Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween all!

Love, Keiko, Violet, Fin and Beatrix.

knitting content tomorrow maybe.. :)

OMG!

DONE!

A whole boatload of stitches later.... PHEW! It does need a block (the bottom looks a little stretched out after all that work) but it is finito! I actually finished it on Tuesday but when I got

the man to try it on, it really needed a rib (ever so small as it is) on the bottom to look truly finished. So 300 picked up stitches later.. !!

Now I can move on. Finally. :)

My head and fingers class has taken off and I couldn't be happier. My students are all over the DPN's and I feel like a proud parent watching them grow and become more confident. Aww...

I have my last felting class tonight, needle felting here we come :) It is always my favorite part of the class

Now to move onto a vest for me.

This is the ..

vest that never ends!

It just goes on and on my friends.

Some dingbat started knitting it, not knowing what it was, and she'll continue knitting it forever just because..

This is the vest that never ends... really.

I got this from Etsy.com. Sorry about the craptastic picture.. I never said I had mad photo skillz ok?

But I do love it so and have such a warm fuzzy when I wear it :)

Ok. In other news.. or in the words of Julie Chen:

"but first!"

It is snowing here. Not great monstrous whipped cream blobs, but enough that the wee dogga has to be de-snowed when he comes in from outside. And enough that the heat is cranked up. I am making some nice chili tonight that shall hopefully warm us all up.

We went and saw the new Scorsese film this weekend (The Departed). It was pretty good, but sadly I thought it could have used a little more trimming. Or a lot more violence. Mr Jack Nicholson was really good, slipping into his caricature in only a couple spots and I am sorry to say I have a *thing* for Mr Matt Damon. At least his Boston accent was good (being as he is from there I should bloody hope so!) not like Mr Martin Sheen who slipped all around that geographical area I think. We also watched Art School Confidential which was pretty entertaining (despite the lead actor having no charisma at all) and Hard Candy which is not for anyone faint of heart or sensitive in any way. I liked it (of course) but thought it was a one trick pony.

This weekend the boy heads up North and I think we are going to actually venture out and go to Amy's book party this Saturday! There is lots of media stuff going on this week for her (good luck sweet gal!) and I hear that Shaw is coming tomorrow to film the shop (I AM WORKING! OMG!! So glad I got my hair done last week! YES!) and I have my first head and fingers class. Which is FULL. YIKES!

I should really go wash some clothes now huh? ~sigh~

7 stitches!

Oh my.. I am wishing I had either a smaller husband or a bigger brain. The vest is totally coming along, but so s l o w l y. See what I mean? Nice? Yes! Ribbed? Yes! TAKING SO FREAKING LONG? YES! But really its yummy and lovely. I have had few people try to convince me to you know, start something else in the mean time.. OMG! Now I know I am NOT the norm when it comes to projects. Really, its ok, I can deal. I am one of those freaks who starts something then (with the exception of the ugly afghan) finishes it. I mean sometimes I have like half a dishcloth somewhere, but really, I can only do one project at a time. It boggles everyone from work tis true. I think I may have some fear that I will never finish anything if I have more than one thing on the go (which for knitters is tantamount to CRAZY) but its the way I am. So not only will you poor saps loyal readers be sick to death of it, so will I. AND it doesn't hurt that I am ITCHING to get my next project. ITCHING I TELLS YA!

I have another class tonight (sorry it didn't work for you Terra :/) and then start a mitten and hat (head and fingers.. no knees and toes sorry) class next Wednesday. I *really* should be cleaning some more but since I STILL HAVE NO VACUUM.. well.. DO THE MATH! Ha ha!
So Instead I leave you with a picture of my messy desk. Note the cup (roughly the size of Lake Ontario) that the boy painted for me last year at one of the 70 thousand odd field trips he took. Also of note; the hot wheels speakers with the flames we got from Winners for 5 dollars and the peeling Hello Kitty mouse pad (note to self: get new mouse pad). The desktop is a picture of the flowers by Dale Chihuly (sp?) in the lobby of the Bellagio in Vegas. OMG I LOVE GLASS.

I MISS YOU VEGAS!!

No knitting

updates today. Instead I leave you all with the thing to do this fine turkay day weekend (Besides seeing TRAILER PARK BOYS)...


http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.htm

PANDA CAM! Cutest. Thing. EVER. I have died from the cute.

Happy gobbles all....

Progress

Really there has been some! The vest is coming along swimmingly. Its a time consumer with the 7 st per inch thing, but its such lovely yarn who can complain?

The colour of the stripe is more pumpkiny than it looks ( I think the red rug throws it off a bit) and has the prettiest (so NOT the word Chris wants to hear I reckon) flecks in it. YUM!

Also in the mail this week:

Duh duh DUH! OMG THEY ARE HERE!!!!!! My knit picks interchangables!!

Oh my stars and garters.. these are so wonderful to work with. Like I said to Kathy they are all the best things about needles rolled up into one big ball of needle goodness. And I shall have to apologise again for the disturbing visual that caused. OMG they are the sexiest needles ever. (again sorry :P)

I have been working like a lot this past week as the wonderful Amy and Sandra were in the big TO taking a well deserved break and hand delivering the SWEATER OF DOOM. It was hella fun, but I forgot how tiring working for a living is. I know, I know.. cry me a river right? My house is a tip but eh.. when isn't it?

Now a story that I meant to tell ya'll last week but then last week ran out! We shall call this:

THE VACUUM STORY

Or how not to get your carpets clean. Ever.

Once upon a time there was a girl who had a vacuum. It was a dirty old vacuum, but really for the amount that the girl used it, it was fine. But one fine day when the dirty old vacuum was dragged out of its small pit to be used, it had enough. The head kinda exploded (SCANNERS VACUUM!) and it breathed its last. The girl packed it up in a Glad Flex Force bag (these rock big time) and sent it to the great beyond (the garbage). The girl needed a vaccum STAT so off she went with PC (price charming ok) to the vacuum wonderland that is WALMART. After fiding the vacuum of her dreams and almost fighting off the russian hordes (ok it was a Russian GUY and there was no actual fighting, maybe a slightly dirty look or two) they bring the new vacuum home. It is a DIRT DEVIL. Like a devil on the dirt. The girl happily puts the vacuum together and starts to USE IT! OMG! The dust! The Dirt! THE GROSSNESS THAT WAS HIDING IN THE CARPET! ITS HORRIBLE! Then.. then the utmost in tragic happens. The brush roll stops turning. The dirt stops being sucked. the girl is distraught! She phones the 1.800 number for help! HELP ME! She cries. The nonplussed voice on the other end replies evilly that the BELT BROKE. This is how she must change it! But WAIT! Didn't this DIRT DEVIL just come home the day before? Why yes it did. If this dirt devil can't make it though one damn day without BREAKING, why would the girl keep it? Well she didn't. Back it went and now we begin again the quest for yet another vacuum.

Le sigh. Stupid cheap belt vaccum. I bet it had cheap shoes too. !@#$%#@!

In other news::

TRAILER PARK BOYS MOVIE TOMORROW. Show your love for Canadian Cinema (oh yes.. CINEMA!) and go support the boys on their opening weekend. I am. At 3pm. GO FORTH!

Its time for another episode of whats in the bag??

Oh my..a brown bag of yarn...

IT'S FELTED TWEED!!

This will very soon be turned into a fabulous vest for Chris! I don't think you all understand the negotiations this took. Colour is the big issue so I ended up taking him into Make 1 where I needed the help of Morgan, Suzen and of course the ever fabulous Sandra to convince him my way was (of course) the right way. He completely folded like a house of cards when he saw the wonderous felted tweed and even agreed about the colours! He looks so nice in warm tones. :)

Now if my knitpicks needles would just get here already (shipped on the 21st!) I could be the happiest girl in the house. Hey.. uh.. I'm the only girl in the house. Whatever.. I'll take what I can get.

After the Great Sweater Debacle poor Amy needs a break. She has all my tea and sympathies.

Oops.. the dogga is outside barking. Must see what up..

Have a happy weekend all!

PEEKTURES!

Is this not the most scrummy picture ever? Really..

Its the HOLY SCARF! (my made up-ness again) I did last spring and then completely forgot about. Made from some sort of handspun bought for me by a pal. It blocked out beautifully no?

Next up.. the sweater out of Lorna's Laces Superwash merino in Black Pearl. I used a Knitting Pure and Simple top down wrap pattern. Super fast knit and sososososo easy. I really do love those top downs!

See how my picot edge finally worked? I am very pleased with how this turned out. Very pleased indeed.

Misti Alpaca Chunky in Wine Melange. A pattern I just kinda made up, and it shows off the softness of this lucious stuff. I don't think it caught the reflective qualities of this yarn very well though, it has a little glow about it you know?

Close up of the nifty reversible look...

Now I have to figure out what I'm knitting next... oh such a dilemma! ;)

Of cold weather

Oh my stars and garters! After the crazy busy week I had, I needed a lovely knitting break so I decided it was time to start thinking of the coldness. Two skiens of Misti alpaca came home with me from work. They are OMG SO SOFT! Like this:

(meh blogger is being a dilhole about pix. will fix later)


I bought a lovely new jacket from SUPERSTORE (knock me down dead! I love the Joe stuff something awful no really.. http://www.joe.ca) and it will go perfectly with the FANTASGREAT scarf I whipped up. Um.. 40$ for a down coat? What kind of craziness is that?!? I promise to find a camera soon.. its too luxe not to share.

I am going to be teaching a mitten/hat course at the shop. How fun! Kureyon mittens for everyone!

Like I said above last week was all kinds of crazy, and you can really tell by the state of my house. Euw. I even pulled in some crazy this weekend getting all these super sekrit projects done and written up and and and... have I mentioned how much deadlines suck? Oh yeah.. they do, but I'm happy to do 'em!

Apparently I missed the northern lights this weekend too. Damn.. it's been a long time since I've seen them. Not since Edmonton I reckon. Maybe if I actually went outside huh?

Finished!

You know, I have finished the sweater! I have even worn it a whole bunch (even to work!) and I really love it. I love it so much I wish I could show it to you all.. but that isn't happening. The digi cam has gone kaput, the boys is nowhere to be found. You will all just have to wait! And take my word that is lovely of course :)

Its definitely gotten cooler here in the last few days (HURRAH!) and the rain has stopped (HURRAH!) and I am full into MUST KNIT ALL THE TIME MODE. Which is of course being severely curtailed by me actually have a life. No really. Working where I do I get inspired all the time to try new and nifty projects that are filling my brain with all sorts of creative goodness. I am still plugging away on the Log Cabin for Chris, and have been a busy with the needle felting. I have done some really cool little things lately that again, I would love to show you but...


I think you get the picture. Or I guess you don't.

I am planning my next knitting project as we speak. Or I guess as I write. Or maybe I'm not planning it as much as wondering what it will be. I really love knitting sweaters as they seem to fill a void that nothing else does. Amy and I were talking about this and its really true. I don't know if its a showoff thing, but man! A new sweater is really an ultimate FO for me. Having said that I still don't know what I'm doing next.

What are you all knitting right now? And what should I do?

Name alert!

Thanks for your submissions, the massage chair does have a name! I didn't go with Picard (even though he is my favorite captain and I have already watched many TNG in him) or Beef/Beouf. My beef is being flung about even with him ;) I have actually named him:

AUBREY BUMTICKLER.

Cause that's just who he is. And you need to say it with a really open mouthed prosh British accent. AUUUBREY BUMTICKLAAAAAAH. Hahahaha I crack myself up.

Back to some deadlines looming.. super secret projects you know!

SHINY!

After much hassle my sweet MIL finally got herself some olde fashioned aluminum glasses. Luckily for us, she sent some our way (thank you EVILBAY!)... aren't they cute? Can't you just imagine drinking a lovely frosty milkshake out of them?




I just love the anodised aluminum.. so damn shiny and pretty! My camera has officially bit the dust. I had to restrain myself from smashing it heartily to the ground yesterday in a fit of pique. BTW.. what is pique? Regardless I must have had plenty of it as it narrowly avoided a giant whacking. So I have co-opted the wee boys in my photo efforts but who knows how long I'll be allowed to use it, teenagers are so picky nowadays. A new Canon Powershot should be looked for very soon. I think thats the kind we want next. All I know is I can't take good close ups of my Pullips with the nasty ol Kodak (NEVER BUY A KODAK DIGI CAM.... EVER!!) we currently sort of have. I have a notice from the PO that I have a parcel at the depot for me, this will be an exciting afternoon indeed!

KNITTING NEWS

I have a few inches of the second sleeve left to do, then the picked up edge for the neck and then it is... DONE. Pics will have to wait until then. Yesterday at work I spent the day with the fantastic Sandra weighing and pricing fibre for spinning. OMG to be covered in cashmere and angora (although it did look like I had been wrasslin' an albino samsqanch (TPB MOVIE Oct 6 ya'll!) for a week) was really a hard thing to do. I have so many ideas for wet felting projects, I reckon some of that fibre needs to come home with me, maybe tomorrow. Boy I wish I knew how to spin. But wet felting will have to do. I feel truly lucky to have found such a constant source of creativity in my workplace. I LOVE YOU MAKE 1 YARN STUDIO! Have I mentioned that Amy's book comes out next week? Well it does and I think you should all go buy it!!

If you click on her name, you'll see that her next book is on FELTING! exciting no?

Picot problems!

I am done the body of my yummy sweater but and having some real issues with the bind off I want. See.. I want a nice picot edge and am having a helluva time getting it. I did the old y/o, k2 tog and was gonna hem it, but it didn't look that good. In fact it looked crap so I ripped it out (after binding off the whole thing mind you) so back to the drawing board. I tried to do this at Knit Club last night, but this is a sit alone kinda thing so... I reckon I better get going. I have Nancy Wiseman's picot bind off all written out and will see if thats a go. If not expect more complaining. A session in the massage chair (which really needs a name yes? Suggestions welcome!) will help me overcome this I'm sure!

Thats it up there!! Nifty huh?? But nameless...

Today I actually am cooking a nice big family dinner. Too bad Chris is working late and Jakey is at a friends. Looks like me and Max will have a nice roast to ourselves. Ok I am joking. Mostly. I really don't think Max will have much ;)

Oops

I forgot the bags at work last night. The class went really well though (and I'm so excited that you signed up Terra!!!!!) all the ladies seemed to really enjoy the whole process of learning and putting it all together. I'll post the pics when I take some of the finished products :) To make do, you all have to wonder at the fabulousness that is the BLACK PEARL!

Wow this pattern really cooks along and I have to say I am so in love with the idea of no seaming it thrills me to the core. Variegated yarn is so throwback I can't help but love it. I saw a video the CBC did of Chris' paternal Grandparents on the subject of marriage (I HEART YOU CBC!) and his Granddad had the most gorgeous handknit (by Grandma of course) variegated sweater on. You almost see the palpable love knitted into every stitch. Of course it didn't hurt that Grandma & Grandpa were just so damn cute either. I love hearing about how women of past generations were so crafty (by necessity) in all their ways. What a great circle to belong to.

IN OTHER BREAKING NEWS.............

Is now home with us. It has heated seats, air conditioning, keyless entry, power windows and mirrors and plays MP3's. The colour is so beautiful I may have to cry. I LOVE YOU JACK (that's his name ok?)!!

Post felt and a showboat

Alright then, the bags they tuned out to both be: 7 inches long x 6.5 inches wide. Nifty yes? Now the thing is, I knit the stockinette one from a REWOUND ball. Meaning I knit from the outside (I think) and it has a definite skew to it. One of my students, she did the same thing and talk about twisted? It looks nifty but is really a twisty little bugger. I'll have to check with Amy, something to do with the s or z twist on the lambs pride (since it is a single) and I'm so not on the spinning thing.... Maybe I think for my next class we should use Cascade (a plied worsted) instead to manage this. Still they are fuzzy and sweet. Stay tuned to see the next installment with needle felted design!

On the horizon, I have chosen my next project (aside from that poor ol log cabin that sits neglected waiting patiently to be done) for ~ME~! Don't you just wanna die at the loveliness that is Lornas Laces SUPERWASH in Black Pearl? I do. It has a titch of shine to it and just so scrumptious to the touch it makes me and baby jesus weep with joy. Ok I can't *really* speak for him, but I'm sure Kali would love it, so... Close enough.

I'm going to jump on the bandwagon and do a top-down Wrap Cardigan from Knitting Pure & Simple. Amy let me try hers on and that was that. Flattering, warm and DID I MENTION THE YARN?? OMG. Sandra was kind enough to make a couple of yarn cakes for me (and I learned how to use the swift and ball winder GO ME!) so I better get a knittin'!



SHOWBOAT ALERT!!!
I had put this up as the leetle head just slays me. LOOK AT ME! says Max the wonder terrier.

NO REALLY! He is just such a showoff...

Pre full..

So the bags are done. They'll be felted in my class tonight. The garter stitch one measures 8.25 inches high, the stockinette 9.25. They are both 7.5 inches wide. Should be interesting to see how they compare POST fulling. The Lambs Pride is really nice to knit with, soft and fuzzy, quite scrummy on the hands. The garter definitely took more to knit than the stockinette, so I had to pilfer a bit of purple to complete the st one. Stay tuned for the results...

We are headed back up to Edmonton this weekend for a 50th anniversary party. Another drive up that wretchedly boring highway. Good thing the MP3 player is loaded and ready to go :)

Oh jeeze...

Please note the messiest fridge around...

So for my fulling class the ever lovely Amy did up a little pattern for the sweetest little bag. I had one student want to make it in garter so thought I would do the same. Actually the plan is do one stockinette too. Lets see how different they are huh?

OMG it is taking me forever. I totally thought I had lost all my knitting chops! Wanna know something? I can't even remember the last time I used straights! It is really different knitting on them. I think I shall have to find some 6mm circs, this may never get done! The weight is all wonky, my wrists hurt and its all a tippy! (and I should really just stop blaming my tools huh?)

HEY SLACKER! GET TO IT!

Text rocks!

I went to my reunion. It was hysterical! I am still the weirdo* (thank god/goddess/allah/kali and/or voodoo man) even after all this time. But in a good way. I had way more fun than I thought I would and am VERY happy that we went. It didn't hurt that I had a whole bunch of girls ask who the hottie was (uh.. my husband!) I was with. He even got in on the action by posing with our yearbook with another husband who didn't go to our school. Most excellent.

Yesterday I went to my first day of work. Work? You say. Yes WORK! I feel very spoiled to say I work at Make 1. Along with my teaching, my Full Of It class runs tonight and for the next weeks on Wednesdays! I am now an official EMPLOYEE. Hurrah!! Its already kickstarted my creativity again (phew) and I have some new projects in the works. In my head at least. Today I go back TO WORK, and teach after. Busy day for me! YAY WORK! Oh and I was proclaimed the queen.. finally someone noticed!!

http://www.make1yarns.com/blog/?p=155





*I look YOUNG (really YOUNG). I knew hating the sun would come in handy one day. No one else had any piercings or anything. Buncha conservatives! V weird!

Hot mess no go

ARGH! I knew that hot mess would be tricky, but it proved too tricky for me. So I went with a slight modification on the pattern found here:

http://magknits.com/June06/patterns/market.htm

I HATE seaming so have decided to do it in the round. I know I'll have to seam the bottom, bt I can live with that. I guess. The yarn I picked up from Make 1 at the solstice sale. Its Phil lin (I think) and should be sturdy enough. I hope. I'm not sure how its gonna look as it called for 10mm needles and I just don't like knitting with needles that big and didn't really want a GIANT bag so I went with a smaller size. This may get all pulled out too.. I am so not motivated in the summer to knit.

On the reunion front.. I know I had said no. BUT I CHANGED MY MIND. And I booked a room so we are going now for sure. I had an old school chum email me and we have been emailing back and forth and she unknowingly convinced me to go. In turn I emailed another old chum and convinced him to go. Now I am officially excited. It should be HOOT. hahahahaha. I hope. I have to find something to wear and lose 20 pounds by Saturday. Thats totally doable right? Riiiiiiiiight. /eyeroll.

Just in case

You all thought I had totally lost the knitting vibe.. NOPE! I have put aside the BOILING hot log cabin in favour of small happy things I can actually finish. Now these don't look like much.. YET. Oh ho but they will. MARK MY WORDS!!!

Nope they aren't giant oversized novelty hats (my husband pooh poohed the idea that these would be great for his giant oversized novelty head.. "NOT EVEN CLOSE" is a direct quote I swear!) they will be...

FELTED BOWLS!! From the wonderful One Skein book. I reckon I should needlefelt some embellishments on them, but man are they fast going! The big ones took about an hour and a halfish. The small one less than an hour. Way to feel productive!

I have also started a wee experiment with the help of the fantasgreat Dana *getablogalready* from Knit Club. We will see how this hot mess gets going. If it works it could be super stupendous!

I'd also like to say HI! to my Mummy in law and Seester in law. I finally sent them the URL so they can check up on me and my craftiness.. NOTE TO SELF.. Maybe don't post pics of WIPS for them ok? I know it seems a durrrrr moment, but PUHLEASE. I am BLONDE OK??? (and as if to further that.. I spelled blonde wrong the first time I wrote it. SMRT. Me fail english? Thats unpossible!) so THERE!

I'm back!

Vegas was hot, shopping was good.

Things in Vegas that were freaky-deaky:

-My husband checking every single slot machine chair we went to sit down on for Old Lady Pee. He was pretty sure there would have been at least one, Luckily he was wrong

.-No recycling. Only the air. Garbage cans full of beer bottles. And pop cans. And water bottles. Who knew? The man thinks they are slowly filling in the Grand Canyon with broken glass. maybe he is right?!?

-People walking around SMOKING. I know I am so Canadian in the way I was SHOCKED to see folks walking around EVERYWHERE (even on the ELEVATORS!) SMOKING. HOLY SHIT AMERICAN ALL CIGARETTES STINK. ~for those of you not in the know, there in no smoking in public place here in Canada. I also live in the least progressive city here and still.. NO SMOKING. Nowhere kids are, can anyone smoke. I like it. ALOT.

-Drinking in public. Like walking down the street/hallway/mall/wherever. This I was ok with. I came to embrace it even. Even though I still looked for recycling bins, I got used to tossing my beer bottles in the (gulp) garbage.

-I saw two homeless guys there. TWO. And NO BUGS. Maybe they eat each other? Ah... recycling at last!


Things I LOVED about Vegas:
-free booze.

-Penn & Teller. I talked to to Teller after the show (and got pics with him, the man got one with Penn, who called him BOSS, and they signed our program) and HE TALKED BACK!!!!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT???? TELLER TALKS!!! The best show EVER. SO AWESOME! Now I am a die hard freaky fan. 4EVER. (I am aware how lame I sound ok?) and will post the pics soon.

-20$ Kobe beef burgers. Honestly? The best burger EVER. It was actually worth it. *drool*

-The service! Wow you Americans sure have our asses kicked in terms of service. No SHIT! The only place I found lacking was the uber hip Urban Oufitters and our server of Kobe Beef. They looked like typical semi slackers and I actually found it kinda charming and reminded me of home. But other than that, YOU WIN USA!

-How friendly everyone was. If you smile at people, THEY SMILE BACK AND EVEN SAY HI!!! wow.

-The Monorail. Monorail.. MONORAIL... MONORAIL! -All the spectacle. I can't even say anymore then that. SPECTACLE.

-Winning 14 dollars on my second pull of the slot machine. I of course lost more than that by the end, but the winning? YAY!

-Watching the man win at poker. COOL. They gave him a chip worth 500$! We took a picture before running greedily to cash it in.

-Finding my way around alone. It would be tough to get around in Veags if you couldn't read. Thank Bob for my good Canadian edjumacation.

-Cheap and plentiful cabs. Not like here. And door guys that can get 'em for you. Bless them.

-Always having my room (at the Luxor in the tower with a view of the pool no less!) clean when I got back to it.

-Anything you want, 24/7. Just a phone call away. NUTSO!

Things I DIDN'T like about Vegas:

-45 degrees celcius? Who thought that was a good idea? Not me. /shudder And HOT WIND. Thats just gross. Going down to a balmy 37 at night. NIIIIIIIIIIICE. not.

-The guys who try to rope you in to FREE SHOWS/FOOD/WHORES (ok I made the whore one up but I bet if you asked...)!! YOU ONLY NEED TO GO FOR A TOUR OF OUR TIME SHARE etc... ANNOYING MUCH? We got very adept at giving them the brush off quickly.

-Wow.. is that all I didn't like? AMAZING.

No knitting. Nope none at all. But my class went really well the night before I left... BIG STUPID SMILE!!! :)