The Winding Way

I know. I keep saying I’m going to blog, and I do well, then I stop. Mostly it’s because I get stuck into a project and I’d just rather keep knitting than stop and write about it. I know, not super helpful to my 4 followers, but there it is. And then sometimes I wonder if I’m Instagramming and Facebooking it all, is blogging just redundant? 

But then sometimes I get the urge to write it down and catch y’all up, so here I am again,

I have started knitting Mr Darcy for a friend of a friend. See? There are times when being my friend has its perks. I converted it to straight knitting; it’s my preferred style, and given that the top of the body is worked straight and the sleeves done either on dpn or Magic Loop, I chose to knit in a manner that will be consistent throughout the garment to prevent any gauge issues that can occur when switching between styles.

I’m doing a quick mid-block to make sure that everything is good whilst I start on a different project.

I love/hate winding yarn from skeins into cakes. I like making sure that the yarn is caked lightly and softly and not all hard and strangled. But then there is a significant outlay of time to ensure this quality. I wind a cake at least twice, if not thrice. It always comes out too tight and hard the first time. 

It took about 45 mins to wind these 3 cakes of lace-weight yarn. The difference between them (R to L) is wound once, twice, thrice. It’s subtle, but you can see the difference and the feel of the cakes - vastly different!!

My wee granddaughter Mina is growing! And when I say “growing” I mean cuter!!

When she pulls a face like this, she looks so much like her older brother!! 

The puppies are doing quite well. They are still my comfort and joy on the daily.

Petey still has his sock fetish. He doesn’t chew mine, he likes them as a comfort item. Chica is still the smart one, cocking her head like she really understands. 


My current TV marathon is MasterChef Australia. I’m on Series 3 of 10 and I am just hooked. The have like 72 shows per series, so it’s truly a marathon, but I love it! Yes , the accent is a plus ;) I swear, my Android box is one of the best things that I have ever purchased! I wish that i had done it sooner, but I’m intent on making up for lost time - lol!!! 

Ok. Back at it. Gotta make the most of my days off :)

Best Laid Plans

What's that they say about best laid plans? Oh yeah, you're fucked!!

So my surgery is bumped to next week because some other womans need is greater than mine. And I get that, deep down I do. But I've been with so long already, that I'm just





And then I'm like


just kinda makes me have angry feelings that another man has decided that I'm the lowest on his priority list. Yeah, probably not necessarily a fair assessment of this particular situation, but my gut feelings on the matter nonetheless I just have to rearrange a few plans, hope Amanda can as well, put a call in to my Doc for a few more meds to see me through, and keep on knitting.

So yesterday I spent 4 hours winding that skein of yarn barf into a ball of potential.
I find untangling knots relaxing, therapeutic. Pardon my touchy-feely for a moment, but it's like life. You get handed a shit storm. You sit down, take its measure and decide that it's worth sorting out. Everything needs to be kept loose, no tightening or getting tense. Follow that strand, see a path through the mess. Pull through. Over, under, around. Sometimes it feels like you're going backwards, never gonna get undone, but then you start making progress. The neat, new ball of potential is getting bigger, you can see that what you've got ahead of you is so much greater than the mess behind you. Then you're through. It feels so good to have made the effort, when throwing it away seemed like an easier path. But easy isn't my style, and I like my style. I really loved this skein of yarn,


now a ball of potential.

Tonight I'm chilling with my Iris socks.


I want to finish these up so I can start on these Stitch Surfer socks. As ever, the puppies are not far away.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Montréal Day 3

True to the spirit of being on holiday we slept in. Then it was pack it up to move on to Québec City.
But do not fear, after all of that walking and sightseeing there was going to be yarn! I had to make hard choices and though Effiloché came highly recommended I really wanted to check out Biscotte & Cie. I've seen their yarn making appearances on Knitty (Carousel Sock), (Stitch Surfer Sock) and Loopy Ewe and I wanted to see it IRL and pick up a few skeins for a Sweet Spot strip. Yes, I am still working on my 3^rd afghan. No rush and I've got enough yarns that I know I'll have a 4^th and 5^th easily. Not disappointed. I purchased 3 colourways - Vikings, 49'ers and Patriots (yes, Superbowl theme!) - of Felix.

We stopped into Loblaws for some food & water for the trip and I had to take a picture of the beer aisle. Yes, I know!!! I don't know how long it would take to get used to seeing beer in every grocery & couche-tard (Mac's) that you go into. And the young lady sampling the Alexander Keith's ale (I know!!! Sampling alcohol to boot!!!) was hiding a can of Monster under an AK box. I found that hilarious!!

It was a long, wet drive and a nap was in order once we checked in. Super excellent room - we were upgraded to the business floor - and the bed was perfect.

Dinner was at the Saigon Bangkok restaurant. Very good. This was the second time that I've had General Tao's chicken in Québec and while this version was more enjoyable than the first (granted the first was at a mall), they don't seem to do it spicy like we do in Ontario. Quande même, it was delicious. And truly the best spring rolls that I have ever eaten!!
Fortunately there was a lovely microbrasserie just around the corner where we quaffed a couple before calling it an early night. La Korrigane was another young, hip spot where Lee was not unimpressed with the on site offerings.

It was strange to me (and refreshing to Lee) not to have food available and menus foisted upon you at every bar & pub. Indeed, some pubs (Ziggy's for instance), offered no food whatsoever.

First Day of Real Snow

While the first day of winter isn't actually until December 21^st (seems kind of late to me ...) Old Man Winter couldn't wait to get the party started!!

I've not got much else to share - I've been going hard on Elise's socks so that she can have them before she goes back to her European home. I'm heading down to The Purple Purl tonight for the Knitty Round Table - it's a ton of fun & I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm glad that I gapped on some appts and had a day in yesterday. I'm going to have to start pacing myself; I am definitely feeling more tired than before. A small trade off but I'm going to have to start realizing new limits & working within some new boundaries. Yeah, it won't be easy - y'all know what a busy little bee I like to be.

Here's the picture of me at the Look Good Feel Better program - the volunteer helping me is Karen (or maybe Lynne ... I didn't write it down & now don't remember). A rose by any other name ... she was awesome & is a 2-time survivor herself!! We all came away with box of skin care & cosmetics from excellent companies - MAC, Cover Girl, Anna Sui, Mary Kay and a whack of others!!! I'm still not a massive make up girl but it was very interesting, Amanda had fun and the skin care stuff is excellent - I'm drying up!!

Oh - and ask away Roz!! If there is any intarsia type question that I can answer I will. I'll even try for pics and/or video if necessary!!

Sweet Spot

Fast Forward

Yeah, that's it. Let's pretend like we're in The Amazing Race and we've FF through the month of June. I spent the entire month working like a woman possessed to wrap up month end at work so that all of the schools would actually have their invoices before the end of the month so that they can sign off on them for the Board to pay before the new school year starts. In between all of that, including a week of staycation, I worked on the 2nd afghan for Knitty. This was aided by watching 6 seasons of 24 - I seriously love TV on DVD!!! - and by largely ignoring and/or delegating any and all other domestic responsibilities. It was totally worth it though ... you'll see!!
I'm officially a fan of 24 now, season 7 is going to be watched as soon as Wimbledon is over & I can't wait for fall & season 8!
I did learn that fingering-weight, full sized afghans take a lot longer to knit than you might think. I still want to do at least one more, then maybe move on to some worsted weight yarns. I know, but it's a lovable kind of crazy.

Finally though I have knitting that I can share! I have started on a simple mens sweater for an upcoming book from Abrams/STC Craft. I'll share more details when I get them; for now, just a wee picture. I don't think that I will ever fall out of love with my Signature Needles - they bring an extra pleasure to even the simple stockinette stitch.


I'm also working on a Sidecar Jacket for Julie. Yes, that cable is as tight as it looks. The yarn from Spud & Chloe - Outer - is soft & lovely, nothing less than what I would have expected from Blue Sky Alpacas.

Fall IK

Summer is quite over - the Summer '07 Knitty Surprises are up, but I'll have to start cramming as much fun & knitting into what's left of summer. The Fall IK preview is up and, while I really don't want to rush summer and what's left of my time off, with sweater like this to look forward to it's going to be a great fall!!

Knitting in the News

Knitted Gingerbread House
Knitted Shreddies - Has anyone seen this commercial? It brings a whole new meaning to 'fiber' in your diet!! Ha ha - I kill me!!
Is coconut the next bamboo?