Morrigan

Without a lot of fanfare or further teasing, here she is:
Isn't she wonderful? All of those cable panels, twisted stitches, side shaping and set-in sleeves! Not for the cable-squeamish, but Morrigan gives back as good as she gets. There are more pictures in the book, (which I don't have quite yet) but this is the one that I took months ago when Amy was flaunting sharing the preview copy of No Sheep for You.

Vancouver

I finished the Purple Vancouver for Artisan Knitworks. I love (relatively) simple knits because they really allow the finishing details to shine. Carefully set in sleeves, cuffs with a reversed seam so that it doesn't show on the turn, paired increases and a folded neck. Simple has to be done well because there is nothing else to distract your eye.
Mmmmmm - I love it!!! I hope that they are as impressed.

I am still plugging along on the Silk Shrug. That's 20" of sleeve & 16.6" of body. Only 12.4" of body, another 20" sleeve (Hmmmm, maybe I could go asymetrical & leave the 2nd sleeve off. Better not.) and a 6" ribbed ruffle picked up 'round the body. Good freakin' thing that I find stockinette so meditative.



Opal sock #1 is now sporting a heel!!


Elise's Sorroco/Water Mark pullover is coming along nicely. Sorry, big secret = no picture. You'll just have to trust me.

But in return for you giving me that sacred trust I will give you a gift. Come back tomorrow & I will show you Morrigan. Yup from No Sheep For You. The real picture, not a PhotoShop'd version. Promise.

Amanda did a cartwheel on the beam!! Not the low one 5cms off of the floor - the regulation-height one!! While the other girls moved onto the floor Amanda went back up, over and over until she stuck the landing. Okay, they had the wide pad on the beam and it was a Jello-jiggly, but she was the only one who persevered & did it!!! Here it comes:

Watching AR with Wannietta - part II

What with the Oscars on tonight tv totally sucks - thank god for AR!!

Poor Drew - altitude sickness. Did he get that the firs time 'round?
Did anyone ever say that gay men couldn't drive? Musta missed that stereotype.
"I don't think that the car liked that." It's a poor workman who blames his tools.
LMAO!!! Kevin & Drew are a freakin' riot!!
SNAP!!! The more connecting flights that you have to take, the greater the odds of more delays.

Awww c'mon - the Beauty Queens?!? I'd almost rather see Rob & Amber winning.
Sometimes you can get too hung up on the details.
Uchenna's looking like he could spit nails.

Finally!!
Good man Uchenna - bite your tongue!
"Grab the bags Amber."?!? Not that I'm sexist, but still.
Hmmmm - a little dissension, trouble in paradise? The newlywed glamour is fading.
By Machine - totally!!! I can drive that.
Different kind of nuts & screwing Dustin.
Geez Mirna - she needs a step stool. I mean, unless you want to do all of the top ones by yourself. I'm sure that most of you'll need a step up to reach them.
No more than 40km/hr? Is that a rule or a suggestion?
Danny & Oswald are funny - "my manicurist ..."

C'mon Mary & David - don't ever give up!!!
Mirna & Chmirna have gone a leetle over the edge. (which is not much different than a lot over the edge once you're over it)
Valley of the Dead - is that like the Valley of the Dolls?
Son of a nut cracker - again!!
Maybe you should drive from now on Kevin.
Poor Mary - there are alliances once in awhile but there are no friends in a race.
That's what happens when the blind lead the blind.
I don't think that Drew was really up for this Race.

Facing off against Mirna & Charla. Sounds like the name of a new show.

Sunny Day - the good & the bad

It was so nice to have a sunny day that was also kind of warm. I mean, compared to -30 it's really nice to have a -5. That's a good.
So anyway, the sun shining off of all reflective surfaces made me realize that there wasn't a single such surface on the bus-van. I was planning on vaccuming it & Armor All-ing it so I had the time to spare to wait in this line. It's worse than it looks - there were about 20 cars in front of me! That's a bad. I'll do the inside cleaning tomorrow. Postponing it - that's good; having to do it - that's bad.
But I had this to keep me occupied. I know - not just airmail, but royal mail!! Her Majesty obviously recognizes the value of a Rowan Magazine and the importance of it getting to me. Rowan 41 is wonderful - I love quite a few projects! Yeah, I know, but I need to keep my options open. I might need 20 30 50 "next projects".

Other things are getting knit (that's a good) - I just haven't taken the time to lay 'em out & digitize them (that's another bad). I'll try to get on that tomorrow.

Watching AR with Wannietta - part I

Can you believe that it's finally back? Amazing Race All-Stars has a cast of teams that you may or may not remember but I'm sure that we'll all pick a favourite (and a least favourite) before the first episode is over. My early fav is Uchenna & Joyce. Go Team!!!
I've got to say though, that Rob & Amber milked their 15 minutes of fame to the last drop. The cow is dry. Enough already.
On with the show!

"You will be eliminated." What happened to "may be ...?"
Eric & Danielle have the key - pick a leader & good or bad they make the call if there's not a consensus.
Drew. Dude. If you can't run with a backpack you're pretty much screwed from the get-go.
OMG! Married life has changed Rob!
Mary has changed too. This is going to be a hard core, kick-ass Race.

Not subtle enough at all David.
A cabbie with a shortcut - sounds like trouble to me. Got lucky this time.
Quite the ego R&A have!
Right on John Vito - we've had enough of them.
Dude - you're partner is laying in the street!!!

Kevin is not very sympathetic.
"Advised to enter through the North Park." Hmmmmm. What happens if they enter through the South Park?
"Left, left, left." Let's hope that he doesn't stutter.
Oh cool - I get to find out what happens!!!
Awwwww. Poor horsies!!
I know my limits - I'm no cowgirl. Recover it.
Okay. South entrance bad. Follow all advisories.

You never know - if you made a mistake chances are that other teams did too. And there is always the element of bad worse luck.
Driving on a rim. Bad idea. Well, it's not their car. Okay - drive on the rim.
"Don't hit any more rocks." Are you shitting me? Have you looked at the terrain?!!
Considering that they thought that they were out and that team #10 gets to race next week Kevin & Drew looked awfully disappointed.
Trust me John Vito - Phil doesn't joke about your finish.

Extreme Knitting

Thanks for the Card Catalogue link Amy - it's fun!

What a way to get Spring started!!! The Spring Knit.1 has an article on Extreme Knitting (awesome job Leigh!!!). I am honoured to be associated with such an extremely talented group. (Yeah, I know - but it's kinda funny!)

What're you still sitting there for? Go out & buy it!!!

Gonna Get Me Some Culture

And nothing says culture like the theatre. Ada & I are going to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance at the Hummingbird Center on Saturday. I'm making my escape while the getting is good (and when I say " the getting is good" I mean while the weather is decent & Kerwyn is home) and I'll be at Ada's for dinner tomorrow night and will wear out my welcome sometime Sunday afternoon. I will earn my place on the Drunken Knitters squad by raising a glass (or several dozen) while I knit, cross stitch and chill out with Ada.

I sent off the Checkmark Shawl to Elise and the Wigwam sweater & Cowl to Kristi today. Once I got some pattern issues sorted out I made rapid progress on the Vancouver sweater. Don't be too impressed - it's a bulky knit comprised of a strand of Manos & a strand of Lana Grossa mohair.

The Silk Shrug is great bus knitting - endless stockinette stitch on 3.5mm needles.

Fiona emailed her knitters - the cover has been decided upon for her next book. Again, and fittingly, they chose something that Fiona knitted so I'm still waiting to pop my cover girl cherry. sigh

There was a fantastic snow rainbow this morning!! I may not have mentioned it but I love rainbows - real ones, not rainbow tchotchkes. Isn't it wonderful? You can just about see it all the way 'round!!

6 Weird Things

about me - not just weird things in general. I've been reading these around the blogsphere and gave it some casual thought, but now that Julie's tagged me for real I'm going to have to dig deep & come clean.

1. I love coffee but I can't drink it even a little cooler than warm. Iced coffee - totally out!!

2. I can't do nothing. Even doing one thing at a time is a challenge. I love watching tv, playing cards online & knitting - and I can still pay attention to what's going on around me so the kids get away with nothing. Thank God for knitting - it's totally portable and fairly unobtrusive and is my fidget of choice.

3. I only use Crest toothpaste. It was always the regular paste until they came along with the Vanilla, but it has to be paste - no gels, liquids or foams.

4. I have to read before I go to sleep. I have a really hard time falling asleep - mostly 'cause I think about what I've done, didn't do, have to do, shoulda/woulda/coulda done and then I move on to thinking about the kids, Kerwyn, work etc.. I've found if I read - fantasy/sci-fi is my genre of choice - then I think less about my own circle of worry and can fall asleep with less worry.

5. a) I'm always cold. I will never doubt Kerwyn's love for me - he always lets me tuck my freezing feet in between his feet without pulling away or shrieking (even if he's fast asleep). I swear though - the night that he pulls away there will be questions asked! b) I can't wear socks to bed; it feels weird and I just can't do it.

6. I can't eat orange or grape flavoured things. I like real clementines & orange juice and love seedless grapes but artificial orange/grape flavour makes me gag. Ewww - I'm gagging right now just thinking about orange Kool-aid and grape popsicles. After vanilla anything red - cherry, raspberry & strawberry - is fair game.

Well, now you know a bit more about me and I hope it doesn't change anything between us. I'm gonna tag Anne, Kenny, Bonne, Jen, Joanne and Daphne.

THE RULES: Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

Edited to add: Sorry if you're getting hit twice & I hope that you don't hate these memes!

March Break plans

I know that it seems like a ways off, but it's only 5 weeks away. And it's not like I had any specific plans - Kyle will probably be in & out with his friends and Amanda will surely be scheming for sleepovers - but if I did they'd surely have to be changed.
Kerwyn will be off on a business trip.
Over March Break.
In Reno, NV.(no worries there - Kerwyn really isn't a gambler)

I know.

If I weren't the gullible trusting type who had absolutely no imagination whatsoever was easily distracted ...

... oooooo - is that a new-to-me sock yarn that comes in colours that make the rainbow look like a poor cousin?

... and is that a Blog Thing?

You Are a Life Blogger!

Your blog is the story of your life - a living diary. If it happens, you blog it. And make it as entertaining as possible.

What Kind of Blogger Are You?

So my dance card is empty.

OMG!!! Someone come and play with me!!

I'm an excellent playmate - I don't throw sand, I share my toys and I insist on a snacktime. So if you're even a bit tempted just holla at me.

She Loves Me ...

She definitely loves me!!
Elise has given me more Fiesta Yarns to work with. I don't want to speculate or anything; I'm sure that she doesn't play favourites with her knitters, but I've got to say that I'm feeling quite spoiled. Sorocco is interesting - quite a bit of twist, shiny & stretchy - and much in contrast to Water Mark. The colourway is Iris.

I finished the shawl and it's gorgeous. The picture really doesn't do it justice!! It's totally spectacular, so fluid and drapey; it uses Fiesta's La Boheme & Gelato. As soon as I have any info on the book you'll be the first one I tell ... honest!! You know that you're my favourite reader. BTW, it's not actually an intarsia piece - just in case you were wondering.

To Dup or Not

As I had mentioned, the stranding didn't work well to integrate the 2nd green on Shedir. So I ripped it out and just went with a straight up colour change. As I worked on it occurred to me that I could duplicate stitch the light green. So I did. I'm just not sure if I really like it or not. It definitely looks better from a bit of a distance. Whaddaya think? I'll drop it off at the office for Deb to try on and get her opinion. Then I'll finish in the ends and either complete the duplicate stitching or take it out.
And I just don't feel right earning money from someone else's misfortune so, I've decided that the money that they're paying me to knit the hat will go to The Relay for Life. Yes, it was so much fun last year that I'm going to do it again!

Sick Days

Monday was a snow day and I got a lot of knitting done, but the pictures were too flash harsh. I really intended to take better pictures yesterday but I have been struck down by a vicious cold. I feel worse today so y'all are going to have to wait till - hopefully - tomorrow. One step forward, two steps back. I will have to make up for all of this laying down just holding my knitting.
I think that shoveling too much snow on Monday is the cause. I may not shovel snow ever again.