Close to my Heart

The Absent Blogger

Well, despite my best intentions and even photographing my current WIP on the weekend, I just wasn't motivated to blog.  I'm stealing a few minutes before hitting the shower and getting on with my work day now though, just doesn't seem to happen in the evening these days.

I'm suffering a bit of startitis lately.  Rather than working on any of the projects already cast on, I decided to cast on for something new this past weekend.  I've had some yarn that has been trying to decide what to be for some time, it just wasn't happy with two previous cast ons.  Late Saturday night, it finally decided, and its knitter is quite pleased with the results.  I present to you Misti Alpaca Lace, in the beginning stages of becoming an Adamas Shawl:

I'm really enjoying this so far simple lace project.

I also thought I'd show you the method I use for keeping my place on a chart while knitting lace:

I learned about this method a few years ago on some now forgotten Yahoo group.  Highlighter tape that once torn off the dispenser, can be reused several times, often for the life of the project.  I was unable to find this tape locally, eventually finding at some also forgotten website.  I believe you can find this tape at educational supply stores.

In other news, I have a skating update for you.  Last Wednesday marked the end of the Spring Skating session.  I am now off the ice until September.  I had actually contemplating quitting skating, but have now decided I will continue, but will only skate one night per week rather than the two.  With the new job and other community involvement, two nights has become too much for me.  Anyhow, I'm happy to report that I FINALLY passed another level!  (Not my club but the best list of this level I could find)                               
Some things I did better than others, my coach was definitely being nice to me because my one foot back spin and three jump need a lot of work! But I came home happy and will now look forward to skating starting again in September.

Okay, better get off the computer and get ready for work before I'm late!  Hope your week is going well.

Autumn Leaves in Spring?

Now that Spring is kind of sort of here (in some parts anyway) I have Autumn Leaves to show you.  I actually finished this shawl, using Evelyn Clark's Leaf Lace Shawl pattern (Ravelry Link) way back in October 2007.  I had however injured my knee skating, and crawling around on the floor to block just wasn't going to happen.  And once my knee was better, I had lost interest in the whole blocking thing.  Last weekend though, after casting on the Norwegian Woods shawl I figured I'd better get my last lacy project done before I had two to block.  I'm glad to finally officially declare this shawl a Finished Object.  I really enjoyed knitting this, the pattern is interesting yet not too complicated to be frustrating.  And the Sweatermaker Island Hues Yarn, available from Fun Knits, is lovely to work with too.  Here's the pictures, all clickable:

I'm enjoying a lovely four day weekend.  It's been quite relaxing, but time to go vacuum and get a few groceries before I can relax with my hobbies.  Off to the in-laws for Easter dinner leftovers tonight, I'm happy to not have had to cook most of this weekend!

Actual Knitting Content

It's been a while since I've had any knitting content here on the ol' blog, so I figure it is about time to include said content.  I have some finished objects to show you.  First of all, the first pair of Christmas gift socks:

Excuse the crumpled up picture, I couldn't use my blockers since these socks are bigger than those I would make for myself.  Yarn is ONline Supersocke 100 City Color #923.  The matching pattern was going quite well until I encountered a knot just past the heel on one of the socks (the one on the right I think) after which one colour was repeated.  I couldn't be bothered to rip back, I don't think the recipient will mind though!

Yesterday I cast off the Autumn Leaf Shawl (Evelyn Clark's Leaf Lace Pattern), however you'll have to excuse this unblocked picture for now:

You may recall that I hurt my knee while skating last month.  Although said knee is about 95% back to normal, it still hurts to crawl around on the floor, thus crawling to pin this thing out will have to wait for a bit.

Speaking of skating....although I went back on the ice after taking about ten days off as per doctor's orders, I'm finding it rather difficult.  The knee no longer hurts on the ice, and I'm wearing a support, the problem has now turned into a psychological one.  I'm finding it really hard to push myself even slightly now for fear of re-injuring.  Except for during my lesson time, I pretty much skate around the ice not doing much.  I hope my fear will vanish soon and I'll get my mojo back!

Typepad introduced some new templates today.  Always one to enjoy playing around with the ol' blog, I've changed my template.  I reserve the right to change it several more times in the next few days!  Time to go knit now, especially since this is the only night this week without other obligations (even if they are fun ones!).

A Winner, a WIP and some Cuteness

I'm pleased to announce that the winner of my contest was Lissette, who blogs at Crafty Girly.  Her name was picked using a tool found at Random.org.  Lissette tells me that she never wins anything, so I'm happy to have drawn her name.  Her package is on it's way to Florida, sure hope she likes it.  I had fun looking around her blog getting an idea about her tastes.

In other news....an unanticipated busy weekend meant that Kauni never got started, in fact, minimal knitting occurred.  I ended up assisting one of my friends with childcare, so did get some sock knitting done at a soccer game on Saturday, and Sunday I didn't pick up the needles until the evening.  I worked a bit on the Leaf Lace Shawl, which I am really enjoying.  It's fairly simple lace (I'm somewhat reluctant to say that since I now may screw things up royally) and I think yields a very pretty result.  I'm tempted to work on nothing but this, but the deadline for the Red Scarf Project is rapidly approaching so I really must pay some attention to that.  I also need to finish my September socks for the Sock a Month KAL 4. I think this is the third one of these I've participated in, and I really do like the goal of a pair of socks a month.  Anyhow, I digress, here's a picture of the Leaf Lace Shawl in progress:

Yarn is Sweatermaker Lace Weight Yarn purchased some time ago at Fun Knits.  I've been saving this a while now, feeling that it would be a great Fall shawl to knit using this leafy pattern.  I think I will call it my Autumn Leaves Shawl.

And finally, I leave you with pure cuteness:

Brown, Pink, and Ouch

Continuing the brown and pink theme, I have an FO to show you that is NOT socks!  Friday night I cast off, Saturday I blocked, and Sunday was the photo shoot.  Presenting, my second Forest Canopy Shawl:


The "Blowing in the Wind" Artsy Shot:

And a close-up:

Pattern:  Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl
Designer:  Susan Pierce Lawrence (A great designer who just today debuted her latest shawl pattern.  I'll be buying it for sure, her patterns are very well written and attractive)
Started:  March 4
Completed:  March 30
Yarn:  Brown and Pink Fingering Weight Superwash Merino (400 Yards) from Etsy Seller Epicurus (Lazy Perry Ranch),
Needles:  3.75 mm Knitpicks Options (used a 4.0 mm Bryspun DPN to cast off). 
Modifications:  I knit to 259 stitches before casting off.  Blocked shawl measures approximately 28 inches long by 51 inches wide.

The shawl is going to look great with these earrings that I bought from Uli.  Check out her Etsy Store.

On another topic.....last week I had a rather traumatic dental hygiene appointment.  I was nervous (I'm a barely recovered dental phobic) because my previous wonderful dental hygienist is no longer working for my dentist, so I knew I was seeing someone different.  Well, I ended up with someone who's previous employment was dealing with gum disease, and I think she sees decaying gums in every mouth she looks in.  After scaring me by showing me pictures of diseased gums and telling me that was what I had, she talked me into freezing around the one bad tooth so that she could do mega scraping.  Ouch!  Then the dentist came to do his exam.  Well it turns out that the decay is because I have one very badly cracked tooth that cannot be saved.  I had experienced some intermittent pain, but thought it was because of my Invisalign treatment.  I now have to have the one tooth extracted.  I'm thankful that I got in on a cancellation (no point prolonging things), so please think of me tomorrow at 11:40, connected to my IPod for distraction, and being thankful for nitrous oxide!

Weekend!

It was a fairly busy week, but we've made it to Friday, yay!  I have a three day weekend ahead that I'm really looking forward to.  First on the agenda is a good sleep in tomorrow.  By the end of the week I'm always really tired.

I haven't knit much the last couple days.  I didn't pick the needles up at all yesterday, and the previous day, I only knit briefly on my sock WIP while attending the skating club executive meeting.  Earlier in the week, I worked on my new lace WIP.  Remember the pink and brown fingering weight yarn I purchased on Etsy a couple months ago?  I decided that it was much too nice to hide on my feet, so I'm knitting  a shawl with it.  I chose Susan's great Forest Canopy Shawl pattern, because, having knit it once before, I know I can make the most of the yarn, and knit right down almost to the end of the hank.  Here's my progress so far:

And a close-up:

I took these pictures a few days ago, right after work while there was still some natural light (love that the days are getting longer), and sadly, I haven't touched it since.   Hopefully I'll make some good knitting progress this weekend.  The brown may stand out a bit, but I love it anyway.  I'm all about pink and brown these days!

Now I'm off to browse Etsy.  I'm discovering what a great community exists there.  I joined a forum thread of Canadian sellers, where basically everyone is buying items from one another to show support.  I had two sales yesterday, and now I'm off to return the favour.  I heart Etsy!

Happy Weekend!

Forest Canopy Shawl Finished

Today was a lovely autumn day for taking pictures of my finished Forest Canopy Shawl.  I'm sure the neighbours and passerby must always wonder what I'm doing as I wonder around the yard with knitted items and other various things to photograph for the ol' blog.  Anyway, I present to you, my third finished shawl, which is destined to be a Christmas gift:

The colour is probably more true in this picture:

(Both pictures are clickable if you'd like to see more detail)

Pattern:  Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl
Designer:  Susan Pierce Lawrence
Pattern Source: I'm Knitting as Fast as I Can
Yarn: Over the Rainbow Fingering Weight, unkown colourway, 110 grams/460 metres
Blocked size:  54 inches across, 28 inches down the centre line
Needles: 3.50 mm Knitpicks Options Needle (which was great, it didn't come apart once) and a size 4.5 Bryspun DPN to cast off
Modifications: I used fingering weight yarn rather than the sport weight called for in the pattern, and knit in the pattern until 275 stitches before starting the eding.  I probably could have gotten away with one more pattern repeat and still had enough yarn.
Started:  September 2
Completed:  September 26 

Comments: This is a fabulous, well written pattern that I would highly recommend for newby lace knitters.  The lace pattern is simple and easy to memorize.  While knitting, I was concerned that the fingering weight yarn seemed so much more bulky than the lace weight I used for my first two shawls,but it was absolutely fine once blocked.  I'll certainly be using this pattern again. 

Thanks Susan for a wonderful design!

I had the blog blahs today and fooled around with the template to bring the blog into autumn.  The leaves on the banner are from the crabapple tree in our yard. 

The Creation of a Shawl

Early on in it's creation, the Forest Canopy Shawl looked like this.

Here's what it looked like just before casting off:

And after casting off:

For the second weekend in a row, my living room will be a blocking board, and this newby lace knitter will once again be amazed at the wonderment of blocked lace.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, in the afterglow of another finished knit, this knitter will be trying to resist the lure of Startitis (well not completely, moderation is okay).  And also trying to resist the lure of purchasing this pattern and some yarn to knit it.  Bonne Marie, why do you tempt me so?  I already have a ribby cardi on the needles, and yarn and pattern for the Camp Jacket too.  Please, enough of the great tempting designs already!

Swallowtail Shawl

Blocking and photographing was completed on the weekend, and so I present to you my second lace shawl:

Here's a couple more (clickable)views:

 

And the art shot:

Pattern:  Swallowtail Shawl
Designer:  Evelyn Clark
Pattern Source: Fall 2006 Interweave Knits
Yarn: Zephyr Wool-Silk in the Indigo Colourway
Blocked size:  49 inches across, 23 inches down the centre line
Needles: 3.00 mm Knitpicks Circular Needle
Modifications: None
Started:  September 2
Completed:  September 17

Comments: Great easy to follow and fun to knit pattern. It knit up rather quickly too. This was my first experience with Nupps.  My Nupps aren't perfect, but they weren't as difficult to knit as I thought they might be, just very very tedious. I love the smaller size of this shawl, I think it is practical and will get lots of wear.  I'm looking forward to knitting more Evelyn Clark Patterns, in fact the Leaf Lace Shawl will be next up.

Home Sweet Home

I had a great week away, but am so glad to be home.  It was busy and hectic, and I've been too tired to knit; I haven't picked up the needles since Monday!  It's been a long, long time since I've gone that long without knitting.  Knitting is definitely on the agenda for today though.

I did end up packing long pants and socks, and that was definitely the right choice.  The building we were in for the course was freezing, and it didn't help that one of the days it rained all day.  Fortunately, that weather is now behind us, and the forecast for the week ahead is great Autumn sunshine.  I'll even be able to wear my skort when I go downtown to do some errands later today.  And look at all that blue sky in today's Saturday Sky picture:

I mentioned that I planned to do some shopping while in Victoria.  I did indeed spend many hours in the stores, but let's just say that the colours that are in the clothing stores this fall are completely underwhelming.  Lots of neutrals and earth tones, which are just not my thing.  I did however buy a pair of brown dress pants, an ivory colour button up blouse, and a pair of black shoes.

I also visited Beehive Wool, and came away with my planned purchase:

Purple Misti Alpaca Lace Weight yarn.  Not sure yet what lacy lovely this will become, but there is 1200 metres so there are lots of options.

And finally, as intended, one of my first Weekend Tasks was blocking the Swallowtail Shawl.

Finished object pictures coming soon!