Pajama Party -- Day 4

Last Friday morning I awoke at 3 am with a stomach-ache. I was able to sleep some more, finally, but when I awoke for good at 7:30, the ache was still there. Nothing serious, mind you, but still there. I had breakfast and trooped into my wonderful wool shop. All morning long, my stomach ached. I finally stopped trying to pretend that the coffee tasted good and dumped it by 10:00.

At noon, my tuna-fish sandwich didn't sound remotely good, but chicken noodle soup did. I called home to request my wonderful husband bring me some, but he didn't answer the phone. When he called me back (note that I did not say "finally") at 2:30, even chicken noodle soup didn't sound good. In fact, a trip to the doctor sounded good.

He was not able to reach the doctor's office. Who knew that they would stop answering the phones so early on a Friday afternoon? (Note to self: Must check into this.) Doug dutifully called the after-hours clinic to which our doctor belongs, only to discover that not only was the clinic not answering phones (it was before 5:00 pm), it wasn't open on Friday.

Doug called me back to report his findings. I didn't care. I needed to see a doctor. My stomach really hurt. Folks who know me will realize that I don't get to this point often. Usually I am the equivalent of a dead body before I consent to visit the doctor for an illness. I don't run fevers, and I had been having chills and chattering teeth all day.

Doug raced in and met me at the shop. The next question became which hospital emergency room to visit--the dreaded Port Perry (that's a very long story which I'll save for later), the much-reviled Oshawa General (which is likewise a long story), or traipse into one of the Toronto hospitals at which my doctor has privileges. Besides not wanting to ponder such decisions (and also because I had self-diagnosed appendix issues), I told him to just get me to the nearest hospital.

Port Perry saw me at 4:10. By 4:30 the surgeon had called in the team and a time of 5:30 was decreed. She decided that an ultrasound would be torturous beyond belief and a CT scan a waste of time, especially since it was a Friday evening and my condition was worsening. She could tell best by a quick peek into said offending belly ... and went at it.

I was correct in that my appendix had decided it was time to leave this body. Fortunately, there was no rupture and recovery has been uneventful. I have spared you all the delight of reviewing the incisions and bruising--but if you are a family member, just let me know and I'll send you photos. (For the uninitiated, we are a strange bunch and regularly have discussions over who has the biggest owie {that would be the Daughter, since she has visibly missing body parts}, who has the most impressive scars {Mom was the leader here, but in her absence it is the Eldest out in Missouri currently} and the like. Apparently, it is a badge of honor to have multiple broken bones at the same time {Andy and Jason}. As I said, we are a strange bunch.)

Kudos to Dr. Karolyn Dobbin and the nursing staff at Port Perry Hospital. They were awesome!

During my recovery, I finished the Sea Silk scarf. Viola!This iteration of the scarf is 71 stitches wide--a 3-stitch garter border, 65 stitches of Fishtail Lace and another 3-stitch garter border. It is approximately 4 feet long, so will be just right for the keeping the evening chill off my delicate shoulders this summer. I must admit that I absolutely LOVE how the colours make those gorgeous diamonds along the length of the scarf. Seen here, the scarf is not yet blocked as I am not really able to crawl around on the floor much yet. Even in its unblocked state, however, the finished project is fabulous. This yarn is truly a delight with which to knit and a joy to watch as the stitches flow past. I highly recommend everyone try even one project with this yarn, even though it is expensive. After all, everyone is worth one very expensive project.

Having completed the scarf, it was time for another project. An amazing discovery ensued--hold on to your hats, folks, because this is momentous!

I have grown bored with plain-jane socks using self-patterning yarn.

Yes, you did read that correctly. I have grown bored just going round and round and watching the yarn do all the work. Since I am prohibited from lifting (and that includes darn near any and all weight) and all my yarn is stored in stacking tubs, I was relegated to using these poor, lonely balls of sock yarn which have been sitting, abandoned, on top of the stack. But how to make them more interesting? I had been planning on the Jaywalker socks, but am tired of trying to make the diagonals work (there's a store project sitting in the bottom of a workbasket because I'm frustrated with it!), and besides I'd heard that the socks don't fit all that nicely.

In my drug-induced haze, it made perfect sense that I should attempt to figure out the 2-Socks-1-Circular technique. I'd tried it before, and given up. So with less than full capacity in the mental area, this should be a real challenge.

It was and is. It does, however, make the plain-Jane sock pattern far more interesting.

What a day! (Or why I need my shopping gene examined!)

Monday is the one business day a week that my shop is not open. This day is reserved for doing important stuff--like getting the daughter's passport renewed because she is going to France in April. Monday was P-Day (otherwise known as passport day). Aside from being beastly cold, the day dawned just fine.

We got up super early and headed down to Oshawa to catch the GO train. No problem, except that all the commuters had arrived prior to us. Which meant that we had to park way the heck out in the boonies and walk up to the station. Did I mention that the train arrived just as we did? And how cold it was? The wind had nothing to block it as it blew across the parking lot. We were pleased to have a reason to walk quickly.

I am not too bashful to admit that I enjoy taking the GO train. It means that I am on my way to an Adventure in the Big City. Monday was no different. Once on board the train, we began filling out the passport application. She already had a passport, so it should be a breeze, right? Wrong. The silly application requires her Social Security Number (the American equivalent to a Canadian SIN). No problem. We'll call home when we get to Union Station. We sit back and pull out our knitting.

Upon arrival at Union Station, we stop at the first pay phone (thank goodness THEY still exist!) and make the collect call home. Daughter had a call-home card ... does she have it with her? Nope. So collect it is. Explain to the husband what I need and where to find it. Several tax returns later, we find a year wherein I claimed the daughter, complete with SSN. Whew.

Now to find a pay-locker so that we can leave our knitting and purses. Why? Because the U.S. Consulate website claims that you cannot take any bags of any type into the Consulate with you. Did you know that there are no lockers at Union Station any more? Deemed a safety risk, they were removed in the post 9/11 security craze. OK, fine. There must be some in the PATH, right? Nope.

Daughter and I trudge onwards, heading always north and parallel with University Ave, looking fruitlessly for a pay-locker. Finally, we run out of walkway. Arriving at street level, I confirm with a friendly security guard that we are, indeed, just one block away from University Avenue and that the Consulate is still north of our location. Does she know of anywhere we could leave our bags? Nope. But then I had a brilliant thought--could she watch them for us? She thought about it for a minute, and then said sure. I handed her my purse, claiming there was nothing of value therein because I had to take my wallet with me. The REAL valuables were the knitting projects in the second bag.

Away we went in search of the Consulate. I did mention that it was cold, right? Two blocks directly into the wind to University Avenue, two blocks north to the Consulate. No problem, except that it was "blowing like stink" to quote my husband. Brr.

We U.S. citizens have an awful lot for which to thank George Bush. The Consulate has had concrete posts in the sidewalk to prevent cars being driven into it for a long time. And the bullet-proof glass has likewise been present for a long time. But the requirement for U.S. citizens to enter the building at the rear? To stand in line with visa applicants, a safe 15 feet from the rear door and guard area, while everyone is questioned closely before being allowed into the building? The demand that you enter with only your wallet and documents in hand? The demeaning treatment rendered by the security guards, attempting to safeguard the safety of the building's employees?

Did you know that a jeweler's screwdriver is a lethal weapon? I didn't either. I carry it on my keychain because my glasses frequently fall apart. The jeweler's screwdriver is small enough that it will work with the teeny, tiny, microscopic screws used to hold eyeglasses together. The security guard insisted it was a lethal weapon and not allowed. To make things more difficult, he was not very fluent in English, and could not understand that I was asking him to discard the offending weapon. Daughter, meanwhile, watched the discussions with bated breath, and wondered how she could get herself home after I was arrested for assaulting the guard.

Not to worry. I resolved the problem by snatching up the screwdriver, stomping to the nearest door, flinging said door wide open and hurling the screwdriver as far and hard as possible.

"NOW can I come in?" I demanded. Apparently so. The car keys were then put back into my coat pocket and run through the x-ray machine. After being scanned with a handwand, I was cleared to enter the building. I must then gather my possessions and IMMEDIATELY go through the next door, leaving my daughter behind. Not a problem when the child is 16; the family ahead of us had a two-year-old, and she was distraught at having to watch her mommy disappear behind a door, and walk all by herself towards a strange man who held something in his hand.

Anyway, once clear of the first security hurdle, U.S. citizens have the supreme pleasure of getting to bypass the line of visa applicants and proceed directly into the first waiting room. Where you are greeted by a security guard who demands to know why you are coming in through this exit door. He escorts you to the next locked door and opens it for you, whereupon you are accosted by yet another guard who likewise demands to know why you have come through the apparently forbidden doorway.

Once we finally reached the appropriate floor and department, everything went swimmingly and without problem. Daughter will have her passport in two weeks or less. Whew. Explorica will be happy.

What I find terrifying is that Canada is a "friendly" country. Truly it is. Daughter and I have felt very welcomed every day of our presence. And the U.S. feels the need to take these draconian steps to insure the safety of its employees. How difficult is it to access the Embassy or Consulate in a not-so-friendly country? Thank you, George W., for your diligence in protecting U.S. citizens, at home and abroad. (Please note--heavy sarcasm used here!)

Then, since we were in town and there was really no way Daughter could attend her afternoon classes, we decided to do some shopping. Of course, to do this we had to retrieve our purses and knitting from the friendly security person. Two blocks south to Adelaide, two blocks east (with our backs to the wind!), and we are at the right building. We retrieve our bags with no problem, and put our minds to shopping.

After all, the Eaton Centre is in downtown Toronto and that is exactly where we are. Shopping here we come. After walking back down to Union Station, looking in vain for the mall, we patrol Front Street, searching for clues. All to no avail. Undaunted, we return to Union Station and head back into the PATH. We should be able to find the mall this way. Right?

Two hours later, we still have not yet found the mall. Plenty of shopping on the PATH, but no mall. We finally succumb to hunger and head for the nearest coffee shop. The kind lady sells us warm beverages and sandwiches, and assures us that if we head north we will find The Bay within two blocks. I know The Bay is part of the Eaton Centre, so we are good. We sit down, have lunch, and knit for a while. To soothe our nerves ... also to convince ourselves that we really know where we are headed.

The nice lady was right. The Bay was only two blocks north. Along the way, I have tripped and stumbled to my knees and crashed my eyeglasses onto the ground. (It was a far better choice than a face-plant onto the looming light pole.) Fortunately, the glasses did not self-destruct--especially since the security guard had forced me to discard my screwdriver. Also fortunately, I did not grab onto Daughter as I went down. She still had some warm coffee in her hand.

We found The Bay. We found the PATH. (It looks strangely familiar. Have we been here before? Don't answer that!!) Did we find the mall? No. We wandered in circles in The Bay. We felt extremely foolish. How can two reasonably intelligent women not be able to find a MALL? For crying out loud, we had credit cards with us!!!

In an effort to salvage some resemblance of pride, we refused to request directions. I suppose that technically speaking we WERE in the Eaton Centre. It just didn't look or feel like it.

After another half hour of wandering fruitlessly, we gave up. Daughter then said, and I quote, "If you can find Nathan Philip Square, I can find the Eaton Centre." Well, I had seen several signs on the PATH that directed one toward City Hall. Nathan Philip Square is right in front of City Hall.

If only she had thought of that option earlier. Say two and a half hours earlier?

Shopping ensues. We find a shoe store with lots of shoes that Daughter finds cute. And her favorites are not only cute, but inexpensive! Does life get any better? Only if they have the right size in stock. Test fits follow, and three pairs in the appropriate sizes are decided upon. We pay up and head home. Via the PATH, which does indeed take us directly to Union Station.

A mad dash to catch the next train, leisurely knitting on the GO, a quick drive home, speedy dinner, and I race out to teach my knitting class in Uxbridge.

Know what happened at home in my absence? Daughter discovers that we brought home two pair of shoes in the wrong size.

AAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

New Project Ecstasy

I have ADD. I'm pretty comfortable with this little-known fact, and I have, in fact, learned to live with it pretty well. I have actually learned to become super-focused, so that the ADD doesn't control my life and I become a total flit-about.

This tendency to super-focus has resulted in my being pretty much a one-project-at-a-time knitter. You know--one project from beginning to end, even when it becomes a slog. When you begin to despise the project. But I persevere, because that's what I do.

So I started and finished a(nother) baby set for the Crisis Pregnancy Centre, complete with a pair of baby booties. Baby booties are important because I have joined a Sock Knit-along over at the Delphi forum, Knit & Chat, wherein we are supposed to knit a pair of socks each month of the year, preferably from stash. And baby booties count. For January, I am safe. Whew.

This is one of my usual patterns, from the 1978 McCalls Baby Knits book. A tried and true pattern, with which I rarely have problems. If problems do arise, I can state fairly safely that the problem is an 1D-10-T error. (Computer technical help desk technicians recognize this as the safe way of saying someone is an IDIOT.)

In any event, the baby set is done, complete with ribbons.

Of course, this means that I get to start a New Project. I've had a skein of SeaSilk since I attended Stephanie's birthday party at Lettuce Knit. I've pondered and pondered what to make, especially since I only had one skein. I'd heard that a one-skein shawl pattern existed, and I dutifully obtained same. It didn't really light my fire.

Then I flipped the page on my Pattern-a-Day calendar to January 15. Fishtail Lace. What could be more fitting? Except that I am a one-project-at-a-time gal, and the baby set wasn't finished. So I knit furiously on the baby set, and finished it last night.

At 8:00 pm, I started winding a ball. At 8:30 pm I cast on. At 11:15, it was clearly time to go to bed, but the scarf is so enchanting. I didn't want to put it down. At midnight, I forced myself to bed.

This morning when I opened my eyes, I raced to look at the scarf. What if it wasn't as enchanting as I thought? What if ...?

Not to worry. The scarf is still enchanting. I love the way the colours zig-zag their way up the scarf. I love how airy and light the pattern is. It's only a 6-row repeat, and the even rows are purl every stitch. I love that I have memorized the pattern.

You know what I'm gonna hate? When I have reached the end of the ball of yarn. What then?

Think anyone would notice if I frogged the scarf just so that I could reknit it?

Exciting times for me

2007 has started out with a bang. First I see Christy mentioning that she was going to be in my area and would try to stop by my store. Now, THAT qualifies as a red-letter event. I first started blogging because I was lonely; I missed a knitting group with whom I had formed wonderfully close ties. Then life interfered and I moved to Tennessee, where I knew no one. Moving to Canada was a step in the right direction for my life--at least in the cold, snowy north one would expect to find knitters. And, of course, the internet is a wonderful medium for making friends.

Yesterday I found out how true it is. Christy made her way to my store and I got to shake the hand(s) that created the wonderful Noro sweater shown on her blog. She pronounced my shop "lovely," which also endears her to my heart. Here is a picture of the big event:
Christy was able to view Gyrid, the shell made from the Elsebeth Lavold's Book One--The Viking Knits Collection. It has been finished for a while ... ever-efficient that I am, I kept forgetting to bring it in to the shop. The Silky Wool is a great knit. It's soft without feeling mushy. Knits into a lovely light-weight fabric that will be a dream to wear. (Remember, I made this as a display piece for the shop.)
I followed the pattern without deviation, and pronounce it good. For my next feat (from this particular book), I will be attempting the hat and mittens pattern. Possibly (hopefully) as projects for the intermediate knitting group in Uxbridge.

Finally, with the advent of winter weather (finally), the cats have been searching for warm sleeping spots. Henry has found the best one ever--
right on top of the floor vent. Good thing there are two more that heat that room, eh?!

The Accursed Sweater--Part Two

Or is it part three? I can't remember. What I do remember is that I had to frog the first attempt because there was no way the sweater was going to fit my lovely husband. Several friends suggested that perhaps he should go on a diet ... or perhaps I should find a smaller recipient for the sweater. Nope. I dutifully frogged it and started over.

Things went well for the body and first sleeve. When I finished the second sleeve and started to assemble everything on the needles ... The second sleeve was much longer than the first ... A more careful perusal of the pattern indicated that the problem was in my interpretation of the directions. (Note to self: Read patterns carefully even when you think you remember what you are doing. Memory plays tricks!) So I ripped again.

By now, my poor husband was beginning to fear that his sweater would take the road traveled by Joe's Gansey (see various of the Yarn Harlot's posts about said gansey). Not that we've had much winter thus far, but he WAS hoping to be able to wear it this year.

Then my sister had her baby early. Three weeks early in fact. So the Accursed Sweater was put on the back burner while I made a gift for Sammy.

Returning to the Accursed Sweater, I finished the second sleeve and assembled the project on the needles. And began the colour-work. Only to discover I had too many stitches. A more careful review of the pattern directions indicated that I was required to perform some decreases before the colours started. (Apparently I did NOT remember the note to myself made above!) So I ripped again.

By now, my husband was getting seriously worried. He would inquire anxiously if I was all right, did I need anything, perhaps a glass of wine or some Guiness. Through clenched teeth (apparently disregarding my vow to never grind teeth again so as to avoid root canals) I would state firmly that I.WAS. FINE.

After the requisite decrease rows, I began the colour-work. A tremendous sigh of relief when the first row worked out properly. A sip of wine and row two commenced. An even louder sigh of relief. I worked several more rows without incident.

And then a miracle occurred. Lizzie-Kitty, who is NOT a lap-cat, settled in for a long winter's nap. And stayed for almost an hour. This, folks, is right up there with the Virgin birth and making-wine-from-water stories. She NEVER sits on laps. And not only is she on my lap, she is stretched out, tucked in and purring.

2007 is gonna be a great year.

As the dust slowly settles

As the dust slowly settles and we are left with only the memories of the holidays, I would like to take this time to say "Happy New Year" and offer my best wishes to any and all folks who read this blog. May 2007 be filled with many blessings, good health and good things for you and yours.

My holidays began with my son, Jeff, driving his Little Red Car all the way from Kalamazoo to visit us. By himself, too, which was frightening for the mom. But he made it safely, and a day ahead of when I expected him. Good things come to those who wait patiently. But then you knew that.

He checked out my little yarn shop, and pronounced it good. He said he wanted to learn to knit during this trip, so we grabbed some needles and wool and began. He learned to cast on. He learned to knit. He learned to purl. And then he wanted to make something.

The truth is that he had a hat that he wanted to duplicate. It required sock yarn and 2mm needles. And seed stitch. And decreases. Not exactly what one should start for a first project. So he decided on a scarf. And cast on and did several rows of 2x2 ribbing. (We used 6mm needles, which were larger than suggested for this wool, but provided a truly excellent fabric.)

The young man has excellent taste. He selected some Nature Wool from Araucania, colour 11. This wool is really neat. Unlike Paton's, you have the base colour, and then you have gradations of that colour. So dark grey is really shades of dark grey. Not enough to get pooling, mind you, but enough to really give some depth to the colour. All in all, a lovely choice. My fingers had been itching to try that wool ever since it arrived in the shop, so this was the perfect opportunity. I finished it for him.

Definitely worth it. The wool ... the smile ... the dimples ... the hugs.

Another project which you will see soon (very soon!) is my second attempt at The Accursed Sweater. I am thrilled to report that I am now completing the neck ribbing. Soon, ever so soon, it will be DONE! I am so thrilled!

A shop project which you haven't seen yet is this hat. It's a simple 1x1 rib, done with Noro Silk Garden. I really love the way the colours flow into each other. Interestingly enough, when I first looked at Noro I didn't really like it. What was I thinking? It's yummy. Almost good enough to eat! Or in the parlance of my daughter, good enough to marry. (Are 16 year old girls always so dramatic? Was I at that age?) This hat is destined to be donated to the Dulaan Project come summer when I mail my box off to Arizona. Some teen in Mongolia will have a lovely, warm hat next winter.

'Til next time ...

Good things come to those who wait ...

Well, if you count pictures and posts as good things, of course. In my case? They definitely count as good things.

First of all, I simply don't remember where all the time has gone. How can it possibly be two weeks since I last posted? Well, not quite two weeks. But you get the idea. Must be the crazy holiday madness.

I have finished a couple of items. One for the store, and one for home. First, however, you will see the store item. This is a pair of mittens made from Luxury Alpaca Paint, distributed by Diamond Yarns. I love the variegated colours and just couldn't resist making a pair of mitts. This set will fit me, and I have average-sized adult hands. I had to use one and a half balls of yarn--50g. balls at that. I have decided that these mitts will be donated to the Dulaan Project come summer. The question at present is whether they will be felted before donation or not. Anyone have any opinions?














Remember when I said that my new nephew had been born in November? Two weeks early and all that? He is doing better and better. My sister says that he even wakes up all by himself when it's time to eat. Who knew that a preemie baby wouldn't know how to do that? I surely didn't.

In any event, I did knit him a cute little outfit. I know that you've seen photos of the Teddy Bear suit in process. Here it is complete:


I used Luxury Extra-fine Superwash Merino for the outfit, and am hoping (desperately I might add) that little Sammy doesn't have any wool issues. I heeded the Yarn Harlot's opinion that putting synthetic yarns on helpless infants (synthetic yarns could melt and stick to the poor, wee baby in event of a fire and cause dreadful burns) and went for the super-wash merino. It is deliciously soft in the ball, and knit up quite nicely.

I bet you wonder who the model is, since it obviously can't be Sammy. That, my dears, is my childhood baby doll. She's plastic and approximately the size of a three-month old baby. She was played with extensively during my childhood, and then pretty much ignored. The sons didn't exactly play with dolls much, and the daughter wasn't a doll kind of kid. I'm very glad that I held on to her, though. She makes a great model!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and was able to spend oodles of time with loved ones.

PS. I'm contemplating starting up a new web-ring for Ontario-based knitters since the current ring seems to have died a slow death. Anyone else interested?

Where did the week go?

I mean--it was just starting a minute ago, and already it's Saturday morning.

Oh yeah. Now I remember.

There's this on-line game that I sometimes play ... and it sucks the minutes and hours away from the days like a tornado ripping through a mobile home park. And I got a really high score this week--156,000! Do you know how much practice it takes to get that kind of score?

Don't say I didn't warn you. Here's the link: Bejeweled 2

But don't say I didn't warn you. It is truly demonic. If you have the sort of personality that just can't let go. Kind of like me.

Anyway, due to the unexpected tenacity of the game, I really haven't done much knitting this past week. The Elsebeth Lavold top is still in process, although I did manage to get the back finished and the front started. Now I'm working on the medallion and it's coming along.

And at home the DebbieBliss teddy-bear suit is also coming along. I've got the main pieces knit and assembled. Now on to the little ears.

So look for pictures next week.

Another week in the life of ...

Another week has passed, with little to show for itself, although I have made great strides on my baby gift for the new nephew. I am making the Teddy-Bear All-in-One from Debbie Bliss' Nursery Knits. The body is completed, and most of one sleeve. The little footies and mitts are simply adorable. I am excited to get the rest of the outfit completed.

Since opening the store, I have decreed that "home" projects can only be worked on at home, or at Knitting Night. This resolve is sorely tested on this project. I really, really want to get it finished so I can see it in all its adorableness. (Is that a word? I don't think so!)

And having pointed out the distinction between "home" knitting and "store" knitting ... this little baby is the current store project. I'm using the suggested Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool to make the shell, and it is knitting up beautifully. The yarn is going to be so nice to wear.

Often I think of wool as being a tad scratchy. This doesn't feel that way at all. The silk gives it a nice slubby look and feel. Not at all hard on the hands.

And, this may come as no surprise, the shell is just my size, and just the right colour to go with several of my dress suits. Hmm. I wonder how that happened?

Today is my lovely hubby's 50th birthday. For three weeks, I get to tease him unmercifully about being a year older than I ... until my birthday arrives. How in the world did we get to be 50 already? It seems only yesterday that I graduated high school, welcomed my babies into the world ... Just how the heck does the time fly by so quickly?!

A Finished Object!

Much of my knitting these days seems to revolve around the shop. Funnily enough, most of my finished objects get displayed at the store. Of course, having the shop means that I also get to play with lots of luxurious yarns that I normally wouldn't.

This scarf is made with Sublime, a wonderfully soft blend of merino, silk and cashmere. Yes, cashmere. Admittedly, only 5% cashmere, but cashmere nonetheless. And this yarn is soft. Wonderfully soft. Soft enough that you want to rip your clothes off and roll around naked in it.

But I didn't because that would be ... you know, tacky. Besides, the store has 10 feet of front window. I wouldn't want anyone to see me indulging in such wanton displays of self-indulgence.

Instead I made this scarf. It's called Little Zig-Zag and uses 3 balls of the Sublime cashmere. There is no border on the scarf, which means that the scarf tries to roll in at the edges. There also is no fringe, which I really like.

The blocking instructions suggested pinning the scarf out and laying damp towels across it until everything dries. Which I did. And it seems to have worked because the stitches did even out nicely.

Knitting for myself? Well, I did pick up 8 balls of extra-fine superwash merino to make a gift for my new nephew. Photos coming soon.

Another week

Another week has passed by. I don't have any finished projects to show off. The sock you see here I finished last week. I just saved it for a rainy day.

Speaking of rainy days ... it has rained a lot over the past week. I don't know about any one else, but I am SO tired of rainy days. Can't we see a little sunshine, huh?

The sock was made with Noro Kureyon, color #128. I just love the way the colors blend into one another. They are just wonderful.

The sock didn't feel really soft, though. I was puzzled because I read about so many folks who really love their Noro socks. I brought the sock home and gave it a dip in warm water and mixed a very tiny, wee bit of hair conditioner in. Talk about a difference! WOW! Now it is nice to pet. I suspect a pair of them on one's feet would continue to soften and felt a wee bit. Talk about luxury!! And the better news--since I softened the sock, I've sold lots of Noro.

In other news ... my younger sister was expecting her second baby on November 24, more or less. Imagine her surprise when she went into labour on the 8th. The baby boy was delivered via c-section, and spent several days being known as Baby Boy. At last, a name was decided upon--Samuel. Mom and Sammy are now home and doing well. Thank goodness!

The Accursed Sweater - Part Two

Last night was Knitting Night. My friend Irene had promised that I would get a stranding lesson so that I would no longer have to refer to the sweater as Accursed. True to her word, I got the stranding lesson from her sister, Cathy. Irene was quite willing to assist; however, there were 15 people crammed into my tiny, little store. Besides being one more person than available chairs, it was just way too crowded to move around much. Cathy was able to get out of her chair, between Terry's chair and the counter, over Louise and behind the cash register. I was able to stand up, go over Emily and reach over the counter/cash register for my lesson. It was fabulous. I had never seen the technique before--despite having knit for years and years. My mentor (my mother) preferred Aran knits, just like me. Hmm. There may be a reason why I prefer Arans now that I think about it.

So ... does anyone else need a primer in stranding? I could post pics and such, courtesy of my friends Irene and Cathy. Thanks ever so much, ladies. It is a much-appreciated lesson.

The second part of Knitting Night, and possibly of even more value than the stranding lesson, was the expression of the group opinion that The Accursed Sweater would be too small for the intended recipient. "No way," I insisted. "I've measured and taken guage swatches. It'll fit!" The group expressed sincere reservations and ... quite honestly, grave doubts.

When I arrived home, I promptly measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug. Then I measured the sweater. Then I measured Doug again. Know what? No matter how many times I did it, the two measurements were just not going to cooperate.
The solution? A trip to the frog pond. Doug took pictures. Apparently I was making funny faces. Lots of funny faces.

By noon today, this is how The Accursed Sweater looked:
I have cast on for the larger size now, and completed one and a half rows of the ribbing. I now refer to it as Apres Ski, the name given by the designer.

I only hope the name doesn't change.

And as a special treat, Louise and Emily arrived from Windsor for a surprise visit! The local guild in Windsor brought Debbie Bliss in for a talk, and they had pictures.

Talk about a great evening!

A sweater is named

I don't name the sweaters that are underway. Generally. I know a lot of folks do. I read about them on the various blogs. I just never have. They typically are known by the name the designer or publisher chose.

Until today. Today, the sweater I am making for Doug was named. Yes, in a break from long-standing tradition, I named a sweater.

The sweater? This one -- It's a Paton's design, and so far the instructions are actually quite well written. The chart is actually readable, even with the bifocals and not the reading glasses. But the sweater was named. "What is the name?" you ask with bated breath.

The Accursed Sweater.

Yes, indeed. That is the name. "Why?" you wonder. Well, it's like this. I really don't much like doing fair isle. All that stranding, wrapping, untangling, only to start the process all over. Yes, the sweater is beautiful and wonderful when it's finished. It's just that I prefer cables, bobbles, yarn-overs, K2tog, ssp and the like. Aran style, in other words.

But just for my dear and wonderful hubby, I am making him a fair isle sweater. And so that I don't knit a lot of negative vibes into it, it is named The Accursed Sweater.

I know you still don't get it. Why such an awful name?

Because every time I say it, I smile and laugh. And just in case there are still some negative vibes, I'll get my friend Pastor Mary to say a blessing over it before Doug dons it.

Finally taking time to update

Last night I had a wonderful evening. My daughter, hubby and good friends went down to Toronto to Hugh's Room for an evening of fine food and music. The food, as usual, was delicious. Daughter had a salmon dish (she's getting very adventurous these days!) and enjoyed it immensely. Then she had a chocolate dessert that appeared to be almost orgasmic. Me? I had a chicken linguine dish and pumpkin cheesecake. Probably not as delicious as my friend Irene makes, but since she hasn't shared with me yet I just can't say for certain.

The reason for the excursion? Tanglefoot was having a CD release concert. Our general rule of thumb is that if the band is playing at a venue within a three-hour drive from home, we attend. Whether there's a CD being released or not. The music is so much fun, the regular attendees also a lot of fun, and we just enjoy getting out to see the guys.

Last night was no exception. The band was amazing. The addition of the new violinist, Sandra, has added an entirely new level of energy and excitement. They played all 8 songs from the new CD, titled "Dance Like Fire," and the music is ... words fail me. I've loved every piece of music I've heard the band perform. Every piece. But the new songs? They take my breath away. The musical repertoire now includes a bluesy piece called "Hard Work," a thought-provoking piece called "For the Day," as well as some downright fun songs like "The Whiskey Trick" and Boot Soup." Of course, we purchased the CD and got autographs from everyone. (The keyboard player, Bryan Weirmier, also has released a CD which was purchased last night as well. Haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but I anticipate it will be enjoyed as thoroughly as Rob Ritchie's and Terry Young's CDs.)

Now that things have settled down nicely with the shop, I have imposed a schedule on myself. In the mornings, I must do the book-work, organize myself, and do the little things on my shop to-do list. Like tidying up the desk area, getting my filing system set up, make up the next order(s) to be submitted. Busy work.

Afternoons? They are mine -- all mine! I get to play with the various yarns and wools, sketch out design ideas, try new colour combinations. It is the best part of my day.

Whilst unpacking and setting up the shop, I enjoyed looking at the alpaca yarns I brought in. One of my favourite yarns is a line called Atacama Alpaca--a fingering weight, hand-painted alpaca yarn. I have some in my stash at home, and plenty at the store. At home I'm considering making a Clapotis shawl ... but at work? Well, I found some little sheep buttons. See?They seemed to want to play with the purple colourway. And then there was this nice pattern in a book ... and it all came together nicely.

Here you see the very first display item knitted for my shop:


As mentioned previously, the yarn is Atacama Alpaca. The sweater is from the book Araucanian Moments, by designer Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton. The design is called Turehelm. I used 3 skeins of wool and 4mm needles.

The design itself is actually kind of neat. The lower back and lower fronts are knit up separately. Then stitches are cast on for the sleeve and knitted up, basically identical to the fronts. But at the shoulder area, you switch to an extended garter stitch pattern and continue. The pieces are then stitched together at the centre back and attached to the fronts. Rather ingenius, actually. The button band gets added, and viola! A sweater. Cute as the dancing sheep buttons!

Since blogger insisted on messing up my photo order, you'll just have to wait until the next post to see the other lovelies I've been working on. Suffice to say that this past week has been prolific.

See you soon!

Felting

The felting craze is over a year old now. I have steadfastly resisted that slippery slope. After all, why would you want to shrink something that you've spent so much time knitting? Don't you want the even stitches, the exquisite needlework to speak for itself as to your skill? Huh? Don't you?

All right. Let me try a different approach. I am a knitting purist. The act of knitting is what turns my crank. The even row after row of stitches. The intricacies of a perfectly turned cable. The exquisite look of perfectly executed lace.

Still not buying it, are you? A tough audience.

So after a year of gentle sneering at the concept of felting, I've been forced to enter the fray. You see, I have a knitting class starting tonight. The project is a felted bag. I needed a sample. I needed a "before felting" sample. Because the samples previously used have moved away. After much deliberation, I selected six colours to make two bags. I cast on and knit. I finished the knitting and I assembled. And ... (deep breath here) ... I felted.

Doug laughed himself silly. You see, he has been privy to the musings over the past year of the attraction of felting. And knows that I just Dont. Felt.

Until Thursday, October 12.

The bag in the lower left corner is made with Paton's Bottle Green, Paprika and Sage. And felted. Twice through the washing machine. The bag on the right is the pre-felting sample. It is Paton's Navy, New Denim and Bottle Green. The upper left? Well ... here's where it gets really interesting. You see, I only NEED two bags. One pre-felting and one post-felting. That's it. That's all the felting I need to complete.

The upper left? You just won't let me forget, will you? That's destined to be a Christmas present for Brandi. It's also Paton's ... Royal Purple and the novelty yarn is On-Line Punta. Sigh. What's worse is that now I'm wandering around the house looking at mixing bowls, place mats, and coasters and wondering what colours I'd use to replicate them in felting.

If anyone is interested in having the pattern for the bags, e-mail me and I'll send it on.

On another side note -- does anyone know what has happened with the Ontario Knitter's Ring? I see twelve members, several of which are no longer active. 31 members waiting approval, and that number has been growing for a couple months. Do we still have a ring master?

My very first Knitting Night at the store!!

Tonight was the very first Knitting Night at my store. We've been meeting at the former store in Greenbank for the longest time, and have become friends. So when I opened, of course I planned to have Knitting Night as well. Tonight was the very first time. I was nervous. Did I have enough chairs? Did I have tea? Did I have a treat? Did I have utensils?

I did have enough chairs. Two extra, in fact, but I think they will be filled next week. I did not have tea. I did not have a treat. I did not have utensils. How to remedy these failings? Remember my wonderful husband -- he of the "I don't do wool" mutterings? He delivered dinner to me in the store (leftovers from Thanksgiving--turkey, dressing, mashed sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, carrot salad and cranberry sauce) and then went over to the local grocery store and bought me some paper plates, napkins, cups, forks and a treat. When he brought my dinner in, he also brought in the Brown Betty teapot and a kettle.

Here you see the Sunderland Sisters , Irene and Cathy. They are great fun to be around--wonderfully wicked sense of humour and great story tellers. Irene is working on some to-die-for Handmaiden cashmere. Lucky her! Here you see Barb, Megan and Cathy. Barb wandered into my store over the weekend with her mother and sister. She listened carefully as I gave her several strategies for sneaking yarn into the house without her husband knowing. Apparently, she wants to learn more methods of stash enhancement.
Megan and Cathy are new knitters. I met them at the Uxbridge Library this past year, in a knitting class. Megan is a silversmith by trade, and has taken to knitting like a duck takes to water. She has been making felted purses to sell in her silver shop. Cathy is working on a felted purse for her neice for Christmas.

Me? When I'm not taking pictures and being silly, I'm still working on Doug's sweater. I'm almost up the dividing row and will then get to do sleeves before commencing into the colour-work. For the store, I'm also making a felted purse (two, actually) for demonstration purposes at my learn-to-knit class on Monday evening. One purse is actually in the washing machine even as I type. Tomorrow (or Saturday) I'll get a picture and show you what I've done. I'm excited -- I've never felted anything before.

Well. Never on purpose.

Another week

Another week has passed us by. I finished up the pretty yellow baby set I was working on for the Durham Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Face it -- once you've seen one lacey baby set, you've seen 'em all. The only thing that changes is the colour of the wool.

But having finished up the baby set meant that I could start another project. I decided to start Doug's Nordic ski sweater. After all, he has been coerced volunteered his Aran sweater to be kept at the store for display purposes. It has been handy, in fact, as I can now demonstrate how nicely Paton's Merino knits up.

But, when I was making the transition from ribbing to sweater body, a disaster occurred! See?!
The silly needle broke!! This was part of the Boye Needlemaster set that I got when I was a newlywed (to my first husband). Who knew that they wouldn't last forever?! I suppose that after thirty years this long I should have expected something like this. But I didn't. And I had previously discarded ALL my other circulars. So last night I couldn't knit. Until I went to the store and picked up a pair of Clover Bamboo circulars. I guess that's theb est part of owning a yarn shop -- access to whatever size needle you need.

Speaking of the shop, the last photos anyone could see the place was still a work in process. So this is what it looks like today --
This is the alpaca and yummy yarn wall. There's lots of alpaca, of various types. All yummy. It's such a challenge not to spread it around on the floor and roll in it. There's also some Noro as well as Elspeth Lavold. Oooh-la-la! What wonderful stuff!
This is the Paton's wall. I am carrying Paton's Classic Merino, Canadiana and Shetland Chunky. The empty cubicles on the right end are where the baby yarns will land. I was lucky enough to score some of the Paton's SWS (soy and merino blend) too, as well as all the colours of the Classic. I'm missing a few colours in the Canadiana line, and will remedy that next week.

The shop has been a lot of fun. I've had lots and lots of folks stopping in to browse, visit and buy. Many folks are thrilled to have a local wool shop. Mostly they've been driving to Oshawa or Whitby, so being right there in Port Perry is a real treat. The Grand Opening will be happening in November, but I don't know for certain what days.

This is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. We will have turkey, stuffing, yams, apple pie and pumpkin pie. I bought a pumpkin at the grocery store tonight so it will be authentic pumpkin pie. Can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Never Enough Wool

Tuesday is D-Day for me. I have announced to all and sundry that Tuesday would be the first day my new store is open. Whether I was really ready or not. Whether I had inventory or not. Tuesday was IT. I *WOULD* be open on Tuesday.

So my lovely husband and I have been working steadily and with great devotion to my store over the past two weeks. Last week's schedule was that days were spent installing siding at the job site. Evenings we were down at my store.

This week, push has come to shove. We've been down at the store working every day. Without fail. Getting lots accomplished, too, I might add.

Wednesday morning I arrived at my store and found this:

Cool, eh? A sign and everything. That must make it official that I am really, truly going to be opening a store!

The inside of the store has been a real challenge. There was a 30-year old carpet installed, along with a truly ugly counter. The walls were painting a purple-ish shade of white, with purple woodwork. Yes, I did say purple. It was hideous. And smelled worse. The former tenants were big fans of scented carpet cleaner, scented air-fresheners and perfume. I'm not terribly sensitive to smells, and even I was disturbed.

The carpet came up. The woodwork was removed. The walls were painted. The blinds were removed. The floor was washed. Then the floor was replaced with a laminate floating floor. Dead easy to install, very easy to maintain, and looks wonderful. See?
And finally -- the smell is gone! We had to clean the filter on the shop vacuum to get the last of the smell to disappear. But finally, it has.

Bell has come by and installed the telephone. We will be installing new woodwork this evening, painting it white, and then tomorrow -- store fixtures and inventory!

I will be open Tuesday!

I promise that this blog will not become devoted to my store. Granted, most of my knitting endeavours will revolve around models for the store. But I promise that I won't blather on about my next big sale, promotion idea, or push for visitors. I will talk about knitting, yarns and patterns.

Catching up on life.

It's been a long time since my last post. Partly my fault. Life has been busy. What with trying to finish up the siding job and get things moving on my store AND get the daughter started in school and getting her to and from her various jobs ... actual time spent sitting down at the computer to update the blog has been scarce.

Add to this the frustration that is Blogger. I read about many folks complaining about Blogger. Up til now, I haven't had the same frustrations. However, for the past three days I've had something to talk about, WITH pictures, and I couldn't get Blogger to accept the photos. Tried Hello. Tried through Blogger. Nothing. Finally I decided to try the upload by way of Microsoft (gasp! I am an avid Firefox user, not that I know much about it!!) and viola! Today we have pictures. Would this have worked with Firefox? I don't know. I went straight to Explorer.

So I have been working on a tee-shirt from the Yarn Girls Guide to Beyond the Basics. It is a variation on a basic tee, made by adding a role of eyelets at the hem, midway up and the collar.

Here you see it lying on the blocking board.

I wish I could remember what day I cast on. I don't. But I do remember the day I finished it. September 20. I had to modify the pattern a bit because the yarn I chose did not get the same guage that the pattern specified. I used a yarn called Reflections, which was a 55/45 cotton/viscose blend. I really like the shine that the viscose brings to the fabric. Using an American size 4 needle, I worked at 6 stitches to the inch, while the pattern specified 5 stitches. A little math later, and I was good to go.

I hate seams. So much so that I oped to knit the design in the round rather than back and forth.

"I knit socks on (American) size 2 needles, so this should be a breeze," I thought. Well, with socks you see progress immediately and impressively. With this many stitches, you don't. I am heartily sick of stockinette stitch at the moment.

These pictures really don't do the tee justice. It is a beautiful royal blue, and the cotton and viscose make a gorgeous fabric. Beautiful drape, classic design. I rarely wear sleeveless tops since I don't like the look of my upper arms. This one was the exception.

I would show you a picture of me wearing the tee. Unfortunately, Blogger and I are still having words over photos and how they upload. So you'll have to make do with these crummy shots. Sorry.

There were also going to be some photos of Henry exploring the time-out box (cat carrier) but Blogger inexplicably decided to delete it. There was also a photo of my daughter displaying her wild side. It's not here. Same reason.

And if I ever figure out how to control the order in which photos appear ... I had five photos, selected in a specific order to match my anticipated prose. They appeared in the post out of order. And in trying to get the photos back to my planned order, I lost three of them.

Ah well.

In other news -- Things I learned this summer:

1. I CAN climb up to the third level of construction scaffolding and be comfortable, as long as the platform is not at the highest level of said scaffolding. (Imagine a photo here of myself sitting nonchalantly on the platform, my knitting and cup of coffee at my side.) The siding work progresses, despite setbacks. It turns out that pine siding covered with stain (not paint) requires double nails to keep it from bowing, etc. Doug is off installing the second set of nails and rebuilding scaffolding this morning. I will join him shortly.

2. I really miss bike riding. Since the advent of the siding work, I have been physically exhausted and not contemplating a bike ride at the end of the day. My feet hurt. My ankles hurt. My ankles hurt so much that I now have a ganglion on the inside of my left ankle. (Imagine a photo of my ankle with the lovely addition of the ganglion. Man, are my ankles bony!) Since I've had one on my wrist, I should've suspected that I could get them on my ankles as well. Oh well. Better arch support and shoes will help that problem -- as in keep it from getting worse and developing one on the right ankle. And the siding work will be done soon.

3. A 35-year-old trailer with 600-lb. springs can only be overloaded so many times. Yesterday was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. (Imagine here a photo of said trailer with a broken spring and a ruptured tire.) We had been to Toronto to visit my doctor and I suggested a quick trip to Ikea. I imagined picking up the long-sought foot-stools to my Ikea Poang chairs and more window shopping for stuff for my store. Instead, we bought a shelving unit, a cart of wood cast-offs, AND the foot-stools. (Imagine here a photo of the trailer and car loaded to the gills.) Of course, we had not planned for a shopping spree and had not brought the trailer with us. Doug left me at Ikea with my knitting to guard the purchases while he raced home to retrieve the trailer. Two hours later, he showed up in front of me only to hear "I can't move -- I'm knitting backwards! Like a good sport, he went and purchased a cinnamon role and daintily (NOT!) fed me bites while I finished tinking. On the way home, the trailer had its mishap with the spring. And with no spring, the trailer rested its fender on the wheel, resulting in the tire rupture. It was an interesting day.

4. You can use a second trailer to haul home the first broken-down trailer. I know. (Imagine a photo here.) We did it. The second trailer had no lighting system. So we raced back to the abandoned trailer before dark, loaded it up, plugged in the lighting system, and drove carefully home. I'm glad we weren't stopped by the local constabulary. It would have been interesting. The trailer with wheels on the ground did not have brake lights, but the passenger trailer did. And they worked. The trailer on the ground did not have a license plate. But the passenger trailer did. And, even better, it was the plate that officially belonged to the trailer on the ground. I think the policeman would've been too busy laughing at the day's adventure to write a ticket. But we'll never know since it didn't happen. (Thank goodness!)

Work on the store continues. We have painted the walls a beautiful blue. The ceiling will be primed tonight, as will the area around the front window. We have ordered the flooring and it will be here Monday. One set of display shelves is already there, courtesy of the broken-down trailer. I will retrieve the others, along with inventory, once the floor is installed. Then I can start stocking and setting up. I am SO excited! I will officially be open on Tuesday, October 3. I anticipate a grand opening celebration sometime in November.

Whew. I shouldn't go so long between posts -- or I should lead a calmer life!

Not much knitting around here ...

Because --

My husband and I have been working on siding. This involves chop saws, jig saws, hammers, nails, scaffolding and ladders. By the end of the day, I'm so exhausted that I can barely eat dinner, let alone sit down and knit. So the knitting projects have come to a pretty decisive slow down.

I have finished a hat and pair of mittens to be gifted at Christmas. Pictures? Well ... husband took the camera with him to fishing camp. (The daughter is snorting at the thought of calling this a camping experience. When one takes a 4-liter bag of milk with him, it canNOT be called camping!) Husband does not fish ... in fact, I believe he didn't even take the fishing pole with him. So basically it's a l-o-n-g weekend away with friends. He deserves it. No one should be obliged to live with me full-time, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Not that I'm tough to get along with, mind.

In husband's absence, daughter and I went into town to my soon-t0-be wool store and set to work on the demolition phase. Ripped up the yucky carpet, took off the piece-of-crap molding holding the carpet down, cleaned the plate glass window and started work on destroying the left-behind counter. All in all, quite an enjoyable experience. Turns out the daughter is actually pretty good with a small pry-bar. One of her favorite experiences, in fact. Hmm.

Oh ... you wonder about the soon-to-be wool store comment. When my favorite local yarn store decided to go out of business, I debated a long time about opening a store myself. I've visited the stores near by. Not that they are bad, but none of them felt like home to me. OK to visit, but not somewhere that I could sit and knit and laugh myself silly.

I dutifully put my university education to work and drew up a business plan, complete with projected budget and marketing plan. Still unable to decide whether to press forward, I finally put it in God's hands. If this was something He would support, he would help me find a store location that would be both affordable and feasible as a yarn store.

Well ... not a week later, I found a location that fit the criteria.

Today I went back to my favorite shop and spent an enjoyable day sorting through the wool and chatting with my friend. We discussed wools that sell, wools that don't. Designers that are wonderful, and designers that aren't.

And I selected wool. Lots of wool for my soon-to-be-shop. Lots and lots and lots of wool.

I am SO EXCITED!!!

So what DO you do when it's too hot to knit?

I don't know about anyone else, but when it's too hot to knit I ...finish small projects that have been hanging around for far too long. Small items -- ones that don't take too much lap room. You know -- like this:

This is a baby set for my sister's new baby. Once we know if it's a girl or boy, the proper ribbons will be threaded through the eyelets and -- viola! Instant gift!


Accompanying the baby gift will be the sweater above -- just right for a big sister. I posted a picture of it sans buttons. But with buttons -- it's wonderful.

In other projects, I finished off a baby set for the Durham Crisis Pregnancy Centre.

Last but not least -- I finally finished up the surprise for my daughter-in-law. The cami was made in a lovely cotton from Sirdar. Just right for those hot summer days, don't you think?
So what do YOU do when it's too hot to knit?

Too hot to knit

The last few days have been beastly hot, with afternoon rain. Too hot to knit, in fact. And the outlook is for more of the same. What do you do when it is too hot to knit? Exercise, of course. And the preferred exercise in this household is mountain biking.

Sunday afternoon we ventured out for an afternoon ride. Sure, the sky was overcast and grey. But it had been that way for hours. We had plenty of time before the rain. We did the first half-loop. Great fun. Couldn't be better. Started for the secondf half.

Now, the way we ride this trail, there is a decision point. You can turn left and head immediately to the parking lot and be there in 5 minutes or less. Or you can turn right and continue your ride, arriving at the parking lot about 30 minutes later. We were feeling widely scattered sprinkles during our approach to this decision point. Very widely scattered sprinkles.

So we turned right.

Mother Nature was NOT amused. Not even a little bit. We hadn't gone 30 meters when the skies opened up. Torrential downpour. But -- hey -- we were hot and exercising so this was not a problem. We kept going.

Then Mother Nature upped the ante with lightning. Of course, we felt by this time that we had reached the point of no return and it would be a quicker route to the parking lot if we continued on. This meant, of course, that we could not stop at our usual resting points because they were on high ground, beside tall trees, and we were riding lightning rods -- I mean metal bicycles.

We persevered. We pedaled madly. We went through and around mud puddles. Lakes, more like it. And we ended up at the parking lot in a record 20 minutes. Of course, we had no clean clothes (there is no changing room). We did not have towels either, because the lake -- the reason for needing towels -- was at home.

We did what any self-respecting biker would do -- threw the bikes on the car, piled in, and headed for home. This is what Doug looked like.


You can't see it, but there was actually a very small dry triangle of material on the side of his legs. The shoes and socks had already come off. The socks were wrung out. He squeezed a good half-cup of water from them. Everything was completely drenched. I didn't look much better.

We jumped in the lake completely dressed. It seemed a good way to rinse some of the mud out of the clothes before laundering.

Did I mention that we had a dinner invitation that evening? We opted to take the dry car.

Lace Knitting

I enjoy knitting complicated patterns. Cables, yarn-overs, lace. The more the merrier. Traditionally, I have knit these patterns in knitting worsted weight wool. You know--wool with some substance to it.

At the Knitter's Frolic in April, however, I saw some absolutely lovely, to-die-for lace-weight alpaca. I don't knit with such finicky wool. Never have. And what do you do with a lace-weight wool except make scarves or shawls? I don't wear 'em.

But that alpaca called to me. All day. Softly and insidiously. Until I could resist no longer. Then I went searching for a pattern. Fiddlesticks Knitting Whisper Scarf.

Next I tried to find the perfect rocking chair. To no avail. But if I sat still the platform rocker was comfortable, the space inviting. The knitting alluring.

I finished the scarf and blocked the scarf. In this heat. But you know what? It was definitely worth it. This is the end result:

Truly awesome. Light and airy. Light enough that a poof of wind will make it flutter nicely. Small enough that I can carry it with me and admire my work. And show it to unsuspecting friends and neighbours.

The Yarn Harlot was asked once what her last project would be if she were limited to only one more knitting project. She thought a bit, and decided that a wedding ring shawl would be chosen, for a multitude of reasons. She's right. Lace weight beauty, requisite skills, and then the thrill of blocking.

Fortunately, I have another project on the needles already!

My sister is having surgery tomorrow, to remove the upper-left lobe of her lungs and remove the cancer. Please think of her and her daughter.

Knitters are such nice people

I've been teaching a knitting class at the Uxbridge Library, arranged by the Friends of the Uxbridge Library. The class is offered free of charge to interested patrons. The room is donated by the Library. And it gets me out of the house one night a week.

Last night was the official last night of the class. One of the "students" is a silversmith and operates, with her husband, a studio. She made a thank you gift for me and presented it last night. Imagine -- my very own silver stitch markers!

The class also gave me a nice card to say "thanks." Apparently they have figured out that I really, really like cats.

The students are becoming enthralled with the process of knitting. So much so that they have requested me to ask if it would be possible for us to continue meeting at the library for the rest of the summer. The library has very graciously given us permission to meet for the next three Thursday evenings. We'll see if the group wants to continue meeting beyond that.

I hope so. Knitters are such nice people.

Families -- Part Two

Remember my sister? The one out in Missouri who was having surgery for breast cancer? The good news is that the lumpectomy removed the entire lump, with clean edges. Which means, as I understand it, that the cancer had not spread anywhere. This is good news.

The bad news? She had a spot on her lungs that she had been advised was the after-effect of the pleurisy in January. She was having a routine recheck for pleurisy and complications, when the spot on her lung was observed to still be there. This was NOT the plan. The plan was that when the pleurisy was cleared up, the spot would go away. After testing and a biopsy, it was determined that the spot was, in fact, lung cancer.

The good news? The MRI did not show any spread of cancer to the brain. Apparently, lung cancer's favorite place to metastasize is the brain. So at least we have good news. Also in the category of good news is that a surgery on the lung cancer is scheduled for July 20.

My sister has one child--a daughter named Melissa. She is in the category of being a full-grown child. But she is still terribly distraught with her mother's health crisis. As a sister of the patient, I am terribly distraught. I cannot imagine what Melissa feels.

Unfortunately, all this health crisis is happening in Missouri. That is a long, long ways from Ontario. And I can't be there for them. At least physically.

Being sent with today's Canada Post, is this: a prayer shawl for Melissa. It's not much, but it's what I can do right now. Down the road? We'll just have to see. And pray for a good outcome surgically.

The shawl came from Stephanie Pearl McPhee's book, Knitting Rules. I used three balls of Lion Brand Jiffy and some white yarn from my stash.

Houston, we (may) have a problem.

The stash:















The stash containment system:














Does anyone see a problem here?

A Yarn Haul Without Comparison

My favorite yarn store is, regrettably, going out of business. I am broken-hearted at the thought of losing this priceless resource.

Of course, with the imminent demise of my favorite shop, it was imperative that I make some purchases to tide me over until I find another favorite yarn shop. Or open my own. But that's another story.

So today I went out to the shop and this is what I got:


In the upper left corner you see balls of red, gold and white Zara along with a ball of green wool acquired at the Knitter's Frolic. These are destined to be a sweater for Doug -- along with a lot of other balls of green.

Immediately below the Zara is a hank of yellow/cream baby alpaca. This will be mittens for the upcoming winter.

Lying next to the alpaca are two balls of alpaca in lovely jewel tones. These will become either mittens or a hat.

The mauve is an alpaca/silk blend, destined to become a sweater shown in the current Interweave Knits. For myself, if you can imagine.

There are two hanks of hand-dyed alpaca, crying to become a shawl.

Two balls of Regia silk, planned to be a pair of socks for Doug.

Three balls of cotton, which want to be a summer top.

Eleven hanks of a lovely cotton blend which also want to become a summer top.

There are some balls of Debbie Bliss cotton/angora blend which will become a summer top.

There are also ten hanks of Silky Wool which will become a wonderful top for me.

So much knitting, so many fibers. My mind went into overload and I couldn't give you a careful description of them.

Sigh. I'm in heaven.

Learning about myself

Apparently, not only can I be bought (see previous post on June 15), I am also not trustworthy when visiting yarn stores.

You see, Stephanie hosted her birthday party at Lettuce Knit in Toronto. Using the excuse that I wanted her autograph, I hied down to Toronto and perused said yarn store.

Honestly, these skeins just followed me home. Er ... they jumped into my arms, begging to be welcomed into a happy home. (Never mind that Stephanie and I dumped the basket holding the alpaca yarn onto the floor with our fondling. Nor the flailing elbows that prevailed around the basket holding the other.)

So what you see here is the result of my trek to town:
On the left you see two skeins of Misti Alpaca, 100% baby alpaca. The colour is actually more of a buttery yellow, and the texture is to die for. I now own 800 meters of this delight, and am contemplating a shawl.

On the right you see one skein of Seasilk, from Handmaiden. This fiber is 70% silk and 30% Seacell. The fiber purportedly exudes vitamin E while you are working with it and while wearing the finished product. We'll see. All I know is that it reminds me of my trip to the Caribbean last year with my daughter.

Honestly, they followed me home!

Thursday already?

So where in the world does time go? I can't believe it's been so long since my last post.

What's been happening in the meantime? Well, I've been helping out a friend at her yarn shop. Yes, it is now official. I CAN be bought. I've also started teaching a knitting class at the Uxbridge Library, jointly sponsored by the Friends of the Uxbridge Library and Yonder Yarns. That does take up some time.

My younger sister announced that she is expecting a baby this fall. This means that not only do I get to knit for a baby, but I also get to make things for the neice as well. After all, one mustn't forget the new big sister, right?

Here you see Emery's sweater. The pattern is from Sirdar, #3061. It is a reasonably easy pattern, both to read and to knit. Be aware, however, that the pattern details have been omitted from the sleeve directions. The mistake was quite easy to spot, so I didn't have to spend much time making corrections.


The yarn itself is Magic Garden Classic, a super-wash wool. The colour is just scrumptious. The yarn was purchased at the Knitters Frolic last April. The sweater is seen here pre-blocking. I also need to find the perfect buttons. Any ideas? The neice is 4 years old ...

I also discovered that my guage was strange with this pattern. I've been doing pretty well, getting guage. With this pattern, needle and wool ... I basically ended up using the stitch numbers for the size 1-2 year size, and using the length directions for the 3-4 year size. I really haven't experienced this before. But it worked, so I guess I can't complain. Well, I CAN. I'm just not planning on it.

In other news ... the Yarn Harlot's birthday was Wednesday. She celebated by having a party at Lettuce Knit in Toronto. Just because I'm a wild and crazy kind of person, I decided to go. I took the GO train from the Oshawa station to the Danforth Station, walked up to the Main Station of the TTC and rode the subway over to the Spadina Station. In a perfect world, I would've then gotten on the Spadina streetcar and had a pleasant ride to the proper cross-street.

Instead, I missed the transfer to the streetcar and started walking. Now, it is legend and well-known amongst my family and friends that I am totally directionless. So of course I turned the wrong direction out of the subway station and started walking. After two blocks I realized that the sun was setting on my left ... which meant that I was walking north. This knowledge really pleased me since I am so directionless. Unfortunately, the store is located in Kensington Market which is south of the Spadina station. I turned around and started walking south. Along the way, I saw a beautiful double rainbow. It was getting close to 9:00 pm, and I was afraid that I would miss the festivities, but at least I saw the rainbow. It was worth it.

I arrived at Lettuce Knit and discovered that the festivities were just warming up. Stephanie handed me a beer and welcomed me. I perched next to a couple of new friends -- also knitting baby projects. Melanie, who was gracious enough to see that I boarded the proper streetcar at the end of the evening, had a baby bootie in her bag. It was knitted but not seamed, as she was not sure that it really was a bootie. I showed her that it was, loaned her a needle and scissors, and made a new friend. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to get an e-mail address. If anyone knows who she is and how she can be contacted, it would be great if you could share with me.

Finally, after consuming the beer donated by Stephanie and having some munchies, I asked her to sign her book for me and pose for a photo. She did. I am so lucky. And Stephanie is truly a wonderful person.

Stephanie says "Same time, next year." I am *SO* going to be there.

In search of the perfect rocking chair

I don't know about anyone else, but I know that I love rocking chairs. In my humble opinion, the world would be a lot better place if we all sat down and spent some time in a rocking chair, sipping tea, and even knitting a row or two. The problem with this (and it pains me greatly to admit that there is a problem) is that a good rocking chair is difficult to find. Difficult? Try nearly impossible.

In my house, there are currently three rocking chairs. All purchased with me in mind, and purchased by me. Tested beforehand, I might add. These chairs are sly and sneaky. They test out perfectly fine in the store or at the yard sale. Once convinced they have a safe home, they morph into evil beings.

For instance, take this chair. This is an Ikea chair. My son and daughter-in-law have two of them at their apartment. I sat in them and rocked. They were wonderful. Quiet and comfortable. I even knit at their apartment. The chairs there cooperated wonderfully.

So we purchased a pair of chairs, exactly like my son's, for our home. Unfortunately for us, this year the chairs seem to be the most popular chair Ikea carries. We managed to score the chairs and chair pads we wanted. After several trips to our local Ikea, we have even managed to procure the pads for the footstools. The footstool itself? Not to be found. Scarce is an understatement. We have been looking since last August. To no avail. The chair would be just fine with a footstool. Without? Well, I'm not the tallest person in the world. My feet don't quite hit the floor, and the chair cuts into the back of my knees. Besides, and this is not the fault of the chair, this chair is in the middle of my living room. The daughter does her homework on the floor right in front of this chair. The television is 8 feet away. The stereo is likewise 8 feet away. One or both of them seem to be constantly in use. For lace knitting, this arrangement leaves a lot to be desired.

To obtain the necessary peace and quiet for lace knitting, I often retreat to the bedroom. This is a parental oasis of calm and quiet. No children are permitted, except by special dispensation. Only one cat is allowed in, and she is the quiet one. One would think that the atmosphere would be conducive to lace knitting. Wouldn't you?


One would think. However, the bentwood rocker has other ideas. It squeaks on the backward motion, and it squeals on the forward motion. I still haven't figured out how, since there are no moving parts. But squeak and squeal it does. I suppose if I rocked in a constant, even motion no one would mind. But I seem to rock furiously -- probably when I am on the return row which has no yarn-overs or knit two togethers. Then I rock and pause, rock and pause. Followed by furious rocking.

This drives my husband crazy. It doesn't do my mental state any good either. Squeak. Squeal. Squeak. Squeal. Kind of defeats the relaxing purpose of knitting.

So I went searching for a rocking chair that would not squeak. I wandered yard sales, hoping for that elusive perfect rocking chair. This chair followed me home one Saturday.

At its previous home, it rocked quietly. Smoothly backward, smoothly forwards. And silently. The owner claimed to have rocked her babies in this chair. Quietly backward, quietly forward. I tested it. Really. Tested it thoroughly, I might add. And it was quiet. So I plunked my hard-earned cash down and brought it home.

My lovely husband carried it upstairs. I lovingly washed the cushion covers so that they would not smell. I started my Fiddlesticks Knitting Whisper Scarf out of lace-weight alpaca from Silver Cloud Alpacas. And the blasted chair squeaks. Horribly. Even if I'm not moving! How does it do that?! Oh, I've figured out that if I sit in exactly the right spot, with my left foot in the perfect place on the floor, my right foot in its precisely proper position, with my tongue pushed firmly behind my top front teeth, the chair does not complain. But have you tried to knit lace under those conditions? Impossible, I say.

There will be a yard sale Saturday in Port Perry. There is a better-than-average chance that you will find at least one rocking chair there!