FO: The Wedgie Scarf

Is it okay if I have only one finished project this year? I mean, if I look back over the year and all of the things that happened and were accomplished, I think the universe might cut me some slack on having only finished one knitting project!

This here is a Wedgie Scarf courtesy of Vyvyan. I knit it with two balls of Paton's SWS in Natural Pink. I really enjoyed knitting this scarf - once you get started, it was easy to memorize the pattern and quick to move through. I didn't really change anything except for adding the fringe on the end and I only did one end wedge repeat because I didn't want to go into a third ball of SWS for something like 3 rows of knitting.

This was a Christmas gift for my best friend, Toni. Today Toni completed what I call the ultimate friend test - she sat in a bathing suit store with her 6 month old baby girl on her knee while I tried on approximately 300 bathing suits in just over 2.5 hours.I told her at one point that I would have to knit her a lot more scarves to make up for this huge act of kindness that she afforded me today. She only giggled, but she was probably thinking to herself "...only scarves?"

In any case, it was a good day. I finished a scarf, I found not one, but TWO, bathing suits and most importantly, I'm on my way to start my honeymoon tomorrow for a week.

After I pack some knitting, that is!

this is cuter than knitting

there aren't enough words...

.... to say to Byron and Maureen for their amazing photography on our special day. Not only were we lucky to have their fabulous vision and creativity all to ourselves for our wedding, but we are all the more fortunate because Byron is my husband's first cousin.

My best option is to post a link - check out some AMAZING photography here:
www.byronbrydges.com
and
www.byronbrydgesphotography.blogspot.com

You will not be disappointed. In fact, you will be refreshed and inspired.

Thank you, Byron and Maureen!

7 down, 3 to go

Trust me, it's a lot bigger than the picture leads you to believe.



This is my "Baby Moderne Blanket" - in progress for about a year now, but I am not letting myself pay attention to how much time it has taken to get this far. It takes a while to knit 36 rows of garter stitch you know! This here is 7 blocks finished of a 10 row blanket. I think it's looking good!





The nice part about it all is that the blanket is now getting big enough to keep my lap warm while it is being knit. I hadn't realized that this was a benefit to knitting a blanket, but now I must admit that I'm a little ashamed that I hadn't thought of something so, well.... obvious!

lack of blogging = lack of time

I thought that after the wedding, I would be able to do all kinds of blogging. And I really did plan to do a lot of blogging, but these two things called "time" and "life" kept getting in the way. On top of that, I love the photo in the previous post so much, that I couldn't really bring myself to replace it by adding something new. I feel like that picture captures everything I felt for every single second of that day, and I don't feel quite ready to let go of it just yet.

So, on that note, I will not write much more - I've knit ONE row on the baby blanket in the last three weeks and I don't see any more time in the foreseeable future to do any more. And all of this "no-knitting, no-blogging" time is really resulting in a fairly unbalanced version of myself. Even my husband commented that my cranky, unbalanced self needed some knitting time - and he usually hates it when I knit!

I'll be back soon.... with knitting in hand, I promise!

this is what marital bliss looks like

It was, by far, the best day of my life. Hands down. No contest.

In the busy-ness of post-wedding life (and there is lots of busy-ness), I've even been able to do some knitting. I've been working away on my Baby Moderne Blanket and I've been itching to re-attempt some socks. Also, for my birthday yesterday, I received a knitting needle bag from my mom - so, in addition to knitting, I may actually get to organize my knitting stuff.

Mom and I are going to a "Fibre" sale on Saturday, so God only knows what kind of excellent fortune that will bring; I'm sure it will only bring fantastic-ness. Here's to good fortune in fibre and marriage.

less than two weeks should explain it

hello friends,

while i have been somewhat absent, i have not forgotten.

however, certain things are a little more important right now and blogging is somewhat impossible. don't even mention the knitting - it's practically non-existent and I keep starting little projects and then putting them down in various places all over the house.

I can't even stay on topic with the title of my blogpost!!

Less than two weeks until the wedding. Now do you understand?

Regular knitting and blogging will return shortly after October 6!!

i thought this was supposed to calm them down...

by "this" I mean that whole "neutering" thing you have to do to your puppy when they're around 6 months old. I mean, it wasn't much of a debate for us, there's all kinds of good reasons to have your dog neutered or spayed. I'm more sure, however, that, for us, the real reason we had Titus neutered was because we heard from several people that it supposedly calms them down a whole lot. Which, for us and Titus, was definitely a bonus, since Titus' regular daily adventures range from trying to wear my underwear (see previous post) to chewing every single one of D's flip flops to barking at his reflection in the patio door. If you get my drift, he's not exactly a calm dog sometimes and we were somewhat looking forward to having him a little more on the mellow side.

Until this:
This is what my side of the bed looked like last night after D. and I fell asleep in front of the TV and the "bub" (as he's affectionately called) was completely and totally unsupervised for about 15 minutes. My pile of books and magazines were completely destroyed; more specifically, the next book on my list to be read: The Birth House by Ami McKay. I was about ready to kill, as this is the only photo proof I have of how much of a PSYCHO Titus has been since he had his "hoo-hoos" cut off on Wednesday. I am not kidding you - the day he had his surgery, he went from giving us the cold shoulder for putting him through such a traumatic event to being a whirling dervish on a leash in less than two seconds. He flipped himself (literally somersaults in the air) for so long that D. and I just looked at each other - stunned. D. says, "But I thought...." Don't say it, honey; don't say it..... I thought so, too.

Anyway, back to Hurricane Titus in the bedroom. At least, as D. so nicely pointed out, he had the courtesy to stop ripping at the right spot:




Right at the beginning of Chapter One! Good Dog!


So since the "neutering" didn't do the job of calming Titus down (hardly worth the 400 bucks at this point!), today I returned to my old trick of taking him for a walk in the middle of a summer day - a one-way ticket to "calm and submissive dog". He enjoys walking, but he doesn't know how to pace himself; which means he strains at the end of the leash and pants like he's taking the last breaths of his life, appropriately enhanced by letting his tongue hang out so far that he'd put Gene Simmons to shame. So, I know that he's not close to death, or that he's not thirsty (because I just gave him a drink right out of a water bottle - how spoiled is that!) but that doesn't seem to stop at least two people per walk to tell me disapprovingly that he's clearly thirsty or tired, punctuated with a look that says, "Don't you know how to look after your dog, you imbecile?"

To respond: yes, I know how to look after my dog, people. I know how to look after my dog so well, that I'm completely concerned for his cultural well-being and today I brought him to the Ottawa River (see above) and the stone sculptures at Remics Rapids (see left). I'm pretty sure that if he wasn't so enthralled with the cultural experience, he'd be facing the camera and trying to eat it, or, more likely, scratching at the knapsack that's holding the water bottle so he could have a drink. So, I think I'm a pretty good dog parent, thank you very much, and I think he's going to be well-prepared for the demands of the world!



I don't think, however, that neither Titus nor I were prepared for this lovely vision:


To start, you have to fancy yourself quite the "hot tamale" to walk along the pathway by the Ottawa River in a string bikini and running shoes when the closest beach is a good 5 kilometres away. I know this is not a great picture, but I can assure you that this woman was not even close to my side of 40 (that would be the young side) and she was "digging her fine self" because she broke into a couple of dance-y "sashay" steps more than once along the way. I don't make it a practice to photograph women in bikinis, and I know it was 35 degrees today so a bikini is justified in the right venue, but this woman was so out of place here that she may as well have been naked in the middle of a convent, for God's sake. I'm sure all of those bike-riders, who almost rode their bikes into the river because their eyes were burned out by the sight of her, would whole-heartedly agree with me.

As our Pop Pottle would say, "Sacred Heart, woman, put some clothes on."

And on a final note... maybe Titus' operation DID work.

I don't even think he noticed her.

i'm supposed to be packing

this weekend (ie. at 5 a.m. tomorrow) we are heading to my friend Vanessa's wedding for the weekend. at this wedding, we will indulge in golfing, eating, drinking, sleeping and celebrating Vanessa's jump into matrimony, knowing full well that we will be in her exact footsteps in none other than 65 days (yes, i'm counting). And at this moment (11:45 pm), i am either supposed to be (a) packing or (b) asleep in bed. however, you can clearly see that I'm doing neither, because nothing soothes the urge to procrastinate than to do a little internet surfing, a little blogging, and a little picture taking. i could justify this post by saying that I have been negligent in my blogging duties (and I have) and therefore I need to post, but why bother? i'm procrastinating, plain and simple.

first up: the picture that starts this post is lovingly entitled "yarn cuddles." this is evidence of just two of my recent splurges on yarn and what better place to photograph it than on your bed? the yarn on the left is a mohair/alpaca mix I found in a wee little yarn store not 10 minutes from my school. it's a gorgeous mix of lavenders and pinks - all grown, spun, dyed, etc. etc on site. my lunch breaks will take on a new meaning next year - I can be there, buy yarn and back to school all within 40 minutes. the potential for crisis is huge here! the yarn on the right is Fleece Artist's "Goldielocks" - it's all pinks and dusty roses... gorgeous. and they look gorgeous together, but i will not be knitting them together. i have an idea for the alpaca/mohair mix but i'm clueless on the Goldielocks (I guess I should not admit at this point that I also have two other skeins of Goldielocks in other colorways - don't even ask me about it, I can only claim complete madness.)


in addition to buying yarn, i have actually been knitting. i'm working away on a little Argosy scarf - this is in Paton's Grace in "Tangelo." It's mercerized cotton, so it's a nice knitting project for the summer. i've said this before, but the Argosy pattern is super easy to memorize and that's what makes it so fun to knit. and while I enjoy being "in progress" with my knitting (seriously, when was the last time I posted a finished product?), I would like to finish this soon. That being said, I have no intention of wearing it when it's finished because orange looks hideous on me - i just look like a big pumpkin when I wear it, which is not exactly anyone's idea of glamour. so it will be gifted to someone who looks fabulous in orange. any takers?

this next picture is what my computer desk looks like at this exact moment. i'm sure many of you are thinking "Blessed God in heaven, the woman's a slob" and, I assure you, that while I have messy tendencies, I usually make a great effort to be clean and organized. I just have a lot going on right now and the desk demonstrates it perfectly. The box holds the ring box for my engagement ring, there's a returned thank you note that needs to be re-sent, a bank statement for an old savings account, even gum wrappers. Wait a second.... Blessed God in heaven, I AM a slob... but i like the angle and the lighting of the picture.


and, finally, what pet owner doesn't take/post/ send out/ email funny pictures of their pet? this is Titus in his latest clothing of choice - my thong underwear. I can just hear what you're thinking now, "Jay-sus, she photographs yarn in her bed, she's a slob and now she's dressing her dog up in her thong, and having the nerve to blame it on the poor animal!! She's cracked!" While I may protest the "cracked" label a little, I couldn't resist taking this picture. Titus found this underwear and started playing with it by flipping it up over his head. The next thing I knew, he had it wrapped around himself, and, I assure you, in less than 10 minutes, he had it on a million different ways, but never in the right way. Every time it changed, I forced him to look up at me so I could take a picture.... this picture is so priceless to me because he looks so irritated with me; i feel like he's saying to me -

"What do you mean by "I'm wearing it wrong?""

Oh, Titus, you're such a joy. I love you! Back to packing... or sleeping...

i can't find the camera

seriously.
i have no idea where the camera is. I'm betting that it's somewhere in the middle of all of the chaos around here - trying to plan a wedding, trying to keep the dog from chewing everything, trying to have a summer holiday, trying to do some house repairs before people come to stay with us in September. so the camera is somewhere amidst it all and I can't get pictures off of it until i find it, and, I think that even if I do find it, I will have to charge the batteries to get it working.

and so, i remain unblogged and incomplete, simply because I can't find the camera.

i've also bought LOTS and LOTS of yarn, but haven't found the time to do any knitting (well, not any knitting that would actually count for anything). on top of this, it's impossible to knit while Titus the super puppy is around because he thinks that yarn is really fun to chew. so the only time I can knit is at night when he goes into his crate, but by that time, after wedding planning, house renovating and puppy training... i couldn't care less about knitting.

whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

yes, it's true. i still have the urge to knit, but no desire to pick up needles.

blasphemy, i know.

this is me procrastinating...

i hate the month of June. hate it. abhor it. wish that it didn't exist, like, ever. wish we could go straight from May to July. wish that I could go to sleep on June 1 and wake up July 1, just in time to enjoy summer holidays.

only other teachers could possibly understand why I hate the month of June. It's the month where everyone else is saying, "Oh my God, it's summer, let's go eat on a patio..." "Oh my God, it's nice out, I think I'll work on my garden...." "Oh my God, the evening's are getting longer, summer must be on its way!!!" "Wow, some nice out! I think I'll go swimming..."

if this sounds like you, I can assure you that your friendly neighbourhood teacher is saying to themselves, "Crap, it's nice out, I should really mow the lawn, but I have to finish my marking..." or "Wow, it's 9:30 pm and it's still light out? Really? That means I still have time to do report cards..."

June is no fun when you're a teacher! Yes, I know that summer holidays come after June, but it's the "getting through June" part that is the equivalent to those people who are stranded in the desert but keep walking because they keep seeing the mirage of a palm tree and some water... I'm not kidding you! By the time you get to the end of June, you're just happy it's over and then you're ready to join your friends in their Summer madness, but by this time, they're like, "Meh... summer... yeah, we did all of that patio and swimming stuff, like, weeks ago!"

So, the other side of June is finding a cajillion creative ways to procrastinate! For example, right now I should be downstairs marking Grade 11 tests on The Crucible- which I plan on marking while keeping one eye on the hockey game (subliminal procrastinating), however, I"m upstairs imagining all of the ways I can write about procrastinating on my blog.

And while I've been sidetracked by talking about procrastinating, I really wanted to post to talk about my Argosy baby blanket (Bernat Cottontots in lilac) which I am trying to finish before Bridesmaid #1 has baby #2. So what has got me motivated a little bit (and is only making me procrastinate a little bit) is the fabulous Argosy knitalong set up by Katie. Check it out, it's way fun...

so, not bad... 6 paragraphs written when I really could have written one. this one goes down as some good procrastinating!

and now I'm off to mark those tests. and watch the hockey game. Go Sens Go!

i so don't deserve to have a blog...

I had great aspirations when I decided to start a blog. I had planned to spend an hour a week on my blog - a realistic amount of time that allowed me some time to knit, to work, to enjoy life and then reflect on those things using the glory of the internet. I was clearly living in a delusional state of mind back in those early days. What I wouldn't give to be back in that place of blissful ignorance!


Because now, all that this freaking blog brings me is massive amounts of guilt for never being able to find the time to post, to upload photos, to think of witty and amusing things to say, let alone find time to knit. Every time I sit down at my computer, the knitting blogs that I read for entertainment appear to be mocking me - "My blog owner can write at least ONE post a day, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Well, this is what's wrong with me... and this is where all of my time is going:

There is nothing like going from having ALL the time in the world to do whatever you want, to having absolutely no time to do anything because you are now responsible for the cutest thing in the universe. This is the reason that I find milkbones in the pockets of my dress pants, that I've hidden tennis balls away so that I not longer have to dig them out from underneath a chair, that I no longer have time to mark tests, or even better, that I now return tests with bite marks and rips because I left the tests in an accessible location. This is the reason that I've signed up for puppy classes, that my house constantly looks like a bomb hit it, that my side of the bed gets pooped on, that D. has hardly any fingers left because he keeps getting bitten and, finally, why I can't knit because yarn is fantastically fascinating when you're twelve weeks old and you're a puppy.

And no, I don't consider this training for a child because I know that being a mom is probably a cajillion times harder, and, when I'm ready to go there, I will. But I'm at least waiting until I'm no longer pulling milkbones out of my pockets in the middle of teaching a lesson on Macbeth.

However, the first picture should at least indicate that once in a while, when the "Tiny Titan of Terror" needs a time-out in his crate, the knitting does emerge from its "safe place" and something actually gets done. This is the silk scarf I started long ago, but I love it more and more with each inch that I knit and I'm so pleased with myself for choosing such a beautiful stitch pattern. I can't wait until I finish it, but I can at least say that finishing is a lot more likely in the near future. Just a few more inches to go.

Other than the knitting, and the puppy... the only other thing taking up my time is hockey playoffs. This is the year that the Ottawa Senators will take the Stanley Cup - I'm not afraid to say it because I feel it deep in my bones. So, put on your red shirts, tune in to Hockey Night in Canada and join with me and my future nephew in the cry of the Sens Army:

GO SENS GO!

Meet Titus!

This is our newest and latest addition. Meet Titus!
We picked up Titus yesterday in Niagara Falls. This was a whirlwind round trip that meant we drove down Friday night, picked him up Saturday morning and then turned around and came home. What a rush!

Titus is a miniature schnauzer. Right now he's only about 6 or 7 pounds. Yesterday in the car, he was quiet all the way home. We really didn't hear anything from him until we put him in his crate last night. And then he let us know all about who he is! He eventually quieted down and his cries became fewer as the night passed.

Here he is with his first squeakie toy. He loves this little rabbit that Mom gave him.

And here he is with D. First time on the furniture!

So yesterday in the car, I was even able to do more work on my silk scarf - which is coming along quite nicely! Titus just sat and watched me while I knitted away. I would post a picture but the scarf is downstairs and right now I'm typing with one hand because Titus is half on my lap, half on my chest and needs to be held in place!

But don't worry... we've already given him the conditions of being in the family. I told him yesterday,
"Okay, dude, this is the way it is. First, you have to like hockey. Then you have to like golf. And then, ultimately, you have to like knitting."

If yesterday's car ride is any indication, we're in great shape so far.

Moms blog too!

Hi Everyone!

This is my Mom with my Nanny and two of my aunts.

My Mom is a madly talented quilter who wants to start her own blog. Check it out!

Here are two examples of her work; a quilt she made for my cousin Nicole when she got married, and a 9 patch quilt she made for my fiance last Christmas.

See? I'm not the only one who has to fight creative urges.

In fact, she's probably the reason that I have these creative urges in the first place!

knitballs returns

omigod hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

this is how you greet your friends when you are a 14 year old girl. don't ask me how I know this, but it might have something to do with being trapped behind a group of grade 9 girls who absolutely, 100%, HAVE to walk, at a snail's pace, in a straight line (all 7 of them) across the width of a hallway so that no none else gets to their lunch and everyone is subjected to "omigod, hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" and "omigod, you are so funnnnnneeeeee, like, LMAO" and "omigod, i love your paaaaaaaaaaaaaants, but i like mine a whole lot betterrrrrrrrrrr, heee heee." and, ultimately, so that, by the time you do get to your lunch, you'd rather, like, gaaaag.

with that off my chest, i'm pretty happy to finally find the time to get back to writing about some knitting. since i last wrote, i've had Parent/ Teacher Interviews (another rant for another day), The Grade 10 Literacy Test (I won't even go there), meetings about the School Improvement Plan (an interesting kind of boring), various lazy days with my sweetie and, last Tuesday night, a huge fire in a neighbour's house that scared the living daylights out of me (fire is merciless; pray that you never have to find that out).

despite all of the busy-ness, i've actually been doing a lot of knitting and what's kept me from posting is, of all things, having to take the bloody pictures!! i feel like i can no longer post without a pic!! holy stress!

First point of discussion: Bridesmaid #1 is having her second baby and I am knitting the cutest little baby bolero. If my computer wasn't so slow tonight, I'd take the time to create a link, but since it feels like a telegram would be faster, I will just leave it at this: Baby Bolero from Debbie Bliss' "Baby Cashmerino 2" in her cashmerino yarn, soft lilac. This yarn is D-I-V-I-N-E to knit with. Cue the picture:

Okay, the one on the right is supposed to be on the left, but who really cares? It's not finished; i still have to knit the sleeves and the edging. But I'm quite pleased at my progress, particularly since this is something I might previously have considered as difficult.

So, baby knitting aside, I also decided to change my focus with the Handmaiden silk and scrap the Argosy in its entirety. Besides, I really wanted to make a baby blanket with that pattern and so I've already got something else lined up with it. In any case, I really felt that the Handmaiden needed something a little finer, almost, shall I say, feminine...? I didn't feel that the Argosy really allowed the yarn to show what it was capable of, and, besides, since I spent 40 bucks on the freaking yarn, I really wanted something special.

I found the perfect stitch in a little book called "Knit Stitches and Easy Projects" and the pattern is called "Horseshoe Print" (on page 7 of this little gem). And so, despite the fact that it gives me headaches and neck pain, I will perservere because this is what it looks like with only a few inches complete:

TA DAHHHHHHHHHHH! I think the pattern is perfect for this yarn and I do believe it will look just gorgeous when it's finished.

Which, if you think about it, is exactly what a silk scarf wrapped around your neck is supposed to look like: Gorgeous!

54 in 3

I wish that "54 in 3" was a special knitting term, but unfortunately, the only way that it's linked to knitting is that it is exactly what KEPT me from really doing any knitting this week.




"54 in 3" refers to the fact that this here pile of papers was the 54 Grade 11 essays that I marked in 3 days.... 3 days where I still taught three classes a day, ran an English department and commuted a total of 100 kms per day to get to/ from my job. I'm not bragging, I'm just amazed that I managed to pull it off. It's not like I was facing an external deadline, it was more of an internal deadline that sounded something like, "I have to finish those essays this week because if I trip over this pile of papers one more time, I'm sure to break my neck." That, and the fact that if one more student implied I should have marked the essays over March Break because I "had the time" (unlike having a holiday like the rest of the damn province), I was sure to break their neck instead of my own.


And I wish I could say that the "muted lighting" and "interesting angles and shadows" of this picture were due to some artistic finagling (sp?) on my part, but the reality is, it's muted because it was 6:10 a.m. and I had been up since 5 to finish marking and it's an interesting angle because I was sitting on the floor getting organized and didn't have the energy to stand up and take the picture from another perspective. All the same, I'm happy that the general mood of what the picture turned out to be is exactly the way I was feeling - shadowy and crooked!




All the same, last night while I was trying to slog through those last few papers, I decided I would treat myself to some knitting along the way (mark 3 essays, knit 3 rows). Something simple, something mindless, yet something workable.... so out came the MDK Log Cabin baby blanket. Voila:


It really doesn't look any different than the last time I posted it because I'm still on the fourth block, but it was still a nice diversion from the somewhat mindless, yet endlessly frustrating, task of marking Grade 11 essays.

Besides, the Argosy scarf has been officially renamed "ARGHHHH-osy" because I had to frog it yet again. And as much as I love that scarf, I can't be bothered to knit something so frustrating at the same time that I'm trying to restrain myself from picking out my eyeballs because yet another student wrote a sentence like, "Homework is so retarded and teachers should stop assigning it because I have enough going on in my life, like, work and stuff."


You might think I'm joking about picking out my eyeballs, but when there are 2.5 mm double pointed needles within arm's reach and I've just read the 50th comma splice in a row on page 3 of a six page essay, the necessity of eyeballs really becomes a debatable point.

And as much as I will circle those errors and indicate how to fix them, it's not like any student is going to take my feedback seriously, or really make an effort to take my feedback and apply it to the next assignment. I'm sorry, they just won't, because today's students believe that if they do so much as put a freaking "x" in the top right hand corner of a blank sheet of paper, then it is my job to "give" them 100% because they "made an honest effort to do the work." News flash: poor quality work earns a poor mark, I don't care how much effort you put into that stupid "x" that's in the corner of the paper. If you didn't do what I asked you to do and you made up new rules for the assignment, well, you get what you deserve: a crappy ass mark.


Returning marked assignments is, by far, the most stressful part of my job. ON ANY GIVEN DAY, I will take the kid who tells me to f**k off over the kid who earned 65% but who thinks that everything he/she does is worth 90%. This sense of entitlement with which our students cloak themselves eats away at any kind of positivity you might attempt to instill in the classroom. Gone are the days when a bad mark meant that you had to work hard the next time, or just meant that it was time to work hard, period. Students want good marks for a minimal amount of poor quality work. How is this logical... or even fair?


ARGH... I think it's time to hide the 2.5 mm dpns.

this stuff puts the "wee" in weekend

I feel like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians.

To set the stage for this here rant: On Friday (last day of March Break, weep weep), I took a little romp in the new wheels out to Orleans to check out a new yarn store - Wool n' Things. I even did some advance research and planning before I went out there so that I knew what I wanted to buy. I wanted: a baby sweater pattern, some baby yarn (maybe Debbie Bliss or Rowan), and a yarn for the Argosy scarf that I've wanted to knit for a while.

Instead, I came home with:
- 3 balls of sock yarn
- 1 set of 2.5 mm dpns
- one Addi turbo circular needle - 3 mm
- 3 skeins of Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino
- one book of Debbie Bliss baby patterns
- 1 skein of Hand Maiden camel silk

As you can see, I did not exactly follow my plan.

But as any kind of "artiste" will tell you (this is how I'm deluding myself these days - by calling myself an artiste; it seems to justify the impulsive shopping and compulsive creating that just seems to happen), there is no plan to the creative process and I can't control the fact that I'm attracted to pretty colors and cute little needles.

This, however, still reinforces the feeling of being Gulliver in the land of the Lilluputians.

Have you knit with 2.5 mm double pointed needles? Have you knit with a fiber so fine that it requires a 3 mm needle? Are you aware that, as a beginner, knitting with little wee needles is not exactly gratifying but more ... shall we say... irritating? I mean, it feels like you're knitting with toothpicks and thread, and you can't tell me you feel like a normal size human when you are constructing something out of toothpicks and thread.

As someone with small hands, I now know what it feels like to be a giant.

So here's what put the "wee" in my weekend.

Socks with "wee" little needles. Note the use of a tape measure to show how small they really are. Here's hoping they'll actually fit me!

And then, the very fine gauge of my Handmaiden silk Argosy scarf - soon meant to be wrapped around my neck in a jaunty fashionable fashion with that certain "je ne sais quoi." However, if I have to frog the stupid thing any more times, it will be wrapped around the inside of a garbage can, and the only thing that keeps me from doing that is the vision of the freaking price tag floating through my head.

Nothing "wee" about my temper, now is there?

Stunned as me what?

Yeah, just in case you're wondering, that IS my butt and that IS exactly where I feel my head has been these past two days. In other words, feeling as "stunned as me arse."





First, you may be asking yourself, "Sweet cracker sandwiches, WHO would dare take a picture like that?" and my answer to you is that the only person who would dare take a picture of my hideously striped butt (note the stripes are curved, not even straight... ha ha!) is the man that I'm going to marry in just under 7 months. Of course, it's my fault for leaving the camera unattended on the seat of the golf cart - ladies, be forewarned - if you leave the camera on the seat and you bend over to put your golf tee in the ground, you can rest assured that somewhere, on someone's digital camera is a picture of your ass. No man can resist that temptation.

My efforts to re-do the bedroom have been seriously thwarted by the tremendous difficulty I had yesterday when I attempted to do ONE simple sewing task: that of adding a band of colour to the top of my current bedroom drapes. Let's just say that I was so exhausted after that debaucle that I have had only ONE bedroom drape for the last 24 hours and I have no desire to make the second one. I didn't even have a desire to pick up some knitting, which is really what this blog is all about. Not that I've written about any knitting lately...





but I will now... after I ask this one question of Lindsay; the real reason that I feel that I'm stunned:





I can't, for the life of me, figure out how to post a comment on your blog. I love your Star of Bethlehem flower, I love the Tiddly Winks quilt (Jane's gonna love it) and I actually wanted to taste one of the Green cookies you posted today. But do you think this program will let me post anything to tell you how much I love your stuff? For the love of God, help me out here, I'm dying.... I'm suffocating with my head up my butt here.


Ha! I couldn't resist that.




So this is what I've decided to pull out of the drawer and work on for a while. It's a lavender colored baby blanket in a really sweet pattern in Bernat "cottontots". I usually choose patterns that are a little more contemporary and straight forward and this is not that - there is more purling in this pattern than there are fish in the sea and that is why I have to frog a few rows when I decide to work on it tonight.

That being said, and to make my "knitballs" blog a little more about what it's supposed to be about, I'll leave you with the image of my striped butt burned into your retinas.
Happy Day, friends!

all you need is a drill

Hey y'all,

There are two people to blame for the title of this post.
1. The Yarn Harlot: for choosing to re-do her master bedroom because she "felt like surprising her husband"while he was gone away for a few days (her progress is documented on her blog this week)... a wee bit of inspiration...

... and...

2. (most importantly) My Dad: who decided very early in my life that I, as his only daughter, was in no way going to get through this life without early exposure to tools, thus resulting in a variety of tool gifts over the years such as a complete set of screwdrivers and this handy dandy cordless drill that you see in this picture.

Unfortunately, the drill languished a little in the basement these past few years (screwdrivers adequately and appropriately worn out, Dad, don't worry) because, quite frankly, I was afraid of it and afraid of using it. I mean, a lot of damage can happen with just one wrong little move of a drill and since I'm someone who can't eat without spilling food on my shirt (thanks Mom), the potential for disaster is apocalyptical when you allow me to be unsupervised and alone with a drill.

It all came to an end a few weeks ago when I finally realized that the cute little chalkboard meant for the kitchen wall was going to meet its maker (the mice chewing on it) in the corner on the floor if I didn't do something about it. I mean, I had been kind of hoping that it would drill itself to the wall, but when was the last time you saw something drill itself to the wall?

On a wing and a prayer, I hooked up the drill, fastened on a bit (the right size, Dad - I did listen to you, you know) and not TWENTY minutes later, there was a chalkboard on the kitchen wall, like this:







I am woman. Hear me roar. Of course, I immediately ran to the door to make sure the world wasn't ending. It didn't (duh).

So, while some might consider this a small and relatively unimportant event in their life, I'm pretty sure that it has changed the trajectory of mine. All of a sudden, a world has opened itself to me: a world of putting up curtains by myself, of putting up shelves, of hanging mirrors, and, OF COURSE, the nadir, nirvana, peak of self-actualization for any woman who has just learned to use a drill....


.... putting together IKEA furniture.

Oh. My. GOD. You know that IKEA commercial where the mother is talking so much about her new IKEA bedroom furniture that her daughter threatens to shave her head if she doesn't shut up and then, in the next scene, the mother is still jabbering on and she's shaving the daughter's hair off? Something of that nature could possibly happen to me. Just so you know, my ability to use a drill has come along with my acquisition of a new car that is a hatchback with a sizeable trunk and seats that fold down. There are innumerable permutations here, people - new car, big trunk, IKEA furniture... !!!!! 100 % Possibilities!!!!

So, over the past two days, I have purchased, transported home, organized, planned and built a new dresser. Well, my sweetheart helped me get started (thank God, because, seriously, the dresser would have been inside out and upside down, but who cares, I got to use the drill).



To finally conclude, we went from this (halfway through because I forgot to take a picture):



... note the prominent placement of the drill...














to this:

And now, I don't know what was more exhausting, writing this post, or actually constructing the dresser. Seriously.

Happy Birthday Nanny!

This is a picture of me, my mom and my Nanny from last summer.

You tell me if you even THINK you're going to look that good at 80.

Yes, 80.

There are many amazing things about my Grandmother that make me very proud to be her oldest grand-daughter. For instance:

1. Nanny had 6 kids - the first borns were triplets and then she went on to have 3 more. Hello - I think that grants you "hero" status right there.


2. Nanny was married for over 55 years to an amazing man - my Pop. We love ya, Pop!


3. Nanny has 12 grandchildren - all of whom she has strived to love and treat fairly since we've all been born. Everyone has the quilt to prove it.


4. Since my Pop died almost two years ago, Nanny has been blessed with 5 great-grandchildren. How many more children can one small little woman be blessed with? Well, let's hope that there are many more to come.


5. Nanny has a secret to great looking hair - it's called a satin pillow case.


6. Nanny never wastes food and the family joke is that she could make a meal for 10 out of a half of a tomato, some bread and a can of tuna (wait, I'm not sure if she even likes tuna, but the point is that she can make a great meal out of practically nothing.)


7. Nanny... like all Nannies and Grandmothers out there... is just super special. I'd have to put aside a trillion days to think of all of the great things about her.

Happy Birthday, Nanny. Hopefully we'll all have a life as full, rewarding and blessed as yours.

And really, hopefully we'll all look as good as you do at 80. Cheers!

pics for Lindsay

these are some posted pics for my dearest cousin Lindsay.... I said I would post... so here they are! To start, all of these pics are WIPs. We start with the baby kimono (in Patons Grace tangelo), then two mitred squares (in Lang Mille Colori) as part of my WIP mitred square blanket from MDK. Below, you will see a three dishcloths (pattern courtesy of my Nanny P) wrapped around Coffee Peppermint Soap from the most divine soap store in the world - Tval in St. John's Nfld. Next to the dishcloths, you'll see my final WIP - the baby log cabin moderne that was referred to a few weeks ago. Much more is done on it now (the fourth colour has been added), but at least you have an idea. A very funny story to come about my very first adventure with knitting a hat. Hilarious!