New poll

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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.

Keeping warm

Tuesday evening:
(hand-written and typed up next morning)

I'm sitting in my living room with a poncho around my top half, a blanket around my bottom half and another blanket covering my feet (plus a hot water bottle). I'm too cheap.... um, frugal, to put the thermostat up so am enjoying the benefits of lots of knitting. I have a cup of rooibos tea brewing nearby and easy access to at least two knitting projects (one of which will have to remain secret as it's a gift). Tai Chi Man is out and the kids are keeping themselves busy in another part of the house and all is peaceful.

I found Sally Melville's website today. There was a thread on a Ravelry forum about favourite knitting books and I listed mine (which include Sally's three Knitting Experience books - The Knit Stitch, The Purl Stitch, and Color). It reminded me that I was hoping that Sally was going to be publishing another book, so I googled her and found her site. I emailed her and have already received a reply.

She has a new book due out next March called Mother-Daughter Knits: 30 designs to flatter and fit. It's co-written with her daughter. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though I have to say I'm a little disappointed that there may not be any new volumes in the Knitting Experience series. I think Sally's original plan was for a fourth book on Texture and a fifth on Design. That would have made a comprehensive set.

Last night, I started picking up stitches along the side seam of the vest. A couple of rows in, I encountered a knot and realised a turquoise section of yarn was missing. Boo hoo, my favourite part. Never mind, I pressed on for a few more rows, but the lower edge was bugging me. I had picked up 70 stitches, one in each garter ridge, but I think I should have picked up an extra one in the cast on row. The edge of the front wasn't in line with the back - so I ripped it out and I'll tackle it again later, but for now I'm digressing with a small stealth project. Of course, if you're in Ravelry you'll be able to see it, but as the recipient of the gift is not (as far as I know) then I'm safe!

Two socks, four days

I amaze myself sometimes! ;o)

Mum-in-law's socks are done. I am calling them Red Cloud socks, as I was watching a video from the library the other night while knitting. It was called How the West was Lost and was a very moving documentary of how the First Nations people suffered as the Europeans moved across North America. One of the names mentioned was Red Cloud.

Detail of the leg....the pattern was very simple. It was a panel of only 7 stitches with a 4 row repeat, three of which were just straight knitting. Knitted with elann esprit, 4mm needles, used a total of 56 grams (2 oz) of yarn (slightly more than one ball).

Before I sign off for tonight, I would encourage you to go look at this site. The artwork is amazing. Beautiful paintings of fantasy scenes, with winged dolphins among other things. Ninja Boy and Lego Nut start art classes with an artist friend tomorrow and when asked to bring a landscape picture as inspiration for their paintings, they chose two of these. Probably very different from what she expects!

Good morning

Did anyone else have trouble with Bloglines this morning? I clicked on it as usual, and some of my regular blogs were highlighted, as if there were new posts. However the numbers said 121, or 200, or 43 and when I clicked on them they were all old posts. Bizarre!

I had a good start to my day. I dragged my butt out of bed extra early and drove through the stormy windy wet weather to the rec centre for a yoga class. An hour of me-time - yeah - and very relaxing and invigorating it was too. I doubt it will become a regular event - I can save myself the $9 and the gas and do it at home. Sometimes, though, it's nice to take a class to make sure that you're doing the asanas properly.

I will be going to the gym for weight-training and another yoga class at the Y with a friend next week, so that'll be more of a social event. Have to keep up the fitness while I'm playing hooky from Taekwon-do.

Multitasking

While Flickr uploads some knitting photos so that I can include them on the blog and update my Ravelry project pages, I thought I'd open a third window and start on this post!

Another way in which I'm multitasking is that I have started another knitting project today. I have knitted birthday presents for almost all of my family this year, and it's my mother-in-law's birthday in December. Allowing for knitting time and mailing time (at least a week if I send it airmail) time is of the essence.

So I cast on for some socks with the ruby Elann Esprit. Mum-in-law has smaller feet than mine, so I'm knitting them in a Woman's Small from the sock pattern in the Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. With the Esprit and 4mm (size 6 US) needles, this means I only have to cast on 44 stitches.
I am using a pattern from one of my Harmony stitch pattern books called Little Shell, making a lacy panel down each side of the sock leg (you can see it in the photo above - you'll probably have to click on the picture to make it larger to see the detail of the stitch pattern). I'm keeping the sock leg short - started with 4 rounds of garter stitch, then changed to stockinette with the shell pattern. In just one day, I have turned the heel and am on my way down the instep. These socks should fly off the needles and be mailed in plenty of time for the birthday girl.....er, woman.

It's safe to blog about these socks because my in-laws don't have a computer (as long as my parents don't give the game away when they see them)!

No-name Vest

Many designers come up with imaginative names for their designs. Maybe I should take a leaf out of their books and think of something for this vest, but I have not been struck by any ideas yet.

As you can see, the back is coming along nicely - about another 5 inches to go, I think.


Do you like my knitting bag? I have a few bags that I use, but this one is my favourite. I made it from a small pair of jeans. I just sewed straight across above the curve of the crotch seam, then lined them with cotton fabric. I then used a piece of the leg for a handle.

Knitting, buses and studs

Funny how sometimes I can go for days without posting and then other times I can post two or three times in one day.

I was going to photograph the progress on the vest earlier but couldn't find a clean sunny spot to do it and then I realised I had to run off to the bus.

Buses (waiting for them and riding on them) make excellent knitting opportunities. This morning I had to drag myself out of my warm bed to take the car to the tire place to get winter tires put on. It's getting harder and harder to find any tires for our Ford Festiva - it takes 12 inch ones and most cars are now 13 inch or bigger.

As I didn't have an appointment, they said to drop it in and leave it for the day. Assuming that they would get around to my car late in the day, I walked downtown (about 40 minutes - I could have taken a bus but it was a nice day and the exercise was good). I was early for the bus so sat on a bench waiting - and knitting. Two teenage girls sat down next to me and after a short pause, one said, "Is knitting hard?" Kudos to her for knowing I was knitting, and being interested! I told her no, it's easy, well, after the initial learning part, which doesn't take long.

Waiting is SO much nicer when there is knitting in your hands. I have now decreased for the armholes - started out with 98 stitches at 5 stitches to the inch - knitted 14 inches - decreased 9 stitches each side for the armholes - and now that I'm down to 80 stitches per row (which isn't a whole lot less really) I feel like I'm moving on much faster.

The funny thing is that I arrived home at about 11.10am to find a message on my answering machine from the tire shop - my tires were switched and the car was ready for pickup! I could have run off to the bus straight away to go back into town, but I stayed home, ate lunch and did the housework first. Mid-afternoon, I caught a bus, my husband picked me up at the station and drove me to the tire place.

Be envious - I now have STUDS on my tires. They don't look anything like THESE studs though - shame!

Two links for you

Affectionknit is giving away some cute Dove of Peace tree ornaments on her blog....go leave a comment to win.

And Nan at Nannybird Crafts has a hilarious photo of a crocheted .... no, I'll let you go and look, but in her opinion it should come under the heading "What not to Crochet"! I can guarantee this is a one-off.

Have a laughter-filled day!

Gingerbread cookies

This time of year seems to beg for gingerbread cookies. I usually manage to wait until closer to December, but I thought there might be someone out there who would appreciate it now.

I adapted this recipe many years ago from a preschool activity book that I was using with my oldest son when he was 4. He's 16 now! Anyway, I "veganized" it.

This makes a big batch to fill at least two cookie sheets, though if you decide to roll it out and use large cutters you may fill three.

Dry ingredients - mix in one bowl:
5 cups wholewheat flour
one and a half tsp baking soda
half teaspoon seasalt
2 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp allspice
1 cup turbinado sugar (it's best to use dry sweetener here unless you like cookies that spread and join up!)

Wet ingredients - mix in a second bowl:
1 cup lightly flavoured oil, eg coconut, grapeseed
2 tblsp soyflour blended with half cup water (this is a substitute for 2 eggs to make it vegan - you could use eggs if you prefer)
1 cup blackstrap molasses
2 tblsp apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

you may need a little extra water, but be careful not to make the dough too sticky

Combine the two mixtures and mix well to make a dough. To shape into "people", take blobs of the dough with your hands, make a ball for each head, a sausage shape for the arms and a sausage shape for the legs. The head goes onto the cookie sheet, the arms underneath, and the leg piece is curved into a C shape and butted up against the arms. Tricky to explain in writing but you're aiming for a person shape (sort of like this but upright ---> O()C )

Alternatively, you can just make plain circles, or roll out the dough (I do it between two layers of wax paper as it's sticky stuff) and use cookie cutters. You can add currants for eyes and buttons if you want.

Bake at 350 for 10 - 12 minutes - I usually bake one cookie sheet at a time on the top shelf of the oven - I know it's more economical to do two at once but then they may cook unevenly. Leave them to firm up a bit before transferring to cooling racks.

I have had nothing but praise for these cookies. I assume most people have only ever had stale shop-bought stuff. Tonight, when Lego Nut and I started to make them, I accidentally doubled some of the ingredients, so we had to double ALL the ingredients and we ended up with 36 very large cookies. And they're sort of square because we used rice syrup instead of sugar and they spread out! Still tasted great, though.

Ravelry Rocks!

I met some great new people today. One of the groups on Ravelry (which is the best knitting and crocheting community on the 'net) is a local one and they have started having monthly Sit and Stitch meetings. Five of us met at a coffee shop this afternoon and it was great to meet some online friends in the flesh. Not surprisingly, most of the talk was about knitting, yarn, crochet and family (in that order) - it was like finding an English-speaker in a foreign land - you can understand each other!

Another benefit of having some simple knitting with you is that it seems to grow much faster while you talk with friends. My vest knitting is just straight garter stitch at this stage. I have just reached the end of the first skein and am nearly to the armhole shaping for the back.

I (very virtuously) made sure that the grocery shopping was done this morning, so was able to relax this afternoon. Tomorrow....lunch out!

Catherine Tate having a Bond moment

Comic

Here's a knitting-related comic for those crafty people among you.

By the way, if you click on Next or Previous on that site, the other cartoons aren't about knitting - but they do have Questionable Content. You have been warned!

Vest progress

Not the best photo, but I'm halfway to the armhole on the back of the vest (waistcoat).

This is my own design. The back is very simple. Just cast on at the bottom, knit straight to the armhole, decrease a little bit then continue on up to the neck.

The fronts are a bit different. I'll be picking up stitches along the side edge of the back and knitting across, casting on extra stitches for the front armhole after the first few rows, and then knitting straight for a while. Then I'll be decreasing at top and bottom to make an angled front, gradually decreasing the stitches away until there's only a few left. The fronts will then overlap and can be fastened with a shawl pin or brooch. It took a bit of brainstorming to figure out the rate of decrease on each end.

As it's all in garter stitch, there won't be any fussy edge finishing required. All that will need to be done after the knitting is to join the shoulder seams.

An afternoon of culture

Undeterred by the hat fiasco, I have been knitting, but I haven't yet taken a photo of the progress. I designed a vest (waistcoat) pattern in garter stitch, using the James C Brett Marble yarn. I swatched with #7 and #8 US needles and preferred the #8. I have started work on the back and I promise to get a photo tomorrow during the hours of daylight to show you.

I am having to be careful when moving my stitches up as the aluminum needles are a little sharp and have once again punctured my right index finger. It is sore but I can knit as long as I remember NOT to press down on the tip of the needle with the same fingertip.

It's been ages since we went out anywhere for a "field trip" so this afternoon I took the boys around the "cultural" part of downtown. It was a mild sunny day and therefore perfect for walking around town. We started at the museum, where a friend and her son met us. Part of the exhibition was about the local hospital and we were fascinated by this ...
an iron lung. This one was actually used by a local man who contracted polio back in the fifties and he spent 20 years in it!!!

There was a reconstruction of an old-time doctor's surgery ...

Ninja Boy was most interested in the guns (he took these photos) ...

The weapon at the top of the above photo had a barrel about six feet long! I can't imagine how one would manage to support that and fire it at the same time.
This machine (below) is called a fluoroscope. It is an X ray machine that was once used as a shoe-selling gimmick. Shoe stores had them, presumably so people could try shoes on and X ray their feet to make sure they fit well. This was before they realised the dangers of radiation. Apparently the machines were not regulated and gave out varying degrees of radiation and the salespeople in the store were the most at risk, being exposed regularly. They were quietly phased out eventually.After this museum, we walked to the Orchard museum, which includes an extensive model railway. After the boys had made the train go round the tracks a few times, we moved on to the art gallery. (above...part of the model railway)

The art gallery had a members' exhibition and another by a local artist. There was also a giant chair, taller than the building itself, in a courtyard outside. It was made from wood held together with the metal panels that are used to join roof supports. I'm sure if the kids had been able to get out there, they would have enjoyed climbing up it!

They goofed around a bit in the art gallery but I was able to get them to focus on some of the art for long enough to get them interested. They were impressed with a soapstone sculpture of a pair of hands and a painting of a fantasy landscape with dragons.

The plan was originally to go to the library, but we bypassed that and went for a drink at a coffee shop instead. We do that rarely enough that it's quite a treat!

A foggy fall day

First thing this morning (before I was even out of bed) Tai Chi Man was outside appreciating the damp fog!


Minimal visibility.


Close up of walnut leaves.


A carpet of walnut leaves (there are still some walnuts under there that I didn't pick up in time - and they will be there until the spring now).

Flat hat is a flop

I regret to say I won't be wearing my Morgan driving cap anywhere in public this winter! As you can see from this classic "bathroom mirror" shot, it came out a little too wide on top and just looks funny. Also it's a bit tight on the head which pulls the peak downwards instead of sticking out in front.

One for the thrift store!




I borrowed two relatively new (published 2007) knitting books from the library this week. The first is Knitting New Scarves by Lynne Barr. This book is beautifully presented, with artful photos and clear instructions. The scarves certainly are original. There are at least two which I would like to make. One is made up of four strands of i-cord with a fifth woven in and out along the scarf's length. A perfect way to make the most of my new knitting mill, I'd say! I marvelled at the intricacy of some of the patterns, which look fiddly enough that I don't think I'd even attempt them.




The other book is Ethnic Knitting Discovery by Donna Druchunas. This is a workbook on knitting in the style of the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and the Andes. No pretty photos in this one - just hand-drawn illustrations - but it is a useful tool for those wanting to learn new techniques and become more of an independent knitter. Rather than being tied to a specific pattern, Donna gives you sweater "recipes" into which you insert your own figures, depending on your size and stitch gauge. You can choose from three perspectives, depending on your learning style - a visual plan or schematic, a worksheet for those who like doing the math and the planning before you start to knit, or detailed instructions for those who may be a bit nervous about setting out on their own. You'll learn how to design a sweater and incorporate colour and texture and even steeks.

I love this sort of book. Two of the sweaters that I have knitted in the last year were not from patterns - one was an Elizabeth Zimmermann seamless raglan construction, knitted from the bottom up, and the other was knitted from the top down. I was pleased with both of them and they fitted perfectly.

Happy Knitting!