Another one bites the dust!

Another listing of what's on the needles, that is.

So I started the month with 8 items on the list. ... Added another pair of mittens to the list ... I added a cute little dress for my niece (I have enough yarn to make a size 2, and she's rapidly approaching that size so I better get to it, eh?) ...

I DID, however, finish one item. Ta da!

This is "Benedict" from Jane Ellison's Queensland Collection. I dutifully knit a gauge swatch; achieved gauge; and started knitting a large. Um ... no. That would have fit an elephant. Since the gentleman in question was not nearly that size, I thought it prudent to listen to the knitting and take a second look. Still knitting to gauge, mind you, but the pattern was coming out way, way too large.

Frogged it and started again, but making the medium instead of large. Still knitting to gauge. Interesting notes to self regarding this pattern, to-wit:

The design was designed and test knit for the small size. (No problem--it's what I would've done myself.) How do I know? Because the picture in the book clearly shows that the cable panel running along the front v-neck is a full cable panel. Also, and this is the part that really got me steaming, the designer states that she "asked my knitter on this one to work all neck decreases 15 sts in from the neck edge ..." Um, well, great. But why didn't you write the pattern that way?
And besides, following the directions caused me to split the centre cable panel and doing all decreases in 15 sts from the edge would have had me making decreases in the middle of the cable panel, not the way she pictured it. In addition, I ended up having a cable panel go all the way to the edge of the design ... the designer envisioned having one purl edge stitch, hence the 15 stitches instruction.

After ripping out the front right section several times, I finally got a look I was happy with. Finished the knitting, and blocked the sweater before attempting assembly. (To make sure that the vest would fit the gentleman for whom it was intended in reality, but I claim that it was to make the assembly work better!)

Again, following the directions provided, I picked up the requisite number of stitches for the v-neck ribbing. Row 1 was fine. How hard can knit 2, purl 2 ribbing be? Apparently more difficult than I thought as I had to tink back to correct the sequencing. The second row, however ... the designer asked you to knit down one side of the v, decrease in the purl stitches before the centre front, then decrease again in the next purl section, AND decrease again in the next purl stitches. Three decreases, not centred? Uh ... no. Fortunately I caught that little discrepancy before I had actually done it.

The yarn I used was Twilley's Freedom Spirit, in colour no. 517, and a total of 8 balls. I used 4.00mm needles for the entire project, and as stated earlier, achieved gauge of 28 sts - 10cm over the pattern stitch.

Currently, I'm knitting a square for the Great American Aran Afghan -- the Dagmara Berztiss square, and am approximately 25% done.

Tomorrow ... the Knitter's Frolic in Toronto. Should be fun getting there as the Don Valley Parkway is closed. I just love road construction season!

Life lessons ...

Life lessons can be painful. Life lessons can be expensive. Life lessons can be traumatic. Unfortunately for me, the latest lessons have been painful, expensive and traumatic. Fortunately, not many of these lessons are all three at the same time. The latest, however ...

The biggest lesson I have learned relates to my shop, Never Enough Wool. Previously I had stated with great excitement and enthusiasm that we would be moving. Now in the cold, harsh light of reality and lawyer bills I have to say that no, we will not be moving. I'm hopeful that my lawyer can recover the deposit, the loss of which has greatly hindered my cash flow. Failing that, I'm hopeful that my lawyer can prevent the (*in my humble opinion) snake-like landlord from cashing the second cheque given in deposit. You see, what I thought was an earnest money deposit the aforementioned SLL (*) has interpreted to mean that the APPLICATION TO LEASE was in fact a lease agreement and he gets to keep all the cash. I'm still waiting to hear back from my lawyer ... and in fact I have issued a stop-payment on the second cheque. Now it is a waiting game, and those of you who know me well understand how difficult waiting patiently is for me.

I keep telling myself that there are folks in a lot worse straights than I. Deep in my heart, I know that too, and understand it. It just hurts so damn much to think that I was gullible enough to sign an application to lease without understanding all the implications; that I was gullible enough to hand over the equivalent of three months' rent to someone who appears to be less than honorable; that I was stupid enough to just flush that kind of money down the drain. After all, think of all the yarn I could buy with that kind of cash!

Waiting is so hard.

To assist me in whiling away the hours of waiting I decided to finish up one of the projects on my list. To be specific, the black alpaca mittens that were started way long ago. Initially they were planned for Doug for skiing. Unfortunately, the mitten when finished was too small. (It actually fit me, what a shame, eh?) So I stopped knitting with black alpaca and moved onward to some green alpaca. Doug got his mittens and aside from the green dye running onto his hands when his hands get sweaty, he loves them. I thought that a quick mitten and I'd be able to cross the project off the list.

This brings me to my second recent life lesson.

When putting a project aside, be absolutely positively certain to make notes to yourself so that you know what size needle you are supposed to be using when you come back. Now, instead of crossing off a project I actually have to make two mittens. And added another project to my list.

You tell me -- is this a painful or a traumatic lesson?

MORE finished items!

Did I mention that I was teaching a "learn to knit socks" class at the Uxbridge Library? I think I did ... since most of the students there were learning to knit socks on double-pointed needles, I decided to knit a pair of socks on them as well. I should do this periodically since it reminds me just why I love magic loop so much.

In any event, I knit up a pair of socks beginning the second week in February, and finishing up just this past week. The yarn is Briggs & Little*, self-dyed into a striping pattern. The pattern was the standard vanilla sock, knit on 2.5mm needles. Sized to fit ... ?? After all, I DID miss giving out socks for Christmas this past year.
The dye we used for this particular workshop was RIT powdered dye, and apparently rather old. There is supposed to be some orange in there, but it came out terribly faded. The yellow is rather washed out as well. Since then, my cohorts in dying and I have switched over to newer dyes and it does seem to be working well.

Another project that was finished up is this mosiac tee top from the from the Summer 2008 issue of Interweave Knits.
I used 5 balls of Butterfly Super 10 Cotton (two of the cream, two green {3766} and one of the light green {3777}) and the suggested needles (3.75 and 4.5mm). I didn't quite achieve qauge, but that turned out to be quite fine since I had cast on for a larger size than I really needed.

Even though this looks like fair isle work, it was not difficult. The mosaic technique means that you are working with only one colour per row and slipping the stitches that need to be a different colour. Very easy.

Everyone who has seen this top modeled and not have all loved it. Now for some warmer weather so I can wear it ...

Still no firm moving date for the shop. The probable new landlord and I are now in negotiations. Yahoo!

*The lady who ran the dying workshop wherein I dyed the yarn couldn't remember if she had ordered the sock-weight yarn with or without nylon reinforcement. I guess I'll figure it out by how well (or not) the socks wear.

Carol's Correctional Corner for Knits

After unraveling and knitting, and unraveling and knitting, and unraveling and knitting the Knit One Below vest, I did finally finish it. And I have to admit that the problems I had with this project were entirely of my own making. (Dang, I hate to admit that in public!)

The design itself was published in Knitter's Winter 2008 issue. Instead of the chunky/worsted combination of wool suggested, I used a worsted/DK combination and was able to get gauge immediately using a 4.5mm needle. According to my knitting bag, I used two skeins of Twilley's Freedom Spirit and one of Cascade 220 Heather (colour no. 513 & 2434 respectively). Of course, I don't have the vest here right now, so I can't weigh it to see if that is correct. I know that the vest didn't require a lot of mileage, but I'm finding it a bit strange that I used so little wool. My guesstimate would be three balls of Twilley's and two of Cascade, but what do I know?

In any event, it was quite a nice knit once I learned to pay attention to where I put my needles. Apparently there is a knit-one-below book just published that has some to-die-for patterns. My intrepid friend Barb has the book and will share with me ... but not until next week. Grumble.

In other news, and this is momentuous news, there will be some changes happening here at Never Enough Wool in picturesque Port Perry. The shop will be moving! Just down the street, so there isn't a lot of distance involved. Actually, it's only something like 300 feet or thereabouts (three football fields). The bonus? My shop space will be doubled, I will have all my yarn storage on-site, I'll have plenty of room for knitters for my classes and knitting nights (and crochet nights!), and the parking lot gets thoroughly plowed regularly in the winter.

Moving day will be sometime during the last week of April. Fortunately there isn't a lot that needs to be done to the unit -- a bit of blue paint on the walls, the floor needs to be stripped and waxed ... that's about it. Of course, there will be at least one trip to Ikea for more shelving units, and then the fun of moving boxes and boxes of yarn along with the existing inventory. My Wednesday afternoon group have all volunteered to help with the move ... Somehow I don't think that too few hands is gonna be a problem.

Doncha just hate it when ...

good knits go bad?

March 7, 2009

It has been an interesting and busy week at our house. First, the daughter had two, count-em, TWO, auditions for university. The first was for Ryerson, which went well but she isn't crazy about attending there. The second was at York University, and it didn't go as well as she would have liked ... only to discover that perhaps, maybe, she might have liked to attend there. Ah well. Where she REALLY wants to attend, the University of Toronto, has already accepted her via early admissions to their Fine Arts program. She now is in the throes of the audition woes for the drama program.

In addition to the audition trauma, there was the Improv competition to contend with. This year, the team was in the Robo-Ghost Zone of the Canadian Improv Games (CIG) organization. They came in first place, which was a tremendous position for the team. The photo below is the tableau scene from the Zone competition ...
The Regional competition occurred just this past week. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated entirely from progressing further. They missed the wild card round by two whole points. Bummer, eh? At least they had fun, and we parents were treated to three nights of improv comedy.

In further news, I finished the Infernal Hat. This is the hat I was knitting for Doug in the double-knit technique. I believe the wool really wanted to be socks, or perhaps mtitens. Instead, I forced it to become a hat. It had its revenge -- I had to restart three times; then after seaming it up, I had to unstitch the seam and add length. Twice. I have now decreed that the thing is DONE. If it doesn't fit Doug, I'll FIND someone it'll fit.

I also finished the baby gift for my neighbour. Tada! This is the ribbed, hooded sweater from McCalls Super Baby Book (circa 1979). I started this sweater on the 7th of February. It has actually been finished for about a week, but I've just now gotten around to photographing and talking about it. A three week sweater -- not bad.

The yarn is Maypole from Coats & Clark, found in my stash. The needles were 5.5mm, so the stitches moved right along. I used 2 skeins and a bit ... hard to say exactly how much since I started with a partial skein and ended with another partial skein.

So how many projects does this leave on my needles? Um ... 9. I really need to start finishing things before starting new ones!

There WERE 9 projects going.

Last time we chatted, there were 9 projects on the go. Yes, 9 projects. Me of the one-at-a-time mentality. It does stretch one's mind, trying to figure out which project to work on next. At the store, there's no problem. I just switch every day and so the Mosiac Tee and the Reversible Vest progress nicely. The alpaca mitten will just have to wait until I finish these two, and THEN it'll get to come out to play. Same for the Great American Aran Afghan.

At home? Well, that's an entirely different story. Carrie's afghan is so large it can only be knitted on at home. Doug's hat? Well ... there's just not a whole lotta love there right at the moment, so it is kind of shoved down to the bottom of the bag. Besides, we weren't home much last weekend. Driving to and from Orangeville, and then Doug and I took a day trip.

So what DID I knit on in the car? Just this:

My neighbours are expecting a bouncing baby girl in early March. Since he sometimes plows out the end of the driveway, it seems only fitting that I make a little something for the new arrival. This will be a hooded sweater from a very old McCalls baby magazine. 8 hours of driving time equals 5 inches of fabric. In my defense, this is a knit-one-below pattern. If it had been straight ribbing, it would've been 10 inches long. Or more. (That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.) Another half an inch and I get to work the armhole shapings!

Aside from the 4 hours for the Orangeville trip, where did Doug and I go? We headed off on Sunday morning (OK. It was 11:30 so technically it WAS still morning!) to Dorset. The goal was to have a ski at the Leslie Frost Centre. Perhaps the conditions would be ski-able, perhaps not. If not, we'd have had a nice scenic drive. Fortunately for us, the conditions were passable. (This means that although the trails were somewhat icy, they weren't completely glazed. And there was a skim of fresh snow.) The most exciting news of all is that I actually skied the BEAR TRAIL! 8.1 kilometres of trail altogether! And a warm-up hut to which I'd never been! And new hills to challenge! The even MORE EXCITING NEWS--I successfully skied down two hills that I'd never conquered before! YIPPEE! YAHOO!

A note to folks who hate winter -- Doug and I are doing our snow dance every night now so that I can go ski again at the Frost Centre! Just don't you be doing your sun dance until I get one more ski! Please!

Monday is generally a day off for me and the store is closed. This week, however, Carrie had to be at school at the unholy hour of 8:00 am for an Improv rehearsal. After dropping her off, I went back to the shop and cleaned. 3 hours worth. The behind the counter area looks amazing and well organized. Of course, the challenge will be to keep it that way.

Monday evening saw me off to the Uxbridge Library to teach a class on knitting socks. Of course, if you are teaching how to knit socks, one must have a pair of socks on needles for demonstration purposes. Really! It is a necessity!

Which means that I was forced to start another pair of socks. Forced, I say. No choice in the matter whatsoever. Well, a choice of whether to use Magic Loop or double-pointed needles. Since the majority of my students were using DPNs, I decided to use them too.

The yarn is Briggs & Little sock yarn which I hand-dyed many moons ago. Now that I've started, I'm way curious to see how the pattern works out!

Stay tuned -- Let's see if I can manage to stop adding new projects! (Hmmm ... the new Crofter yarn from Sirdar is pretty insistent ...)

HOW many projects do I have going?!

Way back last November, I made a list of the projects I had on the go, and was astounded to discover that I was up to 14 projects. Yes, 14. And then I finished two of them so was down to 12. That felt pretty good, I must say. So since then, I have been dutifully crossing off finished projects. My list was looking pretty darned good. I thought. And then I finished a couple of projects ...

I'm going to blame my forgetfulness on the vagaries of pre-menopausal hormones. (There's GOT to be SOME advantages to aging, right?) Several Many projects apparently had not been added to the list as they were started. Admittedly they were store projects, and I seem to always have socks on the needles. Do socks count? As stash, sock yarn doesn't count so it does stand to reason that sock projects shouldn't count. Right? (she asks hopefully!)

In any event, my list of on-going projects currently is at 9. The black alpaca mittens from last November, the Great American Aran Afghan also from last November, a mosaic tee-top from the Summer '08 Interweave Knits newly added, the Knit 1 Below reversible vest from the Winter '08 Knitters also newly added, the Misti Alpaca/Silk shawl which only needs blocking (Carol, get BUSY!), Carrie's afghan which still needs another pattern repeat to make her happy, a baby gift for my neighbour's new arrival (the husband sometimes plows out the end of our driveway), creation of a pattern for a baby afghan for the store--this was on the list back in November, and newly resurrected on the list--Doug's accursed wool hat. That's 9.

But I DID finish these:

These are the Celtic Braid Socks (pattern #157) from Cabin Fever. I have wanted to knit these puppies for several years. In fact, one of my friends saw the pattern and acquired it and has knit three or four pairs (that I know of) since I first fell in love. Now, I HAVE knit them! I used approximately 75g of wool, which was half the requirement stated on the pattern. And yet the socks are plenty big, so I just don't know how accurate either the ball bands were, or the pattern. The wool is identified as Bouqet sock & Sweater, presumably purchased from Eatons many eons ago. I got it at a yard sale so I really have no idea as to the provenance.

I must admit that the cable panel gave me fits. I guess I've gotten so accustomed to knitting brainless socks that actually having to count rows was a fair shock to my poor hormone-befuddled brain. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!) In any event, I did get the socks finished, reasonably accurately, and I'm quite pleased with them.

Will I reknit the pattern? Yeah, I think I will. While it did cause me some angst, the outcome was well worth it. (As evidenced by Doug looking longingly at the socks and hoping that he will find them in HIS Christmas stocking next December!)

Another project recently finished is the Eyelets Squared Vest from June '07 Knit 'n Style. I used Filati Fantasia Carezza from Diamond Yarns -- 5 skeins to be exact -- and achieved gauge on the 5.5mm needles specified in the directions.

This was a fun project to knit and the instructions were reasonably clear. The most difficult part of the whole shebang was in getting the second tier of blocks lined up over the first after the horizontal eyelet row. I finally used stitch markers and viola! Everything worked beautifully. I'm kind of wondering about making another vest in a different colour ... this would be a marvelous summer top. Of course, the vest must live in the store as a sample for a few months (isn't it amazing how store samples seem to magically fit someone in my family?!), but by then it'll be summer and just in time for wearing!

In other news ... Tanglefoot has announced that 2009 will be their last year. This means that our previous 2-hour rule* has been expanded to a 3-hour rule. Tonight after closing the shop at 5:00 pm, we'll be driving to Orangeville to see the guys (and gal) perform. Gotta see them every opportunity we can, doncha know. Not doing anything tonight at 8:00? Come on down to Orangeville! The show will be fantastic!

The last bit of extremely exciting news (for me and my household anyway) is that Google Maps actually can pinpoint the location of Never Enough Wool -- and has a little flag to mark the spot! Carrie was bouncing off the ceilings as she told about this miraculous discover. Considering that my bedroom has multiple slopes in it, this was ... um ... rather exciting at 11:00 pm. (Picture a pinball game and she's the little bouncing ball ...)

Hope to see lots of folks at the Tanglefoot concert tonight. In the meantime, I'm off to see if I can finish another project or two off my list -- before starting a new one!


*2-Hour Rule: If Tanglefoot is playing in a venue to which we can drive in 2 hours or less from home, we attend.

Ooops!

Ooops!I tried so hard not to do that, and I did it anyway.

The things you find in your knitting basket ...

I finished a project at the store. This prompted my digging through the basket to clean up the clutter and detritus of a finished project. You know, the ball wrappers, dropped stitch markers, cable needles and such. Apparently, I haven't cleaned out the knitting basket for a while.

How do I know this? Because I found these --

Two, count 'em, TWO squares for the Great American Aran Afghan that I haven't labeled and talked about. And I know for a fact that I finished these two squares sometime back in early November. Possibly even late October.

On the left is the Barbara McIntire square, found on page 44 of the book. My notes indicate that I found it delightfully easy to knit. Also, there are no notations as to corrections so apparently it was accurately written. Nice.

The square on the right is Ann McCauley square, found on page 38. Again, I find no notations as to problems with directions, so it must have been fairly straightforward and accurately written. I do recall that I dislike working bobbles and this particular square has a ton of them. Two different kinds, actually, just to keep you on your toes.

The knit-along group for this afghan over at Delphi Knit 'n Chat is two squares ahead of me ... perhaps three by now. I think one of the squares I am behind is one that I've already knit so that'll help me get caught up. I am hopeful that by the end of January I can claim to be back with the group. After all, hope does spring eternal and all that blarney.

The project which I finished and which spurred the dive to the depths of the knitting basket is this little set:
One of my customers is knitting for the wee ones whose parents are clients at The Refuge in Oshawa, Ontario. I told her that I'd help and started knitting. All of the pieces come from directions found in Newlands Baby Book volume 12, circa 1955 or thereabouts. The cardigan is pattern no. 81 -- the cable is actually one I'd never worked before. There are nine stitches; the first three stitches are placed on a cable needle and held in back while the next three stitches are knit, then moved to the front while the NEXT three stitches are knit; and finally, the three stitches from the cable needle are worked. Pretty much a braid, in reality. Way cool. The hat comes from pattern no. 82, and the mittens from pattern 57. All are worked in Sirdar Snuggly 4-ply in colour 317. I am really happy with how well this project turned out. I am hoping that the wee one at The Refuge enjoys the wearing of it.

And with great fanfare and delight, I bring you this:
This is a double-knit hat, without a pattern, for Doug. I tried three times before I finally got the right number of stitches and length. The wool is Isle of Harris DK Scottish wool, which my step-daughter and her mother brought back from Scotland. It is an interesting wool with which to work. It feels really coarse, and I did in fact knit too long with it a couple of times and ended up with bleeding friction burns on my fingers. This despite the lanolin still contained in the wool. It did withstand the trips to the frog pondwithout even a whimper, so I am very pleased about that. Doug tried on the hat and pronounced it wonderful--surprisingly not scratchy.

I think the wool would have preferred to be a pair of heavy boot socks. I had even told Doug that if the hat didn't work out this time that was it--I was going to frog it and make socks. Perhaps this is why the hat fits "perfectly"?

In any event, I used approximately 100 grams of the 193 gram ball. I am wondering if I dare make a smaller hat with the remainder.

In my next entry -- exciting details about the new summery, cotton vest I started!

Whew!

The holidays certainly are a frantic time of year. Shopping, baking, cards, wrapping, traveling, visiting ... It's so difficult to catch one's breath over the holidays, let alone remember to blog.

I do wish for you and yours a safe, healthy and happy 2009, filled with good times, good memories and plenty of wool.

This holiday season found Doug, Carrie and I traveling to Michigan to visit. My eldest was in town from Virginia, my middle child was in town, and the daughter was amenable to splitting Christmas Day between her father and myself. So we ventured out through the snow and howling winds to Montague, Michigan, where we rented the extended stay suite at the Weathervane Inn. This turns out to have been a stroke of genius on our part; basically we had a small apartment at our disposal, complete with a private bedroom and full kitchen. I put together a casserole on Christmas eve and we baked it the following morning. All three kids and a spouse (hi, Coris!) came for breakfast and gifts. We had a wonderful time catching up and visiting. Turns out that it has been about 8 years since the three kids had been together for Christmas. Gifts were exchanged and the kids returned to their dad's home.

Doug and I continued on down to the Battle Creek area to visit my family. Typical hotel -- bed, bathroom and that's all there was. We were able to spend some time on Christmas Day at my brother's home. Boxing Day saw us at my youngest brother's house to celebrate with all the sisters and brothers who live nearby, along with my father and step-mother. Two of my three kids came down from Muskegon as well, which was a bonus. Again, gifts were exchanged, food eaten, memories created, and a good time was had by all.

Saturday we drove home. Once again, in pretty crummy weather. Doug wonders why our travels to the western side of Michigan always result in bad weather. I have to keep reminding him that we invariably travel to Muskegon for either American Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of November) or Christmas. Both of these holidays fall during the dark days of winter weather; hence, I can pretty well guarantee that we will be driving through crud. Ah well. Perhaps he'll forget enough that I can convince him to repeat our performance next year ...

In any event, all that driving resulted in some pretty intensive knitting time for me. Doug is a far better driver than passenger, so I let him drive while I knit and keep him company. My first accomplishment of the trip was the completion of these socks:

Perhaps these will become a stocking stuffer for some unwitting child next year ... or perhaps not. Only time will tell! The wool was purchased at the Knitters Frolic last year. The wool is Lana Grossa, colour 5121. It was quite nice, no knots or difficulties that way. I used my standard 2.75mm needles and the magic loop technique.

The second accomplishment was the completion of these lovely alpaca mittens for Doug.
The wool is Luxury Alpaca Paint, in a sadly discontinued colour. I used the double-knit mitten pattern that we have found so delightful at the shop and a 4.00mm needle. I did, however, require three 50-gram balls of yarn instead of the suggested two balls. Glad I could find one more ball at the shop since I had only squirreled away two balls! I am planning to sew some bits of leather along the join between the thumb and palm -- exactly where the ski poles will be rubbing. After all, these mitts were enough work that I'm hoping they will last for two whole ski seasons!

Finally, I was able to finish up a baby blanket. This is a design of my own creation and devising! It is a completely reversible entrelac baby blanket!
The blanket is lovingly modeled by my baby doll from my childhood. (If you are wondering, these babies were in use in the late '50s to early '60s.) The pattern required 450 grams of Patons Canadiana--I used a colour named Light Pastels. The pattern has been written up and is in the process of being proofread, after which it will be available for sale in the shop.

All these finished objects mean that my list of projects on needles -- is down to seven! Seven projects on needles! Yahoo! Yippee!

For my three loyal readers ...

For my three loyal raeders (hi Lisa, Irene & Kathy!), I apologize for the quiet times around here.

In an attempt to distract you, I bring you tales from Tanglefoot, our favorite Canadian folk music group. They performed recently (it was TOO recently!) in Peterborough, Ontario. We drove over, taking Doug's daughter and her boy and my daughter and her boy (as in boyfriends). Since both of us have 5-passenger vehicles, this necessitated two cars. Bummer. No knitting for me on the drive over!

The concert was, as usual, wonderful. They sing songs about Canadian life, both in the past and current. Their historical songs are often based on facts, albeit somewhat loosely at times.

In any event, it is wonderful music and we love them. Over the years, we've gotten to know the guys in the band. Gotten to know them well enough that they are surprised if they don't see knitting in my hands during a concert. This time, I even got them to hold the knitting!

This is Al, the bass player. His voice has been described as being "halfway between melted chocolate and sex." (Not by me, mind.) I do love bass voices, and his ranks right up there at the top of my favorite bass voices.
This is Terry, Rob and Steve being good sports as well. Rob's wife is also a knitter, so he does understand the allure of yarn. He claims that we was scoping out the project, trying to decide if he should score some yarn for his wife.

And the fact that there are two socks in each photo? Carrie took her knitting with her. Emily, Doug's daughter, also had a mitten project with her, but she didn't want to join in the fun. Silly girl, eh?

A non-knitting post.

The Toronto Star featured a book review last summer on a book that ... well, it interested me. Because I have two sons who are so dang close to military age (28 and 24 years old at the moment), the military activities of the U.S. were always pretty close to the top of my radar screen. The book?

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the Scugog library had it on their shelves.

I've read it. This book is an absolutely scathing review of the GWB presidency. When I say scathing, I do mean scathing. I keep expecting smoke to leak from between the covers. The book is actually a compelling case for the indictment and trial of GWB for the murders of the members of the armed forces who have died in the fighting in Iraq. Complete with footnotes, legal precedents and citations to the source materials for the charges I might add. The drawback to this book, and ultimately the reason why no one will act upon it and the reasoning it contains is this: Mr. Bugliosi is an ardent and fervent Democrat; his language when referring to GWB is demeaning, derogatory and inflammatory, and possibly libelous. In fact, not even half-way through the book, I was more than tired of hearing GWB referred to in such a manner.

Heh. Now that I think about it, perhaps I understand why Bugliosi did what he did. The ONLY defense to libel and slander is the truth. Perhaps we has hoping to incite GWB into suing for libel and slander, at which point Bugliosi could trot out his vision of the truth and hope that the judge and jury would agree with him. An interesting move, to say the least.

In any event, I would recommend this as a good read.

In other news ... Lake Scugog has frozen over this week. Twice, in fact. This second time, however, it looks like it's gonna stick. Brrrr. The freezing over part isn't really news; after all, freeze-up happens every year. This year we have the good fortune of having actually removed all dock sections from the water ahead of time. (Yippee!) What WAS momentuous, however, was this:


That is a lone, single, solitary Canada Goose out there. They don't usually hang out by themselves, you know. I was getting ready to head into the shop when I glanced out the window and saw this guy. Just sitting there on the ice. After brushing my teeth and getting dressed, he was still there. Just sitting there all by his lonesome. I was afraid that he was actually stuck to the ice--destined for a long, slow death by exposure or a traumatic death by raccoon or neighbourhood dog. Neither was something I particularly wanted to see happen on my lakefront.

I got the binoculars and went for a closer look. He was still there, just kind of looking around forlornly. Now I was worried. What to do, how to help him. (I am a sucker for this type of thing. I vividly recall feeding the ducks down by the Bear Lake Tavern with my ex-husband and being concerned that one duck with a "broken wing" wasn't getting enough to eat. I charged the ex-husband with luring the entire flock down the shoreline so that I could toss some bread to the injured duck. After dinner, the injured duck thanked me by standing up and shaking out his feathers so that his wing looked ... perfect!)

I went and got Doug and showed him the poor goose. Doug figured that he was too far out for a simple (but freezing) wade out to free him. Perhaps a canoe could be used to break the ice and set him free? Doug was pondering the ways in which aid could be secured while I went out to start my car warming up. After all, Never Enough Wool really needed to be opened on time. I do have early morning customers.

I came back from starting the car, tromping across the crusty snow on the deck and making lots of noise. I noticed the goose's head pop up to get a better look at the excitement on the shore.

Then I saw --

There he went, shaking his tail feathers at me as he strolled off.

Good thing I discovered my folly before Doug got his canoe down to the lake, eh?

The problem is ...

I've posted a list of all the projects currently on needles. Twelve of 'em, to be exact. That's a whole lotta knitting. For some folks, this many projects is no big deal. They just roll a dice, or a pair of dice in this case, and depending on the number that comes up work on a particular project for the day. Intrepid Knitter Friend Barb does this, and generally she seems to be pretty happy with the technique.

My problem with this many projects isn't necessarily the overwhelming choice of projects to which I can devote myself for the day. No, that would be entirely too easy. My problem is that I want to see progress -- preferably instantaneous -- on every project. The whole "devote yourself to one project for the day" is actually kind of like how I prefer to function. It's easier to see progress. It's just that there are 11 other projects demanding my attention. If I do a couple of rows here, and a couple of rows there, and another couple of rows THERE ... well, you do get the idea.

Nothing, but nothing gets accomplished. In fact, in the 9 days since my previous post, I haven't been able to cross one single, solitary project off the list. Not one. How depressing is that?!

My saving grace, however, is that one project is nearing completion. The little babyset for my son's friends is looking quite respectable now. It lacks buttons, and that's not for lack of trying. At the shop, I have some cute blue teddy bear buttons--but only two and I need five. So then I found some cute dark blue elephant buttons.
I understand that many folks wouldn't understand the problem with elephant buttons. They ARE blue and this is being knit for a boy ... (Remember why I am knitting this set? Because my son "borrowed" the Obama/Biden sign from his friends' front lawn in order that his sister might possess a piece of political history. The friends didn't volutarily surrender the sign, nor were they happy when they discovered it missing. Hence the guilt gift.)

In the U.S., the political parties are denoted by animals. The Democrats are represented by the lowly donkey. The Obama/Biden ticket represented the Democrats in this last election. The Republicans are represented by (here it is!) ... um ... an elephant. It's off to Fabricland for buttons this weekend.

The pattern is from Paton's Book No. 117 (circa 1950s) and is called "Eyelet Wardrobe for 6 Months" and the yarn is King Cole Big Value Baby 4-Ply. I'm doing the jacket and toque since these friends live in Virginia. They don't get a whole lot of winter, so I think the jacket and toque will be perfect.

In other news ... I'm not supposed to talk about this a lot and we really aren't ready for a whole lot of traffic yet ...

but ...

I HAVE A WEB SITE!!!

Yes, you read that here first. Check this out: Never Enough Wool

This is still a work in progress, but definitely a step in the right direction. I'm so thrilled!

Finally, I have a mystery. I had a lovely customer come into the shop and purchase some wool to make a baby dress. She happily made her purchase and went on her way. Sometime after starting the project, however, she misplaced the pattern. A thorough search of her home, car and cottage have failed to produce the pattern. All we know is that it was an older booklet, probably from Beehive. Does anyone recognize this?


Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Cross that one off!

I really don't know why I did it. After all, ignorance is bliss. And we all know that I'm a one-project-at-a-time kind of a girl. So ... imagine my surprise when I discovered the following list of projects underway:

Black alpaca double knit mittens -- one mitt complete, one more needed. The yarn is Araucania Atacama, which has unfortunately been discontinued. Now that I've found a glorious project for it.
Green alpaca double knit mittens -- one mitt done to the thumb, one complete mitt needed. The yarn is Luxury Alpaca Paint, another discontinued yarn. Dang, I hate when I finally find a fabulous project and the yarn is discontinued!
Great American Aran Afghan -- 12 squares completed, two more to catch up to the knitalong group. I'm using Patons Canadiana, oatmeal colour. This will be a wonderful afghan when it's done.
Girl's size 4 cardigan, hat & mittens -- to be donated to The Refuge, preferably before the holidays. I'm planning to use Sirdar Snuggly DK and an old, old pattern. Stay tuned!
Holiday scarf -- knit from On-Line Starlight/Linie 218. I'm doing a very simple design of K2 tog, YO across; knit one row; YO, K2 tog; knit one row. Very simple, yet elegant.
Misti Suri Alpaca & Silk shawl -- the Lotus Blossom shawl from Fiddlesticks Knitting. Currently working on the first set of charts for the blossoms -- maybe 60% finished.
Baby boy sweater & hat -- to be a gift for friends of my eldest son. These would be the folks whose Obama/Biden campaign sign mysteriously disappeared off their front lawn on the evening of October 12 ...
Socks -- the ever-present pair of socks that I'm always carrying around with me. No pattern, boring as all get out. Turning the first heel on this pair.
Double-knit hat -- because a customer wants to make one and I couldn't find a plain pattern for her, I am designing and knitting one. Using wool that my step-daughter and her mother brought home for me from their England/Scotland trip this fall.
Baby blankets -- my friend Barb and I are committed to designing six baby blankets and compiling them into a booklet to sell at the shop. My contribution will be an entrelac design and a mock cable design.
Carrie's afghan -- she decided that her afghan could be a wee bit longer, and I do agree. Rather than add fringe (shudder), I have decided to take back the top border and add another pattern repeat. This counts as "on the needles" because if I don't, I may never get back to it!
Toddler Double-knit mittens -- using the same pattern but smaller yarn and needles (way smaller needles), one can knit up toddler mittens instead of adult mittens. But wait -- these are done like dinner! These little wee mittens were knit using one ball of Regia 4-ply sock wool and 2.5mm needles. Tedium knitting since the process is basically knit 1, purl 1 ribbing, but ... little fingers will be warm and toasty.

Afghan to be donated to the church-- My church is having a fundraiser on the 29th of November. Pausing for thought, it seems to me that I've been blessed with talents working with wool. I thought it would be nice for me to use those talents and make an afghan to donate. Four weeks later, here it is:
This afghan comes from Seasonal Knit Afghans by Rena V. Stevens, published as book no. 4446 from LeisureArts. The pattern itself is called Sumer Willows. Here is a close-up:
I used 11 balls of Patons Canadiana in Aran and the suggested 10mm needle. An easy knit once you get accustomed to the large needles. This afghan seriously only took about 4 weeks from start to finish. I admit that I worked pretty seriously on it -- tried to get 5 rows completed every night. Tried, mind you, not that I was always successful. In any event, I'd say this was a successful project.

So that's twelve active projects--down from 14. What is this world coming to?!?

YES!!!!

Please note that the title of this post has absolutely no relationship to the content. Why is the title "Yes!!"? Because I've been trying for the last three hours to upload the photos in the proper sequence. And wait on customers. And keep a smile on my face. "YES!!!" signifies that I've finally, YES, FINALLY, gotten the photos to load in the sequence I want. How? Load them backwards. First time I've ever had to do it this way, but ... well, it worked. Who am I to look a blog-horse in the mouth?

In the weeks since I posted Barb's adventure in steeking, I've been knitting. Rather steadily, in fact, but with little finished product to show. This perhaps is due to the afghan that I'm making for my church, and the shawl that I've ripped back twice. Since I'm still enjoying the knitting, however, I'm not gonna complain.

What I AM going to do is show you this lovely cardigan that I completed for myself. The cardigan comes from Classic Style Book 16 from RYC. The design itself is called "Charm" and is pictured on page 20 of the book. Originally designed for RYC Silk Wool DK, I used a yarn from Luxury containing silk and alpaca. Currently, the closest comparable is a Debbie Bliss yarn. The colour in the second photo is most accurate ... I used 10 balls of the wool as there apparently is significantly more yardage in the Luxury ball than the RYC.

I made no changes to the pattern--simply knit it as directed. Here is a detail of the leaves on the back of the sweater.
This is rapidly becoming one of my favorite sweaters. It is cozy, cuddly, stylish, and warm. Not to mention how most folks really like it! A delightful knit--if anyone is considering this project, I'd say "Go for it! NOW!"

In other news ... earlier in the summer, I cast on and finished a pair of socks for Doug. I thoroughly enjoyed knitting up the Ranco; the feel of the wool is great, the colourway was enticing. Doug thoroughly enjoyed wearing them. Then they were washed.

Now I admit that our version of "hand wash" involves the front loading washing machine. But it also includes a lingerie bag and cold water. Cold water. The socks shrank. But he could still wear them, and he did. A second washing--and Doug put the socks onto the handy, dandy sock stretchers to dry.

What happened next? It was a sad and terrible day at our house. Doug told me that the socks shrank yet again, despite the sock stretcher. And they would no longer fit him. In fact, they now were mine. (I tried desperately to keep a straight face. His telling me this, coming upon the heels {a pun--did you get it?} of my admitting to him that the alpaca double knit mitts at the store wouldn't fit him either, but fit me perfectly. Well, who wouldn't have exclaimed "YES!" complete with a fist pump?)

So they became mine and I wore them.
Turns out the socks are laughing at Doug, lying there oh so innocently where he can see that they are being worn and loved. I say, laughing at him. Loudly and long.

But who has the last laugh?
These are socks knit from Noro Kureyon sock wool, and he loves them. Just as much as he loved the Ranco socks.

Adventures in Steeking--Part 2

As promised, here is the continuation of Barb's steeking adventure. You will recall that she had steeked the armholes, completed the 3-needle bind off for the shoulders and picked up stitches for the collar in our last visit.

She came back to the shop on Saturday and presented us with the finished collar. It looks beautiful, although a little wonky what with the neckline shaping not cut out.
So she obligingly removed the offending piece.

Having finished off the neckline, the almost final step is to steek the front and make the sweater into a cardigan.
Once the sweater has become a cardigan, it is easy to sneak a peek into the interior of the sweater. Philosopher's Wool kits use a delightful technique whereby you carry the main colour in one hand, the second colour in the second hand, and wrap the stitches very stitch. This makes a very firm and solid fabric where there is no danger that one will snag an unwary finger in the floats on the reverse side.
Indeed, the back side of the knit is almost as beautiful as the front side. Barb used a mattress stitch to attach the sleeves, and she pronounces the seam "perfect."

Of course, the million dollar question is this: Will the sweater fit the intended recipient?

The answer?
Yup. Barb reports that her mother is not normally a domonstrative person. So when she sat with the sweater in her lap all afternoon, petting it and admiring the colours, Barb interprets that to be akin to jumping with joy.

After all, we are!

PS. Barb's dad wants a sweater too. After having said "never again," this time Barb said "Next year!"

Adventures in Steeking--part 1

Barb, my intrepid knitter friend, accompanied me to the Knitter's Fair last year. Where she fell in love with a Philosopher's Wool sweater kit. Silly me--I thought she knew that Philosopher's Wool always steeked their sweaters. Unfortunately, she was not aware of this. Bravely, she soldiered on.

The sweater was a gift for her mom's birthday. She started knitting in January, hoping that she'd be done in time. Gauge was spot on so the sleeves went off without a hitch. The body of the sweater, being a trifle larger than the sleeves, took longer. Being fair isle, it was also heavier than a "normal" sweater, which Barb found to be a pain in her arms and elbows. The birthday came and went, but Barb persevered.

This past week, she achieved completion of the knitting. NOW, it was time to steek. Being the brave person she is, Barb brought the sweater in for an afternoon knitting group to demonstrate. Here you see her explaining the process.
At this point, the machine stitching for the bands, neckline and sleeves has been done and the button and buttonhole bands are attached and knitted. Barb measured twice, took a deep breath and started.

At this point in the process, her hands are rock steady. Her voice hasn't really cracked once. She gives the appearance of being totally cool, calm and collected. Unlike the audience.
Once the sleeve holes are steeked, the shoulder seams can be inserted. Barb has chosen to use a 3-needle-bind-off technique to give the shoulders extra stability. Then she picks up the stitches for the collar and knits away merrily.
Doesn't she look pleased? And relieved? Stay tuned--we'll have photos of the finishing touches--cutting out the neckline area, separating the two fronts and the sleeves fully inserted. And the finished sweater on the model! Yippee!

Barb's only comment at the end of Wednesday? "I'm so not doing this again!"

One thing I've learned in life is "Never say never." We'll see if Barb holds to this statement.

Good news -- they're finished!

It's been a busy week for me and mine. Carrie is back in school, Improv is practicing, and Sobey's is booking plenty of hours for the daughter. With the price of gasoline these days, instead of heading home after work, I just hang out at the store and ... knit. (You expected something else? Silly people!) The extra couple of hours each week means that I am finishing up some projects that have been ... languishing ... while I tried to work up some enthusiasm for them again.

I brought in all the colours of Twilley's Freedom Spirit this year. Last year there were a select few colours, and they were extremely well received. So this year I decided to splurge. And once they were here, I needed a sample. Really, I did. (Not convinced? You are a tough crowd!)

This is the Hooded Jacket (leaflet #9058) from Tilley's, knit in colour no. 507 (Essence). It required 10 balls to make the 32" bust, which is exactly what the pattern specified. I have just enough left to sew the buttons on, as soon as I get them. Button shopping will hopefully take place in the upcoming weekend.

In August we taught a class here in the shop making cardigans from Patons Upside-Downers (#718). For my class project, I decided to make a small cardigan using Araucania Nature Wool (2 skeins). Not too far into the project I decided that I should make this as a gift for my little nephew, Sammy. Planning ahead for the holidays and all, doncha know?

The buttons are Incomparable Buttons. I've just gotten them into the shop this fall, and I'm so excited to be able to offer them. The buttons are Fair Trade, and 100% hand-crafted in South Africa. Want a closer look? Here you go:

I hope that Sammy and my sister both love them as much as I do, and the sweater as well. The upside down raglan is a nice touch -- the only seaming on the entire sweater is when you attach the button band to the body of the sweater. Nice touch, that.

And, finally, I bring you a photo of my little kitty Lizzie. She much prefers to work with alpaca, but in a pinch, Canadiana will do.

Currently in the project bag -- Great American Aran Afghan (9 of 24 squares completed) using Patons Canadiana; Charm from Classic Style/RYC (ready to knit on the button bands and collar); basic sock using Kureyon sock yarn; and a generic Feather & Fan pattern stole using Misti International hand paind Baby SuriSilk in colour 08 Manhattan Rose. (Ooo-la-la. This stuff is fabulous!)

Retail Therapy

Remember way back when Carrie and I went to the Stitch 'n Pitch game? And I promised you some retail therapy results? Well, today I am finally going to show you what we did way back in August.

One excuse for attending the Stitch 'n Pitch is to see what the sponsors are offering. This year if you brought in your ticket stub before the end of August, you would receive a 15% discount at the participating shops.

Carrie and I had doctor's appointments in Toronto for the day after the game, so we drove in and spent the morning chatting with the doc. In order that the drive to Toronto would not be wasteful in that only one errand was accomplished, we decided to visit some of the sponsors on our way home. We chose our shops based upon the location -- they had to be easy to find since my Toronto maps are currently living in my son's car -- in Michigan!

We started with the Knitter's Attic in Richmond Hill. They are on Yonge Street, the longest street in North America. Even I -- directionless Carol -- should be able to find Yonge Street. Especially if I can have two tries at it. (Who knew there would be a Yonge Avenue in Toronto? What's this with re-using names anyway?!) This is a delightful shop, filled to the brim with delectable yarns and goodies. They carry many of the same lines that I do -- but wait, there's more! Lot's more. Carrie and I had a wonderful time browsing and browsing.

Of course, one can't browse forever. I found some Noro Silk Garden Lite to come home with me, along with this pattern book. I am hoping that the 3 balls of Noro will be enough to make something -- anything. There is no specific project in mind for it. Any suggestions?

Turns out that I am a sucker for patterns for babies, especially those published by Mandarin. They knit up beautifully in Sirdar Snuggly .

We continued up Yonge Street until we found Needles & Knits in Aurora. Another very nice shop, rooms filled with wool. They also have a shop cat -- of course I forget the name, but a gorgeous kitty. Probably part Maine Coone, and extremely friendly. He likes to hang out in the back room where the sale yarn is stored. Guess what Carrie found in the sale room?

This is a Phildar yarn called Giboulees. (Sorry, I can't find an on-line link to any info. on this yarn.) Carrie saw it and immediately thought of her friend in Michigan. I did too, actually, so the yarn had to come home with us. Carrie is hoping this will be a Christmas gift ...

Finally, we ventured up to New Market to Serenity Knits. I'd been warned about this shop. They carry alot of Fleece Artist and Handmaiden wools. And we all know that I'm a sucker for Handmaiden. (Carrie had strict instructions at this point--if she saw me approaching the check-out with an armfull of wool, she was to immediately throw a body block and drag me kicking and screaming from the store. Fortunately, this was not necessary.)

We browsed and browsed. And browsed some more. Finally, I decided to bring this little baby home with me:
Handmaiden Casbah. After all, it isSOCK yarn for goodness sake. We all know that I have this ... this THING for sock yarn. And Handmaiden. Combined. How could I resist? (sob--there were more skeins there waiting to be adopted!) I have fondled the yarn extensively. It's not quite ready to grow up and be knit though. Soon.

My intrepid knitter friend Barb? Save your lunch money and we'll take a road trip. It's DEFINITELY worth it.