Let There Be Light

I have a new door and I am inordinately pleased about it.

  

You might wonder why I am this ecstatic over something a simple as a door but sometimes it’s the simplest things that bring the most joy. 

The fact is that this doorway has been out of commission for at least two years and for various reasons we haven’t been able to replace the door and frame until now.  This has meant numerous trips out the front door and around the house or, alternately, up the inside stairs, out the kitchen door, and down the outside stairs.

Now I not only have a door that opens and closes (very important qualities in a door) but it has a window (that also opens and closes and has a screen) to let in light to my laundry area and fresh air to the first floor. 

Simple things but they make me happy.

For the Win

It was about five years ago that I fell in love with Joe Sharp Silkroad DK Tweed in colour 416, aka “Cocoa”.  This yarn, composed of wool, silk, and cashmere, is a soft shade of oatmeal sprinkled with flecks of brown, and, in much smaller quantities, white and pink.  I first spotted it at my daughter’s LYS in Olympia, WA and even though I made a point of seeking it out on each of several subsequent visits to the shop, I could never justify purchasing a sweater’s worth of this heavenly stuff.  And then Jessica moved back home and my opportunity to acquire this particular batch of yarn vanished, although the memory of it stuck with me. 

The details are fuzzy now but at some point I gave into temptation and ordered 10 skeins of my dream yarn from WEBS.  Their dye lot had fewer pink flecks than the yarn I’d initially been drawn to but it was beautiful just the same and I envisioned knitting it into a cabled cardigan.  Eventually I settled on Fylingdales and in January 2009 I eagerly cast on, only to find that I quickly became bored with the repetitive stitch patterns.  Over the course of the next year and a half the sweater spend more time in hibernation than in active duty and by September 2010 I’d only made it as far as the armholes. 

 

Time for Plan B.  I frogged Fylingdales, washed and reskeined the yarn, and cast on for another cabled cardigan, this time Hallet’s Ledge.  Even though the pattern called for a heavier yarn I felt confident that I could substitute the Jo Sharp DK since it works up more like a worsted weight. 

It started off promisingly enough and despite an early setback I was quickly well on my way.

   

This time I managed to complete the entire body and part of one sleeve before I came to the sad conclusion that it wasn’t going to fit.  The cables drew in the bodice more than I’d anticipated and even though I knew the yarn would relax with blocking, I didn’t think it would be enough.  Once again I ripped out all those stitches, washed and reskeined the yarn, and set it aside until the perfect project presented itself. 

Then last fall I came across Quercus, an A-lined, short-sleeved, cabled cardigan.  Knit from a worsted-weight, tweed yarn, it looked like it might be The One.  Cautiously optimistic, I put Plan C into action and cast on.  The design’s attractive stitch pattern and interesting construction techniques held my attention and it wasn’t long before I had completed the body.  I slipped it on, stretched the cables across my chest and thought it would fit once the front bands were added and the sweater was blocked.  Then life and other knitting projects took precedence and it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I was able to pick it back up and complete the sleeves, front bands, and collar. 

I tried it on again, stretched the cables across my chest and hoped it would fit once it was blocked.  I gave it a bath, laid it out on the blocking mats, thought it looked awfully small across the bustline, got out my tape measure, stretched it a bit more, and prayed it would fit once it dried.  It had to—I couldn’t bear the thought of a Plan D.

It did. 

  

Perfectly.

I win.

On Hold

If I were asked to describe my life right now this is the phrase I would choose.  That and maybe “out of my hands”.  Just minutes after publishing my last blog post I received an upsetting, but not entirely unexpected, phone call from my daughter, Jessica.  She and Neil had decided to separate and could she and Andrew move in with us for a while?  With some regret, Cameron and I said goodbye to our empty nest and set about preparing the house for its new occupants.  We moved my office upstairs and renovated the two first-floor bedrooms.  We retrieved the kids’ old crib from the shed at the cabin, moved breakable items out of reach, and put plug covers in the electrical sockets.  Bring on the toddler—we were ready! 

Well…as ready as you can be for life with a toddler.  Naturally, the changes go deeper than just decorating and childproofing—suffice it to say that a household with a young child (even a sweet and loveable one) is vastly different than one without. Used as I was to spending most days alone in a quiet house, it has taken me some time to adjust to the increase in noise, activity, and paraphernalia.  I’ve also begun looking after Andrew while Jessica is at work so that has left me with less time and energy to pursue my hobbies and interests.  Although I had big plans at the beginning of the year, I have put them on hold for now and am taking things one day at a time.

Even though I’ve put off my design project for now, I’ve still had time to knit other people’s patterns.  Since the beginning of the year I’ve knocked out several shawlettes and a hat,

  and, of course, there are always socks on the go.

One of my biggest accomplishments was to finish my journey along the Silk Road, with the completion of Mashad and Salor.  Yesterday, I pulled out all fourteen pairs and lined them up for a photo shoot. 

 

I had hardly grafted the last toe when Hunter released the e-version of her second book, The Knitter’s Curiosity Cabinet.  This time the designs are based on botanical prints and I’m looking forward to knitting my way through the various plants and flowers, beginning with Chrysanthemum frutescens. 

Meanwhile, there are numerous other patterns calling my name and I may have had a bit of a cast-on party this past weekend.

 

As for Cameron’s sweater…well, let’s just say it has suffered a bit of a setback.  Okay, really more of a major setback.  The Sweater That Shall Not Be Named will see some love again one of these days but for now it is on hold.  Indefinitely.

Happy New Year!

Even though the 2012 calendar went up over a week ago, for me today feels like the first day of the brand new year.  For the third year running, Cameron and I spent the first week of January on holidays, more or less holed up on our own, with limited contact with the outside world and this morning signaled a return to real life.  This year we opted for a “staycation” and except for spending two nights in a not-so-rustic cabin at a local golf course, we stuck pretty close to home.  The weather was not conducive to a lot of outdoor activities so we passed much of the time reading and knitting and just enjoying being together.  It’s a tradition that we will definitely be carrying on.

The socks have just been flying off my needles.  Since Christmas I’ve finished three pairs.

  

I enjoyed knitting up this variegated yarn in a slipped-stitch pattern.

Almondine worked up quickly in some yarn I received from Jessica and Neil in my "Boxing Day Survival Kit”.

 

Last year I had presented Neil with a video-game themed kit so they turned the tables on me this year, providing everything I needed for a relaxing, knitting-filled Boxing Day (including adult underwear so as to avoid those pesky bathroom breaks).  The truth is, I didn’t put it into use until a few days later (well, except for the Depends…) but it was much appreciated just the same.

I also made my tenth stop along the Silk Road and knit up Yomut in just a week’s time.

I just love how they turned out in the Gradiance Yarn from The Unique Sheep.

In addition to socks, I joined a shawl KAL in the Handmaiden/Fleece Artist group on Ravelry and cast on Caricia in some Sea Silk that’s been in my stash for over four years. 

I like how it’s knitting up so far.  This yarn has tried and failed to be several other things in the past but I think this one’s a winner. 

And if that weren’t enough, yesterday I began a new pullover for Cameron, the Traveling Man Sweater, in a charcoal grey that’s much darker than it appears here.

Something tells me that I may regret all that ribbing in near-black yarn before it’s done but this one is all about the product, not the process.  I’d like to have it finished by the end of February, in time for his birthday.  But it won’t be a surprise.  Cameron is rather, shall we say selective?, about his clothes so he was involved in every step of the planning, from choosing the pattern, to determining the size, to shopping for the yarn.

With all that knitting, I’ve had plenty of time to think about the coming year and what it might bring.  Most of my goals—maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, bringing vacation photo albums up to date, and compiling some genealogical research—don’t involve yarn or needles but I have been contemplating a rather ambitious project that does.  This year I’d like to try my hand at design and put together a pattern collection for sale.  Right now I am purely in the planning stage, with tons of ideas running through my mind and keeping me awake at night.  As the year progresses I hope to bring some of those plans into fruition and share the process with you as the year unfolds.  So hang on tight—it may be a rocky ride.

The Making is Over

One by one, I have gradually been crossing things off on my Christmas to-do list.  Today I reached a significant point in my holiday preparations by completing the last of the handmade gifts.  Since daughter, dear daughter is on the receiving end of one of those presents and sometimes reads my blog I can not share everything I’ve been working on but here is a sampling.

Ever since I gifted the first felted slippers back in 2006 I have received requests for at least a pair or two every year.  Knowing how much they are loved and appreciated, I am happy to oblige, even though the novelty of knitting them wore off long ago.  This year I had planned to make only two pairs, one for my sister, Anna-Marie, for her birthday and one on behalf of my sister, Alison, to gift to her daughter-in-law.  I think it was halfway through the third slipper that I decided to also knit a pair for my brother-in-law, Doug, for his birthday (we celebrate the winter birthdays in my family at a post-Christmas brunch so holiday gift-planning also includes several birthday presents).  I vaguely recall having a conversation with him about them and I’d recorded his shoe size in my knitting notebook so I am guessing that he had expressed an interest in owning a pair at some point.

So, that makes three pairs in all:

I still haven’t decided whether to gift them felted or unfelted—I’d hate to get the sizing wrong but it is nicer to receive a pair that you can slip on right away.

Once upon a time I used to be quite a seamstress but it’s rare these days that I use my machine for anything other than hemming or mending.  However, since Santa is bringing my granddaughter an Easy-Bake Oven, Jessica suggested that an apron might be a good gift for Morgan this year.  I found a really good tutorial online and had a lot of fun picking out coordinating fabrics.  It made up in no time and I love how it turned out.

    

While I was sewing it I remembered a Christmas apron panel that I’d bought years ago when I used to work at a craft store and decided that it had sat in the fabric stash long enough.  Luckily, I had just the right amount of muslin to line it with and before I knew it I had another apron to gift, this time to my mother (who is actually the only person I know who regularly uses an apron).

You’ll notice that I’ve used our Christmas tree as a background for all of these projects.  If you look more closely you’ll see that the Christmas tree is completely bare of ornaments, even though it has been up since Sunday.  I am hoping to remedy that situation in the next day or two, now that the making is over and the shopping is almost done.  (We won’t dwell on the fact that I haven’t even begun the cards.)  Considering the jobs that still remain on my to-do list it is unlikely that I will be posting again before the big day so I’d like to extend a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my blog readers and wish you nothing but good things in 2012.

P.S.  If you have the means, please try to make the holidays brighter for someone less fortunate.  Every year my ladies group adopts a family for Christmas from our local women’s shelter and we are going shopping for them tonight.  This is one of my favourite holiday traditions—it feels good to ease the family’s burden at this time of year and it always makes me feel even more grateful for all I have.

Reveal

Now that Andrew’s birthday has come and gone I can share details and pictures of his super-secret birthday sweater.  Well, it wasn’t entirely secret.  Jessica knew which sweater I was knitting for him, she just didn’t know what colour it was going to be. 

I fell in love with Arshile months ago so when I saw the booklet in my LYS I immediately snatched it up and purchased yarn; an added bonus was discovering Abi, which by the way, despite numerous issues, turned out perfectly.

(One of these days I am going to have to get model shots of all my sweaters—the laid-out-flat-on-the-floor poses just don’t do them justice but it’s hard to take pictures of yourself!)

Back to Arshile…

I really loved the gansey-style textured stitches and I am a sucker for a hoodie.

The pattern called for knitting it flat and seaming but I couldn’t see why it couldn’t be knit in the round so I adjusted the pattern and cast on after taking off for Miami back in September.  It turned out to be perfect travel knitting—the pattern was straightforward and just mindless enough that I could knit and look out the airplane window at the same time.  I worked on it a bit on the way home but mostly I just slept.

It didn’t take long to finish once I got home and settled in. 

 

Once blocked, all I had to do was wait for the big day…

With Andrew so mobile these days, it’s hard to get him to stand still for a picture but I managed a quick one.

and then another.

After that the photo shoot went downhill when I tried for one with the hood on and he proceeded to jersey himself in his effort to get it off.  However, I am happy to report that he has gone on to wear the sweater multiple times since without incident.

Birthday Boy

From this

to this

in the blink of an eye.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Triumph and Tragedy

Triumph:  Despite suffering a major setback, after two months of tv-, car-, and social-knitting I finally finished the seemingly endless stockinette body of Abi at about 10:30 last night.  I was so excited by the prospect of adding the sleeves and beginning the cabled yoke that I decided to begin right then.  This may have been a lapse in judgment.

Tragedy:  The process did not turn out to be as simple as I first anticipated.  Recall that the pattern is written for flat construction and I am knitting it in the round.  Consider that to eliminate seams you must alter stitch counts and use different construction techniques.  Also take into account that I decided to attach the sleeves and increase for the yoke in the same row and you might have some idea of why I ran into trouble.

Triumph:  A couple of hours, a glass of wine, and several failed attempts later, I successfully attached the sleeves to the sweater and ended up with the right number of stitches.  Win, win.

Tragedy:  Even after a good night’s sleep, this morning it took three tries to get the cables placed around the yoke to my satisfaction.  I should have waited until after I’d had my first cup of tea.

Triumph:  The cables are evenly dispersed and strategically placed and the yoke is well on its way.  Abi may become a sweater yet.

 

On a more somber note, tomorrow we celebrate Remembrance Day.  In addition to observing a minute of silence at 11:00 am, Canadians wear poppies to commemorate the memory of our fallen heroes.

Lest we forget.

And Then There Were Two

Well, three, if you count the cat (who is currently oblivious to the whole situation).

Just a short time ago Cameron helped Matt load up the last truckload of his belongings and move them into his new abode (Colin’s condo), thus decreasing the size of our household by one and ushering in a new phase of all of our lives.  It’s a day we have all been looking forward to, in the best kind of way.  Matt will experience true independence for the first time in his life and we will regain some of the freedom we lost when our first child was born.  I know some parents dread becoming empty-nesters but I look at this moment as a sign of success.  What greater achievement is there than raising your children to become capable, responsible, independent adults?  After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Tomorrow we will celebrate another milestone when our youngest turns twenty-two.  Happy Birthday, Colin!

Matt and Colin, roomies once again.  Okay, so maybe they don’t look like the most capable, responsible, independent adults in this picture but underneath those Halloween costumes I assure you that they are.

Taking a Breather

September and October have been very busy and will continue to be so right up until this weekend, when we will be hosting about 25 people for our family’s annual fall birthday get-together on Saturday, then helping our eldest son move out on Sunday (after that we will officially be empty-nesters!).  Today feels like a bit of a catch-up day, working on some knitting this morning and updating Ravelry project pages and the blog this afternoon.

First things first, a secret project I alluded to way back at the beginning of September.  A very kind Ravelry friend sent me some yummy sock yarn from her mother’s destash

so I thought it only fitting that I send my yarn fairy a gift in return.

River Grass socks made from some locally dyed yarn, purchased at one of my favourite LYS’s.  I may have also sent along some Canadian chocolate because isn’t everything better with chocolate?  Once again, Yarn Fairy, I want to say a huge thank you for your kindness and generosity.

Throughout September I worked on several other projects.

I made quite a lot of progress on my Strata Sphere but it still doesn’t look much like a sweater yet.

I finished up my last pair of socks from Chrissy Gardiner’s CSK, Memento Mori.

Unfortunately, this photo doesn’t do justice to the gorgeous yarn from Impulse of Delight.  I salivate every time she updates her shop.  I also cast on and completed Gordes, knit from Quince and Co.’s Tern.

This is the second pair I’ve made with this yarn and I really like it.  I have plans to try out their sweater weights too.  As if that weren’t enough I also cast on Cusp for the Cookie A. KAL and got as far as the gusset on the first sock.

 

I chose another new favourite yarn, Spud and Chloe Fine.  Like the Tern, it is a wool and silk blend with a nice bounce.  As if all of that weren’t enough, a few weeks before we left for holidays I decided that I really wanted a shrug to wear with my “little black dress”, one that would match the necklace I planned to wear with it.  The result was the Lady Grey Lace Shrug in a deep red.

I finished it in plenty of time and It turned out exactly as I’d hoped but you’ll have to take my word for it when I tell you how elegant it looked since I neglected to get a picture.

We left for our trip on September 29th, a working holiday with my husband’s company that consisted of three days in Miami, followed by a weeklong cruise to the eastern Caribbean.  Of course, the most important decision was what knitting I would pack for the plane.  The Ennea Collective had released Clue 1 of a mystery shawl the week before and I had promptly jumped in—you know how I love a good KAL.

 

If Clue 2 was released in time I planned to work on that.  If not, Plan B was to cast on for Andrew’s birthday sweater,  Despite Lori’s valiant attempts on my and another knitter’s behalf, Plan B it was (in retrospect, it was probably a better choice anyway since all of the lace charts might have been a bit fiddly to manage).  I worked on it all the way to Miami and by the time I arrived I had more than half a body.  Then I put it away and didn’t knit a stitch for ten days.  

Think about that for a minute.  Ten whole days.

There simply wasn’t time.  We were too busy participating in 70’s night and getting down with the World Class Rockers,

then enjoying the mellow sounds of Blue Rodeo the following night.     

 

We golfed and did some sightseeing in Miami, then boarded The Allure, the world’s largest ship.

The ship was not only huge, it was also very beautiful with an aqua theatre and boardwalk area, complete with carousel, ice-cream parlour, and old-fashioned candy store,

a mini replica of Central Park,

a zip line,

a climbing wall,

and two flow riders,

in addition to numerous restaurants and shops and some amazing artwork.

Our first stop was Nassau, Bahamas

then it was on to St. Thomas, where we went on a sail ‘n’ snorkel on a pirate ship.  We saw lots of turtles and tropical fish and got tattooed on our way back to port.

In St. Maarten, our final port-of-call, we attended a beach party hosted by my husband’s company.  The beach was spectacular!

With that we said good-bye to the Caribbean and headed back to Ft. Lauderdale, sailing through some stormy seas on our way (I might have been a little queasy).

What a contrast!

A few days later we arrived home to find that October was already almost half over.  Since then, real life has kicked in with a vengeance  and our trip already seems like a distant memory—cliche, I know, but all too true.  A post-vacation cold this past week allowed for plenty of knitting and I have several FO’s to show off but I’ll leave that for another post—this one is plenty long enough.

Note to self:  Write shorter, more frequent posts so you don’t bore the poor blog readers to death.