Knitting plateau

I'm hitting a knitting plateau! I'm really tired of doing my gift knitting. I had big plans to knit for everyone on my list but yeah, that's not gonna happen. I limited gifts to my side of the family : I have socks for my mom, dad,and grandpa. 5 of the 6 socks are done, and I'm motoring along the feet of the last one. I still have to do a hot bottle cover for my grandma, finish a stocking for a relative and a hat for my brother. I tried knitting a Marsan watchcap in Swish superwash. Didn't work. I got so frakking tired of twisting stitches I could have screamed, and I ended up with a hat that was too short. Frogged it gleefully, knit some socks for dad with the yarn and bought some Patons merino for a new hat, maybe a cabled one.

I'm starting to cometo terms with the fact that I now have a stash... I used to find big stashes stupid, but now that I have multiple boxes full of yarn, I can't mock anymore. I'm considering getting rid of some of it at the next garage sale, mostly acrylics I don't think I'll use. I also bought tons of baby yarns, when I taught I was about to be an aunt. As life happens, there was no baby, but still tons of yarn.

I'm dreaming of knitting only for myself. Just a fewe weeks to go!

Wild knitter

I spotted a knitter on the train yesterday. Weird how happy that can make you, isn't it? She was making a sock in a really cool self-patterning yarn, and wore a really cool bolero. I was too shy to strike a conversation. Maybe next time!

I'm still working on the Marsan hat. Knitting in the back of stitches is taking forever!

Today is cooking day! I'm doing chicken pot pies, chicken stock, and a veal stew. Fall calls for a warm oven!

Normal is the watchword

I am settling back into normal life without extensive stress and 12 hour work days. It is a relief, and I'm enjoying my 4 days workweek. yet, I find it difficult to get everything back on track. I realize that I blamed that stress for a lot of stuff... It didn't matter if I didn't exercise and ate crap, because I was stressed and needed rest. Didn't matter if I spent hours on the couch, didn't matter if i did no cleaning, no cooking... Now, I've got no excuses, but heck do I find it difficult to let go of the slob in me. Lazyness becomes me.



Knitting wise, it's Christmas gifts knitting, but it's boring me. I scaled back on the number of gifts, the rest will be done when and if I can. I've done a few dishcloth for gifts, but I'm thinking of keeping them! As for myself, I'm thinking of knitting one or two vests for myself. I have a bunch of Galway Heather yarn, and some Cascade Heathers that would make great ones. Baby blankets are needed for friends. I have a ton of baby yarn in my stash. I'm starting to accumulate a pretty big stash, more than I need. We're doing a bazar in May, and I think I'm going to sell part of my acrylic stash. I went wild shopping for deals and bought stuff I can't see myself ever knitting, now that I want to make mostly clothes.



Croquette is happy to have me home again!

What to knit?

I saw my grandma yesterday, and she was wearing her minimalist cardigan. She has replaced the buttons with bigger ones, so it will hold better. It fits her well for the most part. The sleeves are too large, and the neck is too wide... I was so scared the neck would choke her, so I think I overcompensated a bit.



I want to start a new sweater, but I don't know which one. I have plenty of yarn, more patterns in my queue than I can do in a year, but still I am unsure... I think I need to swatch my yarn and see what develops.



I need to organize my thoughts about christmas knitting. I'm ordering yarn from Knitpicks





Mystery socks for V and his father (2 pairs)

Pairs of worsted wool socks for Father, brother and grandpa

Cotton dishclothes for my mom and MIL



I will also do a tuque for my brother for his birthday.

Croquette time!

Stress be gone

The big nameless work project is mostly done (thanks heavens!) and I'm feeling the stress go down slowly. I can't wait to go back to working regular hours and having real days off. it will help me get back on track with life in general.

I'm knitting a pair of socks, probably for my mom, in confetti 100. It's a great sock yarn, my favorite of the 4 I've tried (Regia, Sockenwolle and Knitpicks Memories). It's superwash, it holds its shape real well, and it is a good medium between too soft and too itchy... Plus, it's really cheap! I will certainly buy more of it! I have still a few sock yarns to go through : Austermann Step, Confetti 100 cotton, some more Memories, Phildar Hobby, Trekking XXl, Fleece artist and phildar preface. I'm not planning on buying any sockyarn soon! the men in my family have asked for worsted weight socks, so I'm going to do a few of those for the holidays.

I'm also doing a huge christmas stocking for my cousin's daugther. It is in a really nasty yarn, Phentex Chunky... If I ever get into a fight with a yarn snob, I just have to throw this at her and she will fall dead on the spot! It's just so plastic like. I don't mind it so much, it knits relatively well and since it is bulky, I'm making good speed. After that, I'm not sure what to start. Xmas gifts or maybe a cardigan for me? As long as I Have some time to knit peacefully and am not stressed out, everything's fine.

A croquette shot for the end... she's soo adorable!

Minimalist photos

There it is : the Minimalist Cardigan I made for my grandma. I modified the fronts to add cables, buttons and a round neck opening. It ended up a little big, but still quite cute.

Pattern Notes

Pattern : Minimalist Cardigan from IK Fall 2007

Yarn : 5 skeins of Cotton-Ease in color Violet

Needles : Knitpicks Options size 4 mm.

Not blogging much

I'm trying to finish the Minimalist for my grandma. it has to be done by saturday for her 80th. I'm sick of it : this is the last time I knit on a deadline! I hope it will fit her.

I'm eager to start something new : Everest vest, or maybe a phildar pattern I've been eyeing for a while. Who knows? I also need to start with the Christmas knitting soon.

I love this season : the cold, the trees, everything. I still wish I could go back to school again. 5 years after graduating university, I've started missing it. Don't miss the all-night studying and tests, but I miss the camaraderie, the fun of a group of people all inching towards the same goal.

The big project related to work is almost done. That has been eating me alive for the last few months : I just can't wait for it to be over. It's a good financial move for me, but I could do without the stress.

New Knitty!

The Fall Knitty is up! Happy Happy Joy Joy! I deeply love this issue : lots of great patterns. The Henry scarf looks great, I think even the boyfriend (ie Mr Picky) might like it. Cherie Amour looks great, maybe with less bulky yarn. tussie mussie looks great, maybe not for me. I covet Neiman like crazy. Just awesome. I'm itching to start this as soon as possible.

In other news, I can't wait for the new TV season to start. I'm eager to see a few of the new shows : mainly Bionic Woman, because my love for Katee Sackhoff knows no bounds. Also Moonlight, which I expect to suck but hey, Jason Dohring is in it : as Veronica Mars goes, so goes my nation. I'm also happy to welcome back Friday Night Lights into my life : greatest show on TV as far as I'm concerned (with Battlestar Galactica, of course)... Then there's Bones, CSI, Heroes... So much good stuff! With the NFL coming back, I think my lazy-boy and I are gonna be fused together. Plus, great knitting opportunities.

I'm still knitting away on the back of my minimalist cardigan. I should start the armhole decreases tomorrow. I dearly hope I will finish this on schedule.

Minimalist update

I need this to be finished for the 18th! I'm using cotton-ease for the first time. I frakkin love it. It's the best cotton I've ever worked with. I'm 20 cm (8 inches) into the back. Knitting seed stitch is so slow. I want to have 10 inches by monday... I might make changes to the front to had buttons, I'm still not sure.

Updating the knit

I'm back! We were in vacation in Vancouver, absolutely loved it! Pictures to come. I'm now on Ravelry, id Croquette.

Knitting wise : I've finished my Drop Stitch Lace Tank from Fitted Knits and it is NOT a success! It is way too big for me (I could hide a pregnancy belly in there!) and the yarn is just not a good fit for the pattern. I don't love this on me that much so it is just going to be FROGGED! I'm currently knitting a pair of simple socks for my mom and a minimalist cardigan for my grandma's 80th birthday.

Pictures to come!

Interweave Fall Preview : First impressions

I checked the new IK Fall preview here : http://www.interweaveknits.com/preview/2007_fall.asp . I actually like quite a few of the sweaters. The last few issues didn't grab me all that much, but I still like reading them. Here are my thoughts on the projects. Really no insult ment to the designers of any pattern I didn't like. I love that there are designs out there for everybody. I am quite unoriginal when it comes to fashion!

• Hedgerow Coat : Beautiful, probably crazy difficult to knit. I'm not sure it would flatter my shape.
• Placed Cable Aran : Beautiful, I might knit this
• Dickinson Pullover : Not for me
• Tangled Yoke : Damn near perfect! I WILL knit this for sure
• Tyrolean Socks : Quite cute
• Concentric Vest : cannot see enough of it to know
• Snowball Hat : I love it, maybe with a smaller pompom
• Tilted Duster : I don't know! I'll have to see it on other people before I make up my mind.
• Minimalist Cardigan : Lovely! Maybe I'll knit this for my Grandma's 80th birthday
• Counterpane Pullover : AMAZING! I will knit this
• Nomad hat and scarf : Practical, but not for me
• Cinnabar Pullover : another winner. Classic and unusual
• Elfin hat and scarf : Not for me
• Leavened Raglan : Quite cute, but maybe not flattering for me
• Belle Cardigan : Yarn this bulky doesn't flatter me
• Luna Dress : Cute, but not for me
• Red Dress : Idem
• Cobblestone Pullover : Maybe. The boyfriend is really particular about clothes. I am still looking for the perfect sweater to knit for him.
• Snowflake Socks : Lovely, love the blue
• Sweetheart Vest : I like this, maybe a little shorter and different colors
• Composed Mitts : SO not for me!
• Mirepoix : I don't like this on the model, maybe on someone else.

I cannot wait to get my hands on this. I'll read it on vacation, in 2 weeks. We are heading to British Columbia, my first time there

Cozy V-Neck Pullover

It is FINISHED! My first sweater. I'm mostly glad with it, but I might go back and do some things over so I'll like it more.

Pattern : Cozy V-Neck Pullover from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel

Yarn : Cascade Pastazza colorway 007

Needles : Size 5.5 and 4.5 KnitPicks Options

Modifications : Removed deep ribbing from sleeves, knit the sleeves on DPNs

Comments : Up until I finished it I was not sure how much I would wear this. Thankfully, now that I've worn it once, I'm sure I'll wear this a lot. The yarn is beautiful, but it sheds and it is itchy (note that I'm sensitive to wool). The yarn is heavy and warm, I like that. Since the yarn is on the bulky side, the ribbing really stands out and adds some bulk. It might be great for some people but not so much for me. I don't have a well-defined waist and tend to hold fat on my belly : the ribbing accentuates that. I'm thinking of frogging back and make a less deep ribbing there and remove some length too. I didn't do the deep ribbing on the forearms because it gave me gigantic forearms.

Anyway, I'm happy mostly with my first sweater. There were a few mistakes in the pattern (sleeves part), but nothing gigantic. I enjoyed this experience a lot and will knit other patterns from Fitted Knits. I've started the Drop Stitch Lace tank that I really did not like in the book but grew to like from other people"s FOs. Then, maybe the Puff Sleeves Cardigan (already bought the yarn but cannot get gauge at all!) or the Textured tunic.

Fat Bottomed Bag

Yarn : Red Heart

Pattern : Fat Bottom Bag from SnB Happy Hooker

Hook : 5mm

I love looking at this bag, yet I've never really used it. It was an easy pattern to do, took only a few days. It was done in January.

Introducing Croquette and me!

Hi! I'm Valerie, and croquette is my cat. I know if she only had opposable thumps, she'd be knitting all the time. As things are now, she helps me by eating my yarn, unraveling skeins I've just rolled into balls and sleeping on my pattern books. I adore that little pest!

As for me, I've been knitting and crocheting for about 5 or 6 years but only got real serious about it in the last year. At first I was mostly doing baby blankets for friends, now I'm starting to enjoy making clothes. As for the rest of my life, I'm self-employed in the natural healthcare field, I love reading and love watching TV (Battlestar Galactica rocks my world). I plan to use this mostly as a knitting blog. Let the fun begin!