A Happy Halloween

Autumn leaves are falling, jack-o-lanterns glow from every doorstep, and costumed children make their way from house to house, shouting their plea of “Trick or treat!” That can only mean one thing…it’s Colin’s birthday!

Yes, nineteen years ago today I gave birth to my own little Halloweenie, a 9lb, 1oz bundle of joy. There are definitely both advantages and disadvantages to sharing your birthday with a holiday. On the plus side, you are never stuck for a theme for your party but on the downside, the holiday can detract from your own special day. Colin is the last of our three children to officially enter adulthood; a couple of weeks ago he voted for the first time and as of 12:01 this morning he reached the legal drinking age.

I know it sounds cliché but I can’t believe my baby is all grown up. In a blink of an eye he went from this

to this.

Happy Birthday, Colin. Cheers!

25 and Holding

The End is in Sight

This, my friends, is Block #25 of the Great American Afghan.

After several months of churning out squares I will have the pleasure of casting off the last stitch later this afternoon. I don’t mean to make it sound as though it’s all been drudgery—it hasn’t—but I have definitely enjoyed knitting some squares more than others. I purposely saved the last for last, partly because it just seems right to end with #25 and partly because I could see it was a fairly straightforward knit. My new KnitPicks Harmony straight needles arrived yesterday, just in time to try them out on this final block. I already own several sizes of the circulars and am just as pleased with the straights. They have a nice, smooth finish and pointy tips and I really enjoy looking at the colours while I knit. I only bought one pair to try them out but will definitely pick up a few more sizes.

Here’s a look at the four most recent blocks.

This one is meant to mimic a knitted square, magnified.

Cables form the "stitches”, while chain stitches embroidered from I-cord on either end represent the cast on and bound off edges. Rather clever but this square seemed to go on forever!

This one was much simpler, just an overall pattern of bobble flowers and leaves.

This was the final entrelac block, alternating garter stitch rectangles with cabled ones.

I’d never tried entrelac prior to making this afghan and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

I spent yesterday knitting this square, which incorporates four I-cord spokes radiating out from the centre.

At first it was a bit challenging but it became much easier once I developed a system to keep all five yarn ends from tangling.

I was unable to get the yarn I need for the edging locally so I ordered some on the internet. It will probably be a couple of weeks before it arrives, which should give me enough time to put all the blocks together. I’m anxious to lay them all out and decide on their final arrangement but I am not looking forward to the sewing!

Meanwhile, back to work. Only 38 more rows to go!

Twenty-one and Counting

Just a short post today to show you the five latest squares for the Great American Afghan.


With one more soon to be cast off and blocked, that brings the grand total to twenty-one. Only four more to go!

Oh Yeah, I Forgot to Tell You...

I received my Fall Year of Lace shipment.

It’s the Silver Birches Shawl designed by Amy Swenson. The yarn is a scrumptious cashmere 2-ply by Handmaiden in a pale silvery-green. I am resisting casting on until I have completed the summer shawl, which currently lies slumbering.

I started the Scotch Thistle Lace Stole with some Cherry Tree Hill Glitter Alpaca I bought last winter.

I knew I wanted to make a rectangular shawl with this yarn but just hadn’t found the right pattern for it. I think I was drawn to this design because the colours of the original yarn were similar to my own and I could visualize how it would look made up. The pattern is quite simple and is knitting up quickly. I have plans to wear the shawl to my husband’s company Christmas party.

I’ve cast on some more socks. I am making the Cable Rib Socks from Favourite Socks, using Malabrigo sock weight in the Stonechat colourway.

I love this colour so much I have ordered some worsted weight for a sweater.

I am also knitting another pair from Favourite Socks, the Retro Rib Socks.

These are for my brother-in-law’s birthday in November. I am using some khaki-coloured Araucania Ranco, which you may recognize as the recycled yarn from my ex-son-in-law’s partially-knit pair. Don’t worry, I am knitting some seriously good mojo into them for Ed. If you are looking for a pattern for men's socks, I highly recommend this one.

Lately there have been a few yarn-filled parcels arriving at my door. While I won’t reveal everything I’ve received on the grounds that I may incriminate myself, I will show you a couple of my favourites. I couldn’t resist this merino-seacell blend called The Sea of Cortez from StashUpYarns.

This photo doesn't even begin to do it justice. I plan to knit it into this shawl.

And this sock yarn from Actual Size Creations is called Chevalier, which just so happens to be my maiden name.

Tell, me, how could I not buy it when it literally called my name?

Meanwhile, I have been knitting more squares for the Great American Afghan and hope to have an update later this week.

Gotta go! I have some yarn to fondle…some socks to knit…a square to work on…
You get the picture!

Finished Objects Come in Threes

FO #1:

I finally finished my Prismatic Scarf yesterday morning! Is it just me, or do scarves seem to take forever? I mean, there is less yardage in this project than a pair of socks, yet it took me over three weeks to complete. Having said that, I am overjoyed with the final result. At 6” wide and 65” long it is the perfect size. And I love the cheerful colours and the soft feel of the yarn.

FO #2:

Late yesterday afternoon I sat down with my second Grun ist die Hoffnung sock and began to knit the 8” of stocking stitch necessary to complete the leg. I bound off the last stitch and wove in the end at about 10:15. The process was made all the more bearable by…

FO #3:

This arrived in the mail yesterday morning. Once my errands and jobs were out of the way (see how responsible I was?) I settled in with the book on my lap and Grun ist die Hoffnung on the needles and proceeded to plow through both of them, pausing only to cook and eat dinner and answer the call of nature. (Yes, I can knit simple things and read at the same time, a skill I perfected a couple of years ago while making six garter-stitch dishcloths for my brother-in-law.) When it comes to collections of essays or short stories, I always think that I should make my way through the book slowly, savouring each chapter before moving on to the next. Instead, I almost always finish one and immediately begin to read another and before you know it, I’ve worked my way through the entire book. This time I didn’t even bother to delude myself; I just got comfortable and immersed myself in the Yarn Harlot’s humorous and sometimes poignant storytelling. By the time I finished the sock I had only a few chapters left to read. I turned the last page just before 11:00, then turned out the light.

All in all, a good day’s work (I mean, play).

Something to Sink My Teeth Into

The more experienced a knitter I become, the more I find myself drawn to projects with interesting, unconventional construction. I enjoy trying new techniques and am frequently in awe of a designer’s ability to “think outside the box”.

The featured designer for SKA’s October Sockdown is Stephanie van der Linden and I immediately knew which pattern I wanted to make: Grun ist die Hoffnung (roughly translated, Hope is Green). Instead of beginning at the cuff or toe, this sock is constructed around a motif on the instep.


First, the square motif is worked in the round, gradually increasing in size until the required number of stitches is achieved (see 1). Three of the four sides of the square are put on hold, then ten rows are knit back and forth along the live stitches (see 2); this forms a foundation for a short-row toe (see 3).

Here is a view from the back:

Once the toe has been worked, you continue to work back and forth to form the sole, knitting together the first and last stitch of each row of sole stitches with the edge stitches of the toe foundation and the stitches of two of the three remaining sides of the motif (see 4).

When the bottom of the motif is reached the sock is once more worked in the round, with the stitches from the remaining side of the motif forming the instep. The rest of the sock is worked in stocking stitch, in a conventional toe-up manner.

This pattern was initially confusing--it didn’t help that it was translated from its original German—but it soon began to make sense, thanks to some support and advice from fellow Sockdown mates. Once I grasped the concept the sock came together quickly. I made the leg considerably longer than instructed and substituted a picot edge for the ribbing. I think it compliments the lace motif.

With one sock down and the other more than half finished I am ready for my next challenge. There are some upcoming squares for the Great American Afghan that should fit the bill.

On another note, we held our fall birthday get-together on Sunday, as planned. I am happy to report that my knitted gifts went over very well. In addition to giving Alison the felted slippers, I also gave her the Cranberry Biscotti socks I knit last June, along with some Cranberry Chocolate Biscotti made from the recipe included with the pattern.

And to my great relief, Jeanine seemed genuinely pleased with her Swallowtail Shawl and said she couldn’t wait to wear it. Phew, I guess I worried for nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving

The last bite of pumpkin pie has been consumed and as I sip a little Bailey's the soup is simmering away in the crockpot. I hope you enjoyed the holiday as much as I did. Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians and Happy Monday to the rest of you. :o)

Sometimes Less is More

When it comes to socks I am a sucker for multicoloured yarns. Hand-painted, hand-dyed, variegated, self-striping, self-patterning—I love them all. Self-striping and -patterning yarns look best in stockinette stitch or a simple rib but, as anyone who has worked with hand-dyed and-painted yarns knows, it can be difficult to find a pattern that shows them off to their best advantage. Stitch patterns can get lost among multiple colour changes or cause the yarn to pool or flash in unattractive ways. Sometimes it takes several attempts before the knitter finds the perfect combination of yarn and pattern.

I divide my sock yarn stash into two categories: my “regular” yarns and my” good” yarns. I even store them separately; my regular yarns are in one of my night table drawers, while my good yarns enjoy a more privileged position in a basket in the living room. My regular yarns consist of conventional, commercially-dyed brands, usually sold in balls for about $10-$15 per 100g, and are destined to become plain, stockinette socks. I always have at least one pair of “plain socks” on the go to provide mindless knitting while waking up in the morning, riding in the car, or watching tv. I hardly even have to look at them, except when it comes to working the heels and toes. My good yarns, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, are of the hand-dyed and hand-painted variety, each skein a unique work of art and costing considerably more than my regular yarns. They are carefully selected, then tucked away, awaiting the ideal pattern to showcase their beauty.

In the spring of 2007 I was lucky enough to score a skein of SweetGeorgia sock yarn, just after Felicia had announced that she was indefinitely suspending operations to do some travelling and her yarn had become an even hotter commodity than usual (she has since resumed dyeing). I even managed to acquire the one colourway that had captured my heart: Coal Harbour. At the time I had only just begun to buy good sock yarn so I treasured this skein and vowed to make it into something special. I eventually decided on Pomatomus and knit almost a whole sock before losing interest and abandoning the project. This past July I admitted defeat, frogged the sock, and reclaimed the yarn for another pair but they didn’t work out either and the yarn went back into my stash.

A couple of weeks ago I finished my latest pair of plain socks and opened the drawer to select a ball for a new pair but nothing grabbed me so I shut the drawer and put the decision off for another day. I knew I had a fairly long car trip coming up and would want to have some new socks on the go but I couldn’t make up my mind. All those yarns seemed so ordinary and I was craving something a little more spectacular. The thing was, I already had several patterned socks in progress and besides, I didn’t want to “waste” my good yarn on plain socks. That’s when I remembered the photograph that had initiated my love affair with the Coal Harbour sock yarn.

As I cast on 60 stitches and began the 2x2 ribbing, I reveled in the soft feel of the yarn. When I switched to stockingette I enjoyed watching the watercolour shades of aqua and seafoam and purple stack up into irregular but appealing stripes.

Each stitch brought me pleasure and I didn’t want to look out the car window or watch tv. I realized that sometimes the perfect pattern for a hand-dyed yarn is no pattern at all.

On the flip side, just as some multicoloured yarns benefit from a simple stitch pattern, it is also true that many complex stitch patterns benefit from a simple yarn. For example, my newly completed Stricken socks by Cookie. A.

Many of the other featured designers for this year’s upcoming Sockdown challenges also specialize in detailed textured or lace patterns so I am deliberately acquiring a bigger collection of solid and semi-solid yarns to highlight their intricacy.

I don’t anticipate losing my affection for hand-dyed yarns any time soon but I will be less likely to hoard them, waiting for that perfect pattern. Instead, I will allow myself to enjoy them for their own sake, to find beauty in their simplicity. I’ve decided that more of my good yarns are going to become not-so-plain, stockingette socks.

In Which I Curse Myself

Despite my best intentions, almost two weeks have passed without a blog post. I know it sounds cliché but I don’t know where the time goes.

We’ve had our share of fall weather, a mix of glorious sunshine and west coast drizzle—sometimes, like today, we experience both in a matter of hours. Mother Nature smiled upon us a couple of weekends ago, which allowed us to install the railing on the stairs leading down from our deck. It is so satisfying to see the deck and stair renovations finally completed, considering that it was last summer that we began working on them.

Jessica observed yesterday that there were 78 days until Christmas and wondered how I would fare with my gift knitting this year. I made a big dent in it last week by completing five more squares for the Great American Afghan.

When I began this afghan back in July I did so without a particular occasion in mind to gift it to my sister, Alison. It seemed too extravagant for a birthday or housewarming (she and Stan moved into a new house last month) and besides, I knew I wouldn’t have it finished in time for either of those events. As my pile of blocks grew I realized that at the rate I was going I could easily have it done by Christmas so I enlisted my other sisters’ help and rigged the Christmas gift exchange so that Cameron and I drew Alison and Stan. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble staying motivated to finish the final ten squares but I must admit I am dreading putting it all together.

This coming Sunday we are celebrating my family’s fall birthdays (since it’s so hard for everyone to get together, we celebrate our birthdays in bunches, three times per year). Besides knitting the shawl for my sister, Jeanine, I also made some felted slippers for Alison, by request.

I’ve made countless pairs of these slippers from Cascade 220 but after reading the Harlot’s recent review of Patons Classic Wool I decided to give it a try this time. I was really impressed with how quickly and nicely it felted and immediately bought some more to make a pair for my sister-in-law. That’s not to say I won’t use 220 for felting again but it’s nice to have a choice.

Other than the afghan I do not have a lot of gift knitting planned, just a few pairs of socks and a scarf. Knowing me, I will probably come up with more ideas between now and Christmas but for now I have it well in hand.

And yes, I do realize that with those words I have set myself up for a very big fall. May my ever-expanding stash cushion me when I land.