Good weekend

Good football equals lots of knitting. I think that might just be one of my favorite things ever : sit in my comfy chair and knit while watching big guys go crazy over a ball. I like the orderliness of football : 1st and 10, 2nd and 6... Passes, rushes, touchdowns, everything. Mr V and I made plans to travel to the States next year to see a combo of 1 football game and one hockey : we're thinking Buffalo of Pittsburgh. Anyway, for the superbowl, my heart would like Packers/Colts, my brain says Patriots/Packers. I think Romo will have another disappointing showing this postseason. We'll see.

I finished the Moderne Log Cabin Baby Blanket and plan to gift it to charity. I hated knitting it, both the yarn and the concept of Log Cabin. Yet, I hope it will be helpful to somebody else. A woman on Ravelry was asking for blankets for babies in Nunavut, so I plan on shipping it there, along with a few baby hats and some yarn I don't use. I've figured out that I like wool better than acrylics for most things. I'm thinking of curbing down the acrylic stash to only the stuff I'll use, and sell the rest at the bazar in May. I did a lot of impulse buying at WalMart, unfortunately!

I've figured out most of my knitting goals for 2008

Toe-up socks... One pair plain, and one pair of Marigold. I'll try this once the unending jaywalkers are finished.

Colorwork, or stranded knitting : I've already done a little of it, but the results were crappy. Maybe a vest pattern?

Make a good set of winter accessories for ME. Hat, scarf and mittens, in beautiful WOOL.

I know I want a few sweaters that I'll wear. Possibly do a garment in crochet, if I find a pattern that suits. I want vests for work.

Do a French Pattern from Phildar. It should be interesting!

Do some knitting for charity. I've already started on this by finishing the log cabin (never again!) and doing a few hats.

Quite a plan. Let's hope for happy knitting times. Photos to come saturday of the finished Log cabin and Wicked (with pocket reseamed!)

Happy new 2008!

December was a crazy happy knitting time. I finished all my gifts, and did some things for myself.

I knit the Wicked sweater for myself. Pictures are upcoming, as I have to redo the sewing of the pocket, which is crooked. It is a great pattern, very easy to do and quite pretty. It is a little big, but not too much. I love the yarn, Wool of the Andes from Knitpicks, in a pretty Pumpkin. It is a great yarn with a nice wooly feeling without being crazy itchy, like the Pastazza I used for the V-Neck.

I've done half of a pair of Jaywalkers : lovely look with the zigzags of the stripes, but the resulting fabric is stiff and not that confortable. I'm pushing through the second one, so I'll see how they are after washing. he yarn is great : Regia Canadian Colors. Nice combination of colors, prettier knitted up than in the ball.

I'm starting again the Moderne Log cabin Baby blanket, in Bernat Satin. I want to finish it and send it to charity.

Soon, I'll do a list of my resolutions, knitting and personnal for 2008. I'll post it soon.

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!