...And Now...

...For really exciting stuff!

I finished a sweater! A huge accomplishment as sweaters are so much more work than socks, and so not portable. I love this sweater and I really love the yarn as well. I will overwhelm you all with pictures but that's OK, right?

Yes I am snuggling with my new sweater. It is so cozy and cuddly!
Pattern: My own design. Inspired by Pat's Acer, Cable from Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns and basic starter measurements from Knitting Fool's top down raglan calculator.
Yarn: Seacolors by Nanney Kennedy
Needles: US8 and US6
Started: January 10th 2009
Finished: March 12th 20009
Notes: I made the neck line a little wider, I knit the whole thing in the round and steeked the center, picked up stitches and knit the entire ribbing in the round with mitered corners.
One more note: Please excuse the sweat pants, as I had just put on the buttons and was so excited to get photos I quickly set up the tripod and didn't pay much attention to what I was wearing :-)

Winterlude in Ottawa

We spent Winter vacation and the girls birthday week in Ottawa. We had a blast.

There was Ice Skating on the CANAL.

Tons of beautiful ice sculptures

And of course many opportunities to have a Beaver Tail. Even Obama had a Beaver Tail while we were there. And can you believe we were SO close, yet we missed him by just a block. The buzz around town while he was there, was just so cool. Some girls who did see him in the Market said (and I quote) "Obama Rocks!" I wonder if they got their phone video up on you tube, I'll have to check.

And a very special day to celebrate their 8th birthday. They made their own necklaces, picking out their own beads at the bead shop and got all dressed up to go to the Museum of Civilization. The Egyptian exhibit was on there as well as a fabulous childrens section.

We got together with some great friends and had so much fun, unfortunately, too much fun to remember to take photos.
And now for SOCKS (of course)
The socks were completed upon return from our trip.

Pattern: Harika Socks by Stephanie van der Linden
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Black and Spanish Moss.
Needles: US1 (2.25mm)
Love these socks, my new favorites and with the stranding are nice and toasty warm.

New Pathways Fun

Well, I quickly read my new book and knit up 2 pair of socks. What a fun book with new ideas and a great learning tool for me. I always love learning new things!

This pair was made for my daughter Sarah.
Pattern: Bartholomew's Tantalizing.
Yarn: Lorna's Laces in Happy Valley, one skein
Needles: US1 (2.25mm) KP 40" circular
Notes: I love the linen stitch, I will use it again!
These are a cuff down architecture. The gusset increases are done within the pattern on the front of the leg. Quite clever.
Then, the heel turn is done first with the heel flap being done on the bottom which I found quite interesting. The slipped stitch flap is nice and cushioning on the bottom of the foot, but Sarah does not like them because they are too floppy on the back of the heel. When I do another cuff down pattern, I will add a slipped stitch section to the back of the heel. This would add some cushiony comfort as well as holding the sock in place. As it is now, it slips down on the foot way to easily.

Pattern: Jeweled Steps.
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts, Socks that Rock in Lightweight. A mill end, so I don't know the color, but they are lovely, and perfect for a February yarn, reminding me of chocolate and raspberry candies.
Needles: US0 (2.0mm) 40" circular
Notes: The simple pattern really allows for showing off the variegated yarn.
I did Whirlpool Toe, which is quite lovely, The gusset increases are done on one side only, causing the pattern to move across the foot. Quite clever again.

Now for some updated photos of Max:
Max and Sarah about 2 weeks ago.Max's new toy. He is funny, he prefers to bring the ball back to "his place" rather than to me.


Not in the mood for a photo shoot with Catherine, notice the juvenile tongue sticking out.

Happy Week! (caution RSC spoiler)

Lookie, a new book! I am so excited about this book. Of course I would never have bought it for myself so I am enjoying even more as it is a lovely gift! Lots of great information in here, and some I can hopefully incorporate in my new sock design.

My good friend Christy and I decided to do a (not so) Christmas (not so) sock swap last October. We had SO much fun we thought we would do it again this year. I guess Christy just couldn't wait till October and forwarded this wonderful gift to me early. And next month I can knit some of these socks for the Sock Knitters Anonymous group. FUN!

I also got my first 2009 Rockin' Sock Club kit. Isn't it just gorgeous! My favorite by far of all the sock club patterns to date. And my first beaded socks. LOVE them!
Pattern: Queen of Beads by Sivia Harding
Yarn: Socks that Rock lightweight in My Blue Heaven
Needles: 2 at once on 40" circular, KP nickel, US0 (2.0mm).
I changed the foot a little to accomodate not having beads in my shoes. I had so much fun contemplating the changes that it ended up being a pretty major change, but I love it. Instead of the pattern ending squared with the toe, I tapered off the pattern as part of the diamond.

It's a bird, it's an owl, No it's a Hawk

At first, from quite a distance I was excited to see an owl. Then I got out the camera and zoomed in as close as I could.....
And discovered it's a Hawk (I think).


Finished a pair of Socks for January


I call them Wine Spills, as the pooling looks like someone (probably me) spilled wine on them.
Pattern: Queen of Cups by Nathania Apple
Yarn: ShiBui Knits Sock yarn in color #229
Needles: One US1 circular needle, two at a time
Notes: I did the cuff as a k1 x p1 ribbing. The pattern is great fun to knit. I never got bored with them. All in all a cute pair of socks.

It's a Secret

Max at 18 weeks old.

Max at 11 weeks old.
Can you believe how much they grow in 2 months? He is already almost 3 times as big as when we brought him home. But he is certainly handsome! He is a joyful addition to our family. And after having made leaps and bounds with training him, he seems to be fitting in wonderfully. He has a wonderfully strong personality which really shows when he is trying to figure out "where he stands" with everyone. But once established, he has been fun. He is even calming down a bit now, where the girls can (finally) hug him. Funny how we think the puppy is so cute and cuddly, and all the puppy wants to do is bite play as though you were another puppy. Now at almost 20weeks of age, max still likes to mouth, but he also likes to be rubbed and cuddled.

He has adopted Catherine's bean bag chair as his own.

And he love Sam Adams....well the heavy cardboard boxes anyway. Just like children, boxes are his favorite toy.

And here we have the secret. I am designing a cardigan. Love this patterning! And the yarn is gorgeous as well. I have gotten requests for me to write up the pattern for my Blue Cardigan, but instead I am going to create a brand new one. I will post details in the future. Right now, this is just a tease.

Snakes & Ladders Test Knit

Pattern: Snakes & Ladders by Ann of 1 More Row which I had the luxury of Test Knitting.
Yarn: Woolen Rabbit Harmony sock yarn in Neptune.
Needles: One Knit Picks 40" circular in size US1 (2.25mm)

This pattern is fun, simple and easy to memorize. The socks are so very cute and fun to wear. The yarn is so soft and luxurious.

I did 5 repeats on the foot and 4+3rows on the leg and I certainly could have done more. I ended the snakes in the “middle” so they would flow nicely into my k1, p1 ribbing.

Thank you for sharing your pattern Ann, I had fun knitting them!

Happy 2009!

I am so excited to start a new Knitting Year! I have so many lovely yarns I am itching to knit up!

But first I want to take a minute to share some Christmas knitting photos and recently completed knits.
First up are some happy recipients in Canada of some thorpes, stripes and mittens.
Next up are some Christmas knits for my Mom, one pair of socks somehow did not get photographed. Mom, please send me a photo of your blue jeans socks? These are the Best Friends sock, made specially for Mom!
This is the Swirls Hat, being modeled by Catherine.

And a gorgeous soft pair of mittens knit tip to cuff, of my own design.These are the Embossed Leaves I finally got around to knitting. They are simply gorgeous in a wonderful yarn called Earthly Hues (a gift from my far away knitting buddy, Christy)
And these are the Up-Down Spiral socks from IK's Favorite sock Book. I used left over sport weight yarn to make these and they fit Catherine perfectly (with a little growing room). She loves them and has not taken them off, except to sleep.

What am I up to now? I am doing a test knit of a lovely sock pattern "Snakes & Ladders" by Ann in Australia. Isn't the internet just amazing?!?!
And I am knitting the sleeves on the Shalor sweater by Penny Straker, for my Husband.

Winter is here!

Puppy is so cute with the snow deeper than he is tall.It feels like it was just yesterday when I last blogged. I can't believe it was more than a fortnight ago. Time flies when you have a new puppy!!!!! Well, we now have an amazing amount of snow for our area. I can't compare to the lake effect snow that some places get, but this was still significant. About mid afternoon on Friday it all started and didn't stop till this evening. I havent' measured nor gotten an official statement, but if you look at the back deck it is at LEAST 18 inches deep!

This poor tree, drooping in the weight of the snow.
And this tree is completely covered.

I did however finish one pair of socks this month.

Pattern used:Cleopatras Stockings from the Blue moon Rockin' Sock Club
Yarn:Cherry Tree Hill supersock in Wild Cherry
Needles:US1/2.25mm
Notes:I could have gone further on the cuff, I had more yarn, but they were getting too long for me. Love this pattern, it is a lot of fun. The first time I made them I followed the pattern completely, this time I opted to do a basic Toe CO.

Lots of Dog, little knitting...

I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Pattern: Twisted Tulip Socks by Chrissy Gardiner. Interweave Knits Spring 2008
Yarn: Sugar Bunny Boulevard Superwash Sock in Daffodil
At this age, knitted socks and puppies do not go together! LOL