Rules that matter...

Lately on Ravelry, I've been getting a little irate looking at destash boards (and sometimes the sell or trade stash feature), because of what some people are destashing.

I belong to a sock club. Part of the rules of signing up for this particular club is that the company will not sell the club colour or pattern to the general public for an entire year. Your part of the deal is not to sell or trade club colours outside the club for the same calendar year (ie. the shipment you receive in May, will not be sold until May the following year.) Lately I've been seeing club colours being sold or traded to people outside the club, which in my opinion cheapens the club for everyone else abiding by the rules.

Now, I've had friends ask for a particular yarn, or pattern that aren't due to be released for awhile and I've turned them down because it's not fair to those who paid for the club and paid for the right to have exclusivity to the yarns and patterns.

Am I being harsh? Maybe. I realize it may be that person's yarn (or pattern) to do with as they will once it's in their hands, but I feel that they are disrespecting everyone else in the club by destashing before its available to the general public.

Most of the time I believe rules are made to be broken, but sometimes, as in this case, they're there to enhance everyone elses experience.

That said, lookie at my latest (almost) FO!

Baby Surprise Jacket, Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Mediumweight in Marbles.

It just needs buttons!

One week

It's been one week since you looked at me,

Dropped your arms to your sides and said, "I'm sorry."

-Barenaked Ladies, One Week

This has been one insane week. I'm still trying to keep this blog in my thoughts and update it. Some weeks are better than others. :)

I finished a Queen of Beads sock, but have to wait to start on the second one, as my second Spawn of Braun Leyburn is on the needles I need.

I absolutely adore the beautiful tubular cast on. It was nerve wracking at first though, because it looks like you're taking the waste yarn out of live stitches.

The finished Leyburn:

And up close:
It's 60 sts on the foot, increased to 62 for the heel, decreased to 60 for the leg. Used a short row heel, and Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewen bind off.

I'm also part way through Cookie A.'s Marlene pattern from the Fall/Winter Knit.1. I didn't notice before I started that it's rated as advanced. No wonder I had a few issues at the beginning.

If you haven't been to the Sock Summit website yet, GO. NOW. The list of teachers is up there and it's a list of who's who in the not just sock knitting, but knitting in general. Mr. Loopy and I have decided that I'm going no matter what. We'll find a way to get me there. It will be my first trip to the west coast - I've never even been to B.C. before.

My heart seriously skipped a beat when I read the list. The vast amount of intelligence, creativity and knowledge that will be there is phenomenal. And then the market place... wow. I can't even imagine how much it's going to blow my mind.

Halifax may be a city, and it's my city, but it's still a small, isolated city. Lovely in many ways, but not as diverse as any of the other major centres. Nor as open minded.

I can't think anymore with the Simpsons blaring in my ears, so back to Marlene I go.

Knitting Etiquette

I've been thinking about knitting etiquette for awhile now - basically since my Grandfather died. I knit him a few things, especially in later years, to show him I love him and to wrap him in love while he recovered from various ailments.

This was brought to light again when I saw someone was giving away two handknit sweaters on Freecycle. I didn't message her for them though - most people are pick up only and I don't want them that bad.

Here's my knitting etiquette for when knits are no longer being used:

Do you know the hand knitter? If you do, he or she should be offered their knits back first.

The knitter may know someone else who could use the items or may want them for their collection. You will get the knitter's gratitude, and possibly even more knits in the future, because you thought of the love and work that the knitter put into the item and wanted to send it to a good home.

Please tell the knitter when you offer his or her work back to them what your alternate plans for the items will be (hand-me-down in the family.) Personally, I would take an item back rather than have it go to goodwill. Some knitters will be happy to let it go to goodwill where it will warm someone who needs it. Either way, by showing consideration for the handknit item, your knitter will be touched, and you will likely get more handknits in the future.

This was a little bendy in November when my grandfather died. My mom brought my knits back to me, but Dad claimed Grandad's alpaca socks for himself before they even made it out of my Mom's suitcase. I was fine with that on one condition - that my father not felt the socks like he did the other two pairs I made for him. The alpaca scarf that came back to me, I regifted to my Uncle John, who is getting married to my Aunt Lori. She taught me how to knit.

I'm lucky to belong to a family where handknits are prized possessions.

You can take the girl out of the Maritimes...

... but you can't take the Maritimes out of the girl.

Two of my co-workers bought live lobster today from a fisherman who was selling them for $5 a pound in 10 and 20 pound lots. I'm apparently the only person in my office who's not afraid to touch them. I even stood one on its head and rubbed it between its eyes and put it to sleep.

It looks like they want hugs, doesn't it?

25 Random Things About Me

1. I find it hard to sit still unless I'm falling asleep, knitting or reading something interesting.

2. I listen better when my hands are busy.

3. The best way to keep my hands busy and me (mostly) out of trouble is with knitting.

4. I make no promises about staying out of trouble when I am around other knitters and certain friends. ;)

5. My friends and family are my world. There are very few things I wouldn't do for them.

6. I could spend (and have spent!) hours and hours and hours in a yarn shop or a bookstore.

7. Some people find it amazing how long a couple of sticks and some string will keep me busy for.

8. I miss my parents like crazy.

9. There are close family friends that I still call Aunt and Uncle. They may not be family by blood, but they're family of the heart, which is just as important.

10. I hate pain.

11. I love teaching people how to do things.

12. I don't care for my current line of work, and am thinking about getting into soemthing else. Teaching seems to be calling me, although I think I'd want to work at a private, rather than a public school. Or doing corporate training and facilitation. I'd like to get my Myers-Briggs certification and teach workplace communication.

13. I try to buy local a lot. I'd rather pay a little more to support a local business, selling local products, than a large conglomerate selling stuff made in China that's going to fall apart in three months.

14. The large conglomerates definitely have a place in our world though - especially if you have kids who grow faster than weeds.

15. I'm trying to be more creative these days. I'm happier when I am.

16. I want to visit Greece, New Zealand/Australia and Iceland in the next 10 years. Greece before I'm 30 though.

17. I tend to be quiet and serious at work because my mouth filter is broken and I have a twisted sense of humour.

18. I'm a very touchy feely person - I love to give hugs and be hugged.

19. I try to go to the gym, not to lose weight, but so I'll have the energy to do the things I love more.

20. I try to take good care of my hands because I don't know what I'd do without them.21. I don't wear makeup, because I find it feels gross on my face.

22. I'd be happy if I could wear a hoodie, t-shirt, jeans, handknit socks, sneakers and my hair in two braids every day.

23. I like with chronic pain from TMJ. There are treatments that help me to manage it though. My weekends are usually spent catching the energy I need to get through the next week.

24. I dream of a farm with dogs, horses, alpacas, a few wool sheep (different from eating sheep), and some angora or cashmere goats. Barn kitties too. And a studio for me to dye yarn/wool and spin.

25. I find 99% of music made today manufactured and yucky. I only listen to the radio when I'm in someone's vehicle. I never turn it on by choice - I'd rather pop a CD in.

Look! Knitting!

Farmhouse Leyburns. I really, really love them. Yarn from Blue Moon.

Want more?

I love the way the heel worked out. So beautiful. More stuff to come. Probably tomorrow or Tuesday. :)

My exciting Friday night...

Well, I'm having issues with this whole "updating" thing. I'm trying though. This is better than the way out of date post from 2007. :)

Knitting has been happening a whole lot lately. Fixing my Cleopatra's Stockings (May 2008 installment from the Rockin Sock Club), finishing my Leyburns in STR (Socks that Rock) Farmhouse, and getting a few more inches put on my FIL's (Father in Law) work socks. I'm thinking of knitting another pair of Leyburns, and want to start experimenting with Cat Bordhi's Pathways book soon.

I'd post photos, except I can't get into flickr and blogger won't upload today for me. Figures eh?

And now, I'm off to doze on the couch, or knit.

Photos

So I'm not the best photographer in the world. But I do take photos from time to time. I don't have access to a whole lot here at work, but here's a couple of food porn for you guys.

It's a beef (Sorry Lini!) and broccoli stir fry that I made a little while ago. It was so yummy.

And it's close-up:

I love the colour greens that broccoli and asparagus turn when they're cooked. Broccoli is a bit more yellow green, and asparagus turns to a vibrant emerald green. To be honest, i'm not a HUGE asparagus fan, but I buy it a fair bit, just so I can see the colour. Yes, I'm odd like that.

I really want to go to the Savour Food and Wine show (even though I don't drink wine), but it's just too expensive for me to justify spending money on right now. I love food, and I love good food. Fresh veggies, local bread, local meat. It's all so good. The problem is that I also love food that's not so local. Like pineapples, mangoes and other tropical fruit.

I'm super sleepy right now and my eyes are totally unfocusing on the screen and it's time to show my co-workers Rusty the Narcoleptic Dog. :D

Dusty

*dusts her blog off*

Well now. That was a hiatus.

I have to admit, the idea of blogging intimidates me because I'm not a photographer, my camera sucks, and it's annoying to edit blog posts through this interface because I'm forever taking spaces out around my photos and having to rearrange them, rather than having them land where I put them.

However, thanks to a few new friends over at the International Moleskine Exchange group on Ravelry I'm going to give this another go. Bear with me if there's not a lot of photos - writing is my strong suit.

I also may not alway focus on knitting, but sometimes on things in my head that need to be said on paper. I have a number of things on my needles right now, but the project that is really holding my attention are my pair of Cleopatra's Stockings (Ravelry link), which was the May installment of the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. The colour and the pattern are captivating.

Since it's the beginning of a new year, these are the things I'm looking forward to:
- the 2009 Rockin' Sock Club from BMFA (Blue Moon Fiber Arts - colour to dye for... Yeah, that was bad...)
- knitting more kid sized things for my 10-month-old niece
- the first birthday of said niece
- participating in the Moleskine exchange (of course!)
- trying more things like lace, and beading in my knitting
- taking continuing education courses at the local art college, including sewing and handmade books
- moving out of my apartment building, which would be much better if the management wasn't crap
- tackling (and overcoming) the challenges that I know 2009 will throw my way

If there's anything you wanna know, leave a comment, and I'll answer it.

Bad knit blogger! Bad!

Well... it's been awhile since I've blogged because I've had very little to blog about. It seems over the past six months I've barely finished anything because each project keeps getting little things that keep setting me back. The main problem though, is that I can't seem to do basic math anymore. And by basic math, I mean counting.

The current Baby Surprise Jacket is languishing unfinished on the needles because it's been frogged four times in the past two weeks. I ripped out my Jaywalkers which were almost finished because they were just a little bit too small. I can't finish my Harlot Socks (I started them the night the Yarn Harlot was in town) because I ran out of Artyarns Ultramerino 6, colour 114. There's now more coming from the States.

I'm working on Christmas prezzies bit by bit and a sample sock for The Loop, which was frogged itself a couple of times.

Here's what's currently in progress:

The Loop's sample sock done in Trekking Pro Natura. The pattern is Embossed Leaves by Mona Schmidt, from Interweave's Favourite Socks.

This is the Christmas scarf for my brother's girlfriend, done in a garter rib. Very simple and lovely. This is a skein of yarn that I bought from Belfast Mini Mills when I was in PEI in August. It's a 50-50 blend of merino and kid mohair.

And finally, the BSJ that I keep trying to count on. Perhaps it's trying to tell me something?

Hopefully one or all of these projects will be finished this week, while I'm on vacation!

The sun only shines when I'm stuck inside...

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. The sunlight on the days I've had off has been horrible so I can't take any photos of yarn that I've been spinning or projects I've been knitting. My apartment is also a bloody mess (not literally).

My grandfather had a stroke almost two weeks ago so I'm knitting him a teddy bear out of Manos Cotton Stria. It's hard because he's in Toronto and knitting for him makes me feel less helpless. He's recovering well though.

I've also been asked to do some test knitting for a local designer. I'm pretty excited about it too. I should be getting the kit on Monday. I can't wait to see what it will be.

I'm starting to get a mild case of startitis - socks, teddy bear, garter stitch squares, and I'm trying to resist the lure of Rusted Root and the Anemoi Mittens. I'm not sure how much longer I can resist against such beautiful and promising projects.

I just finished a hank of yarn, chain-plied (aka navajo plying), spun from Fleece Artist silk and wool top in various shades of blue and turquoise. When the light is better, I'll take photos.

Treading Water

I haven't really posted for the past month or so because I've essentially been working on keeping my head above water. So many things happen in the summer and everyone wants to do everything at once. Not to mention I haven't had a headache free day in almost three weeks.

I have been knitting and spinning so I've got a few photos to show. I'm now on Ravelry too, so I'm enjoying adding projects and stash to there. I've been taking photos of the yarn as it comes into the house.

My first Baby Surprise knit from Needful Yarns' Cotton Joy. Lovely yarn, I'd work with it again in a second. I'm happy with the end result and the mom-to-be loved it too. I heard she had to keep an eye on it the day I dropped it off because people in her office wanted to steal it.

This is one of the few garter stitch Cotton Fleece squares I'm knitting for a co-worker's baby blanket. I'm safe because I don't think she even know I have a blog. I knit them during movies or TV shows that I actually want to watch.

I can't remember if I posted this, but this is the heel of my first Mermaid Sock, which is now finished. I'm currently working on the mate to it.

Mom's Christmas socks got finished, I meant to get a photo of her wearing them but didn't.

I got bored today with my projects and decided that I was going to cast on for a tea cozy that I've been meaning to knit for over a year. It's a simple Bernat pattern made from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Child's Play. Not photos yet, because I need to buy new Lithium batteries for my camera.

The funny thing here is that I had just made a pot of green tea and the tea is getting cold because I got distracted knitting a tea cozy. Oy.

I also ended up hitting Gaspereau Valley Fibres yesterday and enabling a friend. I bought her her first needles (5mm Brittanies) and she bought some beautiful wool, mohair and silk Fleece Artist to work with. I'm going to get her knitting a scarf to start.

I came home with Cotton Fleece in Robin's Egg Blue for a Rusted Root, and some more sea wool and what I think is a new Fleece Artsit yarn called Somoko. It's merino, kid, nylon and silk.

Cotton Fleece = beautiful. I don't have a problem knitting with cotton. Maybe it's because my first projects were all done in cotton.

The Somoko. It's not even on the Fleece Artist site yet. This yarn goes from greens to bright pinks to subtle purples. Want another look?

The sea wool is bright and happy and I love it. It's too bad I had to choose because I was willing to give a good home to almost all the Fleece Artist sock yarn there.

The next project to get cast on my wooden sock dpns will be Lucy Neatby's Crenellated Toe-Up Socks. I'll be using Art Yarns sock yarn.

Now, in the immortal words of Porky Pig, "That's all folks!"

Knittiversary

I was thinking this morning while I was browsing through the Harlot's new(ish) book that when I started knitting almost 10 years ago, I was 16 and unique for someone my age. I got made fun of and I got asked a lot of interesting questions about my habit. One teacher in high school even took me aside one day and congratulated me on keeping a "dying art" alive and said he hoped I kept knitting for a long time to come.

I'm now turning 26 this week and will hit my 10 year knittiversary in March 2008. I started with a simple cotton dishcloth, which people still go nuts over, and have graduated to many other things like mittens, hats, cables, lace panels, socks, double knitting, stranded knitting, and yet, there's still so much to be done, to be learned.

One of the thoughts that came to me this morning was that I'm kind of sad that I'm not as unique as I once was; part of the my reason for learning to knit was because it was something no one else my age was doing, along with learning how to make sweaters with my own hands. However, the popularity of the craft has more than made up for that loss. The number of great books on the subject, the visibility of the craft, not to mention the availability of so many wonderful and new yarns (bamboo, soy silk, microfibre) is amazing. There is a huge market for knitters. Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee has proven this over and over again with the Knitting Olympics and most recently, her Knitter's Meet-up in New York. The Internet is filled with blogs of people from all over the world who knit. You can literally never run out of reading material if you follow blog links from each current blog you're reading.

It's that amazing sense of community that really draws me in and makes me happy to be a part of something bigger than all of us. Our knitting wraps us together, binds us together as knitters. We share our favourite yarns, yarn stores, patterns on these blogs, as well as our failures and accomplishments. To me, it's amazing that something as simple as knitting has been so facilitiated by something as technologically advanced as the Internet. That instead of having these tiny little pockets of knitters all over the world, disconnected from each other, we connect, we login and instantly we have the majority of the knitting world at our fingers. The knitting magazines, designers, yarn stores all have websites where we can find out what's coming up, what's going on and what's new.

The bottom line is, I'm happy to give up the uniqueness and aloneness I felt when I first started knitting, to be a part of this bigger community and to have all this knowledge and humour at the tips of my fingers.

It's been awhile, but I've been slogging away at Sarah's mittens (a row here, a row there....), Mom's re-knit Christmas socks (I cannibalized the previous pair for more yarn) and this pair of socks above. It's the Mermaid Sock pattern from Lucy Neatby's Cool Socks, Warm Feet. Love it so far. It's a simple pattern that looks complex. It's something I can knit while I'm talking but it's not plain ribbing or stockingette. Here's a detailed photo. I'm using Trekking XXL, but I can't remember the colour number.





I found out this week one of the women I work with is pregnant and due in four weeks (she works in another building) and I got the bug to knit a quick and simple Baby Surprise Jacket in Needful Yarns' Cotton Joy, colour 706. However, it seems none of the Elizabeth Zimmermann books with the jacket in it are available at the library. Long story short, I'm going to attempt the Faux Baby Surprise Jacket (not its real name) and want to cast on this morning. I've got the enthusiasm and the get up and go to do it. The one thing I don't have, is the needles.


I can't find my Denise needle set. Crappity, crap, crap, crap. I had it in my hands this week, but for the life of me, I can't find it.


I am truly my mother's daughter.
(This is only ever a bad thing when I misplace things......)

The Horror

That is a photo of the terrifying damage done to Mr. Loopy's Sweet Georgia socks, after the third wearing. His feet, combined with his work boots ate them. I don't think these are fixable.

But they're not being thrown away. The other sock isn't quite as bad as this. It only has a tiny hole.

See the fuzz on the heels - that's not the camera not focusing properly. That is superwash wool fulling/felting. To me, this is just... unbelievable. Has anyone else seen superwash wool full before?

Mom's Christmas 2006 socks are coming along okay. I'm done the heel on the first sock and starting to just cruise along the foot. Here's a photo of the finished pair of (too small) socks.

And here's a photo of the sock in progress.

Most of my socks are knit using the two circular needle method, however, because I'm itching to start a second pair of socks, I'm thinking about starting a pair on my birch dpns, with either Trekking, my handspun or a marled rainbow yarn I got from Have A Yarn in Mahone Bay last fall.

Mr. Loopy's (dead) socks & sock redesign

I finished the Sweet Georgia socks for Mr. Loopy a couple of weeks ago. However, he wore them three times and put holes in the heels. Not tiny, fixable holes. We're talking holes that have obliterated the majority of the sock. I don't have pictures yet, as I have been feeling under the weather and when the sun has been shining, I've been at work. Soon though. I can't believe the damage.

I'm working on replacement socks for Mom's 2006 Christmas socks - making them bigger so they'll actually fit. I'm using the Clementine's Baltic Socks pattern, and have added an extra 14 stitches to the stockingette side panels. I've measured and measured again, so I'm pretty sure they'll fit this time. It was my own fault I wasn't paying attention to the size. I'm lucky that I may not have to rip back the first pair - I think I have enough of the original yarn to make a second pair, but if I have to cannibalize the first pair of socks, so be it. :)

Not much new...

There's not much new on the knitting front. Still slogging away at Mr. Loopy's socks on the bus (why did I have to fall for a guy with size 13 feet???) and working on Sarah's second mitten. I need to start Mom's present soon for it to be done for Mother's Day. Maybe I'll paint her something at the Clay Cafe instead. I don't know.

I haven't done much of anything this week - busy and tired and feeling yucky. It's allergy season and I've been full of them. Argh.

SSSS = Sorta Second Sock Syndrome

This always happens - after the heel of the second sock, I always get bored and start itching to cast on a new, more complicated sock. This only really happens with plain socks - ribbed, stockingette, anything where I don't have to think really. Mr. Loopy has big feet. And it feels like miles and miles of boring knitting and I want to knit something more complicated. I'm torn between taking his socks off the needles and casting on for some lace socks for Mom (her Christmas gift) or continuing. I just don't know.

RIP Daisy Scarf

So I made the executive decision to frog the daisy scarf I have been knitting over the past year for my mother. I don't know if it's me (I've done simple lace before) where I can't knit lace or if it's the needles or the yarn weight (Misti Alpaca lace.) I had frogged this project so many times, that I decided this was its final frogging. Above is the sad, sad ball of yarn, that may be looking for a new home at the next Stash Swap. It may have a yellow sister that wants to go with it too.

I've got a back up idea for Mother's Day, but I can't talk about it yet. As my mother may visit this blog. :)

I finished a skein of yarn two weeks ago that I can't wait to knit into socks. I haven't taken its WPI yet, but it looks to be an average of sport weight with a light worsted. It's an Aurelia Top Knot. There's more in those little balls than you think there is!





Below is what' I've been working on the past couple of days.

This is the Eric's Glovelets pattern from Green Mountain Spinnery, turned into Sarah's Mittens. It needs a mate (started) and a thumb. Knitted from Handmaiden Cashmere in black. They look thin, but it's a baby cable rib, so they'll stretch. Next time I convert these into mittens, I'll knit the reverse stockingette all the way up the palm, instead of going back to the cabled rib.

Mr. Loopy's Black Orchid Sweet Georgia sock. It's almost finished, I just need to do the toe chimney (a la Lucy Neatby) and graft the toe and sew the ends in. I've just started the heel on the second sock for the second time. I was almost finished and realized it was a lot smaller than the heel on the first so it got frogged and re-started. Once you've picked up tiny sock stitches, picking up worsted ones seems like child's play.

A close of up of the garter stitch heel:

Hopefully I'll get one of these projects finished this weekend. I'm aching to get a new pair of socks on the needles. :)

Welcome to my knit blog!

So, I've been blogging for a time now, and I've decided that the time has come to split my knitting from my personal blog.

A little about me.... I'm 25 and have been knitting since I was 16. Only recently have I gotten into more advanced knitting, such as lace, double knitting and stranded knitting. By recently, I mean in the past couple of years. Soon after I graduated university in 2003, I discovered the joys of the LYS. I live in an urban centre, so thankfully I have three within 20 minutes of me, and another three within a one to two-hour drive. The best ones are honestly in the rural areas - they have more space and lots of stuff you don't see anywhere else.

One of my favourite things about the knitting world is how everyone works together. If one store doesn't have something, they'll point you towards someone who does. Recently, the store I frequent the most often, The Loop, had a 24-hour knit-a-thon for the homeless. It was fantastic, even if I couldn't stay over night. Next time, I know to make plans to do that. :)

I took up spinning about a year ago. I started on a drop spindle and by June I had a Louet wheel. I love it. I'm loving how everytime I do it, my yarn gets a little smoother and a little bit more even. I'm teaching myself as I go. I read blogs by spinners and I have a couple of books to refer to as well.

I love colour in both my spinning or knitting, plain black bores the heck out of me. It's hard to work with because it's so dark, that a lot of patterns don't show up. My opinion is that black is best used in small doses to accent colours. To make the colours pop more. Mind you, a lot of my wardrobe is black, but when it comes to knitting, I avoid it as much as I can. It's hard when one of your best friends loves black and your father loves black socks.

My favourite things to knit include mittens, fingerless gloves, socks, socks and more socks. I tend to get bored on sweaters, but since I've been losing weight (thus making the sweaters smaller to make) I might actually start enjoying them - especially since I'm going to try out some beautiful patterns from Interweave Knits. I haven't decided which ones yet though.

No photos right now, although I have a few that I'll probably post over this long weekend. Maybe you guys can start holding me accountable for the lace scarf I'm knitting my mom for Mother's Day. There's a long way to go. I better start knitting....