Last Post of '07

First off, I hope you all have a Happy New Year; I hope 2008 brings you much joy and lots of FO's! ;)


I have one last finished object to share with you.

I started these in March '07 (click here). I finished them last night and they are now happily residing in John's sock drawer.

The yarn (to rehash) is Scheepjes (pronounced like "scape-yes") Invicta Extra, colour #1361, a lovely charcoal grey with a black and white thread running through it. I used 2 balls on 2.25 mm (US 1) double pointed needles.

I should have had these finished a long time ago, but once I got to the gusset stitches, I simply lost interest. Now, I don't have to look at them anymore. They're done. (and just what will I do with the other 4 or so balls of this yarn I've got.... hmmm... might make nice gloves)

There was a chance of one more FO for 2007, but I'm not going to push it. I'd rather take my time and make the scarf a suitable length instead of just trying to get things off the needles. It will be my first FO of 2008. Sounds good to me!

Have a great night, all... see you next year!

I've been very good about working on a limited number of projects, trying to finish up a few things before moving on to other projects. Yesterday was spent working on John's "On Your Toes" socks.

On Saturday, I got to this point...

That's sock #2. See that little ball of yarn? See the sock and how much more I need to do? John's socks require a foot length of 9.25" before starting the decreases for the toe; that sock is at about 7". I was more than a little concerned. That was Saturday. Yesterday, I weighed sock #1; it was 48 grams. Then I weighed another ball of the same yarn that was/is in my stash. It weighed 96 grams (wait a second, the ball band says 100 grams! That's 4 grams less than what I paid for!). That meant I had 48 grams remaining for the second sock; it should be enough, right?

This is all that remains of the yarn. It was, indeed, enough; just barely, but it was. And the socks?

John loves them! They fit him well and I have a feeling they'll be staying on those feet till he goes to bed tonight. I had only one small glitch; at one point, about halfway through the toe shaping of the second sock, I found I'd dropped a stitch about an inch down; I sutured it. There was no way I was going to frog it back to pick it up. It's invisible and well anchored. I'm such a rebel!

Now, I've pulled out another pair of socks for him that needs finishing. I'm hoping to have that pair (one's already done and the second was up to the point of picking up gusset stitches) done by the end of today. This pair is stocking stitch from the heel down and that will go faster than ribbing. I'll post pictures and details when they're actually finished; I did post about this pair before, but I can't even remember when I started them. It's been a while!

Back to knitting!

Knitting, knitting and more knitting!

Because I've had a few days off, I've had knitting time! Not just knitting time, though. I have reorganized the computer/storage room so that everything is relatively neat. I now know where my entire stash is. That's all that's important, right? And we prepared our own private Christmas dinner, not with turkey, but we did stuff and bake a chicken. It was absolutely delicious!

Back to knitting. I think I mentioned earlier that I'm only working on two projects right now, John's "On Your Toes" socks and my Little Arrowhead Lace cardi. Yesterday, Christmas Day, the cardi was my project of choice. I had cast on for the sleeves a couple of nights ago, but didn't get any further until yesterday. Here's where I'm at now...

I found the instructions a little vague at the point where it said to "increase one stitch at either end every 4th row, in pattern", so I charted out the entire sleeve. I'd say that's a pretty good day's worth of knitting. Originally, I had both sleeves on one needle, but made a mistake on one of them and couldn't figure out just where, so I continued on the other sleeve and came back to the second sleeve later (actually, I restarted it). I'm hoping to have one sleeve finished today. I'm really looking forward to having this cardi off the needles; I think I'm going to enjoy wearing it.

Other knitting has occupied my needles over the last two months as well. While in Gibsons, I started on IK's Icelandic Shawl (a free download, but you have to join Knitting Daily). It was my "keep my mind from thinking about anything else" project and it did work. This will be the next project to finish after the cardi and socks are done.



And a closeup...

Off the top of my head, I can't remember the name of the yarn (I did blog about it before), but it's from Sweden and a joy to knit with. I would definitely work with this yarn again!

All that needs to be done on this shawl is to finish the top (it's worked from the outer edges in) and then I have to pick up the stitches for the border, which is (obviously) worked from the lower edge out. It won't take long to finish once I get working on it again and I think I'll be very happy with the finished shawl. And... now, I even have floor space for blocking! With carpets!

Then, there's one sort-of finished project. The camel shawl is off the needles, but it needs to be bigger, longer. When I can afford it, I'll be picking up another ball of the Nomad Yarns 100% camel yarn to add some length to this simple, little shawl.

I was going to frog it and use the yarn for something else, but when John found out I had improvised it, not using a pattern, he forbade it. He's the one that suggested I have a ball of the yarn put aside so I could make it longer. He's definitely proud of my work.

Briefly...

Margie, could you email me at the_skaes at shaw dot ca? I've lost all the contact information I had in MS Outlook and I'd like to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Told you it was brief. :)

A Couple of Things

First thing... I forgot to mention that the patterns are all up again on my free pattern blog. The link is in the sidebar.

Second thing... Calorimetry #2 is finished. I do love quick knits! This was the perfect knit for finishing in front of the tv. There was only one small problem to be overcome: where did my sewing box go? I needed thread to sew on the button and couldn't remember where I'd seen (I did remember seeing) it. This morning, I found it and Calorimetry is ready to face the snow (it's snowing here right now).

The finished product. It is, as I wrote yestereday, Noro Kureyon. I do love that yarn. This was frogged from another project and I'm finding it even softer to knit with this time around. Wait a second... it is NOT Kureyon... I just realized that it's Noro Silk Garden. Sheesh!! I guess that's what happens when you throw ball bands away, huh?

I wanted to find the perfect button for it, but nothing in my button tin really worked. That is, nothing worked until I put two buttons together. Yup, two buttons! The bottom one is just a plain pearlish white button; the top button was too small on it's own, but when I put the small one on top of the larger one, I liked it! I guess it really wouldn't have mattered what kind of button I'd used; my hair is long enough that the button wouldn't be visible. However, I'll know what the button looks like and I like knowing that the button works with the yarn. At least, I think it does. Incidentally, the small button looks more turquoise in the picture; in reality, it's definitely green.

...and a "just cuz" picture. John hung this wreath on the inside of our deck when we moved in. It managed to catch some snow and it just looked..... well.... cool. The red background is a panel in the railing (not the prettiest, really, but what can you do?).

Back to Knitting!

It may be wise for me to put off writing this post until tomorrow. I'm having issues with my computer... and my own memory. For some reason, all of the information I had in Microsoft Outlook has disappeared... everything. Then, to top it off, I tried to get into my alternate Flickr account, the one I use for Ravelry, and I can't remember my username! I had it on a note in MS Outlook. *sigh*

Deep breath. At least I remember my Photobucket login and I can blog!

It may not have sounded like it in the last few posts, but I have been knitting. In the last couple of weeks there hasn't been a lot of it, but I haven't stopped. Once we got into the apartment, I decided I needed a small, simple project to occupy my hands and brain. To that end, I made this...



There ARE two of them, trust me. The pattern is Acorn. I'm afraid I can't tell you for sure where the original pattern comes from, but I think it's a Colinette pattern. I got the pattern from a friend, as part of a knitalong for one of the Ravelry groups I'm a member of. It was supposed to have been done months ago, but we all know what's been going on in our lives here. I started the mittens last week and finished them yesterday... sort of. Check this out...

I could have sworn I had this one set up properly when I started to sew it together. When I had the stitching all done and well anchored, I discovered that both mitts would fit the left hand. Ooooooooops!

They don't show up very well in the picture, but they're beaded. I used gold coloured glass beads for the edge beads, and green glass beads for the rest. They do show up much better "in person" than they do in the photos. "Festive" was the word one of my co-workers used. I agree.

Oh yes, the details: they yarn is Rowan Kidsilk Haze, worked on 2.75 mm needles. One skein of RKH did the entire pair, with enough left over for a second pair, I'm thinking. The pattern called for 3.25 mm needles, but when I used that size, though I did achieve gauge, the mittens were far too big for my (apparently) slender hands.

As of today, I do not have the patience to pick the seam apart and restitch it. My excuse is that by the time I get home from work, it's far too dark to properly see what I'm doing, even with all the lights on. Only daylight will work. That makes sense, doesn't it?

I've also been working on these socks for John:

As you can see, one sock is finished, while the second has a ways to go. This is my semi-mindless knitting at the moment (well, that and the Little Arrowhead Lace cardi for me). The yarn is SRK (Kertzer) "On Your Toes", a 4-ply sock yarn with Aloe Vera; it's 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon, in shade #ON222004, a nice, neutral green. The pattern is my own, a very basic one. It starts out with 1.5" 1x1 rib, then 3x1 rib to a length of 7" for the leg. The 3x1 ribbing is carried down the intsep. As I said, pretty basic, with a standard heel flap and toe.

I did, incidentally, finish a pair of 6-ply work socks for John while we were in Gibsons. He's been wearing them quite a bit, which is why there's no picture of them. I'll be working on more socks for him in the near future, as I still have seven balls of the 6-ply Regia in my stash, purchased just for John's works socks.

Last night, I also cast on for another Calorimetry (knitty.com) for myself. As much as I love all the hats I've made for myself, I somehimes wear a clip to keep my hair back and that makes a hat awkward to wear. I'm using some Noro Kureyon that I had in my stash, frogged from another project. I'll post pictures when I have it finished.

Next time, too, I'll post some pictures of other works in progress, started or worked on since the ill-fated move to Gibsons.

And... I'm Back!!

Today is an anniversary of sorts for us. On this day, one year ago, the water stopped flowing in our home on Campbell Place. One year ago, a journey began. 2007 has been a year of upheaval for us and today, hopefully, it ends.

For most people, the new year begins on the first day of a new year. For me, for us, today marks the beginning of a new year, hopefully one with no further major upheavals.

We endured six weeks of no water, in the middle of winter. Thanks to the kindness of friends, we had occasional respite; my employer and another friend allowed us to use their respective homes while they were away. We moved into a basement suite at the beginning of February and shortly after that, John’s father came to live with us. He was with us for only a few months, but our lives, of necessity, had to conform to his needs.

Then, in October, John was offered a job at the coast and we packed up all our things, put most of it into storage and went there. That, as you know, didn’t work out as planned and we returned to Kelowna after just three weeks.

We had no idea what we would find in our search for a new home and, thankfully, we found what seems to have been the last available apartment in this town (a story in our local paper puts the apartment vacancy rate in Kelowna at 0%), a third floor walk up. We had very little help in moving everything in; into our fifties, you can imagine how our bodies feel, I’m sure. We did it though. Only one sofa, a three piece sectional that measures over 8’ long, wouldn’t make it up the stairs. Apart from a room full of boxes to unpack, we’ve moved in. We’ve made most of the space livable and fairly comfortable. As yet, there are no pictures on the walls and our plants are still at a friend’s home, but we’re comfortable (it's warm and has plenty of hot water!).

Now, we recuperate. I’ve gone back to work and John will be working again shortly. Now, our lives can settle into a comfortable, and comforting, routine… I hope. Slowly, over the next weeks and months, we’ll unpack the boxes and decide just what to do with all of the things we no longer need, or want.

One year. A year of uncertainty, sometimes of quiet desperation, sometimes of not so quiet desperation, a year of trials and tears, has come to an end. For us, on December 18, a new year begins.

To all of you who read this blog, thank you. Your kind thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement have been instrumental in keeping me, and us, sane. You are so appreciated and I wish I could give each of you the hug you so richly deserve. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Another (very quick) update

As of yesterday, we have a place to live. We've rented an apartment and will be moving in on Saturday. As well, I'm back at work, part time for this week and beginning full time next week.

I'll post more once we get our computer and internet connection up and running.

Update

We're now in Kelowna, staying at a friend's while we hunt for a new home. We've looked at a few places, but some are way too far out of town, some are way too expensive. It's an interesting time, to say the least.

Thank you all for your support. This truly isn't an easy time and I'm trying very hard not to let it all get me down. Not easy, as I've also got a nasty cold on top of it all. *sigh*

I'll stay as in touch as I can. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.