Knittingupastorm: March 2005

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Tomorrow will be one year to the day that I created my first blog. I never would have thought I would stick to it this long. Holy mother of God. I can not believe it. One year! One whole freaking year. I can not believe it. Did I say that already. Well - I can't believe it.

Thanks guys for letting me know about your Interweave subscription issues - sorry to say - I am glad to hear I am not the only one. Such as life. After speaking with the rep from the magazine, she is extending my subscription by one issue free of charge. Five issues for the price of hour. If you are experiencing difficulties receiving your first issue - you should call too.

Ribby Cardi update - I am 8 rows shy of starting the sleeve decreases. If I keep chanting 'I think I can, I think I can', I will finish no later than at the Naked Sheep's SnB tomorrow. I want to finish this sweater so I can go on to another project. Because....

I just bought the Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer issue and the Family Circle Easy Knitting - and surprise surprise, both magazines have a few things I would actually knit. I can't believe it. Prior to these issues, both magazines did not introduce anything exciting - just ponchos, but thankfully the height of the poncho crazy is over and they are publishing more exciting patterns to dig into.

Does that mean there is more yarn purchases in my future? I bloody hope not. I am now down to 277 balls from 286.5. Doesn't seem like alot has been reduced, but I have not been knitting that much. And if I have to be honest, three balls were sold to Sandra, and the rest of the difference is the Ribby Cardi yarn. But it is going down – one way or another

Question because I am a curious kind of gal - how many balls of yarn do you own? I would LOVE to know. Let me know - if you dare to count your stash. By doing this, you will have an organized stash as you will know exactly what you have on hand. And if you need a spreadsheet, use Jodi’s. It is fantastic. I added a page for gauge information, as I tend to use the same yarn a lot and hate having to swatch, especially if I have used the yarn previously. Other than that addition, it is perfect. Scary, but perfect. And if you don’t know what I mean by scary, you will know after you have taking the inventory.

I didn't think I had 100 balls, but in the end it turned out that I have almost triple that amount. GOOD LUCK!

posted by Lisa @ 1:52 p.m.

Monday, March 28, 2005

I guess I wasn't clear with my shout out for help on the Flower Basket Shawl from the fall edition of Interweave knits. I need help with the first 10 rows. Once I get started, things will be fine, I think. I am not sure how to pick up and knit from the crochet chains, unravel them and such. Any help would be appreciated.

Speaking of Interweave Knits - man I am royally pissed at them. I thought I would subscribe to the magazine, so it can be delivered to my door and I don't have to pound the payment in Toronto to obtain the current issue. Well, I thought WRONG. Here's the story - In the Middle of February, I subscribed online, Interweave charged my credit card, and on March 28th I still don’t have the latest issue, and to make matters worse, Interweave has a preview online of their summer issue content. What the hell is going on? I'm calling them today, again, to request the status of the mag hitting my door step, and request they add on another issue to the subscription. Fair, right? I think so.

Ribby Cardi progress? Finished the left front and cast on for the second sleeve. So three out of five pieces are done, so the finish line is near.

For some reason, I forgot to show you all the yarn and books my mom bought be while she was vacationing in Florida:

How nice is she? Pretty nice in my opinion.

That's all folks. Have a good one.

posted by Lisa @ 10:12 a.m.

Friday, March 25, 2005

Flower Basket Shawl - IK Fall 2004 Issue -

Anyone know how to start this sucker? I can't get past the first couple of rows. Point me in the right direction, and I will be one happy girl. Thanks.

My knitting progress is slow like a turtle, but I finished the back and first sleeve of the ribby cardi. Last night, I cast on for the left front, so I am on my way to a finished sweater. yeah.

Today is Good Friday and I will be spending it at Spring Fling at the Skydome. This is an indoor midway for kids and it is tons of fun. this will be the third year for us attending, and I am looking forward to it. We get to take the kids on the train, which as you can imagine they love.

Well that is all folks...Have a good one.

posted by Lisa @ 7:46 a.m.

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Still plugging along on the Ribby Cardi's first sleeve. At the decreases - man, I love decreasing. This part of the sleeve goes so fast. Hopefully I will have a finished cardi soon. Who am I kidding? I haven't felt like knitting lately, but feeling more optimistic that the end of this cardi is near. I really just need something to wear between the spring and summer. That is my motivation, plus I want to start on some summer tanks. Three in fact. Two chickamis and another strappy kind of tank.

I have also been thinking about bloglines. It is a pretty great service, saves lots of time as you only need to read the blogs in bold which indicates there are recent updates. But, as there is always a but, some blogs have more subscribers than others, and by a significant number too. Take WendyKnits - she has some 800 plus, holy cow!

Some have over a hundred subscribers and only been blogging for less than 6 months. How do these sites, which are fairly new to blogland have so many readers and get so much traffic? Why? Maybe these individuals comment on so many blogs, therefore their blog url is, well, just out there more. I guess if I commented more, I would have more than 12 subscribers, but I don't feel like commenting on every single blog. I have nothing to say to most of their posts. Plus, I hate having to repeat what other people have already said.

I read their post, and usually only comment if the subject hits close to home, or they have a nice finshed object to share and I want to compliment them.

I ask myself, why I continue to blog. I guess I like to have my FOs documented and share them, but I don't blog to try and get as many readers as possible. I guess that is why I don't blog every single day, just to make an entry. Just thinking out loud folks.

Have a good one.

posted by Lisa @ 11:29 a.m.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

I'm still around, just not knitting or blogging. I'm still getting over bronchitis, which like the other two illnesses, knocked me on my ass.

I finished the back of the ribby cardi, and started the first sleeve. Not much progress but it is a start. Maybe when there is more sunshine and such, knitting will resume.

Thats all folks, have a good one. And I will see you when I see you.

posted by Lisa @ 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 11, 2005

One Week!

WTF? Time flies when you are having fun, that is the saying isn't it? Well it also flies when things suck. I've been sick - yet again. This is the third time in three months. It is important to note that I rarely get sick, well that has changed in 2005 hasn't it? The first two times knocked me on my ass, the third time I was crawled up in my daughters bed (the darkest room in the house) with this little man inside my head banging a freaking gong. Man, it doesn't get any worse than this. I have missed more time at work in 2005 that I have in the whole ten years of working at the Bank. I guess I am making up for lost time. I have no idea.

So, I'm sure you can assume, there is not much knitting to report. If this is what you thought, then you get points - towards what, I don't know, but feel good knowing you were right. I'm working on a sock using regia sock yarn, and for some strange reason worked two rounds even after the decrease round of the instep, and the freaking instep is huge. Shit. I'll try it on before I rip the sucker, just in case, but the way my luck is going...I'm not even going to say it.

On the brighter side of my knit world, I started my Ribby Cardi again. Brenda gave me alot of inspiration on Wednesday when she showed us hers at zee Sheep's SnB. Wow is all I have to say. Thankfully for her, the one side has settled down and the right and left are the same length. The colours she put together are wonderful. I should probably ask her to come to my house and pick out paint colours for my first floor's walls. She seems to have knack for colour combinations.

I have been thinking alot about my knitting personality. I like having only one project on the go, anymore than one, and I feel stressed to finish them up quickly, which always means they finish in the frog pond than on me. I also like to think about what I am going to do next. I take time thinking about it. Will I want to finish it? Will I wear it? Will it be too hot? etc. I'm a planner, an organizer a let's get this done right the first time kind of gal. I'm certainly not a fly by night kind of gal in any part of my life, but I am flexible. Weird eh? But on the other hand I'm a collector of yarn. Looking at all the yarn and books doesn't stress me out - to knit the yarn and finish all the projects in my books and mags. If anything, I feel good it is there, so when I am finished thinking of the next project I want to complete, I will most likely have the yarn and the pattern.

And you know what? It is all good.

Well that is it my friends.

posted by Lisa @ 4:20 p.m.

Thursday, March 03, 2005

More Stash!

I just purchased 10 balls of this. 5 in a Burgundy colour and 5 in a yellow colour. You ask why, when I already have 275.5 balls already? You may ask why, but I ask WHY NOT?

So here is my justification for this little purchase. I don't have alot of cotton yarn, and with spring/summer coming, I will want to wear this often, and I can't make it in wool (which is the predominant fiber in my stash).

So, Elizabeth, Tanya, Brenda and all you blogless ladies at the Naked Sheep SnB - you know can make fun of me even more - the stash total now is 285.5.

I'm off to a cottage for the weekend free of children and husbands to knit swatches for future projects, sip margaritas and enjoy those drinks with some good friends.

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 1:57 p.m.

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Blogs I Read

I have updated the list of blogs I read. Check it out, you might find one that you didn't know about.

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 10:26 a.m.

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

The Good with The Bad....

The good? This is how my Sunday evening went with my girls:

I am so happy when my girls show interest in things I like, especially knitting. My younger girl, was sitting next to us, impatiently waiting for her turn to be taught. She sat between my legs for a total of 5 seconds, unlike the older one who knit two rows successfully. Yeah for Julianna!

Then they wanted their own knitting bags to house the needles and yarn. They both go to the bin where all the bags are, found two and are happy. How cute is that?

Now the bad:

And after a few blocking sessions, the edges of the Sitcom Chic do not roll (great news), but alas the sweater is a tad too small for me (bad news). So what to do if your sweater is too small for you, but you have weaved in all the ends, and you know frogging it would be more than a pain in the ass, then choosing one of the following:

1. Loose 10 pounds (this is an option if I work out, by next winter I could be 10 pounds lighter)

2. Give it to my old daughter to wear next winter. It will be a tad big, but should fit okay.

So, really not such bad news after all. If I loose the weight - not only will this sweater fit me, but other things too. AND if not, Julianna can wear it. She usually asks me to make a sweater every winter, so I will be ahead of the game - she will get a hand knit sweater and I won't have to squeeze in the making a her sweater, because it will already be done.

Knitting news? The first thrum mitten is at the finger decreases, but I don't want to start until Christine tries it on, to ensure it is the right length. The thrums aren't as big as a pain in the ass as they once were. I think I don't care what they look like, and I don't take as much care or time to make them, and they look better. Go figure. Knitting - sometimes you can't live with or without it. Or does that saying only for describing men?

That's all folks. Have a good one.