Good to Go

Well, good enough, anyway.

The tree is up, the cards have been mailed, most of the presents are wrapped, and as of about an hour ago the knitting is done.

Liz’s slippers have been felted, soled, and wrapped and Cameron’s socks have been bound off, soaked, and blocked.  They should be dry in a day or two—I will be hanging them over the heat register whenever Cameron is not around. 

I know he will be pleased to receive them.  A day or two after I blogged last he mentioned that new socks would make a perfect gift, although he was careful to note that with all the other things I had to do that he did not expect them until after Christmas.  I smiled inwardly—little did he know I already had a pair for him half knit.  I’ve also wrapped up two skeins of sock yarn with the promise that I’ll knit them up in the new year.  After several years of trying to convert him, Cameron is finding out for himself that handknit, wool socks are warmer than the cotton sports socks he is used to wearing.  He says he does not even need to turn on the space heater in his office when he is wearing them. 

I haven’t touched Alison’s slippers and mostly likely won’t for several weeks.  Nor have I finished sewing Morgan’s doll clothes but I’ve made enough that she won’t miss them and her birthday is coming up in a little more than a month so I can give the remainder to her then.  The last few weeks have been full with Christmas preparations, family visits, and social outings and I’ve reached saturation point.  To top it all off, I woke up with the beginnings of a cold this morning, the consequence of cuddling a sick Andrew last week.  Except for a few last-minute jobs, as far as I’m concerned I’m about as ready as I’m going to be.  My best effort is going to have to be good enough.

It’s unlikely that I will blog again before Christmas so I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a happy and healthy holiday season.  Don’t forget to make some time for yourself in the hectic days to come!

The Year of the Slipper

Unselfish knitting continues…

Last week I washed up a bunch of “handwash only” socks and noticed that Cameron had added a few pairs to the pile.  He usually wears white sports socks and reserves his handknit, woolen ones for really cold weather so I was surprised to see them, considering that he only pulled them out once the snow and bitter winds had disappeared and the rain and warmer temperatures had returned.  It got me thinking that maybe it was time to knit him another pair.  Why not make them for Christmas? 

I know, I know, I’m crazy to put more pressure on myself but Christmas ideas for him are hard to come by.  And I chose a simple,  easy-to-memorize stitch pattern, just interesting enough to keep me engaged.

They’re actually working up pretty quickly, considering that a) I haven’t had a ton of time for knitting lately and b) I can only work on them when he’s not around.

And just when I thought I was finished with slippers for a while a couple of things happened.  First, my sister, Alison, happened to mention that she was in need of some new ones.  I told her I had just knit four pairs and was slippered out but would knit her some in the new year and she was totally down with that.  Then my sister-in-law, Liz, gave Cameron her Christmas list and the second item on it was slippers. 

Now, to be fair, she did not ask specifically for felted slippers but she did mention that she had worn through the ones I’d made her a few years back so I knew that she liked and wore them.  Knowing I could knit a pair over the course of a couple of days, I determined her size and asked her what colour she’d like.  And while I was at it, I got Alison to pick out some yarn for hers and placed an order with Elann.com. 

Not only do they carry the suede soles from Fiber Trends, their Highland Wool is a good value and comes in lots of pretty colours.  I’d given it a test run with Ed’s slippers and it felted really nicely.  The best part is that I receive my shipments from them only two days after I place my order which means I didn’t have to fit in another shopping trip.  This arrived this morning, right on cue.

I never get tired of the sight of stacks of unknit skeins of yarn—I think it’s the possibility it implies.

I warned Alison that I still may not get to her slippers until after the holidays but I have a feeling that I will end up powering through them, just to get them off my plate.  That will make a total of six pairs this year, the most I’ve knit at one time since I first made the pattern four years ago.  Needless to say, they’re a hit.

I’m now attaching suede soles to every pair I make in the hopes that it will significantly extend its life.  With any luck it will be a good while before there is another “Year of the Slipper”.

Whatever Happened to Selfish Knitting Month?

Well, it lasted about five minutes.  Okay, maybe a little longer but suffice it to say that November didn’t really turn out as planned.

It got off to a good start when I cast on Nuppy Diamonds, November’s installment of Chrissy Gardiner’s CSK. 

 

After working a few inches on that I put it aside and cast on Liesl with some beautiful Punta yarn I’d bought early in the new year. 

I might have also cast on a pair of plain, vanilla socks.  I had a bad case of startitis and I was enjoying it.

A few days later a certain someone who shall not be named…cough, Jessica, cough…called and said she was in a time crunch and could I please test-knit something for her asap.  Well, what are mothers for?  I sighed and turned my attention to her project, all the while gazing longingly at my other WIP’s.  (It’s all done now but it’s super-secret so I can’t show you any pictures.) 

Meanwhile, my brother-in-law, Joe, requested a new pair of felted slippers for Christmas.  He’d loved the ones I’d knitted him two years before but had worn holes in the soles and had had to resort to a pair of store-bought.  I hadn’t planned to do any more gift knitting but I’d made that decision before I’d received Joe’s Christmas list.  How could I refuse?  I’m a sucker for people who really appreciate my knitted gifts. 

While I was buying yarn for Joe’s slippers I picked up some for myself since I’d recently noticed some holes in my own pair.  And while I was at it I might as well knit Cameron a new pair—his slippers were practically falling apart and the yarn for a new pair had been sitting in a bag beside the couch for months and months.  Every time I saw it I felt guilty. 

Sigh…add three pairs of slippers to the list.  Okay, one pair was for me but it’s one of the few projects I knit for the product, not the experience, and it always feels like a chore.  It definitely does not qualify as selfish knitting.

Not long after I began knitting Joe’s slippers Cameron received a Christmas list from our brother-in-law, Ed.  You guessed it, it included a request for a pair of felted slippers since his pair had also developed holes. 

Now, technically Cameron has Ed’s name for Christmas and I am only responsible for gifting to Joe but Ed has a special place in my heart.  He has had my name for Christmas for the past two years (and, as luck would have it, has my name again this year) and has bought me knitting stuff!!  Two years ago he even went so far as to phone one of the indie dyers I’d mentioned and ask her for yarn recommendations.  Obviously, he is truly worthy of a knitted gift, even if I didn’t draw his name.

So…make that four pairs. 

As I wove in the last stitch on the last slipper I swear I heard angels singing.

By the way, from now on all the slippers I knit will include leather soles in the hopes that they will last longer.  With any luck I will only have to replace them every few years.

In addition to Christmas knitting I have also been doing some Christmas sewing but this has been a labour of love.  Morgan’s dolls are sorely in need of clothes so I have been stitching up an entire wardrobe.

I still have a few more outfits to go.  Come Christmas, her dolls should be among the best dressed in town.

So with all of this and Andrew’s birth too, there hasn’t been a lot of time for selfish knitting but I have managed to squeeze in a few things.  I’ve finished one Nuppy Diamond sock

and Liesl.  It was a nice, quick knit but I’m having trouble finding just the right thing to wear with it.

Sorry for the crappy photo—the weather’s been dreary lately plus my good camera is in the shop.

I’ve also been working on a set of winter accessories.  It all started with spotting a pair of red gloves in the Fall 2009 issue of Vogue Knitting.  I had the perfect yarn for them, Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in “Tart”.  Then I realized that one of the cones of yarn I’d bought in San Francisco had the same red and black tones and would make a great matching triangular scarf.  And if I was going to make gloves and a scarf, I might as well knit a hat to go with them.  I tracked down some Madelinetosh Vintage in the same colourway (not easy to find, as it turns out) for a slouchy beret.

  

Sadly, I don’t expect that December will yield much time to work on them.  We are expecting houseguests from both sides of the family this weekend and will be caught up in the various activities family visits involve.  Then, of course, with Christmas approaching, we’ll be busy with holiday preparations and social events.

Therefore, it looks like Selfish Knitting Month is going to have to be postponed until January.  We plan to kick it off with another weeklong getaway right after New Years, location still to be determined.  There are so many things I want to knit I’m not sure how I’ll decided what to take along with me.  I can’t wait for the chance to knit undisturbed for an extensive block of time, without thinking about all the things I should be doing instead.

Which reminds me, I have a house that needs cleaning so it’s time to sign off… 

I hope you’re finding some time for selfish knitting.

Part Deux

Here’s Andrew a few hours later, after a bath, a nap, and a good meal. 

Proud mama

and grandparents.

Meeting big sister, Morgan.

One big, happy family.

It’s amazing how someone so small can inspire so much love.

Words can’t describe how happy I feel.

It’s a Boy!

Meet Andrew Ross, born at 3:08 this morning.  He weighs in at 6 lbs 11 oz and measures 20”. 

Isn’t he sweet?

Mom, Dad, and baby are all doing great.  I’m looking forward to holding Andrew for the first time when we visit the hospital later today.  We worked hard for this one (nobody harder than Jessica!) but it was oh, so worth it.

Keeping Days and Selfish Knitting

Today’s post will be broken into two parts.  What can I say?  I have two things I want to talk about and they’re not related in any way.  And a word of warning:  If you like posts with few words and lots of pictures today’s entry is not for you.  Sorry, but it’s my blog and I can do what I like.  :o)

A Keeping Day

When I was a teenager/young adult one of my favourite book series was The Keeping Days by Norma Johnston.  The first two books were written in the mid-1970’s and were in our school library; then in the early 1980’s they were republished in paperback, along with four new titles.  Set in 1910 in Yonkers, New York, the first book opens on Tish Sterling’s fourteenth birthday.  She informs us that she knew as soon as she woke up that it was going to be a Keeping Day, one of those particularly memorable days that occur only two or three times a year, a day to be cherished and recalled during less happy times in the future.  And although her birthday didn’t turn out exactly as she’d envisioned, it was a Keeping Day nonetheless.

Ever since then I’ve held on to the idea of Keeping Days and have stored away quite a few in my own memory.  They’re not always entire days, sometimes only moments or hours, but they’ve stayed with me over the years.  Driving home from the hospital with newborn Jessica crying at the top of her lungs while Stevie Wonder sang “Isn’t She Lovely?” on the radio.  The time we bundled up young Jessica and Matthew and took them skating on a lake that had frozen over (a very rare thing around here).  Having dinner in a Barkerville restaurant on our anniversary while a trio of musicians serenaded the patrons with old-time tunes.  These occasions and others filled me with a ridiculous sense of happiness and contentment and stand out among the many more forgettable experiences of my life.

Yesterday was one of those days.  Our youngest, Colin, stopped by in the morning to receive birthday presents and congratulations.  Afterwards Cameron and I went out for brunch—something we do once or twice a year—then stopped by the mall to pick up a convertible crib/playpen to have at our house for when our upcoming grandchild comes to visit.  The day before Cameron had suggested that we take a drive to Manning Park, about an hour or so away, to see the fall colours so we set out a little before noon.  We’ve spent a lot of time at Manning over the years, sometimes going up for just the day, other times for a few nights of camping, and once in a while just pausing there briefly on our way to or from somewhere else.  We’ve hiked a number of its trails, both as a family and alone, and have seen it in every season.

It was overcast when we left home and we met a few raindrops on the way but the weather improved as we headed east and crossed the summit of Allison Pass.  Even though there was a dusting of snow quite low on the mountains, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the air held only a slight chill.  As I suspected, the fall colours were past their prime but there were still a few trees holding on to their brilliant autumn splendor. 

After a brief stop at the day lodge we decided to walk the canyon trail, a loop that originates near the road, goes up one side of a canyon to our favourite campground, then follows the other side of the canyon back to the road.  It had been ages since we’d hiked it and as we passed a familiar hollowed-out rock we couldn’t help but be reminded of this photo of our kids, taken sixteen years earlier.

I love this picture.

About a half hour later we arrived back at the car and headed a short distance down the road towards Lightening Lake, where we did a longer trail around the lake.  We recalled the time we’d hiked it with the kids, when Colin took three steps to every one of ours because he kept going ahead, then running back to us, then going ahead again.  At one point we spotted two Great Blue Herons in the trees on the other side of a secluded bay, which we later regrettably frightened away when we reached that part of the trail.  We had the place practically to ourselves and only passed one group of hikers the entire time.  The familiar sites put us in a nostalgic mood and we talked of the past but also spoke of future vacation plans and, of course, the impending birth of Jessica’s baby, due in only three week’s time.

Just as we pulled into the driveway we received a call from Jessica.  Did we want to join her and Neil for Indian food later on?  Cameron was a little hesitant—he’s not an adventurous eater—but agreed to give it a try.  We had a nice meal with them (we all enjoyed the food), then arrived home just as our first trick-or-treater was approaching our front door.  The rest of the evening was spent quietly (we never get many kids and this year had only five in all) and I went to bed with a perfect sense of satisfaction.  Our “baby” had turned 21; we’d had a wonderful afternoon together, enjoying the outdoors; we’d spent time with each of our kids that day; and, to my great relief, I’d finished the last of my gift knitting.  Which leads us to…

Selfish Knitting Month

I have a cloth-covered blank notebook that I hesitantly call my knitting journal.  I say hesitantly because since November 2008 I’ve only used up two pages.  It’s the place where I keep track of my gift knitting, writing down what I want to make for who, and ticking off each project as I complete it.  Because I knit on gifts all year long it helps to have a list of what I’ve already knit so that I have an idea of where I stand as various birthdays and the Christmas season approach.

In August this year, after making a list of prospective gifts, I had jotted down some projects I wanted to make for myself: a couple of sweaters, a couple of shawls, and some winter accessories.  A week or two ago I realized that while I had worked my way through most of the gifts, I had cast on only one item on my own to-do list (Laminaria), and I’d worked on it for only a day or two before setting it aside.  What was wrong with this picture?

When I took a look at what I’d knit since the summer, and then over the course of the past year,  I realized that it wasn’t only gift knitting that had prevented me from casting on these other items, it was also my participation in various knitalongs.  Every month I cast on for two or three KAL’s, in addition to having one or two gift items on the go at all times.  No wonder I hadn’t had much time to knit on sweaters and shawls and such for myself.

Now obviously, nobody forces me to knit gifts or participate in KAL’s.  I knit gifts for people I know will appreciate them and look forward to seeing their pleasure at receiving them, even if at times I don’t enjoy the actual knitting.  As for KAL’s, I like the camaraderie of the various groups, the motivation of a deadline, and the added bonus of potential prizes.  The downside is that gift knitting and KAL’s prevent me from knitting other projects on my wishlist, many of which I’ve already purchased yarn for.

I’m not about to stop knitting gifts entirely.  There are some people I really enjoy knitting for and many of the socks I knit for others are “mindless” projects, saved for car rides or watching TV, and do not detract from my other knitting.  What I am going to do is avoid large gifts, like afghans, for the foreseeable future and ease the pressure on myself to produce a knitted gift.  If I’m not feeling it, it’s not happening. 

It’s also time to step away from the knitalong.  This shouldn’t be too difficult.  The ZenGoddess and 50 Socks/50 States KAL’s are both coming to an end and I’m also considering sitting out this round of SKA.  I’d already decided that this year I was only going to participate in the mystery sock KAL’s (which take place every other month) but as fun as they are I am reconsidering the wisdom of knitting a sock I may or may not love when there are tons of patterns I know I want to knit.  Besides, SKA has become so large (over 11, 600 members) that it has become impossible to keep up with each month’s discussion, let alone all the other threads on the board.  What I will continue with is Chrissy Gardiner’s CSK.  It’s like the best of both worlds—it’s made up of many familiar, longtime SKA members and although we are united in our desire to knit each month’s sock design there are no deadlines or restrictions. 

Another thing I’m cutting back on is my participation in yarn clubs.  While I’ve really enjoyed receiving yarny packages in the mail every month or two I’m ready to focus on the yarns and patterns I already own.  I’m not giving up clubs entirely—there are still five shipments to come from the 7 Wonders club, I will most likely continue with the Sip ‘n Stitch club when the tea version recommences in six months, and I have just signed up for the Color Co-op—but I have resisted the temptation to sign up for several others that have caught my eye. 

After I had my revelation a couple of weeks ago I made a determined effort to finish up all of my outstanding gift knitting and KAL projects, with an eye to finishing them by October 31st.  I missed the deadline by a mere hour and a half, casting off a fingerless glove for my Mom at 1:30 this morning.  All that’s left is some blocking and finishing work, which will take a few hours at most. 

Therefore, I hereby declare November “Selfish Knitting Month” and plan to work on whatever takes my fancy, with no deadlines in sight.  The first thing I’m going to do is rummage through my stash to find the perfect yarn for this month’s CSK sock, “Nuppy Diamonds”.  I think it will feel strange at first to be free of deadlines (even if they are usually self-imposed) but I am looking forward to a more freeing and relaxed knitting experience in the weeks leading up Christmas.  After all, knitting is supposed to be fun, right?

To Frisco and Back in the Blink of an Eye

It was just a week ago that I was packing our suitcases for our trip to San Francisco but as I write the bags have already been emptied and the last of the holiday laundry has been washed and put away.  I’m not sure where the time went but I know we had fun.

We left the clouds behind as we sailed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge and out of Vancouver last Monday afternoon.

  

They say a red sky at night is a sailor’s delight and that proved to be the case.  The weather was perfect for the remainder of our trip.

After a lazy Tuesday at sea the cruise portion of our holiday came to an end when our ship passed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into San Francisco Bay on Wednesday morning.   

After checking into our hotel we spent the afternoon shopping.  Or rather, Alison and I shopped and the guys patiently tagged along.  A few weeks before we left for our trip I’d learned that ArtFibers was reopening in a new location, which just happened to be on the same street as our hotel.  It had to be a sign, I’m sure of it.

ArtFibers is not your ordinary yarn store.  It carries only its own line of yarns, which are wound onto cones and sold by the yard.  There are samples knit up in almost every colour of every yarn, along with suggested yardages for common projects such as sweaters and scarves.  If you like, you can indulge in a little “yarn tasting” and try out the yarns for yourself before you make your final choices.  There were so many beautiful yarns it was hard to decide but I finally narrowed it down to four.

  

Just after we arrived at the shop and began looking around I heard some familiar voices.  A quick peek at their faces confirmed my suspicions—it was Jenny and Nicole from Stash & Burn.  They were there checking out the new store and recording their next podcast.  I have been a longtime fan of their podcast and am a member of their Ravelry group so it was a pleasure to meet them in person.

The next day we went on a wine tour in the Napa Valley.  We visited four wineries in all and each had its own style and offered a different experience.  We tasted all sorts of different wines, had an amazing picnic lunch, saw grapes being crushed, and toured a vineyard.

  

That evening we had a delicious seafood dinner at Fishermans Wharf before heading back to the hotel to watch the Giants beat the Atlanta Braves in the first game of the playoffs.

We’d planned to go to Alcatraz on Friday but discovered that there were no more tours available until the following day so we did some other touristy things instead.

We rode the cable cars,

checked out the crookedest street in the world,

and spent some more time at Fishermans Wharf, where we did a bit of shopping and were thoroughly entertained by some California sea lions,

There was an airshow going on and we got a good look at The Blue Angels and a few other performers.

After another seafood dinner we returned to the hotel for our last evening.  Once again we tuned into the Giants game but this time they were beaten by the Braves in extra innings.

Saturday morning it was time to say goodbye to the sunshine and head back to rainy Vancouver.  As much as I enjoyed our holiday it was good to return home, despite the weather.  Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to having the family together for turkey dinner.  With great kids, good health, and a grandchild on the way we have a lot to be thankful for.

And yarn, of course.  Every day I am thankful for yarn.