Last post

I have cleaned up the sidebar, taken out a lot of extraneous stuff, and am just leaving this here to redirect you to my new site. The links to the recipes, patterns and blogs will still work, but you'll find most of them on my other blog too.

Getting there

After a huge learning curve, I am on the way to getting my new blog how I want it. It has a very different look to this one, and I am having to abandon a couple of the widgets in my current sidebar, but I suspect that most people are here to read the posts rather than look at the stuff on the side! I like an uncluttered environment, so the new blog reflects that.

Wordpress successfully imported all the posts since I started blogging here back in April.

I am going to have to add my blogroll and knitting pattern links one by one, so that's going to take some time. I will leave this blog "live" for now.

Come and see me over at http://nicolaknits.wordpress.com

A new year, a new blog

Well, not really a new blog, but I am in the process of changing over to Wordpress. Reading a forum today reminded me of how crap Blogger is when you get a problem - it's impossible to get help and there's no way to contact a real person. I have had a dormant Wordpress blog for some time now and as someone was raving about how great their support staff are I thought it was time to change. Apparently it's easy to import all the blog posts from here into my new blog.

Of course, I'll have to set up the sidebar stuff again, but my techie son tells me he'll do it for me. So here I go, off to choose a fancy new template, etc. Wish me luck, and make a note on your computer that I'm going to be at

http://nicolaknits.wordpress.com

from now on, if all goes to plan.

Northern Baby knitting pattern

I took the time to write out the pattern for the hat and mitts today. Sometimes it's hard to figure out a design, but I think it's harder to try and explain it so that others can duplicate it. If you knit this and have any questions, feel free to email me. I have included many links within this pattern if you need help learning a new technique. In some cases (for example, the knittinghelp.com pages) you'll need to scroll down to find the video you need to watch.


NORTHERN BABY HAT AND THUMBLESS MITTS

Yarn: S R Kertzer Northern Worsted (worsted weight, 100% acrylic)
Needles: 4.5mm/US # 7 dpns (or long circular for magic loop)
4.5mm crochet hook
3 split ring markers: one of one colour, two of a second colour
Gauge: 5 sts and 7 rows to 1 inch

Mitts: finished size 5” circumference, 4.25” long
Hat: finished size 17” circumference, 6” depth at front, 7” at back

Mitts (make 2)
Using dpns or long circular needle for magic loop, cast on 24 sts.
Work K2P2 rib for 7 rounds.
Eyelet round: (K2, yrn, P2tog) around
Continue in st st for 17 rounds (work measures 3.75” from cast on edge)
Decrease round: (K2tog) around (12 sts left)
K one round plain
(K2tog) around (6 sts)
Cut yarn with a 6” tail, thread darning needle and draw yarn through remaining sts to fasten off. Weave in tails.
Drawstring: make a crochet chain 75 chains long, thread through eyelets, tie knots in each end and trim tails.

Hat
Using dpns, cast on 6 sts and distribute 2 sts to each of three needles.
OR use Emily Ocker-type start - make a loop with the yarn, use crochet hook to create 6 loops, transfer to circular needle for magic loop.
Rnd 1 and all odd rounds unless otherwise stated - Knit
Rnd 2 - Kfb into each st (12 sts)
Place marker for beginning of round (this will be centre back of hat).
Rnd 4 - (Kfb, K1) rep the instruction between brackets around (18 sts)
Rnd 6 - (Kfb, K2) rep around (24 sts)
Rnd 8 - (Kfb, K3) rep around (30 sts)
Rnd 10 - (Kfb, K4) rep around (36 sts)
Rnd 12 - (Kfb, K5) rep around (42 sts)
Rnd 14 - (Kfb, K6) rep around (48 sts)
Rnd 16 - (Kfb, K7) rep around (54 sts)
Rnd 18 - (Kfb, K8) rep around (60 sts)
Rnd 20 - (Kfb, K9) rep around (66 sts)
Rnd 22 - (Kfb, K10) rep around (72 sts)
Rnd 24 - (Kfb, K11) rep around (78 sts)
Rnd 26 - (Kfb, K12) rep around (84 sts)

Knit even on these 84 sts for 14 rounds.

Short row shaping for brim:

Purl 1 round.
Keep marker at centre back (CB) and place two other markers (on needle between sts) after the 21st and 63rd stitches of round. You have now divided the sts so that the centre 42 stitches are in one section, a quarter (21) of the sts are at the beginning of the round and the remaining quarter (21) are at the end of the round.
In other words:

CB marker 21sts marker 42sts marker 21sts
and beg/
end of round

Outside of hat (smooth or “right” side) is facing you. You’re at the start of a round.

K 21 to first marker, W&T, K 21 to CB marker, do not turn work

You are now working with the inside of the hat facing you. Continuing in same direction, P 21 to second marker, W&T, P 21 to CB marker, do not turn work

Outside of hat is facing you. K one round. Do not turn work.

P to 3 sts from first marker, W&T, P to CB marker, do not turn work
K to 3 sts from second marker, W&T, K to CB marker, do not turn work

Outside of hat is facing you. P one round. Do not turn work.

K to 6 sts from first marker, W&T, K to CB marker, do not turn work
P to 6 sts from second marker, W&T, P to CB marker, do not turn work

Outside of hat is facing you. K one round. Bind off.



Abbreviations:
Magic Loop (video link here)
Emily Ocker cast on (link here)
st(s).....stitch(es)
dpns.....double pointed needles
K.....knit
P.....purl
yrn.....yarn round needle (bring yarn forward between needle tips, take it over the right needle and bring it forward again between needles ready to purl)
P2tog.....purl two stitches together
st st.....stockinette stitch (when working in the round, knit every stitch)
K2tog.....knit two stitches together
Kfb.....knit into the front and back of next stitch, thereby increasing a stitch
rep.....repeat
CB.....centre back
W&T......wrap and turn (knit or purl to place stated in pattern, slip next stitch purlwise from left needle to right needle, bring yarn between needle tips to opposite side, slip the stitch back onto left needle, turn work ready to knit in opposite direction)

Tarot card bag pattern

Someone on Ravelry sent me a message complimenting my tarot card bag and wondering about pattern details. I had a dig through one of my pattern folders and found my handwritten notes. Surprised to find I hadn't already published this, I am doing it now.

This is a small bag which fits my mini Motherpeace tarot card set perfectly. It might not work for standard large rectangular sets. With a gauge of 5.5 sts/1 inch, my bag was about 10 inches in circumference, 5 inches deep and the pentagon base is about 3 inches across.

I used Araucania Pomaire cotton - a worsted (medium) weight cotton yarn and US#6 (4mm) double pointed needles. It's a large skein - I think this bag took used less than half, so a 50g ball will be enough if you substitute. Gauge is not as important as liking the texture of the fabric.
Also required - five split ring markers, one a different colour from the rest

Cast on 50 sts onto one needle. Distribute evenly between three needles and join into a round (I usually knit the first couple of sts with both strands of yarn, then drop the tail to continue).
Knit 3 rounds.
Next round (YO, K2tog) 24 times, K2 to make an even number of holes for drawstring
Knit 3 more rounds then purl 1 round.
Knit for about 30 rounds, putting in random purl sts for texture.


Decrease for base:
Purl 1 round.

Place markers - you'll need four markers the same plus one that looks different. The single colour will mark the beginning of the round and first decrease point, the others will mark the other decrease points. Use the markers to divide up the sts, 10 sts in each section. Tip - make sure that the decrease points don't fall at the end of a needle - it's easier to keep the markers on. Shuffle around the sts if necessary.

First decrease round - K2tog at beginning and end of each section (40 sts remain)
K two rounds plain
K2tog at beg and end of each section (30 sts rem)
K one round plain
K2 tog at beg and end of each section (20 sts rem)
K two rounds plain
K2tog around (10 sts rem)
K one round plain
K2tog around (5 sts rem)

Cut yarn, leaving a 6 inch tail, thread it onto a darning needle and draw the tail through the remaining sts to gather them up and fasten off.
Weave in tail on inside.
Make a twisted cord, crocheted chain or i-cord (or use a ribbon) as a drawstring and thread it through the eyelets.

Another little item finished

Made these today to match the hat. Hopefully they will fit little hands OK.

Photographed on a Monopoly board because we were playing earlier - and I have been raking in the money but took a break to get on the computer for a bit. Toy Story is playing so the kids aren't missing me!

Happy Christmas to all and best wishes for health, wealth and happiness in 2009.

A knitting-loaded post

It's time I updated my knitting progress here. I have two projects officially on-the-go at the moment, but I digressed yesterday with some baby/kid hats to give to my neighbour who's due to have a boy in a few weeks.

I've started a red sweater with very cheap acrylic yarn. It feels soft enough so I'm hoping that I don't do all the work then regret it! It'll be a seamless bottom-up one, as per Elizabeth Zimmermann's books, knitted in a K4, P1 rib. Raglan sleeves. Big foldover collar. I hope.


The first blue sock (elann esprit) is nearly done - just the toe shaping to go, along with some woolly nylon for reinforcement.


Yesterday afternoon, after I had finished all the cleaning, I spent a while in my sewing room downstairs (I should probably rename it my "knitting room" as I knit more than I sew these days). I ran up this hat - used the Bond to make a rectangle about 18 inches wide by 12 inches tall, leaving the live stitches to be picked up top and bottom with knitting needles. I knitted a crown on each end, sewed up the side seam, pushed one half inside the other and, presto, a double thick hat.


And in the evening, I went to knit night at my local yarn store. Feeling like a change of scene (yarn) I picked up a 100g skein of S R Kertzer's Northern Worsted in a variegated blue and started another hat. This time, I used a loop and crochet hook to start with 6 stitches, transferred them to a circular needle, and magic-looped my way around the crown of the hat until the increases were done and I could change to a 16 inch circ (thanks to Denise interchangeables)! After a couple of inches of straight knitting, I switched to garter stitch, added some short rows at the back, and it was done.....at 1am this morning.


There's enough yarn left on the skein to make a pair of thumbless baby mitts, I think, so that's what I'm going to do as soon as I get the chance.

That photo at the top is the pile of knitting library books I currently have. It's good to have a stack of these around while they're closed over Christmas.


And this is a pretty blue glass "bowl" which a friend of mine gave me today. I decided it would look nice on my coffee table with small balls of leftover yarn in it. (Better than a flower arrangement - no water required.)

Canadian Police Chase

I just heard about this on Ravelry today - it's hilarious!

Mmmm...mince pies

These little pies or tarts are what I crave every December. They are easy to make and are full of sweetness and spiciness - bet you can't eat just one!

I posted the recipe for the mincemeat a few weeks ago. Once the mincemeat has steeped in the jars in the fridge for 4 - 6 weeks, it's ready to use.

I didn't have a 9V battery to replace the dead one in my digital scales so I had to improvise. When I first came to Canada, I learned to convert recipes from pounds and ounces to cups. Americans love their cup measures. So I vaguely remember that a cup of flour is about 5 ounces. And on the label for my Earth Balance shortening sticks, it said that 4 ounces was half a cup. So here's my pastry recipe with the conversion to cups and metric. It worked out fine.

Shortcrust pastry (as learned by me at school - the golden rule - half fat to flour)

Imperial
1lb wholewheat or whole spelt flour
4oz margarine or butter (I use Earth Balance vegan Buttery Spread)
4oz shortening (I use Earth Balance non-hydrogenated shortening)
1/4 teaspoon salt
cold water

American
3 1/5 cups flour
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
1/4 tsp salt
cold water

Metric
450g flour
112g margarine
112g shortening
1/4 teaspoon salt
cold water

Cut the margarine and shortening into small pieces and mix with flour and salt. Use fingertips to rub fat into flour. When properly mixed, it should look like breadcrumbs. Add a little cold water and mix with metal spoon or knife. Add only enough to just hold everything together - too wet and pastry will be tough. Roll out on floured surface (a little less than 1/4 inch thick) and cut 24 circles (about 3 inches diameter). (It will be necessary to gather up trimmings and reroll a few times to maximise yield.) I used two regular muffin tins, but if you have the shallow ones, even better. I greased the tins before putting in the pastry circles. Curve the circles carefully and don't push them right down.

Place a spoonful of mincemeat into each pastry case. Cut some smaller circles (about 1 inch diameter) or other little shapes if you have the cutters. Place on top of mincemeat.

Bake pies at 400°F (which I believe is 200°C) for 13 - 14 minutes until golden. Leave to cool a little before running a knife around each pie and carefully lifting out onto wire rack.

Winter Solstice

As the wheel turns, after the longest night of the year may the Sun be reborn......

.....wishing you all light, warmth and love

New feature and poll results

Not surprisingly, most votes in my poll were for Christmas. Seventy five percent of voters (18 people) said they were celebrating Christmas. Five people voted for the Winter Solstice, two for Yule, two for Nothing and four for Other. There are still a few hours left to vote.

I just added a new widget. I have recently become interested in yoga. I found some magazines at the library which were quite good - Yoga Journal - and they have an interesting website with a library of poses and vegetarian and vegan recipes, among other things.

The widget is for the Pose of the Day! I seem to have added the html code correctly, and even went so far as to edit it slightly to fit the widget into my sidebar better. Hopefully, this gadget automatically updates every day. If you click on the tiny writing "step by step" you will be flung into Yoga Journal's site and given a detailed description of how to do the pose! Very cool.

Marble Wrap Vest pattern

Here are the instructions for my Marble Wrap Vest. Yes, I know they are tiny, but if you click on the images they get a lot bigger. I will go back and reformat these documents into a pdf in a minute for those who would like me to email them the documents - email me by clicking on the link in the sidebar and request the pattern and I will send it to you.

I designed and knitted this vest using pencil drawings. I drew this out in Appleworks Drawing, which I rarely use. I have added the notes for clarity. Let me know if it needs more information.

Canadian winter!

I can't remember having this much snow for years. It's piled high along the sides of the driveway. I have been getting an excellent workout shovelling the stuff - not only in our drive, but also neighbours' drives. The temperature has remained between about minus 9 and minus 18 Celsius, with promises from the weather people that it's going to get colder.

Thankfully I didn't have to drive anywhere yesterday. I was very pleased that I had done my Yule shopping the day before. The grader didn't make it up our road at all, but I hope they have cleared it overnight or tomorrow's trip to the grocery store and the library will be less than pleasant.

Snow is beautiful to look at and to play in, but no fun to drive on (unless you like sliding sideways or spinning your tires). (There's a road in that photo above - somewhere.)

The kids had a great time - I finally managed to convince them that they really needed to wear their snowpants, and they sat in it, jumped in it, made "thrones" in the snowbanks, and played with the sleds.

Stealth knitting unveiled

I found this pattern online for a Doggie Bag. This isn't the sort of bag you use to take your leftovers home from a restaurant. This is for taking something else home - yup, doggie doodoo!

I have a couple of friends with dogs and I decided that they just had to have pretty bags in which to carry their dogs' poop. The bag below is the one I made first. I used the Red Heart Artesano left over from making the (failed) Morgan cap. I followed the pattern and was rather pleased with it.

However, I decided to try making one without the cables and with a little patch pocket. I prefer it. The pocket holds a little bottle of hand sanitizer (or a key or some money).



The bags were used as temporary gift wrap for some jars of home-made spiced almonds, but are destined for smellier pursuits :o)

(Just to make it absolutely clear, the dog poop will be picked up in a plastic bag and well wrapped before it is placed in the knitted bag.....thankfully.)

Latest email jokes

My husband sent me these - I'm afraid I don't know where they came from, so can't give anyone the credit. The cartoons will look a bit bigger if you click on them.

Marble Wrap Vest is done

Just as I opened the window to start this post, I decided to name my latest finished project the Marble Wrap Vest. Pretty obvious, really - it's knitted from James C Brett's Marble DK (acrylic) yarn and it has a wrapover front that fastens with a shawl pin.

I knitted it on US#8 needles, except for the armhole finishing, for which I used #6. If I made this again, I'd use the Denise needles - much gentler on the fingertips!

When I tried it on yesterday after sewing the shoulder seams, I was disappointed to see that the fronts of both armholes were gaping. That's where I cast on the stitches while knitting the front pieces.

So I settled myself in front of the fire in the evening with my crochet hooks, knitting needles and yarn, and started out by crocheting around one armhole. It looked OK, but not perfect. So then I went over to the other armhole and tried picking up and knitting the stitches with a #6 needle. After purling, knitting then purling the following rows, I cast off, and I was happy with the result. It cinches in the armhole neatly. So the crochet stitches came out and the other armhole received the knitting treatment, I darned in all the ends, and it's done.

I love finishing things.

It's snow-shovelling season

The snow fell yesterday and continued to fall today. Of course, that means the driveway has to be cleared so we can get in and out - it has quite a slope to it.

However, it wasn't just our driveway that needed to be cleared. We're "housesitting" for some neighbours. The kids are responsible for taking in their mail and newspapers every day, and every few days I will be going in to check that all is well inside the house. If the snow builds up on their drive, then the place looks unoccupied.

The two younger boys and I went over there yesterday and cleared their drive. Then we did ours. Then we did the neighbour's across the road (she is 7 months pregnant and her husband is out at work all day) and the boys received a bonus in the form of a paper bag full of candy canes! We were just about to go inside for hot chocolate when another neighbour called us over and asked if we could clear her drive too. The boys received $10 from her.

We had a good workout, some fresh air, some neighbourly chatting, and some excellent hot chocolate when we came back inside.

The snow hasn't stopped, so the shovelling has to be done once or twice a day. Thankfully it has been the light powdery stuff today. The temperature has dropped to minus 10 Celsius this evening and it's expected to be way colder than that the next few days. This is the view from my back deck. The pile of snow on the railing is our depth marker for snowfall - it was about 6 inches high earlier today - probably more like 8 by now.

Thoughts on knitting and gift-giving

I think we're due for a miscellaneous update tonight!

Let's see, what's been happening. Well, I ripped out the red and pink yoga sock-in-progress last week because I didn't like the puckering that was happening with the checkered pattern. Yesterday I started again and I've nearly finished one yoga sock. It's red with pink stripes on the first section, then after the gap for the heel I've made a rather cute stranded pattern which I wish I had thought of at the beginning! I don't know whether to make the second sock the same, or go for something different just to be contrary. I'll wait to photograph it when it's done, so I don't jinx it and then have to rip it out.

The Denise needles are very comfortable on the hands compared to the aluminum needles - maybe that's why the vest is not progressing very fast. I seem to be deliberately distracting myself from it. Still, there's no deadline, so it doesn't matter.

Did you know the Winter Knitty is out? I haven't had a proper look at it yet but I always love something in it (and the patterns are FREE). I think this has to be the wonderfullest (!) photo in the world...

it's a Tushy Cushy - yes a cushion in the shape of a derriere. But it's the baby that makes this photo so darned appealing.

To change the subject yet again, I made a rough meal plan for December. I generally have a plan for all the dinners for the week, then make my shopping list from a master list of all the foods I usually buy. For December, Lego Nut decided he was going to make the meal plan for Yule week (from the 18th on). He went through a vegan cookbook from the library and wrote out his plan. It's way more detailed than my plan for the rest of the month, but we're going to be having extra desserts and mince pies and our Solstice dinner that week, so it's worth thinking ahead.

At the weekend, I did my weekly shop, but I doubled or tripled the non-perishables in the hope that they'll last until the end of the month. I don't want to be fighting the crowds as it gets closer to Christmas (and listening to all those tacky Christmas songs) so if I can stock up on everything except the produce then that works for me!

When I look in my kitchen pantry, my refrigerator and even my cold storeroom in the basement (which is holding the overflow) I feel so blessed that we can afford this abundance. I thanked Tai Chi Man for earning the money that allows us to buy all this wonderful food. We're not extravagant .... we don't entertain at this time of year or go out to parties .... we don't buy alcohol .... we go out to eat once a month at most .... our Yule meal will just be something simple for the five of us .... and our gifts to each other will be inexpensive .... but we buy and eat good quality food and consider ourselves fortunate to be able to support our health in this way.

And finally:
I made a gift for a friend today and it made me think about sharing my philosophy of gift-giving. In a free magazine that I brought home from the health food store this week, I found a recipe for spiced roasted almonds. I made a double batch, knowing that I would want to eat some myself! I filled a jar with some of the almonds and put a cloth square over the top of it to pretty it up a bit. I made a pomander out of an orange, sticking cloves into it, making a hanger out of some i-cord (from my knitting mill), and tying some cinnamon sticks and a pine sprig on top. I wrote out a coupon offering my friend a free computer-help session (she usually insists on paying me for my time, so that coupon is worth about $20 to her). This bundle of gifts from me to her took a little of my time and very little money, but I know she will appreciate it.

I want to encourage more people to think simple for their gift-giving each Christmas. Why get stressed and in debt every December when you could step back from the pressure and think of things that people will like that might only cost you some time - like hand-made coupons for things you can do for them in the coming year?

Having those almonds already made today had a side benefit. A neighbour called at the door to say Happy Christmas and have a chat and he offered us some of his apples from this year's harvest. When I went around to his house to collect them, I took a jar of almonds as a Thank You - great timing, eh!

Dove tree ornament

I had a nice surprise in the mail this morning. I received my dove tree ornament from Affectioknit. Teresa gave away 12 of these in a recent blog contest. My photo isn't very clear but the letter cubes threaded on the hanging cord spell PEACE.

We haven't been out to get a tree yet ....... maybe this weekend.

Pajamas and logging trucks

As usual, today was a busy day. Mondays are for vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, watering the houseplants, yada yada yada. I think I crossed most items off my to-do list, including this one...sewing Lego Nut some new pajama bottoms.


He had worn a pair of his pajamas through at the knee yet again, leaving him with only one decent pair. So I visited Fabricland yesterday and bought two metres of flannelette. I had asked him for colour preferences before I went - he said blue or black, so this is what he ended up with - a sort of blue on blue check.

I cut the old pajama bottoms up - along the crotch seam and up the inner leg seams, removing the waist elastic and bottom cuff - so that I had a piece I could use for a pattern. I folded the new fabric into four, then cut around the old pajama piece, allowing extra for seams and hems. I have made many pairs of pajamas for the kids when they were smaller, so it didn't take me long to do the sewing. A piece of elastic around the waist and he had two new pairs.

Any more growing and I won't be able to get two pairs of jammy bottoms out of only two metres!

He doesn't wear the tops. They always last longer than the bottoms anyway, but usually they stay in the closet. He'd rather hang about the house with a polar fleece blanket wrapped around him! Today he didn't get dressed at all, but I did insist on him putting on a t-shirt for dinner.


Tai Chi Man drove 400 kilometres today. He had to go further than usual for work and took a new route that he hasn't used before. With the traffic stoppages down in Summerland (they are blasting rock out to widen the road and there are regular AND additional unscheduled road closures) many people have been trying to find alternative routes. Looking at the map, there seemed to be a reasonable road to get him where he wanted to be. It started out OK, but then became a Forest Service Road, which is unpaved, and then things became snowy and icy and steep. It was a bit of a white-knuckle ride for him in the work van, but he made it home safely.

Unfortunately the driver of this logging truck wasn't so lucky. It obviously skidded and overturned (photo taken through Tai Chi Man's windshield). Luckily it didn't completely block the road so traffic could squeeze around it. I hope the driver is OK.

It's nice that after such a long driving day, Tai Chi Man has the next two days off. It's his birthday tomorrow and the family is going out for dinner, and the day after that is our 21st wedding anniversary. He keeps saying he's due for parole!

Crocheted scarf

You knew I was multi-talented, eh? NicolaKnits and also Crochets!

I took a few days off knitting as my index finger was too sore - those darned aluminum needles. The answer to yarn addiction? Crochet. The hook has a lovely smooth blunt end, so no trauma to the fingers.

This used most of the remaining yarn from the two skeins I started for the hat I finished last Friday. It's a short scarf that wraps around the neck once and buttons in front. Very simple - one stitch all the way through. I managed to lose a couple of stitches somewhere in the middle so it ended up a tiny bit narrower at one end, but you can't tell!

The finished size is about 7 inches wide by 30 inches long.


Here's how I made it. Not having any experience in writing out crochet patterns, I hope it's clear. If you already know how to crochet, you won't have a problem. As I used two partial skeins, I am guessing on the 1 skein total - I really need to weigh it to be sure but my digital scale is battery-less right now.

US H/5mm crochet hook
James C Brett Marble DK - 1 skein
large button - 1.5 to 2 inches diameter (38 - 25 mm)
Gauge - 15 double crochet (US) / treble crochet (UK) and 9 rows to 4 inches
To make it easier, I will refer to trebles (tr) throughout, because I learned to crochet in the UK and that's what I call them - if you call them doubles, then read it as double
Abbreviations -
tr = treble (double in US)
ch = chain
st = stitch (both strands of the loop at the top of the tr in the row below)
rep = repeat

Foundation row - Make slipknot, chain 28, tr in 3rd ch from hook, tr in every ch to end, ch 2 (turning chain), turn (27 tr)

Row 1 and every subsequent row - tr into every st across (missing the very first space at the base of your 2 turning chain), tr in chain space at end, ch 2, turn
Rep row 1 until your scarf measures 28 inches

Buttonhole row - tr 11, ch 5, skip next 5 sts and continue working tr into last 11 sts of row, ch 2, turn
Next row - tr 11, work 5 tr into chain space, tr 11, ch 2, turn

Continue until 5 rows have been worked after buttonhole then fasten off. Weave in ends.

Kettles and kids

Canadian Tire has this kettle on sale for half price this week. We decided to take advantage of the deal, which was advertised in their flyer, as our existing kettle had a damaged lid and had started leaking around the spout. Tai Chi Man had done a repair on it, but this half-price deal seemed to be a well-timed hint that it was time to get a new one.

It has a feature that I like and hope works well....you can set the temperature that you want it to heat the water to. So it's not 100 Celsius or nothing. You can heat it to anywhere between 30 and 100, which is great for things like hot water bottles which can't take boiling water. And we like our hot water bottles!

Talking of boiling water, something happened earlier in the week which I've been meaning to tell you about. I went out to have my hair cut around lunchtime the other day. Before I went out, Ninja Boy put a pan on the stove to boil water for cooking pasta. I left the kids to their own devices and walked up to the salon (yes, nice and close, it's handy having a little shopping centre within a few minutes of our house) and then I walked the "long way home" giving myself a bit of exercise in the process.

When I walked in the door, I was informed that Ninja Boy had attempted to "burn the house down". Ah yes, good news, just the sort of thing I want to hear when I get in!

Turns out he had turned the hotplate to maximum to heat the water, then gone downstairs to watch what Lego Nut was doing on the computer. He promptly forgot that he was making his lunch and even (this is what blows my mind) started on his own computer time once his brother had finished. The oldest went upstairs for a drink of water and discovered a very hot dry pan and a very hot stove. The element had been on for, what, an hour and a half, and nobody had been aware of it all that time. Thankfully nothing was sufficiently close to the heat source to catch fire. And the pan survived.

The vision of fire trucks parked outside my house putting out a fire is not one that I want to see come true.

Grease

I watched an old classic this evening - Grease! It didn't disappoint! The video below is of the last song in the film, which you'll recognise if you've seen the movie.

The video above is a Lego stop animation of Summer Lovin' - just for a laugh.

A quick hat

I wanted a new hat to keep my noggin warm. I had 10 balls of the James C Brett Marble (Landscape colour), 4 of which are being used for the vest. As a break from all the garter stitch, I grabbed two skeins, some #10 needles, and knitted this with two strands held together. I cast on 75 stitches for a 20.5 inch circumference - it's snug - and after the first 9 rounds or so I purled a row to control the curl. Then it was 5.5 inches of straight knitting.

Usually when I decrease for the crown, I line up the "Knit 2 Togethers" and they are easily visible. This time I staggered them to make the shaping more subtle. The first decrease round took out 5 stitches to leave 70. Then I decreased 7 stitches every other round until there were 21 left. The next two rounds were also decrease rounds and then I gathered up the last 7 stitches and wove in the tail.

I can't remember the exact day I started knitting this but it didn't take me long. I made good progress on it yesterday at Knit Night and today I finished it just before a friend arrived for a visit. While she knitted on her seed stitch blanket (this lady has PATIENCE) I added a few rows to my vest.

The temperature's dropped this week - it's supposed to go down to minus 8 Celsius tonight. The next couple of days are expected to stay well below freezing. A good time to knit (and to wear your knitting).

Climbing the walls

I was climbing the walls tonight....but in a good way! Tai Chi Man and I took two of the boys to the indoor climbing centre - a friend's son came too.


Lego Nut has been before but the rest of us were climbing wall virgins!


It was fun! Hands are a little sore now, and I'm sure there'll be a few muscles letting themselves be known tomorrow. The kids want to go back again....and again....and again!

There's a drop-in on Saturdays so I'm sure I'll take them now and then (and I'll sit upstairs and knit and occasionally watch them climb). After all, I can't risk damaging my knitting fingers, can I?

That red blob in the centre is Tai Chi Man - you can hardly see him for all the handholds and tape on the walls.

And the best part? The boys' school paid for them to climb as an educational expense.

New poll

I have a new poll over there in the sidebar. Please take a few seconds to vote.

December starts tomorrow. A month of many kinds of celebrating - in our home and extended family, we have 6 birthdays, our 21st wedding anniversary, our Solstice celebration and a company party (tubing at a ski resort).

Phew!

The Yarn Harlot's calendar

I don't know how I managed to miss this one, but I recently heard about the Yarn Harlot's page-a-day calendar for 2009 - Never Not Knitting! I think it's been available for a while. Anyway, I called my local bookstore and they had ONE left. They put it behind the counter for me and I went and picked it up on Friday.

I am exercising great restraint in not opening this yet. Best to wait and enjoy each page as the year goes by, rather than reading ahead and spoiling it all.


I missed out again on catching the daylight for my vest photo, so just went ahead and took it using the flash. If you look closely (or better yet, click on the photo and get the mega-size version) you'll see the progress I've made on the right front. I like that the variegated yarn is striping vertically on the front. Of course, as my rows get shorter, the shaded stripes get wider. It won't be long 'til the front is done, then I think I'll pin the shoulder seam together so I can try it on. Hopefully, I'll like what I see and will instantly pick up the stitches on the left side and merrily knit away. Alternatively, I might not - and then - sniff - there might be some frogging (ripping out).

The kitchen timer is bleeping impatiently so must run and check the chili.

Blogging

I started a new thread in one of the forums in Ravelry today. I asked people what keeps them interested in reading a blog. This is what I like about a blog...

Regular and frequent posting. Chatty posts. Knitting content. Pictures. A picture of the person who’s posting so I know what they look like. Decent spelling and grammar!

I have an evolving list of blogs that I read. At the moment, there are probably about 25 on the list, but every now and then I will go through them and if I haven't seen anything new from a blog in weeks, I delete it. Also, if I find that the posts are uninteresting or uninspiring, I delete it too. What do YOU like in a blog?

I finished another small knitting project today but it's not something I can show you yet. I also made more progress on my Marble vest - I love it when the rows get shorter and shorter - it feels like I'm knitting faster! I'll have to get a photo of it tomorrow.

And I've been playing around with red and pink Elann Esprit tonight. The red yarn left over from the mother-in-law socks should be enough, when supplemented with the pink, to knit some yoga socks. What are yoga socks, you ask? They are socks without heels and toes, of course. I just googled it and found some here which look similar to the socks I plan to make. I started with a few rows of garter stitch in red, then changed to a red/pink checkerboard pattern (insert pause here while I artfully arrange work on keyboard and get a quick photo to show you)! It looks quite pretty but it's fiddly - after I started on the double pointed needles, I remembered that I was going to use two circs. It probably would have been easier.

I will finish tonight by asking myself why I'm spending so much time READING and TALKING about knitting when I could be KNITTING?!?!?!?!?!

Free pattern

At the beginning of this year, I knitted a seaman's scarf for my father-in-law. I know he said he wasn't a great scarf-wearer - he never really gets cold enough - but I wanted to knit him something and this was it!

I knitted it with Bernat Soy - and contrary to the picture, I did actually finish it - I must have forgotten to photograph the finished item before I mailed it to him.





Anyway, the purpose of today's post is to offer this as a free pattern to those who request it. My email can be accessed by clicking on the "email me" doo-hicky in my sidebar on the left, and I will in return send a pdf of the pattern.

I originally posted this on the other blog to which I was contributing from January 07 to May 08 (which will remain nameless - bitter memories) and have had a few requests for the pattern so far, so I know that there's a demand for it. I just haven't figured out how to get the pdf available online.

Knit night

I don't have any pretty pictures to show you today but I wanted to say I had a lovely evening at Kelowna Yarn and Needlecrafts tonight. Tuesday nights are knitting nights at the store and I carpooled with a new friend.

It's funny how things happen...

A few weeks ago I was walking around my neighbourhood, just getting some exercise, when I happened to pass a mum with a little girl on a tricycle. I said hello and carried on, but I was sure I knew her from somewhere. Then it clicked! I had seen her face on Ravelry!

Amazingly, my brain also managed to put a name to the face (otherwise I would have been having to check everyone's avatars in the forums to try to track her down). That evening, I PM'd her and said, "Was that you?" Turns out I was right, she's a knitter, she's on Ravelry and she lives just a few roads away from me.

So tonight she drove us to the knit night, at which I met another lady who reads my blog and lives very close to me (we met before at the Cat Bordhi workshop earlier in the year) (Hi Ann). And I made good progress on my Marble vest - I've started the decreases for the shaped right front. Add to that some stealth knitting this afternoon that I can't show you because it's a gift, and I have two very sore index fingers, one calloused and the other with a split in the skin. Maybe there IS such a thing as too much knitting!

I love how knitting knits people together as well as yarn!

Playing with Photoshop, food and yarn

My kids know way more about playing in Photoshop than I. I wanted to add a couple of handwritten lines to my vest photo using a tablet and pen, and I didn't have a clue how to go about it. The resulting photo should be credited to them!

The circled area #1 is the spot where I originally was dissatisfied with the stitch-picking-up so I ripped back a few rows and redid it, adding an extra stitch in the cast-on row. Much better now.

The edge #2 is the cast-on for the front armhole, which I'm afraid to say I also had to do twice. The first time, I knitted on 45 stitches but found them way too loose, so again had to go back and re-do it. I am not 100% happy with the edge and may end up crocheting around all the edges when the knitting is done to make it look neater.

While Ninja Boy and Lego Nut were enjoying their art class this afternoon, Tai Chi Man and I went to buy our health foods for the week then wandered around Chapters. I found this book --->
which seems like an excellent one to have at home. It has many of the poses that I have been doing already (using library books) plus lots of other information. For the price of a couple of classes, I can use this at home and not worry about having to return it to the library!





Tonight, I made some mincemeat. Yule is not Yule without mincemeat. Mince pies were always traditional at Christmas when I was growing up, but many commercial brands have suet in them. I have a fat-free recipe in my handy kitchen file that I use every year....here it is for your enjoyment.


Mincemeat (vegan and fat-free)

3 cups dried currants
1.5 cups golden raisins
1.5 cups raisins
.75 cup candied peel
1 pound apples, peeled and finely chopped
2.5 cups sugar
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
zest and juice of 2 lemons
.75 cup brandy or fruit juice

(Notes: I don't use the candied peel as I can't find any that is additive-free. I just leave it out. I reduced the sugar to 2 cups when I made it today. Only use the zest of lemons that are organic and unwaxed. I use apple or grape juice, not brandy.)

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, cover and leave overnight. Put into sterilised jars and leave in the refrigerator for 4 - 6 weeks. (This recipe will fill four 500ml/2 cup jars.)

Spicy muffins

Some friends came over today, so I splashed out and did some baking! This is a recipe I've had in my messy kitchen recipe file for years and it reminds me of gingerbread.






For 12 muffins, you will need a muffin pan, 12 large paper cases, and...

2 cups flour (I used whole spelt)
1 tblsp baking powder
half tsp salt
2 tsp dried ginger
one and a half tsp cinnamon
half tsp nutmeg
half cup sugar
half cup molasses
1 tblspn soyflour + 2 tblspn water
one third cup oil (I used coconut)
1 cup soymilk (or almond)
optional - three quarters cup of raisins

In one mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In another, mix the wet ingredients. Combine the two, fill the paper cases, and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Today is the 14th anniversary of our arrival in Canada. On November 21st 1994, Tai Chi Man and I immigrated here with our 2 year old son. Snow was already on the ground. We rented a cosy cabin at a lakeside resort for the first 6 months, by which time we had finally found a house to buy and Tai Chi Man had found work. The rest, as they say, is history.