i love getting knitting stuff in the mail...

i can't wait to start on those Noni patterns!!

i also got a funky 'bag form', i was thinking of using it to make a bag out of some cool Gedifra Crystal yarn i've had in my stash for a while. the yarn is shiny and slinky and i wasn't sure what to do with it. i had thought of a bag before, but it would have been way too slouchy. it might work with the bag form, it might not. if it doesn't, that's okay, i'll find something that does.

those goodies came from KPixie.com... FAST service!! only a week to get here from the US!

to my Thursday night knitting gals... i've talked with the manager and she thinks we'll be able to use the meeting room once a week for SnB if we a) pay a token fee ($2 a night per person) in place of the $25 rental usually charged. and b) if we open it up to other people who live here (i can guarantee only one or two will show up and they were people i had invited before thinking they'd fit in nicely with our group). we can go with Monday night or Thursday night. we're welcome to use the coffee maker, fridge and other amenities offered :D i'll mention it as an option next Thursday to get feedback from those of you who don't peek in here once in a while.

a finished felted handbag...

considering my first attempt at a felted bag didn't turn out so great (but is salvageable), i am pretty pleased with this one! i think i'm going to add some felted flowers to it to jazz it up some more. i ordered some Noni felted flower patterns i'll use for that :) the pattern for the bag is my own non-pattern... just guessing as i went along.
i had enough wool left over for another felted bag. but i didn't want another in the same colours, so i bought some bright lime green to throw in and started on another handbag.


this is the first project i've ever done intarsia knitting on, it doesn't look too bad, does it? i thought a felted project might be the best way to teach myself intarsia... that way if the stitches turned out rather wonky they'd be felted into shape anyway.




i am having fun with this :D i think i'll make felted handbags for a few folks on my Christmas list this year.

and last but not least... i went to the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival in Toronto yesterday with some friends. the company was wonderful and we had fun searching out yarn in the sea of sewing machines and scrapbooking booths. my favourite booth was the one from Village Yarns. unfortunately, i didn't have enough money on me to purchase anything from their booth... they had the most lovely and the most posh and the most expensive knitting supplies in the hall. i did buy some yarn though... 6 balls of NY Yarns Gypsy and 4 balls of some funky stuff called Musa. the plan was funky shawls, but that may change. and the most fun booth was this artist's... where we got to try our hands at needle felting. now that is an interesting craft :D

me me me...

from Tracy :)

First Name? Zehava

Were you named after anyone? nope. i named myself.

When did you last cry? October 1st... when AF showed up... AGAIN.

Do you like your handwriting? i suppose. sometimes more than others.

What is your favourite lunchmeat? smoked turkey.

If you were another person, would you be friends with you? i hope so!

Do you have a journal? several, but i don't write in them anymore.

Do you still have your tonsils? yup.

Would you bungee jump? if i were on enough meds, sure ;)

What is your favourite cereal? it changes. i tend to go for the kid-like cereals... Lucky Charms, etc.


Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? nope.

Do you think you are strong? physically, probably not. emotionally, probably not so much... i tend to get upset easily. i don't think i give up easily and i don't put up with things i think are crap like i used to. so i guess i'm strong that way.


What is your favourite ice cream flavour? vanilla i suppose. i don't go out of my way for ice cream.

Shoe size? 8

Red or pink? pink

Least favourite thing about you? physically, my belly. otherwise i hate that i have self doubt.

Who do you miss the most? my friend Nathan.


What colour pants, shoes and shirt are you wearing? blue jeans, no shoes (hand knit socks though), a green tank top and my black Simple Knitted Bodice pullover.





Last thing you ate? lol... Kraft Dinner.

What are you listening to right now? my kids rummaging through the lego box.

If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? deep purple.

Favourite smell? fruity smells... like strawberry and raspberry.

comments... or lack thereof...

i received some comments on my last post... about the socks in progress. i have blogger set so that i have to publish the comments myself so that i can filter out spam. so i did that... and now it seems the comments are lost into the abyss of the internet.

thank you for the lovely compliments and i'm sorry... don't think i rejected your comments, they just got eaten :(

socks in progress for Socktoberfest

some of these are obviously getting more attention than others. here are the specs:

red socks: for my father, yarn is Regia and the pattern is my own. these have been languishing because they're rather plain - the pattern and the yarn - and therefore kind of boring to knit.

pastel socks: for me, yarn is Trekking XXL colour 106, pattern is Tropicana from MagKnits... and this is their second go... the first one, i decided, was a little too snug for me so i went up a needle size.

rainbow socks: for me, yarn is Trekking XXL colour 100, pattern is the ever popular Jaywalker. so easy! this will be my third pair of Jaywalkers.

watermelon socks: for me, yarn is Fleece Artist, don't know the name of the colourway, but i love it :D

and i'm resisting casting on with my pink Fleece Artist for a pair from Knitting on the Road. i'm still not sure exactly which pattern to use from that book because they're all so beautiful!

and just for a wee bit of sock yarn pr0n...

SnB was fun tonight!!

the LYS owner had some folks from a local magazine come in and do an interview/take photos tonight. it's probably no secret that i'm not terribly fond of the LYS owner (but i DO love her employee in our store and she's the only reason i buy yarn there... if Toby wasn't around, the LYS wouldn't get any of my business), but tonight was fun. the LYS owner was there with us for the interview/photos; she doesn't usually come out to our SnBs.

i wish i had brought my camera to take pictures of the photographer taking pictures of us... LOL. it got HOT in there with the lights and the people... and the laughter and rearranging of furniture for better photos probably didn't help the temperature. but, you know, it was rather fun to 'pose' with needles in hand and answer questions about our love of the craft.

i can't wait to see the next issue of the magazine... i'm sure a few laughs will be had at our photogenic qualities during a future SnB :D

the best sock photos ever.

Lolly posted these on her blog, you might have seen them over there, but i had to re-share them because they are awesome!

uploaded by jenn tx at Flickr.

Lolly's Socktoberfest questions...

i know i'm late to the party... that's not unusual for me.

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
i think i started making socks about 2 years ago. my dad wanted a pair of red hand knit socks... i learned how to knit socks to make him that red pair. he still doesn't have them. *blush* i *will* finish them for Christmas this year.

One person had great advice on knitting socks for me... Sharon at our Thursday night stitch n bitch. she's the one who turned me on to knitting from the toe-up... i haven't tried cuff-down since.

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
if i remember correctly, my first pair was done in Regia. i think they were in the clown colourway... and i think they're in my mom's sock drawer now. these, however, are one of my very first pairs and they've held up very well...



What would you have done differently?
the things i do differently now... i have learned how to do a better short row heel and how to increase the toe without holes. i've learned how many stitches i need to create a good fit for myself (those first socks were a bit on the tight side!) and how to bind of *loosely* at the cuff.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
Trekking XXL (love the colours), Fleece Artist (soooo soft!), and Koigu. i love trying new sock yarns, but those three i know i'll use over and over.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
i knit them on dpns, usually size US 1, toe up :)

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
i've only ever done short row heels.

How many pairs have you made?
ermmmm... i've lost count. hang on... let me think... at least 20 pairs.

Juliet's socks... done!

yarn: Gedifra Fashion Trend Sportivo
pattern: my own toe-up pattern
needles: size US 1 dpns (the brand walmart carries... Boye, i think)
the recipient: happily wearing her new socks :D

what the well socked family is wearing this Socktoberfest

my daughter's socks, in the pink, are done in Elann's Sock It To Me yarn and the pattern is Simply Lovely Lace socks from the Spring 2006 issue of Interweave knits. she likes them but wishes i had made them a little taller. she's growing out of them fast... i need to hurry up on her Gedifra socks. :)

my socks (in the middle) and Jaywalkers in Trekking XXL colour 105. one of my favourite pair!

and my son's socks are my own plain toe-up pattern in Austermann Step. they're short because i just used up what was left from his last pair of socks from the same ball - the first pair were taller. he *loves* his Step socks and wears them constantly.

omg. i'm an idiot!

i have been purling 'wrong' for the past two years. it was causing my stitches to be oriented wrongly on the knit side... resulting in a fabric that looked kind of like it was 'weaved' rather than the usual straight lines of lovely stockinette other people produce.

if you look closely at my Simple Knitted Bodice you'll see what i mean. the top part, the shoulders, above the lovely colours of the Silk Garden was knit back and forth. you can see how it's not as straight and smooth as the bottom half of the pullover, which was knit in the round (no purl stitches).

go ahead, click on the photo to see it a little bigger.


and here's the Caftan Pullover i knit for my mother... you can see how the stitches are rather twisted looking on the purl rows.


okay... say it with me...

D'OH!