the batteries are charged...

i have pictures! wooot!

here's my Musa yarn scarf/shawl with the Freedom wool edging (modeled by my lovely daughter who said she felt like a dork posing like that):


this is going to be a felted handbag for my mom for Christmas (good thing she doesn't read my blog huh):


and here's my first attempt at colour/intarsia knitting all done and waiting to be felted... it kind of looks like a sausage on crack... or a sausage that's been exposed to toxic waste:


and last but not least i HAVE to share this handbag i got on Etsy... isn't it ADORABLE!? here is the seller i bought it from, she's got loads of fun candy-theme handbags :)

i think i've found my next pullover...

isn't this just LOVELY? i've gotta get some $ into my paypal so i can order that pattern when it's available. :D i have some cotton that would probably work in place of the Tilli Tomas. i love Wendy's blog, but i haven't ordered any of her patterns yet. Sahara, though, is absolutely irresistible!

i missed SnB on Thursday night, but it's probably a good thing i didn't go for two reasons. my throat is SO sore and i sound like a toad croaking every time i try to talk... which is funny to the kids. meh... as long as they're still laughing life is good :D

i won't be going to SnB on Thursday anymore because of the owners of the store we meet in. suffice it to say, after my recent experience, i will NEVER set foot in a Headwater Wool store again.

i'm sorry girls (my Thursday night friends). i never intended to start problems with our LYS. if you all decide to meet somewhere else, please let me know. i posted a few days ago about the option of meeting in the common room here in my complex if any of you are interested. it'll be $2 each to use the room, but if you don't have the $2 you're still welcome to come, nobody is going to tell you you can't join us if you don't always have the $.

simple knitting and halloween

we had fun trick or treating this year. my parents came up from Etobicoke to join in the fun.


and i've started a log cabin blanket. i'm not following any pattern, the size of the strips are random. the yarn is NY Yarns Gypsy.


i finished a shawl/scarf out of the Musa yarn below, but the batteries on my camera just died, so i'll have to take some photos of that later when they're recharged :) i'm really happy with how it turned out. i used some Twilleys of Stamford Freedom wool in colour 412 (burgundy) to add a ruffle to the bottom and it really adds a funky-ness to the shawl. i think i'll make a pair of mittens in Freedom to match the shawl.

tonight is SnB, but i'm not entirely sure i'm going to go because the kids are sick and i'm beginning to feel rather odd too (sore throat, stuffy-ish nose, headache)... i don't want to risk making the other girls there sick. bleh. i'm gonna miss 'em tonight.

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!

Ten Knitterly Things You Didn't Know About Me...

Tracy tagged me for this. i'm not sure if i even know if there are ten knitterly things you don't know about me... but i'll give it a go :D

1. my ex-husband/best friend taught me how to knit. i'm pretty sure my mom must have taught me during my childhood, but i never retained the knowledge. so when my daughter asked me to teach her how to knit i had to relearn the craft... enter John and the rest is history.

2. you know this one, but probably not to the extent that i would like you to know it... i hate finishing my knits. it's tedious and boring to sew all the pieces together. i like the knitting... not the sewing!

3. i knit in bed. every night. i cuddle up in my blankets with a sock in progress and something on the television (the latest being back episodes of Lost so i'll be all caught up for the new season) and knit until i can't see straight anymore and fall asleep.

4. i always forget what needles i already have and have ended up with many doubles. except dpns... i have found i just can't have too many size US1 or US2 dpns. they're always occupied.

5. i inherited two really cool wooden needles holders from my grandmother last year, but i don't use them to store any needles. if i did, i'm sure i'd have even more needles of similar sizes around my house.

6. i use acrylic yarn. yes... i do. not often, mind you, but i don't have anything particularly against acrylic yarns. they're very handy for knits for the kids... washable AND they grow with the child making my hard work wearable for that much longer! lol

7. i machine wash all of my hand knits. most of them shrink a little, so i knit a bigger size in preparation for the machine-wash-shrink. i don't do hand washing.

8. i wish i had more funds for more yarn!! oh... that doesn't really count, does it... who among us doesn't wish for a bigger yarn budget?

9. i very very very rarely knit directly from the skein/ball/etc. even if it's a handy center pull ball i like to hand wind everything into balls... that way i find any knots. and it's so much easier to knit from a hand wound ball, yarn rolls off the ball so smoothly with very little resistance... i keep the ball in my knitting bag so it doesn't roll away and just knit knit knit. okay... that and i'm absolutely anal.

10. i have stabbed myself with my dpns. a size US 1 dpn to be exact. i left a sock in progress on my bed when i got called to look at something absolutely important on the computer by John (don't remember what the hell it was now though), forgot about the sock in progress, plopped back onto my bed and OUCH. needle sticking straight - literally - out of the side of my thigh. i had to just inspect the carnage for a few moments, call the kids over to look and laugh, before separating myself from my beloved needle. i put a band aid on the wound and just kept on knitting, but you can bet i keep my eye open for any dpns before i plunk myself down anywhere now.

skateboarding!

we have a new skate park in town! (the only skate park in town... heh). it's not officially open as they're still working on landscaping and some construction, but it's usable 'at your own risk'. it's only a five to ten minute walk from our house and it's free, so the kids and i have been heading over there to enjoy it. we try to go during school hours... it's not so busy, just a few teens on spares and a few young adults with a day off work. it's been fun so far.

we've been looking around for bigger skateboards since the kids have so obviously outgrown the wee little pocket boards i bought them a few years ago. but, since the new skatepark 'opened' the stores have been sold out of skateboards. or at least sold out of the 'affordable' skateboards... as much as i love the kids, i'm not going to spend $50 per board just yet. i'll think about it if either of them actually stop riding on their bums ;) LOL.

one down...

one to go.

this is, by far, the tallest sock i've ever knit. i went toe-up and just kept knitting until i ran out of yarn. i really really like how this sock turned out! these are going to be for my daughter, but they fit me too (her feet are almost as big as mine already... she's only ten!), so when she outgrows them i'll get them. they're snug across my calf (that's me in the photos), but fit her perfectly :D

just in time for Socktoberfest...

i just love it when sock yarn shows up at my front door...

8 balls of Gedifra Fashion Trend Sportivo in colours 5793,5763,5768,and 5704 that i purchased from FunKnits. and another ball of the ever popular Trekking XXL 100, from the Knitter.com.

i cast on right away with the Gedifra because i have never used it before and just had to know what it was like.

it's rather funky. it has a thin elastic running between the twists of yarn... it makes the socks in progress really springy and stretchy (i like!). but as i'm knitting with it the yarn is bunching around the unstretched elastic...


and lastly, i have one Tropicana sock finished... ermmm... almost finished. i have to weave in the ends (yarn is Trekking XXL in colour 106).

Sockotta Jaywalkers... done!

weird things are happening in this, the land of UFO's... two FO's in less than a week. i know myself well enough to know this isn't the beginning of a new trend.

Simple Knitted Bodice... done!

not the best photos, but they'll do. i shouldn't have had a black tank top on underneath for the photos so you could see the neckline better. ah well.



Simple Knitted Bodice
Yarn: Lily Sugar and Creme cotton (9 balls) and Noro Silk Garden (2 balls)... someone said that combination is like 'wearing pearls with your jeans'. LOL.

i LOVE this pullover!! it was so very easy to knit and it was SO nice to have no seaming to do! everything turned out wonderfully except the neckline, which is a little floppy, but i don't think i'm going to do anything about it unless it stretches out during wear. i really like how the silk garden looks in the black. and it is so comfy to wear!

all in all, i'm really happy with this one and i think i'll be using the pattern as a base pattern for other pullovers.

my little (growing) sock yarn stash.

here are my full balls of sock yarn. i have piles of leftover bits of sock yarn everywhere... and some skeins that i've rolled into balls and didn't photograph.

and i have a habit of starting socks and then moving on to other projects (usually more socks).

so here it is:




the pink yarn is the lovely Fleece Artist i bought a few weeks ago. there are three full balls of Austermann's Step in there (one that i rolled into two equal balls for socks i haven't started yet), some Elann sock yarn (love the plain beige for lacey patterns), Opal Petticoat #1290 (a new addition from Fun Knits), Sockotta, two mismatched balls of Regia (i'm planning on striping those).

i've been working on socks. i have a pair going for my father in solid red Regia. i didn't take pictures of them in progress because they're just plain ribbed... i'll wait until they're done for photos.

here are my Tropicana socks in progress. i'm doing these in Trekking XXL colour 106. i had some trouble photographing them. here's a shot with the flash and one without. i like the subtle wavey pattern in the soft colours a lot. i'm considering using this pattern with the Opal Petticoat.

flash:


sans flash:


i'm almost finished the Simple Knitted Bodice... another few inches to go on the second sleeve and then the neckline. a few bits to weave in... but no dreaded seaming. wooooot!

oh yeah...

the new Knitty is up!

too late to join the battle

by just a few days. darn it.

what battle you ask?

the SOCK WARS battle! doesn't that sound like a blast? i'm sure i'd be one of the first ones out, but dammit if i wouldn't have a blast battling :D

i'm going to follow that one and join in on the next Sock War.

i have pictures... sock yarn, socks in progress... but the energy to post 'em i don't have. yesterday i felt a little funky and just thought it was the lack of sleep. blech. i wish. i have some kind of funky stomach thing going on. no headaches, no coughing, no stuffy noses, no other pain whatsoever, just one heck of an upset stomach. i must have chowed on something that's not sitting well. so i'm just chilling out in bed today with the laptop. i fall asleep for a while here and there and i'm slowly beginning to feel a little better. the kids have been GREAT. they've been pretty content to have a homeschool-free day and have been keeping themselves busy with video games here in my room... aren't they sweet? they both came in here to play to keep me company. i love those little monkeys :D

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.