insomnia sucks.

the entire house is asleep... except me. i'm tired, oh am i tired... but my brain will NOT stop long enough for it to let me sleep.

i've had so many things on my mind. the first is some crap that's been going on here in my complex. i'm the president of the board here and i'm stumped as to what to do. the person in question knows the rules and by laws so well she also knows how to get around them, crawl through the loop holes and bullshit and intimidate those who aren't familiar with the bylaws (and sometimes even those who are), so it seems we can't do much. but it's getting to the point where something HAS to be done before the rest of us get in trouble for her actions. it's really frustrating.

and the next is that it's slowly nearing that time of the month again... but i'm just feeling all down about it. this is the FIFTH cycle of TTC. i'm seriously wondering if it's ever going to happen. *must.think.positively* as much as i hate seeing AF, it does give my brain a break... no wondering and worrying or charting and timing when she's around!

i'm trying to think of happy things... like what i'll spend my next yarn allowance on. i've heard some nice things about Apple Laine yarn, so i'm thinking i'll order some of it from Pick Up Sticks when i can. and perhaps while i'm ordering from there anyway, i'll try out some Sweet Georgia yarn too. a girl really can't have too much sock yarn, can she now ;)

and i'm trying to think about what goodies i'll be getting in the mail soon. i have a ball of Trekking XXL in colour #100 coming my way... and a friend bought me some dollar store HPTs in the USA and they're heading this way too. i don't understand why we don't have HPTs in our Canadian dollar stores... i hate spending so much money on them, especially because they've all been negetive so far - *frown* - $10 for two of the "cheap" brand ones or $10 for one of the name brand ones. yet in the US, the same thing costs only $1! and reading on the TTC forums i do, i haven't heard of one person getting a false result with the dollar store brand tests.

i'm working on sleeve #2 of the Simple Knitted Bodice (yeah, i didn't have it done for Thursdays SnB). the pattern is so easy, and it would be fast for most knitters to whip up... i just lose interest quickly so i switch from one project to another and back again... sometimes in the matter of a few minutes.

...next time i'll try to stick to the usual knitting content.

so i've learned some things about felting...

the first being that stockinette edges flare during the felting process. what went into the machine looking bag-shaped came out looking... well... wonky pancake shaped. (sorry, i forgot to put the body lotion bottle next to the 'finished' product for size comparison).

the second thing i learned is that the length shrunk more than the width did. so i'll keep that in mind.

and the third thing? i think i'm a glutton for punishment because i've been working on this to felt... it'll be another bag... hopefully from what i've learned i'll be able to pull it out of the washing machine still bag-shaped.


pssst... i used Headwater Daina wool for the bag... it felts up LOVELY.

do you know what today is?

the first day of school!!

oh... the peace... the quiet. it's so lovely.

it's 11a.m. and there has not been ONE KNOCK AT THE BACK DOOR! it feels surreal. all summer long the kids have been knocking at the back door starting at around 9:30... and ending only when they finally got called home to go to bed.

the kids have been chilling out on the sofa watching SpongeBob all morning. when i'm showered and dressed we'll start our school day.

in the meantime... here's how far my Simple Knitted Bodice is. i'd really like to have it done for Thursday so i can wear it to the SnB i go to :)


and here's a bag i knitted that i'm going to felt. i ran out of yarn while binding off. i threaded the yarn through the remaining unbound off stitches... i hope it holds up while felting. (with my favourite body lotion for size reference).

oh.my.goodness.

my Fleece Artist socks have been worn... and recently washed... and wow. i put them through a regular load in my laundry machines (washer and dryer)... they are now officially the SOFTEST socks i have ever owned. i can't believe how much they have softened up! they were lovely to begin with... now they are heaven!

Koigu rainbow-ish socks are done!

just in time for chilly weather.

remember this?


it's now these:


i left out the yellow because the socks were tall enough. and i didn't use each entire little ball of colour, i just did 18 rounds of each colour. so i have enough koigu for another pair of socks with yellow toes, heels and cuffs.

i was pretty short on the blue at the end, so the cuffs are very short and roll a bit. i wish i had a little more, enough for another 2 or 3 rows would have stopped the curling. but that's okay, they still turned out nice.

now i just have to weave in the ends.

Simple Knitted Bodice progress...

it's coming along nicely. i'm really liking the Silk Garden in place of the lace inset. and i think i'm going to have enough with two balls :D

and i really really like that there won't be much finishing with this pullover. it takes me forever to sew up my knit creations because i don't enjoy seaming.

i tried it on last night and it fits nicely so far :) i can't wait to finish this one :)

the boy in his new room...

i think he likes it. we got him the new bedframe and the storage unit/bedside table. Ikea is awesome :)

i just couldn't help myself...

John brought me to Georgetown's Yarn and Crafts for a ball of Noro Silk Garden (more on that later)... but i came out with this instead...


i wanted another ball of Silk Garden for the Simple Knitted Bodice pullover from Stitch Diva Studios. i was given two balls at Christmas time and i'm kind of worried two won't be enough to replace the lace inserts on the bodice and arms.

lo and behold, Yarn and Crafts didn't have the colour i needed of Silk Garden, so i guess i'll have to look online for it... but i couldn't leave the store with nothing, could i.

we also went to Ikea where i got Jake a new bed and some storage... and a comforter cover and new curtains for me... i'll post pictures of our new rooms when we're all done setting up.

Fleece Artist yummy-ness

i finished my Fleece Artist socks. i love them. i wasn't so sure about the colours for myself, but now that they're all done, i think the colourway is growing on me. and the yarn. ymmmmmmmy!! i think i've developed a preference for Fleece Artist over Koigu.

oh no...

a new online yarn shop. a new CANADIAN online yarn shop. a new Canadian online yarn shop that specializes in hand-dyed yarns. yarns that seem to be mostly sock yarns...

Pick Up Sticks.ca

and right when i'm just a few bucks short in my paypal account to order any for myself. i guess i'll have to upload some more $ so i can order some... i'd like to see what the Apple Laine yarns are like... i've seen some Sweet Georgia yarns on other blogs and i'm curious about it too...

must. finish. other. sock. projects. before. buying. more. sock. yarn.

Trekking XXL colour #106

oh my... a wee little slice of heaven came to my mailbox today from TheKnitter.com. now i must must must get all those other socks i have on the go finished to free up some needles for the Trekking. (you know, i counted... i currently have 5 socks on needles, all in various states non-completion).

another new project...

lol. i think i'm developing a problem. i cast on for things so fast and easily, but casting off and finishing any projects is like pulling teeth... it's painful and i don't look forward to doing it, but i'm usually happy with the end result.

the new project? the Simple Knitted Bodice pullover from Stitch Diva Studios (i'm going for the long sleeve version if i have enough yarn). the yarn is the same black cotton yarn that i had used to cast on for the Lotus Blossom tank. that didn't get far... i don't know WHAT i was doing wrong, but every time i got to the 'flower' part of the lace pattern everything went wonky. with the Stitch Divas pattern there is nothing for me to mess up... i think instead of the lace insert around the middle and on the arms i'm going to use some of the lovely Noro Silk Garden (#217) i got for Christmas :D

the Fleece Garden and Koigu socks are coming along slowly... my hands need a break from the small knitting (yes, that was my excuse to cast on for another project ;) )

... and i lost a comment... sorry Tracey! i seem to have lost your comment into the bowels of blogger doom. i told the bugger blogger to publish your words, but i don't see them now.

my beautiful dresser!

wow! wow! wow!

my father came today to pick up the kids for their usual weekend trip to my parents' house and surprised me with this!!


i've had this dresser since i was a little girl. my dad bought it at an antiques auctions back in the day... and my mother was so mad at him because he spent $50 on it and it looked awful. it had layers and layers of ugly paint on it. it was the very first peice of furniture he ever refinished. now it's one of his passions. and he's very very good at it.



he took it a while back to refinish it for me... i wasn't expecting it back for a long while because he only worked on it at my grandfather's house. my dad lives in an apartment and works in my grandfather's garage/workshop. he even went and found porcelain wheels for the legs... and the handles... i don't know where in the world he found those, but aren't they gorgeous?



wow. i am blown away. it is so beautiful. the pictures really don't do it justice. he wants to do my bed next (another antique). i am SO willing to sleep on a mattress on the floor for however long it takes. my dad does miracles when it comes to furniture... quality miracles at that. he is awesome at what he does :)

a finished frilly tank top

i finished my daughter's tank top today. and she put it on immediately. i think she likes it :)

the frill on the bottom is from Nicky Epstein's Knitting on the Edge. the yarn is Sirdar's Breeze. i knit it in the round and added an elastic around the top in the picot edge.

i'm not terribly happy with the way the straps look at the moment, i'll probably tighten them up when she takes it off tonight.



i turned the heel on one of my Fleece Artist socks last night and the Koigu socks are coming along at a steady rate. the kids have been outside playing a lot the last few days, which gives me loads of knitting time :)

koigu sample skein socks

a while back i got some sample skeins of koigu from my LYS owner... she was in the midst of ordering koigu for the store and the women at koigu had given her sample skeins of their colours. i think many of us who frequent the store ended up with some sample skeins of our own one way or another.

on top of my sample skeins, i have leftovers from other Koigu projects. the other day i had an epiphany... i'm going to make fun stripey socks out of all the small bits.

i rolled each colour into two seperate but hopefully equal enough balls so that i know what i have available for each sock and then played around with what order to knit them up in. i'm thinking about adding a row of dark blue between each colour change... should i? here's the order i've come up with (blue on the toe, yellow on the cuff):


i think they're going to end up taller than my other socks :)

i've been knitting on my Fleece Artist socks too... they're coming along nicely. if i have any leftover yarn from this project i think i'll add it to the Koigu socks.

John was nice enough to drive me to Georgetown so i could spend a few minutes in Yarn and Crafts where i treated myself to some Fleece Artist merino sock yarn, i think the colourway is called Jester. i wound the skein in the car and cast on as soon as we got home. i've never used Fleece Artist's merino before... it really reminds me of Koigu so far... but as you can see (or not... sorry about the crappy photo, i took it in a rush) i've only gotten 3 rows into my sock. i like it :)

i haven't done much on the Freedom throw because i've gotten back into a pair of Sockotta jaywalkers i let fall by the wayside when the first completed sock ended up too big.

and i still haven't finished the Corset Pullover. it'll get done eventually.

capitalizing on the heat to make some $

my children and their 'lemonade' stand. never mind that they weren't selling lemonade. they were selling coke and iced tea. and in about an hour they made $6, which they split when they came in because it was too hot to sit out there any longer. notice my son and his form of advertising... he's drinking the coke himself... i guess that sent out the message that it's goooood and coooold to everyone walking by ;)

yep. it's hot. 36degreesCelcius hot, but 'feels like' 48C. that's 118Fahrenheit if you live in the USA. toasty.

i am ever so grateful for our white trash window A/C units today. the kids are now inside enjoying the cool air while playing, one on her computer, the other on his Xbox.

i keep meaning to finish up Juliet's tank top, but i keep getting distracted. i'm going to blame it on the weather... who can concentrate on anything when it's so hot? *wink*.

here's the Freedom throw. i'm using size US 15 needles. i cast on 5 sts and i'm increasing by three sts every right side row :) i have 16 balls of Freedom, so when i've finished 8 balls i'll start decreasing 3 sts every right side row. when it's done it will be a square shape, the stripes will be on a slant. the stripes are just random.

and here's Juliet's tank top. i knit it in the round instead of flat like the pattern called for... and i started. it was turning out just a little too skinny for my robust daughter, so when i ripped it out to start over, i figured it would stand a better chance of being finished if i didn't have to sew it together *wink*. i have to thread an elastic through the loop created by the picot edge because it's a bit loose on her up there. i still have to make straps for it too. i better get moving on it if i want to see her wear it before the summer ends!
the kids are outside playing (i don't know HOW they can be out there in this heat, but they are), so i'm going to use the quiet to watch this video mostly uninterupted.

ttc and knitting

i've been hesitant to post anything personal here. but i feel like my life is becoming consumed with some other things going on here.

we're trying to have baby #3. this is the end of our fourth month of trying... and i'm feeling like AF is just around the corner again.

with our first two i got pregnant our first month of trying.

this time i feel so discouraged. i don't know how people go through this month after month after month... the BFNs, AF showing up... month after month.

it seems like every cycle that passes makes the thought of seeing AF again next cycle even harder to swallow.

i've been knitting, but kind of half-assed. i have the pieces for the Corset done except the cinch straps. and i have my daughter's tank top almost finished except the straps (they're just going to be i-cord straps) and the finishing.

and i've been working on a throw blanket with Twilley's of Stamford's Freedom wool in the burgundy and light green colours... i started it out in the hopes of it being used for the future baby.

i haven't taken any pictures of these projects to share yet, but i will :) maybe this week while AF visits and ttc isn't on my mind continuously for a few days.

a front, a back, and a sleeve...

she's getting there!

i modified the sleeves because i don't have the proper dpn's to make them in the round like the pattern says to. and i have also made them longer (i've never really liked 3/4 sleeves on myself). so, if i've modified well enough, the lace cuff should flare over my hands. here's hoping!




i cast on for the second sleeve this afternoon. i'm *hoping* to get it done by tomorrow evening so i can bring it to my stitch n' bitch. haha.

or at least have it done by the end of the weekend so i can bring the Krista Tee to work on at the cottage next week.