Sabatical, I wish!

So, after a bit of a.... break... I'm back! Since Christmas life has been busy as ever. Some unexpected things, some not, some knitting, some other life stuff. So here's a quick update, and I'll really update the knitting projects soon (like after I borrow my father-in-law's super nice digital SLR to get some awesome knitting shots!).


December saw the beginning of the transit strike in Ottawa. Yes, mid-winter, holiday shopping, no public transit. Thank all the gods that might exist that we had the truck. So for 2 months (right into February) there I was, fighting traffic to get into Carleton every morning and home every night. What would normally be a 30 minute rush hour trip was taking an hour and a half. At least. At first I was alternating driving and getting a ride in with friends. But when one friend got rear-ended, I took over driving completely. On the plus side Katie came to live with us! With them out of the city, there was no way that they'd be able to get in in the window to drop Katie at daycare then get themselves to work. Katie's daycare is walking distance from out place, it worked out well.


School kept me hopping too. Because of the transit strike and trying to get Katie organized, I lots a pile of research time. And I was doing a lab based class, so there's even less time that I could research. So the summer is(/has been) a whole lot of catch up time. But in May it all paid off (A+!!!) which is a decided improvement over the previous course from the fall (but I'm not even getting started on that one!).


In other exciting news, Andre and I hit the glorious 1 year anniversary last weekend!!!!! I absolutely can't believe that its been a year already. I suppose this means that we should really get around to ordering our wedding pictures... We actually spent our anniversary doing not much for us, seeing as how it was also Father's Day (and Andre spent the afternoon at work!). So I invited Katie and her grandparents over for a "surprise" breakfast, which would have worked better had Andre actually stayed in bed. Now, some time in the very near future we should get around to eating the saved cake layer and opening the last bottles of wine.


Andre, being wonderful, bought me an anniversary gift! The first anniversary is paper, so waiting for me after dinner was a wrapped copy of Selbuvotter: Biography of a Knitting Tradition by Terri Shea. You need to check out the book website and order your own, and also Terri's blog at spinningwheel.net. The whole family is getting knitted mittens for Christmas!

To the darling hubby (who doesn't read this, but that's ok), your gift is on the way, I promise!

A knitting update to follow soon... not much, what with the busy life right now, but 7 hours (x2) on the train has to yeild something interesting, no?

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!

English Knnnnnniggggits!

Ah, yes, Spamalot was in town last week, and guess who went! Nothing will ever be quite as good as the original Holy Grail, but it was definitely one of the best stage adaptions I've ever seen! I could rant on and on about all the funny bits, and jokes, but hey *points to convenient bale of hay* as long as the Artists-Formerly-Known-As-The-Knights-Who-Say-Nee! get Celine's dress back to her in time, the show was a riot. And the French taunters were just perfect. On top of the show, it's the first time in a long time that my Mom, brother, sister, and I got to go out for a night just the 4 of us. Really awesome!

The rest of life's been pretty busy too. We played pool with another friend on Saturday night which was really fun. We taught him 9-ball, and he taught us how to play pool with 3 people! Basically, after the break, once you sink something, instead of calling stripes or solids, you call a set of 5 (1-5, 6-10, 11-15). The object is then to sink all of the opponents balls before they sink yours. The rest of the rules are pretty much the same as 8-ball. Very fun!

And the busy just never ends! Melody, an Aitken labbie graduate, when on to do big things out in BC. Well, she's home for the week before heading out to Calgary for her new job! We're all SOOOOOO proud of her. Not only is she crazy awesome, she was top of her program too. So there is a lab dinner tonight (for those that knew her while she was with us) in her honour. More fun!

Along with the busy life, Katie's been staying with us too, since Brian's had surgury and still isn't supposed to be driving (are you listening, you silly man?). She's such a good kid. 'Cept when she forgets to tell us things, then "reminds us" the day that it needs to happen. But she's been so much fun to have around. It's been 2 weeks, and we've got one more to go, and we've got such a nice routine going. But on friday she goes home. Brian's back to work on monday, so they're back to their routine. And Andre and I are gone to Toronto for the weekend, just to get away for a bit. And a little bit for his birthday (yes, we're going to Medieval Times, you're welcome honey).

The knitting's been going kinda sporadically. The big fluffly green sweater is seamed. Now I just need to pick up and start the collar. Shouldn't take too long. Oh, and it was snowing, just a little bit, this morning, so there's now a rush for my hat. And Katie still wants her socks. And mitts. But she's progressing really nicely on her scarf, so who knows, maybe she'll beat me to it!

Ah, children

It's been another busy weekend! Appart from the now requisit time in the lab, my sort-of-step-daughter Katie (long story) came over for a sleepover. Fun was had by all.



First thing on Saturday we (just me and Katie, Andre's stuck at work for weekends for the rest of the summer) went to see the new Pixar movie Wall-E. Oh my goodness, what an awesome sweet makes you want to melt movie!!! It makes you just want to take the little trash-compacting robot and all his friends home and cuddle them all! Litterally half the movie was spent going "awwwwww", or giggling at the antics. It really was a great movie, not as much of a laugh out loud funny like most of Pixar's previous offerings, but much more heart warming.

After the movie was dinner with Andre and a trip to the store via the park for some treats. Followed promptly by a bath. Seriously, kid, swing, flipflops, its been raining all week. Big time messy! The morning's been pretty lazy, french toast breakfast, and now she's kicking MarioKart behinds on our Wii. It'll be off back to Grammie's in an hour or so as I head out to a baby shower.


The trouble with knitting for kids is that they grow out of things so darned fast!!! 2 Christmas' ago I knit her a big coat-like sweatery thing. It was my first attempt at taking a pattern (from one of my ubiquitous magazines), and trying to make it out of completely different yarn. Basically I was only using the pattern to make sure that I got all the pieces the right size, the guage was SO different. It wasn't even like I could just cast on a larger or smaller size, things would have been all wrong. Between a multitude of moves (4 I think, but I might have missed one, we haven't moved, but she and her mom do) and gaining several inches, she's still got it, and it almost still fits. She definately can't pull it on over a winter outfit to keep cosy, but as something to throw on over shorts and a t-shirt to ward off the chill of the theater (why are they always so darned cold???).







Katie in her Jen knit sweater. And yes, her t-shirt says "Parents for sale, buy 1 get 1 free".



Something about that cat of ours... seems to worm his way into every shoot. We do love him so.

I always have fun knittng for Katie since she's young (8 and a HALF, can't forget the half) and is still into bright colours and fun patterns. Give her 5 years, then she'll be too cool for us, but until then, I'll knit her cute things. Appart from something I made for her as a thank you for being the FloweRing Girl for our wedding (the name was coined by Andre in a moment of brilliance since she carried a bouquet and our rings for us) that I'll post once we've given it to her, she wants a pair of socks. (And slippers and mittens and hat and scarf..) Well, ask and you shall receive, and as luck would have it, I have just the thing!

A local craft store went out of business just after Christmas, and had all of they yarns for 50 cents to $2 a ball. Oh, the money I spent. I picked up some pink/purple/white self striping sock yarn for just such a request. I'm still on the hunt for a really good kids knee-high sock pattern but I'm sure I'll find something.

But first... must... finish... baby... blanket...
(Insert shoulder-devil) But socks!!! New fun pattern!!!
(Insert conscience kicking shoulder-angel here). Right then, back to blanket. *sigh*