Miso Crafty Knits

Sporadically

2012-05-25T12:13:00.001-07:00

Ok, I seriously can't say or read that word without thinking about the movie Clueless, and the scene in which Cher is doing a makeover on Ty and tells her that she needs to work on her "accent and vocabulary" by using a new word every day.

Josh: Be seeing you.

Ty: Yeah...I hope not sporadically!

Anyhoo, just popping onto the blog to give a little warning that my posts might be quite sporadic for the next few weeks. This time of year is always majorly hectic for us and every weekend there's something to celebrate. I like to call it "the sandwich within a sandwich chain of alternating Melissa and Brett days". Sounds crazy, right? Well it always starts out with the designated parental day sandwich, first up: Mother's Day. Then the week after that it's the birthday sandwich. This time it's Brett's turn turn to be celebrated as he enjoys his birthday. A week after that it's the "meat" of the whole thing - our anniversary. To close the birthday sandwich we wait a few weeks and it's my birthday. To end the madness we close this sandwich with Father's Day. Phew! All these important events within a 6 week span. I told you it was crazy!

If that wasn't enough I've also got a few quick trips to Vancouver thrown into the mix. One of these trips will be tomorrow! I'll be participating in a dyeing workshop called Dyeing to Get Some Colour that will be taught by Felicia of SweetGeorgia Yarns! I'm so incredibly excited! It's going to be so much fun! I was hoping to get my hair did this weekend too, but I don't think that's going to happen. So a separate trip over is in order, cause really, my hair is getting so ridiculously long that's it's not even funny any more. It's the longest it's even been in my entire life and it's getting everywhere!

So please forgive me for sporadically posting. I promise that when it's all over my goal will be to post way more often and trust when I say that I have some goodies planned! I just hope that I can squeeze it all in and get the ball rolling so that I can share with you all what's been incubating in the ol' noggin (note to self: time management will be key here!). In the meantime I need to toss the stash again (I made sad attempts yesterday and the day before in hopes to do some stash control...yeah, no dice) and try to find some of the naked yarns that I know that I have. I should also get my knitting sorted, cause you better believe that I'll be using every single second spent on travel to knit up a storm. I'm hoping to make some serious dents in a few projects...yes, I'm getting ahead of myself here. I'll be gone 2 days and 1 night and I honestly think I can knit the bulk of 2 pullovers. I can dream, can't I? Which reminds me, I'll be late in posting up week 12 photos of Project 365 on Sunday as I'm not quite sure when I'll be arriving home that day. But it will definitely be up by the end of Monday.

Ok, on that note I better jet and get stuff sorted and the Munchkin outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine! I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and to my American readers, have a wonderful Memorial Day long weekend!! ♥

Perfect Timing

2012-05-23T18:57:00.003-07:00

Over the long weekend I made some hard executive decisions about Buckwheat which resulted in me knitting like a crazed woman possessed. Knitting as if my yarn was on fire and I had to knit as fast as I could to beat the fire before it could eat up my precious yarn. As any knitter would know, such marathon knitting can cause stress and injuries to not only our valuable hands and wrists, but to the rest of our body as well. There's a few stretches that I do for hands, wrists, and arms to help prevent repetitive motion syndrome that I had learned during my days as a barista (and trust me, I've suffered several bouts of tendonitis and tennis elbow from manning the espresso bar). Then this morning while enjoying my morning cups of coffee I took a break from knitting to continue reading the newest issue of Interweave Knits that had arrived in my mail box last week (I usually go straight to the patterns when I first get it and then read the articles and whatnot). And lo and behold, the very last article on the very last page of the magazine was about exercises and the little things you should do every 20 minutes during long knitting stints. Perfect timing Interweave!

I'll definitely be keeping the magazine flipped onto this page and close by at all times as a gentle reminder that I MUST stretch way more often than I normally do throughout the day. Especially if I plan on staying a knitter!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend, whether it was a long weekend or not. Mine was filled with a ton of yummy eats, a lovely visit with a friend from out of town, delicious macarons and coffee, games of road hockey, a ton of marching band music (they all practice right outside my front door), a nice break from the Munchkin (Uncle Travis was visiting and so the kidlet found a willing playmate!), and of course, a lot of knitting!

I'd show you what I've got going but today is Brett's birthday! The Munchkin and I have been spending the day making birthday cards, decorations, and presents. Brett should be arriving home from work any minute now, so I'm gonna jet and make sure the kitchen is clean and that the house looks somewhat decent.

Happy birthday Brett! I heart you so much! ♥

Project 365 :: Week 11

2012-05-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

Day 71 :: May 13, 2012

My bike.

I had stopped by the side of a country road to have some water and to take a small knitting break!

Day 72 :: May 14, 2012

One of the massive full-wall graffiti that was at one of the bottle depots in Victoria

Day 73 :: May 15, 2012

Spring shrubbery that surrounds the courtyard

Day 74 :: May 16, 2012

The fountain behind the Parliament building

Day 75 :: May 17, 2012

Our view while having dinner and ice cream at Fisherman's Wharf

Day 76 :: May 18, 2012

Spring tulips by Beacon Hill Park

Day 77 :: May 19, 2012

Innocently sweet flowers found outside my house

I just realized that all photos last week were taken with my iPhone! That was so not intentional! I have found that when I pack up to go on an "adventure" with the Munchkin that taking the DSLR adds a fair bit of weight and takes up a lot of room. I really hope this doesn't become more of an issue come summer when the weather is nice and hot. I must definitely get this sorted before the whole point of this project goes downhill and I end up taking all my photos with my iPhone (which isn't that bad, really)!

Hello Long Weekend!

2012-05-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

So...I've been staring at the computer screen for the past half hour. Attempting to type out a blog post. I have a list somewhere of all the topics and things I want to blog about, but today? My mind is just blank. And so I sit. Staring. And sipping away on my massive mug of coffee. Wondering how much more time I have before the Munchkin snaps out of his Lego-induced trance and starts climbing all over me like the little love monkey that he is. I'm gonna say I have another 10 minutes. 15 tops. That is, if I "magically" produce the fireman Lego man that has gone missing the past few days (and that I found in one of my measuring cups earlier this morning). All of which means that I have 15 minutes to write this blog post.

Instead, I sip coffee.

To tell you the truth. I am beat. B-E-A-T. Beat. Mentally and physically. I don't know where it has come from but lately the Munchkin has been having these extreme surges of energy and I just can't keep up ~~half~~ most of the time. I know I'm getting old, but man! It's exhausting just watching him, let alone trying to keep up with him. I'm not kidding either, yesterday a bunch of ladies from a Mom group that was already at the park that we went to watched as my son went nuts as he ran around the entire perimeter of the playground 3 times, limbs flailing, mouth wide open, and making the funniest "ahhhh" noises before screeching to a halt in front of the slide and started maniacally jumping on what can only be described as an invisible trampoline. Then he proceeded to run up the slide, come back down, and did the whole process over again. Multiple times. Not only did these Moms commented on my son's energy levels, but so did a few other random Moms. In my defence, my son was the only boy on the playground and must've gotten fed up with the quiet, gentle, prim and proper play of all the little girls there.

Almost every day this week I've been falling into bed before 10pm and I'm sound asleep before my head even hits the pillow. For a while there I was trying to implement "quiet time" with the Munchkin, just so that we could both have the time to re-group, relax, and enjoy some peace. Yeah, that worked for probably 3 weeks? It was a good effort and wonderful while it lasted. Now onto Plan B. Only, there is no Plan B. Sometimes, and only sometimes, I wish that he could just sit down and watch a little television, just so that I could get dinner made. But alas, for the past few months the kiddo has shown absolutely no interest. If anything, he'll walk over to the TV and will turn it off. He doesn't even want it on as background noise. I am SO not against this behaviour and really hope that this lasts a long time, would it be asking too much if he could go his whole youth without TV? We haven't watched a movie in weeks either. The other day I had put on a movie only to have my little teacup human turn the volume off. Apparently his own story was much more fun and interesting than the actual plot. Ok, he has imagination to boot. Again, I don't mind.

Wow, I'm rambling. See? I'm just that tired. SO glad that it's the long weekend. Maybe I'll be able to get some rest? I'm going to say no, since Brett's brother will be here (to celebrate Brett's birthday and cause you know, it's the long weekend), but there's always hope. I really wish Brett was able to have the 4 days off that everyone else has. Why can't he have a normal schedule? Le sigh. First world problems, I know. Usually when we have guests I don't plan on getting much accomplished, other than having some good eats. I do have high hopes that I'll be able to squeeze in some extra knitting time and possibly the chance at getting some buttons for Akoya. Any other crafting opportunities will just be icing, but not expected. Aside from Sunday's post for Project 365, I won't be posting again until at least Tuesday.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and if you're fortunate enough to have a long weekend, I hope that you have a fantastic one! Let me know what you're up to! See you in a few days!! ♥

Knit In Progress: Buckwheat

2012-05-17T10:14:00.002-07:00

Akoya was barely even finished and already I had cast on something new. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. But what does surprise me is the fact that once I got over the thrill of casting on a new project and had worked on it feverishly for a few days, I had actually remembered that I still had another project on the go that needed to be finished. Luckily for me Akoya is such a joy to knit that dividing my attention between the two projects was easy.

So if Akoya is such a fun knit why did I cast on Buckwheat? Two reasons: I needed a mindless stockinette project to tote around, and Amy from Threadpanda had twisted my rubber arm into joining her Veera Välimäki KAL on Ravelry (deets here). I know, I know...after my little rant about how much I suck at keeping up with knit-alongs I go and join another?? Well like I said, extremely broad KALs is the only way I can go and since I was planning on knitting up a Veera pattern after Akoya, I thought why not now? And while we're at it, why not turn Buckwheat into a two-fer by knitting it in some SweetGeorgia Yarns so that I can enter the pullover into the SGY KAL too? Bam! Done.

There you have it. After being in my queue for what feels like forever and a day, I'm finally getting around to knitting up Buckwheat. I'm using SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in Cypress that has been in the stash for a few years and had forgotten about until I tossed the stash a couple weeks ago. I'm actually much further along than the photo above shows. I've been schlepping this project around with me in my handbag and have been working on it whilst in the car, while the Munchkin is at play on the playground, and even during a quick break on the side of a country road when I went on my Mother's Day bike ride. Straight up stockinette in the round makes for some awesome travel knitting. So awesome that I'm done knitting the body and have already divided the front and back! Sorry, no photos of the boring tube that is the body.

I have no idea if I'll get this finished before the SGY KAL is over, but I'm going to darn well try. Less than 2 weeks to knit up the top portion and 2 sleeves, AND block this bad boy out? Hmm...we'll see.

As long as I don't get sidetracked with the need to cast on something else and with knitting hexipuffs to curb that cast on urge!

Chop, Chop! Block, Block!!

2012-05-15T14:13:00.001-07:00

Why, hello...what's this? Blocking pins, are we meeting again? Didn't I just see you last week? So what are you doing out and about like this?

Oh...

What? What's this??

Is that what I think it is?? Is that...an FO?? Blocking?? What's going on here? I'm so very confused!

Akoya? Is that you? Oh my, my, my!!

I can't believe you're finished already. And blocking so soon after that last stitch was bound off? Did I get too much sun over the weekend? Are you really blocking a few days after being completed?

I must be dreaming. Yeah...that's it. Dreaming. I must still be in bed, sound asleep, and dreaming that I had finished you and that I had immediately grafted your underarms and woven in all your ends the second you were done. Brett's insanely heavy lead-like arm must be lying across my neck and therefore cutting off my air flow to my brain. Cause this is definitely too far-fetched to happen in real life. Right? I mean, it appears that my MO is to leave an FO in a waiting period of at least a few weeks, if not months, before I get around to weaving in the ends and blocking a project.

Woah! This isn't a dream!! This is really happening!!

Surprised?? I know I am!

But don't start thinking I've turned over a new leaf. I still have yet to get buttons for this lovely project, which means it could still take weeks, maybe even a month, before Akoya can make its debut on this here blog. I'm not gonna lie, with this insanely and unusually warm weather that we've been having lately, the need to wear this cardigan really hasn't been on my mind. And after all the issues that I was having with the button bands, I'm surprised that I didn't put this project in time out! But I did it. I got 'er done. A sign of a good weekend maybe?

Oh my...I can't believe it's Tuesday already! After an exhaustingly hectic and Dad-less week, I seriously couldn't wait for the weekend!! And just like that, the weekend is over and a new work week has started. Total and complete boo.erns. I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that all you moms out there were spoiled rotten on Mother's Day. I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing day. I got to sleep in, woke up to a clean house, had pink heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast (the Munchkin helped Daddy do this, too cute I tell you!), basked in the sun, went for a bike ride, had somewhat of a BBQ'd meat-fest for dinner, and did some knitting. Ok, ok...I did a lot of knitting. Akoya, a few hexipuffs, and a new project (which I will share more about later this week)!

The weather has been so nice this past weekend that the Munchkin and I were outside a fair bit, which meant that while the Munchkin went nuts as only a little boy amongst others his age do, I got to knit a lot while supervising the play. It was a win-win for all involved. But I might have to take a mini break from knitting this week, or at least take it easy. My wrists are a little stiff today. Gotta remember to keep stretching!

But don't worry, I got some other things in my bag of tricks. Just got to find the motivation to do them and not just sit in the sun all day long! Anyone else feeling this way too?

Have a crafty week! ♥

Project 365 :: Week 10

2012-05-13T14:16:00.001-07:00

Day 64 :: May 6, 2012
French Beach Provincial Park
Taken with my iPhone
Even though it was a gorgeous day, it was extremely cold and a bit too windy for our liking at the beach! But the drive up island was totally worth it and being able to spend the day with Brett before he left town for the week was pure bliss.

Day 65 :: May 7, 2012
St. Andrew's Cathedral
Taken with my iPhone

Day 66 :: May 8, 2012
A showdown with Lego Man

Day 67 :: May 9, 2012
"There's a peacock on my deck!!"
This is the peacock that decided to call my kitchen deck its home for the day. It wouldn't have been so bad had it not crapped all.over.the.deck. Now Brett has to power-wash the whole deck since it's not suppose to rain for like, 3 weeks!

Day 68 :: May 10, 2012
So much colour!! The Munchkin taking a pre-dinner cruise

Day 69 :: May 11, 2012
Embroidery floss
Even more colour!! You can't really tell by the things I knit, but I am so driven and drawn to colour. I think I took a million photos of these flosses just because they are so darn pretty!

Day 70 :: May 12, 2012
My attempt to take a self-portrait (via self-timer) of me doing one of the things that I do on a daily basis...knit. The weekend had officially started when Brett came home from work (and a loooong week!!) and threw some yummy eats on the BBQ. The sun was shining, the Munchkin was occupied, and I took this great opportunity to knit in the sun (I would've sat outside but Brett was taking up the non-peacock poop spots).

No theme this week, and I found myself without my camera on a number of occasions (hence the presence of more iPhone photos). I think the summer might be harder for me to lug my camera around, as it takes up a lot of space and when I'm out and about with the Munchkin I usually have his stuff, my knitting, and try to jam my camera in there somewhere. I'm definitely on a hunt for a good camera bag now that is large enough to hold kidlet necessities, knitting, and general purse items. Let the hunt begin...

PS: HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL MOTHERS OUT THERE!!!

Slipping, Slipping, Knitting

2012-05-11T10:58:00.002-07:00

One of the things I love about knitting is that there really is no proper "right" and "wrong" way of doing things - as long as you get the results you are looking for. There could be many different ways to accomplish the same technique, and if you experiment and play around enough, you can find a method that works for you. Or better yet, invent one. A customizable hobby (or way of life, depending on how hard core of a knitter you are), now who doesn't love that?

So where am I going with this? Well, as I was plugging away on Akoya I had to stop for 10 minutes double check my knitting and to ask myself if I was doing the right SSKs in the applicable areas. I was positive that I had reverted back to my usual method of SSK...or was that on the new project that I had cast on last week (more on that later)? Now all of us knitters know that SSK stands for slip, slip, knit, and that's where you slip 2 stitches individually knit-wise onto the right needle before sliding them back onto the left needle knitting them together through the back with the right needle (or you could skip a step and just insert the left needle into the front of these stitches and then knit through the back loops). Now that's the standard way of doing this left-slanting decrease.

A few years ago my friend Bonnie had shown me how she does her SSKs. It just stuck with me and now it's how I do my SSK. Basically, you slip the first stitch knit-wise, slip the second stitch purl-wise and then you knit them through the back loops. I personally think this decrease just lies flatter, mimics its K2tog counterpart perfectly, and looks nicer. So when a pattern calls for a SSK, this is what I do. Except for when it comes to lace, that's when I do it the standard way because unless otherwise specified, it's how the designer had envisioned and knitted their lace piece. Does that make sense?

At a glance you really can't tell the difference between the 2, and really, it's nothing to make a big stink about. It's all just personal preference. For the record though, I was told once that I was "doing it wrong" by a yarn shop employee. What's up with people feeling the need to tell me, rudely I might add, that I'm doing stuff wrong? A few ladies in my knitting group and I were discussing this last Friday at knit night, and it got me thinking "what other techniques do knitters do that's not the standard way?". Yes, I'm a knitting nerd and often think about stuff like this. Want to share what you do differently?

I'm going to contemplate this some more over the weekend while I try to make a dent in some of my knitting projects. Key word there: try. We're suppose to have insanely gorgeous weather this weekend, which is perfect since it's Mother's Day this Sunday. I've told Brett that a gift isn't required (unless it's the gift of being able to knit and maybe sew all day without any interruptions) and neither is a bouquet of flowers...although, I'll take a potted basil plant any day! But since it's going to be über gorgeous out, I don't know if I'd want to stay indoors and sew. Too bad my sewing machine weighs a tonne, or I'd lug it out onto the deck for a few hours. Hmmm...something to consider in the future!

Ok, I'm off to entire the sunshine. Have a happy weekend Friends! ♥

Random Enough?

2012-05-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

I wasn't planning on posting today. I was hoping to get a bunch of stuff done today but it's been a nut house around here and it's not even noon. The morning has been very...eventful. Which then made me want to blog about it. While the second pot of coffee percolates. And as the day wears on it seems that more and more random things are happening. Oh boy...

- Brett is away this week, which means several things: I get the king size bed all to myself, something that I haven't had the luxury of in well over 5 years; "Me time" doesn't exist this week; I'm not sure how much crafting I'll be able to accomplish since I'm pretty sure I'm going to be quite worn out by the time 8pm rolls around.

- this morning the Munchkin woke up a little after 5am. TWO HOURS before his normal wake up time. Poor thing had a bad dream, woke up confused, and sat there in his room balling his eyes out.

- I'm SO glad that I decided to prep the coffee maker last night! I don't know what made me do it, but I had an inkling that if I didn't grind my beans and add water to the maker before bed that I would most likely pay for it in the morning.

- it was so nice to wake up and just press the 'on' button for the coffee. Don't get me wrong, I did stand there for a good 5 minutes staring at the clock. Blinking.

- whilst trying to get the Munchkin sorted with things to do so that I could attempt to take a "nap" on the couch, he wondered into the kitchen where he got extremely excited and started talking a mile a minute. See the photo above? Yeah, that young little peacock was on our deck. He was coming and going, and sometimes would bring a friend along. Just for kicks, I'm assuming.

- I don't live that far from Beacon Hill Park, where the petting zoo is. The peacocks are allowed to roam freely, so I'm not fazed by the sight of them. I am, however, surprised that they are on my second floor deck.

- 1 peacock can be very loud. 2 peacocks are even louder. I just keep pouring more coffee into my mug.

- the Munchkin thinks this is the most awesome thing ever and has named the one pictured above "Mack".

- Mack totally creeped me out while I sat at the kitchen table eating toast. It is now 9am.

- speaking of peacocks, the May shipment of the SweetGeorgia Yarns Sock Yarn Club arrived. A few days earlier than expected. I'm in love with it.

- shortly after the discovery of the peacock the Munchkin's foot started to randomly bleed. A lot. As in there was a trail of blood leading from the deck door to the kitchen table. I still don't know what cause it, but there's a tiny little 3mm slit on the bottom of the Munchkin's heel.

- after I cleaned up the Munchkin's foot and the floor, I got a nose bleed. I haven't had a nose bleed since I was a kid!

- I opened the living room window to get some fresh air into the house. 5 minutes later I heard a bunch of squawking. A freakin' seagull was on the window sill! I grabbed a pillow off the couch and one of the plastic pins to the Munchkin's bowling set and tried to shoo it away so that it didn't come into the house. Wtf?

- since I'm up so early I decided to finally soak and block my Juicy Tart Cardigan (aka Golden Wheat Cardigan) that I had knit and finished months ago, but had lost it under a pile of UFOs.

- I'm glad that it's somewhat cold still so that I can get a few wears out of this before it has to be put away for the summer. I'm kicking myself for not blocking it sooner cause the colour is simply gorgeous!

- on the topic of knitting, the button bands on Akoya are seriously kicking my butt. Being the stubborn person I am, yesterday I couldn't put it down and kept trying to make things right. It now needs to go in time-out before I cut it up and feed it to my neighbour's cat.

- while on the subject of cats, I was looking out the kitchen window and saw that the aforementioned cat is wearing a leash. And it's tied to a post in the middle of the courtyard. The leash is super long so that it could go inside the house and putter around the courtyard if it wanted to. But the thing is, this cat is extremely fat. Is there really a need for that leash??

Ok, I'm off. The day is way too gorgeous to stay inside and the Munchkin is getting restless. Fingers crossed that by the time we get home later in the day the peacocks have decided to stay off my deck. And that anything else that flies stays away. And hopefully the randomness will have died down...

Knitty Love: Coastal Kids

2012-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

Image via Coastal Knits

The ladies behind Coastal Knits, Alana Dakos and Hannah Fettig, have done it again! The dynamic duo that has given us not only the gorgeous eye candy in book form that is the aforementioned Coastal Knits, but also the beautiful Cedar Leaf Shawlette and the oh so elegant and timeless Featherweight Cardigan (and Effortless, Wispy, and Breezy cardigans!). Well now the ladies have just released a small collection of their 4 favourite sweaters from Coastal Knits in pint-sized form for your little ones! And the best part? You don't have to wait for a book to come out, they are all available as PDF downloads which you can purchase here or at your LYS.

These wee mini-me versions are just so darling, I really wish that I had a little girl of my own to knit these for! Yet, even if Brett and I did decide to have another Munchkin, we both have a very strong feeling that it would be another boy. But do you think these little factoids are going to prevent me from knitting up any of these sweet little designs? Oh hells no!! I have a handful of friends with little girls that I'm sure would be willing to take one of these knits off my hands. Which is a yay for me as I'm itching to knit up this darling little number:

Image via Coastal Knits

My most favourite of the 4 designs, Little Oak. I think out of the 4 that this design is the most versatile age-wise. As in, I think it suits all the age sizes that this design is available in. It would look so precious on a 6 month old, yet so dear on a 12 year old all at the same time. Knit in either sport or DK weight yarn from the bottom up and seamlessly, I can see this cardigan working up pretty darn fast. Oh my goodness, it's just so adorable that it makes me squee with delight! My friend Andi has knit the adult size and it is an absolutely stunning design. Whilst this is in my queue to knit for myself, I don't see it gracing my needles any time soon. I think whipping up the kiddie version could tide me over until I can cast one on for myself!

Image via Coastal Knits

Then there's Wee Wildflower. I have this design in my queue too...the adult version, that is. I absolutely love how delicately feminine this design is, while still practical for a wee one. But be forewarned, this pattern is knit in pieces and then sewn together. So while the knitting may be quick, the making up might take some time. I know it would for me! The one thing that I love about this design for little ones is the major wear it could possibly get out of one child: the growing into it and the potential to keep wearing it even after the kidlet has "outgrown" the size it was intended for. What do I mean about that? Well, the sleeves are suppose to be 3/4-length, your kidlet can start wearing the cardigan as a regular long-sleeved cardigan (yes, the length of the cardigan itself might be a little longer than anticipated) to start out, and then keep wearing it once the sleeves are no longer 3/4. If paired with a dress a cropped cardigan could look really cute! And yes, I'm fully aware that with normal cardigans one could just fold up the sleeves for the wee one to grow into, but what about when the sleeves get too short? A-ha! Got you there!

Image via Coastal Knits

Next up is the Mini Water's Edge (the pattern for this wee version was just released today!). I really love how this design could be made up as super girlie or toned down and low-key by simple use of colour. I think the colour used in the sample above is "mature" enough for a 10 or 12 year old, and yet if knit in a bright pink or yellow would look utterly sweet for a 2 or 4 year old. And the potential for embellishments...oh my! Duplicate stitch daisies along the neckline, or a picot hem instead of the ribbing...I could go on and on! My friend Kairee has knit this one up and it looks fabulous on her. I wish I could say that this pattern is in my queue too but it isn't. I'm just too short and tater-tot like to be able to pull off this design. I think regardless of where I place the pleat I would still look...wrong. I'm going to have to settle on admiring this design from afar, and you know what? I'm ok with that. One less pattern to add to my never-ending queue!

And last, but definitely not least, the Tiny Rocky Coast.

Image via Coastal Knits

As much as I love, love, LOVE this design and can often be found drooling over the finished ones over on Ravelry, I have to admit that I really don't find this pattern to be a practical one for children. It's definitely the most mature design out of the 4 in the collection and find it more suited for older kids. While instructions for a ribbon closure are provided in the pattern, I just can't imagine a baby wearing this during the weeks and/or months of learning to crawl and walk. And maybe it's because I was so active in my own childhood but I think the open front is impractical for playground fun and other general horsing around. Then again, kids nowadays seem to be maturing much faster than they were in my day (that just made me feel really old), so I could be totally wrong on this one. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be hard to add a few buttons and buttonholes to the front to make them stay put. And if your kiddo isn't the overly active kind, the ribbon closure or even a matching knitted belt would make for a wonderful touch.

Ok, now that I've been staring at these photos for the past half hour, I think I'm going to go move the few that I have queued for myself further up the knit list...in the meantime, who else is going to be knitting up a few of these wee lovlies??

Project 365 :: Week 9

2012-05-06T10:17:00.001-07:00

Day 57 :: April 29, 2012
Back at the beach...the Munchkin, Brett, and I took a hike along the beach at Dallas Road...climbing the boulders and logs. I love how every time we go back to the beach the logs are always arranged differently. Thank you Mother Earth for keeping out "playground" so interesting!

Day 58 :: April 30, 2012
A random sign that I spotted whilst walking along Menzies Street. I walk along here on a daily basis and never saw this sign. But then again, I'm usually on the other side.

Day 59 :: May 1, 2012

Day 60 :: May 2, 2012
The Parliament building...the Munchkin and I decided to take a breather on the lawn and enjoy the view of the harbour whilst the bell tower rang. As I looked around, I saw the usual goings on at the harbour, spotted some beautiful trees, admired the Empress, and people watched. The day was overcast but it wasn't cold. The moment made me remember just how beautiful Victoria is.

Day 61 :: May 3, 2012
Craigdarroch Castle. Victoria's very own castle. In my old neighbourhood I would just have to look up the street and would see the tops of the castle peeking out above all the houses. Little Women was filmed there.

Day 62 :: May 4, 2012
Taken with my iPhone. I forget which app I had used for the effect.
Ok, not really a Victoria attraction, but I couldn't help but include this photo. For those who know me, know that I have a thing about zombies. So I was extremely delighted to see this on the side of someone's SUV. I've seen stickers like this on the back of a few trucks in Victoria, and for some reason, it makes me feel safe. Stupid and weird, yes. I'll admit that I can be odd as fish.

Day 63 :: May 5, 2012
Taken with my iPhone, using an app to "miniaturize".
After a week of meh weather, we finally made it out to the beach again.

Last week's collection of photos turned out to have a Victoria theme to it. Not intentional, but very cool. I think everyone should take the time to be a tourist in their own town once in a while. It's amazing what you can see and discover. Brett's schedule was hectic (again!) this week, and the weather wasn't playing nice either. Hopefully the weather will change for the better this week!

I also have to include this photo, which was taken on Day 59....

The Munchkin insisted that I had to put this on the blog. He's a huge Super Mario Bros. fan (Luigi is his favourite between the two though) and so we spent the day photo-bombing with his stuffed Mario and Luigi dolls. I'll admit, that was loads of fun. And the joy and the HUGE smile that spreads across his face whenever he sees the photos of Mario and Luigi at various places around downtown Victoria is priceless!

Stitched: Mendocino Handkerchiefs

2012-05-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

Ever since I got pregnant with the Munchkin I've developed allergies. This year is no different and if anything, is the worst year to date. I'm constantly stuffed up, I get headaches due to nasal pain, and my eyes...oh my eyes! They get so beyond watery that lately I feel like I'm under water 90% of the time (I just had a mental image of Homer singing "Under the Sea"). It's annoying! I've become one of those old ladies who have a constant wad of Kleenex in their pockets and purse, and who, not-so-secretly, shove fistfuls of tissue in my pockets whenever I come across a box of tissue or roll of toilet paper. A word to the wise: don't go rooting through my pockets...you're not going to like what you find!!

So anyhoo, eons ago I discovered a vicious cycle about myself: my eyes water, I dab away at them with a tissue, said tissue leaves little white particles around my eyes, which then irritates them even more, which then makes my eyes water on top of the allergies...like I said, vicious cycle. It doesn't matter what brand or kind of tissue I use either, parts of it will still disintegrate enough to leave little bits of it in and around my eyes. You know that Charmin commercial with the animated bears and how they get toilet paper stuck to their butts? Yeah, that's what's going on here. But with my eyes. Not fun and it ain't pretty. We won't even talk about the white dust it leaves in the pockets of a black jacket. Did I mention that I go through boxes and boxes of this stuff? Yeah, I do. I can only imagine what my carbon footprint is based solely off of facial tissue. Needless to say for months I've been thinking of ways to remedy this situation. The solution: handkerchiefs.

I thought long and hard about them. Would I actually use them? Would I get grossed out after each use? Would I remember to wash them frequently? Every store I go into I would take a gander and see what they had in terms of handkerchiefs and would always end up...disappointed. Store bought handkerchiefs are either really manly, really sterile looking, or really gangsta. Yes, I know, who's going to be looking at my handkerchief? Better yet, who would be judging me by my choice of handkerchief? Still...everything I saw just wasn't...me. Just wasn't my style, and one of my mottos is "in everything you do, do it with style". A prime example - Stephanie Dosen of Tiny Owl Knits (she's the one that designed the Beekeeper's Quilt). Stephanie has this whimsical, ethereal, woodland fairy thing going on and it seeps into everything she touches and does. It's in the way she dresses, how she decorates her house, the things she designs, heck, you can even sense it in how she types (if you ever read her posts on her Ravelry group...then check out her videos, she types like she talks)!! Even Martha Stewart fits the bill. Everything about her screams timeless classics with a lot of order. And Robin's Egg blue.

Ok, I'm majorly digressing here. Back on track. So I thought about going the vintage route but I'll admit that I have a high sensitivity to smells, and in the case of vintage, I usually get a whiff of moth balls, moldy basement, or just straight up BO with a hint of old. Also, I have crap luck when it comes to finding awesome vintage and secondhand stuff. So what's a crafty gal to do in a situation like this? That's right, make some myself! I perused pinterest and the rest of the internet for ideas and tutorials. I realized that I didn't care for anything monogramed and didn't want fussy hand stitched details. I came across the Purl Bee's tutorial on a beautiful rolled hem version but don't have (and can't justify) the $60 for the (insanely gorgeous) Liberty fabrics that they used. Also, I wanted something thicker. Then last Friday at knit night my friend Andi was talking about neti pots and proceeded to produce a handmade handkerchief! I swear, we have the same crafty mind sometimes! Her handkerchiefs were exactly what I was looking for - simple yet fun. Oh, and double thick. Over the weekend I ripped through the stash, pre-washed some fabric a few times, and then on Tuesday Brett had an unexpected break in his schedule that allowed him to come home for a few hours! He took the Munchkin off my hands and after washing a few dishes I decided to say "screw you housework, Mama's gonna sew!". And sew I did. The fruits of my labour (warning: the next bit is photo heavy...cause I love these so!):

The fabric is from Heather Ross' Mendocino collection that I've been hoarding for years now. I wish I had bought more prints from this collection and I wish I had sewn with it sooner. Even before the several rounds in the wash, the fabric was so incredibly soft and satin-y smooth! Washing just made it softer! I keep caressing my cheeks with it. Yummm...

These handkerchiefs are super basic. I had cut out 12x12 inch squares, sewn them wrong sides together whilst leaving a hole so that I could flip them right side out, pressed, and topstitched around. Easy peasy! I heart them so much!! I'm so über pleased with how these turned out. I know, they are so simple how could I mess them up? I was just worried that they would look...I don't know...weird?

I only made six handkerchiefs to start out with, just to see if I even like using them. I have to admit that I kinda don't want to use them because I think they are so lovely. I have been sporting one around with me (the seahorses) and so far so good!

All of the handkerchiefs are reversible (hence the double sided), three of them are of the same print as the other side, and the other three are different.

The Munchkin is currently sick with cold and although his runny nose is no longer faucet-like, he still gets the sniffles. A few of the handkerchiefs are boyish enough for him to use without him having to roll his eyes at me (cause trust me, even at three the kid has developed the attitude where Mom's actions are sometimes questionable. At three!).

Can I also take a second here to show you something I'm über proud of? Check out the corners of these bad boys. So nice and sharp. Yeah, a few of them aren't so much that pointy but you can't win them all. I'm still pretty darn proud. So proud that I had to take a photo and text it to Brett. Then I put them away to finish later Tuesday night. When I pulled them out again I saw the corners and ran to show Brett. He was less than impressed. Maybe because I woke him up to show him? Nah. So I tweeted about it.

Total geekery. But whatevs. It's the simple things, right?

I would LOVE to get my hands on some more prints from this collection. There's another print of mermaids swimming with octopi (in fuchsia too!!) that makes my heart beat oh so fast, and an octopi print that I think is absolutely adorable. My favourite out of the entire collection is the twin mermaids. Just.so.lovely!

They make my heart squee! These are an early Mother's Day present to myself. If my Mom used handkerchiefs, I'd make her a set too, but she didn't seem so keen on the idea. Oh well.

Ok, enough with the handkerchiefs. I'm sure you've had your fill of them. So I'm off to enjoy one more cup of coffee and then play some Lego with the Munchkin. And maybe pet my stack of new handkerchiefs!

Happy Friday and have a lovely weekend Friends! ♥

Knit In Progress: Akoya

2012-05-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I realized something - I absolutely suck at knit alongs. I really do. My knitting ADD just doesn't really allow me to properly focus and be monogamous enough to knit on just one project for a fixed length of time. In order for me to have any hopes of succeeding the knit along would have to be extremely broad and within a vast amount of time. As in tell me what yarn company, designer, or even colour (but not all 3 at once...or even 2...that's just asking too much!) that I have to knit and give me a few months to finish it. Now, I have participated in several KALs and the only one that I've ever been successful with is last year's SweetGeorgia Yarns Winter KAL. What was the outcome of the other KALs? Um, I've failed miserably. At them all.

So knowing all this info about how me and KALs do not mesh, you'd think I would steer clear of them, right? Wrong. It's like I enjoy inflicting knitterly pain on myself by putting too much on my plate and thinking I can do supernatural feats like knitting and completing two cardigans, a pair of socks, and a shawl...all at the same time...within a month. I think I could probably do it, that is, if I didn't have the obligations of having to parent a toddler, feed myself and my family, engage in proper personal hygiene, and tackle basic household chores. Or maybe if I was the Yarn Harlot. I mean, have you seen that woman knit?? Her hands are a complete and total blur! I don't think even continental knitters have anything on her. I've taught myself how to knit continental but not only do I knit slower, but my tension is completely whack.

Anyhoo, back to knit alongs. So I've joined and failed a few KALs already with the most recent one being the Delancey Cardigan KAL. I really don't know what happened with that one. I was dedicated, I was on time with the weekly goals, heck, I had even knitted ahead in hopes that I could work on other projects while the rest of the group got caught up. The KAL's host, Allyson of The Sweatshop of Love, had even given us a break one week so that slower knitters could re-join us. I think that break was my downfall. Knitting ahead only got me into trouble and allowed for me to get distracted by shiny things. Or should I say, shiny new things. Before I knew it I was so far behind the pack that there was no way I was going to be able to catch up again. And now I'm stuck at the sleeves. Oh wait, I meant sleeve. No "s". Turning that into a plural would mean that I have at least one sleeve finished. And I don't. Far from it. Any other knitter would have picked up that project and kept trucking on, cause you know, the end is so close. Yeah, I'm not any other knitter. What did I do instead? I started (and finished!) another project and to drag out the procrastination even more I decided to hunker down with the never-ending shawl. Of doom. Well now that project is done too and where is Delancey at? Still on the first sleeve.

Le sigh.

So what's a knitter to do in a case like this? Join another KAL and cast on a new project, that's what!

I have some serious issues.

The SweetGeorgia Ravelry group is having another "- along". As in a knit-, crochet-, and spin- along. If you're a long time reader you would know that I love me some sweet, SweetGeorgia. The rules: knit, crochet, or spin something that is SweetGeorgia. I can do that. Totes. I'd be doing it anyways, with or without the K/C/S-AL happening. And two months to finish a project? Oh yeah! Now how's that for broad?

So what am I knitting for this KAL? The Akoya cardigan by Carol Feller in SGY Tough Love Sock. The photo above shows a bit of the trellis lace detail and one of the fun cable actions featured in the design. This pattern has been such a joy to knit so far that I can tell it'll be a sad, sad time when the cardigan is finished. Wow, I just sounded like a process knitter right there! But it's true, the pattern is very well written and the stitch counts at the end of each section really helps in taking out the guess work as to whether or not if you're on the right track. Especially when you've got x amount of increases and decreases, and lace happening.

This pattern is so nice to knit, that if I hadn't taken a week long break and then some (to knit hexipuffs!) I would've been finished already. The body worked up lightning quick. The trellis lace that runs along the center front really helps to break up the stockinette and before you know it you're taken by surprised that you're done the body within a week. I always stall on sleeves (re: boooooring! When will this snooze fest end?) but for some reason, this time around I had knit a sleeve within a few days! What? How did that happen?

I reckon that it'll take maybe another week to finish this bad boy, and who knows just how long until buttons are sewn on. As much as I love buttons, I really dislike having to go find buttons for a project. I'm way too indecisive and usually can't find what I'm looking for...which is made even harder when you don't even know what you're looking for! All I know is what I'm finding isn't it. Does that happen to anyone else? Any suggestions of what kind/colour of buttons I should use to go with this colour? Actually, now that I'm looking at the photo and of the cardigan in my lap, my camera didn't pick up the blue that's in the grey. The photo shows an oatmeal-y, brownish grey when in real life the grey is a nice steel-y blue-grey. Kinda makes it hard to ask for button advice under these conditions. Hmmm...ok, I prefer not to think about buttons for now, for fear that I will never finish this cardigan in a sad attempt to avoid and procrastinate on having to find buttons!

Well, it's a rainy day and the Munchkin is preoccupied with his Legos. I'm going to try to sneak in some knitting time before the Legos no longer captivates his attention and I'll be forced to come up with some rainy day activities!

♥ Happy knitting! ♥

May Day

2012-05-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Vappu to all my Finnish friends! And Happy May Day to the rest of the world!

I don't normally celebrate May Day but the last time I did I was in Finland and had such a blast!! In my part of the world May 1st is just another day, but every time it rolls around I always smile at the wonderful memories of the time it meant something (or at least smile at what I do remember of that day!). Ahhh...memory lane...

Whilst I won't be partying it up until the wee hours of the morning or getting completely smashed, I will have a beer or two tonight to celebrate in my own way.

Happy Vappu!

Cheers!

♥

April Obsessions

2012-04-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

April has been moving at quite the glacial pace, but I have to admit that I like it. The past few months have taken me by surprise at how quickly the time went by, so the slower pace is more than welcomed. I think slowing down, taking my time, and not jamming my day full of errands and to-do lists has helped me in being a little less stressed out this month. Although, it might all bite me in the butt further down the road. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime, here are a few things that have been plaguing my brain during the month of April:

1. Yellow

All month long I've been thinking about and drooling over yellow yarns...a colour that is sorely lacking in my stash. I have only a handful of yellow yarns, two of those are seriously bordering the orange family than they are yellow. I've been itching to knit something yellow, and even though I've knit the Honeybee Cardigan (aka my Queen Bee Cardigan), I still don't think I can pull off yellow. I think it makes me look like I have jaundice or some other sickly illness. So I'm settling for knitting hexipuffs.

Yellow is also MIA in my fabric stash. I was thinking that if I can't knit with this colour, I could at least sew with it. Um...no. Not going to happen. Bummer. Guess what I'll be shopping for in the very near future??

2. Hummus

All month long I've been eating hummus. Non-stop. With everything. When I get on a food jag, I'm allllll about that one food and this is no different. I realized I had a problem a week ago when I had consumed two whole cucumbers and half a bag of baby carrots (it was a 2lb bag!) within a half hour span...all because I had a huge bowl of hummus sitting in front of me. I thought maybe keeping the hummus in the fridge would deter me. Um...no. Instead I would make frequent trips to the fridge, sneaking a carrot, and pile as much hummus as I could on it and shove it into my face. You'd think this was a bad thing or something!

3. Flipboard

Seriously, THE.best.non-knitting.app on both my phone and tablet!! I really need to thank my friend, Bonny, for introducing me to this! I have all my most used apps on it - from Facebook to Twitter to Instagram, all my blogs are on it, a few magazines, fashion and recipes...it's so customizable and the layout makes everything look like a magazine or something. I love it! Sometimes I can go the entire day without having to log into a social networking site and still know what's going on with this bad ass app. Pure amazeballs!

4. Hexipuffs

Knitting hexipuffs has been serving two purposes: it lets me knit with yummy yellow yarns as mentioned above, and it's been really helping in curbing any hints of Starteritis! Bonus! I did have to stop myself from knitting these sweet little puffs (they are so addicting to knit!) these past few days so that I can actually work on some of my projects. My pile is still nothing to write home about but I'm happy to announce that I now have to find a larger container for them all! Yay! It doesn't sound like much, but my goal is to have at least 50 of these bad boys in the pile. Two hexipuffs to knit a week? I think I can do it. I just have to remember to actually do it!

5. Seche Vite

I have my friend Andi to thank for this one. We both have an obsession for nail polish (amongst other things!) and we show up at knit night sporting a different colour each week. Andi loves to watch make up tutorials (she's my source of info now!) and would get on my case about giving Seche Vite a try because it's utterly amazing. Since I started wearing nail polish on a very regular basis I've just been using the same bottle of top coat that has been in my bathroom cabinet for who knows how long, and the drug store closest to my house is always sold out (I seriously have crap luck...I'm the person that, when they do get a shipment in, I arrive just as the last bottle is being sold). Andi couldn't take it any longer and a few weeks ago when I arrived at knit night she placed a bottle of Seche Vite right in front of me. Andi, you're awesome!! I'll admit, I thought top coat was top coat, was top coat. Oh no. Seche Vite is fan.freaking.tastic!!! Awesome sauce at its very best! I kid you not. I finally gave it a go last week and could immediately tell that this stuff was different. From the smell to the consistency. Then over the course of a few days I can tell that this stuff wasn't anything at all like what I was using. Not even close!! Normally, if I don't do much in the way of activities that could ruin my manicure, I can get maybe a week's wear out of my polish. Don't get me wrong, by the end of that week there's some definite wear that you can see a mile away.

Well...last week I didn't treat my nails that nicely and was out and about doing non-manicure friendly actions. And look how well my polish held up! In the photo above, the nails on the left is day 1 (the polish is Nfu 51, in case you wanted to know) and the nails on the right is after a week. There's very minimal wear on the tips, with definite signs on the middle finger. At a quick glance, you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. Now, if I was using my usual top coat, the nails on the right would show heavily chipped tips and possibly some discolouration. I have been converted. Andi, I am forever in your debt!

An honorary mention should be given to knitting apps. I've been downloading, testing, and obsessing over all the available knitting apps out there. So far I've only been using the freebies as I'm a little hesitant about dishing out the dough for something that I might not even like at all. There's one app that a friend of mine claims that she can't live without, but to me shelling out $15 is a fair bit of moola for something I'm not so sure about. You know?

Project 365 :: Week 8

2012-04-29T12:27:00.000-07:00

Day 50 :: April 22, 2012

Looking up at a tree in Irving Park

Day 51 :: April 23, 2012

Drinking and eating local for dinner

Day 52 :: April 24, 2012

Hexipuffs!!

I love the lighting in this photo and was amazed that it turned out the way it did considering that I thought it was too dark in the room to be taking photos of any kind.

Day 53 :: April 25, 2012

The beautiful flowers of a community center discovered on a walk home

Day 54 :: April 26, 2012

There's always time to do a puzzle...according to the Munchkin!

Day 55 :: April 27, 2012

I kinda feel like I'm cheating with this photo, since I have this tree (but from a different angle) photographed at the beginning of the week. But then the more I think about it, the more I realized that it will only be natural to have more than one photo from a place where I frequent the most...and Irving Park is one of the places where we make regular stops at on an almost daily basis.

Day 56 :: April 28, 2012

Another photo that I kinda feel like I'm cheating with. I had taken a bunch of photos of this skein of yarn in different lighting and on different backgrounds...all in hopes of getting colours true to their skein form and in finding the white balance.

Pay It Forward...Handmade Styles

2012-04-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hey! Want some handmade goodness from yours truly?? I saw this meme on Sam's blog (owlmazing makes) and have seen similar ones around the blogosphere and Facebook, and have always wanted to join in on the fun...but never did. And I really don't know why. Well, the opportunity is here again and this time I'm going to just jump on it. After all, you're given a year to complete your end of the bargain. Totally do-able, right? I think so!

So want to play along? Here's the deets:

I will send a surprise gift to the first three commenters on this post. The gift will be handmade by me. It will be sent sometime in the next 365 days. It will be a surprise. We all love getting surprises in the mail, right?

In your comment, tell me your two favourite colours (that will help me make an appropriate gift).
To sign up and receive a gift, you must play along too. Pay It Forward on your blog, by promising to make a surprise for the first three people who comment on the post.
You must have a blog (that is updated, as I will blog stalk you to find the right gift for you).
After commenting here, you must re-post this or something similar to your blog in 48 hours. If not, I will chose the next person who comments...

Yay! So much fun! I can't wait to see who wants to play! ♥

Oh, I have a disclaimer though...I'm well aware that the majority of my readers are knitters but there are a lot of you who aren't. So don't worry, I don't plan on making all my gifts project bags!! I love all sorts of crafts, so my gifts could be something knitted, sewn, woven, painted...I promise though, I won't make you suffer by giving you something I've crocheted (my skills in that department are sorely lacking!).

PS: I'll also need a way to contact you! So either leave your email or Ravelry ID, that way I can find out where to send the crafty goodness to!

Knit In Progress: Beekeeper's Quilt

2012-04-26T13:56:00.002-07:00

Hello...my name is Melissa...and I'm a hexipuffer.

Yes, you heard right. I too, have jumped on the bandwagon long ago when this pattern came out. I've actually talked about this project a few times in various posts but never made it "official". So here it is. I'm officially announcing that I am knitting the ubiquitous Beekeeper's Quilt. Am I crazy? Oh, probably. But know that there are over 3500 other knitters out there that are knitting this up too. Well...that are willing to admit that they are mad enough to tackle such a project. And that's not even counting the knitters that just like to knit the cute little hexipuffs and then send them off to others who have this blanket on the go (now that's crazy!). If you look on Ravelry I swear that every yarn company group has a Beekeeper's Quilt thread or some sort of a sock yarn blanket thread, because even before the hexipuff craze started there were knitters out there knitting up sock yarn mitred square blankets like this one or crocheting a Babette. But even if you weren't looney enough to knit one of these tedious blankets, tons of knitters out there love minis, so there are at least a minis swap of sorts in practically every group out there. I think yarn companies and indie dyers would make a killing if they offered a mini skein set made specifically for this pattern (or sock yarn blankets in general) or for small projects. So far I know of only one dyer that offers these kinds of sets (and she was doing this before the hexipuff craze) and they sell like hot cakes! And it's a great way for a knitter to see and try out a colourway before committing to a full skein or without having to purchase a full skein when they only need a few grams. It's a win-win situation for all involved. So check out the mini skein sets at Sunshine Yarns...good luck on getting your hands on a set (and let me know if you do, so I can live vicariously through you)!

I started my blanket last year in August. I waited a whole month after the pattern was released to hem and haw over whether or not if I should even attempt to knit such a massive project. I kept looking at the photos, marvelling over the shabby chic-ness of it, squealing with delight over the baskets full of little puffs, and weighing the pros and cons of having this type of project in the knitting basket. I really didn't have to talk myself into it or twist my rubber arm before I finally couldn't take it any longer and bought the pattern and cast on for my first little hexipuff. Yup. After that first puff, I was a goner. I was hooked. It took a few puffs before I got the hang of it and into a rhythm. I started out using the method that Stephanie, the designer, used to knit up her puffs. It was a little fiddly for my liking, especially since I'm not at all a fan of DPNs. I tried Magic Loop on one puff, but found that my cable was too stiff for such a tiny knit. Then when I got my first pair of Signature needles, which happened to be in the size that I needed for this project (and the size that I use the most, hands down), I decided to give it a try. Perfecto! These needles were made to knit hexipuffs! The cables on these needles are so beyond pliable that knitting a puff is a breeze. And ever since I made the switcheroo to Judy's Magic Cast On, knitting a hexipuff is even faster. I think I've got it down to half an hour a puff!!

I'm being über realistic about this project. I know this blanket won't be completed for at least a few years, especially at the rate that I'm adding to the hexipuff pile. I used this magical website to calculate just how many hexipuffs I'll need to knit in order to have a blanket that will fit my king size bed (why do I need such a big bed?? Crap!), and know that I need approximately 903 hexipuffs!! I say approximately because I'm not sure how much of an overhang I want and I'm not digging the half puffs to make the blanket a proper square shape. I like the jagged edge that the hexagons make. I think it looks so...organic. So how many hexipuffs have I made to date?

23. Yup. That's right. Twenty....three. No where near the triple digit area. I have a loooooong ways to go. Just 880 more to go. But I'm ok with that. Like I said, I'm well aware that this will take me a few years to complete, and as I've mentioned in this post I've recently discovered that knitting a hexipuff takes the edge off of Starteritis. I get the excitement of casting on and the satisfaction of binding off, whilst still being productive and not at all feeling guilty about having another project on the needles! Bonus! Fist pump!

Since I knit with fingering weight yarns a lot, I have a ton of leftovers. I'm excited that they now have a purpose and that I'll be able to use them all up AND be able to knit up those single skeins in the stash that I have no idea what to do with (some sock yarns don't scream out socks to me...or baby garments). I've also participated in a bunch of mini skein swaps (which is a fabulous way to try out different yarns...commercial and indie dyed...LYS and of the CDH variety!) and I now have a plethora of yarns and colours to choose from. I recently discovered that knitting hexipuffs is more enjoyable and more exciting when you switch up the yarns with each puff. Before I was knitting three hexipuffs in a row using the same yarn and it just felt tedious.

Over the weekend I took a dive into my SweetGeorgia Yarns mini skein stash (they were calling and teasing me to knit with them...how could I say no to such beautiful colours??), and whipped up a handful of puffs. Can't you tell I was on a yellow kick? Even alternating the Saffron with a multi was enough to trick my brain into thinking it was knitting a different project each and every time. Want to see my favourite hexipuff to date?

Isn't she a beaut? O...M...G. I seriously LOVE this colourway. I never paid too much attention to it before (in case you didn't catch it in the last post, this is SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in the Firefly colourway), but I was blindly pulling out a mini to knit with and after this puff was finished I was in love. The photo doesn't do it justice as to how gorgeous this colourway really is. A very close second favourite is the SGY TLS in the Hard Candy colourway (that's the eye-searing red, pink, and yellow puff two photos up).

Anyhoo, I could go on and on (and on) about these hexipuffs. They really are the ultimate portable project. It's so easy to grab a project bag, shove your needles, a few minis or leftovers, a handful of stuffing, and a crochet hook (unless you have one in your notions case), and off you go. I completed a puff just from driving around on Monday. Talk about utilizing your time! I have a feeling you'll be seeing more hexipuffs pop up on the blog more, now that I've unleashed the secret to keeping the knitting up of these. Not to mention the frequent Starteritis tendencies that I seem to have, and my project hoary ways are always acting up whenever I catch a glimpse of something shiny...whether it be new yarn or a new pattern.

But knitting up more hexipuffs isn't such a bad thing...after all, I've got how many more to knit??

I Do Not Heart Tuesdays

2012-04-25T13:37:00.001-07:00

Yes, I'm well aware that today is not Tuesday but in fact Wednesday. But that still doesn't change the fact that I really dislike Tuesdays. I totally dread that day. Weekends for us are Sundays and Mondays, and come Tuesday I know that Brett has to go back to work and it's another looooong week. Both the Munchkin and I were sad to watch Brett leave yesterday morning - the Munchkin is majorly craving Daddy time and I'm hardcore craving some solo "me time". Le sigh.

My to-do list is quite long today since yesterday was a bit of a write-off. So today's blog will be a bit random. I haven't done this in a while!

- yesterday was a bad day. The grey, dreary, rainy day really reflected how I felt. I was feeling pretty down and out, and if it weren't for the Munchkin I would've stayed in bed all day.

- I wasn't the only one having a bad day yesterday, the Munchkin was feeling physically rough. After a weekend of being outside almost the entire time, the Munchkin's mild sun allergy has left him really sore all over.

- yesterday I really missed living in Vancouver. The city itself, my friends...and I wonder if Victoria will ever feel like home to me. Even after living here for almost 5 years, I still don't feel like I belong here and long for Vancouver. I guess I'll have to make a trip over to the mainland pretty darn soon.

- the idea of moving closer to family is becoming more and more appealing to me. The thought of having help (and somewhat of a life outside of the home!) is surprisingly enough to put the thought of moving back to my small hometown into our heads...which I thought I would never do.

- I'm pretty intrigued by the fact that the Kootenays have their own roller derby league!

- I love the Munchkin more than life itself, but I'm so mentally and physically exhausted that I'm starting to feel guilty that lately I've been counting down the hours of when the Munchkin goes to bed. Not that it matters since lately I've been going to bed before 10pm anyways. My energy has been zapped out of me after spending the day trying to keep on top of life and the Munchkin.

- I was invited to participate in a Mother's Day craft fair by the lovely ladies of The Midwives Collective, but sadly I just don't have the time to sew up enough stock and I don't have child care for that day. All of this saddens me and makes me want to scream out "FML!".

- a few people (who are single and childless) think this is a situation that could be easily remedied by putting up a Craigslist ad for a babysitter. They're kidding, right?? Yeah...like I would trust a random stranger with my child. In my home. Craigslist. Let's not go there.

- I drastically reduced my computer/internet usage over the weekend. Being outside a lot helped with that, and relied on my phone to stay connected to social media outlets. This isn't a big deal but my knitting has definitely improved because of this. As in I actually got a fair bit of knitting accomplished. Yay!

- remember this post about wanting to cast on a pair of socks, even though I already have three pairs on the go? Well I didn't cast them on. I know several of you told me to live dangerously and just cast on that delicious yarn, but I'm determined to get some of my WIPs off the needles.

- I get the thrill of casting on and after half an hour of knitting I get the satisfaction of binding off. And in the end it all goes towards a much larger project. One that I haven't touched since last October and haven't worked on all year...'til now.

- the urge to cast on something new hit me six times over the last few days. Now I have six hexipuffs to add to the very small collection.

- because someone will ask, the yarn used in the hexipuff above is SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in the Firefly colourway. This is my favourite hexipuff to date and I absolutely am in love with this colourway. I must obtain a skein and turn them into some lovely socks!

- I couldn't take it any longer and have decided to dive right into my mini skein collection (particularly the SweetGeorgia minis) and started knitting with them.

- Blogger has officially switched over to its new interface, and man, does it ever suck! I'm constantly getting double spaces and my sentences are getting jumbled up when I look at the previews, and to top it all off, extra html code is added for no reason. Does anyone else dislike this new "and improved" Blogger? Bleh!

- I'm hoping my mood lightens up and that I have the energy (and time!) to get a few things done that I've been meaning to do around here.

- in the meantime, I've got a hexipuff to cast on.

Project 365 :: Week 7

2012-04-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Day 43 :: April 15, 2012

Day 44 :: April 16, 2012

Day 45 :: April 17, 2012

Irving Park graffiti. I've been going to this park for the last 2 years almost every second day - every day in the summer, and had only just noticed this graffiti this week! Crazy!

Day 46 :: April 18, 2012

The Munchkin's newest love - sidewalk chalk drawing. More specifically, having his shadow traced while he makes crazy poses. I have a feeling that as the weather gets warmer the more chalk we'll be going through!

Day 47 :: April 19, 2012

Enjoying the rain. Of course, this is when I discovered that the Munchkin's rain boots no longer fit him.

Day 48 :: April 20, 2012

Day 49 :: April 21, 2012

Taken with my iPhone.

Freshly baked cookies...the Munchkin had a hand in this batch, every step of the way. From pouring in the ingredients (his favourite part), to helping me hold the mixer, to stirring in the chocolate chips (his most favourite part). He even rolled a few bits of dough into balls (if you can call them that!). Such a good kitchen helper he is!

This week is the HDR edition. All photos have been Photoshopped for the HDR effect. I don't know what it is about HDR, but lately I've been loving up all over it. I'll admit that I was super lazy with taking photos this week and basically had to force myself to pick up the camera, run outside, and take as many photos as I possibly can within a ten minute frame. I'm making myself promise to make more of an effort next week.

Fresh Off The Needles: Nuvem

2012-04-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

That's right kids. I'm finally showing you all my finished Nuvem! Isn't she a beaut? This was actually blocked and ready to go about three weeks ago but it took me forever to get some decent photos. But don't worry, I've been getting some wear from this behemoth of a shawl since the second it came off the blocking mats. Heck, I even wore it to my Friday knitting group that night! I was pleasantly surprised that this shawl took less than a day to dry, but now that I think about it (and as I'm looking at the shawl itself), the fabric is so light and airy that it would have been more surprising if it took longer than a day to dry.

There really isn't much more to say about this shawl that I haven't already. It really was a mindless knit right down to the last stitch and there's nothing more that you can add to the endless knitting in the round. I did torture myself towards the end by constantly weighing my yarn to see how much I had knit. Yeah, note to self: putting that scale on the coffee table right in front of you as you knit will only encourage such torture! I even figured it out that I would need approximately 6g per repeat. Again, such behaviour only adds to the torment. I finally couldn't take it any more and at the 64g range I started the ruffle edging. Once I had bound off that last stitch (did I mention that the bind off took me almost two hours to complete??) I realized that I could have knit another two repeats to used up every last inch of yarn. Normally I would shrug it off and add the leftovers to the "Beekeepers Quilt pile", but this time around I didn't even want to look at the yarn any more let alone knit with it again! So I gave the leftovers to my friend Jennifer (besides, she's actually working away quite diligently on her blanket). Shoo fly, don't bother me!

I'm pretty darn happy with how this shawl turned out. Oh man, if I wasn't I would be so beyond pissed and the shawl would most likely be in a million pieces...and scattered into the Pacific ocean. I'm not kidding! So, good thing I'm in love with this piece! I've been using Nuvem for everything: as a shawl, a cape (don't ask), a lap blanket, a wrap, a scarf, and most recently - as a snood (a head cover). I seriously think Nuvem would make for a fantastic travel piece too. It could transform and act as so many different things. I can see myself using Nuvem on the plane as a makeshift blanket (it is, after all, about five feet long!!), balling it up to use as a pillow...stuck in a ferry line up or held up on the Coquihalla for (usually) un-known reasons and the sun is too hot? Use Nuvem to cover up that window! Some of you just gasped at the idea of treating a hand knit in such a fashion, but you get my point. Right?

Oh, and let's talk about the colour. If I thought it was stunning in hank form, well knit up this colour is magnificent! I knew Wollmeise was known for their vibrant and highly saturated colours, but the depth and intensity...Wowzas! Insanely bonkers! And to top it all off, there was absolutely no bleeding when I gave Nuvem a soak. I was totally expecting it too. For a yarn so saturated with pigment, I was expecting at least a tint of blue in the wash. Nope. Nothing. If that didn't thoroughly impress me, then the fact that this yarn blocks like a dream did. Fellow knitters have commented on how perfectly straight and uniform my stitches are. Yeah, that's not all me. I swear. Blocking definitely had a hand in that. I did tug at Nuvem a fair bit to try to smooth and shape it out nicely, but other than that the yarn did its own thing and is letting me take all the credit for it.

I'll even admit that while it was blocking I checked in on it periodically like it was a newborn baby. I was even giving it loving glances and appreciative pats. And get this, I even considered knitting another. For just a second though. I blame the yarn fumes on that. And the trance-inducing qualities that Nuvem has.

I really shouldn't bad-mouth the entire knitting process though. While it really was black hole knitting, this project has served me well when it came down to needing a mindless knit. It was absolutely perfect to work on as I watched movies, chatted on the phone with my Mom, and for those days where you are so exhausted you just want to sit there and stare at the wall. Once you get into a rhythm with it, Nuvem definitely didn't require any thinking whatsoever. It's a great social knit and depending on the yarn, would be perfect for beer knitting (Wollmeise Lace is technically considered a lace weight but I have some sock yarns that are thinner than this stuff!). If I didn't already have several other long-term projects on the go (re: knits that will take me more than a year to complete), I would really think about knitting another. Seriously.

But for now, a second would have to wait until I was either halfway through my queue (and that's ten pages long!) or finished one of those aforementioned long-term projects. I could make it easier on myself and stop scrolling through the other finished Nuvems on Ravelry and concentrate on the projects at hand, rather than wondering how some knitters could knit this shawl in a few weeks. Oi!

Ok, I need to stop this crazy talk about knitting a second. I need to put away the hanks of Wollmeise Laces and back away... I was doing so well at keeping my focus on trying to get the several UFOs that's been plaguing my knitting basket completed without starting anything new. But then spring happened and before you know it I want to cast on all the pretties! So far I think I'm doing a really good job at resisting the temptations, even after getting this gorgeous skein in the post the other day. Lately I feel like I've been knitting and knitting and knitting and not getting a single FO from all that work. I think if I can reign in the "new project" urges that maybe, just maybe I can have something close to finished by the end of the month. Here's to hoping!

Shawl Details:
Pattern: Nuvem by Martina Behm
Yarn: Wollmeise Lace-Garn
Colour: Versuchskaninchen (German for "guinea pig")
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Wood and Nickel Plated Interchangeables, Signature Needle Arts, and DyakCraft Darn Pretty Wood Needles all in 3.5mm (US 4)
Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits Nuvem

One, Two, Three...

2012-04-18T11:39:00.000-07:00

Ok all you sock knitters, tell me, just how many pairs of socks do you currently have on the needles?? Are you faithful to having only one pair? Or do you switch it up and have a plain vanilla and a more complicated design always on the needles? Or do you just don't care?

I currently have three pairs of socks on the go, but yesterday I got my Cookie A Sock Club yarn in the post. I was bad and took a peek at the spoiler photos on the Ravelry group forum, and couldn't wait for my skein to arrive. When I saw the package in the mail box yesterday I got so excited that I had to rip it open right then and there. The colourway is so gorgeous and much more than I had expected it to be. I've never knit with nor been in the presence of Socktopus yarns before and now I'm dying to cast on another pair of socks. One of the Cookie A patterns that accompanies this skein of yarn is called "Nanaimo" (yup, it's named after the city right here on the island!! Cookie A has family in Nanaimo and the dyer of Socktopus originally is from there. It's a two-fer!), and I'm just itching to cast on. But I'm kinda preventing myself from doing so. I mean, I have three socks going and none of them are even close to being finished. Do I really need to add another WIP to that sock pile? Not to mention that I have two cardigans that are kinda on a deadline (and by deadline, I mean they are part of KALs) and the last thing I need is something else to take my attention away.

But ohhhhh...this yarn is just so pretty!! I just want to cast on all the pretties!!! But first, this yarn...

And There's Two!

2012-04-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Wow! That was the fastest weekend ever! Was it not? I'm always surprised when the weekend is over and the normal weekday routine has to commence once again. I think the weekend went by faster than usual simply because we didn't have our usual "Daddy time". Brett went on a "man date" on Sunday after realizing that he never gets proper "me time" - which is true, he's either at work or taking the kidlet off my hands. No solid Brett-time. So I was more than happy to give him a chance to hang out with a new buddy and get in some non-work and family time. Plus, he did catch that night's dinner by bringing home some delicious crab! I'm happy to report that I, myself, took it über easy this past weekend anyways. As in I didn't do any housekeeping (except for a load of laundry...mainly cause the Munchkin needed to wear pants...eventually), spent a ton of time at the beach with the Munchkin, worked on (and finished!!) a secret knitting project, painted, and most importantly - I had drastically reduced my internet/computer time over the weekend. I can get pretty glued to the computer and can waste so much time on the internet that over the weekend I vowed that I can only do random check-ins with my phone and can only go on the computer when the Munchkin was in bed or playing with Dad. Limiting my online time really bumped up my knitting productivity, I should definitely do this more often!

Now that the secret knitting is finished I can go back to knitting on Delancey. I'm so far behind on this project for the KAL, but that's ok. I'm not going to let it stress me out. I'm now just more concerned with finishing it.

I was having issues with my sleeve. It seemed that no matter how I picked up the stitches around the armhole it was looking less than satisfactory. I think I've ripped out three attempts before settling on this one. I'm not 100% happy with it but I'm hoping a good soak and blocking will smooth it all out. You would think that I would fly through the knitting up of these sleeves since it's DK weight, but for some reason I'm totally procrastinating on them. I think I've lost steam on this project after discovering that this cardigan will most likely not fit me the way I had hoped it would. Now it's the task of just plugging along and getting 'er done. I've gone too far to frog the whole thing and re-start (that, and I would seriously cry), and I'm not confident that blocking will help out with the fit. I have just the sleeves, the collar, and the button bands to go. But sleeves first...

Ugh. And there's two to deal with! If anyone is looking for me, I'll be in the corner swearing at sleeves.

Project 365 :: Week 6

2012-04-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Day 36 :: April 8, 2012

Easter!

Day 37 :: April 9, 2012

As much as I was trying to put it off, knitting photos were bound to show up on my Project 365 posts! Knitting is such a huge part of my life that it was inevitable that it would slowly appear on here...

Day 38 :: April 10, 2012

One of my favourite colour combinations: pink and chocolate brown.

One of my favourite snacks: chocolate covered pretzels.

Day 39 :: April 11, 2012

One of the Munchkin's paintings. He's particularly proud of this one and likes to show Brett and anyone else that comes into the house that he painted this. It's hanging front and center on the fridge.

Day 40 :: April 12, 2012

I love the clarity of this entire photo. I really love that this was taken pretty late in the day too with that I thought was pretty dark lighting and still came out quite nice.

Day 41 :: April 13, 2012

Yay for aperture!

Day 42 :: April 14, 2012

Clouds

It was a week of closeups...until the last photo. I just had to put it in there because I loved how the clouds look in the sky. This week also marks the week that I give in to my knitterly side of life and am finally including knitting related photos. I was trying really hard to take photos of things outside of my knitting life, but it was inevitable. Besides, this is a knitting blog, so why not include knitting photos in this project?

I didn't set out to make this week all about closeups, it just happened that way. But now I'm thinking that I kinda like having these themes. Amy from Threadpanda had sent me this link as inspiration for those days when you just have no idea what to take a photo of. Brilliant! Thanks Amy!

Knit In Progress: Rainbow Stripes Askewed

2012-04-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

With the Park City Socks off the needles, I'm now onto the next unfinished sock in the WIPs pile. I'm sure a few of you have already seen progress photos of this project if you follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. But here it is for those of you who haven't seen it yet. Yes, it's another pair of Skews! This time, I'm going to attempt to knit them into knee highs.

I'm using yarn that's been in the stash for years now (yay!!) and have always wanted to use, but for some reason just never did. As you can see in the photo above, it's a Zauberball in the Frische Frische colourway (mmm...I love me some rainbow yarn!) mixed with some natural, undyed yarn that I had gotten from my friend Ursa when I had attended her dye day last summer. I knew that I wasn't going to get a pair of knee high socks with just the Zauberball, and after scrolling through Ravelry I got the inspiration to use another yarn to supplement the rainbow yarn of goodness.

So far I'm loving what I'm getting and I forgot just how much fun this pattern is to knit. Although I'm sure there are a few knitters out there that will disagree (ahemMAEahem). I will admit that after the main instructions, I have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing when it comes to the calf area. I guess I should've knit up a pair of simple knee socks before tackling this project, but where's the fun in that? I've checked out other knee high Skew projects on Ravelry to see what other knitters have done, and while they were helpful, they were more of a guideline. So I'm kinda left to my own devices here. That's ok, it's all about the learning. Right?

I'm currently on the first sock. Usually with this pattern I will start both socks on separate circulars, but this time around I decided to start out with the one sock to see how it goes. But I'm really stalling on the calf here and have already tinked back a few times and am contemplating ripping back to the ankle cause I'm not liking how I'm increasing or the look of the sock when it's on. Grrrr for having such meaty calves!! So I'm tempted to re-skein my ball of yarn just so that I can get the second sock started. Now, for a ball of yarn to claim that it's a center-pull ball, finding the end is next to impossible!!

The last Instagram photo of my sock

Oh, and another thing I'm contemplating - the cuff. I don't want to continue the striping on the cuff as I'm not really crazy with how it would look. I'm thinking a solid colour cuff would make me one happy knee high wearing sock knitter. I'm really leaning towards using the natural yarn for the cuff, but am wondering if I'll have a ton of the Zauberball leftover that I should just use that up instead? Decisions, decisions! What do you think? Natural or rainbow?

Until I can figure out what I'm doing for the calves, don't expect to see these socks finished any time soon. I reckon you won't be seeing them again until at least the summer...for now I've got to get a few cardigans off the needles and oooohhh...some secret knitting...shhh!!!

I'm really hoping to be able to get some knitting accomplished this weekend. Brett has plans to go crab fishing again and I'm making it my mission to drastically reduce my computer and internet usage to spend some more time with the Munchkin. Yes, I know...as a stay at home mom, how much more time can you spend with the kidlet? Well I've made the realization that my crafting and housework can always wait a little but my son won't be a kid forever. Since Brett and I haven't made the decision yet as to whether or not we'll be having another kiddo, I'm going to enjoy these younger years while I can. That's not to say I won't be knitting at all throughout the day, I can usually squeeze in some knitting time here and there but for a while there I was constantly telling the Munchkin "just one more row"...I have plenty of time to do my thing when he goes to bed. But after seeing how much happier and calmer the Munchkin was after I tried out my computer/internet cut-down yesterday, I'm going to do it again this weekend. So I'll forewarn you now that you might not hear from me until Monday or Tuesday if you leave a comment or send me an email or PM.

I hope you'll all be able to head outside this weekend too and get some fresh air and catch some rays!! Ok, maybe not so much sun for those of you who are in Calgary and are still dealing with the current dump of snow!

♥ Happy Weekend!! ♥