Knit, Inc

How I've spent my Sunday

2009-10-11T16:46:00.003+01:00

OK, so it all started with a discussion on the Irish Knitters board on Ravelry, here.
Someone mentioned making an Owls sweater, and we all just kind of decided to join in, as you do.
I must admit I think it would be great fun if we all assembled en masse in our Owly creations on the streets of Dublin. Imagine the looks we'd get? great fun.
I've always liked this sweater, so I said that I'd join in but not until I get back from holidays.
Yeah, that worked.
Now this sweater is meant to be knit in Bulky weight yarn, but, y'know bulky me + bulky yarn does not equal a flattering project in my opinion, so I was thinking about using something else.
namely, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece. I lurves this yarn. I know it's not an Owly colour, but hey. I like pink and what's wrong with bringing out the feminine side of owls?
Only problem was, it was already made into a cardigan that I didn't like, the Flutter Sleeve Cardigan(ugh):

Like I said, I wasn't even going to think about this until I came back from holidays.
So, today, after a bit of cleaning around (I'm so proud of myself for managing to do some cleaning!) I attacked the cardigan.
I must admit it was quite nice ripping that thing back to the yarn again. I hated that project, I think it was my biggest "pattern for me" disaster ever. Anyway, I ended up with a load of balls (stop it)

Yay! I thought. I'll just skein them , wash them and hang them to dry and my Owls sweater will be ready to start when I get back from holidays. I like the way I keep reiterating "after the holidays", as if I'm going to do that now? No chance.
Anyway, skeining isn't the easiest thing in the world to do, especially when you have to wind the balls into centre pull balls first as otherwise they hop all over my (uncleaned) kitchen floor.
So I wound them first, then skeined them. About an hour and a half later, I have this:

Lots of lovely washed skeins of yarn de-kinking on the line beside my lurvly hand made socks that I washed while I had the bowl of soak. Kill two birds? Oh yes. And it was one more job off the list. See how I made this into a house cleaning task? I know, I'm a domestic goddess. (snort)

So, once these dry I have to wind them again into centre pull balls and I'm all set for my Owls jumper. When I get back from holidays. Not before. No.
All I need to worry about now is getting gauge or redoing the pattern for lighter weight yarn, upsizing the pattern for me, and doing lots of maths I'm sure. So yeah. A piece of cake.
After my holidays. Not before.

Swallowed by a black hole

2009-10-07T20:31:00.002+01:00

I know, I know, I've been lacking in the blogging. I just don't know where the time has gone.

I think maybe I was swallowed by a black hole and was only spat out this evening.

It reminds me of the excuses I would give to teachers for not having my homework done: "But teacher, I DID do that 6 page essay on the merits of Othellos realtionship with Desdemona, and it was fabulous, but then my rabbit must have been hungry, because next thing? It was shredded on the floor."

I haven't been neglecting my knitting however, here you go, an FO:

Pattern: Baby Aran Cardigan from an ancient Wendy pattern

Yarn: Sirdar Bonus Aran

Needles: 3.75mm and 4.5mm KnitPicks Options

(I know the picture is crappy, but it's dark here people)

A grand and handy knit, it must be said. Just too much seaming for my liking. I do like the bobbles, though I'm unsure about them for a baby garment. I think the temptation for a baby to suck on them would be quite high? Still, the one thing my friend asked for was an aran for the impending arrival. I think this fits the bill.

I also think this is my baby knitting obligations fulfilled.

I love the buttons too, I got them last Saturday on sale in a store, I think €1.10 for 4? They suit it great I think.

It's a shame that I mis-calculated the button spacing and left too large a gap in the middle. Still, overall I'm pretty happy with it.

I've also made another one of the Petal bibs, in the yummy yellow Rowan cotton that Tara sent me, but I accidentally deleted it from the camera. DUH. I'll post a pic next time, I promise!

My next piece of knittyness is the Noro Striped Scarf:

I've been dying to make this for ages, and we're in the middle of a cold snap at the moment (3C this morning, scraping ice off the car windscreen ugh) so what better time?

I'm not using Noro, but King Cole Mirage (a budget friendly alternative).

I thought when I bought the balls that the colours would go very well together, but upon knitting I think it's a bit masculine and insipid. Maybe I can lie to hubby and pretend there's no wool in it and see if he'll wear it?

Still, it's mindless easy peasy knitting so I'm good with that for the moment.

Only 2 weeks until my Sunshine State excursion! I'm so excited you'd swear it was my first time. I think making the afghan has increased the excitement level by a few notches.(Plus the promise of some sunshine!)

I'm still torn about my airplane project, although I think I'm decided upon the yarn. I think I'm going to spoil myself on the plane and knit with one of my Wollmeise skeins. Which one and what pattern? God knows so far. Some work is required I think.

Speaking of work, I need to get my internet orders from KnitPicks and Webs sorted too. Methinks some KnitPicks City Tweed is called for, but apart from that? Who knows. Anyone have any yarn faves from these two retailers? And from any others, as I will be visiting 3 LYS while I'm there too!

Have a good week!

I Got Game

2009-09-28T19:13:00.004+01:00

I can bring it. Oh yes I can.
Behold, the Liberty Bell Afghan in all its finished glory:

Pattern: Liberty Bell Afghan from Cover Up with Nicky Epstein

Yarn: Various Acrylics and cotton backing fabric

Needles: 5mm Addi Clicks

Here you can see the backing fabric and how it goes with the afghan front:

Isn't it great? I can't wipe the smug grin off my face at the moment.

This was the backing fabric pinned and tacked befoew sewing in.

Thanks to the girls from my knitting group and my sister in law, I have mastered the invisible hem stitch. Check it out:

Neat huh? It took me about 4 hours to sew in the backing fabric which I think is quite good considering it was by hand, and my first time. I finished it at about 6 this evening when I made and sewed on the tassels.

So, do you think my sister in law will like it? I sure hope so!

In the meantime I cast on for this Baby Aran Cardigan.

The back:

The Left Front:

Just the thing, some instant gratification after a long hefty project like the afghan.

In other great news, I got the most fantastic care package from Tara. I had put out a plea for a copy of Interweave Knits Weekend, as it wasn't available here, and she kindly volunteered to post it to me. Much to my surprise, there were goodies in the parcel too!

A gorgeous sheepie card addressed by her adorable daughter, a kite for Alice made by her husbands own fair hands and a ball of Rowan Handknit cotton in the most scrumptious shade of yellow. Reminds me of banana ice cream. Isn't she the best? Thanks Tara!

My Mam had her brain CT scan today. Once I managed to get her up, dressed and out of the house it wasn't too bad actually, I thought when she saw the machine she'd have a fit, but the staff were great. They didn't give her a chance to freak, just popped her on the bed and bish bash bosh. Just what she needed.

Let's hope the results of the scan and the geriatrician appt on Thursday go as well!

Not much in the way of knitting

2009-09-16T19:17:00.006+01:00

It's been a quiet photo worthy knitty week here.
I'm about to start the last chart of the afghan (can I get a yay?) so I hope to have a beautious FO to show next post. I'll have to wait till next Tuesdays knitting group to get help to sew on the backing fabric though, so it won't be fully finished till then.

I've knit about 4 rounds of Alices Sunday Swing socks as well, so like I said a really slow week.

We went to the Dublin Kite Festival last Sunday though, and it was great fun. It was an amazingly hot day, not a cloud in the sky. So rare for here, let me tell you! Just perfect for viewing kites, although not quite windy enough for flying them...

Hubby took lots of pictures:
Here's a slideshow of some of the best pics we took:

Oh, I almost forgot, I got an email from The Book Depository and my copy of Alice Starmore's Fair Isle Knitting is winging its way to me as we speak! I can't wait to get this and have a good read.

I'm one subborn MoFo

2009-09-09T19:41:00.002+01:00

I'm a really stubborn person. Maybe it's the Irish in me, I don't know, but I won't let anything beat me. Especially not this knitting project. I'm going to finish this by God, and I would prefer to have this finished in the next week or two so I can get back to something nice for me before the holidays. Speaking of holidays, time is getting on so I need to pick my airplane sock project. Any ideas?
Progress so far:

I've finished the star chart and am on to the second last chart, the emblem.
Here's an idea of the size of it so far, compared to Alice (who is tall for her age)

It's looking good, no? Of course once I finish the knitting I then have to figure out how to sew on the backing.
We've started watching the West Wing again from the beginning (Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, sigh) so I'm feeling suitably American-ly patriotic whilst knitting this.
I've had an awful cold recently too (no, not Swine Flu) so it has been very comforting to have this on my lap.

I got what I presume is the Fall issue of Vogue Knitting in the post today.

I don't know what is up with the Designer Knitting title, why not just call it Vogue? Anyway, I've only just got it and haven't read the articles yet, just flicked through the patterns.
Two catch my eye so far:

I like this, but don't know how wearable this would be for me. Methinks a tad bulky, but I love the stitches in it, especially the cabled band.

This one I love.

I think it looks fab on the model, but she has no boobage. I think the place where the cables stop and the yoke begins would make mine look even bigger (if poss) so if I were to make this I would have to make the cables stop lower or higher. If I ever get round to it! I do love it though, I love cables, and I reckon this could easily enough be converted to in the round á la EZ's EPS. Hmmm...

The Eagle Has Landed

2009-09-06T11:06:00.003+01:00

Heh. Not a blog post title you get to use every day!

I've finished the Eagle chart of the Liberty Bell Afghan:

It's probably my least favourite chart as I don't think the details show up very well, but it's done baby!
It's getting quite large now:

My lap is lovely and warm as I knit it.
But look at the ends to be woven in just from this last chart:

That there was a whole nights work on its own. Ugh. End weaving has to be almost as boring as sewing seams.

So I'm oficially over half way now. I have done each chart once and have the star, flag and bell charts left to do once more. I think the flag chart may be modified this time, instead of having a new length of yarn for each stripe, I may try and do it fair-isle and carry the two colours across. hmm.

One thing I've learned about myself whilst doing this is that I think every knitter has a natural project length that suits their patience (or lack of) level. For me and this project, that was a while ago. I found myself looking at the afghan last night and seeing if I could just border it and try and say it was a lap blanket, or car blanket, anything to get out of finishing it. But then I reminded myself why I was making this, as a present to my SIL & her family for my fantastico holidays, and I told myself to shut the F up. I can be so ungrateful sometimes. A few weeks of knitting a blanket is nothing compared to the joy this holiday brings me.

I'd better crack on. Only 6 1/2 weeks left to finish!

Epic Fail :(

2009-09-02T20:53:00.002+01:00

An epic fail of ginormous proportions I think:

Behold the teeny BSJ:

Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket from The Opinionated Knitter

Yarn: Wendy Happy in Sagittarius

Needles: 3.5mm KnitPicks Options

*sigh* I think it has turned out way too small. I doubt this would fit a newborn, would it? Maybe it would fit a preemie? Should I rip it or donate it to a preemie charity? Plus those buttons cost me a bomb at UK Ravelry Day. You can't really see them but they are the most delicious little sheep. I took about a dozen pictures but none came out as it's dark now.

I wish I could find the business card for the person I bought them from, I would definitely buy more.

I'm also disappointed with how the yarn turned out. It looked much "pinker" in the ball, which was what I wanted, but overall it has turned out far more brown/bronze. Not that there's anything wrong with the colours, but I was after pink.

I don't know what to do with it at all.

No other progress to report, I'm still suffering from afghan-blindness. It's a terrible affliction, symptoms include the inability to see the bloody great big afghan that's sitting right at your feet and you have to step around in order to get up from the sofa. A terrible affliction, I tell you.

But, it's one I have to get over rapidly. It's only 7 weeks tomorrow until we're off to Florida! Oh noes!

Bounty!

2009-08-26T19:49:00.003+01:00

Where to start? I feel like I've loads to tell today.
Let's start with progress shall we?

My second BSJ progresses merrily. This has only been knit occasionally, so I guess I should really ramp it up a bit.

I love how the colours are turning out, this should be yummy.

I've finished the star chart of the Liberty Bell Afghan. Thank God! It's slow but sure progress. I wove in the ends last night whilst watching The Wire.

It's going ok, I think, although I think the star looks a bit unbalanced, to me it's larger on one side than the other...

I'm dreading the next chart, the Eagle:

It's a real doozy, isn't it? I'm pretending it's not there and am going to tackle it one row at a time, a bit like life I suppose!

In bountious news, I was gifted some yum last night at the knitting group:
7 skeins of this gorgeous beast.

I'm almost certain this is Kilcarra Aran Tweed, although it's in skeins rather than balls which is what I would normally see in the shop. It's just faboo. According to Ravelry this is 616 yards, but it does feel like a bit more than that. Now I'm just clueless what to make with it... I want it to be something special as it was gifted, but there's no way I'd get a cardi or jumper for myself out of it. Hubby won't touch it coz it's wool and I doubt my Dad would wear it either. Any ideas?

My next gift was a skein and a half of this:

Sirdar Aran in a lovely pinky purply colour. This will become a lovely Aran cardigan for my friend Ellens impending girl. Yum.

I splashed out the other day and pre-ordered Alice Starmore's new book, Fair Isle Knitting. While I was looking at it, I also grabbed this one which arrived today:

The Celtic Collection.

I am in love. Head over heels. These patterns speak to me, they are so steeped in Irish history and the stories behind their inspiration feels so close to my heritage. The photography is gorgeous too. I can't wait to leaf through it properly and add loads to my queue! I have a feeling I may be going through a bit of a colour phase at the moment, and Fair Isle will be my next challenge.

In personal news, the Occupational Therapist is coming tomorrow to assess Mam & Dads house with a view to getting maybe a bath seat and an extra stair railing to make things a bit easier, so I'm off on a half day to be there too. What a shame she isn't coming on Friday and I could have had a long weekend!

Happy knitting!

Oh Happy Day!

2009-08-21T16:38:00.002+01:00

I'm so happy, I'd knock a happy clown over with my happy dance.

Mam got a home help!!!!!!!!!! The health board lady came today and she was really nice. It's initially going to start with once a week for two hours and she's going to clean the kitchen, bathroom and hoover. Fair play to her if she can get all that done in 2 hours! It's a start, and I'm overcome with happiness. At last! Hopefully this will take some of the strain off Dad.

Knitting has been a little slow chez moi this week, but I do have an FO:

Pattern: Garter Yoke Baby Cardi (Ravlink) by Jennifer Hoel

Needles: 3.5mm Addi Clicks

Yarn: Miscellaneous pink acrylic

I loved this knit, so simple and structural and fail safe. Just what I needed to distract me from the afghan that smirks at me from the living room corner. It knows I will be back, and it thinks that's really funny. I'll show it who's boss, oh yes.

Back to the baby pattern, I'd recommend this to anyone for a really quick, easy and cute knit. This could be customised really easily, different colour for the garter yoke, cuffs and waistband, stripes on the body, etc etc. I definitely will make this one again.

I actually gave in to the afghan and started it again last night. The star chart is handy enough, so hopefully it won't do my head in again so soon.

Oh! I almost forgot! In my excitement about the home help and the yummy baby cardi I almost left out stash enhancement! How could I????

I popped down to This Is Knit, met the lovely She Knit Up That Ball who helped me pick out some yum stuff, and got me some goodness.

First up, some Wendy Happy in Sagittarius:
This is for a girly BSJ. I think it's going to be faboo, and it will be the babys star sign! Fate!

Next, we have a skein of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Perrys Primrose:

I love Cotton Fleece. This baby is going to make some more yummy girly baby bibs.

And finally, because sale yarn baskets can talk and plead with you to buy stuff, I got this skein of Araucania Nature Cotton in a lovely orange shade. No idea what to make with it, but it was almost 75% off so a total bargain. Maybe a baby hat?

I'm going to cast on for the BSJ tonight I think, as we're off on a car journey tomorrow to maybe see about buying a little holiday home. Maybe, only maybe so far. And y'know I can't be knitting that afghan in the car!

Happy weekend everyone!

Baby knitting begins!

2009-08-17T19:39:00.002+01:00

I've put the afghan in timeout. Not because it has done anything on me, just because I've kind of had enough of it for a while. I'll probably get back to it later on in the week as I know my conscience will get to me, but for now I had to unleash the baby girl knitting mojo:
This is the Garter Yoke Baby Cardi (Ravlink). I love this pattern, it's a really simple top down cardi that you could do virtually anything with. It's flying along for me, so I think I'll probably end up making a couple of them and I might get adventurous with them, maybe a few stripes or a nice lace pattern instead of the stockinette body? I dunno...
Oh, and it's yummy pink! Yay!

My weekend was fairly hectic. Saturday was Mam & Dad, then home for 4 hours of cooking to have meals in advance for the week. I decided enough was enough, I was tired of coming home from work and there being nothing for dinner, as I'd either forgotten to take any meat out of the freezer, or I just couldn't decide what to eat.
I made Shepherds Pie, Lasagne, Pork Curry and a new experiment of a Cornish Chicken Pasty. It's basically like an individual pie in a half moon shape. We'll see how they turn out!

Sunday was hubbys band family fun day. He's a member of the Dublin Airport Police, Fire Service & Associates brass band. Phew, what a mouthful. He's one of the associates by the way, as he's neither a policeman nor a fireman. Bummer, I'm a sucker for men in uniform ;)

So, the party was for staff and families of the band, police and fire service. It was on in the airport fire station and was great fun! There was a BBQ, goodies for the kids, face painting and best of all the band! I videoed the whole performance, so if I can manage to get permission from very shy hubby, I'll put up a clip. They really were very good.
After the band, the coastguard flew over in a Chenook (sp?) helicopter (HUGE) and were hanging out of it waving to everyone. Then the fire service basically set everything on fire. A car, a building, an airplane. Amazing stuff. They let all the kids into the fire trucks and gave them mini helmets to keep.
The police joined in too, pretending to apprehend "criminals" and dressing up as nuns and squiting everyone with water pistols. A really great family day I must say.

Although, as a result, there's no ironing, cleaning or washing done. But, at least we won't go hungry!

Plodding along

2009-08-10T18:29:00.003+01:00

Work progresses slowly but surely on the Liberty Bell Afghan. I've finished Chart 2, the Emblem chart. The pattern calls for the stars to be embroidered or duplicate stitched on at the end, I can't remember which. Something I don't know how to do anyay, so we'll cross that bridge when (if) I come to it.

It's turning out ok, not great, but ok. I suppose I was expecting too much from it, wanting it to be perfect. Intarsia is hard y'all!

I have to weave in all the ends from this chart, then do the next border before the Star chart. At least it's only a big yellow star on a blue background, I hope to get through that one a bit quicker!

I'm on the heel flap of Alice's Sunday Swing socks, nothing very exciting there. I'm not rushing them either, just breathing deeeply and knitting away on my lunchbreak. Every evening and weekends are devoted to the Afghan to get it done.

I have loads of patterns picked out to hopefully make for my friends impending girl, I must make a list and put them up here so I have to make them. If you blog it, it must be done, right?

It's really dark and gloomy here this evening, yuk. Hopefully the weather will pick up a bit for Alices last week off before back to créche and then school in 3 weeks...

Happy Thoughts

2009-08-05T19:28:00.007+01:00

Think happy thoughts, that's what I keep telling myself. That way I can cheer myself up a bit.

So, I'm enjoying the bit of evening sunshine here today.

Some prospective knitty news:

My best friend is currently expecting her 3rd child in December. She has two boys and we were both praying for a girl. She had her first scan yesterday, and, it's 95% certain to be a girl!!! I'm so thrilled for her, she was crying on the phone to me with happiness. She's had a tough few months so I'm really pleased she has some good news. Although, the pressure is on to knit pink! I don't know where I'm going to find the time!

Here's the pics of the cotton bibs I made last week:

I made two of these. Bear in mind that it needs a press with a steam iron to flatten out the petals!

Pattern: Petal Baby Bib from One Skein (Ravlink)

Needles: 3.5mm for the bib, 2.75mm dpn for the Icord

Yarn: Zettl Colorado cotton

I used smaller needles than called for to make the bibs a little bit smaller for a newborn and also to make the Icord a little bit firmer. And, to be honest, as they were the only dons I had in my "bag 0' bits" on holidays!

I love this pattern, I will make more of these for sure.

I've made three others of this before for charity, they're such a quick knit, I get one done in an evening. So, at least I've begun the baby knitting!

Work progresses slowly on the Liberty Bell Afghan:

Not a huge amount to look at, but that there represents a few knitting hours, let me tell you!

I'm about halfway through Chart 2.

Each row is taking ages as I need to de-tangle before I start. It's enjoyable enough though, so I can't complain. Although it's not the best tv knitting in the evening project I've ever had. But, that's the only chance I'm getting to do it, as it's not exactly portable!

So, I cast on a portable project, socks for Alice! I'm not going to partake in the Cookie A KAL this month. Instead, I've started these:

Sunday Swing Socks from Knitty.

I'm not sure it's the best meld of pattern & yarn, but it's easy and soothing to knit, so I carry it everywhere with me and knit it at lunch in work so calm the nerves.

There's something a little Harry Potter, "jolly hockey sticks" about the stripes too, I think.

I really must get cracking with some pink girly baby knits though. I would love to make my friend a blanket, as her youngest son loves the one I made him, but I just don't think I'm going to have the time.

Yay! squishy chubby girly cheeks on the way!

I should be declared an official disaster zone

2009-07-30T11:10:00.003+01:00

I think there's a hex on me. One that doesn't affect me directly, but that affects those around me.

My aunt came down on Monday for a couple of days to give me a hand with Mam, and promptly had a nose bleed that was ridiculously heavy and wouldn't stop. I ended up having to drive her 40 mins to the nearest hospital where they've kept her in and she's still there. God love her, some holiday!

I've had to drive up and back to her since, and deal with Mams freaker when she heard the word hospital. All I want to do is go home, climb under the duvet and never emerge again. I've had enough stress!

Poor Alice is being really good, she's bored and I'm trying to find time to spend with her, but it's hard when you're dashing around everywhere. The weather has sucked too.

On a positive note, all the sitting around in waiting rooms etc has meant I got Hedera finished on time!

Pattern: Hedera from Knitty

Yarn: Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Wildflower

Needles: 2.5mm dpns that are going in the bin immediately as they've left me with a scar on my left index finger they were so sharp.

I'm so thrilled. I didn't think I'd get these finished to be honest. The heel is a bit tight and the heel flap is way too long in my opinion. These may well become gift knitting or go to my Dad.

I've also completed a baby bib from One Skein, pics next post.
Dmaxi left a great comment on my last post. Apparently I am now a member of knitting scouts and I have qualified for this:

The “MacGyver” Badge (Level Two) - The recipient must demonstrate clever use of a knitting tool in a non-knitting-related scenario. For instance, recipient has used a strand of Regia Bamboo to slice cheese, or repaired a small appliance with a metal knitting needle.

I think this is hilarious. I'm sitting in the hotel lobby laughing as I type. I'm sure the receptionist thinks I've a screw loose!

Have a good one!

It pays to be a knitter aka restoring my faith in people

2009-07-27T18:29:00.002+01:00

It pays to be a knitter. It really does.
This is a short post as I'm on the wi-fi in the hotel reception and it sucks.
The holiday is going ok, the weather is rotten, but Mam seems to be enjoying herself. Alice and hubby are in the pool as we speak so I've grabbed a quick pint and am throwing out this post as I thought it was a great story.

Remember my new car I bought about 3 weeks ago? Well, I have encountered 3 good samaritans on the trip so far.

1. On the motorway on the way down, a car passed me out, then slowed down and began waving furiously at me. I didn't know what was going on! They gestured to pull over so I did, while being very wary of their intentions. It turns out that there's a panel under the engine to protect it and cushion sound. It was hanging off! The very nice guy got on his hands and knees on the hard shoulder of the motorway and showed me the problem.
Needless to say I panicked and Mam didn't help - "What's wrong?" constantly.
I managed to get to a petrol station and was asking for help in the shop. No chance, they just stared at me and the assistant actually asked "So are you buying anything?"

2. I couldn't believe it when a young guy (and hot too) said he'd help.
This is where the knitter connection came in. He said he could temporarily tie up the panel and had I any string. I said no, I'd no string but I do have wool! I opened my Aladdins cave of a knitting bag - y'know how you always bring more than you'll ever knit? And he just laughed! Well, we selected some cotton, and he tied it on for me! It was quite nice watching him on his back under my car tying on my cotton yarn. Very nice indeed. Oh yes.

3. I went to a garage today to get it properly fixed, the mechanic fixed it and wouldn't take any money. Such a nice guy.

So, knitting has practical purposes other than producing fantastic garments, and people are really great to their fellow (wo)man.

If the rest of the week is as good as the start, I think I will return home truly refreshed.
Enjoy!

Such a sad day.

2009-07-21T19:30:00.002+01:00

I'm really sad today. I hate Alzheimers. It's robbed me of my mother. I can see why it's called the long goodbye. She looks the same, sounds the same, but she's gone. And I'm heartbroken. I want my Mam back.
I was in the hospital with her all day today seeing the geriatrician. All day yesterday and this morning I had a barrage of the same three angry questions because she was scared I suppose.
Where are we going?
Why are we going, sure I'm fine?
What are they going to do to me?
Rinse and repeat these questions for the last 24 hours. My poor Dad has taken the brunt, merely because he was there most of yesterday.
I brought her along this morning and it was a struggle. I had to get her out of bed, wash and dress her, give her breakfast and put her in the car. All along answering the three questions above over and over.
She was cute enough to lie through her teeth to the doctor about how she felt, but the cognitive tests don't lie. She scored 12/30 and apparently that's severe Alzheimers. :(
She didn't know what day, month, year, season it was or what country she lived in, how many children she had etc. I couldn't bear to hear most of it. The doctor was lovely, she was very sympathetic, but at the end of it all there's nothing they can do.
As Dad said to me today: "How come they can spend billions sending men to the moon, but they can't find a cure for this horrible disease?"
Which leaves me so torn about what to do myself.
I know my Dad can't cope, I've known for a while, but I think I've kind of stuck my head in the sand, hoping it will go away. It hasn't. So now I need to step up to the mark. How? Working a shorter week and being there more? I simply can't afford to. Get a private home help in, as our shitty Government won't pay for one? Again, I can't afford to and my "brother" refuses to help. So what do I do? I know family is more important than money or career, but it's a case of paying for Alice's school fees and such. I dunno. I'll have to try and come up with some sort of compromise, coz it can't carry on as it is.

Sorry for the outburst, but it helps to talk to you, blog friends, as I don't want to burden hubby too much with it all.

On to knitty news:

On a plus side of today, I got about 10 repeats of the leg chart done on Hedera sock no 2 while we were waiting. Bonus!

Border Chart 1 is complete on the Liberty Bell Afghan:

Save the drumrolls and wild applause. I know it's not that impressive, but that there represents quite a few knitting hours!

If I ever needed cheering up here it is:

Alice in her Good Stripe Dress twirling this morning. Hubby took it. Apparently she is now a Level 2 Jedi fairy that can summon sunny fireballs to the sky to make the weather nice. Her bonus power is that she can change traffic lights from red to green so we can get home faster in the evening.
You've got to love her.

Happy weekend

2009-07-19T19:43:00.004+01:00

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you are all having a nice weekend and not thinking of the dreaded W word tomorrow. I know I'm not!
I'm about to get snug in my chair and get knitting while I watch my EZ dvds for the zillionth time as hubby is upstairs killing stuff on the pc. I can't think of anything nicer ;)

I'm getting myself geared up for Tuesday. Mam has a hospital appt with the geriatrician for the whole day while they run a battery of tests and find out exactly what kind of Alzheimers she has. I've been kind of lying to her about it, saying it's just a checkup to see if the new tablets are agreeing with her. I don't think thats a bad thing really, as she wouldn't go otherwise!

I still haven't decided on a project to bring with me on holidays next Saturday along with my Hedera socks. It's so hard to choose! Maybe a nice cotton top for Alice? I dunno.
Speaking of Hedera socks, I'm way behind. I'm only 3 repeats into the leg of the second sock, and I need to get these done by the end of July for the KAL. But, they're doing fine otherwise.

In afghan news, I've finished chart 1!

What do y'all think? It's not perfect by any means which bugs me as I really wanted it to be, but I'm proud of it nonetheless. It's much more difficult than it looks, believe me!
The ends? OMG they're taking over the planet, breeding like rabbits :(
I've discovered a way to weave them in as I go thanks to Kaffe Fassett and the Vogue Ultimate Knitting book I bought half price, so that was worth it! Hopefully it'll go easier for me now.

I bought some backing fabric for it today, isn't it nice?

I thought both the red and the stars went well with the project, plus it'll make it much nicer to snuggle up in front of the tv with, won't it? And, I didn't want my SIL and BIL to see all the woven in ends! I'm smart, y'know, hiding the shoddy finishing, heh.
All I need now is to figure out how to sew it on once (if) I finish it!

Happy knitting and happy week!

Sad knitty news

2009-07-15T19:14:00.004+01:00

It's a sad bit of knitty news I have to impart.
I found out yesterday that our local Borders is closing down. Apparently they're pulling out of Ireland and the UK altogether. So sad.
It was the only place to get a lot of US knitty publications and by far had the best selection of knitting books.
It also means we have to look for a new home for our knitting group as the Starbucks in the store is closing too :(
A clothes shop is opening in its place. Great. Like we need another clothes store in the shopping centre :/
They have a HUGE closing down sale on at the moment. 50% off everything, including school books. That's what I get for being efficient. I only bought Alice's books there 2 weeks ago.
So, I went along to the knitting group last night to see what we could sort out about sourcing a new venue and the place was jammed to the gills. They had to close the doors to stop people entering the store 2 hours before closing time. The queue wait was about an hour to pay for the books, it was mental.
On between sorting out the new venue (hopefully the local library, but we're going to keep supporting the store as long as it's open) and sympathising with the fantastic staff there who will shortly be unemployed I (hubby who queued whilst I knit ha) managed to snap up some bargains:
1. Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 4: Crochet I hope this may encourage me to try crochet again.
2. The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches A gal can't have enough stitch dictionaries!
3. Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Knitting Book Yay!
4. Vogue Knitting The Ultimate Sock Book Socks. 'Nuff said. I've stalked this one for a while.
5. Fitted Knits Not 100% sure why I bought this, as I think the sizes are below me, but I've heard it has good shaping techniques. This one was the "eyes-glazed-over-it's-half-price-impulse-purchase"

I know, I'm mad, there's a recession etc, but y'know, it's knitting and it was half price. Conversation over.

In actual knitting news, I'm in a bit of a muddle with my Liberty Bell Afghan:
Tangles! Lots of them! I'm trying to think of a way to prevent this happening. I think I may have an idea. I'm going to try and put each pattern repeats worth of yarn into an individual ziploc bag. That should do the trick. Fingers crossed, I'm going to get de-tangling as soon as I finish this.

Hedera sock No 1 is done!:

I'm still not completely in love with the marriage of yarn & pattern, but I'm going to persevere. I finished this one today when the rest of the office was on tea break. Isn't the heel flap HUGE? If I were to ever knit these again(unlikely) I would most certainly reduce the length of the heel flap by at least 1/3.

So that's it for today. Keep an eye out your window tonight at approx 11.03pm GMT as the space shuttle will hopefully take off and it should be visible (fleetingly) in the night sky. Having seen a launch before in Florida I can say it is a fantastic sight. Although if I see this one tonight, I won't be sitting on Daytona beach with sand between my toes like last time. :( On the bright side, only 3 months and 1 week to go!!

Startitis (sort of)

2009-07-12T15:22:00.002+01:00

I bring news of great joy, bloggers!
Look what I found under a pile of shoes and handbags by my bed:

My little lost sock and needles! The poor thing looks a bit worse for the wear, but I'm sure with some gentle ripping and caressing it will return to its former glory. I can't believe I found it! (I also can't believe I had such a pile of crap by my bed that a sock could become lost for two weeks)

My Hedera sock progresses:

I'm almost at the toe of the first sock. Still not feeling the love for the yarn & pattern together, but I'll persevere because I'm not ripping out now!

Maybe that's where the little spurt of startitis has come in. I'm not hugely feeling the sock love so instead of finishing Hedera or pouncing on the prodigal sock I've decided to move a million miles away from socks and cast on this baby:

It's the Liberty Bell afghan from Cover Up with Nicky Epstein(Ravlink).

(Apologies if the pattern on Ravelry isn't fully correct, I added it yesterday morning whilst under the influence of lack of coffee.)

I must be mad starting a huge intarsia project like this. I really must. But, see, the thing is that my sister and brother in law are really good to us and let us use their holiday home in Florida every year. If it weren't for them I'd never have seen the States, or bought yummy yarn so I figure I owe them a nice present. I usually buy them a gift for the house each year as a thank you, but wouldn't this be so much nicer draped over the back of their couch?

I think so.

Only problem is I want this to be perfect.

I think it's looking good so far, but I'm hopeless at weaving in ends. They always seem to come loose and pop out after a little while. So, what can I do with this?

I'm knitting it with acrylic so it'll be washer friendly, so I can't felt ends together. What way do you guys weave in ends? Hundreds of ends, so many it will probably take me as long to weave them in as it did to knit the darn thing.

I was also thinking of maybe sewing on some backing fabric once done so that the "ugly" side wouldn't be visible. What do you think?

This doesn't need to be done until October when we go over, so I've plenty of time to finish it off, right? Right??

I also need a project to bring on holidays with me in two weeks time.

I've booked the Golf Villas here for a week at the end of the month to give Mam & Dad a holiday. I can't afford it, but what can you do? They need a break too.

Anyway, I don't fancy bringing down that mammoth afghan so I need something else (along with a sock of course) to knit there. What do you like to bring for holiday knitting?

Good news on the oily dress debacle, almost all of the oil came out so I think it will be fine next wash. It's barely detectable to the non knitter eye now. Phew! Thanks for all the advice on stain removal!

As an aside, one of my work colleagues saw a picture of Alice in the dress and has asked me to knit one for her daughter! errrr, that thing took FOREVER to knit, I don't think so! She asked me if there would be anything else then, so I said I'd have a look. I really don't fancy knitting that again, so any suggestions? I was thinking maybe a skirt instead? Maybe this?

I can't say I'm all that keen on the idea, but can't see how I can get out of it. I'm also not that confident in my knitting skillz for someone to actually pay me for the yarn and for their child to wear it?

Ah we'll see. If I say nothing it may all go away!

Highs & Lows

2009-07-05T20:21:00.002+01:00

It's been quite the couple of days, full of highs & lows.

Let's start with the good stuff, shall we?

High 1.

Mam was in great form yesterday. Full of chat and she actually cracked a couple of jokes! She also allowed me to give her a shower. I couldn't believe it. It was lovely to see her in a good mood.

High 2.

My lace scarf from Victorian Lace Today is finished blocking!

Ta da...

Pattern: Scarf with the striped border from Weldon's, Volume 5, 1890

Needles: 4.5mm Knit Picks Options

Yarn: Knit Picks Shimmer in Stained Glass, about 300-350 yards.

I'm really proud of this, my first proper lace item! I think it turned out great too.

High 3:

As I mentioned last post, I was 11 years married yesterday, the 4th. We went out for a lovely Indian dinner last night and look what hubby got me:

Addi Clicks! I'd forgotten all about these. I'm so excited to start a project with them!

They even come with a cute packing slip that's signed by the person who packed the box and a heart shaped pin so you can "Let the world know you are a fan of addi, worldwide friendships will await you"! hahaha

The inside:

Yum.

Now onto the lows.

Low 1.

My Rick socks. They just wouldn't cooperate at all with the Bearfoot yarn. I tried 3 times but no go so I've decided to go with Hedera from Knitty Spring 06.

I got this much done watching the amazing Wimbledon final today. It's going well, but tbh, this yarn is not really good for showing up any stitch pattern. It's better suited to a vanilla sock I think. It's also seriously hairy yarn, there's mohair everywhere.

Low 2:

Alice went out cycling today wearing her Good Stripe Dress and managed to get oil all over it. I've washed it as hard as I dare but it hasn't all come out. I'm so mad. She was really apologetic, but I had warned her not to. There were a few words had. Not too many, as she really was sorry but all that hard work! Hopefully I can get the rest out the next wash.

Low 3:

The missing sock, needles & stitch marker are still missing. At this stage I think it's best to declare them officially gone. A moments silence please.

Low 4:

It's Sunday. I'm back in crappy work tomorrow while hubby & Alice have the day off. I hate my job.

That's my lot, a bit of a mixed bag!

Lost sock!

2009-07-01T19:54:00.003+01:00

It's been a bit of a mad week chez moi. Just running round chasing my tail.

I'm nearly finished my lace scarf, I'm on the last chart for the border so I should be done by the weekend.

I'm about to cast on for my July Sock Innovation KAL sock, Rick.

I'm using this gorgeous stuff, Mountain Colours Bearfoot in Wildflower.

Hoping all goes well!

In sad knitty news, I've lost a sock. :( I had just started a pair of socks for Alice using the Wendy Happy yarn in Aquarius I'd bought for her and I don't know where I've put it! The last time I remember seeing it was in my Mam & Dads last Saturday, so heaven forbid, my Mam may have thrown them in the bin. This has become her habit recently, I've rescued plates and cups from the bin already so I'll have to check the bin the next time I'm round.

That's all my news for now, I hope to have the chance to post a proper post at the weekend.

I'll be 11 years married on Saturday, 11! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. Maybe that's the sign of a good marriage?

Happy Birthday to me!

2009-06-23T07:59:00.003+01:00

So it's that time of year again. I'm last year + 1.
I had a great day yestersday, once I'd left work! I hate working on my birthday. Still, I'm off today and I'm test driving more cars, so it's ok.

First up, some lace progress! I know, lace. But I was dying to try it properly so I cast on for this pattern from Victorian Lace Today.

This was how much I had done the other day - the first chart completed.

This is how much I had done this morning. It's a really easy two row pattern repeat and I'm enjoying it! It doesn't look like much now, as always with lace it needs blocking to bring out the true beauty of the pattern. The yarn is Knit Picks Shimmer (Baby Alpaca and Silk). The colour is Stained Glass.

So, shall we get onto birthday pressies? I thought you would want to!
Check out the birthday card John got me:

I don't know if you can read the front, but it says "Surely you can take a little ribbing on your birthday" and on the inside it says "And don't call me Shirley"
Best knitty birthday card ever. He's the best!

Of course there was some stash enhancement too ;)
I don't know what this yarn is. It looks like laceweight and looks like it has mohair in it, but there's no label on it. I know John bought it in Marias Garn in Stockholm but that's it. Does anyone have any ideas what it is?
Isn't it yum?

He also got me a skein of this:

It's hand dyed Fargkraft yarn, Palsblend in Tulpan colourway. Ravelry says it's laceweight, but to me it feels like sockweight yarn.

Amn't I lucky? He's such a pet.

We went to see Bill Bailey last night. He's so funny! I had a great time. Alice stayed the night with Johns brother & his wife so it's really quiet here in the house this morning.

So, another birthday done. I had a great time and it was great to take my mind off things with my Mam & Dad.

TGIF

2009-06-19T16:50:00.002+01:00

TGIF. That's all I can say really. My week has been one of highs and lows. Mam was offically diagnosed with severe dementia today. I spent yesterday in the office sobbing at my desk in front of everyone I'm so overcome with the stress and worry of it all. I felt like such a fool. Took the day off work today to be there when the Dr. came to the house, even though I don't have any leave to take. Dunno what I'm going to do for the rest of the year!

Plus, after the Dr. had left, Mam went for me bald headed and accused me of trying to put her in a home. As if. She had me in floods of tears, God love her. I know she was just scared. Still, I have to look at the positives of it all, at least now I can hopefully get some help for them both. A home help would mean so much to them. Fingers crossed the health board will stump up.

In knitty news, an FO!

Pattern: Sunshine by Cookie A from Sock Innovation
Yarn: Pagewood Farms Chugiak hand dyed sock yarn in Rainbow Sherbet
Needles: 2.5mm
Aren't they fab? I finished them about 15 minutes ago and ran out to the garden between showers to get a nice photo with the daisies before lawn mower mad hubby probably cuts the lawn when he gets home.
These socks mean a lot to me. Started during a fantastically relaxing bank holiday weekend that had fabulous weather, and the return of my sock mojo.

So, now I need a new project!
Here's my thoughts so far:
1. A pair of socks for Alice, unsure what pattern yet
2. Noro striped scarf
3. The colourwork sweater I purchased the Shetland for
4. The Cold Mountain Stole from the latest knitty
5. A pair of socks for my Dad that would end up being a very belated Fathers Day pressie, again unsure what pattern
6. Any one of the fabulous lace patterns from Victorian Lace Today
7. Very Berry Shirt for Alice

My initial thought are to cast on two. One pair of socks (probably the ones for my Dad) and one larger project. I'm itching to try lace but my previous attempts have not gone well. Maybe a swallowtail shawl to start (again)? What would you guys recommend as a first attempt lace pattern knit in laceweight yarn?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Wonderful Wednesday

2009-06-17T20:02:00.004+01:00

Phew! So much has happened since last Sunday morning!
We went out on Sunday afternoon and Alice bought herself a new bike with her communion money. It's gorgeous. If I were a bit smaller I'd being going for a ride on it!
John has bought a new-ish car - a 2007 Dodge Caliber 2.0 Diesel. It's seriously yum. He got a great deal on it too.
I'm lusting after a brand new Chrysler Sebring Sedan or a Mercedes E Class 2005. The Chrysler is sex on wheels and really highly specced too. Decisions! And no, we haven't won the lottery!

I'm so glad I came home from work today. Work has sucked the big one for the last few days, so much so that I'm seriously considering requesting a transfer to get away from my boss. :(
Anyway, when I got home today look what awaited me!
Not one, but two parcels!
The first one was my Wollmeise:

It's always wrapped beautifully in its own Wollmeise bag. Inside was:

3 skeins of superwash Merino! From top to bottom, Clementine, Sonne & Safran. And a packet of Haribo jellies. I'm fondling as we speak.

The second parcel was my Jamieson & Smith Shetland Wool:
I'm so excited to get knitting on my first colourwork sweater from Knitting Around!
They also included a pattern for a lovely sweater. So nice! I love getting surprise extras in parcels!

The lowdown of the Shetland:

I got 10 balls of the grey, two each of the blues and cream and one of the mysterious green on the top left. I can't wait to get started! Don't the colours look great together?

This is definitely IT for my stash for the forseeable. I actually think i may go to Florida this year and *gasp* not buy anything. I have so much yarn it's obscene. Really.

Work thunders along on my Sunshine sock now it's the only project I have on the go. I'm about halfway down the second foot so I should be finito by the weekend!

Last night I got a great surprise too. One of my best pals is a landscape gardener and he arrived up with a plant for me. A Calla Lily that a customer wanted thrown out of their garden. It's a huge fully mature plant.

I know a lot of people think lillies = death, but this has to be my favourite flower. I had these in my wedding bouquet many moons ago. I keep looking out of my front window at the plant and sighing. love love love!

WWKIP

2009-06-14T07:48:00.007+01:00

Morning everyone. It's just after 7am here and I'm up. On a Sunday morning. Not happy. Insomnia sucks.

But, I do have an FO!
My February Lady Sweater. In all it's still-slightly-damp-but-I'm-wearing-it-to-WWKIP-anyway-glory

I love the buttons. These were some of the ones I bought at Ravelry Day last week.

The back:

A close up of the gull stitch pattern. So easy to remember which makes for a very easy knit.

Yesterday was WWKIP day and I had a great time.
Here are some pics:
In the morning we knit on the balcony of the Powerscourt Shopping Centre, location of that fine yarn establishment, This is Knit:

It was lovely sitting there and knitting, although it got a bit hot later on when the sun was shining through the glass roof. I cooked for a little while in it.
This Is Knit had a prize draw for people who spent over €20 in the shop, so of course I had to go in "just for a look". I bought a gorgeous book, Victorian Lace Today, which hopefully will get me knitting lace properly. I also got a skein of this:

Wendy Happy in Aries. They released a different colour for every star sign except mine (Cancer). Boo. So I bought Alice's colour instead to make her a nice pair of socks.

So I was entered into the prize draw. Later in the day the girls from the shop came in to us at the balcony for the draw. They passed round the cup with the names in it and each person picked out a winner. I picked out my own name much to my shock. I couldn't believe it!

My prize? A copy of the Yarn Harlots book, Stephanie Pearl McPhee Casts Off. I'm looking forward to reading it!

Afterwards we headed off to our second location, St. Stephens Green right in the middle of the city. I love this green and often come here at lunch time for a breath of air and some peace away from my crappy job.

We set up picnic blankets and foldaway chairs and got straight down to the knitting.

The weather was perfect. Nice sun, light cool breeze. Perfect.

And we had a brass band to entertain us! They were terrific, and made the day even better.

I had such fun meeting up with people I had only known on Ravelry and we chatted away for ages.

Bioniclaura was spinning with a drop spindle. She's seriously good at this, btw. She showed me how to do it and let me have a go. It was great fun, but I don't think I'll be giving up my day job anytime soon, my spun yarn was very lumpy!

I also learned how to make stitch markers! Teaandcakes very kindly brought along all the bits required and showed me how. I made three and I am hooked. I can't wait to get the gear and get going!

A busy knitty day yesterday but a very enjoyable one. I knit my second Sunshine sock all day. I'm at the heel now, so I hope to have it finished soon.

And I just realised that next Sunday is Fathers Day. So, there goes my plan of making my Dad a pair of socks. Aww.

It's blocking!

2009-06-10T21:37:00.001+01:00

I can't believe it, it's finally blocking:

I really hope it fits once blocked. I got gauge, measured really seriously, but once finished it was a tad small. I put that down to the lace pattern. So, I've stretched it a bit for blocking hoping desperately that it will fit for WWKIP day on Sat. If it doesn't, this will be the 3rd thing I've made for myself that doesn't fit my immense frame. So, fingers crossed!

Other than that, I've finished the 1st Sunshine sock:

Crappy pic I know, but the light sucked when I took it.

I've loads more stuff going on; but no time to blog it tonight. Will update you all later!