Needle Addict

2010-09-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

It is Saturday and I should be cleaning. I really should be cleaning. And I will clean. I really will clean... after this update. Due to general slothiness and an ass-kicking cold the week before last, my place is even shamblier than usual...and I plan to address this. I really do. There is a problem however, as I think my cold has come back. I wonder if it is not a cold, but in fact an allergy to house work. My theory may have some flaws though, as I usually start feeling plague-y at work. Perhaps I actually have an allergy to work or an allergy to the people I work with.

In any case, due to this recurring plague I may bail on Nuit Blanche tonight. Even though I promised some workmates I would go and one of the "zones" is literally outside my apartment door...well truthfully it is literally across the street and one block east from my apartment door, which I guess means that one of the "zones" is figuratively outside my apartment door. But I digress. I think I will bail as I can't afford to stay out all night and become even sicker.

In the meantime.

I have been knitting...in a non-enthusiastic manner. Perhaps this is because I am unhappy in my life or maybe my problem is that I have too many long term projects on the go- and not enough instant gratification.

In theory this

should be a "Wheeeee! This is so much fun, I can't wait to finish it and wear it" project. The pattern is the Gothic Revival shawl and I am enjoying knitting it, however the yarn: Dream in Color Starry- is dyeing my hands black as I knit, which eliminates this as a "Knit in public" project. I am also worried about wearing it for the same reason but hopefully I'll be able to rinse all the dye out. I know dark coloured yarns have a tendency to bleed a bit, but after working with this yarn for a few minutes I look more like a mechanic than a knitter. I'll be honest, I'm not too impressed considering how much this yarn costs.

I have also been working on the Fountainhead Shawl

for several months however this is also a knit at home project as the yarn is so fine that I need full concentration. A dropped stitch could cause the project to explode...figuratively.

I am also still working on the sweater from the last post, and another sweater that I am too lazy to take pictures of and an ugly sock. Perhaps I could finish the sock, but then I would have to make another. Maybe I'll just take a nap.

Sweaters....

2010-09-04T07:33:00.001-07:00

I'm rather embarrassed that I haven't updated this since May! Although truth be told that last post was created right before the "yarn" hit the fan at work. Everything went explode-y for a while and things have sort of finally calmed down.... sort of. I got promoted and a few months later, actually got a raise for my troubles which will enable me to either pay off my debt a little sooner or buy more yarn. I am leaning toward the 2nd option.

I have been using my time wisely but be warned - this video contains violence towards knitting. It also contains a song by the *Yeah Yeah Yeahs

*please don't sue me, I give credit where credit is due. Plus I am cute.

In other news have been knitting. Oh how I have been knitting. I finally finished this sweater

I have been knitting this sweater for over a year. I was trying to get rid of some Wool of the Andes that had been languishing in my stash for far to long and for some reason, decided on this sweater. It was a fairly interesting knit and has some interesting construction details in the sleeve area. I wasn't crazy about the gaping neckline though so I extended the ribbing at the neckline. Actually I am not sure why I initially decided on this sweater in the first place... I may have been drunk at the time. But I digress.

I sewed a big button and a snap at the neck and wore the sweater to work on Friday but it just wasn't falling right. Problem solved as I am now <3ing this Annie Adams shawl pin. It's pewter and completely awesome.

I have a couple more sweaters and shawls on the go but am too lazy to take "in progess" photos of everything.

One of the current sweaters is the Marigold sweater from the late summer/early fall edition of Interweave Knits. I am worried it may end up being a bit big for me, but I seem to have lost all sense of size. I don't know. I can say with absolute certainty that it is too big for the cat.

2010-05-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

Andrea's shawl is finished and the results were better than I had originally anticipated. Also I have worn this twice in public and have heard no laughter or snickers behind my back, which is a good sign I think. The pattern was an interesting knit as it deviated from the usual triangle shawl construction although truth be told, the picot edging made me want to stab my head at times.

Speaking of shawls, I started 198 yards of Heaven pretty much immediately after casting off the previous shawl. I decided to make it using partial balls of stash yarn. 1/2 a ball of Noro Kuryon sock for the centre and Patons Kroy sock yarn for the edging. This was a very quick knit although the instructions were a little unclear in the pattern. While a was unpinning the shawl after it was dry, someone decided that it was actually her shawl and I was not allowed to have it. Although this certain someone likes to like down on pretty much any blocked piece of knitting, this shawl elicited a never before seen excitement for the cat. I think the reasons are twofold, firstly the Noro yarn is scratchy, and cats dig that and secondly and more importantly, the shawl matches her almost perfectly. It's a little eerie actually.

I did manage to get the shawl from her (after all I am bigger and have hands) and she actually allowed me to wear it to work (ok, I snuck it out when her back was turned)Perhaps I'll knit one for her at some point, but I think she prefers to steal mine.

Merci mais je ne veux pas partir en votre voyage de culpabilite...

2010-04-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

As usual I have been remiss in my posting duties. I should be posting fantastic adventures and non-blurry photographs... I'm still working on that- at least in my mind. As usual I am feeling overwhelmed and crushed by my monotonous day-to-day life. I think telephones should be a privilege not a right and I have horrible revenge fantasies involving retirees and phone cords... and am still trying to figure out how to say "thank you but I would rather not go on your F&$*ing Guilt trip" in French. (Merci mais je ne veux pas partir en votre voyage de culpabilite...calise?") but I digress....

This colour is a bit of an anomaly for me. The yarn was a trade and the shawl was a gift. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Ishbel in Kraemer Yarns Saucon Sock

I have been knitting as usual and I am trying to work my way through the stash one skein at a time. Really compared to some I've seen, my stash is quite understated, miniscule, practically non-existent. In fact I should go yarn shopping right now. Small stash aside, there are good and bad points to having a stash. On one hand I have a whole bunch of "inspiration" just waiting for the perfect pattern, on the other hand I may have the perfect pattern but no suitable yarn, yet I feel I must knit from my stash instead of aquiring the perfect yarn because of the guilt. (please note: Yarn Guilt is not to be confused with the F&$*ing Guilt trip) Also a large portion of my stash yarn is purple, specifically "dead" purple. Which is all well and good, but sometimes it's nice to knit something in another colour and by "another colour" I don't mean grey or alpine green- which are pretty much the only 2 other colours in my stash.

Seen above: Haruni in Fantastic Knitting Zephyr Laceweight, Travelling Woman in Knitpicks Palette, Multnomah in Estelle Arequipa

Like many others in the knitting world I have gone shawl crazy. I have turned my back on sock knitting for the time being as hand knit socks do not really fit into my business casual work clothing style. Well, perhaps they fit with the style but they don't fit into the shoes. Small "shawlettes" on the other hand- are perfect as they not only keep me warm in my air conditioned office, but they add a small, controlled dose of colour to my primarily black wardrobe and most importantly they draw the eye away from the cat hair.

one of these things is not like the other. Seen above: Clothide in Estelle Arequipa, Ishbel in Malabrigo Lace weight, Damson in Malabrigo Sock, and Heartland lace shawl in Knitpicks Palette

I am now working on Andrea's Shawl which is a bit of a departure for me as it isn't purple or grey (well at least not completely grey) and then there are the stripes. It sort of reminds me of a Victorian Bordello or Annie Oakley's underthings. Not sure if I will ever wear it, but it is allowing me to use up some odd balls and leftovers. Plus if it proves to be too ostentatious for the office, I can turn it into a cherry lampshade.

Andrea's Shawl in Knitpicks Essentials and Estelle Arequipa

Start something Sunday

2010-01-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

I have been procrastinating. It’s been months since I have returned back from my glorious UK adventure and I just can’t get those blog posts done. Well perhaps in the new year, cause I still have a lot of kicking pictures to post. But speaking of posting- I will post a pattern that I have been working on for a while. I gave myself a goal a few months ago that I would design and post a new pattern every month and do it in PDF. That is totally not going to happen, so now I am working on 1 every 2 months or so.... and PDF is pending.

for now I present my "pull up your bootstraps and climb out of that rut pattern" #1

as modelled by everyone's favorite vintage cosmetology head: Carrie Nation.

Start something Sunday beret

materials needed

5mm circ needles. (I used a 40” cord and did magic loop/ but 20” cord would work fine as well).

Cable needle or DPN.

approx 230 yds of worsted weight yarn- use bulkier yarn for a slouchier beret.

*Purple hat uses 1.5 skeins of Naturally Sensation yarn

**Multi hat uses 1.5 skeins Patons SWS yarn

Gauge not crucial- but I got 18 sts = 4" for ribbing and 22sts = 4" for cable pattern for the purple hat

CO 96 sts. Join for working in the round. Place marker at beginning of round.

K 8 rows in 1x1 rib (purple beret shows twisted rib K1tbl, p1/ multi beret shows K1P1 rib)

Knit 1 row

on next row Inc 1, k1, inc 1, k1 then increase every 3 sts until last 4 sts, inc 1, k1, inc1, k1, inc 1 k1, inc 1 k1- should have 132 sts total

Rows 1& 2 - Knit

Row 3. *K2, C4B

Rows 4 & 5- Knit

Row 6- *C4F, K2

Row 7- Knit

Continue these 7 rows until piece measures 8"

Row 1- K2, *s2K1psso, k3, c4b

Row 2- Knit

Row 3- *K1, sk2k1psso, k2, s2k1psso, k1

Row 4- Knit

Row 5 *s2k1,psso

Row 6- knit

Row 7- *s1k1psso

Row 8- knit

cut yarn and pull through remaining stitches.

Key

C4B- slip 2 sts on cable needle, place behind work, knit next 2 sts, k sts off cable needle

C4F slip 2 sts on cable needle, place in front of work, knit next 2 sts, k sts off cable needle

S2k1psso- slip 2 sts knitwise, knit one, pass slipped stitches over knit stitch

S1k1psso - slip 1 sts knitwise, knit 1, pass slipped st over knit sts

Hello U.K part 2.5- the voyage and train stations

2009-09-29T04:10:00.000-07:00

I'd like to go to to Scotland

I'd like to wear a Kilt
I'd like to show off my 2 legs and do just what I wilt

I'd like to go to Scotland
and show off my 2 thighs
I'd like to wear a minikilt and kick you in the eyes

I'd like to go to Scotland
and be so very bad
I'd wear a micro-mini-kilt
of plaid"

"Scotland" by King Missile

Ok truth be told- I would not be wearing a micro-mini kilt of plaid or of any other fabric or motif. Scotland is brrrrr, but more on that later. Day 4 of my U.K. adventure and we were heading up to Scotland. We woke up, got ourselves together, went downstairs and enjoyed a breakfast buffet at the hotel- mostly cereal and toast but I did fill my pockets with cheese for later. Pocket cheese- Oh yeah!! We walked to the tube station and took some public transit to the train station- can’t remember which one but it looks like this:

its this one

We wandered around the station for a bit and eventually got on the train. I had made sure to stock up on important train food; Walkers crisps, Hula Hoops-and Cheesy Wotsits so we would not have to resort to cannibalism. Meagie had booked us prime seating- 3 seats with a table and people looked at us with envy. There was one empty seat in our quad; someone was supposed to join us at Donegal? Doncaster? Lancaster? Not sure exactly where- somewhere Northern, in anycase- never happened which is probably good considering the fact that we ran out of crisps mid-journey.

I amused Meagie by pointing out which sheep were for sweaters and which were for eating “them’s eating sheep” I says…I mean I said. Truth be told I had no idea which sheep are for eating and which are for wearing, but my sister doesn't need to know that. We also played a rousing game of "that’s my mansion, that’s your shack" although due to the scenery it was mostly- "that’s my field, that’s your bracken, that’s my forest, that’s your shrubbery, that’s your wall, that’s Hadrian’s wall". Eventually a nice goth girl sat in our empty seat- to get away from the screaming children. She was most interested in my knitting. I had started a sock in the Toronto airport- although I didn't bother trying to knit on the plane as the seats were pretty cramped and the potential terrorist sitting beside me could have done a lot of damage with my 2mm bamboo sock needles. But I digress, I got a large section done on the train. You can knit on a lot of sock in 5 1/2 hours. The other interesting thing is as soon as we crossed the “border” to Scotland there was rain. How does it know?

York's Train Station

By the time we got to Edinburgh, we were half a million strong...ok we were actually 3 strong. Although truthfully we weren't strong; we were tired and hungry and full of woe when we saw upon disembarking from the train we had to climb stairs....many stairs- many steep stairs- This proved difficult on our train atrophied legs. But finally we had arrived.

Train stations are cool, non?

Check out my feet on the cobblestones of Edinburgh

Next installment. Edinburgh- and a plague of pamphlets

the beast

2009-09-19T08:41:00.000-07:00

This irregularly scheduled blog post is interupted by.... the beast.
This morning she chomped down on my pointer finger and it hurts like a &$%#(#%#%er.
It hurts to type....it hurts to knit.
Now in theory she was only playing...but was she really playing?

we used to be friends

don't let this fool you- she is vicious

it doesn't look like much- and the picture isn't too clear- but since taking this photo the bruises have spread. She managed to puncture the skin on both sides of my finger under the nail. I hope I don't have cat aids. Also I anticipate that my nail will turn black by the end of the day.

Hello UK- pt. 2 London

2009-09-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

So 40 ounces of gin later, 4:00 am bedtime and then rising early and catching the train to Londonium gave us a great start to our trek to the North country. It was a bit of a rough journey, but we arrived more or less in one piece and caught the tube to Belsize park; a somewhat posh neighbourhood with wide tree lined boulevards and cafes.

The plan: Spend 1 day and 1 night in London and then catch the bright and somewhat early train to Edinburgh where we would enjoy 5 days of damp. We had a few tentative ideas of things we wanted to check out in London but we did not have a set itinerary and the thought was that we may head back for another day nearer to the end of the trip if we couldn't fit everthing in.

We headed to our hotel. Which was lovely, I actually stayed there for a few nights the last time was in the UK..way back in the '90s. I remember having horrible "jet lag"/catatonia - I also vaguely remember almost falling asleep in my Cauliflower cheese at some pub. Ahh the '90s. If you can remember them then I guess you didn't take a mixture of graval and muscle relaxers on the plane like I did on that particular trip. But that was how we rolled in the '90s.... I think....at least thats what I'm told.

Check us out at Dillon's

This makes me feel like I'm in a Love and Rockets Video. I can tell you- this pleased my goth self the first time I stayed here back in the day

beauty.... beauty... beauty.... beautiful.....

In lieu of museums and yarn shops, we decided to wander around camden lock in a hang-over induced haze. Even though it is quite touristy, I haven’t been there since the big fire of diggety-eight which apparently wiped out a lot of the market. So I thought it would be interesting to see how it's changed. Back in the day I loved going to CM for all my doc marten and PVC bustier/goth gear/bootleg Cds and band t-shirts that will disintegrate after 1 washing- needs.

check me out in front of the canal

We went for lunch at wagamamas This place is very accomodating for the gluten free although I would have liked something crispy and fried. I had soup. It was healthsome. After lunch we did more wandering throught the market- but didn't do much shopping besides picking up a few trinkets, tchotchkes and '80s style sunglasse.

This was the display outside a very interesting store- it was a store selling club type gear and was very dark and very loud. Couldn't hear or see much inside but the outside looked cool.

They are curerntly in the process of re-building the part of the Market that burned down, and the concept is horse-y. The market stalls are going to be in ... well horse-y stalls. and there are cast iron horse statues everywhere.

stalls

more stalls

We also went to Carnaby Street. Didn't take any pictures cause it just looked like a high end shopping street- which is what it is...Now. The first time i went there back in '87 it was pretty sketchy and the place to get mephisto jackets, bootleg sex pistol t-shirts and cheap sunglasses. Now it looks like Yorkville. One thing that I did find interesting is that the clothing looked pretty much identical to the clothing I saw on that first trip. I guess everything does come around although it would have been nice if MC Hammer pants could have stayed behind.

After our day of wandering we headed back to Belsize park, had a nice dinner at a small local bistro and then went back to the hotel to get some sleep as we had to get an early start the next day.

Next installment. The Voyage North- or Edinburgh- on 1 potato a day

Hello U.K. Part One- Kent

2009-09-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

There are certain aspects of travel that I like. The actual process of traveling, the in-between times, where one is neither here nor there. The fact that one is hurtling through time and space while at the same time sitting almost motionless. Perhaps I notice these things more because I usually travel alone and so have all the time in the world to think about such things as I am strapped into my chair. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t enjoy sitting motionless in a cramped airplane seat for hours on end, but there is something appealing about the “going”. The idea that one is unreachable, alone, in transition, the fact that you have to turn your cell phone off and no one can call you and ask about their pension.

It has been far too long since I’ve left this continent, hell the farthest outside the GTA I’ve been in the past 3 years has been Kitchener, Ontario- not exactly an exotic locale. So I finally decided - with the help of my sister and brother-in-law that I would have a holiday in the sun (UK style). Truth be told, the last time I went to England, grunge was at its heyday and I was taking pottery class for credit in CEGEP. So now that I am a grown up and have a shiny new job with paid vacation days I decided Hell yeah- I’ll do this thing! The “going” was pretty uneventful. Worked on Wednesday, caught the bus to the airport, checked in, got the seat I wanted and flew to the U.K. Nothing much of interest. Well- I did order the gluten free meal which was probably wise as the in-flight meals were "pasta with cheese and pasta with chicken". Also I may have been sitting next to a potential terrorist- he was pretty aggressive with the flight attendents, plus dude was travelling with nothing but a cell phone and a pair of sunglasses. He even had to buy earphones and borrow a pen from me. he was pretty nice about the pen though, and he told me he just liked to travel light. Arrived at London Gatwick at 10:00 AM the next morning and was (eventually) met by my sister. We took the train to Kent where my sis and bro-in-law live and there my adventure began.

I’m in Engerland- check me out on the cobblestones of Kent.

We took it easy my first afternoon and by easy I mean we hit the pub ASAP. There is one sad aspect to my trip. I have decided to do the gluten free thing, full on...which means no bakewell tarts, no sausage rolls or pork pies and saddest of all, no beer and no Guinness.... there is however Cider. After the pub we went for a wander and saw the site(s) of Rochester. Most of the sites were infested by disreputable looking youth in hoodies, however despite the youth problem Rochester is a quaint little town with cobblestones, a Cathedral and a Dickens' connection. Truth be told I was more interested in the pub and the candy store than the afforementioned tourist attractions. I'm all about prioritizing.

the Cooper's Arms- for all your sausage, mash and cider needs

Day 1- Whitstable.

For my first full day in the U.K, we decided to hit the beach. Not literally, that would hurt- (trust me- you havent seen the beach yet) Whitstable is a seaside town in Kent that is known for its oysters and other delicious seafoods. On the harbour front are fishmarkets where you can buy little tubs of freshly caught …things… things from the sea- - things like prawns, herring, winkles, cockles and of course oysters. The oysters are apparently famous... in oyster circles.

I really dig the English seaside. It’s cheery but somewhat unforgiving. It's a bit cold and smells fishy. Plus there are no beach bunnies lying on the sand applying coppertone. You definitely won't be feeling sand between your toes- you’ll be feeling rather large rocks.

All is bleak...all is winter

you may want to keep your shoes on when walking on the beach

Whitstable has it goin' on. We went for a wander and hit a nice local gallery, some cute shops and an excellent cafe. However, the beach and the seafood is the big draw, so we picked up some chips and wandered back to the harbour and purchased tubs of seafood: 2 sizes of prawns, sweet pickled herring and of course raw oysters on the half shell- we also brought a bottle of wine with us and enjoyed a feast on an overturned rowboat on pebble beach.

feast

a toast... to the Sea!

After eating and dipping our feet into the water, we wandered along the water front past Victorian sea huts- (I am sure they have a more scientific name) and got some ice cream. I had a Ribena Ice Lolly

Huts

More Huts

Sister and Bro-in-law with a backdrop of...huts

Before leaving we ducked into the fish markets again and got some olives wrapped in herring and a few cockles for the road. The cockles were a little gritty, but at least I can say I eat...cockle. We caught the train back to Rochester and had a lovely supper of chorizo sausage, cheese, gluten free crispbread and 40 ounces of duty free Gin.

insert Captain Highliner joke here:

next installment:

London and 40 ounces of Gin

Ode to Egg coddlers

2009-07-19T16:52:00.001-07:00

I have had a new obsession of late: Coddled eggs. FYI: egg coddling is method of cooking eggs which results in an egg with a somewhat runny yolk. One can easily achieve this result by throwing an egg (gently mind you) into a pot of boiling water and cooking it until it is soft boiled.

Or if you want to be old school yet high tech about it- you can use an egg coddler. An egg coddler is a porcelain pot with a metal screw top. To use an egg coddler you butter the sides of the pot and then break an egg- or eggs if you have a double or king size coddler, into it. You can add other seasonings if desired: salt, pepper, herbs, blue cheese. Hell yes!!! You then screw the top on and immerse it into a pot of boiling water until the egg is cooked to your liking. Usually takes about 10-13 minutes. The resulting consistancy is not unlike a poached egg, except you can eat it right out of the little jar with a spoon if that's how you roll.

I'm pretty sure the egg coddler was invented in England because it seems like the sort of think the English would invent. "What old chap, a porcelain container to hold eggs with runny yolks that whenceforth I can dippeth my toast soldiers in? Zounds, what a cracking idea" I think Royal Worcester may have cornered the market and perhaps even invented the damn things- but it appears that they no longer produce coddlers. I blame the microwave. In any case, I do remember my mum (that's British for Mom) had a couple of coddlers hanging around in the cupboard gathering dust. They had flowers on them and they were too much of a hassle to use and are probably in storage now which doesn't really help me when I want to cook eggs.

I purchased an E.C at the St. Lawrence Market in June. Although it was missing fancy designs and a fancy stamp on the bottom I felt that it would allow me to coddle eggs with the best of them and at $9.98 it was a bargain to boot. Now I say it was an egg coddler but I soon learned that if it is made in China and sells for $9.98, it is not an egg coddler- it is merely a useless replica of a kitchen item that will fall apart upon first use. And fall apart it did....the first thing I noticed is that the metal screw top was not functioning as it should. It had it's own mind and either wouldn't screw on properly, or you would place it on the top and it would immediately create an impenetrable seal that could only be unsealed with clever use of a sharp knife and an elastic band. Also, during the first use, the metal ring at the top fell off. Now this metal ring is not supposed to be used to turn the screw top (and I promise you that I did not attempt such a feat) it is purely a device to easily facilitate the lifting of the coddler out of the pot of boiling water- handy, non? Well it should be however this particular metal ring was barely soldered onto the top, for all I knew it was crazy glued, and it detached immediately when I picked the thing up. But I was not to be defeated, I perservered and continued using the porcelain imposter. I made due with tongs and oven mitts to retrieve the device from the pot- and the knife and elastic band to get the top off . Then one day the metal screw ring on the inside detatched- which did solve the first problem but also increased the likelihood of water pouring into the jar as the egg was cooking. The other downside is that the thing was nearly impossible to clean. Cleaning caked-on egg off dish is never a piece of actual cake, but I was having to soak the damn thing for several days before being able to get the damn thing washed properly.

So I gave up and tossed the thing.

yes this is the one. Avoid at all costs

Sans coddler, I kept thinking about the delicious eggs of days gone by. I couldn't go back to simple fried or hard boiled. I had tasted the perfectly cooked egg - on rye crispbread with mustard, tomato and caviar paste. I'd enjoyed them with oregano and feta on spelt crackers, and eaten them straight out of the coddler with a small spoon- soft boiled with salt, pepper and extra butter. I knew I'd have to shop around and I was highly doubtful that I would be able to find such a think at my neighbourhood egg coddler store since it had become a Starbucks. I was resigned to the fact that I would have to either raid the cupboards of some British seniors or find one at the source. The later seemed the best plan as I had plans to return to the jolly old source in August. I informed my sister (and resident of the source, Kent, UK) about my quest. She said I may be able to find one in England but unless we get lucky at some market or charity shop- I will probably have to shell out big bucks at someplace like Harrods. I was probably looking at the equivilant of about $45. Now don't get me wrong, I do like my eggs. But that seems a little excessive for a bit of china with a flower on it.

Then I heard a rumour... that coddlers were highly collectable but that from time to time such things could be had affordably from ebay. I investigated and lo and behold, there were pages of porcelain egg cooking devices and after careful consideration, I decided to go for something cheap and cheerful, with a common pattern as I had no desire to be cooking in a precious heirloom. The one I ended up bidding on and winning still had a cheery bird design, the original Royal Worcester box and a recipe booklet and with shipping only cost 18$ (0r $0.30 US) this was well within my means. I recieved the package on my birthday-a good omen. The packing was a little excessive. A box big enough to hold a human head or a cat, and filled to the brim with packing peanuts. It worked though- the precious cargo was in almost perfect condition- 1 little scratch on the jar's rim, but otherwise mint. I washed it, put it in the cupboard and went on with my life until a week ago when I decided to use the damn thing. And I have to say, those Brits know what they are doing. This coddler is far superior to that abomination I had before- not only have no pieces fallen off, but the eggs are fluffier and tastier, the cooking time is shorter, and it is actually very easy to clean. I am in egg heaven and now I am obsessed with all things coddler. I'll be keeping my eyes open for affordable coddlers when I am in the UK- and if you hear about a rash of very specific robberies targeting the kitchens of old age pensioners, please tell the police that I was with you for the whole time.

coddler of my dreams

x-posted to my Lj

February is for Failure

2009-02-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

What have I been doing? Not much. Srsly. I finished the damn socks. finally. Mostly because I have decided to throw caution to the wind and knit at work between calls. At first I was avoiding doing this cause I felt it might screw up my concentration, but frankly it does help chill me out a bit when people call and scream at me in french.

How is work going? Well..... I'm not loving it- still having the insecurity and I've been screwing stuff up. Of course this is to be expected because I am new, but still - it makes me feel like Failey McFailureson and I don't like that....and I think my french is getting worse. Part of the screwing up is also due to the fact that I have been feeling like crap and have been some stomach issues, all of which culminated in my going to the ER on Wednesday, sitting around for 6 hours and then being told that "you don't have a lung infection or gallstones, therefore you're in great health, kythnxbye... oh wait we want to give you an ECG" I am worried that I have some sort of ulcer or digestive disorder, what ever it is- I feel that it's not in my head and it will probably require some sort of uncomfortable invasive test that will come up inconclusive. Hooray!!

But back to the angst. I have been feeling sort of 19 nervous breakdown-y and have been experiencing a big ol' crisis of confidence. Not cool- I think not drinking coffee may have something to do with this, but coffee has been making my stomach lining cry as has alcohol so I will have to hold off on those things and find some other sort of crutch.

In other news, I started some new socks as my February personal sock club socks. They are Moody Hose made out of Malabrigo sock yarn.

I am further along than this but am too lazy too take more pictures. So far they are a fun knit.....

and they are apparently delicious. NOM!

my eyes are blurry

2009-01-06T19:36:00.000-08:00

I started my new job yesterday and I think my brain may explode from information overload. Everyone seems nice though.

I do have some new years resolutions but I am too lazy to go into them. I can say that avoiding laziness was not one of my resolutions but maybe it should be. I have resoluted (I totally just made up that word dudes) to eat better and not eat wheat and stuff. I haven't eaten any wheat since New Year's Day (excluding soy sauce) and I actually feel a bit less bilious. Hooray. In celebration, I made my lunch for tomorrow and put it in a very expensive lunch box.

bento box,. It looks little but it has a secret

pictured: bean thread noodles with soy sauce, Ume vinegar, sesame oil and wasabi mixed in, topped with cashews; and broccoli. In the other box, carrots and green beens cooked with fresh and powdered ginger,cayenne pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and sesame seeds

In other news, below is the first installment of the personal sock club. It is the RPM sock from Knitty, in SRKs On your Toes yarn.

I can't tell if these photos are blurry or if its my eyes. I think we can safely bet that they are blurry.

blurry yarn Pr0n

2008-12-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas happened. I had a good time, I ate too much, I got business casual attire and booze for my new life.

I may have gone boxing day shopping at Romni

2 hanks Malabrigo sock yarn and 1 skein Lana Grossa ...something, calgary? caribou? colorado? I'd check the yarn but its already sealed into a paper bag with a pattern for my personal sock club 2009. As is the Malabrigo. I am as excited as my photos are blurry.

and Lettuce

4 hanks Manos del Uruguay in 34 colourway. I'm not really sure what colour it is. Laura thought it was sort of pink, I was seeing more of a murky purple-y green-y brown-y grey. Whatever colour it is, it is going to become a Briar Rose Bolero.

I also did some knitting.

This is a Meret although I am calling it my Meh-ret. It is a fun and satisfying knit but I'm not in love with the finished project. I am going to blame the yarn (fleece artist country wool.. soooo crunchy even after blocking, no wonder you have been discontinued) and the fact that I don't own a dinner plate big enough to block the sucker properly. It's ok though, I may make another one at a later date with a more appropriate yarn.

also I have started a sweater.

Well I have actually started 4 different sweaters with this Knitpicks - wool of the andes in the past few months and haven't been feeling any of them. Again I blame the yarn. Not that there is anything wrong with it- but I am used to knitting sweaters with heavy worsted/aran stuff like my imaginary boyfriend who is not that hot but he fixes things around the house and my neighbour who gets on my nerves but can be useful if for example I need to call him when I think I am having a stroke and require an ambulance. This stuff is thinner. Like a light worsted or almost a DK weight. So I decided to cast on a sweater that calls for DK weight. This is (hopefully) going to be Bridie from the Knitknit book. It is very business casual yet vintage and dare I say edgy? Yes I dare say it.... EDGY!

and that's how Skeletor saved Christmas

2008-12-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Christmas knitting is for the most part finished, with the exception of the neverending scarf of malaise. I will finish that tonight as we watch the best Christmas special ever"

Here are some mittens that I knit. I think the black ones I made for myself are nicer but you cant fight city hall

Here are some presents that I wrapped. They look slightly better than last year's presents, but thats not saying much. For some reason even though I am a designer and have made many nice looking props and a full Edwardian dress out of paper, I am unable to wrap a present to save my life- so hopefully it will never come to that. There are several explanations for why I suck at wrapping presents. I think I have some sort of existential despair about present wrapping and presents in general. ie: "Why bother wrapping presents as the paper and presents will end up being thrown onto the alter of emptiness. We are surrounded by a miasma of decay, futility and nothingness. There is no absence of void... Oh merry christmas"
Also there is the ecological aspect. This year I went green and used reusable gift bags and tissue paper which can be mulched and recycled into a nutritious breakfast cereal... the sparkles add fibre. Mmmm. In any case, this year's batch of presents are superior to last year's because this year's presents are not wrapped in old newspaper and brown paper lunch bags with names and cheery greetings applied with a black sharpie (tm). I win at Christmas.

I am now procrastinating. I need to tidy up a bit and then head over to Yonge and Eglinton for cookie baking and spritzer drinking, and of course tomorrow the highlight of the season-

the kitschmas tree.

I may not be able to wrap presents but I can carve an angel out of cheese.

In other news

Michelle is back from Mexico, she picked up lots of souvenirs

and by the way this is a retaliation for this post

Happy holidays. :)

Edit: I am swearing because blogger ate half my entry

praise santa

2008-12-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas knitting is kicking my ass. Usually I only knit one present but this year I am trying to be all thrifty and personal and stuff. Never again I tells you. Never again. The one thing that I've finished is for someone whose plans have changed and is not going to be here over the holidays. Bah. Oh, and I did finish the Amigurumi doll which I have decided to give to my cousin as I think it's a bit too alternative for Gramma and my cousin will appreciate it more.

This means I have to make something else for Gramma. I settled on a couple of these

I think they're more her style. Plus she never likes anything I give her so I'm not going to stress about it. In other news the scarf of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz for Poppa is zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It is actually longer than this- 34" right now, so I think I need to do at least another 16- 20" and since I am going to be seeing the Grandparentals on Christmas day (which is a week earlier than I had anticipated) I may have to give Poppa a card with a yarn swatch telling him he'll be getting the real deal on New Years Day. This is why I don't do scarves.

Because she admired the ones I made for myself, I am also doing some newfoundland mittens for my aunt. At least they are a fun knit although I am worried she may not like the colours as I decided to make them in white instead of black.

In other news, I am out of the funk. Most of what was depressing me was circumstances beyond my control as opposed to a chemical imbalance. I am now seeing a light at the end of that particular gloom tunnel and things will definately start looking up in the new year. That is all I'm going to say about this for now because one never knows who is reading these things.... but I will get into more detail as soon as I can.

and speaking of the new year, I have decided to do a "personal sock club" for 2009. I read about it on some destashing group on Ravelry. What you do is match sock yarn to patterns and put it in an unmarked paper bag which is stapled shut. Then each month you pick a new one to do and open the bag and it's all like "Surprise...its sock yarn and a pattern!!!" It has the fun of a sock club without at the $$$. Its actually great idea for me because I've stalled on sock knitting partially because I can't decide which ones to do next. I don't really have that much sock yarn though, discounting odd balls and leftovers, I have enough for 11 pairs and one hank of Knitpicks Bare to dye which will get me up to 12. Wow, I need more sock yarn I think.

all your dreams are dead

2008-12-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

I am trying to get Christmas knitting/crochet done.

I made this doll for someone for Christmas, maybe my grandmother, maybe my cousin... sadly not me. I like it. Maybe I'll make another one.

I have not really progressed on the scarf of boredom. I think it's half done now. Remind me to never make a worsted weight scarf again. It makes me feel like this.

I still need to start or finish the following gifts

1. brown scarf (in progress)
2. something for my Aunt (mittens? hat? Cowl?)
3. hand dyed yarn for my cousin
4. possibly something for my grandmother is I don't give her this doll.
5. Toys for She-ra (my cat)
6. Toys for Pansy (grandparent's cat)

I think I can do it. Hopefully. It beats cleaning my apartment.
I don't have anything else to say at the moment. Hopefully next week will be more exciting... in a good way. Perhaps I'll buy some clogs.

fin

November spawned a monster

2008-11-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been almost 2 months since I've posted. To be honest I've been depressed, but I won't really go into it. Hopefully things will start to look up in the next week or so but if not... well I guess I'm well on my way to achieving my goal of being a crazy cat lady. (clogs not included). I wonder if I can find someone to deliver gin, cigarettes, cat food and lottery tickets. If so, then I am set.

But until then I am too sad to even go yarn shopping.

I have been knitting, but that's about it. I made this Briar Rose Bolero for Michelle's wedding, which happened back in happier days. Sadly I have no clear pictures from the wedding because Useless the camera could not handle the "mood lighting"

The yarn was Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk DK. Really nice to work with but shows every single mistake and tension issue. In the future I'll just use nubble-y tweed yarn for everything since it hides a myriad of sins.

Here is an artistic and murky shot of me in the fancy dress I bought for said wedding. This was actually the first fancy dress I've ever bought that is not made of vinyl or PVC. This dress is poly-satin. It has a bow on it. I am a princess.

I was feeling sad so I made a versatility. It's a really fun knit, and even though bobbles scare me, I decided to just go for it because they are kind of funny. This was a good stashbuster. I used about 800 yards of yarn held double- one of which was a mohair blend from Wellington fibres that I have been sitting on (not literally) for a year and a half.
I've decided just to wear this as a scarf and go without buttons because really, as a shrug it looks kind of.... lumpy.

I am also making a brown scarf. A boring brown scarf. It is a gift. I don't like brown and I don't like scarves. This scarf makes me sad. I have 1 more month to finish it. I'm now about 1 third of the way through, so if I knit 1 inch a day I can dzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sorry, even talking about the scarf puts me to sleep. I'll spare you from seeing the boring boring picturezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz sorry...sorry, I'm awake.

Oh and I was sad so I made mittens. I was thinking they could be a gift but they came out pretty small- I don't know anyone with hands as small as mine (well anyone who I would give mittens to) so they are for me I guess. That makes me feel a little happy.

The pattern is Traditional Newfoundland mittens revisited and they were fun to make, a great stashbuster and as warm as a friendly cod and a bottle of Screech on a frigid day....

monthly update

2008-10-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a while due to the fact that I am being crushed by the weight of the world. The other day someone told me I looked 30 and considering people used to think I looked 24, I realized my job was aging me by approximately 1 year per month.

In other news, I sort of finished that sweater:

Mods: the pattern called for bulky yarn but I used worsted and just made a bigger size

The pattern had 3/4 length sleeves but I made full length ones with a longer cuff that can be rolled up. I also made the sleeves more fitted, but that was an accident- I decreased too many stitches so I ended up doing small sleeves on a medium body. whoops.

I need to weave in the ends and sew on some buttons, also it is in desperate need of a blocking because the ribbing at the front is doing funny twisty things, but I want to make sure my place is 100% moth free before risking it. Either that or I may just pin it out on a table in my sun room and build a castle of Irish Spring soap around it. Speaking of moths, I did see a couple last week but it wasn't like the moth blitz of before. (knock o wood) apparently ex-roommate Phil has moths in his place as well, so I'm wondering if this is some sort of tiny wing-ed plague.

In other news I spent way too much money on Sublime Cashmere merino silk DK yarn to make a thing to wear to an upcoming event. This is...well was Spring Fling from knitty. It's a really cute pattern but I wasn't feeling it, plus the bound off neck edges just looked messy. Plus I lost track of what size I was making and what length I wanted it. I may try it again sometime in a more casual yarn.

the project formally known at Spring Fling

So I frogged the thing, ordered the Briar Rose bolero pattern and have been working on that. It's an interesting knit, but I am worried it won't look great because the yarn is very unforgiving if you're tension is as ass-y as mine and there is alot of stockinette involved. The yarn would have been better served by a lace-y pattern as opposed to stockinette but I just couldn't find anything I liked. I'm hoping blocking will save the day. When and if those moths are gone.

I fought the war and the war won

2008-09-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

I have been fighting a war, a war against my one true nemesis although since they are legion, perhaps that would be nemesi? But yes, the moths have infiltrated my home. Bastards. Strangely these insidious beasts have not been targeting the wool, perhaps because I am neurotic about the wool and quarantine it in the freezer for a week after purchase and then transfer it to paper bags filled with lavender sachets and stapled shut. No, the enemy prefers the touch and feel and dare I say... taste, of cotton. I actually found a larva *shudder* trying to nom my trench coat, and was like "dude, good luck with getting through the waterproof coating".

So attempting to fight the good fight, I bought a vacuum and found their base(s) which seemed to involve copious amounts of cat hair . My clothes are quarantined in plastic tupperware bins with copious amounts of Irish Spring(tm) soap, and my fridge and freezer are filled with yarn and knitwear. I haven't seen any of the air patrol lately, but I am on high alert.

In other news,

I have been working on the Drop collar cardi from the new VK.

The pattern is full of errors and missing info, so I emailed VK and they did eventually post the errata. Woo hoo.

I am making it out of Patons Classic Merino, but I fear it is not going to look great on me because of my short waist and giant inflated rack. When working on the body I had the idea that this was going to be a longer sweater however, I think the sweater shown in the VK photo has an extended seed stitch panel because the model is tall and skinny. I'm not crazy about what the ribbing is doing on mine, but I'm sure it will be fine after blocking....which I won't be able to do until after the moths are extinct. I also think I'm going to do full length sleeves with an extended cuff that can be folded over. I definitely have enough yarn since every time I walk by Mary Maxim, I pop in and get an extra ball.

and lastly, I went to the In the Loop finalblowoutgetridofallthestock sale and picked up 5 skeins of Brown Sheep lamb's pride in white. which I will dye after the moths have been eradicated.

HALP!!!

and 2 skeins of Noro Kureyon sock yarn in murky colours which I have been wanting to buy but haven't been able to justify it until now. It's sad to see such a great shop close down, but hopefully the ladies' future endevours will work out.

oh and it appears my building has a new system of collecting rent. Instead of the usual slipping it under the superintendent's door and if you are lucky, getting a receipt in the mail box, there is a burly guy named Tony who pounds on your door in the early morning and loudly demands the rent. Considering today is the first of the month, I think the shouting and pounding is a little premature. Also he wasn't too impressed when I asked for a receipt.

oh and one more whinge. It's the freaking airshow again and it's louder than Tony.

blahblahblah

2008-07-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

What to say, what to say?
I finished the the Vine lace vest and it isn't a complete disaster. There are some design flaws with the pattern... ie: sideways ribbing is always going to curl under always, also sideways ribbing will probably drop (at least if you make it in a silk/cotton blend- hmm maybe that's my "bad"). There were also some issues with my chosen yarn (misti pima cotton/silk). It is as fuzzy as hell, and as we all know hell is hella fuzzy. Also, because it is a cotton/silk blend it is as heavy as... well you know... it starts with an H. I don't mind the heavy thing though because I'd much rather it stretch lengthwise as opposed to widthwise. I also found that at 4 1/2 inches, the ribbing was a little wide, so I did a narrower band.
It looks alright, maybe a little twee but I did get (hopefully honest) compliments.

please note, it isn't actually this lavender in person. It is however, this twee

In other news, I have spent the past 2 months accumulating yarn. Whoops.

pictured:
1. 12 skeins Knitpicks- Wool of the Andes in Merlot heather
2. 2 hanks Knitpicks- Bare; superwash
3. 1 hank Knitpicks- Bare; silk/wool blend
4. 5 skeins Patons Classic Merino in Evergreen mix
5. 1 hank Naturally handknit- Alpine 8-ply
6. 6 hanks Cascade 220 in grey

Its a whole lotta yarn and I think my work is done here. In any case, my yarn fast is in full effect now. Srsly. Which is good because work has slowed down, so I can't afford to buy yarn.
Also I should avoid buying more yarn because more yarn means more of this activity.

wheeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!

In other other news, I have cast on 3 different sweaters with the Patons Classic Merino.

First off was the V-necked pullover from Fitted Knits. It's a super cute top down raglan with ribbing at the waist and sleeves.

this sweater is now deceased

I really like the design off the sweater, and I actually got to the point where the sleeves are separated from the body, then I remembered that I never wear pullovers because they make me feel helpless and constricted. Even thinking about trying it on made me hyperventilate and remember too-tight itchy sweaters from my youth, so I frogged that baby like it was 1987. (I have no idea what that means, except that I had a lot of ill-fitting sweaters in my youth)

I then cast on that February Lady Sweater that everyone has been talking about. I (and all my friends, aquaintances and even the tiny ants in my apartment) had already determined that this sweater would look ass-y on me, as it looks pretty bad on people with big racks. But its so cute and seems like a fun knit and I want to make it and I can't hear you lalalalalala... However, after knitting about 5 rows of garter stitch I got bored and frogged it.

Then I went out and did some stuff and knit some roses and drank some wine and bought the new Vogue knitting, which is really cool and has all sort of things I want to knit and may be the best Vogue knitting evah and I cast on this thing:

I'm sure my gauge is off and I'm knitting it in a worsted weight yarn, so I'm sure it will be a gianormous knitted disaster, however I am willing to take that risk. It kind of looks like Romulan Knitwear which really appeals to me. I'll let you know how it works out....

In other news, have I always been this boring?

It's too darn hot

2008-07-17T08:56:00.001-07:00

When people ask me why I don't live in Fiji, I point out days like this. Hot, humid, sticky, cloying, disgusting days like this and yesterday and the day before that and the day before that. I am not down with the heat, I am not down one bit. Plus I like to knit and trying to do that in the heat has resulted in bits of pima cotton and silk fluff stuck everywhere.

I'm to hot and sticky and lazy to take any knitting related photos or clean or think or do anything worthwhile, so I'll leave you with this

while I try to decide what DVD to watch while I eat 100 Mr. Freezies.

Happy Stat day

2008-07-01T16:10:00.000-07:00

The 1-tone ribbed shrug is finished, blocked and ready to be worn; just in time for....Canada Day.

This was a pretty easy knit, it actually doesn't make my rack look too big, and happily, I used up 4 skeins of yarn from my stash. This is exciting for me since I am used to making 1 skein projects that have 1/4 of a skein left over (AKA: socks) I liked working with the Classic Elite waterspun, however it is probably not the best choice of yarn for me in that it really shows the unevenness of my stitches. Perhaps people will think it is a design feature.

After casting off, I spent some time trying to decide what my next yarn-eating project should be. Frankly, I should try to finish the Airy wrap Hairshirt of tedium. I did actually knit four rows the other day, and then the malaise hit me and I needed to stop working it and pick a fun project. My birthday present to myself was 12 skeins of Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in Claret heather (and a few hanks of "Bare" but lets not speak about socks right now) and I plan to use it to make that February lady sweater that everyone is talking about. However, the idea of knitting hot hot wool in the hot hot heat does not appeal to me and I've been itching to dip into the Misti Pima cotton/silk that's been sitting in my stash for the past year and a half. I was wavering between several projects including the Hexacomb and even did a half-assed gauge swatch for this tank before deciding that this yarn would be a terrible terrible choice for this tank. I finally decided on the Vine leaf vest from Classic Elite, although I really wouldn't call that thing a vest. It's closer to a jerkin, or perhaps a doublet.

I am liking the way the yarn feels, although I'm not sure how well it will hold up.

and speaking of my birthday. It was fun... although low-key. I actually planned a big thing which I set up on Facebook by "creating an event" and then started angsting that I invited too many people, that I invited people who I didn't really want to invite, and that no one would get along. Luckily I realized on Thursday that I had actually forgotten to send the invites and I'm sad to say this made me a little happy. If a well dressed misanthrope such as myself can be happy. I had also sent some invites by email, but of course forgot to include the dates, so all the non-knitters were confused about what day it was happening. (hence I received a whole bunch of confused sort of birthday messages) Whoops. In any case, I went to Drunken knitters, and people kept buying me martinis. The plan was to go to the Savage Garden, we were going to be 7... with a couple of "we'll try to meet you there" but we ended up losing a few peeps on the way. So Nad, Laura, Michelle and I sat in the Savage Garden until we got bored (about 15 minutes) and then we headed to the Velvet Underground and played pool badly and danced while avoiding the gazes of 50 creepy guys. In any case, I had fun, although my birthday wish (which would have involved a random creepy guy singing old Cure songs to Michelle) didn't actually happen....and I didn't win the 27 million dollar 6-49 jackpot. But I suppose there is always next year.

I also finished another project. She likes it.

This post needs a title

2008-06-13T11:20:00.001-07:00

I stoled this from the internets

1. Lisa's gaze, 2. Back to Emeryville #2, 3. ÇµrLÿ FrièS s no longer active on Flickr.=P, 4. Fudgsicle®, 5. The Darjeeling Limited, 6. you're the cream in my coffee, 7. Blast-Off!, 8. The Cup Cake Airstream of Austin, 9. Grand Theft Auto, 10. IMG_4933, 11. cranky 2/4, 12. sun loungers

Want to play too?
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you.
12. Your Flickr name.

in fear of a moth planet pt 2

2008-06-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

In the continuing story of Pinky - the sweater that's gone to the pills, I sewed 2 big buttons at the neck, crocheted a big loop to go over one of the giant buttons, and wore it.

In fact, I was able to wear it twice before the mini-heatwave of despair. I actually got a few compliments from some non-knitters and my mom (which I'm not sure I can trust, because she's my mom and she knows I've been working on Pinky for 8 billion years). Pinky has some issues. The gauge is very very very loose, which has caused the stitches to drop, "luckily" they are dropping fairly evenly so it almost looks intentional. Almost The other problem is that after a couple of wearings and one washing/blocking, Pinky is pilling like hell (and I believe I have mentioned Hell's tendency to pill) I blame Mission Falls, oooh how I blame Mission Falls. I think Mission Falls has become my whipping yarn.

In other news, I finally finished the *insert expletive here* Sugar Maple socks of tedium from 2-at-a-time Socks.

soooooo boring to knit, and finished just in time to wear during the burning hot heat of heatiness

Note to self: don't do socks 2-at-a-time ever again, as you do not have the patience and/or coordination and will be tempted to strangle yourself with the 40" cable and/or unwieldy balls of yarn.

Moving on.....

It's the "One Tone Shrug" from Fitted Knits.

Lumpy arm courtesy of the hank of sock yarn I shoved in the sleeve for volume

I'm a little concerned that the back isn't going to be long enough but it's hard to tell before doing the ribbing. For some reason the schematics have width measurements but no lengthwise ones. I'm debating whether or not I should frog the sleeve I've done and make the next size up, which would give me an extra inch and a half. Of course if I do that, it will be more of a bolero once I add the ribbing. I think I'll just keep going for now and hope for the best.

I am going to have to extend the ribbing quite far out to cover my giant rack, either that or lose weight, or wear a better bra, or perhaps a combination of all three.

In other horrifying news, a moth flew out of my sewing basket to other day, so the yarn is in quarantine again.. although I did kill said moth a few days later, but then *gasp* I saw another one on my laptop case. I'm not 100% convinced in my heart of hearts that they are evil wool eating moths, however I've left out some wool things as bait just in case. The other thing I didn't consider during the earlier scare is that if they are in fact evil wool eating moths, they have enough cat fur tumbleweeds to eat to survive the apocalypse and would probably be more likely to go for that than nice clean wool. Although perhaps I should try vacuuming sometime...

In other not horrifying news, my sister was visiting for a week and I taught my sister how to knit. I did not however, teach her how to cast off, so perhaps she will just keep knitting and knitting and knitting forever. I set up an account for her on Ravelry, so if anyone wants to befriend her and give encouragement to a new knitter or bond over Harry Potter, she is "Nutmeister General". I also set one up for my mom AKA "Carolian".

and speaking of my Mom, she is here, well actually she is trapped out in Etobicoke with my grandparents, but hopefully she is going to make it to the Purple Purl with me on Saturday for some knitting in public.

and speaking of knitting in public, the next Drunken Knitters is happening on June 20th which happens to be my birthday. I plan to celebrate turning 24 (again) in a responsible manner AKA no tequila shots and then perhaps go get my dance on somewhere mopey. I will probably send out emails informing people of this if they want to come with....

On se parle pas du desparation

2008-05-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Pinky the Sweater is almost done. The tension sucks and the seaming looks like hell but it was a choice between hellacious seaming or a knitting basket full of badly knit sweater pieces languishing for eternity. There is no way I would actually reuse this yarn ever ever ever again ever, so frogging was not an option. I probably won't wear it to any knitting related events due to the embarrassing sewing job(the reason I am so disappointed with the seaming is that this is the sort of thing I should be able to do effortlessy due to my background in millinary. Me and the mattress stitch are best buds, or so I thought).

It's actually blocking at the moment and I still need to figure out how to close it. The pattern calls for a zipper, but I couldn't find one even close to the colour and I want to have the option to wear the sweater open. I could dye a zipper, but that involves more work, and I am so over this sweater. So I will either put two gianormous buttons at the neck with an elastic loop, or do 2 ties with big pompoms...although I'm not really feeling the i-cord love, or maybe some subtle hooks. I think the gianormous buttons are going to win. The gianormous buttons always win.

I've been unenthused about my other knitting projects (a whole bunch of dead purple socks of despair, the burgundy mohair sweater of tedium) So I cast on the 2 tone ribbed shrug from Fitted Knits, in Classic Elite- Waterspun. This is yarn from my ex-roommate's ex-stash. I have another hank in grey so I am debating whether or not to do it 2-tone, since I'm sure I don't have enough grey to do the entire ribbing. We'll see. In any case I am trying to use up the stash yarn and the stash is diminishing since I keep giving yarn to my mother.

This will probably make my rack look huge....if I ever finish it.

In other news, I am very depressed. I am in a big freaking rut. Une grosse trou de la desparation. I would go into more detail but I think the "higher ups" at work are having their minions stalk me on the internets. In other more or less unrelated but maybe a bit related news, I had to write an impromtu french test yesterday and pretty much tanked it. I haven't conjugated a verb on paper in 16 years or so. It was a real confidence crusher. I am therefore, trying to brush up on, refresh, ameliorate etc... my french and so have changed my morning routine of watching Maury, Montel and the O.C. to Radio Canada (french CBC). I like "Pyramid" its a game show, oh and there is this cooking show that I also like. There was this woman on today talking about cookies/snack cookies and rating some of the "low fat" ones, and she was saying that it "feels good" to eat small things out of a tiny bag. I concur. C'est interessant, non?

In other news, I went out this morning to get a doughnut and when I came back I noticed that the "8" key on my laptop had detached. I tried to fix it, but one of the little plastic things has snapped, so I've had to use tape. Man, I wish it was 2009.

and the rain it raineth everyday...

2008-05-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am feeling unenthused and uninspired. Perhaps I'll (in the words of those poets of our time- Milli Vanilli) blame it on the rain, although perhaps I should actually blame it on my job.... or my non-relaxing non-weekend. At least we had a very short shift on Sunday and I got Victoria day off. It was nice to have the day off because I still get stat pay and it shortens my excrutiating and endless work week. I used the day "wisely" getting my music geek on; researching, downloading and uploading "uplifting" music onto my I-pod. (is the Damned uplifting? How about the Adolescents? Ladytron?) I also watched a French film and worked on Pinky, AKA the sweater that would never be finished. It's getting there. I will never be happy with the sleeve seams, then again there is nothing that can be done to make them look better- as they will insist on doing this very annoying chevron-y thing due to the increases- but there is also a line of purled rib flocking things up. I'll just keep my arms down when I wear it and no one will ever know.

Speaking of the knitting that would never end....

Exhibit A- the Leyburn socks

I have gotten to the heel on the second sock (not pictured). I got to it a while ago. Umm yeah.

Exhibit B- the Sugar Maple socks I keep knitting and knitting and knitting and nothing is happening. They will never be finished. Because I am doing these 2-at-a-time, I have BSS (which stands for Both Sock Syndrome as opposed to Broken Social Scene) Perhaps I'm feeling unenthused about all of these socks because they are all in the "dead purple" colour spectrum. I still like the way this yarn is working up, especially on the linen stitch heel but the pattern is just too damn boring for me.

Speaking of boring, we aren't even going to talk about the sock I'm designing(not pictured).

I have managed to finish something.

It's the Pretty Puffs hat I made it for Raija (not pictured) who is my grandmother by marriage and a very lovely lady from sunny Finland (also not pictured). Raija was very happy to receive the beret last Friday when I visited her and Grampa in Kitchener because A) I made it for her B) because it is the perfect blue to go with her eyes and C) cause it looks awesome on her and D) I was actually there in person to give it to her and we had a good visit and a nice supper including some excellent black forest cake given to us at the hospital by Elaine: the nurse with a heart of gold and a head full of corn rows.

In other news, I bought some yarn a while ago.

NomNomNom

It's about 60$ worth of apparently delicious and pale coloured yarn in a variety of animal fibres. There is some basic wool, a wool/viscose/alpaca blend, a wool/mohair blend and some Elsebth Lavold Silky wool. The cat was not included. Both the cat and I have enjoyed rolling around in all of this yarny goodness. Obviously I got this yarn to get my dye on and I did have a small scale dye fest the week before mother's day. I dyed a hank of yarn in "mom colours" (not pictured) and gave it to my Mother with the instructions that it must not be used in the giant granny square Afghan for Lisa and She-ra that is being made with yarn that I keep giving her from my stash. She is helping me reduce the stash though, which makes me feel virtuous. I actually have no more suitable stash yarn to give her, so I bought her a couple of skeins of Galway worsted that will look very nice in my afghan. heheh. In my defense, I was allowed to buy yarn because it's been a while and I didn't make it to the Knitter's Frolic.

I also dyed this yarn because I was feeling sad and thought it may cheer me up

I'm not sure the cheering up idea worked but it's damn bright.
Here is the artistic view. It cheers me up a little.

This one is more in my bleak colour range....

I just ate a giant bowl of popcorn for lunch (I also had an orange, and some ryvita with peanut butter. I am healthy- non?) that I popped the old fashioned way; in a pot on the stove. I used olive oil and a little salt and it was kicking.

I am now psyching myself up to go to work. So far I'm not feeling it, but hopefully the giant mug of "Algonquin Peace Tea" and a handful of Extra Strength Ibruprofin and a little sock knitting and Electrofunk on the commute will help me get through the evening. Although thinking about it, perhaps the socks should be left at home.

In our next issue- why everyone is wrong about music but me

Been dyeing to meet ya

2008-04-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've been out of the loop, so to speak due. Not much is new. I got a promotion at work. Same job, more money. I'm not sure how long I will stick it out though. I'm exhausted. Last night really sucked.

I've been trying out some yarn dying because like everyone else in the knitting world- I want to do hand dyed sock yarn.

I call this colourway Tropical Itch. I used 3 different flavours of kool-aid, and some food colouring. It's not anywhere close to my typical colour palette, but I like it. It makes me think of fruity rum drinks I've had in Fiji. My favorite is in fact called the "tropical itch" which has 2 kinds of overproof rum, hand squeezed tropical juices. a backscratcher and ice cream if that's your thing. I opted out of the ice cream.

But back to the yarn.

I got some half price sport weight yarn at the Yarn Boutique (Lana Gatto- Wool Gatto to be precise) and decided to start with koolaid and food dyes and graduate to acid dyes later on if it worked out. Although,I'm not sure I want to use chemical dyes because A) carbon footprint and all of that stuff. I don't really want to be dumping that crap in the water system. B) I want to do this at home in my kitchen and frankly I have enough experience using chemical dyes in a fully equiped and well ventilated dye room fully gloved and masked, that... I know this sort of thing should not be done at home in a place where I also prepare food. Frankly I don't think chemical dyes should be used at home anyway, unless one had a special workshop. C) related to #B I don't want to have to worry about getting any of my equipment mixed up (although I did buy a special pot)and I have a cat... she likes to eat stuff

But back to the carbon footprint stuff... Ive been angsting about this in general. even using food grade dyes makes me paranoid that I'm using/wasting too much water. Then again, whether it's me or a yarn company, water will be used.

So far the dyeing experiments have turned out fairly well. I do have experience dying costumes, fabric etc.... for theatre, so I haven't been going into this blind. FYI. Patina and costume breakdown are my specialty and I have even used food grade dyes for that purpose on occasion.

This one is more my colour palette. I call it Snakebite which is my favorite drink in the UK. Cider, Lager and Cassis. Mmmm. This is mostly food colouring and then over dyed in grape kool-aid. I was actually going for turquoises, but didn't have enough blue food colouring. I am using it to knit up some "Sugar Maple socks" from 2-at-a-time socks to test out the pooling action. So far so good.

In other news, I have a pair of Leyburn socks on the go. As usual they are slouchy. I have come to the conclusion that cuff down socks are better for me due to the fact that unlike a large proportion of people (at least people on Ravelry) my feet are bigger than my ankles. My ankles are freakishly small actually. Also my insteps are extremely high so I need some gusset action. Hmmm "Gusset action" sounds kind of dirty.

The yarn is Knit Picks Palette in Cleamtis Heather. I don't think it's going to wear very well, but I really liked the colour. I was hoping I would have enough yarn for knee socks, but unfortunately I only had enough for old man at a shuffleboard tournament length. Ah well. They actually look pretty cute with the cuff turned down.

Here is a sock I am designing. This is the bottom. The top is a secret. I'm kind of stalled at the moment because I need to figure out where to add or remove a stitch to make the stitch pattern work in the round.
In other knitting news. I am in the process of sewing "pinky the sweater up" however, I am disatisfied with the sleeve length so I'm thinking I'm going to cut them just about the ribbing and do some large fold over cuffs. I'm thinking this may end in tears. I still hate the yarn.

I am also occasionally working of the red "airy wrap sweater". Doing the ties is really boring though. Really endless and boring.

Oh and in candy related news. I got this care package from my sister today. It is filled with British candy and magazines and toys. There was even a toy for She-ra. She liked it but she liked the tea and magazines more, and kind of went medival on the whole lot of it. I may let her have one of the tea bags because she soaked it in cat drool. mmmmmm

stuff

2008-03-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Update.

No, it's not a Monkey, it's a Fawkes. 1 sock down, 1 to go. Well I am actually halfway through the second sock, so hopefully I'll get it done by the March 31st Sockdown deadline. It's got an Eye of Partridge heel that is also a band heel, cause I roll like that. I'm worried I won't finish it in time, then again it's actually pretty good transit knitting. It's sort of mindless, but has a complicated but not too complicated stitch pattern to keep me interested.

Actually, I was knitting these on my way home from work one night and this middle aged man in a big turban moved from across the car to sit beside me and ask me all about what I was doing. then he started to tell me about some sort of embroidery technique or something, maybe crochet. I couldn't really understand him but it was pleasant all the same. Unfortunately I had to get off at the next stop so I never did figure out exactly what he was talking about.

Oh yeah... the socks. The socks are tiny but they seem to fit my feets just fine.

Moving to another topic...

Last Saturday or maybe it was the Saturday before that, the weather was clement so I decided to go for a walk in High Park. there was snow. I went to the Zoo. There were animals... I think these are llamas. There were also *legions of wretched children running around

*not pictured

Yay, Mountain goat... and snow

Some sort of tiny white deer....and snow

trees... and snow.

more trees... and *snow and sky.

*not pictured

more snow

Socks in their natural habitat...and snow

these socks are the compete opposite of the other socks and are going to be gianormous... even though I'm making the smallest size

EDIT: The socks, they are finished. They are comfy but I'm not in love. They are rather large and make my ankles look fat. Also this yarn (Premier yarns: Eco) is split-y as heck. I'm also not sure how in love I am with the pattern or the two-at-a-time sock method in general. It seemed like it would take forever to make these socks. I just kept slogging on and on. I do think that if I had been doing these socks one-at-a-time, I never would have finished them. I just can't do a plain sock. I don't have the patience. I am going to try the two at a time thing again, but with a more interesting pattern.

Do these socks make my feet look fat?

Speaking of socks, I have just cast on Leyburn socks, using Knitpicks: Palette in Clematis Heather. They are toe up so I am going to knit until I run out of yarn. Yay, Knee socks.

In other news, I have come down with this plague thing that is going around. It is pretty much kicking my ass. I have a fridge full of groceries going bad because I have no appetite and even if I did, I can't taste much. Tomorrow I plan to make a big veggie and fish stew/soup thing to use every thing up and then stick it in the freezer. Hmm perhaps I'd better invest in more tupperware when I go to the store for more drugs.

Oh, and I got my hair cut yesterday. It's the same only maybe a little shorter. Nathaniel (my hair guy) was amazed at how fast my hair grew since my last visit 6 weeks ago (probably about an inch). He was also amazed at how well my hair colour lasted. Yay world's more Aveda expensive conditioner. Which interestingly costs twice as much in the store than online. Doh!. In any case, I have booked my next appointment for 4 weeks from now so that I don't feel tempted to cut my own bangs.

I can has cheezburger

2008-03-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

I am exhausted. I want my hour back. Alright, it's not just the time change although truth be told even 1 hour time difference does a real number on my delicate system. I'm old school like that- I will never be an international jet setter. I am perhaps more suited to travelling by horse and buggy (although I imagine I probably get buggy sick) or perhaps by steam ship. But yes, I am exhausted. So exhausted in fact that I am making more coffee.

Speaking of exhausting; work was horrific on Sunday. I was on the phones and I was dialing all over the continental U.S for 6 hours and fifteen excruitiating minutes trying to entice angry Americans to take the damn survey. (it is actually a pretty important survey as opposed to the kind that ask about Uncle Ben's Rice(TM) or cell phones) In the whole time I was dialing I only got 4 people to agree to do the survey and only one of those people qualified. (and he was lovely BTW) Don't get me wrong here, I am not anti-American, and perhaps I should be thankful that the people were more "abrupt" than the average wishy-washy Canadian, however I have to say the experience was draining. It was also interesting because other people were getting surveys, so perhaps the problem is me. I generally have no problem getting people to talk to me in Canada, so I'm wondering if there is something about my voice (too Canadian? too British inflection-y? too theatrical? too CBC? too William Shatneresque? not mid-atlantic flat- enough) that was causing the Americans to hang up on me. Or perhaps I am just able to appeal to lonely old Canadians who want to talk. I should mention that after being switched to Canada, I got 2 surveys and several non-qualifiers in one hour and 15 minutes.... and I have to say, never have I been happier to be calling Vancouver in my life. At least these are friendly Canadian refusals. If I am on the phones and have to call the U.S. again today I may kill someone.

This is my life

Oh and on the way home the King streetcar got stuck because some idiot had parked really close to the track. I got out and tried to get a cab and these stupid men kept jumping in front of me and stealing cabs. When I finally got one, he was nice and got me home quickly so I gave him a large tip.

On the projects front:

I have a new knitting bag prototype in pieces, but I am not feeling coherant or awake enough to sew vinyl on a sewing machine or use "Loudy" the serger. I am going to hold off until tomorrow. (unless I am dialing the U.S. tonight, in which case it will have to wait until I get out of prison)

Socks.

After lurking on the Sock Knitters Anonymous group on Ravelry for a while, I am not feeling so bad about my most recent sock yarn acquisitions. I have enough sock yarn to make 8 pairs of socks (plus I could probably get another 1-2 pairs out of scrap sock yarn) and I have 2 pairs in progess. That's nothing. Really. Some of those people have enough for 90+ pairs of socks...not that I am judging.
But back to my socks...

I am still working on Fawkes for the February Sockdown. I've turned the heel and done two pattern repeat on the foot. I tried an Eye of Partridge heel in addition to the band heel. I actually started off with a linen stitch heel which looked great but was way too small... even now the socks are a little tight- which is a first for me and my super loose gauge. I have to finish this pair by March 31st. I wonder if it's going to happen.

I am also working on the Twilight socks from 2-at-a-time socks. I am using this yarn I picked up at Mary Maxim, It's Premier Yarns: Echo in colour way 42-208 and according to the picture on the label, it's supposed to do this crazy "Shazaam" style flashing, but it's not really happening in my socks, perhaps due to the knit/purl stitch pattern. These socks are most likely going to be gianormous though. I will probably still keep them because I am selfish like that, plus I don't like making socks for people because this would involve thinking about other people's feet.

I guess the socks are coming along, although the thing about the two-at-a-time technique is that is seems like they aren't growing. If I were doing them one at a time I probably would have turned the heel by now.

I've gotten further along than this, but for some reason this yarn does not want to be photographed

In other news I am feeling unhappy- in part due to my horrible job and in part due to PMS-y hormones coursing through my mopey veins. In an attept to cheer myself up, I went to the corner McDonalds and got a "Happy Meal". The fact that it no longer comes in the fancy cardboard box made me a bit unhappy. I had cheezburger. I opted out of the toy and got the McDonaldland cookies instead. Chomping down on cookies shaped like Grimace and the Fry Guys made me a little happy.

All is bleak....

2008-03-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

Again I ave been remiss in my blogging duties. Due to familial (sp) duties, I have been back and forth to Kitchener to see my grandparents and to spend time with my father who flew in from Fiji for 1 week. Other than that I have been working- and that is pretty much my life at the moment. However, all the bus trips and sitting in the hospital and such afforded me a bit of knitting time.

Pinky the socks AKA Broadripples are finished. Hooray.
As usual my pictures leave a lot to be desired, however I assure you that the socks are finished and there are two of them. I have even worn them a few times. They are currently a little damp since I tried to shrink them a little because as usual my gauge was a little loose and my feet are a little small.

Notice the smallness. This is why I only make socks for me and my tiny feet.

Stripey the socks are also finished after this most recent day trip to Kitchener. They are also a little damp as I excitedly wore them with shoes yesterday and then had to trudge home from work in the snow. It wasn't far from the streetcar stop but it was WET.

Speaking of work, we have been losing supervisors left and right so I have sadly had to add on a Wednesday night shift which means I won't be making it to the Wednesday night SnB anymore. I'm keeping my fridays open though, so I can still do Drunken Knitters and get 2 days off in a row. Work is pretty exhausting because we are so short staffed and in addition to having to run projects, we have to supervise hoards of stupid new interviewers. Most of the time I feel like I'm re-enacting that scene from Jesus Christ Superstar with the lepers.... only the can't remember how to log in to their computers and they're begging for headsets and pens.... and there is no music. In conclusion, work is draining and depressing and my job description has changed from "quality controler/monitor" to "project manager, babysitter, ESL teacher and warden".

(photo taken pre-frogging)

Speaking of socks, I started these "Harry Potter inspired" Fawkes socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous February Sockdown. I started off using 2.25mm needles because my gauge is so damn loose at the best of times, but this made them a little snug and I anticipated not being able to get them of my tiny feet so I frogged up to the ribbing and switched to to 2.5mm. I am using Estelle Arequipa and... it's ok. The yarn is really soft but not as elastic as wool. Must be the alpaca. I'm worried that the socks will lose their shape after a few wearings/washings, but we shall see. I do have 2 more hanks of this stuff so hopefully it will work out. I'm not in love with the colourway on these socks. I was hoping the orange and red would pop more, but it's sort of muddy. Perhaps I should have used a happier colour since at the moment, all is bleak, all is winter.

I crocheted this hat a little while ago. I'm sort of meh about it. The ribbon is too twee I think and I had some problems with the pattern since she didn't include the number of stitched you are supposed to have after each row. I got confused and then just made it up as I went along. It was a stash busting project.... and speaking of stash, I have been on a yarn binge. (although sock yarn doesn't count as cheating on your diet, right?)

I bought a couple of skeins of cheapish sock yarn at Mary Maxim yesterday and *gasp* included 4 skeins of Knitpicks Palette and 2 Skeins of Essential in with my most recent order. (that "knitting 2 socks at once" book and a couple of pairs of circs... see I need cheap yarn to practice with... so I can learn..and stuff...yeah that's a good excuse right?)

EDIT: My Knitpicks order has just arrived. I am feeling overwhelmed since in the past 2 days I've gotten enough yarn to make 5 pairs of socks (9 skeins total...whoops) Although hopefully I will successfully learn how to knit 2 socks at a time and will go through al that yarn in a month. *cough cough

EDIT 2: I have started sewing pinky the sweater together. Perhaps I'll finish it this year... perhaps not.

les cables de faux

2008-02-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

Hey gang, it's a pattern and I made it myself.

Warm, versatile and slightly kitschy, these leg warmers were inspired by late 1970's, early 1980's European Ski Bunnies (as seen on the pages of Elle France), slouchy Harajuku leg warmer socks and most importantly by a need to look cute and fashionable and to wear skirts at all times, especially during the frigid winter in rural Quebec. The leg warmers can be worn pulled up covering the calf from ankle to knee, cuff turned up or down, or scrunched down around the ankles just like we did in Ballet-Jazz class in high school. So adaptable, they are ideal accessories for trudging through snowbanks on the way to the market, dancing all night to Abba in the hippest clubs or drinking hot chocolate with Sven and Jean-Pierre in a cozy ski chalet. Oh and they make a swell gift too.

[photographer: Jacqueline Blackman]

The slightly drunken faux cable or "fable" design is perfect for the knitter who has mastered DPNs but isn't ready to make the leap to cables. The stitch pattern is a multiple of 5 stitches so you can make the legwarmers as fitted or slouchy as you wish.

[photographer:Jacqueline Blackman]

SIZE
S [M, L] (shown in size M)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Circumference 10 [11, 12] inches and very stretchy
Length: 20.5 inches

MATERIALS
[MC] Patons Classic Wool Merino [100% wool; 223yd/204m per 100g skein]; color: Marl; 2 skeins

1 set(s) US #5/3.75mm DPNs (or size needed to achieve gauge)

notions required: stitch marker, darning needle

GAUGE
24 sts/28 rows = 4" in 2x3 Rib (Gauge swatch highly recommended as I am a pretty loose knitter)

DIRECTIONS

CO 65 [70, 75] stitches (I used the long tail method)

Divide stitches on 3 dpns, needle 1: 20 (20, 25) needle 2: 20 (25, 25)
needle 3: 25 (25, 25)

Join round being careful not to twist , place marker at beginning of round

Work 16 rows of P2 K3 rib

Rows 1-2 P2 K3
Row 3 *P2, K2tog, YO, K1
Rows 4-6 P2 K3
Row 7 *P2, K1, YO, SL1, K1, PSSO,
Row 8 P2 K3

Repeat these 8 rows 15 times (or however many times to achieve desired length)

Work 4 rows of P2 K3 ribbing

Bind off in rib pattern

FINISHING
Weave in ends and apply legwarmer to leg.

[photographer:Jacqueline Blackman]

*thanks to Jacquie for her mad photography skills and to Peggy Wai for test knitting the size large(not shown)

© 2007 Needle Addict, intended for personal use only

Cold feet

2008-01-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

This past Saturday I spent the day with an friend who was visiting from Quebec. We went for tasty Korean lunch at SAN, coffee and giant cookie at Le Gourmand and dress shopping at H&M. We saw the frigid sites of Queen west and then finished the day off with an experimental Australian theatre experience at the Eaton centre and then supper in Chinatown. During our wandering we stopped into Type- a book store where I have never been (due in part to the fact that I thought it was a "fancy stationary and thank you note" store as opposed to literature) and I picked up a book I have been eyeing for several months:

Reviews have been mixed for the book. There is the "this book is awesome, Viva la revolution" side and the "OMG thats so ugly, I'd never knit that, why did I waste my money on this book" crowd. The book examines the link between craft and art; form verses fuction, and the artists who have bridged this gap... and anyone who buys this book just for the patterns is missing the point because really, who has the space for a 2 ton teddy bear made of fiberglass. Personally I don't think my floors could hold it.

Knitknit does have interesting bios of knitting designers/artists and giant teddy bear aside, it does have some make-able patterns, some of which I may consider trying myself at some point. But really, I'm hoping the book will inspire me to get off my giant can and get my "art" on. SRSLY. I'm going to do it, as soon as my laundry is done.

A link to the Knitknit website

In other news, I'm worried about She-ra. I think I saw her with about 4 or 5 inches of yarn in her mouth (before I shouted at her and she ran out of the room) and I'm worried she ate it and it is doing horrible things to her digestive track. She seems ok though, she is just napping and grooming and grooming and napping. Plus it was most likely Patons Kroy and so is probably not that strong. EDIT: She seems to be fine, perhaps I was panicking for nothing.

socks.

I bought this yarn at the grand opening/re-opening of Alterknit (now called In the Loop Cafe). I had a lovely time and it was packed with Knittas and their ilk. Wine and yarn are a few of my favorite things, however, of the two I am currently only allowed to buy wine since I really am on a yarn diet now. Really. Knit from the stash, that's my plan. Especially since I bought 2 balls of Cascade fixation-effects in 9939 varigated murk colourway at Lettuce Knit on Thursday, with the intention of knitting another pair of Broadripples... if I ever finish the first pair.

Speaking of Broadripples. They (well it, I haven't started the second sock yet) are coming along pretty quickly considering I usually just knit them on the TTC.

I wonder if I should make it taller, I definately have enough yarn...

I think she's fine

Yes, people (which people you ask? well there are people... myself, my mother and a woman called Alice, to name but 3) are amazed I have taken to sock knitting with such vigour. There are many reasons for this.

1. I'm not very good at the ol' sock knitting and wish to improve and it will help me work on my terrible tension. (in every sense of the word)

2. Socks are fairly quick to knit and finishing things make me feel better about myself. I like having new things but I'm feeling a bit scattered at the moment, my work and personal life are kind of ass-y and my not finishing the 2 sweaters I've got languishing make me feel like a big fat failure, but by the same token I don't really have the focus right now to undertake such large...undertakings without disasterous results.

3. Portability, I spend a lot of time on the TTC... alot. Too much really. I like to use my time wisely.

4. Price. One doesn't need that much yarn to make a thing.

5. My feet are cold.

Speaking of socks.

Bellatrix knee socks... they are getting there. I decided to do the heel and toe in navy blue. they look a bit funny in the photo but better on the feet.

Please forgive the foreshortening and strange calf action.

Ditto.

I'm about an inch and a half away from the toe on the second sock. Wheeee!. Although it will probably be months before I can wear them outside, also they do make my shoes a little tight, but I'm blaming that in part on my swollen winter feet. So first a little foot binding and wait for the snow to melt and then... the socks can hit the great outdoors in all their glory

Pretty puffy slouchy post

2008-01-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

So I just realized that the images on my last post weren't showing up due to something weird going on in the HTML. hmm, I blame firefox.

This is the scarf I actually made for my Aunt for Christmas before deciding that drop stitches were too easy and something she could figure out herself, so I had better make something more complicated. I was going to give this scarf to someone else, but I wasn't sure who, so I decided to keep it because I am selfish like that.

I made it to the Purple Purl- which was awesome. I got some dpns and a gorgeous crochet hook

*pictured with Pretty Puffs Slouchy Beret in progress

and *cough cough* some yarn- even though I am not allowed to buy yarn. In my defense, I don't have any lace weight yarn. I loved that they had such a diverse selection of yarn with a variety of price points, and with a real focus on Canadian products. Also Jennifer and Kate and Miko were so awesome and welcoming. My only complaint: the store is not closer to my house. Maybe I'll move.

see- she likes it too.

speaking of crochet. I made
the Pretty Puffs Slouchy Hat. I actually started crocheting this in rowanspun dk- light grey tweed, (doubled) and got about 85% of it done before deciding that it really looked like congeled oatmeal or papier mache paste. (finally, because I've been trying to figure out what to do with that yarn for almost a year- I think it's going to be made into mitred squares for my 5 year mitered square blanket plan... I have about 8 squares done so far)
Anyway I frogged the damn thing and started it again in Fleece Artist country wool (which I got in the Romni basement and according to the internet, doesn't actually exist) This got me thinking about my yarn stash. I have a tendency to buy yarn on a whim because its pretty and then not use it because I want to save it for the perfect project- this just results in me buying more yarn for projects that I actually plan to make and just hoarding the other yarn. So it's good that I dipped into the yarn stash. Which frankly isn't that big. It's like maybe 85 balls/hanks/skeins.. and 1 cone... and that's counting WIP yarn. That is nothing. I am practically a yarn pauper.

and then there are the Belletrix socks. Some of the knittas scoffed at the hugeness, but look.

They do in fact fit over my calf... so knee socks it is. I have 50yds more than the specified amount of yarn, so I'm hoping it will be enough. Perhaps I will do the heels and toes in black just to be sure. It will be a sock adventure. Wheee!

socks and gift yarn

2008-01-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

So I made this scarf for my Aunt for Christmas. I don't know if she liked it. But it was a fairly quick and easy knit. Unfortunately it does have a tendency to curl due to the cable.

Speaking of Christmas, some of you may remember that I bought my cousin this Fleece Artist sock kit

but her mother informed me that said cousin likes bulky yarn (probably because she is a fairly new knitter) so I decided to buy her some Manos del Uruguay and *cough cough* keep the sock yarn for myself. Although I am not completely in love with the colourway. The purple just isn't "dead" enough for me.

Still speaking of Christmas, I got the gift of yarn. Although it is from the dreaded Mary Maxim, it is still possible to get some decent things there.

I'm not sure what to use this for. Flip top mittens perhaps?

Austermman step yarn, with Jojoba and Aloe action. I'm not sure how I feel about the fushia stripe but I'm trying to find an interesting sock pattern to enhance the striping action. It would be great if that pattern wasn't Jaywalkers.

I'm pretty excited about this yarn. It's from Estelle, it has alpaca and has 400m per hank. I'm tempted to get more. They have a nice dead lavender colourway but I am determined to knit from my stash this year. In any case, I already have a project in mind for it: snicket socks... which would also look fabulous in a dead purple colourway.... hmmm.

Speaking of socks. The Sea wool Seduction socks are finished. YAY!. I actually got a good portion of them done over Christmas Eve and Christmas day, in between eating and opening presents. I actually have alot of yarn left over and could have made them much taller. Then again because it's Fleece Artist, I'll probably need the leftover yarn for darning. Also these socks are really effing warm.

Speaking of again of socks, I started a pair of Belletrix socks using the Fleece Artist merino which seems to work better than the Austermman Step. I'm worried they are going to be giant though. I cast on and did the ribbing using 2.75mm, switched to 2.5 for the top part of the leg, 2.25 for the bottom but I think I need to track down a pair of 2mm needles for the foot. I am also trying to get a pair of knee socks out of this yarn, If I run out, I'll just do the toes in black.

Speaking of the languishing sweaters. I have picked up the Airy Wrap Sweater again. Speaking of picking things up, my picked up stitches look pretty ass-y. I'm hoping that blocking will help. I'm also thinking of stretching it lengthwise when it's finished. I will probably just wet it and hang it off my dressmakers dummy and hope for the best. If I even finish it. I'm at the really boring stage of the thing and I don't particularly enjoy the yarn, so I can only do a couple pattern repeats at a time before screaming and throwing it back into my knitting basket.

The pink sweater is still waiting to be sewn together. Perhaps I'll do it on Saturday.

And because I don't have enough projects on the go, I started crocheting a hat.
I'm not sure how it will look though. I am using Rowanspun DK doubled, which is making a fairly crunchy fabric. Then again, apparently this yarn softens up and "blooms" with washing. I have been trying to figure out what to do with this stuff for the last yarn or so. I plan to make mitered squares with the leftovers.

In other news, I wonder if the blurryness of my photos is due to my camera, or due to my eyes.

Because of the fact that I accomplished the 3 things on my to-do list today, I'm thinking of heading out to the Purple Purl to check it out, and if I happen to buy yarn... well I guess I will have already broken my resolution.

Big yarn

2007-12-07T08:57:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from ex-roommate Phil (this is Phil of the cats fame)he needed my help with some knitwear design and I agreed because I had nothing else going on at the time and because I like money and wanted to feel less guilty about ordering that Knitpicks Options set. He sent me a blurry scanned photo of some dude from the 20's and said "I like the stitch pattern in this sweater, can you figure it out, and can you figure it out in sock yarn, and can you figure it out in a week?" Because I had limited time and all the yarn stores were closed on the day I needed to get the yarn (Monday), so I had to use what ever I could find at Mary Maxim. This is why I used Paton's Kroy. This is the only reason. So the thing.... well I tried knitting for a while and it wasn't working, so I charted out what I thought the design was on excel and sent it to Phil. He then made modifications to the chart and sent it back and it was good to go. So I did some marathon knitting and finished the thing. I can't post any pictures of the thing until the line is released, but I can tell you that it was a fair isle thing, out of sock yarn, on tiny needles. It took a really long time and it made my hands hurt, however it looked good and Phil was ecstatic when I handed it over. After our meeting, I took my moneys and went straight to Romni where I bought the biggest, bulkiest yarn I could find. Then I came home and knit a scarf on 10mm needles.

yarn cat.

She-ra has good taste. This is the Romni brand yarn. I have been wanting to try it out for a while, and in general it is nice to work with. It does however have a tendency to get really fuzzy. I imagine it would felt really well. I bought two hanks of the "thick and thin" stuff even though I was worried that the texture was dangerous close to novelty. But is yarn really "novelty" if it's grey? I think not.

I had originally planned to knit a plain garter stitch scarf, as I have never done this before. However, the texture was a bit too varied for my liking.

Here is the scarf. I decided to do a drop stitch to show off the thick and thin-ness of the yarn. I like the scarf. Although it doesn't look that kicky in the photo, it is very stylish in real life. The texture reminds me of those lambswool coats that were so popular back in the day. What day? I dunno, the '30s maybe?

I also decided to learn me something new, and test out my shiny new Knitpicks Options set and did some matching grey mittens on 2 circs. One pair of Addis and one pair of Options and I have to say, I do like those Options. They are pointier than the Addis and the cord is a bit supple-r. Like many others who have these needles, I found that the cords were coming loose as I was knitting but after some "extensive research", I learned that the "key" that comes with the set is for leverage as opposed to functioning like an actual key and this had made a world of diffrence.

EDIT: and speaking of the cords coming loose, one of the purple cords popped out of the metal casing on the 24" cables. Jacquie suggested I call Knitpicks about it. I kept putting it off because I was scared that they would be all like "you are Canadian, so no replacement cord for you. Put that in your poutine and smoke it". However, I finally sucked it up and called them today, and I have to say their customer service is superb.

But back to the mittens

These are the first mittens I've knit (I've made some in the past with the power of crochet) and they are a bit ass-y. Partially because of the pattern I used... and partially because I have freakishly long thumbs. I finally decided to unravel the thumbs and make them longer and the mittens fit fine now. I am determined to use my Options for everything (they make great toothpicks btw) so I have also learned me the magic loop, which is just like knitting with 2 circs only different. Also I am a bad person who has ordered additional needles and cables for the set. That's it though. I am cut off. No more Knitpicks for this Knitta. In other news, the Pinky the vintage hoody is languishing. All the pieces are finished and blocked but now I must sew them together, and since each piece has a different stitch pattern, it's not as easy as I had anticipated. Well hopefully I'll figure it out before 2008. Oh and speaking of this cat, Phil has agreed that I can keep her forever. Hooray.

She really likes this yarn.

the return of mr. pink

2007-11-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

I have been in a state of despair and inertia. Not really sure what I want to do with my life. I'm been busy treading water and not getting much accomplished; I haven't really been knitting. Partially because, although I have a bunch of projects on the go, none of them are near being finished and that's sort of demoralizing. This is why I don't normally do sweaters. However, all my whinge-ing aside, things have sort of been starting to look up... sort of. I got a promotion at my horrible job. So it's slightly less horrible but with slightly more pay and slightly (and only slightly) more stability. Plus it looks good on the old resume and I can work 1 less day and stay at the same level of poverty...or work the same amount of days as before and be slightly richer.

But I digress. Speaking of work, I am sick with some sort of hideous call centre plague (I fear its a sinus infection) and am feeling unwell and unmotivated. The knitting has been languishing as has pretty much everything else. However, I have decided I must take baby steps to get things (in life and in knitting) done and have picked up "pinky" the vintage hoody again...I started this thing about 10 months ago and would really like to finish it in this lifetime.

I am currently blocking the fronts and back and knitting up the hood. Then I'm going to block the pieces 8 more times until the stitches look less crappy. I will use the power of steam and my dressmaker's dummy and possible a steam roller. It can't fail. *cough cough*. I am reconsidering my decision to not do the embroidered circles and "V"s as they might be just the thing I need to hide the craptastic stitch tension. I do worry that this sweather is going to be snug, and that I'll have to do some sneaky side gussets. But we'll see.

As I look at the pieces, I despair about the horrible tension and fear that I don't actually know how to knit....but when in doubt, I will as usual blame the yarn. However, in my never ending quest to find someone or something to blame for my shoddy workwomanship, I have decided that it's not just the yarn, it's also the needles. Or the needle/yarn combo. Or the needle/yarn/me combo. Or something. In any case, my trusty Clover Bamboos aren't cutting it with this yarn. I did a few knitting tests, using the same yarn (Mission Falls: 1824 *bleah* wool) with a variety of needles sizes and needle brands (Good old Clover, Knitpicks 16" circs & Addis) and realized that yes, my tension is better with the shiny shiny metal. I've also realised that I am a loose knitter.... a very loose knitter... an obscenely loose knitter. I don't that it's always been like this, but perhaps I've loosened up with age. *cough cough*

But I digress. Needles. I have refrained from ordering Knitpicks Options set because I already have a few (6) of the needle sizes already, however most are bamboo or crappy Zellers metal ones and its good to "mix it up a bit" as they say. So I finally sucked it up and ordered the set and an extra set of 40" cables so I can try that magic loop thing that all the cool kids are talking about. Maybe it will encourage me to knit more since at the moment, it feels like a chore on these bamboo needles.

Changing the subject.

One day I will finish these socks.

but not today.

Sock part deux

2007-10-05T08:12:00.001-07:00

I haven't had a lot of time to knit or blog due to my stupid life of busy-ness. My sweaters are languishing, actually I think I can hear them crying. Sigh. My kingdom for some free time.

I did finish something. I finished the socks. The socks, they are finished. First complete pair of socks...done. I actually finished the socks a while ago but haven't posted about them because I am slack like that.

All in all I am happy with the socks although it has been too warm to wear them because, Man, these socks are warm. They are very warm. They are made with yarn created to with stand frigid Norwegian winters. They are a raging inferno of burning woolyness on my feet, therefore I probably won't be able to wear them until January, or perhaps I'll just wear them instead of turning the heat on this winter. Mmm toasty. In other news, I haven't blocked or washed them yet so who knows what horrors could be in store. Perhaps they will grow to the size of..a giant warm thing. Maybe a set of matching sleeping bags. Also I realize that I made one slightly bigger than the other which is ok, because one of my feet is slighty bigger than the other so everybody wins.

And they even fit my feet. hooray!!

In celebration of finishing my first pair of socks I bought very expensive sock yarn. I waffled for a long time about which very expensive sock yarn to get but finally decided on Fleece artist seawool.

Cat sold separately

The yarn came with a free "Bordello socks" pattern which seems quite similar to the Jaywalkers pattern. I decided not to make this particular pattern to the fact that it called for a set of five 3.00 dpns and I only have four, and the pattern was written specifically for 5 dpns which kind of offended me. I could have done it on four using the power of math but after reading some reviews of the pattern on the internets, I learned that it is apparently not very stretchy and frankly if I want something non-stretchy to wear on my feet, I'll just wear shoes.

In any case, after casting on three different socks I decided on the Seduction Socks by Anne Budd. The pattern is fairly easy to knit and the pattern is easy to memorize but complex enough to keep my interested. I decided not to use the Old Norwegaian cast on though, out of lazyness, plus I'm not in love with the way it looks in this yarn. I am worried I might not have enough yarn though. Although I have the specified amount, I am a loose knitter and I decided to do an extra pattern repeat. Hopefully the fact that my feet are tiny will work in my favour. If not I'll have to find a less expensive but complimentary yarn to do the toes in.

Cat for display purposes only and not included with pattern

Anyway what do I think of this yarn? Well the coulours are nice and its fine to work with although slightly squeaky (I'm guessing that's the seaweed) I do find that its diffeicult to get a good tension with this yarn. Jacquie blamed my crappy $3.00 metal Mary Maxim needles, but I usually get better tension with metal than I do with bamboo, so I'm inclined to blame the yarn...and the pattern. I think this yarn is a bit too slippery to use with such a twisty stitch pattern. If the socks werre made in a "grabbier" yarn I probably wouldnt be having this issue. In any case, looking at other versions of the socks on Ravelry, it seems that other people are having the same issue.

check out my tension, babies

The other thing is that you sort of lose the stitch pattern due to the striping of the yarn and the Jaywalkers or Bordello socks pattern would be a better choice for showing off the stripes, then again that's my own fault for choosing this particular pattern.

where's my stitch pattern at?

In any case, I'm not sure that I love this as a sock yarn, it's nice to work with but a little thick. I actually can't imagine a non stretchy sock out of the stuff..it really would be a shoe or a torture device. For the next pair, I may go back to the cheaper Norwegian stuff because those Norwegians do know socks.

I got sock

2007-09-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

Hey, it's a sock... and I made it... and I finished it...and I haven't frogged it yet. I'm probably about a quarter of the way into the second sock and will hopefully be able to return to it as soon as I finish the project of mysterious mysteries. The project with a deadline. RE:sock, I have to say that I am not in love with the kitchener grafting deal-y. Perhaps I will try something different for the next pair of socks. I have decided that when (not if, when!!) I finish this pair, I am going to buy some nice sock yarn (I can hear Lisa Souza calling my name). I actually have a hank of very nice yarn from Wellington Fibres (the 60% mohair/40% wool; worsted) that I picked up at the last Knitters Frolic, but I fear that 250 grams is not going to go very far.

Speaking of not getting very far, I have also stopped work on the Airy wrap for the time being. But will hopefully be able to pick it up as soon as I finish off the mysterious project of perpetual hassle.

Please block me

Do you think these cables will make my butt look big?

In other news, I finally got my Ravelry invite and it has been my chief means of procrastination for the past week. It's very addictive. My user name is Needleaddict if anyone wants to add me and hasn't yet. The one thing I have to say about Ravelry is looking at other people's amazing projects makes me feel bad about myself and my knitting ability. Then again, I have only been knitting for 2.5 years and umm I don't like fussy sweaters and lace shawls and such. So really my crappy looking projects are an aesthetic choice. That is my story and I'm sticking to it. I am edgy, non?

Swiftastic

2007-08-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

First of all: the swift. It arrived and it doesn't suck... but I had to pay $9 in duty. Which does suck. However, even with the duty and shipping and such, it ended up costing me less than $60. Which is definitely low of the suck scale. So after picking it up at the friendly neighbourhood postal outlet, I brought the thing home, put a hank of yarn on, attached it to Toyota the friendly ball winder (the kittehs were very interested in this procedure) and commenced winding. It took me less than 2 minutes to wind a ball of Rowanspun DK, whereas the last ball took me about 3 days because it got all tangled and knotted and I lost 1 or 2 yards due to tangle induced "snappage". So I would say it's worth it. Plus I have at least 17 more hanks of yarn to wind which would have taken me a year using my old "method". I have however, decided to only buy yarn in hanks from now on. Not that I am allowed to buy yarn until I decrease the stash somewhat. Which I can do, now that I have an easy peasy way to deal with the unwound yarn. I am resisiting the urge to wind it all now, but have decided that I'm not allowed to wind any more until I decide what to make with the 426 yards of Rowanspun. Maybe a swift cozy.

In other news, I am lacking in finished objects. This is the problem with sweaters as opposed to...smaller items. I can't remember the last time I finished something. Actually that's not true. I remember finished the dragon scale armwarmers, although I have yet to weave in ends, block and send off to my sister. But for all intents and purposes they are finished...sort of.

At the moment I have 4 projects on the go.

1. The Hedera sock(s). I just realized as I was trying on the first sock, that it is almost finished. Which is exciting as I've never actually completed a whole entire sock. I have even gotten as far as the cuff on a toe up sock, before deciding that I wasn't feeling it and frogging the whole thing. I do apologize for my weird looking toes.

This yarn doesn't really photograph well...ok I don't really photograph well. I shouldn't be blaming the yarn, however there is actually a stitch pattern in there...somewhere. Well at least I know it's there. I'm still amazed at how freakishly long my toes are. I'm wondering if this is what is called a "prehensile" toe and if this means I am more highly evolved than those with "normal" feet. I wonder if I could learn to knit with my feet. Then I could finish these UFOs in half the time.

Hi remember me? I'm the vintage sweater that you are never going to finish. All you have left is the hood, and half of one of the fronts, and maybe a button band depending on how freakishly tight I am. Did you even do a gauge swatch?.... I think you did but it was so long ago I've sort of forgotten. Oh and you should probably block the pieces before sewing together because I am made of yucky Mission Falls and your stitches look sort of really not good. But at least I am washable....or will be if you ever finish me. Oh and and you need to buy a zipper.

Finally, because you had a minor freak out a while back and bought up all the Mission Falls: colour 026, dyelot 4661 in town, I think you will have enough yarn to finish me... and probably enough left over for some matching mittens and a hat.

Exhibit 3. This thing.

The "Airy wrap sweater" from Fitted Knits. I'm making it out of Estelle: watercolours and it sheds like a mofo. I'm not in love with the way the picked up stiches look, and I am planning to steam block it. I hope this isn't going to end in disaster. Also I'm going to make the ties shorted than specified because apparently they stretch like "woah" and frankly the last thing I need is yards and yards of fabric wrapped around my midsection.

I am also working on another thing, that I'm not going to go into, except to say that I have to finish it before resuming work on these things. Sigh the life of a knitter. But because I am hideously unemployed right now I guess I don't have much else to do...except look for a job and read the new Vogue Knitting and the new Interweave Knits that I bought in a (well two) moments of spendthriftery. It's interesting, I've been hearing alot of smack about the VK lately. I guess it's the usual complaint of "lack of wearability, I would never knit that... blah blah blah" but as Sophie so aptly put it "I only buy it for the articles". Truthfully though, there are a lot more things in the Fall VK than in the Fall Interweave that I would consider knitting. If I ever finish everything else I'm working on.

Will this be the first actual finished sock for our young heroine?

2007-07-30T03:54:00.000-07:00

I keep neglecting the blog. I have no excuse besides general slack assed-ness. At some point I will update about the "Knitty round table yarn tasting extravaganza" at Alterknit. I won't do that this morning though because I will need to leave for work soon.

In exciting news, I finally broke down and ordered a swift

I hope it doesn't suck. With shipping it is going to end up costing me about $50. It's a bargin. I hope it doesn't suck.

My justification for this purchase is that my current technique of winding center pull balls (attaching one end of the yarn to my trusty Toyota (TM) ball winder, throwing the hank on the floor and hoping for the best) leaves a lot to be desired and also leaves a lot of tangle. I also have at least 23 hanks of yarn that need to be wound into balls at some point so I think the swift is a worthwhile investment... I just hope it doesn't suck

In other news I am knitting a Hedara sock out of Sisu yarn. Colour= 1480. I actually got down to the heel on one of these socks a few months ago and then one of the needles fell out and I decided it was probably easier just to start the whole thing over again. Perhaps I will actually finish this sock. My version is going to be a slouchier 1980's type sock...eiter that or a gift for someone with big calves. I'm not really in love with the yarn (I actually bought it ages ago to make armwarmers for a stupid boy I was dating... a stupid boy who is still asking me for armwarmers) The colours are good, but the yarn is sort of scratchy and utilitarian. It seems very Norwegian. As I work on the sock of itchyness, I trawl the internet looking at better sock yarn but I never buy because...well because I've never actually finished a sock. Perhaps if I was using better yarn. I am debating ordering some sock yarn from Knitpicks. It won't break the bank and... well that's about it. Although I've sworn never to buy yarn over the internets. It's just too easy. Then again, at those prices....

Book launches and such

2007-06-05T16:46:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I have been remiss and generally sucktastic in my posting duties. I have no excuse. Perhaps its because I am ashamed of my terrible photography and then there is the laziness. Plus I seem to have developed some horrendous hives. I think I must be allergic to life.

Exhibit A. The No Sheep for You launch party on May 12. I am still cursing myself for not bringing my camera and for being a slack ass and not posting about it sooner. It was an awesome time thanks to the lovely ladies at Lettuce Knit and of course Amy Singer who is made of win. Not only did Amy provided us with food and alcohol and good times and generosity of spirit and such, but we were also allowed to take treasures from her stash and frankly, we should have been providing her with all of the above. In any case it was a fantastic time and check out Jacquie's blog if you haven't already. There is a picture of me looking quite deranged. Next time I will sing Kumbaya. I promise.

Exhibit B The Stephanie Pearl-McFee/Yarn Harlot book launch. I was prepared. I brought my camera. There were lots of people. Lots and lots of people. I got there early-ish, but not early enough to score one of the 120 (not nearly enough) seats.
Anyway, after waiting for a while more and more knitters began to pile in and stand and...knit. I felt like a rebel because I decided to do the forbidden crochet (it's a lot easier to do while standing/I dropped a stitch in my knitting/I just wanted to use my fly-ass Brittany crochet hook) But I digress.. eventually Stephanie Pearl-McFee hit tha stage and... talked about knitting for a long time. It was entertaining. I wish I could write something more in depth and insightful but currently my mind is a sieve.

I was standing in the back. I couldn't see much but I could hear just fine.

Here is Jacquie looking divine

Nadia and Susan. Those lucky girls got seats

The Yarn Harlot as captured by my mighty zoom lens *cough cough*

here I got a little closer now.

Aleta and friend

Susan... posing seductively in front of the travel section, and now off jetsetting in Italy. Lucky girl.

After the talk, many of us (more than 20, less than 400) headed over to the Spotted Dick for a bit of drunken knitting. I tried to take photos. I really tried. The Yarn Harlot showed up eventually. Her photos came out better than mine. I am in one of hers.... looking quite deranged.

In other news, tomorrow is the TTC knit-along Go team North!!!

I gots books

2007-05-02T21:06:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I ordered books from Amazon because I wanted some books. The anticipated shipping date was may 22nd but I got them on April 8th and have been trying to write a review of them ever since. Wheeee.

I tend to be leary of knitting books that have the words hip, funky or not your mother's in the title. Invariably, these books are filled to the brim with all manner of useless items made from novelty yarn. So when I read that there were 2 punk knitting books coming out this spring, I was afraid, very very afraid, as it seems that in the knitting world the word 'punk' has become synonomous with fugly yarn. However, I did a little research on the internets and after seeing a few of the images from the first book I decided I was curious enough to order both of them for 'inspiration' purposes. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

below are my first impressions of the books since I haven't had time to go through them comme il faut

Pretty in Punk; 25 Punk, Rock and Goth knitting projects.

This book was written by Alyce Benevides and Jaqueline Milles who have a company called knit head, and after perusing their website I'm wondering when and if I could start charging 100$ for handknit scarves. Perhaps I need to get Martin Gore to start wearing my designs first, but I digress.

The flap on the side of the book states that the designs were inspired by 'fashion icons Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano and legion punk legends' (which I'm assuming is a typo) In any case I would say that the designs in the book tend to be 'punk couture' as opposed to 'down on the street'.

A large proportion of the patterns call for Lamb's pride yarn but other companies and fibres are represented and in fact a couple of patterns call for mid range to higher end yarns and cashmere blends because as we all know, cashmere is synonomous with punk. Actually I lie, as we all know Mohair is the punkest fibre of them all. Perhaps because itchyness = suffering = punk. I am happy to report that there is a complete lack of novelty yarn in this book, in fact, most of the patterns focus on basic but elegant shapes with solid colours or colour work.

The projects are separated into sections depending on what body part they're for and many different subcultures are represented: punk, goth, mod, ska and rockabilly and I would say that the selection is diverse enough that one should be able to find a few things to peak their interest. Also, excitingly there is also a graph for camoflauge intarsia (for armwarmers) which I know will come in handy the next time I need to hide out in the junle with nothing but my knititng to keep me safe.

pros: The book has a great design and a fun but edgy aesthetic. The layouts are well thought out and the instructions seem to be clear, the models are attractive and the photography is fantastic.

cons: there are quite a lot of patterns for 'bumflaps'. Also the mohawk seems to be an oft repeated motif. This is obviously because the mohawk at is their signature piece, however I'd say that it's a bit over represented. One very big con is that the patterns call for specific yarns, but the yardage of the yarns is not listed making yarn substitutions difficult.

I am considering making this sweater, although thinking about it I did make myself a mesh sweater out of sock yarn this one time and have misplaced it somewhere, so I think this doesn't bode well for the mesh sweater

I'm not sure where I'd wear this, but it sure is pretty.

I just think this picture is 'neat'

forget the hat, I want the bike...actually I want both

Punk Knits: 26 hot new designs for anarchistic and independant spirits by Share Ross

I was unsure about whether or not to order this book because of the scary looking model and clashing colours on the cover. After receiving it I realized that my fears were not unfounded as this book written by the former guitarist of Vixen is closer to those dreaded too hip for your mother type knitting books than the elegant and well thought out style of the previous book. The first thing that offended my senses was the author's repeated insistance that knitting is a 'truly anarchistic statement' and list of why the book is or isn't for you. ie: "you like music and think the Sex Pistols were a great band" vs "You hate rock 'n' roll music and think the Sex Pistols are some sort of gun." Personally I like music and think the Sex Pistols were mediocre musicians with a great manager. I'm not sure if that means the book is for me or not.

Each pattern in the book has a 'punk' inspiration. Some examples include The Runaways, Blondie, the New York Dolls, Woodstock 1969? John Lennon?!? I think the book is misnamed and that perhaps a better name would be the aging L.A. rocker knitting book. Also the punk knits rating system for pattern difficulty is very confusing. (ie: garage, coffee house, night club, theatre and arena) Although I guess there is some sort of logic to it, I can never remember which 'venue' is which.

In terms of patterns, it's really a mixed bag. There are a few fun things that I am considering making, but there is also quite a bit of fug. The sweaters all tend to be shapeless and boxy and yes there is novelty yarn, in fact you can knit sleeves for your jean jacket out of novelty yarn if you want to (Just like Led Zeppelin!?!) ...and I won't judge if you do this. Well ok, I will judge a little.

Also, in comparison to Pretty in Punk the models in this book are considerably older, more haggard looking and rather depressing. In fact, the models were probably punks the first time round, so I guess it's good that they are getting work now as those pvc shorts and eyelash yarn are not going to buy themselves.

The book does have some pros.

The good: I like the spiral binding, also there instructions on 3 different ways to make holes (which are apparently very important to punk knitting)
and with a little... ok, alot of tweaking the patterns could be improved and apparently punk knitting is about improvisation, so this ties into the 'theme' of the book. Also the patterns and schematics seem clearly written and laid out.

The bad: well everything I mentioned above.

the fugly. (Inspired by Patti Smith) although maybe it could work in a better yarn. Ok, maybe not

check out more pics from the book here. I will admit to liking the legwarmers (Siouxsie Sioux) and the shrug (Bjork) however I don't really think the book has anything particularly edgy going on, and frankly if one is looking for 'punk rock knitting', they would be better off getting Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation because at least you could make a Joey Ramone doll.

Carrie Nation

2007-03-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

I am stll pretty confused by the blogger comment system. sometimes I get notified, sometimes I don't. and the whole replying to comments thing. Is it possible? Well I know it's possible, but are people notified when replies are left? I just don't know.

In any case, I have included a link to a post of days gone by in answer to Yvette's inquiry about Carrie Nation (aka that vintage cosmotology head)

Needle Addict: Beyond the valley of the mannequin heads

I also used to have one of those make-up heads when I was little. I wish I still had it, but I have vague rememberances of cutting off all it's hair and going a bit medival on it. Now I just use my own head for such purposes.

cheating on my diet

2007-03-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

So I cheated on my yarn diet. It started with this.

one sad little skein of Mission Falls colour 026 (aka Zinnea) in a completely different dye lot from what I needed. However, I was filled with the fear of running out of yarn and the sweater is just too damn busy to do the sleeves in a different colour. I'd already checked at Alterknits, Romni, Lettuce Knit and the Knit Cafe and although 2 of the stores had Mission Falls, they didn't have it in zinnea. So I when I found this at the Naked Sheep, I bought it out of desperation, thinking that at least I could use it to do sleeve cuffs or a facing for the front. Truthfully though, if the original yarn I bought had been in this particular dyelot, I wouldn't have bought it.

The next day, I went to Knitomatic and found 4 skeins in the dyelot I needed, so I bought it all and felt stupid for not heading there first. I am telling myself that it is not cheating if I need the yarn to finish a project that I've already started.

I am now fairly confident that I have more than enough. I am a third of the way into the sleeves and still have this left over (plus the sad little skein of a different dyelot.) which will be more than enough for the hood. So perhaps I overbought, but hopefully I'll find another use for what ever is left over. Truth be told though- I hate knitting with this yarn. It really hurts my hands for some reason. (the superwash-edness I suppose). Perhaps it will be better for crochet, or machine knitting.

Speaking of cheating on the yarn diet, I also bought some Van Dyck yarn to make some more of those cabled wristwarmers for someone, although really it's not cheating if the yarn is purchased to make a gift... right? Sadly, I very quickly realized that the yarn was way too bulky for wristwarmers and therefore, needed to be made into a floppy hat on the Knifty knitter.

*here it is seen on Carrie Nation. Altough truthfully it's for me, so I guess that is cheating but it was accidental cheating, cheating without intent. Plus the yarn was on sale. Plus I knit it up the next day, so it's not like it was sitting around for very long.

On wednesday I checked out Passionknit for the first time ever, before hitting wednesday night SnB. I bought some cheap-ish yarn Sirdar: Click to make those armwarmers out of. I started the first one and have been carrying it around with me for over a week without working on them because I've decided that I don't want to make wristwarmers for this person. In fact I even broke one of my casein 3.75mm dpns. I think it's a sign.

Inspired by Sophie, I started on a pair of Dragon scale gauntlets for my sister's birthday. There is no way I will get them finished and in the mail in time for her birthday (next monday) but perhaps one day... maybe christmas. I'm hoping she will ike them because she likes dragons and she has arms. I am using the Lang; Mille Colori that I won in the last TTC knitalong.

and finally because I am wicked, and more importantly, because I was feeling virtuous for using up things in my stash, I went to Romni (actually for 4mm dpns which they didn't have and for some yarn to use to design legwarmers)
and I bought this

2 skeins of Fleece Artist;country wool for 11$ a hank. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it but I felt I had to buy it, since it's probably the only time I'll actually be able to afford Fleece Artist. But I'm not going to try to make excuses. This was cheating of the worst kind. I bought yarn because it was pretty, even though I have no clue what to do with it.

Usual bout of laziness

2007-03-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss in my posting duties, mostly due to the despair of looking for a non-horrible job (no luck yet). In the mean time, I did manage to finish a few projects. Some of you may remember me working on a 'corset belt' from the Happy hooker book.

Hey, it looks suspiciously like mittens!!

Finally I just wasn't feeling the belt. In addition to enhancing my posterior region in a distressing manner, it was too big and I didn't have quite enough yarn. So I frogged the thing (not an easy task with Lamb's pride) and made these mittens using the power of crochet.

Hey, it's a scarf...and it's ribbed!!!

I have been working on this scarf for months and months (well it felt like months and months) and feared that it would never be finished. To date, I have only completed 3 scarve (all of which were ribbed) I actually I find the thought of knitting a garter stitch scarf almost as depressing as the thought of wearing a garter stitch scarf. Actually I find the thought of knitting any scarf, a little depressing... but not too depressing cause knitting is fun!!! The interesting thing about this yarn (Lang: Tosca mohair) is that the silver stripes look lavender in daylight.

Hey, it's an armwarmer and I made it!!

I finally found a project for the sad and neglected ball of Manos del Uruguay that I've been neglecting...sadly, where the results A) do not look vomitrotious and B) are learning me some new knitting techniques (the wild and exciting world of cables, who knew?) It's not as difficult as I thought. Well, it did take me three tries before realizing that the chart should be read right to left instead of left to right. The varigation of the yarn obscures the cables a little, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for my first time out. I also feel quite virtuous as I am trying to use up the small mountain of yarn I've accumulated. Well, the mountain is not actually that big, but it was a little pricey considering my current financial state.

Speaking of mountains of yarn, the sweater is still not finished. In fact, it had to be partially frogged due to the fact that after finishing the fronts and back and pinning the pieces together, I realized that the thing was embarassingly cropped. I most definately won't have enough yarn for this and will therefore have to break my yarn fast. I plan to go on a Mission yarn finding mission this afternoon before heading off to work at the wretched call center, however I am not optimistic that I will be able to get any in the same colour (let alone same dye-lot) which will force me break my not ordering yarn on-line rule (in addition to breaking my yarn fast).

my new knitting bag

2007-02-07T11:50:00.000-08:00

I made a knitting bag a couple of weeks ago

The patch on the front has a sewing machine embroidered ball of yarn and needles and is actually a patch pocket.

It has a 'secret' back pocket.

and interior pockets to hold knitting needles and books and other stuff. Here it is with my knitting already in it. For some reason these photos give me vertigo.

Sadly, I have no more of the polka dot fabric but I am in a red mood and plan to make more in these fabrics.

the end.

adventures in crochet

2007-02-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

Hey, I made a kicky beret using only the power of crochet...and some yarn.

This sort of looks like a mug shot. a really dorky mug shot

It started out as the 5th, 6th and 7th attempt at the Pda from the Happy Hooker book. I actually had it almost finished and then decided I hated it due to the 'shell' action, which left much of my bright red hair visible through the hat...and thinking about it- why would I made a wool hat that has big holes in it? Perhaps I should have gotten the yarn that the pattern actually calls for. Sadly, the yarn that the pattern actually calles for is acrylic, and thinking about it- why would I make a hat in acrylic? I like this hat better. It is kicky.

Hairbrushes? No, I've never heard of them. Actually this shot was taken after Clyde and I robbed that bank and before the coppers made me brush my hair for the dorky mug shot

The yarn is Tibet by everyone's favorite Italian Panda The sunglasses are...too big for my face.

side view- jowls and all

All in all I'm rather pleased wth myself and am digging this whole crochet thing. It's efficient, fairly quick and you can make circles that look a whole lot better than knit circles. The big question is, what should I make next...and will my abandoned knitting projects forgive me for neglecting them?

I like grey

2007-01-29T06:42:00.000-08:00

In the midst of winding yarn and procrastinating, I have been trying to crochet...something. I decided to frog the most recent incarnation of the PDA hat (attempt #5 I think) and feared that this hat and I are just not destined to be friends. I should mention that the first time I tried to make the hat I used Manos Del Uruguay varigated wool (colour 119; Adobe) and the results were for lack of a better word, vomitrotious. To be honest, I have yet to find a project for this yarn. It's beautiful but I think it may be yarn for petting as opposed to knitting. All of this has caused me to think about my yarn choices. I know that tastes in yarn vary wildly and are quite personal. I reflected on this as I stood in line at Romni, behnd a woman who was buying a small basket's worth of teal and white varigated eyelash yarn. I tried not to judge, I really did.

Some people love that stuff, just as some people love chenille, boucle and fun fur. I am not one of those people. (in fact my ex roommate Phil often critisized my drab and boring yarn choices, often exclaiming 'oh no, not oatmeal again') I bought some grey yarn.

It's Rowanspun dk and it was on sale. I wish they'd had more in this colour.

and I also bought other grey yarn

one hank of Classic Elite: waterspun. It was sad and alone, the only one of it's kind, on sale and also discontinued. I have a few hanks of waterpun in sage and I thought they could be friends. The yarn does seem a lot happier.

Truthfully, I do occasionally buy brighter coloured yarn, but I prefer single coloured yarn; and yarn that does not mix colour and texture, as that kind of yarn , makes me a bit queasy.

now speaking of crochet...and Classic Elite waterspun in sage

This was the beginning of the cranium hat from the Crochet me site. Then I realized that the gauge was off like woah and also the metal hook was too big and causing me pain. (which is why I actually went to Romni, to buy some bamboo hooks. The fact that some grey yarn came back with me was purely by accident, I swear. Actually I'm pretty sure it followed me home.)

Anyway, I came home, frogged that thing and started anew. At one point I realized near the end that I had somehow misplaced a couple of rows somewhere near the beginning, but there was no way I was starting again so I just 'modified' the design somewhat. I do think it needs some cheery embelishment. Perhaps some crocheted leaves or a happier looking model.

So here is the finished hat. It has been blocked but I think I should steam it as well. Also I am shocked at how jowly I look in this photo. I think I should stop buying yarn and save up for a chin tuck...either that or knit myself some sort of facial support garment. In any case, although this hat isn't perfect, it is a crocheted thing that I made so I'm pretty excited. Sadly, it is more of a summer hat so back to PDA I must go, because I just cannot continue to wear last year's hats.

fear of a moth planet and other adventures

2007-01-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hey, it's some brightly colored yarn...and it's drying in my bathtub. Here's the story: Anna (aka Josh's mother) will be moving out west soon and had some wool to give me. Upon returning home from the 'yarn hand-off' I realized that in addition to partially knitted up and very brightly coloured 'something(s)'(blanket? tunic? sweater? I didn't think to ask.) there was a pair of 10 mm Brittany needles. This excited me greatly because I don't have any Brittany needles and I think they are 'neat'. But I digress... I checked the partially knitted something(s) for evidence of moths and they seemed to be clear started to frog the partially knitted something(s) and I decided that yes, I should take Anna's suggestion and give it a wash prior to using. I decided to frog it at the same time. I wasn't sure exactly what the yarn was but I'm suspecting a blend of wool/alpaca/mohair? 'Molpaca' perhaps?...it's sort of felted, yet at the same time sheds like woah. I will do a burn test at some point, if I can ever find some matches in my apartment squalor. As I frogged the something(s), I noticed that the yarn was distressed at certain points but put that down to age.

The 'frogshing' took me some time and I realized I was going to be late meeting Jacquie for sushi and knitting at the HoS, so I left the sodden yarn mess in my bathtub to deal with later.

The next morning (aka later) I started to detangle the sodden yarn mess and noticed there was more breakage than originally thought. I did some research on the internet and discovered that this could be a sign of moth damage and got 'the fear', so I then spent the rest of the day panicking, making lavender sachets:

and protecting the precious precious yarn stash by separating it, putting it all into paper bags, throwing in the sachets and hermetically sealing the bags (ok, truthfully I just folded over the edges and stapled them shut)

Perhaps this was overkill. The damage to the yarn probably happened pre-knitting (ie: when the yarn was still in balls) and I didn't see any other evidence of the dreaded moth. In any case, much of the yarn was salvagable and my fear and paranoia did force me to organize the ol' stash and decide on some things for next week's Stash 'n' Bash, Plus I have lots of bright coloured yarn to knit into...something... using the supercool Brittany needles. Or perhaps the sadly neglected Knifty Knitter. In any case I can't complain cause hey, it's some free, interesting yarn. Any project suggestions?

speaking of projects

This is my first attempt at a crocheted something. It is the Pda, from the Happy Hooker book. I unravelled most of this 'masterpiece' immediately after taking the photo. one day perhaps it will become a hat. But not today...or tomorrow for that matter.

Vintage knitting

2007-01-17T08:03:00.000-08:00

I think I've finally figured out my layout problems (and accidently erased a whole bunch of links in the process), although I made the 'mistake' of looking at the blog through Netscape Navigator, where it appeared to be very flocked up. I'll never do that again. I figure, what I don't know won't hurt me.

In my continuing knitting adventures, I have decided that I should knit a real sweater...properly...by following the instructions...of a pattern...written by someone other than myself. My thinking is that if I ever want to design a sweater, I should try knitting one first. (I don't count capelets and mesh sweaters made out of sock yarn as real sweaters) So I decided on the hoody in this picture (that would be the one on the left) I probably won't bother with the embroidery though.

The pattern is a Beehive (aka Patons) pattern and probably dates from the early to mid '40s. The instructions are a little confusing, however, on the back of the pattern book it says "In case of difficulty write to PATONS & BALDWINS, LIMITED: TORONTO 10." So I'm sure that if I can't figure it out I can get some advice from the fine people at Patons and Baldwins Ltd. All I need to do is write a letter and build a time machine. The first confusing thing about the pattern was that it called for #4 British size needles, but I actually have some old British needles with the sizes written on them and figured out that a 4 = 6mm. Sadly I decided to use the British needles and they are very sticky and now my hands are rather chapped. Although I have about 3 pairs of 6mm needles, they are all sticking with the yarn (even my casein ones) so I'm debating whether or not I should go track down some bamboo ones in order to save my hands.

Here is a terrible photo of the left side and partial right side of the hoody. I'm using Mission falls: 1824 wool in Zinnea and I'm hoping I have enough. The pattern calls for 14 + 4 ounces and I only have 17.50. Then again, I've only used 1.75 oz (or 1 skein) so far, and I have 9 skeins left. I may try to pick up an extra skein or 2 so I can make a zipper placate since I'm also worried that the sweater is going to be too small. I'm not sure how much I love this yarn as I find it loses its twist really easily, especially if one has to keep unknitting rows due to confusion with the pattern.

(edit: I drew a little chart of the stitch pattern and it helped with the confusion. It was in fact, my first foray into charted knitting and I liked it.)

In other news, I got this book a few weeks ago from Knitpicks. It has really 'useful' things like knit and crocheted cupcakes and pints of Guinness and a sweet mallard duck wall hanging, which I may try to make at some point if I ever have time. Even if I don't use any of the patterns, her instructions are quite good and well laid out and the book is cute and inspiring, plus it was on sale. In any case, when I saw

on Amazon, I had to order it, wit the hope that it will encourage me to get my crochet on. I don't like the projects as much as the ones in the Knitorama book, but has a couple of completely frivolous things I'm interested in making if I ever figure out the crochet thing; some lacey spats, some lacey gloves, some other lacey gloves, a crocheted tie, a crocheted lampshade cover. Plus her instructions look a bit clearer than the ones in the SnB; Happy Hooker book and she even has a few pages on spinning. But now, I am really not allowed to buy any more knitting or crochet books.

2007-01-14T07:23:00.000-08:00

something odd has happened to my blog re: format.
I will figure it out at some point...hopefully. Until that time, please bear with me.

december in 'brief'; I like to shop

2006-12-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I decided to put my metro pass to good use and headed to the Corsa Italia to check out Toronto's new yarn shop/knitting cafe;alterknit. The store was bright and spacious and the spankatopita was tasty. They have a good yarn selection and I couldn't leave without buying a little yarn- after all, I had travelled all that way and even braved the Dufferin bus. So I bought 4 skeins of
misti pima cotton/silk blend in eggplant. I had been thinking of making a short sleeved cardigan but probably won't have enough yarn...so perhaps I'll try a camisole. worst case scenario I suppose I will have to head back there for more tasty treats and impulse shopping.

Christmas happened.

Every year we make a Kitchmas tree. mmm Kitch.

I spent Christmas trying to finish a hat for my Grandmother out of horrible horrible acrylic. It's still not finished. I will not be posting pictures as this project goes against every fiber of my being. fiber...get it? I am funny, non.

We went shopping on boxing day. It was pretty miserable, but anything was better than staying home and working on 'the hat'. I was a bit sad about missing the gianormous Romni sale, but figured it would be chaos anyway. On the way home from Square One, we hit a Michael's and I bought this set for $12:

I'm hoping it will change my life.

On wednesday I decided that it may be a good idea to check my email (whoops)and found a message from Nathalie Roze requesting some hats and bags, so I decided to head to Romni to buy some bulky yarn. Finally, the gianormous sale was actually being held on the 27th, so I got to experience the yarn store version of Filene's bargain basement wedding dress sale.

I bought all of this for a little over 100$ It doesn't look like a lot in the photo but there are actually 15 skeins of yarn there. The 'thing' in the bottom right corner is a hat in progress. It defintely needs pom poms.

Most of the yarn is going to be hats and bags, but the
Nashau: creative focus chunky is for a...short sleeved cardigan with a contrasting collar. I hope I have enough yarn. I just realized that I keep buying yarn to make short sleeved cardigans (and am never sure I have enough yarn) and I have yet to start one.

I am regretting not buying a bigger ticket item that I wouldn't normally get, such as Lantern Moon needles or an interchangeable needle set, however it was near impossible to access the needles due to theshopping hoards and I was feeling pretty over stimulated.

After the yarn buying extravaganza, I headed up to Davisville for wednesday night Stitch and Bitch and had some time to kill so I went to the Indigo at Yonge and Eglinton and bought this

It was very impulse-y of me, but I appreciated the cuteness and design of the book and I got %30 off because they considered it to be hardcover. Anyway, it is good for me to build up my knitting book library and the book has useful intructions about garment shaping and installing zippers.

In other news, my Knitpicks order arrived yesterday. I haven't had time to try to Knitting math wizard yet, but will post some manner of review in the future. Perhaps with a pattern for a short sleeved cardigan.

mememememememe

2006-12-17T09:34:00.000-08:00

tagged by Jacquie and soosan

“THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

Six weird things about mememememe:

1. I read freakishly fast. I think I may actually speed read.

2. I'm sort of ambidextrous....but out of practice. In fact, I'm secretly convinced that I am left handed but somehow started using my right hand because I observed other people doing it.

3. my favorite kind of doughnut is plain. mmm doughnuts

4. I like seeing what other people are purchasing at the grocery store (and judging them for it)

5. when I was 14, I was in love with Keith Richards

6. last year I convinced myself to love brussel sprouts, which used to be my most hated vegetable. mmm brussel sprouts...and doughnuts.

I'm supposed to tag 6 people, but I'm not sure who to tag. I am so alone. (well that and all the people I would have tagged have already done the meme. Hmm I wonder if I can make everyone do it again. Maybe I should make more friends)

the awesome power of math

2006-12-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

After waffling about it for ages (and ages and ages) I finally decided to place an order with Knitpicks. I was tempted to order a set of their Options interchangeable needles- however the shortest cable that comes with them is 24" which is just too big. I want to make hats, Damn it!!!

What I actually ordered was the knitting math wizard

I'm hoping that it will change my life. Math is hard.

I also ordered this book. It was a bit impulse-y but it's pink...and I've been eyeing it for months. Plus it was on sale and it has patterns for useful items such as knitted cupcakes and pints of Guinness. mmmm Guinness.

Speaking of books, I bought this one a few weeks ago. I like to shop.

I'm anxiously awaiting some free time so I can teach (well re-teach) myself how to crochet. I mostly want to learn for embellishment purposes...but who knows, perhaps it will change my life. Also, I want to make coasters and pot holders. I'm also anxiously awaiting the time when I can actually use some of the nice yarn I keep buying and knit something festive for myself. Perhaps some mittens. It will never happen.

Yet another craftshow

2006-12-14T11:58:00.000-08:00

Come visit me at the Parkdale Holiday market. Or not. I can't tell you what to do.

December 16th, 2006
10:00 am- 6:00 pm
Masaryk Cowan
Community Centre
220 Cowan Street at Queen West

more info

Craftshow bonanza

2006-11-23T07:34:00.000-08:00

Last week's craftshow at Good Catch was pretty good. It was a little slow going, probably due to miserable weather and such but I sold some things and met some peeps. So it's all good. Plus I'm all for bringing the community together with the power of totebags.

and speaking of craftshows:

It's a craftshow bonanza!!! Next Saturday is Crafternoon tea where, terrifyingly, I will be giving a demo in continental style knitting. Hopefully I won't confuse people too much. In any case, CT is bound to be fun: crafts, snacks and shopping are 3 of my favorite things...and it's out in sunny Leslieville, an area which is starting to grow on me. Whether or not my demo skillz leave anything to be desired, I think it will be a fun day. In fact, I think it will be crafttastic.

I am mentioned here. Hopefully I won't disappoint.

Then on December 9th it's the holiday sale at the Toronto Business Development Center. I will not being giving a demo at this one. (I will update more about this one as we get closer to the date)

and sadly, due to my preparations, my SnB attendance has been lackluster (again). Next week, I shall attend as I have 80$ worth of TTC Knit-a-long yarn and 4 skeins of Rowan Polar from Jacquie (in return for the curtains that I am going to do for her) that is calling my name.

needle addict products now available in some places

2006-11-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Selected Needle Addict products are now available at Nathalie-Roze & Co at 1051 Queen Street east and at Good Catch General store at 1556 Queen Street west.

Crafternoon Tea

2006-11-07T07:56:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to mention that I will be taking part in on November 25th. It's being held at Queen Street East Presbyterian Church - 947 Queen East (S.E. corner of Carlaw & Queen) and is sure to be good times. There will be crafts, demos and...tea. I will update further as we get closer to the date.

For more information about crafternoon tea, click here

TTC Knit-along. October 28, 2006

2006-10-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

Despite the bleak weather, or perhaps because of it, I managed to get my sorry ass down to the Drake for 9:00 AM to meet up with ttc Knit-along team west. I had briefly toyed with the idea of wearing a costume but decided to just dress 'normally' in a giant pompom hat and striped armwarmers. Perhaps this seems like a costume to most people, but to me everyday is giant pompom day. But I digress.

Last year I brought the (still unfinished) pink socks of despair to work on. This year I decided to bring something a little more ttc friendly. Something that I know that is possible to knit on the TTC since I have been working on them on my commute to and from the dreaded call center where I've been working part time. But I digress again.

So I arrived at the Drake where we learned that the schedule was a bit flocked up, so we had to go to Romni first. I have been on a dreaded yarn diet, so I was prepared to lay down some cash...ok, credit. Happily I stayed 'under budget'. I think I deserve a present for that. Maybe I should reward myself by buying yarn

After Romni, we hit this new yarn/luxury pillow store which seemed to specialize in unbleached llama and chichi attitude. Then we headed back to the Knit cafe but by then, the batteries in my camera had died. We sat and knit for a while, but frankly I was sort of shopped out. Eventually we ended up at the Red Room and then some of us wandered over to Lettuce Knit where we eyed the 200$ knitting bags.

Anway, A good time was had by all (I think)

Actual knitting on the actual TTC

yarn fiends at Romni

more yarn fiends at Romni

Eden with a basket full of yarn that matches her coat perfectly

here I am with a basket full of yarn

I bought all of this. I'm planning on using it all to create patterns. Well, I'm planning, we'll see how it goes. I want to use the 8 skeins of coral coloured 'Mission Falls' yarn for some sort of cropped cardigan, the 'Manos del Uruguay' for a hat and the 'Lang: Tosca mohair' for a hat and matching scarf

I won this yarn (and a scarf pattern) for having one of the best (non) costumes on the west team. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for but it sure is pretty

Image unavailable due to non-existence of item

finally I didn't get very far on "this". In fact, I had to frog most of what I'd done. whoops!

check me out

2006-10-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

Hey, my Clothing Show activities got me a mention from the Toronto Street Fashion Blog

I sort of wish my notebook wasn't in the picture...and I don't just do knitting (as you can see from the totebags). Although I wish I could. Perhaps I will be able to, one glorious day in the future with the help of big bertha the knitting machine.

Hey, it's my bag

2006-10-02T06:52:00.000-07:00

For your shopping pleasure, selected Needle Addict(TM) merchandise can now be purchased at

Good Catch: 1556 Queen street west, in the heart of sunny Parkdale.

The clothing show is over, hooray!!

2006-09-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

The clothing show is over and I'm slowly getting my life back. Remind me to never spend 16 hours a day sewing for a month ever again. On wednesday night I went to the SnB meet up and felt like a schmuck for missing the last 6 weeks. I'll try not to do that again.

Yesterday I went for a long wander and ended up at the Dufferin Mall (the happiest place on earth?) to check out the new H&M. As far as H&Ms go, this one was pretty good (at least for women's wear)

I bought this sweater for $29.99

I feel a little ashamed because I could have knit one myself, but I don't have the time and I couldn't have bought the yarn for under $30 plus I don't actually enjoy knitting sweaters. So shame be gone. The sweater is kicky.

its my tote..bag

2006-09-13T04:14:00.000-07:00

against my better judgement, I am informing people of my exact location at a particular time.

Hey local people, come visit me and my lovely helper at the Clothing Show. Booth 229.
I will be the tired girl in the wrist brace, my partner in ~~crime~~ boothsitting will be the boy reading Kant. Should you buy anything, we will endevor to give you the correct change.

The fraying edge really is a design feature. Hey if it works for Ben Sherman, why not me? In fact, I am 'rocking' the homemade aesthetic in order to bring you, the public, a product that is more...personal. Each tote was made by a real person, and is hand crafted with...well not love exactly, but some sort of feeling. It's very intimate.

There will be other stuff too. all manner of totebag. a bit of miscellaneous knit...product.
So come visit me and help support my fabric habit.

it's my bag

2006-07-21T05:40:00.000-07:00

Due to an unfortunate series of events culminating in what was most likely food poisoning, I was unable to attend the Sorauren festival park sale thingy. Trust me, it's good I didn't attend. The result of this is that I now have lots of stock that is either finished or nearly there and I've come up with new totebag designs just in time for...Autumn. Doh!

Please finish us. we are sad

Our fridge has, in fact been malfunctioning for several weeks and so since being able to eat again (it's still iffy, I am sensitive) I've been subsisting on dry goods. Yes, I could arrange to have the fridge fixed, but I'm moving to a new apartment soon so I can't really be bothered.

But back to totebags. I will post pictures of them on the website, soon. Very soon.

Come with the Gentle People

2006-07-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls a review in Double D

AKA: THIS IS MY HAPPENING AND IT FREAKS ME OUT!!!

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) is in fact not the sequel to Valley of the Dolls, however it does deal with similar themes, as well as with themes 'beyond' those of the original film. Directed by Russ Meyer-'pornographer' extraordinaire and interestingly, also former WWII wartime cameraman for George Patton and creator of such popular filsm as Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill, Vixen, and Beyond the Valley of the Ultra Vixens. Written by Roger Ebert....yes that Roger Ebert (check out his 'review' of the film here).

plot:

3 groovy girls: Kelly Macnamara,(Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers) and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroom) take their band 'the Kelly Affair' to Hollywood to 'make it big with...disastrous consequences'. They meet up with Kelly's long lost Aunt Susan (and her inheritance) who serves as their introduction to LA's freakiest including the Phil Spectoresque record producer; Ronnie 'Z-man' Barzell. (John La Zar). Under the Machiavellian control of Z-man, the girls change their name to 'the Carrie Nations' and find out that success with all it's up(per)s and down(er)s, is not exactly what they had anticipated. Mayhem ensues.

Like Valley of the Dolls, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls deals with 3 women's rise to the top and their subsequent downfalls as they get pulled into a seedy world of parties, sex, pills and booze. However, unlike Valley of the Dolls, Beyond... was meant to be a comedy (and satire). The film has been referred to as being one of the worst and one of the best ever made and is a beautiful, hilarious mess; filled with social commentary, melodrama, playmates, Manson style murders, suspense, great production values, lesbian love, mod squad moments, groovy dialogue and most importantly, gianormous breasts. Russ Meyer is in fact a top notch director of the old school and the art direction, editing, music/ incidental soundtrack and props are first rate. So 'if you've been waiting for a film to shake you into the freak out mind blowing scene of right now...' this is it baby. In fact, with a film like this, you get a contact high. I highly recommend it. *ocugh cough*

As with Valley of the Dolls, this dvd comes with an additional disc of extras

including: Interesting and informative documentaries including: featurette about the making of the film and its social commentary; featuring much of the original cast (some of whom have aged well, some of whom are apparently still on 'dolls'), featurette about the music. stills, trailers etc and of course the lesbian love scene (which I could have done without- but to each his own)

Valley of the Dolls: a review

2006-07-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted this and now I have finally gotten my hot little hands on the dvds, so here for your reading pleasure

Valley of the Dolls: A movie review in full Technicolour.

Valley of the Dolls was originally released in 1967 and was a commericial success but a critical failure. It has now viewed as a camp classic and has spawned several television sequels/remakes, a stage production and of course inspired the classic film Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (review forthcoming). For anyone not familiar with this film, it is based on the best seller by Jacqueline Suzanne. Ask your Gramma, I'm sure she has a copy and she'll tell you that it's an engrossing read. At the time of release, the film was touted as 'A flashy expose of Hollywood's darkside', a story of backbiting and betrayal, a portrayal of the grim reality of women's experiences in Hollywood. Valley of the Dolls is all of these things, but it is more than that, so much more.

'Dolls; the instant turn on, for instant love, instant excitement, ULTIMATE HELL!!!'

Brief plot overview:

Valley of the Dolls tells the story of 3 young women who attempt to 'make it big' in New York with disastrous consequences. Anne Welles, a waspy girl from New England moves to the big bad city to embark on a career of some nature. She seems to have a horseshoe up her ~~ass~~ posterior region and lands a job with an entertainment lawyer which then leads to bigger and better things. She meets up with peppy young singer Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke) and vapid but beautiful chorus girl Jennifer North.(Sharon Tate) The world seems full of possibility for these three but as they head out to Hollywood it all goes to seed- or to the dolls, as it were....and don't get me started on their man troubles.

Performances:

The three leads give good performances, however Patty Duke is so hilariously over the top that the film ultimately becomes about her. Other performances of note include Susan Hayward as the aging Broadway star on her way out, and Lee Grant as Jennifer North's sister in law, who has the best and most cryptic line in the film:

'Tony, How many time do I have to tell you, at night all cats are grey'

This is merely one example of the kind of strange and wonderful, highly quotable dialogue that the film is famous for...and speaking of famous actors, is that a young Richard Dreyfuss as the 'stage manager' or have I taken too many dolls?

Visually and stylistically this film is fantastic and it's obvious they spared few expenses. It has a groovy pop art style, gorgeous saturated colours, fantastic artistic direction and editing. As seen from some of the montages and the opening title sequence, there was obviously someone involved who had a sense of humour. Highlights: The musical numbers, Patty Duke getting her Judy Garland on during the exercise montage, Anne Wells' Gillian girl modeling montage, the girly fight scenes.

The dvd comes with tons of fun extras, including an extra disc featuring several very informative documentary featurettes, stills galleries, screen tests and the You've got talent Karaoke- 'follow the bouncing dolls on three songs'

All in all, The Valley of the Dolls, was a thoroughly enjoyable movie and a recommended addition to the DVD collection. (file it in your 'guilty pleasure' section next to Mommie Dearest and All about Eve) It would make a great party flick or PMS diversion. So gather together your best girlfriends and booze (pills optional) and get your camp on.

the Parkiest dale of them all

2006-06-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

I should be sewing right now. I have been accepted into a craftsale in my hood and have 2 weeks to make some stock. So I really should be sewing. But perhaps it is too late to be running Easy Rider- the serger. Apparently there is going to be a Sorauren craft sale website up at some point, so I will post the link and do the pimping when it is up and running. I can't think of any exciting knitting news at the moment, especially since I have spent the last 2 days sewing. I'm working on one bag that I have christened 'the Parkdale Special'. It's actually just a plastic bag from No Frills. Went to the SnB this evening. It was good times as usual, and perhaps I did a little too much B-ing...as usual. I do fear we are going to start seeing a veritable army of Anthropology Inspired Capelets very soon. On my return home I was stranded umbrella-less at the subway station where I wanted for about 45 minutes for a streetcar. When it finally arrived, I was a little leary of getting in due to all the lightning, however, fear of wet yarn caused me to throw caution to the wind and board the potential deathtrap.

and now for your viewing pleasure: some scenes from my hood.

I live here. Ok not really.

Is that a smokestack or are you just happy to see me?

An Island getaway on a budget

this sort of reminds me of Newfoundland. Not that I've ever been there, so it reminds me of my idea of Newfoundland

I live here, Ok not really. I wish I lived here though

In other news, I;ve been having a lot of problems with my semi-colon(s) lately.

drunken knitting

2006-06-18T05:48:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday I scrambled to get a knitting project togther (besides the pink sock of pain and loathing; which is currently on hiatus) and actually managed to get my ass up to Davisville (aka the ends of the earth) for the weekly SnB. My attendance has been nil for the past few weeks due to my having to finish some stupid design work and more importantly because I am a sloth who sometimes doesn't want to leave her hood. So after the endless TTC voyage (even a walk-inista such as myself, is not going to walk to Davisville from Parkdale) I arrive in Toronto North, (well it's north at least as far as I'm concerned) get to the cafe, and immediately see Sophie standing there in all her sock knitting glory. This was exciting because I haven't seen her since the TTC knit-a-long. (note to self, I must remember to get my casein dpn from her at some point.)

I had decided to wear the capelet of many dinge-y colours

and received many compliments. In fact, people were still talking about pink fluffy the capelet which I had worn several weeks ago.
So, knitting happened although I didn't manage to get much done on the hat I was attempting to design, however Sophie invited me to the Friday night Knitting Olympics monthly get- together at the Spotted Dick. So, when friday night rolled around, I got a different knitting project together (definitely not a pink sock) and walked from Parkdale to Bloor and Yonge. It took a while. Upon entering the pub I made a beeline towards the long table of happy and somewhat tipsy knitters and sat with Sophie, Sandi Purl, and Jacquie. Sophie was working on socks for a change *cough cough*, Jacquie was knitting a pretty top (actually 2 pretty tops) and Sandi...well I'm not sure exactly what Sandi was working on but I know it will be fabulous.

For my project, I decided to do some personal knitting and use up some yarn in the ol' stash and make yet another capelet. Unfortunately I don't think I'm going to have enough of this particular yarn, which is discontinued so I am going to do the ribbing at the bottom in a contrasting yarn and maybe do something really twee like a matching bow.

Jacquie feels that it may be time for me to start knitting something else. I also think I need to find a new pattern. Although I wish I had designed this one. It's so pretty and I can knit them fairly quickly.

Anyway, a whole lot of drinking and a whole lot of knitting happened.
Check out team canada for more on the subject.

Also,

I already mentioned this to some people at the Dick.
It's my birthday. Well it will be on tuesday..or wednesday, not sure which, too lazy to check. I'm not really down with the whole aging process, so in the spirit of clinging to my fading youth and denying the fact that I will be one year closer to the embrace of the eternal nothingness, I want to dance like it's 1984.

Saturday June 24, 2006
PANIC - the ultimate retro party
with a NIN/Bauhaus After Party
with a Flashback Alternatives backroom
Funhaus - 526 Queen St West
10pm-4am 19+ event
Free before 11pm ONLY $5 after

I'm cheap, so I will most likely be there before 11:00.
*edit I will most likely be there by or around 11:00. I am being taken to see Cirque du Soleil which ends at 10:00.

If I know you, feel free to join for revellery and such. If I don't know you, please stop stalking me ;)

Four things meme

2006-06-17T12:48:00.000-07:00

Tagged by Jacquie

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Research assistant on a book about Canadian theatre.
2. Design assistant at a large Canadian theatre.
3. Cashier at Dollarama (trying to make money to go to Canadian theatre school)
4. Ice cream/pastry server/cashier at Les Queues des Castors (also known as Beaver Tails!!!)(and ditto)

B) Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Rushmore
2. le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulin
3. Withnail and I
4. Hedwig and the Angry Inch

C) Four places you have lived:
1. Sackville, New Brunswick
2. Small crappy town in the Eastern Townships of Quebec
3. Montreal, Quebec
4. Toronto, Ontario

D) Four TV shows you love to watch:
1. Dead Like Me
2. What not to wear
3. CSI
4. Iron Chef

E ) Four places you have been on vacation:
1. all-over-the-place, England
2. Amsterdam
3. Long Boat Key, Florida
4. Fiji

F) Websites you visit daily:
1. Live Journal
2. craigslist
3. craftster
4. my site (shameless self promotion)

G ) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Ume and Okra Onigiri from Sanko.
2. Pistachios
3. Olives. Especially olives stuffed with roquefort and olives in martinis... and just martinis. I could go for one right now actually.
4. Is coffee food?

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Sleeping
2. Living in a large apartment with low rent and no roommates
3. at a fancy gentleman's club, drinking double martinis.
4. Manchester, circa 1979

I) Four chix I will tag:
hmmm. I think all the chix I know on here have already been tagged several times. I will have to do some research on this. In the mean time, I will tag Carrie Nation.

Peak hat of despair

2006-06-13T18:17:00.002-07:00

Due to overwheming demand (cough cough) I'm in the process of designing a peak hat for men.

I'm having some issues with the brim. The first brim is too tiny, so I'm trying a different style, which may also be too tiny and too girly.

I'm making the prototype out of Classic Elite Waterspun. Which is a felted yarn. It's interesting to work with. If I can get the hat to look good, I may give it to my former roommate- he who gave me the yarn...and Big Bertha the knitting machine (he says 'lent', I say 'gave'- it's really a question of semantics) Of course the hat probably won't fit him. Maybe I'll just keep it since the colour actually looks good with my hair.

Felting 101

2006-06-13T18:17:00.001-07:00

Up to now, I haven't had much experience with felting. To be honest, I'm not sure I really dig the way it looks. There is also the fact that I have to pay to use the washing machines in my building...and they are front loading machines- which is a whole other ball of yarn. In the past, I have attempted to felt things by hand using a lot of hot water and a rolling pin, but for some reason this technique has never worked out for me. All of this aside, I decided to take another stab at felting, and do a little experiment last week.

My plan was to knit up some 'fabric' on the knitting machine and then through the magic of hot water and agitation (or hot wa-gitation), create lovely felt with which to make appliques and such. I was also using this as a test to see which yarn in my stash will actually felt.

Step 1: Choose yarn. I used Galway (that's the blue one), Patons: Classic wool (oatmeal) and Sandnes Ulduarefabrik: Peer gynt. (red and white) I also did a swatch of Naturally Guernsey double knit because I have quite a lot of that one and it's too itchy for hats.

Step 2: Knit up some yardage on Big Bertha the Knitting machine. I recommend listening to some Johnny Cash while doing this.

Step 3: Throw knitting in washing machine with hot water and soap and an old pair of jeans. Throw some other miscellaneous knit things in just to see what happens.

Step 4: After 40 minutes, go downstairs to find that the stuff is only partially felted. Run to the corner store for more change.

Step 5: Realize that it would have been better to actually construct something and then felt it because the stockinette fabric has turned at the edges and has felted to itself.

The yardage did felt...somewhat. However, you can still see some stitch definition and it frays a little when cut. This is probably due to the fact that the stitches knit on the knitting machine are too tight to felt properly. Finally, I decided to cut the fabric up and attempt to make a little change purse, sewn together with bright red mohair. It does look a little 'rainbow bus', but that sometimes happens when we experiment.

carrie nation

2006-06-08T06:28:00.000-07:00

So after what seemed like weeks of waiting, Carrie Nation has arrived, pretty much as described. Although I do have some doubts as to whether her hair is actually 100% human. It seems to be a mix, I could do a burn test to find out- but I'm not sure I really need to know that badly. I love the fact that she looks like she's been popping the little red dolls. It could explain the delay at the border.

Here she is modeling a hat I made a few years ago, back when leopard was all the rage. Then again, when is it not?

Here she is again, sporting some cool circa 1996 shades and a hat that I purchased about 5 years ago at a store in Montreal called Aime Come Moi. It originally had a bizarre garden gnome vibe and the pom poms hung down around the bosom area. It didn't do much for me, so I gave the ear flaps a little twist and moved the pom poms upwards. It's much more flattering this way and I'll even wear it in public one of these days.

and speaking of bosoms

How excited am I to learn that the best (and sometimes referred to as the only Russ Meyer film with a plot) movie ever made is being released on DVD this June?

Click me for link to official website and more info on the DVDs and all the sweet bonus features

PRESS RELEASE

DOCTORS PRESCRIBE POPPIN’ TWO DOLLS FOR YOUR CAMPY ENTERTAINMENT FIX

CENTURY CITY, Calif. – Get twelve steps closer to superstardom as Fox Home Entertainment exposes Hollywood’s most shaming secrets when Valley Of The Dolls and Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls debut on DVD June 13, 2006. These two legends of camp – from the twisted minds of scandal-making sixties icon Jacqueline Susann, (actress, author, screenwriter and thinly veiled subject of Valley Of The Dolls), and midnight movie kingpin Russ Meyer (Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill!) respectively – horrified critics and enthralled audiences when they opened in theaters and have both remained cult classics ever since. Valley Of The Dolls stars Oscar® winner Patty Duke* (The Miracle Worker), Barbara Parkins (“Peyton Place”) and Sharon Tate (“The Beverly Hillbillies”) as three aspiring starlets who let Hollywood go to their heads. The Valley Of The Dolls DVD arrives loaded with pulpy bonus programming, including the famously sloppy screen test by Judy Garland, as well as original featurettes, “Pill Pop-Up Karaoke,” and much more. Penned by now-famous film critic Roger Ebert, the outrageously over-the-top Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls earned an X-rating on its quest to out-do the scandalous original with the story of a girl-band, The Carrie Nations, who arrive in Hollywood to find only sex, drugs and sleaze. Featuring doll-induced performances by non-actors from the rock and adult film communities, Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls is a shameless classic that proves “all are available for a price.” Both DVDs are available for $26.98 U.S./$46.98 Canada. Pre-book is May 17.

DVD Features:
The Valley Of The Dolls (1967):
Straight from the best-selling pages of Jacqueline Susann’s audacious novel comes the unforgettable tale of three glamorous women who will stop at nothing to get to the top. Oscar®-winners Patty Duke, Lee Grant and Susan Hayward team with Sharon Tate and Barbara Parkins for this “absorbing, sensational” (Los Angeles Times) account of “sex, drugs and show business!” (Detour) When a small-town beauty (Parkins) arrives in New York, she becomes instant friends with a struggling singer, Neely (Duke) and actress, Jennifer (Tate). Together the head-strong, career-driven gals embark on a roller-coaster ride of fast-talking men, endless nights of partying, booze…and pills that they call “dolls.” But as they careen down the path to superstardom, their hedonism takes an explosive turn into self-destruction that none of them are prepared for…and one won’t survive!

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (1970):
Step into a delirious kaleidoscope of the psychedelic ’60s in this “hilarious” (L.A. Herald-Examiner) and “lusty” (Playboy) parody of the 1967 hit film The Valley of the Dolls. Directed by auteur filmmaker Russ Meyer (Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!) and written by fledgling film critic Roger Ebert, this wildly sexy cult classic “spoofs, celebrates and derides the swinging culture all at once” (Village Voice)! Fun-loving bombshells Kelly, Casey and Pet have a rock band, and they’re headed to Hollywood to make it big! Thanks to Kelly’s well-connected aunt, they soon find themselves at a hedonistic love-in thrown by eccentric music promoter Ronnie “Z-Man” Barzell. He takes them under his wing, and a new world of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll unfolds. Superstardom is within reach, if only their newfound distractions don’t get in the way!

Valley Of The Dolls
Price: $26.98 U.S./$46.98 Canada
Street Date: June 13, 2006
Prebook Date: May 17, 2006
Total Running Time: 123 minutes
Catalog Number (widescreen): 2234636
Rating: PG-13
Closed Captioned Yes

Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls
Price: $26.98 U.S./$46.98 Canada
Street Date: June 13, 2006
Prebook Date: May 17, 2006
Total Running Time: 109 minutes
Catalog Number (widescreen): 2234633
Rating: NC-17
Closed Captioned: Yes

I'm very excited about this double DVD release action as I've never actually seen the original Valley of the Dolls movie and I'm interested to see how it differs from the book...or perhaps it falls more into the realm of 'novel' (which my Gramma lent me this one time in Florida). Stay tuned for more in depth (Beyond the)Valley of the Dolls analysis as I step up my efforts to introduce the Doll power phenomenon to the world at large.

bulk barn

2006-05-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

So I am still waiting to receive Carrie Nation in the mail. I fear she has been stopped at the border and is being subjected to a neck cavity search. Perhaps she will arrive tomorrow.

In other news, I had a dream last night that I was knitting this capelet while wearing it. I woke up and was worried that I'd lost the needles since I couldn't feel them but didn't realize that I had actually gone to sleep in a T-shirt as opposed to an unfinished knitting project. this is why one shouldn't knit right before going to sleep.

Speaking of the capelet, I decided to undo the inch of ribbing I had started at the bottom and add another inch or so of stockinette, since the only thing worse than wearing a pink fluffy boobstripe is wearing a bulky brown one.

You can't really tell from the photo, but I managed to drop a stitch about halfway down. It's strange because it sort of starts out of nowhere. I must have done it when I ran a cord through the stitches to try it on. I'm not really sure how I'm going to deal with this situation but it will probably involve a crochet hook and some swearing.

Also, while in the store, I thought the yarn was khaki but it actually seems to be a chocolate brown. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I try not to wear brown because I equate brown with being a hippy. Not that I could ever look like a hippy with my sassy, red, Velma from Scooby Doo haircut. Actually I'm fairly sure Velma would wear brown and lots of it. Jinkies!

der pullover ist flauschig

2006-05-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

I decided to test drive the pink fluffy thing at the wednesday night SnB. As I was getting ready, I realized that it violated on important rule of knitting, the don't knit a pink fluffy cropped thing to wear over the biggest part of your body rule. However, I thought that the knitting meet up would be the perfect place to try it out because I knew I would get some good advice from some of the more seasoned knitters. I was thinking I may need to add another inch or two of ribbing at the bottom to make it look less like a bright pink boob stripe. When I arrived at the Second Cup, I was greeted with lots of 'I can't believe you aren't wearing some sort of knitted headgear' type comments. I then peeled off my jean jacket to reveal the fluffyness underneath and got lots of 'oohs' and 'ahhhs' and 'it's perfect, don't change a thing' type reponses. I was advised not to make a matching headband or if I do, to not under any circumstances wear them at the same time. I'm inclined to agree. So now I am wondering what to do with the extra skein of yarn. I could bring it back to the store but it's so soft I just can't bear to.

I also got more oohs and ahhs when I can out of the washroom wearing my not quite finished greeny/brown capelet. I AM THE CAPELET QUEEN!!!

and speaking of cute and fluffy..

I borrowed the photo from this site

Capelet of Joy and Fluff

2006-05-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

The capelet is finished, with the exception of a few ends to weave in.

It is pink.

It is fluffy.

I hope I will be brave enough to wear it.

TTC knit-a-long

2006-05-15T07:41:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I took part in the TTC knit-a-long all day knitting extravaganza. I was on the west team because I live in beautiful Parkdale. First stop was the Drake cafe where some people had breakfast and our team leader, Beryl handed out our Knit-a-long passports and taught us a song about yarn. For my project, I decided to continue on the pink socks of despair.

First stop, the Knit Cafe.

Beryl Tsang at the Knit Cafe

Liz and the nice girl who works at the knitcafe.

Hilarity ensues

We stopped here and knit for a long time, some people bought things and most people knit.

Eventually we hopped onto a streetcar and went on to Romni wools. I had a yarn budget of $80 and was on a mission to find some yarn similar to Rowan polar to make this
capelet that everyone is making right now. Although I was interested in checking out the other yarn stores on our itinirary, I knew Romni was the best place to find non-specialty, non-Rowan, non-Debbie Bliss, slightly more within my budget yarn. I managed to find 2 different yarns that I liked, land and marte both by Ornaghi Filate. I really like this company because they are Italian and their logo is a Panda bear. I bought 4 skeins of each yarn and a book on stitch patterns.

Some of the girls decided to teach Liz, the reporter who was coming along for the ride, how to knit...but first they needed to wind the wool.

makeshift woolwinder outside of Romni.

We then went to a coffee place and knit and knit and eventually wandered up to Kensington Market to go to Lettuce Knit...to ummm knit.

Lettuce Knit

Some people bought things here. I sat outside and worked on the sock of misery.

Sandi & friend (courtesy of Page)

knitting (and in some cases; crocheting) while waiting for the other teams.

After a few hours, the other teams showed up and entertained us with TTC knitting adventures as we compared purchases. I got quite a lot done on the sock of pain and woe, but then realized when I tried it on, that I had messed up the stitch pattern (again). So I ended up unravelling about 3 inches or so. I think the photographer got a picture of me in tears doing that. Eventually we all ended up on Queen street and swarmed onto a streetcar bound east.

and we knit.

Jen Hendriks and friends knitting TTC style.

and people stared at us.

new knitting convert and Star reporter Liz.read her article here

and the streetcar was too jiggly for me to get any more decent pictures. Eventually we ended up at the Naked Sheep but by that point I was tired of taking photos. They had lots of sweets for us at the store, people bought stuff and prizes were awarded. I purchased an Interweave magazine and used up my yarn budget. All in all, it was a fun day and I went home exhausted and ready to start knitting something besides the sock of hideousness.

This is what I bought. Yes, some of the yarn is shockingly pink and fluffy. I must be losing it. The other yarn is actually sort of a khaki colour and is apparently quite similar to Rowan polar.

This is the half finished capelet that doesn't really cover my gianormous rack. It's actually not supposed to cover the rack, however I think I'll make the second one a little bigger in the front and at the neckline to get a little more coverage and if I have enough of the pink yarn left over I will make a matching panta so I can rock the Scandanavian, fluffy pink ski bunny look and as for the sock(s)...I'm thinking they should be anklets.

Beyond the valley of the mannequin heads

2006-05-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

I now have an etsy store featuring two sad little headbands that no one wants. *mope* I think people are afraid of the wool. Also my pictures suck proverbial ass. I blame the bald styrofoam head. The hairbands would look much more hairband-like if they were displayed on a head with hair. I am opposed to putting myself in any pictures and too lazy/cheap to hire a model, so I set out on tuesday in search of a better hat head. After wandering around in the grueling heat for hours, I choked and came home with 2 slighty more retro looking styrofoam heads...also bald.

Eventually I turned to Ebay and perused pages and pages of manky looking mannequin heads and other limbs (many of which, were frighteningly referred to as 'sexy') until I found this vintage looking beauty.

The condition seems to be fine- although it was listed as 'used'.

I'm not sure what it was about this particular head that appealed to me; the long cockroach coloured (real human) hair, the waxy skin, the giant painted-on eyelashes.

Eventually I realized that I dig this head because she/it looks like a character straight out of the greatest movie ever made; Russ Meyers' Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Excitingly, I have won the auction and lost my Ebay virginity. All I have to do is the payment thing and wait and in reference to the film, I shall call her Carrie Nation!!

I don't want to go back to the old sock.

2006-05-11T06:41:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I unravelled the pink sock for the third time and started again. It looks more like a sock now and less like a penis cozy.

Hey! it looks the same as the old sock...but it's not. The heel is different. I swear

I'm debating whether to use it/them as my project for this Saturday's TTC knit along. or finish something old, or start something new.

If I used one pattern for these instead of 3, I bet I wouldn't have to keep unravelling it

The obvious problem with socks is that you really should make 2. Ideally, I'd like these to be knee socks but I'd have to increase the stiches and it would mess up the stitch pattern and I'd have to unravel it again...for the fourth time. Also the sock is surprisingly bulky. I was hoping I could wear it/them with my pink Fluevog wedges, but the sock makes them a little tight. Maybe I need to step away from the sock from a while. Finally, I don't think I like making socks, although I do prefer the toe up variety because you can try it on as you go.

Pink Fishnet Hell

2006-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

The (w)hole pink fishnet debacle begain when I decided to take part in the Knitting Olympics. (This involves chosing a project, Casting on during the opening ceremonies of the actual Olympics -which I believe have something to do with sports, and casting off at the closing ceremonies)After much consideration, I decided my project should be fishnet stockings because tights are cool, yo. I spend some time waffling between 2 patterns; the Stitch 'n' Bitch Nation
and Knitty versions. I finally decide on Knitty because they are (famous last words) more challenging and I have yet to successfully finished a pair of socks let alone a toe up variety. Other challenges include 4 different stitch patterns which increase the possibility of fucking this up...4 fold especially since I am pretty much unable to follow a pattern all the way through. Really the SnB version would be a better choice for me however, in keeping with the spirit of the Knitting Olympics- I am up for the challenge.

It looks pretty lewd. I have to admit, I've gotten some pretty strange looks while working on this in public.

Challenge #1: getting the yarn. The patterns call for Cascade Fixation and Elann something something which are in essence the same yarn, containing 98.3 % cotton and 1.7% Elastic. The elastic is the important bit. Finding the yarn took a lot longer than I had anticipated. I had fully expected Romni to have an entire wall devoted to this sort of yarn, a virtual cornicopia of colour for my stocking making needs. I was mistaken. I head to the sock yarn section and find nothing, I circle the store several times and find it lacking in anything of the elastic variety. I ask a sales person, explaining what I need and why I need it and she proceeds to show me 8 different yarns that are in no way suitable for making stockings: including soy silk and bamboo yarn which runs around 22-24$ a skein. I thank her and try to slink away but she herds me downstairs to the sale section where I circle like a trapped goldfish for a few minutes until she turns her back and I hoof it out of there. I start to panic. If Romni doesn't have the yarn, will anybody? I jump on a bus an journey to a yarn shop where I have never been before (and will probably not return to due to the crabby customer service) and low and behold, they have it at 7$ a ball. The colour selection isn't the best so I choose 3 balls (better be safe) of a slightly varigated pink. Total 21$ plus tax, and 3 TTC tokens. (6$) for a grand total of 32$.

Challenge #2: The Cast on. I play with the yarn and different size needles until I get the right gauge and then I attempt the weird figure 8 style cast on. Not only did this take me 8 attempts to do this, but in the process of doing this, I realize that I actually knit 'wrong'. This is what happens when you teach yourself how to knot from a book. After so after relearning to knit, I go to the predetermined location (pub) for the opening ceremonies, and feel like I'm coming down with something. But it's nothing a couple of pints of Guinness won't fix. Speaking of Guinness, drunken knitting is bad. I lost a casein dpn (suspect someone stole it- one minute it was there, I turn my back, it disappears- we never did find it. Edit: it turns out it had fallen into a friend's bag. I still have to get it back from her) Continue to knit with one less needle, screw up pattern, don’t care keep knitting. I would like to mention that a room full of drunken knitters is a frightening thing.

Next day: sick as a dog. Possibly the plague(writing in fever induced point form) Continue knitting from the comfort of my bed. Get to heel. Instructions stupid. Seek online help, people keep telling me why to do it but not how. Stupid. Proceed anyway, get to the bit where I have to switch to straight needles, realize what a stupid idea this is, knit a few rows, realize I’ve screwed up the stitch pattern, unravel the thing, redo the heel several times, always looks the same. Decide I hate this pattern and try the SnB one which is really more me: 80’s/ Siouxsie Sioux versus, where as the Knitty one is quite baroque in a 'Best little Whorehouse in the Moulin Rouge kind of way'. They have lacing up the back. Lacing!Frankly even if I did finish them, I would never wear them.

In between waiting for a phone call, being sick and languishing in despair for several days, I work on the SnB stockings. But wasn't completely in love with them, Then I picked them up and realized that I was knitting them wrong and that they would probably look different if I did them correctly. Unraveled the whole thing and started again. Not only did I not finish them for the closing ceremonies, they are still not finished because I've realized that there is no way these things will actually fit me even though I did get the proper gauge.

So finally I decided to start again and that they should be socks.

Although at the moment they are just sock. Well they will be once I finish the ankle, but as I mentioned I can't really work on it in public because of it's resemblance to a lace penis warmer.

Pain Machine and the Osmonds.

2006-04-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

I have been struggling to use the knitting machine of doom, however after consulting several library books, I have managed the not so easy tasks of casting on, knitting and picking up dropped stitches. I also have managed casting off with mixed results. Those results, being my blood mixed with yarn due to the fact that I impaled my finger on one of the 150 knitting needles which are in fact more like tiny latch hooks than needles. It was my own fault though, as I was more than a little absorbed in Inside the Osmonds while attempting this task.

Watching the end of the fine film, which was (quite obviously) made in Canada helped ease my pain a little.

I would have posted photos from this site but they are actually copyrighted by the osmonds so that people like myself don't use them for their own nefarious purposes.

New Toy

2006-03-29T07:32:00.000-08:00

Here is my new toy. Ok in theory it is a borrowed toy, but it will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine. I just need to figure out how to use it.

Houndstooth hat

2006-03-29T07:22:00.002-08:00

This hat is good because unlike the pink hat, it doesn't clash with my hair. I may try to sell the pattern and I am also going to sell variations of it in other colours. I just started one which has salmon pink in it which is a good choice because I won't be tempted to keep it due to the clash factor. I am keeping this one becuase it is a 'prototype'...that is my excuse and I am sticking to it.

The blue yarn is some Galway yarn which I had left over from an evening capelet I made- (which isn't quite finished because I am trying to come up with a sassy trim or edging) and the oatmeal coloured yarn is that Patons classic stuff which I really like working with. My complaint about the Galway is that it either isn't colorfast or it's overdyed so it bleeds when you try to block it. Grrrr.

Silk garden hat

2006-03-29T07:07:00.000-08:00

I made this hat out of a skein of Noro silk garden that I got at 50% off. I don't understand the obsession with this yarn. I'll admit that it looks beautiful when it's all knit up, but the spinning is inconsistant. So inconsistant in fact, that when I made a pair of armwarmers out of the stuff they came out too different sizes because one skein was spun tighter than the other. Actually sections of it were spun tightly and sections were so loose that the yarn would break when I tugged on it. I have yet to wear said armwarmers because I fear that my upper arms are too fat.

I am going to try to sell this hat because like most colours, it clashes with my hair. In other exciting news, I took this picture with my new digital camera which was paid for by my old friend VISA.

knitting olympics

2006-02-16T14:14:00.000-08:00

decide to take part in the Knitting olympics. After much consideration, decide on a project: fishnet stockings. These seem like an ideal project because A) I like tights and B) I am poor and they don't use much yarn. I already have a wide assortment of needles, so I anticipate spending around 12$ or so. I spend some time waffling between the SnB and Knitty versions and finally decide on the Knitty because they are (famous last words) more challenging and I have never successfully finised a pair of socks let alone a toe up variety. Other challenges include 4 different stitch patterns which increase the possibility of fucking this up...4 fold especially since I am pretty much unable to follow a pattern all the way through. Really the SnB version would be a better choice for me. however, in keeping with the spirit of the Knitting Olympics- I am up for the challenge.

Challenge #1: getting the yarn. The patterns call for Cascade Fixation and Elann something something which are in essence the same yarn, containing 98.3 % cotton and 1.7% Elastic. The elastic is the important bit. I head to Romni wool where I am fully expecting an entire wall devoted to this sort of yarn, a virtual cornicopia of colour for my stocking making needs.

I head to the sock yarn section and find nothing, I circle the store several times and find it lacking in anything of the elastic variety. I ask a sales person, explaining in perfect detail what I need and why I need it and she proceeds to show me 8 different yarns that are in no way suitable for making stockings: including soy silk and bamboo yarn which runs around 22-24$ a skein. I thank her and try to slink away but she herds me downstairs to the sale section where I circle like a trapped goldfish for a few minutes until she turns her back and I hoof it out of there.

I start to panic. If Romni doesn't have the yarn, will anybody? I jump on a bus going north in order to check out a yarn shop I've never been to before and low and beold, she has the Cascade at 7$ a ball. The colour selection isn't the best so I choose 3 balls (better be safe) of a slightly varigated pink. Total 21$ plus tax, and 3 TTC tokens. (6$) for a grand total of 32$.

Challenge #2: the cast on. I get home and realize that I don’t have the proper needles. SnB calls for size 4 and 5 straights (have no 4s) and Knitty calls for 3.5 dpns (nope) . I decide to make due with what I have and knit a gauge sample. The knitty needle size must be a mistake because I got her gauge with 4.5s which is the appropriate size according to the label.

Cast on: weird: figure 8 style….it took me at least 8 attempts. Realize I knit wrong.
Starting knitting in pattern. Go to pub for opening ceremonies, feel like Im coming down with something.

Drunken knitting bad: lost a casein dpn (suspect someone stole it- one minute it was there, I turn my back, it disappears- we never did find it.

Knit away: screw up pattern, don’t care. Keep knitting, who knew a room ful of knitters would be so loud.

Next day: sick as a dog. Possibly the plague.

Keep knitting, get to heel. Instructions stupid. Seek help, people keep telling me why to do it but not how. Stupid. Proceed anyway, get to the bit where I have to switch to straight needles, realize what a stupid idea this is, knit a few rows, realize I’ve screwed up the stitch pattern, unravel the thing, re do the heel several times, always looks the same.

Decide I hate this pattern and try the Snb one which is really more me: 80’s/ Siouxsie Sioux versus, where as the Knitty one is pretty baroque: the best little whorehouse in the Moulin rouge. With lacing in the back. Frankly even if I do finish them, I will never wear them.

In between waiting for a phone call, being sick and languishing in despair for several days, I work on the SnB stockings. But wasn;t completely in love with them, Today I picked them up and realized that I was knitting them wrong and that they would probably look different if I did them correctly. Unraveled the whole thing and started again. I doubt I will finish them for the closing ceremonies

What exactly is wicklow?

2006-01-04T12:56:00.000-08:00

I based this hat on 2 vintage Beehive patterns. I used Stylecraft Gaelic yarn in 'Wicklow' for the scarf. The yarn is 95% acrylic and 5% viscose but it looks and feels like wool. Must be some some sort of spooky British yarn technology. I used Patons Classic Wool Merino for the hat. It took about 100 grams- well it actually took about 125 grams because I reknit the peak 3 times. I think I've got it figured out now.

Please sir can I knit some more

2006-01-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Wrist warmer

Here are some Dickensian style wristwarmers I knit. I used Tivoli Luxury Tweed Aran. It's a nice soft yarn which is only a little itchy.

Bagtastic

2006-01-04T12:23:00.000-08:00

Here is a groovy purse that I knit. I used Lana Gatto- Caribu yarn which I believe has been discontinued. I bought the yarn because it was on sale and I liked the red and blackness of it. There is a picture of a cat (aka a gatto) on the label but I'm fairly sure that the yarn does not actually contain cat hair. I've also used it to make a pair of slippers and it worked fairly well because it knits up kind of rigid like. It does however have a slight exfoliating effect.

Bagtastic

I made up the pattern myself because I like to do that sort of thing. It was inspired by purses from the 1940's and 50's and I am now knitting up another one (or two or three if I have enough yarn) in Filtes King Konny - a bulkier yarn which I also got on sale and which is also most likely discontinued.

2005-12-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

Hey it's my new happy fun time knitting and sewing blog where I am going to post pictures of my happy fun time knitting and sewing and maybe also sell some of it. Maybe...if I can be arsed.