He Did It!!!

Congratulations to our Grade Eight Grad: Luke Barnard!


It's been a tough row to hoe. We had our dark valley in the middle school years. But with a concerted effort, and with the help of many caring teachers and resource people, Luke worked hard to turn things around. He's come a long way and we are very proud of our boy.

I had no idea that I would be this touched.

Luke didn't win any awards. He wasn't on any teams, didn't participate in school activities. He didn't make the honour roll. But by golly, he's happy, he has friends, and he knows who he is. His Dad and I will be behind him on what ever path he chooses to take into his future.

Events

Yesterday Jim and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary! Jim had forgotten that morning, but redeemed himself with reservations at a very nice restaurant that evening. Right now, he and Luke are out getting their hair cut because this Tuesday, Luke graduates from grade eight. Luke is not looking forward to this because he has to dress up and he thinks he'll feel out of place. Poor dear. We're just trying to ease him through it with the least possible angst.

I had a very relaxing morning today. I finished up a mitten.

Pattern: Annemor #4
Yarn: Dale Falk
Needles: 3.25mm

This was quite a quick knit at this gauge! I'm so used to fingering weight yarn on 2.25mm needles. The original was to fit a girl's medium. I was hoping for something bigger, but while this fit's my boy's hands quite well, it is too snug for me to wear. And here's the back.

When I downloaded these pictures from my camera, I found bonus pictures that I hadn't taken. Here's the best of the bunch.

Pig in a pigloo

The State of the Knitting

Lots on the needles here and out of it all I've got four active projects going. The ubiquitous traveling sock of course, a pair of stranded mittens, a scarf, and a sweater.

The mitten is for working on when I can't sleep. Every now and then I get up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. I toss and turn. Rather than wake Jim up with my restlessness, I go to the spare room and knit. Usually less than an hour will get me in shape for going back to sleep. The mitten is really cute, but I'll save the pictures for when its done.

The scarf was born out of an irresistible urge to try out that Wild Geese Fibers that I got in exchange for my leftovers.


This is the Trellis Scarf Pattern, from Interweave Knits. Since my yarn is fingering weight, I'm doing it on a larger needle. I'm thinking it may be more stole-sized when blocked. The loveliest thing about this pattern is the point of the diamonds. They look like swirly knots. (You can sort of see it if you click the picture for a bigger view.) The maneuver where you create 5 stitches by knitting into 7 is a little tricksy, but not so bad. My trick is to knit it on the point of the needle.

The softness of the alpaca is a nice treat when I need a break from the sweater I started for Jim just before Father's Day. The yarn is acrylic/viscose blend and starts to feel like rope in my hands after a while.

This is the Aberlady Sweater from Alice Starmore's Celtic Knits. I think I'll call it Aberlord though since this is for Jim and will be more of an interpretation. I'm using a heavier weight yarn than the fingering weight called for. But since this is a gansey style sweater, I don't expect too much trouble switching it around. I swatched, measured and calculated to get the correct number of stitches to cast on. The pattern has arm gussets, which I plan to fudge, and I want to change the neckline. But at least the sleeves are knit down from the arms, so I can just pick up a reasonable amount and figure it out as I go.

Damn, that all sounds so nebulous! Does it help to say I'm confident? I guess because I've designed a gansey on the needles before, it doesn't seem so intimidating. Still, I'm going to stick this thing on a longer needle and slip it onto Jim to see if my initial calculation was correct before going any further.

I'm in a lovely state of anticipation for all these projects, because one week from today I will be on vacation. We don't have much of anything planned, there's a family picnic and the company picnic. Actually, I do have plans. I plan to relax!

Dad's Glory Days

Dad's socks were done in time for Father's Day, but I couldn't give them to my Dad. Unfortunately, we had colds in our house and my parents would just as soon not catch one. I called Dad up though and we had a nice chat on the phone for over an hour.

Last time we visited Dad gave me some old photographs of himself. (Click for bigger.)

Wasn't he cool? The writing in the dust on the bottom of the car reads "Luella loves Chester." That young couple would be my future godparents. It tickles me to see evidence that my oh so proper aunt was once young and giddy in love.

Here's Dad on his motorbike:

There are two things that I notice in this picture. First, my fashionable pop has a chain attached to his wallet. Second, there are two young ladies discretely watching from the window.

I'm really glad to put these photos of my Dad on the internet. It's nice to have one's glory days remembered...

Can't Stop to Blog....

Too busy knitting to a deadline.

Father's Day Socks
Vintage Patton's Pattern
Scheepjees Yarn

I'm fond of grey. Many of you told me that you don't care for it much. That's okay, more for me! Grey goes with anything, it shows patterning well, and it reminds me of soft, lovely things, like doves, sheep, water-smoothed pebbles and fluffly clouds. Just this week, I traded some of my leftover Rowan to Raveler RuthD for this:

Lucky me! I think it's gorgeous. It's Wild Geese alpaca(90%)/merino(10%) on the left and Ruth's own handspun on the right.

Big thanks goes to Frieda Pelletier for donating to the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Big Bike Ride.


Okay, back to the Dad socks. They've gotta be ready for Sunday....

Letting Go

Hooray it's Thursday! Thursday is a good day of the week. Thursday is the Saturday of the work week. You get Saturday-Sunday then the weekend is done, but we also get Thursday-Friday and the work week is done! So in a way, Thursday is even better than Saturday. I put this theory to a co-worker, who asked me if I couldn't do something about Tuesday. Nope, Tuesday is beyond hope, I told him.

Luke and his friend seemed to have mended their fences, on the playground at least. We haven't seen the friend over this week. I'm not getting any further involved unless Luke asks me too.

I'm very proud of our little family. In spite of our difficulties, we have somehow managed to establish a relationship that includes negotiations. There were two incidents just this week. The boys were supposed to be doing chores, and Luke didn't want to sweep because he'd just done it yesterday. I suggested he vacuum instead and he readily agreed. The other incident was that he wanted to take a shower right away and I wanted him to do his chores first. But he calmly explained his reasons to me and so I agreed. And he did the chores later. I am hoping this bodes well for the upcoming teenage years.

After writing this, I see that a big part of it is me willing to let Luke decide how to do things for himself. I've given up some of my control in exchange for his willingness and pleasant attitude. A fair bargain in my eyes.

And this is where the knitting ties in. In my latest project, the marvelous mittens, Pattern 22 from Charlene Schurch's book, I didn't try to match up the grey self-striping yarn.

I didn't match up the stripes, nor the direction of the color gradients. I'll confess, one cuff is even longer than the other. That was sheer accident. And I like it.

I've sometimes been told that my knitting looks like it was done by a machine. A compliment to be sure, but not the effect I'm after. By not matching the colors, I hope I've increased the likely hood that someone will notice that these mittens were worked by hand. And part of this bargain of giving up on matching, is the mesmerizing way the colors lead the eye around. Letting go is really working for me these days....



By the way, I will be participating in the Heart and Stroke's Big Bike Ride. If you'd like to sponsor me there is a link in the side bar that will take you to my personal donation page. I'm not going to offer a prize or anything. I just think that if you want to, and can, then I will greatly appreciate your donation. Big thanks!

Emotional Drama

It's Sunday night and I'm just getting at the computer for the first time this weekend. The weather has been rainy and then sunny. It's lovely weather for the plants. Everything is lush and green with plenty of colorful flowers. Beautiful for walks.

Friday night I came home to a small crisis. Jim was very upset on behalf of Luke who had been insulted by a friend. I don't want to go into details here, but it felt like a slap in the face to our whole family from a boy who is over at our house 3-4 times a week and has dinner with us almost once a week.

Jim felt he couldn't talk to the parents of the boy, so the job fell to me, but I was okay with that. This set of circumstances felt like a teaching moment to me. We had a chance to show Luke that he deserves to be treated with respect, and to demonstrate that with our actions. So the boy's mom is talking to him and we're hoping this will all just blow over. Eventually.

Saturday night, we took my parents out for dinner and had a lovely time. They are not spontaneous people, so it was a special treat to get them to come out on short notice. I was very happy they agreed.

I did manage to finish up my traveling pair of socks. (For the record, I always have a sock in my purse. Now that these are done, I've cast on another pair. It may take a while before you see them here though. Traveling socks get finished slowly/) I've been wearing these anklets all day and I'm in love.

Yarn: Regia Silk
Needles: 2.25mm

Using the leftovers from the Chalet socks for the toes gave me just the right amount to eek out these little socks. The Regia Silk feels lovely on my feet and I'm thrilled with the little anklet. The yarn was bought as an odd ball at a sale.

And of course the mitten proceeds. One down, one to go.

I feel extremely daring. I'm knitting this one with the stripes going in the other direction. What a rebel I am.

Snap Judgement

While browsing my stash this weekend I decided to put two yarns together in a combination that had never occurred to me before. One was a pink that is so bright it seems harsh, and the other is a graduated grey that seems perfect for men's socks, but deadly dull to knit. Together, they are making this:

And the moral of the story is, that it is always worth while to buy yarn on sale. Even when it is an oddly colored sock yarn.

Like Nasty Medicine

I'm well over my cold and I found that missing project. It was tucked into a cloth bag hanging in my stash closet, nice and neat, where I'd never find it. I put it back though. Today the weather is just glorious and I've spent the entire day outside.

I did manage to finish yet another project that's been lingering on the needles. It was such a chore, I just made myself do it, the same way you just plug your nose and down that Buckley's.

Jim's Boot Socks
Yarn: Philosopher's Wool
Needles: 4mm

These are toe up, with a heel flap and a tubular, sewn bind-off. They're 40sts around. The gauge is so snug, it hurts my hands to work them, plus him likes them long! But I know he'll really appreciate them on the coldest winter days. Thankfully we can put them away for a good long while.

The Return of My Favourite Sock

Sometimes, a pair of hand knit socks mean so much more than warm feet. For me, this pair is about love.

About 4 years ago, I bought myself some Regia Silk Yarn and knit myself this pair of Gothic Lace Socks.

They've been my favourite pair of socks all this time. I loved the pattern, which I found through my friend Holly and I loved the yarn, in part because I splurged on myself. But as you can see, these socks are wore through. They deserve to be honourably retired.

So when Doug's beautiful merino/tencel yarn came to me last year, I knew just what I wanted to make from it. To me, they are the ultimate Gothic lace socks because of the color. I'm just thrilled to have my favourite socks back!


I haven't written is so long, in part because I've been sick. It's just a cold, but being sick over the long Victoria Day weekend isn't much fun. I had to miss out on two really great trips. No one wants to go for a car ride with a sickie! But it did give me an opportunity to devote myself to my knitting though, since I wasn't good for much else. Aside from finishing my socks, I did an inventory of my WIPs. Some needed to get over a hump, and some needed to get ripped. One got lost. But I think it may be in the stash under the bed. I forgot about that spot.

From my Thirteen year old Son, on Mother's Day

I don't often write poems
It's easily true,
But this one I wrote
All just for you.

My poems aren't the best
And they don't seem that hard,
But I guess in this case,
They sure beat a card.

So let's celebrate you
On this Mother's Day,
I hope you'll enjoy it
In your own special way.

Happy Mother's Day!

My grandmother, my mother, warmed and graced by my knitting. I find this picture utterly beautiful.

Still Having Fun

I'm having fun with my knitting these days. I've abandoned a lot of my "shoulds", and a few WIPs at the same time. I have this thought in the back of my head that one day I'll come back to them, but right now, I'm really enjoying my carefree knitting.

I did return to finish off the second sock of my first Noro experiment, even though these socks will never fit me.

Someone will be getting a lovely present though.

And I'm having a load of fun with this guy:

Yep, Barnacle Bill is in the works! I'm using fingering weight stash yarns and everything seems pretty good so far. I've got some plans to work around some of the details in the original and I hope they work as well as I'm envisioning.

My mom gave me some patterns last weekend, including a cool vintage Paton's sock book. Here's the cover:

Don't you just love those molded feet? I'll bet you could find them on E-bay. (Sure can!)
A nice feature of this book is the visual table of contents on the inside cover. I wish more knitting pattern books were designed this way.

There's a few patterns in this book I'd like to try, but just now I've cast on for with my merino/tencel yarn from Doug to make some Gothic lace socks. It looks lovely, but I've got horrible ladders. The yarn is very slick, so I'm thinking it might be typical of merino/tencel yarns. But I'm wondering if the pattern is exacerbating (that is a horribly difficult word to spell correctly!) the problem, since it has a ribbing to it.

I'm pulling as snugly as I can at the join and it's not helping at all. Will it wash out? Any advice?

Color Fun

Yep, that Noro yarn sure is fun!

Pattern: my own design
Yarn: Kureyon Sock
Needles: 2.25mm

The colors in the yarn are a lot of fun, but I don't think much of the yarn itself. It seems very fragile and I don't expect much durability from it. I increased the stitch count to 80 for this pair and used my standard heel flap, but I still have problems getting them on. There doesn't seem to be any give to the yarn. The yarn was very rough to work with, but it did soften up nicely in the wash.

It was a really treat to puzzle out how to design the heel on these socks. I love the stripes on the bottom.

I was debating my options when the colors started to come too close together. Do I just let it happen? Or should I edit out one of the colors? I decided to accept the yarn the way it came, and now I'm glad I did.

My life is like this sock. Sometimes there is great clarity and sometimes there is a muddy mix-up. All I can do is push on through the mess to reach the clarity. It is the contrast between the two that make up the beauty of the whole.

Just Enough

We had a beautiful weekend. The weather was warm and the sun was bright. I took the opportunity to wash the winter woolies in preparation for storage. The hammock worked beautifully to dry them all in double quick time!


I sat out to watch them dry, to knit and to supervise Dexter. We bought him a big knuckle bone at the pet store. You should have seen his eyes light up when they spotted this beauty.

But it was too big! Poor puppy. Fortunately, Jim is handy with an axe and he chopped that thing in two for Dexter.

Every Thursday Dexter and I go to Rally-O and agility class. Last Thursday the trainer said to me "Laurie, you don't give yourself enough credit. Dexter is doing awesome." For some reason, I really heard her that night and it has changed my attitude over these past several days. I always felt like I wasn't doing enough, that Dexter wasn't responding well enough, or that he wasn't behaving well enough. Enough for what?!

And I recognize that this is an old pattern of mine. This feeling of "not enough". It's an uncomfortable way to live, let me tell you. It used to be that there was never enough food. I would obsess about it. Then I switched to knitting. Healthier for my system at first, since I stopped eating as much. But ultimately, sitting on the couch knitting non-stop wasn't good for me either. I knew getting a dog would be a good thing for me, to keep me moving, but I didn't think I'd switch my "not enough" obsession over to him.

You know, recognizing the pattern is the first step. I'm really glad I can see it. Now I can accept it, and consciously evaluate, yes there is enough. I live with abundance, I can enjoy quality instead of hording quantity, and I accept that sometimes, you just have to live with good enough.

Mystery Revealed

The Mystic Light KAL was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the mystery, the pattern, the yarn and the finished product.

Pattern: Mystic Light KAL
Yarn: Fleece Artist Blue Face 2/8
Needes: 4mm

This shawl will be a Mother's Day gift to my grandmother. It's a bit small on me, so it should be just the right size for her.

The Latest Thing in Sock Yarn

I just found something I'd never heard of before. Flat Feet sock yarn (scroll down for pictures). Essentially, it's sock yarn knit up on a machine, and then hand painted. I've heard of this concept before. I just think it's really clever that someone thought to market it.

But I don't think I'd enjoy knitting it straight from the flat as is recommended. It's hard to keep even tension with crinkly yarn.

Not Quite What I was Hoping for...

Like any big dreamer, I often find that reality doesn't meet up to my expectations. After my first Noro sock, I was all fired up to create ones that would fit my feet. I bought two skeins that I thought would work well together:


But they don't. Not so much.


I should probably keep knitting, to see if I like it better later, but I'm just feeling blah about it. Or perhaps I'm burnt out. After all I did accomplish quite a bit of this type of knitting in a very short time. Plus, my second sock wasn't coming out as nice as the first.

Which is part of the reason I switched to the other colors.

So this weekend I knit mostly on the Bee Fields shawl. It's nice to know that I can pick something up again after putting it down for quite sometime. Today, I booked a day off for myself, but I've been restless with the knitting and so not enjoying it like I thought I would.

I spent some of my day outside, knitting on the Mystic Light shawl and I was surprised on how brilliant the colors look. The winter light really took the vibrancy away from this yarn, but the spring light is bringing it out in spades.

This was shot under cloud cover, or it would have seriously blinded your eyes.

And in keeping with today's theme, here's another project that wasn't coming out quite as I'd planned:

This is the Aspen Leaf pull over, just about ready for the leaves. I used a provisional cast on, so I could line the inside neck with something really soft to accommodate Jim's sensitive skin. I think my gauge is too tight, and it just looks more purple than I'd expected. I was thinking of doing my calculations after the leaves to see if I needed extra increases to get it to fit. This is part of the reason I was knitting it top down. But I just can seem to get around to knitting those leaves, and it should be the fun part of the project!

I know this is a common phenomenon. A knitter has a big idea, starts a project with gusto, and then wanders off when things don't turn out quite as expected. So far my strategy is to let things marinate. Later, I will either rip or carry on. But I have noticed that projects are accumulating. I'm going to have to do some housekeeping very soon.

It doesn't help that new and exciting things are catching my eye all the time. Take this book of toys by Alan Dart for example:

I bought found it a Chapters this weekend and had to have it. (You can buy Irresitable Gifts to Knit online.) There are many toys I'd like to make in this book, but I'm smitten with this pirate:

The only thing that is keeping me from casting on, is that I have mostly fingering weight yarns and the patterns all call for DK. I'm been contemplating what the substitution would look like. I'll bet it won't turn out like I'd expect....

A New Love

Remember when you were in high school and one of your friends would point out a boy to you? And you would say, "Sure he's cute, but I hate him! He's so annoying and he thinks he's hot stuff." But secretly, you really liked him. And maybe, and often things work out this way, you'd end up dating the guy.

Well, at the Monday meet-up at the Wortely Roadhouse (see previous post), I met the cute, but annoying yarn that everyone thinks is such hot stuff. And I dissed it. It's a single ply, I scoffed, and it's rough. I'm talking about the Noro Kureyon Sock yarn.

Well, me and Mr. Kureyon sock met up again at Needles and Pins, where I was picking up a needle for the Bee Fields shawl. There were many pretty colors and finally I agreed to take one home. It wasn't long before those colors seduced me and this weekend I was obsessed with my new love.

Isn't it pretty!! I love, love, LOVE my latest crush. I started it Friday night and finished the first sock by Sunday afternoon. I just couldn't put it down.

I knit the stranded pattern from both ends of the same ball. The heel and toe were knit on a 2mm needle, because I’ve heard the yarn doesn’t wear well, and I used a twisted hem for the cuff with a purl turning ridge.

Unfortunately, they are a little small for my feet, even though I used by standard 72sts. I should have known the stranding would take out the ease. It’s okay. I’ll just have to buy some more of this yarn and make a pair for me! Mr. Kuryon and I are an item!


I'm as flighty as your typical teenager in the spring, since last week I had a mad crush on this fellow:


That's the Vinnland pattern knit with the Soxophone Player's own color way. There is an amazing amount of color in this yarn and it was a real treat to work with. Doug creates some amazing colorways, but he is such a tease. You can't buy his yarn anywhere. Good thing I have a new crush to mend my broken heart.

Shawl Queen

Last night I went to the London Ravelry Group meet up at the Wortley Roadhouse. The weather has turned gorgeous these past few days, and we four early birds thought that we might be alone that night. Perhaps people would be out enjoying the sunshine. But no, the knitters turned up in droves.

The Yarn Harlot would have been proud to see us whooping it up, carrying on and generally perplexing the muggles. We fondled yarn, socks in progress and an especially gorgeous Tangled Yoke sweater that was still being worn by its knitter! I think the guys in the bar were very curious at that point. There were feet on the table as one knitter tried on her socks. One of the male knitters present obligingly flexed his biceps for any female that cared to give them a squeeze. He was knitting a long cabled scarf, his first, for his lady love who didn't mind sharing a little bit.

My proudest moment was being crowned the "Shawl Queen". When I think of the shawls produced by talented knitters across the blogosphere, I can only cry, "I am not worthy!" And I did so protest. But, then I was asked what shawls I have knit and when I tallied them up, well, I must confess there were a few. So, I will proudly accept my title, with the caveat that it is only for the London area.

Here is the Mystic Light shawl, knit up to the end of clue 2.

I finally took the time to read the Yahoo Group page to learn that the clues are released on Wednesdays. So you know I'll be getting the next part soon. But what to knit in the mean time?

I finished a pair of socks on Sunday (they deserve a proper photoshoot, so I'll wait to show them to you). I had nothing on the needles. Never mind that I have about three sweaters in various stages of progress. I don't want to knit a sweater, with all that angst over fit, and measurements and (horror) gauge. No, I want something fun, interesting, yet soft and relaxing. So, yup, you guessed it:

I started another shawl. This is Bee Fields from Anne Hanson at Knitspot. I bought the kit from Wooly Wonka Fibers as soon as it came out and I can't believe I waited this long to work it. What was I thinking?!

Vicarious Fun

I've spent my Friday night clicking through the flicker group for the Yarn Harlot's scavenger hunt. I just have to share some of my favorites with you. Enjoy!

• Cleverest use of a sign.
  
• The sock that ate Toronto!
  
• Love the caption. I didn't know Winston was part rabbit.
• What a beautiful beast.
• Mhmmm... He can hold my sock any day.
  
• I just find this creepy. I think I've read too many Anne Rice books.
  
• My favourite international.
  
• The one that got a way.
  
• This one wins for best hidden in the image.
  
• Here is the bestest ever; made me gasp out loud!

New Thrills

The thrill of the Shetland shawl hasn't worn off yet. I wanted to cast on another shawl right away, and the Mystic Light KAL was right there to help me out.

This is as far as the first clue takes me. It was so much fun! In the first place, I didn't look at other people's progress pictures on purpose, so I could have the fun of watching the pattern develop. Then, there was one spot where I was a bit stuck. I got quite a rush out of solving the dilemma. But the icing on the cake was the lovely, soft yarn. Every time I picked this up to knit I fell in love again. The only trouble is, now I have to wait for the next clue. I'm in lace-limbo. Fortunately, there's always a sock on the needles.

Opps! I just discovered Clue 2 today! Whee!!!!!

I had another visit from my knitting students Maddie and Anne. Anne is a working mom, so she's finding it hard get to her needles. Maddie on the other hand has taken to it like a fish to water. She finished up about 50 rows of garter stitch, so I told her it was time to learn to purl. Young students are so great, because she was all "Yeah!"

Anne and Maddie came to my house the past two nights to make sure she got the hang of it. What dedication! And it paid off. Look, stockinette:

I'm so impressed with Maddie. She was gabbing away to her mom while working a knit row and she wasn't even watching her needles. Just like a pro! Way to go Maddie!

The shirt doesn't lie, does it?