Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Knitting Update

So it's been a while since I posted any knitting progress, and there has been lots!!!! A few setbacks (that silly hat that I've started twice still doesn't fit) but loads of progress to report!

Firstly, there is another beautiful baby that requires a warm welcome!! Baby Bryn was born on November 26th. Both Mom and baby are happy and healthy. Because of school, trying to organize a shower before hand was a little tricky, so Emily (mom) had a "meet the baby" shower a few weeks after he was born. What a perfect little child!

When I heard that Emily was expecting, her due date was already fast approaching. But I couldn't not knit something. Emily was happy to let people know that she was expecting a little boy, but since Taden cleared out my stash of boy clothes, I needed something new. And besides, Emily has such a unique lively personality that a plain blue jacket set just didn't seem right. So out I went and found some really brightly coloured fun looking yarn and started on a blanket. In fact, this blanket was my project during our Toronto trip. True to Jen form, it's a CO5 blanket, with my favourite eyelet stipes!!

Yarn: Bernat Baby Softee - Rock-a-bye Baby (2)
Needles: Bamboo 4mm
Pattern: A combination of my CO5 (2st gs border, YO at both ends on right sides, work st st on WS) and that beautiful eyelet pattern that I keep going back to.



The knitting up from a corner makes it super fast at the beginning, and it always feels like you're making progress. The only slight problem is that it doesn't make quite a perfect square, even after blocking. But babies aren't going to notice such things once they're warm and cozy!



This is again my favorite pattern for baby blankets. Those eyelets are so simple, yet so classy!
During our visit with Jenny back in November, the subject of knitting came up more than once, along with the colours that people gravitate towards. Andre's easy - black. Me, I'm a blue/grey/green, cool, calming colours. Jenny, despite being my namesake, is most at home with the warm earthy colours, reds, browns and golds.

So imagine my delight when, the next day at the Naked Sheep, I found the perfect Malabrigo uber super duper soft bulky weight yarn ever. It fell off the shelf and screemed Jenny at me. So of course I had to take it home and make something for her. I knew it had to be a scarf (cause I only had a little bit), and the trick became finding the perfect pattern. I've never been a fan of scarves that had a right and wrong side, but most of the patterns that I was finding that I liked were either lacy (not going to work with bulky fluffy yarn) or cabled (massively varigated, so also no good). I was about to give up when a friend suggested that I check out My So Called Scarf. Perfect! Sure, it has a right/wrong side, but the stitch is super cool looking (unique just like Jenny!) and should stay flat when knit up. Here it is in Malabrigo: the pics are work in progress, but it's even prettier now that it's done and wrapped snuggly around Jenny.

Yarn: 2 skeins Malabrigo
Needles: 8mm
Pattern: My So Called Scarf
This would work in just about any larger yarn I think, just match needle size appropriately.


On the right is the unwound skein. Check out the beautiful right colours! The ball in the middle is about a third the size that I started with. The scarf on the left is what its coming out like.


I'm not sure why this silly blog keeps flipping my picutres, but here's a close up of the fabric that this stitch creates. It stays that flat on its own! No blocking nothing. Anyway, it looks even cooler (should that be warmer) wrapped around Jenny, so all is good!
In other knitting news, I've started the Garden Gate Socks from Knitty, only instead of rust and mushroom (which is still beautiful) I've got chocholate brown and grey/blue. I wasn't sure about the combination at first. I've never been a person for anything other than blue/green/grey/black. But I'm trying to break myself of that habbit. This project has my favourite blue, but I'm expanding the horizons with the brown contrast.

Here's just a quick shot of what I've got so far. Updates to follow!

Pattern: Garden Gate Socks (Knitty)
Yarn: I've lost the tag!!!!! 100% wool, hand painted, super shiney and soft... sock weight
Needles: 2.5mm



One more project, this one a while in the making. Katie's favourite colour (at least for now) is purple (and pink!). At home, like most homes, we watch TV, and we each have our own designated seat. And blanket. But Katie doesn't really have a blanket of her own. So a while ago I started one for her. And this Christmas she finally got the finished piece! It sat so long in my "to have then ends tucked in and be blocked" box, that I've long lost the pattern and the wool I was using. It's a worsted weight acrylic purple (super saver sized) and some hot pink boa eyelashy stuff. It doesn't come across as well in the picutres, but the puple sections are leaf like lacy patterns.




So there it is, a knitting update. I'll be posting again soon (school permitting) so stay tuned!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Happy New Years!!

HAPPY 2009 EVERYBODY!!!!

I know it's been a while, and I have the normal list of excuses lined up (my computer kept eating my last long post so I had to start it over... and over... and over...; I've been crazy busy with school; I've been knitting when I should have been blogging), but I'm not going to do that any more.

That's right people: Jen is making a New Year's Resolution. The shock, the horror, the "really, it's going to work this time". Honest.

Resolution 1

BE MORE ORGANIZED

I know I say it every chance I get to make a resolution, but every time I do, one more little organizational thing does stick with me past the initial organizational freekout. And there are so many things that I would like to organize.

1) Knitting will not be whatever I feel like starting and then never finishing. Projects will be finished (seamed, blocked, and DONE) before I start any more new ones. Yes, I'll always have a few on the go, cause as much as I love my garden gate socks, the pattern is too complex to travel, but no more bags and bags of half started stuff.

2) The blog will be updated minimum every 2 weeks. This going a month without posting is no good for anybody. And I appologize. Even this post is a few days late, but I'm trying I really really am.

3) School work will not wait till last minute. I always start off great, then fall into other things and forget to finish until the day before it's due. That needs to stop...

4)I am going to pay more attention to my hubby and the house. Both are high maintence, but both are so important that I can't not. And I know that they've been neglected before, but no more.


So there it is, my resolution. I do have another, believe it or not, I went all out this year.

Resolution 2

TAKE BETTER CARE OF MYSELF

This means a few things, like eating better (yes, cooking meals, not whatever is handy), paying more attention to myself (egotistical maybe, I have neglected a few things that I am now not happy with) and loose a few pounds. This is doctor suggested, since I am carrying a bit extra... not enough for problems now, but getting it taken care of now could save problems later. And Andre's amazing christmas gift of a Wii Fit (!!!!!!!!) is surprisingly helpful with this. And the little characters are damned cute too!


I know, I forgot to make a Christmas post, but after I thought about it, I realized that people should be out having fun with families over the holidays and not stressing about blogs and the such like. So, belated MARRY CHRISTMAS to all.

Along with the Wii fit, Andre gave me wool money (for local yarn store) and "some assembly required" socks. Fleece Artist, wool/mohair for socks.mittens, pattern included. Uber excited! The rest of the family pitched in with more yarn (cotton, bamboo, etc), another page-a-day knitting calendar, no assembly required socks and some great movies (Startgate, X-files, all the good stuff to watch while knitting).

Andre got woodworking stuff as always, a new dust collector (I love you too hun), a branding iron to mark his work, and some more books and magazines to read at his leasure.

Oh, and Jaz/Brian/Katie, who are all awesome, gave us our first framed wedding picture. It's beautiful, and now proudly hanging on the wall. And Jenny really really liked her scarf. (I know I haven't posted about it, but I will!!) All in all, an excellent holidays, busy with friends and family, but warm (and raining!) and loving, and a good time.

So good luck to anybody else with resolutions, and bear with me in mine. I must now return to finishing a gift for a cute little somebody who just got a year older yesterday. Happy birthday monkey girl!