.post-title { margin:.25em 0; font:bold 130%/1.4em Georgia,Serif; color:#333; } .post-title a, .post-title strong { background:url("http://www.blogblog.com/dots/bg_post_title.gif") no-repeat 0 .25em; display:block; color:#333; text-decoration:none; padding:0 0 1px 45px; } .post-title a:hover { color:#000; } Knittingupastorm: January 2006
 

Knitting Up A Storm!


Tuesday, January 31, 2006

I'm so freaking busy I have not time to blog or knit. Regular knitting updates and blogging will resume shortly.

posted by Lisa @ 3:15 p.m. 

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Saturday, January 28, 2006

One more FO:

NewsBoy Cap from SnB Nation

Yarn: Patons Classic Merino

Needles: 4mm and 5mm

I made this hat for me, needless to say I made it a tad too small for me, so M has it now. She LOVES it. Now J wants one. I dont mind as it looks pretty good on the both of them, see:


In other knitting news, my Cutaway is coming along nicely and I love the stitch definition size 3.5mm needles make. Dianna - you were totally right - this yarn was destined to be something - let's hope it is Cutaway!

Have a good day.

posted by Lisa @ 2:45 p.m. 

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Thursday, January 26, 2006

Corrie tagged me to list 5 weird things about me, so this is what I can come up with:

1. I really hate feet. I can't stand feet touching me, not even my own kid's feet. It drives my husband crazy.

2. I hate people touching my nose. When I was younger my older brother was always checking my nose for boogers - I mean he was really up there checking that all was in order.

3. Every item on my shelves are all facing outwards. I detest seeing anything on a diagonal. I once had a room mate that like everything on a diagonal, so every day she would put things on an angle, and I would come home and straighten them out. This went on for a very long time. It was kind of funny after a while, kind of.

4. I have no idea

5. I have no idea

I even asked my husband if he could think of another two things but he came up blank. Either I don't have any weird habits or he has been with way too long to think they are weird.

posted by Lisa @ 8:18 p.m. 

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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Try, Try and try again and you will get it. That is what they say, and my dear Watson I have to agree. I am determined to use this orange GGH Bali for something, anything. I made a swatch using 3.5mm (versus the 4.0mm I used for Tubey and Essential Stripe Sweater) and the fabric looks way better. I love the stitch definition now, it looks crisper.

Going down a few needles size also changes the gauge, and now I get 22 sts/32 rows, which works perfect for Cutaway. I've been eyeing that pattern for awhile now and quite happy this yarn will work with it.

I have no idea why I can't give up on this yarn. Maybe it was waiting for Cutaway. However, if Cutaway doesn't work out with it then out to the curb it goes. Just kidding. I will try again, maybe.
No knitting progress to report - because I'm in the 'I hate knitting' mode right now.
Have a good one.

posted by Lisa @ 11:25 p.m. 

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Monday, January 23, 2006

I tell ya - it is hard to get into the knitting spirit when your mojo is gone. Gone I tell ya. My knitting mojo seems to be on vacation and didn't tell me. I am not in the mood to knit anything big, cast on for anything new and certainly no where near wanting to knit what is currently on the needles. Plus work is going to be crazy, nuts busy this week, so even if I wanted to knit a stitch I wouldn't have the time. Oh yeah - Chris is away from Tuesday to Thursday on a work conference.

Thankfully my mommy lives with us and steps in when he is away. I love my mom and I am not sure what I would do without her. She has a self contained in-law suite in our basement which works well for us and her. She respects our privacy, helps out and is an all around fantastic person. She doesn't poke her nose in our business, doesn't tell us what to do with our kids, money or life - actually she has a complete opposite approach which makes life so much easier.

My in laws are also fantastic and have the same mentality as my mom. I couldn't ask for a better family.

My whole family is so excited because my brother in law, Chris' younger brother is getting MARRIED in December to a wonderful, charming girl. He is the last sibling to get married and we are so excited for him and Stef. She is quite a nice addition to our family. Thankfully she is so great, because it would be difficult for all if she wasn't considering how close we all are.
Enough gushing for one day - have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 9:28 a.m. 

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Saturday, January 21, 2006

For those of you who arrive here looking for a finished Tubey, you won't find it here, but you can go to Carrieoke's blog and see the one she made for her twin. It is OUTSTANDING!

Last night I finished a 2x2 rib scarf made with Bernat Demin for Chris whom seems to like it much better than the 100% wool scarf I knit him last year. I am not sure when he will get to use it because the weather here in Toronto is not cold enough to warrant wearing a scarf.

I would show you a picture, but I'm too lazy to take, upload and post it, so for those interested, you can view the one Brenda made for her beau. Plus she takes way better photos than I do. Check out Brenda's post on her fixing up Mavis. What a brave, brave woman.

My goal for January was to finish:
  • cable/rib socks - DONE
  • Tubey - DONE, well not actually, but I don't have to worry about finishing it now, do I?
  • 2x2 Scarf for Chris - DONE
  • Newsboy hat for me - 2 more weeks to finish? No prob.

Well that is all she wrote - have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 11:37 a.m. 

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Friday, January 20, 2006

During the process of ripping out Tubey, I couldn't help but compare the cooking of a Christmas dinner to knitting. Christmas dinner takes most of the day to cook and about 1o minutes to eat, which is very similar to knitting - it takes hours of knitting to complete a sweater and about 10 minutes to rip it out.

Just thinking out loud.

I did finish the 2nd cable/rib sock, but I won't bore you with a picture as it looks exactly like this one. And now with Bob finished and tubey ripped to shreds, I don't have a larger project on the needles. I guess I will have to do something about that. But really, I can't think what to knit next. I hate this feeling of what to knit after a big failure. I'm not complaining, really, but I just don't have the motivation to start another sweater. Must wait until I get in the mood to make one.

Thankfully I like knitting socks - easy and mindless.
My younger daughter has recovered from the chicken pox and is doing really well. This may sound bad, but I wish her case of the CP was worse so I can stay home another week to take care of her. Now I have to go back to work on Monday.

Such as life, so they say. And btw - who are 'they' anyway?

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 5:18 p.m. 

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Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Farewell My Sweet Tubey

Yes folks you read it right the first time, I am rip, rip, ripping my tubey. I LOVE this sweater, it was fun to make and it looks oh so good from the front:

It is a shame it looks oh so bad from the back:

The shrug part of the sweater is just too big and bunchie. And, um, my back fat is just way too noticeable. I could live with that, but not with the size of the shrug. You know that little voice in your head telling you something is a bit off - well this time I didn't listen to it. Hell, I never listen to it. It appears I should start listening because it is always right.

I think the designer made the right choice to knit the main colour in black and incorporate stripes in the pattern. Normally I don't wear stripes so I thought I would give it a try in a solid colour - my mistake. It needs the stripes. Plus I was using stash yarn, and would have reduced the stash count by about 7-8 balls of yarn. Now that plan is thrown out the window.

Two other things that I don't like about this sweater (btw - it has nothing to do with the design - it is freaking fabulous) are the lines down the front and back of the arms which are caused by the laddering effect of using DPNs. It looks like I creased the lines in with a very hot iron. And last but not least, my stitches are very uneven. Could be me, could be the needles, could be the yarn. Not sure what the problem is, but I do know I am not pleased with the results.

So off the needles it will go. I am interested to watch the Tubey KAL to see what yarn others are using and how successful they are because I would like to give this sweater another go in the future. However I don't feel like trying out different yarns to get the right look and feel.

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 11:43 p.m. 

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Monday, January 16, 2006

First finished object in 2006:

(click to enlarge)

Bob from Knitty.com
Wool Ease - 3 balls
4.5mm Needles

I like everything about this little sweater except the sleeve size - they are a bit tight. I should have trusted my instinct to knit the sleeve for the next size up. I have larger arms that require some room in clothes, but oh well. For a $6.00 sweater and a bit of time spent making it, I haven't lost that much if I decide not to wear it.

Here is a hint to what my youngest daughter has:


Still don't have a clue? These products are weapons against the chicken pox. Yep - she got'em. We can't believe she has them considering she has only been back at school for 5 freaking days. Such as life. She was bound to get them eventually.

Blogging might be sparse over the next week due to trying to keep her itch free and getting some work done from home. Wish me luck.

posted by Lisa @ 8:05 p.m. 

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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Last night was my first night at hockey school, or should I say hockey boot camp and man let me tell you first hand - it is not as easy as it looks. It was such a great work out! I so can't wait until next Wednesday to skate again.

I did feel a little silly, but once you get into it, you don't have time to think about anything except getting to the other side of the rink and skating back to where you started. All in all, it was a great night. Not such a great morning, but that is too be expected when you get home at 11:15pm, and don't hit the hay until after midnight.

Last night I cast on for another pair of socks, this time using Fleece Artist sock yarn. Oh My Freaking Goodness. This yarn is absolutely the best sock yarn I have ever used. Even better than Tess Designs' sock yarn you ask? You betcha baby.

I keep track of my hits and how folks arrive at my site (well, because it interests me) and I'm getting a lot of hits for people searching on Tubey. I think alot of people want to knit this sweater, but want to see it knit up first before starting theirs. I hope to finish it by the end of January, but don't hold your breath. Life always has a funny way of putting the brakes on when I put deadlines on my knitting. BTW - I think there is a Tubey KAL at craftster.org. and Here as well.

I can say Tubey is a great and easy knit. I am using GGH Bali in orange. The yarn is nice and squishy, but I'm not sure I like the stitch definition. At times, the stitches are a bit bumpy, but in the end I'm sure it will add character to the sweater. Plus the GGH Bali is 50% cotton 50% acrylic, so it is soft, soft, soft. Did I say it was soft? yeah - well that is the biggest benefit to this knit.

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 9:09 a.m. 

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Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Update on my DPN saga - I bought the last pair of 2.5mm dpns from the Sheep last night, so I can start a pair of socks for one of my girls. It appears knitters in the GTA are knitting socks like crazy because I can't find any 2.5mm dpns anywhere. What is up with that?

So far my resolution to cast on as many projects as possible is still going strong. Not only am I casting on for a ridiculous number of projects, I am buying more needles to cast on even more. Crazy, crazy lady.

My goal for the month of January is to finish Bob, Tubey and the 2nd cable/rib sock. I think I can do it. I know I can do it.

Knit on folks.

posted by Lisa @ 9:39 a.m. 

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Tuesday, January 10, 2006

You know it will be a crappy day when you lose one of your Brittany 2.5mm dpns - that you had for 3 years - and love using.

Going to Romni to buy two more pairs - just to be on the safe side.
Crap.


Updated to Add: Romni didn't have the needles. Maybe Lorena at the Naked Sheep has some for me.


Updated to Add (5 minutes later):
I found the freaking missing needle on my office floor. Can you believe it?

posted by Lisa @ 10:50 a.m. 

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Monday, January 09, 2006

I just don't know how to start this post. I have been knitting on all my various projects, but don't have any real progress to show you - yet. I guess I am trying to settle back down into the my normal routine, which will happen quickly with the girls returning to school today. Funny how we can all jump right in and the effects of the vacation are gone so quickly.

I have 6 rows left of the front of Bob to finish and then on to the sleeves. This is a really quick knit and I hope it fits well. It appears it does, but one never knows until you have the finished thing on. If so, I will make another one using the same colour I made Kate for the ribbing and black for the boring stockinette.

Tubey is coming along nicely as well - I have 5 more balls remaining of the GGH Bali which I hope is enough. Time will tell.

I am so forcing myself to finish the cable/rib sock. It is the only project I brought to my work lunch time SnB, so there is no other choice, but to knit it. Next time, I think I will have a plain old boring sock on the needles so I can knit it without thinking. That is kind of the purpose of socks, right?


That is it for now - peace out.

posted by Lisa @ 1:29 p.m. 

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Wednesday, January 04, 2006

I'm back to work - blah. Let me tell you, it was quite difficult to rise and shine at 6 in the morning today. Ah cah-rumba! (Got-to-quit watching the Simpsons). Here is one of the cable/rib socks I finished:



I've started the second one - just so I know it is on the go. I also picked up all the stitches for the body of Tubey, so is well on it's way to completion, hopefully.

I normally don't make any New Year's resolutions, but this year I've made an exception. My usual anal retentive self allows me to cast on and finish one project at a time because I feel stressed thinking of all the unfinished projects I have on the go. So this year, I have decided to throw caution to the wind and cast on for as many projects as I want at the SAME TIME. This should allow me to live a not so strict lifestyle and not stress over UFOs. I like to finish things and then move on, but I'm trying to be a bit more relaxed, and hopefully this is a step in the right direction.

Here is a list of all the new projects I have on the go:
  • Cable/Rib Socks. One done, one to go.
  • Blanket (on the go since January/03 and will work on it in the mornings).
  • Thrummed Mittens for my nephew (should be easy considering there won't be thumbs to knit)
  • Flower Basket Shawl
  • Drop Stitch Scarf
  • Bob from knitty.com
  • Tubey from knitty.com
  • Newsboy Cap from SnB Nation
  • 2x2 Rib Scarf for Hubby

I also made another resolution - to try new things I normally wouldn't because A) I'm afraid I'll look stupid B) I'll fail and C) I'll look stupid. Yeah I said that last one twice. To put this one into action I enrolled in Hockey School starting next Wednesday. To cement the deal I bought all my equipment:

Yep that's me - trying to live up to the dream

Have a good one folks.

posted by Lisa @ 11:20 a.m. 

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