Close to my Heart

Up or Down?

Specifics about these socks can be found in the Gallery.  I will say that I'm pleased with how they turned out, and I'm still in love with this colourway.

This was the first pair of top down socks I've knit in a LONG time.  It did confirm that I prefer toe-up for the following reasons (in no particular order):
1.  I don't like heel flaps, I think they look funny.
2.  I don't like picking up gusset stitches.
3.  It takes me a couple hours to do the heel flap, turn the heel, and do the gusset decreases.  It takes me about 30-40 minutes to do a short row heel (I know, I could do these on top down socks too).
4.  I don't like the looks of the toe decreases, I much prefer the appearance of a short row toe.
5.  No Kitchener stitch!
6.  (Probably the most important reason)  They fit my feet and high insteps better.

A Rare Sunday post

Well, it seems as if Fall is here now.  Just over a week ago it was shorts weather.  Here I am, inside on this blustery morning, a hot cup of coffee has been poured and I'm wearing my heavy terry robe.  I want summer back!

I joined the Secret Pal 3, after regretting that I didn't the first two times!  I'm excited to see who I'll get to spoil.  I spent some time yesterday and today surfing through the blogs of those who have signed up this time around.  It was fun visiting blogs I've never been to before.  One thing I've been using for my own to keep track of my own favourite reads is the Kinja Digest.  So I've made one for all the SP3 blogs.  Unfortunately, it wouldn't let me include blog city blogs.  This tool lets you know when blogs are updated.  It doesn't work for all blogs (something about a feed that is needed), but it does for most.  You can access the SP3 Kinja Digest here.

Joe and Bambi are still fast asleep.  Buttons on the other hand has spent the last several hours in the empty bathtub:

I don't know what it is about it, but she is intrigued by the tub.  She scratches it from time to time, but otherwise just likes to sit there and look around.  Any other cats around that do this?

Finished the Marks and Kattens Socks yesterday, picture coming soon (it's just soooo dark today).  Going to spend some time working on Le Pull before I hit the laundry and other not so fun weekend chores.

Almost the weekend!

Thanks to those who sent birthday greetings to Joe, he was quite surprised to receive them.  I think he had a pretty good birthday overall.  The conflict with his family is finally over after several months.  I myself feel like such a burden has lifted, and can't even imagine how it must feel for Joe.  He took the first step a couple days ago.  I guess he kind of ate crow in some respects, but received a good response back in return.  I think the first few family get togethers will feel a little odd, but the worst is over.  I even feel like my hand is a bit better, amazing how stress affects us physically.

Picked up the knitting a bit last night.  I'm up to the toe decreases on one Marks and Kattens Sock, and just past the gusset decreases on the other.  I'll finish these off this weekend, and then can get back to what I should be doing, the neglected Le Pull and Strawberry Ice Cream. 

Have a happy Friday.  My sock bag is coming to work with me today as a co-worker and I are planning a Stitch and Bitch Lunch.

Buttons says

"Knitting bags and sunbeams make great secluded resting spots.  Hope you can find some of your own to relax under this weekend!"

Happy Birthday Joe!

Made it safely back from a quick overnight road trip yesterday afternoon, in time for Joe's birthday today.  Happy birthday to my sweetheart.  It's been a rough year for Joe, but hopefully things are on the upswing now.  Things are finally beginning to resolve themselves with his family, and I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll be able to salvage the rest of the year.  If you have a minute today, I'd love it if you could surprise Joe with a birthday greeting.  You can send it to him at strat59ATislandDOTnet.  Maybe tell him you're one of my blog friends in case he wonders.

Knitting update coming soon.  I worked on the Marks and Kattens socks in my hotel room the other night.  No time for knitting last night, hopefully tonight will be different.

Birthday graphic courtesy

A Recipe

I just noticed that it was one year ago today that I moved my blog from Blogger (after about 9 months there) to Typepad.  I don't regret the move at all.  For the most part, I've received great service here, and the application is very user friendly.  Far less frustrating than it was at Blogger.

Not much knitting to report on this past weekend, certainly nothing that would rate as being photo worthy.  I worked pretty much exclusively on the Marks and Kattens Clown socks.  The patterning intrigued me and I couldn't put them down.  I've made it past the gusset decreases in one sock, and am about to pick up the gusset stitches on the second.  One thing I've learned though, with this first top down sock I've knit in ages, I realized that I much prefer toe-up.  Kind of nice to have this confirmed now though, and know that I will stick to what I most enjoy knitting.  Taking a break from them tonight.  I'm off on a business trip tomorrow, and have packed my sock bag (containing both these and the neglected confetti socks) and will work on one or both pairs in the hotel room tomorrow night.

In the meantime, I bring you my latest culinary creation, Easy Greek Linguine.    I always find it a struggle to come up with easy, and somewhat healthy meals at the end of the day.  I've now made this dish twice, and have really enjoyed it.  I didn't measure any of the ingredients, so have tried to approximate as best I can.  Just use the amounts that feel right to you!  Cook enough linguine (or other pasta) to feed your family.  Drain cooked pasta.  Coat with balsamic vinegar, then preapared tzadziki (about one tablespoon per person).  You could make your own tzatziki with low fat yogurt or sour cream to be a bit healthier.  Stir in coursley chopped tomatoes (about one med/large tomato per person), seasoned feta cheese (I use the Kraft pre-seasoned blend, amount would depend on how calorie conscious you want to be, maybe a 1/8 to 1/4 cup per person).  Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan as per you own taste.  Enjoy!  (If anyone actually makes this, please let me know what you think).

 

Good news

I had my appointment with the neurologist yesterday.  He examined both hands, then tested the left hand (the bad one) with the EMG machine that checks nerve conduction.  After this was all over, he said that everything looked normal.  I then asked if that meant that I didn't have carpal tunnel.  He said no, it could be the beginning stages, and that I should wear my brace when I sleep.  To celebrate, I immediately headed to the LYS.  I was even more encouraged when I was telling the store manager why I was in town, and she told me that she has carpal tunnel, she sleeps with her brace on every night, even when it feels fine (to protect it), has no problems, and knits four hours a day!  That was really good to hear too.

Of course I didn't leave the store empty handed.  I bought the Little Box of Sweaters, which is absolutely fabulous!  One of my planned purchases was the Fiddlesticks Lotus Blossom Shawl pattern, which I'm going to knit with the Fleece Artist Silk that I got for my birthday.  And I also bought some sock yarn, a type that I hadn't tried before, Marks and Kattens Clown, which is 45% Cotton, 40% Superwash, and 15% Nylon.  This is the first sock yarn I've used with cotton content.  I left home without my knitting as my hand had been bugging me and I didn't think I'd be up to knitting.  By the end of the day, it was feeling much better, so I bought some new bamboo DPNs, and cast on while visiting at my parents last night:

I'm in love with this colourway, and will likely finish these before the poor confetti socks that I started last month.  I'm knitting top down for the first time in ages, mostly because I didn't have any waste yarn with me to use for the provisional cast-on needed for my usual toe-up socks.  I think though that it will be a nice change.

Time to go check on what my fellow bloggers have been up to the last couple days. Have a great weekend!

A New Look

What do I do when I can't knit?  I spend WAY too much time on the computer.  Those of you who've been reading me for a while know that I like to play around with my blog template.  So, I created my first banner and buttons.  I've moved on from my pink obsession to orange, hence the orange look.  Not sure if I'll keep this look around or not, but here it is for now.

Here's the new buttons:

I've mentioned before that my PAS (purse acquisition syndrome) rivals my YAS.  I noticed on Wendy's blog this morning that she loves bags too.  I'm sure I've seen other bloggers say the same thing before.  Now that I know how to make buttons, I thought I'd make this one:

Feel free to steal it, but don't forget to save to your own server!

Well, my week's already about over.  I'm in the office briefly tomorrow morning, then off to Nanaimo to see the neurologist to find out if I have carpal tunnel or not.  I probably won't know much for a bit, as one of my co-workers with carpal tunnel saw him, but wasn't told anything and had to go back to her own doctor for the results.  My hand is still bothering me, so still no knitting.  That will not however stop me from hitting Mad About Ewe while I'm in Nanaimo.  I have Friday off as well, so I have a bit of a long weekend.  That's it for tonight.

An Actual FO

Project info:
Used 2.5 mm needles, gauge of 5 stitches and 7 rows=1 inch.  I knit smallest size, 38"
Started July 5 using Elann Endless Summer Collection Lara in Burnished Tangerine.
Completed:  August 14
Design info:  Ann Norling pattern, purchased from Karp Styles.

I'm somewhat pleased with how this came out.  The armholes came up higher (this is probably a result of my row gauge being off), and as a result it is rather revealing.  I wore it to work today, but had to wear something overtop unless I wanted to display the side of my bra.  I think a tank underneath might work well. 

Still haven't knit for a few days.  Yesterday, I was feeling quite down because my hand was bugging me so much.  Today it is feeling a lot better, but I still don't want to push it and pull out the knitting.  Hopefully, by the weekend.  I don't think I overdid it this time, so really can't understand why it is bugging me so much.  Back to ibuprofen and arnica gel, and hopefully I'll be on the mend soon.

Luv2Seam?

Well, the Checkerboard shell is finished, and I must say, mattress stitch is my friend.  I think this is the best job I've done yet of seaming (although there are only the two side seams).  It was actually much easier to make it look half decent using the matress stitch than what I had done previously (which basically just involved putting the right sides together, grabbing the darning needle, and hoping for the best).  I don't have a picture to show you yet as the shell is not yet dry from wet blocking.  I didn't block before seaming, as the garter stitch edges didn't curl at all, so I didn't figure it was necessary.  I wasn't going to block the thing at all, then at the last minute decided I should.  Feedback please, do you ALWAYS block?

I love to accessorize, and as orange is a relatively new colour in my wardrobe, I don't have a lot to choose from in the accessory department.  At our local Farmer's Market yesterday, I found myself the perfect jewellery set.  Since I still have some birthday money to spend, it came home with me.  Here it is, displayed on top of the Shell:

I think the shell and the jewellery will show each other off well.

Not much knitting happening here this weekend.  My hand is bugging me and I don't want to overdo it.  Sucks on the weekend though!  Oh well, I have a major case of startitis that I'm fighting (what vitamin or herb do you take for that?), and since I really do want to finish some of my UFOs, that is probably a good thing or you would have seen new projects added in my sidebar!

Hope you all have a great week!

Ah the weekend....

It always feels good when it is Friday night and the whole weekend is ahead.  It's been a long week and I'm ready to relax and catch up on sleep.  It was so hard getting up this morning, I made myself go to Curves, but it would have been so easy to stay in bed for another hour.

No knitting for me tonight.  My hand has been bugging me today, so I'm showing some restraint and taking a break.  Seaming the checkerboard shell this weekend should be fine, then hopefully the ol' claw will feel good enough to knit a bit on Le Pull.

I have been thinking about knitting though, and planning fall projects.  I've been admiring Klaralund since Wendy posted about the Knit-a-long.  I remembered that I have some birthday money burning a hole in my wallet, so I think that is what I will use it for.  I spent some time surfing for the Noro Silk Garden, but should really check the Nanaimo LYS when I'm down next week.  The Nanaimo trip this time is to FINALLY see the neurologist to confirm whether or not it is carpal tunnel that has been giving me the problems the last seemingly many months.  Two previous appointments were cancelled, the first due to the health employees strike, the second due to the specialist being on medical leave himself. 

I've wasted too much time on the computer tonight.  I've specifically been looking for free POP3 e-mail accounts.  Almost the entire time we've been online, I've subscribed to many yahoo groups (currently all knitting and crochet related).  My ISP now has spam filters that don't like yahoo groups, and I'm always bouncing and missing e-mail.  I decided it was time to look for an alternative.  I don't like web-based e-mail for the high volume of mail, it is much easier to scan through in my own e-mail program.  I tried Gawab.com a while back, but they have a really stupid system for yahoo groups.  Tonight I signed up for HotPop, which is basically a forwarding service.  I think (hope!) that it might do the trick.  I've heard GMX is supposed to be good, but unfortunately, it is all in German now so that won't work for me.  If anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it.

Finally, I leave you with this fun quiz that has been circulating the blogs for a couple weeks now.  Happy Weekend!

Which flock do you follow?
this quiz was made by alanna