think it is. You can see the waste yarn on the two 'collars'. I plan to take out the waste yarn, frog to the row where I cast on 20 extra stitches, cast off where the 10 collar stitches were and then

carefully pick up 10 stitches at the other end and knit 10 rows of ridges and keep those stitches live! Will it work, I sure hope so, because I do not want to frog back to where I joined the two pieces together! I am enjoying the knit, and it was interesting to figure out what I was doing, but the error is strictly my own - nothing to do with EZ/s directions. Now I do admit that her directions are 'skimpy' by most new pattern standards, but I was so sure I knew exactly what I was doing. Oh well, I will probably knit this pattern again, and you can be sure I will not make this mistake again.

Below is my latest FO. It is a vest from the Sally Melville Book 2. I had ordered pewter button clasps for the closure, but with the slant on the right front, it made placement of the closures more than a little challenging. I remembered this shawl pin, took off the pewter clasps and now this will be my method of closure. I will save the button clasps for another project!!

2007-02-11T11:23:00.000-08:00

Antoinette, meet my fellow bloggers. Bloggers, here is Antoinette!

I really am pleased with this sweater. It was a joy to knit and a joy to wear. I have a summer dress on, as I wore her to a Beach Party that my DH's Rotary club had last evening!

I started this sweater about January 20th and it is knit from Rowan Cotton Rope and from the Rowan Knitting and Crochet Magazine Number 39. I really did not change anything in the pattern. I do, however, feel that Rowan patterns are for experienced knitters, as there is a lot left out 'between the lines'. I damp blocked it before stitching up the side seams, picked up along the front edges and back on a circular needle and then cast off in the knit way. You picked up for the collar on the fronts from the first neck cast off to the top of the neck front and knit about 14 rows of the pattern and held the knitting on the needles. After knitting both front collars, you seamed the shoulders and then knit along the right front, picked up along the neck cast off, knit the left collar and then knit about 22 rows of the pattern and cast off in pattern. I always wondered what 'cast off in pattern' meant, but I tried it and the collar lays perfectly flat! Must have done it correctly! This is a sweater I would probably knit again in a more summer like colour, but I love the black, even though it does not photograph well!

The yellow shrub in the background is Arnold's Promise Witchhazel! Also that is a stained glass hanging of wine being poured into a wine glass. My DH is big into wine, gives courses, tastings, etc., so it was gift from me on his 50th birthday! I see a few more things blooming in the garden, but today is Antoinette's Day!

2007-02-08T18:38:00.000-08:00

Thank You All - you are the best!

A big thank you to all the bloggers who visited and had kind words for me yesterday. It was a very special day and I want to celebrate more and more good things in my life. I found that the gals I shared with yesterday, and the men, were all supportive and felt that breast cancer could indeed be lived with and well. Take the time to celebrate life and include your friends. I did it through the blog and it was wonderful - I hope it gave many of you hope, cause heaven only knows that sometimes all we have is hope!

I did finish up some knitting. The sweater from Rowan Book 39 - Antoinette - is now sitting and drying from her final steaming. I will take her to the LYS tomorrow to get a button - a great one! I also have the vest sitting and awaiting the buttons from Schoolhouse Press - any day now! Once I have a button for one or both sweaters, I will show you. I am so pleased with Antoinette, as she fits beautifully and I love the collar!! Now I will start my Elsebeth Lavold Cul de Sac vest - the one with the Celtic Knots and cables. It will be a slower knit, but a challenge and it is being knit with Silk and Cashmere!!

2007-02-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Here's to Living Well and Long!

Today is the day! My last cancer treatment, a mastectomy with no lymph node removal was done ten years ago today. I have a rare breast cancer. Its name is Cystosarcoma Phylloides - and that is the most exotic part of it - its name! It travels via the blood and not the lymph nodes - thus no lymph node removal. I must add that I had a partial mastectomy with a frozen section in December of 1996, so the surgeon knew what he was up against. The pathologists had recommended I have a further reduction of the breast or a full mastectomy with removal of the covering of the pectoral muscle. So, I would not buy partial insurance on my house, so I went for the mastectomy! I wore a prosthesis for about five years, and then I had a mastectomy on the remaining breast. My cancer does not respond to either chemo or radiation, so I was done with the first mastectomy.

I guess I am pretty comfortable in my skin, so I swim flat and hope that any woman or man who sees me will remember, when they have a loved one on this breast cancer journey, that life does go on and you can have a good quality of life. In fact, I think I have a better quality of life now than I did before cancer. It is rather sad, however, that sometimes we need to be slapped in the face with our mortality to really grasp how sweet life can be!

What many of you do not know, and probably do not want to know, is that a breast prosthesis costs about $500.00. Now I need two of them and I can think of a better use for $1,000.00 - wonder how much Cashmere and Silk I could buy with that. So I read an article in a national paper about a woman in Toronto, Canada who designed and knit 'tit bits' and they were for sale. I went to her web site, who does not have a web site, and found out that she was going to have the pattern on Knitty! I got the pattern, bought some beautiful yarn and made a pair - since then, I have made about five pair! I want to get some pink silk and a nice green and make a breast that looks like a piece of watermelon. I have a bit of black silk for the seeds.

I probably have given you all more info than you need or want, and you may think watermelon breasts is a bit much, but you know, if you are going to make it through this, you need to keep you sense of humour honed!!

Now, on to some yarn! This yarn is Canasta by Phildar. It is 79% rayon and 21% acrylic. It can split a bit, but I knit a brown lace cardi with it earlier and I just could not resist this colour for a summer top. I have 9 balls at 108 yards a ball. It was originally $7.99 a ball and I got it for $4.00 a ball. Now to find that perfect pattern.

I hope I did not bore you with my story of breast cancer, but all of us know someone in our circle of family and friends who has been touched by it. All I hope is that from reading of my journey that you know there is hope and life! Never complain about growing old! Think of the alternative!

2007-02-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Is it only me?

I seem to be having my problem with 'Blogger' these days. Both starting a new post and sending comments on other blogs have been a bit of a hassle!

On with the yarn purchases.

This Debbie Bliss Cathay is one of my favourite colours - remember the cotton pullover - same colour. Anyway, I got 9 balls and want to make a short sleeved summer top. It is 50% cotton 35% Viscose Microfibre and 15% Silk. It was originally $9.99 a ball and on sale for $5.00 - I took all that was there in this colour! I have 900 metres, so should be able to get a short top out of it! I see an off centre sweater in the Spring Interweave Knits preview and wonder if it could be made into a short-sleeve version. The magazine is here - well I was trying to link you, but perhaps my computer is not loving the fog and does not want to cooperate.

I also want to show you what was on the back of the Sunlight Soap box, as if you probably cared!

Just in case you cannot read what it says on the back, here it is -
Playtime rubs dirt into their clothes

Whatever your washing method
---you need
Sunlight's
"Extra Soapiness"
for those extra dirty parts!!

Oh yes, I got the pattern yesterday from Schoolhouse Press for the Elizabeth Zimmerman Rib Warmer Vest! It is not that easy to grasp by reading, but if I can find the right yarn, I think it is one of those patterns you follow and it somehow works out. It must, as EZ is an icon in the knitting world and I like her finished products. I must say that I have been knitting the cropped cardi in the Rowan 39 book and I think their patterns are a bit sparse!! Maybe it is just me, but I have knit a few patterns lately that were excellent on the detail and then you get one that is sparse and you feel like you have been set adrift on an ice pan and don't know where to go!

2007-02-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Celebrate With Silk!

When I saw this Debbie Bliss Pure Silk for $8.00 (regularly $14.99) I took a little skein in a shade of cream and I had a project in mind. If I have lived for ten years, then I deserve pure silk 'tit bits'! They knit up so beautifully and are so soft. No one but me can see them, well my DH, but I know they are there and that makes me feel great. I know, you are probably thinking 10 years - why all this celebration. If you know of anyone who has had cancer, ask them what they feel about surviving 10 years! Celebrate every day with them. I will also add these to the Debbie Bliss KAL I joined! Probably I will be the only one who knit tit bits, but that is fine - no need to knit them if you don't need them, but if you do - pure silk - divine!

Oh yes, the little skein is resting on a 'flower' rock and it looks so different in colour than the actual picture of the knitted goods. If you look closely, you can see the 'flowers' that, on this rock, look like asters! I pick them up when I have been beach combing.

Cornflower, who is a faithful visitor to my blog, asked what my laundry room looked like after yesterday's showing of my little scrub board. Here are a few photos!

This is a photo of me at about age 2 sitting on the ground with my dog "Trix". My Mom would have made the hat, coat and leggings I am wearing. The laundry in the background is probably made up of my diapers and some sheets! One thing my Mom was very particular about was hanging things in order of length - first all the rectangular pieces and then the odd shaped pieces - you know shirts, pants, etc. She also prided herself in getting her laundry on the line before 9:00 am and all of it was done with a ringer washer and a rinsing tub - which had 'blueing' in the water to make sure the whites stayed white! You can see an image of me on the glass of the photo!

This rather faded photo is of me at about age six. I would be a knitter by now, although doll scarves were my limit. I am hanging out my doll clothes to dry. I would probably have 'washed' them in a little tub and scrub board I had and then pegged them on the line. I loved that little sunsuit I am wearing. I had a few of these and I can remember they were lovely and cool on a hot summer's day.

I was a little girl with lots of dolls, a doll carriage, high chair, cradle, and clothes for my dolls. I was the first little girl born after four boys, and my Mom was the best! I loved playing with dolls and I think she enjoyed making things for the dolls, both through sewing and knitting. I also remember getting an old cardboard box, drawing windows and doors on the side and Mom or Dad would cut out the windows and then partially cut the door, so it folded on a 'hinge' Mom would give me fabric, wall paper and buttons. I remember playing for hours - making curtains, pasting wall paper on the inside of the box, using heavy fabric for rugs, using buttons for door knobs, etc. I did not think I was building memories (or would be glad to have something to put in my blog) but I have such lovely memories of my early childhood! Now more photos of the laundry room!

This is the display over my sorting counter. I have collected sock stretchers for a bit, and the pair in the corner are for a child's pair of stockings! Sorry for the quality of the photo!

More Stretchers! The pair in the middle would most likely have been for the type of knee socks that my Mom made for my brothers to wear. All pure wool and all hand washed and then stretched over this type of stretcher to dry!

After I took the photos yesterday, I remembered the box of "Sunlight" Soap, so I put it on top of the scrub board!

Because it is too small to read, I will copy what it says on the bottom corners of the "Sunlight" box!

"$5,000 Reward will be paid to any person who can probe that this Soap, manufactured by Lever Brothers Limited, Toronto, contains any harmful adulterant whatsoever."

"This fine, all-pure soap gets the clothes naturally whiter, naturally brithers, and naturally sweeter smelling. Use pure, gentle SUNLIGHT for all washing and cleaning."

Perhaps another day I will take a photo of the back of the box, as it has children playing and a comment on cleaning those 'extra dirty parts'. I will also get a photo of the actual soap!

$5,000 would have been a princely sum in those times - I am think this box is at least 60 to 70 years old!!

Now for the finishing touch to the laundry room. My 'washday' mat. It was designed by a gal in Nova Scotia and she is getting famous for her work. Her name is Deanne Fitzpatrick and her website is here. I was lucky enough to take a rug hooking course from Deanne a few years ago. She is originally from Newfoundland and would give you the shirt off her back - especially if it was the exact colour you needed in your mat!

2007-02-01T08:07:00.000-08:00

More Sale Yarn!

I had admired this Berroco Ultra Silk when it came to my LYS with a beautiful short sleeved summer sweater as a sample. The sweater was in this exact colour - I call it Sea Foam! Don't you think that sounds better than Colour 6106? I got 13 balls - I am a bit superstitious, but I was not sure what I wanted to make, so I took all the balls of this colour! I am thinking of a short sleeved summer top and have been perusing patterns here and there!

The yarn is on a little scrubbing board that I used when my children were smaller for hand scrubbing their socks and undies. They loved to play in the 'dirt' and their clothes showed it, but with a bar of orange/yellow "Sunlight" soap and some elbow grease, I could keep them nice and white! Also putting things out on frosty nights helped keep the diapers white! Now I really show my age. The disposable diapers that were about when my children were babies were awful and I had a washer and clothes line, so cloth diapers were what I used. Once the babies grew up and were trained, I had a wonderful supply of dusting cloths.

That little scrubbing board, and old box of "Sunlight" soap and my collection of sock dryers hang in my laundry room! I also have a photo of me as a baby (sitting on the ground playing - guess my children got that gene from me) and my Mom's laundry is blowing on the line behind me. There is also a photo of me in a sunsuit hanging my doll's clothes on the line - I was about six and had just learned to knit.

I spoke with a gal who is a knitter, and she was not impressed with silk and said it would 'sag'. It is a finely knitted tube, and not a stranded yarn, so I wonder if this will solve that problem. No matter, it feels and looks wonderful and so far that is okay with me. What was really okay with me was that it had been $13.99 a ball and it was on sale for $7.00 a ball. It is 98 yards or 90 metres per ball, but I will get a beautiful sweater for $91.00 instead of $182.00.

I finished off the vest made from the Rowan Wool Cotton and I had lots of yarn! Phew, but I dislike knitting with one eye on the needles and the other on the dwindling ball of yarn! I have ordered the buttons, so once they come, I will give a showing. It fits well, so that is also a big relief!

I had been lucky with other Rowan yarns at a sale early last fall. I some Rowan Cotton Rope for $2.00 a ball - originally this yarn had cost $10.99 a ball! I have 18 balls and the sweater calls for 15, so I probably will have enough to also make a summer bag. That makes my sweater - a Rowan pattern which I will show you when my DH and the camera come home - is from Rowan pattern book 39 and is called Antoinette! It is a long sleeve cropped cardigan sweater with a nice pattern on the sleeve cuffs and the large collar. We have cool evenings here in summer and so I think I will get a lot of wear from this sweater.

Do you think in my LYS that the gals refer to me as the "$2.00 bargain queen"? I do buy yarns at regular prices, but when I see a good buy on a quality yarn that I know, I grab it up!

2007-01-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

Thank Heavens - Bertha and Beulah made me wait!!

You see, I told you I turned B&B into my guardian angels. I had looked and looked on ebay for yarn, but something (or B&B) in the back of my head said to hold off for a bit. Well the bestest kind of email came this morning. My LYS was having a 7th anniversary sale - 10% - 70% off yarn and books. What is a knitter to do? Well, she dons her coat, grabs her purse and heads out to the LYS.

I got a real nice lot of yarn - in fact, two bags full! I will slowly show you the yarn and then you can drool along with me. This yarn is probably going to become an Elizabeth Zimmerman vest. The kind that knitorius had on her 22nd of January blog. It is called a rib warmer! I ordered the pattern sheet, along with a few other Elizabeth Zimmerman sheets, from Schoolhouse press. The yarn is Grignasco Tango and is 50% wool 25% Alpaca and 25% Rayon. It should have nice drape and each 50 gram ball has 175 metres or 191 yards. It was on for half price - so I got the last six b alls for $3.50 a ball - I think it is a good buy and I had admired it before. It has a nice heather look to it in a soft taupe shade with cream and a soft yellow here and there in the yarn. I think the EZ vest will knit up well with this yarn!

I cannot always wear wool, but this vest will be worn with one or two layers underneath and it is a colour that will go with everything I have in my closet.

I am currently blocking the bias vest from Sally Melville in the 'violet' Rowan Wool Cotton and I have just over 3/4 of a ball to pick up stitches around the armholes and knit four rows; stitches around the neck and then down the two fronts and again knit four rows! I am starting to feel a bit better about having enough yarn, but then I probably should not have said that - the knitting imps will probably get me for that.

"Bertha and Beulah, go after the knitting imps!! Go girls!

2007-01-29T11:54:00.000-08:00

An E-bay Virgin!

I must admit that I have gone to ebay, but have not worked up the courage to buy anything just yet. I did go looking for the Rowan Wool Cotton and I think I might buy some of it, but I want to finish this vest and see how it wears, before I commit to buying any more of the Wool Cotton! If any of you have had good luck with Ebay,I would be interested. I see on lots of blogs that people do buy yarn and although I try to patronize my LYS, sometimes it does not carry things that I want. I am knitting away with the 'violet' Rowan Wool Cotton, and I may have enough, but it is tiresome knitting with your fingers crossed!

I just wanted to share this photo of a 'prize' that I won on Saturday evening at a dinner we attended. At the end of the evening, we were told to look for a star on the back of our chair. I had one and that gave me the table centre piece! I photographed it here with a beautiful 'slump glass' plate with a dragon fly on it - a gift from a Rotary student we hosted. The figurine was made in Nova Scotia and is of an Acadian (Cajun) couple saying their goodbyes. I loved the couple from the start, as my DH and I said good bye many times because of his job. Now we are retired, so the good byes are for short periods of time and probably we have not had to spend more than two weeks at a time apart in about 12 years!

A few people commented on the mat that was hanging behind my head when I was wearing the raspberry cotton pullover.

Here is a full photo of the mat/rug! The caption on the border is "Bertha and Beulah Go To Dollar Day At Sally Ann". As anyone who has read this blog knows, I am a breast cancer survivor - of ten years next Wednesday, February 7.

When I was first in the battle against the cancer, I would awake at night and these 'voices' would go on and on in my head making me question things I could do nothing about, especially at 2:30 am. The questions had to do with my treatment, my prognosis, my handling the day to day of it all and #1 - would I make it through all this and live for at least a reasonable number of years. Of course, sleepless nights do not make for very happy days and my DH was at a loss sometimes as to what to say to me to make it better.

I finally hit on the idea of giving these voices a name - I am sorry if any of you are, or know, a 'Bertha' or a 'Beulah', but those are two names I don't really like, so that is the name I gave to the voices, because believe me one of them alone could not have pestered me that much - it had to be two of them!! So, if I awoke tired, my DH would comment that Bertha and Beulah must have visited. In time, I got scrappy with those two and told them what I thought of them and questioned what they thought they knew more than people who were trained to deal with cancer.

I truly think they were meant to be my 'guardian angels' but very new at the whole deal and had never met up with someone like me! Now, they are someone else's guardian angels and I have taught them well! So, the two heads on the outside of the mat are Bertha and Beulah when they visited me in the first months. The two in the centre are the same gals after I had put them in their place, but sent them to Sally Ann for the big dollar day sale, which here happens on the last Thursday of the month! Working through this mat was good for my soul and now I love the mat and sits near the computer! If you are a rug hooker, you frequent the dollar day sales to buy old woolen clothing to wash in hot water (I was felting before I really got back to knitting) and then it is cut into strips and hooked!

If Bertha and Beulah visit you, don't let them get away with their nagging - put them in their place! They certainly made me stronger, and I hope you have some gals in your life just like them!!

I think that I use garter stitch or stockinette knitting now to cleanse my soul! I love the rhythm of the needles, the throwing of the yarn, the click of the needles and the fact that the knitting 'grows' as I let go of stress! Knitting with bright colours also helps!

I know I divided the Bertha and Beulah story into many paragraphs, but I find on some blogs that reading very long paragraphs becomes difficult for my eyes! Just a comment!

2007-01-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

Spring - if I call, will you come?

These are some signs of spring, finally, in my garden. The blue sky is looking down on a beautiful witch hazel that has just started to bloom! This shrub/tree has the most wonderful floral aroma on a sunny day and the little yellow 'spiders', which are the flowers, will grow longer in the days of sunshine that are forecast for the coming week!

The second photo is of the snowdrops - just about ready to bloom. You see I can only show these photos on my blog, as my friends and family that I write to each week really do not want me rubbing it in that our weather seems to have improved from the heavy winds and rains and snow that we have been having for the past couple of months.

Now I will show you my 'spring' mat - remember, I am also a hooker and a knitter! These funky sheep are actually from a cross stitch pattern and I love things to be slightly 'off' such as the picture flowing out into the border, or the border flowing into the picture! But, I know we will have some cool weather and look for the mittens and hot chocolate, so I will not put away this 'winter' mat for a bit yet!

I will now show you a bit of knitting. This is the vest/sweater in the Rowan Wool Cotton - what a wonderful yarn to knit with and I hope to get more - especially if I can get it for the price this yarn was - $2.00 a ball marked down from $11.95 a ball. I was able to pick up a ball here and a ball there, but all from my LYS and all the same dyelot. Do any of you know of a place on the web to go and see if anyone might have a ball or two of a particular yarn that you need to finish a project? I know you can destash for cash, but I want to try and get another ball of this yarn, just in case!

2007-01-26T10:14:00.000-08:00

Knitting With 100% Cotton - Not my favourite type of knitting!

Before I cast on for the Not So Warm Coat, I had already completed the back and both sleeves for this sweater - also a Sally Melville design. I knit it with Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton. I love the colour, but cotton does not make for pleasurable knitting, and also it does not block like wool! I can see myself wearing this in summer with a pair of black linen - casual drawstring - pants, as it is meant to be loose and cool! It would be fine for now as well, but for a bit we need to part company! The yarn has a real twist to it, so it was 'splitty' and 'rough' on the hands. It is a mercerized cotton (not sure what that means) and it does have a bit of sheen! I have three balls left, so it might become a scarf, but then again it might just linger in the back of the stash! The colour is good with my white hair and it is from my stash, so all is not lost!

I saw the beautiful tulips on Cornflower's blog, (I tried to link to the blog, but it would not work properly) and so I thought I would show you a photo of my tulips this week. If you wish to go to Cornflower's blog and I think you will enjoy it as much as I do, go to http://cornflower.typepad.com/domestic_arts_blog/ I also have included a few things on the hearth - actually my DH did the editing and he left the photo larger than I probably would have. The little statue - can you call something you bought at Costco for under $30 a statue - is of a little boy reading a book to a little girl. When I saw it, I immediately had to have it, as our son used to read to his little sister before she had acquired that wonderful skill. I would hear her calling him to read to her and he would often sit for a few moments and read the book she had chosen. Such sweet memories for me, as they are both grown adults now. The little dog to the right of the photo looks like our older Cairn, Isla. She is also fond of sitting on the hearth from time to time or sleeping there too. The little statue does not sit in the middle of the hearth. In winter, it is to the left of the hearth and once it is summer, the statue goes out into the garden! There is a little piece of wrought iron there that is a nymph tickling the nose of the moon. This used to be a mirror from my grandmother. I have no idea where the little round mirror went, as I never saw it, but I love the little piece - again sweet memories. The rock that is sitting there is from France. It was in a vineyard that grew grapes for the making of Chateau Neuf de Pape - I hope I am spelling that correctly. I like red wines, and that is my all time favourite, so my DH was on a wine tour in France (it was with a wine society we were part of and I could not get time off work) so he brought me that stone back as a souvenir. Those stones/boulders are very important in the ripening of the grape - they gather heat during the day and then slowly release it during the night, so the grapes have a larger number of heat units! It is a bit early in the day to speak of wine, but I will perhaps have a glass this evening.

I had our dogs give me the SnB daily calendar for Christmas. I want to share the page for January 25! It talks about how Victorian knitter were so into making stockings, that they even wrote a cute thyme about it.

To knit a stocking, needles four,
Cast on three needles, and no more,
Each needle stitches eight and twenty,
Then one for seam stitch will be plenty.

Now if my math skills are still working it would mean that 75 needles would be on the needles in total. I seem to remember seeing lots of the older stocking with cording to keep them up! Perhaps because I have a slim ankle and leg, I cannot use more than 64 stitches on 1 mm needles or the stockings are just too sloppy. Of course, we do not know the weight of yarn or the size of needles, but it seems like a large sock to me.

Now I am knitting a vest from Sally Melville's second book. I am making it with a beautiful blue wool and cotton by Rowan. Oh so soft, and such wonderful stitch definition. It is stockinette stitch and no frills, but I only have 7 balls (each ball cost me $2.00) and so the vest was the choice. In the photo I had planned to use some of Jo's gift yarn, but she sent me quite a bit more, so now I want to knit something that would use the majority of Jo's yarn.I saw some buttons while searching through Schoolhouse Press that will be perfect for this sweater/vest. Scroll down the page and you will see the type of buttons that are on the sweater in the picture. I think there are some wonderful buttons at that web site.

I will finish off today by sending you a little plant. These primulas are in the shops now for under $1.00. This beautiful yellow one is the most perfumed, and many have no perfume at all. It will linger in the house for a few weeks and then be put out in the garden. In a few more weeks, I will buy up half a dozen plants and plant a big planter to put beside the front doorstep!

2007-01-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

No Pictures Today!

I have been busy knitting, but not taking pictures!

I thank all who commented on my Not So Warm Coat/Jacket! It is wonderful to have something we knit just be the way we had dreamed it would be! Heaven only knows there are enough disappointments when knitting! I know I keep knitting because there are more pleasant projects that were a pleasure to knit, a pleasure to give or to keep than there are the few disappointments. I always try to remember - 'Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want!"

I saw a link on one knitter's blog to the new Interweave Knits - Spring 2007 issue and there appear to be some wonderful projects there that make me want to give them a try. Now I will await my mail man's delivery of my magazine! I know, it will be a bit yet. Now at age 66, I somehow don't think I will be making the thong, bra or nightie - just a thought!!

Take care and hopefully there will be pics next time.

2007-01-21T13:15:00.000-08:00

I'm Done - Don't Stick a Fork in me!

Here is my Not So Warm Coat/Jacket!

Finally, I finished this sweater yesterday about lunch time, and as it was a beautiful sunny day, I got my DH to take photos outside. I really am pleased with the result! I know that it will grow longer, and I could have had a few more stitches on the 'skirt' of the coat, but I love my Not So Warm Coat and I think it is cool!

You can see from the back view that my hair is growing. By the time summer comes, I hope to have it down past my hairline! I never had really noticed my back hairline until I started taking photos of my finished knits a few months ago. I am liking the new hairdo and wonder why I never let it grow before. I thought it would be a lot of care, but actually a blow dryer and some 'ruffling' with my other hand and then a bit of a comb and I am set to go! The pool is not so hard on my hair, as our pool is cleaned with ozone! If it were cleaned with chlorine, after a time, my hair gets like doll's hair - stiff and coated! I also like the back of the jacket.

You can see the colour of our house and the little wrought iron stand is covered with either sweet peas or morning glory in summer. Just now it awaits summer!

I am feeling good about my knitting at the moment, so I pulled out the pullover I am knitting with another Sally Melville pattern that I showed you a few months ago in the beautiful raspberry cotton. Both sleeves and the back are done and I am working away on the front. I have a clapotis scarf on the needles, but I am not thrilled with the colourway in this particular scarf, so I am deciding whether I will frog the scarf and perhaps start some socks! No rush, as I want to finish the pullover first!
The sweater facts:

Cast On - January 7, 2007
Completed - January 20, 2007
Knit with - Paton's Katrina 92% rayon and 8% polyester on 5mm Brittany needles
Buttons are pewter and I sewed them on with embroidery floss. I have all the colours of floss, since I used to do, and will again, cross stitch!
I would make the buttonholes a bit larger next time, but for now, I just pull it on like a pullover, as the buttons fit rather snuggly in the holes! Not a big problem in the scheme of things.
Satisfaction - Very High and I would knit it again!

2007-01-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

So you need a second sleeve!

I have now completed the first sleeve and moved on to number two! I had started to always knit the two sleeves at the same time, but I think this would have resulted in a 'nightmare' in this sweater! I liked the fact that I could try the sweater on and make the sleeve as long as needed! I have seen several sweaters lately on blogs that are knit from the top down and I am leaning to this more and more! However, it isn't going to happen until about five other items get on and then off the needles.

One thing this sweater has taught me is that it is a 'good thing' for me to concentrate on one knitted thing at a time. I do have two other things (a cotton pullover and a Clapotis) on the needles, but I have put them away for the time being and concentrated on my Not So Warm Coat! I realize that this is the type of knit that travels well -- perhaps not so well now that it is so 'large', but it is easy to knit in company! I have a few knits in mind, such as the Celtic Vest by Elsebeth Lavold that will need my undivided attention at times, so then I need a simple knit on the needles!

I have a friend expecting twins in April, and today Knitting Iris had a great little tutorial for the Rosebud sweater from Erika Knight's book 'simple knits for cherish babies' and I made a copy and put it in the book. It is a simple little cardigan and you can see all the beautiful colours that Iris knit Rosebud with and I love the pattern. She makes it easy by eliminating side seams and also seams on the side of the sleeve! That will be a perfect little knit to take when there is chatter and undivided attention is not so critical. Thinks Iris! I love baby sweatersthat are not knit in the traditional pastels. You see more and more baby clothes in lovely bright colours and I like colours on a baby!

I also photographed the beautiful scarf I made from the Cashmere that Marianne gifted to me. In fact, I am sitting here with it around my neck and it is so soft and warm! I knit the pattern from Susan of her Branching Out Scarf. This was my first 'lace' pattern and it still is wonderful to knit and just needs enough attention to not get boring! Susan has a pattern for a Forest Canopy shawl that is beautiful and perhaps I need to knit one! Perhaps not too, as I find that I rarely wear my shawls. Perhaps in the spring I will get more wear from the shawls! Spring, Oh, Spring! Where are you?

2007-01-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

More Progress - Sleeves!

I have finished the body of the sweater and now I am working on the first sleeve. The beauty of this sleeve is that you start off with 102 stitches and work down to 42 stitches - usually it is the reverse! I like the idea of the stitches getting fewer, as it seems to be a great incentive to knit more and more!

I did lose a button - you know the beautiful pewter 'flowers'. Well, I emailed the yarn shop in Halifax, NS and sent a photo of the buttons (I still marvel at the internet and realize that it has made my life easier) and she mailed me back to say that YES they did have more buttons like mine. I ordered two buttons and will sew one in the side seam near the armhole - I love them and worry about losing one again! I think this works better than the putting the extra button in a safe place. I have a few things in safe places - so safe that I cannot find them!!

The above picture does not show the new place mat and serviette well, but the new dishes shine. There is a bread and butter plate under the bowl, so that is good. Many dish sets come now with a luncheon plate instead of a bread and butter plate. I am a dish collector! There it is out in the open. I saw these dishes yesterday in the grocery store and got eight place settings for just under $20.00. Now I love my red dishes and will use them always in December and for a few days around Valentine's Day, but these dishes help get rid of some of the winter blahs. I also got a set (just two for my DH and me) of chocolate brown place mats with sage green serviettes. The serviettes are actually dish clothes, but they wash up nicely and never need an iron!

There are some things in life that need quality and require a bit more cash, but there are things in life that I say just buy what you love and forget the fact it is "inexpensive". Spode these dishes are not, fun they certainly are and "inexpensive" they are as well. Inexpensive sounds better than cheap. Now I try to get the best quality of yarn I can afford, as it is easier to get a quality product when you start with quality ingredients! However, if it has a bit of acrylic in it and feels wonderful and has a terrific colour - remember ACRYLIC is not a four letter word.

2007-01-11T11:26:00.000-08:00

More Progress

Last evening, I completed the right front! I also bought some tulips to brighten up the day, but it did turn into a cold but sunny day, but still the tulips are beautiful!

Here is a photo of the tulips in a pitcher that belonged to my grandmother. It is one of the things I have from her that I enjoy using. It looks lovely with daffodils in it too, but you just cannot mix daffs and tulips in the same container of water, so this time it is the beautiful burgundy tulips!

Now back to the sweater, this morning I picked up the 112 stitches for the back and now it is 50 ridges to the finish! However, there are no buttonholes to remember, so it is easy knitting and I have a good book on my MP3. It is "Digging To America" by Anne Tyler. Funny how things sort of come together. The start of the book is about two little Chinese girls being adopted by two American families. Yesterday I was late getting to the pool (car doors frozen shut at 5:30 am)and there was a young Mom there with her beautiful little Chinese daughter. The little girl, Waylee, was three and a pure delight! She is learning to swim and I used to teach little ones to swim, so I gave the Mom some hints to work with and this little girl is such a little charmer and so well loved, I am sure things will progress well. Anyway, we got talking and Waylee told me that she is going to China next month to get her little sister, Avalee. They are not sisters by birth, but they are sisters at heart. They talked about diapers and teaching the baby to speak. I told Waylee that the first word she could teach Avalee was 'Mommy'. Funny how these things sort of happen at the same time!

Well, back to knitting. It is another cold, but sunny, day here today. That means that the birds are out in full force. One of the pots of greenery with the red berries that I had shown you before Christmas had a huge American Robin sitting in the middle of it this morning eating the berries. I do not mind, in fact, I really enjoy the birds coming for the seeds, suet and the shrubs with berries that I plant for them to eat in winter.

2007-01-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

Progress from Day 2

I did add a little bit today (Day 3) but it is all mainly what I had completed by the end of Day 2! Remember I said that I would need to have 4 blue stitch markers and 5 orange! Well, can you see the 3 beautiful blue stitch markers (remember they signify the completion of 50 ridges)!

I had a few bloggers who were kindly willing to try and get me more yarn - thank you so much - knitters are just the best. I will use four balls for the skirt and that leaves me 9 for the rest of the coat/sweater. I have looked at how many stitches for the fronts/back and sleeves and I am sure I will have enough with a bit left over! Maybe I shouldn't have said that, it just might jinx the project!!

Also one blogger asked about a bit of sheen in the yarn. Yes, there is some sheen and I think it is from the polyester bit in the yarn. The yarn is 92%rayon,which is the less shiny, almost matte, part of the yarn and that little bit of sheen is likely from the 8% poly! It is not too bad to knit with, but you would not call it soft and it does split! Oh well, 3.5 balls down and only X to go!! I definitely get more done with all my other knitting put away and out of sight!

One thing I was wondering and perhaps someone can answer this question for me. The pattern called for knitting the sweater/coat on 4 mm needles, but I needed 5 mm needles to get gauge. Now I know it might be different if the knitting was controlled by measurements of inches or cm, but the measurements consist of counting the number of ridges! My question is - if you use larger needles, do you need more yardage? Just a question I had! I know that it takes a bit more yarn to wrap around the larger needle, but if you were using measurements of inches, wouldn't you require less rows to get an inch and would it all work out the same? Maybe it is something that I could ask on Knitters' Forum!

Anyway, back to the knitting. I did finish listening to "The Virgin Blue" and I really enjoyed the 'read'. Also listened to some podcasts from knitting and the radio. So far, my favourite knitting podcast is Cast On from Brenda Dayne or is it Dane from Wales!