Sunday 28 June 2015

Inspiration Struck.....

... despite the heat. Yup, Alberta is in the middle of a rare early summer heat wave. Yesterday we got up to 31C. Blistering. Today feels even hotter although I haven't seen the official high temperature for today yet. It didn't even cool off over night; since this area is one bare step up from true desert it is not uncommon for temperatures to drop into the single digits overnight even if the daytime high was over 30C. Spent most of the weekend knitting in the shade on the deck with a cool drink to hand. Best way to beat the heat I've ever found.

Even the dogs were chilling out. Or flaking out.



Back to the part about inspiration. Made tons of progress on my Sideways Vest this weekend. Probably because touching any amount of wool, even sock wool, was just too much. So, nice cool cotton it was. Hmmmm, looks like I'm going to need buttons soon.



Check out my new book -


Another great way to beat the heat was to go to the bookstore. There are several patterns in there that I want to try, should be loads of fun.

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Ugly Christmas Sweater

Started an Ugly Christmas Sweater; this should be loads of fun! Improvising using Elizabeth Zimmerman's percentage sweater method.

Found some cheap cotton yarn at Walmart - Bernat Handicrafter Holidays - in red, white, and green. I really didn't want to go with cheap acrylic, the standard for Ugly Christmas Sweaters, because it would just be too uncomfortable to wear and I want to be able to show up at Christmas parties and wear it. Will also be making this a cardigan, again for wear-ability.

This will be a pretty plain Ugly Christmas Sweater so I will try my best to do a "better" one later in the year but for now, this will do.

Starting with both sleeves. Doing them two-at-a-time means they will be exactly the same; starting with the sleeves means they can be a bit of a gauge swatch too. I've already adjusted the sleeve size. A total win-win.


Tuesday 23 June 2015

The Mousie

Finished a mouse for the cats to play with. Pictured below with Mouse. How long it will be before it's destroyed by Ahab, lost under furniture, or otherwise disappears remains to be seen.

Pattern: Nose-up Catnip Mouse by Wendy D. Johnson
Yarn: Local yarn from Custom Woolen Mills - %100 wool
Needle: 2.0mm
Gauge: not critical but somewhat tight
Stuffing: polyester and cat nip


Monday 22 June 2015

Father's Day Update

Practiced a bit of Scent Hurdle with Soccer and he's still struggling with the idea of bringing back a specific barbell. He's always been a slow learner so this is no surprise to me.

Knitting

Father's Day Socks seem to have been well received as per usual. This is why I keep making socks, they seem to be appreciated by the recipients.

Made some progress on the Sideways Vest yesterday. About half way done now.



Still nothing on the small blanket but maybe I'll pick it up this week since I'm done the latest set of Baby Booties for Wee Bairn. Picture is all blurry but I'm too lazy to try again.

Pattern: Baby Boots by Frankie Brown
Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks FX
Needle: 2.75mm
Gauge: not critical babies grow so fast it hardly matters.




Saturday 20 June 2015

Socks and Other Stuff

Can't bear not to have socks on the needles so I started a two-at-a-time pair using the same yarn as the last socks. Not quite sure who'll get these but I might set them aside to go to Scotland for my sister there. The new parents might be in need of hand knits as well as Wee Bairn. Ummm, I guess that means I better do another men's pair next.


No progress on the sideways vest or the loom-knit blanket this week. Note to self: work more on these if you ever expect to finish them.

But I did decide to use up the Pepita leftovers for booties. Thinking that maybe I should just admit defeat and make a hat too.


Mouse decided this should be a cat toy..... maybe I should knit her a mousie....? Or is that asking for too much trouble?

Monday 15 June 2015

Finished More

Finished my Father's Day Socks in time for next Sunday. Unsurprisingly they're for my Dad. Worked one sock at a time using the magic loop method, my favorite way to make socks. Although I am debating doing two-at-a-time next. I have done that method before but didn't usually because it was awkward on the train; since I don't commute on the train anymore I guess that part doesn't matter now. I wish I still did, I've lost a lot of knitting time by having to do my own driving to get to work. It feels so unproductive having to pay attention to traffic.

Pattern: basic sock with ribbing
Yarn: Nova Plus Sock in charcoal grey
Needle: 2.0mm


Sunday 14 June 2015

Finished!

Finished the little overalls for my sister's baby.  The first time I made one of these I basically followed the pattern exactly, this time I modified it a bit; I especially wanted to lengthen the legs since there is a strong possibility that Wee Bairn will be long and lean.

Found some lovely buttons in the multi-generation-button-bin for them. I think my sister will appreciate that part too.

Pattern: Pepita by Martina Behm
   Modifications:
  • Changed the dual straps that button over the shoulder into one long strap that buttons in the front. 
  • Changed the button holes to one large hole in each strap instead of two small holes on each side of each strap.
  • Added three possible button holes to the straps to allow for a bit of size adjustment.
  • Left off the adorable feet, again so the size is a bit more flexible.
  • Lengthened the legs a bit by knitting 6 rounds then decreasing for the first leg decrease section and then knitting 4 rounds then decreasing for the second leg decrease section. 

Yarn: Patons North America Kroy Socks FX
Needle: US 2 - 2.75 mm
Gauge: Not critical as babies grow so unbelievably fast. It will fit at some point.


Saturday 13 June 2015

A Hail of a Tale

Passed my three month anniversary at work last week and got business cards. Never had business cards before.

Dog Sports

I almost missed practice last night due to hail and when I called to say I might be late it was sunny in the south end of the city. Weather here is so bizarre. Did make it to practice in the end although the hail storm seemed to follow me there but it only dropped water down south, the hail stayed in the north end of the city. There were still piles of it lying around when I got home from practice. It's a good thing I made it too since I had half the team's Scent Hurdle equipment with me.


This week I brought the peg board home with me to help Soccer learn to scent discriminate and not just retrieve a barbell.

Knitting

Finished one leg and started the second for the little overalls. Just need to finish the second leg and knit the straps. Had to get more yarn, seem to be using a lot more this time, probably because the gauge is so much looser. For a miracle though Micheal's actually had the same dye lot!!! Doesn't look like I started the final ball in sync with the first leg though. Meh, it'll look cute no matter what happens. Also still need to find a couple of buttons; think I'll check the multi-generation-button-bin (it was my grandmother's and now my mother's and I've added a few to it too), they may not match exactly but I suspect I can find something that'll work.


Saturday 6 June 2015

Progress

Or, lack thereof in Soccer's case. I've taken a step back with him because he's still struggling badly with scent discrimination so I'm getting him to search for the barbell again. He seems to enjoy that part a lot.

Knitting

On to the fiber stuff!

Selfie with the grey tank top is much better than I expected. Further proof that nothing is done until it's blocked. If I do something similar again I'll make the shoulders narrower I think, they sort of look like they're falling off me. Not too bad for a first try though I guess. I've done enough raglan style sweaters that I've got the hang of them for myself but the tank top was new.



Split for the legs for the overalls. I'm going to lengthen the legs a bit; there is a strong possibility that Wee Bairn will be long and lean.


And finished the second heel and instep of the Father's Day Socks.



Monday 1 June 2015

Dog Sports and Knitting Stuff

Scent Hurdle

Neither dog was having a good day practicing Scent Hurdle today. Ahab was picking up Soccer's barbell and Soccer was just picking up the first one he encountered. Ah well, everyone has a bad day.

Other

Found a new TV show today, Miss Phryne Fisher's Murder Mysteries, an Australian murder mystery; found it on NetFilcks.

Knitting

Work continues on the sideways vest and the Father's Day Socks. My Dad got a suspiciously smug look at the mention of socks today. Do you think maybe he suspects something? Not that that would be hard since Father's Day is coming up later this month and he usually gets socks.

No pictures, not enough has changed with anything.